Issue #35
"Shit! How the hell does he expect us to cross over 20 miles of ocean? I usually swing from building to building," Spider-Man cursed to himself as he thought about how he would make his appointment.
{Oh, you're here. Good. We can begin.}
Spider-Man heard a voice he couldn't recognize inside of his head.
'Um, disembodied voice? What are you talking about?'
But instead of an answer, Spider-Man's immediate surroundings changed. He was no longer standing on a railing next to the ocean. Instead, he was sitting in a seat in the middle of a conference room.
Spidey looked around and saw that he was not alone. Sitting on his left were Johnny Storm and Crystal. On the opposite side of them were Susan Storm and Jennifer Walters AKA She-Hulk.
"Spider-Man," Sue greeted him
"Hey, Spidey!" She-Hulk was happy to have another former Avengers member on the team
"Ladies. Was I roofied or did I just appear out of thin air?" Spider-Man asked, still confused about how he got there
"Teleported. Ah guess he did that to everyone that can't fly," a woman said across from Spider-Man
Opposite of Spider-Man was Rogue who had been a member of the Avengers along with him temporarily and who he also recognized as an X-Men. On her left were several people that he didn't recognize.
On Spider-Man's right was Cindy Moon AKA Silk and two spider heroes that Spider-Man could not recognize at first.
Taking a closer look at the closer one, he realized that it was Flash Thompson in a new Symbiote. It wasn't that he could not recognize the suit but he expected Flash to have something more... normal. This Symbiote looked similar to his Anti-Venom suit but the white of the suit was much lighter than before which made the black look even darker.
'Or maybe it's the reverse. Either way, the suit looks slightly different but in a good way.'
Spider-Man turned to the last person and made a guess based on him asking Jack to help out his clone.
"Kaine? Is that you Spider Bro?" Spidey asked gleefully
"Tsk. Of course, it's me. By the way, I go by Tarantula now," Tarantula responded
Spider-Man nodded while studying the suit. It seemed very... Kaine.
The suit was mostly black with a golden spider symbol on the chest and golden eyes. In Spider-Man's opinion, it looked very nice.
While Spider-Man was admiring Tarantula's suit, the door to the room opened. Everyone turned to see Jack walk into the room in a white and black short sleeve super suit. His right hand was covered in black ice which immediately shattered as he entered the room before disappearing into nothing.
Jack walked to the head of the table before leaning over it and apologizing.
"Sorry, I'm late. I was handling something," Jack apologized
-- Something, 5 minutes ago --
"You can't be serious that you want to carry a Frost's child? After what he is doing to us?!" Scott yelled at Rachel.
The man had the decency to wait until the next day when the rest of the family wasn't around but he decided to show his true feelings in front of the parents and girls.
"Enough, Scott. Frankly, you brought this upon yourself when you decided to go behind Jack's back. But no matter what is going on between the two of you, it should not come between our daughters," Jean reprimanded her husband
"I agree with Jean. You and Jack can swing your dicks as much as you want with each other but don't bring that anger over to my daughter," Emma also said her piece to Scott
Scott stood up and pointed at Stella with clear disgust in his voice.
"I don't care. You're not good enough for my daughter. This isn't happening!"
Jack stood at the side before asking for permission from Emma and Jean.
{So... now can I hurt him?}
{He insulted my daughter. Kill him for all I care.} Emma said
{No killing but you can hurt him badly and leave him scarred.} Jean was willing to compromise. She couldn't see the man she had fallen in love with in Scott at the moment
Jack heard all he needed to. Scott was about to go off on Stella again but Jack teleported in front of his face and stabbed one of his fingers through Scott's sunglasses before ripping out Scott's left eye and turning him into a true Cyclops.
Before Scott could scream out in pain, Jack flung him out the window. Since they were on the second floor, Jack decided to show him a bit of mercy by creating about 20 thin sheets of ice to slow down his fall. But no matter what, Scott was lying on the ground outside with one eye, dozens of cuts on his body, and a few cracked or broken bones.
Jean felt pain in her heart seeing her husband flung away like that but when she remembered what he said to Stella, she hardened her heart.
'He's gotten used to doing as he has pleased for too long, always thinking he is in the right. Maybe this will be a wake-up call to him.'
Jack turned to his daughter and soon-to-be daughter-in-law.
"Just cause he is your father and father-in-law, it doesn't mean you have to just sit there and take whatever he says. Especially when you're much stronger than him," Jack advised them before looking at his right hand. It was covered in blood but he was able to see the time on his watch.
"Shit! I'm late. I'll see you, ladies, later!"
Jack kissed Emma on her cheek before teleporting outside of the conference room on Future Island. He was about to talk into the room before he remembered that he was out of uniform and his hand was covered in blood.
Jack used his Abyssal Magic to transform his clothes into his new hero uniform before freezing his hand and the blood on it. Jack walked into the room before shattering the ice in front of everyone else.
-- Present --
"You all know the details of the deal but I will explain it all to you.
You all will be sponsored by the Future Foundation as heroes. This means that you have to follow our rules on heroics and will get a personal PR team to help with your public image. Some of you are being hired with your civilian identities as well or have a family member or friend that is being hired as a civilian identity.
The main reason for this is not the SRA. While that is what is making me form the group so fast, the main reason is true as the name says: to set a foundation for the future. We are going to be the gold standard that all other heroes are going to be held up to.
You all can work how you please. Just please submit your plans to your personal PR managers so they know how to market you.
For example, Sue is leading the Fantastic 4 so they will be marketed as a team and as individual operators. Both Johnny and Jennifer also have prominent civilian careers that will be promoted.
Every now and then, we will need you all to team up for a marketing thing but for the most part, you can do as you please.
Any questions?"
A couple of hands went up. Jack looked around and pointed at Cindy/Silk first.
"Yes, Silk?"
The Asian woman was another spider hero. She was actually bitten by the same spider that bit Peter soon after it bit him but she ended up getting locked underground for a few years. After she was released, she fell under Spider-Man's talk-no-jutsu and became a hero.
"You promised me a Luna Snow concert. When will that be?"
She was also a huge Luna Snow fan.
"She is my personal student so I can check her calendar. Most likely over spring break, though," Jack told Silk honestly before turning to Tarantula
"Lethal options allowed?"
Many of the others also turned to hear the answer to this. This was an important question.
"On humans? Last resort, but allowed. Mainly looking at the scary-looking Spider-Twins on the edge of the table. Against aliens, animals, and robots? At your own discretion."
Jack knew it was irresponsible to tell his people not to kill anyone but even more irresponsible if he allowed them to kill whenever they wanted.
Jack looked around the room and saw that no one else had something to say.
"Cool. Then meeting dismissed."