[Flash Forward, Two Months Later]
Okay, I know what your thinking;
"How the hell is he going to survive after taking a bullet to the gut?"
...
Am I getting close? No?
Whatever.
Anyways I suppose you want some backstory as to what happened that led to this moment, rest assured I'm ninety-nine percent sure the info I have is true. At least, I think it is…
So about roughly sixteen years ago the greatest war between heroes erupted, dubbed the infamous “Superhero Civil-War”. Which was sparked after an incident occurred in a small town in which it killed a ton of civilians, and it was all because of a group of Superheroes were filming a new episode for their TV show. And they didn't take into consideration that they were entering a heavily populated area where children were nearby. This--of course--backfired heavily after a villain who was called Nitro self-imploded, causing an explosion that killed the superheroes, their crew, a good chunk of the town, and a shit-ton of children.
It then sparked controversy regarding if superheroes should be monitored by the government. And thus the Superhero Registration Act was born, which meant any super-powered being should register, expose their identity, or be arrested and taken to this place called the Negative Zone.
Fucking ominous isn't it?
Eventually Captain America, the First Avenger. Stood against this, saying that people should keep their identities secret. And heroes have the same rights as people, and they shouldn't be forced on how to help people. More importantly, what would happen if our loved ones were put in harm's way because we exposed our identities?
Now, I'm not gonna lie when I say the world lost its collective shit when they heard that Captain-Fucking-America, the man who stood by the U.S., the man of freedom and selflessness, was now against it. At least those who saw it that way…
What made things even more interesting was that Spider-Man joined Caps side. Saying we all have loved ones, and exposing our identities would risk their safety.
Of course Iron Man, who fully supported the Act. Was immediately pissed off at the following Cap was getting. So he assembled his own team and they fought.
Like, a lot.
Eventually, both sides realized it was pointless. Considering even more people were getting hurt from the brawls that happened between heroes. So with some talking, they dropped the Superhero Registration Act, and all's right with the world. Right?
Wrong.
One year later, some new company forms. AMRD; Anti Meta-human Response Department. And their shtick was that they were so offended by the actions both sides displayed. They decided to act and properly showed security.
Now, normally it wouldn't have been a big deal. So what? A private security company is throwing a hissy-fit and it doesn't have any real say in the government, so it shouldn't be a problem. Right?
Imagine how wrong that would be...
Eventually they wedged themselves firmly on both sides of the political party. They managed to get a guy whose actions were able to be dictated by AMRD, into the White House. All while they were raising funds for the victims of the incident.
Then everything went to hell.
First, he appointed the CEO of AMRD into an official seat in Congress. Ensuring they have a say in the government. Then, he assembles a conference, and within fifteen minutes, he manages to completely fuck-up America.
Holy shit, look at the time. I need to move!
[Two Months Prior ]
“So...how was your day?”
Alex pondered that question, and wondered if he truly had an answer to the flame-wreck
that was his past four periods leading to lunch.
First he had trouble paying attention, but considering he really couldn't due to the lack of focus in his classmates. Not being completely in the moment would not be unjustified.
On the other hand…
He was considerably antisocial when it came to greeting himself, even though he came one week after school began. Nonetheless he distanced himself without even trying. Not that he minded being alone, he just hated crowds
He was also clumsy at times, fiddling with his pencils and getting constantly distracted by all the little things. In his defense, there were A TON of better things to do than being in school.
Then again, he has spider powers...maybe he could--
‘Nope,’ Alex internally thought, ‘If being a hero means you have a one-way ticket to the Vault, then it's a life I rather not have...’ He kept repeating this thought all the way into lunch, trying to convince himself not to get involved.
As he held his lunch tray, he hoped to any deity that the lunch was at least half-decent. Of course, his hopes were taken out and ripped to shreds like a crowd at a super-sale. Because the most vile source of food to ever take existence found its way to his tray.
Tofu
“Enjoy.” The lunch lady said in a almost dead tone. Scooping another wad of tofu and giving it to Twilight. Who took it with glee.
‘Heh’ Alex thought, ‘She'll probably lecture me on the benefits of tofu...'
“So...if you don't mind me asking again, how was your day?” Twilight asked again. With slight concern in her voice.
Alex blinked for a second before realizing he never really did answer her question. Realizing his mistake, he slightly flustered and rubbed his hair.
“I mean, it's okay so far. Not so many problems as I thought it would be.” He said in a honest tone. He hated lying to her, but he really wanted to move on from the awkwardness of it all. They soon found a nearly empty table and soon took their seats.
“So Twi’ how was your day?” Alex asked, desperately trying to move the subject away from him.
“Well, we didn't really do much other than go over the basics in math.” Twilight said as she recounted her day in great detail. And Alex couldn't help but smile, yet Twilight, lost in her tale, somehow noticed this.
“What?” She asked with a confused look, “Was it something I said?”
“No, but you did seemed to enjoy yourself.” He said with a smile.
She blushed realizing she had rambled on again, “Sorry about that, I just, I tend to talk a lot because of debates. I think it's beginning to rub off me…”
“Well, if I'm completely honest, you kill it at those debates.” Alex said as he kept poking his tofu. He was fairly certain it was making a sound it shouldn't have.
“Hey, can I sit here?” Both of them looked up to see a fairly tall boy who was pale, wearing a peacoat, jeans, and sported glasses similar to Twilights. He was carrying what seemed to be a sketchbook. And both looked at him with a blank expression before Alex replied.
“Uh...yeah, sure.”
The boy sat down and immediately opened his book to begin drawing.
“Um, your not going to get food?” Alex asked the boy.
The boy simply looked at him with a deadpan expression, “Why should I? The food’s shit.”
Alex couldn't help but look at his abomination of food and agree with him. After all, the tofu looked like it came from Chernobyl.
However, Twilight couldn't help but ask the boy a question, “Weren't you at the Midtown debate a couple of months ago?”
The boy thought for a moment before nodding, “I do remember being at that debate, but I don't recall anything in particular.”
Alex blinked in confusion before speaking, “Hold up, he was with you at the debate?”
Twilight nodded, “Apparently he practically owned the debate before my team took his place. I met him only a few times before he went home.”
The boy snapped his fingers, “Oh yeah, I remember how nervous those kids from east-side got once I started talking.” The boy extended his arm to shake both of their hands, “Names Jay, you?”
“Alex, she's Twilight, I just transferred here today.” Alex explained.
Jay nodded, “What do you do for a living?”
“I really don't do much, I mean, I work part-time at a couple of places. And I live on my own for the most part.” Alex explained, “You?”
“Parents thought it was a good idea to transfer me to a public school, they think I would make ‘new friends ’, and be more ‘open’ with people. Honestly, I liked them before they became more involved in my life.” Jay explained.
“Yeah, well, we can't have everything.” Alex said while picking at his food.
Jay pointed to his food, “You don't want the tofu don't you?”
Alex shrugged, “Yeah, first day of school and the food is equivalent to that of a dump.”
“Well to be fair, you expected the school to serve something good?”
Alex thought about his statement before nodding, “Touché.”
[Later]
"So, what do you have next period?" Alex asked as he dumped his tray, along with Twilight.
"Trig. You?"
"Wow we actually have the same period, along with Twilight." Alex said a bemused expression.
"So wait, Jay, what do you usually excel at?" Twilight said with curiosity.
"Well I'm good with computers, math, and physics. Why?" He asked.
"Well, we could use someone to help with math club. Since our computers are going on the fritz and--"
"Just reset it."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Reset it. If someone else's computer continues to be experiencing problems, let me know and I'll check on it." Jay continued walking as Twilight stood there with her mouth agape.
"I think someone actually outsmarted Twilight." Alex said jokingly as he walked past her.
Twilight blinked for a second before shaking her head and only mumbling, "Shut up." Catching up to Alex as they entered Trigonometry.