The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Day 8

The sun had not yet risen over New York City, the clock had not yet struck even three, and yet James was already hard at work in his lab in Oscorp. There was a deserted eeriness about the way only the sound of whirring machinery accompanied him, the lack of humanity should have put him on edge, he knew that. But in some way he preferred it this way, other people made him feel uncomfortable and crowded, he enjoyed the solitude and the feel of just himself and the work, it made him concentrate harder.

The stack of notes he had on Harry's serum sat in a singular drawer in his desk. Honestly, he was proud of the way he had been in America just over a week and had already achieved so much. He was proud of his intellect and he wasn't ashamed to admit that. He knew that Tanya had contributed most to the work Harry had assigned to them and so he hadn't seen a problem in starting a new project, he had but his intellect to the best use and begun working on something should Tanya and the rest of the team fail. He hadn't given up the cure for Harry, he just had a back-up plan, if anything he was the most resourceful one there. The so called 'Amazing' Spiderman had thus far failed to take down the Goblin so it lay to someone else, in his eyes, to him.

The anti-goblin serum was derived from what had made Harry so dangerous in the first place. He knew that they needed to have a chance at taking out the goblin and at that moment in time, they had nothing.

It was these notes that were spread across his desk, it was these experiments he was running. He began by isolating the separate components to the goblin serum and identifying the effect of each different one. The job would have been easier if he had the original notes but they had been destroyed a long time ago. So he worked from what he had, it took twice as long but he was an efficient worker. Besides, what he was doing didn't take much brain power. He simply typed an algorithm into the computer and then monitored the results before double checking them, he didn't have to think too much.

Therefore he allowed his mind to wander to the only other important thing in his life. Tanya. He had specifically brought her from England because he knew she was loyal and would be more than willing to him, she was altruistic. But in his mind he knew that he wanted more. He desperately clung to the notion that despite the way she'd acted towards him, she still did too. Part of this series of experimentation was designed to impress her, to show her that he was better than Harry. He suspected that she and Harry had begun something a little more personal than a working relationship. This was only a minor reason but it was still one that contributed to his dedication towards the project. Harry didn't understand that he had been there first, that Tanya belonged to him.

Tanya was the reason he worked so hard. He adored her, he was obsessed with the very subject of her existence. He didn't understand how she couldn't understand how much he loved her and wanted to be with her. He didn't understand why she wouldn't even give him a shot after she'd come all this way out to America just to be with him. In his mind when they'd first come to the country he had been sure he could convince her that they were meant to be together and would convince her to stay longer. But now she wasn't even living in the same apartment as him.

As the memories of her rejection flooded back to him then he grew even more angry and upset. Red tinted his perception of her, and whilst she remained on the pedestal he would forever place her upon, in a way he was so angry he couldn't even concentrate. He turned his face away from the computer screen and breathed heavily as anger overtook him. He had been denied a basic right in his eyes, she was there for him to take for him to have. If she didn't understand that then she needed a lesson in where they stood, in how they're relationship was supposed to work.

He stood up suddenly and paced back and forth as he tried to work off some of his anger, mid-stride the computer beeped. He stopped suddenly and turned to face the computer. He could see from where he was that the programme had finished running and was ready for review.

He forced his thoughts of Tanya to the back of his mind and walked over the computer, sitting down heavily. He scanned over the results and his erupted into a manic grin. It had worked. He was so sure of his results he knew that he could begin testing now and have the serum right within a few months, maybe even weeks. He would have a combat for the Goblin long before a cure, he was optimistic about that.

He checked his clock and saw it was nearing four in the morning. He knew that the board would take their first meeting of the day at seven and no other meetings until at least nine. That was the earliest he could demand their attention and funding. He dialled up the appointment and quickly hacked the server in order to book himself in. he demanded that time slot.

Content that there was no more to do, he collated his notes before heading to the break room and taking a nap.

Four hours later he was awoken as Jonesy came into the break room for her morning coffee. She jumped and screamed when she saw him and he jolted awake in surprise.

"Morning to you too Jonesy." He said groggily as he sat up and ran a hand through his black hair. He didn't care that it made it stand on end, he would comb it.

"Did you sleep here James?" Jonesy asked, taking a step back, her back hitting the counter.

"I took a power nap. What time is it?" he asked.

"Just gone eight. I'm the first one in." she replied, she didn't move, she remained stiff. He groaned and stood up, stretching and cracking his back, neck and knuckles.

"I need to get ready." He groaned and she smiled slightly.

"You need a shower." she said, attempting to lighten the mood but he laughed bitterly and shook his head.

"They have showers here?" he asked.

"No, you need to go home and take a shower James. Your work can wait." She attempted to sound comforting but he shook his head.

"No time. I have a meeting with the board in less than an hour." He said triumphantly.

"You want to go to a meeting with the board looking like that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, she began to relax as the shock of finding him asleep wore off. She slipped back into her natural persona and turned around to begin to make her coffee. "You want some coffee?" she asked and as James looked at her he marvelled at how much the curvature of her neck resembled Tanya's. He remembered how he had kissed the back of that neck and whilst she'd struggled he knew she'd liked it. He walked forward now and placed his hands on her waist, he felt her stiffen and he pressed his lips to the back of her neck. Closing his eyes as he remembered Tanya's scent.

"James, get off of me." Jonesy's voice came from somewhere far off. "James this is not appropriate!" she said, louder this time. Before there was a sudden shove and his eyes snapped open. She had pushed him backwards but only a step, she herself had backed away quickly, looking terrified as she backed against the wall.

"It was just a joke." James said with a laugh that charmed everyone. It didn't soften Jonesy. She watched him leave the break room and resumed making her coffee, trying to see the funny side.

James entered his meeting with the board ten minutes late and looking a state. He hadn't even run a comb through his hair. It had taken him longer than he had anticipated to collate all of his notes and print off the necessary results to his algorithm test. He was exhausted and wished he'd taken the offer of the coffee that morning. His skin was pasty, his hair was sticking out at all angles and his eyes were hollow and dark.

He presented his ideas with the genuine enthusiasm he felt for them and explained the reasons as to why they made so much sense, as to why they were necessary.

"Stop." A middle aged, bald man at the head of the table held up a hand after ten minutes of James explaining his ideas.

"What is it?" James asked, stopping suddenly with a stillness that unnerved them all.

"All of this, it's wrong." The bald man said and James cocked his head ever so slightly at a dangerous angle.

"Wrong?"

"Yes. We cannot approve this. It's dangerous." He said and James stiffened.

"I think you miss the point of my reasoning. This is necessary to the protection of this city!" James said angrily, his voice raising in pitch.

"This will not protect the city, it will destroy it. I'm sorry, but it's a no. now please return to working on the project that has been assigned to you." The man said and the board stood and left James alone.

Anger swelled inside of him more powerful and dangerous than anything that had happened with Tanya. He gathered all his notes to his chest and made a snap decision. He would not give up on what he had worked so hard on just because some old men didn't see the progression and necessity of it. He would not just give up his work. He decided that if they wouldn't allow him to test on animals or hypothetical resources, he would just have to begin with himself.

He had made a prototype of the serum for visual purposes more than anything but he knew it would work. He knew he could use it. He dumped his notes on his desk before finding a store cupboard he knew no one ever went in. he locked it and in the darkness he thought of Tanya for a few moments. He thought about how proud she would be of him, of how much she would truly want to be with him.

He injected the serum into his arm as he thought of her and how much he loved her. There was nothing for a couple of moments before a power seared through him like a heat. But the heat got more and more intense until it was a burning pain that was cooking him from the inside out. He grunted and fell to his knees and then to the floor as he lay in intense pain he thought of Tanya. About how this was her fault. About how much he loved her. Her image was the last in his mind before his vision clouded and went dark.