CHAPTER 4
Fury
LATER that night, after Kassidy and Peter had been cleaned up and reunited with their class, the kids gathered in the lobby, watching the recount of what had happened earlier.
"Pepper, I promise I'm okay." Kassidy stood in the corner, speaking to Pepper over the phone in a hushed voice. "That new guy did most of the work anyway."
"Kassidy, I need you to be careful, okay?" Pepper pleaded. Kassidy could practically see the worried woman chewing her fingernails on the other side of the phone, something she learned she did while nervous. "I can't have you getting hurt."
"I won't, I promise." Kassidy told the woman. "Okay. Bye."
Kassidy bid Pepper farewell before hanging up the phone and rejoining her class. She walked towards the group before stopping and leaning against the railing of the stairs.
"BuzzFeed says there's a sailor, Morris Bench, who was exposed to an experimental underwater generator and got hydro powers." Flash informed the group, reading off of his phone.
"Yeah, you should definitely believe everything you believe on the internet." MJ told the boy, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Spider-Man could take him." Flash said, glancing up at the TV. "And Ultra-Violet."
Kassidy stifled a small laugh, and only shook her head. Her attention was directed to Mr. Dell and Mr. Harrington after she heard her name; or, moreover, her alter-ego's name.
"I'm telling you, she's a witch." he theorized. "She's got everyone under a spell. I read an article on it."
Kassidy shook her head in amusement, but kept her attention directed on the TV, along with her other classmates.
"Who is that guy?" Betty asked as the green hero flashed onto the screen.
"He's like Iron Man and Thor rolled into one." Brad decided.
"He's all right." Flash scoffed. "He's no Spider-Man."
"What is it with you and Spider-Man?" MJ asked, an amused smile on her face.
"What?" Flash asked, turning to look at the girl. "He's just awesome, okay? He protects the neighbourhood and, you know, he's inspiring. He inspires me to be a better man."
Kassidy tried her best to stifle her giggles, but she failed as she caught sight of Peter walking up and standing next to her.
"What's up dickwad?" Flash greeted, his eyes now on Peter. "Thought you drowned."
Peter and Kassidy exchanged looks, both having amused smiles on their faces.
"Sounds like his name's Mysterio." Brad said, listening to the TV.
"L'uomo del misterio is Italian for "man of mystery."" MJ said, giving Brad an unimpressed look. "They don't actually know who he is."
"Mysterio." Ned nodded along.
"Cool name."
Betty and Ned looked at each other in awe after speaking in sync. "Babe!" Betty exclaimed, her voice lining up with Neds once more.
Kassidy and Peter looked at each other, but had to look away after a few seconds to stop themselves from laughing.
"You excited for Paris tomorrow?" Peter asked, nudging his shoulder against Kassidy's.
Kassidy smiled and nodded, looking over at Peter fondly. "I can't wait to see the Eiffel Tower." she admitted. "I think seeing it may even make me forget just how terrible the French are."
Peter shook his head, but couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he made eye contact with Kassie.
*
After a little while longer of watching the news in the lobby, most of the kids had made their way up to their rooms. Peter and Ned were currently inside of their room, Peter retrieving his toothbrush from his bag while Ned followed.
"What are you gonna do about the water monster?" Ned asked.
"Nothing. It's dead. And besides, that Mysterio guy's all over it." Peter replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Look, I just wanna spend some time with Kass. We hung out like, all day today, man. I really think she likes me."
"That's nice." Ned nodded in agreement. "But you know Peter, fighting crime is a pretty romantic-."
Ned didn't finish his sentence. When Peter turned to see what had caused his sudden silence, he saw his friend passed out on the couch, a tranquilizer in his neck.
"You're a very difficult person to contact, Spider-Man."
Peter turned further, and his toothbrush almost dropped out of his mouth at the sight of Nick Fury sitting in the corner of the room.
"You're Nick Fury." he observed, slightly stunned. "And you just shot Ned."
"Just a mild tranquilizer. He'll be all right." Fury told the boy, an unimpressed look on his face. "Where's the girl?"
"Kassie?"
"Yeah, her." Fury confirmed. "Get her in here."
Peter nodded quickly before reaching into his pocket and taking out his phone. He clicked on Kassidy's name with shaking hands before bringing the phone to his ear.
"Peter?" Kassidy's voice asked, laced with concern.
"Kassidy. You need to come to my room." Peter stammered. "No questions, please. Just come. Now."
Before Kassie even had the chance to ask any questions, Peter had ended the call, leaving the room in complete silence.
Seconds later, the lock on the door came unlocked and Kassidy rushed into the room, her eyebrows pinched in concern.
"Peter? What's..." Kassidy's eyes landed on Ned, and soon after widened after spotting Nick Fury. "Oh... shit."
"Ultra-Violet. So good to finally meet you." Fury greeted sarcastically.
Kassidy gave Peter a wide-eyed, questioning look, and Peter only shook his head in response, afraid to speak.
"I saw the two of you at the funeral. But I didn't think that was a good time to exchange numbers." Fury continued, his eye intimidatingly switching between the two teens.
"No, that would've been really inappropriate." Peter agreed, trying to get out a small friendly smile.
"That's what I just said." Fury said, his expression anything but friendly.
"Right."
"The important thing is, you're both here." Fury continued. "I tried to bring you here. You both avoided me, and now you're both here. What a coincidence."
"Wait." Peter halted, his eyebrows pinched in confusion. "Was this a coincidence?"
Kassidy elbowed the boy in the ribs, giving him an incredulous look. Peter raised his hands in confusion, muttering out a small "what?" towards Kassidy.
"I used to know everything." Fury said, ignoring the small dispute between the teens. "Then I come back five years later, and now I know nothing. No intel, no team. And a couple of high school kids are dodging my calls."
"Mr. Fury-."
Kassidy tried to get a sentence out, but immediately fell silent as Fury held a hand out to her.
"Here's what I do know." the older man placed an object down on the table in front of him, which projected a hologram of Earth into the air. "A week ago, a village in Mexico was wiped out by a cyclone. Witnesses say that cyclone had a face."
Ned suddenly let out a loud snore, distracting all three people in the room. Fury sent a glare towards the passed-out teen, before returning to the task at hand.
"Three days later, a similar event in Morocco. A village was-."
A knock sounded on the door, cutting Fury off. Mr Harrington appeared in the doorway. Kassidy hadn't re-locked the door, allowing for the man to stroll right on in.
"Just making the rounds." the teacher told the kids. "Kassie, you're gonna have to head back to your room."
"I will, I promise." Kassidy told the man. "I just needed to talk to Peter about... you know... the traumatizing events of today."
Mr. Harrington began to nod and shake his head at the same time, holding up his hands in understanding. "Which is... completely understandable!" he stammered. "Take as long as you need, Kassidy. Goodnight!"
Fury glared at Peter and Kassidy, his gun pointed towards Mr. Harrington menacingly. As Mr. Harrington closed the door and left, the man lowered his gun slowly.
"That was our teacher. Sorry about that." Peter apologized. "You were saying?"
"A village was destroyed by what may well be another world-threatening-."
Fury was cut off again, this time by Betty, who had began to knock on the door. "Babe, you still awake?" she asked. "You're not answering any of my texts."
"Um, he's asleep, Betty." Peter called, his voice shaky.
"Oh, already?" Betty asked, her voice laced with surprise.
"Mhm. Yeah!"
"Oh... okay."
The sound of Betty's footsteps walking away could be heard, and Fury continued where he had left off, his patience running low.
"That's why it's imperative-."
Another knock sounded, and Mr. Dells voice was heard on the other side of the door. Fury's head snapped in the direction of the door, and his lips thinned in frustration.
"Hey, boys! So that canal water today was filled with dangerous bacteria..."
"Another person touches that door, we are going to attend another funeral." Fury threatened, looking between the two teens. "Suit up!"
After Kassidy had snuck out of her room unnoticed, she met Peter and Fury on the sidewalk below, and Fury led the two of them into a speedboat. Which is where they were now.
"Stark left these for you." Fury spoke, breaking the silence that had overcome the three.
He held out his hand, which had a small box in it, towards Peter. Peter, his eyes concealed by his mask, glanced at Kassidy unsurely.
"Really?" he asked, taking the small box from the man.
"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." Fury quoted, glancing back at Peter. "Stark said you wouldn't get that because it's not a Star Wars reference."
A smile spread onto Kassidy's face underneath her mask, and she watched as Peter opened the small box, revealing a pair of glasses.
"Don't you worry, I've got something for you too." Fury said, reaching into an inner pocket on his coat.
The man handed Kassidy an envelope, no bigger than what was used to mail a letter. Inside of the envelope, a flash drive was folded inside of a piece of paper.
"Thank you." Kassidy said, glancing up at Fury.
Kassidy handed the flash drive to Peter to hold while she unfolded the piece of paper curiously. She recognized Tony's handwriting immediately.
Dear Kassie,
If you're reading this, it's safe to assume I'm not around anymore.
In the years I spent without you, while growing the family I had, I also began to dig deeper into the one I had lost. I found a file that SHIELD had on you, and even a few documents that had been left behind by your parents.
To know the truth, see what's within the flash drive.
Lots of love,
Dad.
As Kassidy finished reading the short letter, she let out a sniffle and refolded the paper. Peter gave her a questioning tilt of his head, and Kassidy just nodded along. He handed back the flash drive, and Kassidy tucked away the envelope not long after.
She hated that she had gotten this letter while in a different country, which meant she was without a laptop. As much as she hated saying it, she wished she was at home.
*
Ooooh!
What does "the truth" entail for Kassidy??