A few days had passed since the experiment, and the holidays were getting closer. May had already put up decorations around the house—well, in some parts, anyway. The house was simply too big for her to decorate all by herself.
They had decorated not only the inside but also the outside.
For the past few days, Yuri's mood had improved considerably, and Susan was feeling the same way. According to her, this might be the only Christmas she had ever spent without being locked up in a laboratory.
Another thing that had been giving Peter the creeps was the shoplifting.
The thefts themselves did not bother him at all.
What made him nervous were the notes left behind.
He had read about that style in comics before, and the person known for leaving such notes was someone very special. These notes matched her style perfectly.
He still remembered one left behind in a store with a very recognizable phrase:
"Hope to be of help. Your friendly, sexy shoplifter, BC."
On the back of the note was a chibi cat with a spider on its head, surrounded by little stars.
Even now, every time he remembered it, chills ran down his spine.
He could only hope this person did not resemble from the universe of Peter-616 or share her tendency to make jokes about expenses.
For several days now, Peter had been quietly hoping that this person would turn out to be someone relatively normal.
....
Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.
Stepping away from his work, Peter looked at his creation for several seconds, and a small tear escaped from his right eye.
"It's beautiful," he said, staring at the ultimate Superior Spider-Man suit he had created.
"Well, this should be enough. Cortana, run the diagnostics and point out any errors you find."
A panel opened above him, revealing a scanner that began examining every part of the suit. To his right, the collected data was transferred into a virtual model, where three red dots gradually appeared.
"I can see the problems. It's too heavy because of the additional protection I added, but without it, I'm vulnerable to bullets and other weapons. At the same time, all that protection reduces flexibility and leaves several points exposed."
Peter studied the virtual model.
"And the integrated circuits are overheating. Hmm."
"Correct. But if we use it, the weight would decrease considerably, while flexibility and speed would greatly increase. Everything could improve even further if we created a specialized alloy for the circuits," Cortana said, glancing toward a nearby machine.
Peter followed her gaze and briefly considered it.
"It's ready, and I've already completed the analyses," Cortana continued. "However, there is good news and bad news."
"Hmm. There's only news. It isn't always good or bad," Peter replied as he approached the machine and opened it, revealing a thick sheet of metal.
He picked it up and placed it on the worktable near the suit.
"Well, tell me what we have."
"As you requested, once the casting process was complete, I had it tempered with Zynothium, allowing it to absorb a small amount of the element's radiation. By the way, the element is ready for use and is no longer harmful."
Peter nodded before looking at the suit for several seconds.
You haven't even been used for a single day, and I already have to upgrade you, he thought with amusement.
"After absorbing the radiation, the alloy became more resistant and mildly radioactive, making it much stronger than steel while remaining more malleable than Adamantium," Cortana explained.
"Because of this, it is less durable and resistant than Adamantium or Vibranium, but compared to most conventional metals, it is practically indestructible. Another advantage is that it is incredibly light and possesses the ability to absorb vibrational and kinetic energy, although not nearly to the same extent as Vibranium."
"So it was a good idea to create an alloy using small fragments of the Adamantium and Vibranium that Klaue gave us."
Peter looked toward Cortana.
"You know what to do with this information."
She nodded.
"Replace everything in this place with that metal. Focus on the cave first, then the house, and after that move on to the equipment. Leave the suits to me. I tend to change things whenever I get my hands on them."
"As you wish. What would you like to name the metal and its corresponding folder?"
Peter glanced at the thick sheet.
"What name do you think would suit this metal?"
"Hmm. Carbunadium. Catchy, isn't it?"
"Yeah, name it that."
Peter looked at her with slight surprise at the name before glancing toward the worktable and several nearby gadgets.
"Pretty cool, aren't they?"
He was looking at his new web-shooters, which combined elements of Otto's technology with Stark's MCU designs.
"Yes. I am surprised by the aesthetic changes you made to the web-shooters, not to mention what they are now capable of doing."
"I upgraded them extensively using the technology we have here. I also installed biometric scanners. These devices would be dangerous in the hands of unknown people."
"A wise decision. What variations do they have?"
"I added several types of webbing: acid, impact, magnetic, lead-coated, sonic, cement webbing for stabilizing structures, ice, fire, and several other combinations. Some functions can even be activated through voice commands."
Cortana looked at him.
"I think you may have gone a little overboard when preparing for different people and attacks, don't you?"
"It never hurts to be cautious."
"Although it will be tedious to change cartridges every time you need to use a different type of webbing."
"I don't need cartridges anymore."
Cortana paused.
"Then how—?"
"Easy. I created a system within the triggers that uses moisture from the air to produce web fluid. That means as long as there is sufficient humidity, I'll never have to manually insert another cartridge."
Just like the ones on Earth-64.
"But I still keep emergency cartridges inside a Nanocube on my belt. I also installed sensors in my palms that allow me to switch between different types of webbing."
Thanks, Spider-Man of Earth-71928.
Peter gave a small shrug.
"I don't plan on walking around shouting which type of webbing I want to use. I'm not an idiot."
"All right. Well, I'll leave you to it. I have my own work to do."
Cortana smiled.
"Goodbye, darling."
Then she disappeared.
Peter stared at the place where she had been standing.
"Ever since we had that argument, she's been more affectionate."
He paused for a moment.
"Not that it bothers me."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I'd have to be a complete idiot not to accept Cortana's affection."