The Fastest Man Alive

Chapter 43

Edited By. Joe Lawyer

Manhattan, New York, New York.

Felicia Hardy

Black Cat, Leader of the Hardy Foundation.

Acquirer of premium artifacts.

Felicia reclined back within her office chair with her very expensive and stylish heels resting upon her desk. It had been a very busy few days for her after her little heist and she was now taking the time to catch a breather before taking some meetings. For now, though, she was just going to enjoy her well deserved caesar salad. Above her location floated the diamond that she had acquired a few nights prior.

Felicia pierced a mini tomato with a sharpened nail as she watched the light play off the faceted surface of the exquisitely cut flawless diamonds above her. There was simply no stopping her smile as she watched the nine diamonds rotate above her head. The chandelier that held them was even placed in a central position above her desk to draw the eyes.

Each diamond that floated above her was a notch in her belt from some very interesting moments in her life. It would be the ninth diamond that had her teaming up with a super. It reminded her of when she first started out, a tiny nine-year-old waif that picked pockets until she picked the wrong one in the San Francisco diamond exchange.

Her father had saved her that day, before they had a chance to beat her bloody or worse, but that was life back then. Trying and more often than not, failing. Now, though, no one could tell it was even her unless she let them. Felicia couldn't help the wicked smile on her lips at the thought of her latest acquisition.

BEEP…

"Ma'am, your two o'clock is here."

"Give me ten, Kristine, then bring her up."

With a sigh, Felicia pulled her feet off her desk before getting herself ready for the day. Before she could go any further, she noticed the red blinking lights with a picture and name. The screen read; 'Madame Gao, one of the leaders of the Hand Ninjas.' They were based in New York but had a presence around the world, also known as Yami no Ti. 'Chi master, extremely dangerous master-class hand-to-hand combatant.' The list went on and on, seemingly endless, listing the atrocities these Hand Ninjas had committed, and that was only their crimes in the last hundred and fifty years or so! The organization was very old, God only knew what they were responsible for since they were founded. There was also a list of abilities that this Madame Gao was suspected to possess.

Placing her salad aside, Felicia got up to straighten her pant suit before pressing a button on her desktop to alert her assistant that she was ready to receive her next appointment.

Felicia stood with her back straight as Madame Gao walked in with a regal gait, wearing a very traditional black garb with intricate patterns along the front. Her hair was done up in a bun that folded at the back of her head, held together with two hair picks. Felicia silently took in these many details, trying to ignore the facade of the fragile old lady before her but really couldn't see the cold eyed killer that all of her devices kept warning her about.

She wanted to huff, but Felicia knew better than to discount those warnings. She knew that Ben would not have had so many warnings programmed into the system about such a person unless it was completely warranted, though Felicia found herself interested in seeing what a supposed 'chi master' could do when pushed.

With a smile on her face, Felicia held Madame Gao's hand in a gentle shake while also making a note to herself to learn more about this group, The Hand. With the standard pleasantries shared, Felicia offered Madame Gao a seat in front of her desk while she took her own. The ease in which Madame Gao moved, Felicia noted, was completely at odds with the need for a walking stick. She wondered why the person across from her carried one when it was crystal clear that one was not really needed. Was it meant to be used as a weapon, one others would overlook when combined with this image of a helpless old woman?

Taking a moment, Felicia tapped a finger on her desk as she waited for her office to become secure from surveillance. The windows darkened and even the air vents sealed as shields went up sealing all openings into the office and isolating the office from electronic signals going in or out.

"Now that we are secured, how may I help you, Madame Gao?" Felicia asked as she stapled her fingers together on top of her desk. Her back was straight, hair flawless, and facial expression locked in polite neutrality, the very picture of professional calm and polite interest.

"I thank you for accepting this meeting, Ms. Hardy," Madame Gao returned slowly with a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. "It has come to my attention that you have taken over Wilson's area of influence."

Felicia couldn't help giving a small smile of her own, with a small nod in acknowledgment.

"My associates have brought to my attention and passed along a marvelous new substance, one that has turned out to be remarkably beneficial for these old joints. This same substance is distributed throughout your area of influence," Madame Gao stated with her own small bow of the head. "We would like to discuss a deal for this remarkable item that you have come into the possession of. If you would but allow us to partner with our facilities to distribute around the globe. I believe we can have a very fruitful partnership."

Felicia took a moment to think it over.

"There is a strict policy that I like to follow in regards to all of my business deals, Madame. And that's not to tread on anyone's toes." Felicia responded while thinking over all of the implications of getting into a business relationship with an organization like The Hand. "I just don't see how a deal of that nature would be to my benefit. I prefer exclusive control of the manufacture and distribution of the NX5; why would I broaden my scope of operations? All that's going to do is bring unwanted attention."

"Understandable, especially since this couldn't be classified as the others on the market. What if my associates promised no competition with your organization in this city, and also offer shared access and distribution rights to territories we control beyond this city?" Madame Gao asked while leaning forward.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

"That's a very interesting offer, something that I would have to give some consideration to," Felicia answered with a predatory smile. Of course, they would be willing to give favorable terms for something so new and different, like NX5, she thought to herself. This wasn't a drug like heroin or cocaine that would/could kill its user, in fact it would make the person healthier, which meant its customer base was far, far larger than standard narcotics. "Alas, I can not give you an answer today. After all, I have the irish to deal with before I can free up the time necessary."

"Allow me to provide an introduction to a few useful contacts of ours that might be of some service to you in your time of need," Madame Gao replied, pushing the point.

"Then, please, let us attempt this for our mutual benefit." Felicia said, but she couldn't help feeling that this meeting had gone far too smoothly, far too convivially. Business deals at this level in the criminal hierarchy almost always included various subtle threats of violence and coercion. Madame Gao was playing some angle, but that wasn't going to stop her.

o.O.o

The Island, Training Ground, Building site 12

Peter Parker Aka Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman

BoyFriend Extraordinaire, Genius, Happy Uncle.

Adrenaline swam within his veins as he dove down from a hundred feet up in the air. The wind rustled along with the fabric that covered his ears, the closer he got to the ground. Before he knew it, Peter's spider-sense flared, yet there was no stopping the grin from under his mask.

His hand snapped to the right as a web line shot out catching the side of the building that loomed over the area. The web went taut as Peter shot off in a swing that caused him to yelp in joy.

Yaaahoooo!

FWIP!

Another web line shot out as Peter slung himself around another corner as he came up upon the building that was marked in his H.U.D. Peter took a moment to perch on the building overlooking the place holding hostages he was tasked to rescue. Reviewing his mission parameters once more, Peter realized that Logan never gave him either an enemy count, the number of hostages involved, or the weapons in play.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it," Peter grumbled once he realized his mistake. In hindsight, Peter realized that he really shouldn't have run off so quickly once he was told of the training exercise. If he had been a bit more patient, there was a good chance he'd have been given that information. Letting out a huff, Peter put aside his frustration to look closer at the building that was highlighted in his view.

Currently, he had no idea about the level of opposition to expect or the civilians in danger. Guess it was time to put that training Logan and Natasha had been drilling into his head to use, Peter thought to himself. Taking a look around, Peter noticed that there was only one guy on the roof, obviously on overwatch duty. The perp was walking in an anti-clockwise rotation around the rooftop like he was on a perimeter patrol.

Peter took a moment to do a rough count on how long the patrol's cycle around the roof took, before he formulated a plan. Leaning back flush against the building that he was clinging to the side of, Peter pulled out one of the smaller spider bots from his utility belt. Placing the little spider on his shoulder, Peter made his way to the top of the building. Once he got to the top, Peter hopped over the edge before placing down the little spider bot on the edge facing the building he had to work his way into.

[ Beep…]

[ Beep…]

[ 10:00…]

[ 9:59…]

"Shit, shit, shit. Okay, I got it, you're the boss, Logan, you're the boss." Peter was talking to himself as he prepared for the jump. Walking ten feet back, Peter dug deep within his well of courage before taking off at a sprint.

The thug that was on patrol, highlighted red in his HUD, was currently facing the other way. Peter stepped hard on the edge of the building to launch himself high into the air. His arms outstretched as the web gliders in his suit activated, allowing Peter to glide the distance between the rooftops.

20 meters…

13 meters...

8 meters...

Peter's spider-sense flared as his shadow fell over the thug on the roof, alerting the man something was above him. The thug turned around with wide eyes, but before he could raise his gun to fire, Peter had already tucked his arms in as he slammed feet first into the thug knocking the air out of him and knocking him down.

Gracefully flipping back off the chest of the now unconscious thug, Peter whipped his arms out, pinning him on the roof with his webs. With a nod of satisfaction at a job well done, Peter walked away, heading for the ventilation shaft that led further down into the building. Before he started to inspect the ventilation shaft, Peter ordered the spider drone that he had left on the other building to perform overwatch, just in case the guy he knocked out woke up, or someone came to check on him.

Turning around, Peter pulled four more spider drones out of his utility belt. These were notably larger than the last one he used for overwatch. Placing down the spider drones, Peter gave additional commands on his wrist bracer to have the drones take up position at all four corners. As the drones moved to take up their place at the waymarker that Peter had set for them, he turned around and removed the brackets that closed off the ventilation system from the outside world.

He completed one last check of his surroundings, noticing that everything still looked fine, before Peter crawled his way into the building. Once he worked his way down from the tenth floor to the ninth, Peter activated the four spider drones that he left at the top.

Ping!

Peter watched as his HUD came alive with the active image and information generated through echolocation. The metal supports showing up first before the rest of the building follows.

Ping!

Peter noticed himself in the vent system before the echolocation pulse went past his prone form to the rest of the building. Floor after floor, the echolocation went on its way, bringing back real time sensor readings. Peter took a moment to look over the readings to formulate a winning plan. According to the sensor readings, two people were on patrol on the 5th floor, while there was a larger gathering of bodies on the 4th. The 1st and 2nd floors had more weapons and barriers, which told Peter that he would have to find another way to evacuate the civilians. More and more readings kept coming in, giving Peter a better picture of the current situation.

'Shit, shit, shit,' Peter thought to himself as he started to crawl again. He needed a plan to save these people, or he would fail. And if that was not enough, the mission clock was still counting down rapidly. Taking a moment to check over the contents of his utility belt, Peter smiled as he looked at the pouch filled with web grenades.

With those in hand, ideas and plans flashed through Peter's mind. One such plan was viable, but he would have to set it up and also take out the one person that might be able to block the civilians' exit. With his mind made up, Peter worked his way down to the 3rd floor swiftly and silently.

Quickly, Peter arrived at his chosen destination. Taking a moment, Peter rechecked his map to see if anyone had moved significantly from before. Noting his previous tactical information was still good, Peter activated the stealth function of his suit. Quietly removing the grate that blocked his way, Peter worked his way out of the ventilation system. With one last check around, Peter crawled his way out into the hall. From the map's last echolocation ping, there were no guards or patrols on this level of the building. With that in mind, Peter planned to place his web grenades in the stairwells. They would go off on his remote command, hopefully blocking the hostiles from coming up through either of the emergency stairwells while he took the civilians out via the fire escape.

That was a quick and simple plan, one that he could realistically perform with the last 6 minutes on the mission clock, but he would have to take out the two hostiles on the floor above the hostages first, Peter thought to himself. Moving quickly, Peter placed his web grenades in the emergency stairwell to block the 2nd level and the 1st before retreating up the 3rd floor.

Peter once more closed off the stairwell on the southern side of the building before he made his way to the 5th floor. The sensor pings showed no unusual activity, so the thugs patrolling were still seemingly none the wiser. Moving rapidly, Peter jumped from the floor to the ceiling to begin crawling along it towards his first unsuspecting thug. He chuckled quietly in his thoughts; they never looked up.

Peter watched the two walk side-by-side down the hallway. He had to choose his moment of attack very carefully. These thugs were packing some serious firepower, and he still had some genuine fear of getting shot, even if Ben said his suit was impervious to virtually everything up to an anti-tank round. Even if that were true, which he was still unsure about, random gunfire could easily go through walls and hurt innocents, so there still was good reason for caution.

As the thug with the ammo bandolier slung over his shoulder peeked into one of the rooms, Peter took his shot.

Twip!

Webbing covered the thug in the red jacket across his mouth, effectively silencing him, as another shot covered his body, wrapping him up tightly. The other thug must have gotten spooked by the sound because he rapidly turned around, but it was already far too late. Peter was already dropping down from the ceiling in attack mode. Swift jabs and a kick to the temple had both thugs laid out unconscious on the ground. With these two down, nothing was stopping Peter now from rescuing the civilians. Two quick pokes allowed the goons to breathe freely. One last check found that their weapons were webbed and gunked up, Peter was ready to go.

Checking the mission clock, Peter sighed as he noted only five minutes left on the clock. Ignoring that, Peter jumped back onto the ceiling to make his way back into the handy ventilation shafts.

Peter felt his tension rise as he made his way towards the location on the map that showed the most concentrated life signs. Within moments, Peter was on the same level as the life signs that his echolocation system had found. From his position in the vent, Peter noticed the room carried twenty civilians, with four guards walking around to keep everyone docile.

The thugs did a one, two-step, check people, then continued walking. This was going to be tight on the timing, Peter thought to himself. Taking a few calming breaths, Peter located his adversaries before busting into the room.

Instantly everyone's attention was locked on him. Peter's spider-sense flared, letting him know someone was about to shoot at him, placing him in danger. The world slowed down in Peter's perspective as one of the thug's fingers squeezed their gun's trigger in an attempt to kill him. Peter's mind filled with determination as he aimed his hands at two of the thugs.

Bang!

Everything slowed down to Peter as he watched the bullet leave its muzzle.

Fwipt!

The bullet was halfway to his position as the webs left his wrist. The bullet got closer and closer as he watched it. Not today, Peter thought as he pushed off the ceiling with the tips of his toe as his body twisted in a way no normal human would ever be able to. Peter twisted mid-air, the web lines that he shot out connected onto the chest of the two furthest thugs.

With one extremely hard tug, they collided with a sickening crunch, but without even looking at them. Peter was already moving onto the next set of guards. Peter's left hand had already fired off webbing while he was taking down the other two, so he ignored the guard that was trying to uncover his face. Peter's spider-sense flared once more, causing him to jump, flipping over backward. Bullets made holes in the location that Peter had just vacated with speed.

"Miss me, now you gotta kiss me, but my momma told me not to kiss strangers," Peter quipped as he pulled the thug over with another web line. "But here, kiss my fist."

With a solid right cross, Peter took out the thug swiftly before charging to the last guard. Peter's timing was perfect because he was right there as the last guard removed the webbing that covered his face. Unfortunately for the last thug, Peter was already in motion. With a swift web line to the weapon in their hand, yanking it hard disarmed the thug. One more web line latched onto his legs, a yank later the thug was down and groaning. Before the thug could scramble back to his feet, Peter was already on him for another quick trip to dreamland.

"Have no fear because I am here!" Peter said out loud as he struck a hero's pose for the civilians. "Okay folks, rescue is out the side of the building and down the fire escape, but first let me untie your hands and feet.

"Well, how about you start with the pregnant woman beside me, Petey-pie."

That statement caused Peter to whip around to find the source. Frantically looking around, Peter found Laura with her hands locked down in a vice-like device that had her fists flush against her own chest. From the look of the device, the only way Laura would be able to use her claws would be stabbing herself with them.

Without any further exchange of words, Peter put his strength to work ripping Laura out of the restraints that kept her locked away. With the restraints removed, Peter checked Laura over once more to make sure that she was safe before moving on to the person next to her.

BZZT!

BZZT!

Peter heard the radios of the guards he took down activate for a moment. To him, the only thing that could have meant was that they were asking for a check-in. Before they had the good idea to come to check up on the missing guards, Peter pressed the detonation button on his bracer. Peter's HUD flashed on the map, letting him know that all the ways up to their location were now blocked off.

"Alright, Laura, help me out so we can get out a lot faster," Peter asked his girlfriend as he moved on to the third prisoner.

"Sure," Laura replied after a slight pause.

Peter had his back turned while he was working on freeing the fifth hostage when something very sharp jabbed into his back, forcing an incredible amount of electricity into his body. Peter turned jerkily, stunned at the blatant betrayal from one of the hostages. This betrayal hurt even worse when he saw that it was his girlfriend.

Bang!

Bang!

Before Peter could say any more, the pregnant lady that he had helped, who turned out to have a fake stomach, shot him. In one of her hands was the fake stomach, and in the other was a pistol firing stun rounds into him.

[Training Simulation Ended.]

As the announcement broadcast over the speakers, Peter laid there on the ground, confused at this turn of events.

[Mission Failure.]

With that announcement, everyone was in motion, the people that had formerly played hostages got up, and so did the guards that Peter had first taken out at the beginning of this training exercise. There was a hand that patted his back, offering some small comfort, but Peter was far too numb to notice as his legs moved on autopilot.

"Alright, alright, settle down. Now, tell me what went wrong?" A gruff sounding voice asked.

"He left without a full mission briefing, only knowing about the building and the hostage situation in general." A voice with a strong Russian accent answered.

Finally, Peter looked up to find himself in the command center that overlooked the training grounds.

"He didn't keep watch of his surroundings," Bobby Drake said as he rubbed his chin.

"He also didn't ask for any help," a small girl with brown hair spoke up haltingly.

"Louder, Kitty, no one can hear you up here," Logan replied gruffly, causing the girl to squeak in fright.

"He didn't ask for any help. Everyone was here, they could have helped in this mission, but he ran off the second you said he could go into the training field and rescue the hostages," Kitty spoke louder, allowing more to hear her.

"All good points," Logan replied with a grunt. "You have anything to say, kid?"

Logan had turned to ask Peter for his thoughts, but Peter was still stuck on how he had lost.

"It's not the end of the world, Peter. This was a low stakes training simulation, nothing of importance was on the line, no lives were in danger or were dependent on your success. That won't always be the case. This class is designed to give you the experience and wisdom that could previously only be learned on the job, wisdom paid for with the blood and pain and lives of yourself or others, to give you a better sense of what you might run into in the field. The world is not as black and white as we might wish it was. We have a world filled with powered individuals of all different kinds, and some of them can even subvert the mind. As cliche as it might sound, you have to expect the unexpected, and be adaptable enough to survive it," Logan shared gruffly, as she looked at the moping form of Peter who probably hadn't even heard a word that had been spoken.

"Shadowcat, Ice-Man, you're up next, building site 7. The villain side will be made up of Colossus and Rouge."

o.O.o

Manhattan, New York, New York.

Benjamin Blake, LightSpeed

Aka Red Hood, Jason Todd

Doting Father, Lover, Zealot Overkiller

I had gotten everything I wanted out of Xavier, but for some reason, I couldn't relax within the comforts of my own office. Cerebro's schematics were uploaded into my systems for my scientists and Alfred to pour over and eventually build one on the island for use. My mind was filled with so many possibilities, things that were becoming more and more likely to be achievable now, but I guess I would always have my standard worries.

One such worry was the DNA I had asked Dr. Kenny to run down for me. It had taken a bit of persuasion to get her to do it, but since I was also bankrolling her work, the good doctor didn't really have a choice.

Eight displays were running simultaneously, but there was no stopping my eye from drifting again over to the camera feed that was hanging over the doctor's shoulders. I knew I could have just dumped the DNA that I pinched from Stark into one of my machines and got it sorted out, then have Alfred upload me the data. Alfred was a Godsend for my work, but I still wanted that human touch.

Urgh, I couldn't pay that any more attention as a new display popped up showing the feed of a camera pointed at the outside of my office door. I pressed the button signaling the door to open as Ben Grim knocked.

Ben Grim walked in with a far better disposition than had previously been the norm for the man. Gone was the intensely gloomy and depressed aura that had once permeated the man. Ben now stood before me with clean rocky orange skin and a megawatt smile. That was the smile of a man in love, I would reckon. I guess that his counseling sessions had paid off in more than one way.

One of the things I couldn't understand was the choice in clothing. Ben Grimm stood before me in super-sized pants with no shirt or shoes. There was a brain lapse for a zetta-second before I remembered that I still had the unstable molecule fabric research on hold on the island. Some custom clothes could be created, even at extreme sizes, but no normal cloth would be able to handle the man's strength or daily activities.

When Ben had come into my office, I had gotten up to give the man a quick handshake. Even though this was my office, it still would have been rude of me to keep my ass in my seat. There was a ripple in the normal gravitational field behind me, indicating something was there that had previously not been there before. It seems the Ancient One had arrived, and that was all I needed in confirmation about my next choice for Mr. Grimm.

"You look so much better than the last time we met, Mr. Grimm," I said with a large smile of my own to match his. "Ahh, and before we get carried away, might I introduce you to the Ancient One."

I did a half-turn and flourished with my other hand. And there she was, standing five feet behind me and to the left. The Ancient One had one appraising eyebrow raised as she looked at us both.

"I thought I was only here to meet you?" Ben Grim asked in his gravelly voice.

"Benjamin and I have been in contact about your condition and how best to assist you," the Ancient One started with a disarming tone of voice. "Even with Mr. Blake's explanation, I told him that I would have to see you for myself to know if we could help someone in your situation."

"Yes, yes, let's all be seated so that we may hash out the details," I said as I directed us towards the open couches within my office. "Great work on the hover car design, by the way. I think the public is going to love them."

"Ahh, think nothing of it," Ben Grim said with a shrug. "I was just working with what I was given. It saved me some time letting the eggheads crunch the number while I did the body and engine work."

"Still, impressive work nonetheless, but that's not all," I said as I made a show of looking him up and down. "You have worked out that anger issue of yours, and now you're a whole lot more zen."

"Yeah, Sue hooked me up with that shrink you asked me to speak to, and well, things happen, you know," Ben Grim responded.

"I believe he is ready to learn," theAncient One interjected, before I could say anything else. She had been silent for a time, but her speaking was still appreciated. "Before that, let me ask you, Mr. Grimm, do you believe in magic?"

"Well, I don't know about any of that hocus pocus stuff, but I used to go to the shows when I was younger," Ben Grim returned as a large orange graveled hand scratched his head. "I, ahh, don't see what that has to do with anything, ma'am."

"Well, believe it or not, as you sit right here before me, you're emitting large amounts of naturally generated energy. Energy that can most accurately be described as cosmic, dimensional, or magical in nature or origin," the Ancient One said with a smug smile on her face.

That surprised the shit out of me, to say the least. Hell, I knew that magic worked on chi and dimensional energies, but I wasn't aware of mana being a thing in the Marvel-Verse. "Currently, you have no conscious control over this energy, and that is why Benjamin has asked me to assist you."

"Yes, I believe with some understanding and coaching, you will be able to solve your control issues," I said as I sat on the edge of the couch.

"And you think I'll be able to wield this power you say that's inside me?" Ben Grim asked, astonished bafflement coloring his voice. "I don't know any magic, lady."

"How did you learn how to build a naturally aspirated v12 engine?" The Ancient One asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ahh, I went to school to learn about it, ma'am," Ben Grim replied, still feeling lost in this conversation.

"Then, you will be taught and learn how to control your powers, the same as you did for anything else," the Ancient One said with a stern teacher's tone to her voice. "Benjamin, dear, you wouldn't mind if I open a portal to the island, do you?"

"No, ma'am, I don't mind," I replied as I stood up with her and Ben Grimm. "Do you plan to introduce him to the little ones at the school?"

"Yes, Mr. Grimm would get a far better understanding if he was to watch the little ones go through their own transformations," the Ancient One answered with a little titter and smile.

"Then, please," I demurred as I waved my arm in the direction of an open area within my office.

The Ancient One gave me a smile before waving her hand in a half-circle. Before us, in the air, golden sparkles flared to life as a transportation portal opened up to the island. The first thing that struck us was the clean scent of the island. Fresh air, the salt of the sea and the sounds of laughing children, it was a stark difference to the austere nature of my office, a sense of natural peace and life flooding the room.

"So, ahh, what now?" Ben Grimm asked as he looked at the portal with some trepidation.

"Ah, yes, I should have expected that you would have some misgivings after your last mishap with a portal." The Ancient One said as she looked over at the big man. Before anything else could be said, she walked through, and I followed right behind her with no hesitation. "Come along, dear."

Ben grumbled for a moment before quickly following along behind myself and the Ancient One. On the other side of the portal was a little garden courtyard. I took a moment to look around and noticed that we had arrived at the school. This was one of the courtyards that allowed the kids to eat outside. Ben was looking around with clear surprise on his face as he took in the advancements made to the school.

There was no hiding my smile as I waved my hand across the keypad, identifying myself and giving my authorization for my guests to enter. There was a solid click allowing us entry into the building.

"Sky, please inform the Headmistress that I'm here and with guests." I said out loud to the air. This was to have the building's systems pick it up. "We are on our way to the young magi's wing."

"She will be informed," the lights that ran along the wall rippled like water as the building responded to my commands. Times like these made me love holo emitters; they made even advanced tech look so much cooler. We walked down the hallway in companionable silence as Ben Grimm looked around in wonderment at the school.

"Woah, what kind of school is this?" Ben Grimm asked as he looked at some of the displays on the wall. The wall displays carried everything from science projects to powerful displays of abilities.

"This island is a sanctuary and home that I have been building for meta-humans and the mundanes," I replied with a smile. "I haven't told the world, because, as typical humans, they would quickly endeavor to exploit it for their own purposes and if they couldn't do that, destroy it."

Ben went silent as we walked down the marble hallway. Soon we came to the west wing that housed a large portion of the gyms. As we walked through the double doors that separated the cafeteria area from the west wing, we came upon Ororo. Ororo was standing in the hallway with a holo-tablet in her hand.

Ororo stood there in an immaculate charcoal grey pant suit. On her feet, Ororo wore a pair of stylized wedges that showed off the muscular definition of her legs. Her hair was done up in a very tight bun on the back of her head, her face utterly beautiful as she showed off her natural beauty. As we walked up to her, I flashed to her side before taking her into my arms. Before Ororo could say anything, I had removed the tablet from her hand before dipping her over for a deep kiss.

"What are… hmmm." Ororo was cut short as I laid a sizzling kiss on her lips. There were two hard hits to my chest before her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me in closer. Ororo smiled into our kiss as it deepened and she pulled me closer.

"Ahem…"

After kissing for a moment, I let Ororo back up to find the Ancient One smiling at us in amusement, with Ben looking a little lost.

"Ben Grim, meet Ororo Munroe, the headmistress of this school and the mother to my daughter." I said, as I performed a little flourish introducing Ororo to the big guy.

"Nice meeting you, ma'am," Ben said a little hesitantly as he reached out to shake her hands. Ororo shook his hands without blinking at the big man or his unusual appearance.

"And you have brought him to see the younger ones that are in training?" Ororo asked as she turned towards the Ancient One, who, in turn, gave a small bow of the head.

"It would be best for Mr. Grimm to see the children displaying what I would like to teach him." The Ancient One answered with a smile. "I have learned over my long life that those that are in the scientific field need a certain extra push in the right direction when it comes to what is truly possible."

When the Ancient One dropped that line, that famous moment in the movie where she struck Dr. Strange's soul out of his body flashed through my mind. The sly look she gave me, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking of, sent a cold shiver right down my spine. Fuck. This woman was not someone to mess with. Ignoring my sudden trepidation, I got us moving on down the hallway. Soon, we came upon room #402. Inside, we could hear children at play.

Opening the door, we walked in to find many kids playing inside a large we found them doing would have blown the mind of any mundane person. Kids flew twenty feet in the air, while others ran up and down walls in defiance of gravity, while others leaped impossible heights and some just floated sedately in meditation. Amongst the kids stood gym teachers and their assistants, half wore robes, while others wore standard cargo pants, sneakers, and a polo shirt that carried a lightning bolt design.

Smiling cheekily, I walked towards the kids that sat in floating meditation. I placed a finger to my lips to hush the others around as I floated into a lotus position next to the redhead with long, flowing hair. The rustle of wind told me that Ororo did the same on the other side. We were both ready with a smile as I zapped her with a little static to wake her up. Before she could yelp, I had Maya in a hug.

"Daddy!"

"Hey pumpkin, let me introduce you to someone." I said with a smile as she squirmed around in my hug. "This is Mr. Ben Grimm, and he came to learn as Kayla did."

"Hello, Mr. Grimm." Maya half yelled/half squealed, as she flew up to the large man. Before Ben Grimm could reply, Maya flew a full circle around him before spotting Ororo.

Ororo didn't say anything, all she did was open her arms and Maya flew right into them. I turned to find the Ancient One now floating with the kids while Ben Grimm wore a smile, but had a completely lost look on his face. Floating next to Ororo, I waited for the Ancient One to finish talking to a little girl with bright green hair that also had matching eyes.

"Mr. Grimm, one of the things I would like you to understand is that some of these children were born with their powers already active at birth, so many of them never knew that they could change back or what they looked like in human form until just recently." The Ancient One said with a smile as she unfolded her legs, the girl beside her doing the same. "This is Kayla, and she is one of the children that had to be saved by our retrieval teams. She lives here on the island with her mother. I suspect that you would be very interested in what she can do." The Ancient One turned to the little girl then gave her a smile and nod of permission.

I heard soft sounds of shifting and right before our eyes, the little girl changed. Arms stretched, legs thickened and fur sprouted. Before our eyes was now a wolfling. Ben Grimm stood there, stunned at what he had just witnessed.

"One of the few things that we know about the X-gene is that besides the dimensional energy that it allows the carrier to access naturally, with no training or practice, is that mutations can be active even at birth. I realized that if someone could be taught to harness and control their inner chi, why not the same with powers granted by the X-gene, even ones that were 'always on' as it were? Why couldn't those same people gain control of their powers and then choose to just 'turn it off'?" I explained as Ben Grimm stood there frozen at the obvious implication that he could learn to 'turn it off' as well. "I had my people translate the relevant text and then broke it down into little chunks that the kids can absorb, then turned it into a game for them."

"Yes, and now I have a lot of flying friends." Maya chirped cutely from Ororo's arms.

"Yes, little flame, you have amazing friends." Ororo said as she let Maya go, allowing her to fly around freely.

"Thank you for your demonstration, Kayla; you can go back and play now." The Ancient One spoke up, allowing the girl to change back to her human form before flying off. "Now, Benjamin, I believe we have one more stop before we call this tour complete, yes?"

"Ah, so you're aware of my little project," I replied with a little smirk of my own.

"Of course, it is not that often that one of my masters of the mystic arts gets this excited, and what you are working on has got them very excited indeed." The Ancient One answered with a sly smile of her own.

Turning away from the Ancient One, I asked Ororo if she wanted to come with us to the labs. I got a swift no, as it was still school hours and she took her job very seriously. With a kiss goodbye to my two beauties, my party and I walked to the nearest bullet tram station. Ben Grimm was amazed that he could both fit comfortably through the doors and that seats were available large and strong enough for even his size and weight. I explained that I was trying to make sure that the island could accommodate all different kinds of meta-human, no matter the mutations they came with.

I hadn't been trying all that hard to convince the man, but I could see that the hook was in damn deep now. There was no escaping for Mr. Grimm once he joined my side of things and saw the community I was trying to build. Easing back into my seat, I enjoyed the ride as I watched Ben Grimm act like a kid in a candy store with all of the advanced flying vehicles overhead. I had picked up one of the spare holo-tablets from the school before we left and had Alfred remove any sensitive data that had been available on it, but left Ben with the information on the many vehicles and transports currently in use on the island.

Once the tram had left from underground, Ben Grimm was amazed as we sped into the northern city and he caught sight of the flying cars we already had in service. There was no stopping the smile that I had on my own face. This was a place that I had carved out for myself, but this was also going to become the welcoming home and sanctuary for so many meta-humans throughout the world. We would be a nation unto ourselves. I was making history, and I wasn't going to stop pushing the limits and bringing my kind forward, no matter the opposition lined up against me.

The tram came to a stop a block away from the science center, so we got out. Getting out above ground had Ben Grimm once more awestruck. We walked around a little more as I showed off my new city. After a while, we agreed to check out the science center. The large science building was under the same heavy security that my military base was under, so it took us some time to get through and for Ben Grimm to get himself a visitor badge, even with my approval and accompanying him.

Once Ben Grimm got his badge, we took the express elevator that swiftly brought us up to the fifteenth floor. Ben Grim was still stunned that everything was built at a scale that allowed him to use the elevator and even ride with us. Even a mundane thing like that had been denied to him given his form's great weight.

Back home, I knew Ben Grimm often felt lost and out of place because of the changes to his body. Was I taking my chance to remove one of Richards' most diehard supporters? You bet your sweet ass I was. Yes, I know, hypocritical of me, especially since I still have yet to hire the man to work for my company, but it was better this way. I can not only keep my eyes on the man, but I can also make sure he didn't accidentally kill us all.

That also means that if Richards fucks up seriously enough, no one will be in his corner. It's slow hunting, but a dangerous animal must sometimes be isolated from the protection of the herd before it can be killed off. And Richards is one of the most dangerous animals in existence.

That's for damn sure.

With a beep, we got off at the correct floor. Another swipe of my smart band opened up the labs, granting us access. Inside the lab were two of my scientists with one of the masters of the mystic arts. The master I noticed was an older gentleman from South Africa, if his accent was anything to go by. The scientist and the master were excitedly going over something hanging from the rack in the middle of the lab.

As custom would dictate, I made the various introductions, starting with the lead scientist, followed up by the master of the mystic arts, then the assistant.

"Ben Grimm, let me introduce you to Lillian, the lead scientist on this little project, Master Aloti, the lead runes master on this project, and their assistant, William." I said, keeping my voice neutral as I tried to hide my own excitement about what they had achieved here. "Lillian, do you mind?"

"Of course… Of course." Lillian said as she sprang to action in the lab. I looked over to the Ancient One as she took Aloti to the side to speak to him. The assistant was still looking super excited, and I could understand, it was taking a lot of my patience for me not to speed through everything and change out my clothing.

"This, sir, is what we are calling 'unstable molecule fabric' or UMF for short." Lillian said as she held up a large navy blue latex suit. "We understand that you like the smart bands and utility belt designs, so we had both built into the suit because of the nature of the material. We programmed interchangeable forms for the onboard devices into the basic suit. Anything from smartwatch to bracer and vambrace to simple cuff links. The same can be said for the utility belt, it can take the form of a belt or a backpack, even a wallet on a chain."

"And the fabric?" I couldn't stop myself from asking as my excitement built.

"A success, sir. Able to change into virtually anything and adapt to any properties you can get a proper scan of for the molecular realignment." Lillian answered as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"What about the integrated runic clusters for expansion?" I asked, unable to contain myself any longer.

"That was a little touch and go, but William was able to come up with a method using the artificial crystals to power our laser etching tools." Lillian answered, causing the assistant to smile bashfully.

"The theoretical limit was approximately the size of Jupiter, but that's straight up conjecture because we haven't yet been to Jupiter to scan and get the proper size of the planet," William explained excitedly.

"Please, please don't tell me you are using that as a build standard for all of the UMF suits?" I asked as I face palmed hard at what William had just said.

"Urgh… No sir, we brought down the capacity to a standard twenty meters for the level one suits." William answered quickly.

"Okay, let's keep the higher capacity UMF suits exclusively for our officers and VIP individuals." I answered as I took the suit that Lillian had held up and was showing off.

"Ahh, yes, I believe it is time." The Ancient One said as she stepped closer as I walked towards Ben Grimm.

"One moment, please." I said, interrupting her moment of trying to whisk Ben off to the mystical lands of Kamar-Taj. "Scan."

I had the UMF suit pointed at Ben Grimm when I had it scan his size for physical adjustment. Within moments the size of the suit changed as it stretched to an appropriate size to accommodate even someone of his extreme size and strength.

"Alright, big guy, it's time to get dressed." I said as I held out the freshly enlarged UMF Suit.

"Uhhh, I'm not into latex." Ben Grim said a little sheepishly as he looked at my outstretched hand.

"It would be best to put it on in this configuration," Atali advised from beside the Ancient One in a deep baritone like voice. "This allows the expanded space located in the utility belt to adjust to your natural energy."

Ben Grimm looked at me for a moment, then back at the rest of us that were waiting on him. I couldn't help the chuckle I let out as he took the UMF suit while grumbling to himself about it. The Ancient One shot me a smile before walking over to the display that had a part of the fabric up.

While she was busy running magical scans over the fabric, I turned my attention to the runic clusters up on the monitors. We had fifty-two runes for expansion space, and from the way everything was gathered, it was my systems that had come up with the runic limits that could store an entire planet within its confines.

Now, that was next level computing.

I would have to start my training in the mystic arts soon. I had teams typing and uploading everything learned and read at Kamar-Taj, but it could all be done in a single afternoon if I just did it myself.

The Speed Force, both a blessing and a curse for the impatient.

Even if I wanted to do it myself, just to get it done faster, it would do no one any good and would be a very bad habit to get into. I couldn't keep doing all the important work while I have people that worked for me. Even a ruler of my power set needed to delegate and needed to show his people they were trusted and relied upon to do important tasks. Placing my personal issues aside, I watched Ben Grimm walk back in from his little change of clothes.

"Nice, nice, now tap the smart band on the left wrist to open the interface. Don't worry about your strength, it won't break." Lillian spoke up as she moved to the side of Ben Grimm. "Sir, do you mind if he scans your clothes?"

"That's fine." I answered as I walked closer. The interface that popped up above Ben Grimm's arm was far larger than what I would have expected, far too large even for someone of his size to comfortably work with. "Lillian, make a note to improve the software, that interface is far too large. It needs to adjust to the user's size. If they want it larger after that point, it can then be affirmatively changed by them."

"Yes, sir. Mr. Grimm, can you aim here and tap that portion that says scan and adapt please." Lillian said after placing a few notes on her own personal data-pad. I could tell the UMF suit was scanning me as I watched the little status bar go across the hologram. When the scanning finished, Lillian showed Ben Grimm how to have the UMF suit change.

Once that was complete, I watched the suit shimmer. Before I knew it, I was looking at my bespoke suit, just upsized to an extreme degree to fit on a large orange rock person.

"Well, don't you look dapper." I complimented as I did a quick inspection.

Damn, the copy of my suit was flawless. The UMF system didn't even get my back, but the intuitive system solved that on its own.

I was mighty impressed.

"How long does it take to manufacture each suit, William?" I asked, trying to catch the assistant off guard since he was bouncing around like an excited puppy.

"Each suit normally takes an hour, but now that we have the correct molecular sequencing, things should go a lot faster, especially as we refine the process more." William answered with wide eyes.

"Thank you for all of your hard work, Atoli, Lillian, William. Congratulations on your achievement. Now come along, Mr. Grmm, we are long overdue, and I would like to have you settled in before my afternoon tea." The Ancient One said as she willed a portal open on one of the few empty walls.

"Keep the suit, Ben. It's yours." I said as I looked him over once more and confirming it was one of the suits with the smallest amount of expanded space. "I'll have your work transferred over to the data pads and get one to you asap. For now, take some time to get yourself settled."

I held my hand out for a handshake, but he didn't want one of those. Before I knew it, I was caught up in a tight bear hug.

Well, two can play that game.

Temporarily disabling the blocks on my powers, I returned the monster man hug with one of my own.

"Ah, ah, hahaha." Ben Grimm simultaneously groaned and laughed uproariously as I hugged, lifted, and shook him a little bit. As master of the strength force, I could give Ben a tight hug that would make even him wince in discomfort. Come to think of it, this might have been the first time he felt something like that since he had been changed.

"Alright, you big lug. Better get going before she decides you need some discipline for delaying her afternoon tea." I said with a laugh of my own. Ben Grimm gave me one last look and smile before walking through the portal, it closing behind him as he went through. I was back in business/super geek mode.

"Alrighty, then folks, let's take a look at all that data shall we." I started with a grin as I zipped to the nearest computer station.

Beep…

Beep…

My wrist buzzed, alerting me to something that had been sent to my systems marked as a matter of extreme importance. Looking down at the information, I couldn't help my reaction.

"Fuck!"

The genetic markers matched. Tony Stark was Peter's father.

o.O.o

December 2010

Since that shocking revelation last month, I honestly didn't know what to do with the information. On the one hand, Peter was my best friend, well, more of a brother than a friend really, but Tony was not in any proper state to even raise a son. On the other hand, he had the right to know who his biological father is.

Fuck me, was the only thing that came to mind. Why did I have to be a nosy fucker and find out the truth?

Sighing, I placed those thoughts out of my mind as Maya shifted on my chest. Looking over at the side table, I noted that it was just a little after five in the morning. It's been a little over eight months now since I was last able to sleep. The nature of my powers forces my body to have peak efficiency and performance while also keeping all debilitating effects at bay.

It was a very worrying situation at first, but since my cognitive functions have not become compromised, even after months of no sleep, I have settled into acceptance. This was the new normal now.

The alarm hasn't gone off yet, but Ororo, to my left, was already shifting in bed. On my other side Natasha was already stirring for her morning ablutions and workout. Today, though, I had a surprise for everyone. I couldn't hide my smile as I looked down at my daughter drooling a little on my pajama top.

Soon, she won't be an only child.

3 hours later…

With a mighty stomp in command, the earth to my right rose in the training field. The earth pillar was just in time to absorb the strike from the lightning bolt that Ororo had sent my way. Taking a leap back, I did a flip before kicking out both legs into the rock pillar.

With my strength I could have just picked it up and thrown the blasted thing, but sometimes a bit of flair and showmanship was called for. Halting my position in midair, I smiled as I watched Ororo attempt to dodge my little earth bending. Timing it just right, I reared back, gripping my speed lightning.

In her attempt to dodge, Ororo had gone low, dodging towards the water's surface on the other side of the training field. With a firm grip on the lightning, I tossed it at her. I watched as my bolt of lightning got closer and closer before Ororo saw my attack. Ororo's eyes grew wide before she reacted on pure reflex, her hands flaring with magic circles as spell matrices formed.

The water that Ororo floated above came alive in defense of its master. My lightning crashed into a wall of water that had risen to block my attack. Good, good, I was finally pushing her past her former limits. Instantly, I was moving from my location as I prepared my next attack.

I was already halfway across the training field, running a little under the speed of sound, when I noticed it. The water that Ororo had commanded into a wall did not go back to its peaceful slumber. No, the water was still moving to the commands of Ororo.

The wicked smirk on Ororo's face told me that I was in for some retaliation. The water wall that stood before her changed. It went from a firm defense back into fluid motion as it flowed around her into the form of a serpent. Well, I'll be damned, she was about to attempt a water hydra attack on me.

Well, the only way to face such a thing was head-on.

"Come, Wind Rider!" I bellowed from across the training field. Taking command of my own forces, the earth moved beneath me doing my bidding. I didn't want just earth though, adding in a little friction to the mix changed the difficulty and ultimately the element I was working with.

Before, I was standing on a patch of dirt. Now, I was standing in a pit of lava with the heat roiling out of the circle in waves. Ororo raised one elegant eyebrow as she watched me work.

"Always think outside the box." I replied at the look. "How do you think you gained direct command over that water? You forced it to bend to your will and your powers. There is no difference."

"Then let us see if my water dragon or your lava monster shall prevail!" Ororo yelled as she launched herself towards me. The water dragon was right beside her coiling with raging waves.

Instead of just copying the water dragon that Ororo had created, I went with a King Kong-style lava monster. Vibrating the mouth, I had the lava monster roar before I had it dash towards the water dragon. Ignoring those two, my attention was on one person, Ororo.

Roaaaaahhhhh!

Our elemental constructs met in battle right where the water met the earth. Ororo and I battled right along the same borderline. The sexy minx had me on the defense from the start as she attempted to cheat right as we clashed. Ororo had powerful shearing winds wrapped around her hands as she attacked me relentlessly. The flesh wounds healed within seconds as we traded blows.

Punches, kicks, and elbows were traded as we exchanged a series of blows. As she overextended on a straight hook for my jaw, I got her in a lock. I twisted, shifted my center of gravity, and hip tossed her in a judo throw.

Ororo went up and over my head, but she had one last move up her sleeves to surprise me. As Ororo was going over in a judo throw, she grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked it along with her momentum. With my shirt tangled up around my head, I had to abandon my attempt on a proper throw. With a huff, I let Ororo go as I ripped my way out of my shirt.

Damn, was I happy that I wasn't wearing UMF training gear.

"That was cheating." I growled out as I watched the beauty before me.

"If you're not cheating, you're not trying." Ororo responded with a wild grin of her own.

Begrudgingly, I had to nod in agreement.

"Then, I guess it's my win." I said with a cheeky grin of my own.

"And how did you come to that conclusion, my dear?" Ororo asked as she rose into the air with the wind whipping around wildly.

Before she could get any higher, or raise any new defenses I might not be aware of, I moved. The world slowed down as I moved with purpose. The ground sank inwards as I pushed off from my location with force. The road was clear, and I knew what I wanted to do. My own lightning worked as footholds as I stepped into the air, pebbles worked next as I kept pushing forward.

I was within twenty feet of Ororo when I changed my path of movement. The wind around her was shaped in circular rings, and those would work perfectly. I ran along with the wind that Ororo rode before coming up behind her as she was still frozen mid-motion.

My arms wrapped around her waist and underneath her arms. With a grin, I braced my legs before I launched us up into the air and out of the pocket of wind that Ororo had created and controlled through her powers. The flutter of her eyelashes told me that my speed force aura now covered Ororo.

She was in my frozen world now.

The air closer to the ground shifted rapidly as we approached the water's surface; this was going to hurt. Yet, it was better that I took the brunt of it, rather than her.

"Hold your breath and brace." I whispered into Ororo's ear. Two more of my arms appeared from my aura holding Ororo even closer. Five feet above the water, I activated my gravity manipulation right before we broke the surface.

This dunk in the drink was refreshing. I allowed us to sink for a moment, and as I felt Ororo's fingers dig into my chest. I was already working with my gravity control to get us moving in the right direction. As we rapidly traveled through the water, I moved Ororo from the missionary position to a bridal carry style.

The look Ororo gave me once we broke the water's surface said it all. She grabbed my face and brought me in for a kiss that took my breath away.

1 Hour later…

Ororo and I were laid out on the beach with sand working its way into places that it had no reason being.

"I believe it's time to head back." Ororo said as she bit down on one of my rock hard pectorals one last time.

"One more round before we go?" I asked as the corner of my lips lifted in a teasing manner, my eyebrows wiggling salaciously. Ororo looked at me as she considered my question before shaking her head, an amused smile on her lips.

"You promised us a surprise." Ororo answered as she looked like the cat that got the canary.

"Ohh, yes… I did, didn't I? Let us go then."

Before Ororo could protest in any way, I already had her up in my arms and was on the move at speeds that no one would be able to track.

I had Ororo and myself showered within moments and had placed a call out amongst the family. My mother and father showed up first with one of Alfred's android bodies. Behind them came Natasha with Maya in piggyback style. After those two came Gwen, Jean, and then Felicia bringing up the back with Peter, Laura, and Logan.

"Now that we are all gathered, I believe it's time to bring Alfred even further out from the realms of cyber." I said with a massive smile on my face. This was a project I had been working on in an offsite warehouse on my own for some time now. It had all come down to this moment. Everyone had a different range of emotions. Mostly it was excitement all around, well, except for Logan and Laura, the most I got out of those two was raised eyebrows.

There were hushed whispers as we made our way down to the chambers that most of the Astartes had come from. The chamber had been shut down for some time now. I thought it was best to put a stop to that once we reached a stable population of 240,000 on the island.

Feeding the population was easy once I took a page out of the Resident Evil franchise, creating underground hive locations under three of my main cities. This also made me think about the Morlocks, vampires, and werewolves that would welcome a place to live, a place they could live openly without fear of persecution. Well, they would be able to live here as long as they came in peace and accepted my rule and laws. If not, then they would only find their deaths here.

The Astartes birthing facility was a massive enclosure spanning hundreds of chambers, each one connected to the heart tree in some way, but I ignored all of that for now. The place I was heading was the same pod that had birthed Maya into the world. We went down the right side to the door hidden behind the entrance; once we had that open, it was only one level down.

The conduit panel that I had used to forcibly take over the island was still within walking distance of the pod, but the seat I had grown was no longer here. Taking a knee before the pod, I pulled out my latest masterpiece. Pressing the button to unshrink the package, I pulled out the jar that contained my most advanced organic crystal microprocessor. This was version sixteen, a fluid synapsis system with the processing power of a 3rd generation quantum computer.

"Mom, can you bring that chassis over here, please?" I asked my mother as she held up the robot body of Alfred.

With Alfred's latest artificial body placed before me, I removed the shirt, so I had access to the back panel. Pulling out transfer cables, I plugged them into the container holding the advanced organic processor.

"Upload please, Alfred."

The advanced organic processor glowed blue as Alfred uploaded himself. Once Alfred was finished, I took the advanced organic processor to the pod, which opened up on my approach. Within the pod was the orange jelly-like substance that would create the body according to my design. Placing the advanced organic processor into the middle, I took a step back towards the master control, but I found Natalia was already waiting there for me with a blade in hand.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"He asked me to be his mother." Natalia replied with a smile. "I also would like to offer some input in the body of my soon-to-be son."

"I'm okay with that, but I already have his powers and abilities picked out." I replied as plans and ideas shifted and adapted in my mind. This pod was connected to the main system within the heart tree. That meant that I had every X gene sequence at my fingertips, a large selection of powers and abilities that I could give to Alfred.

Standing beside Nat, I took the offered knife and sliced my palm open, allowing the blood to pool before placing it onto the left side of the control console. Natalia did the same to the right side before our minds melted into the heart tree.

Nat and I failed to notice when the pod closed itself and began to fill with the equivalent of human embryonic fluid. As our essence was absorbed into the tree, I allowed my mind to search for the powers and abilities that I had already chosen to use. Technomancy was a power that Sinister had a sample of in one of the cold storage labs on his island of Bar Sinister. In his terrible fear of that ability, Sinister had killed and harvested all of the organic matter of that person. He even went so far as to kill the parents of that same individual in fear of them having another child with the same abilities.

I understood the fear of that ability, especially in the modern day when technology controlled so much of our lives, but still, in the right hands, it could be used for such greatness. That potential for greatness would now be in the hands of my son. I turned my focus on to the body that Nat had created for our son. I had to chuckle at the shock of red hair that Alfred was now sporting before moving on to his body. From the size of the skeletal structure, Natasha wanted a son almost as young as Maya. I couldn't fault her for that, so I said nothing as the muscles and flesh began to grow along the bones. One of the things that drew my eye the most was the advanced organic crystal processor that I had placed into the pod.

The nanites that sealed it within the container broke down and separated to join the rest of his body. The crystal processor moved to the skull before merging with the brain matter that was in the process of being created. I noticed the flash of lightning that went through the body before settling behind the eye sockets. Interestingly, it would seem that the same phenomenon that gave Alfred life from the speed force I had accidentally imbued him with, was transferring over.

Good, good, I had fervently hoped that that would happen, but actually seeing it happen removed one more of my worries. Nerve endings grew next as flesh wrapped around the body from head to toe. Before we knew it, everything was complete. Looking down at my hand, I found it wrapped with vines from the console, the same as Natasha's.

I flexed some of the strength force to remove my hands before helping Natasha with her own. Looking around, everyone was silent as they waited for it all to end. Before anyone could say anything, Maya flamed up. No one stopped her before she went to poke at the pod that contained the body of her brother.

We all shared a look before we heard splashing sounds. I was already moving with speed once the sound reached my ears. Maya was in my arms as I removed us both from the escaping embryonic fluids as the pod collapsed in on itself, its work complete.

"Eww."

I heard Peter say in the back, but he was cut off as my mom said something along the lines about how he came into the world kicking and screaming, since she was there.

Natasha didn't care as she walked over to the side of our son. There was something about the way she moved that made me not want to interrupt the moment. The sound of coughing drew me to the sight of his moving chest. Natasha moved with such ease and grace; the tension bled out of her. Natasha knelt down, wiping the muck from the body of Alfred with a towel that she took out of her utility belt. Stretching my hearing, I heard the welcoming words she whispered to him.

"Welcome to our world, my son."

---

Authors Notes:

This fabulous chap[ter has been u updated by the Amazing Joe Lawyer. I hope you all enjoy.

Also Shout Out to the awesome Joe Lawyer who has picked up his own story called The Adventures of Augment Gothic. Leave your thoughts on the chapter.

It's a FanFiction so I plan to explode those path with maximum badassitude.

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