Chapter 202: Becoming the Mastermind

Back at home, Peter loosened his tie and walked over to the minibar. He poured himself a drink.

Running a multimillion-dollar company with an excellent staff was easy. Enduring a room full of scavengers chattering endlessly, hunting for the slightest mistake or hint of nervousness to overexploit, was mentally exhausting.

Nora West had been particularly relentless—constantly probing with personal and corporate questions, searching for the smallest crack in his voice or composure. With each question he deflected, her frown deepened, which only intensified once he made it firmly clear that he would not discuss his private life. The girl reminded him of Lois Lane—equally annoying and obsessively dedicated to her work.

He looked up and saw all of his girls approaching him with radiant smiles—the kind that instantly recharged his batteries and made every ounce of his mental exhaustion evaporate.

"Ladies," Peter greeted, switching to a smooth British accent.

Their smiles widened.

He had recently discovered that each of them was attracted to a particular type of accent.

May melted at an Italian accent, Cortana at a Russian one, Yuri at Japanese, Susan at German, and Missy at British. He used the corresponding accent whenever he was with one of them, which had the dual benefit of perfecting his pronunciation and pressing certain irresistible buttons.

"You looked very handsome on television, darling," May said warmly, kissing him before settling him onto the sofa.

"The MILF is right," Yuri agreed, repeating the same gesture. "The cameras absolutely adore you."

"It still feels a little strange seeing you smile like that," Missy said thoughtfully, kissing his cheek before sitting down on May’s lap. "I am far more accustomed to this side of you."

"Missy is right," Susan added, kissing his neck before sitting beside Yuri. "Watching you crack jokes and grin like that is almost... disturbing."

"I have spent a great deal of time with you," Cortana said, "and it genuinely disturbs me to see that smile and your strange way of making jokes. I prefer those small, real smiles you give us—the ones that show us all the love—over those manufactured ones."

She playfully kissed the tip of his nose, then settled herself on top of Susan, who gladly accepted the affection.

"They are bigger," Cortana murmured to Susan.

"Probably," Susan whispered back.

"I think I will have to conduct a thorough examination."

Ignoring Cortana’s flirtation with Susan, Peter took a calm sip of his drink. When he looked back at the girls, he noticed their playful smiles had vanished, replaced by raised eyebrows.

"Now tell us the real reason behind the NerveGear and the game," Yuri said flatly.

Peter smiled—a genuine, small smile. The girls knew him far too well. They understood that most of the things he did carried a hidden double meaning. He let out a quiet laugh, which made them all slightly happier, knowing it was real and not another performance.

Kindly asking them to follow him, he led them down into the Spider-Cave.

He walked to a section of the rocky wall and placed his hand flat against it. Within seconds, his palm was scanned, and the wall split cleanly in two, revealing a computer system unlike anything they had ever seen.

"How many hidden walls does this place have?" May asked.

"I stopped asking that question a long time ago," Cortana replied dryly. "There is a new one every week."

"Ladies," Peter said, gesturing toward the system, "I present to you the fruits of my labor."

"What is this?" Yuri asked.

"This is Project HERMES¹—or Brother Eye. An artificial intelligence completely different from Cortana or Karen. I designed it to be incapable of self-updating—"

Cortana immediately turned and stared at him.

"—not because I do not want it to evolve," Peter clarified, meeting her gaze, "but because Brother Eye is the most dangerous thing I have ever created."

"Capabilities," Cortana said simply.

"Now, nothing to alarm anyone, but..."

He began typing a series of codes and algorithms. Everyone watched as a loading screen appeared.

Once the system was ready, a live recording from space filled the display. Peter typed several additional commands. From the IRIS satellite, an object launched—something invisible to the naked eye. Through the integrated radar, a blue dot separated from a red dot and drifted to a considerable distance. Peter pressed a red button, and they watched as a second satellite materialized out of thin air.

"This is now the most dangerous program I have ever designed," Peter stated. "It is a stealthy, semi-autonomous surveillance system with anti-detection capabilities and a defense grid that is always active. Any threat will be immediately reported to the Spider-Computer. Brother Eye is capable of hacking everything."

He placed his hand on a secondary scanner beside the keyboard. The satellite slowly began to turn invisible on screen.

"This is a precautionary measure. Even though the satellite has anti-tracking capabilities, it does not mean it cannot be spotted with a sufficiently powerful telescope. The satellite also carries additional magical protections, making it completely unhackable and invisible to both technological and mystical detection."

The girls were visibly astonished by the sheer complexity of what he had built. Peter asked them to follow him again. They moved to another section of the Spider-Cave—one that was not particularly hidden, since at first glance it appeared to be nothing more than an observation platform overlooking the rest of the cavern.

"This place was not here before," Cortana said, glancing around at several NS-5 units still in various stages of construction.

Peter stopped and raised both hands. A holographic keyboard materialized in the air before him. He entered a series of codes, and a detailed holographic globe appeared, rotating slowly. It was covered in thousands of colored dots.

"Another function of Brother Eye," Peter explained, "is very similar to the Cerebro system that Charles has in his mansion."

"Wait," Missy interrupted, staring at the globe. "Does that mean those are Meta-Humans?"

"Correct," Peter confirmed, switching the globe’s display to a flat world map.

"What are all those colors?" May asked.

"White represents ordinary humans. Red represents unawakened Meta-Humans. Yellow represents awakened ones. And orange represents those who are only a few steps away from manifesting their abilities."

"How did you accomplish this without telepathic powers?" Susan asked.

"Remember those wireless earbuds we released? The ones that also functioned as translators?"

Susan nodded.

"Each earbud contained a hidden data bank loaded with the biological profiles I collected from the Meta-Humans at the Institute."

"What?" Yuri said, her expression mirroring the confusion on every other face.

"The earbuds stored brainwave patterns, blood composition data, respiratory rates, and other metrics. Anyone whose biometric data matches that profile is flagged as a Meta. They are fundamentally different from ordinary humans—they breathe differently, they move differently, even their neural patterns are distinct. The more visually dramatic the mutation, the more pronounced the deviation."

"Why is it blinking?" Susan asked, pointing at several dots that flickered intermittently on the map.

"Because the earbuds are flawed," Peter admitted. "Each red dot that disappears means there is a Meta-Human who is not currently wearing the earbuds. The NerveGear solves this problem. During the setup process, users must complete several registration steps. Once they do, their biometric data will be transmitted and cross-referenced against our existing Meta-Human database. This time, the records will be permanently stored in the system alongside their locations. We will never lose track of them again, unlike with the earbuds."

The girls stared at him. He could see the mixture of awe and quiet terror behind their eyes as they processed the sheer scope of what he had built.

"Every Meta-Human who awakens their powers will have their location immediately and anonymously transmitted to the Institute so that Charles can locate them. Charles is not connected to Cerebro at all times, and in those brief windows..."

He let the sentence trail off deliberately, allowing the weight of the implication to settle.

"Bad things can happen."

A heavy silence hung in the air. The girls wanted to say something—he could see it in their faces—but he continued before any of them could speak.

"That is why I created a rapid response protocol for those situations."

Their expressions went carefully blank.

"You are always ten steps ahead of everyone," Yuri said quietly.

"And you always have a contingency plan for the contingency plan," Missy added.

"I am cautious," Peter said simply.

"You are paranoid, honey," May corrected gently. "But that might actually be a good thing."

Peter huffed playfully.

"I present to you the Kingsman and Townsend ¹protocols—two rapid response agencies that will be responsible for extracting and protecting Meta-Humans in case of emergency."

"Why two?" Yuri asked.

"The Townsend Agency is exclusively for women. Kingsman is exclusively for men. For Kingsman, I drew inspiration from the Knights of the Round Table. For Townsend, I was inspired by a particular group of exceptional women."

He smiled at the memory. "Kingsman agents operate under Arthurian codenames: Merlin, Arthur, Perceval, Galahad, and so on. Townsend agents operate under the designation of Angels—a team of three women, one Bosley to serve as their handler, and one Saint, a dedicated medical specialist assigned to each unit."

He replaced the holographic globe with several organized folders that outlined the structure of both agencies in detail.

"EYE, ensures that neither agency discovers the existence of the other," Peter instructed.

"Why?" Missy asked.

"Believe me. It is better this way."

Missy nodded, though the doubt in her eyes was plain.

"L-Corp and Kingsman Tailors will provide the necessary funding to establish both agencies. Kingsman will obviously be headquartered in London, and Townsend in Los Angeles."

He said the last part with a faintly amused inflection that only the girls caught.

"And the staff?" Susan asked.

"I have that covered," Peter replied, his expression shifting into something unsettlingly close to a predatory grin.

The girls noticed the smile and exchanged uncertain glances. They had several questions about what he was planning, but refrained from asking, knowing they would not get many answers.

For the next several minutes, Peter allowed them to read through the files on both agencies and the NerveGear system. Occasionally he clarified a technical detail, but nothing that was beyond their comprehension. At one point, Missy asked to become an Angel—a request Peter flatly refused. The refusal nearly sparked an argument, but when he casually mentioned that he had already designed a specialized suit for her, her attitude shifted dramatically. The prospect of having powers turned her irritation into a wide, eager smile.