Marvel: Blood in the Water

Jared's POV

After leaving Liz and Ned behind, I headed down the hall with my friends, thinking nothing of it until Ryan nudged me and murmured, "I don't usually pay attention to juniors, but this one… she's different."

His comment pulled me from my thoughts. I hadn't even paid attention to who she was, and though I didn't recognize her face, something about her voice did sound vaguely familiar. Ryan, though, had somehow managed to glance back and get a good look at her. I shook my head at his antics, more amused than anything.

"You know what, Ryan? Maybe you should give it a shot," I said, giving him an encouraging thumbs-up.

Ryan smirked, the challenge lighting up his eyes. "Yeah, but I don't know a thing about her… Think a friend could help me out here?"

Before Ryan could finish, Maya rolled her eyes and jumped in. "She was wearing the Junior Decathlon captain's jacket, which means her name's on the notice board. That's all the intel you're getting from me," she said firmly, folding her arms.

Ryan sighed dramatically. "Come on, Maya. Tell me something I wouldn't already know. The notice board's boring intel."

After a few seconds of Ryan's pleading, Maya gave in and said, "Fine. Her name is Liz Allan. She's in Peter's class."

Ryan immediately turned to me, eyes wide with an exaggerated look of hope. I didn't know what to say. Peter already had a major crush on Liz, and though part of me wanted to tell Ryan to back off for my little brother's sake, a different part of me was curious about her. Knowing more about Liz's father—the future Vulture—could be useful. However, I figured since her father hadn't yet become a villain, it would be premature to start prying too deeply.

I shrugged. "I didn't get a good look at her, but if it was Liz Allan, then maybe hold your horses."

"What? Why? You just told me I should go for it," Ryan replied, looking disappointed. But before I could answer, Maya interrupted, stopping a girl who was walking past us in the corridor.

"Hey, where are you headed? Don't we have class in 3-C?" she asked, glancing at her watch as if confirming the time.

The girl shook her head, looking relieved. "Nope. Ms. Ainsley is out today, so we're dismissed early." Her announcement was like music to everyone's ears.

Derek's eyes lit up, and he immediately pumped his fist. "Yes! We're free for the rest of the day. Let's go somewhere!" Ryan quickly nodded in agreement, already glancing around, probably thinking of all the places they could go.

But Maya cut off their excitement in one fell swoop. "We're not going anywhere fun. Everyone finish any last-minute stuff while I grab my assignment from the teacher's lounge. Then we're going to Target to buy stuff for the birthday party. And if we forget anything, we'll all have to answer to Ryan's mom." The mention of Ryan's mom instantly put a damper on Derek's spirits. He sighed in resignation, hugging his basketball close.

"Fine… I'll go change and put my ball in the locker," he muttered, defeated.

Ryan turned to me. "Then we'll wait by the parking lot and take the bus to Target from there, right?"

Everyone went their separate ways to wrap up last-minute errands. Not wanting to risk the wrath of Ryan's mom either, I agreed to wait with him. Soon, we were both standing by the school parking lot. I leaned against a tree, watching as Ryan skated around in circles, perfecting a few tricks on his skateboard with surprising skill.

We were so engrossed in his moves that neither of us noticed a man briskly walking down the sidewalk until he was practically on top of Ryan. It wasn't until Ryan looked up that he saw the man striding straight at him and quickly veered his skateboard to the side to avoid a collision. The man, lost in his own thoughts and muttering under his breath, stopped abruptly and shot Ryan a withering glare.

"Watch where you're going, kid! This isn't a place to mess around with a skateboard," he snapped, his voice sharp and impatient.

Ryan, unfazed, shot back, "Why are you blaming me when you're the one who's daydreaming?" He wasn't the type to back down from a confrontation, and it showed.

The man's face turned red with irritation at being called "old." He took a step forward, raising his hand as if he might take a swing. But before he could, I reached out and grabbed his arm, holding him back. He turned to me with eyes flashing in anger. "Who do you think you are?"

Normally, I'd have responded more forcefully, but Jared wouldn't throw a punch in broad daylight, especially in front of his friends. As I was deciding what to do, a voice called out from behind us, cutting through the tension.

"Back off the kid, or you'll be the one in trouble."

I turned and saw a man stepping out of a nearby car. It was none other than Ryan's dad, Detective Reynolds.

"Dad?" Ryan said, his voice surprised but relieved as he retrieved his skateboard from the ground. Detective Reynolds calmly flashed his badge at the man, causing him to mutter something under his breath before stalking off, visibly humiliated.

"You boys all right?" Ryan's dad asked, his eyes moving between us as he made sure we were unharmed. Just then, a woman stepped out from the driver's side of the car, and Ryan's expression immediately brightened.

"Hey, Miss Elise!" he called out, giving her a wave.

"Good to see you, Ryan," she said warmly, returning his wave. Ryan turned to me and introduced her as if I hadn't already guessed. "That's Miss Elise, Dad's partner. She's a detective too."

I greeted her politely, a little surprised. Seeing a female detective was a rare sight, and her warm yet composed demeanor immediately set her apart.

"Mom called us to say you'd be heading to Target," his dad explained. "Since we only had paperwork left to wrap up, we figured we'd come along and give you a lift."

As we were talking, Maya and Derek arrived, and within minutes, we all piled into the car for the short ride to Target.

While we were driving, a headline from a newspaper lying on the backseat caught my attention. I leaned forward, squinting to get a closer look, and Detective Reynolds noticed my interest. He picked up the paper and held it up so I could read it properly. The headline read, "Indian Billionaire Jakuna Singh to Visit Queens, New York for His Mall Project." Accompanying the headline was a photograph of a man who looked familiar, though I couldn't immediately place him.

Ryan's dad noticed my slight frown as I studied the article. "Big news around here. They say his project could create thousands of jobs. Good publicity for the city, if nothing else."

I nodded, trying to place where I'd seen the man's face before. He was one of the council members of SHIELD. Infact he was one of the good ones who wasn't a part of Hydra.

'Maybe he can be useful to me if given the right motivations.'

**

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