Beyond enraged, Harry slammed the door shut after entering the mansion where his father had once lived, and continued on a path of destruction. He stood behind the door breathing rapidly for a second, then yelled out something unintelligible as he stormed towards the nearest surface; the kitchen counter and threw his arms across, dragging them all the way to the edge, sending everything on top flying in different directions.

Not happy with causing that minimal amount of destruction, he moved towards the next room; his father's study, and began trashing the place. Starting with pulling random books off the shelves and tearing them to pieces, then lifting the bookcase and throwing it across the room. He watched as it crashed into the wall, creating a massive crack in paint work, and fell to the floor, taking the small TV with it.

Moving on to the desk in the room, he screeched in anger as he flipped it upside down, smashing the oak wood to pieces and causing all its contents to become damaged. With nothing left in the room to destroy, he threw himself into the door and repeatedly thumped on it with his fists before slumping down to the floor, bringing his knees up to his chest.

Peter Parker used to be his best friend. They would have done anything for each other. He would have done anything for Peter. Yet it was clear that this fact was no longer true. He was going to die, and what he had asked for wasn't much. But rather than being a good friend and giving his dying friend one last chance of survival, he'd chosen to save Gwen Stacy instead. Peter had chosen his girlfriend over his best friend, and now they were going to be married. Harry had never felt so betrayed by anyone in his life. The only thing that brought him just a tiny shred of comfort now, was knowing that revenge was in his grasp. The so-called hero would pay for his mistakes. One way... Or another.

But first thing was first; revenge on those stingy board members. Clenching his hands into fists, he straightened himself out and stood up. All emotions were now absent from his face. There was no hurt, no frustration, and no rage.


With Peter in the shower, getting ready for a whole day of training ahead of them, Gwen sat on his bed almost completely lost in her own thoughts. If anything, she was still mind-blown from the magical night they'd shared together. Glancing down at the dainty ring that had been slipped onto her finger, she watched as light bounced off of the diamond, causing it to sparkle. She smiled to herself for a moment, reflecting on everything that had led up to the surprise.

Back in school, when she'd first laid eyes on Peter, and when they'd spoken for the first time, she knew that there was something special about him. He was different from all the rest but in the best way possible; He wasn't loud, or pushy, and he appeared to be shy until she'd gotten to know him. If she was being fully honest with herself, then she had to admit that all it took was one conversation for her to fall. Since then she had come to know him as this shy and goofy yet romantically charming guy with the biggest heart.

"Hey Smiley!" Peter greeted, leaning against the door frame with a towel wrapped around his waist.

Lost in thoughts of him, she hadn't realized the major smile that had crept onto her face nor that Peter was standing in the doorway, until he'd spoken. Her head snapped up instantly as she realized that he'd been standing there for a few minutes at least.

"Well, look at you all fresh." She said, becoming flustered as he'd caught her off guard.

He chuckled at her comment before walking over to the chest of draws and sifting through them to find clothes.

"So what is the reason behind this smile?" He questioned, feeling happy himself.

"You, of course. What else would it be?" She informed him playfully.

Accepting her response with a Cheshire cat grin, he proceeded to get dry and dressed before they headed out into the city. As usual, it was buzzing with cars flying past on the road and herds of people all over the place. Walking past the Oscorp building, Peter froze for a moment outside the door; his smile turning to a frown.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, feeling his sense of uneasiness radiating to her.

Before he could speak, they were both hit with the familiar tingling feeling that indicated that something bad was about to go down.

"Stay close to me." He instructed, without any proper explanation.

Without a question, she did as he asked and followed him as he led her around to a side alley nearby, where he took off his normal clothes, leaving only his spider suit. Following his lead, she copied his actions and once they were both in their suits they hurried back to the front entrance of Oscorp.

Reaching for the door, Gwen looked to Peter for approval and he gave her a nod. Exhaling sharply, she placed her hand on the handle but just as she pulled it open someone from the other side barged through, causing the heavy glass to swing back and catch her in the face, knocking her to the ground. Shaken up, Peter looked back and forth between Gwen and the figure, who was now legging it down the street. He was in two minds over what to do. On the one hand, whoever it was clearly was up to no good since they were running, but on the other he did not want to leave Gwen, now holding her face, on the ground.

"I..." He began.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Now go!" She told him.

Hesitating for a second as he moved forward, he quickly back tracked and helped Gwen back to her feet before shooting a web and swinging on it in the same direction that the person had. As he closed in on the culprit, he let go of the web and dropped to the ground below; landing perfectly and then took off running, chasing him around the corner and right onto a construction site.

Pushing himself to his limit, Peter picked up his speed and once he was only an arm's length away from them, he reached out and grabbed their hood, yanking them back and forcing them against one of the metal beams. Shooting another web, the culprit became trapped against the surface as it clung to him. Taking his chances, Peter ripped the hood right off their head and was finally able to clearly see exactly who it was.

"H- Harry?" Peter stammered. If it weren't for his mask covering his face, he was pretty sure that he'd turned a ghostly pale as the realization dawned on him.

"Well, well... Look who decided to show up and try to be the hero again." Harry sneered.

"You can't get to me, you know." Peter informed him. Noticing his ex-friend fiddling with something between his tied down hands, he frowned. "What have you got there?" He quizzed, trying to get a good look.

"I don't believe that's any of your business." Harry retorted.

"Oh yes it is! Why now? After two weeks of silence, what is your game?" Peter interrogated.

Harry remained silent for a moment, before bursting out in a sadistic chuckle. Peter watched, growing more annoyed with the childish man as each second passed. He thought of a million places that he'd rather be right now but couldn't because this lunatic wasn't cooperating.

"Hahaha- Oh, I'm sorry. I just couldn't help myself. Do you really think that I; stupid, childish Harry, would leave it this long to get revenge?" He taunted.

Dumbfounded by his words, but guessing that it was just an attempt at manipulating him, Peter shrugged off this question.

"Nice try, but you can't manipulate me. It's not going to work." He informed him.

"Come on, Peter. I'm not trying to trick you... We used to be best friends, you should know me... Think, would I really let it slide and back off?"

These words crashed Peter's train of thought as he began to think back to all those times they'd shared together, when they were only young children. Times where Harry had acted out of anger and jealousy.

August 16th, 2004

"Peter!" One of the kids, slightly older than himself, called from across the park. "Petee!" Another one next to them called.

It was a scorching hot day in the middle of summer and as a treat for being so well behaved, aunt May had taken himself and his best friend Harry off to the park for a few hours.

Happily playing in the sandbox with Harry, Peter ignored the other kids, not wanting to abandon his friend. He looked up and saw Harry happily pushing along a toy firetruck and interacting with the toy car that Peter had in his own hand. Then he looked back at the small group of boys that were now throwing tiny stones to grab his attention and making hand gestures.

"They keep calling you..." Harry, his speech still not fully developed at his young age, pointed out.

Pretending he hadn't already noticed, Peter looked behind him at the boys, whose voices became amplified as he did. He stood up and brushed the sand off of his little trousers.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked, sounding almost worried.

"Don't worry. I'll be back. I'm just going to tell them that I am playing with my friend." He informed him.

With that being said, Peter toddled over to where the boys were standing and gave them a friendly smile, not wanting to make any enemies.

"That's it! Come join us..." The taller one of the group encouraged him.

"Actually, I was just coming to ask you to please stop calling my name. I'm trying to play with my best friend." Peter requested politely.

The older kids looked amongst themselves and whispered some words that Peter not only couldn't hear but wasn't able to understand, then turned back to him and laughed.

"You can't be serious. You mean that freaky looking kid with the stupid hair?" The shortest boy asked.

"He's not a freak, he's my friend!" Peter defended.

"Well boys, looks like we got a total dork on our hands." The tallest boy announced.

Before Peter could defend himself, the shortest boy stepped forward and shoved him hard, sending him to the ground. Peter hid his face, upset by their actions and not wanting to show it.

Seeing his friend being hassled by the group of boys, Harry snapped and made his way over to them, and as the tallest boy gave Peter a kick in the stomach, he tackled him to the ground. The other two boys watched in shock as Harry let loose on their leader.

Regaining some of his strength, Peter propped himself up on his elbow and watched as Harry continued to hit the other kid. Just as shocked as the other boys, he watched curiously as they ran away. Finally the tallest boy was able to put some distance in between himself and Harry, and then ran off to join his friends.

Looking back at the moment now, Peter came to a horrible realization. Ever since they were little, Harry had always acted upon his feelings and he never held back. Not even for a second. He stared at his ex friend, and was only now beginning to see him in a different light.

"No... It can't be... But that means... You... You killed Gwen's family!" He gasped, horrified by the truth.

"Ding. Ding. Ding. Three points to the champion. Yes, I did kill them and I quite enjoyed it if I do say so. Oh it was fun watching your personal hope, lose her own." Harry admitted.

Peter felt sick. His stomach began to churn and all he wanted to do was destroy Harry. Make him suffer the way he had with Gwen's family. But he held back. No matter what had happened, he couldn't sink down to that level, and he didn't want to.

"Why? If you wanted to hurt me then fine, go ahead, but you didn't have to hurt Gwen too!" Peter snapped.

"You really want to know why?" Harry questioned.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know." He answered.

"You won't like the answer." Harry warned him.

"I don't care! Now spill it!" Peter demanded.

Harry smirked at him in a way that spent shivers down his spine, and then licked his lips before proceeding to explain his reasons.

"The reason why I targeted her and not you is because I knew that seeing her hurting, would hurt you more than if I targeted you directly. Oh... And just to give you a heads up, your pretty little girlfriend is next on my hit list. After that, I'm coming for you, Peter!" He sneered.

Having reached his breaking point, he couldn't stand to hear anymore and punched Harry in the face, leaving him with a red mark on his cheek.

"I swear to God if you touch her, I will kill you!" He warned.

"Relax... I'll make sure her death is swift and painless... Call it a freebie if you will." Harry stated, a playful glint in his eyes.

"Enough! Just tell me what this is all about! I haven't done anything, we haven't even spoken since that night!" Peter yelled, his anger flaring.

"You saved her life! She died that night and you brought her back with your blood! Yet when I needed the exact same thing, you refused." Harry raged.

"Because I was worried that it might not have done you any good! How do I know that it wouldn't have killed you faster? Gwen's different! She was healthy until you caused her to fall and break her neck! I saw it! I heard... Man, I heard the cracking sound and it sickens me still even just thinking about it. Look, if I'd have thought that my blood would do you more good than harm then I would have given it. I'm sorry for that, but don't take this out on her... I was the one who made that choice. She was... Just a victim." Peter defended.

Thinking about Harry's reasons, he couldn't help but lose the strong urge he'd had to tear his head off. More than anything, he felt ashamed. If he'd have just agreed to give it a try, then Gwen wouldn't have paid the price. All of it, her falling from the clock tower and even the murder of her family, could have been prevented if it weren't for him. Had he really ruined her life instead of being the hero?

"What's the matter, Peter? Ashamed? I would be, if I were you too. You do more harm than you do good. Gwen's family were murdered because of you... She was killed because of you. All because you didn't have the strength to stay away from her. Oh, and let's not forget that you broke the promise that you made to her father." Harry taunted him.

"No..." Peter whispered, his fists no longer clenched as he loosened his hands.

"Yes. Admit it! All of this... Everything that has happened, it's all your fault." He teased him.

"No. I did what I had to in order to protect her and save the city!" He denied.

"That's true, but she wouldn't have needed protection if you had just stayed away from her like you promised." Harry twisted.

Peter stopped moving and remained silent as he reflected on everything that Harry was saying to him and every moment that had led up to this one; The promise he'd made to Captain Stacy, and the fact that he hadn't had the strength to keep it. His mouth fell open and he staggered backwards, landing against the metal beam opposite to the one he'd webbed Harry to, and slid down to the floor.

"Gwen would still have a family if you'd have just stayed away from her! You didn't have to force yourself into her life. You want the truth... She is better off without you!"

Guilt and panic rising in his chest, he couldn't breath. He found himself on the verge of another breakdown, unable to stop his breathing from becoming rapid. Trying to force himself back on his feet, he was unable to move as every bone in his body locked into place.

Using Peter's state to his advantage, Harry broke out of the web that had glued him to the beam and rose to his feet. Taking a few steps, he closed the distance between them and dragged Peter to his feet by his throat and ripped his mask off, exposing his face.

"Harry..." Peter choked.

Remaining silent, Harry pulled his fist back, aiming it at Peter's face and then swinging it at full force. He then repeated the same action as before; three times. Four times. Five. Once he got bored of punching, he grabbed his ex-friend by the hair and threw him forward, slamming him into the beam that he'd just broken free from. Throwing his arm up to protect his face, Peter blocked several more of Harry's attacks as he slowly began to regain himself.

"Just know that after this fight, I'm gonna leave here and the first thing I am going to do is kill her." Harry taunted, his voice little more than a whisper as he put his mouth to Peter's ear.

Rage burning hot inside him, Peter kicked Harry in the stomach, sending him to the ground. He was shocked to find that Harry was able to regain composure within a split second and before he had the chance to follow up with a flurry of hits, he was back on the ground with his head under Harry's foot.

Lowering himself to the ground, Harry grinned as he pinned Peter to the ground by sitting on him, placing his hands around his neck and squeezing.

Peter felt the struggle of his body as his air was cut off immediately from the force, but he didn't bother to fight back this time. The things that Harry had said to him he just couldn't shake off, and although he'd buried it for Gwen's sake, he was still wracked with guilt over what had happened at the clock tower. Barely able to keep his eyes open, he felt them beginning close. Everything around him became a huge blurry mass and eventually he was consumed by darkness, just waiting for defeat to come.

Watching as Gwen smiled at him, he grinned. Running up to her, he shot a web out and used it to pull her into him. Catching her in his arms, he kissed her softly and then pulled back to look into her jewel blue eyes. He'd never felt love like this before in his life, and he wanted to do everything he possibly could to ensure that he didn't lose her.

"Promise me this is forever..." Gwen asked as she stroked his face with her thumb.

"I promise." He vowed confidently.

He felt himself fading fast, Gwen's smile being the only image left in his head amid all the haze. Just as he felt his heart beginning to give up, a tidal wave of air rushed into his lungs and all he could hear was the sound of fighting. Punches being thrown, yells of anger and frustration, and the sound of bone against metal. Finally regaining his strength, he was able to open his eyes and see what was going on.

Having ripped Harry off of Peter, Gwen left him with no chance to retaliate as she used her web shooters to catch him as he attempted to get up and run. Pulling on the web, she caused him to almost fall onto her but moved out of the way at the last minute, which resulted in him falling flat on his face. Planting her foot on his back, she held him firmly in place and used more webs to keep him down before repeatedly kicking him. First in the stomach, then in the head.

Making sure he was well and truly stuck, she ran over to where Peter had propped himself up by leaning against the metal beam. She dropped to her knees beside him and began to check over his injuries.

"I'm fine, Gwen." He wheezed as he fought off a coughing fit.

"No you're not... You're covered in bruises and blood." She disagreed, both concerned and upset by his stare.

"I'm so sorry, I ruined it. I ruined everything. You got hurt because of me." He whispered.

"No, Peter. Don't let Harry get inside your head. What happened at the clock tower, that was on him okay, not you. I am responsible for my own choices and I chose to be with you that night, so I don't want to hear you blaming yourself anymore, okay!" She protested.

"Gwen..." He breathed.

"Ssh... It's okay, I'm going to get you home." She reassured him.

"No! Behind you!" He choked.

Spinning around just in time, Gwen caught Harry in the middle of launching a sneak attack. Blocking the hit, she struck back with her fist, slamming it right into his jaw. Unphased by her hit, he gave her a kick which sent her staggering back a bit. Quickly regaining her focus, she dodged a second kick by grabbing hold of his foot and using her own to sweep his leg and knocking him to ground. Shooting another web, she locked him in place and continued to attack him with punches.

Meanwhile, noticing the discarded item that Harry had dropped during the fight, Peter gathered all his strength and made a move for it. Getting as close as he could before his body caved in to exhaustion again, he reached out with his hand and grabbed it. Looking it over, he realized what it was that he was holding; a memory stick.

Breaking free from Gwen's web, Harry used the opportunity to grab her by the hood. Fumbling around in his pockets, he found what he was looking for; a Swiss army knife and put it to her throat.

"Are you watching this, Peter? This is where she dies, and the punchline is... It's all your fault." Harry yelled with a disturbing laugh.

Staring at Gwen, who didn't dare try to escape this one, Peter silently panicked as he tried to think of a way to save her. Glancing down at the memory stick in his hands, he had an idea. Although he was unaware of what was on the little device, he figured it must be important enough considering that Harry had stolen it. Rising to his feet, although still weak, he held the memory stick up for Harry to see.

"You don't want to do that. If you do then I will destroy this and then whatever is on it will be lost forever." He warned.

"Peter..." Gwen called, becoming frantic.

"It's okay, Gwen. Trust me." He assured her.

Harry's trembling hand froze with the blade inches away from her neck as he saw what was in Peter's hand. Cutting an evil at him, he smirked as he began to press the blade right up against her neck. Responding to his actions, Peter placed the stick under his foot and prepared to slam it down on the device.

"Wait!" Harry shouted.

Hovering his foot only a few inches above the memory stick, he waited for Harry to continue speaking or to back down.

"She's not worth what's on that... You can have her back." He called and threw her aside like garbage.

Gasping in relief and breathing in as much air as she could, Gwen quickly caught on to the distraction that Peter was providing. Harry began to move towards him, holding out his hands expectantly.

"Well, come on... Give me the stick." He demanded.

"Here. Take it." Peter said, holding it out for Harry to grab.

"You want a stick, I'll give you a stick!" Gwen yelled.

Just as Harry turned around to see what she was talking about, Gwen charged towards him with a discarded scaffolding pole and swung it at full force, whacking him around the head with it and knocking him out cold. Dropping the pole, she ran into Peter's arms and hugged him tightly.

"Come on, let's go while he's out." Peter stated, wrapping his arm around her and leading her away from the scene.

Once they were back on the busy streets, he stopped and turned to face her, not quite sure how to break the news to her.

"Why did we stop?" She questioned innocently.

"Listen Gwen, there's something that I have to tell you." He began.

"What is it?" She asked, once again concerned.

"It's about your mom and..." Peter hesitated.

"And what?" She asked, taking off her mask after making sure that no one around them was paying attention.

"I found out who did it." He admitted.

"Harry... It was him, wasn't it?" She guessed, her heart sinking.

"Well... Uh... Yeah. I am so sorry Gwen." Peter confirmed.

Gwen fell silent as she struggled to come to terms with this new information. Over the past couple of days, she had tried hard not to think negatively and only of good times with her family. Though now that seemed impossible. Falling against him, she rested her head in the crook of his neck, the only shred of comfort being his presence. Placing his arms securely around her waist, he bit down hard on his lip as he tried to push the guilt away; failing as he felt a tear drop seep through the material of his suit.

"Wanna go home?... Oh, sorry... That was a stupid thing to say when you can't go back to the-" He began to ramble, but was quickly interrupted.

"Relax, it wasn't stupid." Gwen told him, lifting her head to look into his eyes as she wiped away the remaining tears in her eyes. "Home isn't a place. Not to me. You are my home." She finished.

Holding her closely, they set off back for aunt May's house, walking slowly to ensure that they did not irritate their injuries.


Back indoors, Gwen had insisted on taking care of Peter's wounds before anything else, and so they'd gone straight to the bathroom. He too, wanted to look after her since Harry had made a little slit on her neck and there was now a bruise on the right side of her forehead, where the door had collided with her earlier.

"Hold still!" She instructed him as he winced as she bathed a wound to his chest with a warm cloth.

"Sorry. I'm trying. Anyway, we should take care of yours first, you got it worse." He whined.

"Peter, I'm fine. I just... Have a little headache, that's all but nothing a good sleep won't cure." She brushed off.

"Well... Okay then." He agreed, still not fully convinced.

After bathing and putting a few band aids on the rest of his wounds, Peter returned the favour by cleaning up the blood that had stained her neck. Once he was happy that it was looking better, he placed the cloth on the bathroom counter and turned to her.

"Ready for bed?" He questioned.

"Yeah... Just need to use the bathroom first." She informed him.

"Oh... Okay, I'll uh... I'll be in the bedroom." He stated and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Turning towards the toilet, Gwen froze in place as her ears began to ring; producing a sound like white noise and a sharp pain shot from her neck up to her head. The noise grew louder, making her head throb harder than it had been and causing her hands to fly up and grip her temple. Trying to breathe through the pain seemed impossible and before she could call out for help, her legs buckled and she collapsed to the floor, her eyes fluttering closed in the process.