Lindon drew a vial of blood from me before placing small samples on a long row of glass rectangles.

“It’s interesting you know. I’ve been taking samples for a while now, but you don’t seem to scar” he said.

“You figured out why that is yet?” I asked. He shook his head.

“It’s hard to say exactly what mutation’s had what effect. For now, we only really know about this paralytic venom you produce” he said. I nodded and spun around in my chair before stopping to look at the mice. There were a new set of boxes towards the end of the lab, the ones they were running experiments on with a mix of my blood.

I felt kind of bad, but at the very least it was going towards a good cause.

“Is that all for today, or do you want me to do something else?” I asked.

“No that’s all” he said. I hopped up, put on my hoodie and grabbed my keycard.

“Actually, could you move that machine in the corner. We need more space and it’ll be a hassle without you” he said.

“Sure” I replied. I walked over to the machine and gently pushed it further into the corner.

“Thanks” he said. Suddenly Ricardo barged inside with a pained expression.

“What’s wrong?” Lindon said his voice riddled with concern.

“It’s Oscorp, they’ve sent someone to do a check of our research. Lindon you need to tidy the lab. Lucas you need to leave. Quickly. I’ll escort you. We don’t want the guards asking questions again” he said. I nodded and followed Ricardo out the lab, giving Lindon a small wave as we left.

I followed Ricardo down the hall, heading straight for the elevators when I froze. My spider sense was ringing loudly. Something here was dangerous.

“Lucas? Lucas? You need to go” he whispered harshly to me. We heard the ding of the elevator and both turned to see three people step out laughing. I recognised two of them. They had been tour guides. Gwenda and Pete? Gwanda and Pat? I couldn’t remember. They were wearing their lab coats and laughing as they spoke to a handsome, well-dressed guy around their age. I recognised him from television. Harry Osborne. The son of Norman Osborne and the heir to Oscorp, the multi-billion-dollar company. Guards accompanied the three of them and my spider sense shook as I stared at the group. This couldn’t be good.

They all seemed to notice us at the same time. Gwanda frowned upon seeing me, clearly recognising my face. Shit.

“Ah, Mr Osborne. I assume you’ve been sent to check on our research” Ricardo said with a perfect smile, stepping forward to greet him.

“Dr Gonzales” Harry replied with a warm grin and a firm handshake, “Mr Osborne is my father, please, just call me Harry.” His eyes turned to me and he frowned.

“Who’s this?” he asked.

“Sorry, this is my nephew, Lucas. He drops by from time to time to say hello. He was just leaving” Ricardo said.

“Is that allowed?” Harry asked with a puzzled look glancing back to the other two and the guards.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“He’s got a pass” one of the guards said with a shrug. Harry gave me a second glance.

“Do you know anything about anything?” he asked.

“Uhhh…” I stuttered glancing to Ricardo.

“Don’t worry, just stay here for now and I’ll ask you some questions later” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “Dr Gonzales, this is Peter and Gwen, they were the lab assistants of… the previous researcher” Harry said. They both shook Ricardo’s hand and gave me small nods of acknowledgement. Harry pointed to the guard that had shrugged and then at me.

“You stay with the kid.” Then he turned to everyone else and clapped his hands, a bright smile lighting up his face. “Now, let’s see what you’ve got going on.”

They all walked off back to the lab leaving me standing outside with the guard. I glanced at him. The armour looked pretty high grade, especially for just a random guard.

“So kid” the guard said, his voice crackling slightly, like it was over an intercom, “you know about any of that science shit?” he asked. I shrugged and he chuckled.

“Where’s the armour from?” I asked abruptly. The guard turned to me, his expression hidden by the helmet. His entire demeanour seemed to shift.

"Sorry, I just thought it looked kind of cool" I mumbled.

“It's fine kid. I don't know for sure since they don’t tell us that kind of stuff. Pretty sure it’s from Might Industries though. It’s seriously high tech. Night vision, heat vision, automatic translation and transcription, and that’s just the visor” he said, sounding excited.

There was a pause.

“Don’t tell anyone I told you that” he said quietly.

“I won’t” I replied.

“Hey, 1-0-4, bring the kid in” a voice called out behind us. We turned to see another guard standing in the doorway to the lab beckoning us. I immediately I felt uneasy. I walked forward anyway trying to think of a way out of this situation. I stepped inside and everyone was looking at me.

“Your name was Lucas, right?” Harry said. I nodded.

“This blood, is it yours?” he asked. I felt my hands and feet grow cold, and my stomach start to churn. Was this it? Was my cover blown? I glanced at Ricardo and he offered a small nod. Was he telling me to say yes? My eyes darted back to Harry as everyone stared at me in silence, my heart beating wildly.

"Lucas, is this blood yours?" he said, his tone more serious now. I glanced back at Ricardo and Lindon, who both gave me more vigorous nods this time. They were telling me to admit to it. Wasn't I fucked then? Was there something I was missing? There was more awkward silence and I felt my shoulders sag as everyone's gazes weighed down on my shoulders.

“Y-yeah” I mumbled. This was it. My life was over. It was bound to happen eventually, but I hadn't expected it to be like this. Or to happen so soon.

A loud clap made me jump, shaking me from my thoughts. I looked up to see Harry clapping his hands and then start laughing loudly. What? What was happening? Had he gone insane? He turned to Ricardo and slapped him on the shoulder.

“This is brilliant! I mean you’re using the more successful formulas mixed with human DNA on the rats. Human trials without human trials! This is exactly the kind of innovation I like to see” he said, grinning crazily.

“T-thank you Mr Osborne” Ricardo said, his voice dry. Harry paused for a second, putting his hands on his hips and staring off into space.

“You’ve got consent forms from the boy’s guardians, right? If you do this with more subjects at a greater age range, then we could think of increasing your funding and getting you your own lab. How much are we paying the kid’s parents?” he said.

“He volunteered” Lindon said. Harry started clapping, grinning wilder.

“You guys deserve a round of applause. You’ve taken this project from that hack and done exactly what we asked for! No, you’ve far exceeded the fact. Kudos. Kudos” he said.

He lifted his finger slightly above his head and made a circling motion. Without a word the guards circled around him, Peter and Gwen.

“You’ll be getting an email from my secretary. Hopefully we can get you a bigger lab somewhere a little nicer than this dump” he said.

They left the door closing softly behind them and Ricardo slumped into a chair, breathing a sigh of relief.

“What just happened?" I said, still confused. Lindon shrugged.

"I mean that went well... I think?” I said, also slumping into a seat.

“Yes. Yes, it did. I thought he’d ask questions about you, but it seems he only cares about the money. Figures” Ricardo said.

“I thought I was done for” I said.

“Well let’s just be thankful he’s a money-grubbing idiot and no one else said anything” Lindon added. We all sat in silence for a few seconds.

“I think it’s best if you don’t come back for a while. It’ll probably start to get busy around here and I wouldn’t want to trouble you anymore than I already have. I’ll call you to let you know when you can come back” Ricardo said. I nodded. That was probably a good idea.

“I’d escort you out, but there’s a few things I have to sort out now. Moving labs is going to be a nightmare” he added.

“Well, see you guys later” I said with a wave. They both waved back. I closed the door softly behind me and made my way to the lift. Thank God that hadn’t ended poorly. That could’ve been serious trouble. I checked the time on my phone. 17:47. I felt my heart jump. It was nearly time to meet Amy.