Some people claim they don't want to be superheroes, but behind the scenes, they've already picked out a hero name and designed a full costume.
Peter looked at Ben with a teasing glint in his eye.
"I thought you said you weren't going to be Spider-Man?"
"I'm not. I just didn't want you making an ugly suit that would embarrass me by association," Ben retorted.
This universe's Spider-Man seemed like a blend of three different movie versions, and Ben had no idea which suit Peter would ultimately cobble together. If it ended up looking like that homemade onesie from the MCU, it would be downright humiliating.
"Fine, I'll believe you for now. But..." Peter flipped through the draft papers and quickly realized there weren't just one or two designs. There were multiple color variants, and even some with a mechanical, cyberpunk aesthetic reminiscent of Iron Man's armor, making Peter's mind race with possibilities.
"There are so many!"
"So, do you want them or not?"
"Yes! Of course I do!"
In the end, Peter settled on one of the most common red-and-blue designs. He would have loved the Iron Spider armor or the Spider-Knight suit, but their current technical skills were nowhere near capable of producing them, so those ideas were shelved for the future.
"Using web fluid is a great idea, but we don't have the materials to make it work yet," Peter mused.
One movie version of Spider-Man had organic web-shooters in his wrists, while another's web fluid came from Oscorp, with Peter only building the mechanical shooters.
But the current Oscorp didn't seem to be in the web-fluid business, which meant Peter and Ben would have to invent a brand-new synthetic polymer with the required tensile strength.
If Ben could transform into Spidermonkey right now, it would be much simpler; he could just study that alien's web structure directly.
But for now, Peter was on his own.
"I think I have an idea—" Peter felt a spark of inspiration.
"Go for it. And I suggest adding a compound to the web fluid that makes it biodegradable. Otherwise, all of New York will be covered in webs before long."
He clapped Peter on the shoulder and then unceremoniously shoved the deep-in-thought teenager out of his room.
Sitting back down at his computer, Ben's mind turned to other matters.
Like he'd said before, having superpowers meant you had to use them. Peter wanted to be New York's hero. Ben had no intention of saving the world, but he could still be a hero for this family.
"Make more money. Give Uncle Ben and Aunt May a better life."
The idea he'd had before lingered like a ghost—starting his own company, calling it Primus Tech, and becoming an industry leader!
It didn't need to be the biggest, but it should at least reach the scale of Oscorp.
"But startup capital and a viable project are both problems. I don't have anything market-ready right now," Ben thought.
The only high-tech items he currently had were the Iron Man suit and the Omnitrix. The suit's tech was mostly covered by Stark Industries patents. Sure, he could probably develop around them, finding legal loopholes like Hammer Industries did. The key would be partnering with the U.S. government; that would guarantee backing.
But Ben had zero interest in manufacturing weapons for them.
The other potential research subject was the Omnitrix.
As a Level 20 tech artifact, the Omnitrix's capabilities went far beyond just transformation. Besides its core function, it contained incredibly advanced communication tech capable of instantaneous, lag-free transmission across millions of light-years, teleportation capabilities, and sophisticated nanotechnology.
Every time the Omnitrix initiated a transformation, it used nanotech to convert the user's clothing into the alien hero's designated suit.
That was why the aliens' outfits changed from black-and-white to colored designs after the first season.
"Nanotech is a promising field, but the technological leap is too massive to achieve quickly," Ben reasoned. "Plus, a project like that would require funding far beyond what I can scrape together."
Startup capital was always the biggest hurdle.
You couldn't fund a tech empire by mugging small-time thugs. Without serious financial backing, most brilliant scientists were powerless. That's why someone as capable as Doctor Octopus still had to resort to robbing banks.
Ben pondered. If robbing small-time crooks wasn't enough, then targeting the real kingpins of the criminal underworld might be a better option.
People like Wilson Fisk, or the Hand...
But that came with a much higher risk of exposure.
If he only used his spider-powers, it might be manageable. Ben wasn't overly worried about that identity being discovered. In fact, the moment Peter decided to become Spider-Man, it was almost guaranteed that S.H.I.E.L.D. would eventually find out.
The persona Ben wanted to project for S.H.I.E.L.D. was that of "a guy with powers, but no interest in being a superhero like his cousin." He planned to use the spider-powers as bait to hide the existence of the Omnitrix.
The Omnitrix was simply too dangerous. If its full capabilities were exposed, both S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA would move heaven and earth to acquire it.
Ben wasn't afraid of them, but he had no desire to deal with that kind of persistent, fly-like nuisance.
Furthermore, going the criminal route created a problem with the money's origin. If he ever produced any significant inventions, the authorities could use his shady funding as a pretext to seize his work.
"That leaves only one other option." He picked up his phone and found a specific contact.
If he didn't have the money himself, he'd find someone to invest. And as luck would have it, he knew just the guy with more money than sense.
Even though it was late, the call connected almost immediately.
"Hey, Harry Potter."
"Don't call me that!" Harry's voice crackled from the other end, clearly irritated. After a moment, he calmed down. "You never call me without a reason. So, how's Peter doing lately?"
Asking about Peter first thing? And they say it's not true love.
"He's doing great. I'd say he's never been better."
Right now, Peter was like a new graduate who'd just landed a dream job at a top company, blissfully unaware of the soul-crushing work ahead, just excited to be employed.
"And you?" Harry asked. "I don't believe you called just to chat, especially at this hour."
In fact, Harry was already imagining that Ben was calling to pour his heart out after some devastating romantic rejection.
He was ready to listen to the sob story and offer some consolation while secretly enjoying the drama.
However, Ben's next words struck Harry like a physical blow.
"Harry, I seem to recall you're desperate to make Norman proud, right?"
"I have a plan!"
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