Chapter Four: Worst Fears
'Man, what a weird chain of events coming around,' Spider-man thought to himself while swinging around for another nightly patrol after school. 'You got an ex that is still close to you, a cute fan, a pretty counselor for a best friend. What can possibly go wrong, am I right?"
As he was playfully swinging the breezy night sky over the bustling streets of Manhattan, he was suddenly startled by an afterimage of the Green Goblin before checking out the site.
'Huh, maybe things might get worse than I thought…?' Spider-man hesitated, looking around vigilantly before swinging away again, not noticing a slim stranger in purplish armor standing on some kind of green thin hoverboard, wearing an elongated helmet having a black visor in a shape of an H.
"I will exact my vengeance, Spider-man, I swear it," says the stranger through a built-in voice-disguiser in his helmet before gliding away atop his hoverboard.
—
The next morning at the entrance of Midtown High, as Bobby, Kitty, and Peter got off the bus—after Gwen leaves first to Peter's request—they bump into Harry, who just came up to do a 'raincheck' on Peter with a menacing and intimidating looking face.
"What's up Pete? How are you doing with your new friends?" Harry jeered.
"Harry, what are you talking about? They're just my friends, just like you are," Peter answered back.
"Yeah bro, chill," Bobby adds, confused with Harry's aggressive tone.
"Don't tell me to chill…!" Harry hissed.
"Harry, can't we talk this out later?" Peter asked.
"There's nothing more to talk about, unless you're ready to tell me about Spider-man," Harry hissed before walking away with Gwen next to him, which stung Peter's heart from glancing at the sad face she displayed.
"Gee, harsh much bro? What's up with the two of you?" Bobby wondered.
"Could you, tell us somehow?" Kitty asked.
"Maybe later, but right now, we got classes to finish," Peter replied.
"Um…sure?" Bobby and Kitty responded as they looked at each other in confusion.
—
In a moving black limo that Hammerhead owns…
"Thanks for bailin' us out again after a long time, and the sweet ride," Montana, aka Shocker, thanked along with his partners Fancy Dan, aka RIcochet, and Ox. "So, what does the Big Man want with us soo bad this time?"
"The Big Man is no more pal," Hammerhead replied. "There is a new boss taking ya in for another job, and it's still about takin' out the Spider-man."
"Wow, another one of those same old bug-squashin' quests eh? Huh, what's new," Shocker snorted.
"But this time, that bug got himself a posse, and they are freaks like him. So if ya wanna live out of jail, better take our advice seriously," Hammerhead reprimanded.
"Ooooh, scaaaryyy," Ricochet jokes.
"Keep that attitude and yer gonna end like the others in the same way," Hammerhead replied.
"Not to worry! I got all the information from the previous battle recently. It may shed some light on how we could deal with Spider-man and his 'friends'," Tinkerer confidently mentions.
—
"So bro, aren't ya gonna tell us about what happened back there?" Bobby asked before chomping on his apple while Kitty sips on a can of cold fizzy yoghurt.
"Bwah! Man, this hits the spot! Never tried something like this before!" Kitty thought out loud.
"Welcome to New York," Peter simply replied with a smile. "And uh, what is it that you're asking, Bobby?"
"That skinny guy who confronted you earlier, who was that?" Bobby asked again.
"He...his name is Harry, he is, or was...my best friend…" Peter sadly replied, holding his neck like a nervous wreck, which made Harry and Kitty look at each other in surprise from this realization.
"But why is he acting that way?" Bobby asked with concern.
"Yeah, like what's his deal?" Kitty wonders.
"It's because...Spider-man killed his father," Peter reluctantly answered, which made Bobby nervously gulp down the chunk of apple in his throat upon hearing his answer.
"Bummer," Bobby looked away nervously with his face almost downcast, knowing full well of who Spider-man is, with Kitty merely sipping her fizzy yoghurt slowly with a hint of sorrow in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Peter," Kitty apologized with a hint of sadness and placed an assuring hand on Peter's arm, which made Liz jealous from afar, who's at the table of the "popular squad".
"It's fine, I've been used to it lately before you guys came around," Peter plainly answered.
"Don't worry bro, give him more time," Bobby quickly replies. "To, you know, take things slow."
"Easier said than done," Peter groaned before slamming his face on the table in self-disappointment and self-pity.
"Hey Tiger, why the long face?" Mary Jane questions and taps on Peter's head, making him raise and show his face.
"Oh, hey Red," Peter plainly responded. "What's up?"
"Well you know, just checkin' on another one of my close friends moping around, but never better," Mary Jane coolly answered.
"Hey! The name's Bobby! Pleased to meet ya!" Bobby excitedly introduced.
"The "Iceman", stay cool as you were," Mary Jane compliments.
'Bro, bro, she's slick,' Bobby whispered, winking at Peter. 'Better aim for her!'
Overhearing this, Kitty punches Bobby's side, catching his attention for whatever he might think he's done wrong.
By the time afternoon classes are now ongoing with everyone in their respective rooms, a note was dropped between Mary Jane and Peter, which caught Peter's attention. When he opens the note, it reads: "Hey Petey, wanna try hanging out at the Chinese food joint a few blocks from here? —Liz"
Peter immediately, but calmly turns around to see Liz waving from afar then writes a message at the back of the note and then passes it to Mary Jane, who looked at him with a smirk before passing it back to Liz. She then takes the note and opens it, reading: "Mind if I take Bobby and Kitty with me? The more the merrier, right? —Peter"
Liz looks at Peter with a weak smile and nodded, saying yes to his request, which made him pump his arm happily.
Unknown to them, Gwen, who was avoiding eye contact with Peter, hides her sad complexion with a textbook, noticing how happy Peter was.
'Peter…' Gwen thought depressingly with her textbook in her face, which caught Mary Jane's wary attention as a friend of hers and Peter's when she was their "matchmaking counselor" of sorts.
As soon as classes have ended, Liz quickly walks with Peter, Bobby, and Kitty, making their way around the crowdy school corridors shortly after class dismissal. However, as they were nearly leaving the school premises, Gwen came rushing to Peter.
"Peter!" Gwen called, which caught his attention while running towards him, halting him and his friends from walking away..
"Gwen! Look at you!? What happened?" Peter asks with worry and anxiety upon looking at her current appearance, which somehow saddens Liz at his immediate response to her. "Wait, where is Harry? Isn't he supposed to be with you?"
"I was supposed to meet with him somewhere, but I don't see him around anymore. And lately, he's been acting strange again. Do you think...he's taking it again?" Gwen asks with worry and concern for Harry, which internally stung Peter's heart.
"I...I'm not so sure, but I hope he is doing alright. After all, you are there to take care of him, right?" Peter replied with a weak smile, only to see her shake her head. "Wait, what?"
"Hey bro, what happened? Something urgent?" Bobby asks.
"Oh no, nothing bro, don't worry," Peter assures until he has a suggestion and turns to Gwen. "Hey Gwen, do you wanna come with us to this Chinese food joint? It's gonna be a nice trip and meal while we talk about some stuff when we get there."
Gwen, taken aback by the sudden gesture of kindness offered by Peter after a long time, looks around with fear of thinking Harry might be around forbidding her like some crazy guardian or brat. That was, until Peter comforts her with his arm around Gwen, lightly patting her shoulder to calm her down.
"I think you just need to take a break Gwen, try coming with us, please?" Peter asks with his hand stretched out to her.
"Yeah girl, come with us!" Kitty suggests.
"It will be fun," Bobby adds.
And then Gwen painstakingly looks at Liz, who made eye contact with a smile, even after all she herself put her through with Peter and them breaking up. Out of fear, she shook her head and kindly declined.
"Thanks Pete, but I got some stuff to do back home. Have fun without me, okay? Bye," Gwen bade before running off with her bag and books and hops into the bus outside the entrance.
'Gwen...what's gotten into you…?' Peter thought to himself anxiously before feeling an assuring hand by Bobby, feeling a bit of a chill from his hand that momentarily woke him up.
"Bro, I think she needs some alone time. Don't take it away from her," Bobby suggests, guessing based on the situation.
"Yeah, you're right, we should go. Now," Peter replied.
Now, there is almost nothing stopping the four of them going to the Chinese food joint that Liz recommended. It didn't take long for them to arrive and quickly order their meals before taking their seats and talk about random things to amuse Bobby and Kitty in their stay at Midtown High.
"Wait wait wait, you're the greatest science geek in the school?" Bobby tries to clarify while holding his laughter, looking at Peter's current appearance with a confused look on his face. "Was that uh, perhaps a misunderstanding?"
"Trust me Bobby, I never looked like this back then. I still have my glasses right here. Just barely need 'em nowadays," Peter replied while showing his glasses in its casing.
"But if you're a geek, then am I a geek too?" Kitty playfully teases with her elbows standing on the table while holding her face cutely. "C'mon, tell me."
"You don't look like a geek. Ah I don't mean anything offensive by that alright!" Peter stuttered, which made Bobby barely contain his laughter until Kitty punched him at his side.
"Petey looked alright back then, although I used to pick on him. And while being with that jerky friend Flash, I was pressured into it," Liz replied, which made Peter remember their unpeaceful tutoring days before they got together.
"Yeah well, it's nothing compared to what we've been through back home," Bobby assures, with Kitty nodding in agreement.
"Seriously? But having powers is so cool! Isn't it?" Liz wonders in confusion.
"Not from where we come from. The discrimination was even worse than racism guys, I tell ya. It was a total mess," Bobby dampened the mood, feeling a comforting hand from Kitty.
"Well then, welcome to New York: where the most of the population embrace weirdos like Spider-man!" Peter joked, getting a noogie from Bobby and making Liz and Kitty laugh along.
"Hey! Who are you calling weirdos!?" Bobby barked, grabbing Peter into a noogie.
Suddenly, Peter's phone rang with a call from the Daily Bugle, excusing himself from his friends for a minute to answer the call. Meanwhile, Bobby and Kitty are now acting like private investigators interrogating Liz while he's away.
"Your name is Liz, right?" Bobby asks.
"Yeah, Liz Allan," Liz replied.
"Just wanna ask: how are you attracted to Peter? Surely a great girl like you could score an even cooler guy than him, like me," Bobby playfully suggested, getting an elbow to his gut from Kitty.
"Some cool guy you are," Kitty joked at his pain tolerance. "But really Liz, mind if I ask why you care about a geek when you're like, I don't know, a popular girl?"
"Oh that...well, the thing is...I used to date him. We used to be together," Liz briefly explained, which made Bobby and Kitty to look at each other out of realization.
"But then, what happened to the two of you?" Bobby pried further.
"He, I mean, I...broke it off between us…" Liz answered.
"What?! Why!?" Kitty asked.
"Well, I just had a feeling that Petey actually liked Gwen, and I'm just in his way," Liz continued.
"But...why are you still hanging around that heartbreaker then? Don't tell Pete I call him that," Bobby replied in question.
"Because...I still love him, even after what happened. I just hoped I could've handled the situation without the pressure around back then," Liz regretted, feeling an assuring hand by Kitty.
"Hey, Peter seems like a sensible guy. He does not seem like the type to mind about things that can be easily solved, being a smart guy and all. No offense Bobby," Kitty replied.
"Hey! I am smart too!" Bobby protested, making Kitty and Liz laugh in response.
After the short talk, Peter comes back with urgent news.
"I'm sorry guys, but my boss J. Jonah Jameson from the Daily Bugle, called me up for work to take photos at a nearby bank robbery!" Peter regretted before looking at Liz. "I'm sorry Liz, I—"
"Petey, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Just...just be careful,"Liz bade, holding his hands with assurance.
Peter, at a loss for words, only nodded with a smile.
"Hey Pete, mind if we go with?" Bobby asks.
"Sure," Peter smirked.
Sure enough, as the four of them exit the Chinese food joint, Peter bids Liz goodbye before leaving the area with Bobby and Kitty. However, little did they know that they're being followed from the shadows.
—
At the site of the bank robbery, the Enforcers come in with their powers blazing and intimidating the police that are trying their best to apprehend them. But all was futile against their superhuman upgrades.
"Boys, this is gettin' too easy? Wonder when will that bug just show 'imself…?" Shocker wonders as he shoots a beam of strong vibrations to flip a car upside down.
"Chill Shocker," Ricochet assured as he bounced around the police cars and knocked out the nearby officers. "Probably trying to make some flashy appearance, know what I'm sayin'?"
"Well, appearance, yes. Flashy appearance, mmeh not exactly my style," Spider-man jokes, hanging upside down on a pole.
"You!" Shocker barked as he fired a blast of vibration at Spider-man, who quickly dodged the shot with grace and ease.
"Hey guys, so how was your time in the slammer?" Spider-man jokes.
"Itchin' to take you down after that last fiasco," Ricochet hissed, preparing his suit to vibrate.
"Hey bug, where yer freaky friends at? Turned their backs on ya?" Shocker taunted.
"Um, I wouldn't be so sure about that," Spider-man differed.
Without being noticed, Shadowcat's hands phased through the pavement underneath Ricochet before grabbing his feet, startling him and the other two then dragging him down until all that's left is just his upper body with his lower body merged with the street.
"Ah—hey! Get me outta here! Out!" Ricochet cries.
At that point, Shadowcat shows herself from the ground beside Spider-man, now in her simple yet flashy sky-bluish suit with a bluish eye mask on her face—a slightly pointier version of Black Cat's—and letting her hair down. Now, Iceman shows up in his translucent ice form from above and shoots a beam of ice at Ox, freezing his arms together before jumping down from his ice slide next to Spider-man, wearing a black sleeveless spandex suit and pants.
"What in tarnation!?" Shocker looks with fear at the two allies of Spider-man with his gauntlets pointed at them. "You li'l runts!"
"Scatter!" Spider-man commands, letting Shadowcat and Iceman avoid the vibrating blasts.
"Ox! Split up the herd, but watch yerself. This is far worse than I thought," Shocker warns, chasing after Spider-man.
Ox then tries to chase after Iceman, who's sliding around in a high-altitude circling stream around him while firing ice beams at the brute.
"C'mon big guy! Let's dance," Iceman taunts while firing dual ice beams with his two palms, keeping Ox distracted with his powers.
With Ox distracted, Shadowcat emerges from the ground behind Ox and then phases through his tech pack and systems, causing them to malfunction as she disrupts the energy flow and causes him to fall on his knees, paralyzed by his own suit.
"Wh-wha-what!? What is this!?" Ox grunted, looking at his malfunctioning suit before noticing Shadowcat emerge from the ground in front of him.
"Missed me?" Shadowcat smirked.
"I didn't, little critter!" Shocker roared, firing a strong vibration blast aimed at Shadowcat.
"Kitty!" Iceman warns, but is too slow to get to her in time until Spider-man grabs her and swings away with her in his arms.
The blast then was directed at Ox, pushing him with the great vibrating force emitted, which surprised Shocker.
"Go get 'im, Shadowcat!" Spider-man yells, kicking her feet flat for more momentum before landing onto a lamp post.
"Why you little—!" Shocker barked as he fired multiple shots at Shadowcat, who was able to dodge them fine and then phase through him and his gauntlets, which caught him off guard and caused his gauntlets to go haywire and spark till it died.
Iceman then finishes the job by freezing both Shocker and Ox with his ice beam, turning them into human icicles until the police officers recuperate and apprehend them while he, Spider-man, and Shadowcat hide from them. The three heroes look down on the defeated villains with satisfaction.
"Man! We totally rock!" Shadowcat exclaimed, jumping with glee.
"That was way too easy though. They're dumber and weaker than the last ones," Iceman added.
"Hey, it was only easy because the three of us worked together. When I was being the 'solo hero', they were hard to beat single handedly, if not for some of the coincidences and the circumstances," Spider-man explained.
"Then we better stick together while we're still around, huh Spidey?" Iceman confidently suggests.
"You bet," Spider-man replied until his Spider Senses were triggered, causing him to look behind Iceman and notice an armored person floating on some flat platform, heading straight behind Iceman. "Lookout!"
After Spider-man pushes Iceman out of the way, the person's hoverboard suddenly hits and lifts Spider-man off of his feet.
"Spidey!" both Iceman and Shadowcat yelped, witnessing their friend being roughly abducted.
On the air at a very fast speed, Spider-man clings on to dear life while hanging onto the stranger's hoverboard as they fly around Manhattan then looks up to see the stranger's purplish armor and strange helmet with an H-shaped visor.
"Vengeance is now mine," the stranger replied using a voice-disguiser, pointing his mounted plasma gun right at his face.
"Not today," Spider-man protested, letting go of the hoverboard and then freefalls down before swinging away. However, as he was about to swing again, his web shooters suddenly ran out.
"Climb climb climb climb!" Spider-man thought out loud screaming as he tried to grip onto a nearby building, only to slowly slip down while trying to climb up the building. "No no no no no no no!"
"Heads up, Webhead!" The stranger roared while charging forward with his speeding hoverboard and slammed Spider-man's whole body into the building, momentarily dazing him as he was painfully embedded into the wall.
"Uuugh, uurrgh," Spider-man groaned, trying to remain conscious while stuck in the wall before looking at the armored stranger atop a floating hoverboard in front of him. "Who...who are you?
"Spider-man, prepare to meet your worst nightmare...the Goblin!" the stranger roared as he dashes atop his speeding hoverboard to jab Spider-man in the face, only to miss and hit the wall as he quickly dodges and moves out of the way, climbing over a metal balcony with stairs and runs as fast as he could while being pursued by the stranger who calls himself as the Goblin.
"Goblin!? As in the Green Goblin!?" Spider-man hysterically cries out while trying to acrobatically escape the stranger, only to meet him face to face on the roof.
"Hah! Don't put me in the same position as that weakling. I am the New Goblin, seeking vengeance for my predecessor's untimely death, in your hands," the stranger, who calls himself the New Goblin, replied before equipping a pair of custom-made galvaknuckles and charges at Spider-man.
Just like a close call, Spider-man manages to grab hold of New Goblin's wrists, with his sparking galvaknuckles just inches away from his face. They're at a stalemate, struggling against each other at close proximity until Spider-man moves his head aside and let his galvaknuckle miss his face, giving him the slim opportunity to grab and throw the New Goblin off of his hoverboard and crash into a concrete wall near the stairway down.
"Now you die!" New Goblin roared as he charged forward at Spider-man with his galvaknuckles, missing each and every time because of his greater speed and agility.
"Pal, please, stop embarrassing yourself," Spider-man begged, easily dodging the New Goblin's fist and kicks, thanks to his Spider Sense that is still aiding him.
While Spider-man's distracted, the New Goblin remotely commands his hoverboard to attempt to bluntly attack the Webhead, only to be the one hit in the face instead as Spider-man dodges the hoverboard.
"It's remotely controlled!? How cool is that!?" Spider-man thought out loud in awe of the technology before noticing the New Goblin knocked down hard and unconscious by his own floating hoverboard that is on standby.
"Spidey!" Iceman called, sliding down his stream of ice with Shadowcat sliding beside him until they stopped to meet with Spider-man. "What was that bro!? What just happened?!"
"Don't worry, damage control. Got him right over there," Spider-man explained, referring to the New Goblin laid down on the ground.
"Whoa, freaky looking costume he's got," Shadowcat commented. "And I thought mine was the freakiest."
"Stand back, Shadowcat. I'm going to see who this mystery man really is, posing as the 'New Goblin' in town," Spider-man confidently replied, walking up to the unconscious New Goblin and gently trying to get his helmet off.
The next thing he noticed was like a stab in the back to his face. After removing the visored helmet, his eyes widened with shock as the person behind the helmet is revealed to be Harry Osborn, which shook Spider-man to his knees while holding his helmet.
"No, it can't be!? No, no no no no no no no!?" Spider-man repeated as he ran to the building's ledge with his arms shaking while holding his faint body from the sudden realization.
"No," Iceman reacted with shock along with Shadowcat, noticing the familiar face of Harry Osborn before turning to Spider-man with great concern for their next move and walking up to him.
"Spider-man, I—"
"What…" Spider-man weakly responded.
"Bro...I'd hate to see a classmate in prison, even though it is the right thing to do. But whatever you choose...it's your call," Iceman reluctantly replied, with Shadowcat at his side.
After a moment to think, Spider-man makes another risky decision…
"Take Harry to the hospital...speak nothing of this to Gwen...I'll deal with the rest," Spider-man spoke heavily as his heart sank from confusion and despair.
"Gotcha bro," Iceman replied.
"Alright," Shadowcat replied.
With godspeed, Iceman and Shadowcat take the unconscious Harry Osborn to the hospital, while Spider-man stays to reluctantly destroy the hoverboard and smash the New Goblin's helmet.
"Norman, if you're still out there, this is all your fault. And I am coming for you," Spider-man swore before making his way to the hospital.
—
Soon, Harry is taken in for treatment at one of Oscorp's best wards with a huge transparent screen wall for other visitors to view from afar. Standing outside of the ward was Gwen, looking depressed, hopeless and helpless while watching the unconscious Harry laid in his hospital bed in the care of his silent mother, Mrs. Osborn, and their family doctor. Shortly after, Peter slowly arrives, along with Bobby and Kitty, not informing their other classmates yet concerning Harry's condition. Upon glancing at Peter's appearance, Gwen runs over to tightly hug him and slowly explodes into tears on his chest.
"Gwen...I'm sorry…" Peter weakly replied, comforting Gwen with all the mental strength he's got.
Bobby and Kitty merely look away in case they might do something awkward or bad.
"How is he?" Peter asked.
"He's currently stable, but he's still unconscious, like something hit him bad on the head. Do you have any idea what may have happened?" Gwen looked over, with her eyes still wet from tears.
"I...don't know...I never saw him lately other than this morning," Peter replied.
"I see," Gwen thought so while looking through the glass paned wall.
Surely after the short sad reunion, the doctor leaves the room to inform Harry Osborn's "girlfriend-by-name", Gwen Stacy, with great news…
"Miss Gwen, correct? I have great news about Harry's health: he only had a concussion to his head, a concussion strong enough to cause potential amnesia that can make him forget recent events that may have transpired. But other than that, he is going to be alright," the doctor explained, which gave both Peter and Gwen a breather of relief.
'Thank goodness, he's going to be okay,' Peter sighed.
Gwen only stood there silently watching Harry in the care of his mother, with mixed feelings of slight anger and sadness.
"Gwen..." Peter muttered, gripping his fist tightly. "Gwen...I will go now...take care…you and Harry."
"Alright, take care, Peter," Gwen responded while looking through the glass pane.
From there, Peter quietly leaves with Bobby and Kitty, who were just sitting at a nearby hospital bench.
—
"To think we put all our hopes in three stooges like 'em boys," Hammerhead sarcastically comments, watching the whole battle.
"Don't worry Hammerhead, this can be a great opportunity to learn about the Wall-crawler's newfound allies, and properly plan our next move," Norman assures.
"Ya think so, boss?" Hammerhead skeptically asks.
"Positive, Hammerhead. Positive. But as another countermeasure, I think we may have found some good people to help solve our problems," Norman thought out loud, looking at the camera screen watching over the cell of Marc Allan, aka Molten Man.
—To be continued