Heroes Without Supervision Pt. 1
"Team 3 here, we found them," a soldier said; his gear made it clear he was part of an elite unit.
"Good. Everyone to your positions," the voice on the other side of the radio replied quickly, as several soldiers moved through the darkness, surrounding what looked like a massive abandoned factory. And yet, from inside, there were sounds of activity, along with lights shining through the windows and spilling out into the night.
Several light vehicles, nearly silent, arrived carrying a very familiar logo: a V for VITAE. The soldiers spread out around the area at high speed, fully armed.
The squad leader raised his hand slightly, stopping everyone at the entrances, while others waited by the windows. Snipers positioned on nearby rooftops aimed directly at the factory.
"Now… now," the leader said.
The doors blew open at the same time as the windows, and the soldiers rushed in from every direction.
But the moment they crossed the threshold, something felt off.
The place was completely empty.
The noise they had been hearing came from two massive speakers, while the lights seemed to be generated by a small orb hanging in the center, suspended by cables.
"Clear," the soldiers reported after confirming there was no one inside.
The leader stepped in with a serious expression, scanning the area as he pulled out a device that seemed to detect heat traces. Then his gaze dropped to the floor, where he noticed what looked like patches connected by thin wires, all leading back to the green sphere in the center.
"Tsk… they got here before us," he muttered, walking up to the orb and ripping it free with his hands. He examined it for a moment, revealing it to be a power source from one of the Chitauri engines.
"Check everything. Nothing here is to remain intact. If you find any extraterrestrial tech… destroy it without hesitation," he ordered quickly, clear irritation in his voice as he pulled out his phone.
"General… we were too late. Again," the leader said, a hint of shame in his tone.
"Mmm… seems they're quite slippery, tsk. If the DODC didn't keep sticking their hands where they don't belong, this wouldn't be happening. How many alien devices are still out there right now?" asked Nathaniel Hawthorne from the other side, his voice edged with annoyance.
"Not many, sir. The ones we've found, even inside intelligence agencies, were destroyed by our spies. Only what those civilians took is left," the leader replied immediately.
"Maybe it'd be better to send one of the kids. Pietro should be doing nothing right about now," the general said after a moment.
"Sir, that won't be necessary. This isn't a super-level case. VITAE soldiers can handle it and prove we're not useless, sir," the leader answered quickly.
"You know that's not what I meant," the general said calmly.
"I know, sir. It's just… this is our last job as members of VITAE. I don't want it to end like this," the soldier replied, pride and respect evident in the emblem on his chest.
After all, every one of them held a deep attachment to VITAE. And even though the creation of the heroes' association meant they wouldn't be left behind, only reassigned under a new command, that didn't change how much it meant to them.
"Mmm… I see. Don't overdo it," Nathaniel said with a calmer tone, giving his approval before cutting the call.
"Alright. Move out," the leader ordered, looking at the rest of the squad.
They placed explosives throughout the structure, which seemed to be contaminated with radiation from the Chitauri components. Then they blew it apart as they pulled back.
That's the problem with touching things you shouldn't.
You never know if the radiation will kill you first… or the object itself.
The fire lit up the night for a few seconds… and then everything fell silent again.
…
Tony sat in the car while Happy Hogan drove. Peter and Kamala sat beside him, both staring at him in silence.
Tony couldn't help but frown slightly under their fixed gazes.
"Can you stop doing that? It's weird… and annoying," he said, glancing at both of them.
"Ah… sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter replied, while Kamala kept staring at him. "It's just… we thought Mr. Nicolas would be the one handling our training, since Instructor Owen is… well, out of commission," he explained.
Both of them couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated sitting in front of the billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Even at the VITAE base, and despite the fact that he was the one who had found them, in a way, Tony was always too busy. They had barely exchanged more than a few words with him since arriving, and most of those had been one-sided.
Most of their time had been spent around Pietro, Nicolas, Wanda, or Owen; people who actually talked back when you spoke to them. Technically, they met Owen after Tony, but since he became their instructor, they ended up growing closer to him much faster.
On Tony's side, ever since Owen arrived, he seemed even more absent than before, so they hardly saw him at all.
And they couldn't help it… especially when he was driving them around in a car that probably cost more than both of their houses combined.
"Well, Mr. Nicolas is a bit busy in Africa right now. Probably mining diamonds after annoying Owen… I hope. So, to take advantage of the situation and get a break from all the work, I decided to be your new instructor. You should feel honored, because I don't usually do this. But I really need this break… ever since Owen showed up," Tony said, letting out a sigh.
But the conversation died almost immediately.
Because he felt like neither of them was actually listening.
Especially the elementary school girl, who had clearly gotten bored and stopped paying attention not even halfway through, turning instead to look out the window.
"Alright… whatever. The others have probably already told you, but you don't need to go around telling your parents everything about being superheroes and all that. And you're not to do anything super for a while while things get sorted out. Especially you, kid. You need to stop pulling cats out of trees. Some of them go up there because they actually like it," Tony said to Kamala.
"Fine…", she replied, though she didn't really sound convinced.
"And you, kid. Try being normal for a few days. Spider-Man is supposed to be in prison, remember? Just enjoy your teenage life; go out with girls, do what I would do," Tony said to Peter, who looked pretty embarrassed hearing that. "And keep an eye on her if you can," he added, pointing at Kamala, who at that exact moment was forming a small platform of solid light in her hands, even after Tony had just told her not to do anything "super."
"Yes, sir," Peter said quickly. "So… what are our schedules going to be?" he asked right after.
"Schedules?" Tony repeated, like the word itself sounded exhausting.
"Yeah. For training. You're our instructor," Peter said.
"Oh… right. The part where I'm supposed to pretend I planned this," Tony replied. "For now, just stick to the training Owen left you. We'll see after that," he added casually. "Don't worry, someone will call you when I get some free time from my… vacation, to check how you're doing."
"Ah… okay, sure," Peter said, just as the car came to a stop.
Kamala and Peter stepped out of the car, which had stopped at the corner of Midtown School of Science and Technology. Students could already be seen heading to class with their backpacks.
"Oh, and do me a favor. Take the kid to her school. I think it's a block or two from here. That's your new job from now on," Tony said, lowering the window slightly as he looked at Peter.
"Ah, yeah, sure," Peter replied without hesitation.
The car pulled away almost immediately, disappearing into traffic without so much as a second glance.
"Is it just me… or was that kind of irresponsible? Wanda's definitely going to be mad," Kamala said with a small smile, watching the car drive away before turning to Peter.
"Well… it's not like we need someone to take care of us… right? We're superheroes, after all… so maybe it's trust," Peter said, though he didn't sound very convinced; more like he was trying to defend Stark.
"Hmph. You're right. We don't need anyone taking care of us. We're superheroes, and in the future we'll probably be fighting tons of villains," Kamala said with a bit of pride before raising her hand toward Peter.
He looked at her, confused for a moment.
"We need to cross the street," she clarified.
"Oh—right, sorry," Peter said, taking her hand before crossing with her toward her elementary school.
As they crossed, Peter got distracted by a girl passing nearby. For a moment, he was completely mesmerized, a very obvious dreamy look on his face.
Kamala, who had been walking calmly, was suddenly stopped by the pull on her hand. She looked back… and saw Peter completely lost.
He had stopped dead.
Right in the middle of the street.
She followed his gaze toward the girl he was staring at, then looked back at him with a slightly tired expression.
"Typical…", she muttered, shaking her head before pulling his hand harder to snap him out of it.
"Ah—sorry," Peter said, snapping back to reality before quickly moving to get out of the street.
But just as he took a step, his spider-sense went off.
Without thinking, he grabbed Kamala and jumped backward.
A strange van sped past right in front of them.
Too fast.
Way too fast for something moving through a city street like that.
At a speed not even a Formula 1 car could reach in that space. The tires screeched against the asphalt, leaving behind dark streaks as if they were about to melt under the pressure.
A second later, a helicopter bearing the VITAE symbol flew overhead, clearly chasing the van.
A few people slowed down, shielding their eyes as they looked up, confused by the sudden noise cutting through the morning.
Several more vehicles marked with the same symbol tore through the street behind it, engines roaring as they forced their way forward.
"Hey… wasn't that Ricky driving one of those?" Kamala said, recognizing one of the drivers.
"Ricky?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, one of the guards from the base. He always helps me find Nicolas' hiding spots," she said quickly. "Maybe they're chasing a villain… what if they need help?" she added, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
"No," Peter said immediately. "You heard Mr. Stark. No superhero stuff for a while," he added firmly.
Without wasting time, he quickly checked both sides of the street and led Kamala toward her school before she could come up with anything reckless.
But he didn't notice that, as he crossed again…
something small and green had quietly attached itself to the sole of his shoe.