Before leaving, Will needed to tie in some loose ends.
The next morning, he sat in front of Peter, who seemed to be very guilty right now. Between them were a few holographic screens that showed a guy in a strange red costume swinging around through Webs.
"Confess already," Will said, checking the time.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hide it," Peter said, knowing he was caught.
"Then why did you hide it?"
"Well, I was worried you wouldn't let me do… what I was doing."
"You mean trying to be a Super hero?"
Peter flinched. "I… I really like being Spiderman. When I help people, it feels really rewarding, like I was meant to do this. Besides, even you also say the same thing: With great power comes—"
"Great Responsibility. I know. But the question is: Is your power great enough?"
Peter looked obviously puzzled at that.
"I saw the viral clips. I know you can take down any amount of criminals with your new abilities. But... that does not make you powerful."
Will had to explain.
"Suppose I am a criminal with no moral compass. You have exposed my crimes and sent me to jail. But the thing is: I am rich. And this is America.
I can pay someone else to take the blame, bribe or threaten the judge, break out of prison, or simply get clever lawyers and get out on bail. Now, I want revenge.
I will easily find out your real identity," said Will as the holographic footage showed Spiderman entering the apartment through the Window. "Since you are too difficult to kill, I will switch targets." The footage shifted to show Aunt May exiting the apartment, pausing on her face.
Peter's face paled.
"Peter, your identity will not always remain a secret. It's statistically impossible. The question is: Once that happens, in a society ruled by law, power, and money, do you have the power to protect yourself and your loved ones?"
Peter did not say anything. He was smart enough to know he couldn't do it. Not if the enemy was someone like Will.
And this has always been one of the greatest dilemmas for Spiderman. And he has even given up being Spiderman many times due to this.
"Me and Harry care a lot about Aunt May as well. And you provoking conflicts with dangerous people like this is going to put her in great danger sooner or later. Have you thought of a way to avoid this?"
"I… I haven't. I'm sorry. I was careless."
Seeing Peter like this, Will was also silent for a while, letting him reflect. Then, he sighed.
"Shift Aunt May to Os City," he finally said, making Peter look at him in surprise.
"I have recently finished fortifying that place— strict entry/exit procedures, surveillance, bodyguards, bunkers, emergency evacuation… there's everything. She would be safe there even if your identity is leaked."
Peter's eyes brightened. "That would be good, but… I don't think she would agree."
"I don't care how you do it. Whatever job, whatever cover story, whatever resources you require, I will help you. Just take her there."
Peter thought for a while but then nodded resolutely.
"I'll get it done."
"Good. Now take this," Will said, throwing him a backpack.
It was a bit similar to Will's own white and green one, except smaller and in red and blue color combination.
Peter casually caught it but was surprised by the weight.
"Waoh, is this… is this perhaps…?"
Suddenly, he became very excited.
"Well, try it on already."
Peter immediately slung the backpack on and pulled the strings. Immediately, the nano-fibre suit covered him, interconnecting seamlessly.
It was the classic Spiderman Suit of movies and comics, with the only differences being easy to put on and with better material.
"This… this is so cool!" Peter exclaimed, looking at himself in the mirror, the iconic eyes on his suit widening and narrowing under his control.
Through [Aura Sense], Will sensed Peter's aura soaring rapidly. It was already higher than X-men after he had become Spiderman. He was definitely ecoming a steady source of Aura points for Will.
"This is your starter pack. The webshooters you designed are already on it, with some modifications. The suit is made out of customised nano-fibres. It's dust resistant, fire resistant, water resistant, easy to clean, stretchable, and very difficult to damage."
"Wow… Will, I don't know what to say. This is somehow exactly like… no, it's even better than I ever imagined! This is like fantasy!"
Of course it looked awesome to Peter. After all, the design was exactly like the suit he would have made for himself in future.
"Well, if you're really going to be a hero, I can't let you do it in that lousy jumpsuit you have been using. It was giving me second hand embarrassment."
Peter is just starting out. So he is still wearing weird red and blue loose-fitting overalls that clowns wear, along with red cloth and goggles to cover his face.
"Will, I brought your favourite snacks."
Suddenly, Peter's eyes on the nano-fibre expanded wide and he jumped up, sticking to the ceiling.
In the next moment, Aunt May opened the door and let herself in.
"Where's Peter?" She asked, looking around.
"He's in the bathroom."
"Oh that's good. I have so much more to talk to you about," said May, coming to sit right next to him.
Over this time, Will has been steadily getting closer to May.
But he couldn't let Peter notice it, so he got up.
"Unfortunately, I have to bounce, May. I'll be back later. I brought this for you, and this one is for Peter. I has mental protection properties, so please wear it at all time," he said, taking out boxes, one containing a beautiful pendant and other a spider shaped locket.
They were psychic blocking devices he had made with Forge's help. It was not difficult to convince him after the stunt that Emma Frost had pulled.
Everyone close to Will has one now, meaning there's no need for those psychic blocking wigs.
Will hugged her and left, taking the snacks away with him.
Putting on the White Elf Armor, he activated the stealth mode, disappearing from view. The suit was simply reflecting a live image of the other side, thus making it seem he was invisible.
Combined with his Aura Cloak, it is very difficult to detect him.
He jumped onto his hoverboard and flew straight to Os city.
Since the security has been maxed out and everything was here, Will decided to finally shift as well instead of going back and forth everyday.
His residence was away from the large buildings, in an area rich with greenery. It was made out of solid walls and custom reinforced glass.
This thing could take on a missile explosion.
He found a red haired woman by the pool, wearing a swimsuit. It was none other than Dr. Jean Grey.
Will landed in front of her, taking off his suit.
"You are here early."
Jean didn't even look at him, instead looking at his arm.
"Aurora."
Golden white flames burst out of his mark, taking the form of a beautiful avian. Its size wasn't much different but it looked much more like a bird now and less like a cute little chick, with a long golden tail and a much more slender body.
Jean hugged the little bird, burying it in her ample cleavage. Only then did she look back at Will and smile.
"I just couldn't wait, so I came early."
Yes, Jean now knows his identity as Will Osborne. But that was only after he had convinced her to wear a beautiful psychic blocking necklace, made with Forge's help.
It turned out that the Professor did block her powers, and her personality. There might even have been some mental manipulation involved.
So, whether or not it was for the greater good, Jean is done with Professor Oldy-baldy's 'open-minded' policies.
"You know, you shouldn't provoke the fire like this if you aren't going to put it out," he said, glancing at her skimpy bikini.
Jean has just managed to stabilize the Phoenix Force connection, and she doesn't want to risk it, as she puts it, by hooking up with him.
Phoenix Force really is too dangerous, so Will also would rather not play with fire.
Jean rolled her eyes at him. "Well, you seem to have a lot of options to put it out. Just yesterday I saw your pictures with that pop star. What was her name? Britney Spears."
"You seem to be paying an awful amount of attention to my news. But for your information, she was actually in a bit of a pinch. I really was just helping her out. I also wanted her to have a meet and greet with my employee who's a big fan."
Jean raised an eyebrow. "That's a lot of explanation for someone you were just 'helping out'."
"Whatever. Did you bring your stuff?"
Since Will might be out for a while, he needs someone to take care of Aurora while he's away.
Obviously, he doesn't intend to make its existence public yet. So, he invited Jean to stay at place and baby sit Aurora, something she agreed to immediately.
"Yep, I brought everything. How else do you think I'm in a swimsuit? Where are you going anyway?"
"Well, it's a top secret mission. But… you might see the news of the abduction of one or two Billionaires soon."
Will really didn't know exactly what he was going to do. There were too many variables and he would just have to adapt to whatever happens.
….
The sleek silver Stark Industries Gulfstream G200 descended toward Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
It rolled smoothly to a halt near a row of military C-130 transport planes, and two guys, one white and one black alighted the stairs, looking well dressed and well groomed, one in a custom black suit and other in a sharp military uniform with a Colonel rank.
Looking at them, no one would be able to tell that these two spent the whole journey partying with beautiful air hostesses who played hostesses.
They were welcomed by General Marcus Keller, Commanding officer of the base, along with several MPs and soldiers.
Standing behind the General, Will had to admit, Tony Stark had aura. No, literally, he had a higher aura than the X-men, Magneto and Spiderman, meaning the highest among the people he has encountered.
And this is before he even became Ironman.
"Tony Stark. We look forward to your weapon presentation," said the General, shaking his hand.
"Thanks. You are going to love this," Tony replied confidently, but suddenly, he did a double take when he saw a familiar face amidst the uniform officers.
"What is HE doing?"
"Ok, Mr. Osborn's schedule was also free today so we set up his demonstration after you. Will that be fine?"
Tony glanced at Will and shrugged.
"Well, though I don't understand why doctors think they can be weapon manufacturers, but by all means, bring him along."
Will smiled professionally, seeing no point in kicking the man who was already set to go down. "Mr. Stark. It is nice to meet you too."
That's right. Will had been in this world for so long and hadn't even reached first name basis with Tony.
In his previous life, he used to be a big fan. After all, Tony was arguably Marvel's best Aura Farmer, not counting bully Maguire Spiderman.
But the truth is, it is very difficult to get along with this person in his pre-ironman era.
"Hey, can I get protective equipment as well?" Will asked a soldier as he and Tony were escorted to an armored vehicle.
The guy quickly ran to the car's trunk and took out two sets of protective gear. Will took his but Tony waved him off carelessly. "No need. It'll ruin my suit and hair."
"So, Willy Osborn. Here to do daddy's business again?" Said Tony conversationally as they both got into the Armored vehicle.
"Well, it's my business now. The Tech and Weapons division of Oscorp has been transferred to me," Will replied.
"Wow, you're really living the life. No need to do anything. Your dad has set up everything for you, even a genius persona of a kid who designed 3 Multi-Billion dollar companies."
He was, of course, talking about Whatsapp, Facebook, Youtube.
"So, you don't think those ideas were mine?"
"Not at all. Your IQ cannot be much higher than Justin Hammer. By the way, that video with Dr. Helen? Masterstroke. Your father really went above and beyond."
"The one which showed my plans for social media apps before their launch? Thanks."
"Yeah, a really subtle way of showing off, I have to admit, and Dr. Helen was very supportive as well. Which reminds me, D'you mind giving me her number? I'm going to hit that korean booty sometime. Unless she has also been arranged by your father to belong exclusively to you?"
.
This was the thing.
The current Tony Stark is an asshole to everyone, even to people he is close with and actually likes, like Colonel Rhodes.
He is an even bigger asshole to people he doesn't like. Norman Osborn is included in that list, and by extension, Will too.
Colonel Rhodes clearly has no self respect. Tony treats him like trash and yet, he sticks to him like a dog plaster.
But Will does have it, so he has just kept his distance from Tony, so as to not be tempted to just let the genius die before inventing the mini arc reactor tech.
Like right now.
Will really doesn't care if the insults are directed at him, but he just had to bring Helen into this.
"Well, if you are jealous of me having a dad who actually cares, then just say it, Stark."
Boom. Just one retort. But it hit where it hurt the most.
The easy smile on Tony's face slipped off as he turned to look at Will, his shades making it difficult to read his expression.
"You don't know the first thing about my father."
"Neither do you know the first thing about Helen."
"... So, you actually fancy her. Well, my bad." Tony shrugged.
Will didn't bother to clarify. They reached the site in a momentary truce.
And then Tony gave a speech on the Jerricho missile, which had the proprietary repulsor tech.
"Gentlemen, I present to you, Jerricho."
The missile flew high, splitting into dozens of warheads that streak across the desert sky like fiery comets.
Tony spread his hands while facing them, not even looking at the result, and a heartbeat later, the mountains in front of them were ripped apart in a rolling wall of explosions, shockwaves thundering back toward them with a cloud of dust and wind.
Will sensed Tony aura increasing further.
The pro Aura Farmer popped open a big cooler with various types of expensive drinks inside. "I'll be throwing one of these in with every purchase of 500 million or more. To peace!"
He then left to pick up a phone call and got busy while the high ranking officers discussed the weapon, obviously impressed.
The General turned his attention back to Will.
"Well, young man. You better have something that can top that. We have a limited budget."
Will shrugged.
He threw a few disks on the ground that the holographic footage of the aerial view of the Military base was projected into front of everyone.
"Gentlemen, and Tony Stark. You might think that what you are seeing are drone footage of the base. But can any drone do—this?" He said, making a gesture.
Instantly, the footage started zooming in until it reached right above the barracks and buildings. But it didn't stop there. It went further, right inside each building.
But it still didn't stop. The footage only stopped after they had reached right in front of confidential documents and computer screens in various buildings.
"Be aware that this is Bagram, our largest military basecamp, equipped with state of the art detection and anti-spying measures."
"Gentlemen, I present to you, the Os-quitoes," said Will, holding out his palm. In the middle of it, rested a tiny mosquito.
"A swarm of bio-inspired micro-drones — as small and agile as a mosquito, as persistent as a shadow. Each unit can infiltrate unnoticed, observe without being detected, and, when needed, deliver a precision 'venous sting' capable of delivering anything from tranquilizers to trackers."
No Collateral Damage, No Border Limitations, Safe Capture, and Evidence Gathering... It can modernize the barbaric destructive warfare into precise, surgical attacks that target the heart of the enemy.
What happens when you wipe out 99 percent of a terrorist army? Their leader escapes and creates another one. Well, fuck that.
Stark industries want to make a weapon you only need to fire once, something so fearsome that it'll cause bad guys to hide in their caves in fear. I say, why even let them feel safe inside the caves?"
….
The convoy drove off in the desert playing "Back in Black" by AC/DC, heading back to the military base.
Sitting inside the armored car, Tony was in a bad mood.
"The level of illiteracy in our country really astonishes me. Those drones are pretty useless if they just made a few tweaks in their security systems. And they're debating wasting money on something like that instead of Jericho. "
Tony was actually right. In the end, they are just mosquitos. With the high level of tech in marvel, they are not difficult to counter. Just talking about Os city, even real bugs can not get past the defenses, let alone these Os-quitoes which are larger in size and much more detectable.
Will, who was sitting next to him, grinned. "That's why I'm selling them here. They want to deal with terrorists, not the militia of another country. Besides, they're much more cost effective than Jericho."
To be honest, Will didn't really want the contract. The demonstration was just an excuse to be here. He had simply picked up a random prototype and brought it here. Even the name Os-quito was used just because it made Helen laugh.
Tony shook his head. "No need to be so happy, kid. Even if you win this contract. your entire Weapon manufacturing division still has no future. Each and every product can only be called harmless and cute, including the White Knight Exosuit. Arms are all about destruction and lethality."
"We do not sell arms, Stark. We sell equipment. Weapons have no eyes. Even in the wrong hands, they will still be as dangerous as they are in your hands. Selling them can get you money, but it can't buy you safety."
"Great. Keep that mindset and you'll be bankrupt soon."
"And you keep that mindset and you'll be dead soon."
Tony laughed. "Someone who can kill Tony Stark has not been born yet. How can I be dead by having a superior mindset?"
Just as he said that, something hit the vehicle in front of them, blowing it up. Gunshots rang out, hitting the side of their vehicle.
...
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