Spider-Man of Earth 65

School, college, internships, and finally, the job of your dreams. That was Felix Faeth's life so far. A wide-eyed college graduate who had just gotten accepted for an interview at Oscorp.

He combed his hair. He took deep breaths. He relaxed his shoulders, only to tense up again.

Oscorp was a global powerhouse. A multi billion dollar company, consisting of over twenty subsidiaries. It was a monster of a company with a rich history. And according to the letter in his hands, he was set-up for an interview there.

'Alright, come on, Felix, you got this. You got this.'

Inhale, exhale.

"You got this," he said to himself.

He wasn't very tall, a little over five-foot-eight, and skinny. His eyesight was absolute shit, a facet of himself he covered up via contact lenses. One time, he took the subway and lost his glasses. Never again, hence why he switched to contacts.

Leaving his apartment unit, he accidentally got an eyeful of…er…booty. Bending over provocatively in blue jeans was his neighbour, Rio Morales, struggling to open her apartment door. She was a sweet middle-aged woman and his interactions with her didn't go beyond the basic dull topics of the weather and work.

Rio didn't notice him till he brought his keys and locked his own door.

"Oh, Felix!" Rio exclaimed, sweeping her braided ponytail to her shoulder. "You surprised me."

"My bad. I'm going to an interview. Can't be late," Felix replied hurriedly.

Rio laughed and waved him off. "Then get going. I have this darn door to busy myself with." She focused on her door and her keys which refused to cooperate. She cursed to herself, looked back at him with a forced smile, then went back to trying to open the door.

'Well…like she said, gotta go.'

In spite of his conflict in wanting to help her (and her...assets), he had a much more important interview to tend to. He went down the stairs, forgoing the elevator, in part because he got no exercise and he needed it.

Outside, he saw the classic Harlem neighbourhood. The iconic brownstone buildings made the dense urban area stand out. It made it home, almost. Almost.

He wasn't a native resident, unlike most. He was born and raised in Missoula, Montana, and had come here to Harlem for schooling. He took a bus ride to the nearest subway station and swiped his MetroCard.

Felix boarded the packed subway car. The F train rumbled through tunnels, past graffiti-covered walls, and emerged into Midtown Manhattan.

Stepping out of the subway station and up the stairs to the greater world, Felix was greeted by a cacophony of honking horns, sirens, and the chatter of tourists. The walk was neither hard nor long. Still, Felix was tense and arriving at his destination he hadn't quite gotten rid of the jitters.

'Oscorp Industries.'

That was what the massive pink neon letters spelled out. The Oscorp building loomed tall and imposing, its architecture blending seamlessly with the cityscape yet its height superior to its peers.

Felix entered the lobby, marvelling at the cutting-edge design. There was tech EVERYWHERE. People in lab coats walking, a group of college students getting toured, there was a lot to absorb. It wasn't busy but it was certainly large and overwhelming.

There were two main front desks on opposite ends, so he was forced to arbitrarily choose one. When he did, when he picked the desk to the left, he nearly stopped halfway through. His legs suddenly slowed down as he took in the sight.

'Woah. Uh…'

The secretary. Good god, the red-haired secretary's beauty was undeniable, with a flawless complexion that seemed to glow. Her emerald-green eyes and long, thick lashes fluttered with every gaze. Her lips were painted a deep shade of red.

Her white blouse was also, well…

He avoided her neckline and focused on the task at hand. An arm on the desk, he raised his voice. "Errr, I'm here for an interview?"

The redhead didn't look at him and typed at her keyboard wildly. "Which department?"

"Under Dr. Octavius."

"Ah, the new team. I see. Give me a moment."

Still, she didn't look at him, despite her words. She wore glasses and her hair was done in a messy bun. No doubt, she was the type that was effortlessly pretty. An envied individual.

The Bluetooth device on the secretary's ear blinked with a blue light. She was receiving a call, it seemed. Pressing on the ear bud, she took it. "Mhm. Mhm. Yes. Yes. No."

She rolled her chair and glanced up at him. Then she focused back on her computer. In that brief instant, Felix was given a very nice view of cleavage. He promptly looked elsewhere.

'Seriously, what is up with today?'

"Follow me."

Like a robot, the secretary got up and walked in her obnoxiously loud heels. Click-clack, click-clack! They ended up at an elevator that was clearly intended for staff. Like real staff, like staff that did important things.

Even so, Felix was distracted by the woman's pencil skirt, her luscious curves, and her stone cold face as she swiped her ID, entered the elevator, and turned. Felix was three steps behind so he got to see her ass come and leave.

The elevator was made of a sleek black metal, to the bottom. To his surprise, she swiped her card down a scanner again and rather than go up, she chose to pick B3. The panel for the elevator was a wide array of confusion. There were over thirty floors, which was to be expected for Oscorp Tower, and a dozen underground floors.

He ended up in a hallway filled with several people. Two older looking men, a middle-aged woman, two young people like him, and…

'Is that…a teenager? Playing with a Rubik's cube?'

Okay, so a bunch of adults and a teenager. His skin was dark, and interestingly his hair was black yet grey at the temples.

"Reed Richards," a voice called out, whom Felix recognized as Dr. Octavius from the phone. "You're up next."

The teen—Reed Richards—got up, still fiddling with his Rubik's cube, and turned out to be pretty tall. A inch or two shorter than Felix.

That gave Felix an open seat. He tried to thank the secretary but she already went back to the elevator. Pursing his lips, he sat down and waited.

Felix's nerves didn't disappear. They amplified, because the people around him seemed much more qualified than him. He was probably the youngest here, second to the Reed Richards kid that went in.

Nobody talked. Nobody said a word. This was a space of competition.

Plus, Felix was socially awkward.

One by one, they were called over. One by one, they came and went, going up the elevator with defeated looks. Strangely, Felix never saw Reed Richards leave. 'Where did he go?'

No answer would come to that answer until his name was called. "Felix Faeth."

Nervously, he stood up. Anxiously, he walked over and opened the door.

The room was sleek and high-tech, filled with futuristic gadgets and monitors. Dr. Octavius was a striking presence herself, with her sharp intellect mirrored in her intense gaze. Her lab coat was a stark white against her dark, curly hair, and her…mechanical arms?

Yeah, mechanical arms. They sprouted from her back and lay alongside her normal arms.

'What is this, a superhero movie?'

Dr. Olivia Octavius sat behind her fancy desk, smiling. "Felix, please, have a seat."

At the corner of his eye, seated at a corner, was Reed Richards. This time, he was on the monitors, writing code.

"Don't worry about him," Dr. Octavius said, waving him off. "We're here for you."

"O-okay." Felix sat down, doing as she said and ignoring the sound of typing from behind him. To say it was loud, fast, and distracting was an understatement.

Felix licked his lips and readied himself anyway. He could do this. He could pretend a kid wasn't potentially ruining his concentration.

"I've reviewed your credentials, Felix. Impressive, to say the least. A Ph.D. in nanotechnology from MIT and a slew of research papers that caught my attention. Particularly, your theories on nanites. Which would you say is your favourite?"

"Yes, of course." Like slipping on a mask, he went into scientist mode. "The techno-organic virus, Extremis, is perhaps the most far fetched but also the most ambitious and, well, helpful. Specifically, the increase in healing. I believe the rapid production of macrophages to stimulate the body's immune system isn't impossible."

Dr. Octavius hummed and turned her monitor towards him. It was his paper on the Extremis; page seventy-two where he compared the Extremis nanite in its natural state versus when it was fully deployed for specialized genetic augmentation. The visual was a little scary. The natural state of the Extremis was almost like a sperm, except with two tails instead of one.

Appearance-wise, the activated Extremis was a robot, plain and simple. At the start of his digital drawing, his focus was on efficiency. He didn't take into account its appearance or how that might come across.

"If someone like Anthony Stark invested in your papers, I'm sure he would have been able to make a mighty fine weapon. Yet you're not. You're here at Oscorp. Tell me, why do you want to be a part of my team? Why Oscorp?"

"Well, Dr. Octavius, I've always been fascinated by your work in nanotechnology. The potential applications are boundless, and your innovation is groundbreaking. I want to be a part of something bigger, something that can change the world for the better. Your team is where I believe I can make a real impact. Stark Industries, in my opinion, would not be able to provide that."

It was a practiced answer, nothing special.

Dr. Octavius nodded. "Changing the world for the better, that's a lofty goal, Felix." The woman paused and looked over his shoulder. She smiled at the continuous typing noises from Reed Richards. "Our projects here at Oscorp are highly classified and require absolute dedication. You'd be working on technologies that could redefine entire industries. Are you prepared for the level of commitment this demands?"

"Yes, I'm more than ready. I've dedicated my life to this field, and I understand the importance of discretion and hard work. I promise to give my all to every project and maintain the highest level of confidentiality."

Blah, blah, blah, the usual spiel. Still, he was uniform and calm. His nerves were a relic of the past.

"Your passion is evident, Felix." Another pause and another glance over his shoulder. "But there's one more thing I must ask. In your research, have you ever had to make difficult ethical decisions? The work we do here isn't without its moral dilemmas."

"I am sure whatever moral dilemmas I will face at Oscorp, they will be for the right cause."

Felix's answer was standard. At least he assumed it was. Dr. Octavius smiled with meaning he could not understand.

She proceeded to ask other questions regarding his papers and past work. Strangely, she wasn't interested in the labs he conducted or assisted. It was like his college experience didn't matter. Rather, Dr. Octavius focused on deeper, more practical questions—specifically, in regards to what his paper was trying to say and clarifying certain details. Felix answered to the best of his abilities. Her rooted interest in Extremis did catch him off guard. To him, it was a pipe dream. A paper he wrote for the sake of pushing what he could write at school.

That was all it was supposed to be, yet…

Dr. Octavius leaned back and steepled her fingers thoughtfully. She then leaned forward, her mechanical arms whirring softly. All this time, they neither moved or peeped a sound.

"Felix, you have a promising background, and I can see your passion for our work. We'll be in touch soon with our decision. Thank you for your interest in joining our team."

Why did he get the feeling she cared about it much more than he did?

***

Returning home, his legs killed him. Seriously, going up the flight of stairs, he felt like a bag of potatoes. Luckily, his unit was closest to the staircase door. Across the hallway, he spotted his neighbour, Rio Morales, carrying bags of trash.

Her unit was across from his, so either he could ignore her or talk to her.

Rio made the decision for him and called for him.

"Hey, Felix!"

"Oh, hello," Felix replied with a flat smile. "How is it going?"

Rio's voice took on a playful tone. "Oh, just the usual neighbourhood chatter. But it's always more interesting when you're around. Say, how did that interview go? Am I getting a rich neighbour?"

"I think it went well."

"You think or you know?"

"I think."

"Come on, be a bit more confident." Rio turned to knock on the door, yelling, "Miles, I'm home! I forgot the keys!' Then turned back to Felix. "You should come for dinner tonight. Miles, if he wasn't too busy, should have warmed up the food."

"Er, no thanks. I have…emails," Felix said lamely.

"Emails," Rio repeated, a brow raised. The door opened and her teenage son, Miles, opened the door. He was fourteen or so, the same age as Reed he guessed, but much shorter than the aforementioned teen.

Felix and Miles exchanged awkward smiles in the place of greetings.

"Well, I will see you later," said Rio, smiling. "Good night."

"Good night," Felix replied. He very quickly went to open his door, slightly ashamed.

The evening sun bathed the apartment unit in a warm, comforting glow. He kicked off his shoes, hung up his blazer, and let out a sigh of relief.

With thoughts of the interview still swirling in his mind, he decided to clear his head. He headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the sound of running water wash away the day's tension. Steam filled the shower stall and he stepped under the soothing spray.

He had a skinny body type and he was quite average in regards to—ahem—his manhood. Not that he paid attention to that kind of thing. As a broke college student, his thoughts were largely occupied by future endeavours and potential work.

"Shit!"

The water suddenly became too hot and he very quickly leaped out without thinking. Bad move. His floor was suddenly soaked from his wet feet and dripping hair, and the adjustment of the shower curtain caused a whiplash of water to his side—the side of the bathroom that wasn't supposed to be wet.

Felix sighed.

"God dammit."

He wasn't deep in debt, thank god, but he was broke. He didn't have the money to ask for a better apartment, so he was stuck with this.

Ten minutes later, he emerged, wrapped in a towel, and with a tinge of irritation. He changed into his pyjamas, grey sweatpants and an Oscorp t-shirt, and took the laptop on his desk and hopped onto his bed.

His laptop wasn't in the best condition, the keyboard totally worn out. It did its job, however, and Felix appreciated that.

"The fan is a bit too loud though," he murmured.

He opened his Twitter, which took a while to load due to his laptop's state, and immediately saw a post from the Daily Bugle.

"Looks like they're milking old stories of Spider." Felix sighed. "Seriously, can't they move on?"

Ghost-Spider, the female superhero of New York, also known as Gwendolyn Stacy, daughter of NYPD Captain Stacy. Yep, her identity, after all the myths and legends, was revealed during "The Trial of Spider-Gwen". In the legendary trial, Spider-Gwen was tried not for the questionable criminal acts she committed, but her powers. Thus, the jury sentenced her to one year in the maximum security S.H.I.E.L.D. prison.

The one-year sentence was felt by some to be too excessive for a girl under twenty-one. She was given great power like no other. Of course she would use it. Of course she would help people, even if she failed.

Gwen—Ghost-Spider or Spider-Woman or whatever people called her—was the only superhero in the world. And now, she was gone. Nobody knew where she went, or what happened to her after her release. She stuck around for a couple months and then disappeared. It was like she had left the Earth.

Two years had passed since her disappearance. She would be twenty-one, two years younger than Felix.

Regardless, Felix flicked between his social media tab and his personal documents. He double-checked his works, wondering if there was something Dr. Octavius saw that he didn't.

'A pipe dream.' Felix continued to scroll. 'Some of the stuff I wrote was downright impossible unless we skipped a hundred years in the future. Constructing a nanite of that size would require microscopic precision that we don't have.'

So yeah. A pipe dream. He closed the document and for the rest of the night went through TikTok and Twitter. You know, the usual.

When he fell asleep, his laptop lay on his lap, his blanket covering the rest of his body.

***

He woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

'Who would be calling at a time like this…? Ugh…'

Then it hit him and his heart skipped a beat. He grabbed his phone eagerly and read the caller ID display: Unknown.

'Is this—'

No time to think, he accepted the call.

"Hello?" Felix answered, his voice tinged with excitement.

The sultry voice on the other end was unmistakable, "Hello, Felix. This is Czarina from Oscorp."

Felix vaguely remembered the voice, yet he couldn't put a finger on it. "H-hi, this is Felix."

The voice was strangely cold, despite its natural seductiveness, and that's when he realized it.

'This is the sexy redhead secretary I met on the ground floor!' His face flushed and he subconsciously straightened himself. His laptop slid down his lap a little.

"I am pleased to inform you that you've been accepted for the position. Dr. Octavius has decided you are fit for her team and asks when you'll be available."

Felix's heart nearly burst from its cage. "Absolutely! I'm available whenever! Tomorrow even!"

"How about today?"

"T-today?" Felix's mind raced. He had a part-time job at a pizza store but he could quit that anytime. The owner was set to close the place down anyway. Leaving a week early wouldn't be harmful. "Sure! I mean, yes! I can start today. When?"

"At twelve, if that is alright."

"Perfectly alright!"

"Perfect. Have a great day."

She ended the call and he couldn't have been happier.

'I-I'm accepted!' He leapt to his feet, ignoring his poor laptop and pumped a fist. 'Yes, yes, yes! Oscorp! Friggin' Oscorp! Imagine the salary! The insurance! The benefits! I can't wait!'

Felix jumped off his bed, fist shaking uncontrollably. He couldn't believe it.

"The job didn't list a salary, b-but it's gotta be a lot, right? I mean, I think so. I hope so. At least six-figures. It's Oscorp!" He drew in a breath. "Okay, okay. Calm down, Felix. You got this."

He checked his alarm clock. In three hours, he would sign the papers and get a fantastic salary. In a year's time, he could move on from this mediocre apartment and into something better.

"Three rooms, one of them for guests, two bathrooms, my own washing machine…" He let out a sigh full of delight. "I can't wait."

***

300 W 57th Street, Midtown Manhattan—Oscorp Tower. A skyscraper.

His new job.

He immediately went to the front of Czarina, who was busy on the phone. Felix waited for the call to end before speaking up.

Czarina put down the phone and asked, "Yes?"

"Oh, um, I'm here because I got accepted by Dr. Octavius?"

"Yes, of course. Give me one moment." She typed on her computer and seemingly waited for confirmation from something. Maybe Dr. Octavius? He couldn't see her monitor so it was anyone's guess.

Czarina looked up at him again. "Do you have your Oscorp ID card?"

"No, I haven't really started working, you know?"

"Right."

Back to the typing.

As nice as her rack was, she sure was dismissive. Here Felix was, legs shaking and temple sweating, and Czarina acted like it was another day.

'Which, I suppose, it is for her. Another employee, another hour.'

Suddenly feeling bad for her, he waited. He stood for ten minutes, quiet, simply listening to minute-long phone calls and a lot of keyboard smashing.

"Okay." Czarina got up. "For the next two weeks, until your ID is made, I will be dropping you off to B4. That is Dr. Octavius's laboratory."

"O-okay—"

Click-clack, click-clack. Czarina walked off, not making a single motion for him to follow, yet he did anyway because he had no idea what to do otherwise.

Czarina pressed the elevator button and waited. In the meantime, Felix fidgeted and asked, "U-um, so do you know what my timings are, or…?"

"Take that up with Dr. Octavius."

"Of course."

Felix and Czarina stood shoulder-to-shoulder. She was fairly average in height for a woman, except she was bolstered by her two inch heels, thereby equalling him. Felix's posture was terrible too, so there was that factor to consider.

The elevator doors opened and someone came out. A dark-haired man whose name tag read as Michael Morbius.

'Wow, that is a lame name,' he thought as he and Czarina entered the elevator. The secretary swiped her ID, pressed the button and let the elevator move.