Author's Note: Well, I promised another chapter sometime this week, didn't I? So here's the said chapter. Woo! Anyway, you know the drill - read and review. I won't post any more of the fic until the reviews pick up again. And another shout out to the girls at the Norman Osborn lj community - you guys have been wonderful.

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Thunder rumbled in the distance, causing the Goblin - now fully clad in the flightsuit, which he had forced his other half to fix and clean - to look up suddenly. His topaz line of vision was greeted with a yellow-gray sky in which dark storm clouds almost blotted out. Rain was coming. If the sky and the low growl of thunder hadn't told him that, then the smell of nitrogen that was assaulting his hidden nostrils did. And as if to confirm that fact, fat drops of rain spattered suddenly against his jaden breastplate, almost startling him.

The Goblin scowled. Rain would make this whole thing harder. Especially considering the ground he and Spiderman were going to fight on was already slick with filth. But his unpleasant expression soon turned indifferent as he realized that while the rain would make it more difficult for him, the web-head would be having the same problem. And where he could use the glider to get around if things got too tough, it would be hard for the hero to use his webbing, unless of course he wanted to bring years of garbage down on top of him. That was one of the reasons he had chosen this place. To see how the spider played without the webbing that had turned the tables on the Green Goblin last time.

He cast a glance at Harry, who was neatly bound and resting between the two walls of an open trash compactor, unconscious. Had it been his decision, the boy would be dead right now... but Norman hadn't been too keen on that idea. Ah well. The younger Osborn would be dead soon enough - with or without his host's permission. But first, Spiderman would die.

And there he was. As lightning flashed behind him, Spiderman glared down at the green speckle that was the Green Goblin. Perched atop a high mound of garbage and out of sight, the super hero frowned. This was bad. Rain was no good for his webbing. Yes, it was strong, but the water would weaken it considerably and make it easier for the jaden psycho to break. Sure, he still had his spider-sense and yeah, he still had his agility, but without his webbing, he'd be at a big disadvantage.

"Should have known you'd plot this out so well..." But this was not what bothered him. Where was Harry? Crimson-clad head turning in multiple directions, Spiderman started to wonder if he was too late. That is, until he spotted the rust-colored tresses of the younger Osborn.

"Goblin, what have you done?" And with that, Spiderman leapt forward latching on to different mounds of garbage which he knew wouldn't fall beneath him until he finally made his last leap, only to stand in front of his arch-nemesis.

"Welcome to the party, Spiderman. I was beginning to wonder if you got my invitation."

"Oh I got it. You owe me a new window, by the way." Spiderman took a step forward, muscles stiffening as he waited for the Green Goblin to move. When his enemy did not, he continued speaking, hoping to reach out to Norman, who was the saner of the two.

"Why would you kidnap your own son? No, Mr. Osborn, why would you let the Goblin kidnap your son?"

"Osborn had no say in this," the Goblin hissed, the yellow plates over the demon's eyes sliding away with a mechanical whir. True, it probably would have been a better idea to keep the shielding in place to protect his eyes from the rain but it would have kept him from the one thing he wanted more than anything right now. To see the look in his enemy's face when he finally managed to kill him.

His face poisoned with a sneer he continued, half to himself, "I'm in charge."

"You're in charge? Well you might as well surrender now. At least Norman can form a rational and coherent thought. You're so insane you'd probably throw yourself into the compactor." It was hard to keep up the calm and confident attitude, especially since this was how it had been before. Memories of that night flooded back into Spiderman's mind. Goblin had been in charge then too. And he'd nearly defeated him last time.

"You may think you're stronger, but you're not. In reality, if he wanted to, Norman Osborn could crush you like a bug."

"Osborn?" the Goblin snorted. "The only thing Osborn could crush is a soda can - and that's on a good day." The demon inside the verdant armor laughed loudly before pointing out, "And I get the feeling you can sympathize, after all, you wouldn't have to resort to using -my- words if you didn't."

A taunting grin spreading over his features he recalled the night that he had told Spiderman the same thing about being able to crush him like a bug, but not wanting to. And that how it worked with him and Norman. Perhaps his other half could crush him, but why would he want to? The Goblin, Norman's self-appointed champion, had saved him from death and from financial humiliation on more than one occasion. He was always right. Always helpful. So why would Norman want to push aside his helping hand now?

He wouldn't. That was truth enough for him.

So he was caught. And the worst part was that he had received no response from Norman like he was hoping his comments would bring. So what now? He really didn't know what to do. Obviously, talking wasn't going to resolve anything. As it always turned out, he'd have to fight. Fight to save his friend and fight to finally bury the demon that had haunted him for so long.

"So? What now? It's your move. You should know, I'm going to stop you no matter what."

"No, web-head. You'll -try- to stop me."

And with that the Goblin moved forward, closing the gap between the two of them until there was a mere few feet between super-hero and villain. A crooked tongue of lightening splitting the sky behind him, he grinned. "You'll try, and then you'll die." Then, out of seemingly nowhere, a pumpkin bomb sailed through the sky towards the red and blue hero, this one very much armed.

Spider-sense going wild, a stinging sensation rushing up his spine, Spiderman saw the small orb come flying with only a few seconds to spare. Jumping backwards, the web-slinger was met with an explosion that knocked all of the air out of him. He could only imagine what the full impact would have been like. But that wasn't the important thing. What mattered now was that he kept moving. Ribs screaming in protest, the super hero dashed to the left jumping onto the side of a totaled mini-van before using it to propel himself at the mid-section of the emerald villain.

A feral snarl escaped the Goblin's parted lips as he found himself on the ground, his face inches from the jagged edges of a broken mirror as a result of Spiderman's wild lunge. For a moment, time seemed to freeze, as he looked up to find his enemy attempting to fall on top of him to pin him down in slow motion. Scowling at the though, he rolled out of the way, splashing mud and garbage all over his armor as he stopped his escape in one of the many murky puddle that had started collecting all over the fight scene. And it had taken Norman so long to clean the suit up after their last fight! Not that it would have mattered normally, but anything he could make into something fueled his anger and his adrenaline, which was the important part.

Lashing out with a foot, he caught his nemesis just below the rib cage as he fell.

Spiderman gasped in pain the burning in his ribs increasing to an unimaginable amount. He bit his bottom lip, surpressing the urge to cry out in pain as he clutched his side, falling to his knees. Crap. It seemed he'd broken a rib in the explosion, and he'd just made this fact apparent to the Goblin. But, instead of giving up and preparing for death, Spiderman was back on his feet, swinging punches at the man that was causing him so much emotional and physical pain.

"Aww... does the little spider have a boo-boo?" the Goblin taunted, trying to raise himself back to a standing position while dodging swings from the other man. Taking two strong punches to his chest and one to his stomach, he managed to get to his feet, breathing heavily.

"It's nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you." Spiderman spat back, himself breathing heavily as he continued his onslaught of punches and kicks.

"Talk all you want, hero. It's not going to save you." Catching one of Spiderman's attacks in his hand, he sneered before tightening his grip and pushing downwards, forcing the other man to the ground.

The hero cringed, hearing his bones crack as he slowly sank to one knee. The pain that shot through his hand only served as a distraction from the pain that still coursed through his chest. In a desperate attempt to free his hand, Spiderman swung his leg up, hoping to catch the Goblin in the stomach.

Stumbling backwards as his rival's foot connected with his stomach, a hand flew momentarily to his wounded flesh. Then slowly, the Goblin started to inch forward again, trying to put him in a position where he could attack the red and blue-clad other without being attacked himself. Finally finding what he considered to be such a position, he raised a fist, ready to lunge forward and attack, only to be stopped by a moan.

Harry.

Apparently the little Osborn had woken up.

Rain clouding his vision and pain distracting his thoughts, Spiderman could only rely on his senses to help him survive this fight. That idea wasn't too appealing and while he had trained his spider-sense since his last confrontation with the Goblin, it still wasn't as honed as he'd hoped it would be.

A flash of emerald and Spiderman turned full round, ready to block any attacks the super-strong lunatic was ready to throw at him. When none came, he glanced up only to find his adversary staring at something else. Following his line of vision, Spiderman too spotted Harry and gasped. This needed to end, and fast. If Harry was injured, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Spiderman flipped over the Goblin, landing behind him and nearly slipping in the mud. Regaining his footing, he moved to try and grab the Goblin in a choke hold, hoping to prevent him from causing anymore harm.

Growling as Spiderman's fingers wrapped around his neck, the Goblin lashed out wildly, praying he would hit his nemesis hard enough to get him to let go.

And sure enough, the Goblin hit Spiderman in his injured rib, causing the wall-crawler's grip to loosen and then let go completely. But, unwilling to let his opponent win, Spiderman was up again, aiming a kick and a punch at the Goblin's still turned back.

Pain exploded in the jaden-armored man's as both of Spiderman's attacks connected, but he managed to ignore both. With another feral snarl, he moved towards the trash compactor he had left Harry in with purpose, casting a annoyed look over his shoulder that dared his rival to try and stop him. After all, this was why he had kiddnapped the auburn-haired youth in the first place, wasn't it? To call Spiderman out.

Immediately, Spiderman knew what his nightmare was planning to do and he watched, as if in slow motion, as the Goblin got closer and closer to his destination.

"Goblin, no!" He cried, reaching out to stop him before dashing off, agility proving nearly useless as he stumbled and slipped in the mud and filth that was their battleground.

And at this the Goblin laughed. Spiderman thought his little words could stop him? Oh, no. It would take much more than words - something more like actions would be needed. And, as it appeared, the hero wouldn't be doing anything until he could get his footing. Perfect.

Breaking into a run, he nearly fell twice in the mess the rain had created, but reached the control panel before his rival. Winter-gray eyes gazing down into the open pit between the trash compactor's jaws, the Goblin grinned. "Morning sleepy-head," he called down to his host's son.

And at this Harry groaned again. What the hell had happened? The last thing he could remember was leaving his apartment to go to lunch with his father... And now he was somewhere else - though he wasn't quite sure where, because his vision too blurred to make anything out - in the rain. Rubbing the back of his head with tenative hand, he gazed up through clouded vision at whoever was talking to him.

"Head hurt, Osborn?"

Blinking away the film that had inhibited his vision before, he gasped first when he saw where he was and then a second time when he noticed who had been talking to him. "The paper said you were dead."

The Goblin shrugged. "Talk is cheap. And, in fact, I'm already tired of this conversation. Sorry Osborn - it was fun while it lasted." And with that, the jaden-clad demon pushed the single red button that started the trash compactor.

* Let's see Spiderman fight me -and- save Osborn's son. *