16 Oscorp Tower

Thwip!

Spider-like equilibrium plus quick mathematics equals easy swinging through the city. With night vision mode activated, he wasn't hampered by the darkness either. He was free to roam as he was in the daytime.

Adrenaline rushing, hands sweaty and heart pounding, Herbie said through the interface, "According to local CCTV, there is a robbery occurring at the alleyway three o'clock."

Felix's heart races faster. He didn't think about it, he just went for it. It was almost like he had to do this. To test his powers or his morality or whatever, Felix had to stop the crime in question.

In a swift descent, Felix swung into a dimly lit alley, guided by the acrobatic finesse of his spider powers. Still in the air, his enhanced brain power allowed him to assess the situation almost instantly – a civilian woman cornered by a menacing figure brandishing a knife.

Without hesitation, Felix propelled himself down to the scene with calculated precision. His landing was dramatic, kicking up small pebbles, and the sound of his arrival caused the robber to switch his attention.

Surprisingly, the robber was tall. Certainly taller than himself by at least half a foot. Still, Felix wasn't intimidated. To the contrary, he was a little thrilled.

'Maybe I can let loose with him.' Pause. He did the numbers in his head. '...or maybe not. He might look big but he's still made of bone like everyone else.'

Felix wanted to say something. Maybe warn the robber to stop or for the woman to run.

Instead, he was unable to speak. Call it nerves. Call it inexperience.

"..."

"What? Who the hell are ya?" The robber looked him up and down, a knife pointed. "I'm warning you! I'm not afraid to use this."

"..."

'No, seriously, how much power should I use? Oh, wait, snap, he's talking to me! How should I respond? I'm not good with quips!'

So he stood there. Menacingly.

It scared the living shit out of the robber. Seeing a man in a black-suit lit up by neon green, wielding the same webs that the legendary Spider-Woman did, simply staring at him with nothing to say…

"W-wait, hold on—"

Suffice to say, the robber was terrified and Felix didn't even realize it. He simply latched onto the first opportunity that would help end this.

He flicked his wrist, shooting out a cascade of webbing that encased the knife-wielding robber's weapon, rendering it useless. The strands formed a secure cocoon around the blade, leaving the assailant disarmed.

Seizing the moment, Felix burst forward and executed a precise kick that sent the now disarmed robber stumbling backward. The force of the kick propelled the assailant into the alley wall, where he crumpled, dazed and immobilized.

'Huh. That was easy,' Felix thought to himself.

As the subdued robber lay defeated in the alley, the grateful woman approached Felix with relief and appreciation. "Thank you. You're a life-saver," she uttered with sincerity.

Brown eyes, dark brown hair, and silver on her ring finger. She was pretty moody, with dark eyeliner and a decently deep voice.

He gave a simple nod. Without uttering a word, he flicked his wrist—thwip—and let the web-shooters reel him in. Another feature of his suit.

The night air enveloped him as he soared out between buildings.

The neon-green glow faded into the night.

"A second robbery one mile ahead."

'Got it.'

Without hesitation, he altered his course and descended upon the scene. Upon landing, he observed two masked individuals attempting to loot a small store.

They were going from the back, so no alarms were triggered nor was their violence.

'Until now,' Felix thought to himself. 'Time to strike.'

A mad dash and a kick to the stomach and one masked man was already down. His foot on the fallen criminal, Felix switched his attention to the last man standing.

"Who the hell are–gah!"

A punch to the stomach knocked him out cold. Felix was too fast and strong for the measly criminal to keep up.

'What if they wake up?'

He looked around. There was the getaway car and bags of loot inside. Felix crossed his arms, thinking.

His eyes flickered to the source of light in the corner of his eye: the lamp post.

'Hmm…'

***

Felix awoke to the soft rays of morning sunlight filtering through his bedroom window. Yep, he was back home again. Home. He didn't immediately get up and move, even though he was wide awake. His body was sublime with no discernable flaws. Sometimes though, he missed being sleepy.

He put a lazy arm on his forehead, the events of the previous night lingering in his mind. Two robberies. He stopped two robberies back-to-back. After tying the criminals up and putting the bags back in the store, he left and took off the suit. He didn't want to go too crazy. One step at a time was the better way to go.

Getting up, he noticed a subtle ache in his back – which promptly disappeared after a good stretch.

'Healing factor for the win,' he said to himself.

Deciding to shake off the sweat from yesterday, Felix headed for the bathroom. After brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower, he went about his usual breakfast routine. The comforting familiarity of the mundane grounded him after the nocturnal excitement. Seriously, he felt invincible after yesterday. He didn't feel superhuman, he was superhuman.

He plopped Herbie into his ear.

"Were all the local CCTV and public footage wiped?"

"Yes."

That was all he needed to know. He took the earbud off and made some coffee for himself. The aroma of coffee wafted through the air as he prepared his morning meal: a French rolled omelette.

With breakfast ready, Felix settled into his usual spot, the events of the previous night still fresh in his mind. The swinging, the kicking, the legwork, the jumping, and everything in between was burned into his systems.

'A superhero. I'm an actual superhero.'

Or was he? Stopping two robberies didn't make him Spider-Woman or Sue Storm. He was still a guy in a costume until he actually did something to impede crime.

Curiosity led him to open his phone, navigating through social media feeds. To his surprise, the news section displayed a headline that caught his attention – "Mysterious Vigilante Webs Up Robbers on Lamp Post. Spider-Woman Returns!???"

A subtle smile played on Felix's lips as he clicked on the news article. The report detailed the thwarting of a robbery, with two criminals left webbed up on a lamppost. The incident had garnered attention on social media, and comments and discussions filled the digital space.

> Is Spider-Woman back???

> my girl is finally back….

> could be a prank

> shes back!!!

With no costume or eye witnesses, there was little to say except spread the rumour that Gwen Stacy was back in town.

Felix's internal dialogue echoed with pride and amusement. "Not exactly the low-profile approach I was aiming for. Then again, if I was a civilian, I would be thinking Spider-Gwen is back." Chuckling to himself, he scrolled through comments ranging from admiration to skepticism. "I guess the lady I saved hasn't said anything."

Closing the news app, he took a sip of his coffee. In an hour, he would be in an online meeting with the team.

He sighed.

"Mondays…"

…

"Kavita, any challenges on the genetic modification front?"

"Minor setbacks," Kavita replied, "but we're resolving them. The modified genes are exhibiting the desired traits in preliminary tests."

"Maya, how are we looking on the regulatory front?"

"We're in the final stages of documentation. Usually, this stuff takes much less time but…"

"Yes, of course." Bobbi nodded. "The attack destroyed a small portion of computers and our database."

"Oscorp's legal team is ensuring compliance with all safety protocols. Once approved, we'll be ready for the next phase," Maya said. "That is what I've been told."

"Excellent. Let's keep the momentum. Any concerns or suggestions, team?"

None at all. Felix wanted to log off already. His head lifted by the palm of his hand, elbow on his desk, he let out a quiet sigh. He was glad the meeting was coming to a close.

"Felix." A call-out by Dr. Octavius. Oh no. "I want to speak to you. Alone," she emphasized at the end.

Alone? Weird, but…

"Okay."

One by one, everyone else left the call, leaving himself and Dr. Octavius.

"The vita radiation suggestion was a great one," she began. "Did you come up with it on your own?"

Not…really, but did he need to tell her that? "Yeah, I did. What's up?" he said.

"Did Reed say anything?"

Huh?

"We had a back and forth about it once," he replied cautiously, "but this wasn't his idea."

"I see." Dr. Octavius' expression told him she didn't entirely believe him. Unfortunately, there was no evidence to the contrary. She let out a sigh and leaned back on her chair. All of a sudden, he was able to see the frustration that had been formed from years of work. "Actually, I need your help—Reed's help. Anyone's, really."

"What's wrong? I'll do whatever I can."

"I have…a project. Assigned to me by the CEO."

CEO…no way, it couldn't be—

"Project New Element," Dr. Octavius said. "It's my life's work and at Oscorp it got a lot of attention. Recently, I made some progress because of Reed. He gave me some tips. That boy was faster than a supercomputer, I'll tell you that much."

She let out a laugh. Weak and full of anxiety.

"You need my help with this?" Felix asked, quick to the point. "I don't mind. What's the project about?"

"We'll have to talk in person if we want to work on this together," Dr. Octavius said. "I just wanted to ask here if you wanted to join me. You'll be paid your fair share of overtime."

Besides the obvious insight into the project, overtime pay was nice. "Count me in."

"Wonderful. I'll text you the details of our meeting. Let's make it happen on…Friday. Yeah, does that work for you?"

"Sure."

"Perfect!" Her anxiety was replaced with excitement. "Thank you!"

"It's no issue."

With that said, the call ended with a smile and anticipation. Monday's meeting was over.

Felix, instead of letting out a sigh, sat in morbid silence.

'What to do, what to do…?' He glanced at the earbud in front of him. After how well yesterday went, he was itching to get back into the swing of things. 'But is it smart to go too public? What if my enemies get tense because they think Spider-Woman is back?'

Right now, the public was divided. Many believed the webbed up criminals was some elaborate prank. Since Felix had returned everything and the robbers themselves had been careful not to break anything, evidence of a robbery was minimal—at least to the news media. To the NYPD, it was clear as day that something did happen. Unfortunately, the public's trust in the NYPD was at an all-time low.

Crime was high, gangs were coming together, and because of the Spider-Woman the police force didn't realize just how many of their men had been slacking off.

Elbows on his desk, face buried in his hands, he continued to think. 'What to do…? Should I just commit to night operations? Be low-key?'

Suddenly, he stopped. He grabbed the earbud and put it into his ear. "Herbie, find Crossbones."

"Yes, sir."

"I don't need to do any of this investigating shit," Felix told himself. "All I need to do is find Crossbones, beat him till he's on death's door, and strangle him for information."

He had the power to do that now. Guns and bullets were theoretically meaningless to him and whatever training the mercenary had be rendered useless in face of his super strength and speed.

Herbie did not react to his flare of anger. Instead, the robot calmly said, "Footage of Crossbones' escape has been wiped and is impossible to recover."

"Huh?"

Well, there goes that idea.

"Judging by the digital footprint, it is highly likely a SHIELD intervention."

Felix did a double-take. "SHIELD? Why would they purposely wipe…"

Felix trailed off and remembered what Dr. Octavius told him when they reunited.

("We…" Dr. Octavius bit her bottom lip, torn between telling. "...lost it. But don't worry, the mercenaries don't have it either. I can't go into detail but the police managed to intercept them. Unfortunately, things got hectic and the spiders were lost to an explosion."

'The NYPD intercepted military-grade mercenaries? Why do I feel like that's a lie?' Then there was the second part. 'The spiders are lost? Is that really true?')

Felix narrowed his eyes and then crossed his arms. "It wasn't the NYPD that fought the mercenaries, it was SHIELD. I knew it, Dr. Octavius was lying, or maybe…she was fed a lie. Either way, it seems like SHIELD is heavily involved in this. Maybe they have Alistaire's spiders."

"Highly possible. SHIELD has a record of confiscating dangerous technology."

Fair enough, the spiders seemed too dangerous if Cindy Moon was anything to go by. "But because of them, I can't find Crossbones. There's no digital evidence of him."

He blinked. Cameras, social media posts, all of that was deleted by this massive government organization.

"Digital…but not physical." Footprints, handprints, witnesses, etc. "Herbie?"

"Yes, Dr. Faeth?"

"We're going to install a detective mode into the suit lens. I want to read heartbeats, conditions, see through walls, match fingerprints, handprints, and shoe sizes to the world wide database. I want the full range of x-ray vision and more. How long would that take?"

"Loading…loading…necessary materials for lens upgrade not in inventory. Shipping estimation of necessary goods: one month."

"Damn it, that's too long. SHIELD probably wiped the crime scene clean of most evidence. If they did forget something, I was hoping it would only be visible to a computer's eye." He sighed. "Looks like I'll have to do it the old fashioned way."

"How would you like to proceed, Dr. Faeth?"

"We'll work our way from start to finish. In other words, we're going to Oscorp Tower tonight."

***

Nighttime in New York was a fascinating view from up top. Glorious lights twinkling and shining like the stars of a rural sky.

'I'm so glad that I get to appreciate this.'

Crawling on the side of the tower, he felt strong wind, gravity, and a heart that refused to stop beating. Felix had never been afraid of heights. Actually, he loved heights. Absolutely relished in it. Maybe that was why he adapted to web-swinging so quickly, it was like a dream come true.

The Big Time suit was bestowed with three modes: Stealth Mode, Combat Mode, and Traversal Mode. Felix would have added a detective mode earlier but his mind slipped. A big oversight, really. Having activated Stealth Mode, the green light of his suit was gone, turning the wall-crawler into a dark shadow.

Oscorp Tower was tall and dark, with the company name spelled out in a neon purple. Infiltration was simple. All he had to do was start from a nearby rooftop, run as fast he could, and then jump several stories high. The security below didn't see or hear anything. One guy thought he heard a bird smash into the glass pane.

'Spider powers are absolutely ridiculous,' he mused silently. He stood up and shot two lines of webbing, his feet firmly planted on the glass and his back feeling the weight of gravity, and throttled himself up, climbing twenty feet in a single second. He did it again and again, gaining greater height with ease. The rhythmic thwip-thwip of his web shooters echoed in the quiet night as he effortlessly flew up the skyscraper.

He could have ran up Oscorp Tower equally as fast but he wanted to practice with his web-shooters. Getting your middle and ring finger to flex and press a button on the palm wasn't easier said than done.

As he scaled higher, the distant sounds of the city below became a gentle hum. Felix's sharp focus contrasted with the serene beauty of the city lights. Eventually, he secured a web-line to a protruding ledge and pulled himself up the last thirty feet.

Reaching the top, Felix perched on the edge, taking a moment to absorb the breathtaking panorama. The city below seemed alive, pulsating with energy. A fleeting sigh escaped him.

"Alright, we're here." Felix inhaled. Because of the suit, it wasn't super cold but that didn't stop the jittery nerves. "Herbie, I need you to do some digging. Hack into a local Oscorp device and hack into their servers again. CCTVs might be out of the question but Oscorp footage isn't. Focus on the incident on April 2nd. Specifically, Crossbones and his crew."

'Knowing SHIELD, they tried to get Oscorp to wipe everything. And knowing Oscorp, they only partly complied.'

Private companies and governments either got along very well or not at all. There was no in-between.

"Local Oscorp computer has been infiltrated. Oscorp's security systems are robust, but patterns have fully emerged from the previous hack. Progress should be finished in twenty minutes."

"Good work, Herbie. Keep me posted."

Time seemed to stretch as Felix waited, perched on the edge of the Oscorp Tower. The city lights below continued their mesmerizing shimmering. The cold night and its lights put him at peace, strangely enough. Eventually, his semi-meditative state was disturbed as Herbie chimed in.

"Dr. Faeth, Oscorp's database retained some footage from that night. Let me compile it for you."

"Perfect. Let's see what we've got."

A small screen appeared in the interface of his lens, showcasing snippets of the incident, from Crossbones and his mercenaries storming Oscorp to the bombing. There was some footage of the twelve corpses that the group left behind. Felix clenched his fist.

'This is what they showed on TV.'

The visuals were sporadic, likely due to SHIELD's interference, but it seemed the database had captured enough to piece together the events. At the end, however, the screen went totally black.

"What happened there? That wasn't the bomb."

"Searching…searching…searching…" Herbie intoned. "Evidence of short-circuiting. It is highly likely an EMP—an electromagnetic pulse—was set-off. This may explain why there was little social media footage of the battle between the mercenary groups and local police."

"Is it possible to follow the EMPs he set off?" After all, if there was little social media buzz on his escape, then that meant Crossbones set down multiple city block EMPs throughout his escape route.

'He planned this exceptionally well,' Felix realized. 'Just who in the world bought this guy to New York City?'

"Loading…loading…loading…negative," Herbie said, to his dismay. "Satellite cannot be accessed without Master Control."

Satellite!? The Fantastic Computer was connected to a satellite!? Well, damn! That was good to know!

"Then instead of satellite tracking, how about you track the disrupted cameras? Unsecured CCTVs, road cameras, and public cameras—we are connected to all that, right? We should know when they were turned off," Felix said.

"Affirmative. Calculating path now."

Felix smiled to himself. A trail. Finally.

At the corner of his interface was a map and a clear path. His muscles coiled together in anticipation. It was time. Herbie instructed him, "Carefully leap off the ledge to reach a lower altitude."

Felix slowly stood up, his fingers gripping the ledge. This was it. He was on top of a skyscraper in the middle of the night. This time, he was in danger. This time, he would really die if he failed. Gravity was a fundamental force of the universe for a reason. It was merciless and unyielding.

Even so, he smiled behind the mask. He smiled, balanced himself on the ledge, and let his heart race. Without thinking too hard, without letting the scientific jargon get to him, he leaped off the edge of Oscorp Tower, the cool night air rushing past him as he descended. The city lights blurred below him, and for a moment, he felt weightless.

Just before reaching the elevation of a rooftop, he shot a web and gracefully glided across the city skyline.

Felix Faeth was back.

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