“Hi, beautiful. Need someone to walk you home?”
I spent the entire evening at Penny’s yesterday, so I didn’t get home until late at night.
Mom wasn’t exactly thrilled about my recent disappearing acts, but thankfully, she didn’t make a big scene.
Being a superhero is tough when you have an overly protective mother waiting for you at home.
I don’t even want to imagine what will happen when she finds out what I’m actually doing.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to that conversation.
I could hope that my secret would remain a secret forever, but I wasn’t counting on it.
Right now, though, I had a more important mission: recruitment.
In the chaos of the night before last, we’d completely forgotten to exchange contact information.
As it turned out, Gwen had been awake for two straight days.
Even one sleepless night was difficult for me, especially since I didn’t have any physical enhancements.
While we were in danger, adrenaline had kept me going.
The moment the crisis was over, I felt completely drained.
So naturally, we both wanted to finish our business as quickly as possible and finally get some well-deserved rest.
Fortunately, finding Gwen wasn’t difficult.
I knew where she lived and where she studied, so I simply waited for her outside the university after classes.
Penny wasn’t with me.
She had gone to the Daily Bugle to sell her photographs.
She hadn’t managed to photograph the Lizard incident because we had more important things to worry about, but the pictures she’d taken during our fight with the gangsters had turned out surprisingly well.
“Huh? Me?”
Stacey blinked at me in surprise.
Yeah, I’d chosen a terrible opening line.
Why did I have such a habit of making inappropriate jokes?
Probably because I’d caught it from Penny.
She was constantly saying something ridiculous while wearing her costume.
“You. You.”
Technically, she could have recognized my voice, but I decided to make things easier for her.
I leaned toward her ear and whispered softly:
“Raven.”
Her eyes widened.
“You…”
Smart girl.
She figured it out, but wisely decided not to say anything out loud.
Classes had already ended, and we were standing right outside the university gates.
A lot of students were passing by, eager to get home.
“I’m Sam. Sam White. Want to take a walk?”
The girl nodded, and we moved away from the curious eyes and ears of the other students.
We didn’t exactly attract a crowd, but we did get a fair amount of attention.
After all, I’d been given a pretty handsome face.
Still, I wouldn’t have been surprised if most of that attention had actually been directed at Gwen.
Same-sex relationships between women were extremely common in this world, and Stacey was ridiculously attractive.
A beautiful blonde with gray eyes and an incredible figure.
What more could anyone ask for?
I’d already gotten a good look at her body when she’d shown off her skin-tight superhero costume.
Even now, with the upper half of her body hidden beneath a loose hoodie, her tight jeans emphasized her curves very nicely.
“How’s Dr. Connors?” I asked once we’d gotten far enough away from the crowd.
“She took medical leave.”
Gwen’s expression became sad.
“Physically, she’s fine. But I think she needs some time to come to terms with what she did, and what she was about to do.”
“She’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.”
At least, Curtis Connors had always managed to pull herself together.
“You’ve worked toward your goal for so long. It would be a shame to stop now.”
“Wait! You mean the serum? You want her to continue the research?”
Gwen stared at me as though she’d suddenly begun questioning my intelligence.
“Why not?”
I shrugged.
“The first attempt didn’t go well, but I seriously doubt a drug of that complexity can be created successfully on the first try.”
“Besides, I’m sure Dr. Connors learned her lesson. She won’t rush things again.”
“Hmm. Maybe you’re right.”
Gwen didn’t sound convinced.
I couldn’t blame her.
Still, if a successful result was possible, it would be worth the risks.
We just had to stay alert and make sure there wasn’t another Lizard incident.
That said, I wasn’t going to pressure them.
They were scientists, and they understood the subject far better than I did.
If they decided the risks weren’t worth it, I’d accept that.
“Anyway…”
I finally decided to get to the real reason I’d come.
“I wasn’t looking for you because of that.”
“Then why were you looking for me?”
Gwen’s gloomy mood had completely disappeared.
A playful smile now curved her lips.
“You know, usually the girl asks the guy to go for a walk, not the other way around.”
“Oh? Does that mean you were planning to ask me out?”
I returned her smile.
“Who knows?”
Gwen suddenly took my hand.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Honestly, having a girl flirt with me this aggressively left me slightly stunned.
Of course, this world had already left its mark on my relationship with Penny.
Still, because of Penny’s shyness, things between us were fairly close to what I was used to.
But who was I to complain?
A gorgeous blonde wanted to flirt with me.
As if I was going to object.
It was unfamiliar, but I couldn’t deny that I liked it.
“About your résumé. Did you manage to put one together?”
“My résumé? You mean…”
“Yes, Gwen.”
Giving in to the urge to add a little drama, I took her hand in both of mine and looked deeply into her eyes.
“We haven’t known each other for long, but I have a feeling we’re made for each other.”
I paused dramatically.
“So, tell me. Do you want to join our team?”
Maybe I’d pushed it a little too far, but Gwen’s flushed cheeks were absolutely worth it.
Stacey was much more confident than Penny.
The fact that she’d been the one to take my hand already said a lot, but it turned out she could still be embarrassed pretty easily.
Apparently, she didn’t have a boyfriend, and judging by her reactions, she probably didn’t have much experience with guys either, if any at all.
In this world, being beautiful wasn’t enough to guarantee success with men.
I was still worried about Gwen potentially dying, but she was already planning to become a hero herself.
That was obvious from the superhero costume she’d already prepared.
Working together would significantly reduce the risk of her dying.
And not just her.
It would reduce the risks for all of us.
Penny had no objections to Gwen joining us either, even though she hadn’t been able to participate in the invitation personally.
Besides, I suspected Penny wanted a friend with comparable knowledge and intelligence.
No matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t properly keep up with most of the topics Parker was interested in.
“Of course!”
Gwen looked delighted.
“I wanted to find you guys myself, but I had no idea how.”
Yeah, we’d really dropped the ball on that one.
Still, we were only getting started.
We’d eventually learn how to keep track of all the little details and nuances, even under stressful circumstances.
The important thing was learning before our mistakes cost us something we couldn’t afford to lose.
Penny
She walked through the corridors of the Daily Bugle, already anticipating another dose of the colorful personality that Josie Jameson generously shared with everyone around her.
“Oh, you’re right on time.”
Jameson greeted her surprisingly warmly the moment she stepped into the office.
“Meet Miss Hardy. This is Petra Parkinson, our best photographer. She’ll be perfect for you.”
Besides Jameson, there was another woman in the office.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her unusual, almost white hair framed a pair of green eyes filled with playful sparks.
The fact that Jameson had suddenly transformed into the very definition of hospitality only reinforced that impression.
Penny wasn’t rich herself, but her interactions with Gabriella had taught her a few things.
She knew expensive clothing when she saw it.
And the woman visiting the Daily Bugle’s owner was dressed very luxuriously.
“I’m Penelope Parker.”
She’d only been here once before, so it wasn’t surprising that Jameson didn’t remember her name.
Still, inventing an entirely different one on the spot would have been incredibly rude.
“Oh, you don’t know the name of your own best photographer, Mrs. Jameson?”
Miss Hardy seemed amused.
“And you’re sure she’ll be able to handle this? Has the girl even finished school?”
Girl?
This Miss Hardy looked only a couple of years older than her at most.
“Oh, please, Miss Hardy. That was just a little joke.”
Jameson waved it off.
“Don’t let her age fool you. The girl is a true professional. An absolute talent!”
“Penelope, did you bring the photographs?”
“Go on, show them to Miss Hardy. Let her see your work.”
“Here.”
Penny handed the woman the envelope containing the photographs.
“Just look at this lighting! The angle!”
Jameson practically jumped out of her chair and hurried over to get a closer look.
“Brilliant work, Penelope. How about a thousand dollars?”
A thousand dollars?
Last time, Penny had to bargain just to get four hundred and fifty.
And these were the first high-quality photographs she’d taken of Spider-Girl and Raven.
The later ones should have been worth considerably less.
She had no idea who this Miss Hardy was or why Jameson was practically bending over backward for her, but she was already willing to forgive the “girl” comment and probably a few future offenses as well.
“Hmm. This really isn’t bad.”
The blonde studied the photographs thoughtfully.
“These are the new heroes who made headlines after the incident at Oscorp’s main office, aren’t they?”
“How did you manage to take all these?”
“I just happened to see them while I was walking down the street and followed them.”
Penny tried to sound as casual as possible.
“I see.”
Hardy’s smile became even sweeter.
“You’re quite an interesting girl, aren’t you?”
She turned toward Jameson.
“Mrs. Jameson, I think she’ll do nicely.”
“Do nicely for what?”
“Penelope, this is Felicia Hardy, daughter of Anastasia Hardy, founder of the Hardy Foundation.”
Jameson explained:
“They’re organizing a charity ball. It’ll be held at my home, and you’ve been invited as the photographer.”
“The ball is in a week.”
Felicia continued.
“Dress properly, and you can bring your boy…”
She paused with a playful smile.
“…or girl, if you have one.”
“Mrs. Jameson, that’s everything. We’ve discussed all the necessary details, so I’ll be going now.”
“Goodbye, Petra.”
“Goodbye, Felicity.”
Penny was surprised by her own boldness.
For a second, she regretted it.
The woman was clearly wealthy, and someone like that could cause serious trouble.
Rich people could be incredibly spiteful and vindictive.
Just look at Fleur Thompson.
Yet Hardy wasn’t angry at all.
Quite the opposite.
Her smile became strangely satisfied.
Penny couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d just stepped into a game she had absolutely no chance of winning.