Nexus - Into the Marvelverse

3rd POV:

''Bell, have you been listening to anything I have said?,'' Gwen finally snapped, when she noticed Bell was only starring at her instead of the illustrations in the book.

''I have,'' Bell said not moving his eyes from her face.

''Then be a Dear and tell me what I was just saying,'' Gwen cooed.

''The more mass a sun has the more they can fuse heavier elements, until eventually they reach iron. The fusion of iron doesn't create any energy, aka radiation, and builds up in the center of the star until it reaches critical mass. Then the balance between radiation and gravity is suddenly broken. The core collapses. And the sun implodes. Within a fraction of a second all that mass feeds into the center thanks to gravity and a neutron star is born. Or if the sun is big enough and has enough mass and gravity a black hole is formed,'' Bell summarized what he felt were the essentials. He was already training with his training-clone in a void cluster in another galaxy. Void clusters were empty space stretching lightyears across the universe with not a single body withing them. The were silent,dark and lonely. Nightmare stuff really.

He knew how suns were created. So he just needed to create one and then simulate the process of its collapse. Then he had a black hole on his hands.

Simple.

Actually, no. Perhaps he was just too impatient right now. He had a sun, maybe he should learn a little more about black holes, just to be extra safe, before collapsing the sun.

Black holes meant serious business. If anything went wrong he didn't want to accidently destroy the Milky Way and all life.

They have already covered radiation previously today. And he knacked it no problem. Fascinating stuff radiation.

Anyway.

''Well, you have been listening at least most of the time. You forgot the super nova explosion before the formation of a neutron star or a black hole,'' Gwen lectured, her cheeks slightly red. Bell hummed unapologetically and traced his eyes over her face. Gwen suddenly was very conscious of the fact that he deliberately made a mistake just so that he could be lectured by her.

''Really,'' Gwen asked.

''Every guy has a professor kink. Lecture me more please,'' Bell informed her. Gwen sighed and dropped her head into her palms.

''Moving on! That is essentially how black holes are formed. Contrary to popular belief, they don't suck in everything around them like a sinkhole. They still retain their mass, just concentrated in a singularity. More on that later. Which means that if we replaced our sun with a black hole we wouldn't just be sucked in, but continue to spin around it like now. We still would be very much dead though, because we'll freeze over. Things change however when you enter the Event Horizon. Assuming you have any form of momentum, you will not immediately be sucked in into the black hole thanks to its gravity, but slowly approach it more and more. You can't escape it once you enter the Event Horizon, unless you move faster then the speed of light. Past that, you will experience time at a slower speed while the time outside accelerates,'' Gwen continued to lecture. Fascinating stuff. Really. They also went over mathematical calculations and formulas. Important stuff too, but not that fascinating.

Time passed.

''Can black holes die?,'' Bell asked.

''Theoretically yes. Thanks to something called Hawking Radiation. Empty space isn't really empty empty. You know? It is filled with virtual particles popping into existence and annihilating each other. When that happens right at the Event Horizon sometimes the two get separated. One gets swallowed by the black hole and the other escapes, thus the black hole loses energy. The smaller it gets, the quicker it loses energy and the hotter it gets thanks to radiation. Then it explodes. But I wouldn't worry about that. Even the smallest black hole we know about will explode in 1 googol years give or take. The universe will be dead several times over by that time,'' Gwen explained.

(A.N.: Remember what I said. Take anything scientific with a grain of salt. I'm not a scientist, just trying to write a story. Peace.)

Wait, what? That was complete news to him.

Also news, he liked the sound of, because of its implication.

''What happens when a black hole dies?,'' Bell asked.

''No one really knows. But we have theories. One among them is that a similar explosion like the big bang will occur. And thus a dead universe gets born anew and the cycle of life continues and so on and so forth,'' Gwen shrugged, not really worrying about the stuff to much. Or more like she still hasn't quite realized what it meant to be a reality warper, because Bell looked a little pale.

Suddenly he was very glad that he didn't do anything without reading or hearing the warning sign at the end of the spell or scientific knowledge first.

Wandas 'No More Mutants' event was now more horrifying then he ever imagined. The harm an absentminded reality warper could cause.

Reality warpers were straight up bullshit.

His training-clone still had the super massive star in his hand. He had to drag the dust from outside the void cluster to form it. But if he knew more about these virtual particles, then he should theoretically create something from 'nothing'. The implications made him almost salivate.

''These virtual particles. What are they? Are they the same thing as matter and antimatter?,'' Bell asked.

''That... is one difficult question. There are several theories, but the leading one is that of Quantum Chromo Dynamics. So space is expanding. Right? We know that?,'' Gwen began. Only asking to see if Bell knew about that and was following so far.

''Right,'' Bell mentioned her to continue.

''Well, we are not completely sure how it works quiet yet. But we noticed that when empty space stretches that the is some kind of Quantum fluctuation is going on. Because new space is created. Right? In fact this occurs everywhere even within ourselves, the only reason we don't feel or notice it is because of gravity and the pair bonds of the atoms. But at that infinitesimal level, smaller than Quarks really, the building block of the atom, between all the space in between the electron and proton and neutron, we can observe it. Have observed it, in fact, with super advanced equipment. But beyond here we are kind of lost. It could be matter and antimatter. It could not be. It could be something completely new or not at all. It could be something forming from nothing which would change our understanding of so much or it would not. It is really to difficult to tell,'' Gwen said with some excitement. Calm down nerd geek.

Still, that was confirmation enough for Bell. Either he needed to explore it himself or find out from a more advanced civilisation. But honestly? It was time to put his super enhanced brain to good use.

Theoretically speaking if you have infinite monkeys typing away at the computer, one of them will write Macbeth or another one of Shakespears works.

By that logic, if he had infinite time then theoretically he would come up with the relativity theory himself. Only it would take him far more time than it ever did Einstein, since he didn't possess his natural genius. Then again he was kind of cheating with his thought process being so much more enhanced.

''It is fine. That still helped me immensely. Thank you Gwen. Wanna let me treat you to a pizza?,'' Bell asked standing up from his chair and laying on the bed. It smelled like her alright.

''Hm? An impromptu date? I don't know, I had somethings planned today,'' Gwen lead him on. She was really satisfied with having helped him. He really kept his word to her, about relying more on others. She can't deny however that she felt annoyed with how quickly he jumped from accepting her help to accepting help from everyone. Still, she wasn't going to make a big fuss about it.

''Yeah, yeah. I get it you workaholic. Let's just patrol the city, then we can eat a pizza somewhere,'' Bell rolled his eyes, picking himself up from her bed and summoning his Nexus gear.

''I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing this,'' Gwen sighed, shaking her head and grabbing her own suit from her closet. Her father was working on this Sunday, so they had plenty of time. She had to suffer a hour long lecture about propriety and the like, yesterday after they came home. As if she would do anything of the sort with Bell. They were still quiet early on in their relationship and nor has Bell made such kinds of advancements on her.

She shooed him away so she could change. 

Soon enough the two swung through the city.

...

Meanwhile with the training clone. He dissipated the sun while taking some of its atoms and forming it into oxygen. He no longer had a magnetic field around him, because he now could neutralize radiation directly.

So maybe training in this dimension was a little ... not advised. That was fine. He had a solution for that. Dimension Travel. It was no more different than creating a pocket dimension or creating a wormhole, though he moved long since past these feeble restrictions. He can now just teleport. 

So a dimension where life of any kind did not exist would be ideal, not even as single cell organism. THAT on the other hand was a little more difficult. It wasn't like he had access to a search engine where he could just type in the parameters and voila. He needed to manually find one, unless he came up with a solution. Something to look into.

Anyway. After a bit he found one.

One dimension hop later he could now finally start training without any fear of wiping out life. He actually wanted to start with black holes, but he couldn't just pass the chance up to create something from nothing. Then he could create a sun and form a black hole. Maybe he could even accelerate its energy loss and see what happens when a black hole dies, since black holes died by this very same principle.

He closed his eyes and stretched his magic. First, he should probably find any kind of activity, before trying to grab onto these virtual particles.

There.

That was relatively quick. Then again his fine tuning and his control have only been increasing with each training session. It shouldn't be to much of a surprise that he would pick up on these teny tiny fluctuations. Granted it took him a hour, but still.

Now let us looks at those little bastards. What was going on here?

Hm...

Oh?!

But that would mean...

Let him test that a bit.

Fascinating. Really fascinating.

That would change all of their understanding.

Wait, let him test this as well.

By God and Christ. No way.

...

...

That still did not explain why they destroyed each other when they collided. 

Let him run a few experiments.

Hm.

Einstein must really have been one of the genius of all time, because even with his enhanced brain he struggled to make sense of his experiments results and interpret them. Oh, he was getting there, but he could feel his head overheat a little from all those electrical impulses, which should not be possible, but guess he reached high enough levels of activity that it happened anyway.

Maybe, it meant this?

No wait, that was stupid.

It meant this. Yes!

Actually no. Wait. Let him make some extra experiments.

So it did mean this actually. Nevermind then. He scraped the newest understanding and reverted to his previous one.

Yes...

And yes.

Yes!

Of course, how could he have been so stupid.

Which meant this and this as well.

Yes. Good. Good.

After a few hours, Bell stretched his hand out in front of him. 

He concentrated for a few minutes, close to an hour and then felt something. He opened his eyes and looked at what he saw in his hand.

A small rock. 

It was hella tiny.

But a solid rock all the same.

He brought in no dust or atoms from around him.

All he did was take hold of these particles before they could collide.

Bell giggled giddily and brought the rock to his face, inspecting every little thing he could about it.

It was the most beautiful thing he has ever behold. Sorry Gwen.

Again!

Bell threw the rock away. He now knew the feeling, knew the theory and knew what to look for.

It was slow at first. But the more familiar he got with the process, the quicker he created matter. Before long he held another super massive sun in his hand. From here on out everything should be a little more easy, since he didn't need to develop new understanding from the ground up. He shoved the sun a little away from him and focused his magic. Increase iron quantity. Imbalance radioactivity and gravity aaaaaaand ...

Boom.

The supernova exploded in his face. He didn't bother taking the dust around him and just straight up created oxygen in his lungs. Yes he was gonna abuse the shit out of that ability, because it was essentially his baby. Created completely anew with his own two hands and no prior knowledge from anyone, except the tiniest bit. He felt immense pride in himself.

He looked at the black hole. He felt it more than anything. Sure the stars light disappeared whenever he moved it slightly, but even so it was difficult to perceive.

...

YOLO.

He chucked himself into the black hole. He knew he wouldn't die and even if he couldn't escape with his super speed, something that he also already learned previously, then he could just create another puppet outside and move his consciousness to it. No problemo. There were also a few other ways he could escape.

But honestly? What even was the point of light speed when you could instantly teleport by connecting two waypoints?

Turns out that Flash from DC lied. One really can't move faster than light speed. It was literally impossible, not only as mass but also as energy. He needed to find another method of time travel.

It was weird. Getting stretched and elongated into infinity. It was also painless. But he knew it was not because he turned off his pain receptors. It was more like time moved so incredible slowly that even his nerve signals were slowed down. He was sure if he hadn't access to his super enhanced brain he wouldn't notice it. Trapped in infinity for all eternity, or at least until the black hole died, without even realizing.

He accelerated his nerve impulses and almost blacked out. He immediately turned off his pain receptors. That was ... something. Yup he knew, if he didn't possess his indestructible body, he would have died long before.

Since he was already here might as well look what the singularity is all about. Aaaaaand it made no sense. By all right it made no sense. It was gravity infinitely collapsing within it self under its own gravity. It lead nowhere. He could barely feel any matter. Yeaaaaa, it made no fucking sense. 

Welp.

It was certainly AN experience getting swallowed by a black hole. Not something he would recommend to just anyone.

He moved his consciousness outside the black hole into a new puppet, abandoning the current one to its fate. Fascinating.

Now only one thing remained. He took hold of the virtual particles at the edge of the event horizon and prohibited them from colliding. Soon enough he would see what the consequences of that would be. The black hole was getting smaller and smaller and consequently hotter and hotter. Soon it was no bigger than a tennis ball and he would see what ...

...

Nexus connected with the edge of a rooftop and spun around a few times before landing on his face. A massive shiver went down his spine as the fear of god was put into him. He could take in the surroundings at light speed if he wanted, which he did, wanting to take in every frame from that black holes death. Turns out there was something that moved faster than light. It was just the Big Bang of the universe. He 'died' before he could even see the flash or the sound, his body offering not even the tiniest shred of resistance.

He immediately cast some consciousness back into that dimension, to see his handiwork. It was dead. Born anew. Every part of the universe turned into new dust particles which would form into stars and planets and all kinds of celestial bodies. 

He was so fucking glad he left this dimension. He almost had A FUCKING CASE OF HUBRIS ON HIS HANDS!!!!!

ALSO WAS HE TECHNICALLY A GOD NOW, IF LIFE WOULD FORM IN THAT DIMENSION?.

...

Nah. Stan can keep his throne. Too much trouble.

Reality warpers were fucking bullshit.

It was official. They only lost, because of plot contrivance, plot armor or because they were not creative enough. Or their own ineptitude. If you were an idiot, there was no helping you after all.

Reality warpers had no right, to lose in any capacity.

Also he had now a giant trump card in the form of a black hole and ONE GIANT FUCK YOU trump card, in the form of a little something called Big Bang.

Go ahead and top that Edward Teller.

He just needed to remember to hop to a dead dimension with his enemy if he ever wanted to use them. No biggie.

He picked himself up and released a sigh.

Now he knew basically everything there was to know. He only needed to study up on time and souls and for all that Gwen may want to help him, there was only one person he could trust on these matters, especially with Time and with seeing what just happened...

He couldn't take the risk.

 And then... and then... And then what? Stagnation?

No.

That was not his style.

But then what?

Hm?

He could try to erase his weaknesses. but where would he get infinite energy? And ROB told him that his reality warping needed to follow the laws of physics.

...

Unless...

Unless it didn't.

ROB wanted amusement. Not to dissimilar to himself, really. Now what would he do, if he were ROB and granted someone reality warping powers?

...

...

He would lie to him.

He would lie to him and trick him. Because what was funnier then an idiot taking someone by their word and not exploring their powers properly. So maybe he WAS a fully fledged reality warper. The kind that could just ignore the laws of physics and make reality his bitch. Like Wanda who had no proper understanding of multiple sciences, but could just hop dimensions, because she simply willed it.

Yeah he would definitely do something like that if he were ROB.

Something to look into later.

Then what about energy? Maybe he did have infinite energy after all. Or he could just create it if he was a proper reality warper.

...

Also something to check later on. Right now he was just so mentally tired from that shock of realization that he received.

Ghost Spider landed on the roof with a roll when she saw Nexus crash.

''Are you alright? What happened?,'' she asked. Nexus said nothing but simply approached her and hugged her. 

''You now how I can create puppet clones? I went to a different dimension, where life didn't exist and messed around with black holes. Now we know what happens when black holes die. The Big Bang. I may have inadvertently created life there by kick starting the universe anew. Assuming that the proper conditions form. Oh, and turns out there is something faster than light speed. It is the Big Bang as well. I 'died' before I even registered what happened,'' Nexus explained patiently. Gwen let the news sink in for a while, before she pushed him slightly away and tried to assure him.

''I guess nothing can ever be simple with you. At least you had the foresight to hop to a different dimension,'' Gwen tried to comfort him, putting her hand on his mask where his cheek would be.

Yeah, better not mention how barely that came to be.

''That is a bit of a tame reaction,'' Nexus remarked.

''Oh, trust me. I'm freaking the fuck out. I'm starting to understand how out of reach some peoples powers can be when compared to mine. Are there any others like you?,'' Gwen asked masking her hysteria quite well.

''Well, I only know of one. Wanda Maximoff. Though she doesn't know it yet. She thinks she only possesses telekinesis and telepathy. I'm keeping an eye on her with my Zero persona,'' Nexus told her. That was a lie by omission, he knew of a lot more reality warpers, but better not stress her out more.

''Oh yeah, you told me a little about them. You all busted out more Hydra bases?,'' Gwen asked starting to slowly relax. She really didn't like him going around killing people. But even she could admit that Nazis were a bit different, so she turned a blind eye.

''A few, we are currently training a bit, while I'm looking for more bases,'' Nexus shared.

''Ok, just tell me more later. I kind of want to move on from this topic. Just one final question. Are you alright? I doubt it was pleasant what you went through,'' Gwen asked worriedly.

''Don't worry I died before I could even register anything. It was more the realization and shock of what just happened that threw me off balance. I'm fine know. I'm just glad I learnt my lesson without too much cost to me,'' Nexus said, putting his hand on her hers.

''Uhuh,'' Gwen replied absentmindedly. She did say she wanted to move on from this topic, but it was a little easier said than done.

''Hey, why don't we take a break and eat a pizza. We can talk a little bit. It would do us both good,'' Nexus said shooting a web and walking a bit. When Ghost Spider slowly followed him he took a swing and watched as she followed after him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

''So, why did you want us to come over? You said you had something important to tell us,'' Gwen came in, entering Peters room followed by Bell. This was a few days after the black hole incident.

''Yes, yes. Come in and take a seat. I have a bit of a confession to make,'' Peter told them closing the door behind them. Not that it mattered, seeing as they were the only ones at his house, but he was cautious like that.

Gwen and Bell took a seat on the bed and looked at him patiently. Neither saying anything and giving Peter time to gather his nerves.

''Ok, so... Something happened. Something that I don't know how to explain. Something that changed my body,'' Peter began.

Nah, fam. Bell was not gonna pass up this opportunity.

''Oh. Oh. Well you know, when a boy starts becoming a man, he enters something called puberty. And various things happen during...,'' Bell began, awkwardly.

''What? No! Also why would I bring Gwen in, for what is clearly a boy talk. Just shut your mouth,'' Peter scoffed.

''Ok. I think it is better if I show you two,'' Peter crouched down.

''Gwen, no,'' Bell valiantly sacrificed himself by blocking Gwens eyesight with his hand. If one had to suffer then let it be him. He could do absolutely nothing as the ugly sight was burned inside his retinas. He screamed in silent agony.

Gwen ripped his hand from her face and hit him over the head before looking at Peter and gaping.

''Peter,...,'' Gwen said in shock at seeing him stick to the ceiling.

''Look, I know it sounds crazy. But one night I was sleeping and then I woke up with these powers. The truth is I'm Spider-Man,'' Peter said confidently. He wouldn't tell them without having carefully considered this decision. No reason to hesitate now at the finish line. He didn't chose to tell them, because he expected them to help him in his fights. He chose to tell them, because he trusted them, maybe because he wanted them to cover for him a bit in his lies and because he did not want them to come looking for him, whenever he disappeared and accidentally walk into danger and risk any injury.

Gwen looked at him for a bit, before jumping on the ceiling herself.

''Not that crazy,'' Gwen joked her hair falling down. Peter widened his eyes and looked at Bell who just lazily and uninterestedly cleaned his ear. 

''Hm? Why are you looking at me like that? You know Ghost Spider is dating Nexus, I doubt I need to dirty the ceiling,'' Bell drawled. Peter sighed. So he worried for nothing. His friends were there all along, beside him. He guessed it was to late to keep them out of danger. He and Gwen dropped down.

''Don't play coy, you bastard. You already knew, didn't you? Just like with me,'' Gwen accused. She knew he could clone himself, but she didn't know how he found about their secrets. He still refused to tell them.

''Yeah. Sorry, Gwen. But sometimes I gotta stick to the Bro code. And if Peter didn't want to tell us, then I had to accept it,'' Bell said picking himself up from the bed.

''Wait, you already knew? With Gwen as well? She didn't tell you when you started dating?,'' Peter asked surprised.

''No, I did tell him. But he already knew before hand. He still refuses to tell me where I messed up. And no offense Peter, if I can't get an answer, you definitely won't,'' Gwen explained and huffed. Peter nodded understandingly. True enough.

''Anyway. Now that we all know each others dirty little secret, you wanna form a VIP club?,'' Bell offered.

''And what would that club entail? Also why even make a club with only three people? I doubt any more will come and join our club,'' Peter shrugged.

''Well, for one. We can install an AI in your mask and build in some more equipment into your suit. You will have access to all the police frequencies and be more efficient in stopping crime. I have it as well in my helmet,'' Bell replied.

''No offense, Bell, but I don't think I would like that. Your helmet seems cumbersome,'' Peter politely declined.

''Then why don't you both come and build your own in my basement? I have all kinds off stuff to help you build it,'' Bell offered.

''Wait, what?,'' Gwen and Peter both said.

...

''So, your mother doesn't know about this?,'' Peter asked him while they climbed the stairs down into Bells basement. Bell turned on the light.

''No. My mother never needed the basement and when I asked if I can have for my 'man' cave she replied positively,'' Bell told them. The two observed his 'man' cave. The walls were insulated with sound dampeners. There was one side of the wall where his computer was, surrounded by a closet with open drawers, and a corner where a few instruments lied. It looked like a small recording studio with all that equipment. There were also a few pictures hanging on the wall, clearly hand drawn.

Sometime he moved some of the stuff from his room down here. His bedroom was fine, but he couldn't deny that the extra space was more freeing, if that made any sense.

''You really gotta stop revealing these things from left field. I didn't know you could play instruments,'' Peter said, throwing himself in the bean bag. He needed to be completely honest. He was a bit jealous. They were talking about a man cave after all.

''Me neither. Can you play something,'' Gwen said, taking a seat in the cozy office chair at his computer.

Bell shrugged. Meh. He could put on a bit of a performance for them. He picked up the electric guitar and moved a few buttons on the recorder, then he activated the boxers and microphone.

He has recently released Elden Ring on Steam. Naturally,it was a huge success. The fact that FromSoftware did not exist here was a travesty. And he did need an excuse why he had so much money to buy his 'equipment', so he opened a second YouTube channel where he released 'fan' songs about 'AFoxyScriptwriters' games. It was easy making up songs with his enhanced brain and his clone puppet specifically for technomancy. He began singing in the microphone.

(A.N. If you want a song for your ears then it is 'Shed no grace on me' by JT Music)

''It's something I guess. I feel like I'm missing a lot of context. I mean you're clearly trying,'' Peter offered encouragingly. I wasn't really to his tastes. Granted there were small sections were the song was really good, but most off it not so much.

''Piss off. How do you think I can afford my equipment. Go to your phone and look up the channel 'Rubicon'. Then come back to me and let us see you mouth off again,'' Bell scoffed. Peter rolled his eyes, but did as instructed.

''I found it decent, but it is not really my style. What do you play aside from that?,'' Gwen gave her opinion. She couldn't deny. She found it very hot, that he could play an instrument. She couldn't really explain why.

Peter jumped up straight in his bean bag.

''Dude, what the hell? Your pulling in millions of views. Hell you almost have a million subscribers as well,'' Peter gaped. Bell put down his guitar and deliberately walked the long way so he could pass Peter around his back to his computer and pat him mockingly on the head.

''Stick to your sciences, geek boy. Leave the music to me. Also, I'm not just making fan songs. I'm also making covers. You should listen to my cover of Ma Meilleure Ennemie, You love that song so much after all,'' Bell said, mentioning Gwen to move.

''You can speak french! Where do you pull all those skills from. Your ass crack?,'' Peter yelled frustrated, he quickly clicked the subscribe button though, before standing up.

''What? No! It is an english translation. Though I do have a few original songs as well. Just look through it, if you will. Maybe you can find something you'll like,'' Bell denied, pushing the computer slightly in to make more space, before opening hidden compartments in his table and drawers. They could all see different trinkets and tools.

''Look, I can't just accept this. I thank you, but that is too much,'' Peter denied raising his hands up in protest.

''Speak for yourself. I'm gonna make myself a new mask,'' Gwen said, pulling out her mask from her back pack. While she didn't know about his channel or him being able to play music, she did know about him being able to create stuff from the atoms in the air. So, none of this probably cost him any money anyway. Besides, girlfriend privileges.

Bell shot a web to Peter and dragged him towards the table, then after he lazed an arm around his neck.

''Shut up and accept my generosity,'' Bell told him. Peter looked at him and then at Gwen. She raised an eyebrow and mentioned with her head towards all the toys. Peter sighed.

Was that silicon? And was that a flexible processor chip? Why would he need to build in retractable lenses? Oh,it would endear them to children.

That was a bit of a lie. Bell just wanted to see the iconic retractable lenses. Also the world didn't look like back home. It followed more of an realistic cartoon art style, so there was no moving lenses like in normal cartoons. It was a little weird, but frankly he liked it more. The world looked more brighter.

''So, what kind of AI do you want me to install?,'' Bell asked after the two built their advanced masks. He kind of lazed around and let the geniuses do their thing.

''What kind are there? Also how safe are they? Because, if they are easy to hack then I don't want them,'' Peter asked.

''Trust me, I'm a bit of a tech guru. Even Stark will struggle to crack the code. There is rudimentary AI, where you only have the bare bones essentials displayed. Police radio frequencies and emergency call center. For that you need to switch manually by interacting with your lenses. There is practically nothing to crack, because it is mostly hardware. The other one is more advanced. You can communicate with us or others, since you are connected to the internet at all times. Don't worry, as I said. Not even Stark will crack my code. You will also have the previously mentioned utilities. You can order the AI to do something. There is a voice modulator and a bunch of other stuff,'' Bell explained.

The two contemplated it for a bit before ultimately deciding to have the more advanced one installed since Bell used it as well. He typed away for a while, inputting command codes after command codes and a little technomancy behind the scenes, then he finally connected each mask with an USB port and downloaded the AI down. They were a little eager to try it out, but Night was approaching and they could do this just as well at home.

''What do we call the AI?,'' asked Gwen.

''A.R.A.C.H.N.I.D.,'' Bell said striking a superhero pose, hands on his waist and looking in the distance.

Peter and Gwen looked at each other in their periphery.

''How much do you want to bet it is an acronym with not proper words?,'' Gwen asked Peter.

''That is a losing bet,'' Peter retorted.

''Yeah, pretty much. It just sounded cool I guess. Oh. Before, you two go. Wanna see the radio active spider from Oscorp?,'' Bell asked them.

...

Peter stood up from his crouch, Gwen right along side him.

''Bell. I'm thankful for giving me powers, but I swear to God if you broke into my home, I will kill you,'' Peter bit out. Gwen rolled her eyes. Of course, Bell would do something like that. They could examine the spider later.

''Who do you take me for? I didn't lockpick your door,'' Bell denied.

Peter sighed relaxing.

''I climbed through your window,'' Bell revealed.

Peter lunged for his throat, while Bell cackled. Ach, the sound of sweet frustration. That was just music to his ears.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Well, here we are. Sweet new home, I guess,'' Zero said opening their new safe house in Denmark.

It was empty, but with one portal creating dude, one fast dude, one telekinetic dudette and one strong dudette the furniture was quickly installed and it was as if they never left home in the first place.

A while later they where on an empty field in africa.

''So, can you phase?,'' Zero asked Pietro.

''Huh,'' Pietro asked confused looking at his sister for help at Zeros question.

''Phase, as in in vibrate your body and therefore body at a frequency that allows it to pass through solid objects or other stuff,'' Zero explained.

''That sounds incredible useful, but why do you make it sound like I have to use it?,'' Pietro complained.

''Look, Pietro, you haven't passed the sound barrier yet. It is useful, because you make will create no sonic boom if you can phase. That means no noise and no possible alarming of your enemies,'' Zero explained letting Sarah take over. She may be a geneticist, but that was basic knowledge.

''That is the first thing, but there is also the issue of friction. The faster you get the more friction you create, because of air resistance. Friction creates heat. And if you reach high enough speeds you can reach temperatures greater then the suns surface and you will scorch all of earth,'' Sarah explained. Pietro looked horrified.

''He is that powerful?,'' Wanda gasped. Zero merely nodded.

''Wait! Maybe I can't even reach these amount of speed. Actually how do we even know i can reach those speeds. How would I even reach these speeds,'' Pietro made excuses, slightly panicking.

''Hell if I know. By running faster I guess. Look there is no playbook for us to read, that we can answer any of these questions. We can only experiment. How do you think I got so good with using portals offensively and defensively? By experimenting and training. But in your case, you need to learn phasing first and foremost, before anything else,'' Zero reasoned before pointing at the paper barrier with a table and an apple that he built.

''Ok. And how do I phase?,'' Pietro asked.

''By vibrating. Or if you want it more complicated. By moving very short distances back and forth very fast at a molecular level,'' Sarah answered,'' Do not worry. Seeing as your the one that needs the most help, I will be right along side you.''

The two of them approached the contraption.

''So, Wanda. You said you possess telepathy and telekinesis? Is that all?,'' Zero asked.

''Oh? Oh. Yeah. It is. I haven't noticed anything besides that really,'' Wanda answered a little distracted looking to see if Pietro was alright. He seemed pretty shaken up. She snapped back to attention when she had paper and pen trust in her face.

''Then take this and brain storm. I noticed your under utilizing your gifts. Theoretically speaking, you should be able to fly by lifting your clothes or yourself with your own telekinesis. Try to let your creativity flow a bit and then we can get over your ideas,'' Zero said also portaling in a small table and a chair. Wanda nodded.

''As for you.... Sorry, I don't really know what your powers are aside from your adamantium talons. What are your powers exactly? Do you have an adamantium skeleton?,'' Zero asked Laura.

''Super healing. Super senses. Some super strength. Martial arts. And no I don't have an adamantium skeleton,'' Laura dutifully answered.

''Hm. That sounds powerful, alright. For now let us train some CQC. Hopefully I will come up with something,'' Zero moved into position,'' No powers. Only hand to hand combat. Do not worry hitting me too hard, I have a minor healing factor too. No killing or maiming attacks.''

Zero lied. He had no healing factor.

Laura nodded and immediately attacked.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days passed. They turned into weeks and soon enough March 12th arrived. They entered a sort of routine. Train sometimes. Patrol the city sometimes. With A.R.A.C.H.N.I.D they could now split and cover more ground. Yes they kept the stupid acronym. Go on dates sometimes, without Peter of course. Bell ordered a microscope and some other equipment. They took some blood from the spider without harming it. They wanted to see if they could understand their powers better. So far they really haven't cracked anything. They also added the web gliders thanks to Peters ingenuity. Though Bell refused to incorporate it into his suit.

Peter asked him if they can hang out a little more at his house.

Pop! Confetti!

''Happy Birthday, Bell,'' Everyone told him the moment they walked through the door.

''Oh, wow. After an entire day of Peter dragging me around through the city I'm suddenly surprised with a party on my own birthd...,'' Bell deadpanned, before a small kitchen blanket hit him in the face, thrown by Gwen.

Peter pushed Bell a little guiding him to a chair and forcing him down.

''Happy Birth...,'' everyone began singing out of pitch and out of tune. It was torture to his music inclined ears. No one ever sang this song in tune or in pitch. He tuned them out.

The cake was put in front of him and he dutifully blew the candles, with everyone clapping.

Somebody please kill him and end this cringefest.

Gwen came and gave him a peek on his cheek. ''Good boy, for suffering through our horrible singing,'' she teased. She wasn't blind to his discomfort. Well, he could bloody well suffer the birthday party. Turnabout is fair play. Bell gave her a unimpressed glare. Gifts were given, the obligatory mannerful denial was given, before the guests insisted and the presents were accepted anyway.

Then they kind of talked to each other while eating cake. More like they all split up and everyone was talking to another person.

''You know Gwen. It is kind of unfortunate. I think we need to break up,'' Bell told her taking a spoonful of cake. Gwen heart stopped and she whipped around to face him properly, the two of them sitting far enough away in the backyard that the others wouldn't hear them.

''What?,'' Gwen rasped.

''Your birthdays in December, which means I'm older then you. When I'm 18 you will be a minor. I can't risk the FBI knocking on my door,'' Bell teased her. She put her hand on his knee and squeezed with all her might. It was fine. He could handle it.

''Never make such a joke again,'' Gwen calmly told him.

''You're squeezing kind of hard. Since it wasn't a topic about death or rape I thought it would be fine,'' Bell looked at her hand on his knee. He felt it, alright. She wasn't holding back at all, huh?

''NEVER make such a joke again,'' Gwen repeated with some of the muscles in her face contorting.

Bell raised an eyebrow. He took her hand from his knee with gentleness and nodded, continuing to hold her hand.

''I'm sorry about your knee,'' Gwen apologized once she calmed down. She wan't ashamed for having expressed her displeasure, merely that she tried to harm him in doing so.

''It is fine. I have barely felt it. Still, summer vacation is soon upon us and then we will only have 2 more years until we enter a whole new world. I noticed we never really talked about what any of us wanted to do afterwards,'' Bell opened the topic. Gwen cast him a nasty look.

''Peter wants to study STEM and I want to study genetic engineering. We talked about this when we were younger. Have you forgotten? You told us you wanted to become an astronaut,'' Gwen reminded him.

''Oh, you were serious? I just thought we were going for typical childhood dreams that would be violently trampled by the unending march of time into vestigial atoms,'' Bell argued. Gwen starred at him.

''Yes, Bell. That is what we were going for. And now that we are no longer children and you know our dreams, can I know yours?,'' Gwen asked patiently. She started to notice that he always loved doing something out of the norm every now and then to illicit reactions out of her. Sometimes she still reacted, like just previously (To her great shame,it was so obvious too) but other times she could deny him his goals. It was sort of her own revenge on him for driving her up the walls sometimes.

''Oh. I'll start a company,'' Bell revealed. Gwen raised her eyebrows at that.

''Really? What will your company focus on? How will you even found it? Does that mean you plan to study business management?,'' Gwen asked a few questions, trying to see if Bell doesn't accidentally make bad financial decision. Bell ignored them and chose to bite into his cake. After a short while of silence, Gwen sighed.

''Is this the same as with photographic memory? You'll only reveal it when it is sure to have the maximum effect on our reactions,'' Gwen rhetorically asked. Bell nodded, causing Gwen to sigh. Welp, there was no changing his mind.

''I kind of didn't ask you before, but those pictures you have in your man cave. Did you draw them or did you buy them? Because they are very pretty,'' Gwen asked taking a bite from her cake.

''I drew them. I'm something of an artist, you see. Musician and drawing all in one body,'' Bell confirmed.

''Have you considered performing live? I listened to some of your songs and there are some genuinely good ones,'' Gwen asked.

''I don't know. Have you ever considered going professional in ballet?,'' Bell asked rhetorically. Gwen nodded. Fair enough. So it was more of a hobby, that would get tainted if it would be weighed down by expectations and suck the fun out of it. She definitely understood that sentiment.

''Did you enjoy your birthday party,'' Gwen probed him.

''I did. Thank you all,'' Bell politely affirmed. Gwen smiled at him knowingly. No, he fucking didn't. But he wasn't the kind of guy to bring down the festive and celebratory mood, just because he didn't like it. Even if it was at his own birthday. She noticed that. He was weirdly endearing like that. 

''Well, a few months and then I will get 16 as well. I wonder what you'll give me?,'' Gwen wondered.

''You do know what the purpose of a surprise is, don't you?,'' Bell jested. He had no idea what to give her as a present.

''Oh, shush you. I'm just wondering,'' Gwen replied.

Bell rolled his eyes. Subtle Gwen. Subtle. Fine, he will draw you a pretty picture.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone stood on a skyscraper overseeing the Town Square.He wore a dark long trench coat, red gloves, a white domino mask and a black cloth over his mouth and nose. The hair hid some of his forehead.

His Joker persona.

He stood by what he said. Read enough media and you will eventually encounter just variations of the same stuff. He had no problem taking the character of someone and using it for himself.

Anyway, it was time for a new persona. this one was sure to cause chaos. He had a few tricks up his sleeve, operating semi similarly like the OG Phantom Thieves from Persona 5. He wasn't gonna waste his time with palaces and just straight up induce guilt in someone. Oh but it wasn't going to be proper telepathy. It was going to be a one trick pony. The true ability lied with his cloning ability. If he died, he needed to make a comeback and since he was working alone he needed more time to 'steal' his targets heart.

Oh. But he wasn't an idiot. He knew how this game was played. He was a ruler after all and part of his duties was to understand the system and its loopholes. When he announces his target and then inevitably changes their heart, causing them to confess to all their crimes, then their lawyers can just plead either insanity or coercion and will try to lighten the prison sentence.

No.

Not on his watch.

The feelings of guilt will build up. And if the system refuses to punish them, then they will punish themselves. The will take their own lives to repent. How poetic. They will seek judgement from God if they won't be judged here.

He knew this would land him murder charges. But that was exactly the point. He smirked.

It was OP as fuck in dismantling corruption so that is why he had no other ability besides those two. He even changed his appearance from his Bell looks.

Everything else he needed to do with his skills or his gadgets.

He couldn't wait to be killed the first time and then reappear. He was already salivating at their reactions.

But why go for the biggest fishes first? You gotta savor them and build up to them with smaller dishes.

So sit tight on your asses Fisk, Osborn. It is not your time yet.

He flicked his hand. A calling card flying out of his sleeve and being snapped by two fingers. And of course. How could he forget this baby. It was an iconic integral part of the Phantom Thieves. Joker chuckled darkly.

He put his hands inside his coat and then flung them out. Several calling cards flying down into the Town Square. But why stop there? He wanted a big entrance. So just this once, he'll cheat a bit with his technomancy instead of using his IT knowledge to hack.

...

The people down on the streets stopped as several calling cards were falling down, grabbing the attention of a few bystanders. Most however ignored that and just chose to walk on. Some of them picked them up to read. They needn't have bothered.

One television billboard began flickering with static. Then another. And another. in fact every TV in NYC that was running experienced static.

Naturally it grabbed the attention of the people. That was to far out of the norm to ignore.

Eventually, a photo appeared of the calling card.

'To the greedy lawyer Chris Hansen, We are aware of you accepting bribes from the mafia to advocate in their favor in the court room. We will not stand for such evil and mockery of justice. Tomorrow we will find you, steal your heart and have you confess to all your crimes. Sincerely, the Phantom Thieves'

There, the calling card was sent. Now he only 'needed' to approach his target within 10 meters and he could activate his ability.

Joker watched as the TVs were frozen for 2 minutes on the calling card.

He walked away in satisfaction adjusting his red gloves.

It's showtime.