Marvel: Survivor’s Ascension

Ethan stepped into the warm light of Felicia’s living room, letting the heavy door click shut behind him. The apartment smelled faintly of rich, dark-roast coffee, a sharp contrast to the wine-filled scent before Felicia and Peter got together, or even the sterile, ozone-scented air of his underground lab.

"How have you two been holding up? I haven’t checked up on you guys in quite a while." Ethan asked, resting his hands in his coat pockets as he glanced between them.

Peter let out a soft laugh, rubbing the back of his neck as he offered Ethan a bright, easy smile. "Honestly? Things have been going pretty well, all things considered. I’m just glad to be back on my feet and out of the hospital bed."

Ethan arched an eyebrow, looking around the cozy, slightly cluttered space. "I saw a few men’s shoes when I walked in. So, does this mean you two are officially living together now?"

"Oh, no," Peter answered quickly, shaking his head with a faint blush. "We haven’t moved to that stage just yet. Besides, I still need to look after Aunt May."

A flicker of understanding passed through Ethan’s eyes. He knew the full, convoluted nightmare Peter was quietly navigating. Norman Osborn had kidnapped May, hiding her away while the rest of the world—including Peter—mourned her supposed death. After Norman framed Peter, forcing him to don the shadowy Dusk persona to clear his name, Peter had finally rescued her. Now, alongside his reporting gig at Insight—the news outlet Ethan co-owned under his Isaac Maddox alias—Peter spent every spare hour helping May fight the mountains of red tape to reinstate her legal identity and formally revoke her death certificate. That was, of course, whenever Ethan wasn't dragging him halfway across the globe for emergency operations.

Ethan could easily cut through the red tape, hack into the government database, and reinstate May’s identity, but he wouldn’t, to avoid eyes he should avoid, like S.H.I.E.L.D. If Peter truly ran into a roadblock, he’d send Peter to Mallory to help, but it seemed things were going just fine despite the lengthy process.

"It must be hard, barely getting to spend any real quality time together with everything on your plate," Ethan said softly, his voice full of sympathetic warmth.

Felicia, who had been leaning against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed, let out a sharp, exasperated sigh. She gave Ethan a glare with a notably short fuse, utterly unamused by his prying.

"Did you really walk all the way over here at night just to ask about our personal life, Ethan?" she asked, her voice laced with warning.

Ethan chuckled, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Fair enough. No, I actually came by to offer you two a proposition. A chance to take a proper vacation of sorts together."

Peter blinked, taken aback. "A vacation?"

"I have to head to Tibet in a few days," Ethan explained smoothly, his tone casual and effortless. "I was thinking the two of you could come along and take a few days off. Rest, relax, see some sights, and maybe actually get some quiet time together away from the city."

Beneath his easygoing posture, Ethan’s mind was calculating every variable with cold, methodical precision. The entire pitch was a carefully constructed lie—a tactical manipulation.

Ethan’s primary objective in Tibet was twofold. Satellite feeds and atmospheric sensors had already picked up anomalous meteorological disturbances in the high mountain ranges, clear indicators that Tempest—one of the Octessence's formidable Exemplars—had awakened and was beginning to understand her power. But more importantly, Ethan needed to make the acquaintance of Doctor Stephen Strange.

Having Peter along was the ultimate key. Peter was already an acquaintance of the Sorcerer Supreme, and bringing him along would force an immediate, organic connection with Strange that Ethan couldn't easily forge on his own.

Naturally, Ethan intended to keep his promise on the surface level. He would book Peter and Felicia a suite at an ultra-luxurious mountain resort, giving them the royal treatment while he slipped away to handle his true business.

As Ethan watched Peter ponder the idea, he inwardly calculated the dominoes falling into place. If he, Peter, and Felicia traveled to Tibet together, should something happen they would be best positioned to intercept Tempest. As this was before her human mind was completely consumed by the Octessence totem's raw power, it meant she could be reasoned with, and maybe even pulled to Ethan’s side. Simultaneously, using Peter to meet Strange would open the door to Ethan’s true goal: initiating his own journey into the realm of magic.

Ethan had previously managed to secure the Hood’s grimoires, but those texts were heavily saturated with dark, corruptive magic. He knew better than to build his entire foundation in the mystic arts on such volatile, dangerous rituals. To truly master the craft, he required expansive, foundational knowledge of the highest tier—and who better to quietly siphon that knowledge from than the Sorcerer Supreme himself?

Of course, the timing couldn’t be rushed and had to be precise. Ethan still needed Emma Frost’s telepathic assistance to finish auditing and running diagnostic checks on Vaeris’s mind to see if he was still attached to a hive mind or any such network back at the lab.

"I won't be leaving right this second," Ethan added, breaking the brief silence. "I still have a few things to wrap up over the next three days. So, we'd be leaving right in time for the weekend to start if you decided to come along. It gives you time to make sure Aunt May is settled in that case."

Peter looked at Felicia, then back at Ethan, clearly tempted by the offer. "Tibet, huh? I mean... a couple of days away from the city noise doesn't sound terrible."

"All expenses paid," Ethan promised, leaning into the harmless, wealthy benefactor persona. "Think of it. Top-tier resort, hot springs, great food, and absolute peace and quiet. Think about it."

Felicia narrowed her eyes slightly, her instincts lingering on Ethan's motives, though the prospect of getting Peter away from New York's chaos for a few days was undeniably appealing. She knew better than anyone that this little demon had plans there that most likely required their help, but it might not be something that Peter would agree to so he came up with this instead. She’d have to follow him after he left and have a one-on-one chat with Ethan and find out what was really going on.

"Three days," Peter said with a faint smile. "Alright, let us think about it tonight."

"Take your time," Ethan replied smoothly, stepping back toward the doorway. "Just let me know by Thursday so I can finalize the flight details."