Intern Dorms
Floor 15
Stark Tower
Midtown Manhattan, New York, USA
July 4th, 2023 8:30PM EDT
Catherine Davis loved living at Stark Tower. There was always something to do, something fascinating to discover, and you would never find yourself bored there. If it was up to her she'd forgo going to Columbia just to spend more time here. It was something she honestly considered after her first week in the internship program. What could she genuinely learn there that she couldn't learn surrounded by all of these amazing scientists? Today she was going to learn more about these scientists than she originally bargained for.
David had told her and her brother that he had something to show them. Most of the interns were out trying to see the fireworks. Part of her wanted to join them and check out Jaggerdaw in the process, but she knew whatever David had in mind would've been far more interesting. When they arrived in the common area they saw David on his laptop in the center of the room. When he waved them over she sped through the room in anticipation and made her stop behind his back. She leaned over his right shoulder and looked at his screen. He immediately disclosed what he had been up to and she was impressed by his initiative and moxie to pull something like this at the risk of getting caught.
She was even more impressed by the catalog of big brains that showed up to this secret meeting. They were some of the greatest minds in New York, maybe even the world. Just what exactly could they be meeting about? Her question was soon answered and she immediately wished she didn't ask that question. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could they put so many innocent people in danger? She wasn't too sure about the others, but she expected better from Norman Osborn. He was one of her biggest inspirations. How could he be on board with something like this?
For a brief moment she was lost in despair filled thought until David yelled for them to come on. Caty looked to her brother and nodded to him before following David out. She hoped they'd be able to get there on time.
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Hunter’s Point South Park
Long Island City, Queens, New York, USA
July 4th, 2023 9:13PM EDT
Traveling through New York would've been a lot easier and faster if she could zip through the city instead of being forced to be stuck in traffic. This is why she didn't care too much about driving. People's lives were in danger and the trio had to face their greatest enemy yet. Holiday Rush Hour. They really pushed their luck by arriving too close to the hour, but that didn't stop them from trying the best that they could to get people to evacuate. Most wouldn't listen, but she couldn't blame them. As far as they knew they were a bunch of rambling teenagers trying to pull a 4th of July prank.
Despite all hope seeming to be lost they were at least able to convince one other person of the danger to the point where he decided to help them but they were still running out of time. David knew this and decided to manually stop the mist dispersion. Part of Catherine wanted to stop him from attempting a suicide mission, but she decided to put her faith in him and came up with another plan. Just running around and screaming wasn't going to get the word out in time and there was one location in the park able to reach everyone's attention at once.
While David swam to Barge R-3, Caty ran towards the stage and leapt on board. The roadies and stage crew were in the process of dismantling the set up but thankfully the sound system was still connected. She grabbed a mic from one of them and promised to return it when she was done. She stepped to the edge of the stage and spoke into the mic. She knew she'd reach their ears. She just hoped her words would actually hit.
"Everyone! My name is Catherine Davis. I'm a scientist at Grayburn Labs, well an intern, but you all have to get out of here! There's a toxic gas that will release the moment those fireworks go off. You're all in danger. My friend is trying to stop it right now but please... You all need to----."Before she could get the final words out she heard the sound of a cannon coming from the direction of the barge. They were too late. He was too late... She watched as his body fell into the water and a silent, "David!" tried to force its way from her mouth. She dropped the microphone and jumped from the stage and started running towards the edge of the waterfront. Her body choosing to ignore that she was running towards danger and almost certain death.
She felt someone reach out and grab her hand stopping her in her tracks. She looked back and saw her twin brother Danny. His touch was able to calm her down to her senses, but in an instant she snatched her hand from him. She winced through her teeth and lifted her hand to see a red indention in her hand. Something had bit her. Whatever it was it seemed to be gone now.
Caty turned to the waterfront still determined to jump into the East River after him, but before she could what they came here to stop had officially started.
The park was covered in a dense, blue fog and she found it incredibly difficult to breathe and see. She saw glimpses of people shaped figures near her. All experiencing coughing or crying fits. People just in complete despair. And then it was over. The air cleared and so did her throat. For a moment everything seemed normal. But normal didn't last long as people around them started to bleed from places you're not normally supposed to bleed. Everyone that had started bleeding soon fell to the ground and began seizing. Why wasn't the same happening to her? Wait. Where's Danny? She quickly turned her head to see that her brother was still near her and completely fine too.
"I'm going to check on David. He was at the epicenter of all of this. Check up on the ones on the ground, please? See if you could get the band and the guy from earlier to help."She continued to run towards the waterfront and was prepared to jump before she saw David climb up on the docks. She figured it would've been faster and more practical to go around to join him. When she reached him she noticed the droplets of blood on the floor of the docks. He wasn't seizing or seemingly shared any of the other symptoms that some were showing, but that didn't mean he was fine either. She slowly approached him from behind.
"David? Are you okay? I can't believe they did this... To all of these people. These kids..."