I got back to my lab and continued carving storage runes along the edges of the core. Then I began loading all the Vibranium-infused, unstable fabric nanobots into the newly made Infinity Stone power core.
When it was all said and done, I had my entire suit stored neatly inside the small disc.
"Alright, let's take this baby for a spin." I stood up, pulled off my shirt, and picked up the disc. I carefully pressed it to the center of my chest and grunted as the microbots on the underside began anchoring themselves to my skin. The only way this thing was coming off now was if someone ripped it free.
"Activate. Password: #$$% $#^." I spoke clearly.
For a moment, nothing happened. I stood there half-naked with my arms spread out, looking like a complete idiot. Then the disc exploded to life.
A wave of black, ink-like material swept across my body, covering me from head to toe. It moved beneath my clothes, beneath everything, forming a skintight black bodysuit. And then, to finish it off, a layer of vibrant silver spread across the Infinity Core, making it look as though it had never been there at all.
I flexed, noting the negligible weight. "Alright, Sexy — show me what we've got." I opened my palm and the silver material gathered around my hand, forming an elongated nozzle to amplify the repulsor blast — another trick I'd borrowed from the Infinity War armor.
I smiled. The suit was perfect. I could only imagine what I'd add to it next.
With that done, I ordered the suit to change — shifting into a plain black shirt and a silver hoodie, the Infinity Core now plainly visible at the center of my chest. I'd need to fix that.
A few quick adjustments later and I had managed to coat the core in a thin layer of Vibranium-based retroreflective panels. The core was still there — but to the naked eye, it was invisible. All of this would cost significant energy, more than I was entirely comfortable with. But with the Mind Stone as my fuel source, I doubted energy would ever be a problem again.
With that settled, I turned to Franklin Richards' blood and got to work.
"Sexy, pull up the recovery chamber schematics." A holographic display of a pod materialized before me. I studied the design carefully. If my calculations were right, this chamber would cut my recovery time from radiation poisoning roughly in half.
So with determination — and no small amount of excitement — I got to work.
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A Few Days Later:
"Are you sure it's safe?" Jean asked.
The four of us were gathered in my lab. It had taken me a few days to prepare myself, but the time had finally come.
I turned to her and sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure. Relax, Jean. I know what I'm doing. I swear."
"Just don't overdo it, okay?" Felicia pleaded.
"Promise." I smiled. "Sexy — ready the recovery chamber."
At my command, a circular disc five feet wide rose from the lab floor, revealing a vertical bed inside a cylindrical frame. The glass casing slid open, a blue-silver glow emanating from within to show the chamber was active.
"This looks like something out of an alien abduction story," Wanda murmured, glancing around at the interior glow. "Have you actually thought this through?"
"Trust me," I nodded. "I have."
One of the first things I had learned about Vibranium and its effect on the human body was its ability to channel energy — the magical kind — directly into cells, prompting accelerated healing. I was sure Wakanda had a name for the process and a scientific explanation for it, but I only had a magical one.
While I was inside this chamber, surrounded by Vibranium, my body would heal faster — which would hopefully counteract any negative effects Franklin's blood might trigger.
"Sexy — prepare the radiation gas." The machine whirred into motion, the necessary chemicals already loaded and waiting.
I reached into my bag of infinite storage and rummaged around until my fingers closed around it: the indestructible vial I had brought back from Earth-982. Franklin Richards' blood.
I still remembered the moment he handed it to me. He told me to use it when I needed an extra boost. And if I wanted to protect the people I loved from what I knew was coming, I would need every advantage I could get.
I genuinely didn't know what this would do to me. It was a lottery. It might give me a fraction of his abilities, or something entirely useless. But something would change — of that I was certain.
"Peter, the gas is ready," Sexy announced. A gas mask was dispensed onto my terminal — a simple design, covering only my nose and mouth, with a glass evaporator port on one side and an empty one on the other.
I picked it up and stared at it. "Right."
"Careful, bug boy," Wanda said.
I smirked. "Don't tell me you're going soft on me, Wanda." The witch glared. I chuckled.
"Sir — are you certain you want to proceed? Subject-F's blood is rated as extremely powerful. We cannot calculate how it will interact with your system."
"I know... but I have to try." I glanced at all of them — my present family — and thought of my future one. Then I put the mask on, ensured the vacuum seal was tight, and placed the vial of Franklin's blood into the empty evaporator port.
The chemicals began to mix. I watched the green gas and deep red blood swirl together, fuse, and then the mask forced a blast of the combined gas into my nostrils.
I took a deep breath. It burned going down. My head began throbbing almost immediately. I started choking, but I knew that was to be expected. I pulled the mask off and threw it aside, slumping against the table.
"Peter!" Felicia cried out, rushing to my side and helping me upright. "What now? How can I help?"
"The bed," I managed, pointing to the open chamber. Jean pulled the door wide as Wanda and Felicia helped carry me inside and shut it behind me.
I leaned back against the vertical frame as my suit came to life, covering my entire body and monitoring every vital sign. The glass casing sealed shut, and the Vibranium lining the chamber's interior began working on my body.
"Don't worry," I said to their anxious faces through the glass. "I'll be fine."
My eyes grew heavy. I watched my body begin to change — something was happening — but before I could understand what, I slipped under.
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Several Hours Later:
I gasped. I kicked out and struck something hard.
The recovery chamber's glass panel slid open and I spilled out, landing on the floor in a heap. I was alone, though the empty coffee cups and scattered junk food packaging told me the girls hadn't been gone long.
I panted and mentally dismissed the suit. "S-Sexy... what happened?"
"You were unconscious for over five hours, Peter," the AI replied. A holographic readout of my vitals materialized before me. "I cannot say for certain, but I believe the Vibranium healing chamber has altered the process by which you absorb new powers."
"How so?" I asked. The suit moved on its own — I didn't have to do anything — guiding me to a chair and setting me down gently instead of leaving me on the hard floor.
"It appears the radiation the Vibranium emitted during the healing process allowed your blood to adapt the infused sample far more quickly and efficiently than projected. Your blood toxicity is currently at only 20%. You may develop a new power within a matter of weeks rather than the usual year-long waiting period."
I grinned. "Well, that was the plan. And? What else? Did my body undergo any physical changes?"
"Not quite — but your mind is a different matter." It displayed a live scan of my brain. "There have been some alterations, but I cannot determine their nature. There is simply not enough research on this subject to draw any conclusions."
"I see... fine. We wait and see." I sighed. "I desperately need a bath." Without another word, the suit carried me out of the lab, up the stairs, and deposited me in the bathroom. It filled the tub, set me in, and then retreated back into the Infinity Core.
Try doing that with a symbiote.
I sank into the warm water and let everything go. Ten minutes later, my muscles had stopped screaming. An hour after that, I felt human again.
I climbed out, wrapped a towel around my waist, and wandered into the living room. The night sky was fully dark beyond the windows. I hadn't noticed before — still too foggy from the process — but it was the middle of the night.
A door creaked. Jean stepped out, rubbing her eyes, her hair a mess and her nightdress crumpled. "Peter?"
"Hey." She walked over and I took her hand, squeezing gently.
"Are you — are you okay?" she asked, looking me over.
"I'm fine. A bit sore, but fine."
"I'm glad," Jean sighed, pulling me into a hug and resting her head on my shoulder. "The girls and I waited, but it didn't look like you were going to wake up any time soon. How are you feeling?"
"No new powers yet, if that's what you're asking," I said. "But it does take a while to kick in. That much I know."
"I'm sure it'll happen," Jean said softly. "I highly doubt that you of all people made a mistake in your calculations."
She took my hand and led me back to her room. My suit produced a pair of loose black sweats, cutting the glow of the Infinity Core from view.
Jean pushed me to the middle of the bed and crawled in beside me, curling up to my left. Felicia stirred on my right — it seemed we had woken her. She opened her eyes and looked at me.
"Hey, Tiger," she purred, snuggling closer and tightening her arms around me. "Love you."
"Love you too." I kissed her on top of the head and held them both. This — exactly this — was why I had done it.
Without another thought, I let myself sleep.
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The Next Day:
When I woke up I felt genuinely refreshed — no lingering pain, nothing weighing me down. I looked around at the mess of silver and red hair on either side of me, and with painfully slow, careful movements, I somehow managed to extract myself from the bed.
I slipped downstairs to my lab as quietly as I could, not wanting to wake anyone. I ran every scan I could think of trying to identify my new powers, but got nothing. Less than nothing. I even tested whether Franklin's blood had boosted my existing telekinesis, but no — it was exactly as it had been.
I had Sexy run a full physical workup, but that came back clean as well. I grumbled under my breath. Maybe it would take a few more days. The same thing had happened with Logan's claws, after all.
I shrugged it off and went back to my research into Vibranium and its applications. I already knew it had the ability to suppress and regulate extraordinary powers — Franklin Richards himself had used a Vibranium crown to keep his own abilities in check. Maybe I could develop something similar for myself.
With that in mind, I headed back upstairs to the living room. Jean was already awake, curled on the couch with a coffee mug in both hands, watching TV.
"You're up?" I asked, surprised.
Jean nodded. "Just got up. You?"
"A few hours ago," I replied, dropping onto the couch beside her. She immediately tucked herself under my arm.
"What were you doing?" she asked, sipping her coffee.
"Checking for new powers," I told her with a shrug. "Nothing yet."
"I'm sure it'll come," Jean said, leaning up to press a soft kiss to my cheek. "I highly doubt you of all people made an error in your calculations."
I smiled and settled in beside her. "So what are we watching?"
"Nothing really — just bored," she replied, skimming through channels until something caught her eye. A news program from New York. I had fixed the satellite dish to pick up American broadcasts just a few days ago.
"That's right, you heard it here first, folks — there's a new Spider in town, and this time, it's a she!" The reporter, a young Black woman, stood on 45th Street with a small battle scene unfolding right behind her. "Around the early hours of this morning, a bank on 45th was targeted just as a new shipment of currency arrived for exchange. The robbers were armed and dangerous, and their leader appears to be a known criminal called 'The Shocker,' who has personally gone up against Spider-Man — also known as Peter Parker — on multiple occasions. He had almost made his escape when, at the last moment, he was stopped by a woman dressed in white and black!"
Jean's mouth fell open. "You have got to be kidding me."
The camera cut to the fight itself. Cars were burning, people were running. The Shocker stood in the middle of the road, blasting everything in sight. And moving across the street faster than he could draw a bead on her was a woman in skintight spandex — white on top, black below, with a hooded cowl lined inside with a purple-pink web pattern and blue soles on her feet.
My stomach dropped first. I only knew one person who would ever wear that costume, and the last I had known, she was a completely ordinary human being.
But then I watched her move. She dodged the Shocker's blasts, weaved through his swings, and put him down with a sharp uppercut that dropped him like a sack of bricks. She stood over him, triumphant.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed.
She had powers. I didn't know how, but somehow, some way, she had gotten them. I smirked slowly. "Well, I'll be..."
"Peter, do you know who that is?" Jean asked.
"Yeah," I said, watching proudly as the newest Spider leaped away into the city skyline. "I'm pretty sure that's my legacy. The first of a new generation. That's Spider-Woman."
Then the camera caught her misjudge a landing and tumble off the rooftop to the fire escape below, landing hard on her side. She got up and hobbled away.
Jean turned and raised an eyebrow at me.
"Ah... she may need a little training."