Ch.120 Father-in-law Wants to Meet New Son-in-Law?

While Ronan was caught up in a whirlwind of romance, things at S.H.I.E.L.D. were an entirely different story.

Phil Coulson sat aboard his quinjet, his expression far from pleasant.

Ever since he formed this special task force, he rarely stayed at headquarters, spending most of his time dealing with other matters.

Of course, the majority of those matters were tied to the aftermath of the Battle of New York and the alien tech left behind.

At least, that's how it had been so far.

"Phil, we've got the intel you asked for," Melinda May said, stepping up beside Coulson.

"Lay it on me," Coulson replied, snapping back to attention.

"Yesterday, the team we sent to keep tabs on Ronan spotted another group trying to nab him," May said. "But before they could step in, the crew trying to grab Ronan got taken out by Spider-Man."

May tapped a few buttons on a nearby screen, and an image of Spider-Man popped up on the main display.

"Spider-Man?" Coulson had heard the name before.

"Yep. You might not know this, but Spider-Man's just a high school kid from Midtown High," May explained. "Real name's Peter Parker. One of those so-called 'vigilantes.' He's in the same class as Ronan."

She pulled up a photo of Peter Parker, which now joined Spider-Man's on the big screen.

For regular folks, Spider-Man's identity might be a mystery. But for an outfit like S.H.I.E.L.D., tracking his movements was usually enough to figure out who he was.

So, it wasn't much of a secret at all.

"So, you're saying this other group was tailing Ronan, and Spider-Man caught wind of it?" Coulson asked, piecing it together. "Then, by some stroke of luck, he took them down?"

Coulson couldn't help but frown.

"Exactly. Our team even caught footage of Spider-Man knocking out the hostiles," May confirmed, nodding. "After studying his activity patterns, it seems he picked up on someone following Ronan from the start, trailed them, and ended up at Ronan's place."

May played a video showing Peter Parker taking down a lookout with precision. The footage clearly captured every move, especially that final punch.

"Once they entered the apartment, though, we lost track of what happened," May added with a shrug. "The moment they went inside, the cameras were jammed."

Coulson's mind immediately jumped to one organization: S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Our people?" he asked, recognizing the tactic all too well.

May nodded. "More precisely, another team posing as someone else. You know how some folks at the agency operate. We handle the direct approach, but if that fails, they pull stunts like this."

"It's the usual playbook—disguise themselves as some terrorist group, snatch the target, interrogate them about what went down, then stage a 'rescue' by the police or another agency," May continued. "It's all tacitly approved."

That was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s style. On the surface, they were a government outfit, but behind closed doors, they had plenty of dirty tricks up their sleeves. Moves like this were practically routine.

Every agency in the good ol' U.S.A. had a team for the dirty work. The rescued civilians would usually thank the government for saving them, conveniently forgetting the details.

"Talk about bad luck, running into Spider-Man," Coulson said with a wry smile, though it carried a hint of bitterness.

He wasn't exactly a fan of these kinds of operations, but as a regular agent—albeit one with slightly higher clearance—he didn't have much say.

"This time, though, some folks at the agency went too far," May said, her expression unchanged, clearly jaded by it all. "For insurance, they secretly kidnapped Gwen Stacy, the daughter of the NYPD commissioner. Also, Ronan's girlfriend."

"After the first team's mission failed, they called Ronan directly, demanding he show up alone."

Coulson's face darkened instantly. "And the outcome?"

If they were just after Ronan for intel, Coulson wouldn't have batted an eye. They wouldn't harm him, after all. But kidnapping an innocent person for leverage? That was crossing a line.

"The outcome…" May glanced at Coulson, noting his resolute expression, and sighed. "Headquarters ordered us to keep this intel under wraps. You get what I mean?"

By "under wraps," she meant keeping it from the other four team members on the quinjet. This wasn't just about clearance levels—some things certain people couldn't know.

Coulson nodded, his face growing serious.

Seeing he was ready, May played the next video.

It wasn't long, but the footage was downright chilling.

A figure wearing an Iron Man helmet suddenly split into countless duplicates, each sporting the same helmet and identical gear. Even more terrifying, when they unleashed what could only be described as horrifying magic with a flick of their hands, Coulson had to look away.

It was a complete slaughter.

The highly trained agents didn't stand a chance.

Especially Sitwell, the team leader, who got blasted away by a surge of red-glowing energy.

The rest of the footage—

"Enough," Coulson sighed, moving to shut off the video.

He'd taken lives as an agent, but scenes like this were too much for him to stomach.

May, however, stopped him.

The video soon cleared up Coulson's confusion.

"Nick Fury?" a voice boomed. "Guess the last lesson didn't hurt enough. This time, you're after my guy. Run. Run as far as you can. Pray I don't find you. Because next time, it's not just a leg—it's your life."

The voice, unmistakably coming from the Iron Man-helmed figure, echoed through the video.

"We ran a voice analysis," May said. "The results? That voice, those words—they're not human."

"And that 'leg' he mentioned? You know what that's about."

She didn't need to spell it out. Coulson knew. S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters had been breached once before. Nick Fury took a hit to the leg, and the intruder got away clean.

The incident was classified, but plenty of people had heard the alarms blaring from Fury's office that day.

"That's the 'Sorcerer' the director and others were talking about," Coulson said, taking a deep breath. "Looks like our hunch was right. That kid's definitely connected to him."

This was Coulson's first real brush with the guy. Before, it was all reports and hearsay. But this? This was enough to make him feel genuine fear—something entirely different from the awe he felt facing Thor, the God of Thunder.

"More than uncovering the truth, I'm just glad," May said, shaking her head. Even her usual icy demeanor cracked slightly.

"Glad?" Coulson asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, glad," she repeated. "Glad we played it cool back then and didn't cross his line. Otherwise, we'd be the ones in that video."

Her face twisted slightly. This wasn't about fighting skill or firepower—it was like adults beating up kids. No amount of training or gear could've saved them.

"No wonder that kid was so calm," Coulson said, recalling Ronan's demeanor during their earlier questioning. Now it made sense.

"The director checked with Tony Stark, too," May added. "They did have a deal. Ronan gave him a way to contact this Sorcerer, but Stark refused to spill the details to us. Same outcome you'd expect."

They hadn't taken Ronan's word for it, of course. Stark's reaction was predictable, but last night's events proved Ronan wasn't lying. At the very least, he had a way to summon this Sorcerer.

"Headquarters didn't share all this just to keep us in the loop," Coulson said, steering the conversation back on track. "We don't get that kind of VIP treatment. So, what's our mission?"

He took a deep breath, already familiar with how S.H.I.E.L.D. worked. If they gave you intel, they expected you to act on it.

"You're right. We've got a job," May confirmed.

The next day passed like any other—students went to class, workers went to work, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Especially Gwen Stacy. After ambushing Ronan last night, she couldn't even look him in the eye all morning. Whenever their gazes met, she'd instinctively look away.

It left Ronan baffled. Sis, you're the one who kissed me—why are you the shy one?

But he got it. With his devilishly handsome face and the whole "hero saves the day" vibe, a kiss wasn't exactly surprising. Not everyone had Ronan's ironclad self-control. Facing a succubus-level hottie like Gwen, he'd still managed to pull off his signature "hug-the-girl-and-resist" move.

"Hey, Ronan, you free tonight?" a voice called out. "We're throwing a party at my place. Wanna come?"

Ever since the "falling off a building" incident, Ronan had become something of an internet celebrity at school. Especially among Iron Man fans, who showered him with affection. Of course, some diehard Stark stans thought Ronan was just riding Tony's coattails to fame.

Either way, Ronan was a known name now. These days, everyone—friends and strangers alike—wanted him at their parties. But their parties were either too tame… or not tame enough. So, Ronan usually turned them down.

"Sorry, he's already promised to come to my place for dinner tonight," a voice cut in before Ronan could respond. "So, he's booked."

Gwen Stacy appeared out of nowhere, casually looping her arm through Ronan's and giving the flirty, scantily clad girl in front of them a smug tilt of her head.

Looks? The other girl couldn't compete. Curves? No contest. Background? Let's not even go there.

The girl glanced at Gwen, then at her arm linked with Ronan's, and forced an awkward smile. "Sorry, I didn't know he had a girlfriend."

With that, she turned and walked away.

Ronan's lips twitched. Something felt off.

He was a proud single guy—how'd he suddenly end up with a girlfriend? If this got out beyond school, fine, but now it was in school. His bachelor status was at stake!

"Thanks for the save," Ronan said with a grin. Having a shield like Gwen wasn't bad—it'd keep things quiet at school for a while. At their age, breakups and hookups were par for the course.

"Since I bailed you out, how about you return the favor?" Gwen said, subtly letting go of his arm but still clutching his sleeve, as if worried he'd bolt.

Uh-oh. Ronan's heart skipped a beat.

Her tone, her expression, her whole vibe—it screamed trouble.

Sure, he was single, but he wasn't clueless. He'd seen enough cheesy rom-coms in his past life to pick up on the signs. The more she acted like this, the worse it felt.

"Uh…" Before Ronan could say anything, Gwen cut him off.

"My dad wants to invite you to our place," she said. "For dinner. Tonight."

She shut down any chance of refusal.

I knew it! Ronan looked skyward, already dreading what was coming.

"Look, I don't think I can help with that," he said, taking a deep breath. He could already picture the scene at Gwen's house. Her dad, George Stacy, would have a full-course "welcome" ready.

An AK and AR-15 as the appetizer. An RPG as the main course. And a freshly dug grave for dessert.

The classic father-in-law-meets-boyfriend trilogy.

The kicker? He and Gwen weren't even together!

"When you left last night, my dad was nearby," Gwen said, her voice trailing off as she recalled the moment. "So…"

What are the odds? Ronan thought, echoing her sentiment.

"He saw you kiss me?" Ronan asked.

"He saw you use a portal to leave," Gwen said at the same time.

They both fell silent, processing the absurdity.

What the hell is this?! Ronan had been so careful—dodging cameras, avoiding George's line of sight. How'd he get spotted again?

After last time's lesson, he'd sworn to be more cautious. He hadn't even been trying anything!

"Alright, fine. I'll go," Ronan said, taking a deep breath, his vibe screaming "a hero marching to his doom."

At this point, it didn't matter if he and Gwen had something going on. Her dad had already gotten the wrong idea.

The first time he dropped Gwen off, George was suspicious. The second time, when Gwen called him to look after Ronan, those suspicions took root. And last night? Two gut punches in one day.

George Stacy's precious daughter was secretly dating—and with a pretty boy, no less!

Smack! Ronan slapped his forehead, a headache brewing.

"Don't be so nervous," Gwen said, trying to reassure him. "My dad just wants to thank you for saving me. It's just dinner, nothing else."

Oh, it's over. Her words only made it worse.

That kind of talk was the scariest. If George had been openly furious, Ronan would've flat-out refused. But this? Acting all calm and friendly to lure him in? That was the trap.

Once he was there, it'd be open season.

Ronan sucked in a breath. Maybe he should bring the Infinity Gauntlet, just in case. Otherwise, he might not make it out alive.

"Don't think so badly of my dad. He's not that serious," Gwen said, giving him a playful smack when she saw his "ready to die" expression.

Ronan rolled his eyes. Easy for you to say. You're his daughter. I'm the fake son-in-law taking the heat!

Should he go ask Wong for advice on handling a father-in-law? Even a fake one could cost him his life.

Worst case, maybe send a clone to test the waters?

Beep beep.

A car horn interrupted their conversation. Ronan looked up to see Phil Coulson standing by a flashy red vintage sports car, waving him over.