But… It’s me! The real Spider-Man!

The conversation with the director of the Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division was very productive. At first Fury was obviously skeptical of my claims, but the obvious facts: my false security clearance level and the fact that I had managed to get into her office at all, having facilitated the escape of two prisoners, spoke for themselves. Fury had, after all, blocked the doors and activated the jammer, which I had already seen a couple of times in my past life during private conversations with Nick.

So I dumped all this stinking tangle of information and staggering facts about her beloved organization and their eternal enemy on her. I told her, practically without concealment, everything that was going on in the apostles' secret laboratory. This decision - to tell everything to Director Shield - was not easy for me, but having weighed all the facts, I found no better way.

Yes, the apostles are not Hydra itself, though they were once part of it. Yes, there is a possibility that they will leave me alone. But I don't intend to rely on the chance that my loved ones may be under attack. After all, once I demonstrate to everyone that Peter Parker is back, they will have new targets to strike.

Consequently, there can be no truce. All that remains is to decide how to confront the remnants of the organization. Do I go to war alone, Spider-Man style, or do I enlist allies? Even if I wanted to act independently of the Shield, destroying all the remaining sprouts quickly was simply beyond my power, and I could not take control of the people and the abandoned laboratory myself, especially since I had no such desire. Besides, there was no doubt that sooner or later the Shield would find out the truth.

When the real Colson broke into the principal's office, Fury finally decided to listen to my advice and sent an agent who was at hand to check the veracity of my words by examining the unfortunate complex.

Romanoff stayed with us. Obviously, Natasha is in that category of the chosen ones, on whom Fury can rely, not to mention the fact that in case of escalating negotiations, Romanoff must protect the principal from me. We didn't have to wait long for Colson's report: the quinjet, prepared for departure in record time, made the trip that took me an hour and a half, in a ten minutes. Soon Phil confirmed the discovery and requested that medical personnel be sent to him immediately.

"So," Fury began, "you say you managed to escape and take over the whole complex... by yourself."

"Something like that," I answered without false modesty. In any case, the agents will soon have at their disposal the testimony of survivors.

Fury is clearly unhappy with the answer, but for some reason decides not to press any further. Of course, I hadn't hoped to keep the fact of my temporary death from the Shield... I just didn't want to talk about it. They'd figure it out for themselves when they interrogated the survivors and reconstructed the timeline of events. By the time Fury found confirmation of his suspicions about me, I'd be in a position to strengthen my position. Basically, I've said all I want to say, so all that's left to do is summarize.

"And what do you want from me?" Finally the woman came to the main point, "why did you go in disguise, and why did you break into my office?"

"Now that's more like a productive conversation," I said, not hiding my contentment, "First of all, Spiderwoman and Venom. They're not criminals, and what happened earlier was just a misunderstanding. In exchange for the information you provide, I hope you'll agree to forget about them and not interfere with us in the future..."

"Us?" Romanoff smirked, but Fury ignored the reservation and was in no hurry to either agree or refuse.

"Second, Hydra and those apostles... I don't think we need to explain. Somebody has to clean up this mess, and the fact that I came to you... you can consider it a demonstration of civic responsibility. Believe it or not, I still believe the Shield can stand up to Hydra."

"Even after everything you've read in that data?" Fury grinned.

"And no one helped you?" Nicole continues, incredulous.

"No," I understand where Fury is going with this, though we've come to a place I don't want to talk about.

"How?"

"I had to improvise," I shrugged.

I understand her surprise. When you found out that a terrorist organization was hiding behind the face of international intelligence, most people would immediately lose all confidence in the Shield, as it happened in my past world, but it only benefited only Hydra, whose heralds shouted loudest from the stands and TV screens about distrust of the Shield.

"It's not just the Shield that Hydra's infiltrated." I shrug my shoulders, "I do not doubt that their representatives are everywhere: politicians, military, world government. But it's the Shield that poses the real threat to Hydra, and that's why they've thrown most of their resources into infiltrating your service."

"I'm afraid the politicians won't be so prudent," Romanoff spoke up, "if this gets into their hands..."

"We must make sure that the information does not leak beyond this office," said Nicole, looking me in the eyes with her only visual organ, in the sternest possible voice.

"Don't worry about me, I'm no enemy of your service, and I've already proved it, but I expect an understanding..."

"As for your girlfriends, even if they were deceived and attacked our base by mistake... they are still criminals who took it upon themselves to commit vigilante justice..." but I don't like the direction of her thoughts! Fury is in no position to lecture me and speculate on the legality and propriety of her actions!

"Stop! This is not up for discussion. I have done your work for you, which you are somehow incapable of doing, and in return I ask you to leave them alone and finish what the Shield was created for! How hard can it be?"

"Calm down, hotshot," Romanoff smirked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"At least they were better at their job than the Shield was at theirs," I threw Natasha's hand off my shoulder.

"Okay," Fury gave her verdict, "we do have more important problems than your girlfriends."

"Fine." I rose from my chair. "If you have any questions, you know where to find me. Now I'm going back to my house. I've wasted too much time as it is. You don't have to accompany me. I'll find my own way out."

***

Romanoff's upturned eyebrows and the look she threw at her boss spoke volumes about her attitude toward Parker's antics. "Do you want me to detain him?" - the special agent's eyes questioned.

Fury shook her head briefly in response. It didn't take her a second to think about it. Unlike the boy, she knew how to separate emotion from reason, and that last phrase was nothing more than a provocation to see the response. In the end he was completely right. The data he brought... The Hydra inside the Shield and the world government. This is no time for petty squabbles and persecution of local masked heroines. On the contrary, every possible ally counts now.

"How's Steve?" Fury suddenly changed the subject.

"Gradually getting used to the new times," Natasha replied, "I can only imagine how happy he'll be to learn that Hydra is still alive."

"Unfortunately, he doesn't have much time to get used to it..."

"Do you want to attract him?" with a slight strain in her voice Romanoff clarified, though she already knew the answer.

"Of course, he is the one who can lead the team, to smooth the edges, especially if the composition is made up of young people."

"Do you think they'll be any good? Of course, they have potential, but the girls are still too young and impulsive..."

"I don't just mean Spider and Venom." Fury shook her head toward the door.

"Parker?" There was no hiding the surprise in Romanoff's voice, "but he's..."

"He's the one they're listening to, we have to find out everything about him, put him under 24-hour surveillance. This guy is far from simple."

"Yes," Romanoff accepted the order.

Fury grinned, inwardly summing up the investigation around Parker. Yes, on closer inspection, the boy was a dark horse. Since the incident at school, there had been a lot of questions about him. Questions no one had the answers to. How had a genius with such data managed not to be noticed by the relevant services? It was as if someone had been systematically cleaning up the information, deleting records, and falsifying data about the subject. There's more. The Connors lab explosion, the appearance of Venom, Deadpool, Goblin and the Spiderwomen... and there was always Parker somewhere. He was seen in the company of a mercenary and a superheroine, working with Connors and later luring the scientist into his company. In the weeks before the kidnapping, it was as if Parker had been replaced. Intelligent but apathetic and uninterested in either society or recognition or fame, the teenager suddenly developed an activity that would have been the envy of Stark in his prime. Besides, after analyzing the data extracted from Parker's new company, Shield's best analysts concluded that the cancer cure being developed there might turn out to be something effective, not just another hollow. And now this. Where did he get the skills to infiltrate a secret Shield base? Must wait for Colson's report on the location Parker indicated, who knows what other skeletons lurk in that closet... or even pay a visit there himself...

After escorting the agent with a glance, Fury returned to her workplace, but the director was not allowed to be alone for long. Two minutes later, another agent with sixth-level clearance was on the doorstep.

"Agent Sitwell, come in," Fury said into the communicator.

"Director," Jessica Sitwell nervously adjusted her tie and greeted Fury.

"There's a task for you, to contribute to an initiative you know."

"Does that mean we have the green light?" Sitwell was quick to catch what she didn't mean.

"In part... The World Security Council is demanding the release of Emilie Blonsky," Fury muttered with ill-concealed irritation in her voice, "they want her to lead the team."

"Abomination?" Jessica didn't hold back her emotions.

"They don't like it when they call her that. To them she's a war hero and a trusted soldier." With a chuckle, the director parried. "We should "ask" General Ross to give us Blonsky."

"Do you think he will agree?" Stevell did not immediately understand the essence of the request. She had always been bad at taking hints.

"That's just it, that at the request of the council, he almost certainly would..."

"So..."

"We don't need Blonsky, but we have to ask Ross for her release," Fury finally set the task, "I'll leave that to you."