It was Sunday night. I sat in the lounge with Sue, Reed, and Johnny. We were all watching the TV, which was tuned to CNN where a debate was underway about the nature of Oscorp's newest enterprise — the superhero known as the Glider.
I sighed. Ever since Harry had made his public debut the news hadn't stopped talking about him. Every news channel, every social media platform — all of it. New York's newest hero. The tabloids had also taken to calling him 'The F-Bomber', which was honestly kind of badass.
He already had a Twitter account and an Instagram account. He was essentially a corporate product — everything he said and did was supposedly monitored by Oscorp and its legal team.
Technically there was nothing on the books preventing a privatized superhero. He was registered as a company's voluntary service to the state, which made it free to the city. And since he was an Oscorp asset, he didn't have to reveal his identity — that fell under the same trademark protections as a proprietary formula.
Right now a Harvard law professor, a forty-year-old Asian woman, a representative from the DA's office, a man named Harold, and the blonde anchor were arguing the legality of the whole arrangement on national television.
"—But what gives him the right?" the anchor was asking his guest. "Yes, from a legal standpoint he's in the grey area. But who actually wants someone out there throwing bombs around to save people?!"
"I would think the people do," the Harvard professor replied. "When the police are unable to handle a threat, they turn to whoever can. In some cases that's Spider-Man, in others, it's this new one — the Glider."
"But what about the legality question?" Harold pressed. "This isn't a private matter — it's a public safety issue! It risks civilian lives! What's to stop this man from failing? From making things worse?"
"Exactly," the anchor agreed. "And what gives Oscorp the right to—" He paused, pressing his earpiece. "Ah...it seems we have an incoming call. From Norman Osborn and the Chief of Police."
The TV screen split. A new feed appeared: Norman sitting beside the Chief of Police in his office, the two men side by side. Norman was wearing a comfortable, confident smile. The Chief looked like he was trying not to sweat.
"Ah...welcome, gentlemen. This is 'The Talk' — what brings you here tonight?" the anchor asked.
Norman's smile widened. "Well, Jared, I'm calling to address the concerns raised on your program this evening — specifically the questions around legality and execution. As you can see, I'm here with the Chief of Police, and we are currently putting pen to paper on a legislative agreement that will allow Oscorp's newest hero, the Glider, to serve as a consultant to the NYPD."
Norman paused and turned slightly toward the Chief, nudging him with an almost imperceptible elbow. The man cleared his throat. "Ah — yes, you see, this arrangement has been in development for some time. Due to the urgency of yesterday's events, the Glider had to act independently before the paperwork was finalized. We at the New York Police Department welcome Oscorp's contribution and are grateful for the professionalism this new hero has already demonstrated."
Norman turned back to the camera. "Thank you, Commissioner. Now — Mrs. Kang," he addressed the Harvard law professor directly. "Does this resolve the legal questions you've raised?"
The woman nodded without hesitation. She had clearly been expecting this. "Yes, Mr. Osborn. It does."
Norman's smile took on a sharper edge. "Excellent. I'm glad we could straighten this out." And just like that, his feed cut out.
Johnny whistled. "Damn. He just legalized a vigilante. Hey, sis — think we could get some of that kind of backing?"
Sue snorted. "I doubt that very much." She looked over at me and frowned. "What's wrong, Peter? You look distracted."
I was staring at the screen. "I'm wondering how long before this whole thing blows up in their faces."
"What makes you think it will?" Reed asked.
"Because I know Osborn," I sighed, getting up and moving to the kitchen. "He's in this for the money. The publicity. It's a brand exercise. He doesn't care about people — he uses them."
"That much, at least, we can agree on," Reed muttered as the others followed me into the kitchen.
I opened the freezer and pulled out a frozen pizza, tossing it to Johnny. "Light it up." He did, warming it slowly with controlled heat. "Also — I think it'll blow up partly because of who the Glider actually is."
"You know who he is?" Sue asked, surprised.
I nodded. "Harry. Norman's son. My friend." I rubbed my eyes.
"How did you find that out?" Reed asked, suspicious.
"I...may have used a drone to track his movements," I admitted.
"Peter!" Sue cried out. "That's illegal!"
"And morally bankrupt," Reed said flatly.
"Hey — I didn't do it without reason!"
"Oh? And what reason was that?" Reed asked.
"He healed in a week. Not just healed — he was in better physical shape than he'd ever been in his life, Olympic level fitness, within days of being in a coma. The only way that happens is if someone gave him a drug. So I went to Oscorp to find out what it was. And sure enough — a serum called Green Fields. Two years of testing. Every trial a failure."
"And how do you know what's in their trials?" Reed asked. "How did you access those files?"
I sighed. "I snuck into Oscorp and hacked their system."
"Corporate espionage, Peter," Reed said, his voice going cold. "That's what you committed. Do you understand that? You put the Baxter Foundation at risk with that stunt."
"I didn't go as myself! I went as Spider-Man!"
"Oh, that makes everything so much better. Because we have absolutely no association with Spider-Man at all!" Reed spat. "What is your problem, Peter? Why do you assume everyone else is incapable and only you can be trusted? Why is it so impossible for you to believe Oscorp might have this under control? Osborn may be a bastard, but he's a brilliant one. You don't know what improvements they may have made that they kept off the servers. You don't know anything!"
And that was when I lost it.
"Yeah! I freaking do! I know for a fact this is going to end badly! And do you know how I know, Reed?! Because of the portal you sent me through! Do you know who Norman Osborn was in that world? What he did? He was a monster! A monster who tried to kill me! Who tried to kill my wife and child! Who did kill his own son! So yes — I know for a fact that this is all leading somewhere terrible!"
Reed slammed his hand down on the counter hard. "This world isn't that one! There are differences!"
"Like what?!"
"Like the fact that in that world I married the love of my life and in this one I'm nothing but a stain on her windshield!" Reed's voice cracked. He stood there panting, the anger slowly draining out of him.
Sue, Johnny, and I went completely still.
Reed seemed to realize what he had said. He turned and walked out without another word.
"Awkward," Johnny murmured as he set the freshly heated pizza on the counter.
I turned to Sue. "What happened?"
"He and his girlfriend broke up," Sue sighed. "He's just...going through a hard time."
"It really sounded like he was talking about you, sis," Johnny pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
Sue huffed. "Unlikely. Look — I'll go talk to him. Please don't take it personally, Peter." She followed Reed out.
I sat down. Johnny dropped into the seat beside me. We both took a slice of pizza and ate in silence, until Johnny spoke. "So...how dangerous is he? Osborn, I mean."
"Like I said — one day he'll be the most dangerous villain I've ever faced. He's so dangerous that my counterpart in that world was eventually forced to kill him just to stop him."
"I see...so you had a wife and a child," Johnny continued quietly.
I sighed. "Yes."
"You never told us that. You said you were alone," he pointed out — not accusatory, just stating a fact.
"I know...because things are different here. I'm not with the same person. And if she knew about what's supposedly coming — about what we're supposed to be to each other — it would change everything between us before we ever had the chance to figure it out ourselves."
"I see. And the kid — what was she like?"
I smiled. "You remember May? The Spider-Girl you hit on a while back?"
Johnny blinked. "No."
"Yes, you did."
"No, I—"
"Yes."
Johnny turned red. "We will never speak of this again. Understood?" I silently chuckled and nodded.
---
That night I returned to the lab after dinner. Reed and Sue were still in Reed's lab — from what I could hear, the conversation wasn't going anywhere productive. Reed kept circling back to why his girlfriend had ended things, and Sue was doing her best to be a good friend about it.
I sat down at my desk and stared at the wall for a moment. The Harry situation — I had no idea what the right move was. I supposed for now I'd have to wait and watch.
No. Not watch. Plan.
"Sexy, open a new project. Label it Goblin Killer," I said.
"Understood, Peter. What is the purpose of this project?"
"Neutralizing an enemy," I replied, opening the specifications for my Spider-Man armor and creating a working copy. I began designing weapons capable of countering and defeating the Green Goblin — any version of the Goblin, whether technology-based or organic, like the version from the Ultimate universe.
The first problem was the incendiary ordnance. If Harry ended up using fireballs the way the Ultimate Goblin did, I needed something to neutralize them — freezing pellets, or better yet magnetic repulsors to redirect or detonate them prematurely.
The glider, if it had any onboard AI, Sexy could hack it. If it didn't, my magnetic manipulation would give me a direct line to it.
If Harry ended up with significantly enhanced mass or durability, the stingers would come into play. If he had additional tools I hadn't anticipated...well, I'd have to get creative.
As I worked, my phone buzzed. I picked it up.
It was a message from Tony.
*Sorry it took so long. Forgot where I put it. Also, Riri says hello.*
*Ulysses Klaue — Location: Johannesburg, Salvage Yard.*
*Number: (504)-332-4392*
I grinned. I typed back a quick thank you and put the phone down. I needed to get to South Africa — but damn it, I had school tomorrow. This was why being a teenage superhero was genuinely terrible sometimes.