It wasn't hard to guess why Osborn was here. Connors's arm. The antiserum that had returned her to normal had done nothing to affect her already regenerated limb. That wasn't magic, after all. Even if Connors had lost her ability to regenerate, her arm wouldn't just disappear.
Karen, obviously, wasn't eager to publicize this astonishing fact. But Osborn had found out. And in this situation, Norma wasn't entirely wrong. The regeneration of a long lost limb was an incredible breakthrough for medicine worldwide. Not the perfect humanity that Karen had dreamed of, but still a discovery of global significance. Except Norma didn't know about the side effects, or she simply didn't think they mattered. That was very much in character. Putting aside the memories of the Goblin from my past world, for now, Norma Osborn couldn't really be faulted for much, except for being overly impulsive. But I needed to keep an eye on her. If she had already used the Oz serum on herself, this woman was dangerous.
"We definitely came at a bad time," Gwen noted.
"I wouldn't be so sure," I said. "Professor Connors, sorry for dropping by unannounced. We wanted to check on you, see if everything was all right."
The homeowners finally noticed us. But Jack reacted first. Having gotten to his feet, he turned to me and said, "Who are you? What..."
"Jack," Karen cut him off. "This is Gwen and Peter. Gwen is my student, and Peter is the one who saved my life. I told you about them."
"Hey, I don't remember dressing up in spandex and swinging around on webs to bring justice to the city." I felt Gwen's annoyed glare on my back. I even thought she was going to say something out loud, but she held back.
Karen smiled slightly. A rare gesture for her. She shook her head and said, "I know you synthesized the medicine. I'm afraid to imagine how this would have ended without your help. Thank you, Peter. Besides, you shouldn't be so prejudiced against Spider Woman. You've worked with her yourself," Karen lectured.
I was being thanked too often lately. I might get used to it. But then Jack, who had calmed down by now, decided to save me from the awkwardness.
"Oh, yes, sorry about that little outburst," the man said, embarrassed. "I'm a bit on edge after everything that's happened. So many events in just a couple of days. The lab riot, Karen disappearing, then Spider Woman and that whole unbelievable story, and now this."
I didn't point out that Karen was the one who had experienced most of the shit. And if anyone had the right to be on edge and throw tantrums, it was her.
After the pleasantries, the Connorses invited us inside. I hadn't asked in advance, but there were no signs of other people in the house besides Karen and Jack. Though the Connors home was clearly designed for a large family. That wasn't normal for this world.
Jack made tea for everyone, and we discussed what had happened with the professor at the dining table. Karen didn't keep secrets from her husband. Gwen and I were already aware of the main events, especially since my serum had been the basis for the experiment.
According to Karen, Venom's appearance at the lab had actually made things easier for Gwen. After fighting the symbiote, Reptilia had more pressing concerns. She wasn't in a hurry to carry out her plan to turn the city's population into lizard people.
Karen herself, though happy to have her arm back, was in a difficult position. She considered her serum too dangerous. The side effects were significant and unpredictable. Explaining that to someone like Osborn was very hard. And soon she would have to go back to work and answer uncomfortable questions. That wasn't even taking into account the attention of intelligence agencies. I was sure that SHIELD and Hydra agents would be interested in her case soon.
"Well, you could blame it on an accident," Gwen suggested. "You know, with the lab riot, all sorts of drugs got mixed together, something like that."
"A flimsy story," I objected. "No better than saying a radioactive lizard bit her."
Gwen gave me a strange look but didn't comment.
"Can't we just tell the truth?" Jack asked. "Why can't we just explain what happened to people?"
"You saw Norma," Karen sighed wearily. "If I tell everyone I know the formula, there will be inevitable demands to make it public and continue the work."
"People like Osborn can be told to fuck off. But sooner or later, government agents will show up at your door. Your serum has enormous potential as a weapon and as a medicine. You see how much trouble Tony Stark has brought on herself by refusing to give her technology to the government. If you don't want to end up in the same situation or work for intelligence agencies, convince everyone that you don't know the formula."
The woman smirked.
"That's not far from the truth. I'm not sure I could recreate the data you brought me on the first day from memory, let alone the serum Gwen found." Karen perked up. "By the way, you never said where you got that sample."
Everyone looked at Stacy expectantly. The Connorses were curious to know the truth, and I was curious to hear what she would say.
"Oh, that..." The girl hesitated, trying to think of a plausible lie. "It's better if I don't say. Spider Woman asked me to find out what it was."
Saying this, Gwen lowered her head, glancing at the others through her blonde bangs to see how they took her lie.
"Wow," Jack asked breathlessly. "So you know Spider Woman?"
Judging by what I could see, Spider Woman was especially popular with men, thanks to her TV appearances. I couldn't blame them.
"Well, it's more accurate to say she knows me from somewhere," Gwen shrugged.
We soon left the Connorses' house, leaving the couple to discuss their plans. I only asked Karen for a blood sample to make sure there were no lingering side effects and that Reptilia wouldn't return. The woman didn't object. She only demanded that I tell her immediately if I found any reason for concern.
On the way back, I asked Gwen about Karen's husband, specifically why they lived alone. It turned out Jack was infertile. He hadn't known when they got married. But even when the truth came out, Karen didn't file for divorce or look for a better situation. Thus, a small but happy family had appeared in this world. Though, Connors's decision was certainly influenced by her own disability. Now she was healthy again. Jack had another reason to worry. Karen was young enough and wealthy enough to try to find a better match.
Having convinced Gwen that she didn't need to walk me home or call me a taxi, I parted ways with Stacy. I could have sworn I heard the rustle of webbing a couple of seconds after she disappeared around the corner. How careless of her to waste such a precious resource. I hadn't given her any spare cartridges or the formula for replenishing the fluid supply. I would probably be expecting another visit from Spider Woman soon.
Before bed, I had to endure an impromptu text message interrogation. Mary Jane had seen from her window when I got home. Living next to your girlfriend had its downsides. Nothing was hidden from her. I also warned her not to wait for me in the morning. I had more important things to do than school.
I decided to spend the next morning protecting myself and my work from Gwen's carelessness. I needed to patent my invention as soon as possible. The adhesive fluid that turned into a super strong, super lightweight thread upon contact with air. It would be unfortunate if some smart person who figured out the composition of the webbing, many samples of which Gwen was spreading around the city, did it first. That was quite likely, given the long decomposition time of the current version, almost ten hours.
Patenting an invention turned out to be a slow process. There were many bureaucratic delays, which I had never liked. At least the webbing didn't fall under the category of discoveries with a ban on commercial use, like drugs and new types of food products.
At the appointed time, I came to band practice again, this time with the finished lyrics for their song. That surprised the girls quite a bit. Even after my demonstration yesterday, they still doubted that writing lyrics within the given time frame was possible.
Mary Jane's performance was very different from the original, but it didn't sound like a bad cover. I liked it, and I told the girls so. But a new question arose. How should they distribute the song? Club performances were fine, but even if they had a successful start, their path to fame would be slow. My suggestion to distribute the new song online was met with negativity. Why give it away for free? I didn't try to convince them right away. I couldn't do all the work for them. I had already given them a ready made song.
During practice, Wilson texted me the address of my new lab. Saying goodbye to the future rock stars, I told the mercenary I would be there in a couple of hours. I called a taxi and headed in the right direction. On the way, I stopped by an old container lot. Even though Richard had left me no clues in this world, there was a chance, and a good one, that his things might be stored in the same place. I didn't have much hope, but I had to check. I still remembered the lot address and the container number.
Asking the taxi driver to wait for me, I went to look. Since I didn't have a key, I planned to break the lock. I brought a crowbar. Following my instincts and my extensive experience, I didn't go through the main entrance. I snuck in by climbing over one of the low walls surrounding the outdoor lot.
Finding the right container wasn't easy. I was about to start breaking in when I heard an unfriendly voice behind me.
"Surprise, motherfucker."
I actually jumped. What did you expect? I was planning an illegal break in. Of course, any noise could scare me. My nerves were on edge.
Turning toward the voice, I stared at the bald female cop who had tried to stop us on the way out of Cindy's mansion. The officer's face wore an expression of barely contained glee. I didn't even have time to come up with an excuse to explain my actions before the woman lunged at me.
This time, she wasn't giving me a break because I was a guy. I tried to push her away, swinging my crowbar. But the woman wasn't scared. She paused for a second, let the heavy tool pass in front of her face, then moved in close. She moved so fast and precisely that I could only register her blows by the flashes of pain. A couple of seconds later, I was lying on my back, desperately trying to process what had happened. The smug cop paced around me, twirling the confiscated crowbar.
"Gotcha." She spoke in short, sharp bursts, like shouting orders. "Did you think you could get away with assaulting a police officer?"
How had she tracked me? This was it. I always paid for my good deeds.
"So what?" I challenged. "What do you have? Your word against mine. I didn't do anything. You attacked a civilian."
"We'll see about that," she smirked. "What are you hiding here, Parker?" Great, she knew who I was.
The officer, skillfully wielding the crowbar, quickly opened the container. The lock didn't hold long against the experienced woman. At the same time, she kept me in her field of vision, carefully tracking my every move as I got up, leaning my bruised shoulder against the container wall.
There was no point in trying to fight her. This woman wasn't an ordinary cop. She was clearly a professionally trained fighter. If they found anything illegal in the container, my only hope was the web shooter with the taser. Finally, the lock clicked and fell to the ground. The cop immediately dropped the crowbar and reached for her holster.
No way. I immediately shot webbing at her from my right hand and activated the taser with my left. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to set them up for one handed use.
The woman flinched to the side, but not fast enough. The webbing was too fast for an ordinary person, even a trained one, to dodge. But I noticed she had turned sideways. Just what I said. A professional. She stood to present the smallest possible target and put her shoulder in the path of the shot.
This time, the taser was at full power. I figured she would be out for ten or fifteen minutes. But not wanting to leave it to chance, I thoroughly searched the woman for recording devices. To my surprise, I didn't find any. If I were her, I would have brought a couple and tried to get the supposed criminal to talk.
Done with the search, I tied the woman up with wire I found inside the container. I collected all the conductive webbing so as not to leave evidence. Speaking of the container, it didn't even belong to my father. It was just a steel box, used as a storage unit for some Jimmy DeGriz. Useless to me. But I had to check.
Now, regarding the overly diligent cop who had remembered my face and found out my identity. If she had had solid evidence, they would have picked me up properly, not played detective games. What she had just done was nothing short of unlawful pursuit. Still, I had to consider her and others like her in the future. Now that I was on the cops' radar, I should cover my tracks and not keep anything incriminating at home. Nothing should connect Peter Parker to crime.
Leaving the officer to contemplate her mistakes, I left the lot the same way. Time was short. Doakes would wake up any minute. So I decided to use my webbing to get out. That was probably the most awkward ascent of Spider Man's career. Good thing no one was watching. I also took back the webbing I used to climb the walls.
Unfortunately, the taxi driver hadn't been that patient. I had to call another car. My money was disappearing before my eyes. I had no desire to beg Aunt May for handouts. And I still needed to buy a lot of expensive equipment for the lab. I couldn't shift all the expenses onto Deadpool. Theoretically, my first source of income could be my webbing. Sooner or later, someone would figure out the formula. It was better that I had a patent by then. But that wasn't an option right now. Filing all the paperwork would cost about ten thousand dollars, which I, of course, didn't have. Not to mention the process would take several weeks to a month. After that, I would need to find buyers.
First, I needed to focus on something that could turn a profit quickly. Of course, I wasn't considering robbery, theft, or computer scams. I had had enough of that overzealous cop digging into my past. I also wasn't considering the option that many men used to become financially independent in this world, donating sperm. For obvious reasons. And I wasn't going to do that.
I thought I could combine business with pleasure. I should get a job at OzCorp. That way, I could get close to Osborn to try to prevent the emergence of a super villain called the Green Goblin and earn some start up capital. If there was one thing Osborn couldn't be accused of, it was stinginess. In my time, I had turned down several very lucrative offers from Norman. What had held me back was my reluctance to get a job through the father of my best friend. Pretty stupid, considering Osborn was interested in my mind, not my friendship with his son.
As I was thinking, we arrived at our destination. I recognized this place. In my past world, Deadpool's daughter had lived here. It was his secret hideout. Apparently, things had gone differently in this world. I seriously doubted that Deadpool would bring a stranger to her sanctuary, let alone set up a secret lab there.
"Hey, handsome." Wilson appeared behind me, throwing her arm over my shoulder and pulling me close with all her bear like strength.
Damn. Her goofy mannerisms sometimes made you forget how highly skilled she was. In other words, one of the best killers in the world.
"Get ready. Because when you see how cool your new lab is, you'll feel your balls drop to the floor." Seeing my confusion, she explained. "Well, I don't know myself, but I had a friend who used to say that. Basically, here's how it went."
We walked through the foyer and descended through a hidden door behind a wardrobe into the mercenary's secret hideout. There was no way her child could live here. She would never set up a secret base in a place like that. Going down a few meters of stairs, we came to a double door without locks.
"...and when he realized he was starting to get all that philosophical stuff," Deadpool continued her story, "he felt his balls drop to the floor from the realization of his own importance. I'm sure you feel the same way."
Wow. I hadn't expected such scale. I mean, I had worked with equipment that inspired genuine awe. The most powerful, expensive computers on the planet. So I was far from the state of "balls dropping" that the mercenary had so colorfully described. But this was clearly more than I could have hoped for, especially in such a short time.
But besides the several hundred cubic meters of space hidden under Deadpool's nondescript house, something else surprised me even more. Venom was there, using her tentacles to install a server rack. It wasn't that she was screwing in dozens of bolts at once. I just hadn't expected to see her here.
"Not bad," I said, hiding my enthusiasm. "What is she doing here?"
"Not bad? That's all you can say? Not bad is when a client doesn't try to kill you instead of paying you. Setting up a lab like this in a couple of days is fucking awesome, man." The mercenary was expressive. Calming down a bit, she continued. "And Inkblot here didn't work out with the fire department."
"Hey." Bobbi waved her tentacles at me cheerfully. "Turns out symbiotes don't do well with fire. So I can't be a firefighter. I figured working with you guys wasn't such a bad option."
She spoke in a slightly apologetic tone.
"Is that so?" I gave her a friendly smile. "Well, I'm glad to see you. I see you've already set up some of the equipment."
"Well, I helped Stans, so I picked up a few things," Bobbi said modestly.
An extra pair of hands, and a dozen tentacles, had significantly sped up the work. Thanks to Venom's multitasking, we finished preparing the workspace in just a few hours. I was even able to start working that same evening. Bobbi volunteered to be my assistant. Deadpool just settled into a chair, reading comics and eating pizza. Bobbi and I were like background noise for her.
First, I checked Connors's blood sample and confirmed that her temporary transformation had left no lasting effects. In a way, I was lucky that the scientist had used the Longevity Formula as the basis for her own. I doubted that otherwise I would have been able to cleanse her body of all traces of the Lizard serum so cleanly and painlessly. Having thus confirmed the safety of my idea, I began work on my next project.
Karen herself might have developed a prejudice, not without reason, about using lizard DNA in particular and her cross species project in general. But I had all the data to extract practical benefits from her work. My idea was as simple as a crowbar. A two part serum for treating severe injuries. First, an injection of a high concentration of the Lizard serum to stimulate cell regeneration. As we remembered, the transformation into a monster was a delayed side effect. Then, when the tissue had regenerated, a second injection of the antiserum I had developed. Later, the formula could be improved even further. For example, by putting the antidote in capsules that would dissolve in the blood at the first signs of transformation, thus preventing the change into a monster. That would simplify the process and allow it to be used as a temporary performance enhancer.
Thus, I planned to create a drug that could get a mortally wounded person back on their feet in minutes. The only problem was the weapon potential hidden within it. Giving such a drug to the world would be giving anyone who wanted it the key to creating super soldiers. I couldn't allow that. Though, eventually, I should get rid of the side effects altogether. I mean, constantly interfering with the DNA structure, turning the patient into another creature to temporarily gain the ability to regenerate, wasn't exactly efficient. But isolating the gene responsible for self healing wasn't easy. Otherwise, Connors would have finished her flawless humanity project long ago.
Nevertheless, I had to learn how to do it. I had promised to give Deadpool her pretty face back. To do that, I had to cure her cancer. And the easiest way to do that was to learn from those who had been fighting cancer for millions of years, elephants and whales. The plan was simple. First, get a full set of equipment, at least as good as Connors's. Then, isolate the genes responsible for preventing the formation of cancer cells in animals. Next, use Connors's cross species research to give a human the ability to resist cancer. The resulting drug would be given to Deadpool. Her body would learn to prevent the formation of new cancer cells. And that was where a completely clean result was needed. I didn't want Wilson to turn into an evil, regenerating elephant woman or whale lady.