Chapter 8: Sailing Smooth

I expected them to be shocked, hence the reason for not revealing my surname for so long. But it was quite interesting to see them shocked to this extent. 

"Wait…" Katherine froze. "Don't tell me that you are the son of Norman Osborn."

"The very same." I answered with a smile. 

This time, Colleen became curious. 

"Then couldn't you have asked for a tutor to come to your place instead of having to come so far?" She asked. "I mean most of them would have been on their knees to get an offer from the Osborns."

This made me chuckle. "Just because I am rich doesn't mean I have to act like some rich stuck-up kid, do I?"

Colleen immediately shook her head. "Ah, that's not what I meant."

I laughed and shook my head. "Relax, I was joking. It's because I have heard a lot about your dojo that I wanted to join." I looked at her. "I hope you will take good care of me, sensei."

"You can leave that to us." Colleen said calmly. "Rest depends on your dedication and hard work."

I gave her a nod. At least, I found a good place to train.

"Alright then." I said as I signed my name on the application. 

"Very well, we will start your classes on Wednesday and Katherine will fill you up on the rest of the details."

"Thank you." 

I did want to see the Iron Fist but meeting Colleen Wing was good enough. 

And from now on, I just needed to be consistent with my plans and training.

…

…

And things continued that way for quite a long time. 

"Thirty-Six"

Things moved at the pace Harry expected, some moved even faster than his initial plans but this helped him realise that not everything would move according to his whims and he had to adjust according to the situation. 

And while some things moved fast, some were slow. He expected Norman to visit him within a month but tragically he was stuck in some business deals and that led him to be late by almost two months. 

"Thirty-Seven"

This was problematic as Harry had nearly exhausted his fortune and needed to ask for some more from his father. And while he invested a lot, it was still for the long term, investments were not something meant for the short term. 

Another thing that happened was Peter making his presence public under the disguise of 'The Spider' and Harry knew there was only a little while before the events of Spiderman were going to kickstart. Spider was going to become Spiderman and heroes and villains were going to swarm the place. 

"Thirty-Eight."

But one thing that was going the direction he wanted was his physical training and the project Extremis.

"Thirt-rty Nine!"

His body was pretty bad and it took Colleen a lot of effort to build him a proper routine and training schedule but because of that, he felt himself getting stronger. 

"Forty!"

*Thud*

"Aww…"

While he fell with his butt on the ground, he was happy. Far too happy. 

In the past, he was barely able to do three pull-ups and now he could do forty. It was insane progress in just two months, without the help of any gear. 

It was all his hard work, natural work.

And he knew if he pushed himself the same way after obtaining Extremis and other gears, he would be a monster. 

'Norman should be here soon.'

He deduced as he looked at the clock. 

'He will definitely ask me about my recent expenses, considering I spent millions.'

But it was nothing he hadn't thought through. 

Throwing a towel over his shoulder, he walked towards the shower. He was drizzling with sweat and his body composition was better than before, no abs or extremely noticeable muscles but for ones that have been with him, they could see the changes in him.

And he felt the increase in his strength.

It was —refreshing. 

Walking into the shower, he let the water run down his sweaty body.

'Killian said that the tech control ability is possible but this will put extra burden on my body. I had to strengthen it in order to have a higher chance of success after absorbing the serum.'

This was another reason for Harry to push himself beyond his limit. 

'One good thing is that my growing phase hasn't completely stopped yet. Instead, I am at the perfect phase right now.'

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Another deduction made by Killian was that the drug had a higher chance of success if the one taking it was a teenager or a young adult. 

People whose growth wasn't completely halted but weren't at the early adolescent phase where the changes were severe, had better chances of survival. At later stages, it was difficult as the body rejects changes and early stages are dangerous because the body isn't strong enough to handle such harsh conditions. 

So, the current age was perfect for him.

This didn't correspond with what he knew as most of the takers of Extremis were adults but Harry guessed that it was the effect of the Extremis being more powerful than the original.

The water was cold. Harry didn't like bathing in warm water no matter how hot or cold it was outside. 

Cold shower was the way.

But as he finished showering and covering himself, he sighed. 

"I told you not to appear without informing, Denning."

Turning the curtains to the side, he saw a man laughing as he sat on the couch.

"I came bringing good news." Denning hummed as he relaxed. 

"Oh?"

Harry put on a robe having a rough idea about the good idea. 

"It's done." Denning said. "The recruitment is done."

This made Harry smile wildly. Denning had managed to gather possible soldiers for him in less than three months and while Harry knew he would need more people, this was a good start. 

"Twenty-three so far." Denning said. "Seventeen normal, four mutants and the other two." He frowned. "I don't exactly know what they are, they are neither mutants nor humans."

This made Harry curious. He knew that not many knew about the existence of mutants and it made sense that Denning was clueless about the two as the other races were even more of an urban legend at this point in time.

'Inhumans?' Harry wondered. 'Unlikely, the Inhuman royal family would have found them before us if they were awakened.'

'Then what could they be?' He was a bit worried.

"Hostile?" Harry questioned and Denning shook his head. 

"Negative, they recently awakened their abilities and were unsure as to how they could proceed. However, I was lucky to find them." He scratched his chin. "More like they got entangled with the cartel and were running away from them, but well I took care of everything."

This made Harry's eyes twitch. 

"Are you sure they can be useful?"

Denning laughed. "Affirmative. While they are dangerous and kind of unstable, their powers are beyond ordinary and they have a decent personality. But they seem confused, possibly because of their age however if that can be fixed, they can be your sword and shield."

Harry nodded and put on a shirt.

"Very well then, I will see them soon."

"Mhm." Paladin shrugged. "And Killian and Hansen's project is at the final stage, they said they needed to do some tests on you—" He pointed towards Harry. "The one that would be taking the serum, so that they can make sure that you will stay alive after taking the serum."

'So, it's about time I make my appearance, huh?' Harry contemplated. 

"Alright. I will meet them soon, let me know when they are free."

Paladin nodded but seemed a bit interested in something. 

"Anything to ask?" Harry questioned at which Paladin nodded. 

"Kind of."

"Shoot then." Harry said, fixing his hair. 

"These plans… these ideas are not something one can have in a day. They are far too detailed and you seem far too knowledgeable about things that even I am unsure about. How did you learn of them." He paused. "And why start moving with your plans just now?"

Harry chuckled. "Everyone has their secrets, Denning. You cannot hope them to reveal everything. As for why now? If I did so in the past, it would have been even weirder. I would have been a kid and as a kid I had too many caretakers and nannies keeping me in check… as compared to the limited number of maids and butlers. Even the security is manageable now."

Paladin knew that there was far more to his reasons than what he stated but he had no right to ask. 

It wasn't his place. 

And as they were conversing, they heard a knock on the door.

It was Amanda.

"Young Master Harry, Master is back home."

Harry smiled. 'Finally.'

Turning around, he looked at Paladin. 

"And do remember what I told you about, keep an eye on that man."

Paladin nodded. "You don't have to worry about that, I have my eyes and ears everywhere."

Harry smirked. "Don't make me regret choosing you, Denning."

Saying this, Harry opened the door and the Paladin vanished without a trace. 

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