Norman Osborn was dragged through the chemical area of Oscorp. Raven threw him on the catwalk. Norman smiled as he looked up and said. " He he. So, how's this gonna work? Slumber party? Charades? A little truth or dare? Yes! I'll start with dare!"
Raven ignored him as she simply picked up a steel pipe lying on the side.
Norman's smile disappeared as he saw her raise the pipe. "Or maybe I'll just stick with truth."
Whack, whack, WHAM!
Raven turned to him and said "So tell me, how does that make you feel?"
Goblin licked some blood off his lip and groaned " Ugh, ya know. It only hurts when I laugh. Haha. Ugh!........but tell me. I gotta know. Is this Stephen's idea of revenge. Gettng someonelse to do his dirty work?"
Raven "No, I'm just dealing out something that I should've done a long time ago."
Goblin just gave a laugh and said "That's pretty cryptic! But interesting. Haha. Tell me more."
Raven fired up black energy in her fists and smiled. "Sure, listen up."
****************************************
A shockwave of black energy shot trhough the windows of the chemical complex, shattering them all and a scream beyond human followed.
Stephen felt the shock. As Harry's board shook, Step[hen crawled through a broken window into the industrial building. Smell of smoke and fire, was rancid in the white hallways.
Then Stephen flt the halway shake and his vision went black for a split second once again. Once it stopped he heard a scream.
Harry got to attention " That's my dad's scream!" Stephen looked at his hand. It was dancing with black lightning running around it. As the last spark flickered he realized it was Raven's energy. He could never forget how he thought it once felt so good, now felt very very.....cold.
Stephen activated his spider sensed. He felt Raven's body heat, that really felt like an icebox.
"This way." Stephen lead Harry to a black and yellow striped door.
Harry grabbed Stephen's arm before he could move it.
"This is my dad's chemical factory." Harry told him. "This is where he makes the Chlorax. This is where he first made Formula99."
Stephen thoguht of his brother, that night when he saw his laptop when taking out the old clothers he didn't want. He remebered one text on his computer.
Formula99.
David was in on this. The Osborn killed him. This much he knew. What he didn't know was, was it brutal murder or did Norman kill him for a reason?
Stephen shrugged of Harry's arm and put it on his shoudler. He thought of Harry. The short time he went to school with him. The day he first met him. Then the anger he directed at him when David died. The fight that destroyed his school. The way he blamed and mistreated him for his father's evil deeds.
He hugged Harry. He didn't know what to say. All he could say was "I'm sorry, Harry."
Harry hugged back. He knew that they were going up against an angry girl and A psychopathic killer. He didn't know who was going and who was staying but he was happy Harry was with him. He was happy Harry could be his freind. He was almost like a brother.
In a way, he reminded him of David.
Stephen opened the door. The place smelled absolutely terrible! Like that of dead rotting animals. And ammonia. Terrible Ammonia smell. The fumes were terrible.
Stephen and Harry ran up on a catwalk and that's where they saw Raven leaning over Norman Osborn.
Harry looked onward to see RAven, fists fulll of a black light, pounding Osborn. Even Osborn's rusted iron armour and tough skin could feel the shock and sting.
Stephen told Harry to wait and they'd try to sneak up on Raven and take her down before she knew what hit her.
Harry looked at Goblin and didn't see any of the monster he was. He instead saw his father. He wasn't gonna let him die. He charged towards Raven, sword unsheathed.
Raven jerked her wild eyes in his direction as Harry descended on her with his sword thrashing wildly about. Harry grabbed her arm and waved his sword to take it down. Raven used her powers to send his sword flying in the other direction. Harry landed a kick in her stomach nad sent her rolling down the catwalk.
"Good boy." Harry turned around and saw a iron cladded fist hit him square in the face that sent him reeling over the catwalk. He landed square on his back. Goblin jumped down next to him and grabbed his face and picked him up.
"You've always been a good boy." Goblin smiled and began to squeeze over Harry's head. Harry's screaming was hard to hear over the crunching of his skull.
*Wham* A steel conductor slammed into Goblin and smashed him agianst the wall. Raven flared with her dark energy.
That's when Stephen dropped down behind her and planted his boot on the right side of her head. He saw Goblin push aside the conductor and send it sliding towards him. Stephen jumepd over it and threw himself into Goblin. Shoting his web, wrapped Goblin's legs . Didn't accoutn to much as Goblin just snapped them.
Goblin picked Stephen up and flung him across the factory. As he flew, Stephen grabbed a pole and swung himself back down onto the catwalk., back down onto Goblin.
Harry felt like like a limp pile of bones. He got up. And saw Raven standing behind him picking up his sword. The red glare was gone from her eyes and replaced with her voilet penetrating gaze and iwhta look on her face that read regret.
Harry didn't see any of this. all he could see was someone else driven mad by his father.
"No! Stay back! Go away!" Harry began backing up.
"What have I done?" Raven murmured, as she got closer to him. "Harry I'm sorry."
"Stop! Harry began to strip himself of his protective vest. "I'm not a crook!"
Raven's eyes widen, she dropped his sword. "Harry stop!"
"No, not for a minute! I just want...." Harry began to say.
Harry stopped moving. "I just...I j-just want..........."
Raven stopped in her foot steps. "What do you want?"
Harry, felt droplets on his cheeks. "I want...I w-w-want......." He turned around and saw a broiling vat of Chlorax. "I want peace...."
Raven got really shaky. 'Harry, no...."
Harry stammered as he saw his father brawl with Stephen. The sheer wieght of his father crushed Stephen, making him cry of pain.
"P-peace........."
Raven "Harry I'm so sorry. Please don't do it. Harry don't. Stephen!"
Harry stared at the pitch green vat bubbling with heat below him. Stephen yelled Harry's name but he heard none of it. He heard nothing at all. His head throbbed but he felt no pain. For what he was about to do.
He stood on the edge of the catwalk. Then he took a step......
And stopped. He felt a jerk Then he looked up Stephen had grabbed him. Harry was shocked at how Stephen moved so quickly, but he figured if Stephen could, so could his father.
Stephen looked into Harry's eyes with a sadness, no, weakness. Stephen heaved Harry onto the catwalk. He held his limp almost lifeless head on his arms.
Goblin dropped down Stephen flipped over and grabbed his neck with his legs and tossed him over a catwalk, sending him falling to the ground floor with a giant thud.
That's when Stephen felt cold steel on the edge of his neck. Raven held the blade to his neck prepared to take it off.
"Stephen this needs to stop. This has gone on long enough!"
Stephen slowed his breathing down. "What....what are you doing, Raven?"
"Don't even think of moving. Get on your knees." Stephen did so.
"Raven...I'm sorry if I wasn't in time to save you from the Tower. I was--"
WHACK!
Raven smacked Stephen on the right side of the head. "I don't believe this. I don't know what clouds your judgement worse. Your guilt or your anitquated sense of morality!"
Stephen turned his head hoping Raven wasn't gonna knock it off.
"Stephen, I forgive you.....for not saving me. But why, why on God's earth..." She used her powers and They descended to the ground floor where the Goblin was. "....is he still alive?!"
Raven removed some rubble. Goblin was giggling as always under the debris. "Hehehehehehahaa. Gotta give the girl points. She comes all the way back from the dead to make this shindig happen. So who's got a camera. OH! OH! Why don't you take a picture of me and the girl first. Then you and me. Then the Three of us. Then get one of the sword. And then -"
WHAM!
Raven held Harry's blade next to his neck. "You'll be as quiet as possible."
"Party pooper. No cake for you." Goblin muttered.
"All this time, blindly, stupidly disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled. The people he's driven mad. The family he's murdered!" Raven seethed "I thought...............I thought, I'd be the last one he'd ever hurt. If it had been you he'd hurt, if it'd been you he'd beaten to a bloody pulp, I would've done NOTHING but search the world for this pathetic, evil pile of death-worshipping garbage, and send him off to hell!"
"You don't understand..." Stephen said. It's sounded cliche but what else could he say.
"I don't understand?................" Raven murmured. Her fists flared "I. Don't. UNDERSTAND?!" She sent a barage of her black energy towards him.
"No, Stephen. It's you who doesn't understand. I've been through his suffering and he even tried to kill me! But it's not the fact that he tried to kill me but....but, the fact that he failed to do it to me, but had succeeded with everyone else. It's not fair.....It's not fair to those who've died. so don't tell me I don't udnerstand. I understand perfectly and if your moral code won't alloow for you to cross that line-"
"NO! God Almighty, no. It'd be too easy. Al I ever wanted to do was kill him. A day never did go by when I thought of you, my friends, my family.....David. How he's threatened them all for fun and I don't think about subjecting him to every other horrfic games he's dealt out to others and...end him."
Goblin stirred. "Aww so you do think about me."
"But if I do that, if I allow myself to go down into that place......I'll never come back."
Raven picked up Harry's sword. "Well, you're not gonna have a choice." She tossed it to him. Then she flared her fists.
Stephen widened his eyes. "Raven!"
"This is what it's been about. You, me and him! Now's the time you decide." Raven told him.
Stephen hesitated.
"I'm gonna turn his neck a full three-sixty! I can do it! And I will and if you're gonna stop me. You're gonna have to kill me. I'm ending this tonight!"
Stephen looked at her eyes. They were red once again.....
That's when he knew what to do.
He dropped the sword and kicked it so it went behind Raven. And began to walk away.
"No more mind games. It's not over now. You're not Raven." Stephen turned around "You're angry."
"It's him or me. Decide now! Do it! Him or me! Decide!." Raven yelled at him but Stephen would not turn around.
That's when Stephen saw that Harry was no where to be seen.
Coicendentally a buzz in the back of his head was going off too. He turned around and immidiately wish he had't kicked away that sword.
Raven yelped as Harry's cold steel blade stabbed her and Goblin cleanly.
Goblin dropped to his knees as Raven fell completely down. Stephen dashed across the catwalk.
Goblin got back tohis feet and roared swinging his arm around knocking Harry to the edge of the Catwalk. He nearly fell over the edge......straight into the Chlorax vat.
Harry's screams of agony echoed across the factory as he broiled under the searing pain. At last, he sunked below the surface
Stephen threw himself straight into Goblin. In a burst of anger he let loose a barage of poundings on Norman Osborn. He crawled on the back of Goblin and slammed his fist right into his back. Norman clawed Stephen's head and pulled him over his shoulder. Then he threw him over the edge of the catwalk.
Stephen plummeted down to the factory ground floor. He fired off his webs to slow his descent then shot himself back up and began climbing to the top catwalk.
Goblin saw him coming and hit a button on his wrist.
BOOM!
Wall rubble descended on Stephen, as through the dust, he saw a glider.
"Where'd that come from?" Stephen exclaimed as he tried climbing the rubble.
Goblin landed on the glider with perfect precision, abnd rode off into the night sky.
Stephen swung up to the highest catwalk. And he landed. There was Raven.,
staggering trying her best to heal herself. Stephen noticed traces of dark red
blood trail to where Raven was on the catwalk.
She clutched her stomach through where the blade ran through her. She
crouched on the catwalk, eyes no logner red with furry, but back to their
beautiful blue and a look of worry on her face.
"What have I done?" She asked him.
Stephen made no move to walk towards her. He looked at her as if he wanted to
help her, but he didn't. He made no effort to move.
Raven closed her eyes and realized once again the reason why Stephen
couldn't help her anymore. Some people were just made...to walk a lonely road.
She opened her eyes and looked into his. Since Stephen couldn't say the
words, she would say it for him.
"Good-bye Stephen." Then a dark shroud began to cover her, slowing making
her fade away.
As she disappeared Stephen stuck his hand into the black mist but all he caught
was a wet feeling.
Stephen felt a pang in his chest. As if something important had left.
In a sense something had left, but it was so tangible....
Stephen turned his beaten body, groaning in agony, around and swung out the building. There was still the Goblin
to take down and he was going to take him down...
All by himself.