The Spider-Twins: Origin of the White Witch
Osborn Residence, 3 Months Ago
"Senorita Emily! Breakfast!" a female voice announced from outside the enormous bedroom.
Emily Antoinette Osborn rolled over in her huge bed and rubbed her eyes. She had barely gotten any sleep last night because she kept having nightmares of exploding pumpkins and laughing goblins. Posters of various celebrities and singers like Dazzler adorn her hot pink and lime green walls. A picture of Emily and her boyfriend Richard smiling was framed and sitting on her dresser. Another picture of the Spider Twins ripped out from a magazine was pinned to a dart board hanging on her wall. Two darts were lodged in their heads.
Wearing only a long pink t-shirt with 'Heartbreaker' written on it, she stretched and yawned. She went into the bathroom and went up to the sink to wash her face. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror and saw a beautiful teenage girl with long fiery red hair, nice luscious pink lips, and a small batch of freckles on the bridge of her nose. She frowned at the dark bags under her vibrant green eyes from her lack of sleep for the past few weeks. She shrugged her shoulders and ignored it as she exited the bathroom.
She hummed to herself as she went downstairs towards the kitchen. The smell of freshly cooked eggs and bacon filled the very expensive, gourmet kitchen. Her half brother Norman Harold Osborn Jr. , or "Normie" for short, sat at the kitchen table by the window. He shoveled food into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days.
Normie was nineteen with reddish-brown hair, a trimmed goatee, and thin glasses over blue eyes. Noticing Emily in the doorway staring at him he smiled and waved. Looking at his watch he shot of his seat and headed for the door. He shoved a bagel into his mouth and ran out the door to his black convertible so he wouldn't be late for his first class at ESU.
Emily shook her head and sat down in his seat at the table. The family chef, Pierre De Laufante, handed her a plate of scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and two slices of bacon.
"Bon appetite!" Pierre said in a very thick French accent.
Pierre was one of the very few things from her home in Paris. He was brought to America and hired as the head chef by her father to make her feel more at home after her mother, Harry's third ex-wife, fell terminally ill. His food reminded her of home and her mother which caused her eyes to start to water.
"Good morning, Miss Emily," Maria said in her usual cheery voice as she walked in the kitchen. Emily quickly composed herself and put on a fake smile.
Maria was the head maid of the house, but was also Emily's mother figure. Even though she had a slight Spanish accent, it was nowhere near as thick as Pierre's French one. Over the three years Emily had been living with her father at the Osborn Estate, Maria had taught her to speak fluent Spanish to add to her French and English vocabulary.
"Buenos dias, Maria. Did you tell Leonard that I needed a ride to the… you know?" Emily blushed and looked over to Pierre who was paying no attention to their conversation.
"He will be ready to take you within the hour as promised."
Emily smiled and continued to eat her breakfast. After taking a shower and getting dressed, Emily made her way outside to the limo where Leonard the chauffer was waiting patiently.
New York City, Raft Prison
The black limo drove up to a dock where a transport boat was waiting. Leonard stepped out and opened the door for Emily to get out. She stood there waiting and watched as the limo quickly drove off before she boarded the boat.
The boat took her to the maximum security prison known as "The Raft". It was heavily guarded and hosed some of the world's most dangerous criminals. After going through all the security checkpoints, she was led by four armed security guards. Dressed in bulletproof armor and helmets, they carried loaded guns with pistols, stun guns, and tranquilizers on their belt. They led her into a small room with a table, two chairs, and security cameras. She sat down in one of the chairs and quietly waited. Two of the security guards stood by the door. After a few minutes, the door opened again and the man she came to see was escorted in. the guards aimed their guns at his heads while his handcuffs were removed and he took the seat across from Emily.
"Emily…it's nice to see you again." His voice was calm but it still sent chills down her spine. She smiled despite his cold, emotionless glare.
Norman Osborn, formerly Spiderman's arch foe Green Goblin, was her grandfather. Wanting to become the kingpin of crime, he took on the Green Goblin persona and fought the original Spiderman. Abandoning his Goblin persona after his brief "death", he became the Iron Patriot with armor similar to Tony Stark's and had his own team of villainous Avengers. He became a world icon and a media darling until his fall from grace at the hands of the heroes during his assault on Asgard. He had been incarcerated in the Raft ever since.
"Not getting much sleep?" Norman broke the silence between them as genuine concern crossed his face.
"Huh? Oh…um I guess not. I've been having these strange nightmares lately. I haven't gotten that much sleep." She remembered the bags under her eyes and absentmindedly began to rub at them.
"Osborns don't fear anything. Much less have nightmares." His voice was stern and annoyed. She nodded her head obediently.
"How is Normie? I hear he is studying business at Empire State." He quickly changed the subject. He did not want to upset his only visitor.
"He's good. He's in his sophomore year now. He's almost never home and only comes to eat and sleep," her smiled and rolled her eyes, "And daddy- - "
"I didn't ask about your pathetic, spineless excuse for a father! He was never a true Osborn and you will not utter his name in my presence again!" His voice was calm but his eyes were furious. He was standing up now and the guards had their weapons up and awaiting his next move. He waved for them to lower the guns and they reluctantly did so as he sat back down.
"I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you." He smiled. Or as close to a smile as he could show without looking soft.
"It's fine. I understand. Completely." If it was one thing that Emily and her grandfather agreed on it was their shared hatred for her father and his only son. She looked him in his eyes and for a brief moment she could have sworn she saw a look of kjbdgvjkjk.
"Wrap it up you two!" A guard warned them after looking at the clock mounted on the wall. Emily looked up at the clock not really believing him. But like the guard said, visiting hours was almost over. Time always seemed to fly by when she visited him.
"We don't have a lot of time Emily, but I want you to remember one thing: Osborns are never weak. We never show fear. Especially not to spiders. Make me proud." Norman reached across the table and grabbed a hold of Emily's hand in his. "Oh…and tell Pierre I said: Jack-O-Lantern."
Emily looks confused as Norman stands up from the table and the guards put the handcuffs back on his hands. They quickly lead him out of the room and back to his cell. His last words stuck in her head even as she was escorted out of the prison. He knew their chef Pierre? How can that be if he had been in prison for the majority of her life? And what exactly does Jack-O-Lantern mean?
On the way back home, Emily thought about what he had told her. Surprisingly, she enjoyed her visits and their talks. She always felt like his words were always in some type of code that she was supposed to figure out. She would visit every other week and looked forward to the next piece of whatever puzzle she was supposed to solve. Luckily her father didn't know what was going on or he would have forbid her from ever seeing her grandfather again. Luckily he was too wrapped up in his work to even notice his daughter's disappearing.
Breep breep. Emily looked over to her purse and pulled out her vibrating phone. The caller ID read "Richie".
"Hi Richie. What's up?" Emily calmly answered.
"Hey, Em. I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie tonight? We can go see that movie with the aliens you were talking about the other day." He sounded shy and unsure of himself like he was asking her out for the first time even though they had been dating for about a year. She loved that about him. He was so innocent and naïve of the evil in the world. The evil she felt inside of her.
"Hello? Emily?"
"Oh…sorry. I actually have some things to do today. How about tomorrow?"
There's silence on the other end and Emily is nervous that he might have seen through her lie. "Yeah. Okay. Tomorrow then. I'll pick you up at eight. Love you."
"Love you." She could tell he was smiling through the phone and she couldn't help from smiling too as she hangs up. Her heart sank a little bit. Why did she have to lie to him? What was more important than Richie? She thought for a moment. Family. Family and honor. She knew her destiny now: to bring honor back to the Osborn name. The name that was driven insane, empowered, and then drug through the mud.
"Make me proud." His words rang through her head. She smiled. She knew exactly how to make hi9m proud to be an Osborn.
Osborn Residence, A Few Hours Later
Arriving at the mansion, she saw Maria standing at the doorway waiting to greet her.
"How did it go?" Maria questioned as she entered the mansion.
"Okay I guess. He's fine but he still gives me the creeps." Maria nods her head in understanding.
Emily heads into the kitchen to see Pierre putting a turkey in the oven that would be their dinner. He turned around to see Emily looking at him.
"Ahh Miss Emily. Back so soon? Roasted turkey and fresh vegetables for dinner."
Emily paid no attention to what he was saying. "Oh…and tell Pierre I said: Jack-O-Lantern." Those were the last words he said before he was dragged away.
"Jack-O-Lantern." Emily said finally staring directly at him. Pierre's eyes grew wide and he dropped a glass bowl that shattered as it hit the ground. He let out a deep breath.
It's About time. I didn't know how much longer I could keep up this whole act." Now it was Emily's turn to grow wide eyed in surprise. Pierre dropped his French accent and spoke in a very clear New York accent.
"My name is not Pierre De Laufante. My real name is Donald Menken. I have worked for your grandfather for many years. I was assigned to look after you while he was away in prison."
"What? Why?" Emily was completely caught off guard by his revelation.
"I was supposed to keep an eye on you and your father. Mr. Osborn doesn't trust your father and so I was told to wait until he felt you were truly ready to become an Osborn. Now is the time for you to live up to the Osborn name."
Emily was completely shell shocked. It was a lot to digest. So many questions were running through her head. But only one was she most worried about.
"What is it I have to do exactly?" Emily sighed and looked over at him. He just stared at her with a wicked grin across his face.