"So Max, you've got the night shift today?" Penny asked as Max was fumbling with one hand in his pocket, the other holding a bundle of roll-ups. "I barely saw anyone around when I left the building before."
"There was only a security guard by the lockers, and another near the exit," she added remembering.
"Oh! That must have been Logan and Paul — my guys," Max said, voice a touch too loud as he finally pulled his keycard free. "They're the best."
"So they're on night duty too?" she asked, glancing back at the quiet corridor.
"Ah, nah. It's Sunday night — ghost town hours. Even Logan and Paul will head out soon for Poker night." He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "They always invite me, beg me to come, but, y'know how it is, I'm a busy man, always just... swamped with work."
He flashed her a grin that lingered a little too long.
"...Right," Penny replied, giving a polite nod and following him through the door.
"I didn't know Oscorp had this many floors underground," Penny muttered, glancing over the railing.
They were walking along a straight metal path with guardrails on both sides. Below them, multiple levels crisscrossed down into the basement, each lit dimly and connected by similar walkways stretching into the shadows.
"Yeah, people always look up at the tower — 'ooh, 108 floors!' — but they forget what's under their feet," Max replied. His tone shifted, a flash of something bitter passing through his voice. "Typical. No one notices what's below them."
Penny didn't respond, her steps slowing just a little. A part of her was beginning to second-guess following a stranger this far down alone.
"We're almost there," Max said, his mood swinging back to chipper as he picked up the pace. "Just around this corner — I've got my own space."
Penny adjusted her grip on the roll-ups and kept up with him, eyeing the dim hallway they entered next. A faded sign read Maintenance, and numbered doors lined the walls.
"And here we are!" Max said cheerfully, swiping his card at Door No. 1. "Come on in. Not many people get to see this place — even though my friends keep asking me to invite them. Constantly."
He laughed to himself as he stepped inside, placing the roll-ups and card on a cluttered desk.
Penny followed, stopping at the threshold.
Room might have been generous. There was just enough space for a narrow bed, the desk, and a metal cupboard. Her bathroom at home was bigger than this for sure.
"Nice cozy place you've got here," Penny said with a wry smile, eyeing the cluttered desk. A pin up board above it was plastered with newspaper clippings in bold, cut-out letters:
"GET MONEY"
"TOP G"
"YOU ARE THE MAN!"
Max beamed. "Thanks! Let me take those off your hands," he said, reaching for the roll-ups she carried.
She handed them over, her gaze drifting to more opened blueprints and schematics sprawled across the desk. "So… are these related to your job?"
"Oh, no, no," Max said quickly, suddenly excited. "Here—let me show you!"
He began shoving clutter aside with manic energy, smoothing down his sparse black hair as he cleared space.
"You don't have to, really. I didn't mean to—" Penny said, seeing how flustered he was getting.
"No trouble at all. No trouble, Penny," he said brightly, eyes alight. "Look. Underneath this whole tower—in all these basement levels—there's a mess of old power lines. The tower has been upgraded, sure, but they never really modernized the infrastructure.That's why it's in constant need for maintenance. It's inefficient. It's stupid, stupid!"
He smacked the desk with the flat of his hand. "But most of all, it's inefficient!"
"...Okay" Penny instinctively stepped back, tightening her grip on the straps of her bag.
Max inhaled sharply, then motioned her closer with renewed excitement. "Look at these. I've been working on these designs for years. My own power grid redesign! It could fix everything wrong with Oscorp's systems—"
Before he could finish, the room plunged into complete darkness.
Penny flinched. "What the hell—?"
She fumbled for her earbuds, already plugging them in on reflex.
"Nothing to worry about," Max said cheerfully through the dark. "Happens all the time down here. I'll get it fixed in a jiffy. Just need to find my flashlight…"
He rustled around blindly on the desk.
"Here," Penny offered, switching on the flashlight from her phone.
A soft beam illuminated the cramped room. Max's face lit up.
"Ah, thanks, Penny! Must've misplaced mine again." He stepped to the door, already energized. "Come on—let's sort this lighting issue first."
Penny hesitated, then followed, phone raised to light the hallway beyond.
Even outside the room, the hallway was dim, lit only by a few flickering emergency signs.
"Is the power that unstable here?" Penny asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Max huffed as he marched ahead. "No, no—blame the new Bioelectrogenesis lab downstairs. They botched the wiring. Either it overloads and knocks power out to this whole sector, or the connections are so loose the circuits just short out."
He navigated the dark corridor with the ease of someone who had done it a hundred times.
Penny, less sure-footed, followed carefully. Just ahead, she spotted a step ladder leading down into another level.
"Watch your step," Max called over his shoulder with a chuckle. "Sometimes there are live wires lying around. Could get dangerous."
"What?" she said sharply, shining her phone's light downward. She didn't see anything, but took his warning seriously as she climbed down slowly.
Thick black cables coiled through the space like vines, snaking around conduits and the mesh flooring. Below them, through the gaps, she could see a bright room—and movement. Large tanks shimmered faintly in a sterile-looking lab.
"Are those… electric eels?" she asked, peering down.
Max glanced back with a grin. "Yep. Beautiful, aren't they?"
She wrinkled her nose. "I guess…"
BZZZZZT
"There we go—those wires are the culprits," Max said, stepping over to a nearby panel. "Point your light there? It'll just take a second."
"Wait—shouldn't you be wearing gloves or, like, rubber boots or something?" Penny asked, alarmed, as she held her phone steady on the panel.
Max laughed. "For most people, yeah. But for me, Max Dillon?" He puffed out his chest. "I could do this in my sleep."
Without hesitation, he climbed up onto a metal guard rail near an open shaft where the cables were exposed.
"Okay, okay, just… slow down and be careful," Penny muttered, watching his footing anxiously.
Max glanced down at her, with a smile. "Penny, you really are a kind soul. Most people would not have helped me out. But you did. That means something."
"I didn't do anything special," she replied quickly, eyes fixed on his feet to make sure he didn't slip.
"You did," he insisted, fiddling with the wiring. "By the way, what brings you to Oscorp this late? I've been rambling on about myself without letting you talk at all."
He turned to look at her, the light from her phone casting shadows across his face. He gave himself a loud smack on the forehead. "Sorry. I am a terrible, terrible host."
"It's fine," Penny said quickly, eyes wide as she kept an anxious watch on Max's balance. "I came to visit my friend Gwen Stacy, and I guess I lost track of time."
"Oh, Gwen!" Max said brightly, flashing a wide smile. "She's a sweet girl. And pretty hot too, right?" He let out a chuckle.
"Yeah… I guess," Penny muttered, unsure how to respond.
"So, does she have a boyfriend?" he asked casually while continuing to fiddle with the wiring.
"Umm… no, I don't think so," Penny replied, eyeing him weirdly now. Surely he didn't think he had a shot.
Max laughed. "Good for me then! All I need now is a huge pile of cash, and after that I can fuck girls like Gwen easily!" he said, grinning broadly.
"WHAT?!" Penny exclaimed, recoiling in shock. Her grip slipped, and her phone tumbled from her hands.
"Shit!" she hissed, watching helplessly as it clattered down through the grate—and right into one of the tanks full of eels below.
"What happened?" Max asked, glancing back.
"N-nothing. I just dropped my phone… and it's gone now," she said, frustration bubbling in her voice. "Damn it…"
"Oh, that sucks," Max said with a shrug, already turning back to his work. "But hey, like I said—I can do this with my eyes closed."
Penny took a step back from him. Right now she really didn't want to be alone here with a guy like him. And definitely not in the dark.
Max kept talking, seemingly to himself now. "Once I finish these blueprints and get my plans submitted, Norman Osborn himself is gonna want to meet me. I will be rich. A millionaire overnight. And when that happens?" He let out a low laugh. "I will be getting all the bitches! Even girls like Gwen, will beg for me to get fucked! No one looks at me now—but when I've got the money? Oh yeah…"
"Max!" Penny shouted, her voice sharp. "Don't talk about my friend like that! Gwen's not that kind of girl!"
Max didn't even flinch. "Oh, sorry," he said flatly, still tightening bolts. "But Penny… girls like her? Beautiful girls? They're all the same. They all just go after guys with the money."
CLICK
The power surged back on, flooding the corridor with light.
"And done!" Max said loudly, fixing his sparse hair.
Penny realized it was pointless to argue with someone like Max.
He jumped down from the ledge with a grin. "Hehe, see? I'm good at this, aren't I?" he said with a laugh.
"Don't talk about Gwen like that again," Penny snapped, glaring at him.
Max shrugged. "Penny, you probably just don't get it yet—you're still a kid. You'll understand when you grow up," he said with a bored expression. "I watch videos about girls like her all the time. They only care about money and a guy who can throw cash at them. A real Top G. An Alpha," he added, puffing out his chest and smoothing down his sparse hair with a smug smirk. "So all I need is money, and then I'll get everything I want."
"I think I should go now," Penny said, stepping back. "It's already pretty late."
"Oh… alright. I can guide you back," Max offered, sounding a little disappointed.
"No, no need. I remember the way. It was nice meeting you, Max. Good luck with your plans and stuff!" she said quickly, turning and walking away as fast as she could without running.
"Bye, Penny!" he called out behind her, waving with a crooked smile.
Penny let out a sigh of relief slowing down after reaching the ground floor, shutting the basement door behind her.
"This is all your fault… why do you always have to help everyone, Penny Parker?" she muttered to herself, still feeling creeped out by the whole encounter.
"Hopefully I don't run into him again… I should definitely warn Gwen too," Penny muttered as she stepped out of the building. The ground floor had been empty. "Those two guys must've already left for that poker thing."
She sighed. "Great. Now I need to buy a new phone tomorrow. At least I've got some cash on me—should be enough for the subway home."
VRROOOM! VRROOOM!!
Just as she took a step towards the street, a jet-black motorcycle sped past her.
"Whoa… cool bike," Penny murmured, eyes trailing the sleek machine. From the rider's slim figure and the long silver hair streaming behind her helmet, she could tell it was a woman.
The bike screeched into a drift and shot down the alley beside the building.
Penny kept walking, her thoughts drifting back to all the incredible things she had seen at Oscorp today. "Oscorp really is the top biotech company in the world… Even the unfinished stuff like Dr. Connor's lizard research—that could sell for millions, maybe billions, to a rival company."
As she passed by the alley the bike had disappeared into, she glanced in casually—and froze.
"That's the same bike… but where's the rider?"
The motorcycle was parked beside a dumpster, engine off, but the silver-haired girl was nowhere in sight.
Curious, Penny stepped into the alley and looked around. Nothing.
Then she looked up.
"What the—?" she gasped, catching a brief flash of silver hair disappearing high up on the Oscorp tower.
"No way… was she a thief? Is she robbing Oscorp right now?"
Penny backed away a bit, trying to get a better view. Her eyes followed the building's glass and concrete.
"I… I think she went in through the tenth floor! That's the level where Gwen works! That's where Dr. Connors' lab is—and all those experiments I saw earlier today!"
She looked around, but there was no one to hear her. Even the Security guards in the building were out for their stupid Poker night!
And her phone? Gone, fried in the eel tank.
"Shit, this is no time to panic, Penny Parker," she muttered to herself, her heart pounding loudly. "I—I have to stop her. I have to stop her myself from stealing all of my friends' research!"