New Identity ~ MCU/SWCW Story

|<Chapter Fifteen>|

Hello! If you're a new reader, go ahead and start reading!

If you're an OG reader, then I'll kind of explain what's going on here. As I said, I've got some revisions going on in the earlier chapters, but I've also kind of edited the storyline a little bit. 

Ashley's character had like no development whatsoever, and I also wanted to create a friendship between her and Spider-Man, since he is involved in later chapters and I realized that I kind of forgot to do that.

So here I am, adding in random chapters with some nice little events that hopefully spice up the writing that I had before.

Enjoy!

    "Text you later?" Liz yelled over her shoulder, her words slightly getting lost in the loud chatter of students excited to go home. Seeing that there was no point in trying to yell over the voices of hundreds of other kids, Ashley simply replied with a thumbs-up and watched as her friend disappeared into the crowd.

    Ashley tossed a glance around at the people who surrounded her, but unfortunately, she didn't recognize any that she could have a chat with before she left the school as well. Shrugging, she adjusted her backpack over the one shoulder she had slung it over, then sprung into an energetic walk away from the school courtyard. Normally, she would be getting picked up by Natasha right now for a modeling or conditioning session, but today the agent was busy handling a mission and it was her break day.

    The free time was refreshing, to say the least. The last several weeks had been stressful and eventful, to say the least, and she had been looking forward to spending some hours relaxing and doing whatever she pleased.

    Opting out of immediately riding public transportation home, Ashley had decided that she would check out a nearby coffee shop and take a trip to the local park before heading home. As she left the boundaries of Midtown High, she pulled one of her AirPods out of her case and slipped it into her ear, then put Imagine Dragons' newly released album on shuffle. 

She hadn't heard very many of their songs before, but one of her friends was rambling on and on about how she was obsessed with one of their new songs, so she figured she'd give it a try. Besides, if she didn't like it, she could just go back to the other music she normally listened to.

To try and make it realistic, I actually put the album on shuffle and just listed some random lyrics I heard as I was writing. First one to guess which album it is earns an internet cookie and my respect :)

We could be strangers in the night,
we could be passing in the shadows.
We couldn't be closer if we tried,
when we're caught in the headlights.

    Ashley softly smiled and adjusted her pace to the beat of the music. The rhythm was catchy—she'll admit—and left her gently bobbing her head along to the song. Perhaps her friend didn't have too bad of taste after all.

    The teenager felt more alive than ever as she walked the bustling streets of New York. She curiously observed the hundreds of people she passed on the sidewalks and roads, wondering about what their life might be like for a half-second before moving on to the next person. She couldn't help but find it incredible how many people there were in the world she might see in her lifetime, yet never know the backstory of. All of these people that passed her had lives of their own that she would probably never learn about.

    The outline of the coffee shop came into view several buildings ahead. The main structure of the cafe was built with tan bricks, but there were many cute and appealing splashes of color that decorated both the exterior and interior. Possibly too many windows lined the front wall, stacked tightly against each other like a cafeteria lunch line and proudly displaying vibrant LED lights. The overall vibes that emanated from this place acted like a beacon for people like her: curious, bright, and energetic. She had already started on the fourth song of the album by the time she finally reached the entrance to the building.