Kurt stood straight, his tone calm but edged with curiosity.
"You asked me to investigate Gwen—how she gained her powers, and why she hides them so well."
Nathan's gaze sharpened, silently urging him to continue.
Kurt sighed. "I checked. I dug into every record I could find. And the truth is… there are no clues at all."
He flipped open his tablet, scrolling through the compiled surveillance logs.
"She became the Ghost Spider, but almost no one knows about it. Gwen's concealment is meticulous—better than most trained operatives. Even her closest classmates have no idea. She's hidden her trail flawlessly. Whatever gave her that power, she's buried it too deep. I couldn't uncover it."
Nathan's eyelids twitched. His lips curved in a humorless smirk.
"So that's your report? Nothing found?"
Kurt quickly raised a hand. "Not entirely nothing. I did notice something else. Gwen may not have revealed the source of her power… but her behavior at Osborn is suspicious. She isn't just here to work. She's looking for something."
Nathan's tone dropped an octave. "What is she looking for?"
"Good question," Kurt replied. "I asked myself the same thing. We both know the company's greatest secret—the Extraordinary Spider—is stored securely. She never once went near it. There would be no need. If she wanted spider DNA, she wouldn't need to sneak around."
He tapped the screen and slid the tablet across the table.
On it were surveillance clips: Gwen roaming the OsCorp labs. She wasn't reckless—she always timed her searches between shifts, blending her movements with legitimate duties. But occasionally her gaze darted to closed drawers, restricted cabinets, hidden consoles. The recordings showed moments where she lingered just too long, eyes narrowing as if searching for something invisible.
Finally, one clip showed her leaving a lab with a frustrated expression.
"She didn't find what she was looking for," Kurt concluded.
Nathan studied the footage silently. His mind whirled. Gwen Stacy wasn't careless. If she was infiltrating Osborn under the guise of an internship, it meant she was searching for something personal, something valuable—perhaps even something she didn't want anyone else to know about.
"Do you know what it is?" Nathan asked at last.
Kurt shook his head. "I don't. I only know she's searching. The specifics remain hidden."
Nathan tapped the table thoughtfully. "Then we'll pry deeper. Find me an opportunity to secure Gwen's DNA. I need to know whether her spider gene sequence matches the one from the Extraordinary Spider we've contained."
His eyes glinted with steel.
"If she gained her powers from my company's specimen… I'll know. I want to see what exactly made her into Ghost Spider."
Kurt inclined his head. "Understood, Boss. I'll arrange it. Sooner or later, I'll find a chance to collect her DNA discreetly."
---
But Kurt wasn't finished.
"It's not just Gwen," he said, lowering his voice. "There's something else. Something you asked me to investigate—the Essex Group."
At the name, Nathan's expression grew colder. "Go on."
"You told me to uncover what kind of technology they've been hoarding. Their genetic weapons, their secret projects. I've been digging, but Essex is locked tighter than a vault. They guard their research like it's gold. It's impenetrable."
Nathan folded his arms. "And yet you said you found something."
Kurt nodded gravely. "I did. Essex is moving. Recently, they've mobilized extraordinary resources—diverting manpower, cutting down their Mutant hunts, and redirecting everything to one objective. They're searching for something. Something important enough to risk slowing their entire Mutant program."
Nathan's brows furrowed. "They've reduced Mutant captures? That's their lifeblood. For them to shift priorities means this new objective is… critical."
"Yes," Kurt agreed. "Whatever it is, it must be a prize of extraordinary value. Something that could elevate Essex to a whole new level of power."
Nathan leaned back, silent for a long moment. The idea of Essex growing stronger left a sour taste in his mouth. He and Essex were natural enemies. Sooner or later, he would take what he needed from them. If they grew more powerful, it would only make the theft more difficult.
He muttered under his breath: "Their growth is dangerous. I'd rather see them weakened than strengthened."
Kurt nodded. "I'll keep investigating. I suspect Essex will locate whatever they're hunting soon. When they do, I'll have the details ready."
Nathan's eyes burned with cold certainty. "Good. Find it before they do. Essex cannot be allowed to rise unchecked."
---
Essex Headquarters
Far away, in the heavily fortified Essex Intelligence Department, the company's own analysts gathered in tense whispers.
"Someone's probing us," one officer said grimly. "They've been asking questions through multiple channels, circling around our inner operations."
"Agreed," another confirmed. "And it's not just talk. There have been sightings—unidentified figures near headquarters. Stealthy, fast, gone before our patrols could catch them. Whoever they are, they're professionals."
The room hummed with unease.
"Who would dare target Essex?" one whispered.
At that moment, the door opened.
A tall, scarred man entered, his presence silencing the room: Donald, Essex's mercenary commander.
"You said we've been targeted?" he asked bluntly.
"Yes, sir," an officer replied. They quickly outlined the details: the probing questions, the stealthy figures, the suspicious activity.
Donald's brows furrowed. "So someone dares to spy on Essex." His voice was dark, amused, almost taunting.
He scoffed. "Do they not understand our power? Our reach? To set eyes on us is to invite death."
He paced, muttering aloud. "Could it be S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Sword Bureau? Military intelligence? Some coalition?" He shook his head. "No. None of them would be foolish enough. We've done nothing to provoke them recently. They wouldn't waste their efforts."
For a brief moment, the thought of Osborn crossed his mind. But Donald dismissed it almost instantly.
"Osborn?" he snorted. "A child among giants. A company of no consequence. They wouldn't dare."
He barked an order: "Track the infiltrators. Hunt them down. Whoever they are, I'll show them what it means to stare at Essex."
His eyes glinted with menace. "I want to see who's bold enough to play games with us."
"Yes, sir!" his subordinates chorused.
---
Nathan's Lab
Back in his hidden laboratory, Nathan sat hunched over his instruments. Streams of gamma readings and demonic resonance curves scrolled across the monitors.
His hands hovered above the console as he adjusted calibration. Suddenly, the sensors spiked. A strange pulse rippled through the lab, an alien fluctuation spreading outward like a tremor.
Nathan's eyes narrowed, his breath steady.
"So… it's here."
He stood slowly, shoulders squaring, as if preparing for a confrontation unseen.
"I'd like to see," he murmured darkly, "whose power you've borrowed this time. Dimensional… or something more."
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