Middle School Heroes

Chapter 3 - Code Names and Billionaires

As soon as they entered the room, all chatter stopped and everyone turned toward the door. Skye felt her face flush as every pair of eyes in the class seemed to be on her. Yep. This is awesome, alright. So much for blending.

The teacher was a medium sized man with short dark hair. He was wearing what appeared to be a nice suit and smiled warmly at them. "Ms. Potts! I'm so glad that you could make it today." Skye suspected that Pepper Potts wasn't usually late for class, and imagined that she was just as red as Skye was. "Of course, I see that you have brought us a new classmate. Kids, this is Skye." She was prepared to correct him when he called her Daisy, but suspected that Ms. Hand had sent out an email about her wish to be called Skye. "Skye, I am Professor Philip Coulson."

A cough came from somewhere in the middle of the classroom. "No! His first name is Agent!" Skye turned to see a boy with black hair and a red and gold shirt snickering as the rest of the class laughed. She noticed something that looked like a nightlight stuck in the middle of his chest.

"Mr. Stark?" Professor Coulson looked sternly at the boy. "Would you like to serve detention after school today?"

"Uhhh......well......that depends." The boy stood up confidently. "Will Ms. Potts be joining me, you know, for being late?" He grinned at Pepper and Skye was pretty sure that she had turned a whole new shade of red.

"No, she will not. She was asked by Principal Fury to be Skye's Buddy. If you'd like, I could send you to Principal Fury to discuss the matter further." The boy's confidence appeared to give out at the threat of being sent to the Principal's office. He sat back down and stared intently at his desk.

"Excellent. Now that we have that out of the way, ladies, please take your seats. Skye, there is an empty seat right here by the window."

Pepper looked at Skye encouragingly, before taking her seat in the back of the class next to a small girl with long mousey brown hair who seemed excited to see her. Skye walked over to the empty desk and sat down. Beside her was a tall and lanky boy with very short black hair. He looked at her and smiled, but his face went from happy to a frown when the girl in front of Skye turned around to talk to her.

The girl had red curly hair and was dressed in all black, complete with leather jacket. "Hi there. I'm Natasha Romanoff," she said in a slight Russian accent. "The boy behind you is Clint Barton."

Skye turned to see a medium sized boy with light hair that was spikey on top. He was wearing black cargo pants and a purple t-shirt. He gave her a two finger salute. "Cool gloves."

"We're also known as Black Widow and Hawkeye. We're best friends. Professor Coulson likes to keep us separated because he says we get into trouble when we sit together." Skye suspected that was true. "Don't worry about Mr. Grumpypants over there." She pointed at the boy with black hair. "That's Grant Ward. He doesn't talk much." She saw the boy look at Natasha like he wanted to say something, but decided that it was safer not to. Skye thought that was a good call. She couldn't explain it, but Natasha looked dangerous.

After Professor Coulson took roll, the announcements began. Most of them were announcements that you'd hear at any school. Upcoming events, reminders and that sort of thing. One of the last announcements caught her attention, though. "The boy's bathroom on the first floor Language Arts wing is currently shut down due to a student being locked inside." The whole class giggled and looked around questioningly at each other. Natasha turned to her and rolled her eyes like this stuff happened all the time.

"I heard about this in the office," Skye said, glad to have something to share that wasn't about herself. "A boy named Wade something or other apparently locked himself in."

Clint sniggered from behind her. "Wilson. Of course. Deadpool."

She gave them a questioning look, and Natasha grinned.

"Deadpool. Wade is a sixth grader. He is always doing crazy things and getting hurt. He heals really quickly, which is handy for him. You know how some adults make bets on what celebrity is going to die next?" Skye shook her head, having no idea what Natasha was talking about. "Well they do. It is called a Deadpool. Wade got that name because well, he is likely to be the first to die here."

Skye looked from Natasha to Clint in disbelief, and Clint leaned in closer to her. "Seriously. The kid is crazy. You'll see. Entertaining, though."

The bell rang and most of the kids began picking up their belongings and shuffling out of the classroom, Natasha and Clint said goodbye to her as they left. Ward, the grumpy black-haired kid, stayed in his seat, and so did a few others, who obviously had Professor Coulson first period. He looked like he might say something to her until Pepper practically ran over to her and grabbed her by the arm.

"Quick! Grab your bag. There's a seat free by me and Jane!" Skye complied and noticed the boy watching her as she left, looking even grumpier, if that was possible.

Skye set her bag down in the empty seat and turned toward the mousey haired girl. "Hi Skye! I'm Jane. Jane Foster. It's very nice to meet you! I can't wait to learn more about you!"

"Hello," Skye replied to Jane, not really looking forward to sharing much about herself. Luckily, the black haired boy with the red shirt and the glowing light on his chest interrupted by walking up to them and putting out his hand for Skye to shake.

"Hi there!" he said cheerfully. "I'm Tony Stark. People call me Iron Man. I know everybody, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I'm a good person to know if you need help in science. Well, Jane is too, but I'm better." He turned and grinned at Pepper, who just rolled her eyes and began mocking him behind his back. "When I'm older, I'll be the President of Stark Industries, as well as a genius, billionaire......."

Suddenly, a pencil went flying between them, almost hitting Tony in the shoulder. He turned and glared at a boy that had just come into the room. He was tall with very short dark hair. "Are you giving the new girl the 'genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist' speech? You know that I've got you beat there, Stark." The boy chuckled at Tony as he walked up to them and stood in between Tony and Skye. "Hi there," he said to her with a glint in his eye. "My name is Bruce Wayne. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Hi. I'm Skye."

"Pepper, you are looking lovely today as always." He then turned to Tony and grinned widely, before taking his seat.

Skye turned to Tony, wanting to ask about the glowing thing on his chest, but he was already halfway back to his seat. Pepper and Jane just sat in their seats giggling. "Bruce and Tony are actually quite similar," Pepper said through her giggles. "Both of them inherited huge multi-million dollar companies when their parents died, both of them are spoiled little rich kids, they both like science and gadgets, but where Tony is flamboyant and outgoing, Bruce is usually quieter and more mysterious. They also kind of hate each other's guts! Oh! Bruce sometimes goes by Batman," she added, sending her into another peel of giggles.

Skye looked confused. "Yeah, what is with the name thing? So far I've met a Hawkeye and Black Widow, I've heard of Deadpool and now Iron Man and Batman? What's the deal with that?"

"Well, some of the kids end up with code names, kind of like a nickname. Sometimes their code names have to do with their special abilities, but sometimes they don't. Some of the teachers have them too!"

"Do you two have code names?" She asked, looking from Pepper to Jane.

"No. I'm just Pepper and she's just Jane. Although...." Pepper grinned at Jane. "Sometimes Thor calls Jane his Little Dove." Pepper began with a fresh set of giggles while Jane blushed and hid her face on her desk.

Skye noticed that Ward was staring over at them. I bet his code name really is Mr. Grumpypants, she thought, as the bell rang and Professor Coulson called the class to order.