At first I was planning to start writing this story probably somewhere in the summer, but because I recently decided to take some more control over which stories, I feel I want to write and not stick to an own made list and rely more on my instincts which story I want to write. Which is the reason I jumped right into this one.
Now, for starters, I came up with the idea for a Spider-Man story like this after reading another Spider-Man fanfic that I liked where both Peter and Mary Jane got bitten by the same radioactive spider, but felt disappointed how it turned out as it took a course I didn't really liked. So, I'm gonna do my own version of it in my own unique style.
And since the 20th anniversary of the Spider-Man movie that came out in 2002 is approaching (which is to my opinion, despite being rebooted a few times and directed by other directors, Sam Raimi's trilogy is to me the best) this story will make it perfect to celebrate it.
As I'll be taking the Sam Raimi's version of Spider-Man, you can imagine Tobey Maguire as Peter Paker/Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson/Spider-Woman, including all the other actors playing the characters.
Don't confuse Mary Jane being Spider-Woman that she'll have the same costume as Jessica Drew's version of Spider-Women. This is my very own version ;)
So sit back, and enjoy this fanfic about your friendly neighbors Spider-Man and Spider-Woman
PS: I do not own Spider-Man, nor any of the characters. All rights go to Marvel and Stan Lee (may his soul rest in peace)
Peter narration
'Thinking'
Normal talking
CHAPTER 1:
Birth of the Spiders
Who are we? You sure you want to know? The story I'm about to tell you is not for the faint of heart. If somebody said it was a happy little tale… If somebody told you we were just your average, ordinary people, not a care in the world… somebody lied.
Anyway, you probably wander; who is this guy that tells this story?
Well, my name is Peter Parker. And you might also be wandering; who is then the other person that I'm talking about?
That'll come in a bit.
For starters; I come from a small ordinary home in Forest Hills, which is a tranquil suburban neighborhood in Queens, New York.
It was already 7:00 am. Around this time, most high school kids would prepare themselves for another day of education. But some of those kids, which in this situation turns out to be 17 year old-me, would still be asleep in my bed, not wanting to end the beautiful dream I had about a certain girl next door; the women I loved even before I even liked girls.
That brings us to the home next door, which was the home of the other person I mentioned before, who is also that certain 'girl next door' I have a secret crush on: The beautiful redhead, Mary Jane Watson.
Beside from living next door, both me and Mary Jane had gone through our own dramatic event when we were very young.
For me, I was orphaned when I was just 3 years old when my parents perished in a horrible plane crash. Having no other family to take care of me, I would move in with my aunt and uncle; May Reilly Parker and Benjamin 'Ben' Parker. Despite both were now in their mid-sixties and Uncle Ben being retired, they had been taking care of me with love and raised me like a son.
As for Mary Jane's parents; Philip and Madeline Watson, their marriage was anything but happy as they've been constantly moving around the country cause of her father's various teaching jobs. Eventually, all the stress for Mary Jane's father became too much for him to handle and had therefore resorted to alcoholism and unleashed all of his anger and frustration on his family, which turned into a breaking point in his marriage and Madeline filled for a divorce and taking her 6 year old daughter with her. However, Madeline's soon to be ex-husband didn't took that well and became even more violent. In her and her daughter's escape from her husband's abuse, Mary Jane's father crashed his car, which instantly killed him. Finally being free from an alcoholic, violent and abusive turned man, Madeline and little Mary Jane settled down in New York, moving into the house next to mine, just a few years after I moved in with Uncle Ben and Aunt May my parents died.
I remember the first time when I saw her, when she stepped out of the car, holding her mother's hand… (sigh).
Well, you might be thinking that for me it was love at first sight? Well, you would be right. It was! Although, being just 6 years old, I kept my feelings for Mary Jane a secret for a long time. But that didn't stop me from trying to become friends with her and we've remained close the first few years.
But… as we grew older… that close bond we shared slowly began to fade away by the time we finished elementary school and the both of us attended Midtown High School. Well… at least we've remained on friendly terms, with me even helping Mary Jane from time to time when we would do our homework.
Mary Jane had grown into a beautiful 17 year old girl, with long natural red hair and a slim body. Her beauty didn't go unnoticed and because of that, she quickly became one of the popular kids at school. Though being a natural beauty… heck, to me, she's the most beautiful women in the whole world, Mary Jane scored good grades, which made her mother proud at her. Besides that, Mary Jane always dreamed of becoming an actress on stage, and performed in many school plays.
It was during those school plays that she became best friends with a blond girl named Gwen Stacy, who too was one of the popular kids as she was both beautiful and very intelligent, nearly close to mine, which was a rare combination these days. And though her father was captain in the NYPD, Gwen too had ambitions to pursue a career as an actress.
As for me, being more interested in science and stuff, I had become a prodigy in multiple scholastic subjects at Midtown High School and achieved high honors among my classmates, which impressed many of my teachers and made Uncle Ben and Aunt May very proud at me, feeling that I have a great future waiting for me. However… my reserved nature and enthusiasm for knowledge often made me an easy target for bullying, primarily by Eugene 'Flash' Thompson, who is not only captain of the high school football team and the most popular guy at school, but is also Mary Jane's boyfriend.
But I wasn't all alone to face Flash and buddies' constant bullying, as I always had some help from my best friend, Harry Osborn.
Harry, who his dad, Norman was the founder and CEO of OSCORP industries, had come from a wealthy environment. And though Harry's dad send him to private schools, Harry always managed to being kicked out, as a way to get attention from his father, as he'd buried himself in his work prior to the death of his wife.
When me and Harry met at school, we got a long well and quickly became friends.
Well… now that I've told mine and Mary Jane's backstory, let's get back to the real story…
It was now 7:10 am and Mary Jane, who woke up early and had already prepared herself for school, walked down the stairs, placing her backpack on the couch in the living room and joined her mother for breakfast in the dining room
Madeline hands Mary Jane a plate with freshly backed eggs and bacon as she sat down at a chair on the table. When Madeline sat on the opposite site with her own plate of breakfast, she asked "So, feeling exited already for the field trip today?"
Mary Jane formed a little smile while giving a shrug "A little."
Madeline however got the chills as she stated "Learning about arachnids sounds actually disgusting. I never liked spiders."
"Why not?"
"Why not?!" Madeline asked with a bit of shock "I'm terrified of them! Never liked them and never will."
That made Mary Jane to laugh "Oh mom. Spiders are very helpful. They catch flies and mosquitoes-"
"I know, Mary Jane, it's just…" Madeline just brushed it off and went back to eat her eggs and bacon "Ugh! You know what? I'm not gonna spoil my breakfast by talking about spiders right now."
Mary Jane gave a small giggle as she took a sip from her orange juice.
For 15 minutes, Mary Jane and Madeline had been eating in silent, till Madeline said as she checked the clock "Don't be late for the bus, sweetheart."
Mary Jane nodded and stood up from her chair while swallowing her last eggs. After taking her backpack, Mary Jane planted a kiss on her mother's forehead "Bye mom."
"Have fun, Mary Jane," Madeline said with a smile before she nearly forgot to tell her daughter "Oh, if you're coming home and I'm not back from my job at the hospital-"
"Don't worry, mom," Mary Jane ensured her mother as she walked to the door "I can cook my own meals too. Bye!" and went out of the house, closing the door behind and walked to the bus stop.
At the Parker's residence however, Peter was still fast asleep, not wanting his beautiful dream to end.
"Peter!" Aunt May called from downstair "Wake up, or you're going to be late for school."
Peter stirred in his bed and muttered under his breath "Hmmm… five more minutes, MJ."
As they didn't hear any noise from Peter's room, both Aunt May and Uncle Ben glanced at each other while Aunt May said "Usually I don't wish to upset the boy's privacy, but it's already 7:25 and the bus will be here in five minutes."
Uncle Ben had a little idea as he formed a smile and called "Hey, Michelangelo, MJ is waiting outside to greet you!"
Hearing Uncle Ben saying that from downstairs, made Peter open his eyes wide. His sight was blurry since he had poor eyesight, which is why he wore eyeglasses. He reached over at the counter and puts his glasses on. Just as he smiled and stretched himself a bit, he looked in shock as he looked at his clock "It's 7:26! I'M LATE FOR THE BUS!" he shouted as he nearly jumped out of his bed, tripping over and fell on the ground, but quickly stood up and practically dived into the bathroom.
Aunt May said with a chuckle "Well, Ben, you certainly know how to get Peter out of bed quickly."
The older Parker chuckled too, knowing how his nephew would react if the girl next-door's name was mentioned "Yeah, if Mary Jane lived here, then I don't think we have an issue with waking Peter getting up late."
A few minutes later, after Peter took a quick shower and rushed to put on his clothes for the day, taking his backpack and then as quick as lightning he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where his bagel was waiting for him. Having no time left, as it was already 7:31 am, Peter gave Aunt May a quick kiss on the cheek, patted his uncle on the shoulder with the bagel in his mouth and dashed outside.
But just as he took a bite from his bagel, Peter saw the bus to Midtown High School pass by his house "No no no no no! WAIT!" Peter raced to catch the bus.
Inside the school bus, Mary Jane was sitting next to her boyfriend Flash who placed his arm around her, putting her closer to him, which Mary Jane didn't mind.
However, for some reason, Mary Jane began to think about Peter, thinking about the close friendship they shared ever since she was 6 years old. And though she began to develop other interests and start hanging around with other kids, she still was somewhat of a friend to Peter. But, it wasn't until Peter had turned 14 that Mary Jane started to notice him, since then, through her window, Mary Jane has watched a serious-looking bookworm, which actually to her was somewhat cute, in a nerdy sort of way.
Mary Jane had no idea why she was thinking about all this while Flash said some nice things to her.
Suddenly, Peter was running next to the bus while other students looked out the windows and began to laugh at him.
"Hey, stop the bus!" Peter banged on the window, hoping the bus would stop for him. Though his lungs burned as he had to run after the bus for some streets, Peter didn't gave up and kept calling in the hopes that anyone was hearing him "Hey, tell the driver to stop please!"
Other students kept laughing at Peter. Mary Jane was not amused by this taunting as she felt really bad for her friend.
The bus driver himself even saw Peter running after it, which made him chuckle as it was funny to him to watch a nerd running like crazy to catch the school bus.
"Hey! Stop the bus!" Peter pleaded while banging again on the window.
"Get a cab, man!" one of the students said while laughing.
Having had enough of this display, Mary Jane went to the driver "Stop the bus! He has been chasing us since Woodhaven Boulevard."
The driver reluctantly nodded and finally brought the bus to a stop, allowing poor Peter on the bus, much to the other students' dismay as they were being entertained with this.
Once he got on the bus, Peter apologized to the driver "Thank you… I'm sorry I'm late." a paper ball was thrown at him caused the students to laugh.
As they vehicle began to move again, Peter moved along the narrow aisle of the bus, looking for a place to sit.
"What a geek!" a student in the back said.
"You're so lame, Parker." another said.
"Would you date him?" a girl close to Mary Jane asked her friend while whispering.
"Hell no!" the other girl answered while rolling her eyes as she chuckled.
Trying to ignore them, Peter kept searching for a place to sit. He looked at the boy in front of Flash and Mary Jane who was eating a doughnut, but shook his head to him, rejected to sit. As Peter inched closer to Mary Jane, he smiled as their eyes met.
'Gosh, she's so pretty…' Peter thought, failing to realize that one of Flash's buddies stuck out his foot out purposely, tripping him in the process.
"Oof…!" Peter fell to the ground hard and with the impact his glasses fell of his face. The others howled in laughter. Peter sighed as he took his glasses 'This is going to be a long day.'
Mary Jane gave a disapproving look at the boy who purposely tripped over Peter. He gave a shrug with a look that said 'I didn't do it', but Mary Jane knew better.
'Poor Peter…' she mentally said, feeling sorry for him of being bullied by her boyfriend and his friends most of the time.
Although Flash and his buddies would have their way with Peter, Mary Jane sometimes managed to convince Flash to leave him alone, which worked for a few days till they began to have their fun again with him.
She had sometimes thought of breaking up with Flash cause he wouldn't leave Peter or any of the other weaker kids alone, but because she had a reputation to protect, she held herself for most of the time. Sometimes, Mary Jane wished she was a bit more brave.
Later that day
"Midtown High School Seniors…" Professor Carlson told his students while Flash and his friend were tossing a small ball to each other "No wondering. Proceed direct-" Carlson caught the small ball that Flash was tossing over "Knock it off," he continued saying "Remember, it is a privilege to be here. We're guests of Columbia University's Science Department…"
Apparently not all the students were listening as Mary Jane looked back to see Peter behind the group.
"…So behave accordingly. Let's not have a repeat of our trip to the planetarium. Come on, people. Let's stay together. Proceed up the steps and into the building." Professor Carlson finished as he walked towards the facility, with some of the students beginning to follow him.
Peter looked at Mart Jane and smiled at her. She gave a small wave to him as he gave one back to her, but to his dismay, it wasn't him she was waving at but at Liz and Gwen who brushed passed him.
"Hey MJ. What's up girlfriend." Liz greeted her.
Mary Jane chuckled as she asked "Where were you guys?"
"Checking the library," Gwen answered "Looking at the books."
"Yeah, right." Liz rolled her eyes in amusement, thinking that Gwen was checking out the good looking guys.
Peter sighed as he began to follow the rest of the group 'Brilliant, Parker. Wave when she wasn't waving at you. I'm such a dork for doing that.'
That was when a 1963 Rolls-Royce arrived at the scene, with its passengers being Norman Osborn and his son, Harry.
"Umm… Charles, can we drive around the corner, please?" Harry asked the chauffeur.
Norman looked at his son with a raised eyebrow "Why? The entrance is right there."
Harry sighed "Dad, these are public-school kids. I'm not showing up in the Rolls."
Seeing that Harry was ashamed of arriving in a fancy car, Norman said with a bit of anger in his face "What, you want to trade in my car for a Jetta because you flunked out of every private school I sent you to-"
"It wasn't for me!" Harry said.
"Of course it was." Norman said otherwise "Don't ever be ashamed of who you are, Harry."
"I'm not ashamed of who I am. It's just…" Harry tried to say but couldn't find the words.
"Just what, Harry?" Norman asked.
Harry sighed and he began to step out of the car "Forget it."
After climbing out of the Rolls and closed the car door, Harry walked over to Peter he saw in the crowd of students "Pete!"
Peter stopped and looked behind and smiled as he saw his best friend made it after all "Hi, Harry."
"Hey, man. What's up?" Harry asked as he joined Peter with the others.
"Harry." Norman called. Both teens turned around to see Harry's father carrying his son's backpack in his hand "Won't you be needing this?"
Harry nodded "Thank, Dad." After Harry took his backpack he introduced his friend to his father "Uhm… Peter, may I introduce my father, Norman Osborn."
Norman formed a little smile as he shook hands with Peter "Ah, you must be Peter Parker. I've heard so much about you."
"Great honor to meet you, sir." Peter said with kind.
"Harry says you're a science whiz," Norman began as he was impressed with Peter's performance at school after his son told all about his best friend "You know, I'm something of a scientist myself."
Harry however mentally said in his mind 'More like a selfish businessman and a no-good father.'
Peter gave a nod to Norman as he said "I've read all your research on nanotechnology. Really brilliant."
"And you understood it?" Norman asked.
Peter nodded again "Yes, I wrote a paper on it."
Hearing that Harry's friend was very interested in his work made Norman feel a bit proud "Impressive. Your parents must be very proud."
"I live with my aunt and uncle. They are." Peter corrected him.
Once Professor Carlson and his class had reached up the stairway, he noticed that not all his students were present. He looked and saw Peter and Harry with Norman Osborn "Hey, you two! Let's move!" Carlson called.
Both Harry and Peter said their goodbyes to Mr. Osborn and walked to catch up with the rest of class.
"He doesn't seem so bad." Peter told Harry as he gave a shrug.
"Not if you're a genius," Harry said "I think he wants to adopt you." He teased his friend, which made Peter to chuckle.
It was that very day when we entered the science facility and the door closed behind us, that both me and Mary Jane would go through a transformation that would change our lives forever…
"There are over 32,000 known species of spider in the world. They're in the order Araneae, divided into three suborders." Said the female tour guide leading the thirty students around the large laboratory, passing a number of large spider exhibits.
When the group entered the place where some scientists were working on their computers, examining the many spiders or working a large machine, Peter was amazed of the machine he saw "Wow, that's amazing," he told Harry "This is the most advanced electron microscope on the eastern seaboard. It's unreal."
"Oh." Was all that Harry said, clearly not interested in it while listening to the tour guide.
Peter glanced for a moment to Mary Jane, seeing that Flash attempted to get a kiss from his girlfriend, but this time she didn't allow him, much to his dismay. When Mary Jane glanced to Peter, he quickly looked the other way and keeping attention to the tour's lecture.
"Arachnids from all three groups possess varying strengths to help them in their constant search for food." the guide stated about the spider groups, stopping at one particular exhibit "For example, the Delena spider, family Sparassidae, has the ability to jump to catch its prey."
Peter then asked as he held up his 35MM camera "For the school paper?" wanting to take a few pictures for the school paper, which the guide nodded.
Flash and his friends rolled their eyes.
Just as Peter was about to take a picture of the spider, Flash gave him a push, causing Peter to miss the shot. His friends then 'accidentally' pump onto him as the tour went on.
"Next, we have the net web spider," the guide said as the class was shown to the next exhibit "Family Filistatidae genus Kukulcania. It spins an intricate funnel shaped web whose strands have a tensile strength proportionately equal to the type of high tension wire."
Peter tries his luck again by taking a picture, but missed the shot again when Flash's friends pushed him again, much to their amusement.
Harry glared at them "Leave him alone."
"Or what?" the guy asked.
Flash mocked Harry "Or else his father is gonna fire your father." his friends chuckled at that before Flash grabs Harry by his jacket "What's Daddy gonna do, rich boy? Sue me?" he asked in a sarcastic way, which was a bit too loudly which caught the attention of Professor Carlson.
"What is going on?" the teacher asked, clearly having seen that Flash was grabbing Harry "The next person who talks will fail this course. I kid you not." Carlson warned them, which made Flash and this buddies to leave Peter and Harry alone.
Peter whispered to Harry as they caught up with the rest of class "Those guys are jerks." Harry nodded.
The guide then told about the next spider "This grass spider hunts using reflexes with nerve-condition velocity so fast that some researchers believe it almost borders on precognition. An early awareness of danger. A spider-sense."
Harry and Peter took a look at one of the spiders, with Peter telling "Some spiders change their colors to blend into their environment. It's a defense mechanism."
Harry only rolled his eyes "Peter, what makes you think I would want to know that."
"Who wouldn't?" Peter gave a simple shrug.
Liz, being freaked out by the spiders told Gwen "Disgusting."
Gwen gave a nod "Yeah, scarry little things." But that was when Gwen was surprised to see that Mary Jane showed an interest in the spiders 'How can MJ be so interested in these things?'
The guide then showed what was the researchers by so far their greatest achievement "Over 5 painstaking years, Columbia's genetic research facility has fully mapped the genetic codes of each of these spiders. With these DNA blueprints, we have begun what was once thought impossible,"
Seeing that MJ was now alone, Harry encouraged Peter to go and say hi to her, knowing that he has a crush on her "You gonna talk to her now?"
Being unsure and shy, Peter however suggested "Oh, no. Come on. You talk to her."
Harry gave a shrug and walked over to Mary Jane, joining in watching the 15 small exhibits with spiders. Harry began to say "Hateful little things."
Mary Jane shortly glanced to Harry before looking at the spiders again with interest "I love them!"
"Yeah me too." Harry said.
Gwen, having a bit of courage to stand where Mary Jane and Harry stood near the spiders, said witha bit of fear "Just to think to have one of these very close to you…"
Harry chuckled. Trying to lift the nervousness of Gwen, Harry whispered to her "You know, spiders can change their color to blend into their environment. It's a defense mechanism."
"Oh… cool." Gwen said, having not thought of that and sounded interesting.
Peter was surprised that Harry told Gwen what he'd just told her. Harry gave a short glance to Peter, seeing his bit of surprised expression. Harry gave a shrug while he formed a grin and paid attention again to what the guide said.
"…transfer RNA to encode an entirely new genome combining the information from all three spiders into these 15 genetically designed super-spiders." The guide stated as the researchers managed to create 15 super-spiders by combining all the genetics of the other spiders into 1.
"There's 14." Mary Jane said.
"I beg your pardon, Miss?" the guide asked.
"I counted every spider. One's missing."
The guide took a look, while Gwen confirmed "Yeah. There are only 14 spiders."
Having no answer why 1 spider was missing, the guide theorized "Oh… I guess the researchers are working on that one."
However, unbeknownst to everyone, that missing spider was making a web up the ceiling, waiting to catch a prey into its web.
As the class was following the female guide to the final part of the lab, with Harry and Gwen joining them, Harry told Gwen "Do you know that this is the largest electron microscope on the eastern seaboard?"
When Harry mentioned that, Gwen was surprised that Harry knew that "Really? I didn't know you were interested in science, Harry."
Harry gave a shrug while forming a smile "I gotta pay attention at some point. And since my father is also a scientist, I might want to learn a thing or two about science."
"Well," Gwen suggested "If you want to learn more, you can always ask me."
Harry gave a nod "I'll remember that."
Professor Carlson gave Harry a disappointing look as he told him "You were talking throughout that women's entire presentation." He stated as Harry kept talking through the guide's lecture. Harry felt a bit embarrassed, which made Gwen to give a small giggle as Carlson was gonna talk to Harry about how we should all listen.
Mary Jane and Peter linger behind a bit longer, while MJ was admiring the spiders.
Peter knew that this was his moment, but felt too shy and scarry to say something 'Ugh! C'mon, Parker!' he cursed himself 'This is your chance! Go! Say something!'
Peter gulped, slowly approaching her, thinking of something to say to her. Anything!
"Hey… MJ?" Peter said in a very nervous way.
Mary Jane glanced at Peter, wandering while she formed a little smile as their eyes met "Yes, Peter?"
"Uhm…" Peter tried to say, but thought quickly as he held his camera "Can I… c-c-can I take your picture? I… need one with a student in it."
Mary Jane nodded in approval "Sure. Where do you want me?" she asked while looking around for a place to model for the camera "Over here?" she mentioned near one of the spiders in the exhibit.
Peter gave a simple nod "Oh yeah… yeah, that's great."
"Don't make me look ugly."
Peter smiled "That's impossible."
Mary Jane giggled a bit as she began to model and Peter took a picture
"Perfect."
While Peter made a few more pictures and Mary Jane kept modelling for him, above him, a thin vertical line of spider web glistens in the light. At the end of it, the spider dangles, dropping from its web, gliding toward the floor below to an unaware Peter.
"You're photogenic." Peter said after having taken the fourth picture.
Mary Jane chuckled at that comment "That's what my agent tells me."
Above, the spider continues to drop, straight down toward Peter's right hand, which he's using to click the shutter and wind the film advance. Its hairy legs landing on Peter's hand, between his thumb and forefinger.
"MJ, let's go!" Liz called to her friend to join them.
At first, Mary Jane was gonna leave, but feeling it would be rude to leave all the sudden, she told Liz "Just a sec!" and asked Peter "One more?"
Peter nodded "Yeah, alright. Last one."
Mary Jane stood ready for her final picture. Peter was ready to take the last picture. Then… the spider bites Peter!
"OW!"
Mary Jane gasps and quickly stops posing for the camera to quickly check on Peter "Hey, you alright?" then, her eyes went from calm to panic in a fraction of a second as she sees the spider on Peter's right hand "Peter, there's a spider on your hand!"
"WHAT?!" Peter looks quickly at his hand.
Mary Jane, thinking quickly, tries to slap the spider away with her right hand. With spider senses flaring, the spider avoids the striking hand from its attacker, landing on it and… bites Mary Jane!
"OW!"
She shakes her hand, hard, to flip the spider off, it flies off and lands on the floor near their feet.
Peter and Mary Jane look at their hands; two tiny red marks where the spider had bit its fangs into their skin. Both bend down to take a look at the spider on the floor, who crawled away.
Both look at each other simultaneously. But before either of them could say a word, Carlson went over to them and called "Parker. Watson. Let's move."
They obeyed and left the bite on their hands out of their minds for now.
On one of the big screens, which showed swirling strands of DNA molecules combine, detach and recombine. When it finishes, it shows the picture of the same super-spider that had just bitten both Peter and Mary Jane, with big letter saying: NEW SPECIES
Meanwhile, at OSCORP Technologies
Norman Osborn had just arrived inside the facility and puts on a lab coat while asking his female assistant, miss Simkins "I hope that General Slocum and the others haven't waited for too long before I got here?"
Simkins ensured her boss "Dr. Stromm is keeping them busy for the time being, Mr. Osborn."
Norman sighed, hoping it wouldn't have to be Dr. Stromm to keep the general, his military staff and the board of directors busy. As Slocum's predecessor wasn't there anymore to support his work, Norman Osborn had a hard time to keep the new general at his side to keep supporting his projects.
As Norman used a special card to gain access into the lab, he asked while the big doors opened "You said that there was something else you want to inform me about?"
The assistant nodded "Yes, sir," she said before handing over a newspaper, showing Tony Stark and General Slocum shaking hands at the front page "Tony Stark's test of his newly designed heating seeking missile turned out to be a success and General Slocum signed the new contract with his company."
Norman sighed, though he was trying to hide his frustration "Why am I not surprised," he said as he walked through the doors while Miss Simkins followed him "It's always about Tony Stark."
Truth be told, Norman rather wished both Stark's company and Quest Aerospace be gone, as they've been OSCORP's biggest competitors for years, preventing Osborn's company to grow faster.
Inside the lab, a pilot, while wearing OSCORP's improved green exoskeleton fighting suit for the military, was testing the OSCORP-jet glider, showing its capabilities.
Dr. Mendel Stromm stated to General Slocum, the other generals and the board of directors as how much they've improved the prototype "As you can see, we've solved the horizon glide and the multi-G balance issues."
General Slocum however sighed as he wasn't interested in it "I've already seen the glider. That's not what I'm here for."
Dr. Stromm gave a little nervous nod. Just as he was about to show something else they've been working on, Norman walked into the lab, greeting the general first with a smile "General Slocum, good to see you again." Slocum gave a simple nod, though not being impressed "Mr. Balkan, Mr. Fargas." Norman greeted two of the directors.
"Norman." Fargas said with a smile, who was sitting on a wheelchair.
"Mr. Osborn." Balkan added while putting his glasses off.
"Always a pleasure to have our board of directors pay us a little visit." Norman said with a smile.
Having no time for waist talk, Slocum wanted to get straight to the point and said with some seriousness, wanting to know how far the serum for the super-soldier program is going "I want to see the progress report on Human performance enhancers."
Dr. Stromm stated "Yes, uhm… we tried vapor inhalation with rats. They showed an 800% increase in strength."
Hearing this from Dr. Stromm, impressed Mr. Balkan, Mr. Fargas and the other members of the board "800%? That's excellent." Fargas said.
"Any side effects?" General Slocum asked, still showing not impressed.
"In one trial… yes." Dr. Strumm said with honesty.
Norman interrupted him, trying to wash it off, not wanting to lose his one change to finally impress General Slocum "It was nothing but an aberration. All the tests since have been successful."
Slocum stopped, asking again about the side effects "And in the trail that went wrong, what happened? What were the side effects?"
"Uhm…" Dr. Stromm began "Violence, aggression… and insanity."
"And what do you recommend?"
Norman quickly interrupted before Stromm could give his opinion "That was only one test, general. With the exception of Dr. Stromm, our entire staff certifies the product ready for human testing."
However, General Slocum still wanted to hear the other scientist's answer "Dr. Stromm?"
Dr. Stromm sighed as he said "We need to take the whole line back to formula."
General Slocum had expected this and turned away.
Norman gave Stromm a serious angry face "Back to formula?"
"Dr. Osborn." General Slocum turned back to Norman while Dr. Stromm walked away. Norman hoped that Stromm didn't blew his one chance, but it seemed that the damage was already done, but General Slocum added then "I'm going to be frank with you. I never supported your program. We have my predecessor to thank for that."
Mr. Balkan joined in and told "Norman, the General gave the go-ahead to Quest Aerospace to build a prototype of their exoskeleton design. They test in 2 weeks."
General Slocum then added "And if your so-called performance enhancers have not had a successful human trail by that date, I'm gonna pull your funding and give it to them."
As General Slocum and the other generals left the lab, Norman began to feel worried. He knew that if he's going to lose the contract of the US military to Quest Aerospace, it would bankrupt OSCORP. Anger rose inside of him, knowing that if he wanted to safe the company from going down and safe his reputation, he had to do a successful human test with the performance enhancers fast. But who would volunteer so quickly for the test?
Seeing no other option, Norman thought 'If nobody wants to do it, then I have to do things myself!'
Several hours later – Columbia University
As the fieldtrip came to and the whole class poured out of the science facility of Columbia university, all went toward the awaiting bus. While Peter and Mary Jane entered the bus along with the rest of class, both began to feel sick, thinking it was because of the spider bite, but both hoped it would pass soon.
As Peter sat with Harry in the third last row of seats at the back, MJ sat in the front with Flash.
Once everyone was on the bus and had taken a seat, the bus began to move, strolling through the city that never sleeps.
Harry began to notice his friend wasn't feeling well "Hey, Pete, you alright? You look very pale."
Peter shook his head before rubbing his forehead "I don't feel so good."
Mary Jane was also not feeling well and held her stomach in pain, feeling nauseous. Flash however was trying to make out with her, but Mary Jane kept pushing him back "No, Flash. I don't want it."
Flash however insisted "Ah, come on, MJ. You were fine 3 hours ago. Just one little kiss from you and I'll leave you alone," and leaned in to kiss her lips.
"Flash!" Mary Jane called as she pushed him back again "When I say no, I mean no!" she got out of her seat and slowly made her way down the aisle, leaving a baffled Flash Thompson behind.
Mary Jane was heading toward the last row of seats, where Gwen and Liz were sitting. But feeling more weakly, Mary Jane never got to her destination as the bus hit a bump in the road, causing her to fall on top of Peter.
Harry looked at the both of them, seeing that they could use some 'alone time', he told Peter silently "Now's your chance, buddy." And stood up from his seat, allowing Mary Jane to sit on his spot while he went to the empty seat next to Gwen Stacy.
Mary Jane sighed "I'm feeling strange, Peter."
"Me too, MJ…" Peter responded with a slight groan.
Mary Jane then rested her head on top of Peter's shoulder for support. This was something unexpected to Peter. Though his mind was mostly cause of feeling sick, young Peter Parker felt better to have the women he loves resting her head on his shoulder.
Flash saw it as he looked back, which made him gritting his teeth 'I'm gonna kill you, Parker!' he mentally cursed the nerd for trying to steal his girlfriend.
Peter took a look at the bite wound on his right hand, which had turned red and blotchy. He touched it gently, but caused him a great deal of pain. Mary Jane looked at her own hand where the spider bit her, showing the small bite wound had also turned red and blotchy, hurting her a lot when she even tried to touch it softly.
One by one, all the students were brought home, with Gwen asking Mary Jane if she was alright before she left the bus, with Mary Jane slowly shook her head. Something worried Gwen about her best friend, but was sure she might just have caught a little cold and ignored it. Gwen gave one more glance to Harry, who gave her a smile, and she gave one back as she got off the bus and went to her home.
After what seemed to be an hour, the bus finally arrived at Forest Hills, with both Peter and Mary Jane going off the bus together and slowly went towards their homes. Both either rubbed their forehead or stomach, and were now looking a bit more sick then when they left the field trip.
When they walked into their street, MJ told Peter with a bit of groan as she turned to the front door of her house "See you tomorrow, Pete…"
Peter gave a simple nod "Yeah, see you tomorrow, MJ…" he said before going to his home next door.
When Peter opened the door and came inside, he saw Uncle Ben already sitting at the table while Aunt May was placing the food on the table.
"Oh, hi sweetie," Aunt May said with a sweet smile "You're just in time for dinner."
Uncle Ben greeted his nephew "Hey, how you're doin', buddy? How was the field trip?"
Feeling nauseous to have a bite, Peter puts his jacket on the couch and went to the stairs "I don't feel well. I'm gonna go to sleep."
This surprised both Uncle Ben and Aunt May "You won't have a bite?" Aunt May asked.
"No, thanks. I'm not hungry." Peter answered while going up the stairs.
Uncle Ben stood up as he and Aunt May exchanged a short glance in confusion before he asked his nephew "Did you took some good pictures, Peter?"
However, Peter continued going up the stairs, heading to his room "Uh, I gotta crash. Everything's fine." He ensured before opening the door of his bedroom, and closed it once he went inside.
Uncle Ben looked with confusion at Aunt May "What's that all about?"
Aunt May gave a shrug as she had no idea.
Inside the Watson residence, things weren't any different for Mary Jane and too felt nauseous.
Both she and her mother sat on the table for dinner, with Madeline having made spaghetti with meatballs. Though Madeline was enjoying her dinner, Mary Jane turned hers on her plate, only poking it and letting it fall from her fork.
Madeline had noticed her daughter wasn't eating and began to get worried "Sweetheart, are you alright? You've been playing with your food for the last 10 minutes."
Mary Jane gave a little sigh while still staring at her food "I'm not hungry, mom."
Madeline became a bit suspicious as she's seen this kind of behavior before when people are starting to get sick "You feeling well? Are you getting sick?"
Mary Jane shook her head "I… I don't know, Mom. May I please be excused?" she leaves the dinner table before Madeline could give an answer, seeing Mary Jane going up the stairs to her room. Though Madeline felt something was off about her daughter, she thought it was probably just a flu or that Mary Jane ate something not right.
Inside Peter's room, the young Parker took his shirt off, leaving him shirtless. He felt some pain from his stomach. Then, he gasps in pain and clutches his abdomen and falls to the floor.
Peter looked at his right hand where the spider bit him in, which was now completely red and swollen. As he softly tried to touch it, Peter yanks his fingers away as it was intensely sensitive.
Mary Jane was going through the same thing. After she'd taken off her clothes and was now only in her undergarment, she began to pant while staring at her own reflection in the mirror of her makeup table. Mary Jane tried to walk over to her bed, hoping she could lay down on it. But only halfway, she gasps in pain and clutches her abdomen and fell on the floor.
She looked at her right hand where the spider had bit her, now completely red and swollen. She tried to touch it, but yanks as it hurt so much, feeling very sensitive.
Both Peter and Mary Jane kept laying on the floor for hours, beginning to shake uncontrollably and were drenched in sweat. Both simultaneously managed to grab their quilt and wrapped themselves in it. Both began to shake violently.
Then, their eyes roll up into the back of their heads as they pass out. Under their lids, their eyes flicker rapidly.
The voice of the guide was heard inside their heads while both saw flickering and terrible images of spiders around them "…synthesized RNA from the specimen to encode an entirely new genome… combining genetic information from all 3 spiders into these… 15 genetically designed super-spiders."
Inside their systems, their DNA began to alter… change… merging… becoming stronger…!
Both Peter and Mary Jane screamed inside their minds.
Around that same time at OSCORP Technologies
With most of the science team having gone home, Norman Osborn and Dr. Stromm were the only ones left in the lab.
Dr. Stromm sat on his computer, checking his monitor which showed lots of data on it, typing in how to improve the formula for the performance enhancers on a keyboard. Seeing he wasn't getting anywhere then where they've left, he began to shake his head while he sighed, beginning to rub his eyes.
"It's time, doctor." Norman said, standing behind Dr. Stromm.
Surprised, Dr. Stromm turned to Norman "Wha-what? What do you mean, Dr. Osborn?"
"Proceed with the human trial." Norman Osborn said confidently, not being talked himself out of this as he typed something on a keyboard, preparing the gas chamber.
"Human?!" Dr. Stromm asked in shock "But… they aren't ready. We can't just start a test, I mean-"
"I'm testing the performance enhancers, now, Dr. Stromm!" Norman said with a rising anger "I'm gonna test it on myself."
"ON YOURSELF?!" Stromm asked, now even more shocked than before "But-"
"No buts, Dr. Stromm," Norman said very seriously "I'm testing the serum now and I'm confident it'll work. The other tests went successful, so it's ready to be tested on humans."
As Norman grabbed one of the performance enhancers, carrying some green chemical serum and was labeled with: CX. 00009
While Norman took the serum and placed it inside a small machine, Dr. Stromm tried to talk his boss out of this "Dr. Osborn, please. The performance enhancers aren't ready. The data just doesn't justify this test." Norman Osborn didn't listen and typed on the computer to get the gas chamber ready for human testing "Please, Dr. Osborn. I'm telling you; we can't do this!"
"Don't be a coward." Norman said with a serious face to Dr. Stromm and turned to another computer to open the gas chamber "Risks are part of the laboratory science."
Dr. Stromm tried to convince Norman Osborn one last time for him to reconsider "L-l-let me reschedule with a proper medical staff… and a volunteer. Please, Dr. Osborn, if you just give me 2 weeks-"
"2 weeks?" Norman asked as he glared at the coward scientist and took off his lab coat and jacket "In 2 weeks we'll have lost the contract to Quest and OSCORP will be dead. Sometimes you gotta do things yourself." As he took off his shirt, leaving Norman shirtless, he asked Dr. Stromm "Get me the promachloraperazine."
"For what?" Dr. Strumm asked while taking a small bottle.
"It begins catalyzation when the vapor hits the bloodstream." Norman ensured. As he took the small bottle from Dr. Stromm, Norman looked at it for a moment before he sighed "40,000 years of evolution and we've barely even tapped the vastness of human potential." He drank the whole bottle empty, which tasted awful and thew it away.
Norman then placed himself on an iron restraint table. Seeing there was no way he could talk Osborn out of this, Stromm did as his boss told him to do and restraint Norman Osborn with the iron restraints, placing electrode disks on his head and chest.
Seeing it was al set, with the monitor showing Norman's heart rate of 80 beats per minute, Dr. Stromm clicked on a few buttons on a keyboard, making the iron restraint table to slide into the gas chamber. Once it was in place, Dr. Stromm pressed a few more buttons, closing the small door and making the restraint table to stand straight.
In his mind, Dr. Stromm begged that Norman would change his mind, but seeing the serious look on his boss' face, he knew that there was no turning back now. Osborn gave Stromm a nod, clearly ordering him to start the test. Stromm sighed and pressed one button, which emptied the tube with green chemical serum, which went into another machine and turned the green chemical liquid into vapor as it entered the chamber with a restrained Norman as a form of green colored gas.
Breathing in the first parts of the gas, made Norman uncomfortable as he moans. As the gas had nearly filled the whole chamber, lots of beeps went off on the monitor, showing Norman's muscles were unnaturally increasing fast in size and strength, but the other screen showed Osborn's heart rate skyrocketed to 110… 120… 130… 155!
Stromm could hear Norman began to groan "Norman?"
But the groaning became more loudly and Norman was shaking like hell and began to scream!
Seeing in shock what happened to Norman, Dr. Stromm hurried to the other monitor to vent the gas chamber quickly! "Norman!"
As the gas left the chamber, Stromm was horrified to watch what happened to Norman, with his heart rate increased to over 200 rates per minute! Osborn screamed his lungs out "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Then, he lowered his head, passing out.
"Oh my God…!" Stromm said in shock, hearing on the monitor that Norman's heart rate decreased… till the line was flat, showing no pulse.
"Norman! Oh my God, Norman!" Dr. Stromm hurried to get inside the gas chamber as the final green gasses were gone. Once he opened the door, he grabbed Norman by the shoulders and shook him, but it was to no avail "Norman!" he quickly removed the iron restrains, trying to give him CPR. But still… Norman didn't move or breathed. Dr. Stromm began to panic.
Suddenly, the monitor showed Norman's heart rate had come back to 140.
For a brief second, Dr. Stromm was relieved as he glanced back to Osborn, who suddenly grabbed him by the throat, shocking him!
Norman's eyes, with his eyelids showing they were bright yellow, full with rage and fury.. Dr. Stromm felt like he was no longer seeing the same Norman Osborn… but like he was seeing the eyes of a demon from hell.
"Back to formula?" Norman repeated the same sentence he asked Stromm when General Slocum asked about the project. Norman grind his teeth, which now looked like sharp fangs "Back… TO FORMULA!?" Norman screamed before he tossed Dr. Stromm back, sending him flying backwards, through the glass window of the gas chamber, crashing into many lab equipment!
Dr. Stromm, now bleeding from his head, looked to what his boss had become, who with his newly found brute superhuman strength ripped the last restrains off him like it was nothing. Stromm was horrified as Norman looked with uncontrollably fury at a now wounded Dr. Stromm screamed before he snarled and lunges at Dr. Stromm!
The next morning
- Mary Jane's room
It was 6:28 am as Mary Jane gasped as she woke up abruptly from her nightmare which seemed to have lasted forever. She looked around, seeing morning sunlight streamed through her window. She blinks a few times, still horrified from the dream. Mary Jane noticed she hasn't moved from the position she'd collapsed.
But as the redhead slowly gathered herself, she seems to feel better than usual. She sighed deep before rubbing her face… but then she stopped rubbing her face, as she felt something from her wrist on her face. She looked and gasped as it's some kind of sticky white mass, some kind of silky substance. Grossed out, she tried wipe it away from her face, but then noticed that this white mass was all over her body and sheets.
"Eew! What is all this?" Mary Jane asked herself, still grossed out while wiping it all away from her.
As she raises her arms, Mary Jane noticed the the stuff's tendrils lead up to the undersides of her wrists.
She examined her wrists. They were oozing pearly white fluid, almost invisible slits about a quarter of an inch long. The slits were puffy, and a great pressure was felt from inside the skin.
Mary Jane pushed on the skin next to one of the slits, trying to relieve the pressure, but then, the silk shoots up to the ceiling, sticking there like a web. Mary Jane yielped what happened. She looks back to her wrists while taking off the slits from it "Wha…! What is all this?"
There was a knock at her door "Mary Jane? Are you okay, sweetheart?"
Mary Jane gasped as she stared with wide eyes to her closed door 'Oh no, Mom! She can't see me like this!' she thought of something quickly and lied "I… I'm okay, Mom! I just… just had a nightmare… that's all."
There was a short pause, then Madeline asked her daughter "How's your condition? You feeling any better since last night?"
"Uhm…" Mary Jane tried to say while looking at the silk she'd wiped away from her and the some she'd shot up the ceiling "Yeah… I'm okay now, Mom." Mary Jane lied again.
"Well, you must be starving since you hadn't eaten anything since last night. I'll make an enormous breakfast for you."
Now that she thought about it, Mary Jane was feeling more better than last night. Staggering to the door, she opened it a crack so only her face was showing "Thanks, Mom. I'll meet you downstairs, I just want to get dressed."
Madeline smiled, seeing her daughter was indeed looking better "Okay. See you downstairs, sweetheart."
Once her mother had left, Mary Jane closed the door and gave a big sigh of relief, thanking God that her mother wouldn't see what the heck happened to her.
After clearing all the white mess in her room, Mary Jane went to the bathroom and got out of her clothes from last night. But when she looked in the mirror, as teenagers often do, especially girls, she gasped at what was staring back at her. What Mary Jane saw in her own reflection, was not seeing her usual body, but now had a more athletic shape and even had a six-pack.
"Wow…" Mary Jane said in both amaze and shock as was looking at a whole new Mary Jane in the mirror "Who are you?"
Not wanting to stand in front of her mirror for too long, Mary Jane stepped into the shower and began to wash herself.
- Peter's room
It was now 6:50 am. Peter stirred as he groaned from sleeping on the floor last night. His eyes fluttered open as he blinked to view his surroundings. He remembered he had a horrible dream last night and shudder, as he recalled the unpleasantness of it 'Never again…' Peter shuddered.
As he got up his feet, throwing the quilt off him and stretched out his sore muscles, he felt far better than the little incident yesterday night. He went over to the counter to fetch for his glasses and puts them on, they looked hazy. Peter cleaned them but still looked hazy. As Peter puts them back on again, he realized it wasn't his glasses that were messed up, but his vision for some strange reason was 20/20.
In disbelief, he put them on, then took it off, put them on, then off again.
Peter puts the glasses away "Weird…"
He looked at himself in the mirror; he couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw was staring right back at him. His arm muscles were well toned instead of being flat or just limply, his chest was broader with more definition into it and he had a six-pack.
There was a knock at his door, being Aunt May "Peter?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you alright?" Aunt May wandered.
"Uh…" Peter tried to say while he still looked at himself in the mirror and gave a shrug "…I'm fine."
"Any better this morning? Any change?"
"Change?" Peter began to admire his newly athletic shaped body and said with a smile "Yep. Big change."
Aunt May felt relieved to hear that, but then told him "Alright. Well, better get yourself prepared, Peter, or you're gonna be late again."
"Right." Peter said before he went to pick out some clothes for the day. While he did, Peter saw through his window, looking inside the room of Mary Jane, seeing herself getting prepared as well, combing her hair. She was wearing a red blouse with flowers on it, a grey skirt and black high heel boots.
Peter looked at himself in the mirror again, forming a smile "Okay." But before he was about to exit his room to go to the bathroom, Peter noticed some strange white silky tendrils all over his quilt. Peter took a look at it, confused about it and cleaned it up before he went into the bathroom and turns on the shower.
Peter came downstairs after 15 minutes, seeing Uncle Ben sitting at the table while drinking his coffee and Aunt May serving breakfast for everyone.
Seeing Peter all better gave some relief to Uncle Ben and chuckled "Jesus. I thought you were sick."
Peter shrugged as he took his seat "I got better." And began to eat his breakfast while mumbling to himself "… Massive quantities of protein… natural juices of their prey…"
Aunt May and Uncle Ben look at each other, then back at him.
"Peter, is everything alright?" Aunt May asked her nephew.
Peter, while swallowing a piece meat loaf and nodded "Mmm hmm."
Uncle Ben chuckled, as he patted his nephew's shoulder and turned back to eat their breakfast.
After some time, seeing on the clock that it was 7:24 am, Peter stood up from his chair "I got to go. Bye guys!" and went over to the front door to collect his jacket.
"Have you got your lunch money?" Aunt May asked him.
"Yeah, I got it."
Just as Peter putted on his jacket and took his backpack, Uncle Ben reminded his nephew "Hey, Michelangelo, don't forget we're painting the kitchen right after school."
Peter nodded with a smile "Sure thing, Uncle Ben. Don't start without me." He pointed a jocking accusing finger at him.
"And don't start up with me." Uncle Ben smiled and gave Peter a thumps up. After Peter left the house, Uncle Ben chuckled as he told Aunt May "Teenagers. Raging hormones. They never change."
A few minutes later, Peter arrived at the bus stop. He realized that he was not alone as he spots Mary Jane in the distant pacing back and forth. He couldn't explain, but he actually felt that she was actually insecure about something 'C'mon, Parker. Talk to her, talk to her, talk to her, talk to her…' he told himself. Instead he talked to himself very quietly "Hey MJ… Hi MJ…" 'Smooth Parker. Talking to yourself? Real smooth.'
While Peter kept talking to himself, Mary Jane began to feel some kind of weird tingling on the back of her head. She was puzzled by this, but yet… it felt nice.
Just then, an expensive car pulled over. It was Gwen Stacy who was driving, with Liz next to her "Hey, MJ." Gwen called to her best friend "I got the car. Hop in!"
Mary Jane smiled as she saw her two friends "Hey guys. What's up?" and got into the backseat.
Gwen sure saw some improvement in Mary Jane "Well, you look better than when we left the field trip."
Mary Jane nodded as she put on her seatbelt "Yeah, I do. Guess I just had a little flu but it passed."
Liz nodded "That's great, girlfriend." And Gwen drove the car further, heading toward school.
For a short moment, Mary Jane looked back at Peter through the back window, still standing near the bus stop, clearly talking to himself. As Gwen drove further away, the nice tingling on the back of her head became less which puzzled her 'Weird… that was strange… but comforting feeling. It feels nice…' Mary Jane began to blush as she watched Peter for a few seconds again. She quickly tried to dismiss it, but was to no avail 'What's wrong with me? Why do I suddenly feel something for… Peter?'
Peter, still watching Mary Jane leaving in Gwen's car, sighed in dismay, cursing himself for being so shy and not taking the initiative to finally just go and… talk to Mary Jane.
Suddenly, the school bus appeared and out of the corner of his eye, he sees it, making a dash for it "Hey, stop the bus!"
Some students inside the school bus began to laugh at Peter, with one mockingly saying "Sorry, Parker, the buss is full!"
"Hey, come on, that's not funny! Stop the bus!" Peter started to hit the window a couple of times and then the giant flyer that was on the side of it, it managed to stick to his hand and in his shock when he stopped moving, Peter ripped the flyer off the side of the bus.
Peter looked at his hand perplexed. The poster was sticking to his hand and it wasn't coming off as he shook his wrist to flick it off. He looked at his hand "What's happening to me?"
Leaving it out of his head for now, Peter made his way to the subway to go to school.
Meanwhile, at the Osborn Penthouse
Harry had just prepared himself to go to school. But as he walked down the hallway, he noticed that the door to his father's study chamber was open.
'That's weird. My father never leaves the door open when he's at work.' Harry asked himself mentally, knowing from experience that his father would be at work in his studies at this time. Curiously, Harry took a look, finding in shock his father laying on the ground, unconscious.
"Dad!" Harry ran over to his father to check on him "Dad, are you alright?"
Norman groaned before waking up "Oh… Harry."
Harry helped his father to sit at a chair "What are you doing on the floor?"
"I don't know…" Norman answered his son, having no memory why he was laying on the floor. Heck, he didn't even remember how he even got home.
"Have you been there all night?"
Osborn tried to think of the last thing he could remember "I… I guess. Uh… last night I was…"
A horrible memory flash crossed Norman's mind, of him grabbing Dr. Stromm by the throat.
He looked at his son with a troubled look on his face.
"What?" Harry asked.
Norman shook his head "I don't remember."
Just then, Norman's assistant Miss Simkins rushed into his study room with a horrified expression on her face "Mr. Osborn! Mr. Osborn!"
Harry stood up, trying to tell Miss Simkins to leave "I'm sorry, my father isn't feeling well-"
"Mr. Osborn!" Simkins insisted and informed her boss "Dr. Stromm is dead."
"What?" Norman asked in shock as he stood up.
"They found his body this morning in the lab. He's been murdered, sir."
"What are you talking about?"
"And the flight suit and the glider?"
"What about it?"
"It's been stolen, sir."
Norman couldn't believe what he was hearing. Dr. Stromm was murdered and both the OSCORP-jet glider and the exoskeleton suit were stolen. Trying to collect his thoughts, Norman nodded and grabbed his jacket before asking his assistant "Has the police already arrived?"
"Yes, sir." Simkins answered.
"Alright. Tell the people I'm on my way." Norman then glanced to his butler, Bernard, who just entered his study room "Bernard, please make sure Harry will be brought to school."
Bernard gave a nod "Of course, Mr. Osborn."
Before Harry was going to follow Bernard, he asked his father "You sure you're okay, dad? You just woke up unconscious on the-"
Norman gave a serious expression to his son "I'm fine, Harry. Now, shouldn't you go to school?" Norman got on his jacket and left, with Simkins following behind him.
Along the way to the OSCORP facility, Norman, who was sitting in the back of the Rolls Royce, was getting some kind of headache, as horrible memory flashes crossed his mind, of him turning into some kind of uncontrollable beast that slaughtered Dr. Stromm. When Norman tried to get those things out of his mind, he heard some kind of evil cackling in his mind.
His chauffeur, Charles, noticed in his back mirror that Norman was troubled about something and asked while he was stopping for a traffic light "Are you alright, Mr. Osborn?"
Norman glanced to his chauffeur, acting like there was nothing wrong with him. He gave a nod "I'm fine, Charles. Just had a rough night at the lab."
Charles gave a nod, not wanting to bother his boss even more and returned his focus on traffic.
But in his mind, Norman Osborn was still troubled about the fact that maybe… he was the one who'd killed Dr. Stromm. But where the glider and the suit could've gone, was unclear to him.
