2648/A Business Arrangement

A Business Arrangement
Date of Scene:	30 September 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	A follow-up meeting with the individual calling herself Katherine, Norman brings her to her new 'personal' (and heavily surveiled by oscCorp men) clandestine laboratory; clearly eager to take full advantage of her unique mind.
Cast of Characters:	Katherine, Green Goblin

---

Katherine has posed:
The address that she got after decoding the information brings Katherine to a lab. Since she was not expecting the lab, she knew she'd be taking a rather long walk and changed her clothing to something a bit more casual. Of course, where she gets her clothing ideas is from crowd-sourcing the pool of internet watches about what they'd like to see on someone with her kind of figure, with a filter on her results for 'adult only' ideas being removed, of course. And so there she is, walking into a laboratory with a denim miniskirt on and a rather fishnetty-like top with a flowery pattern for the holes in the material that show off skin. Much of her stomach is bared, her legs as well, and she still has on no shoes. Eccentric genius afterall.

Walking inside she runs her hand up into her hair, the shorter hair having been professionally layered and cut since just yesterday and she's got on limited jewelry all the same. "Hmmm." She had cracked the tracking mechanism on the USB drive, and could have turned it off but didn't. It's a calling card after all, and she decrypted all of the data but while she was going she prevented any sort of 'transfer' until she could review the information. Anything that would clearly lead to weaponry was stored, and then scrubbed from the device, even with the anti-tamper code that was present it was just a matter of time for Katherine to break it, and do whatever she wanted. The crypto currency that was found on the drive wasn't returned, instead it was sent off to individuals - a lot of them seemingly random. Though if Osborn does his research these are all people with precursors of genius level intelligence coming from poor neighborhoods where that genius would never have a chance without income. And they were targetted not by school test scores, but somee algorithm attached to internet searches.

Green Goblin has posed:
    It's been... a busy few days, for the man known to the world as Norman Osborn. Attempting to keep the Goblin's whispering at-bay long enough to orchestrate his return to the public light, attempting to turn the press' hideous accusations against them in the public light - the first step in a long plan to reclaim former power. It takes it's... toll.

    And though he'd rather be in his hidden penthouse suite somewhere in the city, Norman Osborn has found himself - instead - hardly able to sleep. And oddly, it's not just the Spider-Man taking up his thoughts; he is still replaying yesterday's conversation in the Museum with that odd woman, running through phrases and specific words that came out of Katherine's mouth. "Who.. is she..?" he asks himself, almost absent-mindedly, sitting in the darkness of the abandoned laboratory. Large amounts of off-shore funds were moved around specifically to outfit this laboratory within 24 hours to be as geared towards advancements in nanomachines and robotics as possible - in fact, it's noticeable that a lot of the equipment sitting around the lab have the StarkTech or WayneCorp design on them - as well as more unknown logos, bearing the names of recent robotics and engineering startups that oscCorp has funded. It's clear that Norman is taking this woman's skill-set, as well as her promises, VERY seriously.

    "I'm pleased you kept the money," comes his voice from the shadows as Katherine walks into the otherwise abandoned, seemingly unused laboratory. By the looks of things, this is fresh territory for her to work in - unfettered by the distractions other individuals or a more central Manhattan location might provide. "You did deserve it, after all," he continues as he stands out of the large, almost throne-like chair in the back of the laboratory - lights coming on in the area around him and illuminating the high, dusty ceiling of the lab, "But I must say, we expected those files to broadcast OUT once you broke the encryption - I don't... RECALL asking you to prevent the transfer.." he says, his voice dripping with menace for just a moment, before it's covered up with an even heavier layer of pleasantness, as he glances down at the lack of shoes - didn't she... walk here? Shaking his head at the continued oddness of this individual, he nevertheless remains silent. It's clear he's expecting an explanation for her holding onto the other data on the Drive - all of it encrypted text files containing long strings of numbers, calculations of trajectory and velocity of unknown objects, various blueprints pointing to vast energy-generating devices, and lists of names of people who, in government searches, seem to simply.. not exist. On paper, at any rate.

Katherine has posed:
Whatever was not directly, or searchably indirectly, dangerous to be put into the hands of someone with vast connections and resources, Katherine gave over. Even stuff that might of been leverage for politicking, but literal physical danger, she scrubbed from the drive. And she looks to Norman as he approaches, if his presence or the lab was surprising to her it didn't show on her face. Not like someone who 'expected' it to be this way, more like someone who doesn't have expectations, can't be taken aback even if something unexpected occurs. She smiles to him, that same, exact, smile that she had yesterday, "Hello again Norman. A pleasure again to see you." And then she's setting the USB drive down on a nearby table.

"I apologize for the diverting of data from the transfer, but, as I said, I cannot allow, nor would not allow any of the data that was dangerous to be allowed out. I can't. It's not in my character." She looks about the lab, "But this IS amazing! This place, it is very good. I could not build this in a single human lifetime, it would take so long to recreate all of this technology." Her eyes are wide, and she's cheery. Since Norman is a man of phrases and words, he might pick up on the odd use of recreate when much of this technology is bleeding edge and some of it was literally just invented or created for the first time, "You are certainly a benefit to me, I hope that I will be as beneficial to you." And she walks over some more, her feet though barefoot all the time, seem to not have any callous on them, her pedicurist must hate her.

"The drive, though, served as a very good test, hopefully for you, even if you did not get all of the information. Again... sorry." She grimaces a bit, quirking her lips some to an exaggeratedly 'cute-girl' being sorry about something, and then her face goes back to her happy content smile. For the moment it was genuine, but so quickly she's back to a 'default' facial expression, "Moving on from there, however, the encryption would have been harder at ... the location that this came from. It seemed to have been pulled from many sources, and that... my guess, would mean it cost a lot in time or effort to gather. Some of which was now wasted, but gained also. What would have taken months to years to decrypt with current computer systems, I did for you in a day. Are we even?"

Green Goblin has posed:
    Shaking his head at the woman's response, Norman Osborn lets out a nearly imperceptible sigh, taking a few steps across the large laboratory space. He's holding a tumbler glass in one hand, held down by his side - the fizzy green drink contained within perhaps looking a bit more odd than the simple Lime juice & Perrier mixture it is. He brings it up to his lips and drains it dry. Wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve, Norman takes a few more steps - coming up to the laboratory desk where Katherine placed the USB drive. There is still a thin layer of dust covering the surface; it's clear this whole place was brought together at the last minute, no doubt once he realized Katherine's true potential. He picks up the USB and slips it inside a jacket pocket

    "I respect your hesitation, even though I do not APPROVE," he says, doing his level best to be diplomatic as his face strains with concentration. His eyes, fixed on something, crawling along the desk... bringing the tumbler glass up high in the air, he SLAMS it down onto the table, crushing a just-recently noticed spider beneath it. His eyes, having a brief manic glare to them, look back up to Katherine and seem to take her entire appearance in for the first time, "You'll forgive me," he mutters, gesturely vaguely to the crushed insect, "I HATE spiders..."

    "Now.. As I was saying, I understand your... hesitation to pass along the information to someone you almost CERTAINLY do not trust." He says this with a grin, waving his hands in front of himself as he continues, "No, no offense taken, of course - I'm sure you know who I am. Know what people SAY about my past. And I know you'll need to learn to trust me. We'll need to learn to trust EACH OTHER.." he says, still not certain exactly who or WHAT he's dealing with in the stunning figure in front of him.

    "Regardless," he says, suddenly shrugging the tension of with a slight chuckle, "The names and numbers will prove more than useful to me, even if you took it upon YOURSELF to decide... what information... -I- receive.." he's pausing between words, teeth gritting as he processes the perceived disrespect - his ego broaches few slights, and were Katherine not so potentially valuable to him... well.. "But I'm a generous man, and you have been so VERY helpful - I see great things in our future; this is no simple exchange, information for all... this..." he steps away from Katherine and temporarily turns his back, both arms spreading out and up, as if to emphasis the size of the laboratory, "YOURS, my dear. Well, MINE, but we're partners now, you see? I won't say employees, no, I doubt you've ever had someone you truly considered an EMPLOYER," it seems he's done his own share of thinking about the strange woman and the personality she's displayed thus far - he's simply taking shots in the dark using his learned abilities at reading peoples' motives through the years. He's never, ever dealt with someone so singularly... unique, so he's perhaps a bit more out of his element than he usually is.

    "Does the equipment please you? Understand, of course, this was all brought together in the past 24 hours. If you find the equipment lacking, you'll discover I have... many contacts. Many ways to get whatever you may need. Understand, also... you may not work FOR me, but I WILL be watching..."

Katherine has posed:
Listening, Katherine nods her head a few times, still smiling to Norman, but responding to some of the things he's saying. Like, never having had an employer. Though when he kills the spider, she does startle, reacting to the smashing and then taking in a deep breath, "I will have to clean sweep this place, I will make sure to remove any ... biological ... pests ... from the premise. It will take me some time as I prefer not to kill them." Her eyes still on the spider, seemingly concerned for its well being but then turns back to you with a softer smile, "Though I understand most do not think of Spiders as friendly or good, they are amazing creatures. Apex Predators at their size and scale, capable of specialize operations, evolved to be singular biological killing machines. I will save as many as I can, but ... yes... the lab."

She moves on, looking around again before offering, "I am sure that we can use this equipment to build into the next version of the design. Or, I can. I do not think it would be completely wise to have many people here, there will be things that take precision, that take thinking and strategizing and documentation at a level that technicians simply cannot perform." She has no bragging tone in her voice, but certainly it could be taken that way.

"You can watch me, as much as you want. I do not mind. It is hard for someone who sees the internet for what it is to believe that there is a moment in any life that is not recorded, somehow some way." And she moves around the table a bit, before she stops, looking to Norman again, "I do trust you. I trust you to be you. And no one else, and I respect that person as well. I just also know that there are technologies, and knowledge, that invariably leads to destruction. Many cannot see that, but futurists, like us, we can. Ripples in the pond of the universe that stretch out along the lines of time and space, with such dire consequences that our comprehension of good and evil no longer make any sense." Taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Katherine smiles, "Thank you Norman for helping me with this. I hope that in time you will understand fully what you have started here today, and more so, I hope that no matter what others may think of you now..." She raises her hands and spreads them out to 'encompass' the laboratory, "You helped them, a savior of this Earth. And should we fail, we will simply not be remembered at all, for there will be no one left to have memories."

Green Goblin has posed:
    Norman does smirk slightly at the womans startled response to his insect-smashing; he cant help it, hes a sadistic type, and he notices her uncomfortableness after the act. He seems to revel in it for a moment, his grin growing more malevolent, wider and more unhinged briefly... until she mentions preferring to NOT kill pests. Then, his face returns to the usual barely-neutral scowl that he is so often wearing. Well, THAT could be a problem...

    <Oooooh, Norman... this one has MORALS...> comes the giggling taunt from inside his head, causing Norman to visibly twitch a moment as he attempts to focus on the womans responses and general reaction to the lab space. In spite of his smug nature, he does seem oddly pleased with her approval of the various, high-cost cutting-edge equipment assembled.

    "I am... pleased, that you find the space suitable - and I apologize for the state. If you must know, I did not expect you to be of such promising talent based upon the information I had previously gathered about you," he still keeps the exact nature of what he knows about Katherine, and who precisely he got it from, secret - leaving the bright woman to come to her own conclusions. "And I look forward to seeing your.. improvements on these designs," he says, almost not believing his own words, but trying to make them as genuine and hopeful as possible - he has purchased (and, some of them, outright stolen via corporate espionage) designs by Tony Stark here, by REED RICHARDS... if this woman can reverse-engineer them, let alone IMPROVE on them? This might be the most valuable business arrangement hes made since the early days of Oscorps relationship with the Pentagon.

    He nods at her acceptance of his terms; with her abilities, she surely notices this laboratory is wired for video and sound, running through encrypted cable to another nearby oscCorp-owned property, where it is then sent along directly to terminal in one of Normans residences. She may notice strange vehicles hanging around in the nearby streets, men watching her a bit more than they might already (though for such a stunning figure, this may be impossible to discern from the usual stares she would receive in NYC). "Im glad we understand each other, Katherine," he says, his voice a bit softer than previously, "I expect great things from myself and others - and Im most frequently... disappointed.." Reaching his hand out to clutch the womans shoulder in a rare show of human contact - assuming she does not flinch or otherwise prevent him - he says, "Im hoping my faith in you, is not misplaced."

Katherine has posed:
Reaching up she taps her finger to her lower lip as she continues to look around, building a 3d model of the laboratory in her mind and configuring the the most optimized layout for the kind of work she suspects she'll be doing here. Katherine nods her head in just small acknolwedgements of the apology from Norman, "It is fine, there is so much here. It is promising, I thought a car manufacturing plant was going to be my best beginning options. And that would take decades to get anywhere near close to this level of sophistication." She smiles a bit bigger than normal as she turns her attention back to you. Of course, your internal dialog is not something she picks up on at all.

"There are still gaps that will need to be filled, and those may take some time. But as I learn this level of mechanics I will be certainly be able to improve upon what is present and continue moving things forward." She says without bragging again, just matter of factly, though there is certainly a bit of excitement in her tone, "Expect great things, for great things are coming. Awesome things, in the classic definition, and hopefully we will have something Awesome ourselves by that point." When you clutch her shoulder she doesn't flinch or seem to care at all, not looking at it, and then she mentions, "Faith is always misplaced. Though I understand the sentiment, and I thank you for your respect in this regard." At that point she reaches out, pretty quickly to give you a hug. A normal human could probably not dodge the hug, and if you let her, the hug is a bit... strange. She grabs around you but the squeeze isn't there, her arms just sort of wrap around you and hold for a moment as she doesn't even press much against you from the front, keeping most of her body barely touching you... a millimeter in any direction and she wouldn't be in any contact around you at all.

Green Goblin has posed:
    Listeningly intent to the woman's appraisal of the equipment and her general evaluation of the place, Norman's brow furrows as he mentally tries to work out the nature of this woman's intelligence. Is she a mutant? Metahuman?

    He releases her shoulder quickly - it's unclear what his intention was, whether to gauge reaction or simply to try and emphasis the importance of their business arrangement, it's difficult to say. What is obvious is his utter shock at the hug that follows. His face must look... startled, to say the least - it's been years since anyone was so comfortable around him; even with his identity as the Goblin secret, the rumours surrounding his behaviour in the past are known to nearly everyone in the country, and most act appropriately stand-offish. He, quite simply, does not know how to react at first - allowing the awkward embrace to occur as he holds his arms out wide, initially doing nothing to reciprocate the gesture. Swallowing noticeably and regaining his composure, Osborn pats the woman on the back once in some attempt to cover his surprise. After this, he attempts to step away.

    "You're an unusual woman, Katherine..." he says, quietly, the room almost noticeably growing darker as the green in his eyes grows even deeper, seeming to suck in the light around his face as he focuses on the figure in front of him, "Let this gift be a testament to my belief in you, and hopefuly the first step in a long and rewarding partnership. I provice the material, you bring me... bring us all... the future."

    "One last condition, of course. Consider this lab yours, but the name on the lease and the risk all lead back to me and my people. You bring another person here, I cannot guarantee their safety. You show anyone else what you're doing here, I CANNOT guarantee their safety. I will not threaten your person, Katherine - you are far too unique, too valuable to me. But do not think me a fool, and don't EVER take advantage of my... generosity..."

    This warning said, a large, too-wide smile returns to his face as he awaits a response.

Katherine has posed:
The hug is released in short order, Katherine doesn't hug for long and though you are startled she's used to such things whenever she gives physical contact. And so she smiles still, looking at you and then wonders, "I am unusual?" She seems concerned suddenly, looking down at herself she mentions, "I have tried to make sure that I am in the normal fashionable trends of today, and I think that I have done well with my looks and body. Is there something particular that is unusual about my person?" She questions, immediately having thought about her physicality. "I know that some think that my breasts are too big for my body, but upon review online there is a near 99 percent approval rating for the shape of them and their size respective to the rest of my features. I also have brunette hair, and the highlights help to lighten it some, to not be so off putting. Blondes do not have a great demographic research for intelligence, but pure brunettes are not seen as attractive."

She starts to ramble a little more, going into great detail about how she has taken care with her nails and hands and feet, and is starting to get a worried tone to her voice, almost ignoring anything else, "Why is it? I hav tried very hard to fit in. And yet..." She slumps her shoulders, starting to sniffle some, and she looks down toward the ground, "I just want people to be friends with. I do not want to be weird, or unusual... I don't want to be awkward. I can't help it... I'm so sorry that you have to deal with me, I'm terribly sorry that I am so bad at this." She is just suddenly starting to tear up and sniffle and be very sad about it all. "I did all the correct math, I did the research, and still! If I cannot do this how will I -ever- manage?"

Green Goblin has posed:
    As Katherine goes over the reasoning and justification for her appearance in such a logical, statistical manner, Osborn doesn't seem to move his eyes from hers to take in the rest of her body. After all, he has the security footage from the museum, as well as countless other shots of Katherine about town - she may not have been aware of it, but she's been on Norman's radar for some time, though he was not aware of her sheer potential until their first conversation.

    He nods approvingly at it all, then seems to look legitiamtely concerned as she begins to break down in a more emotional display than he may have been expecting. "Oh, Katherine, my apologies.." he says, taking a step back towards the troubled woman, reaching quickly into his jacket pocket and offering up a handkerchief in this rare moment of seemingly-genuiune concern, "Don't mistake my comments for complaints; you're a beautiful woman, you are just so very, very... special... It's not common to come across such a stunning young woman, more interested in data and the future than more material concerns," he says with a smirk, bowing almost slightly as a show of apology. It's unusual for Norman, but something about this person is so unusual, it brings out a seldom-seen side of himself. Friendlier, perhaps smiling a bit more genuinely between outbursts. "I'm glad I found you, Katherine. Don't ever doubt your worth."

    He takes one more step closer, his voice growing quieter, as if he didn't want any observing ears to hear his words, "You just HAVE to understand, people out there... they're not like you, they're not like me... they see people like us, and they already come to their own conclusions. They do it with you, they do the same with me, as you may well know," he says, vaguely alluding to the rumours surrounding his own shady past, "You have a FRIEND now, Katherine. You have a place to work. You don't have to be so alone. But you have to understand, you're special. And it's not something you need to be ashamed of.."

Katherine has posed:
Sniffling some more, she takes the hankerchief and starts to wipe her tears with it, and her limited makeup doesn't smear or come away from her skin onto the hankerchief, it must be some of that no-smear stuff that's really expensive. And with a few more sniffles she looks up and nods her head some, "So, you meant it as a compliment? Calling me, unusual?" She pieces it together and stands upright again and dabs at the remaining tears before smiling again back to normal with some easy transition. "I did not realize that. I apologize for getting so teared up."

She takes a moment, and keeps holding onto the hankerchief, before you say that you are her friend and her eyes light up some more, "You want to be friends? Amazing!" She exclaims excitedly, in a normal conversational tone without whispering at all, "I do as well. Thank you. Perhaps we can have a time in which we play board games here, or your house, and chit... chat." She finishes the common phrase a little slowly as if she had to think about the second half of it, "While eating pizza. That seems perfect. Pizza, boardgames and chit-chat. I have always wanted to do that."

With just another limited pause she nods her head, "I am glad you found me as well. I, am not so worthwhile, I just have goals that I need to accomplish before it is too late. It is important, serious work. Very few people understand that. The rest..." She indicates her 'body' with her hands as if it was something separate from her, "Is just a means to accomplishing that. But I have worked very hard on myself. Meticulously decided aspects of my physical appearance, and it was what I thought you were talking about. It is a culmination of my best understandings of people, and when people think it is unusual, or strange, or bad... I... I do not understand what about me failed to get it correct. Thank you for clarifying. Beauty is only skin deep, but intelligence has no skin. It is a quandry I have had forever, how to use one to understand the other, to mimic what is known. Could someone know enough to choose correctly every aspect of their life, or does the uncertainty principle truly remove determinism from our lives? And if it removes determinism, what then? How do we decide without knowing our predictions will come true?" A tilt of her head a bit, "Even testing... oh, sorry, I am rambling on. My friends would call me a chatter box... it is a flaw of mine."

Green Goblin has posed:
    Poker face status: returned. His temporary show of what seemed to be genuine emotion disappears as soon as Katherine seems to calm down; for whatever reason, he seemed legitimately empathetic for a fellow outcast-type who doesn't quite fit in anywhere. Now that the crisis is averted, he's back to noticing every bit of bizarre behaviour or turn-of-phrase from Katherine - filing it all away, to no doubt spend another evening poring over the mysteries, and possibilities for advancement, that this woman and her genius present him with.

    "You can keep that, if you'd like.." he says quietly, gesturing to the handkerchief, "And it pleases me to consider you a friend. I am, however, a very busy man - I'm sure you understand. My work... consumes me. Perhaps you can relate?" he pauses for a moment, before carrying on as he keeps his eyes locked on Katherine's, studying her reactions - or lack thereof- to every word he utters. "Regardless, I will be checking in on you... frequently. Personally. You're too valuable to me, to the future, to leave in the hands of some underling, after all," he says, the word 'underling' dripping a contempt that betrays his distaste for the common man.

    "We'll be seeing much of eachother, I think, in the coming weeks and months. You.." he says, smiling as if to emphasis his sincerity, "Are a priority, whether you want to believe it or not. I made my fortune by recognizing talent in the fields of science and engineering, Katherine. And I, too, understand the importance of the... ends... justifying the means," - though perhaps in a RADICALLY different, and more sinister, way than Katherine uses her physical appearance - "You do not need to explain yourself to me, more than you're comfortable with, my dear. I feel we have something of an understanding, or so I hope."

    Taking one more step forward and offering his hand out again, in a mirror of yesterday's meeting, to Katherine, "We all have our flaws, our.. idiosyncracies. Do not overly concern yourself with such things - I certainly.. do not. You know how to reach me, Katherine - NEVER hesitate to do so..."