Norman Industries.
A handsome, well-dressed older man with an elegant, gentle appearance sat behind his desk, reviewing documents.
The items on the desk were simple: a computer, a cup of coffee that had already gone cold, and a photo frame beside the monitor. In the picture was a handsome young man with a bright, carefree smile.
Unfortunately, that young man was no longer alive.
In this universe, Norman Osborn had also developed the Green Goblin Super Serum.
And because the project had been urgently shut down from above, the experiment had been forced to stop completely.
But Norman had never accepted that.
He had poured all of his energy and wealth into that research. It was, in every sense, his life's work.
After spending years on it, how could anyone accept it being canceled just like that?
But the experiment was unstable, and there was no test subject. Norman had intended to use himself.
Harry had stopped him in time.
As his son, Harry knew his father was getting older and might not survive the serum's side effects, so he volunteered to take his father's place in the experiment.
The experiment succeeded.
The Harry of this world really did become a superhuman. His mind grew sharper, but his personality twisted.
Yes, he developed a second personality.
And that twisted, violent second personality eventually devoured the original one completely, turning him into a true monster.
The Goblin was born.
The Goblin became one of Spider-Man's most dangerous enemies, and their battles lasted for years.
Until three years ago, when Spider-Man defeated the Goblin.
And the Goblin died to one of his own Pumpkin Bombs.
Harry died.
The Ultimate Spider-Man of this world had never dreamed that the Goblin, his enemy, would turn out to be his best friend Harry Osborn.
Because he had indirectly caused his best friend's death, Spider-Man had sunk into a deep slump for a while afterward.
As for Norman, shattered by the pain of losing his son, he chose revenge. He injected himself with the second-generation Green Goblin Serum and became New York's nightmare: the Ultimate Green Goblin.
Over the last three years, Norman had fought Ultimate Spider-Man while secretly working with Kingpin to research the quantum collider, because the two of them shared the same goal.
They both wanted to see their lost loved ones again, even if it meant destroying another universe to do it.
Rubbing the photo in his hand, Norman said softly, "Harry, very soon Dad will see you again."
Crash!
The sound of shattering glass rang out.
Norman looked up from his thoughts. The glass wall of his private office had exploded inward, and two figures now stood before him: one in a red-and-blue Spider-Man suit, and another wearing armor, riding a glider, and hiding his face behind a strange mask.
"Peter?!"
"Aren't you dead?!"
Norman immediately recognized the red-and-blue Spider-Man as Peter, clearly mistaking him for this world's Peter.
Though he had been Spider-Man's enemy, the truth was that he had always treated Peter very well. He had always seen Peter as another son. He hated Spider-Man, but he did not hate Peter Parker.
Otherwise, he would never have attended Spider-Man's funeral, nor discussed with Aunt May the idea of burying him beside Harry.
He had thought that way, at least, his son and his best friend would not feel alone.
"That suit looks a little different. Did you come back from the dead?"
"Norman, I think we need to talk."
Peter pulled off his mask and spoke calmly.
Although this universe's Norman did not look exactly like the Norman from his own world, the same sense of familiarity was there. The only difference was that this Norman's warmth carried a hint of madness and danger underneath it, and that forced Peter to stay cautious.
"Norman, are you working with Kingpin on a quantum collider? Are you using it to distort space and forcibly tear open the barriers between universes, trying to create a passage into the multiverse?"
"'I' died because of that collider, didn't I?"
Peter asked.
In truth, based on what he had overheard the night before from middle-aged Peter and Miles, he had already pieced together most of the story.
What was strange was this: middle-aged Peter and Miles had already come here. Since Norman had already seen people from other universes, why was he so surprised now?
Unless he simply had not been here yesterday.
"You guessed right. Peter, it seems our experiment was a success. You're not from this world, are you? The Peter of this world really did die because of it, and he died under Kingpin's fists. I watched the whole thing from the shadows, but I never made a move."
"Because you were my son Harry's best friend. I treated you like a son too. I couldn't bring myself to do it."
Norman spoke calmly from start to finish. He never even stood from his chair. He simply picked up the cold coffee on his desk and took a graceful sip.
"Even though my Harry died because of Spider-Man in this world, and that pains me... I cannot take that anger out on Peter. That was the destiny between the Goblin and Spider-Man. I can fight Spider-Man. I can even kill Spider-Man. But I cannot do that to Peter."
"I hope you understand, son."
Then Norman frowned slightly.
"Have you been drinking?"
Catching the faint smell of alcohol, he frowned, then relaxed again, speaking with the natural tone of an elder.
"You look underage. You really shouldn't be drinking."
"With him."
Peter jabbed the armored Harry beside him lightly with his elbow.
At that, little Goblin Harry's body stiffened.
Although the father in front of him did not look exactly like the father from his own world, the presence he gave off was achingly familiar.
"Is this your friend?"
Norman shifted his gaze to little Goblin Harry, who was still wearing his mask, and greeted him kindly.
"Hello, son..."
Little Goblin Harry slowly removed his mask.
His deep green eyes looked straight at Norman, already rimmed red.
"Hello, Mr. Norman..."
"Uh... Harry... no..."
"Sorry. You look a little like my son. He was a good boy. If he were still alive, I'm sure the two of you would have become friends."
Norman's voice turned sorrowful as he said it. For a moment, he had truly thought the half-disfigured young man in front of him was his own son.
But he knew better.
His Harry was dead.
"Dad... I always thought... you believed I was a failure."
Little Goblin Harry's eyes filled with tears.
Even though this father was not the one from his own universe, hearing Norman call him a good boy made years of insecurity and self-loathing finally start to melt away.
Maybe it really was time to say goodbye to the broken version of himself.
"You really are Harry?!"
"So Kingpin's experiment wasn't a fluke! I knew it!"
Norman said excitedly.
Then another familiar voice rose inside his head.
"No... you still haven't succeeded. Look at him. He is not your Harry."
"Do you want to find your Harry? Then become one with me again. Become the Goblin. Push the quantum collider farther. Make the quantum black hole even larger. Go find a universe where our Harry is still alive."
Norman's expression changed.
Even as he grew excited, that inner voice whispered and tempted him.
It was a voice he knew well, because it was his own.
Or rather, it belonged to that savage, violent personality within him.
He had done many terrible things because of that side of himself in the past. He had thought it would never return.
But it had.
Norman clutched his head in pain and rolled across the floor.
Peter and little Goblin Harry hurried forward to help him, but Norman shouted, "Don't come closer! He's coming out!"
"Who?"
The two of them were still confused, when Norman's expression suddenly changed. The pain vanished, replaced by a twisted grin. His eyes turned red as he laughed.
"He means me! I am... no, we are... the Ultimate Green Goblin!"
With a roar, Norman's body began turning green before their eyes. Two horns burst from his head. His expensive suit ripped apart. His body expanded to a terrifying ten feet tall. A pair of wings tore out from his back, and his mouth filled with monstrous teeth.
He looked like Satan himself.
This was the Ultimate Green Goblin.
"Peter, I swear this is the scariest Goblin I've ever seen. My dad never looked like this."
Harry swallowed hard and quietly backed up two steps, staring at the thing in front of him.
"That's normal. Parallel universe versions always have differences... but right now, our situation looks pretty bad."
As Peter spoke, the Spider Arm Blades snapped out of his forearms.
[Ding. Host has triggered a special mission: Build an Antihero Multiverse Team. Recruit little Goblin Harry and the Ultimate Green Goblin into the team! Reward upon completion: Level 5 Treasure Chest, 500 Skin Points, Gene Enhancement Serum, 2 Defect Optimization Serums!]
[Current progress: 0/2. Partial rewards available...]
Peter: ???
The mission sounded great. The rewards were amazing.
But was this really the moment for that?
"Harry!"
"What?!"
"Listen. Youth has no price. Time for a son to go all out on his dad. Let's go!"
Little Goblin Harry: ???
You really are something else.
(End of Chapter)
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