Spider-Man: Marvel Knight

Chapter 18-Break the Heart, Kill the Hero

Harry called a cab to take him home. He was a little worried that he left his best friend alone with a girl. It was clear to them that they liked each other, but would they actually...could they even...well, could they? After sitting down in the car, he took out his phone and started texting Peter.

Harry: so how's it going between u 2?

Peter: busy right now ;)

Harry: excuse me? What does that mean exactly?

Peter: her head is on my chest. I think she's sleeping

Harry: she's sleeping with you?! You sex machine, Peter!

Peter: we just kissed a bit...I'm not like that, Harry.

Harry: whatever luvbird

Peter: can I please enjoy this moment, dude?

Harry: you two and me and Liz are gonna have to have double dates from now on

Peter: I'm putting my phone down now

Harry shook his head and chuckled. Peter and Gwen were together. They were actually in love with each other...and now a couple. He felt pride in knowing that his friend was happy and in love. Peter never had found love before, and Gwen was one of the sweetest girls he had ever met; she was perfect for him.
Soon enough, the cab reached his house. He paid the man and exited. Getting the spare key from under the door mat and opened the door. Norman was just on the other side fixing his tie. He looked at his son in confusion. He didn't even know that Harry had been missing. Such a great dad he was! "Harry!" he exclaimed. "Where have you been?"
"Relax, dad," he replied. "I spent the night with Gwen and Peter." There was a strong smell of smoke coming from his dad. He smelled like gunpowder and gasoline... "You know, I could ask you the same thing, dad. You smell like you just walked out of a burning building. What's that about?"
The Goblin's memories flashed in Norman's mind. He hated it, but it was his life now. He couldn't stop anything else from happening now. Norman was almost gone. "I spent the night at work," he lied. "There was a lot of shit I had to do."
"That still doesn't explain why you smell like you've been at a bonfire," his son replied. The smell was awful, and it almost smelled like what Peter smelled like last night when they found him in the alley.
Norman remembered the mines destroying the buildings and the combustion orb blowing up in Spider-Man's face. He lied again. "That, uh, explosion that was near the Empire State Building carried smoke into the office. That was awful wasn't it?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "You know Spider-Man was there, right. Fought some whackjob named Goblin."
Hearing that name made the Goblin hiss inside Norman. Kill him now, Norman! He knows too much! How dare he call us a whackjob! Norman... He silenced him before he could be heard out loud through his mouth. "Was he?" He suddenly remembered that there was no body found after the explosion. "I hope he made it out okay..."
Harry knew the answer to that, but of course he had to play a little dumb. "I think he did," he said. He thought of some way he could twist the truth. "I saw him swinging around Brooklyn this morning."
"SHIT!" the Goblin yelled out loud. Norman sent him back into his consciousness. It was getting harder and harder to control him.
Harry stumbled back from his father's outburst. "Dad, is there something wrong?" he asked. "You don't seem like yourself."
Norman stuffed the Goblin back into his subconscious and shook his head. "Nothing, it's nothing...I just..." he could feel himself sweating. "...I just remembered that I forgot something from my office. I'll get it when I go to work today." He headed towards the door.
Something was going on. Harry grabbed his arm and Norman shot him a gaze. "Dad..."
Norman turned to his son and felt the Goblin growl within him. "What do you want, Harry?"
"Those people in your lab...the scientists, Kathy...everyone you ever cared about besides me, got killed by that Goblin guy. And you aren't even fazed by their deaths..." Norman could feel the Goblin crawling though his brain. He knows, Osborn. Kill him! "Do you know who he is? The Goblin?"
Norman snatched his arm away and played it cool. "Of course I don't. The reason why I'm so unfazed is that I'm too damn busy!" Harry took a step back from the other outburst. Norman immediately regretted it. He wished he could tell his son what happened to him, but he could never understand. Pushing the creature back in his mind, he said, "Harry, I'm sorry... I'm just really stressed right now. I'll see you this afternoon." He got in his Jaguar and drove to Oscorp. He reached his office and let the Goblin come through.
Harry thought as his father walked to his car. Everything seemed so off about him. He'd never seen him like this before. The more he thought...the more he began to draw worse and worse conclusions...no...
He couldn't believe that. There's no way that he could. "No, there's no way," he whispered to himself. He walked over to where his dad was standing by the couch. He smelled something burnt...almost like rubber. It smelled horrible.
Harry reached down under the couch and felt something cold and rubbery. As he pulled it out and revealed it...he wanted to cry. His worst dreams had come true... He wanted to throw up....
"Dad is the Goblin..."

As Norman sat in his car, he let the Goblin come out. "The itsy bitsy spider lives..." it said out loud to Norman
"He's stronger than we imagined," he responded.
"Of course he is, Osborn. His powers are extremely potent. Of course, they aren't as strong as ours."
"How do we stop him?"
"Simple... We figure out who he is. Then we attack those closest to him. We attack the heart, and the heart shall break."
"How the hell are we gonna figure out who he is?"
"Don't worry, Osborn. Something tells me that we'll know very soon. Very, very soon....."