AN: Greetings and salutations, one and all! Did everybody miss me?
(cricket noises)
Okay, let me start out by giving you guys a big apology. I intended to come back after NaNoWriMo was done, but things changed. My project for NaNoWriMo turned into... well, it was more like a NaNoDeJaWriMo. Took me way more time to actually finish than I thought it would. I can happily say, however, that my project is done and, on the recommendation of my lovely beta, I'm putting it on ice for a few months so I can come back with fresh eyes and edit it before posting.
In the meantime, I'm happy to bring you a new chapter of Excelsior! I hope you all enjoy it! As always, eternal thanks to my lovely beta annbe11 for her help bringing this chapter into being. Dear readers, please be darlings and check out her other stories. Her newest project in the PJO fandom called Sue's Curse is pretty hilarious, and more of an archeological expedition than a story :)
Anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW!
Chapter 9 - Entering the Exam
SLA Primary Campus, Salem North
Deep breath in… Let it out…
Deep breath in… Let it out…
Jean tried to release the tension in her shoulders - she really did - but her body just kept seizing up. Her heart rate sped up and her fingers began nervously tapping against the ceramic counter top. She knew time was ticking down, but she couldn't bring herself to move from this spot. Not until she could get things under control. She closed her eyes and counted to ten before looking once again at her reflection.
"You can do this, Jean."
She stood at the polished marble sinks in the girl's bathroom in the SLA mansion. She had been standing there for a while, trying to convince herself that this day wasn't about to end in disaster.
"You're gonna be okay," she said to herself. She stared hard at the mirror, looking deeply into her own eyes and urging herself to see the truth in those words. "You've been training hard for this for months. You've already done the written test, so now you just have the practical. You've gotten much stronger, so you'll be fine." She extended a finger and dramatically pointed at her reflection. "No nosebleeds. No headaches. No getting left behind. Got it?"
For a few moments, there was silence in the bathroom as Jean tried to let herself absorb those words. Then Jean jumped and had a mini heart attack when she heard the sound of a bathroom stall lock sliding open. A bathroom stall on the other end of room, one that Jean swore she had checked, opened to show another girl standing there awkwardly. The girl was dressed in a graphic t-shirt for some cartoon Jean had never seen before and she had a pin-emblazoned backpack slung over her shoulder. Her dark brown hair fell past her shoulders and she had bright hazel eyes that were looking askance from Jean.
"Heyyy…" the girl said hesitantly, scratching the back of her head.
"Uh…hi," Jean said, finding her hands fidgeting even more than they had before.
Hello, Grim Reaper? It's me. Feel free to drop by whenever you're ready.
"Sooo… I didn't mean to overhear you and all, but…" The girl took a breath before looking fully at Jean. "Are you okay?"
Jean cleared her throat, still fidgeting with her hands. "I'm… I'm just nervous about today."
The girl nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean. The written test was okay. I'm pretty sure I got at least an A-minus. B-plus, minimum. But man, I'm really nervous about this practical and coming here to study is my dream." The girl became much more animated. "Can you believe that some of the greatest heroes in the world studied at this academy? Psylocke. Rogue. She-Hulk! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited but so scared at the same time!"
For a second, Jean wasn't really sure what to do. She had been confused enough at this girl just randomly deciding to interact with her, but that stream of words had been an even bigger surprise.
Then the girl seemed to realize how weird she was being because she froze and cleared her throat before scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.
"Sorry about that. I tend to geek out a bit when I think about heroes. Let me start over." She held her hand out toward Jean. Then, before her eyes, the girl's arm extended, stretching up and around in a loop-de-loop before stopping in front of Jean. "I'm Kamala. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," said Jean, taking her hand and shaking. "I'm Jean."
"Hi Jean," said Kamala, smiling again as she retracted her arm. "I'm sure we'll both do fine on the practical, whatever it is." She gave Jean a look and some of her excitement returned. "I don't suppose you know what it is, though, do you?"
Jean shook her head. "It's a bit different every year. I remember last year was races through an obstacle course and the year before that was more like king of the hill. Who knows what it'll be this year?"
Kamala started to nod before she suddenly froze and looked at Jean.
"Wait, I was just trying to break the ice. How do you know all that? I spent weeks researching online and I could only find vague ideas of the practical exam."
"I…" Jean said hesitantly. "I actually live here."
"Seriously?!" Kamala said, eyes bugging out of her skull. "Here at the academy?! That's so cool!"
"Yeah. I've lived here since I was about… six, I think? Me and a few other kids live here. The Professor is our guardian."
"Awesome," Kamala said with a grin. Then she blinked in realization "Wait. Do you mean you're one of those orphans that-" She suddenly stopped herself, aware that she must have overstepped a line. "Oh jeez, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said-"
"It's okay, Kamala," Jean said, trying to put a comforting smile on her face. "Don't… don't worry about it. It's fine." Silence fell over them and Jean could practically feel the awkwardness rising by the second. "We should probably get moving," she said, pushing herself off the counter. If the person who she believed was in charge of the introduction to the practical exam still had the job, then they needed to get to the auditorium. He always liked to start early.
Before Jean got to the bathroom door, it suddenly burst open, making Jean jump back in surprise.
"WegottagetgoingKamalaorwe'llbelatehiJeanbyeJean!"
During that rush of words, a blond and pink blur zoomed into the bathroom, grabbed Kamala, and zoomed back out before Jean could even get a proper look. In an instant, she was suddenly left alone in the bathroom.
That was weird.
She shook herself back to reality and walked out into the hall. Jean was in the East Wing of the mansion and started making her way toward the entrance hall. The other students had been advised to keep to their dorms for the next few days, so the mansion and the surrounding campus were surprisingly empty.
This was the first day of SLA hero entrance exams. Out of over twenty thousand applicants from both nearby areas and foreign countries, only the top twelve hundred had been allowed the opportunity to come compete for the possibility of filling a mere thirty-six open slots in the Hero program. That wasn't counting the spots that were given to recommendation students, bringing the total number of new Hero students to forty. SLA had set up four days of tests, each with three hundred students arriving on campus to put their knowledge and skills on display. Those students were again divided in half where one group started with the practical exam and the other took the written before they both switched over. Jean had been in the latter group and finished the grueling three hour written exam before an hour-long lunch break was called. It was coming close to the end of that break, however, so she made her way out of the mansion and toward the auditorium, a place that was normally used for drama productions and music performances, but served just as well to introduce the practical exam. Scott and the other Wards would be waiting for her there.
She walked out through the open grand doors and followed the paved path toward the auditorium. Scattered across the grounds, she could see other students finishing up their breaks or starting to walk toward the auditorium as well. Some of them looked dirty and exhausted, likely from the practical exam. Seeing the state of them made another tingle of nervousness shoot down her spine. She tried to calm herself and keep her barriers intact, not wanting to confirm any fears about what was awaiting her. Taking a few deep breaths, Jean turned her attentions to the sky above her, taking some comfort in the beautiful summer day and the tweeting birds that fluttered between the trees.
This place is so beautiful, Jean thought to herself. I hope I get to stay here even if…
She forcibly derailed that train of thought. She could pass this test. She would pass this test.
As she tried to get her own spirits up, she was knocked out of her thoughts by a very odd sight. In front of her stood a massive oak tree that had been on this land for over a hundred years. Its branches soared over forty feet into the air and it was incredibly thick around the base. What surprised Jean was the fact that she could see someone sitting high up in the branches of the tree, about twenty feet off the ground. The person was wearing a light jacket, a pair of track pants and a backpack. To Jean's surprise, they also seemed to not be wearing shoes, though it was difficult to tell for sure through all of the other branches.
What are they doing up there? We're not supposed to climb the trees.
Jean was just starting to open her mouth in order to call to them when the figure suddenly dropped from their perch toward the ground. Her call turned into a cry of alarm as Jean lunged forward, stretching out her hand and calling up her power. As the tree climber was surrounded in red energy that slowed their fall, Jean felt pain slam into her head like a truck. The pain was so strong she was actually driven to her knees, but she kept her hold on the tree climber through sheer force of will. Her Quirk was not strong enough to stop them in midair, but it was enough to slow their fall. The person she had just saved let out a surprised exclamation as their movement slowed to a crawl before they were placed on the ground. Jean could barely see though the intense pressure in her head and the tears that were filling her eyes from the pain. She could already feel the blood leaking from her nostrils.
"Wh-what?" the tree climber said as they spun around, revealing themselves to be a young man with slightly curly brown hair and boyish features. He looked around in confusion before he turned to see Jean on her hands and knees, gasping for breath as blood dripped from her nose. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" he said, immediately hurrying over and kneeling down beside her. He gasped. "Oh man, you're bleeding! Do you need a nurse?!"
Gritting her teeth against the migraine, Jean clumsily waved his question away before straightening up and pulling a packet of tissues out of her pocket. She almost tore the packet open in her rush to claim one, but she quickly plastered a tissue against her upper lip and wiped away the blood.
"I'm fine. My nose bleeds when I overuse my Quirk," she explained.
Kind of like when I have to stop some idiot from falling out of a tree he shouldn't even be climbing in the first place, she thought.
The boy blinked at her and swallowed.
"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I didn't know we weren't supposed to climb them. I was… I was just trying to avoid someone. And I jumped off because m-my Quirk makes me really strong. I didn't mean to freak you out. I didn't even know you were there. Here, I'll help you up."
Jean stared up at the boy, blinking in confusion. She definitely hadn't said that out loud. Her lips hadn't moved. That means the only way he could have heard her was if…
"Ineedtogo!" she said hurriedly, scrambling to her feet and rushing away. The boy said a few words after her, but Jean wasn't listening. Her thoughts were too focused on what had just happened.
She hadn't spoken. Not aloud, at least. And he couldn't have read her mind unless he had two quirks for some reason. That meant… that meant she must have projected her thoughts right into his mind.
Just like the Professor was able to do.
This means my powers must be growing, thought Jean, feeling more than a little nervous at the thought. She shook her head clear before she descended into memories from before she was in the Professor's care, but a spike of pain in her brain reminded her of her migraine and that quick head movements should be discouraged. After stopping at a drinking fountain to swallow a migraine pill, she continued on her way to the auditorium.
The day so far hadn't been going as well as she had hoped so far. She had already had a nosebleed and a migraine today and she hadn't even started the exam. Despite how poorly this boded for her chances, she tried to get back in a prepared mindset.
Thankfully, Jean's migraine had lessened its pressure and her nose had stopped bleeding by the time she met up with Scott in front of the auditorium. He didn't notice anything amiss when he smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. They walked into the theater side by side and took their seats next to the rest of the Wards. All around them, other prospective SLA students were sitting down as well.
As more and more students filed in, Jean could feel them. She could sense their nervous thoughts skittering against her barriers. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, letting her focus turn inward and strengthening the walls of her mind. She didn't want to have another psychic episode today. She was stressed enough just having her own thoughts in her head. She certainly didn't need to include other peoples'.
When she was surer of her mental security, she opened her eyes to find Scott looking at her with concern. She gave him a smile and squeezed his hand.
"I'm okay," she said. "Just getting ready."
"Are you sure you want to do this, Jean?" Scott asked. "It's probably not too late to change your mind."
Jean tried not to let her thoughts show on her face. That had to be the thirtieth time Scott had said something like that in the past few months. He had made it very clear he was not a fan of her taking the exam, but Jean would not let herself be swayed. How could she call herself a hero student like Scott and the others if she didn't go through the same experience as they had? This was her choice and she was standing by it. It was nice that Scott was worried about her, but this was becoming a bit much.
"I'll be fine," she said encouragingly. "This will be a breeze."
Scott looked like he was about to refute that statement when the lights in the theater dimmed and turned off. All the teens around them went silent in anticipation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, readers of all teen ages…" a recognizable voice said from the speakers. The beam of a spotlight came down from above, illuminating the stage and the person standing upon it. "YOUR INCREDIBLY SEXY MAIN CHARACTER HAS ARRIVED!"
There was no mistaking that red spandex jumpsuit, the small armory on that utility belt, or that incredibly annoying voice. Jean groaned and rubbed at her temples. She had hoped she was wrong, but it seemed that for some strange reason the staff had entrusted Deadpool of all people with introducing the practical exam. He was even wearing a heavily bedazzled pop star headset.
I bet this was Professor Frost's idea, Jean thought. She probably thinks it'll be a laugh.
"Looks like all you whippersnappers are here to become heroes, am I right?!" Deadpool called out to the dumbstruck crowd. "So we're going to put you through a dangerous, death-defying exam to see if you've actually got the cajones for it! Can I get a 'hell yeah'?!"
Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Nobody even seemed to breathe.
"Sheesh, tough crowd," Deadpool said with a shake of his head. "Okay, kiddies, we need to get things moving along here before the readers get so bored they go back to their Naruto lemon fics, so let's get down to it." As he was lifting a finger dramatically to continue his insane speech, Deadpool's head suddenly snapped to face the right side of the auditorium. There was a sharp shing and he was pointing one of his katanas in the same direction. "I see you trying to vlog this, butt wipe. If you don't turn that phone off right now, I'm gonna use it to give you a colonoscopy, got it?" There was a shuffle of movement as the intimidated student put away his phone. "Good," said Deadpool as he sheathed the katana on his back.
Behind him, a giant projector screen lowered from the ceiling. When it had finished descending, a film reel countdown appeared on it.
"No…" Jean said, shaking her head.
"You're kidding me," said Scott.
"Please tell me they didn't let him make his own slides," Jean heard Jubilee mutter.
"Why would they do this?!" Kevin hissed from further down the aisle.
All of their hopes were dashed when the title card of Deadpool's presentation appeared on the screen. It was a childish drawing of multiple people wearing capes with the title 'IntЯoduksHun 2 PractiNikle X-am!'
Forget Professor Frost. Even she wouldn't allow something like this. This had to be Rocket's idea of a joke.
Deadpool pulled a sheaf of papers out of his pocket and placed a pair of reading glasses over his mask. He cleared his throat before flipping through the papers.
"Now then," Deadpool said after clearing his throat, "blah blah blah, legal stuff legal stuff, you know you're here for the practical exam, blah blah blah, we're not liable for eviscerations or incinerations. Ah, here we go. If you will look on your registration papers, you will find that you have been given a two-digit designation in the box marked 'Practical Group'."
The auditorium was filled with the rustling of papers as all of the students pulled out their registration papers. Jean's were folded up in her pocket, but she didn't pull it out. She already knew she was in group E1.
Sadly, she wasn't in a group with any of the other Wards.
"The letter denotes which of our trap-infested Danger Rooms you will be taking your test in. It goes without saying that the D groups are going to have the most fun, am I right? Hey-yo!" Again, there was silence. "Ah, screw you, that was funny. Anyway, the number means whether you'll be in the upper room or in the dungeon basements."
The slide changed to show a trio of poorly-drawn faces. The first had a baby's pacifier in its mouth, the second had angry eyes, and the third was angry and on fire.
"When you are in the Danger Room, you will have fifteen minutes to defeat, immobilize, or just un-alive a series of enemies that pop up. You'll win an amount of points ranging from one to three, with the more dangerous bad guys being worth more points. You want to get as many points as you can before time runs out, so you better use that good ole' caveman bloodlust, people."
Then the image changed to another poorly drawn face, much bigger than the first three, that had devil horns and an evil smile filled with sharp teeth.
"This here is to represent the Monster, or Zero-Pointer of the test. This is something we teachers like to toss in so we can watch you kids almost die. Don't even try fighting it, because you can't. Make like those pointless humans in a Godzilla movie and just get the hell out of the way, capeesh?"
There were some scattered nods from the prospective students.
"Now, let's see, am I missing something?" said Deadpool, flipping through the papers more. "No. No. Well that's just some boring shit. Oh right! I was supposed to tell you that you'll be monitored during the exam and graded appropriately. If you attack your fellow testers, you'll be disqualified. Also…" He focused an angry glare at everyone in the auditorium before he was suddenly holding a shotgun. "If I see any of you little crotch dumplings stealing other people's un-alivings, I'll shoot you myself." He pumped the shotgun with a loud chk-chk. Now everyone was looking at him with fear. An instant later the shotgun was gone. "I'm so happy we had this chance to talk and I hope we get to talk again soon. Good luck, kiddies. Ninja vanish!"
And just like that, Deadpool disappeared in a puff of smoke. As everyone in the auditorium blankly stared at the place where he had been, Jean let herself breathe a sigh of relief.
"That could have gone so much worse," she said.
"Yeah," Scott said with a nod. "Only a few insults and two threats of violence. He actually showed restraint today."
"Maybe Dr. McCoy switched him over to decaf?" suggested Kevin.
"Who knows?" Jean said, standing up and making her way down the aisle. "I'm just glad he didn't bring any C4 this time. I thought Magneto was going to blow a blood vessel after that Fourth of July party."
"Just calm down, Peter. You're gonna be fine. You've been training for this."
Peter sat in the corner of the waiting room of Danger Room E1, frantically wringing his hands together as all the other students around him milled about. The room was pretty large and there were a lot of chairs, so the fifteen students occupying the room had enough room to spread out. A few people were sitting down like Peter. Some were up doing stretches while others seemed to have enough confidence to just stand there and wait for the doors to open.
Peter glanced at the digital clock on the wall over the metal door to the Danger Room. The instructions they had been given were very clear that they were to wait until the door opened for them, but there had been no indication on what time that was going to be. SLA was a widely respected school, so they wouldn't just leave them hanging for a few hours, right?
Unless that was part of the test. Maybe SLA wanted to make students go through a period of waiting around, as if they were on a stakeout, right before throwing them all headfirst into the action? Or maybe they just want the students to think that's what the test was?
Peter stopped that trail of thought before he drove himself nuts. He was nervous enough as it was. Honestly, he felt like the good luck wishes he had gotten this morning from Aunt May, Ned, and the short text message from Mr. Stark had only managed to make him more afraid about this test. He went back to tapping his bare toes against the carpeted floor, his shoes already safely stored in his backpack.
He was suddenly handed a distraction when the back of his neck started tingling. He swallowed and looked up. It only took a second to meet Flash's gaze, filled with fury and focused directly on Peter.
Why did he have to be in the same group as me? Peter despaired. He was nervous enough as it was. He didn't need to add the Flash-induced anxiety layered on top of that.
Peter averted his eyes, trying ignore how much his spider-sense – as Mr. Stark had taken to calling it – was bothering him and how angry Flash was getting. As he tried to look elsewhere in the room, he found his eyes drawn to a head of scarlet red hair. It was a surprise to see that he had also been placed in the same group as that really pretty girl he had run into before the presentation. She was currently rubbing her temples in annoyance, as if she had a headache.
She got hurt because she used her Quirk on me. Should… should I go tell her I'm sorry? No, she probably doesn't want to talk to me. Might upset her again. And even if she isn't, she's probably trying to concentrate. I don't want to distract her. Maybe I can apologize after we're done.
Peter's spider-sense blasted back once again, even more intense than before. He looked back at Flash, who was becoming red in the face. As Peter watched, Flash's expression got darker and angrier. His hand squeezed around the arm of the chair he was stiffly sitting in. Then, when Peter was beginning to wonder if Flash was about to break his own chair, Flash stood up and advanced on Peter, moving like a glacier with an agenda. His hands were balled up into tight fists. The closer Flash got, the worse that Peter's spider-sense rang out in his skull. Peter's head burrowed into his shoulders as if that would do anything to hide him from what was coming. His spider-sense reached a fever pitch when Flash stood over him.
"I thought I warned you about coming here, Parker," snarled Flash. "This school doesn't have time for Quirkless wannabes."
"I-I have a Quirk now, Flash," Peter said, wishing he could make himself smaller. "I-I told you already."
"A few freak accidents don't mean you have a goddamn Quirk, freak!" Flash glared down at him. "Are you trying to fucking die or something?!"
"I-I just… I just want to get into this school, Eugene. T-there's nothing wrong with-"
"Don't call me that!" said Flash, his hand shooting out to grab Peter's chair right next to his shoulder. "Why can't you just stay in the trash where you belong?!"
Peter wanted to run. He wanted to hide. He wanted to escape. But he couldn't. He couldn't even bring himself to move. His heartbeat sounded like fireworks in his ear and his spider-sense was only screaming at him that he was in danger but couldn't make him act. All of his new strength and speed meant nothing. He couldn't even keep his hands from shaking and he could barely breathe.
In this moment, Peter was entirely helpless.
Then, just as Flash was reaching out to grab Peter by the collar, a large hand wrapped tightly around Flash's wrist.
"I don't know how they do things at your old school, pal, but behavior like that is frowned upon where I come from."
Peter looked up at the new arrival and his eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. Somehow, he had been so freaked out by Flash that he completely failed to notice the other person's approach, and that in of itself was an incredible feat. The young man standing before him was both very tall and very buff. He must have been six and a half feet at least and Peter swore that his arm muscles must be the size of tree trunks. He was dressed in a purple t-shirt and black athletic shorts and had a belt with pouches buckled around his waist. He had the face of an athlete, like a football player or wrestler. The type of guy who had skipped over puberty and went straight to manhood. His blond hair was cut short and he had multiple silver piercings in each ear.
And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that he had green skin.
"You just made a big mistake, asshole!" growled Flash, jerking his hand out of the newcomer's grasp and glaring up at a person that could be considered a smaller Incredible Hulk. For the moment, though, it was as if Flash had forgotten all about Peter. Not that that really made the squeezing sensation in Peter's chest any less debilitating.
"I highly doubt that," said the green boy, crossing his arms.
"You wanna fucking bet!"
"Guys, guys, guys," said another boy as he walked over to them, his hands extended in a placating fashion. He was dressed in shorts and a tank top with his sandy-blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. "I know that we must all feel a little bit on edge, but our minds must be at peace in preparation for the trials to come. No good can come from allowing our tempers to cloud our judgement."
"I'm about to show you my fucking temper!" Flash snapped, pivoting targets without skipping a beat. "You want me to snap you like a twig?! I'll fucking do it!"
"Hey, there's no reason to fly off the handle like that," said a girl with ram horns. "You don't need to be an asshole."
Unsurprisingly, things only got louder from there.
As Flash began shouting in earnest, Peter was surprised when the large green guy bent down and gently placed his hand on Peter's shoulder.
"I think you need to get some air," he said, giving a comforting smile.
Peter didn't resist when the boy took him by the shoulder and escorted him across the room, looping around behind Flash's back to get to the front door. When he was out in the open air, Peter finally felt like he was able to breathe again. He bent over with his hands on his thighs and took a few moments to just breathe in an out. The warm pavement beneath his bare feet also helped ground him, giving him a physical sensation to focus on that wasn't caused by panic.
"In through your nose and out through your mouth. There you go. You're alright," said the other boy. He had removed his hand from Peter's shoulder but he still stood close by, looking ready to hold Peter up if need be. Peter let out another long sigh before he gave his rescuer a thumbs-up.
"Thanks," he said, standing back up straight. "I'm… I'm feeling a bit better now."
"Good. Good." The boy said with a smile. He extended a hand toward Peter. "Forgot to introduce myself. Name's Teddy. Nice to meet you."
Peter took the hand and shook it.
"Hi Teddy. I'm Peter. Peter Parker." When they released their handshake, Peter spoke up again. "I don't mean to pry, but… are you at all related to the Hulk?"
Teddy blinked before he suddenly laughed.
"Yeah, probably should have expected that. I've been asked that all my life," he said with a smile. "Well, let me assure you that I'm not related to the Hulk and I don't have any anger issues." He paused. "Well, at least not any more than your average sixteen-year-old," He shot a look back at the glass door that led into the Danger Room waiting area. "Unlike that guy. What's his problem?"
"Um," said Peter, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. Sorry about him. He's… been like that since we were kids. We used to be friends but…" Peter sighed. "That was a long time ago." Peter frowned at the ground. It had been a very long time ago. Sometimes Peter thought that Eugene didn't even remember.
"Hey. Uh. What's that?" Teddy asked. Peter glanced up at Teddy and saw that he was looking at Peter's wrist where part of his web shooter could be seen.
"Oh, this?" said Peter, pushing back the sleeve of his jacket to fully show it. He held his arm out toward Teddy so he could get a good view. "It's my support equipment. I call them web shooters. They expel an adhesive compound that solidifies on contact with the air. It'll be good for tying up bad guys and a bunch of other things." Flicking his wrist toward a tree on the side of the paved path, Peter clicked the trigger switch in his palm.
Thwip! A stream of web shot through the air to splatter on the trunk of the tree and stick to the surface of the wood. Teddy let out an impressed whistle.
"Nice." He turned back to Peter and looked at the web shooters again. "They don't seem corporate, though. Who made them?"
"Oh, I did," Peter said rubbing his neck.
"Really?" said Teddy, looking at the web shooter with a new level of interest.
"Yeah," Peter said, feeling himself smile. "It took forever to get them to work though."
"I bet," Teddy said. "I'd never be able build something like that. What even gave you the idea?"
That was all Peter needed. Encouraged by the Teddy's friendly curiosity, Peter began telling him about his father's formula and how he had finally gotten it working. He went into the design of the shooters themselves – making sure to leave out mentions of Mr. Stark, though – and Teddy listened intently while asking a question every now and then.
Before long, Peter had practically forgotten about his panic-inducing encounter with Flash.
The two of them had been chatting for a few minutes when Teddy suddenly lifted his hand to stop Peter in the middle of his brainstorming on increasing the storage capacity of the web shooters.
"Sorry to interrupt you, man, but I think we've got some movement," he said, pointing toward the door. Peter looked and saw through the glass that there was a spinning red light above the door to the Danger Room and people were already standing up to cluster around it. Peter and Teddy nodded to each other before they reentered the waiting room. Everyone in the room stood there watching the heavy metal door as it hissed and slowly slid open, revealing only shadows.
"Attention all participants. Please enter the test chamber to begin the examination."
Even when the door stood open and beckoning to them, the prospective students hesitated. Those that stood close to the door even took half a step back. Nobody wanted to be the first one to enter.
"What the fuck are you even doing here, you pussies?!" shouted Flash, shoving a few people aside so he could storm through the door. As soon as he stepped inside, his footsteps changed to tromping on hard wood and he started climbing a set of stairs.
Others in the room were urged to movement themselves, spurred by Flash's actions. Peter and Teddy both stood to follow the procession of students cautiously entering the Danger Room. Peter saw a flash of scarlet as the girl from before ducked inside, but his view of her was swiftly blocked by another girl with butterfly wings. He and Teddy were among the last to enter through the door, where the floor beneath their feet suddenly turned from carpeting to wooden boards. They followed the rest of the students up the stairs, which groaned and squeaked under their weight. Actually, it was if the whole structure was groaning around them.
"Hard to believe this is actually made of holograms," Peter said, running his hand against a wall that really did feel like wood.
"I know. Isn't it crazy?" Teddy said, grinning with excitement. "Imagine the kind of video games you could play with something like this. Probably costs a pretty penny, though."
"I think I read something about that them having some smaller ones in the… in the mansion that students can use for recreation."
"Well, now I know what I'm doing on my first day at school."
Peter turned his eyes upward, where the other students where filing through a wide doorway that emitted hazy, overcast sunlight. He could also hear the sounds of… were those seagulls?
Peter and Teddy both gasped in amazement when they reached the doorway.
One would never believe that they were still standing in a building the size of a gymnasium. As if by magic, all of the students now found themselves standing on the top deck of a huge galleon sailing vessel. Three masts stood tall, all of them holding limp sails with countless ropes and rigging crisscrossing the entire assembly. Peter could even feel the ship gently rocking back and forth, a physical testament to the advanced technology of the Danger Room. Black iron cannons were arrayed along the side of the vessel, each having a small stack of cannonballs waiting next to them as if waiting for an attack. The ship was entirely surrounded by a thick fog, giving an ominous air to the setting.
"Whoa…" said Peter.
"Yeah… whoa…" agreed Teddy.
The students spread out across the decks, most of them peering at the fog and trying to ascertain where the next surprise would come from.
A few students, however, were otherwise occupied.
"Why did it have to be the ocean?" moaned a boy, leaning against the mast as he held his stomach.
"Come on, dude, shut up. I'm trying not to heave over here," said another girl, leaning against the railing and looking like she was already suffering. Peter winced sympathetically.
Suddenly they heard a bell ring out from somewhere off the starboard - or was it port? Peter could never remember which was which - side. All the participants spun to face that direction as, cutting through the gloom and the fog, a second ship appeared. Despite the lack of wind, it had no problems slowly drifting through the sea to pull up alongside them. Black sails hung above the deck, all of them emblazoned with a red skull and crossbones.
"Be ready for combat!" shouted the blond boy with the ponytail, taking a fighting stance as his fist began to glow. The other students around Peter began preparing themselves, calling up their Quirks or just backing up so they had more space to move.
For a moment, there was silence. All they could hear was the ocean quietly lapping at the sides of the ships. Then they could hear the sound of heavy boots tromping across the deck of the other ship. Everyone tensed, ready for a fight to break out at any second. The boot steps came closer and closer, and they could see a dark shape coming through the fog toward them, coming more into focus by the second. When the figure reached the railing of their vessel, they could be clearly seen.
Everyone stared in dumbfounded silence.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…" Peter heard the red-haired girl groan.
"Avast and shiver me timbers, you yellow-bellied liver-eating landlubbers! How do you miserable scallawags like proving yourselves?!"
There before them, dressed in a red waistcoat, a flowing black cape, and a pirate hat with a huge cloud of pink feathers in it, stood Deadpool. His katanas were sheathed at his sides and Peter counted no less than five pistols tucked into his belt. He was also wearing an eye patch - on top of his mask, of course - and he had two stuffed parrots sitting on each shoulder.
In short, he looked absolutely ridiculous.
"Well, kiddies, I think I have just the type of toy for you to play with," he said, reaching into a pocket before pulling out a glass bottle with the word 'Acme' written on the side. With a wink to them all, he uncorked the bottle and poured its contents into the ocean. As soon as that was done, Deadpool saluted them while his boat began pulling away back into the mist. "I'd love to stay and watch, but I'm heading off to find Keira Knightly. She's got a pirate chest I really need to plunder, ha ha! Your fifteen minutes start now!" The mad mercenary hero cackled maniacally as his ship disappeared, leaving them all alone.
Suddenly, the sea roiled beneath the boat, causing the ship to rock side to side. Those who could braced themselves against whatever they could grab, but many were sent tumbling to the deck. Peter, on the other hand, was able to just stick his feet to the deck and ride it out.
"What's going on?" Teddy asked, looking around wildly. Peter didn't have an answer and could only look around in nervous anticipation as the boat stopped rocking.
"What the fuck are these idiots doing?!" bellowed Flash, starting to look annoyed beyond belief. "Are they actually going to test us or are they just wasting our goddamn time?!"
The boy who had been seasick earlier now had both hands clasped over his mouth and was running for the edge of the boat. He leaned over the edge as if he were about to throw up again before he suddenly yelped in fright and flung himself backward. He scrambled back and pointed with a trembling finger.
"Th-th-th-their c-c-c-c-coming up!" he practically shrieked.
That was when a scaly green hand reached up to grab the railing.
Peter gasped as a group of monstrous pirates heaved themselves onto the deck even as more and more clambered up the side of the ship. Thew were dressed in tattered, waterlogged clothes and they all had scaly skin and burning red eyes. And as soon as they set foot on the ship, they drew swords and charged with a loud battle cry.
Peter gulped and made himself ready for battle.
The Practical Exam had begun.
And there we have it! You all liked this chapter and I hope your excited to see what comes next. Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion of the Entrance Exam!
