New York bustled with activity in these early morning hours. It was a bright spring morning, getting close to the early part of the summer. The sun shined brightly and gave everyone that great feeling to be alive. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky. It was one of those days which was perfect, not too hot, not too cold, it was just the proper medium.
A young man stood in the parking lot outside of a small and spacious looking café, just off of Empire State University. His long black hair was slightly unruly but it was mostly tamed. His green eyes were mostly hidden by a pair of stylish looking sunglasses. He wore a nice black shirt and a pair of matching black dress pants. Despite the fact that the clothes were slightly a bit loose for comfort reasons, one didn't have to look too hard to find out that he had a good mark.
The young man wiped a hand off of his unblemished forehead. He was close to nineteen years old. Like many young people around his age, he had a cell phone permanently grafted to his ear.
His name was Harry Evans-Parker, born Harry Potter, and he was currently on the phone with someone.
"So, how long do you think that you're going to be in Europe, Felicia?" Harry asked.
Felicia Hardy didn't mince any words in answering him. "It may be close to six months. It may be slightly longer. It depends on how my business goes."
"So, I guess the status of our relationship is going to be on hold then," Harry replied to her.
Felicia sounded solemn and Harry could almost see her in his mind's eye nodding on the other end of the phone. "Yes, but I'm not interesting in pursuing anyone else while I'm here. I don't want you to feel as if you're trapped or obligated to run anyone else by me."
Harry smiled and added. "So, we'll revisit this conversation when you get back?"
"Yes, when we get back, and when we figure out what to we want to do with us," Felicia agreed. "You're still the only man that I've ever loved who hasn't been related by blood. And obviously that's a different kind of love."
"I know that," Harry said.
The sound of Felicia clearing her head could be heard. "But…..we've never been shy about allowing other females into our bed. And given your nature, it's a matter of necessity. Not that I wouldn't mind if it wasn't. Most men don't even know what to do with one woman."
"That's true," Harry said, amusement barely breaking over his face.
"I've got to go, I'll be in touch soon as I can," Felicia said.
"Okay, bye, Felicia, I love you," Harry answered.
Felicia paused for a second. "I love you too."
Harry figured there was more to this little business trip than met the eye. Not that he was going to pry. He made a vow never to step one foot into Europe. Rose kept him apprised of the situation over there and what Harry found out was not encouraging. That world long since moved on from him, he was just assumed another tragic statistic among the many that were killed by Riddle.
Despite that fact, he didn't want to poke the sleeping dragon in the eye.
Harry entered the café with a smile on his face. The café was decked out in spring colors and was rather cozy looking. He spotted the people that he was going to meet for lunch and turned and faced them.
They were three girls, all of them were older than Harry, and went to ESU with him. Harry had graduated from high school at a young age and got into the college on a full scholarship due to his grades.
The first girl was a blonde female who wore button up blue blouse and jean shorts. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she had shimmering blue eyes.
"Harry, I thought for a moment that you couldn't make it," the blonde said with a smile on her face and she budged over to make a seat for Harry before another blonde can do the same.
The second blonde dressed in a white blouse, a jacket, and tight white pants. She was well endowed with bright eyes shining. She wore a pair of nice dress shoes that she dangled from her.
"Yes, we're extremely subtle, Susan," the blonde commented in a regal accent.
"Emma's just as excited to see you as well," Susan Storm said. There was a wicked grin on her face as Harry next to her and across from Emma and a third girl.
The girl woman looked extremely amused to be honest. She had long short dark hair that reached her shoulders in a cut. Her brown eyes shined brightly with warmth. She was dressed a bit more casually than the other girl and also extremely stylish. She wore a nice designer jacket and a black top, with black pants and a pair of nice boots.
"They've been at this all morning," she whispered to him. The third girl ignored the stares that she got from the other two girls. She casually took her coffee. "There's some obvious unresolved sexual tension there."
"I beg your pardon!" Emma said in outrage. The girl just smiled in response.
Harry chuckled in amusement. It was always amusing when some of the women in his life really got going in a conversation. Things could get fairly catty.
"Jan, how are you doing?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I'm good, I've got to give my presentation next week, and I'll be able to complete the final stages of work for my Doctorate in Molecular Biology," Jan said. Her voice bubbled over when she talked about her accomplishments in pure excitement. "And the newest fashion line will be ready."
"You should model for them Emma, you would enjoy the attention," Sue commented as she took a bite from her sandwich.
"And you share a similar unrefined sense of humor with your brother," Emma responded in her most brisk tone. She turned her attention towards Harry, to ignore the daggers Sue glared at her. "Did you speak to Felicia?"
"She'll be over in Europe for about the next six months," Harry said to her.
"It isn't anything bad, is there?" Susan asked. "The two of you have been together forever and well…"
Susan flushed slightly, she didn't quite know where she was going with this one.
"So, you don't know any the other particulars?" Emma asked him.
Harry frowned. That may have sunk the theory that Emma knew some details about Felicia leaving that he had not been privy for. "No, I don't."
The group discussed a few light topics for a couple of moments and ate their lunch.
"Did you hear about Tony Stark?" Jan asked.
Harry didn't hear about it. "No, what happened?"
"Well, he's missing," Susan piped up for Jan, before Emma could interject with her own knowledge on the situation. "He went overseas and he hasn't been heard back from in a week."
"Considering it's Stark, it's very likely he washes up on a beach somewhere unkempt and drunk," Emma commented dryly.
Harry looked skeptical about this fact. Tony Stark wasn't the type to just lose all contact without the outside world. He didn't know what precisely was up here.
"He'll turn up eventually," Emma added in what passed as reassurance for her. She seemed more bored than anything.
"You're all heart, you know that," Susan muttered underneath her breath.
Emma Frost was not deterred. Rather she popped on in with something else that she heard that might be of Harry's interest. "I'm sure you might have heard right now about the monster that has been terrorizing the Midwest."
"What?" Harry asked, interested in what Emma had to say.
"Indeed, he's been on a rampage," Emma continued. "No one quite knows where he came from either. Just one day he started to go on a rampage."
"Maybe he wants to be left alone," Jan said and she got her share of cross looks at the table. "Oh come on, large hulking monsters need their me time too."
"Of course, if you say so, dear," Emma said silkily.
Harry thought that there were a few interesting things happening. And it was just the tip of the iceberg.
"My business contacts say that the military is after him," Emma stated. "I'm not sure if it is to use him as a weapon or to contain him. It could go either way."
Harry decided to chew on that for a second.
"So, how is your work with Reed Richards going?" Harry asked Susan.
"Great, in the sense that it's intriguing work, not so great as in Reed enters his own little world when confronted with science," Susan told him. "I swear, I'm more of a babysitter, than an assistant most of the time."
"Is the ship ready?" Harry asked.
Susan nodded swiftly. "Yes, it is, we should be able to launch in the New Year and explore what boldly has never been explored before. This could revolutionize space travel. If Reed doesn't complicate the process too much, that is."
There was some doubt etched in Susan's eyes about that. Harry smiled and he took note of the time.
"We should do this again sometime, but I've got to be going," Harry said.
Jan frowned at him. "What's the rush?"
"I promised a friend that I'd meet her in about twenty minutes," Harry informed her and Jan nodded in understanding.
Emma gave a wicked grin and she wrapped her arms around him. She gave him a long kiss on the lips, upstaging the other two.
"Do stay in touch," Emma said. Her grin was really wicked and triumphant.
Harry smiled and decided to say goodbye to the other two. Without any other word, he made his way in the direction of the subway station.
The nice spring day continued to be bright and there was no sense that those arrangements would change. It was the perfect day for anyone to be alive. You would have to be pretty down on the world.
Midtown High was in Harry's line of sight when he walked after the trip that he took from the Subway Station.
"So, you don't need anything, do you, Mom?" Harry asked her.
"I don't need anything right now," May Parker said in a warm voice.
"I'll be home as soon as I can, I may be running a little late," Harry said to her. "Just to make sure that you don't worry or anything."
May waved off his protests on the other end of the phone. "Oh, I don't worry. I know that you'll find your way home. Thank you for telling me though…someone's at the door, I'll talk to you later, goodbye, love you."
"Love you too, Mom," Harry said and he concluded the phone call, having slipped inside of Midtown High and already had a pass to enter the school freely.
Not that anyone was going to deny Harry Potter any kind of access from the building. It was better to follow protocol more than anything.
No sooner than he concluded the phone call, a ballistic missile shot out of the corner of his eyes.
"Harry!"
Harry smiled as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. When she was done crushing all of the air out of him with her running glomp from behind, a bright eyed girl detached herself from Harry. Many considered her the smartest girl of her age and Harry doubted that there was a person who had any sense who would disagree.
Her blonde hair hung loosely down her back and a pair of bright blue eyes looked at him. She wore a black shirt that hugged her teenage body and a pair of jeans to match. A black headband topped off her outfit.
Harry chuckled as he came face to face with Gwendolyn Marie Stacy.
Gwen looked at him, practically babbling. "Oh, you kept your promise, I knew that you would keep your promise! Even though you didn't need to keep your promise, I mean, I know you've been busy with classes at ESU."
Harry chuckled with a smile on his face. He waited for Gwen to calm down.
"Gwen, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Harry said. No sooner did he say this, he spied a redhead and another blonde standing in the distance, both of them looked extremely amused.
The redhead wore a purple tank top that showed off her fit body. She added a pair of jean shorts to her outfit. Her name was Mary Jane Watson, and she was the girl next door to Harry. Mostly because she literally was the girl next door.
The blonde wore a black tank top and jeans, with a smile on her face.
"Harry, this is Liz Allan, I don't know if the two of you have met….." Gwen commented.
"We might have run into each other, it's good to see you again Liz," Harry said and she smiled.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Harry," Liz said. She took a moment to look him up and down.
"How are you doing Mary Jane?"
"You mean since the last time you saw me," Mary Jane commented with a smile when she leaned in to properly talk to Harry. "Pretty good actually."
"I didn't know that you were swinging by here."
Harry turned around and saw a young man with corn row hair cuts, dressed in a business suit. He reached forward, and gave him a cordial headshake with a smile on his face.
Harold Osborn was waiting for his brother at the top of the stairs and noticed Harry Evans-Parker talking to Liz, Gwen, and Mary Jane. He knew Harry personally and even if he didn't, he would have felt that he would have heard more than enough about him.
"So, how are you doing?" Harry asked with a smile and he gave the Osborn heir a firm handshake.
"Just waiting for Peter to get here," Harold answered.
"Actually, I saw him a moment ago, he had to go outside to meet some guy named…..Menken," Mary Jane responded, pausing to rack her brain to see if that was right. She didn't know Peter well but she did see him a time or too.
Harold sighed, there were sometimes where Peter didn't just wait around. His father remarried Peter's mother, so they were step brothers. Despite not being Norman's biological son, Harold grudgingly knew who Norman approved of more. He never was able to stand up to Norman Osborn's excessive high standards.
"Why don't we go outside?" Gwen suggested with a smile and she looked at Harry.
"I'm here to escort Gwen to OsCorp for the first day of her internship," Harry told him.
"Right, under Connors, right?" Harold asked. One might be able to detect a faint note of bitterness in his voice when he spoke. "My father is raving about you constantly, so beware, he might try and adopt you as his son if you're not careful."
"Kind of hard isn't it, given that I'm of age?" Harry asked.
Harold shrugged. "When my father has his eyes on something, he's going to do everything in his power to get it."
The group made their way outside. No sooner did they exit the building, they saw a large limo pulled up outside.
Peter Parker-Osborn started to talk to a sandy haired man, dressed in a three piece suit. It was Donald Menken. He resembled the one corporate toady that every single businessman in America had to have on his staff.
"Harry, I must have missed you when you got here!" Peter exclaimed. he moved over to greet his cousin. "So, how have you been doing?"
"Good, and I know that you've been busy," Harry said and Menken greeted Harry with the barest of acknowledgements. It was a brief acknowledgement but nothing more.
"Yes, busy," Peter said shaking his head. "And when Norman Osborn wants you to join him for a business conference in Germany, he's a very difficult man to say no too."
Menken leaned in and cleared his throat. That caused Peter and Harold to look at him.
"We need to get going now, and I'm sure that Miss Stacy and Mr. Evans-Potter do as well, "Menken said.
Peter sighed. It was obvious that Menken was sent here by their father to ensure that they made their way to the airport in time.
"When we get back, we should meet up, compare notes," Peter said and he clapped Harry on the shoulder.
The two Osborns entered the limo. They didn't want their father/step father to say anything about how they kept him waiting.
Gwen Stacy had only seen OsCorp from the outside and through the ground floor office that she had her interview for the Internship. The tower was vast. It might not be as excessive as Stark Tower was and there were a couple of other places that more excessive. Still, it was certainly something. She wished she had about eight million eyes to see everything.
Harry decided to take her on a tour for the building.
"The floor above us is sealed off for those who only have Level Nine access or above," Harry whispered to her.
"Do you have any idea what's going on up there?" Gwen asked.
Harry shook his head. "I have ideas, but OsCorp has a lot of outstanding military contracts that they have to fulfill. Not even for your known government agencies even or so the rumors go."
Gwen's eyes looked around and she gave a smile as she looked around. Harry wasn't kidding when he said that the place was big. It would not be that hard to get loss. She whistled and looked around, seeing the nice view from the entire city of New York. She saw a large Jumbo Tron attached to a building in the distance. The letters "DBC" could be spotted from her vantage point.
"And this is where I work," Harry said and he pulled Gwen out of her thoughts.
Gwen saw a double door leading a lab. She saw several chemicals in beakers. Her eyes traveled around the perimeter of the lab and saw a state of the art computer system. Several file cabinets lined up against the wall.
The blonde couldn't really pull her eyes off what she was seeing. Harry nudged her and brought her back out of her stupor.
"That's nice, very nice," Gwen said. She decided to say something that had been on her mind. "So what's the deal with you and Peter?"
"He's my cousin," Harry informed Gwen and she nodded in response. "He lived with us for a few months, when his parents went on a trip. Only it was more than a couple of months."
Harry pulled over a chair for Gwen to sit down and she did so.
"The Parkers were in a plane crash," Harry explained to her. "Richard Parker died instantly in the plane crash, and Mary Parker, she recovered eventually. While that happened, Peter stayed with us. Mary Parker….she ended up marrying Norman Osborn some time later."
Gwen could tell that might have been a point of contention for Ben Parker. Just a hunch that she had really.
"That lead to a falling out between her and my parents," Harry said. He would be lying if the big falling out happened with Ben Parker, who didn't approve of Norman Osborn. "Peter and I stayed in touch despite that, until he got sent off to boarding school with Harold. Peter did through it okay. Harold managed to get himself expelled from the boarding school. Actually about three of them, until Norman put him into a regular school when no boarding school would take him because of his attitude."
Gwen knew the younger Osborn and knew that he could come across as having a bit of a chip on his shoulder. She got along well with that. Given his father, she figured that he did have a lot to live up to.
"And Peter, he went off to Oxford, and he picked up a bit of a posh accent on the way."
Gwen laughed in response and grinned. "Yeah, I could about tell that when I met him."
"He's Norman's golden boy," Harry said and he sighed. "You know, I wasn't aware that Peter was back in the country until now, and then he was gone again."
"Yeah, he swung by to check in on his step brother," Gwen commented.
"Figured he might have gotten the heads up that I was coming by as well," Harry told her and Gwen shrugged.
"Don't know, he seems…..well he seems a bit…" Gwen said and she didn't really know how she would describe Peter Parker.
"He might seem a little standoffish if you don't know him well," Harry said and he leaned in towards her. "Most insufferable geniuses are."
Gwen smiled, she could relate and she was sure that Harry could to that point as well.
The door of the lab opened and a stout man with brown hair and glasses entered the lab. He wore a white lab coat, and a nice pair of shirts and dress slacks, stretched over his rotund form.
"Harry, I didn't expect you to come here this soon," the man said in a jovial voice.
"Hello, Otto, I didn't know that you were coming in this early."
"The meeting I was in concluded early, and I decided to stop by to see if there's anything that can be done."
The man walked further into the lab. The lab was shared between the two of them. Some of the time they had their own projects that they worked on and other times, they collaborated on projects. It really depended on the day.
"Otto, this is Gwen Stacy," Harry informed the man.
"Ah, yes, Doctor Connors informed me about you Miss Stacy," Otto said and he extended his hand for her to shake. "And Harry has told me nothing, but good things about you."
Gwen tried not to look too pleased with these words of endearment. Granted, she didn't try too hard.
"I trust you've heard of Doctor Otto Octavius," Harry said to Gwen.
"Yes, I've heard of him, who hasn't if they've kept up with the latest in the scientific world?" Gwen asked with a beaming voice.
"Both of us work for Mr. Osborn, although I am in charge of overseeing the operations when our boss decides to take a trip," Otto explained. "I just have a few things to check up on now before I leave for the night. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Stacy."
He wasn't complaining about an early night and the meeting that he was in wrapped up sooner than he expected.
"So, how far have you gotten on your Doctorate?" Gwen asked, she wanted to know this information.
Harry led her across the lab to show her something and the blonde wondered what he had in mind.
"As you know I'm going for a major in Advanced Biochemistry and a minor in Genetics," Harry said and Gwen nodded. She forgot about the exact particulars with all that had been on her mind. She was glad Harry reminded her of that. "And I'm really close to getting it."
Gwen looked excited for him and also excited for something else.
"So, what are you showing me?" Gwen asked.
"This," Harry said and there was a set of notes on a work area. "It's something that I've been working on for Osborn."
"What is it?" Gwen asked curiously. She couldn't really make heads or tails of the formula at first glance. She was sure that if she had some time to break it down, she would understand.
"This is a project that should revolutionize the world," Harry said and he smiled. Otto gathered up his things and bid them a silent goodnight. After he was gone, Harry turned back towards Gwen. "It's been something that I've been working at for a long time."
Harry smiled, the necessary work was more than sufficient to obtain his Doctorate.
"It's called Oz."
Harry finished up the grand tour some time later and lead Gwen down the hallway. They were going to meet with Doctor Curt Connors. Gwen had already met the man before.
"His lab is right across the hallway," Harry informed her. Gwen nodded graciously at him.
Doctor Connors waited for Harry and Gwen. He was a youthful looking man with sandy looking hair. He was of rather average built, the stereotypical science type person. The most glaring thing that one could see about him was that he missed his right arm, which he lost in an accident some years back.
"Miss Stacy, it's good to meet you again," Connors said. He reached forward to shake her hand with his lone arm.
Gwen took a look at the lab. She saw a large tank off to the side with several specimens of lizards crawling about on the inside. She smiled when she looked around.
"The pleasure is all mine, Doctor Connors," Gwen said and she stood next to Harry. She wasn't really short by any conventional means. It was obvious when she stood shoulder by shoulder to Harry, he towered over her. "Thanks for giving me the opportunity, I won't let you down, I really won't."
"Miss Stacy, I know you won't," Connors said. "I've discussed some things that we'll be working on during the interview. You were one of three candidates to apply for the position. After we narrowed it down, it was without undisputed proof that you're the best one for the internship."
Gwen tried not to let that go to her head and Harry's gaze looked at her. She looked modest, or at least as modest as she would right now.
"Harry gave you the tour around the area of the building so that part is done," Connors said and Gwen paused. "We're working on things at OsCorp that can change the world. I know that everyone says that, but here, we mean it. It may be a year down the line or ten before these projects bear fruit, but I hope to be a member of your staff for some time."
Gwen turned around and she shuddered when she saw something. It was an involuntary reaction based off of something that happened during her childhood that she really didn't want to think.
"I see that you've seen are genetically engineered spiders," Connors replied. "It's a relatively new process, where we've tested the prototype strain of certain strains. This is a fresh batch for the first prototype of the OZ serum that Harry reached to an ideal stage. We're going to see how the spiders evolved."
They could go either way right now. If the spiders achieved enhanced abilities that would mean that the formula was going the right way. Their bodies may terminate themselves after a certain amount of time due to their tiny spider bodies not being able to sustain the strain of the OZ serum.
Or they could die within the next few hours, which meant they were back to the drawing board in any rate.
The third and extremely least likely option was that the spiders would not have any kind of visible change.
"Tonight is all about going around the lab and getting comfortable, the real work begins tomorrow," Doctor Connors said. "I don't want you to feel stifled when you're here, so if you have any questions or ideas; feel free to relay them to me."
Gwen nodded, she soaked in all that she had to do. There was a lot that she could accomplish here at OsCorp if she was just given the opportunity. She supposed that the spiders could be an interesting project, providing they didn't get loose.
"What happens if the spiders get loose?" Gwen asked.
Harry understood Gwen's concern but he tried to relieve here fears.
"They're locked in tight, and for monitoring purposes only," Harry said and he turned towards Doctor Connors. "And the case is only open when all of the spiders are deceased, right?"
"Yes, that's correct," Connors said. There was also the spiders that were being studied that were far well aged but that was elsewhere in the facility and beyond the scope of Gwen's responsibilities. He continued to talk to Gwen about the projects that they were working on.
It was more to verify a few things that she already knew during the interview process. The real work would begin during the next day.
"You're going to mostly be my assistant, "Connors concluded. "But I'm more than confident that you're up for that job."
Gwen nodded, she was ready. You had to start somewhere if you wanted to move up in the world after all.
It was later that night after that meeting at OsCorp wrapped up. Harry and Gwen found themselves back on the train that was heading back home.
Gwen leaned up against him with a smile on her face. His arm wrapped tightly around her body where she sat. She was about five foot six inches tall and the fact was that she was one of the taller girls in her class. So it was more than impressive that Harry towered over her at a good six foot and four inches.
"So, how's Felicia doing?" Gwen asked. She was trying to be casual with this question. "I mean, I see the two of you normally together, but…I haven't seen her for a while."
Harry could hear the light rumbling of the train as they went home. He looked thoughtful and he made sure his grip was tight on Gwen. The sixteen year old girl shifted around his body. This was a pretty intimate position, come to think about it. It was just as well because of both of them tended to be really close.
"We broke up," Harry said and Gwen was surprised by that. "Well mostly because she's going to be in Europe for an extremely long time."
"Oh, well I guess you're just on a break until she gets together what she needs to get together," Gwen said and she thought of something else or rather someone else. "How about Jean?"
Harry smiled. "She's doing pretty fine last time I've checked. I haven't talked to her in a while, but she's been pretty busy lately. I've been planning on heading up to Westchester in a couple of weeks. If you want to, you can come with me."
Gwen thought about it, and seconds later, made a split decision.
She considered this for a long time, for a year in fact. She didn't really think that she had the nerve to pull the trigger.
Gwen blossomed over the past year. She had some growing pains for a while, but she really found her niche. Harry took her under his wing before he moved on for high school. He was only there when she was a Freshman but he mentored her. And he checked in on her regularly, to make sure she fulfilled her full potential.
'Now or never,' she thought.
Gwen turned towards him and looked at Harry with her bright blue eyes. A smile crossed her face.
"So, that means that you're pretty much single, right now?" Gwen asked. She shifted closely to her. "Well technically speaking."
Harry's bright emerald eyes locked onto hers in response and he gave her a knowing smile.
That was all the confirmation that Gwen needed. She straddled his lap and leaned in towards him. Harry held the small of her back to steady her. Their lips met in a blistering kiss which caused both of them to become electrified with passion.