Agent Carson nodded quickly. "Deal. You don't have to like it, but you'll have to listen. Fury just wants to understand you, Franklin. He doesn't take no for an answer."
Peter looked at me, chuckling nervously. "Just don't do anything rash, alright? You're dealing with people who have... a lot more resources than you might think."
I glanced at Peter, smirking. "What? Do you think I can't handle SHIELD? It's some bullshit organization that sucks ass." I held up my hand, letting a burst of light shoot into the wall, revealing a massive hole.
Peter frowned, but he said nothing. We both turned our attention back to Agent Carson. "Alright, let's make this quick," I said, letting the light around my fingers dim. "I'll meet Fury. But you keep your guys off my back until then. Understood?"
Agent Carson hesitated but then gave a nod. "Understood. We'll set up a meeting. Just don't make us come after you."
"Now, get out of my face," I ordered him, not sporting a bright smile on my face. Perhaps he knew not to mess with me or I don't know, he left quickly.
I turned to Peter who began freaking out. "Why are you threatening him?" He asked me.
"Oh my god, Peter... are you deaf? He threatened me!" I told him.
"I mean, yeah, but... Franklin, threatening a SHIELD agent? That's not exactly the smartest move."
I rolled my eyes. "Smart? Who needs smart when you're dealing with people who think they can control everything? Carson comes in here all high and mighty, acting like I'm some kind of asset to be managed. I don't need that."
"I get it, okay? You don't want to be anyone's puppet. But this... this is SHIELD we're talking about. They've got way more power than you think. One wrong move, and they could send a whole team after you."
"Let them," I said, folding my arms. "I'm not afraid of them. They can send whoever they want. I'll take care of it."
"Trust me, Peter. If they do anything out of line, I'll ruin them. This is my promise." I looked at Carson down the street getting into his car.
"Nick Fury, f***ing dumbass name. I'll let him see my fury... wait, that's cringe..." I realized as I heard myself. "Okay, c'mon, Pete, let's get back to school." I grabbed Peter as I reappeared in our school's bathroom.
Peter stumbled, disoriented for a moment, before he caught himself. "Okay, what the heck, Franklin? How did you—? Where are we?"
I shrugged, looking around the bathroom. "You know, teleportation's a useful skill. I mean, it's just the speed of light, but it looks like teleportation."
"You really can't just use that power without thinking, can you? First, SHIELD, then you just drag me back here like it's nothing. What if someone saw us?" Peter asked me.
"Screw them, I'll handle them if they do anything," I told Peter. "And Peter, I can think faster than you think I can."
"I don't know, Franklin. Just because you can do all this crazy stuff doesn't mean you should. You've got power, I get it, but it's like you're walking a really fine line with SHIELD. One wrong step and we could end up in a mess we can't get out of."
"Peter, I'm not stupid. I know what I'm doing." I looked at my reflection in the mirror. "I can control this... all of it."
He didn't seem convinced. "You say that, but—"
"But nothing," I interrupted, turning to face him. "You act like I don't have a plan. You act like I'm just going to let SHIELD walk all over me like they're some kind of authority. They don't get to decide what happens to me. I decide that."
Peter opened his mouth to respond but hesitated. He knew I wasn't backing down. "Alright, fine," he muttered, crossing his arms. "But I don't want to see you get hurt, okay? You might not care about what happens to you, but I care about you, Franklin."
"JEEZ Peter, I didn't know you were gay." I joked, but my tone was serious.
"You know I don't mean that. SHIELD is dangerous."
I held up a hand, cutting Peter off before he could go any further with his SHIELD talk. "Okay, seriously, Peter. Enough with the SHIELD hype."
Peter blinked, clearly thrown off by my sudden interruption. "What? I'm just saying they have resources—"
"Yeah, I know what you're saying, but stop acting like they're some untouchable force that can do whatever they want. They're just a bunch of suits with fancy tech and a ton of paperwork. They're not invincible. And they definitely don't scare me."
"Now, c'mon, we're late to class." I disappeared from his sight and reappeared in my seat.
Peter blinked in confusion, still standing in the middle of the bathroom, but I was already back in class, sitting in my seat like I'd never left.
He walked in a few moments later, muttering under his breath. "How do you even do that?"
The rest of the day passed without incident, but my mind kept drifting back to Fury. One meeting. That was all it would take to show them they couldn't mess with me. I'd make sure of it. Bastards...
The next day...
I met up with Peter at school. "You're going through with this, huh?" he asked, his tone skeptical but with a touch of concern.
"I'm not scared of them, Pete," I said, making sure he understood. "It's not about fear. It's bout control. I've got it, they don't."
Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Just... just be careful, alright? I don't want you getting dragged into some mess you can't get out of."
"I told you not to hype up SHIELD."
After the last bell rang, I didn't waste any time. I grabbed hold of the air around me and teleported straight to the meeting point I'd set up. No waiting around, no delays.
This was it—the moment I'd been anticipating.
I didn't hesitate. I walked up to the door. It slid open, revealing Agent Carson waiting for me inside.
"Good. You're here," he said.
I nodded.
We reached a heavily secured room. It was dimly lit, with a single table in the center. And there, sitting at the table, was none other than Nick Fury himself.
He didn't stand when I entered. "Franklin," he said. "Glad you could make it."
"Tell me what you are offering me," I told him.
"You don't waste time, I'll give you that," Fury said, leaning back in his chair. "I'm offering you a chance, Franklin. A chance to be part of something bigger. You're a valuable asset, and I want to bring you into SHIELD. You've got power, and I can make sure it's used in a way that's... beneficial for both of us." I raised an eyebrow.
"Asset? Me? When did I consent to that?" I asked him.
"I ain't no asset, you pirate old man, I just want you to leave me alone, it was my mistake, going out as a vigilante, because of Peter's advice. Now if you will excuse me, I'll get away from it, not like I need your permission anyway."
"You think this is a mistake, Franklin? You're not a vigilante anymore. You're a liability. One that's far too dangerous to be flying under the radar."
"I've got more control over my power than you have brain cells, Fury. You don't scare me."
"Boy, I'm giving you a chance to be an Avenger."
"I heard you, Fury. But really, can you please just f*** off?"
He didn't flinch at my words.
"You don't know what you're turning down," Fury said. "I'm offering you a place with some of the most powerful people on this planet. A chance to use your abilities for something bigger than yourself. But you'd rather run off, acting like a lone wolf. That's fine. It'll catch up to you eventually."
"I don't need your approval, Fury. I don't need anyone's. You're all just a bunch of puppeteers trying to control the strings. But I'm done being controlled."
Fury stood up, his posture tense, and I could see the anger flash in his good eye. "You think you're invincible? You think you can take on SHIELD by yourself?"
I didn't flinch. "I've got the power to do it. And even if I don't, I've got no problem going down swinging."
"I really don't want to hurt you, Fury." As soon as I said this, a whole team of agents surrounded me with guns, expecting that it'd do anything. Retards.
"You really think this will do anything?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "You think you can point guns at me and I'll just bend to your will? Nah."
Fury's one eye remained locked on me, unblinking, unyielding. "You don't seem to understand how things work around here, Franklin. You can't just go around doing whatever you want without consequences."
The agents behind him tightened their grips on their weapons, their fingers hovering over the triggers.
"You can do whatever you want... but I can do whatever I want too." I disarmed all of their guns in less than a fraction of a second. "If I held a gun to your boss, and you couldn't do anything, what is the point?" I asked as I pointed the rifle at Fury, I don't need my powers for this.
"This is your last warning, Franklin. I'm giving you a chance to join us, to be part of something bigger. If you refuse, well, things won't end well for you."
"I'm not some toy for you to throw into your little group. I'm not a soldier, and I sure as hell don't need anyone pulling my strings. What I need is for you to get the hell out of my way. So, I'm asking you again, can you just leave me alone?"
"I don't want this to go any further," Fury said. "But if you force my hand, there will be consequences. You're a loose cannon, Franklin, and those don't last long."
"Consequences? Let's see how you handle those, Fury."
"You've got ego, Fury. But bad luck, I got a bigger ego." I stared into his eyes, I wasn't going to budge. Not a centimeter.
Wait a minute... why am I picking fights for no reason? ... shit, that's dumb.