Sparks danced along Leon's fingertips as he stood over Norman Osborne, the air thick with the scent of ozone and fear. Norman y sprawled on the floor, his body rigid from the electric shock. His tailored suit was now wrinkled and singed at the edges, a far cry from the polished image he clung to. Leon's eyes, sharp and unyielding, tracked every twitch of the older man's frame as he strode forward, closing the distance in three deliberate steps.

  Without a word, Leon seized Norman by the colr, as he yanked the man off the ground. Norman's feet dangled uselessly.

  Leon lifting him like a rag doll, sent a fresh jolt of panic through Norman's chest. His limbs tingled as the paralysis faded, sensation creeping back in, but it was the sight of Leon's steady, cold gaze that truly unnerved him. 'This kid's a mutant' Norman thought, his breath hitching.

  "Leon, wait!" Norman's voice cracked, desperate and raw. "Let me go, don't do anything rash."

  "Rash?" Leon's lips curled into a smirk, but his tone was gcial. "You're the one who flipped the switch on those wall guns. I'd say you've got 'rash' covered, Osborne."

  Norman's hands swung towards his desk and the arm switch hidden beneath it–just out of reach. "Listen, I wasn't trying to kill you! That's insane. I'd never."

  Leon's grip tightened, cutting off the bluster. "Don't. You're not slick enough to lie your way out of this."

  Norman's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his mind racing for an escape. "Okay, okay, maybe I panicked. But kill you? Come on, Leon, we're partners now. You're a Stark, Tony's brother! If I hurt you, he'd dismantle everything I've built. I'm not that dumb."

  A low, humorless chuckle rumbled from Leon's chest. He released Norman abruptly, letting him colpse back into his chair with a thud. Norman gasped, clutching his neck, but Leon loomed closer, his shadow swallowing the light. "You want me to walk away from this? Prove it. Show me some sincerity."

  "Sincerity?" Norman's pulse thundered, but his voice steadied as he tched onto the lifeline. "You mean shares? Osborne Group stock? Money's your nguage, right? You Starks love a good deal."

  Leon's smirk widened, though his eyes stayed hard as steel. "Shares? You think I'm here for crumbs?"

  "It's not crumbs!" Norman snapped, desperation sharpening his tone. "One percent, that's a fortune, Leon. More than most see in a lifetime."

  "One percent?" Leon's voice dripped with mockery. "You think your life's worth one percent?"

  "One percent is already a lot. You have to know, although the Osborne Group belongs to me but there are too many shareholders. My shares have already been diluted a lot, unlike the shares of Tony's Stark Industries. In addition to giving you 1% of the shares, I can tell you another intelligence that is a threat to you and Tony." Norman Osbourne said bitterly.

  Leon's gaze sharpened, though his posture stayed casual, arms crossing over his chest. "Go on."

  Norman took a ragged breath, his mind spinning. "Obadiah Stane. As far as the information I have, Obadiah Stane's tied up with private organizations, the shady ones. He's got dealings with terrorist groups, running private armed forces to push his arms trading."

  ."And?" Leon asked quietly.

  Norman Osborne's brow creased, his voice carrying a faint edge of irritation. "You don't believe me?"

  Leon, lounging in his chair with a smirk that could cut gss, tilted his head. "Oh, I believe you, Norman. I just already knew about Obadiah's little side hustle."

  For a split second, Norman's eyes widened, caught off guard. Then a slow, sly chuckle slipped from his lips. "Of course you did. You've got your grubby paws on all my company's juiciest secrets, why wouldn't you know about Obadiah's petty schemes? Guess I shouldn't be surprised you're three steps ahead."

  Leon's grin widened, sharp and predatory. "Your intel's useless to me anyway, but I'll give you points for sincerity. How about you sweeten the deal with another one percent of the shares? That'll make this worth my while."

  Norman's jaw tightened, but his expression stayed cool, calcuting. "Done. I'm not about to nickel and dime you over it. One percent's a fat stack of cash, sure, but I've been around long enough to know when to fold."

  "Good." Leon's gaze drilled into Norman, heavy with unspoken weight before he slid into the chair across the desk. Norman mirrored him, settling back into his seat without a flicker of hesitation. His fingers danced over the keyboard, drafting the contract in silence.

  Norman got the contract ready and pushed it toward Leon, but the younger man didn't reach for the pen. Instead, he retrieved his phone from his pocket and opened it.

  "Jarvis, run a scan on this contract. Any sneaky loopholes I should know about?"

  A smooth, clipped voice answered almost instantly. "No issues, sir. The contract is ok."

  Leon fshed a grin at the phone. "Good." He hung up, flicked his eyes to Norman with a nod of approval, and signed his name with a flourish. Just like that, he was a stakeholder in two corporate titans. Two percent might not sound much but we are talking about Oscorp.

  Norman stood, brushing off his suit with a tight smile. "Alright, let's take a walk. You're a shareholder now, how about a peek at the b? I'll even toss in a sample of our spider silk, at no charge. Consider it a welcome gift."

  Leon rose, snagging his copy of the contract as they headed for the door. Norman led the way, talking about the Oscorp's test breakthroughs, like a tour guide. To anyone watching, they might have looked like old buddies catching up. No one would've guessed that minutes ago, in that office, one of them had been a heartbeat from ending the other.

  Norman led Leon into the bustling Oscorp's boratory, alive with interns and visitors drawn by a recent university program.

  "Go ahead," Leon said casually to Norman. "I'll poke around."

  Norman nodded and slipped away without a word, leaving Leon to roam. His sharp eyes quickly found Peter Parker, hunched over a notebook near incubators, and Dr. Curtis Connors, lecturing passionately about regeneration, missing an arm, yet to inject the serum that would turn him into the Lizard.

  .............................................

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