Norman Osborn stood in the secret laboratory underneath OsCorp, staring into a fogged up chamber where its inhabitant had been slumbering for months. He held a phone to his ear, listening to the newest update on The Hobgoblin’s fight with Spider-Man. Osborn was far from pleased at what he had just been told.

“I knew Rhett would someday be a liability,” Norman Osborn sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he put the phone away. “Activate my newest toy. I want to give it a test run. The first mission: Kill Rhett Carson before Spider-Man learns anything from him.”

“But, sir, the test subject won’t be ready for weeks.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Osborn told him with a sneer. “Activate him.”

“Yes, sir,” the scientist reluctantly said as he took a deep breath and hit a mic on his lapel. “Activate The Night Monkey.”

“Wait, The Ni– The Night Monkey? Who in Hades named him that?”

“We lost a bet, sir.”

“You know what? It doesn’t matter, activate him. I want Rhett Carson’s dead by dawn.”

THE DEADLY DOZEN

PART V

By Tobias Christopher

“This is my baby brother,” Drew said to the sleeping baby in his arm as he looked at a picture from his wallet of Drew and A.J., taken when they were younger. “I lost him a while back. I couldn’t protect him. But I promise I’ll protect you.”

The baby lightly yawned as Drew smiled a little.

“I don’t think I’ve felt anything but misery for months. Maybe you’re a sign that things are about to get better.”

Tiger’s lifeless body lay in the grass as Spider-Man found himself facing The Hypno-Huster, Mysterio and The Hobgoblin, the only remnants of the dozen villains Spider-Man had been facing all night, all of them intent on killing him. Spider-Man remained unharmed, but the young man Spider-Man had partnered up with now lay dead by The Hypno-Hustler’s hand.

Tiger had also been revealed to be Peter Parker’s and Mary Jane Watson-Parker’s son from a bleak future. So you’d understand why Spider-Man is now angered beyond all reason. There were no quips, no funny lines, no making fun of the fact that the Hobgoblin had ditched most of his costume and was now standing on his goblin glider in just a pair of boxer shorts.

Now there was only revenge for the dead boy on the ground.

“Oh, shit,” Mysterio said as he saw Tiger’s body, his mask having been removed, revealing a young man who couldn’t have been older than a teenager. “You know, guys, it’d be one thing if we actually killed The Spider-Man, but I think we just signed our death warrants with this one.”

“Oh, come on, like anyone cares about that guy,” Hypno-Hustler laughed. “I don’t think Spider-Man can–”

“Wrong!” Spider-Man said angrily as he picked up Hypno-Hustler and body slammed him to the ground. He looked up at Mysterio, who gulped hard and unleashed every illusion and trick he had in a vain attempt to stop Spider-Man’s wrath, or at least slow him down.

As illusions of the Deadly Dozen, other villains, Spider-Man’s fellow heroes, Lovecraftian monsters, horror movie monsters and others exploded out of thin air, Spider-Man just closed his eyes and let his spider-senses guide him through the chaos and he jumped and bounded, flying through each and every one of them until he let a fist fly, shattering Mysterio’s helmet and sending the villain flying toward the ground in defeat.

Landing on his feet in the grass, Spider-Man picked up The Hypno-Hustler by the collar, angrily staring him down.

“Every bone in my body wants to atomize you, make a deal with Mephisto and bring you back twenty times so I can kill you in the most creative ways I can think of,” Spider-Man said through gritted teeth. “But that young man you just murdered had a job to do, and I’m going to see to it that what he started gets finished. I’d send you to jail, but then I’d be tempted to break in and finish you if you’re in my city. Luckily for you, I’m not a murderer, but the very sight of you wants me to change my mind on that.

So you run, Hustler. You run and get as far away from my sight and my city as you humanly can. And if I ever see you in New York again for any reason, if I even hear your name whispered on the wind, I will find you. And not even The Avengers will be able to save you on that day.”

Spider-Man tossed the villain a good forty yards, landing him in a lake before looking up at The Hobgoblin.

“This fight’s been a long time coming,” Spider-Man said. “Been looking forward to finding out who’s under that mask.”

“Likewise,” Hobgoblin said as he landed his glider. “You know, what’s gone down between us? It was never personal. I was just a college student that fell into a bad situation. But now? I’m going to enjoy killing you and then tearing through your loved ones like tissue paper.”

“Odd that it’s taken this long for the goblin serum to make you admit that,” Spider-Man told him. “Usually that’s the first thing a goblin tells me that he’s going to do.”

“Then let’s not keep your family waiting.” Hobgoblin said as he tossed a string of pumpkin bombs at him.

As the bombs landed, a black smoke started rising, obscuring both of their vision as punches started flying.

Drew wakened to the sound of knocking at the door. He looked down, seeing the baby wrapped tightly in his jacket to keep him warm. Grabbing his sneakers in one hand and the baby in his other arm, Drew slowly approached the door and looked through the peephole to see was standing on the other side.

“Robbie?” Drew asked as he opened the door. “Is that really you? How did you find me?”

“You didn’t turn off the GPS on your phone,” Robbie said. “I came here after I took Mary Jane to the hospital to make sure she’s okay. She’s waiting for us. Is the baby alright?”

“He’s better than alright,” Drew told him. “I took good care of him, Robbie. I got formula and diapers and kept him warm.”

“You did good, Drew,” Robbie said. “Peter will be proud. Let’s go.”

“Who cares about Peter?” Drew asked. “Do you think A.J. would–”

“Yeah, I think he would be proud, too.”

I’ve never seen this much rage, not even from a Goblin, Spider-Man thought to himself as he dodged the Hobgoblin’s punches. I don’t know what this guy’s been through since the last time we fought, but he’s out for more blood than usual. I need a way to subdue this guy before it’s too late.

“What is your deal?” Spider-Man asked as he bound Hobgoblin in webbing, only for him to rip right through it and continue charging forward. Spider-Man jumped over him, grabbing his enemy by the cape and kicking him forward into a tree. “Did I cut you off in a Starbucks line? Did I deny a Facebook friend request?”

“Do you ever shut up?” Hobgoblin asked as he uprooted the tree and swatted at Spider-Man. The hero launched himself into the air, flipping backward to avoid the tree.  “You are so fucking annoying! No wonder your enemies all hate you!”

“Okay, ouch,” Spider-Man said as he landed on his feet, grabbing the tree in his hands, pulling it away and tossing it to the side. “We’ve been fighting for how long and this is just now only coming up? We have to communicate, buddy. We’d probably have a healthier hatred for each other if we just talked.”

“No more talk!” Hobgoblin shouted as he tossed more bombs at Spider-Man. As the smoke started to rise, the villain picked up the downed tree and smacked Spider-Man, sending him flying. As he landed on his back, the tree smashed down on his stomach hard enough to pin him to the ground. “Now is the part where I unmask you and then kill you. This moment is the only thing that makes everything I’ve been through worth it.”

“You really don’t want to do this,” Spider-Man said as Hobgoblin reached for his mask. As he was about to lift it off of the hero’s head, a flash flew by, knocking Hobgoblin several yards. “Told you.”

Hobgoblin picked himself up and stared at the new player. He was dressed from head to toe in black, including a goggled mask.

“Who the hell are you? A new hero?” Hobgoblin asked as he two sharpened blades shot out of holsters on the attacker’s wrists. “Okay, you really want to do this?”

Hobgoblin rushed toward him, only to be met with a blade through his stomach. Spider-Man stared in horror as he started lifting the tree off of him. The attacker withdrew his blood covered blade as Hobgoblin stumbled back, inspecting his wound.

“Mr. Osborn wants me to inform you that your services are no longer needed,” the Night Monkey told him as he watched Hobgoblin fall into the grass. “Goodbye, Mr. Carson.”

“I don’t know who you are,” Spider-Man said as he shot as much webbing as he could to tie the new villain up. “But I’m taking you in.”

The Night Monkey just titled his head and stared at Spider-Man as he broke through the webbing.

“Gotta start using stronger fluid,” Spider-Man said he rushed toward Night Monkey, who jumped out of the way, landing behind Spider-Man and punching him, sending him onto his back. “Sorry, I’m kind of off my game tonight. Give me two minutes and I’ll have your butt gift-wrapped and ready to go.”

“I’m not here to fight you tonight,” Night Monkey told him as he looked at Tiger’s lifeless body. “Bury the boy. Mourn him. You’ll join him soon enough.”

Tossing down a smoke grenade, Night Monkey vanished in a cloud of smoke before Spider-Man could reach him.

“He’s gone,” Spider-Man said, his spider-sense not picking up anything. “He’s not the only one.”

Hobgoblin was nowhere to be found as well, leaving only the remains of his costume and a pool of blood. He headed over to Tiger’s body and picked him up, barely able to get the words out. “It’s okay, son. You can– you can rest now.”

“Peter Parker, you are filthy,” May said as she saw Peter rushing into the hospital, his hair covered in sweat and his face flushed. Having taken Tiger’s body to a safe place for the time being, Peter only have enough time to ditch his costume and get to the hospital. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes and no,” Peter whispered to her. He had no intention of telling her about her murdered adult grand-nephew, she had enough worries as it is. “Are Mary Jane and the baby okay?”

“We are perfect,” Mary Jane said as Robbie wheeled them out of the room. “Your son is perfectly healthy.”

“My son,” Peter smiled as he picked the baby up, holding the child in his arms. “He’s beautiful.”

“I was thinking that if you wanted to name him Ben–” Mary Jane started as Peter smiled at her.

“I have a clone named Ben already, plus there’s Ben Grimm and Franklin’s middle name is Ben,” Peter told her. “I love Uncle Ben, but maybe it’s time for something different. How about–”

Drew sat on the ledge of the hospital roof, staring out into the city.

“If you can hear me, little brother,” Drew said in a tired voice. “I miss you. My life has just been feeling so… empty without a little brother to watch after and protect. I think that’s what my life has been missing these last few months. Something to watch after. Not just this new baby, but everyone I care about. Norman Osborn’s offered me a great opportunity and I think I’m gonna take it. I’m going to be a hero so I can protect all the little brothers out there. I’m going to do you proud, kid.”

Rhett Carson, heavily bleeding and in pain, found himself in the remains of the old Watson house that sat next to the Parkers. Mary Jane’s old home had been destroyed in a fight between Spider-Man and the Hobgoblin* some time ago. It was scheduled for demolition, but nothing had come of it yet.

(*Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1)

“This isn’t over,” Rhett laughed as he used whatever materials he could find to patch up his wound. He’d have to go into hiding for now to get his head together, even though his mind had already been broken for some time. “Spider-Man is going to die. This new asshole is going to die. Norman Osborn is going to die! The world is going to burn, I swear it. Everyone is going to burn.”

The Night Monkey had removed his costume and now sat in an isolated room with only a bunk to sleep on and a table to sit at. The person under the costume sat at the table with his head down while being observed through a two-way mirror.

“He performed above expectations and he followed orders perfectly,” the scientist  told Osborn.  “He is completely under your control as long as we continue the experiments undisturbed.”

“He was a soldier before we found him,” Osborn said. “He’s used to following orders. You’re sure he knows nothing about his past?”

“He knows only what you want him to know,” the scientist told him. “As far as he’s concerned, Kevin Byrne has never existed.”

“Excellent,” Osborn said. “We have more recruits coming. I want them all to be just like this one by the time we’re done.”

Billy Connors had bolted awake in his bed at the local hospital, gasping heavily as he looked around.

“A.J.?” Billy asked as he looked around in a panic. He threw the covers off and started to stand, though under his own powers. His legs by all rights should have been suffering from atrophy, but somehow he found himself standing straight up despite having no feelings in his legs. “What’s happening to me?”

Billy flipped on the lights to the bathroom, not even caring his blonde hair had grown back. Instead he immediately noticed the scars running across his face. That’s when it all came flashing back to him. The Lizard had clawed his face while trying to attack A.J., then impaled Billy’s boyfriend on a sewer pipe.

“He has to be alive,” Billy told the mirror. “He has to be. Don’t worry, I’m coming for you.”

Minutes later, the night nurse came to check on her patient, finding only an empty bed and an open window. By then, Billy had already been a few blocks away, though not quite understanding how he was moving so quickly.

“I’m coming, A.J.,” Billy told himself, the back of his hospital nightgown blowing in the wind. He still had no feeling in his legs, and couldn’t even feel the cold sidewalk under his bare feet. “I swear, if my father has hurt you…”

Rick Meyers had taken refuge in an old abandoned apartment building, still clutching a small case under his arm that contained a file that could change Peter Parker’s life forever…

As Mary Jane slept, waiting to be released in the morning, Peter stood at the nursery window while watching his sleeping son.

“I still have a chance to save you,” Peter told him. “Whatever’s going to happen, I promise you that I’ll stop it. You’re going to live, kid. No matter what it takes.”

“Pete?” a voice said as Peter turned to see Flash Thompson standing there. His hair had grown out and he seemed far healthier than he had the last time Peter had seen him.

“I saw your Instagram. Congrats on the kid,” Flash said as he avoided eye contact. “Look, if I’m not welcome here, then–”

Peter immediately pulled Flash into a hug, holding him tight.

“I missed you, buddy,” Peter told him. “Come on, you have to meet your Godchild.”

Next: Where has Flash been this whole time? Find out in the next issue!