Walking alongside his head scientist, the Goblin heard the results of his work before he saw it, the sound of destruction evident even as they turned the corner. Coming up to the window, he peered down at his "project," excitement building within him already based on what he'd heard. He observed as the young man, now dressed in similar gear to the Goblin's own, zig zagged around various foes, constructs created to simulate real life situations. This room was designed to challenge and push those who needed it, and right now, it was serving its purpose well. At one time, the young man would have never survived against such obstacles, but now he seemed to be handling it with ease as he sliced through them with razor bats, blew them into next week with pumpkin bombs and occasionally tore them to pieces with a single punch.

"I take it that you are pleased with what you see?" the doctor questioned.

"Very!" the Goblin replied enthusiastically. "He is ready."

"You believe that he can defeat Spider-Man?" the doctor questioned.

"Permanently? Not yet," the Goblin answered as he glanced to the doctor. "Besides, that is a pleasure I will only allow for myself. But there is more than one way to hurt a hero, and any such opponent must be approached this way."

"Oh?" the doctor questioned. "And what way is that, if I may ask?"

The Goblin glanced back down at his work, his protege now standing in the center of the large room, destruction and flames around him.

"The heart, doctor," he finally answered.

Releasing his web, Peter landed against the side of the building, peering in through one of the many windows of the Osborn mansion. After a few moments of not seeing anyone and once his lack of spider sense warning confirmed the same, he stuck his fingers to the glass, slowly lifting it open before slipping inside. He'd contemplated showing up as Peter Parker; it certainly would have made his entrance less work, since he was on a first name basis with half the security team, but he wanted to be ready in case the Goblin should arrive upon the premises. His opponent had demonstrated there was no length he wouldn't go to anymore, so he needed to be prepared for anything.

For now though, he would settle on finding answers as to the Goblin's location. Peter didn't know exactly what he expected to find, though he was hoping he'd manage to discover at least some indications of his enemy's current whereabouts. Granted, he knew the odds of finding a map to the various Goblin hideouts across the city were next to impossible; his arch nemesis was unquestionably insane, but one thing he wasn't was a fool. The elder Osborn was still a brilliant man who would undoubtedly cover his tracks well, but if he could find any indications at all, such as recent property purchases, it would at least be something to go off, which would be more than he currently had.

Once inside, Peter quickly found his way in through the nearest vent entrance and began crawling in the direction of Norman's home office. Years of coming here with Harry had led to a surprisingly good memory of the place, despite its seemingly overwhelming size and various twists and turns. Peter's mind lingered for a moment on his best friend, concern starting to creep up in his mind. He also hadn't heard from M.J. in a few hours...

"Stop," he said privately within his own mind. As hard as it was, he couldn't let himself dwell on the what if scenarios right now. His brain was already occupied enough with what happened at the Bugle; though his rage and anguish had at least come off its peak, it was still lurking beneath the surface, simmering enough to give him a heightened sense of focus off the adrenaline it was producing within him. It had also given birth to paranoia regarding his remaining loved ones, but he knew dwelling on such things wouldn't help anything right now. Granted, his brain didn't seem to be fully comprehending this truth, but he pressed on anyway.

Finally coming to the entrance to the office, Peter once more gave a moment for his spider sense to alert him to the presence of any security guards. After a moment passed with no warnings, he popped open the entrance to the shaft, dropping down and landing softly on his toes and fingertips. He then quickly slid into the chair of the office computer, booting it up to find the password entry.

"Alright, Parker, think," he muttered under his breath, "what kind of a password would Norman Osborn use?" He racked his brain as his fingers remained poised at the keys. It was then that he remembered that Norman had described the day that Harry had been found after his overdose as the day that had changed his life forever, so he tried the numbers of that date and hit enter. Sure enough, it immediately accepted, bringing up Norman's crowded but still well-organized desktop. It would be a lot to go through, and he probably wouldn't make it through everything, but he had to try.

Working quickly, Peter scanned across the screen, looking for any files that might appear even remotely shady in their titles. He knew that he likely had a very brief window before one of the guards on patrol came by on their rounds, so he knew that he needed to find whatever he could as quickly as possible. He soon came to a file labeled "Special Projects." He remembered that Harry had mentioned a division of Oscorp with this name multiple times before, particularly as a potential area he believed he could assist in to start. It was a pretty generic title, but it was the best spot to check so far, so Peter double clicked on the file, opening it.

Scanning through the records, Peter saw various project titles that under different circumstances would have peaked his scientific curiosity. Many involved fields such as robotics, biology and even astronomy. Unfortunately, after clicking on and scanning through a few files, there proved to be nothing of interest to his situation, so he quickly closed it and moved on. He scanned further and soon came across a file titled, "Properties."

"Hmm..." Peter thought to himself, his mind immediately conjuring various possibilities. Before he could begin scanning further however, his spider sense suddenly rang out, prompting him to leap back into the ventilation shaft just as a security guard walked in. He observed as the man came in, scanning the room. He clearly became suspicious once he saw the light from his computer, even calling over the radio.

"Great," Peter thought. "Well, guess I better get out of h..."

The sudden sensation of his spider sense cut off his train of thought, the tingling sensation in the back of his skull much sharper than before. Knowing the guard was in just as much danger as him from whatever was coming, Peter quickly sprang out and snatched the man up just as a loud, powerful explosion tore through the room. Narrowly escaping through an open window, Peter set the security guard down on the ground, the man coughing even as he looked accusingly at him.

"You!" the man shouted hoarsely as he let out another couple of coughs. "What are you doing here?"

The sound of laughter filled the air above them, with Peter observing as what looked to be the Green Goblin flew out from the smoke, heading away from the property.

"Looking for Mr. Tall, Green and Ugly over there," he replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"Hey, wait!" the guard called out, but it was too late, as Peter was already off to the races, sprinting as fast as he could until he finally had something to attach a web line on, pulling himself into the air. Soon, the Goblin was within view again, though not quite within striking distance. Still, he persisted, quickly gaining ground on his adversary just as they were entering back into the heart of the city. Finally, he fired a web and yanked himself, preparing to tackle his opponent onto a nearby rooftop. His spider sense then went off once more just before a series of flares were suddenly fired from the back of the glider.

"AAH!" Peter called out, trying to shield his eyes against the sudden, bright flashes of light. He was then struck from the side and slammed against a nearby building. He didn't need to see his opponent to react to him though, kicking the Goblin off himself as his vision finally began to clear up. It was just in time too, as his enemy was already coming back for more. Timing his leap so that he'd have the advantage in momentum, he tackled the Goblin off his glider and onto a rooftop below.

"Alright, Goblin," he said, keeping him pinned with his arm, "you've got a lot of questions to answ..."

His first good look at his attacker gave Peter pause, the realization suddenly dawning on him that this was not the real Goblin, but simply a lookalike. The costume, though mostly similar in that it had shades of purple and green, also contained some black in places, the overall color scheme a little more muted than what he was used to seeing.

"Who are you?" Peter questioned, bearing down on his opponent a little more. His attacker replied with a smile before shooting his arm up, gas shooting out of his sleeve. Peter staggered back, coughing desperately to get whatever had just been sprayed into his lungs out. His enemy wasted no time, tackling him and sending them both flying to a lower rooftop nearby. Reacting quickly, Peter kicked his opponent off himself, turning to face him as he landed on his own two feet.

"You can't underestimate this guy," Peter thought to himself as he stood to his feet. "You can't afford to make that kind of mistake right now. Come on, Parker; you're a scientist; assess what you're up against and react accordingly."

"Alright, big shot!" he chirped. "You think you can take me on?"

He then held out his hand, gesturing for him to take his shot.

"Come and get it!"

His opponent then drew out a razor bat in each hand before charging him. His goading having worked, Peter flipped into the air as his opponent took his first stab. He then continued dodging as this new Goblin figure came after him again. It didn't take long for Peter's mind to make a few deductions: first, the guy he was facing was nowhere near the same experience as his primary Halloween-inspired nemesis. His swings were wild and haphazard, though not completely without thought. He also seemed to lack the same spacial awareness found in the one he seemed to be taking after. However, that didn't mean he lacked power, as at one point Peter's attacker punched clean through the roof before immediately coming after him again like nothing had happened.

In short, Peter's opponent lacked experience, sure, but had learned or been taught just enough to be dangerous. On top of that, he'd clearly taken some version of the same chemical formula that had given Norman his powers as well, as his speed and reflexes were similar. Deciding he had enough to go on, Peter finally found an opportunity to strike back, avoiding yet another blow attempt before landing one of his own against the Goblin figure's chest, sending him staggering back. This only slightly deterred his new opponent however, his attacker chuckling mildly as he came after him again. He then surprised him with a leg sweep that in hindsight Peter felt he should have seen coming, causing him to crash onto his backside. His enemy then lunged for him, shooting the razor bat in his right hand straight for his throat. Peter managed to block him, but his opponent discarded his other razor bat, using his free arm to bare down even more, the blade growing closer to his throat and causing the Goblin figure to grin with delight.

"Come on..." Peter thought to himself. He couldn't let himself go out like this, not after what the Green Goblin had done, and not with Harry's life potentially hanging in the balance. On top of that, Mary Jane had already been brought into this too, and he couldn't let her be placed in any more danger. His determination and anger sparking a renewed flow of adrenaline, Peter overpowered his enemy, launching him high into the air. Wasting no time, he leapt up and met him. His opponent tried to connect with his face, but Peter quickly blocked his attempts before landing a couple of his own. As they reached the apex of their time in the Manhattan sky, he forced his way atop his opponent, tucking his legs in before shooting them straight out and sending the Goblin figure crashing back onto the rooftop, putting a dent into it.

His opponent tried to get up, but Peter didn't allow it, quickly webbing his way back to the roof before promptly delivering a powerful blow to his opponent's face. The Goblin figure tried to gas him again, but he ripped both gloves from his enemy's hands before picking him up by the chest area of his suit, bringing the two of them face to face.

"Alright, let me tell you how this is going to go," Peter proclaimed. "First, you're going to tell me where the Green Goblin is; you talk, they might at least consider taking it easy on you after I have you hauled away. Now, start singing, imposter!"

The Goblin figure just looked him in the eye, chuckling almost uncontrollably but not saying a word. That was when it finally dawned on Peter: this was nothing more than some sick individual the Goblin had poisoned with a portion of his own madness. Peter was now starting to feel sorry for this individual. It was finally starting to click on him that, whoever they were, the Goblin had obviously messed them up significantly; he couldn't remember his opponent saying one word the entire time. It was almost as though his primary Goblin enemy had completely bent this individual to his will while sapping his own... which also likely meant he wasn't getting anything out of him.

"Alright," he said, reaching for the individual's mask, "let's at least find out who you were before..."

Peter dropped the mask, his mind reeling at the face he was seeing... the face of Harry Osborn.

Hope you're still enjoying it!

Continuing to pray for you all! Stay safe and healthy!

"Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being." Proverbs 20:30