Dan watched as Reed and his friends left his office before sighing and sinking into his chair.
Yuri closed the door, and not a moment later there was a knock on the window. Yuri and Dan sighed simultaneously when they saw Spider-Man waving to them, hanging upside down outside the window.
"Excuse my intrusion," he said as he entered the room and closed the window behind him.
He looked out the window to see Reed and his gang arguing right outside the police station before turning around and looking at Dan.
"That was a really flattering and quite accurate speech you just gave."
"Oh God," Dan groaned as he tried to make the chair hide him. "Please do not start."
"What? I am just saying I am really flattered that you think so highly of me."
"I guess you heard too, because I was so against you."
"Yeah, I think I know that now, but still, that does not change the fact that you were a total jerk about it," Spider-Man said while shrugging.
"You managed to erase most of the grudge I had against you, but I still want to kick your balls."
"That sounds good to me," he replied as he straightened up. "But I think you might want to hold back on doing that, since you would not like explaining to people how the NYPD chief ended up dead because of broken nuts."
"That seems fair to me. By the way, you should not worry about what he said last," Spider-Man said so that both Yuri and Dan could see him.
"I have contingency plans in case I turn against him, from neutralizing me to eliminating me," he said in a cold tone, making both officers' eyes widen.
"WHAT?!"
"I cannot afford to hurt innocent people. If something happens to me one day, or if I switch sides, I need to be neutralized or eliminated for everyone's sake, or in case someone with my powers is on the other side. I will keep the methods to myself."
"Gasp." He said while rubbing his temples.
"Part of me is amazed and terrified by your level of paranoia, even having plans to neutralize yourself or someone similar with your powers, but another part is relieved that I do not have to worry about you becoming corrupted." Yuri just came closer and hugged him.
"Tell me, do you have more of these plans?"
"Yes, but I cannot give you the details," Spider-Man said, which made Dan nod and Yuri put a little more force into the hug.
"Do you have any news?" Dan asked as Spider-Man sat down on the sofa with Yuri taking a seat next to him.
"No good ones. I was already on the glider when he escaped so there was no visible trace other than the smell of the Goblin's glider's thrusters, but I lost the trail once I passed through the industrial sector."
"Damn."
"I am going to scan the city area for any images that the CCTV cameras may have captured," Spider-Man said, then put on a serious face while watching a video clip. "Oh, shit."
"What is wrong?" Yuri asked worriedly as she stood up to explain, but Trish came in panting in alarm.
"The Green Goblin! He has Dr. Connors!"
Spider-Man clenched his fists as the footage showed several men in black masks dragging the unconscious Dr. Connors from his house before a damaged-looking Goblin appeared.
The men handed him over before he took off.
The footage cut as one of the henchmen's eyes met the camera and he fired, ending the recording.
"My problems are multiplying."
-------
"Argh." Connors groaned when he regained consciousness, opened his eyes, and when his vision stabilized, he found himself tied to a table in an unknown laboratory.
"Wh.... Where am I?! Who did this?!"
"Hello, Doctor Connors." Curtis felt his skin prickle all over his body as he heard a low, growling voice greet him from the side.
Slowly turning his head toward the sound, he felt sweat forming on his face as he came face to face with a tall, demonic silhouette.
The menacing figure turned toward him, and Connors' face paled as the Green Goblin's half-torn face emerged from the darkness. "I am sorry about this."
"Wh.... Who are you?" He stammered as the ugly creature walked toward him before kneeling and began to transform into its human form.
Connors gasped in disbelief that the monster had turned into his own boss. Norman bent down to his face level as Connors tried to back away. "O.... Osborn?!"
"Hello, Curtis," he greeted once more with a smile. The missing part was still visible on his face, both in his Goblin form and his human form, the wounds were still there.
"W-What happened to you?"
"Spider-Man!" He shouted as he backed away and turned back to the table where he was working.
"He has been a thorn in my side ever since that damn bug showed up! Always sticking his nose where it does not belong! Ruining my plans! Ruining everything!"
Connors said nothing as he tried to free himself from his restraints.
"But no more. Spider-Man is just an inconvenience. I will deal with him later, but now...." Norman stopped, turning to Curtis with a green vial in his hand and placing it in another machine.
"I will have to ask you to join me. Together we will conquer New York! We will take control of Maggia! The Hand! We will get rid of any pesky bug that might stand in our way, and soon the whole world will be in the palm of our hand!"
"You.... You are crazy! That formula is far from perfect! Injecting that right now might heal your face, but it will transform you into something monstrous and possibly uglier than before!"
Connors tried to explain and reason with Norman, who just smiled maliciously as he placed the vial in an injector and approached Connors, who opened his eyes in horror as he realized what was about to happen.
"Oh, I am really counting on that," Norman started laughing as he grabbed Connors and injected him with the serum.
"No, no, no, no! You cannot do this! You cannot do this to me! No, no, no, no.... no.... no...." Curtis began to scream, which only made Norman feel more pleasure as he watched the work begin, smiling sadistically to himself.
Connors stopped thrashing when he felt his heartbeat begin to drop. The Doctor's skin began to itch, then his eyes rolled back into the recesses of his skull.
His skin began to turn green with scales, then his face began to transform into a maw.
The restraints that held him began to give way and became too tight and small for him, then they could no longer withstand him and broke.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
"Good, very good," Norman smiled maliciously as he watched Curtis transform into a lizard-like monstrosity. "Very, very interesting."