~Ten Years Later~

Even if she knew that they would be having important visitors and she should try to look her best, Keira's hair was falling out of it's loose ponytail and her glasses were covered in specks of dust. Her light grey lab coat had stains on it and her chipped nails had grime under them. She was the face of the company for the time being seeing as Norman was running late. That didn't mean she would make herself look better. The military representatives made her skin crawl, Slocum in particular.

Her chapped lips barely held onto the grin while Dr. Stromm did all the talking for her.

"We solved the horizon glide and the balance issues." The doctor said, speaking loudly over the sounds of the glider's engines. The subject riding it gently touched it down, removing the goggles off his face. Even if she designed it herself, Keira knew the flight suit looked ridiculous.

"I've already seen the glider! That's not what I'm here for." Slocum said, impatient. Keira bit her lip, knowing full well what the general meant. Saved by the bell, Norman finally showed up on the balcony. The usual pleasantries were exchanged as Norman climbed down the stairs to the ground level with them.

"What took you so long?" Keira asked. Norman gently kissed her forehead as he approached.

"Midday traffic after dropping Harry off." Norman replied.

"Oh for goodness sake, I've told you a thousand times that Harry can just take the bus on field trips. You know how much he hates being seen with the car." Keira said.

"I want to see the progress report on human performance enhancers." Slocum interrupted. Keira cleared her throat and turned to face him. She opened her mouth to speak before Stromm came in.

"We tried vapor inhalation with rodent subjects. They showed an 800% increase in strength." The doctor said, leading the general through the room. Exchanging a look, Keira and Norman rushed to keep up.

"Any side effects?"

"In one trial, yes-"

"It was an isolated incident, all the other tests have been successful." Keira interjected.

"And the trial that went wrong? What happened, what were the side effects?"

"Violence. Aggression. Insanity." Stromm listed. Keira screwed her eyes shut.

"And what do you recommend?"

"That was only one test." Norman cut in. "With the exception of Dr. Stromm, our entire staff certifies the product ready for human testing."

"Mrs. Osborn? I understand you were the one to first engineer the enhancers. What are your thoughts?"

"I agree. Every formula I design I make sure it is treated with the utmost care every step of the way. This one is no different. One isolated incident is part of the process."

"And do you know what caused that one incident?"

At this, Keira faltered.

"We-well, no, not exactly, but-"

"Dr. Stromm?" The timid scientist scurried up.

"We need to take the entire line back to formula."

Keira and Norman whirled to face the doctor, irritated expressions on their faces.

"'Back to formula?'" Norman hissed.

"Dr. Osborn. Mrs. Osborn. I'm going to be frank with you both. I never supported your program. We have my predecessor to thank for that." Slocum said dryly.

"Norman, the general gave the go-ahead to Quest Aerospace to build a prototype of their Exoskeleton design. They test in two weeks." Mr. Balkan, one of their board members, spoke up.

"And if your so-called performance enhancers have not had a successful human trial by that date, I'm going to pull your funding and I'm going to give it to them."

The sirens in both of their heads went off as the military representatives and board members walked away, leaving both Osborns with sinking feelings in their stomachs. No funding meant no company, which meant no jobs.

"They can't do that, can they?" Keira squeaked.

"I'm pretty sure they can." Norman replied.

"What are we gonna do? No matter how hard I try, I can't isolate the anomaly. If we can't figure it out, we're done for! Everyone here will lose their jobs!" Keira cried. Norman put his hands on her shoulders and stared her in the eyes.

"It's okay, I promise. We'll come up with something. Nothing to get worked up over, it'll be fine." He reassured her.

Keira could only nod.

***

In the face of immense stress, logic and reasoning can often fail a person. Being a woman of science, Keira knew this and knew what they were doing was a really bad idea. But she couldn't find a way to logic her way out of it. There were no other options and no other test subjects. It was late at night and there were only three people left in the lab. Herself, Norman, and Dr. Stromm trying to be the voice of reason.

"Dr. Osborn, please! The performance enhancers aren't ready. The data just doesn't justify this test. Now I'm asking you for the last time: we can't do this!"

Norman grabbed two tubes of the green liquid and placed them on the table while Keira typed on the computer in front of her.

"Don't be a coward. Risks are part of laboratory science." Norman said, going over to another computer and adjusting the programs on that.

"Look, let me reschedule. With a proper medical staff and two volunteers. I-if you'd just give me two weeks-"

"Two weeks? In two weeks we'll have lost our funding and Oscorp will be dead." Norman said. The gurney ejected out of the testing chamber with a faint hiss.

"Sometimes you have to do things yourself. I'll go first." Keira said, removing her lab coat.

"Are you sure?" Stromm asked as Norman went over to a rack with various bottles on it.

"We don't have much choice. Slocum wanted a human trial, he's getting two. Norman, the PC, please?" Norman grabbed a small brown bottle and tossed it over to her. She caught it with both of her hands. She held it by the cap between her teeth as she slid out of her shirt, leaving just the tank top she wore underneath it. Keira unscrewed the cap and swallowed the bitter liquid.

"What was that?"

"Promochloraparazine. It begins the catalization when the vapor hits the bloodstream." Norman answered as he grabbed the bottle from Keira. She pried open the arms of the gurney and lay down on it. She took a deep breath as she did so. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Remember, if something happens, you can neutralize me. And if it works, we can figure out what made it work. All part of the science." She said. Norman smiled and kissed her forehead as he pushed the clamps down. He stuck a few electrodes on her chest and head. Keira gave a nod before Norman squeezed her hand once. He went back over to the computer and pressed a few buttons. The gurney slid inside the chamber and was proped upright. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and her rapid heart rate seen on the monitor. Once she was composed, she nodded the go-ahead.

Norman pressed a few more buttons and the green liquid in the vial drained from it, filling the chamber with a pale green gas. Keira kept her breathing level as the vapor closed around her. She felt her heart rate increase and some of her limbs jerked around on their own. Her muscles ached and she let out a discomforted groan.

"Are you--" Norman asked through the glass.

"I'm okay!" She called, the jerking becoming more erratic before it started to slow down. Her heart rate started to level out and the gas began to vent out. Suddenly exhausted, Keira slumped over, the clamps holding her upright. Worry on his features, Norman pressed some buttons to bring the gurney out. Keira lay there, eyes closed and breathing deeply as if asleep. Norman pulled the clamps off as Dr. Stromm began to reset the system. Keira had yet to move again.

"Keira? Keira, dear, are you alright?" Norman asked, gently grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. Three seconds passed with no response. Before Norman could get even more concerned, Keira shot up, gasping for air. "Shh, Shh, it's okay, it's okay, you're fine. It's okay, I'm right here. Water?"

Albeit still surprised, Stromm ran over to a desk and grabbed a plastic water bottle, passing it to Norman. He gave it to Keira, her limbs still a bit twitchy so she couldn't drink on her own. Once she regained her breath, she swung her legs over the edge and faced Norman, crouched in front of her.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"I feel... fine. I feel like I ran for ten miles, but fine." Keira paused to smile. "It worked. I can tell there's a difference."

"I can feel it, too. Your muscles feel tighter and I can see them easier. It looks good." Norman smiled. Keira's cheeks turned pink as he helped her off of the gurney.

"The system is fully reset." Stromm announced as Keira sat down on a chair, gripping the plastic water bottle. Norman nodded at her before he prepared to go into the chamber himself. When discussing their plan, it made complete sense to them. Two test subjects meant two trials. If the enhancers worked on them both, then human trials are successful and the contract can continue. If it only worked on one of them, they could isolate the problem and fix it.

Had it worked on neither, then at least they would have gone down together.

Norman removed his own upper clothes, leaving just his pants and shoes while Stromm grabbed the other bottle that Norman drank himself. He laid down on the gurney and Stromm clamped him down, now being the one to operate the computer. The gurney slid inside and proped upright. Norman nodded at Stromm to begin the process. Keira gave him an assured smile which he returned as the gas filled the chamber.

After a few seconds, something in Keira's gut knew something was wrong. She watched the chamber intently as the heart rate monitor began to spike severely. The animation on the monitor showed the muscle growth as the gas dissipated a little bit.

Inside, Norman was flailing. His head was jerking around and his body was reacting as if he was being electrocuted. Keira's eyes went wide and she shot up out of the chair.

"Shut it down!" She cried. Stromm frantically hit the emergency kill button to allow the gas to vent out. Norman slumped over and the heart rate suddenly flatlined. "Oh my god."

"Norman!" Stromm cried. He flew into the side door of the chamber once the gas had dissipated enough for him to enter safely. "Norman, oh my god!"

Keira stood by the computer while Stromm started to press down on Norman's chest in an attempt to resuscitate him. He barely pushed five times before the heart rate jumped back up in a sudden spike.

Keira looked over with wide eyes as Norman's eyes flew open. As if the clamps were made of plastic, Norman's arm pushed it open to grab Stromm by the neck.

"Back to formula?" He hissed before he threw the poor scientist out of the chamber. He crashed through the glass and landed on the shelving unit in a burst of glass and sparks. Keira shrieked frantically pressing buttons as if it would undo what had happened. Almost animalistically, Norman lept out of the chamber and landed in front of his frightened wife. His grin was downright terrifying, insanity in his eyes.

"I knew your formula could do it, sweetheart. You've done perfectly."

His hands went up to cup her neck and he kissed her as if it was the first time he had ever done so. Norman rarely kissed her like that. He pulled back still wearing his feral grin before running around, completely ransacking the lab. Keira touched her lips with her fingers as he did so. Her other hand slid down the bar of the table leg, sinking to the floor in shock. Her hands shook as she covered her mouth, Dr. Stromm's motionless body in the corner of her vision. His words from earlier that day echoed in her mind.

Violence. Aggression. Insanity.

Keira couldn't even cry. All she could do was sit there and wonder what went wrong.