75 075
Even though it was winter, the streets of New York were full of people coming and going in their cars and even those who were walking to their destination. It was due to the amount of traffic that no one paid attention to three vehicles moving through the city, their destination being the Oscorp Building.
The three vehicles were black, two identical cars with each other, appeared to be escorting a van that was in the middle of them. Inside the van was a man of considerable age, but who still commanded an aura of respect and seriousness.
Lieutenant General Thaddeus Ross was a man of the old school, but at the same time he realized that the world was constantly changing over the years.
It was because of that thought that when his government gave him the task of reviving Project Rebirth, he did not hesitate for a second to accept such a heavy task. To this day the heroic achievements of Steve Rogers were remembered, his presence on the battlefield changed the course of the war completely.
Only one Super Soldier had ever turned the war in his favor, so what would happen if there was a whole army of them? That was an answer that everyone could imagine, but unfortunately could never be confirmed.
Abraham Erskine the creator of the Super Soldier Serum had died the same day his greatest achievement was tested, perhaps at least that way he had no regrets.
His death brought great regret because he never shared the serum formula with anyone, so his death also meant the loss of the original formula and with it the possibility of creating more Super Soldiers also perished.
Thaddeus had heard rumors in his time in the military that since Erskine's death there have been attempts to replicate his work, with little or rather no success. In the end, all such projects were abandoned as a complete waste of money. Still, he believed that somewhere in the world or even in his own country, there were people still trying to create such a Serum in a hidden way.
It was not until after what was possibly the most horrific terrorist attack on U.S. soil happened that it was decided once again to reopen Project Rebirth, although it was still officially abandoned.
Despite several setbacks the Project was kept alive, at that time comes into play possibly one of his biggest failures in his career as a soldier. Bruce Banner, who at the time was the boyfriend of his only daughter, a brilliant scientist who thought he could decipher the steps Erskine took to create the Super Soldier Serum.
He never expected that in his place, Banner would manage to create something that was probably a thousand times better. He had managed to create a monster, one that if he was trained would become the best asset the United States could have.
A weapon like no other, yet he had failed, he had made a fatal mistake in not capturing Banner when he could. Since that time his attention and effort had been focused on tracking down and catching Banner, but he had met with little success.
The project had been put on hold after the destruction Banner had caused, in addition to losing his top researchers and scientists. At this point he didn't know what to do, the search for Banner was unsuccessful and there was no other scientist more prominent in Gamma Ray researches than him.
That was until Oscorp announced a news that shocked the world, while many people were satisfied with being able to recover a lost limb in a matter of hours the line of thought for Thaddeus went further.
What if that time could be reduced to minutes or even seconds, and what if that regenerative ability could be extended to any type of injury? His mind was filled with similar questions for a while.
An army that could regenerate its wounds no matter how devastating they were in a matter of seconds was what he would get as an answer to all his questions. That kind of power was something he ultimately had to obtain to get one step closer to completing his mission.
Ross's gaze fell on the tall black building with a white logo, the colors made a great contrast between the both. In a short time they would arrive at their destination and the negotiations would begin.
The expression on his face turned completely cold as he thought about the person he would be dealing with. Norman Osborn, a person who had grown a company in such a way that few could compete with it, someone who had such capacity, would undoubtedly be a difficult person to deal with.
…
Oscorp Building.
In the laboratory with the highest security in the building were three people observing a kind of circular cage made of glass and of large size, or at least that was what it appeared to be.
Two of the three people could only feel the atmosphere in which they found themselves becoming increasingly tense. The two people were wearing white coats, a man, and a woman, both sharing an extreme nervousness.
All because of the third person who was in the laboratory, unlike the other two people, the man was dressed in a completely black business suit, one thing to highlight of his clothing would be the cufflinks that he had, as these were the same color as his eyes.
Norman Osborn only saw the inside of the glass cage that kept the spiders injected with Oz Serum in captivity, the only noticeable difference was the decrease of spiders inside it, when before there were 10 of them now the only thing that could be seen was the webs that had been spun by them, but there was no trace of any arachnid.
After the death of three of the test subjects at the hands of another of the same test specimen, it had been decided to keep the other arachnids separately as a safety precaution.
"What happened?" asked Norman, his attitude was more serious than usual, but that was because the situation called for it.
Both scientists shared a brief glance before nodding in unison, the woman was the first to speak as the man began to walk towards one of the lab areas.
"Sir" she called softly, "Do you recall that in the most recent reports there had been mention of an unusual situation in the behavior of two experimental subjects?" she asked.
Norman nodded, "01 and 04" he replied simply, "However even though you tried to find the reason behind their unusual behavior you did not find it" he added quickly.
The woman nodded, "During the previous weeks we had kept trying to find the answer to such a question, and it was only until this day that we realized what was going on, although it is only a theory" she began to say.
It was at this point that the man returned however in each of his two hands he held what appeared to be a glass cube, Norman recognized it as the temporary captivation of the arachnids when certain tests were to be done on them.
One of the spiders was black, but had thin reddish lines with irregular patterns running all over its body. The second was white and with the difference that, instead of reddish lines, she had a sort of blue crown on her abdomen.
Despite being in two different cages, it seemed as if they could both sense where the other was and try to find a way to escape their confinement, so that they could be together.
Norman immediately recognized them as 01 and 04 respectively, despite staying away from the Oz Project he had always kept an eye on everything that happened in it.
"Turns out, 04 was releasing sex pheromones in search of a potential mate," the man mentioned.
The pieces of the puzzle began to come together in Norman's mind until he came to a conclusion that seemed far-fetched, but was the only one that could make sense.
"You're telling me that 01 killed the other three males due to them wanting to court 04" for the first time Norman's tone had a trace of disbelief in it, and it didn't get any better as he spoke his hypothesis out loud.
"That is the most possible theory at this time, however, further investigation is needed before it can be confirmed or denied" was the response he got from the man.
"I thought you managed to inhibit the ability of females to create pheromones and even if that was not the case in males you managed to inhibit their ability to recognize a female's sex pheromones" what Norman had said reached the ears of the two scientists who made a grimace.
"We know, but at the moment there is no way we can answer that question, not at least not until we investigate this whole strange situation further" the woman's voice also had a tone of disbelief in it.
"The only reason we overlooked this possibility was due to the fact that we were sure it was simply impossible for 04 to be in her mating season, however, this is the only thing that could explain 01's behavior" she added quickly.
Norman believed 100% that the situation he found himself in was the strangest he had been involved in since his arrival at Marvel. Although on second thought if 01 and 04 had managed to cure their inhibited abilities perhaps it meant that the Oz Serum was working on both of them.
Osborn was silent for a few seconds as he closed his eyes and as he thought about what his next move should be, the two scientists kept quiet and didn't disturb their boss.
"From now on all experimental subjects of the Arachne category must be observed with maximum attention until it is discovered why something that should have been impossible became possible again" once he opened his eyes he also spoke and made his order clear.
…
When Norman entered his office, he was able to observe in person this universe's version of General Ross, being similar in appearance to the one in the MCU. His sight was soon withdrawn from the man.
"Sorry for the delay" he apologized out of mere politeness, "I had to attend to a small mishap with one of my scientists" he added without saying much as he took a seat and stood across from Ross.
"It's strange that a man like you took the time to personally solve a problem for your subordinates" were the words he heard from Ross along with an analytical look.
"A subordinate is not infallible and as their boss it is under my responsibility to guide them, though of course if someone cannot be remedied then there simply won't be any space at Oscorp for them" Norman replied simply.
"You seem to be a decisive person in your actions" commented Ross, although he couldn't agree more with the Osborn's words. After all, if a person was useless, then there was no need to have them under his command.
"It's a quality that most men and women in high positions should have" Norman replied.
Neither man continued to speak, and instead silence settled over the entire room they were in. Both men were waiting for the other to start with the purpose of the meeting and not just meaningless chatter.
"Then someone like you should already know my purpose in requesting a meeting, right?" at last, Ross was the first to speak.
"I know" Norman replied, "However I have to say from the outset that I do not intend to make the Connors Serum into a weapon" he said bluntly.
Ross's face showed no change except for a brief flash of anger in his eyes, "Do you even know what could be accomplished if our soldiers had the Connors Serum permanently in their bodies? Do you know how many lives would be saved?!" he asked quickly.
"Of course, I know, but I also know that the lives that were saved would not compare to those that were lost in the wars that would be waged with an army that would be practically immortal" countered Osborn.
"The scientist who devised the Connors Formula only wanted it to be used so that people like him who lost a limb could regain it, nothing more, nothing less" he continued, leaving no opportunity for Ross to speak.
"I don't intend to sully that noble ideal just to satisfy the need and greed for power that your superiors have" were Norman's last words.
By this point, Ross's face had clearly shown his state of fury. "Do you know what consequences your decision will have?!" he asked menacingly.
"It will have none" Norman replied, "The army wouldn't dare be on bad terms with someone who almost completely controls the medical supplies of the country" he added in a quick manner.
At this point Ross stood up from his seat abruptly and the chair he was in was pushed back with a loud sound, the look on his face was completely grim as he looked at Norman, but in no way did it succeed in intimidating Osborn.
"I'll tell you something General" spoke Norman, however his words had a coldness to them that he had never employed before, "Don't try to threaten me, because I am not as kind as Anthony" he continued, the hostility was clear in his voice.
Small knocks were heard on the door before it was opened by Osborn's secretary, both men could see that there were at least two guards behind her.
"Sir is everything alright?" asked Alice, she didn't quite know what had happened inside but with the temperament of the two men it was certain that if she didn't intervene it would end in a fight.
"All is well Alice, though thank you for your concern" Norman replied in his usual manner, the man who had threatened an army general was nowhere to be seen.
"Would you like me to escort you out, General Ross?" he asked as he looked at the older man.
A snort was the first thing he heard, "There will be no need for such a thing," he replied curtly as he began to walk towards the exit of Osborn's office.
Despite Ross' words, Alice nodded her head to the two guards to follow him. She for her part disappeared for a few seconds from Norman's sight until she returned with a cup of tea in her hands.
As usual she placed the teacup on Norman's desk and then moved the chair Ross had pushed back to its original place. Osborn just took a sip of the tea, "Delicious as always" he mentioned sincerely.
Alice flashed a smile at Norman's words, "I'm glad you like the tea I make so much" she replied as she moved to Norman's side and kept silent.
After a short time in silence, Norman just nodded his head, tactfully approving of Alice's unspoken words.
"Was there a reason why you should have made General Ross so angry?" she asked, as anyone could tell the mood the man was in.
"I was only sincere with my words, but a man like Ross is not someone who can take no for an answer, so the situation just developed in a normal way" he commented casually.
Alice nodded, after all she had read Ross's file before the meeting and shared Norman's thinking in saying that this development was only normal considering his attitude, although Norman's own attitude also had something to do with it.
"Aren't you afraid of retaliation, as with Stark Industries?" she asked a second time.
"It would be an irrational move after all the only reason they can retaliate against Stark is because of their military contracts, however Oscorp never had any, so they can't do the same" he began to say.
After some thought he continued, "Besides, if they were to retaliate against Oscorp most of the country would side with us and if that is still not enough there is always an option".
This time Alice didn't ask any more questions and remained silent as she had the answers to the questions she wanted to hear, once Norman finished with his tea she picked up the cup and left the room.
…
In the van where General Ross was after the failed meeting with Norman Osborn the atmosphere was tense, the driver tried to make himself as small as he could because he didn't want to get in trouble with his boss.
Ross for his part was simply on the phone, however, the words he heard did nothing to lessen his mood, as Norman had predicted it did not seem that the higher ups wanted to take action against Oscorp.
Although they mentioned that it was a total shame there was no mention of taking action on the matter, instead they were nervous that their actions had cut the bridge with Oscorp and that Oscorp would refuse to even sell medical supplies.
As soon as he hung up the call, all he could think about was when the military had become so permissive. First, Stark had refused to hand over the Iron Man armor technology and had practically walked away unscathed.
Now Osborn had also done the same, and it was almost certain that he would have no retaliation either. His hand navigated quickly and decisively through his contacts until he found a specific one.
"Sir?" a noticeable British accent reached Ross's ears.
"Blonsky" he called, "Redouble your efforts in the search for Banner, I don't care what method you have to use, whether it be killing, torture is of no importance to me, but I need you to find Banner immediately" he mentioned in a strong and commanding voice.
"Understood" the answer was short and simple, but Ross didn't need anything more, he knew the man on the other end of the phone was a man of few words. Hearing the answer he wanted, Ross ended the call.
The next few minutes passed in complete silence as Ross calmed his temper, the sound of an incoming call snapped him out of his thoughts, as soon as he noticed the caller ID he took the phone in his hands and answered.
"Fury" as soon as the call connected was the only word out of Ross' mouth.
The other part just kept silent for a moment, "Thaddeus tell me about your meeting with Norman Osborn?" a question he hadn't expected to hear was the only thing that reached Ross' ears.
