"Grrr... my head hurts."
"Hello, Sleeping Beauty," Peter said, glancing at her from the corner of his eye while continuing to read.
"Daddy?" she asked, staring at him with green eyes.
"Hi, Selina."
Peter stroked her head, causing her to purr as her tail began wagging.
"Yes... a little... prrrr... more to the left. Ah~"
Her tail wagged even more enthusiastically.
"It seems the transformation didn't make you completely human, just like Caesar. You look somewhat like Cheetah from DC Comics, but with more obvious feline features. Interesting."
Peter continued stroking her head, occasionally scratching beneath her chin.
"Cheetah?"
"Cheetah is a Comics character who, after certain events depending on the version, becomes a human-cheetah hybrid. A complete beauty, from my point of view. Just like Tigra from another Comics."
Selina suddenly froze.
"What are saying...what DC....Wait... you can understand me!"
She immediately stopped enjoying the petting and stared at him.
Then panic appeared on her face.
"Wait, my limbs! I can't feel them! I can't feel my limbs!"
Peter pinched one of her legs.
She immediately winced in pain and went quiet.
"You couldn't feel your limbs because you're not used to having human arms and legs. Get up, and I'll help you into a wheelchair."
Peter looked toward Cortana.
"Cortana, bring Sony once she's done helping Caesar. Have her take Selina to the girls. While you're at it, dress her in some of my clothes from down here."
Cortana was staring at Selina as though she had just discovered buried treasure.
"Did Caesar wake up before me?" Selina asked.
"Yes. He's currently with his mother."
*Spending so much time around us, combined with the serum, must have improved her brain cells. From what I can see, I won't need to teach her how to speak. It'll probably be the same with reading. Almost the same thing happened with Caesar. *
Fascinating.
"Damn it. Daddy, take me. I want to see Mommy," Selina said after Peter placed her in the wheelchair.
"And your mother is...?"
"May and Susan," she replied, staring directly at him.
"Right."
Peter nodded slowly.
"Tell your mothers to teach you the basics of being human. Have them teach you how to walk as well. Then we'll talk about everything else."
Sony entered the laboratory and began taking Selina away.
"Okay, Daddy," Peter heard her say as they left.
Apparently, her name isn't just for show. Strangely enough, her voice sounds like Selina Kyle's from the TV series Gotham. Do names have something to do with it?
"Waffles! Don't eat me!"
Peter looked to his left and saw that the final subject was awake, frantically moving her head from side to side.
"Hi, Itsy. I see you don't like waffles, huh?"
"Dad?"
"Yes. To sum it up, you were part of an experiment that was a complete success. It transformed you into a half-human, half-animal hybrid."
Peter examined her carefully.
"In your case, you're more human than the others because you were previously experimented on with human DNA. And from what I can see, you're not screaming or panicking. You didn't even collapse after waking up from that nightmare."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"That means you've gained the seventh sense I have: adaptability to change."
"Great. Does that mean we don't have to talk without moving our lips anymore?"
"We still can. I can still feel my connection with you."
Peter smiled.
"But now you can talk to your mother out loud. That's an improvement. Not to mention, you can eat human food instead of insects. You can also do things you couldn't do before."
He paused.
"By the way, try not to open your mouth too wide when you talk. You might scare the girls."
I'm surprised her mouth doesn't look like the one from the comics. It somewhat resembles Mileena's Tarkatan mouth from Mortal Kombat, but it's far less intimidating.
"Understood. One question."
"Yes?"
"Why are they bigger than Mama's?" she asked pointing at her chest, gesturing curiously. "And who is she? Also, why doesn't this look like Mama's?"
She opened her mouth, and a large tongue extended outward.
Peter stared at her for a moment.
"If I'm right, your mother is Missy, isn't she?"
Itsy nodded.
"Don't do that in front of your mother again. She already has enough to deal with from the other girls without you becoming competitive too."
Peter sighed.
"And to answer your first question, I don't have the slightest idea. As for the tongue, it might not look like your mother's, but it does look like mine."
He opened his mouth, revealing a tongue similar to hers, before retracting it.
"And I don't know why mine is like that either."
"Great. Now I can hit the bad guys."
Peter gestured toward Cortana.
"And this is Cortana, my partner besides your mother."
He looked toward Cortana and noticed a blue blush appearing across her face.
Making eye contact with her, Peter wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Her blush deepened.
"But getting back to the topic, you'll need to train your body. It's better to discover what you're capable of here, in a controlled environment, than on a battlefield."
"Aww... okay."
"All right. I'll repeat the same thing I told your siblings. Once you leave this room, an NS-5 robot will be waiting to take you to your mother."
Peter pointed toward the exit.
"It'll also have some clothes ready for you. I don't want you walking around the house without them. I assume you know how clothes work after seeing me change so many times."
"Understood, Pa."
Itsy jumped out of bed and began walking toward him. She kissed him on the cheek before heading out of the laboratory.
Peter watched her leave.
"It seems that seventh sense is more useful than I thought. She had no trouble walking, unlike her siblings."
He smiled.
"Fantastic, don't you think?"
Turning his head, Peter noticed that Cortana's blush had disappeared.
In its place was a determined expression.
That immediately made him uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?"
"I want one too."
Peter blinked.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I also want a child. Maybe a panther."
"No. Absolutely not."
"A tiger?"
"No."
Peter left the room and headed toward the suit room to finish several improvements before returning to complete some work in the laboratory.
"A snake?" Cortana suggested.
"Hmm."
Maybe that one. I could call her Nagini, after Voldemort's snake from Harry Potter, and find out whether the names have anything to do with their voices.
Peter shook his head, dismissing the thought for now.
"No."
"You considered it, which means I'm close to having a chance with snakes."
Cortana followed him.
"What about an ape or a monkey?"
"Negative, soldier."
"What about a rabbit? We could call her Judy or Luna."
"Judy or Luna? No. I don't want one becoming a police officer like Judy Hopps from Zootopia, while the other turns into an extremely open-minded person or someone capable of strange magic like Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter."
Cortana stared at him.
"Is that your strange way of denying me a rabbit?"
"Yes."
"What if we name her Daisy?"
Peter suddenly stopped.
Slowly, he turned to look at her.
"No!"
Cortana blinked.
"I don't want Doctor Doom appearing out of nowhere, turning me into something unpleasant, and stealing the rabbit while he's at it."
"Okay. Rabbit's out."