Oscorp Tower. Top Floor. 8:30 PM.
The city lights of New York stretched out below like a complex circuit board. From this height, the people were invisible, merely data points in a system owned by Oscorp.
Norman Osborn stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. He held a crystal glass of scotch, but he wasn't drinking. He was watching the reflection of the room behind him.
Bzzzt.
"Sir? Mr. Harry is here," his secretary announced via the intercom.
"Send him in."
Harry walked in. He looked exhausted, his shoulders slumped, but there was a flicker of nervous defiance in his eyes.
"Father," Harry said, stopping well short of the desk.
"Harry," Norman turned slowly. His face was a mask of perfect corporate calm. "I assume you have a report on our new intern's first assignment?"
Harry swallowed hard. He pulled out his phone.
"I texted him. He... he said there is no project to report. He said he went to Brooklyn to help a friend with math homework. He said he's done for the day."
Harry delivered the lie with a shaky voice, trying desperately to protect his friend.
Norman didn't speak. He didn't blink. He just stared at his son with eyes that seemed to dissect him.
"Homework," Norman repeated softly. The word sounded ridiculous in the high-tech office. "In Brooklyn. Immediately after leaving the most advanced laboratory in the Western Hemisphere."
"Yes, sir."
Norman walked over to Harry. He moved silently, like a predator stalking prey. He plucked the phone from Harry's hand.
"Do you think I am a fool, Harry?"
"No, Father."
"Then do not insult me with such transparent lies."
Norman threw the phone onto the leather couch. He walked back to his desk and tapped the surface. A holographic map of New York sprang into the air.
"JARVIS isn't the only eye in the sky."
The map zoomed in on Brooklyn. A small red dot was pulsing near a park.
"I placed a passive tracker on Mr. White's phone the moment he entered this building. Standard protocol," Norman lied smoothly. "He went to a desolate park. And look at this."
He tapped a key. Energy readings overlayed the map.
[Detecting Bio-Electric Anomaly. Energy Spike: High.]
Norman's eyes gleamed with a dangerous intelligence.
"Homework doesn't generate bio-electricity, Harry. Do you know what does?"
He swiped the air, bringing up a file: Subject 42. The missing spider.
"The specimen didn't die. It found a host."
Harry stared at the screen, genuinely confused. "You mean... someone was bitten?"
"Someone was bitten," Norman confirmed, a manic grin stretching his lips. "And Matthew found them. He found my property before I did."
"So... he's hiding it?" Harry asked, fear creeping into his voice. "What are you going to do? Fire him? Call the police?"
Norman laughed. It was a cold, sharp sound.
"Fire him? Why would I do that? He is doing me a favor."
Norman paced around the hologram.
"If I take the specimen now, it is raw. Untrained. Confused. But Matthew... Matthew is a genius. He is teaching it. He is molding it."
Norman turned to Harry, his eyes burning.
"I will let him keep his little secret. Let him do the hard work. Let him train my weapon for me."
"And then?" Harry whispered.
"And then," Norman looked at his reflection in the glass, "when the fruit is ripe... we harvest it."
He waved his hand dismissal. "Go home, Harry. Tell Matthew I accept his excuse. Tell him I admire his... loyalty to his friends."
Harry hesitated, sensing the trap, but nodded. "Yes, sir."
As Harry left, escaping the suffocating pressure of the room, Norman turned to a hidden panel in the wall.
He placed his palm on the scanner.
Access Granted.
The wall slid open, revealing a secret laboratory bathed in green light.
In the center stood a glass case containing a suit of emerald armor and a glider. But Norman ignored them. He walked to a table where a single syringe lay.
Inside was a glowing green liquid. The Performance Enhancer.
His hand shook—a tremor from the hereditary disease that was slowly killing him. The same disease Harry carried.
"Matthew White thinks he is a player in this game," Norman whispered to the silence. "He thinks he can hide from me."
He picked up the syringe.
"But he doesn't realize..."
Norman jammed the needle into his neck.
He gasped as the serum flooded his veins. His eyes widened. The blue irises darkened, consumed by a sickly, glowing green. The tremor in his hand vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of raw, chaotic power.
A voice—a new, cackling voice—echoed in the back of his mind.
...he just walked into the Goblin's nest.
~ MEANWHILE ~
Queens. The Dormitory. 10:00 PM.
I sat on my bed, staring at the wall. Nox was batting at a shadow.
My phone buzzed. It was Harry.
Harry:I told him. He... he said okay. He accepted the excuse. But Matt, he was weird. He talked about "loyalty." Be careful.
I read the message. A chill went down my spine.
"He didn't buy it," I whispered. "Norman Osborn never accepts an excuse unless it serves him."
I closed my eyes. [Mental Strength] activated. I scanned my immediate surroundings.
I focused on my jacket. Then my phone.
I couldn't see digital code—I didn't have that power yet. But I could use logic.
"If I were Norman, I would track me," I reasoned. "Passive GPS. Always on."
I looked at the phone like it was a poisonous snake.
"He knows I was in Brooklyn. He knows I lied."
I checked my internal system interface.
[Skill Creation Cooldown: 48 Hours]
"Damn it," I cursed. "I can't hack him. I can't block the signal digitally without leaving a trace."
If I destroyed the phone, he would know I knew. That would escalate things too fast.
I had to play the game.
"Okay, Norman," I muttered, picking up the phone and placing it conspicuously on my desk. "You want to watch me? Fine."
I would be the perfect student. I would go to class, go to the dorm, and sleep.
But when the "Ghost" needed to work... the phone would stay here.
I looked out the window. The city was out there. Miles was out there, confused and powerful. And now, a super-powered psychopath was watching us from his tower.
"System," I asked. "Current threat level?"
[Ding~ Analyzing Host's environment...] [Threat Level: High. Norman Osborn has ingested the serum. Instability increasing.]
I clenched my fist.
"I need to speed things up. Miles needs training. Peter needs to build the gear. And I..."
I looked at the clock.
"...I need to survive two more days until I can blind the bastard."