WHO: Spider-Man and the Green Goblin WHERE: On top of a skyscraper (probably in Houston) WHEN: Monday, March 7th WHAT: The Goblin and Spidey have a chat. The Goblin makes Spider-Man an offer he probably shouldn't refuse but does anyway.
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When Peter woke up, he was on top of a skyscraper far away from the beach.
The Green Goblin was sitting casually beside him, walking his gloved fingers up Peter’s chest and humming “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Peter’s wrists and ankles were held together by thick silver cuffs that didn’t seem to have a discernable lock. “Down came the rain and washed the spider out...” The Goblin grabbed Peter’s mask and tugged it off, throwing it aside.
“Surprise, surprise.” Please. He didn’t sound surprised. “Boy bitten by spider, boy wears spider on chest, spins webs.”
Peter coughed, shaking the hair out of his face. He smelled strongly of seawater, and he made a face, trying to squirm away from the Goblin. “You really gotta lay off the onions, man.”
The Goblin grabbed his arm and held him there. “Look at us. Extraordinary pieces of OsCorp technology. You by accident... me, on purpose.” He took Peter’s jaw in his hand, looking him over. “Make a better human. Faster, stronger, smarter. Don’t like how you are? Fix it. Improve. Evolve.”
“Yeah, thanks, I’ve seen the commercial.” This wasn’t going anywhere good, was it?
“I get you,” said the Goblin. “You don’t want to be controlled. You don’t want to be owned. You’re afraid some goon in a suit who doesn’t know what he’s talking about is going to start making the decisions for you. Say you’re not qualified to know what’s best.”
“That’s really sweet, but you don’t get me at all.” Peter was shaking while he said it, but he wasn’t looking away. The adrenaline was making him recklessly brave, his nostrils flaring while he watched the Goblin’s mask as if looking him in the eye. “I would never do this. I would never kill people for no reason like this---at all, actually. We are not the same.”
The Goblin chuckled. “That’s what you think now,” he said. He gave Peter a little slap on the cheek. “We all think that. We all think we’re heroes until we learn nothing gets done that way.”
Peter grimaced. “I’m not going to prove you right, Goblin.”
“How very Batman of you.” The Goblin poked him in the nose. He sounded sulky. “Peeeeeeeter. We don’t have to be enemies. I’d hate it if we were enemies. We’re the evolution of the human race. We could be incredible together.”
“You’re a mass murderer,” Peter said bluntly, flinching back. “And I’m an accident. Not even close.”
“And what a glorious accident. If we put our minds together----”
Peter snorted. “If you were half as smart as me, you’d be doing something better with your time.”
“Then don’t waste my time,” snapped the Goblin. He suddenly wasn’t so sing-song and friendly. “Team up with me, Peter. Sign those papers and we can do incredible things for people like us.”
Peter ground his teeth, tugging against the restraints. “Not a chance,” he spat. “I said no to Norman’s face, and I’ll say no to his lackey, too. You can beat me, threaten me, and even poison me, but I will not be like you!”
The Goblin chuckled softly. “Care to prove it?”
“Go for it. No matter what you do to me, I won’t budge,” Peter said firmly. He even leaned forward, daring the Goblin to strike him.
The Goblin did better than that. He grabbed the mask and pulled it back down over Peter’s face. “You’ve got one week. We’ll have some fun.” His hand balled into a fist and he slammed it into Peter’s stomach. Tugging Peter up by the arm, he dragged him to the edge of the building----and promptly threw him off.
Peter struggled in the air, falling like a stone. At what felt like the last possible moment, he finally managed to rip through the cuffs with one hand, webbing the corner of the skyscraper and pulling. The action changed his direction, the force of his fall swinging him around the building and letting Peter control his own speed. He circled as he slowed before sticking to the building to pry off the other cuff and free up his other webshooter.
When he looked back up, the Goblin was long gone. Of course. Peter took a deep, painful breath and rested against the building, closing his eyes for a moment.