"So that's what it feels like to switch to a secondary personality..."
Raising his arms and looking at his now fully controlled body, Parker began to grasp the basic mechanics behind the so-called personality switching.
While switching to a secondary personality, he would temporarily lose control of his body, but his consciousness remained intact. He wouldn't pass out — his awareness stayed present, and his vision and hearing continued to function. He could perceive everything clearly.
During that time, he could communicate with the secondary personality and switch back at any moment.
He also discovered that the personalities felt like mirror versions of himself, hard to describe, but as if they were different "him"s shaped by alternate life experiences.
This wasn't like a simple clone or a full soul transplant from someone like Kuro in One Piece. Instead, it was more like a strange hybrid — a fusion of two existences.
With that settled, Parker's thoughts began to wander again.
"Kuro's combat power is pretty average even in a mid-level magic world like One Piece. Any pirate who's qualified to enter the Grand Line could flatten him. And here... this is Marvel, where actual gods exist."
"Still, compared to the usual street-level heroes and villains, he might not be so bad. As long as I don't go looking for trouble, he should be able to handle most situations."
"But I wonder if there's a time limit for switching personalities? Or can I stay like that indefinitely?"
Parker crossed his arms and rubbed his chin in thought.
Compared to One Piece, the Marvel universe was a high-magic world — absurdly so.
But for regular people, especially those living on Earth, the world was relatively safe. Much more so than the constantly chaotic seas of One Piece.
Here, there were always people — superhumans — who took the blows when disaster struck. In most cases, the good guys won, so civilians didn't have to live in fear 24/7.
With a personality like Kuro's backing him, Parker finally felt a certain degree of safety.
Of course... that's assuming David doesn't snap. If that bomb went off, even having a Yonko-tier personality might not be enough to survive.
Now that he understood the basics, Parker realized one crucial question remained unanswered:
Was there a limit to how long he could stay in the alternate personality?
"There's only one way to find out — test it directly."
Having made up his mind, Parker activated the personality switch again.
---
Elsewhere, in Washington, D.C., stood a mysterious building that even locals rarely spoke about — the Triskelion.
To the public, it was nothing more than a military restricted zone. Most people couldn't get near it, let alone know what it really was.
But in truth, it was not military property, nor was it under the control of the U.S. military.
It belonged to a semi-official global organization: S.H.I.E.L.D.
Yes — the Triskelion was the headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Even high-ranking government and military personnel had to submit special requests to access it. Its status was comparable to that of the United Nations HQ.
That said, S.H.I.E.L.D. had always maintained cordial relations with the U.S. government.
Even though it wasn't directly subordinate to them, it was overseen by the World Security Council, made up of representatives from major global powers.
And since the U.S. was the most powerful among them, it wielded significant influence within the Council.
Naturally, S.H.I.E.L.D. had no desire to provoke unnecessary conflict with them.
---
At that very moment, in the Director's Office on the top floor of the Triskelion, Nick Fury — the famously bald, one-eyed head of S.H.I.E.L.D. — was frowning:
"Do we know who did it?"
"Nothing confirmed yet," said Agent Coulson, one of his most trusted lieutenants, "but all signs point to the Rising Tide."
"That hacker group that's been tailing us?" asked Deputy Director Maria Hill, her tone slightly surprised.
"That's the one," Coulson nodded. "From what I've gathered, Rising Tide has always focused on exposing secrets governments try to hide. They're like a digital Julian Assange."
"But lately, their attention has been focused entirely on us — and with a level of persistence that's completely out of character."
Fury tapped his finger against the desk, deep in thought.
"You think someone's behind them? A hidden hand?"
"It's highly likely," Coulson said. "Hacktivist groups like Rising Tide don't usually fixate on one target. There are plenty of options out there for them. Focusing only on us increases their risk of exposure — it's not a smart move."
"My guess? Someone hired them to breach our database. That's the only explanation that fits the sudden shift."
Fury turned to Hill. "What's your take?"
"I'm with Coulson. This isn't normal." Hill shrugged. "There's more to this than a lone hacker group."
Fury nodded slowly, then looked back to Coulson.
"Any idea what data may have been compromised?"
"We've narrowed it down. I've uploaded the full list to your terminal."
"Alright. Let me take a look."
Fury placed his hand on the desk, activating the holographic display. His eye scanned the data quickly.
A few moments later, he looked up.
"Alright. I've got a grasp on the situation. Coulson — I'm putting you in charge of tracking down Rising Tide. Take whatever personnel you need. But don't engage them just yet. Report back to me first."
"Yes, sir."
Coulson nodded and left the room.
Once he was gone, Hill raised an eyebrow.
"So… what's really going on? You only sent him out because you want to talk to me privately, right?"
"What? My acting's that bad?" Fury looked mock-offended.
"What do you think?" Hill smirked.
"Alright, alright," he muttered, clearing his throat. "Let's talk seriously."
He leaned forward.
"I think their real target is Project T.A.H.I.T.I."
"What?" Hill's expression changed at once. "Are you sure? I thought you deleted everything related to it from the system."
"I did delete the core data," Fury said, voice grave. "But there are always traces you can't hide. Personnel transfers. Budget allocations. Audit trails."
"Even though the leaked files span a wide range, and there's no direct proof they're after T.A.H.I.T.I., my instincts tell me that's exactly what they're looking for."
Hill's expression grew more serious.
"If your instincts are sounding the alarm, then we really might be in trouble. And if someone out there knows that Project T.A.H.I.T.I. even exists…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
She didn't need to. Fury understood perfectly.