071

It had been a little over a week since Norman had returned to New York, and he had been busy with the official release of the Connors Serum to the market.

The name had been decided after some debate among the three members who were involved in the Serum's research. Gwen wanted to name it that way because Dr. Connors was the lead scientist and the first to even think of doing such research, so in her thinking having it named in his honor was a normal action for her.

Norman in particular was not too interested in the name the serum would have, however, he found Gwen's words somewhat logical, after all it was not unusual for something like that to happen in the scientific field.

Curiously, Dr. Connors had rejected Gwen's proposal once he heard it, because he did not consider it appropriate to have his name on something that had been created thanks to the efforts of the three of them. It took some persuasion on Gwen's part and Norman's approval for Curtis to finally agree to have the serum named after him.

Once the serum was on the market Norman had to do a few interviews with different media, and although he could still refuse to do them as usual, it was certainly more convenient to give some information from his own mouth, at least that way the media would leave him alone for a while.

Although of course as expected there would always be one or two people who would always try to get more than he was willing to give them, but in the end it was simply a decision that was more damaging to them than to him.

This return of media attention was not something that was Norman's exclusively, as again both Connors and Stacy got their fair portion of the media attention.

Both Osborn's partners had to go out and give short interviews and the occasional lecture in which the scope of the Connors Serum was exposed in a simple way, as well as mentioning the motivations they had to create such a wonderful creation.

For the moment, the reactions, and reception that the Serum generated in the citizens could only be described as wonderful, only in the country there were a great number of people who at some point in their lives had lost a limb of the body. Now with the Connors Serum they could have it back, a real one and not just a prosthesis, so without any doubt they were completely satisfied.

On top of that the image they had of Oscorp and Norman Osborn became much more favorable because such a miracle treatment was relatively affordable for almost everyone. Usually such drugs had exorbitant prices that few people could afford, and their effects left something to be desired, which was not the case with Connors Serum.

Even though the price of Connors Serum was somewhat cheap, Oscorp was generating huge profits that only increased more and more as time went on. After all, the production of the Serum was much less expensive than many people might think.

It was partly due to that reason why the price was set so favorably, since that way they were generating huge profits and had a better image for the public, no matter how you looked at it, it was a situation where there were only profits for Oscorp and consequently for Norman.

They were good, but tiring days for everyone who worked under the command of Norman Osborn.

…

Norman was in Oscorp's boardroom as he watched each of the heads of the various departments slowly and orderly give a brief but concise report on their department's performance.

At the same time, the meeting also had the function of analyzing whether the growth that had been proposed for the previous year had been achieved, as well as whether the company's objectives had been met. In short, it was a meeting to find out if Oscorp had successfully achieved its goals.

Osborn remained silent as he listened to the report of each and every one of his employees. The results were already somewhat expected for him, this year Oscorp had not only achieved its goals and the level of growth it had set for the company. It had also managed to surpass by far all the goals and objectives it had set for the year.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this year had been the best year Oscorp had since its creation. The various department heads only thought that the explosive success Oscorp had this year was due to Norman's return to the leadership of the company.

Once that issue had been resolved and in a mood of joy and satisfaction, the meeting continued, but this time the subject changed, now it was about the goals the company should have in mind for the coming year.

Norman was having a pleasant conversation and small discussions with a few of Oscorp's department heads. Of course, if Norman wanted to he could do anything without even consulting these people, and they could do nothing, but that would be too drastic and pointless action.

All the people in the meeting room were people who could be considered great minds who would not lose to anyone, talented individuals who undoubtedly had brilliant ideas.

Although Norman had full confidence in his mind and therefore in the plans he had drawn up for Oscorp's growth, it was also good to keep in mind other people's thoughts on the subject, the diverse perspectives of others could always make him find a better way for Oscorp to grow.

Although he did not show it too much, Norman was someone arrogant and somewhat proud, but he could not underestimate the ideas and contributions of the responsible people who together with Bernard kept Oscorp afloat and with almost null losses while the old Norman was in coma, and he had not even arrived to this world.

Once the meeting was over, Norman stayed in the boardroom as he watched the people under his command begin to leave the room, the man seemed to be lost in thought.

Osborn just closed his eyes as he went over in his mind the path that had been chosen for Oscorp's growth over the next year. He was trying to calculate all possible routes and scenarios, for although he found the growth plan satisfactory, he always had to keep in mind that things could take a completely unexpected direction.

While the Osborn seemed to be lost in thought, a beautiful figure entered the room. A blonde woman in a formal black dress could be seen holding a small cup in her strong, yet delicate hands, steam could be seen rising from the cup as a pleasant fragrance began to spread through the room.

Carol watched as the target of her mission had his eyes closed, and his facial expressions denoted a certain seriousness, at this point she was familiar enough with Norman to know that he was in a deep thought process.

Because of that the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent simply placed the teacup carefully near where Norman was sitting, her movements were smooth, and her action was silent all so as not to disturb the man. Once she did so, she moved to his side gently and quietly again. Patiently waiting for Norman to open his eyes.

The Oscorp Founder soon opened his eyes revealing a beautiful green color, Norman brought his right hand in the direction of the cup of tea his secretary had brought him to take it and draw it towards him. Before drinking the contents of the cup, Norman took some time to enjoy the fragrance it held, shortly after he lifted the contents of the cup to his mouth.

It had been relatively recently that Norman had discovered that Carol had some sort of gift for preparing tea. Since he had discovered it he had simply been enchanted by it, so as usual Carol began to prepare such a drink for him.

On the off chance that she poisoned him or similar, there was simply no chance of it happening. Her mission was simply to observe him and to a lesser extent Oscorp, so she would not go so far as to try something like that.

Besides that, considering the changes his body had after the Serum 001 was applied to him, it was really difficult to poison him in his current state. Of course, it was not impossible, but if his secretary were to try it then it would be with doses that would be valid only for normal humans and would in no way have any effect on him.

While Norman had those thoughts Carol just stood by and said nothing, once her boss had finished drinking the tea she had prepared for him in advance, she decided it was a good time to talk.

"General Ross called again" she mentioned to him, her voice was soft and pleasant to listen to, almost as if she was afraid to disturb the Osborn's mood.

Norman's mood didn't seem to change, but a faint trace of irritation passed through his eyes' fleetingly, "What did he say this time?" he asked and without giving Alice time to answer he spoke again, "A meeting? Promises of wealth and prestige? Perhaps he changed tactics and made a threat?" question after question came out of Norman's mouth, trying to guess what tactic Ross had employed this time.

Alice remained impassive to her boss's attempts at guessing, "It was the first one, he just requested a meeting of an urgent nature with you, he mentioned that the Connors Serum could be the key to a new age of armament" she told him quickly, but at the same time concisely the talk she had had with General Ross.

Norman shook his head at Ross's attempts, of course he knew that there would be people who would see the potential of the Connors Serum as a weapon, and that's not counting the chaos Extremis would make once it was released. After all, an army that could regenerate its wounds and even limbs lost in the midst of combat is something that any country would like to have.

However, he really wasn't interested in having dealings with the military as they were the type of people that if you gave them a meter then they would want a kilometer. Besides, for someone like Norman, a deal with the military would bring more loss than gain.

"Schedule an appointment for Ross, however, make it after Christmas, I don't want to have any kind of hassle that day" he said to Alice after some time in silence. The beautiful secretary only nodded at her boss's orders in understanding.

…

Norman was currently in The Shelter after finishing his job at Oscorp. He was in the training room of the building that, along with Bucky, Walter and later Forge had modified.

His gaze scanned the scene that was happening in front of his eyes, two women who would usually attract the gaze of both men and women alike wherever they went. They were undoubtedly beautiful.

However, the two beautiful women were currently in the middle of a fierce combat, with the only goal of defeating the other.

Norman could tell quickly that despite Felicia's rapid growth, she could not compare to someone who had probably been in combat for her entire life. There was a clear difference and despite Felicia's best attempts to overcome her opponent it was simply something that would not happen at the moment.

As Osborn deduced, it wasn't too long before Felicia made a mistake and ended up being defeated by Yelena without even having time to react.

Hardy just looked with some hatred at the Belova who had a somewhat mocking smile on her face as she saw how the white-haired girl couldn't even form a word due to the loss of air that her last hit caused her.

"If it's any consolation, I can tell you that you wouldn't lose to the youngest students in the Red Room" she commented as she gave her a hand to help her up.

The former Russian spy approached Felicia and held out her hand in a quick manner, Hardy was only slightly suspicious at such an action from the newest addition to Norman's team, however, after seeing that Yelena had no ill intentions she took her hand, but with her guard up.

Felicia soon felt a force pulling her towards Yelena and the instincts she had been developing after what could be considered as a hellish training from Norman warned her of a hidden danger.

Her hand moved faster than her mind could think and by the time she felt a cold blade settling on her neck she already had her own hand with a strong grip on Yelena's neck.

"Well done" for the first time since she had known the blonde, Felicia heard her address to her in a non-mocking way and with a real compliment, or at least she thought so.

"You two break it up, that's enough" it was only until this moment that Norman decided to intervene and ordering the two women under his command to stop the fight.

The two women instantly and almost simultaneously released the other, Felicia could notice how Yelena had a small knife in her hand and wondered to herself where she had been hiding it during their combat.

Both women looked at Norman, since they had only noticed his presence when he spoke. Felicia had already gotten used to that Osborn's way of acting, on the other hand, even though it wasn't the first time it happened Yelena was still surprised that her new boss could completely hide his presence.

"Felicia, your combat training hours will be increased until you can be on equal terms with Yelena for a minimum of three combat rounds," mentioned Norman as he approached the two women.

At Norman's words, Felicia's mind simply stopped working and the sparkle in her eyes faded almost completely. She knew instinctively that she would have to go through many hardships before Norman would be satisfied with her abilities.

Osborn's gaze shifted from Felicia to the Russian spy who had gone silent. Norman had nothing to say against her, she was undoubtedly worthy of being someone who possessed the title of Black Widow.

"Now go get your things it's late and Harry must be waiting for our arrival" his vision settled back on the white-haired woman who quickly nodded her head towards the man, as if she feared he would take back her words.

She followed Norman's directions instantly and moved towards a specific area of the room where she was, Yelena for her part approached Norman slowly.

"You seem pretty sure that she can keep up with me" she said to Osborn as soon as she was at his side.

"That's because she will, and she might even surpass you" Norman replied with complete confidence, with his guidance he had no doubt that Felicia could achieve a mastery in martial arts that she would not lose to anyone and if she was given an enhancement like her version from the 616 Universe then he would have someone worthy of fear under his command.

Yelena showed no reaction to Norman's words, even if she did, she wouldn't gain any, of course at the moment she wouldn't believe Felicia could be a threat to her, but things could always change in the future.

"I won't let her off easy" the blonde made it clear to Norman as they both watched Felicia return to them with a backpack on her back and a black coat in her arms.

"I'm counting on the fact that you won't" were the words of Norman who knew perfectly well how competitive Felicia could become, he had a feeling that with someone like Yelena on the team the growth Felicia would have would be several times faster.

Without further ado when Felicia stood in front of him, Norman simply turned around and with Felicia by his side started to leave The Shelter, heading to the Osborn Mansion where Harry was waiting for them to arrive.