Peter and Harry had been texting. Peter learned the details of Harry's dinner at Adrian's house and that there seemed to be some tension between Adrian and Oscorp. However, Adrian didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. The Vulture's wings had already been developed, and Peter asked Harry to keep an eye on them. Harry, who was very interested in the wings, readily agreed.
Of course, Harry didn't realize that his future potential father-in-law might become a supervillain; he was actually keeping an eye on his own father.
Peter put his phone away and looked at the Quinjet landing on the Avengers Tower. The rear door opened, and Peter walked inside, where Cindy was already waiting. It was Sunday, the day they had agreed to go to the Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters in Washington.
The Triskelion was located on Theodore Roosevelt Island in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., and was the only public S.H.I.E.L.D. base. This was a rather strange choice of location. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. was technically a department under the United Nations, but their headquarters was in Washington, D.C., not New York, which showed the extent of the U.S. government's control over S.H.I.E.L.D.
To some extent, it also showed how deeply Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I really wish this was my only job today, taking two energetic super-powered teenagers on a field trip. This kind of life suits me better."
The person flying the Quinjet was Hawkeye, Clint Barton. He complained helplessly, hoping to liven up the atmosphere a bit. As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Cindy wasn't much of a talker, making the past few minutes quite awkward.
He hoped Spider-Man would be more talkative.
Peter walked over to Hawkeye and unceremoniously sat down in the co-pilot's seat.
"Really? The Thunderbolts are that relaxed?"
"Hard to say. Anyway, there hasn't been much going on lately." Now that he finally had someone to talk to, Hawkeye was able to relieve some of his boredom. He said while flying the plane, "Ever since you and your strangely dressed friends blew up that base under the Hudson River, the world seems to have quieted down."
In reality, the problems with that research base were even bigger than they appeared. At the time, Nick Fury had left the situation in New York to Spider-Man because S.H.I.E.L.D. had more pressing matters to deal with. He didn't expect Spider-Man to completely uncover a Hydra nest, a whole security company, an entire experimental system, alien life forms hidden by the U.S. military, and a fully developed Erskine serum.
And, of course, the discovery of Doctor Octopus. Otto Octavius was now, at least on the surface, an undeniable wanted criminal for illegal human experimentation. However, that was probably just for show; the U.S. military would likely not hand him over.
"Fury was fuming, believe me. During the Level 8 agent meeting that day, his whole face was black."
Level 8 agents were the absolute top brass of S.H.I.E.L.D. Only leaders of various branches and departments could obtain Level 8 clearance. They were the true pillars of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson was only promoted to Level 8 after the Battle of New York when he was given the mission to assemble the Bus team, and Hawkeye also only got Level 8 clearance after becoming the leader of the Thunderbolts.
But Peter was more concerned about another question.
"Nick Fury's face was black?"
"Blacker than usual."
Barton laughed, and Peter, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, asked another question that was on his mind. "What about Rhino? Did he join the Thunderbolts?"
"No, I don't think so. We couldn't convince him. Can you imagine? Neither Nat nor the psychological experts in S.H.I.E.L.D. could persuade him. He lives in his own world with his own set of logic. You either agree with his logic, or you can't communicate with him at all. But overall, he's not a bad person, just a little weird."
With the Quinjet flying at supersonic speed, Washington quickly came into view. The Triskelion was getting closer and closer. Before landing, Hawkeye gave them a special reminder. "Even though you probably wouldn't do it, I still recommend you don't take off your mask."
"I definitely won't, but is there a reason?"
"Just like the idiots in the Pentagon created the U.S. Avengers, many people in S.H.I.E.L.D. believe that the Avengers Initiative, proposed by Director Fury, shouldn't have been allowed to operate independently of S.H.I.E.L.D. They are eager to get all the information about the Avengers and a way to counter them." Hawkeye said while landing the Quinjet. "So remember, not everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. is your friend."
In fact, S.H.I.E.L.D. is full of enemies, Peter thought to himself. He then watched as the rear door opened. No one was there to greet them. Cindy stood up and looked at Peter. "I'll take you to Fury."
"Have you been here before?"
"I've been here a few times for training. At least I know my way around."
The only thing that stood out on their journey was the curious stares from passersby. Most S.H.I.E.L.D. agents showed a very clear "curiosity" about Spider-Man. Peter's Spider-Sense went off from time to time, sensing that many people held a certain degree of malice toward him. Of course, most of the malice wasn't strong; it felt more like they were thinking about how to deal with Spider-Man if they had to.
Peter didn't pay any mind to it. He took an elevator that his future self might have to jump out of and went all the way to the top floor to Nick Fury's office. Cindy opened the office door with her iris scan, and the two of them walked in to see a very laid-back Nick Fury with his feet up on the desk, eating an orange, and looking at some documents.
"Hmm, you're here? What's the situation at the Hudson River?"
Peter asked, a little confused, "Doesn't S.H.I.E.L.D. know?"
"No first-hand reports. You didn't have Agent Silk with you." Nick Fury kept his feet on the desk and looked at Peter. "Is that an alien... life form from the Arizona desert that the Pentagon found?"
To be honest, Nick Fury didn't think the black suit Peter was wearing looked like an "alien." Peter scratched his head and decided to talk to Nick Fury about the symbiote first.
"Yeah, I call it Venom. It didn't really have a name before."
"How many of its kind does the Pentagon have?"
Nick Fury quickly got a reply from Peter Parker.
"There are five in total. They came from a planet called Klyntar."