"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen."

I gritted my teeth as I lifted the handle of the machine one final time and locked the weights into place. I took a glimpse at the screen and saw that the number "2000" was flashing on the screen.

I had been training in Stark's garage for nearly a month now and my capabilities had improved noticeably. I wasn't as strong as Superman was in his prime, but I was definitely getting stronger by the day. In just a month, I had nearly doubled my personal best in lifting (for this world). My speed, durability, and jumping abilities had been enhanced as well. It felt odd that I was capable of doing superhuman feats, but I was slowly adjusting to my life as a "superman."

As I rolled my shoulders and looked at the leg press for my next workout, Stark walked into the garage with two very large cups in his hand, "So Superboy, getting your daily exercise in?"

"Just finished my last set for the SB1," I flashed the man a small grin, "Do you want to join me?"

"No thanks, I already jogged for twenty minutes today. I think that's plenty of exercise for me."

The two of us had an odd relationship and spoke to each other daily. Stark was still reserved around me but never missed a chance to make smart-ass remarks. I treated him respectfully as I could, but I knew that it would take time for the man to consider me as a "friend" and even longer for him to trust me. This Tony Stark wasn't the same Tony Stark from Endgames, he was a man that was selfish, narcissistic, and untested.

Stark handed me one of the cups he was holding, "This is for you."

I took it and inspected it carefully. With Stark, you never knew what he had in store for you, "What is this?"

"Vegetable juice, the same thing I'm drinking right now," Stark took a sip out of his own cup to prove his point.

I stirred my cup and watched the green murky substance swirl around inside. After I prepared my gut, I took a few sips and swallowed, "This tastes a little odd, Mr. Stark."

"Well, since you're special, I decided to add a few extra goodies into your juice."

"Goodies?"

"About twenty energy drinks."

I stared at the man disbelievingly as I inspected my cup once again, "You did what?"

The CEO of Stark Industries shrugged without a word and walked away. Before he left the garage, he turned back towards me and shouted, "Make sure to finish up within thirty minutes! I want to use the lab as soon as possible."

He slammed the door to the garage firmly shut and left me alone with a single cup of a vegetable juice and energy drink cocktail. I was fairly certain that he forgot that I had only been down in the garage for about thirty minutes. Generally, I had two hours to work out in the garage by myself. But since I was being kicked out after an hour, it meant that I was only going to be able to get half of my exercise routine done.

I sighed and sipped the cocktail. Today was going to be a long day.

If you were given superpowers, what would you do first?

My answer was simple: become a superhero and help save people like superheroes do in comic books and movies.

Yet here I was, about a month after I have received my powers, and I was still confined to the boundaries of Stark Mansion. The most appropriate term to explain my current situation was "house arrest." I was allowed to move more freely within the Stark Mansion now, but I was still forbidden from showing myself to the outside world. It was understandable but very frustrating. Even with my current powers, I could still be out in the world helping people. Instead, I was stuck in an endless cycle of working out, eating, and sleeping. At this point, I just wanted to see the outside world instead of being stuck on Stark's property all day.

As I sat down to eat lunch with Stark, who had just returned from the garage after several hours of experimenting, I asked the biggest question in my mind out loud, "Can I go out for a bit?"

"Why?"

"I'm getting a bit stuffy being stuck in the house."

"What, you don't like my house?" Stark stretched out his arms, "Most people would kill to live in my house for a few days. And besides, you can do whatever you need to do outside within the mansion."

"Breathing in fresh air while I run through a park?"

"I can just move the SB 3 to the top floor, turn it into a small park, and make you a retractable roof."

"Going to nearby stores and go shopping?"

"You can do that through Amazon and god knows how many other websites."

"Talking face to face with people other than you and Ms. Potts?"

"Getting sick of me already? Well, I can just call up some celebrities and ask them to meet you. Who do you want to meet? Elon Musk, Mark Reynolds..."

I stopped him before he started rattling off all the celebrities he knew, "The point is, I feel useless here and I want to be able to help people with the powers I received."

Potts brought us a plate of pasta each and placed it in front of us. Stark and I remained silent while she was around and only started talking again when she left, "Kid, you're currently under my watch. If you go out there and bust bones or break buildings by accident, I have to take responsibility for it. Not only that, I don't know if I should even trust you to be outside without my supervision."

"Then can't you supervise me?" I asked.

"No, because I have an important business meeting to attend to today," Stark frowned at me and took a bite of pasta.

"What about if I just go out and explore without using my powers?'

Stark snorted, "Could have fooled me."

I grabbed my fork in order to eat my pasta. However, I gripped the fork a bit more strongly than I intended and accidentally deformed the shape of the eating utensil. Stark stared at the lobsided fork and sighed, "Just for today, I'll let you go out for a bit. But I'll need to make a call first."

"Seriously?" I replied as I attempted to eat some pasta with the deformed fork in my hand.

"Well, it's better than having an angry teenager with super strength couped into my house while I'm gone."

"I'm twenty-one."

Iron Man pulled out his phone and pushed his plate away from him, "In this world, you're fourteen. And just so we're clear; if you go out, you can't use your powers. If you do, then... I'll think of something. For now, eat your lunch quietly."

An hour later, I was just outside the mansion in the outfit I wore when I arrived in this world (with a new white shirt to replace the one I had singled previously). Stark stood next to me wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase A black SUV was parked on the streets and four armed men stepped out of the vehicle. I stiffened when I saw them, but Stark stepped forward and greeted the leader of the group, "You must be from SHIELD."

"Agent Coulson. I was tasked with watching over your adoptive son for the day," Agent Coulson straightened his suit and glanced me over, "I can't say I've been a babysitter before, but I wasn't left with a choice."

"You've read the reports about him, right? I don't think "babysitting" is the right word for this job."

The SHIELD agent remained passive as he placed his hands on his waist, "I've read the files on... Superboy. No need to worry, if he gets out of hand, then I'll deal with him."

What was I, a dog to them? It almost sounded like I was some sort of animal that was going to be put down if I misbehaved.

"Let him explore Malibu, and maybe the outskirts of LA. But don't take him anywhere densely populated," Stark slapped Coulson's back, "He's all yours."

Before he left, Stark handed me a credit card for me to use and handed the agent the briefcase he was holding. He leaned in and whispered a few words to the man. Unknown to him, I heard every word he said to the agent.

"If he gets in trouble, give him the briefcase and have him open it."

Discreetly, I glanced at the briefcase in Agent Coulson's hand. It was an ordinary black briefcase with no special features. I wondered what the hell was in that briefcase. Was it some sort of weapon? Or maybe power dampeners?

I looked at Agent Coulson awkwardly and he returned the stare. He gripped the briefcase tightly and escorted me to the SUV, "Now then. Stark said that you wanted to go shopping?"

"Yep," I said as I was squeezed between two agents who were evidently armed.

Agent Coulson spoke into his earpiece silently. I heard what he was saying, but kept my facial expressions blank as I eavesdropped on him, "Unit Eleven reporting in. Moving to Malibu Village Plaza with Omega Four. ETA fifteen minutes. All units remain on standby in case of an emergency."

The SUV drove through the tourist-filled streets of Malibu and stopped at one of the local shopping centers. The agents filed out orderly and allowed me to exit the vehicle without a fuss. After I started to walk towards one of the shops, only Agent Coulson remained by my side. The other agents tailed me carefully from a distance.

"Take all the time you need, because I love watching kids shop for clothes," The agent remarked dryly.

"I already get enough sarcasm from Mr. Stark," I muttered under my breath.

I strolled through a few stores and bought an entirely new wardrobe for myself, courtesy of Stark. It felt nice to be outside and walk around like an ordinary human being. Admittedly, I bent several coat hangers on accident due to my super strength, but other than that, I managed to act normally. After two hours, I had several bags filled with clothing loaded up into the SUV and readied myself to return to Stark Mansion for the day. I did want to spend a few more hours outside freely, but Agent Coulson looked extremely disgruntled and I was hoping my good behavior would convince Stark to let me out more often.

Unfortunately, the day wasn't going to end peacefully.

My super-hearing picked up a conversation that was happening behind one of the shops and what I heard rooted me in place.

"You think he's going to use that gun anytime soon?"

"The kid said he was going to use that weapon today at the local high school. Apparently, he's suicidal and wants to take down a bunch of his former bullies."

"Heh, I don't care what he does with that gun since I made an easy profit of $800. I guess we'll see him on the news later today."

I know I promised Stark that I would try to stay out of trouble, but I wasn't going to let a school shooting happen under my watch. Especially since I was probably the perfect superhero to stop an armed shooter.

I turned to Agent Coulson quickly and tapped him on the shoulder gently, "I need to use my powers."

"For what?"

"I just overheard a conversation that some kid is going to shoot up a school today. If there's anyone that could deal with it, it's me."

Agent Coulson looked at me carefully, "Do you know where it's going to happen? And who did you hear that from?"

"Two thugs sold a handgun to a kid who's suicidal. He's planning to shoot up his high school today."

"How do you know if they're not joking around?"

I shook my head at his ridiculous statement, "Why would someone joke about selling a gun to a student?"

The agent stepped away for a moment and spoke into his earpiece, "All units, Omega Four facing potential threats. Ready for deployment and support."

After speaking to what I presumed were other agents, Agent Coulson handed me the briefcase, "Just to warn you, Stark told me earlier that if you used your powers, you're grounded for a month."

"I'll take my chances," I answered as I took the briefcase from him. I opened it to discover a set of black jeans, a navy blue t-shirt, and a small box with a button that said, "Press Me!"

I took out the box and pressed the button. Suddenly, the box folded outwards and reshaped itself into a black motorcycle helmet with a tinted visor. I inspected it for a few brief moments and then placed it on my head.

"Welcome, Superboy," A female voice from the helmet said, "I am JENNI, developed by Anthony Edward Stark."

A visual interface appeared on the visor and acted like JARVIS in Tony's own Iron Man suits. I gasped in surprise as I recognized the reason why he developed this for me; as a form of protection and a way to conceal my identity.

I lifted the visor and spoke to the agent who was watching silently, "I'll be back."

"No, we're coming along with you. Recover any information regarding this school shooting and then return here. Once you come back, we'll plot our next course of action."

I didn't object as I changed into the clothing Stark provided for me and concealed my face with the visor, "I'll be back after I get more information from the thugs."

Without any hesitation, I sped towards the place where I heard the voices. Luckily, the people that were discussing the weapons sale was still in the same place, smoking and chatting amongst themselves. I knocked out one of them without stopping (which was fairly easy to do since I was speeding in at two hundred miles an hour) and grabbed the other one by the throat. Thankfully, the helmet had a voice modifier so I sounded older than I actually was, "I overheard something interesting. One of you mentioned that you sold a handgun to a kid at a local high school."

The guy I was holding struggled the breath, so I placed him down onto the ground but maintained my grip on him, "Now tell me, who is this kid and which high school does he go to?"

"Who the hell are you?" The man demandingly asked.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you sold a gun to a suicidal kid who wants to shoot up a school. Now talk!"

Instead of answering the guy swiftly pulled out a gun and shot me at point-blank range in the chest. The bullet bounced off me and I watched as the deformed bullet fell onto the ground without scratching me.

I grabbed the gun out of his hand and stepped on it. The gun broke into several pieces under the strength of my legs, which made the thug turn pale.

"Now I won't ask again. Talk."

"Malibu High School. There's a kid with a handgun at Malibu High School. He's planning to shoot up the school today," I told Agent Coulson as I returned with the two thugs in tow. Both of them were unconscious as I knocked out the guy I was interrogating after he answered all of my questions. It was ruthless, but I wasn't going to allow them to get off scot-free. And besides, SHIELD was a federal agency and I was pretty certain that their jurisdiction covered any threats to domestic security.

Agent Coulson had two of the agents take away the unconscious men and hopped into the car, "Get in."

As I walked up to the SUV, I spoke to JENNI through my helmet, "JENNI, can you navigate me to Malibu High School and give me any current information about the school?"

"Of course, Superboy. From your location, you will be able to reach Malibu High School in approximately two minutes. The school is five miles away, but I have planned the safest and most optimal route for your trip."

"Wait, you know that I can run really fast?"

"Yes. I am able to scan your entire body and determine the rough estimate for your maximum strength, speed, and endurance."

So this helmet wasn't only to keep me safe and help conceal my identity, but it was also being used to collect information about me. Before I had time to ponder on that fact, JENNI spoke to me urgently, "Superboy, I am receiving information from local police radios that shots have been fired within Malibu High School."

I snapped my head towards Agent Coulson, "Shots have already been fired in the school, agent. I can run there in three minutes, so I'll meet you there."

Instead of waiting for his reply, I zoomed away running as fast I could on the path that JENNI prepared for me. I wasn't as fast as the Flash, but things moved slower around me and I was able to make it to Malibu High School before the cops even showed up.

I stopped behind one of the back entrances of the high school to catch my breath, "JENNI, what is the situation inside the school?"

"I have managed to do a quick scan of Malibu High School and have determined that the shooter is currently towards the Malibu High School Gym building, which is located on the northern side of the campus."

"Can you give me an estimate of how many people are in the gym?"

"Approximately two hundred people. There are nine bodies on the ground."

"Shit," I ran towards the gym which had been highlighted on my screen by JENNI. A bunch of people was streaming out of the gym already, but JENNI claimed that there were still many people inside. I ran in without hesitation and found a small teenage boy with a handgun shooting a teacher in the shoulder.

Before the boy could fire another shot, I ran in front of him and knocked the gun out of his hand, "That's enough."

The teenager let out a cry and placed his hand into his pocket. Before he could pull out anything, I punched him in the face and knocked him out.

And just like that, it was over.

I patted the guy down and broke the knife he had in his pocket. Then, I stepped on his handgun and scattered the pieces apart. After I was satisfied with the destruction of the weapons, I proceeded to use a nearby school banner to tie him up to a railing.

It was then I realized that the gym was entirely silent except for the sounds of my actions.

I turned around to see that everyone was staring at me and I felt pretty self-conscious about the fact that I was being looked at like a gorilla in a zoo exhibit. However, I still had a job to finish.

I ran around and inspected the wounds of all the individuals that had been shot. Amazingly, all thirteen people that had been shot weren't dead and still alive when I got to them. I gently picked up five people that were critically wounded and had injuries that looked life-threatening, "I'm taking these five to the hospital! Please treat the other wounded if you can!"

As I raced out of the gym, I spoke into my helmet, "JENNI plan the most optimal route to a nearby hospital. If you can, contact them and say that there are five critically wounded patients on the way."

"I have set a course to Malibu General Hospital for you which is two minutes away. I have also alerted the hospital staff about the incoming patients and the reasons for their injuries."

"Thank you JENNI."

The trip was quick and I placed the people I was carrying onto the stretchers that were brought by the hospital staff. All of the hospital staff looked at me strangely but wheeled the injured civilians into the hospital without asking.

I ran to an empty construction site nearby and leaned against a wall to catch a break. While I was resting, a flashing icon appeared on my screen, "Superboy, you have an urgent call from Agent Coulson of SHIELD. Should I patch him through?"

"Go ahead."

A picture of Agent Coulson appeared on my screen as his voice called out to me, "Superboy, what is your current location?"

"Some empty construction site approximately two miles from the hospital, why?"

"Because you disappeared right away after taking down that shooter. Are you trying to escape from us right now?"

"Agent Coulson, if I wanted to escape, I would have left Malibu and ran towards Los Angeles."

"Can you return to Stark Mansion right now?"

I took a deep breath, "Yeah I should be there in about..."

"At your top speed, you will be at Stark Mansion in about three minutes, Superboy," JENNI stated helpfully.

"Four minutes."

"Good, I want to talk to you after you arrive, so be prepared."

I gulped nervously as the phone called ended. I ran towards Stark Mansion and during the short journey, my mind raked at the consequences I would face when I returned to the mansion. I mean, technically I didn't do anything wrong. If anything, I probably (hopefully) saved people's lives, stopped two thugs selling weapons illegally, and prevented a school shooter from killing people.

My body instinctively slowed down in front of Stark Mansion. Right after I stopped, I was spotted by Agent Coulson. He was with numerous SHIELD agents and surrounded by several SUVs, "Hurry into this SUV and get changed."

I changed into my normal, everyday wear while SHIELD agents guarded the vehicle I was changing in. After a minute, I stepped out of the SUV and was dragged away by Agent Coulson, "Look, Superboy."

Despite my superhuman abilities, I was still nervous at the possibilities of being taken by SHIELD, "Yes?"

"Good work."

"What?" I looked at the SHIELD agent in shock.

"Director Fury will probably think differently, but I think you did well," Agent Coulson admitted, "Truthfully, we weren't sure what your intentions were. But you managed to handle that situation decently. Of course, you're still green and it seems like you don't know the limits of your strength, but you managed to stop the shooter and save people."

"What do you mean I don't know my limits?" I knew that I didn't have perfect control, but I thought I managed to restrain myself for the most part.

"Well, the two thugs you knocked out are in the hospital right now. One of them has several shattered ribs and a ruptured lung. The other one is in a coma from the head trauma he received. You also destroyed parts of the gym floor when you stomped on the shooter's gun and damaged the ceiling when you pulled down that banner."

I scratched the back of my head as I recalled all the events that happened today, "I guess you're right."

"Looks like you couldn't even avoid trouble for two hours," A voice called out behind me.

Stark walked up to me and Agent Coulson, "I left the meeting early because Agent Coulson here called me saying that you have been a bad boy."

"I tried my best to save people, Mr. Stark."

"Well, you're in heaps of trouble" Stark folded his arms, "And you're grounded."

"Wait then why did you even create that helmet for me?"

"Because I knew that you would try to do something stupid the moment you stepped out of the mansion, so I built as a precaution. That helmet also has a tracking device so SHIELD and I could locate you."

Agent Coulson interjected himself into the conversation, "For now, I'll have to bring him back to the SHIELD compound. Director Fury wants a word with him."

"Just to be clear, I made him behave for a month," Stark said as he threw his hands up in the air.

I entered one of the SUVs and the SUV convoy made its way to the SHIELD compound. The trip took around thirty minutes and my heavily armed escorts directed me to the HUMAN lab. Inside, Fury and a bald guy in a lab coat were waiting for me. The man looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on the reason why.

"Ah, the one who's responsible for my current headache," Fury looked... amused as he glared at me, "Do you know how much paperwork I had to deal with because of your little stunt?"

"I can only imagine... er, sir," I answered. In my mind, I imagined Fury reading mountains of reports from the police, the government, and loads of other organizations that wanted to know just what I was.

"Well, for starters, you're on the news everywhere," Fury led me and the bald guy into a private office and turned on the TV inside. The screen flickered to life and displayed a shaky video of me running into Malibu High School's gym and beating down the gunman in an instant. The headlines under the video blared, "Mysterious Speedster Takes Down School Shooter."

"Most people, aren't aware of the existence of meta-humans and even if they did, they're sworn to secrecy on the matter. The fact that you zoomed into a gym filled with people and left behind evidence of your existence has left me in a very bad position. I've been getting phone calls from the FBI, the NSA, and even the president himself."

My hands shook nervously as I looked down at the ground. Fury walked up to me menacingly and towered over me, "In fact, if I had it my way, I would just trap you in this lab and make sure you don't pull a stunt like this ever again. But lucky for you, I have a job for you; a job that concerns the security and stability of our society."

Fury motioned for the bald guy to step forward, "This is Professor Charles Francis Xavier, a SHIELD researcher that specializes in meta-humans."

I barely held my facial expressions in check as I realized who the man was. The "bald guy" was actually Professor X! The guy who led the X-Men! Though it seems like in this world, he wasn't the leader of the X-Men and an ordinary researcher.

"Now, it should be obvious, but I still don't trust you," The cyclops mentioned, "But Professor Xavier will help me determine if you should even be trusted to help us."

"Wait, how?" Judging by what Fury just said, I assumed that Professor X had meta-human powers. Regardless, I feigned ignorance.

The man smirked, "You'll see. Now Professor Xavier, if you don't mind."

Professor Xavier walked up to me and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, it won't hurt. Just relax and stay calm."

He gripped my head and closed his eyes. Mentally, I prayed that he wouldn't see himself or the other Marvel heroes of my world in my memories because that would "break the universe" as God had mentioned previously. However, I didn't know how to mentally defend myself so I allowed him to enter my mind.

My consciousness was suddenly drawn into my own mind and before I knew it, I was next to Professor Xavier in a large hall. The professor glanced at me surprisingly, "Darren, I didn't expect you to follow me into your mind."

"It wasn't planned. I was sucked in out of the blue," I replied as I looked around. The hall was filled with dozens of bookshelves and each bookshelf had hundreds of books with marked dates on them, "I thought my mind would be more chaotic."

"Yes, well. Every person's mind is different. But I have never seen someone's mind as organized as yours," Professor Xavier said as he trotted over to one of the bookshelves labeled "2019," "You're from the future?"

"It's a long and complicated story."

"By all means, go ahead and explain. Then we can explore your mind."

It took me about half an hour (or was it half an hour? I couldn't tell in this realm) to explain my entire story to him (with the specifications for Earth Negative omitted). When I finished, he nodded understandingly and patted me on the back, "You have been through much, Darren. I heard about you from Director Fury, but I never heard the full story until now. However, I will still need to verify what you said with these "books," if you don't mind."

I hesitated for a few moments before giving my approval, "I have... information that may change the future greatly. So please read them sparingly."

"Will do," Professor Xavier pulled out the book labeled, "October 1st, 2019." October 1st was when I was pulled into this world, so his choice wasn't surprising. He opened the book and went still for a few seconds before returning to his senses, "Odd. When I opened the book, I was instantly sucked into your memories and saw them from your perspective. Not all of them, but the most important bits. How peculiar and terrifying."

He placed the book back onto the bookshelf and rifled through a few other books from random dates. After going through about a dozen of my memories, he closed the final book and looked at me, "Well, unless you're a very powerful psychic, even more so than myself, then I believe you are telling the truth and have good intentions. But before we leave your mindscape, I will give you a warning."

"A warning?"I echoed.

"Yes. It seems as though in your other life, you were born without meta-human powers. You were a kind and generous soul, which I can see due to the circumstances surrounding your death," Professor Xavier explained, "However, absolute power can corrupt absolutely. Remember the values and beliefs you held in your homeworld, and keep them close to your heart. Do not let your powers corrupt you."

I swallowed hard as I thought about Magneto, "I understand, sir."

"Please, just call me Professor or Xavier," The researcher placed the book away and looked up, "It is time for us to return."

"Superboy!"

My head suddenly snapped to attention and I discovered that Fury was shaking me.

"Er... Hello," I stated awkwardly.

"Good. I thought you were dead for a few seconds," The African American man rubbed his chin, "Though if you did die, I would just need to deal with deposing your body."

I decided not to respond to that comment and looked at Professor Xavier, who was also coming to. He turned to the director of SHIELD and nodded, "He's trustworthy."

"Well then, congratulations on your initiation," Fury declared sarcastically, "Unfortunately, I don't have any fancy uniforms or pins to give you, so I'll give you an assignment instead."

"Wait, you're just going to throw me into missions just like that?"

Fury sighed, "Look, kid. If I had a choice, I would have assigned someone with more experience and training. However, this assignment is very dangerous. And since you're a meta-human and nearly invincible, I decided that you were best suitable for the job."

Judging from his tone and his speech, he sounded distressed, "What's the assignment then?"

"I'll take that as a "yes" to the assignment," Fury said as he handed me a file.

I skimmed through the file and realized why he had assigned me for the task. The file was a report on the growing number of meta-humans in the United States and a map that showed the approximate locations of these new meta-humans, "I thought you said there weren't a lot of meta-humans in this world?"

"Yes, there weren't. However, ever since you came into this world, the meta-human gene has "awakened."

"Meta-human gene?"

Professor Xavier stepped in between the two of us, "Let me explain, Darren. The meta-human gene is what allows an ordinary person to gain extraordinary powers. Every person has the gene within them, but it is dormant for nearly the entire population. Strangely, around the time you arrived in this world, the gene "awakened" in a growing number of people. We don't know if it was your presence that caused this, but the point is the number of meta-humans have slowly been on the rise."

"How do you know the number of people with the awakened mutant gene has spiked?"

"That is a secret that you do not need to know," Fury interrupted, "What you do need to know is that some of these newly minted meta-humans are dangerous. Not all of them have the heroic urges as you do. And unfortunately, it is my job to deal with them."

The name "Cerebro" rang through my mind immediately, but I kept my mouth shut as the professor spoke, "This is why Director Fury is requesting your assistance. Even with the best agents and latest technologies available to him, meta-humans are not easy to deal with."

"Basically, you want me as a walking meat shield to beat down any meta-humans?" I asked accusingly.

"It's either that, or you get a nice cozy cot in this lab for a few years," The director offered, "Did Stark not tell you about this?"

My eyes widened in surprise, "He was supposed to tell me about this?"

"Well, yes. I sent him a package containing this information a week ago."

I groaned and leaned heavily against the wall behind me, "He didn't tell me anything about this."

Fury shrugged, "I can't do anything about that but I need your decision now. Are you in, or out?"

"I'm in."

"Good. Now your first assignment will be in LA. Mission details will be sent to your... Stark's residence later."