xp_logs | Warren, Matt, Miles, and Peter, Thursday night

The four vigilantes finally reveal their identities to each other, and Warren pitches Xavier's to them.

Little Bug,

I miss you. Let's have tacos.

Angel

It was easy to miss the small ad taken in the Daily Bugle this week. It could have gone completely unnoticed, too, had Peter Parker not been idly perusing today's edition while waiting for J Jonah Jameson to stop biting the head off an intern. Miles had told him about his encounter with the tough man in black and the mysterious winged mutant, and Peter himself had run into his fellow vigilantes a couple of times while out on patrol himself, so he immediately texted a picture of the ad to his sidekick and planned to follow up that night.

So now the two Spider-Men were swinging their way across the Manhattan skyline. They had no idea how they'd be able to find Angel so they started with the most obvious possibility: the same rooftop where they'd tacoed out in the first place. And as luck would have it, their friendly neighborhood Daredevil was already there.

"Yo, Double D," Peter greeted as he and Miles landed ever so gracefully on the rooftop. "You rang?"

"Not me," Matt replied, twirling his billy club and slipping from the ledge he'd been sitting on, "The Angel. He's called us all here," which he realized could potentially be a really bad thing, except that he knew who Angel was. It was an exercise in trust, "How's school Little Bug?"

"Terrible," Miles answered matter-of-factly. "Public school in this city is the worst. Never do it." He really missed Brooklyn Visions Academy, but it was difficult to hold classes when half the building had collapsed because of an unexplained explosion at the beginning of the semester. Many people attributed it to the global craziness that happened around the same time, but there were no official answers.

"Hey, I went to public school and I turned out just fine," Peter complained.

One could almost see Miles raise an eyebrow behind his mask. "Did you, though?"

"Strange that we're talking about schools," Warren said, landing perfectly on his feet, a tray of coffees in one hand, a mask still covering his face, and his wings stretched out for balance. Considering it was like a business meeting, he felt coffee was an appropriate item to bring. Besides, it was fun to see if he could actually fly and not knock them over. "Because that's one of the reasons I called you all here."

He gave a nod to them all. "Daredevil. Spider-Men. Thank you for coming. I recognize this was short notice, and I wasn't sure if you'd come."

Boss-man brought coffee? That was too funny, but Matt stifled his chuckle so as not to have to explain the joke. Taking a coffee, Matt didn't drink it. He wasn't a fan of the bitter brew without a lot of cream and sugar, "I graduated," he informed everyone, though Angel surely knew that and he was pretty sure Little Bug did too. "And you're right, public schools here can suck. I went to one for a while."

Peter and Miles took their cups, too, but only Peter lifted his mask so he could drink. Miles didn't much care for the bitter aroma. Plus, he'd seen that YouTube video about spiders spinning webs after exposure to different chemicals.

"It was a real longshot to call us like this," Peter said. "How'd you even know we'd seen the Bugle today? Have you been waiting here all night?"

Warren shook his head. "I confess, I had an insider." He motioned to Matt. They'd agreed earlier that if the Spiders showed up, Matt would send him a text. "Daredevil and I have spoken since our last encounter. I find him to be trustworthy and I value his input. That being said,even he doesn't know the true extent of why I called this meeting."

Even though Warren had run this by Scott, he still felt anxious. "There's a place nearby. A place that can be considered a haven for people who are like us. This place has qualified instructors, people able to teach us how to use our abilities to the fullest. These people recognize the world we live in, and how we're not welcome. They want to change that, through positive work. It's not anymore sanctioned than this vigilantism, but it's a group effort." He took a sip of his own coffee, trying to calm his thoughts. "I apologize for the vagueness but you have to understand, I am in no position to divulge all their secrets. If you're interested, I can arrange a meeting with one of their people, and they can discuss it further."

"A school," Matt said, understanding the comment a moment ago better. "With the exception of Little Bug, we're all past school age. And we can use our abilities," at least somewhat. He was curious, but cautious. "And we wear masks for a reason."

"What are you talking about? Like Hogwarts for mutant superheroes?" Miles asked. "Spider-Man's not a mutant, though."

"But Spider-Man is," said Peter. They both chuckled at their favorite in-joke. "But real talk, you aren't really giving us much. Where is this school? Who runs it? Why all the secrets?"

"And who even are you, anyway?" Miles added. "No offense but how can we trust you?"

He thought this would happen. He'd even thought of how he could bring it up, safely without revealing too much, but there had to be respect.

"Because," Warren said, reaching up and tugging off his mask. "My name is Warren Worthington. And you are all now in very real possession of blackmail material."

Matt did the same, his red hair sweat - plastered to his head, "Matt Murdock. He's my boss at work," he grinned crookedly, "I was as surprised as he was."

"Ay, Díos mío," Miles guffawed. "Warren Worthington of Worthington Industries? You're a mutant?"

"This . . . wow." Peter was similarly at a loss for words. "This is crazy."

"They're freaking serious, though," Miles pointed out, and Peter nodded in agreement. The two pulled off their masks at the same time, revealing an 18-year-old whose spikey brown hair puffed back to full volume once it was freed, and a younger kid whose look of astonishment wasn't going to disappear anytime soon. "Um, my name is Miles Morales. This is Peter Parker."

Warren nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you all again. These last few weeks, fighting and patrolling along side you have truly been enjoyable. I've learned to trust you all, which is why this gesture of good faith. It's also why I wanted to allow you the chance to become more involved in mutant matters."

It felt weird having his mask off like this. No mask, no sun glasses, he felt exposed. Thank goodness it was at least dark out. "The need for secrecy for a place like this is obvious if registration ever passes. I'm sure no one here would register," their heartbeats confirmed it, "and I'm sure we'd all like to keep it that way. At the same time, a place where we can be ourselves safely is huge."

"You just said you graduated," Peter said to Matt. "What do you need with a school? And it's not like I can just drop out of college. Also C) not a mutant."

"Because I remember what it was like having my powers and being completely clueless how to handle them and what it meant," Matt explained. "And maybe there's something I can do but never thought of? You're never too old to learn even if it's informally," he hadn't realized that both the Spidermen were so young. "And....I dunno. You're still powered. You think registration will care how?"

"That's exactly it," interjected Warren. "Learning from each other, working as a team.". He cleared his throat. "I've done everything on my own since I was young. Typical rich kid, raised by a nanny. I dealt with my manifestation by calling vet clinics." Warren gave a short laugh and shook his head. "If I can help....well, I'd like to. I've only been around there for a few days, but the support I've received...it's second to none."

"But is it like a school school?" asked Miles. "My parents aren't going to let me drop out of crappy stupid PS 118 to go to mutant Command School. They don't know I'm a mutant, and obvs don't know I'm Spidey. I gotta keep it that way, sabes?"

"Confidentiality is paramount." Warren was glad he'd had a discussion with Scott about this before going into this meeting. "There are very good public schools nearby this one facility, and it can be looked as a boarding house with extracurriculars that are second to none. You could even go home on the weekends if you'd like," he pointed out. "As well, there are opportunities for internships if that's something you'd like to pursue. If this is something you want, I can arrange a meeting with some of the leaders."

"Wait, are you actually thinking about this?" Peter asked Miles.

"Well, yeah," was the younger Spider-Man's response. "Double D's right. They're not going to care if we're mutants or we got bit by genetically engineered spiders. It's all the same to them. After the Liberty Island thing a long time ago, San Diego, here, India . . . Even just with you, there was Lizard and Electro and Doctor Tentacles . . ."

"I think he preferred 'Doctor Octopus.'"

"And my Tumblr is sirstud99 but ain't nobody calling me that. I mean, look, I learned so much just with you, but everything you know, you taught yourself. And there are still things I can do that you can't." Miles faded from sight for a few seconds to demonstrate. "Real mutant teachers who can show me more would be so good. And get me the hell away from the NYC Department of Education."

"Then I guess you've made up your mind, Sir Stud 99."

As far as Matt was concerned, Miles had never left. His heartbeat was still there. "I'm interested in more info too. We can head there together if you want, Bug," he wasn't quite comfortable using his given name yet. "On the weekend. My boss is a slave driver and you have school." He was teasing about Warren.

Warren gave his first real smile of the evening. It was kind of nice to have this rapport with people, and it would definitely be nice to have more people he trusted at the Mansion. "How about you, Peter? Are you interested?"

Peter rubbed the back of his neck, a gesture that Miles recognized as Peter about to give some not very good news. Miles sighed before Peter even spoke. "It's tempting, I can't deny," the older Spider-Man said. "But I'm in college. Double majoring. So's my girlfriend. And I have a job, and this. And, I mean, I get what you're saying, Matt, but I'm still not a mutant so I don't belong with you. But Mister Worthington, you said you also get into some secret vigilantism, too? I'm more than happy to help if you ever need me. I'm not going anywhere."

"Fair enough." It was a huge decision, and Warren could appreciate the hesitancy. "But please, call me Warren. Out here," he said, gesturing to the night, "we're on the same level. And I think I'll still be out and about. It's been enjoyable, working with you guys, and I'm in no rush to end it." He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his ever present business cards. "Since there's no sense in secrecy, here is my private number. Feel free to text or call. I'll set up the meetings, and let you know from there. Peter, I'll ensure to keep your secret just that -- a secret. If there's anyway we can help each other though, I hope we can pass that on."

"Same deal, your secret's safe with me," Peter affirmed.

"We literally have nowhere to hold these," was Miles's contribution when he took Warren's card. He pondered for a moment before he just slipped it into his glove and then pulled his mask back on. "We really need to get some pockets or pouches for these things. So I guess I'll text you tomorrow? And we can figure out just how to lie to my parents."

"Pocket," Matt bragged, slipping the card into a small pocket by his billy club holder. He knew Warren's work number of course, but not his personal one, so he needed the card as well. "I didn't bring my cards, but you can get me through Angel," again, he wasn't quite comfortable calling his boss by his first name. "As for your parents, school tour? Maybe a mentoring program?"

"Boarding house with hands-on mentoring or whatever might convince them. It's worth a shot, at least."

"I'll talk to their team lead, see what we can do." Glancing at his watch, he frowned. "I have a meeting to go to in a half hour, so this is all I can do tonight.". He spread out his wings and put his mask back on. Just because he trusted these three individuals didn't mean he needed everyone else knowing. "I look forward to hearing from you all," he said. And he meant it too.

A few moments later, he lifted himself into the air, and flew off towards his penthouse, a sense of accomplishment guiding his flight.