Everyone was already laughing and dancing at school. Finding Ned and MJ would be difficult. They weren't near the food table so the couple had no idea where else they could be.
"Maybe Ned is dancing with Sally?" Iola suggested looking around.
"Maybe," said Peter before spotting someone, "look, there's MJ!"
The two quickly made their way to the curly haired girl. She was in a light-yellow dress and was leaning against a wall, watching everyone. MJ raised an eyebrow when she saw their arms linked together.
"So, you two are here together," she said not surprised.
"Yeah. We're dating too," said Iola grinning. "Are you here with someone?"
"Nope," said MJ standing up straight. "I'm only here for the food."
They watched as MJ walked off into the crowd of dancing teenagers without a single glance back at them. Peter frowned and made a face.
"She completely ignored me," he said in realization. Iola shrugged and they went off to take pictures. Even though it was just Peter and Iola everyone else seemed to want to take pictures of them too. Everyone wanted to say that they were at the same prom as Iola Stark. The photographer didn't seem very satisfied with the photos however.
"You two are too stiff," said the photographer shaking his head. "Loosen up and maybe change your poses."
Iola's eyes twinkled and she grinned mischievously. Peter awkwardly stood there confused and unsure of what to do. She then grabbed his tie, pulled him down, and kissed his cheek. The photographer was extremely happy with the photos while Peter seemed to flustered and shocked to move.
"Look at how nice these turned out!" Iola exclaimed when she received the finished product. Since there were two, she gave one to Peter.
"Can I get a warning next time?" Peter asked with a hint of red still on his face. Iola laughed and pulled him to the dance floor.
"Starks are unpredictable remember?"
As they danced people around them stared and whispered. People couldn't understand how someone so rich and popular as Iola wanted to be with a loser like Peter. By popular vote, Flash and Iola became Prom King and Queen.
"Why does it have to be Flash?" Peter groaned as Iola left his side and walked to the stage. People cheered and MJ suddenly appeared next to him.
"Flash looks happy to be prom royalty with Iola," she commented. Peter jealously watched as they danced. When they made their way to where Peter and MJ were standing Iola gave them a helpless look while Flash looked smug. When the dance was over, Flash didn't seem to want to let Iola go.
"Get away from me," ordered Iola glaring at him. Flash ignored her and kept his hands on her waist.
"Everyone would love to go to prom with me. Admit it, you do too," he said with a smirk. Iola was disgusted.
"You're delusional!"
Peter noticed what was happening and stormed over furiously. Iola saw him and silently asked for help. Peter pulled her away from him and wrapped his arms around her protectively.
"Stay away from my girlfriend," said Peter angrily. Iola was surprised at his tone. She didn't remember ever hearing him angry like that before. Plus, he was talking to the guy who bullied him for years.
"You know, I think Pete here is the delusional one. He thinks he's Iola Stark's boyfriend!" Flash laughed looking around at everyone else in the crowd. The crowd laughed much to Peter's annoyance.
"That's because he is! I'm dating Peter," announced Iola. A couple people who had been there for the prom photos mumbled their agreements. Flash was shocked and looked angry. His hands balled into fists.
"What makes Peter better than me? I'm richer, better looking, and popular!" Flash yelled, his face red with anger.
"One, I'm Iola Stark, your money isn't interesting," said Iola breaking out of Peter's hold. Everyone snickered at her words. It was true, Flash may be rich, but Iola was the daughter of the richest person in the world. Even if the money was split in between Iola and Rylan they'd still be richer than Flash by a landslide. "Two, whoever said you were better looking? Last time I checked the guy I like doesn't have crusty hair. Three, how did you ever get the idea that I'd be impressed with your popularity? Peter is sweet, cute, honest, heroic, and a much better person than you. Don't ever touch me again."
Everyone started hollering and telling Flash how badly he was just roasted. Iola however, grabbed Peter's hand and pulled them outside.
"Sweet, cute, honest, and heroic?" Peter asked with a blush. "You really think that?"
"Of course. Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?" Iola asked turning pink at the embarrassment. Before Peter could say something to her however, people started screaming and running. The couple quickly looked over to see a man walking towards them. Iola gasped when she saw the face however. Its head was red and he had no skin, it was just the skull.
"Who's that?" Peter asked moving in front of her as the man walked closer.
"I have no idea," said Iola, "he doesn't look very nice though."
"Dr. Zola's formula predicted the birth of two powerful Stark kids long ago. It also predicted the threat of you, Peter Parker," said the man. Peter's eyes widened at his words. How did he know who Peter was? It was a good thing that everyone else had evacuated the building.
"Who are you?" Iola asked bravely.
"I, am Johann Schmidt. Head of HYDRA and I possess the power of your precious Captain America," said the man getting closer to them. Peter grabbed Iola's hand and gave her a panicked look.
"We have to get out of here. We don't have any weapons or anything," he said before pressing his lips together. "We can't just leave either though."
"Yeah," said Iola before thinking. "If you get me close enough to him, I can push him into the Astral dimension. Or the mirror dimension."
"Which one is more practical for this?" Peter asked grabbing a platter off the floor. While Peter did so however, Schmidt pulled out a pistol and started shooting at them. Peter quickly used the platter as a shield, helping Iola slowly make her way towards the HYDRA leader. When they reached him, Iola pushed him back, forcing his astral form out. Nothing happened however and Schmidt grinned.
"He doesn't have a soul," gasped Iola before Schmidt shot her. Peter shoved her to the side, ensuring that the bullet only hit her side.
"Are you ok?" Peter asked with wide eyes when the blood started to seep down to the white skirt. Iola quickly put pressure on the wound and drew in shaky breaths.
"Did you think a simple push would defeat me?" Schmidt asked laughing. He then pointed the pistol at Peter. "The formula said you two would be powerful."
"Peter!" Ned shouted tossing one of Peter's web shooters at him. Peter quickly ran and got it, dodging the bullets shot at him. He then webbed Schmidt to the wall much to his anger. Peter ran to Iola, noticing how pale she was looking.
"Hold up, hold up. Move your hands," said Peter urgently. Iola moved her hands and Peter used his webs to create a bandage of sorts, keeping in as much blood as possible. He winced at the sight of blood all over Iola's hands.
"Help me get to Schmidt," gasped Iola grabbing onto Peter. Peter picked up Iola and glanced at Ned.
"Call Mr. Stark!" Peter shouted before bringing her to where the man was webbed. Schmidt glared down at them, his horrifying appearance making Peter nervous.
"You will never beat me. I will escape and you will wish you never survived," threatened Schmidt viciously. Iola put a hand on the webbing and crystal-like walls surrounded them.
"You won't escape here. This is the mirror dimension," said Iola barely above a whisper. She then shakily made a portal and Peter didn't hesitate to carry her out. There, the ex-Avengers and current Avengers were arriving. Students cautiously walked back in to see what was going on and news reports swarmed the place.
"What happened?" Rylan asked as Peter put her down on an ambulance cot. Bruce immediately started tending to the wounds as they carried her out.
"This guy called Johann Schmidt? He tried to kill us," said Peter following Bruce and Iola. Steve immediately walked over.
"Johann Schmidt? That's not possible. He died in 1945," said Steve in disbelief.
"He didn't look human. Well, he did but he had no skin," said Peter trying to give them a good description. "His head was a blood red skull and he kept talking about some sort of formula?"
Steve shared a look with Natasha and Sam. They both started talking in hushed voices which confused Peter. He wasn't too concerned however, he was more worried about Iola. They brought her into a Quinjet and they flew back to the facility. Rylan and Tony were rapidly talking to Iola desperately trying to keep her awake.
"Peter? Peter, are you ok?" Iola asked seeing him. Her voice sounded strained but Peter didn't say anything, as long as she didn't fall asleep everything would be alright.
"Why are you asking me that? You got shot," said Peter sitting next to her cot. Rylan and Tony let them talk, the father and son both unhappy that Iola wouldn't talk to them. When they got to the facility Pepper ran over panicked and worried.
"Oh my god! Is she ok?" Pepper asked seeing the wound.
"She will be fine. Iola lost a lot of blood though and we will need to get the bullet out. The shrapnel could lead to the same poisoning Tony had," said Bruce as Agents brought her to the infirmary room. Peter was more anxious than Iola was. He quickly ran ahead and opened all the doors for them to get Iola to the infirmary faster.
"Calm down kid. She'll be fine," said Scott putting a hand on Peter's shoulder when he noticed how Peter seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilation. "Iola's calmer than you are right now."
"I've never been shot before and I've never been there when someone was shot. I have no idea what's going on right now. Are you sure she's ok?" Peter asked drumming his hands on the chair and tapping his feet nervously.
"She's definitely fine. She takes after Tony remember? Tony survived for years with shrapnel in his chest. If Tony Stark can survive that then Iola can definitely survive a gunshot wound to her side," reassured Scott. After a while Scott had to leave but he told Sam to keep him updated. Rylan sat on the chair four chairs down, his head hanging and his arms supporting his body on his legs. Tony paced the room impatiently while Pepper and Natasha went to get the anxious people coffee.
After three hours Bruce walked out and the nurses and surgeons working at the facility wheeled Iola into a different room.
"We got the bullet and shrapnel out. Right now Dr. Cho is fixing her up. She'll be as good as new in no time," said Bruce allowing everyone to breathe again. Peter let out a giant breath of relief feeling exhausted.
"Go take a shower kid. You look like you were the one shot," said Tony wearily. Peter did as he was told and went to the bathroom. When he looked in the mirror, there was blood all over him which scared him. He had never been in battle before where someone was injured to the extent that there was that much blood. He quickly took a shower and then went to find Iola.
"Does it hurt?" Peter asked playing with her hand.
"No. Not really," answered Iola adjusting her head on the pillow. "I don't feel like getting shot again though."
"You won't. I won't let you get shot again," promised Peter.
"Don't say that," said Iola frowning, "it's my job to help save the world. These things will happen and I don't want you to risk your life trying to save mine."
"If I was faster and stronger you wouldn't have gotten shot today," said Peter frustrated. He ran a hand through his already messy hair stressed.
"Hey. If you hadn't pushed me I would've died. It almost hit an organ," said Iola grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "Don't blame yourself for the wound. Blame yourself for ruining another prom."
Peter looked at Iola with wide eyes. She was right, this was the second prom in a row that had gotten ruined. Iola giggled and Peter laughed sheepishly.
"How are we going to make up for that?"
The door opened and Steve walked in, flanked by Natasha and Sam. Bucky also trailed in a few moments later.
"Sorry to break you love birds up but we have some questions," said Steve crossing his arms. Peter blushed and stood up. Iola however, grabbed his hand and pulled him back into his seat.
"Sure," she said giving Peter a look telling him to stay.
"What happened to Schmidt?" Steve asked. They had forgotten about Schmidt during the panic.
"I trapped him in the mirror dimension. We can get him out if you want," said Iola shrugging.
"The mirror dimension?" Natasha asked furrowing her eyebrows.
"A dimension that reflects the real world but it's not visible to everyone else in the real world. No one knows that a dangerous HYDRA leader is currently webbed to the punch table in the school gym right now," said Iola obviously amused by the idea. Peter also had to grin at the visual and Sam chuckled.
"He can't get out right?" Steve asked.
"Nope. I highly doubt he has any idea what a Sling Ring is and the chances of him knowing how to work one is extremely low."
"That's good. How did he get back though? He's supposed to be dead," mumbled Steve before giving her a picture. It was the prom picture she and Peter had taken. "We found this at the school. You might have some explaining to do for Rylan."
The two teens blushed as Steve and Natasha walked out. Bucky and Sam stayed behind however.
"Did you try and push him into that weird dimension?" Sam asked.
"The Astral Dimension? It didn't work. He doesn't have a soul," said Iola frowning, "the only thing that worked was the mirror dimension."
"You should leave Schmidt to us. It's unfinished business with Steve," said Bucky after a few minutes of silence.
"What happened between Schmidt and Captain America?" Peter asked curiously. "Was he the one who got him frozen?"
"Yeah. Schmidt and Steve are both the results of the super serum. It's better if we don't get involved," advised Bucky before walking out. Sam shrugged and followed the Winter Soldier out. Peter and Iola stared at each other before coming up with a final agreement.
"We have to do something."
❌❌❌
She was much better the next day. Dr. Cho's cradle did wonders. Back at school, she opened the mirror dimension again to let the ex-Avengers get Schmidt out. Peter ran up to her with a faint blush.
"Everyone's talking about how I carried you after you got shot. It's weird," he said embarrassed. Iola laughed and kissed his cheek.
"You're finally popular," she said before grabbing her backpack off the floor. "What's our plan for Schmidt by the way?"
Peter thought for a moment. "We should talk with Ned first."
As they walked through the hall more people seemed to try to talk to them. Iola grimaced when she stumbled over someone's leg. An arm wrapped around her waist and she looked at Peter who could meet her eyes. Iola giggled and they quickly found Ned basking in the popularity.
"Hey Ned," greeted Iola, "how's the popularity?"
"It's so weird," said Ned excited.
"Don't worry it'll grow old fast," sighed Iola glancing around the hall.
"We have something to tell you," said Peter quietly. He looked around to make sure no one heard him. They quickly walked into an empty classroom.
"What did it feel like to be shot?" Ned asked with wide eyes.
"It hurt a lot. I felt like I was shoved really hard and the worst part was all the blood," said Iola gently touching her side. The wound was gone but it felt weird still.
"Woah that sounds so cool," said Ned with a gasp. He had many more questions and things he wanted to know but they had to get back on topic.
"We need to figure out what Steve's going to do with Schmidt. I have a bad feeling about just letting Steve deal with him," said Iola frowning.
"Schmidt targeted Iola and I. He said Stark twins though so there's a good chance that he'll target Rylan too," added Peter. "Don't forget about the formula he mentioned."
"What's the formula?" Ned asked slightly confused.
"No idea," said Iola shaking her head.
"Then that's the first thing we do. We figure out the formula."
❌❌❌
As Steve's god-daughter, she was put in charge of figuring out the formula. Peter and Ned were going to keep tabs on Schmidt. If Steve doesn't say anything then Iola would have to get as much as she could out of Natasha and Bucky.
"What did you guys do with Schmidt?" Iola asked during dinner. Steve paused and glanced at her. Bucky tensed but kept eating as if nothing had happened.
"We put him into a containment cell," answered Steve. The tone of his voice told her to not keep talking about him. Iola didn't listen however, she knew that to find answers she'd have to play her cards right.
"He said he was targeting me, Rylan, and Peter. How does he even know about Peter? No one knows he's Spider-Man except for us," said Iola watching Steve's reactions closely. The topic seemed to bother him but she needed answers.
"Schmidt used Dr. Zola's algorithm. It targets people who will become potential threats to HYDRA in the future," explained Natasha putting her fork down. Rylan was suddenly interested in the topic too. Rylan and Iola both shared a look before resuming their dinner. A few hours after dinner, Rylan knocked on the door.
"Why were you asking about Schmidt?" Rylan asked walking right in. He was unimpressed to find a portal in the middle of her room. He stuck his head through it to find himself in Peter's room.
"Rylan?" Iola gasped. Rylan scowled at Peter who looked terrified. He then walked through the portal and crossed his arms.
"What are you two doing?" Rylan asked glaring at the other boy. Peter made a move towards the door.
"I was just about to go get uh, some, food?" He then threw the door open and ran. "Aunt May!"
Iola laughed when he ran out and then pushed Rylan back through the portal.
"We were talking about school," she said. Rylan wasn't convinced but he decided to drop the topic.
"Why were you asking about Schmidt during dinner?"
"As the Avengers don't you think that we should have our eyes on people who want to destroy the world? Even if it's Steve's business I feel like we need to do something," explained Iola hoping that Rylan wouldn't try to stand in her way.
"You're right. It involves us now, especially since he's targeting us," he said with a nod. Iola grinned, happy to have him on her side. "So tell me, what were you and Peter actually doing?"
Iola rolled her eyes and pushed him out of her room. "That is none of your business. Leave you single pot of shoe polish."
The trio didn't want the other Avengers to interfere as they try to piece together what was going on so they decided to make Iola's room in the Villa their meeting place. After all, her room was in between Peter's and Rylan's.
"M.O.A.I's databases say that Johann Schmidt lived during the second World War. How is he alive now? They said he was dead," said Rylan furrowing his eyebrows as he typed away on his laptop.
"We need to find out exactly what happened on that plane Steve had crashed in," said Iola as she did her statistics homework with Peter.
"How are we going to do that? I don't think Captain America would be all that willing to tell us everything," said Peter tapping the pencil against his chin thoughtfully. Over the past week every time Iola brought up anything relatively related to Schmidt, Steve would immediately shut it down.
"Wanda?" Iola suggested.
"That's a good idea. And what if it doesn't work. We need another plan in case," pointed out Peter.
"I could always trap Steve in his Astral form and force him to spill," said Iola with a smirk. Rylan shook his head amused.
"We'd have to use that as a last resort. A very desperate last resort," he said before getting up off her couch and stretching. "How are we going to get Wanda to help us?"
"Should we tell her about this?" Iola asked coming up with nothing. Peter frowned and shook his head.
"Too many people make it harder to de discreet," he reasoned.
"Actually, maybe we can get it out of Steve ourselves. He'll give into Iola eventually," said Rylan looking at Iola. She raised an eyebrow.
"I can try."