TITLE: The Green Goblin: Reborn

RATING: R

PAIRING: Peter/Mary Jane

KEYWORDS: Peter/Mary Jane Romance, Action, Angst

FANDOM: Spider-Man: The Movie

SPOILERS: Spider-Man: The Movie

ARCHIVE: Anywhere just let me know where it's going and keep my name on it

SUMMARY: The Green Goblin rises again and Spider-Man must fight to stop him.

DISCLAIMER: Spider-Man does not belong to me. It belongs to Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. The Movie belongs to Columbia Pictures and Sam Raimi and others. I am making no money off of this. This story is copywrited May, 2002 and may not be altered in any way without the express permission of the author.

NOTE: This story takes place after my other Spider-Man story The Hybrids. If you have not read it all you need to know is that it takes place after the movie and Mary Jane knows Peter is Spider-Man and they are engaged and living together in Peter's apartment.

By Cheri.

Part One

Peter perched from a flag pole surveying the ground below him. He was on his daily patrols and already it had been a good morning for catching bad guys. As he watched the people pass by, oblivious to his presence. He suddenly heard a faint scream from off in the distance.

"Sounds like that's my cue." he said, as he shot out a web strand

***************************

"No! Please keep away from me!"

The thug clamped a hand over the woman's mouth as he knocked her into the alley.

"Ah, now don't be that way. I only want your money and maybe a little something extra besides that." he said, as he glanced down at her breasts.

As the woman squirmed under him. He pulled out a knife and held it to her throat.

"Keep still or you're gonna be lying in your own blood, lady." he hissed. "I have half a mind to slit your pretty little throat right now."

"Half a mind? Is that why you're such an idiot?"

The thug glanced around and his eyes widened as he recognized the figure leaning against the alley wall.

"Spider-Man!" he yelled out.

Peter chuckled.

"Well, at least you have enough brain power to recognize you're in alot of trouble." he said. "Now get off of that woman before you do something you'll regret."

"I think the only one who's gonna regret anything is you, web-head!' he said, getting off of the woman and running towards him.

Peter snorted as he watched the thug coming at him with his knife drawn. He admired some of these criminals bravery. He knew that the thugs must be so desparate not to go to jail that they would rather try to take on Spider-Man and hoped they'd get lucky. Peter glanced up at the setting sun and knew it was almost time to go home. He couldn't resist having a litle fun though. He looked back to make sure his camera was set up properly and taking pictures before he turned and confronted the thug.

"Neener, neener, neeeeeener." he said, mockingly.

"Why, you..." the thug said, jabbing his knife towards Peter's chest.

Peter waited until the last second before doing a flip and landing on the thug's shoulders. As the thug stood in shock, Peter began to hit him on the top of the head.

"Helllloooo? Anyone home?" he called out.

Peter jumped back off the thug as he recovered from his shock.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that!" he yelled at him

"Ooooo, I'm shaking...really. No...really, I'm just terrified." Peter said, with a chuckle.

Peter's mocking made the thug angrier and he charged towards Peter, bellowing like a charging rhino. At the last moment, Peter flung himself over the thug. As he ran under him, Peter grabbed his shirt and hitting the ground, he flung him back over his body. The thug screamed out in terror before he slammed his head into a nearby lamp post and slumped to the ground, unconscious. Peter walked back to the woman, who was huddling in the alley. He stopped and picked up her purse, handing it to her.

"Here you are, Ma'am. I don't think he'll be giving you any more trouble."

The woman nodded.

"Thanks Spider-Man, for everything."

She stood up slowly as she watched Spider-Man quickly spin webbing around the thug securing him to the lamp post. The woman waved as Spider-Man shot into the air. She frowned after he left. She coulda sworn that for an instant, Spider-Man had reached down and grabbed a camera. She shook her head.

"Must be the shock." she muttered.

She walked out of the alley and stood watching as the police pulled up in their cruisers.

*******************************

Mary Jane walked into the apartment and dropped her keys on the table. She pulled off her coat and sighed as she stretched her weary back.

"I'm so glad to be home." she said to herself

Her head jerked up towards the ceiling as she heard a small thump above her.

"Peter? Is that you?" she yelled up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, It's me, hon." Peter called back.

Mary Jane smiled. She walked up the stairs and into her and Peter's bedroom She kissed Peter as he pulled off his Spider-Man costume. Mary Jane walked across the hall to the bathroom and began to take off her waitress outfit.

"Have a good day, hon?" Peter called out as he folded up his costume.

"Ugh, Not really. Enrique got on me again. He keeps thinking I'm stealing money from him, like I would ever want to steal from that loser. Then, someone in the kitchen put mayonaise on someone's BLT when they didn't want any. So of course, it's my fault because I'm the only one around when he found out it was on there. So I got yelled at by the customer, and then I got yelled at by Enrique because I'm not good enough to catch an error like that." she said as she threw the waitress outfit into a wad on the floor.

Peter walked across the hall into the bathroom and put his arms around her.

"Aw, MJ, I'm so sorry you had a rough day." he said, kissing her cheek." I hope you get an acting job soon. You really don't deserve to be working in a place like that."

Mary Jane kissed him back.

"I hope so too, Peter. I haven't heard from this latest audition. Hopefully, they're gonna consider me." she stared at Peter. "So, how was your day? Catch any bad guys?"

Peter chuckled.

"Oh yeah, I caught two bank robbers, a purse snatcher, and a couple of muggers. Plus, I managed to get some more pictures for the Bugle."

Mary Jane sighed as she laid her head against his chest.

"Oh Peter, I wish you didn't have to do that. I hate how that bastard Jameson smears your good name in that paper of his. All the good work you do, and he has to ruin it with his lies."

Peter sighed.

"I know, MJ. But until I get my degree, I don't have much of a choice. Selling him pictures of myself is the best way for me to help pay the rent and put food on the table. I just have to hope that the good I do will outshine whatever he prints in that paper."

"Can't you freelance somewhere else though? What about at The Globe?"

Peter snorted.

"The Globe pays less than the Bugle does, hon. Plus there's a man there named Eddie Brock and I hear he's supposedly jealous of me, because I keep getting these exclusive pictures of Spider-Man when he can't . I don't think he'd appreciate me moving in on his territory." Peter said, as he started the shower.

He and Mary Jane climbed in together and began to kiss each other passionately as the water beat down on them. They stayed in for nearly an hour before finally getting out and drying off. They walked into the bedroom and put on some clothes before heading downstairs. As Mary Jane went into the kitchen to warm up the meatloaf she had cooked the night before, Peter checked the answering machine for messages.

"Peter, this is your aunt May. I know you're busy but I still worry about you. Call me as soon as you can."

Peter smiled and chuckled as the next message came up.

"Miss Watson...This is the New York Repretory Theater. We are calling to inform you that we have chosen someone else for the Part of Leslie Reynolds. Thank you for your audition."

Peter sighed deeply as he watched Mary Jane shake her head sadly.

"Don't give up, MJ. There's always something else."

"I know, hon." Mary Jane said. "But, It's still upsetting when I get those kinds of messages."

Peter nodded as he heard the next message come up.

"Hey Peter, It's Harry. I was just calling to invite you to dinner. The mansion is big and lonely and I'd really appreciate some company. Please call me and let me know, ok? Bye."

Peter looked down and noticed that was the last of the messages. As Mary Jane went back to preparing the food, Peter picked up the phone and the address book and found the number of the Osborne mansion. He dialed the number and waited.

"Hey, Harry! It's Peter.....Yeah, I miss you too. It's been awhile. Listen, I just got your message and I would love to come to dinner. I was wondering though if MJ could come too...Yeah, MJ. She's staying here with me....Well, actually we're engaged....About a month....No, we haven't set a date yet....A small wedding, I think. Just immediate family and friends...Yeah, I'll let you know if we set a date....So, It's okay then if she comes too?....Great!.....Tomorrow night? Sure, that's no problem....Okay, 6 P.M., then....Okay, see ya Harry. Bye.

************************************

Harry Osborne stared at the reciever in shock as he heard the click. He slowly hung up the phone and stood looking at it. He couldn't believe that Mary Jane was engaged to Peter. He had seen her and him at the funeral. He couldn't hear everything they had said to one another as they stood together, but he had gotten the gist of it. Apparently, Mary Jane had wanted Peter to be her lover and Peter had told her no. He remembered feeling happy as he saw Peter walk away from Mary Jane. He felt sure that Mary Jane would be so distraught, she would forget his behavior at Thanksgiving and come running back to him for comfort. But somehow, in a month and a half, things had changed so dramatically between them to cause Peter to change his mind and become engaged to her.

Harry sighed as he stomped up the stairs towards his room. What did Peter have that he didn't? He liked Peter but he never thought he would be able to get a girl, much less get engaged. He always thought he was something of a nerd and a poor nerd at that. He, on the other hand, had never had much trouble getting a girl with his wealth and family name. But, of all the girls he had dated, he had always wanted Mary Jane more than any other and thanks to his father's outburst, he had lost her. He pursed his lips as he entered his bedroom. He hoped with all his heart that MJ would see reason and return to him. As he slipped on his pajamas, he lay in bed and turned out the light wishing Mary Jane was beside him in the darkness.

*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*

Part Two

Harry smiled as he opened the door.

"Hey Pete, good to see you again." he said, hugging him

"Good to see you too, buddy" Peter said, returning the hug.

Harry let go and smiled at Mary Jane as Peter walked past him. As she came up to him, he embraced her tightly.

"Hi, Harry." Mary Jane said, hugging him

"Hi, Mary Jane. I've missed you alot." he whispered in her ear.

He held the embrace for a long time until Mary Jane began to squirm uneasily. Reluctantly, he let her go. He sighed as Mary Jane hurredly took off after Peter. Harry closed the door and stared at Peter and Mary Jane as they stood together. He still couldn't believe she wanted Peter and not him. He bit his lip and swallowed his jealousy, for the moment, as he put on a wide smile. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't rush Mary Jane. He had to be careful about what he said and did, if he was to have a chance at having her again.

He ushered them into the dining room. Peter stood and stared at the huge table.

"Wow, this would put our little table to shame. You really need something like this? It takes up the whole room, practically."

Harry chuckled.

"I don't, but dad did. He often held business meetings in here with the people from Oscorp or the military."

Peter grinned.

"For a moment, there I figured you didn't want to move back to the apartment, because you were too busy having these huge get-togethers in this mansion." he teased.

Harry snorted.

"Are you kidding? I don't know enough people to fill half this table."

As Peter and Mary Jane turned and walked to the head of the table, Harry stared at them.

*Besides the only one I want to "get-together" with is the person on your arm." he thought to himself.

As Mary Jane and Peter sat down on one side of the table, Harry sat down across from them. He looked up as three servants entered carrying huge trays of food. As the servants set the trays down and left, Harry grinned sheepishly as Peter and Mary Jane looked at each other.

"They worked for my dad. They refuse to leave, even though I told them I can take care of myself. They've been here so long, I don't think they want to go anywhere else. he said, cutting a slice of turkey and handing it to Mary Jane. As Mary Jane took the plate, Harry focused briefly on her engagement ring and flinched. He quickly turned his attention back to the turkey, trying not to think about the big knife in his hand and Peter across from him.

*Why would you even think of stabbing him, Harry? He's your friend, for Christ's sake.* he thought to himself

"White or dark meat, Pete?" he said to Peter.

"White meat, thanks."Peter said. "So, do you think you are going to be moving back to the apartment any time soon?"

Harry stared at him

*And sleep next door while you make love to my woman?* he thought

"Um...I don't think so. This is such a big mansion and I still have to go through it and find out what's in here. Besides, I think dad would want me living here. He probably envisioned me inheriting his legacy and taking on the duties at Oscorp."

Peter nodded as he ate.

"Your dad would have been proud of you, Harry." he said.

He stopped eating as he saw Harry's eyes flash with anger.

"Yes, "Would have been proud of me" " he said, bitterly. "My dad was just beginning to show me how proud he was and then that bastard Spider-Man had to take him from me."

Peter flinched as he felt Mary Jane squeeze his hand.

Peter cleared his throat.

"Are you sure it was Spider-Man who killed your father?" he asked, hesitantly.

Harry shook his head.

"Not completely, but I wouldn't put it past that costumed freak to commit something like this. I heard a noise and I find him in dad's bedroom standing over him, and then after Spider-Man gets away without an explanation, I go to him and I find him lying naked and dead in his bed with only a black sheet covering him. Now you tell me there isn't a connection."

"I agree it does sound incriminating, Harry. But maybe Spider-Man had found your father murdered and was trying to find out if the killer was still in the house." Peter said, trying to plead his case.

He remembered feeling ill as he heard Harry swearing revenge on Spider-Man. He had made an enemy of the father, he had no desire to make an enemy of the son. Especially since Harry didn't know his father was the Green Goblin. Before Norman died, he had told him not to tell Harry and he honored that wish. He hadn't told anyone who the Goblin really was, not even Mary Jane. He was jolted from his thoughts as Harry continued his tirade.

"Yes, Peter. The murderer was in the house. He goes around in red and blue tights and wears a mask to hide his face, because he's afraid the police will find out he's a serial killer or something." Harry spat out. "I'm gonna do everything in my power to bring that sadistic bastard to justice. He almost cut my dad in half, for Christ's sake. He never gave my dad a chance."

Peter snorted softly.

*Believe me, Harry. Your dad had a chance. He almost killed me before his glider impaled him.* Peter thought to himself.

Harry took a deep breath and glanced over at Peter and Mary Jane who were staring at him in shock.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin our dinner with my angry outburst." he said sheepishly. "I...I just still miss my dad and I'm angry that he was murdered. I didn't bring you guys over here to listen to me rant and rave."

Mary Jane glanced at Peter and smiled at Harry.

"It's okay, Harry. It's understandable. We all miss your dad." she said as Peter nodded.

Harry glanced over at Mary Jane

"Even after what he said about you at Thanksgiving?"

Mary Jane gulped.

"Well...it sounded like he was under alot of stress about something at the time." she said softly. "But, even so, he seemed like a nice guy. It's terrible that he was taken from you like that."

Harry steeled himself as Mary Jane reached over and squeezed his hand. He couldn't let Peter see his emotions, not while he was sitting across from him. He smiled back at her.

"Thanks MJ." he said, simply.

The three of them talked small talk the rest of the dinner. After they had ate and the servants had cleared away the dishes, they talked with Harry in the den before Peter informed him that he and Mary Jane had to get up early and go to work.

Harry smiled as he showed them to the door.

"Thanks for coming, and again I apologize for my outburst."

Peter held up his hand.

"Don't apologize, Harry. It's understandable."

Harry nodded. He looked over at Mary Jane and his gaze lingered on her as she stood beside Peter. Willing himself to snap out of it, he gave her a quick hug and watched as they walked hand in hand out the door. The moment Harry shut the door behind them, he gritted his teeth in anger. Seeing Mary Jane with Peter and talking about Spider-Man had stirred up a wealth of angry emotions. He stomped through the mansion determined to walk off the negativity before he went up to bed.

*****************************

Harry sighed deeply as he walked around the huge empty mansion muttering to himself. Despite his earlier decision to walk off the anger, he found the more he walked, the angrier he became. He still couldn't believe Mary Jane wanted Peter. He knew it was a mistake allowing Peter to bring her, but he just had to see her again. The morning after he had found Spider-Man standing over his dad in the guest bedroom, she had come over to the mansion to find him distraught and police swarming all over the mansion looking for clues. He remembered how she went to him and held him, but he could feel it was not the same kind of loving hug she had given him before Thanksgiving. He could tell then, that her mind was preoccupied with other things. But, he never imagined she was thinking of Peter.

"And now Peter's gonna end up marrying her, and I'll probably marry some woman who only cares about getting her hands on my inheritance." he mumbled to himself.

He paused and looked at a staircase in front of him. It led down to his father's private study and lab. His father had never wanted him to go down there when he was alive and so far he had not had the heart to disobey him, even if he was no longer around to yell at him if he did. He sighed as he looked at it. He had to go down there sometime to assess what was down there as part of the estate. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Guess now's a good a time as any." he said to himself.

He turned and fllipped on a light switch by the stairs before heading down. The further down he went, the more uneasy he became. He still couldn't shake the feeling he was not supposed to be down here. He reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around. There was nothing he could see except a table against the wall with a few books on top and a door off to the right. He examined the books for a moment and then with a sigh, he walked to the door and opened it. He felt around for the light switch as his eyes tried to adjust to the darkness. Finally he felt the switch beside him and flipped it on. As light flooded the room, he saw that it was his dad's private lab. He had had one built so that he could continue work at home away from the prying eyes of the military officials.

He walked into the room and looked around. His eyes widened as he saw a chamber against the far wall. His mouth dropped open as he saw the Green Goblin's glider and body armor sitting in it.

"Oh my God!" Harry breathed.

*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*

Part Three

Harry sank to his knees as he stared at the glider and body armor.

"This can't be happening." he said to himself. "I must be dreaming. My dad couldn't have been..."

For a moment, thoughts of the Green Goblin holding his father hostage and forcing him to work for the Green Goblin flashed through his mind. But just as quickly, he dismissed them. He knew Oscorp had been working on some top secret project for the military and he remembered his dad talking about a glider to a military officer when he thought no one was around. He had also noticed his dad's behavior changing over the last few weeks of his life. It seemed to Harry that he spent alot of time by himself and was very secretive. And now he realized why. Harry's stomach twisted as he remembered the attack at the World Unity festival when the Goblin killed the board members of Oscorp and...

"Mary Jane, you almost killed Mary Jane." he said under his breath. "If it hadn't been for Spider-Man, she would have fallen to her death."

His brow furrowed. Spider-Man was the enemy though, wasn't he? He had killed his father, he was sure of it. But, he had also rescued Mary Jane. Harry shook his head. It was all so confusing. Did Spider-Man and his dad work together, possibly, or were they enemies.

"Maybe Spider-Man wanted dad's glider for himself." he mused. "So he killed my dad in order to get it."

Harry sighed. He wished there was some way to know for sure. Suddenly, his eyes focused on a small tape recorder with a note attached...

FOR HARRY.

Harry narrowed his eyes and walked to the tape recorder. He pushed the play button and his eyes teared up as he heard his father's voice coming out of the speaker.

"Harry, this is your father. I'm making this tape for you in case I don't come back. I'm going to take care of Spider-Man once and for all tonight. I'm sorry I ran out on you and Mary Jane at Thanksgiving, but I discovered something. Peter Parker is Spider-Man."

Harry's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat.

"What? No!" he said, in shock.

"I didn't discover he was Spider-Man until thanksgiving. That huge cut he had on his arm was the result of one of my razor bats, not being clipped by a bike messenger as he claims. I decided to make him pay for daring to mess with me by attacking those he loved the most, so I went after his aunt May. But that wasn't enough, so tonight I am going to lure him to me by using the one person he loves most in the world...Mary Jane."

Harry stared at the tape recorder.

"MJ? You were gonna hurt MJ again?" he said to himself.

As if in answer to his thought, his dad cleared his throat on the tape and spoke again.

"I know what you are probably thinking. I know you love Mary Jane, so i'm not going to hurt her. I'm only gonna use her as bait to catch Parker and finish him. After that, Mary Jane will be yours alone."

Harry's anger began to fade.

"Please understand, my son, I have murdered. But only the people who would have taken your legacy from you. the officials at both Oscorp and Quest were planning to phase me out so they could have the glider and flight suit all to themselves. They didn't care about us, Harry. They wouldn't have batted an eye if we had lost everything and were turned out into the streets. So they had to be eliminated to ensure your future. If anyone deserves the title of criminal, Harry. It's those arrogant, lazy bastards who wanted to steal what I had designed and claim the credit for inventing it."

Harry nodded. His dad's motives were beginning to make sense to him.

"Parker needs to be eliminated as well because he is trying to stop me when all I am doing is protecting what's mine to begin with. I have tried to get him out of the way for good but so far no success. But now, thanks to you, I have learned his true weak spot and I will attack it and destroy him for good."

Harry smiled to himself. He had always known Spider-Man was the real enemy. His smile faded as the recording continued.

"If you are listening to this, then I have failed in eliminating Parker. My final wish is that you take up where I left off and avenge me. I breathe no more, so make sure Parker ends up the same way. You'll find everything you need here, plus the serum I created to give you super strength. You'll need it fighting Parker. Please honor my wishes, Harry, and remember that everything I did, I did for you and your future. I love you."

Harry blinked back tears as the recording ended. He gritted his teeth as he remembered swearing revenge on Spider-Man at the funeral.

"And Peter stood there listening to me." he muttered. "Some friend. He must have done everything in his power to take MJ away from me after hearing that. Murdering bastard."he spat out. "I'm gonna make him suffer for what he's taken from me."

Harry looked up at the flight suit and chuckled to himself.

"Watch out Peter, the Goblin is back in business."

**********************************

"This is why only fools are heroes, Spider-Man. Because you never know when some lunatic is gonna come along with a sadistic choice."

The Green Goblin looked over at Mary Jane as he held her by her neck above the water.

"Let die the woman you love..."

He looked over at the trolley he was holding up by the severed cable.

"Or, suffer the little children."

He looked at Spider-Man standing below him.

"Choose who to save and you will see how a hero is rewarded. Choose NOW!" he said, letting go of Mary Jane and the cable at the same time.

Mary Jane saw Spider-Man standing above her as she fell towards her death. She reached up her hands to him and screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"

Mary Jane screamed herself awake.

"No! Peter! Help!" she screamed histerically.

"MJ! MJ! I'm here!" Peter yelled as he woke up beside her. "It's alright! I'm here! It's only a dream."

Mary Jane fell into Peter's arms, sobbing as he held her and kissed her.

"No, It's alright baby, It's alright."Peter soothed.

Mary Jane looked up at him.

"I'm so sorry, Peter. I didn't mean to wake you up."

Peter kissed her cheek.

"It's alright, hon I don't mind." he said softly. "You went through alot that night, I don't blame you for having nightmares."

Mary Jane sobbed.

"Oh Peter, if you didn't catch me and that trolley, we would have..." she gulped, unable to finish the thought.

Peter kissed her head.

"Don't think about it, MJ. You're safe. The Goblin can't hurt you now. I promise."

Mary Jane nodded and laid her head against Peter's chest. Peter watched her with love in his eyes.

"Do you want me to stay home today?" he asked.

Mary Jane shook her head.

"No, hon. People may need you to rescue them like you rescued me. I'll be alright."

"You sure?"

Mary Jane nodded and kissed him.

"I'm sure, hon. I gotta go to work today anyway."she said.

Peter smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. As she sat in bed and watched him.He dressed in his Spider-Man costume. Once he was finished, he kissed Mary Jane before pulling his mask down over his face. He glanced out of the balcony doors to make sure no one was watching and turned to Mary Jane.

"I'll see you later, hon. Have a good day."he said, touching her cheek

"You too, be careful." Mary Jane said.

Peter nodded and ran out onto the balcony. Leaping off, he shot out a strand and swung away.

Mary Jane watched him go for a moment before she ran across the hall into the bathroom and threw up.

*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*

Part Four

Peter sighed.

It was the end of another long day. He was glad in a way. He had spent most of the day worrying about Mary Jane when he wasn't busting bad guys. He wanted to get home and be with her. He felt his stomach growling too and he looked forward to a hot meal and maybe a long shower with Mary Jane followed by a cuddle in bed. He let a web stand fly and caught a nearby building. Jumping off, he swung down and up and started on his way back home.

Meanwhile, about four blocks away. Harry was watching him from a rooftop. He chuckled to himself as the glider raised up and began to follow him.

*******************************************

Mary Jane laughed as she chatted with aunt May over the phone. She had just gotten in the door when the phone had rang. Aunt May had wondered if Peter had gotten home yet and after telling her that he was out grocery shopping, aunt May had decided to talk to her instead and find out how they were doing.

"He should be back any time now, aunt May. If you want to wait on him." she said, twisting the phone cord around her index finger.

"Oh that's alright, dear. I really have to get this roast out of the oven before it burns. You just let him know I called and that I love him."

Mary Jane chuckled.

"I think he knows, aunt May, but I'll tell him just the same. He'll be happy to know you called."

"Thank you, Mary Jane, and I'll let your mother know you're okay too."

Mary Jane nodded.

"Thanks, aunt May. I'll talk to you later."

Suddenly Mary Jane heard a weird roaring sound outside like jet engines. She narrowed her eyes in confusion

"Bye" she said, absentmindedly.

"Goodbye, dear." she heard aunt May say cheerfully before hanging up.

Mary Jane lowered the reciever, still focused on the balcony door and the weird noise. Hanging up the phone, she slowly walked to the balcony to see what it was.

*******************************************

Peter swung along. He was nearing the balcony that was connected to Mary Jane's and his bedroom. Suddenly he felt his spider sense kick in the same time he heard a weird roaring behind him.

*What the hell?* he thought.

He glanced around and his eyes widened in shock.

*It can't be...*

Suddenly he lurched as the Green Goblin slammed directly into him. He stood in front of him on the glider as it roared along.

"Well...here I am out for a drive and I suddenly get a bug on my windshield." the Goblin yelled out. "Guess I'll have to REMOVE IT!"

As he uttered the last two words, he slammed his fist into Peter's spine. As Peter arched back from the impact, he grabbed him by the neck and jerked his head onto the Goblins shoulder. As Peter looked sideways at him, he could see the rays of the setting sun luminating the sneer inside the mesh covering the mouth of the mask.

"I told you I'd make you pay for my father's death." he hissed

Peter's eyes widened as he realized who it was. His eyes widened even more as the Goblin spoke again.

"You are going to suffer for what you've done, Peter!"

His sneer widened.

"I can't see your eyes but I know you're shocked right now. The reason I know who you are is my dad told me."

*Your dad? But he told me not to tell you. Why would he go ahead and tell you anyway?*

His thought was interrupted as the Gobin whirled him around and cold cocked him in the jaw. Before Peter could mount a defense, the Goblin shoved him off the back of the glider. As Peter raised his hands to shoot out his web strands, the Goblin fired a bolo out the back which wrapped around Peter's outstretched arms. Peter gasped as the line attached from the bolo to the glider stretched taut and almost jerked his arms completely from their sockets. Peter flew along helplessly as the Goblin zigged and zagged preventing Peter from aiming his web shooters. As he was dragged along, the Goblin looked back and yelled.

"Let's go pay MJ a visit!" he said as he whirled the glider back around towards the apartment building.

*****************************************

Mary Jane stepped out on the balcony trying to find the source of the strange noise she had heard. She looked to her right and then her left and then her eyes widened as she saw something she prayed she would never have to see again.

The Goblin cackled and pointed at her as he flew towards the balcony. Mary Jane slumped against the wall as the Goblin laughed even harder.

"HEY MJ, LOOK WHAT I CAUGHT!" he said motioning back behind him.

Mary Jane's eyes widened in horror as the glider sped past and she saw Peter being pulled along like an out of control water skiier.

"Peter!" she mouthed silently, too stunned to speak.

She watched helplessly as the Goblin flew up, down and sideways flinging Peter around like a rag doll. She screamed as he stopped and skidded alongside the apartment next door causing Peter to bump and smack against the building. Finally, when Mary Jane thought that was the end for Peter, the Goblin flew into the alley by the building. She watched as the line detatched from the glider and Peter sailed into a dumpster with a sickening thud.

Mary Jane sobbed uncontrollably. She started to run out of the apartment to get to Peter when she froze. The Goblin had manuvered the glider up to the balcony and he was hovering there, staring at her with his cold, yellow eyes. Mary Jane stared at him in horror as thoughts of that night on the bridge came flooding back in a rush. Instead of hurting her though, the Goblin let out a cackle.

"Your hero isn't so high and mighty now, is he?" he crowed. "You better get down there and get to him, that is, if you can tell him apart from the rest of the garbage in that dumpster!"

With one final cackle, the Goblin roared away as Mary Jane finally found the strength to run out the front door and into the elevator. She ran across the street, not bothering to look to see if any cars were coming. She finally reached the dumpster and flung herself up the side. A sob caught in her throat as she saw Peter lying motionless inside. Mary Jane heaved herself up and into the dumpster and crawled to Peter, sobbing hysterically. She grabbed his mask and pulled it off, searching his battered and bruised face for any signs of life.

"Peter. Peter..speak to me, please." she said gently shaking him.

She let out a cry of happiness as she heard Peter let out a faint moan as he unconsciously turned his head. She kissed his lips and held him close, sobbing. Suddenly her ears perked up as she heard police sirens outside. She stared down at the Spider-Man costume and began to shove the trash bags on top of him obscuring the costume from view. She noticed a two by four in the corner and grabbed it. She stood up and grabbed the lid of the dumpster. Putting the two by four on the rim, she lowered the lid on top of it so they would have air. she crawled back to Peter and buried herself in trash bags. She lay clutching him in the semi-darkness waiting until the cops left.

*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*

Part Five

"Godspeed, Spider-Man!"

Peter's eyes widened as his spider sense kicked in. Behind him the glider came to life and headed towards him with two metal prongs jutting out the front. At the last moment, Peter did a flip up and over the glider as it connected with Norman's torso, pinning him to a wall. Peter crouched in disbelief on a broken wall as Norman began to breathe his last. But instead of uttering his last words..."Don't tell Harry." He reached down beside him instead and grabbed his Goblin mask. He flung it into the air as Peter watched transfixed. Keeping his eyes on the mask, he spun and watched as a figure stepped out of the shadows and caught it. Peter cringed as he saw the figure was Harry wearing an identical flight suit. As he heard Norman take his last breath, Harry smirked at him and slipped on the mask. Suddenly his hand jutted out and seized Peter around the throat. Harry leaned in close and whispered.

"I swear on my father's grave...Spider-Man will pay...pay....pay...pay...pay"

*******************************************

"Pay....pay....pay"

"Peter?"

Mary Jane hovered over Peter. For the last few minutes he had been murmuring the word "Pay" as he lay unconscious.

"Peter, it's me. Mary Jane."

She watched as Peter ceased his murmuring and his brow furrowed. Mary Jane took that as a sign he was coming to and kissed him on the cheek. Peter's eyes began to flutter and after a moment, they slowly opened.

"M...J?"

Mary Jane touched his cheek.

"Yes, sweetheart. I'm here."

Peter looked around as his eyes tried to adjust to the semi-dark surroundings. He wrinkled his nose as he smelled a pungent odor.

"Where....are we?" he asked, slowly.

Mary Jane stroked his hair.

"We're in a trash dumpster in an alley across from the apartment."

Peter blinked in surprise.

"We're...where?" he asked, incredulously

Mary Jane sighed.

"In a dumpster. After the Green Goblin got done...pulling you around, the line that was holding you broke off and...you fell in here."

Peter thought for a moment trying to remember. Most of what had happened after he had been snared by the bolo had been a blur. The last thing he could rememember was heading towards the side of an apartment building, a sharp pain, and then...nothing.

Peter tried to raise up on his elbows, but as soon as he tried, a stabbing pain shot up from his wrists to his shoulders and he fell back among the garbage bags with a groan as Mary Jane looked on, concerned. He waited a few moments and tried again. He was able to make it this time, but he winced as intense pain screamed throughout his body. Mary Jane put her hand on his chest.

"Peter, don't. You're hurt badly. Please lay back down."she pleaded.

"I can't, MJ"he groaned. "We have to get back over to the apartment before someone takes a look in here and sees us."

*Or before Harry returns* he thought to himself.

Mary Jane watched as he gritted his teeth and struggled to sit up. She knew he must be in torment and she wanted to make him lay back down.

But, she also knew he was right, every minute they stayed in the dumpster, they risked someone seeing him in his Spider-Man costume. As Peter finally sat up, Mary Jane stood beside him and lifted the lid of the dumpster a crack. She looked around and saw no one in the vicinity. Satisfied that everything was clear, she pushed the lid back all the way and crouched back down beside Peter.

"Here hon, I'll help you out and help you walk to the apartment." she said

Peter shook his head.

"That's too risky. We'll have to swing up and over to our balcony."

Mary Jane stared at him, horrified.

"Peter, your arms. It'll kill you to swing over there."

Peter nodded.

"I know MJ, but I have no choice. We have to be quick getting to the apartment and swinging in is the fastest way."

"Well, then you swing and I'll walk in." Mary Jane said, trying to do anything to ease the agony Peter was about to undergo.

"No!" Peter said, emphatically. "I want you with me in case the Goblin is nearby and decides to attack again."

He noticed the tears in her eyes and gave her a reassuring kiss on the cheek.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, hon, but I want you near me for safety's sake and it doesn't matter if I'm carrying you or not, it's gonna hurt like hell either way."

Mary Jane nodded, resigning herself to the fact that Peter wouldn't take no for an answer. She scooted nearer to him as Peter slowly got up on one knee. She waited until he was done and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ready?" Peter asked

Mary Jane nodded grimly as she reached down and grabbed the mask and slipped it carefully back down over his face..

Peter wrapped one arm around her back and raised his other one towards the sky. He was glad he had the mask back on now, because he was gritting his teeth together, fighting the intense pain shooting down his arm. He shot out a web strand and watched as it connected with the building's ledge high above. He looked over at Mary Jane who was watching him, fearfully.

"Well, here goes nothing."he said, in as brave a voice as he could muster.

He took a deep breath and pulled down on the springy webbing, catapulting himself and Mary Jane straight up. Peter fought the urge to scream as pain shot through his body. He did a flip and landed, unsteadily, on the roof of the building.

"Piece of cake." he muttered, fighting the urge to just drop to his back and lay there.

With monumental effort, he walked across the short distance to the front of the building with Mary Jane feeling as if his feet were encased in cement. Reaching the ledge, he shot a strand out and hit the top of their apartment building. He got up on the ledge, and holding Mary Jane once more, he swung down and up to their balcony, landing clumsily on it. Mary Jane quickly helped him inside. As soon as he was in front of the bed, Peter's strength left him and he collapsed in a heap onto it.

With tears in her eyes, Mary Jane pulled off his costume as he tried, weakly, to assist her. Finally, stripping him of it, she helped him under the covers where he instantly fell into an exhausted sleep. Mary Jane laid the costume on the dresser and slipped into a nightgown and climbed in beside Peter. She gingerly wrapped her arms around his naked body and fell into an uneasy sleep beside him.

************************************

Harry Osborne slumped down into his dad's desk chair in his den and sighed. When his dad was alive, he didn't really like the room because of the odd assortment of masks his dad had kept on the walls. They had always given him the creeps. After his dad died though, the masks were promptly packed up in a box. It was bad enough having to live in the house without his dad, he didn't need those eerie masks giving him chills.

However since he had become the Green Goblin, masks didn't bother him that much anymore.

He sat at the desk thinking about his actions. Part of him was horrified that he had done what he did to Peter. His own best friend and he might have killed him. But as he thought it, a voice screamed in his head

*The bastard deserved it...An eye for an eye.*

Harry shook his head. He didn't want to think like that. But, at the same time, it was true. Peter had brought it on himself. He was only seeing that justice was being done. Deep down though, a part of him still refused to believe Peter was responsible. There had to be more to the story.

"I can't believe Peter would be capable of committing cold-blooded murder" he said, getting up from the desk and pacing around the room.

*But then again, who would have thought puny Peter Parker would turn out to be Spider-Man.* he thought.

He sighed as he paced. A raging conflict was going on in his brain. He was torn between his friendship with Peter and his need for revenge. Suddenly, he paused as he heard a cackle echoing through the room. His eyes widened as he suddenly heard a familiar voice call out behind him.

"Why do you feel so guilty?"

He spun around and jumped back. In a huge mirror behind him, instead of his reflection, there stood the reflection of his dad.

"Dad?" he said, staring at it.

His dad took a grand bow.

"The one and only." he said

"But you're dead."

Norman nodded.

"Physically, yes, but I live on in you, my son." he said, grinning at him

His grin fell away.

"What is this attack of conscience i'm seeing in you all of a sudden?" he said, folding his arms over his chest.

Harry gulped as Norman's eyes bored into him.

"It's...just that...Peter is my friend." he said, sheepishly.

Norman's eyes narrowed into slits.

"FRIEND?" he spat out. "What kind of friend kills your father? What kind of friend steals away the love of your life? I think you need to take a long, hard look at this so-called "friend" and see him for what he really is."

Harry lowered his head and shuffled his feet.

"I...know what he did to you..." he began

"So what's the difficulty in elimanating him, huh? A vow is not to be taken lightly, Harry and an Osborn keeps his vows." Norman glare faded away. "I am proud of you, my son."

Harry looked back up at the reflection, shocked.

"You are?"he said, wondering if he had heard right.

His father's praise of him was about as frequent as a total eclipse of the sun.

Norman nodded.

"I know it's unusual for me to say this, Harry. Because I never thought much of your achievements when I was alive. But, I'm proud of what you did today. You showed Peter what happens when he dares to cross the Osborns. Mary Jane is going to find out really quickly who she should be with."

Harry smiled

"Yeah, I sure made Peter look like an idiot in front of her." he said, proudly.

Norman nodded.

"That you did, Harry. Keep up the good work and soon she'll be begging to be your girlfriend again. I want you to know that for the first time, you have really accomplished something. I am proud to have you as my son."

Harry beamed as tears came to his eyes.He had been waiting a lifetime to hear those words.

"I won't let you down, dad. Parker will pay for your death. I won't ever have second thoughts about it ever again."

"Good. I'm glad to hear you say that. Now, give Parker time to recover. It won't be any fun if he can't fight back."

Harry grinned evilly as Norman matched his expression in the mirror. The house suddenly rang with a chorus of cackles before becoming silent again.

*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*

Part Six

Peter groaned. He opened his eyes and winced at the sunlight streaming in thru the balcony doors. He raised up and put his head in his hands trying to get rid of the throbbing in his head. He pulled back however as he felt another sharp pain and he reached up and touched his face. He grimaced as he touched the area around his eye. Judging from the pain, he figured he had a huge bruise or a black eye. He took a quick assessment of his body and saw that most of it was covered with either bruises or cuts.

"Damn you, Harry." he muttered under his breath.

He looked up as he suddenly saw Mary Jane out in the hallway. She paused and stared at him. Peter glanced over at the alarm clock and looked at her.

"MJ? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

Mary Jane scoffed and went into the bathroom.

"Go to work while you are lying in bed hurt? Peter, you are far more important to me than waiting tables." she said reaching into the medicine cabinet and grabbing some cotton balls and peroxide. "I called in sick and if Enrique doesn't like it, he can kiss my ass." she said walking over to Peter.

She sat down as Peter scooted over to make room for her. Mary Jane stared at the wounds with an ache in her heart. She swallowed back tears.

"How are you feeling this morning, hon?" she asked, tentatively.

Peter sighed.

"Better. My arms feel better now. I can move them around and not feel like i'm going to pass out from the pain." he smiled at Mary Jane."Being Spider-Man has allowed me to heal faster than I normally would."

He winced as Mary Jane rubbed some peroxide on a cut. As it began to bubble, she gave Peter an amused grin.

"You mean to tell me big, bad, Spider-Man can't stand having peroxide on a cut?"she teased.

Peter chuckled.

"Well, aunt May always used to put peroxide on every little cut and scrape when I was growing up. I think she had several cases of it hidden somewhere. She was so scared I was gonna get infection with every little mishap. So, i've grown to loathe it." he said, winking.

"Well, Peter. If you hate peroxide that much, I think you've chosen the wrong profession." she said, pouring more peroxide onto a cotton ball.

Peter sighed.

"Most of the time I don't get hurt too badly. It's the Goblins and those hybrids that gave me the most trouble." he said, grimly.

Mary Jane paused in mid rub and looked up at Peter

"Goblins? Plural?" her eyes widened. "You mean there's two?"

Peter shook his head.

"No, this Goblin is the second Green Goblin. The other one died in front of me." he said, still reluctant to tell Mary

Jane their identities.

He looked down at her.

"Hon, I don't think you really have to do that. I've had those cuts since last night. They've had all that time to become infected, so it wouldn't do any good to clean them now."

Mary Jane nodded.

"I know. But it gives me something to do to take my mind off of what happened last night." she said softly.

Peter kissed her forehead.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that, MJ." he said.

"In a way, I'm glad he did do that. I wouldn't want you to be lying in a dumpster far away from our apartment. Not after what that bastard did to you."

Peter flinched as an image of Harry popped into his head. He stared as Mary Jane suddenly stopped cleaning his wounds and looked out at the balcony.

"I heard him call me MJ." she mused.

She looked over at Peter

"No one calls me MJ except for you and Harry."

She looked back to the balcony as she continued to think. Peter watched her knowing that soon he was gonna have to reveal the painful truth to her.

"You did call me MJ when we were hanging together under the bridge. But, he wasn't that close to us then. Could he have heard us?" she shook her head and looked at Peter. "When you were in that abandoned building, did you say MJ in front of the Goblin?"

Peter shook his head. He sighed deeply, figuring he might as well get it over with.

"The Goblin called you MJ because he knows you...personally." he said.

Mary Jane's eyes widened.

"He...does?"

Peter nodded.

"Does he know who you are?"

Peter nodded.

"Oh my God. Then, that's why he went after aunt May?"

Peter's gut tightened at the memory of aunt May in the hospital.

"Yes." he said.

"Oh God, Peter. Then he probably knows my family and our friends. We better warn Harry! He could go after..."

She stopped as she noticed Peter giving her a hard stare. She stared at him in confusion and then it slowly dawned on her. She began to shake her head.

"No....It can't be...He can't be....can he?" she looked at Peter, who slowly nodded. "But, why? He....he's your best friend, Peter. He's been your friend since high school. Why would he do what he did to you last night? Why would he try to kill me? I thought he loved me!"

Peter shook his head, sadly.

"No, MJ. That wasn't Harry with you on the bridge." He swallowed hard. "It was his dad."

Mary Jane's eyes widened and she gasped.

"Norman?"

Peter nodded.

"But why?"

Peter shook his head.

"I don't know, MJ. I really don't. I can't imagine what would drive someone to murder in cold blood like he did. He killed the board members of Oscorp at the World Unity Festival, so maybe part of it was that they had wronged him in some way."

Mary Jane thought.

"I remember before he threw that bomb, he did scream at them. He yelled something like "Out, am I?" So maybe they were trying to get rid of him and he..." she gulped as she saw the board members disintegrating in her minds eye.

She thought for a moment.

"How did he find out it was you?" she asked.

"Remember that huge cut I had on my arm at Thanksgiving?"

Mary Jane nodded.

"That wasn't from a bike messenger. One of Norman's razor bats did that. I was trying to deflect them as they went past and I missed once and it sliced me across the arm. I didn't know then that Norman was the Goblin. When he saw the cut, and when I lied to him about it, that was what caused him to storm off like he did.

Mary Jane nodded.

"I wondered why he suddenly started acting strange." she said.

"Well apparently, he decided to use his new found knowledge to strike back at me by harming aunt May and...you." he said, squeezing her hand.

His brow furrowed.

"The thing is...before he died. He asked me not to tell Harry he was the Goblin, and I didn't. So, somehow, Harry found out anyway and now he's sworn revenge on me because he thinks I killed Norman."

"Did you, Peter?" Mary Jane asked.

Peter shook his head.

"He tried to impale me with his glider and I jumped over it at the last minute and it impaled him. So, he killed himself...accidentally."

Mary Jane shook her head, sadly

"Oh, how horrible."

Peter nodded.

"Yes, It was even more horrible to watch. Especially since he thought of me as a son, practically."

Mary Jane took his hand.

"So, what do we do, Peter?" she asked

Peter looked at her.

"You are going away from the city, for starters."

"No, Peter. I'm not leaving." she said, firmly.

"Yes, you are, MJ. I'm not gonna see you dropped from another bridge, again. You are going to go where it's safe until Harry is stopped."

Mary Jane sighed.

"And what if I do and Harry finds me and comes after me? I'll be miles away from you and at his mercy. By the time you reach me, he could have dropped me from a bridge and you would be too late. No Peter, I think that's a bad idea. I think it would be what Harry would want you to do. Divide and conquer!'

Peter stared at Mary Jane and sighed.

"You're right, MJ. That is probably what he's hoping I do. Send you away so he has a clear shot at you. Alright, MJ, you can stay. I'd rather have you here, anyway. But I'm want you to be careful. If anything looks suspicious, I want you to get to safety and if I'm not around, which probably won't be likely because I'm gonna keep an eye on you, I want you to dial 911, if you can. Got it?"

Mary Jane nodded as she wrapped her arms around Peter.

"Got it." she whispered.

*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*

Part Seven

The next morning, Mary Jane and Peter both dressed for work. Peter frowned as he put on his Spider-Man costume. He hated that Mary Jane was leaving the relative safety of the apartment to go to work. But, she couldn't afford to lose her job. They were barely able to live on what they made now.

Mary Jane entered the bedroom and put her arms around Peter. They kissed passionately. Peter looked at her as they finished.

"MJ, I want you to be careful today. I'm gonna keep an eye on the diner as much as I can. If anything needs my attention, I'm gonna take care of it quick and get back to you. I don't want to leave you alone unless I absolutely have to. Hopefully, nothing will happen. But, you never know." he said.

Mary Jane nodded.

"I'm not afraid, Peter. I know you are gonna be watching over me." she said, stroking his cheek

Peter sighed.

"I wish I had the same confidence in me that you have, MJ." he said.

"Oh Peter, You've saved my life four times now. I have faith in you, hon." she said, kissing him.

*Yes, four times. Four times I've been lucky. But I'm scared someday my luck is gonna run out."Peter thought to himself.

He glanced over at the clock, trying to get his mind on something else.

"Are you almost ready, MJ?" he yelled out. "It's almost time to go"

"I'm ready, Peter. I just need to put my hair up and then I'm done."

"Okay, I'm gonna head for the roof then." Peter said.

"Okay."

Peter grabbed his duffel bag with his street clothes and camera inside and checked to make sure no one was watching and then quickly ran out onto the balcony and jumped straight up the wall. He climbed up onto the top of the building and watched the front entrance of the apartment waiting for Mary Jane to appear. After about five minutes she emerged and looked up, Peter waved at her to let her know he was there and she started off to the bus stop while Peter jumped across the rooftops shadowing her. Reaching the bus stop, Mary Jane glanced up again and Peter gave another wave. After a few moments, the bus pulled up and Mary Jane got on. Peter waited until the doors closed before he jumped off the building and landed silently on the roof of the bus. He put the duffel bag under him and flattened himself as much as he could against the roof as the bus roared away into traffic. After about twenty minutes and a couple of stops, the bus finally reached the stop nearest to the Moondance Cafe. Peter shot out a web line and quickly catapulted himself back up to the rooftops as Mary Jane stepped off the bus. Mary Jane looked up as the bus pulled away and Peter showed his face to her. Mary Jane smiled as she blew him a kiss and giggled as Peter pretended to catch it and hold it to his cheek.

She walked the remaining distance to the diner as Peter lept along keeping his eyes on her at all times until she reached the cafe and with one last glance up at him, went inside and went to work.

***********************************

Peter yawned as he stretched his aching legs. He'd been keeping watch on the cafe for nearly four hours now. Luckily, the only thing that had happened in that time was an attempted carjacking that had happened about a block over. Peter had spent less than five minutes taking out the thug and had even managed to get a couple of great shots of him teaching the crook a lesson. After tying up him up with webbing and recieving the grateful thanks of the woman who owned the car, Peter had quickly swung back to his post.

And there he sat, bored out of his mind, casually watching the people going in and out of the diner. Occasionally, he would see Mary Jane waiting on one of the tables by the windows and she would always look up at the building to make sure he was there before leaving the table.

A couple of times he had heard that Enrique screaming at Mary Jane. Even though he was across the street, he could hear him loud and clear. Peter rolled his eyes. He hoped Mary Jane found some good acting roles soon so she could stop taking abuse from the obnoxious creep. He smiled to himself as he considered going into the diner and sealing his mouth shut with his webbing.

"Nah, that would get MJ fired." he said, chuckling to himself as he thought of it happening.

************************************

"Alright, Enrique! Geez." Mary Jane said to herself, as she headed back to pick up some of the orders that were ready.

"What is it now, Mary Jane?"

Mary Jane looked over as her friend and co-worker, Peggy, came up behind her.

"What is it everytime, Peggy? Enrique thinks i'm not working fast enough as usual." Mary Jane said grabbing a tray.

As she began to fill it up with plates, she continued to talk to Peggy.

"I tell ya, Peggy. The man is driving me insane. I have half a mind to dump this tray of food over his head."

"Mary Jane, you shouldn't have to take this. You're smart! You deserve an acting career. Heck, the way you put on that fake smile when you're waiting on snotty customers, you deserve an academy award just for that."

Mary Jane giggled.

"Thanks Peggy. I agree with you there." she said, smiling at her.

The smile fell away and she rolled her eyes as she heard Enrique yell.

"Hey Miss Watson, This ain't no social club! Get to work!"

"It'd never be mistaken for a social club with the smell of the burnt food and Enrique's farts stinking up the place."Mary Jane muttered to Peggy.

Enrique watched in confusion as both of them broke out in uncontrollable giggling as they went to wait on their respective tables.

**********************************

Mary Jane sighed as she stretched her back. It was an hour until the end of her shift and she was anxious to get home and spend time with Peter. She was glad he was watching over her. The day had been unpleasant but at least there had been no Goblin attack. She frowned as she thought of Harry. She still couldn't believe he was the Green Goblin. She couldn't even begin to fathom why he would take his dad's place just to get back at Spider-Man. When she was growing up, she had taken plenty of abuse from her father and had thought of ways to get back at him when she was crying in her room. But she had never once considered murder as an option. She just wasn't that way. Up until yesterday, she didn't think Harry was that way either.

She was jolted out of her thoughts as she heard Enrique call out.

"Miss Watson! Phone Call for you!"

Mary Jane furrowed her brow as she tried to think who would call her at work. The only one who would was Peter and he was outside. As she walked back to the break room, she notice Enrique muttering and scowling at her. She knew he hated people having to pull themselves away from work to take personal phone calls. She knew she had to be brief to avoid making Enrique angrier than he already was. She entered the break room and saw the reciever lying on the table by the phone. She picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Miss Watson?" a deep male voice asked hesitantly.

"This is..."she said, not recognizing the voice.

"Hello, My name is Bill Stevens. I'm with the New York Theater Company. You were recommended to us by another theater. They said they didn't hire you because you weren't what they were looking for, but they were inpressed with your reading and thought you might like to come and audition for us? We are currently holding auditions for the part of Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera. Are you interested?"

Mary Jane gasped. Phantom was one of her favorite musicals.

"Yes, yes, I'd be very interested."she said.

"Excellent! If you don't mind, we'd like you to come over tonight after you finish work? The auditions are about to close and we want to be sure that we get you in."

Mary Jane hesistated. She knew the theater was only two blocks from the diner, but she was unsure she should go and audition. She was taking a risk now just coming to work.

"Miss Watson, are you there?" Bill asked.

"Um, yeah. Listen, I don't think I can make it tonight. Can I come over sometime during the day, maybe?" she asked, wanting to talk to Peter first and let him know about it.

"Well...we'd really love to see you tonight. We have a full schedule tomorrow and there's no way to really fit you in. It won't be a very long audition, no more than ten minutes. We'd love to have you try out."

Mary Jane bit her lip. She knew it might be the opportunity of a lifetime and her big break.

*I can always talk to Peter when I get outside.* she thought *He'd want me to take this audition, i'm sure of it.*

"Alright, I'll be there."she said.

*************************************

The shift finally ended and Mary Jane rushed to the break room. She reached into her locker and pulled out some spare clothes she kept in there so she didn't have to go home with a greasy uniform on. She went into the bathroom, shut the door and began to change.

Peter stretched his stiff muscles. He knew Mary Jane's shift was over and it was time to go home. He was glad nothing major had happened and especially glad Harry hadn't shown up. As he stretched his arms, his spider sense suddenly kicked in. He turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw the Green Goblin fly up out of the alley beside the building.

"Glad to see you're all better, Peter. I guess I'll have to try harder to kill you next time." he taunted.

Peter pushed aside thoughts of friendship and glared at him. For the moment, Harry was a threat..to him and to Mary Jane.

"You aren't gonna get that chance, Gobby." Peter said, deliberately avoiding calling him Harry so he could focus on protecting the woman he loved.

"Ooooo, I'm so scared." the Goblin mocked him. "You need to mellow out, Peter. Maybe even take a rest." the Goblin raised his glove and Peter watched as green smoke came out of his fingers. Peter recognized it as the gas Norman had used when he had temporarily paralyzed him outside the Bugle. He quickly did a blackflip and landed safely out of the gas's reach.

"That worked with your dad, but it won't work with you!" Peter said.

He was taken aback as instead of being angry, the Goblin began to chuckle.

"Well...if you are gonna be difficult, I guess I'll have to have fun somewhere else. Hmmm, maybe I can bomb an apartment building for fun!"

Peter watched horrified as the Goblin lifted off and headed off towards downtown.

"Shit!" he muttered as he jumped off the building and shot out a strand. He began to follow the Gobin. He wanted to stop him from bombing a building and hopefully also distracting him long enough for Mary Jane to get on the bus and go home. He cursed as the Goblin reached a building about five blocks away from the diner and darted into the alley beside it. Bracing himself for anything, Peter swung in after him.

****************************************

Mary Jane stepped outside and tucked her dirty outfit under her arm. She looked up at the building across the street searching for Peter. She frowned as she couldn't find him. She looked around and saw Peggy waving as she and a bunch of other workers were heading for home. She looked back up at the building.

*Maybe he won't show himself since there are other people around me who might see him* she thought.

Looking borh ways, she ran across the street and stood in front of the building. She looked around and noticed she was pretty much by herself for the moment. Feeling like an idiot, she looked up towards the top and began to talk in a loud voice.

"Peter? I hope you can hear me. Listen, I got an audition. They want me to go to this little theater a couple blocks from here and read for the part of Christine in Phantom of the Opera. I can't see you but I just want you to know so you can follow me."

She shut up as she noticed a few people giving her odd stares as they passed by. She sighed as she started off trusting that Peter was following high above her and was only keeping silent because of the risk of being seen.

********************************************

Peter couldn't understand it. What was Harry up to? First he lured him to the alley and once he was in there with him, instead of attacking, Harry merely flew around in circles laughing as Peter tried to move as fast as he could to get him. After about fifteen minutes of flying around and taunting Peter, the Goblin suddenly hit a turbo button on his glider and took off like a shot into the sky. His cackle trailing after him as he rapidly disappeared from view. Peter climbed up to the rooftop of the apartment and stared after him scratching his head in confusion as he wondered what had just happened. Shaking his head in frustration, he started back towards home.

*********************************************

Mary Jane walked through the theater door and looked around trying to figure out where to go. She shrugged and started off down the hallway hoping she would run into the auditorium. Luckily, she found it almost immediately and went inside. She paused as she noticed that there was a single person down near the front sitting in the semi-darkness.

"Mr. Stevens?" she said, hesitantly.

She saw him nodding and pointing towards the stage. She gulped as she quickly ran through the monologue she usually used when she auditioned. She hoped it would be alright. She walked past him and climbed the steps to the stage.

"I have something prepared, I hope that's okay..." she said.

She turned around and her eyes widened as she noticed he had followed her up onto the stage. She began to tremble as Harry, unmasked and still wearing his body armor, smirked at her.

"That's perfectly alright, MJ. I have something prepared for you as well." he said.

She watched as he raised his gloved hand and shot green gas into her face. As Mary Jane fell to the floor, the last thing she heard was a cackling laugh.

*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*

Part Eight

Mary Jane slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She saw that she was strapped to a table in a what looked like a small laboratory. As she looked off to her right, she could see the Goblin's glider and flight suit resting in the corner. Mary Jane's eyes widened and she frantically looked around for Harry, but he was nowhere in sight. Suddenly her eyes darted towards the door as it opened. Harry stepped inside and walked over to the front of the table.

"I see you're awake."he said with a smirk."Good, now we can talk."

Mary Jane glared at him.

"I have nothing to say to you." she said, trying to control the fear in her voice.

Harry chuckled

"That's okay, MJ. I'll do the talking then." he said walking around to his side.

Mary Jane turned her head away from him. Suddenly, she felt Harry's hand grab her throat. He jerked her head back around and snarled at her.

"Don't turn away from me, Mary Jane. Otherwise your precious Peter might end up in another dumpster....dead. He may be Spider-Man, but that doesn't make him invincible."

Mary Jane gulped.

"Alright, I'm listening." she said softly.

"I thought you might change your mind after that." Harry said, smugly.

He stroked her face reverently.

"You know, MJ. It's kinda ironic that you left the safety that Peter provided you to go to an audition for Phantom of the Opera. 'Cause you know that Phantom is all about a lonely and misunderstood man who hides his face behind a mask and falls in love with a beautiful woman who is in turn in love with a childhood friend. At first the woman swears to love the Phantom forever, but slowly she turns back to the other man leaving the Phantom full of rage and jealousy and a desire to see his rival die. Sound familiar, MJ?"

"Yes, Harry. I get the irony." MJ said. "I'm surprised you actually know about the musical since you avoided anything with singing in it like the plague."

She expected Harry to lash out for her snide comment, but instead he laughed.

"You're right MJ, I've never seen the musical but I did see one of the old movie versions last Holloween on AMC's Monsterfest."

Mary Jane snorted softly

*And that is the biggest difference between you and Peter.* she thought *Peter actually would want to go see the musical or read the book whereas you would just be content to veg out in front of the tv and watch the movie.*

She knew that the only reason Harry had graduated high school was that Peter had been willing to sit down with him and help him study. Otherwise, he never would have made it.

*And after all that Peter did for him, this is how Harry repays him." she thought angrily.

"What is it you want from me, then?" Mary Jane asked him, already having an idea what the answer would be.

"I want you, MJ. I want you back in my life as my lover." Harry said, stroking her hair.

Mary Jane sighed. She had been correct. Peter had told her there had been a kind of rivalry between them in the past.

"I don't love you anymore, Harry. I love Peter." she told him.

Harry's eyes flashed anger.

"How can you even love someone who murdered my dad in cold blood?" he spat out.

"Harry, Peter didn't murder your father. Your father impaled himself on his glider on accident when HE tried to kill Peter."

"LIAR!" Harry screamed in her face." He would have never impaled himself on his glider. That's something an idiot would do and my dad was no idiot!"

"I never said he was, Harry. But sometimes even the most brilliant people can make a mistake or two." Mary Jane said.

"Really MJ? Brilliant people like Peter Parker, you mean? He sure as hell made a mistake or two when he killed my dad and stole you from me!" Harry said, sarcastically.

"Peter never did either of those things!" Mary Jane protested. "It was your dad's fault he died and he didn't steal me from you. I wanted to be with him! I've always loved him, Harry. I just couldn't see it because I didn't think I deserved someone like him."

"Are you sure that's you talking, Mary Jane, or has Peter done something to you?" Harry said.

Mary Jane stared at him in confusion.

"What? What are you talking about, Harry?"

"How do you know one of Peter's new talents as Spider-Man isn't controlling people's minds?" Harry said, folding his arms over his chest. "You said you suddenly realized you loved Peter. Maybe the reason why you suddenly realized it is Peter put the idea in your head! How do you know you aren't in his power at this very moment and that you truly want me?"

Mary Jane rolled her eyes. She was starting to see this was becoming a pointless argument. No matter what she said, Harry wasn't going to believe it.

"I just know in my heart Peter wouldn't do something like that." she said simply.

Harry snorted.

"Well, after tonight, Peter is not gonna have any hold over you anymore." he said.

Mary Jane's eyes widened.

"What do you mean, Harry?" she asked, as fear began to creep into her voice.

"I mean, MJ, that tonight you are going to be reborn. You are going to take some of dad's serum and become like me. Then together, we will rid the world of Spider-Man. We will punish Peter for all the sins he has committed."

Mary Jane began to tremble.

"I don't...want to become like you." she said. "Harry, don't do this. Let Peter help you find a cure so you can be normal again."

"NORMAL?" Harry spat out. "Look at Peter, MJ. Is he normal? The man is part freakin' spider. Is that normal to you? If I need to be treated, then so does he, because the last time I looked normal people didn't climb up walls and swing around on their own webs."

"I agree, Harry. Peter is not normal either. But unlike you, Peter has come to terms with what's happened to him and uses his abilities to help mankind. I don't think I can say the same for you."

Mary Jane grunted as Harry slapped her hard in the face. She tasted blood on her lip as she glared at Harry. Her glare softened as she noticed Harry staring at his hand with a mixture of shock and guilt on his face.

"Harry" Mary Jane said softly. "Please let Peter help you. He'll find a way to cure you. He doesn't want you to become like your dad. You're not a bad person, Harry. I can see how guilty you feel from hitting me. You've misunderstood so much. Peter is not the bad guy here. He never was."

Harry stood silently listening to her. Mary Jane began to think that maybe he was finally listening to reason. She knew there was hope for him and she had faith that Peter could find the way to turn him back into the man she once knew.

"I...didn't mean to hit you like that, MJ." Harry said softly.

"I know you didn't Harry. It's that serum you took. It's affecting your mind. That's why you need someone to help you." she said,gently.

"Peter can help me?" Harry said, hesitantly.

Mary Jane breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he was beginning to come out of the madness.

"Yes, Harry. Peter can help, I'm sure of it. Please let me go and we'll go talk to him."she said.

*She's lying*

Harry blinked as he suddenly heard Norman's voice echo in the room.

"Dad?" he asked, as Mary Jane stared at him in confusion.

*What are you doing? The little bitch is lying to you. Are you too stupid to see it?* Norman's voice said.

Harry looked around trying to find his dad. He stopped as he noticed his dad's reflection in the polished steel wall behind him. As Mary Jane looked on, Harry stepped up to the reflection.

"She sounds sincere, dad. Maybe there is something wrong with me." he said to the reflection.

*Bah! She's the one who's wrong, Harry! Not you. She's only telling you this so you'll set her free. Then she'll go get Parker to finish you off! Stop thinking with your dick, Harry and start thinking with your head for Christ's sake! Parker is the enemy and she's trying to get you to surrender. Can't you see that, or do I have to do the thinking here?*

"No dad, I see your point." Harry said.

"Harry?"Mary Jane called out behind him. "Are you okay? Why are you talking to the wall?"

"I'm talking to my dad, MJ!" Harry called out exasperated.

Mary Jane's eyes widened as she realized Harry's madness was returning.

"Harry, your dad isn't really there. It's all in your mind!" she cried out in desparation.

*See, son. She's trying to decieve you! I'm really here and she knows it. She just doesn't want me here because it would spoil her plans to get you to surrender.* Norman said, pointing back to Mary Jane.

Harry nodded.

*If anyone is crazy in this room, it's her. She'd rather bed a criminal like Parker than someone who is destined for greatness like you." he continued. "You need to change her mind, Harry. You need to give her the serum and open her eyes to the truth. She has no idea how wonderful the serum is, how much power and intelligence it brings. She'd rather be with that stupid wallcrawler than with someone who will rule the world someday. When the time comes, Peter will be on his knees worshipping you along with everyone else. If things continue as they are, then Mary Jane will be beside him. But, if you give her the serum, she'll be at your side and she will join you in looking down on him as he begs for you to spare his worthless life. Which will it be, son? Concubine or consort? You can have her either way, but it's up to you whether you want to force her to love you or let her love you of her own free will.*

"Consort" Harry said

Norman smiled broadly.

*That's my boy! Now hurry up and administer the serum before Parker figures out where you are."

Harry nodded and watched as Norman's reflection vanished and was replaced with his own. He slowly turned around and chuckled as Mary Jane stared at him, terrified.

"I just had a talk with dad." he said." And I've decided to follow his advice and give you the serum."

Mary Jane shook her head.

"No Harry, Don't do it! Harry, please." she pleaded

"Shut up, MJ! Once you've completed the transformation. Peter's hold over you will be gone forever and you'll see reason again!" he grinned at her. "Now, let's get ready, shall we?"

*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*-----------------------------*

Part Nine

Peter rested against the wall of the elevator as it went up to his apartment. He still couldn't figure out what Harry's game was. He couldn't understand why Harry would lead him to an alley only to fly around and circles and laugh at him and then suddenly for no reason at all just take off into the sky. He sighed as the elevator stopped at his floor. He hoped Mary Jane wasn't too angry that he had just gone off and left her. He opened the door of his apartment and looked around.

"MJ?" He said.

He stepped inside and closed the door hoping that Mary Jane wasn't giving him the silent treatment. He glanced around and saw no one.

*She must be up in our bedroom waiting for me to come to the balcony* he thought.

He started slowly up the stairs.

"MJ, listen, I'm sorry. Harry showed up and I had to see what he was up to. I..."

He paused at the top of the stairs and looked around. Everything was dark and silent. He walked to the bedroom thinking maybe Mary Jane had gone to bed. He reached the bedroom door and looked in.His brow furrowed as he noticed that the bed had not been slept in. He walked to the balcony doors and looked out wondering if she was sitting there. He frowned as he saw no one.

*Where is she?* he thought.

For a moment he wondered if maybe the bus she was on was stuck in heavy traffic. Then, it suddenly dawned on him why Harry might have wanted him to follow him away from his post and why he had suddenly left.

*Oh God, no!* he thought as guilt flooded his mind.

Not wanting to believe it, he ran through the apartment making sure Mary Jane was truly gone. He slumped against a wall as he saw that not only was she not there, but that she had not been home since that morning. He looked over and spied the tv set. He rushed to it and turned it on. He flipped through the local channels, CNN, and FOX News

half expecting there to be a news bulletin about the Green Goblin and a woman on top of the Queensboro bridge again. He sighed when he found nothing. He knew after the first attack with the trolley that the police had helicopter patrols around all bridges to keep an eye out in case the Goblin resurfaced. He knew that if Harry had been flying anywhere near the Queensboro bridge they would have seen him. Which meant he had taken her someplace else. But, where? Peter sat and racked his brains trying to think of obvious places he could be. But apart

from the bridges and Oscorp, he couldn't think of any.

*He wouldn't take her to Oscorp, the security is too tight there and besides, even if he did, surely someone would have seen him and reported it.*

He pursed his lips in thought. He could think of only one other place and that was the mansion.

*But, that's crazy. Harry knows I know who he is. The mansion would be too obvious.*

Peter sighed.

*Still, I might as well start there and see if maybe Harry left a clue to his whereabouts there.*

Peter hoped for Mary Jane's sake he did.

********************************************

"Quit whining, MJ. You'll feel alot better after you've taken the serum."

Harry had finally managed to get Mary Jane locked down onto the lab table. It had been a struggle. First, he made the mistake of unstrapping Mary Janes legs first with the result that as he finished unstrapping her arms and chest, she had surprised him by suddenly kicking him hard in the balls. He was wearing his flight suit so it didn't affect him as much as it might have. But still, it was hard enough to drop him to his knees for a couple of seconds. But even those few seconds didn't do Mary Jane any good. Harry managed to tackle her just as she reached the door. He slapped her hard across her cheek as a way of showing her who was boss, but it only served to infuriate her more and she squirmed and kicked all the way to the lab table. Harry had to lay on top of her to keep her down while he restrained her all the while trying to avoid her mouth as she tried to bite him. Now finally, she was immobile. Harry panted and puffed which actually seemed to amuse Mary Jane.

"Can't handle a girl, Harry?" she said, mockingly.

Harry stared at her. He had to admit he admired her bravery and fighting spirit. They would come in handy when she had to fight Spider-Man with him. However, her reluctance to accept her destiny annoyed him deeply. He was going to have the last laugh when it was all over and she realized just how great a gift he had given her.

"You've got guts, MJ. But I bet you anything you won't be so cocky when the gas starts swirling around you." he said, pointing up to the chamber.

Harry smirked as he noticed a hint of fear in her eyes.

*That's what I thought. You're confident Peter is gonna swing in here any moment and save you. But I think deep down you know he's never gonna find this lab. At least, not in time to do you any good.* he though* Sorry Pete, you'll just have to learn to deal with loss like I did. Mary Jane is gonna be mine just like it should be. Nice guys do

finish last, it seems.*

He snickered to himself as he picked up a small bottle from a table against the wall and turned to Mary Jane.

"You're going to have to swallow this before you go into the chamber." he said, pointing to the bottle

"I'm not swallowing anything." Mary Jane shot back.

Harry sighed

*Just gonna make this as difficult as you possibly can. Right, MJ?* he thought. *Okay, I don't want to use force but since you aren't leaving me with any alternatives...*

"Drink it!" he commanded Mary Jane as he stood beside her.

Mary Jane responded by slamming her mouth shut.

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. He grabbed her nose and pinched the nostrils together holding the bottle directly over her mouth. He watched as Mary Jane fought to keep her mouth shut.

"Give it up, MJ. Peter isn't coming." Harry said as he watched Mary Jane's face turn a bright red. " You might as well just get it over with."

Mary Jane shook her head and shut her eyes as the red in her face turned a deeper shade. Harry began to wonder how long she could hold her breath. Every minute he had to wait bought more time for Peter. He knew that Peter had probably figured out by now that Mary Jane had been taken and he knew that Peter would either check the bridges or the mansion first. He hoped he started with the bridges. Suddenly, he heard Mary Jane let out a huge gasp and he saw she had finally failed at holding her breath. Quickly he turned over the bottle and put it in her mouth using his hand to make her jaw come up around the mouth of the bottle as the liquid poured in. When he saw that it was finished, he quickly threw the bottle over his shoulder and used his other hand to press down on the top of her head keeping her mouth closed so she couldn't spit the liquid out. He rolled his eyes as he watched Mary Jane struggle to keep from swallowing.

"Dammit, MJ!" he cursed

He shifted so his elbow was now against the top of her head. He reached over and grabbed her nose again.

"You are gonna swallow this!" he said.

Mary Jane fought hard to keep the liquid in her mouth. Tears began to form in her eyes as she mentally begged Peter to stop Harry.

"C'mon, c'mon." Harry muttered to himself.

Finally, Mary Jane couldn't resist any more and she felt the liquid go down her throat leaving a sour taste in her mouth. Tears ran down her cheeks as she felt Harry let go of her nose and jaw and give out a little yell.

"FINALLY!" he hollared.

Mary Jane knew that there wasn't much time left. She decided to make one last effort. Praying that Peter was in the house, she opened her mouth and screamed.

"PEEEEEEEEEEEETEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!"

****************************************

Peter drew his hand back as the glass window shattered. He was breaking and entering, but at the moment, he didn't care. Mary Jane was all that mattered. He carefully stepped through the broken glass into Norman Osborn's bedroom. The same bedroom where he had laid Norman's dead body a month and a half ago. He looked around and noticed everything was dark and quiet like it had been at the apartment. Cautiously, he stepped out into the hallway. He wasn't sure where to look for clues. The mansion was huge and he knew every moment counted. He walked down the hallway pausing at every door reaching out with his spider sense to see if Harry was inside. He finally reached what had been Norman's study and decided to start looking there. He entered the room and jumped as he thought he saw someone out of the corner of his right eye. He turned and looked and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it was only a huge mirror. He continued on to the desk at the back of the room. He began to examine papers and open drawers hoping he would find something. Suddenly, he paused and looked ahead, his eyes wide. His enhanced hearing had picked up a faint voice screaming his name. His breath caught in his throat as he realized it was coming from inside the house.

"MJ!" he said, as he bolted out the door.

******************************************

Mary Jane stared at Harry with wide, frightened eyes as the table she was on went backwards into the chamber and raised up so that she was in a vertical position. She watched as Harry began to type something into a computer nearby.

"Please, Harry. Please let me go!" she begged.

Harry paused and looked up at Mary Jane. He smirked at her fearful expression.

"Not so brave now, are we?" he said, mockingly. "Finally got it through your head that your knight in shining armor isn't going to save you? I guess I outwitted Peter!" he said, chuckling.

Suddenly, the door behind him flew off it's hinges and landed with a bang on the floor. Harry turned around and stared in disbelief as Peter stepped into the room.

"Guess again, Gobby!" he said.

Harry stared at the eye sheilds on Peter's mask and knew that Peter's eyes were full of rage behind them. He quickly put his index finger on top of the enter button.

"Come any closer and I start the gas chamber." he said, nodding his head towards the button.

Suddenly, Peter shot a web strand out and hit the keyboard. With a jerk of the strand, the keyboard flew off the computer desk and landed with a thud on the floor. Harry stared at it for a moment in shock and then turned around. He gasped as Peter had used those few seconds of shock to cross the room and was now in front of him. He grabbed Harry by the throat and threw him to the floor. As Harry landed, Peter fell to his knees and knelt over him, grabbing his throat again. As Harry stared at him, Peter reached up and pulled his mask off.

Harry gulped as Peter's blue eyes stared at him coldly.

"Let....her...go....Harry." Peter said, emphasizing each word

Harry began to feel a tremor of fear run through him. He had never, ever, seen Peter so pissed before. It amazed him that only a year or so ago, Peter was scared to make eye contact with anyone and always hunched as he walked, afraid that one wrong move would invite at best, ridicule and at worst, a beating. He certainly never had had the guts to glare at anyone. But, all that had changed and Harry saw a different Peter than the one he was used to. A courageous, confident, Peter that was willing to fight to the death for Mary Jane.

He realized he had severely underestimated Peter, and now he was paying for it.

"Let...her...GO!" Peter repeated.

"No Peter, she's mine!" Harry said, defiantly.

Harry watched as Peter's eyes narrowed and he felt his hand tighten around his neck. He suddenly remembered the fight in the hallway with Flash and how far he had traveled when he had punched him. He realized that Peter could snap his neck into without much effort. He also realized he had to try to reason as best he could with Peter or he would end up dead.

"Um...Look Pete, MJ belongs to me. You practically gave her to me, remember? In the science lab, when I told you to go talk to MJ, you told me to talk to her instead. You were too shy, so you lost out. admit it!"

"Yes, Harry. I did tell you that. But I was a geeky teenager then. Things have changed and so have I. I'm no longer afraid to speak up and I'm not afraid to fight, especially if MJ's life is at stake. Believe me Harry, you may have been my best friend, but if you hurt MJ, there is no place in the world you can hide from me. I'll find you and rip your mother fucking heart out!"

Harry's eyes widened. He had never heard Peter cuss before either. He was pretty sure his aunt May would have a stroke if she had heard him say that. He could tell from Peter's hard stare that he meant every word he had just said right down to the ripping out of his heart. He hoped Mary Jane wouldn't speak up and mention the slaps he had given her. He had a feeling that Peter would pummell his face into the ground upon hearing it. "Peter?" Mary Jane said.

*Oh shit, here we go. She's gonna tell!* Harry thought, grimly

Peter never took his eyes off of Harry.

"Yes, MJ?" he said.

"Can't you help Harry? There's still alot of good in him, Peter. He slapped me before and he felt guilty after he done it."

Harry sucked in his breath as he saw Peter raise his eyebrows and his eyes shot daggers at the word "slap". But a moment later, the hatred was gone and Harry could see Peter was thinking over what Mary Jane had said.

"Do you wanna be helped, Harry?"he asked him.

Harry blinked in surprise.

"You want to help me? After all I've done?" he said, warily.

He could see Peter's anger beginning to fade a bit.

"If you want help, Harry. I'll help you. But you have to trust me." Peter said. "And you have to free MJ and accept that she doesn't love you anymore...at least not as a lover."

"She does love me." Harry protested.

"No, Harry. I love Peter." Mary Jane said. "I love you as a friend, Harry and I care about you. I don't want you becoming an evil monster. Please let Peter help you."

Harry stared at Peter who was watching him with raised eyebrows. Part of him knew that Peter and Mary Jane were telling the truth. But another part of him still seethed with jealousy and hatred. He didn't want to end up a murdering monster, but on the other hand, he loved the strength and intelligence he now possessed. Before he had taken the serum, he had felt worthless and undeserving of his father. But, now he had power and his fathers approval.

"You can't go back to the way you were before, Peter. Neither can I." Harry said."I'm smarter now, faster, stronger. I can do what I want, when I want and to hell with everyone else"

"I used to feel that way too, Harry." Peter said. "Before I saw my uncle Ben lying on the sidewalk dead. All because I let a robber go that I should have stopped when I had the chance. Because I thought, "To hell with everyone else." It doesn't work that way, Harry. Uncle Ben told me just before he died..."With great power, comes great responsibilty." I learned the meaning of those words the hard way. Believe me, Harry. Take those words to heart. Don't let it take the loss of someone you love before you finally realize the lesson."

Harry stared at Peter as he thought over what he had just said.

"Did you kill my father?" he asked him

"No, Harry. I didn't kill your father."

Harry looked into Peter's eyes and saw he was being sincere.

"Then..why were you standing over my dad's body?" he asked, confused.

"I was bringing your dad back so he wouldn't be found lying dead in an abandoned building. I was trying to give your dad some dignity." Peter said, gently.

Tears came to Harry's eyes as he finally realized the truth.

"I want help. Please." he said.

"You agree with my conditions?"Peter asked.

Harry nodded.

Peter slowly released his grip on Harry's neck. He stood up and helped Harry to his feet. Harry walked over to the keyboard and punched in a code.

Peter watched as the lab table slid back down to a horizontal position and slid out of the chamber. Peter quickly undid the restraints and as Mary Jane sat up, he embraced and kissed her.

Harry watched as Mary Jane returned the embrace and the kisses with tears in her eyes. He sighed deeply wishing it was him instead of Peter who was the object of her affections. Suddenly Mary Jane hopped off the table and ran to Harry embracing him. She kissed him on the cheek as Harry returned the hug.

"Thank you for doing the right thing."she whispered in his ear.

"Thank you for believing in me." Harry whispered back.

As they broke the embrace, Mary Jane smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about the kick in the balls."she said.

Harry laughed.

"Aw, don't worry about it, MJ. I deserved it."

"Kick in the balls? You kicked him in the balls?" Peter said, amused.

Mary Jane giggled.

"Well, yes...What? You think I'm completely helpless, Peter Parker." she teased.

"No, not anymore."Peter said, with a grin. "I'll just remember not to piss you off from now on."

Laughing, the three of them headed out the door and up the stairs.

******************************************

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Peter lifted up Mary Jane's veil and kissed her lips. After a moment, they broke apart and turned to face everyone sitting in the church.

The minister grinned.

"May I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Parker." he said.

Peter and Mary Jane grinned as the cheering began again. Once it died down, the guests began to line up for the recieving line. Mary Jane and Peter stood and accepted each person's hugs and kisses and well wishes. Peter grinned as aunt May came up to him.

"Oh, Peter. I'm so happy for you!" she said kissing his cheeks.

"Thanks, aunt May." Peter said, kissing back.

"And I'm so glad you took my advice about telling Mary Jane how you really felt." she said.

"Me too, aunt May. It was the best advice you ever gave me!" Peter said.

Aunt May kissed Peter one more time before moving on to Mary Jane. Peter smiled at Harry as he stepped over.

"Hey, Pete."

"Hey, Harry"

"Congratulations"

"Thanks"

"I never thought you'd ever get married."

Peter laughed.

"That makes two of us."

Harry looked over at Mary Jane, who was hugging aunt May, and looked back

"If Mary Jane deserves to be with anyone, it's you, Pete. You and MJ are a perfect match."

"Wow, Harry. The brainwashing...I mean, the therapy must be working." Peter said, winking.

Harry chuckled.

"Yup, I expect the brainwashing...I mean, the therapy to continue for a long time but it's worth it. Thanks Pete, for giving me a chance and not just automatically turning my face into goo."

Peter laughed.

"You're welcome. Just don't become you-know-who again or I will turn your face into goo." he said.

"I won't." Harry said, laughing and holding up his hands.

"Hey! Can you move along? I have a paper to run!"

Peter rolled his eyes at Jameson who was waiting impatienly behind Harry.

"Speaking of wanting to turn someone's face into goo..." Peter whispered..

Harry snickered and moved onto Mary Jane as Jameson stomped in front of Peter.

"Congratulations, Parker." he muttered. "Hope the honeymoon doesn't last long, I'll need more pics of Spider-Man soon."

Peter groaned inwardly. He was glad Jameson hadn't been the Goblin. He doubted whether he would have been able to turn him like he turned Harry

"Yes,sir." he said, not really meaning it.

As Jameson grunted and moved on. Peter began to wish Jameson was coming along with them to Niagra Falls.

*If anyone deserves to go over the falls in a barrel, it's him.* he thought

Peter chuckled to himself as the line continued on. He felt Mary Jane squeeze his hand and he sighed. He knew it would be rough trying to be married with him being Spider-Man, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

THE END