NOVEL FROG Arc Sixteen. Chapter Four Hundred Seventy-One. Be Excellent To Each Other
“And that ladies and gentlemen is my personal feelings on the matter. AIM and Parker Inc will be releasing a statement, so at this time, no questions.”
Peter stepped away from the podium, and Liz gave him a gentle smile, letting him know he had done well. He had resisted the urge to call them scumbags, douchebags or any other kind of derogatory bag he could think of.
As he walked towards the Parker building, he saw a small crowd waiting. He instantly recognised Donald and another man, who reminded Peter of a shark. He had a thin pointed face, with a high widow's peak, hard cold eyes and was wearing a lab coat. He glanced over at Liz who nodded and mouthed, 'Alkali-Transigen.'
Peter took a small detour and as he approached his shark analogy was confirmed when the thin man smiled. It was all teeth and no warmth, “Zander Rice, head of Alkali-Transigen. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mister Parker.” He stuck out his hand, and as Peter shook it, it was cold.
Yup, definitely a shark, “So, What can I do for you today Mister Rice.”
Zander smiled again, “Please call me Zander, and I was hoping to talk to you about joining AIM.”
Peter looked over at Liz, who again nodded. “I don’t see why not. AIM is always open to new technology and new ideas. We will need to run background checks though, companies like ours are often.”
Zander raised a hand, “I am well aware. Our company is two, I run Alkali, and my partner runs Transigen. Quentin Beck, you may have heard of him.”
“I thought,” Peter started.
Again, Zander interrupted. “He was recruited to Hydra, which is the polite way of saying they stuck one of those damn things around his neck. They discovered he was immune, an undiagnosed brain tumour. So instead they cut off his hands and gouged out his eyes. So yes, we are well aware of security concerns, Mister Parker.”
Peter smiled and nodded his head. “He’s your CLS modder.”
“Very astute, and yes. He paraphrased Mozart. Losing his eyes didn’t stop him from seeing, it stopped him from seeing the distractions. He had made astounding leaps over your design. You will be surprised at just what desperation can do for inspiration.”
Peter was well aware of how that worked. Most heroes did. Tony owed his life to desperate measures.
“Then, call Liz, arrange a meeting, and we can make sure that the building is up to your standards. Mister Beck is more than welcome to request any additional security.”
There was that smile again, and Peter wondered if that was how anyone Venom grinned at felt. It was fake, almost as if he was something other than human just practising. Right before he ate you.
“We look forward to it, Mister Blake, please liaise with AIM to make sure we’ll be safe, and thank you for your time.” Zander nodded at Donald who pointed at an SUV and the pair left.
Peter walked to the Parker building with Liz, “Yeah, make sure Natasha doesn't kill that guy. She’s not going to like anyone telling her her security is lax.”
Liz was tapping on her tablet, “Meetings are scheduled, for both, and I left Nat a note.”
“Don’t kill him, or if you do, make sure you hide the body?” Peter joked.
Liz stared at him, “No, that's terrible. And unprofessional Mister Parker.”
Peter stammered, “it, it was a joke, I mean.”
“I added, Blame Peter.”
Peter snorted as Liz laughed her way into the Parker building,
Working with a bunch of comedians, he mused to himself as she headed to her office, and him to his.
⁂
Background checks were clean, and so a meeting was scheduled. Peter had already read the file on Quentin Beck, Zander Rice and Donald Pierce. All three were not great people, but nothing like Rumlow or Sterns. Natasha noted as well that there had been information requests made of all AIM employees as well. They had come through legitimate channels so she hadn’t blocked any of them.
It was now Peter’s life. Anyone wanting to do business with AIM checked out their credentials first. It was only the ‘other’ kind of information that Peter, or Natasha, shut down. Blood type, his Shield record, and links to Avalon and Genosha. Natasha either dealt with those herself or passed them to Logan. Threats to the Augment community were very real, and quickly dealt with.
Gwen, Liv, Pepper, and Peter sat at a table, with Zander, Quentin, and Donald. It was Zander's turn to speak first. He had a presentation, as his focus was similar to Gwens. Formula-based foods.
“We are hoping that as part of AIM, we can finally break through the barrier stopping our research. We know that Augments exist. But while the discovery of the X-Gene is remarkable, we have no actual scientific data on its effects on the body. We know that it can physically alter an individual but at what level does that change start? Genetic, cellular, physiological? We may find that Augments require a different food source from us. We may even discover that normal food inhibits energy production in their X-Gene. As part of AIM, it would be our goal, with Miss Stacy’s help, to produce Augment-specific meals and drinks. One per cent of the population is still hundreds of millions of people, a large and untapped market.”
Peter stayed quiet, as this would be Gwen's show. He did know that the others required a vast amount of food, but was it that important? Instead, he poured and stirred his coffee, listening and feeling for the emotions behind the words. Zander Rice was creepy, and not in a good way.
“So expanding on the already Formula-enhanced meals and drinks or more?” Gwen asked. She had been taking notes during his presentation. She nudged Peter with an elbow and he grinned as he then poured her coffee as well.
“I honestly can’t say,” Zander admitted. “We need data on the physiological changes the X-Gene produces. We have hearsay that some Augments cannot digest normal food and we need to investigate that. Is that because of their powers, or the gene, or any number of external factors? We may find that the gene itself can be influenced by other viral sources. We have no hard data, correction, we have no hard data now.” Zander smiled at Peter. “We are aware of your connection to the Augments, we are hoping that you can persuade at least some of them to help.”
Peter raised an eyebrow, “Help as in paid or help as in.” Peter left the question hanging. Many groups called for Augments to be dissected to prove they were actually human.
Zander's face fell into a sudden mask of coldness. “I do not condone human experimentation, Mister Parker. Volunteers would be paid standard rates and closely monitored. We are not butchers, we are scientists. All procedures would be within the FDA guidelines for human testing. Even if right now the ARCA allows some leeway in that respect, it does not mean I agree with them.”
Peter could feel the indignation rolling from him, which he took as a good sign, “I was just making sure. Reaver isn’t a nice name.”
Donald laughed, “Yeah, you think reave like a sword right.” He leant forward and took a drink from a glass of water, “but the name actually was from a group that used to steal sheep. You know, taking the wool from people's eyes. We don’t want any problems down the line if one of our guys hurts someone with one of your limbs.”
Peter had heard back from Matt. In most cases, there was nothing he could do, but there was a pattern that most of the people fined were innocent. New York decided that in cases of self-defence, where a defender used excessive force, it was just a fine. The courts were busy enough without clogging it up more. Especially in cases where someone simply smacked an idiot too hard.
“We need to be careful. Hydra made everyone paranoid, plus, uh, we have had a few other issues.” Peter couldn't exactly admit to releasing a vampire into New York or altering reality. He notices Quentin scowl at the name drop, “Sorry, we uh, all have history with them. If that's an issue.”
Quentin shook his head, “No more an issue than Stark is with you. I heard his museum is pretty popular.”
Peter laughed and shook his head, “Oh yeah, I hate that place, but he does consult now and then. How’s your history with Stark?”
Quentin took in a small snort of breath through his nose, “I hate him. He ruined me, trashed my work, and led Hydra right to me. I lost my job, my apartment, and everything I cared about.” He swallowed and sat up straight. “But, I fixed your power issue in smaller implants. I also found several issues with the CLS itself, and corrected them.“ He took a breath. “I am wiser, and a better person. As long as Stark stays out of my way, I won’t have a problem with him.”
Peter nodded, “Stark really only consults with Liv, if your work follows mine, it’s me you’ll be working with.”
Quentin smirked “If my work followed yours. You didn’t solve the issue with the optic nerve or a power source.”
You didn’t need to be telepathic to see the smugness rolling from Quentin. “You’re right. I took the work in another direction, but that is what AIM stands for. Working together to create larger and better projects.”
Peter wasn't about to admit the reason he had stopped was because he had killed ten rats trying to make it work. The optical connection was stable, but it suffered from the same issue Tony had with an Arc reactor in his chest. It bled lubricant into the brain, causing pain, seizures, and eventually death. He had been working with Gwen to create a natural lubricant, one that wasn't toxic, but she had her own projects. AIM was still a fledgling company, so the project was shelved, to be looked at once they both had more time.
Quentin snorted, "and steal them? Stark offered me a few thousand for my holographic technology. Right after he slandered it."
Peter frowned, "No. AIM doesn't profit share unless you use someone else's tech. We have a standard contract, which we get lawyers in to mediate." Peter really hoped he wasn't like that, Stark had done the same to him, but Quentin seemed to be festering an old wound. "We can even negotiate that before you join. No profit-sharing at all but all tech and time must be paid for in advance. AIM is an umbrella, not a noose."
As he stared at Quentin even Zander seemed unhappy at the change in atmosphere. "No, that's fine," Quentin said. "I just," he took a breath, "am used to being given demands, not," he waved a hand, "this."
"The coffee's not that bad," Peter quipped and Gwen snorted. "It's fine, we get it. Stark is an asshole and Hydra got what it deserved. But that isn't AIM, and it isn't us. Take the contracts and get back to us."
The rest of the meeting was tense but thankfully short, Peter sighed in relief as the three left.
"So?" Gwen asked. Even she saw the tension between Quentin and Peter.
Peter shrugged, "Maybe I punched his mom as Venom and didn't know." Peter ran a hand over his face, "If it's Stark then he'll get over it. Hammer hated him and still had to work with him on some things. You can't ignore Tony Stark," as much as I would like to, he added mentally.
"And nothing on the Peter tingle?" Gwen asked, hiding her grin behind her cup of coffee.
"No, and really? Should you be asking if three guys give me tingles? I mean, I know Liv has fantasies but you too?"
Gwen laughed and set her cup down, "I meant your telepathy. Nothing?"
"Nope, just run-of-the-mill smugness from two brilliant scientists and a paranoid security guard." Peter smiled, "So just a normal day for here."
