“And I’d just like to thank you again for all the great work you’ve done”
“Really it’s no problem”
“I’d like to thank you all the same. You’ve done wonderful work, not just for us, but for all of America”
“That… thank you. That means a lot to me”
“It’s my pleasure Dr Modell. Feel free to call me any time if you or your team need anything”
“I- alright. I’ll keep it in mind”
Norman hung up the phone and the smile fell from his face. His jaw clenched, and he ground his teeth hard, trying to steady his breathing. It took him longer to calm his anger than it should have. He let out a sigh. The usual tedium of the new corporate culture was getting to him.
All the stupid phone calls to improve staff morale, the ethics meetings with the new “board of wellness”, the self-help and mental awareness classes for staff, free lunches and all the other horrible new changes to Oscorp’s general culture.
He had a hard enough time as it was just looking at the extra cost the new work culture brought, the fact that he had to interact with it daily for it to operate must’ve been one of God’s cruel jokes. The literal last thing he wanted to do was interact with his minutemen more than he had to.
But want and need were two different things. Two very different things.
He clicked his neck and stood, making his way to the window, where a beautiful view of New York spread out below him. He stared out at it, his eyes fixed upon the people as they went about their days, practically ants from this distance.
The only reason they were still afloat was because people were willing to work for them, regardless of general image of the company. People would forget about Otto’s little stunt over time, but for now he had to bare this suffering.
The door to his office opened, from the sound of it, the mixture of confidence and pause, his very new chief assistant, Clara.
“What is it?” he said curtly.
“López . He… cancelled”
Norman took a beat, mulling the words over before looking
“Good” he said, clenching his jaw
“Good?”
“Yes good” he said curtly. “Hopefully he’s fucked off permanently. If he’s not willing to take the deal then we don’t need a person like him wasting our time”
“Alright… alright” Clara nodded.
“Do the others know yet?” Norman said.
“Farrow and Roxxon?”
“I- what? Who else?” he said turning to face her.
“I… well he just called and I came to you first, so no”
“Just cause you came to me first, doesn’t mean they don’t know. Have Patrick run it by Olivia” he said. “Then call him back. I’ll speak to him”
“I- right. Of course” she said, scrambling for her phone. He watched her a moment before shaking his head.
God, I miss Maren, he thought. He dismissed the thought quickly. He didn’t need to be thinking about traitors. He needed to be planning. If López hadn’t taken the deal either he’d gotten a better one elsewhere, or Oscorp’s reputation hadn’t recovered to anywhere near the point he’d assumed.
This wasn’t bad yet, but it could be. Right now, was a precarious time. They were on the cusp of finally making it back, but a few more missteps, the stock price would fall past 120 and he’d be required to repay the loan. The only way he could pay it back is by selling at least half the US based labs. The media coverage of the layoffs alone would ruin the company.
But what could he do. It was all well and good being careful biding his time and controlling the situation, till the projects were finished, but you couldn’t control everything. Something would get him if he didn’t hurry up. Or someone.
But knowing that didn’t make the situation any easier.
Maybe we accept the acquisition from Farrow? he thought. Instantly froze, shocked by the weakness of himself. It felt almost alien, to a point that disgusted.
That bastard. To push me to such a thought…
“I- I called López but his assistant said he doesn’t want to speak with you” Clara said. He turned and glanced to her, before looking beyond, to the door as the first of his retinue filled into the room.
“I- López? Seriously?” Dillon his CFO, said. Norman cursed under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“What happened? I mean it was good, right?” Regina his CMO, said.
“I don’t know what happened” Norman muttered.
“I- Did you call him? You didn’t call him did you?” Mark, his general counsel said.
“Did I call him?!” Norman said.
“I- you know what I mean”
“It doesn’t matter whether Norm called him or didn’t call him, he walked. Now, what do we do?” Dillon said, looking between everyone.
“Is there anything we can do?” Regina said. “I mean, I can try and spin this but it looks bad, right”
“I- maybe we say we backed out. Have Leon say he found a flaw in the product. I- Where the hell is Leon?” Dillon said, looking to Norman. Norman looked to Clara.
“I, you sent him to do a routine check of the Chicago lab and have dinner with Sam”
“Now?” Dillon said, still incredulous.
“I didn’t think the deal would fall through” Norman said.
“Well when is he having dinner with Sam? Cause if it’s today then it looks like we knew beforehand”
“I- call him quick” Norman said, looking to Clara. “We’ll cancel, stop this from getting worse”
“Don’t that” Regina said. “If he cancels then it looks worse”
“So what, we’re leaving Leon to speak to him alone? What’s he supposed to say? Sorry we fucked it?”
“He can… improvise” Norman said, the uncertainty in his voice clear.
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“Improvise? Leon?” Mark said, eyebrow raised.
“I- look you’re blowing this out of proportion” Norman said. “We didn’t need López”
“Didn’t need him?” Dillon said, incredulous. “What the shit Norman? He was a lifeline”
“No. He would’ve helped, I’ll admit that, but we didn’t need him”
“Are you out of your mind?!”
“Dillon”
“No”
“Will you shut up?!” Norman shouted. “Look I know you’re worrying, but trust me, this isn’t the issue you think it is”
“I- alright. But we still need to do something about it”
“But what exactly?” Mark said.
“Farrow, right? I mean, if we sell now, we still make money. If we wait the price falls. I don’t know if we can handle that again” Dillon said.
Norman glanced to him, then to the others, gauging their reactions. He and Mark shared a look, before they both went back to looking at the Dillon.
“He’s right” Regina said. “If this gets out, which it will, they’ll think we’re hiding something.
“We are hiding things” Dillon said.
“Not something big enough for López to walk” Norman added.
“I- you know I’m not even going to comment on that” Mark said.
“Shut up” Norman said, pointing at Mark.
“Look my point is they’ll ask to look over us again and who knows what they find. The deal could be off the table”
“But if we accept it now it’ll look worse. Like we’re trying to get ahead of the curve. It might be too late” Dillon said.
“Not if we wait” “If we wait, let this die down”
Norman tuned out the sound of their voices. He looked down to the floor hands on his hips. They were talking about selling to Farrow openly now. Right in front of him. He closed his eyes for a moment before suddenly starting out of his office.
“I- what? Where’s he going?” Regina said, looking to Clara. Clara shrugged and quickly followed after him, the others following after her. Norman walked through the office, his face hard, the others chasing after him.
“Norman?” Dillon called out. He ignored him, continuing towards the lift. “Norman?!”
Employees looked to the commotion now, the sound of typing keys slowing. He ignored them too, reaching the lift as some nearby employees cleared the area. He called one and stepped forward as the doors opened.
“Norman dammit?!” Dillon shouted, reaching him
“Just- I’ve got it alright!” he said. The office was quiet now. He sighed and stepped away from the elevator. “Regina, fly out with your team to Leon and strategize – he makes that meeting no matter what. Mark, López used some of our labs, try and see if there’s anything we can catch him on to stop this. And Dillon… do what you always do. Just less loud. I’ll handle the shareholders”
The others were quiet for a moment, then Dillon nodded.
“Good? That’s all” Norman said, stepping into the elevator, followed by Clara.
The doors closed quickly behind them and he pinched the bridge of his nose, silent. A few seconds passed, Clara glancing to her boss.
“Are… are you alright?”
“Rule number one Clara” he said, “Rule number fucking one”
“I- sorry”
They were silent again before Clara spoke.
“What are we doing?”
“Top floor. I need to talk to someone”
“Alright, Do… is there anything you want me to do?”
“Viktor. Where’s Viktor?”
“He’s on holiday”
“Now? Why?”
“I… you’d have to ask him”
“That’s not… why wasn’t I told?”
“I... don’t know” Clara said.
“Well call him. Have him take the quickest plane back from wherever he is. I need my son, not any of those idiots out there”
“Alright” she said, pulling out her phone. They were quiet again as the phone rung, over and over to no avail.
“He’s not answering”
“Call again”
The doors to the top floor opened and Norman started down a hallway, his gaze fixed on a door near the end.
“Straight to voicemail” Clara said. Noman sighed as they came to a stop outside the brand new lab 42.
“Try the other number”
“Other number?”
“Personal phone. It’s in the contact list” he said.
“There’s nothing here. Just says Viktor, work”
“Then forget it. Wait out here and call Regina. She’ll find him”
He turned and pressed his hand against the scanner beside the door, the frame hissing with the power of hydraulics before the door opened.
“Uh- N-norman sir” Clara said, suddenly alarmed.
“What?” he said curtly.
“I- sorry an Emily’s calling”
“What?”
“Your ex-wife”
Norman sneered.
“Just hang up”
“I- she says it’s about Viktor”
He paused then
“You’ve got some damn nerve” a voice said on the other end of the line.
He pulled the phone away from his ear and sneered. He really didn’t want to talk to her. But if it was about Viktor…
“Should I leave you?” Clara said.
“Yes” he said. “Check-up on the others and what they’re doing with Leon and Sam and then have Otto see if we can blackmail López with something. He’s close with his family so preferably something to do with his daughters
“Then what?”
“Call Sam. Talk him down”
“Me? Won’t he want to talk to you?”
“I might be gone a while. And plus he likes you”
“I - Alright” Clara said, before quickly walking off.
He watched her go and then sighed, answering the phone.
“What’d you want?”
“Well thanks for finally answering. Glad you could finally deign to gift me with your time”
“I’m busy. Why’re you calling?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line, before Emily spoke again, the malice gone now.
“I really think Viktor’s having trouble?”
“Drugs?”
“No, mentally”
“Mentally? Why?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it was the fucking miscarriage”
“He got over that”
“Got over it. God Norman, don’t you speak to him?”
“Throwing stones from a glass house are we”
“This isn’t about me and Susanna. And you barely speak to her either. You’re not exactly a model parent”
“Hey. Don’t go pointing fingers. You’ve yet to visit Harry. Maybe we should talk about that first”
“I- Harrison isn’t… I- how dare you?!”
“How dare I? Next time you call me try to think of an excuse for your favouritism” he half joked.
The phone was silent for a second, and then the call disconnected. Norman shook his head and pocketed the phone.
“Can’t believe I ever married her” he muttered to himself. He turned and stepped into the lab. The lab was large, with multiple workstations, and strange metallic structures furnishing the lab. On the far side, a doctor stood, tending to a group of spiders inside a glass box. Behind him, a large vat of clear green liquid flowed around.
“Dr Eriksson” Norman said, smiling as the lab door closed shut behind him
“Oh, Mr Osborne” he said. “It’s wonderful to have you here”
“How’s the work going?”
“Splendidly. We’re ahead of schedule”
“Good, good. And how’s Harry progress?“
“Coming along as scheduled” the doctor said. “Hopefully, soon, we’ll be able to run the secondary stage of the preliminary tests. If with this dosage we’re seeing such improvements I believe the serum should be ready in the next two weeks or so”
“That’s good” he said. “That’s good”
Of course it was all stuff he already knew, but it felt good to hear another say the words, to speak of his successes.
“Is there anything else you need sir?”
“Uh… have you heard from Barbara yet? I want to know if the distortions are having any effect on the rooftop labs?”
“No. I’ll get right to it”
“Good. That’s all”
“Alright”
The two were quiet for an awkward second before Norman glanced around.
“You don’t mind if I take a look around the lab?”
“Of course not Sir. You’re the boss after all” he said. Norman smiled to himself and nodded. He took a step back and stared at the tube of glass and green liquid in front of him, before his eyes wandered to the metal enhancement suit the doctor had helped him craft.
He smiled, looking over it. It was perfect. An ideal mixture of form, function and science. Something that took the human form to the next level on its own. They still had to iron out a few kinks, but it was nearly there.
Maybe he could even add the glider he’d brought off the black market. The one that’d come through the rift. Then it'd have controlled flight too. He smiled to himself, tapping his foot against the cold hard floor of the lab.
The last few years had been hard, but this? This was what could mark the start of a new age.
He wouldn’t be known for his pathetically small NE bombs, his failed super soldier serum, or failed enhancement suit. The military would flock to him once he unveiled this. The contracts would be obscene, and it’d only be the start. Once he’d reeled them in, he’d get the funding, and with his new research labs figure out what the hell Dr Ricardo had done to that fucking mouse.
If he really needed to, he could hire Scorpion from Kingpin’s troupe to capture the Spider-Man, Lucas Escarra, but even that wasn’t necessary. Eriksson was close to working things out and if word of that got out… he didn’t even want to think of the domino effect it would have. Mark had already drafted him on that.
But that was another matter. Negative thoughts weren’t for this room. In here he could only think positively, only look to the future, and consider all the possibilities his new technologies would bring him. The wealth, the status, the fame. He wouldn’t need Spider-Man. Scientists from across the world would flock to him, and then he could really start to work on a proper Negative Energy bomb.
The corners of his mouth turned upwards. A proper NE bomb. Something even greater than the nuke. No need for uranium or plutonium refining, just some mice, an NE generator, and some basic science and engineering. The world would be in the palm of his hand.
The father of the NE bomb. Now that has a nice ring to it. He’d be known for something much, much greater. He smiled to himself. Soon, he’d be the most powerful man in the world. Soon, very soon it’d all come together. He was sure of it. Certain.
Farrow Industries wouldn’t acquire him, he’d buy them. They’d be forgotten. Everyone the world over would only ever talk about Oscorp again. He smiled to himself, a large smile this time, a maniacal grin.
“Just you wait Might. I’m coming for you and your company” Osborne whispered. “Just you fucking wait”