章 8: Chapter 008.
St. Mary's Hospital, Crotonville, New York
"It's touch and go at best, Mr. Parker. We've done everything we could, but the chandelier broke off and ruptured her lung, and it barely missed the heart. She's in a Coma, on the ventilator, but we don't know how long we can sustain her. I'm sorry sir." The doctor reported the sad news to a devastated Peter Parker.
Unable to formulate words, the old man collapsed in a chair behind him as he clutched his head in sorrow.
The doctors at the hospital decided to leave Peter to his grief, as they carried on with taking care of other patients.
Hospitals aren't actually white. Peter had forgotten that. As he stared at the grey walls of the countryside Hospital, his mind worked a mile a minute. Anger, resentment, loathing, and most of all self-hate, all emotions that he'd been familiar with throughout his life surged forth with a vengeance.
It took more effort to move his old bones and muscles, and make his way into the room in which the beautiful form of his wife was resting. Seeing her, still attached to a ventilator, in a coma, Peter couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Collapsing into the chair, he sobbed continuously, venting all his emotions into the fabric of the hospital bed till sleep finally took him.
He woke up late afternoon to Mary Jane's phone ringing in his pocket. Blearily he rubbed the sleep and dried tears from his eyes, as his mind caught up to the present.
Fumbling with the phone, he saw that the call was from his daughter, and his heart nearly caught in his throat, as the Green Goblin's final promise repeated over and over in his head.
'She's Spider-Girl, she has the proportionate strength of a spider, and he's just an old man. A relic of the past, just like me. She will be fine.' He consoled his beating heart and answered the call.
"Peter Parker….." The oh-so-familiar voice of Norman Osborn spoke from the other side, and Peter was immediately on edge. His hands clutched the white fabric of the hospital bed, and his knuckles turned white. "I did promise you, didn't I? I will take everything you've ever loved, just as you did from me…"
"What did you do to May, Osborn? If you touch a hair on her head..." Peter replied, his voice hard as stone.
"And you'll do what? Come now, Peter. We've done this song and dance, for well over 4 decades now. You don't need to worry your old brain about your daughter. She's free, I haven't done anything to her. Yet. But, that may not remain the case forever you see. Brooklyn Bridge. Six Hours. I have a surprise for you, don't keep me waiting. You will not like it, but you know that by now."
And the call cut off, as abruptly as it had started.
Peter sat there, motionless, his knuckles white, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He knew what he had to do. He had to be Spider-Man again. He had to become the man he'd swore he would never be again, take up the mantle that was once his. For his daughter. For his family.
"I am sorry, Mary Jane. But, I have to do this."
*******
Walking through the familiar streets of Manhattan, taking in the distinct smell of the city, that even after all these years, was still exactly the same, Peter dreaded the coming confrontation. Memories that once haunted him, of a familiar face with blue eyes, and golden blonde hair assaulted his mind. Memories that he had thought were behind him, that his wife had worked tirelessly to help him move past, yet the situation called for those memories to resurface again.
'No. Never again. MayDay is in a class of her own. She's my daughter. She's stronger, faster, and more resilient than I was. She will not end up as Gwen did.' Peter chanted in his mind, to fight against the nagging feeling in her brain. Yet, the Green Goblin's threat played again and again in his head.
As the Brooklyn Bridge came into view, Peter was again assaulted by the haunting flashback of a falling figure. As his heart sped up.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed down his old beating heart. Taking a turn into an alleyway, he removed his Shirt, which hid his old Suit underneath. One that he had dusted off after decades of disuse.
Despite the world knowing his identity as Spider-Man, it had been long enough for people to not expect him to walk in their midst in plain clothes, and his old habit of changing into the suit inside damp alleyways was still something that stuck with him.
Climbing up the wall, to the roof, Peter was surprised that his bones could still support his heavyweight, but then he'd always known that the strength had never really left him.
Standing on top of the roof of the building, Peter could see right into the New York harbor, just beyond the Brooklyn Bridge. The familiar sight worked to soothe his fraying nerves, and he turned his gaze to the top of the bridge.
He could clearly make out two figures on either side of the gate of the bridge. One was his daughter, and the other was the Green Goblin. Seeing his daughter free, and there of her own free will let Peter release a breath that he did not know he was still holding, yet he remained on edge for whatever surprise the Green Goblin had for him.
It was time for him to face the music. One more time.
Putting on the mask to complete his suit, he was hit with a sudden sense of courage, and bravery. Something that he hadn't felt in so many years. Even standing on the edge of the building, Peter knew that this is where he was meant to be.
'Thwip'
He shot a web and prepared to swing into action. Steadying his nerves, on the edge of the building, taking a deep breath just like he did so many years ago when he jumped off the Oscorp tower for the first swing, he readied himself.
And he jumped.
His muscles strained against themselves, yet remained as strong as they'd ever been as he swung toward his destination. The wind once again in his face, working to soothe his nerves, clearing his mind. A form of meditation that was so unique that very precious few ever came to take part in it.
With a clear resolved mind, he leaped off his web, as he flipped in the air, as a warm-up to whatever action he was about to face. His target getting larger in the distance, his mind getting clearer and clearer, his muscles roaring with the very familiar fury, his anger at the green goblin returning with a vengeance, and most of all, his desperate desire to protect his daughter settled at the forefront of his mind.
He was Spider-Man once more.
Flipping again mid-air, Spider-Man realized that he was just in range of his destination. Shooting a final web, he pulled himself downward as he backflipped his way to perch himself nimbly on the stone structure, right between the Green Goblin and his daughter.
"What did I say, May? You hero types are all the same. Even after all these years, a little threat to his family, and he comes running." Norman taunted, as he stared down at his nemesis. "Oh well, now that you're here..."
Norman turned around and removed his mask. Revealing a perfectly young face. The signs of old age, his white hair, everything gone. It was like Peter had been sent back in time, and it hit him straight in the gut.
"Like the new me!" Norman taunted Peter who was reeling from shock.
"You bastard, tell him the whole truth!!" May shouted from behind Peter, still not moving.
"Tch, dear you need to keep your mouth shut. You know exactly what's at stake here." Norman taunted, or the collar will zap you."
And Peter could see a blinking light right underneath May's mask.
"Is this your surprise Norman? You don't think I recognize the signs of a clone? I've had to experience them so many times, that I can tell a real person from a clone in an instant. And let me tell ya, the last few clones I met, all of them didn't do so well. Each and every one of them ended up as a pile of goo. That's what you're in for!" Peter taunted right back.
Surprisingly Norman laughed "Hahahahaha! You forget Peter, I invited you here for a surprise. And this," he said gesturing to himself, is just the beginning. "Your true surprise is coming right up!"
Saying that he pressed a button on his gauntlet, and a hologram appeared "Say hello, Project-Spider 17. A perfectly new body made from your DNA, and the unlimited potential that was once carried by Rogue Anna Marie. Say hello to your son!"
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