"Impossible."
Norman Osborn raged like a bull, eyes bloodshot. "Oscorp is the crown my family forged over generations. Even if you cure my genetic illness, I will never hand it to you."
"And besides..."
"As you can see, I am one step from success."
"Once I fix the flaws, I will gain a superhuman body, perfect and powerful. Even you will not be my match then."
He was confident. Captain America had already proven how strong a super soldier could be.
His enhancer would surpass the serum injected into Captain America.
He was sure he would become the strongest super soldier.
Amano Ren smiled.
Then he laughed outright.
"Give me a moment. Unless I truly cannot help it, I will... haha."
"Norman, your confidence is impressive, but you will pay for it."
Ren shook his head. "This thing has side effects more terrifying than you imagine."
"Beyond violent impulses, it tugs at the deepest layers of the mind and binds to the subject's negative emotions to spawn a second, monstrous persona."
"It amplifies what is dark in you and lures you toward crime. Once you sink too far, it takes your body and leaves you a destroyer."
"Picture it. If I said nothing, and you patched the short-term rage issue, then happily injected yourself, what would happen?"
"Think of your family's life's work. Think of... your child."
Norman was ready to deny everything, but the last words made his face shift.
If Ren was telling the truth, the outcome would be unthinkable.
"Who are you? How do you know the side effects?"
"Nothing escapes these eyes."
Ren tapped his unusually clear, bright gaze and spoke softly.
"I also know your formula contains part of the super-soldier serum used on Captain America."
"Do you think everyone is like him, with justice and light inside strong enough to crush the dark?"
"After your modifications, this thing only grows worse and breeds a green-skinned goblin, or to be precise, an ugly goblin form."
"Yes, I have it. You and Harry will be... the Goblin family."
"No."
Norman did not want to admit it, but Ren had no reason to lie.
It would be easy to find someone and test it.
His life's work hid a catastrophe.
If his evil persona injected Harry with the same serum... damn it, never.
"About... Oscorp..."
He wavered, yet could not decide.
It was Oscorp, after all.
Even with Stark becoming Iron Man, even with Norman's reckless investments bleeding projects dry and casting a twilight over Oscorp, the company was still a multibillion giant.
Handing it over... only a madman would.
He would sooner jump from a hundred meters up than do that.
"I can give you a measure of control and shares..."
Ren lifted a hand to cut him off, stood, and picked up a vial.
"This is..."
Norman frowned at the blue liquid. For some reason it felt familiar.
"I made this. It heals human tissue."
"Ever play games? This is the red bottle, the health potion. It accelerates metabolism and speeds recovery. If someone is injured, drink or inject it and wounds close fast."
"Even a slashed artery can be survived with timely and sufficient doses."
"How much do you think it is worth?"
Norman stared at the vial. After thinking hard, he said gravely, "At least tens of billions. It is a lifesaving drug, usable across surgery and countless scenarios."
"If it can be mass-produced, it will sweep the globe."
"The ultimate value needs further testing."
"You are proposing..."
He caught on.
"Beyond this healer, I can produce others: beauty enhancers, anti-aging, limb regeneration, anti-cancer."
"If you can imagine it, I can make it."
"I have one condition. Oscorp is mine, to be run strictly under my will."
"I will release these formulas in phases. You will study and mass-produce them. With a finished sample, copying it should not be hard for you."
Ren set the vial in front of him, voice calm.
In truth, he had lifted a failed lab serum, smelted it, and extracted a massively weakened fragment that only boosted recovery.
No side effects, no permanent buffs. Just a short spike in metabolism and energy supply.
A health potion. Even so, it would drive the world mad.
In a normal reality it would be a frenzy and build a trillion-dollar empire.
But this was Marvel. Still hot, but beneath Ren's aims.
He needed a whole Oscorp, bent to his will, a tool to sweep the world for little things.
He also did not want to babysit that tool. Norman Osborn would be the beast to pull the plow.
Norman still hesitated.
Ren, however, was settled. He closed his eyes and waited.
Norman was a clever man. He knew the right choice.
Sure enough, after a long pause and a glance toward thoughts of Harry leaving school, he set his jaw.
"I... agree."