Now off to the reviewers!
To Crys Skywalker: You want Austin to kill Noreen? Who do you think he is...his father?
To Moonjava: Thanks.
To Agent Silver: So do I.
To LadyKayoss: The author of "How Do I Love Thee" and "Moonlight Becomes You" is calling my plot devices bizarre? Sheesh!
On to the story! Read it while you still can...there's only one chapter left.
Chapter 15: Choices
(Author's note: A reference is made in this chapter to LadyKayoss' story "How Do I Love Thee". I love this story, highly recommend it, and the reference is intended as an honor. So I hope she won't be offended. There is also some mild sexual innuendo. You have been advised.)
Otto, Austin, Ben, and May dove into Ben's SUV. Peter and Mary Jane followed in their car.
A man in a silver Volkswagen, balancing an extra large espresso on his lap, honked at Otto as he cut him off in pursuit of Noreen. "What are you, a maniac!" he yelled.
Otto poked his head and two tentacles out the window and grinned. "Why, yes I am!" The Volkswagen driver promptly spilled his coffee all over his lap.
Meanwhile, Ben was flipping through the pages of a Playboy magazine he had brought. The cover boldly proclaimed, "Our First Hot Superpowered Babes Edition!"
"'Noreen Osborn, aka the Girl Goblin,'" Ben read aloud. The picture didn't leave much to the imagination; just Noreen, and a goblin mask and a few pumpkin bombs, strategically placed. "This the one we're fighting now? The one who kidnapped your boyfriend?"
"Yep," sighed May.
"She's sure got some good muscles," Ben observed.
"Well, she is capable of tearing my spider webs to shreds with her bare hands," agreed May.
"'Jennifer Walters, aka the She-Hulk,'" Ben read aloud again. "Now I'd like to look through that lawyer's briefs."
"You and your vulgar puns," moaned May.
"How about this one? Speaking of your boyfriend, how is he in the bedroom department? Armed and dangerous, you might say?"
"Benjamin Parker, shut up," snapped May and Otto in unison.
"I'm surprised Playgirl didn't want to see the good doctor here," commented Ben.
"No one wants to see an aging, chubby, six-armed mad scientist naked," answered May. "No offense, Doctor."
"You'll be surprised, little sister. Dad told me about this one time—and this is really funny—how the Daily Bugle voted him 'Most Desirable Man of New York.' It was freaking mass insanity, half the girls in the city were chasing him all over the place, some girl threw her bra at him and it got tangled up in his tentacle, I ought to tell Rachelle Laufey, she'd really love to hear it…" Ben began to laugh recalling the event.
Otto's expression was pained. "Don't talk about that. Please."
"Didn't Playboy call you up for a photo shoot?" asked Ben.
"Yeah," said May. "Dad got to the phone first."
"The spoilsport. Hey Otto, you wanna look at this?"
"No, I'm driving."
"Come on, I know you can do it, with your tentacles having cameras that go into your brain and everything," cajoled Ben.
"No!"
"Doesn't anyone turn you on?" Ben grumbled.
Otto actually turned to look at him. "My wife Rosalie turned me on," he said. "She's dead now, and her death is what made me Doctor Octopus."
They were at the Brooklyn Bridge when Noreen finally paused in midair still holding her two captives. The two cars pulled over and everyone got out. No one quite knew what Noreen would do next.
"Well, Austin," Noreen shouted high above them. "I gave you a choice—whether to partner with me and make something of yourself, or to persist in your misguided allegiance to your so-called girlfriend and her father. You chose wrongly. I'm telling you now, no one rejects the Girl Goblin and gets away with it. So I will offer you another choice. I am going to drop your cousin and your sister off the bridge into the water below. Your tentacles stretch to only thirty-five feet maximum and so you only have time to save one. And you're going to have to choose which one—now!" Noreen threw both the girls off the glider.
What happened next happened fast. Austin raced to the side of the bridge, but Otto, who was closer, pushed him out of the way.
Retrieve the redhead!
Father, we don't know her. Why should we care whether she drowns?
She's my son's sister!
Half-sister. Another man is her father.
Do as I say! Now!
The tentacles' speed made up for their hesitation. Within a few moments, Magni was being pulled up, the pincer of the lower right firmly holding her around the waist.
Meanwhile, Peter swung down, deftly diving under the bridge to catch Rachelle. He carried her up, and set her down on the ground.
Magni caught sight of her benefactor. "Ew! Get that thing off me!"
"I just saved your life," Otto growled. "One would think you'd be a bit more grateful."
Noreen, infuriated that both the girls had been saved, began to throw pumpkin bombs. Ben and May began webbing them up so that they bounced harmlessly off the ground, but there were a few they missed, and one was heading straight for Mary Jane. Rachelle pushed her out of the way, getting badly singed in the process.
Austin, meanwhile, wound his tentacles around Noreen's legs, pulling her off the glider. They were now locked in combat, in a flurry of fists and tentacles, each trying to gain the upper hand. Noreen was knocked almost flat by a tentacle, and in spite of her superhuman durability, was getting winded. But she had one more trick up her sleeve.
Noreen grabbed at Austin's tentacles, releasing shockwaves of electricity through her purple gloves. Once again, they flailed limply at his sides, short-circuited.
Noreen knew that all Austin's power lay in those arms. Without them, he was an ordinary science geek. She landed a punch, knocking Austin to the ground. Then she pounced, and began to strangle him.
Acting completely on their own now, the tentacles returned to life once more. Before Austin could react, the upper left arm popped out its blade. It lunged at the girl attacking its "brother," impaling her straight through her heart and out her back.
Noreen's eyes widened. "oh," she said, and slumped to the ground, dead.
Austin looked at his antagonist's body. "Oh my god. What have I done? I've gone and killed her."
