Chapter 4
Peter swung onto one of the pillars of the bridge, glancing in every direction as he tried to find the Goblin. It didn’t take long. The familiar sound of his glider grew louder as Peter watched it fly from under the pillar and hover over the water. Peter’s blood boiled as he saw Gwen being held by the wrist over the edge of the glider.
“We knew you’d make it, Spidey!” The Goblin crooned. “Or should I say, Peter Parker?”
“Let her go, Osborn!” Peter demanded.
“Very poor choice of words,” The Goblin smiled. “If I do, Ms. Stacy will die on impact. And Spider-Man can’t let people die, right? Not unless their name is Harry Osborn!”
“So that’s what this is about?!” Peter yelled. “If you want to blame someone for Harry’s death, blame yourself! He became the Hobgoblin because of you!”
“And I’ve never been prouder!” Norman shouted back, dropping his high pitched Goblin voice. “He finally became a man, for as short-lived as it was!”
“If he were here now,” Gwen spat, “He would be ashamed of you.”
“I’m sorry, do you honestly think mouthing off to the man holding your life in his hands is a good idea?” Norman said before turning back to Peter.
“Well, Peter, I figure we can do this one of two ways. Either you remove your web shooters and throw yourself off the top of this bridge, or I drop your beloved Gwen. Either way, I will be reimbursed. A life for a life!”
Peter stared at the Goblin as he tried to think of a way around his demands. But The Goblin had covered every angle. He was too far away to be caught off guard by any webs. And Peter couldn’t dive after Gwen fast enough to catch her. Reluctantly, Peter began to take off his web-shooters
Gwen’s eyes widened as she realized that Peter was actually complying with Norman’s demands. She closed her eyes as she realized that time had run out for her. Slowly and carefully, beneath the Goblin’s notice, she pulled the pepper spray out of her pocket…and sprayed as much as she could in the Goblin’s eyes. He let out a scream of pain as both hands went to his eyes, rubbing them profusely as his glider spun out of control. He didn’t even pay attention to Gwen falling through the air.
Peter leapt to the edge of the bridge, firing a web-line from his remaining web-shooter at Gwen, desperately hoping he wouldn’t miss. He didn’t. The web caught her by the chest, stopping her in her tracks before she could hit the water below. Peter was so high above her and so relieved to have caught her, he didn’t hear the SNAP from her neck as she stopped.