Spider-Man SI

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***

Parker house. About a week and a half later.

- Peter, I don't like this whole thing! - Aunt May crossed her arms.

Sipping from a cup of delicious and flavoursome black tea, I clucked my tongue in pleasure. Uncle was also sipping his tea, thoughtfully gazing at some unknown point behind me.

- Auntie, well, how many times can I persuade you? And in general, an argument like 'I don't like it because I don't like it' doesn't look convincing. I'd even say it's selfish.

- You're insufferable! - she frowned even more. - You're just as stubborn as your father was.

- Pete, are you sure you need this so badly? - Uncle woke up.

- I'm more than sure! And you'll be worried. So what if I get an honours degree? What's so bad about that? I'll be able to do science instead of wasting my trousers at a desk!

Oh, Davis is so good for me. Oh, she's been so good to me. Why did she have to call me at my house? Couldn't she have dealt with me directly? My aunt answered the phone, and she's an impressionable person, and she always takes everything too personally. Now I have to endure a headache, and I planned to inform my family about my plans only after they were realised. I was going to confront them. I was hoping they'd take it easier that way. Yeah.

It's been a busy last week and a half. Gwen and I have been slowly working our way through the school programme. Teachers, who organised individual exams for us, treated us mostly kindly. They must have been bored with school. And here is such an event, and interesting, and there is something to talk about, and it does not even bring destruction and chaos in the school. The case was slowly moving forward. Mrs Davies had arranged it so that the holes in our timetable fell on the last lessons. And so we got to the university lab early more and more often.

Connors's work, or rather just study, was insanely interesting, and the level of our knowledge grew as if on tremors. Somehow, the professor's talent for teaching overlapped with the blonde's and my diligence, and I'd even say fanaticism. I returned home tired, exhausted, but satisfied as an elephant! I barely had time for my own projects. Nevertheless, I managed to improve my web and starters a bit. Now I could not only throw a thin thread of webbing to move, but also wrap my enemies in a kind of cocoon of webbing. I had to invent a new glue formula for throwing web projectiles. Actually, now there is almost nothing left of glue in that substance. But the projectiles turned out to be optimal for damaging the enemy. Of course, for the projectiles had to allocate space for a separate cartridge, but a small upgrade of the starters was easy. The functionality of the device deteriorated just a little bit. Not critical.

Journalists are still talking about my rescue of the policeman to this day. Yeah, I was surprised myself. The existence of mutants, superheroes and supervillains in the world has long been no secret in our world. But mutants especially try not to make light of their powers. Heroes and villains, of course, often appear as a topic for discussion. But as it is not sad these uber personalities fought among themselves, and in the lives of ordinary citizens did not interfere. It's not their level to rush headlong into ordinary gunfights. It's sad.

I admit I was surprised when I saw the video of me carrying that car on the telly the next morning. When did they have time to film it? But it looked spectacular! A small bloke, one-handed, moving that thing! Watching from the side, I was surprised - I'm awesome!

All would be well, but during this week and a half, there was one... unpleasant incident. A terrible thing, a monstrous thing... And why did I decide to go for a walk? I wanted to take a moonlit walk... to unwind... I don't want to remember it, but I can't forget it... All right! Enough!

After another half an hour of useless arguing with my family, I still wasn't sure I'd convinced them. Auntie, for sure! Uncle was more hopeful, at least he wasn't as adamant as she was. But his pensive look made me nervous, I don't like it when he looks like that... I barely managed to escape to my cellar. I started up my laptop and surfed the net. Killed time before the house lights went out. There was a knock on my door, I shouted that I was going to bed. After waiting a few minutes, I changed into my uniform. Something should be done with it, by the way. I have an idea of what. It's a blessing that I'm now located in a lab that isn't the latest in the world. This isn't the basement I managed to create the web in. A lab of this calibre, the possibilities are so enormous, it's breathtaking! Clearly, Connors' lab was more geared towards genetics. But the professor's a cunning fellow, and under his wing he's assembled such machines that sometimes you wonder what they're doing here. And even where he stole them.

Suppressing another desire to live right in the lab, I took out new starters. Damn it! I can't stay home forever, can I?! I have to learn from that incident and not do it again. That's it... Let's push down the fear and pull the units. Just going for a walk today, jumping on rooftops, flying.

I climbed up to Trump World Tower and laid down on the edge with one leg hanging down. Lying there, admiring the sky, spitting down. Yeah, uncultured, but I'm below the buckle... Oh, a bird flew! Huge snow-white wings stood out brightly on the dark sky. They were carrying a half-naked man with long blond hair. Awesome! I want to do that too! Jumping up, I rushed after him. I leap from the roof, gain acceleration and, choosing the moment with two hands, I blow a web, a little more whizzing down the inertia, and then as if from a slingshot I shoot myself to meet the stars.

- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Screaming wildly! The man hears it and turns round to me. I wave my hand at him boyishly, then a crazy idea hits me, and I shout meaningfully.

- Throw it up! - and point my finger upwards.

The man who looks like an angel looks at me perplexed. And I'm frozen inside, it looks like I'm going to fly back. But thank Galactus, the man finally understood me. Picked me up by the arms and quickly flew upwards.

- That's it! - I scream when it's getting hard to breathe. - Let go!

- You'll get hurt! - They're shouting in my ear.

- No way!

Angel hesitates, but then, having made some sort of decision, lets me go.

- CAVABANGA! - I shout, folding my arms at the seams, turning my head towards the ground.

- CAVABANGA!!! - echoed by the angel diving next to me.

I've never been skydiving, but I think my experience is much cooler! My angel and I were screaming so hard that I would have almost ripped my voice off, landing for sure. But such a marvellous flight, unfortunately, quickly began to come to an end. And the tarmac was coming closer and closer. I was travelling at a decent speed, and the way I had originally planned to brake didn't seem so reliable anymore. Right, stop! I remember the spider in the web cartoon even wove something like a parachute. But, damn it! As they say, I don't believe it! Bullshit!

When my jerkins were already starting to shake, an angel intervened in the situation. Admittedly, I'd forgotten that he could fly and could help me land. However, he did not forget about it, to my happiness. Grabbing me, he spread his wings, and in a couple of minutes we landed on the roof of some building.

- That was awesome! - I concluded after catching my breath.

- Yeah! - The man agreed with me. - It's been a long time since I've enjoyed the sky so much. You can call me Angel, by the way.

- Is it really an angel? - I was surprised at my own cleverness.

- No, hehehe. It's kind of a pseudonym, but you can call me Warren if you want.

- It's a shame, of course, but we're not without our faults. - we laughed. - Call me Spider. Sorry, but I don't want to tell you my real name, or I'll end up wearing a mask for nothing. I take it you're a mutant? I've never met a mutant before.

- As you can see. - my companion smiled sadly spreading his wings. - And you?

- Nah, I'm human. Only altered.

- Altered? Interesting... - the mutant stood on the edge and spread his wings. - Nice to meet you, Spider. If you want, look into the 'Institute for Gifted Children' Charles Xavier. I haven't been there much lately, but I've been there.

- No, no, no. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to that brainiac. - They looked at me strangely, but they didn't ask questions, and I went to the edge too. - See you under the blue sky, Warren. Goodbye!

As I stepped into the abyss, I ran on. I've got an interesting one. A mutant angel with wings, related to the infamous X-Men. Basically, from what I remember, this guy wasn't much to look at originally. All he could do was fly, yeah. He was rich, though, and generous. But then some uber mutant turned him into an Archangel. Iron wings that could both hide and slash, the ability to hurl iron feathers. And I think there was something with blood in it, but I'm not sure. I always liked him a lot better in his second form. Such a spectacular bloke.

It was interesting to see one of the X-Men, but I'm certainly not going to use his invitation just yet. I'll steal Magneto's helmet first, and then we'll see.

Thinking about my new acquaintance, I did not immediately notice the glow of the fire. A residential building was burning, and if the inhabitants were mostly standing in the street, looking at the fire with horror, there were no firemen in the vicinity. From the building came a thin, plodding scream. Oh, man! There was no sorrow, so now we'd have to get inside. Jumping onto the balcony, I kicked the door open and went for the sound. It was hard to breathe, and the smoke was obstructing my view, so I could hardly look more than an arm's length away. The scream came again, very close. Walking a little further, I found the door closed. Wrenching it open, I stepped inside. Holy shit!!! I hiccupped when I saw the man hiding in the bathroom. Was he shouting in that thin voice? What kind of bad luck is that? I was on my way to save the girl! After the cultural shock, I tried to ignore the aesthetic one. Picking up the not-so-small carcass in his boxer shorts, I dragged him to the balcony.

The situation on the street had improved a little. The ambulance had arrived, but the firemen were still out. I lowered my burden to the street and handed him over to the medics, because it looked like he was unconscious. And I had almost nothing to do with it... well, he shouldn't have been screaming on my shoulder! I'm nervous too!

- Help... - the lady barely whispered, shaking my sleeve in a hoarse voice. - I couldn't find my daughter... here... she was alone in the flat.....

- Where? What floor? - I didn't want to delay.

- Seventh...' she pointed to the window.

With a slight nod, I released the cobwebs. It looked like the fire had started on this level, and very close to the flat I needed. It was hell inside. It was hell. The heat was unbelievable, and the fire seemed to be everywhere. I didn't know where to look for that woman's daughter, and the fire spurred me on. After a minute of futile thrashing, I caught a faint whiff of desperation. Guided by it, I sprang to the miraculously surviving wardrobe. In it, a girl of about seven years of age was curled up at the bottom. She looked up at me with big brown eyes and cried. A loud crack and small crumbs falling from the ceiling brought me out of my confusion. Picking up the girl, I wrapped her in some jacket I found in the wardrobe and went on my way back. The idea failed, a solid wall of fire in front of us. There was another crackling sound, and a part of the ceiling collapsed, hitting me on the back. But I managed to cover the girl with me. Hissing in pain like a snake, I crawled into the breach a floor above. The situation wasn't much better, but I found a window. Throwing a chair at it, I broke the window and jumped in. No luck, the shrapnel tore my sleeve and tore through the skin on my arm.

The paramedics took the girl away from me. I watched with envy as they forced her to breathe oxygen and as the mother fluttered around her daughter like an hen. The fire department finally arrived, but I don't even know why. Unless it's to stop the fire from spreading to the neighbouring buildings. Yeah.

They tried to convince me that I needed to get my arm stitched up and that I needed to go to the hospital. I didn't like such hints, so I dangled a bandage and retreated. Finding a secluded corner, I tore off the sleeve of my jacket and began to bandage the limb.

- Come out! - I shouted into space, and added more quietly. - Whoever you are, stranger.

I had felt the Watcher relatively recently. He didn't seem to be a danger, for my senses, which were mostly trained for that, were silent. It is also possible that this Mr X, can skilfully hide his intentions, I do not know. But his emotions were muted, as if he was suppressing them, or was far away. I doubt the latter, so it's the former.

From around the corner of some outbuilding, a man stepped silently out. Dark red leather suit. The same mask covering his head and the upper half of his face. There are small horns on the mask near the forehead. There's two 'D's' written in black on the chest.

- Did I just get thrown into Hell's Kitchen? - I whistled in surprise.

- What, you didn't even notice?

Daredevil grinned, and, taking his hand off his baton, came closer. Squatting down, he wiggled his nose. Taking the bandage from me, he was surprisingly quick and nimble in bandaging my wound.

- Thank you, mate! - I thanked him sincerely.

- You're welcome. I saw you take the girl out of the fire. I want to thank you for that. Unfortunately, I was too busy to do it myself....

- Oh, come on. - I thoughtfully turned and felt my bandaged hand, and realised that the wound was not so serious, it almost doesn't hurt anymore. - Shall we swing?

- You're wounded.

- Well, you're blind. What difference does it make?

Daredevil smiled, strained, and stood up, pulling out his stick. I twisted round from my sitting position in a posing motion, and was on my feet. Standing opposite, admiring the night, bang, and I was hit in the head. I get up, I'm shaking my head, dazed. This nutcase is grinning, it's like he didn't even move. I shoot a web at him, and try to pull him to me. I succeed, but it doesn't make me feel any better. He dodges my fist, and I get a stick under his knee, and I go down and get hit in the back of the head. I use my healthy leg to try and trip him up, but to no avail, he jumped up. I throw a couple of balls at him, he sags in flight and misses them. I break the distance and shoot at the same time. I finally got him! The enemy cries out in pain and launches part of his staff at me. Yeah, that's how he got me the first time! There's a cable inside the staff, and Daredevil is able to separate his weapon by throwing one half of it and returning it with the cable.

Yes! That's it! I've never had an opponent like this before! He's just an ordinary man, but he's a better fighter than me. This fight taught me a lot. Daredevil wasn't a mutant, he wasn't an altered human, he was blind. But he was perfectly trained, he could really fight, he was fast and agile. I was afraid to imagine how much labour he had put in to make me roll around like a kitten! And I was thankful to that nasty spider for giving me such a gift without costing me anything.

Daredevil couldn't see anything with his eyes, but his other senses were amazing. They compensated for his sight almost completely. Not only that, it didn't matter which side I attacked from, be it from behind, from the sides, or from above, he saw everything. I think it was his notorious radar vision. I'm not sure how it works, but the main thing is that it works properly, unlike my sense of smell. I don't know what caused it. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't want to hurt me, or maybe it was the fact that he could control himself, his emotions, and his desires. But the fact is, the spider's instincts were not working so well.

I don't know how long we danced like that, but after another sensitive poke at my long-suffering head with his stick, I realised I'd better lie down for a while. I should have just rolled him up in a cocoon of spider webs.

- What's the verdict? - I asked after a dozen minutes.

- Fine. - he said thoughtfully. - Speed - impressive, you kept your strength in check, I can't say anything. Intelligence - more than enough. - He rubbed his right shoulder.

Intelligence? Is this about the time I webbed him with a brick? I didn't expect that of myself.

- That's all well and good,' he continued, 'but you can't fight. If it weren't for your speed, it would be bad. And from what I've said before, you don't have any experience either.

- Well, I'm working on my experience. - I smiled.

- You're a fast learner, too. I take it you know my name. What do I call you?

- Spider, just Spider. Thank you, Daredevil, the fight was enlightening. I hope we can swing again?

- I'd love to, Spider. You know where to find me. Come back, I'd be happy to do it again.

***

School bus. The next morning.

Gwen leaned against me, practically squeezing me into the wall. The blonde had headphones on her ears, my headphones. Why did I have to buy better earplugs than hers? She took them away before I could even squeak. She's mean! Listening to music and reading the English-Russian dictionary. She tried to get me to teach her, but I didn't fall for it!

I had the tablet in my hands, which I took from Gwen, and almost not even in revenge! As I surfed the internet, I thought about what had happened. It had been a fun night! It's like a reunion night! Angel, Daredevil. The original Spidey never met the first one, if I'm not mistaken. Murdock, I did. In general, the lawyer is a dangerous man, in the sense that you should not meet him without a mask. I can't tell you exactly how, but he can memorise people he's met. And now it doesn't matter if I'm masked or not, he'll know who's in front of him. Of course, unlike Professor X, Daredevil has always seemed like a normal kid, but that doesn't mean I have to put my faith in him and foolishly reveal my secret identity.

Yeah, here we go! Interesting... On the tablet screen, I could see a statuesque middle-aged blonde woman clearly with aristocratic roots. Lydia Hardy. Available biography... m... m-yes... not a lot of available information about her online. Businesswoman, major shareholder, philanthropist, and philanthropist. Daughter. Felicia Hardy is a first-year student at the same university where I work part-time. I got curious and typed 'black cat' into the search engine. Pictures of regular black cats, and similar crap, nothing about a thief with that name... okay, never mind. I already have a blonde... don't know where to put her... There was nothing about Felicia's father, and by extension Lydia's husband. Just a dry line about him being missing in action. It's a shame. He's exactly the kind of man I wanted to find out about. I mean, it's a long shot, but who knows? What if I did?

Next. Wilson Fisk is pretty much the same person as Lydia Hardy. Big businessman, shareholder...la-la-la-la...la-la-la-la. Of course, it wasn't my goal to learn as much as I could about these people. I just wanted to have a general idea of the personalities that inhabit this world. Tony Stark, Reed Richards, and many others were all present. But Stark doesn't seem to be Iron Man yet, and the same Richards doesn't seem to be Mr Fantastic. Many heroes and villains apparently haven't yet set foot on their own flawed path....

- Peter! Do you hear that?! Get up! We're here! - screamed in my ear.

- I can't hear anything now. - I mutter grimly, hissing at the pain in my injured arm.

- Don't be a prick! Better check my pronunciation. Listen... Ya pomnyu chudnoye mgnoven'ye, peredo mnoy yavilas' ty

Honestly, I'm taking a mental break from the rest of my schoolwork now. Connors' overload and my homework projects were all taking up too much of my energy right now. That's why I pay little attention to the noise and clamour of the school, falling asleep at my desk. And even on the frequent executions, my favourite, from the blonde, I grumbled purely for the sake of proforma. Not with malice at all, I even began to like them... in a way.

After the first lesson, Gwen dragged me outside to bask in the sun. But just as we were settling in, Mary stood next to us. I didn't want to put up with the redhead, and I ignored her all the time. She paid me the same, but sometimes threw angry, sizzling glances at the blonde, who spent most of her time next to me. She looked at me sideways, too.

- Peter, I want to talk to you. - she said grimly, and after a moment she said, with pressure, 'Only to you.

- I'm not going anywhere! - I'm not going anywhere!' Gwen said defiantly, lifting her chin and digging her nails into my wounded arm.

- He's my friend, and I want to talk to him, without any... outsiders! - Mary whispered venomously.

- 'He's my boyfriend! And he has no secrets from me! - The predator hissed in her tone, then turned to me honeyedly. - Right, honey?

- Gwen, - ignoring her question, I tried to show miracles of eloquence, - be a paw give us a few minutes. And I'll take you out for ice cream, eh?

They looked at me with eyes full of contempt, threatening punishment and foretelling the torments of hell. I felt like a traitor, but I didn't back down.

- A hundred, no, two hundred kilos! - she whispered vindictively in my ear, and stepped back a dozen metres.

- I'm listening.

- Pete. I-I just wanted to apologise. Maybe I was too harsh.

Listening to her, I couldn't understand why she was suddenly so interested in me. I don't know how she sees it, but I see it like this: 'I don't give a hoot myself and I don't give a hoot to others.' I don't know, maybe she was waiting for me to make the first move or something. I don't know.

- Mary, wait. I'm sorry I was too harsh, too. But, Mary, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Our conversation won't change much, will it? I'll always be glad of your company, always ready to help you if you need it. But I'm afraid we can't build anything other than a friendly relationship.

- Y-you--you-- I fucking hate women's tears. And the worst part is I can't calm her down, the blonde's looking at me jealously. I should have bailed right away and left the girls to deal with it themselves. They'd sprinkle their venom to everyone's satisfaction and I'd have nothing to do. I'm a fool, I'm a fool.

Mary, as at the end of our last meeting, smeared her make-up and ran away. The blonde walked towards me, slowly spreading an aura of glee and swaying her hips. She threw on all sides proud and a little threatening glances. It was like a predator announcing her ownership of a particular male to her rivals.

- Was it just me or did she purr? - Ice cream, 200 kilos, mmm.

- Oh, almighty Deadpool! Why?! Why did you do this to me?!

- Boo! - She needs foam pads on her elbows. - Who's Deadpool?

- Never mind.

Connors' workday was so exciting as always, we didn't even realise it had come to an end.

- That's enough for today, we've done well enough. - smiled happily at the professor.

- Sir, but,' I looked at my watch, 'we usually work for another two hours, don't we?

- Well, we usually do. Have you forgotten that I found you a trainer? Well, today's the first day of practice. His tour of duty is over, and now he can start training you. - How can he be so cheerful? Or is that a mask?

- Cool! - The blonde's pretty self-explanatory.

As for me, I don't know. On the one hand, of course you should. The fight with Daredevil showed a critical lack of skill. But on the other hand, I'd hate to be away from the lab!

- So I'll give you a brief introduction. - Kurt's getting serious. - My friend, like me, is ex-military. He owes me a debt, so he will honour his commitment with all the zeal he can muster. Obey without question! If he tells you to shovel (1) asphalt, you nod and go ahead. Is that clear? Good! He'll tell you everything from here. Here's the address, you'll show this at the entrance. Dismissed.

Suppressing the urge to kowtow immediately in front of this authoritative person, we turned round and walked away. Looks like we're in for a fun day...

- Hey! Guys! - Brock intercepted us on the way out. - Are you guys going home already? Prof let you guys go early. Oh, well. Hey, listen up! There's a great party this weekend. You've got to come!

- I don't know, Eddie,' I looked at the twinkle in the blonde's eyes and realised that she'd already mentally agreed. Which meant it was easier for me to agree now, or I'd be brainwashed, and I'd get my way.

- Come on! You're going to be joining us this year. And you're already working at the university. I'm sure you'll love it! And you won't regret it!

- Honey, please! Please, please, please, please.

- Okay, but you owe me an ice cream. Ugh, you. You owe me an ice cream.

- Yay! - Why jump? Why shake my mortal body? Sadist!

- Don't get your hopes up! I'll get you out of your debt! - I assured the blonde with vengeance and a dash of schadenfreude. I'm not sure if she heard me. I had already got used to her presence near me, and even learnt her facial expressions and habits. There was a slight smile on her face now - probably thinking about what dress to wear... or buying a new one....

After saying goodbye to our colleague, we finally went outside. Looking at the address, I realised that the point we needed was relatively far away. So I called a taxi and five minutes later a car arrived. As we drove, Gwen burst into tears and started explaining to me exactly what outfit she wanted to wear to the party. How many times she changed her mind and argued with herself. It was good to have headphones...

We went to the entrance of the building, which was not very tall, only three stories high. Near the entrance I saw a sign. 'Triumph Sports School.' Hmm... The hall inside turned out to be surprisingly cosy, and ... expensive. A slender brunette towered behind the counter, and smiled sweetly with a Hollywood smile. Not far from her stood two, apparently security guards. Expensive-looking suits, headsets in their ears, and a cold hard stare. Are you sure this is a sports school? It's kind of cool.

- Hello. - I held out the clean white plastic card the pro gave me.

She looked at it for a few minutes without changing her expression.

- We are very glad to see you in our school! - I wonder if her eternal smile doesn't make her spit up? - Pierre will show you out. - she nodded somewhere behind us.

When we turned round, we were surprised to see another guard who had quietly approached us. Nodding to us, he went to the unassuming door without saying anything. We had no choice but to follow the man in black. For about fifteen minutes we wandered through narrow, so to speak, technical corridors. Towards the end I was sure we were being confused. But finally, we were led to the lift.

- You'll be met. - He mumbled and vanished into thin air.

- What floor do we need to go to? - Gwen asked the empty space.

- Come on, let's play the lottery, there don't seem to be many options.

Everything turned out to be much simpler. There was only one button, and therefore we did not have to agonise in doubts. I pressed it, and a second later I realised that we were going... down. Turns out there's an underground floor in the building. Or maybe there's more than one. When we got out, we found ourselves in a spacious but empty room. In front of us stood, putting his hands behind his back, a tall, stately man whose temples were almost completely grey. High forehead, deep-set eyes, flat nose, lips surprisingly thin.

- You're from Kurt. - he said half-assuringly.

- Yes...

- I'm not interested in your name. You are. - he turned his head towards me. - You'll be Alpha. You're Beta. Just call me Shark. Let's go.

He stopped in the next room, just short of the corridor. Half-dark, small room, with a table against one wall. That's it. Nothing else. On the table top were two stacks of clothes. They looked like the kind Shark was wearing. Military, camouflage. Except we're a few shades lighter.

- Get changed. - he threw and went out the door.

- I'm going out, too. You will.

- No! Peter, don't leave me. - she hugged me from behind and I realised she was shaking.

- Come on, Gwen. Don't be shaky. - I turned round to her, and with one arm I hugged her back and started stroking her head with the other. - It's a bit of a gloomy place, I agree. But firstly, do you really think Prof would send us into the wrong hands? And secondly, if anything happens, trust me, I can protect you. Gwen, you're brave, you're beautiful, you're strong...

Continuing to stroke her and say all sorts of comforting nonsense, I could not understand what happened. Why did the always cheerful, smiling, and generally sunny girl suddenly began to behave like that? I had only seen her like this once before... once. Hasn't she come round yet? Yeah, what am I saying? You don't get over that kind of thing, not right away, if at all.

There were several insistent knocks on the door.

- O-turn away...' she whispered, and I obediently complied.

Clothes rustled. The girl had changed in record time and called out to me. Okay, I need to change myself. Hmmm... here comes the bag for the dropped clothes. Gwen stopped folding her things neatly, and stared at me shamelessly. I didn't grumble, I tried not to react at all, let her stare and forget her fear.

- Peter, what's that? - He's pointing at the bandage on my arm.

- It's just a scratch.

Once I was fully dressed, I bagged up my stuff. The only thing left of the kit we'd been given was the mask. What's that supposed to mean?

There was another knock at the door. We hurried out. Shark gave us a frown and silently led the way. Endless corridors again. The monotonous motion was so dull that I didn't realise we were in a room. It was similar to the previous one, small and semi-dark. Only there were three doors leading into it. It also had a wardrobe.

- So, this is your personal changing room. One for two, you'll be fine. There's a shower. - he nodded at one of the doors. - The one we came in through leads outside, and at the end of each session, a guide will be waiting to lead you outside. The last one leads to the training complex. - I looked at the massive iron door. It's impressive. - Next. For your understanding, I'll explain. The Triumph School is real, and it's legitimate. It occupies the ground floor. The school is a screen. The real thing underneath is the real thing. It's also a school, but we teach completely different things, and a completely different set of people...

Well, that's interesting, isn't it? Everyone was trained here, anyone who could pay the tuition. Oligarchs, celebrities, politicians, soldiers of fortune who wanted to upgrade their skills. That's what the masks were for. Everyone on the other side of the iron door wore them. The mystery of identity wasn't just important to me, as it turned out. Serious people wanted to know how to act in critical situations, or send their children here for the same purpose. They could teach you almost anything you wanted to learn. Self-defence, young fighter course, pure hand-to-hand combat, cold or firearms, tactics... even a tank could be taught to drive! If you had the desire and the money. I doubt the school was only about training majors. But Shark didn't explain anything else to us. And so, with the look of a martyr, he explained to us why we should always wear masks in the training centre.

- So. Today's session will be devoted to testing your strength level. Then, based on it and your wishes, we'll make an individual programme for each of you. Masks on and let's go!

The stern man didn't even let me get a word in edgewise. Shark led us through the iron door, which, by the way, opened with the help of the white card, and led us deep into the building. As I thought, this wasn't the only underground floor. We went down two levels and entered a small hall. It was full of various devices, of which I could identify with some probability only a tourniquet. This sadist was torturing us as much as he could. He made us run, jump, hit the dummies, do pull-ups, sit on the twine, lift weights, and so on, so on, so on... I tried, as much as I could, to show fatigue, and hit the dummies not with all my might. But a couple of times I caught Shark's thoughtful glances. It looked like I'd been figured out right away, I could only blame myself for my stupidity. I should have realised what this would do to me. I wanted to throw a punch. I don't think I'll be coming here again. And if they ask questions, I'll have to play dumb. Anyway, they don't know about my second hypostasis, and they can hardly compare them. I'll just deny it and keep denying it.

Gwen surprised me. At some point she got into the taste, forgot that only recently she was terribly afraid, and, to my untrained eye, showed simply amazing results! Her fitness was amazing! If I got everything for free, the girl achieved everything herself, with her own labour, sweat and blood. This could not but inspire respect.

- All right! - Shark clapped his hands at last. - Drink your water, rest for ten minutes.

We drained a litre plastic bottle for two. Gwen collapsed on the mats, and I lay down beside her. My body was pleasantly aching, I wasn't so much tired as just starting to feel every muscle in my body. Quite comfortable, I must say, in this state.

- No more lying down! Get up! - He's fucking kidding me! - Beta, clear the mats. Alpha, spar with me. Stand up!

I obeyed and stood in front of the coach. You gotta lose, I realised. And fast! You can't play like Daredevil! Shark nodded invitingly. I walked forward as sloppily and awkwardly as possible. A ridiculously slow swing of my arm, and I was hit in the face. I catch his other hand halfway to my face. Shit! What am I doing?! With a titanic effort of will, I force my body to freeze in place and not move, ignoring my gut, which is particularly difficult. I take a few very sensitive blows and fly off to lie on the mat.

Shark looms over me like a rock. He frowns. I 'groan' in pain. A concerned Gwen comes over, leaning over me too, feeling my ribs. Shit. I watch the sparring between the blonde and the trainer, sitting on a small bench near the wall. Gwen seems to be dancing around Shark, fluid, swift, slashing. She's mostly set up with leg kicks, knee strikes, elbow strikes. After a while of the fight, she gets carried away again and now she doesn't hold back, aiming for the groin, throat, eyes, the rest of the most vulnerable points on the man's body. Shark stands practically in one place, but easily deflects or blocks all of the blonde's lunges. Gwen is good, but it seems she's too young for Shark's level.

- Stop!' the teacher shouts at the girl, and drops her to the mat with a slash. - That's enough!

I help Gwen up and give her some water. Shark glares at us with a frown. Which makes me a little nervous already....

- That's it for today. - Shark finally gives his verdict. He leads us to the locker room. - Beta, go take a shower. I'll talk to Alpha.

Taking me into some empty room, he closed the door tightly. I got ready to play the fool, the man who didn't understand.

- Don't be nervous, lad.

- I'm not nervous.

- A mask can't always save you from the manifestations of moods and states of mind. - he smiles. - I repeat, don't be nervous. Didn't Kurt tell you and your friend? I owe him.

- He did. But I don't see what this is about.

- He saved my life, man. That lunatic saved me twice from the bony one. - Shark grins crookedly and scuffs up his T-shirt. Motherfucker! Huge ugly scar on his right side, and several smaller ones scattered chaotically across his torso. - Shrapnel wound, armour ripped like paper. Doc dragged me on his back to the field hospital, kept me from dying on the way. But they told us there were no surgeons available, everyone was working. I would have bled to death, but Doc took the scalpel himself. Even though he could barely stand on his own two feet, he took a beating. A broken leg, and a few ribs.

The trooper's eyes clouded over, like he was seeing it all in front of him.

- You understand now? Since he asked me to help you. I'll help you. I don't care who you are. There's a lot of strange things in the world right now. Mutants, crazies, maniacs, vampires, werewolves, demons... lots of... different ones. I don't care who you are. So you don't have to worry. You'll only be handled by me, or people I trust completely. I won't tell anyone about you. There's no point in training you physically. I'll teach you how to fight. What do you say?

- How much I'm missing out on in life. - Your word?

- An officer's word. - Looking into his eyes, I couldn't help but believe in this man's sincerity. Well, my poor empathy left no room for doubt.

- All right, Shark. And thank you.

- Go wash up. The guide is waiting for you. Come back the day after tomorrow, same time.

Gwen was already out of the shower, dressed in her clothes. She was now blow-drying her hair. Where did she get that? Did she find it here? Or does she carry it around with her? When she saw me, she turned it off.

- What did you two talk about? What did he want?

- We were just talking about our next appointment. It was nothing. - I reassured the blonde and slipped into the shower.