Chapter 165

[Third Person's PoV] 

Lizzy was on the ground, panting from the intensity of her previous battles with Felicia, who had just gotten off her. She looked at Felicia with watery eyes and trembling lips. "Does that mean I'm not ready and would have to keep trying until I beat all of you?" she asked, her voice tinged with sadness and disappointment.

Peter quickly stepped in, shaking his head. "Huh? No way. You wouldn't have to do that. The goal isn't to beat all of us, but to gain our approval," he explained.

Lizzy, despite her exhaustion, sat up excitedly. "Really?!" Her expression quickly shifted to confusion. "Wait a minute… what's that supposed to mean?" She asked, sounding a bit offended. 

Peter crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. "Look, Lizzy, I understand you having a small chance of beating those three who just started training a month ago, but beating Gwen and me? That's a different story. It's pretty much impossible for you, no offense. No matter how many times those three challenge me, even when they team up, they haven't been able to defeat me."

"Seriously?" Lizzy asked, wide-eyed. She glanced at Harry and the others. "You guys haven't been able to beat him?"

Harry sighed in exasperation. "Peter's ridiculously fast and strong. It's almost impossible to land a hit on him. The only way we even get close is when Gwen slows him down with her ice, but since he took the Super Soldier Serum, he's on a whole other level."

Lizzy absorbed this information, her gaze shifting between Felicia, Gwen, and Peter. "So... does that mean I gained Felicia's approval and have to fight Gwen and Peter next to impress them?" she asked cautiously.

Everyone turned to Felicia, waiting for her decision. After a moment, Felicia smirked and extended her hand. "You did put up a good fight, especially considering you were already tired from fighting Harry and MJ. Consider me impressed. I'll give you a pass."

Lizzy's face lit up as she got to her feet, thrusting her arms into the air. "Hell yes!!" she exclaimed, celebrating her small victory.

Gwen smiled at Lizzy, but her tone carried a warning. "You're going to need all the energy you can get when fighting me, so make sure you recuperate well. I'm going to test you to see how well you can fight against someone who's stronger than you, especially given your elemental disadvantage."

Lizzy began to feel a bit nervous, chuckling awkwardly. "Hehe, any chance I can get a one-time skip? You know, like in those hard video games?"

Gwen's smile remained, but her resolve was clear. "Not when it comes to fighting me. We need to see if you're capable of fighting at a disadvantage. It's one of the most important things a hero has to be prepared for."

With a resigned sigh, Lizzy gave up trying to persuade Gwen. "Fine, I'll take some proper rest..."

---

After some rest and utilizing the advanced medical options available in the lab, Lizzy had fully recovered. Now, she and Gwen stood face to face, ready for their match.

Gwen adopted a martial arts stance, her fists glowing with an icy blue aura that released a cold wind. Snowflakes trailed behind her every movement. Lizzy hovered above the ground, surrounded by a red flaming aura, her determination burning just as hot.

Without hesitation, Lizzy charged at Gwen with incredible speed, her fiery aura blazing. But to Gwen, everything seemed to move in slow motion. She dropped to one knee, raised her fist high as it glowed even brighter, and slammed it down onto the training ground just as Lizzy closed in.

As Gwen's fist hit the ground, she unleashed a shockwave of cold energy that instantly snuffed out Lizzy's flaming aura. The sudden loss of her powers caused Lizzy to plummet, but she managed to roll and slide to one knee, looking up at Gwen in surprise, clearly not expecting such an overwhelming attack.

But Gwen didn't give her a moment to recover. She immediately began skating towards Lizzy, her icy path forming beneath her feet as she closed the distance with alarming speed. she pivoted sharply, aiming a sweeping kick at Lizzy's midsection. Lizzy barely had time to react, throwing up her arms to block, but the force of Gwen's kick sent her sliding backward across the ground.

Lizzy barely had time to react before Gwen was upon her once more. Thinking quickly, Lizzy activated her microwave manipulation, sending out a burst of heat in an attempt to thaw the ice closing in on her. The ground beneath Gwen began to sizzle and steam, but she was undeterred, her ice energy overpowering the rising heat.

Lizzy, realizing she needed to change tactics, leaped backward, using her microwave energy to create a barrier of intense heat around herself. The air shimmered as the heat waves distorted the space between them. Gwen came to a stop, observing the barrier with a calculated gaze. The ice surrounding her fists intensified, turning her hands into sharp, crystalline gauntlets.

Gwen launched herself forward, her ice-covered fists cutting through the superheated air like a knife through butter. Lizzy braced herself and concentrated her energy, focusing on a pinpoint burst of microwaves aimed directly at Gwen's path. As Gwen's fist drew near, Lizzy unleashed the burst, hoping to disrupt Gwen's attack.

The clash of their powers caused an explosion of steam and frost, momentarily blinding both fighters. Or it should have if it wasn't for Gwen's enhanced Spidey-sense giving her a clear sight of everything, 

Gwen, with her Spidey-sense fully active, remained hyper-aware of Lizzy's every move. As Lizzy gathered heat energy, Gwen could feel the fluctuations in the air, the subtle shifts in temperature, and the slightest hints of movement even before they happened. 

When Lizzy charged at Gwen with her fiery aura, Gwen's senses screamed a warning. She instinctively sidestepped Lizzy's initial feint, predicting the real attack before it even came. With fluid precision, Gwen spun around Lizzy, her movements smooth and calculated, avoiding Lizzy's burst of microwave energy by the slimmest of margins.

Lizzy's attack hit the ground instead, causing a small explosion of heat and debris. But Gwen was already in motion, leaping into the air to avoid the shockwave. She somersaulted gracefully, landing on a patch of undisturbed ground as the debris settled around her.

Gwen didn't waste any time. As Lizzy used the smokescreen for cover, Gwen's Spidey-sense kept her one step ahead, tracking Lizzy's position through the chaos. When Lizzy attempted to close the distance, Gwen was ready. She swiftly pivoted, catching Lizzy's incoming kick with her ice-covered hand, the frost instantly spreading across Lizzy's leg.

Lizzy gasped as the cold sapped the heat from her flames, but she didn't back down. She tried to use her microwave energy to heat up Gwen's ice and break free, but Gwen's grip was like iron. 

"You're fast, but you're not faster than my Spidey-sense," Gwen said, her voice calm and focused.

Lizzy gritted her teeth, pouring more energy into her leg to melt the ice, but Gwen didn't give her the chance. With a powerful twist, Gwen threw Lizzy off balance, sending her stumbling backward. Gwen followed up with a rapid series of strikes, her icy fists leaving trails of frost in the air.

Each punch was precise, aimed to disrupt Lizzy's flow and keep her on the defensive. Lizzy struggled to keep up, her movements becoming increasingly sluggish as Gwen's cold energy began to take its toll.

Realizing she couldn't win by brute force, Lizzy decided to try one last desperate maneuver. She focused all her remaining energy into a concentrated microwave blast, aiming to push Gwen back and create some distance.

But Gwen's Spidey-sense flared once more, alerting her to the incoming attack. She anticipated Lizzy's move and leaped high into the air, avoiding the blast entirely. As she descended, Gwen gathered her ice energy into a single, powerful strike.

With a sharp cry, Gwen slammed her fist into the ground just as Lizzy looked up. The impact created a shockwave of cold that radiated out in all directions, freezing the ground solid and sending a wave of frost straight toward Lizzy.

The wave of cold hit Lizzy before she could react, encasing her legs in ice and extinguishing her flames. She fell to the ground, unable to move, her energy completely drained. Gwen landed gracefully in front of her, her fists still glowing with icy energy.

Lizzy looked up at Gwen, breathing heavily, although she was unable to continue fighting her eyes showed none of that. Gwen knelt down beside her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You did great, Lizzy," Gwen said softly, her earlier intensity gone. "This was mostly a test to see if you would give up when the odds are stacked against you and you had no hope of winning. As a hero you lose only when you give up, which you didn't, so good job" 

Lizzy managed a weak smile, nodding in understanding. "I'll keep that in mind… Thanks, Gwen."

Gwen helped Lizzy to her feet, the ice around her legs melting away. As they walked back to the others, spiderbots flew into action and began fixing the training ground while Lizzy recuperated once more, this time everyone had their lunch as they relaxed. 

And once Lizzy was back to full strength once more it was time for Lizzy's final and hardest challenge… Her against Peter. 

Peter simply looked laid back and didn't even get into a fighting stance as he put a hand on his chin in a pondering manner. 

Lizzy, who was already in her stance, looked towards Peter in confusion, "What are you doing?" 

"Thinking…" Peter said, "How I'm going to beat you… there's just too many ways I can go about this, it's hard to choose only one" 

Peter simply than sat down and sat crossed legged, "Well you can go ahead while I think of a funny way to beat you" 

Lizzy grew irritated at all his jabs and comments just now, "Alright since you gave me the go ahead" She said as she flew towards her at a fast pace, with a cautious approach as she knew Peter was extremely strong. 

As she swung her fist Peter casually leaned back as he still held his chin in a pondering manner causing Lizzy to miss completely. 

"Now how can I go about this…" Peter said, completely ignoring her. 

Lizzy rapidly spun around and kicked towards his direction, causing Peter to just lay on the floor with his hands behind his head, "I can do that… but no, that's too boring"

Lizzy was quickly getting annoyed by how casual Peter was being about their match, it didn't help that the spectators were chuckling. 

Peter, still lounging on the ground, didn't seem remotely concerned as Lizzy prepared to attack him. He shifted onto his stomach, his chin propped up in his hands, legs kicking lazily in the air as he watched Lizzy prepare to attack. His relaxed demeanor was infuriating to Lizzy, who was ready to give it her all.

With a burst of speed, Lizzy dashed toward him, fist blazing with fiery energy. Just as her punch was about to connect, Peter nonchalantly rolled out of the way—but instead of stopping there, he kept rolling, and rolling, and rolling, until he was upside down, his feet somehow balancing on the ceiling, hands on his hips like he was surveying his work.

Lizzy skidded to a stop, staring at him in disbelief. "Wha—Why?"

"Physics is wild, huh?" Peter interrupted, grinning down at her, upside down. "I'm just hanging around, you know?"

Lizzy charged again, but Peter suddenly flipped himself off the ceiling, landing gracefully on his feet. He then did a goofy dance, moonwalking backward as Lizzy threw a series of rapid punches. Each time she swung, Peter danced out of the way, barely breaking a sweat.

"You've got moves, Lizzy," Peter said, spinning around with a silly twirl, "but can you keep up with these?" He started doing an exaggerated Charleston dance, easily dodging her strikes while moving in rhythm to an imaginary beat.

Lizzy's frustration grew, and she launched a powerful kick aimed at his head. Peter suddenly dropped to the floor, into a split while yelling like Michael Jackson. The kick sailed harmlessly over him, and he looked up at her with a smirk.

"You know, I've heard of being grounded, but this is ridiculous," Peter joked, still completely at ease.

Lizzy, refusing to give up, tried to blast him with a wave of fiery energy. Peter responded by flipping up into a handstand, balancing on one hand while the other was outstretched like he was holding a surfboard. He pretended to surf, making exaggerated "whoosh" sounds as he effortlessly dodged the wave of energy.

"Cowabunga, dude!" Peter exclaimed, grinning like a kid with his thumb and pinky stretched out shaking them a bit.

Lizzy blinked, utterly bewildered. Before she could react, Peter suddenly flipped off his hand, landing on his feet—but with his hands on the ground and his feet in the air, as if he were doing a very exaggerated, upside-down walk. He "walked" toward her like this, looking completely at ease.

"Am I coming or going? Who knows!" Peter quipped, now pretending to tip an invisible hat with his foot.

Lizzy threw everything she had at him, a flurry of kicks, punches, and blasts. Peter responded by cartwheeling around her, somehow ending up sitting cross-legged on her shoulders, using her head like a comfortable cushion. He leaned over, looking down at her with a playful smile.

"Nice view from up here," he said, completely unfazed.

"Get off!" Lizzy yelled, spinning to shake him off.

Peter flipped off with a casual somersault, landing on a nearby table. He picked up an apple from the table where the others were watching, took a bite, and leaned back as if he were watching a casual game instead of participating in a fight.

Lizzy, panting and exasperated, fired one last blast of energy at him. Peter simply hopped off the table, letting the blast hit the apple he had just been holding, turning it to ash. He looked at the apple, then at Lizzy, and shook his head in mock disappointment.

"That was my lunch," he said, sounding offended but with a playful glint in his eyes.

By now, Lizzy was breathing heavily, her energy nearly spent. Peter finally straightened up, walking over to her as if nothing had happened. He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Nice try, Lizzy. But you might want to practice dodging first. You know, it's kind of fun," Peter said with a wink.

Lizzy stared at him, half-angry, half-impressed, as Peter casually strolled back to the others, waving over his shoulder like they'd just had a friendly sparring session. The group burst out laughing, thoroughly entertained by the ridiculous display. Lizzy, still catching her breath, made a mental note to find a way to keep up with Peter's antics next time.

Peter smirked, looking at Lizzy with a playful glint in his eye. "Tell me, what do you think I was trying to teach you throughout all of that?" he asked casually.

Lizzy blinked a few times, her expression shifting from confusion to irritation. "That you're an annoying asshole with no possible cure of ever getting back to normal?" she retorted.

Felicia scoffed, crossing her arms. "Ain't that the truth."

Peter turned towards Felicia with a mock-hurt expression. "Really, Cat? From you? Gwen or Harry, I would understand, but you? I'm a bit hurt."

Felicia rolled her eyes, a smirk tugging at her lips. "So are we going to pretend that last night didn't happen?"

Ignoring Felicia's jab, Peter turned back to Lizzy, his expression suddenly serious. "What I was trying to teach you is that there will be enemies who will try to get under your skin in more ways than one. You need to learn to ignore them and control your emotions, or they will most likely succeed."

Lizzy was taken aback by the sudden shift in tone. "I see… I understand why you were behaving that way then… Although it's an odd way to do it, I get what you're trying to tell me. I would have had a better chance if I just stayed focused instead of leading with my emotions…"

Everyone froze at her insight, except for Felicia, who shot Peter the dirtiest side-eye.

Peter nodded, his expression softening. "Yeah… Honestly, for you to understand that is impressive in itself. Consider yourself passed."

Just as Lizzy was about to celebrate, red lights began flashing in the training room, causing everyone to freeze and react with alarm.

"Aria, what's going on?" Peter asked as he quickly stood up, his playful demeanor gone.

A hologram appeared in front of them, Aria's voice filled with urgency. "This video was just taken by Grayburn College!" The footage showed a man being forcibly restrained and wheeled away by the military, strapped down to a bed.

"Bruce Banner has been taken by the military," Aria announced. "I repeat, Bruce Banner has been taken by the military! Dad instructed me to declare a Code Red if this event ever occurred. So: Code Red, Bruce Banner has been taken by the military!"

Peter let out a sigh, his face grim. "Well, fuck... this is such a terrible first day on the job mission for you, Lizzy."

The room was filled with a tense silence, everyone exchanging worried looks. Code Red was never a good sign, and the gravity of the situation was unclear. 

"What's going on? And what's the deal with his Bruce Banner, why is he in code red?" Lizzy asked worriedly, noticing everyone was shifting into action. 

"He's none other than The Hulk…"