Young Avengers: Rise of the New Heroes

Chapter 1

"Hopefully you got your homework done. I expect it to be completed and correct. Don't expect a perfect score, however. I doubt any of you actually aced it," he said in his annoyed voice. There was a shuffling of papers as some of the students took out their homework from last night. Stephanie already had hers on her desk in front of her. She really was organized.

"Before I come around to collect your...attempt, we have a new student. Not that any of you would care, but it's policy to introduce her to you. I'm only going to say it once, so you'd better listen up. This is Stella Strange. She's going to be part of our...fun class. Everyone say hi, Stella say hi back."

There was a soft hello from a few people. Someone even clapped in the back. Stella blushed and turned around, waving to people. Mr. Cortez clapped his hands.

"Okay now that that's over with, homework. Time to collect. Now." He began walking around the room, picking up everyone's assignments, looking over them. Obviously he narrowed his eyes when he looked at me, clicked his tongue and moved past me. When he was gone I leaned over to Stephanie.

"Stella Strange? Why does that seem...familiar?" I whispered. She shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know. Everything seems familiar to you, Tina." She leaned back in her seat and began to write the notes that were on the board in her notebook. I shook my head. There was no way that she was related, was she?

When Mr. Cortez was finished collecting the homework from the night before, he placed the stack on his desk and began to go over the material for today. Our homework was to go over pages 33 and 34, all the problems on both pages and turn it in by tomorrow. The material pretty simple for me but difficult for others.

"Stark, answer this question on the board," Mr. Cortez said, his back facing us. I looked at the problem and began solving the equation. When I got my answer I responded with the variable of x equaling 14 while y equaled 10. Of course he turned around, raised an eyebrow, and solved the equation. He then looked at me and folded his arms.

"Did you use a calculator?" he asked. "No, sir. I wrote out the problem then simply solved for both variables. I can double check if you'd like," I responded. He shook his head.

"No I want proof that you didn't cheat. Because you answered quickly."

I could feel the tension inside my rising a little, but I didn't let it take over. "I'm...sorry that you think I cheated, but I swear that I didn't. I just solved it quickly. Like I said, I can double check-" He cut me off.

"Answering quickly without taking time to actually solve the problem correctly tells me that you used a calculator or you checked your textbook to get the answer. Cheating is not acceptable in this classroom or anywhere. You can't cheat your way out of problems, especially in real life. Do you think a hero would cheat his way out?"

Here we go again, I thought to myself. I sat in silence while Mr. Cortez began ranting about the Avengers once more, just to annoy me. But this time was different. Not only did he target the Avengers but he had to say one thing about one of them.

Now, I shouldn't have snapped. I should've kept my cool, but what he said really upset me to the point where I couldn't take it anymore.

"The Avengers didn't cheat their way out of battle. In fact they thought they were entitled to everything. Well, I can tell you right now that the only person in that group who made them look so special, wasn't special at all. He had the brains of a psycho, I can tell you that. In fact, he shouldn't even have been a hero. It's not a surprise that Iron Man himself got himself killed. I'm happy he's gone because I don't think I could stand another second of his 'genius-ness'."

I sat there, eyes wide and mouth open. For my teacher to insult my dad like that was enough to push me over the limit. I could feel Stephanie shaking her head, but I didn't care. I had it.

"I'm sorry, what? You're happy that someone died? And that man just happens to be my father? I get that you're always in a mood, but you can't just insult someone like that!" I snapped. The room fell silent. Everyone was looking at me, waiting for the reaction.

It took him a minute to respond. I could tell something bad was waiting for me. But I didn't care. This man insulted my dad, and I wasn't going to let him hurt him. He raised an eyebrow at me, leaned in, and replied.

"Get. Out. You don't belong in this class. You're just like your father. Rude, disrespectful, entitled. Now get out." I packed up my things and stormed out of the class. Just as I was about to leave though, the door opened and in came Clara Barton, one of my friends. She always was late. When she came in, she saw my face, stepped back to let me out then stepped back in. I could hear Mr. Cortez's sarcasm as the door closed.

I headed to my safe place, the only place in school where I feel comfortable at. No one goes in there except for one person, and he only goes in there after school hours. I pushed open the door to the janitor's closet, closed the door, and leaned against the wall and began to cry. I buried my face into my arms and just cried.

All I wanted was my dad to be there. To let me know that it was going to be okay. It's hard without a father figure. I'm jealous of everyone who has a dad because at least they have that figure in their lives. I don't. Tina Stark, just a regular girl that everyone knows who my father is. But I'm no one. I just want my dad back.

And there you have it! The first chapter of the story! Yes, I know it's long, but there was a lot I wanted to write about. I wanted to introduce Tina and a few other characters that you'll get to know better throughout the book. What do you guys think of Tina so far? Do you like her? What are your thoughts? Let me know!

The next chapter we're going to switch perspectives a bit. We're going to go from first person to third person because plot. Plot is very important. No spoilers, though. You'll just have to keep reading. But the next chapter might not be out for a while. I'm working on it, and keep in mind that I am a college student. Finals are coming up, since the quarter is almost over. I'll need to work as hard as I can to pass.

Thanks so much checking out my story, also. If you like what you see, I have other stories published and some in the works at this moment. If you want to read those, feel free to do so and follow me if you'd like. Again, thank you guys so much for the reading and the support. It means a lot to me. Love ya! <3

P.S The girl in the picture is what Tina looks like. All rights go to the original photo or...the photographer? I think.