Still half asleep, Peter rolled over and extended his arm expecting to feel Gwen beside him, only to find an empty space where she should have been. He bolted upright into a sitting position and scrambled out of bed instantly. Fleeing the room, a bolt of lightning lit up the entire hallway, startling him. A rumble of thunder shook the house, causing him to stop and have to steady himself.
"Gwen!" He called out, desperate for a reply.
His eyes darted around the hall before he headed over to the bathroom, he shoved the ajar door wide open but discovered that it was empty. Slamming his fist against the door, he huffed in frustration. He rushed down the stairs hoping to find her. It was early hours of the morning and waking up without her by his side had set off alarm bells in his head. First he checked the family room with no luck before getting to the kitchen. Upon the dining table, he spotted a piece of paper and wasted no time picking it up and casting his eyes on what was scribbled on it.
Peter,
I know you've probably woken up in a panic, and I am sorry that I had to tell you this way but please try to see it from my point of view. The sleepless nights will only worsen if I don't put an end to the mystery of the phone call and I know that you would have never let me go otherwise, so this was the only way.
I understand if you're angry and even if you resent me, I've given you every right to those feelings after where I'm headed tonight. I just want you to know that I truly am sorry. I don't want to hurt you, but I need closure. Please don't come looking for me, I could never live with myself if you got hurt, just remember that I love you with all of my heart and if by some miracle, I make it out of tonight alive then I will come back to you.
Love,
Gwen. Xxx
Peter screwed the note up as he clenched his fists and suppressed a yell. He exhaled sharply and shed his clothes, leaving his suit exposed. He had no idea where Gwen had gone, but he was determined to find her. Even if it meant searching the entire city. He ran towards the front door and opened it so quickly that it almost struck him in the face and then slammed it behind him. Finally outside he let go of his frustration in an anger fuelled scream.
"What's the matter, Princess? Surprised to find me somewhat closer to invincibility?" Harry mocked.
"Do not give us away, Harry! Choose your words carefully!" Venom instructed.
"Doesn't matter how strong you are, I can still take you!" She declared, moving in a circle as he moved opposite her.
Amused by her statement, he chuckled. It was an unsettling sound that came from somewhere deep within him. Gwen straightened up, knowing that he was trying to get her guard down enough for him to be able to attack. He swung the pole horizontally, causing her to swerve backwards to dodge the blow. As the pole missed her once again, she grabbed hold of it and thrust it forward, shoving him backwards. During his stagger, his grip on his makeshift weapon loosened, allowing her to pull it from his hands completely. Using his unsteadiness to her advantage, she thrust the pole forward once again to disorient him further. Convinced that it would take him a moment to recover, she made an attempt to swing the pole and hit him over the head, but much to her surprise he caught it mid-swing with very little effort and used her strong grip to pull her closer. Once she was only inches away, he struck her in the face with his hand and dug the sharp end of the pole into her side.
She cried out in pain as he forced it downwards, creating a deep scratch before tossing it aside. The pole clattered to the ground with a metallic echo, piercing through both their ears. Taking her chances, Gwen lurched forward and headbutted Harry right between the eyes, but he didn't even flinch. In retaliation, he grabbed her long blonde hair and forced her around in a circle before letting go, causing her to go flying across the gravel and crash into a metal beam that supported a broken down roller-coaster. Groaning in discomfort, she hurriedly got back to her feet and moved in to attack Harry once again.
"Perfect! You've got her all riled up, now break her!" Venom hissed inside his head.
Gwen moved to strike Harry with her fist, which he blocked. Another strike of lightning lit up the park as she broke through his block and twisted his arm backwards. Before he could yell, she had her arm around his neck in a headlock and squeezed as hard as she could manage. Angered by her gaining the upper hand, Harry gripped her forearm and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her to the ground. The rain drizzled down her throat causing her to choke and allowing Harry to straddle her, pinning her to the ground. He clenched his fist and brought it down upon her face, then repeated the action twice before she managed to get her arms free. Reaching up, she placed her hands underneath his jaw and forced his head backwards. Finally, he snapped under the pressure and backed off of her. Taking no chances, she got back to her feet and charged towards Harry as his back was turned, jumping through the air and kicking him in the back which caused him to stumble forward, landing face first against the solid wood of a ticket shack. Gwen picked up the pole and raced towards him, impaling him through the stomach just as she had done back in Oscorp headquarters.
Harry turned around and smirked with blood dribbling from his mouth, then gripped the pole with both hands and pulled it out of him. Gwen's face fell as she watched him recover from the attack as though it was just a tiny splinter in his finger. She turned to run, but he was in front of her before she could even take a step.
"BOO!" He yelled.
She backed away, intimidated by his strength. "This is impossible…" She gasped.
"What's the matter, Gwen? Did you bite off more than you could chew?" Harry teased.
"No!" She snarled, swinging her hand to slap him, only for him to catch it mid-air.
"You're nothing but a weak, pathetic, mentally unhinged wannabe superhero!" He taunted her, tightening his grip and forcing her wrist back until he heard the snap of a bone.
"I didn't mean break her literally, dumb ass!" Venom quipped inside his head.
Unable to move her wrist, she clenched her teeth to avoid yelling as pain tore through her. Dealing with it, she broke free of his grip and raised her foot to kick him, sending him flying backwards. She kept her injured wrist still as she moved forward and aimed her arm at just the right angle before shooting a web that attached itself to Harry's face, temporarily blinding him. Taking those few seconds, she used her web shooters once again, this time to pull him forward. As soon as he was close enough, she released the web and slammed her fist into his jaw causing his teeth to crash together. He spluttered, sending spit flying in her direction, which she dodged.
"I'd love to see you try to win a fight against me when you can only use one hand!" Harry challenged.
"Be careful what you wish for, asshole!" She quipped, using a spinning hook kick against him that sent him back even further.
"Seriously Harry, is that all you've got? Go on! Unleash the beast on this bitch!" Venom encouraged.
Taking in Venom's words, Harry paused for a moment and closed his eyes, unphased by the hits that Gwen was sending his way and channeled every ounce of hatred he held for Peter Parker. He remembered how his so-called best friend had refused his request for blood, and how he'd fought with him for this girl… All of the negative memories that he'd held onto for so long came rushing to the surface, and then went straight to his fists. He pulled back his hand and then let it loose, landing a punch on Gwen's face that caused her to stumble. While she was disoriented, he landed another. Then another and another. Sending his fist flying in her direction once more, he was taken aback as she caught it in her hand and then used her other to land a powerful punch in his chest, sending him flying across the park and landing amid a pile of rubble. Closing the distance between them, she smirked down at him as she watched him squirm in pain. He was about to prop himself up on his elbows when she kicked him back down to the ground. Looking around, she noticed a roller-coaster track that was at least two hundred meters high and had an idea.
"Now who's the weak one?" She retorted as she kicked him once more. "You want me that badly… Come and get me!" She teased, aiming her web shooters up to the coaster track and used the web to pull herself onto the beams and climbed her way up to the top, standing up on the wood of the track and looking down at Harry on the ground below.
"She's making a fool out of you! You're stronger than this! Go and end her right now!" Venom raged.
Harry staggered to his feet and pressed a button on his green suit which produced a hoverboard. He stepped on the shiny silver surface and then used the board to follow Gwen up to the top of the coaster track.
"Well, well… Doesn't all of this seem familiar to you?" He taunted.
"Fighting from a great height? Yeah, it does… Except this time I won't be the one to fall!" She declared, kicking him as soon as he stepped foot onto the wood.
He wobbled as he tried to maintain his balance, but did not fall. Frustrated with her failure, Gwen kicked him again. This time he stumbled back and lost his footing, gripping onto the ledge with only his hands. She looked down on him and began to lower her foot, ready to apply pressure to his hands, but paused as she heard yelling in the near distance.
"GWEN!" Her name echoed through the silence.
She retracted her foot and tore her eyes away from Harry to investigate where the voice had come from. She knew instantly who it belonged to and she was desperate to stop him from coming any further. Locking her eyes towards the front gates, she saw a slim figure racing towards the roller-coaster.
"Peter!" She whispered in shock. "PETER, DON'T!" She warned him.
"Gwen! Stop! Please… Get down from there and come back to me!" He cried at the top of his lungs.
Gwen froze. She'd walked into this fight without thinking anything through and at the risk of losing Peter. He'd been right about the phone call too, which made it even worse on her part. Instead of accepting what she already knew, she had to go and dig deeper and of course, Peter had followed her. A wave of guilt flooded through her as she realized the gravity of her mistake and everything it could cost them both. She would never forgive herself if something happened to Peter.
"No! I have to finish this fight!" She yelled, afraid that if she backed out now, Harry would pull another of his tricks.
"Let him go! He deserves to die but you're better than this, Gwen! So don't stoop to his level!" He yelled back, hoping to break through to her.
"She's distracted… Good! You can use this to our advantage." Venom pointed out.
With that fact brought to his attention, Harry kept a close watch on Gwen as she stared down at Peter. He watched as her expression changed from rage to one of confusion and that's when he made his move. Using all his strength, he pulled himself back up onto the track and stood up. Gwen jumped back, surprised by his sudden movements. She clenched her fist and went to strike him but he forced her back until she was on the edge.
"NO!" Peter cried, watching in horror as she struggled to keep her balance. He wanted to get up there to stop her from falling, but knew that it would take him too long to climb. "Harry, stop! It's me that you want and I'm here now… So come and get me!" He yelled, trying to get his attention.
It was true. He wanted revenge on Peter more than anything in his whole life, but he also wanted to watch the so-called hero suffer. Killing him now would be no fun, first he would break his heart and then he would end him. He shoved Gwen back with little to no effort and watched as she slipped, gripping onto the ledge just as he had moments before. Peter gasped and his eyes widened as he felt his heart pounding in his chest. All of sudden he found himself back inside the clock tower, facing off with Harry and then watching Gwen fall, only this time he couldn't wake up and feel relieved that it was just a dream. This wasn't just a dream. This was real, and he was being forced to watch his worst nightmare come to life.
"My, my… How the tables have turned." Harry commented, raising an eyebrow.
"Harry! Please! Don't!" Peter begged.
"That's right, Peter! Beg me… Beg me the same way that I begged you." He taunted.
"None of this is her fault! It was all me, so if you want to hurt someone… It should be me!" Peter tried reasoning.
"Oh don't worry, that's exactly what I am planning to do… First a little heartbreak though." He stated.
Laughing at Peter's pleas, Harry stepped on Gwen's hand, applying as much pressure as he could before stepping back and watching as her grip loosened and her hand slipped from the railing, causing her to fall. Unable to stop herself, she screamed as she felt herself falling. Though it didn't make sense, she could feel the time standing still as a thousand thoughts raced through her mind; the majority of them being memories. She could hear Peter screaming, but it didn't sound real. Then everything faded to black.
"I'm here Peter... And I'm not going anywhere. That's a promise." She assured him.
"I thought I'd lost you..." He whispered, tears once again filling his eyes, this time from joy.
"Wait... My head hit the ground, I felt it... How did you...?" She began to ask, feeling confused.
"It's a long story, I'll explain later." He told her.
As she stood up, he took her in his arms once again and held her closely, rocking back and forth, not ever wanting to let her go again. Without hesitation, she returned his embrace, holding him tightly. Whatever he had done to save her life, she didn't care, she was just happy to be back in his arms.
"I love you so so much." He whispered in her ear, his breath hot against her skin.
"I'm so sorry..." He choked into her ear.
"Peter, you didn't do anything wrong. You saved my life. Don't be sorry, it's okay... I'm right here." She soothed.
Not knowing exactly how to comfort him, she returned the embrace and rubbed his back slowly with her hands, hoping that it would ease his anxiety.
"I nearly lost you..." He whimpered.
"But you didn't, and you won't ever." She assured him.
"I was just thinking… In a city this size, without Spider-man they would have no one to protect them but there are times when even he gets worn down… The city needs you, and after doing what I just did… I think that I finally understand that better than anyone." She explained, nervous to get her words out.
"So… What exactly are you saying?" He asked, unclear on the exact point she was trying to make.
"I'm saying that I don't want to go to Oxford anymore, Peter. I want to stay here together. I know you said that you'd follow me wherever I go, but the truth is that this city would have crashed long ago without you… So I wanna stay here."
"BOO!" Peter yelled from behind, tapping her on the shoulder.
Hiding the laugh that wanted to escape at his goofy entrance, she turned around and hugged him. She knew that if she didn't then she'd only end up letting her earlier feelings take control.
"Three minutes and forty seconds." She announced.
"Wait… Were you timing me?" He asked.
"Well, there wasn't much else to do." She admitted.
"See? I told you that I would be no longer than five minutes. Am I forgiven?" He questioned, pouting his lips.
"Hmm… I suppose, you didn't even take five minutes, so I can forgive you. But please don't disappear again." She pleaded.
"I promise, I won't." He agreed.
Glancing down at his watch, the butterflies in his stomach became restless as he saw the time. In only ten minutes, she would finally understand why he'd left her alone for five minutes.
"Where did you go anyway?" She asked curiously.
"Ah, now that's a tough question. I'm afraid I can't answer you until nine o'clock. In about eight minutes, there will be no need to explain." He informed her.
Unimpressed with his vague non-answer, she folded her arms and scowled at him. Noticing this instantly, he placed both his hands upon her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.
"I promise that you're going to love it." He insisted, stepping out of the way of her view of the bridge.
Standing by her side and making sure that she was completely focused on nothing other than the bridge, he fumbled around in his pocket and found the ring; holding it tightly in his hand. As the last minute of the hour of eight o'clock came around, the sun began to disappear, being replaced by a beautiful blue.
9:00pm
Gwen stared out at the bridge intently as it began to light up, ready for night time drivers. Finally, the lights on the end of the bridge that was opposite to where they were standing lit up and her eyes widened as she saw what was written with web on the supporting beams of the bridge. Thinking that she was mistaken, she rubbed both her eyes with the back of her hand before looking again. Sure enough, there was no mistaking what she had read.
Scribbled across the bridge in a fine web pattern were the words; Gwen Stacy, will you marry me?
Absolutely speechless, she turned to see Peter still by her side, with one knee resting on the ground as he looked up at her. His eyes were burning with hope that was almost as bright as the lights that illuminated the bridge.
"W-What?" She stammered, unable to collect her words enough to form a sentence.
"So Gwen Stacy, will you marry me?" He read the words written on the bridge aloud.
Her hand flew up to cover her mouth that dropped open as she was left completely stunned by his surprise. She could feel her legs begin to shake as she caught sight of the ring that he was offering out to her in his hands. Swallowing hard, she took a second to recompose herself before attempting to speak.
"Yes." She answered, biting her lip as she felt the full force of the surprise hit her.
"I love you, Peter Parker." She whispered.
"I love you too, Gwen Stacy." He said back, embracing her and swaying in an almost dance-like way.
Opening her eyes, Gwen found that she was no longer falling and instead she was safely in Peter's arms as he stood below where she'd fallen from, cradling her like she was the most fragile thing he'd ever touched. She breathed heavily, her heart racing at the speed of light as her body recovered from the fall. Neither of them spoke, though he didn't put her back on her feet either, instead they just stared into each other's eyes. She opened her mouth, wanting to cry; wanting to apologize for her mistake, but before she even got a word out, Harry came down from the coaster track.
"Oops, did I interrupt you? Oh, I'm sorry, my bad…" He mocked, following it up with another menacing chuckle.
Peter set Gwen back on her feet and shifted into a fighting stance, readying himself to fight Harry. He locked eyes with the broken, psychotic shell of the person that used to be his best friend and pulled his lip back in a snarl.
"Two against one?... Looks like the odds are in our favour!" He teased Harry.
"Ha! He still hasn't figured it out. I think it's time that we dropped the bomb on them…" Venom prompted.
"You might want to rephrase that slightly… It's more like two against one and a half…" He corrected him.
"Seriously? That's how you announce it! Fine! But I'm the one and you're the half!" Venom grumbled.
Before Harry could stop it, Venom had taken the wheel, surfacing over the green suit that Harry was wearing and revealing itself to a horrified Peter and Gwen.
"Now do you believe me?!" She cried.
"Yes…" He stated, extending his arm out in front of her to stop her from getting any closer to Venomised Harry.
"Time to pay the price, Peter Parker!" Venom growled.
"Oh yeah? Bring it!" Peter challenged.
"No!" Gwen protested.
Accepting the challenge Venom moved vastly towards Peter, but before he could reach him, Gwen ducked under Peter's arm and rushed at Venom. In a matter of a few seconds, she had already webbed his face and landed a punch. Though it did little harm him as he ripped the web straight off and let out an almighty roar in her face.
"Anyone ever told you that you could use a breath mint?" She quipped as she webbed him again; this time aiming at his arms.
Using the opportunity while Venom was distracted with Gwen, Peter slipped away having spotted a mountain of discarded rubble and picked up a long wooden beam with rough and jagged edges. He waited in the background, watching as Gwen tackled Venom until he blocked one of her hits and picked her up with little effort, holding her over his head in a position that would snap her spine if pressure was applied. Knowing he only had seconds, Peter rushed towards Venom yelling a battle cry as he forced the wood right through Harry's body. Venom shrieked and threw Gwen, sending her through a window of one of the boarded up gift shops. She choked and spat out splinters of glass, but when she attempted to move she felt an overpowering pain. Lifting her head, she looked down at her body and noticed a fairly large shard of glass protruding from her side.
Venom did not bother to follow after her and instead turned his attention to Peter, who was making another attempt to stab him. Unphased, he grabbed the jagged end of the wooden beam and lifted it, along with Peter, off the ground. Then he shook it, causing Peter to lose his grip and flicking him off with little effort. He landed on the ground and rolled over onto his stomach, he picked himself back up and came at Venom again, this time with a rubber mallet that had been discarded near one of the strong man games, and struck him in the back, sending him flying forward. Dropping the weapon, he ran over to the boarded up gift shop and jumped through the broken window.
"Gwen, come on… You've gotta get up, the fight's not over yet!" He urged.
"Peter, I can't." She shook her head, wincing as she felt the glass move.
"No, no, you can't? What do you mean you can't?" He questioned in panic.
"There's glass in my… Stuck in my side." She informed him.
He glanced down, hearing Venom roar angrily in the near distance, and noticed the glass for the first time. Without thinking, he knelt down and placed both hands on the shard, attempting to pull it out.
"Stop!" Gwen screamed at him as she felt the glass move.
"We are not being defeated this way!" He protested.
"Peter! If you pull that out I will bleed to death!" She warned him.
He stopped, realizing that she was right, and fell back as tried to think of what to do. Remembering the hoodie he'd tied around his waist earlier when he'd shed his normal clothes, he untied it and grabbed another large shard of glass, cutting through the material until the sleeve came completely off. After ensuring that he had enough, he set it aside and placed his hands back on the glass that was lodged in her side, pulling it with full force. He cringed out of guilt as her cries of pain rang through his ears and he had to force himself to keep going. Finally, the glass began to budge and once it was loose, he managed to slide it out with little effort. Panicking as he heard Venom now right outside the old shop, he hurriedly tied the sleeve he'd cut off around her waist and tightened it in order to stem the bleeding. He stood up and offered her his hand to help her up. She glanced at his now bloodstained hand and took it without hesitating, getting back to her feet. Before either of them could move, the roof was being ripped from the building and thrown away.
"Found you! Now it's my turn to hide!" Venom yelled, treating the fight as though it was a game.
Then he disappeared from sight. Peter and Gwen hurried back out of the shop and looked around, completely dumbfounded as there was no sign of him.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" Gwen questioned, struggling to stay standing.
"I don't- I don't understand. He was here literally a second ago!" Peter stammered.
Not willing to believe that he'd just left them alone, the two searched frantically; Peter looking over one end of the park and Gwen over the other. Eventually, she gave in looking for Venom and stopped walking. She shivered as the ice cold feel of the torrential rain began to get to her.
"Enough!" She yelled as a rumble of thunder collided with the word. "This is not a game of hide and seek, so I'm done playing!" She announced. "Show yourself, bastard!" She demanded.
Another strike of lightning lit up the entire park and as Gwen turned around to go back to Peter, Venom jumped out of nowhere and tackled her to the ground. He managed to pin her down rather easily despite her efforts to fight him off and he grabbed her hair, yanking her head back so that she was forced to look up at him.
"Time to die, Gwen!" Venom roared, slamming her face into the gravel.
"Peter!" She called out, before he yanked her head back once again and repeated his actions.
Turning around, Peter heard his name echo through the park as though it was being carried by the thunder and raced back to Gwen. After reaching the shop they'd been in when Venom had disappeared, he caught sight of Gwen trying to fight off Venom as he repeatedly slammed her head to the ground. The scene that he was confronted with reignited the rage towards Harry that he'd felt just over a month ago back inside the clock tower and channeling it all, he charged towards Harry, whom Venom was still in control of, and gave him a hard kick to the face. Venom shook it off as though it was the lightest touch he'd ever felt, but released Gwen to focus on Peter.
He stood up straight and stalked towards Peter, who then attempted to strike him again with his fist. Venom blocked the hit and retaliated with a force that sent Peter straight into the metal beams supporting the roller-coaster track, smashing his head against the surface and knocking him out cold. Wide eyed, Gwen rose to her feet, holding herself up as best she could and ran over to Peter, throwing herself down beside him.
"Wake up! Peter, come on! You have to get up!" She cried, shaking him.
Despite her efforts, he did not stir. She looked back to see Venom gaining on them and her body began to shake with fear. Trying once more, she grabbed Peter's shoulders and shook him again.
"Come on! You can't leave me!... Please get up!" She pleaded frantically.
His finger twitched, brushing lightly against her hand and giving her hope that he would be able to get up before Venom got to them. With her heart pounding, she reached out and placed her palm against his cheek.
"Please…" She whispered.
She attempted a smile as she watched his eyes open slightly and urged him to get up. He was awake, but too disoriented to move for the moment.
"Run!" He told her.
"No!... I'm not leaving you." She protested.
"Gwen, don't fight me on this. Now go!" He demanded.
Hesitating for a moment, she heard Venom roar once again, and took one last look at Peter before turning and running away. She hurried along as thunder shook the ground beneath her, causing her heart to race even more. She looked back as she heard Venom gaining on her and tumbled to the ground at the exact same moment after failing to notice that her foot had been caught underneath a wire. Sparks flew from how abruptly the adapter had been pulled from the socket and Gwen shuffled back as she expected Venom to come at her; being surprised when instead he backed away and cowered as sparks flew towards him. Though she didn't have the chance to react as another strike of lightning lit up the sky, this time hitting the exposed socket and igniting a fire that not even the rain could put out.
As the flames spread along the wire and caught everything in its path, Venom continued to back away. Gwen used the opportunity to get on her feet and grab the mallet that Peter had used earlier. She noted a part of the fire where the flames were lower and wasted no time leaping over it and slamming the mallet into Venom's back, causing him to stagger nearer to the flames, missing them by mere inches. With a growl, Venom snatched the mallet from her hands and threw it away, unaware that it would give them the advantage. The rubber mallet landed in the middle of a pile of hollow metal pipes and the force created ultra sonic sound waves that pierced through him, causing him to drop to the floor, cluching his head.
Confused, Gwen glanced over to where Peter was laid and began searching the park frantically with her eyes when she noticed he was absent. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally located him, retrieving the rubber mallet from the pile of metal pipes. He made eye contact and gave her a smirk as he raised the mallet and struck the pipes with it once again. Just as he had the first time, Venom cringed at the noise. Gwen nodded at Peter to signal to him that he should keep doing it. So he did, and each time the sonic wave sounded, Venom became more and more irritated.
"Screw this, Harry! You're on your own, I'm out! Sorry, not sorry!" Venom stated. "Don't worry, Peter! I'll be coming for you when you least expect it!" He roared.
Before Gwen could even get in a single hit, Venom began to detach himself from Harry until he was completely free and then fled the park in the blink of an eye. With Venom gone, the bigger threat was eliminated, leaving only Harry for them to face. Although he was weak, he still attempted to lunge towards Gwen, but she shoved him away as though he were a light weight and then picked up an axe that had been discarded in an area of discontinued construction. Dragging the heavy metal wood cutter along the gravel, creating more sparks, she cornered Harry between the raging flames and the sparking wire. He looked up at her, silently pleading with his eyes as she gripped the axe tightly.
"Please…" He choked.
"You robbed me of my family… So now I shall rob you of your life… Oh, but don't worry, I will make it hurt!" She taunted.
She looked down on him, savouring the look of fear in his eyes, and smiled. Then she raised the axe high in the air.
