A/N: Wow. I am a dirty liar. 'I will get the next chapter up before long.' HA! Boy was I wrong about that. Hope you can forgive me. Enjoy the chapter!

The Empire State Building is 1,453 feet and 9 inches tall. The needle at its top disappears into the clouds on a stormy day. It has 102 stories, 6,500 windows, 73 elevators, and nearly 2,000 steps. It has been declared one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. And on one horrifying autumn day in the middle of a thunderstorm, a packed, two – story tour bus swayed in the wind as it hung from the top by a single cable.

It just figures, doesn't it? Andrew Levin thought sarcastically as he sat rigidly in his seat, too scared to move lest the shifting weight send the bus plummeting from its precarious position to the crowded streets below.

The first time I come to New York, my train gets hijacked by a maniac with eight limbs. The second time I come to New York, my bus becomes a Christmas ornament for the tallest building in the city.

He swallowed hard and glanced out the window. He nearly threw up.

That's it. No more big cities for me. If I get through this, I'm moving to a dairy farm in Kansas.

The terror in the bus was so strong that Andrew could almost taste it. The girl on his left was sobbing hysterically, her face buried in the shoulder of the petrified young man sitting next to her. He could hear a baby wailing somewhere in the back, and the sounds of a woman frantically singing lullabies to her small children to calm them down drifted from the front. 'Rock a Bye Baby' filled the bus, and Andrew chuckled humorlessly. That was definitely not the best choice of repertoire. Almost involuntarily, he began to hum along.

Rock a bye baby, on the treetop.

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.

And down will come baby, cradle and all.

He was not at all surprised when the kids only cried harder.

Andrew looked out the window again, but this time he did not look down. If he was going to die, at least he'd die with a view. Even through the rain, New York City still looked impressive. Countless lights shone from countless windows, buildings almost as tall as the one they were hanging from stood out on the horizon, and if he strained his eyes, he could just make out the Statue of Liberty standing proudly in the harbor. And as he gazed out at what would probably be the last thing he ever saw, he caught a glimpse of something that ignited a spark within him. He grinned the grin reserved for people who are sure they are going to die but can still find the strength to hope, cleared his throat, and made an announcement.

"Spiderman's here."

Peter felt sick. A wave of déjà vu swept over him as he perched on a ledge of the Empire State Building, the Green Goblin standing above him with a choice. In one hand, he held Anna Luis. In the other, he held the thick cable that was the only thing keeping a double decker bus packed with tourists from plummeting to the street far below. Peter could tell that Anna was trying to be brave, but her normally cheerful face was pale and terrified. And through the windows of the bus, he could see dozens of petrified and helpless people, all of them innocent victims of a feud between two former best friends.

"Harry, don't do this!" he shouted into the wind. "Please, Harry! These are innocent people! You don't want to become a murderer!"

An insane cackle cut the air.

"A murderer like you, brother?" the Goblin sneered.

"I didn't –"

"Save your breath! I know what you did, and now you're going to pay for it! So which'll it be, buddy? Will you save your little girlfriend, or the pathetic tourists? And don't try to pull a stunt like last time. Believe me, it won't work. That bus is too big for even you to hold and deal with some panicking bitch at the same time. It's either one or the other."

"Harry, please! Just listen to me!"

But the Goblin obviously didn't want to.

"You'd better make your decision quick, buddy, because here they go!"

Everything seemed to slow down. The cable slipped from Harry's hand. The occupants of the bus cried out as one. Harry pulled his arm back in preparation to throw Anna off the side. Peter yelled in fury. And Anna's foot came into contact with the side of the Green Goblin's helmeted head.

Harry's grip on the young woman's neck slackened, and she hit the rooftop running.

"Go, Peter!" she yelled over her shoulder as she raced for the door leading inside. He needed no further prompting. Diving after the falling bus, he prayed that Harry would not pursue Anna into the building.

Snagging the cable with a webline, he pulled himself forward and caught it deftly. Sending another web up at the building, he prepared himself for pain.

It came. The web caught, and stopped him with a jerk. He shouted as he felt his arms come out of their sockets. The passengers of the bus were tossed about unceremoniously as its descent came to a jarring halt. Peter's body slammed against the wall painfully and he struggled to maintain his grip on the cable and the webline. Gritting his teeth, he doggedly hung on.

Okay. I've gotten this far. Now what?

Rage clouded Harry's vision as he watched his plan fall apart in front of him. The girl had run inside safely, and Peter had managed to catch the falling bus before it had gotten too far. Growling in fury, Harry sped down to where his former buddy now hung, helpless as a bug caught on flypaper.

The sight of Peter hanging there in his red and blue skintight spandex suit, one hand clutching the cable and the other one clinging to his web, seemed outrageously funny to the crazed young supervillain. Laughing insanely, he brought the glider down until he was eye – level with the masked man.

"Well, Peter. You've certainly gotten yourself into a fix. What's the noble, selfless, invincible Spiderman going to do now?"

Peter's retort sounded as if it came through painfully clenched teeth.

"What do you want, Harry? Why are you doing this? You obviously know who your father really was, and why I had to do what I did. Your father killed innocent people, Harry. Do you really want to follow in his footsteps?"

There was a pause. And then:

"You're right, Peter. I don't want to be like my father. I'm so sorry for all this."

Behind his mask, Harry was grinning. He reached out and gripped Peter's gloved hand.

"Here, let me help you."

"Why should I trust you?"

Harry threw his head back and laughed. "You shouldn't, but you can't really do anything about it can you?"

He ripped Peter's mask off. He wanted to see the look on his old friend's face as he watched all these innocent people fall to their deaths.

"Harry, what – NO!"

With one swipe of the knives on the bottom of the glider, the cable was cut, and the bus plunged downward. Peter leapt forward, but was pulled back sharply by Harry's strong grip on his wrist.

"Let go!" he screamed, struggling against his captor. Harry slammed him against the wall and backhanded him. Eyes alight with rage, Peter launched himself at Harry's chest, knocking him off balance. Before Harry could even blink, the young hero was gone.

God, if you're up there, please forgive me for all the times I've used your name in vain. And for all the times I've skipped church. And for all the other sins that I can't remember right now. Just please, please let me get to that bus before it hits the ground.

Peter fell straight down. His exposed face was buffeted by the wind, and his eyes watered. But the bus was far ahead of him, and was fast approaching the ground. Luckily, it hadn't hit the wall or flipped over yet, but there was no avoiding the pavement below.

Shooting a webline downwards, Peter felt a small surge of triumph when it hit its target. Shooting another web at the wall, he braced himself for the second painful stop in five minutes.

The bus came to a halt. Its wheels spun exactly eighteen feet from the street.

Detective Nathan Brandt had seen some pretty impressive things in his day, but what he had just witnessed took the cake without a shadow of a doubt. His mouth literally hung open as he watched the tour bus sway not twenty feet from the ground, saved at the last second by a slight – framed college boy in red and blue spandex. Shockingly, miraculously, the passenger's lives had been spared.

But he spoke too soon. A blur of green sped downwards, and the Green Goblin had a laugh at Spiderman's expense. One of his green armored fists drove into the young hero's solar plexus, driving the wind out of him. He lost his grip on the webline that held the bus in midair, and it came crashing downward with a screech of metal on pavement, tipping sideways and spilling gasoline all over the road.

Rescue workers hurried over and immediately began pulling passengers from the wreckage. The battle between Spiderman and the Goblin raged overhead, inarticulate cries and angry insults finding their way to Brandt's ears. Suddenly, Spiderman dove forward and knocked the Goblin off his glider. The armored man fell like a stone to the street nearly twenty feet down.

The rescue team had gotten just about everyone out of the bus. Spiderman landed lightly next to his prone nemesis. And for the second time, Brandt thought the trouble was over. But then Spiderman's head shot up, and he began yelling.

"Move! Get away from the bus! Get everyone away!"

The brown – haired young man raced forward and yanked the last few people away from the wreckage. And then he turned back to see the Goblin stumbling towards him, his back to the smoldering bus.

"Harry!"

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. A spark fell into the puddles of gasoline surrounding the wreckage. Spiderman launched himself forward towards the Goblin. The bus erupted in flames. The young man shoved the Goblin down. And then the bus exploded, sending fire and shrapnel everywhere. And the world watched in horror as the hero of New York was crushed under a large, jagged piece of painted metal.

A/N: Please don't kill me. And forgive me if it's not very good writing. It is... 1:34 in the morning, and I'm way too tired to be doing this. Thanks to all my reviewers: deppfreak, June63, Andromeda, max, Delia Ra'Nar, sourskittle89, closetfan, Goth Child of Zyon, hedi, Scary Vampiress, IcyWaters, htbthomas, and ilovethestorys.

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