Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material shown herein. It is all the rightful property of their respective creators and associated companies. I make no profit off of this whatsoever. I write for my own amusement and the enjoyment of those readers who like my work.
Entering Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Two Days Later, Evening, Xander's P.O.V
Well that was a waste of time! Magic may be handy but it looks like it isn't the cure all I hoped it'd be. Xander thought as he flew through the air as though it was second nature, Without something that's been recently in the possession of the Professor Doc Strange can't cast a locator spell. Even though the Sorcerer Supreme has met Xavier before it looks like that's not enough to get a lock on him.
The others were looking into things on their own but with such a big world to look over and limited tech available to do the looking with. According to Kitty they were expecting Excalibur's Cerebro unit within the next week or so and once they had that it should be a piece of cake to lock onto the bald guy's x-gene regardless of whether or not the powers were active or not. Until then everyone at the mansion was splitting their time between either calling their sources or tending to their own personal matters. He'd come to the Big Apple in the hopes that the Sorcerer Supreme might be able to use some spell, locator or otherwise, to speed things up. However that had been a bust but rather than head back to the X-Mansion he figured he'd check in on Pete, MJ and little May since it'd been awhile since they'd last seen one another. After all he was honorary uncle to the little lady he'd rescued from Osborn's bitch and that meant visits were pretty much necessary if he didn't want to become one of those relatives that only existed in name. He'd even made a stop by a toy store to grab a stuffed animal as an early Birthday present since he wasn't sure if he'd be around on Halloween given how things had a habit of popping up with him. It was tucked in his right arm and while it stood out a bit against his black armor he doubted it be a problem since no one knew who was beneath the armor.
Seeing the house of the Parker family coming up on the horizon he looked about for a suitable touchdown point where he could change out of his armor without anyone seeing. Spotting a relatively out of the way clump of trees that didn't have a house around it with windows facing the right way he came down and gracefully landed on the sidewalk. One flash of light later and it was just plain old Xander Harris who was walking down the street with shades on and a stuffed animal in hand. When he was three houses away from his destination he hoped that the married couple weren't busy or in the middle of something important. He hadn't exactly warned them he was coming and it'd be awefully awkward to just drop in on them uninvited if they were having a romantic evening to themselves or if they had guests. With that in mind he decided that he'd use his enhanced senses to take a look see inside the house and if it sounded like his presence would be a problem he'd drop the toy off and walk away.
He was at the top of the walkway leading to the front porch when he stretched out with this enhanced senses of hearing, smell and sight to get a better idea of what he was walking into. His ears could pick up Peter and MJ's voices as well as the baby noises of little May but no one else that he could pick up. Taking a whiff of the air he couldn't smell all that many scents that were going towards the front door of the house so it didn't look like anyone had entered or left the place in a fairly long amount of time. Lowering his shades a bit he looked through the windows of the home in front of him and thanks to his golden orbs he was able to see with uncanny clarity and detail. No sign of anyone moving about so this pretty much confirmed the conclusion of his other senses that only the married couple and their firstborn were present inside.
Looks like I chose just the right time to pay a visit. He thought as he strolled forward towards the front door.
Knocking on the door he didn't have to wait long before the sound of footsteps approached and when the door opened he was pleased to see Pete standing there looking like only a happy father could. It was nice to see such happiness on his face even with all the troubles being Spider-man must dump on him week in and week out. He knew that Spider-man wasn't the most beloved superhero of NYC and that few people outside of the spandex crowd knew him for who he really was. As a result the press and some of the more mornic members of the public often slammed the webhead or gave him grief even though he might have just saved their lives. It bothered him but since the web slinger didn't let it get to him he himself wouldn't pay it any mind either. It wasn't for the praise that the two of them fought the good fight but rather because it was the right thing to do and neither of them could live with themselves if they failed to act when someone needed some help.
So let the public and the media think what they would.
So long as the people that mattered knew the truth and the world kept spinning that was good enough for him.
"Xander! What brings you to my humble doorstep?" Pete asked extending his right hand for a handshake.
"Well I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by to see how you were doing." He replied taking the offered hand and giving it a firm shake, "Plus I have a little something for the little lady of the house."
Pulling out the stuffed animal he could see the smile on the heroes face get even brighter as he no doubt imagined how much his little girl would like it.
"She'll love it! C'mon in. I know MJ would like to see you again and it's been awhile since little May saw her 'uncle'." Peter said inviting him inside by stepping aside.
Taking the invitation but also making a mental note to reprimand Parker for inviting someone in after dark because while Spider-man might be able to handle a vamp the same couldn't be said about the rest of the house residents. Looking about the house he didn't see too many differences from his last visit aside from a couple of things common to the care of baby like a crib and an empty baby bottle. From the looks of things having a kid to take care of didn't make things too different for the Parker family but he was fairly certain that it was only recently that the duo got the hang of being parents. After all he'd heard enough stories from Jesse and Willow's parents to know that sleepless nights and parental stress were the primary problems first time parents often faced.
"So you still doing freelance work for the Bugle?" he asked as they moved to the main living room of the house.
"For now but MJ is considering getting back into the modeling business. While snapping pics for Jameson might be enough for the basics raising a kid takes quite a bit more." Pete said as they finally arrived at their destination, "Lucky for us though the designers and photographers haven't forgotten the magnificent Mary Jane Watson-Parker."
"How could they with a face like this?" came MJ's question as she heard the tail end of her husband's statement, "Good to see you again Xander."
"Likewise Red. I gotta say that nobody could forget you no matter how hard they tried." He said praising the woman's innate beauty that hadn't suffered at all after the trials of childbirth.
"Thanks and it looks like someone else hasn't forgotten you either." MJ said with a smile as she moved over to an open area of the living room where little May was trying to crawl over to him.
She didn't look a whole lot different from when he'd seen her last but definitely looked happy and well cared for if he was any judge. Getting down on his knees he waited for her and when she was no more than a few steps away he brought forward the toy he'd bought for her. He could see precisely when the child saw the toy and seconds later little May Parker was grasping the stuffed animal lifting it up and down while making baby noises of joy. It was a sight that warmed his heart and made him all the happier that he'd been around to keep this precious little one out of the clutches of Norman Osborn. He shuddered to think about what might have happened if this little one had been subjected to the evil of the man that by all accounts was once the villain known as the Green Goblin.
He would never let that happen.
He'd kill that son of a bitch Osborn before he let that happen!
BOOM!
The house shook at a lightshow popped up outside causing everyone in the room to stop what they were doing completely. While the shaking stopped there was still something lighting up the street outside the Parker home and that did not bode well considering the different things it could be. As one he and Pete went to see what it was while MJ hopefully picked up little May to get the child to someplace safe. Once he got to the window he looked out and saw a man who seemed to be made of molton lava walking stiffly towards two people who were just now managing to get to their feet. Running for the door he summoned his armor and once he was on the porch he leapt over the recovering duo to tackle the hostile looking superhuman to the ground.
A mistake he only painfully found out about after the fact.
It turned out that the man he'd attacked was indeed made of molten material and even with his armor it was rather painful to come into direct contact with such a hot person. He was pretty sure that armor wasn't damaged but it was heated up quite a bit causing him pain and forcing him to let go and roll away. His armor cooled down quick enough and his body's healing factor quickly sent the pain away allowing him to get back to his feet without difficulty. At least he'd managed to get the molten man away from the two people it had been pursuing and hopefully that would give the innocents time to flee.
"Susan! How bad…" came the voice of a man that could only have belonged to one of the victims.
"Bad…enough…" replied Susan who sounded like she'd taken some damage he hadn't been aware of, "Parker…get Parker…"
"I can't get past the Molten Man carrying you…and I can't just leave you." The man said refusing to just let his companion be unprotected.
"…Robertson…" gasped the Molten Man who seemed to be struggling to form the words.
"You can speak?! When you attacked us at the docks, I got the impression you'd lost that particular talent." Roberson said sounding surprised at what had just happened.
"Head…hurting." Molten Man ground out as his limbs trembled, "Someone…put…something…put something…in my head…"
"Robbie?" came Peter's voice as the husband of MJ finally made an appearance.
It was something of a surprise since he'd figured that Pete would've switched into Spider-man to help him about but given the proximity of the fight to the Parker home it probably would have been too suspicious to have the webhead show up just like that. With him around though it was possible that he could bluff his way through things by saying that he'd teleported, by chance of course, to the front door of the Parker home to intercept the evil Molten Man. Since so little was known about his superhero personae then Robertson and the woman wouldn't be able to refute his claim.
"Pete! We came here to see you! Susan has something to tell—" Robertson tried to say before the Molten Man spoke again with pain in his voice.
"HER! It's HER! She's the one inside my head! She's the one hurting me!" Molten man declared pointing an accusatory finger at the woman.
"Susan…what in blazes is he talking abou?" Robertson asked the woman who looked like she'd drop to her knees any minute.
"I…don't know…I don't know…" Susan replied getting weaker by the moment, "Unless this locket…Osborn gave it to me so long ago I'd almost forgotten."
"Osborn?" both Pete and Robertson exclaimed in surprise as they looked at the simple looking trinket dangling from her hand.
Taking it from her Robertson held the piece of jewelry away from the rest of them and just like a magnet the eyes of Molten Man were drawn to it as though it was the most important thing in the world.
"Oh, for god's sake!! No wonder we've been barely eluding Osborn's people every step of the way!" Robertson exclaimed as the truth was exposed for all to see, "You've been carrying a tracking device! And that poor devil has no choice but to follow it."
With those words Robbie Robertson threw the locket as far away as he could and just as predicted Molten Man went after it crushing it with his fists once he was within reach of it. After that he just shut down as though all his strength had left him but whether it was truly over he didn't know so just to be on the safe side he'd keep his guard up.
"Robertson…" Susan said as her legs finally gave out on her, "…time's up…all…the…time…is…up…"
"Susan! You must tell Peter what you have to say!" Robertson exclaimed urgingly as he held the dying woman in his arms, "Peter! Come here quickly!!"
"What is it you wanted to tell me Miss?" Peter asked as he knelt down next to the woman.
"Come…come closer…not…much time left…" Susan said reaching out to Peter Parker.
Pete did as she asked and it was only because of his enhanced senses that he was able to pick out what was said next.
"Your…your Aunt May…she's still alive…" Susan said as the light began to fade from her eyes, "Switched by Osborn…go to his hunting lodge…save her…"
With those words Peter reared back in shock as the woman went completely limp and completely dead in the arms of Robertson signaling the end of her time among the living. It was sad and made him wonder if there had been anything that could have been done for the woman but in the end he was forced to answer 'no'. Teleportation was beyond him and given how swiftly she perished it was likely that whatever damage had been done by Molten Man's initial appearance was beyond the scope of modern medicine to heal.
"Aunt May…is alive…?" Pete asked in shock as his mind is tried to comprehend what he'd been told.
"Maybe Peter. Susan certainly believed it enough to put her life on the line to pass this information onto you." Robbie stated slowly and gently putting Susan down on the ground.
"I doubt anyone who'd be willing to risk their life on something like this would lie like that." He said approaching the group for the first time, "Mr. Parker you stay here and care for your family. I will look up some back up and then go to Osborn's hunting lodge to rescue your aunt. Maybe I'll see if Spider-Man is in the area. If what Urich's book said is true then Osborn is really the Green Goblin and so it'd only be fitting that the webhead be in on this. That okay with you?"
"Yeah…yeah! Please save my Aunt May!" Peter replied looking at him in a way that made it clear that the photographer had heard the hidden message.
"Count on it!" he said before letting his wings emerge from his back and taking to the air.
Just Outside the Osborn Hunting Lodge, An Hour and a Half Later, Spider-Man's P.O.V
Where is Xander? Pete asked as he let go of his webline and landed on a tree branch just across the street from Osborn's property, He should have gotten here ahead me.
"About time you got here." Came Xander's voice from a dense collection of trees behind him, "I've been waiting here for almost an hour."
"GAAHHH!! Don't do that!!" he exclaimed as his friend's arrival surprised the hell out of him, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry but it's kinda hard not to sneak up on people when you're dressed like this." Xander said before coming to a stop just to the right of the branch he was standing on, "So shall we add B&E as well as trespassing to our resumes?"
"Why not? I already have public annoyance and littering on mine so this'll be a nice way of topping it off." He replied before shotting off a webline that would help him clear the wall around Norman's territory, "Tally ho!"
Prosecute this, Norman! I can't believe it's true! He thought as he made it over the wall, She's alive!! After all this time!! She's been alive and I didn't know!!
Swinging along and using the branches to adhere his webline's to he kept going over what he'd been told wondering if it was true or not. Was Aunt May still alive? Had she somehow been switched out by Osborn without his knowing about it? The truth of the matter was that he wouldn't put anything past that monster and it would be just like that psycho to take the woman who'd raised him and put a fake in her place. The man was obsessed with making him suffer and no matter how hard he seemed to fight he never seemed to be able to put Norman down for good. Either some legal technicality managed to provide an escape route for Gobby or crazy Green one used moves from the Evil Overlord's handbook to keep him occupied before making his getaway. When that horrible day arrived when Gwen was murdered there'd been only one good thing to come from it in the form of the apparent death of the Green Goblin aka Norman Osborn.
He should've known better.
Evil like Osborn's never dies for real.
Not really.
It was as he was thinking though that something seriously weird happened when one of his weblines missed the branch he'd been aiming for. Fortunately though he'd had this happen once or twice before and was able to shoot off another without too much trouble. However when this one missed as well he knew something hinky was going on and it only took him another try with his webshooters to figure out what that something was. Somehow the tree branches were moving in order to make sure that his weblines missed their mark and then he got introduced to another one of their moves. A branch almost slammed him right in the ribs but thanks to his handy dandy spider sense he was able to evade it but it was soon proven to be the first of many obstacles. He didn't know how Osborn had pulled this off but it's clear that is old foe had set up some pretty exotic defenses to keep him from the hunting lodge. It wouldn't do a damn thing though! He'd still get through and rescue his aunt!
A near miss through the next section of trees though made him up his reaction time as he realized that each branch had razor sharp spines sticking out of them all over the place.
Now he had to look for openings in the trees big enough to not only so he could continue on but also so he could evade any of the living branches that might try to smack him out of the air while they stuck him with the spines. Not an easy thing to do. He was about halfway through the forest section when his spider sense told him something even more dangerous than the environment he was already coping with. With a small leap he managed to land on the ground and thankfully Osborn didn't think to turn the grass razor sharp otherwise he'd have some serious foot injuries upon touchdown.
It was only a few minutes later that the cause of his heightened spider sense buzz when some purple…things…showed up looking like they'd just love to take a bite out of him. They looked like a weird mix of dog and lizard with a few genetic twists thrown in for in variety. While his inner scientist was intrigued at the mystery of how Norman had created these things he knew that he didn't have much time to get to the hunting lodge. By now the former Green Goblin must have learned of Molten Man's failure to prevent Susan from getting to him and so it was only a matter of time before Norman made a move to block his rescue attempt. However as he worked to counter the lizard hounds he found out that they had a greater level of intelligence than he'd originally thought as they actually managed to keep him on his toes despite his spider sense. Nevertheless he did his best to end this confrontation quickly so he could move onwards to the lodge and when a black blur tackled one of the beasts from his left side before it could attack him. He smiled underneath his mask as he recognized Xander in his armor as he threw the beast into the spine filled trees to be torn bloody.
"Nice of you to show up Dragon Boy." He said as the both of them moved into position to cover each other's back.
"Sorry but the veggies here are a little tough to chew through." Xander said as he dealt a vicious claw swipe to another attacking creature.
"Hope you're finished with them all 'cause it's time we finish off these mutts and move onto the main course." He said as he webbed another beast to a nearby tree.
"Hope it's something home made because it sure is better than something store bought." Xander declared before using some metal claws on his right foot to slice through the throat of the last creature.
With those words the two of them moved through the rest of the forest and ten minutes later managed to get to within eyesight of their destination. However just before he could give the signal to begin their approach the familiar sound of a rocket propelled craft reached his ears right before his spider sense spiked informing him of something incoming. Turning towards the source he was unsurprised to see Norman coming at him with a new Green Goblin outfit and some sort of book in hand.
"Welcome to my home, Spider-man and Dragon Knight. While I had only been expecting the web slinger I suppose having a witness could be fun." Greeny said as he turned his glider into hover mode, "Then again this could be where your journey comes to an end. You just have not lived up to my expectations in this final drama of ours Spider-man. I had such high hopes and plans. I had left clues for you to discover and…nothing. I am surprised that you have done as well as you have in school.
"But that was a different lifetime ago. In the past you had only Norman Osborn with whom to contend. But now, after the power granted me by the Gathering of Five ceremony you must contend with the Green Goblin!" declared Osborn with much drama and a little mental instability.
"What is all this about, Norman?" he asked the maniac angrily as he barely kept himself from attacking, "You think this will stop me from getting my Aunt May back? The one that you kidnapped and replaced with a fake!!"
"So she managed to let the cat out of the bag before dying right in front of you? HAHAHAHAHA!!" Osborn said in a way that did not say great things about Gobby's mental state, "Forgive me. I'm sure this is all very serious to you, but you have to understand…here. Please take a look. It was always intended that you find this, but, once again, you disappointed me."
With those words the green clad monster toss him the book he'd carried to the scene and with only a moment's hesitation he opened it up to take a look at the contents.
"I had it all ready the night you showed up at my office and assaulted me. While that attack did aid my little melodrama, it did take things in quite a different direction." Norman said with mocking words of disappointment, "This Osborn journal, if you will, is filled with truths and lies, but you were supposed to see it as the way to finally convince everyone of the evil of Norman Osborn. You were supposed to bring it to the authorities, but watch…"
Looking down at the words he confirmed what he'd been told as the words in the journel truly did paint Norman Osborn as the villain he truly was but then something unbelievable happened.
"The words? They're disappearing! Changing!" he exclaimed as the ink on the pages began to move as though they were living creatures.
"Exactly! Had you ever retrieved the journal as I had planned…you would have turned it over to the authorities convinced that it would have meant the fall of Norman Osborn but instead they would have read the journals of a concern citizen. A man living in terror of Spider-man." Stated the Jolly Jade One with the voice of the triumphant, And they would have learned the reason for Osborn's fear was that he'd finally learned the identity of the man behind the mask. And they would have learned that Peter Parker, the man who is Spider-man, had poised his aged Aunt May upon her learning of his identity."
"NO!" he exclaimed as the scope of the man's evil hit home oh so powerfully.
Throwing the book that would have been his undoing had he found it that night at Norman he watched his foe bat it aside as though it were nothing before unleashing a blast from his left glove.
"It's over, Spider-man. I tire of this game of ours which has played out across a span of years. I am tired of the personal vendetta I have waged against you. Perhaps it is my newfound godhood, or maybe it is the DNA bomb, with which I am planning to reshape the world in my own image, that has now taken center stage! Either way you must DIE!" Osborn yelled as he continued his barrage of glove blasts.
"Don't count on it Osborn!" Xander said as he jumped in front of him to take the energy blast for him.
Whatever his friend's armor was made out of it was apparently stronger than Norman's energy blasts because aside from a grunt there was no other visible effect of the attack. This did not go over well with the Green Goblin as the rate of fire increased and the glider changed locations in an effort to bybass the armored shield that was Xander. Eventually things got so bad that pumpkin bombs and razor bats but between himself and Xander nothing got hurt except maybe his outfit. It was then though that Gobby took a different tactic by putting his glider on auto-pilot and leapt off it so that he could attack from two directions at once. With that done Xander was divided in his efforts as he tried to intercept both the blasts from Norman and his glider.
"Go on ahead to the lodge webhead!" Xander said moving faster and faster as time went on, "Rescue the hostage! I'll keep the Green Goblin occupied!"
He didn't want to leave his friend and his daughter's honorary uncle to Norman's tender mercies but he had to admit that his Aunt May was the priority here. He had no idea what sort of state her health was in and since it had always been fragile for as long as he could remember. With a nod in the direction of his ally he shot out a webline and made for the lodge as quickly as he could. If he was right then Osborn must have switched out his Aunt May for the fake before she found out he was Spider-man and he remembered how she'd always believed or at least considered what J. Jonah Jameson put into the Bugle. He'd tried a few times in the past to convince her that Spider-man was a hero but she just humored him by agreeing with whatever he had to say. He would have to do some fancy thinking in order to convince her to believe that 'Spider-man' was here to save her rather than cause her more misery.
Sort of makes me wish that it was Xander going in here because I think he has the easier job of the two of us. He thought as he saw the front door of the lodge getting closer by the minute.
Three Minutes Later, The Forest That Encircled the Hunting Lodge, Xander's P.O.V
"Get out of my way you armored fool!" yelled the Green Goblin as he continued to assault the person blocking his path.
"Not happening! You want past me you're going to have to bring me down the hard way!" Xander declared as he braced himself for the more potent pumpkin bombs to come from the arsenal of the green clad goon.
It had been three minutes or so since Pete had swung off to rescue his Aunt but during those one hundred and eighty seconds the devastation caused by his foes weapons increased. Where before he was able to shrug off just about everything Osborn had to throw at him now he was actually coming close several times to knocking him clean off his feet. If it weren't for the fact that the guy was evil and a psycho he'd almost be impressed by the weapons knowledge of the man. Whatever the situation was though so long as the Green Goblin focused his efforts on him it meant that Peter would have all the time he needed to rescue his Aunt.
"I have had enough of your interference!" declared Osborn before he retrived what looked like decorative ghost, "Take this!"
It was a fair throw indeed but he saw it coming and hopped backwards but to his surprise when the object hit the ground it splattered a slimy substance on the area around where it landed reaching his feet. It didn't go past his ankles but nevertheless he quickly learned what the ghost blob was designed to do when he tried to move his feet. Like extremely tough taffee it proved difficult to move his feet and it seemed as though the more pressure he put on the substance the stronger it became.
"I had planned to use this to restrain that annoying wall crawler so that I could force him to watch me reshape the world in my image." Gobby stated as he hopped back onto his glider, "Well I suppose that I'll have to settle for dragging him around by the scruff of his neck to make sure he paid attention. You on the other hand will remain here until I decide a suitable fate for you. A quick death is far too merciful for the likes of you. Farewell!"
With those words the madman flew away towards the hunting lodge no doubt to keep Peter from getting away with his Aunt. Determined not to let the bastard get away from him that easily he redoubled his efforts to free himself from the goo and tapped into the power of Kung Lung to increase his strength. He was shocked though to find that not only did the slime stand up to his increasing strength but the ground it was attached to also refused to break down. It didn't make sense! Osborn might be able to mess with the genes of biological entities like the creatures and the trees but dirt was dirt no matter what you could do with it. He couldn't figure out how mere dirt was managing to hold up to super strength equal to that of Rogue at her best but he was through trying to do things this way. With a growl of rage he let loose the black flames of Kung Lung at the goo entrapping his feet and watched as it and all things around it disintigrate including the things keeping him from going to Spider-man's aid. The second he felt the last of the substance binding his feet fell away he took to the skies and made for the lodge as quickly as he could manage.
He soon spotted what remained of the front door as it had been demolished prior to his arrival but whether it had been done at the hands of the webhead or Osborn he didn't know. Landing on the ground he quickly pulled his wings back within his body and ran into the structure enhancing his senses now to take him to his prey. Twists and turns as well as staircases might as well have not existed thanks to the speed he now channeled through his legs allowing him to reach the source of the sensory stimuli he sought. What he found when he arrived brought his anger back to a high boil as he saw an old woman who must be Aunt May limp in the arms of Spider-man with the Goblin hovering not far away. Since he knew for a fact that Pete would never harm his surrogate mother it must have been Norman Osborn who knocked her unconscious.
"What do you want with her, Norman?" Spider-man asked as he did his best to keep his Aunt close to him.
"I will not explain myself to you! Not to you, or to anyone else ever again!" Osborn yelled with even more insanity than before, "My patience is at an end. Put her down and back away. You step back as well you armored cretin. Neither of you have any idea of the forces you're playing with."
"I don't think so." Peter said making his resolve to stand up to the monster.
"What? You would dare to refuse me? Are you blind to see that which I have become?" Norman asked incredulously as he got right in Pete's face, "No. I suppose your puny mind would be overwhelmed if you were to view my true countenance. I should…NO! Actually…I've changed my mind…take her! Yes indeed, young Parker. You deserve to be reunited with your favored Aunt before the end. And the end is near. Take her, and learn the truth, or die with her where you stand. Never let it be said that Norman Osborn was not a compassionate deity. Don't be alarmed, m'boy. I'm attempting to do you one last favor. Eventually you'll die, probably before the night is through, but for now…go. I'll even clear the way for you!"
Throwingh a trio of pumpkin bombs Osborn obliterated the nearby wall of the room exposing the night sky for all to see.
"But make haste before I change my mind." Norman said with a flicker in his eyes that implied he could change his mind in an instant.
"C'mon Webs. It's getting a little too crazy for me here." He said jerking his head towards the opening in the wall.
With that the two of them left through the hole provided with the insane laughter of Osborn echoing through the air for all to hear.
The HQ of the Fantastic Four, Two and a Half Hours Later, Peter Parker's P.O.V
"No. It just can't be. Run it again." Peter said as his mind replayed the conclusion that Reed Richards had come to with his comparison tests.
It had been an hour since he had come to the leader of the Fantastic Four looking for confirmation that the woman he and Xander had rescued from Osborn's clutches was indeed his Aunt May. Early on, after hearing the news from the woman Robbie had brought to his doorstep, he had leapt at the idea that the woman that had raised him from the very beginning was indeed alive. However as he took the unconscious woman further and further from her former captor he had to wonder if this wasn't all just another one of the Green Goblin's schemes. Something meant to trick him into getting his hopes up just so they could be dashed when it would hurt him the most. It would just the sort of mental torture the monstrous man would think up for him. So rather than take the woman in his arms home he went to the HQ of the smartest man on the planet so that his suspicions could either be dispelled or proven. At the end of the first battery of tests it was proven that the woman was real, human and not a replicant of some kind. However there was still nothing to conclusively prove that she was indeed his Aunt May since none of the official medical records on file could be trusted. It would have been child's play for Norman to alter them somehow to say whatever he wanted them to say. In the end Reed had told him that the only way that the elderly woman's identity could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt would be to obtain a pure untainted sample of his Aunt's DNA for comparison.
It had taken him less than a minute to conceive of what he needed.
With all due haste he'd swung back to his home while Xander remained to watch over the elderly woman just in case Osborn changed his mind once again. Once there he had been glad to see that MJ and little May had left for the safehouse that they had obtained three months after having his daughter returned to him. He knew after the first night that it was a very real possibility that Norman would try to kidnap his firstborn again and so he'd done his best to ensure that that would not happen. He called in many a favor but in the end he was able to rest easy knowing that if trouble ever came for him and his family they would be safe. It had only taken him a moment to find his old science project containing slides that had the dried blood of Aunt May, Uncle Ben and himself. A quick swing across the city later and he was back to FF HQ so that Reed could finally conclusively prove who the elderly woman was.
However despite his hopes he had not truly believed that his prayers would be answered.
Yet according to Reed they had indeed.
"I've run it half a dozen times, Spider-man. She is May Parker." Reed stated standing by the findings he'd produced.
"How is she? How's her health?" he asked looking down at the relation that had now been returned to him, "The Goblin hit her pretty hard."
"A minor contusion, but I don't believe it explains the seriousness of her condition. She is obviously old and in fragile health, but…there is something else." Reed said sounding distinctly worried as he walked over to one of his viewscreens, "I almost missed it, it's so small, but here…let me show you the x-ray."
Tapping a few keys on the console beneath the screen an image of a human skull appeared in much greater detail than one would get from a conventional x-ray.
"It's at the base of her skull…in the medulla oblongata. A small cylindrical object has been implanted deep within the brain step. It appears to be giving off a series of puleses which are interfering with the function of her central nervous system. I've seen a lot and…I've never seen anything like this. If the object is not removed soon…her heart is going to shut down and she will die." Reed explained as the screen zoomed in on the location of the implanted device, "I'm calling in one of the top surgeons in the country, but we need permission from the next of kin. If you know who—"
"I'll contact them." He said as he lifted the bottom half of his mask to give her a light kiss, "I'm an old friend of the family's."
"Good." Reed said sounding happy that one issue had been resolved.
"I'm not going to lose again." He whispered quietly enough that only Xander and his Aunt would be able to hear him.
"We are planning on removing the device tonight, but I've got to admit…I'm not sure what we're dealing with, or what the results will be. I do know that it's the only way to save this lady's life." Reed said sounding uncertain about the nature of Osborn's device.
"I'll go to the Goblin. I'll find out what the thing is before you need to operate." He said moving to the open window in order to prepare to shoot a webline.
"Count me in." Xander said stepping forward to join him, "I'll be your back up. There's no way of knowing what sort of tricks that madman has yet to pull out of his sleeve."
"But what about—" he tried to say but fell silent at the shaking of Xander's head.
"If she's not safe in the company of the Fantastic Four then she's not safe anywhere." Xander said sprouting his dragon wings from his back, "Face it: I'm your shadow from here on out."
"Fine. Let's go." He said shooting out a webline to a neighboring building before swinging away.
He had an appointment with a demented Goblin.
Osborn Industries Corporate Headquarters, C.E.O Office, One Hour Later, Norman Osborn's P.O.V
Ahhhh! It feels good to be a god! Osborn thought as he sat in his office enjoying one of his more expensive cigars, And to think it will only get better from here.
He could feel the power tingling through his body, the wisdom infiltrating every synapse of his mind, and it was still not finished empowering him with the most powerful prize of the Ceremony of the Five. His mind was a dance with the images of the events to come with the best parts being the revenge he would obtain exacting painful retribution on all those who dared to defy him in the past. He couldn't help but chuckle at the things to come. Before that could happen though there was one last thing that needed to be done before he could start to close the book on his past as a mere mortal.
KTASH
"WHY, NORMAN? WHY?!" yelled Parker as he crashed through the window on the opposite side of the room.
So predictable! He thought before saying to the fool, "Took you longer than I anticipated, m'boy. You just keep on disappointing me. I assume the truth has been revealed."
"What did you do to her? What is that thing in her skull?" Peter asked angrily as he marched over towards him like the hero he pretended to be.
"Look at you…you still dance to whatever tune I play, m'boy." He said as he got up from his chair grabbing his mask as he went, "As you have for years. As soon will the entire world! Our little melodrama is coming to its inevitable conclusion. You had to have known that sooner or later one of us was going to have to die. I am speaking of a real death, m'boy! None of this returning from the grave. I have managed it once, but I would not recommend such a thing for mere mortals."
It was rather annoying that that black armored do gooder had accompanied Parker but he supposed that Peter needed as much help as he could get. After all if the little man couldn't match him when he was a mere mortal then he would be completely overwhelmed without any sort of help. The black armored mortal was quite strong and perhaps he would make a worthy minion for him in his new world. Only time would tell he supposed.
"What does this have to do with my Aunt, Norman? She was an old woman. She never hurt anyone. Why?" Peter yelled as he threw the rather expensive wooden desk across the room to clear a path.
"She, like the rest of the population of this planet, are nothing more than tools, fodder for the greatest advance in human evolution since man crawled out of the swamps and stood upright: the time has come, Peter." He said as he pulled his mask on and made sure it fit in place, "The time has come for the world to learn the true power which is the Green Goblin. A power bestowed upon me by the Gathering of the Five ceremony. The power of a GOD!"
"You are insane, Norman." Peter said like the pathetic mortal he was.
"Definitely someone who's had his circuits fried, crossed and flambed." Spoke Spider-man's armored ally.
"No. One of the other participants in the ceremony received that gift." He explained feeling the need to point out that little detail.
"Fine, Norman, you're a god." Peter said obviously still a skeptic, "Why not humor me and tell me what you've got in store for the rest of us mere mortals."
"Don't try to play me, Parker, you're out of your league. But I don't mind showing you." He said as he began to move to the window that he'd been sitting in front of, "Come, I'll demonstrate the power I wield and how I will reshape the world to be as I will it! If you want answers all you have to do is look through this window. Twice now you've witnessed the results of my DNA bomb. Earlier this week I demonstrated it on a corporate rival and then earlier tonight at my hunting lodge. Yes. Those mutated plants and animals were the result of the technology I now have at hand. Now watch those below. Watch and learn."
"NO!" exclaimed both Parker and his friend as they attempted to restrain him but it was too little too late.
"No! What are you doing? Do you think we would let you—" Peter decared as he foolishly attempted to show that he had superior strength.
Lunacy.
"Have you heard nothing that I have said? You have no choice! Neither of you do!" he declared before freeing himself from their grasp, "Now watch! Witness the power of the Goblin God!"
Watching the scene below he watched as the product of his brilliance was blown into the room through the vents placed at strategic points throughout the room below.
Then the fun began as the mortals below began to melt like wax sculptures placed beneath the most potent heat lamps.
"Fear not. For I am a benevolent god. Their pain will be brief." He said standing proudly at his achievement, "They're not dead. They've simply been reduced to their component DNA structure. Soon, when I deem fit, I'll reform them in my own image and to do my own bidding. But neither you not your friend will live to see their rebirth. There's no place for either of you in my new order. Our game is over. I have a more traditional death in mind for a pair of annoyances like you two."
Then like the predictably simpletons they were both attempted to deliver their best strikes and while he felt the impacts it mattered not. His newly acquired godhood made their blows like unto the softest of breezes and once they realized this he reached out with both of his hands to wrap his fingers around their necks before lifting the duo off the ground.
"An admirable effort you two." He said as he squeezed both of their necks tighter, "One that would have perhaps knocked me unconscious once upon a time. But that time is long past!"
Feeling their feeble attempts at freeing themselves from his unbreakable grip both slow and weaken as they began to exhaust their supplies of oxygen.
"Come, come. Don't pass out on me yet you two." He said as he threw both of them back through the hole that Parker had created to make his dramatic entrance, "We've got much more to talk about!"
Watching the two of them plummet to the ground completely incapable of rallying their minds to do anything to prevent their descent he leapt onto his nearby glider and swooped down to snatch Parker by the back of his clownish costume. He cared not what happened to the other and wagered that if the fool survived the fall he would catch up to them soon enough.
"Not to worry, m'boy, I've got you!" he said as he carried the fly in his grasp over the city below, "I have no desire to see our long-standing feud end with you a mere blue and red stain on the sidewalk. Very anti-climactic. I want to revel in my victory over you. Our final battle deserves a far more public forum. Some place in which the world can witness my newfound godhood…and your final, crushing defeat! Don't you believe they deserve that much?"
It was a bit disappointing that his foe was putting up so little resistance to his current predicament. He recalled vividly how fiery their past battles were and this was quite the disappointment.
"You're not putting up much of a fight there m'boy. What's the problem? Feeling uninspired?" he asked as he began to head to a fitting place for the mortal's death, "Maybe you need just a little more knowledge to juice you up. Fine…I was saving the best for last. And this does concern you. You and dear, sweet Aunt May. As you know, since I returned from the dead, I have been making quite the reputation for myself as a philanthropist. The Norman Osborn charity machine has spread far and wide around the country and around the world.
"Well…I've been using those charitable organizations to distribute thousands of DNA bombs, just like the one you witnessed tonight. Innocuous looking things, and pretty harmless left to themselves." He explained as he brought them closer to their target destination, "But the bombs need a trigger, a catalyst, before they will detonate around the world. Ready for this, m'boy? The key, the trigger which will set off my DNA bombs in a chain reaction…it's inside your beloved Aunt May's skull."
Sensing the approach of Parker's winged friend coming from behind he let loose a volley of pumpkin bombs both at the advancing enemy as well as at the hapless twits below as an added distraction should the armored idiot evade the ones sent his way. Sadly it appeared as though the Power Ranger reject wasn't much better than the wall crawler in defying his newly obtained godhood as all the explosives he'd sent at the metal clad fool hit their marks flawlessly. It brought a smile to his face seeing the bug plummet to the street below in flames.
"The very thing that is killing her, the thing which you've undoubtably arranged to have taken out will start the chain reaction when it is released into the air. As soon as it is exposed to oxygen…everything kicks into gear. The world becomes nothing more than primordial clay for me to mold." He explained reveling in the glorious nature of his plan, "And you've helped bring all this about. Despite my godhood…I feel the need for your death to be public and slow. I want you to suffer and know that there is nothing you can do to prevent your Aunt's death and the end of the world as you know it!"
With those words he released his captive to gravity's tender mercy only to plummet down onto a car causing the roof to crumple and its windows to shatter. However they were still a fair way away from the venue he'd chosen for the final moments of their feud so he swooped down and plucked the limp Peter Parker from the wrecked roof of the car.
"It has always been about your suffering Parker…suffering for the indignities you have inflicted upon my family name through the years. When your Aunt had her stroke and before I revealed that I was alive I decided to seize upon the opportunity to add to your troubles. I utilized the DNA cloning technology which biologist Miles Warren had secretly been developing for me to infuse your Aunt May's genetic matrix into that of another woman who was an elderly actress who believed this to be her greatest role." He said as he resumed his flight towards the final stage of this fight, "She was unaware it would be her last. Over time, the actress assumed all the bodily proportions and facial features of one May Parker. Then she studied May's mannerisms and voice inflections over months until the two women were indistinguishable. It was perhaps my most sublime achievement. My ultimate instrument of your torture! I even informed the actress of your alternate identity so she would be certain mention it to you—leading you to believe your Aunt knew you were Spider-Man all along.
"The familial tragedy was played out while your Aunt was secured away by my people. You mourned over an old woman you never knew, Parker. And from the shadows, I laughed…deeply and long. Hahahahahaha!" he said before letting out his amusement for all to see.
Finally coming up on the destination he decided the time had come to start the grand finale. Tossing the fool to the ground in front of the Daily Bugle he began to use pumpkin bombs to tear apart the concrete around him.
"Here we are, m'boy! This is where it all comes to an end. The Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson's bastion of journalistic integrity and his own venomous launching platform for his personal vendetta against you. And to think that you believed me to be your worst enemy!" he said continuing the bombardment while choosing targets at random, "You've hidden your secret from your friends at the Daily Bugle for too long now. Working side by side with them even as J. Jonah Jameson sent you all scurrying about for the real dirt on Spider-man. Now they're going to learn the truth. But not to worry. They will be taking it to their graves. Gather round my fellows. Jonah, Robbie, Ben, Betty and all the rest. Look ipon the face of your greatest nightmare. Look and see…Peter Parker is Spider-Man!"
He waited until maximum dramatic effect had been achieved and then pulled out his most potent explosive pumpkin before throwing it so that it would detonate right in Parker's face.
"That's enough! Now say goodbye!" he yelled as the explosives blew sky high engulfing his foe in both flames and shrapnel.
As the smoke cleared he saw the most glorious sight he'd seen since he first beheld his godly form after the Gathering of the Five ceremony.
The still and lifeless form of one Peter Parker aka Spider-Man!
"HAHAHAHA! I did it! After all these years! I did it!" he yelled out in amazement at the fact that it was all finally over with, "I KILLED SPIDER-MAN!!"
The Front of the Daily Bugle,
Twenty Minutes After the Confrontation at Osborn Industries Corporate HQ, Xander's P.O.V
"I know this was pretty obvious before but this guy is completely psycho." Xander said as he dropped down beside Spider-man who had successfully defeated and restrained Osborn.
It had been a difficult fight even with the two of them double teaming the Green Goblin and it was anyone's guess as to whether this was because of the so called Gathering Norman kept referring to or simply because the man was completely off his rocker. From the beginning of the fight he'd let Peter do the most of the fighting while he stayed on damage control intercepting the pumpkin bombs and other party favors Osborn threw around. In most cases he was able to fling the bombs back into the air where he could detonate them safely but other times he had no choice but to let them impact against his armor rather than a building or a civilian. It hadn't been easy and more than a few times he almost didn't make it in time to intercept one of the Goblin's weapons but lady luck must have taken pity on him. In the end, twenty minutes later, he'd say it was worth it because aside from some scared people the damage to the city from here to the bastard's office was pretty minimal. A few demolished signs that the psycho had flown through but nothing that would keep people from going about their daily routine or anything. Plus considering that this was NYC he was pretty sure that just about every business had superhero or superhuman insurance in order to cope with the weekly battles.
"Spider-man's dead and I'm king of the world! Boom! BOOM! BOOM!" Osborn ranted from his restrained position under what had to be at least an inch or two of webbing, "DNA bombs are going BOOM! Everybody turning to mush!"
"Definitely missing a few coins from his piggy bank brain." Peter agreed as reporters and police began to converge on their location, "We better get moving before the media vultures get any closer. We might've stopped the Goblin's rampage but I don't think old Jameson is going to care all that much. Plus we have to get to Reed before he starts the operation."
With that the webhead shot off a webline before zipping into the air and swinging his way as quickly as he could for the current location of the Fantastic Four's HQ. He was about to leave himself when he noticed a forty something man with a flat top and a Hitler mustache ordering about a bunch of people outside of the Daily Bugle using words like 'wall crawling' and 'menace' quite often. He could only guess that this must be the infamous J. Jonah Jameson who ran the Daily Bugle with an iron fist and regularly printed headlines making Pete look as bad as the criminals he apprehended. He'd heard about the man from Ben almost from the day that he started working at the Daily Grind and he couldn't believe that someone to be such an ass towards Spider-Man without any real proof. Oh sure the penny pinching newsman could twist existing facts to paint the web slinger in a more nefarious light but anyone who knew of the older man's vendetta could see right through the smear job. Looking at the scene around him he could easily picture the words that would likely be splashed across tomorrow's edition of the Daily Bugle.
Not this time. He thought as he spotted the largest clump of newshounds and went with his gut.
Walking towards him he knew the instant a lady TV reporter with the microphone that had the number seven on it spotted him and figured she'd be as good as anyone to give the exclusive to.
"Excuse me! You in the Power Ranger outfit! Sarah Chan from Channel Seven News! Can you tell us what happened?" asked the Asian woman extending her microphone towards him.
Not this again! He thought as he groaned at the fact that he was being compared to those cookie cutter heroes again.
"Certainly Ms. Chan. Spider-Man and I successfully stopped the Green Goblin from setting off a chain reaction with a series of genetic explosives that he had planted at virtually all Norman Osborn Charity buildings throughout the world." He replied doing his best to edit out the things that could cause complications, "If he'd been allowed to have his way it the explosives would have released a gaseous cloud that would have severed the bonds holding the DNA of every biological entity on the planet. Fortunately we managed to get him away from the trigger in time and defeat him with minimal damage to the city. As we speak my comrade Spider-Man is on his way to tie up the final loose end and give Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four the information he needs to handle the explosives themselves."
"How did the Green Goblin manage to do this? There's never been any record of him ever having the resources needed to carry out a scheme on this level." Ms. Chan asked after her eyes lit up with victory since he was responding to her questions.
"Both myself and Spider-Man have our suspicions but for the time being all I can say that we suspect that someone at Osborn Industries may have been supporting the Green Goblin in both equipment as well as money." He said deciding at the last minute that implicating Norman would not work.
"Do you have any suspects?" Sarah asked not wanting to let a single detail slip through her fingers.
"None that I can list on camera Ms. Chan. I cannot give any of them any advance warning of where the webhead and I are going with our investigation." He replied as he willed his wings to sprout from his back and out of his armor, "Now if you'll excuse me I have to be on my way. See ya!"
"WAIT! Can you at least tell the viewing audience your name?" Ms. Chan asked looking determined to at least get one more bit of info out of him.
He pondered that question for a moment wondering how to respond before he figured he might as well go with the one that Wolverine had slapped on him in Washington. It was what would be in the government files by now and if he was honest with himself he couldn't really think of a more fitting one.
"Call me Dragon Knight."
With that he leapt into the air and used his wings to gain altitude quickly so as to not give the media any more chances to ask their questions. He'd put the truth before them, slightly edited for Pete's benefit, and now it was time to sit back hoping that he had managed to severely restrain what Jameson could do in tomorrow's Daily Bugle. By the time the newspapers hit the stand tomorrow his little news bite would likely have been replayed on TV at least ten times on each channel.
Old flattop is going to have to either print the truth like everyone else or get exposed as a biased hateful man who twists the headlines to suit his own personal grudges. He thought as he angled his flight in the direction Peter had gone in, Talk about win-win.