Amidst the red lanterns of Chinatown, amongst buildings that were tight and with few alleyways, Genghis Connie Too was a bright light. A front of twin glass doors and customers that took up to half-capacity. It was a Thursday evening and New York City was still getting off work. It was not peak time yet.
Like any ray of light, darkness did exist. It sat underneath, it sat without notice, with a door and lock.
A basement below a basement.
In dust and in cold.
In the grey and unseeable sat a refrigerator, cords connecting it to an outlet and a computer. Twice as tall as a normal person, cobwebs on the corners, without light, it was alone and silver, shining without light.
A lonely existence…until the refrigerator door glowed blue.
VROOOM!
The door flung open. Blue spilled onto the floor and echoed throughout the room. Tap, tap, tap! The computer had a man behind it, and every press of the button caused the blue to shimmer, swirl, and manifest. The portal was being fully realized.
An arm reached through, donned in a black suit with light-blue zig-zags. The arm then became a chest, then a person.
"Ah, Abraham."
Hedonism arrived. Acumen arrived. He who conquered and devoured in shadows set his shadow onto Earth 65 for the first time in a long time.
He who exemplified, "Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful!" The world kept spinning and bad men kept spinning it for the worse.
The Big Man arrival was a ripple. Awaiting him was a lone bearded youth, Abraham Lincoln. The android moved away from the computer and bowed. "Welcome, Big Man."
The Big Man was a youth himself, no more than his twenties. His brown hair was distinguished by gray streaks at his temples and his suit appeared to be futuristic. The stiff black metal-fabric was patterned with strips of luminous aqua down his shoulders and around the pockets. His pants were black yet zig-zagged with grey circuit patterns.
The Big Man was alone, or so it appeared.
"Scan," the Big Man said. "Aaand complete. Marvelous! Nova! You're in perfect shape, Abraham."
"Yes, Big Man."
"Hey, you never know if someone rewired you to turn against me. You are an android after all."
The Big Man guffawed and proceeded to walk past the android. The door to the basement was locked. Abraham hurriedly over and opened it.
***
"The almighty Big Man has arrived…!"
The ambush was set. Hobie, Maria, and Xina were huddled together in the van parked across from Genghis Connie Too. In one mean jump, Hobie could spring out and crash through the store.
The van was what it was: a length of space with holograms showing every single secret camera. Knees parallel to each other had two feet gaps. In another time, it might have been nice and cozy.
"He didn't notice," said Xina. She put a hand to her chest, exhaling. "Thank the network…"
"Don't celebrate yet," Hobie interjected. "Just because he didn't notice that we programmed Abraham now doesn't mean he won't later. This is a gamble for a reason. Still…" He smiled to himself. "He's here. The blood thirsty muppet is in our grasp…!"
"Calm yourself," Maria said, "we have plans and back-up plans. Stick to them."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Holograms showed every angle of the Chinese store. Genghis Connie Too was littered with security cameras. The red carpet up front and the red lanterns inside. A curious contrast to the blue holograms.
The angles on the holograms were created by a mix of Spider-Bots and custom-built cameras. They were discreet and near impossible to hack and detect.
"Now, it's up to Felix," Hobie murmured.
***
Abraham climbed out of the trap door via a ladder. The Big Man did the same, albeit with a jump. Quickly, Abraham pressed a button and the trap door disappeared. Briefly, a normal human could have caught the refraction of light. After that…nothing.
They exited the basement area, marching up a fleet of stairs. A locked door was opened by Abraham's keys. All throughout, the Big Man had his hands behind him.
"Oh, and Miss and Mr. Line!!"
Until he saw them. The Big Man was not shy. He smiled brightly and waved at the elderly Miss and Mr. Line. Hanging around the kitchen, they did not work anymore, they supervised. Younger folk in chef hats tended to the food.
"My, my, Mr. Big!" Ms. Line nudged her husband. He was hard of hearing. "Dear, Mr. Big is here!"
"Oh! Ohhhh!" Mr. Line's accent was thicker. He was not as educated as his wife. "Mr. Big, yes, yes! Good to see you, friend!"
"Good to you two. I'll be grabbing some sustenance. I'm sure everything's still as glitch-sweet as before!"
"It is, it is! Ready him the new Lanzhou beef noodles!" Ms. Line gestured and hurried the cooks. There were four of them and two were puzzled by the appearance of this man. He came out of nowhere.
At the end of the day, they were taught not to question. There were shrugs and they got to work, while the Big Man left the kitchen. Abraham led him to a table.
"God, this smells nova. Fresh air…you don't get it like this in Nueva City," the Big Man said. He was sitting down, fingers drumming and assessing his surroundings. His eyes flickered blue. Red lanterns, the cash register, he flicked from area to area. "Beautiful too," he remarked.
"Agreed."
"So, any news? Updates?" he asked. "Ah, thank ." The Big Man smiled at the brown-haired waiter. He drank his water after a blink and a wider smile. "Ah, refreshing. Even the water's nova here."
"Boss…" Abraham folded his hands together. "We managed to find one of our targets."
"Oh!? Peter Parker!? Miles Morales!?"
"No. The Red Goblin."
"Harold!?"
He received nods. The Big Man grinned.
"It was kill on sight for him. Did you kill him on sight!? Did you!?" Excitement turned into scepticism. "How?"
"It was not me," Abraham said. "There was a great battle with Spider-Man of this world. Both seemed to perish from it."
"You're kidding." The Big Man stared, then chuckled. "Ha, he fell. He fell to his death. And it was all seen on live TV."
"Yes, Big Man."
"The Goblin and Spider. They're made for each other. I'm glad the multiverse balanced out that little equation for me."
The bowl of noodles arrived. His nose dipped down to suck up the aromatic beef broth filled with hand-pulled wheat noodles as well as radish and quality halal beef. He was not so good with a chopstick and opted for a fork. "Thank you," he beamed at the helpful waiter.
"No problem, sir."
After slurping, the Big Man sighed in relief. He pointed his wet fork at Abraham. "You know, his betrayal was why I built you people. Why bother with training humans when you can code androids?" He stopped pointing to eat. "Mm, synthelectable!"
***
"The sensors are picking tiny wavelengths around him," Xina said. "What is this? Emergency connections to Earth 2099?"
"No, impossible, can't be." Maria pointed at her hologram. It showed a heat map of the two at the table. It didn't seem like anything was out of place, so what were Hobie and Marilyn detecting? "The frequencies are far too weak." The hologram switched to other types of sensors. "Hrm…wait, is this…?"
"Yeah. Not something, somethings. Plural. It's like…something is buzzing around him. It was near his food too. But what…?" Hobie murmured. He stroked his cheek and then his eyes widened. "Wait, are you shitting my toilet? Bastard…impressive but I'm not as green as a cabbage head!"
"Stop with the stupid expressions," Maria snapped, "and tell us!"
"Marilyn, Hobie, Plan D! Self-destruct all Spider-Bots! Now!"
Xina glanced at Maria, who nodded. "Do it, Marilyn! Hobie!"
In seconds, their visual cues disappeared from their holograms. One by one, but quickly. The Spider-Bots self-destructed and melted without leaving behind their existence.
"Start driving too. Far away from here." Everyone was seated on a bench, except Hobie. He was sitting criss-cross, until now. He lifted a knee and his one hand gestured. Hobie grimaced and didn't seem to find what he wanted. "Plan D…damn. Didn't think that was going to happen."
No one did. Xina gestured and the van moved on its own. The van drove all casually and took the nearest turn without hesitation.
"Are you absolutely sure this is Plan D?" Maria suddenly prompted. "It could have something else."
"Nah, it has to be. Ticks the list," Hobie replied.
Plan D referred to the group retreating and self-destructing their cameras and audio devices due to nanobots. One of many rumours surrounding the Big Man in Earth 2099.
"A weird frequency, the fact that he specifically mentioned the live TV of the Red Goblin, instantaneous scanning to confirm Abraham is an android…it also explains why anywhere and wherever he goes, he has utmost confidence. His nanobots, they spread out and do what they need to do to protect him. They update him on information. Like an unstoppable secret army of wasps. If they found the Spider-Bots, they'd have hacked them and then our systems. We have no idea the range of his nanobots but…let's go far. If we could detect his signals, so could he," Hobie said.
"Thank goodness we were prepared." Xina flicked the flecks of hair over her forehead.
"The Big Man is the Big Man for a reason. We were aware of the risks and what he could potentially do," Maria said. "Did you manage to contact Felix?"
Xina grunted. "I did. He knows. He'll be fine."
***
Abraham was a strong-looking man. The store was full and bustling and yet no one knew the strongest man from another world was here.
"This is pure chem!" The Big Man set the bowl down with a smile. "I really do miss this. The artificial noodles back home are stale as a glitch."
"Yes. Agreed."
"You agree?" The Big Man cackled. "You may have taste buds but that doesn't mean you have the soul to comprehend artificial from family-loved noodles."
"Yes, Boss."
The Big Man cackled. "Good boy. Now, about Harold…"
"We have his corpse in custody." Abraham then slid forward a photo. The Big Man swiped it and examined the photo with a smile.
A 4k picture of a crushed corpse on a table. The face was unmistakable and that of Harold Osborn, the clone of Harry Osborn. The brows and the eyes and the hair, all fitting and in accordance. The Big Man smirked. "Marvelous. Marvelous, Marvelous! Oh my days, this is already one of the best days of my life!" He tapped his feet. "A jester is never supposed to overstep his boundaries. Don't you agree?"
"I do," Abraham replied.
The Big Man's eyes then turned like a hawk. "Mm! Lots of dead spiders here…"
"I do have a question, Boss."
"Ask it." Those youthful eyes drifted when the waiter returned to fill his water. The Big Man acknowledged and thanked him profusely.
"Why did it take you so long to return?" Abraham asked.
The Big Man stared at his android. His tongue flung out and he played with his lips. "Mm…it's the old man. Stupid CEO thinks—-" he cut himself off. He snapped his head and narrowed. "This place…why are there so many dead spiders?"
"There was a small pest problem recently," Abraham supplied quickly. "Apologies."
"It's fine. Just don't…don't let it stay that way. Get someone to clean it up. My Pym Army is a little concerned."
"Pym Army, sir?" It was the waiter. Brown-haired and with a pleasant smile, he arrived to take the bowl away. The Big Man chuckled.
"It's, ah, another word for my sixth sense."
"Oh wow, like Captain America?"
"Captain America does not have a sixth-sense," the Big Man rebutted.
"That's the rumour going around. She can dodge bullets."
"You don't need a sixth-sense for that. She sees faster, that is all."
"Is that how that works?"
"Heh, you don't know much, do you?" said the Big Man. He glanced at Abraham. "People of Earth 65, am I right?"
The waiter cocked his head. "Earth 65…?"
"Don't worry about it, I'm making a science-fiction joke. Oh, and…" The Big Man brought out the menu and pointed. "I want Biang Biang noodles. Please and thank you. I'll leave you a hefty tip."
"Of course, sir."
The waiter bowed and left.
"Anyway, gosh. These people. Reminds me of our great CEO, so ignorant. So…oblivious. Can't even put two and two together." The Big Man shook his head. "By the way, where is O'Hara?"
"He had an important call to deal with. Do you wish for his presence?"
"Absolutely. I want to bring him back to taunt his donor." The Big Man smirked. "And, more importantly, now that he's developed life experience, we can switch that MIA into IA." He leaned forward with a smile. "O'Hara has developed, yes?"
"Yes."
"So do you think he can act as Spider-Man? Can he lure in Miles and Peter?"
"That—"
"Wait. No. Stop." The Big Man suddenly raised a hand and laughed. "Actually, why am I asking you?" His eyes illuminated blue. He hummed. "Mmm, hmmhmm, mhhhm! Found him!"
Abraham did not react.
"He's driving here…four kilometers away...and on-call with…an executive of Oscorp. Aaand he's done with the call. Nova timing!" The Big Man snapped his fingers and what was once invisible became invisible. Seven nanobots expanded into wasps, their tails glowing red. The red energies beamed out and converged into a single point beside the Big Man.
Zwoom!
The red light turned into shape, colour, and then the figure of Miguel O'Hara. Brown hair and in shades and in a state of shock, it was undeniably him. He glanced to his left and nearly jumped off his seat. "Big Man…!"
Androids replicated fear, they could not feel it. Yet in the face of omnipotence and omniscience, the emotion of fear appeared terribly close to manifesting.
Was this the power of a god?