The next morning, Midtown High was under siege.
The scene was a chaotic masterpiece of modern fame. A solid wall of bodies, three-deep in expensive suits and rumpled reporter jackets, choked the school's grand entrance. Beyond them, a constellation of news vans aimed satellite dishes at the sky like strange, metallic sunflowers. The air, usually filled with the sounds of morning chatter and skateboard wheels, was a cacophony of shouted questions, the percussive storm of camera shutters, and the increasingly frustrated bellows of the school's security team, who were fighting a losing battle against the human tide.
When Aidan Parker arrived after a deliberately slow breakfast, the sheer scale of the media circus gave him pause. From a block away, it looked less like a high school and more like the red carpet premiere of a blockbuster movie. Which, he supposed with a sigh, it sort of was.
He saw the faces in the crowd: sharp-eyed corporate scouts from yesterday, now looking desperate; reporters from every major news network thrusting microphones forward like weapons; and slick lawyers holding briefcases, their faces masks of predatory patience. This was the price of success, the inevitable consequence of yesterday's demonstration.
With a weary resignation, he tried to push his way through. "Excuse me… student… sorry, trying to get to class…" It was useless. He was just another body in the scrum, and after a few breathless minutes of being jostled and ignored, he found himself spat back out onto the sidewalk where he'd started. He leaned against a wall, catching his breath, and saw he wasn't alone. Other students were scattered around the perimeter, looking dazed and confused by the spectacle.
"Parker! Hey, Parker!"
Aidan turned to see a tall, blond classmate jogging toward him. Leo, a jock whose swagger was only matched by his reputation for finding trouble. His friends called him "Viper" because he was fast, slippery, and had a bit of a bite.
"What is all this?" Leo asked, gesturing at the mob with a mix of awe and annoyance. "For what? There's more press here than when Tony Stark landed his private jet on 5th Avenue just to get a hot dog."
"Something like that," Aidan said with a wry smile. "They're probably here for me."
Leo squinted. "Huh? Could it be that your domination of the school was reported? ... Then there won't be that many people!" he said solemnly.
"You didn't check the school forums yesterday, did you, Leo?" a new voice interjected. Toby, a boy with thick glasses and an encyclopedic knowledge of all things tech, walked over, his eyes bright with excitement.
"Forums? Dude, I was busy," Leo scoffed. "Living life. You should try it sometime."
"Just look," Toby insisted, not taking the bait. He turned his eager gaze to Aidan. "So, did you bring him today? Adam? I was hoping I could see the articulation on the manipulator joints up close."
"Sorry, Toby," Aidan said, genuinely apologetic. "Adam's already on a truck to Las Vegas for a promotional tour with Martin."
"Oh," Toby's face fell, the disappointment almost comically tragic, as if he'd just missed out on a hundred-million-dollar lottery ticket. "What a shame."
"But," Aidan added, seeing his friend's crestfallen look, "I'm already planning the next stage. A full-fledged robot fighting league, just like in the movie. I'll need a whole team of designers and engineers. If you're interested, you'll be my first call."
As he spoke, his mind was already moving far beyond the conversation. The league wasn't just a business venture; it was a strategic necessity. A cake this big couldn't be eaten alone, not in a world of sharks. By distributing pieces of it, by creating partners and allies, he was building a network, a buffer. The core technology, the god-tier code from the System, would remain his. But the franchise, the sport, the spectacle—that would be his shield, woven from capital and shared interest. In a world where he knew organizations like HYDRA festered in the shadows, a world where the government would not hesitate to seize what they couldn't control, this was his defense. His identity as a high school genius was his greatest weapon, a cloak of public sympathy that would make any overt move against him a political nightmare for his enemies.
Toby's eyes lit up behind his glasses. "Really? A real league? We could work on power-to-weight ratios, new chassis designs…"
Leo, who had been furiously scrolling on his phone, suddenly let out a strangled gasp. He looked up from the screen, his eyes wide with a look of pure, unadulterated shock. He stared at Aidan as if seeing him for the first time.
"It's true," Aidan said, raising an eyebrow. "No special effects."
"My God, Parker," Leo breathed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You actually built him. You built the robot from Real Steel. Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have skipped class yesterday!"
"Right now," Aidan said, cutting off the impending complaints, "I think we should focus on finding a way inside." He pointed at the impassable human dam at the school gate.
Leo's usual cocky grin returned. "No problem. I was just gonna ditch, but for this? Follow me. I know a way."
He led them away from the chaos, around the school's long brick wall. Aidan recalled his first real encounter with Leo, a year ago. The blond had been shaking down freshmen for "protection money." Aidan, in the early stages of establishing his quiet order over the school, had confronted him. It wasn't just a fight; it was a negotiation conducted with fists. Aidan had won, not by being stronger, but by being smarter, using Leo's own momentum against him. Afterward, instead of punishing him, he'd given him a better business model: a monopoly on selling cigarettes to the upperclassmen. With a steady, non-violent income, Leo had become one of Aidan's most loyal, if reluctant, allies.
They soon arrived at a quiet, overgrown path nearly hidden by untamed bushes.
"Found this place when I was trying to impress a girl on a date," Leo said, pushing a branch aside. "It's super private. Alas, she ran off with some other jerk after two weeks. Can you believe it? I took her boxing with me every day. My favorite sport!"
"And you wonder why she left," Toby deadpanned, pushing his glasses up his nose.
Aidan just nodded with a solemn smile. "A true mystery."
The path was peaceful, a world away from the front of the school. But as they walked, Aidan's sharp eyes caught things the others missed. A scattering of dried eggshells near a tree. A small, dark, rust-colored stain on the dirt that was unmistakably blood. The bullying here was less blatant now, but it still existed, pushed into the shadows. A cold flicker of anger tightened his jaw.
"Whoa, check it out," Toby said, stopping suddenly. He pointed. Hanging from a low branch was a pair of purple, lace panties. Toby, ever the scientist, picked them up between two fingers. "I stand corrected. It seems you're not the only one who knows about this spot, Leo." He examined them with mock seriousness. "In such a remote place... she probably forgot them after the 'battle.' Her walk home must have been… breezy."
"You assume it was a 'her'," Aidan interjected quietly.
Leo and Toby paused, looked at each other, and then nodded in sober agreement.
The path ended at a tall, wrought-iron gate, tangled with weeds and rusted shut. "Looks like we're climbing," Leo said, cracking his knuckles.
"Or not," Aidan said. "I'll get the door."
Before they could ask what he meant, he bent his knees slightly. There was a faint, almost inaudible hum. Then he launched himself straight up, clearing the three-meter-high gate with an ease that defied gravity, landing silently on the other side. He turned and pulled the heavy, rusted latch.
Leo and Toby stared, their mouths agape.
"My God, Parker, how did you do that?" Leo stammered.
Toby, however, was looking intently at Aidan's shoes.
"Jump shoes," Aidan explained, pushing the gate open. "Homemade. They can provide a single, vertical lift for up to two hundred pounds. The energy cell only lasts for one jump, though." He said it with a casual air of regret, as if it were a minor design flaw.
"Cool," was all Leo could manage to say.
"The military's tech is twenty years ahead of anything civilian," Aidan shrugged, downplaying the feat. "They've probably had stuff like this for decades. Now let's go, before we miss first period entirely."
As they crossed the now-empty playground, a girl with striking, wine-red hair trotted over to them. She was delicate, but her posture was timid, her head bowed as if expecting a blow.
"Excuse me… are you Aidan Parker?" she asked softly, her eyes fixed on the ground. "Mr. Simmons wants to see you in his office."
"Okay," Aidan nodded. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up."
As Leo and Toby left, Aidan fell into step beside the girl. The silence was thick with her nervousness.
"What's your name?" he asked, his voice gentle, breaking the quiet.
She jumped. "Hannah," she stammered, clearly startled he was speaking to her. "My name is Hannah. It's nice to meet you."
"I don't think I've seen you around. Did you just transfer?"
"Um, yes. About a month ago," she said, tucking a stray strand of her red hair behind her ear.
"How are you finding it? No one giving you a hard time, I hope?" he asked casually.
He watched her carefully. A long pause. A flicker of something dark in her eyes before she forced a bright, brittle smile. "…No. It's pretty good here."
"Really?" Aidan said, his tone still light. "Then you must know about the trail behind the school playground."
Her head snapped up, surprise warring with fear on her face. "You… you've been there?"
"A few people know about it, I guess. The front gate was a bit crowded today." He let the statement hang in the air. He saw the understanding dawn in her eyes, the way her shoulders tensed. She knew that he knew.
They reached the office of Mr. Simmons.
"Well, thank you, Hannah," Aidan said. "If you ever need any help, you can come find me."
"Um, okay…" she whispered, looking like she wanted to say more but couldn't find the words.
"Oh, by the way," he added, pulling out a pen and scribbling on a slip of paper. "Here's my number." He handed it to her before turning and entering the teacher's office.
Hannah stood frozen for a moment, staring at the number in her hand. A sudden thought struck her. Aidan Parker, the most famous person in the school, definitely knew where the teacher's office was. He hadn't needed her to guide him at all.