Chapter 2: The First Piece of the Riddle

There were two options that Harry had.

One, leave everything up to fate and the superheroes and hope that they manage to save the world from the upcoming threats. 

Or two, use whatever knowledge he had and make himself capable of surviving the approaching doomsday, whatever form of monstrosity it was going to be.

"Option one is out of the question and I won't be able to go back if I do nothing."

He wanted to go back, no matter how great it was to be Harry Osborn, the rich and popular son of Norman Osborn -he still preferred his original body and the original world more.

His lips drew to a line as he saw the expensive furniture in his room. This was not something that he would have been never able to experience in his original world.

Not after what happened in the past.

"No this is not the time." He shook his head, aware that being engrossed in the luxuries wasn't the best bet at the moment.

He got off the couch and went to look for his housemaid. It didn't take him very long as there was a designated room for the workers and even among them the ones with a higher rank got their personal rank.

"Ah, master Harry." The old lady smiled seeing the only son of Norman Osborn. "The food has been prepared, the maids will serve it for you if you are hungry."

This was another thing that was new to him. Ever since he was young, he was used to preparing his own meals. And suddenly having someone cook for him was something he needed to get used to.

It was not the lack of money. When he was young, he had money. A lot of money.

Dirty money.

"Errr… I am not hungry." He said. "Do you know when dad will be back?"

The maid appeared confused. "Master Osborn? He is out on his business trip and won't be back for at least a month." She looked at Harry. "Didn't he inform you?"

"Ah, I must have forgotten." Harry smiled, trying to lie without getting caught. 

The old lady nodded. "The master said that you have your exams coming up and you have to score well. So, I prepared your favourite dishes to give you the energy."

Harry grinned and gave her a nod. "I will eat in a bit. There is a little bit of homework that I need to complete so I will eat once I am done."

"Alright." She kept the calm grandmotherly smile. "Just make sure that you eat before it goes stale."

…

…

No matter which world you are in, no matter how many dangers are present in the world. 

A person who always had an advantage was one with money. 

And I had all the money I could need. 

"This is ludicrous…" 

The number of zeroes within my bank account was more than I could count. And it was not even all the money I had. 

"Real Estate, Stocks, Shares, Investment, Jewelleries." An unintentional chuckle escaped my lips. 

Money was power, the world ran on money. And with the fortune that I had, I could at least think of a few ways to protect myself.

"However, money is merely a tool."

Money is a tool that allows one to achieve whatever they desire. And I had to achieve strength.

Being the son of a fallen politician, I knew this very well.

However, Peter just became spiderman so there was still a lot of time before the beginning of the major events.

That didn't mean the future couldn't deviate from the original. My existence was already a deviation and every move I would make would create countless butterfly effects. 

"To deal with the issues created by the butterfly effect, I had to get stronger and as I grow stronger the threats will also increase."

This was one of the ways in which the universe tried to preserve its balance. 

"Which means I will have to continue getting stronger without stopping." 

For an instance, it seemed like a useless hassle. If I had to keep pushing myself all my life just to survive, what was the point of such a survival? Where one wrong move could result in all the hard work being for nought.

"But isn't it the same everywhere?" 

While my life might not have exactly been in danger, I had to keep pushing myself to survive.

Once I had everything but then one mistake by my father, and we lost everything.

Money.

Food.

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And a social standing.

To have that, to have a life… I had to keep pushing myself beyond my limit. 

I chuckled at the thought. 

"What am I even doing…" I felt myself leaning on the couch. "Trying to convince myself to get stronger."

Yet that was how most people convinced themselves. 

But one thing was for certain. 

"I have to get stronger."

And for that, I had to find ways. 

I was not a mutant born with superhuman abilities or a god from another realm. I am just a random guy that became the heir of a rich family. 

The only superpower I have is money. 

But there was another thing that I had. 

Something that would be my greatest tool. 

"Knowledge."

While this was not the MCU, the timings of the hero appearances were totally wrong… I was certain that this was some mixture of comics and MCU. Which means the events would be all over the place, but the fact that they would take place and the existence of certain beings and certain items still stood true.

"Is there any person that I can benefit from?"

The answer was a big yes. In truth, there were many people that I could benefit from. 

"Is there any item that is still undiscovered that I can take for myself?"

Another yes. 

But the problem was figuring out whom to reach out to. Currently, many of the people that could be future assets were at a stage where getting involved with them may result in them never awakening their powers, which would not be helpful to me in any way.

"Most of the things that I can get my hands on… might end up killing me instead."

I was a human, a weak one at that. I didn't currently have the strength to handle most of the artefacts. 

"So, what or whom can I get under me?"

Closing my eyes, I relaxed on the couch, going through the many people I had information about. 

Another problem was my father. While he currently thought of me as a useless kid and didn't pay much attention to me. If I started to make big moves, I would be under strict surveillance. And while he was not directly looking at my movements, he had people under him that monitored me. 

"So, I need to find someone whom if I meet wouldn't raise too much suspicion." 

There were a few, but I couldn't exactly decide on one person. 

Currently, the events related to Iron Man were taking place which gave me a slight hint. 

"Justin Hammer might be a good person to invest in but that would instantly make me Tony's enemy. Something that I would like to avoid."

What can I do if Tony ever made me his enemy? He was a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist in a suit of armour. An armour that could melt me in a second. 

"And it isn't like I can dismantle his armour in an instant—"

Wait.

Wait wait wait!

Jumping off the couch, I immediately rushed toward my laptop. There was only one purpose for me to do that.

To google about two people. 

"Ha… haha… hahahaha."

An uncontrollable laughter echoed within the room as I found the answer to my first riddle. The very first people that I need to associate myself with and the people that I had to get under me at any cost.

Two people were displayed on the screen of my laptop. A middle-aged man and a gorgeous woman. 

"Aldrich Killian and Maya Hansen…" A subconscious grin formed on my face. "What is a suit of armour against a virus that can control electronics?"

I had my answer in front of me. And all it took was a google search. 

"Extremis."

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