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Sneaking back into his dorm had actually been more problematic than Amir thought. After a hasty escape from Hell's Kitchen, Amir took the train back to Midtown High to get to bed in time for basketball training the following day.

When he reached the dorms he noticed that the doors were already closed with a padlock shutting the steel gates shut. Amir didn't get close to the door rather he stayed a fair distance away and used his darkness to wrench the padlock right off the metal gate, making a fair bit of noise in the process.

He quickly ran into the building and unlocked his room hoping that even if there were cameras they hadn't seen who it was in the darkness of the night.

Amir took a shower to get all the sweat of the busy day off himself and before he knew it he was asleep on his bed the stressful day having taken a toll on him.

* * *

Even though Amir felt refreshed when he walked into his first class the next morning he noticed there was a sense of unease weighing everyone down.

Everyone seemed to be talking in hushed voices and the words avengers, bombs, and Lagos were frequently mentioned. If anyone knew what was going on it would be one person and luckily Amir just so happened to sit next to him.

He quickly made his way to his first-period class where he saw Peter already at his desk looking at his laptop, his gaze weirdly serious.

He made his way to his desk and sat down and whispered, "Hey Peter, whats up with everyone today? The whole school feels like a minefield that's about to go off with one miss-step."

Peter looked at him in surprise, "You didn't hear what happened?"

"Nah, I'm been busy since like 6 in the morning putting up shots in practice, I just realized that something was going on when I was walking to the first period."

"Well, something happened in Nigeria yesterday. Some of the avengers were in Lagos taking care of a threat, I'm not really sure what it was. But in the process, I think someone set off a bomb and the Scarlett witch accidentally directed it into a civilian building."

"Wow, like was anyone hurt or killed?"

"Yea I think so far it's saying more than 20 people are dead and a bunch more injured or in critical condition. The whole world is afraid that this might start an international problem or even a war if it gets to that point. Most of the avengers are American after all. Captain America basically represents us on a global stage as a sort of symbol."

"Damn, that's crazy, hopefully, we can just talk it out and it doesn't go down as a full-on war. Good thing it didn't happen in China or Russia huh?"

"I don't think they would even let our hero's into the country," Peter said with a chuckle.

As the two talked about the ramifications the explosion could have class quickly started and the day passed as usual. Amir hung out with Peter and Ned during lunch like always and declined afterward when Ned asked him to hang out. Though he was looking at Peter rather nervously throughout the day.

Amir almost ran out of school as he made his way back to his dorm. Sure he had made money but now he needed to learn how to actually keep it. He had only turned 16 a few months ago so he didn't really have to worry about taxes since his education and housing were taken care of by his athletic scholarship. He used to work at a fast-food place after school that had paid him in cash but quit when he had first discovered his powers.

Amir wouldn't let anyone say he wasn't a hard worker, after his parents passed away all he was left with was an ailing aunt who was too old to take care of any sort of kid, especially one that had just lost his parents to a car crash. Not that Amir wasn't thankful to aunt Dina, she had given him a place to live and food to eat until he had come to midtown for high school.

'That's probably what made me start talking to Peter in the first place,' Amir realized. Their situations were basically the same, only Peter had been living with his aunt for much longer and she was pretty much his mom.

Amir broke out of his thoughts and tried to focus on the task at hand. He had enough money so he didn't have to worry about food and anything else really for a long time. But what use was his powers now? Should he just sit at home and continue on with his life as if nothing happened?

Amir thought back to the excitement he felt while using his powers to steal all that jewelry. The way his heart raced when he had made the sale. The invincibility he had felt when he had easily run through those guards as if they weren't even there.

No, he couldn't stop now.

Amir finished his homework and watched some news of the new Sokovia accords. Apparently, they were trying to limit what superheroes were allowed to do. Good thing he wouldn't have to worry about that. He wouldn't waste his time going around helping random people who might or might not deserve it. Had anyone helped his parents when they were burning in the car after the crash?

Amir glanced out of his window and noticed the sun setting in the distance bathing the city in a warm orange. He put on his black hoodie and pants with a mask covering his face and walked out of the dorm.

Amir took a deep breath as he prepared himself, it would be a long evening.