Just outside the Beta locker room, Iron Man waited patiently for his students as they put on their costumes. Of course, as a staff member, he'd seen some of their designs, even helped tweak a few of them for practicality. But when they were actually put together, they were at a separate factory associated with the school, not one of his own. Finally, they begin to step out.
"They say that clothes make the pros kids! So stand tall, because you definitely look the part now!" He said, observing the different students in the light.
The costumes were varied; some wore armor, or tactical clothes even some just with a specific fabric. But each showed a glimpse of the wearer's personality and their Quirk.
Several weeks ago;
Tony met with Peter at Fogwell's Gym. He'd just shown Peter the costume he'd made for the boy, and was met with a request.
"You wanna borrow it?" Asked the hero. "Sorry, but you don't get to break it in until the semester begins."
"I-I know," said Peter, haltingly. "But after that video you showed me, I thought maybe I could, you know, put my own stamp on it?"
Tony stared at the boy, "You saying my design isn't up to snuff?"
"Nonono! Not at all!!" Peter waved his hands in front of himself nervously. "It's just, w-what I mean is..."
"I'm just messing with you, kid," Tony lightly smacked Peter's shoulder. "I actually did leave it blank in case you wanted to add a logo or something. It's your costume, design the rest however you want!"
Peter's eyes widened in excitement, "Really!?"
"You can borrow it for one night, that's as long as I can do without anyone missing it." Tony narrowed his eyes at Peter, "And I'd better not see this trending on another rescue video until you pass the Entrance Exam. Got it?"
The boy nodded nervously, "...yessir."
Peter immediately went home and started to draw some designs in his sketchbook. Deciding he would go with the spider motif, Peter considered the different aspects in which he could show it off on the costume. The first thing would be webs, filling in most of the red parts of the suit. How to put them on though? Whether he sewed them or drew them on with puff paint, either way would be tricky and time consuming.
Getting some scrap fabric from the basement and his aunt's old sewing machine, Peter decided it would be best to make a few test samples, see what looked and felt better. He eventually decided to sew them in, seeing as the puff paint wasn't long lasting and would likely peel considering all the movement Peter would be doing while in action.
The decided, the next step was to figure out a logo. He naturally decided on a spider, but he was unsure of how to make it look. Peter wanted it to be a recognizable, but not too threatening symbol, especially since most people found spiders kind of creepy.
He drew up different variations, some were smaller and placed in different positions on his body, others were large enough to cover his entire torso. A few were realistic looking, others were more cartoonish and stylized. Eventually he came up with so many, he couldn't decide on one. He fell asleep when he couldn't work any longer...
Peter woke with a start at his desk the next morning. He'd completely lost track of time, and he had to get the costume back to Mr. Stark. The boy was a little disappointed he couldn't fully decide on what to put on the suit, but at least he'd made some progress. Maybe Mr. Stark will have some more ideas, he thought, stretching his arms upwards.
Then he realized something was wrong: the suit he'd laid out on the bed was missing!!! Peter scoured his room from top to bottom, but there was no trace of it.
"May!!" Peter called out. "I left some clothes out on my bed, did you take them??"
There was no answer, and Peter ran frantically from his room to search the rest of the house. Oh God, I hope she didn't bring it to the laundry mat...
Looking in the living room, he saw the back of Aunt May's head lying on the couch. Peter was about to bombard her with questions, but the scene made him freeze.
She was asleep, and on the coffee table in front of the couch sat her sewing machine and Peter's notebook. Laying next to everything, neatly folded up, was his costume. He crept over, picking up the mask on top. There was a web pattern that began at the eyes neatly sewn in. It matched the rest of the costume. And in the middle of the chest was a little black spider.
Aw May... Peter was so touched by this. His Aunt had come home late from working a double shift. Meaning she must've been up all night working on it. Taking the costume, he was surprised to see there was another spider on the back, a rounder version in red.
But there wasn't enough fabric for something that big, Peter thought. Where did she-
He froze, eyes widening. On the floor with some black fabric scraps, was his Uncle Ben's old coat. It was still burnt up and unwearable, but she had salvaged an untouched portion to cut out the emblem.
The boy's eyes filled with tears. He pulled down the blanket hanging off the couch and covered his Aunt's body, lightly kissing her forehead.
- Yeah, this was it. Aunt May's feelings, Uncle Ben's legacy, mixed with Mr. Stark's endorsement, what else could I wear? Maybe it wasn't very eye-catching or the most modern, but I didn't care! This was my hero costume! -
Peter was the last to leave the locker room, and go through the tunnel that connected with the Beta Courtyard. But he soon joined his colleagues at the meeting area. The suit fit him perfectly. The fabric was breathable, allowed for free range of movement, and thin enough for him to still be able to stick to walls. But he still felt protected wearing it, ready to get to work.
"Oh wow! Peter?" Wanda noticed her friend leaving the tunnel and ran over.
"Hey Wanda!" He said, walking to the girl. "Your outfit looks so cool!!" She said. "It's simple, but effective! And I love the bright colors!!!"
"Thanks!" Peter replied, grateful that the mask hid his blushing. "I like your costume too."
Wanda wore a sleeveless red and black dress with a high collar. It had red embroidery above the shoulders as a kind of sleeve. She also wore long, black gloves held by a piece of fabric on his middle finger and left his palms free. In addition to the dress, there were black leggings and high black boots.
Rounding it all off was the famous red bow on her head. The outfit looked very witch-like, but was a bit tight, showing her thin body and her simple curves.
"Honestly, I'm a little embarrassed," she said scratching the back of her neck and blushing slightly. "I should've written more of what I wanted, this outfit came very close to being too small..." Wanda pulled her red skirt down a little.
"I love this school," muttered a small boy nearby. He had messy black hair and wore a simple set of shorts, T-shirt, a coat, goggles and drawing gloves.
"All right, you've drooled enough over everyone's costumes, now gather around!" Iron Man called and all twenty students stood in front of the teacher. "It's time to start combat training."
"Professor!" Azari raised his arm to get the teacher's attention. He wore a tight black outfit, showing off his defined muscles. It was a jumpsuit from the feet to the waist with a deep V-neck and flaps around the neck. He wore black gloves and boots with grey lining. A mask was gripped in one hand.
"This is the center of the admission test," he said. "Are we having city battles again?"
"Nope, actually we're going up a few levels," Iron Man replied. "Most of the time, we actually don't fight with villains outside. If you look at the numbers, the bad guys are more likely to appear indoors. Prisons, private clubs, illegal businesses, places like that. In a society full of superheroes, a smart enough villain hides in the shadows! In today's class, you'll be divided into heroes and villains and fight 2-on-2 battles."
"But without any basic training?" Asked Gwen. Her own outfit was very reminiscent of Deadpool's, although pink and white. It also wasn't full-bodied, showing off her bare thighs.
"I'm a firm believer that the best training is experience," answered the hero. "Having said that, the difference this time is there's no robots to fight."
At this, several student began to bombard him with questions.
"How is victory and defeat decided?" Asks one of the girls. She wore an outfit very similar to Azari's, but it was all white and covered her body completely. However she held a mask in her hands, with slightly darker marks on the side. A green talisman was attached to her waist. Aside from that, she was tall with tanned skin, and very straight dark brown hair
"Can we go all aggro?" Flash butted in. He was wearing military-style plate armor that was completely overlaid by his Quirk. It was solid black, with his shoulder pads and elbow pads featuring small spines. His arms were already covered by his Quirk, with tactical gloves covering his hands. The black goo stopped at the base of his neck, but was certainly capable of covering his face.
"Will there be any punishment for losers?" Wanda questioned apprehensively.
"How are we going to be divided?" Azari asked another question.
"Doesn't my costume look awesome!?" Inquired the boy with the golden helmet.
"Calm down! Calm down, one at a time!" The teacher silenced the crowd of students. Unbeknownst to them, he activated the lesson script on the display of his helmet.
"Now listen up," he began. "For the purposes of this exercise, 'villains' have hidden a nuclear weapon in some part of this building. The 'heroes' mission is to apprehend it. They'll need to arrest the 'villains' or recover the weapon within the designated time. The 'Villains' must protect the weapon or subdue the heroes."
"Sounds like something out of a movie," Peter commented, pulling off his mask.
"Additionally, all teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots," the hero showed them a set of boxes.
"We're being divided by chance?" Azari asked, a little surprised.
"Professionals usually form temporary teams with heroes from other agencies, hence the explanation. I think..." Peter said to his colleague, and receiving an affirmative nod from Iron Man.
"Ah, I understand. The discernment of looking ahead..." Azari responded with clarity over the objective, "Forgive my interruption!" He crossed his arms in front of his chest into an X, the same gesture he made at the Entrance Exam.
"Alright then," said Iron Man. "Now that that's settled, let's pick the teams!!"
Team A: Peter Parker and Wanda Maximoff
Team B: Robbie Reyes and Tandy Bowen
Team C: Kei Kawade and Laura Kinney
Team D: Eugene Thompson and Azari T'Challa
Team E: Kamala Khan and Sam Alexander
Team F: Groot and Carl Lucas
Team G: Pietro Maximoff and Seol Hee
Team H: Tyrone Johnson and Gwendolyn Poole
Team I: Ava Ayala and Nico Minoru
Team J: Daniel Rand and Amadeus Cho
"That is fantastic! It has to be fate! I'm counting on you, Peter!" Wanda was very excited to see that her partner was one of her friends, not someone unknown.
Peter blushed at her excitability, "Y-yeah, we've got this!"
"And the first teams to fight will be..." Iron Man showed two holographic lists running with all the Teams, one labeled 'Heroes' and the other 'Villains.' Finally, the two stopped. "Team A will be heroes and Team D will be villains! The rest, please follow me to the monitor room."
"Yes sir!" The students shouted, following the teacher towards the monitor room, leaving behind Peter, Wanda, Azari and Flash.
Peter's Spider Sense began to go off slightly, and he turned to see Flash staring daggers at him. Clearly the guy was raring to go.
Now that I have a Quirk, he definitely won't hold back, he thought. But that's fine, I'm not his punching bag anymore, and it's time he learns it. Peter regained his composure and stared defiantly back, which surprised the bully, now more excited than ever.
"Villain Team, get in the building and get ready! In five minutes, the Hero Team invades and the battle begins," called Iron Man, watching Azari and Flash enter the building. "Young T'Challa and Thompson, learn to think from the perspective of the villains. This is very close to reality. Give everything you've got, without fear of getting hurt. But if you go too far, I won't hesitate to stop it."
"Yes!" Azari replied enthusiastically, while Flash had his mind on other things.
Once inside the building, Azari and Flash found the fake bomb on the top floor amongst several boxes and storage containers. Normal things found in most hiding places.
"Even if it's just for training purposes, it pains me to be a villain," said Azari to his partner as he headed for the bomb. "So our job is to protect this, yes? Looks like it's made of paper-mache..." He gently touched the object.
"Hey!" The boy turned around when called by his partner, seeing him on his back, "What did Wall-Crawler do at the Exam that had you so impressed?"
"You didn't hear?" Azari blinked. "He used his webs as a slingshot and launched himself at the Zero Pointer, saving a future classmate in the process. Of course, it was very risky, given the injuries to his arms which continue to be plague him. But in the moment, he was strong, full of confidence, and willing to do what it took to save her."
Azari eyed the boy suspiciously, "What is your issue with Parker? From the look on your face, you seem to be harboring some sort of grudge..."
But Flash was no longer paying attention, or he simply stopped caring, to the words of his partner. Instead, he was focused on the battle ahead, thinking back to when Peter stared him down.
So, you're up for the challenge now, eh Parker? The boy grinned in anticipation, This might just be interesting after all...
Outside the building, Wanda and Peter analyze the building plan while trying to formulate some kind of strategy.
"It's too much work to memorize the building plan," Wanda said to her partner. "Guess we'll have to play it by ear."
"I'm not sure what Azari's Quirk can do, but I know all about Flash. We'll have to stay alert..." Peter stared up at the building. "He's an incredible, but definitely complicated person. His confidence, physical strength and Quirk are a lot better than mine. Only that's why now... I don't want to lose"
"You two knew each other before this?" Asked Wanda.
"Yeah, we pretty much grew up together," Peter sighed. "But once he got his Quirk and I didn't, he used it to pick on me."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Said Wanda. "But wait, you have a Quirk now. Were you like a late bloomer?"
"...Something like that," he replied. "But until that point, he liked to get rough. Flash thought I was an idiot wanting to try for the Hero School anyway. Started calling me a Wall-Crawler, 'always trying to climb up where I don't belong'."
Peter gave a rueful chuckle, "Heh, kinda ironic considering the powers I wound up getting." He shook his head, as if to clear it, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I told you that last bit."
"Don't be! Sometimes it helps to open up. And for what it's worth, he was totally wrong about you!" Exclaimed Wanda, supportively. "You do have a Quirk and I think it's a lot cooler than what I've seen of his! Plus, I kinda like the Wall-Crawler nickname, it doesn't just describe your Quirk."
Peter turned inquisitively, "What do you mean?"
"Well in a way, you kind of are like a spider," Wanda elaborates with a smile. "You might be a bit overlooked, but you're able to reach great heights and do amazing things!"
The boy smiled warmly at the girl, "Thanks Wanda." He pulled his mask back over his face, "I hope I'm not dragging you into the middle of this thing with Flash."
"You kidding?" Wanda looked excited, "This is a fated clash between rivals! There's no way I'm gonna miss it!" She pumped her fist to emphasize her point. "And besides, we're a team now. We've got this!"
From around, Iron Man's voice can be heard through the speakers. "Okay, Teams A and D: let the hand-to-hand combat training begin!!!"
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Barber's Chair
• Full class lineup revealed!!
• Finally got the classic Spidey suit! And for the record, this doesn't have any fancy tech, even the eye lenses are just lenses that can barely show his eyes behind them.
• An early look into Flash's thoughts on Parker, seems he likes the idea of having a good challenger.
• A new play on the Wall-Crawler nickname. Obviously doesn't roll off the tongue like Deku, but I like the reasoning Wanda gave.
