Everything was fucked. Irreparably fucked. He couldn’t even trust his closest friend. Well it’s not like his closest friend could trust him either. Harry didn’t know which was worse. He knew he’d lied with intent, knew what he’d done was wrong, but he’d still done it anyway. Pete… Pete hadn’t lied. It had felt like a lie, but he’s just not said anything. Harry had sort of avoided any conversation that could end up with him revealing what he knew. That had been stupid. But he hadn’t had the guts to do it. Even after getting wine drunk. He’d been too afraid to bring out the hard liquor. Scared it would turn into a screaming match. That wasn’t right, it wouldn’t become a screaming match. Peter didn’t lash out when he got angry, he turned inward. It was probably a good thing he hadn’t brought out the liquor. He wouldn’t have been able to live with the shame once he’d gotten sober.
He chuckled to himself, the sound filled with irony. Pete had seen right through him, effortlessly. He’d let the mask slip for half a second and bam, Pete had known he’d wanted to hurt himself. It’s like he had a sixth sense. For everything he didn’t want him to see and nothing he did. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
It wasn’t Peter’s fault.
It wasn’t Peter’s fault he didn’t have the courage to release the footage on his own. It wasn’t Peter’s fault Harry couldn’t go against his father. It was Peter’s fault Harry’s conscience, as warped and twisted as it was, still existed. He didn’t know if that was a good thing. Maybe if he watched it again, he’d be able to figure it out.
He hit play on the video again.
“You bastard! What’ve you done?!”
“I’ve finally achieved it. I’ve achieved perfection “
“SOMEONE! HELP! HE-“
Harry watched the feed unflinchingly as the sound of the man’ s screams echoed around his room. He’d seen it hundreds of times already and it didn’t get any easier to watch. But he made sure he did. Maybe this time the shock of it all would change his mind.
He continued watching, the seconds in the bottom corner of the feed ticking away. Four seconds, three, two, one…
The familiar sound of the door creaking open slightly, followed by-
“No on-”
Harry’s face twitched. The sound of the door closing cuts off the sentence, but he can tell, could tell on the first watch it was Peter. Silence for six seconds. The door creaks open again.
“Hello?”
He flinched at the sound of Peter’s voice. He always did. Wasn’t sure why.
“What the-“ The kids voice. And it begins. There’s a sickening thud, and the crack of concrete.
“Lucasssss… you shouldn’t have come”
“Ricardo?!”
“Yes Lucasss. I finally succeeded. I mean look at me!”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“What did you do?!” I shouted.
“Didn’t you hear me? I succeeded! What happened to you was near impossible to replicate, but we tried. We really did. But it was foolish to try and change humans on a fundamental level. Fortunately, we had you! We stumbled across the happy little accident that is this power!”
“What are you talking about?! What about the cure?”
“Cure?! Boy don’t you understand what you’ve been gifted! Pure unadulterated POWER!!”
“No! Y-you said you could cure me!”
“Who cares!!!”
Another sickening thud. The kid’s gasps as he struggles for air are even worse. And Pete scrambling about in the background, his eyes glued to the monster. The crash of glass. It does nothing.
“It’s not perfect though. This power, it isn’t stable. It needs negative energy, blood, and brains. It hungers for it”
“It wasn’t supposed to go like this, but we had to eat Lindon. He’d spent so much time in here his body was basically radiating with negative energy. Gods he was delicious. And you will be too. Once I eat you, I’ll eat the girl. And then I’ll hunt down every last one of the insects and altered and eat them alive. And I’ll enjoy every second of it”
He turned the volume down. The acid splashed against the monster, it’s damning screeches sounded like the cries of tortured souls in the depths of hell.
The kid grabs Peter, running for it. The monster gives chase. Tables fly and the room becomes a mess, years of planning and months of work reduced to debris in seconds.
“The acid!”
Harry flinched but fixed his eyes upon the screen again. He enjoyed this moment the most. The scuffle is artistic in a way. The savage monster and desperate boy. It reminds Harry of him and his father. Only the boy wins.
“YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO CURE ME!!”
A sickening boom and the audio cuts out. The camera shakes with every blow as blood spatters the wall. Then light strobes across the room. The kid gets thrown and Peter rushes over to him. Then a flash of white and nothing. Harry sighed and stared at the black screen. Unfortunately, because of the complete idiots running the security system this was the only footage he had. Nothing had been recorded in any of the labs before his visit because of ‘legal reasons’. Even though it wasn’t necessary he was dying to know what else had happened in that lab. It might have been able to save him without him having to release the rest of the footage. Watching it again had just made that feeling worse. Part of him so desperately wanted to release the tape.
If he released the tape Harry would be okay. Sure a few people might blame him, but most would pin it on the monster. Once they found out he was a scientist he’d be crucified, if he wasn’t dead already. But the boy’s life would be ruined too. Everyone would know who Spider-man was. Lucas Escarra. Three sisters. The eldest was his guardian Dead parents. Blood type A negative. Born 19/05/2009. Only fourteen years old.
Only Harry, his father, and Viktor knew. A few scientists too. And it was supposed to stay that way. His father had told them. Not because of any moral, simply because Norman was worried that the footage might contain the secret to the negative energy bomb. He was doing everything he could to try and recover some of this venom. Harry had managed to argue against kidnapping the kid, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last. He’d said it was more trouble than it was worth, that they didn’t want someone that strong as an enemy. That had been a lie. It had been too close to MJ, too close to the good part of his life. Plus, he didn’t want the kid to suffer for his victory. He needed the win to be flawless in his mind. That way, it at least made it worth it. That way the video would stay secret. Harry couldn’t ruin the boy’s triumph, even if it denied his own.
He leant back into his sofa, it’s impeccable softness anything but a comfort. The silence was almost deafening, or maybe it was just the thrum of blood roaring in his ears. It didn’t matter. He grabbed the remote from beside him and switched on the television, the light casting a glow over the rest of the room. It was the Bugle’s 24 hour broadcast. It wasn’t exactly his cup of tea, but Lauren liked to watch it whenever she couldn’t sleep. He went to flick through the channels before pausing. His brow furrowed. It was a late, to the point that you could call it early, but he was sure he wasn’t seeing things. They were showing a handheld recording, from the aspect ratio probably a phone.
“Spider-Man” he whispered to himself. The kid was back on the streets and from what was happening it didn’t look like people were happy. Someone had thrown a garbage bag at him whilst a group of kids had recorded laughing.
Harry turned off the TV and scowled. He didn't need to see that, it'd just make him feel more pathetic. He closed the laptop too and looked out over the skyline, peppered with lights that glowed in the darkness. Finally his eyes settled on Oscorp tower. That was it then. After all that work, it had slipped between his fingers in a single fucking night. He’d never have it. Harry downed his drink. It didn’t matter. If he couldn’t have it, he’d burn it down.