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***
Same night.
Baxter Building.
Reid couldn't sleep.
Johnny, who had returned almost a week ago, had become like a Storm in a quiet harbour. And it was about the news he'd brought, about his, as Jonathan himself put it, "superhero adventure".
Flashback.
- Okay, Johnny, why are we here? - Sue Storm asked in a rather cold tone.
Was it the morning's conversation with her brother, or did she inwardly bode no good by her brother, who was too energetically feverish, even for him.
- Yes, son, a lot of people, you know, don't just chill out all day, they work," Franklin said, as disgruntled as his daughter.
However, the family's mood had no effect on the blond.
- I won't take up much of your time," Johnny clapped his hands together. - You'll be fascinated.
- Don't drag it out, matchstick," Ben Grimm grumbled, sitting down heavily in the special chair Dr Storm had designed.
- I will, Thunderbolt, when we're all assembled.
Only now did the others notice that Reed wasn't there.
- Then you're wasting your time, Lightning," the man who had become a creature of orange stone spoke again. - Rubber doesn't even look up from the lab.
- Oh, Ben, believe me, I managed to convince him.
A minute later Dr Reed Richards came into the room. His appearance left a lot to be desired, crumpled lab coat, hair sticking up, slight unshaven. If it wasn't for the unbreakable suit, it would have been worse.
- Okay, Johnny, and what is this scientific discovery that needs to be discussed right away," Reid said, walking over to Sue and kissing her on the cheek. - But I swear, if it's the idea of an automatic can opener.....
- No, no, no, no," Storm held up his hands. - I had a great time at brunch with Kitty today, and by the way, she's awesome.
- Okay, I'm out of here," Grimm got up from his chair.
- All right! - Johnny shouted, "I'll get to the point.
- You should have done that," Ben sat down.
- The outcome was fun, until a giant monster came out of the ground.
- What?! - everyone exclaimed.
- Yeah, a big one, probably a mutant, green, eyes glowing yellow, dark.
Suddenly Susan jumped up from the couch and ran over to her brother, examining him.
- You're not hurt, are you all right?
- Just fine, Mummy," Storm wriggled out of her sister's caring, sometimes too caring, arms. - Now, you can see for yourself, I didn't stand still.
- Johnny, it's very irresponsible to put your life at risk and act alone in dangerous situations," Franklin lectured.
- Okay, first of all, I didn't put my life at risk, or are you saying that those months of training to control our abilities were useless?
- You trained them to avoid putting the lives of others at risk, not to play heroes," the professor frowned.
- 'Never mind. And secondly, I wasn't alone.
- How so? - Reid wondered.
- Yes, before I attacked the creature here, it was fought by, would you believe it, Spider-Man.
- Spider-Man? The Spider-Man? - Sue was surprised.
- The one from YouTube? - Grimm was quick to clarify.
- Yeah, and he's almost more talked about than we are.
- Well, you and Spider-Man fought the monster, right?
- Well, not exactly," Johnny scratched the back of his head, "we followed him underground, but we had to turn back because of what we discovered.
- And what did you find? - Dr Storm asked, folding his arms across his chest.
- A huge underground network of caves! I swear to you, a few kilometres beneath New York City, there's an entire underground city....BeneathNewYork!
- Really? - Sue looked sceptical, but Reed, who was sitting next to her, perked up.
- I didn't expect it myself. Well, we've seen a dozen more of these monsters in this city, if not more. They're probably the ones who dug the tunnels. Oh, and there's some weird little yellow people in there, maybe they created them. Anyway, Spidey told us to get out and advised me to tell my team and that Reid might be happy to explore Pod York.
- I'm sorry, did you say team? - Arching an eyebrow sceptically, Sue clarified.
Johnny guessed that here it was, the hardest part.
- Come on, sis, it's obvious," Storm spread his arms out to the side, "the four of us have got cool powers! Now we just need to organise a team and help people!
- Jonathan Spencer Storm, what happened to us is no reason to dress up in silly outfits and fight evil under ridiculous names," the beautiful blonde stubbornly folded her arms under her chest.
- I don't agree, Sue," the blond raised his finger, "first of all, I've invented a cool nickname for myself - Fakel Man, and secondly, we don't need any special costumes, our uniform of unstable molecules is enough," the guy pulled back the collar of his costume for clarity.
- I'm glad you studied history and decided to honour the memory of android Jim Hammond, but your sister's right, you don't need to do this," Franklin interjected.
Ben and Reed sat there, absorbed in their own thoughts.
- Who? Never mind. As far as I'm concerned, our pointless sitting behind high walls is the real crime in this situation. We've trained so hard, but for what? To keep things going? And Ben? He can't even leave the building!
Surprisingly, it wasn't Grim who twitched at that statement, but Reed.
- I'm working on a cure," Richards said tiredly.
- We know that, Reid," Johnny said, "and no offence, big guy.
Ben only nodded.
In spite of his unenviable position and, at first, a terrible depression, mixed with anger at everything and everyone, especially his best friend, life on Yancey Street and Aunt Petunia's advice had taught Grimm to take the blows of fate and get up after them. He would recover this time, too. Someday.
So maybe Johnny's idea isn't such a bad one.
- I mean," the blond continued heatedly, "it's already happened, they're calling us the Fantastic Four on the news, all that's left is to put the logo on our chests, so maybe it's worth the gamble.
End of flashback.
After that conversation, the days were very interesting. Johnny was always arguing with Susan and Dr Franklin. Ben walked around brooding, but less sullen than after the incident. Reid knew his friend wanted to be a soldier and help people, maybe Johnny's speech had sparked something from his army past?
And Reid? He'd always been drawn to the mysteries of the universe. It was the call of the cosmos that had led him to that flight and thrown him violently from the heavens, like Icarus' fall. But Richards' mind has remained the same, unpretentiously attached to knowledge, even if his scholarly interest has darkened.
So he simply must explore this...Pod-York.
And as for the team.
Richards shifted his gaze to the development he'd started three days after the memorable conversation.
Fantastic Four doesn't sound so bad, right?
***
In the meantime.
Shield's aircraft carrier
Nicholas Fury.
The director of an international spy organisation sat in a chair, in his private office-cabinet on the Aircraft Carrier and studied the documents.
Tons of information passed through Nick's hands and mind every day. And lately, the flow had only increased. It started with small but important data about the composition of agents in the organisation, their missions, their involvement in certain tasks, their personal affairs. It continued with reports on the state of the aircraft carrier itself, equipment, armaments, research of the scientific department, Security Council enquiries, damn bureaucrats. It ended with classified information passed from hand to hand.
Colson, for example, just three hours ago, brought in some very interesting information.
The Shield is an organisation set up to protect civilians from terrorists, secret dangerous organisations, to investigate and/or eliminate anything that could harm civilians.
And the three folders lying on the table, separately, contain data on the biggest threats at the moment.
The first, a group called the Zodiacs, who are involved in espionage and mercenary activities, are virtually unknown, but their sudden awakening makes Nick's intuition alert, so we need to get these guys on the pencil.
Second, the C.I.C. organisation making itself known again. Damn beekeepers. A bunch of ambitious, unrestrained and fanatical scientists who want to "change the world for the better", yeah, regardless of the consequences and their moral character. And now there's a bulletin about some big project. We're gonna have to send more people.
Maybe Clint?
And the third case. The ghost of the past. I didn't even want to read about him.
Fury pressed the communicator button.
- Send Agent Romanoff to my office.
Five minutes later, the Widow, dressed in her rather tight uniform, entered the office.
- Director," the red-haired woman greeted.
- Natasha," the one-eyed man nodded in greeting, "it looks like I've found an excellent mission that will test all aspects of Agent Parker's, or rather Agent Spider's, personality," Fury handed the data folder to Romanoff with a smirk.
- Gustav Fierce? - Natasha only clarified after reading the file.
- Our former agent. Gustav was a brilliant scientist, but, as it turned out later, he sincerely believed in the ideas of the long-destroyed HYDRA and tried to resuscitate the organisation. To no avail," Nick stood up and put his hands behind his back, turning away from the window pane. - We thought our agents had managed to eliminate him, but he was discovered yesterday in Europe.
- Yesterday? - The Widow said, surprised, "According to this case, it's been sixteen years since he was eliminated.
- The bastard's been laying low for a while.
- So what's our mission?
- Your squad will go to Europe, the directive is to capture and deliver the prisoner to the Aircraft Carrier, we don't know what he has achieved over the years.
- Who's in the squad?
- You, Barton, Spider, three regular agents, an informant who will meet you in Europe, just for backup, and one...freelancer. It's an important mission, so we need to be safe.
- A freelancer? - The redhead frowned slightly.
- An old acquaintance. Yours too, by the way. He's got a grudge against Firs, but he won't cross the line, but he'll be a great help in case of trouble.
- Got it. Permission to go?
- Dismissed, Agent Romanoff.
***
Later.
Peter Parker.
Finished returning the girls to their mother, I pulled out my phone and called the police, along with the paramedics. I thought about calling the reporters to cover the story, but I thought that would only do the opposite. The victims would be pitied, but the guilty would not be punished.
Watching from the roof, in the shadows, I follow the boys in blue as they lead the slaves, now free men, who had recently been condemned to eternal slavery and a quick or painful death in the hands of their tormentors, to freedom. Now they must be taken care of. I notice Antonia embracing her daughters. The woman casts her gaze to the roof, but I lurk. Hopefully quickly enough. I run across the rooftops and after running a fair distance away, I stop.
*
"Well, Rukt isn't needed here anymore."
Quite familiarly, the symbiotic tissue spreads over my body and the familiar feeling of a rush of energy again. A pleasant sensation.
"Carrier," the quiet rustling voice of my co-pilot fills my consciousness, "is everything alright?"
I shoot out a web and begin to sway in the air.
"Why do you ask, Raj?"
Grabbing onto the wall and running upwards.
"During your conversation with the Punisher, you weren't completely...honest," the symbiote continues with slight misgiving.
I run across a few more rooftops, mulling over what I've said and, choosing a suitable spot, I sit down on a wooden bench replacing a bench on the roof of yet another high-rise in a residential neighbourhood.
"When exactly have I been dishonest, Raj?"
"Perhaps I'm not being entirely accurate," I sense apprehension and a note of desperation in the alien's voice. Fear of being misunderstood? - "When you spoke to Castle, you didn't fully believe what you were saying, did you feel...doubt?"
I lean my back tiredly against the metal sash.
"And what am I supposed to say?" - I try to talk to my personal lie detector. - "That you seriously considered killing that bastard? That I don't know if I'd do what Frank would do if I witnessed the deaths of my own family members, just like him? That I really doubt that my belief in the best is not a cover for my own cowardice and inability to take a life?" - "Is that what you wanted to hear?" I said.
"You've made a fairly convincing argument..." - The symbiote tries to continue in a calm tone.
"Words! Just words!" - I jump up from my seat, "I really don't believe in any of this, Raj," I walk to the edge of the roof. - "The law. Justice for everyone equally. The elite are placed above the masses, to whom the benefits of wealth are beyond their reach, it always has been and always will be. Power rules the world. But it also corrupts people... indeed everyone. In a just world, the strong will help the weak, not torture them. That's why this world will never be just."
- "But if you don't believe in the postulates, the fundamentals, if, indeed, you think everything is meaningless, what do you believe in?" - Symbiote continues in a noticeably firmer tone. - "What defines you?"
- "Choice. That's what I believe in. That's what defines me," I clench my hand into a fist. - "I have been blessed with an amazing power. Chance? Blind luck? Fate? It doesn't matter. I could use it any way I wanted and there were roads I could take and I chose. Indulge my own ego and lust for profit or try to prevent tragedy? Please. I saved my uncle the first time, but he died anyway. May suffered."
- "But it wasn't your fault."
- "How can I abdicate my responsibility when I have such amazing powers! How can I continue to allow the deaths of innocent people around me!", I can barely contain myself from hitting a stone wall in a fit of anger. - "How can I choose a better path when the swirling hatred inside for such actions is choking me?" - I sit down tiredly on the surface of the roof.
- "You are human, Bearer. You are not God," is all the Symbiote said.
I smirk.
"That's right, I'm not a God. I could use a conversation with him, though."
There was silence. It wasn't awkward, much less cosy. Just the distant sounds of the New York City streets at night. Everything.
"My kind," Raj began after a while, "believes...no, we know God exists. Our God. The one who created us. The progenitor. K`nall, God of the Symbiotes."
The name was familiar to me and evoked not at all glowing feelings.
"What's your point?" - I clarified warily.
"K`nall, the Black King, is our creator, but he is in fact the closest father figure to all Symbiots. Perhaps you need to speak to your father?" - In a quiet and warm tone, Raj hastens to dispel my doubts.
The lips under the mask fold into a slight, thin smile.
"Thank you, my friend."
I get up and jog up and jump off the roof, catching myself on the wall of a building in the process.
*
After a while.
St Michael's Cemetery.
I land next to the heavy metal gates enclosing the cemetery grounds.
I could climb the trees, but such things must be done properly. Besides, there's no need. It turns out that Symbiote has an ability that I once again forgot to remember - camouflage. So I enter the territory of the dead like Peter Parker.
I walk along the rows of graves and imperceptibly plunge into reflection, which ends when I stop at the right place.
Engraved on the grey stone:
Benjamin Parker.
Beloved husband. Uncle. Friend.
"It is only by acting in conscience that we remain ourselves."
- You know, it's funny that Aunt May remembered that particular quote from the pile of others you liked to use," I chuckle a little. - 'The very last time, you were being honest with me, revealing what you know, my greatest secret, but it's not true. I wasn't being honest with you.
Heavy sigh.
- A friend of mine said I needed to talk to my father, so I came to you.
I was about to spill my guts. Why I think of Ben Parker as a father figure, why I remember Richard and Mary Parker more on an instinctual level.
I wanted to tell you who I am.
But I hesitated in time.
A Klyntarian doesn't need to know everything. No-one needs to know everything.
- What's eating me is much deeper than that. I feel as if there's an eternal struggle of two opinions, two ways of looking at the world. One is bright, brought up by you and... right. But the other is a rebellious, dark feeling that wants action. Hostile, bloody," an unsolicited tear runs down my cheek. - This duality is tearing me apart, Ben. I don't know what to do. Please tell me," I touch the gravestone.
But only silence and a slight breeze answered me.
I pull away and sigh, wiping the wet residue from my cheek.
As I was about to leave, I reflexively glanced at the grey monolith.
"It is only by acting on our conscience that we remain ourselves."
A sad smirk appears on my face.
- Thank you for listening, Uncle.
I leave the cemetery grounds and walk through the night streets. Though the time is already tending towards morning.
"Are you feeling better, Bearer?" the concern in Symbiote's voice makes it actually feel better.
"Yes, Raj, thank you."
"You don't have to. I just wanted to say," the Clintarian falls silent, "if you believe, feel that the path you have chosen is the right one, don't let anything cause you to doubt it. Not your experiences, not the people around you who disagree with you."
"I don't know if I can do that, mate," I reply in an attempt to shift the conversation into a lighter demeanour.
"Then I, Clintarian Raj, a symbiotic life form, give my word to be on your side, always, no matter what," the alien from the stars declared fervently.
"Thanks, old chap," it felt warmer for the first time on this un-spring cold night. - "And call me Peter or Pete."
"If you ask."
We walk a few blocks in complete silence
"Say, Raj," I ask a question unable to contain my curiosity, "Would you like to talk to your maker?"
"K`nal?" - Confusion and slight apprehension mingled in Symbiote's voice for a moment. - "I don't even know, Carrier, and anyway, it's impossible, he became one with the cosmos many eras ago."
"Well, okay," I sensed that this was a topic the Klyntarian was uncomfortable with and not worth pursuing. - "Listen, how about something to eat?"
"Will there be chocolate?"
"Sure."
"Then I'm in, Pete."
Smirking, I turn towards the alley.