> A: thanks man
> A: i thought the worst had happened
> F: When she gets a new phone, I'll text u the number. Got it?
> A: got it
> A: btw ive run some algorithms to make sure these messages won't be tracked.
'Way ahead of you, Aaron.'
Felix Faeth was back in New York—back home. The limo was driven by Carol and Luke. Seated across from him was Monica. Samantha was in a separate compartment. Was she just feeling awkward or was it out of duty? It didn't matter, the point was that he was in the limo and far away from the yacht.
In the meantime, Aaron Davis snuck M'Baku out of the yacht and into his own car. The moment he heard about Creature Z, Aaron Davis drove from Las Vegas to New York. Took a good week but he made it—and the day he did—Felix texted him. It was a relief for him to hear that Miles and Rio were okay. Due to the city-wide damages, phone calls and messages were unstable and traffic was full, to the point that it spilled out to other states. What should have been a weak long journey became much, much longer and darker.
But the moment Felix got a hold of him and informed him that his family was perfect okay, Aaron was more than willing to do him a little favour.
> A: one last thing
> A: he's not a criminal is he?
> F: Kinda? You should ask him yourself
> A: rn because of the absurd number of MIAs in New York, i can hook him up with passports and everything. Won't be an issue
> A: but
> A: if he's a potential liability, do you want me to put a tracker on him?
A tracker on M'Baku, huh?
> F: Just send me his ID when it's done. If I need him, I'll find him
> A: suit yourself.
Felix put down the phone. Well, that was that. Aaron had taken care of M'Baku, who was indebted to Felix himself. If he ever needed him, M'Baku would be at his side. Monica and Samantha didn't ask about who he was texting. It was a private matter.
Bzzzt!
Norman Osborn did. He was calling. Felix answered.
"Finally back, are you?" Norman greeted. "Later than I anticipated."
"Princess Ororo isn't an easy woman to persuade."
"I hope you found what you were looking for. What was it again? Webware? Portable internet for all? A fascinating idea."
Felix hadn't given the specifics. He presumed someone here must have reported it to him—or, more likely, they reported it to SHIELD which Norman held a nominal amount of authority over. Following the attack, Osborn's influence and cooperation was necessary.
'Like it matters.'
"I'll be ironing out the details at home," Felix told him. "I prefer to not be disturbed. No, err…" He looked up at Samantha and Monica. "No offence. I like them but I prefer peace and quiet. I can't focus with people constantly eyeing my back."
"Hmmmm…you need focus, eh? I understand that. They won't leave the premises, unfortunately. You do need protection, my friend. However…" Osborn hummed. "I may be able to convince them to be less involved. Stay in the house but not on a certain floor. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes, thanks. That'd be perfect. Thank you, Norman."
"It is my pleasure. With Princess Ororo and I, we can change the world."
Beep. Norman ended the call right then and there. How cold and expected of him. Felix leaned back on the limo seat. Pop! That was when Monica smiled and offered him a beer.
"A drink?"
"I'll…take a sip." He grabbed the bottle by the base and drank it. Gulp, gulp, gulp. Monica laughed a little.
"A sip, huh?"
Felix wiped the taste off his lips. It was Canadian beer brewed in Albert. A tasty mango ale that was refreshing and probably meant for summer. Quietly, he realized that there were others that needed it more than he did.
'That's why it's important that I get the Vibranium and defeat everyone around Cindy Moon. She's a loose cannon and the cannon balls are those villains she has under her thumb: especially that Bruce Banner.'
A deep breathe.
'I need to find a way to defeat him as swiftly as possible—'
'CONNECTION WITH ALISTAIR MANSION ESTABLISHED. EMERGENCY DISTRESS CALL SENT. SUE STORM HAS BEEN AWAKENED.'
Huh? Felix blinked twice. Connection to the mansion was just now established and…
'Wait, what!? Sue Storm is awake!?'
***
Felix didn't know what to expect when he returned home. Maybe a hero's welcome, maybe just dinner, maybe just a simple greeting. He wouldn't have minded any of those options. Instead, he got:
"Felix!"
He looked up. It was Miles, hurrying down from the second floor, eyes wide with urgency.
"She's up!"
Felix blinked. He had to act and pretend he didn't know what Miles was talking about. "Who?"
"The blonde lady! The one in the tank!"
"Sue Storm?"
Miles nodded.
Felix didn't waste another second—he ran. Up the steps, two at a time.
He burst into the room moments later, breath short. Rio looked up from the bed, calm but alert. Yuri gave him a small nod and stepped aside.
Sue was lying still, her damp hair brushed back, body wrapped tightly in blankets. Felix moved in quickly, pulling out a compact scanner from his coat, running it over her vitals.
"She's stable. Core temp's low, but improving."
Yuri handed a folded towel to Miles. "Put that on her forehead. Gently."
Miles did, careful as ever. He looked to Rio for reassurance, and she gave him a small smile.
Felix kept his eyes on the readout. "She's healing faster than I expected. Cellular activity is accelerating."
Rio stood and touched his arm. She smiled when she saw him, but it was a sad smile. She wanted to hug but knew this wasn't the time for it. "Felix, can I talk to you? Outside."
They stepped into the hallway. Felix closed the door behind them. The first thing she did?
"Thank goodness you're okay...."
She hugged him. He hugged back, squeezing her tight.
After that, Rio looked up, her voice dropping into a whisper. "Sue Storm, she...she doesn't remember anything."
"Anything? Only her own memories or...everything else too?"
"Only m-memories, I think. She doesn't know her own name or any idea who you are or where she is."
Felix's brows knitted together. "That's…that's okay. It's not like she and I knew each other very well. I was assigned to take care of her because I have the best chance of healing her. She's a VIP after all."
Rio was relieved. She didn't know since he kept her in the dark about it. His fault. "I-I found her in a room that looked like it got blown up or something. T-this is just a guess but I think her powers went crazy? She has some superpowers, right? Something about force fields? That's what Miles said anyway."
Probably why the mansion sensors didn't immediately pick it up and send him a message. 'Her powers are related to wavelengths and force fields. That type of stuff affects technology deeply.'
"B-but listen, she's got total amnesia," Rio said. "No memory of her life, her powers, any of it. Right now, all she knows is she woke up in a strange place surrounded by strangers."
Felix took a breath, nodded once. Processing. "Does she have any next of kin? Family?"
"Miles and Yuri did some internet research. She's a celebrity so most of her family tree is up there. She…after her brother, she has no one."
"Ohh…"
He double-confirmed with Herbie. Her brother was the last member of her family and he died from the Gamma Ray Breath. Johnny Storm sacrificed himself for her. Now, she didn't even remember him? Fate was not kind to her.
"I just think," Rio continued, softer now, "with how fragile her muscles are, she needs time to focus and build up her strength. I...I saw what happened on TV with her brother. If she knows about it, she might..."
Break.
Felix didn't argue. He didn't have time to. He was more concerned with the percussions of a woman of her powerset being here. 'Should I keep her? Train her? I could pronounce her dead. No, that's too much, everyone's seen that she's okay.'
Taking a strangler like her in was a risk. Miles and Rio were a given, they would stay until New York was rebuilt. But Sue Storm? A woman that tried to attack him? He was slightly apprehensive.
But.
At the end of the day, he was Spider-Man. He had obligations.
He listened to what was going on inside the room. He could hear Sue stirring slightly and Miles adjusting the towel on her forehead while Yuri got food ready.
Rio glanced at the doorway, then back at Felix.
"Felix, I do think we can help her. I do. A-and the hospitals right now, I know she's a VIP but they are swarmed and busy and..."
"I know, I get you." Felix nodded again, slower this time. He put on a smile and wrapped his arms around Rio again. "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
Rio put her head on his chest. She believed him.
***
Miles was a kid. Kids needed time to talk and relax. To just leave them wasn't wise. Like Felix told Rio, he would take care of everything. Any worries, any concerns, he was going to make life better for everyone, no matter how small that betterment was.
Like in all mega mansions, the Smythe mansion had multiple lounges. This one was all warm leather chairs, floor pillows, a giant curved screen, and the distant sound of jazz bleeding in from a hallway speaker someone forgot to turn off.
Right now, the jazz didn't matter. What mattered was Mario Kart.
"Move, Luke!" Miles Morales shouted, practically jumping out of his beanbag. "You're too big for the road, man!"
Luke Cage didn't flinch. "Then drive around me."
"You're blocking the whole shortcut!"
Luke smirked as his Bowser smashed through a drift turn, still somehow holding a green shell behind him like a loaded trap.
Felix sat at the edge of a low couch, face calm, eyes locked on the screen. His Wario cart didn't weave or wobble—every turn was deliberate. Clean. Dangerous.
"Felix is way too quiet," Miles muttered. "That's always a bad sign."
Felix didn't respond. He launched a red shell at just the right angle. It curved, elegant and brutal, and slammed into Miles' Luigi with surgical precision.
"NO!" Miles fell backward dramatically.
Luke chuckled. "Kid, you talk too much. That's why he keeps beating us."
Felix allowed himself a small, quiet smile as he crossed the finish line in first place. Again.
"Rematch," Miles muttered, grabbing his controller. "But after I ask…"
He looked over at Felix.
"What's the deal with Sue? I mean… is she staying here?"
The room quieted, just a bit.
Luke leaned back in his chair. "That depends. She might get handed over to the hospital. Or maybe even the cops, depending on how complicated her history is."
He looked over at Felix.
"But it's your call. You're the one who brought her back."
'I can say anything in these notes. They'll trust me too, unless they bring someone to inspect her. Even then, with Norman, I can probably bribe them or mess them their instruments with Herbie.' His fingers loosened on the controller. The screen flashed victory stats, Wario dancing in the background.
"We'll see," Felix said.
Most importantly was Bruce Banner. He hacked his place and left a spider-bot. Herbie then sent more spider-bots just in case too—and his worst suspicions came true.
'Bruce Banner talked directly to Cindy Moon about gamma radiation. Something about a serum.'
Not the good kind either. The kind that seemed to want to bolster his powers, not limit them. The kind that required the blood of Creature Z. That was what he was asking of her: a way to get that blood. Bruce Banner, he was a ticking time bomb. A disaster waiting to happen and Felix…
Felix couldn't do anything to him.
Not yet. Not today. Not when the city was still vulnerable.
'Then there's Czarina and her request to go home. Director Carter and her desire for a Super Soldier. Anthony Stark and the nuke power sources he stole. Gwen Stacy and where the hell she fucked off too.'
"Hey man, want to go for another match?" asked Luke. "We're double-teaming you this time, a'ight?"
Felix turned and smiled. "...sure."
Behind that smile were intensive thoughts.
'...and Luke. You too. You're going to become a Super Soldier sooner or later. Your blood is too special.'
***
The morning sun filtered gently through the upper windows of the former estate of the Smythes. Felix stood in the entryway, dark coat already on, gloves in one hand, posture controlled but alert—always alert. He tried to adjust to the collar of his coat.
"Here, let me." Until Rio went and did it for him. She smiled after she was done. "There. How handsome~"
"You give me too much credit."
"Rich, humble, smart, and, oh, did I forget humble?" Rio laughed and Felix couldn't but laugh with her. "Trust me, the ladies are going to drool over you. Assuming, of course, you're going somewhere with ladies?"
She wiggled her eyebrows, teasing him.
Felix just put a hand in his pocket, smiling sheepishly. "Just a day trip. I need to speak with Emma Frost."
"Oh? Is she pretty?"
"That's, uh…"
"I'm just teasing. You go on and save the world. Me and Miles will be waiting. You know, I haven't played Mario Kart in a long, long time. Maybe it's to brush up the old skills."
"Trust me, your son is no pushover."
"I'm glad to see I raised him right."
Felix almost considered leaning down and kissing her. He didn't only because of a knock from behind. It was a signal from Samantha asking if he was going to come out yet.
Rio gave a small, understanding smile. "Right. Be careful."
"I always am," he said.
"Good." Rio wanted a quick hug but switched to a long, intimate hug instead. She liked his smell. She liked gushing into him. "Good luck, Felix."
"Thanks, Rio. Take care of Sue."
He opened the door. Directly outside, Samantha and Luke trailed him.
"The blondie again, huh?" Luke clicked his tongue.
"I won't pretend to know what you want from her," Samantha said, "but be careful."
"I'll try," Felix replied.
A black limousine waited in the drive. Permission was granted with Felix's permission. He explained she might be a frequent guest and given her standing in society, having only two Defenders was adequate and inoffensive. The driver stood at attention, and the back door was already open.
Felix nodded to them and stepped into the limo without a word. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, the air shifted.
Samantha blinked, her jaw slackening. Luke's fists unclenched and his posture slumped. From the other side of the cabin, Emma Frost watched it happen with a smirk, legs crossed, dressed immaculately in white, as always.
"Thank you," Felix said. "You work fast."
Emma smiled. "I do my best. I think I've gotten better at breaching the captain's brain, although…" Blink, blink, and narrowed eyes. "She does resist."
It took a good minute but eventually, even Captain America slumped.
"Haah." Emma visibly strained herself and had to visibly relax. "That should keep asleep for a good hour. Commands are fine with the police officer but Samantha's brain is too hard-wired."
"You think she'll figure it out?"
"Maybe. Assuming I don't keep tapping in every month." Emma sighed. "How annoying. I didn't think I'd have to deal with the unbending willpower of America."
"It is what it is. Our business can't happen without some risk."
"Right, some risk. Some chance. Whereas you…" Emma hummed. "As always, I can't read you at all. I can't read you like everyone else."
"I do my best."
"And that drives me crazy." Emma tilted her head slightly. "So. Your little side trip to Kenya—was it fruitful?"
"It was," Felix said simply.
Her brows lifted slightly. "And the address we're heading to…?"
"I've already inputted it into your driver's GPS."
She blinked, just once. "You've been in my systems?"
"I have tricks of my own."
AKA Herbie.
The limo began to move. Emma glanced toward the front, then back at him with a slow grin. "I really missed you."
A beat of silence passed. Then Emma shifted slightly. Her eyes narrowed.
"…What's that smell?"
Felix didn't answer. From his coat pocket, he pulled out a small capsule. "A little something I worked on at home. A little harmless gas."
"G-gas…?"
Emma's pupils dilated.
Gas—barely visible, but present—filtered into the cabin. She tried to lift her hand, but it was already too late. Her head lolled back, the world slipping sideways.
"Sorry, but I prefer not to give out all my secrets." He glanced at Samantha and Luke. "Still out. Good."
'Sorry, nothing against you Emma but I prefer to keep some of my secrets to myself.'
…
…
…
"Nngh…"
"Ah, there you are. Woke up faster than I thought."
The light was harsh, bright, clinical. Emma woke to the sterile scent of clean steel and filtered air. She was reclined in a modern chair, not bound, but not free to walk out either. Monitors hummed around her. Walls were white, but there was no sunlight—this place was underground.
Felix stood nearby, hands clasped behind his back. Smiling politely.
"Welcome to Daxter Lab," he said. "First time anyone's seen it besides me."
"Ah, gas. How did you—"
"I read your records. I know what does and doesn't work."
"What? But who—ah, was it SHIELD?"
"Yep. All I needed was one look and…" He tapped his temple. "I got it memorized and was able to come with a gas your body hadn't been introduced to."
"I see." Emma sat up slowly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "So what am I doing here?"
"I trust you," he said. "Mostly. But I'm a paranoid bastard. Comes with the job. But as for your question—you're the only way I can get here without attracting attention. With you by my side, I can slip in and out without SHIELD knowing in the slightest. As you notice, technology isn't an issue, it's Captain America. It's people and their memories."
"Which only I can manipulate. I see." Emma crossed her legs, all cool and casual. "You also showed me you can very easily take care of me."
"Not quite what I was aiming for but sure."
"Trust me," Emma said, "after seeing that monstrosity, I'm not interested in picking a fight."
"Like I said, I've gotten just a tad bit paranoid about stuff. SHIELD and the wider world are more interested in Spider-Man than ever before."
"Right, right…" Emma looked around. "So this is where you've been? Honestly, it's kinda terrifying. I can't hear any voices nearby. I presume this is underground?"
"Mhm."
"Well, luckily for you, I have no idea where this even is so even if they capture me, I won't have any information to give."
"Exactly."
Emma smiled. "Glad to see we are finally friends, Felix Faeth."
"Our goal, generally speaking," Felix began, "is to help New York. To change the world. We can't do that as long as Cindy Moon and Bruce Banner walk."
Emma almost shivered remembering what she saw. "I agree. I agree plenty, yes, we need to eliminate them and fast."
"If I jump Dr. Banner in the middle of the street, it'll just be another incident. More chaos and destruction. I can't let that happen so…"
"Oh!"
Emma was taken aback by the appearance of the robotic Herbie. Floating from jet propellers and waving at the blonde madame.
"Hello, Emma Frost," Herbie greeted.
"H-hello…sorry, what is this thing?" Emma asked, eyes unable to make contact with the little robot.
"My helpers."
"Wait…helpers? Plural." Her lips parted. "Ah."
Behind him emerged twenty more Herbies. Humble robotic helpers with small arms, an ability to fly around, and a monitor screen that changed between emoticons.
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
"Welcome!"
The same tone, the same robotic waves. It was like he had an army in here. It was overwhelming for Emma who was so used to talking to humans and being able to understand their every whim. But these three-foot tall robots…she couldn't sense a thing.
"H-hello," Emma stammered out. "This is…very…interesting."
Felix laughed and clapped his hands together.
"Alright, Herbies and aliens and everything in between—listen up! We are going to be mass-producing more of you. Right now, I have twenty spider-bots and twenty Herbie robots. That is NOT enough. We need more if we're going to be building armour capable of withstanding a nuke. I'm not talking just radiation, I'm talking blast force. After Creature Z, you can bet your ass the race to the biggest, baddest nukes has started. We need to be ahead. We need to be able to stop anything and anyone."
Emma listened with her arms crossing and her legs uncrossing. The Herbie cheered on their leader.
"Are you ready, people?" Felix raised a fist to the air. "Are you ready to change the world!?"
"Yes, sir!!!"
"YES, SIR!"
'Yessss, we are!