"Remind me again why we're doing this," the Shadow said as he ran across the Manhattan skyline with Spider-Man.
"Harry Osborn has been targeted for the next murder. And for some reason, no one seems to know where he is!" Spidey replied.
"So, we've been assigned to search the usual spots he'd be most likely to hang out at."
"Right," Spidey said as he jumped off a roof. As he descended, he created a web cushion for the Shadow to land on. They ran over into The Crib.
Mary Jane was the first to see them enter. "Spider-Man!" she exclaimed.
"And the Shadow. Don't forget the Shadow."
"Maybe if you didn't go invisible, people might see you," Spidey quipped. He turned to MJ. "Is Harry Osborn here?"
"No, you just missed him. He left about fifteen minutes ago."
"Did he say where he was going?"
"I think he was going to the library for some research. Actually, a study group or something."
That's right! Spider-Man thought. He did invite me to come . . .
"Thanks, miss," Spidey said as the two heroes left.
An hour later . . .
Spider-Man spoke into the headset. "Captain Stacy, I'm hearing that no one's seen Osborn in hours. And now you're saying that his father has no clue where he might be."
"We've checked everywhere," Stacy replied. "Osborn Industries, his house, the library, the school . . . "
"The Crib, and just about every other place an eighteen year old football star would hang out," the Shadow concluded.
"New York's a big city," Stacy said. "He could be anywhere. In fact, he could be at any one of the places we've already looked at."
A new voice came over the headset. "Captain Stacy . . . Spider-Man . . . We have a visual. He's getting into a cab, heading for Central Park."
Spider-Man used the technology in his suit to trace the signal to ascertain the location of the officer. "We're on our way."
Sidney Happersen stood in Luthor's office, waiting for his boss to speak. He had come as soon as he had been summoned.
"Happersen," Luthor said, "I need you to check on some bank accounts for me." He tossed a disc across the desk. "All of the information you need will be on this disc. Look under the 'Arachnis Project' files. Further instructions will also be on the disc."
Happersen took the disc and waited.
"You may leave," Luthor said, looking down at the many papers on his desk.
Spidey and the Shadow caught up to the cab, and trailed it through most of the city. However, as it neared Central Park, traffic got heavy, and a whole rush of cabs drove through.
"I can't tell which one is his," the Shadow said.
"For all we know, he's long gone . . . " Spidey replied.
"Everyone!" Stacy shouted over the headsets. "We've just got a report. The killer has turned up at the Daily Planet! I want all available officers over there now!"
He stood there, in the City Room, just staring at everyone. Most of the reporters were hovering behind chairs or under desks. Even Lois Lane had stopped working to stare at the latest thing to crash into the office.
It was a grotesque site to behold, even for someone who had seen it all. The creature was hovering in the air on a glider. His skin was a dark green, somewhat subdued. He wore purple pants and a purple cape. His shirt left the middle of his chest bare. The belt around its waist was green, with a medallion or something similar as the buckle.
"You're the Green Goblin, aren't you?" Lois asked.
"Yes, Ms. Lane," the Goblin replied. "And I'm here to kill one of you."
"Hold it right there!"
The Goblin turned around to see Spider-Man standing in the opening that he had just created.
"So, Spider-Man, you come to oppose me. Misguided fool."
"You're him, aren't you?" Spidey asked. "You're the serial killer."
"So nice to see someone actually figuring something out these days."
"And you sent the NYPD on that manhunt as a diversion . . . "
"So bright. A shame that I will probably waste you soon."
All this time, the Shadow had been sneaking up on the Goblin. He came up behind the green creature, and waited.
"So, Goblin, who are you working for?"
"Who said I was working for anybody?"
"Come on! Costumed villains like you don't just start killing people!"
The Goblin leaned over. "Who said I was costumed?"
Just then, the Shadow leaped up on the glider, and attempted to knock the Green Goblin off. However, his ploy failed as the Goblin was too strong for him to handle.
"Foolish hero," the Goblin said, flinging the Shadow to the side. "No one is a match for me!"
The Shadow landed hard against a wall. The impact was enough to return him to visibility.
The Green Goblin flew over and grabbed Lois, flying out through the gaping hole in the side of the building.
"You're not getting away that easy," Spidey said as he took off.
"What was that?" a Daily Planet staffer asked as Spidey jumped out of the building.
"I don't know," the Shadow replied. "It appears as if the Green Goblin has lured our friend Spider-Man away."
"And with my top reporter," Perry said. "Can you follow them?"
The Shadow peered through the new entryway. "Negative," he said. "I don't see a trace of them."
Where is he going? Spider-Man wondered. Most of the time they go out, usually near the docks. He's heading further into the city . . .
The Green Goblin looked back. "Cursed spider," he muttered as he raced downward.
Spider-Man saw the Goblin's downward trajectory. He aimed his weblines to bring him closer to the ground. Suddenly, his spider sense stopped buzzing. Where'd he go?
Spidey continued running in the direction as the Green Goblin had been headed, hoping to find something.
Even if he had dumped it, I would still pick up the buzzing. Did he smash it or . . . Spidey heard a low hum beneath him. He was headed down. Could the lead in the sewers be blocking the signal? Immediately, the web-slinger looked for the nearest manhole and climbed down.
"Light," he said as he touched the ground. His built in spotlight lit up, illuminating the sewer around him. As he lowered, he noticed the signal return, but very weak.
Spider-Man's only option was to run. There was no room for webs, and the walls were too slippery to crawl on. Within a minute, Spidey found the Green Goblin. He fired two balls of impact webbing as a warning.
The Goblin didn't even look back. Instead, he headed straight up, directly at the building above. Spider-Man ran over and fired a web up through the gaping hole. He used his enhanced strength to pull himself up.
He found himself in an old hotel. It was run down, having been closed for decades, and long since condemned. Rubble of various size seemed to fall at regular intervals. Spidey was hit from behind as soon as he ascended by the Goblin's glider. Getting up, he saw the Goblin hovering in front of him. Lois was tied to a staircase.
"Who are you?" Spidey asked.
"It's ironic that I know so much about you, but you know so little about me."
"Like what?"
"I know you used to be a star."
"Big deal. So you watched television last year."
"You had money. You could have been rich, even after your career ended. But that all changed when your bank account was cleared out."
"You've yet to impress me."
"I know who grabbed it electronically when Mysterio tried to take it."
Behind the mask, Peter's face was one of shock.
For the first time, both noticed that the building was crumbling when Lois screamed. A beam had just fallen in front of her.
At police headquarters, Captain Stacy continued to monitor the situation. He was able to track Spider-Man's position via his headset.
"All available officers, go to the old Ditko hotel in the center of town, scheduled for demolition. That is where Spider-Man and the Green Goblin are. Proceed with caution . . . "
"Goblin!" Spidey shouted. "We have to get out of here! The building'll fall any minute now!"
"Let it," the Goblin replied. "I've killed plenty of people. Two more won't matter to me."
The sirens in the distance came closer.
"Ah, the cops," the Goblin commented. "Too bad they'll miss all of the fun." He flew upward. Spider-Man fired a web, which attached to the glider. The Goblin swung in a big arc, trying to free himself. Instead, Spidey used his knowledge of physics to maneuver his body and use his agility to land on the glider, feet first. He sent a punch flying to the Goblin's face.
"I know more about you than you think," the Goblin said, pressing a button on his belt. "Like how to deactivate your suit. Consider it a parting gift." With that, he sped up, causing Spider-Man to fall off of the glider, crashing to the floor below. He tried to fire a web, but his shooters were blocked.
"How is that possible?" Spidey shouted as the Goblin crashed through ceiling after ceiling, further weakening the building.
"Spider-Man!" Lois exclaimed.
Spidey snapped his head and saw the staircase starting to give. Debris was falling all around Lois. Spidey leapt up, just missing a piece of the building that would have crushed him. One by one, the nanomachines began to shut down and return to the source. It wouldn't be too long before his identity would be revealed.
He grabbed Lois, and ripped the posts she was tied to out of the structure. That was the last straw, and caused the building to finally give. Spidey grabbed Lois, and pushed her to the ground, covering her with his own body to protect her from any debris. The building collapsed on top of him.
After the smoke cleared, Spider-Man regained consciousness. He looked at Lois, who was still unconscious. Something felt different though.
Then he realized that he could feel her breath on his face. The mask had disappeared. He climbed up out of the rubble. He looked around. Part of the building was still standing. Therefore, no one could see him. He lay down on down of the rubble and gently shook Lois.
"Huh?" she asked.
Hmmm, Peter thought. That seemed too quick. Was she just faking it? Does she know I'm Spider-Man?
"Thank goodness I found you," he said. "Come on, we gotta get out of here."
The two walked around to where the police and rescue workers had gathered. Perry White and Jonah Jameson were also there.
"Lois!" Perry said, when he saw her.
"Parker!" Jameson exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I was trying to get pictures. When the building fell, I decided to try to help Lois."
"Did you get any pictures?"
Peter shook his head. "My camera got busted in the process."
"Where's Spider-Man?" one of the cops asked.
"Once he saw that I was there, he told me to help Lois, while he went after the Green Goblin."
"Well, I have to go," Jameson said. "I have to talk to someone about fixing the window. At the rate I'm going, I'm going to be broke by the end of the year."
"That may not be the only reason, Mr. Jameson," Lois said. "I did some research, and found the connection between all of the victims."
"Really?" Perry asked.
"Yes. All of them worked for businesses or organizations in which Mr. Jameson had a financial stake."
Jameson's face turned pale white.
"Mr. Jameson," the police officer said, "we might have to call you in for questioning. We're not accusing you of anything, but apparently, you might have some insight into this killer, when and if he strikes again."
"I doubt he will," Peter said. "I think his only goal was to rattle Jameson up. He succeeded in doing that by attacking the Planet. Having Jameson know who the victims were is even better."
"But why would anyone want to shake Jameson up?" Perry asked.
"Someone wants me to sell the Planet, and they will go to any lengths to convince me. Well, it's not going to happen. No one is going to unsettle my nerves enough to make me sell my paper!" With that, Jameson stormed off.
"Hamilton!"
Professor Hamilton looked up from his latest tinkertoy to see Spider-Man standing in front of his window.
"Spider-Man! What a pleasant surprise!" Hamilton said with a smile.
"I don't think so," Spidey replied. Hamilton's smile faded. "Why didn't you tell me that the suit can be deactivated by someone else?"
"What in the world are you talking about?"
"My suit. I was fighting the Green Goblin, and as he left, he pressed something on his belt which made the suit deactivate."
"I don't know exactly where you got your suit from . . . "
"Indirectly from you," Spidey said. "Remember when Peter Parker came to you for his science project? After he was done, he gave them to me to fashion this suit."
"Ah. But, I don't see how anyone could know how to deactivate the nanomachines because I created them myself!"
Peter and Victor sat in the back booth at the Crib, a couple hours later.
"I think Lois might know," Peter said.
"About your secret?"
"Yeah. The Goblin somehow deactivated my suit. When I rescued Lois, she seemed to have woken up too fast."
"And you think she was already awake, and saw you?"
"Maybe I'm just paranoid . . . "
"Just relax. As long as she doesn't print it." Victor paused. "She wouldn't print that would she?"
"Not without asking me about it first . . . Wait, wouldn't you know? You are related to her after all."
"Yeah, but I haven't had as much contact with her recently as you have."
"Maybe . . . " Peter trailed off as he thought about something.
Victor looked up. "Hey, isn't that Harry Osborn over there?"
Peter turned around. "Yeah, it is. Hey, Harry!"
Harry walked over. "What's up, Peter?"
"I just wanted to see how you were. I heard about the whole killer being after you thing - "
"I don't want to talk about it," Harry interrupted.
"Hey, no need to get defensive."
"Just don't mention it." Harry turned and left.
"What was that about?" Victor asked.
"Beats me. Does he have a connection to the murders?"
The boys were silent for a moment.
"Wait a minute!" Peter exclaimed. "Lois said that all of the victims were related to organizations that Jameson was financially connected to. Now, what would Jameson be giving Harry money for? Definitely not Osborn Industries."
"Maybe the football team?"
"Maybe. Or maybe the killer slipped up."
"I don't think he chose the victims. He was a puppet."
"Could have been."
Just then, Mary Jane came up. "Hey, boys. I just got off. Wanna do something tonight?"
Victor looked at his watch. "Sure, I'll call Natalie, and we can join you two. Is that okay?"
"Sure," MJ said. "Anything to get out of this place. I want to have some fun tonight! What do you say, Peter?"
Peter thought for a second and then smiled. "Whatever you say."
Next issue: A Spidey Christmas!