After receiving Doctor Strange's ominous warning, Peter didn't go straight home. He shot a quick text to Uncle Ben promising he'd be late, pulled his mask back over his face, and swung directly for Avengers Tower.
When he arrived, he was surprised to find that Tony Stark and Captain America weren't alone. T'Challa, the Black Panther, was standing quietly by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"We pulled the general data from the video Jarvis recorded during your little rooftop chat," Tony muttered, aggressively rubbing his temples. He already instinctively despised Doctor Strange. "I never knew Earth had a localized party magician on payroll. Shame Point Break isn't here. I'd love to ask Thor if he declared his hammer to the 'Sorcerer Supreme' at customs."
"The wizard's jurisdiction is not our immediate problem, Stark," T'Challa interjected. His voice was calm, carrying a natural, commanding gravity that demanded the room's attention. As a sovereign outsider, he saw the board clearly. "Loki's scepter is sitting in a S.H.I.E.L.D. armory. Tonight proved that S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot even secure the civilian family of one of their own agents. They are fundamentally compromised."
Peter slumped heavily into a leather chair, peeling his mask off. "You guys are missing the scariest part," he said, his voice drained. "The Tesseract was a Stone. Loki brought a second Stone with him inside that scepter. He brought a whole alien army to back it up. Someone out there is actively collecting these things. And one of them is still sitting right here on Earth."
Captain America met Tony's eyes across the room. The implication hung heavy in the air. A second extraterrestrial invasion wasn't just a possibility; it was an inevitability.
Tony tapped his fingers against the glass table. "Fury isn't going to just hand the scepter over."
"We aren't going to storm a S.H.I.E.L.D. black site to steal it, Tony," Steve said firmly, crossing his massive arms.
"It's not stealing if we're securing a weapon of mass destruction from a leaky basement, Cap," Tony shot back, not backing down. "We can't put all our eggs in a basket with a hole in the bottom. We have to take responsibility for it."
Miles away in Washington D.C., Nick Fury was completely unaware that Tony Stark was plotting to raid his armory. He was currently too busy tearing his command staff to shreds inside the Triskelion.
"A Level Four agent!" Fury roared, his single eye glaring violently at the rows of analysts and the video-conference screens hovering above the briefing table. "Her personnel file was entirely exposed! Any two-bit mercenary can just log into the mainframe and pull a home address? Are my agents actively incompetent, or just aggressively stupid?!"
He slammed his hands down on the table. "Last month, I sat across from Russian intelligence and bet them our security made the Lubyanka look like a public library! Now we look like MI6 on a bad day! Are we just hiring KGB cast-offs now?!"
A Level Eight agent cleared his throat nervously. "Sir, the operative in charge of the data access logs has already been detained and held accountable—"
Fury let out a dry, humorless laugh. They thought this was a clerical error. Fury knew better. This wasn't an accident. This was a targeted, green-lit data extraction.
The heavy conference room doors slid open. Alexander Pierce, senior official of the World Security Council and Fury's direct superior, stepped into the room.
Fury straightened up. He pointed a finger at the holographic screens. "I'll deal with the rest of you later." He turned his head slightly, locking eyes with a man standing quietly in the corner. "Coulson. My office. Five minutes."
Fury left the room, falling into step beside Pierce as they walked down the pristine glass corridor. Pierce clamped a hand warmly on Fury's shoulder.
"I heard about the breach, Nick," Pierce said softly. "This wasn't a standard leak. You know that."
"I do, sir," Fury replied, his gaze sweeping the hallway. "The whole operation looked like someone gave Gargan the green light and handed him a map."
Pierce gave Fury's shoulder a light squeeze. "Who do you think made the play? The Russians?"
"Unlikely," Fury muttered, scratching his jaw. "Since the Wall fell, the Russians haven't had the infrastructure to compete with us." S.H.I.E.L.D. was a UN organization in name, but everyone knew it was heavily driven by the US, UK, and France. Moscow didn't have the motive to risk tearing down S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence network; it would blind them as much as anyone else.
"I disagree," Pierce countered smoothly. "I've seen chatter. The Russians are trying to assemble a super-powered team to rival the Avengers. The British are doing the same. Even Tokyo is pulling files. Everyone wants their own heroes."
Fury frowned. "The Avengers don't fall under S.H.I.E.L.D. jurisdiction, sir."
"Then that is your next objective," Pierce said, stopping to look Fury directly in the eye. "Bring them in-house. Make them sign contracts. Tell them if they don't operate under our umbrella, they don't have law enforcement authority at all." Pierce checked his watch. "Oh, and have the Scorpion transferred to a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. holding facility. We could use a man with his... specialized skill set."
Fury watched Pierce walk away, the knot in his stomach tightening. He turned and headed to his office. Phil Coulson was already waiting inside, standing at parade rest.
"Sir," Coulson said.
Fury walked around his desk, refusing to sit. "What's your take on swapping Spider-Silk's family out with Life Model Decoys as a precaution?"
Coulson considered the question for exactly two seconds. "It might be more appropriate to ask the family if they want to be replaced by robots first, sir."
"Right," Fury grunted. "Pierce wants to recruit the Scorpion. Says we always need outlaws."
Coulson offered a tight, completely deadpan smile. "We should probably ask his victims about that one, sir."
Fury nodded, having successfully passed the bureaucratic buck to his most trusted agent. He leaned heavily on his desk. "I need you and your team to run a quiet, off-the-books investigation into this data breach. Find the rat."
Coulson didn't blink, but his posture shifted slightly. "I'm afraid I can't do that right now, sir."
Fury narrowed his eye. "Why not?"
"Spider-Man contacted me," Coulson said evenly. "He said his Spider-Sense is screaming. He believes Agent Grant Ward is in extreme danger."
Fury stood perfectly still, staring at Coulson for a very long time in absolute silence.