Chapter 331: Aren't You Just Bullying the Kids?
"Of course you can." Gwen proactively made space for Liz at the table.
"Looks like the six of you get along really well," Liz noted with a smile, watching the group eat together.
"Hi Liz, I'm Felicia Hardy." Felicia introduced herself; since she had been asleep earlier, she figured it was time for a proper greeting.
"Silas Parker," Silas said simply between bites.
"Nice to meet you." Liz gave Silas a slightly curious look; he seemed a bit more aloof than the others.
"So, what were you guys talking about?" Liz asked, initiating conversation.
"We were discussing the Avengers," Ned chirped.
"The Avengers?" Liz smiled. "I like Captain America the most. How about you guys?"
"I admire the Hulk, though he seems a bit... violent," Ned said.
"I like Spider-Man," Gwen said, looking up.
Spider-Man? Peter felt a surge of joy. Gwen liked Spider-Man—this was fantastic news.
"Spider-Man?" Felicia chewed her food thoughtfully. "I don't think he's actually an Avenger, is he?"
"He isn't?" Gwen wasn't entirely sure about the official roster, but it didn't change the fact that he was her favorite.
Felicia nodded. "The official list was released, and Spider-Man isn't on it."
To prevent the public from being unnecessarily startled during missions, Tony Stark and the others had released an official personnel list. It featured their hero titles, though for members like Natasha and Barton, only the titles were public while their faces remained classified. After all, Natasha was a spy; if the world knew her face, her career would be over. The same went for Barton.
"Hey—Gwen likes you." Ned leaned toward Peter. Hearing Gwen's confession, he almost couldn't resist blurting out Peter's secret identity. He found it hilarious that Gwen had no idea her favorite hero was sitting right in front of her.
"Shh!" Remembering what happened with Harry, Peter quickly covered Ned's mouth.
"What's wrong?" Gwen looked at them, puzzled. She had just mentioned liking Spider-Man; was that really cause for such excitement?
Peter quickly retracted his hand and laughed nervously. "Nothing! We just... thought of something happy."
"Huh?" Gwen narrowed her eyes. Peter was acting strange again, and her intuition told her he was hiding something.
Heroes and Favorites
While the others debated super-teams, the sidelined Felicia struck up a conversation with Silas.
"Hey, Silas, which superhero do you like?" she asked curiously.
"Me?" Silas recalled the various Avengers. "If I had to pick, I'd say I admire the Scarlet Witch."
"Scarlet Witch?" Felicia frowned. She had never heard of a hero by that name.
Silas wasn't surprised. Wanda had only recently joined the Avengers and hadn't fully passed her probationary period yet. If Felicia did know about her, Silas would have suspected she was a fellow traveler from another world.
"What do you like about her?" Felicia asked, moving past the name.
"Because she's... big," Silas said honestly.
"Big?" Felicia's lip twitched. What did that even mean? Did she have great strength? Was she a giant?
"Never mind. Who do you like?" Silas didn't feel like explaining. Once Felicia actually saw the Scarlet Witch, he was sure she'd understand.
The Black Cat
"Ahem." Felicia straightened her posture. "Have you ever heard of... Black Cat?"
"Black Cat?" Silas raised an eyebrow. She was literally talking about herself. He played dumb. "Sure. Old Mrs. Seth next door has one. It's a bit noisy at night, though."
"Silas, I don't mean that kind of black cat," Felicia sighed. Did nobody know her code name?
"Then which kind do you mean?" Silas wanted to see how she'd describe herself.
Seeing his interest, Felicia beamed. "The Black Cat I mean is also a superhero."
Superhero? Silas thought. Please. You're a cat burglar who loves stealing jewels, and you're calling yourself a superhero?
Sensing Silas's skeptical gaze, Felicia added quickly, "She's... a hero who robs the rich to help the poor."
"Oh. Never heard of her." Silas wasn't lying; he knew she was Black Cat, but he hadn't seen her name in the news lately.
"Maybe she's just not famous yet, but trust me, she's a very good superhero," Felicia said, puffing out her chest. She praised herself without a hint of a blush, making herself sound legendary while downplaying everyone else.
"So, how do you know it's a 'she'?" Silas asked.
"Uh... because I've seen her, obviously." Felicia nearly slipped up.
"Oh." Silas lowered his head and went back to his lunch.
"Oh?" Felicia was indignant. "That's it? You can't even act a little bit surprised?"
"What's there to be surprised about?" Silas smirked. He loved seeing her get worked up. She wanted him to be impressed, but he already knew all her secrets.
The Club Recruitment
"Are you guys finished?" Gwen asked, turning back to see Felicia's tray still full of food.
"I'm done." Felicia was too annoyed to eat. She felt like finding out where Silas lived just so she could break in as Black Cat and give him a heart attack.
"Me too." Silas ignored Felicia's murderous glare and glanced at her tray. "Felicia, it's best not to waste food." He gave her his most "innocent" smile.
That smile made Felicia even angrier. "Who said I was wasting it? I'm saving it for an afternoon snack!"
Gwen felt the sparks flying between them and sighed. They really were a pair of bickering rivals.
After cleaning up, they headed back to class. There were no lessons in the afternoon; instead, it was the annual Club Recruitment Day. Every club was out in force, trying to secure fresh blood for their ranks.
"Which club are you joining?" Ned asked Peter.
"I..." Peter was torn. He didn't really want to join a club; he was already spread too thin. The moment school ended, he usually ditched his student clothes for his Spider-Suit to fight crime.
"It's fine, Peter. Why don't we join the Computer Interest Club? I heard it's very relaxed," Ned suggested. He knew Peter's secret—Spider-Man didn't have time for intense extracurriculars.
"Really? That sounds perfect." Peter was grateful.
"Computer club?" Gwen shook her head. "Not really my thing."
"What are you interested in?" Peter asked immediately. If he could, he'd ditch Ned in a heartbeat to join whatever club Gwen picked. (Poor Ned had already been mentally abandoned.)
"There are so many. I need to see them in person first," Gwen said.
"Felicia, how about you?" Gwen asked.
Felicia, still fuming over the Silas situation, snapped back to reality. "Huh? What are we talking about?"
"Sigh... what were you daydreaming about, Felicia?" Gwen asked.
"Sorry, just personal stuff."
"We're talking about clubs. Which one are you joining?"
Felicia looked up thoughtfully. "I'll see what's available." Actually, she wanted to see which one Silas was joining. As long as she didn't hate it, she'd probably follow him.
"Let's go look together then," Gwen smiled.
"Okay," Felicia agreed, then turned to Silas. "What about you, Silas?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
Silas took a breath and said calmly, "I'm going to join the Boxing Club."
"The Boxing Club?!" Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Looking at his frame, they wondered how he'd survive. Even though Silas was 1.8 meters tall and weighed 140 pounds—a standard weight—he looked lean and thin compared to the typical boxing builds.
Only Peter's expression was different. He stared at Silas with a look of pure shock, as if to say: Are you seriously going to go in there just to bully the kids?
"Ahem... why the Boxing Club?" Felicia asked, finding her voice.
Silas replied, "Because I want to fight ten people at once."
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