Author's Note: Thank you so much for your support, 'tis very helpful

Sorry for ze long wait. I'm busy, y'know bein' in High school and all, but... here ya' go.

Chapter 6: Explanations

Time seemed to fly by. Thanksgiving passed quickly and it was now mid-way into December. The strange attacks seemed to happen every morning. Each day, at the most, six dried corpses were found every morning hanging from trees, lampposts... anything.

Peter had found much to worry and/or think about after this morning's find. As he shot out another webline, he shuddered, almost making him loose his grip.

"Come on Pete, Go faster... clear your head," he thought to himself as he gained speed in his upward arc over a building. Otto wasn't around anymore. Peter knew that he had gone back to the house.

He sighed, a blast of cold air meeting him as he rounded another corner. Who was causing these bizarre attacks anyway? Why were they happening? But most important of all, when would the Green Goblin reappear. He had to admit, Harry finding out about what his father was, wasn't a very good thing. Peter knew that it was just a matter of time before Harry went ballistic and tried to wipe out half of New York, like Norman did. What was worse was he knew who he was...he knew Aunt May, MJ...his weaknesses.

He only hoped that he would be ready for it when the time came. In the mean time, the task at hand was to find out whom, or what was causing these horrifying murders. Another webline was released from his bright red glove with a THWIP. Peter felt himself falling.

"Wha-What?!?" Peter shouted above the wind roaring in his ears. His gaze flew up to the sky. His webline had missed the building he was aiming for and he was plummeting towards the ground. "Damn!!" Peter yelled as he flung out a zip line at the last moment and pulled himself to the wall that it had attached itself on. Looking at the ground, he noted that he was about five feet fromslamming onto the concrete.

"I have got to concentrate, I can't...sigh," Peter said to himself. He slowly crawled up the wall of the skyscraper he had hastily pulled himself onto. Reaching the top, he sat on the eaves next to a stone gargoyle. He sighed as he rested his chin on his fist. His other arm leaned up against the head of the stone creature.

"Huh," He said. The stone beneath his skin felt strange... almost grooved, even though it was supposedly a smooth part of the Gargoyle's head. Upon removing his arm, he saw that engraved in the stone, were deep claw marks. At first he thought it had been Otto, however upon closer inspection, he saw that the marks were long and slender and not to mention extremely deep.

"How bizarre." First, dry corpses hanging from what appeared to be black webbing, now, fresh scratch marks in solid stone...clearly this was one opponent who would need constant watch. He would have to run it by Otto whenever he made his way back to the apartment. Peter stood up and adjusted his face mask, then with a flying leap, launched himself into the cold air. He passed through each section of town, heading south. His spider senses were going nuts. In the distance, Oscorp loomed up forebodingly. Unfriendly. This was where his senses were leading him.

Peter peered through his visors into the windows of the top-floor. Inside two figures were moving around. Harry sat behind his desk with an evil smirk on his face. The other man was blonde and muscular. He was speaking to Harry making sweeping movements with his hands.

"I've seen him before, but... somehow I can't put my finger on it." Peter whispered.

"I swear... he's changed Osborne. He's not the dork I remember from college. He's like...I don't know... an eight legged...Arnold Schwarzenegger or something." Eddie said wide-eyed.

Harry nodded his head. "I know that. That's exactly why I gave you the symbiote in the first place. I wanted you to take him out so that there will be no more diversions interfering with me and Spiderman. Doc Ock has to be out of the way." He tapped his fingers on the oaken desk. "Go get some rest."

As Eddie turned to exit the room, Peter captured a glimpse of him.

"Short blonde hair, Blue eyes... cheery disposition," Peter said sarcastically as Eddie turned towards the elevator with a glaring scowl. "Eddie Brock!"

Peter Jumped off of the wall. "Boy, I'm gonna have a lot to explain to Otto when I get back," he said heading back towards central park at full speed.

"...Ohhhkay? So what? Brock's workin' for Oscorp, whoop-de-do," Otto said sarcastically when Peter told him about the little gathering.

"No, no, no," Peter sighed. "...Harry using him to kill you."

"If he's supposed to be getting rid of me then why hasn't he done so already?" Otto laughed looking at Peter and crossing his arms... (Organic ones.)

Peter shrugged, "He's biding his time... Norman did the same."

"Norman?" Otto raised an eyebrow.

"The original Green Goblin," Peter said. It had been hard on him to say that. He had been his bes- cough Former best friend's dad. "Oh, by the way... What's a symbiote?"

Otto's eyes snapped open. "What?"

"I said, what's a symbiote," Peter repeated slowly.

Otto slowly turned his gaze to Peter. "Why?"

"Just wanted to know."

Otto sighed. "Come with me."

They both walked down the long stair cases to the main hall. Otto turned to the large oak doors on the left and opened them. The doors creaked open, revealing a huge library. Tall rectangular windows lined the walls, flooding the room with light. Otto strode over to the far-back corner. Peter almost had to jog to keep up with him. "Oh god, how can you be so long-strided?" Otto smirked and shrugged as he stopped in front of a large bookcase filled with thick notebooks, textbooks and encyclopedias. Peter almost ran into him. "What are you doing?" Peter asked quietly as Otto lifted himself off of the ground with his bottom two actuators. Otto ignored him. He ran his finger along the dusty spines of books, muttering something to himself. "Ah, here it is," He said as he lowered himself. In his hands rest a particularly thick encyclopedia.

"Symbiote...Sym- ah, here," Otto whispered, turning the book so Peter could read.

"The Symbiote is of an alien species hailing from a distant planet, (No name given). They are parasitic and assume the form of their hosts. The symbiote survives off of the life force of other creatures that it devours. Each one is endowed with certain ability, however, whatever creature they attach themselves to; they grant the host super strength and reflexes. They come in all colors and, having no shape, can morph into anything it desires. Thankfully, only a few are recorded to have ever made it to Earth and, however, very little information is available in this field." Peter stared at the small paragraph. "So now we know what is causing these attacks, but we don't know what it looks like."

"Seems that way," Otto said in a low voice.

Peter thought back to the meeting between Harry and Eddie. "Hey hold on... Eddie said something about you... that he knew you from college. What's going on? Why does he have such a desire to kill you?" Peter asked suspiciously.

Otto sighed. "Peter, you might want to take a seat," he said gesturing towards a chair.

"Eddie hates me because, back in college, Rosie was his girlfriend. Your teacher Connors and I as well as Eddie and Rosie all went to Empire State University. When I met her on those steps, we tried to get each other to understand our fields of research. She wanted me to understand literature and I wanted her to understand science. Eddie however wasn't too happy with the fact that I was talking to her so he would constantly badger me to leave her alone. She however thought that I was very charming; we spent a lot of time together. But... one day I found out that Kurt had gone into the hospital because of some kind of bone disease. I also found out that he would need his arm amputated if he was to live. A few weeks went by. When he came back to school... He just became the butt of everyone's jokes. He was beat up constantly on a regular basis... Even some of our closest friends turned on him because his disability and treated him like shit. They thought that it was uncool to hand out with someone who has one arm. But, one day... I came into our classroom early and found him sitting alone. When I asked him what was wrong, he didn't look at me and just mumbled that he was hiding. I saw why. He had a serious-looking black eye and a monstrous and severe bruise on the left side of his forehead. All I remember is that after he told me that he was attacked by Eddie and those bastards of friends that hung out with him, I wanted to pay them back. The next day between classes, Rosie and I were walking on the grounds; I noticed a group of kids beating on someone on the ground. When I saw that it was Kurt, I just... went crazy. Threw my books down and punched a couple of guys to the ground."

"Well, well boy genius... finally snapped?" A younger Eddie Brock sneered. He threw a punch that made Otto take a step backwards. Blood flowed freely from his nose. Unexpectedly, Otto's fist swung upward and found its mark. Eddie fell backwards from the punch. "Get away from him," Otto seethed.

"Just as I thought," Eddie scoffed as he stood up, wiping some spit off of his chin. "All social rejects stick together."

Kurt had gotten to his feet and looked on as Otto stood in front of Eddie and his friends, covering his stump of an arm with his hand.

Otto drew himself up to full height. He seemed to be at least six inches taller than Eddie.

"Come on Science-boy, fight me." Eddie glared.

"I would, however, it would be a complete waste of good energy." Otto said returning the scowl. "I've had it up to my eyeballs with your bullshit, Brock!"

That really made Eddie's blood boil

Eddie, in a furious rage threw punches to Otto's face. One after the other. Otto didn't even stagger. He just stood there. As Eddie wound up for one last punch, Rosie flung herself in front of Otto much to everyone's surprise. Eddie managed to control his fist before he swung down. His arm dropped to his side. "Rose, on.-"

Rosie glared at him. "You are what everyone says. A self absorbed Jerk! You pick on anyone whom you decide is not classified in any social status, and I've had it!"

Eddie stared in disbelief at his girlfriend, "... you can't tell me that you're sticking up for this...loser!"

Rosie turned to look at Otto, "I am," she sighed. "It takes more courage not to fight back than to throw the first blow."

Otto smiled, despite the sharp pain in his face.

"I want you to leave Eddie... Just stay away from me." She said slowly, her brown hair shone in the sun, giving her an almost ethereal look.

That's when Eddie snapped

Eddie didn't know what to say. His girlfriend was dumping him for some kind of science geek. He walked up to Rosie, "You know that he'll hurt you... he's just gonna let his projects come before you and you are going to end up dea-"

A resounding slap cut through the still air. Eddie stared in disbelief. "Fine," he said. He regained himself and stared into Otto's eyes. "I swear to you Octavius...I swear. You took my dignity, you took my girl... I'll get you for it one day... trust me...I'll get you for it."

"That was the last that I saw of him." Otto said leaning against the bookcase behind him. The actuators clicked and whirred in curiosity.

Wow, he's never admitted anything like that... not even to us

Yes, it really is a disturbing story

Hmmm...

Maybe this Brock character is the one behind these attacks

"And I take it that that's how your nose got broken?" Peter said noting the fact that Otto's nose bent slightly to the left. Otto laughed at the blunt remark, then straightened up as he listened to his actuator's remarks. "Wait... so according to you guys, Brock is the one behind these murders?" he asked the actuators.

"Well, Brock does have a bit of a bad rep, y'know." Peter said slowly. "He used to work as a reporter for the Daily Bugle until I found out that he was making up stories about some kook known as the 'Sin-Eater.' After I found out what it was all about, you could say that he has a bit of a problem with me."

Otto nodded and pondered their current predicament. "I have an idea."

It was dark by the time they came out of the library. Otto climbed straight to the roof while Peter stood gazing out of the window looking over central park.

"Oh Peter!" Aunt May emerged from her room wearing an old plaid shirt that Uncle Ben used to wear and blue jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she had a sweet smile on her face. "I just wanted to tell you that MJ is visiting her cousin tonight and she told me to tell you not to worry."

"Thanks Aunt May," Peter said sweetly. "Have you and Otto had a chance to talk yet?"

"As a matter of fact we have," She answered, "He really is a sweet guy. He took the liberty of explaining why he had been doing those things. I understand perfectly now. I also now understand why he became all quiet whenever I came into the same room as he."

Peter smiled. "Well I have to go now Aunt May, I just uh, got a call from Mr. Jameson about some photos that I need to get. I gotta go," He said running off down the hall to the front door.

A few minutes later, Spiderman and Doc Ock flew upwards and onto the roof of the next building.

"So let's see," Peter said pacing back and forth across a roof in Midtown. Otto stared down onto the street below, legs dangling over the side.

"Hey Pete!" A feminine voice called to them from the shadows.

"Cat!" Peter said. "I haven't seen you in forever."

"No," She winked.

"Hey, babe," she said as she walked over and hugged Otto.

Otto looked up and smiled into Black Cat's face. His gaze returned to the street.

"Aw come on Otto, what's wrong?" She asked, her soft brown eyes reflecting the city lights.

Peter pulled her over to the side and explained why he was so quiet.

After a while, Cat walked to the middle of the small roof and spread he arms wide. "Well have no fear, Felicia Hardy never betrays secrets."

Peter and Otto couldn't help but to laugh at her antics. "You're name is Felicia?" Otto asked.

"Yep. Hey, I figured that, well, we have all fought along side each other for a long time, I've got nothin' to hide."

"Okay, sure," Otto said as he got to his feet. One actuator came close to her face and appeared to stare at her.

"Why, hello!" She said cheerfully.

"Come on Cat, you came here for a reason, spill it," Peter said crossing his arms.

"Oh yeah, which reminds me to tell you guys. I did find something that might help you find this symbiote, I'm sure that will make you feel better," Cat said to Otto as she turned towards the street.

"How do you know about the symbiote?" Peter asked quizzically.

"Well, duh, I'm not stupid. It's called the internet," She countered.

"Show us!" Otto said cutting the soon-to-be full fledged argument, a smile playing across his lips.

Once again, Otto found himself flying through New York, chasing the mysterious Black cat. Every once and a while, he would catch sight of Peter zipping along on web lines whenever the actuators would slingshot him forward, sending Peter far behind his gaze.

Eventually, this little game of cat and mouse led them all to the northernmost point in New York. Peter landed perfectly next to Cat. A split second later, Otto barely missed the biggest branch on that specific tree that he nearly brained himself on.

"I guess you miscalculated again?" Peter asked with a laughing look in his eyes as Otto spat out a mouthful of leaves. He gave Peter a scowl. "So where is this thing?" Otto asked as he turned to Cat.

"Well, you almost ran into it, genius," Cat said bringing them both to the backside of the tree where a small glob of pure black was slowly oozing all over the place.

"Is that?" Peter asked peering through the dim light.

"That's a symbiote, well... a piece of it," Otto said taking out a small tube-looking thing and placed it near the moving blob of black. It pulled itself into the tube. Otto sealed it and placed the vial back into the folds of his trenchcoat.

"Are you going to experiment with it?" Peter asked curiously.

Otto gave him a look that clearly said 'DUH!'

"No... no, I'm gonna eat it." He said sarcastically, "Of course I'm going to look at it!"

"Smartass," Peter grinned beneath his mask.

"See? What'd I tell ya'? Made you feel better didn't it?" Cat asked as she put her arm over Otto's shoulder, having to reach up because he was so tall. "Stick with me and you'll be fine... See you boys around," She winked before disappearing into the night.