In Avengers Tower, Harry Osborn sits in his office, lost in thoughts, staring out the window. Harry thinks back to when his father, Norman Osborn shot Spider-Man in the head. Speaking of the devil, he walks in and proceeds to tell his son that he is proud of him for signing Spider-Man's death warrant. He then asks Harry what he was doing up there in the first place. Harry confesses to looking for Lily Hollister (his girlfriend), as he thinks his father lied about her not being in Avengers Tower. Harry also explains that he was wearing the goblin glove in case anyone would have gotten in the way. He was also planning to use it against Lily, if she wasn't herself anymore (i.e. if she was Menace). Norman admits to being very impressed with Harry. This leads him to show Harry why he asked him to join the Avengers in the first place. Norman presses on some kind of gadget sitting atop the desk and a hologram projection of the American Son battle armor. Norman wants Harry to wear the suit, to work with him to building something great together. He goes on telling Harry to think about it; in return, he will make arrangements for him to see Lily. Harry thanks his father and asks if Spider-Man is going to live. Norman responds that he won't; not after what he's going to put him through.
It turns out that Spider-Man did survive being shot in the head. How is that possible, you ask? Be patient, the answer is coming right after this. Spidey is strapped to a large machine and hanging upside down; he is bruised, battered and bloody. The assassin known as Bullseye is torturing him. Bullseye's objective is to remove Spidey’s mask, which has proven to be a very difficult and unsuccessful endeavor. Bullseye tells Norman that it'll take a while before he can get through the mask. In a flashback, it is revealed that Spidey had help from the Fantastic Four in achieving this. Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, developed a mask capable of emulating Venom's face at Spidey's command. As well, Reed built another mode into the mask – he calls it Parker proofing. Essentially, what this means is that the molecular structure of the mask can instantaneously reconfigure itself upon impact, just as it did when Spidey was shot in the head. Sue Storm delivered the mask to Spidey before he infiltrated Avengers Tower. Norman admits to being impressed with Spidey's mask. Bullseye suggest they could just cut Spider-Man's head off, but Norman doesn't think it'll work, seeing as a bullet didn't kill him. Norman does want Spidey dead but not before knowing why he’s interested in his son Harry. Through torture, and a great deal of pain, Spidey still manages to crack jokes and taunt Norman. Furious, Norman punches him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He then turns around and walks away. As he prepares to leave, he tells Bullseye that he'll pay him a million dollar bonus if he can get Spidey to talk or have his mask destroyed by dinnertime. Bullseye comments that he loves working for the USA.
Elsewhere in Avengers Tower, Norah Winters uses her flirting abilities to swipe the security access card from one of the guards, who falls for her advances but is too stupid to realize she's just playing him. Norah has plans of her own and it involves finding skeletons in Norman Osborn's closet.
In the holding cell where Spidey is hung upside down, the villainous Bullseye continues to torture the wall-crawler, hoping that he will divulge how to remove his mask, or at least talk. Finally, it seems as though Spidey is giving up when he whispers something to Bullseye. The words are incomprehensible at first but when Bullseye puts them all together, the resulting phrase says "Bullseye is a douchebag". Bullseye actually finds that to be funny but vows to get the truth out of Spidey, one way or another.
At the American Son testing facility, Norman shows Harry the armor that he wishes him to wear as part of the Avengers team. He tells his son that he'll need to train but should be able to go along with them almost immediately. Bewildered, Harry asks his dad when he was going to tell him about the so-called "drugs". Norman tells Harry not to think of them as drugs – he explains that they are compounds made from enriching the super-soldier serum that gave Captain America his strength. He adds that it will give Harry a considerable advantage. Upon hearing his dad, Harry realizes that he wants to turn him into something he can love – a super hero. Norman argues that he wants Harry to share his life with him, the fruits of his labor, so they can enjoy it together. Norman suggests that Harry should believe he deserves this, just as he does. Walking out of the facility, Norman tells Harry to go freshen up, as he’s going to be meeting Lily in a few hours, after which he will speak with him. Harry follows his father's suggestion but his thoughts reveal that he's secretly planning to rescue Lily. First though, he has to stop by his father's private lab.
Transitioning between being in and out of consciousness, Spidey admits to himself that coming to Avengers Tower alone was a big mistake. When he awakens (again) some time later, Norman Osborn stands before him, his Iron Patriot's repulsor glove pointed at Spidey's head. There is a burning smell lingering in the air and Norman explains that it's the smell of unstable molecules stabilizing. Norman goes on explaining how he came about this technology. It was Tony Stark's (a.k.a. Iron Man) and Norman was made aware of its' intended usage when he became director of H.A.M.M.E.R. Norman continues to explain that the repulsor technology, when set to a certain frequency, synchs the atoms in Reed Richard's cloths, and they subsequently break down. Norman goes on telling Spidey that he has about ten minutes, more or less, before his mask falls off and they learn of his secret identity. Unbeknownst to Norman, Spidey has slowly broken free of one of the energy cuffs around his wrists. Norman rhetorically asks Spidey how it feels that Harry sold him out for a woman (i.e. Lily) Spidey wonders what he means by that.
At that precise moment, Harry meets up with Lily Hollister. However, a security guard stops him from getting too close to Lily.
Back inside, Spider-Man questions Norman about the reasons for Harry taking his offer simply because of Lily. Norman reveals that he purposely sent Lily, knowing full well that Harry would be too lovesick to notice anything.
Harry knocks the security guard out, while intrepid reporter Norah Winters watches through a nearby window.
Spidey asks Norman why he won't leave Harry alone. Norman replies that Harry is a screw-up when left alone to his own devices; however, under his guidance, Harry will become a national hero fighting alongside the Avengers.
Outside, Harry asks Lily if she brought the (goblin) glider. Lily replies that she didn't. Harry tells Lily that they they "have to do this" right there and then. Having said that, he grabs a syringe from his jacket pocket. Lily asks what it's for. Harry explains that it contains a serum that’ll cure her and their son.
Unbeknownst to Norman, Spidey breaks the other shackle attached to his other wrist. Gloating, Norman explains that he plans to continue using Harry's love for Lily against him. Spidey cannot believe he is doing this to his own son, of all people. Norman even has a back up plan in case his first one doesn’t work. This backup plan is for Harry to become a martyr. Spidey is shocked and wonders what Norman means by that.
Harry tries to reassure Lily, telling her not to be afraid; he read his father's file and the serum contained in the syringe will cure her. As Harry prepares to inject her with the serum, Lily starts to protest, telling Harry that it could be a trap. Harry reassures Lily that he wouldn't hurt her or their son. He presses the tip of the syringe against her skin. Before he can do anything about it, she smacks him and sends him crashing to the ground, yelling at him to stay away from her.
Norman explains what his backup plan consists of. He tells Spider-Man that nothing garners support like personal tragedy in the midst of a national disaster. With that said, he goes on explaining that he intends to mastermind a fake global crisis that will cause the demise of his son Harry, as American Son, and then, he'll be able to do anything he wants to anyone he pleases. Spidey is absolutely taken aback by Norman's sinister scheme. He cannot believe that Norman would do something like that to his only son. Norman rhetorically asks Spidey if Harry is indeed his only son.
Lily has transformed into Menace, or rather into her new incarnation of the villain, which in contrast to her previous appearance, is somewhat better. This time around, she gets to keep her female features but horns still adorn her head and her costume is significantly different. She is angry with Harry; she tells him that "it" was supposed to be easy. The plan was for her to play the wounded puppy and he, the lovesick boyfriend, but he couldn’t even do that. She tells Harry that it's no wonder she chose "him" over Harry. Confused, Harry tells Lily to let him help her and the baby. Annoyed, Lily tells Harry that she doesn't love him, nor does she want him and makes the shocking revelation that the baby is not his, but his father's!
Just as Norman finishes his twisted little tale, Spidey breaks free from the last of his bonds and shoves his fingers in Norman's face, making use of his clinging abilities. He then pulls back his hand and rips large chunks of flesh from his opponent's face. Next, he throws Norman toward Bullseye, knocking the two of them to the ground. Before the deadly assassin can retaliate, Spidey knocks him out by sending him flying into a nearby wall. Spidey then takes off running, hoping to find Harry to tell him the truth.
Lily is pissed at Harry for screwing everything up. She knows Norman will be angry with her. She knows he's going to punish her, so she needs to punish Harry. Harry takes off running into the building, with Lily, or rather Menace, a few steps behind him. Harry realizes what he's done and thinks of Spider-Man. He manages to slip into the room where Spidey and Norman (and the incapacitated Bullseye) are located in. The blast door closes behind him, stopping Lily – though momentarily.
Spidey has lost a lot of blood and his strength is nearly all gone. Infuriated, Norman starts to beat the living hell out of him. Norman tells Spidey that because he meddled in his affairs and with his son, he will not die alone. When he’s done with him, he's going to go after his family and kill them all, one after the other. As they are tortured, he's going to tell them that it was all because of him – Spidey (i.e. Peter, almost unmasked at this point). Just then, someone smacks Norman and sends him crashing to the ground. Norman cannot believe what he's seeing and who attacked him. His son, Harry Osborn, is American Son.
To be continued.
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