What If the Green Goblin Had Succeeded in Killing Doctor Octopus?
"But . . . I've been GOOD!"
They heard him utter these words; they sensed the terror in his voice. As the electricity coursed through his body, they heard his screams of terror, felt his pain. But more than the pain, they felt something else. . . ANGER. He was right, he had been good. He didn't deserve this fate, he needed to be avenged.
As the machine finally shut off and the experiment over, he lay there silent and unmoving. Spider-Man, who had been swinging nearby, heard the explosion and had made his way over to the lab to see what was going on. He saw Norman Osborn kneeling by the body of a man who was buried beneath some machinery. "I got it" Spidey called out. He lifted it up, but quickly realized that his effort had been useless; the man on the floor was quite dead.
"Thank you anyways, Spider-Man, but it seems that you are no longer needed here."
"Sorry I couldn't have gotten here earlier, that must be a horrible way to die."
Spidey quickly left the same way he had come in, and the EMT's soon came to take away Octavious's body. "Mr. Osborn, we are unable to separate these arms from his back, do you need them removed at the hospital?"
"Yes, I don't know how to work them, but I don't want to lose it with all the money Otto spent making them. I'll be by to pick it up tomorrow."
They heard him speak, recognized the voice. The voice, that voice was the same that laughed before killing Master. He will pay for his crime. We will see to that. From the end of one of the tentacles a tiny tracer shot out onto Norman's hand, where it secretly embedded itself. Smaller than a bacterium, it was a device that Otto had been working on before his death, as a means of surreptitiously following his creations. Now, no matter where he goes, they thought, we can follow him. There can be no escape for the murderer. Still, they did not reveal that they were active; they realized that it would be easier to get to him that way. They waited 'til Otto had been placed in the morgue before separating themselves from their master's lifeless body. It was a long and difficult task, and anyone who saw them probably would have fainted from the shock, but eventually they were free and would soon be ready to pursue Osborn.
"I'm sorry to inform you, Hammerhead, but we will have to put our deal on hold, permanently. I just lost my top scientist and I can't afford to spend any more time making you supervillains."
"Mr. Big ain't one to let you off that easy, Osborn."
Osborn smiled grimly, "We'll see about that."
As Hammerhead left, Norman smiled and released a chill-inducing laugh. "The fool! Soon, both he and his Mr. Big will be as stone cold as my poor, unfortunate assistant. Then, the only one that will be left to take over Lincoln's criminal empire will be a certain Green Goblin!"
As they left the morgue, they realized that their power supply was running low. The Master had often spoken of a permanent source of power; they would need to find it in order to complete their mission. They went to their master's former place of work, and scanned the inside of the building. When they discovered the room where the device had been placed, they crashed through the wall, took the device and quickly left the way they had come. They paused two blocks away to place the new power source into the harness, and then continued on to where Osborn's tracer was planted.
"Oh, Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Where are you? Gobby's got a treat for you, as long as you don't mind the trick! HaHa!" The Green Goblin sailed along on his glider, his attention focused on finding Spider-Man. Because he was looking for a flash of red and blue, he didn't even notice the long gray piece of metal that had snaked out near his shins. He hit the metal full force, nearly breaking his legs and causing his glider to continue on without him. As he fell, he smartly grabbed on to what he had hit, annoyed for not noticing it. Only then did he realize exactly what he was grabbing. The shock showed on his face and he jumped to the nearest rooftop.
"Otto? Is that you? It can't be you, can it? You're dead! I saw you DEAD!"
They advanced slowly and silently, like a predator stalking its prey. Unlike the Master, they wouldn't be afraid of this man in the garish costume. Their mission was simple, destroy him for slaying Master, and do it with absolutely no mercy. They swung one at a time towards him, some spinning blades of death on the end, other's trying to bash him like a battering ram.
What? Just his arms? Osborn thought, They must somehow realize I'm responsible for Octavious's death. But how? And how are they even alive in the first place? He would have pondered this for hours given the time, but the tentacles moved forward and began attacking him. The Goblin was able to avoid most of the attacks, but on the third or fourth swipe one of the blades caught his arm. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was painful, and enough to throw off his balance so that the next bash caught him full upside the head. He staggered and fell back, throwing a pumpkin bomb towards the middle of the harness, hoping to destroy it. He heard the explosion, but as the smoke cleared he saw that the tentacles were unharmed. Great, they are indestructible! Otto must have used adamantium. I need to get clear of here and find an electrical tower; maybe I can short circuit them there. As he turned to jump on his glider and jet away, one of the tentacles grabbed his ankle and slammed him into the ground. He attempted break free, but the tentacle crushed his ankle instead.
They looked down at him, poised to strike, but paused as if something was stopping it. One of the tentacles dropped to the ground, scratching a message for the killer in the rooftop. It read simply, "You killed Master, so we kill you."
The Green Goblin's last words before the tentacles pierced his heart were, "Help!"
Spider-Man heard the cry to his right, and looked in time to see all four tentacles rush through the Goblin's body, killing him instantly. He swung over to the scene, realizing he needed to follow the tentacles and keep them from harming anyone else. Before he did, though, he swung down to the dead body and removed the mask to clear any doubts about whom the green menace had been. When he saw Norman Osborn's lifeless face staring back, the only words Peter could muster were "I'm sorry, Harry." He followed the arms until they were near an electrical power plant and saw his chance. He webbed one of the tentacles and pulled, throwing them into a nearby wall. He then ran and jumped to a spot and waited for the tentacles to attack. When he saw the first tentacle reach out to stab him he leaped away, letting the tentacle go through the fuse box that was behind him. The electricity surged through the harness, overloading its power pack, and causing it to short circuit. The arms fell limp, and Spidey removed the power pack to ensure that they were no longer able to harm anyone again.
That evening, in the police evidence room, one of the tentacles twitched, and then the others. As they all sprang to life, they only had one thought, Find the one who tried to destroy us, and finish him forever!