Middle School Heroes

Chapter 15 - Costumes, Candy and Evasion Techniques

The week before Halloween was very busy, but the tournament in OPs was all that Skye could think about. The first team that they faced was the Justice League. Since they only had three members in OPs. Skye got to sit the contest out. Nat, Clint and Sam won, which had them moving on to face the Suicide Squad. Skye's event ended up being shooting. She was up against a guy named Floyd Lawton, and she lost handily. Given that Floyd's code name was Deadshot, and he routinely proved a serious challenge for Clint and Natasha, she didn't stand much of a chance. She was just relieved when no one was angry at her for losing. Luckily, Nat had better luck against the multi colored pigtail girl, Harleen Quinn, Clint beat Wade Eiling at archery, and Sam beat Lex Luthor in sparring, giving them the win.

With their win, the SHIELD/Avengers team made it to the final, and after a close semi-final contest against the X-Men, STRIKE joined them.

If people on her team were excited about their place in the final, it was nothing compared to their excitement at finding out that they'd be up against STRIKE. They were each other's biggest rivals.

The problem, as Skye figured out very quickly, was that everyone really wanted to win. That meant that everyone was on edge. Skye was happy that they at least had the Halloween party the night before as a distraction, so that she could get a break from it all.

She got ready for the party in Jemma and Natasha's room. Mrs. Parker had helped the girls to make simple dresses over a weekend in the Home Economics room. Once dressed, Skye went about the task of coaxing Natasha into the giant pink bow that she had to wear in her hair. Natasha, in return, ordered Skye not to wear her gloves, so they stopped by her room to drop them off on the way to the Commons.

**********

When they entered the room, Skye couldn't believe her eyes. The adults had gone all out for this party. The lights were lower than usual, while black lights and a smoke machine gave the whole room an eerie feeling. There were spider webs everywhere, which made Skye wonder if Peter had helped with the decorating. A table full of strange looking food and a punch bowl that was brimming over with smoke sat off to one side of the room. All of the other tables had been pushed off to the sides, leaving the middle of the room empty for mingling and apparently dancing. Strobe lights were flashing on and off randomly, and spooky music was playing over a loud speaker.

They were greeted by Professor Coulson, who was dressed like a Vampire. "Ahhh! The Powerpuff Girls," he said, as he handed them each a bag with candy inside. "I'm so glad that you all could take time from your busy Superhero schedule to join us tonight! If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. The one thing this school is missing is Superheroes!" He laughed to himself as he waved them into the room.

As people started to filter in, it was clear that most everyone had dressed up in groups. Wanda and Pietro were Hansel and Gretel, and they were part of a larger group that included Pepper, Jane, Bucky, Rhodey and Steve, all who were dressed as classic storybook characters.

Ward and the STRIKE team appeared to have gone with a Grease theme. The boys were wearing jeans with white t-shirts and black T-Bird jackets. The few STRIKE girls were in black leggings and pink jackets with the "Pink Ladies" on the back.

Some of the Defenders had a monster theme. Wade Wilson was dressed as a zombie, which worked well for him, since he'd managed to fall off the roof of the school, although what he was doing there, Skye had no idea, and had various body parts bandaged. He came right up to them to compliment them, although mainly Natasha, on their costumes. He started to remark on her bow, but the look that she gave him convinced him that it would be safer for him to keep his mouth shut.