"Before we begin, I need a couple of things." He caught the children's attention. "Do you have a laptop?"
"I have one," Franklin said.
"Bring it here." Franklin ran out of the room. "Val, do you have a video room or something like that?"
"Yes. We have something similar. Mom uses it for meetings sometimes, or for calls."
"Okay. Is there a highly equipped lab?"
"Dad's...."
"Except for Richards' place, which must be a minefield because of the number of unfinished things or poorly constructed machines that could explode just by looking at them."
"Umm. Mom's lab would be the most effective after hearing that."
"Good. By the way, do you not have a device that allows you to connect to other dimensions, but can also help prevent or alert you if someone dangerous has entered or is about to enter this dimension?" he asked curiously, hoping they had one because otherwise he would have to go to Avengers Tower to verify whether the device he was looking for was there.
[Comic Reference: Reed Richards has created numerous devices for dimensional travel, interdimensional observation, and detecting threats from alternate realities. The most famous related concept is the Bridge, a device Reed used to observe alternate universes and interact with the Council of Reeds.]
"Yes, there is one. It is in Dad's lab." She looked at him suspiciously.
"Damn. We have to make a stop there before we go to your mother's lab." He let out a sigh of annoyance.
"I want to know why we have to go there if you did not want to go in the first place," she said, making him let out another sigh.
"In my dimension, I was working on something called Operation Phoenix." He mentioned this just as Franklin returned with a black laptop bearing the Spider-Man symbol. "Good taste, Link."
He said this, making Franklin raise an eyebrow.
"Link[1]?"
"I am not going to call you Franklin every time. It is too long. Link is shorter. The same with Valeria. Besides, your nickname comes from a powerful elven character."
"Great."
"Going back to what we were saying, Operation Phoenix is meant to bring me back to life in case I die in some dimension. At home, I am creating a machine that, upon my death, will search for a device that I will later place on my head. When I die, it will upload all my memories and transplant them into a clone of myself that I will create in the future. I need to create a unique connection for myself in your father's machine. Once I create my own machine, I will connect it to that connection and save time creating one in other dimensions."[2]
"Okay. That sounds great and amazing, but also...."
"It sounds like the ultimate expression of paranoia and fear of death," Franklin said.
"I am not afraid of death."
Especially because if I do die, I will see one of the most interesting people alive, and maybe I can have a conversation with her if the opportunity arises. I just have to make sure Wade does not ruin things.[3]
"I am afraid of leaving my family," he said honestly while crossing his arms. "I do not care about dying. I care that they do not suffer because of it. The cloning machine is not just for me, but if they want to die permanently, I will not stop them. It is their choice."
"Sorry. We thought we..."
"You thought I would use the machine to bring people here and invade the place when you asked the first question, or that I am afraid of death and want to become immortal, or some other assumption. If I wanted immortality, I could create it myself. Anyway, Link, give me the laptop."
He said this indifferently, and Franklin handed it over.
"By the way, is there any of Peter's blood here?"
"Yes."
This time, upon hearing the question, Valeria chose to listen first instead of judging.
"Well, damn. Listen. I want you to eliminate all traces of Peter's genetic material. If it falls into the wrong hands, things get very complicated, especially if it falls into the hands of an amateur. I do not want someone creating things they do not understand. Delete everything related to Peter's medical history. You will only endanger everyone if Peter's blood mixes with someone else's," he said while looking at Valeria, who nodded.
For a brief second, a version of Itsy crossed his mind.
"Go. And before you delete everything, take a small sample of his blood. We need it."
He mentioned this before she left.
"Come on. Take me to Richards' lab."
Walking down a corridor, they reached the end, where he saw a very large metal door. Heading toward the digital panel on one side, he took a circular device from his belt and placed it against the panel. Ten seconds later, the doors opened.
"Stay here. Anything could explode, and I do not know how dangerous this place is with all the unfinished things in here." He looked at Franklin and handed him the laptop.
"Of course. I was not going to go anyway," Franklin said while looking at him.
"Scared?."
"Not scared. Smart. This is like telling the universe I am ready to die, and I am too young and beautiful to die."
"You need to stop spending so much time with your Uncle Johnny. He is rotting your brain," he said as Franklin shrugged.
Moving toward a wall, Peter started climbing it until he reached the ceiling, where the machine was located.
"That is it," Franklin said, pointing upward.
Peter remained expressionless when he saw it.
"He is supposed to be the smartest man on the planet, and he comes up with this?" he said irritably while pointing at what appeared to be a combination of a portal machine and an antenna.
[1] [Game Reference: Link is the protagonist of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series.]
[2] [Comic Reference: The concept resembles several resurrection systems in Marvel Comics, especially the Five's mutant resurrection protocols on Krakoa, which combine cloned bodies with restored memories and consciousness backups. It also resembles various cloning and consciousness-transfer methods used by characters such as Mister Sinister, Doctor Octopus, and the Jackal.]
[3] [Comic Reference: This is a reference Death, Marvel's cosmic personification of death.]