I'm playing around with the idea of the Parker family and the Stark families being a little more connected than anyone realizes. Tony has taken over Oscorp in a hostile takeover because he doesn't appreciate the way Norman Osborne conducts his business. Peter has been stalked by Osborne for the last couple of years, ever since he saved New York from The Lizard.

Pepper Potts sighed as she looked at her lone book club attendee. They met once a month at her apartment in Stark Towers, and there were usually quite a few. Her apartment was a marvelous place. It was, of course, sleek and modern, shiny and elegant, like Tony, full of straight lines, yet homey because of the touches of warm brown fabrics and woven pieces she'd scattered here and there to break up the potential monotony of Tony's design.

There was only one attendee tonight, Ben Parker's widow, May. Ben had been on the maintenance staff for years until his untimely death over a year ago, and May looked wiped out. There were deep dark bags under her eyes and a weariness about her that Pepper had never seen before. Her nephew must be a handful.

"May, would you like something to drink?" Pepper asked politely. She moved to her kitchen to get a couple of glasses.

"Just water, thanks," May said. "If you want to cancel tonight, I don't blame you. I won't make good company."

Pepper brought bottles of imported, expensive water, perfectly chilled, into the living room. "Instead of talking about the book, let's talk about you. How are you getting along?"

"As good as possible, I suppose," May sniffed. "It's Peter I'm worried about. Ben bled out in his arms. Did you know that? He feels responsible. I know he does. He wakes up with nightmares and can't get back to sleep."

She reached into her purse for a tissue and screamed suddenly. Pepper jumped up in alarm. "May? What's wrong?"

May pulled out a triangular shaped object. "It just startled me. Peter put a tracker in my purse. He's ever so paranoid since Ben's death. I've been invited by my best friend to go on a month-long cruise, but I can't. Peter won't have anyone to watch him, and he can't be alone. He's only sixteen."

"I can handle that," Pepper said efficiently. "I'll whip up a summer internship for him and you can relax. I'll keep you posted on his projects. He can stay here for the summer and you can relax."

"Oh, Pepper, that would be wonderful! Tomorrow is the last day of school, and I'm at a loss on how to keep him busy and out of trouble. This is perfect timing. It's not that he's a bad kid. He's just got rotten luck."

Peter was at home, rebuilding a computer that he'd dug out of the trash. He figured it had cost well over two thousand dollars when it first came out. When he got done with it, it would be worth much, much more.

"Peter! I'm home!" May called as soon as she came into the small apartment they shared. Peter perked up. It was the first time in ages that May sounded hopeful. He went into their diminutive living room, an expectant look on his face.

"I talked to Miss Potts. I am going on my cruise after all, and you have an internship at Stark towers. You're going to live there for the summer.

"I'm going to live in The Llama?" Peter's voice was full of wonder and disbelief simultaneously. Things like this just didn't happen to him. Not with his luck.

May made an odd choking sound. "Please don't call it that. I know it looks like a llama with its tongue stuck out, but I don't want you to upset anyone with your astute observations."

"Ok, May. I won't." Peter ran over and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much for this. It's gonna be so great!"

The next day at school, he knew something was off. His tutee Harry Osborne strode through the halls darkly. The student body quieted and parted as he sailed through like a boat slicing through the ocean, then came together like swirling backwash. The whispering began, and Peter found Ned and MJ near their home room.

"What's wrong with Harry? I tried to say hi to him, but he looked at me like he'd rather scrape a Petri dish into the trash."

"Didn't you hear? Stark Industrial bought out Oscorp and it was a hostile takeover. Mr. Stark accused Norman Osborn of illegal gene manipulation and unnecessary experimentation," Ned explained in a tumble.

"Osborne was told that if he gave up easily, he wouldn't serve jail time," MJ added coolly. "So, of course Harry is upset."

"Well, it's the truth," Peter said, and they stared at them. "You know I'm Spider-Man. Where do you think the creepy crawler came from, anyway?"

MJ thought a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Our class field trip to Oscorp! Of course! It makes perfect sense. They had those genetically modified spiders on display. They must have used human DNA to splice into the spiders DNA."

"Let's not talk about Harry. It's not nice since he's not here to defend his dad," Peter said slowly. "I've got news of my own. I'm going to be staying at The Llama over the summer so May can take her trip."

"Don't call Stark Towers the Llama," MJ hissed. "If someone overhears you, it will catch on, because it's funnier than hell."

Peter and Ned burst into helpless laughter, the kind that makes you tear up and gasp for air.

"Aunt May is sending my stuff ahead for me and someone is picking me up today," Peter told them excitedly. "May said Pepper Potts is making an internship just for me."

"Well, someone needs to keep you out of trouble," MJ snarked off. "You've been really skating on thin ice lately." She got a starry-eyed look on her face. "Wow. My personal hero. Miss Pepper Potts. She is so put together!"

"So are you," Peter said, teasing her. "You are my Pepper Potts. I don't know what I would do without you. You keep my stuff together." He leaned in and they kissed. Ned groaned and turned his head.

"Hey," Peter said with mock indignation, "you're supposed to be my friend."

"She does have a point, Peter. I doubt you have a chance to get out of the tower," Ned proclaimed. "Spider-Man out for the summer. That Green Goblin creep can't be bothering you while you're on lockdown."

"Like hell I am. If you remember, I can climb. Besides, I doubt Goblin would dare come anywhere near Avenger's territory," Peter said a tad belligerently.

Pepper had Happy pick Peter up. Tony was in meetings all day, so he didn't need him at the moment. MJ waved sadly and watched him go.

"I'm Happy Hogan," Happy said brusquely, opening the door for him to crawl in the back seat. Peter complied, momentarily speechless. He was in awe of the luxurious interior of the automobile. Happy looked back at MJ, shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Peter finally found his voice. "Thanks, Mr. Hogan. I appreciate it. Did my stuff make it ok? I've got a robot I'm working on. I also have a computer that I just rebuilt from scratch."

"Yes, kid. They were delivered this morning," Happy said with a sigh. He hoped the kid was going to leave it at that, but he could hear it in his voice. There had to be more questions coming.

It wasn't questions as much as a running commentary. Peter was looking out the window at the high rises and said to himself, "They look so different from down here."

"What was that?" Happy asked in confusion. What was Peter thinking?

"Oh. I'm not in cars very often. Things are so different from ground level rather than up in a building, you know?" 'Or hanging off the side of one,' Peter thought. What he wouldn't give to be swinging through traffic right now.

"Makes sense," Happy said laconically. "Now, I need to concentrate on my driving." He rolled the divider up, but not before he got a glimpse of Peter's eyes in the rearview mirror, dancing with merriment. His face was straight, but those eyes. 'Oh, good lord, he reminds me of Tony, only young.'

When they got to the tower, Happy took Peter to his quarters on the 91st floor, where Pepper was waiting.

Peter was impressed with her. He loved strong women. May was strong, and so was MJ. They were both strong in their own ways. Pepper oozed cool confidence and Peter was fairly certain he never wanted to cross her. She was dressed in a gray pencil suit and high heels. It made her positively tower over Peter's lanky five-foot-six frame. He ducked his head shyly.

"Hello, Ms. Potts. It's nice to meet you. I'm Peter Parker." He stuck out his hand for what he hoped was a business-like handshake.

"Hello, Peter. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," Pepper said politely, grinning, and shaking his hand. "Come with me and I'll give you the grand tour."

Peter was in awe of the slick, industrial space. He'd been in the building before with his Uncle Ben, but never as high as this.

"Don't go down this way," Pepper said briskly. "That is Avenger territory. They don't take kindly to unexpected company." She motioned down a side hallway. "This, however, is a communal kitchen. I've put your protein bars in there and made sure to label them."

Peter blanched. Mays homemade protein bars. They were terrible, and he only ate them for the calories and protein. "Ok. Great." Hopefully someone would ignore the labels and get rid of them.

They headed for the bathrooms when they heard someone roar "What are these horrible little cakes? They are the worst Earth food I've ever eaten in my life!" They heard Thor stomping around in the kitchen. "I'm throwing them away!" There was a solid thunk as he threw them into the trash can. "Hm. They might make good weapons, though.

Peter and Pepper looked at each other and Peter shrugged. "May tried, but she's a terrible cook. Ben and I did most of the cooking. I ate the bars because it was a waste of money not to. Besides, I'm always hungry."

"Oh, Peter," Pepper said sympathetically. "We'll get you good protein bars." She continued with her spiel. "I promised May that you would have a curfew. If you go out, you need to be in by midnight."

"Oh, great," Peter grumbled under his breath. How would he get out and be Spider-Man? He was afraid Pepper had heard him, so he decided on a different tact. "What if I want to go to see Ned, or my girlfriend MJ?"

She smiled indulgently. "Well, sweetie, we'll deal with that when it comes up."

The next day, Peter was sent down to Stark labs to begin his internship. To his dismay, he was pawned off on a low-level employee by the name of Robert. Together they washed beakers and mopped and swept floors, filed paperwork and performed the most menial and degrading tasks possible.

Peter was bored silly. Midweek he decided that he was going out on patrol, no matter what.

"This is boring," he said to Robert one day as they were dumping trash. "But if that guy mixes those two chemicals, it's going to be more excitement than anybody needs."

Robert looked at Peter, looked at the intern scientist and back again. "Relax, dude. He's a professional."

"No, he's a high-level intern. I know him. Since we're done, I'm going to talk to him."

"It's your funeral, dude. Don't say I didn't warn you," Robert said as he wheeled the cart off. He didn't mind delivering the rest of the beakers. He was tired of Peter's incessant chatter anyway.

"Hey Johnny," Peter said brightly as he entered the lab. He looked at the chemicals he was about to mix. "Do you hate Mr. Stark?"

Johnny looked up, startled. "Oh. Hey, Pete. Why do you ask that?" He was sweating profusely from nervousness.

"You are about to add two extremely explosive chemicals without first adding a base," Peter explained patiently. He tried to explain why without being patronizing but was failing spectacularly. He heard laughter and froze.

"If I might be of help, perhaps I could demonstrate. My name is Jarvis," the disembodied voice said.

"Yes, Mr. Jarvis. That would be wonderful," Peter said enthusiastically.

"No, Mr. Parker. It's just Jarvis," the AI said with amusement in his voice.

"Peter, please." Peter hated being called Mr. Parker. He always felt like Mr. Parker belonged to his father. He preferred to be addressed much less formally.

A schematic popped up showing the two chemicals. They poured together and thirty seconds later erupted into lava-like flames.

Johnny gulped. Peter most likely had saved his life. There was no way he could have gotten out of the way of the liquids. Besides, the demonstration showed the entire lab on fire with no way out.

The schematic erased and the base was added first. The other chemicals were added, and the concoction turned a silky teal blue.

"Is that what you wanted?" Peter asked him, eyeing the concoction with barely disguised distaste. It was worthless, in his opinion. It was just another beaker of goo. It probably wouldn't even dry correctly.

"Yeah. It's a new polymer coating for Mr. Stark's armor. It should dry clear."

Peter bit his lip, unwilling to correct him. Hopefully there would be a use for his creation somewhere.

"I guess you'll find out," Peter said, watching as Johnny slathered a coating on a piece of metal, then began cleaning up his mess.

"I've got a class I'm supposed to be at," Johnny groaned, looking at his watch. He was halfway done with his cleanup.

"You go on. I'll finish up," Peter suggested. "You know I'm good for it."

"Thanks, Pete. I owe you," Johnny said gratefully. He grabbed his book bag, jacket, keys, and ran out the door.

A half an hour later, Peter felt someone step inside the lab. "And just who the hell are you?" a firm, sharp voice asked from the doorway.

Peter looked up from the chemical rack, where he was arranging the materials according to the periodic table. He blushed but kept on working.

"I'm Peter Parker, sir. Johnny had to go to class, so I told him I would clean up for him," Peter explained.

"Weren't you supposed to be cleaning beakers?" Tony said accusingly, stalking towards Peter.

Peter pointed towards the clean rack of beakers and flasks against the wall laid out precisely. "Yes, sir. We were done and I wanted to talk to Johnny."

"If I might, sir, Peter saved Johnnys life," Jarvis interjected. "Would you like me to demonstrate?"

"By all means, Jarvis. Go ahead," Tony said as he stood in the middle of the lab, arms crossed. His eyes widened as he observed the disastrous simulation and then the successful conclusion. "Oh, no, he didn't. What kind of idiot is he?"

"I saw what he was doing from the hall and needed to stop him. Can I make a suggestion?" Peter asked as he continued to place chemicals on the shelf.

"What's that?" Tony realized what he was doing and was quietly impressed. The kid appeared to be extremely sharp.

"Make him run any chemical combinations through Jarvis before he actually mixes them." Peter shook his head. "That polymer will never dry clear. Look, it's dry already. It's see through but it's got a color to it."

Tony stared at the piece of metal. Sure enough, it had a color to it. Not good. "What would you have done differently?"

Peter looked at Tony. "Can I borrow Jarvis for a minute?" He was hopeful. Maybe his latest creation would help Tony. After all, he'd created it with him in mind.

"Sure, go ahead," Tony sounded bored. He kept his face expressionless as he watched the Parker kid work his magic.

"Hey, Jarvis, pull this years winning entry in the Stark Industries science competition please."

A nanobot appeared in 3-d and flipped over and over. At the bottom of the schematic appeared the name Peter B Parker.

"Aren't all entries automatically the property of Stark Industries?" Peter asked. "Forget polymers. You need to go with nanos."

"Thank you, Mr. Parker. And thank you for setting the chemical rack back the way it should be," Tony said distractedly. "Hmmm. Nanobots. Why didn't I think of that?"

By the time Peter got to his room, Pepper was waiting for him with a proud mamma look on her face. "I don't know what you did to impress Tony, but you are to report to his office tomorrow morning at eight am sharp. Something about nanotechnology."

"Wow! He's going with my idea for his new armor!" Peter said with a whoop and a fist pump.

"And what idea is that?" Pepper asked, intrigued that a teenager would be able to influence her picky boss.

"I told him he didn't want to use polymers. He needed to go the nanobot route. They're harder than polymers and will offer more protection," Peter explained intelligently.

"Well, Tony will see you in the morning," Pepper said pleasantly.

Peter spent the next week ensconced in the lab with Tony, helping him with various projects and doing basic research. He loved it. Then, on Friday, Tony told him that he had the day off because he (Tony) needed to be in his office for meetings with Norman Osborne finalizing his acquisition of Oscorp.

"I'm glad you're putting that creep out of business," Peter said belligerently. Norman had been stalking him ever since the spider bite. Could he have known?

"Oh? Why is that?" Tony sounded amused as could be.

"He's unethical," Peter reasoned sagely. There's no telling what sorts of illegal business practices he's doing."

"Just stay out of trouble, ok?"

Once he was gone, Peter changed his clothes into something a little more casual. He had his ever-present suit underneath. He then ran to the kitchen once he was sure there wasn't anyone in the hall observing him pouring on the steam and rummaged around in the fridge.

"I really need to make some spaghetti or something," he mused. "I can go to the store and get the stuff. Gives me an excuse for leaving the tower." He knew he was talking to himself, but he didn't care. He ran his hands through his hair and made a mental list of the ingredients he needed for a killer pot of spaghetti bolognese.

He left through the front door and ran into the murderous-looking Norman Osborne who was leaving. He'd been through the meeting with Tony's legal team on the last-minute acquisition details and was in a foul mood.

"Peter! What are you doing in this viper's den?" Norman laid his hand on Peter's shoulder, looking him directly into his eyes. His eyes were narrow and gimlet sharp as he studied him.

"Oh! Mr. Osborne! I'm doing an internship over the summer while Aunt May is on a cruise." He moved so that Norman lost his grip and had to let go. Norman let his hand fall away, a sharp, undefinable look on his face. Peter felt very uneasy around him. His internal warning system was firing on all cylinders.

"I'm going to the store. Have a great day!"

He took off quickly. There was something seriously off about Osborne. His Spider sense was going crazy, and he was relieved to get away from him.

He managed to swing to and from the Whole Foods Market in record time, stopping only to foil a mugging and save a woman from a rapist, and was creating a masterpiece spaghetti Bolognese when he heard someone enter the kitchen. He looked around but he didn't see anyone.

"Hey, humie. How about handing me a bottle of water?" a sharp, sarcastic voice said. Peter looked over the edge of the counter to see a walking, talking raccoon standing and looking at him.

He didn't blink. He grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to him. "My name is Peter. What is yours?"

"Great. Another Peter," Rocket complained. He popped open the water and drank deeply. "So what's your story. Why are you here? I'm Rocket."

"I'm one of Mr. Stark's interns," Peter explained as he started the spaghetti sauce. "I'm here for the summer. My aunt is off on a cruise, and she didn't want me on my own."

"So you must be trouble," Rocket laughed as he jumped up on a stool and watched in fascination as Peter started chopping basil and vegetables for his sauce.

"No, I just have really rotten luck," Peter countered, started on the garlic. He started crushing it with the flat of the chef's knife he was using.

"Why aren't you freaked out by me? Most earthers would be screaming and running away," Rocket told him. "What makes you so different?" He crushed the plastic bottle and slam dunked it into the trash receptacle.

Peter laughed. "Last year, New York had a seven-foot lizard man running rampant. It was a scientist that chose to test a formula on himself, Doctor Curt Connors. I don't find much surprising anymore." He thought back and remembered the tail breaking off in his arms and shuddered. "He shed his tail to get away. It was disgusting."

Rocket watched him with an indecipherable look on his face. "Huh. You don't say. Weird detail to share."

Peter and Rocket shared the pasta dish. "Not bad, but it's a bit messy. I don't like how it gets in my fur," Rocket complained. "I'm gonna go clean up."

Rocket and Peter became close friends through the next few weeks. They shared the same sarcastic sensibilities, although Peter wasn't quite as jaded as Rocket. Rocket started to view him as the little brother he'd never had before and teased him mercilessly.

Peter woke from a nightmare one evening and couldn't stop shaking. "Wow. That was intense," he whispered to himself. He rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Rocket came in and found Peter sitting at the kitchen island, leaning into it and staring at the water bottle as if it contained the secrets of the universe.

"What's with you?" Rocket asked as he got his own bottle. He jumped up on a chair beside Peter and noticed his friends' hands were shaking.

"Nightmare," Peter mumbled. "Now I can't get back to sleep." He sighed and rested his head on his forearms.

"Go ahead and tell me about it," Rocket told him. "I'm the king of nightmares."

Peter rolled his head slightly and looked at Rocket with one eye. 'Oh, well. He won't be here long. What will it hurt?'

"I'm locked in this lab and there's all these scientists poking and prodding me. I can't get away from them because they've got me strapped down."

"Stop. Stop. Has anything like this ever happened to you before?" Rocket was starting to get pissed. Peter was making fun of him. He had to be. He bristled and showed his teeth.

"N-no," Peter said, taken aback by his sudden reverse of emotion. "I guess it's just a fear of mine."

Rocket stopped cold. "Come again? Why would that be a fear of yours, humie?"

"Because I'm not entirely human, not anymore," Peter said, letting out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"G'wan, spill it," Rocket prodded. Now the kid had his attention. He leveled a stare at him, and Peter ducked his head.

Ok, here it was. This was it. Time to let someone who wasn't a friend in on his secret.

"I'm Spider-Man," Peter said slowly and deliberately. He watched Rocket's face intently.

"Get out of town," Rocket said in disbelief. "How?"

"Genetically altered spider bite at Oscorp industries a couple of years ago. Norman Osborne has been stalking me off and on ever since."

"I guess you do have something to be worried about," Rocket mused. "Sorry that I doubted you. I'm gonna do everything I possibly can to make sure nothing like that ever happens to you. But I just gotta see something spider-like, please."

Peter grinned. It had been a while since he had cut loose. He jumped up on the wall and scuttled around at the top. When they heard someone coming, he stopped, retreated to a corner and froze. Whoever it was kept on going and he flipped down.

"Yeah, that's pretty spider-like," Rocket said with respect in his voice. "A little creepy, in fact."

"Aw, shut up, Rocket," Peter groused good naturedly.

"I'm booking the gym for you. You need exercise and practice. How does midnight sound?" Rocket said suddenly. "I'll get you up to Guardians of the Galaxy standards in no time."

"Sounds good to me," Peter agreed, shaking hands with Rocket. "Say, what are you doing on Earth, anyway?"

"Quill is visiting his grandpa and I thought I'd tag along. Missouri isn't my cup of tea, so I came to New York."

"I'm going to bed," Peter said. I'm pretty tired. It's been a busy day." Rocket had really put him through his paces the night before, and Tony had him making adjustments to a delicate piece of new equipment. He was bushed.

When he went to his room, he was met by an unwelcome sight. A Maine Coon cat nearly the size of Rocket lay dead center on his bed, daring him to make him move. "Great. Just wonderful. A cat. Go on, shoo! Scram!"

Pepper was passing through, making her evening checks. She laughed. "Aww, Shithead likes you. How sweet."

Peter turned and looked at her in disbelief. "What did you say the cats name is? Let me guess. Tony named him."

She laughed. "Yes, that's Tony's cat. His excuse was that the tower needed an exterminator when he found a little gray spitfire in a trash can."

"I guess the thing can stay the night," Peter grumbled as he shut the door. He went over and rubbed the space between Shithead's ears and the cat arched his back and purred. "How did you get the name Shithead, though?"

Peter woke up the next morning with a cat asleep on his head. "You little shit," he grumbled as he got up and stumbled into the bathroom. The cat had been busy. He'd knocked all of Peter's toiletries off onto the floor and into the toilet.

Peter freshened up as much as he could, then wandered into the kitchen. Rocket sat on a booster seat, eating a bowl of cereal. "Why the long face?"

"Shithead knocked my toothbrush into the toilet," Peter groaned as he got his own bowl. "Now I need to go out and get a new one."

"Wanna borrow mine?" Rocket had a mischievous grin on his face and his canines were showing.

Peter didn't miss a beat. "No thanks. I make a policy of not sharing toothbrushes with anyone, not even my girlfriend."

Rocket burst into raucous laughter. "Oh, I like you. You know how to take a joke. Not like some humies around here."

"I've got to go out anyway. I've got Spider-Man photos for The Daily Bugle that I need to deliver. I'll pick one up as I go out," Peter told him. "It's Saturday. No one will miss me here."

"I'm gonna kick back and watch some mindless tv with Thor," Rocket said. "Be careful out there."

"I'm always careful," Peter retorted with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah, careful my ring tail you are," Rocket grumbled under his breath. He'd promised Peter he wouldn't tell his secret unless he got into serious trouble.

Peter took his backpack in case he found something that tickled his fancy and strolled through the front door. It was a bit bright, so he put on his sunglasses to moderate the glare. Whole Foods wasn't that far so he didn't bother with requesting a car.

His spider sense activated halfway there, and he crouched defensively. Because it was Saturday, the foot traffic was light, and no one saw him dart into an alleyway and strip off his clothes. Once suited up, he climbed rapidly to the top of a tall brick building so he could observe what was going on.

"Heh heh heh. Can The Spider come out to play? Can he, Peter? Pretty please?"

Peter looked up to see the Goblin hovering over him on his glider.

"Let's see what Stark does when he has a whole ARMY of goblins attacking Stark towers, shall we?"

Goblin cackled as he threw a pumpkin bomb into a nearby city bus. It detonated, filling the space with poisonous green gas, but Peter was ready. He executed a perfect swan dive from the roof of the building he was on, landed on top of the bus and threw a canister of antiserum through an open window. It rapidly dispersed throughout the bus, aiding the choking and gasping citizens.

"Go Spidey!" They yelled, then, "watch out!"

Goblin was even too fast for his senses. He tried to get out of the way, but the edge of one wing caught his waist, dragging him away.

"How'd you do it, boy? How'd you figure it out?" Goblin screeched.

At the Tower, the Avengers were watching a baseball game. It was interrupted by a live broadcast of the fight between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. "Betty Brant here. Spider-Man just saved a busload of citizens from poison gas from the Green Goblin. We're recording the fight in progress." The camera caught Goblin hooking Peter by the waist and dragging him away. A news drone followed, still recording.

Rocket couldn't contain himself. "Peter! No!" he yelled in fear and frustration. "Remember what I taught you!"

Tony kept one eye on the fight and one eye on Rocket. "Friend of yours, I take it?"

"Your intern, Peter Parker. He's Spider-Man. And he's getting his ass kicked by that looney Norman Osborne," Rocket spat, teeth clenched.

"Norman Osborne is the Green Goblin?" Tony yelled. "That unmitigated, evil bastard!"

"You left one of your bombs last year. I analyzed it until I neutralized it and inoculated myself against your gas," Peter gasped. He could feel a gash in his waist. The gliders' wing edge was like a knife and had sliced through his suit. Goblin grabbed him by the neck and drug him, face first, up the side of a brick building before he could fire off any webs to slow his ascent. He fired off two and Goblin could go no further.

"Curse you, Spider-Man!" Goblin roared as he dropped him on a nearby high-rise roof.

"You know, you should drop the whole wicked witch of the west routine. It lacks originality," Peter snarked. "Come on, I know you can do better than that." He got up painfully and waited for Goblin to attack again. He was in a defensive crouch, ready to fire his web shooters again.

"You know you're actually Oscorp property, right?" Goblin sneered as he inched closer. Peter struck with his webs again, catching him off guard and yanking him none too gently off the glider. He cackled evilly, as he fell heavily. The evil laugh made Peter's hair stand on end. "Do you think you've won?"

"Now, I must admit that was original. Wrong, but original," Peter said with cool aplomb. "I don't follow your thinking."

"It was an Oscorp spider that made you what you are today," Norman reasoned illogically. "Join with me. Imagine the possibilities! Just imagine what we could accomplish together!"

"If anything, I'd be Stark property," Peter said, throwing it back in his face that he no longer had a company. "But I belong to nobody except myself."

"So be it. Adios, Spider-Man," Norman said flatly. He pushed a button on his belt to call his glider. Fortunately, Peter's spider sense kicked in and he performed a leaping somersault in midair, safely out of the way and Norman Osborne skewered himself with his own weapon. Peter was horrified to have had a hand in yet another death. He watched as Norman Osborne, stunned look on his face, took his final few breaths of air, then slumped over onto the blood-stained glider.