Marvel - The Blood God

"Damn it."

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office in the Osborn Building, Norman Osborn glared at the protesting crowd below and couldn't help but hurl his wine glass to the floor.

Trouble just kept piling up. Oscorp's stock price had just started to recover, and now, because of this incident, it was plunging sharply again.

Allegations of racial discrimination were a sensitive issue in the United States, and Max was the designer of the power grid. If he won his lawsuit, Oscorp would lose control and use of the grid.

At that moment, footsteps sounded behind him. Without turning around, Norman asked, "McCann, did you find out? Was the power grid really designed by Max?"

The vice president of Oscorp, an elderly white man, nodded and said, "Yes, the grid was indeed designed by Max. He's a bit of a recluse, so some people in the power department took credit for his work."

"Damn it. Fire them all."

Norman cursed, then asked, "What about the racial discrimination claims?"

McCann replied, "There's no evidence of that. Someone must have coached Max to say it. This whole thing is getting out of hand. I suspect someone is targeting Oscorp."

"Find out who's behind this," Norman ordered. "Also, track down Max and reach a settlement. Offer him more money if you have to, but he must publicly state that Oscorp is not racist."

"I'll go talk to him," McCann said. He hesitated, then added, "The city government has asked us to resolve this matter quickly, or they'll reconsider the power grid contract."

"Those greedy politicians." Norman knew they wanted a payoff. He said, "Give them what they want, just make sure they stay quiet. We can't afford the stock price to drop any further."

"Yes, Mr. Osborn," McCann nodded and turned to leave. After a moment's thought, Norman called in Director Niles and Dr. Storm, the lead researcher on the human enhancement serum.

Sitting down, Norman asked, "When can we start human trials for the enhancement serum?"

"The test subjects have been selected," Dr. Storm replied. "We can officially begin after a few more days of training. However, Norman, I think we should proceed cautiously. There's something off about this serum."

Norman dismissed his concerns. "We don't have time. We start the experiment tomorrow. In seven days, we'll present our results to the Department of Defense and get them to sign with us. Only then can our stock price recover."

"Seven days?" Dr. Storm shook his head repeatedly. "That's impossible. After injection, we need at least a month to observe for side effects."

"Seven days," Norman insisted. "Niles, help Dr. Storm complete it."

Norman believed that after improving the serum, there was only a 20% chance of complications. With more test subjects, they were bound to get a successful result.

Then they could fudge the data and present the successful subject. The Department of Defense wouldn't know the truth and would think the experiment was a success.

Human enhancement has always been the military's dream. They would sign a contract with Oscorp and provide substantial funding.

With the funds in place, the stock price would soar. Later, they could perfect the serum at their leisure. This way, Oscorp would not only survive the crisis but also secure a large defense contract. It was a perfect plan.

"I'll assist Dr. Storm to complete the experiment," Niles nodded. Dr. Storm knew it was useless to argue further. He sighed and went to prepare for the experiment.

After Dr. Storm left, Norman asked Niles, "Have you taken care of the previous incident?"

Niles replied, "Yes. Except for the few successful test subjects, all others have been dealt with. No one will know what happened."

"Very good," Norman nodded with satisfaction. He instructed, "Hide those successful subjects. They might be useful in the future."

Those few successful subjects were homeless people they had captured. They couldn't be exposed and had to continue with the experiments.

"Understood," Niles said and turned to leave. Once the door closed, Norman took trembling hands from his pocket and swallowed some pills. His illness was getting worse.

After a brief rest, Norman stood up, walked to the window, and muttered to himself with a twisted expression, "Whether it's enemies or disease, nothing can defeat me. I'm Norman Osborn."

That night, Trish brought a dejected Jessica to the Dragon's Den Tea House. Jessica asked in surprise, "That guy really has more money than Tony Stark? Trish, are you dreaming or am I?"

"Show some respect. Without Master's help, I'd have been kicked out today," Trish said indignantly. "Master is powerful. My future depends entirely on him."

Jessica retorted, "You're changing your tune awfully fast. Wait, you became his disciple to host a social column. What about my apprenticeship?"

"You're no good; you didn't acknowledge him as your master. By the way, you skipped work today, and Master might punish you." Trish said with a smile. The tables had turned, and she was enjoying it.

"Why am I so unlucky? Master is obviously playing favorites." Jessica grumbled. As they walked into the tea house's backyard, they saw Mrs. Gao training ten strong men—they were members of Maverick's guard team.

As the leader of the Council of Blood, Maverick had ten personal guards, led by Mercury. Each was an elite, but they were rarely needed because Maverick was stronger than all of them combined.

Trish asked curiously, "Mrs. Gao, where is Master? Who are these people?"

"Your master went on a cruise with a Hollywood star. I'll be instructing you for now," Mrs. Gao replied. "As for these ten, they're your master's guards."

"Went on a cruise with a Hollywood star?" Both Trish and Jessica were speechless. Their master was unreliable.

"Alright, don't waste time. Go change into your training clothes," Mrs. Gao said sternly. "Also, Jessica, since you skipped work today, you're not allowed to leave the tea house without permission."

Jessica protested, "This is kidnapping. I want my freedom."

"If you can beat me, you'll have your freedom. Although you're strong, your fighting skills are zero," Mrs. Gao said. Jessica wanted to argue, but Trish eagerly pulled her away—she couldn't wait to start learning kung fu.

As the two girls left, a waiter led a thin young man into the yard. "Mrs. Gao, he says he's here to apply for the sparring partner position."

Mrs. Gao looked Peter Parker up and down. "I remember you. Are you sure you want to be a sparring partner?"

"Yes. You mentioned before that the pay is good, and it's only two hours a day. Is that true?" Peter asked, glancing around for any sign of Trish. He wanted to apologize to her; he hadn't expected that photo to cause so much trouble.

That's why Peter decided to quit his job as a photographer. It was one thing to betray himself and be scolded, but he couldn't drag others down. He was Spider-Man, everyone's friendly neighborhood hero, and he couldn't do bad things.

Besides, this job seemed more suitable. The pay was good, the hours were short, and the work was easy—training with two young ladies.

"The salary will satisfy you. Go change your clothes. You can shower here for free, and we'll provide a late-night snack," Mrs. Gao said. She didn't understand why Maverick valued this kid so much, but since he had instructed her, she would train him well.

That's right; asking Peter to be a sparring partner was actually to train him. Spider-Man's fighting skills were lacking; he relied entirely on his abilities.

"Thank you." Peter was delighted. But when he returned after changing, he found that instead of training with two young ladies as he'd imagined, he was faced with ten fierce men glaring at him.

Peter was dumbfounded. "Wait, where are the ladies?"

Jessica whispered, "I think Master wants to teach this kid a lesson."

Trish said, "No, I think he wants to kill him."

"Begin." Mrs. Gao didn't waste words. She signaled, and the ten guards attacked. Peter ran around the yard in a panic, shouting, "Don't hit me. Don't hit me." Jessica and Trish were amused. Where did this monkey come from?

Though Peter looked embarrassed, Mrs. Gao grew more and more astonished. Under the siege of ten men, Peter wasn't hit even once.

Even though the guards were only using ordinary human strength, they were still ten against one.

Mrs. Gao observed carefully and saw the key. This kid could sense danger in advance. He often dodged just as the attacker moved. Moreover, his agility was astonishing.

"He's hiding his true strength. Maverick was right; this kid is a martial arts prodigy." Mrs. Gao's eyes lit up as if she had found a perfect piece of uncut jade. She decided to train him into a true master.

Peter didn't know he was being evaluated. He was considering whether to quit. This job wasn't easy at all.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed. The racial discrimination scandal at Oscorp continued to fester because Max refused to settle, and it was intensifying. While Norman was trying to put out fires, he invited General Slocum from the Department of Defense to see the results of their experiments.

To Norman's surprise, Bagan, a company shareholder, brought along a strange young man.

Bagan introduced him, "Norman, this is Mr. Maverick, the chairman of the Council of Blood. I invited him to observe our experiment."

Norman was taken aback. The Council of Blood? That vampire organization?

"Hello, Mr. Osborn," Maverick extended his hand. Norman reluctantly shook it and then excused himself, leaving on the pretext of other matters.

Bagan said disapprovingly, "That was rude. But Mr. Maverick, Norman's capabilities are strong. Oscorp will definitely get the Department of Defense to approve the contract."

Maverick smiled, "I hope so. Oscorp's stock price has been dropping lately."

"It will rebound." Bagan insisted. He was the shareholder who wanted to exchange shares with Maverick. He had invited Maverick to prove Oscorp's value.

Maverick smiled but said nothing. The stock price would rise? Not if he had anything to say about it.

At that moment, General Slocum arrived. Hearing Bagan's introduction of Maverick, he was startled. He approached Maverick and said in a low voice, "Your Council's reach is getting a bit too long."

"Just here to observe," Maverick replied with a smile. "Besides, General Slocum, you weren't planning to sign with Oscorp anyway, were you?"

"That's right. I wasn't planning to, and now, even less so after seeing you." General Slocum snorted and walked away. Maverick shrugged and silently followed the group.

Everyone then entered the viewing platform under Norman's guidance. Pointing to the open field outside the glass, Norman excitedly said:

"General Slocum, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Oscorp's experimental base. Today, we'll showcase our human enhancement serum and personal flight equipment. I believe they will help our country defend the world more effectively."

As Norman spoke, three men in green bio-armor flew over on gliders resembling large bats.

Maverick glanced at the black smoke trailing behind the gliders and remarked with a smile, "Not very eco-friendly, is it?"

Norman's face stiffened, but he forced a smile. "That's a minor issue. We can improve it. Now, let's look at the glider's offensive capabilities. It can not only fly but also carries machine guns and miniature missiles..."

The three test subjects received orders and activated the machine guns on their gliders via wrist controls. The guns roared to life, obliterating a row of targets on the ground.

But that wasn't all. The test subject on the right also launched a miniature missile, leaving a fiery crater in its wake.

Applause broke out. Despite his reservations about Oscorp, General Slocum couldn't help but be impressed. This personal flight equipment was impressive, but how difficult was it to operate?

Then, the three test subjects jumped from over ten meters high. Everyone gasped, but they landed unscathed and even hefted Vulcan cannons used by attack helicopters, firing wildly around.

"They've all been injected with the enhancement serum. Their strength is three times that of ordinary people, and all their abilities have been significantly improved," Norman said proudly.

However, he failed to notice that one of the test subjects, a white man, was becoming overly excited from the continuous shooting. His breathing grew rapid.

The test subject was a veteran named Jace. Seeing Norman and the defense officials pointing and gesturing, he suddenly felt a surge of resentment.

These bigwigs had no idea how tough it was on the front lines. He had been kicked out of the army and lost his benefits just for killing a few prisoners.

"These bastards, they all deserve to die."

This thought surged in Jace's mind. Without the serum, it might have remained just a thought. But the serum amplified his darker impulses, turning thoughts into actions.

Suddenly, Jace dropped the Vulcan cannon, leaped into the air, and his glider swooped down to catch him. A machine gun emerged from under the glider. People on the platform thought it was part of the demonstration.

"All of you, die."

With a twisted grin, Jace aimed the machine gun at the platform and opened fire. The glass shattered instantly, and several officials were hit, blood spraying as they screamed and fell.

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