He's back.

-Norman Osborne-

/Oscorp Tower-Shareholder Meeting/

"There has been an increase in funding from both the military and the government after our involvement in the ALZ-29 compound was revealed and the stock has been in the green for almost a year now and with the call I had with General Ross is anything to go by it will keep on rising in the following few months." The shareholders are hard to please but the fact that everything is going swimmingly has been a point against their usual bitching.

"This is all well and good normal but the OZ formula is draining the funds a lot more than you projected last year" The shareholders still have a way of finding faults in the process but not the results so I tell them "There have been some unforeseen circumstances that pushed the formulae 7 years ago to a snail's but rest assured that it is back on track once more and it will only get faster" one of the older shareholders tries to sound disappointed as he lectures me "The Egyptians took 100's of years to build the pyramids and they used it as a grave, this project looks more and more like a grave Osborne"

I resisted the urge to scream and question their knowledge of science but I held back as I told him "When the OZ formulae start to work we will be the people who made the next atomic bomb and...." Mrs. Amanda stops my explanation as she says "If. Osborne. If. I don't think you will get to perform clinical trials soon if what happened today gets out".

I pinch the bridge of my nose as I try to alleviate their concerns "The Electro wasn't an experiment he was an unfortunate accident that we were trying to repair" One of the younger and more righteous shareholders slammed the table as he asked me "And why did that involve the usage of Mileby-12 a mind control device on the man?" I sighed as I told him with the utmost patience I could muster "He was an asset the moment we spent 8 million dollars to keep him alive with the EXO-SUIT, he signed the contract and he would have been loaned to General Ross"

"Which isn't possible because he is right now in police custody," One of the shareholders says making me close my eyes "The police are on our payroll they wouldn't dig too deep" I try to reason but their next question confuses me "But what about Spiderman?" I frown as I ask them "The vigilante?" They shudder as they correct my assumption "The Vigilante capable of bringing down Wilson Fisk"

A sheen of sweat forms on my forehead as I think of Wilson Fisk's fate, the man had an empire and he lost it in a day. My decision to not let Oscorp be involved with that man was right if the empty chairs in this meeting were anything to go by.

People whisper of this and that but most people know that it was Spiderman who did it, it must be, there was no one else more capable "He wouldn't look into it" I whispered in protest but even I knew that was a thin excuse "He would if the death toll on the TV wasn't greatly exaggerated" 'They weren't' "He would probably look into it and just like kingpin we will fall"

I nodded at that but what they said next made my blood turn cold "Which is why we decided to sell Oscorp" I looked around at them as I tried to convince them "You don't understand, we can get through this unscathed. I will try to find a way to wipe out hands clean" but my pleading falls on deaf ears as they reiterate "There is nothing we can do, you have 1 Month to handle the estimates and accounts before the buyer initiates the acquisition" I nod mutely as the meeting ends and I'm left alone in the office wondering how this happened, my life's work moving into the hands of someone else.

I don't know what I'll have to do but I will have to try.

-POV Nick Fury-

I'll have to try my damn best to convince the council that NO it wasn't a goddamned terrorist attack and that no I wasn't the one who sent Spiderman to deal with it. We didn't even have much contact with the vigilante except for the one time Coulson met him.

There are only a few times in life I have truly been angry and one of them was when I lost my eye, now the fact that General Ross has managed to piss me off faster than any of those other reasons must mean something mustn't it. Well, the official reason would be failure to comply and let us watch Banner's very peaceful life.

The personal reason would be kicking out the backup I have sent taking away my one true chance at testing Starks team working capabilities but men's egos have led to worse situations I can say and the convenient dirt I have on him in case he stirs up some shit in New York doesn't hurt either.

The councilmen start their video feed and I put on my mask of indifference to avoid any uncomfortable questions they might throw at me, there are a couple of things I would have liked to put my effort into rather than discuss an uncontrolled individual.

"Good evening Director Fury, We wish to discuss..." I interrupt Councilwoman Hawley before she can extend the gathering with her unnecessary droning "I think we don't need any pleasantries today, I have matters of utmost security I have to attend to after this unnecessary meeting..." I would have stormed out after that if Pierce hadn't persuaded me with a gentle chiding "That is true but your report doesn't show any culprit" I raise my very thin eyebrows as I tell them dryly "It was a man named Max Dillon"

Pierce spreads his arms as he asks "And?" I blink as I tell them "And that's all we know for now" They look at each other sheepishly and I tell them "The information packet already had all we know, this meeting was pointless" but before I can move out of the room CouncilMan yen asked me "Then what should we let the press name this 'A terrorist attack, or an unfortunate accident'" I level a cool gaze on him with my one good eye as I tell him "If any newsletter from the member countries claims it to be a terror attack to justify their invasion on another country again I will resign and give you a real terrorist to deal with"

I walk out of the room with my windbreaker catching the air and floating behind me. I get into my office room and immediately order Hill "I want the file on Max Dillon yesterday and the current situation with General Ross" Hill was quick to place a file on Max Dillon which I didn't provide to the Council because once they know that he was a worker of Oscorp they will be quick to point hands and crush Oscorp without knowing the full story of what happened.

As I look through Dillon's file Hill updates me on the Hulk situation "The Hulk has been cured sir and..." I pinch the bridge of my nose as we seem to have lost one of Earth's strongest defenders while Hill continues "...a new Green Monster has been found fighting Spiderman and Iron Man in Harlem after the capture of Bruce Banner" My eyes widen as I tell out "I want eyes on the fight as quick as possible"

-POV BRUCE BANNER-

I was finally happy to be captured by General Ross, which is a weird thing to say but with Betty by my hand and the Hulk out of me I have nothing to fear, I look up as Ross cuts the phone call about some military funding for Oscorp before he comes and stands in front of me "You chose to hide a weapon that could have made America great again" I sigh as I try to make him understand "The last time someone made America the Greatest, 2 cities were leveled and hundreds of thousands of life's were lost. All of that was for nothing as America didn't look so great once the Russians built their atomic bomb"

Ross slams his fist into the hanger as he yells out, spit flying everywhere "If Oppenheimer and his damned communist sympathies weren't a thing we would have been the greatest." I look down as I explain to him irritated by his misconceptions "It wasn't Oppenheimer, it was the..." But Ross rudely interrupts me "Doesn't matter who it was, we lost our pedestal but I was building another with you and the Hulk but you spat on it"

I looked him in the eyes as I told him "I wish I spat on it when you offered it to me but I didn't and I suffered for it, I became the monster, not you" seemed ems to have some guilt in the least of the way he looked away was something to go by but a man in the military is quick to put away his morals for the greater good it seems as he mutters out loud "Doesn't matter, I have Sterns to continue the research" while looking at Samuel Sterns.

I try to convince him otherwise "You will make another monster like the Abomination down there and innocents will pay the price again and again until you stop your pursuit of Hulk. Gamma radiation is not a power we are capable of handling" Ross's eyes hardened as he says coldly "A few deaths are inevitable in the pursuit of power".

For the first time since the Hulk had been removed from me I was angry once again and this time I didn't even have to stop myself, I let the anger simmer and grow hoping to kill General Ross where he stands but the anger is replaced by cold dread when I close my eyes and see the green hue my blood was taking.

The Hulk isn't dead, just pacified.