It was early evening and Danny was running the last half mile that separated the bus stop at 96, with Mount Sinai Hospital, south of East Harlem. Breathing hard, he soon saw the large gray concrete building standing out from its height in the middle of the other buildings nearby. Taking one last sprint, he ran as fast as possible. Fortunately there was not much movement that night, and he then heads over to the bench where he can get information.

"Please *gasp* *gasp* Orson Randall... I'm his son..." Danny stopped abruptly in front of a nurse, asking about his master's whereabouts. Fortunately, he wouldn't need it when he heard a voice on his right.

"Daniel!" The boy looks to the side and saw a man a short distance away calling him.

He was tall and muscular, appearing to be around forty but in perfect physical shape. His hair was brown and straight, reaching down to his neck. He had a full brown beard, with two gray spots, indicating his age. He wore overalls with boots, armbands and shoulder pads in dark green and gold.

Danny identified him as being one of his father's partners; the Demigod Hero, Hercules.

He said nothing, when he saw the man waving and calling him with a more serious look, he took note that his expression was different from how the excited man usually was. This brought a squeeze to the boy's heart and he ran towards him.

"Please don't run," the nurse tried to warn them, but he was already too far away.

"How is he?" Danny asked, hurrying with the hero to the emergency wing.

"Danny, I ..." The hero tried to say something, but soon they both realize that they had arrived in the corridor that contained Orson's room.

The corridor was empty, but in front of one of the doors was a young woman. She had dark skin, and very curly black hair. She wore boots, jeans, a red T-shirt, a brown jacket and had a gun at her waist. Her most peculiar feature was her right arm, which was made of iron in a copper tone. This was Orson's youngest partner; Misty Knight.

Danny saw her standing in front of the door, leaving Hercules and running towards the woman. She noticed the movement and saw the two, assuming a more melancholy look when facing the boy. She tried to intercept the blond, but he pushes through and entered the room.

"Danny, wait!" She tried to say, but the damage was already done.

Danny froze in place when he saw his master and father figure, lying on the bed with several bandages covering his body, especially his torso. Several devices were connected; serums, oxygen, and a cardiac monitor. He was very pale and looked very tired and dehydrated. The man wasn't completely laying down, he'd been left with his head slightly up, so he was sitting a bit. He opened his eyes slowly, as if the action caused him pain, and looks at his pupil with his gray eyes.

"Heya kid..." He spoke weakly, but Danny can hear him. "Sorry... for disappointing you..."

Danny didn't know what to say, let alone know what to do. His eyes were tearing up and he didn't know how to react to the sight before him. Who had done this? And why?

Seeing his master, his father in this situation, practically on the verge of death; something starts to grow inside Danny. Something he might not be proud of in the future...


"Garlic, cabbage, carrots, fish..." Wanda recited the shopping list in one hand while carrying a shopping bag in the other. She made sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

"That's the third time you look over this list," said Pietro, also carrying bags. "I'm sure we bought everything."

"This is one of the few days that we were able to leave school early to get those deals," the girl replied, keeping the list. "Besides, it's our cooking day. Mom's late from daycare and I want everything to be perfect!"

"I'm well aware..." Pietro sulked, but agreed.

He also wanted to make good food for his mother. Arriving at the residential building, the two teens enter and began to climb the stairs towards their apartment, greeting the neighbors along the way. They were on the last flight of stairs when Pietro decides to be funny.

"Sooo, what was that moment I walked in on between you and Parker?" He grinned cheekily, "The rest of the day, you two couldn't look each other in the eye! Did something happen?"

Wanda's face went bright red, "W-What!? No, I was just... relieved that he woke up, you know?? He had me worried, and-"

"Last one inside washes the dishes!" He said quickly, his momentary distraction getting the better of his sister. He sprinted off to get there first, but he didn't count on Wanda's cunning.

Almost at the same moment that the platinum became a blur, the girl cleverly used her Quirk and lifted a broken piece of wood at Pietro's feet. This made him trip and fall face down on the floor. But she was smart and made the boy raise his arms before the fall, lifting the shopping bag so nothing dropped on the floor.

"Thanks for offering to wash the dishes!" Wanda teased with a triumphant smile, unlocking their door.

"You're welcome..." The boy's voice was muffled by the floor, not even wanting to get up.

Wanda opened the door, but found it strange that the light was on. Generally everything would be dark, did someone forget to turn it off? She enters the house a little, suddenly surprised by a figure with glassy eyes, appearing out of nowhere and rushing towards her.

"WANDA!!!"

"YAAAAAAAH!!!" The girl was startled, screamed and lost grip of her purchases. Thankfully they froze in midair, surrounded by red energy. Wanda soon realized who was in front of her, "Mom!?"

"Oops..." Said the woman, levitating the bags. Marya Maximoff had very similar features to Wanda, practically an older version of the girl. But she had dark blond hair and a thinner face like Pietro. She wore baggy jeans and a jacket over a T-shirt. "Sorry for the scare," she said, continuing to levitate the bags.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Wanda asked with confusion as her mother took the shopping bags to the kitchen. Pietro soon stood next to his sister, "Didn't you have a shift today until 6:00 pm?"

"They let me leave early," the woman explained, quickly storing the purchases in the small kitchen. "After all, my children appeared on TV and my manager wanted me to be here when you arrived!"

"But, we didn't win..." Pietro said, looking a little crestfallen. But their mother soon gets close to them, putting a hand on one cheek of each.

"I didn't see any competition," she looks deep into their eyes. "All I saw were my children being amazing, as I always knew they were." She smiled sweetly and the twins smile back, with teary eyes all around. "Alright! Now go take a shower and change, let's go out for dinner!"

"Out for dinner?" While Pietro was already running towards the bathroom, Wanda tried to understand the situation. They'd agreed to only eat out once on each of their birthdays, and they'd already broken that rule at the beginning of the month.

"Of course! You have to tell me everything that happened!" The woman exclaimed as if it were obvious. "And I won't be able to listen properly if we're cooking and doing dishes, so come on!" Marya pushed Wanda towards her room. "I also want to hear more about that 'Parker' boy," she winked at her blushing daughter.


"Good afternoon, sleeping beauty!" Aunt May said, placing a large stack of pancakes on the table for brunch. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was being tossed around by a bunch of aspiring superheroes. Oh wait, that's exactly what happened," Peter yawned, still in his pajamas with messy hair. "Night Nurse can heal us, but latent muscle pain sucks."

"You're the one who wanted superpowers for years, deal with it!" The older woman said, picking up a few more things and throwing a banana at the half-asleep boy. The fruit hit him square in the face.

"Ow!" The boy complained.

"Pfffft!!" May tried in vain to hold back laughter, "Sorry honey. I thought you could feel it with your... What'd you call it? 'Peter Tingle'?"

"'Spider Sense'," the boy corrected, picking the fruit up off the floor. "And please don't ever call it the 'Peter Tingle' again."

"So you can dodge supernatural chains, but not bananas?" Aunt May asked. "Speaking of which, I have the entire festival recorded in HD. Do you want to watch it later?"

"Maybe, once my thoughts stop hurting..." Peter replied, sitting up and taking the food.


- The two days we had to recover helped us a lot, but they went by very quickly. Before we realized, it was already the morning of the day we returned to school following the Sports Festival. -

Peter found himself, on that gray, rainy New York City morning, on the bus heading toward M.A. Alone this time, having had to leave a little later after helping Aunt May with some leaks, texted his friends saying they could go without him.

At that moment, squeezed through the crowded bus, he was going through that morning's news on his cell phone until something he hadn't expected happens. Peter overheard a few passengers talking about the big event, when one of them spoke to him, "Hey, were you at the Sports Festival?"

Peter turned to see an older man looking at him. "Yeah, that's an M.A uniform," added another. "You look to be about 15, maybe 16. Did you complete?"

"Um, yeah... I made it to the finals actually," Peter scratched the back of his head, a little nervous about the sudden attention he was getting.

"No kidding?" Another passenger, a woman this time, gets in on the conversation. "Which one were you? I know several of you wore masks."

Seeing as they were all random passengers who didn't know him, Peter felt safer giving his code name "...'The Spider'."

All of a sudden, the boy was bombarded with questions and general praises from the surrounding citizens.

"Oh wow!! That was you!?" Exclaimed one.

"He reminds me of myself when I was young..." An older man said nostalgically.

"You were amazing, kid! Are your arms ok??" Peter heard, but he couldn't see the person.

He felt momentarily suffocated and a bit embarrassed, he knew that the M.A Sports Festival was quite famous, especially in New York City itself, as it was one of the few events that had Quirks demonstrations.

Since the only ones allowed to use them were professional heroes, they generally didn't waste their time on useless competition. But Peter hadn't really thought about the fact that, by participating in the Festival and being among the 16 who made it through to individual battles, he'd appeared on the TV quite a lot.

"I loved your mask!" Called a kid, following up with "Can I get your autograph!?"

Blushing furiously, he drew a stylized spider on the boy's notebook. This was a strange sense of deja vu, considering this was how he met Iron Man. Only now, he was on the other side of that moment.

"Give it your best!" One last person encouraged him as he got off at the bus station.

"Ah...okay. Thank you!" he said, still embarrassed and not knowing what else to say in the moment.

Peter opened his umbrella and starts walking towards the M.A's main building, seeing a familiar figure along the way.

"Danny?" Peter called to his friend, who turned around after hearing his being name.

"Oh, Peter, good morning…" Danny gave a slight smile as he greets his friend. He was on the far side of the school, in the small woods area. He wore a yellow raincoat over his uniform, and a few seconds ago, he was punching a poor tree like there was no tomorrow.

A few moments ago, before Peter had caught Danny's attention, he was in the rain and hitting a tree with all his might. Peter thought he'd seen it in movies, but he wasn't sure. But the worst part wasn't the demanding physical training, or even the fact of the blonde's bared, reddened fists left a hole in the tree, completely exposing the trunk; it was Danny himself. Something was wrong, and Peter didn't need his Spider Sense to know it. A dark aura surrounded Danny, something had happened, and nothing good would come of it.

"We'd better go, yeah? I think it's five minutes before the bell," the blonde said, rubbing his fists and walking past Peter into the building.

Inside the school, the two head to their respective lockers. While Peter puts away his umbrella and Danny folds his raincoat, Peter tries to use that moment to acquire more information;

"Danny-" He tried, but was soon interrupted.

"If you're worried about me because of Orson, don't be. He's stable and expected to recover 100% over time," the boy said, putting his things away and lightly bandaging his fists. "I also spoke to Gwen, Wanda and Kei about it, you don't need to worry about keeping the secret. If they ask you anything, just say that I told you now." He smiled again before walking off towards the classroom, Peter following behind.

Arriving, it wasn't too surprising that the main topic is the same one as after the report on the EDR attack; the small amount of fame some gained after the Sports Festival.

"A lot of people wanted to talk to me on the way here," Tandy said to her classmates. "It's kinda embarrassing!"

"Same here!" Sam put in. "Several ladies came to ask for my phone number!"

"Actually, a little boy just came by to ask why he wore a bucket on his head on TV!" Luke corrected, making everyone laugh and annoying Sam.

"Anyway, fame isn't all that cool an- OUCH!" Nico started to say, but her ear took a flick from Kamala.

"Can you stop being a buzz kill?" The girl asked. "You were very happy, since the fame you were having wasn't related to your mother!" Her friend turned her face away, slightly flushed.

"It was so damn annoying!" Flash announced. "A bunch of middle school idiots came to bug me."

"What were they saying? 'Nice try'?" Gwen asked sarcastically.

Flash just grunted to himself while Laura laughed at him.

The class was then silenced by the opening of the door, a well-known figure in a suit, glasses, and cane walked in.

Good morning class..." They heard, as Professor Murdock entered the classroom. He no longer wore bandages and walked normally.

"Mr. Murdock! You don't look like a mummy anymore!" Gwen exclaimed happily.

"I believe what she meant is that we're happy to see you fully recovered, Professor!" Azari said, standing up from his chair.

"Thank you Mr. T'Challa, you can sit down," the teacher replied and Azari sits down again. "Yes, the Night Nurse pulled a few extra hours while I was resting so I was able to recover faster. But anyway, we have a lot to do; today's class is about Hero Informatics..."

After the teacher says this, the room falls into an agonizing silence and a cold sweat starts to trickle down the bodies of most of the students. Heroes Informatics related to whatever statistical data came out of a Heroes Agency. It mainly related to the reports that every hero had to do after a villain arrest or other event that required his help, and with that all the things that involve statistics and legislation. They learned something that was only seen in colleges; no wonder many were worried. But thankfully, Professor Murdock hadn't finished speaking.

"More specifically, you'll be choosing your hero names."

"TODAY WILL BE TOTALLY AWESOME!!!" As if by magic, the mood of the room took a turn.

"Ahem!" The teacher strained his throat to get the class's attention. He could've used his Quirk, but he'd already gotten what he wanted.

"This has to do with the internship hero recruitment I talked about the last time we were in class. Usually first year students don't have to worry about it, just second and onwards. But your class is different, having already faced an actual villain threat. In fact, when you're recruited into an agency, professional heroes are essentially investing in you. Any recruits can be resubmitted after you graduate."

"So that means we still have to prove our worth even after we're recruited?" Ava asked, while raising her hand.

"Exactly," the teacher replied. "Now, here are the totals for those who received offers." He pulled a small controller from his pocket and holographic images appeared on the blackboard. Names and quantities of offers appeared together with a bar for comparison.

Reyes had obviously been ranked first in number of orders, with over two thousand as shown on the bar. Tyrone and Amadeus followed shortly thereafter; the first with a little less than a thousand requests and the second a little more than eight hundred. But in addition to those, who were the top three, some others had also received requests in these last days; Danny and Seol had each received a little over 300 orders, the Maximoff twins had received a little over a hundred orders each, then Kamala and Laura had received a few dozen orders, ending with Flash impressively, getting twenty or so orders.

"This was a year that we even had a better division, even with the big difference between the first and the last," said the teacher, pointing to the screen.

"Oh, come on!" Sam exclaimed disappointedly, seeing that he hadn't received any request. Kamala tried to console him by patting him on the back.

"Look at the amount of requests for Reyes," Luke noted, suitably impressed.

"He's the guy who came in first, it was at least a little expected," said Nico.

"Apparently, the heroes didn't just focus on individual battles," Seol pointed out when she sees her name on the list. While she lost in the first round of fights, she still had a decent number of requests, the same as Flash, Pietro and Laura.

"Even Flash with his personality managed something," quips Pietro, feeling confident over the number of requests he had over the boy.

"I'll kick your ass, Speedy..." Flash grunts, containing his frustration.

"Congratulations on the number of orders," Laura said to Reyes, sitting on her right. She gives him a "friendly" punch on the shoulder.

"Thanks..."Robbie replied, rubbing his hand on the punched area. "But I already have plans for my internship."

"Haha! People want us! Hahaha!" Wanda said happily, shaking Amadeus who sat in front of her. With her excitement, Wanda's powers got a little out of control and her things started to float around her.

"Uh oh... Peter, you didn't receive any..." Kei said to his classmate, who was still looking for his name on the board.

"Gee, thanks for the warning, Kei..." Peter said sarcastically. Apparently, even having faced the boy who came in first, the fact that the spectators didn't know his real reasons and the fact that he frequently injured himself were things that didn't encourage them into send him requests for internships. Such is life...

"But just so you know..." The teacher spoke up again after the class calmed down, "Regardless of the results, you all have the chance to do an internship. Even those who haven't received offers."

"Oh wow! So are we all going to intern?" Peter asked, not just for himself, but regarding the other ten students who didn't receive requests.

"Yes. Because of the attack on EDR, you already have a certain notion of combat and battle awareness," Murdock explained. "But seeing professionals in action, in the field first hand will certainly be advantageous to your development."

"That's why we're going to choose our hero names then..." Tandy said, understanding.

"Now things are starting to get fun!" Gwen adds excitedly.

"These hero names will probably be temporary, but do take them seriously..." Their teacher warned.

"Indeed, there's always the possibility that these names will be with you for the rest of your future careers. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a bad name," a figure dressed all in white completed the sentiment as she entered the room.

It was Professor Emma Frost, still wearing her questionable attire, especially when in the presence of 15 and 16 year olds. She always kept her face stoic, even with the different reactions of the students, and stood beside Professor Murdock.

"She's right. Professor Frost will help you all. She'll have the final word on the names. I'll just take care of the sound..." he said, taking his chair and going to a spot more in the corner so Emma Frost could be at his desk, with the main space.

"Remember, the name you choose is extremely important. It helps to reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you want to be in the future," Professor Frost emphasized.

"Some of you used code names for the Festival; consider that a trial run. Your hero names tell people what you stand for. Not long ago, names were given by the media or the public and sometimes they didn't fit with everything the hero or heroine wanted to represent. So don't waste this chance you have..."

Soon, they were all given a small white board and a black marker so they could come up with names but also erase it easily if they didn't like it. The students were given an initial five minutes so they could think of something. Finally, time was up, and everyone had something written down.

"Okay, who would like to show their name to the class first?" Professor Frost asked and most of the class froze; not realizing they would have to show it off for everyone. Who would be brave enough to go first?

It was no surprise when the outgoing and inconsequential Sam was the first to rise from his desk and offer himself as tribute.

"Drum roll, please!" The boy puts himself behind the teacher's desk with his small white board. "It is with great pride that I hereby dub myself... 'Star Sergeant, The Human Rocket NOVA'!!!"

"..." The silence of both classmates and teachers summed up well the thought that was going through everyone's minds; Are you serious!? Fortunately, the teacher quickly intervened.

"'Star Seargent' is a bit much. It was difficult enough for the name 'Star Lord' to catch on back in the day," Professor Frost explained, taking Sam's slate and erasing the initial part. "But 'The Human Rocket' is an interesting introduction, and the name 'Nova' sounds catchy..."

"Agreed," Professor Murdock said. "It's short, to the point, and easy to remember."

Sam beamed, satisfied that at least most of his idea was suitable and went to sit back down.

"Good," put in Emma Frost. "Who wants to be next?"

"I can go," Kamala volunteered, standing up and moving to front of the class. "I choose the name 'Lieutenant Marvel'!"

"Ah, a fan of Carol Danvers, are you?" The teacher asked the dark-haired girl who blushed at the comment. "Paying homage to a hero is one of the highest ways to praise someone."

Kamala smiled brightly at this remark.

"However," Professor Frost added. "Our dear Carol had a past in the Air Force as a legitimately ranked Captain. So without it, I don't think the name 'Lieutenant' will be very welcome. I suggest you think on it little more..."

The girl nodded, slightly dejected, and went back to her seat.

"My turn! My turn!" Gwen exclaimed, jumping from her place to the front of the room, holding the slate against her chest as if it were something very dear. "From here on out, I shall be known as 'Gwenpool'."

"Interesting, the joining of the beginnings of your two names makes a great combination," Emma Frost pointed out. "But why is that?"


In another M.A classroom, Deadpool was writing some tasks on the blackboard when he suddenly got a shiver in his lower parts.

"I feel a chill in my Johnson," he muttered. "It can only mean one of two things: either a reference was lost in the air, without its moment of glory being properly revealed… Or I left the toilet lid up at Murdock's place again."


"Gwenpool! Gwenpool! Gwenpool!" The class excitedly celebrated the first 100% accepted name.

"Please, allow me to go next!" Azari announced, heading to the front of the room. "As heir to my family's legacy, I shall assume the mantle of the 'Black Panther'."

"I see, a family title," nods Emma Frost. "Just remember, using the name of another hero includes the pressure of living up to it."

"I shall prove myself worthy of the challenge!" The Class President announced.

After the last few names, the majority who were struggling tried as hard as they could.

-/-

"I want to be called 'Sister Grimm'," Nico said.

"I like the creativity," Emma noted, finger to her chin.

-/-

"I'm 'Cloak'," said Tyrone, raising a fist.

"And I'm Dagger'," adds Tandy, bumping the boy's fist with her own.

"Planning on being partners after graduating, I see," the teacher commented. "The names work well off each other, and certainly represent yourselves individually."

-/-

"I'm the 'Totally Amazing Brawn'," Amadeus said with a smile.

"The first in the family not to have 'Hulk' in his name, very nice!" Professor Frost gave a nod of approval.

-/-

"'X-23', that will be my codename," said Laura.

"Sounds like there's an interesting story behind that name... I'd love to hear it someday," Emma said.

-/-

"'The Power Man; Luke Cage!' That's what I'm gonna call myself!" Luke said, flexing his biceps

"Simple, but very effective!" Professor Frost noted.

-/-

"'MISS MARVEL'!!!" Kamala exclaimed, returning for the second time.

Fortunately, she was calmed by the reassuring nod and approving smile that the teacher gives her, "Much better."

-/-

"I'll be 'Quiksilver'. Cool don't you think?" The platinum boy asked.

"In reference to liquid metal and expressions indicating 'liveliness' or 'animation', very well thought out Mr. Maximoff!" Professor Frost voiced her approval.

"Thank you," Pietro said confidently, but really he'd just accidentally thrown 'quick' and 'silver' together and it sounded cool to him.

-/-

"The Freezing Heroine; 'Luna Snow'," Seol said, throwing a wink to the room.

"I understand that's also your stage name, that should get you some easy recognition..." The teacher commented, Seol nodding in agreement.

-/-

"My position is similar to Azari, I intend to continue my family's legacy," Ava said, placing the whiteboard up. "I will be the next White Tiger."

"Very good, Ms. Ayala," congratulated the teacher, proud of the student's mindset.

-/-

"Reyes..." Robbie said without much emotion.

"Just your name, are you sure?" Asked the teacher.

"For now…" Was Robbie's answer.

Perhaps one day he would inherit the full mantle of the Ghost Rider. But he wasn't ready for that yet, and he knew it. Plus, he reasoned things would be confusing with two Ghost Riders running around.

-/-

"I will be 'Kid Kaiju'!" Kei was so small that only his hands lifting the board and some ends of his ruffled hair showed up at the desk.

"Very accurate and appealing in the right measure!" Emma Frost commented.

-/-

"I am Groot," said the trenant teenager.

"I don't think we have any surprises here..." The teacher shrugged.

-/-

Flash was bent over his small white board, biting the cap of his pen and not paying much attention to the names of his classmates. since he was still trying to think of his own. He never really thought of a name for himself, he wasn't a nerd like Parker who probably came up with a different hero name everyday...

Flash was, well, Flash. That was his name, but he got that name because he was always first, he always came first, in a flash. But that didn't really demonstrate what he wanted to be as a hero. Besides, not having much to do with his Quirk, and that was annoying.

He snaps out of his reverie, seeing that his hand had moved by itself. He didn't know how, but while he was lost in his thoughts, he'd written five letters that made a name. They were very crooked letters as expected from someone who had written not looking, but it was written out anyway;

'Venom.'

Flash didn't understand, where had this come from? He hadn't even thought of that name, but for some reason, it sounded familiar. Then he realized, it was his Quirk acting out on its own. This was the first moment something like this had happened since his fight with Parker.

"Mr. Thompson? Apparently you wrote something..." Professor Frost says, noticing the boy. "Would you like to share it with the class? You're one of the few left."

"Huh? Oh. Well..." Flash didn't want to use that name, quickly erasing it and scribbling whatever came to his mind and standing. "I was thinking..."

Heading to the front of the class, he shows the board with the name.

"'The Living Weapon'," Flash said with his usual bluster, only now realizing how cringy that name sounded.

"Well... I think that name is not up to par with your potential, Mr. Thompson..." Emma Frost tried to put it as delicately she can.

"She means it sucks!" Laura blurted out from the back of the room.

"Oh shut up!" Flash yelled annoyingly, soon leaving as another person got up to the front and received the class's attention.

"I've had this name in my head for a while now..." Said Wanda, turning the white board and showing off the name; "'The Scarlet Witch'."

"That's a lovely name, Ms. Maximoff," the teacher smiled, bringing a sense of relief to Wanda. "Now then, the only ones left are Mr. Thompson (please rethink the name), Mr. Rand and Mr. Parker."

The remaining three boys leaned over their white boards.

For Danny, if it were any other situation, he would already have the perfect name ready; a legacy like Azari's or Ava's, but one that was different from simple family ties. He had been chosen, but now he wasn't sure if he was ready...


The Night Before

Danny was still in the hospital, the doctors had let him stay in the room for the night, but the boy remained awake. It wasn't so much by choice, he just couldn't sleep. He tried to meditate, read something, do some kind of stretching, but it was no good.

He knew Orson needed to rest, so for a while he walked around in his socks, not wanting to make noise. He moved back and forth, trying to keep busy somehow, until he heard his sensei's voice.

"Are you making a hole in the ground to China?" The man asked lightly, opening his eyes and looking at Danny.

"..." Danny wanted to talk to him, but he knew the man needed to rest, saying as much. "You need to rest..."

"Come on, cut the crap," Orson said, already tired of more people telling him to rest. "Heh, remember when you were younger-"

"The nurse said that-" Danny tried to speak, but was interrupted.

"I took you to the agency for the first time," the man continued. "You put on my spare mask and said you were the Iron Fist..."

"You really have to-"

"I want you to wear it, to be the new Iron Fist," finished Orson, making Danny stop. He didn't expect that. It only meant one thing; "I'm being serious now, Danny. I can't feel my legs, and I can barely feel my arms. Retirement came early, it's over for me. It's up to you to carry on the name..."


But Danny couldn't be Iron Fist, not yet. His training wasn't complete, he still had a lot to learn before he inherited the title of his master and so many others who came before him... He needed to prove he could be the Iron Fist, but that would have to wait a while. He quickly wrote a name on the white board and stood up, walking towards the teacher's desk.

"'The Fist'..." he said, without much emotion.

"Using your Festival name..." Emma Frost didn't need to be a telepath to feel that something had shaken the boy. "Remember, you can change that name in the future if you want..."

After Danny crestfallenly returned to his seat, the class turned to Peter, the last one left to reveal his name. Flash still needed to think of another one, but by now everyone knew which direction the angry boy's mind was heading. And so all eyes turned, if unintentionally, to the brunette boy and his whiteboard.

Unlike the other students, Peter hadn't spent any time choosing his hero name. It had essentially been chosen for him already, ever since the incident with the apartment fire. But he wanted to add to it, similarly to how some of his other classmates did to theirs.

He stared at the whiteboard for a while and lifted his head hopelessly, not knowing what to write. But then he looked up and saw Wanda announcing her name, that's when things fell into place.

A memory, no, a set of memories from the past few months came back to his mind, and the name presents itself with enormous ease. How had he not considered it? Quickly writing it down, he watched Danny return to his seat and stood up, confident in calling it his hero name, even though it wouldn't seem like that to his classmates at first glance.

As he walked to the teachers' desk, Peter held up his whiteboard for his classmates to read. An expression of surprise took over most of his classmates.

"Are you sure, Parker?" Pietro asked the boy. "I mean, I understand the name itself, but the introduction..."

"Yeah, wasn't that an insult?" Seol asked, looking over at Flash who was sitting to her left. "That could be your name forever..."

"I know it's a bit weird," the boy said, looking at the floor of the room before lifting his head and puffing out his chest. "At first, I hated that nickname and what it meant; a step too high, an unreachable point or a person with dreams too big."

He paused a moment, "But someone changed the way I saw that name, changing the meaning. Now it stands for someone who might appear insignificant, but can do amazing things. Now I like it a lot, so I don't have a choice."

The board displayed his chosen moniker, along with a little spider's web drawn in the corner. "The Wall-Crawling Hero; Spider-Man'," Peter announced. "That's my hero name!"

Even with other comments from classmates and Professor Frost voicing her approval, Peter doesn't hear anything. Amongst the other nineteen pairs of eyes staring at him, he found and locked eyes with an exotic pair of red eyes and a blushing face. This made him smile, rejoicing in the name he had chosen.

.

.

.


Barber's Chair

• A few more Pros introduced here. And yeah, Danny's gonna have the Iida role from the original Stain Arc in this interpretation.