"What the hell are you babbling about?!"
Peter spun around and kicked hard.
He didn't even need to look to know who it was—Kraven the Hunter, the guy he'd knocked out earlier.
This guy's endurance and willpower really were impressive. That kind of pain should've knocked him out longer, yet here he was, back on his feet already.
But none of that mattered in the face of overwhelming strength.
CRASH*
Kraven was slammed into a nearby glass container, shattering it instantly.
"Aaaagh!"
He screamed in terror.
Spiders poured out of the broken container, swarming over his body in a frenzy. In seconds, he was completely covered, their venom already surging through his veins.
Moments later, Kraven went still.
His face, his clothes—even under his skin—were crawling with venomous spiders. It was a horrifying, pitiful sight.
"Hey, listen, Spider-kid, I think you could learn a thing or two from those black widow spiders," Jonah called from behind. "Sure, I trash you in the papers all the time, but you know that's just my job. Truth is, I actually admire you. But today? You're a damn disappointment."
"Mercy is for the good. Show mercy to evil, and you're punishing the innocent."
Peter stayed silent for a moment… then turned and ran after the Green Goblin.
He wasn't stupid. In fact, he was incredibly smart.
He understood what Jonah meant.
He just couldn't accept it emotionally—not yet.
On a personal level, he still leaned toward what Aunt May had always told him.
But the cold rationality inherited from Shadow-Spider made Jonah's words feel like the undeniable truth.
That was the only way to deal with evil.
To protect the good, the wicked must face consequences.
And those thoughts… were starting to take root in Peter's mind.
One day, they'd grow into something unstoppable.
---
There was a tunnel beneath the factory.
Norman Osborn didn't come here often, but he knew the place well enough.
After all, his "job" was cleaning up dirty work for corporate barons—and even government officials.
Like the time he arranged the murder of Shadow-Spider's uncle.
Ben Parker had helped organize protests that brought down three sweatshops owned by Adolphus Crane.
In retaliation, Crane hired the Green Goblin, bribed a deputy chief in the NYPD to keep cops out of it, and even paid off the mayor of New York.
It was a twisted web of corruption.
And Goblin? He was the clean glove—the hitman with plausible deniability.
But if he ever became a liability, any one of those powerful "partners" could decide to throw him under the bus.
And when that happened, it wouldn't just be betrayal—it would be annihilation.
So Osborn had made himself a fallback plan.
He never expected he'd need it to escape from Spider-Man.
Felicia, still in his grip, sneered and hit him where it hurt.
"It's over, Osborn. You've lost."
"You think your buddies at City Hall are gonna pull strings for you after this?"
"No. They won't."
"Every single person who's ever worked with you is already planning how to shut you up permanently before you can name names."
"You're already dead."
Her words were sharp as knives, cutting into his twisted ego.
"Shut up, Felicia!" he snapped, face dark with fury.
He tried to find the tunnel exit, squinting in the dim light.
He'd memorized the layout… but without a light source, even his memory couldn't guide him now.
"Felicia—run!"
CRASH!
A figure lunged out of the dark, slamming Osborn to the ground before he could react.
"Surprised?" Peter sneered.
But Osborn didn't flinch—instead, he smirked with contempt.
"So the adorable little spider finally caught the big bad wolf. Think you've won, huh?"
"Then how about we unmask each other before this little drama ends?"
He reached for Peter's mask.
"No!" Peter grabbed his hand in panic. No matter which world he was in, revealing his identity could bring unthinkable danger to his loved ones.
SLAP!
In the scuffle, Peter's hand struck Osborn's face.
RIIIP!
The fake skin tore like cloth, revealing a grotesque face covered in green, lumpy growths.
"What the…?" Peter recoiled, stunned.
Osborn's grotesque face was beyond his worst expectations.
But in the same moment, Osborn's claw-like hand tore Peter's mask away.
His eyes locked onto Peter's face. Hatred surged in his voice.
"Well, well… Yurik's pathetic little sidekick?"
"What's wrong, kid? Never seen a freak show up close?"
Peter was still reeling. "Goblin… so this is…"
Osborn's eyes burned with fury and venom.
"All my life… I was pelted with rocks by kids, stared at like a freak in sideshows… just to earn a scrap of moldy bread."
"But now… things are different."
"When they hear the name Osborn now, they feel respect. Fear."
"And the few who've seen this face? They know… one of us has to die."
"So, you ready to die, Spider-boy?"
The fully unleashed Green Goblin burst with strength, breaking free of Peter's hold.
Peter, caught off guard, was shoved back, nearly falling on his ass.
BUZZ—
His Spider-Sense flared.
He instinctively ducked his head—
BANG!
A bullet whizzed past, just inches from his skull.
The Goblin's face froze in disbelief. He couldn't believe Peter dodged it at that range.
Like he'd seen it coming.
That near-death moment snapped Peter back to full focus.
He leapt again, webbing the Goblin tight.
"Do it! Kill me!" Goblin roared, struggling. But the webs held strong—he was finished, and he knew it.
Peter slowly raised the gun.
Images of Uncle Ben's corpse, Yurik's broken body flashed through his mind.
Aunt May's words echoed. Jonah's too.
> "I don't want to live in a world where people tear each other apart like animals."
> "Mercy is for the good. Show mercy to the evil, and you harm the innocent."
"What do I do…?" Peter whispered—not sure if he was asking his teenage self, or the man who once wore this body: Shadow-Spider.
Then, an idea surfaced.
A whisper of a thought. Shadow-Spider's answer.
Peter raised his head—and lowered the gun.
BAM! BAM!
Two brutal punches shattered Goblin's limbs, breaking his arms and legs in one swift motion.
Then Peter leaned down, eyes locking onto his enemy's.
"You're going to stand trial. You're going to confess, publicly, to everything you've done."
And if they don't kill you… I will, Peter added silently.
—End of chapter—
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