The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 24: The Last Stand
Peter ran out of MJ's destroyed house, and saw Green Goblin flying away, carrying Gwen. Peter ran at breakneck speed into an alleyway and ripped off his tux. Underneath, was his suit, and Peter put on his mask and swung behind Goblin.
"NORMAN! PUT HER DOWN!" Shouted Spider-Man, at the top of his lungs.
"Oh, I'm about to. Hahahaha!" Cackled Norman, under his titanium helmet, as he picked up his speed with his glider. Peter shot a web at the glider, and soon enough he was being dragged around as Goblin flew off with Gwen.
"Norman, let her go!" Demanded Peter desperately, but Norman just picked up speed, as he jerked left, and violently slammed Spider-Man into a building. Peter landed on the dining table of a family.
"Sorry!" Said Peter, as he ran through the living room and jumped through the brick wall of the building, and swung over to a high rooftop, but Goblin was nowhere to be seen.
All of a sudden, an invisible force punched Spider-Man right across his face, before punching his throat and kicking him away.
"I made some upgrades to my armour, Parker! Unlike you, I'm always prepared for any situation!" Laughed Goblin, who was now invisible.
Spider-Man tried to find him, but Green Goblin just punched Spider-Man in his back and shin, before kicking his chest and hammer-fisting his face, sending Peter flying to the edge of the building. Then, the invisible Green Goblin grabbed Spider-Man's leg and threw him diagonally across the rooftop, as Peter hit the iron stands of a billboard.
That's when Spider-Man realized something: Green Goblin's suit makes noise.
"He can hide himself, but not the noise he makes. I need to be like Daredevil." Thought Peter, as he started to concentrate his hearing. That's when he heard the whirring of Goblin's mechanical suit.
Spider-Man shot a web at the invisible Goblin, and punched his chest. Norman turned visible again. "Dammit!" Cursed Norman, and that's when he pressed a sequence of buttons on his right arm, and Goblin's glider came rushing in, slamming into Spider-Man's back and knocking him off the building.
Luckily, Spider-Man zipped back to the roof, as Goblin got back up on his glider. Spider-Man jumped on the glider, and started punching Norman's helmet.
Peter could feel his knuckles bleeding profusely, but he didn't care. "Where's Gwen?! WHERE IS SHE?" He roared, but Norman grabbed Spider-Man's right fist, and threw him off, before throwing 5 pumpkin bombs at him.
Spider-Man managed to dodge a few, but one of them exploded near his leg.
"AAGHHH!" Groaned Peter, but Norman was relentless. He rammed into Spider-Man again, then grabbed him by the neck and flew off at breakneck speed, slamming his face into any wall he could find.
"This will show you why being a hero is foolish!" Laughed Goblin, as he threw Spider-Man into a street. On one side of the street was a nursery. As Spider-Man got to his feet, both Peter and Norman saw the nursery. Spider-Man started shaking his head, and Norman started cackling.
"Norman, no. No, don't!" Shouted Spider-Man, but Goblin threw a pumpkin bomb into the nursery.
"Your call, Spider-Man! Me, or the children? HAHAHAHAHA!" Screeched Goblin, as he started to fly away.
Spider-Man's suit had tears on his right leg and left arm, as he jumped into the fire. Luckily, since it was night-time, there weren't many children there. Spider-Man managed to get all the children out, just in time before the nursery exploded.
All of a sudden, Captain Stacy called.
"Peter? Are you okay?!" Asked George, frantically.
"I'm so sorry, Captain! I'm so sorry!" Said Peter, breaking down.
"Peter, calm down. What happened?" Asked George.
Peter's voice went down to a whisper. "He's got Gwen."
Everything went quiet on George's end, and he cut the call.
Peter put the cracked phone back in his pocket and swung off into the night, back to MJ's house, where paramedics had arrived. Miraculously, no one was hurt, except for Flash, who had a broken leg.
"Dammit, Norman." Muttered Spider-Man, and that's when he realized something: Oscorp tech was trackable.
"I could track Norman down, but how? There has to be someone I know who has worked at Oscorp before. Wait a minute…that's it!" Thought Peter, as he swung away, towards Dr Otto Octavius' house.
Spider-Man quickly got there, as Otto was leaving his house and going for a late night walk.
"Dr Octavius!" Said Spider-Man, as he swung in right behind him.
"Spider-Man? Oh my god, it's really you!" Said Otto, delighted.
"I need your help. You worked at Oscorp before, right? I need to know how I can track something made there." Said Spider-Man, out of breath.
"Well, all of them have a certain GPS signal. Uh, hold on! I might still have a GPS tracker from 8 years ago." Said Otto, as he rushed back into his house.
5 minutes later, Otto came out, holding a small device. "This can track whatever you need." Said Otto, handing it to Spider-Man.
"Can this device track products that were never on the market?" Asked Spider-Man.
"Sure, as long as you know what their official name is." Said Otto.
"Official name?" Asked Spider-Man.
"Oscorp gives alphabets and a number to a product. Like an identification number. Like for example, all those years ago when I was working on the neural interface, my project was called OCK-8." Explained Otto.
Spider-Man typed in "GR-30" in the keypad, and a ping was heard. The device located Green Goblin, in a warehouse in Harlem.
"Thank you so much, Doc!" Said Spider-Man, as he shook his hand and swung away, as Otto continued his walk, reminiscing about his project at Oscorp eight years ago, and how everyone called him "Doc Ock."
It was almost 2 am, and Spider-Man didn't even care about subtlety, as he crashed into the warehouse, only to see Gwen tied up in a chair, right in the centre of the warehouse.
"Gwen!" Shouted Spider-Man, as he ran to her. She was bleeding from her head, as if she had been knocked out. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Green Goblin comes swooping out of the shadows on his glider and slams Spider-Man into a wall. He then stabbed Peter's leg and threw him back to the ground.
"You want her? Come and get her!" Taunted Norman, as he grabbed Gwen and flew off again.
"No no, not again!" Said Spider-Man, as he chased after him.
"You think I didn't anticipate you going to Octavius for help?! Pathetic!" Mocked Goblin, as he flew away faster. All of a sudden, Peter got a call from George.
"Mr Stacy, I'm chasing The Goblin!" Said Peter, out of breath. But, as Peter was distracted, Goblin threw a pumpkin straight at his chest. It exploded, ripping up most of Peter's suit, as he fell to the ground from over 15 stories, and landed on the windshield of a truck.
Somehow, he managed to get up, and he had managed to cushion his phone in his right hand, which hurt like hell.
"Peter, listen! The Lizard is back." Informed George.
"Dammit, this was all Goblin's plan!" Lamented Peter. "Captain, you have to find Gwen!" Said Peter.
"I will. Right now, you focus on the Lizard, I'll focus on bringing my daughter back!" Said Captain Stacy, as he got into his car and drove away, tuning into his police scanner for any reports on Goblin's whereabouts.
"Green Goblin spotted near Washington Bridge, over!" Said the scanner. George quickly drove to there.
Meanwhile, The Lizard was rampaging in Fifth Avenue. Spider-Man had the antidote ready, but he could barely stand up.
"Doctor Connors!" Said Spider-Man, but Curt was too far gone. He was now only The Lizard.
"Sssssspider-Man!" Hissed Lizard, as he charged towards him and swung his tail violently, hitting Peter straight in the ribs. Lizard then pinned him down with his claws, and scratched at Spider-Man's face, tearing off a little of the left side of his mask.
Spider-Man managed to kick Lizard away, but his injured leg wasn't helping.
"Dr Connors, we don't have much time! Please!" Pleaded Peter, but Lizard rammed into him, then grabbed his leg, and threw him into a wall.
Peter tried getting up, but his left leg wouldn't allow it. His vision started to blur. He was losing a lot of blood and had to wrap this up quick.
As soon as Peter was able to get up, Lizard grabbed a car and threw it straight at Spider-Man. The car primarily hit Peter's face and chest, sending him tumbling down the street. A piece of glass had cracked his left lens, forming what ironically looked like a web in his right lens.
Spider-Man held the syringe in his right palm and charged at Lizard. A t the last minute, Peter webbed up Lizard's face and managed to trip him. Spider-Man jumped on the Lizard's back, as he tried to inject the syringe.
However, Lizard grabbed Spider-Man's head, and violently lifted him off his back by grabbing his skull, and slamming his back to the ground. The syringe went rolling out of Peter's open right palm. Lizard choked Spider-Man with his tail and lifted him up. He hissed loudly.
"Daddy, no!" Shouted a voice, which stunned Lizard. He dropped Spider-Man and turned around, only to face Billy Connors.
"Billy?" Asked Lizard, in Dr Connors' voice.
"Daddy, you're not a monster. Don't hurt him." Said Billy, a river flowing from his eyes. Martha was behind Billy, and she was weeping too.
"NO! NOOOOO!" Shouted Curt, as his tail started to shrink, and grow back again, his eyes turning blue and green again. It was like he was constantly shifting between Curt and Lizard.
"Billy…." Groaned Curt.
"Billyyyyyyyy!" Hissed Lizard. Luckily, Spider-Man jumped on Lizard and injected the antidote into Lizard's neck.
He started to transform. His tail shrank and his eyes turned blue and he started growing shorter, his scales disappearing.
Soon enough, it was just Dr Connors, lying on the ground and panting.
"Dr Connors! Are you okay?" Asked Spider-Man, limping to him.
"Spider-Man…I'm so sorry…I remember everything!" Said Curt, weeping.
"It's okay doc. It's okay." Said Peter, helping him get up and walk to Billy, who was still a little scared, but hugged his father nonetheless.
"I'm sorry, Spider-Man. I just wanted to fix myself." Said Curt, calming down.
"It's alright doctor. Sometimes things we want can go wrong. Horribly wrong." Said Spider-Man. However, when he tried to swing, he winced because of his injured leg and ribs, and due to his cracked lens, he couldn't see properly.
"Webbing won't…unhh…last long enough. I need to…cauterize it." Thought Peter, shuddering at the thought. He noticed a cop car, which had flares inside. He took one and managed to climb up to the top of the roof.
He lit the flare, and the cut was bleeding profusely. He tore off a part of his costume, and wiped off the blood. Then he took a deep breath.
"Here goes nothing…" Said Peter, as he lit the flare and burned it shut. Peter shouted in pain, until he knew the wound was cauterized.
"AH SHIT!" He screamed, as he webbed up the closed wound, just in case.
"Now to get The Goblin, and save Gwen." Said Spider-Man, as he called up George Stacy.
"Captain, the Lizard has been dealt with. Do you know where Gwen is?" Asked Peter.
"He's holding her hostage on Washington Bridge!" Said George, frantically.
"WHAT?!" Shouted Spider-Man, as he started to painfully swung towards the bridge.
"Come down here, now!" Ordered George, who was on the cordoned off bridge, while Goblin was standing on top of the bridge, holding Gwen.
"Not until our mutual friend gets here!" Retorted Norman. Gwen was still unconscious, and she was held high above the water.
Spider-Man swung in. "NORMAN!"
Norman saw Spider-Man run up the bridge cables, and laughed.
"Stand right there, Parker!" Demanded Norman, and Peter put his hands up, balancing only with his legs.
"Please Norman, don't let the Goblin take over…" Pleaded Peter, while Norman just chuckled.
"And I thought of you as a son. HAHAHAHAHA!" Cackled Green Goblin.
Spider-Man started to cry, as he begged Norman to keep Gwen out of it, while George was terrified down below.
"Please don't hurt my daughter. Please." Requested George.
"Norman, please! You have to fight the Goblin!" Shouted Peter.
Norman waited for a while. "You think the Goblin has taken over?" Asked Norman, sarcastically in his raspy voice. However, when his helmet pulled back, it was just Norman's face. His face wasn't deformed like a gremlin's. Norman hadn't taken any Globulin Green this time.
"I don't want to escape from this! I have power! I am in control!" Declared Norman.
"THIS IS WHO I AM, SPIDER-MAN! THE WEAK NORMAN OSBORN IS GONE. GREEN GROWS THE GOBLIN!" Shouted Goblin, holding Gwen high up.
George was paralyzed with fear, and Peter took off his mask, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Mr Osborn, please! I'm begging you, just let her go! Please leave her out of this." Begged Peter, as he put on his mask again.
"I gave you a choice, Parker. You should've taken it. Now, in this story, I am Zeus and you're Prometheus. AND YOUR PUNISHMENT IS HERE!" Declared Norman, as he threw Gwen off the bridge.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Shouted Peter, as he dove off the bridge to catch her.
Time seemed to slow down, as Gwen got closer, and closer to the ground.
George couldn't believe what he was seeing and was frozen
Norman sadistically cackled loudly.
Peter reached out his arms to grab her, as Gwen plummeted down.
He could see the ground inching closer, as if it were inviting Gwen down.
Time slowed down to a halt, as if the world stopped spinning.
As if Peter's world stopped spinning.
He spun a web, which managed to stick to her.
Instantly, time seemed to move normally again, as Peter zipped towards Gwen and grabbed her, before he landed on a car, straight on his back. He was holding Gwen above him, and had shielded her, hoping she wouldn't get hurt.
"Gwen? Gwen?" Asked Peter, repeatedly, through tear filled eyes, as George and Norman both stared.
There was no response. "Gwen, please!" Cried Spider-Man. Gwen still didn't move. Peter was paralyzed too, he wanted to scream loudly, yet he couldn't find his voice as he trembled.
All of a sudden, she scrunched her nose, like she would whenever she would wake up. "S-Spider-Mann…?" She groaned.
Peter heavily breathed a sigh of relief as he cried, and Gwen drifted back to sleep. He hugged her tightly and started crying, before staring back at Norman. Norman was in a state of disbelief.
Peter slowly lay Gwen on the hood of the car, and swung up to the bridge. Without hesitation, he swing-kicked Norman in the face and Norman fell off. However, his glider came in and saved him.
Spider-Man landed next to George, who started shooting at Norman.
"Is-is she okay?" Asked George, his eyes welling up. Peter nodded.
That's when Green Goblin came swooping down, but Peter jumped out of the way and shot a web at Norman's back, violently pulling him off the glider. Norman landed on his back and instantly sprung to his feet. He charged at Peter, who flipped over Norman and delivered a painful kick to his back.
That's when Norman took out a pumpkin bomb, and threw it at Captain Stacy and Spider-Man's feet.
Before Peter could react. George pushed Peter out of the way, as the bomb exploded, and Captain Stacy was sent flying back into a barricade.
"NOOOO!" Shouted Peter as he rushed towards George, but Norman jumped on his glider and swooped at Spider-Man, grabbing him by the neck and flying away.
However, Peter shot a web at building and held on to it, stopping the glider abruptly. Due to this sudden stop, Norman was flung off the glider, and he fell on a bus driving on the road. Peter jumped on the bus too, and kicked Norman. But Norman's reflexes caused him to duck at the right time, and he threw a pumpkin bomb at the bus' wheels.
The bomb exploded and the bus flipped on its side. Because of this crash, other cars stopped instantly, causing cars to crash into one another. Peter managed to get up, but Goblin grabbed his head and slammed it through the glass window of the bus.
Peter kicked Norman into a halted car, as civilians rushed away from their cars. Norman lifted up a vehicle and threw it at Spider-Man, who barely managed to dodge it.
"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!" Shouted Goblin, as he jumped 5 stories high and threw 5 pumpkin bombs to the ground. Spider-Man managed to dodge them, but one of them sent him flying into a nearby store.
Goblin hopped on his glider and swooped into the store, and flew out of there dragging Spider-Man by the neck. They both flew higher and higher.
Spider-Man kept struggling, as he was being dragged from behind the glider. That's when he had an idea: He shot webs at the engine, jamming it and preventing it from working.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Asked Norman, now that they were crashing back down to Earth.
"What needs to be done!" Said Peter, as they both crashed into an abandoned rock structure in Central Park.
As Peter tried to get up, Norman punched him down, before picking him up and throwing him against a rock wall. He then punched Spider-Man's ribs so hard that you could hear multiple cracks. Before his Spider-Sense could even react, Norman slammed Peter's face straight through a brick wall, before lifting him over his head and throwing him towards another rock wall.
"You managed to save her. Futile, in the end." Said Norman, as he kicked Peter straight through the wall, not giving him a chance to get up.
"This is what happens to heroes, in the end. Odysseus, Hercules, Prometheus. There is no such thing as a Happy Ending." Said Norman, as he stepped on Peter's chest, causing Peter to scream in agony. One lens was cracked, while the other was ripped clean off. The spider logo on his chest had been ripped apart, and his mouth was clearly able to be seen.
As Peter tried crawling away, Goblin brought his knee down on Spider-Man's back, before grabbing him and slamming him through another stone wall.
"Wonder who I'll hurt next? Liz, Hobie, Mary Jane, Flash? Heh, don't worry, I'll give May a quick death. She would've been through enough by then, especially after the death of her husband, and also when she finds her beloved nephew's head in a pumpkin!" Taunted Norman, as he brought his titanium boot down on Peter's face.
But nothing happened. Goblin was confused as to why his boot wasn't going down. Somehow, Peter had grabbed Norman's boot, as he got up. Norman was in disbelief, and Peter kicked Norman straight in his chest.
Peter punched Goblin's helmet. The last time they fought, Norman's face barely moved, except this time his titanium helmet shattered into pieces. Norman was horrified as Peter lifted him up in the air.
"YOU KILLED MENDEL STROMM!" Shouted Peter, as he threw Norman across the room. He jumped up and landed his knee straight on Norman's chest, causing him to cough out blood.
"YOU THREATENED HARRY! YOUR OWN SON!" Exclaimed Peter, as he punched Norman repeatedly.
"YOU HURT CAPTAIN STACY, YOU THREATENED EVERYONE I CARED ABOUT!" He shouted, as kicked Norman away. Norman managed to get back on his feet, out of breath and coughing blood.
"And you tried to murder Gwen Stacy." Said Peter, as he upper-cutted Norman so hard he broke his own knuckles.
Norman was lifted off of the ground, and he landed with a huge thud. He tried crawling away, but Peter brought his foot down on his arm, shattering his gauntlet so he wouldn't call his glider.
"I…I…thought of you…as a son, Peter…" Said Norman, weakly.
"And you ignored your own son. Tell me, did you even think of Harry while killing all those people?" Asked Peter, in anger. "He looked up to you! All Harry ever wanted to do was impress you! And you shunned him!" Spat out Peter, as he cried.
"I know…and I'm sorry. Just please, give me…a chance!" Said Norman.
Peter stopped for a bit, as he ripped off his Spider-Man mask. "The things you've done…they're unforgivable. It's like you said, you're not Norman Osborn anymore. You're just The Green Goblin, and that's all you'll ever be."
"No, no Peter! I can change! I...didn't mean any of the things i said!" Pleaded Norman.
"I once thought of you as a great man. Now, you're no different from the scum i fight everyday." Said Peter, as he knocked out Green Goblin.
Peter dropped his Spider-Man mask next to Norman's unconscious body and painfully made his way back to Washington Bridge.
Gwen was still lying asleep on the hood of the broken car, as Peter went to check on her. But that's when he noticed Captain Stacy bleeding out.
"CAPTAIN STACY!" Shouted Peter, as he ran over. George smiled when he saw Peter, then coughed up blood.
"Did…d-did you?" Asked George. Spider-Man nodded. "I stopped him." Said Peter, his eyes tearing up.
George smiled. "I knew you…could do it…Peter." He said, with pained breath.
"Just keep breathing okay? I'll get you to an ambulance!" Said Peter, but George held us hand with whatever strength he had remaining.
"And Peter...the city needs you...to be the man you are today. It...needs Spider-Man. Don't ever change...or turn to the dark." He said
"Take care of…Gwen. She loves you…so much…" Said George, a tear leaking out as he closed his eyes.
Peter shook George. "Captain Stacy? Captain Stacy, get up! Please! Please, open your eyes, Captain! Please!" Cried Peter, as he put his hands over George's wound, similar to how he tried to stop Uncle Ben from bleeding out. Both were completely different scenarios. However, both of them had one similarity:
Peter was too late for both.
A funeral was held, and Peter and May showed up. Gwen had been crying for a whole week. Harry didn't say a word and sat away from everyone else. He felt responsible because his dad killed George, despite Mary Jane trying to convince him otherwise. Gwen's mother, Helen's eyes were red. Even Flash showed up, and promised to turn over a new leaf. Liz and Hobie promised to be there for Gwen no matter what. Carl King showed up out of obligation, but you could tell he felt horrible about it too.
After the funeral, Gwen left early as she didn't want to talk to anyone, but she did want to talk to Peter.
"Hey Gwen." Said Peter.
Gwen sniffled. "Hey Pete."
Peter didn't know what to say, and he just hugged her. He started crying too. "I'm so sorry." He said, and Gwen started crying too. After Gwen got in the car, Helen walked up to him.
"Are you going to be all right, Ms Stacy?" Asked Peter.
"I don't know, Pete. I'm more worried about Gwen." Said Helen.
"I'm here for her if she needs anything. In fact, i'm here for both of you." Said Peter.
"Thank you Peter. It really means a lot." Said Helen, as she stifled a tear and got in the car.
After he said goodbye to Gwen and Helen, Peter walked over to Harry.
"Harry, it's honestly not your fault." Said Peter, trying to reassure him.
"I know, but now I'll forever be known as the Son of the psychopathic Green Goblin." Said Harry.
"I can assure you, Harry. No one will say that." Said Peter.
"No Peter. I should have noticed something was off, especially how my dad- I mean, Norman had started talking to the walls and being hyper-attentive. I honestly should have known this." Said Harry.
"Harry, nobody blames you for what Norman did. So you need to stop blaming yourself." Said Peter.
"Right, thanks Pete." Said Harry, as he walked away.
Mary Jane approached Peter.
"You think Harry will be okay?" Asked Peter.
"I hope so." Said Mary Jane. "What about you?" She asked.
"I don't know. I feel horrible for Gwen. When my uncle was killed, all I had were May, Gwen and Harry. It's our responsibility to be there for her, especially right now." Said Peter, with determination in his voice.
Peter stared blankly at the horizon. He felt guilty about George's death, and how he had indirectly caused Gwen such sadness.
"I should go." Said Peter, as he rushed away from the funeral. But as he tried to leave, Flash came up to him.
"Peter listen, I've been meaning to tell you something." He said.
Peter raised an eyebrow and put his hands in his pockets. "Sure, what is it?"
"I'm sorry for all those years I tormented you in school. After the advice you gave me last week during Christmas, I realized that i had no right to treat you the way i did. I'll tell this to Carl too. I'm sorry, Pete." Said Flash.
"It's all right Flash. I hope things work out well for you with your dad." Said Peter, as he shook his hand, and left the funeral.
Spider-Man stood atop Oscorp Tower, his suit still not completely fixed. Norman Osborn had been sent to Ryker's Island, whereas Curt Connors had been sent to a rehabilitation center. Peter, however, hadn't felt like he had won. In fact, almost every time Spider-Man won, it felt like Peter Parker lost.
"If this be my destiny...then a curse be laid upon me." Thought Spider-Man.
He wondered how many more people will die, because of him.
With the death of Ben Parker and George Stacy on his conscience, Spider-Man swung away, unaware that they were just two out of many more that would haunt Peter Parker in the future…
Whoo! That was the longest and most intense chapter I have ever written! I hope you liked Season 2: "Green Grows the Goblin." I genuinely enjoyed writing this season, especially since Norman Osborn is one of my favourite villains of all time. I can't stress enough how hyped I am to start writing Season 3, titled: "Armed and Dangerous."
Feel free to leave a review on the finale, or on the season as a whole! You can expect Season 3: "Armed and Dangerous" to hopefully be out sometime in August. Until then, stay safe and stay home! Where i am, things are honestly getting worse day by day because of the pandemic, and i haven't seen my friends in months. Here's hoping that i can see them again, especially since online school finally began two weeks back.
Also, i have planned this story for up till Season 5, and most likely more! The first 5 seasons will develop Peter as Spider-Man, escalating him from a street-level vigilante to the superhero he is.
JPrime: Not what you were expecting though, right? I tried to subvert your expectations, and i hope i did.
Arnonymous: Thanks! I hope you liked the finale too.
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.