Chapter Four

Betty Brant handed Peter Parker his latest paycheck with her usual polite smile. As he thanked her, he snuck a quick look at the amount printed on it, and tried to do some mental arithmetic as to just how long this latest addition to his bank account was going to last him.

As he folded the check and slipped it into his pocket, a tingling in the back of his head warned him to take two steps to the right. In so doing, he narrowly avoided being bowled over by Ben Urich, who came charging out of Jonah's office swearing under his breath.

"Whoa… everything all right, Mr. Urich?"

The fuming reporter stopped for a moment, and exhaled loudly. "Yeah, Pete, everything's great. Apparently our esteemed editor in chief thinks I make a better babysitter than reporter."

Peter noticed Clark and Chloe, following reluctantly behind Urich.

Clark extended his hand. "Hi," he said. "I'm Clark Kent."

"Peter Parker." They shook hands.

Chloe cleared her throat.

"Oh… sorry," Clark said. "This is my friend Chloe."

Peter shook Chloe's hand as well.

"Chloe Sullivan," she said. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Peter said, with a warm smile.

Urich looked at his watch. "Wow, would you look at that? It's Beer O'Clock. I'll see you rugrats later."

They exchanged glances as Urich walked out of the room.

"Is he always so…?" Clark searched for the right word.

"Yeah," Peter said. "He usually is. But, he's a real nice guy if you get to know him. And one of the best reporters the Bugle has."

"And what do you do here, Peter?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, I'm a photographer," he said.

Chloe's jaw dropped. "Wait a minute! Peter Parker… you're the one who takes the pictures of Spider-Man, aren't you?"

Pete laughed and looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "Yeah, that's me."

"Really?" Clark asked. "You take pictures of Spider-Man?"

"Yeah… From time to time. He and I are kind of friends I guess."

Chloe looked at Clark and smiled. "That's very interesting… Clark here doesn't believe in Spider-Man."

"Is that right?"

"I… never said I didn't BELIEVE in him… I mean, you make it sound like he's The Easter Bunny or something…" They all laughed.

"Well, Peter, why don't you tell your friend Spider-Man that if he wants to swing by sometime, I'd love to interview him."

Peter looked confused. "Are you guys reporters, or…?"

"Oh, um… well, yes and no. I write for The Smallville Torch… it's our school newspaper." Chloe blushed. "God, that must sound so lame to you…"

"No, not at all!" Peter said. "I think it's really cool. So what are you guys doing here?"

"Chloe won the Writers of the Future Essay Contest," Clark said.

"Wow, no kidding? What'd you write about?"

Chloe rolled her eyes in embarrassment. "Spider-Man…" she said. "And, why heroes in today's society feel the need to wear masks."

"Ah, I see," Peter said, looking impressed.

"So here we are," Clark said. "We get to go on assignment with Mr. Urich later tonight."

"Where are you guys going?"

"Stark Industries is hosting some big World Science Expo tonight," Chloe said. "Mr. Jameson wants us to cover that."

"Hey, what are you doing tonight, Pete?" Clark asked. "Maybe you can come along?"

Pete smiled. "I guess I could tag along, and take a few pictures." Wow, someone was actually inviting him somewhere? It seemed like forever since any of his own friends had done that… minus the botched meeting at the café. "Hey, do you guys have plans for dinner? Maybe we can go grab a bite to eat somewhere? I can show you around the city!"

"Oh, you don't have to show us around, Chloe's been here bef-" Clark was interrupted by Chloe's elbow in his ribs.

"That would be great," Chloe said with a smile.

. . . . . .

Across the city, in the sub-basement of OSCORP, Harry Osborn emerged from his metallic cocoon, a changed man.

The rush he felt was unbelievable… but it was so hard to think, so hard to concentrate. He could not remember his name. His hands were shaking. His vision was blurred. He felt weak, but at the same time he felt energy surging through every fiber of his body.

Monitors had dropped down from the ceiling, displaying images of the Goblin armor and glider. Yes, that was right… the Green Goblin. That's who he was. It all became clear now. His father was the Green Goblin. Spider-Man killed his father. Now he was the Green Goblin. Now he would kill Spider-Man.

His vision slowly cleared, and the feelings of dizziness and unease passed. He was pure strength, pure energy now. He practically leapt across the room, and stared up at the large screens that surrounded him. The display showed a spare set of armor and a spare glider, stashed away in a storage room.

Harry threw open the doors to the storage room to find… nothing?

The armor and glider were gone. The only thing left behind was the mask, lying unceremoniously on the floor, grinning up at him like a Cheshire cat.

He gritted his teeth. "Where is it!" he snarled. "Where is it?!" He slammed his hand into the wall, putting a large dent in it.

Someone had taken his weapons… No matter. This was just a setback. He would find out who had taken them, and he would get them back. And then, the Goblin would finally have his glorious revenge.