Hello and welcome everyone! Sorry for my long break from posting. This chapter took a while to get right. It was worth it, in my opinion, because I had SO much fun writing this one. Our long awaited moment has arrived...
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter and be sure to leave a review to let me know what you thought.
Lastly, my eternal thanks to my lovely beta annbe11 who slogged through this monster of a chapter not once, but twice to help me get it right. If anyone here is a fan of Aladdin, I highly recommend you check out her newest story Of Rats and Royals, the story of how a young Aladdin and Jasmine need to work together to survive on the mean streets of Agrabah.
Chapter 12 - A Good Third Impression
Midtown Middle School, The Burbs
"I totally thought that freeze gun was going to blow up in my hands, Pete," said Ned. The boy had put down his cafeteria hamburger and was looking intensely at his two hands, almost like having such a close experience with severe frostbite had given him a brand-new appreciation for his digits. "Would have turned me into a Ned-sicle if it had."
"But you got it to work, right?" asked Peter, eager to hear the rest of the story.
"Yeah," Ned said, grinning at Peter. "I aced it. SLA just got the most handsome pair of bachelors this side of Empire City."
Peter looked at Ned in confusion. Ned rolled his eyes.
"Us, Pete. We're going to SLA. Dude, we made it!" Ned seized him in a backslapping hug and soon they were both grinning like idiots.
They were forced to stop congratulating themselves when the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. Even so, Peter couldn't stop his head from whirling over and over as they headed back to finish their last classes for the day.
Ned had had his exam for the SLA Support course the day before. He had been absent from class for that day and had wanted to share the results in person. Ned's exam had featured a written test much like Peter's, but had a bigger focus on engineering. Ned's practical portion had been very different, though. He had needed to bring in a Support item of his own invention to be judged by an instructor. Ned's device had been a pair of digital goggles with a built-in HUD, which he could feed information to directly from his laptop. The materials had been difficult to find, but fortunately Ned had it built and functional by test day.
After Ned's examiner, who was according to Ned 'a rather squirrelly fellow', deemed his gadget satisfactory, Ned had been dumped in a stocked workshop and told to make a portable freeze ray gun. Ned had worked hard and sweated over the device, but he was eventually successful. His functional freeze ray had netted him an acceptance into the SLA Support program.
Now both Peter and Ned were going to SLA!
Peter kept on repeating that thought to himself over and over just to convince himself it was all still real. There were only two weeks left in the school year. Peter couldn't wait until finals were done and he would have a nice summer break to mentally and physically prepare for the Hero Course.
The rest of the school day felt like a blur after a bombshell like that and soon, the two boys were leaving their last class.
"So," said Ned, nudging Peter in the side, "today's another Tower day?"
"Yeah," Peter said with a nod. "I've had some new idea for the web-shooters, but I need to bug Mr. Stark to teach me about doing miniaturized circuit boards so I can try making them smaller."
"Oh!" Ned suddenly looked excited. "What if you made them into bracelets that expanded out into launchers! If you got enough, you could becomethe Iron Spider!" Ned said, making what Peter assumed to be a spider hand gesture.
Peter laughed as the two of them stepped out into the sunlight. All around them, fellow exiting students were splitting up to walk up or down the sidewalk and past them all, Peter could see the black limo waiting for him on the curb.
"Here's my ride," Peter said, giving Ned a pat on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ned. Congratulations again."
"Congratulations to us, you mean," Ned said, hold out his hand for their special handshake.
After their handshake was finished, they split up with Ned walking down the sidewalk and Peter heading for the limo. He could see the smiling face of FRIDAY's hologram in the driver seat. She waved to him as the limo doors opened for him. He slung his backpack off his shoulder and stepped into the car, shutting the door behind him.
"Hi, FRIDAY," Peter said in greeting.
"Hey, kid," responded a voice that was distinctly not FRIDAY.
"Yah!" Peter yelped in surprise, staring at the unexpected occupant of the limo with wide eyes. "Mr. Stark?! W-what are you doing here?!"
Tony sat near the front of the limo, his feet kicked up on the opposite seat and a bottle of orange soda in his hand. He had a pair of sunglasses perched low on his nose and he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt while also wearing an expensive looking blazer jacket and a pair of dusty high-tops. He seemed entirely relaxed as he watched Peter come down from his momentary heart attack.
"This is my limo, kid," Tony said flatly before taking a sip of orange soda. "Why wouldn't I be here?"
"I-I mean," Peter stuttered, "what are you doing here right now?"
"There's been a change of plans," Tony said as the limo pulled away from the curb and onto the street. "We won't be having any work sessions today. We have an errand to run."
"What sort of errand?" Peter asked, instinctively buckling his seatbelt. Surely Tony wasn't about to just drag him off on a grocery run, right?
"I'm going to SLA for a staff meeting," Tony answered, looking a little irritated as he stared out the window. "We're hashing out a few details about the upcoming school year. Probably just a bunch of bureaucratic admin crap." He took another swig of his soda. "Anyway, FRIDAY recommended that I take you along instead of just leaving you at the Tower. She figured you might enjoy visiting the campus when you don't have that whole exam hanging over your head. Interested?"
Peter was nodding vigorously before his mind had even finished processing what Tony had said. "Yes! Yes! Absolutely!"
"Good answer," Tony said with a nod.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark," said Peter. "Thank you, FRIDAY."
"You're welcome, Peter," said FRIDAY's hologram in the front of the limo. "We both figured you deserved a break after getting your acceptance letter. Congratulations, by the way. I knew you could do it. So did the boss."
"Yup, we're all giving you a big heart-filled congrats," Tony said, setting his bottle in a cup holder and pulling out his phone. "Coincidentally, I've used up my emotions for the afternoon. Hey FRIDAY, got any of that info I requested on Fireheart Enterprises? I want to know more about this CEO before we do any business."
"Sending it to your phone now, boss," said FRIDAY. Peter could swear he heard a hint of disappointment in her voice.
As Tony sped through FRIDAY's information on his phone, Peter unzipped his backpack and pulled out his notebook. He had only flipped through a few pages before Tony looked up from his phone at him.
"What are you doing?" Tony asked.
"Well, I have an algebra test tomorrow," Peter answered. "I figured I should study on the ride since I probably won't have a chance when we get to SLA." Just acknowledging that fact sent another thrill of excitement through Peter's mind.
Tony gave Peter a dull look. "Kid, you can synthesize a brand new industrial-grade adhesive from only half a formula that's older than you are," he said. "If you can't handle a simple algebra test, then I really need to reassess my opinion of you."
Peter gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, you can never be too prepared? Right, Mr. Stark?"
Tony has already gone back to his phone. Choosing to take that as acceptance, Peter went back to his notes. It was a long drive to SLA and he wanted to make sure he used the time wisely.
Tony could tell they were getting close to the SLA campus when the kid plastered his face against the window, only just restraining himself from actually bouncing in his seat. Even if the kid had already been here once already, that didn't stop him from acting like it was Christmas come early.
Tony sighed and shut off his phone as FRIDAY turned into the drive up to the campus gates, the car's transponder already signaling them to open. The car followed the gravel driveway leading up to the mansion. It would only take a few seconds to reach the mansion, but Peter looked like he was about to jump out and run the rest of the way out of sheer excitement.
Other roads broke off from the driveway, either splitting off into small parking lots or twisting off deeper into the estate toward dorm buildings or different school facilities. But FRIDAY kept going up the drive that deposited them practically at the mansion's front step. As FRIDAY put the car in park, Tony pushed his sunglasses up his nose and put on his baseball cap. A few students were clustered outside having a picnic study session on the grass. Understandable. It was a beautiful day after all. It was also understandable that they had taken notice of the limo pulling up in front of their school. Tony decided to roll the dice that none of them had some secret Tony Stark Shrine in their dorm and just go with a simple disguise for today. A slight risk, he admitted to himself, but only slight. He'd done more daring things before.
Besides, the Image Inducer still needed work.
The kid bounded out of the car with a quick 'thanks FRIDAY' and then he just stood there gaping at everything. Tony followed him out, feeling only a dull resignation. This was his life now. After decades of decadence, debauchery, and some other tasteful descriptions, he had somehow landed right in the middle of his least favorite place in the world.
Academia.
Somewhere his dad was laughing at him, he just knew it.
"Call if you need me!" FRIDAY's hologram said from the driver's seat before the car turned around and headed for a parking lot. Tony sighed with one more look at the school before he stepped forward and clapped the kid on the shoulder, startling him out of whatever reverie his young mind was occupying itself with.
"I'm gonna head in and get this meeting over with," Tony said. "How about you go explore the place. Make some new friends. Go do whatever it is you kids do. Sound good?"
The kid looked up at him and gave Tony that joyful, heart-melting, absolute puppy dog smile that just came so easily to him.
"Sure thing!" the kid said excitedly. Tony nodded after a moment and gave his shoulder another pat.
"Good. Keep your phone on. I'll meet you right here in about two hours." As he left Peter and started climbing the stairs to the mansion, he turned around and pointed an authoritative finger at him. "And I swear to God, kid, if I have to meet up with you in the hospital again, I'm banning you from the Tower for a month. Got it?"
"Y-yes sir!" Peter yelped. Tony gave another nod and waved to him before heading inside.
Once he was away from the kid, it suddenly felt just a bit easier to breathe.
Tony wasn't completely heartless. Having Peter around was… nice. It was honestly good to have an occasional break from all the heaviness that made up his daily life as the Number One Hero. Plus, he still had to run his company and deal with shitty employees and shittier business tycoons. Not to mention those ladies named Crippling Anxiety and Overwhelming Guilt that were always hanging off his arms.
In the face of all of that, Peter's easy expression of youthful hope and joy was refreshing, and it made his chest swell with emotions that he didn't quite know how to place.
But having someone look up to him in the way Peter did was horrifying. Suffocating, really. Like the stuff of nightmares. That kid was smart. Too smart. He was gonna be big. He was gonna be the Future. He had better things to do than waste his time hero-worshiping some broken shadow of a man.
Tony probably would have walked all the way through the mansion with those thoughts in his head if a young woman hadn't suddenly walked through the door right when he had been passing it. Tony dodged away from her sudden appearance and barely kept his fight or flight response from going off.
"Oh," the woman said in surprise. Tony recognized her curly brown hair. He'd seen her in the control room during the entrance exam. Instead of the business clothes she had worn then, now she was dressed in pale blue leggings, a black leather jacket with padded shoulders, and a particularly eye-catching yellow silk scarf around her neck. "I didn't mean to spook you. Sorry about that, Stark."
Tony cleared his throat and straightened his blazer, desperate to regain some semblance of decorum. Getting spooked like that wouldn't do anything to help his reputation.
"No problem. Barely even noticed you."
"Uh huh," she said, looking at him skeptically.
"You… seem to have me at a disadvantage, here," Tony admitted. "Nice to meet you, Miss…?"
"Pryde," she answered. "Kate Pryde. Homeroom teacher. I suppose we'll be working together." She gave a little laugh as she turned down the hall. "Never imagined I'd end up working next to the Number One Hero. How'd you fall back into teaching?"
"No reason," Tony said, keeping step with her.
She scoffed. "Nobody becomes a teacher for 'no reason', Stark."
"Well, if you must know, I felt like doing something new. I've already flown to space so all I had left to do was this. Besides, children are our most precious resource, right?"
"Hmm," she said with a smile. "And here I was having money down on the Professor blackmailing you into it. Looks like I lost."
"So it would seem," Tony said with a nod before he suddenly blinked and looked at her with surprise. "Wait, the teachers are taking bets on why I'm joining?"
"Of course not, Stark," she said with a wide smile. "I'm shocked and appalled that you'd think the teachers of this prestigious academy would stoop to such a level. Where did you ever get such an idea?"
"Nowhere apparently." Tony couldn't help but smile. He was starting to like this dry firecracker of a woman.
"We're just through here," Pryde said, leading him around a corner and pointing to a mahogany door. As she rested her hand on the doorknob, she shot Tony a questioning look. "You sure you're ready for your first faculty meeting, Stark? They can be quite… brutal."
"Oh please," Tony said, waving away her statement before pushing open the other door. "I've saved the world fifty-three times already. I'm not scared of a bunch of academics. This is gonna be absolutely- SHIT!"
The cry of alarm echoed throughout the room, startling the half-dozen people sitting around the meeting table and drawing their attention. But Tony wasn't looking at any of them. All of his focus was directed on just one woman.
She sat on her leather office chair with such regality and confidence that one would think she was seated upon a throne. She was dressed in pure white, from her stiletto boots, to the compression socks turned pants, the long silk gloves, the flowing cape that melted into the 'top' - if that scrap of fabric bordering her bust and midriff could be called such a thing - and finally the velvet choker wrapped around her throat. And if one could stop ogling her body, they'd might notice her platinum blonde hair or her eyes, which were like twin chunks off of the Titanic's iceberg as she gave the world's mightiest hero one of the coldest looks he had ever seen.
"Hello, Tony dear," said Emma Frost, the corners of her mouth curving into a mocking smile. "I was beginning to wonder when we'd bump into each other again."
"What are you doing here?!" demanded Tony, his voice a few octaves higher than normal. "What is she doing here? Why didn't anyone tell me that she would be here?!"
"Oh goodie, you already know each other," said Pryde as she walked past Tony and took a seat. "Guess I shouldn't be too surprised." She gave a great roll of her eyes.
"Ahem." Everyone turned to the head of the table where Xavier sat in his hover chair. "I can see that introductions won't be needed for you two. Emma is our guidance counselor, Tony. She's a member of this faculty, just like you are."
"Jesus Christ…" Tony breathed, staring at Xavier in shock. "She's your guidance counselor? Who in their right minds would trust this woman around kids?!"
"I think I could say the same thing about you," Emma said, still giving him that superior, mocking smile. "I can assure you that I am quite capable at my job and a consummate professional, unlike some people I could think of."
"Oh really?" Tony asked, looking back to her. "I seem to recall a certain incident years ago that involved you saying 'Hey Tony, watch this' and then half of Times Square starts dancing the macarena. Even some old lady with a walker."
Pryde suddenly had a coughing fit that sounded suspiciously like smothered laughter. A few other teachers cleared their throats at the same time, but they were drowned out by the cackling of a… raccoon?
No, Tony wasn't hallucinating again. There was a real live raccoon sitting at the table and slapping the wood surface while laughing.
"Holy shit, that sounds amazing!" the definitely-should-not-be-talking raccoon said. "Hey Toots, wanna do a repeat performance at the next tournament? It'll be a riot!"
Emma, unfortunately, was unfazed by the suggestion and just brushed some blond hair over her shoulder. "I think not. I merely chose to have a bit of fun, Rocket." She gave Tony a side eye and added, "I'm sure that if we wanted to stand around reminiscing all day, I could dazzle everyone with-"
"Alright, that's enough," snapped Magneto, looking impatient as he leaned against the table. "We have a lot of ground to cover and I will not sit here all day and let you two have at each other. Stark, sit down and be quiet so we can get started."
"Fine," Tony said with a scoff. He chose an empty chair as far away from Emma as physically possible. "I was getting tired from supporting the weight of our entire society."
No one had a rebuttal for that last statement, which was honestly a little disappointing.
Tony folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, hoping that this meeting wouldn't be too boring.
There was so much of SLA that Peter could see that he actually had trouble knowing where to start. He had considered immediately exploring the halls of the mansion — the actual mansion! — but decided instead to check out some of the grounds around the giant structure. It was beautiful day. Beyond beautiful. Everything he saw, from the towering white oaks to the tiniest dandelion captured Peter's interest and wonder.
This was SLA. This was the greatest Hero school in the country.
And Peter was a student here!
Even just thinking that sent another thrill of disbelieving excitement through Peter's heart. It was like that fact hadn't sunk in yet and he was still trying to process such an incredible event.
Peter turned back to the mansion, looking up and down the side of it as he continued his slow lap around the structure. He knew next to nothing about mansions or the architecture, but he was sure that Aunt May would love to see this place sometime. She was always a fan of those shows and movies set in beautiful places like this.
Around the mansion he could see metal and wood benches spaced along the path. Some stood in the shade of nearby trees while others were fully in the sunlight. A smattering of students had taken over the benches to work, eat snacks, or just chat amongst themselves. Peter only gave most of the students a quick glance before continuing his lap, but then he walked past someone who made him stop in his tracks.
It was Her. There was no mistaking that scarlet red hair or those emerald green eyes. She was leaning against the arm of her bench, calmly reading a paperback book open in her lap. She was probably just trying to enjoy the beautiful summer day.
Peter was frozen only a few feet away from her. He wanted to greet her. He wanted to ask how she was doing. He wanted to apologize for causing her so much trouble. He wanted his legs to start working and run far away so he couldn't ruin things all over again.
He wanted to do literally anything at all that didn't involve standing there like an idiot.
Come on, Brain! We need to do something now or she's gonna-!
He hesitated too long. The girl realized she was being watched and looked up from her book. The confusion in her beautiful eyes was immediately replaced by shock when she saw him clearly.
They seemed to stay like that for a small eternity, both of them trapped in that moment of awkward recognition.
"Oh my gosh," she said at last, breaking through her own stunned amazement. "It's you."
"A-and," Peter stuttered, "y-you're you."
Ah jeez, the first time a girl talks to you and that is your opening line?
They both fell into another silence, as if neither of them knew what to do next. Something in Peter's brain must have completely short-circuited because he was the one to break the silence. He held a stiff hand out toward her.
"Hi!" he squeaked. "I-I'm Peter! P-Peter Parker! I never got to introduce myself and it's nice to see you again!"
The girl stared up at him and finally her lips curled into a little smile. She set her book aside and took his hand.
"It's nice to see you again, Peter," she said. "My name is Jean." As their hands shook, her smile got a little wider. "I'm guessing you passed the Entrance Exam."
"Yeah," Peter said with a nod. "I'm in Class A."
"No way! Me too!" Jean said with wide eyes.
Peter felt he could just get lost in those eyes of hers, like a deep and beautiful forest somehow loaded with glittering gems. It took a few moments for Peter to realize he was still shaking her hand. This greeting had gone on for way too long and he hurriedly let go before things could get even more awkward.
Except he couldn't.
Terror made his heart skip a beat as he stared down at their clasped hands. He tried to let go. He tried to move his fingers, even just the smallest bit, but they stayed stuck, wrapped around Jean's hand as if the two of them had been fused together.
Peter felt nervous sweat trickle down the back of his neck.
Jean noticed that he had stopped shaking her hand and looked at him curiously.
"Um, Peter? I think you can let go now."
Peter swallowed hard. He should have known better. He had actually believed for a single second that meeting this beautiful girl again might actually go well. He had been such a fool. Now she was about to hate him all over again. Why did this have to happen now?
"I…" Peter said, his voice a frightened squeak. Jean gave him a confused look.
"You what?" she asked.
"I-I can't," Peter finished. "I can't let go. M-my Quirk makes me really strong a-a-and also really sticky."
"What?" said Jean, staring at his fingers again. "That's…um…" He could feel her try to move his fingers, but they were completely stuck to him. Her eyes widened as she yanked her arm, but the two of them remained stuck happened. "Certainly… something."
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Peter cried, trying to help pry their hands apart himself. All he achieved was sticking all four of their hands together in a big knot of fingers. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" he said, his voice panicked as they both struggled against one another.
"It's fine," Jean said in voice that let him know it was not fine. At this point, she was standing up and leaning back to try pulling away from him. She turned their connected hands to look on either side. "It's totally fine. We'll… um, we'll figure out something."
Peter could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickling and he spared a quick glance to the other benches around them. The other students had taken notice of their struggle. Peter also noticed, to his horror, that two students had started recording this on their phones. There was no way out of this. He had trapped this girl and now she was going to hate him for sure. There was absolutely no recovering from this.
If the ground decided to just open up and eat me right now, I'd be alright with that.
"Okay…" Jean said, letting out some laughter that was tinged with fear. "This really isn't working. What should we…?"
Suddenly, Jean froze, prompting Peter to go still as well. Her face had lost its color as she stared at something over Peter's shoulder. He glanced behind him, wondering what could make her so scared.
A huge young man in exercise clothes stood before them, rippling with muscle and built like a brick wall. Or, to be more accurate, a metal wall since his whole body from head to toe was shining steel. He stood there like a statue with his arms crossed, raising a single eyebrow.
"Who-?" Peter started to ask. That was when Jean gave a might pull, yanking Peter back and near dragging him in a stumbling dash around the corner of the mansion. Peter was too distracted with keeping his balance to ask where Jean was taking them. She pulled him after her along the back of the mansion before ducking behind a row of hedges. When Peter was past the stinging branches and had finished blowing leaves out of his face, he was surprised to find him and Jean standing in a little alcove in the side of the mansion, blocked from view by the hedges. Stones from the architecture stuck out enough to make for a decent bench and Jean quickly pulled the both of them to sit down.
"Oh god…" Jean moaned. She made to drop her face into her hands, but she only ended up smacking her forehead on their clasped appendages.
"Um… wh-what's wrong?" Peter asked hesitantly.
"Besides this?" Jean asked, shaking their stuck hands. "That was one of my friends and now he's going to be making assumptions about… everything." She shook her head. "Thank God it was just Piotr and not Jubilee. He doesn't talk to anyone. He just watches." Jean sighed. "And judges."
"I'm sorry, Jean," Peter said again, making another attempt to separate their hands. They remained stuck. "I'd stop doing this if I could."
"I know," she said with a nod. She paused and took a few breaths before looking up at Peter with a focused expression. "So, why can't you unstick? Is that some problem with your Quirk?"
Peter blinked and looked down at their stuck hands guiltily.
"Not normally," he admitted. "Sometimes when I get stressed, they end up sticking to everything I touch, but it hasn't happened for weeks."
Jean started nodding. "Alright. Stressed. Let's work with that." She hummed in thought for a moment, before saying, "Let's try to do something relaxing. What makes you feel calm? Do you watch TV? Do you sing?"
"Well…" Peter trailed off, trying to think of something that could work in this situation. "I really like science. Talking with my friend Ned about chemistry and building things is fun."
Jean made a face. "Anything else?" she asked.
"Um… I like comic books. And heroes. I also like old movies and-"
"Old movies?!" Jean asked, her eyes suddenly sparkling. "What sort of movies? Do you watch science fiction and fantasy?"
"All the time!"
"Have you ever seen the Matrix movies?" Jean asked. "I mean… those movies are over a hundred years old by now, but maybe you've-"
Peter puckered his lips and lowered the pitch of his voice. "How pleasant to see you again, Mr. Anderson," he drawled.
Jean snorted with laughter. "That's good. I really, really like those movies. How about you?"
"Well, the first one is a bit aged by now, I agree, but whatever. I still love it. I think the second one can get a bit long-winded, but it has some redeeming moments." Peter's face crinkled in distaste. "I'm not a fan of the third one, though."
"I actually think the third one is better than the second," said Jean.
"What?" asked Peter, staring at Jean with utter confusion. "Why? The climax wasn't satisfying. We only had two real action scenes. The movie made no sense at all. So much of it felt… pointless."
Jean shrugged. "Honestly, the car chase in Reloaded felt pointless to me. I was more interested when there were emotions."
"There was…" Peter paused before he sighed in defeat. "Okay, the emotions weren't always there in Reloaded, you've got me on that. There weren't a lot of emotions in the first one either though."
"You're talking about 'emoting'. Not quite the same thing. There are lots of emotions to be had in Revolutions." She smiled. "The only part of Reloaded I really loved was when Neo was talking to the Architect."
Peter found himself blinking over and over.
"Wow," said Peter. "I… I kinda liked that part too. I have never met anyone who liked that scene. That's kind of bizarre. Everyone I've ever seen on those forum sites hated that part but I never did. Why did you like it?"
"I liked the subversion," Jean said with a shrug. "I liked the twist that even Neo being the One was all part of the Machines' plan; just another method of controlling humanity. That he wasn't some savior that would end the machines' hold over the world. It changes the context of everything he did through all three movies." She looked down with a smile and scuffed the soil beneath her shoes. "He wasn't able to save humanity because he was some divinely chosen messiah. He saved humanity because he and everyone else just believed that he could do it. I… I think it's really inspiring."
"…Yeah," said Peter. "I… I thought so too. It was… pretty cool." The two of them sat in silence before Jean looked back up at him with a wide smile.
"And then there's the thing with Oracle."
"What thing?" Peter asked.
Jean's eyes sparkled. "The Oracle causes every single event of the series." Peter could practically see the excitement growing in her.
"…What?" Peter cocked his head, feeling very confused. "What do you mean?"
"After I saw Revolutions for a few times, I realized the whole reason Morpheus looked for Neo in the first place was because the Oracle told Morpheus that he would find the One. She was even the program who predicted the One in the first place."
"Yeah…" Peter said hesitantly, scratching his head.
"So what if she made it up?" Jean asked, giving him a smile.
Peter blinked. "Everything?"
"Everything," Jean confirmed with a nod. "She was one of the programs that created the Matrix in the first place. The machines probably had her create the Prophecy in the first place so that humans would look to a savior. Whoever that savior was would reach the Architect and then would restart the Matrix. Zion would get wiped out and the cycle would start all over again. If she met that many Resistance fighters, she could learn to accurately predict what decisions they would make. She's not telling the future, she's just computing what is most likely to happen."
"You really think she could predict everyone?" Peter asked, completely fascinated.
"I don't see why not," Jean said with a shrug. "She knew Morpheus would fanatically seek out the One. She manipulated events to put Neo in Morpheus' path and she also told Trinity she would fall in love with the One. She knew that when Neo met the Architect, because he and Trinity were in love, he would save her and not make the choice to restart the Matrix." She started running her hands through her hair, still smiling as she shot glances to Peter over and over, like she was gauging his reaction. "That left enough time for Agent Smith to assimilate every person in the Matrix and become a problem that the Machines couldn't ignore anymore. That made them open to making peace with humanity and Neo fulfilled the duty she had set him on by ending the war between humanity and the Machines." She paused before saying eagerly, "Don't you see it?"
Peter stared at Jean before he let out a stunned laugh. "Wow. I… wow." He lowered his head into his hands and laughed again. "I… Jean, I think you just blew my mind."
Jean giggled, starting to come down from the high she was on. "I-I've never had the chance to talk to anyone about this before. None of my friends like old movies, let alone the Matrix. It's… it's just so crazy that you like it."
"I think you just made me like the Matrix sequels a lot more," Peter said with a smile.
The two of them looked at each other before they suddenly made the same realization. They both looked down at their hands and then back at each other.
Wait… when did we get unstuck?
A few long beats of silence passed as they came to terms with their regained freedom of movement.
Then Jean said, hesitantly, "So… it was nice meeting you. It really was despite the, uh, hand thing, but maybe I should… um…" She trailed off. She stood up.
She was going to leave.
It took every drop of courage in Peter's body for him to speak.
"Jean, h-hold on," he said. Jean paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "Do…" he said, struggling to get his mouth to work right. "Do you like Star Wars? The older ones, I mean. From… from before Quirks."
There was a pause where Peter saw Jean look surprised before she gained a mischievous glint in her eye. She smiled and turned to face him fully.
"Yes!" she said excitedly. "If you have time, there's something I have got to show you."
Jean bent over the console of Danger Room B, tapping a few more keys to make her decision final. The metal door stood before her and Peter as she made a few adjustments, but the room would activate soon and they could enter. She had brought him down to the basement of the mansion to show him one particular Danger Room scenario that he would love.
Or, at least she hoped he would love it. It all still felt so crazy to consider.
Despite the initial stumbles and stickings in their meeting, she and Peter had started talking about their mutual love of old movies. They had started… bonding over it. Jean still couldn't believe this was happening. Loving old movies had always been something just for her, where she could just immerse herself in something nobody she knew really cared about.
But now… now she was going to show Peter something that none of her other friends had ever seen before.
She wasn't sure if she was excited or just terrified.
"There's a couple different variations of this scenario," she explained, trying to sound nonchalant, "but I'll give us something that's a bit lower stress."
With a feeling of anticipation and apprehension, she pressed the Enter key and stepped away from the console. She heard the sounds of whirring machinery in the door before the spinning red light overhead came to life.
"Loading scenario 'The Moons Rise Over Kashyyyk'. Drone actors disabled. Enter when ready."
The thick door opened and Jean heard Peter suck in a shocked breath. Relief washed over her.
Thank goodness. He likes it. Of course, he likes it. It's super cool.
Through the door way sat the alien world of Kashyyyk. A beautiful night sky stretched above them, littered with more stars than Jean could possibly count. But even more than that, she could see the nebulae that made up the arms of the galaxy. Three moons of various colors hovered overhead, all of them so much bigger and clearer than Earth's own moon. Their feet brushed over sand as they made their way onto a beach littered with rocks and driftwood. Water gently lapped at the shore less than ten feet away. Further down the beach was the visual treat of this experience, though. Immense wroshyr trees rose from the ground and stretched hundreds, perhaps thousands, of feet into the air. Wooden paths and platforms grasped at the sides of the bark, their paths lit by torches twinkling in the distance.
"This… this is… wow…" Peter said, spinning in circles with a truly awed expression. "I mean… all this… wow!"
"It's pretty cool, isn't it?" Jean said, feeling oddly proud of Peter's amazed reaction. It was the same one she had when first found this so many years ago. "SLA has a Holo-Novella club," she added. "They make a bunch of different holo movies for the spring festival every year and their creations get saved into the archive. Usually, they're little murder mystery skits or cartoon slapstick segments, but a few clubs have done some Hollywood action set pieces. I was browsing through them a few years ago and I found that a group about twelve years back was really into Star Wars. They programmed this whole place and about five others."
While Peter continued to gawk at the towering trees, Jean walked toward a wooden chest sitting on shockingly large piece of driftwood. She knelt down and opened the box, smiling at the objects inside. This was the best part of the experience, since Peter was liking everything else, he would definitely love this. She selected one of the metal cylinders and turned toward Peter, who was still staring around with his back to her. A bold, spontaneous idea suddenly filled her mind and she grinned.
"Think fast!" she cried, lobbing the object at his back. To her surprise, however, Peter's arm snapped out in a blur and snagged the object out of the air. Peter actually seemed surprised when he turned to her, almost like he himself hadn't expected to catch it. Peter's eyes widened even further when he saw what she had thrown at him.
"Is… is this…?" He didn't even finish his sentence before he clicked the activation switch with his thumb.
SNAP-HISS!
A shining beam of red energy sprang from the lightsaber in his hand, illuminating the sand with a crimson glow. Peter blinked in shock as he gave the humming weapon a few practice swings.
"It's… it's real…" he said with wonder. "I… I'm actually holding one." He seemed to come out of his daze before giving Jean a flat look. "You gave me the red one? Really?" Jean had just finished rummaging around in the box to claim her own lightsaber before standing and looking at him sheepishly.
"Sorry," she said as she activated the green blade. "Next time, you can pick the lightsabers."
It took a moment before Jean realized what she had just said. Her cheeks went red.
Wait, 'next time'? Crap. Why did I say next time? I mean, hanging out with Peter has been really fun, but why would I say-
"I sense darkness in you, Jedi…" Peter drawled in an evil voice, stopping Jean's thoughts short. He had taken a stance with the saber held high and was wiggling his fingers in her direction. "Use your anger… Come to the dark side… Feel the true POWER of the Force! Bleugh!"
Jean burst into uncontrollable giggles. The over-the-top dialogue and the raspy voice he chose was just too much. When she finally got herself back under control, she saw Peter smiling at her before giving a curious look at his lightsaber.
"These things aren't… y'know, dangerous, are they?"
Jean had a few more hiccups of laughter and shook her head. She slapped her palm with the lightsaber blade. It flashed and made the expected lightsaber clashing sound, but it didn't hurt her at all.
"It's about as dangerous as a cardboard tube," she explained. Then she lifted her lightsaber in what she considered a defensive stance. Jean felt that if Peter was willing to really get into character, then she should put in some effort too. Thus, she cautiously moved closer to Peter with an intense expression on her face. "Now have at thee, vile Sith!"
"I'll show you the true power of the dark side!"
The two of them were laughing when their lightsabers clashed.
The two of them stepped and spun, their sabers flashing and sparking as they made contact. They used only clumsy, unpracticed swings at first, but then the two of them started to really get into it. They took turns being on the offensive, each of them testing out moves they remembered from the movies they both loved. As Jean spun out of the way of a stab from Peter, she marveled at the fact that this was really happening. None of her other friends had ever shared her interest with movies and none of them were at all interested in Star Wars. It felt amazing to finally share this with someone who clearly adored the series as much as she did.
She was knocked out of her thoughts when Peter leapt right over her, performing a mid-air somersault while bopping her on the back of the head with his lightsaber.
"Ah!" she said in surprise before spinning around to face him again. "No fair! I can't do that!"
"Sith don't care about what's fair!" Peter said in that cartoonishly evil voice of his. Jean lunged forward and swung at him again, but Peter bent backwards at the waist, ducking under her swing while catching himself with one hand on the sand. Before Jean's eyes, he backflipped on that hand, planted his feet on a large rock, and then flung himself forward, doing two somersaults before landing on the beach behind Jean.
She almost lost her grip on her lightsaber as she watched him perform such a feat that would be impossible for the average person.
"So… Peter," she said, "what exactly is your Quirk?" Did his super stickiness help him jump somehow? Or make him a crazy acrobat?
Peter lowered his lightsaber scratched the back of his neck. "I… suppose my Quirk is spider powers."
"Spider powers?" Jean repeated, still confused. "I've never seen a spider jump like that before. Or be really strong"
"Well, many spiders are capable of lifting over a hundred times their own weight," Peter explained, "and you've heard of jumping spiders, right? I pretty much have the abilities of a spider but proportional to being a human."
Jean thought about that and nodded. "That would certainly explain the sticking incident earlier."
"Yeah. Sorry about that. Again."
Jean waved off the apology. "Oh no, don't worry about that, Peter. It was scary before but now…" Now it was fond memory. "I don't mind. Honest. I'm really glad we ran into each other today and that we had the chance to stick around and chat for once."
"Yeah, after the exam…" Peter trailed off. After a few seconds, a huge grin appeared on his face.
"What?" Jean asked.
He refocused on her. "During the exam, I saw you had telekinesis from when you stopped us from falling and then when you were making swords float all over the place."
"Okay?"
"Well, it made me think that if we took my physical powers and your telekinesis, we actually have a fully functional Jedi."
"I suppose that's true," Jean said with a smile. That was pretty cool.
"Though I guess we're still missing all the other psychic powers."
Jean's smile became brittle.
Should I tell him?
While she herself had slowly been growing more comfortable with her telepathic powers, it had still been hard to draw up the courage to actually share her new abilities with anyone aside from the Professor and Magneto.
But… she'd already shared so much with Peter, though. They shared a love of old movies and she had had such a wonderful time with him so far. Surely it couldn't hurt, could it?
Yeah…It'll be fine. Totally fine.
"Well," she said, trying sound cheerful, "I think I have that part covered too."
Peter looked at her for a second as if he didn't understand what she meant before his eyes grew big again.
"Wait, you can do that stuff too?!" he said in surprise before dashing over to her, the deactivated lightsaber dangling forgotten in his hand. "Wow, that's…that's so cool! What sort of stuff can you do with it? Can you influence people? Can you read minds? Can you see the future?"
Jean tried to hide how her heart was nearly bursting from her chest as she deactivated her own lightsaber, signaling an end to their duel. She looked at the sand a bit and scuffed it with her foot. "Well, I can't see the future. I'm not even sure that's possible, but who can honestly know what's possible in this world?" The two of them shared a shrug. "I know it's possible to mind trick people or even control them, but I'm nowhere close to doing that."
Her voice got quieter as she added the next part. "The Professor can do it though, so there's a chance I can since we have similar Quirks." With that out of way, Jean looked back up at Peter. He was still there. That was good. "The main thing I can do is read minds," she continued. "It's a little too easy to do, but I don't do it without people's permission, so don't worry. The Professor taught me how to build barriers in my mind so I'm not constantly hearing everyone."
"Really? Hmmm…" said Peter, rubbing his chin. He closed his eyes for a few moments before fixing his gaze on her.
This is it. Please. Please. Don't freak out.
"What if I gave you permission?" he asked. "Can we try it?"
"W-what?!" Jean said in surprise. "T-try mind reading? Now? Why?"
"I'm really interested," answered Peter. "I mean, if you're okay with it, of course. It's okay with me. I was just thinking that it would be a great form of secret communication. If you could specifically hear one person's thoughts and then transfer your thoughts to them, it would be even better than regular communicators. It would be like walkie-talkies directly to your brain."
Jean stared at him in disbelief. He wasn't freaking out. Not even a little. And he wanted her to read his mind…that was…
She bit her lip as she considered.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I just…I thought…" Peter continued to make half sentences as Jean tried to get it together.
Finally, she saved him by saying, "Well, if you're serious then…" Peter's face immediately cleared. He looked positively eager.
He is serious.
"But… maybe we can try it later," she offered. "Like when school starts? I've never done with anyone besides the Professor, so I'd need to practice."
Peter nodded. "Sure. It's a date." A second passed before his whole face went red. "Wait! Sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I-I meant we'd set a date! To practice! Because w-we're heroes! And-and-and we need to practice! I didn't mean a date-date! That would be… well… um…"
"Eh-heh-heh," Jean laughed nervously as her cheeks turned pink as well. "I got it, Peter. I got it. I figured that was what you meant."
At least, I'm not the only one with foot in mouth syndrome.
"Oh. R-right. Of course." Peter nodded a few times. His eyes darted from place to place, like he was trying to find something new to talk about. "So…" he said slowly, "you said there were other Star Wars scenarios."
Jean smiled. It looked like she had made the right decision after all.
After their time in the Danger Room, Peter had asked Jean about seeing other parts of the campus and the two of them had set off on Jean's bike with Peter sticking to the rack above the back wheel. Jean rode around the campus, showing Peter a few of the other Danger Rooms, the dorms that they would be moving into at the start of the school year, the pools and sport courts used for recreation, and she even showed him a giant hedge maze at one corner of the mansion. Jean finished the tour by pedaling them to a good viewpoint where they could look through a gap in the trees of the estate to see the two biggest structures around: the Stadium and Danger Room H, which Jean told him was known as the Colosseum.
It had all been a really great experience for Peter, giving him the chance to just relax and take in everything about the campus.
Eventually, the two of them had returned to the mansion and Jean had showed him to the cafeteria which Peter thought looked more like a greenhouse. The fading sunshine of the day streamed through the floor to ceiling windows that dominated half of the circular room's perimeter while the other wall had food stations with multiple cuisines.
The room was filled with the din of conversation since many students were taking their dinner already. Peter and Jean made their way through the food line and loaded their trays with mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and Salisbury steak served out by a uniformed lunch lady with six arms. The woman gave Jean a friendly wink as she served them.
"You're gonna love the mealtimes here," Jean said as the both of them sat down at an unclaimed lunch table. She nodded toward the lunch lady. "Marilyn is a cooking goddess."
After taking a single bite of the steak, Peter had to agree. It was almost as good as Aunt May's steak. Almost.
Peter and Jean chatted as they ate, talking more about movies and how their opinions matched or differed. Just as Peter was thinking that he could have sat there talking with Jean all night long, something landed hard on their table with a loud SMACK.
Peter looked up at the tall and lanky boy standing behind Jean's shoulder, breathing hard after slapping a paperback book down on the table between the two of them. Peter also got the distinct impression that the boy was glaring at him, but that was impossible to tell due to the thick ruby-red lenses of the boy's sunglasses.
"Scott?!" Jean said in surprise, staring up at the new arrival. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be in training for another hour."
"I finished up early," he said. "I went looking for you… so we could spend some time together… and found this." He pushed the book toward her.
"My book! I totally forgot." Jean picked it up and gave him a smile. "Thank you so much, Scott."
"Where… have you been, Jean?" Scott asked. "I've been looking for you everywhere. And… I think your phone is dead."
"I'm sorry Scott," Jean said, looking guilty. "If I had known you'd get off early, I would have stuck around and waited for you."
Peter felt something in his chest ache as he heard her say that. He had had an amazing time with her, but…
She would have rather spent the time with this guy?
After a second, Jean's cheeks flushed as she seemed to remember Peter was there. "Sorry. I'm being rude. Scott, this is Peter. We met at the Entrance Exam. I ran into him earlier and I decided to give him a tour of the school."
"…Really?" Scott was definitely glaring now.
Peter swallowed. Scott looked like he wanted to fight him right now.
Scott sat down at the table with much more force than necessary and wrapped an arm around Jean's shoulders.
"I'm Scott," he declared. Jean seemed to automatically lean into his side. "I'm her boyfriend."
"Oh," Peter said colorlessly to the happy couple. Peter slowly lowered his fork, his meal forgotten as he thought absentmindedly that a heart should really make a sound when it breaks.
This became the beginning of a painful interlude where Peter had no real idea of what to do next. The easy atmosphere he had had with Jean had been completely blown away and now Scott seemed to be trying to kill Peter with his mind.
Peter swallowed hard and decided it was time to escape the situation. He reached into his pocket and pretended to check his phone.
"That's my… my teacher. He says it's time to go." Peter stumbled up from his chair and grabbed his tray. He tried to focus his gaze on Jean's face without being distracted by Scott's scowl. "I-I really had a great time, Jean. I hope you have a good summer and… well, I guess I'll see you at school."
"Alright. Bye, Peter," Jean said, giving him a little wave. "See you in the fall."
Peter waved back and hurried toward the exit, dumping his tray and dodging around other students to get to the doors.
He didn't stop running until he reached the front steps of the mansion where FRIDAY's limo had pulled up the driveway and Tony was standing at the foot of the stairs glaring as he tapped on his phone.
"Mr. Stark," Peter said breathlessly.
The man looked up at Peter in surprise. "Wow," Tony said, pocketing his phone as Peter ran up to him. "I was just texting you to say it was time to go. Did your spider-sense tell you to come?" Tony asked before opening the limo door.
Peter didn't answer until they had both climbed in. Once they got settled, Peter said, "Not exactly. Just a lucky guess."
Tony just grunted as he grabbed an orange soda from the mini fridge. Then the man looked out his window and downed half of the drink in one pull while Peter buckled his seatbelt and FRIDAY drove them away from the school and toward the road. Neither of them spoke until they passed through the gates of SLA.
"So… how was the meeting?" Peter ventured in the foreboding silence.
"Sheer… unrelenting… torture," Tony said through gritted teeth as he glared out the window. "Damn ice queen of Hell…" He let out a very angry breath before spinning around to face Peter. "Do yourself a favor, kid: never ever date a psychic. They will take all your worst thoughts right out of your brain and then use them against you."
"Oh," said Peter looking back at the receding view of SLA. "Well…" he said hesitantly, scratching his neck. It took a few seconds before Tony covered his eyes and groaned.
"You gotta be freaking kidding me!" he said. "I only left you alone for two hours!"
"Sorry Mr. Stark," Peter said, not able to meet his mentor's eyes.
Tony sighed and crossed his arms.
"Was she cute?" he asked after a quarter mile of driving.
Peter grimaced as he took his turn to stare blankly out the window. Finally, he said, "She has a boyfriend."
"That doesn't change the answer, kid."
"She…" Peter sighed. He closed his eyes and pressed the back of his head into the seat cushion. "She was amazing."
AN: And there we have it. Hope you guys liked it :)
I'm currently in the middle of NaNoWriMo right now (moving at a snail's pace, but still), so it will be a bit of time until I can work on the next chapter, but I'm excited. Stay tuned for next time when we actually meet Class 1-A! Woo!