Miracle Man

The laboratory buzzed with quiet intensity, the only sounds being the whir of machinery, the clinking of glassware, and the rhythmic tapping of fingers on keyboards. Felix Faeth and Norman Osborn worked in tandem, moving through the space like two halves of the same mind. There was no wasted movement. When Felix reached for a reagent, Norman was already pushing it toward him. When Norman adjusted the chemical stabilizers, Felix had already recalibrated the molecular synthesizer.

There was no need for words.

Felix would scribble a formula onto a nearby tablet, and Norman would glance at it, nodding before adjusting their model in real-time. At one point, Norman reached for a vial labeled RadShield-3, but before he could measure it, Felix simply shook his head. Without hesitation, Norman swapped it for RadShield-5. No words. Just understanding.

Twenty hours passed like this. No breaks. No distractions.

They weren't just working efficiently; they were synchronized.

Kavita Rao and Olivia Octavius, watching from across the lab, exchanged glances.

"This is terrifying," Kavita muttered, rubbing her temples.

"I know," Olivia replied, arms crossed. "I've never seen Norman like this. He's… in sync with someone. That never happens."

Kavita exhaled, turning toward the clock. "Twenty hours straight. We need to force them to take a break before one of them collapses."

"Break time."

The sharp voice of Maria Hill cut through the lab like a whip.

Felix barely looked up from the microreactor he was programming. Norman, standing beside him, was cross-referencing their data with a particle accelerator's readouts.

"Five more minutes," Norman said, his tone dismissive.

"Now," Maria pressed. "Both of you. Eat, sleep, I don't care. You have one hour. You can start working after that hour and kill yourselves for all I care."

Felix finally looked up. He blinked, struggling to focus. His head was pounding. His back ached. The last time he had slept was…when? Oh. Right. The SHIELD containment cell.

Damn.

Norman straightened his back. "Fine," he relented. "I have calls to make."

Felix expected him to argue more, but no—Norman simply walked away, pulling out his phone. No doubt he was about to make moves, secure funding, call in favors from people who could pull entire governments into their orbit.

Felix stayed.

Since it was only Maria and Felix...

"Are you okay?" Maria asked softly. "Dr. Faeth, I know this is a lot of pressure, but please, don't actually kill yourself."

He forced a smile. "I'll be fine, Maria. I'm sure it hasn't been easy for you."

"I've been trained for this," she said. "You didn't sign for this. You...we brought you here."

"And I lived because of that. If it wasn't for you and SHIELD, I wouldn't be alive. And if I can move, if I can help the people down there, then I have to. With great power comes great responsibility, and sometimes, that can come with little happiness."

Maria pursed her lips.

"We have to sacrifice and compromise," Felix said. "It's just the way it is."

"It is," Maria agreed. "I wish that weren't always the case."

"I know. But let's not mull. We have people to save and I..." Felix took a deep breath. "Have to get some relaxation."

Maria nodded and slipped out. She didn't come by often. Usually, she dipped in to see how far they had come along, ask questions on a potential timeline, report to Nick Fury, and then go. Honestly, she was probably more busy than Felix was. In some ways, it was what drove him too.

'Everybody is giving it their all. I can't slack just because I beat Creature Z.'

He exhaled slowly and leaned against the workbench, staring at the equations on the screen. His reflection looked back at him in the black surface of the monitor. Baggy eyes. A little pale. Still running on fumes.

'Everybody...to think they're doing so much with such frail, weak bodies and minds.' He wasn't trying to be mean. It was just the way it was. Compared to Spider-Man, human beings were frail and weak. The fact that they tried so hard anyway, pushing through pain and emotion and sleep, was admirable.

He rubbed his temples. He really should go eat. Sleep. Something.

'I am…here.'

Right, the Symbiote. Always in the back of his head akin to the feeling of a sneeze that was about to let out. This Symbiote, this thing in his brain…if the situation wasn't what it was, he would be studying it.

Which meant all he could do was ask questions. 

'Man, I wish Herbie was with me instead. His simulations are much more efficient than what they have here.'

'Hee…rbie?'

'My supercomputer AI. He's always with me, except, well, now.'

'Whyyyy? If he is always with you, why is he gone?'

'Herbie isn't a part of me like you are. He's a supercomputer. He's…like a monitor. I wear glasses or have lenses and he's there. He's always there.'

Suddenly, he thought of Herbie not as an AI but a friend and that saddened him. Past the sadness, he blinked and remembered something. 

'Question Symbiote, can you emit sonic waves?' 

'Yessss. In my original form, we hated it. We understood the sonic waves and so we hated sonic waves. But now…now we can use them. Given time, of course.' 

'Talk about good luck! I was planning to use a drone and do it that way but this will be way easier!'

Hacking into SHIELD and getting a drone to signal Herbie was going to be maddening. With a slick combination of invisibility and bioelectricity, he was confident he could pull it off. However, this was SHIELD and he had no clue what they built into this flying fortress. There was a small, realistic chance of bullshit that would cast the light on him.

The Symbiote's method was much easier.

'What will be easier…?'

'Calling my supercomputer AI, Herbie. In the event that Herbie and I are separated, we established an impossible frequency serving as a distress call. Once he picks it up, he'll send a Spider-Bot to assist me.' 

'Will…Herbie be alive after New York's destruction?' 

'The distance and radiation might make tough to detect. However, even if the building itself is gone, the laboratory is deep, deep underground and encased in Adamantium steel. Even if New York itself was struck by an earthquake, even if another planet struck the laboratory, it would still exist. At least, that's what Reed told me.' 

'Adamantium…impossible to break…it seems.' 

'Pretty much.' 

The Smythe Mansion—sorry, the Faeth Mansion should be safe too. It was too far off course and from the schematics he was given, it had its own underground bunker in case of nuclear fallout. Felix had not established it as a hub for Herbie yet but he did tell Herbie to plan for it. 

"Ngh." 

The wound on his chest suddenly flared to life. Felix put a hand to his chest. Kavita noticed.

"Hey, are you alright? Want me to call a nurse?"

He raised a hand and took a deep breath. "I'm good. Sorry, false alarm."

'Dammit, not having powers is weird. I move my bandages too much o-or stub my toe and it actually hurts!'

Felix Faeth breathed in and out, in and out. "I'm going to the bathroom," he said.

***

Felix sat on the toilet, elbows on his knees, peering down at the Oscorp-built SHIELD smartphone in his hands. Norman had personally handed them out to key personnel, explaining their necessity in case of nuclear fallout. That was the level of crisis they were dealing with—devices designed for post-apocalyptic survival were now standard issue to key scientists and, in a week, to all the civilians down below. 

And yet, despite the gravity of everything, Felix was doing what any other person in the world would be doing right now: doom-scrolling.

The news was everywhere. Everywhere. Every platform, every social media site, every news outlet had the same headline in some variation:

"NEW YORK IN RUINS."

"AMERICA WOUNDED. CAN IT RECOVER?" 

"SPIDER-MAN SAVES NEW YORK."

That last one? That was the kicker.

He thumbed through a livestream of a press conference. The banner at the bottom of the screen read:

"UNITED AFRICAN COALITION MEETING REGARDING U.S. DISASTER RELIEF."

The camera panned to a room filled with representatives from multiple African nations, but the two figures that commanded attention sat at the front—King T'Challa of Wakanda and Princess Ororo of Kenya.

T'Challa was as composed as ever, dressed in a dark, finely tailored suit. His posture was upright, controlled—kingly. Beside him, Ororo was elegance personified, her long white hair striking against her deep blue ceremonial robes. She was a storm in waiting.

Felix turned up the volume.

"It is in times of great devastation that nations must extend their hand, regardless of borders," T'Challa was saying. "New York has suffered a tragedy unlike any in modern history, and while it is no secret that Wakanda has had its… tensions with the United States, this is not the time for politics. We will send aid. We will send resources. We will help rebuild."

The reporters in the crowd murmured, clearly surprised by the directness of the statement.

Ororo, seated beside him, leaned toward the microphone. "We are offering not just funding but personnel—doctors, engineers, relief workers. We understand what it means to endure great loss, and we will not turn our backs on those in need. It is what we owe to a certain individual who has, on multiple occasions, extended his hand to us."

A reporter in the audience perked up. "Are you referring to Spider-Man?"

T'Challa nodded once. "I am. It was he who saved us from the hands of a terrorist."

Ororo followed, "He even caught me from a most untimely death. Everybody saw it, I am sure. Kenya is in his debt and we—no, I wish to pay that debt back."

Felix blinked. 'Mr. Negative and the Empire State Building…feels like a lifetime ago.'

It wasn't something he thought about often. He'd been in and out of so many situations that he never really registered them as global-scale events. He wasn't looking for thanks—he was just trying to help where he could.

But now? Now the whole world was paying attention.

The video feed switched to various news anchors discussing the unprecedented level of international support. Countries that were typically indifferent—or even antagonistic—toward the U.S. were suddenly stepping forward, citing Spider-Man's actions as their primary motivation.

Felix smiled.

Even as Creature Z had crippled New York, even as Wall Street was in freefall, even as America's enemies undoubtedly saw this as a prime opportunity to strike, there were still those who looked at New York and saw people worth saving.

Scrolling further, Felix found another video.

J. Jonah Jameson.

"Alright, alright, I get it! I get it! The wall-crawler isn't a menace—this time. But let me make one thing clear! I will not retract my previous statements! He is still a masked vigilante! He is still a danger to society! But..."

Jameson hesitated. Pinched the bridge of his nose. Sighed heavily.

"But the son of a bitch saved this city, and for that, I tip my damn hat."

Felix let out a short laugh. It was the first sign of happiness he had shown in a long, long while.

Well, if the world hadn't abandoned them, then Felix couldn't either. 

That was when his phone screen changed.

SOURCE OF SOUND WAVES #234 FOUND. EMERGENCY DEVICE FOUND. 

"Herbie!"

WELCOME AGAIN, DR. FAETH. 

Through the camera, Herbie could see him and his smile. "It's great to see you. Although…" His voice went deep. "Is it possible for you to communicate via the sound waves emitting from my brain?"

AFFIRMATIVE. THIS PHONE WILL ACT AS A HOSTING DEVICE. I WILL EMIT SOUND WAVES FOR YOU TO RECEIVE. YOU WILL SEND SOUND WAVES FOR THE PHONE TO RECEIVE. 

Perfect!

'Symbiote, you can do it, right?'

'Yessss. Do it now, Felix Faeth.'

'Great. Herbie, can you hear me?' 

A second passed.

'AFFIRMATIVE, DR. FAETH.' 

Herbie was not in his brain. He was simply sending messages in and out. 'Symbiote, you can block out the information anytime you'd like, right?'

'Yesssss. If you wish for your powers to return, however, then you may do it on your own.'

Felix stood up. 'No, not yet. We're at the SHIELD Helicarrier. Better to get out of sight and mind before we start making superhero moves.' 

***

Felix stepped out of the bathroom, stretching his arms over his head and letting out a long breath. For the first time in what felt like days, he wasn't weighed down by exhaustion, stress, or existential dread. If anything, he looked refreshed—almost excited.

Everyone in the lab turned to look at him.

"You took your sweet time," Kavita Rao muttered, arms crossed, eyes scanning him with suspicion. "You were in there for nearly twenty minutes."

Felix smirked. "That's because I had an epiphany while doom-scrolling."

Norman Osborn, leaning against one of the lab tables, arched a brow. "An epiphany?"

"A big one," Felix said, clapping his hands together. "I know how to mass-produce the cure at scale. We're not talking weeks. Not even a month. If the government plays its cards right, we can have it ready for millions in two or three days."

That got their attention.

Olivia Octavius, who had been scanning data on her tablet, turned sharply toward him. "That's not possible. You said you'd make the cure in three days and manufacture it in scale in two weeks."

"Not anymore," Felix shot back, his grin widening.

Norman chuckled, intrigued. "Go on."

Felix walked to the central workstation, where multiple vials of their prototype cure sat in refrigeration units. He tapped on the screen, pulling up the molecular breakdown of the antigen they had developed.

"Alright, so let's talk about what we've actually done here," Felix began. "Our antigen binds to radioactive isotopes in the body and neutralizes them through accelerated molecular decay. Normally, radiation has a half-life—it takes years to break down. Our cure? It forces that breakdown in seconds."

He gestured to the screen, where the simulation played out. The antigen latched onto the radiation particles, systematically breaking them apart, turning them into harmless base elements.

"But that's not the breakthrough," Felix continued. "The real magic is in the carrier agent. Instead of traditional intravenous injection, I designed a self-replicating protein delivery system—think of it like a virus, except it doesn't infect, it heals. Once introduced into the body, it multiplies, creating an almost instantaneous effect across every affected cell."

He turned to the group. "This is why we don't need weeks. The antigen isn't limited by batch production. It can be grown and replicated in real-time, which means all we need to do is distribute it."

Silence.

Everyone stared at the simulation. The numbers. The sheer efficiency of it.

Norman was the first to smile. "Brilliant."

Olivia looked unconvinced. "We haven't tested it yet. You're saying all of this, but if we give it to someone and it turns them into a puddle, that's on us."

"Good thing we have test subjects," Maria Hill said, standing at the door. "I wanted to check up on you people. However, it seems you're already ready for tests."

That got another round of silence. The other scientists were still thinking about it. But Felix?

"Yes, we are."

The quarantined individuals. The ones who were exposed during the attack. Everybody knew SHIELD captured nearly a hundred of them. Some for safety and others for this. Testing. 

"Are we sure about this?" Kavita asked. "Human testing isn't so simple, Felix. There's stages. We need to be careful—"

"Which we cannot afford," Norman cut in. 

"Kavita, SHIELD and the government already locked them up. Their radiation levels are too high for treatment. They were assumed to die anyway." Felix's voice softened just a fraction. "But now? We can save them."

No one argued.

***

Inside the observation room, a single heavily irradiated patient lay in a containment chamber, hooked up to monitors. The man—mid-forties, frail, his hair falling out—was barely conscious.

"He looks like he's in his forties but…he's twenty-two…younger than me," Felix murmured. "Location-wise…"

"He was atop a building and ducked under the Gamma Ray Breath," Norman stated. "He avoided the laser. He didn't avoid the radiation raining on his head."

Felix and Norman stood in the adjacent control room, watching through reinforced glass and tapping at the computers. Maria Hill was with them as were Kavita and Olivia and the doctors too.

"Administer the cure," Norman said.

One of the lab technicians carefully inserted the first dose into the IV line. The moment the liquid entered his bloodstream, the monitors spiked.

Felix held his breath.

For five agonizing seconds, nothing happened.

Then—the impossible.

The patient's vitals stabilized. His breathing, previously ragged and weak, evened out. The Geiger counter that had been ticking like a time bomb next to his bed stopped. Completely.

Radiation levels: ZERO.

The impossible had happened.

A miracle.

Norman was the first to react. He started to applaud.

Not a slow clap. Not mocking. Just genuine, impressed applause.

The others followed. Olivia stared in disbelief. Kavita swore under her breath. The lab techs looked at each other in stunned silence.

Felix grinned.

It worked.

It actually worked.

All of a sudden, every gaze in the room turned to him with the feeling of wonder; of a man capable of miracles.

So when Felix suddenly proclaimed, "Let's go down there," everybody was a bit confused.

"Down there?" Maria repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Down to the ground, down to New York—"

Maria put her foot down. "Excuse me? You don't understand, do you, Dr. Faeth—you are officially a VIP. You can't go down there. SHIELD and the government will not allow it."

"I've done this well with images and scouting. Your people have been doing an amazing job but every scientist knows it's best to go down there yourself. I need to see the effects. I need to taste the air."

"I agree," Norman said. "Felix should go down there. If he can cure people of radiation, he can likely figure something out for the air and ground too."

"Does this not work on the air?"

Norman pinched the bridge of his nose. He was the only man in the world allowed to call SHIELD agent idiots. "Don't be stupid. Living organisms and inanimate objects are vastly different when it comes to absorbing radiation. Think logically, do you really think a brick wall would react to radiation the same way as human skin? No, of course not."

"We need to think about plants especially," Felix added. "They have a good chance of soaking up the radiation and subtly introducing it into the air."

Maria re-crossed her arms and glanced at the agents at the door. "Hrm."

"You knew this. I told you this. This won't be over until both the people and the city are cured," Norman said. "My employee here just solved one crisis. Trust him to solve the other."

Maria drew in a breath. After some more glances and thinking, she eventually put her hands on her hips. "Unfortunately, if you're going to go down there, we need to run tests and outfit you with special clothing."

"Okay, that doesn't sound like a problem."

"We will also have the NYPD protecting you at all times. Ask them and they will supply." Maria checked her watch. "Perfect. They will be here shortly too. Get ready to strip, Dr. Faeth."

"...?"