Web of Scarlet Spider #16

SimsCorp

Room 1309 of SimsCorp’s thirteenth floor served as the base of operations for the Scarlet Spider Project. While investigating the disappearance of an old flame and her son, Ben Reilly—the Scarlet Spider himself—was attacked and captured by the criminal who called himself the Headsman. Ollie Osnick, one of Ben’s support team, instantly called in the other members of the team—Julia Carpenter, also the heroine called Arachne, and Ezekiel Sims, the man behind the Scarlet Spider Project.

“Here’s what I pulled up,” said Ollie. The large monitor he sat before displayed images of the Headsman, both in costume and from his mug shot. “Cleavon Twain, repeat offender. Before Norman Osborn became the Green Goblin, he hired Twain to test out some of the equipment in the prototype stage. He went up against Spider-Man and was actually defeated by Osborn himself in one of his first outings as the Goblin. According to this, he’s been incarcerated at Ryker’s Island ever since.”

“Until now,” said Ezekiel.

“He was paroled,” said Ollie. “Strange thing is, parole wasn’t an option with his sentence.”

“So how did he get one?” asked Julia.

“Someone’s pulling strings,” said Ezekiel. “Someone with deep pockets and good connections. That’s the only explanation I can think of.”

“I think it might be the same someones who are responsible for the Tynes’ disappearance,” said Ollie. “Question we have to ask is what do they want with Ben? And where would they take him?”

“Right now the Headsman seems to be our only link to these people,” said Ezekiel. “Given that Norman Osborn employed him in the past and his own involvement in Ben’s creation…”

“Zeke, Osborn’s been dead for a while now,” said Ollie. “You can’t seriously think he’s behind this, can you?”

“Osborn’s escaped death before,” said Ezekiel.

“Evidence is pretty overwhelming, though,” said Ollie.

“What about his daughter-in-law?” asked Julia. “From what Ben’s told me, she went crazy herself.”

“She’s been declared sane, but even if she’s fallen off the wagon again, I don’t think it’s her.” Ollie brought up a financial headline on the computer screen, summarizing Oscorp’s hard times. “She doesn’t have Oscorp’s resources at her disposal anymore. Company went bankrupt and the only thing that saved it from collapse was a recent buy-out.”

“Who bought it?” asked Julia.

“Some Ruskie named Lukin. And before you ask, yes, I ran a check. Nothing in his background suggests he’d have any reason to pick up Osborn’s legacy,” said Ollie.

“I’ll make some calls, see if there’s any way of figuring out who’s behind Twain’s parole,” said Ezekiel.

“What about us?” asked Julia.

“Ben was investigating the hotel the Tynes were staying at. There was some sort of residue left behind in one of the air vents, but obviously he wasn’t able to get a sample,” said Ollie. “Mind grabbing some of that for me?”

Julia nodded. “Just gotta change into my work clothes, then I’ll have it back here quick as I can.”

“Take your time,” said Ollie. “I’ve got a lead I’m going to check out, too.”

“What kind of lead?” asked Ezekiel.

“Just something that occurred to me. Might be nothing, so I’ll let you know later,” said Ollie.

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Web of Scarlet Spider

THE ORDER OF THE GOBLIN
Part II

Written by Dino Pollard

Ben had awoken a few moments ago in a large, dark room. His costume had been stripped and the lighting in the room was provided by jack o’lanterns arranged in a path. That path led him to a large room where dozens of people stood in dark, purple cloaks and goblin masks, colored a sickening green. And at the front of the room was a large altar with a young boy sprawled unconscious. Over him stood the figure who had haunted Ben for years.

The Green Goblin.

Ben broke into a run towards the altar. The other goblins stepped in his path, but Ben’s rage was unmatched. He fought past them, breaking through the ranks. The Goblin just stood and cackled, watching the scene unfold with manic glee. Ben found himself being overwhelmed by them. Even with his spider strength, their numbers were too great. They piled on one after another, restraining him, holding him down. Some of them began beating on him to weaken his struggle even more.

After a while, Ben relented slightly and the goblins dragged him to the foot of the altar. The Green Goblin descended the steps leading down to Ben and knelt before him, gripping his chin in his purple-gloved hand.

“Did you really think you could escape me, little clone?” asked the Green Goblin. The voice sounded similar to the one Osborn used as the Green Goblin, but that could have easily been accomplished with a vocal synthesizer.

“Norman Osborn is dead. Who the hell are you?” asked Ben.

“You were considered dead once yourself,” said the Green Goblin. “Are you so surprised that I could find a way to return, too?”

“It’s not true…can’t be,” said Ben. “What the hell is this place?”

“Once they were the Scriers, before I took control,” said the Green Goblin. “Now, they have become the Order of the Goblin.”

“A sick cult dedicated to the worship of Norman Osborn?” asked Ben. “You’re all twisted.”

He looked towards the altar and finally could see that the boy was very familiar. Ben struggled, trying to lunge forward, but the goblins held him back. “REILLY!” he shouted, straining against them.

The Green Goblin struck him with a blow so powerful, it could only have come from the enhanced strength provided by the Goblin formula. Ben’s head rocked back with such force, he felt like his neck could have snapped.

“What are you doing with Reilly? What did you do with Liz?” asked Ben.

“She’s safe, for now,” said the Green Goblin. “We wouldn’t want to kill off the surrogate mother of our savior, now would we?”

“Surrogate mother…?” asked Ben. “What the hell do you have to do with Reilly? What the hell does any of this have to do with…”

“Did you ever wonder why she named him Reilly?” asked the Green Goblin. “He’s your son, Ben. Or rather, Peter’s son. But he’s so much more than that, too.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Ben.

“Harry was a disappointment. A flaw. And little Normie? With a genetic defect like Harry as his father and that simpering whore for a mother, he could never be worthy. The Order needed a true successor to the legacy. Only Parker ever proved himself worthy enough. But he too, lacked one, fatal flaw,” said the Green Goblin. “He wasn’t an Osborn.”

“…oh my god.” The realization of Reilly’s origins struck Ben like a thunderbolt. And the Goblin’s sickly grin widened.

“Yes, Ben. Reilly Tyne is a combination of the genetic material of Peter Parker and Norman Osborn. The successor to the Osborn legacy. But there’s even more than that.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Ben.

“We couldn’t get Parker. But what we did have were the remains of his clone. The only perfect clone to emerge from that original project which birthed you,” said the Green Goblin. “We had you, Ben. First, we recreated you, a test that the material you left behind was sound. And then, we used the process to create Reilly.”

“That’s not possible,” said Ben. “Reilly’s too old for—”

“Precisely why we needed you again,” said the Green Goblin. “Reilly has a unique form of the clone degeneration illness, hence his rapid aging. We need your material to stabilize him.”

“You think I’m going to let you corrupt that kid? Twist him so he’s a nutcase like you?” asked Ben.

“The alternative is you let him die,” said the Green Goblin. “The choice is yours, Ben. We’ll give you some time to think it over.”

The Green Goblin snapped his fingers and the goblins dragged Ben away. They threw him into a dark room and slammed the door shut. Ben got to his feet and then the lights turned on.

The room was a small cell with concrete walls. The door was thick steel. But Ben wasn’t alone in the room. Huddled in the corner of the room was Elizabeth Tyne, curled into the fetal position. Ben went to her side and touched her shoulder, but Liz began to scream.

“Liz, calm down, it’s me!” he said. “It’s Ben.”

Liz slowly relaxed and opened her eyes. Once she saw Ben in front of her, those eyes began to water and she threw her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. “Oh god, Ben! Thank god!”

“It’s okay,” said Ben, calming her down. Liz, look at me.”

He pulled away slightly and clasped her face gently between his hands, staring into her eyes. “Liz, what’s going on here? Is it true? About Reilly?”

“I’m so sorry, Ben,” she said. “I just…I wanted you back so bad. And they said…they said they could make it happen. But when I saw Reilly, I…I couldn’t go through with it. So I took him away. And we’ve been running ever since.”

Ben appeared confused by her words. “Something’s wrong here. You couldn’t have just escaped that easily. How did you manage to get away?”

Liz began to sob again. “I…I didn’t do it alone. I had help.”

Ben started to become fearful once more. “Whose help?”

SimsCorp

Once Arachne returned from her excursion to the hotel, she turned over the samples she collected to one of the technicians on the thirteenth floor. She didn’t know much about it herself, so she waited impatiently for the results to come back.

“We’ve got a match in the database,” said the technician.

“Good, that’s a start,” said Julia.

“It matches a unique compound found in equipment used with a known offender,” said the technician.

“Which one?” asked Julia.

The technician said nothing, but on the monitor, an image appeared of the Green Goblin. Julia momentarily froze, but then she recovered and quickly activated her mask’s built-in coms.

“Zeke, it’s Julia. Whoever’s behind this? They’re using Osborn’s tech.”

{I’ve managed to figure out something as well. Apparently, strings were pulled for Twain by someone at a European company called Hollister Holdings.}

“What’s that?” asked Julia. “Why would they have any connection to Osborn?”

{I’m looking into it. But apparently, the company’s founding in Europe happened during the period when Osborn was presumed dead.}

“In other words, when he was in Europe,” said Julia.

{The company was formed by a man named James Hollister. I checked his records and I’m sending them to you now.}

A new message indication appeared on the technician’s screen. He opened it and enclosed was the information on James Hollister. But what struck Julia the most was his photograph. He had short, red hair that had a unique style to it. One unmistakable.

“Zeke, that’s Norman Osborn.”

{There’s more. Keep reading.}

Julia did just that, and suddenly the pieces began to fall into place. “We’ve got to find Ollie.”

Ollie Osnick soared across the rooftops, dressed in the guise of the Steel Spider. The sightings had pointed to this general area, where many homeless gathered. He dropped down into the alley and saw a man wearing a heavy cloak and standing over a burning trash can.

“You’ve been looking for me,” he said.

“That’s right,” said the Steel Spider. “I need your help.”

“Do you?” he asked. “And tell me, why should I help you?”

“Because it’s not for me and it’s not for Ben,” said the Steel Spider. “It’s for Liz and Reilly.”

The man with the long, brown hair and the scarred face approached the Steel Spider. He towered over Ollie, staring at him with an unreadable expression. And then he said, “why should I believe anything you tell me?”

“Ben had nothing to do with Liz and Reilly coming here, she sought him out,” said the Steel Spider. “I think you know that, don't you? And I think you know who’s behind all this. Isn’t that right, Kaine?”

Kaine grumbled in response and turned away. “They said I was the key. But it turns out I was just the key to bringing him back.”

“What are you talking about?” asked the Steel Spider.

“Ben’s remains, there wasn’t enough to form a complete clone. So they used me to help. And then from Ben, they created Reilly.”

“Created?”

“I helped her take Reilly away from them. But then she left me,” said Kaine. “Once she knew Ben was alive, she left me to find him.”

“You’re not answering my question, Kaine. Who’s behind all of this?”

“The only true Osborn left,” said Kaine. “Lily Hollister. Norman’s daughter.”

Kaine grabbed the Steel Spider and leapt into the air. It happened just as a massive burst of energy struck the area they were standing in, blowing the garbage can.

Kaine clutched onto the wall, his powers burning into the concrete. The Steel Spider pulled away, his mechanical legs keeping him attached to the side. The pair of them looked up and saw the Headsman hovering above them. But behind him were about half a dozen other men. All of them wore variations of the Green Goblin costume and all of them hovered on gliders.

“Awright boys, let’s do this!” said the Headsman.