by S.M. Shook and Chip Caroon |
"They are progressing extremely fast, Bones."
"Palmer and Starsmore are excellent teachers."
"I think they're ready for their codenames."
"So soon?" Bones asked.
"Are you questioning me, Bones?"
"No, sir. It just seems like it's a early in their training for that."
"They need to get used to calling those names during battle. I am going to send them into the field soon. Their first mission is the Spider-Man menace and after that they will have an encounter with a different group of young heroes."
"Are you talking about Young Justice, sir? Do you really think they are ready for that?"
"Bones, they are more than prepared enough to take out those rogues. Watch them."
Down in the training facility the team was locked in battle.
Angelo Espinoza was trying to wrap the Secret up with his extra skin. She was avoiding him with a lot of work and effort.
"Chica, give up now. You can't win."
Ray Palmer called out, "Suzy, smoke jump."
Smoke surrounded Angelo and he was quickly transported in front of Jono Palmer. Jono leveled him with a blast of his psychic flame putting Angelo down for the count.
"That's cheating," Toni Monetti called out as she formed a silver blue bubble around Jono. The bubble bounced up and down smacking Jono around knocking him out.
"LOVE!" Suzy screamed out.
She moved quickly to attack Toni. Cameron Chase stepped between the two. Suzy's smoke-like body solidified. Cameron delivered one punch knocking Suzy out. Toni and Cameron gave each other a high five over the brief success.
"Don't celebrate yet," Sarah Starsmore called from across the room.
No sooner had the words escaped than Grant Emerson fired an energy pulse at them, blowing a hole in the floor and knocking both of them unconscious.
"Grant, watch the property damage," Ray called out.
Grant walked over to Toni and Cameron. He bent down to check and see if they were both okay. Under his breath he softly mumbled. "I'm so sorry, Toni."
As Grant was worrying over his fallen teammate Hank Hall and Tom Palmer were locked in battle. They traded punches back and forth neither seeming phased until Tom landed a strong punch to Hank's stomach sending him flying across the room. Hank landed on top of Grant. Grant fell on top of Cameron and Toni, the collision had knocked him unconscious.
"Sorry about that, Grant," Tom Palmer called out.
Hank ran fast at Tom tackling him. Hank hit Tom Palmer as hard as he could. Trying to knock him out. "Give up, rookie. You can't beat me."
Tom's eyes began to twinkle red. "Wanna bet?" Tom replied between punches.
"Dawn, help Hank," Sarah Starsmore called from across the room.
"No, I have him."
"Dawn," Sarah said.
Dawn Granger who had been flying around observing the action learning each of the team's maneuvers and skills swooped down. She stood next to Hank looking at Tom. Tom's eyes glowed bright red.
"Hank, look out!"
Dawn was too late. Tom released a blast of heat vision. Hank flew backward smacking the wall. He slid down, unconscious. Tom turned to Dawn his eyes still glowing red.
"I surrender, but you won't catch me by surprise like that again," Dawn said with a wink.
Through the rooms communication system the conscious members of the group heard Mitchell Shelly's voice speak.
"Congratulations, Thomas, outstanding work. Miss Granger, I trust that you were observing all your teammates in action. Maybe next time you will not surrender so quickly. Ray, Sarah, I would like to see you up here right away."
The transmission ended.
After the training and the group had regained consciousness they talked to each other. This had become a routine. Most of the group had become friends after spending so much time together.
"Where was Paige?" Angelo asked.
"She has been doing some special training with Mr. Shelley," Dawn replied.
"Are you okay, Toni?" Grant asked.
"I'm fine, Grant," Toni answered.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Grant. I am fine."
"Thanks for worrying about me, Emerson," Chase retorted with a chuckle.
Grant Emerson face turned a bright red.
"Mr. Emerson, are you blushing?"
Toni looked at him and smiled. She was starting to believe that Grant had a crush on her.
"Cameron, how did you make me solid?" Suzy asked.
"I have the ability to neutralize powers to a certain extent."
"Can you try it on me?" Jono asked.
"I guess."
Cameron stepped next to Jono and lightly touched him, focusing her power on Jono. The psionic flame that consumed his face subsided slightly.
"Wow," Suzy said.
"I agree, that little power of hers could really be of use for you, bro."
"Shut up, Tom," Hank said.
"What is your problem with me, Hall?" Tom asked.
"It's quite simple, Tom. I just don't like you," Hank said as he walked out of the training facility.
"He's upset because you always win now. He used to always come out on top at these training sessions and now he's being beaten by a recruit," Dawn told him.
About that time, Paige Guthrie entered the room along with Sarah Starsmore, Ray Palmer, Mitchell Shelley, and Mr. Bones.
"Let me start by telling all of you that I am very proud of your progress. I have never seen a group with this much potential before," Shelley told them. "And I would like to prove this belief in you by giving you your codenames and uniforms now. From now on in training rooms or on missions you shall call each other by these codenames."
The group looked around at each other in shock and in awe.
"How do you know what codenames we want?" Cameron Chase asked.
"I have my methods young lady," Shelley replied.
Mitchell Shelley stood in front of Tom Palmer first. Mr. Bones stood on Shelly's right side holding a hanger. On the hanger was black, leather like, uniform jacket on it under the jacket was a pair of black leather like pants. On the left sleeve was a DEO patch on the right breast in red script was the name Valor.
"From now on you will be called Valor."
He moved in front of Dawn Granger next and presented her a uniform.
"From now on you will be called Dove."
He stepped in front of Jono Palmer and handed him a uniform.
"From now on you will be called Chamber."
He stepped in front of Suzy and presented her with a uniform.
"You will be called Secret."
He stepped in front of Angelo Espinoza and presented him a uniform.
"Mr. Espinoza, you will be called Skin."
He stepped in front of Toni and presented her a uniform.
"Ms. Monetti, your new name is Argent."
He stepped in front of Grant Emerson and presented him a uniform.
"You will be called Damage now."
He stepped in front of Cameron Chase and gave her a uniform.
"You did not want a silly codename so you will simply be Chase."
He walked over to Paige Guthrie and presented her with a uniform.
"Ms. Guthrie, your name is Husk."
He stood in front of the group and addressed them as a whole.
"Mr. Hank Hall, who is in his quarters sulking, will be called Hawk. Mr. Ray Palmer, who is standing behind me, will be called Atom. And Ms. Sarah Starsmore will be called Power Woman. The rest of your uniforms are waiting for you in your quarters. Valor, Husk, Dove, stay with me. The rest of you are dismissed for now. Congratulations."
The rest of the group left the training area leaving only Valor, Husk, Dove, and Mr. Shelley.
"You are probably wondering why I had you stay. You are the best of the best of all our recruits. Valor, your growing power and ability to think on your feet make you the strongest member we have. Husk, your hours upon hours of training and ability to simulate anyone or change your body composition completely make you a perfect for undercover work. And Dove, your ability to learn quickly and notice the patterns of your opposition make you a perfect field leader. The three of you will be competing for the leadership of this group from this moment further. I felt that all three of you should know that."
"Sir, I don't want to lead this team," Valor said.
"Your actions will determine who is the leader, not your words. You are all dismissed now rest and relax because tomorrow the hard work starts."
Mitchell Shelley stood there as the three left the facility. He was not particularly pleased with Chamber's relationship with Secret nor was he happy about Valor's contempt for his leadership but these things would change. After the Young Justice mission their loyalty should be cemented solidly with the DEO.
"Cool, our first mission," Husk whispered to Hawk, who was standing beside her. "Excited, Hank?"
Hank Hall put his finger in front of her mouth. "Hush, Paige. Let her finish." She then saw Valor and Argent chuckling. "Oh, shut up," she said.
Power Woman began speaking once more. "One of our field agents has reported as seeing an extraordinary athlete at Midtown High School in New York City. From all appearances, he seems to be a metahuman. It's the usual - super strong, super fast. DEO wants us to check that kid out too. The plan is for us to get into the school. I'll be posing as a subsititute teacher. You will all be students."
"Won't it seem odd for five new students to start at once?" Tom Palmer, also known as Valor, asked.
"Perhaps, but the DEO has already . . . altered certain records, providing you with alibis. Nothing will seem out of place. You will start tomorrow."
"Whoa!" the wall-crawler exclaimed. "A little close there, wouldn't ya say?" Spider-Man somersaulted in the air, and landed right behind Shocker. He put his opponent in a headlock.
"Get off . . . " Shocker muttered. He aimed his fists at the ground, and let loose, hoping to use the energy to knock Spider-Man off of his back.
Unfortunately for him, Spidey's grip was excellent, and all he succeeded in doing was knocking the both of them back a couple of steps. Spidey used that momentum to swing Shocker around and knock him to the ground. Almost instantly, an energy net covered Shocker.
"You're under arrest," Maggie Sawyer's voice said.
Spider-Man walked over to where he saw Captain Arthur Stacy standing.
"What, did you transfer to SCU?" the webslinger asked.
Captain Stacy smiled and shook his head. "No. I'm on assignment with them. I'm covering Intergang, and they were charged with taking down Shocker."
"Who is tied in there somehow," Spidey finished. "One of the last loose ends."
"You had something to do with taking them down, as I recall . . . "
Spidey shook his head. "Don't give the credit to me. My buddy, The Shadow, did most of the work."
"Wasn't he the one caught in that huge blast in Suicide Slum?" Stacy asked.
Spidey nodded. "He's doing okay. But that last case of his really took its toll. Several people got hurt, and I hear Intergang is trying to make a comeback, even more viscious than before."
"That's too bad. At least we got Shocker." Stacy looked over at the cops beginning to leave. "I have to go. Keep in touch."
"I will," Spidey said, shooting a webline, and slinging away.
(Special note: This story takes place only a day or so after the events of The Shadow 2000 #6)
Finally, Tom came back to reality and looked at his schedule. It was very similar to Paige's with only a few differences. While both were assigned to get close to Cody Driscol, their appearance made it necessary for them to be placed in different grades. Fortunately, Cody was well advanced, and so took classes that were in various levels. With their schedules, at least one, if not both, were able to watch him.
Paige turned to Tom. "So, if we were the only two assigned to get near this kid, what are Argent, Hawk, and Chamber doing?"
"They're just keeping an eye on everything, and will be used when something comes up," Tom replied. "You have gym with him. Keep watch, and let me know what he's up to. I'll try to see if I can catch him down there after school. Come on, our first class is this way . . . "
"Peter! What's up?"
"Not much," Peter replied. "Just going to class."
"Have you heard anything about Victor or Jason?"
Peter shook his head. "I haven't heard a thing from Victor since the incident at The Crib, and Jason's still in the hospital. They're not sure what's going to happen. Have you been to see him?"
"Not since Saturday night, when you were there."
"Do you know if Natalie Casswell is here today?"
"No, I usually don't see her during the day anyway. Mary Jane might know."
"Cool. Talk to you later."
Jimmy rushed off, and Peter turned around, nearly bumping into two students who were walking down the hall, both looking at cards.
"Whoa! Sorry, there," Peter said.
"No problem," the boy replied. "We should have been watching where we were going. We're new."
"Do you need help getting to a class?" Peter offered.
"Actually, if you could tell us where room 225 is, it would be very helpful," the girl replied.
Peter pointed ahead. "It's down there, the second hall on the left. Go down that hall, and it should be on the left. I'm not sure how far down though."
"Thanks," the girl replied as they walked off.
"Do you think he suspects anything?" the boy whispered.
"Relax, Chamber," Argent said. "These image inducers are disguising us. No one will have a clue what we look like."
"Don't worry, students. That's just my watch. It beeps at odd intervals sometimes." She returned to work.
Later, after the class had left, she pulled the drawer out, and read the scanner. Another meta? she thought. This is going to be slightly more difficult than I thought.
"I don't like this," Lois muttered. She was standing by Perry White's office with Ben Urich, and the editor himself. "Luthor is just going to screw us over. Heck, those two together have already manipulated to force the sell."
"Lois, we all know Luthor is a crook, and has his hands in a lot of places, but there's nothing we can get him on. He's too careful," Urich replied.
"He wants to make an internet news site," Lois said. "And it just so happens that he's buying the Planet. Makes you wonder if he cares about printed news . . . "
"Now, Lois," Perry interjected, "there is no guarantee that Luthor is going to buy this place."
"Perry! He's the richest man in the city, if not the world! If he wants this place, he'll find a way to get it. If he didn't want to place a bid, then he wouldn't be wasting his time here now!"
"She does have a point," Urich pointed out. "I'm just worried about Jameson. What's going to happen to him?"
"I don't want to think about that," Perry answered. "He used to be a newspaper man. He'll find work."
"I still don't like this," Lois repeated.
"You're not bad when you're playing by yourself. No way you can do the same against me," Tom said.
Cody turned his head and fired a shot. "You're right, I'm even better when I'm playing against someone," he replied as the ball went through the net.
Tom tried not to look amused. "My friends say I'm the best."
"Hey, man, I'm so good that I have to keep myself off of the school team."
"Big talk, make me a believer."
Cody tossed a ball to Tom. "Let's go," he said.
Tom began dribbling the ball, slowly at first, but then speeding up. Cody got in a definsive position. Tom continued dribbling and he tried to run to the right. He blinked, and suddenly Cody was right in front of him. Tom did a crossover, bouncing the ball around his right leg, and then his left, finally shooting.
Somehow, the ball didn't make it to the hoop, and Cody had it and was dribbling.
"Wanna make it full court?" he asked, smiling.
"Sure, I'd love to beat you full court," Tom replied chuckling, while wiping the sweat off of his forehead.
Cody started running and dribbled the ball the length of the court. Just as he was getting ready to shoot, Tom came up, jumped, and grabbed the ball only inches away from Cody's hands. He started towards his basket, but Cody was in front of him. Tom threw, but Cody blocked it. However, Cody wasn't able to recover it, so Tom got it back. He threw it up and it hit the backboard, and bounced off. Cody grabbed it on the rebound.
This guy has got to be a meta . . . Tom thought. No normal person can possibly be this fast and agile.
The two continued to bounce the ball around, and let it change hands several times in the next five minutes, but neither was able to get a shot. Finally, Tom put his hands up.
"Good to see you're not all talk. Wanna call it a draw?"
"A draw is better than a loss anyday," Cody said, sticking out his hand. Tom shook it.
"See you around, okay?"
"Sure," Cody said. He walked out of the gym. Tom stood in the middle of the court for a while, catching his breath. Husk walked up to him.
"Paige, where were you?" Tom asked.
"I was under the bleachers. That was some game."
"Yeah, he really had me going. Were you scanning?"
Paige nodded. "He's a metahuman."
Tom sighed. "Well, that part's done." They began walking to the door. "He's good, fast, agile, strong, I kinda think he is the Spider . . . "
Cody was walking out of the locker room when he heard Tom say that. He stepped back in the doorway and listened.
"You think Cody is Spider-Man?" Husk asked.
"He's got to be. Who else is that agile?"
"Well, come on. Ms. Starsmore wants us upstairs. She found something."
As the two members of Generation Next walked off, Cody came out of the locker room, smiling. He could have a little fun with that misinformation . . .
"Glad you are all here," Sarah said, standing up. "Today, I had the scanner on all day long. There is another meta in the building."
"Um, us, maybe?" Hawk suggested with a cocky chuckle.
"No, it read eight meta in the building. The six of us and Cody only make seven. I want Tom and Paige to continue to monitor Cody. The rest of you search for this second meta."
"Ms. Starsmore," Paige said. "We did find something. We scanned Cody, and he turns out to be a metahuman, most likely Spider-Man."
"Or the other meta could be Spider-Man," Sarah replied. "Good work. Tomorrow, we all resume our search."
Mary Jane stood up. "Not really, Peter, I'm just trying to get some extra trays out. We lost a few the other day, and the waitresses need something to hold."
"Need some help?" Peter asked.
"No, I have it," Mary Jane replied, pulling the trays out. "So, did you see those new kids today?"
"Yeah, they asked me for directions to their room this morning."
"Room 314?"
"No, Room 225."
"Must have been a different set of people. I saw two new kids in my homeroom."
"It's kinda odd to have four new kids in one day . . . " Peter wondered. "Something sounds strange. In fact, a lot of strange things have been happening recently."
"Like what?" Mary Jane asked, leaning over the counter.
"Well, the Daily Planet is going to be sold. More than likely to Lex Luthor, who'll turn it into an internet news whatever. In fact, he was suppose to tour the building today."
"Are you worried about your job?"
Peter shook his head. "Not right now. No one is sure when the sale will be."
Both were silent for a couple of minutes. Finally, Mary Jane spoke up. "Are you busy tonight?" she asked.
"No, not really. Why?"
"I need some help with homework. You can help me right?" she asked with a gleam in her eye.
Peter smiled. "Sure. What time?"
"I think around eight or so." MJ looked at the clock. "It's only a couple of hours. If you want to hang around, I can drive back."
"I'd like that . . . " Peter replied.
"So, how do we keep tabs on Cody after school?" Paige asked.
"We don't," Tom replied. "The DEO has constant surveillance around Cody's place. They'll keep track of his every move. They've had people watching sporatically for a while, but they set a van up last night."
"Could he be on to us?" Argent asked.
"I doubt it, Toni," Tom answered. "Only thing that might give me away was the basketball game. Even if he does think I'm a meta or something worse, there's nothing to connect the four of you."
"What about this other meta?" Chamber asked. "Who could that be?"
"This is New York, there are tons of other superheroes," Hank Hall replied. "For all we know, it's that Shadow guy. He was . . . well, seen isn't the best word, but he was 'seen' on the first day during the shooting. How did he get there so fast? Had to be a student . . . "
"Or a teacher . . . " Paige added, taking a sip of her milkshake.
"This mission is a pain," Hawk began. "Do any of you have any idea how much work it takes to stay awake in that Algebra class?"
The rest of the group chuckled. "Some heroes have to fight sludge monsters, you have to take Algebra. It's the price you pay as a DEO Agent," Argent said.
"I still don't like it."
"Can't like everything . . . "
"Sir, the latest data indicates that Oz can be distributed commerically within six months," Osborn's assistant said, reading from a printout.
"Six months? That's earlier than I expected," Osborn replied. "However, I have a feeling it won't be out for a while."
"Sir, why?"
"I have some . . . further tests I wish to run . . . with my own select group of scientists."
"Yes, sir," the assistant said. "Shall I tell marketing?"
"Not yet," Osborn replied. "In fact, you shall tell no one. If you do, something . . . unfortunate might occur . . . "
Not by the usual school things, but rather by the fact that they had a mission, and it wasn't going as smoothly as they wished.
"I don't like this," Hawk said, looking down the crowded hall, and then at the handheld device Argent was holding.
"Be patient," Chamber replied.
"But we've been looking for two days! And all we've run into is interference . . . "
"Chill. It's a big place. Of course, we were going to run into some interference."
Argent shook her head. "I don't know. I have the strange feeling that this isn't regular interference."
"What do you mean, 'regular interference'?" Hawk asked.
"Regular interference is having a whole lot of people in the way," Argent explained. "But, it's almost as if something is blocking the scan."
Hawk looked at his watch. "We better give up for now, class starts in two minutes."
"I'm sorry," he said. "Natalie?"
"Yeah, it's me," Natalie Casswell replied.
"I've been wondering something for the past couple of days - how's Vic? I haven't heard from him since Saturday."
Natalie shook her head. "He's doing . . . okay. He had a sort of . . . accident, but he should be back to school next week."
"Oh, that's too bad," Peter replied. Then, he lowered his voice so no one could hear. "Did it have anything to do with The Shadow?"
Natalie nodded, and then looked at her watch. "Oh, I have to hurry up and get some lunch. I have to be at a meeting in twenty minutes!"
Peter watched as she scurried off.
"We tried hard, Ms. Starsmore," Argent pleaded, "but all we got was interference."
Sarah Starsmore sighed and turned to the other two members: Husk and Valor. "Were you able to get anything?"
Valor shook his head. "Nothing more about Cody. Same as we knew before."
"Has anyone heard anything about Spider-Man?" Sarah asked.
All of the Generation Next member shook their heads. "He hasn't been seen since DEO started watching Driscol," Chamber said.
Sarah sighed once more. "Wonderful. This mission just isn't going the way we planned. Okay, let's forget about this other meta. More than likely, he'll show up soon enough on his own. DEO can grab him then."
"There's something that I don't get," Lois said after taking a bite of her salad. "Why would Osborn be in on Luthor's scheme? What's in it for him?"
"What makes you think there's a scheme?" Urich asked.
"Come on! We're talking about Lex Luthor, the most influential crook in town! When he wants something, he'll get it."
"Again, what makes you think it's all a scheme?"
"Every time Luthor buys something out, it's after a period where the company either goes bankrupt or come pretty close," Lois replied. "The Planet's ad revenue had been cut recently, and the cover price has been increased. Add to that a minor drop in readership, and you have financial trouble."
"And you think Luthor is behind all of that?"
"Well, maybe not all of it, but at least part of it. I did a check. Most of the companies and businesses that stopped running ads had some connection to Luthor."
"And the rest?"
"They had some connection to Osborn."
"Hmm." Now, Urich was starting to see the logic, and accept Lois's point of view. "So, you're saying the Luthor and Osborn have ordered their companies and all subsidiaries to stop buying ad space?"
Lois nodded as she took another bite of her salad. "I also think that Luthor has pressured some smaller businesses into not buying ad space."
"How?"
"I don't know. He is one of the most influential men in the city. He has his ways."
"So, we come back to your original question: Why would Osborn go in with Luthor on this scheme?"
"I've been trying to come up with a reasonable explanation," Lois said. "And I can think of is that maybe Osborn is helping Luthor take the newspaper, so Luthor will help him with something else."
Urich thought about that for a while. "Or maybe Luthor is pressuring Osborn for some reason . . . "
"Interesting," Lois replied. "But if that's the case, why would Osborn be touring the building with him?"
"Maybe Osborn has his own agenda, and plans to get the Planet to himself."
Lois shook her head. "It's hard to tell with this corrupt businessmen . . . "
"You mean, raid the place, now?" the other asked. He had black hair, and was clean shaven.
It was night, and the DEO van was still watching the Driscol residence.
"You know the orders, Agent Arthur," the first man said.
"Of course, Agent Newman, but we've been monitoring the kid for days, and there's no sign of - "
Newman interrupted. "Trust me."
"Okay," Agent Arthur replied. "I'll call the backup."
Coming up the street behind the van, Peter Parker was going to visit Cody Driscol, to help him with a homework assignment. As he neared the Driscol home, his spider-sense went off, warning him of something. He looked around, and saw the van.
Pretending that nothing was wrong, Peter continued to walk, and strolled right past the van. He turned the corner, and nonchalantly crouched behind a bush. He activated his spider suit, and jumped up into a tree. He used that to jump down on top of the van.
"He's not the Spider," he overheard coming from inside the van.
"So what? He's more powerful than the Spider. We'll take him anyway," a second voice said.
They think Cody is me? Spidey thought.
"Hey!" Spider-Man heard someone shout.
The wallcrawler looked up and saw someone flying above him. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Valor, and you're in trouble!" the flying person shouted, firing heat vision at Spider-Man.
"Yikes!" Spidey exclaimed as he jumped up, and somersaulted off of the van.
"Huh? What was that?" Agent Arthur shouted.
Agent Newman looked at his scanner. "It's the Spider! Right above us!" He kicked the back doors of the van and jumped out, grabbing one of the tranquilizer rifles. Turning and looking up, he saw Spidey leaping over him.
However, Spidey wasn't going to be taken by surprise, as his spider-sense warned him of the DEO agent. He quickly fired two balls of impact webbing at Newman. One sent the rifle flying up, and the other knocked the agent back and restrained.
The impact caused the rifle to be fired, and the tranquilizer dart embedded itself into Valor's semi- invulnerable skin.
"Ah, crap," he said as he became more drowsy and fell to the ground, landing on his right arm. Valor stood up, and began running after Spider-Man.
However, Spidey had started webslinging and had a pretty decent start. But even drugged, Valor could still fly at a decent speed. He was able to follow the webslinger for a few yards, but then Spidey turned and fired some impact webbing at Valor. It hit him in the face, knocking him down. He could only watch as Spidey swung away.
"What's up, Peter? You look troubled," she said as she slid into the booth, facing him.
"Really?" Peter asked.
"Yeah," MJ said, nodding and smiling.
"It's Cody."
"That kid you've been tutoring?"
"That's him. I think something is wrong."
"Like he has a family problem or something?"
"Oh, nothing like that," Peter replied. "It's just that . . . well, I was going over to his house about an hour ago, to help him with some homework. Before I could get there, I see a van parked nearby, kinda hiding. It looked like it was watching Cody's home or something."
"So, what did you do?"
"Nothing, really. I watched as Spider-Man appeared out of nowhere, and got attacked by some other guy who came out of nowhere. They fought for a while, even involving the people in the van, I think, but then Spidey ran away after KOing the guy who attacked him."
"So, did you go see Cody?"
Peter shook his head. "After that, I figured it was too dangerous to have any contact with him."
"What are you going to do?"
"What can I do?"
Mary Jane was silent for a moment. Before she could say anything, some people came in. "I gotta go. Duty calls." She stood up and left.
Peter continued sipping his milkshake.
"Peter, is that you?" Aunt May called from the living room.
"Yes, Aunt May." He walked into the living room, where his aunt was watching television.
"Peter, I do think it is wonderful that you are helping out your fellow students, but I do wish you wouldn't stay out so late. I get so worried."
"Relax. I can take care of myself. Besides, it's not that late. It's barely even prime time."
"So, have you finished your homework?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good," May replied as she turned back to the television. Peter went to his room.
Peter turned around in the crowded hall and saw the student he had been tutoring come up to him, falling into step to his left as he walked to homeroom. "Sorry, man," he replied. "Things kinda came up. I ran into Spider-Man on the way to your house . . . "
"Spider-Man? Cool!"
"He said that he wanted to tell you that you were in danger."
"Danger? What kind of danger?" Cody asked.
"I'm not sure," Peter replied. "I was halfway to your house when I ran into him. He told me to turn around and go home that it wasn't even safe for me to come to see you." Peter stopped walking and faced Cody. "I think someone might be watching you," he whispered.
"Strange . . . " Cody said. Just then, someone caught his eye. "Gotta go, see you later?"
"Sure," Peter answered. He looked over and saw who Cody was heading towards. The guy looked about his age, maybe a year younger. Peter noticed that he had a black eye. When Cody tried to give him five, he grimaced, as if his arm was sore.
I don't believe it . . . Peter thought. It's Valor! So, he's posing as a student to keep an eye on Cody.
"Wait a minute," Peter said out loud, to himself. "There were at least four new students on Monday. What are the odds that he was one of them?"
Just as soon as Mrs. Driscol put the dishes in the sink to soak, there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" Cody volunteered. He ran to the door and opened it up. Standing before him were two men in black suits, and one woman wearing a black mini-skirt and black jacket. She flashed her badge.
"Agent Starsmore, DEO. With me are Agents Newman . . . " She pointed to the man to her right. " . . . and Arthur." She pointed to the man on her left.
"What's this about?" Cody's mother asked, coming out of the kitchen.
"We're from the Department of Extranormal Operations, Mrs. Driscol," Starsmore replied. "May we come in?"
"Sure," Mrs. Driscol said. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."
The three DEO agents walked in and sat on the sofa. Cody and his mother sat in armchairs on either side of the sofa. Agents Newman and Arthur remained silent.
"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Starsmore said. She looked straight at Cody. "Cody, we've been monitoring you for a while now, and we have noticed your special abilities. You are quite intelligent, and you have shown tremendous athletic abilities. We've come here tonight to tell you about the fine opportunities you will be presented with if you choose to attend the DEO academy. You will be taught by some of the finest teachers in the country, and the extracurricular program is like none other . . . "
This isn't cool, Spidey thought. Why would DEO be out in plain sight, unless . . . Then, it finally hit Spidey. They're recruiting him.
A few webspins and leaps later, he was standing in front of the sliding glass window that was part of the Driscol's living room. He tapped on the glass.
Inside, Cody turned and saw the wallcrawler. "Spider-Man! What's he doing here?" He walked over and let him in.
"Isn't this a nice surprise," Starsmore said. "We've been wanting to talk to you as well, Spider-Man."
Spidey ignored her and turned to Cody. "What are they doing here?" he asked.
"They're offering me a position at the DEO academy," Cody answered.
"Are you going to accept?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Cody, the DEO is bad news. I think it's too great a risk if you go there."
Cody gritted his teeth. "Then, it's a risk I'm willing to take." He turned to Agent Starsmore. "I'd like to accept your offer."
Starsmore looked at Mrs. Driscol. "Is this all right with you?"
"Of course! I don't wish to be a hindrance to my son's best interests."
Starsmore turned to Spider-Man. "And what about you, Spider-Man? Would you like to join the DEO?"
Spider-Man snorted. "I'd rather fight the entire Avengers League and lose." He began walking away. As he was getting ready to sling away, he turned to Cody. "Good luck," he said as he fired a web.
Starsmore walked to Cody. "I think you'll love the academy, and will make a fine addition."