54: Almost a Hero
"This is really good," Natasha said with genuine surprise after taking a long sip from the cup of coffee Daniel had brought her. Beside her, Agent Coulson nodded in agreement, sipping from his own cup. As international agents, they had traveled to many parts of the world and tasted various types of coffee, but few could match the flavor of the one they were drinking now.
Daniel smiled upon seeing their approval, proud of himself because this was the ultimate coffee recipe he had perfected after numerous attempts over the past year.
The three of them ignored Fury and Tony, who were exchanging unfriendly looks off to the side.
It had been almost half an hour since the topic of the new prison, "Tartarus," had come up, and during that time, Tony and Fury had been arguing over various aspects of it—most notably, the funding, which had generated the greatest discord.
Daniel wasn't particularly interested in the discussion and didn't have much to contribute to it anyway, so he had struck up a light conversation with Natasha and Coulson. Eventually, he noticed the morning sun beginning to rise, prompting him to head to the kitchen and prepare some coffee for everyone.
When he returned, it seemed they had finally finished talking about it, and now only a tense silence lingered—or at least it would have, if not for the other three people in the room.
"I didn't peg you as the barista type," Coulson remarked, his posture noticeably more relaxed compared to when they first met.
"Well, when you have a picky palate, you tend to develop methods to enhance flavors," Daniel said casually. But his comment quickly piqued Natasha's interest.
"A picky palate, huh? You know, I've always wondered—how much of you is different from everyone else?" At the question, Daniel smiled. He didn't mind her curiosity, as he thought it was something natural for her. After all, as a spy, one of her jobs was to gather information, whether consciously or unconsciously.
Of course, Coulson and Fury also "perked up" their ears.
"Well, aside from tastes, I have an excellent sense of smell—like, really good. And that usually makes things uncomfortable, but I manage by simply holding my breath," It had taken him some time, but he had grown accustomed to not breathing too much in environments where he knew the odors would be unpleasant.
His home was probably one of the best-smelling places on the planet—a joint effort he and Carol had worked hard on during the rare moments of free time Daniel had.
"So that's why there's barely any pulmonary ventilation in your body," Natasha said, understanding gleaming in her eyes. Daniel wasn't surprised she had noticed. Though she was very skilled and discreet, he had long been aware of her analytical gaze on him. It was a very analytical and subtle gaze, but one that still needed refining to surpass those with super senses Like him.
"Once again, the things you do make no sense. Then again, maybe common sense is starting to become useless with so many strange things popping up," Tony finally joined the conversation, reaching out for the cup of coffee Daniel had brought him.
"Speaking of things popping up, maybe it's time to talk about our two mysterious friends," Fury interjected, seizing the moment. He looked at Daniel and Tony seriously as he pulled out two more folders, which Jarvis quickly scanned without needing to be prompted.
"I was wondering when you'd bring that up," Daniel said, looking at the projected screen in front of him—specifically, an image of Carol in disguise, helping people across various parts of Washington, D.C.
On the other hand, on another screen, all that could be seen was a streak of red and yellow moving through different locations, saving people in astonishing numbers. It was so fast that not even a clear image of whatever it was could be captured.
"Is there something you'd like to share with the team?" Fury asked, glancing at Daniel and then at the image of Carol.
"Is there any need to feign ignorance? Cut the crap, Fury. You know exactly what you want to ask," Tony snorted at the way the SHIELD director seemed to be trying to handle things.
It didn't seem like the two would get along anytime soon.
Shrugging, Daniel spoke. "If you're worried that she's a problem, shouldn't her actions have already spoken for her?" he then pointed to the images, images where Carol was saving people at every moment.
"In that, you're right. I don't believe she's a threat. I just want to know if we can count on her. Since the incident on the East Coast, she's been missing—like a ghost. Even our other friend has continued making appearances, But she's remained completely in the dark. Is there a reason for that?" Fury, of course, had many more questions than that, but he understood that he probably wouldn't get answers anytime soon, so he didn't ask them.
"She's just discreet—unlike me, she doesn't like attention. But she'll help if the situation is critical. Beyond that, I can't say whether she'd agree to anything else," Daniel said and Fury frowned slightly before nodding.
"Maybe you could talk to her about the team. With things as they are, I think it's time to start looking for new members." Daniel and Tony were good, but they were only two. If a crisis of the same level as the Graviton attack happened again, it would be best to have more members available to help.
Although the exact death toll from the incident was still unclear, it was dangerously approaching five figures—a terrifying number that wasn't worse thanks to the efforts of Defiance and the man newly named by the media as 'Flash.'
"I'll ask her, but I can't promise anything," Daniel said noncommittally.
He then looked at the image of Flash with interest.
"What about this guy? Have you managed to make contact yet?" At his question, Fury looked at Coulson. The agent straightened up, set his coffee aside, and quickly began explaining everything he had discovered so far.
"He appeared some time ago in Central City, initially doing small things—helping people, saving lives. Very much like you, but focused solely on the city and its surroundings," Coulson then pointed to some news articles and witness reports that had been made during those days. There were no images or very accurate descriptions, just mere speculations—at least at the beginning.
"His activity started increasing, and he gradually began to deal with more serious things—robberies, attempted murders, various criminal acts that were stopped instantly without the perpetrators even knowing what hit them. That, of course, drew S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention, which is around the time I was assigned the case to investigate him thoroughly."
It seemed Flash had been keeping a low profile and hadn't started interacting much with anyone yet—something Daniel thought was understandable since it appeared he'd only recently gained his powers.
"I hadn't been able to uncover much until the East Coast attack, where he decided to leave his usual area of activity and started traveling to all the affected cities to save people. That gave us a lot more images and witnesses, as well as some descriptions: male, in his early to mid-twenties, slim but athletic build, standing between 1.80 and 1.85 meters tall. He wears a costume with a mask clearly inspired by heroic aesthetics, along with a yellow lightning bolt symbol. Of course, these details aren't fully verified yet since we don't have any truly clear images of him. His speed might even be faster than yours."
Coulson felt somewhat discouraged. He'd been working very hard on the case but hadn't been able to obtain anything truly substantial to help contact Flash.
"I'd like to think it's some kind of revolutionary technology, but as things stand, it seems more likely to be some sort of supernatural power. Maybe something genetic?" Tony said, watching the videos of Flash—or rather, the videos of the residual images left behind by Flash.
"In fact, he's faster than me," Daniel admitted easily, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. After all, until now, people had always thought that Defiant was the fastest living being in the world.
"How do you know? This guy only moves on the ground, you fly," Natasha questioned with curiosity.
"During my fight with Graviton, I saw him a few times while he was saving people from the earthquakes and floods. Even though he moves on the ground, his speed is insane—even for me. I could barely keep track of him" Daniel had thought that he and Carol were fast, but when he saw Flash, he understood what true speed really was.
He couldn't travel like that on Earth without risking burning the atmosphere and destroying everything in his path.
"Then making contact with him will be difficult," Fury said, frowning.
"Not really. I'll take a trip to Central City and patrol the area for a while. That'll surely get his attention, and he'll come to me. Then I'll meet him," Daniel offered, though in truth, this had already been his plan ever since he learned Flash was active in the streets.
"Do you think it'll work?" Natasha looked at him, and he nodded confidently.
"Why wouldn't it work? Aren't we on the same side? I mean, being heroes and all."
"Fine. If possible, arrange a meeting. If not, just talk to him about S.H.I.E.L.D. and the team and see what he thinks," It wasn't exactly what Fury had hoped for, but it didn't seem like any of his agents had a chance of making contact with Flash, so he could only let Daniel give it a try.
They talked about other things for a while, but nothing particularly important, and soon the meeting began to wrap up.
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"This… sucks," Ned couldn't find a better word to describe the situation. Beside him, Peter nodded, his eyes fixed on Jessica's pale face through the glass window separating them from her hospital room.
The smell of medicine and sterilization in the place was starting to irritate his nose. Yes, that had to be the reason why his eyes were beginning to itch.
"Have the doctors said anything about when she might wake up?" Peter asked, trying to stay calm. Jessica's mother, who was standing next to them looking at her daughter, took a moment to respond, her voice somewhat fragile, the exhaustion evident on her face.
"It could be today, it could be tomorrow, or it could be a year from now. No one knows."
Peter clenched his fist as his eyebrows furrowed. Although Ned and he had suspected that something must have happened to Jessica, they hadn't expected it to be this bad.
A car accident. A truck carrying chemical waste. Those two things were the key points in the story that had left Jessica in a coma, one that seemed unlikely for her to wake up from.
Maybe the only good thing was that the company transporting the chemical waste had decided to cover all the medical bills that the Jones family's insurance didn't.
It wasn't even their responsibility since the whole incident had occurred during the attack on the East Coast, but they had stepped up anyway.
It seemed that moments of crisis really could bring out the best in people.
Peter and Ned stayed a little longer, but eventually, they left since there wasn't much to do besides watch Jessica sleep. Before leaving, Peter asked Mrs. Jones to let him know if there were any updates, giving her his phone number so she could contact him.
He hoped for good news soon, even if it seemed unlikely.
As they left New York General Hospital, the two boys walked the streets of the Big Apple in silence for a while. The city seemed to be in decent shape despite everything that had happened. Occasionally, they would see buildings under repair as well as streets crowded with construction and demolition crews.
"Oh man!, that was my favorite food spot!" Ned said, disheartened as he noticed the ruins of one of the establishments that had been affected.
"I wonder if Mr. Len is okay," Peter said seriously, looking at the damage to the place, His mood growing increasingly sour due to the situation around him.
His home, his neighborhood, even his city—and Jessica—all had been hurt just because a deranged maniac with too much power in his hands had decided he wanted to bring the world to its knees.
And like many other things in his life, he hadn't been able to do anything to prevent it from happening...
Before he could keep thinking about it, he felt a faint tingling sensation at the back of his head.
"Stop him!" A woman's sharp cry reached his ears, and Peter turned around, noticing a guy running at full speed through the streets with a bag in hand.
'Are you serious? Everyone's going through tough times, and someone thought it was okay to steal right now?'
Without a second thought, he started running, his body easily picking up speed as he closed the distance between himself and the thief in record time.
Seeing Peter coming straight at him, the thief's eyes widened in alarm, and he tried to pivot to dodge. But it was too late. Peter was already in front of him, and with ease, he grabbed the man's arm and squeezed, causing a cry of pain to escape the thief's lips.
"S-Stop!" At the faint sound of a cracking, Peter snapped out of his anger and loosened his grip. The man collapsed to his knees, and Peter gave him a brief apologetic look before picking up the stolen bag.
A nearby police officer was already approaching, quickly running over to the man and starting to handcuff him.
"Well done, kid," the officer said with a smile, and Peter nodded. That's when he noticed the small crowd of people who had been watching the scene unfold, making him feel a bit self-conscious.
"Thank you, I almost thought no one would stop him." The owner of the bag arrived a few moments later, and Peter handed it to her, receiving her thanks without saying much.
"Dude, what the hell was that?!" Ned asked as he finally caught up, panting heavily. When Peter started running, Ned had tried to follow, but he'd quickly been left eating dust and only just managed to catch up now.
He almost felt like he was about to have a heart attack.
"You were like 'whoosh!' and the thief looked at you like, 'Oh no!' And then you grabbed his arm and—" Peter placed a hand over Ned's mouth to stop him from continuing to shout.
"I know. I just did it."
"When did you get so fast?" Ned asked with uncertainty once Peter lowered his hand. After all, they'd known each other for years, and as far as Ned knew, Peter wasn't exactly an athletic star.
"Adrenaline, I guess…" Peter hesitated. Ned was his friend, but the changes he was experiencing were still too mysterious to share with anyone just yet.
"Adrenaline… sure," Ned said, frowning. He clearly had his doubts, but seeing Peter's unwillingness to continue the conversation, he decided to drop it.
"Anyway, that was really cool. Almost like a hero."
'A hero?' Peter blinked and looked at his hands. While he knew he was different now, the idea of being a hero hadn't crossed his mind until this moment.
'Maybe…' Thinking about everything that had happened these past few days, and looking at the city and the people who had congratulated him for helping that woman, he couldn't help but let an idea form in his mind.
'Maybe I could try.'
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"These exams really suck!" Chloe grumbled as she and Carol walked out the front door of the school. Another day of classes, another day of boredom. Listening to Chloe's complaints was starting to get old for Carol.
"If you're having such a hard time, I could help you study," Carol offered. Chloe perked up instantly at the suggestion, but after a moment, she shook her head.
"Every year you help me; this time I have to do it on my own." Of course, it wasn't that Chloe was bad at studying—her average was quite decent; she just needed to be more than decent if she wanted to get into the university that had been in her sights, and she felt that if she used Carol's help to achieve this, it would be like a failure.
Hearing this, Carol shrugged. It wasn't like she was going to insist. If Chloe didn't want help, it didn't matter.
"Come on, talking about studying is way too boring. Let's go to the town center and grab something to eat, then you can tell me how things have been going with that guy," Chloe said, looking at Carol with a playful gaze.
"It's Daniel. I've told you his name a million times," Carol growled.
"Daniel, Dan, whatever his name is—I'll keep calling him 'that guy' until I'm sure he's not up to anything suspicious with you." Although Chloe had wanted to investigate this Daniel before, her time had been a bit limited lately, so she could only probe the situation by asking Carol about it every now and then.
"I'm not a kid, Chloe. I can take care of myself."
Hearing this, Chloe frowned.
"And I'm your friend, and I care about you."
Carol's irritation eased slightly. She sighed and looked at Chloe with a hint of apology.
"I know. Just... don't worry too much, okay? There's nothing dangerous for me in Daniel."
Of course, that didn't do much to convince Chloe, but she didn't push further. She didn't want to keep putting Carol on the defensive.
Soon, they reached where Chloe had parked her car and prepared to leave. But before they did, Carol stopped, frowning.
'What is she doing here?'
The person she was referring to was, of course, Lena Luthor, who had been waiting in the street outside the school.
The woman seemed to notice her gaze because she smiled and raised a hand in greeting.
Carol hesitated. She had promised Daniel not to seek out Lena, and she had never intended to break that promise.
'But I didn't seek her out. She came on her own,' she thought, wondering if this could be considered a loophole.
Seeing Lena start to approach, she decided this wasn't her fault. She'd explain it to Daniel later—he would surely understand.
"Why don't you go on your own? I just remembered I have something to do," she told Chloe, who had already gotten into the car. The blonde looked at her with doubt, but with Carol's insistence, she eventually started the engine and drove off.
"Hey, sorry if I interrupted anything," Lena said when she finally reached her. The woman seemed to be in better shape than when Carol had first met her—her voice and posture much more confident.
"It wasn't anything important," Carol replied, and the two of them looked at each other in a moment of silence. For some reason, Carol's intense blue eyes made Lena feel slightly nervous inside, but it wasn't something she allowed to show outwardly.
"Well, if you have time, I'd like to talk to you. Maybe grab something to eat," Lena said, gesturing to a new car parked where she'd been standing earlier.
"I got another car."
Carol thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"Alright."
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Note:
Another chapter!
Anyway, I don't have much to say. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to leave a comment.
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