A week had passed since the Oscorp infiltration.
The city moved on like nothing had changed, but for Gwen and Luffy, everything had.
They weren't just two kids with powers anymore. They were fugitives in disguise, shadows beneath the skyline, crafting a life no one could ever trace.
Field Alpha, their once casual hideout, now looked nothing like it had before. The dusty chairs and leftover snack wrappers were gone. In their place: rolled-up blueprints, salvaged server parts, a workbench lined with soldering tools and old Stark-tech scraps Gwen had scavenged from public junk auctions.
Luffy stood in the center, chewing a protein bar like it was bubblegum, staring at the glowing whiteboard Gwen had activated.
"So," he said slowly, "this is real now."
Gwen tapped her tablet and spun a 3D model of their hideout onto the screen. "It was always real. We were just waiting to admit it."
The model expanded, showing potential power layouts, locker zones, camo tech overlays.
"First things first," she said, pulling her hair back into a tight bun. "No one's seeing our faces again. Ever."
Luffy nodded. "So, stealth tech."
"Not just stealth tech. We need to be invisible to the city. To drones. Security cams. Heat scans. Facial recognition."
She swiped to a new screen: "Mask field prototypes. Light-bending overlays. Sound dampeners. Electromagnetic fuzzers. I've got the designs, just not the resources."
Luffy pulled out a folded-up flyer from his hoodie. "Think this'll help? There's a salvage warehouse down on 14th."
Gwen smirked. "That's a start."
She opened a new file labeled "Operation Nightfall." The plan included patrol route test zones, emergency stashes, and energy burn trackers.
"We also need to talk about sleep," Gwen added.
Luffy blinked. "I've been fine."
"Exactly," she said. "We haven't slept more than three hours a night for days. No exhaustion. Barely any yawning. But look at this."
She handed him a logbook. Vital signs, muscle recovery rates, reaction times.
"Our powers are evolving. Faster healing, accelerated cognition, elevated focus. But..."
Luffy finished her sentence. "We're burning through food like monsters."
"Exactly. Your aunt noticed, right?"
"She asked if I was stress eating." He grinned sheepishly. "I said I was carbo-loading for gym."
"We need a system," Gwen said. "Emergency food stashes. Energy packs. Supplements. Otherwise, we'll crash hard in the middle of a mission one day."
They spent the next hour sketching a basic rotation: patrol-ready suits, emergency rations, glucose boosters hidden in costume seams.
Then Gwen opened a fresh tab: "Funding."
"We're gonna need gear. Real gear. Which means real money."
Luffy scratched his chin. "We rob a bank."
Gwen gave him a flat look.
"Kidding," he said quickly. "Mostly."
"We make something instead," Gwen said. "Useful, non-vigilante, student-friendly tech. Stuff we can sell. Trackers, wearables, productivity apps. Keep it small, but clean."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Like a stealth study timer that shuts off distractions?"
Gwen smiled. "Exactly like that. We make a couple demo prototypes, build a site, and sell them on school forums. We say it's a science project."
"And the money goes to gear, food, and cover."
"We document everything under fake accounts. It looks like hustle, not hero work."
They high-fived without even looking.
Later that night, Gwen sat at the dinner table, poking at a third helping of chicken stir fry. Her mom raised an eyebrow.
"You're eating like you ran a marathon," Helen Stacy said.
"Just... busy week. Long labs. Lots of brainwork."
Helen exchanged a look with Captain Stacy, who quietly refilled Gwen's glass of water.
"Are you getting enough sleep?"
Gwen froze for a beat too long. "More or less."
Her dad narrowed his eyes but didn't press it. Still, she knew the concern was logged. Gwen made a mental note: she needed more visible rest habits at home.
Across town, Luffy tore through a mountain of toast while Celia stared at the mess.
"I just bought that loaf this morning!"
"I'm growing. And training. Like crazy," he mumbled through crumbs.
Mark peeked over the fridge door. "This is the third week in a row we've run out of groceries early. You sure you're not secretly feeding the neighborhood?"
Luffy laughed nervously. "Guess I've just got big energy."
"You've got a big appetite, that's for sure."
He offered a goofy smile and cleared his plate.
Earlier that week, neither of them had gone home for a full night. They'd spent two nights in a row at Field Alpha, testing equipment, modifying gear, and running stealth drills. When the time came to explain their absence, they each leaned on the same simple lie: Gwen texted her mom saying she was sleeping over at Luffy's, while Luffy told Celia he was at Gwen's for an extended school project. With their parents busy with late shifts, work deadlines, and stress from their own schedules, the alibi passed without much scrutiny.
Still, it had been a close call. Gwen had seen her mom checking her calendar twice like something was missing. Luffy admitted his dad paused for a beat before accepting the story. They both knew they'd need to use that excuse sparingly going forward.
Now, back at Field Alpha, Gwen scanned her vitals one last time. Her heart rate was strong, her metabolic index high — almost superhuman.
"You think we're going to keep changing?" she asked.
Luffy lay on a storage locker with his arms behind his head. "Yeah. I think this is only the beginning."
She looked over at him, studying the calm confidence on his face. She didn't say it aloud, but his presence helped her feel like they weren't spiraling. That this strange evolution had purpose.
"Then let's make sure we're ahead of it," she said. "We adapt first. The world catches up later."
Luffy gave a thumbs up. "And we eat everything in sight while doing it."
They laughed quietly, then returned to the lab bench.
The soldering iron hissed. The city outside buzzed.
And in a quiet corner of Brooklyn, two shadows prepared to become something the world had never seen.