Deep in the penthouse of the Osborn estate, Norman Osborn jolted awake.
The blare of Oscorp's highest-level security alarm pulsed through his bedroom, painting the walls in harsh, strobing red light. Norman threw off his heavy duvet, his bare feet hitting the hardwood floor. He tightened the belt of his silk pajamas, blinking the sleep from his eyes as his bedroom's AI interface chimed in.
"Intruder detected in the Sub-Level Gene Editing Lab," the synthesized voice reported. "Secondary voiceprint identified: Spider-Man."
Norman paused. He rubbed a hand over his face, letting out a heavy breath. "Green Goblin. Connect me to the lab's holographic projection array."
A mile away, inside the reinforced Oscorp laboratory, a blue light flared to life near the ceiling. A life-sized, translucent hologram of Norman Osborn materialized, wearing incredibly expensive sleepwear and looking thoroughly unimpressed.
He stared across the room. Spider-Man stood between the main terminal and a silver-haired woman in a sleek black tactical suit.
"Hey! Hello, Mr. Osborn!" Peter waved, his voice cracking slightly. He aggressively pointed a thumb at Felicia. "So, this... friend of mine. She accidentally wandered into your highly restricted, underground genetics lab. Looks like she was just trying to do a little late-night investigating, so I just tagged along to make sure she didn't break any test tubes!"
Norman didn't look angry. If anything, a strange, paternal relief washed over his holographic face. "Thank you for securing Oscorp property, Spider-Man," Norman said smoothly. "The lab is all yours. Do what you need to do."
Peter blinked, dropping his hand. "Wait. Norman, uh..."
Norman looked at the Black Cat, then back to Peter.
"I know what you're going to ask," Norman interrupted gently. "You want to know why you possess Omega-level clearance to my secure facilities." Norman offered a warm, chillingly familiar smile. "Because you are the culmination of my and Dr. Richard's greatest life's work. We trust you entirely."
Norman yawned, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "If you need help navigating the mainframe, just ask the Green Goblin. It's my personal AI butler. Have a good night, Peter."
The hologram fizzled out, plunging the room back into the glow of the computer monitors.
Peter stared at the empty space. "Who names their AI the Green Goblin?" he muttered, shaking his head. "That is terrible branding. It sounds like a B-list horror movie villain."
Felicia didn't laugh. She stepped away from the terminal, her posture shifting from relaxed to a coiled spring. Her sapphire eyes locked onto Peter's mask, completely devoid of their previous flirtatious warmth.
"He just said you are his best work," Felicia said, her voice dropping to an icy whisper. "What exactly does that mean?"
Peter felt the subtle prickle of his Spider-Sense at the base of his skull. She was genuinely preparing to attack him.
"It means exactly what it sounds like, but not the way you're thinking," Peter said, raising his hands peacefully. "I wasn't a lab rat. I got bitten by one of Oscorp's genetically programmed spiders by accident. I woke up the next day with superpowers. End of origin story."
Felicia studied his posture. Spider-Man was a registered Avenger. If he were a brainwashed Oscorp operative, he wouldn't have looked so genuinely baffled by the AI system. Her shoulders slowly dropped, the tension bleeding out of her muscles.
She turned her attention back to the heavy vault doors slowly rising along the far wall. Behind the thick reinforced glass, dozens of terrariums were illuminated. They were filled entirely with arthropods. Massive Emperor scorpions, heavily mutated centipedes, and swarms of engineered wasps crawled over synthetic branches.
Peter crossed his arms, staring at the bugs. Honestly, do they only research creepy-crawlies? I wonder if they're working on locusts. Oscorp could literally build a Kamen Rider.
He shook his head, looking back at Felicia. She was frantically typing on the main terminal keyboard, trying to bypass a secondary firewall.
"I don't know what you're trying to pull, lady," Peter said, stepping closer. "But you are aggressively breaking federal law. Even if you think you're on some righteous crusade, you could at least give me a solid reason before I web you to the ceiling."
"I... no. It's nothing," Felicia muttered, her fingers flying across the keys. "It's none of your business."
A harsh red [ACCESS DENIED] error flashed across the screen.
Felicia let out a frustrated sigh. She lacked the biometric permissions, and her portable decryption spike had completely stalled against Oscorp's quantum encryption. She stepped back from the console, raising her hands in mock surrender before Peter could fire his web-shooters.
"Alright. I didn't steal anything," Felicia said, flashing him a dangerous, perfect smile. "Why don't you just let me walk out that door? I promise I can compensate you for your trouble."
"So, you completely struck out?" Peter ignored the flirtation. He casually stepped past her, placing his own hand against the terminal's biometric scanner. The screen instantly flashed green.
"Let's see what you were digging for," Peter murmured, his fingers flying across the holographic interface. "Project Savage Force... the Sealed Notes..."
A heavily redacted file popped up. Peter skimmed the abstract. It was authored by Dr. Jonathan Drew.
"Huh," Peter said, leaning closer to the screen. "'The possibility of curing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis via targeted gene-editing technology.' Author: Jonathan Drew." Peter glanced over his shoulder at Felicia, feigning casual disinterest. "Looks like Dr. Drew is running the biological enhancements for the Savage Force super-soldier program specifically to find a cure for ALS."
Felicia shoved Peter aside. She didn't use her full strength, but it was enough to clear him from the monitor. She grabbed the edge of the console, her eyes wide as she stared at Jonathan Drew's signature on the screen.
"How is this possible?" she whispered, her brow furrowing deeply.
"It seems like you have a personal connection to Dr. Drew's family," Peter noted quietly. He leaned against the edge of the server rack. "And let's be honest. You are literally just wearing a domino mask. It isn't hiding much."
Felicia didn't run. She knew exactly what Peter was implying—her secret identity was entirely compromised. But the fact that she chose to wear a simple mask meant she had never truly cared about hiding her face in the first place. She just wanted answers. She stayed planted in front of the terminal, watching as Peter reached over and began opening highly classified files she couldn't access.
After all, a black cat is still a cat. And cats are terminally curious.
Peter pulled up file after file, cross-referencing the Savage Force data. But Felicia's eyes darted to a minimized folder Peter had ignored in the corner of the screen. She reached out and tapped it.
The folder expanded. The title read: Progress Reports for Weapon Plus Projects.
It was completely blank.
"Weapon Plus," Peter said, looking at the empty window. "This is a super-soldier R&D base. Those sub-projects were definitely connected to the serum trials."
Peter looked at Felicia. He took in her superhuman leap earlier, the kinetic force of her kick, and the sheer desperation in her eyes. The puzzle pieces violently snapped together in his memory.
"This is about your body, isn't it?" Peter asked softly. "You aren't a mutant. You're enhanced. That's why you went to Eastern Europe. You weren't stealing art. You're looking for the person who ran your project."
Felicia's breath hitched. She didn't confirm it, but the rigid set of her jaw gave him all the answer he needed.
"I'm sorry," Peter said, tapping the empty folder. "The list of Weapon Plus projects you wanted to investigate isn't here."
Felicia looked down at the floor, her hands balling into fists. She turned toward the exit.
"But," Peter spoke up, his voice cutting through the quiet hum of the servers. "It's a crazy coincidence. I actually just met a guy yesterday. Broke out of a black-site prison. He survived a completely off-the-books super-soldier experiment, and he walked out with bulletproof skin."
Felicia froze mid-step.
She spun around, her blue eyes burning with an intensity that completely erased her languid, playful persona.
"You just said there was another survivor?" Felicia demanded, closing the distance between them in two massive strides. She grabbed the fabric of Peter's suit. "I want to see him. Tonight."
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