041

Current date: October 5, 2009.

Seven days had passed since Norman discovered about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s suspicions of him, but it was too late to try to do anything.

At the moment he was keeping an eye out for the possibility of an agent under Fury's command infiltrating Oscorp or even his home, however, there was no indication of that fact, so he could only maintain some vigilance in either case.

In those days he had continued with his personal projects and research, and perhaps it was due to the sense of pressure he had due to S.H.I.E.L.D. being after him along with the discovery of the mutants that he had achieved a small success in them.

What he basically did was combine Extremis along with The Lizard Serum using as a base the Super Soldier Serum that Howard recreated, while the first attempts resulted in the experimental subjects suffering from body deformations to instant death, that didn't take away from the fact that he seemed to have found a possible solution.

However, the only flaw with his new invention was the volatility that Extremis gave the serum, he had managed to ensure that Extremis did not cause explosions as powerful and disastrous as the original, but he still had a bit of a problem controlling his reaction, especially considering the fact that he had combined it with two other serums.

But Osborn was optimistic with the development of the serum and believed that before long he would finally have a Serum that combined all three into one, the only thing he hoped was that it would give him enough power for the Val Armorr knowledge to be unlocked.

Besides having fulfilled his part of the deal with Ducard, he was actually relieved of that fact, as he didn't like the fact that he owed someone much less a person like him, but now that that was settled it was simply a weight off his shoulders.

While things had become a bit chaotic with the recent events that had happened his plans were coming along nicely, at least that was something that kept him hopeful.

…

Norman was currently on his way to pay a short visit to Maya Hansen, according to his information she would be ready to be discharged in a few days and before that, he wanted to have a conversation with her.

Of course, Norman knew that this would probably bring more attention from S.H.I.I.E.L.D. on him, but at this point they couldn't do anything against him, at least not for the moment.

His steps were simple as he followed a nurse through the halls of the hospital while being aware of his surroundings, they soon reached her room before the nurse entered the room as she told Norman to wait a moment.

A few minutes later the nurse came out of the room and informed him that he could come in, so without further delay he did.

As he entered he could see a brown woman looking at him with curiosity and a little tinge of guilt, when she was about to get up from the bed where she was Norman spoke: "There is no need for you to do it" he mentioned.

The woman just found that request a little strange, but she didn't give it too much importance and followed his words: "Mr. Osborn it is a pleasure to meet you in person, I have read most of your research, and it is really spectacular" she commented with sincerity.

Norman showed a cordial smile: "Thank you for your words Miss Hansen and I must say that your research about the possibility of rewriting the genetic codes of the body is fascinating" accepting the compliments and giving a speech of his own.

At Norman's words, Maya seemed to adopt a somewhat conflicted attitude that was a bit noticeable.

For that reason, Norman began to speak again, "Dr. Hansen, I'm here because I have an offer to give you, so I'd like you to hear it" Norman said before waiting for a response from Maya who merely nodded her head.

"It is a tragedy what happened that I cannot deny, however, I am aware of the capability of your research and for that reason, I would like to extend a cordial invitation for you to work for Oscorp" he started to say, and he could notice Maya's eyes widen in surprise.

"I know it may sound a bit heartless considering how little time has passed since that terrible night, but I consider your research too important to be buried without even seeing the light" he continued.

"Besides you must know of the existence of the Connors Formula being developed at Oscorp, so if somehow we can work together, we can create something that will help people all over the world" he added with sincerity or at least what could be categorized as it.

Maya couldn't utter any words as Norman gave his little speech, she just had a blank look on her face, then suddenly the sound of the door being knocked on and being opened was what reached their ears.

They could both see the nurse which indicated that visiting hours were over, Norman just moved a little closer to Maya as a business card appeared in his hand which he soon handed to the woman.

"It's my secretary's number if you come to call I will be informed immediately; whatever decision you make I would like to help you" he mentioned softly and began to head towards the exit.

Maya just watched Norman's retreating figure as conflicting feelings began to form inside her, she let out a tired sigh as Osborn left her room as she began to pay attention to the card in her hands.

…

"You want me to do what?" asked Norman as he stopped the things he was doing.

He was currently in Dr. Connors laboratory as he read the reports that had accumulated from the experimental subjects of the Connors Formula, plus due to the effectiveness and lack of side effects more and more were beginning to grow in number, however, it was still kept to a relatively small number to prevent any kind of incident.

The question was directed towards the young blonde woman standing next to him who only looked a little embarrassed before speaking: "Well, would it be possible for you to give a lecture at my university?" she asked, however her tone of voice was a little low.

Norman just looked at Gwen trying to get her to give him a little more information about her words, but instead the blonde seemed to get smaller because of his look: "It was Dr. Connors idea" she mentioned while pointing with her hand to her mentor.

Norman only brought his gaze to Curtis as he deduced that Gwen wouldn't quite answer him.

"Well?" he asked as he looked at him: "What does Gwen mean?" he added.

"The university will be having a series of lectures on the careers they have, this to get prospective new students interested at the same time as the old students can learn" explained Connors which made Norman nod his head after all he could see the idea they had.

"As for the idea Gwen mentioned it is because I feel you would do a great job and connect better with the young people due to your age, I was planning to tell you at the end of the day, but I didn't expect Gwen to be so impatient" he finished by saying calmly.

Norman just kept a thoughtful countenance at Curtis words, he really didn't see a problem with doing something like that, of course, maybe he could use that time for more useful things like finishing his projects, but even he was getting tired of them.

"If that's the case then I don't see why not help, anyway, before I can give a yes or no, I need the details of the event, so I can attach it to my schedule and not cause a bit of chaos in my agenda" was the reply he gave after thinking it over for a while.

What followed after that was a conversation between the three people, while the other two explained the details of the event and Norman listened. All this while they continued to work on their investigation.

…

Norman now found himself in a completely different laboratory than the one usually used.

There were several noticeable differences in them, such as the fact that the security system to gain access were hundreds of times more sophisticated than in other cases.

Norman had only a complicated look on his face as he walked a little way into the spacious room, his gaze simply stayed in one place without even looking at another part of the room.

When he stopped he had been right in front of a sort of cage with the shape of a glass circle, the only thing that could be seen in it were various spiders of different species each one of them seemed to have its place in the cage and none of them dared to leave theirs or enter someone else's.

After observing it for a while Norman realized that there were about 10 spiders in the cage each one of them was being used as an experimental subject for the OZ serum, originally there had been 15, but the other 5 had not survived the process, and he did not know that the remaining ones would.

Norman was merely an observer, there were two main reasons why he was not involved in the OZ Serum research. At first, he thought about getting involved in his research, but after some consideration he decided that it would be better if it developed naturally and without his intervention.

The first and simplest of them is that being Norman Osborn he was not too confident about being around a substance that in most of the stories made him a complete madman and turned him into a villain.

Norman knew he wasn't a hero and probably never would be, but even so he didn't want to go down the same path that most of the Norman Osborn in Marvel went down. That's why even though he found Formula OZ very tempting he preferred not to know anything about it most of the time.

The second of the reasons had to do with the birth of Spider-Man, regardless of the person who would take up that mantle, Norman suspected for sure that it would be because of the experiments being conducted at Oscorp.

If, it was just the fact of getting bitten by a spider and receiving powers then there wouldn't be much of a problem. But the small problem was about the possible existence of the Web of Life and Destiny.

If it was a concept that was real in this universe then it wouldn't be as easy as letting the spider bite him, since that way it wouldn't work and would possibly generate a negative reaction. After all if that was the case then he must have been chosen to be one of the Spider-Totems.

He really missed the old explanation of the origins of Peter's powers, in those days everything was simpler.

Norman shook his head to get those thoughts out of his mind and simply stood still as he watched the spiders spin their web.