***
MJ waited until the dust was settling before venturing near. She stopped when she saw a gloved hand reaching out of the wreckage "Oh God Baby, are you all right? Please be all right. Please don't be dead." The hand clutched air painfully. She began trying to pull at it. The hand latched on to hers and squeezed hard then another hand reached out of the wreckage and The Goblin stood up "Thank you my sweet, I never knew you even cared." He pressed a palm switch and a fine mist spayed into Mary Jane's face she slumped to the ground. He gathered her up and headed toward where his glider had fallen. His suit told him that the main control relay was toast; he tried one of the backups and found it functioning. He could fly on it, but that was it. He leapt on board and baring his heavy burden rose erratically off the ground he looked down and saw Spider-man pulling himself from the wreckage. "I was unsatisfied by our last meeting insect. Meet me where that one began if you want this little lady to still be drawing a breath by sunrise." He raised his arm and fired a blast that blew a hole in the roof. The glider coasted through and took him high over the dragnet of police cars surrounding the bombed out warehouse. "Let Fisk talk his way out of this one." Goblin muttered.
***
DeWolf burst though the door; gun in hand "Everyone freeze." Harry came in afterward "Dad are you here."
"I thought you said they'd be here Osborne "
"Peter said that spider-man rescued him from the trap at the bridge, and that they were headed here. Well its obvious something happened here."
"Yeah, World War Three by the looks of it. Does your father usually develop heavy weapons grade tech"
"It how Oscorp made its fortune, Detective."
A groan from a pile of debris drew DeWolf's attention she drew near to see Spider-Man leaning against a pillar.
DeWolf was amazed at the look of him despite the mask he seemed like a man who had been through a hell she could only imagine. Yet, there he was leaning against a support pillar cool as you please. "Ok vigilante you're under arrest. Hands above your head and step toward me slowly."
"Sorry DeWolf, not an option "
"Are you resisting arrest?"
"No I'm keeping you alive though for how much longer is anyone's guess."
"What."
Harry glanced upward and then seeing the problem grasped the detective. "Look, the underpinnings that keep the main pillar attached were blasted. If he lets that pillar loose, the roof caves in on top of anyone beneath it."
"So that's your scam."
Spider-man snapped at her "Hey gumshoe you want to use those eyes of yours for something and get a clue." He pointed quickly in the direction of two groaning men. "You were already on your way in here when I noticed this." Less then ten feet away from where they were standing were two men buried under debris. DeWolf looked at them then at Spider-man who pointed upwards DeWolf's eyes picked out something she had missed before amongst the rafters was a network of spider webbing. It was this keeping the roof up this long. When the main support pillar gave out the whole thing would go. The alert eyed detective also noticed the hole in the ceiling that had taken out the support. She looked back at Spider-man and asked him with raised eyebrow.
"Goblin made it on his way out. I would have gone after him and Watson, but I saw these two and figured I should web up a support strut. Turns out the roof was more damaged then I thought. Then you guys started pouring in and the main pillar started giving way."
DeWolf motioned to two cops standing behind her. "Ditko, Lee, grab those men, get out of here. Send some of the fire-guys in here to support this thing."
"You still don't get it, this thing is coming down. The question isn't if, it's whose underneath it when it falls?"
DeWolf nodded "Can you make it?"
"Thirty feet straight up, jagged hole three feet across, then across a collapsing roof, piece of cake.
"You should turn yourself in."
"Not while the Green Goblin is free and MJ…Ms. Watson is in danger."
"And when that's done."
"I figured we could date for awhile, then I could meet your parents.
"Don't be flippant."
"Could we table the discussion of my future for a moment when I am not likely to be buried alive."
DeWolf turned and headed for the door screaming for the rest of the team to get clear. She looked back and saw The Wall Crawler was watching them carefully. He would wait until everyone was out of the building before trying to leave.
***
Spider-man watched the last of the cops run out the door. He waited another few seconds just for them to get clear. Then he released his hold on the pillar. Immediately it began to tilt dangerously he fired a web-line and yanked on it as hard as he dared. It bounced him out the hole in the ceiling and onto the roof he landed with a heavy thud. A loud roar announced the rest of the roof was caving in. He closed his eyes and let his senses guide him across the roof. he ran across the roof his spider-sense tracking the fractures in the rooftop. He didn't need to see them to know where not to place his feet as he ran then leapt into the air. He thrust his arm out; a web-line snagged a pole nearby. He hurled himself away from the building and into the sky. He began slinging his way across town toward the one place that the goblin would be waiting. He supposed he should have told DeWolf where this was all going down, but he wanted this to be over between him and The Goblin. "Too bad JJ won't get pictures of this contest it will be worth it" he muttered to himself then he thought "Hell, why not?"
***
MJ wasn't sure at what point in the high flight she passed out, but she was awake now and she looked to see a man crying in the corner. He was curled in a ball and shaking back and forth. She moved toward him as she looked around for The Green Goblin. She knelt beside the man and took his shoulder he started at her touch and then focused on her she looked and saw that it was Norman Osborne himself. "Mr. Osborne what are you doing here."
"He lets me go sometimes" the man stared relentlessly into space as though searching for something
"Well we have to get out of here the goblin will be back any moment and I don't want to be here when he and Spider-Man throw down."
"Yes child he hates Spider-man. With a passion"
"How could you let that lunatic loose "
"I had no choice. I've tried to control him but I gets harder everyday."
"So you where using him. Peter and I thought he was blackmailing you …trying to control you."
"Oh but is trying to control me, don't you see that's why he wants to destroy everyone so that I won't have anything left but him."
"Help us defeat him I could get a message to Spider-man we could work together and finish this for good "
The man began weeping again. Great sobs that wracked his body with such force they made it sound as if he was giggling. Then, as she listened, she realized; he was giggling. He rose from the debris of the condominium and she saw for the first time the uniform that had been obscured. She backed away.
"You know something it was worth it just to see that look on your face."
"You were the Goblin the whole time."
"Well, Nancy Drew finally decided to finally get a clue.".
"You were responsible for everything."
"I blame society, and a lab accident with a performance enhancement drug Oscorp was developing."
"Why get Harry?"
"Norman wasn't going to do it and he was too strong to let me take care of the little cretin. So I arranged for Fisk to find out about little Harry's late night Poker games.
"You set Harry up to be killed at the party.
"You're not thinking grandly enough sweeties. I wanted everyone, Harry, The Board, and Fisk
"That was why you let the hijack take place. You needed Fisk to get his hands on the stolen parts."
"I planned for the police to find the shipping transcripts and link the stolen parts to Harry. I told Fisk that I would pay him off in with the high-tech equipment but Spider-man screwed that plan up when Harry's little guardian angel stopped the hijack. Fisk suspected I was trying to double cross him. That was why he switched the sight of Hardy's little party of traitors to my Condo. He sent his boys to break into my computer here during the party, but I found out about it and took them out. I would have gotten the board members too but that interfering Spider-man got in the way."
"Kingpin believed you were trying to get to him. He set up the warehouse as a trap."
"Yes, you know he actually thought I didn't know that he would be trying to kill me. Again, Spider-Man got in the way. Always the Spider " Goblin smashed a wall.
"Nice to have your work appreciated." MJ turned and there he was standing in the moonlight, weight balanced forward, her heart sized in her chest. "And you'd have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those nosy kids and their pesky Spider-Man. Now comes the part when we rip that cheesy mask off and find out you're really the old the Amusement Park Guy or other pathetic, low rent, no talent punk, who glommed onto some hi-tech equipment.
MJ turned and saw not the mad man she had been addressing, but the Goblin, his mask in place.
"Spider-man, you've got to stop The Goblin, he's really…" The Goblin's blow silenced her as it sent here careening into a wall where she sank into a swoon.
"Oh look at that, did the Goblin break Spider's little toy."
"You animal."
"Well if you're finished being a smart-ass, we can get back to that bitch slapping you were discussing earlier this evening."
They fought hard against each other neither giving an inch nor surrendering one. Very quickly Spider-Man realized that holding up a building had not been the best way to prepare for this battle The Goblin was fresher and less beaten and it was showing. The Goblin hurled him into a wall and then pelted him with shots to the chest and head. He kicked out at Goblin, who grabbed at the offending limb and swung Spider-Man into a wall. he crashed through it to land in a bathroom. The Goblin marched into the room and grabbed The Spider from the ground choking him as he dragged him over to a toilet.
"The old ways are still the best ways to deal with pests." He began ramming web spinner's head into the bowl. "I just want you to know that when I am done with you I'll do Parker slowly. Maybe after that I do the girl for fun.
His dazed mind took him far from this moment to another one in Central Park a lifetime ago. A boy standing at the lake edge next to the closest thing he had to a father. The man was sitting back watching him struggle with a fishing pole way too big for him as he tried to land the fish on the other end. He was struggling and seemed about to surrender. The old man touched his shoulder. "You can't give in Boy. If it's really what you want you can't give in."
"But it's so hard"
"If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing. Just keep trying no matter what it takes. If you get beaten by superior ability that's one thing, but if you give up then you'll never know if you're ever good enough."
His mind cleared and he reached past the bowl and ripped one of the pipes out of the wall directing the stream of water over his shoulder. The Goblin was distracted for a second and Spider-man took advantage of that second. He head butted The Goblin backward and then raising from the floor began to fight back. The Goblin tried to fend off his blows and got as far as catching his fists spider-man flipped himself in to air sticking to the ceiling he dragged The Goblin in the air and pounded his head against the roof. The Goblin fell to the ground dazed. The Spider landed on top of him and sent him flying back into the dilapidated living room with the vicious kick.
Fun you consider hurting another human being fun." He kicked and punched at the goblin propelling him about the room ultimately forcing him against the hole in the room that looked out in to the night and the pavement several stories below. "You're an animal, a monster, the hell I'm sending you to is a better one then you deserve." He punched the goblin hard this time knocking the mask loose Peter looked into the dazed eyes of the man he knew as Harry's father. The fury in his heart was so great; he shoved aside the sentiment that had guided him this far. He pulled back his fist ready to strike the man again. There was a soft coo behind him and a hand touched his shoulder. He spun ready to unleash his full power and saw MJ standing looking at him. Her mouth was moving and he realized the reason he couldn't her was the blood racing and roaring in his ears.
"Do you really want to do that?" She stood her ground and looked at him and he slowly dropped his fists and let Norman sag weakly to the ground.
"I thought you were gone. I…I thought he had taken you from me before I ever got a chance to tell you how much…" she shushed him at that point. Then the mightiest man Mary Jane Watson had ever known sank to his knees, weeping. Why he could not have told you but he wept none the less, and MJ held him. The way she had it figured, he had carried the burden on his own long enough. It was time for rest.
They might have stood like that forever but for the sound of the elevator opening. Spider-man stood and caught sight of Harry he turned to Mary Jane. "Norman was a victim of The Goblin, that's close to the truth Harry doesn't need to know the rest."
She nodded and headed to the elevator Spiderman gathered the fallen broken man in his arms and leapt into the night as Harry charged into the room DeWolf at his heels. "Where's Spider man going, where's my father? MJ what happened to the Goblin?"
"Harry your father was hurt by the goblin, Spider-Man is taking him to the hospital."
"Are you prepared to make a statement Ms. Watson" DeWolf looked at her, analyzing her she looked back at DeWolf with a steady gaze honed in a hundred Hollywood auditions
"I'm prepared to help you in any way I can Detective but I was out cold for a lot of it."
"Well whatever you can do to fill in the blanks."
***
It was a great day and Spider-man was out for a brisk swing.. Things had been quiet sine the end of the goblin affair and he was starting to miss the action. The press on the Kingpin had been quiet since he had no real evidence of Fisk's involvement. He and MJ had agreed to keep the truth to themselves. That decision having more to do with the fact that Kingpins attorneys were busy suing anyone who so much as looked at Fisk with malice in their eye. The press on Osborne had been positive since no one but Peter and MJ knew that Norman had been the Goblin. Peter had stripped off his costume and thrown it in the river before the police had a chance to get them.
He was responding to a message that had been left at The Bugle for Peter to pass on to the web-slinger. JJ was drooling over the shots of The Goblin and Spider-man fighting. So there had been not a word of discussion when Peter had quietly asked for an advance.
He swung toward the municipal building and caught the wall outside DeWolf' office. He slung himself through the window and perched on the sill. The detective smiled as she leaned back in her chair abandoning the early morning reports that were littering her desk. Morning, Spider' out for an early morning constitutional I see."
"Parker reports that you left a message at The Bugle."
"That Parker, so industrious I only left it last night and he managed to get in touch with you since then. I wanted to congratulate you."
"What did I do?"
"You changed my opinion of you, not an easy thing to do. I thought you really were a menace. Not like that blow hard Jameson says I mean that you were some glory hog out for cowboy justice, not concerned with the consequences of your actions but you have convinced me other wise. "
"Thank you"
"It's really noble that you want to do good so I hope that you won't take this the wrong way but I still think you should give up the vigilante thing."
"Why, I thought you had all manner of respect for me now."
"I do, the reason I wanted you out of the way before was because you might get in the way of the professionals like me, causing more harm then good. Now I know you're sincere I have a new reason to not want to see you get hurt."
"Huh?"
"I have watched this job take good hard working men and women and turn them in to beasts worse then the criminals we bring in. I got a report on my desk this morning. A downtown social club that is a known Mafia front was shot to hell the perpetrator was dressed in a suit with a skull on it. I just know that his guy's going to turn out to be some person I would admire if I knew him in real life. Nevertheless, I have to bring his ass in. please don't let that happen to you."
Peter smiled under his mask as he thought about the many times he had heard what a hard ass DeWolf was now he had to wonder.
"BTW" she continued "I would advise watching your back. You made some big enemies with this Kingpin thing and that may come back to haunt you large one day."
"Don't tell me he's going to get away with everything."
'Well Parker was being pulled out of the river by you. So the only witness with reliable testimony is Ms Watson. Fisk's lawyers are already suggesting that she was confused and possibly under the sway of The Goblin so there is no way her testimony can be relied upon.
"But I was there, I saw him there, Bullseye tried to kill the both of us, tried to kill Parker."
"Bullseye is missing in action. You are a masked vigilante who up until a few days ago was being sought concerning The Goblin attacks anyway. Even if you came forward, you would have to take off the mask I am thinking that you aren't wearing it just to cover up your unsightly acne.
"I get the picture."
"Like I said Spider-man. You win some with this job and lose a lot you just hope that you win the important ones and you did."
"How do you figure."
"Parker and Watson are safe and a bunch of low ranking street soldiers are off the street and in jail The Kingpin will know how close we came to him and he will have to be on his guard. In fact I hear he is leaving for Las Vegas day after tomorrow."
"He's leaving town "
"Fisk is not officially suspected in anything and unless your willing to give that unmasked statement I alluded to earlier…" she let the statement hang in the air."
"I can't believe that he gets away with this."
"I wouldn't say that it seems that a copy of the file ended up on a desk with the SEC. We can't touch him for any crimes but corporate feels sure they can get him for crimes related to the attempted coup at Oscorp."
"Well I am out of here you might want to give me the key to the city or something and I have no where to put it."
"Yeah I like the new duds make you look…more Heroic. Speaking of which I, hope that Parker's friend Osborne knows how good a friend he has."
"What do you mean?"
"Ravencroft called and message was passed to me. Norman is doing well and responding to treatment. Whatever The Goblin did is wearing off. However, the scars are there they are healing."
"So you know."
"You did a good thing. I don't think that Harry could have coped knowing the man trying to kill him and frame him was his own father."
"Well I'm off, I do have a reputation as Public Enemy #1 to keep up." With that, the slinger shot a web-line out and snagged the No Smoking Sign on the wall. he pulled it off
DeWolf laughed and reached into the desk for her pack of smokes. "You'd better get lost. Destruction of civic property carries a rather severe fine and possible jail time."
"Well then I had better flee from your custody and resist your attempts to arrest me…" Spiderman paused at the before diving out the window. "You knew DeWolf a few days ago I think Parker gave you the idea that you were turning a blind eye to the crime in this city. I think he would want you to know that he's grown up a little since then. "
"I think we all have Wall Crawler I think we all have."
***
The Kingpin was in the middle of pacing his office. The Arranger was on the telephone making plans for their departure. Neither of them noticed the figure that sprang onto the balcony railing until Spider-Man cleared his throat.
"You" The Kingpin snarled
"So what's with the down face, Denny's won't truck over that Grand Slam meal."
"I'll deal with you."
"Really, the way that I hear it, you're skipping, before the Feds take too much interest in all the super wacky going on."
"Mr. Fisk is taking so much needed time off after the traumatic attack he suffered at the hands of you and the Green Goblin
"Yeah, I can see where having the man you were blackmailing trying to kill you would ruin your day and all."
"That's a slanderous statement sir and if you continue to utter those kinds of baseless accusations I'll…" The Arranger was in full spin control mode but Spider-man wasn't in the mood.
"Relax, Fisk I know the police can't touch you without more evidence."
"You'll find that I am not so easily dealt with insect, I'll be back. I have a long memory when it comes to my enemies."
"I hope that memory extends to your former underlings. The rumor has it; various crime families are already carving up your territory like Christmas turkey. I guess they're less then intimidated by a guy who had to be saved from a giggling lunatic on a flying wing by the spandex suited show boater who was putting him out of business."
"Arranger order me an new desk." the Kingpin growled then screaming he pounded his fist through the heavy oak of the one in front of him breaking it into two pieces.
"I can see your remodeling so I'll take off but, if you're ever in the mood to tango again Big Boy you know were to find me. He stood up perfectly balanced on the railing over looking the deep chasm of the urban sprawl behind him. "Riding your fat ass every second until I see it in prison." He back flipped of the railing and fired a web-line that took him swinging out over the streets and high into the air. He was two blocks away before he couldn't hear The Kingpin's cursing.
***
"So he really broke the desk in two."
"Right down the centre…it was the coolest."
Mary Jane leapt on to the couch in front of the big screen TV. "You are bad. I know how much those desks cost."
"Tell me you don't think that he deserves it"
"Peter Parker no one deserve the torment of putting up with your bad puns and needling. I just think it's funny."
"So Ms. Watson you were supposed to tell me how the call to the coast went. I left you alone this morning to talk to your agent I hoped there might be good news."
"Well he talked to the producers of Secret Hospital and they have already written me off the show…"
"I'm sorry MJ."
"But they are willing to change the script and bring me back. They even offered a big raise in pay.
"That's great."
"Isn't it though…I told my guy that I would have to think about it."
"Think about it, what's to think about?"
"For one thing do I really want to be all the way out on the West Coast anymore?" Peter stopped and stared at her. She smiled at him and held his hand squeezing it. "I had some offers from some modeling agencies here in New York including a guy who says he owes his life to a certain web spinning super hero who saved him from some ruffians."
"I'm sure he was exaggerating."
"Maybe he was, but one of the top models at the agency was not. Apparently her kid sister was saved from a brutal gang rape by Spider-Man"
Peter sat on the couch and looked at her. "Are you trying to tell me something Red."
"Mr. Parker, your little super hero has come to mean one hell of a lot to many people
"And you what do you think of spider-man."
"I don't think about Spider-Man I think about Peter Parker and the thought I have is when is going to realize how much he means to me?"
"I think he's starting to get a clue."
"Good." She elbowed him "A girl likes to think that the men in her life are smart enough to realize how lucky they are."
They kissed then because Peter was just smart enough to realize how lucky he was. The ringing of the telephone dragged them back to reality.
"Hello…No Tell Motel." Peter blushed and turned on the TV so she wouldn't see the multi-megawatt smile on his face. The news was on. Realizing he was hungry Peter leapt off the couch and headed for the kitchenette. MJ got off the telephone and faced the screen. "Harry and Felicia are on the way so we can watch the movie together."
"How is the acting CEO of Oscorp." Peter asked from the depths of the fridge.
"Enjoying his first official act in office. He gave himself time off. And seeing as he and Felicia have been seeing so much of each other it seems the rest of the board is laying off for now."
"Nothing like one of your board members turning out to be involved in an attempted take over of the company and setting you up to be killed so he could accomplish it to create some esprit-de-corps"
MJ wasn't listening. She was taking in the events unfolding on the news in front of her.
"Peter who was that guy that was injured in the Oscorp lab explosion?"
"Dr Octavius, he's in a coma why."
"Cause I think he got better."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, he's on the TV right now."
"What's he saying?"
"That he's going to blow up Ravencroft Institute if they don't hand him Norman's head on a stick."
Peter ran back into the room and looked at the screen. There was the scientist ranting and raving. what was really scary was that he seemed attached to a set of metal tentacles that moved as though alive.
"I didn't really get a good look at him the first time I saw him." MJ asked fascinated "Do the metal octopus arms come standard or was this a recent addition."
"They are differently new." They watched as a police officer had his gun taken from him by one of the arms while two more grabbed and squeezed the officer. The fourth battered the man like a Billy club until he was unconscious or Peter hoped that he was unconscious.
He unbuttoned and pulled open his shirt it revealing his costume beneath it. "MJ could you…"
"…Tell Harry and Felicia that you left to go downtown and take pictures."
"Having my girlfriend knowing my secret identity is looking like the best thing to happen to me for a long time."
"Hold on a second there, Mr. Parker we are living in sin. We will see what happens after the checks from my modeling gigs come in. When we have a place in the city then maybe we can discuss Boyfriend and girlfriend arrangements."
"Yes ma'am"
"And aren't we forgetting something." She held up his camera
"Oh yeah, Thanks MJ" he reached for the camera but the young girl pulled it back at the last second forcing him to put his arms around her to get it back he gave her the hug
"Come back to me ok, I 'm starting to get very fond of you."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." He smiled at her and she kissed on the cheek before pulling his mask into place."
Peter dived out the window with a rebel yell and slept across the rooftops before slinging his way down the street.
Some say that New York is a cold city. If you had to ask a certain Peter Parker, he would say that New York was greatest place to be young, in love, and possessing the proportionate powers and strength of a spider. Of course, that was the opinion of a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man
THE END