Heroes Without Supervision pt2
Peter walked Kamala to her elementary school, which was only a block away from Midtown, and then ran back before he ended up being late for class.
As he entered the high school, it was easy to notice how youthful energy stood out in every direction he looked. A place meant to shape bright minds in science and technology, where every student was a potential genius in the making… or at least a good percentage of them.
And where Peter, as a superhero in training, didn't stand out at all.
Completely invisible.
Obviously, in his Peter Parker mode, he was just a somewhat unknown student, so it was to be expected.
He could even be considered a bit of a nerd by some of the girls who glanced at him here and there. His clothes were pretty simple, his hairstyle nothing special. He wasn't unattractive… but he definitely wasn't the kind of guy who dressed to impress either.
And it didn't help that his best friend, Ned, was talking with a lot of excitement about building a 3,803-piece LEGO Death Star.
"So, you wanna build it today?" Ned asked excitedly while Peter grabbed his books from his locker.
"I'd like to, but I've got the internship at VITAE, you know," Peter said.
"Mm, right. The internship. Always the internship. And what is it that you actually do there all the time? Remind me," Ned said, clearly interested. After all, it was VITAE. Pretty much every student in that school… maybe even the whole country… would want an internship there.
"Well, you know… data entry and stuff like that. Studies on collapses and environmental crises. You know rescuing people isn't just about jumping into action. Data analysis helps too… I think," Peter said quickly, trying to sound as believable as possible. "You know, hopefully it leads to a real job later," he added.
"And what would you be? A superhero?" Ned said with a grin. After all, VITAE basically meant exactly that.
"Super… hahaha. You're really funny. For that I'd need powers first… which I don't have," Peter said quickly, a bit nervous.
"I know, I'm just joking. But wouldn't it be awesome?" Ned said, smiling excitedly. "Maybe you'll get lucky and they have some kind of radioactive spider that gives you powers… or a lizard. I heard they're always cleaning up alien stuff and things like that. Maybe one of those gives you powers. Wouldn't that be amazing?"
That made Peter widen his eyes for a second when he mentioned the radioactive spider.
"Yeah… yeah, that'd be amazing," he said, scratching the back of his neck.
As they walked, Peter couldn't help but notice the same girl who had distracted him earlier on the street. The moment he saw her, he froze slightly, staring at her with a somewhat dazed, almost lovestruck look, while Ned kept going on about what kind of powers he could get from a radioactive lizard.
When Ned noticed Peter had completely zoned out, he followed his gaze and found the pretty girl hanging up a banner. He immediately understood Peter's dumb expression… and honestly, he couldn't help staring either.
"Hey… is that top new on Liz?" Peter asked.
"No, we've seen it before," Ned said. "But I think she's never worn it with that skirt," he added.
"Oh… I see," Peter said. "I don't know if it's okay for us to keep staring… we might look like perverts," he added.
"Yeah, you're already past that point," a voice suddenly interrupted from behind them.
They quickly turned around and saw another girl their age, looking at them with a mix of disgust and amusement.
"You're seriously losers… and perverts," she added, as if she didn't even want to get close to them.
"Then why do you always hang out with us?" Ned asked.
"Because I don't have friends… and your aunt's sandwiches are great. You two are not," she said without hesitation.
"Hi, MJ," Peter said, clearing his throat while pretending he hadn't been staring at the girl on the ladder.
"Mm," MJ replied simply.
"You know, if you keep staring like that, you'll end up looking like those guys over there," MJ said, pointing at a pair of teenagers who were practically drooling while staring at the same girl, making them look way worse than Peter and Ned had just moments ago.
"Yeah, we'll stop," Peter said quickly, while Ned nodded just as fast.
After that, the three of them kept walking together since they were heading to the same place.
"So… I heard you don't want to go to nationals," MJ said as they walked, glancing at Peter.
"Oh, yeah… you know. If the people at VITAE need me, I should be available all the time," Peter said quickly.
"Mm… VITAE," MJ said, watching him slightly.
Peter held her gaze for a second… then looked away.
For a moment, it felt like she could see straight through him. Like she knew everything he was trying to hide.
"You dropped marching band and robotics… and the decathlon team. Looks like VITAE is keeping you pretty busy, huh?" she said, studying him just a little. "And then there's the girl you suddenly started walking to school just around the corner…"
Ned, hearing that, couldn't help but glance at her with a bit of amusement, which she obviously noticed.
"I'm not obsessed… I'm just observant," she said quickly, without even turning toward him, already knowing exactly what kind of face he was making.
"Oh, yeah… Kam… she's the daughter of a friend of my aunt's from way back. She asked me to look after her since she studies nearby. And like I said, VITAE keeps me kind of busy," Peter said quickly.
But the look on MJ's face made it pretty clear she didn't really believe him.
Luckily for him, the school bell rang, so the three of them had to hurry to get to class, not giving MJ the chance to keep asking questions.
…
Meanwhile, at a nearby elementary school, in one of the classrooms, the teacher was explaining numbers and basic math.
But a small Kamala was sitting in a corner seat, staring at her book without paying any attention at all, completely focused on a drawing she had made.
In it, she had drawn herself in a superhero suit, defeating a villain that looked a lot like Ultron. In the background, Spider-Man was there helping her, while people all around were cheering. She stood on top of Ultron with one hand raised, like a real hero.
Kamala even hummed softly while coloring her outfit, which was a mix of tactical pants with two small daggers, clearly inspired by Owen. The upper part had some resemblance to Scarlet Witch's suit, though more covered, with a hood included. Black and red dominated the design, giving her a slightly more mystical look.
Kamala looked at the drawing for a moment, hesitating.
If she ever finished her training and became a real hero… she wanted to look like that.
Then she slid the page aside, revealing other designs.
One mixed black and blue, with a golden lightning bolt on the chest.
Another combined red and black, with a star… or maybe a diamond in gold on the chest, which seemed to be the one she liked the most.
Even so, she still didn't seem completely sure which one to choose.
Suddenly, a noise caught the attention of all the kids in the classroom, making them turn toward the window.
They were all surprised when something flew past at incredible speed, so fast that for a moment the glass trembled, almost cracking.
The teacher quickly shouted for everyone to move away from the windows.
But Kamala kept watching closely.
It looked like some kind of mechanical suit with large gray wings, like a massive, mechanical vulture. All over its body, there were glowing green components that, as they pulsed brighter, seemed to push its speed even further, shattering windows as it passed by.
And it seemed to be heading straight toward Peter's school.
"Cool…" Kamala said, unable to look away. Her eyes were shining.
"Is that a new superhero?" she added, curious.
But before she could keep watching, the teacher quickly ushered all the children out of the classroom, since the broken glass on the floor made it dangerous.