Avengers Academy

Chapter 3

Math was hell. Not because Billy didn't know the subject, no, he was actually good at this, but because that was when Jimmy went to the same class as him. Jimmy had been bullying Billy ever since Billy started at school. Being in a separate class from Tommy, Billy always had to face him alone and whenever Jimmy had been hurting him or talking down to him or shoving him into lockers, Billy usually just closed himself down. He never told Tommy or Kat, he was too embarrassed.

The bell rang as the class ended and Billy hurried out. Just then, someone pushed him forwards and he ran right into the new kid. Nathaniel something. The boy had been the most vocal in class, answering every question the teacher asked correctly with no need to even use a calculator.

"Dude, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Billy asked as he helped the boy up. Nathaniel shrugged and chuckled softly.

"Yeah, no problem. Though you should watch where you're going." He said with a smirk and began to walk away. It was odd, Billy could swear he heard Nathaniel mutter something to himself as he walked away.

"...is him alright."

Nathaniel walked over to a secluded spot and activated the communicator hidden behind his ear. "Daemocles."

"I am here, Nathaniel Richards." The semi-robotic voice replied.

"For god's sake, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Nate?" He sighed. "Anyways, have you located the others?"

"I have located some of them." The nanobots went to work and the helmet appeared on Nate's face. His eyes were on the HUD, which showed his targets. The list of names scrolled down and several names were highlighted; William Kaplan, Katrina Shepherd, Elijah Bradley and Theodore Altman. Their exact locations in the school building then appeared on the HUD and Nate smirked.

"Thanks, Daemocles." He said and turned off the helmet, which melted down to nothing as the nanobots returned to the small metal plates that housed them.

Billy had gotten a free period before lunch and decided to use it by once again sneaking out. A simple teleportation spell and he was able to avoid the security guard and leave the school premises. As he arrived at his favorite spot in the city, one of the few nearly-empty places in Central Park, he closed his eyes and just focused on the sounds, the smells and the feel of wind in his face. Sure, he could hear people and cars in the distance, but they were far enough away that he could tune them out.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" A woman's voice asked. She sounded like she was in her early 30's, she had a slight accent, Eastern European.

Billy quickly turned around and the woman, who was wearing a scarlet hoodie with the hood barely covering her reddish brown hair, smiled at him. Something about her face looked really familiar.

"I have a free track. Um... How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"Oh, you're not the only one with gifts." She said with a playful smirk and her eyes seemed to briefly flash red. It was then that it clicked for Billy. He'd seen that face on TV countless times.

"Hey, you're the Scarlet Witch."

She nodded and smiled brightly. "Guilty. Though you can call me Wanda."

Billy smiled and blushed awkwardly, reaching out to shake her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you then, Wanda. You were always my favorite Avenger. I- I- I'm Billy."

Wanda smiled sadly. "Yeah. Haven't been an Avenger in a while, though. But that's... That's something I'd rather not focus on. But why are you out here all by yourself?"