"Hawk, check these numbers."
"One hundred and eight."
"Hawk, I'm heading to the SL lab. Can you file the papers on my desk?"
"Sure."
"Haw—"
It had been twenty days since Hawk started his summer job at Osborn Biotech.
And in all that time, he still hadn't managed to step inside Dr. Curt Connors' laboratory.
Not even once.
In fact, during those twenty days he hadn't even left the Bio-Electric Engineering Department.
From the moment he clocked in until the end of the day, he was busy—either reviewing data for someone or walking somewhere to review more data.
Or doing small favors like organizing paperwork.
Like now.
Hawk walked over to an engineer's desk after the man hurried out of the office.
Even though he still hadn't found a chance to visit Connors' lab, Hawk wasn't worried.
Good opportunities were worth waiting for.
Besides, the job paid extremely well.
Eight hundred dollars a week.
And the cafeteria on the eighteenth floor served buffet meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Not long ago, Hawk had seriously considered robbing a bank.
But he hadn't actually done it.
And that mattered.
Because there was still a line he hadn't crossed yet.
Hawk knew that once that line was gone, things might change in ways he couldn't predict.
People who found themselves in strange new worlds often developed flexible morals.
Detached.
Practical.
Sometimes dangerously indifferent.
Hawk wasn't immune to that mindset.
It was one reason he avoided forming close relationships. Occasionally, when he looked at people around him, they felt less like real individuals and more like background characters in a game.
NPCs moving through their routines.
Right now, the only reason he continued living within normal boundaries—even after beginning Cosmo Awakening—was simple.
The values he'd grown up with still mattered.
You didn't have to be a saint.
But you shouldn't become a monster.
That belief was why Hawk still lived modestly despite possessing abilities most people would kill for.
Someone else in his position might have declared themselves unstoppable the day after unlocking Cosmo.
Hawk didn't want that.
At least—not yet.
Still…
He had a feeling that line would eventually break.
Maybe sooner than he wanted.
Until then, though, he was content to follow the rules.
Having spent nearly three weeks in the department, Hawk already understood the office rhythm. He quickly sorted the scattered files from the engineer's desk and carried them to a nearby cabinet.
As he finished organizing them, the office phone rang.
"Haw—"
"I'll get it," Hawk said, already moving.
He picked up the receiver.
"Electrical Engineering Department."
"Wait… Hawk?"
The voice on the other end was familiar.
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"Gwen?"
Since the day Gwen brought him here ten days earlier, he hadn't seen her again.
Both of them had been busy.
Even from inside the Bio-Electric Engineering Department, Hawk had heard rumors.
Dr. Connors had practically locked himself in the lab lately.
Experiment after experiment.
Apparently they weren't even counting lab mice individually anymore—they were ordering them by the crate.
"Yeah, it's me," Gwen said. "Listen, the voltage in our lab is unstable. Dr. Connors asked if someone from your department could come take a look."
"Got it. We'll send someone right away."
Hawk hung up and relayed the message to the department supervisor.
The supervisor was about fifty years old, completely bald, and carried himself with the calm indifference of someone who had stopped worrying about anything years ago.
He glanced around the mostly empty office.
"Voltage issues again? Several labs reported the same thing today. Probably the resistors. We just replaced them yesterday…"
He sighed.
"Alright. You—uh… you there."
He pointed toward the back of the room.
"Grab a new resistor and take Hawk with you. Go fix Connors' lab."
Hawk followed the supervisor's gaze.
The man being addressed stood nearby with a shy expression and a quiet demeanor.
Max Dillon.
The future supervillain Electro.
Right now, though, Max was simply the most hardworking employee in the department.
During the past twenty days, Hawk had watched him closely.
If there were an award for dedication in the Bio-Electric Engineering Department, Max would win it without competition.
Unfortunately, Max also lacked the political instincts needed to stand out.
He worked harder than anyone else—but the supervisor still didn't even remember his name.
Max didn't seem bothered.
Maybe he was used to being called "you there."
After receiving the instruction, he nodded and headed toward the storage room to collect the replacement part.
A few minutes later, Hawk waited near the department entrance.
Max approached carrying a small equipment case.
"Mr. Dillon," Hawk said.
Max froze.
His entire body stiffened, and his eyes widened.
"You… you know my name?"
His voice trembled slightly.
Hawk smiled calmly.
"Of course, Mr. Dillon."
He had no intention of becoming deeply involved with the future Electro.
But there was no reason not to be kind to the man he was now.
A little goodwill never hurt anyone.
"Let's go," Hawk said. "Connors' lab just called again."
Max nodded quickly.
"Right. Yes. Let's go."
Hawk followed him toward the elevators.
Finally.
After twenty days, he was actually heading to Dr. Connors' laboratory.
Standing inside the elevator, Hawk watched the floor numbers climb.
He had spent days trying to think of ways to get into that lab.
None had worked.
Osborn hadn't invested billions into regenerative technology just to let anyone wander into their research facilities.
Yet the moment he stopped forcing the issue…
The opportunity appeared on its own.
Patience mattered.
Hawk reminded himself of that as the elevator continued upward.
A few seconds later, the doors opened.
"Hawk!"
Gwen Stacy was already waiting outside.
Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
"What took you so long?" she said, hurrying forward. "Dr. Connors is already getting annoyed."
Hawk opened his mouth to answer—
But Gwen had already grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the hallway toward the lab.
Hawk blinked in surprise.
Then he looked ahead.
At the laboratory doors.
And for the first time since arriving at Osborn, something stirred quietly in his thoughts.