I don't own Marvel, Spider-Man, or Jekyll and Hyde. Please read AN at the bottom after this chapter.
If we're not one, but two
Are we evil or good?
Do we walk that fine line
That we'd cross if we could?
Are we waiting
To break through the facade?
When Harry didn't show up to lunch the next day, Peter was worried something was wrong.
"Hey, I'll be back in a minute," he said. Ned looked curious, but didn't ask about what his friend was doing. Peter wandered out of the lunch hall, wondering where Harry could be, if he was even at school. Peter wandered around for a few more minutes, finally turning a corner, stopping short when he realized Harry was sitting against the lockers in the hallway, his forehead pressed against his knees.
"Harry?" Peter asked quietly, walking forward slowly. The new kid looked up, surprise written on his face. Clearly he didn't think anyone was going to come looking for him.
"Peter, what are you doing here?" Harry asked, wiping his cheeks quickly to try and hide the fact that a few stray tears had escaped his eyes.
"I just...we hadn't seen you all day, and I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said as he reached his classmate. Peter put his back against the wall as well and slid down until he was on the floor as well.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry brushed off Peter's concern, though the teenager knew that it was a front.
"Everything okay at OSCORP?" Peter asked after a moment of silence. He didn't have to tell Harry that he'd been there and seen what had happened, but he did want to know what was going on currently.
"Apparently, dad was there with a few scientists and they were working on something; it hit an unexpected snag," Harry explained, wiping his eyes on his sleeve to discourage any other tears escaping. "Kinda sounds cliche, right? The experiment goes wrong and explodes, trapping everyone inside," he said with a hollow chuckle, obviously not even amused by his own attempt at humor.
"How is everyone?"
"There were only three people inside thankfully," Harry said, though he sounded frustrated. "I don't even know what dad was doing there!" he exclaimed suddenly, grabbing at his hair in frustration. "He was supposed to be at home, but he wasn't, and then we got the call about the accident; the security company for OSCORP told us that his card had been used to swipe into one of the secure facilities on the upper floors. He's been keeping secrets lately, and I'd be willing to bet every dollar I have to say that this has to do with at least one of those secrets," he raged. He realized his voice had gotten louder and louder, and took in several deep breaths to calm himself down.
"Is everyone okay?" Peter asked after a minute. He wished he could tell his friend that his father had been in what looked like some sort of experimental container. However, he knew that by outing that fact, he'd be admitting to the fact that he had been at the building, and then it was only a hop, skip, and a jump before Harry made the connection that Peter was Spider-Man. Harry wasn't dumb; he might not have been the most book-smart person Peter knew, but the young Osborn was smarter than he gave himself credit for, so Peter kept his mouth shut.
"Um, there was two scientists in the explosion," Harry said. "One of them, Tessa, I guess is in pretty bad shape, and they don't know if she's gonna make it. Tristin, the other one, is in a coma, but the doctors say they're optimistic that he's gonna wake up soon. Dad is...ahem," he cut off, clearing his throat as he rubbed at his eyes again. "Sorry. Gosh, I don't know why I'm so worked up about this," Harry said, cutting himself off. "The man's hardly ever been there for me; sometimes it seems like I'm more of an inconvenience to him than anything else."
Peter felt bad for his friend, though he could see through the act rather easily. He knew how much Harry was actually concerned. "He's your dad," the young man said quietly. "It's...it makes sense that you're worried about him. I would be," he added.
"Yeah," Harry said with a shrug, still not seeming to want to show how much he cared. "Anyway. Dad got pretty banged up, but thankfully he doesn't have any broken bones. He had a couple scrapes that needed to be stitched up, but he's the one that got hurt the least," the young Osborn finished. "Doctors say it's a miracle that he wasn't hurt more."
"That's good," Peter said. He felt useless; he wanted to comfort his friend, but he wasn't sure how to do it.
"They're all just lucky Spider-Man got there before the fire hit the pipes and blew out the room," Harry added.
"Spider-Man was there?" Peter asked, feigning innocence.
Harry nodded his head, humming "Mm-hmm," as he stared straight ahead of him.
"Hey," Peter said after a few minutes of silence again. "Is there anything you need? Should you even be in school today?"
"Yeah, I just...I needed to get out of the house," Harry said, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. "It's so big, and it just felt more empty and drafty than normal."
"Can I do anything to help?" Peter asked.
"I don't think so buddy. Thanks though," Harry said, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder. "You're a good friend; probably a better one than I deserve."
Peter was going to answer, but the bell rang, alerting the students that they had five minutes to get to class. Harry stood up and turned around, offering his hand to help Peter get up, which the teenager accepted. Once they were both upright, Harry began walking away.
"I'll see you later, Pete," he said. He turned around after a few steps. "Oh, uh...if you're still good to help me study, I tried looking at my math homework earlier, and it's just a bunch of jumbled numbers and letters," he admitted.
"Sure," Peter agreed. "Just let me know when. And let me know if you need anything else," he added.
"I will," Harry promised. "See ya, Pete."
"Hey Harry," Peter called out before his friend disappeared around the corner. The young Osborn turned around, and Peter continued. "You deserve to be happy, just like everyone else."
A ghost of a smile flitted across Harry's face. He didn't respond; he just turned and walked away, but Peter hoped that it had been what his friend needed.
0-0-0
Norman Osborn twitched in his sleep. His silk sheets were drenched in sweat, and his limbs had become entangled in the bedspread. The doctors had let the CEO leave the hospital, though they insisted that he stay in bed for at least another few days, to make sure that he would be alright.
After another few minutes of thrashing about, Osborn's eyes shot open. He lunged out of his bed, ripping the sheets from his limbs and discarding them on the floor before hurrying to his bathroom. Something felt off, wrong. His senses were all on high alert; everything seemed to be hyper-focused. He flipped the light on in his bathroom and hurried over to the sink, peering at himself in the mirror. Besides his eyes being bloodshot, he looked completely normal. Except...when he looked closer, he saw something strange. While he was a strong man, he'd never been a bodybuilder, and when he inspected his body further, he realized that he was more tone than he'd ever been before.
"Maybe that serum actually worked!" he muttered to himself. Suddenly he collapsed against the sink as his head began pounding. Memories began flashing in his head like a movie, memories of what happened right after the serum had been injected into his body.
0-0-0
"OZ enhancement serum has been injected into test subject Norman Osborn," Tessa said into her recorder. Osborn hissed quietly as the needle punctured his skin and injected the liquid into his veins. It was a cold, stinging sensation, but he put his discomfort aside. Everything they were doing was for the advancement of science.
"Heart rate and blood pressure normal," Tristin called out from where he was watching Osborn's vitals.
"How are you feeling, Mr. Osborn?" Tessa asked, pressing a button to let her speak to her boss inside the container.
"Good," Osborn called back. "A little cold, still," he added.
"That's weird," Tessa muttered. "The temperature in there is seventy-six degrees and rising," she said a little louder so that her boss could hear. "Are you sure-"
Her question was cut off as a blaring noise began to emit from the vitals machine. Tessa's attention was yanked away from Osborn as she looked over at her partner for answers.
"Blood pressure and heart rate spiking," Tristin called out as he began hitting a few keys, trying not to show how surprised he was.
"Get him out of there," Tessa ordered, immediately leaving her position from behind the computer.
"No!" Osborn yelled, stopping Tessa in her tracks. "Risks have to be taken!"
"Not when that risk means losing you, Osborn," she snapped. "Tristin, shut it down!" Tessa walked towards her partner, intent on making sure that her orders were being followed, but a scream from inside the testing chamber, followed by the monotone beep of the heart monitor stopped her in her tracks.
The two scientists looked inside the glass container, their faces morphing into horrified expressions when they saw Osborn hanging limply from the straps.
"No!" Tessa yelled, running over to the container, putting in the code and opening the door. She hurried over to Osborn, placing her fingers on his neck. "Tristin, get me the defibrillator!" she ordered, beginning chest compressions on their boss. She glanced back at Tristin to see where he was, and when she turned her attention back to Osborn, she jumped away in shock.
His eyes were open and staring at her, and a low growl rose in his throat. "Mr. Osborn?" Tessa said timidly, frozen in her tracks.
"I said," Osborn seethed as he breathed heavily. "Leave it alone!"
With a single fluid motion, the CEO ripped the straps off his body, and he stepped down from the platform, advancing on Tessa, who had smartly began backing away.
"Mr. Osborn, we need to get you help," she begged.
"Mr. Osborn isn't home right now," the man said with a cackle. "And I don't need help," Osborn snapped, sounding almost feral. "What I need is more of the OZ serum."
"I-I-I can't give that to you," she stuttered, backing up and tripping slightly as she reached the door to the container. As she stepped out, Osborn yelled and backhanded her, sending her crashing into the computer setup she had just come from. She fell to the floor, her head lolling to the side in unconsciousness.
"Tessa!" Tristin yelled, moving to run forward to his partner. Osborn stepped in his way, blocking the path.
"Give me the serum," he ordered.
"No," Tristin said, though his voice shook. Norman let out a hideous cackle, advancing on Tristin and making the scientist take several steps backwards. In response to Tristin's refusal to give him the serum, Osborn reached over and grabbed one of the smaller machines sitting around the lab, throwing it as hard as he could it at the scientist, who was thankfully able to duck the attack. The piece of equipment crashed into a large server behind Tristin, sending arcs of electricity through the air.
"Where is it?" Osborn hissed, grabbing a surgical table with tools and rubbing alcohol on it. He began throwing the sharp instruments at Tristin, who finally held up his hands in defeat after having to dodge a pair of scissors.
"Fine!" he yelled, pointing towards a cabinet. "It's in there!"
Osborn immediately brushed past Tristin, the rubbing alcohol still in his hands, as that was going to be the next projectile he had thrown if the scientist hadn't cooperated. The CEO opened the cabinet doors, and with a gleefully maniacal chortle, he picked up a vial of the serum and walked back towards the container, needing the injector gun that had put the liquid in his body the first time.
"Tessa?" Tristin asked, completely ignoring his boss as he reached his coworker and friend. There was a crash as the sound of glass breaking reached Tristin's ears, and he looked over with horror in his eyes. Osborn had tossed the bottle of alcohol on the ground, shattering the bottle instantly. The extremely flammable liquid was seeping its way towards the sparking electronics at an alarmingly fast rate, and Tristin knew that he needed to get himself and Tessa out of the room before the place caught on fire.
The scientist looked back at Osborn in time to see the man stick a needle in his arm again, and he felt a sense of dread overcame the scientist. The CEO collapsed almost immediately, and Tristin was torn; Osborn had brought this upon himself, and Tessa didn't deserve to die for his actions, but Tristin also knew that Osborn wasn't himself. The formula had obviously changed him.
Unfortunately, while the scientist was debating about who to save, the alcohol reached the electronic equipment, and suddenly there was a loud BOOM. The explosion sent Tristin flying, and he collided with one of the walls. Immediately, the scientist lost consciousness as the fire began spreading around him and the other two in the lab.
0-0-0
Osborn groaned; that hadn't actually happened, had it? The memories felt like an out-of-body experience. He wanted to say that everything he'd just remembered was fake, or bent somehow, twisted out of shape, but he knew deep down that it wasn't. He was the reason for the explosion, and he was the reason Tessa and Tristin were both in comas. He bent down and turned on his faucet, splashing some cold water into his face to make himself more alert. He was reaching for a towel to dry his face off when a crackly voice suddenly whispered in his ear.
"Norman…"
Osborn whirled around. "Who-who's there?" he asked.
"No one's 'there,' Norman. I'm here."
"I'm going crazy," Osborn muttered as he began searching his bathroom for the source of the voice.
"No you're not, Osborn," the voice cackled. "I'm just the part of you that most people keep hidden. You're not going crazy...crazy came to you."
"That doesn't make any sense," Norman snapped.
"Think about it," the voice cooed. "You know it does. You know who I am, and you know where I came from."
"That's it, I'm calling security," Osborn growled. "They'll find you, wherever you are, and they'll drag you out of my life."
"Try it, Normy," cackled the voice as Osborn picked up his cell phone, preparing to call his head of security. "They'll come running, but as soon as they get here, you know what's going to happen. They aren't going to find anything, or anyone out of the ordinary. They'll give you the same diagnosis that you've given yourself, only they'll actually do something about it. They'll call a special doctor, and they'll lock you up to watch you, to study you. Just listen to what I have to say before you make that call."
Osborn paused, his finger poised above his head of security's contact info. The voice took Osborn's hesitation as an invitation to continue talking.
"You know yourself, Osborn. I am merely accessing the side of you that you try to keep hidden from the world, hidden from yourself."
Osborn was going to argue, but his phone suddenly started ringing in his hand, making him jump out of his skin. He looked down at the caller ID, not recognizing the number. He decided to answer it after the third ring, though he wasn't sure if he was mentally fit to be holding any sort of comprehensive conversation.
"This is Osborn," he said, hating how tired he sounded.
"Mr. Osborn, this is Dr. Groff, from the hospital," the person on the other end of the phone replied.
"Doctor," Norman greeted, tensing up slightly at the mention of 'doctor.' "To what do I owe the call? If you're calling to check up on me, you don't have to worry. I'm taking it easy, just like you prescribed," he said.
"That's good to hear," the doctor agreed. "But that's not why I'm calling. I did some preliminary bloodwork to make sure that everything was okay, and came across something strange."
Osborn's skin suddenly broke out in goosebumps; he had the sinking feeling he knew just what the 'strangeness' was, and it was confirmed when the doctor continued speaking.
"There's a foreign bit of genetic strand that has begun attaching itself to your DNA. I'm not sure what it is, or what the effects could be. I'd like you to come in to do some more tests, let me analyze what this is so that we can get a cure created," the doctor explained. Osborn sat there for a moment in stunned silence. "Mr. Osborn?" the doctor prodded when the CEO didn't answer.
"Yes, yes. I can um...I can be there in a few hours," he said.
"Perfect. I'll be waiting for you."
The phone call ended, and Osborn stood there, staring at the phone in his hand. "This is good," he muttered to himself.
"Normy," the voice inside him said in a soothing voice. "You don't really believe that; you know that if they make that antidote, if they see what that serum of yours caused, and they find out how it got in your blood? Ooo boy, you're gonna be in for a fun drag through the mud!"
"What do you mean?" Norman snapped as he got into some clean clothes, slipping a jacket on over his shirt.
"They're gonna take everything from you. Your company will be dead. You're the one that started that fire. You're the reason those two scientists are in the hospital. You're going to go to prison at the very least. You need me to help clean up this mess that you've gotten yourself into."
"I...I don't...I don't know," Osborn said, covering his face with his hands. "That wasn't me!" he insisted. "It was you," he accused. "You're the one who started this whole thing! You...you, you did something to me, you took over my body. That's why I remember what happened, but why I don't remember doing it!"
"Clever Norman," the voice praised sarcastically.
"So it's not me they need to worry about!"
The voice sighed in disappointment. "Maybe not so clever. Think about it, Normy. What happens when those two scientists wake up? They're going to say that it was your fault all of that stuff happened. You're going to go to prison and lose everything. Or maybe you tell people that you were experimenting with something you shouldn't have, and you now have someone else living inside you, and they're the ones that started the explosion. Then you end up in the funny farm, and you still lose everything."
Osborn hated to admit it, but the voice had a point.
"Or there's the third option. You do what I say, and none of that has to happen," the voice coaxed. Osborn held his breath for a moment.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Give up control of yourself for now. I'll take care of things; I'll make your problems go away."
Dun dun duuuun...
Okay guys. I'm gonna be real. I really do need feedback. Are you guys enjoying the story? Do you want me to keep going? I'm having a hard time with this, because I've read it so many times that it all just sounds kinda jumbled to me. Do you have tips? What can I do to improve the story? Do you guys not like the Goblin story line? Please, please, please let me know.