I'm something of a scientist myself, you know?

In a place where it was dark yet also blindingly bright, small yet infinitely large, freezing yet scorching hot, there was a single man.

He stood in this place of contradictions, alone. And yet he showed no fear nor confusion for his unusual surroundings. Despite the contradictions this reality seemed to be made of, ones that made his brain feel like it was melting, the man continued to look around with an odd curiosity despite his abnormal circumstances.

No matter how he moved or turned, his surroundings neither changed nor did he actually even move. The geometry of the area was so odd that despite having walked for miles he still found himself in the same position he'd first been in when he arrived.

The eldritch surroundings were constantly in motion yet always the same. The man didn't know how long he'd been here but neither did it matter - an instinct just told him that even if he spent an eternity here, it would only feel like a second. Or maybe it was that every second felt like an eternity? Nonetheless the man continued looking throughout this impossible land until he found something. Or it would be better to say that something found him.

"Hello, mortal," a voice said, heralding the appearance of an infinite mass of tentacles, claws and feathers which appeared in front of the man as it descended from a sky that seemed simultaneously full of colour and devoid of it. The man looked at the being of eternity and infinity, his eyes still curious even despite them bleeding because of the incomprehensible sight they were witnessing.

"Hello," the man replied, wiping at his eyes but never blinking nor looking away, "Where am I?"

The mass of tentacles, claws and feathers saw the bleeding and changed to a more...palatable appearance for the man. The eldritch mass changed instantly into a humanoid form, it's body being compromised of equal parts white and black light which moved less like light and more like liquid, creating swirls and waves along the otherworldly being's skin. It had no eyes or ears, no mouth or nose, and yet it spoke. It looked right at the man and spoke, it's voice loud and quiet, feminine and masculine, smooth and jagged. A voice of infinite variations.

"In my realm. A realm of inherent impossibilities...one which shouldn't be able of supporting a mortal life," the being kneeled and leaned downed toward the man, it's featureless face inching so close the man's entire vision was taken up by it's visage, "...You are a curious mortal. Dead yet now alive in a realm far removed from your original world. You interest me. I can feel my curiosity abound when I see you here in this realm."

The entity leaned away, sitting down cross-legged and gestured for the man to do the same which he did. They sat and they each stared at the other.

"So, what do we do now? Stay here and stare at each other for eternity?" the man asked the entity.

The entity's featureless face gave the odd impression that it was smiling but alas no changes could be seen, only sensed by the man, "No," it said while giving a shake of it's head, "While I would love for some company, keeping you here would only end in your soul eroding away under the immense strain of this realm and it's inherent contradicting nature. Quite frankly, I'm surprised you've even survived this long," it trailed off for a moment before leaning in again, "No, I won't be keeping you here. But for better or worse, you now have my attention. And with that attention...I have an offer."

The man shivered, his body feeling cold and his instinct suddenly shrivelling up in fear. This offer...he didn't think the entity would screw him over but something told him this was a monkey paw situation. Whatever offer he got could be a double-edged sword.

"And what offer would you give me?" and despite his instincts, the man still answered. He felt...odd. Different. Like his mind was free and unfettered from some sort of chain. He could ignore those instincts and involuntary reactions most humans would suffer. No anxiety. No fear. No anger. Right now, he was pure yet empty.

It felt like he was running on autopilot.

"The best kind," the entity gave off the aura of a smiling jester once more even with it's lack of facial features, "The kind that gives you life after death. A life where you can flourish fully unlike your previous one. All I ask is that you provide entertainment. That when the time comes and you find yourself with the power necessary, you come and have a drink with me. Easy, right?" the surroundings warped and the entity's face actually gained a smile.

Yet this wasn't a normal smile. No. It was a facsimile of a smile. Like someone had loosely described a smile to the entity in passing. It was too wide, filled with too many teeth, too wonky. And yet, despite all that, it seemed perfect.

The man looked up at the giant entity and cracked a smile of his own. His face still covered in the blood from his eyes earlier bleeding gave it a rather sinister look alongside the emptiness to his eyes making it look downright like a dead person smiling.

And yet, despite all that, it seemed perfect.

"Sure," the man answered, "So, a reincarnation deal? Transmigration? Going as I am or to a new body?"

"Hmm," the entity hummed, scratching it's chin with a finger while it's unusual smile persisted, "I'll transmigrate you into a body with similar age but one that isn't your own. I'll give you one gift, though of limited power, but with no drawbacks. Or you get two powers of whatever you want but I get to decide the drawbacks."

"Can I get a list of what powers I could gain if I pick the first option?" the man asked and the entity clicked it's fingers, a book of immense thickness appearing in front of the man. Seeing he'd gotten what he'd asked for, the man quickly began going through the book.

The first page was filled with useless powers like enhanced teeth regeneration and enhanced digestion. But the further he went in, the better it seemed to get. But sometimes he'd run across pages he'd seen before and despite casting a curious glance up at the entity, the man gained no answer for this occurrence.

So, he flipped through the pages for what felt like years until all he saw when he flipped the page were repeated powers he'd already seen. And then he picked a power he felt would allow him to thrive no matter where he was placed.

The man placed his paper cut ridden finger on a specific power and looked to the entity, "I pick this power. Enhanced Augment. The physical buff and genetic enhancement are okay but the superhuman intelligence is what I need."

The blood on his finger travelled unnaturally and soon was absorbed by the letters of the power he was picking. The soon red writing read as such.

[An enhanced Augment is designed to be remarkably agile, roughly eight times stronger and more durable than a Human, resistant (if not immune) to sickness and with enhanced senses, possessing heart muscles thrice as strong and lung efficiency 200% better than normal. Their blood contains platelets capable of regenerating from any disease or toxin and also lends them a degree of accelerated healing. They also have twice the average human lifespan. Even their resistance to directed energy weapons is improved, as it takes multiple shots with a phaser or a phase-pistol to stun one. They are even capable of resisting a Vulcan nerve pinch and mind meld implying their inherent resistance to outside tampering of their nervous system or mind. The ability to learn all of the latest technologies, beyond many post-doctoral qualifications, is a testament to how their artificially augmented superhuman intelligence was beyond the reach of even the most intelligent Humans.]

"A good pick, mortal," the entity nodded, it's smile taking on a more authentic look, "Now to decide where you will go," it clicked it's fingers again and the book disappeared while a gacha spinning wheel of giant proportions appeared next to the entity, "I wish you luck."

Then it span the wheel while the man watched.

A stray thought wondering why he wasn't freaking out crossed his mind for a brief moment and yet it disappeared just as quickly as the wheel came to an unnatural stop. The arrow pointed to his final destination.

[MCU (Alternate Version)]

And then everything went black.

. . .

He awoke with a gasp, lungs filling with air like it was the first time in decades. Memories bombarded his mind yet his mind easily took the memories and sorted through them while the man slammed his hand around looking for a light switch for the terribly dark room. He ignored it all until the light came on with an audible click and he found himself in an unfamiliar place.

A fancy bed, one that no doubt cost a fortune, was what he was lying in. A room too big to be a bedroom, was what he found himself in. He stumbled from the bed, feeling an oddness to his body that unsettled him and affected his balance all for but a few seconds before he corrected himself.

Head banging from all sides like his brain was trying to expand and escape it's confines while simultaneously an unseen pressure unfelt by the rest of his body was pushing the opposite way against his brain.

The first memories to come to mind were the most troublesome. His apparent fucking deal with an eldritch God.

What had he been thinking? No, the better question would be, had he even been thinking at all? He'd ignored all instincts and rationale telling him how dangerous that offer was...and yet he'd took it?! What had impaired him so much to make that godforsaken deal? The memories of that place were blurry and out of focus, like he couldn't comprehend them. But they felt like memories made over centuries and at the same time they felt like an instant moment.

Assaulted by nausea, he threw up whatever was in his body, the chunky liquid spattering all over the fancy carpet of the fancy room he'd found himself in. He remembered the pain of even looking at the God, even though it had barely bothered him when he was in that damned realm. He clawed at his eyes, feeling like they were burning, all while continuing to throw up.

For a few seconds, the reality he was in felt wrong. Very wrong. Too stable. Too definite. The memories of that impossible place made him feel out of sync with the possible reality he was now in. He continued throwing up until he was dry heaving.

His fingers dripped with blood and his eyes still hurt but he forced himself to pry his hands away from his eyes, his brief lapse of insanity - or loss of control might be a better way to put it - over.

Kneeling in his own stomach lining and slightly digested food, he panted, trying to catch his breathe.

The memories of that impossible place slowly faded from his mind, to his relief, and disappeared slowly but surely until all that was left was a brief summary of what had happened there.

He wandered a horrible place that represented everything and also nothing until he met a God of unknown origin and then sat with the God for a brief eternity while making a deal with it. The end result of the deal was being sent to the MCU, albeit an alternate version, with the powers of an enhanced Augment - a genetically engineered human from Star Trek. All for a God's entertainment and the promise of having a drink with it in the future.

'What the fuck did I get myself into?' he thought as his breathing calmed, 'Trust you to get into a deal with an Old One, Norman--' his thoughts came to an abrupt stop when he called himself by a name that felt both wrong and right. He delved into his memories once more.

A life of someone who wasn't him played out in his mind. Son to a failed business man who became obsessed with power and wealth who worked his way into Empire State University where he studied chemistry and electrical engineering while also taking a ton of business administration classes. But when a cheating apparatus was reported by a once-friend, he lost his scholarship and nearly got kicked out of the university. Graduated with honours in both his subjects. Married his college sweetheart who died during child birth to his son, Harry. Fell into work and building up his company. Neglected his son. Became more obsessed with work and the money/power it gave him.

And then...nothing. Now, he was the new Norman. He'd taken over his body.

Standing from his kneeling position, the new Norman gave a near silent sigh before getting out of his stained pajamas and using his new memories to find a mirror. When he found it, he quickly discovered he was much younger than he thought he'd be. The memories were there but he'd simply thought he'd had a lapse in remembering it perfectly due to his previous out-of-control state due to remembering the deal.

He was decently tall, a solid 6'1" with a more athletic physique than he was expecting as well. Looking through the memories with a finer mental comb, so to speak, he saw these weren't changes brought on by his new Augment genetics but because the old Norman knew a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. But mainly because the old Norman couldn't handle being weak, in any form.

But the physique seemed a little more defined than before. A little better in symmetry. In proportions. Slight changes most people wouldn't spot unless it was their own body.

In terms of looks, he was the same as before. No idol-level looks but decently handsome and without that weird hairstyle Norman had in the comics. Instead he had a messy side parted comb over of auburn hair and green eyes that look back at him in his reflection. The scratches on his face were already healing, to his astonishment, which brought him onto a new thought process outside his new appearance.

Turning away from the mirror, Norman dropped to the floor and began doing push ups. The conclusion he came to? They were too easy. He did one-handed push ups. Too easy. Then handstand push ups. Too easy. One handed handstand push ups. Too easy. One finger handstand push ups. That was going in the right direction, but even that was too easy for Norman's new body.

He stopped his impromptu exercising when he heard footsteps rapidly approaching his room. It was nice to know his senses were enhanced enough to pick up that and not overwhelm his mind like he'd read so much about in fanfics.

A few moments later and in walked an older man who he recognised quite quickly as Bernard, the long-standing butler for the Osborn household. Bernard was, like mentioned, an older gentleman being around his late fifties with greying hair and the universal signs of age - wrinkles - scattered across his face. His current visage was morphed into one of worry which was only escalated when he saw the puddle of vomit in the room.

"Sir," Bernard started, worry dripping from his tone, "Are you okay? I heard the gagging and rushed to come to your aide--is that blood, sir?!" he gasped before hurrying over to Norman who just stood there with a wry look on his face.

"It's okay Bernard," Norman started before sighing, "I seem to have been having a nightmare and hurt myself during it. When I woke whatever I must've seen made me sick to my stomach. But despite the seeming severity of such a bout of nausea, I'm fine. Truly." Norman's words had very little effect on the old butler who was hurriedly looking over the injuries of his employer.

"I'll call the doctor immediately, sir. Just sit by the bed while I do so--" Bernard's worrying was cut short by Osborn raising a hand in a gesture of silence.

A worrying smile despite his bloodied eyes spread across his face as he spoke, "Nevermind that, Bernard. Instead, get me the business records for Oscorp for the last year...I'm feeling stunningly inspired right now."

The butler was stunned for a brief second before he replied, "Business...records, sir?"

"Yes. Finances, ongoing projects, contracts - military and otherwise. Get me all of that as soon as you can, please, Bernard," Norman impatiently replied but still found it in himself to be polite even if a part of him wanted to hurry the old butler along just a tiny bit quicker. Why was he in such a hurry? Something had just came to him. He could feel the difference in intellect already.

Minutes into gaining it and the old Norman's memories, answers were coming to him before the questions even appeared in his mind. Projects at Oscorp that had been stuck in development hell with seemingly no answer were being solved in his mind in seconds.

While it was all fresh in his mind and he had the mental ball rolling, he wanted to get it all into order as soon as possible. The illogical unease that he'd suddenly lose these ideas prevalent in his mind.

He nearly found himself in a daze, the simple majesty of such pure and instantaneous thought almost hypnotising him into just standing there and figuring out problems with his new incredible intelligence. Though the new Norman was unlike the old Norman and didn't like to toot his own horn that much, so he'd much rather put his new desire into something more productive and filled with action rather than humor himself in a useless way.

Bernard looked at Norman oddly, glancing at the blood on his fingers and the sick not too far away from him, but nodded in the end and got on his way to sorting out Norman's orders. Meanwhile, Norman had a grin as he thought about the renovation he was about to put Oscorp through.

Making a deal with an eldritch God was stupid, sure, but damn if it didn't have some perks to it.