Kamala got back to the museum, finding her friends gathered around their exhibit, chattering as they waited on the judges coming around to examine it. Zoey still had her tablet with her, and the way that she and Nakia were staring at it, she had a feeling that Jonah had wasted little time in getting his story out.
"Hey, look who finally found her way back!" Nakia greeted her. "Kamala, you're going to want to see this!"
"Sorry, I just…got turned around." Kamala stammered out.
"Kamala, get your butt over here!" Zoey beckoned her. "Jameson's put out a special broadcast, you're going to love it!"
"I'm…not sure we've got time." Kamala stated as she tried to shy away from it. She already had an idea what the report was going to say, and she didn't really know how to take it. It was always nice hearing good things about herself. She would be lying if she said she didn't do the occasional trawl of Twitter, Fanfiction sites and even the odd vanity-google since she had become an Avenger. It was kind of an ego boost whenever she saw people putting artwork, blogs, fan articles or fanfictions about her online.
But all of those, even the fanfiction, which could go from the inspired to the outright weird at times, was at least based somewhat in reality. It was nice to hear people liking her, but she wanted to be appreciated for things she had actually done. The fight with the Wrecking Crew though, she had basically only just arrived to find the fight already over.
"Don't worry about it, I've got it covered!" Bruno assured her as he ran some last-minute checks of their exhibit.
"I really…"
"Come on, Bruno says it's fine!" Zoey chirped gleefully, grabbing Kamala and yanking her over. Kamala sighed as Zoey put the screen in front of her face. "This just came in, hot off the presses so to speak!"
"In yet another amazing display, the Fabulous Ms Marvel saved the city of New York from the Wrecker and his Wrecking Crew!" Jonah blurted out in his usual, bombastic tone. "You may remember them, these hulking, magically enhanced behemoths have been wreaking havoc for years, and have given even the Mighty Thor a run for his money, yet here we have the latest, youngest Avenger brought them down single-handed! This is yet another tremendous display for this miraculous young woman…"
Kamala just shoved the tablet away. Zoey glared at her.
"Hey, what gives?" Zoey asked her. "I thought you'd be over the moon your favourite is right here in New York being all awesome and…"
"Yeah, I'm just…I'd really like to just focus on the project." Kamala told them.
"Kind of late for that." Mike assured her. "The judges came around while you were getting lunch."
Kamala could see the smirking, knowing look he was giving her. He had covered for her, giving her the excuse, she needed to go and deal with the Wrecking Crew. "We're just waiting to hear if we're in the next round tomorrow."
"I missed the judges?" Kamala whined. "Aw, man! You guys, I'm sorry!"
"It's fine, Kamala, Bruno and Mike totally nailed the presentation." Nakia assured her. "I think Bruno may have sold snake oil in another life."
"Actually, knowing my family, I wouldn't be surprised if we did." Bruno answered. "Well, if you want to do something to help, you can help me secure the exhibit while the others go check out our rooms upstairs."
"You sure?" Mike asked him. "I really don't mind helping."
"Not to worry, we've got this." Mike said, kissing her sweetly on the cheek.
"Alright, then I guess we can check out the area." Mike said excitedly. "Later!"
As the three of them left, Kamala just slumped down into a chair. Bruno just chuckled in response.
"I guess it's not surprising you're tired." He stated. "The Wrecking Crew? That's pretty impressive."
"Bruno, please don't…"
"And from the looks of things, you didn't even take too many hits either." He complimented her. "I mean, I was there after your tangle with Creel."
"Bruno…"
"I know you can heal quick, but even at that, you looked pretty mangled. No offence." Bruno carried on. "But this time you look as fresh as anything, and if what Jameson says is anything to go by you really creamed them…"
"That's just it, Bruno I didn't!" Kamala interrupted him. Bruno just looked confused.
"But…they got the Wrecking Crew." Bruno told her. "They were taken to the RAFT, it said so on…"
"Yeah, but not because of anything I did. Hell, three of them were already unconscious before I even got there!" Kamala told him. She was grateful that there was at least one person she could talk to about this. It would be a while before she could talk to the other Avengers about this. "The Wrecker was the only one still standing and I didn't even lay a hand on him."
"So, if you didn't take them out, then who did?" Bruno asked her.
"Spider-Man." She whispered. "You should have seen it, Bruno, he was incredible! I've hardly seen anything like it!"
"Wait, Spider-Man?" Bruno asked. "But none of the reports say anything about him. Why would they not say he was there?"
"I think Jonah wanted to concentrate on the part of the story he likes." She sighed.
"So, you're saying that Spider-Man dealt with the Wrecking Crew, but the press is telling everyone YOU, did it?" Bruno asked, scratching his head, trying to comprehend what Kamala was saying. "But, that's not right!"
"You don't think I know that?" Kamala grumbled. "I don't do this for attention, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice when I see someone wearing a T-shirt with my logo on it or a newspaper says something nice about me, or some kid writes a fanfic about me…"
"Even that one that kid wrote about you and Wolverine…"
"Yeah, even that one!" She answered. "I mean, EW! But yeah, even that one. But I like to be recognised for stuff I actually did! If I had anything to do with the Wrecking Crew at all, then I wouldn't mind, but this was all Spider-Man! It's not fair!"
"Yeah, it kind of sucks." Bruno agreed. "Maybe you could set the record straight?"
"And how exactly would I do that, Bruno?" She asked him.
"I don't know, do an interview or something." He suggested. "You know, go in and tell your side of the story, tell everyone it was Spider-Man…"
"And how exactly does that work?" She asked him. "I can't exactly call his tip line, can I? Not without telling anyone how I know what actually happened!"
"Oh, right." Bruno agreed. "That sucks."
"Yeah, it really does." She sighed. "I'm getting all the glowing praise anyone could ever want, and none of it is mine."
On the Helicarrier, the team had returned from another mission against AIM. The Tachyon Rifts were appearing less regularly, but they were still forming, which was real cause for concern.
Natasha came into the lab, holding a heat pack to her neck, rolling her head around to stretch out.
"I don't know if I'm getting older or Monica's goons are hitting harder." She joked as she approached a workbench, where Bruce and Tony were working on something. She approached, looking closely at the work they were doing. "Aw, you got me a synthioid! I mean, I guess I need one since I keep breaking all the other ones that Monica gives me. Unfortunately, this one seems pretty broken too."
"Yeah, Big Green likes to play rough with is toys too." Bruce told her. "But this isn't just a case of bringing in some new toys. You're not the only one that noticed there's been a bit of a kick in the synthoids' performance as of late."
"Not that it makes much difference, of course." Tony chipped in. "We still make a pretty efficient business recycling them."
"So, why is this one here?" She asked.
"Well, I wanted to know why the synthoids seem to be a little tougher to take down recently." Bruce stated as he looked through the wreckage. "So, we thought we'd bring home the one that was the least…well…mangled and take a look under the hood."
"Maybe Monica's just finally gotten around to an upgrade." Natasha suggested. "I mean, isn't that what you science types do? Upgrade stuff?"
"Not Monica, she's not really the type to waste time upgrading. She was never much for the whole recycling thing." Bruce answered off-handedly. "She's more the throw away and replace kind of woman."
"Oh." Natasha uttered. "I forgot how…intimately…you two knew each other."
"Awkward!" Tony chipped in, adopting a slightly sing-song tone.
"Not helping, Tony." Bruce muttered.
"Wasn't trying to." Tony replied mischievously. Natasha dope-slapped him across the back of the head.
"Now, this is interesting." Bruce commented. "There's not just programming in here, there's new hardware. These chips, they've never been part of the Synthoid design."
"So, an upgrade." Natasha surmised.
"Not a sanctioned one." Bruce told her. "These chips, whatever they are, they're not Monica's tech. Tony, can you get that one out?"
Tony removed one of the chips, putting it into another machine to analyse it.
"So, what is it?" Natasha asked.
"Well, it is an upgrade, a basic improvement on their tactical protocols." Bruce stated. "But that doesn't seem to be their main function. There's some kind of message here."
"Message?" Natasha asked. "What kind of message?"
"Just decrypting it now." Bruce answered. He and Tony just stared at the screen as it came through. "Uh…and…that's…something."
"Well, I don't know about you, but I know my Russian is a little too rusty for whatever this is." Tony mused, stroking his goatee as he looked to it. "I don't say this often, but I'm stumped. Nat, can you shed any light on this?"
Natasha looked to the screen and started to read. Her face drained of all colour.
"What is it?" Bruce asked her.
"I…need to get out of here." Natasha murmured, getting up and walking away.
"Nat?" Bruce asked as he got up and ran after her. "Nat, wait up!"
As they left, Tony just turned back to the screen.
"I don't know what this thing is." Tony sighed. "But if it has Nat that spooked, I'm not sure I want to know."
Back in the hotel, Kamala and her friends were all in the room Kamala was sharing with Nakia, relaxing after the day at the exhibit. Kamala was sitting, staring out the window while Nakia, Mike, Zoey and Bruno celebrated.
"Guys, someone's going to have to start making some choices here." Mike said as she looked to the take-away menu in their room. The school had only sprung for the room and breakfast, but not their evening meals, and the kids had taken exactly one look at the prices on the restaurant menu before deciding that New York Pizza was more their price range. "The Big Apple might be the city that never sleeps, but we need to get some sleep if we're going to be up to presenting our exhibit for the ribbon tomorrow."
"I still can't believe it's down to us and Midtown." Zoey muttered. "I swear, if I google the judges and find out they're former Midtown alumni, then I'm not going to be happy."
"Relax, Zoey, there's probably no conspiracy." Nakia added. "I mean, that Morales kid's pretty impressive, and his team's exhibit is…"
"It's called school spirit, Nakia." Zoey replied.
"It's called being a good sport." Nakia teased her in response. "I want us to win as much as anyone, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start accusing the others of cheating just to get ahead."
"Guys?" Mike asked. "Choices?"
"Well, it's a no-brainer for me, there's only one vegetarian option." Zoey told her.
"And that's probably the safest option for us too, right Kamala?" Nakia asked. Kamala was still staring out of the window. "Kamala?"
"Huh?" Kamala asked. She noticed everyone still staring at her. "Oh, whatever, I'm good with whatever."
"OK, so that's two vegetarian." Mike asked. "So, what about you, Bruno?"
"Give me something with as much meat on it as possible." Bruno answered. He looked to Kamala and sighed, before grabbing the ice bucket and tucking it under his arm. "Kamala, want to go with me to get some ice?"
"Yeah." Kamala answered. "Yeah, that sounds good."
"Alright, then I'll place the order." Mike said, dialling her cell phone. "Hello, Pizza Planet?"
Bruno and Kamala made their way down the hall, making their way toward the ice machine. Bruno nudged her.
"You know, normally when your school's winning people look a lot happier." He reminded her. "I may not know much about the secret identity thing, but when you're in the final round of a contest and look like someone just kicked your puppy, people might just get a little suspicious."
"I know, it's just…" She started to say, before her thoughts started to get muddled again. "The more I think about it, the more confused I get. There was webbing all over that street. The Wrecking Crew were all webbed up, there's no way anyone could confuse what that meant, so why did Jameson say it was me that did it?"
"Well, you know he's never really liked Spider-Man all that much." Bruno reminded her. "You were there too, maybe he just wanted to make sure people knew that you were…"
"But I didn't do anything!" Kamala reiterated. "And why would he just cut Spider-Man completely out of the story? Why would he not even mention that he was there?"
"Like I said, he was never a fan of Spider-Man anyway." Bruno told her. "People have a habit of concentrating on parts of the story they like and…"
"Shh." Kamala said, silencing him as they approached the ice machine. They saw a guy standing, staring at it, trying to read the instructions.
"Hey there." Bruno greeted him. "Is it broken or something?"
"More like I just can't figure it out." The stranger answered. "Two PhD's and I get defeated by an ice machine. Go figure!"
"I think you need to put your room key in here." Bruno said, putting his key card into the machine. The stranger just smacked his forehead.
"Now, why didn't I notice that?" He asked, before looking to them both. "Say, you're from the Jersey team aren't you?"
"Yeah, that's right." Bruno answered with a smile.
"That's quite an exhibit you have there! It really turned a few heads on the panel, I can tell you!" He answered.
"How would you know…?" Kamala asked. The stranger just tapped his lanyard.
"Because they were still talking about it only half an hour ago." He told them. "Sorry, let me introduce myself. Peter Parker."
The stranger was a little taller than them, and wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and an Empire State University hoodie. He had soft, brown hair and a bright smile.
"Bruno." Bruno introduced himself, shaking his hand. "This is Kamala."
"Pleased to meet you both." Peter answered. "So, you figured this thing out, how about you two go first?"
As they started to fill the ice bucket, Bruno's phone bleeped. He pulled it out, looking at it.
"What's that?" Kamala asked.
"I have it set to pick up news updates." He told her. He looked to the screen. "It's another Jameson broadcast."
"Please, just shut that off." Kamala muttered. "I've heard enough of him for one day."
"Kamala, I really think you want to hear this." He stated, opening it up.
"And your intrepid reporter J Jonah Jameson is en-route to the scene as we speak!" He yelled over the sound of a car engine. "Reports are coming in that Herman Schultz, aka the Shocker, is in a tense stand-off with police at the First National Bank!"
"Um…we've got all the ice we need." Bruno said, taking out his bucket and his key card. "Mr Parker, we're done with…"
They both looked to see an ice-bucket rattling around on the floor, but Peter was nowhere in sight. They looked up and down the corridor.
"Huh, I guess he was done waiting." Bruno said with a shrug. "Kamala, you need to go."
"But Bruno…"
"I'll think of something." Bruno told her.
"But this isn't even my city!" She reminded him. "Spider-Man's probably already…"
"Are you really going to take that chance?" Bruno asked her. "And if he was in Jersey, would you expect him to just take in the sights if he could help?"
"No, I guess not." She muttered. "I hate when you're right."
With that, she went to the stairs, heading up towards the roof, hoping that she would get to the bank on time.