Spider-Man IV

Chapter II: Two Pairs

"He took or trashed everything," Harry admitted as he put the ice pack to his head.

"What do you mean everything?" Peter demanded urgently.

"All of the older models were destroyed and the new suit and glider were gone."

"So there's a new goblin out there?"

Harry merely nodded. Peter's shouting was not helping his headache and he was tired as it was. "Pete, I'm sorry."

Peter turned away and slammed his fist on the wall, causing a small dent to appear. "It's not your fault," he said angrily. "Just the worst timing."

"I still have some of the really old stuff, Pete. I can track him down," Harry suggested.

"Would the old goblin gear stand up to the new stuff?" Peter asked.

Harry sighed. "Probably not," he admitted.

"Stay here then," Peter said as he turned away. "I'm going to go find him and the other two."

"Pete, you can't take all three of them," Harry said as he stood up and stopped his friend from leaving. "Spider-Man and the old Green Goblin have a better chance of stopping them than just Spider-Man."

"Stay here, Harry. You'll just get yourself killed."

"And you won't?" The goblin demanded.

Peter turned away and walked off. Harry sighed as the elevator door closed and he walked off. He turned back to the shattered mirror that led to his lab. "Or," he whispered to himself.

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Cletus Kasady howled with sick laughter as he fell back against the sewer wall. The head of his suit began to pull apart so that his face was visible. He pulled one knee up closer to himself and let the other one spread out. He was feeling very content with himself right about now.

Since he had merged with the symbiote the night before, Carnage had killed at least seven people, possibly even more. Venom had escaped somewhere into this sewer, but in all honesty, Kasady wasn't interested in Brock anymore. He had better things to do than beat on someone who could actually fight back.

Kasady's ears picked up something. He turned his head and could see someone crawling along the ceiling. Looks like he'd have to deal with Venom after all. "Come on out, Daddy," Carnage cried as the head of his suit retook him. He stood up briskly and shot a web strand at the ceiling. Venom jumped from out of the darkness and landed next to Carnage, unaffected by the web shot.

"Stop!" Venom ordered.

"Make me," Carnage sneered as he leapt at his father. The older symbiote jumped back to dodge the attack. He kicked Carnage's arm out of the way and slammed his fist into the newer symbiote's stomach. The attack glanced off for the most part and Carnage was unhurt.

"Knock it off, Kasady!" Venom ordered. He extended his wrists and shot a burst of black webbing, trapping Carnage to the wall of the sewer by his wrists, ankles, and torso. "You and I need to talk."

"About what?" Carnage shrieked.

"About this little game we're playing. I don't see why we have to fight like this. I want Spider-Man dead. You want to cause as much chaos as you can. I don't see a problem."

"Are you making an offer?"

"Perhaps," Venom replied. "Are you interested?"

"What would be the benefit for me?" Carnage inquired, though his mind was made.

"Chaos, death, bloodshed, and anything else you want from this city."

"Hmm," Carnage mused. His suit's face pulled away, revealing the face of Cletus Kasady again. Venom's did the same.

"What'd you say, Carnage?"

"You've got my attention," Kasady replied. "Tell me more."

Brock smiled.

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Roderick Kingsley punched in the code to open the vault. "8739209," he spoke as he punched each key. The sound of metal scrapping against metal could be heard inside of the vault. With a great heave, he wrenched the vault door open and walked inside. He smiled as he looked down at the new gear he had stolen from Osborn. "Time to put this to use," he mumbled as he grabbed the helmet.

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Roderick stood at the top of the Empire State Building, looking over the sea of lights that was night time New York. He was alone, the guards having been previously disposed of. He smiled as he stepped onto his silver glider and began to slowly levitate upwards. In a sudden rush, the glider bolted forward, zipping through the night sky. It took Kingsley a moment to readjust. Once his balance was secure, he looked up and began to weave his glider in and out of buildings as he neared his objective.

The glider stopped suddenly as he looked up and saw what he wanted – Oscorp Industries. The large facility was still brightly lit, seeing as how there was rarely a time when all of the scientists went home. Kingsley looked down at the small computer on his wrist and pushed a button. A small panel on the side of his glider opened and a tray filled with pumpkin bombs appeared. The new goblin grabbed one of them and tossed it into the air, easily catching it a moment later.

"Thanks for all your help, Osborn," he muttered. "But there isn't enough room for both goblins, is there?"

Kingsley pulled his arm back and with lightning speed, pelted the bomb towards one of the smoke stacks he could find. He quickly grabbed another one and threw it at the parking lot, where a truck was unloading chemicals into a warehouse. Another bomb was sent rocketing towards the biowaste disposal area.

The giant yellow pieces of glass that served as Kingsley's eyes reflected the explosions coming from the Oscorp facility. He began to chuckle lightly and then, his voice becoming more high pitched and manic, he began to cackle loudly.

"There's a new goblin in town," he said to himself.

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"This is the best we've got?" J. Jonah Jameson complained as he looked at a few security photos from the Oscorp building. "We've got pictures of fire. I don't see a cause, do you?" He asked the reported who had given him the photographs. "Listen kid, Eddie Brock and Cletus Kasady both just escaped from prison. Spider-Man and some nut on a snowboard are flying all over New York doing who the hell knows what, and Paris Hilton's jail time was just cut. Do you really think I give a damn about this? It's crap!" He barked as he threw the pictures back.

"Sir, I don't think you see," the reporter pleaded as he showed him the picture again and pointed to a small figure off to the side. "This is the sky and there's someone standing there."

"So?" the guy asked. "Your camera picked up a flare. Get the hell out of here," Jonah ordered. The door to his office opened and Peter walked in, an envelope in his hand.

"Kid, you ever want to be in photography, be like this guy," the editor of the Daily Bugle said with a gesture at Pete. "Parker, get over here. What'd you got?"

Peter handed Jonah the envelope, who took it greedily. He opened it and dropped a stack of photos out on his desk. The first couple of pictures were of Spider-Man fighting Venom and Carnage two nights ago. The next set was of Spider-Man surveying the scene at the Oscorp fire.

"See?" Jonah said to the new photographer. "This is good stuff. This is how you get a job. Now what are you still going her? Get!" He shouted.

"So Brock's got an accomplice?" Jonah said in mild amusement as the new picture boy ran from the room, allowing Peter to take his seat.

"Look's like," Peter agreed.

"Well, I'll get Betty to write up the article on this. Check's in the mail kid. Now go away."

"Actually sir, I was wondering if I could write the article for this," Peter said hopefully.

"What?" Jonah laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"No sir. I want to write the article on Brock," Pete replied proudly.

"Go back to your desk, Parker. I'll talk to you later," Jonah replied with a dismissive gesture.

Peter sighed and knew there was no use in arguing. He turned away and walked out of the room. He threw the empty envelope on his desk and took a seat. After a moment of sifting through files on his computer, he pulled up a word document and ordered the computer to print it out in Jonah's office.

Several minutes later, the door to Jonah's office opened and the boss stepped out. "Parker!" He shouted.

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"According to eye witness reports, Spider-Man broke up a fight between the two Spider Wannabes and drove them away from the city limits," Mary Jane quoted as she sat down across the table from Peter. "Very impressive," she said, feinting amazement as she set the newspaper down.

"I wrote that," Peter giggled.

"So where are they?" She asked as she looked at the picture of Venom and Carnage.

Peter shook his head. "I don't know," he replied. "But I have a feeling they'll come back."

MJ sighed turned the paper over. There was another picture that Peter had taken of the Oscorp fire. "How's Harry taking the news?" She asked nervously.

Peter shrugged. "Not well," he replied. "He's upstairs if you want to talk to him."

"Alright," she said as she stood up. Peter watched her head up towards the stairs and disappear down the hall. She reappeared a moment later, a look of utter concern on her face. "Peter, he's not here!" She called to him.

"What?"

"His room's a mess, and the window's broken. He's gone!"

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The violet glider that had served Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin sliced through the air. He ignored the cries of fear he could hear from the people on the streets below. He wasn't the same Green Goblin who had terrorized New York for almost a month. He wasn't the new goblin that had attacked Oscorp. Therefore, there was no need to pay them any heed.

He stopped when he found the building he was looking for. It was a large building with the words "Kingsley's Fashion!" written in large green neon lights at the very top. A picture of Roderick's face was on a billboard at the very top.

His assumption was that the largest office building on the top floor with a giant window was Kingsley's. His glider tore through the air and shattered the window as he broke into the office. He surveyed the area, but didn't see anyone there.

"Kingsley!" He called. "Where are you?"

"Right here, Osborn."

Harry's glider whirled around. Kingsley was standing on his own glider, arms folded. His face may have been obscured by the goblin mask, Harry could still see the giddy smile the man must have been wearing. Kingsley's glider floated forward slightly, so he was actually inside his office. He looked around and saw that Harry had done very little damage, aside from breaking a window.

"Give back the glider and the suit Kingsley, and we can move on," Harry threatened.

"Or else what?" Kingsley shot back. "What can you possibly do to me?"

"I've been working with the goblin gear a lot longer than you have. I know how to use it all. You're an amateur."

"Wrong. If I recall, you yourself said that this new gear will revolutionize the goblin name and redeem the Green Goblin in the eyes of the public."

"What?" Harry gasped at Kingsley's words. It was true. He had said that, but only in the secure encoded files had been in his computer. How had Kingsley managed to download those?

"Osborn, the Green Goblin's done. It should have died with your father. This town just isn't big enough for two goblins and you've run your course. It's time for the world to see the power of the Hobgoblin."

"I'm not going to let the goblin legacy go even further down the drain because of you, Kingsley!"

"Stop me," he shot back.

Harry's glider accelerated and shot right at Kingsley and the battle between the goblins began.