I'm probably gonna pause this fic for a little bit here. Not for ages, hopefully, but writing this, having a few ideas for other fics (Doctor Who and Pokemon Legends Arceus) as well as long work hours, I'm feeling a little burnout right now. I'll hopefully be back on Saturday with a new chapter for this, but for now, a few days off. In the off time though, I'll probably write up the description parts for Black Widow and Shang-Chi at least...
"So Norman could have come from any time around now?" Ned asked, remembering that the villains had to know who Peter was beforehand.
"I believe he likely came from around now, yes." Strange told him.
"Great." May murmured, thinking back to what she had experienced and what she had seen the Goblin would do to her.
"He can't hurt you here." Happy told her softly.
"I know, but he's still going to hurt this Peter now." May said, glancing at her nephews alter who smiled back at her.
At Norman's, the Goblin spoke to him, telling him that whilst Spider-Man was invincible, Peter Parker was not. Norman, on his knees, begged to know what to do, Goblin told him they had to target Parker's loved ones, target the heart, make him beg for death, before granting his wish. As May prayed at home, Goblin broke in and attacked her as she cried about the devil.
"You leave Peter alone!" Tony yelled, listening to the Goblin discuss how best to break the young man he had come to consider a son in all but blood.
"Why is Norman working with the Goblin personality now?" Betty asked, confused by this change.
"He thinks Peter knows who he is and wants to stop him from undoing all of his work I'm guessing." Natasha noted.
"Who is he going to attack though?" Ned asked, a sinking feeling in everyone's stomachs as they thought it over.
"Finish it? What kind of sick animal is he, tormenting her then forcing her to finish a prayer before attacking her?" May spat.
At the hospital with May, Mary Jane came to visit, asking how May was, Peter said she was doing well, just sleeping now. He asked about her and Harry, she said she hadn't called him back yet, and she thought she was in love with someone else now. She explained she loved Spider-Man, and Peter talked with her about it, saying that he had spoken to Spidey about her, and how amazing Mary Jane was, as May faked being asleep still and Mary Jane took Peter's hand. As she did, Harry walked in, she dropped Peter's hand as Peter greeted Harry.
"Awkward." Rhodey coughed as Peter-2 flushed at the reminder of these early days, did MJ know then he was Spider-Man? She'd never really given him a clear answer either way if she did or not. He liked to believe she did though.
"I bet Harry's going to have noticed that." Scott frowned.
"Congratulations, you're a prophet." Peter-3 joked.
"He's going to do something stupid, isn't he?" Sprite asked.
"Why do you think that?" Nebula asked her.
"Because it seems too likely based on Parker luck." Wanda interjected.
Harry visited Norman and told Norman he was right about Mary Jane, that she loved Peter. Norman asked how he felt about her, Harry said Peter loved nobody more than Mary Jane, as Norman told Harry he hadn't always been there for Harry. Norman then promised he would be there for Harry from now on and would clean up certain issues.
"He's giving Goblin more ammunition to target the Man Spider with!" Drax growled.
"We should kill him, with knives." Mantis said.
"Or a big gun." Rocket insisted.
"He didn't know!" Peter-2 defended his old friend. "He was heartbroken and here his dad is offering him everything he's ever wanted! I don't blame him at all, and I ask you guys don't either!"
"Well, I speak from personal Osborn experience, when I say yours seems way nicer than mine, so I won't judge him." Peter-3 earnestly promised his alter, getting a blinding smile in return that made his heart flutter.
"I suppose so, you do know them best." Clint admitted.
At the hospital, May told Peter to go home and get some sleep, as he refused, they talked about his feelings for Mary Jane, Peter deciding to call her to let her know. As he called, he got her voicemail, asking her to avoid dark alleys, before the phone picked up and the Goblin asked "Can the Spider-Man come out to play?"
"You really shouldn't bottle up your feelings, is it a Peter trait to just do that?" Ned asked.
"I guess you could say that." Both Peters admitted sheepishly.
"Wait, didn't Goblin say that at the statue?" MJ asked Strange, who frowned for a moment before nodding.
"I believe he did say that, yes."
The scene cut to Mary Jane waking up to find herself atop the Brooklyn Bridge, Goblin floating around, singing a take on Itsy Bitsy Spider to threaten Spider-Man. Goblin then fired his missiles at a tram station, Spider-Man arriving as Goblin held a tram in the air by its wires and Mary Jane in his other. He taunted Spider-Man, telling him to choose, the innocents or Mary Jane.
"I really hate that song." Peter-3 shuddered.
"One of your villains sing it to you?" Happy laughed.
"When I was fighting Max, he can turn into electricity and jumped between these pylons, making the pylons play the tune of it as he did." Peter-3 said, thinking back to the beginning of that night, trying to prevent himself from dwelling on what happened after he and Gwen had stopped Max.
"It's definitely an annoying nursery rhyme." Abe said as the rest of the room nodded.
"He's an unhinged lunatic, completely irredeemable." Sam spat, seeing the choice that Goblin was laying at Peter's feet.
"If anyone can stop him and save everyone though, it's Spider-Man." Flash said, full of fervent belief in that statement.
Goblin told Spider-Man to choose who he is, as he dropped both, letting Spider-Man decide who died. Spider-Man dived off the bridge and caught Mary Jane before swinging to catch the tram car as well, dangling dangerously over the river. Spider-Man told her to lower herself down to the tram car as a barge sailed towards them to collect it, as Goblin flew around, punching Spider-Man in the face and causing both Mary Jane and the tram to swing dangerously.
"Go Peter!" Cindy and Betty cheered as the rest of the room also clapped and cheered at Peter-2 saving both of them, Peter-2 himself began blushing, a blush that only extended when Peter-3 leaned into him, throwing his arm around him and cheering for his alter self.
"You did it, man!" Peter-3 told him.
"I was there!" Peter-2 protested. "This is all very old for me, remember?"
"Take the praise, you are amazing, after all!" Peter-3 told him with a cheeky grin as Peter-2 flushed even more.
"At least they're not too far from the barge." Bucky reasoned, hoping they'd all be ok as Goblin tried to kill as many innocents as he could.
Goblin came in for another attack, glider blades extending, as Spider-Man struggled to keep the tram from falling, as Mary Jane hung on the edge of it dangerously. As he told Spider-Man it was time to die, he was blown off course as several people on the bridge below threw trash at Goblin, telling him that if he messed with Spidey, he messed with New York. Spider-Man managed to lower the tram and Mary Jane onto the barge as the people on the bridge cheered.
"Let's hear it for the brave people of New York!" Steve cheered as the others in the room joined in, happy to see ordinary people willing to stand up and refuse to take evil lying down, no matter what they could do, no matter how many of them there were.
"Now they're safe, go kick his ass, Pete." Tony smiled at Peter-2 who grinned back.
"Oh, I plan too."
Goblin threw the cord from the bridge around Spider-Man and dragged him behind, flying him back into the city itself. Goblin threw him into an abandoned building, and as he dodged the debris inside, Goblin threw a pumpkin bomb behind, blasting him through another wall. As Spider-Man struggled to his feet, Goblin landed and told him that he has chosen misery.
"Jesus, how are you still going after being strangled, thrown through walls and having bombs explode around you?" Ikaris asked Peter-2.
"I'm pretty durable." Peter-3 shrugged. "Plus, I can't just give up and let him win. Doctor Osborn was a great man, and someone I respected, but this monster, it's something that needed to be stopped, even if I didn't know he was Norman Osborn yet."
Goblin then began to beat Spider-Man, punching and kicking him around, before pining his arm before he could fire anymore webs. Goblin then said he was going to kill his little girlfriend nice and slow, angering Spider-Man, as Goblin said "MJ and I? We're gonna have a hell of a time."
"We saw on the bridge, that's the fastest way to make Peter Parker pissed and find an extra surge of strength, threaten MJ's life at your own peril." Ned joked as MJ jokingly glared at him.
"He's truly demented." Bucky spat.
Spider-Man rose to his feet, catching the blade Goblin pulled out and rammed at him, knocking Goblin flying, he webbed a wall and pulled it down onto Goblin, Spider-Man began smashing Goblin into a wall, as he fell to the floor, he begged.
"Damn, don't piss Peter off!" Cindy called out.
"Damn right." Both Peter's said before giggling.
"Wait, is this Norman coming back?" Kate asked. "Please tell me you help Norman?"
"Peter! Stop! Stop, it's me!" He cried as Norman removed his helmet, revealing it was him. Peter stopped hitting him as he listened to him.
"Something feels off about this still, why would the Goblin let him have control back? He'd know Peter would just arrest him." Yelena frowned. This wasn't right.
Norman insisted the Goblin killed everyone, he had nothing to do with it and begged Peter not to let the Goblin take him again. Peter said he had tried to kill May and Mary Jane, Norman said never Peter, he knew if anything happened to him, Peter would help Harry, as Norman fiddled with his wrist, his glider silently rising behind Peter.
"Yeah, there's definitely something wrong here, he's not acting exactly like Norman. He's a bit too desperate to get Peter to help him." Clint's eyes narrowed.
"Wait, look at his mouth, the teeth seem to look different each time. They're crooked, IT'S STILL GOBLIN!" Steve realised with a start.
"He's going to try sneak attack with the glider? Coward." Happy spat.
He begged Peter to help him up, to be a son to him now as he was a father to Peter. Peter told him he had a father, named Ben Parker. Goblin let the facade fall and snarled "Godspeed Spider-Man!" as he sent the glider flying forward. Peter sensed it with his spider sense and jumped, Norman saw the glider approaching and simply said "Oh." Before it impaled him.
He looked at Peter, begging him not to tell Harry, before dropping onto his glider, dead.
"That was beautiful." May smiled at her nephew, hearing him say that Ben was a father to him.
"It's true." Peter-3 chimed in. "Uncle Ben was a father, to me, to Peter-2 and I'm sure even Peter-1 saw Uncle Ben as a father."
"I'm sure he did." May smiled at him as well. "I do feel sorry for Norman though, he didn't want this to happen." May frowned, seeing her future killer get his own comeuppance.
"I'd say I feel bad for Norman, but a larger part of me is just so glad that the Goblin is gone." Happy remarked.
"Oh, I wish there were true." Peter-2 muttered. The ghost of the Goblin had caused him heartache for years to come following this, he just didn't know it at the time.
"That was Norman at the end, wasn't it?" Hope asked.
"Asking me to make sure Harry didn't find out? Yeah, it was." Peter-2 said. "The Goblin never cared for Harry, but Norman, deep down, he did."
Peter took Norman back to his penthouse, dressing him in normal clothes, as Harry saw him leaving him there, asking Spider-Man what he had done.
"Oh no, he's blaming you?" Cindy asked, horrified.
"He had no idea, but he hated Spider-Man for years after this." Peter-2 admitted.
"What made him stop?" MJ asked.
"Love." Peter-2 smiled.
The scene cut to Norman's funeral, as Harry parted ways with Peter for now, saying he had to get revenge for the murder of his father and he had nothing left but Peter now. Mary Jane came and hugged Peter as he was at Ben's grave, she said when she was on the bridge, she only thought of one person, and it was Peter. She said she loved him and kissed him, before he told her he couldn't be in a relationship with him.
"He still loves you at least, even if he hates your secret self." Makkari signed. "That's something, right?"
"It's not that easy." Tony said, eyeing Steve. "Believe me, when that secret comes out, and with the kids luck, it will, it'll break Harry."
Peter-2 said nothing, not wanting to think back on it all.
"Why are you rejecting her? You've loved her for years, she's saying she wants to be with you, and you're turning her down?" Flash asked, perplexed.
"If she's with me, she's in danger. I couldn't risk her getting hurt by my enemies." Peter-2 explained, as MJ pondered his words. Is that why Peter hadn't come to find them, beyond that first time when he said nothing to her? Did he think he was protecting her, somehow?
Peter walked away from her, saying that he would always be there for her as a friend, before talking to himself, that Uncle Ben was right, he had responsibility to the city and he had to be Spider-Man. Then the screen cut to black.
"You don't just have responsibility to the city, you do to yourself as well!" Matt said to Peter-2.
"I know that now, but then, I was pretty stuck in my head." Peter-2 stated.
"Like you're not now." Peter-3 told him.
"Pot, kettle." Peter-2 grinned.
"Now we've seen the beginnings of the origins of Peter-2, as you have dubbed him, do you wish to continue to see more adventures, or would you like a new addition to this watch party first?" Uatu's voice asked the room at large.