"Welcome," Norman said, his voice smooth and commanding, "to the brightest minds from Midtown High."
He stepped forward personally and shook each of their hands in turn.
But when Norman reached Peter, he stopped.
His gaze lingered on Peter's face for a long moment.
"So you're Peter Parker." Norman extended his hand, his tone carrying something hard to read. "Harry's mentioned you quite a few times these past couple of days. He said your talent in physics, biology, even chemistry, is exceptional. I didn't quite believe him at first, but now that I've seen you in person, I understand."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"You look exactly like your father, Richard."
Peter shook his hand, visibly caught off guard. "Y-you knew my father?"
Norman nodded as if it were obvious.
"Of course. Richard Parker was one of the greatest genetic engineers in the world. He worked at Oscorp for a time. Back then, we had many discussions."
Clark heard that and immediately found it interesting. He sharpened his attention, watching Norman's smallest expressions.
The instant Norman turned away, his heartbeat kicked up just a fraction.
At the same time, he let out the slightest breath through his nose.
Dismissive.
What Clark could not know was what passed through Norman's mind in that moment:
That idiot Richard took research developed at Oscorp and walked out with it. But maybe his son knows something...
Clark did not know the exact thought, but Norman's attitude toward Peter's father told him enough. Combined with everything Norman had done in other versions of the story, Clark became instantly alert.
Maybe Richard and Mary's disappearance all those years ago had not just involved S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA.
Maybe Oscorp had played a role too.
And now Peter had walked right into their hands.
"Don't do anything stupid, Clark," the tiny angel in his head immediately said, stepping in to calm him down, even though Clark had no intention of punching anyone.
"If you throw a punch now, you'll be on every wanted list by tomorrow. Watch first. And don't forget, S.H.I.E.L.D. is still keeping tabs on you."
Clark flicked the little thing away like it had overthought the whole situation.
"All right, kids," Norman said, his expression perfectly normal again. "Come with me."
He turned and led them deeper into the labs.
Through thick transparent blast glass, they saw a man in a white coat with only one arm, bent over a microscope.
"This is Dr. Curt Connors," Norman said by way of introduction.
"He's our top reptilian genetics expert. He's researching how to adapt the regenerative abilities of reptiles, such as limb regrowth, for human use through cross-species integration."
Peter and Cindy were stunned. Both of them immediately started scribbling notes at a manic pace.
"Dr. Connors is brilliant," Norman continued, shaking his head slightly, "but he's also a little too eager. Given his personal circumstances, that's understandable."
Then he led them onward.
The second lab held no biological compounds or experimental serums.
This one was dominated by machinery.
A somewhat heavyset man in dark glasses stood at a computer station, deep in thought. Behind him was a massive mechanical frame made up of four huge metal tentacles.
"Dr. Otto Octavius." Norman's tone carried unmistakable pride. "His achievements in the field of neural mechanics are revolutionary. These mechanical arms can be controlled directly through brainwaves, assisted by the most advanced AI available. If successful, this technology could transform deep-sea exploration, disaster rescue in hazardous environments, and, most importantly, extraterrestrial operations."
As Clark looked at all the geniuses gathered under Oscorp's roof, he could not help sighing inwardly.
This place really is a full-blown villain factory. First Lizard, then Doc Ock. Who's next? Shocker? Some drone lunatic?
Up front, Peter and Cindy were walking side by side, and neither of them had stopped talking once. They kept firing off questions, one after another, rattling out technical language most normal people could barely follow.
Mary Jane had no idea what either of them was saying, but when she looked at Peter, it felt like he was glowing.
As for Cindy...
She barely knew her. Just a classmate she had only recently met.
Obviously nothing like Gwen or Felicia.
She was not that kind of person, and Cindy wasn't either. Friendship was friendship. Not everything had to turn into romance. That kind of thinking was unhealthy.
The three of them at the front were getting along perfectly.
Behind them...
Felicia kept finding ways to edge closer to Clark. One minute she claimed she could not see clearly and pressed herself against his arm. The next she leaned in close to whisper insider details about Oscorp into his ear.
And Gwen watched her like a hawk.
Every time Felicia got close to Clark, Gwen immediately wedged herself between them, refusing to let the two get too close and pulling Clark back toward her side.
Caught in the middle like a toy being fought over by two girls, Clark was exhausted.
Even a body of steel had its limits.
He kept nudging both of them away and pretending to be intensely interested in random things like fire extinguishers and wall fixtures.
"All right," Norman announced, stopping before an enormous metal door. "This is today's main event."
He placed his hand against the scanner, then submitted to a retinal scan.
For Clark, it was a momentary rescue.
At least the two girls stopped tugging at him for a second.
The airtight door slowly opened.
"Welcome," Norman said as he stepped inside and spread his arms, "to one of Oscorp's core confidential projects: the Super Soldier Alternative Initiative. Internally, we call it the Super Spider Development Program."
What opened up before them was a circular laboratory.
At its center stood an enormous cylindrical glass greenhouse.
Inside was a carefully controlled environment simulating a tropical rainforest ecosystem. Branches crisscrossed through the space, and webs had been spun in every corner.
"The military has always wanted to restart the World War II super-soldier program that created Captain America," Norman said, clearly enjoying the presentation. "But the serum formula was lost long ago."
He stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he continued.
"So we began searching for an alternative. And spiders, as it happens, are among the most perfect predators in nature."
Norman pointed toward the greenhouse, where spiders larger than normal by a considerable margin crawled across the branches, their backs marked with vivid red and blue patterns.
"They can lift objects a hundred times their own weight, sometimes more. Their neural response speed is dozens of times faster than a human's. Through gene editing, we fused traits from three different hyper-mutated spider lines and successfully bred fifteen perfect experimental specimens."
Peter was so fascinated he had practically pressed his face to the glass.
This was a biological miracle.
"Can their abilities be transferred to humans?" Cindy asked.
Norman gave her an appreciative look. "That," he said, "is exactly what we're trying to do. But for now, no. If an ordinary human were bitten, the process of genetic restructuring would be more than the body could survive."
The moment Clark heard that, he understood.
Yep.
There it was.
The chosen one had entered the building, and Peter was absolutely going to get bitten.
It certainly was not going to be Clark.
If he got bitten, it would probably count as a nerf.