"Your performance was… lacking, Felicia."
"…I'm sorry, sir."
"Apologies require action, not just words."
"Action? Like… with my mouth?"
"Hmm?"
"…I understand."
A brief, instructional interlude later, Aaron rose, his enhanced metabolism already processing the evening's exertions. He ordered two substantial meals from a nearby upscale delivery service.
Strictly speaking, he no longer needed to eat with mortal regularity. His Energy Mapping & Regulation and Electrostatic Capacitance allowed him to directly siphon and store ambient electrical energy, converting it to sustain his cellular functions. He could go weeks without solid food if necessary. But old habits, and more importantly, old pleasures, died hard. Eating was a sensory experience, a ritual of flavor and texture. While the local cuisine often left him yearning for more complex profiles, there were occasional discoveries.
The food arrived. He handed one container to Felicia, who was already back at work, her fingers flying across her phone's screen despite the faint, tell-tale signs of recent strain at the corners of her eyes.
"What are you working on?" he asked, noting her diligence even in recovery.
"Finalizing the meetings, sir," she said, turning the screen toward him. It displayed confirmed schedules. "I've made contact with both Professor Connors and Dr. Octavius. They were… remarkably receptive. Professor Connors sounded almost desperate to speak with you. Dr. Octavius was more guarded but intensely curious. Both have cleared their schedules for tomorrow."
Aaron gave a slight, approving nod. Tormented, tear-streaked, and yet still executing her duties with efficiency. Dedication. Reliability. Competence. If such an asset didn't improve, whose fault would it be?
"Tell them to meet me at Osborn headquarters tomorrow afternoon," he stated, sitting on the edge of the disheveled bed. He simply watched her.
"Sir?" Felicia asked, a flicker of unease returning.
"You lack the necessary stamina," he said bluntly. "The disparity is too great."
Panic flashed in her eyes. She scrambled upright. "I can improve! I'll train! Starting tonight! I know advanced yoga, and several demanding—"
He raised a hand, silencing her. The desperation was touching, but misguided. "A commendable sentiment. But I've already implemented a solution."
Before she could process his words, he placed his palm flat against her sternum. A soft, controlled pulse of photonic energy, channeled from his Controlled Photon Emission and laced with conceptual data streams from the Primal Furnace, flowed into her body.
Felicia gasped. A wave of rejuvenating warmth washed through her, banishing fatigue and minor aches. Then, a cavernous, ravenous hunger gripped her, so intense her vision swam. She lunged for the takeout container, devouring its contents with a speed that bordered on the feral.
Aaron observed clinically. He hadn't experienced such violent metabolic hunger during his own enhancements; the Furnace's initial reshaping of his body had likely streamlined the process. For Felicia, this was a total systemic overhaul. He extended his hand again, this time channeling pure bio-energy into her, stabilizing the frantic cellular demand and mitigating the hunger.
As the storm within her subsided, Felicia stared at her hands, then at her own reflection in a darkened window. Her body felt… alien. Lighter, denser, humming with a latent power she could feel in her bones.
"What… what did you do to me?"
"Your baseline was insufficient," Aaron explained, his tone matter-of-fact. "I have remedied that. You now possess a synthesized suite of enhancements: Tier-2 Superhuman Strength and Durability, Electrostatic Adhesion, a refined Precognitive Sensory Array, Superior Kinesthetic Agility, Biochemical Silk Generation glands, Accelerated Cellular Regeneration, and a heightened tolerance for ionizing radiation. In essence, you are now a derivative iteration of the 'Spider' template. Congratulations."
Felicia's mind blanked. The words were English, but their meaning was mythic.
"You can likely lift fifteen to twenty tons. Vertical surfaces are now traversable. Your reaction time will allow you to evade most conventional attacks. As for the webbing…" He demonstrated, firing several strands from his own wrist glands that wrapped around her in an intricate, restraining pattern that was less combat move and more elaborate kinetic art.
He paused, realizing the complexity of the bindings. Ah. The 'Structural Weaving Instinct' from the spiders. It appears to have… aesthetic preferences.
Felicia, entangled, felt a surge of conflicting data. The webbing was incredibly strong, yet her new instincts whispered that she could have easily dodged it. Her new senses had registered Aaron's movement but hadn't flagged it as a threat, so she'd held still. And now, testing against the bonds, she felt she could break them with a focused exertion.
She looked up at him, the pieces crashing together in her awestruck mind. Norman Osborn's terrified deference. Aaron's impossible physicality. Her own humiliating defeat. It wasn't just that he was strong. He could grant strength. He could rewrite biology with a touch.
He wasn't just a powerful man. He was a source. A font of potential. A…
The computer on the desk across the room flickered to life without being touched. The monitor displayed a cached news feed, showing a grainy, distant shot of a figure swinging through the skyline with a smaller figure clinging to him. The headline read: "New York's Newest Mystery: Man or Metahuman?"
Felicia's eyes widened. "That's you… and Kate Bishop." Her voice was a whisper of pure revelation. "You're not just enhanced… you're…"
"A pragmatic entity with specific goals," Aaron finished for her, cutting off the deification before it could solidify. "Now, stop gawking and focus."
He decided a practical field test was the best explanation. The subsequent engagement was, from a tactical perspective, another decisive victory for Aaron. But from Felicia's perspective, it was a revolution. Where before she had been a leaf in a hurricane, now she was a sapling—bent, tested, but unbroken. She lasted orders of magnitude longer, her new abilities allowing her to perceive, react, and even mount brief, futile counter-maneuvers.
She was elated. She had progressed from three seconds to several minutes. It was a quantum leap.
The night became an extended laboratory for Aaron, a chance to test various synthesized capabilities in a controlled, interactive environment. He experimented with different combinations—kinetic applications of his Precise Musculoskeletal Control, the strategic use of Molecular Agitation, the novel utility of his Specialized Lingual Appendage. It was a comprehensive stress test of his own control and her new resilience.
Exhaustion, when it finally came for her, was a deep, satisfied crash.
***
The next morning, after a revitalizing session that further acclimated Felicia to her new physique, Aaron took her to Osborn Tower. Stepping into the CEO's office suite, he immediately noted the absence.
"Where's Norman?" he asked the hovering administrative assistant.
"Mr. Osborn is in an emergency board meeting, sir. It's… rather contentious. He asked not to be disturbed unless it was you."
Aaron dismissed the man with a wave. Norman's battles to consolidate power were his to fight. Aaron had other assets to audit.
He turned to his assistant. "Bring in Connors and Octavius. They've waited long enough."
Two men, each a universe of ambition and obsession wrapped in a lab coat, were about to meet the architect of their potential futures. Aaron settled into his chair, the Primal Furnace a quiet, anticipatory weight in his palm. The next phase of acquisition was about to begin.