"I'll take him."
To Felix, she was often Samantha Wilson. To nearly every other person on the planet, she was Captain America. That side of her, it flicked on like a switch in the darkness. It was hardly an order but it felt like one to everyone but Felix.
"Yeah, sure." Jessica nodded like a soldier being given orders and allowed Captain America to take the head scientist into the elevator. The dark-haired security gave a little wave as the elevator doors closed. Felix nodded and smiled.
He was glad to have a familiar face like Jessica.
'Although Samantha…' A sideway glance. 'Now that the hugs and kisses are over…seriously, why is she here?'
Samantha did not press the button immediately. There was this long, tangible pause as she folded her hands together. Like…she was thinking.
"Felix." Samantha hesitated. "After your meeting. Can I talk to you?"
"Samantha?"
"It's...important."
"I can...make the time." He'd have to tell his friends to wait a little longer though. "What's this about?"
The pause before it. The luster in her brown eyes. When he asked, he suddenly understood what this was all about.
She wanted to speak to him about Sam Files. Ask questions, more specifically, as a scientist and professional.
How bad was it?
The super soldiers that came after her. The teenagers taken from alleyways. The documents, the photographs, the six hundred pages of medical notes on a boy named Samuel Reyes. The underwater prison and everything inside it.
Samantha had been told little of it. She knew some. There had always been incidents, pieces of information that reached her through official channels, carefully shaped. But the documents Nick had shown Felix — the full picture, unredacted — that had been kept from her. Deliberately. Their most loyal asset, shielded from the thing that would have made her question what she was loyal to.
Samantha looked at the elevator doors. She pressed the button. The elevator started moving.
"I've been wavering for a while," Samantha said.
"On...?"
"On you. On SHIELD. I did plenty as a soldier and as a member of SHIELD. Most of it was good. I always tried to serve the people and do things I thought were right. I never did anything I didn't want to move. I never let myself get moved by SHIELD."
Which was why they didn't tell her.
"I stopped civil wars. I ended an auction that sold dangerous weapons. I put Gwen Stacy to jail the first time around because I thought she was an immature threat. She was. She might still be. But…" Her eyes went downcast. "My mistake was putting too much trust in the system we live in."
"It's…not that bad a system. It could be worse."
"It shouldn't be worse and we shouldn't be happy that it could be worse. Rather, we should always be thinking about making it better."
"...true."
"I'm not blind. I'm aware of the war crimes and the tough decisions we've done to advance. But…the point of those decisions, of the war we waged, was to never make them happen again." Samantha exhaled through her nose and crossed her arms. She was silent and Felix didn't know how to respond. Until she smiled. She glanced at him. "I've been in this modern era for a decade now. In all my years, if I'm being honest, I don't think I was ever as happy as I was when I was protecting you."
"Eh?" He looked at her and that smile was pointed ahead.
"So I decided to be selfish and stand here and wait for you. Anyway…" Samantha gestured her gloved hand. "Later. Let's talk later."
The elevator opened.
Felix looked at her one last time, sighed with a smile, and strode through a brief hallway. The elevator closed behind him. There were a bunch of doors that led to conference rooms. Oscorp Tower was still under construction after all.
The current rendition boardroom was the first door left on the seventh floor. Opening the door, the view encompassed the whole city, lit and ordinary and enormous, indifferent to the room looking out at it. The table was long. The chairs were full. Fourteen board members in varying configurations of expensive suits.
"Dr. Faeth!" a board member waved a hand to get him to sit. "You've arrived. You're late."
"Apologies. I was busy with a family emergency."
Glances and murmurs did not quite believe him. At the same time, they didn't care that much. He was here now and the meeting was already underway.
These people knew him and he knew them. Before, however, Norman acted as a barrier. He did the talking for Felix, even the technical side. He explained the scientific side of things with flair that Felix did not possess. Flair, oftentimes, meaning blatant lies.
"What did I miss?" Felix asked while taking his seat at the beginning of the table, the lengthy opposite to where Norman used to sit. Looking straight ahead, that spot, that throne, was taken by Marsh. The new man at the head of the table — Marsh — had been on the board since before Norman made his first billion. He was the second largest shareholder in Oscorp, a bald man with piercing blue-eyes that did nothing but show self-assurance.
"Nothing of immense importance," Marsh said. "We were discussing expanding Oscorp Construction with their own R&D section. Without Norman, our relationship with the government has a small blotch. We plan to mitigate this with your resume—" He gestured at Felix. "And the establishment of an R&D department for construction specifically."
The construction department of Oscorp was big. Always was, always had been, but it was never the primary money-maker in Oscorp. It was nothing compared to their profits in the military and medicine. It was great for tax cuts, for convenience, for slightly shady custom-builds, and a couple waves with the local government.
But after Creature Z? Construction was becoming a new up and coming area for Oscorp. Waves became firm hand shakes. The municipal government welcomed and relied on Oscorp's money. They bought up land and also gave away land.
"I see…"
"And, of course, there is the matter of the CEO. That was already cast into a vote," said Marsh, "and I was chosen."
Naturally. He was the second highest shareholder. That was Marsh's right.
"I hope you don't mind, Dr. Faeth. It was an overwhelming victory, so your vote would not have changed the outcome."
Felix got comfy, seated with his hands on his lap. "I see."
"But to be polite, do you have any questions or concerns, Dr. Faeth?"
"Mr. Osborn died," Felix said. "Do you know how? And why?
"I spoke to the Secretary of the State about it. Though investigations have been slow, Mr. Osborn was shot in a motel. The motive, we do not know. Nor do we understand why he was at this motel. It could have been suicide after the death of his son." It wasn't. "All we can do is wait for the police to do their job. However, do not be concerned, this does not appear to be a hit job."
Felix wanted to snort. 'You don't know that. You're just saying to put on a brave face and move on with your newfound authority.'
"Now, anything else, Doctor?"
To think this was Norman's legacy. To be forgotten and tossed aside like any other businessman. Felix almost regretted telling Czarina to pull the trigger.
"No. That's all."
But he didn't. Because Norman himself would done the same thing. This was what he stood for. This unfeeling room and these unfeeling people, they were whom Norman was most comfortable with. They were who he wished his success with.
"Right then." The bald male pointed two fingers. "Hartwell? You were to give some counseling?"
No fear, no desperation, no sorrow. These were not people who had been destabilised. They just moved on. The boardroom continued their meeting without so much of a blink.
'Even though Norman died. Harry died. So much has happened over the past month.'
These board member did not weep for the Osborn. Around the table, there were smiles and frowns and deep thinking. Business was at the forefront.
"—current market confidence in defence remains stable," Hartwell was saying. "Considering what the news showed, we were expecting a small dip. However, it appears the government is requesting more military to quell the people's fears."
"And what if the rumours are true? What if SHIELD falls?" asked a board member.
"Then us and Stark Industries will be in an arm's race to become the next big thing. What that thing is, we don't know. From Mr. Marsh's discussion with the Secretary of State, the international world no longer wants a SHIELD-esque company running around the world. Spying, taking, killing, it is all too much. I have outlined two paths that we can run either in parallel or at a time: one is regarding the super soldier."
Felix looked up at Hartwell. She was a silver-haired woman well in her fifties with oval-shaped glasses. She read off a tablet primarily.
"Considering the heroics of Spider-Man, the governments of the world desire super soldiers and superheroes. As Oscorp, as an international company, we can supply that to everyone regardless of which government it is. We do not need to limit ourselves to only America," Hartwell continued. "And since only we have perfected the serum, we can sell an individual vial for billions."
'Because of me.'
"How many vials of the completed serum do we have in stock?" Marsh asked, after which all eyes went to Felix.
"Ten or so," Felix replied without showing emotion.
"How fast can each be made?"
"One every three days."
"And how many in those three days?" Hartwell pushed.
"Three, I'd estimate."
Marsh was pleased by that. "Whether in six months or now, we can stock up and sell them at whatever price we wish. This monopoly can...no, it will usher in a new era for Osborn." He stroked his chin and then looked at everyone. "We all have ambassadors and connections throughout the world, don't we? Let us use them all to gauge this new market we are about to blossom. This age of superpowers."
There were mutters. There were smiles. There was a grand future for this company.
So Felix did not know what possessed him to ask the CEO, "Do you really believe so?"
Fortunately, he was not offended. Marsh answered in stride. This was his job, after all, to quell all doubts. "Look at Cuba. Look at Latveria. After their civil wars, don't you think they will need symbols? People to trust? Superheroes like Spider-Man will do that."
"Even if artificially made with another government's hands?"
"What the common folk do not know will not affect them." Marsh smiled and gestured at Hartwell again. "You had a second path, Hartwell?"
"As mentioned, because of the gaping leaking hole that is SHIELD, there will be a need to better the military and police. More inventions, more security, more power. We can supply that. We can fill that hole, but we will have steep competition with Stark Industries considering their greater avenue of drones and missiles."
The CEO stroked his chin again. "Hmm…"
"As I mentioned, this can run parallel to the super soldier serum market. However, it is more risky considering we will be competing with Stark Industries. They will be able to go full throttle over this, while we will be slightly limited due to our current dip in stock and our equal focus in the super soldier serum."
Marsh, Hartwell, all these board members…
They kept going on and on, discussing the pros and the cons, digging into what nation they could woo, and contemplating if their R&D department could defeat Stark Industries.
This was a room deciding the future.
Felix looked at the window.
Felix looked at the city.
Felix looked at the fourteen faces.
"Excuse me?" Felix raised a hand. All eyes turned toward him. There was irritation for having disrupted the order of things.
"Yes, Dr. Faeth?" Marsh said.
"Let's shut the whole thing down," he said.
The room stopped.
"I'm sorry?" The man to his left, Collins, was assistant to the CFO. He had been at Oscorp for twenty-two years and wore that fact on his face. "Shut it down?"
"Oscorp. Let's end it."
"End it." Collins repeated the words, checking to make sure he'd heard correctly. "What are you talking about? The company? Which department of Oscorp?"
"All of it," Felix said boldly. "All of it should be closed."
"I don't appreciate this jest," said Marsh. "The status quo has shifted into opportunity. We can take advantage of what is happening out there to achieve greatness—"
"This is greed speaking. And as everyone knows, greed can be just as destructive as hate."
Silence. The room found itself blossoming with laughter and rapid explanations.
"You're talking about walking away from a century of infrastructure—"
"Ridiculous. Why did Norman ever bring you here?"
"What an idiot."
"Seriously..."
More laughter and more questions until they all simmered down. Even Marsh leaned back and let his chair roll back, chuckling.
Felix wasn't. He kept going on the moment there was enough quiet: "You need to follow the corporate overlord. You need to be the next Osborn. But…we are all rich and satisfied. What's the point in more?"
"Dr. Faeth," Marsh called out. "Mind that you sit here because we respect your influence. Your relationship with the late Osborn and who could forget your work in saving the city. We do respect it. That does not mean you can talk down on us."
These board members.
These fourteen faces.
Felix realized something.
'Is this how it happened for Earth 2099?'
It had to. Alchemaxx was born at this point—or a point like this. After corruption was exposed, he imagined the board members here doubling down in their greed. He imagined the government doubling down. He imagined fear and the need for security to cause companies to put chips inside people.
The names, Osborn, Norman and Harry, those were large cogs. Visible cogs. But cogs, still, in a machine that didn't need them specifically. That could find new ones.
He imagined another room like this in the far corners of the world. Suits analysing pie charts and looking at the possibility for superhumans or a slice of the real estate in Harlem.
He imagined another bigger room like this, except they consisted of the World Security Council. The so-called protectors of the world that, in reality, were allowed to do as they pleased and were going to face zero consequences.
These rooms led to Gwen.
These rooms led to Harold Osborn and everything Harold Osborn had done.
Rooms of endless appetite, mistaking themselves for order.
Felix decided to stop it once and for all.
"The serum isn't going to be distributed as some sort of weapon. A diluted version of the serum can be used as a universal medicine."
"You can do that?" Marsh asked. "That…we would have a third monopoly—"
Look at that. Right away, they wanted to establish another monopoly. Zero consideration for saving people.
"But only I know how to produce the super soldier serum at its purest quality," Felix pointed out, which earned a beat of silence. "So sorry, no, there will be no more monopolies."
"You want to..what? Dissolve Oscorp? There will be chaos." Marsh snorted. "In Wall Street, in the global stock market, everywhere. A company valued in billions can't go poof. There's the matter of jobs and land and the institutions we've built."
At long last, Felix actually smiled. "I think you people need a little faith."
"Faith." Collins said it back to him flatly.
There were scoffs and mutters everywhere. Some wanted to move on, others wanted to mock him some more.
"Dr. Felix Faeth." Hartwell's voice went from amusement into loud irritation. "You really are a jokester, aren't you? I can see by Mr. Osborn preferred you not speak."
"I'm not a jokester and I'm not joking," Felix said.
He meant it and they could hear that he meant it, which was what silenced the room more than the words did.
"I have faith that there's a hero in all of us that keeps us honest. Gives us strength. Makes us noble. And will lead us to a better future." His smile was warm. "That's all."
They didn't get it. They understood the words coming out of his mouth but they didn't get it. Smiling, Felix brought out his phone, tapped in an order to Herbie, and slid it toward Collins.
"What is this?" Collins picked it up and read the phone. When the assistant CFO read it, he paled. "T-this is…"
The board members didn't understand. Sweating, Collins looked up at Felix who nudged him to hand it over to the next board member.
Collins gulped and did as he was told. The next person was handed the phone. They went pale. They licked their lips. They couldn't fathom what they were looking at.
"I…this…n-no way…"
"Give the phone to the next person."
"I-I can't—I won't—"
"Just do it. It's different from everyone," Felix said sharply. After that, the board member hung his head and handed the phone over.
It was the same reaction. The same shock. Half of them gasped. Others were stunned into silence.
Hartwell didn't like this. "What's going on? What's on that phone?"
"Shut up," Collins said, limp in his seat. "Just…shut up and wait your turn."
Hartwell did. When she received the phone, she went as white as a ghost. "T-this isn't…this isn't true…"
"It is."
The phone must have shown something different. Hartwell gasped and looked to Felix. "Y-you how do you have this?"
Felix smiled politely. "This is how we conduct business, don't we?"
She did not like what she saw and hurriedly handed it over to the last man sitting: CEO Marsh.
Marsh took the phone without a raised brow. Trepid impatience turned into wide eyes. He looked closer, and the expression changed again, through several stages, arriving at something that had no comfortable name.
Fourteen faces. Fourteen men. All the same. All obedient.
What was this?
This was blackmail. This was Herbie on the phone, showing them their deepest, darkest secrets. A slideshow of images that made them all go silent. Cheating on their spouses with sex workers, avoiding taxes, CCTV footage of their wealthy child causing a car accident, doing illegal drugs, selling government information to other nations....
That type of stuff. Everyone had dirty laundry and these people especially. Every single one of them. None of them were clean.
Felix stood up.
"Does anybody want to refute what I said?"
Marsh glared up at him. "You can't do this. You can't. This is Oscorp. This is…this company has to live. This company LIVES for New York."
"New York has lived without New York before. It can do it again."
"You idiot! You fool!" Marsh slammed a fist and got up as well. His nose was red as his rage. "You can't do this. You can't. Jobs, money—you have no idea what you're saying or doing. You're just—you can't rid of all that."
"I'm not making Oscorp go bankrupt, my friend. All the divisions and departments will become independent. That's all. I'll personally see through all of it." He smiled. "All of you will. You'll be putting your money into these new local businesses. Oscorp Constructions will become, I don't know, Domino Constructions. The pharmaceutical side becomes its own thing. Etc and etc."
Marsh understood, but he did not like it. Not one bit. "Tens of thousands of people all over the world. Millions of dollars—all for what? A rearrangement?"
"The building was awfully empty today. You planned to do some restructuring anyway, no?" Felix pointed out with a calm smile. "Lay off a couple thousand people because of the dip in stock? Make me produce the super soldier serum? You were going to gamble, same way I am."
"This isn't what I..." The CEO clicked his teeth together. "Your idea is...it's ridiculous. It has no precedent."
"Eh, I don't know about that."
"Not of this scale! Do you REALIZE how many accountants and lawyers and experts will be required for an overhauling like this? It'll take far too much time! And to establish companies for all of them, it's impossible!"
"Maybe for you. But not for me."
Maybe he was some guy this would have been stupid. Maybe. but it wasn't because he had two of the most advanced supercomputers on his side to do the calculations. Oh, and a lot of money to throw around to hire the best accountants and lawyers to act as speakers.
"I told you," Dr. Faeth said. "Oscorp is done."
The future of mega corporations taking over ended before it even began.