"Are you sure this is a good idea, Felicia?"

"Not in the least."

"But we're still doing this anyways?"

"Naturally, Peter. Don't tell me you're getting cold feet?"

"Not in the least…"

Peter and Felicia stood on the roof of a building adjacent to Ravencroft Institute as they went over their plan for the fifth time that hour. Felicia called it Operation: Rescue Harry but Peter was fairly certain they should have called it Operation: Suicide. Even though Felicia's plan seemed pretty solid, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was going to go absolutely and horribly wrong.

The idea was that Felicia was going to hack into the security cameras using her own personal devices and then Peter would break inside and bust Harry out. It sounded simple enough to Peter but that was probably because he didn't care about all the technical aspects of their mission—his job was to simply break a few windows, snatch Harry up, and get the hell out before the alarms sounded.

"It's a risky plan," Felicia had told Peter, "since there's a good chance someone might catch a glimpse of you as Spider-Man. I can tap into the electrical system of Ravencroft from my computer so I can shut all the lights off to help hide you from any prying eyes, but just be aware that there's a good chance that your reputation will be ruined forever if someone happens to spot you."

What did that matter anyways? It wasn't as if his reputation was that positive to begin with. The townspeople thought that Spider-man had selfishly abandoned them and that he was nothing but a loser and a fraud, according to various news-reports. So what if someone caught him trying to free an asylum patient?

Even so, there was no way he could lie to himself like that. Truthfully, he didn't want to get caught and have the name of Spider-man tarnished forever. Peter sighed heavily as he regretted agreeing to this stupid plan in the first place but it was far too late for him to back out now. He was already dressed in his Spider-man suit, his sticky web ready to fly, and he refused to allow his fears and doubts take control of him now. It was his fears that had gotten Harry locked up in the first place and until he toughened up and took a few risks, he would never be able to fix things.

He had yet to put his mask over his face as he held it firmly in his hands, staring down at it in thought. It felt strange to be wearing this uniform again after so many months, but it almost felt right. He had abandoned this part of himself, ran away from his destiny, and for the first time in a long time Peter could honestly say he finally felt whole again. He glanced over at Felicia who was sporting around in a tight-fitted costume of her own as she typed away at her computer. Her thick brown hair hung freely past her shoulders as a black eye mask covered only a fraction of her attractive face. Peter had to constantly remind himself to keep his eyes fixed on her face since the black, leather material of her cat suit amplified her voluptuous body. Peter would have never considered himself much of a pervert, but her cleavage was practically spilling out of the top of her zipper; it would have been hard for any guy not to stare. Harry must have felt like a pretty lucky guy to have captured the heart of such a beautiful, intelligent woman.

"By the way, Felicia," Peter said as he broke the silence between them. "How did you and Harry end up romantically involved with each other?"

The brunette never peeled her eyes away from her computer screen as her hands practically danced along the keys. "For starters, you are to call me Black Cat tonight just as I am to call your Spider-man. We can't risk anyone finding out our true identities."

"Black Cat, huh? So…does that mean you're a super hero, too, or something?" He asked casually.

"Hmmm, who knows? I think skills like hacking and breaking into places aren't exactly qualities a super hero would have, don't you think?" she teased while casting him a quick glance over her shoulder.

She was right; those kinds of traits were better suited for villains. Come to think of it, Operation: Rescue Harry sounded more like an evil plan than anything. There they were, breaking into the country's most famous asylum to bust out the Green Goblin. It was ironic that he was dressed and ready to play the role of Spider-man once again only to break the law and commit a heinous crime. George Stacy would have probably had a major fit if he could see Peter now…

Peter rubbed the back of his neck to ease some tension as the wind tousled his short brown locks. This was crazy. Everything was so crazy… But that's what made him all the more determined to go through with it.

"I've almost successfully hacked into their security system," Felicia said as she continued to sit on the floor of the roof with her laptop propped up on her lap. "Once I'm certain that I'm in, I can only estimate that you'll have about ten minutes before someone inside notices that there's something wrong with the cameras. Before that happens, you need to break into Harry's room as quietly as you can and grab him. We'll then meet back up at the abandoned warehouse six blocks down from here. I marked the warehouse's location on the GPS I gave you."

He simply nodded as he looked over at Ravencroft as dark, ominous clouds floated atop of it. Wind was whipping all around them as a low rumble of thunder indicated that a storm wasn't too far off. A thunderstorm really set the mood, Peter humorously thought to himself as he pictured the dark and dreary clouds as an omen of their impending doom. Who knows? If they got caught, maybe they'd get lucky and they'd only be imprisoned for the next seventy-five years. Worst case scenario, they'd be shot down by the police before they even reached Harry.

"All right. I tampered with the security cameras and have them playing footage from last night. I've also disarmed all of the alarms so you should be able to sneak through a window without setting off a siren. Someone will eventually notice that something's not right so go ahead and go now. I'll keep watch over here but if something goes wrong, use your Walkie-Talkie and I'll be your back up. Also, don't forget the utility belt that I assembled for you."

He glanced down at the floor by Felicia's lap, only to see a belt with assorted tools attached to it. There was a flashlight, a two-way radio, and even an electronic GPS with a flat-screen. There was also a small handgun tucked away in a holster on the side of it, but Peter highly doubted he would be making use of that weapon tonight.

"I gave you some basic tools for the mission. If something happens and you and I get separated, you can use the GPS to find my location. Also, be aware that there's a self-destruct button on the back of it. If you get caught, push the button and throw it at someone for a small explosion," the young woman explained as she watched him pick up the belt and nervously strap it to his waist.

"Why would I need an explosion to happen if I'm caught?" He asked shyly.

"Obviously so no one knows you have an accomplice. Secondly, you can use an explosion as a diversion. Only use it in case of an emergency! Those things aren't cheap, you know," she answered, amused by how clueless he really was about things. Peter was clearly used to working solo, but this time he would need all the help he could get.

"I'm starting to guess that maybe you've done this whole breaking and entering thing in the past," Peter chimed in, smirking all the while. Truthfully, he was glad she was on his side. He would have hated to run up against this clever woman as enemies. Women who carried around guns and explosives were not to be taken lightly.

"Enough chatter. Get going, you airhead," Felicia demanded as she never took her eyes off her computer. It was imperative that she stayed behind and monitored the situation. If something were to go wrong, her keen eyes wouldn't miss it.

Peter inhaled deeply as a few droplets of rain began to drip down from the sky above. He slid his mask over his head until his face was completely concealed before he shot out his wrist, a thin string of web flying out from it as he swooped down towards Ravencroft. With both his hands and feet stuck to the brick wall of the building, Spider-man began to slowly crawl upwards towards the seventh floor where Harry slept peacefully in his room. Never in his life had he ever experienced an adrenaline rush quite like this. He was the good guy—it was his job to swing from his web and catch all the robbers and gang members to make sure they were locked up forever so they could never harm anyone ever again. But now the roles had been reversed and Spider-man was now the one doing all the sneaking and creeping, trying his best not to get caught as he practically slithered up the wall until he reached his destination.

The extremely severe patients—the ones who were more troublesome—were often locked in the basement. Luckily, Harry was deemed as an ordinary patient and there weren't even metal bars boarding up the window to his room; however, the window was still tightly locked and there was no way to get in from the outside unless he broke the window. Felicia really should have been clearer with her instructions on "quietly breaking into his room". There was just no quiet way he could go about this.

As one hand remained glued to the wall with his sticky palms, Spider-man reached back his other hand and punched the window roughly. The glass shattered beneath his fist, and if it wasn't for the thick, durable material of his glove, his hand would have been shredded by the sharp glass.

"Spider-man!" shouted a voice from the other side of the Walkie-Talkie strapped to his belt. "What the hell did I just say about doing things quietly?!"

"I didn't have a choice! It's not like you gave me any tools useful for breaking in through a window!" He hissed back at her, trying to keep his voice down as he stuck his hand through the window to unlock it from the inside.

"Actually," Felicia growled through the two-way radio, "I did! There was a small laser located in the gun holster that you could have used to quietly cut through the glass!"

He groaned. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" There was no doubt in his mind now that Felicia had used her skills for evil in the past, but luckily they had yet to have ever crossed paths until recently. Spider-man surely would have met his match with her...

Once he heard the gentle click of the window's lock, he looked up to see a pair of blue eyes looking back at him horrified.

"Spider-man...What the hell?!"

The masked hero watched as Harry's expression morphed from a look of confusion to a look of pure anger as the brunette's brows furrowed and the creases on his forehead rolled forward.

"What do you think you're doing?! Get your ass out of here right now!" Harry snapped as he charged forward, trying to shoo away the intruder in his bedroom who was attempting to lift the window and crawl through.

Peter ignored his former friend's protests as he slid through the window and landed on his feet onto the tiles of Harry's bedroom. "I'm here to make amends," he said softly to the other male. It was a good thing Peter's mask was thick and covered his entire face, unlike the thin strip of fabric that barely concealed any of Felicia's face, or else Harry might have seen the tears that crept along the corners of his eyes.

Flabbergasted, Harry responded to Peter's words with a look of scorn. "Didn't I tell you that I never wanted to see you again?!" He folded his arms over his chest, scowling all the while, as he blinked away the sleepiness in his eyes. Harry was always a heavy sleeper and never liked being disturbed from his slumber in the middle of the night. Peter had learned that little fact about Harry when they had sleepovers together during their younger days. He remembered the time Harry beat him with a pillow because Peter accidentally woke up, but they both ended up laughing and giggling over it once Harry's cranky demeanor wore off. It was nice to see that some things had never changed about Harry, but he highly doubted that tonight's incident would simply end up in a pillow fight.

"True, but let's just say that for right now, I couldn't care less what you said. Things are going to be different now, Harry," Spider-man replied in a gentle tone as he outstretched a hand in Harry's direction. "I'm here to bust you out. Felicia Hardy has disabled the security cameras and alarms. If we hurry, we can leave without anyone noticing."

Harry stood there for a moment as he glanced down skeptically at the hand Peter had offered him before shifting his gaze back down to the floor. "Felicia? What is Felicia doing here? I told her that she was better off forgetting all about me..." Almost instantly, his eyes softened and a look of regret crossed over his face. He should have known that Felicia wouldn't have given up on him so easily.

Spider-man shrugged his shoulders. "Well, apparently she's smitten with you. She's just as stubborn as you are," he commented with a chuckle.

Harry inhaled a sharp breath of air, trapping it in his lungs for a moment before he released it in the form of a heavy, exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry but I can't go with you. You wasted your energy coming all the way out here. Tell Felicia that I'm sorry."

His answer didn't exactly shock Peter in the least. He and Felicia both had already anticipated that Harry would have been against this whole operation which is why Peter had a second plan of action stirring in that brain of his. "What does that mean? You're just going to give up? Without my spider venom, you'll die in here. You'll die alone and miserable. Is that what you really want?"

"Tch, that's a pretty bold statement coming from a hero who ran away for four months. Aren't you the one who's going to die alone and miserable, now that your precious little girlfriend is doomed to be stuck in a coma forever?" Harry said as a tiny yet visible smirk played upon his lips. His words cut through Peter's heart like a sharp knife, and for a single moment, he reconsidered the entire rescue mission.

Harry was still the same harsh and spiteful man that he was when he was the Green Goblin. It was childish of him to think that Harry had turned over a new leaf after being imprisoned for four months and that things would easily go back to normal once Peter busted him out of Ravencroft.

"I still don't see why you'd want to even help me in the first place. After all, who's to say I won't try to kill everyone you love once I'm out of here? Are you really sure you want to release the Green Goblin? I may even try to finish what I've started with Gwen. Maybe I'll pay her a little visit in the hospital while she naps..." Harry continued as he took a threatening step towards Spider-man, a malicious spark of fire glistening in his blue orbs.

Peter stood his ground firmly, unwavering, as he watched Harry draw near until they were only a few inches apart. He carefully selected his words before he reached up to pull off his mask so he and Harry could talk face to face. There was no point in shielding his emotions away from him now.

"I know you won't do that, Harry," Peter said after a long moment, his expression hardening.

"Why?" the opposing male asked, that sneaky grin never faltering.

"Because you're my best friend and I trust you," Peter answered as his chest tightened. It was true-even after all the pain, all the heartache that Harry had caused him, Peter never once thought of Harry as an evil person. They were on two sides of the spectrum: one was a hero who wanted peace while the other was a villain who wanted revenge. Despite all their differences, despite all that happened, Peter still thought of Harry as a friend. Nothing in the world could change that.

"Why?!" Harry asked once more, this time through gritted teeth as his body trembled with anger.

Peter's eyes never once left Harry's face as he reached out to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Harry, we both screwed up. I nearly destroyed your life, and you nearly destroyed mine. Both of us are to blame for what happened and it doesn't mean that you're the only one that has to be a bad guy. What happened to Gwen was very unfortunate but I'm just as much at fault as you are. So if you're a villain, then I might as well be one, too. I turned my back on my city, on my friends and family. I turned my back on you, Harry."

The tears were now spilling from his eyes freely as all of the pent up sorrow finally found its way out of Peter's soul. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he pulled Harry to his chest and wrapped his arms around his shoulders in a tight embrace. Such an unexpected gesture left Harry speechless as he allowed the other male to hold him close, his former anger suddenly disappearing at the quietness of Peter's voice.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. Please...Please just let me help you. Let's start over form the beginning. I want to give you my blood to help your illness, no matter what the cost, and I want to be there for you," Peter whispered into his ear, his tears dripping down onto Harry's black sweater and seeping into the thin fabric.

He didn't know what he should say. Harry had thought he hated Peter for all that he did. He used to fantasize about breaking out of Ravencroft Institute himself only to track down Peter and kill him once and for all. But as soon as he saw Peter's face yesterday when he came to visit him, all of that hatred seemed to vanish. He no longer wished to harm Peter; all that he wanted to do was apologize for hurting Gwen. For hurting him. He wanted to undo his mistakes but he always assumed that Peter would never forgive him for what he did.

And now here they were, both crying into each other's arms as they held each other close while Harry's hand instinctively reached up to grip on tightly to Peter's back. It was almost as if time had completely stopped as nothing but the sounds of their quiet sniffling filled the hospital room.

If it wasn't for Felicia's voice ripping through the silence, who knows how long the two men would have stood there embracing?

"Spider-man! We have a problem! Reinforcements are standing right outside the building! They know some one's broken in!" cried out a very anxious Felicia from the other end of the radio, startling Peter and Harry as they both broke their embrace to pull apart awkwardly.

Peter quickly grasped the device in his hands, fear suddenly shooting through him. "What are you talking about?! I thought you had everything under control!"

"I did, but didn't I tell you that it would only be a matter of time until someone noticed something was wrong with the system?! There are a few police cars right outside this very moment and they're heading inside!" Felicia exclaimed with a bit of shakiness in her voice.

"What?! Shit! We gotta' get out of here right now then!" Peter grumbled as he turned his gaze back to Harry. His eyes indirectly asked the question that was weighing heavily on his mind. Would Harry be willing to come with him? Or would Peter have to resort to his Plan B?

Harry's only response was a nervous glance to the floor as he struggled to decide.

There wasn't any time. If Harry didn't agree, then Peter would have no choice but to knock him out and drag him out the window with him. It would undoubtedly piss him off when he finally awoke, but Peter wasn't against using violence in desperate situations like these. He and Harry could argue later but Peter wasn't going to leave this place without him.

Peter bit his lower lip before he slipped the mask back over his face. "Make up your mind, Harry. We don't have all day!"

Harry closed his blue eyes, breathed slowly through his nostrils, and then nodded firmly. "Fine. I'll go with you."

The tightness in his chest immediately lifted as he smiled through his mask, something that obviously went unnoticed by Harry. "Good," he said, walking towards the window. "For a moment, I was worried I was going to have to sucker punch you and carry you back to Felicia by your feet."

Harry grimaced. "You wouldn't dare..."

Chuckling under his breath, Peter opened the window back up, only to freeze when he saw a few police cars parked around back with their red and blue lights flashing dangerously. "Shit, looks like we got company," Spider-man sighed as he quickly backed away from the window. "We can't go back out through the window or else they'll see us!"

The crackling of the Walkie-Talkie's static reverberated through the room once more, and Peter swiftly picked up and answered it. "What's the new plan, Felicia?" he asked.

"Please, call me Black Cat," the lady replied. Peter just rolled his eyes at her remark. "Whatever! We need a new game plan! I can't crawl back out through the window. They might try to shoot us down or something!"

"You've got bigger things to worry than just that! One by one, the security guards are turning on each of the cameras. If you and Harry don't get out of there soon, the whole world will know that Spider-Man broke into Ravencroft Institute! You'll be imprisoned for sure!" Felicia shouted into the device, stinging Peter's ear drums with her shrill voice.

"You're going to have to take the staff elevator and go down to the basement. From there, you'll need to head down to the sewers and make your escape through there. There's a tracking device implanted onto your utility belt so I'll be able to guide you through the sewers. Just be quick! The guards are already on the first floor!" Felicia continued. From where she stood at a safe distance on the roof of the nearby building, she could see exactly where Peter and Harry stood with the electronic GPS that she had placed on his belt. If only those two boys had been a little quicker with their dramatic, tearful reunion, they could have been in and out in no time! Well, what was done was done and now she needed to solely focus on the task of guiding them out of Ravencroft in one piece.

Peter glanced from the radio in his hands over to Harry before holding out his hand to him once more. "Let's get out of here, Harry, together."

Harry nodded, accepting the hand that was offered to him and holding onto it tightly. He never thought he'd ever see the day where the two of them would be working together again, but now that it was here, Harry finally felt a glimmer of happiness. It was a feeling he had been certain he would have never experienced again.

"Together," Harry said with a genuine smile. In seconds, the two of them were out the door and racing down the hallway towards the elevator.