August

Last Monday, 2: 28 P.M.

Norman Osborn looked out the window of OsCorp's Midtown office. He stood in a board room on the fortieth floor in his pristine glass tower. Norman had built his company from the ground up. He began OsCorp as a small chemical manufacturer. His company now stood as one of the country's leading science and technology corporations. There was certainly a lot of money in OsCorp. After the September 11th terrorist attacks, Norman made millions by privatizing national security, outfitting the military with weapons and defense technology he had developed. The weapons contracts that OsCorp took on made the company's military projects division its most profitable branch, and one Norman had spent the last several years personally involving himself in.

Norman Osborn had several offices strewn throughout New York City: his chemical division had a plant in Queens, and a nuclear energy division was located in further uptown, on the western side of the island. Osborn's latest project, a skyscraper intended to house OsCorp's genetic research division, was wrapping up construction downtown in a few months. Norman, however, spent most of his time in the Midtown office, where he oversaw the production of OsCorp's military technology line.

The door to the board room opened as six men walked in single-file. They all had one thing in common: gray hair and three-piece suits. As they took their seats at the table that stood in the middle of the room, Norman did not turn around to face the men. He continued to stare out the window, deeply angered that he was even there in the first place.

"Norman, would you like to begin?" one of the men asked. With reluctance Norman turned and sat down across from the six men. He stared back at them and seethed.

"Well, where would you like to begin, Stromm?" Norman stared at his OsCorp co-founder with disgust. Osborn could not believe that his long-time business partner, Mendell Stromm, actually had the nerve to bring him before the board. "This is my company," Norman told himself. "How dare he question what I choose to do with it. Before the entire board no less! This man would be nothing without me."

"Norman, the board is concerned with you recent…choice of direction for the company. I'm concerned as well."

"What has you so concerned, Mendell?"

"Norman, I will be frank. There is no doubt that this company is as successful as it is because of you…"

You're goddamn right, Norman thought to himself, struggling to suppress his rage.

"But your choice to invest in Octavius' nuclear fission research is puzzling. This is a significant change in direction for OsCorp. Our military contracts have provided more company growth over the last several years than any other division. We risk losing those contracts if we choose to remove them from our focus."

"Otto Octavius' research on nuclear fission will break new ground in renewable energy," Norman shot back. "Which in case you weren't aware, gentlemen, is potentially more profitable than an entire year's worth of military contracts. I don't understand your confusion. It seems like an obvious business choice to me."

"Yes, that may be true, Norman. But it is unreliable. This research is unproven. There's no telling what its returns could be months from now. For God's sake, the man's created robotic arms to do his experiments. He's a nut, and we can't trust that his work will pay off for us. At least we're sailing charted waters in weapons technology."

Norman Osborn's stubbornness did not allow him to process his partner's words. With arrogance in his voice, he rebuked the board's concerns, asserting that Octavius's research was without a doubt the correct direction to bring the company. Imagine the possibilities, he thought to himself. Norman reasoned that the profits from this renewable energy project overshadowed any potential setbacks.

"It's ultimately up to you, Norman," Stromm told him. "This is your company after all. Just be warned. If this doesn't pan out and OsCorp goes under, you'll be the one held responsible." With those final words Stromm and the rest of the board members stood and exited the room. The ultimatum did not affect Norman Osborn. He knew he could not afford for the fission research to be a bust. Yet he remained stoically confident in Otto Octavius and the demonstration he was scheduled to hold the following day. "This is the future. You all will see," Norman told his board members as they left the room. He would show them all, he thought. Tomorrow's demonstration is going to be the dawn of a new era in energy, and OsCorp will make a fortune beyond anything ever imagined, Norman told himself. The promise of wealth in renewable energy proved too tantalizing for Norman Osborn to not pursue. He hoped that his gamble paid off.