"I'm a little curious about something. Did you not join the Avengers because you're a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, or because you almost took down the entire Helicarrier under Loki's control and wiped out the Avengers from 8,000 meters in the air?"
Hawkeye, who was leading Peter and Cindy on a tour of the Triskelion, felt his world crumbling after hearing this question. Can't this kid ask something normal?
"I... I guess they just figured a person with no superpowers wouldn't be useful." Hawkeye said nonchalantly, "You've got a billionaire with a charger in his chest, a hundred-year-old ice pop, a big green dude with no clothes on, a couple that can get big and small, a human spider, and a god."
Peter, still not convinced, continued to press the issue: "But you're really amazing! You almost single-handedly wiped out all of S.H.I.E.L.D...."
"You're right. Under Loki, I almost single-handedly wiped out all of S.H.I.E.L.D., but under Nick Fury, I can't take down more than a few enemies, so can you please stop talking about it?"
Faced with Peter Parker's relentless focus on the provable fact that he almost single-handedly wiped out S.H.I.E.L.D., Hawkeye regretted ever trying to make small talk.
Today was for taking the kids on a tour, not for being tormented by them. He just wanted them to let him off the hook.
"Okay... though I really want to know how you did it. Oh, right, do you know Bullseye?" Peter quickly changed the subject, "Who's better, you or him?"
"Benjamin Poindexter?" Hawkeye finally found a topic he could answer, "That's hard to say. Let's put it this way: both of us can use almost anything as a weapon and hit our targets a hundred percent of the time, but I'm better with a bow and arrow, and I prefer to take high ground to attack... It's hard to say, kid, but S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't choose to recruit him when he was a National Security Agency agent, which just proves that Nick Fury doesn't think he can replace me."
"Alright, this is the S.H.I.E.L.D. cafeteria." The three of them walked into the Triskelion's cafeteria, which was probably the most... unremarkable part of the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Just as Peter was about to say something, he clutched his head and exchanged a look with Cindy, noticing the alertness and worry in her expression.
"What's wrong?"
Hawkeye reacted immediately, realizing something might be wrong. He unfolded the collapsible bow from his waist, but he didn't have any arrows. He just held the bow as a warning, looking around. Cindy shook her head, and Peter asked cautiously, "We sensed danger, but we don't know where it's coming from. Could S.H.I.E.L.D. be transporting some supervillain?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has its own special prisons for villains; they wouldn't pass through the Triskelion." Hawkeye said as he pressed the miniature microphone on his ear, requesting a search of all personnel entering and leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. He then offered an unreliable suggestion to the two, "You two stay here and grab a sandwich or something. Let S.H.I.E.L.D. check for risks, at least until I can get my arrows."
Peter watched Hawkeye leave and asked his question, feeling confused, "Do you think he's not letting us get involved because he's worried about Nick Fury losing face?"
Cindy thought about it but didn't know how to answer. Peter then looked at the cafeteria. His Spider-Sense was not weakening; instead, it was getting stronger, giving him a very unsettling sense of urgency. Just as he was about to ask Cindy about her family, his Spider-Sense rapidly amplified. The two of them jumped backward in unison, dodging an attack from the floor below.
The enemy that tore through the floor and burst into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters was, without a doubt, a symbiote. Most of this symbiote was green, with several large whip-like tentacles on its back. It stood over two and a half meters tall, and its shoulders and above were made of a viscous red biomass, with a ferocious and terrifying expression.
[Oh.]
Venom let out a sigh of admiration.
"Do you know who he is, Venom? Never mind, I'm sure you do, but you can't say it, since he doesn't have a name." Peter realized this halfway through his sentence, so he simply asked the thing in front of him, "Hi, I'm guessing you're not a friend, are you? You're so grotesque. Can you be a little friendlier? Maybe we can grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria?"
"The only thing we will devour is you, you traitor."
"I am Whiplash!"
Whiplash roared his name, only to find his arm wrapped in some kind of web. He looked at Spider-Man's constantly changing mask lenses as if they could express emotion—he was confused.
"So why did you introduce yourself after you finished talking?!"
Peter yanked Whiplash toward him, hitting him with a Lushan Rising Dragon Punch to the face, followed by a flying kick to the chest. Whiplash stumbled backward several steps, looking at the "same species" in front of him with a puzzled expression. He had clearly bonded with a healthy and strong soldier, so why was he seemingly weaker than this garbage in terms of strength?
Is its host so special?
[I suggest we run away.]
"Run? Are you kidding?" Peter pointed at Whiplash, "He seems to be all talk. Are you saying you feel other symbiotes have arrived?"
[No.]
Whiplash saw the traitor still talking to himself and, in a rage, turned his arm into a long, thick whip and lashed out. Peter simply grabbed it and gave it a hard pull, dragging Whiplash toward him, then slammed him against the wall. Thank goodness it wasn't lunchtime, and there weren't many people in the cafeteria.
Whiplash, who had just been smashed into the wall, was completely dazed. What just happened?
"Cindy, notify S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to evacuate and prepare weapons against symbiotes."
Peter said, shooting a web to tie up the tentacles on Whiplash's back. He then leaped forward and started pummeling the guy, "I'll hold him off. Don't worry, he shouldn't be a match for me."
"I'm not a match for you?!"
Whiplash's first reaction to hearing this was pure anger. He roared, grabbed Peter who was punching him, and slammed him hard into the ground. However, his arm was grabbed, and he was the one who was slammed to the ground.
"Yeah, you're not a match for me. Isn't it obvious?"