𝐏𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 (marvel fanfic)

Chapter 13

Sarah stood in front of the empire-building that could either lead to her doom or be a very profitable revenue. The sky was clear and the air was dry, she would have preferred a rainy day, unfortunately, luck wasn't in her favor. It all started with the letter that very kindly informed her of her acceptance into the very much innocent program that certainly had no second-thoughts behind it. And of course, she had no choice but to accept, as who would refuse such an opportunity except a suspicious person. Something she should not be—though she had already shot herself twice in the feet since the beginning of the week. She should at least not wave the red flag above her own head, and try to blend in once again.

The only good news came in the form of her friend-colleague that was also accepted, Delia.

"What do you think we'll be doing? I hope we'll get to observe the famed engineering of Stark Industry, or even have a class on how their business managed to stretch its grasps to foreign-" Delia rambled on and on, practically jumping on her feet at the idea of learning something from the number one company in the country.

Sarah half-listened to her, muffled in her thick scarf that hid half her face, while keeping her environment in check. The number of cameras was quite staggering along with the no-doubt hidden ones, she would have to be twice as vigilant, though the mere presence of the heroes in the building itself was enough to keep her on her tippy toes for the rest of the 3 months.

"Want a coffee? They're offering some over there," Delia commented while pointing at the reception where quite a lot of adults and students began to gather. Sarah nodded, feeling the consequences of not having eaten in the morning. Delia left her behind to take some food for the both of them.

"Ms. Cano!" That managed to scare her internally.

She turned around to see Peter waving at her while running over. She immediately thought he had too much energy, it was early in the morning, the sun was barely up, she had just woken up and just put some clothes on herself. Despite herself, she was getting back into her old habits...

She simply waved back in response too lazy to speak, she looked at him from under her cozy and soft scarf, staring at his thin jacket before refusing to think more about it. Teenagers were a whole other species.

"Good morning Ms. Cano! I knew you would be accepted!"

If only he knew just how much she didn't want to be... Nothing good would come out of it.

A few hours in, Sarah's mind was anywhere but on the matter. It was simply fascinating to hear about how certain machines worked, in this case, the most high-tech ones available on the market.

She had forgotten this world was a thousand times more advanced than hers—in her daily life, she never came into contact with high-tech. She couldn't help but be thrilled at the thousands of opportunities that opened up before her. All those experiments that always felt like something was missing, the means available in her old world were never enough to prove what she wanted to. Her mind was traveling a mile an hour, waves of ideas hitting her.

All came crashing down when she heard Delia call out her name.

Right, she was but a teacher in this life. She could never gain access to all those technologies. Unless she gave in to the shackles of either the bad or the good guys. Unless she accepted to never be free again, forever to be chained by morals she could never adhere to.

A thought she had till now suppressed came back to hit her in full force—she could never put the scientist mantle back on. A bitter taste spread in her mouth. She felt a deep yearning for a life stolen from her. And maybe a hint of madness started slithering into her thoughts. One she quickly repressed, for how long though.

During their break, she ditched her friend to wander around, alone with her thoughts for only companion. Before long, she found herself in the toilets, splashing her face with water. Her thoughts cleared up as the familiar feeling of coolness spread. She looked at herself in the mirror, her face dripping with water.

For once, her hair was pushed back, not hiding her forehead where a faint red scar rested, under her hairline. She remembered clearly, one of her earliest fights, she was careless, unwilling to kill, unwilling to get rid of her few remaining ethics. Faced with a child that was desperate to survive. In the end, she almost lost her eyesight, he lost his life.

She pushed her hair back in its place, to cover the ugly reminder—that she wasn't any different from the villains that corrupted this world.

Alarms blared through the building, cries starting to erupt a bit further from where she was. She kneaded her temples in an attempt to diminish the incoming headache. Only one thought surfaced as the situation settled in. It was a trap. She didn't find it possible for there to be a conveniently timed attack in the most secured building of the whole country, and to top it off, on the day they had gathered suspects from all around the city.

One had to be dumb to act out in that situation.

She came out of the bathroom and took her time walking back to the main room. From around the corner, she could see masked men with guns in their hands.

"I know the heroes aren't here! Don't move or I shoot!" One shouted, his gun pointed at someone. "On your knees!"

Sarah easily spotted Delia hiding under a table, safe from sight, and Peter a bit nearer amongst the crowd, with his friends around. She saw him eye the thugs around and stare a bit too closely at their guns. She knew that look; he was gauging the situation. "Don't..." she whispered under her breath, hoping he would reign in the hero in his veins. That would instantly put him on the SHIELD's radar, along with Stark and his friends'.

And for all she knew, Spiderman wasn't immune to bullet wounds for god's sake.

A bitter shout interrupted her, "Ya'll heroes think you're all that? Always leaving behind wreckages and deaths, thinking money can solve everything? I wonder how they would feel if..." he trailed off darkly, a smirk tracing itself on his rugged and desperate face, before pointing his gun up, firing. "If lives were taken under their noses." His maniac laughter grew louder and louder, uncaring of the nearing danger he provoked.

Sarah cursed as she saw the glass ceiling falling down in shards, ready to severely injure the hundreds of people under. With a glance, she saw Peter jump forward, ready to do as any hero would do, sacrifice himself. Her stomach twisted, they would never put innocent citizens in danger, she restrained herself, her nails digging into her palm. But not matter how much her mind tried to reason her, she couldn't help but think, that maybe it wasn't orchestrated.

The desperate cries rung in her ears, her eyes filled with the vision of crying people, hugging each other, trying to protect their dear ones. She couldn't do it. She wasn't selfish enough, to remain still.

The water faucets were destroyed as a surge of water broke through from the pipes, catching shards in a bubble and suffocating the thugs to faint.

She could see Peter staring with wide eyes at the bubble floating above them. Cries of joy erupted, cheers for their mysterious savior. Ah... she had done it, she thought as she heard the rushing of people from the corridors. Their orderly steps and timely arrival told her a lot about the situation. It was a trap, and she had just sold herself. She could only hope they wouldn't be able to link it back to her, technically, she was just an innocent citizen hiding around the corner.

Her gaze fell on Peter who was talking to his excited friend. At least his secret was safe. She couldn't begin to imagine how overwhelming it would be if a teenager had to deal with the world's eyes glued on his every moves.

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