Ash's POV
MIDTOWN HIGH SCHOOL.
Peter Parker walked toward me.
Jake and Noah were behind him.
TGOB's final words echoed like a fading echo in my mind:
"Your new life begins now…"
And then it hit me — a sudden pressure in my chest, a thrum of power like two currents twisting together.
The Grid.
Marvel.
Both humming inside me at once.
The hallway tilted for a second — not visually, but in that sixth-sense way, like the world was adjusting to me.
Peter slowed, eyebrows pulling together. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah," I lied. "Just… new school stuff."
Jake grinned. "Bruh, it's been like ten minutes."
Noah quietly analyzed me like a math equation with a missing variable.
Before I could answer, I remembered something — something I forgot in all the chaos.
My backpack.
I hadn't checked it since arriving in this world.
The morpher pulsed again inside it, soft but insistent, and I felt a cold wave of panic.
What if it was glowing?
What if someone saw?
I opened the zipper just an inch to peek inside.
And froze.
There was… a letter.
A folded sheet of thick paper placed neatly on top of my books.
I pulled it out slowly.
The handwriting was impossibly neat — glowing faintly, like ink made of moonlight.
**"Welcome, Ash.
Since you died earlier than scheduled, please accept the Early Death Compensation Package.
Your body has been upgraded to Captain America level, adjusted for your current age. Enhanced strength, speed, durability, reflexes, healing.
(This is a standard perk for premature reincarnation casualties.)A starting financial package of $10,000 USD, transferred legally into your new identity.
(Enough to rent your own place so you don't end up in an orphanage. You're welcome.)
Please try not to die again within the first week.
— TGOB"**
I stared at the page.
Captain America FOR TEENS body?
Ten grand just casually wired into my life?
TGOB really treated accidental death like a workplace accident.
I carefully folded the letter and slipped it deep into the inner pocket, heart pounding.
Peter leaned forward a little. "Everything cool?"
"Yeah," I said quickly. "Just… organizing. Making sure I didn't forget anything."
Definitely didn't want to tell them,
"Oh yeah, I'm reading a celestial HR apology note for getting hit by a divine truck."
I closed the bag and stood up straight.
Jake flashed a grin. "So. Ash, right? Welcome to Midtown."
Noah nodded once, polite but observant.
Peter offered his hand warmly.
I shook it, and in that instant, the Grid inside me pulsed again — not a warning, this time, but recognition.
These three mattered.
To my life.
To my destiny.
To whatever was coming next.
We started walking down the hall together.
Jake talked about lunch food.
Peter talked about how confusing the campus layout was.
Noah quietly watched everything, already suspicious of something — probably me.
And then—
The morpher in my bag pulsed again.
Once.
Twice.
Harder.
Peter stopped walking. "Ash? Are you sure you're not feeling sick?"
I forced a smile, but inside, something tightened.
This wasn't just random.
This wasn't nerves.
This was the Grid whispering…
"Danger is near."
My chest felt like it was vibrating from the inside.
Warm.
Warning.
Alive.
And I realized something:
My story as the Marvel Ranger didn't "begin."
It was beginning RIGHT NOW.