Arachnoblast: I'm Fourteen This is Ridiculous

Chapter 8: Suspicions

The next afternoon, Kelsey was relaxing, watching TV in her living room, when there was a knock on the door. Kelsey paused her show and hopped off of the couch to find Peter on her doorstep.

"Kelsey!" Peter beamed. "You know how we were talking about that Daily Bugle photo money a couple weeks back?"

"You mean the money the paper will pay for pictures of Arachnoblast?" Kelsey asked, stifling a knowing smile.

"Yeah," Peter replied, his grin growing wider. "Guess what? I got it! I got a good photo of her and the Bugle used it as its front page!"

Peter held up the newspaper, which bore a remarkably clear photo of Arachnoblast swinging by, her gloved fingers brushing the ground. The picture was so good and Kelsey was so excited for her friend that she kept her smile even after reading the headline, "Masked Freaks Ruin Festival!"

"That's epic, Peter!" Kelsey marveled. "How much are they paying you for it?"

"A few hundred bucks," Peter answered, still grinning.

Kelsey whistled quietly in amazement. "What are you gonna do with that much money?"

"Save it, obviously," Peter laughed. "And use it to help May and Ben if they need it."

Kelsey smiled, her heart warming at the thought that she had been able to help Peter earn some extra cash.

"So, how was the festival?" Peter asked. "You went with your dad, right?"

"I did, but we had barely finished our funnel cakes before he got some important phone call. Then the whole attack stuff happened."

"Whoa, did you get back to your dad at all during that?"

"No, not at all," Kelsey replied quietly, looking down.

"I'm glad you at least made it out okay," Peter said.

"And I'm glad you got that picture you wanted!" Kelsey smiled, pulling the conversation away from herself.

"Yeah, it was pretty epic," Peter sighed with a smile, his eyes distant. "Anyway, I promised I'd mow the lawn today, so I should get started on that. It was nice talking to you, though. See you later!"

"Bye, Pete!" Kelsey waved as Peter returned to his own house, then she returned to watching her show.

Once the episode ended, Kelsey lay on the couch, thinking over the events at the festival and her dad's conversation with Dr. Connors. What had they been talking about with the whole self-experimentation thing? And what was that phone call that took him away right before the attack? It was certainly odd that he suddenly disappeared right before the Green Goblin showed up...

Kelsey sat bolt upright. Was it odd or convenient? Her dad had been gone a lot lately, all while those various businesses and testing facilities had been destroyed. There was no doubt that the Green Goblin was behind the destruction and explosions, but who was behind the Green Goblin? It couldn't be Justin Osburn, could it? He was so mild-mannered, polite, and he had been gone because he was helping Connors with his lab, hadn't he?

Still, that discussion between Justin and Curt at the festival made some pieces fall into place. Could Justin have experimented on himself while working on that performance enhancer at Oscorp? If so, something must have gone terribly wrong, leading to the loss of Dr. Stromm, the glider, and Justin's very mind, creating the insanely strong Green Goblin. Kelsey shuddered at the thought that she was living with a deranged murderer, someone like the lunatic who caused Captain Stacy's demise. No, she wouldn't—she couldn't let that happen again. And her dad couldn't be the Goblin. Could he?