Midtown High at 3:15 p.m. was a controlled kind of chaos. Students spilled into the hallways like a slow-moving flood, laughter bouncing off the lockers, sneakers squeaking, and the smell of cafeteria pizza still lingering in the air like an unfortunate memory. Outside, the sky leaned toward gold, the kind of post-school sunlight that made everything look a little too perfect to be real.
Raj walked beside Peter, blending in as best he could, hoodie up and earbuds in without music playing. His eyes flicked across faces, doors, cameras—a quiet scan of everything.
Peter, on the other hand, looked like he always did: tired, slightly frazzled, and about one joke away from a caffeine crash.
"You're still tense," Peter said under his breath.
Raj shrugged. "Yesterday we were nearly blown up. Today I'm in English class learning about metaphors."
Peter chuckled. "At least you can use them now. 'Like walking on a minefield with an open lighter.' That good?"
Raj smirked. "That's awful."
"Thank you," Peter said. "I try."
As they rounded the corner, Ned Leeds popped up like a hyperactive meerkat, arms full of books and a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos barely tucked into his hoodie pocket.
"There you are!" Ned said, sidling up beside Peter. "You ghosted me at lunch, man. Again. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were moonlighting as a vigilante or something."
Peter grinned awkwardly. "You know me. Just avoiding gym class with style."
Ned narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, and you, Raj… I swear you have that same guilty glow Peter used to have back when he was hiding the whole Spider-Man thing from me."
Raj raised an eyebrow. "Guilty glow?"
"Yeah," Ned said, shrugging. "You know. Like you've either committed arson or are about to."
Peter cleared his throat. "Ned knows about the suit."
Raj blinked. "You told him?"
"Hey!" Ned protested. "Correction: I found out when Peter crashed through my Lego Death Star while webbing up a burglar. Also, I've kept the secret. I deserve a cape."
Raj smirked. "I'll draw you one."
They stepped outside, the late afternoon breeze brushing against their faces. Students spilled into the courtyard, but Raj stayed close to the edge, shaded by the tall hedges lining the building.
"So," Ned said, glancing between them. "There's this whole new superhero rumor going around. The 'Blurred Hero.' Glows gold. Strong enough to toss a fire hydrant like a football. Ring any bells?"
Peter stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Internet makes up wild stuff all the time."
"Sure," Ned said slowly, watching Raj closely. "Totally random that someone new shows up, and then we get a glowing dude with solar fists. Coincidence. Wild."
Raj gave a dry chuckle. "Sounds like a comic book."
"Or an origin story," Ned muttered.
Peter changed the subject fast. "Hey, you still have that custom decryptor program you built in sophomore year? The one you used to hack the SAT prep servers?"
Ned puffed up. "First of all, that was never proven. Secondly, yes, it's on my laptop. Why?"
"We might need help pulling data off an encrypted device," Peter said, giving Raj a subtle glance. "Just some, uh… tech support."
Ned nodded enthusiastically. "I'm in. You had me at 'encrypted.' Just point me to the mystery drive and I'll extract its soul."
As they walked past the corner bodega, a small TV hanging above the door flickered. A news anchor spoke in the background, describing last night's city incident. Footage played again of a golden figure throwing debris, shielding people—a blur of light and power.
Ned paused, staring at the screen. Then turned slowly toward Raj.
Raj tried not to react, but he knew the way sunlight hit his cheekbones didn't help.
"So," Ned said thoughtfully, "Raj, what's your skincare routine?"
Peter nearly choked. "Ned!"
"I'm just saying," Ned continued, eyes narrowed like he was inspecting an alien. "You radiate, man. Literally."
Raj blinked. "Vitamin D. Lots of it."
Ned laughed. "Alright, alright. But just know, I'm watching. And if you turn out to be the solar-powered cousin of Spider-Man, I want front-row seats to the Netflix adaptation."
Peter groaned. "Can we not get turned into a Netflix show, please?"
Ned grinned and bounded ahead.
Peter leaned close to Raj. "He suspects you. Not fully. But he will soon."
Raj exhaled. "Then maybe it's time we bring him in."
Peter hesitated. "You sure? That's a big step."
"He's good with tech. And we're running out of people we can trust," Raj said. "Hydra won't wait for us to catch up."
Peter nodded slowly. "Okay. But we tell him together. And only when we're ready."
Raj glanced up at the sky, where clouds parted just enough to let a beam of sunlight through.
"Soon," he said. "Very soon."