24 Found out

"We are putting together a team and want to invite you to join."

That's what Scott told me, but I don't quite understand what he means. What team is he inviting me to? The Xmen?

He shouldn't know I have any powers. I think I've hidden myself fairly well up until now, unless maybe…

I take a glance at Jean, and my heart starts beating faster due to panic but quickly calms back down.

For a moment, I had considered the possibility that perhaps she had read my mind and not only knew about my powers but also about me being a transmigrator, but I quickly dismissed that as impossible.

My Gamer's Mind skill should protect my mind and nullify any related skills like illusions and mind-reading.

Checking my system log, I see nothing about it having been triggered recently, so I conclude that I am safe for now, although I probably want to be careful not to make Jean suspicious of me lest she tries to use her powers on me only to find them not working.

Turns out I was overthinking things anyways as I soon realized they were never talking about the Xmen in the first place.

"The annual dodgeball tournament is coming up next month, and while discussing who to invite, Rogue and Kitty both suggested asking you," Kurt explains further.

The annual dodgeball tournament, huh? I do recall something like that being a thing, but I don't know much about it since the old Peter never took apart or was too interested in even spectating.

Basically, it seems that before Christmas break every year, the school organizes a dodgeball tournament, and students are allowed to form their own teams to register with.

Asking the mutants to explain further, it seems that the tournament is split in half with male and female teams not playing against each other.

The entire event lasts for four days, with days one and two being for the male tournament and days three and four for the female tournament. All players on the winning teams get 25 dollar coupons for the school cafeteria.

(Note: Is it true food isn't free in school cafeterias in the US? Seems weird.)

In the end, I agreed to join their team since there was literally no reason not to. The team still needed some other members, but Scott assured me they would take care of that.

Kitty and Jean were also forming a team and invited Gwen to join it. Apparently, they already had all the other slots for the team filled too.

With the tournament talk concluded, we continued eating while talking about nothing in particular. As we were close to finishing, the news currently on TV caught our attention.

"Latest news from meteorologists report that a small-sized meteor is landing in the vicinity of New York City within the next few weeks. However, there is no reason to fear as the expected landing spot is already cleared for… wait, we have just received emergency reports of a giant sand creature rampaging in the city."

Ah, shit, here we go again.

"The creature is suspected to be the very same one that terrorized Chinatown last Saturday and got beaten back by Spiderman before escaping." The news reporter says, continuing with where exactly Sandman has been spotted and advising any nearby people to take cover in buildings and not go outside before the situation has been dealt with.

While everyone else at the table has their eyes glued to the tv, I stand up, saying, "Sorry guys, I forgot, but I had an…uh… dentist appointment today, so I gotta get going now."

"Is this really the best time for that? Didn't you hear what the news just said about a giant monster being loose in the city?" Jean asked while staring at me with furrowed brows.

"No worries, my dentist is in the opposite direction, so I won't run into that thing."

"You sure you aren't just running away in fear?" Warren asks only to get elbowed in the side by Bobby.

"Just keep checking the news to make sure this thing doesn't suddenly change course, and you should be fine." He says while finishing the food. It seems the others are just about to start going back to school too, it should be a safe route for them.

I quickly wave goodbye to them all and exit the restaurant. After making sure the nearby alleyway is empty, I enter and put all my clothes into my inventory.

Since I've been expecting Marko to make a move for days now, I've had my Spiderman costume on under my clothes even during school, just in case I needed to leave quickly.

As I put on my mask and am about to web myself up, a voice reaches me, stopping me in my tracks.

"Wait up a second, Peter."

I freeze hearing my name but slightly ease up upon seeing that it's Gwen that called out to me while entering the alley.

Well looks like my feeling that she knew something was up and managed to make a connection between Peter and Spiderman was correct.

"You are going after him, aren't you?" She asks with a worried look.

"I am, yeah," I reply. I don't know what else to say other than that. I feel like I should be explaining something, but the look Gwen is giving me is saying that it's okay.

For some reason, I don't feel panicked at all, even with Gwen knowing my secret. Maybe it's because it's Gwen that I feel at ease.

"I don't think I can help you with much, but please give me a call after you are done out there just to let me know you're safe. If you get hurt, you can come to me later. I have a first aid kit and training on how to use it." She says.

I probably wouldn't need that since my powers increase my recovery speed a lot, but I get the feeling I shouldn't mention that now.

Without further ado, I need to get going to catch up to Marko, so I web up after giving a short goodbye and a promise to call her after I'm done.

I connect to the police radio for live updates on the situation and start heading towards Marko's location.