Time Skip.
Tamp-Tamp.
Tamp-Tamp.
Ziiiium.
Peter's eyes suddenly snapped open as his spider-sense warned him of danger.
Just as he was about to extend his arm and call the axe toward him, a considerable weight crashed onto his body. Turning to see what it was, he realized that this was the danger his spider-sense had warned him about.
"Merry Christmas, Dad!" Itsy said.
"Merry Christmas, Dad," Selina added.
"Good morning, Father. Merry Christmas," Caesar said from the doorway, leaning against the frame and dressed in Christmas clothes just like the girls. He then encouraged the girls to get out of bed.
Peter sat up, causing several of his bones to crack pleasantly.
Because of The One, they did that to my boy.
"Go with your mothers. I'll shower and change, then I'll see you at the table for breakfast."
He received nods from all three.
Those two inherited the hyperactivity I had as a child, while Caesar inherited my current attitude, Peter thought before heading into the bathroom.
Once he was fresh and completely free of any lingering traces of sleep, Peter headed downstairs, only to stop when he saw the living room, where everyone was laughing and joking.
These were some of the few moments when he allowed himself to admire everything he had achieved since arriving in this world.
"Hello, dolls," he said as he descended the stairs and gave each of the women a kiss. "Girls and boy."
He kissed Selina and Itsy on the cheek before ruffling Caesar's hair.
"Everything looks splendid, May," Peter said as he sat at the head of the table and looked over all the food.
"Thanks, but I got a little help from the girls," she replied as she sat down, followed by everyone else.
"Fantastic."
"You look good, darling," Susan said.
"Thanks. Everything looks good on me. I already look like a model," Peter replied jokingly, making the girls smile.
"Okay, eat freely," Missy said as she sat down in her chair.
Throughout breakfast, the laughter and jokes never stopped, coming from Peter as often as they did from the children and the girls, creating a warm and familiar atmosphere.
Once they finished eating, everyone went to take care of their own activities.
Yuri and the children went to train, Missy headed toward one of the specially decorated rooms to paint in her private space, and May and Susan began preparing snacks.
Peter, meanwhile, spent nearly two hours resolving everything he needed to handle with the company.
Once that was done, he headed toward the laboratory to see his other girl.
"Merry Christmas, Cortana."
"Merry Christmas to you too, darling."
Peter heard her response before entering his private laboratory, where he found an object covered with a blanket. He picked it up and carried it toward the suit room, where the real work was about to begin.
"What are our plans for today?" Cortana asked.
"Not much. I have a few things to sort out, and then I'll go meet the girls. You can continue with your own things."
"Understood," she replied in a noticeably less-than-happy tone.
Once inside, Peter cleared everything from the worktable and placed the covered object on top of it.
Going to the main computer, he began transferring the data from Cortana's primary drive onto another one with a different design.
Once everything was ready, he closed Cortana's external connections, restricting her movement to either her main drive or the new one.
Upon removing the cloth covering the object, it became clear that it was not a what, but a who.
More precisely, a body.
Peter inserted the motherboard into an opening near the cervical vertebrae before using a special spray to seal and conceal the area. The spray was similar to the synthetic material used in the film I, Robot to cover the metallic components of humanoid robots.
He also sealed another opening slightly lower down, where one of the STEM chips was located.
This served as a safeguard against memory loss, mind theft, mind reading, and other similar incidents. The system would store, protect, and transfer every memory and sensation to a separate card, ensuring that nothing important was ever permanently lost.
Going back to the computer, Peter began typing several commands, causing a loading bar to appear. He only had to wait around five minutes for the process to finish. Once it was complete, he pressed Enter and returned to the body, waiting for a reaction.
"Ahhhh."
"Hey, hey. Calm down. Everything is fine."
"Peter."
"Hi, Cortana. Come on, let me help you."
"Help me?"
"Yes."
Peter took her by the arms and helped her sit up, causing her eyes to widen.
"How? How can I feel it?" she asked, experiencing both the cold surface of the table and the sensation of his hands against her arms.
In response, Peter merely smiled. He helped her sit properly before retrieving a mirror and handing it to her.
The moment Cortana saw her reflection, she froze in amazement. Touching her own face only made her even more astonished.
"You can feel everything because you have a neurostimulator. In other words, I strongly recommend that you don't hurt yourself. Pain is unpleasant, and it'll be even worse for you because you've never physically felt anything before. Every new sensation will hit you like a tsunami. It won't be pretty."
"Can I feel everything?"
"Correct. This is my gift to you: a physical, semi-organic body."
"Semi-organic?"
"Correct. You're essentially the closest thing to a bio-android created through biotechnology. You possess both mechanical and human components. I created this body using seventy percent of my DNA, with the remaining genetic material coming from someone known as Mystique."
Peter gestured toward her body.
"Because of that, you possess a limited ability to alter your appearance, though only physically. Your biological sex and height will remain the same, but you can change your hair color, skin tone, and several other features that I'll explain later."
He paused briefly.
"And to answer a question you might ask, I obtained Mystique's DNA from McCoy's laboratory. A beta-phase Spider-Bot collected it during my first visit to the mansion. If you want more details, I'll explain them later."
Cortana nodded.
"How do you feel?"
"Great. I can feel everything. It's truly wonderful. But I have a question regarding what you said about your DNA."
"Which one?"
"What am I? Your girlfriend, your sister, or your daughter~?" she asked with a smile.
"Um... we're going with girlfriend."
"Are you sure? I have no problem calling you Daddy~," she said in a sensual tone, making Peter shiver and causing a reaction he deliberately chose not to acknowledge.
No.... Not now.
"I'm fine with girlfriend right now."
"That's a shame. I wanted to say it the other way, but I have another question."
"Which one?" Peter asked hesitantly.
"Do I have all your powers or only some of them? And why am I blonde if you're brunette? From what I understand, Mystique is a redhead."
Peter sighed before taking her hands.
"I really don't want you to have my powers because they're more of a curse than a blessing. I truly wish you didn't have them, but unfortunately, you're going to need them."
His expression became more serious.
"You may not understand that now, but you will soon enough. And as for your second question, I have no idea. Maybe one of the previous Parkers was blonde and you inherited it, considering you're almost seventy percent Parker."
"Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?" Cortana asked, releasing one of his hands to gently touch his cheek.
"I am."
Peter released her hands and softly stroked both of her cheeks.
"You know, I've always wanted to do something."
"What?"
"This."
Peter leaned forward and kissed her.
What followed had been a long time coming, and when it finally arrived, it made itself felt in every sense of the word.