Jupiter [Marvel Phase I]

twelve.

Drawing for engineering wasn't all that hard. Sometimes when Jenn was bored, she liked to imagine different kinds of machinery. She entertained herself by breaking them apart into all their separate pieces from the comfort of her own mind. The only hard part about making a digital copy of her designs was dealing with the drafting software. Electrical engineering was even easier. Circuits were just a bunch of straight lines with some numbers written in.

Trying to design a suit, however, was a different matter entirely. There were so many curving lines and weird proportions to consider. Even printing out a human silhouette to trace didn't seem to help things. No one was shaped like this! Then there was the design itself. Jenn wasn't a fashion student. What colors should she use? Should it be one piece or two?

"-nnifer? Miss Stanton!"

Jenn bolted upright, glancing around. Every single one of her classmates was staring at her, along with Doctor Lee at the front of the room. Her intense glare had the immediate effect of making Jenn want to curl up under her desk and hide. She'd never been a fan of authority figures, but professors always earned her respect. And she wanted them to respect her in turn. The look on Dr. Lee's face, however, was disappointment.

"Ah, so glad you could join us again," Dr. Lee said. "Think you could summarize Dr. Ross's recent findings on gamma radiation for the class?"

No, Jenn thought, paling. And she'd been too busy last night looking up athletic designs to do more than skim the reading. Jenn quickly glanced at the board for assistance, but the only thing on there was a projection of the most recent lecture slide; a graph she couldn't make heads or tails of. Reluctantly, Jenn found herself shaking her head.

"Then perhaps you should save the doodling for outside the classroom," Dr. Lee continued. Jenn thought of the uncertainty principle and prayed she'd drop through the floor. "Dr. Sutton might let you get away with this, but not me."

Jenn nodded, but she wasn't sure if Dr. Lee actually saw it. She was already turned around, facing the board once more. Everyone else followed along, but Jenn could feel the occasional glance in her direction and sense the whispers all around her. Yeah, hiding under the desk sounded perfect.

xxx

"I was mortified," Jenn moaned, hands pressed to her face. She could hear Dev laughing at her from across the workshop. "Are you mocking my pain?"

"You brought this on yourself. I am well within my Best Friend Rights to laugh at you," Dev replied. "Did you at least get the rest of the lecture?"

"No, because I missed the first half," Jenn grumbled. "I have to go back and read through the assignment all over again." She finally dropped her hands, sinking into her chair. Jenn watched Dev as he worked at the object on his bench. "It was the worst moment of my life."

Again, Dev laughed at her. "Alright, miss melodrama. After all that, you better have some finished sketches for me."

Jenn reached out to hand the notepad over. However, as her hand brushed Dev's, she could feel a current pass between them. It didn't feel like much to her, but it was enough for Dev to let out a yelp and drop the pad.

"Crap, Dev, I'm so sorry," Jenn exclaimed.

"Bloody hell! Warn a guy next time," Dev cradled his hand. He then shook it out, adding, "That was like touching a telly during a rainstorm. Worse!"

"I'm so sorry," Jenn repeated in earnest. "I didn't mean to. It just-" She cut herself off when something caught her eye. "Low battery light's blinking again."

"Don't think I've ever asked, but what's the bracelet for?" Dev paused to pick up the notepad. "If you don't mind telling me, of course."

Jenn shrugged. "Nah, it's cool." She leaned back in her chair, inspecting the device. "Harry made it for me. After the crash, I had some chest problems. Something about impact trauma. The bracelet monitors blood pressure, pulse, oxygen levels - all that."

There was a brief hesitation on Dev's end, then he made a sound. It was almost...disbelieving. He could've just as easily been scoffing at her bad costume designs, but-

"What?" Jenn asked curtly.

"Not that I'm doubting the professor, but...impact traumas shouldn't pose much risk this many years out," Dev explained, wincing when he saw the hard look on Jenn's face.

As much as Jenn wanted to defend Harry's honor, she held herself back. "Eh, I probably messed up the explanation somewhere," she sighed. "You know me and bio."

"That I do," Dev gave a chuckle. "Nice design, by the way. Have you considered dropping out of engineering to pursue fashion?" Jenn let out an affronted sound and gave her friend's arm a friendly whack. "Ow! Hey, I was being serious," Dev insisted. "Also, it's totally doable. You ever think about how lucky you are that I'm comfortable enough in my masculinity to sew things for you?"

"Every day," Jenn replied. Her tone may have been sarcastic, but she meant every word. Sometimes she worried Dev was too good to her. She brushed away the thoughts of inadequacy. "So, do you know when you'll have it ready? No rush, of course."

Dev laughed. "Good. Because a full bodysuit? That's gonna take a bit." He swiveled around in his chair, finally revealing what he'd been working on during their conversation. At Jenn's awed gasp, his smile widened. "But if you're too anxious to wait, maybe these will suffice?"

There, sitting on his workbench, were a pair of modified welding goggles. Jenn had never been good with the aesthetics of design - that was Dev's specialty. They looked just how Jenn had pictured during their brainstorming sessions. Better, even.

"Oh. Dev, you shouldn't have," Jenn breathed. She had to suppress a giggle when he handed them over.

"So," Dev said conspiratorially. "Wanna take them for a test run?"

xxx

Two men ran down a darkened city street before disappearing into an alleyway. It was clear from their ragged breaths that they'd been running for some time. At odd intervals, they would throw a glance over their shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed.

One more turn and it was clear they'd run themselves into a dead end. They kept running anyway, until the realization and dread caught up with them.

"Bugger," one of the men spat, banging his fist against the brick wall.

The other, who was holding a purse that clearly didn't belong to him, offered his partner a hopeful wince. "Hey, maybe she hasn't followed us this far. Maybe she got lost too."

He looked ready to say more, but before he could, lightning crackled through the alleyway. The bolt struck just above their heads, a loud pop echoing in the small space. It was hard to tell what was stranger; the slight greenish hue of the lightning, or the fact that it was in the middle of an alley in the first place.

The two men jumped, whirring back around to face the alley's entrance. It was the first time Jenn had gotten a good look at their faces. Shock, panic, and a trace of barely-concealed fear - and it was all directed at her.

"Who the hell are you?" The purse-less man shouted.

Interesting question. Behind her new glasses, Jenn felt like an entirely different person. She was confident and strong. No, powerful. She was someone else; the same person who had taken over and calmly gotten herself and Dev out of that mugging one month ago.

"I am..." Jenn began, but stopped short. No, that didn't sound right. And it wasn't like she could just give up her identity either after trying so hard to disguise it. But then she remembered her conversation with Dev last week and something clicked. A smile spread across her face. "You can call me Jupiter."