Kraven's Class – Training Field
The desert sun beat down on the Horizon training ground. Kraven paced in front of the students, bare chest gleaming like he was posing for a cologne ad.
"Predator drills!" he barked. "Your powers are nothing without instinct. Instinct decides survival."
Jake shifted uneasily as Kraven's eyes locked on him. It wasn't admiration. It was appraisal.
"You," Kraven said suddenly, tossing a hunting spear at Jake's feet. "Show me how prey becomes predator."
Jake picked it up reluctantly. Alloy's lens flickered.
"Note: this guy is way too excited about recess. Can we get him a whistle and a 'World's Creepiest Gym Teacher' mug already?"
Rogue whispered as she passed Jake, "Careful, sugah. He's got that look — like he already mounted your picture on a wall somewhere."
Jake forced a grin, but the thought stuck with him.
Otto's Lecture – Physics Auditorium
At first, it was almost normal. Equations sprawled across the holographic chalkboard, Otto pacing with energy.
"…and the transfer of kinetic efficiency through mechanical augmentation—"
His marker slipped. He froze. Then, almost too quickly, he started muttering.
"Arms… that think faster than flesh. A perfect feedback loop. Why should the body be the limit when the mind is infinite?"
Students glanced at each other nervously. A laugh bubbled in the back row. Otto slammed the marker down hard enough to snap it in half.
Jake swallowed. He'd seen obsession before. But this? This was a storm waiting for lightning.
Deadpool meta-cut:
"Doc Ock foreshadowing speedrun: first he's teaching about physics, then he's muttering about robot arms, and next thing you know he's tossing cars at Spider-Man. Call it the Three-Step Ock Dance."
Warren's Lab – Bio Annex
Jake leaned over a microscope, pretending to focus. Warren hovered too close, his eyes gleaming behind small glasses.
"Your energy flux fascinates me, Mr. McGrath," he said, voice silk over steel. "Have you ever considered… contributing? A strand of hair, a drop of blood. Purely for science."
Jake stiffened. Rogue stepped forward, arms crossed. "Back off, professor. He ain't a lab rat."
Warren's smile didn't falter, but his eyes lingered too long before he drifted away.
Alloy muttered, "Ten bucks says he's already got a creepy basement with tanks labeled 'Prototype A through Z.'"
Jake exhaled. The way Warren had said "science" didn't sound like research. It sounded like ownership.
Toomes' Workshop – Engineering Bay
Sparks flew as Jake adjusted the stabilizer on his energy converter. Toomes loomed behind him, hands clasped behind his back.
"Impressive work," Toomes said smoothly. "Compact, efficient. But wasteful. You're bleeding potential. Properly contained, this could power entire wingsuits. Or… larger applications."
Jake frowned. "It's not meant for weapons."
Toomes chuckled without humor. "Everything becomes a weapon, boy. It's just a matter of who wields it first."
His gaze lingered on the glowing core, hungry, before he moved on.
Alloy hissed, "I don't like him. That's the kind of look my cousins gave starship reactors before they tore them apart for fun."
Jake tightened the casing, feeling his pulse hum in sync with the machine. Every "lesson" left him colder than the last.
By the end of the week, Horizon didn't feel like a university anymore.
It felt like a menagerie.
And Jake wasn't sure if he was here to be a student—
or the prize exhibit.
Deadpool meta-cut:
"Welcome to Horizon Zoo! Please keep your hands and DNA inside the ride at all times. Warning: faculty may bite, clone you, or rant about robot arms. Management is not responsible for trauma."