TSSM S03E02 : Danger Mystery

Disclaimer: I do not own The Spectacular Spider-man or its characters or any other characters owned by Marvel or Sony. Copyright infringement not intended. The rights of Spider-man and related characters belong to Marvel and Sony.

Ever since the Green Goblin incident which left the Oscorp building damaged and rumors of suspicious criminal activities, Oscorp has received numerous cuts in investment and funding that has brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. In the absence of Norman Osborn, the company was under the temporary leadership of the seemingly untrustworthy Donald Menken.

But the company was saved from this fate by a rich billionaire and philanthropist, who purchased the company. After a few weeks, he had managed to renovate and reopen the Oscorp building. Harry had invited Gwen and Peter to the re-opening ceremony.

"I hope their new boss does turn out to be a nice guy." Peter thought as web-swung his way to the Oscorp building.

"Just then, his ears picked up the sound of a bank alarm going off."

"Someone stop that guy! He's got some kind of portal thingy!" A security guard yelled as he stepped outside the bank and pointed at a strange white man with many black spots all over his body like a leopard.

The robber stopped as Spidey suddenly landed in front of him. "Now who do we have here, new fashion show? Big fan of Rorschach? Though if you are, you've gotten the pattern wrong bud." Spidey teased the man covered in black dots.

"The name's Spot Spider-man, and if you think I'm gonna be like any of your previous villains you should probabl- "

"PFFFTTT HAHAHA REALLY?! YOUR NAME'S SPOT? HAHAHAHA!" Peter burst into hysterical laughter as he clutched his stomach.

"Yes my name is Spot douchebag." The bank robber replied

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! You couldn't think of a better name? That's a lame name and costume!" Peter exclaimed as he was now laughing and kicking on the ground.

"HRRR I'm done wasting time with you!" grumbled Spot as he threw a spot far away and disappeared into another one below his feet.

"Arghh! I lost him!" cried Spidey as he face-palmed himself. "Well, I'm running late. Gotta go!" Peter shot a string of web and continued his journey to the Oscorp opening ceremony.

As he drew nearer to the skyscraper, Spidey ducked into an alleyway and swiftly changed into Peter Parker. "I'm sure Harry doesn't wanna see Spider-man anywhere near his place." Peter thought as he rushed to the Oscorp building.

"Harry! Gwen!" Peter called out as he caught sight of two of his two best friends among the large crowd at the base of the tower. Harry was dressed formally with a blazer and bow tie while Gwen and Peter were in smart-casual, with Gwen's black skirt and Peter's brown jacket.

"Peter!" Gwen joyfully replied.

"Hey Pete, nice to see you!" said Harry.

"Hello Peter!" a dark-haired woman called out.

"It's nice to see you Mrs Osborn!" Peter replied as he joined the group.

"Thank you for coming Peter! We are going to begin once Mr Fisk arrives. " Harry's mother explained.

"The new boss of Oscorp?" Peter asked.

"Why Yes!" she replied.

"Hmmm, never heard of that name before, hope he's the opposite of cold, conniving Normy." Peter thought to himself.

"There he is!" Peter, Gwen and Harry turned to see a long, black limousine pull over as tall, black bodyguards dressed in black with sunglasses surrounded the vehicle and stood guard. One of the bodyguards carefully opened the car door to reveal the new boss of Oscorp.

Mr Fisk was a massive man. He was tall, bald and just a behemoth. His paper white suit drew a stark contrast to the pitch-black limousine and bodyguards that surrounded him. Walking up to Mrs Osborn, he broke into a warm smile and extended his hand to her.

"Good afternoon Mrs Osborn, it's a pleasure meeting you today." Said Fisk as he shook her hand.

"Thank you for making this possible." She warmly replied.

"And thank you for cooperating with us. Whatever I do, I do to make this city a better place." He assured her. "I hope today will be a day well spent for you all he briefly said to Harry, Gwen and Peter as he walked up to the podium to give his speech.

"Hmmm, despite his massive size, Mr Fisk kinda seems like a nice guy. I guess what they say is true about gentle giants, except Flash. Oh! and Rhino too." Peter thought to himself as he watched the man in white give his speech.

"I know that some of you here may have heard rumours of this place being a source of the super-powered criminals that have been running around the city. ". Taking a deep breath, he continued. "However, let me remind you this day that this place is first and foremost a place of scientific distinction. Yes, science can create weapons if in the wrong hands. But in the right hands, science can be used to improve lives. Science can be used to create medicines, take care of the less fortunate and improve efficiency. So I will on this day, utilise this building as a vassal of science to improve lives, to improve the city and infuse it with good will, with the will of the city. Oscorp will help to create the future for Manhattan!" Mr Fisk raised his fist as his speech was met with a great applause. The audience cheered as the red ribbon was cut and party poppers fired off like military cannons saluting.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded off on the side of the Oscorp building, a few meters above the podium. Chaos erupted as the audience fled in all directions. Everything was thrown into disarray as the blast had knocked people off their feet. Confusion spread among the crowd like wildfire.

"Protect my mother!" Harry Osborn yelled at the staff as he helped the dazed Mrs Osborn to her feet.

Gwen got up, dazed too. She looked to her right to see Harry helping his mother up. Realising the situation, Gwen hurriedly helped them up. "We've got find cover quick! PETER! PETER?" Gwen looked behind her in confusion as the boy had mysteriously disappeared into thin air.

Peter sprang into action and ran as fast as he could to find cover. As he ran, he looked up and heard the sound of a glider.

No. It couldn't be. Norman Osborn had returned?! Peter was bewildered. "No time for that. Guess I'll have to get my answers after I take him down. Peter thought as he slipped into a corner and stripped into his Spider-man costume. Arming his web-shooters and putting on his mask, Peter sprung into action as he web swung out to meet the flying goblin.

But this Goblin seemed different. He had an orangey and light-brown colouration. He also had an orange hood, unlike the green goblin's purple cap.

"Well I've got to admit that was quite an opening ceremony. But nows the closing ceremony!" The orange goblin cackled as he sailed through the air on his glider.

"Hey Normy is that you?" Spidey called out as he landed on the side of the building.

"Spider-man!? So you've come to thwart my plans. Well while I don't intend on telling you anything, I'll have you know that I am someone entirely different. I am the Hobgoblin!" the rider boasted, shooting several beams at the wall-crawler.

"Hmmm Hobgoblin, well at least that's a better name than the guy I met this morning." replied Spidey as he somersaulted to dodge those beams.

"Well I've got no time to deal with you today. Have fun." Hobgoblin said as he tossed a pumpkin bomb into the panicking crowds. Wasting no time, the Supervillain blasted away into the distance.

"NO DON'T!" Peter cried out, lunging for the deadly bomb.

"Harry! Peter's gone! We've got to find him!" Gwen cried out.

"What?! He's gone? Where could he possibl- Nevermind that now, right now, we've got to find cover. We have to look for him later." Harry replied as he supported his mother.

"I'll just take a quick look." Gwen sprinted across the scene, hoping to catch sight of Peter.

"WAIT GWEN LOOKOUT!" Harry cried. But it was too late. Before she could run away, the only thing Gwen could do was look up and witness the shocking scene of a pumpkin bomb plummeting down to the area she was searching in. In that moment, it seemed like time itself had slowed down. The lives of the unfortunate targets of the bomb flashed before their very eyes as the bomb found itself in the middle of Gwen and several other people who were panicking about the terror attack.

In a split second, there was a flesh of white and the bomb disappeared. A blur of red and blue crashed down onto the pavement where the bomb was supposed to land. "BOOM!" A deafening explosion roared over the scene as the trademark cackle of a pumpkin bomb was heard.

"Take shelter! Quickly! The Hobgoblin may be gone for now, but there's no telling when he'll be back!" Spidey commanded.

"But my friend's still out there!" Gwen insisted.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Spidey assured her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"YOU!"

Spidey turned to see an enraged Harry Osborn.

"Yes me! And I just saved some lives here today so please don't make too much of a fuss about me now. See ya!" Spidey quipped as he launched himself into the air and out of sight."

"HEY COME BACK! WE'RE NOT DONE TALKING!" Harry yelled at the web-head. But he was already long-gone.

Peter hurriedly put his clothes back on and rushed to meet with his friends. Paramedics and ambulances were on the scene as several people crowded around the civil servants.

Spotting his friends, he ran towards them shouted. "Gwen! Harry! What happened? Thank God you're safe!"

"Peter!" Gwen exclaimed as she ran to her friend and hugged hugged him so tightly he had to take a step back to avoid falling over.

Peter felt a sense of relief in her warm embrace one moment, before he was woken up the next, as she gripped his shoulders and violently shook him."

"Where have you been?! I was worried something had happened to you!" Gwen questioned sternly.

"Well I- I got in the confusion and kinda lost sight of you guys." Peter answered nervously, hoping his excuse would push through.

"Gwen almost died trying to find you Pete." Harry remarked crossly.

"Wha- What happened? Are you alri- "

"It's ok. Spider-man saved me at the last second." she assured.

"Well that's great! You're safe and sound and that's what matters." Peter said as he looked into her eyes.

All the while, Peter could see Harry scoffing from the corner of his eye as he watched with folded his arms.

"Harry are you alright?" Peter asked.

"I don't know, am I alright after some maniac tried to blow us up at the opening ceremony, my girlfriend was nearly killed in an explosion and now the man I hate is supposedly responsible for saving her and I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I think I've had enough for today." Harry ranted.

"Was just asking." Peter replied.

Harry sighed as he laid one arm over Gwen's shoulder. "I'm sending Gwen home. You should be on your way too Pete." The wealthy boy said as he led Gwen to one of his fancy, luxurious cars.

"Take care Peter." Gwen said worriedly as she got into the car with Harry.

"It's as though Harry is intentionally trying to separate me from Gwen. He could've sent me along too! Well she's technically his girlfriend anyway, for now." Peter thought as he swung his way through Manhattan. "But one thing's for sure: I've got to stop the Hobgoblin before he actually kills someone."

Just then, Spidey caught sight of a familiar-looking guy in a black and white outfit sorting out cash from large money bags on a rooftop. It was Spot, a super-powered criminal who managed to escape as a result of Spidey getting too distracted laughing at his name. "I guess a leopard never changes its Spots." Peter remarked as he landed on the rooftop to confront the criminal.

"Spider-man! So you've finally taken me seriously. Well I would not fear as I have the power of spots!" Spot declared prouodly.

It took everything Peter had to prevent himself from laughing at the villains humorous threat. However, the next moment, Peter was shocked to see the black spots come off his body and be thrown towards him like discs. They hovered in the air around Spidey.

"Woah what are these?" Peter wondered.

Suddenly, he was hammered in the back of his head as he stumbled forward, and subsequently punched by a fist emerging from a spot in front of him.

"Why didn't my spider-sense warn me in time?" Peter wondered as he struggled to dodge the multitude of blows the villain kept dealing via his portals.

Seeing the villain sticking his fists into two spots right in front of him, Spidey reached into one of the spots, attempting to grab his foe, only to be grabbed by a hand from behind.

"Oh crap! He made me grab myself!" Peter thought as he turned around to see his own hand.

Spot then released a barrage attacks on Spider-man as he threw even more spots at him, leaving his own body whiter and with less spots.

Peter pulled back from the assault and landed further from Spot. "Wow, it looks like this guy's actually pretty troublesome." Spidey thought as he analysed his enemy.

"I told you that I'm unlike any of your previous adversaries. Now taste defeat Spider-man!" Spot boasted.

Just then, Peter saw a familiar looking adversary clad in orange on a glider at a great distance behind Spot. He was very far away. But not far enough to escape the vigilante's watchful eye. "It's the Hobgoblin! I've got to stop him now!"

"Remember the name of the man who defeated you spider- " but Peter was gone. "Wha- Where- Hold still bug!" Spot yelled as the web-crawler moved around with astonishing speed. He was able to confuse Spot as he moved all-over the place, and was hard to keep track of. He threw more Spots at him in an effort to keep up with him but his agility and ability to change directions mid-air with his webbing made it difficult.

Spot did manage to land in several blows on elusive Web-slinger. However, these were not enough to disable the Peter who had no longer had any interest in fooling around. Before he knew it, Spot was covered head-to-toe in webs and knocked out by a well-placed punch from Spidey.

Spider-man left Spot hanging like how he left most of the criminals he captured and left to chase the Hobgoblin. "Well now that I'm done with a bank robber, I've got a goblin to stop."

Spider-man pursued the goblin, who was unaware that he had been followed.

"I wonder what he's up too? He better not start tossing pumpkin bombs around." Spidey thought as he continued to catch up to the flying raider. As he got closer, he noticed that the Hobgoblin seemed to be following the traffic, as if he was following a certain vehicle.

Just then, Peter spotted the same car that Harry and Gwen were in. The Hobgoblin edged closer and closer to the vehicle. Then, as he got in range, he took out a pumpkin bomb and armed it. "Goodbye Osborn!" He gloated as he prepared to hurl the bomb, only to find it missing as an explosion soon went off in the distance behind him. "SPIDER-MAN?!"

Peter hurled that bomb back without a moment of hesitation. "You're not hurting anyone else today Hobby!" Peter yelled as webbed onto the goblin, pulling himself in and delivered a kick that sent the villain stumbling backwards.

"I guess I'll have to squash a troublesome insect first." remarked the orange raider.

"Actually, Spiders are arachnids." Peter quipped as he leapt off a building to dodge a finger beam.

The two combatants sparred at the canopy of the city as Peter swung his way about to get various footings on nearby skyscrapers while the Hobgoblin soared through the air on his glider. The Hobgoblin hurled pumpkin bombs viciously and fired beams at Spider-man, who seemed to be able to dodge every shot. "Well while you're also a goblin, I've got to say that you aren't as tough as good-ole Gobby." Spidey teased as he pranced around on a rooftop.

And he was right. Competent equipment aside, the Hobgoblin flew his glider in a rather unstable way and did not seem to know the right method to deal with Spider-man. He threw lasers and bombs at Spidey in a rather predictable way, allowing his projectiles to be dodged easily. However, the fact that he was a flying adversary still proved to be troublesome for Peter to deal with.

Attaching a web to a rooftop, Peter stuck out his other hand to web onto the Goblin's glider. Tugging the web with all his might as the glider tried to fly in the opposite direction, Peter yanked the Goblin overhead, sending him crashing down onto the roof.

"You insolent bug!" Yelled an enraged Hobgoblin who ran over and socked Spidey as hard as he could. Surprisingly, Peter was barely fazed by the blow as he was expecting the superhuman strength of the green goblin.

Peter then quickly countered and struck the Hobgoblin multiple times on his armour, albeit still holding back. The Hobgoblin, who displayed an obvious lack of fighting experience could only fall back from the overwhelming barrage of blows. Finally, the villain collapsed and fell onto his back. Lifting his body by the collar, Spidey pulled of the mask to reveal the former CEO of Oscorp, Donald Menken!

There were flashes of blue and red lights as the police arrived at the scene.

"Hey I'm telling you, I have no idea why I'm in this costume! I'm innocent!" yelled a bewildered Menken as he was shoved into a police van.

"Hmmm, not the usual reaction of this lunatics." Captain Stacy stated as he looked at the struggling Donald Menken.

"I NEED A LAWYER!" Menken cried out right before the van doors closed him in.

"I know it's kinda hard to say, since I've actually fought and witnessed him in the goblin costume and he's kind of a douchebag, but he kinda sounds genuinely innocent." Spider-man said with uncertainty in his voice.

"Of the many suspects I've witnessed, I'm afraid I can't disagree with you son. But as of right now, all evidence points to him being the Hobgoblin. There's nothing we can do about it but take him away." Captain Stacy sighed

"I guess I'll just call it a day." Spidey said as he webbed off into the distance.

"By the way, thanks for taking care of Gwen Spider-man!" Stacy yelled.

"No idea who's that but anytime!" Peter shouted as he webbed off, not even turning back.

"I owe you one, Peter." Stacy remarked to himself.

Gwen couldn't sleep that night. She had almost perished today. "It would really suck if my life ended when this awkward love triangle is still taking place. I really need to get things right with Pete, but I can't leave Harry either." She wondered as she lay in bed. Peter perfectly understood why she chose to remain with Harry. But it wasn't fair to him. He had to break it up with Liz, hurting her in the process, and it would be all for naught if she didn't break up with Harry. Gwen glanced to a photo of her, Peter and Harry. "Oh Peter, Harry, how am I gonna make things right without hurting either of you guys?"

Meanwhile, Peter lay in bed, unable to shake off the feeling that something was amiss. Did he really defeat the Hobgoblin? Well at least he saved lives today. He then reflected about his current personal predicament. He and Gwen could become the perfect couple. They've been very close friends for the longest time, shared a similar interests in science, stood up for each other and even confessed their mutual feelings for each other. All of it was perfect except for the interference of their mutual friend. Harry would supposedly become the third-wheel in this, but from the outside and from an official standpoint, Peter had become the third-wheel.

The two individuals, lay sleeplessly in bed, under the same blue sky as the pale white moon hung above the clouds.

So that was it for episode 2! Do continue to provide constructive feedback if you have any! I would greatly appreciate it.

The next episode will involve other characters from Spidey's personal life as Peter Parker!