WebNovels

Chapter 27 - Chapter 27

"Hi, Franklin," Cindy B called out.

I turned around. "Hey Cindy, what's up?"

"You can't just stay cooped up in the base nonstop. You should come out and have some fun with us. Me and the girls are going out."

"Just you and the girls? What about Peter and Ned?"

"We did invite them, but they said they wanted to build their Death Star. Something like… three thousand pieces? I stopped listening after they said Lego."

"It's 3,803 pieces. And it's not like I've been working that much," I muttered.

"YOU PROBABLY NOT, BUT WE DEFINITELY ARE!"

Both of us turned toward the sound. All fifty of my clones had stopped working just to yell that in unison.

"I mean, come on," a Brainstorm clone said. "Every day we take on more and more work."

"Feels like we're slaves at this point," an Armodrillo clone grumbled.

"Clone 45, clone 19, get back to work and stop whining," I barked.

"See? Help us," a Jerryrig clone begged.

Cindy smirked. "Okay, you're definitely coming with us now."

"Come on, Cindy, you can't believe those guys. They're me, they're obviously trying to trick you."

"I'll call Ava and Yolanda here right now to drag you out if I have to."

That was enough. I transformed into Echo Echo, and instantly all fifty clones copied me. Together, we all shouted, "I do not need to be Gray Matter or Brainstorm to know angering your girlfriends is the worst thing you can do."

Then I absorb them all.

I shifted back into my regular form, sighed, and walked toward Cindy. "So… where are we going?"

One Hour Later Laser Tag Arena

Apparently, the girls' idea of "fun" was laser tag. Not gonna lie, I'd done this before, it's always a good time. We were putting on our vests while some bored guy explained the rules.

"It's free for all. You tag the chest, shoulders, or back for points. Ten-second cooldown if you're hit. Don't climb obstacles, stick to the paths, and try not to break your face. Got it?"

Cindy B raised her hand.

"Yes, young lady?" the man asked.

"Even though it's free for all, can we form teams? Just us?"

"Normally, I'd say no… but I'm quitting in two days, so fuck it. Go wild."

"Dibs Cindy M, and Cindy B," Courtney called out.

"What? Why?" I said.

"Because these two are crazy athletic."

"I wanted at least one of them. You can't just—"

"You've got two girlfriends. You're always gonna pick them."

"No I wasn't! They weren't even gonna pick me. They were gonna pick MJ or Kamala!"

"We pick both," Ava said, grinning. "Full Girl Squad."

"Sorry, baby," Yolanda added.

"See?" I muttered, not surprised at all.

"I feel like chopped liver," Betty sighed.

"Welcome to the club," Beth shrugged. "I was always picked last for sports at my old school."

Me and Courtney exchanged a look. "Alright. You get my cousin, I'll take Cindy B. Fair trade?"

"And why can't I just have Cindy B on my team with Beth?" Courtney pressed.

"Because you and her are way too in sync. It's annoying."

"He's got a point," Cindy B admitted. "Besides, it'll be fun playing against each other."

"Cindy…"

"Don't be a baby. It's just a game. I promise I'll go easy on you."

"No you won't."

"You're right, I won't."

So, the teams were set:

Crazy Cats: Ava, Yolanda, Kamala, and MJ2.

Hunters: Courtney, Cindy M, and Beth.

Apex (my team): Me, Cindy B, and Betty.

My team, me, Cindy B, and Betty huddled in a corner, whispering like we were about to rob a bank instead of play laser tag.

"Biggest threat is Cindy M," Cindy B said. "Her Spider-Sense is basically wallhacks."

"Don't forget Yolanda," I added. "Her reflexes and senses are insane now."

"And Beth can see in the dark like an owl," Betty reminded us.

That's when it clicked. "Oh… that's why they call themselves the Hunters. Spider-Sense, and night vision? Perfect tracking squad. Great."

"They've got a stacked team, sure," Cindy B said with a grin. "But we have something they don't."

Me and Betty gave her confused looks.

"We've got someone who can turn into a million aliens… and isn't above cheating in a laser tag game."

Betty blinked. "Seriously?"

Cindy smirked.

I tapped the Omnitrix. "Omnitrix, hack the cameras. Show fake footage of us playing normal."

Confirmed. Feeds altered.

"Franklin, are you serious?" Betty asked.

"I am not losing," I said.

I slammed the dial. "Phasebolt!"

image here

Green light flared as my body shifted into a sleek, uniformed alien with glowing markings and a belt-buckle Omnitrix. I still had the laser tag gun in hand.

"Okay. Let's hunt."

I sprinted off, phasing through wall after wall until I landed right in front of Team Crazy Cats. Yolanda spotted me first, eyes wide.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Four clean shots to the chest, Ava, Yolanda, Kamala, MJ2. All down before they could even blink.

"What the—?! That's cheating!" Kamala yelped.

"Franklin, the cameras!" Ava shouted.

I twirled the blaster and grinned. "One, nobody said anything about playing fair. Two, the Omnitrix already hacked the feeds, right now the system just shows normal kids running around. I leveled the blaster again. "…if you'll excuse me, I've got some Hunters to hunt."

I phased back into the walls and disappeared before they could even reboot their vests.

Tony Stark POV

I was in Avengers Tower, running my usual system checks, making sure no one was poking around where they shouldn't. Everything was smooth as silk… until I noticed something.

New Attilan. Their network looked different. Too different. Their systems had taken a serious upgrade in just a few days. Naturally, I got curious. So I tried to peek inside.

And got locked out.

Fine. I started hacking. Thirty minutes later, their system was still kicking me out, adapting, evolving, resetting me back to square one. It wasn't just firewalls; it felt alive.

"What the hell is this? Hey, JARVIS, give me a hand," I said.

"Right away, sir," he replied, calm as always.

He dove in. But even for him, it was tough. Then everything went red. My screens flashed crimson, and JARVIS… screamed.

Not static, not distortion. Screamed. Like he was in pain.

"JARVIS? JARVIS!"

Then silence. My system blinked back to normal, but the AI I built, my partner, my friend, was gone. I tore into his mainframe, searching, and what I found looked like a crime scene. His code shredded, ripped apart. Murdered.

I didn't waste time. I called the Avengers.

Two Minutes Later – Briefing Room

Everyone gathered. Steve noticed my face before I even spoke.

"Tony… what's going on? You look shaken."

"JARVIS is dead," I said flatly.

The room froze.

"What?" they all said in unison.

I tapped a control, bringing up a hologram of JARVIS's code, nothing but broken fragments, ripped to shreds.

Bruce stepped forward, stunned. "How is this even possible? JARVIS is one of the most advanced AIs ever built."

"I don't know," I admitted. "I tried hacking into New Attilan. Their systems looked different. Stronger. I wanted to see what changed. I asked JARVIS to help me, and then everything went red. He screamed. And then… nothing."

Clint frowned. "Screamed? As in…?"

"As in like a person. Like someone was torturing him." I clenched my fists. "Whatever did this murdered him. And it came from New Attilan."

Bruce frowned. "Tony, could it have been self-defense? You were trying to hack them."

"First off, me and Black Bolt had an agreement, part of it was I could check in on their city's systems from time to time. Second" I jabbed a finger at the hologram, "this wasn't man-made. That code wasn't a firewall. It was alive."

Steve's voice cut through. "So what do you suggest?"

"We investigate New Attilan," I said. "Because whatever's going on there, it's bad."

Steve looked around the table. "All right. Tony, you and Bruce go. The rest of us stay on standby. Keep us updated."

"Yeah. Got it." I stood, already heading for the suit.

"Tony." Steve's tone was careful. I stopped, looking back at him.

"I know how much JARVIS meant to you," he said. "But don't let your anger make things worse with the Inhumans. For all we know, they had nothing to do with this."

I gave him a sharp nod. "I'll keep that in mind." Then I let my mask drop, voice low and cold:

"But if they did have anything to do with this? May God have mercy on them… because I sure as hell won't."

Franklin POV

We were sitting outside a little restaurant after laser tag. My team won, by the way. Safe to say me, Cindy B, and Betty are officially the kings of laser tag.

"All of you cheated. I wish I had powers to use," Kamala groaned.

She wasn't wrong. Once I started, everyone with powers leaned into it.

"Hey, in my defense, Franklin cheated first," Cindy M said.

"And it was Cindy B's idea for me to cheat in the first place," I shot back.

Cindy B narrowed her eyes at me. "Did you just throw me under the bus?"

"No, I gently shoved you. Totally different," I said.

She rolled her eyes but still smiled.

Betty stretched. "Alright, it's late. I'm calling it. Anyone need a ride?"

"Oh yes, please," Kamala said.

"Same," MJ2 added.

"Me too," Cindy M said.

And just like that, Kamala, Cindy M, Betty, and MJ2 were gone.

"Thanks for dragging me out here, Cindy. Today was fun," I told Cindy B.

"Anytime," she said, smiling.

"So, what's the plan tomorrow after school?" I asked.

Ava shrugged. "Uncle Ted and my dad gave us a training break. You're still fixing up the base, so me and the girls might just have a sleepover. Haven't done one in forever."

"Alright, then me, Peter, and Ned'll have a boys' night. Haven't done one of those in ages. Plus, no more secrets between us now. Might actually be fun."

Beth suddenly cleared her throat. "Um, I have a question."

We all turned to her.

"What do girls even do at sleepovers? I've never been invited to one."

Courtney gasped like it was a crime. "You've never been invited? That has to change immediately!"

Beth blinked, confused. Honestly, so was I.

"Calm down, Court. It's not that serious," I said.

"Of course you'd say that. You're a boy," Courtney said. "Sleepovers are personal. We talk about who we like, our crushes, play truth or dare, scary movies—"

"—and whether we're virgins or not," Cindy B cut in with a smirk.

Courtney went bright red.

Beth tilted her head. "What happens if I say I am a virgin?"

"Then you are. No pressure," Cindy B said casually. "But if you weren't, you'd have to say who with. Like how Courtney lost hers to—ouch!"

Cindy yelped as Courtney smacked her under the table. The two of them locked into one of those silent arguments with their eyes.

"…no way," Yolanda muttered.

Both girls looked at her, and Cindy B actually winked.

Yolanda's jaw dropped. "Holy crap."

Courtney buried her face in her hands. Cindy just looked smug. Me? I was confused as hell, at least until I saw Ava and Beth looking just as lost.

"Mind telling the Us," I said.

"NO." Courtney shot up from her chair so fast it scraped across the floor.

"Me and Cindy… we're leaving," she said firmly.

"Actually—" Cindy B started, but shut her mouth the second Courtney gave her that look.

"…yeah, I'll go too." Cindy stood, following Courtney. I'd never seen her look nervous before, but Courtney's glare managed it.

"You guys don't want a ride?" I asked.

"No thanks. We need to walk," Courtney replied without even looking back.

And just like that, the two of them were gone.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed. "Okay, not asking. Don't want any part of… whatever that was."

"Very wise," Yolanda said with a smirk. "And I wouldn't tell you anyway."

Cindy B POV

"Courtney, we've been walking for thirty minutes. You haven't said a word. Can you please talk to me?" I asked.

She didn't stop. "What you did back there wasn't funny, Cindy."

"It's not that serious," I said quickly.

She turned on me, her face set. "You might not think it's serious—but I do."

"Why? Because you lost your virginity to a girl?" I shot back without thinking.

That made her stop cold. She turned fully to me, her voice low but heavy."No. Because I lost my virginity to my best friend. And she doesn't seem to care one bit that I was her first. It's fine when you tease me in private, but I don't want everyone knowing our business. What we did was supposed to be a one-time thing."

I tried to ease the tension with a smirk. "We said it was a one-time thing. Then we did it… what, five more times?"

Instead of laughing, Courtney just looked sadder.

"You don't think I notice, do you? The way you look at him."

"…What?" I asked.

"Franklin. You look at him the same way you used to look at me."

"Court, I have no idea what you're talking about," I lied.

"You denied it way too fast. You told him to be safe when he went on that mission. Then today, you dragged him out with us. The clues are all there—I just had to actually pay attention."

"Courtney, whatever you're trying to assume, you're wrong."

"I'm not assuming. I know. You like Franklin too."

That one hit me. She wasn't wrong—but I wasn't ready to admit it.

"I like him too," she went on, her voice cracking. "And I know you know it. He's different. He's not like any guy I've ever met. But you do know we can't be with him."

"Courtney, stop. Whatever conclusion you're coming to—it's wrong."

"Really? So me imagining how you're always trying to spend time with him alone? How you always bring up what we did together close or in front of him? You think I don't see it? I might not be the smartest one in the group, Cindy, but I'm not dumb."

"I never said you were dumb," I said softly, reaching out to touch her hand.

She pulled back before I could.

"Don't bother sugarcoating it. I know how you think, Cindy. I know how you act. Whatever your plan was, I want you to stop it. Now."

I stayed quiet. There was nothing I could say, because she was right.

As Courtney turned and started walking again, the truth burned in my chest. She was right about everything. I had been trying to steal Franklin, not for myself, but for us. For me and Courtney. Because every time I'm with Franklin, I feel that same spark I get when I'm with her.

He's funny, loyal, smart in his own way, and fearless, always standing up for the weak. I've seen it. I've seen him knock out Flash without anyone even realizing. And I knew Courtney saw it too. That's when it clicked, we both wanted him, and I wanted both of them.

Call me a bitch. You'd be right. Because only a bitch tries to steal her friend's boyfriend, especially from girls as good as Yolanda and Ava. Courtney was right. I should stop this.

…But I just wanted her and me to be happy, with someone together.

_________________________________________________________________________

AN: Quick question for you guys, do anyone know any good Vampire Diaries fanfiction? I've seen some good ones, but usually the author just stops posting the story. If you know any interesting ones, let me know.

Also, I forgot to show you what voidflare looks like.

image here

More Chapters