Marvel Cybernetic Girl

"W—wait you got it wrong!!!"

Faced with Lila's accusing glare, Peter Parker shouted in frustration. "She shocked herself! I didn't do anything, okay?!"

But Lila wasn't buying any of it. She put away her longbow and promptly kicked Peter in the butt.

"Yeah, right! You were totally staring at her butt, you pervert!"

"I—No! I swear to god, I'm the friendly, righteous Spider-Man!" Peter protested with an utterly innocent expression.

"Hitomi! Say something, will you?! At this rate, I could throw myself into the Mississippi River and still not wash this off!"

"Ehehe... ehehehehe..."

Hitomi finally managed to shake off the lingering paralysis from the electric shock, barely standing as she scratched her head with an awkward grin.

"I'm still just a little girl. Staring at people like that is a no-no, you know~?"

Peter froze, completely dumbfounded. "Hi—to—mi—!!"

Cries of pain, loud smacks, and curses filled the air.

The unloading area near the shipping containers echoed with chaos... and a weird sense of cheerfulness.

Well, in any case, the Vulture matter was settled for now.

Next up was interrogating him and his gang.

Whether it was why they'd turned to arms dealing or what that "Ghost" woman was really up to, they'd soon get to the bottom of everything... probably.

With that in mind, Hitomi activated her communicator.

"Cortana, prep for prisoner retrieval. I'll—"

'Thump!'

Halfway through her sentence, her heart gave a sudden, violent throb.

"Ugh!"

The silver-haired girl clutched her chest, eyes wide with shock.

"What... what's happening?"

"Hitomi? You okay?"

Peter, still rubbing his sore butt, noticed her odd behavior and stepped closer with concern. "Are you feeling sick or something?"

"I'm fine... urk!"

'Thump!'

Another hard pulse. Then, the core energy inside her started expanding rapidly.

[Core Energy Calibration Complete.]

[Initiating Humanoid Form Restoration.]

[Time Stone: Activated.]

Wait—!

Not now...!

'Thump!'

Her heart hammered even harder.

A searing heat began spreading from her chest.

The system had finished repairing itself; after so many activations of conceptual skills, the core energy had recovered enough to restore its full power.

The force it released started correcting her body—returning her to her original form...

"At least... not here... please..." Hitomi groaned, clutching her chest as embarrassment painted her face bright red.

"Hey, Hitomi? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Lila Barton hurried over, eyes filled with worry. "I knew it—did that damn Spider do something weird to you? Tell me where it hurts!"

"N-No! It's not that..." Hitomi struggled to resist the overwhelming sensations spreading through her entire body—the urge to collapse was unbearable.

"S-Sorry... I... I-I... I need to pee! Be right back!!"

Lila: "…Huh?"

Peter: "Pffft?!"

[Charged 3D Maneuver System: Activated.]

'Vwoooom—!'

In the next instant, Hitomi clenched her teeth, kicked her skill into gear, and vanished from sight in a blur of motion.

"...Is she okay?" A gentle breeze blew past as Lila and Peter stood dumbfounded, staring at the direction where Hitomi had disappeared.

"She... should be fine... I think."

"Such a weird girl..."

"Yeah... but super cute though..."

"...As I thought you really are—"

"I said I'm NOT!!"

————————————————————————

New York, a Small Alley near the Harbor District

"Ugh... this feels... so strange..."

Her core energy kept surging, and Hitomi felt like every inch of her skin, every muscle fiber, was burning and about to explode.

The heat flooded outward while her senses sharpened to their very limit.

The Time Stone's power slowly but surely began reshaping her body, reverting her to its original form.

"I can't... hold it back... much longer..."

Her golden eyes shone with brilliant light as her long silver hair floated weightlessly, lifted by the swirling energy.

'Thump! Thump! Thump!'

Kagura Hitomi's heart pounded violently, as if waking from a long, heavy slumber and bursting with newfound life.

Sparks of chaotic energy crackled around her, distorting the air with eerie, ghostly ripples.

And as fate would have it—sometimes things just happen at the worst possible moment.

Just when Kagura was struggling to keep herself together while her true form gradually returned…

"Ghost" appeared.

"So you're the one who ruined my plans... Meddlesome little brat," a haunting, echoing voice whispered from behind her.

"Oh? You seem to be in pain. Hurt during the fight, were you? Serves you right. That's what you get for interfering with my business!"

"Who… are you?" Hitomi turned her head slowly.

Behind her stood a figure clad in a tight, ghostly white bodysuit.

 A hood and mask concealed every inch of skin, making her look like a real phantom.

"I'm Ghost," the woman said calmly. "The one those pathetic arms dealers you just defeated were working for... or rather, cooperating with. Not that any of that matters now."

She lifted her hand, inspecting her fingers with a casual glance.

"Because you're about to die here. That's the price you pay for standing in Ghost's way."

"…What nonsense are you spouting…" Hitomi muttered, narrowing her eyes. "I don't know why you suddenly showed yourself… but I'll warn you... there's still time to run. Leave now, and you might make it out of here alive…"

Ghost let out a chilling laugh.

"How amusing. I've had my eye on you from the start. Among those kids you fight alongside, you're clearly the strongest—and that's why Vulture and the rest fell so easily. Thanks to you."

Her voice brimmed with arrogance, as if everything was already in the palm of her hand.

"Well, tough luck for you. You brats have meddled in my business one too many times. Tonight, you'll learn what happens to nosy little heroes who stick their noses where they don't belong!"

"…I see..." Hitomi gritted her teeth. "Meddling, you say... But aren't you the one causing trouble in the first place...?"

Her heart gave another violent thump as her core energy surged, nearing its critical limit.

Hitomi's legs gave out beneath her, and she dropped to her knees, clutching her chest.

"I'm warning you… one last time... if you don't leave now... you might never get the chance again…"

"Hah! Bluff all you want, little girl," Ghost sneered, completely dismissing her words. "Don't blame me for striking you down while you're helpless. You shouldn't have interfered in things you don't understand! Die!"

As she spoke, Ghost's body flickered, fading in and out of visibility as she stepped forward.

Unlike Vulture and the others, her phasing wasn't the result of technology—it was her own twisted quantum ability.

From what Hitomi remembered of the MCU data, Ghost—real name Ava Starr—sought desperately to rid herself of this unstable quantum condition.

She'd been stealing cutting-edge tech from everywhere in an attempt to open a path into the Quantum Realm and harness its energy to heal herself.

Her motivation, at its core, was simply to survive.

But her methods—coercion, theft, manipulating others into building weapons with alien tech, and selling them for profit—were unforgivable.

No matter her reasons, her actions were undeniably criminal.

Worse yet, thanks to her unstable powers, Ghost had spent years working as a mercenary for shady organizations, killing without mercy and becoming a whispered legend—a reaper in human form.

Ava Starr. A tragic woman… but also a deadly assassin.

"Hrrghh—!"

Just as Ghost prepared to strike the defenseless Hitomi down, an explosive surge of energy erupted from within the silver-haired girl's body.

A violent shockwave blasted Ghost backward like a leaf in the wind.

The next moment, a blinding column of light shot skyward, piercing the clouds and scattering bolts of lightning across the sky.

It was the ultimate release of her core energy—the final burst that, combined with the Time Stone's power, fully restored her body.

She was returning to her original, true self.

[Core Energy Restart Complete]