Investments

The lightning in his fingers crackled one more time. His glasses interface glitched, then…disappeared. All the lines of coding were just gone. Felix blinked twice and tapped at the sides. The motion sensor should have picked up his demand for a quick analysis. "Herbie?"

No response.

"Heeerbiiee…?" Felix called out slowly and quietly.

Nothing again. The glasses on his face were normal. 

Oh shit. His new lightning powers caused his glasses to malfunction. That…that wasn't good. 'Not good at all,' he thought, swallowing the bile in his throat. He took his glasses off. Structurally, they were fine but the internal wiring was cooked. 'Shit, shit…! Herbie, come on, come on!' 

The lock was broken, so technically, he could pull open the garage with his strength. 'How am I going to explain that to Maria though? Man, oh man—' His ears twitched. She was coming back. Maria peeked down at him from the balcony. Felix waved at her, attempting to buy time and do something. Alas, she hopped down without a word. Two stories in one fell swoop, landing in a dramatic roll. Detective Maria Hill was here.

"Did it work?" she asked. Before he could answer, she walked up to the lock and smiled thinly. "I already mapped out the house and where it primarily receives power. As expected, the lock has been deactivated."

'Talk about luck! Nice going!' 

"T-that's…wow, you did that fast."

"I am a former SHIELD agent. Above all else, we are trained to infiltrate. Anthony Stark is intelligent but his greatest weakness is his arrogance. If he had asked a professional to build this house, they might have been able to muster up better defences."

"I'm seriously surprised there are no cameras," Felix muttered. 

"That is because Stark does not wish for his sexcapades to leak," Maria replied. "Now then, let's open this together."

Together, Maria and Felix opened the garage just enough to create a small gap. They exchanged a nod of silent agreement before crouching down and squeezing through the narrow opening, careful not to make a sound. The garage was expansive, easily accommodating several luxury vehicles in the first half of the space. Shimmering under the soft glow of overhead lights, sleek sports cars and high-end sedans stood in neat rows, their glossy paint catching the eye.

'Never thought I'd see a pink Lamborghini,' Felix thought.

Stealthily, Maria and Felix made their way through.

Venturing deeper into the garage, the atmosphere shifted subtly. The air grew tinged with the scent of machinery and electrical components, a sign that they were nearing the area where Stark kept his most prized possessions.

Indeed, the second half of the garage was a stark contrast to the pristine display of vehicles. Here, workbenches lined the walls, cluttered with tools and equipment. Shelves were stacked with assorted gadgets and spare parts, while computer monitors flickered with data readouts and schematics.

In the center of the space stood a large workstation, a laptop surrounded by a web of incomplete wires and cables. It was clear that Stark had put the laptop half-heartedly and then left.

Maria put a hand up. Stop, she silently ordered. Her gaze swept over the scene, double-checking for danger. This was new territory for her. Her Agent-Senses were tingling. Felix sensed nothing with his own Spidey-Sense, however. There was no extra security here. He glanced about, his curiosity piqued by the array of gadgets and machinery. Despite the gravity of their mission, he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer ingenuity on display. 

'If Herbie was active, I could have gotten the exact blueprints. I'll have to make do with my memory then.' With Extremis, his memory was superb. He could look at something once or twice and memorize it instantly. The only issue became organizing the information. That took a bit of sitting and thinking.

"Let's go," said Maria. She dashed toward the laptop and immediately plugged in the USB. The special device that could download everything in his database. "To be honest, I didn't think we would be this lucky. I'm going for Plan B." 

Plan B: Create a backdoor for future hacking. 

"Okay." There was a door nearby. That must have been the interior entrance. Felix snuck up to the door and pressed an ear to it. "I can hear them. The living room must be nearby," Felix told Maria.

"Got it. Eight minutes," Maria said. "Eight minutes and the USB will have created a backdoor. A beacon for us to access this laptop at any time." She ran over and pressed herself to the door. "I'll keep watch. You can…do whatever."

Right, from her perspective, he was an Oscorp scientist with an impressive level of athleticism. Felix circled to the laptop which was opened up to several tabs of chat rooms. Felix recognized these chat rooms; his father in his late career was often on them. It was a way for the CEO to issue commands to specific Stark Industry locations. He considered going on the chatroom for his home state but remembered that he wasn't wearing gloves. As improbable as it was, it was better to keep his fingerprints away. 

So he waited. He waited, waited, waited…

"Four minutes left…" Felix muttered, arms crossed. Maria continued to listen through the door. As the minutes ticked by, the tension in the air grew palpable. Felix stood by the laptop, his gaze flicking between the screen, the flickering red lights of the USB, and the nearby door where Maria kept watch. Every sound outside seemed to echo with heightened significance, each creak and shuffle sending a jolt of adrenaline through his veins. Without his spider-powers, he would have been unaware. 

Maria's voice broke the silence, her words barely a whisper. "Two minutes left..."

Felix's focus sharpened. His senses were on high alert, attuned to even the slightest shift in the air. Controlling his future sight was impossible—but right now, as the last two minutes ticked by and the tension grew through his veins—he felt that he could. He could see the future the moment danger arrived.

One minute remained. The seconds stretched out like eternity as they waited for the USB to work its magic. Felix's muscles tensed, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, while Maria remained steadfast at her post, her ears trained for any hint of movement.

The door was too thick to make out the specific conversation. All he could hear with his enhanced senses were muffles. Muffles that were…coming…closer. 'Is that…Emma and Stark? Oh shit!' 

He saw the future. He saw the lovely blonde accompanied by the rich CEO. There was a door in the wall, opened by a scan of Stark's hand. He snapped back to the present. And then, switching to the colour green, the USB finished its task. 

Maria detected them right then and there. Without hesitation, Maria dashed toward the laptop, swiftly unplugging the USB and stashing it away. Felix pressed the power button to turn it off temporarily.

She tugged him along, not bothering to explain. Felix's heart remained calm as he followed Maria's lead, moving quickly to join her behind a red Ferrari 420. They crouched low, concealed.

The door to the garage slid open. As predicted, Anthony Stark and Emma Frost walked in with all the swagger in the world. Felix wanted to curse himself. 'Shit, shit, shit! She's a friggin' telepath!' 

Maria held her breath. Felix remained perfectly still, his senses on high alert. They didn't bother trying to sneak a peek. They needed to hide. They needed to lay low.

"Do people often visit here?" Emma asked with what Felix felt was a smile.

"Oh, you know, here and there."

"Meaning never?"

"Never. Consider it a top-secret lab. See?" Anthony pointed to the corners of the room. "No cameras. Nothing to hack and leak."

'Not true anymore,' Felix thought, trading looks with Maria. 

"Then show me what you've been so eager to hide," Emma said. "I want to see JARVIS."

"Right on then." Anthony went on his laptop which he didn't notice had to be turned on with a press of the power button rather than simply needing to wake up with some movement. "The main component of JARVIS is the supercomputer that powers him. Technically, there's the JARVIS computer, JARVIS-C, and the JARVIS algorithm, JARVIS-A. One that's the hardware and the other the software. Initially, JARVIS was just an advanced linguistic program. Then, bit by bit, it became a shitload of algorithms that can cover almost any basis. For that, I needed to build a massive supercomputer for him. A home." 

"Have you been working with NASA?" Emma asked.

"Hell no. If I'm going to build the first Zettascale computing system, I'm going to do it by myself."

"Right, because your fragile ego can't take the fact that most people consider you a businessman, not an inventor." 

"It makes for excellent motivation," Stark replied.

"Agreed. And excellent motivation for me to join in."

'Holy shit, did he say the first Zettascale computer?' Felix looked at Maria to see if she understood what that meant. She did. 

A Zettascale computer system could generate more single floating point data in one second than was stored by any digital means on Earth in the first quarter of 2011. The sheer magnitude of its processing power was staggering and it could predict global weather for up to two weeks in advance. 

And yet, with great power came great energy consumption. If a Zettascale computer were assembled using today's supercomputing technologies, it would consume about 21 gigawatts, equivalent to the energy produced by 21 nuclear power plants. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. The leap was so astronomically large, it was like going decades into the future.

"I appreciate the interest." Anthony clicked his tongue. "I still don't get why Ororo isn't interested. I mean, I get it, she doesn't care either way, she just wants the best product with the sponsor that gives the most money. But Ororo…after she mentioned it, I thought she would be interested." 

"She's interested but only in trading. She knows to stick to what she does best," Emma said. "Moreover…you're holding back on me."

"Huh? No, here are the schematics."

On the laptop screen, Anthony scrolled down the documents. He settled on the dissertation conclusion. For a layman like Emma Frost, it offered the overall composition of the project.

"You can access JARVIS anywhere in the world," Emma said. "That's what you implied before."

"So?"

"So, that requires a satellite." Emma put her arms under her bust. "I must say, a satellite is impressive."

"...I can never seem to hide anything from you ladies."

"I think it says more about you than us. You're growing desperate, Stark. Your envy toward Osborn is like a stench." 

"Desperate? I've been building this supercomputer for the past decade. I'm not desperate, I'm invested. JARVIS-C will see completion. It will be my life's work and it will be what humanity will remember me by for centuries." Anthony threw a peace sign. "Two years. In two year's time, I believe I will be able to complete JARVIS-C. I will propel society into its next stage."

Both Felix and Maria held their breaths. Besides being caught, the implication of his claim was settling down on them. Stark was correct. If he could create an AI that was powered by a satellite and a Zettascale computing system, it could change humanity as they saw it. Because after the Zettascale came the Yottascale, which according to the top minds of the world would be the last thing humanity would ever have to make. Anything after that was either impossible or in the realm of AI.

'A Zettaflop…that's four hundred more Exaflops than the Fantastic Computer currently. With something like that, it will be possible to decipher my blood—!'

"If you put it that way, then how can I not join in?" Emma said. A chill went Felix's spine, followed by an intense tingle in the back of his head. Emma was looking elsewhere. She was looking at them.

His world narrowed and went white. He proceeded to see future. He saw her crossing over to the cars section. He saw her touching the hood of the Ferrari. He saw Anthony Stark coming over and feeling a presence. This was his home. His little abode. How could he not know? At that point, there was no escaping. No amount of excuses that could get them out of the situation.

Returning to the present, he realized they had to move. He tapped Maria' shoulder and mouthed, "Go, go, go!"

"Ooh, is that a Ferrari 420?" Emma's voice was like an echo. It was the same thing she said in his vision. Click, click, click, click, click. Her high heels made a daunting noise. Her hips swayed and then stopped as a hand touched the hood.

"When did you become a car girlie?" Anthony scoffed.

"Mm, consider me new to the game."

"Also, is it just me or is it chilly here?" Anthony shuddered. "It's like someone opened the windows which…is weird since there are no windows here."

"Maybe you're getting nervous being one on one with a beauty such as I."

"As if." 

There was no time to think. They had to go—now. With bated breath, Maria and Felix edged away from their hiding spot, careful not to make a sound as they moved toward the door. Every footstep felt like a thunderclap in the silence of the garage, their hearts pounding in their chests.

The small, foot-high elevation of the garage they crawled under. That was their entrance and exit. They moved from car to car, ducking behind each one as they closed in on the garage door.

Since there were far enough, they crawled without hesitation. Because of his experience as Spidey, he unintentionally crawled faster than the trained SHIELD agent, sitting up and already at the centre where he could pull it down with the latch. Maria wanted to close it. He didn't let her. Time was of the essence. 

"I'll do it," Felix mouthed. With a slow, steady motion, he eased the door shut without the slight creak of metal. His spider-powers gave him perfect control. 

Outside, Maria didn't let the tension go away. The mission was still on. "We need to get back up to the balcony. Can you follow?"

"Like I said, I can figure things out."

With determination etched on her face, Maria jumped and hung on to the window that was blocked by a curtain. Felix watched her closely, taking note of her technique before following suit. 

'I can't be too good. Gotta act.'

Using the grooves in the mansion, Maria expertly maneuvered her way upward, her hands and feet finding purchase with practiced ease. Felix mirrored her actions as best he could, his muscles doing it with no effort at all.

To make it believable, he was superbly slow, nails digging into the gaps.

Step by step, they climbed higher. The balcony was the second floor. Felix focused on his acting, his breath coming in steady puffs as he concentrated on the task at hand.

Finally, Maria reached the balcony and gripped the metal fence. She pulled herself up and over the edge with a grunt of effort. Felix followed suit and was offered an arm. "Thank you." He was pulled up and he carefully put one leg over the fence, then the other.

They opened the glass hatch and arrived at Stark's simplistic room. The sleek bed was tempting him after the near heart attacks from a minute ago.

Suddenly, Felix saw a vision. He saw the future. As always, his thought was, 'Oh shit!'

The door was about to open. Maria didn't notice since the walls were thick. He had to act now.

As the door swung open, Felix acted on instinct, embracing Maria tightly and leaning in to make-out with her intensely. Maria's eyes widened in surprise, but she played along, one arm on Felix's shoulder.

The other hand was…well…entangled. 

"Is someone here....Oh."

Christine Everhart entered the room. The reporter stood there, bewildered, as Maria and Felix broke apart. Issue was…one of Maria's hands was still in his pants. He saw the future and saw that the reporter was going to question them as to why they were here and not in the pool room. But seeing Maria's hand inside his pants, it was all made clear. They were here for animalistic pleasure. 

Awkwardly, Christine backed away. All the suspicion and accusations in her throat died a horrible death. 

"What?" Maria smiled with a charm that belonged at the Oscars. "Want to join us?"