Here it is.the final chapter. Well, for a while anyway. Oh, feel free to email me with any comments or submit a review through fanfiction.net... I always love input from my readers! Spidergirl2323@yahoo.com
As always, these characters are not minethey belong to Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and the wonderful people at Marvel Comics.so now that that is said.lets get on with the story..
Harry Osborn sat completely still, eyes closed, almost enveloped by the huge leather chair that sat behind his father's old desk. Tiny slits of sunlight that passed through the closed blinds illuminated the bare patch of hardwood floor where an Indian rug once laid. His eyes were heavy with sleep and shaded from another sleepless night. He had almost become a recluse working on his plan to kill Spiderman and Mary Jane Watson. Not only was he warring with his own emotions over MJ, but he knew that his plan had to be perfect. A combination of pure genius and a certain amount of cruelty were needed for this to be successful. An almost non-existent smirk slowly grew into an evil grin. Not only would he take care of Mary Jane, but he would make Spiderman feel pain-the same kind of pain that he had felt when his father's life was taken away. His plan was almost complete. Just a few more details to work out and it would be ready.
As he leaned back in the chair, his knee hit a button on the underside of the desk, revealing a hidden drawer. Curious of what he had discovered, Harry flipped through a journal, apparently written by his father. The last entry had been written only days before his death. Harry's eyes widened with shock as he read the entries. "I've been so confused, haunted these past weeks. I am fighting with myself, with another part of myself.."
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Mary Jane almost laughed out loud as a man wearing Peter Parker's clothes and a Spiderman mask walked out of her bedroom, patches of hair, still damp from the shower, poking out through the many holes. Catching the amusement in her eyes, Spiderman cracked, "What? The t-shirt ruin the whole ensemble?"
Hiding her amusement, MJ said "No, not at all," she lied. "Actually, I was just thinking how much we seem like a normal couple right now. I'm sitting here on the couch reading a book, drinking coffee, and you look like you are about to go run errands. Well, except for the mask, anyway." Peter's chest tightened at her words. He had never realized how badly he had wanted a normal life with MJ until just then. Then a flash of his final showdown with the Green Goblin swiftly cleared his head. He could never have a relationship with MJ, not as long as some fruitcake in a Halloween costume could hurt her.
"MJ, if you would be so kind as to hand over my costume, I will be on my way and out of your hair. Well, until next time you decide to take a little short-cut down a dark alley at midnight." He strolled over to the couch and sat down next to MJ.
"Not so quick there, Tiger. I'm holding that hostage until I decide you can leave. And I know you aren't brave enough to walk down the street looking like thatsomeone might think you had wandered away from a home for the mentally unstable," MJ teased.
Spiderman laughed for a second at her comment, before clutching his still bruised ribs. "See, what did I tell you? You're staying right here, buck-o." Her face suddenly became solemn, killing the lighthearted fun they had just been enjoying. "Besides, there is one thing I need to talk to you about."
MJ breathed deep, clearing her mind before she began. Turning to look at him, she took his hand. She noticed the slight scar on the back of his hand, a scar that just happened to correspond with a nasty whelp Peter Parker had once had on his hand. "You know how I feel about you, but I have been thinking a lot lately. I think this connection I have with you is a hazard. I don't mean to sound like a coward, but you have dangerous and powerful enemies. I don't want to take a risk of something like events at the bridge to happen again."
Spiderman suddenly became very serious. "I agree. With our connection, it is far too dangerous for you. The best thing to do would be to stay far apart, but I can't do that." He looked at her, trying to sort out his emotions. "I will always be there when you need me. I will always be there to protect you."
"And I will always care for you. I do have a plan, though. It's not so much that you save me frequently that presents the danger, it's the fact that it is very public the way we feel about each other. Get rid of the public attention on our connection, and we get rid of the danger."
"How exactly do you intend to do that, get mugged publicly and not have me come to your rescue?"
"I have a plan. The papers love stories about your friendly neighborhood Spiderman, right? Well, I just happen to have a dear friend who works for the Bugle."
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"Dammit!" Harry Osborn screamed and threw the newest edition of the Bugle across the room.
Public reaction continues to be varied on the value of Spiderman. Many people judge him as a menace, a vigilante who will eventually turn his thirst for violence on the very people he now protects. Others find nothing wrong with his actions and are grateful that there is finally someone looking out for the citizens of this fine city.
Still others have a mixed reaction to the super-hero. "Sure, I used to think he was great," says Mary Jane Watson, the much-publicized Green Goblin victim. "I actually had feelings for him, but the more I got to know him, the less I liked him. He is dark, constantly sarcastic and obsessed with violence. I wouldn't be surprised at all if one day he just flipped out and attacked some people. His need to be around bloodshed is that great. Not that I'm not grateful for the times he has saved me, but that last time was too much for me. I wouldn't have even been a target if he hadn't seemed to have a connection to me. Overall, I think he is too much of a risk, maybe even a menace to society."
So the public reaction to this hero/menace is still varied. Only time will tell what will come for our fair city and its people.
"No use wasting my efforts on that bitch now! I wanted revenge on her, too, but her main use was as a torture device for Spiderman. Oh, well. I still have my vengeance on him. And that is coming soon, so very soon." Harry Osborn, now calmed after his outburst began to think once more about his revenge.
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MJ looked over at Peter, who was sitting comfortably on the couch. It was completely dark outside and the street was deserted, she knew there would be no better time then now to do this, but she still held her reservations. Peter was Spiderman, this she was sure of, but how very much he loved her, she wasn't. All she knew was that she loved him with all her heart, and even though she had admitted this to him, he had rejected her. 'I'm sure that he believed he was doing the right thing, he was just trying to protect me. I can't live like this, though. I can not know that two people have feelings for each other and do nothing to act on them,' she thought to herself. 'Here goes nothing.'
"Peter, I don't think that you have seen the view from this balcony. It's so beautiful." She took his hand as they walked out onto the balcony. Feeling nothing but the uneasiness in her stomach save the faint squeeze he gave her hand, she began to prepare herself.
"You're right. This is a wonderful view, MJ." The pair strolled over to the edge, leaning on the rail. Peter couldn't quite place the expression on MJ's face at the moment, but it seemed to be a mixture of fear, excitement, and love. This confused him, and his spider-sense was tingling ever so slightly.
The moment of truth, MJ thought to herself, it's now or never. If I wait a second longer, I'm going to back out. Then all Peter has to do is deny that he is Spiderman, and I will never know the truth. Eyeing the flag pole two stories beneath her balcony, Mary Jane leaned over the railing a bit more. "Hey Tiger, look right down there. What is that? That thing right near the."
Suddenly, she was falling, screaming, hoping Peter would act as she had thought.
For Peter, the world began to move in slow motion. He heard a scream, but he wasn't sure if it had come from Mary Jane or himself. He saw her reach out, grabbing for the flagpole. She was now hanging for her life by one arm.
Peter shook some sense into his head. Act, dammit! Do something! Suddenly, he leaped over the railing, somersaulting onto the ledge that held the flagpole, the flagpole that held his whole life. He landed gracefully, crouching down, hands on the ground in front of him. "Take my hand!" he shouted to Mary Jane.
"I can'tI can't reach! Peter, help me!" she screamed, tears now filling her eyes. "Please help me."
The hand that was holding the pole began to slip. As hard as she fought to hold tight, suddenly she was falling again. No, she thought, this wasn't part of the plan! He won't be able to catch me.
Peter felt his heart stop and his blood run cold through his veins. He dove down, plummeting towards the street and grabbed MJ around the waist, immediately shooting a web onto a building. When she latched her arms around his neck and pressed her body close to his, he removed his arm from her waist and began to websling onto the top of the building.
"Dammit, MJ, you could have been killed!" Peter shouted as he held her tight in his arms. Even though they were both on solid ground, he felt like he could never let go for fear of losing her again. Peter Parker had never felt as relieved as he did in that one instant that he had grabbed in time to swing onto the roof. What would he have done without her in his life? There had never been a time that he could remember that he had been without her. Ever since he was six, he had been in love with her. "I almost lost you," he whispered, still feeling the shivers run up and down his spine.
"No, Peter, you didn't. You had me the whole time. But I'm so glad you were there to save me." Well, I wouldn't have fallen off the building if I wasn't trying to make you reveal your secret, she thought to herself. Of course, Peter would never know that. She really did regret the way this had happened, but she knew it was the only way to guarantee the truth from Peter. "Just like you always are."
It was then that the realization hit him. MJ knew who and what he was. He pulled back slightly to look into her eyes, searching for the words that were eluding him. "So what now?" he sighed, talking more to himself that to Mary Jane.
"Well Tiger, that's up to you. But I'd say right now we have a few things to talk about." Holding his hand, she led him to the stairs.
Unsure of what was going to happen next and still in shock about the events of the last couple minutes, Peter followed her back to her apartment. "Yeah, I guess we do."
"And this time, you aren't going to lie to me or make excuses. This time, you are going to tell me the truth when I tell you that I love you," Mary Jane told Peter as they sat down together on the couch.
Peter smiled. "Yes, this time I am going to tell you that you are my whole world. This time, I won't let anything keep us apart, not even my worst fears. Love will conquer all."
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"Thanks to my father's notes, this time it will work out right. This time, there won't be any side effects of insanity," Harry Osborn said to himself. "With this, I will now be able to conquer all my enemies."
Norman Osborn's journal sat open on the lab table. Computer screens blinked and a myriad of monitors beeped. The sterile lab contrasted sharply with the mess of a man in it. Harry Osborn's eyes were dark from lack of sleep and his hair stood on end. He ran from station to station checking settings on the machines, making tiny variations until at last he was satisfied. With a flip of a switch, the large chamber in the center of the lab came to life. Lights came on, and a large restraint device came to a vertical position with a whir. "Now he will pay. Now I will avenge my father's death and make him suffer," Harry said to himself as he entered the chamber.
The doors closed behind him, and green gas filled the chamber. A glider similar to his father's and a new goblin suit were ready, awaiting his exit.