Marvel-ous Ninjutsu

00153. A simple choice.

It only took about a week before Theo collected all the information he needed. It turned out that Richard and Mary figured out a new type of formula. Theo didn't dig into it too much, but it apparently helped increase the potential of drugs it was incorporated into.

After they tested it for a while and realized its potential. They decided to pitch it to a few companies and partner with the one who offered them the best deal. While Theo was happy for them, he was upset Oscorp won and they now had a partnership with Norman. If Theo paid more attention to his extended family's business matters, he would have used Vibe and offered them a deal himself.

Theo couldn't help it as he scolded himself for being lax. Once Richard and Mary quit their old jobs and set up a lab in the shop's basement. He was pretty sure they wouldn't have any trouble at all, so he stopped looking into their lives. It turned out he was wrong and would now spare a couple clones to monitor them, along with everyone else in his extended family.

That wasn’t all he did though. He also asked Tao and Agatha to make a life saving spell for each of his family and extended family members. It was basically a spell shield that would save them in an emergency or teleport them away if needed. It could also be used to track them in case they were kidnapped. It was a spell that was targeted at their soul so it was hidden extremely well and Theo didn't have to worry about it being removed since it wasn't tied to an object.

Was it overkill? Could it cause issues for him in the future if it goes off accidentally? Sure, but he would rather have his family safe instead of dead.

With his family now safe from threats, Theo turned his attention to Osborne. He used his clones and searched through everything even remotely related to Norman Osborn. What he found wasn’t as bad as he expected it to be though. Sure he had a few backroom deals and his taxes were a little skewed. But overall he seemed better than the average CEO of most companies.

Since that was the case, Theo decided to test the man. He would make him an offer and whether or not he accepted it would decide his fate.

It was almost midnight and Norman was seated at his desk inside his home office as he worked on a project. As he typed away on his computer someone said, “You should rest, it's not good to stay up so late.”

“I'll be fine Bernard.” Norman said before he paused his typing and looked up at the person before him.

“Sorry for the intrusion but we need to have a little chat and this seemed like the best place to have it.” The man said.

Norman studied the man before him for a few moments. He wore an all black cloak with a hood that covered his face in shadows. But as Norman looked at the hooded area, he realized the hood was filled with wisps of smoke. After a few moments Norman moved his foot a little to hit a button hidden under his desk as he said, “You should call my secretary and schedule a meeting then.”

The smoke wafted out from the hood as he said, “I'd prefer if we kept this meeting private and off record. It's also why no one will answer that button you just pushed.”

Norman frowned slightly as he sat back in his chair and said, “It seems you have me at a disadvantage mister?”

“My name doesn't matter. I only came here to give you a choice that will decide your future.”

“And what exactly is this choice?” Norman asked with narrowed eyes.

“The life of your family or the legacy of the company you want to build.”

Norman slammed the palms of his hands down on his desk as he said in a raised tone, “Are you trying to threaten me and my family?”

The hooded man shook his head as he said, “It's not a threat, it's a choice. Your wife suffers from Oshtoran Syndrome and that will kill her in the next few years.”

Norman narrowed his eyes as he said, “No one should know about that.”

“And yet here I am. I also know your son Harry has inherited Oshtoran Syndrome. But it is currently dormant alongside Retroviral Hypodysplasia which he inherited from you. Your family really won the jackpot when it comes to rare genetic diseases, didn’t they?” The man said in a mocking tone of voice.

Norman gritted his teeth as he asked, “Did you just come here to mock my family or is there a point to this?”

The man looked directly at Norman and for a moment Norman thought he saw a gleam of red where the person's eyes should be. The man then turned to look out the window as he said, “I'll give you a month to make your choice. If you start selling off your company and choose to live a quiet life with your family. Then I will cure all of you, so you can live a long and happy life together.”

“And if I don't?” Norman asked as he narrowed his eyes at the man.

“Then you can watch the person you love the most in this world wither away to nothing and spend the rest of your life knowing you could have saved them.”

The man held up both hands and a moment later the right one showed Norman, his wife, Harry and a couple more kids. They were in the living room playing a board game together and everyone looked happy.

In the man's left hand was the Oscorp building he was planning to build in downtown New York City. It looked beautiful to him, but the image changed slightly to show Norman himself. He was aged, while his face was a stern mask and sorrow could be seen in his eyes as he looked out the window of the top floor of the building.

The man held up the first one where it now showed Norman with a smile on his face as he chatted with his wife and he asked, “Will you choose love?”

The man raised up the other one that now showed Harry who looked scared as he tried to talk with his father before he asked, “Or will you choose pride?”

As the images vanished the man said, “You have one month.”

A moment later the man disappeared into a cloud of smoke as Norman asked, “Why do I have to choose?”

Norman frowned for a moment before he quickly walked out of his office to check on his family. Outside his office he found his faithful butler Bernard passed out in the hallway beside a spilled serving tray that once carried a full teapot and some snacks.

As Norman kneeled next to the man and tried to wake him up he thought, ‘When did this happen? I didn’t hear anything.’

After a few moments Bernard woke up as he asked, “What happened, sir? Why am I on the floor?”

Norman decided not to talk about the man who broke into the house as he said, “I'm not sure. I just came out of my office and found you like this.”

Bernard frowned as he looked at the mess that he made before he said, “I'm sorry about the mess sir. I'll clean it up right away.”

Norman placed a hand on the other man's shoulder as he said, “It's fine Bernard. I’ll have one of the maids clean it up. You should go get some rest.”

“I'm fine sir, I'll…”

“That was an order.” Norman said.

“Yes, sir.”

Norman smiled at the man as he helped him up before he said, “I'm going to check on Harry and then head to bed myself. Have a goodnight, Bernard.”

Bernard bowed slightly as he said, “Same to you, sir.”

Norman left the man as he moved quickly to Harry’s bedroom. On the way he pulled out his phone and typed a message on it about the mess in the hallway so that one of the maids could clean it up. Once he arrived at his son’s room he put away his phone and slowly opened the door as he quietly went inside. He found his son fast asleep with part of his blankets thrown off to the side. Norman gently pulled the blankets back over his son and tucked him back into bed.

As he watched his son sleep, the image of his son being scared of him flashed through his mind and he frowned. He thought back to what the man showed him and shook his head as he thought, ‘That would never happen, Harry would never be afraid of me.’

Norman quietly left the room a few minutes later and headed to his bedroom. Inside he found his wife hooked up to a couple machines as she rested in bed. She was in the starting stages of the disease and had no real outward signs anything was wrong besides slightly pale skin. But when she was at home, they hooked her up to machines to help monitor her condition and hopefully prolong the onset of the disease as long as possible.

Norman moved next to his wife and once he was close she said, “You worked late again.”

Norman looked down at his wife who smiled back up at him as he said, “Sorry I lost track of time.”

“It’s not good for your health. Now hurry up and get ready for bed, young man.” She said in a slightly stern yet joking tone of voice.

Norman shook his head before he sat down in the chair next to the bed, took her hand in his and said, “Sure, in a few minutes. Just let me hold your hand for a while.”

As Norman gently caressed her hand she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Emily turned to look at her husband who was lost in thought and studied him for a while before she asked, “What are you thinking about? Is it the building again?”

Norman glanced at his wife for a moment before he remembered her surrounded by a few more children which made him pause. Emily tugged on his hand as she asked, “Honey, what’s the matter?”

Norman smiled as he said, “Nothing, I was just lost in thought.”

Emily knew her husband better than anyone else and knew something was bothering him, but decided not to push the issue as she said, “Go change and come to bed. It’s a little cold and I want to snuggle.”

Norman kissed his wife on the cheek before he said, “Okay.”