Author's Note: You guys should know I love you so much. Seriously every new review brings a smile to my face. I own nothing.

36. Dissolution

Piper dug her heels in as she was forced to catch the Goblins other hand. She grunted in effort as she felt the concrete under her feet crack slightly. She growled again, the primal noise rising from her throat.

"Fine! If I have to take you out to save them I will." The metal of the glove crumpled under her fingers as she twisted it up into its owners face, the blast he'd been planning on using on her blasting him instead. She hadn't expected the force of it which carried the Goblin through the low ceiling of the tunnel. She wished she could say she was surprised to find herself in the lobby of Oscorp, but at this point she didn't think anything would surprise her. She webbed herself up to where the Goblin was lodged in the large light fixture and punch him hard, sending him crashing back to the ground. He pulled himself up on an elbow and she web slapped him, intending to send him crashing into the wall. But he grabbed webline and surged to his feet swinging the line she was still attached to in a circle. She smashed through several pillars and the building began to creak and shake. The Goblin dropped her and she stayed down. Her ribs were screaming at her, her vision was rapidly blurring, the ringing in her ears was back. She started to pull herself up and a large hand wrapped around her middle. She was tossed like she weighed no more than a sack of flour up into the hanging sculpture's supports. She stuck for just a moment and then she felt her consciousness waver and she fell, nearly four stores back to the floor. For a moment her vision blackened and she was convinced that this was the end. Then the pressure of a foot on her back brought her back to reality. Her spider sense hadn't stopped screaming at her since she'd woken up in the lab.

"Spider. Goblin. Same blood. Spider. Goblin. Family." She groaned as she heard something splinter above her. The pressure of the foot released and she heard a window somewhere nearby shatter.

"I really don't see the resemblance." She groaned as she pulled herself up. Smoke filled her lungs as she tried to stand. The light fixture that the Goblin had shattered had caught fire. She glanced up as she felt small rocks rain down. She was just in time to roll out of the way as the sculpture came crashing down right where she'd been laying. Her cough was harsh and painful against her ribs as she stumbled back to her feet, trying to locate an exit.

Coulson steadied his weapon on the barricade the other SHEILD agents had been quick to erect. A small group of medics had already swarmed around the team who had made their way out of a hidden entrance that was now pouring smoke, Spidey wasn't with them. Something ahead of them moved and Coulson motioned for the other agents to hold fire. The figure was mostly obscured by the smoke that was pouring out of Oscorp. He squinted as it drew closer. Then he spotted the telltale flash of red and blue and leapt over the barrier racing forwards. He was just in time to catch her as she fell forwards.

She was a mess. Her costume burned in several places two holes rapidly spreading, one at her shoulder, one at the center of her spine. The skin he could see beyond her suit was mottled purple. The part of her face that was visible was covered in blood, staining her mouth and chin red. Her nose was swollen nearly beyond recognition, clearly broken and the whites of her mask were barely visible, the eyes behind them shut. She was still breathing as Coulson holstered his gun one handed and scooped her up. He ran as fast as he could back to the barrier which one of the agents moved out of his way as he raced onto the medical transport. He barely heard Harry Osborn shouting for his father as the doors closed and the ship took off back to the Helicarier.

Harry had ended up eating alone, he used his dads card to pay for it. Served him right for bailing on a dinner he'd planned. He decided to walk back to Oscorp, see what his dad was up to, and let him know that Piper had had to bail on the dinner too. At least she'd had a legitimate reason. He ran a hand through his hair and his nose twitched at the smell of smoke. He glanced up and felt his knees wobble as he spotted the plume of smoke rising from Oscorp, he was astounded that he'd missed it. He raced through the crowd that was forming, shoving people out of his way and calling out for his dad, hoping he'd see him in the crowd. Instead all he saw was a medical SHEILD transport taking off and a line of SHEILD agents between him and the building.

The Goblin stared down at the scene in front of him, yellow eyes fixed on the brown haired figure being held back by two SHEILD agents. His mouth pulled back in a smile as he pulled the vial he'd taken from the lab out of one of the compartments on his suit. He looked between the writhing black sludge and the boy below and felt his chest rumble with laughter.

"Son."

Piper woke up to the feel of someone touching her face. She leapt to the ceiling, hearing the sound of tearing plastic and the gasps of several people. She looked down, realizing she wasn't wearing her mask. There were three medics surrounding the bed she had clearly been laying in. Torn IV lines dripped their fluids onto the floor, the needles still in her bare arms. The medics stepped back as she flipped to the bed. Her ribs twinged but didn't scream at her like they had been before. One of the medics tried to step forwards but she stepped back. They backed up and a voice from the doorway spoke.

"They are just trying to help." Piper ignored Coulson and turned to the small mirror one of the technitions had placed on their tray of tools. Deftly she snapped her nose back into place and ignoring the flinches from the med techs pulled the needles from her veins.

"Where's my top?" Her ribs were wrapped, to support them but other than that and her grey sports bra she wasn't wearing any of her upper costume. Coulson nodded to the table at the end of the bed and motioned the techs out of the room. They left and Piper pulled on her top and gloves, which still had her webshooters attached. She ignored the shiny new watch that sat below it and frowned. Her mask wasn't here, neither was her phone which had been in an insulated pocket on her belt.

"Where's my mask?" Coulson motioned for her to follow him. She did so reluctantly and he led her into the main medical wing where the others were getting checked over. She managed to hide her sigh of relief. She would give away the truth if she reacted, she had to do what she was planning. Coulson spoke as Sam pulled her into a hug she didn't return and handed her back her mask.

"We're tracking the Goblin but so far no luck." Piper stared down at her mask in her hands and spoke.

"I should have seen it coming. I let my feelings for Harry cloud my judgement. Worse I let the Goblin get away." She shook off Sam's hand on her shoulder. "Let's face it, Fury tried to make me the Ultimate Spidergirl, all I am is the Ultimate Fuck Up." She stepped away from Sam as he tried to speak. Coulson stepped in front of her as she made for the door.

"We'll find the Goblin Spidergirl." She snorted at him, letting her frustration with the whole situation take over her voice.

"We? You don't get it Coulson. There is no we." The rest of the team froze staring at her. "It's my DNA, my best friends dad, my problem. I was a solo act, but against my better judgement I joined this team and now everyone I care about is in danger." She couldn't look at any of them. "No one else gets hurt because of me! No one." She spotted her phone by Ava's bed and snatched it up as she stepped around Coulson. The door in front of her slid open. She still didn't turn. She couldn't look at them, not when she knew that she was breaking their hearts, some more than most.

"I'm gonna take down the Goblin. And I'm gonna do it alone." She stepped out of the room pulling on her mask as she did. She was halfway home when she realized her phone had been buzzing since she picked it up. She paused on top of one of the skyscrapers and checked it. Her heart sank as she spotted thirteen missed calls from her dad. Then she took note of the message that was flashing across the screen.

WEB PROTOCOL BREACHED.

Her heart plummeted all the way to the ground, that message could mean only one thing. He knew her secret.

Tony was still working his way though the two years worth of information that had been dumped on him when he'd broken her protocol, trying to comprehend what was being set in front of him. She couldn't be. She just couldn't be.

'Sir, I have detected movement in Miss Parker's main lab.' Tony didn't even bother to thank JARVIS as he took off down the hall. He slammed his way into the lab and flicked on the light switch. A red and blue figure froze as she dug through one of the cabinets. She snatched something out of the drawer and flipped out of the still open window before Tony could do or say anything. He raced to the window and stared after her as she swung across the city.

Piper couldn't bring herself to face her father. The look in his eyes when he'd seen her in full costume in her lab grabbing a handful of web cartridges had been somewhere between sheer shock and betrayal. She felt tears soak her mask as she swung to her destination. She landed on the wall outside Harry's room in the penthouse he lived in. He was inside, sobbing on his bed a picture of him and his father in his hands. She had to make sure the Goblin didn't hurt him. It was all she could think of to do. She desperately wanted to open the window and go comfort him but Spidergirl wouldn't be welcome, that much she knew. So instead she wove a web hammock in the corner of the detailed decorations on the exterior wall and listened as he cried himself to sleep. She wasn't far behind him.