At Midtown School of Science and Technology in Queens, New York, Axel lounged across several seats in the gymnasium, his arms stretched over the backs of the chairs on either side as he casually crossed his legs. In front of him sat a group of wide-eyed kids.
"Seriously? You're asking who's stronger, me or the Hulk? Peter, that's a ridiculous question. The Hulk and I just fought, and I'm sitting here eating ice cream while chatting with all of you. So where's the Hulk? Exactly. I beat him so badly he never had a chance."
Axel laughed and reached over to ruffle Gwen's hair again.
Gwen puffed out her cheeks and slapped his hand away.
"Why do you always mess up my hair? You're talking to Peter, so why don't you mess up his? My hair is a disaster now!"
As she fixed her hair, she shot Peter an annoyed look.
Peter shrank back and muttered helplessly,
"Uncle... I'm Peter Parker, not Little Peter."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Little Peter. You shouldn't have asked such a dumb question."
Axel chuckled again.
With a casual wave of his hand, dozens of ice creams floated through the gym. Every child received one, along with each of their parents.
Axel took a bite of his own vanilla ice cream while the others stared in amazement.
Gwen's mother accepted hers with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Nearby, Aunt May accepted hers as well while exchanging a helpless glance with Uncle Ben.
She couldn't deny Axel had protected New York more than once, especially by stopping the Hulk, but his personality was unbelievably crude. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was setting a terrible example for the children.
As Aunt May worried, Jessica walked over while eating her ice cream.
After another bite, she noticed her injuries steadily fading.
"So you're Axel. I've heard about you on the news. I used to wonder why someone as powerful as you wasn't all over the media."
She looked him up and down before smirking.
"Now I get it. What news station would want to promote someone with your personality? If you didn't have powers, you'd be just another delinquent."
"Tsk."
Axel casually responded by raising his middle finger.
Gwen blinked.
Then she immediately copied him.
Jessica's face darkened.
She knocked Gwen lightly on the head.
"You little brat, what are you doing?"
"Ow!"
Gwen rubbed her head and pouted.
"I don't care. I'm Uncle Axel's biggest fan. You were being mean to him."
"Yeah," Axel added, "where'd you get the nerve?"
As he spoke, he casually patted Jessica's side, accidentally landing directly on her still-healing broken ribs.
"Ow!"
Jessica nearly dropped her ice cream.
"Dammit!"
Axel burst into laughter.
After recovering from the pain, Jessica glared at him.
"Axel, what actually happened in New York? Why were missiles exploding all over the sky? Why did the Hulk fall out of nowhere and crash into my school?"
Axel blinked.
"Wait, you're still a student here?"
Jessica frowned.
"Of course I am. It's my final year. Stop changing the subject. I asked you a question."
She sighed quietly.
Today should have been the day she finally became a hero.
Ever since gaining her powers, she'd hidden them out of fear.
Growing up in an orphanage had taught her not to stand out. Later, she worried people would capture her and experiment on her if they learned what she could do.
Everything changed after Tony Stark publicly revealed he was Iron Man.
Watching Iron Man openly save people inspired her.
Then came the Battle of New York.
After secretly defeating several Chitauri inside the school, Jessica heard classmates talking about the mysterious hero who had rescued them. From that moment on, she wanted to become a superhero herself.
When the Hulk attacked today, she believed destiny had finally given her a chance.
She imagined protecting everyone and earning their admiration.
Instead...
The Hulk flattened her with a single hit.
Now that the danger had passed, embarrassment weighed heavily on her.
She felt weak.
She felt useless.
She couldn't stop wondering whether everyone looked down on her now.
Her ice cream slowly melted as she quietly stared at it.
Noticing her expression, Axel smirked.
Without warning, he slapped her on the rear.
Smack.
The children instantly erupted into excited gasps.
Peter and Gwen both stared with bright red faces.
Their parents hurriedly covered their eyes.
Jessica froze.
Her face turned crimson.
"So that's it..."
She bit her lip.
"You don't look down on me. You just never respected me at all."
She glared at him.
"If you were my classmate, I'd beat you senseless."
Axel grinned.
"Maybe. But if we changed the battlefield, you might end up making me surrender instead."
He leaned back.
"So... want to have dinner tonight?"
"Huh?"
Jessica froze.
She unconsciously rubbed the spot he'd slapped before looking up at his face.
Her cheeks immediately became even redder.
Embarrassed, she quickly looked away and focused on his build instead.
His physique was excellent, but without meeting his eyes, he looked surprisingly ordinary compared to the overwhelming impression his face left.
She nervously glanced around the gym before quietly saying,
"I... don't have classes tonight."
"What was that?"
"I said..."
She awkwardly brushed her hair behind her ear.
"I don't like Indian food."
"That's fine."
Axel shrugged.
"We'll get Chinese food. My treat."
"Can you stop swearing for five seconds?"
Jessica groaned.
This guy had perfect timing for ruining every romantic thought she had.
She lowered her head before quietly admitting,
"I'm free tonight. Even if I wasn't, school's probably canceled after everything that happened."
She hesitated before continuing.
"And seriously... no Indian food. I once saw an international student using his hand instead of toilet paper, and I've never recovered from it."
She shivered dramatically.
"You're Chinese, right? I can usually tell East Asians apart. Let's get Chinese food. I've heard the meat dishes are amazing."
She looked away shyly.
"I eat a lot because my powers burn a lot of energy. Don't laugh."
"I wasn't laughing."
Axel immediately laughed.
Jessica glared.
"Don't laugh!"
"I'm laughing at your story."
Axel reached over and ruffled her hair.
She slapped his hand away.
"Stop treating me like I'm one of the kids."
Then she became serious again.
"But really, New York is falling apart. Aren't you supposed to be helping? And you still haven't answered my question."
Axel shrugged.
"What happened? New York's caught up in something huge."
He looked around.
"You've all read DC Comics, right?"
"I have!"
Gwen excitedly raised her hand.
"I love Catwoman and Harley Quinn!"
Axel nodded.
"Good taste."
He took another bite of ice cream.
"If you've read comics, then you know what a crossover event is."
Everyone nodded.
"Well, New York is going through one right now. Not just New York, the entire country is being dragged into it."
Jessica frowned.
"So who's behind it? Other cities don't have Iron Man or the Avengers. What are they supposed to do?"
She looked at Axel.
"And if you already know all this, why are you just sitting here? Shouldn't you be helping?"
Axel interrupted her with a cough.
"When did I ever say I was a superhero?"
Jessica blinked.
"What?"
"I already did my part."
He pointed toward the destroyed section of the school.
"I dealt with the Hulk. Sure, he went crazy because of me, but that's beside the point."
He leaned back comfortably.
"Let's just say I'm injured."
"I'm not interested in jumping into another fight."
He smirked.
"Besides, whoever wins this mess, hero or villain, they'll still have to respect me."
"So why should I risk my neck picking sides?"
With that, Axel ended the discussion and went back to playing hopscotch with the children.
His carefree attitude somehow eased the tension throughout the gym.
About forty minutes later, the game was interrupted by the arrival of a sleek, futuristic aircraft hovering above the damaged roof.
Standing in the open doorway, a white-haired young man looked down at the scene in confusion.
"...Sis... is our target seriously playing hopscotch with children?"
Wanda stared for a moment before sighing.
"...Somehow... yes."
She picked up the long rectangular case beside her and jumped from the aircraft.
Her white-haired brother, Pietro, followed immediately behind as the two landed inside the gym, drawing everyone's attention.
===
Read chapters ahead on Patreon, with every chapter organized into collections.
Subscribing a membership gives you access to "ALL" fanfictions,
Or you can buy only the collection you want, to gain access to chapters ahead.
P-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/_Zeph.