The cabin lights of the Daedalus dimmed to their softest setting as the jet soared through cloud layers, silent and invisible above the Atlantic. Felix sat reclined in one of the wide, black leather seats—legs crossed, a fresh glass of pink lemonade untouched on the side table, eyes fixed on the holographic display hovering before him.
The hologram was a live feed from Capitol Hill.
Anthony Stark, dressed in a dark navy suit with a smug, too-composed expression, sat at a table flanked by lawyers. Behind him: a sea of press, aides, and congressional officials. His famous goatee was trimmed. His eyes scanned the room like a man convinced the war was already won.
On-screen, a senator adjusted his microphone. "Mr. Stark, for the record, this committee is reviewing your alleged misuse of international access permits, unauthorized transport of classified materials across sovereign borders, and—more seriously—potential human trafficking violations tied to your covert engineering programs in Nairobi."
Snickering, Felix brought up a smaller holographic window on the side—overlaying reports that confirmed Stark had recently brought on a so-called "consultant" who matched the biometric profile of Erik Stevens—Killmonger. Getting all the relevant information on him in both digital and physical format was easier said than done.
But after a certain period of time, it was easy.
Why?
Because a year had passed.
Felix Faeth officially possessed Master Control. Every satellite, every government agency, every relevant database in the world was at the touch of his fingertips. The Fantastic Computer was unparalleled in storage and power and Herbie was the AI system to regulate all that information.
It didn't matter if it was the Pentagon or the CIA, all was within his reach.
Another clip on his side window loaded. Anthony Stark, a year prior, surrounded by women in a castle. Which castle was this? Why, it was Princess Ororo's castle at Lamu Island, the nude colony. Footage of Lamu Island should ordinarily be impossible. Stark got unlucky. Since it was a sex colony, people recorded. Most recordings stayed on that island, and in Stark's case and insistence, were deleted.
The island of Vibranium was impossible to penetrate via ordinary signals. But with the power of Master Control, he was able to tap into the Kenyan satellite that supplied them with the internet and hid the island from most eyes. After some hours of jumping between networks and phones, acting as a virus almost, Herbie was able to go through all the phones and cameras on the island and retrieve the footage.
Felix watched the smug billionaire spin half-truths to the audience. Stark believed that Ororo would not reveal her island or that any evidence pointing to the fact he was there was gone. He thought stealing the Plutonium core was not among the crimes he could possibly be tried for.
Herbie's voice chimed throughout the plane. "Additional confirmation received. The reactor in question matches Stark's recent prototype energy system filed under dummy company MagnaArc Industries."
"Where is it located?" Felix asked. "No, wait, let me guess: Italy."
"Correction."
"Italy, Italy, Italy. Everything seems to be focused there."
"Individuals of interest include: Bruce Banner, Hammerhead, and…" Loading, loading. "Killmonger."
His eyes flicked. "You located him?"
"All three were sighted in Milan leaving a car and entering a Villa."
"Even Bruce Banner? That's annoying." Felix put a fist to his cheek. "I get it. Stark is working with the overseas Maggia in order to do whatever illegal acts he wants."
Onscreen, Stark leaned forward, performing outrage. "—and let me be very clear, Senator: at no point did I authorize any material transfer without full NATO-aligned oversight—"
Felix watched and watched. Like all courts, this wasn't going to be settled in a week. Given Stark's wealth and influence, regardless of evidence, it was going to take months. Maybe even a year. There was time to spear.
"One of my main priorities is not engaging Bruce Banner AKA the Hulk. I don't want a repeat of Creature Z. If I'm going to battle him, it will have to be in low population centers." With a gesture, he summoned another hologram tab. "Update tasks one and three."
Currently, Felix had six tasks:
One: defeat Cindy Moon, Matt Murdock, and Hammerhead.
Two: stop Anthony Stark and Killmonger from whatever they were planning.
Three: kill Bruce Banner and the Hulk without destroying an entire city.
Four: create a Super Soldier Serum for SHIELD Director Peggy Carter.
Five: discover a way for Natasha Romanoff to get back home to her own dimension.
Six: locate Gwen Stacy.
Frankly, Bruce Banner was the biggest issue. Felix knew his every move, his every path and walk and even what he ate for lunch but…he couldn't do anything to him. Poisoning him was impossible: Felix already tried. Through his Spider-Bots, he was able to get Bruce Banner's blood, hair, and urine—everything.
But what happened? The human Hulk's DNA eroded. As soon as his hair and blood and urine left him, it just dissipated. Felix suspected the radiation the gamma scientist stole from Creature Z and Rick Jones bonded to him differently. Gamma radiation couldn't live without Bruce Banner and vice-versa.
Gwen Stacy was simply gone. The Super Soldier Serum was in its final steps. Once he returned to New York, Luke was finally going to receive it.
Natasha's task was….trudging along. He had never studied other dimensions before so it was a matter of catching up on decades of multiverse theory in a short period of time if he was being honest. Felix specialized in medicine and nanotech. Astrophysics, molecular biology, and string theory were each fields entirely removed from what he was used to. Still, he did his best and was starting up a small project down in an abandoned subway.
So for now, his focus was on Hammerhead and Anthony Stark. With Stark, Felix decided to keep him busy with legal troubles.
For Hammerhead…
"Plane will land in five minutes."
He went for a direct approach.
"Sue?" Felix called out. The blonde emerged from the cockpit. It was always good to have somebody at the front. Don't always rely on technology as they say. "Here's my wallet."
Sue bowed and took the wallet with both hands. "Oh, of course."
"Treat yourself to anything you want when we land."
"R-really? Thank you!" Sue bowed deeply again. "I will ready your passport—"
"No need. I own a private jet hangar in every major country in the world, except Wakanda," Felix said with a shrug. "And with the modifications added, nobody will know when and where we land."
"T-that's amazing!"
The power of Master Control was that was. Felix was unofficially worth one hundred billion dollars. Herbie hired lawyers all over the world and managed to forge fake identities. Felix only needed to go once or twice in person and everything was set. Herbie generated and used random names like Peter Parker, Miguel O'Hara, Pavitr Prabhakar, and Anna May.
Well, Peter Parker wasn't random but the others were.
"Herbie, it's time for Phase 3 of Operation Ending Twenties."
Phase 1 and 2 pertained to the arrests of high-ranking members and owned locations of the Maggia throughout Europe. Pressured and confused by where the police were getting all this ammunition and failing to find a rat, Hammerhead was forced to return home to Italy.
Phase 3 involved the complete dismantlement of Hammerhead.
Felix rolled his shoulders and casually went to the very back of the jet. What he stepped into was the rear launch bay—a stark, pressurized space designed by him, for him. The walls were matte black, lined with modular weapons bays and automated maintenance arms. The only sound was the low, rhythmic hiss of the internal climate system.
He stopped at the reinforced bulkhead where the ceiling narrowed and tapped twice on his watch.
"Herbie," Felix called out, "Superior Suit. Authorize deployment."
A beat passed.
Then the watch vibrated once. The face of the watch peeled open. An ordinary man would have failed to see the tiny nanobots inside.
"Rash?"
'Understooood.'
From the slit in his wrist, the Symbiote known as Rash slithered and consumed the tiny nanobot in the watch. Merging with it, the Symbiote proceeded to expand out, crawling across Felix's arm, his chest, his spine in a silent, elegant ripple.
Felix had rewritten Rash's behavior and synchronized it with his nanotech. Spider-Man was a weaponized second skin. All his suits were in his watch and combined with the Symbiote, he could unlock the nanobots inside at a second's notice. It was a small application of his understanding of Pym Particles. He wasn't fully there yet but almost.
The black, crimson-trimmed armor formed like pouring mercury over his body—chestplate locking into place, boots magnetizing to his feet, gauntlets flowing into razor-edge designs. A blood-red spider insignia formed and pulsed briefly with light across his chest.
Then the helmet closed—smooth, featureless, then segmented into a sharp V-shaped face with glowing white eyes.
'The Superior Suuuuit. Check.'
Felix flexed his fingers, feeling the weight settle over his frame like a second identity.
He looked up.
A small, circular hatch waited above. He launched a webline, yanked himself up silently, twisted the manual release, and—
Shhh-click.
The hatch opened to the dark sky. Wind roared around him. The Daedalus cut a silent line through the stars.
Felix stood on the outer hull of the jet, crouched like a panther, the world a blur beneath him. Without hesitation, he dove.
Felix plummeted through open air, arms tucked tight, wind howling around him. At five thousand meters, the temperature bit at exposed skin—but not through the Superior Suit. The symbiote kept his vitals steady.
'Yes, I know, I've read your miiind. Location of the villa found. We are headed there now.'
The web-wings activated. The fabric extended from under his arms and ribs—glider-like and nearly invisible. Which then became invisible when he activated his invisibility.
Milan sparkled below, a map of gold and silver under the stars. And nestled at the outer edge of the northern district, buried under layers of wealth and corruption—
The Maggia Villa.
Spider-Man angled himself downward, cloaked in silence. No radar ping. No light trails. Just an invisible predator on descent.
'There you are, Hammerhead.'
He banked slightly, adjusting his angle, and landed softly on the curved terracotta tiles of the villa's rooftop. A whisper of impact. No sound.
Spidey stayed low, his body pressed flat against the warm terracotta tiles of the Maggia villa's rooftop. The wind had died down. Crickets hummed beyond the walled estate, and somewhere below, a dog barked once before being silenced—either bribed or shocked into quiet.
'Detective Mode—on.'
He spoke to the Symbiote who spoke to the suit. The world shifted instantly.
His vision sharpened and dimmed, blues and grays replacing natural color. Buildings became skeletal overlays—walls faded to wireframes, floors transparent, furniture sketched out in faint lines. Every living being within his radius lit up in varying shades of heat signature—orange for ambient, red for armed and alert, gold for someone exhaling anxiety.
Thermal, X-ray, vibrational sonar, and motion projection—all layered together. This was his battlefield before it even started.
He scanned the entire structure.
Four floors in total. Basement: Reinforced with a vault and panic bunker. Shielded, difficult to scan, but he marked four heat signatures below.
'Ah, the Heart-shaped Herbs. I see them. Only one remains. Bast must have denied the Maggia of gaining a Super Soldier. None were worthy and so only one remains.'
Ground floor: Wide and open—main reception, dining halls, armory storage, and a large subterranean garage. Two dozen guards total. Half of them were currently moving in choreographed patrol patterns. Felix already had them mapped down to the second.
Second floor: Private quarters. Eight bedrooms, each with its own suite. Most were empty. One, however, glowed hot—formerly occupied by a recently active gamma signature.
The third floor was the rooftop loft: A massive office and war room, connected by a glass elevator and private stairwell. Only two people were up there, one was Killmonger and the other was Hammerhead.
'Targets found.'
Felix zoomed in elsewhere, however, toward the second-floor suite, sitting shirtless and agitated, was Dr. Bruce Banner.
Banner was pacing slowly, a tablet in one hand, his heat signature higher than normal. Agitated. On edge. It wasn't a surprise.
See, in order to feed himself and the Hulk, Bruce injected himself with a special kind of gamma radiation. It was only attainable with the help of Cindy Moon.
'It's why he's working with Cindy Moon; Cindy sends him this gamma radiation injection. She has the knowledge and the wealth even while in prison.'
And Hammerhead was the messenger. Her primary means of acting within the S.H.I.E.L.D. Correctional Facility.
'CONFIRMED. EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY APPROACHING DANGER THRESHOLD. RECOMMEND: OBSERVATION ONLY.'
Felix didn't need Herbie's advice. He knew he had to wait.
For an hour.
He stayed perfectly still, perched in shadow on the rooftop, scanning each floor on a loop. He watched guards rotate, watched coffee runs, flirtations, shifts change. Watched Bruce Banner finally sigh, set down his tablet, and exit his room. A black car pulled up in the driveway ten minutes later. Banner entered without incident. The vehicle left the compound at a crawl.
'GAMMA SIGNATURE DEPARTED. PATH IS CLEAR.'
Spider-Man narrowed his eyes behind the red-lit lenses of the Superior Suit.
'Then let's go say hello.'