Marvel: Scientist reborn as Superman

From the moment I became aware of myself in this world, I knew that I had been reborn into the Marvel universe, in the body of Superman himself. I have no idea what incredible twist of fate led to this. Is it luck? I don't even know. But with the start of my new life, my old memories seemed to fade into the background, leaving only faint echoes of the past. All these years spent here have been truly amazing and vivid, and, intoxicated with joy, I didn't think about what might lie behind this festive curtain.

In my previous life, I died at a fairly mature age: I managed to see a lot, raise children, and achieve serious success in science, perhaps even opening the way to the stars for humanity. And here I suddenly found a new life, a new family, a new youth. At the same time, I hadn't forgotten my former self — I remembered every event, everything I had seen and read, every sound and image from the past, down to the smallest detail. But, strangely enough, these memories had no emotional colouring for me: it felt as if I was watching an old silent film in black and white, rather than remembering my own life.

And gradually I realised that I no longer considered myself the person I had been in the past. Now I am a different person with my own unique perception of the world. Everything that happened before remains only a fact in my memory, but real life goes on, and I try to paint it with new, fresh colours. As a result, I just lived for my own pleasure: I went to school, had fun, made friends — in short, I tried to be a normal teenager... with one small exception: I had powers comparable to those of a god. I found it almost amusing and didn't think about the consequences at all.

But a recent encounter with vampires, monsters I had only heard about in children's horror stories, literally shook me to my core. These terrifying creatures attacked my friend Lily. She almost died. It was then that I finally realised that the Marvel universe was nothing like my own: it was far more dangerous and chaotic. It was inhabited by creatures that were at least as powerful as me — and that was serious. Here, immortal gods, magical threats and the eternal struggle between good and evil were intertwined. "It's time to come out of your cocoon, Bruce," I told myself. "Get a grip and realise that you're not just in a fairy tale, but in a world with its own harsh rules."

Such thoughts filled me with deep melancholy. My "new life" had dazzled me with its bright colours, and for a long time I didn't want to think about the dark side of what was happening. But now, it seemed, the moment of realisation had come.

"Bruce, dear, why are you so pensive?" my mother asked gently, looking at me over the plates. "Breakfast is getting cold."

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down at the cold omelette. "Sorry, it's just that recent events have thrown me off balance. Those attacks... Lily was lucky to survive," I said, my voice filled with genuine sadness.

"Yes, it's a nightmare," my mother replied indignantly, frowning. "Where are the police looking? Why haven't they found this maniac or whoever attacked her yet?

I just grunted quietly, unable to find the words. I knew that the police were unlikely to be able to deal with what was lurking in the back alleys of the city at night, where vampires hunted people.

"You have the day off today, right?" my mother asked, changing the subject. "What are your plans for the day?"

"I'm going to visit Lily. Ethan called yesterday and said the doctors are allowing visitors, so I want to stop by and cheer her up a bit.

"That's a wonderful idea, son. Lily is such a lovely girl. Be sure to give her my best wishes and tell her to get well soon," my mother said with a warm smile.

"I will," I nodded, trying to push away the gloomy thoughts.

"I feel really down today," I thought. My mum also noticed that I was in a bad mood. I needed to distract myself, to have some fun. Then an idea came to me: why not call Pepper? We had recently exchanged numbers, and I had promised to call her. We could go to the park or some amusement park together. Deciding not to put it off, I went to the phone.

I dialled the number, and my heart suddenly tightened with slight excitement — after all, Pepper and I weren't that well acquainted yet. Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by a male voice:

"Hello?

"Good morning, Mr. Potts?" I greeted him politely. "Yes... Who is this?" There was a certain wariness in the man's voice.

"You don't know me. My name is Bruce. I'm a friend of your daughter, Pepper. Could you get her on the phone, if possible?"

"What Bruce? And 'Pepper'? My daughter's name is Virginia, and I don't have any 'Peppers'!" Mr. Potts said irritably, his voice clearly tinged with suspicion.

"Virginia?" I was taken aback. "Where did that name come from? And the number seems to be correct..." But before I could figure out what was going on, I heard a familiar voice on the other end:

"Dad, who's on the phone?" "Some guy named Bruce. He says he's looking for Pepper," my father repeated with obvious 

displeasure. "Dad! It's me, Pepper!" 

Give me the phone!" the girl exclaimed.

There was a rustling on the line, followed by a commotion, and then a cheerful voice:

"Hi, Bruce! I think you've already confused my father: he can't stand it when I introduce myself as Pepper. But don't worry, everything's fine.

In the background, her father grumbled loudly: "She's given herself some kind of nickname, 'Pepper'... What's wrong with Virginia? You gave it to her yourself... His words trailed off, and I smiled, imagining Mr. Potts' grimace.

"Hi, Virginia," I said, a little sarcastically. "Bruce, don't start! My friends call me Pepper, and that's final," she replied cheerfully.

"Listen, I wanted to ask you out for a walk today, if you're free, of course. Maybe we could go to the amusement park or something like that?"

"I... um... Sure, I'm free! I'd love to keep you company," Pepper's voice sounded genuinely excited, even though she seemed to stumble a little.

"Great! How about Luna Park on Coney Island? Let's meet at the ticket office at two o'clock, and we'll decide what to do then: we can go on the rides, or we can go to a café if you like.

"Wow, what a great idea, I love places like that! Why not go to the cinema and sit in the back row?" she giggled.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," I said, embarrassed, realising what she was hinting at.

"I'm just kidding! Meet me at the main entrance at two, and don't be late or I'll be upset. I'm off to get ready," Pepper said cheerfully.

"Agreed. See you then," I managed to say before I heard a series of short beeps. 

I paused for a moment, staring at the phone as it vibrated on the table. "Five hours until we meet, and she's already rushing to get ready? Girls..." I thought with a smile.

But I had more important things to do: I had to visit Lily. She really needed my support right now. I jumped up from my chair and, using my super speed, literally whirled through the house, getting ready. In a moment, I was already at the nearest market, buying fruit for Lily: she needed more vitamins. How I sometimes admired my own ability to move faster than the wind. With every passing second, I understood more and more what an amazing power it was to be able to instantly appear anywhere in the world you wanted.

After filling a bag with juicy treats, I sped off again and headed for the hospital. When I reached the right ward, I knocked and peeked inside cautiously.

"Lily, how are you? Are you awake? Am I disturbing you?" I asked quietly.

Lily was lying on top of the blanket with her legs crossed and one foot swinging, holding a book in her hands. She looked much more cheerful than on the day of the attack, although I could sense that the pain and fear had not yet completely left her.

"Oh, Bruce, hello! I was just getting bored, thinking no one was coming to entertain me," she said with a happy smile. "So, you can't do without 'little Lily' at all?

"Of course! School is boring without you: Ethan is walking around smug, no one is teasing him or putting him in his place," I replied, smiling back.

"I'll be back in a couple of days, and then he'll be dancing for me," the girl replied cheerfully. "I'm gathering my strength to get my revenge and bring him back down to earth!

I looked at her closely. Through her feigned cheerfulness and enthusiasm, something disturbing was visible. Apparently, she still hadn't fully recovered from the horror she had experienced. I quietly approached the bed, sat down carefully next to her, and hugged her, pressing her close to me.

"You were really scared, weren't you?" I said in a low voice.

She shrank into my embrace for a moment and sobbed softly: "Yes... It was so scary... I can't stop thinking about it."

"It's all over now," I said quietly, gently stroking her back. "No one will ever hurt you again. I'm sure the police will find that bastard sooner or later."

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," I assured her, trying to smile as warmly as I could.

Lily slowly came to her senses. I could feel her fear gradually receding, and she began to smile again, albeit cautiously, as if afraid that the memories of the attack would return. But a slight smile still played on her lips, and that was a good sign.

"Hey, friend, tell me, how did you end up in that room?" I asked quietly, raising my eyebrow questioningly. "You were planning to come to the stadium to cheer me on. What went wrong?"

Lily hesitated, lowered her eyes as if embarrassed, and confessed with a slightly guilty smile:

"I was... writing an article for our school newspaper. You know, about the cafeteria, about how the furniture there is old — our parents used to sit at those same tables," she said quietly. "And the room itself has been in need of renovation for a long time. I wanted to bring this to the attention of the administration and finish the article, then publish it in the newspaper. But I didn't have time to finish it at school, so I decided to take the materials home. I thought I'd quickly run over after the break in the match, grab the folders and be back in the stands in time to congratulate you on your first game.

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, as if replaying painful memories in her mind.

"But when I got to the room, the door was ajar," she continued. "That made me suspicious, because I was the last one to leave and I locked it. And everyone else had gone to the match that day, so there was definitely no one at the school newspaper. And there was a loud noise coming from inside, as if someone was smashing something. I looked inside and froze: the whole room was in disarray, the drawers were pulled out and overturned, papers were scattered across the floor. And in the middle of the room stood a boy... I had never seen him before. And, you know, Bruce, maybe it was just the shock, but I could have sworn he had... red eyes.

Lily curled up, wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and a nervous shiver ran through her body.

"The psychologist at the hospital keeps saying it's just the effects of stress," she added in a low voice, "but I... I definitely saw that red glow.

I pulled Lily closer to me again, trying to reassure her.

"It's okay, it's in the past now, you're completely safe," I said quietly and encouragingly, feeling her tremble in my arms. "But please, tell me what happened."

The girl swallowed the lump in her throat and continued:

"It all happened so fast. I saw this guy instantly close the distance between us. One moment he was standing at the back of the room, and the next he was right on top of me. I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth with his hand. Then all I remember is flying across the office... Then everything went black. I woke up here in the hospital. I remember the doctor yelling at the police not to touch me until morning because I needed rest. I looked at everything and couldn't understand how I ended up in a hospital bed," she finished, her voice breaking as she exhaled.

I thought about it, trying to piece everything together. So, this unknown person (or rather, vampire, as I suspected) wasn't specifically targeting Lily. He seemed to be looking for something in the school newspaper room and didn't expect anyone to come in. And in my recent encounter with him, I didn't notice that the monster I killed had anything in his hands or pockets. So, the thing he was looking for must still be at the school. Perhaps I should go back there and see what the vampire was looking for. But I didn't say anything out loud, just sank deeper into my own thoughts.

"Enough about me," Lily said suddenly, as if reading my mind. "Tell me about yourself, Bruce. What's new? How's life?"

I startled and was distracted from my thoughts:

"Everything's fine, just a bit boring at school without you. Ethan's acting all important, you'd think he was king of the hill. And I've got a meeting in New York today. A friend and I are planning to go to the amusement park," I explained with a smile.

"A friend?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know you had any friends in the Big Apple."

"Well, not exactly a friend, more like a girlfriend. Her name is Virginia, but she insists on being called Pepper. We met recently and decided to meet up on the weekend.

"A date, maybe?" Lily perked up and leaned forward. "Wow, when did you get a girlfriend?

"Hey, hey," I laughed, almost choking on her assumption. "Why 'girlfriend'? It's just a friendly get-together, like you and Ethan, for example."

"Just a friend, yeah right," Lily rolled her eyes at me, her voice tinged with jealousy. "Well, what are you sitting there for? Go on your 'date'! I have to go to my treatment soon, and I'm sure you should be going too. Come on, get up and get out of here," she said, gently but insistently nudging me in the side, making it clear that it was time to leave.

I laughed at her insistence: "Lily, are you jealous?"

"Shut up, don't be silly." She frowned, although her eyes were laughing. "If I'm jealous, it's definitely not of you. Now please go, and thank you for the fruit. I need to rest a little longer."

"Okay, okay, don't get so worked up! Get well soon," I said, waving goodbye and leaving the ward, feeling her sly gaze on me.

"She's strange today," flashed through my mind. "I've never noticed Lily reacting like that before." With these thoughts, I left the hospital.

*****

New York greeted me with the hustle and bustle of people and the noise of cars rushing along the wide streets. I looked at my watch: it was quarter to two, so I would make it to Luna Park just in time. Adjusting to the general rhythm of the metropolis, I quickened my pace and soon saw a familiar figure in the distance at the entrance to the amusement park.

Pepper stood out from the crowd. She was dancing on the spot, unable to stand still. I could see a cassette player in her hand and large headphones on her head. The girl's red hair flowed in soft waves over her shoulders, held back by a thin white ribbon, and shone in the sunlight. Her light cotton dress, neat with lace lantern sleeves and a thin belt at the waist, emphasised her fragile but graceful figure. Her feet were shod in white ballet flats with tiny bows, slightly worn but very cute.

As I got closer, I strained my ears, curious to catch familiar notes from her headphones: Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" was playing loudly and dynamically. I smiled slightly, mentally noting that she had excellent taste in music.

"Hi, Virginia!" I said, raising my hand slightly in a friendly gesture.

Hearing me speak, she wrinkled her nose and frowned exaggeratedly. She quickly pulled off her headphones, turned off the player and put it in a small bag hanging from her shoulder.

"Bruce," Pepper said reproachfully, "my friends call me Pepper. Did you forget? Please don't call me Virginia. It reminds me of my father scolding me.

"Okay, okay, I give up," I laughed. "Hi, Pepper! Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here a minute ago," she said with a charming smile and adjusted a strand of hair. "But I've already soaked up the atmosphere of this place. Anyway, with weather like this, it would be a sin to stay at home.

I nodded towards the amusement park, where colourful lights flashed everywhere and the joyful cries of visitors could be heard.

"So, what's the plan?"

"The plan is very simple," Pepper said in a lively voice. "We buy tickets and go have fun!

She immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the ticket office. I just grunted, seeing her impatience, and didn't object. Quickly grabbing two unlimited tickets, we stepped through the turnstiles into the park.

"By the way, you look great today," I remarked as we walked along the path past the popcorn stands.

"Oh, thank you," Pepper's face flushed with a delicate blush, and a mischievous sparkle flashed in her green eyes. "You look good today too," she added, tilting her chin slightly, as if assessing my appearance from head to toe.

"Um, well, you're the expert here," I winked. "So lead the way: I've never been to this park before. Where should we go first?"

"Great! Since you're new here, let's start with the most important thing — the roller coaster!" she blurted out, her eyes flashing with excitement. "I hope you're not afraid of speed and crazy turns?"

I laughed heartily: "I think I've been on one of those before, but let's see if I can handle the local roller coaster."

Pepper, beaming with enthusiasm, quickly dragged me to a tall metal structure with cars that rattled along the tracks.

"These are the legendary roller coasters," she shouted over the noise. "The highest in the state! Are you sure you won't chicken out, Bruce?

"Let's hope not," I joked, shrugging my shoulders. "Otherwise, your reputation with me will suffer."

A minute later, we were sitting in the narrow seats of the trolley car. Pepper squeezed my hand tightly, but it was clear that it wasn't fear, but genuine excitement about the upcoming descent. As the car slowly climbed to the top, we were greeted by a dizzying view of the coast and the sound of the sea somewhere on the horizon. Then suddenly the car plunged down at a terrifying speed. The wind whistled in our ears, and screams and shouts rang out around us. I couldn't help but laugh too — not out of fear, but from the thrilling rush of adrenaline and joy.

Pepper was screaming at the top of her lungs, laughing and seemingly enjoying every second of this madness. When the ride ended, we barely had time to get out of the car before she impatiently pulled me by the sleeve:

"Well, shall we do it again? That was amazing! I could feel my heart beating in my throat."

"Sure," I agreed, feeling caught up in her excitement. "Since we have unlimited rides, we can afford anything.

We rode the same roller coaster a few more times, and then Pepper dragged me further, promising to show me the "craziest" and "most deliciously scary" rides in the park. I followed her with a smile, realising that after all the recent turmoil and danger, I really needed this kind of simple, genuine fun.

Next, Pepper literally dragged me into the "Room of Fear." We entered a narrow, dark corridor, from which came eerie moans and evil laughter, and somewhere in the distance, we could hear the screams of visitors who had been frightened by the local "inhabitants."

"You're not scared, are you?" Pepper said in a low voice, but her eyes twinkled mischievously. "I promise I'll protect you!"

"Hmm, we'll see who's protecting whom," I grinned.

The corridor led us to a turn, and suddenly something styled as a zombie jumped out from around the corner: a pale face, torn clothes, and eerie red spots. I expected Pepper to scream in terror, but she... burst out laughing, grabbed my hand, and shouted:

"Let's get out of here!

She led me forward, dodging animatronic monsters and decorative skeletons that stood in our way. We kept hearing loud bangs, doors creaking, and piercing screams. Pepper just made sarcastic comments about each "scare":

"Oh, look, a witch! Looks like she forgot to paint her nails..."

I couldn't help but laugh too. The funniest thing was seeing how the attraction staff couldn't scare us properly because we were running around the corridors and the "zombies" seemed more confused than we were.

Finally, we burst out into the light at the end of the maze, and Pepper, all flushed and happy, turned to me:

"That was amazing, wasn't it? Did you see how that poor zombie jumped when I screamed?"Yeah," I nodded with a big smile. "I think if you worked here after school, this attraction would be the most popular one."

"You're such a goofball," Pepper giggled, snorting. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that?

"Believe me, they have," I replied, laughing too.

Then we headed for the Waterfall water ride, where visitors were seated in a boat that slowly rose to a great height and then plunged down, splashing everyone around.

"Aren't you afraid of getting soaked?" I asked, glancing at Pepper.

"No, it's fun!" she said, turning to me and sticking out her chest as if accepting a daring challenge. "What are we, afraid of water? Let's go!"

We sat down in one of the boats. The ascent was slow and tedious, and laughter and joyful shouts could be heard from all around. When the boat approached the edge of the slide, Pepper raised her arms in anticipation.

"Bruce, we're going to get wet!" she shouted excitedly.

The boat suddenly plunged down, everyone around us screamed, and Pepper squealed with delight. I was splashed with cold water, but before I could blink, the boat had already hit the water with a loud splash. We both burst out laughing. Pepper, shaking her wet hair, beamed like a little child who had received a long-awaited gift:

"See how high we flew? That was probably the best moment of the whole day!

"Yeah," I laughed, wiping the water from my face. "But now you're soaking wet. We'll have to walk around with wet hair..."

"Yeah," she winked. "Let's take a break from the extreme rides, I'm starting to feel a little tired.

"Sounds good," I nodded eagerly. "How about the Ferris wheel? It's quieter there. And we can get some ice cream — it's hot today."

"Oh, that's an idea!" Pepper looked at me and, seeing how wet I was, giggled into her fist. "Let's run to the ice cream stand!"

We bought cones and enjoyed the refreshing cool taste, then got in line for the Ferris wheel. Standing in the warm sunshine, I looked around and noticed how many happy people of all ages there were. Almost everyone had a smile on their face, as if their little dreams were coming true in this park.

"How's your day going?" I asked, taking another bite of ice cream.

"Great!" Pepper gave me a mischievous look. "Just a great date!"

I choked and raised an eyebrow in surprise:

"A date?" I asked awkwardly, realising that this was the second time I had heard that word today.

"Why, no?" She looked at me slyly, narrowing her green eyes.

I felt it would be easier to agree than to argue, especially with someone so confident and cheerful:

"Well, a date is a date." I shrugged demonstratively. "Let it be, whatever you say."

"Good for you! Don't doubt yourself!" She giggled and took a sip of the slightly melted ice cream from the waffle cone.

"Listen, Bruce, how old are you?" Pepper asked suddenly, raising her eyebrow slightly.

I looked at her in surprise:

"I'm fourteen, but I'll be fifteen soon. Why do you ask?"

Pepper froze, her mouth slightly open:

"Seriously?" she exclaimed. "Have you looked in the mirror? You're almost two metres tall, and your shoulders aren't boyish at all. There's no way you're only fourteen!

"No, really," I said, struggling to suppress a smile at her stunned reaction. "You can believe it or not, but it's true."

"Fine," Pepper waved her hand, although her voice betrayed a hint of mockery. "At least I'll have something to remember: I went on a date with a 'youngster,'" she rolled her eyes meaningfully, but immediately burst out laughing. "Who cares, it's fun!

Finally, it was our turn, and we climbed into the Ferris wheel cabin. It slowly rose, revealing a breathtaking view of the park and, a little further away, the sea. We chatted about trivial things, discussing which rides we hadn't had time to try yet, but then the wheel suddenly jerked and froze, as if it had broken.

"Oh no..." Pepper turned pale and stared down at the excited crowd gathering below. "What the hell is going on?"

A voice came over the loudspeaker:

"Dear visitors, please remain calm. The Ferris wheel has been temporarily stopped due to a technical malfunction. Our technicians are already working to fix the problem. Please remain in your cabins and wait for it to start again!

"So much for that," Pepper said quietly, and I noticed that she was clearly nervous now.

I wanted to reassure her, but suddenly I heard a scream. I looked in that direction and saw two girls sitting in one of the cabins not far from us — one looked about twelve, the other about five or six. Their cabin was tilted suspiciously, and one of the supporting cables looked torn. In addition, the cabin was swaying dangerously.

"Bruce, look!" Pepper grabbed my arm, her voice trembling. "There are children!"

"I see them..." I said, feeling my stomach clench. At that moment, the cable jerked again, and the cabin dropped even further, the metal creaking. The girls screamed in fear, huddling together. "Well, now we definitely have to do something."

"But what can you do, we're so high up..." Pepper didn't seem to fully understand what I was about to do.

I took a deep breath, realising that we were in danger of disaster:

"We have to save them before the cabin breaks completely," I said in a firm tone.

"Bruce, what are you doing?!" Pepper exclaimed as I threw open the door of our cabin.

"I'm getting out," I replied firmly. "I know it's risky, but I can't just sit here and watch the children fall.

She screamed, trying to hold me back, but I had already climbed onto the metal support and was moving along the scaffolding, trying not to look down. Although I was in no danger if I fell, Pepper didn't know about my invulnerability. However, all I could think about now was getting to the crooked cabin.

I reached it, trying to move smoothly so as not to rock the structure even more. I carefully opened the door and looked inside:

"Girls, everything's fine. Don't cry, I'll get you out. What are your names?"

"I'm... Elizabeth... Bronstein..." said the older one, stammering with fear, "and this is my cousin Anna-Maria.

The younger one, clinging to her sister, was sobbing, and I noticed that the front strands of her hair were almost white, like grey. I had to act quickly.

"Elizabeth, listen to me carefully: I'll put you on my back, you wrap your arms and legs tightly around me, okay? I'll carry Anna in my arms. You both have to sit still and not move, understand?"

"I understand," whispered the older girl, gathering her courage.

I climbed into the cabin, and it swayed even more violently. My heart was pounding, but I quickly tore the seat belts off the seat and made something like improvised slings to tie the girls to myself. The older one climbed onto my back, and I carefully picked up the younger one in my arms.

"Hold on tight," I said, checking that they were securely fastened. "Everything will be fine."

When I started to climb back out, the cabin jerked violently, creaked, and the cable finally snapped. A loud woman's scream rang out, and the cabin plummeted down, miraculously without hitting anyone. Security guards and police prevented people from approaching the wheel.

I grabbed hold of a metal crossbar and started climbing along the support towards our cabin, where Pepper was waiting for me. A few agonising moments later, I was back in safety. The girls were crying, but it seemed mostly out of relief that they had avoided falling.

"Bruce," Pepper looked at me with genuine admiration, "you're a real hero. You saved them."

I just nodded, unbuckling the seatbelts to free the girls. They could barely stand on their feet from fear and exhaustion, but they were safe and sound.

The wheel remained out of service for about two hours while the technicians dealt with the breakdown, and we were "locked" at a height the whole time. Fortunately, by that point, there was no longer any sense of panic: both the children and Pepper were calm, knowing that the worst was behind them. When the wheel was finally repaired and began to slowly descend, we were met by the police and alarmed park employees. The girls' relatives, two women, ran up to us with tears in their eyes, thanking us profusely for saving them.

"Listen, Pepper," I said to my friend as the noise around us grew and the police began to question witnesses. "Let's get out of here before we have to explain ourselves to the cops and journalists. Heroes, as they say, must remain incognito," I winked at her.

"Yeah, I agree," she nodded conspiratorially. "I don't really want to end up on the front page, and today has been eventful enough as it is."

We took each other by the hand and, trying not to attract too much attention, quickly made our way to the exit. The sun was already setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.

"You know, it really was a fun day," Pepper said as we ran out of the gate. "There were plenty of adventures. But it's getting dark, I should get home.

"Should I call you a taxi?" I offered, looking around for a free car.

"Yes, please," she smiled.

I raised my hand to flag down a yellow taxi, which immediately slowed down beside us. Pepper had already taken a step towards the car, but suddenly turned around, stood on her tiptoes and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

"Thank you, my hero," she said quietly and smiled mischievously before getting into the car.

I froze for a moment, feeling the warmth on my cheek. The taxi drove away, and I stood there smiling to myself.

***

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