MORE POWERSTONES!!!!🤣🤣💎💎
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[Alex's Penthouse, New York]
Tonight, Alex has the whole night to himself because the girls are busy in LA. Max and Caroline went to the opening of their new cupcake shop, and the others went with them. Alex had a busy day, so he couldn't go.
Alex sat on the edge of his couch, laptop open on the coffee table, one ankle resting on his knee. The glow from the screen painted his face a soft blue.
Evangeline filled the screen, hair pulled back, cheeks flushed from wind and long hours. Behind her, even through the compression and low light, the scale of it was obvious... Wooden fences, round doors, rolling green hills that looked too perfect to be real.
"You would not believe this place," she said, turning slightly so the camera caught more of the background. "Peter and the team have basically built an entire village. Like a real one. Paths, gardens, chimneys that actually smoke, and dome-like houses. They are calling it Hobbiton."
Alex smiled faintly. "Of course they are."
"No, you don't understand," she said, her eyes bright. "This is not a joke. You can walk for minutes and still not see the end of it. It's really beautiful, and the air is so fresh. You should definitely come here if you have time. We could go camping and at night we could just sit outside on a log wrapped in a cozy blanket and look at the stars. I know you are busy with your new projects, so there's no pressure."
Alex shifted on the couch, the leather creaking softly beneath him.
"You are describing it like a trap," he said lightly. "Fresh air, stars, blankets, you. Very suspicious. Wait! Is this a honey trap?"
Evangeline laughed softly.
"If it is a honey trap," she said, lowering her voice just a little, "it is a very honest one. No tricks. Just scenery and me missing you."
Alex leaned back, resting his head against the couch, eyes still on the screen. "That is how they get you. First it is stars. Then it is blankets. Next thing I know, I'll end up in the tent with you on top."
She turned the camera back toward herself, settling down on what looked like a wooden bench. For a moment, she did not speak, just looked at him with that steady, thoughtful gaze that always made him feel like time had slowed to accommodate it.
"So, how was your day?" He asked.
Evangeline tilted her head slightly, considering the question like it deserved a thoughtful answer and not a tired one.
"It was long," she said. "It was cold in the morning. There was mud everywhere. Peter almost fell into a decorative pond because he forgot the ground slopes right after warning the cameraman about it."
Alex smiled. "Please tell me someone filmed that."
"Sadly, no," she replied.Â
She shifted, pulling her jacket tighter around herself.Â
"But it was a long day," she added. "And productive and tiring. But we really had fun."
Alex nodded slowly. "That sounds great."
"It is," she said with a smile. "Oh, by the way, I am becoming an outdoors person. Soon I will start saying things like, 'The light is better at dawn,' and 'We should hike before breakfast.'"
He winced theatrically. "This relationship has taken a dark turn."
She laughed, then sighed, resting her chin in her hand. "What about you? You survived another day of controlled chaos, I assume."
"Barely," Alex said. "I cast half a movie, launched a television series just because I got the right main lead, and watched a man verbally assault an imaginary teenager for ten straight minutes."
Her eyes widened. "That sounds… oddly specific."
"It was beautiful," he replied. "Poetic and aggressive. I may frame the memory."
She smiled at that, the corners of her mouth lingering as if she wanted to say more than she was letting on.
"I miss you," she said softly.
He shifted again, leaning forward now, forearms resting on his thighs. "I miss you too."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The call did not feel empty though. It felt full in that quiet way that only happened when two people were comfortable enough not to fill every second.
Evangeline broke the silence first. "You look tired."
"I am," Alex admitted. "The good kind. The kind that makes you want to sit still and think about someone instead of a schedule."
Her lips curved. "Am I the someone?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation. "You always are."
The camera shifted as she adjusted her phone, then steadied again. The stars behind her were starting to come out, faint at first, scattered like someone had been careless with them.
Alex noticed. "You have stars now."
She glanced up, then back at him. "Yes. They are very smug about it."
"They should be," he said. "They have excellent timing."
She smiled at the screen, softer now. "If you were here," she said, almost absently, "I would make you sit outside with me until you stopped checking your phone."
"That is cruel and unusual punishment," Alex replied. "But I would accept it."
"I would steal your jacket," she added.
Her smile deepened. "Then I would lean against you and pretend I was not cold."
He pictured it too easily. Her shoulder against his. The shared silence. The way she always fit there like she had been designed for that exact space.
"That sounds dangerous," he said. "I might not let you go back."
She met his gaze through the screen, unblinking. "I would not fight very hard."
The words lingered, warm and intimate, without crossing into anything that needed to be rushed.
Alex leaned back again, one hand lifting to rest behind his neck. "I'll visit the main set soon," he said, "And we are definitely doing that."
She raised an eyebrow. "You aren't joking, right?"
"Nope," he replied. "I will ignore everyone. I will silence my phone. I will be irresponsibly present."
Her eyes softened. "Just for me?"
"For you," he said. "And maybe a blanket. But mostly you."
She laughed quietly, then nodded. "Then I will hold you to that."
They stayed like that for a while longer. Talking about nothing important. Then Evangeline walked back to her hotel room. They said goodnight and kissed on the screen before ending the call.
...
[June 6]
[Titan HQ | Alex's Office]
The list sat on Alex's desk. It was the final list of the cast, contract details, and permits. He opened the cast list.
Peter Parker: Andrew Garfield.
Gwen Stacy: Emma Stone.
Doctor Octavius: Alfred Molina.
Norman Osborn: Willem Dafoe.
Aunt May: Diane Lane.
Uncle Ben Parker: Jeff Daniels.
J. Jonah Jameson: J.K. Simmons.
Harry Osborn: Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Robbie Robertson: Delroy Lindo.
Captain George Stacy: Ed Harris.
Flash Thompson: Seann William Scott.
Dr. Curt Connors: Dylan Baker.
Betty Brant: Angela White.
Nick Fury: Samuel L. Jackson.
Tony Stark: Robert Downey Jr.
Black Cat: Megan Fox.
As he was about to go through the permit details, the door opened and Rachel walked inside, tablet under her arm, expression already halfway between relief and readiness.
"It is done?" she asked.
Alex slid the paper across the desk toward her. "Locked and signed."
"So, when do we start the shoot?" She asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee and then sat on the couch.Â
"1st July," He replied while going through the permit details. "The costume and the FX team need some more time to get everything ready on their end and we need time to build the set. I've already tripled the working team, so we'll still have a few days to check the safety and all before the shoot."
Alex looked up.
"By the way, how's the animation department doing?" He asked.
"They are 80% done animating the next Spider-Man movie. The voice-overs are pending," Rachel replied before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Tell them not to rush. We are pushing the release date to September," He said after closing the file.
"Why?" She raised an eyebrow.
Alex leaned back in his chair and exhaled slowly, the kind of breath that came from someone who had learned the hard way that momentum could be dangerous.
"Because we have already fed them a lot," he said calmly.
Rachel tilted her head. "Define a lot."
Alex tapped the desk once with his finger. "One Spider-Man movie last December. Thirty episodes of a Spider-Man television series right after that. Now we have officially announced a live-action Spider-Man film with a cast list that made the internet collectively scream."
He looked up at her. "If we drop another animated Spider-Man movie on top of that, it stops being exciting and starts being exhausting."
Rachel frowned slightly. "You are worried about audience burnout."
"I am worried about Spider-Man fatigue," Alex corrected. "Too much of something good stops being good. It turns into noise. Then backlash. Then people start saying things like, 'It used to feel special.'"
Rachel leaned back on the couch and took another sip of coffee. "Most studios would kill to make money by riding the success."
"Yes," Alex said dryly. "And they would milk it for what it's worth till the backlash, and then it'd turn into a sloppy B-Grade series with multiple budget cuts until the production gets shut down due to massive loss."
He stood and walked toward the window, looking out at the city. "Spider-Man works because people miss him. Because every appearance feels earned. If we flood them, they stop caring. And when they stop caring, it comes back to bite me in the ass personally, creatively, and financially. In that order."
Rachel considered that. "So September gives them room to breathe."
"Exactly," Alex replied. "Let them rewatch. Speculate a bit and argue online about suits and villains, and casting choices like it is a civic duty."
A faint smile crossed his face. "Absence builds appetite."
Rachel nodded slowly. "I will tell the animation department to slow the pace and adjust the schedule."
"Tell them to enjoy the process," Alex added. "We are not running from anyone."
"By the way, what are you going to do with the Blackstar Studio and the assets?" She asked, setting the cup down on the table.
Alex did not answer immediately.
He stayed by the window, hands loosely folded, eyes tracing the city like he was scanning a chessboard he had not decided how to play yet. Traffic moved below in orderly chaos. People hurried with purpose, unaware they were part of the backdrop to someone else's long-term plan.
Rachel waited. She had learned that silence usually meant something expensive was being born.
Alex finally turned around. "How do you feel about games?"
Rachel blinked once. "Video games?"
"Yes," he said, nodding as if confirming it for himself. "A game studio."
She studied his face. "That was not a joke."
"Nope," Alex replied. "It was a thought that has been knocking for a while. I just never opened the door."
Rachel leaned back into the couch cushions. "We already make movies, television, animation, comics, clothes, drinks, collectibles, perfume for some reason, comic-themed bikes that people do not actually ride, and props that fans argue over like religious artifacts."
"Exactly," Alex said. "So why stop there?"
She chuckled before saying, "You really want to enter the gaming industry?"
"Yep! But I want to enter it properly," he nodded. "Not a rushed tie-in or cash grab. I have so many ideas in my mind that could change the trajectory of the gaming industry. Oh, and we'll be making our own Titan Exclusive Consoles to fight against Xbox and PlayStation. So, put one of your assistants to work on it. And prepare a second tech team and put them to work on making a graphics card that can beat AMD and Nvidia."
Alex paused for a moment before saying, "Let's take over the entire gaming industry in the coming year."
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