As Dr. Connors wrote more notes pertaining to his work on lizard DNA, his mind was on the performance enhancer serum Horizon Labs received from Oscorp via the Hardy Foundation. Not only did Felicia Hardy deliver the serum, but files on notes about the serum, including the serum's formula. Why would Wilson Fisk willingly help a competitor like Horizon Labs, Connors would not know, but his mind was racing with the possibility of getting to incorporate Norman Osborn's work into his project. Sure, Norman Osborn was not a man Connors was very found of, but even Connors could respect that the man was a brilliant scientist who showed the world the power of science in things from military weaponry, to nanotechnology. There was no denying that Norman was a brilliant man, who could now possibly help Connors heal many with his work. In a world where people are so enhanced that they could inherit the lizard's ability to regenerate entire limbs. Connors grabbed a file from Norman's performance enhancer project, preparing his pitch to Max Modell in his head on how he would utilize Norman's work in his project.

As Peter Parker was working on a new project with Felicia Hardy, he noticed Felicia giving him a few seemingly discreet glances.
"Peter, let me ask you something.... are you still holding out hope for your ex girlfriend to come back to you?" Felicia asked curiously. Peter shrugged.

"A part of me is, if I am to be honest... but at the same time I feel it's been good for me to be single for a few years.... it gave me time to better understand who I am as a person." Peter explained.

"And who are you as a person?" Felicia asked curiously.

"Someone who tries to be responsible but has trouble juggling his responsibilities. Over time it gets easier, until something major happens in life that throws life off balance all over again... then it's back to juggling... but you move forward." Peter replied, remembering all the times when Ben and May had been financially struggling while raising him. They had to balance all of their responsibilities and keep moving forward. Same as Peter... even if said responsibilities were more of the outlandish life threatening kind. Before Felicia could comment on Peter's statement, they saw Dr. Connors run by their door towards Max Modell's office.

"What do you think that was all about?"
Felicia asked. Peter shrugged.

"Maybe he had a meeting with Mr. Modell and is running late." Peter replied.

Max Modell had not been expecting anyone for a while. Suddenly a frantic knock was on his door.
"Come in." Modell said calmly. Connors entered the office and shook Modell's hand.

"You need something, Curt?" Modell asked.

"Not need necessarily... but I would like to see if I can incorporate the performance enhancers we received from Oscorp into my lizard DNA project." Connors answered. Modell fought the urge to sigh. He knew there would be request from scientist in these labs to use Norman Osborn's work, but he never expected Curt Connors to the one asking. Not with his history with Oscorp.

"What do you think the performance enhancers could do for your project?" Modell asked.

"Going over the files of the performance enhancers, I learned that when Osborn was having subjects inhale the substance in a gaseous state, subjects had over an 800% increase in strength. If I can see the formula as it is, tweak it to make sure that there will be no risk of insanity, I can use the enhancing properties of the performance enhancer to allow our DNA the ability to replicate the ability to self heal using Lizard DNA as the base." Connors explained. Modell gave it some thought.

"So you believe you can use the enhanced as a way to unlock man's ability to evolve and accept the regenerative properties of the lizard DNA?" Modell asked. Connors nodded. Modell pondered this for a moment. Before making a decision.

"You may use the performance enhancers and the data provided by Oscorp, but I want to be reported on the progress from this endeavor at least once a week. Are we clear?" Modell asked. Connors nodded.

"Yes. I understand, Mr. Modell. Thank you." Connors replied.

Meanwhile:
If someone told Mary Jane Watson when she was in high school that Flash Thompson would go to the military and whenever he came home, work at a homeless shelter, she would have never believed a word of it. Yet, she was now seeing it with her own eyes. Flash's new boss, Martin Li, was a friend Mary Jane had made shortly after being captured by Venom and Sandman. Shortly after Flint Marko turned himself into the authorities, Martin Li had came into town and negotiated a work release program for him upon hearing about his daughter. Together Flint Marko and Martin Li created FEAST, which was now New York's prime homeless shelter, that not only helped homeless people with a roof and food, but also offered free classes into many different types of professions. Flint Marko even ran a counseling group for former criminals looking to live a better life. Of course, Mary Jane knew all this because she had befriended Martin Li shortly after his arrival to the public space in New York. Although she'd never admit it to him, Mary Jane was inspired by Peter's determination to help out the little guy as Spider-Man. So once, Martin Li and Flint Marko founded FEAST, Mary Jane was one of it's first volunteers. Now here she was, helping the kitchen staff by cutting food for the cooks to cook when she saw Flash Thompson walk by carrying a box of baby supplies for those who unfortunately lost their homes while raising a baby.

"Flash?" Mary Jane said in shock. Flash turned to see Mary Jane in the kitchen and smiled a polite, friendly smile.

"Hey, Mary Jane. Surprised to see me?" Flash asked. Mary Jane nodded.

"Yeah. I bet you didn't expect me to work here, but back when I was in the Army, I saw lots of people in other countries without homes, suffering without food, then I realized that's in every country. Sadly in this one we have those who do nothing to help their situation out, but... if I can help my fellow Americans get back on their feet.... if I can help those who want to rise up, rise up.... then maybe I can do some good as normal Flash Thompson and not just as a soldier named Flash Thompson." Flash explained. Mary Jane nodded. She then realized he was wearing a Spider-Man watch.

"You're a fan of Spider-Man?" Mary Jane asked. Flash nodded.

"The guy is inspirational." Flash said. Mary Jane nodded in agreement. Indeed he is.

"If it wasn't for him making me want to help people in some way, I don't think I'd be here." Mary Jane admitted to Flash, thinking about the effect Peter Parker had on her. Ever since she found out he is Spider-Man, she started to understand why he tried pushing her away... he wanted to protect her and in some way, provide her a better life than what he could offer.... much like how he tried to make the lives of New Yorkers better by keeping them safe as Spider-Man. Peter Parker was a selfless man, most of the time, and after she had lost her job in Broadway 2 years ago, Peter had tried to help her. Sadly, his new found popularity as Spider-Man had gotten to his head during those days, and his ego had been inflated, but Peter had overcame that like he overcame any villain in his life. It was just so inspiring that Mary Jane couldn't help but want to be a hero like Peter was in some way... and when she had made friends with Martin Li, the opportunity presented itself.

"Same here. Anyway, I'd better drop this box of baby supplies. It was good seeing you." Flash said. Mary Jane nodded and he walked away. Mary Jane smiled and couldn't help wondering how Harry Osborn would have reacted to the new Flash Thompson... too bad she'd never find out.

Meanwhile:
"WHERE IS PARKER?" yelled J Jonah Jameson.

"He's at his other job at Horizon Labs." Robbie Robertson replied. Jameson growled.

"Why exactly did we give him a staff job if he's just gonna work two jobs anyway?" Jameson asked. Robbie looked at Jameson, surprised he even had to ask that question.

"Can you think of anyone other than Peter Parker who can consistently get good quality pictures of Spider-Man?" Robbie asked. Jameson was about to mention that Eddie Brock had done a good enough job a few years ago, but thought better of it after it had been revealed that Eddie Brock had been caught photoshopping what was supposed to be an incriminating picture of Spider-Man, then was revealed to have been Venom, some kind of dark twisted version of Spider-Man that had been responsible for the death of Harry Osborn. Not to mention the fact that Brock was dead anyway.

"Is he on his way here soon?" Jameson asked. Almost as if it were some kind of cue to enter a movie scene, Peter Parker walked into the Daily Bugle. Jameson sighed in relief as Peter started to make his way to the office. Jameson had an assignment for him.

"Hello, Mr. Jameson, Robbie. How are you?" Peter asked politely. Jameson waved him off.

"I'm trying to run a newspaper is all. And I got an assignment for you. You see my son John Jameson is doing some kind of presentation with Wilson Fisk at Oscorp. My son is front page news, so I want you over there as soon as possible... and try to see if you can find out if Fisk is doing some kind of under the table crime dealings with Spider-Man!" Jameson said. Peter gave Jameson a look of mild annoyance, and for once Jameson had enough shame to look at the ground.

"Never mind... just, keep the attention on my son." Jameson said, not wanting to give Spider-Man more attention than his son. Peter nodded and walked out of the room. He was not looking forward to this. It had been a few years since Mary Jane had left John at the alter as she had decided to be with him despite the risk of being with a super hero. He hadn't seen John since, and he had no idea if the second Jameson held a grudge or not. As Peter walked out of the Bugle and walked into an alley to change into Spider-Man, he found himself hoping that some kind of criminal interrupted his path to Oscorp.... but his Parker luck insured nothing of the sort happened.

Meanwhile:
John Jameson had been surprised when Wilson Fisk asked him to head a space exploration division at Oscorp. He mostly trained astronauts, as he wasn't very into the scientific side of things, but it seemed that everything concerning the Venom symbiote had caused some kind of interest in Fisk to explore parts unknown.

"Peter, over here!" Ben Urich called to his fellow coworker. John recognized his name and fought the urge to growl. John hadn't been very pleased when he learned that the Peter Parker who Mary Jane had loved even while dating him was the same Peter Parker under his father's employment. Jameson had wanted to fire Peter after learning that Mary Jane had left John for him after Otto Octavius almost destroyed the city, but it had been Robby Robertson that convinced Jameson to keep him at the Bugle. Robertson was too forgiving in John's opinion. John sighed as he released his fist had been tightly clenched. He hadn't gotten over Mary Jane, so the fury he had against Peter Parker had never subsided.

When Peter and Ben walked into Oscorp, John locked eyes with Peter. The anger John felt towards Peter was obvious. The look John gave him reminded Peter of the look Harry used to give Peter whenever he accused Peter of being more loyal to Spider-Man than to him. Ben seemed to catch on and stood in front of Peter to break the tension.
"You know Jameson's son?" Ben asked.

"Not well. We loved the same girl... he dated her... she dated him to force herself to get over me after I had declined a relationship with her due to being in a chaotic stage in my life... at one point John asked her to marry him and she said yes after being mad at me.... but after she nearly died in a Spider-Man and Otto Octavius related incident, she left John at the alter to begin a relationship with me... and ever since John has hated me." Peter explained. Ben facepalmed. This was a messy situation.

"If Jameson knew your history with John, why did he.... he wants you to look into Fisk does he?" Ben asked. Peter nodded.

"That's my guess." Peter replied. Ben nodded and sighed. It would be best to give John space, as he was too focused on trying to glare at Peter than trying to rehearse the speech he would have to give the public as a new Oscorp hire. Peter and Ben started to walk toward the media section.

Meanwhile:
Wilson Fisk had finished making a few calls. He smiled. It was amazing how legacy played a part in anything... sports, college scholarships, the criminal underworld. People still remembered the Kingpin of Crime... more importantly people still feared the Kingpin of Crime. There had been some new mob boss, a guy named Rigoletto.... within 3 minutes, Fisk had gotten Rigoletto to give command of his crime syndicate to him and got Rigoletto himself to leave town.  And he had done this all day. Most of New York's major gangs were in his pocket again, this was the power of the Kingpin of Crime.

"Mr. Fisk, the press conference you have concerning the Oscorp space exploration division is about to start soon." Wesley reminded Fisk. Fisk nodded as he stood up from his desk. Alas, it was time to put away the power of being the city's top criminal and grab onto the power of being a businessman in charge of one of the world's most influential companies.

"Yes. Has the NASA representative arrived?" Fisk asked. Wesley nodded.

"Mr. John Jameson is here, sir." Wesley replied. Fisk smiled as he started to walk out of his office. It was show time.

A bit later:
Peter and Ben got their seats with the rest of the press members and soon enough Wilson Fisk walked to a podium to speak to the masses.
"Citizens of New York, long ago we and the United States as a whole used to send people into space so that we can learn all we can from what we considered to be the final frontier. However, certain events a few years ago has shown us that we haven't even scratched the surface on what could be out there." Fisk started, reminding Peter of the fact that the Venom Symbiote that had temporarily bonded to him a few years ago was of alien origin. John Jameson walked to the podium and Wilson Fisk got off the podium so that John could speak.

"And that is why NASA has partnered with Oscorp to start a space exploration division where we hope to learn more about the galaxy at large, past our solar system." John announced. The reporters looked at each other, baffled by it all. How much would tax payers have to pay for all this? Where would the probes and rockets needed for this be produced?

Soon enough the reporters started asking Jameson and Fisk all these various questions as Peter made sure to get good pictures of it all.

Meanwhile:
After FEAST had no more work for Mary Jane, she went home. There was no rehearsal for her play today... and she found herself wishing that there was. She sighed as she walked around her home... everything seemed so empty. Sure she had pictures on her wall, nice furniture, and everything like that... but all she had to do was spend 5 minutes here... before she felt lonely. Mary Jane grabbed her phone and looked through her contacts. She froze when she saw the name Harry Osborn in her contacts... she had forgotten to delete the number. Soon she went passed the name and continued to scroll down until she saw the name Peter Parker on her phone. She wanted to press the call button.... wanted to find out if Peter was feeling as empty as she felt... but instead exited out of the contacts list.
'I deserve this.' Mary Jane thought as she remembered that her current loneliness had been a product of years and years of bad decision making.

Mary Jane grabbed her tv remote and turned on the tv and saw it was on a news channel. She often watched the news for any stories relating to the heroics of Spider-Man... proud that after Harry's death, Peter still found the strength to do what is right. But she was not prepared for what she saw today. There was John Jameson on tv, speaking with Wilson Fisk at an Oscorp press conference. Mary Jane turned off the tv and looked down to her shaking hands... she remembered how happy she was as she ran towards Peter's apartment while wearing her wedding dress... she remembered how free she felt upon going after the one she loved the most... never stopping to consider the emotional cage of hurt and anger she must have put John in. Her hands shook even more as she remembered how close to death she had been at the hands of Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Venom. She remembered when it seemed like Peter would die... as Venom had him trapped and Sandman was hitting him with giant sand hammers... how trapped she felt when she realized that Peter may end up dying for her sake. She looked at her shaking hands and remembered that for the past 2 years she had nightmares of the villains... taking her to her doom. And when she woke up... there was no one by her side to comfort her... no one who could tell her that everything would be ok.... no friends to call other than May Parker... and she couldn't even tell May everything... the old woman didn't need to be burdened by her problems.

"A word to the not so wise about your little girlfriend, do what you need to with her, then broom her fast." Mary Jane remembered Norman Osborn telling Harry while she was still dating him. She remembered how insulted she was that Harry didn't even try to defend her...

'And yet... there I was... dating Harry Osborn while feeling like I was falling in love for a guy wearing a mask... only for me to realize just how wonderful Peter is. I ended up brooming Harry... then John... and I... I...' Mary Jane started to think before her phone started to ring, snapping her out of her thoughts. She grabbed her phone and was surprised who was calling her.

"Hello?" Mary Jane asked in surprise.

"Hey cuz. It's been a few years since I last talked to you, but I'm in town and I just wanted to see you while I'm here." The voice told Mary Jane. Mary Jane smiled.

"Where are you staying at? I'll head over there and we can have a girl's night." Mary Jane suggested.

Meanwhile:
The press conference had finally ended and Peter felt like he wanted to leave as soon as he could. Especially when John Jameson started making his way towards him and Ben. John kept his glare on Peter, who subconsciously prepared himself for trouble.
"So you are the guys Dad decided to send over to cover this for the Bugle, huh?" John asked them, trying to sound polite but failing to hide the edge in his tone.

Ben nodded. "Yeah. My dad wanted me to ask you a few questions about the new arrangement with Oscorp, if you don't mind." Ben replied as he and John started to walk away from Peter, something that Peter was grateful for, as he didn't want there to be public drama like there had been years ago between a drunk Harry Osborn and Peter the same night Mary Jane had agreed to marry John all that time ago. Little did Peter know, someone was behind Peter, and this person tapped Peter's shoulder. Peter turned around to see who it was... and to his surprise it was Wilson Fisk himself.

"Excuse me, are you Peter Parker, by any chance?" Fisk asked. Peter nodded.

"Yes. And you're Wilson Fisk, the new owner of Oscorp." Peter replied. Fisk nodded.

"Yes. The reason I was asking is because I hear you were close to Norman Osborn and Harry Osborn." Fisk said. Peter nodded.

"Harry was my best friend and Mr. Osborn was very kind to me." Peter replied.
'At least he was before he started wearing a green armored suit... causing chaos in the city like a mad man.' Peter thought. Fisk nodded before giving Peter a picture of himself and Harry, back during their high school days.

"I found this picture of the two of you while I was organising my new office and I figured you'd want this. I am sorry for your loss. It has also come to my attention that you are quite a skilled scientist at Horizon Labs." Fisk explained. Peter nodded.

"I just do my best with every project Mr. Modell puts me on." Peter replied humbly. Fisk smiled.

"I hope to work closely with Horizon Labs... I feel it is a company with a lot of untapped potential. Maybe one day, Oscorp and Horizon will have a joint venture. But, just know... as someone who was close to the Osborns, you are welcome any time here at Oscorp." Fisk told Peter before walking away.

"Are you trying to gain yet another scientist in Horizon?" Wesley asked as Fisk walked to him.

"I haven't decided yet. I have heard of Parker's experimental reverbium project... it has some amazing potential if applied correctly... but I think he should mature a bit more before we use him like we do Connors." Fisk replied. 

Author note: I do apologize for the long wait for this update. I haven't updated this story since October of 2020... and let's just say a lot of other projects and a lot of drama in my personal life has kept me from this one, but I have reminded myself of all things Raimi Spider-Man thanks to a recent rewatch of the Raimi trilogy and my mind is ready to continue my story for Spider-Man 4!