Chapter 36: Nick Fury
"Well, this is quite a surprise." Spider-Man turned his gaze toward the door.
Creak.
The door swung open, and Nick Fury walked in.
"Good to see you, Spider-Man," Fury said.
"Uh, to be honest, I wasn't really hoping to see you right now. But since you're here, I guess I can say it's good to meet you too, Director Fury." Spider-Man replied.
"Getting a meeting with you isn't easy, Spider-Man."
"Is that so? I think it's pretty easy. I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. I'll show up whenever you're in danger in New York. Though I suppose you're not likely to be in danger in the first place."
"You're right, not usually," Fury agreed flatly. "So, shall we talk?"
"Of course. I'd be more than happy to."
"Who are you, really?" Fury asked.
"If we're talking about that, I'm suddenly a lot less happy."
"Fine." Fury adjusted his tone. "Let me ask it another way. You're Peter Parker, aren't you?"
At those words, Natasha froze for a split second.
"Who? Peter Parker? That scrawny, fragile kid?" Spider-Man scoffed. "You think I'd be him? Come on, I don't look nearly that skinny. I'm clearly way more built." He flexed his arm for emphasis.
"I'm serious, Peter Parker," Fury pressed.
Seeing that Fury wasn't joking, Spider-Man instantly deflated.
"How did you figure it out?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.
Judging from Natasha's reaction, S.H.I.E.L.D. clearly hadn't uncovered his identity before. So how did Nick Fury see through him the moment he arrived?
"Footage of Spider-Man is hard to come by. But footage of Peter Parker is easy. I've watched videos of Peter Parker hundreds of times. The moment I saw you today, I recognized you."
"You've got some serious patience. I get bored after watching a good movie ten times. You watched videos of me hundreds of times?"
He shuddered at the thought of Nick Fury replaying Peter Parker footage over and over.
"Patience is the most important quality in our line of work," Fury replied calmly.
"So you really are Peter Parker?" Natasha asked from the side.
"That's right," Spider-Man admitted. "I'm Peter Parker, and I'm Spider-Man." He pulled off his mask.
"I never would've guessed," Natasha said, studying him. "You're New York's superhero."
"Yeah? Fooling a top S.H.I.E.L.D. agent like you," Spider-Man replied as he put his mask back on, "that's something I'll remember for the rest of my life."
"You're more suited to being an actor than I am," Natasha remarked dryly.
"You mentioned that Spider-Man footage is hard to find. What's that about?" Spider-Man asked. "With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, hacking New York's surveillance cameras should be easy, right?"
Fury raised an eyebrow. "You don't know? I assumed this was your doing."
"Should I know?"
"Any surveillance footage in New York that captures Spider-Man gets destroyed," Fury said.
"That's… not great," Spider-Man replied.
"Which means something's off," Fury concluded.
"Wait a second. If all footage of Spider-Man gets wiped, then how did you even come to suspect Peter Parker… me?"
He had always assumed S.H.I.E.L.D. suspected his identity through surveillance footage. Now, it was clear that wasn't the case at all.
"Your file is too perfect. So perfect that S.H.I.E.L.D. can't find a single person who can verify Peter Parker's past."
"My file?" Spider-Man asked, frowning.
Since arriving in this universe, he had never had any kind of record. Where did S.H.I.E.L.D. even get a file on him?
"Is there a problem?" Fury asked, studying him.
"No, no problem," Spider-Man replied quickly.
"Since you know who I am," Fury continued, "I assume you also know why I'm here."
"Of course. Whenever you make that face, I know exactly what's coming."
"So, what's your answer, Spider-Man? Will you join us, or not?"
"I'm afraid I'll have to decline."
"Why?"
"I work better solo. I don't like being tied down. Joining an official organization isn't really my style."
"Hm. A solid reason." Fury nodded.
"You're not mad?"
"I expected this outcome before I ever made the offer."
"You can stay a lone wolf, Spider-Man," Fury went on. "But you can also cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Cooperate?"
"Become a non-official asset," Fury clarified. "You want to be a hero who protects civilians. S.H.I.E.L.D. has intelligence on the dangerous elements in this world. We can share information and take down criminals together."
"You won't restrict my freedom?" Spider-Man asked cautiously.
"No," Fury assured him. "You'd be completely free. We provide intel. Whether you act on it is entirely up to you."
"Will I get paid?" Spider-Man asked.
"Unfortunately, no," Fury replied, glancing around the room.
"That's disappointing," Spider-Man sighed. "But if you can throw in a jetpack, I might consider this partnership."
"Pleasure doing business with you." Fury extended his hand.
Spider-Man shook it.
"One more thing," Fury added. "What happened in that wooded area a week ago?"
"Uh…" Spider-Man hesitated. "A guy with a mechanical arm showed up and attacked me. I beat him, but he got away."
Spider-Man himself didn't know why Venom had appeared there, and he had no idea how to explain it to Fury. Besides, as far as he was concerned, Venom was gone now. There was no need to bring it up.
And lying to Nick Fury wasn't exactly new territory for him. He was quite practiced at it.
"That's it?"
"That's it," Spider-Man confirmed.
Fury studied him for a long moment. He knew Spider-Man was lying, but there was nothing he could do to force the truth out of him.
"One last question. You seem very familiar with me. Have we met somewhere before?"
"Of course, I've known you for a long time."
"Where did we meet?"
"In my dreams," Spider-Man answered.
Fury was left speechless. He turned and headed for the door.
Just as Fury was about to leave, Spider-Man called out to him.
"When am I getting that jetpack?"
"Why would I give you a jetpack?" Fury shot back without turning around.