But… It’s me! The real Spider-Man!

"Yes," Bobby encouraged me, "frankly, I don't care if you're not from this world. I've never known another Peter Parker, but more importantly, what are we going to do next? Shield," Bobby grumbled with undisguised irritation, "Hydra and those apostles you were talking about, you can't leave things as they are."

Since her release from captivity, she's been very negative about the Shield in general and the scientists who work there in particular. I suspect it was a consequence of the science department's attempts to study the symbiote they had taken from Bobby. Unlike the girls, no one was being gentle with him.

"What do you think I negotiated with Fury? The Shield has no further claims on you, and Fury has agreed not to interfere with our business..."

"No claims?" Bobby hissed, "They took Venom and experimented on her?!"

"Bobby... The Shield aren't angels. They're assholes, a lot of times... but they're on our side now. I gave Fury proof that you attacked their base by mistake."

The girl snorted, but she didn't object out loud. I suspect she's in a dialogue with her... uh, roommate, as strange as it sounds to talk about a human body. Still, how much she's attached to the symbiote, I hope Venom doesn't make her disappointed...

"You found out that Shield agents are full of Hydra spies, as well as politicians and military officers, and you went to Fury with this information," Wilson suddenly remarked.

"Yes... what's your point?"

"How do you know Fury could be trusted?" The mercenary formulated her thought.

There was silence in the room. Wilson's judgment was more marked than ever today.

"Fury was the first person I thought of, in the key of finding allies. After all, it has already happened in my world," I admitted, "Hydra's attempt to seize power. Fury wasn't a traitor there..."

I was silent for a while, letting the girls understand what I was saying.

"You don't mean to say that you..."

"Rely only on my own assumptions?" I smiled. "No, I've made sure that people with the same name in different worlds can be very different. And no, I don't mean you, Wanda. I took some time to find information about the leaders of Hydra and the Shield, and I found evidence of the betrayal of Alexandra Pierce, chairman of the World Security Council, and another member of that council, Gideon Malek, but I found nothing linking Fury to Hydra."

"Are you quite sure you're not mistaken?" Gwen cut in.

"Malek and Pierce are not only traitors, they're the leaders of Hydra," I shrugged. "And if I'd been wrong... do you think she would have let me go so easily, with all the information I have?"

"And you went there knowing how much you were risking?" Gwen squinted unkindly.

I just shrugged my shoulders in response. I'm not going to make excuses. And to say that I was confident that I could pull out if necessary was overconfident, even though that's exactly what I thought... I'll keep those thoughts to myself.

"We always have a plan B: put all the information about Hydra out in the open."

"Then a war would break out..." Wanda immediately remarked.

I'd say total chaos. Disbanding the Shield and hounding everyone who cooperated with the compromised agency. And this at a time when Hydra, who has discarded the contaminated heads, is rushing to power. I don't want a repeat of those events for this world.

"The war has already begun," I correct, "or rather, it has never really stopped. I'm sure the Fury has already begun to act and is rallying people. As for the apostles. I can't go back to my old life as long as they are alive. They will put targets on everyone I care about. I hope you will help me in this. I can't take on the apostles alone..."

Of course, I was being a little deceitful. In fact, I think I could have handled the rest of the apostles on my own. Except that while I was hitting them, they would be hitting me. And it is very likely that my family and friends will be hit. Aunt May, Mary Jane...

"We'll help. You bet we will," Wilson grinned. Bobby and Gwen were quick to agree, too. "Besides, we all have a personal grudge against them. They almost made me ugly again."

Wanda pulled back the collar of her sweatshirt to prove her point, revealing the infected area.

"Right," I realized, "you need to go back to the lab, have you shown this to Connors before?"

"I haven't had time to..."

"Then we're going there now! On the way you will tell me how it started, in detail," we need to figure out what happened to Wanda. This state of stagnation is not normal.

"Yes, I also have to go home..." Gwen suddenly came to her senses. "My mother must be worried. Damn, I do not know how I'll explain my absence, so much time has passed."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Wanda said immediately, "just tell it like it is. She's almost figured it out anyway."

"What? How... wait, how do you know?" Stacy jumped up.

"I went by your house when I was gathering information and trying to figure out where you all disappeared to."

"Shit! What did you tell her?!" Wilson's revelation didn't make the girl happy. "She hates Spiderwoman! Do you have any idea what you've done? She's the one who's supposed to catch me! Why the hell did you come to my house?!"

"Hey! I was trying to save you! Which I ended up doing!" Wanda pointed her finger accusingly at Gwen. "And you weren't the only one I went to! I talked to Peter's girl, too."

"I'm... I'm sorry, you're right. I shouldn't have taken it out on you..." Stacy pulled herself together.

"How's Mary Jane?" I asked to steer the conversation away from a touchy subject. "What does my girlfriend do?"

"Everything but anal." Wanda responded.

"Wilson..."

"Yeah, I'm kidding, kidding," Deadpool immediately backtracked, "... she loves anal."