Time rushed into December 2012. Well, perhaps not rushed, but all in all, both Peter Parker and Spider-Man had a remarkably uneventful period, aside from accompanying Gwen or Cindy on two more outings.
It was eerily calm.
It seemed that both the fugitive Doctor Octopus and Mister Sinister, who possessed the gene-splicing tool, had vanished without a trace. The whole of New York only saw minor criminal activities. While world peace was good, having world peace when you knew someone was plotting something was downright strange.
Peter was fairly certain this was the calm before the storm—that these individuals were definitely plotting in the shadows. He just didn't know what they were up to.
And so, time moved on to December and the scheduled tour of Osborn Industries .
"Do you think Norman Osbornis planning to create another Spider-Man, which is why they're having another tour?"
Before reaching Osborn Industries, Gwen asked Peter curiously, leaving him speechless. He certainly believed Osborn Industries wanted to create a new Spider-Man to prove the complete success of their 'Savage Strength' project. The problem was that neither Dr. Connors nor Dr. Jonathan had managed to resolve the contamination issue caused by extraneous genes in the genetic programming. For most people, genetic modification wouldn't grant superpowers. Becoming a monster like Curt Connors was a good outcome; the majority would likely die outright.
"All I can tell you is don't overthink it. Besides, the head of the Super Soldier project now is Dr. Connors. He loves to study lizards, so just make sure you don't get bitten and turn into Lizard Woman."
Gwen imagined herself turning into a Lizard Person or something crocodile-like and shivered. As they spoke, the bus arrived beneath the Osborn Industries building, and the students filed out.
Harry wasn't there; he was still quite displeased with his father. Amadeus wasn't there either. He had taken quite a few days off lately, barely maintaining the minimum credits needed. The rumor was that Hercules needed a guide and had taken 'Old Zhao' away.
Even Cindy didn't come today; SHIELD apparently had some business and called her away.
Peter relaxed by half.
"Welcome, everyone, to Osborn Industries. I am the CEO of Osborn Industries, Norman Osborn."
Whether surprising or not, Norman was personally in charge of greeting the students. He appeared on the roof of the building in a suit and tie, solemnly leading the students into the newly redecorated Osborn building. Today, the lobby of Osborn Industries had been set up as an exhibition hall, filled with a large display of Osborn Industries products.
However, this time, let alone the radioactive spider, there were no genetically modified creatures of any kind in the exhibition.
It looks like Osborn is trying not to cause any more accidents...
Peter thought this to himself, about to step inside, when Gwen held his hand. She then blinked innocently. Peter simply smiled, took Gwen's hand, and walked into the lobby, starting to look at what new things were on display.
It was somewhat unexpected that, despite being a technology exhibition aimed at students, most of the products on display this time were from the military industry. Osborn Industries didn't produce weapons, but it provided a large amount of battlefield support equipment, including the latest drone models and a series of high-tech gear, such as new powered exoskeleton suits.
Peter even spotted the next-generation hover platform that replaced the Vulture's wings—likely the future Green Goblin hover platform, if there would be a future Green Goblin. At least for now, Osborn's mental state seemed quite healthy!
"Is this Osborn Industries' style?" Gwen muttered curiously. This was completely different from the exhibition she and Peter saw nine months ago. Peter nodded as he walked. This really wasn't Osborn's usual style.
Mainly, why display these items to a group of high school students, American high school students at that? Was he expecting these kids to join the army? Or to devote themselves to the military-industrial complex? Joining the military in America didn't exactly have the same sense of honor...
Peter mused as he walked on. He stopped in front of the display case for Osborn Industries' new powered armor suit, finding the sight strange. Then, he suddenly realized something.
Perhaps...
"What's wrong? You look troubled."
"I just find it odd. This tech exhibition, which looks like it was put together last minute, seems designed to catch my attention, but Osborn hasn't contacted me about anything. It's as if he wants to find me but doesn't want to do it openly."
It was very strange. Norman Osborn was hiding something—that was the only answer Peter could come up with.
"So... are you going to work?"
"I'm not sure. Just a moment."
Peter excused himself to the restroom, then called Harry, who was killing time at the Web-Slingers Base. Norman's actions today were very strange: hosting an exhibition completely unsuitable for high school students, getting him to come, yet making no direct contact, only showing his face at the start. He planned to find Norman to ask what was going on, but first, he needed Harry to find out what his dad had been up to lately.
"Hey, Peter, is something going on at the tech show?"
"I suspect your dad needs something from me but is afraid to say it outright. He might be hiding something. Can you help me investigate?"
Harry on the other end hesitated for a moment.
"Are you serious? The computers at the Web-Slingers Base were supplied by Osborn Industries. Won't they be useless for checking up on my dad?"
"I switched them to the Avengers system ages ago. It's a direct connection to J.A.R.V.I.S."
Ever since discovering Norman had hidden information about the Vulture, Peter had started replacing the underlying operating system of the Web-Slingers' computers with the Avengers' system, though they still maintained an Osborn Industries shell on the outside. Harry, upon hearing he could investigate his dad, immediately became excited: "You wait right there. I'll check for you right now."
Peter hung up the phone, somewhat resigned. He then sent Gwen a message, telling her he needed to do some Spider-Man work, before immediately becoming invisible, donning the symbiote suit, and starting to crawl toward Norman Osborn's office.
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