When Ethan opened the door, he found Katie lounging on the couch, arms crossed and clearly irritated, like she'd been waiting for hours.
"Where the hell have you been?" Katie's voice cut through the room, her frustration on full display.
It was justified. After finally convincing Ethan to come with her to the academy, he vanished for days with barely a word, leaving her to deal with everything on her own.
Ethan scratched the back of his head, offering an apologetic half-smile. "Mission location was kind of... off the map. I had to investigate ruins near the remains of Atlantis. Took longer than expected."
Katie sighed and looked away, muttering, "Of course. You disappear for days and come back with an excuse involving a mythical city."
Just as she was about to let it slide, her nose twitched. She sniffed the air subtly, then frowned.
There was a scent lingering on Ethan—floral, expensive.
Instantly, alarms blared in her head. The kind that only girlfriends get. She crossed her arms tighter, narrowed her eyes.
"That perfume... don't tell me it's from Mrs. Storm. I bought that scent during Black Friday, and this one's different. Spill it. Who was she?"
Ethan froze. "Uh... that's complicated."
"Try me."
Before Ethan could stammer out another half-baked excuse, the door slammed open with a loud BANG!
A girl in a black gothic princess dress stood there, her waist-length black hair flowing like silk, and her eyes locked on Ethan.
"Ethan, what the hell? You left me outside like some abandoned kitten."
Katie blinked, stunned.
The girl looked like a gothic porcelain doll, straight out of a Tim Burton movie.
"Let me guess," Ethan muttered, "You're not buying it if I say she's my long-lost sister, right? Yeah, didn't think so."
Katie, ignoring him, stepped toward the girl, slowly.
Then suddenly hugged her tight, even playfully squishing the girl's cheeks.
"She's adorable! Ethan, let's keep her. I thought you brought back another Yuriko-level meta, but she's just a cute little goth girl. No threat at all."
Ethan practically leapt forward. "Katie, careful! Don't get too close—"
But Luna, the so-called goth girl, didn't move. She simply stared at Katie with curious, analytical eyes.
"Interesting..." Luna murmured. "Your biofield signature bends not only local space, but time. That's rare—even among metas."
Katie looked at her blankly. "Uh, what now?"
Ethan stepped in. "She's analyzing your powers. She's got a sort of hyper-tuned perception about these kinds of things... Oh, she's also as strong, if not stronger than the recent god-like Meta we decapitated..."
Katie tilted her head, then her face went pale.
"You mean she's as powerful as Apocalypse... You're kidding, right?"
Ethan let out a breathy laugh. "Something like that. But don't worry—she's not a threat. Not right now, anyway. Compared to guys like Apocalypse, her danger level's a 4 out of 10."
Luna had already taken a seat on the couch, sipping tea Yuriko handed her as if she belonged there.
"Anyway," Katie said, clearly trying to change the subject, "Something interesting happened at the academy while you were gone."
"Oh yeah?" Ethan yawned, unimpressed. "What now? Someone open a wormhole in the cafeteria again?"
"Worse. Or better. A new meta showed up—mysterious, slick, and kicking ass. He's taken on some serious missions, nailed a few wanted criminals, and now the whole academy's buzzing about him. Some people even think it's you in disguise, trying to inspire the students."
Ethan raised a brow. "Let me guess. Wears a mask?"
"Nope. Full-body suit. With a spider emblem on the chest. Can climb walls. People are calling him... Spider-Man."
Ethan's eyes widened. 'No way. Peter awakened already? Damn, I was going to reach out to him after dealing with Namor. Looks like he's been busy. Time to check in with the kid.'
·······
Meanwhile, in the streets of Academy City, Peter Parker, wearing a black hoodie, carried a parcel close to his chest. Inside was the newest version of his custom Spider-Suit, complete with an updated web-launcher system.
He felt awesome. Tired, but awesome.
His body ached from sleepless nights spent fighting crime, and even under the mask, the dark circles under his eyes threatened to win
. Still, the whispers about Spider-Man around campus kept him going. There was power in mystery.
A thrill in being the symbol.
Of course, he had no plans to reveal his identity.
Peter didn't crave attention—he just wanted to help.
No fame. No headlines.
Just justice. And maybe a little less homework.
A sharp voice broke his thoughts.
"Old man, hand over the bag."
Peter looked ahead.
A mugging in progress. The law enforcement team was too tied up with high-threat metas to handle small-time crimes.
That's where he came in.
"Looks like it's showtime," Peter whispered, then darted toward a nearby phone booth, Superman-style.
He yanked off his clothes, fumbled with his boots, and squeezed into the tight spider-suit. "Ugh. Did the tailor mess up the measurements again? And where's my launcher? I swear it was—ugh, textbooks!"
"Please, let me go!"
"Shut up! Give us the bag!"
"Help! Someone!"
Peter groaned, stuffing the last of his things into the bag. "Note to self: phone booths are not as convenient as they look in comics."
BANG! A gunshot.
Peter didn't wait. He burst out of the booth.
Just as the criminal raised his gun again, a blur moved faster than he could register.
The weapon flew out of his hand, clattering to the ground.
Standing there, holding the weapon and smirking, was Ethan.
"Nice threads," Ethan said, twirling the gun like a toy.
"Wha—wait... you're... you're the Council President?!" Peter exclaimed subconsciously.
"Why do I feel like I've been robbed of the spotlight? Someone NTR'd the plot right out from under me." In the art room of Ability Academy, Deadpool suddenly looked up from his chaotic drawing with a suspicious glare.
"Even backdoor deals aren't reliable these days? Modern society seriously lacks integrity. A high-class meta like me can't compete with the fresh-faced pretty boys who look scrawny in a shirt but pop out abs when it's off. This world's seriously broken. If even the masked heroes are into that look, maybe I should switch it up—tight suit, red and black, maybe throw in a spider motif. That seems trendy lately." Deadpool tossed aside his paintbrush dramatically, stood up with hands on his hips, and sighed like a man deeply betrayed.
"I mean, c'mon, everyone treats me like I'm just comic relief. I'm not even the main character. Can't kill superheroes here either. Just a mentally unstable chatterbox with a sword fetish. Right, Bar?"
Still mid-monologue, Deadpool suddenly paused, hearing voices in the corridor. Someone was heading toward the classroom.
"Sir, I've got a question. How did you figure out my real identity? I've been extremely careful with my disguise," Peter Parker asked, glancing around nervously.
"Before I found you," Ethan replied, pushing the door open, "I talked to someone with… unique expertise in tight, masked fashion choices. Sound good enough for you?"
Inside, Deadpool was lounging sideways across the podium, head propped up by one hand. He gave a lazy wave.
"Hey there, kid. Been a while," Deadpool smirked at Peter. "Aren't you a bit late? One hour and three minutes after school. Coming to see me now—what is it? Personal tutoring? Deadpool-sensei doesn't normally do overtime, but for you… maybe."
"No thanks, Mr. Deadpool," Peter said quickly, stepping back slightly as Deadpool's dual katanas clinked together.
Something about his tone didn't feel quite safe.
"Wait a second… how do you even know I'm Spider-Man?" Peter blurted out.
"Easy. Out of all the students here, you're the only one who'd sneak out and fight crime without any points on the line. That kind of justice boner is a dead giveaway." Deadpool clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder.
Peter's eyes softened. "Mr. Deadpool… you actually pay that much attention to me?"
"Fake," Deadpool grinned evilly. "Truth is, I caught you in the lab last night, tweaking your web shooter. Thought I'd spice it up a bit. Might be a surprise waiting next time you use it."
"You added—?" Peter started, pressing the trigger reflexively. A splatter of white goop hit Deadpool square in the face mid-laugh.
"Wow. Didn't expect to get face-blasted like that today. Never even tried that with my ex."
Ethan raised a hand, cutting them off. "Enough. I want to know why your powers suddenly became stable. Something's changed, and I want the full story."
Peter nodded. "It started a few days ago. We went on a museum trip—organized by Mr. Deadpool, of course—and I got bitten by a spider. Not even a cool-looking one. I felt feverish that night, then boom. Next morning, I could climb walls."
"Ugh. Every time someone awakens powers from a nap, I feel like punching them." Deadpool grumbled.
"You'd totally do it too," Ethan muttered, eyeing him.
"Anyway," Deadpool shifted gears, now slightly more serious, "If that spider wasn't from outer space, then it was probably the result of genetic tampering. Man-made. Either way, it's not natural."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Could a rogue gene-enhancement project really cause an animal subject to awaken meta abilities?"
He motioned for Peter and Deadpool to follow him. The three made their way to the Student Council's headquarters—now an established organization with its own intel division.
"Katie, pull up all the research facilities near the museum we visited," Ethan ordered.
Moments later, a map of Academy City popped up.
"There's a small private lab nearby," Katie reported. "But it looks like it packed up and vanished almost overnight."
"A private lab in Academy City isn't out of the ordinary," Ethan said. "This city used to be New York. It's layered with every kind of secret group imaginable. What bothers me is that even official meta awakening research isn't perfected yet. How could these small-time labs match that?"
"Can we dig into their data?" he asked.
"Not with our resources," Katie said. "But the law enforcement network might have access. It'll cost a ton of points though."
"I've got it covered," Ethan replied and placed his hand on the data panel. It lit up with Verification Passed—and his point balance dropped to zero.
Peter's jaw dropped. 'So the rumors are true. The Student Council President really is the walking quest terminal. An actual living cheat code.'
"There we go," Katie said. "This lab wasn't acting alone. It's connected to multiple other facilities, and some of those are linked to meta-related crimes."
"Hold up!" Peter jumped in. "I fought two metas recently who match some of these photos. Both could generate high heat and had extreme healing factors. One of them just exploded mid-fight without warning."
"That jogs something," Deadpool muttered. "There's been chatter in the underground markets lately. Word is, a black-market gene serum's going around. Supposedly awakens dormant powers or boosts existing ones. They're calling it... the Extremis Virus."
_______________________________
Word count: 1822
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