In the early morning, Ethan whistled as he strolled toward his sleek red Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Today, he was heading to S.H.I.E.L.D. to pick up Ghost Rider before escorting him to the New York Sanctum.
Now, some might ask—does Ethan even have a driver's license? Of course not.
Sure, the U.S. allows people to get a license at sixteen, but back then, Ethan was still in an orphanage.
He didn't exactly have the luxury of affording a car, let alone the means to take a driving test.
Even after leaving that life behind and securing a car, a house, and a steady flow of cash through various... let's say, 'under-the-table' deals, he never really found the time to take a proper driver's test.
Not that it mattered. He had a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge.
If anyone tried to tow his car, he'd just call Coulson and have it sorted in an instant.
Of course, there was also the matter of his driving skills—or, more accurately, his lack thereof.
But was that really an issue?
A car crash wouldn't hurt him.
And if the vehicle got totaled?
Well, wasn't that what Ghost Rider was for?
'He can just fix it up for me in no time... Damn, now that I thought about it, Ghost Rider is OP as fuck."
Now that he thought about it, this might actually be an efficient strategy.
With that logic, he could drive with complete confidence.
However, as he opened his garage, his upbeat mood took a hit when he spotted someone sitting in the driver's seat of his car—a girl in a jacket and jeans, arms crossed, staring straight at him.
"I was home for a single day, and now you're running off again?" Katie's tone was filled with irritation, her frustration evident.
Last time, Ethan had left her alone for a whole week while he ran off to the West.
She had been far from pleased.
Though, if he were to be honest, her real annoyance probably wasn't about being left behind.
It was the fact that he had taken Yuriko with him but not her.
Seeing the clear frustration on her face, Ethan sighed and raised his hands in surrender.
"Trust me, I'd love to take a few days off, but this world refuses to let me. There's always something going on."
"Oh, is that so?" Katie's lips curled into a smirk, her voice taking on a teasing lilt.
"Then how about you take me with you this time?"
Before he could even respond, her body flickered.
In the blink of an eye, she phased through the car and reappeared in the passenger seat, arms folded in triumph.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have class?"
"And you don't?" Katie shot back, grinning.
"That's—!" Ethan opened his mouth but then hesitated.
"That doesn't count! Fury and Professor X personally approved this trip. It's basically an assignment. You can't call it skipping class if it's sanctioned. I'm just following orders."
Katie laughed. "You do realize you're kind of a school legend now, right? You've missed about two-thirds of the semester, and new students actually think that's just a perk of being student council president."
"Wait, people are still using that title? I thought I just made that up," Ethan said, looking genuinely surprised.
"Nope. It's alive and well." Katie shrugged. "I got bored, so I teamed up with Colossus, Pete, and a few others to make it official."
"You actually went through with that?"
"Well, yeah. Think about it," Katie said, leaning back in her seat.
"If your abilities are stable, you don't actually learn much in the mutant academy. Most of us already got our basic education before we even stepped foot on campus. As for our powers, once you've trained them enough, real improvement only comes from actual field experience."
Ethan nodded, understanding her point.
"So, I pitched an idea to the Professor. Instead of letting all the lower-risk missions go to the X-Men, why not let the academy's backup students take them? That way, we can gain real-world experience without being completely thrown into the fire.
Plus, we introduced a credit system—students earn points for completing missions, which they can trade in for stuff they actually want. Keeps everyone motivated."
"That's... actually a solid plan." Ethan admitted.
Professor X and Magneto had built the academy to shelter mutants, but coddling them in a safe haven wouldn't prepare them for the dangers that lurked outside.
Groups like Stryker's forces had already proven that mutant sanctuaries weren't invincible. If another attack came, these students needed to be ready.
"By the way, what about those two troublemakers, John and Bobby? Haven't they joined the student council yet?" Ethan asked, recalling how those two always had a knack for stirring things up.
It surprised him that they hadn't jumped at the opportunity.
Katie frowned at the mention of their names, her lips pursing in irritation.
"Oh, those two? Yeah, they were all for it in the beginning. In fact, they were actually part of the founding members of the student council. But the moment things started running smoothly, they got bored.
Stability just isn't their thing. A few days ago, they up and left, took half of our members with them, and started their own group—the Lionheart Club. Now, they're basically treating us like rivals."
Ethan blinked in surprise before letting out a short laugh.
"Seriously? Those two actually went and started a revolution?"
"Yep. They're having way too much fun with it, too."
Ethan shook his head, both amused and a little exasperated.
"Wait a second. You're not on a mission right now, are you?"
"Of course I am. This is an official, top-priority mission," Katie replied smoothly, swiping through the holographic data panel she had with her.
A bulletin popped up, displaying the mission details in bold letters.
Mission: Accompany Student Council President Ethan to Kamar-Taj and provide necessary support.
Mission Level: S-Rank (Restricted to students Level 3 and above)
Credits Reward: 5 points (Final assessment based on task completion by supervising officer.)
Registration Officer: Student Council President Ethan
Ethan squinted at the panel, then did a double take.
"Hold up. There's a C-rank mission on here that literally just says 'Find the Student Council President
'—and you get 0.5 credits for just getting my phone number?" He turned to Katie with an incredulous expression.
She grinned. "Well, you disappear so often we had to make it worth something. Gotta keep things organized."
Ethan ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "I leave for a few days, and the school turns into some weird RPG-shit. Great."
Then something clicked in his mind. He glanced at Katie suspiciously.
"Wait. If I'm the leader of this mission, what's my reward?"
Katie gave him a deadpan look and shrugged. "Since when does the NPC handing out the mission get rewards?"
Ethan's eye twitched. "Motherfucker!!"
Shaking his head in defeat, he sighed and got into the driver's seat.
"Alright, let's just go."
Katie, however, made no move to buckle in. Instead, she watched him warily.
"Are you sure you wanna drive yourself? Last week, you mixed up the brake and the accelerator and nearly sent this car straight into the river."
She wasn't concerned about their safety—after all, even a catastrophic crash wouldn't leave a scratch on either of them.
But other people on the road weren't nearly as durable.
Plus, there was one other very important reason for her concern.
This was their only good car.
"Relax, I've taken everything into account." Ethan waved her off confidently.
"Oh, really? And what happens if you mix up the pedals again?" Katie arched an eyebrow, still unconvinced.
Ethan smirked, opening the door and stepping out dramatically.
"Then I'll just use my feet as the brakes. You of all people should know that with my ability, I could stop a speeding train, reverse it, and send it back to the station if I wanted to."
Katie just stared at him in silence. "..."
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Word count: 1442
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