Marvel
H.E.R.B.I.E

30
INT. BAXTER BUILDING – LAB LEVEL – 2:14 A.M.
The world is asleep. Even the city outside seems hushed — only the distant hum of traffic filters through the glass. Inside the Baxter Building, the labs rest in their own sort of slumber: monitors in standby mode, faint blue lights tracing the edges of dormant equipment.
A soft click breaks the silence.
A student of the Future Foundation slips through the door, dimly lit by the glow of their wrist console. Their eyes flick across the room, wide with both wonder and guilt. They shouldn’t be here. Reed’s rules are strict — but curiosity doesn’t keep business hours.
They walk between the silent machines, fingertips trailing across their smooth metal surfaces. Static crackles faintly under their touch. The building feels alive tonight — its circuits thrumming like distant heartbeats.
They reach the central console — a shimmering holographic array. A touch brings it to life. Streams of data unfold like glowing ribbons, forming a map of the Baxter Building’s internal systems. It’s beautiful — and vast.
For a while, they just stare. It feels like standing at the edge of a living universe.
Then, a faint whirring sound ripples through the silence.