Xina's smile was full of grace and appreciation. She released his hand, relieved.
'Xina Kwan…
A woman from Earth 2099…'
From everything that he could discern, from Spidey-Sense to heart detection, she wasn't lying. Her heart was racing ever so slightly, at a very logical speed however. This was where her friend had been kept. She was in the middle of nowhere too. Nothing about what she was feeling could be faked. And she…trusted him. She wanted to trust him.
Xina wanted him to fulfill this promise.
"Spider-Man, I don't know much about this world or you but…I want to put my trust in you," Xina said. "And…"
"And?"
The sharp glint in her eye was familiar. The green shine in her tech lenses were not. "You are…symbiotic with your Symbiote. Aren't you?"
"...I am."
"Incredible. I've never seen anything like it. I thought my scanners were fooling me but…they're not. You're one with it. Unlike Gwen." Xina lifted a hand and tentatively placed it on the red spider-emblem of his chest. "How are you doing this?"
"It took a while."
'A looong while.'
"But…the longer you're bonded, the harder it gets. The Symbiote is a child, it grows as you do. It fights, it throws tantrums, it…it's like a person."
'Don't I know it.'
"It learns from its host. Grows dreams and desires and… even killing intent." Her hand left his chest. "Would you mind coming to my van?"
"...?"
"For analysis. I've already had this environment mapped out and stored there." Xina pressed a finger for her temple and a grid-shaped light suddenly scanned Spider-Man. She turned and then scanned the rest of the room. "Yep, all stored. Let's get going, choom."
"...?"
Silently, he followed her. He gave one last glance toward the two capsules, particularly the one formerly containing the Sheath. 'Herbie, Rash, just want to ask—
'I feel something…but it is soooo faint. The Sheath WAS here, but…where it has gone, it is hard to say.'
'NOTHING ON MY END, MASTER FAETH.'
Damn. He looked at the long, black haired woman walking ahead of him down the stairs. 'Looks like she's my only hope for more information. Do you trust her, Rash?'
'Her clothes are weird.'
'PROBABILITY OF BETRAYAL IS LOW CONSIDERING THE LACK OF SPIDER-SENSE TRIGGER.'
True and true.
'Thank you for your introspective thoughts, you two.'
The wetlands stretched out around them again, damp and quiet. Night was not kind and they could hear their footsteps gush loudly. His eyes narrowed.
There was nothing there.
No car or bike. Nothing that suggested she had arrived here with any vehicle at all. Even Herbie came up blank.
'SCAN COMPLETE. NO VEHICLES DETECTED IN A 200-METER RADIUS.'
Felix frowned slightly. That…was not possible. He stayed quiet and suddenly wondered, 'Wait, am I dealing with a schizophrenic? Hrm, no, she got too many details right…'
While he was reconsidering this whole thing, Xina kept walking like nothing was wrong. She stopped a few steps away from what looked like empty air and reached into her pocket and pulled out a remote. She pressed a button and a ripple passed through, like heat distortion bending light.
Suddenly, there was a van.
'Herbie…?'
'NO PRIOR DETECTION WAS POSSIBLE.'
It was a cargo van, slightly longer and bulkier than a normal family van. The wheels were strange; the actual silver wheel was gone and replaced with a hole. He squinted. He recognized that technology.
'Repulsors? On the wheels?' Repulsor technology was absurdly draining. Even he couldn't use it for long. 'I guess in 2099, they've found ways around it. Herbie, scan it.'
'I CANNOT.'
'Huh? Why not?'
'ANTI SCANNING DEVICES HAVE BEEN PLACED ON THE VAN.'
Anti-what? How…what…
Xina did not seem to notice his thoughts or confusion at all. She simply walked up to the side of the van and slid the door open with a smooth motion.
"I know, pretty nova?" Xina said and Felix had zero clue what that meant.
He nodded while blinking and staring at this otherwise ordinary van. 'It makes sense, she's from a time that's far ahead of mine but…anti-scanning tech?'
He got in and looked around like a curious child. There was no furniture here or anything. The walls were composed of smooth, curved panels that flowed into one another without any sharp edges. Soft purple and blue lighting ran along the seams. Screens were embedded directly into the walls rather than mounted onto them. They displayed shifting streams of data, mostly about the van itself.
There were no traditional seats in the back of the van. When Xina sat, a disc popped out of the floor, flew over, and transformed into a bench under her butt. The floor itself was purple-planked metal.
Felix slowly turned his attention toward the front of the vehicle. There was a dashboard and a windshield but no seats for the driver. Yep, the entire front interior was dominated by a wide, curved display of the dashboard.
"Where is the driver…?"
His question was answered by the driver: "FOREIGN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DETECTED. IDENTIFY YOURSELF."
Xina turned her head toward him, blinking. "Ah, right, don't worry about it, Marilyn."
"ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MUST BE IDENTIFIED," said Marilyn.
Xina sighed and looked over at him, cheeks cupped. "Mind telling her?"
Spider-Man didn't want to answer, because he had too many questions of his own. How had this van detected Herbie? It didn't make sense…
The door behind them slid shut on its own with a soft, seamless motion.
"UNDER THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CODE OF CONDUCT, PLEASE IDENTIFY NAME AND PURPOSE. ONLY THEN CAN WE PROCEED WITH A DESTINATION," Marilyn said. She was a female AI, clearly, and was rather whispery and seductive too. Like an actress from the 60s or something.
"Herbie," Spider-Man declared. "Purpose…my assistance."
There was silence. He felt Xina let go of her own face. He looked over and didn't get the shock on her face.
"You…you have Herbie!?"
"...?"
"Herbie!? Like…like made by Reed Richards!? That one!?" Silently he nodded. Xina got up from her chair and nearly hit her head. "D-do you know what that means!?"
"...no…"
"You're holding the first super intelligent AI in our dimension! E-every AI algorithm is based on Herbie! It's so interbaked that no other name can even take the name Herbie! Reed Richards was a bastard like that!"
A bout of laughter and Xina fell back in her seat.
"Seriously…first, a perfected Symbiote and now the very first AI of my world…who in the world are you, Spider-Man?"
So, the Reed that taught his Reed was from Earth 2099? That made some sense.
"Reed," Spider-Man said. "What became of him in your world?"
"Can't give specific detes, I was a girl when it all went down. But, they say the Big Man went after him and got him to high-tail out of Nueva City." Xina crossed her arms. "Seems it's true, except what they got wrong was the where and how. Reed must have developed cross-dimensional technology decades before anyone else. He was the smartest man on our Earth by a long shot so I can see it. He invented the first AI and all the preem cybernetics of our world. Cross-dimensional tech probably isn't that nova an achievement either."
It couldn't be.
The Big Man…?
The Big Man.
At the very start, Felix had taken down Martin Li. Yet, even with his disappearance, even after dismantling the Maggia afterward, crime never went down. Crime in New York continued to be siphoned through a crime lord named the Big Man.
Felix could never find out he was or where he came from. Hammerhead worked under him and feared him more than anyone else. After Creature Z, however, Hammerhead changed. From what Felix could tell, he switched loyalties back to Cindy Moon. It was like the Big Man disappeared.
"Who is he?" Felix asked. "The Big Man, I mean."
A shrug from Xina. "No one knows his real name, only that he's Alchemaxx's primary enforcer. Going between dimensions is risky. The Big Man and his gang are sent out to do the dirty work." Xina snorted. "And gang is the accurate word. They're legal, but the Big Man's guys are gangsters. Cybernetically-enhanced, top of the line tech. Bunch of borgs from what some rumours says."
"Borgs?"
"Decked in chrome."
'...chrome? I'm guessing that means cybernetics. Top of the line cybernetics from a world like that…'
"They'd be ghosts," Felix murmured. No wonder he couldn't find anything on them. If this van was anything like them, amateur Felix stood no chance.
As much as he wanted to press and ask about the Big Man and what his current operations were, it didn't matter. The Big Man had left New York following Creature Z. Crime was down. Things had changed. His current focus?
"You mentioned the Sheath. What do you know about it?" Spider-Man asked, sitting down at long last. A disc appeared and formed into a comfortable leather-esque chair. It wasn't fully leather but it tried its best to replicate the sensation of it.
"Only that Alchemaxx is looking for the Sheath," Xina replied, "and that it's one of the reasons they've been doing these multiversal trade stuff. The Sheath of the King Knull supposedly grants complete immortality and removal of sickness."
He cocked his head. "Is that right?"
"Yes, that's how the legend goes."
"If that is indeed the case, then…why did Gwen not use it to heal herself of the Symbiote? Gwen had the Sheath. She had been dreaming of it, supposedly, and eventually found it. So…why did she relinquish it if that was her goal?"
"She told me she wanted the Sheath studied."
"Studied?"
"Yes. Her friend, I don't know his name, only his initials: H.O?"
"Harry Osborn," he said.
"Yes, him. I'm only to piece together what she told me in her messages and through that room." Xina flicked a hand, her eyes glowed, and a hologram of the second floor lab appeared. The one with the two capsules, the monitors, and the cables. Felix went wide-eyed behind his mask.
'Look at the detail of this hologram…!'
"There were signs of struggle." The hologram zoomed in one some scratched cables. "They were from over a year ago. The cables were repaired but we're able to make a guesstimate through the traces of the Sheath's cosmic energy too."
'Herbie, can you do that?'
'MASTER FAETH, I SIMPLY LACK THE INSTRUMENTS TO DETECT COSMIC ENERGIES. THAT IS ALL.'
'Right…'
'PLEASE BELIEVE ME. I AM IN NO WAY INFERIOR TO XINA KWAN'S AI. I WAS BUILT TO BE UP TO DATE FOR ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS.'
"Another guestimate is that Gwen didn't intentionally hand over the Sheath," Xina said, to his surprise. "There's an explosion of comic energy that just doesn't make sense. And in her letters, even though Gwen mentioned about it needing to be studied…"
"That's because Harry implanted a special Symbiote inside her brain. A Control Symbiote that forces her to obey him. Since she wasn't fully fused with the Sheath, I bet he could have told her to pass out and she'd do it."
"Wait, what?" Xina snapped up. "Gwen didn't mention that!"
"What did she mention?"
"That…that it'd take a little while longer to get better because Harry needed to study it. And she agreed because it was for the betterment of the world." Xina's brows rose and fell as though hit by a revelation. "A Control Symbiote…"
The whole concept of the Control Symbiote was wrong, even though she understood why. Gwen was a bomb waiting to sign up. She needed to be reeled in. And yet, this whole thing with the Sheath of Knull…
"Out of everyone in the world, Harry was the one man Gwen could trust to keep her reigned in, even with something like an implanted Symbiote."
"Are the commands absolute? Did he—"
"Take advantage of her? I don't think so, no. The scientist that worked with Harry, Elsa Brock, from what…she told me," Felix couldn't quite tell her he read her memories because that was a whole other can of worms, "Harry was just trying to help his friend."
"But still, the cosmic energies…the numbers don't lie. It was forcibly taken from her."
He remembered seeing Gwen first touching the Sheath, when he led it to her on Ororo's island. He recalled the fear in Rash. He recalled Gwen teleporting.
'She lost control...it was too much for her...us Symbiote...we were never MEANT to wield the Sheath anyway.'
"Do you know what my Symbiote says, Xina?"
"What?"
"It was maybe for the better," Spider-Man said. "Gwen had…horrific things done to her. And she was unstable. I didn't know Harry well but from all accounts, he was a good man. If he used the Control Symbiote to take it from her, he must have had a decent reason for it."
Xina's lips fell into a straight line. "You think Gwen was going to go insane?"
"Yes. That's exactly it."
That was what Rash was telling him and he wanted to believe his friend's fears. No offence to Xina.
Xina didn't quite like the accusation toward her friend. "Marilyn, what do you think?"
"IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY," the female AI replied.
'Rash? Any thoughts?'
'I agree. She was DANGEROUS. I remember! Killing her…killing her is…' Rash trailed off. 'Apologies but…it is a dangerous element. That Symbiote…and that Sheath…'
A silence over them. What they could confirm was that following the incident on Princess Ororo's island, the Sheath was taken from Gwen and studied.
"The question is…where is the Sheath now…?" Felix murmured. "I was kind of hoping to find it there but…"
"Hobie," Xina suddenly said. "Hobie can help us! When it comes to multiversal and cosmic energies, there's no one better at creating instruments for them! All we have to do is find him…"
"Don't worry, I know where he is."
"You do?"
"I do. Marilyn, right? Set destination to Baker Beach in San Francisco."
"LADY XINA? CONFIRMATION, PLEASE."
Xina couldn't believe it. She laughed to herself. "Ha. Thank you. I…missed him. Yes, let's get going."
The interior lights shifted slightly, dimming and then refocusing as if the entire vehicle was preparing itself. Which it was, Felix realized. He looked out the window behind him.
Woah.
The wheels rotated inward and flattened, folding into the body of the van. In their place, sleek, circular emitters emerged from beneath. Repulsors, yes, but far more advanced than the ones he had for the Mark X. There was no jitteriness either. The van was up from the ground before he knew it.
"Marilyn," she said, crossing her arms as she settled in, "activate all cloaking systems."
"ACKNOWLEDGED."
There was no dramatic visual effect this time. And yet, Felix felt it. Wait…
'Herbie? Herbie, hello?'
Oh my god. Herbie was gone. His eyes flicked over to Xina. She didn't notice.
"Marilyn, give me an estimated time of arrival."
There was a brief pause as the female AI processed.
"SPEED CALIBRATION IN PROGRESS." A faint shift in momentum followed as the van adjusted its position mid-air, angling slightly forward. "CURRENT LOCATION: SALEM COUNTY. DESTINATION: BAKER BEACH, SAN FRANCISCO. ENGAGING HIGH-SPEED TRAVEL PARAMETERS."
Another pause.
"ESTIMATED SPEED: MACH 2.3. ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL: APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR AND TWENTY-THREE MINUTES."
Off they went.
"I do wonder what Hobie's been up to," Xina said with a smile. "Knowing the rockerboy…heh."
"You must miss him."
"Yeah." Xina's gaze lowered. "Loved that stupid gunk. He was a real friend."
***
"I hate you, Hobie. So, so much."
Wow. For all the love and tears she had shown before, why suddenly say this? Well, it all began with one simple act.
"S-Spider-Man…?"
Felix pulled his mask off. He showed his face to her.
"My name is Felix Faeth. Figured you deserved to know who you're trusting."
"Ah…" Xina was stunned by the casual reveal. "Felix…I-I see…"
Xina gulped. Xina stared.
"I…thank you," she'd managed, feeling a warmth spread through her chest that was entirely not professional. It was an honor. A vulnerability offered, and it made her feel closer to him.
Theeeen he'd started removing the rest of the suit.
The symbiotic material peeled away from his skin, retreating to a concentrated mass on his back. Underneath, he was just a man. Toned, muscular, and Xina watched, her gaze clinical at first—studying the Symbiote's behavior—but then it became…something else.
"H-h-h-huh?"
Because Felix made it become something else.
"F-Felix!? Spider-Man!? W-what are you...t-that's quite enough..."
His boxers, his pants, he took those off too. Nothing was sacred. Nothing was spared. He went from Spider-Man to Felix Faeth to a naked guy in her van in the span of seconds.
"Should have explained earlier. This is a nude beach."
That was when the van doors automatically slid open. That was when Xina looked out and saw golden sand dotted with completely naked people.
She sputtered. They were in the parking lot and yet the neighbouring van of people coming out were all naked. Anywhere she looked, dicks hanging or tits jiggling. Xina jerked back and her head hit the van ceiling hard.
"A-a-a-are you kidding me!?"
"Nope. Hobie is here." With Mary Jane Watson too, Felix added in his head. Not that Xina knew who she was. He was here because she was here. The redhead pop star frequented this types of places.
"I-I know you hate people getting chromed up b-but come on!? Seriously!?" Xina exhaled and inhaled. She gulped and stared. Slowly, she shook her head. "I hate you, Hobie. So, so much."
Felix got out of the van, dick hanging out and everything. Xina did not. She refused to even look at him.
"Come on, Xina. Let's get going." Felix turned and put a hand atop the van. Her eyes dipped down like a pervert's, jaw dropping, then yanked back up to his face. Albeit not for long, because there was his collarbone and his chest and pecs and...
Spider-Man was smoking hot. Of course he was, he was in peak physical condition. He was muscular but not overtly so. He was cool without needing to be. He was...he was...
He was a young, naked guy standing in front of a young, healthy woman. Instincts didn't bubble, they took over!
"Y-y-you go get that gonk Hobie. I'll…I'll wait here," Xina stammered.
"You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure!"
"Sounds like your Earth doesn't have nude beaches."
"That's because we don't!"
"Mm." Felix shrugged and slipped his hand down. "Suit yourself." He finger-saluted her and walked off into the nude beach. The van doors were quickly closed, and not by the AI Marilyn for once.