Author Note: Well, I will probably update Stories of the Dead today, but since it's Easter it's kind of hard to work on the stories, but I already had this chapter done. I updated yesterday (this story) and I usually don't update two days in a row... However, HAPPY EASTER! I will update this again tomorrow (to stay on track and because I already have it written up).

~CWA

Chapter 9- Suspicious:

Third Person:

As soon as Gear hung up the phone, she had continued to have her conversation with Ryan. However, it didn't take long before the conversation ended up with both of them feeling frustrated.

"Look," Ryan finally snapped, "I'm just gonna go blow some steam down in the lab!"

"Good," Gear said as she rubbed her temples, "You do that."

"I will."

"Fine."

"Fine."

He left briskly and Gear watched him leave. A second late, she grabbed the six-pack of unopened beer that was lying untouched on the top of the trash. I think I'll be needing this later… But just what is Vlad up to?

She headed straight to her room. As she entered the room, she pressed a button on the metallic bracelet she wore. A section of it slide up and out, revealing a keyboard. She typed at it and soon, a wall of her room lifted up revealing a long desk that had many keyboards and gadgets along with about ten or so computer screens. She sat down at the chair and started to get to work as soon as she put up the beer in the mini-fridge.

She started to type away. Just what are you up to Vlad… Nothing yet, I don't think. You're too smart, you're meeting wasn't supposed to be for a while- you wanted to be here for a reason… A warning then. You were just letting us know that you were here. You wanted to take us by surprise, but just what is your plan? You're not stupid enough to make a move before your meeting set in a month. You wouldn't want that to be ruined…

"Glad you could all make it," Agent Phil Coulson said as he walked in.

Currently, the team was in their 'superhero get-up' as they sat around the table.

"What's this about," Spiderman asked.

"We've detected some odd energy fluctuations a certain house," Coulson informed, "a certain house that belongs to your friend, Ryan."

"And Gear," Iron Fist pitched in.

"What about them," Nova asked, "What type of energy?"

"Unknown. So far, it appears to be just small bursts at a time, heavily concealed I might add. It wasn't easy to pick up."

"What does that mean," Spidey asked, "I mean, Ryan said that Gear has her lab down there so it might be that."

"If that was the case, it would be a steady signature, it wouldn't go in and out. It's almost organic. It's like someone… activating a power," Coulson explained and added a small hint in his voice.

"Are you suggesting that Ryan might be-"

"-A mutant," Coulson finished, "Yes, it's possible. All I ask is for you to be careful. He might not be aware of his powers or he might have control. Either way, it's best to be careful, but have the benefit of doubt."

"But if he was a mutant, wouldn't the X-Men pick him up," Spiderman asked.

"Not necessarily. Like we said, it's unknown. It might just be nothing. It might be him getting powers," Coulson shrugged, "All we know is that the possibility of it being him are pretty high… Especially with what we found out."

"You did a background check on him," Spidey said as he narrowed his eyes.

"We do a background check on everyone," Coulson said, unconcerned, "You shouldn't be surprised. But we were a bit shocked to find out that the records were faked."

"What do you mean," White Tiger asked.

"Ryan Branson doesn't exist… And we can't figure out just who he really is."

"Look, I'm not saying that Ryan isn't cool," Ava defended herself, "He's just… weird, ya know?"

"No," Peter denied, "He's pretty cool… Plus he thinks Spiderman is cool too- so that's a big plus!"

"That's not the point," Ava shook her head, "Just think about it. We've become his closest friends. Don't tell me you haven't noticed anything weird?"

"Well, I'll tell you what I noticed," Sam said, nudging Danny, "That Gear is a total looker."

Danny frowned slightly and Sam groaned,

"Oh come on dude, I know you've realized it! There's no denying that you've been checking her out…"

"I don't care much about appearances," Danny pointed out.

"Yeah, but they're a plus," Sam laughed, "And she's smart- you've seen her, she's more of a geek than webhead!"

"Hey," Peter protested, but Sam continued,

"And she's into all that aruatherapy, actupen-something, and meditation."

Danny shook his head,

"It's aromatherapy and acupuncture."

"You actually have been spending a lot of time with Gear," Luke mused.

They all knew that Danny 'had the hots' for Gear. It was pretty obvious- though both were pretty oblivious. Ava felt her eye twitch,

"As I was saying, don't tell me you haven't noticed anything weird? He tenses up on the subject of parents, Gear dodges almost every single question we ask, he won't tell us where he's from exactly, he and Vlad Masters have some type of feud, his eyes seem to glow almost green when he's angry. Plus you remember what Coulson said Ryan might be a-"

She was interrupted by 'ooh's from a crowd nearby. She narrowed her eyes,

"What's all that about?"

"Probably Flash," Peter shook his head, "He's probably fighting with some poor kid and… wait, is that Ryan?"

The team pushed their way through the crowd carefully. Sure enough, there stood Flash and Ryan at the center of the commotion. Flash was obviously upset about something- probably because his shirt was wet and Ryan was the one holding the coffee. Ryan more than likely had spilled the coffee on Flash by accident. Ryan looked a bit nervous. He put up his hands in defense,

"I'm really sorry, Flash. I didn't mean to-"

"-Oh sure you didn't, Branson," Flash growled, "But I do know you're going to regret it. This is my favorite Spiderman t-shirt!"

Flash went to punch Ryan. Ava nudged Peter,

"We have to do something. Ryan's gonna get beat."

"I-" Peter started, but he stopped as he looked back at Ryan and Flash,

"Woah."

They all watched as Ryan easily and gracefully dodged Flash's punch. Flash swung again, but once again, Ryan gracefully dodged. Not one drop of coffee swished out of the coffee cup- even though there was still some left.

"Should we help him," Sam scratched at the back of his head, "I mean, he looks like he's got it covered."

As they watched Ryan easily dodge each and every hit that Flash sent, the idea of Ryan having powers seemed a bit more believable. The fight ended when Ryan dodged yet another punch, moved so he was behind Flash, and swiftly under kicked him. Flash fell down with a thud as Ryan shook his head. You've got to be kidding me. He spotted Peter and the others and hurried over with a smile before Flash could get back up.

"What was that all about," Ava asked.

"I spilled coffee on him," Ryan shrugged, "No big deal, except now most of the coffee is over his shirt."

Ryan frowned as he looked down at the coffee cup, I might have to get more.

"That was pretty… cool," Ava said slowly.

"Yeah man," Sam cheered, "Stick it to him!"

Sam high-fived Ryan. Danny, however, had his guards up. After seeing how fast he reacted, it's easy to believe Agent Coulson now… But what about Gear? Does she know? Or could she even be the mutant? Why did Ryan fake the records? If Ryan isn't his name… then just how is he? Is he really our friend?

I swear if I'm gonna explode, Gear thought as she rubbed her temples. She took a sip of the beer. Screw it, screw being sober. Currently, she was frustrated with herself. During her system clean-up, SHIELD managed to sneak in through that hole and find out that Ryan Branson wasn't Ryan Branson. However, she managed to catch it before they found anything else. Still, it could complicate things.

Not to mention Vlad, he was up to something as well. Her gut feeling wasn't a good feeling. It told her that she should warn Danielle, but the problem was- she couldn't get a hold of Danielle. Gear knew all about Danielle and unlike Danny, she didn't think it was right for Danielle to be traveling the world on her own. So Dani didn't. Gear made sure to keep close tabs on the kid and make sure that she always had some place to stay- of course, Gear had to pull more than a few strings and call in a lot of favors. So, Gear gave Danielle housing and protection, in exchange Danielle had to make sure to give monthly updates. Over the course of time, the two became like sisters and since Jazz was gone, Danielle was the only sister Gear had left… And she was determined to protect her.

The only issue- Danielle still hadn't called in her monthly update for the past two months. Gear's been so preoccupied with Vlad, Ryan, and things that it was hard for her to think about Danielle for too long.

She took another gulp of the beer. If anything's happened to that kid, it's my fault.

"Where's Gear," Danny finally asked.

"She's just being Gear," Ryan shrugged, "She didn't want to come to school today."

"Why," Ava asked.

"She… Honestly, she's just stressed out."

"But her grades," Peter pointed out, "Isn't she worried about missing a test or something?"

"She's Gear," Ryan said simply, "She doesn't fail tests, she aces them, regardless if she's studied or not… She's really smart."

Ryan shrugged as he headed to get a drink. Peter looked over to the other side of the cafeteria as Ryan looked at the coke machine frustrated.

If we can even call him Ryan. This is driving me nuts, Peter thought irritated, I don't know if I can trust the guy or not. I want to, but he might be mutant… If he's a mutant, that's cool and maybe he become part of the team, but why did he fake his records and his name? Did something bad happen? Well, he might be on the run from something too, especially if he did have powers- the question is what?

"I'm just gonna ask him," Peter finally decided.

"No," Ava protested, "You can't do that! We don't know if he's a bad guy!"

"Ava, he's not a bad guy, we've known for a while now," Peter pointed out, "Even if he did have powers, then it would explain the fake records. He might be on the run from someone bad. He might have wanted to get a fresh start too, if someone had found out."

"If he has powers," Ava continued, "If he doesn't, then why would he fake the records?"

"People do it a lot more often than you think," Peter shrugged, a bit thankful that MJ and Harry weren't at school.

"Gear would've been able to have done it," Danny mused, "she's perfectly capable of it and more."

In the end, he couldn't ask Ryan about the fake records. He didn't get the chance as Ryan was headed back to the table, Peter's watch beeped. A second later, Ryan came to the table, only to find that everyone was in a rush to leave.

"Sorry, Ryan," Peter said, "Aunt May just called. She's not feeling well. We gotta run!"

Before Ryan could reply, a small blue wisp escaped his mouth.

"That's alright," Ryan smiled, "Just tell her I said to get better!"

As they left, Ryan let out a sigh of relief that they were gone. He headed to the nearest bathroom to transform into Phantom. He wasn't a hero- far from it… But there was a ghost somewhere and he needed to figure out who it was. Not because he was a hero, oh no, he just needed to blow off steam…