"Agent Romanoff. I have a mission for you."

"Yes?" the super spy replied.

"You'll need to talk to Stark about this one," Director Fury growled. It wasn't that he was angry with her answer, it was that he was always growling.

"I'm okay with that. What is it you have in mind?"

"I need some information. Ever heard of Spider-Man?"

Peter Parker whooped as he flipped around in the open air. He'd always loved the feeling of freedom that he got from doing his morning rounds. He just loved New York City, even more so at six a.m., when the hustle begins and the new day of crime starts. Just a couple weeks off his depression-induced vacation time, Spider-Man was ready to show the world he was ready to protect them once more. Plus, it felt good to retrain his muscles for his type of work again.

Peter knew that he had to take advantage of the next few months he had before he started college in the fall, something that had been delayed for a year by the death of his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy.

He still visited her grave, he still felt sad, but it no longer consumed him like it once had. Peter Parker was happy once more, but still so utterly alone. Now, nobody alive knew his secret. Anyone who had ever found out had died, so the Web Crawler decided that he would never entrust anyone with his secret identity again.

Peter stopped swinging for a moment to cling to a wall to observe the area. He was clinging to the Avenger's tower, his favorite place to stop to see what was going on. He hadn't felt any trouble in him yet, but there was always trouble to be had in the Big Apple.

He crawled up onto Ironman's flat landing strip, intending to jump off the edge and use that momentum to get around faster. Plus, it looked hella rad when he did a backwards dive off of high buildings. He boosted himself up with his enhanced muscles and found himself face to face with none other than the Black Widow.

Without blinking, she spoke into her phone, "Yep. He's right here, same place, same time as you said. Thanks, Tony. Talk to you later." She hung up.

Peter's jaw dropped. Natasha Romanoff was right there, looking at him, talking about him. Natasha Romanoff. Of course Peter didn't get starstruck.

Natasha waited for him to say something, and then grinned at his sudden silence. "Ya know, you're a lot more talkative on the TV."

Natasha Romanoff watched him on the TV. Natasha Romanoff knew who he was. Natasha Romanoff addressed him directly. "You-you're Natasha Romanoff!"

Black Widow chuckled, and then flat out laughed. After a moment, the assassin/spy said, "So the famous Spider-Man knows who I am? Well that's reassuring."

Peter let out a nervous laugh. "I'm a fan of your work." He'd only been worshiping the woman before him since he'd seen what she'd done when the aliens showed up, not even mentioning how cool he thought she was when the whole Ultron thing happened, and now she knew the young man's name. The whole situation made Peter feel hazy.

"Do you want to come inside?" she asked. "I want to talk to you."

Suddenly, Peter was on guard. "What about?" he asked tentatively.

"Oh, well, I guess it would be better to try a direct approach. I want you to join the Avengers."

Peter's eyebrows went up and his jaw went down. "Are you being for serious?" A blush rose to his face that he was glad the mask hid. Why couldn't he talk straight for once?

Natasha smiled. "Only if you are. Want to come inside now? I'm sure your arms must hurt from staying in that position for the past few minutes."

Peter looked down at himself and realized that he had been in the half-way out of the pool position on one of the highest buildings of New York City. He boosted himself the rest of the way up and jogged slightly to catch up with his idol, trying to forget the fact that his arms felt like jelly.

When they got to the sliding glass door that would get him into Mr Stark's living room, Spider-Man froze. What if this was a trap? He didn't feel his Spidy senses go off, but that didn't mean that something in the whole situation could be fishy. Why now? Why not when he defeated Doctor Connors? Why not after Gwen died?

Before Romanoff could realize his pause, Peter started walking again, deciding to be on his guard, but honestly, how bad could it be? They were both the good guys.

"Have a seat," she invited, "Want a drink?"

"No, thanks," Peter replied, still standing.

"Oh, come on, I insist," the spy was already making something.

Peter folded his arms. Besides still being under the drinking age, he didn't want to feel too homey when he smelled trouble. "I'd rather not lift my mask. My suit deteriorates JARVIS's ability to scan me." Plus, his DNA would be all over that cup.

Natasha's eyes sparkled. "You must actually be a fan of the Avenger's work if you know JARVIS."

"I just really like Technology Science, and JARVIS is a bit of an anomaly."

"I bet you do. Tell me, did you personally make those web shooters?"

Peter glanced down at his wrists. "Yes, actually. Took me weeks to get right."

"That's amazing. I've always been a fan of what you do, but I had no idea that you were so talented. Did you make the rest of your powers as well?"

"No, I just made the web shooters to match. Quicker way to get around, too."

"Nice," she never touched her drink. "How did the rest of your powers come then?"

"Listen, I'd love to tell you, but you haven't exactly given me the best basis of why you want to know this stuff. How can I be sure of your intentions? You said you wanted me on your team, but where's the proof that's not just an empty promise?"

She chuckled. "You're a smart kid, Sp-"

Peter cut across him. "Who said anything about being a kid?"

Natasha smiled kindly. "I meant kid like a general term. How old are you anyway?"

"Be a little more subtle than that, Miss Widow."

Natasha laughed good-naturedly. "Oh, thank God. I was starting to think that the quick wit was just a act for the cameras. No way did I want another smart wet blanket on the team. We already have Bruce."

"Speaking of, where's everybody else? Isn't this supposed to be Avenger's Central?"

"This is a more of a come-and-go place. Some people, especially heroes, prefer accommodating themselves. In return, we ask for them to show up and help out when the world starts melting down. I have a feeling you'd like that arrangement, Spider-Man?"

"Sounds about right. So what's the catch?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I have to do to be on the team? I mean, I'm already doing most of the things you guys do, sure if I join your team I can be at your beck and call, but it doesn't make sense to add me onto the team." He knew what they wanted, but he wanted to make her say it, partly because he wished it weren't true. Peter had been dreaming of being invited to the Avengers since its creation, but there are some things that he just couldn't give up.

Natasha didn't seem disturbed, and shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, your name would be a given, and-"

"Sorry. I'll have to pass you up on your offer. I have some people I have to protect." Peter started backing to the door.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. offers full confidentiality," she said, trying to get him to stop. "Nobody outside of us would know."

"Unless another little spill happens again. Just like what happened a few months ago," he gave her a pointed look through his mask. "Now, if you excuse me, I have work to do." He nodded at her somewhat thoughtful face. "Gotta pay for webbing somehow. Have a nice day." He did a tiny salute.

"Wait. Spider-Man. I just want you to know that the offer always stands. You know where to find me."

"Thanks, Black Widow, but unless you're willing to be cool with not knowing who I am, I can't see our paths crossing again. 'Bye." Peter opened the door, sprinted to the edge of the building, and launched himself off.

"Honestly, I'm impressed by the guy. He held up pretty well, barely have me anything on himself, good at directing the conversation away from his personal life. He would give me little meaningless bits of information so I wouldn't pry too much, and then put me in an awkward position to ask him more questions without telling him something. Brushed away all my tactics. He'd make a good spy." Natasha told to Director Fury through her phone.

"What did you learn?" Nick snapped.

"Definitely male. Older than 16, younger than 25. Skinny but firm, most likely white. In between 5''10' and 6 feet. He definitely has a family member he lives with that don't know who he is. Most likely a woman in a motherly position. He's smart, would've had school science and math awards. Add that up with the stuff with we already have, another conversation with him, I'll know for sure."

"Good. We need to know who this guy is, and make sure he never goes into retirement again. When he disappeared, crime everywhere went up by 38 percent. In New York City, it went up by 83 percent. If we don't get him with S.H.E.I.L.D., bad things will happen. He's too unstable to leave alone. Put the information you learned together with Stark's and start eliminating people off the list of possible Spider-Mans."

"Will do, Director."

"I want his name on my desk by the end of the week."

"I'll have that and more by Friday."

"Then make it Thursday."