Late at night.
Oscorp Headquarters.
“Hahahaha!”
“This is too funny!”
“So much fun!”
Inside the dimly lit executive office, Norman Osborn lounged across a sofa in his Green Goblin armor, waving his arms like an overexcited child.
One careless movement sent him tumbling off the couch.
His phone slipped from his hand and landed on the carpet.
“Oh, my precious…”
“Please don’t be broken.”
“I’d be heartbroken.”
Norman hurriedly picked it up and inspected it from every angle.
After confirming it still worked, he sighed with relief.
“Good.”
“My entertainment can continue a little longer.”
A trembling figure stood silently in the darkness.
“M-Mr.
Green Goblin…”
“I-I’m ready.”
Betty’s face had turned ghostly pale as she set up the camera.
The office lights suddenly switched on.
In one corner of the room…
Several Oscorp board members sat tightly bound with ropes.
Norman glanced toward Betty.
The twisted Goblin mask seemed to grin.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“I’m the most terrifying demon of them all.”
“But I have no interest in hurting beautiful ladies.”
That only made Betty even more terrified.
Ignoring her fear completely…
Norman stood before the bound executives and let out another eerie burst of laughter.
“Hahaha…”
“Are you all ready?”
The board members trembled helplessly.
Fear filled every pair of eyes.
Without waiting for an answer, Norman gestured for Betty to point the camera toward them.
At the exact same moment…
Every giant screen in Times Square flickered.
The normal programming disappeared.
In its place…
The live broadcast from Norman’s office appeared.
“Go ahead.”
Norman laughed loudly.
“Tell everyone…”
“What exactly did you do to the great Norman Osborn?”
The board members lowered their heads.
None of them dared look into the camera.
Without warning…
Norman grabbed one executive by the throat.
CRACK!
The man’s lifeless body collapsed onto the floor.
Betty clamped both hands over her mouth, shrinking into the corner in terror.
The remaining executives nearly wet themselves.
“Hahaha…”
“What a bunch of cowards.”
“But…”
“I hate cleaning.”
A blade extended from Norman’s wrist.
He pointed casually at another executive.
“You.”
“Start talking.”
“I-I…”
“I’ll talk!”
The man collapsed to his knees, sweat pouring down his face.
“My name is Kurtz…”
“I own eleven percent of Oscorp’s shares…”
“Get to the point.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Oscorp was built entirely by Mr.
Norman Osborn.”
“He sacrificed everything for this company.”
“But after his experiment failed…”
“We joined forces and forced him out.”
“We’re guilty.”
“We’re all—”
“Not detailed enough.”
“Next.”
Norman interrupted him.
Then…
With one clean swing…
The man’s head rolled across the floor.
“BLEGH—”
The gruesome sight made the remaining executives vomit where they knelt.
Watching their pitiful state…
Norman couldn’t have been happier.
“Hahahaha!”
“This is wonderful!”
“It’s too much fun!!”
He applauded enthusiastically before forcing the next executive to recount every injustice he’d suffered.
Meanwhile…
The live broadcast quickly drew enormous crowds throughout Times Square.
“My God…”
“It’s the Green Goblin again.”
“That man is terrifying.”
“What is he trying to do?”
“This is sick…”
“Wait…”
“Listen.”
“So the board removed Norman Osborn as chairman?”
“Seriously?”
“What a disgusting corporate power struggle.”
People whispered among themselves.
Police sirens echoed through the streets as countless patrol cars rushed toward Oscorp.
“Move!”
“Faster!”
Inside one of the police cruisers…
George Stacy wore an exhausted expression.
They had barely finished dealing with one major case.
Now…
Something even worse had happened.
If this wasn’t handled properly…
The consequences would be catastrophic.
He glanced toward the giant broadcast screen outside.
His face darkened even further.
Ordinary police officers…
Had no chance against someone like the Green Goblin.
Please…
Let the others be up to the task.
He silently prayed.
Soon…
The convoy sped past Times Square.
A familiar red-and-blue figure swung overhead before landing smoothly atop a nearby billboard.
Charlie narrowed his eyes as he watched the enormous screen.
Norman’s condition…
Had become even worse.
Otherwise…
He never would’ve gone this far.
Charlie understood Norman’s pain.
The man had devoted his entire life to Oscorp.
He sacrificed precious time with both his wife and his son.
When his wife died…
He hadn’t even been able to see her one last time.
Norman abandoned his family…
Only to restore the glory of the Osborn name.
He desperately searched for a cure to the Osborn genetic disease.
Not only for himself…
But so Harry could live a longer, happier life without suffering the same fate.
Then…
The serum experiment failed.
Everything he’d built…
Collapsed overnight.
His life’s work became meaningless.
The board members…
Were simply the final straw.
After squeezing every last ounce of value out of Norman…
They discarded him.
Leaving him with no choice but to inject himself with an unfinished genetic serum.
In one sense…
Norman succeeded.
He gained overwhelming power.
The hereditary disease could no longer claim his life.
But…
He also failed completely.
He lost himself.
The serum twisted him into someone violent…
Unstable…
Consumed by madness.
He wanted revenge.
Against everyone.
He wanted the world to feel every ounce of pain…
Every ounce of injustice…
That he’d carried for years.
The monster inside him had finally been unleashed.
Now…
He wanted everyone else to live in fear.
On the massive screen…
Norman laughed harder and harder as each executive confessed the truth.
He had given his entire life to Oscorp.
Those same executives had exploited him until the very end.
And he’d accepted it willingly.
Because…
Oscorp had been the love of his life.
Meanwhile…
The growing crowd of reporters was doing exactly what Norman wanted.
Before long…
Oscorp Tower was surrounded.
Police vehicles.
News vans.
Thousands of civilians.
Norman hadn’t even bothered hiding his location.
“Mr.
Green Goblin!”
George shouted through a loudspeaker outside the building.
“Please stay calm!”
“Tell us what you want.”
“We’ll do everything we can to meet your demands!”
At the same time…
Armed tactical units quietly infiltrated the building.
Above the tower…
A helicopter circled overhead.
“Captain.”
Natasha Romanoff’s expression was grave.
“We’ve confirmed it.”
“The Green Goblin is Norman Osborn.”
Beside her…
Steve Rogers tightened his grip on his shield.
He inhaled deeply.
“I may have spent seventy years frozen…”
“But my body’s fully recovered.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Natasha shook her head.
“Norman was once a senior S.H.I.E.L.D.
operative.”
“No one knows why he left to focus on running Oscorp.”
“He’s not going to be easy to deal with.”
Steve frowned.
“…Seriously?”
“And nobody thought to tell me that sooner?”
“I only learned it from Fury a few minutes ago.”
“…Right.”
Steve sighed.
“I guess I’ll have to get used to your organization’s terrible communication.”
At that moment…
Clint Barton’s voice came through his earpiece.
“I’m in position.”
“The moment he enters my line of sight…”
“I’ll have a lock.”
“Excellent.”
Steve nodded.
“You’re Hawkeye, right?”
“I’ve been looking forward to working with you.”
High atop a neighboring skyscraper…
Clint Barton silently aimed his compound bow toward Norman’s office.
Without warning…
A red-and-blue figure entered his scope.
He calmly drew another arrow.
“I’ve spotted a little red-and-blue bug.”
“Should I shoot him down?”
he asked.
“…A bug?”
Steve blinked.
Natasha, however, seemed to realize something.
“Spider-Man.”
“So…”
“Norman wasn’t telling the truth after all.”
“He didn’t kill him.”
(End of Chapter)