Okay friends! Here I am, back with another story...I dunno...give it a read before you judge? :D
Though I'm not sure how much I like this first chapter. *shrugs* let me know what you guys think!
Okay also, as I was writing this story, there was one song that just kept playing through my head as I was writing it, so this story is roughly based on the lyrics to Facade (yes, hence the title), from the musical "Jekyll and Hyde."
Lemme know what you think!
I do not own any rights to Spider-Man, Marvel, or Jekyll and Hyde.
There's a face that we wear
In the cold light of day-
It's society's mask,
It's society's way.
And the truth is
That it's all a facade.
The halls of Midtown Tech sounded like a hive of bees when Peter entered, though he didn't pay much attention to what people were whispering behind their hands during first period. It was only during second period, after the whispers still hadn't stopped that Peter turned to one of the girls behind him, who had been one of the worst spreaders of whatever was being said now.
"Hey, what's goin' on?" he asked. She gave him a look that clearly conveyed that she didn't think he was cool enough to be talking to her, but she finally rolled her eyes when he didn't take the hint and turn back around.
"There's a new kid in the school, and you're never gonna guess who it is," she said, eyes alight with the thrill of a new kid. "Actually, you'd probably find it cool because of who his father is," she said after a minute, looking Peter up and down.
"Uuuhhh...is it...does Tony Stark have a long-lost son no one knew about?" Peter asked, completely joking, though there was a small part of him that was slightly worried she was going to say yes.
"Ugh, no. Gosh, what is your obsession with Iron Man?" she asked in slight disgust. "No. The new kid is Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn!" she finally told him. Peter twitched as if he'd been given an electric shock, though he tried to hide his physical reaction.
"Oh my gosh," another girl chimed in from across the row. "Have you seen him? He's like, seriously good looking," she said. The girl who had been talking to Peter immediately ignored him as she turned to talk to her friend about the new eye candy in the school. Peter was teenager was okay with that though.
Norman Osborn was the founder of OSCORP, which was basically where most scientists dreamed of working. It didn't matter what kind of scientist you were, whether it was biological, chemical, technological, neurological… anything to do with science, and you could find a division of OSCORP somewhere for you. They had their fingers dipped in many different pies.
Peter had heard of Harry Osborn of course, but no one really seemed to know much about him other than the fact that he was an only child, raised by a single father, and he had been homeschooled his entire life by some of the best tutors in the country. At least until now, it seemed.
Peter wondered why all of a sudden Norman Osborn would send his son to Midtown Tech; granted, it was one of the top high schools in New York. Many of the students at the school were there at least on a partial scholarship, having been scouted out during their middle school years, but to suddenly send a kid who had been homeschooled his whole life to high school was a little odd.
Peter's thoughts of Harry Osborn were pushed to the back of his mind as the teacher walked to the front of the classroom and began lecturing. The buzzing of the whispers quieted slightly, but they didn't die down completely. Everyone was wondering what Harry Osborn was going to be like, though Peter, to his credit, tried to block out the whispering so that he could focus on what was being taught.
0-0-0
Peter didn't think about Osborn again until lunchtime, when he and Ned sat at their usual table. The two friends actually had most of their classes together, but first and second period were the two that they didn't share, meaning lunch was their time to catch up.
"So, did you hear about the new kid?" Ned asked, waggling his eyebrows. Peter had just put a bite of food in his mouth, so he rolled his eyes and held up a finger as he chewed. When he finally had chewed enough that he could talk, Peter nodded.
"Yeah, Harry Osborn," he confirmed around a bite of his breadstick.
"I thought you'd be more excited?" Ned stated, clearly disappointed by Peter's apparent lack of energy towards the new topic, even though it was just the opposite. Peter was excited that the new kid was Harry Osborn; it was cool to be going to school with someone whose dad was as famous as Norman Osborn, but Peter also knew what it was like to constantly be in the spotlight, so he was trying to not seem overly-excited.
"I mean, it's cool and all, but come on. He's just a normal kid, and I bet he gets tired of people staring at him all day," Peter replied with a shrug, though his leg had begun bouncing slightly to release his energy.
"Sooo...what you're saying is that if and/or when you meet him, you wouldn't even be a little excited?" Ned asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at his friend. "Cuz he goes to our school now. You're more than likely gonna run into him at one point or another."
"No, I mean...I guess...yeah I'd be excited. But I'd at least try to act normal around him," Peter added when Ned let out a triumphant laugh. "He probably feels uncomfortable," Peter pointed out, putting his hands on the table, palms up as he continued his defense. "Think about it: he's been homeschooled his entire life, and while the Osborns aren't exactly down-to-earth, low-profile people, they aren't very public with their private lives," Peter said. "I guess I just feel weird geeking out over someone who's probably been in the spotlight for most of his life. He probably wants a little peace and quiet."
Ned inclined his head, admitting that his friend's reasoning made sense. "I bet you really get how that feels," he added in a conspiratorial whisper. Peter gave his friend a look that was clearly begging him to shut up before he said something that would give Peter's superhero identity away, and thankfully, Ned complied. "I'm just sayin'," he added before dropping the topic.
Out of nowhere, it seemed like once again, the school was filled with buzzing flies as the whispers suddenly grew tenfold. Peter and Ned looked up at the doors and they saw whom they could only assume was Harry Osborn. The kid had entered the cafeteria alone, and Peter could see his cheeks go slightly red as everyone stared at him, whispering not-so-subtly behind their hands.
"Why can't they just leave him alone?" Peter asked quietly to himself, really feeling sympathetic for the kid. Now that he could actually see the young Osborn, Peter's suspicions that Harry just wanted to be a normal kid were practically confirmed as the new kid balked away from the people whispering about him.
"That's the price that comes with being famous," Michelle said. Peter hadn't even known she was listening, though he should have guessed. MJ always seemed to be around and listening in, even when you didn't think she was.
"So what do you think?" Ned asked Michelle.
The young woman looked up from her book and squinted over towards the new kid in school. "Eh. I've seen better-looking," she replied drily, but thankfully quietly as she looked as Harry from a distance. Peter gave the girl a confused and somewhat disapproving look, but decided to ignore her for the moment.
Harry was walking through the lunch room, searching for a seat. He had a brown lunch bag in his hand, and Peter could tell the poor teenager was just looking for somewhere to sit. Many of the girls had scooted to the side and made room for him, whispering and giggling behind their hands, but Harry ignored their pointed invitations to join their table.
As Osborn was walking through the cafeteria, Peter spotted someone in the new kid's path that made his heart start beating a little harder. Flash and his senior buddy, Eddie Brock were staring at Osborn, and they both had a hungry look in their eyes.
"Hey, you're Harry, right?" Eddie called out. Osborn stopped where he was and looked over at the boys who had called out to him.
"Yeah," he said, quieter than the other boys talking to him.
"Come sit with us," Flash offered, grinning the biggest grin he could at the new kid.
"Um...I dunno, it looks a little crowded," Harry politely declined, starting to edge away from the table.
"Oh that's easy to take care of," Flash assured Osborn. "Hey," Flash said, turning and snapping his fingers at one of the boys at his table. "You: leave. Go sit with Parker and his loser friends if there's nowhere else to sit," he said, loudly enough for everyone in the cafeteria to hear it. Peter felt Ned deflate slightly next to him, and his blood boiled, just like it did every time Flash made fun of them.
"You don't have to do that," Harry assured the kid, who looked like he was caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Yes, you do," Eddie insisted, turning and giving the kid a mean stare.
"No, he doesn't," Harry said, much firmer this time. "I'm gonna find somewhere else to sit," he stated.
"Are you seriously turning us down?" Flash asked incredulously.
"Look, there's just no room at the table, and he's already eating his food," Harry said, trying to stay calm, though Peter could tell by Harry's body language that the kid was ready for a fight.
Eddie smacked Harry's lunch bag out of his hands, sending the contents spilling on the floor. There was a meat sandwich that looked some sort of greek wrap, a banana, and a couple of granola bars.
That was when Peter stood up and made his way through the cafeteria. "Leave him alone, guys," he said as he reached the table. Harry had tensed up even more, his fists balled at his side, and Flash and Eddie had both stood up, looking like they were ready for a fight as well. The entire student body had gone silent for the first time that day as they watched the exchange. Everyone in the room seemed like they were holding their breath, waiting for the fight they were all expecting.
"Back off, Parker," Eddie snapped. Peter didn't reply; instead, he just crouched down and began picking up the fallen food items from the ground.
"Leave them there," Flash ordered. Peter ignored his fellow Decathlon member, picking up the last piece of food and sticking it back in the bag before straightening back up.
"Hey, are you deaf, Parker?" Eddie asked, trying to smack the bag again, out of Peter's hands this time. Peter's spider reflexes kicked in though, and he quickly moved the bag out of reach.
"No, I'm not deaf," he said quietly. "You might be though. I think that Harry here said that he was going to find somewhere else to sit, but you didn't seem to get that part of the conversation," Peter replied, slightly more heatedly.
"Hey," Harry interrupted quietly, gently taking his lunch back from Peter. "Thanks," he said, wiggling his bag a little to show he was holding onto it tightly. "It's fine," he assured his fellow student. Peter wanted so badly to teach Eddie and Brock a lesson, but he knew that wasn't the right thing to do...at least, not in school. So he simply nodded mutely and turned, going back to his table. Ned was staring at him, eyes slightly wide.
"Dude, that was awesome!" Ned whispered.
"I'm just sick of those guys acting like they own the place," Peter griped quietly so that only the people at their table could hear.
"So they're always like that?" a new voice joined in. Peter jumped slightly, looking up to see that Harry Osborn had followed him over to their table. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked, gesturing at the empty seat across from Peter.
"Wh-uh, no that's, uh, that's fine," Peter said, stumbling over his words a little. He hadn't expected the new kid to follow him and sit by them, but Peter wasn't about to turn him away. Harry sat down, and Peter answered his question. "And I mean, they can be jerks sometimes, but I'm sure they're not all bad. It's just-"
"Nah," another voice interrupted Peter. The three boys looked over at Michelle, who was still looking down at her book as she continued to contradict Peter. "They're always that way," she confirmed. "Peter's just too nice to say anything like that," she added, finally looking up at them.
"I figured as much," Harry said with a small smile. "They've just got a sort of...feeling about them," he said with a shrug. There were a few moments of awkward silence as the three boys fiddled with their food and took a few bites, then Peter spoke again.
"I'm Peter, by the way," he said. "Peter Parker."
"And I'm Ned Leeds," chimed in the other boy with a friendly smile. "That's Michelle," he added, pointing at the girl sitting a few seats away. Michelle merely threw up a peace sign in greeting, nodding her chin a little as well.
"I'm Harry, but I'm guessing you guys already knew that?" Harry surmised. He took their awkward silence as an affirmative. "It's fine," he said nonchalantly. "You kinda get used to it, people knowing who you are wherever you go," he said.
"That doesn't mean it's not uncomfortable still," Peter pointed out. Harry gave him an odd look.
"You're right," he agreed slowly. "Which I guess is why I came over here. You didn't seem like you went over there because you wanted to help Harry Osborn. I get the feeling you'd do that for anybody."
"You got that right," Ned said, nudging his best friend in the arm. "That's just who Peter is. Always lookin' to help!"
"That's a good quality to have," Harry commented.
"Thanks," Peter said quietly. He knew how to take praise as Spider-Man, but sometimes being Peter Parker was a little more difficult than being his arachnid counterpart.
They finished their lunches in a slightly awkward silence, then the bell alerting the students to get to their next class rang.
"So, uh, what's your next class?" Peter asked Harry as they threw their garbage away. Harry pulled out his crumpled schedule out of his pocket and glanced down the list, finding third period.
"Looks liiiike...history, with a Mr. Bordof?" the new kid replied, sounding unsure if he was reading the schedule correctly.
"That's our next class," Ned said with a large grin.
"Mind if I stick with you guys then?" Harry asked, somewhat hesitantly, as if he were worried that the two boys he'd sat with at lunch would suddenly ditch him.
"Nah, that's cool," Peter said.
"Thanks," Harry said, relief evident on his face. "Hey, if it's okay, would you be able to show me where the rest of the classes are after school gets out?" he asked as they neared the history room. "It's fine if you can't," he added quickly.
"I've got something with my family after school, sorry," Ned replied apologetically. Peter thought about his suit in his backpack, and how badly he wanted to get out and roam the streets of New York, but he realized that being Spider-Man meant helping those who needed it, even if he wasn't in the suit while doing it.
"I can show you around," he said. A smile flitted across Harry's face, and he once again looked relieved.
"Thanks," he said as they set their books down on their desks and sat in their chairs. "I got the tour on Saturday, but...right now, everything kinda looks the same," he admitted with an embarrassed laugh.
"I get that," Peter agreed, grinning himself. There were still a few more minutes until class actually started, so Ned struck up another topic with the new kid.
"So are you pretty excited to be here?" he asked. "Or are you nervous? Why did your dad decide to send you here? What's your favorite subject?"
"Ned," Peter cut in, feeling bad for Harry. Here he was, on his first day of public school, and he was already being interrogated about his life. Peter loved Ned like a brother, but he knew from experience how grilling and stressful some of his friend's questions could be, especially when one felt like they were being put on the spot.
"Nah, it's fine," Harry assured Peter before turning back to Ned. "To be honest, I feel a bit like a fish outta water here," he admitted.
"Whaddya mean?" Ned asked, knitting his eyebrows together as he stared at the new kid.
"Well, you guys are all pretty smart, right? That's how you got in?"
"Uh, I guess...yeah," Peter said, not wanting to sound too prideful regarding how smart he was.
"Well," Harry continued. "This is one of the top schools in New York, and graduating from here looks good on a college application, at least according to Dad," he said, sounding somewhat bitter. "You guys got in on smarts; I got in because of my name. My dad is the smart one; me, not so much," he admitted, sounding ashamed.
"Well, if you need it, I can help you out with your homework," Peter offered, completely out of the blue. He began yelling at himself internally. He was mad because first of all, he had no idea if offering to help Harry with his homework would offend the kid or not, and second, Peter was Spider-Man. Sometimes he barely had time to complete his own homework. There was something about Harry though that just sort of drew Peter to him, though he couldn't quite say why.
"Yeah, Peter's like, the smartest guy in school," Ned said, praising his friend.
"I wouldn't want to bother you," Harry said. "I mean, I can get tutors if I need to," he said, though he didn't sound enthusiastic about the idea at all.
"Nah, it's cool," Peter said, waving his hand. "I, uh...I'll write down the times I can help you out, if that's okay with you?" he asked. Harry's eyes brightened.
"Thank you so much, Peter," he said as Peter scribbled on a piece of paper times that would work for him to help Harry.
"No problem," Peter said with a smile as he handed the paper over. Ned looked between them, and he made eye contact with Peter, waggling his eyebrows again at his friend. His expression was just screaming at Peter, 'told ya you'd be more excited!', and Peter rolled his eyes at Ned while Harry was bending over, putting the paper in one of his textbooks.
Peter grimaced; he knew that he was stretching himself thin, what with being Spider-Man, training with Mr. Stark, chores at home, and now tutoring Harry Osborn. The upside though, was that Peter would be able to do his homework at the same time he was helping Harry study.
"Alright, class, let's begin," Mr. Bordof said as he strode into the classroom, throwing the core of an apple into the trashcan as he headed for the whiteboard. "Who can tell me the names of the three authors of the Federalist Papers?"
0-0-0
The final bell rang, and there was a mad dash for the door as all the students tried to make a break for freedom.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Peter!" Ned called out as he hurried out to the parking lot where his family was waiting in their small car.
"See ya," Peter called out, raising his hand at his friend's back. He walked over to the statue of the tiger sitting in the front foyer, which was the spot he and Harry had agreed to meet at after school for the tour. A few minutes after the bell rang, Peter looked up from his phone and saw Harry hurrying towards him.
"Hey, so sorry!" the new kid called out. "This school is like a maze! I got turned around and ended up back in the cafeteria, but I'm here now!"
"Don't worry about it," Peter said, grinning at Harry to let the new kid know that he wasn't upset about being kept waiting. Harry handed Peter his class schedule, and they began walking down the hallway side by side.
"Okay...down this hall, right here, this is Ms. Coffman's classroom," Peter said, leading Osborn down the hallway and stopping outside the door. "Ms. Coffman teaches math, and she's really good. She's strict, and she's not afraid to call you out on your BS, but she's a good teacher," Peter said. Harry looked a little worried at the fact that the teacher would call him out if he was wrong, but he didn't say anything.
"Aaand if we go this way," Peter said, walking down the hallway a little ways before stopping outside a door. "This is science, with Mr. Bedroe."
They got through a few more rooms, and Peter was just leading Harry towards the last part of the tour when a voice called out to the two boys.
"Parker!"
The boys turned around and saw the principal coming their way. "What are you boys still doing here?" he asked as he neared them, slightly suspicious. With kids as smart as the ones at his school, he was always a little suspicious when he saw some of them wandering the halls, especially when they weren't supposed to be there. There had been a particularly nasty incident several years ago involving the science lab, two very smelly and reactive chemicals kept under lock and key, and a fuse that led to half the science lab needing to be rebuilt, so the principal was always slightly suspicious.
"Nothin'," Peter replied with a shrug. "Just helping Harry figure out where his classes are," he explained. The principal looked between the two young men, and after a minute, his expression eased up slightly.
"Thank you, Parker," he said with a smile. "Well, Mr. Osborn, how was your first day?" he asked Harry.
"Uh, it was different than I was expecting," Harry admitted. "It's nice to have Pete here to help me out though," Harry said, clapping Peter on the back.
"I'm glad," the principal said. "Though, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the grounds now; we're trying to lock up, and the only ones allowed here now are marching band members, along with janitorial staff."
"I'm sorry, sir, we'll go right now," Harry said, cheeks going red again, but Peter cut him off.
"Well, we're almost done," Peter interrupted, showing the principal the schedule they were following. "I've just gotta show him where the shop class is," he pointed out. The older man looked at where Peter was pointing on the paper, and he sighed.
"I can let you stay for five more minutes, but then I need to have you leave," he compromised.
"Yes sir," Peter agreed. The principal turned and walked down the hallway, and Peter beckoned for Harry to follow him. "Shop's just down this way," he said, leading the way.
"Why're you doin' this for me, Peter?" Harry asked as he caught up to his classmate.
"Mmm...whaddya mean?"
"All of this," Harry replied, gesturing at the school in general. "You don't know me, but first you stood up for me at lunch, you offered to help me with my homework, you're showing me around the school after-hours, even though I'm sure you've got a life you have to get to, and now you're asking for a little more time to finish giving me the tour," he expounded. Peter shrugged.
"I dunno," Peter replied. "I guess...I guess I used to be in your shoes, and I know how it feels. Now I just try to help whenever I can."
"Well, it means a lot to me," Harry said gratefully. It was Peter's turn for his cheeks to go slightly darker than normal, and he didn't answer; once again, he wished that accepting gratitude as Peter Parker came as easy to him as it did while he was Spider-Man.
"Um, this is the shop," he said as they reached their final destination. "It's honestly a pretty easy class, and the teacher usually doesn't even pay attention," he added in a low voice.
"Sounds like fun," Harry said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Peter chuckled and nodded in agreement, and the two of them turned and walked back the way they came. A buzzing came from Harry's pocket, and he pulled out a phone, grimacing as he read the text on the screen.
"Everything okay?" Peter asked.
"Yeah. My dad's here to pick me up; I guess my driver didn't tell him that I was staying late, and he doesn't sound very happy," Harry explained. Peter kept silent, not sure of what to say. Everything he'd heard about Norman Osborn said that the man was decent enough, but that he didn't have a lot of patience, and Peter hoped that he wouldn't be too hard on Harry.
As they walked towards the exit, Peter poked his head into the Principal's office. "We're going now, Mr. Moriata," he called out. The older man looked up and smiled, nodding and waving as the two boys walked out the front door.
At the foot of the steps there was a gorgeous, sleek black sports car waiting, and the back door opened as soon as the two boys exited the school. Norman Osborn was an intimidating-looking man. Standing at least 6'5", he had broad shoulders, and looked like he could bench press both Harry and Peter without breaking a sweat. "Harrison," Osborn greeted, sounding slightly curt.
"Hey dad," Harry greeted. "Sorry I didn't tell you; I let Kevin know, but I should have told you too."
"It's over, I'm here now," Osborn said with a sigh, waving his hand as if he were brushing away his son's apology. Harry noticed his father staring pointedly at Peter, and the young man hurried to introduce his new friend.
"Dad, this is Peter Parker," he said, gesturing the kid next to him.
"Mr. Osborn, it's awesome to meet you," Peter said, trying not to sound too excited as he moved forward.
"Mr. Parker," Norman Osborn said as he offered his hand, which Peter shook. "It's nice to meet you."
"It's good to meet you, too," Peter said before he remembered that he had already said that. "Um, I mean… I'm sorry, Harry's late because of me," he said, quickly trying to move on from his blunder. "I offered to give him a tour of the school, and I guess we lost track of time," he said, lying about the fact that he was the one that offered the tour.
"Well, that was very good of you," Osborn said. "I'm glad my son was able to find some friends. That's one of the reasons I decided to send him here, hoping that he could meet a few people." Osborn looked over at his son. "Harry, we have to go. I need to drop you off at the house; I've got a meeting at OSCORP that I'm going to be late to."
"Sure Dad," Harry said. Both boys got the subtle hint that Mr. Osborn was dropping, implying that he was going to be late to the meeting because he had to pick his son up, and Harry knew that if he kept his father waiting any longer, the older man would lose his patience. "Anyway, thanks again for the tour, Pete," he said. "Um, are… are we still good to study tomorrow?" he asked, as if worried that his new friend wasn't going to keep his promise about studying with him now that he'd met Harry's father.
"Yeah, I'm good with that," Peter replied.
"Study?" Norman asked, raising an eyebrow at his son.
"Yeah, uh, Peter agreed to help me study," Harry said, not sounding sure of himself anymore.
"Peter, you don't need to do that," Osborn said, turning to Peter and shaking his head. "I can hire tutors for that sort of thing; Harry doesn't need to bother you with such trivial matters."
"Really, Mr. Osborn, I don't mind," Peter said. "I was the one that offered to help. I've gotta do the homework anyways, so I just figured why not help?"
Osborn got an intrigued look in his eye. "Once again, that's very kind of you," he said finally, nodding his slowly. "How about you come by for dinner on the nights that you help Harry?" Norman offered.
"Aw, that's super nice of you, but I gotta help my aunt with dinner some nights," Peter replied.
"There's always enough," Norman said, waving his hand again. "We can send some home with you. I insist," he said, cutting off Peter's protests. "It's the least I can do to thank you for helping Harry."
Peter hesitated a moment, but he knew that turning down the CEO was probably not the wisest choice. "Okay," he finally agreed. "Thank you, Mr. Osborn," he added. He glanced at his watch and blanched slightly when he saw how long school had been out. He suddenly felt an itching desire to swing from rooftops. "Um, I gotta go, but uh, I'll see you tomorrow, Harry," he said as he began walking backwards.
"See ya, Pete," the younger Osborn replied. "Thanks again for everything!"
Peter watched as the two Osborns got into their car, then waited until they had driven around the corner before he ran for the closest alley. Two minutes later, Spider-Man emerged from the narrow backstreet, webbing a nearby building and pulling himself to the top.
"Hey Karen," he greeted his AI.
"Hey Peter."
"Got anything for me?" he asked as he scanned the city from the top of the building.
"A police car chase has been going on for several blocks by 10th and Broadway," she replied. Peter stood up and stretched before he fired a web at the building across the street.
"Cool. Let's go stop a car chase."
0-0-0
"Sorry I'm late," Osborn said as he walked into the lab. Tristin and Tessa, his two scientists working with him on the project, turned around.
"Mr. Osborn," Tristin greeted.
"Tell me something good," Osborn said, discarding his everyday coat and donning a white lab coat.
Tristin was a forty-seven year old mechanical engineer; he used to work for Stark Industries, but quit when the billionaire pulled out of the weapons manufacturing business and became Iron Man. Tristin had then gone to work for OSCORP, and quickly worked his way through the ranks due to his high IQ and genius ideas for tech; he was the one who spoke first.
"I've got the exoskeleton and glider finished. I figured out how to keep the rider on the glider," he added excitedly. "All we needed were some strong electromagnets in the boots of the armor, and it sticks beautifully! They're both in the back lab waiting for a few last touches," he said.
"Excellent," Osborn said, obviously pleased. "And you haven't told anyone about it, correct?" he asked, staring at the man suddenly with a stern eye.
"No sir, not one soul," Tristin promised.
"Very good." Osborn turned to Tessa. "And what about your little project?" he asked. Tessa was a stick-thin woman, somewhere close to fifty-eight years old. Her background in chemical and biological engineering made her perfect for the project that Osborn was working on.
"We're close," she said, wanting to give her boss some good news. "I acquired some of that new material found, Isotope 8, and it appears to be an excellent stabilizer," she said. "I've currently got a batch of the serum cooking right now, and it should be ready for further testing sometime tomorrow," she explained proudly.
"That is good news," Osborn replied, looking more pleased with every passing word spoken. "When will it be ready for human trials?"
Tessa looked shocked. "Mr. Osborn, I don't think it's anywhere near being close for human trials," she replied. Osborn's excited face suddenly took on a darker tone, and Tessa hurried to try to make him less displeased. "Besides, even if it were ready for that stage, where would we find someone willing to be a lab rat who could keep it secret until we were ready to come out with it?" she asked, crossing her arms. Osborn mirrored her and crossed his arms as he stared at the woman.
"You're looking at him," he said, as if it were the most simple thing in the world. Tessa and Tristin's jaws both hit the floor, and they stared at their boss incredulously.
"Mr. Osborn, you...you can't be serious?" Tessa asked, though she already knew the answer to her question.
"When have I ever not been serious about something?" he asked gravely.
"But sir, we have no idea of the effects it could have!" she insisted. "It's too dangerous. I can't allow you to do this, sir," she said, standing up a little straighter. Tristin was watching the exchange with nervous eyes, unsure of what to do, or whose side to take.
"You can, and you will," Osborn said firmly. "Run computer simulations through the night, with the possible outcomes. If there's a high chance that things could go south, I'll reconsider, but right now, the board is breathing down my neck. OSCORP's been needing something huge like this to get it back up where it should be in the stock market, and this could be the thing we're looking for," he said.
Tessa looked like she was going to argue more, but Osborn cut her off before she could even begin.
"Tessa, I have complete faith in you. There's a reason I came to you for this project, instead of the hundreds of other people I could have gone to," he said. "I didn't make the wrong choice, did I?" he asked, not feeling guilty at all for the emotional manipulation. Tessa paused for a moment, her mouth open slightly.
"No, sir," she said quietly after a few seconds.
"Good," Osborn said, rubbing his hands together. "Give everyone the day off tomorrow; I don't want anyone in the building while we're doing this," he said. With that, their meeting was adjourned. Osborn turned and walked out of the lab, leaving Tessa and Tristin alone in the lab, both of them questioning the sanity of their boss.
So...There's the first chapter. It was long, I know, and I'm sorry if you don't like longer chapters...but I just couldn't find a decent spot to end it.
And I know there wasn't any sort of action at all, and that's frustrating, but I promise that it is coming! We just had to set up the story line and introduce the characters :)
What do you guys think? Should I keep going? Like it? Hate it? Any feedback? (Just no flames, remember ;) )