Field Alpha buzzed with quiet energy.
Gwen stood at the whiteboard, marker tapping against her chin, while Luffy balanced a pack of energy chews on his forehead from where he lay on a supply crate.
"Okay," she said, drawing a new diagram. "If we want to stay ahead of this, we need three things: cash flow, cover stories, and gear upgrades."
"Can't we just win the lottery?" Luffy offered.
"Statistically more likely we get struck by lightning twice while being chased by a bear."
Luffy grinned. "Then tech it is."
Gwen nodded. "We create something that can be sold to students. Something helpful, harmless, and believable."
She spun around and began listing ideas:
FocusTimer: a silent wristband that vibrated to signal timed study intervals.
PulseTag: a hydration and energy tracker disguised as a bracelet.
EchoBuds: customizable earbuds that blocked distractions with tunable white noise.
"I'll handle the programming and sensor calibration," Gwen said. "You handle the branding."
"You mean the cool names? I got that," Luffy said, sitting up with renewed interest. "How about... 'BrainBeast' for the earbuds?"
Gwen laughed. "Absolutely not."
They spent hours prototyping, wiring components, and refining layouts. Gwen soldered while Luffy tested different casing shapes using scraps of stealth suit material. By midnight, they had three working demos.
The next day at school, Gwen launched their minimal website under the name NeuroNote Labs. She crafted a fake backstory: two overachieving students creating performance tech for finals week. The prices were modest, the branding slick.
Luffy started talking it up in student group chats and online school boards. To their surprise, MJ caught wind of it quickly and posted it to her feed with the caption: "Local geniuses cooking up the future. Where was this during midterms?"
Orders trickled in by nightfall.
By the end of the week, they'd cleared their first $200.
Field Alpha gained a new corner: a shelf marked "Gear Funded by Ghost Cash." On it, Gwen placed a small locked container with labeled compartments: tools, batteries, glucose packs, and stealth fabrics.
"Every sale is one step closer to better gear," Gwen said, organizing their tools.
"And more snacks," Luffy added, holding up a bulk box of protein bars they'd quietly stashed.
That evening, Gwen sat at her dinner table, a second helping of stir-fry halfway gone.
George Stacy raised an eyebrow over his cup of coffee. "This your second plate?"
"Third," Gwen muttered, then caught herself.
George lowered the cup slowly. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah. Just...burning a lot of energy lately."
He studied her for a moment. "That about this tech project of yours I keep hearing whispers about?"
Gwen nodded quickly. "Yeah. NeuroNote Labs. We're prototyping gadgets to help students manage focus and nutrition. Kind of a passion project."
He leaned back. "That sounds pretty ambitious."
She shrugged. "It's going somewhere, though. And it gives me an excuse for the weird hours."
George smiled faintly. "Just make sure you're eating well and not losing sleep."
Gwen smiled back. "Working on it."
Across town, Luffy sat at his own table scarfing down toast and bananas like they were the last food on Earth.
Celia leaned against the kitchen counter, watching with amusement. "Since when do you eat like this?"
"Since... science," Luffy said, mouth full. "Gwen and I are doing this biotech project, and it's super energy-intensive."
Mark glanced over a newspaper. "Well, at least it's not video games."
"Nope. Productive. Totally productive," Luffy said quickly.
He texted Gwen under the table: "Cover story is holding for now. Might need to tone down the eating."
She replied instantly: "Same. Dad almost interrogated me. But he's proud. That helps."
Later that night, the pair ran their newest field test.
Gwen activated the prototype lens scrambler built into her mask. When she turned toward a public traffic cam, its feed warped slightly — a low-frequency blur flickering across its sensor. Not perfect. But enough.
Luffy tested the new sound-dampening soles in his boots. Leaping across a rooftop, his landing made barely a whisper.
They spotted a heated argument on a corner below — two guys about to come to blows. Gwen dropped a flash distraction pellet into the alley. By the time the light fizzled, both men had backed off.
"Zero witnesses," Gwen whispered. "Zero exposure."
Luffy grinned. "Clean win."
Gwen returned to Field Alpha and recorded a journal entry: "No glory. No headlines. Just quiet wins. That's how it starts."
On the shelf, beside the glucose packs and soldering iron, she pinned a small drawing: their first device prototype.
Luffy added a sticky note next to it: Every bit counts.