If you're worried that this story will only be about Doc Ock and a random kid, don't be. More familiar faces will show up in this chapter. And even if Otto is the focus since I want to give him a second chance to show what (the movie version) is capable of, that doesn't mean I won't have some other subplots prepared.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'll just be going back over the events of the third film. That one is completely ignored in this story. I'm not bringing in Venom because I want to do something different. I will, however, deal with the issue of Harry.

An apple. A bruised apple. Otto found himself staring at the piece of fruit as if it held some answers to what just happened.

A nameless, silent, raggedly-dressed, short-haired girl that, based on the admittedly limited information so far, didn't seem to have a home or family gave him an apple. For someone in her position, food could be a scarce commodity. And yet she'd tossed him an apple before slipping away. An act of such simple generosity and kindness after he nearly destroyed the city with his arrogance and obsession seemed difficult to believe. It was something he wasn't sure he deserved.

"strange child, quiet, interesting," chittered Mo.

"girl, looks like boy, but isn't," Flo reminded. "tricky girl"

"could tell someone, call the police, call Spider-man, could be trouble," Harry hissed quietly.

Larry chirped, "how, doesn't talk, promised to keep us secret"

"can we keep her," asked Flo, leaving the other actuators confused and startling a brief laugh from the doctor.

Otto realized with mild amusement that this was their first real encounter with a child with no distractions. Yes, there were some kids on the train he nearly crashed (and once again he felt a pang of guilt over his past actions). But all their attention was on Spider-man rather than the passengers at the time. No wonder they felt curious about her.

The man also felt curious about her, but not because of the novelty like the actuators were. From her dirty, sandy-blond, short hair to her oversized clothes that were clearly intended for someone else to her reactions towards everything, Otto was certain that she was living on the streets. If she had a home or family somewhere, he doubted she ever returned there willingly. She honestly didn't act like she had a name and there was a hunted look in her eyes that wouldn't come from a healthy home life. He knew that expression, recognizing it as the one he'd seen in the mirror throughout his childhood. Otto would be the first to admit that his father was a violent and cruel man and only got worse when drunk. And even if he'd always had a roof over his head even during the worst parts of his youth, there was something in how she cringed at certain points that was familiar. It made him wonder if she had a Torbert Octavius in her life. He hoped not because he wouldn't wish someone like that man on his worst enemies, let alone an innocent child.

Shaking his head slightly, Otto did his best to banish that entire train of thought. Thinking about his childhood in general and his father specifically wasn't the best idea, especially with four actuators with impulse control issues and a very weak sense of morality who might use a flood of negative emotions to start influencing him in an attempt to "help" again. Besides, dwelling on the girl and her situation wouldn't help anything. Considering her skittish behavior and the sheer population of the city, the man doubted he'd ever see the girl again.

Drowning his sorrows and rage in alcohol was growing to be a habit, one he knew he'd picked up from his father. Of course, there was a time he wanted to be just like his father. Though distant at times, difficult to please, and harsh when someone didn't meet his standards of perfection, the man always seemed like the pinnacle of success to his son. He'd wondered for years if he'd ever measure up or if he'd be trapped in the shadows of Norman Osborn forever. He never could seem to match his father's vision of what his son should be like. The man even seemed to preferred his son's best friend at times. Things did improve in more recent times, as if Norman had finally decided to try reaching out to him and was even showing some sympathy over his son's relationship difficulties. But even during the rougher days of their relationship, Harry loved and respected his father while trying to make him proud.

Then he was murdered. Abruptly, none of the man's flaws mattered. All that Harry cared about was that his father was killed and the one responsible for that crime was still free. Even worse, the murderer was swinging around like he was trying to be a hero. Harry spent so much time and energy hating Spider-man for killing his father, no matter what else the web-slinger might do. He'd stewed in his rage, regret, and drunkenness until his thirst for revenge began to consume him. Running Oscorp, his friendships, and every other aspect of his life fell out of focus. All he wanted was for Spider-man to suffer for his actions, for his father's murder to be avenged. He'd wanted it more than anything else in the world to the point of making a deal with a clearly-unstable Dr. Octopus just to get the chance to destroy Spider-man.

That deal was part of the reason Harry was currently sitting in front of the fireplace, a glass of amber liquid in his hand and staring at where he'd draped a sheet over the broken mirror. He shouldn't have made that deal. He shouldn't have looked under that mask. And he definitely shouldn't have broken that mirror. Because those actions managed to destroy everything he knew.

His best friend, someone he'd always trusted and would do anything to help if he needed it, wasn't who Harry thought he was. Peter Parker was Spider-man. All his darker desires for revenge against his father's killer crumbled. As much as he might want to defend the Osborne legacy, gain revenge for his father's death, and correct the clear injustice with the world, he couldn't hurt Peter. He couldn't kill Spider-man because he could never turn against his best friend. Part of him rebelled at even the idea even while the rest of him remained a chaotic storm of swirling emotions.

Then it got worse. In what he hoped was merely the result of shock, confusion, guilt, too little sleep, and too much to drink rather than a sign of insanity, Harry was confronted by a hallucination of his dead father screaming for revenge. And his denial against the specter was what shattered the now-covered mirror and provided the final piece of the puzzle. He could finally understand why his father died.

Drinking the remaining liquid in the glass, he ran his hand through his hair and grimaced. He knew this house had its secrets, but the concealed passage behind the mirror was still a shock. There was practically a small secret lab tucked out of sight. And what he found hidden back there was even worse. The glider, the bombs, and especially the yellow-eyed mask… It was all there, as if that part of his father's legacy was just waiting for him to discover it. As if he was meant to take up the mantle of the Green Goblin…

And that was the missing piece. He'd wanted to know why Peter would do something like that, killing his father. After years of friendship, it seemed impossible for Harry to comprehend. But now he could understand a little more about what happened. And the pathetic thing was how obvious it all seemed looking back.

So many murders, especially early on, were either people who caused problems for the company or were a member of Oscorp. The connections of the victims to his father seemed so clear now. And then there were the attacks connected to Peter, such as his boss at the newspaper, Aunt May, and even Mary Jane. It was all part of the well-documented animosity between the Green Goblin and Spider-man, though the Daily Bugle wasn't exactly neutral when reporting on it. One saving lives and the other taking them. Everyone understood the dynamic between the masked figures. And then the Green Goblin vanished the night his father died, a coincidence he should have noticed.

The attack on Mary Jane was the key. Harry couldn't believe he never paid attention to the timing or purposefully ignored it in pursuit of vengeance. He knew the Green Goblin tossed Mary Jane and a tramcar filled with children off the bridge that night. Between the dozens of witnesses and Mary Jane's very thorough description of the Goblin's words and actions, there was no doubt about what happened there. His father tried to kill a lot of innocent people and Peter himself just because Spider-man wouldn't join him. Because Peter kept trying to save lives that the Green Goblin threatened.

Once the pair left the bridge, no one knew exactly what happened. But Harry could finally draw a few conclusions. His father died of wounds from sharp blades being stabbed into him. He'd known that Spider-man didn't carry weapons, but he'd always dismissed that fact as unimportant. But now that Harry could examine the glider and the build-in retractable blades, he knew what the murder weapon was. Norman Osborn was killed by the Green Goblin's glider. He didn't know if Spider-man was the one who impaled him directly, but it was clearly not the web-slinger murdering a relatively helpless man that he'd always imagined it to be. Whatever happened, it was a battle between equally strong opponents with his father already having a history of murder and armed with a lot of dangerous weapons.

He hated to admit it. His mind rebelled against the idea, trying to rationalize or find an excuse. But no matter how many times he went around and around in his head, he kept coming to the same conclusion. Whether or not Spider-man caused the fatal blow, the Green Goblin was equally or even more responsible for his father's murder. He couldn't blindly blame Spider-man now that he had this information. His death was due to his own actions and decisions when he became a masked villain.

As Harry reached over to refill his glass, he was interrupted as his butler stepped into view. The white-haired man had been a permanent feature of the household, someone who kept the place running smoothly and kept all the Osborn secrets. Ironically, Harry realized abruptly, it was theoretically possible that Bernard could have figured out Norman was the Green Goblin and never said a word because of his impressive loyalty to the Osborn family. As soon as the idea appeared, however, Harry dismissed it. Even Bernard wouldn't hide something like that for long.

"What is it, Bernard?" he asked.

"You have a guest, sir."

Frowning slightly, Harry asked, "Is it Peter again? I told you I didn't want to talk to him right now."

So far, Peter had tried to visit three times since that night. And every time that he tried, Harry refused to see him. He wasn't ready to talk to him after learning Spider-man's identity. He'd never admit it out-loud, but Harry wasn't brave enough to face him with all his new knowledge yet. At the moment, Peter was resisting the urge to swing in the windows, but Harry knew he wouldn't give up.

"No, it is Mr. Kingsley," stated Bernard.

That brought a pause from Harry for a moment. Slowly, he gave the old man a nod for Bernard to show him in.

By the time his guest entered the room, Harry had managed to straighten his rumpled suit a little. He didn't want to look completely disheveled in front of the older man. Just because his life was spiraling into chaos didn't mean Harry wanted him to know it.

Roderick Kingsley stepped into view, grinning broadly with his arms out-stretched in greeting. Though he was only about Norman's age, his pale blond hair had gone white early in life. The billionaire fashion designer and businessman was certainly a welcome sight. Ever since he treated the then-twelve year old Harry like an adult back when all of Norman's other friends and business partners were treating him like a dumb child, the younger Osborn always liked the man. He thought of Roderick as his not-quite uncle, someone friendly and reliable to deal with. After his father's murder, Harry remembered that Roderick came over a lot to offer advice on running Oscorp in his new role and helping him drown his sorrows in scotch while listening to the younger man rant. Harry always appreciated his support during that dark time.

"Harry," he greeted. "I heard that wedding you were talking about took an interesting turn. You must tell me all about it."

He couldn't help shaking his head. Attending his ex-girlfriend/current-friend's wedding should have been simple, though it would probably be at least a little awkward for other past couples. But Harry was honestly happy that Mary Jane found someone and felt comfortable at the ceremony, enjoying the distraction from recent events. So dressed in his most expensive tuxedo, he'd gone to the wedding. Unfortunately for John Jameson, the red-head never walked down the aisle. Instead, she left behind a note and vanished. And Harry knew there was only one person she'd run away from her wedding for, the person she truly loved. Thinking about her with Peter quickly led his thoughts back to Spider-man and that led to Harry's current state.

"It was just your classic 'runaway bride' scenario," said Harry. "She decided she couldn't marry him because she loved someone else."

"You?"

Chuckling wryly almost against his will, he shook his head, "We might have dated once, but no. She's in love with Peter."

"Your friend, Peter Parker?" asked Roderick, reaching for the younger man's empty glass. "The one you told me about?"

"That's the one."

"So he stole her from Jameson on their wedding and he's dating his best friend's ex?" he remarked as he poured another drink. "I might be wrong, but doesn't that go against all forms of good manners and decency?"

"In his defense, Peter's been in love with MJ since before I knew him," said Harry before accepting the refilled glass. "He just never made a move, so she never realized how he felt for the longest time. He just watched her from a far and wished. So I don't think it's really Peter's fault when Mary Jane was the one who made the decisions about who she's involved with."

"So no hard feelings on your part," he grinned briefly, gesturing with his own glass. "Still, it must have been awkward at the time."

Harry said, "We're better as friends." He hesitated a moment before reluctantly admitting, "My father's behavior when he first met Mary Jane didn't help our relationship either. I tried too hard to make her perfect in his eyes and tried to control our relationship so it was perfect… I kind of undermined it from the start."

"Well, I'm not surprised you've had romantic difficulties," he remarked, clapping the younger man on the shoulder. "Your mother died a long time ago and Norman never dated much. Not that he was very good at it anyway. How were you supposed to learn about relationships if you never had many examples to study? At least in regards to this topic, he wasn't that great of a role model."

While Harry's gut reaction was still to defend his father's memory, he kept silent and took a short drink. Technically, nothing Roderick said was wrong. It wasn't even that negative. But the idea that his father didn't teach him everything he should have, even something as minor as dating, was the sort of thing that would've set his teeth on edge in the last few months. He'd idealized Norman Osborn since his death. And even now that he knew more, the urge to defend the man remained.

As if sensing the young man's thoughts, Roderick continued, "I'm not saying he wasn't a great man. He was a talented, intelligent, and skilled businessman who built Oscorp from the ground up. He created a legacy that will be remembered for a long time. But by now you need to start looking past the surface. You have to admit that he had his flaws, especially outside of his role as a businessman."

Thinking about the hidden cache of weapons and the list of Green Goblin's murder victims, Harry reluctantly admitted, "He wasn't perfect. I know that. But I loved my father."

"Of course you do. He was family and you'll always love your family. Though there are days where I wish we could choose our family. It would certainly make life more convenient. For example, look at Daniel."

"How is your twin?" Harry asked, taking another sip.

He shrugged, "About the same as always. Smart, but with absolutely no ambition or spine to motivate him. We look exactly alike, but have so little in common. Without me forcing him to take the initiative occasionally, he'd never accomplish anything in that lab of his."

Harry knew he was probably right. While Roderick was driven and confident enough to go from a fashion designer to the CEO of a quickly-growing company, Daniel was a nervous man who was quite content working for his brother. Anything Roderick told him to do, he obeyed without hesitation. People would often comment that Daniel inherited all the scientific knowledge and general intelligence while Roderick got all the cunning, shrewdness, and the strong personality necessary to use his brother's gifts.

"I heard you've been trying to get a military contract," said Harry, fighting the urge to yawn.

Taking a seat across from the younger man, he remarked, "Between Stark dropping out of the weapons business last year and Justin Hammer's recent disaster, there's a vacuum. And someone has to step in. There should be plenty of opportunities for us and Oscorp both."

Feeling rather warm and comfortable as they spoke around the fireplace, Harry took another sip from his glass and said, "Well, I wish you luck. Between our two companies, the military should be well covered." Yawning briefly, he added, "Hammer's disaster at the Stark Expo certainly distracted attention away from our problems concerning Octavius. Connections between us and Doc Ock need to be downplayed since those things never look good in the news. We need the distraction."

Harry yawned again and blinked blearily. How much had he drunk? He wasn't certain, but he felt drowsy. He'd reached the stage of passing out from alcohol before in the past. Several times, actually. He didn't expect to do that this afternoon, but the young man could barely keep his eyes open even as he spoke. He must have drunk more than he thought after he returned from the wedding. It was the only explanation.

"Shouldn't have made a deal with him," mumbled Harry. "Almost blew up the city. Twice. And he messed up my revenge. Don't think I can hurt Spider-man now. Know too much. Broke the mirror."

Harry shouldn't be saying this. Something in his drowsy thoughts warned him to stop talking, but he couldn't help it. But Roderick merely murmured soothingly without asking questions, so Harry didn't worry too much. He just took another small sip of his drink and closed his eyes briefly.

Roderick carefully took Harry's glass from his hand and set it on the desk. He'd be out for a while. After all, the older man had plenty of experience by this point drugging the younger one with just the right amount to ensure he wasn't disturbed. When someone gained a habit of drowning his sorrows after his father's demise, it was surprisingly simple to get away with such a thing on a semi-regular basis if necessary.

Once he was completely certain that the younger man was out, Roderick turned his attention to going through the desk and the rest of the room. He pulled open drawers, rifled through papers, and checked all the supposedly-secret hiding places in the room he'd discovered over the years. While Harry might not be quite as much of a workaholic as his late father, he did tend to bring interesting tidbits home with him and hide them in the exact same places. That made the older man's job so much simpler.

People underestimated Roderick. He knew that without a doubt. Even after he built himself a company and proved that he could be business savvy, the average person underestimated him. They didn't understand. They thought he was just the face of the company, the fashion-designer who just had a knack for hiring smart people to run the business. It was an easy mistake for someone to make. He'd chosen his initial career in fashion because no one would realize his potential. They might look at his designs and call him brilliant, but they would never see the truth of how brilliant he actually was.

It was why he managed to get close to various people in important positions of power and knowledge, such as the late Norman Osborn. They never saw him as a threat or a security risk because he always gave the impression of being the harmless. Even when he began a successful company, using bits and pieces of the stolen corporate secrets he'd gathered from his so-called friends, they never suspected him of being behind the acts of espionage. When necessary, he would frame a useful fall-guy for the crime and stage their suicide before they could be questioned.

It was why he befriended young Harry in the first place. He knew that if Norman ever caught on to what was happening, he could easily frame the boy for stolen plans, formulas, and other pieces of information. It would be a believable story: feeling neglected by his father, young Harry would try offering gifts to the one adult in his life that made him feel important. Roderick knew that Norman would fall for it. But he thankfully was never forced to frame and kill young Harry. And with the elder Osborn gone, it was even easier to sneak out with useful intel.

Locating some of the most recent schematics stored under the false bottom of the desk drawer, Roderick started taking a few photos of the pages. Once he took them back to his company, he'd hand them over to his twin. Daniel stopped arguing about the legality or morality of the situation long ago. His brother just didn't have the spine to stand up to him. So Daniel and his people replicated and improved on the stolen projects in order to make the company a success. Anything they completed before the original companies or altered enough, they sold publicly. Anything that was too easily identified as coming from another source, they sold through less legal means. It was certainly a profitable way to run a business.

Taking care to replace everything exactly as before, Roderick prepared to leave. The Osborn butler might decide to poke his head in the room at any moment to see if they needed anything. But before he could head towards the door, curiosity prickled at the back of his mind. The covered mirror was… odd. Even Harry's comment about breaking the mirror right before passing out did little to draw his attention to it before. But now, Roderick couldn't help taking a quick peek behind the draped fabric. After all, poking his nose where it didn't belong and investigating anything that captured his interest was practically part of his job by this point. Sometimes his curiosity was disappointed…

…but other times, it was well rewarded. Roderick bit back a gasp of surprise when he pulled back the sheet to expose a hidden passage. He'd thought he'd long ago discovered all the secrets of this room, but it seemed that there was at least one left. And of course he couldn't just turn around and leave without getting more than a brief glimpse of what was tucked just out of sight.

Slipping into the dark passage, more and more dark secrets of the Osborn family began to come to light. Shelves of round and orange bombs, one of the gliders he'd stolen plans for a few years ago, and a familiar mask that once stared back at people from the covers of newspapers. Roderick couldn't help chuckling. Apparently he wasn't the only successful businessman who hid their true and darker nature from the public. Poor little Harry must have been quite shocked to find this stash.

Feeling bolder, Roderick slipped a few of the so-called pumpkin bombs from the shelf into his jacket pocket. He already had the plans about the glider, so he wasn't very concerned about that. Further examination turned up lab notes and reports concerning Oscorp's attempt to recreate the Dr. Erskine's formula.

Almost everyone with even a basic knowledge of biology and chemistry had attempted to recreate the super-soldier formula and everyone had failed. Some failed rather spectacularly. Rumor had it that the green thing that appeared at Culver University and then later in Harlem (leaving destruction behind both times) was related to a governmental attempt at recreating the formula. Regardless, everyone tried it and so did Oscorp. A quick glance through the notes showed that there were some positive results in regards to increased strength, endurance, and such, but there were issues mentally that left it as a failure. Increased aggression, hallucinations, and insanity were not acceptable side-effects in most cases.

Next to the notes were a few tubes of green liquid, as if someone had been reading them while studying the tubes. Roderick took photos of the notes and one of the tubes. Daniel was particularly skilled with biochemistry and related topics. He'd likely be able to iron out the problems with the formula, removing the insanity side-effect. It might take time, but it would be worth it. And it wasn't like Harry could report the theft if he noticed without admitting that his father was the Green Goblin, which could easily spell the destruction of Oscorp with the fallout.

Smiling to himself over how productive this particular visit had turned out to be, Roderick stepped back through the opening and slid the sheet back into place. Sparing a moment to glance around the room, he felt certain that there were no obvious signs of what he'd been doing. And with practiced ease, he slipped back on his normal behavior of friendly and harmless fashion designer and businessman. Then he simply walked out the door with Oscorp secrets.

I will say this. Harry has his faults, but he is not an idiot. Show him a secret stash of Green Goblin junk hidden behind a mirror and he does have the capability to draw a few conclusions. No matter how much denial he might be in or how much he wants to remember his father in the best light possible, the evidence is pretty clear. Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin and that means accepting the fact that his father was a bad guy. I wanted to address Harry's reaction to learning about Spider-man's identity and his father's alter ego, but to do it in a way that gave Harry a bit more credit than he seemed to get during the third film.

To anyone who is unfamiliar with the name Roderick Kingsley, he is known by a slightly more famous name within the comics: Hobgoblin. Well, the Hobgoblin costume was worn by several people, but he's generally the one pulling the strings when someone else does wear it. I wanted to have someone who hasn't shown up on the big screens to be a villain in this story. So here he is.

And yes, some nice references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because it is surprisingly easy to compare the Goblin formula to the various attempts to recreate the Captain America formula. Just look at the Blonsky from "The Incredible Hulk." He's like an unarmored version of the Green Goblin when it comes to his capabilities after being injected (and before he becomes Abomination).

I don't know when the next update will be, but I'll get to it when I have the chance. And remember: reviews are always appreciated.