I'm working on Marvel's Spider-Man in American comics.

Chapter 161 Adrian Tooms

On the first floor of the Osborne Building, an Osborne corporate executive saw a bald, middle-aged man sitting in a chair in the lobby and frowned in displeasure: "Why is he still here?"

"He said he absolutely had to see Mr. Osborne."

“Osborne doesn’t have time for him,” the executive said, frowning, then walked over to the bald man. “Mr. Adrian Tooms, the company has already warned you…”

“I want to see Norman Osborn!” The bald man sat there shaking his head, then roared. Before the corporate executive could say anything, he heard Norman Osborn’s voice: “How can you be so disrespectful to Dr. Toms? He is an outstanding scientist.”

Norman Osborn, dressed in a suit, was on his way to the "Emily Osborn Research Center," which his son and Peter Parker had built together. Unexpectedly, he ran into an acquaintance with whom he didn't get along. Norman smiled and went up to him, opening his arms as if to hug Adrian: "Long time no see, Adrian."

"You stole my technology! And you used my technology to steal my project!" Adrian stood up abruptly, storming up to Norman. Norman stopped the employee who was about to rush over, calmly looking at Adrian with his smile still intact.

“You know, Adrian. Osborn Technologies’ single-soldier flight platform won the military’s tender not because of your technology. Both are single-soldier flight platforms. The previous Falcon project has already proven to be too demanding on pilots and has been mothballed. Moreover, your proposal is just an improvement on the previous generation, still intending for pilots to fly with wings. Osborn Technologies’ proposal, on the other hand, is completely new.”

"But I developed the anti-gravity system! I applied for a patent!"

Norman nodded matter-of-factly: "I admit that our technologies share some similarities in this regard, but that's not enough to prove that Osborn Technologies used your technology. How about this, we can reach an agreement regarding the design concepts of the anti-gravity systems in both products..."

He twirled his hand in mid-air: "Great minds think alike, how about it? We can reach this agreement for five million dollars."

"Five million dollars?! You thief! You shameful robber!"

Norman Osborne maintained his smile as he walked over to Adrian and whispered in his ear, "Yes, but your poor little studio will be bankrupted by court fees before you even win the case. Five million is a lot for you."

Upon hearing this, Adrian's pale face flushed red with blood, and he swung his fist at Norman, unleashing a string of vulgarities. Staff and security guards quickly moved in and dragged him away. Norman Osborn, unfazed by the blows, rubbed his face and left the company with a smile. As for Adrian, he was subdued by security for causing trouble and taken to the police.

The NYPD didn't hold back, immediately placing him in custody with the group of terrorists they had just arrested that day. As soon as Adrian was locked up, he heard those guys complaining about getting beaten up by Spider-Man again that day.

He didn't care about these things; he was still thinking about what Norman Osborn had said. Norman was right; he had no way to deal with him. Even if he could win the patent lawsuit, so what? Norman had close ties with the US government. Even if he won, his proposal would most likely not win the bid. Moreover, lawsuits would cost a huge amount of time and money; he might end up ruined before he even won.

So, should I accept Norman's offer? And take that five million? Sure, with that five million, I could pay the lab staff's salaries and still have some left over, but starting the next project was absolutely out of the question.

What should I do?
Adrian sighed deeply.

“There are freaks everywhere now. It used to be the world of organized mercenaries like us. Even if special forces were deployed, we would have already completed the business. Unlike now, that damn Spider-Man stopped a heavy truck with just one hand, with just one hand!”

Yes, in this era of superheroes and supervillains, you can't fight the Avengers without superpowers... No superpowers?

A thought suddenly popped into Adrian's mind, but he didn't say anything. Just then, a sheriff who looked fairly upright walked out of the detention room, glanced at the people locked up inside, muttered a few words, and then opened the door.

"Dr. Adrian Tooms?"

The sheriff opened the cell door and led him out: "Norman Osborn called the NYPD and said you just had a little argument and your daughter is here to pick you up."

A quarrel? If it was just a quarrel, why did he have to come to the police station? Adrian just sneered inwardly at Norman Osborn's insincerity, then walked out of the detention cell and saw his daughter waiting for him in the sheriff's office.

"I'm so sorry, Liz..."

Adrian sighed, while his daughter Liz simply smiled and said it was alright. She then thanked the sheriff named Stacy. After they left, Liz told Adrian that Sheriff Stacy was her friend's father and that he was the one who had notified her first.

"I'm so sorry, Liz."

"Well, since you're my dad, I have to accept it. Besides, you're doing this for the good of the family."

Upon seeing his daughter, Adrian buried his audacious idea deep in his heart. Why bother? He had family to take care of; there was no need to fight Norman Osborn to the death. Thinking this, Adrian suddenly understood. Five million it is then; in the end, family is more important.

So he first called Osborn Technologies and left a message saying he was willing to accept the agreement. Liz, upon hearing this, looked at her father with slight surprise.

“I thought you would stick with it, after all, you’ve been sticking with that project since I was a child.”

“Perhaps Norman was right about one thing: the idea of ​​giving people wings is outdated.” Adrian put his arm around his daughter’s shoulder and suddenly remembered something: “What was the name of that boy you told me about last time, the one who asked you to dance at home during homecoming?”

"Harold Lyman, his friends all call him Harry."

"If he's really a good kid, maybe you could bring him home for dinner?"

　Using lengthy and costly litigation to cripple small tech companies and studios, forcing them to abandon their patents, is a common tactic employed by large American capitalists. The Morgan Group famously sued a competitor for copying their alternating current (AC) technology, causing the competitor to withdraw its support for Tesla, which then became the Morgan Group's own AC project.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)