Sus Spiderwoman
'Could be that he had a hard time integrating and withdrew in the back.' That seemed like the only logical explanation to Gwen.
But things were different now.
"If it's ok with you…" She got his attention, contemplating each word, "I can help you study, no guarantee it would help though."
"At this point anything will help." John shook his head, and remembering the score, Gwen could only nod.
Now, to ride the momentum, she had to decide where they would study. No, she had already decided on that.
"How about my pl-" However, before she could speak, he looked at her with a smile.
"The library sounds good?" His black eyes matched hers, and for a moment they had become surprisingly clear. Like polished onyx.
"…Yeah, that works perfectly." Gwen nodded with a thumbs up.
She only wanted to monitor him a bit after that incident at Empire State Bank; the library worked for that too. There was no way she could ask her father regarding this; she might have a chance to get the case files from his computer at their house, but that was a can of worms she wasn't willing to open right now.
And she couldn't ask John outright, as Gwen was supposed to be in the lab when the incident happened. There was also the situation with Flash yesterday that she heard from the grapevine, and she noticed Flash, the notorious bully, avoid John like the plague all day.
The only option she had, if she wanted to figure this out, was watching him up close. Helping him study just worked out for her goal, plus it would be great if he improved too.
'Maybe I was a bit too forward in trying to invite him to my place.' She scratched her cheek with mild embarrassment as they parted ways near the main gate. That could be the reason he recommended the library.
If Gwen was a normal student, she would've headed the same way home as John, but she had an investigation to do.
'I have to find out who ordered that double bomb hit.' Gwen turned into a dark alleyway, and the Spiderwoman came out swinging from the other side.
Unaware of the notification window flashing before John's face.
[Gwen Stacy wants to monitor you +5 EP]
John, now back home, sat on his bed with a heavy sigh. Shifting on his back, he kept looking at the system window with a thoughtful expression.
As much as the free EP made him happy, he had to figure out why Gwen- no, why would Spiderwoman want to monitor him?
There wasn't a need to think too hard about that either. It had to be the terrorist attack at the Bank. Considering the whole fiasco was to lure Spiderwoman in, she must've arrived around the time he was escorted by the police for his statement.
'Is that why I felt so itchy yesterday?' He had chalked it up to his overbearing nerves at the moment, but Gwen might have already followed him after the incident. She probably had his address by now.
A quick search on the web showed the Daily Bugle covering the attack at a Hospital in Manhattan, very clearly blaming Spiderwoman, stating that the attack only happened because they wanted her attention.
With the mention of a planted bomb at the hospital, and the whispers he had heard at the station regarding a bomb found at the bank, the plan uncovered itself.
'These people really don't know how to be thankful.' He doubted she thought he had a connection with the terrorists; it must be curiosity about who resolved the Bank incident.
And given how he got a private ride to the station, the only one to have his statement taken in private and the ride back home, it did invite attention.
Was John worried about her monitoring him? Not one bit.
Which guy would dislike a charming, not to mention strong, woman watching over his shoulders? He would've worried if he actually had something to hide.
'Aside from the writer gig, I got nothing to hide.' John coughed a bit; he had to hide that bit well.
Because the work he had chosen would surely get him some heat after a start like Your Name.
Five Centimetre Per Second.
It was another work of Makoto Shinkai with a strong reputation. Sweet romance, perfect twists, and life-like characters. It came with the full Shinkai package that made Your Name such a hit.
However, this work left readers with a different feeling than the sugary happiness Your Name gave. And for anyone who had tasted the sweetness of Your Name, reading this would undoubtedly be more emotional.
John himself was one of those readers. And now, his enthusiastic readers were following him down that road.
This work, just like Your Name, came to about 50 to 60k words. So, it was something he'd finish writing in the week while thinking of the next work.
He only needed 170 EP more to complete the mission, so he should have the sub system by the time he finished uploading this novel.
'Maybe I should do a one-shot manga next?' John looked at the long list of digital drawing files and the short stack of books he had filled with doodles and sketches.
He had gotten used to drawing, but transitioning to digital was proving a touch more difficult. Still, he wanted to have it down before next week, and for that, he was ready to practice till his fingers fell off.
"Having the power to draw really changes the man." He ran a hand through his brown hair with a smirk, all those thoughts swirling in his head that were too difficult to put into words; now he could put it all on paper.
Not to mention he could now get back at every troll by drawing them pregnant.
'Well, maybe not that last bit.' He shook his head.
[Gwen Stacy is excited about the new novel +5 EP]
John smirked as the new notification popped up. His favourite reader, for obvious reasons, had arrived.
However, the notification that arrived the next day had him stunned.
[Anna Marie feels a deep longing in her heart +100EP]
John read the name once, then twice, and a dozen more times to confirm it for sure. Anna Marie, the presence of Mutants, and the public appearances of Xavier talking about his institute.
'This has to be Rogue.' John's mind went to her design in a certain game, especially the skins that had his card in a chokehold. He could only cough to recentre himself.
Looking at the amount of EP, he couldn't help but smile. Because it felt like he might get his sub-system much faster than expected.
***
For quite some time now, Rogue has spent most of her time under the blanket in what could be called her room in Brotherhood's secret base. She wasn't sure if it had been a week or a month since she last saw the light of day.
But no matter how tightly she pressed the pillows over her ears, the voices in her mind wouldn't stop. The echoes kept intensifying until they subsided for a brief moment.
Destiny and Mystique had been keeping her fed, constantly checking on her whenever they could. But Rogue could barely tell left from right; that was until she opened the ancient PC in the corner of her lightless room.
The big monitor blinked; the screen had several vertical blue lines, but it still worked. This thing somehow connected to the internet; Destiny had set it up for her, saying it would help her.
How? Even Destiny wasn't sure of it.
But Rogue trusted Destiny; of course she did. So, once a day, when her mind was the clearest, she would use the barely active device to roam the internet.
On the net, she could watch others, talk to them through words. There was no need to be careful, no need to maintain distance through the flickering screen.
However, another thing intrigued her. Novels posted online. They were simple, crude, and way too hopeful or idealistic. But everyone needed hope once in a while. Still, Rogue had never felt a connection with anything she had read till now.
That was until she found a post on Twitter, talking about a romance novel called Your Name. It had a decent number of likes and big praises for an online work. But the word 'romance' stopped Rogue's hands.
She had read only one work of that type, and stopped after the first chapter when the main characters held hands. Rogue hadn't touched the computer for a few days after that, and barely came out of bed today.
Today, she had once again seen a post regarding Your Name; it appeared that the novel had ended. But this time there was an interesting detail, a single line accompanying the praise.
'The main characters switch bodies and never meet properly until the end?' Rogue wondered how a romance would work like that. How would they develop feelings without meeting each other? Was it even possible?
'If I switch bodies with someone, would I be able to…' Her eyes glanced at her gloved hands and the fabric that covered her entirely aside from her head.
There was only one way to find out.
...
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