Chapter Fifteen
Chloe Sullivan struggled against the ropes that bound her hands and feet. She was currently strung up on a cross atop a cathedral in Harlem. The hitman known as Bullseye stood beside her, casually chewing on another toothpick.
"Stop strugglin', blondie," Bullseye said, looking up at her. "It won't do ya any good. Just relax 'til the bug gets here."
"Why are you doing this?" Chloe cried, exasperated. "What did Spider-Man ever do to you?"
"Spider-Man? Nothin'," Bullseye said with a shrug. "But the Kingpin and I are a bit anxious to get this part of the job over with, so we can get on to settlin' an old score. One that's a bit more personal." He spat the toothpick out, and it embedded itself in the rooftop at his feet.
"What makes you think he'll come for me?" Chloe asked.
"To be honest, I'm kinda startin' to hope he doesn't," Bullseye said slyly, running a finger down Chloe's leg. She shivered. "'Cuz then I'll have to find somethin' else to do with ya."
"Hey, baldy," a voice from behind them called out. "Let me give you a word of advice!"
Bullseye stepped back from Chloe and looked around wild-eyed, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. He got his answer when Spider-Man dropped out of the air and landed on the roof across from him.
"Putting a target on your forehead?" Spider-Man continued, firing a webline. "Probably not a great idea." The web struck Bullseye square in the forehead. Spider-Man yanked the webline, sending Bullseye tumbling off the side of the roof.
Bullseye's back slammed into the side wall of the church, knocking the wind out of him. He swung back and forth slowly, spinning around, suspended in the air several yards off the ground by the webline still stuck to his forehead. He groaned as he grabbed at the web, tugging on it, trying to pull himself free. He kicked the wall in frustration. Then, he began fishing around in his mouth with his tongue for something he kept concealed in his cheek. After a moment, he had the paperclip clenched between his teeth….
Back on the rooftop, Spider-Man quickly untied Chloe and got her down from the cross. "You okay?" he asked her.
"Fine," she said. He set her on the ground, and she winced with the pain that shot through her injured Achilles tendon. "Though I don't think I'll be running any marathons any time soon."
"What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked her.
"I had to come find you and Clark," she said, massaging the back of her leg. "To see what those animals had done to him."
"It's okay," Spider-Man said. "The Ultimates let us join the team."
"Join them?! After what they did to Clark? They almost killed him!"
"I know," Spider-Man said. "Look, we don't trust them, either, but Clark thought it would be the best way to keep an eye on them."
"Where is Clark now?"
"I don't – wait…" Spider-Man paused as his spider sense kicked into overdrive. He reacted on blind instinct, raising his hand up in front of Chloe's face. A paperclip, unfolded into a straight projectile, zipped straight toward Chloe's eyeball. Spider-Man's hand slid up in front of her eyes at the last millisecond, and the paperclip projectile plunged deep into Spider-Man's hand. He screamed as blood spurted out of his hand, grabbing his wrist and falling to his knees.
"Oh my God!" Chloe screamed. She knelt down next to Spider-Man and threw her arms around his shoulders. "Are you okay?!"
"Urgh… peachy…" he groaned, grabbing the paperclip and painfully digging it out. He wrenched it out and dropped it, leaving a trail of blood drops scattered on the rooftop around it. He stood up and peered over the edge of the roof. The empty, severed webline swayed back and forth in the breeze. Bullseye was gone.
A few minutes later, Spider-Man swung down in front of the Daily Bugle building with Chloe in his arms. He set her gently on the ground.
"You'll be safe here," Spider-Man told her. "Go inside, find Joe Robertson. Tell him you're a friend of Peter Parker."
"I don't want to leave you," Chloe said.
"No offense, Chloe, but unless you've got some super powers that you've neglected to tell me about…?"
She took his injured hand gently in hers. "You're hurt. You need to have this looked at."
"I will," he replied, placing his other hand softly against the side of her face. "Just not right now. There's a bunch of supervillain crazies running around, and I need to-"
The sound of the Green Goblin's laughter filled the air, interrupting Spider-Man. He and Chloe looked up, and saw Harry Osborn, still maskless with his face bruised and swollen, swooping down on his glider, headed straight for them.
"Chloe, get inside, NOW!" Spider-Man yelled, pulling away from her and leaping up onto the side wall of the building.
"Spider-Man!" Harry yelled. "Let's finish this!"
Harry leapt off his glider, grabbing Spider-Man around the neck and ripping him down off the wall, the two of them crashing roughly into the alley behind the Bugle. Spider-Man's head struck the side of a dumpster, leaving him dazed and groggy. Harry hauled Spider-Man back to his feet. He opened the dumpster, placed Spider-Man's head inside, then slammed the lid down on the back of Spider-Man's skull. Spider-Man screamed, kicking and thrashing around, trying to break free.
"Green Goblin!" Chloe Sullivan screamed.
Harry lifted the dumpster lid and Spider-Man's limp body slid to the ground. He turned to face Chloe Sullivan, who was holding a pumpkin bomb in her hand.
"How the hell did you…?!" he scoffed. Then he noticed that lying on the ground behind her was the satchel of bombs that Spider-Man had ripped away from them in their earlier battle, which had been thrown off the side of the roof. It must have landed in this alley, and Chloe had just found it. "Oh, great," he sighed.
"Let Spider-Man go," Chloe said, holding the bomb out menacingly. "Now."
"Or what, sweet cheeks?" Harry challenged.
"Or this!" Chloe hurled the pumpkin bomb at Harry with all her might. It struck him in the chest, then fell harmlessly to the ground. Chloe's jaw dropped. Harry casually dusted off his chest where the bomb had struck him, then bent down and picked up the bomb. He twisted the top of it, causing it to light up and emit a high-pitched whine.
"You have to arm it first," he said. Then he tossed the bomb back at Chloe. She screamed and recoiled in terror.
"Noooo!" Spider-Man yelled. He fired off a webline and snagged the bomb in mid-air, just before it hit Chloe. He yanked it back and it flew up into the air behind them, going off above their heads. Shrapnel and debris rained down on the three of them as they ducked for cover. A huge metal fire escape was blown free from the side of the building, and it came crashing down on Harry, pinning him to the ground. He struggled to get free, gasping for air.
Spider-Man rose to his feet, his costume torn and dirty. He was still woozy, his head throbbing. He staggered toward Harry.
"Spider-Man… please… help me…" Harry moaned. The weight of the twisted metal bearing down on him was making it hard to breathe, and, try as he might, he couldn't push it off of him. "Please…"
Spider-Man grabbed at the metal and started to pull away chunks of it, tossing it to the side. "It's okay," he said. "It's all right, Harry. I'll get you free. Just hang on."
"Oh, thank God for you, Spider-Man," Harry whimpered. A strange smile slowly crossed his lips. He quietly reached down and pressed a button on his arm. "Thank God for you."
Spider-Man stopped pulling away the metal wreckage. His spider sense was flaring up again. He heard Chloe screaming behind him. No time to think, just react. He dove out of the way and threw himself on the ground, looking up just in time to see the glider barreling towards the spot where he'd just stood, two huge metal spikes protruding from the front of it. With Spider-Man out of the way, it was now heading straight for Harry.
"Oh…" Harry gasped, realizing with horror what he had just done.
There was a huge gust of wind and a streak of blue and black, and something appeared in front Harry. The glider struck something and was ripped in half, stray pieces of it flying off and striking the brick walls of the alley, shards of metal ricocheting around and coming to land harmlessly strewn across the ground.
When the dust settled, they saw Clark Kent, still possessed by the Eradicator, standing in front of Harry Osborn. Harry passed out.
"Clark…" Chloe said, her voice a mere whisper as she walked toward him. "Is that you?"
"I am not Clark Kent any longer," he replied in the hollow monotone of the Eradicator. Chloe reached up and pulled away the yellow visor that he wore. She gasped as she saw his eyes, which were glowing yellow. He quickly pulled he visor back over his eyes. "I am sorry. The time has come."
He stepped away from them, walked out of the alley, and then flew off into the night sky.
"Oh my God…" Chloe breathed.
"Did I hit my head harder than I thought…" Spider-Man said. "…or did he just fly?!"