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With Peter and the friendly Gwen there, Harry blended in quickly. They all chatted and laughed as they ate.
Dan, on the other hand, mostly just listened while eating. He only chimed in when someone directly addressed him, but his eyes were fixed on Harry the whole time.
As he studied Harry, Dan thought to himself:
If I remember right, in one version of Spider-Man, the Osborn family had some kind of genetic illness. The men never lived past middle age. Could this Norman have it too?
Harry still seems pretty cheerful, but from what he said earlier, it sounds like Norman's health might already be failing. That would explain why he's suddenly training Harry to take over the company—while he's still in high school.
If that's the case, Norman's probably already working on the Green Goblin serum...
Dan absentmindedly munched on fries as he thought about it. That Green Goblin guy wasn't easy to deal with. In both comics and movies, he gave Spidey a ton of trouble. High-tech weapons, enhanced strength, and genius-level intellect—if Peter ran into him now, he'd get wrecked.
Dan looked at the trio in front of him—Peter, Gwen, and Harry—and suddenly, a terrible thought crossed his mind.
Shit… it's the Amazing Spider-Man timeline!
He squeezed his fries too hard and crushed them without meaning to.
"Dan? You okay?" Peter, always observant, noticed something was off.
Dan shoved the crushed fries into his mouth and laughed awkwardly.
"Nothing, nothing. I was just wondering… if you crush fries like this, does it count as mashed potatoes?"
That got a laugh out of everyone.
"Haha, dude, that's actually pretty funny," Harry said, smashing his fries with a fork and trying them. "Kinda tastes like it too!"
Looked like he managed to play it off. Dan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then Harry suddenly said, "Oh right, there's a charity gala this weekend at the Valentine Orphanage. Supposedly, tons of top businesspeople and CEOs are gonna be there. You guys wanna check it out?"
"Charity gala?" Dan paused, then asked, "Is it organized by Stark Industries?"
Harry raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know? I thought I was the first to find out."
Peter jumped in to smooth things over. "Harry, Dan actually grew up at Valentine Orphanage."
"Whoa, sorry man—I didn't know. No offense," Harry said apologetically.
Dan waved it off. "No worries. So the gala's this weekend?"
Harry nodded. "Yup. Stark Industries sent invitations to pretty much every top company in New York. My dad says it might be the biggest charity event the city's ever seen. Osborn Corp got an invite too. That's why I figured I'd ask if you guys wanted to come—I could bring you in with me."
Gwen twirled a lock of hair. "A charity gala, huh? Sounds interesting. But I probably can't go with you guys. If it's that high-profile, my dad's probably going too."
"Your dad?" Harry looked curious.
Gwen smiled brightly.
"My dad's George Stacy. He works for the NYPD."
"You're Captain George Stacy's daughter?!"
Harry caught on immediately.
"Whoa, looks like it's just the three of us going together then," Gwen said with a smile.
"Don't worry, I'll come find you guys later."
They started chatting about the charity gala again, and somehow the topic shifted to Tony Stark's endless scandals, then to all the weird stuff going on around New York lately. They kept talking until lunch break was over.
After school, Gwen was picked up by her dad, and Harry offered to give Peter and Dan a ride home. But Dan turned him down, saying he had some things to take care of.
Watching his friends leave one by one, Dan started heading home.
He took out his phone and dialed Tony Stark.
"Hello, this is Tony Stark."
Stark was in his lab, tinkering with a new weapon.
"It's me, Dan. Tony, did you sort out the charity gala?"
Stark sounded a little surprised.
"Whoa, how'd you find out? I was gonna surprise you! Who spilled the beans and ruined my big plan?"
"I heard from a classmate. Word is you invited every top entrepreneur in New York, huh?"
Leaning back in his chair, Stark sounded super proud.
"Damn right I did. Since you left this in the capable hands of Tony Stark, I'm making sure it's done right. Trust me, once the charity gala is over, Valentine Orphanage will be the best in the entire city."
Dan took a deep breath and said sincerely, "Thanks, Tony."
"Haha, what are you thanking me for? We're partners, aren't we?"
Stark stroked his goatee, then suddenly grinned.
"Dan, where are you right now?"
Dan blinked. "I'm on my way home. Why?"
"Stay right there. I'm sending someone to get you."
Click. Stark hung up before Dan could say anything.
"Tony? Hello? Tony!"
Dan called out twice, then stared at his phone. The guy actually hung up on him.
"Seriously, what is this guy even thinking? Always breaking the rules… no wonder he ended up suffering in Afghanistan."
He grumbled for a bit and then put away his phone.
Not long after, a black Lincoln pulled up beside him. The window rolled down, and a chubby guy gave him a once-over.
"You Dan?"
Dan nodded.
"I'm Happy. Hop in. Mr. Stark sent me to pick you up."
Happy? Wait a second—this guy was Stark's driver?
Dan got in the car, curiosity bubbling up. "Uh, Mr. Happy, do you know where Mr. Stark's taking me?"
Happy started the car.
"Didn't he tell you? Here's your schedule. Take a look. We've got a lot to do today."
He handed Dan a piece of paper. Dan took one look and froze.
"Spokesperson for the Valentine Orphanage Charity Gala?! Why the hell am I the spokesperson?!"
Happy just chuckled.
"If you're not the spokesperson, then who else could be? You're the one who asked Mr. Stark to organize the event, right? So technically, you're the real star of the show. Stark's just building the stage for you."
Dan's face darkened instantly.
"That damn Stark!"
He'd had a bad feeling when he first asked Stark for help… and sure enough, it came true.
"....."