Inside the room that served as the Young X-Men's Headquarters stood a girl who presumably was Monet. Peter recognized her as a girl that was in his History class. He never talked to her, but he heard from Sam that she was the daughter of some rich guy and that she grew up in Bosnia before being sent to the academy. A few days ago, Peter overheard some of the young children talking about her and how powerful she was.
"This is Monet St. Croix." The Professor said.
"Hello." Monet said, speaking with a hint of an accent. "Let me guess, you're Kitty, you're Amara, you're Peter, and you're Piotr." She said, pointing at each one as she spoke their names.
They all nodded. "You're the one the children call the Spider?" Monet said, pointing at Peter, a clear tone of distaste in her voice. It wasn't really a question.
Peter nodded, cautiously. "You have the powers of a spider?" she said, the distaste in her tone growing. Peter nodded again. "That is disgusting."
Peter opened his mouth to say something but Kitty's voice came out. "What can you do?" Kitty asked.
"The question is what I can't do. I can fly, I have super strength, I have a perfect memory, I have a healing factor , I have amazing reflexes, and that's just a few of my powers." Monet said, chuckling a little at the end. "If I was your enemy, I could destroy you all in mere minutes."
Peter turned to look at Piotr, who was stone-faced. I don't know how he can do it, Peter thought to himself, I don't know how Piotr can hide his emotions. He's one person I'd never like to play Poker against.
"Well then…head to the Danger Room. It's time to train." the Professor said after the awkward silence that followed after Monet's last statement.
*X*
"Go away, demon!" Norman said, looking at the green creature in the purple costume that reflected in the mirror instead of him.
"Not a demon." The creature said. "A goblin."
"I don't care what you are! I'll never help you!" Norman said, taking a few steps away from the mirror. Someone knocked on the bathroom door.
"Norman, are you alright? Thomas said on the other side of the bathroom door.
"Yes, I'm alright." Norman said before turning to look back at the hideous reflection.
"Don't you see Norman? It was destiny that brought us together. It was destiny that your scientist screwed up the serum. It was destiny you chose to drink it." The reflection croaked.
"Oh my god, I'm going crazy." Norman said, rubbing his eyes.
"Who's to say you were already sane?" the reflection said. Norman gave the reflection a scornful look before opening the bathroom door and leaving the room.
*X*
"There doesn't even need to be a team anymore." Peter lamented as him and Piotr played Foosball in one of the rec rooms.
"What makes you say that, comrade?" Piotr asked, scoring a goal.
"The new girl was better then every one of us put together." Peter said, putting the miniature soccer ball back on the table.
"That should make you happy, comrade. The team is much better now." Piotr said.
"I know it should, Piotr." Peter said. "But she knows that she's better then us. She's the most arrogant person I've ever met."
"Who is the most arrogant person you ever met?" Sam said, entering the room. Peter looked at Piotr, nodded, and then looked back at Sam.
"Monet St. Croix." Peter said. "I talked to her earlier, and she proceeded to say that having the powers of a spider was disgusting and that she was extremely powerful."
"I once asked her to dance at one of the parties some of the teenagers have when the adults are away." Sam lamented.
"What happened?" Peter said.
"Well, after her she stopped laughing she called me a peasant and walked away." Sam said.
*X*
That night, Peter dreamed he was in the spider-costume and that he was web swinging over the streets of Manhattan. Suddenly, his web line was cut by something and he began plummeting to the streets below.
He fired another web-line, which latched itself onto the side of a building. All of a sudden, someone on a glider zoomed past Peter laughing like a maniac. Peter recognized the man on the glider as the person he saw in a dream a few days ago, the one his dream-self called the Goblin.
The Goblin stopped and turned around and pulled something out of a bag he had on the side of his costume. It was a miniature…jack o' lantern. The Goblin laughed again and threw it at Peter. Peter tried to dodge it, but it was too late. It exploded behind him and he lost hold of the web line. He wanted to shoot out another web-line, to stop himself from falling, but he couldn't. The explosion has disoriented him, he was unable to focus. He screamed as he fell, and the Goblin laughed in the background.
Right before he hit the ground, Peter awoke with a cold sweat. He looked around his room, before trying to sleep again. The next morning when Peter awoke, he had forgotten all about the dream.