The notification hit him like a cold splash of water.
Jack stared at it for half a second, then started scanning the hallway. Students and teachers moving between classes. Nobody looked like anything other than a normal person on a normal Friday morning.
Gwen noticed him craning his neck.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Nobody." He turned back. "Thought I saw someone I knew. Probably wrong."
She accepted that and started talking about her morning as they walked — something about a project deadline and George working night duty. Jack nodded at the right moments. His mind was fully on the system.
[New species detected within 100 meters.]
[Do you wish to add this alien data to the library?]
Yes. Add it.
[Scan cannot be initialized. Host must be within 100 meters of the target.]
He exhaled slowly through his nose.
Gone. Whoever it was had already moved out of range.
He filed it away and followed Gwen into class, but for the entire lesson his brain kept circling back to it. An alien. In Midtown School. He ran through every Marvel story he knew — anything from the comics, anything from the shows — but nothing clicked about an alien in Midtown High School.
Maybe something from what I didn't read or not mentioned in Marvel.
The thought didn't comfort him much. The bell rang, and he still didn't have an answer.
Lunch came and went in the usual way.
Jack sat with the others, tray in front of him, pushing fries around without really eating them.
Peter was mid-sentence, leaning forward with that particular energy he got when a topic genuinely had him going.
"I'm telling you, Oscorp isn't just some normal company. Their tech is way ahead of anything public."
MJ shrugged. "Every company says that."
Peter pointed at her. "No, Oscorp is truly a leading company in biological research."
Gwen smiled. "I hope the field trip will be fun."
Peter laughed. "That's a doubt there."
"And we'll still have to write a report about it," MJ added.
Gwen groaned. "Don't remind me."
"We can do it together," Peter said. "It'll be fine."
MJ looked at him flatly.
"Anyway." Peter leaned back. "I just hope we actually get to see something worth seeing. Not just posters and a safety video."
"Same," Gwen said. "If it's just a lecture, I'm going to fall asleep standing up."
"I already plan to," MJ said.
Peter laughed. "At least try for the first five minutes."
"No promises."
A small pause settled over the table. Then Gwen tapped her fork lightly against her tray.
"Did you guys hear anything new about Tony Stark?"
Peter nodded. "Still missing."
"Every channel is saying something different," MJ said.
Gwen frowned a little. "Still, it was scary. Even a guy like Tony Stark will be in danger."
"Military's handling it, apparently," Peter said.
MJ: "Which usually means nobody actually knows what's happening."
Gwen sighed. "I hope he's okay."
Peter nodded quietly. "Yeah."
Jack's hand paused for just a moment over his tray. Then he kept moving like nothing had happened. He didn't say anything.
MJ broke the silence. "By next week, something else will take over the news cycle anyway."
"Probably," Peter said.
"That's how it always goes," Gwen said.
Jack leaned back slightly, staring at a point somewhere past the table, then blinked and came back.
"…Yeah."
Peter glanced at him again but let it go.
"Anyway." He smiled. "Oscorp trip. That's the main thing right now."
Gwen nodded. "Just try not to do anything stupid."
MJ looked around the table. "That's directed at all of us."
Peter grinned. "Mostly Jack."
Jack finally looked up properly, a faint smirk crossing his face.
"Hey. I haven't done anything yet."
"Exactly," MJ said.
Gwen laughed. "So — do you guys want to hang out after the trip?"
Before anyone could answer —
[New species detected within 100 meters.] [Do you wish to add this alien data to the library?]
Jack didn't hesitate.
"Yes — yes—"
Peter blinked at him. "Buddy, you don't have to be that excited about hanging out."
Jack ignored him completely. His eyes swept across the cafeteria — every table, every face, every corner. Everything looked completely normal. Nothing stood out. Nobody looked like anything other than a regular student eating a regular lunch.
[Scan initiating—]
[Scan complete.]
[DNA of species has been optimized to the best recorded sample of the species.]
[Skrull DNA has been added to the Omnitrix library.]
Jack went still.
A Skrull.
There's a Skrull in this school.
Since it was a Skrull, then finding them is very hard, as they can transform into anyone.
He knew Skrulls had been on Earth for a long time, but he didn't expect one to be here—in his school.
Oh, of course… Skrulls. And who let them stay here in the first place? Nick Fury. The great director. Yeah, right. Like he climbed to the top on his own. No way—Skrulls had to be involved somewhere. And now he walks around acting like he's protecting the world, calling others threats… when he's the one who let them in. What a joke.
I need to find a way to find the Skrull hidden here.
"I could use Grey Matter to build some gadgets to find the hidden Skrulls by learning their biology using my Omnitrix."
He held onto the thought and let the conversation at the table wash back over him. There was nothing he could do about it right now. He'd figure it out later.
The afternoon came and went. Band practice finished, and the four of them split up outside the school building. Peter reminded everyone about the weekend, then turned to the group with a slightly hopeful expression.
"Actually — since you guys are free, why don't you come over? Uncle Ben and Aunt May have been asking me to invite you all for a while."
The three of them exchanged a look.
"We're in," Gwen said.
"Yeah, definitely," MJ agreed.
Jack nodded. "Sounds good."
"Alright." Peter grinned. "See you tomorrow."
They scattered in different directions. Jack and Peter got into a public bus for transportation to go to Manhattan.
As they were in a back seat, Peter started talking.
"Dude, I'm telling you, you need to try GTA IV," Peter said, leaning forward, voice low but excited. "It just dropped this year. Liberty City? It actually feels like New York. Like… people react to everything."
Jack glanced at him. "Isn't that the one where you can just go around causing chaos?"
Peter made a face. "Okay, yeah — but that's not the point. The story's actually good. The main guy, Niko? He's messed up. Like, war past, trust issues… it's kinda heavy."
Jack gave a small nod. "Didn't expect you to play something like that."
Peter shrugged. "What? I can play serious games." Then, a quick grin. "Also, yeah, blowing up cars is fun. Not gonna lie."
A couple of teens across the aisle laughed at something on a phone. The bus rumbled forward, stopping and starting with traffic.
Peter kept going, getting more animated. "And the physics — if you crash, your character actually flies through the windshield if you don't wear a seatbelt. It's insane."
Jack smirked slightly. "Remind me not to get in a car with you."
Peter laughed. "Relax, I'm not that bad —"
Then —
BANG.
The sound cracked through the bus. It was very loud.
Everyone was silent for a second.
Then chaos hit.
"WHAT THE —?!"
"Was that a gunshot?!"
"OH MY GOD —!"
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 10 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
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