"Alright, alright…" Felix sighed and put an arm on his forehead. "Update on the Rogue Agents in New York? Are they still searching for Felix Faeth?"
"THEY ARE," Herbie answered, "AND THEY ARE GROWING SUSPICIOUS."
"Current presumption?"
"YOU ARE IN AN ORGY OR DRUNK AND BLACKED-OUT."
"Do they really have such a low opinion of me…?"
"THEY DO NOT, BUT ALL OTHER OPTIONS SEEM UNLIKELY. THEY BELIEVE BY COINCIDENCE, AS IF GOD IS TELLING THEM NOT TO DO THIS, YOU WENT TO THE CLUB AND GOT VERY DRUNK FOR ONCE."
"I suppose that's first on the agenda." Felix paused. "And Norman? Does he…?"
"HE HAS BEEN TOLD OF HARRY OSBORN'S DEATH SEVEN MINUTES AGO."
"I see." Felix closed his eyes. It did happen in New York. "I doubt the Rogue Agents will be getting to him then. Dealing with that…that does give me some leeway." The obnoxious part about Norman Osborn was his oldschool mentality and processes. Write and print all reports. Never keep them in a database. Ignore protocol and do human testing like it was the 1970s.
There was a time where Norman straight-up told Felix he did not read his emails. For a scientist, it made no sense. Felix surmised at some point it was because the Norman Osborn that ran Oscorp was the business side of him and nothing more. The scientist side and the human side, that was gone.
"MASTER FAETH, A CALL FROM THE ROGUE AGENTS IS COMING. DO YOU WISH TO PERSONALLY REPLY CONSIDERING YOU ARE AVAILABLE?"
Felix nodded and the call went to the jet's speakers. "Evening, who is this?"
"Agent Coulson." There was a small pause on the other end, then that unmistakably calm, smiling voice came through. "From SHIELD, if you recall, Dr. Faeth."
"Ahh, Coulson. Yes, good to hear you. I have a great memory."
"I appreciate you picking up. We've been trying to reach you."
"Yeah," Felix said, forcing a casual tone. "Sorry about that. Been…busy."
"Busy," Coulson repeated. They had been searching the whole city with tip-top spy tech with no results. They, who were the best of SHIELD.
"Ahh, well, I was at a club."
"We were told of that, yes. Please, just answer, where were you?"
"Do you need something of me?"
"Yes, we do. Your current location is imperative."
"Well…" Felix glanced out the window and smiled devilishly. "You know, the usual. Picked up a couple chicks, took them to my jet, and flew around New York. Decompressing with their, uhh, help. You know how it is."
There was silence. The implication was obvious. Through the buzz, he swore he heard someone laughing.
"Let's cut to it, Doctor," Agent Coulson said. "We need to meet. Immediately. It's urgent."
Felix tapped his fingers on the armrest. "Define urgent. These lovely ladies have yet to be tucked into bed…"
"We have her."
Felix blinked once. "Her?"
"Emma Frost."
The name hung in the air like a dropped match.
"What?"
***
The café sat on a quiet corner of Bleecker Street, nestled between a laundromat and a florist. Small, old-world, and full of coffee beans that actually smelled like coffee — Felix Faeth's kind of place back when he was in college. And he did go here from time to time when he needed to sort his thoughts.
It was to be expected that SHIELD knew. As soon as he helped save New York, he was put on a watchlist and VIP list. He was examined to the teeth. They asked his childhood friends and college peers. They needed to know his psychology.
He couldn't just hack their systems and edit everything willy-nilly. The agents would remember. They weren't that stupid.
So Felix sat by the window, nursing an espresso that had gone cold thirty minutes ago. His black hoodie was pulled low, his hair still slightly damp from the drizzle outside. He looked like someone who was recovering from a hangover. He had to sell the illusion, after all.
'They're here.'
The bell over the door chimed. Agent Coulson walked in, rain glistening off his black coat. Calm. Collected. Not a hair out of place on his balding head. Outside in the black car he arrived in was Agent Coulson.
Felix raised a hand in greeting. "Phil."
"Dr. Faeth, a pleasure to see you."
"Love the whole Men in Black aesthetic. You get that custom-made?"
Coulson ignored the jab and took the seat across from him. "You look relaxed."
"I am relaxed," Felix said, smiling. "Did something happen?"
"...have you not seen the news?"
"Ohh. Isn't that, like, fake? People can't just fall from the sky."
"It is real." Coulson studied him for a moment, then set a small encrypted phone on the table. "But that's not why I'm here. We need to talk about Emma Frost."
Felix's fingers stilled around his cup. "Emma?" he said softly, as if tasting the name for the first time in years.
"She's been detained," Coulson said. His voice was professional, almost gentle. "Sealed off. Contained."
Felix blinked, letting a slow frown spread. "Contained? What are you talking about?"
Agent Coulson leaned forward. "She's a telepath, Felix. A very powerful one. We have reason to believe she's been using her abilities to manipulate you — your choices, your loyalties, your work. You've been close to her for over a year. Too close."
Felix gave a small laugh, just the right mix of disbelief and embarrassment. "You're serious?"
Agent Coulson's gaze didn't waver. "You don't have to be embarrassed. It's not your fault. People like her can rewrite your emotional core without you ever noticing."
Felix stared at his reflection in the coffee's surface. He forced his voice to tremble just slightly. "You're saying… she's been using me?"
"Yes," Agent Coulson said simply. "But you're safe now. She's been neutralized. You're no longer under her influence."
'So that's what this is about. They think I was controlled by Emma.' Though the question remained how they even managed to lock her up. She might not have been a fighter but with her men and abilities, getting close was next to impossible.
Was it Agent Blade perhaps…?
"This is—"
"SHIELD official," Coulson lied.
'They're desperate to get me on their side, I see.'
"SHIELD official…are you kidding me?" Felix nodded slowly, putting a hand over his mouth like he was thinking. "Can…can I see her?" he asked. "If what you're saying is true, then… I at least deserve to talk to her."
Agent Coulson shook his head. "I can't allow that. Not yet. But there's something you can help with."
He reached into his coat and slid a weathered, cream-colored folder across the table. The label was plainly legible: PROJECT EXTREMIS.
Felix's eyes flicked up. He played it perfectly — confusion melting into curiosity, curiosity hardening into disbelief. "Where did you—"
"Your old thesis," Coulson said. "Biological augmentation using nanothermal mutation — the Extremis virus."
"Nanothermal? Uh, it's nanobots."
Agent Coulson smiled. "I know. Just testing you."
Felix tilted his head, feigning nostalgia. "That's… old work. I abandoned that years ago."
"Did you? Or did you secretly work on it?"
"..."
He should have gotten an Oscar for his acting.
Agent Coulson's lips twitched. "You'll want to un-abandon it. With us." He gestured toward the folder. "We've been running the data through simulations. We believe we can apply the base principles — cellular reanimation, regenerative pathways, controlled neural rebooting — toward a new initiative."
Felix frowned. "Which is?"
Agent Coulson's tone dropped to a near whisper. "Revival."
Felix's stomach tightened, though not from shock, but from how perfectly he had predicted this and saw this coming. "You're trying to bring someone back," he said, eyes narrowing.
Coulson nodded once. "Peggy Carter. You remember your agreement with her."
There was a pause. A long one. The rain outside whispered against the window.
"She's…dead?"
"She is."
"She was a hundred years old." Felix exhaled, long and low. "You're out of your minds. That was regarding a super soldier and agelessness, not…not bringing someone back to life."
"Maybe," Coulson said. "But we have her body. Preserved. Intact. And your data can make this work — if you help us."
Felix leaned back, folding his arms. "You're asking the impossible. I'm not a miracle worker."
"No," Agent Coulson said. "You're a scientist. A good one. And we're not asking. We got a car waiting. Just…come with us. See what we have. I know you might be busy but think of this as with the aftermath of Creature Z."
Cue the loud honk. Felix's eyes flicked to the window. Sure enough, the black car operated by Agent Blade was vying for his attention.
"Time is of the essence," Coulson urged. "Please. We need you, Dr. Faeth. The director always spoke highly of you. For her, for the memories you've made with her, at least come."
Felix took one last sip of his coffee, letting the bitterness settle on his tongue. "Fine," he said. "I need to get rid of this hangover anyway."
***
The city bled away behind them as the limo slid through traffic. Agent Blade drove in silence, the streetlights flashing across his sunglasses. Coulson sat beside Felix, phone in hand, eyes fixed forward.
Felix watched the skyline fade, then disappear. He knew these roads. The turns. The rhythm of the ride.
'Rosendale,' he thought. 'Farm belt. Same as before.'
Then his gaze turned to Agent Blade.
'I'm unaffected by Emma's telepathy. Is it possible that Blade is too…?'
Telepathy manipulated the brain's neurons and pathways. With a strong enough regeneration, it was possible to "refresh" the mind, so to speak, in order to go through it. He theorized it was the reason for Captain Samantha Wilson's mild resistance to Emma's telepathy. If Agent Blade had something far stronger, then…it made sense.
And in his deal/partnership with Emma, the two agreed not to spy on one another. So no spider-bots or hacking cameras 24/7 or any of that. Felix agreed to it.
'Maybe I shouldn't have…'
Ah well. Emma was Emma, and that was the agreement.
"So, uh, is Emma…?"
"I can't give a location," Coulson replied. "All I can say is that she is comfortable and caged."
'So they're not torturing her. Good.'
"Was she a lot of trouble?" Felix pressed.
"Not for Agent Blade," Coulson said. "He had all the skills necessary for a quick, stealth take-down."
'To sneak up on Emma…not easy. Unless she was asleep. Maybe that was what he did?' It was hard to say. Regardless, they didn't sound like they were bluffing. 'Herbie, have you found her yet?'
'POSITIVE.'
A beat later and his mind was presented with the image of Emma Frost. She was sitting, legs crossed, and in a nightgown. Definitely sleeping before her kidnapping.
'She's in the very, very back,' Felix saw as the video feed flicked through his mind. 'The agent who keeps an eye on the security feed in the barn, he's watching Emma too. Hm. Well, knocking him out won't be too hard, I suppose. Getting her out might be. Let's see here…'
When they left the highway for gravel, he didn't even need Herbie's maps to know. They turned off Route 32 and rolled up the same dirt drive he'd once shadowed. The farmhouse looked the same: weathered wood, dead cornfields, not a light in sight.
"Middle of nowhere," Felix remarked. "How very spy-movie of you."
Agent Coulson didn't reply. He just opened the door. "Wait for only a moment.
Agent Blade went inside the barn and returned some seconds later, gesturing that he was done with whatever was needed. Which, as Felix while invisible, was a keycode underneath the milk can. Going inside, the side door was already open and transformed into a freight elevator.
"Woah, what's with the steal box…?" Felix murmured.
Coulson smiled. "It's old school. Sorry."
All three of them headed into the box of steel. They waited. They were going down.
Felix's pulse didn't spike. He'd already been here. He knew what waited below. Still, he put on the act. A scientist curious, cautious, a little unsettled. The elevator groaned downward. One minute later, the elevator doors hissed open with a low hydraulic sigh and the world ahead was blinding white.
Felix squinted as his eyes adjusted. The underground complex stretched far wider than it had any right to. White steel walls, glass-pane partitions, and humming conduits ran along the ceiling like arteries.
On the far side of the room, behind a clear containment wall, a half-dozen scientists in white coats hovered around a medical platform. Their monitors flickered with brainwave data and cellular scans. Tubes snaked from ceiling ports into a metal table at the center, surrounded by humming machinery.
On that table lay Peggy Carter. Things had changed and been rearranged since his last visit. 'These Rogue Agents work fast.'
The dead woman's skin had the pallor of marble, the stillness of something preserved far too long. Electrodes dotted her temples. IVs fed into both arms, filled with glowing golden fluid. Felix couldn't fathom what that was. 'Are those…nanobots? Ohh, I see, they're struggling with the quantity. Too much and it makes that golden glow.'
Felix let out a slow whistle. "Well… that's morbidly impressive."
"Dr. Faeth," came a familiar voice.
Olivia Octavius stood a few meters ahead, clipboard in hand, her glasses reflecting the harsh light. Her hair was tied back in the same half-rushed way she always wore it when she was deep in work — something about that small detail felt oddly grounding amid the insanity.
"Liv," Felix greeted, genuine warmth in his tone, until confusion seeped. "Wait…you're here? But how? You're…"
"Oscorp? Sorry, but my real allegiance belongs to SHIELD." Her expression softened slightly. "Sorry for hiding all this."
"It's…I mean, what's Norman going to say?"
"He won't say anything because he won't know," Olivia said, before smiling. "Now Come. You'll want to see this."
Agent Coulson moved as if to follow, but Olivia raised a hand. "Agent Coulson, with respect, I think Dr. Faeth and I should speak privately. He'll understand the data better without you hovering."
Coulson hesitated. Then nodded. "Five minutes."
Felix followed Olivia through a sealed side door. Here, the hum of the machines grew louder inside. His ears did not like it. But upon entering, he saw a door at the very back.
'That's where the security guard and Emma are being kept.'
Alas, he could not go there. The door was double-locked and obviously, he was occupied with Olivia and what she wanted to show him here.
On a nearby table lay vials of shimmering blue and violet fluid. The label on one was unmistakable: Heart-Shaped Herb IMITATION. Another bore the Oscorp insignia, stamped over with a black stripe: Serum Rebirth. Compound-47.
"That's…"
"Project Rebirth II," Olivia said. "It's what you administered to Luke Cage."
"But…it's still not…" He shook his head. "How did you even get it? Ugh, stupid question, you're the department head."
Olivia winked. "I know the security inside-out."
The primary computer system was where she wanted him standing and studying. The SHIELD scientist gestured to the display. He squinted, seeing the paragraphs of calculations and chemical quantities.
"Extremis…you're bringing it to life."
"Remember the day we met? Honestly, if it wasn't for that thesis and your raw understanding of it, I probably wouldn't have hired you," Olivia said. "But it's not just your thesis anymore. What we've done at SHIELD have pushed it beyond that. This is Extremis 2.0."
"Rolls right off the tongue."
She ignored the jab and scrolled down via the mouse. Typed in commands to show a 3d projection of their testing. "We inject it directly into the brainstem. The regenerative effect cascades through the nervous system — jump-starting the heart, lungs, everything. The extremis compound rebuilds tissue, the heart-shaped herb strengthens it, and the serum stabilizes it all." Her voice was low and intense. "We can bring her back, Felix. Not as she was — but better. Stronger. Smarter. You know the director, she made the world better."
'...did she?'
Felix studied her face for a moment, then turned his gaze back to Peggy's body. "You realize how insane that sounds, right?"
"Insanity and genius are a two-lane road," she said quietly. "You paved this one, remember?"
Ding.
The elevator sang. Both of them turned, past the glass and onto the empty space where agents lingered. Coulson and Blade looked up and were already getting ready with their respective weaponry: a gun and a sword. That was when someone in the backroom, behind the room of science Felix and Olivia were currently in, burst out and exclaimed, "They're here!"
Olivia snapped over. "What!? Who!?"
Felix froze in place, keeping his expression perfectly confused.
"Everybody, keep your nerves steady…!" Coulson started.
The elevator doors slammed open.
Armed SHIELD agents poured out in formation, weapons raised. In the center stood a tall, dark figure in a leather coat. One eye, one eyepatch. It was Nick Fury.
"Director," Coulson greeted. "It's…good to see you."
"Yeah, yeah, screw off." Nick Fury's voice boomed through the room. "Nobody move!"
Nobody moved. The scientists, the security camera watcher that just arrived, everyone. Until Coulson's finger touched the trigger of his gun and all the trained agents drew their sidearms. Agent Blade smirked and pulled out his sword.
The whole area felt like a live wire, tension snapping between every breath.
Felix took a deliberate step back. "Uh… somebody want to tell me what's going on?"
"Get down, Felix!" Olivia hissed, shoving him toward one of the metal benches. "Now!"
He ducked, crouching low behind a workstation. The poor young man caught in the crossfire had to observe the chaos unfold through the glass reflection.
Fury's agents fanned out, surrounding Agent Coulson and Blade. In total, there were only maybe a dozen agents in here. Fury brought in more than twenty.
"We've got unauthorized genetic experimentation, unauthorized storage of classified biological assets, and six rogue agents off the grid for two weeks. You think we weren't gonna notice?"
Agent Coulson held his ground. "Director Carter's legacy belongs to SHIELD, Vice-Director. You've got no right to shut this down."
"No right? Hilarious." Fury's single eye narrowed. "Funny. I don't remember her ever trusting you with it."
A low growl rumbled from Blade. "Are we gonna fight or what?"
"Fight? I'm giving you mercy, Agent Blade. You abandoned your trackers, locked out command access, and set up a ghost facility," Fury shot back. "You're damn lucky I didn't bring a drone strike instead of knocking."
The air grew thicker. Fingers tightened on triggers.
Felix, crouched behind the bench, fought the urge to smile.
Because he knew exactly how Fury had found them.
'Herbie did hack this place already. All I needed to do was to ping SHIELD, get to investigate, and voila. I was hoping for it to happen earlier but…beggars can't be choosers.'
Olivia's voice cut through the tension. "You can't stop this, Fury! We're on the edge of rewriting mortality itself—"
"Lady," Fury snapped, "I've seen what happens when people play God. And it never ends well."
The click of safety switches filled the air. Coulson's jaw clenched. Blade took one careful step forward, his stance ready.
Felix stayed low, hands flat against the cold steel floor. That backroom where the security camera feeds were, that was also where they were keeping Emma Frost.
Once the first bullet went off, it was time to save her.