Reviews:

Dragon-bait-2001: I'll be honest, this story will probably finish before endgame or if I'm feeling adventurous, with endgame.

CalebThorne13: Thanks

Bolton101: Honestly, I myself barely know anything about him, something that I think is a shame as he could be a very interesting character.

Chapter 57 :

"So, this is the full team?" Harry asked Fury.

"So far," Fury confirmed with a small nod. "We are looking at other potential candidates, but for now, this is it."

"Hmm," Harry hummed thoughtfully as he stared at them. "You're attractive," He said suddenly to Kate, causing everyone to stare at him. "I'm assuming that you probably are as well under the mask," He added to Ava before turning to Maria Hill. "You're also attractive," He noted critically. "I have a friend named Peter. He's single and very smart and will treat you respectfully and as you deserve. Not to mention he's now fairly rich, and I'm ninety percent sure that he's well-endowed down below, if you catch my drift. Would any of you be interested?" He asked in a business-like tone.

"No," Maria Hill said once she recovered, frowning at Harry.

"We'll...um...think about it," Kate answered on behalf of herself and Ava.

"That's all I ask." Harry nodded before turning to Fury. "You're not attractive," He informed him as politely as one could say such a sentence. "As for your team, how long have they been with Shield?"

"Not long," Fury replied. "They're still pretty green, but they all have vast amounts of potential. They are trained day in and day out."

"Sir, perhaps if you give us an assignment-" Rick began but was cut off.

"No," Fury said. "You're not ready yet." He told him before turning his attention back to Harry. "Perhaps a tour is in order," He suggested.

"Lead the way, Fury." Harry gestured for him to continue.

"I will, but first," Fury pointed to an approaching agent who was holding a high-tech metal scanner.

"Oh, come on," Harry scoffed. "Is that really necessary?"

"Yes," Fury said bluntly before the agent placed the scanner by Harry's feet and started moving up, checking his lower body, only to stop when it beeped around Harry's waist.

"You're going to owe me dinner and a movie," Harry muttered before taking off his belt. The scanner continued, moving to his arms and then beginning on his torso. The scanner started beeping when it got to the shirt collar where Harry's sunglasses were. "Something to confess, Mr Osborn?" Fury asked lightly as Harry put his belt back on.

"Perhaps my sunglasses are made of metal, Fury. Did you consider that?" Harry rolled his eyes as he finished tightening his belt.

"I did, and yet I can't help but feel like something else is going on here," He said, taking the sunglasses from Harry and examining them. "Ah, and here we go," He said, pulling out a small device from the inside of the sunglasses. "A camera," He said in an unamused voice as he glared at Harry.

"Hey, that wasn't there when I put them on," Harry said in a confused voice.

"Mr Osborn, I think we both know what's going on here," Fury sighed.

"You're right," Harry nodded solemnly. "This is clearly an attack from 'Al-Qaeda', you should get to investigating that."

"I'll get right on it," Fury said dryly as he dropped the camera down on the ground before smashing it under his heel.

"Hey!" Harry protested before pausing and speaking in a slightly calmer voice. "What if they wanted that camera back?" He asked lightly.

"Boo-hoo for them," Fury replied before gesturing to the agent with the scanner. One more search revealed nothing. Fury nodded in a satisfied manner before gesturing for Harry and the rest to follow them.

"Shield's purpose is the same as its namesake, to shield from harm," Fury said after one fairly long tour. The group now all stood in what appeared to be a dome-shaped training room. The floor matched the grey colour that the majority of the helicarrier supported, while the walls and ceiling were a dark shade of blue. "To protect, we need to be strong enough to do so. Our agents are the best-trained agents in the world, we're the smartest and the strongest. In short, we're the best. We have combat specialists, the world's best geniuses and much more at our disposal. If you ever wonder where your tax dollars are going then it's a safe bet that it's probably here."

"Dick," Harry said under his breath.

"Of all agencies in the world, we are the ones that need to be on top," Fury continued, staring directly at Harry and the rest of the young attendees while Hill and Coulson stood behind Fury. "Cops are good for stopping criminals and crooks, firefighters will rescue civilians out of burning buildings, and the hospitals will keep them alive. In the grand scheme of things, their job is to keep the trees alive and safe, our job is to keep the entire forest safe. We have our hands in everything that matters. But the world is changing faster than many of us would like, we now have enhanced individuals in all corners of the world with various different powers. Ever since Stark built his now famous 'Iron Man' suit, every country in the world has tried making their own copies to catch up, it might be a matter of time before they do. We managed to get Captain America himself out of a frozen prison that preserved him all of these years. And quite recently, we've had a disturbance where an entire town was levelled in a grudge match between two visitors not of this world."

"You mean aliens?" Harry asked, wondering if he himself counted as one, given he wasn't originally of this world. Then again, he was born here, so perhaps not.

"Seems so, not to mention the mess with Banner and the US Military," Fury added with a shake of his head. "Very soon, we may not even be able to recognise what world we're living in. There are people who will need to be in the spotlight to keep everyone's attention away from others. While they're in the spotlight, I've created this team so you can operate in the dark," He told the team. "Right now, I'm proposing an initiative to create a team amongst several perilous individuals, including the ones I've just mentioned. They will be my big stick, the ones I'll wave to get people's attention, meanwhile, you all will be the knife that I'll use when people are distracted to finish the job." He finished before turning to Harry. "Understand me so far?"

"So far," Harry confirmed.

"So, are you ready to join us?" Fury asked, shocking the team.

"He's joining us?" Evans blurted out.

"As what?" Rick couldn't help but ask. "Is he going to be some sort of tech support or something?"

"Oh, is he going to be providing us with tons of cool Oscorp tech?!" Ava asked hopefully.

"You didn't tell them," Harry noted, giving Fury a curious look.

"Thought I'd give you the chance," Fury smirked.

"I don't suppose there's any way we don't tell them," Harry said in an unamused voice.

"Tell us what?" Jimmy said impatiently.

"Oh my..." Kate gaped at Harry as realisation hit her. "...You're going to be fighting alongside us?!"

"What?!" The others blurted out.

"This guy?!" Evans blurted out, pointing at Harry with an incredulous look on his face.

"You can't be serious," Rick spoke up. "I mean no disrespect," He added to Harry before continuing. "But what can he do? I mean...does he have special skills or a complex suit of armour or something?"

"Our best minds have estimated that Mr Osborn here is probably the strongest person in this room," Fury said calmly, causing everyone on the team to look at Harry.

"He doesn't look that impressive," Jimmy said as he walked over to Harry and stopped in front of him. The others tensed, as Jimmy was not the most calming or friendly-looking person in the world. Harry, on the other hand, was staring at him fearlessly.

"Neither do you, Blondie," Harry retorted as he looked up at Jimmy, who was a couple of inches taller.

"Stand down, Hudson, now," Fury ordered calmly.

"Good boy," Harry said mockingly as he gestured for him to move. Jimmy growled and raised his hand, only for Harry to catch it with his own hand. Jimmy tried to push but Harry wasn't budging, something that was far more impressive when one considers the enhanced strength that Jimmy possessed.

"Stand down," Fury said once more, a bit more firmly this time. The two young teenagers glared at each other for a moment before they let go. Jimmy growled once more before stepping back. "Mr Osborn," Fury said, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "Seeing as you seem reluctant, I'll just explain on your behalf. Harry Osborn goes by another name, one that you might all have heard of. I want to introduce you all to the one and only Spiderman." The team's gaze collectively snapped towards Harry, who gave them a small wave and a dry smile.

"Fuck you too, Fury," Harry stated calmly.

"You're Spiderman?! Like THE Spiderman?!" Kate asked with disbelief.

"The one and only," Harry nodded.

"That's why Fury wants you to join our team," Rick realised.

"This is so cool!" Ava said enthusiastically. "If he joins, then we can get cool tech and a badass fighter too!"

"I'm not joining," Harry cut in, staring at Fury. "You make a good sales pitch, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't trust you. Besides, while I do think it's good to 'protect the forest,' I'm more of an individual tree type of person. And I'm happy to stay that way."

"You're going to turn us down?" Fury asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're going to sacrifice the chance to join something that will save thousands of lives in favour of stopping ten robberies a day if you're lucky?"

"I don't trust you, Fury," Harry repeated. "And I'm not big on following orders from someone I don't trust. I thought I'd give it a chance, but...no...no, you've not really convinced me. You're government? So what? Governments aren't always right. Are you above the governments? Doesn't change the fact that you won't always be right. So respectfully, I'm going to decline and go back to my home. Don't contact me again, don't interfere with my work and we'll be good."

"You're turning me down?" Fury asked once more.

"I am," Harry confirmed. "I'm leaving now, if you don't mind."

"I'll escort you out," Fury nodded agreeably.

"Wait, that's it?" Jimmy couldn't help but ask. "Rich boy doesn't want to join, and that's it?"

"We aren't in the business of forcing people to join us. If Mr Osborn doesn't want to join, then he won't join," Fury said simply before turning to Harry. "Follow me, if you would," He said before turning and walking away. Harry frowned suspiciously but followed after him, looking around as he did so. The team didn't appear to be ready to make a move, Maria Hill stared blankly while Coulson looked resigned and even a tad bit disapproving if Harry was reading him right.

"What's your game, Fury?" Harry asked as they left the team and walked down a hallway. "You put a lot of effort into getting me to join and now you're just letting me go this easily? Doesn't take a genius to know that something isn't right here."

"Mr Osborn, you are a very dangerous individual," Fury said as they continued walking, with Harry a step or two behind Fury. "In more ways than one. Not only are you physically destructive, but you're also a genius that would impress even Tony Stark, and you're heir to a frankly massive fortune. Bad intentions or not, you are a potential threat, not just to myself and Shield, but also to the whole United States of America, perhaps even the world if you really put your mind to it. Our mission in Shield is to keep the world safe from any and all threats that we can protect it from. Including you."

"Yeah, I'm a threat to the city I'm busting my ass to protect," Harry snorted.

"Any and all potential threats, Mr Osborn, a nuclear bomb is not an active threat, but that doesn't mean it can't go off. Even Captain America himself is not exempt from being watched by us. Right now, you're on the side of the angels but how do we know for sure that you always are and always will be?"

"I can give you a doctor's note," Harry offered lightly.

"Amusing," Fury said, unamused.

"It goes both ways, Fury. How do I know that you truly have the world's best interest at heart and not whatever this week's political agenda is?"

"It seems we are at an impasse then, Mr Osborn. You won't join us? I am asking you one last time, think carefully about it."

"I made up my mind, Fury, I'm not interested," Harry told him firmly.

"So be it." Fury sighed deeply before reaching up to his earpiece. "Now, if you please,"

"What are you..." Harry trailed off as his spider-sense started blaring. A few meters behind him, the corridor was cut off by a steel wall slamming down from the ceiling. His gaze snapped back to Fury who had stopped walking a short distance away while another steel door descended down from in front of him, cutting off the front and back of the hallway. "What are you doing?!" Harry demanded, Fury turned around to face Harry, only now he appeared to have a small grey mask covering the bottom half of his face and his nose. "Fury?" Harry asked just before his spider-sense blared again.

Green gas poured down from the vents in the ceiling just as more vents opened up from the walls and floors. In less than two seconds, the entire place was filled with gas. It didn't take long for Harry to breathe in the gas and promptly fall onto his hands and knees, coughing violently as he did so.

"Extract gas," Fury ordered several seconds later. Harry wasn't sure how long it had taken for the gas to be removed from the room as he had felt himself slip in and out of consciousness while waiting. He shook his head and blinked repeatedly before looking up and seeing Fury standing in front of him. But now he no longer had his gas mask and instead had several armed soldiers standing behind him.

"What...what did you do to me?" Harry gasped out, breathing heavily.

"What you're experiencing is a rather complicated invention we've spent years creating," Fury explained calmly. "You see, you're not the first and likely not even the last enhanced I've met. Now, those like Iron Man can be neutralised; however hard that might be, they rely only on tech. People like you, however, you're different on the inside and what I've just done is change that. What you just breathed in is what's known as a 'Gene Cleanser,' a substance developed to purify the genetic structure of any human being. Long story short, you're not 'Spiderman' anymore. You're just your average, regular human."

"You...you took away my powers," Harry realised, glaring heatedly at Fury.

"Like I said, kid, we can't afford to let someone of your capabilities run around the country however he likes," Fury said unapologetically. "Now, we should probably discuss the confiscation of your gadgets and that little costume of yours."

"Probably," Harry chuckled as he forced himself up to his feet. The soldiers aimed their guns at him but thankfully didn't fire. "You took away my spider powers," Harry frowned deeply. "I got to admit, that wasn't on my bingo card, but I'm nothing if not adaptable." He added as he pulled out his mask.

"I sincerely hope that you don't plan to do anything besides hand that over," Fury said, staring Harry right in the eye. "This doesn't have to be all bad, Mr Osborn, we can still use someone of your intelligence; we can reward you handsomely and even help your father's company - your company - prosper to greater heights."

"You're funny, Fury," Harry snorted as he placed the mask on his head. "You see, I knew you'd try something, Fury. I have to admit, I didn't think you'd go for the whole taking away my powers on the first date. What happened to foreplay?"

"If he doesn't have the mask off in five seconds, then stuff him with tranqs," Fury told his soldiers. "Five," He began counting.

"Funny thing, Fury," Harry glared from under his mask. "You think you beat me."

"Four,"

"But you haven't. I've faced a lot worse and scarier than you and lived to tell the tale."

"Three,"

"Alright, if you want to play it the hard way -"

"Two,"

"So be it,"

"One," Fury finished, only to pause when the corridor suddenly went dark. The soldiers quickly fired their guns at where Harry would have been. "What's happening?!" Fury demanded once they stopped firing. "Coulson?" He tapped his earpiece. "Hill? Do you copy?" He asked just before the lights came back on. The hallway was exactly as it was before, but the doors had retracted and there was a small group of tranquiliser darts where Harry Osborn should have been.

"Tell me, Fury," Harry's voice echoed throughout the corridor. "Do you think a spider is only dangerous in its own web?"

"You're not a spider anymore, are you?" Fury retorted. "Show yourself! Come out with your hands up, now." He ordered.

"You could've let me go, Fury, but now I'm leaving, like it or not."

"And how do you plan that?" Fury asked with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, I can't tell you that; spoilers are so irritating. But don't worry, Fury, I will be coming back later. Count on that."