I awoke strapped to a seat in a helicopter. I was paralyzed, but even if I wasn't, I wouldn't have been able to move anyway. I couldn't even move my neck, so I was stuck just looking at the shotgun seat in front of me. Out of the windshield, I could see that we were in a dark area. A man dressed all in black gear labeled Ravencroft Security unbuckled my restraints.
"Isabella Marie Swan, you are entering the Ravencroft Institute," the man said. "Follow our instructions and no harm will come to you. You are to visit Harry Osborn. Your conversation will be monitored by Gustavario Fiers. Understood?"
I tried to move but could barely part my lips. "Yes sir."
"Good," he said. "Come along now."
He had to half drag me down the corridors because my legs just barely managed to move. I was escorted through several different areas with passcodes and checkpoints. I was left very impatient when I was thrown into the ground as a cell door closed behind me. I got to my feet. Harry was sitting in a chair, restrained, with only a grimy mirror facing me.
"Hello, sweetheart." A sly grin crept up his face.
"What the hell is going on?" I demanded. "I get knocked out and kidnapped and end up here- you owe me an explanation!"
His face fell, and grew into an angry expression. "You weren't supposed to be taken by force."
"Well, why am I here, Harry? Why now?" I demanded with a sigh.
"Can't a guy miss his girlfriend?" he asked.
"Cut the crap," I said. "We both know you want me here for a deeper reason. So spill it."
"You knew who Spider-Man was," he said. "You knew."
"Do you think I wanted you to die?" I cried in disbelief. "I wanted to help you! God, I tried to convince him, but both of you were being stupid! It's not my fault both of you were allergic to communication!"
"He was my last chance!" he cried back. "You knew he was my last shot-"
"Your dad lived a long time!" I reminded him. "And you have tons of money and technology at your fingertips! You were going to succeed! I wouldn't have let you die on me!"
He was silent, but his eyes said it all. Anger at the mention of his father, the insecurities of what I'd revealed, and the confusion that came with being used.
"You wouldn't?"
"Of course I wouldn't!" I cried. "I love you, God knows why. It's so hard for you to accept that- that someone loves you not for your money, that someone loves you despite your disease, that someone loves you. Peter loved you too."
He didn't know what to say. So I talked again.
"Was that why some guy kidnapped me in the woods?" I asked. "So we could have a lover's spat about the past?"
"No," he said, as if he finally had a thread to grasp at. "I need a final member for my team."
"What team?"
"Six others-we're going to get revenge on Spider-Man," he said.
"I thought you said that you were getting better," I chastised. "I can't. I'm not going to do that-"
"Well, I figured that much out, sweetheart," he muttered.
I then thought back to Fiers. "Fiers. . . The guy who's monitoring us- he's the one who put you up to this, didn't he?"
"Maybe."
A part of my heart melted. "Harry. He's using you. He's just here for your money and Oscorp and then he too will throw you away!"
He stiffened.
"I don't want anyone to throw you away," I said softly. "I don't want you to be used. I just want you to get better."
There was a sadness. "There was one other thing, Bella."
"What?" I demanded, not sure what else my heart could take.
"I wanted you to be here for this."
"What are you-"
The room went jet black, and I heard the restraints on Harry's chair open, releasing him. He stood, stumbled, and found his way to me just as the floor rumbled, and I tripped, almost falling, if it weren't for his hand around my waist.
"Look, you're sweet, Harry, but breaking out of prison is not a good couples' activity!"
"Says you."
"Says most people," I retorted. I supposed I'd have to go along with this. There was a sound, and Harry pulled me back from the door as it got bashed in. The hallway was illuminated with red emergency lighting.
"Come on," the man said. "We don't have much time."
I don't remember all of it, to be honest. We went through corridors and all sorts of places. I got separated at some point and ended up outside the prison facility, where the cops and reporters were.
"Who are you and why are you here?" A reporter asked as I tried to cover my face with my hand- realizing that I was going to be seen, most likely on live television. "What happened?"
A cop then asked the same question, and I realized that I was going to reveal who I was to the whole world.
"My name's Bella Swan, and I'm Harry Osborn's girlfriend."