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***
-When I said you were smart, I clearly overreacted.
Resting his fingers on special points on his body, Danny weakly hit his target with a small boost from Qi.
As he continued to reprimand me, he was careful to make the blows more painful so that they would stick in my head, but I realised how wrong I'd been and how nearly I'd been killed. That's why I silently listened to sensei's wisdom under Daredevil's reproachful gaze, which also showed obvious disappointment.
Two grown men had been telling me off and cursing me for the past hour. Instead of training, they'd devoted all their time to getting me back on track, helping the Qi build up in my body again. Rand was the most involved, of course, as he was the most knowledgeable in the industry.
-I don't know what it's like! -I don't know what it's like! You don't stick your pod in a socket to see how the current works, do you? So why would you do anything differently here? The power's gone to your head?!
-Maybe.
- "Maybe," Rand said, mocking me and continuing to hit me with his punches, "how did you even manage to awaken the Qi? What did you do?
My story about the super-steeped soup was going exactly as I'd hoped. I kept the story to myself until the last moment, until Danny and Matt were exhausted, so I could throw it in later and put them both in a more positive mood.
-Ha-ha-ha-ha, that's original. I'll know how to abuse students in the future," Danny got to his feet, slapping me on the back to let me know that the job was finally done and that I could move around normally again without twisting in pain and fatigue, "but they used to make me do all kinds of creepy tests. A dark, odourless cave, or a cage with a tiger, the abyss, and then there were the ladyboys who were locked in the same room with me....
Neither Murdoch nor I could tell where was fiction and where was truth. Damn Rand said everything in the same tone, never giving away his true feelings.
-Thank you for your help, I think I'll be going now.
I bowed politely to both of them and hoped to be able to leave the dojo without any trouble, and I even made it to the door, but Murdoch and Rand weren't about to let me go.
-Where do you think you're going, pie? -Where do you think you're going? You think you're gonna end up in one lecture?
-You're very disappointing today, Shawn," Daredevil stood next to Danny and pulled out a folding baton from his belt, opening it up to a staff, "you remember the lesson better through pain.
-So get ready, you're not going to be getting any training in the next few days.
Danny's shining fists moved menacingly toward me as Sensei took up an attack stance, one of the ones that started the whole complex.
-Oh, shit...
-Yeah, boy. And now we're gonna beat it out of you so you can use your head next time.
***
Well, that was fair.
I comforted myself as I sat in class, my whole body feeling like one solid bruise. Every muscle, every bone, and even my fucked up hair hurt. Rand's Qi-soaked blows and what looked like the same stick blows from Murdoch had turned me into a chop.
And while Danny was hitting my body and limbs, Matt's stick was hitting my arse, making it physically painful to sit on the chair.
"Whipped like a puppy."
-Stop squirming, Sullivan, can't wait to go home?
-I'm just mesmerised by your beauty, Miss Barrymore.
-The cheeky one," she returned to the blackboard, and the glowing young teacher, recently transferred to us, began to write out her homework, "separately for Mr Sullivan.
Satisfied with her little revenge, the girl cheerfully left the classroom, flashing a white-toothed smile.
-Hey, she's a good one....
An ordinary day in an ordinary high school. Studying, homework and other joys of a schoolboy, like, for example, classmates who had time to blossom, slowly rounding up and taking a much more mature and juicy look.
-You're going to make me pregnant... -You're going to make me pregnant...
-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Kristen. You look great.
-Hmm!
With a proud pout, my former bedfellow stalked off down the corridor as Parker and I got ready for our next class.
-What's she doing?
-Yeah. I didn't invite her to the prom, so she's freaking out.
-I thought you two were together," Pete blushed and stammered, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, trying to look anywhere but at the back of the girl who was wagging her arse, "Well, it's just that you two...
-Slept?
-Yeah.
-Well, as long as we were just having fun, it wasn't a problem. But you know how it is," I twirled the brush, which made a painful grimace break out on my face, "bed intimacy quickly turns into emotional intimacy if the partner is pleasing to you.
-Yeah, I know.
Pete grinned so contentedly that it made him want to prescribe.
-So Kristen wanted more, and I'm not ready for that yet.
-I don't know about that.
-She made those terms, so there's nothing to sulk about.
-Then I have a fair question. Who are you going to the ball with? It's only a couple of weeks away.
-A whole fortnight, old chap! -A whole fortnight! I'll find someone, maybe not from school. Or maybe I'll forget about it altogether.
We made our way through the streams of schoolchildren to the next classroom, where classes would be held. Inside, groups of students were already huddled together waiting for the class to begin, and as soon as we appeared in the doorway, a searing mixture of glances came from a group of girls in our direction.
Irritation, hatred, resentment, interest, mockery. The latter, as usual, belonged to MJ, who was having wild fun with everything that was going on, deftly manoeuvring between the interest groups, avoiding conflict. She had no problem chatting with Kristen and the others who supported my ex-girlfriend, and with us, lavishing Parker with her attention.... And more.
-Look at all these candidates. -You can take your pick.
-Yeah, only half of them want to burn you alive for the Kristen situation.
-Oh, Pete. You've got so much to learn about women," I put my arm around my friend's neck and leaned closer, still giving the girls a carnivorous look, "they're little liars. I'm sure that by the end of the week, at least one of them will bring the conversation to the invitation.
-I doubt it.
-You better believe it. If Kristen and MJ can find something in us, they can, I'm telling you with all confidence. Especially you. I'm sure a couple of them will want a taste of your kosher pickle.
-Fuck. Cut the crap. And you're too close, stop it, or MJ won't rest.
The guy's had a lot of false expectations about his dearly beloved. The redhead wasn't as kind, sweet and understanding as Pete had made her out to be in his head. Tease, tease, leave her holding her nose? You name it. And right now, I could see the anticipatory grin on her face, too, and a whole serenade of jokes about her boyfriend and his best friend forming in her head.
-Ha-ha-ha-ha. I'm taking a different route tonight, so good luck, mate.
-You sure are...
***
-One Pepperoni, one Four Cheese, and one for the most beautiful customer, the Spicy Meat.
My extravagant way of delivery became a kind of business card of our institution, from which the flow of customers to the pizzeria only grew. Unfortunately, my tips and hourly wages did not grow, but what the hell. Capitalism.
-Thank you, - modestly dimming her eyes, while her friends were poking the blonde cutie, the girl, blushing shyly, handed me a handful of change, - this is on top, sorry, I have no more....
-No big deal," I intercepted the small hand and asked for permission with my eyes, then left a weightless kiss on the back of it, "I have a better reward.
A quiet, suppressed squeal and laughter from behind the curtains was the best ovation. While blushing to the ears the girl axed her goodbye, walking away from the window with a wooden gait.
A few seconds of deliberation and there she was, treading back just as heavily. It would seem that there was nowhere to blush, but this blue-eyed beauty surpassed my expectations, equal in complexion to a fire engine.
-Excuse me. Thank you. I mean... Goodbye. Goodbye, yes.
Not holding back a smile, I waved my hand while the unfortunate customer, overcoming fear and shame, struggled with the curtain. Her friends, on the contrary, were laughing so hard that the walls were shaking, which made the unfortunate cutie barely able to manage her task.
-Go on, Don Juan, don't you see, our little Gwen won't rest while you're around.
-Oh-oh-oh, excuse me," I saluted with a couple of fingers from my forehead and briskly moved away from such an attractive sight, "order from us more often so I can enjoy it again!" she said.I jumped down the stairs, remembering the beatings from Murdoch and Rand, and leapt down the stairs in a dashing, show-off fashion.
Already aware of the laws of Marvel's world, I had a pretty good idea who Gwen was lurking behind the curtain, peeking out. The daughter of the police chief with whom I'd been having saucy conversations at the diner.
"Although, maybe it's just a coincidence? Nah... The comic book universe is so full of serendipitous encounters."
One wondered what she would become in this world. Would she be a scientist or would she become Peter's next date.... And in the most tempting option, she could be Spider-Woman.
"Hehe, that would be awesome."
But that was still a whole month and a half away, so we can hold off on thinking about Gwen Stacy's future for now. The planned Ozcorp exhibition for everyone wouldn't take place until mid-July, for now it was the end of May.
It was hot outside and, unfortunately for me, I could no longer always wear a cape and hat to show my affection for high culture, and my outfit was becoming popular, as the old ladies in the neighbourhood hinted to me.
So, having given a simple and banal bow, I, dancing, disappeared around the corner, waving at the side of the ajar curtain, from where my blond head looked out.
-Eh, youth, how good you are.
Qi was slowly returning to normal. After my thoughtless act, my body was happy to start growing rapidly, slowly levelling me with the rest of my friends. Of course, I was still a long way from the tall girls who grew like yeast during that period, but Pete didn't seem like a scrawny barnacle who had to jump up a little to get his mate's head in his grasp.
My shoulders were getting bigger, and the muscles all over my body were getting stronger, gradually building up into a beautiful relief worthy of an ancient Greek athlete. It's no wonder that girls began to look at me more actively. I could easily get the beauties to talk to me, but now in addition to a quick tongue and a prominent body, which makes it much easier to find sympathy from the opposite sex.
Life is a dream.
I was whistling a Bonnie Tyler song as I walked outside, carefully clutching the special delivery bag at my side, when an explosion went off on the opposite side of the street.
A ragged, wrapped figure holding a bag of loot ran out of a small pawnshop, scattering the debris of the building as people screamed and alarms blared.
The blast wave threw me into the nearest minivan, knocking me unconscious for a moment.
Vague images danced before my eyes, and the familiar feeling of pain spread through my body again.
The rumbling and screaming didn't subside for a moment as I tossed my bag aside and leaned on the side of the crumpled car, slowly climbing to my feet, making my way toward the flaming fire.
A couple of cars had been flipped over on their sides with their owners now hanging limply from their seatbelts.
The people around them scattered and only a couple of patrol bobbies remained in the centre of the action, exchanging fire with the unknown entity sending energy beams at them.
Everything was happening too fast and my brain didn't have time to fully process the information, but my body.... My body was the envy of many.
Kneeling down, I poured Qi into my hands, feeling the combustible liquid flowing through the newly restored channels, giving me strength and new opportunities.
A sharp jerk and the battered door of an old Toyota swung open in front of me, revealing the limp body of an elderly man.
Holding his head, I began to pull him out of the car, dragging him as far away as possible, trying not to overdo it with force.
For long minutes that stretched into hours in my mind, I dragged the men away from the fire and the overturned cars, trying to disturb their bodies as little as possible. I didn't know how badly they were hurt, so I kept my crooked hands off the victims, trying only to keep them safe from a new round of fighting between the police and a criminal with superpowers.
The cornered villain snapped painfully, sending yellow beams of energy into his pursuers, which tore off pieces of buildings and scattered cars like skittles.
Sirens were blaring all around, and a real crowd of firemen, police, and medics was gathering in the street under the curious stares of onlookers, while I was sitting in the centre of this bacchanalia.
I used Qi more sparingly this time, but the pain in my body didn't diminish one bit. My body protested, demanding urgent rest as I struggled to drag my body to the nearest car, where I leaned against it.
My head sank backwards, touching the cold metal of the car's underbody, which had rolled over onto its side.
-That's a wonderful life for you....
Muttering to myself under my breath, I listened to the sounds of the battle, which were completely hushed in the distance and only the cries of wounded and frightened people, interrupted by the shouts of law enforcement officers, were heard around the area.
-Hey, hey, kid," the young policeman patted me on the shoulder and knelt down in front of me, checking my body for injuries, "where does it hurt? Do you feel anything...
After pelting me with questions, he only checked my well-being, and then, repeating my recent actions, dragged me away from the disaster, to a place where a small hospital of ambulances had already been set up.
Half an hour later, sitting in the back of a police car, I watched through the open door as firefighters and EMTs removed the rubble from the site of the small pawnshop. Like a clichéd film, I had a blanket resting on my shoulders and a cold cup of cheap coffee in my hands, chilling me to the core.
-That's the fucked up part...
Whispering quietly under my breath, I was already imagining tomorrow's news bulletins, in which mutants, supers, and other freaks who interfere with the lives of ordinary people would be covered in mud.
Until this day, the main supers and freaks were the guys from the Fantastic Four, living quietly in their tower, doing research and other nonsense that doesn't affect ordinary people.
They were rarely seen, and many of them were considered fiction, being sure that it was all just special technology and special effects. Even Johnny Storm flying over our heads, the fucking Torch Man, didn't cause much excitement. At one of the breaks at school I heard talk of him just using a special suit.... When I asked him why his head wasn't baked, the students just shrugged silently, blaming it on reptilians, the government, and other bullshit.
But what happened now. That's not gonna go away. I'm sure right this minute the news reports are starting to make waves, pouring new canisters of petrol of lies, conjecture and nonsense on the fire of excitement.
Priests and fake preachers will scream, TV show hosts will start endless debates. I mean, where have we seen this before? There's a real little war going on in the centre of New York.
Fucking mutant. Why would he do that in the middle of the day in Greenpoint? Sick bastard kills a bunch of people, destroys millions of dollars worth of property, and for what? A bunch of old junk and a few thousand quid.
I don't remember anything like that in the comics or the films, and even in the cartoons I've never seen anything like that. Was there ever anything like this in canon?
Questions, questions, questions...
***
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