As I stepped out of office, the door clicked softly behind me. Peter was leaning against the wall, arms folded, head tilted down like he was miles away in thought. The instant he heard the door, he straightened up — eyes wide, full of worry.
He didn't say anything, but his face said it all: You okay? Explain. Now.
I sighed. "...C'mon." I motioned to the chairs nearby and dropped into one. He followed, pulling his chair closer, his gaze locked on me like I was about to confess a murder.
I rubbed the back of my neck, then finally spoke.
"When I woke up in the hospital... I discovered something. A bunch of things, actually. Powers."
Peter's eyebrows shot up.
"The first one... I could feel emotions. Not mine — other people's. Their happiness, anger, fear... all of it. And then, somehow, I could even push back, control them." I paused, letting the words sink in. "And that wasn't all. My body's been changing too. I can feel it — like I'm getting stronger every single day."
I gestured toward the vase on the table. It trembled, then slowly lifted off the surface, floating mid-air. Peter's mouth fell open as I gently set it back down.
"And there's more. I can move things with my mind."
Peter whispered, almost like he was scared but fascinated at the same time. "Telekinesis..."
I nodded. "But it doesn't stop there. I can also... transform. Into other beings. Entirely different forms with unique abilities."
His eyes lit up.
"Not into anyone, though," I clarified quickly, raising a hand. "I've got this... list. Ten alien-like beings, hard-coded into me, I guess. Default set. Heatblast, XLR8, Ghostfreak—stuff like that. I don't fully understand it yet, but... it's there."
Silence hung for a second. My throat tightened.
"...That's all. For now."
I looked up at him. Peter's face was glowing with excitement — almost comically so. He leaned forward, his grin stretching ear to ear.
"Wait, wait, wait — so you have powers too?! You're like... like a mutant! Right?!" His voice cracked with enthusiasm.
I shook my head slowly. "...Meta. At least, I think. I'm not sure if I count as meta. Maybe. Maybe not."
Peter's eyes sparkled, practically vibrating in his seat.
"So your Meta power is transforming into different forms?! That's insane! Can you—like—show me one? Right now? Please, please, pleeease!" He clasped his hands together like a kid begging for ice cream.
I blinked at him, leaning back as he leaned way too close.
"...Uh. No."
"C'monnn!" he whined, eyes puppy-wide. O_O
"No," I repeated firmly, standing up. "That's enough for today. We've already wasted too much time. We need to focus on the work ahead."
Peter groaned dramatically, shoulders slumping like I'd just denied him Christmas. -_- He stood anyway, trailing behind me with a pout plastered on his face.
I couldn't help but smirk just a little.
We arrived in front of the high-tech security gate. The moment the sensors detected us, the massive metallic doors slid open with a hiss, revealing the inner sanctum. Inside, dozens of robotic arms, scanning devices, and suspended drones whirred quietly, each glowing faintly with blue and green lights. The air smelled faintly of ozone and heated circuits — alive with innovation.
I walked straight to the large central table. Sleek and matte-black, it was a hub for everything in this lab. I ran my fingers across its surface as Peter positioned himself opposite me, curiosity practically dripping from his face.
With a soft smile, I tapped twice. Instantly, the room responded. The lights dimmed to a twilight glow, and holographic screens bloomed to life all around us — walls, air, and table bursting with projections of data, blueprints, and molecular models. The table itself pulsed before transforming into a giant transparent tablet.
I typed in a sequence, entered my passcode, and leaned forward as the system scanned my retina with a faint green beam. Beep. Access granted.
I pulled a folder from the floating interface and slid it toward Peter.
His face was priceless. Eyes wide, mouth slightly parted, he looked around like a kid at Disneyland. "This is… Whoa…" He opened the folder, and at once the holograms shifted into sprawling diagrams, detailed schematics, and endless columns of data.
Piece by piece, his disbelief grew. "Wow, Alex… this is insane. Where did you get all this?" His tone was a mix of awe and pure excitement.
I folded my arms, letting a small smile tug my lips. "This is our company's legacy. Projects, experiments, breakthroughs… some still in testing, others already in production."
Peter blinked, still overwhelmed.
I added more firmly, "Don't underestimate what our fathers built. They were geniuses of their time. And my grandfather? He literally died in the lab, chasing his inventions until his last breath. We may not be the biggest tech empire in the world, but we're not small either. We're top five. Easily."
That seemed to hit him. His excitement sobered into respect, and he nodded slowly.
I leaned forward, tapping the table again, and said, "Now—enough reminiscing. Focus. These are the projects we'll build in the next seven days."
Peter's head snapped up. "Wait, seven days? Why so short?"
I exhaled slowly. "Because on the ninth day, there's a major product launch. And something tells me… it won't go smoothly."
I didn't say "Green Goblin." He wasn't ready for that truth.
Peter accepted my tone without argument — he trusted my instincts. He turned back to the files, his face serious now, scanning through each plan.
The list appeared in front of him:
---
Day 1–2: Immediate Personal & Family Protection
1. Personal Nano-Armor Suit
– Lightweight, self-repairing suit designed from prototype nanotech. Adaptive shielding.
2. Emergency Teleport Beacons
– Wristbands or pendants capable of instant teleportation to pre-set locations (10 km range).
3. Guardian Drones
– Compact, floating drones equipped with tasers, flashbang emitters, and basic AI.
---
Peter's eyes widened again. "These are… genius, Alex. We could make them in 7 days no problem, But… the energy source? The power drain will eat through our batteries in hours. We don't have tech advanced enough for long-term sustain."
I smirked, shaking my head. "Relax. That's only the start and these are plans only for next 2 days. And trust me—I already have a solution for the energy problem."
His doubt was obvious, but so was his loyalty. "Okay, but… even so, how do you expect us to finish this in two days? With the data we have? It's… impossible."
Instead of answering, I let my body shimmer. My frame shrank, condensed, bones and muscles twisting until I was no taller than Peter's knee. In less than a blink, I had transformed into my Galvan form.
Peter froze. "…Oh my god."
Then, like a spring snapping free, his excitement burst. "SO COOL!!" He crouched down, eyes sparkling. "You're—tiny! This is awesome! Do I look like a giant to you? Can you talk? Wait—obviously you can talk. But how does it feel?!"
He circled me like a little kid examining a toy, pointing at the green hourglass-shaped symbol on my chest. "And what's this? Some kind of power source? A battery? A symbol of your alien Wi-Fi signal?"
I rolled my small eyes and raised one tiny hand. "Peter. Focus."
That at least made him stop bouncing. I cleared my throat, my voice sharper, more precise in this form.
"This is Grey Matter — a Galvan form. In this body, my intelligence spikes to near-absolute peak. Every principle of science—biology, chemistry, physics, quantum mechanics—it all becomes… instinct. I don't need to study them. I just know."
Peter's jaw dropped. "So… you're like Reed Richards. But smarter. Right?"
My expression didn't change. "Reed Richards earned his genius through effort, research, trial and error. He learned. I, on the other hand, don't need to learn. Knowledge is instinctual in this form. To me, creating technology is like breathing. So yes… in raw intellect, I surpass him. But given enough time and study, Reed could reach me."
Peter was stunned. He barely blinked as I floated up with telekinesis toward one of the nanotech holograms. With a swipe, I pulled it down into the table display. My tiny hands glowed faintly as I began rewriting.
Lines of code shifted. Schematics morphed. Old designs rearranged themselves like puzzle pieces snapping into perfection. In less than five minutes, the data had reshaped itself into a blueprint for a new generation of nanites.
Not flawless. But still hundreds of times better than what existed before.
Peter leaned closer, his eyes darting between the before and after diagrams. His face cycled from disbelief → awe → reverence.
"Alex… you just… in five minutes… created something people would spend years on. This is… unreal." He looked at me like I was untouchable. "You could do everything yourself. You don't even need me."
I floated down to rest on his shoulder, giving a small shake of my head.
"Don't think that way. This is only the beginning. We'll need machines capable of producing these nanites. Machines we'll have to design ourselves. We'll need AI systems advanced enough to control them all at once. We'll need new suits, new weapons, new foundations for the future. I can't do all of that alone. I need you."
Peter looked at me, eyes softening. Slowly, a grin spread across his face. "…Thanks, brother. I won't let you down."
I smiled back — small, sharp, and full of resolve. "Good. Because this? This is just the start."
Together, we leaned over the table, diagrams sprawling out in luminous blue. Our hands—his human, mine tiny and alien—moved in sync as we began to draft the impossible.
And for the first time… I felt like we weren't just surviving.
We were building something greater.