32 The Meeting

Alistair Smythe was a man of many words. A small plastered on his face with a voice that carried over to every ear in the room. Felix listened but it was Harry Osborn that hung onto every word.

"So you say the research of radioactive spiders bears an effect on humans in the correct circumstances." Harry Osborn put his hands on the table. Inexperience was beginning to show. "Then what do we do?"

"I say we—"

Alistair's voice cut through the executive. "I say patience."

Beside Felix, Kavita stiffened and muttered, "That's a Star Wars reference. So he did watch them."

"Patience?" One executive scoffed. "We should put a bounty on his head. If we get both the NYPD and public on our side, we can capture him and—"

"I have no qualms about capture but think of the timing. Spider-Man appears to save royal delegations, then disappears? King T'Challa already publicly dislikes Oscorp. Do we really need to give him another reason?" Alistair Smythe, an experienced scientist of Oscorp, was navigating through the politics of everything like a pro. The executives, however, were executives for a reason.

"That is why we do it in secret, Dr. Alistair Smythe. There is a reason this is an emergency meeting. Everything said here will remain in these walls."

"Incorrect. Lips and ears will not be remaining here," Alistair countered. "I am sure everyone here is aware of the suspicion of a traitor. It is the only reason we were attacked so publicly that day."

There was a stillness in the room. A recognition and confirmation of his words.

"Dr. Smythe is correct," Harry Osborn said. "Let's not be rash."

"But sir…"

"Thank you, Vice-President," Alistair said. "I am sure your father would agree that a preemptive strike against Spider-Man would be foolish. We should wait and observe. Once we find all that we need, we make a decision."

"So we just let him run around? What if he gets caught? What if they trace his powers back to Oscorp—"

"The only people that could possibly have deduced that his powers came from the spiders I created are me and me alone. In other words, no one other than people in this room could gain that information." Alistair's words hung in the air. "I am sure you understand the implications. It means if this gets out, the traitor was right here in this room. Either way, we lose and gain something. That is the severity of the situation we are in."

The executives weren't able to say much after that. Alistair's point was made. This situation was a ripple effect from the traitor and the consequent attack. There was no way but to accept the incurring casualties. That was the way to run a global tech company like Oscorp.

"That's that then." Harry inhaled, almost sighing. "Let's end this meeting."

In ten minutes, the meeting had ended and the executive filed out. The scientists were electing to leave last since they held the least authority, not to mention it looked like Harry Osborn wanted to say something to them. In the end, he didn't and Felix along with his team—Kavita, and Maya—went out. The security guards in suits stood by and gestured at them to wait for the executives to get on the elevators first.

"Jeez, what a tense meeting," Liv commented, sighing. She jogged over to the board of directors crammed in the elevator. "I'll talk to you guys later. Remember, we're still doing online work!"

Once she joined the line of big-shots, Felix muttered, "Tense? Yeah, no kidding."

"Leave it to Alistair to make it entertaining," Kavita added. The Indian woman glanced back at the man in the wheelchair. "You might as well be a member of the board, Mr. Doctor."

"I've been here at Oscorp the longest," Alistair said, hands rolling his wheels over. He seemed to be in tip-top shape, his black hair swept up and his movements perfectly conforming to his black suit. "I know a thing or two."

'Yet it's Liv that's the head of the department,' Felix noted in his head. The woman with the octopus-shaped hair entered the elevator, joining the board directors and giving a little wave as the only elevator on the floor closed.

BOARD DIRECTORS OF OSCORP HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED. RECALCULATING FUTURE INVESTMENTS…

First the charity party VIPs, now the board of directors for Oscorp. Herbie scanned their facial-data, delved into their histories, and then analyzed what stocks they invested in. Hacking into the stock exchange was something the Alternate Reed had done when he arrived on this Earth. While Master Control and the subsequent accounts associated with Alternate Reed were limited, that didn't mean he couldn't invest out of his own pocket. Over the past six months, he had been saving up nearly forty-percent of his weekly paycheck. He had almost thirty-thousand dollars just sitting in his bank account, waiting to be spent.

On the advanced glasses, Herbie gave a step-by-step process of what to invest in considering his savings. He rode down the elevator with his team and Alistair, nodding along and half-listening to their conversation.

"Say, what do you think of the Spider-Man, Alistair?" Kavita's question finally made Felix's ears perk up. "You said his powers were derived from your spiders."

"What do I think? Ha, for me, it's like seeing a son you didn't know you had. It's a strange feeling. If he uses his power for good, then I'm happy. If not, then he'll be excellent research material. Regardless, it doesn't change a thing."

"But he stole the spiders from you," Maya pointed out.

"I know. Just because I'm happy doesn't mean I have to like him. Still, a success is a success and considering Oscorp's resources I'm not concerned about capturing him." The elevator stopped and everyone got off, with Alistair leading the herd. Felix saw Czarina on the side, a phone to her ear and clearly busy. He gave her a small smile. Czarina smiled back.

Ahead was Liv, talking to a blonde woman in a lab coat, her hair set in a messy bun and wearing glasses similar to Felix's. Instantly, Herbie honed in on her glasses, time seemingly slowing down as he processed everything.

AUGMENTED REALITY SECURITY, DEFENSE AND ARTIFICIAL TACTICAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM DETECTED. SIGNATURE…STARK INDUSTRIES!

'Huh? Those glasses are from Anthony Stark? Does she work for him or…is she taking advantage of him too?' Having both Oscorp and Stark Industries in the palm of her hand…this woman was more dangerous than she thought.

HACKING EYEGLASSES' SYSTEMS IN ORDER TO AVOID DETECTION.

Felix was slightly alarmed but trusted Herbie to get the job. To compare the supercomputers and AIs of his Earth to what the Alternate Reed brought was absurd. There was no comparison. With Master Control, he could effectively take over the entire international digital space.

HACK COMPLETE.

'That was fast.'

NOT CONNECTED TO STARK INDUSTRIES DATABASE. ONLY DESIGN AND MATERIAL ARE STARK INDUSTRIES RELATED. THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS LOCAL AND CREATED BY ELSA BROCK AND OTTO OCTAVIUS. IT IS AN ANI: ARTIFICIAL NARROW INTELLIGENCE. THREAT LEVEL: LOW.

'Otto Octavius? You mean—'

"Ah, Felix!" Time resumed as Liv noticed and beckoned him toward Elsa Brock. The forty seconds of thoughts and information given to him was in reality four seconds of walking. Without missing a beat, he went over and greeted her.

"Hello, Doctor. We meet again."

"Right, the funeral." Elsa crossed her arms. "Felix, was it? Liv mentions you from time to time."

"I hope it's nothing bad," he replied.

"She says you do fine work."

Elsa Brock had been completely silent during the emergency meeting. 'Strange,' Felix thought. 'Everything from her position to her role in the company is very strange.' Luckily for Felix, he was made aware that she was committing fraud. A powerful trump card if he ever needed to deal with the blonde woman. He pretended to be bashful and smiled with a finger scratching his cheek.

"I do my best," Felix said.

"Elsa Brock," Alistair echoed. His presence was marked by the sound of his rolling wheels. "Still around?"

Elsa smirked. "Alistair. Still alive?"

"I also do my best to avoid such a state."

'...what's with the tension?' 

PERHAPS IT IS DUE TO THE SIMILARITIES IN THEIR PROJECTS. ALISTAIR SMYTHE IS RECREATING RADIOACTIVE SPIDERS WHILE ELSA BROCK IS RECREATING THE SYMBIOTE SHE GAVE TO GWEN STACY.

All these geniuses, all these major players in the scientific world…Felix suddenly had an idea. "If you guys wouldn't mind, could you give me some advice?" Liv, Alistair, and Elsa looked at him, puzzled. "I saw the strange videos on Mr. Negative—you know, the leader of the Inner Demons—and his powers were strange, to say the least. What was up with that? I couldn't figure it out."

"Indeed," Alistair said. "It was very strange. All manner of technology was being disrupted. It's why the videos on Spider-Man were so blurry. The close proximity to Mr. Negative did something."

Felix decided to parrot what Bobbi told him as Spider-Man. "I think he's manipulating highly destructive electric negative energy. But how it happened and why he can manipulate it is unknown to me."

"I came to the same conclusion," said Elsa. "My curiosity lies in where he got his powers from. His form isn't something you can get from a bite from an electric eel."

"He mentioned wanting to see Mr. Osborn," Liv muttered. "Could it be…?"

Liv trailed off. No one needed to say anything. The message ran clear. It was then Felix saw a small twitch on Alistair's brow. A sign that he remembered something.

"I believe..." Elsa began. "...that it is not just negative but positive energy too. The only substance likely capable of opposing it is Vibranium."

"You think so?" Felix asked.

"Either that or..." Elsa curled a finger around her chin. "Perhaps Secondary Adamantium or anything above that would suffice. I also assume it's susceptible to a lightning rod of the combined elements."

"In that case, rubber boots would also work, no?" Liv pointed out.

Elsa shook her head. "If he shocks you, maybe, but witnesses say he has weapons. If the police want to take care of him, then they need to be careful. Their guns and armour will be useless."

Everybody noticed she didn't mention Spider-Man but didn't comment. A beat passed and Alistair shifted. 

"I should get going," the mechanical engineer said. "I have physiotherapy to attend to."

"Try not to push yourself," Liv said. "I know that you—"

"I'll be fine." Nothing more was said as Alistair left. Felix adjusted his glasses.

TRACKING ALISTAIR SMYTHE.

Perfect. He turned to Elsa Brock and gave a smile. "It was a good meeting but I have to go as well."

"Ah, hold up," Liv interjected. "Let's call a taxi together. I have some stuff to discuss regarding you-know-what."

'Right, Shuri and Project New Element.' Herbie pulled up live footage of Alistair getting into a limo. It must have been his personal ride. 'I was going to investigate him at night as Spider-Man anyway. Going with Liv right now shouldn't be a problem.'

Felix nodded in agreement with Liv's suggestion. "Sure," he said, offering a polite smile to Elsa Brock before turning to follow Liv out of Oscorp Tower. Herbie pulled up footage of the woman when his back faced her. She seemed suspicious. It was quite the funny scenario as both Liv and Elsa were working on top-secret projects given to them by Norman Osborn. It did beg the question: why was the CEO splitting up his resources like this? Why wasn't Liv helping Elsa directly? What was the reason?

His mind buzzed with thoughts of Norman Osborn, Princess Shuri, and Project New Element. He couldn't shake the feeling of unease surrounding everything, from the traitor to the classified projects. The world seemed to be a bundle of mysteries with no answers. He wondered how ignorant he would be without his spider powers and Herbie.

Outside the building, Liv hailed a taxi, the yellow vehicle pulling up to the curb. Felix held the door open for Liv, gesturing for her to enter first before sliding in beside her.

Once settled inside the taxi, Felix glanced at Liv, his curiosity piqued. "So, where are we going?" he asked, keeping his tone casual. "Hopefully it's a decent coffee shop."

"Not a coffee shop," Liv corrected. "We're going to Princess Shuri's lab."

Felix was suddenly alert, blinking rapidly. "What, right now? Right now, right now?"

Liv could only muster an apologetic smile. "She was very adamant on it."

Felix sighed and leaned back on the car seat. 'Princesses can't be bargained with like ordinary people, huh? That was the kind of vibe I got from her anyway.'

***

The edge of Midtown Manhattan and the panels of glass shaped into a skull came into view. This was it. At the front entrance of the black cube that was Shuri's lab was Okoye—patient, tall and poised, her presence commanding respect and authority. Dressed in a suit, her shaved head gleamed under the overhead lights, accentuating her sharp features and intense gaze.

"Welcome," Okoye said, her voice firm yet measured. "Please, come inside."

Okoye swiped a card and opened the door, letting them be greeted by an empty receptionist area and the wider connected laboratory. The high-tech atmosphere was quite oppressive.

"Reverbium, True Adamantium, and Wakanda's Vibranium in order to create a particle accelerator that can synthesize a theoretical element. That's the jist of it, right?" Shuri's voice was an echo that bounced between the walls of the lab. Liv looked around, unable to find her, but Felix knew exactly where she was as soon as he stepped in. She was in the back in the same white semi-formal Wakandan lab coat, wearing goggles and heating up an alloy.

Felix approached Shuri and her workstation, where she was meticulously heating Vibranium. The gleaming metal reflected the harsh laboratory lights. Felix squinted with his glasses automatically registering the absurd temperature. The main process of melting was done, this was the aftermath. 'She's making armour?'

"It's going to take a week or two of trial and error to combine all that," Shuri continued, referring to Project New Element's particle accelerator. "Let's say we create this particle accelerator. Your blueprint shapes it into a heavy, two-handed machine gun. Terrible for non-commercial use."

Liv jogged up beside Felix. "Like with all experimental products, that will be rectified once we get results—"

"And leave me out of it?" Shuri stopped and turned to them. Behind her was a casting of a helmet, filled with Vibranium but appearing like hot red magma. "Look, that attack that happened yesterday really rattled my brother. I'm not changing the terms of our agreement but I do want a bit more investment. Can you call it a coincidence that Norman Osborn didn't come to his own charity? That he cancelled right at the last minute?"

"Are you implying Norman Osborn knew about the attack in advance?" Liv said.

"I'm implying that he can't be trusted and that I want my proper share of this project. Without me, this project could take an extra year to complete—or maybe even longer if I decide I don't want to sell Vibranium to Oscorp." Shuri went from Liv to Felix and then back to Liv. "I'm still a Princess and ambassador. I have influence."

Liv didn't immediately respond, nervously thinking. On the other hand, Felix didn't really care. Project New Element was a means to an end: one tiny part of his overall investigation to find the traitor and to find out what happened that day. Why was Liv so desperate to complete it? Why was Norman so invested? His intuition was telling him that there was a puzzle to be solved here.

"We will be pulling an all-nighter," Liv said. "Unless you want out?"

Liv looked to Felix for help. After considering everything, he nodded and she slowly nodded back. "Let's do it," Liv declared.