----
The elevator doors slid shut with a soft chime.
Inside, Johnny broke the silence. "Is it just me, or is Captain America really not liked around here?"
You'd think Steve Rogers would be a national treasure. Sure, public sentiment toward powered individuals had shifted, but this was Osborn. Home turf to the most powerful Enhanced being known to the world Nolan.
If anyone welcomed superhumans, it should be him.
Reed didn't even look up. "That's because of the Wakandan incident."
Johnny raised a brow.
"The explosion at Osborn Industries? They blamed it on the Winter Soldier. Word is… Rogers broke him out."
"Ohhh… that guy." Johnny nodded slowly. "Yeah, makes sense. If someone nuked my workplace and the guy who did it got bailed out by a so-called hero, I'd be pissed too."
Susan tilted her head. "Since when do you pay attention to politics?"
Reed smirked. "I don't. I study patterns. Dr. Nolan's research into applied superpower integration is remarkable, especially his bio-centric approach. If someone like him turned to quantum mechanics…"
He trailed off.
"He'd probably crack it in a week," Johnny muttered.
Just then, a hand caught the elevator doors mid-close. A breathless Peter Parker slipped in.
"Sorry! Almost missed it." He grinned sheepishly at the trio.
Susan smiled politely, but her fingers flicked a subtle signal behind her.
Reed and Johnny nodded silently. They'd traveled with her long enough to recognize the code.
Enhanced. Confirmed.
Peter, blissfully unaware, kept his gaze on his phone. When the elevator stopped at his floor, he darted out.
"Was that…?" Johnny began.
"Spider-Man," Susan said with a nod. "I could recognize the energy signature anywhere."
Reed adjusted his glasses. "So Spider-Man works for Osborn now?"
"Apparently." Johnny blinked. "Okay, I've seen vigilantes join teams, but a nine-to-five job at a biotech corp? That's new."
The doors opened.
---
As they stepped into the hallway, they were greeted by two imposing figures. One with a hulking, steel-gray frame and a literal horn on his forehead. The other, more familiar dusty clothes, weathered features, and a wide grin.
"Long time no see!" Flint Marko—Sandman waved.
Susan's face lit up. "How's your daughter?"
"Good," Marko said with sincere gratitude. "Dr. Nolan saw to that. To him, her condition was just a mild case."
He gestured beside him. "This is my coworker Alexei Sytsevich. You can call him Rhino."
Rhino nodded politely, though his massive bulk made him anything but subtle.
Johnny's eyes went wide. "He's… huge. Like, Ben Grimm huge."
"Not quite," Reed said. "Ben's upper threshold has surpassed a hundred tons. Not many reach that range."
They exchanged brief pleasantries before Sandman and Rhino continued on their way.
Once out of earshot, Johnny exhaled. "Okay… how many supers does this company employ?"
"Too many to be a coincidence," Reed murmured. "They're not just gathering talent. They're cultivating it."
---
A voice called out.
"Dr. Storm?"
A man in a lab coat approached them thin, polite, and sharp-eyed.
"I'm Connors. I'll be performing your diagnostic, Ms. Storm. It's a complex process, but we'll need you to come with me. As for you two, Dr. Nolan asked me to direct you to the Meditation Room down this hall, last door."
Susan tilted her head. "Wait… Dr. Connors? As in Curt Connors?"
"The one and only," Reed stepped forward, extending a hand.
"You're the leading figure in regenerative biology. Your recent papers on self-healing genomes were… revolutionary."
Connors chuckled. "All under Nolan's guidance. We've accomplished more in two years here than I did in my entire career before this."
Johnny narrowed his eyes. "So… you're a super too?"
Connors gave a casual nod. "I was. Technically still am. But here at Osborn, that's not unusual."
Reed nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. The term 'superhuman' is flexible. Iron Man's just a guy in a metal suit… yet we count him among the Enhanced."
"And with the research we do here?" Connors smiled. "We could make a hundred more supers. If we wanted to."
Johnny muttered under his breath, "That's either brilliant… or terrifying."
---
As Susan was led away, Reed and Johnny continued toward the Meditation Room.
The name was odd. Meditation? In a high-tech lab?
Johnny knocked.
"Come in."
Nolan's voice came through clearly.
They stepped inside to an unexpected sight.
A woman sat cross-legged in the center of the room, crimson mist curling around her. Arcane runes floated and shifted above her, and in a flash, a red sigil pulsed tearing open a portal that revealed a distant chamber.
"I did it!" the woman exclaimed.
Wanda looked up, her eyes glowing with Scarlet magic.
Johnny gawked. "Is that… magic?"
Reed adjusted his glasses, eyes wide behind the lenses.
This wasn't just a company of supers.
This was a convergence point where science met the supernatural.
And Nolan stood right at the center of it all.
----
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