Spider-Man was in shock at the sight before him. The Green Goblin staring him down with a sinister smile, all the while Doctor Octopus was off to the side, picking himself up and seemingly ready to continue the fight. Near a short distance away from all of them was the tritium Octavius would need to complete his experiment, and it appeared they all knew it.
"Goblin?" Spider-Man let out.
"What are you doing here?" Doc Ock let out. "This has nothing to do with you!"
"No, but it has to do with that," Goblin remarked, pointing at the tritium on the ground.
"The tritium…" Spider-Man realized. "Why do you want it?"
"Tell you what. I'll tell you… if you survive!"
Goblin began flying down, firing electric blasts at the two of them. Doctor Octopus raised his arms to shield himself from the blasts while Spider-Man backflipped out of the way. As he landed, he spotted the tritium on the ground and made a break for it. Ock saw him running for it and shot an arm out, grabbing him by the chest and pushing him back. Before another arm could grab the tritium, a web shot out, snagging the tritium and pulling it into Spider-Man's hand as he collided with the wall. Spider-Man just barely recovered as another arm shot out to grab the tritium, only for Spider-Man to grab that arm to hold it back. Spider-Man tossed the tritium in the air before grabbing the arm with both hands and slamming it into the other, knocking it off of him. He then leaped up toward the tritium, only for Green Goblin to fly past, snatching the tritium out of the air.
He attempted to fly off, but one of Ock's arms grabbed hold of the glider, stopping him in his tracks. Spider-Man took this chance to leap onto the arm before springing off, tackling Goblin off his ride and onto the ground. The two tussled for a bit before Goblin kicked him off, knocking him aside as Goblin made a break for the tritium. Before he could grab it though, one of Doc Ock's arms snaked out and grabbed hold of it, allowing him to pull it in close. He attempted to escape, but a web line shot out and snagged one of his arms, preventing him from leaving.
"Whoa!" he let out. "Caught me a big one!"
"Who's caught whom?" Ock remarked, snapping the arm and pulling Spider-Man in close.
He shot out another arm to attack him, but Spider-Man landed on the arm, springing off of it and landing on a nearby support pillar. During this, one of the Goblin's razors flew at Ock, knocking the tritium out of his hand. As it fell to the ground, Goblin flew in on his glider, snatching it up and flying toward the ceiling, chucking a pumpkin bomb and blowing a hole for him to escape through. Spider-Man didn't waste a moment before firing a web line that allowed him to pull himself upward after the Goblin. He then fired another web on the Goblin's glider, allowing him to hitch a ride as he flew upward. While all this was going on, Doc Ock began climbing up out of the hole after them.
Spider-Man managed to climb the web line up to the glider, grabbing hold of Goblin's ankle and trying to throw him off.
"Well, well," he noted, starting to kick Spider-Man off. "Seems like I have a stowaway."
He finally kicked Spider-Man in the face, knocking him off and causing him to fall off the glider. Spider-Man quickly fired a web onto the glider, allowing him to swing under it before arching upward, and firing another web line that allowed him to zip toward him. Goblin caught him by the throat as they spun around in the air. Goblin tried to punch him, but Spider-Man caught the fist before it could collide.
Before another move could be made, one of Doc Ock's arms shot out, grabbing hold of the glider. The two combatants looked to see Doctor Octopus clinging to the side of the wall and pulling them back in. Another arm shot out, trying to claim the tritium. Goblin quickly released Spider-Man so he could grab the arm and put his glider into full reverse, pulling Ock off the wall and toward the train tracks below. In one last desperate move, two of his arms shot out and grabbed hold of Green Goblin and Spider-Man, pulling them down with him.
The three of them fell right toward the tracks, just as a train passed by, causing them to land on top of it. They all tumbled across the top of the roof of the train, creating noise that the patrons inside the train couldn't help but notice.
"What the hell?" one of them let out.
Back up top, Doc Ock used his arms to stabilize himself while Goblin pulled out a razor and jammed it into the roof, causing him to skid to a stop. Spider-Man meanwhile, stuck to the roof of the train, picking himself up to see Green Goblin on one side of him and Doctor Octopus on the other.
"Oh boy," he let out.
Goblin made the first move by firing an electric blast at Spider-Man. Spidey quickly dodged it but was quickly met by an arm from Dock Ock. He ducked under the arm before leaping over another as it swung in close. Goblin took this chance to rush forward and grabbed Spider-Man's leg, slamming him onto the roof of the train. Spider-Man quickly kicked Goblin in the face, causing him to let go so Spidey could kick him in the chest, knocking him back. Doc Ock shot out another arm at him, forcing him to spring backward, narrowly avoiding the attack. Acting fast he leaped toward the arm, grabbing it, and swinging off it before flying toward Doc Ock himself. He landed on Ock, slamming him against the roof of the train, quickly backflipping off of him before Goblin fired an electric blast at him. Before he could land though, two of Doc Ock's arms grabbed him by the legs and threw him through the air. This allowed Doc Ock to focus his attack on Goblin. He shot out two of his arms at Goblin, only for him to swat them aside. Goblin then fired an electric blast at him, only for Ock to use his other two arms to block it. Another arm shot out, grabbing Goblin by the chest and lifting him into the air.
While that was happening, Spider-Man flew through the air, heading toward a covered bridge. Seeing it coming, Spider-Man contorted his body to fit through the openings in the bridge, coming out the other side and sailing straight toward Doc Ock, who was reaching for the tritium on Goblin's belt. Before he could grab it, Spider-Man plowed into him, causing him to release his hold on Goblin. This allowed Goblin to fall onto the train, pulling out a razor and stabbing it into the roof, keeping him from falling off. He peered over the side, seeing Spider-Man and Doc Ock duking it out on the side of the train, the latter using two of his arms to keep himself on. Seeing as the two were distracted, Goblin pressed a button on his wrist, calling for his glider.
On the side of the train, Spider-Man still duked it out with Doc Ock, fending off his arms as best he could. Just then, one of Ock's arms wrapped around Spider-Man, slamming him through the doors of the train. As he crashed into the inside, Spider-Man grabbed hold of one of the poles, allowing him to pull himself free of Ock's grip. He then leaped toward the pole across from him, spinning off of it before launching himself through another set of doors and firing two web lines to anchor himself to the side of the train. He then fired two more webs to try and pin his arms. Ock quickly wrapped his arms around the webs and tried pulling on them and forcing Spider-Man onto the tracks. After a few moments, Ock suddenly pulled back and moved toward the top of the train, much to Spider-Man's surprise. His spider-sense quickly warned him to look back, seeing another train coming his way. Acting quickly, he laid flat on his back, narrowly dodging the other train as it sped past.
Once the train had finally passed, Spider-Man picked himself up and moved toward the roof of the train. Once up there, Doctor Octopus was nowhere to be seen.
"What?" Spider-Man let out. "Where did he…?"
His spider sense suddenly began flaring up, causing him to turn and see the Goblin's glider, flying right toward him. As it opened fire on him, Spider-Man simply jumped forward, allowing the flow of the train to carry him past the gunfire. He then fired a webline, pulling him down to the train as the glider spun around, allowing the Green Goblin to leap onto it.
"What's the matter, Spider-Man?!" Goblin remarked. "Afternoon rush wearing you down?!"
"You kidding?! I'm just getting started!"
He fired two webs at him, prompting Goblin to dodge before flying across the top of the train toward him. Spider-Man quickly leaped over him, firing a webline at his glider and pulling himself in close. He landed on the glider, throwing a punch at him only for Goblin to catch it. Goblin managed to punch Spider-Man in the face, sending him falling to the ground below the tracks. Finally coming to his senses, Spider-Man fired a webline at a nearby building, allowing him to swing extremely close to the ground. He fired another web line at the train, allowing him to keep pace with its speed before landing on a parked car, allowing the web to stretch out enough so he could slingshot himself forward. He then continued swinging after the train, hoping to catch up with his enemies in time.
On the train, Goblin was about to engage Spider-Man when he felt something grab his glider. He turned back, seeing one of Doc Ock on the roof of the train, with one of his arms holding onto the wing of his glider. Another arm shot out and grabbed the tritium from his belt before flinging Goblin aside, causing Goblin to stumble through the air. Ock's arm brought the tritium in close, allowing it to drop the tritium into his hands.
"Finally…" he mused.
He then looked up, seeing Spider-Man fast approaching. Reacting fast, two of his arms tore into the train car, grabbing a man and a woman and pulling them out so Ock could hold them overhead. He then tossed them into the air, prompting Spider-Man to swing into action. He shot a web at the two of them, wrapping them in it so they were secure. He then swung them to the side of a building, creating a massive web to catch the two of them before swinging off.
"You can thank me later, dude!" Spider-Man called back as he swung off.
The man gave an awkward smile to the woman, who only responded with a questionable look. Back on the train, Doctor Octopus saw Spider-Man resuming his pursuit. Glaring, Ock made his way toward the front of the train, intent on what he had to do.
"No more stops between here, and the end of the line," he declared.
One of his arms then smashed through the window, knocking the conductor aside before grabbing hold of the throttle. He pushed it forward, accelerating the train to its top speed before tearing it out of its console. At that time, Spider-Man finally landed on the train behind him, prompting Ock to turn around and toss the throttle to him. Spider-Man caught the throttle, realizing what it meant as he looked back up at Ock.
"It appears you have a train to catch," Ock remarked.
With that, Doc Ock leaped off the train, clinging to the side of a passing building as Spider-Man was left to deal with the out-of-control train. His spider sense suddenly flared up, signaling that the end of the track was approaching fast. This prompted Spider-Man to rush to the front of the train, landing on the edge of the headcar.
"It's Spider-Man!" one of the patrons called out.
"We're doomed!" another one dreaded.
"Tell everyone to hang on to something!" Spider-Man instructed.
"Brace yourselves!"
Spider-Man looked around, trying to formulate a plan on how to stop the train. Thinking back to the truck he stopped a while back, he fired two web lines on opposite buildings and braced himself against the front of the train, hoping he would have the strength to bring the train to a stop. The strain caused him to be pressed against the front of the train, prompting him to grip his webs as hard as he could. Unfortunately, the webs snapped due to the strain, almost making him fall forward onto the track. His adhesive feet were able to stop him before that happened, allowing him to pick himself back up.
"Oh man," he let out. "That totally worked last time…"
Yeah, dire situation becomes worse. The usual deal. Still, I knew I had the right idea, just needed a greater volume.
Instantly, Spider-Man fired several web lines out at the surrounding walls. Once they all connected, he wrapped the ends around his hands, hoping to tighten his grip as best he could. Like before, the second the webs went taut, Spider-Man was slammed against the front of the train, forcing him to pull hard on the webs. Spider-Man immediately grunted in pain as the strain of the train hit him. The metal of the train buckled as a result, causing the front windows to shatter. Spider-Man's muscles flexing even caused tears in the arms of his costume. The strain grew greater and greater, causing Spider-Man to cry out in pain. Fortunately, the train started to slowly grind to a stop as a result thanks to him, but the webs also started snapping as well, something that didn't go unnoticed by the passengers.
Spider-Man maintained his grip as the end of the track came closer. The collision with the metal bumper at the end helped contribute to the train deceleration. After slowly inching its way toward the edge, the train finally came to a stop, thanks to the efforts of Spider-Man. Once the train finally stopped, Spider-Man's arms dropped due to exhaustion. His eyes drifted closed before eventually passing out.
…
Sometime later, Spider-Man slowly started waking up, groaning a little before opening his eyes and seeing Green Goblin standing over him.
"Wake up little spider," he mused.
Spider-Man instantly snapped awake, backflipping away and readying his web shooters.
"Flinch and it's a web overcoat for you, pal!" Spider-Man declared.
"Something tells me you have bigger problems," Goblin remarked, smirking.
"What are you-"
"Octavius is long gone. And so is his prize."
Spider-Man paused, knowing that Goblin was right.
"The tritium… he's making that machine again."
"Which means you don't have time to mess around with me."
Spider-Man lowered his arms, realizing Goblin was right. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to give me a hand on this."
"Sorry. You seemed to make it pretty clear you didn't want to partner with me."
"Well, why did you go after Octavius in the first place?"
"It disrupted his deal with Osborn. That's all I care about."
"Thought you were more interested in Fisk. What do you want with Osborn?"
"Get to one to hurt the other," Goblin remarked, his hands behind his back as he pressed a button on his wrist.
"What are you-"
Before Spider-Man could finish, his spider-sense went off, warning him that something was fast approaching from behind. He turned to see the glider fast approaching, causing him to dive out of the way as the glider slowed to a stop, allowing Goblin to leap on and take off into the air. He stopped for a moment, turning back toward Spider-Man as he looked down at him.
"You should try the same," Goblin mused.
"What are you talking about?" Spider-Man asked in a crouched position.
"I've seen you engage Octavius. You keep trying to outsmart or outfight him, but the true warrior attacks neither body nor mind."
"Then what do you suggest I do?"
"The heart, Spider-Man!" Goblin called back, beginning to fly away. "You want to stop Octavius, you attack his heart!"
With that, Goblin flew off into the distance, leaving Spider-Man alone and perplexed.
Wasn't quite sure what he meant at first, but one thing was for certain. I had to stop Octavius. Before his machine destroyed half of New York. First I needed to figure out where it was.
Spider-Man fired a webline and swung off, mulling over what to do about Doc Ock, as well as the words of Goblin.
"Attack his heart?" Spider-Man repeated. "What does that mean? Like I should hit something that Ock cares about?" Spider-Man suddenly perked up as he landed on a wall. "Or someone… that's it!" he quickly took off swinging again. "After all, what's the point of creating an artificial sun machine that could suck the city into it… if you don't have someone to share it with."
…
Back at the Bugle, Eddie looked through several pictures of Spider-Man that Peter had submitted to the Bugle, hoping to find some clue as to how Peter took them. As he did so, Betty happened to be passing by, noticing his work.
"What are you working on?" Betty wondered.
"Trying to figure out how Peter took these photos," Eddie replied.
"Why?"
"Because Peter's the only one who's been able to get good photos of Spider-Man in action. If I can figure out how he took them, it might give me a clue as to what he really knows about Spider-Man."
Betty looked on with a worried expression.
"Eddie… I know this is for a story and all, but… you almost sound obsessed."
"Hey," Eddie insisted, standing up. "I'm just doing my job. Hope that's not an issue for you."
Eddie took his pictures and walked away, much to Betty's concern.
…
At the hospital, Rosie had finally woken up and was being kept under observation. At the moment, she was resting in her room, with guards stationed outside her room in case Octavius returned. Two guards were posted inside as well, in case Octavius tried to enter from the window. They weren't taking any chances with this. As they stood watch, one of the guards heard something coming from outside. He made his way over to the window, his hand hovering over his weapon as he did. He finally reached the window, looking out and seeing no one there. Unsatisfied, the guard opened the window, planning to give another thorough check. Just as he opened the window though, one of Ock's arms shot out, hitting the guard and knocking him across the room. The other guard perked up, turning to see Doc Ock climbing in through the window. They both drew their weapons, but Ock's arms shot out and grabbed them, crushing their weapons with his pincers before tossing them out the door. He slammed the door shut and crushed the handle, preventing them from getting back in.
Once he was sure the room was secure, he turned back to Rosie, who seemed to be stirring from all the noise.
"Rosie, my love," Otto spoke as he approached her.
Finally, Rosie woke up, surprised to see Otto standing over her.
"Otto…?" she let out, sitting up. "My god… what happened to you?"
"Much. I promise to explain everything. But first… there's something I must show you."
…
After getting dressed, Rosie let Otto carry her out the hospital window and down the side of the building. As they made their getaway, neither of them noticed Spider-Man perched on the roof above them.
"Good thing I decided to stake this place out," Spider-Man remarked, taking out one of the GPS nodes that he obtained from the dumpster a few days ago and attaching it to his web shooter.
He then aimed it at one of Ock's arms and fired, causing the webbed node to attach to one of his arms. Ock perked up turning around just as Spider-Man ducked behind the roof. After narrowing his eyes for a moment, Ock turned away and proceeded forward. Spider-Man let out a sigh of relief.
"Too close," Spider-Man let out, pulling out the main GPS device. "Now, to find them."
…
Sometime later, Doc Ock carried Rosie all the way to his hideout at the waterfront. He climbed onto the roof before opening a hatch, allowing him to lower the two of them inside. Just as they made their way inside, Spider-man swung onto a nearby crane, allowing him to look down at the hiding place Octavius had chosen for himself.
"A cliche seedy waterfront warehouse," Spider-Man noted. "Not too original, but effective."
Spider-Man then fired another web and swung up onto the roof of the warehouse.
"Alright. First, rescue Harry. Then Mrs. Octavius. Then take care of Doc Ock."
He opened the hatch and leaped down onto one of the rafters inside. His eyes went wide at the sight of the fusion reactor.
"Whoa…"
Down below, Octavius carefully placed Rosie on the ground, allowing her to marvel at the device before her.
"You… you rebuilt it?" she let out.
"Not only that, Otto replied. "I made it bigger. Stronger. Greater than ever before."
"This is… this is unbelievable. But… but the last one. It nearly-"
"That wasn't your fault, my dear," Otto reassured before his face hardened. "It was Osborn. He sabotaged the experiment. He couldn't stand the idea of someone accomplishing something out from under his thumb."
Rosie was slightly taken aback by the ferocity in Otto's voice.
"I… I know you have resentments for Norman. But if there are real problems-"
"I suppose everything has problems if you look hard enough," Otto replied, walking around the room on his arms and pulling out the tritium from his coat. "But fortune favors the bold."
…
As the two talked, Spider-Man slowly made his way around the room, doing his best to stay out of Ock's eyesight in hopes of finding Harry. As he looked around, he spotted a stray chain on the ground, prompting him to make his way down to it. He moved over to the chain and picked it up, seeing that it was broken off in the middle.
"It looks like it was… snapped off in the middle… but…how?"
…
"Come, Rosie," Otto declared. "It's time to show the world what we've done."
"Otto, wait," Rosie pleaded. "I'm… in awe of what you've accomplished, but we shouldn't rush into things. We need to think this through. Make sure it's safe."
"Safe? Of course, it's safe. I've completed everything to your specifications! There's no doubt it-"
Otto cut himself off, noticing something out of the corner of his eyes.
…
"Harry was here," Peter realized, studying the chain. "But he escaped. Question is was it on his own… or did someone else-"
Before he could finish the question, his spider-sense suddenly flared up, prompting him to leap out of the way of an oncoming piece of metal. It became embedded into the ground as Spider-Man flipped backward, landing in the middle of the room as Doctor Octopus stared him down.
"You continue to pester me!" Doc Ock declared as Rosie backed away. "I don't know how you found this place, but you won't be leaving here alive!"
"I can't let you turn on that machine, Ock," Spider-Man insisted. "That thing goes on, a lot of people are gonna get hurt."
"That's a risk we're willing to take," Ock mused, much to Rosie's surprise.
"Well, I'm not!"
Spider-Man leaped forward as Ock shot out two of his arms. Spider-Man grabbed them and used them as a springboard to try and leap over them. He tried to dive toward the machine, but his arms snapped back and grabbed him by the wrists, swinging him around the room before slamming him on the ground. He then raised Spider-Man into the air before slamming him on the ground again. He then chucked Spider-Man through the air, causing him to crash through a window. Before flying too far, Spider-Man fired a webline and pulled himself forward, allowing him to swing back toward the building and crash through a window. He then swung right into Doc Ock, causing them both to crash into a pile of boxes.
He prepared to punch Otto out, but his arms grabbed him by the wrists. Spider-Man tried to free himself, but another arm slammed into his chest, knocking him into a wall. Ock then summoned the blade from one of his arms, thrusting it right at Spider-Man. Acting fast, Spider-Man managed to tear his arms free, catching the arm and stabbing the blade into the wall. He then planted his feet on the wall and sprang off it, freeing himself from Octavius' grip before landing on the ground. He looked up, seeing Doc Ock standing on two of his arms and readying the other two. One shot out, leading Spider-Man to easily avoid it. He barely dodged a second attack before a third strike grabbed him by the ankle, whipping him around and swinging him into a metal support beam. Another arm grabbed Spider-Man by the head before slamming him back on the ground. Ock couldn't help but smile at the sight of Spider-Man defeated. He pressed down on Spider-Man's head as he walked over him.
"Stay down," Ock told him, heading toward the reactor.
Spider-Man just groaned in pain as Otto walked past, seeing him head toward the reactor and feeling powerless to stop him.
"At long last, our work will be completed. Nothing can stand in our way now. Care to do the honors, my dear?"
Rosie just stood there, speechless at what she had seen. She looked up at her husband, unsure if she truly recognized the person he had become. Doc Ock looked down at her with a confused look on his face.
"Rosie?"
"Otto, I…" she mustered out. "I can't."
"What?"
"This machine… I wanted it to succeed more than anything. But if it hurt you… turned you into this… it's not worth it."
Otto was shocked by this, lowering himself down to her level.
"But… I did this for you. All of this was for your dream!"
"No dream is worth losing the man I love."
Otto stepped away in shock, not expecting this kind of response. He couldn't believe that Rosie would stand against him like this. He pulled off his goggles so he could look her in the eye.
"You… you would really stand in the way of this?"
Rosie let out a sigh. "Yes."
"Then…" his face suddenly became hardened and angry. "You're against me too."
Suddenly, an arm wrapped her, lifting her into the air, much to her horror.
"Fine," he declared, turning toward the machine. "If I must stand alone in this… then so be it!"
He put the tritium in place and started up the machine. Spider-Man slowly looked up, seeing the fusion reactor turn on.
"No…" he let out, feeling he failed.
Everything seemed pretty hopeless. The reactor was active and I felt powerless to stop it. At the same time though, I knew I couldn't let it stop me. No matter how many times Ock knocked me down, I had to find a way to get back up.
Spider-Man placed his hands on the ground, pushing himself up as he got on his knees. As he readied himself though, he looked down at the ground, seeing the cracks in the floorboards and eying the river below.
That's when it hit me. Why shut it down… when you can drown it.
"Come on, Spider-Man…" he told himself, forcing himself back on his feet.
Doc Ock stood in awe of his accomplishment, a smug smile gracing his face.
"Now this… is power," he mused. "Soon, no one will question my genius. Not even Osborn!"
"Otto, I'm begging you, don't do this!" Rosie pleaded. "There's no telling what it could do."
"You may doubt now, but I promise, you'll see the greatness of what we've done. And this is only the beginning. Soon, the world will see the greatness of the Octavius name."
"Hard to imagine greatness with a name like Doc Ock," Spider-Man taunted.
Otto's grimace returned, turning toward Spider-Man, who was standing in defiance. Otto narrowed his eyes, setting Rosie on the ground as he turned to face him, placing his goggles back on his face.
"When will you learn to stay down," Doc Ock sneered.
"As long as I have fight left in me… never."
"A situation easily remedied."
Ock shot out his arms at Spider-Man, but the web-headed hero easily punched them aside before leaping forward. He landed on his hands before springing forward, nailing Ock in the chest and pinning him to the ground. He leaped off, moving toward the reactor.
For those wondering why my web shooters weren't being pulled in, I, uh… "borrowed" some material that was used to make the arms to make new web shooters. Just in case I face any magnetic villains.
Spider-Man swung down toward the supports, managing to cling to one of them before turning back toward Ock as he picked himself up.
"Hey, science squid!" Spider-Man called out. "Down here!"
Ock narrowed his eyes before chasing after him. He shot an arm out to grab him, but Spider-Man jumped to another one, causing him to damage the support. Spider-Man smiled, sure that his plan was working.
"That the best you got?" Spider-Man taunted. "Don't know why I was expecting more."
Spider-Man leaped out of the way of another strike, causing it to strike the support. Spider-Man kept it up, dodging and weaving between the support beams, Ock inadvertently damaging them with each strike.
Back above, Rosie looked around and saw several chunks of metal flying into the machine as its power grew. Parts of the wall were even being pulled off, adding more fuel to the reactor's power. She turned and tried to get away, but she tripped on some stray chains that were left on the floor. She ended up tangled in them as she fell to the floor. The chain started getting pulled into the reactor, along with her.
Back with Spider-Man, he continued dodging and weaving between Doctor Octopus' attacks, causing Ock to damage the supports with each strike. With the supports becoming more and more weakened, Spider-Man could tell it was his time to strike. After dodging another attack, Spider-Man leaped toward the wall of the warehouse and fired his webs at one of the supports, pulling hard and tearing it free. Ock saw this and narrowed his eyes at Spider-Man. Spidey tried leaping forward toward another support, but Ock wrapped one of his tentacles around his torso pulling him back. Spider-Man quickly shot out a web to one of the damaged supports, yanking it out. The reactor started to fall into the water, but Ock used two of his arms to hold it up while one was bracing himself on a wall, the fourth still wrapped around Spider-Man as he tried to keep it from grabbing him.
"I've tolerated you long enough," Doc Ock swore, pulling him in close. "Now I can finally put you out of my misery, once and for-"
Before he could finish, a familiar scream caused them both to cease their fighting. They both looked up to see Rosie tangled in chains that were being pulled into the reactor, with her along with them. Instinctively, she grabbed onto a nearby support to keep her from being pulled in, but her grip could only hold for so long.
"Rosie!" Otto let out.
"She can't hold out forever," Spider-Man told him. "Let me save her."
Ock just turned toward Spider-Man with contempt.
"Dr. Octavius…" Spider-Man addressed. "Otto… I know you still care for her. You did this for her. Even if you think she betrayed you… there has to be some part of you that still loves her. Don't let her dream come at the cost of her life."
Dr. Octopus narrowed his eyes, mulling over Spider-Man's words. Finally, he turned back to him.
"... this doesn't change anything."
With that, he flung Spider-Man into the air, causing him to land on a nearby support beam just as Rosie's grip gave out. He quickly fired a web at Rosie's hand, holding onto it tight as the chain untangled from her feet so he could pull her toward him. Back with Octavius, he still struggled to hold up the reactor to keep it from falling into the river. As he did though, the remaining supports, still damaged from the fight, finally gave out, causing the reactor to crash down on top of him. The intense energy of the reactor caused the warehouse to begin caving in on itself, prompting Spider-Man to scoop up Rosie.
"We gotta go!" he declared, firing a webline.
The two swung out of the warehouse just as it collapsed, allowing Octavius and the reactor to be pulled under the water. As the reactor began to sink, the power of the fusion reaction began to die down as well, until it was completely extinguished. Spider-Man managed to swing to the street, setting Rosie down on the ground before landing on a lamppost, spinning on it before facing the remains of the warehouse. Rosie stepped forward, placing her hands over her mouth in sorrow.
"Otto…" she let out, trying to hold back her tears.
Spider-Man looked down at her, lowering his head in somber reflection.
"I'm… so sorry… I truly am…" he dropped down to the ground, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Despite everything though… he still loved you."
A… hollow victory to say the least. I managed to overcome my own self-doubt and save the city… but it cost Rosie losing Otto. He was willing to save her in the end so I had to hope there was still some good in there… somewhere.
…
Meanwhile, at the Bugle, Eddie was grabbing his stuff and preparing to leave when Jameson stepped out of his office.
"Brock!" he called out. "I wanna talk with you!"
Brock cocked an eyebrow, walking over to his boss.
"What's up JJ?"
"Miss Brant told me you were looking into Peter Parker. Is this true?"
"Well…yeah. He's always getting these good shots of Spider-Man and I thought-"
"Drop it."
Eddie was taken aback by that.
"What?"
"I don't want you looking into Parker."
"Look, boss, if he knows something about Spider-Man, don't you think we should-"
"This isn't up for discussion. I'm only letting you continue the story because Robbie seems to think it's a good idea. But pester Parker again, and I'll have you delivering muffins to the morning crew. Understood."
Eddie's face hardened before his fist clenched. After a moment, his hand straightened.
"Yes sir," he replied before turning to leave.
…
Sometime later, the police had sent a dive unit to search for any sign of Octavius or Harry. Mrs. Octavius was sitting on a nearby bench with a shock blanket wrapped around her as she relayed what happened to Captain Stacy.
"And you never saw your husband get out?" Stacy asked.
"No… Spider-Man said he was trying to hold up the reactor, but…" she stopped short.
"It's alright. Just take it easy."
"Captain," Yuri spoke up, getting his attention. "Dive teams just reported in. No sign of Octavius or Osbborn's kid in the river."
"So there's a chance they're still out there," Captain Stacy mused. "Put out an APB for Otto Octavius. And tell them to keep searching for Harry Osborn as well. Whether Octavius still has him or not."
"Yes sir," Yuri replied before heading off.
Meanwhile, perched on a wall close by, Spider-Man was listening in, hearing the latest report regarding Doc Ock and Harry.
"So, Harry did make it out of there," Spider-Man realized, climbing up the side of the building. "But there's still the issue as to what happened to him. Did he escape on his own… or did someone take him?"
As he climbed up to the roof of the building, he was about to swing off when he saw something off in the distance. Something that seemed to be cackling wildly as it flew off.
"Goblin…"
…
Miles away at the shore, the waves crashed along the beach in tranquil silence. All of a sudden, something began stirring on the surface of the water. Suddenly, something shot out of the water, planting itself on the sand to reveal it was one of Octavius' arms. A second one shot out, planting itself next to the other as a form began pulling itself out of the water.
