Felix's schedule consisted of waking up, going to work, texting Dr. Octavius on updates of Project New Element, then going to Daxter Labs to train. Felix became accustomed to it in a flash, his ability to adapt coming in handy.
Seven days went by and it was Friday, the day gate-keeping the weekend. Felix was in a bathroom stall, adjusting his glasses and making sure no one was watching. His two index fingers came together.
Bzzt!
Black lightning crackled. His advanced glasses glitched for a moment. "It's so hard to test this," he murmured. "Everything, even the Fantastic Computer, gets glitchy. When I wear my suit, it becomes totally useless. I need to somehow create a balance. But how?"
Training his physical stats seemed to make creating lightning easier. His body was pushing itself on a daily basis, thus granting him better command of it. If he felt like it, he could throw a webbing of black lightning at someone. His muscles were that well trained now.
"Balance…balance…"
Mr. Negative was imprisoned at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison run by S.H.I.E.L.D. to incarcerate special individuals. That included Cindy Moon, leader of S.I.L.K., and several other super-villain defeated by Gwen Stacy. The chances of him getting out were low so stripping the anti-lightning properties from the suit should have been okay.
But Felix really, really liked to be prepared. If possible, he wanted to make the suit as adaptable as himself. Something he could keep on upgrading without issue. He was working on some other suits with Herbie building on them whenever he wasn't at the lab.
'A super combat-oriented suit, a stealth suit, and a space suit—because why not?'
The Big Time Suit would function as an intermediary. A jack of all trades, master of none type.
BREAK TIME WILL BE OVER IN FIVE MINUTES.
'Alright then.' Felix got up, rolling his shoulders, and got out of the stall. He didn't actually need to use the bathroom, he was just here for privacy reasons. He entered the cafeteria area then went to the elevator and clicked on B4 to go back to work.
The fresh new hallway came into view and he entered the designated room, which was a hive of activity, with everyone already focused on their tasks. Bobbi and Maya were monitoring the Vita-Ray Chamber while Kavita was reading the data for the tenth time.
"You're here," said Bobbi. "Let's get started."
"Going real fast, huh?"
"Those are our orders," Bobbi replied. "Dr. Octavius was impressed by Richard so she wants us to keep going."
Richard was the rabbit they experimented on. He was in the other room with Felix assigned to watch over him. But this week, they had moved past a measly rabbit. Along the tables at the side were cages of rats. Jane Foster was assigned to handle them for today's experiment. She picked up one cage, then placed it into the chamber.
"Time to begin," Kavita murmured. "Felix?"
Some animals like rats couldn't be administered the serum in liquid form due to their smaller bodies and different bodily systems. To compensate, they recalibrated the serum and put it in gaseous form. He was officially responsible for pressing the button to activate the gas serum.
"T-minus five," Felix began. "Five, four, three, two, one…start."
The blue gas flooded the chambers. Shortly after, the Vita Rays were activated, and the team watched as the rats were exposed to the energy. One chamber, a control panel, and a monitor to scan the body. That was their current set-up.
"Vitals are stable," Bobbi reported, eyes glued to the monitors. "No immediate adverse reactions."
A minute passed and Felix deactivated the gas form and the Vita Rays."
Kavita nodded, jotting down notes. "Good. Let's see how their strength and stamina measurements hold up over the next few hours. Jane?"
"Got it," said the doctor.
As the day progressed, the team observed the rat closely. The serum seemed to be working as expected, enhancing their physical capabilities without any severe side effects.
So for the sake of gathering more data, they conducted the experiment on a second, third, and fourth rat. All worked seamlessly. The team felt a surge of hope. They were making real progress.
By the end of the day, they had gathered substantial data. On average, the rats were running two and a half times faster on the wheel. Their appetite were much higher.
"The only issue is aggression," Jane noted. "I've never seen them so…angry before."
"It's not like they're hitting their heads against the glass," Kavita said.
"But they are growling at each other through the glass," Jane said. "What do you think will happen if we put them together? I have no doubt they'll kill each other."
Silence descended upon them.
"I'm double-checking their testosterone levels," Felix said. "I don't see anything though. They seem fine."
"So if it's not chemicals, then what's making them so aggressive…?" Jane wondered.
Just then, the door to the lab swung open, and Dr. Octavius walked in with two men carrying a cage covered with a cloth. Her arrival was unexpected and the team looked up in surprise. Only Felix was aware of her looming footsteps and that was because of Herbie preemptively warning him.
"Good evening, everyone," Dr. Octavius greeted them with a smile. "I see you've had a productive day."
"We have," Maya replied, returning the smile. "The rat tests went well. We're compiling the data now. We do have a small issue though."
"Small issues happen all the time," Dr. Octavius said, gesturing to the men to set the cage down on the table next to the rats. "I have something that I think we should consider for the next phase."
'Next…?'
She pulled the cloth off the cage, revealing a chimpanzee inside. The animal looked around curiously, clearly nervous but calm.
"A chimpanzee?" Bobbi said, eyebrows raising. "Isn't that a bit of a jump from rats?"
"Forget a bit of a jump, that's huge," Kavita added.
Dr. Octavius smiled. "I understand your concerns. But! Chimpanzees are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. We share at least 98% of our genome with them. They're the ideal candidates for understanding how the serum might work in humans."
The team exchanged uncertain glances. Kavita spoke up, "I'm the type that loves to skip ahead, but…are you sure we're ready for this? We're having a problem with aggression in the rats so it doesn't seem wise to test it on a fucking chimpanzee."
"Language," Bobbi chastised.
"Look, a chimpanzee is twice as strong as a normal human. Imagine getting the serum." Kavita jabbed a thumb at the chamber. "I'm not sure if steel will be able to hold it at that point."
"Use sleep gas then," Dr. Octavius said.
"But…we haven't tested the reaction between sleep gas and the serum gas. Also, there's the question of administering in gas form or liquid form since it isn't a rat and has—"
"If the serum works on the chimpanzee by today, I can triple your salaries. All of you."
"T-triple…?" Felix repeated.
"You'll be paid as much as Alistair—and he's been here the longest. I know I'm asking for a lot here but please. If this works, then Mr. Osborn is going to be very, very happy."
"Triple my salary…" Kavita murmured. "I can get behind that."
"And risk getting hurt?" Maya said pointedly. "May I point out that we have no idea how some of these chemicals will react to one another—"
"It'll be fine," Felix interjected. "I ran the numbers, it should be fine. The monkey will probably wake up in thirty seconds though. Its immune system will be amplified but not to a degree that we can't handle."
"Where and when did you run the numbers?" Maya asked.
Felix tapped at his glasses, then said, "My head."
There was silence and looks of surprise. Felix wasn't lying either. No Herbie, he did it himself. As someone who spent years of his life on Extremis, he was well-aware of the reactive nature of procedures like the Super Soldier Serum.
"Doctor?" Maya asked.
"I agree with Felix," Jane said. "We'll have to be fast and we might have to calibrate the numbers but it will be fine, I think."
Maya sucked in a breath. "Fine. Fine, let's do this."
"Woo-hoo!" Dr. Octavius clapped her hands together. "Good decision making, people!"
This was a critical moment. They prepared the serum and the vita rays, setting everything up for the new test subject. Felix was double-checking everything, using his instincts and the Fantastic Computer in conjunction.
The chimpanzee's cage was placed inside the Vita-Ray Chamber. First, they placed it under sleeping gas to lull it. Then, Dr. Jane Foster attached a chip inside its ear to check on its vitals. Finally, they administered the serum in gaseous form. Felix watched closely as Vita Rays bathed the animal in a soft glow.
"Vitals are stable," Bobbi reported again, her voice tense with concentration. "No immediate adverse reactions."
The team observed the chimpanzee's muscles starting to grow and strengthen. It was an astonishing sight, the transformation unfolding before their eyes. Muscles were bulging. Small groans were escaping its lips.
"It's working," Dr. Octavius whispered, hardly daring to believe it. "It's working! Haha!"
"Shut up, please," Kavita snapped. "You wake that thing up and we might be dead."
"Relax." Dr. Octavius gestured to the two tall men accompanying her. "That's why I brought guns."
'I'm not sure bullets are going to work on a chimpanzee amped by the Super Soldier Serum,' Felix thought.
The minute was over. Everything had gone according to plan.
But they couldn't take any chances. Once the transformation seemed complete, they dosed the chimpanzee with more sleeping gas to ensure it wouldn't become aggressive. The two men carefully picked up the now-sleeping animal.
"That sleeping gas is only going to last five minutes," Bobbi said. "So please hurry."
"Relax, the room where we keep it is on this floor. It's not even a twenty second walk. We'll put it into a stronger cage and monitor its progress overnight," Dr. Octavius said. "Excellent work, everyone."
"Double-check that it won't break those bars," Felix said.
"We will, we will."
Work was over. They had done it.
***
"Oh! Nice to see you again."
"You as well, Felix."
Felix was inside the elevator, pretending to be on his phone, and who else to join him but Alistair Smythe? Nearly every single day, they encountered each other upon leaving. But it was no coincidence. In reality, he had Herbie hack into the cameras and plan his exit to match Alistair's.
He needed to communicate with him. He needed to get inside his house and find out if and when SHIELD approached him. If they did, then the chances of Czarina being an agent for them went up drastically. He couldn't go as Spider-Man since his mansion was pretty isolated. Web-swinging there was impossible. He would have to—shudder—run which felt really, really lame.
It was better to come as Felix. To become close enough to him that he was allowed there with Alistair's permission. While Felix had already hacked into Alistair's phone and could listen to all his conversations, when it came to SHIELD, he figured that wouldn't be enough.
"I saw Dr. Octavius just now," said Alistair, the elevator door closing behind you. "You did well, it seems?"
"You're not the only one that's going to be making lots of money," Felix joked.
"Oh?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Felix said with a wink.
The elevator stopped and the two came out. Czarina quickly came into view at the secretary table, scrolling through her phone. Smiling, Felix went up to her. Rolling his wheels faster, Alistair followed him.
"Hey. What'cha seeing?" Felix leaned over to peek. Czarina let him see.
"Last night, Spider-Man stopped a bank heist," Czarina said. The news article wrote in big, bold letters: MYSTERIOUS WEBS END BANK ROBBERY — WORK OF SPIDER-MAN?
"Impressive, don't you think?" Czarina asked.
"Spider-Man, eh?" Alistair stopped in his tracks and smiled. "Does he do this often?"
"Very often," Czarina replied. "Every night, it's something new with him. A robbery stopped, a gang caught, or a fire right as it happens. He's so fast that people barely realize they're being rescued."
He had gotten more active as Spidey because a) there was a massive power vacuum following the defeat of the Inner Demons, the Hand, and the Maggia, b ) he wanted to investigate Rio's MIA ex-husband, Jefferson Davis, and c) there was no reason not to. The best way to hone his instincts was to do it in combat. There was nothing better than dodging bullets at close-range. There was a level of danger and thrill with it.
Also, it was hard to ignore the beeping red dots on the big ass monitor of the Fantastic Computer.
The power vacuum was hard to investigate as Spidey. Oh, sure, there were people to catch and listen in on through the local cameras but cameras weren't everywhere. There were limits. Felix figured that he was going to have to investigate without the costume to make headway.
Regarding Rio's husband, Felix found nothing. The NYPD's reports on Jefferson post-breakout were full of empty lines and shrugs. It was like he disappeared from the face of the Earth.
Felix was doing all this while working at Oscorp and doing intensive training at Daxter Labs. He slept for two hours every night.
Somehow, it didn't affect him.
"Huh." Felix crossed his arms. "I guess he's better than I thought. Oh, but if you're a fan, no offence. I just meant I thought he would get caught."
"You think he will get caught?" Alistair asked.
"I mean, he has to at some point. No way he's going to be doing this for decades or something."
"Ah, well, if it's decades, then of course. I meant more along the lines of months. Do you think the police can do it?"
"Maybe. He's more careful than Gwen Stacy for sure. But I think because of her, he'll get caught. Think about it, the police and the government have Gwen's blood and hair and stuff. If they analyze and deconstruct her, then they can figure out a strategy to beat Spidey."
"Like a poison," Alistair said. "Hm…yes, that's certainly possible."
Yes, for Alistair, the creator of the spiders, it was more than possible. So he watched Czarina. He watched if she reacted in any way possible. Had they already approached him? Was Czarina innocent in all this? Or had she not told her superiors yet?
Only time would tell.