"No! If you send me to trial, it'll just be another freak show!" the Green Goblin shouted. "I've spent my whole life as someone else's sick amusement. I won't let it happen again!"
He writhed and struggled, trying to free himself—perhaps because Peter's webs hadn't fully locked him down.
Peter calmly shot another line of webbing, anchoring him tighter to the wall.
"No one is putting me back in a cage!" the Goblin screamed. His voice cracked with fury, memories of his traumatic past overwhelming him and fueling his rage.
Peter just watched.
He wasn't going to kill him—not anymore. He'd deliver him to the court, let him fight like a rabid dog with the others, and eventually get torn apart. It wouldn't be quick, but it would be justice.
And yet… watching the Goblin flail in agony… there was a strange satisfaction.
No—maybe that feeling was coming from the Shadow Spider-Man part of him.
THUD!
A heavy sound echoed nearby.
Someone staggered into view—it was Kraven the Hunter, still crawling with venomous spiders.
He stumbled forward, collapsing toward the Goblin. "Osborn… help me… help…"
"No! Stay back! Get away from me, you grotesque freak!" the Goblin shrieked in terror.
But his arms were webbed to the wall. He couldn't escape.
Kraven fell into his chest—and the swarm of venomous spiders poured from him onto the Goblin. They crawled into his mouth, under his clothes, swarming him like a dark plague.
"AAAHHHHH!"
The tunnel filled with screams of pure horror and pain.
Peter leapt up to the ceiling, clinging with hands and feet, looking down in silence.
The spiders—like the vengeful souls of every victim who'd ever fallen under the Goblin's cruelty—tore into him and Kraven, shredding their flesh.
In moments, both were stripped to the bone.
The spiders scattered, disappearing into cracks and shadows of the tunnel.
Peter stared, dazed.
"Was this right? Just watching him get devoured like that…?"
"You're still a kid, huh?"
".Yeah."
"A few years ago, I was your age. Uncle Ben once took me to see Frankenstein. Gave me nightmares. When I woke up, Uncle Ben held me tight."
"I wanted him to say monsters weren't real. But he said I was old enough to know that they were. And that his job was to protect me from them."
"Monsters. You don't just mean creatures, do you?"
"No. Sometimes the monsters live in people's hearts. And that kind… is even worse. Be careful, Peter."
"…Thank you, Peter."
Peter closed his eyes slowly.
Then, after a moment, they opened again—sharper. Colder.
A smile tugged at his lips. "And thank you, Peter. You were there when I needed you most."
He gave one final look at the bones on the ground before crawling up out of the tunnel.
He had one last thing to do to put an end to all this.
---
Queens, New York.
Peter jolted awake in bed, sitting up straight.
He touched his body. Pajamas. His original, smaller frame.
Yep—he was back.
"I haven't hit my growth spurt yet," he muttered. "But give it a few years… I'll be taller. And way more handsome."
He gave himself a small fist pump.
Then he noticed… something had changed.
His spider-powers felt sharper. More in sync.
Was it because he'd spent time in the body of the fully-developed Shadow Spider-Man?
Or… was it something deeper?
Peter sat there, thoughtful.
He checked the clock—almost 6 a.m.
So the flow of time between worlds really was synchronized. He'd spent about three hours there, and three had passed here too.
And in just a few hours… the one and only Iron Man would be visiting his home.
Peter figured he might as well stay up.
Wouldn't want to be asleep when Tony Stark showed up. That'd leave a terrible first impression.
Then again… wasn't Stark a capitalist?
Stark Industries was huge. Did they exploit their workers?
Could they be a sweatshop?
Should he start digging for dirt on them, just in case—
Peter shook his head hard, blinking in disbelief.
"Okay, wow. Side effect of fusing with a brooding, anti-capitalist detective Spider-Man? Thank God it was only three hours. Imagine if it had been three days—or months—or years…"
Still, there were some upsides to the fusion.
His perception and analytical skills had leveled up—big time.
Before, Peter had a quick mind, but he'd never trained it in any formal way.
But the Shadow Spider-Man, as a detective-reporter, had been taught well by Urich—and now, Peter had inherited some of that.
Take a shoe, for example.
Where before he'd just see color and style, now he could deduce height from its length, walking habits from wear patterns, even personality traits from style and color.
Then combine all of that—and narrow down suspects.
That kind of skill? Very useful for a superhero.
And he had a feeling there were more benefits he hadn't discovered yet.
Peter closed his eyes and focused inward—toward the web in his mind.
The glowing point that represented the Shadow Spider-Man had dimmed. Gone dormant.
Maybe… when it glowed again, he could return.
And those glowing nodes on the web—could they mean there were other Spider-Men out there, in other worlds?
—End of chapter—
Enjoying and Wanting more!? Read ahead!
Join my Patreon.com/Tenacious Hare. By Purchasing my Carrot 🥕 Tier, You get 10+ chapters ahead and Faster updates
Both Platforms offer the same content, but pick whatever suits you!! Your support and help keeps this story alive.
I Deeply Appreciate your support ❤️❤️
Thank you for supporting my work! 🗿❤️
~ Tenacious Hare 🥕