Marvel: Survivor’s Ascension

Ethan rolled up his sleeves, exposing his forearms as he stepped toward the kitchen counter. "Since I'm here, how about I help you two cook dinner? Consider it a modest gesture to make up for my lack of hospital visits."

Peter blinked, raising a hand in protest. "Oh, no, Ethan, you don't have to do that. You're our guest—"

"Just let the kid do what he wants, Peter," Felicia interrupted from her spot against the counter, her tone dry. "He always ends up doing whatever he wants anyway."

Ethan let out a soft chuckle, acknowledging her comment with a light nod before turning his attention to the cutting board. Despite the webs of manipulation he spun, he genuinely liked Peter and held a genuine affection for him as a friend. Being able to share a normal, domestic moment like this was a rare luxury he wasn't inclined to pass up.

As Peter reached for a pan and Ethan began chopping vegetables with practiced precision, Felicia moved with a subtle, fluid motion. Her gloved hand casually brushed past the spice rack, discreetly palming the salt and sliding it out of sight behind a canister.

"Oh, Peter, look at that—we're completely out of salt," Felicia said smoothly, holding up an empty salt cellar she had kept in the drawer. "Could you swing down to the corner store and grab some?"

Peter paused, frowning slightly as he glanced toward the rack. "Wait, really? I could’ve sworn we still had a full container."

"I spilled the rest of it earlier while prepping and forgot to pick up more," Felicia lied without missing a beat, giving him a sweet, convincing smile.

Peter stared at her for a second, a mild confusion lingering in his eyes, before his expression softened into a fond smile. "Alright, alright. I'll be right back." He stepped close, giving her a brief peck on the cheek, though he lingered for a few extra seconds, his gaze searching her face with quiet suspicion before he finally turned and walked out the door.

Felicia stood perfectly still, listening intently to the sound of his footsteps fading down the hallway. Once she was certain he was entirely out of earshot, the warm, soft expression melted from her face, replaced by an icy, sharp glare aimed directly at Ethan.

"Alright," Felicia said, her voice dropping into a dangerous quiet. "What do you really want, Ethan? You and I both know you don't care about my relationship with Peter."

Ethan chuckled softly, not looking up from the knife gliding through a bell pepper. "Not specifically, no. But I do want Peter to be happy. And, as far as I can tell, you happen to be the one who makes him happy—which is something I can actually respect."

Felicia's eyes narrowed into slits. "Stop the act. Tell me what you're really after."

"Nothing," Ethan insisted, turning to meet her gaze with an effortless, calm posture. "I genuinely want you two to be happy. I'm offering you a chance to take a vacation and escape the hustle and bustle of the city for a few days. Because, honestly, as Peter walks down to the bodega right now, there's a ninety percent chance he's going to bump into a mugger or an armed robbery. Delilah and Masque’s Black Orchard hasn’t managed to take full control of the city just yet, so there’s still the random turmoil here and there, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. We both share the fault, as we helped them dethrone Fisk, so I wanted to give Spider-Man a chance to relax, is all."

Ethan paused, letting out a small sigh. "Isn't it exhausting? Having every dinner date, every quiet evening, constantly derailed by street crime or world-ending crises? The Exemplars are still looming ahead of us, Felicia. There might not be many opportunities left to just relax. I simply wanted to give you both a small gift. After all, we're friends—what's the use of isolating such a bond for minimal gains? You must see that, right?"

He smiled, a mischievous glint touching his eyes as he added in a teasing tone, "Besides... I hear Tibet has a few priceless jewels and ancient artifacts that a certain sticky-fingered cat might find particularly appealing. Maybe one of them is in a bad guy’s hand, and you and Peter could liberate it or something. What you two consider a date."

Felicia's tone grew even colder, her composure hardening into pure frost. "Don't try to play me. I'm not Peter, and you know damn well I don't trust you. Save us both the time and tell me what you're doing."

Ethan sighed softly, resting the knife against the wooden board. "Really, Felicia, there's no grand scheme here for you to unravel. I plan to head up into the mountain ranges to take some readings and try to pinpoint the location of an awakened Exemplar in Tibet. Nothing more than that. I don't even plan to make personal contact with the Exemplar myself as I’m quite squishy. Nothing is going on, so I plan to take some time to relax, too. I think I’m overdue for a break, as well."

He leaned against the counter, meeting her suspicious glare with unyielding serenity. "You don't have to trust me. You can spend the trip keeping me under a microscope, or you can actually enjoy some uninterrupted time alone with Peter. Who knows? Maybe you'll even give him and Aunt May a little Spider... or will it be a little Black Cat?"

Thwack!

Before the last word had fully left his lips, an apple flew across the kitchen like a cannonball.

Ethan, having anticipated the action the instant he pushed the boundary, predicted the trajectory and tilted his head a fraction of an inch to the side. The apple whistled past his ear and slammed directly into the living room wall behind him, detonating on impact with explosive, superhuman force. The shockwave of the air pressure alone shoved a heavy armchair back several inches across the hardwood floor.

Ethan had supplied Felicia with a refined version of his Kane-Erskine super-soldier serum, pushing her physical capabilities far beyond peak human limits and well into the superhuman realm. The raw kinetic force on display was testament to the serum's success.

Ethan turned his head, inspecting the pulped remains of the fruit smeared across the wall and the shifted armchair.

"Wow," Ethan remarked softly, a slight smile playing on his lips. "The serum really did a marvelous job." He turned back to Felicia, his voice smooth and untroubled. "Sorry about that—it really is none of my business when you two have kids. Should I clean that up, or will you?"

Felicia stood frozen, glaring at him in absolute silence for more than a full minute. The tension in the kitchen was thick enough to cut with a blade, but Ethan's calm persona never faltered or broke for a single second.

Finally, with a sharp breath, Felicia grabbed a broom and a cloth from the utility closet and began sweeping up the debris.

Ethan watched her quietly as he picked up the salt shaker she had hidden behind the canisters, setting it back on the main counter. "Should I toss this out before Peter gets back? Though, given how sharp he is, he probably already knows something is up. He'll most likely ask you about it tonight."

Felicia didn't answer, sweeping the ruined apple pieces onto a dustpan with sharp, aggressive strokes.

"You shouldn't always look for the absolute worst in me, Felicia," Ethan said quietly, his voice carrying a rare, genuine weight. "Try to see that I really do like and care about Peter. Even if you refuse to believe anything else that comes out of my mouth... you should at least believe that."