Light Inksworth was not a saint. If he had a character sheet, his alignment would likely read "True Neutral." The screams of the panicked crowd didn't stir some dormant urge for justice within him.
But he couldn't just let Harry Osborn die.
It wasn't just about the fact that Harry had been decent to him since high school. It was business. Harry had bought a hundred copies of Weekly Shonen Jump on launch day to support the company.
In Light's eyes, that made Harry a premium subscriber. You don't let your whales get blown up by their own fathers.
Light turned to Gwen, his voice cutting through the cacophony. "Take Gali and get to the perimeter. Don't stop moving until you see police lines."
He looked down at the small girl in the purple dress. "Gali, behave. Protect her."
"Understood," Gali said, stuffing the last bite of funnel cake into her mouth. Her tone was perfunctory, bordering on bored.
Light didn't wait for a better answer. He turned and sprinted toward the collapsing historic building.
Gwen grabbed Gali's shoulders, guiding her through the stampede. She glanced back just in time to see Light disappear into the smoke and debris.
Her heart hammered against her ribs—not just from fear, but from a sudden, sharp pang of admiration. In a crowd running for their lives, he was the only one running toward the fire.
Light reached the base of the building. The external staircase was gone, reduced to rubble by the first bombing run.
Above him, the balcony groaned. Harry was holding onto Mary Jane, whose legs were dangling precariously over the edge. The stone railing was crumbling under their weight.
"Hang on!" Light shouted.
He didn't look for a ladder. He didn't look for a rope. He tapped into the [Monstrous Power] fragment he had equipped.
Muscles he didn't know he had fired in perfect synchronization. He leaped, catching the edge of the lower masonry with a grip that could crush steel.
He hauled himself up the facade with terrifying speed, vaulting over the railing just as the floor beneath Harry began to give way.
"Harry! Grab my hand!"
Light lunged forward, locking his fingers around Harry's wrist.
For a normal human, pulling up the dead weight of two adults while balancing on a crumbling ledge would be impossible.
For Light, with the strength of a customized giant flowing through his veins, it felt like lifting a feather pillow.
He heaved them up and over the railing in one fluid motion, slamming them onto the safer concrete of the interior hallway.
"Move! Go!" Light shoved them toward the back exit.
"Light?" Harry gasped, his face pale and streaked with soot. "You... how did you—"
"Later!"
They stumbled out of the building's rear exit, spilling onto the service road. But they weren't safe yet.
SCREEEEE!
The Green Goblin swept around the building, his glider tearing up the turf. The madman's yellow lenses locked onto the trio. The high of the carnage had overtaken him; he didn't see his son. He only saw targets.
"Die!"
The Goblin reared back and hurled a pumpkin bomb. It arched through the air, glowing with a menacing orange light, headed straight for them.
"Look out!" Spider-Man swung from a nearby lamppost, shooting a web line to intercept the bomb.
But the Goblin was ready. The glider's wing-blade slashed through the air, severing the web line instantly. The bomb continued its trajectory.
Harry and Mary Jane froze, the paralysis of imminent death taking hold.
Light didn't freeze.
He stepped forward, placing himself between the bomb and his friends. His eyes tracked the spinning sphere. Time seemed to slow.
He didn't dodge. He pivoted, channeling the [Monstrous Power] into his right leg.
WHAM.
He kicked the pumpkin bomb out of the air.
It was a roundhouse kick delivered with the force of a hydraulic press. The bomb didn't just deflect; it reversed direction with the speed of a cannonball, screaming back toward its thrower.
BOOM!
The bomb detonated five feet in front of the Goblin.
The shockwave slammed into the villain, crumpling the front armor of the glider. Fire engulfed the green figure.
"ARGH!"
The Goblin screamed—a guttural, human sound of pain that cut through the mechanical modulation of his mask.
The explosion threw the glider into a tailspin. Smoke trailing from his thrusters, the Goblin banked hard, fleeing into the Manhattan skyline to lick his wounds.
Silence descended on the service road.
"Whoa..." Spider-Man landed on a nearby wall, his lenses widening. "Did you just... play soccer with a bomb?"
Harry stared at Light, his mouth agape. "Light... that was... that was insane! You saved us."
Mary Jane looked at Light as if seeing him for the first time, her eyes wide with shock and awe.
Light exhaled, shaking the dust off his pants. He could feel the residual tingle of the [Monstrous Power] fading back to dormant levels.
"Let's not make a habit of this," Light said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline. "Get out of here. Harry, take MJ home. The press is going to be swarming in five minutes."
"Right. Right!" Harry shook himself out of his stupor. "Thank you, Light. I owe you. Seriously."
Harry helped a trembling MJ into his waiting limousine, and they sped away just as the first sirens began to wail.
By the time Light made it back to the main street, the NYPD had established a perimeter.
"Light!"
Gwen broke through the police line, rushing over to him. She didn't hesitate; she ran her hands over his arms and chest, checking for blood.
"I'm fine, Gwen," Light said, catching her hands. "Just a little dusty."
"You idiot," she breathed, her blue eyes locking onto his. "You could have been killed."
"But I wasn't."
The air between them charged with a sudden, electric tension. Gwen didn't pull away.
She stood close, her breath hitching slightly.
She wasn't the shy, retiring type; she was a Stacy. She met his gaze with a boldness that Light found unexpectedly alluring.
"Gwen? What are you doing here?"
The moment shattered. A burly man in a captain's uniform strode toward them, his face etched with worry.
"Dad," Gwen stepped back, smoothing her coat.
Captain George Stacy looked from his daughter to Light, his eyes narrowing in protective assessment.
"I'm Gwen's friend," Light said, extending a hand calmly. "Light Inksworth."
"Inksworth..." Stacy shook the hand, his grip firm. "I've heard the name. You're the one making waves in the publishing world. Thanks for looking out for her."
From the sidelines, Gali watched the interaction while finishing a stolen bag of popcorn.
"Heh," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Men."
...
The Next Day
The events of the carnival dominated the news cycle. It was inescapable.
YouTube was on fire. A cell phone video of Light kicking the pumpkin bomb had garnered ten million views overnight, though the grainy footage made it hard to identify him clearly. Most people were debating whether it was a mutant or just a very lucky martial artist.
But the real story was the Green Goblin.
If Iron Man had introduced the world to technology-based heroism, the Green Goblin had just introduced it to technology-based terrorism.
Light sat on his sofa in the Chelsea loft, flipping through channels.
CNN: "Panic in the streets. Is New York safe?"
Fox News: "Super-freaks: The new threat to American values?"
CNBC: "Oscorp stock plummets 15% following rumors of tech links to the terrorist known as Green Goblin."
"Harry's having a bad week," Light murmured.
The TV screen shifted to a press conference. A bald, bearded man with a genial smile was speaking from a podium at Stark Industries.
"Obadiah Stane," Light recognized the villain immediately.
"Tony remains missing," Stane said, his voice dripping with faux concern. "But Stark Industries remains strong. We are cooperating fully with the military to locate our wayward CEO..."
"Liar," Light scoffed.
Beside him, Gali was shaking his arm. "Light. Hey. Do you have any more of that juice?"
"The juice?"
"The gold juice. From the glass tube," she said, her eyes pleading. "It tasted... dense."
"No," Light said, flicking her forehead. "That wasn't juice. That was a high-grade experimental steroid. You're cut off."
Gali pouted, rubbing her forehead. "Stingy."
Light stood up and walked to his studio. The world was accelerating. The Green Goblin was just the beginning.
Soon, Abomination would tear up Harlem. Then Thor would level a town in New Mexico.
He needed more Fan Value. He needed to expand the magazine.
He sat at his desk and picked up his pen. Ghost Trace activated.
It was time to introduce the next heavy hitters to Weekly Shonen Jump. He needed something darker to match the mood of the city. Tokyo Ghoul? Attack on Titan?
As he worked, the TV in the living room droned on.
"In other news, noted scientist Reed Richards has announced the launch date for his experimental space mission. Along with pilot Ben Grimm and siblings Sue and Johnny Storm, the team will depart in one week..."
Light paused.
The Fantastic Four. The timeline was condensing.
DING-DONG.
The doorbell chimed.
"Your takeout is here!" a muffled voice called from the hallway.
Light frowned. He put down his pen.
He walked into the living room. Gali was still sitting on the floor, watching cartoons.
Usually, when food arrived, Gali would teleport to the door like a starving dog. Today, she didn't even look up. She just rolled her eyes again.
"Gali?" Light asked. "Not hungry?"
"Not food," she mumbled, not looking away from the screen.
Light stopped.
If the cosmic glutton didn't smell food, then there was no food.
He walked to the door, his demeanor shifting instantly from casual to cold. He checked the peephole. A man in a delivery cap stood there, holding a brown paper bag.
Light unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door a crack.
"Delivery," the man said, offering a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Sorry for the delay."
"I didn't order anything," Light said.
"Complementary. From a secret admirer."
The man reached into the bag. He didn't pull out a burger.
The metallic slide of a pistol slide racking back echoed in the quiet hallway.
Light looked the man in the eyes.
The "delivery man's" smile vanished, replaced by the dead, flat look of a professional cleaner.
_______________________________
Word count: 1725
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