43 Sunrise

Morning light filtered through the open windows. Three hours had passed and sunrise was here. Felix stirred from his makeshift resting spot. His wounds had healed considerably thanks to his enhanced regenerative abilities, but he still felt the lingering ache in his right lung. 

SHIELD was forced to give up their search thirty minutes ago when the police arrived to arrest Mr. Negative. Needing witnesses to confirm what happened, the NYPD sent out their detectives, leaving SHIELD to disperse. SHIELD from the perspective of the NYPD and the public was just a homeland defense. They flashed their IDs, took equipment, talked to some witnesses, and that was the extent of it. While Felix was sure Commissioner Karnik was aware of their true purpose, she likely wasn't allowed to tell anyone.

'But I doubt they're totally gone. If SHIELD is anything like those organizations in movies, they probably have agents wandering around and taking note of everyone in the area. Luckily for me, Chinatown is densely populated. They can't keep track of everyone. Since they're looking for Spider-Man, I just need to get rid of him. I need to be blend in and leave the area.'

Clothes…he needed clothes that weren't torn underneath. With a weary sigh, he pushed himself to his full height, crushed the energy drink can in his hand, and tossed it into the sink. He checked the living room's windows and then bolted into the room.

'Damn.' The closet of the room he entered had nothing. No clothing, nothing. Aside from the energy drinks in the fridge, there truly was nothing here. 'I'm going to have to go to steal clothing from an innocent unit. Welp.'

Luckily, the occupant appeared to be roughly his size, which made his task considerably easier.

Felix carefully slid open the window, wincing at the slight creak it made. Peering into the neighboring unit, he confirmed that its occupant was indeed asleep, his steady breathing a reassuring sign. With a silent exhale of relief, Felix slipped through the window and into the dimly lit room.

Moving with practiced stealth, he made his way to the closet, his eyes scanning the contents for anything suitable. He selected a clean set of clothes—a plain t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a hoodie—that would hopefully go unnoticed by their owner until Felix was long gone. As he carefully closed the closet door behind him, he couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that gnawed at his conscience. He hated having to resort to stealing, even if it was for a good cause. But in his line of work, sometimes desperate measures were necessary to survive.

He slipped out and re-entered the empty unit. Inside the room, he clicked on the manual buttons on his waist and then clicked the spider-symbol. He stepped out of the costume. As expected, the ordinary clothes underneath were ripped. There was no salvaging it. The suit was still standing behind him. He took out two capsules from his utility belt. 

"Looks like they still work." He quickly changed into his new clothes and threw his old clothes on his upright suit as though it were a rack. He tossed the capsule at it, the contact scanning the target and promptly shrinking it. Afterward, he went to the kitchen and captured the crate of energy drinks as well as the crushed can.

Leave no evidence behind. That was the only way to escape. He waited an hour before making his move. The higher the sun was, the more stores there were open. With more stores came more hiding spots. Since he was on the third floor, dropping down to the alleyway was simple and quiet enough. He planned to swiftly go forward and join the sidewalk. His body was telling him otherwise. It was as if a sixth sense was warning him of impending danger. He paused, his senses on high alert.

'Why?' Looking left and right, there was no one around in the alleyway. It was old and empty and devoid of cameras. 'What's wrong with the street—?' 

Then, like a flash of lightning, a vision flickered through his mind. He saw himself walking forward, rounding the corner of the alley, only to collide with a figure dressed in civilian clothing. The figure stumbled backward, surprised, but quickly recovered and faked a smile. 

It was a SHIELD agent in disguise. Seeing his physique, which matched that of Spider-Man, they were going to continue following him. He was going to be on their record. 

Put simply, game over.

'The future! That was a potential future!' It was like that time with Mr. Negative. Gulping, he went the other way. There was a metal fence to climb and a basketball court. There was a crowd at the halfway point.

Felix breathed a sigh of relief as he merged into the gathered crowd. There was a three versus three going on. The vibrant energy of the game and the chatter of the spectators provided the perfect cover.

He found a spot near the edge of the court, blending in seamlessly with the other onlookers as he watched the game unfold. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to become lost in the rhythm of the match, the sound of sneakers squeaking against the pavement, and the cheers of the crowd.

He eyed every possible suspect. Felix stood at five-foot-ten, almost eleven. His height wasn't unusual here and while there were cameras around the neighbourhood he doubted they would scan his face this far away. 

In fifteen minutes, the game reached its conclusion and the spectators began to disperse. Felix seized the opportunity to slip away unnoticed. With a casual glance over his shoulder to ensure he wasn't being followed, he crossed the street and made his way into a nearby Chinese restaurant.

The scent of spices and sizzling dishes greeted him as he stepped inside. Finding an empty table tucked away in a corner, he settled in and took a moment to catch his breath. Felix glanced over the menu, his stomach growling in anticipation. After the events of the night, he was famished, and the tantalizing aroma of the dishes being prepared in the kitchen only served to whet his appetite further.

Finally deciding on his order, he caught the attention of the waiter and placed it with a smile. "I'll have the Kung Pao chicken with fried rice, please," he said.

Felix leaned back in his seat, taking a moment to relax and savour the relative calm of the restaurant. Despite the lingering tension in the air, there was a sense of comfort from the promise of a hot, satisfying meal. A few minutes later, the waiter returned with a steaming plate of Kung Pao chicken, accompanied by a generous serving of fragrant fried rice. The aroma alone was enough to make Felix's mouth water as the plate was set down in front of him.

"Here you go, sir. Enjoy your meal," the waiter said with a polite nod before retreating back to attend to other customers. He wasted no time in picking up his chopsticks and diving in. 

The tender chicken, the crunchy peanuts, the fiery kick of the chili peppers – all expertly balanced against the fluffy rice. It was a perfect blend of sweet, savoury, and spicy, and Felix found himself quickly polishing off the plate. 

"Uh, can I get another plate?" he asked, flagging the waitress over. He was really damn hungry. "Actually, make it three plates."

Ten minutes later, his orders arrived and he was back to eating. Halfway through his second plate, Felix looked up from his meal as he sensed someone approaching. His gaze met the striking figure of a redhead. Their eyes locked. 

'Shit.' 

He couldn't avoid it now. The lady in red noticed him and he, in turn, noticed her. 

"Felix," Czarina said with a warm smile. "I didn't expect to see you."

"Uh, yeah." He gulped his food down, slightly awkward. All of a sudden, he remembered her background and the lack of information on her. Then he remembered the vision he saw of the SHIELD agents watching the streets, waiting for Spider-Man.

Was Czarina one of them?

"Mind if I join you?"

Maybe, maybe not. It was impossible to tell.

Czarina's attire was both stylish and eye-catching, perfectly complementing her vibrant red hair. She wore a form-fitting red blouse with intricate lace detailing along the neckline, which accentuated her slender figure. Paired with it were tailored red trousers that hugged her curves elegantly. She looked ready to go to work.

What type of work it was, Felix could not tell.

"Uh, sure," he replied, gesturing to the empty seat opposite him.

Felix couldn't shake off the feeling of unease as Czarina took the seat opposite him. Her smile was warm, her demeanor friendly, but there was something in her eyes that made him wary. Was it just his paranoia acting up again, or was there more to her than met the eye?

"So, what brings you to Chinatown?" Czarina asked, tucking a lock of hair over her ear.

"Just grabbing a bite to eat." Felix took a bite for emphasis. "The food is great here."

Czarina nodded, her gaze lingering on him for a moment longer than necessary. "I see. Well, it's always nice to run into familiar faces," she said, her smile widening slightly. 

"And you?"

"Ah, well…I was told to go to Oscorp Tower the other day. They say we'll be back next week." Czarina leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. "It'll be nice to see you and everyone else again."

Felix felt a flush of heat rise to his cheeks. Was she flirting with him? Or was he just reading too much into it? He couldn't be sure, and the uncertainty only added to his unease.

"You hear about Spider-Man?" Felix said.

"Hm? Spider-Man?"

"Yeah, there was a crane that got webbed up. Come on, there's no way you didn't see it."

Czarina was either taken aback by the topic or didn't know. "Oh…no, I haven't. What happened?"

Felix shrugged, still eating. "No clue, it's not like I was there. All I know is that Spidey stopped a crane from falling. I mean, if it was falling, then he was probably fighting someone."

"Like who?"

"Let's think." Felix put his chopsticks down and pretended to think. Czarina eyed him cautiously. "Mr. Negative is a candidate. What about the Lizard thing?"

Czarina frowned. "I'm not too well-versed in superheroes and villains."

"From a scientific perspective, I have an interest," Felix said. "But I'm in the same boat as you. Other than the public stuff, I'm not too interested in it."

"I'm surprised. Usually, young people are very intrigued."

"I'm too busy with work," Felix responded. "Honestly, if I was younger, I probably would be super into it. I mean, there's so much yet so little in regards to superheroes and their powers."

"True."

"Say," Felix began, "do you think Spidey will get caught by the government soon?"

"...why do you think that?"

"Think about it. The guy is alone, right? Even Gwen Stacy couldn't evade the police forever. She got exposed. I expect this guy to last a little longer but I'm sure he'll get caught. Blood and saliva and fingerprints…well, maybe not fingerprints, but blood is a big thing."

"You think it's possible to trace him?"

"Depends on the blood." Felix shrugged, then smiled. "This is just between me and you, but I'm sure if you asked Alistair Smythe, the police could probably find out who Spider-Man was before the radioactive spider stuff. That guy made the spider and—" He covered his mouth. "Oh, uh, don't tell anyone that, okay? Aw, man, I drank a little yesterday. I'm feeling a bit tipsy."

"It's okay. I won't." Czarina smiled. She waved the waitress over and gave her order. "I'd like some spring rolls."

He eyed her and spoke up once the waitress was gone. "Let me guess, on a diet?"

Czarina chuckled. "Good guess."

'My Spidey-Sense isn't tingling. That means I'm not in danger.'

Felix's smile was innocent. He might not have been in danger but if Czarina was a part of SHIELD, he needed to create a trap. He had to do something in order to make up for the fact that she saw him here. Czarina was likely going to write a report on her findings and if that was the case, his name was going to be listed. She probably didn't think he was Spider-Man but just another source of information. Again, this was under the presumption she was under SHIELD. But he had to be careful. He had to take into consideration all possibilities. Without Herbie, he needed to strategize and think on his own. He needed to get something out of this. 

'Unfortunately for you, I already did the tests. My current blood is completely unrecognisable. You won't be able to track it at all. The only benefit to getting my blood is studying it. Which…' His smile from Czarina's perspective was casual and friendly. 'Doesn't matter either. There's a simple reason why I haven't been reproducing Extremis for the world. It's because the specific dosages were only intended for me and Reed. Even if your scientists somehow extracted the formula, which is impossible anyway, it wouldn't help anyone. Anyone administered with Extremis would probably die from a coma.' 

Extremis had to be fully calibrated to a person before it could be administered. Broadly speaking, a Extremis type had to be created for each specific blood type. So far, Reed and Felix had only created an Extremis type for blood type A+. By sheer coincidence, the two had the same blood type and thus worked on a single type of Extremis over the course of six months. Until they were able to create forty-five specific dosages of Extremis for the forty-five recognised blood group systems, Extremis was more trouble than it was worth. 

Additionally, Reed's brilliant mind had left this world, so the incredible progress Project Extremis had made halted. The only human subject was Felix who was bitten by a radioactive spider on top of being given Extremis. Some animal testing had been done but not a comprehensive amount. To put it simply, Extremis was an experimental technology. That was why he wasn't too worried. He knew they wouldn't understand what was in his blood. The radioactivity and the changes administered by Extremis—it was too advanced. He estimated it would take another century for someone to understand their work.

Felix was almost done with his third plate. 

"Say…" Czarina began. "Would you like a drink?"

"Ah, no." Felix checked the clock. "I have to get home soon. Next time."

The redhead smiled delightfully. "Next time."

Felix ate the last of his food and told Czarina, "Gotta get going." 

"No issue here," she replied.

At the door, Felix looked over his shoulder and waved at Czarina. Czarina waved back, smiling with pearly white teeth and dimples. Lovely. 

He called over a taxi and headed home. In fifteen minutes, the taxi pulled up to his apartment building in Harlem. Felix paid the driver and made his way inside. The elevator ride up to his floor felt longer than usual. 

Finally, he reached his apartment and let himself in, the door closing behind him with a soft click. He kicked off his shoes and shuffled into his room, feeling the fatigue settling into his bones.

With a heavy sigh, Felix collapsed onto his bed, the soft mattress enveloping him in its comforting embrace. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off into a deep, dreamless sleep. The warmth of the morning sun streamed through the window and Felix fell deeper into his slumber. With a contented sigh, he stretched languidly, relishing the sensation of relaxation that permeated his being.

Felix Faeth did it. The Inner Demons, the Maggia, the Hand, and Mr. Negative were defeated—and he managed to escape from the SHIELD on top of that. All in a day's work for the Spider-Man of Earth 65.