That was one of the most tense moments, for all the spectators of the competition; it didn't matter who, whether normal people, students, teachers or professional heroes, were all biting their nails for the start of that confrontation. For those who did not know the two contestants personally, this would be the last confrontation of the first phase of fighting, and for many it seemed more like the beginning of a massacre; no one knew Wanda, but Flash had been known before classes a few months ago because of Carnage's attack. Many obviously did not remember the news, but many of the professional heroes had kept an eye out for news of the boy who endured being held hostage by a villain like Carnage.

In a similar way, those who knew the two also feared for the girl. Wanda was really powerful, but that environment was not very favorable for her powers; even though she is able to use her energy to launch attacks directly, most of her training and expertise is focused on object manipulation, and being in an open field, such action is difficult at extreme levels. While Flash, in addition to being one of the most powerful first-year students, he also had the advantage of the terrain; an open field in a 1v1 dispute, was his ideal scenario.

— You can already give up if you want, you won't have to go through the humiliation ... - Flash says with disdain to Wanda, expecting nothing from that confrontation

—...- but the girl says nothing, just enduring what the boy said without being shaken, it was not the time to be affected by words, or to expend the energy to answer them

Back in the stands, while instructions were last passed in the competition; Wanda's three friends looked worried and anxious for the confrontation. Gwen nervously ate the hot dogs she had bought, Danny tried to keep his cool, but it was possible to see his concern, while Peter didn't even have his notebook in hand, having it closed by his side, he wouldn't be able to take notes at all.

— Peter, what was the strategy you were going to propose to Wanda? - Danny asks trying to lighten the mood

— Well, it wasn't very complex at all, but it's based on something she told me a few weeks ago - the boy says picking up his notebook and opening it on the page where the strategy was written - she said she can move people if she can overcome it by 'willpower', but if she touches someone she can control it much more easily ...

— So the strategy would be for her to touch Flash - Danny says putting his hand on his chin while looking at the notebook with notes

— Exactly - Peter replies - but with Flash as an opponent it will not be so simple…

Wanda quickly analyzes her surroundings before the confrontation; she had only herself and the battlefield. She remembers hearing Peter talk a little bit about the field itself after one of Mr. Murdock's classes; an iron platform underneath contains sensors and other devices to level the battle, such as cooling in case of a Quirk that heats it or other things. It was also quite resistant, but not indestructible. With that the girl thinks of a plan for the combat.

And soon after, finishing the eighth time explaining the rules, Emma Frost starts the fight. And in the same instant, Wanda is on top of his opponent.

Even though he was a very hurried boy, Wanda knew that the boy would not try very hard in that fight. It was obvious, the boy didn't care about her, and because he was more powerful, he would probably use her tiredness to his advantage, so for that very reason she needed to make her strategy work as quickly as possible.

Running slightly down towards his opponent, Wanda prepares for her initial strategy; make this fight end as quickly as possible and in an unexpected way. Without using her powers for anything, the girl finds herself getting closer and closer to Flash until, when the boy was about to defend himself, barring or striking her; Peter's words come back to him.

"Flash, you always start with a big push with your right arm ..."

Soon seeing the boy's right arm extending towards her, to probably use his Quirk to throw her away, the girl uses her Quirk to, in the blink of an eye, dig her opponent's claws into the ground of iron. Throwing some of the red energy into the colleague's arm, she forces the boy's arm, causing the tips of the black claws to bury themselves in the middle of the metal. With that, she finds herself with a way to be able to touch him and throw him off the field ...

...but the boy did not fail to impress

Centimeters before the girl's hand touches him, a huge amount of black goo helps itself on the side of the boy's torso, covering that area of the red suit, then creating a single black tentacle, which catches the girl and throws her away from him , causing it to be lightly thrown and roll to a certain distance.

The girl gets up with some difficulty after the blow to the stomach, she twitches a little when she feels a little sick, but then she pulls herself together and gets to her feet; she was not surprised, she had changed her plan at the end when she saw an opening, but she should have considered that the boy would be able to defend himself.

But as the girl got ready for what she was going to do next, all the classmates looked concerned; the girl wasn't a hand-to-hand fighter, she didn't have the resistance of Laura, Amadeus, Luke or even Peter, she couldn't take so many physical attacks in a row, what she would do now was the doubt that hung in the minds of all students of 1-A.

She runs towards Flash again, but this time she lowers, with her legs still extended, but stretched forward to keep as close to the ground. With this she sees the opponent activating his power from a distance, covering his arm with black goo, increasing it and forming claws. But since she was down, it would be much more difficult for her to dodge if the attack came from the bottom up. But what he didn't know was that it was all the girl's plan.

With the approach almost reaching zero, the boy prepares his attack, with his arm behind for the attack. Paying close attention, Wanda waits for the right moment, and when the boy's claws are getting close on the field floor, she activates her Quirk, moving his hand down a bit, which, along with the strength of Flash's attack , it slabs iron plates again, close to the first time that this had happened. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the boy is strong enough, that he destroys that piece of the floor and with the movement, opening a hole, revealing all the wires and devices underneath.

Even though she waits for this, Wanda still tries to defend herself, she creates a small reddish energy barrier in front of her, at least trying not to be hurt by the opponent's claws, but still taking a good part of the impact and being thrown back again, again falling to the ground and rolling a little.

Getting up soon, now even more tired, she notes that her plan had worked; there was a hole in the field next to Flash's feet, and she could see some sparks coming out, indicating some malfunctioning device, she then proceeds to the second stage of the plan.

Running again, now not so fast, towards the boy, she waits until he is focused on her, preparing for his attack; and when that happens, she activates her Quirk, fiddling with the apparatus inside the hole and sending a shower of sparks flying over Flash. He doesn't realize it until it's too late, and in a second he is blinded and distracted by the sparks.

— Grrrrr... –he grunts while protecting his eyes with his arm when he is surprised, but as soon as he partially opens his eyes, he notices a blurry red figure coming his way, did she think she could deceive him that easily? He then prepares another clawed black arm, quickly descending for an attack against, what he thought it was, the girl - do you think you'll be able to trick me with these cheap little witch tricks ...

But before he could finish the sentence, he managed to hit his target, but what scared him was the fact that under his claws against the floor was just the girl's gym uniform. Meanwhile, the girl had maneuvered to her back, to a blind spot, having discarded the red outfit, now wearing a black tank top that she wore under the gym outfit. She then stretches out, trying to use that golden opportunity to touch him, and levitate him off the field ...

...he was so close ...

...and at the same time so far

Apparently he had noticed the girl coming from behind his back, and just a few centimeters from the contact, the boy uses the same trick as before, creating a tentacle directly from his back, which in a quick movement catches the girl and throws her back , but not dragging it off the field; this was not how he wanted to win.

Wanda sees herself once again on the floor; she was feeling terrible. She had already used two different strategies, had used up a lot of energy and had taken a lot of damage from her opponent, but even so he didn't seem the least bit affected by all that, all her effort in vain, was it worth continuing…

No! She couldn't think that way, that was not a heroine's mindset. Shaking her head, she looks again at her opponent and sees the field again.

"What would Peter do?" she thinks; soon coming to another plan, which, if it didn't work would be doomed to be her last, because she was almost sure that if she wasn't successful, she wouldn't be able to fight afterwards, so that was the time, it was all or nothing .

She again lowers and runs towards the opponent; Flash thinks it will be the same thing the first time, so he uses his raised arm from top to bottom, but Wanda uses some of his Quirk to propel the attack, missing it and sinking into the ground again, but anyway impact is strong enough to push her away, again knocking her to the ground, but the girl again gets up and does the same thing again.

— I can't see it ... - Kamala says putting her hands in front of her eyes

— This is not an honorable battle ... - Danny says as he had Gwen firmly holding his arm

—... – but two who remained silent and attentive were Pietro and Peter. The twin was obviously worried about his sister, his legs were shaking at high speed without him even realizing it, while his hands rested on his thighs; fortunately for the boy, he feels a hand covering his own in an attempt to calm him down, and it works, he slows down and starts holding that hand, without recognizing Tandy at his side offering him comfort.

Peter, on the other hand, did not have that advantage, and watched it all with various emotions stuck in his chest; concern, about what could happen to Wanda, fear, for what Flash might be able to do, but above all, an extraordinary rage, he had always been the target of Flash, but several times other children were, but the brunette always insisted, at that time, to irritate the boy so that he was the target himself. But at that moment he couldn't do anything but hold on to the small security wall in front of the chairs, squeezing so tightly that his joints were turning white.

The same attack situation ensued, and some people in the audience did not seem to be very satisfied ...

— Stop it now! - one of the heroes, outraged by the situation yells at Flash, rising from his seat - if you want to be a hero stop acting like a bully! If you want to win, just beat her, stop playing with her!

— That's right! - a heroine enters this and several heroes start to boo the dark haired one of the battlefield

"— That's it! Men are a piece of sh..." Deadpool starts to say something, but is soon hit by his narrator partner's nightstick to remain quiet

"— The man who started this boo, a question; Are you a hero? If so, I hope you are considering getting another job soon, "Matthew says into the microphone, then silencing the stadium again" instead of seeing a boy against a girl, which makes me think that you consider her weak just because she is a girl, see two heroes in training, who know each other's skills and talents, and are making every effort to be as efficient as possible in this fight, as heroes must do..." Murdock finishes, soon returning to his wheelchair

— You can't go around with these speeches, you know it turns me on… - Deadpool says to his colleague that he just ignores him and returns to pay attention to the match

After more unsuccessful advances, Wanda simply gets up and stops; she was breathing hard, was very dirty and scratched, her legs were shaking with fatigue and adrenaline, but even so she just raises her head and looks Flash in the eyes before saying it;

— Thank you for the weapons ... - she says and then extends her arms, making some movements with her hands and the red energy surrounding her fingers, and soon her eyes start to shine with the same scarlet light

— Huh? – Flash não percebe de início, mas logo se dá conta dos apuros que estava

In mere seconds, the girl's power levitates several objects, both destroyed pieces of the field and loose pieces from the inner parts of the combat area. And in a measly hand movement, such dozens of projectiles fly at high speed in the direction of Flash.

He tries something, he raises his arms with goo and tries to protect his vital parts, but there were too many attackers. He is easily hit by pieces that reach blind spots, but regenerating consumed some of the goo that would no longer be in defense, so in a few seconds he was quickly overwhelmed.

During that time, with the boy withdrawing more and more, his Quirk not being very good against multiple attacks, with him hurting himself more and more, a rage that he was unable to release begins to accumulate inside his chest. A deep, macabre, poisonous hatred ... He then hears, inside his head;

'Kill hèr...'

The boy pauses for a moment being frightened because it had not come from his own mind, but at the same time, it had. Wanda notices his opponent's confused face, and quickly uses that opening, dropping some of the projectiles, thus giving her the last energy she needs for a burst of red energy that attaches to the boy, and pushes him out; the boy barely has time to react until his feet go out of the allowed range;

— Eugene Thompson has crossed the line, the winner is Wanda Maximoff! - says the field judge with a slight smile on her face

Flash just looks around, almost as if he has come out of a trance, he finds himself off the field, but something was high on his mind; whose voice and that killer instinct was.

The audience goes crazy, everyone happy for Wanda's victory, especially her class, with everyone sinking in their respective chairs, relieved that all that tension was over, and in the best possible way for them; until they realized that a Flash that had lost could be worse.

Peter, having his next fight as an excuse, quickly gets up to head towards the break room, to congratulate his friend.

Walking through the corridors and going up the flights of stairs necessary to get to the break room, Peter did not have much attention in his surroundings; until he passed a ladder that went up and almost ran into the person he least wanted, but most expected, to find; Eugene.

— Excuse me ... - there had been few times that Flash had lost in something, but Peter had already seen him when it happened, and he didn't want to be around to know what was going to happen.

— It was you, wasn't it? - Flash asks irritated even though Peter has already moved away a little - you made the plan for her, didn't you? There is no way she could have thought of all that alone and...

— You're wrong ... - Peter's real wish was to tell Flash to shut up and stop being a crybaby; but as he liked to be alive, he preferred the more peaceful way. He hoped Danny was happy - I didn't do anything for her for this fight. I even tried, but she refused my strategy, she did it all by herself - the boy says and walks away

Flash absorbs that information for a moment, before following its route towards the designated class 1-A grandstand area;

— And look who came back with the tail between the legs! - Laura comments when she sees the brunette returning

— Shut up, you lost too! - he says mockingly and sitting next to the girl, who turns and puts her legs on the boy's lap, who does nothing to remove them

— Yeah, but she faced Reyes - Sam says trying to make a joke while Flash seemed to be in a good mood - it's not a fair comparison; Wanda is a weak girl...

—Argh! – before he could finish, Laura was trying to get at him with her claws, only to be stopped by a Flash tentacle holding her around the waist - end the sentence, asshole!

— The last thing that girl is, is fragile ... - Flash says bringing Laura back to the chair; he would love to see a fight, but against Sam it didn't seem worth it

Peter soon reaches the door to see Wanda, standing in front of the table, putting on what appears to be a new gym jacket over her black tank top, since hers was probably badly damaged by the Flash attack. But as soon as the girl sees him, she stops what she was doing; leaving the uniform still open in the front and turning to the friend

— Peter! – she says excitedly, then throws herself at the boy for a tight hug - I made it!

— Congratulations Wanda! - the boy says and soon she for the hug and the two sit at the table

— Flash is really a heavy hitter, it made me realize that I need some more physical training - she says smiling - and that gave me some suggestions of who to choose for the internships, that is, if they choose me...

— Of course they are, you were amazing! - the boy says as if it were obvious

— Hehehe, thank you... - she says blushing slightly and looking away, then passing her hand near the bandage on her arm

— Didn't Night Nurse heal you completely? - the boy asks in a tone of concern when he sees the bandage, then holding the girl's hand to see more closely

— Ah, she didn't want me to pass out and that was a little deeper wound and ... - The girl just stops for a moment, feeling the boy's delicate touch on her arm, he had a little rough hands, probably because of the arrows, but he was still very delicate and cautious.

Realizing that the girl had been quiet, Peter just raised his head to look at her, only to see a slightly flushed face and those red eyes. The boy says nothing, being hypnotized by those scarlet irises, he unconsciously raises his hand to caress the girl's cheek, being impressed by the softness of her skin. He then begins to approach their faces, until they are mere inches apart; where they could feel their breaths mixing in the air...

— Wanda! You are here!? - the two hear a voice and separate quickly, quite reddish by the way, just before Pietro opens the door to the break room - oops! Sorry, little sister, I'll be back soon ... - he says with a naughty smile and soon disappears in an instant

— W-well, I better get going, my next fight is about to start ... - Peter says getting up and heading towards the door

— Ah! Sorry I didn't let you get ready ... - the girl apologizes

— No, it's okay... maybe I don't even want to win this fight... - he says looking down, with his hand still on the knob

— What do you mean? - Wanda knew that she wouldn't have time to hear the whole story; but why would someone with the motivation to win like Peter say that?

— A hero has to save those who need help ... - he says simply looking at the girl with a slight smile, before opening and leaving through the door, turning right to go towards the arena

Wanda didn't even have time to assimilate that answer, when Pietro appears again at the door, this time leaning against the doorframe and looking in the direction Peter had gone;

— I didn't know you and Parker were dating - he says simply without looking at his sister

— What!? We didn't ... we didn't ... it wasn't what you're thinking! - the girl tries to formulate while becoming the same color as her uniform and bow in mere seconds

— Well, I already told mom about it then ... - he says and activates his Quirk to leave a cell phone on the table and run away at full speed

— Hunpf... – Wanda snorts and finishes closing the top of her uniform as she heads for the cell phone on the table; because of their financial situation, for being the oldest (even if only for 6 minutes) Wanda was the only one with a cell phone, which should only be used for calls, and now on the screen, the contact of "Natalya Maximoff" appeared as if on hold. Soon pressing the button, she says - Hello?

"Wanda?"

— Hi mom ... - the girl says

"Wanda, I saw your fight on television ..." the woman says seeming to be excited "... you were amazing, I'm so proud"

— Thanks! That way, if I manage to be recruited by a good agency I'll...

"Wanda, do you remember what we talked about?"

— But...

"No but's; what we talked about, young lady?"

— That in the first place I have to follow my dreams...

"Exactly; I know you feel guilty for making me change my plans to be a hero ..." Her mother starts to say in a slightly sadder air "but know that I wouldn't change anything. You and your brother are the most important things in the world for me! And * snif * I would be even happier * snif * if you followed your dreams ..." the woman ends in a tearful voice

— Mommy... – Wanda can't help but cry with her mother

"I love you my little sorcerer..."

— I love you too...

"Now let's stop this sad conversation ..." the woman says, already looking as if she has recovered "...what did Pietro tell me about you having a boyfriend?" the woman asks and Wanda makes a mental note to kill Pietro later

A blushing Peter Parker walked down the corridors towards the battlefield, he kept thinking about what had just happened; what was he thinking? In practically nothing, he let himself go and he and Wanda almost ... Peter shakes his head, trying to get rid of that thought, with a racing heart, and does not notice the person that came around the corner until he bumps into that person.

— Oh, sorry, I was not paying attention and ... - The boy starts to apologize, until he raises his head to see no one else and no one less than; - Ah! Ghost Rider?

— Boy, I know that I am a hero, but I am also the father of one of your colleagues; Mr. Blaze is fine ... - he says with a cigarette between his lips, he then puts his fingers on the tip and lights it up with his Quirk; obviously disobeying the "no smoking" signs around - I was looking for you actually...

— Oh, really? - Peter asks, not really knowing what the number two hero wanted with him

— I saw your fight against the boy of illusions, your power is nothing too flashy, but you seem to be skilled with it

— Ah, thanks ... - if Peter had been praised by the hero the day before, he certainly would have asked for a recording for the future, but knowing the same better now after the conversation he had with Reyes, that situation was much more tense

— You were one of the boys saved by Iron Man in the Carnage attack, weren't you? - the hero asks after drawing a little air through his cigarette - he asked me a question about Roberto's training; probably looking for tips, would you be the boy he's training?

— What? No, imagine! He is certainly my favorite hero, but ... - Peter then shuts down when he realizes that he was talking to HERO NUMBER 2, UNDER THE IRON MAN - oh, you know what it is? My fight is about to start and I need to go, so, excuse me ... - the boy says, dodging the hero and trying to go on his way

— Whether you are the boy or not ... - he says, keeping his back still - do not take it easy on Roberto; his goal is to overtake Iron Man, so any fight is a valid learning opportunity. Do not dishonor yourself and him by holding on...

—... - Peter knew very well that the best thing he could do now was to just keep walking and ignore what he had heard, but something inside him prevented him from doing that.

— That's all boy, sorry for bothering you - the hero says walking back in the opposite direction, squeezing the cigarette inside his fist and making it burn until it becomes mere ashes that he simply releases to toss in the air

— Mr. Blaze ... -Pete says, drawing the attention of the hero who turns to face him - I'm definitely not Iron Man...

—... – the hero didn't know where the boy was going with that statement

— And the same goes for Reyes; he is not you - the boy finishes saying, invoking a courage, or stupidity from somewhere beyond, to face the hero directly in the eye, before resuming his path towards the battlefield

—And it is at this moment that I return to the general joy of the nation! - Deadpool yells at the reader before taking the microphone to address the audience "- WE ARE NOW STARTING THE SECOND ROUND OF INDIVIDUAL BATTLES, WHERE THE RISKS ARE GREATER AND THE REWARDS ARE ALSO ! IN OUR FIRST DISPUTE; THE FIRST PLACE AGAINST THE UNDERDOG: ROBERTO REYES VS PETER PARKER!

While the two boys approached each other in the field, Wanda had finished the conversation with her mother, having finally changed the jacket of the gym uniform and going to sit next to Danny and Gwen; without first, of course, slapping her brother on the head as she passed.

— Wanda, we are happy that you are well, congratulations on the victory - Danny says watching his friend sitting next to him

— Thank you ... - she says and then looks back at the field with concern - who do you think will win? - she asks, addressing both Danny and Tyrone who sat on her other side

— It is difficult to say, both are extremely skilled in short and medium range combat; but Reyes has the chains ... - Tyrone says bending down a little while looking at the field

— That's true ... - Gwen says appearing out of nowhere behind the trio

— Ah! – Wanda gets scared, but soon recovers when she sees that it was Gwen - that way you kill me from heart attack

— Sorry, but I went to buy you a snack - she says showing a paper tray with some tacos

— Ah, thank you ... - the girl says accepting the gift and Gwen going to sit next to Danny

— Gwen, don't you think you're spending too much on these...

— Danny! Without time for further interruptions, the author wants to finish this chapter - the girl says, silencing her friend with a finger on his lips

For many that would be another fight; a fight that would certainly be incredible, given the capabilities of the competitors, but for some people, there were layers below the surface that made this contest much more important. For two professional heroes it was the dispute over their teaching methods and their apprentices, reflecting themselves. For Reyes it was a chance to show his father and the world that he had his own powers and didn't need a genetic gift to be the best. And Peter, he wanted to at least save someone from himself, be a real hero, the only question was...

...how?