059

Norman was in the Osborn mansion specifically in what could be considered as his back garden, he was sitting at a table with a cup of coffee in his right hand.

Even though the cold weather had begun to appear with greater frequency in the city Norman had no need to take shelter in coats, it was enough to raise his body temperature a little thanks to Extremis, and he could be completely comfortable. Besides, the weather of the day was wonderful, so he didn't even need to do that.

On the other hand, his vision was only focused on one of the things he had become accustomed to since his arrival in this chaotic world. Only this time one of the main actors was missing and in her place was someone else.

His eyes were just watching the scene where Harry was being driven around in a remote-control car that was under Felicia's hand, while they both seemed to be having fun, probably because Hardy had an attitude similar to that of a little girl.

That kind of scene had started to happen about 10 days ago, this because after a long wait Mary Jane had been contacted to let her know the results of the audition she had done some time ago.

To no surprise to Norman, but for Watson she had managed to get the role against all odds, as there were even actresses who could be considered as someone with experience. The next thing that happened was the usual, information and contract discussion between the two sides.

MJ asked Norman for some help due to the fact that being something he had never done she didn't know exactly what to do, of course Osborn himself knew almost nothing about entertainment contracts, so he simply called one of the best in that subject, to be the redhead's advisor. A bit of an exaggeration maybe, but he really didn't think much of his action at the time.

The contract was simple and straightforward with no ambiguous paragraphs in it and although it was not the best of contracts, it was certainly an unusual contract to see for someone who was just starting out as an actor. But after giving it a second thought, Norman came to the conclusion that it was likely that the crew still remembered his warning.

However, the fact that Mary Jane was going to be involved in the filming of a series meant that the work time would be much less due to having to concentrate on her rehearsals.

Norman was supportive of that fact as it was a great opportunity for MJ plus that way he could keep some distance between her and Harry while he figured out how to address the situation between the three of them that he had been constantly ignoring.

Because of that the redhead had to leave her job as nanny on a temporary way, of course this was not to Harry's liking, but despite his displeasure he did not show any kind of outburst and simply accepted the situation.

On the other hand, the way Felicia became Harry's temporary nanny went back to five days ago, when while having a talk with her somehow the subject came up and the next thing that happened was that Felicia decided to become his son's temporary nanny.

At first Norman didn't want to accept considering the precedent with MJ, but after some thought he realized that it was unlikely to happen again, plus Harry would be in the care of a trusted person, so there were only benefits in that fact.

The footsteps of whom he assumed was Bernard began to be heard in his ears, a few seconds later he could confirm his suspicions when his butler placed a small box containing baseball equipment.

"What's that for?" asked Norman curiously, of course he knew what function it had, but he wanted to know the motive behind why Bernard brought it.

"Miss Hardy asked me to bring it she mentioned that it was a sport that Harry seemed to have some interest in, so she thought it would be fun if they played together" he answered quickly.

Norman just nodded at his butler's words, perhaps the biggest difference Felicia had with MJ was her method of treating Harry, while they both treated him in a good way there was a clear distinction between them.

While MJ adopted an attitude of an approachable adult Felicia basically behaved as if she were a close friend, while both were good manners in the end one could notice a small difference when it came to treating the little boy.

After that little exchange both men were completely silent, "If you want to say something just say it" Norman spoke, already used to Bernard's attitude.

"I'm just thinking that even though you mentioned that you are not planning to have a romantic relationship your inner circle which is mostly made up of young and beautiful ladies really makes me doubt the veracity of your words" without any kind of filter and with total honesty Bernard explained.

"Bernard" Norman called indifferently and without expression.

"Sir" replied the butler without showing any fear or discomfort in a situation where many would.

"You may retire now" he mentioned to him.

"Of course, if you'll excuse me" were the only words Bernard said before he began to head inside the mansion.

Norman shook his head, perhaps Bernard's only flaw would be that he was too insistent in trying to get him to date someone. That was something he would do when the time was right, not before.

Unable to continue thinking due to Felicia's call, Norman only took his gaze to the white-haired woman and understanding what she wanted, Osborn got up from his seat and took the box that had the baseball equipment to go to where his son was together with Hardy.

…

The place where Norman was in his office that was located inside the mansion. Osborn was just looking at several documents that were in his hand with some information that could be found as interesting.

"Come in" mentioned Norman as he heard the person he was waiting for was outside the room, soon Felicia walked through the door while showing no surprise that she had been discovered.

"You know I've been wondering how you and Harry could possibly be related when the two of you are clearly different" casually dropped Felicia as she took a seat across from Norman.

"I wonder the same thing about you and Walter" replied Osborn quickly and immediately handed Felicia a folder.

"Now you're giving me homework?" asked Hardy jokingly as she began to open the folder and started to read its contents.

"You could consider it as something similar" he began to say, "After a careful thought I think you have learned what is necessary to carry out your first mission" he added and before Felicia could say anything with just a glance he let her know not to interrupt him.

"Everything you need to know about the objective of your mission is in that folder, besides since this is your first mission it will also serve as a way to see how much you have learned, so you will be evaluated in different ways, depending on how you carry out the mission and deal with the possible situations that may arise I will grade your performance" he explained carefully and slowly without leaving anything out.

"If I consider that your performance was satisfactory then you can probably do more missions like this or even do them in conjunction with Walter, on the other hand, if your performance is below my expectations then you can forget about doing more missions in the near future" this time his tone of voice was heavy to make sure Felicia understood that he was being serious.

The room was silent Felicia was just considering the implications of such a thing, of course she had dreamed of this day since she was a child and that desire had only become stronger when she started training under Norman's tutelage. However, now that she had her first opportunity she could only feel as if a heavy weight was being placed on her shoulders.

Norman could see a bit of hesitation in Felicia, so he spoke up once again, "If you yourself consider that you are not ready then" he started to say but was interrupted.

"NO!" she practically shouted, "I just didn't expect this, and I won't lie when I say I'm not a little overwhelmed by the situation, but if you gave me this opportunity it means you think I'm capable of pulling it off, and I don't intend to disappoint your expectations" she explained quickly.

Hardy's response only caused Norman to form a soft smile as he watched the young woman, a smile that Felicia found herself completely fascinated by.

"Remember that while this is a solitary mission you can make use of the resources found in The Shelter" commented Norman after a few seconds of silence.

Felicia's response was a little slow in coming, "I'll keep that in mind" she said shortly, "Well I'll let you work, and I'll get back to Harry and start reading the information" she added as she got up from her seat and started to leave the room.

Norman didn't mention anything and so Felicia was able to leave the office without any hindrance, after moving a considerable range away from the room where Osborn was Felicia stopped for a second, "Dammit" she whispered almost inaudibly.

…

Norman quickly dodged a kick that was lethally aimed at his head as he took the opportunity to attack his opponent, however almost immediately he was intercepted and sent flying for a few seconds.

Osborn did not panic and simply moved his body in such a way that when he hit the ground he was ready to jump and attack his opponent. However, he gave up that idea when his gaze caught an object heading quickly in his direction.

He quickly dodged it and realized that the object was a spear, however, his quick reaction was useless, as seven more of them were heading in his direction. At the same time the space he was in began to get smaller and smaller and practically enclosed him completely with only the incoming attack on his forehead.

'Son of a bitch' thought Norman as he tried to deduce the trajectory of the weapons that would be heading in his direction and calculating that at least two of them would end up connecting with his target no matter what he did.

The next second the spears had come within a meter of their target and all Norman did was go with his instinct, a loud banging sound was heard shortly after.

A man in a white suit similar to the one Karate trainees use soon approached the place where Norman was, "Oh, you managed to evade almost all of them" he mentioned with a bit of surprise.

Osborn didn't want to answer that and simply removed a spear that had pierced through his left shoulder, "I don't even know how I did it, I just let my instincts take over for a moment" he commented simply.

Val just nodded at his student's words, "Combat instincts are something that people have forgotten they possess, but they are there inside them waiting to be awakened, they are of great use, but you must also learn to control them, sometimes, even if violence is the easiest way to solve things doesn't mean it's the right one" he explained seriously.

Norman nodded that was something he was aware of since he had been under Ducard's tutelage, so he could understand Val's words.

"Today's time is over" Val mentioned to Norman who had also become aware of that fact.

"I'll be back" was all Osborn mentioned as he felt his body begin to wake up, he received no response from the other person and soon after he opened his eyes and looked around his room.

He brought his right hand to his left shoulder even though he had healed completely the pain was still something he felt, for a moment he thought about what would have happened if Val's knowledge had not been sealed until now.

His only conclusion was that he would probably be dead due to his body not being able to withstand so much damage, so he really understood why such a power had to be sealed.

He soon got up from his bed and looked at the clock realizing that he had slept for seven hours which translated to seventy days inside the training space. It might sound like a long time, but considering all that he had to learn and master it was basically nothing.

Putting that out of his mind, Norman started to head for the shower and then began his daily routine.