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Chapter 31 - Chapter 30

"Felicia." Harry walked straight into the office.

"Harry." Felicia looked up from her file.

"Huh? You seem a little different." She glanced at him from head to toe, walking closer.

"Well, I've grown a little taller."

Felicia compared their heights, then nodded. "That's right," she said, surprised.

Harry grabbed her hand. "It's a new enhanced serum developed by Dr. Carl — made from the Hulk's blood and a diluted version of the Super Soldier Serum. It actually worked for me." He kissed her cheek lightly.

Harry told the story half-truthfully, omitting the parts that might sound dangerous. He didn't want Felicia to worry.

But her reaction was the opposite of what he expected.

"Enhanced serum!?" Felicia gasped, standing up and throwing his hand aside.

"How could you use something that dangerous! It's too risky!" she shouted.

She herself had been strengthened with a reduced amount of the Super Soldier Serum, and even then, she was the only one to survive the experiment. Now Harry had used a serum mixed with Hulk's blood — she couldn't imagine what would happen if anything went wrong.

"My father is dead. I don't want to lose you, too, Harry." Felicia touched his face, her eyes red and teary.

"I'll be fine. I promise." Harry said seriously, holding her hand again.

"Oh…" Felicia finally broke down, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her chin rested on his shoulder as she whispered, "Alright. I believe you."

Harry patted her back gently, saying nothing more.

...

That afternoon, Harry convened a board meeting to discuss the acquisition of the collapsing Doom Enterprises.

"What do you think of my proposal?" Harry asked, seated at the head of the table.

"Sorry, Mr. Osborn," one of the fat directors sneered. "You should take a look at Doom Enterprises' recent stock performance. Once you do, you'll realize how idiotic it is to even think about acquiring it."

Harry raised an eyebrow, while the other shareholders glanced at the man as if he were an idiot.

Ever since Harry had removed Duncan from his director's seat and thrown him into prison, no one dared to treat him like some lucky kid anymore. He might not be a business genius, but he was clean, decisive, and ruthless when needed. After taking over Duncan's shares, Harry now controlled more equity than all of them combined. Within Oscorp, he was already the undisputed authority.

They had considered letting Wall Street's "vampires" interfere, fearing Harry's growing dominance. But that plan quickly died when they discovered the truth — the shares weren't all in Harry's name. After Duncan's arrest, his shares had gone to Felicia Hardy, Harry's personal assistant. That revelation killed any ideas of resistance.

"Osborn's main business is biotechnology and pharmaceuticals," Harry said coolly. "Doom Enterprises specializes in the same field. As the leader of biotech and medicine in America — and the world — Osborn Industries will not suffer any major shock from acquiring such a small company." He looked at the fat director expressionlessly.

"What do the rest of you think?"

The room was silent for a moment before one voice spoke up.

"Agree."

"Agree."

"Agree."

One by one, they echoed approval.

"Good," Harry said. "I'll have someone contact Doom Enterprises' shareholders immediately. I believe Osborn Industries will become even stronger under our leadership than it was under my father, Norman Osborn."

The other directors nodded in agreement.

Then Harry's tone changed, his face turning cold. The room fell silent again.

"As leaders of Osborn Industries, we must remain rational and act only for the company's benefit. However…" He turned his gaze toward the fat director, whose face instantly turned pale. "It seems one of us doesn't share that sense of professionalism."

Everyone immediately understood what was coming.

"So," Harry continued, "I propose we remove this board member from his position and elect another shareholder who will work with us to advance Osborn Industries."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

The motion passed almost instantly.

Harry's decisiveness had become legendary among them. None dared to hesitate — better to side with him than risk being his next target. Profit mattered more than loyalty anyway.

...

The meeting ended just as Harry had predicted — smooth and absolute.

But his interest in Doom Enterprises wasn't only about business overlap. The company possessed a device developed by Mister Fantastic — Reed Richards — that could reverse the effects of cosmic rays. That machine intrigued Harry deeply.

If he were truly living in the Marvel universe, then the old logic — that heroes with separate copyrights couldn't coexist — no longer applied. Which meant the machine that created mutants in the X-Men world might share roots with Reed Richards' invention.

...

"The negotiations went very smoothly," Felicia reported later, sitting across from Harry. "Doom Enterprises' stock has been plummeting lately, and their shareholders are desperate. Osborn's offer made us look like saviors — assuming our bid is generous enough." She handed him a report.

Harry glanced at it briefly, then set it aside.

"It's just a few billion," he said casually.

Felicia rolled her eyes. "A few billion, he says."

"But you have to attend tomorrow's meeting," she reminded him.

"Yeah, I know," Harry said with a grin. "I should go meet Mr. Doom in person, after all."

The future Doctor Doom.

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