Chapter 10
Reckoning (3 of 3)
Peter charged into the night as he went to finish his battle with the Goblin. As he ran he noticed his mask didn't remake itself. He pushed the thought away along with his agonizing pain. He got about seven feet from the Goblin before the fiend jumped back on his glider and tried to get away. He started to glide towards the city. Peter sent his web and hit the glider, launching Peter towards the Goblin.
The Goblin looked back and saw Peter on his web flying towards him. He knew it was a matter of time before he climbed his web enough to reach him. He pushed the glider to fly faster and they reached the city skyline, where they both knew the battle would end.
When Peter realized where they were he smiled. He'd lived in New York all his life. He knew these towers like the back of his hand. If he was going to catch the Goblin, it would be here. He flew off his web and landed on a skyscraper. The Goblin flew overhead and Peter made his assault. He jumped up and grabbed the bottom of the glider. Then with his other hand he plunged his hand through the machine, disabling it. The Goblin looked down and saw that his glider was completely disabled. The glider started to fall and the Goblin jumped off onto a skyscraper's roof. Peter jumped after him and the final confrontation began.
Peter stood with nearly no strength left. It wasn't just that this was the best place to stop the Goblin, it was the last place. Peter was so exhausted that he could barely stand. He knew that he had to beat the Goblin. He had to do it to avenge Ben, to protect Gwen George and his identity. He then looked down on New York. He realized he also had to do it for them. This city held all the people that he held dear to him. He knew now he had to defeat the Goblin. He then charged the Goblin.
The Goblin put his hand in his bag and realized he had no bombs left. This was going to end in an old fashion fist fight. Peter had started to charge him so he got in a defensive position. Peter got to him and he threw the first punch…
Peter reached the Goblin and the menace threw a smashing punch at his face. He dodged and sent a nasty uppercut in the Goblin's gut, sending him backwards. He then ran at the Goblin and kicked him all the way across the building. He saw the Goblin push himself back up and he started to return the punishment.
The Goblin flew at Peter with such speed his spider-sense almost was too slow. He tried to move but was still caught by the Goblin's fist. He was pushed back and got another punch in the stomach. He kneeled over and got caught by a round-house kick knocking him backwards. Peter started falling back but did a hand-stand and mule kicked the Goblin in the face. The Goblin fell back and Peter followed up with a powerful punch. The Goblin got hit but threw a punch right after Peter's. Peter took a bigger blow and fell down. He tried to get up but the Goblin grabbed his neck and held him up above the city. Peter tried to squirm but the Goblin's grip was a decisive one. His arms fell to his side. He had failed.
"Peter this is it. After our battle, the good lost and evil won. Surprising? I think not. And once I kill you here, I'll kill George and Gwen, and that lovable aunt and uncle of yours…" The last thing the Goblin felt then was a huge push and then he slammed against the opposite wall…
Peter heard these words and with a huge burst of strength, threw the Goblin into the opposite wall. The Goblin tried to get up but Spiderman was too fast. He got there and grabbed the Goblin and threw him off the wall, into the night. He looked down off the wall and looked down, but didn't see the fiend. He got ready to jump off and finish it, but he instead fell down and nearly slept. He tried to pull himself up but instead realized he had no energy left at all. He stood up, and sent a web line, and tried to swing home. He got about two buildings away when he dropped his web line and fell, slamming into a building. He got up again, and swaying like a drunk, tried to send out another line, but the web wouldn't come out. He was completely out of energy. He took a step and fell into an alley. He felt the blood ooze from his head and he looked up just as he spider sense alerted him to something. When he looked up he saw the Goblin land a smashing punch on his jaw. Peter flew back into a wall, smashing it in. When Peter looked up he saw the remains of the Goblin's glider, and the Goblin, laughing while clutching his arm. The Goblin walked down and picked up something from the glider. When Peter focused, he saw it was a green metal trident.
The Goblin laughed and started to speak. "It's as I predicted isn't it Peter? I did everything right. I did the sadistic choice, and then made the hero waste his energy fighting me when I knew he would run out of energy before I would. I then made the hero think he had an advantage by leading him to what he though would be his home court. Silly boy, I lived my entire life here also. And lastly I did the fake loss trick. You had thought that I had lost and tried with minimal success to get home. Well, it all worked and knows your going to die." With this the Goblin started to laugh and added. "This is perfect. The young hero will be the first to die in my path to domination. HA! I considered you an equal! At least until I fought you. There was no way you were ever my equal! HAHAHAHAH"
Peter at this point was sending a small web line that was just big enough to fling him up and get him to safety. As it hit the top The Goblin looked at him and chucked the trident into Peter's are, cutting the thread and impaling his arm. He screamed in agony. As he continued to scream, the Goblin walked toward him and started once again to cackle.
"This is it Peter. Now you die." These words left the Goblin's lips he took out a large blade that was hooked to his arm guard. He then, with a large arcing slash, made a bloody gash through the spider symbol on Peter's chest.
"AHHHHHHH!" screamed Peter in the most pain he had ever been in. He started to squirm and in a random piece of good fortune, kicked an electric wire up and it started to spark. With all the strength he had left, he grabbed the wire with his free hand and plunged it into the Goblin's chest. The Goblin was blown back and hit a wall, clearly unconscious. Peter then pulled the trident out of his shoulder and blood gushed out. He felt like throwing up, and he did. He saw the Goblin not moving, and decided to try and take a step closer. He did and fell down on his knees. He crawled out of the alley and sent a web line. He pushed himself to the street as it started to rain. He looked up as a car stopped in front of him and he plunged into darkness…
Eight hours later, New York General Hospital
Peter slowly opened his eyes and saw Gwen, George and Ben around him. He blinked and looked around.
"What happened? Where's the Goblin?" he said this in a very confused manner, since he had been out eight hours.
Gwen touched his face and spoke softly. "Shhh. Be quiet, you need to rest. You completely exhausted your body. And all the suit's powers."
Peter's eyes opened widely and he looked Uncle Ben. "Gwen! Uncle Ben's right here!" Uncle Ben smiled at him.
"It's all right Peter. I know all about it. I've known since you first fought Octavious. You need to rest bud. If you plan on fighting any more crime you better get all your energy back, and fast." Peter nodded, and he fell back asleep.
Peter swayed in his dreams. He kept having his head buzz, and he dreamed of a monster made of something, couldn't remember… Suddenly Peter snapped awake to see Norman Osborn.
"Peter, you're awake, wonderful. I was hoping I would be able to talk to you." Peter looked around and saw it was dark in the halls outside. Norman started to speak again.
"Peter, there's something's we need to speak about. First, you'll be glad to know that Jameson is no longer your boss. I bought the Daily Bugle." Peter's eyes widened.
"Mr. Osborn what interest would you have in a newspaper? I thought you were a robotics/chemical kind of Guy." said Peter strangely.
"Oh Peter its all part of my "master plan." Have you ever read The Art of War by Maximillion Xanatos? It's really a fantastic read. It talks about the four steps to domination of a people. The first is to gain acclaim. I have done that by becoming a billionaire with quite a few fans." Peter looked at Osborn with a questioning look.
"Mr. Osborn, what is this all about?" said Peter. "This is all pretty weird Mr. Osborn."
Norman smiled at him. "Oh here me out Peter. The next step is to control the people's ideas. That's why I bought the Bugle. The media gives most the ideas to the people, and know I control that too. The third step is to destroy one's enemies. I tried to skip step two and go straight to three. That was a mistake. Now I'm doing things in order. He started to laugh an all too familiar laugh.
Peter bolted up in his bed. "You! You're the Goblin!" then with all the strength he had accumulated, he jumped at the Goblin and went right through him.
"What!" screamed Peter? He looked out the window and saw the Goblin on a revamped glider laughing. Osborn in the room disappeared. Peter then realized that it had been a hologram. The Goblin pulled out a remote and pressed a button. The door and the window both then covered in a metal sheet. Peter ran for the window but he was one step too late…"
To any outsider, the hospital had been emptied over four hours ago for safety. They all then looked at seven P.M. to see the entire hospital burst in flame and fall to the ground. It was the worst attack on a building since 2001. The only culprit was a figure flying away right after it exploded. The families had breathed a sigh of relief, since all the patients had been evacuated. All except Peter Parker, who had instead been moved to a high room unbeknownst to his visitors. They were all devastated. The funeral of the young boy was planned for March 23rd….
Under the Hospital, two days later
The creature awoke under the rubble. It felt one thing only: hate. It needed to kill, to kill Osborn. That was the name that came to its mind as it climbed through the debris. As it neared the top. It let a roar.
There were no outsiders around the rubble, but if they had been, they had heard an inhuman growl of terrible horror, and seen a powerful black arm with claws push through the rubble…
