----
Norman lay writhing on the ground, screaming in agony. Nolan simply watched, expression unreadable.
Eventually, the screams faded. Gasping for breath, Norman pushed himself up, sweat dripping from his brow.
"God… that feels amazing," he murmured.
For the first time in years, the voice in his head was gone. The endless mental battle, the constant noise it was silent now. He looked at Nolan, awe flashing in his eyes.
"You… you're a genius. A true miracle worker. You actually pulled it off."
Nolan shrugged. "It's just science."
He folded his arms. "Join me. The serum I gave you is a reversal agent with integrated regeneration. But if you overuse it, the Goblin could resurface. I need your expertise to help perfect the formula."
Norman didn't even blink at the warning. After what he'd been through, the idea of that thing coming back was far more terrifying than a flawed cure.
"Deal. I'm in," Norman said, then paused. "But I have one condition."
Nolan cut him off before he could finish.
"Your family's genetic disorder is already included in our research protocols. The Goblin Formula masked the disorder's symptoms, which made proper analysis impossible. But now, with you cured…"
He narrowed his eyes. "Your son, though…"
Norman's heart skipped. 'Don't tell me he—'
He knew how ruthless Nolan could be. The man lived for research everything else was secondary. Jessica had fallen into his trap the moment she became a subject of interest.
To someone like Nolan, people were tools. Data points. Components to be processed.
Norman, despite his flaws, loved his son. The entire human enhancement project had started with Harry in mind.
"He's been cozying up with S.H.I.E.L.D. lately," Nolan said flatly. "He's better off staying out of this."
"The agency's circling the drain anyway. Their days are numbered."
"He refused to work with me. So I shelved him for now. Prioritized fixing you instead."
In Nolan's mind, Harry was just a brainwashed kid fed lies by Maria Hill, told his father was kidnapped and his company stolen.
Nolan scoffed. 'Stolen? He had bought Oscorp. Every share. Every cent.'
Norman lowered his gaze. "I'll talk to him. He'll listen to me."
"Good," Nolan said. "From this point on, you're Oscorp's Executive Director. I won't involve myself in daily management. But when I speak on research projects, funding, or materials you follow my lead."
"Yes, sir."
Norman had no illusions. Nolan wasn't just a genius he was in control. Norman knew his place.
"Connors," Nolan called, "send Peter Parker an Oscorp internship offer. Before onboarding, find a way to get him to do a full medical screening."
"And if he refuses…" he paused.
"Get me his genetic sequence. I don't care how."
Then he turned to the glass chamber holding Jessica.
"I promised to show you the beauty of experimentation," Nolan said. "Let's begin."
With a press of a button, gas flooded the containment cell.
Jessica scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You think I'm falling for this again?" she snapped. Then dizziness hit her hard.
"Still pretending to pass out?" Nolan sighed. "You guys really need to be more creative."
"I haven't even done anything yet. Look at Logan I've run dozens of tests on him, and he's still alive."
"Cooperate, and I'll let you all go once my work's complete."
Jessica snapped her eyes open, but the chamber was already thick with vapor.
"Damn you! If I get out of here, you're dead!"
"Sure," Nolan replied. "We'll see. Increase the dosage."
The mist thickened. Jessica's breathing grew ragged… then her body slumped to the floor.
Nolan listened to her slowing heartbeat through his custom-built super-hearing headset. He was a marvelous piece of tech. He just didn't have the bandwidth to process all the information himself.
Otherwise, he'd have an entire spy network by now.
Wait...
A flash of inspiration hit him.
If he could design a headset that picked up sound like this, what if he turned every hearing aid in New York into a relay?
A citywide web of surveillance… Everyone wearing a hearing device could become his ears.
Focus, he told himself. It was a good idea but he lacked the engineering specialists to make it a reality. Connors and Norman were strictly biotech. Marvel had no shortage of geniuses but most of them specialized.
Like Connors. Or Otto Octavius.
Still, there were polymaths out there Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Bruce Banner…
"Octavius…" Nolan muttered. "He's next."
He would've recruited Stark, but the man wasn't interested. Richards had his own lab and team. Banner was… complicated. (Hulk is....)
"Prep her for transport," Nolan ordered. "Inject her with Phoenix 2.0 Goblin variant."
"Sir?"
"She's too beautiful to turn into a lizard. Let's keep things clean."
"Understood."
…
Later, Nolan stared at Jessica's muscle biopsy on a monitor.
"Her muscle and bone density are off the charts," he murmured. "With this level of compact cellular structure, how the hell does she fly?"
Her muscle fibers were at least ten times denser than a normal human's. Her skeletal cells were just as extreme.
That kind of density should make her far too heavy to leave the ground.
He glanced over at her unconscious body as assistants continued collecting tissue samples.
"Clear the room," Nolan said, waving the others away.
Jessica stirred, eyes locking onto his with burning fury.
"Try flying," he said.
He suspected that flight wasn't just a physical trait it might trigger a neurological response. Maybe her brain secreted a hormone that reduced mass or disrupted gravity's pull.
Jessica's eyes narrowed.
"This is what you call science? Go to hell."
She surged forward, but the vibranium shackles held fast. Her face twisted with humiliation.
She had been stripped, displayed like a lab rat cut open, examined, deconstructed.
But this was worse than anything she'd endured under Kilgrave.
At least Kilgrave used her. Nolan… he didn't see her as a person at all.
She was just raw material.
"Bring Connors in," Nolan ordered.
"You son of a—!"
Connors arrived moments later.
"You'll assist me," Nolan said. "Begin cortical stimulation. Start mapping every neural response. Try excising select brain tissue if necessary. I want a complete cellular profile. Every cell."
Connors nodded without hesitation.
Jessica was just another subject now.
"You could've avoided all this if you just cooperated," Connors muttered. "Would've been a lot less painful."
Brain stimulation and excision were the most extreme experimental protocols. Usually reserved for the most uncooperative subjects.
The lab could simulate any neural signal pain, pleasure, or fear by mimicking the brain's electrical impulses.
Nolan stood calmly, watching.
"I told you from the start," he said coldly. "If you cooperate, the pain stops. But if you resist…"
"Then the pain only gets worse."
----
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