7-1

Sieghart was feeling a bit foggy, even more so than before. There was a distant voice crying out to him but he couldn’t hear it. He was falling deeper and deeper.

Feet on something solid, his arms felt heavy as he stood in the dark. Cloudy darkness rolled up around him, he couldn’t see where he was or where to go. He felt a tug from in front of him as if something was calling him. Walking forward, the earthy ground below him turned to rock and his arms and legs got heavier and heavier, until he reached the edge of a cliff. He didn’t know how he knew that without any light, but he could just tell.

There was a sudden slam.

He jumped. Nearly tumbling over the edge he pulled back, there was something dangerous down there.

His heart pounded.

Then he heard maniacal laughter.

Someone was playing with him, “Who’s there!”

A deep voice almost slithered, “Who?”

The voice seemed to shift, “Don't play innocent with me.” Sieghart tried to walk back from the edge but his feet seemed to have grown even heavier, the ledge cracked. A distant sound resounded throughout the air, and the ground shook.

“You've known all along.” Rocks crumbled from the cliffside as they went over the edge. Sieghart was visibly panicking.

“Wha- What are you talking about? Where am I, where are you? What the hell is happening!?”

“Follow the cold shiver down your spine.” The creeping fear seized his throat and just as he was about to shout, the inky cloud in front of him rolled black.

On the other side was a mirror, except not.

There was a picture version of himself everything was the same. Except his expression and what he wore.

A straitjacket wrapped in steel chains and weights, a maniacal expression on his face. He was surrounded by flames seemingly under his control dancing unnaturally.

Sieghart blinked in shock, realization coming to the forefront, “Wait you’re-”

“Yes, you, but classy. Please we don’t have all day.” He drawled.

The cliff cracked much like a glacier under global warming, a large piece fell off not too far from Sieghart, “What the hell is happening!?”

“Did you think you were special?”

“What.” The question falling from left field.

“Flying into that gas field of Lizard Mutation, did you think nothing would happen?”

It clicked, “Wait do you mean-”

“Yes I do mean the fact that you’re about to be invaded.”

There was a roar and a rumble.

“Unless you let me go.”

Sieghart realized what was happening, that was the Goblin, or his mental image of him. ‘Wait shit does this mean I’m already insane!? Dammit I shouldn’t have inhaled the gas -Argh.’ he swore.

His mirror cackled, “There are many things you ‘shouldn’t have done’. There’s no running, you know in the end I always win,” Sieghart glared at his doppelganger pissed off. The anger seemed to be making the flames stronger so he calmed down, turning the maniacal smile up a few notches into unholy demon territory, “Give up.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He was trapped, he could feel all the powers and everything that made him strong from the Green Goblin Formula in the Alter Ego’s possession.

Sieghart knew that roar was of the Lizard mutation or his mind’s representation of it as it invaded him. They had taken a bit of the cure but it looked like it hadn’t worked, or at least it needed the mutation to be present.

Whatever the case he was about to deal with two demons, and he needed to make a deal with one if he wanted to survive the other.

He sighed, “Whelp.”

“Excellent just hand-”

“I guess I’ll die.”

“What.” It was his turn to be on the back foot now.

“What? Something wrong?” The roar sounding suspiciously like a T-Rex on steroids.

“Wait, what do you mean you’ll die?”

“Really? I can’t be clearer. Death. Cease to Live. Dead heartbeats.”

“J-J- you’re bluffing! We’ll die!”

“So? I’ve never been afraid of death.” He knew it to be true.

It was really weird, considering Sieghart had always thought Norman Osborn’s Alter Ego was just himself but crazy. It now looked like it was a split personality and it embodied other things.

Like a healthy fear of death.

And an understanding of who he was really dealing with.

With that realization Alter Ego began to truly panic. Sieghart was serious.

Sieghart said, “I don’t understand how you could’ve miscalculated, if you have access to my memories-” Sieghart blinked, “Unless you don’t. Then that would mean… Ah I see. Interesting.” He stared his maniacal self down, “It's my win.”

“What the hell do you mean ‘it's your win’, you-we’ll both die!” The Alter Ego terrified of the prospect. Sieghart pitied him.

“Yep!” Replying happily, “It’s my way or the highway.”

His Alter Ego stared at him, “You’re insane.”

Sieghart laughed.

“Fu-fine. Just,” he sighed, ”Just do what you want.”

“Glad you saw it my way.”

Just in time as what looked to be a komodo dragon the size of a city block stomped in.

Its scream shattered his ear drums and would've sent him flying if it weren't for the chains.

The Alter Ego seemed to not be as affected using flames to propel itself in the direction of the shockwave turning to Sieghart "I hate you so much."

"That just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I'll get its mouth and try to tame it. Use flames to keep it in one place." Sieghart jumped onto the other side feeling a sudden pressure of change at the very core of his being.

He managed to chain its mouth and jump on its back pull more chains around it even as it snapped many of them causing the constant crackle and pop of metal.

Massive flames leapt around the entire thing managing to cause it to flinch and distract it as more chains wrapped unnoticed limbs starting to suspend it as it thrashed causing 8 magnitude on the Richter scale.

"You! Are! Mine!" Shouting over its roar.

* ￦￦￦￦￦￦￦￦￦￦￦￦￦￦§

Sieghart blinked as if waking up from a particularly long nap. Not recognizing the building he was seconds away from smashing into.

“Damn it!”

He swerved, glancing off the side and chipping a piece of concrete. He almost sighed in relief when he noticed an absent weight and saw Spider-Man falling to the ground below.

“Son of a-” He flipped upside down and boosted the ‘nitros’.

Managing to grab at the last second wasn’t the hard part, it was banking away from the ground without changing directions too hard and ripping his limbs off.

Spidey said, “You know I could’ve just webbed myself up right?”

“Yeah, but really how much web fluid can you waste?”

“You… know they’re… of course you do.” Muttering about psychics and learning all his secrets, “I have some extras on my utility belt.”

“We got an army who knows how much we’ll need, they might not be enough.”

“Point. Hopefully not much with the cure dispersal.” There was a pause as they arrived at the top of the building, and spidey jumped on the antenna tower on the building reaching 25 meters into the sky like a double deckered tree.

"What the hell happened to you dude?" Spidey stood on the small maintenance platform on the antenna 10 meters off the ground.

Sieghart replied, "Ugh, I don't really know to be honest. I think I've been affected by the lizard DNA. " He sat down trying to slow his breathing and in a vain hope slowed down the new reptilian DNA.

"Damn, I thought your superpowers were immune to that?” Sieghart had explained he had gotten his own brand of an ‘accident’ and Spidey had simply nodded, seeing as how the superhero hadn’t been affected he’d thought Sieghart was the same.

“Seeing as I haven’t gone full Jurassic Park just yet, I think it only slowed it down.”

Spidey shouted, “Just hang on a little longer, I’ll have the cure rigged up."

As Sieghart made his way over to the ledge and sat down, trying to focus on the horizon thinking maybe it was like sea sickness where looking at the horizon might calm down the nausea. He seemed to subside, the headache at least, but he could feel his forearms changing, growing denser.

It was like his skin was bursting at the seams and something was poking through. He looked down trying to keep his mind off it, the ground was so far down and it was really strange because he could see the detailed concrete, across the street and into the glass windows of the buildings. The smooth reflections, the textures, everything, it was like he'd gone from living like a blind ape and had worn glasses for the first time.

He could've just sat on the ledge observing the city appreciating his new eagle’s point of view. His dynamic vision had taken an upgrade as well as he spotted very small fast moving details. He looked on confused wondering if he could actually see ants as they marched down the sidewalk. He shook his head as it was a very difficult notion to believe.

He heard steel crash onto the streets, “Spidey! I hear our friends, the ones with the swords, remember ‘em?”

“Yeah,” he said after a moment, “Are they alright?”

Sieghart said, “They seem pretty unevenly matched, our side is defending the lizards from Jack and Reaper. Ako seems to be leading them towards something.” He got up, “I’m going to go help them out, you finish up here.”

He clicked his tongue, “Alright… just, argh, save some for me.” Annoyed that he was up here fixing the cure instead of dealing with the problem below. Spidey knew it was irrational, but the feeling wouldn’t leave him.

“Maybe if you finish fast enough.” Then Sieghart hopped onto the Glider and pulled a nose dive straight towards his foe.

Stepping on a button popped out pumpkin bombs right into his hand, gripping them loosely so as to not crush them with his enhanced strength he let them loose.