Chapter 9
"Peter, come look! Look!" Dr. Connor pulled me away from writing the latest report into the mice cages we have. "There, what do you see?"
"Err," I looked down at the happily eating mice and wasn't sure what to look for, "That they like the new brand we prepared for their meal?"
"No! Peter, look closer."
I did. I took note of Sasya's fur looked preen today. Guster is getting fatter than the rest so maybe I should cut back his mealtime. Ol' Freddy seems to sneak-eat the other mouse's ration, and I can't tell why when he's usually so well-behaved— oh my God!
"He… he got legs. Freddy got four legs. It's healed. The serum works! You did it!"
" We did it!" Connors agreed with a grin that stretched for miles. "Thank you, Peter. With this, we can finally go into the next step."
"I'm afraid there won't be a next step for you Dr. Connors." The both of us turned and I instantly recognized Mr. Ratha, Norman Osborn's personal assistant, who came unannounced.
"What do you mean by that?" Connors demanded.
"It means what it means, the lab will discontinue any and all research related to the Neo-Generation Research of yours."
"That is preposterous! This research has been going on for decades. You know what, I'm calling Osborn and let him settle this."
"That won't be necessary." Speak of the devil and he appears. The CEO of Oscorp, Norman Osborn himself came sauntering with the typical business smile he had on. But none in this room was fooled by it. He turned his attention to me, and I tried to keep myself from tensing. "Peter Parker! How have you been?"
He came and gave me a pat on the back. I tried not to feel awkward at being greeted cheerfully while my boss' research program is being threatened to shut down. "Good to see you too, Mr. Osborn."
"Please, Peter. How many times must I tell you? Call me Norman. You've been such a good friend to my son that I think of you as my own."
"Osborn, explain yourself! I thought we had an agreement?" It was uncharacteristic seeing Dr. Connors so emotional like that. I struggled to keep my mouth shut before saying anything stupid in an already tense situation.
Harry's dad kept his facade smile, but his eyes gleamed dangerously as he turned his attention to the good Doc. "Yes, the agreement. The one that you broke."
Dr. Connors gaped as if Mr. Osborn had spoken tongues, "What are you talking about?"
"The contract states that Oscorp shall support the endeavor of your… little pet project of yours… as long as you continue to make progress on… Project OZ."
"But, but this is related! Look, we've made a breakthrough!"
Osborn barely glanced at the cage of mice before outwardly dismissing them. "Yes, so one mouse is all you have. One that might even award you with the Nobel Prize. But that's not what I'm paying you for, is it?"
"I—"
"I was promised a serum that would revolutionize how we see genomes and unlock its potential. It's why I kept you in my pocket for all these years, Dr. Connors. Not to satisfy your own vanity because you can't stand the thought of living a crippled life."
"And I'm telling you this will help us with the OZ Project. If you just listen—"
"No, I've listened enough to your excuses. It's time you listen to me. Either you get on with the Project I assigned you or you're fired." He turned his back and began sauntering away but paused by the double door. "I'll be generous and give you a month to either make progress or pack your bags, Connors. Oh, and Peter—" I almost jumped at the ceiling just from the brief heart attack he gave, "—would you mind if I speak to you for a little bit."
I nodded but felt intimidated facing the man after witnessing the ruthless businessman that I knew he was capable of but never seen in action before.
Mr. Osborn must have noticed as he looked apologetic at me, "I'm… sorry you had to see that side of me, son. I must have looked like a goblin to you."
"Oh, no, no, certainly not, mister— I, I mean, Norman. I just… wasn't... used to see you that way."
"That's very kind, Peter. But I know how hard I sounded back there. And I want you to personally understand that what I did, I did what I thought was the best for the company."
"O… kay…" Not sure how that works but this might be one of those times where I just go along with it.
"I know this research is personally important to Dr. Connors but Oscorp has its priorities. I can't allow sentiments get in the way of progress."
"But…" oh my God, Peter, shut up! "But would cutting off Dr. Connors really make progress? He's an exceptional scientist for a reason."
I was nervous of how Mr. Osborn would react, but he surprised me when his smile became much more genuine instead. "Very good point, Peter. I wish things could have been that easy. Sadly, the reality is we can't hold on to all good things. Dr. Connors is a treasure, don't get me wrong. But in order for Oscorp to grow, sacrifices have to be made… and that means cutting off liability, do you understand, Peter?"
I gulped, "I… I think so…"
"Good. Which is why I understand you might reconsider your internship here. I've talked to some of the other head scientists and I'm willing to smooth things along to put you in other departments of your choosing, what do you say?"
I was flattered by Mr. Osborn's generosity, but turning to Curt's slump figure, I made my decision. "Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Osborn. But I've made a commitment here and want to see through it to the end."
Mr. Osborn smiled tightly, "I see… what a pity. Don't hesitate to call on me if you change your mind."
"I'll take that under advisement, Sir."
"And, and one last thing…" Mr. Osborn started shifting nervously, and I already knew what he'd ask next. "I heard you visit Emily again... how is she?"
"She's the same as always. Though it's funny, Mrs. Osborn also asked the same thing since she can't get a word out from Harry about you."
"Yes… he, he's still angry I couldn't be there for her last birthday so now Harry's being tight-lipped about his visits."
It always unnerves me to see the whiplash between Profesional-Norman and Family-Norman. He's so private even around Harry that I wonder why he kept coming to me for help. "He'll come around, Sir. You just need to be honest with them."
Norman smiled ruefully, "If only it was that easy."
He left soon after along with Mr. Ratha.
I then came to sit down next to Connors. A recently brewed coffee was served to him.
"Thank you, Peter."
"Don't mention it, Doc. That had been… intense."
He snorted, "Understatement."
"What's this Project OZ, by the way?"
Connors scoffed, "I wish I could say, but that's one of their classified projects. It's the work they want me to actually work on under the guise of continuing your father's work."
"So… I'm guessing it's not an all-cure that you and Dad are aiming for?"
"Let's just say he's eyeing certain sponsors who aren't interested in saving millions of lives no matter what Osborn insisted. That man only looks out for what brings more profit to his pocket." Connors sighed before turning his mood around, "Enough with this depressing talk. I heard you join the Youth Science Competition in Stark Expo, Peter. Tell me, what have you been planning?"
I smiled, letting him guide the subject to a lighter one. "Well, after much discussion, my team decided to make a Gauze Spray."
Connors reasonably blinked, confused, "I'm sorry, a... what now?"
I grinned, "A Gauze Spray. I know it doesn't sound all that fancy but I was thinking of having a cost-efficient all-purpose gauze for first aid purposes. It's… kind of like an antiseptic spray that shoots out band-aids but can actually help for wounds deep enough for stitches too. That way, you don't actually need to know how to stitch to close up the wounds."
"That's… brilliant. It's simple, but it would definitely help a lot of people who have little access to healthcare." Dr. Connors began mumbling as he theorized what ingredients I would have needed to create the type of aerosol that solidified upon contact in air. I watched, happy I managed to cheer Doc Connors even for a little bit.
I'm not gonna lie to myself, the idea was indeed inspired by my web fluid. Though the polymer needed to tie them up was the same, there were some major modifications to make it loose, sticky, easy on the skin and with healing properties. Not to mention it has an easier mechanism than a web shooter, those things shoot webs like a rubber bullet.
With this thing, I'm pretty sure we've got the contest in the bag!
. . .
" And the winner of the First Annual Youth Science Competition; West Tech High School and their Carbon Gas Recycled Fuel!"
The whole dome resonated from the clap, including the three of us even if we only could clap from the side.
"So…" Gwen started, "Third place… that's not so bad, isn't it?"
"Says you," Harry grumbled, "My dad is going to nag the whole week. He was looking forward to talking smugly at Tony Stark had we won."
"Look… look at the bright side, at… at least we got sizable prize money and.. and a… three-day pass to… to explore Stark Expo the whole day. Better than nothing, right?"
Harry sighed, "I guess there's that— Peter, are you okay? You don't look so good."
"Yeah… yeah, I'm good," I said while keeping a hard clunch on my stomach.
"Urgh, I knew it!" Gwen's hand came up to my face and felt my cold sweat. "I thought that sandwich you ate smelled funny."
"Really, guys. I'm fine. It's almost over. I can take it."
" And now we present to you the man of the Expo himself, Tony Stark to personally congratulate the future faces of Science! "
"On second thought, I'mgonnaneedthebathroom."
"What?! Dude, your idol is gonna be on the stage and you're leaving."
The crowd cheers overcome the loud gurgle of my stomach, so no one knows how bad it was but me.
"Yeah, no, I can't stay." And skedaddled off the stage with mutant-level speed to the nearest bathroom before relieving myself. I can still hear the crowd cheering with Tony Stark's brand of speech across the wall and here I am, struggling all alone. Away from a lifetime opportunity to meet my hero.
Damn, Parker Luck.
I didn't know how long I stayed. Maybe minutes or hours. But my Spidey Sense could go off anytime and I wouldn't have the strength to dodge at this point.
Washing my hands, I was met with a guy with an even worse complexion than mine. He drank a bunch of medications before he just stared listlessly at his mirror.
"You know it's rude to stare at people right? Even ones that look like shit."
"Oh, I'm, I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to—" he turned fully at me and had a better look at his face, much to my astonishment. "You're… You're Tony Stark!"
"The one and only," he chuckled but briefly winced in pain and cut me off before I could ask what's wrong, "Uh, listen, I would love to have a chat with any fans of mine but–"
"Your thesis of practicing self-learning AI in mechanical engineering for daily life usage was way ahead of its time and it should have gotten more credit than it deserved."
That gave Mr. Stark a pause, "Jeezus, Kid, that was decades ago even I forgot about it."
I blushed, thinking I might have sounded creepy, "Err, yeah, I hope you don't mind. It's just, your work is one of the few reasons I love science so much. You help so many people with that technology, I'm surprised your early works weren't given as much coverage."
"When you have Howard Stark for a father. You usually don't get the spotlight unless it's based on his name or you make weaponry in general."
I tried to keep my poker face but from the eyebrow raised Mr. Stark shot at me, I didn't hide my distaste on weapon-making very well. Something I hadn't approved even before becoming Spider-Man.
"Not a fan of my previous works, I see."
"Nothing against you, Mr. Stark. There's no doubt you're one of the greatest minds of our time. I just… never really understand why science is used more to hurt people when there's so much it can do to heal. But I get how you're trying to follow your father's legacy, and all the stuff he and you work on are scientific marvels. My father is a scientist and I'm just glad I like science enough to follow his footsteps–" I cut myself off before I started rambling. even worse and blushed, thinking I've made a complete fool of myself.
"What's your name?"
My brain stumped when Tony Stark was asking my name but managed to blurt it out without much fumbling. I'm glad I didn't mess up my own name. Mr. Stark silently gestured to me to come closer and swung an arm around my shoulder.
"Tell you what, I like you, Petra."
"It's Peter."
"The science community needs more people like you. You know, thinking of the good stuff rather than trying to be the smartest person in the room. Which, admittedly, takes no effort from me because I'm always the smartest person in the room. Doesn't mean they should lose sight of what's important. So you keep up the good work and go do you, Underoos."
He started walking away and I found that I couldn't let the conversation end now, not like this. Not when this might be the only chance I'll ever meet him face to face. Before I knew what I was doing, my fast reflex took hold of his wrist before I even said: "Wait!"
Mr. Stark did, but his face looked a bit more impatient by my attitude. I watched him opening his mouth, probably to tell me off so I quickly cut him off.
"I just want to say that you're an inspiration. You inspire a lot of people, you inspire me to reach out and help others when I don't know what to do with myself. As a scientist, and more so as a person. I… I… I really look up to you for that and… and thank you."
I nervously looked back at his face to find him looking sorely shocked from his depth. His brows were hanging way above his hairline but his mouth tight grimly and I found I have no idea what he was thinking.
"But you probably already know that already. I'm sorry, I must be wasting your time. I should go, I'll go right now." I turned my back and ran as fast as I could toward the observatory, and back to my team.
Harry looked forlornly at me. "Bro, I'm so sorry, you miss Stark by a long shot."
I wanted to say that I met him in the bathroom, but the conversation hit a little bit close to home for me so I shrugged, "It happens."
"I know how much you look forward to meeting him. I know it's not much but… here." Harry gave me my backpack, and at the front of it, there's an unmistakably loopy sign of Tony Stark. "Though I advised against using the bag outside unless you want some daredevil to come and steal it so they could sell the bag on eBay."
"Harry, you are an angel sent from above," I told him sincerely, "Thank you."
"Anytime, buddy. But hey, bet you can use those Stark Passes to spend a weekend date with Stacy."
I blushed, "You know all of us have a pass right?"
"All the more reason for me to leave you lovebirds alone. If anyone can have fun in a science fair it's you two nerds." He winked.
"I, I guess you're right. It's not every day we get to be in a Stark Expo. Just how bad will it be?"
. . .
Apparently, the correct answer is "explosive" because that's how bad the Stark Expo turned out.
So here's what happened; Me and Gwen sat within the thick crowd. It started out like any exhibition, showcasing their cool gizmo and tech that made both of us giddy. Then it was Hammer Industry turn and introduced their boring knock-off Iron-Man suit, which ended with the attack of the whole Expo.
Yeah, surprise doesn't cover it.
I had already grabbed Gwen's hands and made a run for it. It took every effort for us to cling with one another, what's with the crowd frantically running with no sense of direction other than 'away' from the danger. Pushing us forward or backward, whichever was convenient for them.
Until the grip I had was gone.
Immediately I backtracked, shouting Gwen's name even when it was drowned out by the screams. I screamed, and screamed, looking around for any sign of my girlfriend.
I spotted her going to the side of the building, avoiding the stampede of crowds and rather hiding from the danger. "Gwen!" I yelled while sprinting over to her. She turned and waved me over but missed the approaching, flying robot from behind and again I yelled her name, urging her to turn away.
She might not have caught what I was trying to say but certainly noticed the whirling machine noise. Gwen was quick to run, but there was no guarantee she could outrun the blast of the missile. The weapon was shot and everything became slow motion. Gwen might die. Gwen might die in front of me. Gwen might die if I don't do something.
Suddenly, I was reminded back of the despair I felt as I held my Uncle's body in my arm, life slowly seeping out of him.
No, not again.
I stopped thinking and shot my web toward her. Quickly pulling her out of harm's way, but not fast enough to avoid the brunt of the blast and knocking us back. Gwen was at my side, looking up and down at me as she put the puzzle pieces together.
"Did you just—"
"MOVE!" I rolled us over. Avoiding being stepped by robots. Their glowing mechanical eyes glared at us as if insulted for not dying on its watch. We both got to our feet, and I pulled her closer "Gwen, whatever happens, don't let go!"
"Don't let go? Peter, what are you—?" She didn't get to finish and started screaming her head off when I leaped. And I don't mean a half-assed leaping, I meant straight up 50 meters up in the air.
As gravity took over, Gwen repeatedly muttered, "Oh God!" with her face on my neck.
I flicked my wrist, web shot, and we started swinging through death-robots. Zipping left and right, and knocking one or two Drones on the way before they got to hurt anyone. I then managed to land us on a 'relatively' safe rooftop. She jumped out of my arms, shock written all over her face.
"You just— then you— and then it— YOU'RE SPIDER-MAN!"
"Yes," I answered, absent-mindedly, too busy shedding my clothes into my costume.
"My boyfriend is Spider-Man, I'm dating freaking Spider-Man, and what are you doi— Oh my God, you're going to fight those drones, aren't you?"
I put my clothes away in my backpack, my mask already at hand.
"They shoot missiles, Peter! How are you going to fight against that?" As if on cue, the hand she gestured pointed at a stray missile hitting an innocent building.
"A little bit of spider-power, a spice of brain energy, and a dash of my charming wit."
That did not help matter as Gwen shrieked to my face, "This is no joke, Peter Parker!"
" Gah ! I know, I know, I'm sorry. I joke when I'm tense! But listen," I grabbed both her shoulder gently and looked her in the eye, "People are hurting right now and I can't leave them knowing I can save them."
"But Peter, you're 15. You're a high-schooler! That's not your job. That's what Iron-Man is for!"
"Iron-Man doesn't do it because it's his job, he's an engineer for crying out loud!" I sunk in a breath and tried to calm myself down, "He does it because he can, and if he doesn't… who will?"
Gwen looked ready to argue more but she paused, looking into her eyes, I can see the moment it dawned on her how serious I am and how little anything she says would matter. Her sapphire eyes blurred in tears that threatened to break and she choked back a gasp, "You're going to get killed."
"Wish me luck then?" I woefully tried playing it down with a grin.
The bubble of laughter burst out and she managed to finally smile. "Okay, okay, I can't stop you, apparently. Just… just please don't die out there. I need my boyfriend in one piece."
"Yes, ma'am." I smiled, pecked her lips before donning my mask.
"Was that for luck?"
"No, it's just because." I ran to the edge of the roof, stretching my whole body like I could fly but found myself web-slinging to the scene of the fire.
I never got to look back and watched the smile she wore fell to a grimace as Gwen realized she had to accept having one more person in her life that she'll worry to death. "Oh, I'm in so much trouble."
