Personal Grudge

When Michael left the venue, Elizabeth had already driven the car to the entrance and was waiting for him. She opened the rear door for her boss and said, "Tonight didn't seem so boring after all, did it, sir?"

"Just a minor interlude." Michael spoke calmly, as though he had not just been threatened by a madman covered in explosives but had merely watched an impromptu performance. "Nothing major."

"I thought so too."

Elizabeth returned to the driver's seat, started the car, and drove onto the main road.

"So, should I take you straight home now?"

"No, go to the company first," Michael said. "You don't need to wait for me. You can head back first. I have something of my own to deal with."

Osborn residence, living room.

It was already late at night, yet the enormous house was so empty that it felt unsettling. None of the rooms had their lights on. The only source of illumination came from the fireplace in the living room. The flames crackled and leaped, casting swaying, abstract shadows of furniture across the carpet and walls in the dim firelight.

Having finally shaken off that troublesome Spider-Man, the Green Goblin returned here directly. He tore off his mask in the living room, revealing Norman Osborn's twisted, furious face. He hurled the demonic mask onto the dark red carpet with all his strength, clearly agitated.

Nothing that had happened tonight had gone as he expected. Because of interference from that irritating webhead—he now knew it was that boy Peter Parker—he had failed to eliminate his target. They had practically fought their way across all of Manhattan before he managed to shake off that loathsome wall-crawler. Worse still, Michael Passo somehow appeared to know his true identity. Though Norman believed the other man probably had no conclusive proof that the Green Goblin and Norman Osborn were the same person, it was already enough to draw attention.

But how was that possible? He had only transformed into the Green Goblin through Oz's effects one day ago. This had only been his first operation. Moreover, the laboratory where he had injected the Oz serum had been blown into ruins by the rampaging Green Goblin on the spot. Everyone who knew was either dead or injured, and the man in the best condition was still unconscious in intensive care. He should have been the only person in the world who knew that Norman Osborn had injected Oz.

Norman Osborn paced irritably back and forth across the living room.

His son, Harry Osborn, was staying overnight at a classmate's house tonight—though that was practically normal for Harry. Norman was the only one in the house all night, which made it a convenient opportunity to act. What Michael Passo knew had made the situation urgent. Perhaps he should accelerate his plan. Perhaps he should even strike again right now and make another attempt on Michael Passo's life.

Norman Osborn suddenly froze.

He snapped his head around and saw that a tall black figure had appeared in the living room at some unknown moment. The shadow hidden beneath pitch-black iron armor stood in the middle of the living room carpet. Firelight flickered across the gleaming Black Armor, while a deep blue glow shone from the V-shaped Visor, radiating a mountain-like pressure.

"Who are you?" Norman asked instinctively.

There was no answer. The other party strode forward and pushed out a palm without another word. There was no technique, no flourish—just an ordinary push. Yet Norman, whose reflexes had been enhanced, felt utterly unable to evade it. Nearly unreasonable arm strength poured onto the armor covering his upper body like a flash flood, sending his entire body flying out of control. Like a green cannonball, he smashed through the wall and rolled into the study.

Wearing the armor, Michael ducked through the dust-filled hole in the wall and entered the study.

"I get it," Norman said as he struggled to his feet, glaring venomously at the helmet lit by the V-shaped glow. "Passo sent you, didn't he? You're that brat's lapdog?"

Still no response. The other man was clearly the type who worked without wasting words and had no intention of talking to him.

Norman flung out two darts. The specially made projectiles spun through the air, carving two green trails as they struck Michael's helmet and chest armor, scattering sparks. Norman let out a low growl and charged forward. He feinted with his left fist, then drove his right fist straight ahead. The enhancement of the Oz serum had brought his maximum arm strength close to twenty tons. Even reinforced concrete could not withstand it.

Michael dodged left and deflected right, effortlessly neutralizing the Green Goblin's three consecutive attacks. Before the Green Goblin could unleash his fourth move, Michael seized his forearm first, raised his arm with the motion, and drove a heavy elbow into his face. Norman took a solid iron elbow across the bridge of his nose, and blood immediately poured from it.

He roared like a wounded beast and raised his leg to kick, only for Michael to predict it in advance and stomp his newly lifted right foot back down. Michael spread his fingers and fired a shot from his palm at Norman's abdomen. A Pulse Cannon blast at ten percent power slammed violently into the Green Goblin's abdominal armor, launching him into the air again as the impact punched straight through to his internal organs. His body crashed through a bookshelf against one wall and rolled through the flying dust into a secret room hidden behind it.

Yes, Norman Osborn had a secret room hidden in his home study. After transforming into the Green Goblin one day ago, he had stolen his company's Glider along with a batch of spare darts, bombs, and other weapons, secretly moving them into this room as a base for the Green Goblin's operations.

Norman struggled to get back to his feet and glared viciously at the shadow slowly entering the secret room. The freezing pressure grew stronger as the Black Armor approached, and Norman felt as though his airway had been blocked. Sitting on the floor, he instinctively shrank back and hurriedly pressed a hidden remote-control button on his wrist. The Glider parked in the secret room activated at once, extending its blades and stabbing fiercely toward the doorway as though summoned by its master.

Michael spun, delivering a roundhouse kick that smashed into the Glider's side just as it reached him. The blow immediately disrupted its balance and knocked it aside. The Glider intelligently changed the direction of its exhaust flames in an attempt to lock onto its target again, only for Michael to finish it off with a backhanded Pulse Cannon blast that blew it to pieces, scattering burning components across the floor.

Michael turned his gaze back to Norman.

Taking the chance, Norman sprang sideways over a cluttered silver table, rolled, and reached a rack filled with weapons. He swept a large handful of Pumpkin Bombs from the rack, then turned around with a savage expression and glared at Michael.

"I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing," he said viciously, "but you'll pay a terrible price for daring to provoke the Green Goblin!"

He exerted both arms, sending seven or eight Pumpkin Bombs spinning from his embrace at once. Eerie green light shone from each pumpkin's squinting eyes and grinning mouth.

Green flames erupted in an instant. The rapidly expanding fireball swallowed the Black Armor whole, while the deafening explosion mixed with the Green Goblin's crazed, warped laughter.

But his smile froze in less than a second.

At the instant the green fireball expanded to its limit, it paused for a moment. Then, as if time had been rewound, it began to contract. The dazzling flames spun like a vortex, visibly drawing into an intricate circular Magic Circle. The formation floated above Michael's hand like a 3D projection, every line that formed it seeming to burn fiercely.

Norman Osborn's smile vanished, replaced by shock and fear.

"What the hell are you?" he asked instinctively.

Still no answer.

Michael made a releasing gesture with his right hand. The Magic Circle began to spin at high speed, and the green flames it had just absorbed erupted from it like a surging tide. Norman Osborn's eyes widened as he let out a thunderous roar of "No!" Then his entire body, along with that roar, was completely swallowed by merciless fire.

New Jersey, beneath a warehouse in a military camp abandoned long ago.

By now, this place had long been forgotten. No one had set foot on this land for years. But few knew that this desolate military camp had once given birth to a great legend and had also been where S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded—a starting point.

Many years later, at this very moment, a team of armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by two Level Seven Agents stormed into the camp. In an abandoned warehouse covered in cobwebs, they found a secret elevator that even still had power. The elevator carried the entire team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents straight down to the bottom of the building.

Nine thousand meters above, Nick Fury watched the operation remotely from the Helicarrier through the team's body cameras. He saw the elevator doors slide open before the squad, revealing a pitch-black, silent space. As the agents entered, fluorescent lights turned on by themselves as though intelligent, illuminating rows of retro, outdated equipment. Countless machine parts began operating together with a low hum, and an old-fashioned control console that looked like it belonged on a movie set from the last century sat in the center of the room.

On the Helicarrier, Deputy Director Hill frowned beside Fury. "These are all antiques. Why would someone hide a pile of antiques in such a concealed place? What does this mean?"

Unlike her, Director Fury looked grave, as though they were facing an enormous problem.

"It means that man wasn't lying," Nick Fury replied as though speaking to himself. "And it means we may be facing the most difficult situation S.H.I.E.L.D. has encountered since its founding."

(Thanks to reader 20170409114846068 for the 100 Qidian coins, reader Hot Blazing Eyes for the 500 Qidian coins, reader Coffee Lily 039 for the 1,300 Qidian coins, reader Nether Ruins Underworld for the 500 Qidian coins, and reader Mirror Does Not Reflect People for the 2,000 Qidian coins!)