Ronan spread his hands, and the Scarlet Witch siblings, sprawled out like corpses on the ground, slowly floated up.
Buzz!
Ronan felt his mana get nudged by something—Scarlet Witch dropped back down.
Chaos Magic again?
It seemed Chaos Magic had clocked that its host was just too weak.
Holding it back.
But since Ronan was the enemy, it still had to shield Scarlet Witch from him.
How to put it?
Like teasing your house cat—random antics piss it off, and when you go to play again, it swats you.
No claws, just a smack.
Chaos Magic's vibe right now? Exactly like Ronan pictured.
"Yo, still mad, huh?"
"Pretty feisty for magic."
Ronan smirked, sending his mana to lift Scarlet Witch again.
A big-hearted guy like him? No way he'd squabble with something that wasn't even human… uh, magic.
Even if it seemed to have some smarts.
Maybe sensing no malice, Chaos Magic didn't poke him this time—it stayed quiet in her body.
Seeing this, Ronan shook his head.
Really turning into a spirit!
But he didn't dwell long. With a thought, a Sling Ring portal sparked open.
He casually tossed the unconscious siblings through.
This was a forest outside Hydra's base—if they woke up fast, their powers could dodge S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sweep.
Even if caught, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s skeleton crew couldn't do much to them.
Trouble sorted, Ronan dropped the Mirror Dimension and vanished from the basement.
Fight done, time to crash!
---
Happy weekends always fly by.
Ronan slouched in class, bored stiff, watching the teacher drone on about basic stuff.
Sure, years had passed since his peak high school days, but this simple junk? He could still follow.
Especially American high school.
Not to brag, but grab any average student from back home, toss them here—they'd crush most kids easy.
Most, because America's got geniuses too.
Like Gwen Stacy, sneakily passing him notes.
With her brain, forget high school—she could handle college no sweat.
Ronan glanced at the chatterbox teacher, then unfolded the note.
"Was I too wild those last couple days?"
"I didn't even say bye to Teacher Ancient One."
"Is that bad?"
Sure enough, reading it made Ronan chuckle.
Gwen Stacy's big hang-up? Leaving without a goodbye to the Ancient One.
She'd asked last night, but Ronan was out cold—missed her text.
Figured a night's sleep would chill her out.
Nope—here it was again.
Scribble scribble scribble.
Ronan grabbed a fresh note, dashed off a reply, and flicked it with his right hand.
A tiny Sling Ring portal—note-sized—popped up right in its path.
Another opened on Gwen Stacy's desk.
Using spells to pass notes? Ronan might be the first.
But even the old masters wouldn't fault him.
Sling Rings were made for long-range zips, intel drops, troop rallies—you name it.
This counted as "intel," right?
Gwen Stacy blinked at the note, stunned he'd use that method.
She slapped it under her palm and shot him a glare.
One, this felt off.
Two, what if someone saw?
Wouldn't they suspect Ronan's deal?
But Ronan flashed a chill look—I got this.
If he didn't want his identity out, no one'd clock what he did.
After that alley slip-up with Peter Parker spotting him, Ronan was extra cautious.
Forget distance—someone could lean over his desk and still miss it!
He had that confidence.
Plus, spamming Sling Rings sharpened his control.
They don't care who's friend or foe—anyone can slip through.
Mastering quick shuts to ditch enemies? Mage 101.
Yup.
Solid reasoning!
Gwen Stacy, oblivious to his headspace, peeked at the note.
One glance at the words, and her face went beet red.
She glared harder, stuffed it away, and locked eyes on the podium.
No more note-passing for her.
After a few minutes with no reply, Ronan sighed and turned to the front.
Just a little tease—did she have to blush that hard?
No way—if Gwen Stacy's this shy, what about later, when they get closer? Those poses he'd imagined—
Er, no evil thoughts, just cuddling-to-sleep dreams—wouldn't they crash and burn?
He silently cheered himself on.
Keep at it, comrade!
Class zipped by like that.
The bell rang, the teacher wrapped up, and bolted—cool as hell.
Like she'd miss quittin' time if she lingered.
A "slacker" teacher like that? Bet it'd make tons of kids jealous.
"Hey, Ronan, free these next few days?"
"We're holding a book club—everyone sits, reads, chats."
"You in?"
First to hit him up wasn't Gwen Stacy or Tony Parker—it was class prez Martha.
Er, no—"student leader."
Elected from the class, sure, but zero clout to boss anyone.
More about throwing events, like this book club.
Though, "book club" was just the pitch.
Teachers loved it—might even clear half a day for it.
Reality? It'd turn into a party.
"Book club, huh?"
"When?"
Ronan didn't shoot it down—just asked the when.
"Tomorrow afternoon. Gwen's coming too."
Martha winked, well aware of Ronan and Gwen Stacy's thing.
She was Gwen's buddy, after all.
"Tomorrow afternoon…"
"I'll try asking off at Stark Industries—up to them, not me."
Ronan grinned, keeping it vague.
American high school's not like back home—there, this'd be "goofing off."
Here, stuff like this factors into teacher grades.
Sports, student council—colleges actually check that crap.
"Cool, waiting on your yes."
Martha nodded with a smile, no pressure.
Ronan's gig at Stark Industries was legit—vacation needed approval.
If he didn't want in, he could skip asking.
After Martha split, Peter Parker slid over.
"Ronan, Martha came for tomorrow's book club, right?"
With his hearing, he'd caught it all.
Ronan raised a brow.
Something's off!
Like, 120% off.
Not Peter's face—just the question.
His vibe? He'd never join a book club.
Class saw him as a loner.
Easy to get along with, sure, but friends? Barely any.
Now he's asking about it?
"Don't tell me you said yes to Martha?"
Ronan eyed Peter Parker, half-joking.
"Uh…"
"You coming too?"
"Me going solo's kinda… kinda…"
Peter trailed off, sheepish.
Ronan got it—he'd be awkward without a pal, out of sync with the crowd.
Hiss…
"Peter, be real—did the spider virus mutate?"
"How'd you turn into this?"
Ronan sucked in a breath.
Did that Connors fight fry his brain?
Nah—too long ago. He was fine days back—why this now?
"No, I'm serious."
"Just wanna check it out—never been."
Peter flicked his eyes away, all casual, staring at the sky.
Ronan twitched a smirk.
That old trick—gazing off?
Didn't he know looking out the window screams "guilty" on his face?
But Ronan held his tongue.
Friends leave room for secrets.
If Peter wasn't spilling, he wasn't prying.
"Fine, guess I'll sweet-talk them tomorrow."
"Score an afternoon off."
Ronan sighed. For his "godson," he was pulling out the stops.
He'd planned to ditch this, game all afternoon—way better, right?
Next time, for sure!
"Awesome!"
"I'll prep some books for tomorrow."
"See ya!"
Peter didn't wait for a goodbye—bolted out the door.
Ronan opened his mouth, but the words didn't come.
He turned to Gwen Stacy, sidling up.
"Did I miss some earth-shaking drama in those three minutes I was late?"
Ronan smirked. Did he skip a juicy scoop?
Gwen Stacy rolled her eyes.
"You know you were late?"
She tapped him—three, four calls that morning.
"Forget that—what's the gossip?"
"Knowing something's up but not the deets—it's torture!"
"Like a million ants crawling on me!"
Ronan was all about the tea.
Gwen shivered at his imagery, then smacked him—harder this time.
Clearly spooked.
"It started that month you vanished."
"A girl transferred in— Cindy Moon."
"She'd barely settled, but boom—every boy's talking about her."
"She's cold, though. Guys chat her up, she blanks them."
"Once, she even thrashed a dude forcing a date."
"After that, no one dared mention dating around her."
Gwen Stacy laid out the origin story. Ronan just got more lost.
Why'd he never hear this?
And what's it got to do with Peter?
Catching his confusion, Gwen Stacy shook her head with a grin.
"Hold up—fun part's coming."
"Ten days after Cindy transferred, she ran into Peter at the gate."
"Stone-cold Cindy Moon, who barely nods at anyone, said hi to him."
"And—she smiled!"
Her tone dripped with disbelief.
What the—?
Now Ronan tasted the flavor.
"If I'm right, Martha invited Cindy Moon too?"
He turned to Gwen Stacy.
She gave him a "you're sharp" nod.
Hiss…
Ronan sucked in a breath.
Winter's gone—his godson's spring incoming?
But Cindy Moon…
That name rang a bell.
Wait—
A villain after Peter's spider powers?