A New Beginning

Chapter Nine: The Beginning of the End

1:42 pm, the apartment of Norman Osborn...

Osborn was standing in front of the window in his study, looking out at the city below, when he heard a knock on the door. He walked over and opened it, and was shocked to find Capt. Stacy standing in the doorway.

"Mr. Osborn, we need to talk."

Osborn said, "Well, this really isn't a good time-"

Stacy cut him off. "I'm not asking. I'm telling you, we need to talk. Take a seat."

Osborn rolled his eyes, but took a seat anyways.

Stacy removed the bomb schematics from inside his jacket and threw them on Osborn's desk.

"Have you seen these before?" Stacy asked.

Osborn took a look at them and, without thinking, snatched them off the desk and said, "Hey, those are mine!"

Stacy raised an eyebrow and looked at Osborn accusingly.

Osborn looked up at Stacy and realized he'd said too much.

"I mean... how did you get them?" Osborn said, trying to hide the edge in his voice.

"They were dropped off at the station..." Stacy said, in a serious tone, "... by none other than Otto Octavius himself."

Osborn couldn't come up with a response to that.

Capt. Stacy said, "So. Mind telling me what they're for? What would a respectable businessman such as yourself need with bomb plans?" There was a touch of sarcasm in Stacy's tone, and Osborn picked up on it.

"What, you're accusing me of bombing Quest? Is that it?" Osborn snarled. "You're in league with him now?"

"I'm not in league with anyone, Osborn." Capt. Stacy said, trying to stay calm.

Osborn shook his head and said, "I don't have to deal with this..." He got up to walk away, but Stacy slammed his fist on the desk and barked, "I didn't say I was finished with you!!"

Osborn sat back down and said, "I want a lawyer."

At this, Capt. Stacy looked down at Osborn with a wolfish grin.

"I wasn't accusing you of anything, Osborn. Are you saying you're guilty?"

Osborn was silent a moment before saying, "Alright, you know what? I'll admit it. I'm responsible. Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm responsible for both explosions. There's really no use denying it now."

Capt. Stacy nodded, as if satisfied with Osborn's response, and said, "I'll need you to come with me then."

Osborn looked up at Capt. Stacy and laughed.

"That's not going to happen."

Capt. Stacy took a step towards Osborn and said, putting his hand on the grip of his pistol, "I'm warning you, I will use force to take you down..."

Osborn just looked at Stacy with an arrogant smirk and said, "Do you really think you're intimidating me?"

"I'M NOT WARNING YOU ANYMORE, DAMNIT! GET ON THE GROUND, OSBORN!" Capt. Stacy shouted, leveling his pistol at Osborn.

Suddenly, Osborn ran for the window before Stacy could fire, and jumped through it, shattering the glass. He plummeted towards the ground, seemingly towards certain death.

He hit the ground, rolled, and jumped to his feet, unhurt by the fall. He took off running before Stacy could fire at him.

Capt. Stacy ran over to the window and saw Osborn running off.

"FREEZE, OSBORN!!" he shouted, although he knew it would be useless. He grabbed his two-way radio from his belt and said, "This is the Captain, it would appear there has been a major breakthrough in the Octavius case..."

--

Great. My entire career is ruined!! Osborn thought, enraged, still running. WHY did he have to deliver the proof straight into the hands of the police!?

He ducked into a back alley to think on what he could do next.

He's ruined me... now, it's time to take away something he cares about...

...but first, I have to gather a few... materials...

--

7 minutes later...

Osborn arrived at a warehouse he owned, only a few blocks from his apartment. He undid the 3 locks on the door, then entered, the lights flicking on automatically.

He walked over to a machine he had built. It was the glider he had finished only the day before.

Didn't think I'd have to use it already... he said. But I have my revenge to enact... he will pay for what he's done to me.

He looked at the device next to the glider, a green suit of "armor" that had been designed for use with the glider. He grabbed the mask to the suit, a small helmet that look like an evil insect's head. Slipping it on his head, he quickly donned the suit of armor and turned his attention back towards the glider. Doing one last, final check of the device, he stepped onto it and fired it up. A ball of flame emerged from the back of the glider, and Osborn sped out of the warehouse and into the city, cackling madly.

Now he'd take care of this little problem... once and for all...

--

"So, Curt..." Rosie said, leaning back in her chair, "...do you think they'll clear him?"

Curt looked up from his newspaper and said, "I don't know... I really hope so..."

The room was silent a moment more before the phone rang. Curt picked it up.

"Yes, this is Connors... Captain Stacy!?" Curt motioned for Rosie to remain quiet a moment as he listened, "Yes... yes... oh, really? He did!? Are you serious!? That's great!! You have no idea how much we appreciate this, Captain! Thank you!!" Curt hung up the phone and looked over at Rosie with a huge grin on his face.

"He's been cleared, Rosie! Osborn confessed everything!" he said.

Rosie jumped up and said, "That's wonderful news! How did they get Osborn to confess?"

Curt shook his head with that same grin on his face and said, "Apparently, Otto got ahold of the schematics for the bombs used at Quest, and delivered them right into the hands of the police. But the cops never even knew he was there."

The smile on Rosie's face now matched the one on Curt's.

"That's great! We have to find Otto and tell him everything's been dropped against him!"

Just then, a high-pitched whine split the air, and the outermost wall of the apartment exploded in a ball of flame. Both Curt and Rosie were thrown against the opposite wall, and both were conscious enough to see none other than a man in what looked like a goblin suit fly into the apartment. The madness in his voice was frightening as he shouted, "WHERE IS HE!? WHERE IS OCTAVIUS!?"

Curt looked at the man in the goblin suit and said, "N-Norman Osborn?"

Osborn shouted, "THAT'S THE GREEN GOBLIN TO YOU!! Where is he!?"

Curt backed away from him and said, "I-I don't know! Even if I knew, I'd NEVER tell you!!"

Osborn flew up to him and said, "You wouldn't? You would die for him?"

When Curt didn't respond, Osborn looked at Rosie and said, "Would you let her die for him?"

Curt managed to say, "D-DON'T TOUCH HER!!"

Osborn laughed and picked up Rosie roughly, ignoring her screaming, and told Curt, "You tell Octavius he has one hour to come and face me, man-to-man, or I'll THROW HER FROM THE TOP OF THE EMPIRE STATE!!" With that, he flew off with Rosie, his evil laugh ringing in Curt's ears.

Curt stood up and ran for the door. He had to tell someone!

Out of instinct, he ran towards the building in the East Village. Something, he didn't know what, told him that Octavius would be there, and he was willing to trust that instinct...

--

Meanwhile, Octavius himself was in his hideout, thinking on the situation. He had delivered the proof to the police, but would it be enough? He was trying to figure out what to do if they still thought he was responsible.

Suddenly, a man burst through the door. Octavius turned around to silence whomever it was, when he realized...

"Curt!? What are you doing here!?" he asked, stunned bt his friend's sudden appearance.

Curt leaned against the post in the middle of the room, exhausted from the long run, and said, "Osborn's got Rosie! He's threatening to kill her if you don't fight him atop the Empire State!!"

At this, Octavius went white, and he leaned against his desk. "H-How did he even find her!?"

Curt said, "I don't know, but he blew up the apartment. Go find him, Otto! You can't let her be harmed by him!"

Octavius ran for the door, but halted for only a moment, long enough to say, "Curt... if I don't come back alive... if he releases her... tell Rosie... tell her..." he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, but Curt understood.

"I'll tell her. Now go! There's not much time left! He only gave you an hour to find him!"

Octavius nodded and ran off, leaving Curt in the building alone.

My God... Curt thought, how did it come to this?

--

Meanwhile, at the Empire State, Osborn circled the tower on his glider, bored. Rosie sat there, terrified, and said, "W-What are you going to do to him?"

Osborn laughed and said, "Kill him, of course. Oh, don't worry, I'll release you, but I've got a score to settle with him. And it looks like his hour is almost-"

Suddenly, a chunk of brick hit Osborn's helmet. Osborn snarled, turned around, and saw Octavius standing atop the tower.

"This ends now, Osborn!!" Octavius shouted, ready to rip Osborn apart. "Why did it have to go this far!? Why couldn't you just leave her out of this!?"

Osborn simply said, "I needed a reason to draw you out. I was going to go after your teacher friend, but I thought she'd make better bait..." With that, Osborn reached down and plucked a small orange ball from a spot on the glider, pressed a button on it, and said, "But I suppose you're right... this will end now, but not in the way you-"

Without warning, Octavius smacked the little orange ball out of Osborn's hand, flinging it into the air and ignoring the explosion it generated, grabbed the arm originally holding the bomb, and flung Osborn away from the tower. Osborn tumbled aimlessly through the air before the glider corrected itself, and Osborn flew towards Octavius, laughing like a lunatic.

Octavius grabbed hold of the glider's wing with 2 tentacles, ripping it out from under Osborn, who fell onto the hard surface of the tower. Octavius took one look at the glider and, with seemingly little effort, crunched it into a big ball of twisted metal and wires, then threw it from the tower. Osborn stood up and shrieked, "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT COST TO BUILD!?"

Octavius shouted back, "Do you know how much your little scheme cost me!? It cost me my career, my humanity!! YOUR SCHEME NEARLY COST ME MY LIFE!! But I suppose that means nothing to you, does it!?"

Osborn merely looked at him and shook his head.

"Not really. You were merely a pawn in my scheme."

At that, Octavius snarled, picked up Osborn by the front of that stupid costume, and slammed him face first into the tower. Osborn fell to the floor, stood up, and plucked 4 small devices from a spot in his costume. The devices looked strangely like small metal bats... with razor tips... Without warning, Osborn threw the 'razor bats' at Octavius. The first 3 hit nothing as Octavius batted them away. The fourth struck Octavius in the shoulder.

Octavius merely flinched as he yanked it from his shoulder and threw it to the ground. He knew he was bleeding, but he was too fired-up to feel any pain at the assault. He ripped a chunk of masonry from the tower and hurled it at Osborn, who was struck in the 'face' by the brick. The helmet protected Osborn from being decapitated by the brick, but the impact still left him seeing stars. He leaped at Octavius, only to be smacked out of the air and back into the hard wall of the tower. Osborn pulled out a few more of the razor bats, only to be whacked in the arm by a tentacle. Osborn dropped the razor bats, screamed as the impact broke his arm, and fell to his knees, the pain tearing through his skull.

Meanwhile, Rosie was sitting there, too shocked to move as the fight played out before her. She had never seen Octavius like this! He looked thoroughly prepared to murder Osborn for what he had done, and she couldn't see him throw his life away like that. She screamed, "Otto, you don't have to do this! You don't have to kill him! The police know you're innocent! You don't have to fight him anymore!!"

Octavius looked at Rosie for an instant and said, his voice tinged with sadness, "You wouldn't understand. I can't let him hurt us like this again... I'm going to see to it he never hurts anyone again." With that, he walked over to Osborn and ripped off that stupid helmet so he could look him in the eyes. The look on Osborn's face was one Octavius had never seen there before: a look of naked terror. He grabbed Osborn by the back of the neck with a human hand and lifted him to his feet. He glared at Osborn, a look that had Osborn on the verge of another fear-induced heart attack.

"It's over, Osborn." Octavius growled, looking at Osborn with the look of an executioner about to carry out the sentence imposed on his victim. "You've done too much to me, to her, to this city. It's about time retribution is carried out." He looked out over the city, at Rosie, and finally, back at Osborn, who looks to have accepted his fate. Octavius glared at Osborn and said, "When you get to hell... tell them Otto Octavius sent you." With those final words, he slammed Osborn face-first into the tower as hard as he could, hearing the 'thunk' of his head hitting the brick, and watched as Osborn slumped to the ground, either unconscious or dead. He really couldn't tell, and he didn't care.

Octavius walked over to Rosie and said, "I'm sorry it had to end up this way..." He picked her up gently with his own two arms, grabbed Osborn with a tentacle, and descended the tower. Rosie could only look at Octavius, wondering how it had ever come to this. She knew he had done what needed to be done, but it was hard to accept it.

Finally, they reached the ground to find an entire squadron of police standing at the bottom. Octavius put Rosie on the ground and put Osborn in front of Captain Stacy, who was in charge of this particular operation.

"I'm not sure if he's dead or alive, but I had to fight him." Octavius said, in a near-whisper. "I couldn't let her die at the hands of this madman."

Captain Stacy didn't say anything as he knelt over Osborn, finding that he was still alive, but probably had one hell of a concussion. He stood up and looked at Octavius.

Octavius was silent a moment before saying, "And I suppose this is the part where you arrest me, isn't it?"

Capt. Stacy looked at his squadron, seeing them all shaking their heads. Stacy looked back at Octavius and said, "For what? Bringing the true bomber to justice?"

Octavius shrugged and said, "I assumed assault was a felony..."

Stacy snorted and said, "You know what? Screw charges. Screw felonies. This man doesn't really have any rights as of now, anyways. Besides, you didn't kill anyone. Take your lady friend and get out of here."

Octavius looked at Stacy, an eyebrow cocked.

"I mean it, Doctor. I'm not pressing charges." Stacy said, a half-smile on his face.

Octavius looked over at Rosie, who was standing there smiling. He looked back at Capt. Stacy and nodded thanks, before walking over to Rosie and saying, "You kept me from doing something very stupid up there, you know that."

Rosie nodded and said, "I couldn't watch you ruin your chance for a good life by being sent to prison."

Octavius was silent a moment, before he finally said, "Well, I suppose we'd better go find Curt before he has a heart attack, wondering what became of us."

Rosie laughed at that and said, "True, true..."

With that, they left the scene just as Osborn started to awaken. He looked up at Stacy and said, "H-He attacked me..."

Stacy shook his head and said, "Nice try, Osborn. We saw everything. We know the true story. You're under arrest."

A cheer broke out among the entire squadron at those words. Osborn simply looked down at the ground, knowing there was no use trying to escape... he knew when he was defeated, and this was the very definition of defeat...

--

Curt was still pacing the floor in the building Octavius had claimed as his hideout. He hadn't heard the news of how the fight had gone, and he was truly worried about what had become of his two best friends.

Needless to say, the feeling of relief at the sight of both Octavius and Rosie entering the building was immeasurable.

"You're both alive!" Curt shouted with glee as he ran over to them. "How did you both survive!?" He looked at Octavius and said, "And the radiation... it's not affecting you!?"

"We'll explain all that later." Octavius said, holding back a smirk. "As for now, let's get out of here."

The three of them left the building, unsure of what was going to come next. At the moment, none of them really cared...