Updated chapter 8! Hope you enjoy!
Six months before the Chitauri dropped from the sky, Peter Parker was enjoying an end-of-year school visit to OsCorp. He'd always been interested in the company; not only had his parents worked there in life, but their cutting edge research seemed to always be on the cover of science journals, which he was an avid consumer of.
Sometime during the tour, Peter got sidetracked, and in trying to catch up with the group, accidentally made his way into one of the restricted laboratories. As he attempted to avoid detection and backtrack, Peter inadvertently walked in on an ongoing experiment, where he was bitten by a highly mutated, radioactive spider. Within a day, he'd developed superhuman senses, the ability to cling to walls, and enough strength to easily lift the family sedan. Peter told his aunt and uncle about his new powers, and proposed using them to find a way to alleviate their ongoing financial woes, but his uncle shut that plan down, afraid that publicly using his abilities would cause the government, or worse, to take his beloved nephew away. Peter ran off in anger – and, perhaps, guilt that his sudden orphanhood had saddled the childless couple with so many unforeseen expenses – and his uncle followed, only to cross paths with a robber on the run, which shot him dead without a second thought.
For all his newfound strength and power, Peter was unable to do anything to save his uncle.
Peter swore never to let anyone else suffer Ben Parker's fate, not while he was able to do something about it, and thus, Spider-Man was born.
As far as origin stories go, Kara thinks, this one is – unfortunately for Peter – pretty standard. Losing your loved ones seems to almost be a requirement for the people who follow this path.
"Do you really think it can happen again?" –she asks. "Can OsCorp make more...Spider-people?"
Gwen shakes her head. "I don't think so. Peter just happened to have the right genetic makeup needed to survive the enhancement. Lightning in a bottle, really." –she explains. "But that doesn't really matter, because OsCorp thinks it'll work. As soon as they found out about Spider-Man, they went into human testing, ethics be damned."
"And so far, every test subject has died." –Peter says, grimly. "It's horrible, and that isn't even taking into account that most of the 'volunteers'...aren't. They got picked up from the streets."
Kara grimaces. "I assume you have proof?"
"That's what I'm here to get." –he says, pulling out a beat-up USB drive from his pocket. From the looks of it, the poor thing had an unfortunate encounter with a washing machine.
The Kryptonian shakes her head. "You two really do need the support. Alright, I'll help."
Gwen grins. Kara immediately narrows her eyes. "...but I do have a few conditions: Gwen gets to safety before the action starts. Non-negotiable."
The blonde teen tries to protest, but Kara shuts her down with a look. "This is going to be dangerous, Gwen. If I recall correctly, OsCorp employs its own private security force, and I'm betting they won't take kindly to this little espionage plot we've got going on."
The teenager sighs. "Fine. Just...keep me in the loop."
"Speaking of which, I'm calling in Stark."
Spider-Man shakes his head. "That's not a good idea."
Kara raises an eyebrow. "You need a distraction, don't you?"
"Something subtle, preferably, which Iron Man definitely isn't." –Gwen points out.
"Well, true, but two Avengers will look more convincing than just myself. Besides, I'm pretty sure STark personally knows Osborn, so he'll be a lot more effective than I ever could be alone." –she reasons.
The teens share a confused look. "Uh...Osborn's been bedridden since last year, Supergirl. He hasn't been CEO for a while."
Kara frowns. As far as the public knows, herself included, OsCorp's founder is perfectly healthy. "Then who's the man in charge?"
"It's a woman, actually." –Gwen says. "She got promoted from Chief Science Officer when Osborn decided he couldn't keep up appearances. Her name is Lena Luthor."
The Kryptonian pales. She hasn't heard that name in two years. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"Um...no. She is the acting CEO. Her computer-reproduced signature is on Gwen's internship papers." –Peter jokes.
"Rao, this is already a mess." –she groans. "Forget about Stark, I'm confronting Lena by myself."
"Uh...ok? Are you sure?" –Gwen asks.
"Positive. Just make sure you get that information, Spider-Man." –she says, flying away and towards the main entrance, at street level.
People gawk and whisper as she storms into OsCorp's lobby, but Kara can't bring herself to care. She pushes past the security guards at the checkpoint, ignoring the alarms she's triggering, as well as the shouts of the guards.
"Where can I find Lena Luthor?" –she asks a panicking receptionist.
"F-floor ninety, m-ma'am." –he squeaks out.
Kara nods and takes flight, as a bunch of heavily armed security personnel approach, assault rifles levelled at her. The building is arranged like one of those toy donut towers – a series of concentric circles with a vast, empty space at its core, currently filled with a self-promoting hologram. OsCorp doesn't limit itself to the biological sciences; Osborn made sure his brainchild dipped a finger into what seems like every pie, producing everything from military-grade weapon systems – in Stark Industries' absence – to everyday hygiene products.
It doesn't take long to reach the ninetieth floor, only a half-dozen stories or so away from the roof. Kara lands, and roughly pushes open the doors to what can only be the CEO's office.
And yeah; that is definitely Lena Luthor gawking back at her.
Just as she expected, her former roommate, friend, and hopeless crush sits behind a lush, mahogany desk. Lena looks just as beautiful as she had, back in college; where one might describe Kara as the cute-girl-next-door, Lena's always been the bombshell supermodel. She dresses the part, now, having ditched the messy hoodies and week-old jeans Kara remembers. A tight black dress hugs her statuesque figure, and her long, raven-black hair is made up into a tight, elegant bun.
"Kara?" –the woman gasps out, like she's been choking. "You're the security breach? What are you doing here?" –she asks, clearly confused.
The Kryptonian crosses her arms. "I might ask you the same thing. What the hell, Lena? You've always talked about improving humanity, but seriously? Illegal human experimentation? That's low, even for you."
Luthor scowls, still clueless. "Kara, if this is some kind of vendetta for what I did to you, I'm truly sorry, but..."
"Screw that. I'm not talking about the past, this is something very much ongoing."
She seems unconvinced, but lets it go. "Then you know something I don't, clearly. OsCorp has been heavily fined in the past for failing to comply with much less risky regulations. Why would we illegally experiment on people? We'd never recover, if it got out."
Kara shakes her head. "I don't know, but I have it on good authority."
The office's doors burst open behind Kara, and a squad of heavily armed security guards follow in shortly. "Are you alright, Miss Luthor?" –the lead trooper asks her, a brutal-looking giant of a man, pointing a shotgun straight at Kara's head.
"I'm just fine. There's no need for any of this, Supergirl and I are simply talking. Besides, she's invulnerable. You might as well be threatening her with a bag of marshmallows." –she says, sardonic. "You may take your leave."
The guard doesn't move an inch. "You can't be serious, ma'am. This...thing just violated every security policy we have. Mr. Osborn would be livid if he knew." –he defiantly declares.
"As you are very well aware, Norman Osborn left me in charge during his absence. And I will see to it that Kara doesn't do it again, Mr. Sytsevich." –she says, her features hardening into a cold grimace. "Now, as I'm sure you're aware – Norman's archaic opinions aside – OsCorp does not tolerate any sort of racism, homophobia, or in this case, xenophobia from its employees. Supergirl may not be of this world, but she is a person, and I expect you to respect her."
Kara crosses her arms. "It's fine. I'm used to it."
A shadow passes over Lena's face. "Regardless. It's unacceptable."
Is it, now?, Kara thinks, biting her tongue. "Thus, while I appreciate your concern and dedication, I'm forced to ask that you please refrain from attending OsCorp's premises for the next two weeks, Mr. Sytsevich. Your wages will be accordingly sanctioned, of course."
The man turns scarlet, but finally lowers his weapon. "...of course, Miss Luthor."
He turns around, and files out of the office, his goons following close behind. Lena lets out a long-suffering sigh, leaning back against her chair. "Half a year at the top, and still they second-guess everything I do."
"Huh. I thought he was following your lead very well."
Lena sours. "That is not who I am anymore, Kara. It hasn't been since..."
"Since I told you I was Kryptonian, and you looked at me like I was the most disgusting creature you'd ever seen? Since you basically kicked me out of our room?"
Since I told you I loved you? goes unsaid.
She stares at her desk, downcast. "...yes. Since then." –Lena said, then locks eyes with her. "I'm sorry, Kara. I never got to say that, back then – you never gave me the chance, not that I deserved it. You trusted me with your secret, your heritage, your heart...and I couldn't bring myself to look past my biases."
Kara purses her lips. The last time Kara and Lena talked was almost two years prior; she was eighteen, and Lena twenty-three – Kara had only just started college, while Lena was polishing off her first PhD. Through a mishap in roommate assignments, they'd gotten the same room, and they'd instantly clicked; they were both orphans, both very smart – Lena quite a bit more, honestly – and they shared a passionate love for humanity. Where Kara's dreams were to use her powers to benefit the people who'd taken her in, Lena's goal was to put her immense intellect in service of mankind's evolution and advancement.
Unfortunately for their continued friendship, Kara fell for Lena, and when she confessed her feelings, no only did she accidentally reveal her alien heritage, she was brutally rejected. Heartbroken, Kara ditched college, starting the chain of terrible jobs that landed her, quite ironically, in the service of the world's most popular bigot – J. Jonah Jameson, who just so happened to also be Lena's stepfather.
"It's in the past, Lena."- Kara says, fidgeting. "Just...let's focus on the now."
Lena pinches the bridge of her nose. "What is there to say? I don't know what you're talking about, and you won't tell me what you know."
Kara groans. "Have you heard about Spider-Man?"
Lena narrows her eyes. "...the urban legend?"
"Spider-Man is real. He exists, and whatever powers he has, he...might have gotten them here. Hypothetically speaking."
Understanding dawns upon the CEO's features. "That's...you're talking about the Serum."
"Serum? What serum?"
"The Serum. Forgive me, I forget you missed most of our education system." –she says, pensive. "Doctor Abraham Erskine created a formula in the late nineteen-thirties that, when combined with a rare form of electromagnetic radiation, can confer superhuman attributes to whoever is treated with it. He called it the Super Soldier Serum. Erskine was only able to produce two successful specimens with it, before his untimely death: Johann Schmidt, who became the infamous head of HYDRA, the rogue Nazi science division, and the man who eventually defeated him." –she says, then nods at her. "Your teammate, Steve Rogers."
Kara hums. "And you're, what, trying to make more?"
Lena laughs, bitter. "Everyone and their mother has tried, Kara. The creature your friend, Doctor Banner, calls 'the Hulk' is the rather disastrous result of one such attempt. So far, no one has succeeded, OsCorp included. In fact, our attempt – which involved gamma radiation and cross-species, chimeric gene sequencing – was so terrible, it never even reached mice tests, and was subsequently scrapped. I should know; it's my greatest failure so far. No human testing ever happened."
"Well, considering Spider-Man is out there, stopping cars with his bare hands, I'd say there was at least one success."
Lena shakes her head, stubborn. "I'm sorry, Kara, but that is simply impossible. As project director and Head of Biological Research, I personally oversaw that data's destruction."
"Well, maybe someone copied it behind your back. You said it yourself; people here don't trust you much, even as CEO." –she reasons. "Who else had access to it?"
Lena scowls at the idea. "By the end? Only Osborn and myself. Norman likes to involve himself in every ongoing project, and obviously has full access to every database in the company."
"You don't think he might've kept a copy?"
"And done what with it?" –Lena says, dismissive. "I'm not supposed to say, but since you are here as an Avengers...Norman is practically knocking on Death's door. He fell terribly ill a year ago, and in the last six months he's deteriorated so much that he practically needs twenty-four-seven life support."
Kara raises an eyebrow. "You don't think some people loyal to him might've continued the research without your knowledge?" –she asks. Lena looks angry, but not at Kara. More like she's realizing something. "Listen, all I know is this guy got bit by a mutant spider, here, and now he can bench a truck and stick to walls."
Lena fumes, considering the possibility, but does not respond. Instead, her office phone rings and she answers. Kara doesn't have to wonder what the conversation might be about for long; within seconds, she hears gunshots, coming from below.
"Whatever you and this Spider-Man are planning, I want you to stop." –Lena says. "I believe your story, and I will get to the bottom of this, but stealing company information isn't the way to fix this. So, go. Collect your little sidekick, and leave. I'll get in contact when I find something.
Kara doesn't appreciate the tone, but she knows Lena well enough to realize that her fury is far from aimed at her. She nods, hurrying towards the violence.
"Oh, and Kara?"
She turns. Lena's expression is uncomfortably...soft. "Yeah?" –Kara swallows.
The woman she used to love gives her a small smile. "It was good, seeing you."
As always, thank you for your attention! Make sure to comment or message me if you have any questions about this story. Look me up on Twitter as Darthkvzn or Tumblr as darthkvznblogs if you'd like - and on Ko-fi, as Darthkvzn, if you like what I do and have a buck to spare.
Until next time!