The Dark Archer

Chapter 21

Peter POV

I climbed into Harry's office through the window. I crawled up the wall and across the ceiling to above where my friend had fallen asleep on the couch.

"Mr. Osborn," I greeted. Harry stirred and looked around wildly, confused. "Look up."

I glided down from the ceiling on a web as Harry gazed up at me in my Spider-Man costume. He looked amazed and excited, which only made me feel guilty for what I was about to do.

"I heard you've been looking for me," I said as I sat next to him on the couch.

"I cannot believe my eyes. Spider-Man, just the man I wanted to see. You uh... talked to Peter?" Harry asked me, sitting up.

"Yep," I responded. "I want to help you, Mr. Osborn. I really, really do. But I can't give you my blood, not right now."

Harry looked shocked and upset, and it caused a twinge of pain in my heart. His smile fell and was replaced by a look of despair.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"It's too dangerous. If our blood is incompatible you could die," I explained. This didn't seem to convince him.

"I'm already dying. Your blood can't make me die more," Harry protested.

"But it could do something worse," I countered, thinking of Dr. Connors again. Who knew what my blood could do to Harry, not to mention who else might get their hands on it.

"Okay. Alright, how much?" Harry demanded.

"How much what?" I asked confused.

"How much do you want? You name it, you want a boat? You want a plane? You want money? How much do you want?" He clarified. He was desperate, I could see it in his eyes. Any other time I would be glad to help Harry, but I couldn't risk his life.

"I don't want your money," I said, holding my hands up in defense.

"Come on, everybody wants my money!" Harry exclaimed.

"I don't," I replied shortly. Harry was about to break down, I could tell. He looked heartbroken and depressed.

"I thought... I thought you were supposed to save people. I thought that's what you do—save peoples lives. You're just... you're just gonna let me die," Harry stated sadly.

"I'm trying to protect you right now," I explained. Harry wasn't buying it though.

"No. No, you are not. You're trying to protect yourself," he disagreed.

"Look, we just need a bit more time to figure out something else," I reasoned.

"I do not have time!" Harry shouted, throwing a glass at the wall. One of the glass shards flew off and hit him, making him wince.

"I'm sorry," I said without my voice modifier on. I leaped out the window, but stayed above it, hovering over the sill.

"You're a fraud, Spider-Man!" I heard Harry yell. Then he started screaming and crying, throwing things all over the place. I couldn't stand to listen to him anymore, and leaped away. I needed to talk to Kylie about all this.

I hadn't heard from her since yesterday. Sure it wasn't a long span of time, but it was for us. Kylie and I spoke everyday, whether that be by phone or in person. Either way, I needed her advice on what to do about Harry.

I swung my way to her apartment building, but stopped on a roof a building over. Something wasn't right. There were men and women hanging around outside and on the roof of the building. Using my Spidey senses, I managed to see the SHIELD logos on their uniforms. I tuned my mask's radio to different channels until I found the "secure" SHIELD frequency. I had been able to jailbreak my radio so there weren't any classified stations.