Chapter 330: Liz, Your First Love?
"Don't worry, from now on the Blacklight Armor belongs to you. Gaia is dedicated to Peter's Spider-Suit," Silas said, naturally understanding Blacklight's underlying concern.
"Thank you for your trust, Master." Blacklight was extremely happy. Finally, he was back in Silas's good graces and active once more; he certainly didn't want to be uninstalled ever again.
Right then, Peter leaped in through the window, muttering to himself, "Maybe I should install a pair of gliding wings on my sides."
"What's up, Peter?" Silas turned to ask.
"Still the Vulture situation. Those wings of his are too fast. I basically can't keep up with him right now," Peter said, quite frustrated.
In the past, whenever the Vulture saw him, they would engage in a fight, and he'd only fly away if he lost. Now, the moment Vulture spots him, he leaves without a word. This made it impossible for Peter to catch him, though fortunately, he had managed to plant a drone this time to find out where the Vulture's nest actually was.
"How do you plan to handle the Green Goblin situation?" Silas asked.
Currently, the Green Goblin seemed even more insane than the Vulture. Because Peter had saved the Vulture's life, the winged thief now mostly avoided Spider-Man while trading weapons. The Green Goblin was different; he seemed to be intentionally baiting Peter out, causing terrorizing explosions all over the city while refusing to show his face, choosing instead to sabotage things from the shadows. He was a real headache for Peter.
"I'm not sure what's going on in the heads of those lunatics," Peter said, exhausted, as he collapsed into Silas's lounge chair.
"Only they know what they're thinking. The real question is how you're going to counter them," Silas pointed out.
Peter's main frustration was that both the Green Goblin and the Vulture could fly. He couldn't trap them unless they were willing to stay and fight to the death.
"I plan to catch the Vulture first. The Goblin is creating panic, but the Vulture is selling weapons. Even though they're crazy, they aren't inherently fond of killing—but if the Vulture's weapons fall into the hands of a real madman, it'll be a disaster." Peter decided to keep the Vulture as his primary target.
After a brief chat, Peter went to his room to rest.
The Morning at School
After a quick breakfast, Peter and Silas arrived at school.
"Hey! Morning, Peter, Silas," Ned greeted them.
"Morning, Ned," they replied in unison.
As soon as they sat down, Ned leaned in excitedly. "Have you guys heard?"
"Heard what?" Peter asked.
"A transfer student is coming today! Felicia saw her in the principal's office. Apparently, she's a beautiful girl," Ned said with a grin.
"What's so surprising about a transfer student?" Silas said, completely uninterested. Who cares who the new kid is?
"Oh, come on, Silas. If it's a pretty girl, it's nice to have some eye candy," Ned argued.
Just then, the teacher walked in. "Class, I'd like to introduce a new student. Liz Toomes, come on in."
A tall, beautiful girl walked into the classroom. She scanned the room and introduced herself: "Hi everyone, I'm Liz Toomes. I hope we can all be friends."
The classroom erupted in compliments and applause. Liz took a seat in the row to Silas's left.
"Liz..." Peter suddenly thought of his high school crush, Liz Allan. Obviously, these were two different people, but the name triggered a memory.
"Did she remind you of someone, Peter?" Ned noticed the look in Peter's eyes immediately.
"Huh? No," Peter said, quickly looking down to play dumb.
Ned didn't believe him for a second. "Trust me, bro, you were definitely thinking about a 'Liz' just now."
Peter didn't say anything, but his eyes drifted toward the new girl. Like his old crush, she had long blonde hair.
Sitting in front of them, Gwen caught snippets of Ned's whispering. She misinterpreted Ned's words, thinking he said Peter was longing for this new Liz. For some reason, Gwen felt a sudden pang of nervousness. She turned around and asked, "What did they just say...?"
"Mmh... yeah, you heard right." Felicia responded groggily, her head propped up by her hand. Like Silas, she was a night owl. She had stayed up way too late last night and had zero energy for class.
"Do you think this new Liz is Peter's first love?" Gwen wondered. Even though she and Peter hadn't officially defined their relationship, she believed they would eventually be together. A sudden rival named Liz was worrying.
"What should I do, Felicia?" Gwen asked, having no experience with this.
She didn't realize Felicia was already fast asleep on her desk. Gwen looked at her friend and sighed, knowing Felicia was exhausted, but she desperately wanted to share her anxiety.
The Encounter
Gwen spent the rest of the period in a state of internal conflict until the bell rang. As soon as class ended, students swarmed Liz to welcome her.
"Peter, you want to go say hi?" Ned prodded.
Peter was conflicted. He had thought of Liz Allan for a moment, but it wasn't this Liz, and he liked Gwen now.
"Phew~" Gwen calmed herself, drummed up her courage, and turned around with a smile. "Peter, let's go greet the new student."
This was Gwen's plan: instead of waiting around, she would take the initiative.
"Huh?" Peter was surprised that Gwen wanted to go together.
"Oh, right! Let's go say hi," Ned added, already planning to move.
The three of them walked over to Liz. Gwen took the lead: "Hi Liz, I'm Gwen Stacy. These are Peter Parker and Ned Leeds."
"Hi guys, nice to meet you," Liz smiled. She actually wasn't supposed to be at this school—her grades weren't quite high enough—but her father had suddenly come into some money and managed to get her in. He claimed he won the lottery, and while she was skeptical, she didn't question it.
After the introductions, there was an awkward silence as they struggled for a topic. Liz noticed the two students still passed out on their desks. "What's up with them?" she asked, pointing at Silas and Felicia.
"Oh, Silas and Felicia are just like that. They'll be fine after a morning nap," Gwen and Peter said at the exact same time. They looked at each other, surprised by the perfect synchronization.
"You guys are funny," Liz laughed. "Hey, would you like to come to my birthday party?"
"A birthday party? Cool! We just went to Harry's last week," Ned noted.
"I heard about that. You guys should come!" Liz thought they seemed nice and wanted to make friends quickly.
"Can we?" Gwen's smile made Peter feel a bit uneasy. It seemed a little... forced.
"Of course! They can come too," Liz said, glancing at the sleeping duo.
"Great, we'll be there on time," Gwen said, intending to size up her "competition."
Lunchtime Rumors
Soon, it was time for lunch. Silas and Felicia finally woke up and stretched simultaneously.
"I really envy your ability to sleep through anything," Gwen sighed. "Aren't you worried about failing if you don't take notes?"
"The lectures are just too boring. Besides, I trust Silas to be at the bottom of the class with me," Felicia winked at Silas.
"Don't be so sure about that," Silas smirked. His memory was incredible now, and besides, he was taking notes. Under the desk, a Shadow Ninja was peeking out with tiny red eyes, diligently recording everything for him.
In the cafeteria, Ned leaned in mysteriously. "Did you guys hear the latest?"
"What now?" Peter rolled his eyes.
"The Hulk has officially left the Avengers," Ned whispered. He was sure no one else knew yet.
"How do you know that?" Silas asked, intrigued. The Avengers hadn't made that public, though it wasn't exactly top-secret.
"The Hulk left?" Peter was shocked. Why would someone that strong leave?
"It's my exclusive source," Ned said proudly.
"Cool, Ned. If that's true, you should be a reporter," Peter suggested.
"I'm planning on it. I want to join the news department at Parker Industries after graduation," Ned said. The pay there was way better than the Daily Bugle, and the Bugle's boss looked like a total cheapskate.
"Can I sit here?" Liz interrupted, holding her lunch tray.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!