29: Chapter 29 Next Step

"Well, Peter, you'll know in a moment." Otto blinked.

Peter snorted: "Forget it, I'm not a patient person. Let me guess," he looked toward the covered device, starting to search in his mind for everything Peter Parker had ever seen regarding Otto Octavius. "Your doctoral thesis researched nuclear fusion reactions in stellar cores, and how to replicate such reactions without massive capital. Of course, you've done other research, contributing to fields like mechanics and biotechnology, but... stars have always been your core research focus. Five years ago, Oscorp hired you, and you've been working for him since then... Clean energy, right? You... you're building a miniature Sun."

The expressions of the few people there were utterly shocked. Otto looked like he was about to have a heart attack, while only Norman smiled like a cat that had caught a canary.

"I told you he was brilliant." Osborn said smugly.

"How... how did you know?!" Otto stammered.

"Reasonable deduction." Peter shrugged, "You want to work on clean energy, and you research stellar nuclear fusion. Put those two together, and the answer comes out."

"Peter, would you like to come work for us?" Rosie asked.

Peter shook his head: "Thank you, ma'am, but I already have a job."

"What job? Where?!" Kang pressed.

"The Baxter Building."

Otto chuckled: "That makes sense. Good God, Osborn, how did you not discover him sooner? If only he were on my team!"

"That will always be my greatest regret." Osborn sighed, "Alright, the two of you talk science with Peter. Kang, Natalie, shall we go grab a drink?"

They left, leaving Peter alone to face Otto and his wife. He knew there was no need to worry too much yet; this man hadn't turned into a villain, but he was indeed dangerous. Peter knew what was going to happen—the protective shields on his machine would fail, and people would die... but could he stop all of this?

"So, Dr. Octavius, tell me, what safety measures have you installed to ensure this World isn't burned to ashes in a few nanoseconds?" Peter asked.

"It's like this, Peter, I've installed four magnetic shield generators, which can control most of the heat and magnetic bursts. We'll be very safe."

"I see... but what about when the Sun doubles in volume? Have you considered that a sudden surge in the Sun's mass would cause the magnetic field disturbances to rise exponentially?"

"What did you say?"

"You intend to make the Sun grow larger, right?" Otto nodded, "Then the magnetic impact on the shields will increase accordingly, won't it? Can the shields withstand this sudden pressure?"

"I..." Otto's voice trailed off. Peter could almost see him calculating rapidly in his head. Suddenly, Otto stopped, his face turning pale, "No... it can't withstand it!"

"Otto?" Rosie called to him.

"Rosie, we have to modify the parameters immediately! Right now! Otherwise, the entire system will collapse!" Otto didn't say another word and took off running. Rosie looked at her husband and then at Peter, hurriedly apologized, and chased after him.

Peter smiled; the crisis should be averted. He saw Otto run over to four people, who were likely his assistants, and then they all ran quickly toward Osborn, whispering something in his ear. Osborn's face turned black.

Osborn asked Otto for the reason, and Otto pointed at Peter. Damn. Osborn's surprised gaze landed on him, and then he nodded to Otto. Otto and his team dove under the device, and Peter saw lights turn on beneath the fabric cover. He breathed a sigh of relief—thank goodness.

Peter hurried away; he didn't want to catch any of Osborn's glares right now. He walked to a corner of the banquet hall and sighed, leaning against the wall. Wonder what the Kitten is doing?

He dialed her number: "Hello?"

"Hey, Kitten."

"Oh, hey, Tiger. How's the party?"

"Boring to death. The only people I can talk to are Flash and Harry Osborn."

"Hmm, sounds miserable enough. Did you tell him Mary Jane is angry?"

"I did."

"Does he care?"

"Not really." Peter sighed. The two chatted for a while longer until Otto announced that the demonstration was about to begin. He had to hang up, but promised to call back later.

Everyone gathered around the giant device. Peter stood in the back near the restroom in case he needed to slip in and change into Spider-Man, just in case things still fell apart.

Otto began his speech, talking about how he wanted to completely change the World and people's perception of energy. Then he brought out those mechanical arms—four mechanical arms that Peter hoped he would never have to face in his life. He took off his jacket, revealing the white tight-fitting vest underneath, and connected the mechanical arms to his spine.

The mechanical arms came to life, responding to his every command, dancing flexibly under the spotlight, causing the guests to marvel. Then he brought out a ball of tritium to serve as fuel for the miniature Sun.

He carefully lifted the tritium with one mechanical arm and placed it into the center of the device. Then he started the equipment; nuclear fusion occurred slowly, and a burning ball of light began to expand inside the device.

Peter slowly inched toward the restroom, but so far everything looked normal. Otto must have listened to his words. He looked at the shields; their status was perfect.

The Sun rotated on its axis for several minutes, and people took photo after photo. At the ten-minute mark, Otto shut down the device, and the Sun turned back into that ball of tritium.

Peter breathed a long sigh of relief; applause thundered, and everything went smoothly. Most importantly, Otto wouldn't become a supervillain. Thank God, or whoever is equivalent to God in this World.

The party returned to its previous festive atmosphere, with people talking excitedly. Peter figured it was time to leave; since he knew Otto was fine, there was no need for him to stay longer.

But before he could leave, Osborn and Otto stopped him.

"Peter, do you know what you did?" Osborn asked.

"Uh... prevented a city-level disaster?" Peter probed.

"More than that, you saved my life's work from being destroyed; God knows what would have happened!" Otto said excitedly.

"Yes, and we will have a good discussion about your... errors, Otto." Osborn gritted his teeth at him, then turned to Peter, "This is the third time I owe you a favor, Peter. This time I will not accept a refusal. Come."

He handed his phone to Peter; on the screen were a bunch of stock details, and Oscorp's stock price was rising and profitable. "Congratulations." Peter said, "But what does this have to do with me?"

"This is one percent of Oscorp's equity, Peter; it was transferred to your name five minutes ago."

Peter's eyes widened: "What? Mr. Osborn, I can't accept this!"

"I don't think you quite understand how much money you helped me make." Osborn laughed, "You really are a miracle worker, Mr. Parker. Believe me, this is just a small token of appreciation."

Peter didn't know what to say: "Tha... thank you?"

"My pleasure. Now, if you'll excuse me." He left in a hurry, leaving Peter and Otto alone.

"Now I'm even more disappointed in Osborn. If only he had discovered your talent a few days earlier." Otto sighed, "But let's not talk about that. You did me a huge favor, Peter. I have a feeling that one day it will be my turn to see your latest invention. I look forward to that day. If you need any help, just say the word."

The two chatted for a while longer. Peter was genuinely very curious about his technology and how it worked. Otto explained the basic principles to him. When Peter asked about those mechanical arms, Otto admitted that it was more of a side project, and he hadn't even applied for a patent yet, finding it too troublesome.

Peter said goodbye to Otto and left the party. A thought popped into his head: if Doctor Octopus would never appear again, and Otto didn't really care much about those mechanical arms, why didn't he try it himself?

The idea of having four extra arms was indeed very interesting. Maybe two could fire Webbing to swing through the city? Maybe use the other two as extra arms? The possibilities were simply endless!

He went downstairs and was just about to hail a taxi when his phone vibrated. The caller ID was Felicia.

"Hello?"

"Tiger... can you come over?" She sounded very nervous. Why?

"Sure, no problem. What's wrong?" He got into the taxi and gave Felicia's address.

"I... I need to tell you something."

Peter blinked; was she finally going to tell him about her other identity? "I'll be there as soon as possible."

He arrived at her place quickly and got into the elevator. He was a bit nervous, still wearing his suit underneath his tuxedo. If she really wanted to confess to him, then... perhaps now was also the time to let her know.

He knocked on her door, and she shouted from inside: "The door's open! Remember to lock it when you come in!"

Peter did as she said, and after entering, he locked the door behind him. He had been here once before to pick her up for a date, but he had never seen her mother; it seemed that person had never existed from the start.

"Kitten? Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, you... come in." She shouted from the bedroom.

Peter pushed open the door, only to find the room empty. He walked in, and the door behind him closed on its own. "Kitten? Where are you?" He felt something move behind him. He turned around and gasped; she was standing there wearing her full Black Cat suit.

"Remember when we first talked? You said that the names we choose best represent our true selves." Felicia took off her mask, "This is the real me, Peter. My name is Black Cat, and... I'm a thief."

Peter stared at her for a few seconds; she became increasingly nervous because of his silence. Then he smiled, strode forward, pressed her against the wall, and kissed her with all his might.

Felicia's hands were initially pressed against his chest in surprise, but she slowly became intoxicated by the kiss. When they finally separated, she looked at him: "What does this mean?"

"It means you finally told me." Peter said with a smile.

She was shocked: "You knew all along?! How is that possible?!"

Peter smiled: "Because, Kitten, you're not the only one with secrets." He took off his suit jacket, unbuttoned his shirt, and revealed the red and black suit underneath. He slapped his chest, activating the Arc Reactor, and black web patterns instantly appeared on the red suit, with the spider emblem occupying the center.

She gasped, meeting his eyes. Peter pulled out the mask hidden in his suit pocket and activated it; the helmet clicked and locked onto his head: "Hey, Kitten."

"Peter, you are... you are..." She looked at him as if she had seen a ghost.

"I told you earlier that I had a girlfriend." Peter smiled and turned off the mask, setting it aside, "Do you like the new suit? The original jacket one was pretty cool, but I thought it was time for an upgrade."

"You're Spider-Man?!" She exclaimed.

"That's right. But keep your voice down; this is supposed to be a secret identity." He smiled.

"You... you, how could you not tell me?!" She shouted.

"How could you not tell me you were Black Cat?" Peter countered.

"I... you knew all along?! You knew I was Black Cat?!" She asked.

"That's right."

"Since when?!"

"I was suspicious the day you first walked into the classroom. You, uh, left a very deep impression on me the first time we met, I mean the time when you were wearing the suit. You were breathtakingly beautiful, especially those eyes; I don't think I'll ever forget them for the rest of my life. Later, when I met Felicia Hardy, I guessed you might be Black Cat. It wasn't until we talked that I was truly certain."

"But I..." She opened her mouth, "You jerk! You big jerk! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"I told you a long time ago, Kitten, don't you remember? That night you complained to Spider-Man about being worried about me? I told you, my girlfriend has a secret, I've known for a long time, but I wanted to wait until she trusted me enough to tell me herself."

"I thought you were talking about her cheating on you or something! Not this!" Felicia was stunned, "It all makes sense now, the ambiguity between the two identities, those jokes, that inappropriate physical contact,"

"Hey, I didn't touch you inappropriately!"

"You did." She rolled her eyes, "You've pinned me to the ground at least ten times when you were wearing the suit."

"That was to stop you from stealing things." Peter shrugged, "Go ahead and sue me; I don't want my girlfriend to go to prison."

"Well, what if I really did go in?"

"I wouldn't let them succeed." Peter growled, pulling her into his arms, "You are mine, Felicia Hardy; no one can take you away from me."

Felicia pressed against him, her hands clutching his collar, her long silver-white hair hanging down, but her eyes were a bit red.

She was clearly still that proud and dangerous-looking person, but in her voice at this moment, there was actually a hint of irrepressible grievance.

"So you knew all along?"

Peter did not deny it.

"Yeah."

"Since the first time I appeared in front of you?"

"Pretty much."

Felicia stared at him, her breathing slightly trembling: "So you just watched me play dumb? Watched me hide things in front of you? Watched me keep secrets from you like an idiot?"

"No." Peter raised his hand and gently held her wrist, "I was waiting for you to tell me yourself."

"What's the difference?"

"There's a big difference." Peter looked at her, "If I forced you to say it, that's called exposing. If you tell me yourself, that's called trust."

Felicia was stunned.

The anger she had prepared seemed to be stuck in her chest all of a sudden, unable to be released, nor could it be swallowed.

After a long while, she cursed in a low voice:

"You jerk." She then jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

That night, all that came from her bedroom was her screaming his name repeatedly, along with the thick scent of intimacy.

Everything came to a temporary pause.