Chapter 309: Gwen, Did You Forget?
Whoosh!
Harry glided through the sky on his glider, clutching his college classmate, Gwen Stacy, in his grip.
"AAAH!" Gwen screamed, the wind howling in her ears as she stared at the skyscrapers whizzing past at eye level.
"Shut up! If you scream one more time, I'll drop you right now!" Harry snapped. His head was pounding from the girl's constant shrieking.
To prevent Spider-Man from disabling his transport again, Harry had prepared ten backup gliders. It seemed his foresight had paid off. As for Gwen, she was just a convenient hostage. When everyone else had ducked for cover, she had been the only one standing out.
Hearing the masked madman's threat, Gwen immediately covered her mouth, praying fervently that the Spider-Man chasing them would save her.
"Green Goblin, put her down!" Peter shouted, chasing them desperately. Unfortunately, his web-swinging was always a step slower than the glider's jet propulsion.
"AHAHAHA! Spider-Man, you love saving people so much? Then come and get her!" Harry began circling the city. Simultaneously, he tapped his gauntlet's control panel to summon four more drones for support.
The chase led them over the spires of a large cathedral. Peter leaped onto the roof, staring up at the circling Goblin. "This is between us. It has nothing to do with her."
"Is that so? Maybe not. But I need her help for something," Harry said with a dark, demonic chuckle.
"What do you want?" Peter's focus was entirely on Gwen, his nerves frayed.
Harry stopped his circling and hovered in mid-air, his gaze turning malicious. "Where did you see me?"
"What are you talking about?" Peter asked, confused.
"Fine," Harry laughed coldly. "Let's skip that. When was the last time you saw me?"
"Uh... when you blew up that building?" Peter answered tentatively. He knew deep down what the Goblin was really asking.
"No!" Harry lost his patience. "Stop playing games, Spider-Man! You know exactly what I'm asking!"
"Then just ask it!" Peter said, trying to buy time.
"Have it your way." Harry suddenly let go of Gwen.
"AAAH!" Gwen squeezed her eyes shut, screaming. But a moment later, she realized her wrist was still caught in the Goblin's iron grip.
Harry ascended even higher, dangling Gwen by one arm. "I expect the next thing out of your mouth to be useful information, not more garbage."
"Okay! Okay! Just don't get excited," Peter's heart hammered against his ribs as Gwen dangled thousands of feet in the air.
"Relax. As long as you don't mess with me." In truth, Harry didn't want to kill Gwen; she was his classmate, after all. Despite his rage, he wasn't entirely heartless yet. If Spider-Man gave him the truth, he intended to let her go.
"It happened like this..." Peter began, keeping his voice steady as he recounted the events of the previous Green Goblin's explosion.
"NO!" Harry screamed as Peter finished. He fell into a state of frenzy. No! No! No! His father couldn't be dead!
"You killed my father!" Harry's face contorted behind his mask. His eyes were bloodshot, and tears blurred his vision.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't save him." Peter felt a pang of guilt, but he was also reeling from the revelation. The first Green Goblin was this one's father?!
Peter hadn't killed Norman; Norman had brought it on himself, caught in his own explosion. But Harry, blinded by grief and hatred, didn't care for nuances. Everything was Spider-Man's fault.
"Spider-Man, behind you!" Gwen suddenly screamed.
Peter's Spider-Sense blared. He ducked low just as the four drone gliders swooped in from behind. Each was equipped with razor-sharp blades and long, lethal spikes.
"Die!" Furious that his sneak attack failed, Harry shoved Gwen off the glider.
Peter was ready. He leaped into the air, caught Gwen in a mid-air embrace, and fired a web to swing her safely to the top of a nearby skyscraper.
Thud.
Peter landed gently, setting Gwen down on her feet.
"Phew... thank you," Gwen exhaled, her blue-gray eyes filled with intense gratitude.
"You're welcome. I'm—" Peter started, but he didn't finish. Harry swooped down, grabbed his arm, and yanked him off the roof.
"Watch out! Oh... no." Gwen took a few steps forward but stopped at the edge. She was alone on top of a skyscraper with no way down.
The Reinforcement
"AAAH!" Peter shouted as Harry dragged him through the air.
"I'm going to kill you!" Harry roared.
Peter delivered a sharp kick to the Goblin's side, the pain forcing Harry to let go.
Thwip!
Peter fired a web at the bottom of the glider and hung on. "Hey! You promised not to get excited!"
"Annoying bug!" Harry tapped his controls again. The four drone gliders swirled around, slicing through the air toward Peter.
Despite their speed, Peter's reflexes were superior. Using the web line like a gymnastics bar, he performed a series of 360-degree flips in mid-air. The blades whistled past him, missing by mere inches.
"Whew~ if this hero thing doesn't work out, I'm definitely trying out for Olympic gymnastics," Peter muttered to himself.
Snap!
Suddenly, one of the drones sliced through his web line. Peter lost his balance and began to fall, the four drones immediately converging on him for a final strike.
"Uh oh," Peter muttered, looking at the approaching metal.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In an instant, four small missiles streaked across the sky, blowing the drones into scrap metal.
"You're looking pretty pathetic, brother," Silas's voice echoed as he arrived just in time. He used his telekinesis to catch Peter in mid-air and hold him steady.
Peter caught his breath and quickly webbed himself over to the building where Silas was standing. "What are you doing here?" Peter had thought Silas wasn't going to get involved.
"If I didn't come, you'd be a pancake by now," Silas said, shaking his head. Peter was much stronger than his original timeline counterpart, but his combat experience still lagged behind, making him vulnerable to cheap shots.
"I had it under control," Peter said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Goodbye, Spider-Man! Next time, I'm taking your head!" Harry, seeing Spider-Man now had backup, decided to retreat. Dealing with one Spider-Man was hard enough; two was a losing game.
Silas watched Harry fly away but didn't use his powers to stop him. Peter needed the experience to grow.
"Alright, crisis averted. I'm heading out," Silas said, opening a shadow portal and stepping through.
Peter was about to swing home as well when Silas's voice drifted back to him.
"By the way... Gwen is still up there on that roof, shivering in the cold wind all by herself."
"Oh right! Gwen!"
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