Hotshot's gang has gone on the offensive and now is the time when Jasper Park needs heroes. Of course, Jasper Park is also the new home to a genuine part-time super-hero - Philip Urich, better known to some as the Green Goblin! But with Phil still dedicated to hanging up his green-and-purple threads forever, will he rise to the occasion? How will he respond when he is called upon to become "More than an Omega"?

I don't have a nightmare this time, but's that's probably because I get woken up about an hour after falling asleep. There's a big commotion outside. As I start to wake up, I debate whether I should actually go see or just go back to sleep.

I'm inclined to go back to sleep until I hear Sweets and Candy run past my cave.

"What do you think happened?" Sweets says.

"I don't know," Candy responds, "but I think it has something to do with Kate!"

Kate? Oh no, something might have happened! Hotshot's thugs might have attacked!

I jump up and hurry outside, running up the hill with the wolves. Of course, I'm not as fast as any of them, but I manage. When I'm up there, I see that all the wolves of both packs have gathered around Tony. Where's Winston and Eve? Unless… oh no!

I work my way through the crowd and stand just behind Lilly and Humphrey as Tony begins to talk.

He says, "Wolves of the united pack, I have very grave news to report to you all today. It seems that last night, Winston and Eve, their daughter Kate, and my son Garth went to investigate reports that Hotshot and his rogues were causing trouble along our borders. Ace was with them at the time."

Ace, who has been cut in several places and whose fur is quite disheveled, waves at the audience.

"It seems that they were attacked by Hotshot and his wolves and taken captive. Ace alone was sent back with a list of demands."

"A list of demands?" someone calls from the crowd, "Like what?"

"It was quite a long list," Tony says, "but, to sum it up quickly, they want control of the valley. Hotshot expects to have a position as Head Alpha and he wants his goons to be able to do whatever they want."

"We can't give them that!" somebody else yells.

"Of course we can't," Tony says, "and we won't, no matter the consequences. We will continue to defend our home."

"But we need to do something to rescue Kate and Winston and Eve!" Humphrey says.

"And we will, as soon as we can ascertain whether Hotshot is really keeping them alive and what would be the best course to pursue in their rescue."

"So we're just supposed to do nothing until you figure that out? They could be dead by that time!" Humphrey's angry, but I can see that he's on the verge of tears.

"Don't forget that my son is one of the captives too!" Tony yells back. "But if he were here, his answer would be the same. We must look first to the good of the pack! And we will do that! Alphas and Betas, go immediately on high-alert. Omegas, stay away from the border areas. Dismissed!"

The wolves begin to file away, including Humphrey, who does start to sob as he passes me. Lilly just sits there with her head down, those bangs falling over her eye again. Tony walks up and sits beside her.

"Young lady," he says, "I want you to know that while I've never felt you were an adequate mate for my son, as far as I'm concerned, you are already my daughter-in-law. Even if we never get Garth or your parents back, I intend to support you in any way I can. If you feel that it is too much to remain here by yourself, you can come and stay at my den in eastern pack territory. If you feel that you need anything else, you should not hesitate to ask. Do you understand?"

Lilly nods slowly, but without looking up. Tony suddenly turns his eyes from her to me, and I don't like the look he's giving me. I might actually prefer the way Eve usually looks at me. Yeah, the one where she looks like she's mentally dissecting me. Somehow, that seems less frightening than Tony's glare right now…

"As for you," he says, "I've never thought it was a good idea to allow a human to remain here as long as you did. Unlike Winston, I do not believe that there was any particular advantage in keeping you here until we learned the source of your special ability."

Special ability? He can't know about… Oh, he means the talking to wolves thing. Got it.

"I do not see what danger you could possibly do in the outside world knowing about us. I do not see you as a man of power and influence, nor do I think any human would believe what you have to say. Even so, our pack can defend itself from anything… except for a human within our own home. As far as I am concerned, the only danger you possess is that which comes from allowing you so close to our homes and families. And I am not about to put the pack in any more danger than is strictly necessary."

"Wait, you're not, like, giving me the boot, are you?"

Tony continues to bore into me with his cold eyes. "I expect you gone by tonight. If you are still here, I will have Hutch and Can-do escort you from the valley. Should you dare return, you shall be killed on sight."

Foul! That's just foul! But I'm in no position to argue!

"Do you understand?"

I nod anxiously. "Uh… uh-huh!"

"Good." Without another word, he gets up and walks away.

I'm barely done shivering when I hear Lilly begin to sob. As much as I'd like to think that it's because of my recent banishment, I know that in reality she's terrified for her parents and Garth. I sit down and put my arm around her.

She cries on my shoulder as I pat her back. She says, "I knew something was wrong when I got back to my den and Garth wasn't there. But I figured mom and dad were keeping him out late with his punishment! I should have known better!"

"Don't worry, Lilly," I say, "it'll be alright. Garth and your folks are tough; they'll survive. Everything's going to be okay."

Now if only I could see how! I know from being the Goblin that things tend to work out, even in strange ways, but for the life of me I can't figure out how this one's going to end well.

So here I am, and I really should be packing if I'm going to meet Tony's ultimatum. But I don't. No, I just lie here on top of my new glider. When I built the thing, I figured it might come in handy in case I ever ran into another situation where speed is a matter of life and death (like when I had to save Kate and Lilly) or if I ever needed to bang a quick getaway. Now it looks like it's going to be the latter of the two options.

But, the thing is, I can't seem to get the thing to work right. I followed all the instructions – not that there were many (It's not something from Mattel!) – in the box and what I can remember from the blueprints I saw that one time in Harry's warehouse. Admittedly, not the best do-it-yourself combination, but it's all that I got. I just finished tinkering with the thing, adding a few improvements here and there. Like, I got the idea for this killer screeching noise for my glider and I've finally managed to program it in – I think. Unfortunately, I'll never know because I can't get the thing to turn on!

Yes, I did put in an on-switch. I'm not a complete dork.

Okay, maybe I am a complete dork, but that on-switch should still work.

I know I should pack so I get up… and pull my Goblin mask out from behind the jagged rock. Hey, I just remembered what I wanted these tools for. It's kinda a moot point by now, but I suppose I should take the trouble to try to get the mask working again. I sit back down on the glider and start jabbing at the mask's circuits with the screwdriver. Hey, I never claimed to be a tech wiz! I could never precisely make out Harry's blueprints for the mask, anyway.

It took me the better part of the morning to calm Lilly down. Even when she seemed stable, I didn't want to leave her alone and I probably would have sat there all day with her, Tony's ultimatum or no. But Humphrey came and asked to talk with her in private, seeing as how they had both lost their mates today. And I may have become Lilly's closest confidant during these last few weeks, but this is one thing where I know Humphrey can relate to her better. She promised to help me pack later.

I'll never forget the way she said, "If only we could do something, anything, but we're only Omegas!" That broke my heart. And it does it again each time I remember. But, she's right. None of us are cut out to rescue Kate and Garth and Winston and Eve.

"What about you?" I hear my old friend's voice. By now, I've pretty much decided, whatever he is, to just ignore him.

But me, help? How wacked of an idea is that? Sure, I may have my Goblin gear and a glider, but I keep reviewing my track record in my head:

1. Dress up as the Goblin to scare Razor – I may have saved Kate from Razor, though I doubt she needed much saving, but I then nearly killed her with my Lunatic Laugh. Lilly later twisted her leg because I blew up part of the pathway with a pumpkin bomb – Fail.

2. I saved Lilly from Turk using my Lunatic Laugh and then built a glider from old car parts. Kinda cool, but it still gave Lilly a nightmare. Who knows what it would have done if she was awake. I don't want to think about that – Fail.

3. I punched Garth through a wall after having pushed Lilly to the ground, probably causing a world of bruises on both – Fail.

4. I scared off Hotshot and his goons with my Lunatic Laugh. Yeah, we saw how much good that did – Fail.

5. I've done stuff here and there when my powers have come back in, but there's no way to know whether my powers will work or not at any given time. Besides, it's not like any of those incidents were particularly spectacular – Fail.

Conclusion? I am a human Omega, not cut out to play with the big boys. No, the Green Goblin's gonna sit this one out, folks. Thanks for coming and so long. Besides, I can't even get the mask to work again. I throw it down and begin to do my actual packing.

And then I hear footsteps outside of my cave.

"I'm going, I'm going," I say. "You can tell Tony that I'll be out by nightfall."

"Philip?' It's Lilly. Miscalled that one!

"Can I talk to you?" she says. Her voice is small and weak.

"Uh, sure," I say. And I turn to her.

As she walks in, I get off my glider – yes, I already had the blanket over it – and go to meet her. I sit down in front of her. She looks me in the eyes.

"Can you keep a secret?" she says.

"Sure, I guess." That depends, whose secret identity are we talking about? Mine, yeah, but if I knew Spider-Man's I might just be tempted to give the information to Uncle Ben for the next big Bugle scoop.

I'm just joking. I think Uncle Ben already knows Spider-Man's identity.

But I digress. So, Lilly says, "Humphrey wants me to go with him to rescue Garth and my family."

"What? Is he out of his ever-lovin' mind or something?"

From the way she looks down toward her paws, I can tell that isn't the answer Lilly expected from me.

"I've said yes," she says in a whisper.

"But… but you don't even know where it is? You can't find the warehouse!"

Lilly's head jumps up. "What warehouse?"

"Their headquarters," I say. "At least, I think it was their headquarters. I saw them running toward it when I got lost in the woods after punching Garth. I told your mom all about it."

Lilly's jaw has now dropped. "Maybe… maybe you should also tell Tony. Maybe that would get him to send some Alphas in."

"Not after I tell him that Hotshot's got reinforcements. Your mother knew that too. And that's another reason you shouldn't go. Two Omegas are not going to be much of a match for a whole gang of thugs."

"That's why Ace is going with us. He feels like he's to blame for them getting captured so he's agreed to help us."
"I see. And who else is making up this rag-tag band?"

"Just the three of us. Humphrey tried to get Salty, Shaky, and Mooch to come but they were too scared. So they're just giving us moral support."

Sounds like my way of handling most super-hero team-ups! At least, I did always show up and throw a few razor-bats around.

I say, "Okay, well, what about getting Hutch or Can-do or somebody else?"
She shakes her head slowly. "No, all the Omegas are too scared and we're afraid to tell the Alphas and Betas because they might tell Tony. And he would definitely not let us go. I see your point, I don't think he'd do anything even if he knew Hotshot's headquarters."

At least I've convinced her of something.

Then she floors me. No, not literally. I mean, what she says next floors me. "That's why you should come. We were going to invite you anyway and if you already know the location and how many wolves there are–"

"Hold on! All I know is that Hotshot's bringing in some friends. I don't know if that's three friends or three hundred. Second point, if Ace is going with you shouldn't he already know the way."

"He says he didn't go the full way before Hotshot sent him back. But he thinks he can pick up on their scent. He also didn't want us to invite anybody else, saying it would be easier to sneak up on them, but we decided to go around to you and the other three anyway."

"Okay, point number three. Explain to me how I'm supposed to go with you, come back, and be ready to leave before nightfall? The sun's already getting to set. I mean, you heard Tony. I'll be killed if I return to the valley after sunset."

Lilly's visible eye is almost pleading with me now. "But, if we rescue my dad and mom, they'll allow you to stay and there will be nothing Tony can do about it."

She's got a point there… but who am I kidding? This is too much for me and, more importantly, too much for her.

"Come on, Lilly, we'd have no chance. Not without more Alphas. And if I went, I'd only end up messing things up. As you may have noticed, it's my special aptitude in whatever situation I am in to ensure that whatever I'm doing, it ends up as terrible for me as it possibly can."

"But, I'm going, and I have the same problem," she says quietly.

"Oh right. Because you're going to kill them all with your turtle impersonations. How will they ever be able to withstand that?"

I know it's a mistake as soon as I say it. Largely because of the sharp, stinging pain across my cheek. I should have seen it coming from the look of absolute rage in Lilly's eye (first time I've ever seen that look), but I don't have my Goblin reflexes or else I could have dodged her paw before she scratched me. As it is, I'm sent careening back. But I manage to recover before falling down completely. Like, that would have been sooooo embarrassing!

Lilly's jaw drops in horror. "Phil, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do it!"

"It's okay, I say. What's a little blood between friends. I'm sorry, too, I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it. I wasn't thinking about how hard it's been for you with your whole family gone."

Hope appears again in Lilly's right eye, hope like I've never seen in her before. "So… you'll come?"

And now I feel like a real jerk. "No, Lilly, I can't. And I still don't think you should, either. I think this is definitely something we should leave to Tony and the Alphas."

I hate seeing that hope die in her. "But… but we have to do something!"

"But you said it yourself, we Omegas aren't meant for that stuff. We're meant to be funny and peaceful and not get into fights. That's how we roll. There's a reason why Canada's premier super hero team is Alpha Flight, not Omega Flight!"

Lilly gives me an adorable little snarl. At least, it would be adorable if she weren't, you know, mad again. "But you were the one who was saying that you wanted to be something more than an Omega. And I don't know about any other time in my life, but right now I want to be something more!"

"I want to be," I say, "but I'm not."

"You thought you could be."

"And I was wrong! You were right, I was wrong! We should leave all the problems to the world's jocks and Alphas! You and me weren't born to be heroes, Lilly."

"Heroes are made, Philip, not born!" Lilly takes a step back, amazed at the profundity of her own statement.

"Not from me, they're not," I say as I get up. "It's not inside of me!"

As I walk through my cave, I add, "I'm not special."

Tears fill Lilly's eye. I also notice a few drops falling through of her bangs. "Is there no way to get you to come?"

I shake my head and don't bother to look back. I know I won't like what I find.

"Then at least promise not to tell Tony."

Now I turn back and offer a smile. "Hey, I don't think Tony would want to hear anything from me! He wouldn't believe me if I tried to tell him!" But Lilly's expression doesn't change. "Okay, okay, I promise."

Lilly turns around and begins to slowly walk away. I turn back toward my cave. Just as she's about to disappear from my field of vision, she turns her head over her shoulder. "Then I guess this is the last time I'm ever going to see you. If I make it back, you'll be long gone and if I don't, well... So, goodbye, Philip. Goodbye forever. Try to have a good life back in the human world. Tell your Uncle Ben and Meredith hello from me. Even if I never met them, I feel like they're part of my family, the way you talk about them. I hope if you ever have to make the choice for them that I'm making for Garth and my family, then you'll understand."

"Wait," I say. And I walk over. I put my hand through her fur and push the bangs back from her left eye. "If this is the last time I ever see you, this is how I want to remember you. And anyway, thank you, Lilly, for being my friend." I feel like if I look at her eyes for much longer, I'll agree to something reallllyyy boneheaded. So I look away and walk back into the cave.

She's silent for a few moments, lost in thought I suppose, but then she adds, "I always knew you were special, Philip. I just hope that someday, you'll see it for yourself."

And then I'm alone. Alone as always.

Is this where the story of Jasper Park's most famous wolves comes to a tragic end? Does this latest and greatest of our emerald idol's adventures end in defeat and resignation? The fate of Jasper Park hangs in the balance but it looks like its bizarre protector won't do a thing to help! Is it true that Philip Urich really was never meant to be a hero? Philip will finally have his answer, but to get it, he will have to learn what it truly means to be a heroic Green Goblin during "The Green Night of the Soul"!