Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 402 FIELD TRIP

I landed on the school without anyone noticing. At least I assumed no one noticed. I never heard someone yelling about a bird or plane so I was probably safe. A door on the flat roof it was locked but with a simple tug it opened up for me. Heading into the stairwell there was a couple making out. 

“Hey, get out of here,” I said, shooing them away. The boy and girl couldn’t run away fast enough. Shaking my head I followed after them. The stairwell had been propped open by a doorstopper so I kicked it out of the way as I walked into the school. 

It was good to see that not every school in this world was the hipster equivalent of a safe space like Xavier’s. This school was where life happened. Lockers lining the walls with graffiti on them, the ceiling tile yellow from when kids could smoke there 50 years ago, the grout of the floor tile so caked with gunk they were black. It even smelled like every school should, lemon floor scrubber. 

Extending my Spiritual Energy out I had no idea where I was going so I hoped to find people based off the signature of their Haki. I was at Midtown High School. Home to Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. I was fairly certain they weren’t the type to skip classes. Since they were both the nerdy nerd type it was best to assume they didn’t want absences on their permanent record. 

Whistling as I walked through the halls I was caught off guard as I noticed someone familiar ahead. I had seen her just yesterday, but she looked better already. No longer crying her eyes out I waved at Jessica Jones as she did the same to me. 

“What are you doing here?” We asked as one. 

“I go to school here,” she said. “Did you need something from me?” 

“Uh no, I needed to see a couple of kids that go here,” I said. “You alright?” 

“Uh yeah.” She frowned, her Haki was still in turmoil. “Thought it was better to busy myself than wallow in self pity.” Pushing her hair behind her ear she blushed but looked around slowly.

“You want Tabi?” I asked. “Sorry, I needed her for something, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind-”

“No, classes and all,” she said. “Thanks. I’m not sure I said it before. But thanks for what you did.” Another student heading down the hall, she pointed her head over to another door. We walked into an empty classroom that looked like it was used for art. 

“What’s up?” I asked. 

“I don’t think I asked. Um the guy…” 

“Killgrave?” I asked. She nodded, her fear spiking at the mention of his name. “He shouldn’t be a problem again.”

“Did you um…” 

“Drop him from really high up breaking his limbs, then gave him to a group of people that I’m pretty sure wanted him dead? Yes,” I said. 

She paused for a moment. Smiling, she asked, “Really?” 

“Yeah. That’s what I did. He won’t be walking anytime soon, if he ever does again.” 

A tear leaked out the side of her eye. “Am I awful? For being glad he’s hurting?” She began to wipe more tears away. I didn’t know how to make it better. Grabbing her shoulders I slowly moved her to me. She stiffened for a moment then let the hug happen. Sobbing, her shoulders shook as she let some of the pain out. It continued on and the sobs turned into screaming into my chest. I held her head there, letting her do whatever she wanted as she tried to release some of the tension built up in her. 

It wasn’t until the bell rang that she got out of it. Breathing in and letting out shuddering breaths I rubbed her back slowly. She sniffled, pulling away as she said, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I said. “I’m sure you’ll have a few more of those.”

“Anything bad like…being controlled ever happened to you?” She asked out of the blue.

I thought back. There was dying. That was annoying. Being stuck on Cthulhu world sucked but I learned to enjoy it. But there was one event that I felt could kind of compare. “I was raped once.” 

“What?” She asked, unsure if she heard me right. 

“Yeah, it was an older girl. I blocked it out mostly, but I came to and she was doing what she wanted. I doubt it can compare to what you went though. Kind of stuck with me for a while. Would hit me randomly. Picturing it. I would squash the memory and forget it happened,” I said. “I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t compare.” 

“No, I’m sure it was bad,” she said. Her Energy said she went through something similar. 

“Do you want me to kill him for sure?” I couldn’t help but ask. I had once felt bad for killing so many villains in My Hero Academia. Being near someone that was hurt by them always made me remember why I did it though. 

“I…” 

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, reinforcing with myself that I had to end his life if the Hellfire Club didn’t. “How much school did you miss?” 

“Few weeks,” she said. “Senior year too.”

“Ouch, I’m 17 too.” 

“You are?” She asked, surprised. 

“Yeah, I went the GED route though,” I said. I didn’t have a diploma, but the test Jean gave was good enough for me. 

“I’m kind of considering that. Really don’t want to have to make up tests,” she said with a frown. 

“You’ll do fine. Tell you what, if I get some time I can help you out. I’m pretty good at homework,” I said.

“Oh yeah? Thought you were just good at punching,” she said with a small smile. 

“That too.” 

“What happened last night anyway? You go to that auction thing?”

“I did. Punched a few people there. Kind of boring. You didn’t miss much,” I assured. 

“I bet,” her Haki a little better as she chuckled. “You uh said you had to see some people?”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m making you miss more classes. I need to find Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. You know them?”

“Gwen and Peter? Yeah, I know them,” she said. Looking at a clock on the wall she added, “We have a study hall together right now.”

“Perfect. You mind?” I asked. She shook her head and led the way. “What excuse did you give people for missing classes?” 

“Distant Aunt pulled me out of class,” she said. “My um parents died a few years back. Kind of left one aunt’s house and lived on my own when I was…” 

“My parents are dead too,” I said, pretending to be excited. “We could start our own club. The Orphan Order.” 

“Jeez, what a pair. Mine passed when I was a kid. W-when did it happen for you?” She asked, chewing her lip. 

“Few months ago,” I said with a shrug. 

Jessica stopped in her tracks. “A few months?” 

“Yeah,” I said. I wasn’t sure why I was bringing it up so much. It felt like old me wanted to talk about it, but I pushed the thought away. “Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s-that’s awful,” she said. “How are you doing what you’re doing?”

“Fighting? Helps to distract me,” I admitted. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not worth mentioning.” A hole had opened in my gut realising she had the same kind of pain I did. I sped up my walk, annoyed by the feelings bubbling up. I locked onto Gwen’s specific Haki ahead and didn’t need Jessica to guide me anymore. But I did need her for camouflage.

“Come on, stop thinking about it,” I said to her and myself. 

“But, do you need to talk? I mean a few months…” 

“Tell you what. When you’re ready to talk about what you’ve been through over the last few months, I’ll open up about my own feelings,” I said.

She frowned, not wanting to talk anymore. She shut down a little and continued walking. I felt bad for being so blunt, but I wanted my fucking revenge. I was sick of all these breadcrumbs I was following. 

We walked into a large library with other students scattered everywhere. Jessica looked through the crowd and pointed out Gwen for me. The punk rock scientist was wearing glasses as she stuck her head in a book titled ‘Automation and the study of Robotics.’ A few other girls sitting with her I loudly pulled the empty chair at the table, drawing their eyes. 

Gwen looked up to me slowly, her eyes slowly recognizing me as they got wider and wider. “Weston,” she said, sitting up straight. 

“Hello, darling. Our last meeting was cut short,” I said. “I believe you have something of mine.”

She cleared her throat, looking at the other girls at the table. Standing up she closed her book and carried it with her as she signalled me to follow. The other girls at the table began to whisper as soon as we took a few paces. No one else seemed to care, and I hadn’t found Peter yet. 

Gwen led us through the filled bookcases. Moving deep inside the stacks I guessed she had her own secret corner like a true nerd. The lights were dim near the back and a couple of students that were making out ran off as we walked by. It wasn’t too surprising that we were in the romance section of the library, she seemed like a closet romantic. 

“What do you want?” She asked. “The suit?” 

“I see you’re still wearing it,” I said, noting the discs sticking out of the neck of her shirt. She was wearing another rock band shirt, jean jacket and tight yoga pants. 

“I wasn’t sure when you would want it back,” she admitted, looking away. 

“Didn’t beat up any bullies with it on, did you?” I asked. Her Haki turned to shame. “Ha, who?” 

“Just a guy that was bugging me,” she said.

“You break his arm?”

“I just sprained it,” she defended. 

“Good for you,” I said, shaking my head, unable to help but smile. “So thought about my offer?” 

“About what?” She asked, nervously. 

“The suit? You want to study it? Learn to make it?”

“Were you actually serious about that?” Some hope and fear in her. 

“Of course. I try not to lie. Unless it’s funny, but then only when it’s really funny,” I said. I leaned against a bookcase. “You and I go into business together. I can get some more cool gadgets to tinker with.”

“From where?” 

“Other worlds,” I said, surprised that I wasn’t blocked from saying that. “Can’t reveal my method. But there is no way anyone on Earth could invent this stuff yet. You and I could corner a lot of markets.” 

“Why me?” She asked, chewing her nail as she began to pace. Her Haki was all over the place as she thought furiously. 

“You’re beautiful,” I said. She stopped in her tracks. “Among other reasons. You’re smart, I bet the valedictorian of your class, right?”

“There abouts,” she admitted. “Neck and neck with-fuck, Peter. What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything,” I said with a frown. 

“Well he said you threatened to kill his Uncle,” Gwen said, flashing me an angry glare. 

“I said god would-nevermind. I’ll talk to him next. So yes or no? You want in on my business or what?” 

“Terms?” She asked. 

“Well I would be providing the gadgets. Things that work as is. You would be reverse engineering them and learning how to manufacture them on a massive scale. I would be supplying funds…60,” I said pointing at me. “40.” I pointed at her. 

“I want it written up,” she said. “Legal documents. Locking in those rates unless more people are brought in.” 

“Done. I will be trying to bring another scientist in for a private endeavour, but they will not be a part of this company,” I said.

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“We are partners, just keeping you up to date,” I said.

“We aren’t partners yet,” she said, but I could feel her Haki glow with pride. She was enjoying this more than I thought she would. “What’s the company called?” 

“Walker Technical Resources,” I blurted. It had the same initials as Walker Texas Ranger. 

“Fine. I want documents before I agree to anything,” she said. 

“Okay, need startup funds?” I asked.

“No, I need to wrap up some Oscorp work stuff first. I assume you’re planning to pay me an annual salary,” she said. “So I can quit my internship.” 

“Whatever you need. I don’t have all my money yet, but should in the next few months.”

“Awesome,” she said, clapping excitedly. “This is so cool.”

“You were very convincing that I was inconveniencing you.” 

“Sorry, just…I don’t know. Thought you were joking,” she said, blushing as she moved her blonde hair behind her ear. 

“I’m very serious. These suits could help a lot of people. There will be a big push for exoskeleton armour here in the next few years. This would give us a leg up on the market,” I said.

“How can you know that?” She asked. 

“I’m very intuitive. You heard it from me first. An Iron Man will be appearing soon enough,” I said. But before she could ask more questions I remembered. “Hey, I’ve been digging into something lately and ran across someone’s name. Do you know a man named Connors?”

“Doctor Connors? Of course. He is my boss at Oscorp, why?” She asked. 

“What does he work on there?” I asked. “Is he doing anything…weird?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Haven’t seen him in a few weeks. He supposedly went on sabbatical for his own research. That was why Peter was cleaning the spider room, because he hadn’t been back in a while.”

“Of course,” I said. “You got a phone number or address for him? I need to talk to him.”

“About what?” Gwen asked, squinting.

I frowned, considering what to say. “I told you why I was at Oscorp, right?”

“Yeah…you were exposed to chemicals. Your uh…parents…” She left it at that. 

“That’s right. I’m not sure if he is involved, but I think he might be,” I said. “I would appreciate some help finding him.” 

“I can take you over to his place,” she admitted. “I don’t have work tonight.” 

“I’d appreciate it…can we go now?” I asked. 

“Hell no, I am not screwing up my perfect attendance,” she said, flashing me an angry look. 

“Sorry, sorry,” I said. “Freakin nerd,” I whispered. 

“What?” She asked. 

“Freakin nerd,” I said, daring her to say something. “I should probably meet Peter again. You mind grabbing him?” 

“Uh, yeah,” she said, catching herself. “I’ll bring him over.”