Antonia led Peter out of the building, letting the boy take in his surroundings. "I still can't believe the size of this place," said Peter. "It's like a miniature city in here!"
"After acquiring the original facility from the Avengers, a lot of work was put into making it more homey," she replied. "Since the top scientists around the world come to live here in safety with their families, it's only natural that it has something to offer for everyone."
Antonia pointed in various directions, "We have a shopping district, restaurants, even our own theme park!"
"Oh wow!!" Peter's eyes widened at the scale of everything, "And here I thought everything was huge in New York..."
"Oh, it gets crazy, especially with the Expo," Antonia said. "Speaking of 'huge,' get a load of this." She indicated a large, ovular body of water in the middle the concrete ground.
"What's a pond doing in the middle of the walkway?" Peter asked, looking over the water feature.
"Believe it or not, it used to be a footprint," the girl replied. "Doctor Pym left that behind."
"Wait, as in Doctor Hank Pym?" Peter raised an eyebrow. "The first Ant-Man and Giant Man??"
"Yeah, he still comes by and gives lectures when he's not off exploring the Quantum Realm," said Antoinia. "Anyways, we call it 'Pym's Pond'. He left the footprint hoping others would 'follow in the footsteps of greatness'. But I guess the universe decided to call out his pretentiousness and after a while, it filled with water and became this."
Peter snorted, "Seriously? So much for being inspiring. All this makes me wanna do is go for a swim!" The duo laughed as they made their way through the plaza.
"He was actually supposed to be here to for the Expo, but something came up with his research and he had to cancel," Antonia shrugged. "Oh well, there's still plenty of heroes who'll be in attendance. They're usually invited by companies to test out new gear and meet the fans. Most of them will be at the opening night gala later, so make sure you bring an autograph book!"
"I was wondering why Mr. Stark had me bring formal clothes..." Peter thought aloud.
"Oh! You definitely have to check this place out!" Antonia pointed towards a large, convention center building. "This is where a good chunk of our demos will be set up."
The boy's eyes went wide as he and Antonia entered, Peter was in heaven. "And here I thought the lab at M.A was amazing..." He muttered. All around, various booths, demonstration platforms, and so on were have the finishing touches put on for the Expo. "I've never seen so much tech in one place!!"
"Right? Any hero tech not developed by Stark Industries was first tested out right here," Antonia said proudly. "Down this way we have developers for aquatic based Quirk items," she indicated towards the left. "Up the middle section is flight based gear, and on the right is capture and transport tech. On the upper lever is even more-"
Antonia paused, the boy hadn't heard her, nor was he walking next to her. Instead, his full attention was set on a high tech black motorcycle behind a glass display. "Whoa..." He was practically drooling over it.
"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about this one!" Antonia said, coming over. "It's a one-off prototype; a vehicle meant for rescue operations in hard to reach areas. Electric powered, made for extreme adaptability, and can operate on any surface except water. It even deploys cables from the front and back, essentially letting the rider scale incredibly steep terrain in record time!"
"It sounds perfect..." Peter's hand touched the glass longingly. "Something like this would definitely save my arms a lot of strain from swinging!"
"Throw in a bit of reverse engineered Chithari tech, and it eventually became the basis for Skycycle that Hawkeye used to ride," Antonia explained. "And once he retired from active hero work, the schematics were donated to S.H.I.E.L.D. Now they have a whole fleet of them for emergency deployment."
"So cool..." The boy took one last look before continuing on with Antonia.
"No offense, but I never took you for the biker type!" She chuckled.
"Oh, uh..." Peter blushed slightly, scratching the back of his head. "My Uncle used to have a vintage motorcycle, a Honda CB77. We'd work on it in the garage together, and it's kind of how I got started building tech."
"Does he still have it?" Antonia asked.
The boy shook his head, "He had to sell it once we got it working. Aunt May thought it was too dangerous to ride on."
"That's too bad," she replied. "But I suppose she was looking out for him. My dad was kind of like that before he passed away..." Antonia gazed over the massive convention hall, "He wanted to help make the world a better place, and he indirectly did through Uncle Tony."
"Makes you wonder how he'd react to seeing his name plastered on such a big event like this?" Peter asked.
"He'd probably blow it off," Antonia grinned. "Or try and make it sound like it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But secretly, I think he'd get a kick out of it."
"Still, it's great that your dad's someone you can look up to like this," put in Peter.
"Thanks," the girl replied. "It's my dream to become a scientist just like him."
"Oh? Does that mean you're training at the school here?" Asked Peter.
"Yes and no," said Antonia. "I'm a third year and I did start out my education here, but now I travel the world as an exchange student. Recently, I've been part of the mentorship program with Wakanda, and that's how I met Shuri. She's been a fantastic teacher, and I've learned so much from her!"
"I can't imagine what it's like having her as an instructor," said the boy.
"It's probably a lot like having Uncle Tony as yours," Antonia giggled. "But with fewer shenanigans and laboratory accidents."
"I dunno," Peter chuckled. "There's a student in the Support Course who might-"
"INCOMING!!"
A voice cut off their conversation as a girl wearing a bits of armor came hurtling through the air in his direction. Vendors and staff began to leap out of the way of her way. Just as his Spider Sense began to buzz, Peter grabbed Antonia and ducked aside as she whizzed past. Her voice sounded equally familiar, as was the design of the armored boots.
"Riri!?" Peter exclaimed, standing back up.
"PARKS!!" She yelled, recognizing him as she struggled to regain control of her flight pattern. "A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE!?"
The boy leapt into action, clamping on his web shooters as Riri began to turn back his way. Making sure there was nothing breakable nearby, Peter aimed at the approaching girl. Then, pressing down on the nozzle, shot out a web that instead of shooting straight forward, went out on all sides to create a big spider web.
Riri slammed into the web, the adhesive held but against the strain and intense heat of the boosters, it started to melt away. Peter shot more webs to try and compensate. "This won't hold long," he said. "How do I stop you?"
"My chest piece!" The girl replied, looking down through her goggles to the corresponding armor she wore. "That's the base for the power source!!"
Suddenly, Antonia activated her anti-gravity boots and leapt up towards the trapped Riri. Grabbing the webbing, she reached out towards the armor and pressed a few areas before giving it a smack with the side of her fist. Suddenly, the light within the the chest seemed to power down, as did the the boots and gauntlets.
The trio breathed sighs of relief as the situation resolved. "Are you alright?" Asked Antonia.
"Yeah. Sorry about that," said a sheepish Riri. "Couldn't resist taking my baby here for a test flight, but I forgot to set the power output for 'light armor'." The girl looked down at Peter, who was inserting a new cartridge into his shooter. "Hey, looks like you got the Net Web working!! Nice!!!" She grinned.
"Hello, Riri," said Peter, now used to antics like this in the lab. "I was wondering when I'd run into your crazy butt, though I guess it was you who ran into me!"
Riri feigned an insulted gasp, "My butt is not crazy!!"
"It's a little crazy," Peter quipped with a grin.
"I take it you two know each other?" Asked Antonia, using a heated laser pointer to cut the girl free from the webbing.
"Yup," Peter gestured to his friend. "Antonia Yinsen, meet Riri Williams; M.A student and resident madwoman of the Support Course laboratory."
"Hi there," said Riri, happy to meet another inventor.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Antonia replied, finally getting the last of the webbing as Riri hopped down to the ground. At that point, several bystanders came over to investigate.
"Oh, Antonia, it's you," a security guard stepped forward, lifting his cap to reveal the face of a German Shepherd dog. "Everything alright over here?" His eyes went from the giant spider web to the sheepish looking Riri.
"Yeah, we're ok," Antonia assured the guard, before turning to the now gathered crowd. "Sorry about the commotion, folks!! Had a bit of a technical mishap, all good now though."
"That's a relief," sighed one of the scientists. He inspected the web with interest, his eyes appearing to focus in and out like a camera lense. "Such a unique adhesive..."
"As much as I can appreciate the testing process, can this stuff be removed?" The guard asked Peter, "There's still a lot to set up for the Expo and we need this hallway cleared."
"Sorry," Peter blushed, somewhat embarrassed. "It'll dissolve after an hour, but if you've got heat, it'll melt that way too."
"Oh leave that to me!" Said Antonia, taking out the laser pointer again and adjusting the head. "You might wanna step back..."
"Man, that was something..." Peter said, once they'd gotten outside. After quickly clearing up the webs, the small group decided to check out the outdoor restaurant overlooking the beach. Antonia went to use the restroom, while Peter sat at a table with his fellow inventor. "You sure know how to make an entrance, Riri," he went on.
"Well, if it gets the attention of some of the company heads here at the Expo, it'll be worth it," the girl shrugged, taking a sip of her tropical drink. "Think they serve anything vegan here?" She asked, reading the menu.
"Never hurts to ask," Peter replied. He looked over to see an auburn headed girl wiping down a table. "Excuse me? Sorry to bug ya, but I had a quick-"
His eyes widened, however, as the worker turned around. Revealing herself to be none other than Wanda Maximoff!
"Peter!?" She asked in astonishment.
"Wanda!?" Peter stood up, equally but pleasantly surprised. "What're you doing here?"
"I got a job during the winter break," she said, walking over with a big smile on her face. "Pietro and I wanted to make some money before we start having class again, and there were openings for seasonal workers during the Expo!"
She glanced at a dirty table, and with the wave of her hand, enveloped it with her red energy as it became clean again. "Since we're allowed to use our Quirks here, it's makes for good training as well!" Wanda added.
"That's great to hear," the boy smiled. "I'm sure you're employee of the month already!"
Wanda blushed at the compliment, before turning her attention to the girl sitting at Peter's table. "Is that Riri? Oh, I haven't seen her since the Sports Festival! How are you??"
"What's up, Red?" Riri waved over, before looking back at the menu. "Got a vegan menu?"
"Back of the page," Wanda pointed as the girl nodded and turned the sheet over.
"So... did you two come here together? Or..." Wanda asked nervously.
"Nah, Riri's here running M.A's booth for the Expo," Peter replied, a slight blush on his face. "You know her, anything to show off her babies..."
"Oh, I see..." Wanda breathed a sigh of relief, before quickly recomposing herself.
"Is your brother here too?" Peter asked.
"He's out on a-" She began to reply before a blur of green and white zipped by, the sudden gust of wind blowing utensils and cups off the table she just set. "Never mind, he's here," Wanda grumbled, trying to fix her now disheveled hair.
"Sorry sis," said the young speedster, putting up a pair of goggles on his forehead and collapsing into a chair. He was breathing hard, "I need a break! Why can't these scientists just work in one lab together? Or use freaking email!? They've been running me ragged!!!"
"Pietro here's been acting as a currier for several of the developers," Wanda explained, pouring her brother a glass of water. "And they already told you: it's a security measure."
"Still, they're completely taking advantage of my Quirk!" Pietro complained, before draining his glass of water. "Hey Pete," he nodded at the boy. "You bring your web shooters with you? My legs need a break!"
"Ahhh, you're just being lazy!!" A voice called over. Standing off to the side were Luke and Danny, both dressed in the same work uniforms as Wanda, albeit for men.
"I haven't heard your sister complain at all about her work!" Luke grinned cheekily.
"Those who endure will surely conquer," put in Danny, his index finger raised.
"My sister isn't burning through a pair of sneakers every other day, Luke," Pietro grunted indignantly.
"I can probably help with that," said Antonia, walking back over. "We've been working on a more durable footwear for a speedster client, and the prototype should still be at the lab!"
"Seriously!? Thank you!!" The boy sighed with relief, "It felt like I was spending half my paycheck on shoes... Wait, I've seen you before, haven't I? Over at Dr. Shuri's place."
"Yes, that was me," Antonia smiled before turning towards the young redhead.
"Nice to see you, Wanda," she said. "I take it this is the 'pain in the ass brother' you've told me about?"
"The one and only," Wanda nodded with a wink.
"Hey!" The platinum haired boy immediately voiced his displeasure.
"So you two know each other then?" Asked Peter, sitting back down next to Riri.
"This is Toni's regular spot," Wanda explained. "Seeing her every few days gave us a chance to get to know each other."
"'Toni'?" Peter raised an eyebrow at the girl in question.
"It's what my friends call me," Antonia explained. "Feel free to call me that too, easier than my full name..."
"Ah, but true beauty should be referred to by its proper name, should it not?" Said a voice. The group collectively turned to see a young man sitting at a table. He was short in stature, with a sketch pad on the table before him. He raised his glass of lemonade in their direction in greeting.
"Kei? You're here too?" Asked Peter, looking on as the boy removed his sunglasses.
"Who's that guy again?" Asked Riri quietly.
"He draws monsters," the boy muttered, as she nodded with understanding.
"I'm here on vacation," Kei said. "And there's no place I'd rather be than here!"
"I never took you for a tech-head." Peter commented.
"What? I don't care about fancy gizmos!" The young artist declared, a glint in his eye. "I'm here for inspiration! Constantly drawing the same creatures day in and day out is driving me nuts!"
He gestured around to the beach, "My muse requires stimulation! And there's so much to see here, my creativity can finally run wild after so long!!"
"But I thought you weren't interested in t-" But then, Peter followed Kei's gaze. The young artist stared longingly at the beach, as several women laid out sunbathing in bikinis.
"Oh," he finished dully.
After finishing their lunch, Peter, Riri and Toni left to explore the grounds a bit more. "You seem know just about everyone we came in contact with, Peter," Toni noted.
"Right? What're the odds so many of my classmates would be here?" The boy replied.
"How about you, Riri?" Toni turned towards the other girl, "Is there anyone else from the Support Course who'll be here?"
Riri shook her head, "Just a few of my upperclassmen, nobody I know. Honestly, aside from Peter and Doctor Foster, I don't really talk to people much outside of the lab. I mostly focus on my work."
"Not much of a people-person, huh?" Asked Toni.
"Technology I get, people are harder to understand..." The younger girl admitted. "That's probably why I like this place so much. At least everyone here has a similar mindset I can relate to."
Antonia put a hand on Riri's shoulder, "You're not the only one who feels that way, believe me. But hey, having 2 people you get along with is a good start. 3 if you count me!"
This made Riri smile a bit, grateful for the support.
Off in the distance, a crashing sound made the trio freeze in place. Hearing the sound of cheering, they decided to run over and investigate. Entering the Testing and Demonstration Zone, Peter looked toward an area where a huge crowd had gathered, named by sign as the Targeting Stage.
Pushing through with Riri and Toni, they came upon a railing which overlooked an arena. Several targets were currently being destroyed by a familiar looking green teenager.
"SMASH!!!!" Using his family's signature move, Amadeus Cho obliterated the final target at the top of a large, rocky mound.
"Time: 26 Seconds," said a loudspeaker. "Amadeus Cho achieves Third Place in the overall rankings." The young man in question gave a peace sign to the cheering observers before powering down to his normal form.
"Phew, guess all that agility training paid off," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Indeed, your progression has been quite impressive," said a voice. Azari, dressed in his Black Panther costume, walked over and pat his classmate's shoulder. "However, you're still applying too much force in your landings. If you wish to manage several targets in a short amount of time, you must apply more finesse, be lighter on your feet."
"Ok then, alley-cat, let's see you do better!" Said another voice. Peter cringed slightly, down with the two boys was a third one he knew all too well: Flash Thompson.
"There is no need for provocation," Azari said calmly, getting into a lower stance. "My turn is next, so I shall allow my actions to demonstrate my meaning..."
At the prompting of a bell, the young Panther surged forward. Swift and nimble as his namesake, Azari sliced through the first target with his claws, pivoting towards his next target the moment he made contact. There seemed to be no wasted movement, the fluidity of his stride allowed him to cover more ground with minimal effort as he climbed the higher level of the stage. Finally, as he reached the final target, the loudspeaker announced his results.
"21 Seconds," it said. "Azari T'Challa achieves First Place."
Azari breathed a sigh, as if powering down. "You see? Great things do not simply occur by impulse, but by a succession of small things linked together."
"What the hell's that supposed to mean!?" Flash replied angrily.
"Try dumbing it down, Azari! He doesn't speak 'smart people'!" Teased a female voice. The boys looked up to see Laura Kinney sitting on the railing, a mischievous grin plastered on her face.
The trio above watched the interaction as Antonia turned towards Peter. "More classmates?" She asked.
"Yeah," the boy replied sheepishly as Flash and Laura yelled obscenities at each other. Azari was trying in vain to calm the two.
"Hey Pete!" Cho waved up at Peter, catching the attention of the others standing with him. "Figures you'd be at the Expo! When'd you get here?"
"A little while ago," Peter said, raising a hand in greeting.
"Huh??" Flash noticed the presence of his rival, "What the hell's Wall-Crawler doin' here!?"
"Missed you too, Eugene," Peter retorted. He rolled his eyes as the boy below fumed at being addressed by his first name.
"What's up, Peter? You getting in on their little 'Quirk measuring contest'?" Asked Laura, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Nah, not really my speed," Peter shrugged. "What about you guys? When'd you all get here?"
"I arrived several days ago," replied Azari, removing his mask and exiting the Targeting Course. "My Aunt Shuri runs the Wakandan Outreach and Research Center located on the premises, so I came to visit."
"I landed yesterday, and I'm representing my old man," Laura put in. "As daughter of the Number 4 Hero, he thought it'd be a good idea for me to make some connections. I brought Ava with me, but she's off attending the leadership seminar run by Ms. Van Dyne. I guess they really hit it off during her internship."
"I have a booth with the Expo," added Cho, now in his regular form. "And Flash came along to help me set up."
"I came because it beats sitting around at home with my stepdad," Flash clarified.
"Right..." Peter replied, taking in all the information at once. "Seriously, is there anyone here who isn't in our class??"
"Excuse me, mister?" A small voice cuts in, catching Peter off guard. He turns to see a young Hispanic boy, no more than 7 or 8 years old. His most striking feature, however, were the metal braces attached to his arms that helped him walk.
"Hi, are you alright?" Peter asked, noticing the somewhat distressed look on the boy's face.
"I got separated from my brother and I'm can't find him!" He said, worry in his voice "Are you heroes? Can you help me find him?"
"Technically, we're still in training," said Cho.
"And we're also on vacation," added a sullen Flash, now sitting on the railing. "So beat it, I'm not a babysitter."
"Knock it off!" Peter scolded his classmate. Laura smacked Flash's arm for good measure. He turned back to the young child. "Of course we'll help you find your brother" he said. A gentle smile on his face, comforting the boy.
"My name's Peter," he continued. "What's yours?"
"It's Gabriel" replied the boy.
"Nice to meet-" Peter froze, he'd heard that name before. "Wait a minute... I think I know your brother! Is he-?"
But Peter was cut off by a worried, albeit familiar voice cutting him off. "There you are!! Hermanito, what did I say about wandering off? The crowds here are very..."
Roberto Reyes slowed his pace, as well as his words, as he came into view of his fellow classmates. Most of them were shocked, not used to seeing this kind of emotion from the typically stoic young man, let alone the realization that he had family.
"Um... hey everyone," Roberto said, recomposing himself after checking over his brother. "What're you guys doing here?"
"Long and various stories," Peter simplified for the now considerably larger group. "How about you? Didn't think this kind of place was your scene, Reyes."
"As winner of the Sports Festival, I was awarded 2 tickets for the Expo," Roberto explained. "They have an amusement park, so I thought I'd bring this one along." He acknowledged the young boy, who was now leaning his back against his brother.
"Oh yeah, I forgot that was a prize..." Peter muttered, "So I take it this is the little brother you told me about?"
Reyes nodded in response.
"I didn't know Roberto had a brother," Cho muttered to Flash. "Did you?"
"How would I know?" Retorted his blonde classmate, "I don't talk to extras."
"And yet..." Laura rolled her eyes, "He placed higher than you in the Sports Festival. Doesn't that make him better than you?"
"What the hell'd you say, Claws!?" He snapped back, an angry tic appeared on his head as his arms became covered in black goo. "You wanna go!?"
"Bring it, puta!" Laura grinned darkly, popping her hand claws with a Snikt!!
"Mom, Dad, please! Not in front of the children!" Peter quipped, quickly flipping between the two as Amadeus struggled to restrain Flash.
Up above, Antonia laughed at the interaction while those not directly involved sighed with exasperation. "Sorry, I don't meant to laugh," Toni said. "It just seems like your class is very lively."
"It's never boring, I'll give you that," replied Roberto. "But it can get a bit loud at times..."
"And suddenly, I'm reminded why I like the peace and quiet of the Support Lab," Riri muttered.
"Now, now, everybody settle down!" A voice called over. The group collectively looked over to see a middle aged man in sunglasses walking over. He wore a t-shirt with the image of a Captain America wartime poster, and carried a bag of souvenirs.
Peter's eyes widened nervously. While the man looked more casual than the day they met, there was no mistaking who this was. He was the same person who'd visited him after the encounter with the Punisher.
For the moment, however, he seemed more preoccupied. "You dropped this, Gabe," he said to the young boy.
Gabriel had a sudden look of realization, "My prizes!! You found them!!" He hobbled over and the man slung the bag over the boy's neck, ruffling his hair in the process.
"Now who's this guy?" Asked Flash, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"This is Phil Coulson," Roberto said. "He's a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and our temporary guardian while I attend school."
"Dude, you're with S.H.I.E.L.D!?" Amadeus exclaimed, looking the older man over. "That's so cool!! Nice to meet you Agent Coulson!""
Coulson chuckled sheepishly, "I'm off-duty today, you can just call me 'Phil', or just 'Coulson' if you'd like." He looked over at an unsure Peter and smiled, "Hello Mr. Parker, it's good to see you again."
"Um, hey Phil," Peter replied, quickly regaining his composure. Unfortunately, the fact that the two were acquainted didn't go over his classmate's heads so easily.
"You know this guy?" Asked Laura, intrigued.
"Y-Yeah, I met him after the whole Punisher thing," he said, trying to be vague about it.
"I was sent to debrief everyone involved with his capture," Coulson explained. "And since there were interns on the scene, I thought it'd be a good chance to introduce myself."
"I get it, covering all your bases," said Cho, appearing to buy the story.
"In any case, I'm just here to keep an eye on Gabe while Roberto attends the big event tonight," the Agent went on. "It's a good chance for him to meet established heroes, but he didn't wanna leave his brother behind. So I agreed to chaperone."
"Roberto!!" Said Gabriel, hobbling over to his brother. "I met this nice guy named Peter! Isn't he the Araña you beat up on le televisión!?"
Peter cringed at the statement, "Did you have to word it like that, kid?"
Meanwhile, Flash burst out laughing at the bluntness of the child. Laura whacked his arm again, but it did little to stifle his laughter.
.
.
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Barber's Chair
• Oof, this arc has been a doozy to write/plan out! Between coming up with what villains to use and the right team of students to bring in, I was worried that I wouldn't meet my self-imposed deadline!
• So, lot of world building and set up in this chapter. Honestly, this may have been one of my tougher ones to write. Constantly redoing and refining ideas I had into something cohesive. Hopefully it'll get a bit easier after this and the next one.
• We've got the return of Agent Coulson!
• Next chapter is in progress! Should drop in the next 2/3 weeks!