After leaving the o, Jean and I were still excited about our successful heist and decided to find a nearby cafe for lunch. We were pretty hungry. We entered a local cafe. The smells of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. It's been way too long since I had some expensive coffee. We chose a er booth, away from the main crowd, and sat down fortably.

  Jean leaned ba her chair, smiling happily. "Everythi really well. Maybe a little too well."

  I chuckled, gng around to ensure we weren't being followed. "Yeah, I guess our luck held up today."

  The waitress came by to take our orders, ah ordered sandwiches and coffee. Jean added ara chocote cake. As she left to get our drinks, Jean leaned forward with a serious expression. "You did well back there. Not many people could pull off what you did, especially on their first real mission."

  "Thanks," I replied, feeling a rush of pride at her pliment. "I owe a lot of it to yuidand those telepathiudges."

  Jean waved it off modestly. "It's all about timing and keeping a cool head. You did both."

  Our food arrived soon after, ae in fortable silence for a while, both lost in our thoughts. It was surreal, sitting here like any other pair of friends after what we'd just done.

  "So, what's ?" I finally asked, breaking the quiet.

  Jean took a sip of her coffee, sidering. "? We y low for a bit, let things cool down. os don't like being robbed, even if they don't know who did it yet."

  I aking a bite of my sandwich. "Makes sense. Lay low and enjoy the spoils?"

  "Exactly," she agreed with a grin. "And maybe start pnning our adventure. 't let you get rusty, we?"

  "Definitely not," I replied with a smirk. "I'm hooked now. Ready for whatever es ."

  After finishing our meal we paid with some of our newfound cash, left a generous tip, ahe cafe.

  [Outside]

  Jean g her phone. "Looks like we've got some time to kill. Want to walk around the mall? It's just dowreet."

  I shrugged, feeling rexed after our little heist. "Sure, why not?"

  The mall wasn't far from the cafe, and as we walked over, the streets were bustling with st-minute shoppers. The festive decorations—twinkling lights, fake snow, and oversized dy es—gave the whole area a cozy holiday feel. Wheered the mall, it was like stepping into a whirlwind of Christmas chaos. Families were darting in and out of stores, people were struggling with armfuls of shopping bags, and the air was filled with the sound of cheerful holiday music.

  Jean smiled, gng around at the holiday buzz. "Three days left until Christmas and people are still scrambling."

  I smirked. "You're oo talk. We're about to join them."

  She ughed. "Fair enough. Let's grab some gifts while we're here. You know, for the team."

  I paused. "You mean you fot to get gifts too, huh?"

  Jean gave me a pyful shove. "You caught me. But, hey, better te than never."

  We strolled through the mall, sing store windows for inspiration. First stop: a high-eronics store. Jean's eyes lit up as we passed a dispy of sleek gadgets.

  "I'm thinking something techy for Hank," she said, stopping to i a set of noise-g headphones. "He's always tinkering with maes or reading in that b of his. Might as well make it easier for him to block out all the distras."

  "Good choice," I agreed, pig up a box and nodding toward the checkout ter. "What about Scott?"

  Jean raised an eyebrow. "Scott's easy. I'll get him some new aviators. His sungsses always seem to get broken or lost during missions."

  "'t g with the cssics," I said, as we left the store with our first round of gifts.

  , we wandered into a bookstore. Jean browsed the shelves with a thoughtful look on her face. "What do you think Logan would want?"

  I stifled a ugh. "Whiskey and cigars?"

  Jean rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Be serious. It has to be something he would actually appreciate."

  I sighed. "Okay, okay, in all seriousness... How about engine oil for his bike? Or a tool kit?"

  "Ooh, good ideas," she agreed. "Logan loves to fix things, and his motorcycle is his pride and joy. A bottle of oil and a new wrench should put a big smile on his face."

  "I was joking actually," I admitted. "Let's get some limited edition cigars. He'll be in heaven."

  And so, before we k, we bought enough gifts for everyone, but the fun fact... How the fuck do we carry them back to the academy? Thehe Professor asks, how we got so much money, what do we say? We gambled?

  "We might have bought a little too much, huh?" Jean asked, looking at all our shopping bags.

  "Maybe," I agreed, with a chuckle. "But it's worth it, right? Nothing like buying gifts for your friends and family to show you care."

  "So... Who's gonna take the bme fambling?" Jean asked.

  "That would be me," I said. "You had nothing to do with it, just being the moral support. Besides, sidering I'm a e, I always use that e card to get out of trouble, right?"

  Jean ughed. "Thanks for taking the bullet for me. But let's not say anything if he doesn't ask."

  We both ughed together and then hired a taxi to drive us to the academy.

  However, who would have thought that our fun day would be ruined by a freaking Rhino?!

  As the taxi turned a er, the driver was mid-senteelling a story about the holiday traffic when we heard a deafening roar and the unmistakable sound of crete shattering. The ground shook violently, and before I could react, Jean's hand instinctively shot out, grabbing my arm.

  "What the hell was that?" the driver blurted out, smming on the brakes.

  I looked out the window just in time to see the hulking figure of Rhino, barreling through the street like an unstoppable wreg ball. Cars arians scattered in every dire, trying to avoid the chaos as he plowed forward. His horn-tipped helmet gleamed uhe city lights, and his massive frame sent cars flying like toys. And then, to our horror, he made a beeliraight for us.

  "Move!" I yelled at the driver, but it was too te.

  The taxi jerked violently as Rhino's path of destru came hurtling toward us. I was ready to freeze that fucker on the spot. Jean's eyes fred with telekiiergy, but before she could act, a streak of white and bck shot past our car, fast as lightning. A web stretched taut in front of Rhino, and a figure swung through the air, flipping gracefully above the chaos.

  It was Ghost Spider. There's no doubt about it.

  With perfect timing, she snagged Rhino with another web, pulling herself towards him in one swift motion. She kicked off a nearby building, spinning around in midair as she used the force of her momentum to sm into Rhino's back. He staggered but didn't stop.

  "Get out of here!" Ghost Spider shouted. She was trying to slow Rhino down, but the guy was a tank on legs, barely fazed by her assault.

  Our driver, panig, floored the gas pedal and swerved to avoid the debris. Jean and I braced ourselves as we sped through the chaos. Behind us, Ghost Spider kept dodging Rhino's wild charges, her acrobatic flips and web-swinging the only thing keeping her out of his deadly reach.

  Jean turo me, her expression serious. "We o help her."

  Before she could finish speaking, I covered my body with ice. This should be enough to hide my identity. I opehe door and jumped out, creating an ice bloder my feet, I glided forward while tinuously freezing the moisture in the air. "I'll take care of it."

  I glided forward where Ghost Spider and Rhino were fighting. She was barely dodging that armored freak and her webs weren't that effective.

  "I got some new upgrades since our st fight, bug," Rhino said with a rge grin as he smmed his metal fists together, creating a massive shockwave, that threw back everything around them. Ghost Spider flipped up in midair and threw multiple web bombs, trying to pin down his legs to the ground, "Arggg!" He ripped through the web easily, "This suit is specially made to squash you!" He leaped forward, tag her at high speed.

  "Fuck!" Ghost Spider shouted as she tried to dodge his tackle, but she wasn't fast enough.

  But, hey, I'm fast enough... I froze the moisture around Rhino instantly. That metal freak froze in midair within a sed ao the ground with a loud crash. He tried to move, but his legs and arms were frozen to the ground.

  Ghost Spider nded on the road and rushed to me. "Thanks for the backup! This guy is a pain in the ass."

  I gnced around. There were too many people around, the cops, reporters... o get out of here.

  "No problem. You should be careful ime," With that, I glided out of that area. I went into an alley and jumped over to the other side, after turning bay human form. Phew! That was close. Jean was already waiting oher end with the cab.

  "Let's get out of here." She gestured with her head, and I nodded, jumping into the back seat.

  ***

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