The next Monday, Class 1-A reconvened in its homeroom. Everyone was buzzing about their internships and shared their respective ups and downs with anyone interested.

"Man, I knew S.H.I.E.L.D was a big organization, but I didn't know it covered so much territory!" Exclaimed Kamala. "Feels like half of us trained with one of their agents."

"Yeah, you're telling me," replied Nice, stretching with her magic staff. "I heard you were running all over Central Park, Kamala. How about you, Ava? You worked for the Wasp, right? That must've been boring..."

"Actually... It was more active than I expected," Ava replied.

The past several days consisted of her and Sharon testing out Janet's new materials in battle simulations. They wore bodysuits made of with each respective fabric, fighting against robots, dodging lasers, and running an obstacle courses to test the total durability and functionality of the materials.

"My internship was more low-key than I thought it would be..." Put in Amadeus.

His Uncle Fixit had taken on the boy as an intern along with Teddy from 1-B. He had them both work at his bar as waiters and busboys. Essentially, it was to help him learn to keep his anger in check, and he did that by dealing with the rude, sometimes rowdy customers the establishment attracted.

"Same here," replied Luke. "There's a lot more to working as a P.I than I thought. The investigating was definitely cool, and I learned some of the finer aspects of running an Agency solo."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Asked Seol.

"Like I don't wanna do it!" Luke collapsed into his chair from exhaustion. "With all the clients and the late hours Jessica works, I don't know when she sleeps! And she can't be eating well, the woman practically lives on coffee and booze..."

"Jeez, how was she approved by the school as a viable mentor?" Asked Sam, currently polishing his helmet at his desk.

"She just graduated last year," replied Luke. "Maybe it's to show firsthand how hard it is for a newbie to start out solo."

"Yeah, teams are definitely where it's at if you don't wanna shoulder the burden yourself," put in Tandy. "The Black Widow division taught me a lot about efficiency. How about you, Ty? What'd you work on?"

"Photon helped me increase my control over the dark dimension," he replied. "I can safely transport people with me now, but only a few at a time..."

"Hey, that's amazing! Think of the possibilities for search and rescue!!" Said Gwen.

The boy gave a simple smile in return, "What about you, Gwen? Your Quirk is based around teleportation, right?"

"Sort of, I make portals," she replied, holding up a grey cube with hearts on it before tossing it away. "But now, I'm able to increase the range between them and travel farther."

"Flash? How was your internship?" Asked Amadeus.

The boy looked sullen and exhausted, his mind going back to the hours spent sparring and training with Logan. Pretty much everything that could be said and done to piss him off happened, and whenever he let his anger overtake him, the repercussions would be severe.

"I don't wanna talk about it..." Flash finally muttered.

"Yeah, Dad can be a bit intense," Laura pat his shoulder in genuine sympathy. "Speaking of which..."

She glanced over at an amped up Wanda, who exhaled steam from her nose and punched at the air with purpose. Her eyes stared intensely at the wall towards an opponent who wasn't there.

"Looks like someone's awoken their inner badass," Laura went on. "That training must've been crazy."

"You wanna talk about crazy?" Kei interjected, shaking fearfully in his chair. "The Red She-Hulk was freaking nuts!! I say or do one little thing out of line, she starts flipping furniture and charging at me!!!"

He took out his sketchbook and revealed different images he drew of his mentor battling against his monsters. "I drew so many monsters to defend myself, my blisters have blisters!!" The boy raised his right hand, which was heavily bandaged around his fingers.

"Still, that can't compare to your week, huh Pete?" Asked Pietro. "You and Reyes were in the middle of the League attack with Danny!"

"Oh yeah! I saw you fighting that Sentinel with Shang-Chi!" Added Kamala, "Doreen and I were doing crowd control with Wonder Man that night, and I recognized those webs anywhere!"

"Right," Peter replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I ran into Shang and Danny after I got separated from my mentor. After that, we met up with Reyes here, and... well, you know the rest..."

"The Punisher..." Ava nodded, "So you saw when Ghost Rider took him down?"

"...Yeah, we were there for it," the boy replied.

That was the story used to cover up the boy's involvement during the situation, which was technically true. A Ghost Rider had tied up Punisher with his chains, they simply neglected to inform the media as to which one had done it...

"Do you think he's connected to the League somehow?" Asked a curious Amadeus.

Reyes shook his head, "No. From what I heard, his motives were very personal."

"Regardless, I'm pleased none of you were seriously injured during such a dangerous night," said Azari. "I hope Daniel rejoins our class soon. Although given his father's condition, a leave of absence is certainly warranted."

"I am Groot?" Asked the trenant teenager, nudging Gwen.

"No, he's been radio silent for the past few days," she replied. "I think it's a zen thing. 'Refraining from the modern distractions' was how he put it."

Groot nodded, but he still looked a bit concerned. "But he'll be back," assured Gwen, slinging an arm around his wooden shoulder. "And he'll be stronger than ever! Right, Hothead?"

Reyes glanced up, not expecting to be dragged into conversation with the excitable blonde. "...Yes," he finally said. "I think Danny will be in a better place when he returns."

Peter thought about his missing classmate, hoping that Roberto's words would indeed be the case.

Some time later, Iron Man stood before the class outside a gated area. The students wore their costumes while Tony had donned another older armor, this time the Mark XLVII, or "Ultimate" Armor. It was primarily silver-grey, with a red and gold helmet, chest, gauntlets and boots.

"Alright, I see you kids came back from your internships more or less unscathed," he began. "So to get back into the swing of things, I thought we'd make our Hero Training a little interesting today with an obstacle course!"

"Sir!" Azari raised his gloved hand, "If today's subject is 'Rescue,' should we not be at the External Danger Room like usual?"

"Ordinarily, yes," the hero replied. "But that place is more for rescue in disaster zones. This spot's more of an industrial site. With that in mind, welcome to Field Gamma!!"

The gate doors opened, revealing a sprawling metal labyrinth. There were tall buildings, factories, tons of heavy machinery, cranes and pipelines as far as the eye could see.

"Right, everyone break up into groups of 5," Iron Man continued, his visor opening up to reveal his eyes. "You'll compete one group at a time, starting around the ends of the Field. I'll send out a distress signal within the maze, and the first one to find me wins. A final race will be held between the four winners at the end. Use your Quirks however you see fit, but keep property damage to a minimum, and no attacking your classmates."

He looked at Flash in particular, who immediately noticed. "Hey! What're you staring at me for!?" He asked, offended.

"You know why," muttered a snarky Laura.

"Alright, group up! First one off goes in 2 minutes!!" Tony raised his visor and took to the sky, landing somewhere in the middle of the maze.

Presently, several groups waited by a viewing screen as 5 of the students spread out along the edge. It was Ava, Kei, Pietro, Amadeus, and Peter. Chatter spread amongst the students as to whom had the best chance of finishing first.

"If we're talking speed, I'm betting on on Pietro," said Sam. "His Quirk literally lets him run faster than a bullet train!"

"Yeah, but his steering isn't all that great," pointed out Tandy. "Remember the Sports Festival? And it's not exactly a straight shot down there. Nah, my money's on Cho." The screen showed a now Hulked-out Amadeus. "He might not be as fast, but he can still jump pretty far."

"As far as mobility goes, I'd say Peter or Ava stand the best chance," said Nico. "They're both pretty agile, and this terrain is pretty much tailor made for them."

"Yeah, but Peter can't use his webs without his wrists bleeding," replied Wanda, nervously recalling Nurse Claire's troubling diagnosis.

"I'm gonna go with the wildcard," Gwen nods to Kei, now showing up on screen whipping out his sketch pad.

"Why him?" Asked a puzzled Luke.

"Why not?" Gwen shrugged, "He's got more potential than you think. Kei was a big help during the EDR attack, and we haven't even seen all his monsters yet..."

Just then, a loud buzzer went off, the signal for the race to begin. Amadeus immediately launched himself towards the jungle of metal as high as he could, likely searching for a path towards the middle. He landed with a thud, shaking the ground slightly on impact as he rushed forward.

Pietro sped into the maze, not going at top speed, but enough to get a leg up on the competition. He was handling his turns much better now.

Ava leapt along the steel piping, parkouring up and over the various tubing without hesitation. Her agility was indeed a sight to behold and was quickly gaining ground on her classmates.

Kei, meanwhile, had finished sketching his latest monster. It was a medium sized creation and was now flying through the air with the boy on its back.

"Onward, Falcor! To adventure!!!" He whooped with joy.

"My name is Slizzik," the creature replied, somewhat indignantly.

"Oh come on, where's your sense of fun?" Kei teased as they soared through the air.

"Looks like it's gonna be a close one," murmured Tyrone, watching the screen intently.

"Hey! Check out Peter!!" Exclaimed Kamala, pointing at a corner.

The boy was utilizing his superior agility, weaving in and out of piping and leaping across buildings with ease. His Spider Sense gave him an edge, directing his movements based on the tingle he felt.

"His moves... They look a lot like Daredevil's," said Reyes. "No wasted movement."

"Whoa, look out!!" Nico called out, as Amadeus leapt in front of Peter. The sudden backdraft knocked him through the air into a free-fall.

"Oh crap!! Pete!!!" Cho yelled out, realizing his mistake and attempting to turn back. Wanda gasped quietly, watching the boy fall towards the ground.

But Peter didn't appear concerned, he shot out an arm and a stream of web launched with a thwip!! It attached to a nearby building, and Peter used his momentum to swing out of his fall and go sailing through the air. He shot another web, yanking himself forwards.

"All good, Jolly Green!!" He called out as he zipped past a stunned Amadeus. "Whoo-hoo!"

"Damn, look at him go!" Luke said, impressed by the boy's progress.

"Hnnn, at least he found a way to stop hurting himself every time," Flash grunted, reluctantly acknowledging his rival. Wanda exhaled with relief. Indeed, thanks to the monitor screens, she could tell that no blood was spurting from the boy's wrists.

Back on the field, Peter felt well and truly in his element. The breeze in his face, the tingle at his back, and the webs he shot weren't ripping his wrists open. Granted, he still needed to practice getting the fluidity of the motion down while swinging. But between this and the training he had with Stick, Peter was finally beginning to match his classmates without the added risk of injury.

In the distance below, he saw the blue and white blur that was Pietro Maximoff. He was searching every path for a route to the middle. And while he was gradually making headway, having to check them all hampered his progress and, much to his growing irritation, he'd occasionally have to turn back and try another path.

Ava continued to leap and tumble her way through the course. Her enhanced strength made crossing the gaps between buildings a breeze, and the lack of support gear meant her costume was streamlined and perfect for this sort of movement.

But there was no stopping Peter once he got into the groove. He was feeling loose and picking up speed. Ever the quick study, web swinging was becoming more natural and began to bunch himself up and leap out to maximize his momentum before launching another strand of web.

A buzzer went off again. "And we have our winner!!" Iron Man announced. He raised the arm of the first to arrive, lifting him completely off the ground. "Let's hear it for Kei Kawade!!" The short boy raised his other arm in victory, a big smile on his face.

"Whaaaat!?!?" Gwen exclaimed, pumping a fist in triumph over her selection. "Never underestimate the wildcard!!"

"You're enough of a wildcard as it is..." Muttered Sam.

Peter swung down to where Iron Man waited with Kei. "Nice moves out there!" The shorter boy said, complimenting Peter's mobility.

"Thanks, how'd you get here so fast?" He asked.

Kei thumbed over to the living drawing standing nearby, "Slizzik's a fast flyer. We didn't need to take extra time to avoid pipes and buildings, or slow down to look for pathways. It was just a straight shot overhead until we got to the middle."

The bluish green creation next to him stood with folded arms, nodding as if the victory had been a foregone conclusion. A moment later, Ava joined their company, as did Pietro and Amadeus respectively.

"Alright, great effort guys," said Iron Man. "Let's clear the area so the next group can start." The students went towards the exit pathway as Peter looked back at his mentor figure. With the visor shut, it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

The boy's train of thought is interrupted by the cellphone vibrating in his pocket. Peter fumbled with his suit trying to get it out, making him immediately reconsider adding pouches to his costume.

Peter finally retrieved his phone and read the brief message:

Nice work, kid. Meet in the Teacher's Lounge after class, I wanna hear all about the other night. Come hungry. -T.S.

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Barber's Chair

• Seems everyone had it rough with their internships, although for different reasons. We'll see how they affected the students in the chapters to come.

• Instead of basing his movements off of Flash (like Deku with Bakugo), I thought it made more sense for Peter to be influenced by his training with Stick. As a result, his movements are much smoother, like an expect in parkour.

• Never underestimate the wildcard! Yeah, I guess I developed a bit of a soft spot for Kei Kawade. Early on, I wanted to make sure he was nothing like the grape themed character he'd be standing in for, but it's evolved since then. He shares a few similar traits, but nowhere near as bad.