After returning home, Peter had a long, deep sleep. Because they had previously worried about Carnage's retaliation, Uncle Ben and Aunt May had gone to Pittsburgh. For the moment, he had the entire Parker household to himself.
This meant he could take a shower in the middle of the day and go straight to bed, waking up whenever he felt like it. He flopped onto the bed and slept right through to the next day. Upon waking, he checked the news on his phone for any updates on the Avengers, ensuring nothing had happened that required his immediate attention.
Once he confirmed everything was normal, Peter went through his usual routine of washing up and brushing his teeth, pondering his plans for the day. While scrolling through his phone, he saw a message from Matt Murdock on his Spider-Man line. Matt informed him that the sentencing for Electro was complete; thanks to Matt's tireless efforts, the villain had finally been sentenced to death.
Ironically, the primary reason the death penalty was applicable was likely due to his status as a mutant.
Mysterio and Rhino, however, had not received death sentences. They were currently being held in the Mansion Prison—a temporary facility used to house superpowered individuals following the decommissioning of the Raft. This prison was a standard high-tech facility that had been shrunk using Pym Particles and kept inside Avengers Tower to ensure maximum security.
At the thought of this, Peter's brow furrowed. Considering he truly had nothing else on his agenda today, he decided to visit Avengers Tower. He immediately summoned Anti-Venom to form his suit. After checking his empty watch, he decided to stop by the Baxter Building first to replenish his supply of nanobots.
A few minutes later, Tony Stark was sitting on a sofa in Avengers Tower, swiping through a virtual projection. Only Iron Man was on duty at the base today; the others were out rounding up prisoners who had escaped from the Raft. The Avengers had discovered that the fugitive Abomination had been spotted near Arizona, so Cap had taken Hulk and Thor to apprehend him.
Black Panther was busy with his own affairs as usual, while Hank and Janet were attending an academic conference, leaving only Tony behind. He noticed a portal opening and knew without looking that Spider-Man had arrived.
"Morning, kid. You've been pretty busy lately, haven't you?"
"Uh... I guess?"
Hearing the word "guess," Tony looked up at Peter with a slightly strained expression. He pushed the virtual projection forward, causing it to expand and fill the entire room. Leaning forward, Tony picked up a glass of vegetable juice, took a sip, and asked, "What do you think of the blueprints so far?"
"Is this... the Avengers Compound?"
Peter asked as he looked at the projected cluster of buildings. He knew Stark had purchased a massive plot of land in New Jersey with plans to build a base large enough to house hundreds of people. Cap had expressed his reservations about the scale, but Tony insisted that even if they didn't need room for hundreds, the Avengers still needed a new home.
While Avengers Tower stood as a witness to the Battle of New York and the founding of the team, its location was—from another perspective—a bit too prime. Situated in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, it was surrounded by dense populations and a thriving economy. The tower was a perfect target; if an enemy decided to strike, the collateral damage would be catastrophic.
Of course, New York still had the Xavier Institute and the Baxter Building as other landmarks, but still.
"Yeah, I'm mulling over the interior design. You know, no one else seems particularly bothered by it—except Wasp, but her taste and mine are worlds apart. So, I wanted to get your take, Peter."
Peter looked seriously at the plans for the compound: residential quarters, training grounds, warehouses, hangars, laboratories, and even a museum. After a moment of thought, he mentally stripped away the outer walls of most of the buildings. "Setting aside the interior rooms for a moment, how about replacing as much of the exterior walls with glass as possible?"
"Modern minimalist style—not bad. Should the interior favor straight lines or more curves?"
"Do the Avengers really need that many curves?"
Stark laughed. The choice between straight lines and curves in architecture often reflected the designer's attitude. Just as Peter implied, they were the Avengers, not the Justice League or something similar. They were there to show enemies the cost of invasion; they didn't need many curves, and they didn't need to look soft.
"Right... well, next up—"
"By the way, Mr. Stark, once the Compound is finished, is the Mansion Prison moving there too?"
Tony didn't think much of why Peter brought up the prison, but he answered honestly nonetheless. "Well, we've been looking into more robust isolation measures. We're considering whether we can build a new prison in the Negative Zone, provided that the 'Counter-Earth' Osborn mentioned is safe enough. The only link between the two would be a single portal, guarded by robots. If a breakout occurs, the portal automatically severs the connection."
The Negative Zone was filled with anti-matter; there were no safe zones outside of specifically constructed facilities. If a prisoner tried to run, they would be vaporized by anti-matter before they could take a step.
The issue, however, was whether that Counter-Earth was naturally formed or problematic, whether there was life or civilization on it, and what their attitude would be. And most importantly, when Reed Richards would finally finish developing a portal stable enough to enter the Negative Zone.
"So, if we can't build a Negative Zone prison by the time the Compound is finished, then yes, we'll probably have to bring the Mansion with us."
[Sir, an unnatural tidal wave has appeared off the coast of New York. It has already exceeded thirty meters in height.]
Jarvis's sudden alert interrupted their conversation. Peter and Tony turned together to look at the incoming video feed. A bare-chested man with pointed ears was riding the crest of the wave, followed by hundreds of high-tech undersea soldiers, heading straight for the New York coastline.
"I'm certain S.W.O.R.D. ran scans; there were no Atlantean cities near the firing zone. Messages were sent, but there was no reply."
"And I'm even more certain that the artillery strike couldn't have hit the seabed. Mar-Vell's calculations were precise," Tony said as he began to summon his armor. "Let's go check it out, kid. Maybe he's just coming to say hello—if he's actually that friendly."
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