"Cindy."
On the bus heading to Valencia, Peter proactively sat down next to Cindy and asked a crucial question: "Can you get in touch with Nick Fury?"
"...Yes. Has something happened?"
"No, not exactly an emergency, but I need to clear some things up."
Logically speaking, Peter was certain there was no absolute link between seeking the Taranto wolf spiders and the murder of the Parkers. After all, there was a logical flaw: if it were related to the Taranto wolf spiders, Hydra certainly wouldn't have allowed him to bring those spiders back to the United States for experimentation. Furthermore, his father had left that notebook in Uncle Ben's basement before his final mission; it was impossible for him to foresee what secrets he would discover during that mission and intercept the information in advance.
Unless my dad is Kang the Conqueror.
Cindy didn't quite understand the context, but she nodded out of trust. Peter went a step further with his request: "Can he meet us on the ship to Naples? If so, I'll wait for him there."
"You seem a bit restless. Is there a problem?"
"No, I'm fine."
Peter let out a breath and settled into his seat on the bus. According to the plan, the group would arrive in Valencia around noon today. After a few hours of rest, the students would take a ship to Naples. However, Peter felt as if a dark cloud were hanging over his head, like something was entangling him.
As it turned out, Nick Fury arrived faster than he had expected.
After they disembarked in Valencia, Cindy slipped him a note with an address on it. Peter immediately rushed there and saw the "Black Braised Egg" again. Fury sat on a chair looking bored, waiting for Peter Parker's questions.
"Where did my parents meet their end?"
"On a plane. A crash. You should be well aware of that."
"Before that? Where?"
"Hungary. They took off on a flight from Budapest and encountered an accident mid-route. Just like Walter Harder in '03, everyone investigating the Super Soldier program in Europe found their terminal station in Budapest."
Fury looked at Peter with a look of genuine interest. "Have you discovered something, Spider-Man?"
"No."
Though he had expected this, Peter felt a mix of relief and emptiness as he sat down on the chair upon hearing the news. "I... I discovered that my father might have traveled to Europe even earlier for the Feral Force project. He went to Taranto, Italy."
"I know. He said he had some personal matters to handle. Some friends who helped him complete the project back then might be able to assist him. Regrettably, to this day, we still don't know who this friend was."
After a momentary daze, Peter looked at Nick Fury in disbelief. "You don't know?"
"Policy doesn't allow it. The Super Soldier project is the domain of the Pentagon. We cannot investigate any intelligence in that area as long as it doesn't involve terrorists or evil organizations. Do you think I sent your parents to Europe because I was bored? It was because a Super Soldier-like presence appeared among terrorists, and the agents tracing the source needed technical support."
If it weren't for the appearance of Super Soldiers among hostile forces, Nick Fury would not have sought technical support. Since the Feral Force project was one of the few Super Soldier plans outsourced by the Pentagon, Nick Fury was able to establish contact with the Parkers.
"So... if the Pentagon said no, you just... didn't investigate?"
"Hardly." Nick Fury expressionlessly indicated that he had indeed done so. "It's just that we still don't know who helped your father in Taranto. Theoretically, since your father chose to visit them in Taranto, that person should have been there. But whether it was our agents monitoring your father or us searching for a needle in a haystack in Taranto, there were no relevant leads."
Peter felt utterly astonished. He hadn't expected Nick Fury to have found nothing at all, and theoretically, this matter shouldn't have been related to Hydra...
"Could it be that the person who helped my father was actually a Hydra agent?"
"If they could pull off the entire Super Soldier project on their own, why would they choose to infiltrate us? Hmm?"
Fury disagreed with Peter's viewpoint. There was a more critical issue: if that collaborator truly were Hydra, it would have been more advantageous to expose them to S.H.I.E.L.D. so they could succeed Richard Parker as the internal Super Soldier research expert. But in reality, that never happened.
One must remember that at that time, Richard Parker was still alive, and Hydra's existence had not yet been exposed because of it.
Peter and Nick Fury stared at each other, both stumped for the moment.
"So... this matter actually has nothing to do with what we're investigating?"
"Maybe yes, maybe no. Regardless, we can't find any clues. Perhaps you can go take a look; that's what you were thinking, wasn't it?"
Fury stood up as he spoke. "I can prepare another LMD for you to help Peter Parker complete his European tour. Meanwhile, Spider-Man can go to Taranto to see exactly what is there."
"What if the Elementals show up? They'll surely adjust their tactics. If they attack my classmates while I'm gone..."
"I'll handle that, Spider-Man."
Nick Fury allowed a smile to show. "You just focus on the investigation. Leave the rest to Nick Fury."
"...Not S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Is S.H.I.E.L.D. still trustworthy?"
At this very moment in Valencia, Sylvia and the Wild Pack were receiving a group of unusual guests. Upon learning that the Elementals were essentially spiritual entities requiring magic to combat, she decisively outsourced the job to another group. The Wild Pack, meanwhile, would accept Nick Fury's employment to handle other matters.
"Hello, Miss Sylvia. I am Captain Britain. You may also call me Captain Avalon."
A man in a skin-tight suit that looked like he was wearing the Union Jack smiled at Sylvia. He was Captain Britain, leader of the British superhero team "Excalibur." The source of his power was the amulet of the Archmage Merlin—the one King Arthur famously did not choose.
The other members included the telepath Psylocke; the Black Knight, a descendant of Arthurian knights wielding the magical "Ebony Blade"; and the Pixie Princess, who could transform into various legendary creatures and summon elements.
In simple terms, this was a superhero team composed of King Arthur's legacy and Mutants. Unfortunately, Charlemagne had left no such legacy for France, so they did not yet have their own superhero team.
They would be the ideal personnel to counter the Elementals.