2734/Just a Test

Just a Test
Date of Scene:	06 October 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Sarah Osborn, Green Goblin

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Sarah Osborn has posed:
Sarah han noticed a few things during her birthday party. Norman is stronger and MUCH faster than any man his age should be...and his behavior was rather unusual. She started checking on him, using her tech skills to hack cameras in his offices for example. She has a theory, and has decided to test it. He is in his offices now, and not many other are, only cleaning staff and security.

Sarah avoids security as she makes her way to the central air conditioning unit. She feels a twinge of guilt as she hooks up a cannister of gas to the air intakes. It is colorless and odorless...and should put any normal person to sleep rapidly. If she is right, it should have no more effect on Norman than it does on her...though everyone else in the building should be out of it in less than a minute. She Turns on the gas and watches the camera on Norman's office.

Green Goblin has posed:
Sitting behind his desk at the most frequently used oscCorp location, Norman is eyeing over some paperwork and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Names of political donors, money owed or paid with only initials attached to the figures (no full names)... and, as always, a stack of blueprints and formulas, the result of both his massive investment in startup companies, but also outright corporate sabotage of his competitors. He's been laying the foundation of this for some time in the shadows, and the pace of the past few days has been hectic to say the least.

Putting the stack of papers down on his desk and rubbing his heavily bagged, sunken, obviously sleep-deprived eyes, Norman just stares into the middle-distance for what seems like minutes... glaring darkly into a corner of the dimly light room.

Whatever's going on in that mind of his, it certainly can't mean good things for anyone but himself. Things are... picking up speed - and the best part is, there have yet to be any serious... setbacks. None, at any rate, that couldn't be manuevered around.

Speaking of which... he leans forward, and presses the button on his office phone, ringing up his secretary's desk and not even waiting for a response before stating, "Victoria, set me a date and time with our friend in Gotham - it's time I make another trip to... Victoria? Are you..." realizing quickly that there's no response from the lobby, Norman rises quickly from a seated position. Oddly enough, his hand doesn't reach for the handgun he wears on his hip most days (at least in NYC, where he's something of an infamous figure amongst certain vigilante circles).

<Thissss... is interesting....> comes the whisper, but no words spill out from Norman. He glances at the security readout... nothing. Someone has... gotten to him. Far sooner than he expected.

Inching towards the door leading from his private office out into the adjoining waiting room, Norman prepares himself for... well, anything, really.

Whoever this is... may have underestimated the man.

Sarah Osborn has posed:
It is clear, whatever gave Sarah and her brother their powers came from Norman. Most probably from the blood transfusion he gave them after the car accodent seven years ago.

She witnesses the call, and sees him leave the office. She notes he did not call the police, and considers. The odds are he is as strong and fast as she is, possibly more so if whatever factor giver her the powers he has was diluted. The question is, should she confront him now, or later? She checks her weapons, she is fully kitted out, he is not, if things go south, hopefully that will give her an edge.

Green Goblin has posed:
Stepping out into the waiting room that leads, in one direction, to his private office and, in another, to an elevator leading to the lower floors - Norman glances up at the skylight, noticing no troublesome spiders or armed vigilantes who might have caused this. And anyway, gas followed by... nothing? He ponders the meaning, as he glances coldly at his unconscious assistant Victoria. He notices, seemingly uncaring either way, that she is still breathing - whoever did this, doesn't want to harm innocent people.

His head starts going through the possibilities? The Punisher? He'd have caught a shotgun blast in the chest by now, if it were THAT lunatic. Spider-Man? PARKER isn't clever enough to pull off this 'sleeping gas' trick; he's far too obvious for such subtle approaches. That damned red devil out of Hell's Kitchen? Well, this seems a bit out of his usual purview - as he understands it, that man has his own concerns on the street.

"WHO ARE YOU?" comes the sudden bellow, remarkably loud for the relatively average size of the man, he begins to pace back and forth, not raising his weapon. In fact, he's holding his arms out to either side, glancing up through the window to the sky above - noticing nobody, but clearly inviting whoever is responsible to show themselves.

"You come, you... incapacitate my staff?! I WON'T be intimidated!"

A... political opponent, maybe? One of the countless backroom deals he's made recently, gone awry in some way? WHO?

Sarah Osborn has posed:
Sarah is pretty good at stealth...in this getup, she has to be good if she is going to be stealthy at all. Bright green and purple are not the mots inconspicuious color combination. She hears the shout, and the quieter statement that follows as she draws nearer.

She checks the voice alteration system and lets out a ringing cackle into the vents. She says, "The Goblin's gonna GET you if you don't watch out." Her recently adopted catch phrase.

Green Goblin has posed:
"Wha..." comes the unconscious reaction from Norman to that voice - oddly, in a way, similar to one he lives with daily but... more high-pitched, more obviously modified - not coming from the natural lunacy of the Green Goblin... or at least not entirely. Someone, perhaps, more in control but... playing a role?

Regardless, the shock of the voice - a variation on an inner voice, brought out of his mind and into this tense situation - causes him to spin around to where he THINKS the voice is coming from. His right hand moving in a flash to reach inside his suit jacket, he comes out and - aiming at one of many vents in the corner the voice is echoing from - lets loose a razor sharp, ultra-dense throwing knife. Which thuds and sticks into the metal vent, the impact of metals ringing throughout the vast, empty waiting room.

<That's not meeee, Norman...> - now there's the more familiar voice, reassuring him that he MAY not be completely losing his mind. The Goblin seems to be staying inside his head - almost equally surprised as he is... if the Goblin is ever truly surprised by anything.

"Goblin, hrm...?" comes the tentative response from Norman, composing himself somewhat as he continues to scan the room - eyes now moving from air vent to air vent, waiting for the next noise, trying to focus in on it's location.

"This city's had a few, as I UNDERSTAND it, and they RARELY last...", he says, that classic negotiation tactic of never giving more information than one NEEDS to. Certainly not, at least, when one is dealing with an unknown figure.

"How about you come out here, Goblin, and we can... TALK..." he tries to contain the menace in his voice, though it's doubtful the Goblin-Girl isn't able to pick up on the implied threat.

Sarah Osborn has posed:
Sarah watches him throw the knife, she has a large number of throwing knives herself...along with a number of other weapons. The way he threw it was telling though, without hesitation, with accuracy, and with extrene strength and speed. He has clearly fought before, and has paranoid tendancies...most people would hesitate before attacking. She can tell the strength part by how deep the blade penetrated.

She conisiders what she knows and has been told...the question is how much of what she has been told is true? Should she step out now, or push harder? She decides to activate a bluetooth speaker...one she left behind on her way into the building. "What's a matter Normy, you don't know which impersonator is after you?"

OK, so that was a total stab in the dark, but the first Green Goblin DID disappear at about the same time as Norman did...and he had enhanced strength and reflexes.

Green Goblin has posed:
The 'rumours' (as he publicly calls them, when not using words like 'slander' and 'libel') regarding his connection to the masked terrorist The Green Goblin are certainly something Norman Osborn is familiar with.

In fact... he laughs, in response to the statement, still holding his arms out and almost daring this intruder to do their worst. It's clear from the fact he doesn't have a bullet in his head that this person didn't come here with the intent to end his Mayoral Run - or as some revenge for the crimes of his past. Any do-gooder would've likely busted in, webbed him up and left him at the local police station - to be released on no charges shortly afterwards to resume his important work.

"You've been listening to the news too much, 'Goblin'..." comes the reply, after the laughter from him dies down, "I'm afraid you've been hoodwinked by conspiracy theories."

Unless... no, the only two who have ever seen him, mask off, have been Parker and his son... and it... CAN'T be Harry. He'd KNOW.

"I know a LOT of misguided, troubled individuals have a grudge against me... and maybe, some of them are... JUSTIFIED, even..." he begins to get paranoid, entering full-on 'upstanding citizen' mode, "Employees, I could've treated bettter. Family, I could've remained closer to. People, I held... needless grudges against. I wonder, are you the same? Is this some quest for vengeance..." he pauses, his tone getting darker, "Or do you HONESTLY believe I'm THAT stupid."

It's almost completely obvious he's referring to someone thinking he'd admit to being The Goblin to a stranger. But nothing definitive.

Sarah Osborn has posed:
Sarah replies through the speaker, "Defensive aren't we. Struck close to home? Perhaps your enemies do not know how you tested a version of the Super Soldier Serum on yourself." Harry told her something about her powers coming from an enhancement serum...what else could it have been, and how else could she have been exposed to it. "Was it the serum that was flawed, or were you already a bit mad and your mind could not take the strain? I grant you though, while your inventions were a bit mad, there was genius in your madness."

Green Goblin has posed:
"So many lies, and just a bit of truth," he says, stopping in the middle of the room - no longer pacing back and forth looking for the voice. His paranoid mind fully believes this is simply some... game, to get him - on tape, perhaps - revealing his identity in his own voice. A ploy, by one of his political rivals? Perhaps Spider-Man finally read 'The Art of War' and understands strategy beyond shooting webs and swinging from buildings? Hell, for all he knows it could be some do-good reporter from the Bugle, or the Planet...

"I HAVE many enemies. Oscorp WAS working on a formula," he continues, his voice growing more confident as he settles back into the old, familiar story. He's used to defending himself against these accusations - and he's almost able to convince himself at this point... or he would, if it weren't for the giggling in the back of his mind.

<Hee hee hee... game's UP, Normieeeee, ought to just LETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUT!>

Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes in concentration for a moment, Norman takes a breath and tries his best to shut out the voices. "The rest... slander... defamation... The OZ Formula, and all samples, were destroyed in a lab accident, an explosion. It's a matter of PUBLIC record, and these attempts to extort me into saying otherwise... Who do you work for? Hrm? That scum at the Daily Planet? Did Stark hire you? Maybe that FOOL, Director Fury, in his floating fortress has decided to send one of his pathetic SHIELD agents to play games, hrm? WHO. ARE. YOU?!?!"

Sarah Osborn has posed:
Sarah decides he deserves an answer, "Who do I work for, only myself." She wishes she had the equipment and time for some more fancy tricks, but she settles for turning out the lights and activating the Auric scanner...that makes her eyes glow yellow as she steps into the hallway. "Tell me then, Who Am I?"

Green Goblin has posed:
"Harry....?"

He can't help it. It's the first name that pops into his head as the glowing yellow eyes appear in the hallway. Before he even realizes he's saying the words, they're out of his mouth. Barely a whisper, but surely loud enough to be heard by the mysterious figure.

He can barely make out a shape, some kind of oddly familiar visage, but mainly just the glowing yellow eyes...

Taking a few hesitant steps forward, Norman suddenly glances down to discover his right hand is now resting on the hilt of his holstered pistol. He hasn't drawn it yet - but the sudden appearance of those eyes has him prepared to do so at a moment's notice.

He can't get a better look at the rest of the face - since it's firmly hidden in the shadows. Norman, however, is standing under the waiting room's skylight, fully illuminated.

Slowly, he releases a breath and lowers his hand, his vision starts to twitch and shake. Hands trembling as he stuffs them both into the pockets of his suit jacket to cover the tremors. He'd rather not force a handful of pills down his own throat in front of this unknown individual... not when they claim to know so much already - though they've certainly offered no proof, which Norman finds... vaguely reassuring. The rumours have always been out there, on the fringes of the internet and the conspiracy scene. He doesn't know this person may have made their own, indepedent observations.

"You're..." he says, swallowing hard and doing his level best to regain his composure, "You know, it doesn't really MATTER..." he says, as though he's suddenly come to a decision in his own head.

Harry wouldn't play games like this.

Quickly drawing his pistol, Norman squeezes the trigger three times, firing into the darkness vaguely below the yellow eyes. There's a fair distance between them, and he's firing into blackness... he's not concerned about the Police being called, almost certain whatever is effecting his secretary has spread to the rest of the building. Anyway... he could use this, if it ever got out, to his... advantage.

Sarah Osborn has posed:
Sarah flinches as the shots are fired at her, bullets can not hurt her unless they are armor piercing...not in her costume. Still, they do cause bruises. She says (Through her mask this time, not a remote), "Wrong Goblin Normy. We will talk again." Say, after she has had time to find out about the explosion he mentioned, and the possibility Uncle Harry was one of the other Goblins. In the Meantime, she turns out her eyes and vanishes into the darkness.

Green Goblin has posed:
If he's phased by the fact that three .45 bullets did nothing to the mysterious, darkness-covered figure, then Norman doesn't show it - instead calmly holstering his weapon and slipping a right hand inside his suit, no doubt grabbing a more dangerous weapon hidden inside the shielded lining of his jacket.

No.. not Harry at all... He seems almost... deflated at this realization - he would never admit it, but he truly does miss his son.

Not attempting to chase after the intruder, Norman Osborn instead calmly strolls over to the secretary's desk, knocks the unconscious Victoria out of her chair and onto the floor, then sits down in her place.

Reaching over, he calmly picks up the receiver and dials 911. After a brief moment, he says 'Yes, I need the police. It's Norman Osborn," he says, trying his best to seem as shaken as possible, "We've just had an attack here at oscCorp, my secretary... others... they seem injured. Send help, I think it was... OH GOD! HELP!" he shouts, slamming the phone down onto the receiver to complete the act.

Well, that 911 tape can only help his election chances. Norman is NOTHING, if not a cunning bastard... and he'll find some way of twisting this... unfortunate problem, into his benefit.