I Woke Up in the Marvel Universe, But All the Heroes Are Women?-Chapter 85: Report Card

My throat still burns with the memory of Ellie's symbiote keeping me alive. Three days unconscious, and now I'm sitting in the bunker's living room, pressed against Ellie's side like she's afraid I might disappear if she lets go. Her arm wraps possessively around my shoulders, her fingers absently tracing patterns on my skin through my t-shirt.
"So kid, you're a demon, huh?" Masters leans forward in her chair, studying me with that calculating look I've come to recognize.
I shift uncomfortably under her scrutiny. The memory of crimson skin, leathery wings, and horns erupting from my skull feels like someone else's nightmare, not something that actually happened to me.
"I think incubus would be a more accurate term," I correct her, trying to sound more confident than I feel. The word feels strange on my tongue, like admitting something I've been trying to deny.
Masters barks out a laugh, slapping her knee. "Well, that explains why your powers are always making people horny. Thought it was just a weird side effect."
"Yeah," I admit with a weak smile, leaning further into Ellie's embrace. Her body is solid and warm against mine, an anchor in this sea of insanity my life has become.
Spider-Woman shifts in her chair across from us, the white eye patches of her mask narrowed, radiating discomfort despite their blankness. She's been quiet since I woke up, lingering at the edges of conversations like a shadow.
"Shane," she finally says, her voice cutting through the awkward silence. "What we did at that mansion... it wasn't right."
The weight of her words settles in my chest like a stone. I stare at my hands, remembering how easily they pulled the trigger, how naturally they ended lives.
"I regret killing the guards," I admit quietly. "That was definitely a trauma response. But Norma..." I look up, meeting those blank white eye patches with newfound resolve. "I don't regret killing Norma, Spider-Woman."
Ellie's arm tightens around me protectively.
"We have to try to rehabilitate these villains, Shane," Spider-Woman insists, leaning forward. "Think of the good she could have…"
"You killed just as many guards as I did, *Spidey*," Ellie barks, her voice dripping with sarcasm on the nickname. The symbiote ripples beneath her skin, responding to her rising anger.
Spider-Woman's shoulders slump slightly. "I know," she admits, her voice softening. "Carnage made me much more aggressive, but I was responsible for their deaths, and I'm honestly broken up about it." She turns her masked face back to me. "But Shane, I just don't want you to fall into the perpetual cycle of being a villain."
"I don't want to be a villain either," I say slowly, working through my thoughts as I speak. "But someone like Norma... it's hard to argue that she deserved to live. Especially knowing what you know."
I run my hand through my hair, exhaustion settling deep in my bones. "I don't know if I'm done being a hero or not." Beside me, Ellie groans softly, her arms holding me even tighter. "But I promise I'll never become a villain."
Masters clears her throat, drawing our attention. "Kid, the world isn't divided into heroes and villains. It's a lot messier than that." She gestures broadly with one hand. "You think I lose sleep over the people I've killed? The ones who deserved it? Hell no."
Spider-Woman stares at Masters for a long moment, her mask conveying deep disappointment. Then she turns back to me, her posture softening.
"Shane, if you ever decide you still want to be a hero, I'll always be around to help," she says, her voice gentler than before. "The door's always open."
She rises from her chair, stretching slightly as if her body's still recovering from everything that happened. I notice how carefully she moves, like someone nursing invisible wounds.
"He's definitely not on death's door anymore, right?" she asks Ellie, gesturing toward me with a slight tilt of her head.
Ellie's fingers continue their possessive circles on my shoulder as she answers, "Other than being sore as hell, he seems a lot more durable than he used to be." There's a note of pride in her voice that makes something warm bloom in my chest.
Spider-Woman nods, seemingly satisfied with that assessment. "Alright. I've gotta go. Since Carnage took over, I've been avoiding a lot of my other responsibilities."
"Bye," I offer simply as she heads toward the door.
The heavy bunker door slides shut behind her with a pneumatic hiss, leaving the three of us in momentary silence.
"She's so judgey," Masters says immediately, rolling her eyes dramatically.
Ellie snorts in agreement. "She just thinks she has the moral high ground. It's so annoying."
"I imagine she's going through a lot right now," I say quietly, thinking about Spider-Woman's rigid moral code colliding with the blood on her hands. "With all the killing she did."
Ellie groans, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Whatever. She'll get over it."
I can't help but smile at her bluntness. That's my Ellie, no filter, no pretense. Just raw honesty, even when it's harsh. Maybe especially when it's harsh.
Masters leans forward in her chair, elbows on her knees, fixing me with that intense stare that always makes me feel like I'm being assessed. "So, kid, when are we going to pick up training again?"
The question catches me off guard. Training feels like something from another life, before Norma.
"Well, I haven't been to school in forever," I say, running a hand through my hair. "I should probably make sure they know I got kidnapped and…"
"Oh, speaking of that," Masters cuts me off, reaching into her jacket pocket. She pulls out a folded piece of paper and tosses it onto the coffee table between us. "Already took care of it."
I stare at the paper, confused. "What?"
Masters shrugs like it's the most normal thing in the world. "It's not hard. They have forms for students that get kidnapped in the office, and since I'm staff, I signed off on it."
I reach for the paper with disbelief, unfolding it carefully. It's my card for the first semester. My eyes scan the document, taking in the information with growing surprise. Mostly B's across the board, a C+ in Graphic Design 101, and in Masters' class... an A-.
"Really, Sensei? An A minus?" I look up at her, one eyebrow raised.
Masters grins. "I wanted to give you incentive to work harder next semester."