A/N: Summer's awesome, ain't it? FINALLY. FREE TIME.
Now first of all I want to say sorry for that big hiatus I took. I had a severe case of Writer's Block. Yeah. Sucks. But it's better now, so expect more :D
I already appreciate all the questions being asked about who's going to show up in this fic and what's gonna happen to certain characters, but I can't really say much about what I'm planning, of course. All I can say is that if a certain character was prominent or had a VERY interesting unresolved plot point in the show, it's definitely gonna be addressed here. Cat had a pretty interesting conflict with Peter near the end of season 2, for example.
All I can say for now ;)
Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! Review so I can see general thoughts and what not!
Warren vacantly observed the multitude of vials spread across his table, each vial containing a thick liquid substance of different colors within. His meeting with the new private funder Gargan had discussed with was set for today, making Warren look for the right tools to give a "demonstration" of what his research was capable of. Gargan mentioned the funder would be a familiar face for Warren, but he wanted to take samples just in case.
"Uh, Doc?" Gargan stood at the door of the lab, wearing a trench coat paired with a fedora. "Chauffer's here, we gotta go."
Cursing under his breath, Warren scrambled for two vials, which he'd put most of his time on; one was filled with a brown substance while the other had a blue one. After putting both vials inside a metal suitcase, he headed straight for the door up until his brother stopped him in his tracks.
"Miles? Where are you going?" Aaron walked along with Miles, his face showing confusion while Miles displayed feelings of annoyance. "The students are coming today,"
Miles looked towards the door, motioning Gargan to leave ahead of him with his head. Gargan fully understood the situation Miles was in, leaving him open to dealing with it as he head out the door.
Once Gargan left, Miles stopped in his tracks and looked over to a woman on the other side of the room, "Ms. Whitman?"
Debra Whitman came forward without saying a word.
"You take care of my brother. And the pupils."
She nodded, giving Miles the opportunity to head out the room while she walked over to Aaron and motioned him to another part of the lab. Even then, Aaron couldn't help but just peak back at his brother leaving the room and slamming the door shut. Once again, Miles didn't bother to speak a word to him or even insult him until he was put in his place. As Aaron looked forward to the center of the lab, he only thought of what he ever did wrong.
Warren left the lab, seeing Gargan standing right by the door. Gargan was looking oddly at the big metal suitcase Warren was carrying around, Warren knowing he'd go straight into asking about what the suitcase had, just like he'd do with every single thing Warren does. He obviously found it irritating at times, but Gargan could tell he liked to have an ally that was this careful with details.
"The suitcase is not of any concern to you."
"...Okay." Gargan raised an eyebrow as he eyed up at Warren.
"So, the ride?"
"Follow me."
As Gargan went right ahead, Warren soon followed. As they walked down the stairs in front of the lab's entrance, Warren noticed there was no limo or ride in sight, at least not yet. Little did he know, Gargan did it intentionally since he saw it as an opportunity to get a few more details from Warren. Aside from talking about inner dealings and situations regarding the underground of New York, they both barely talked to eachother. Granted, both Gargan and Warren were men of few words, but any sort of information was vital to Gargan. He always ached for details and how they all come together to form a bigger understanding, now was no exception.
"So….what's that Debra chick in the lab all about?"
Yes, even those details were vital to him.
Then again, Gargan wasn't asking this purely from a standpoint of attraction towards her, because he really wasn't, it was more of actual questioning of what her deal was. She was just as quiet and dismissive of people as Miles was, almost like if they were separated from birth. Gargan has come to the lab on multiple occasions and it was odd to see here in random parts of the lab doing who knows what.
"She works for me." Warren continued down the stairs and made his way to the front of the road. "That's all."
As expected of him, Warren ended the conversation immediately, tapping on the ground impatiently as he waited for the ride to arrive.
"Good talk." Gargan remarked sarcastically.
One long glare from Miles was enough to make Gargan put focus elsewhere.
Surely, Warren has changed a lot since Norman's death, at least from what Gargan has heard. This creepy and unwelcoming aura of Miles Warren is what Gargan was used to, but the people who've worked with him before noticed the obvious change. He was still as suspicious as he is now, but he was more straight-faced and quiet than anything. It's like the sudden change in the crime field made him feel like he was unstoppable, maybe it was something else, no one knew. Asking about colleagues and what not could contribute to finding out or not, Gargan didn't know, but he knew in his mind that they'd contribute to something.
As if fate knew that Warren's patience was about to meet its end, a classic styled limousine parked right in front of them. Out the driver's seat was a blonde woman sporting a navy blue outfit and hat, opening the door for both men. Warren walked in without saying a word, as expected of him, while Gargan threw a sly smirk at her instead, which she ignored.
As the limo rode off, a figure was seen in the passenger seat of the limo. This man was one that anyone who knew about New York crime could recognize by head shape alone.
Hammerhead came out of the shadows, greeting them with a smirk.
"Welcome, gentlemen."
The ride in the limo was quiet, save for Hammerhead explaining that it was a risk for him to show up at day and how important it is to work within the shadows. It was predictable to hear considering he worked for Tombstone, but also ironic to hear considering who he just recently worked for. Hammerhead also tried to ask about the suitcase, but all Warren assured is that it was for work. The location they arrived at was that of a small bar which provided a pretty expansive parking lot right around the corner. The bar itself doesn't stand out as much in the daytime of course, seeing as all the neon lights that are usually on are nowhere to be seen.
Warren wasn't too fond of bars, Gargan was the opposite. It was the goldmine of information about everything.
The three men walked over to a door in the back of the bar and at the end of the parking lot, said door leading them to a private room. The private room had a few people, who were all likely within Hammerhead's circle of trust, sitting on the couch at the corner. Some were drinking from a small bartender table, others were watching from the TVs in the corners of the room, while some were just talking amongst themselves.
"Wait, ain't this that old toy store Blackie made into a bar?" Gargan asked
"Yup." Hammerhead chuckled as he motioned a waiter, "Montana's locked up yet Blackie still fears for his life over what Montana'll do to him after what happened to Big Sky. He's using the funds he gets from this place to rebuild it."
"But that's not what we came to discuss about," Hammerhead said as he turned back to his clients after motioning the waiter.
"So, Hammerhead." Warren said nonchalantly, "I thought Tombstone would've had you shot to death by now."
"Oh, don't be melodramatic. Mook's in tough surveillance, he can't lay no finger on anyone."
" 'Mook'. " Warren repeated after him, "You really faked that respect for him, did you?"
"I respected him until he was beat by some punk in a jumpsuit." He reached out for the champagne bottle on the waiter's tray and opened it, then dropping the tap of it so he could get a champagne flute and fill it up.
"Do not underestimate Spider-Man. First rule if you want business."
"Eh, I guess." He finished filling up the flute, offering it to both men, "Want some?"
Warren looked slightly offended. "With all due respect, we came here to talk business, not-"
"Yes, please."
Of course, Gargan was the first and only person in the trio to ask for some.
Normally, this would leave Warren annoyed, but in this situation, it was somewhat beneficial. It left Warren and Hammerhead standing face to face as Gargan went to talk elsewhere. Both of them noticed the difference in their characters since their last interaction, some changes being minor while others were bigger. Hammerhead hasn't changed much in Warren's eyes, he acted as straight-manned as ever, he only hoped that he knew how to manage a successful operation. On the other hand, while Hammerhead didn't see much of a change in Warren's attire, he picked up on the changed personality. He talked more, but just so that he could get things straight to the point. He clearly didn't want to waste any time, as seen with his reaction towards being intoxicated during a business meeting. Though his newfound personality was a bit unsettling, Hammerhead liked this change, for sure. It was good for business.
Hammerhead brought a hand to his face as he whispered to the waiter, who then walked over to his original spot.
"So, Gargan told you about our operation?"
"Not quite."
"Good."
Hammerhead looked over to one of the TVs in the room, which was going through a spree of comercial breaks.
"This city likes to buy stuff. Anything. If it's popular, everyone will get into it. It's driven by market and what the people like. When Osborn died, we were all shocked at what he was in one way or another. Most were shocked at who he was, others where shocked at what he was packin' in his DNA."
"...So?"
"Globulin Green." Hammerhead finished, taking away his attention from the TV and at Warren as he pulled out a shining green vial in his suit pocket. "This super drug enhances strength and intelligence. All the people in this city everywhere would suck it up, but Osborn's lady ended production."
He handed the vial to Warren, who examined it closely with his free hand, as expected. His other hand was still holding on to his suitcase, of course.
"Thankfully, I was able to bribe some mook at Oscorp for a vial of the stuff. With this simple sample, I've gotten men fired from Oscorp for their work on it to mass-produce it and sell it to the city."
"You're selling a super drug to hundreds of unknowns throughout the city?"
Hammerhead nodded.
"...That's supposed to give you an iron grip on people?"
"Of course it is. No one's gonna know how to use it like Osborn did. Whatever he did on that formula to make it work for him hasn't been replicated by anyone, instead they pass out. Along with other ugly stuff. Unfortunately, many men I recruited weren't as faithful, seeing as they've been trying to take it to certain competitors so they can bank. Heck, just recently, some bozos tried to use a delivery truck to take some to Kinglsey" Hammerhead paused, taking a sharp intake of breath before he continued on, "Then there's certain freaks that are gonna try and stop the whole thing."
Hammerhead continued on, "What we need is a new breed of them super-bozos to knock down anyone in our way, which is where you come in. You make the bozos, we'll give ya the funding ya want. As many test subjects needed."
He offered a hand to Warren, "So, you in?"
He looked down at the Globulin serum in his hand, along with the metal suitcase he was still holding in his other hand. "What about Spider-Man?"
"Look, if ya catch him, do whatever ya want to him. All other threats must go."
For once in his life, Warren smirked. It was a slight one, but it was still a display of emotion he would rarely show. Surely, he liked where this partnership was going already. He placed the Globulin serum inside his lab coat pocket, allowing him to shake Hammerhead's hand with a tight grip.
"Well then," Hammerhead looked down at the suitcase then back up to Warren, "Let's get started."
What they didn't know was that Gargan stood amongst a group, overhearing as much as he could from the two.