SPIDER-MAN: ALL ALONE (CHAPTER 20)
Note: Hope you all have enjoyed Across the Spiderverse recently.
OLD FAIRY TALE STORY TOLD BY NORMAN…
Once upon a time, there was an old travelling nomad who spent most of his life penniless and on the move. He wandered the distant wilderness after his latest exile for stealing in his hometown.
The weather was cold and his feet hurt as he traversed the barren lands. Until, he saw an open entrance to a cave. There was no other option for shelter and the nomad was tired. The cave was his only option despite the possible danger.
Dragging himself on the rocky path and getting his feet scratched by the dead bush shrubs, he entered the pitch-black entrance of the cave. With no light, he stumbled and fell down with the rest of his memories being as dark as ever.
After the fall, he woke up to find himself bound and restrained next to a sizzling fire pit. The nomad panicked at his predicament and looked around to find the source of his capture. There was a sinister laughter coming from the dark followed by the clanging of metal and quiet footsteps. The nomad's face twisted into disgust and horror when he saw an ugly green goblin walk towards him.
The goblin wore worn out regal clothing with a golden necklace containing a ruby-like jewel inside hanging around his slouched neck. With a crooked smile, he greeted the terrified nomad.
"Do not fret, old traveller. I am just like you." The goblin greeted.
The nomad wanted to speak but the gag was in the way. Walking up to the nomad, the goblin reached out with its bony and dirty hand and removed the cloth out of the nomad's mouth.
"I ask only for the swiftest demise." The nomad spoke in fear.
The goblin howled in laughter at the nomad's despair before responding.
"I have no need to feast upon you but I foresee a kindred spirit in you. One that may be better suited for a purpose." The goblin responded, "I too was once a common man, yes. The memory serves clear… I was exiled for accusations of sorcery."
The nomad tried to process the information from the goblin; he was hesitant for such a creature is known for their deceptiveness but there was nothing to lose for him at this point for which he only had to hear what the goblin says.
"I dream of bringing the selfish to ruins." The goblin gloated, "To turn their riches against them and swallow them in their own greed."
Looking at the nomad, the goblin then untied him. Standing up, the nomad stood paralysed as he listened more to the goblin.
"Your hand." The goblin said.
The nomad nodded and lent his hand out. Swiftly, the goblin examined the nomad's palm before slashing it and placed the necklace in hand staining it with the nomad's own blood. The nomad winced from the pain as the goblin explained his intent.
"You are my vessel. Go back to the path you came from." The goblin said.
And with those words, the nomad was sent back to the hometown he had been exiled from. For days, he traversed through the same landscape he had went through all the way back with growing vengeance. The guards at the hometown were not so pleased to see the nomad return. Their spears were ready when the nomad drew near.
"Still alive, thieving rat?" A guard asked.
The nomad snickered for he had harboured a new source of power, one that he had been gifted with by the goblin. Drawing out the necklace, he raised the jewel in front of the guards. The guards had one look at the necklace's jewel before their shocked expressions encased them into solid gold.
The horrifying result was spectacular and the nomad relished in the newfound powers that he had. Knowing that the goblin gave him this power, he journeyed back into the town. Each step loomed with chaos as men, women and children who had once scorned him were frozen into the same golden material.
The once humiliated and judged nomad was now a being of ultimate destruction. Making the selfish and wealthy residents suffer a cruel fate. The only people that stood in his way now was the king himself. The king arrogantly greeted the nomad with the same contempt that he used to exile him.
"A common thief now practices dark magic? I never seen such a depraved downfall." The king said.
With one draw of his own sword, the king had his blade pointed with false courage. The nomad smiled before deciding the king's fate. With the glistening power of the jewel, he made the king drop the sword in pain. The pain extended to his bones crunching and internal bleeding. And just like the rest, he too was gold.
The nomad smiled content at the destruction he wrought back. It was at dawn, the goblin appeared before him. The nomad for first time in a long while spoke with satisfaction.
"Blessed thee, I am to have been given such a divine gift." The nomad spoke with passion.
The goblin gave what looked like a reassured smile to the nomad before placing his green hand on the nomad's shoulder. It was then the goblin spoke of the truth.
"Such illusions. You may think that what you have is power but true power is taken not given." The goblin said.
Soon the nomad's own body froze. It was that moment; the goblin revealed his sinister outlook. The jewel soon flared and the nomad screamed ablaze. His life torn away and scattered to ash as if all he had accomplished before was for nothing. With the town empty, the goblin took delight in the riches that he acquired for himself and it was from that day forward, the world opened up to him for his misdeeds.
BLACK MARKET HIDEOUT, MANHATTAN (PRESENT)…
Spider-Man and Gwen looked around the scene. They could tell a fight of sorts had happened. There was no sign of Marty either which made a little bit of sense given by the looks of things.
"Looks like someone beat us to a fight." Gwen commented.
"And I found someone." Spider-Man said with his Spider-signal flaring up.
One of Marty's men who had been injured from the fight got up before swiftly being kicked down and webbed by Gwen.
"Mister… I wanna ask, where's your boss?" Gwen asked.
"Get lost, why would I want to rat him out?" The injured man spat, "Besides, I'm already hurt bad so why not finish it?"
"I'll try…" Spider-Man said intervening, "Sir…Would you mind answering the guys who can beat you thanks to superpowers, who exactly beat you?"
"Would you believe it? Norman Osborn waltzed right into here. Right out of the blue. He'd offered all of us a job at Oscorp. Sounds sweet for people like us…" The man answered coughing, "Only thing is, only a selected number did go. I didn't get the offer."
"Hold up… Norman Osborn?" Spider-Man asked in a questioning manner, "How the hell does he beat up guys like you?"
"Oh, he has power kind of like you." The man replied, "Packs quite a punch. Jumps like an acrobat and throws a bunch of us like ragdolls. You know… Super strength."
Spider-Man and Gwen looked at each other before surveying the environment around them. Shelves were knocked and barrels rolled over. The man's description sounded plausible enough.
"Guess we know where to move. You sure your boss is at Oscorp now?" Spider-Man said backing away.
"Oh, crap. I guess you know where he'd be at." The man scoffed, "Guess I'm out of his band."
"Sure are." Gwen said, "Enjoy the safety behind bars."
And with that said, Gwen shot out some more webs to pin the man down for the police to collect.
MANHATTAN (IN FRONT OF OSCORP TOWER) …
Spider-Man and Gwen perched on a building where the Oscorp Tower gloomed in the dark like it is the next objective of a video game.
"Mr. Osborn?" Spider-Man asked, "I know Harry's dad is a bit ruthless but this sort of thing doesn't strike me as him."
"Sometimes, people are different behind the mask. No offence, a guy like him owning a big company and controlling the city in some way sounds like villain material to me." Gwen said as they eyed Oscorp.
"Well, now looks like we have two leads." Spider-Man said, "Gotta update Yuri on this one."
Spider-Man turned on his ear comm and relayed the findings so far.
"Oh, Yuri. This is gonna sound crazy but you're going to have to put a pin onto Norman Osborn now. The guy apparently offered Marty a job and now he's probably capable of super strength powers." Spider-Man said.
"Uh huh… I hear you." Yuri answered back, "Can't make a move on him however. Especially when this guy is a legally contracted with NYPD and there is no pretext as of yet for an arrest warrant. You'll have to do the digging if you're keen to see things through"
"We could have another Kingpin at hand." Gwen said.
"Well, count on us. I guess we'll find out soon enough…" Spider-Man said.
"Good luck, Spider-Man. Let's hope this is smooth." Yuri said before the call stopped.
Staring at the tower, the two were left to devise their plan.
"I'm going in." Gwen said, "With my phasing powers... Security is probably going to be tight there."
"Lucky you." Spider-Man said, "Guess who will be sitting duck then."
"Hey, I'm not doing this alone." Gwen stated punching Spider-Man's arm, "And… Peter. Don't get too emotional about this. I know this guy is your friend's dad. But you gotta be ready for things to change with people."
Spider-Man took a moment to think about what Gwen said. She might be referring to her experience with the Jackal or maybe her friend, Anton Rodriguez. Either way, he could not think of anyone else this personal to be this much of a possible threat as of now.
"You're right. That's something I don't think I have yet in my years as Spider-Man." Peter answered, "Crazy… But this might be that moment."
CONNOR'S APARTMENT…
Meanwhile at the time of night, Curt was looking through his bedroom wardrobe for fancy casual suits to wear. They may have seen some dust but the time for presentation was sacred for him.
"I've worked so many years in the prosthetic industry. Developing technologies to help our patients recover from limb loss." Curt muttered as if he was practicing for an interview.
As he picked out a grey suit, he placed it on a chair ready for tomorrow. For him, this day to come was important to realise.
TO BE CONTINUED…
End note: Yeah, it's weird to have a 'fairy tale' of sorts at the start but this is how I'm building the mindset for my interpretation of the Green Goblin.