Chapter 338: Spider-Man, Can You Kill the Green Goblin for Me?
"Thanks!" Peter shouted toward the helicopter in the sky.
Inside the Helicopter
the officers looked at their commander, who cleared his throat awkwardly. "See? Spider-Man is thanking us."
On the Ground
"Impossible! How can he still be alive!" Hobgoblin Two widened his eyes in disbelief.
"It's fine, we can just work with the Green Goblin..." Hobgoblin One didn't even finish his sentence before realizing their leader, the Green Goblin, had already vanished.
Once the Hobgoblins realized Harry had abandoned them, they panicked. They banked their gliders, preparing to flee in all directions. However, at that moment, iron rings suddenly erupted from the gliders, shackling their legs.
"What is this?!" the Hobgoblins cried out in shock. Harry had never mentioned this feature.
Peter noticed something was wrong as the Hobgoblins began flying involuntarily toward him.
"Damn it! We've been abandoned!" one of them shrieked in terror.
"Curse that Goblin, he tricked us!" Hobgoblin Five tried to break the iron rings, but he was powerless.
The five Hobgoblins were now on a forced collision course toward Peter, and the gliders beneath their feet began emitting a rapid beep-beep-beep sound.
"Oh no..." Peter was all too familiar with that sound. It was the countdown to an explosion!
Peter looked up sharply. These Hobgoblins were being used as suicide bombs!
"Quick! Get out of here!" Peter shouted urgently to the helicopter still hovering nearby. As an experienced officer, the commander immediately ordered the pilot to retreat.
Peter was about to open a portal to the Shadow Kingdom to escape when he saw the five Hobgoblins freeze mid-air, suspended in time.
"Silas?!" Peter cried out in relief.
"The same old trick," Silas Parker said, opening a shadow portal with one hand and using telekinesis to hurl the five Hobgoblins inside.
BOOM!
The moment they exploded, Silas snapped the portal shut.
"Where's Vulture?" Peter asked.
Silas shook his head. "Escaped. Where did these guys come from?"
"They call themselves Hobgoblins. Green Goblin summoned them," Peter explained.
"Hobgoblins..." Silas hadn't expected Harry to produce five of them so quickly. However, no matter how many there were, they were nothing more than cannon fodder to him.
"That skyscraper is heavily damaged," Silas said, stepping beside Peter. "Even if it doesn't fall, it'll have to be demolished."
"...I can't believe he got away again!" Peter punched the wall in frustration, leaving a deep indentation.
"The guy is an expert at running away. Don't take it too personally; it's not your fault," Silas comforted him.
Silas could have captured Harry, but he believed this was a task Peter had to accomplish himself to grow. As for the Mandarin—a foe belonging to Tony Stark—Silas had killed him without hesitation, as he was no longer of any use. Whether killing Iron Man's arch-nemesis would change the future didn't concern Silas in the slightest.
"But if I had only..." Peter started to say.
Silas patted his shoulder and opened the path to the Shadow Kingdom. "Let's go. The school clubs were interrupted, and they'll be calling for a roll call soon. We need to get back."
Peter swallowed his words and followed Silas back to the school.
Midtown High
Back at the school, the once-lively atmosphere was replaced by the pained moans of the injured. Emerging from the restroom, Peter clenched his fists. Next time, he would catch the Green Goblin.
Silas watched Peter's expression but said nothing. The world of superheroes was cruel. Even Spider-Man wasn't omnipotent; there were places he couldn't protect.
Rescue workers were carrying the seriously injured away on stretchers. The Goblin's bombs had destroyed a small laboratory building, causing secondary chemical explosions. Students who had been near the building were trapped under the rubble, their fates unknown.
"What are you doing?" Silas asked, catching Peter's arm.
"I want to help them," Peter said, looking at the firefighters digging through the debris.
"They'll be looking for us any minute. Don't go making things more complicated," Silas said. He summoned a group of Shadow Ninjas to head into the ruins and assist with the rescue covertly.
"Thanks," Peter sighed. For now, this was the best solution.
On the school field, a sea of people had gathered. All uninjured students and teachers were waiting for a notification from the school board.
"This is so strange. Why would the Green Goblin attack here?"
"Who knows? School just started, and this happens."
The teachers whispered among themselves while the students were in a state of panic. Everyone just wanted to go home where they felt safe.
"Silas! Peter!" Felicia and Gwen smiled in relief upon seeing the Parker brothers.
"Where did you two go?" Gwen asked, her voice trembling. She had been worried sick after seeing them run toward the blast zone.
"It's okay, Gwen. We just went to see if we could help," Peter lied. Only Felicia looked skeptical; her sixth sense told her Peter wasn't being entirely truthful.
Ned suddenly pulled Peter aside. His voice was thick with suppressed rage and sorrow. "Did you catch him? Did you catch the Green Goblin?!"
"No," Peter said, his heart sinking.
"Frieda... she was caught in the blast." Ned stared blankly at Peter, tears finally overflowing like a broken dam.
"Injured?!" Peter asked anxiously. "How is she?"
"The doctor said she's in bad shape. She's going into surgery, and the success rate is less than 10%." Ned was at a loss. Frieda was his girlfriend—the first girl who truly loved him.
"Ned..." Peter didn't know how to comfort him. He usually relied on Silas for comfort himself. Ned's hands on his shoulders felt like two massive mountains weighing him down.
"I'm okay, Peter," Ned wiped his eyes. He knew he couldn't blame Peter. The Goblin had a glider; he was hard to catch.
But this was the first time Peter had seen Ned like this. Usually, Ned was all smiles and laughter. Now, that joy was gone, replaced by a mask of grief.
"Trust me, Ned. I will catch him," Peter promised, staring into his friend's eyes.
Ned looked back with hollow eyes and whispered, "Can you promise me one thing?"
"Of course! Anything," Peter said, desperate to make Ned feel better.
"Help me kill the Green Goblin, okay?" Ned said slowly.
A bolt of lightning seemed to strike Peter's heart. Ned wanted him to kill?
"Ned, criminals have to be handled by the law. If I kill him, how am I any different from them?" Peter replied, unable to agree.
"I understand. You're Spider-Man..." Ned turned away dejectedly. Spider-Man doesn't kill.
"I..." Peter stood there, speechless.
"What were you two talking about?" Gwen asked, walking over.
"Nothing," Peter said. He couldn't tell her—not while his secret identity was at stake.
"Gwen," Peter said, looking up suddenly. "What do you think of Spider-Man?"
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