"Well, Peter, just wait and see." Otto winked.
Peter huffed. "Forget it. I'm not a patient person. Let me guess." He looked at the covered device and began searching his mind for everything Peter Parker had ever read about Otto Octavius. "Your doctoral dissertation studied nuclear fusion in stellar cores and how to reproduce that reaction without an enormous mass to work with. Of course, you've done other research, with contributions to mechanics and biotechnology, but... stars have always been your main focus. Osborn Enterprises hired you five years ago, and you've been working for him ever since... clean energy, right? You're... you're building a miniature sun."
Everyone looked utterly stunned. Otto looked as though he might have a heart attack; only Norman was grinning like the cat that caught the canary.
"I told you he was brilliant." Osborn looked smug.
"How... how did you know?!" Otto stammered.
"An educated guess." Peter shrugged. "You want clean energy, and you study stellar fusion. Put those two together, and there's your answer."
"Peter, would you like to come work with us?" Rosie asked.
Peter shook his head. "Thank you, ma'am, but I already have a job."
"What job? Where?!" Connor pressed.
"The Baxter Building."
Otto chuckled. "That explains it. Good heavens, Osborn, how did you not discover him sooner? If only he were on my team!"
"That will always be my greatest regret." Osborn sighed. "All right, you two talk science with Peter. Connor, Natalie, shall we get a drink?"
They left Peter alone with Otto and his wife. He knew he didn't need to worry too much yet. This man hadn't become a villain, but he was still dangerous. Peter knew what was going to happen: the shields on his machine would fail, and people would die... but could he stop it all?
"So, Dr. Octavius, tell me, what safety measures have you installed to make sure the world doesn't burn to ashes in a few nanoseconds?" Peter asked.
"Well, Peter, I've installed four magnetic shield generators that can contain most of the heat and magnetic bursts. We'll be perfectly safe."
"I see... and what happens when the sun doubles in size? Have you considered that a sudden increase in the sun's size would cause magnetic field disturbances to rise exponentially?"
"What did you say?"
"You're planning to make the sun bigger, right?" Otto nodded. "Then the magnetic impact on the shields would increase too, wouldn't it? Can the shields withstand that sudden pressure?"
"I..." Otto's voice trailed off. Peter could almost see the calculations racing through his head. Suddenly, Otto froze, his face turning deathly pale. "No... they can't!"
"Otto?" Rosie called.
"Rosie, we need to adjust the parameters immediately! Right now! Otherwise, the entire system will collapse!" Otto took off without another word. Rosie glanced between her husband and Peter, hurriedly apologized, and chased after him.
Peter smiled. The crisis should have been averted. He saw Otto run over to four people, presumably his assistants, before they all hurried over to Osborn and whispered something in his ear. Osborn's face darkened.
Osborn asked Otto why, and Otto pointed at Peter. Fuck. Osborn's astonished gaze landed on him, and then he nodded to Otto. Otto and his team ducked beneath the device, and Peter saw lights come on under the cover. He breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God.
Peter hurried away. He didn't want to face Osborn's murderous glare right now. He walked to a corner of the banquet hall, leaned against the wall, and sighed. I wonder what Xiaomao's doing?
He called her. "Hello?"
"Hey, Xiaomao."
"Oh, hey, Tiger. How's the party?"
"Boring as hell. The only people I can talk to are Flash and Harry."
"Yeah, sounds miserable. Did you tell him Mary Jane was angry?"
"I did."
"Did he care?"
"Not really." Peter sighed. They chatted a little longer, until Otto announced that the demonstration was about to begin. He had to hang up, but promised to call her back later.
Everyone gathered around the enormous device. Peter stood toward the back, near the restroom, in case he needed to slip inside and change into Spider-Man if things still went wrong.
Otto began his speech, talking about how he would completely change the world and people's understanding of energy. Then he brought out the mechanical arms, four arms Peter hoped he would never have to face in his life. He took off his coat, revealing a tight white tank top underneath, and connected the mechanical arms to his spine.
The mechanical arms came alive, responding to his every command and dancing nimbly beneath the spotlights, drawing murmurs of wonder from the guests. Next, he brought out a mass of tritium to fuel the miniature sun.
He carefully lifted the tritium with one mechanical arm and placed it in the center of the device. Then he activated the machine. Nuclear fusion slowly began, and a blazing ball of light started expanding inside the device.
Peter slowly edged toward the restroom, but so far, everything looked normal. Otto must have taken his words to heart. He watched the shields. Their condition was nothing short of perfect.
The sun rotated on its axis for several minutes as people took photo after photo. At the ten-minute mark, Otto shut down the device, and the sun reverted to that mass of tritium.
Peter let out a long breath of relief as thunderous applause erupted. Everything had gone smoothly. Most importantly, Otto wouldn't become a supervillain. Thank God, or whoever was God's equivalent in this world.
The party returned to its earlier festive atmosphere, with people chatting excitedly. Peter figured it was time to leave. Now that he knew Otto was fine, there was no reason to stay.
But before he could leave, Osborn and Otto stopped him.
"Peter, do you know what you've done?" Osborn asked.
"Uh... prevented a city-level catastrophe?" Peter ventured.
"More than that. You saved my life's work from being destroyed. God knows what might have happened!" Otto said excitedly.
"Yes, we'll have a thorough discussion about your... oversight, Otto." Osborn gritted his teeth at him before turning to Peter. "This is the third time I've owed you a favor, Peter. This time, I won't take no for an answer. Here."
He handed Peter his phone. The screen was filled with stock details, showing Osborn Enterprises' share price rising and making gains. "Congratulations," Peter said. "But what does this have to do with me?"
"This is a one-percent stake in Osborn Enterprises, Peter. It was transferred into your name five minutes ago."
Peter's eyes widened. "What? Mr. Osborn, I can't accept this!"
"I don't think you understand how much money you've helped me make." Osborn laughed. "You're a miracle worker, Mr. Parker. Believe me, this is just a small token of appreciation."
Peter didn't know what to say. "Th... thank you?"
"My pleasure. Now, if you'll excuse me." He hurried off, leaving Peter and Otto alone.
"Now I'm even more disappointed in Osborn. If only he'd discovered your talent a few days earlier." Otto sighed. "But enough about that. You've done me an enormous favor, Peter. I have a feeling that one day, it'll be my turn to see your latest invention. I look forward to that day. If you ever need my help, just ask."
They talked for a little longer. Peter was genuinely curious about his technology and how it worked. Otto explained the basic principles, and when Peter asked about the mechanical arms, Otto admitted they were more of a side project. He hadn't even applied for a patent yet, finding it too much trouble.
Peter said goodbye to Otto and left the party. A thought occurred to him: if Doctor Octopus would never appear, and Otto wasn't particularly invested in those mechanical arms, why not give it a try himself?
The idea of having four extra arms really was interesting. Maybe two could shoot webs to swing through the city? Maybe the other two could serve as extra hands? The possibilities were endless!
He went downstairs and was about to hail a taxi when his phone vibrated. The caller ID showed Felicia.
"Hello?"
"Tiger... can you come over?" She sounded nervous. Why?
"Sure, no problem. What's wrong?" He got into a taxi and gave the driver Felicia's address.
"I... I need to tell you something."
Peter blinked. Was she finally going to tell him about her other identity? "I'll be there as soon as I can."
He soon arrived at her building and entered the elevator. He was a little nervous, still wearing his suit beneath his formal clothes. If she really was going to tell him, then... perhaps it was time to let her know, too.
He knocked on her door, and she called from inside, "It's open! Lock it when you come in!"
Peter did as she asked, locking the door behind him. He had been here once before, to pick her up for a date. But he had never met her mother, as though the woman had never existed in the first place.
"Xiaomao? Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, you... come in." She called from the bedroom.
Peter opened the door, only to find the room empty. He walked inside, and the door closed behind him. "Xiaomao? Where are you?" He sensed something move behind him, turned, and sucked in a breath. She stood there in her full Black Cat suit.
"Remember the first time we talked? You said the names we chose best represented our true selves." Felicia removed her mask. "This is the real me, Peter. My name is Black Cat, and... I'm a thief."
Peter stared at her for a few seconds, her nervousness growing at his silence. Then he smiled, strode forward, pressed her against the wall, and kissed her with all his strength.
Felicia's hands initially rested against his chest in surprise, but she slowly lost herself in the kiss. When they finally parted, she looked at him. "What was that for?"
"For finally telling me." Peter grinned.
She looked stunned. "You already knew?! How is that possible?!"
Peter smiled. "Because, kitty, you're not the only one with secrets." He removed his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the red-and-black suit underneath. He slapped his chest, activating the Arc Reactor. Black web patterns instantly appeared across the red suit, with the spider emblem at its center.
She gasped and met his eyes. Peter took the mask hidden in his jacket pocket and activated it. The helmet clicked into place around his head. "Hey, Xiaomao."
"Peter, you're... you're..." She looked at him as though she'd seen a ghost.
"I told you I had a girlfriend." Peter smiled as he deactivated the mask and set it aside. "Like the new suit? The old jacket was pretty cool, but I thought it was time for an upgrade."
"You're Spider-Man?!" she exclaimed.
"That's right. But keep your voice down. It's supposed to be a secret identity." He grinned.
"You... you, how could you not tell me?!" she shouted.
"How could you not tell me you were Black Cat?" Peter countered.
"I... you knew all along?! You knew I was Black Cat?!" she asked.
"That's right."
"Since when?!"
"I had my suspicions the day you first walked into the classroom. You, uh, left quite an impression on me when we first met. I mean the time you were in costume. You were breathtakingly beautiful, especially those eyes. I don't think I'll ever forget them. Later, when I met Felicia Hardy, I guessed you might be Black Cat. It wasn't until we talked that I knew for sure."
"But I..." Her mouth hung open. "You bastard! You complete bastard! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"I already told you, Xiaomao. Don't you remember? That night you complained to Spider-Man about being worried about me? I told you my girlfriend had a secret, and I'd known all along, but I wanted to wait until she trusted me enough to tell me herself."
"I thought you meant she was cheating on you or something! Not this!" Felicia stared in disbelief. "It all makes sense now. The flirting between both identities, the jokes, all that inappropriate touching,"
"Hey, I never touched you inappropriately!"
"You did." She rolled her eyes. "You've pinned me to the ground at least ten times while you were in costume."
"That was to stop you from stealing." Peter shrugged. "So sue me. I don't want my girlfriend going to prison."
"What if I really did end up there?"
"I wouldn't let them get away with it." Peter pulled her into his arms with a low growl. "You're mine, Felicia Hardy. No one can take you away from me."
Felicia pressed against him, both hands clutching his collar, her long silver-white hair hanging down, but her eyes were a little red.
She still looked just as proud and dangerous, yet now there was a trace of hurt in her voice that she couldn't quite suppress.
"So you knew all along?"
Peter didn't deny it.
"Yeah."
"From the first time I appeared in front of you?"
"Pretty much."
Felicia stared at him, her breathing trembling slightly. "So you just watched me play the fool? Watched me hide things from you? Watched me keep this from you like an idiot?"
"No." Peter raised his hand and gently held her wrist. "I was waiting for you to tell me yourself."
"What's the difference?"
"A big one." Peter looked at her. "If I forced you to say it, that would be exposing you. If you told me yourself, that would be trust."
Felicia froze.
The anger she had prepared seemed to lodge in her chest all at once, unable to come out or be swallowed down.
Only after a long while did she curse quietly:
"You bastard." Then she jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist.
That night, all that came from her bedroom were her screams repeating his name, along with the thick atmosphere of lovemaking.
Everything came to a close for the time being.