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Chapter Text

May-1997

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Pearl will never forget the day her life changed forever. Literally.

It was in May when she was bitten by a super-spider on a class trip to a genetics lab taking pictures for the school paper. At first it was just a stinging sensation, she was able to ignore it.

But then it got worse. Much much, worse. So bad that she actually had to leave during a school day, screwing up her perfect attendance a month before school ended.

"I don't feel so well." She finally confessed to her beautiful adopted cousin Mary Jane, swaying slightly from side to side. "I think I'm coming down with something."

And it was true. She was flaming hot and yet freezing cold, her stomach felt like King Kong was tap dancing inside, and her vision was blurring. Mary Jane quickly hailed a cab back to Brooklyn and got her straight to bed. The last thing she felt was her cousin's cool hand on her forehead before she fell into an deep, uncomfortable comatose.

When she opened her eyes thirteen hours later, she immediately noticed something very unusual.

She could see.

Pearl has worn glasses nearly her entire life. She had to, she had very bad astigmatism, she had no other choice. But now she had perfect vision. She put her glasses on and sure enough the vision was blurry. She took it off, crystal clear.

"What the...?" She murmured as she walked towards her mirror. "What's going on?"

Pearl nearly reeled back in shock at the sight. She hardly even recognized the stranger before her.

She was beautiful!

Pearl had become a super-model over night! Instead of her hair being the usual wild, untamable mess she had since she was three, it was now in soft waves and silky smooth. Her honey-blonde tresses fell waist length to her back and seemed to shine with a glossy finish. Her olive skin, befitting her African heritage, was radiant and looked as if it were kissed by the sun itself. Her chest had expanded too (Not as big as Mary Jane's of course but she was definitely looking at full C's at least) and her shirt was straining to keep them in. Her face was clear of any blemishes, something she had never seen since the day she turned thirteen and her face exploded. Thick dark eyelashes now framed her clear and bright eyes which seemed to be more wide-set. Full pink lips were open in shock and dark chocolate brown eyes stared in the mirror in disbelief.

And after that day, nothing was ever the same.

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June-1997

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Graduation was bittersweet for Marigold.

Not just because she watched the girls she raised since they were children finally finish high school but because her father wasn't there to witness it like he had always dreamed of. It had been over three years since her beloved father had passed from a car jacking gone bad but the pain still felt like it was just yesterday. Marigold knew her niece still blamed herself even though she and Mary Jane assured her many times it wasn't. But it was no use, in Pearl's mind she had let the criminal go free and therefore was responsible for what he did. Sadly no amount of therapy could help her out of that conclusion.

"I miss him." Pearl told her later that day in her bedroom, tightly gripping the picture of her father Ben in her arms as tears streamed down her eyes. "I miss him so much."

Marigold sat next to her in the bed, comforting her as best as she could.

"I miss him too," Marigold confessed, running her fingers gently through Pearl's hair in a soothing gesture. "Every single day. But I know he would be so proud of you and all that you've accomplished."

She held her as Pearl cried in her arms, tears rolling down Marigold's face too.

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July-1997

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It was in July when Norman realized how much he desired Pearl.

Norman was currently having a drink with Pearl in his private parlor as his fourth of July party continued in the background. He was utterly amazed at how much Pearl had changed in just a few months time. Gone was the girl with the acne, the wild hair, the baggy clothes, and the Coca-Cola glasses. Instead lay a beautiful woman with a perfect hourglass figure and perfect flawless features. Full C's and a nice rear, his perfect dream.

Pearl to him was like the ugly duckling who finally turned into a beautiful swan.

"I think you're making a huge mistake Mr. Osborn!" Pearl frankly told him, her beautiful dark eyes leveling at his ice blue ones. "I mean giving so much power to your board of directors, they could steal or sell your company from right under you!"

"Oh Pearl," Norman replied, waving off her worries as he took another sip of his champagne. "I still maintain the controlling interest of Oscorp-"

Pearl shook her head in disagreement, her gorgeous honey-blonde locks bouncing in the movement.

"Yes but if the board were to get a major investor they could oust you!" She reminded him as she poured herself some more Pepsi. "It has happened before, rarely but it does happen. Remember what they did to Steve Jobs and the guy who founded Dungeons and Dragons who's name escapes me? Do you want that to be you? Even though Steve Jobs was a jackass, that's besides the point! You started Oscorp from nothing, not them! Don't put it in a position where it could be snatched away from you by strangers!

Months later, when Pearl's words echoed to be true, Norman would regret not heeding her words of wisdom.

But all he could think about now was how the black dress she was wearing suited her so well and the regret inside him that she was still not seventeen yet.

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August-1997

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It was a hot, humid day when Mary Jane was able to catch her big break, thanks to Pearl!

Or she should say Spidergirl?

It had been over a month of auditions and Mary Jane was currently taking the crowded train home after her latest rejection. A soap opera telling her she needed acting lessons! She couldn't possibly suck that badly! It was just her damn nerves sometimes but she wasn't hopeless!

But that's all they saw and Mary Jane understood. First impressions were everything in this business and if you blew it, it was over.

And Mary Jane had blown it way too many times.

When she arrived home that night at a quarter after seven, signing sadly to herself as she unlocked the door, she was shocked with the sound of her singing filling the tiny living room.

Her voice was on the radio!

"I saved a guy from a mugging last weekend." Pearl explained as she tuned the radio up. "He turned out to be a radio host. He said he owed me a favor and I gave him your demo CD. He's been playing your songs for fifteen minutes."

Mary Jane ecstatically thanked her over and over again, crushing her in a bear hug until Pearl begged to be released. Mary Jane's voice filled their modest Brooklyn home for an entire hour, from seven until eight, the radio host played every single one of her songs that she ever recorded. Her mother was filled with delight and she called all their relatives near and far to tune in to the station. She even went outside and blasted her radio on high, screaming to everyone within a fifty mile radius that that was her daughter singing.

Mary Jane would be embarrassed if she wasn't so happy! Her heart overflowed with joy as she heard dozens of people on the radio calling in to say how great her songs were and asking if her covers were available in stores.

"And that was Mary Jane's beautiful rendition of 'Can't Help Falling In Love'." The radio host said as another of her song's finished. "And no ladies and gentlemen, you cannot find this anywhere in stores yet. Mary Jane still doesn't have a label backing her but I'm sure she'll have one soon! Recruiters if you are interested in signing her while she's still hot, Broadway producers especially, call the station and I will give you her number."

Mary Jane sat in shock at the radio host's words. She looked to her cousin who shrugged as if to say 'How else are they suppose to get in contact with you?'

The very next morning her voice box was filled with messages from all over Broadway and Off Broadway and tons of music labels. Mary Jane screamed in delight and her mother was over the moon too! Broadway first, her mother decided, and she sorted out all her options on a list ('Being an understudy is a trap Mary Jane!' She told her when she asked why Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast was not listed) and she took the day off from work to go with Mary Jane to audition. Even Pearl went with her to the first audition at CATS until her responsibilities as Spidergirl made her leave. But when Mary Jane auditioned this time, she did something different to stop her from getting too nervous and messing up like she usually did.

She imagined Grandfather Ben was there.

She pictured him smiling as he always did, his blue eyes twinkling, and imagined his words to her 'You'll be the biggest star of them all Mary Jane! Just wait and see!' as he lifted her on his arms and playfully swung her around.

And it paid off. She sang and acted with all her heart and soul, never missing a beat or a step.

And everything just came all at once!

Fiddler on the Roof! Asking if she could play Hodel for November's show! Chicago asking if she would like to play Roxie for December! And Andrew Llloyd Webber, the Andrew Lloyd Webber, asking her if she would like to play Jemima in CATS!

And what did Pearl have to say about all of this?

"You should do 'Moulin Rouge'! It's perfect, you will own that character Satine!" She told her excitedly as she held the script out for her. "You'll be the first, the original, just like Sarah Brightman is Christine! I have a feeling it's going to be a mega-hit! I just know it!"

A singing prostitute. That's who Pearl wanted her to play. A singing prostitute with a no name cast Off Broadway when all these Tony-winning producers were ringing her up. There was no guarantee Moulin Rouge would even last the week and that's not how Mary Jane wanted to start her career, bombing!

But then again, what was life without risks? If Moulin Rouge was a hit, then Mary Jane would be it's star, catapulting her to sky heights. But it was a major gamble but then again when was her cousin's spidy-sense ever wrong?

Mary Jane signed the contract for Satine the very next day.

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September-1997

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Columbia University was agonizing. And to think he thought High School was torture!

But luckily for Harry he had a genius helping him and one that didn't mind dumbing a lot of things down for him or mind his endless questions. His best friend Pearl already had her double masters in both biology and chemistry from Columbia University. They had made a deal with her when she won that science fair in Manhattan at thirteen, beating out all of their students. She got to complete her bachelor's with them while still finishing high school. When she finished it when she was fifteen, however, they allowed her to go for her masters degrees which she then completed at sixteen.

God what he wouldn't give just to have a quarter of her brain! He knew his father would be over the moon at the prospect, not having such a disappointing son.

The thought depressed him too much to even think about.

"So," He asked her in polite conversation, trying to keep his mind away from his father. "How's your waitressing job?"

She looked away from him to the open window.

"I got fired." She admitted. "Today actually."

Harry showed sympathy. He, of course, knew about Spidergirl being her best friend and not to mention the boyfriend of her cousin. He was there when webs shot out of her palms at lunch last spring and was there when she scaled a fourteen story building with her bare hands for no apparent reason at all.

Thank God only him and Mary Jane were the only ones to see her do it!

"Spidergirl issues?"

"No." She blushed adorably, twirling a lock of her honey-blonde hair. "I accidentally handed an Irish kid a Long Island Iced Tea instead of a regular one. He drank the whole thing and stumbled out of his chair, smashing things and loudly cursing out the British."

Harry couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

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October-1997

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It was the day of the Oscorp Halloween party when Bernard first heard it.

Bernard had been taking care of the Osborn household since young Harry was three and in preschool. With a runaway wife and mother, Bernard became sort of a grandfather figure in the eyes of both Norman and Harry Osborn. Having no family himself, he happily took up the role. He cleaned their stuff, waited on them, gave advice whenever needed, and kept their secrets from any prying public eyes.

But Bernard would soon find out that there were dark, well kept secrets within the family even he knew nothing about.

"Do you guys hear that?" Pearl asked Bernard and Harry from the very large living room in the Oscorp Penthouse, brushing back a fake black lock of her 'Vampirella' wig. "Did someone leave a T.V. on here or somewhere?"

All three pairs of eyes snapped to the tall ceilings where the creepy cackling seemed to be echoing from.

"Oh yeah I'm taping this show on the sci-fi channel!" Harry finally told them after a few moments of silence with only the scary laughter, fiddling with his 'Jack Dawson' suspenders. "I forgot what it's called but it's when a virus kills a third of humanity and turns a third into zombies. The survivors then have to fight the undead and try to find a cure."

Bernard and Pearl stared in Harry in shock.

"Are you crazy!?" She shouted at him before Bernard could get a word in edgewise, throwing her black lace sleeves in the air in a gesture of exasperation. "Again!? You're really trying this again!? You couldn't even watch 'Scream' last year! They almost banned us from the movie theater remember and my Aunt's still pissed you ruined her grandmother's Egyptian cotton sheets that following weekend!"

"That's why I'm watching this tonight!" Harry retorted, a pink flush of embarrassment on his face from the mentioning of his bed wetting. "To get over my fears and what better way than an undead apocalypse? And those sheets weren't even real Egyptian cotton!"

Suddenly he heard footsteps and saw Norman dressed as Count Dracula walking down their grand staircase, snapping his false teeth into place.

"Oh no son. No more scary movies." Norman said firmly, catching the gist of their conversation. "I'm not waking up to blood curdling screams at three in the morning anymore to change any bedsheets, check any closets for monsters, or install any more nightlights."

"Dad!"

If only Bernard knew then what he knew now perhaps he could of saved his precious little family from being torn asunder before the New Year rang in.

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November-1997

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Only in New York City would this crazy shit happen.

Gwen was currently dunking behind a van from a homicidal manic in a mechanized rhino suit who was shooting up Times Square, picking out shards of glass from her platinum hair from where that psycho shot out the windows. It was Thursday and she had just come from seeing the 1p.m. new hit Broadway show 'Moulin Rouge' (Her super rich classmate/new friend Harry Osborn had given her the ticket, no doubt because she let him cheat off of her all the time in American History and Literature-Hey he let her cheat in Algebra and Chemistry) and had to rush home right after it was finished after she had taken a few pictures, gotten the casting stars autographs-especially Mary Jane's since it was really her beautiful singing voice she came to see after all, and picked up the CD and a T-shirt. As it was Thanksgiving Gwen had to be in Queens by five in time for her mother to carve the turkey, as it was tradition in their house every year. She was about to cross the street to the train station when this lunatic showed up.

And to think she could have been safe in Cambridge, far away from here, had her father just signed the damn permission slip!

"OHHHH LOOK!" She could hear the Rhino man mock after a few short minutes of hiding from him. "SPIDERGIRL IS HERE!"

The shooting stopped and Gwen managed to gather up her courage and look up from the safety of the van. Sure enough it was Spidergirl, at least she thought it was Spidergirl-it looked like her from the newspaper (Then again all the pictures they had of her were either too small or too blurry), standing a few yards away from the Rhino man. Gwen saw the police cowering behind their very shot up cars behind her (She didn't blame them, the Rhino was strapped better than Air Force One), but thankfully she didn't see anyone hurt or injured.

Thank God for that. And thank God her father was currently battling the flu at home and not here getting shot at.

"On behalf of the fine people of New York City," Spidergirl said very nonchalantly from the loud speaker she had taken from a police officer, standing on one of their cop cars. "And real rhinos everywhere, I ask you to put your mechanized paws in the air."

"NEVER!" He roared back, smashing a giant hole in the concrete in his rage, the strong vibrations even reaching Gwen. "I CRUSH YOU! I KILL YOU! I DESTROY YOU!"

Instead of being terrified like Gwen was, like all of the people in Times Square were, Spider-girl seemed very amused at his words.

"You want me to come down there so you can kill me?"

"YES!"

"I'll be right there."

And what proceeded was the most spectacular ass whomping Gwen had ever seen. She watched as Spider-girl gracefully and effortlessly blocked his every attack, managing to revert a few of his shots back at him, and defeated him with a sewer lid.

A sewer lid!

It was almost as if she knew the suit's weak points and was using his own armor against him. When it was over, the Rhino was a smoldering pile of scrap metal and the maniac bound in a web of her own creation.

"He's all yours boys!" Spidergirl shouted as she swung away, the people (Including Gwen) cheering after her. "Happy Thanksgiving everybody!"

Now that Gwen actually saw her in action, there was no denying, Spider-girl was absolutely amazing!

Chapter Text

It was Saturday afternoon, Christmas Day to be more precise, and Pearl Parker was at the Daily Bugle.

Pearl Parker was currently sitting down in front of the workaholic Editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson as he looked through her pictures of Spider-girl. She was wearing an ivory button down blouse for the occasion with a push up bra underneath and a snug pencil skirt that she borrowed from Mary Jane's closet. Her hair was picked up in an elegant bun and she had light makeup on her face, something she hadn't done since Mr. Osborn's fourth of July party. But she wanted to look her absolute best for this (job?), um opportunity, and was willing to go the extra mile. Not to mention she was broke as a damn joke and still needed to get her Christmas presents out of layaway before she went to Harry's Penthouse in a few hours to celebrate.

Hopefully Jameson liked the pictures as much as he did her, considering how many glances he stole at her cleavage when he thought she wasn't looking.

"They're crap." He finally declared, causing Pearl's heart to drop in disappointment. "Crap, crap, mega crap. I'll give you seven hundred bucks for all of them, a hundred each photo, a very generous offer."

Pearl nearly spit out her bland coffee she was offered in shock and leveled her dark chocolate brown eyes at his sapphire ones. Oh so he wanted to play this game with her, now did he?

"Seven hundred dollars?" She slightly laughed at the sheer absurdity of his offer, placing the coffee mug on the desk between them. "You must joking me?"

He tossed the photos back in her direction at a show of nonchalance.

"Take them somewhere else then."

Pearl quickly grabbed her photos and prepared to leave, calling his bluff.

It paid off.

"Wait!" Jameson ordered her as Pearl slowly turned to face him from the door she was prepared to exit. "Come back here! I'll give you a grand, much more than the standard freelance fee-"

Pearl glared at him with her dark chocolate eyes, extremely insulted that he was still trying to rip her off. Just because she was blonde didn't give the right for people to treat her like a dumbass!

"You'll give me a grand for each of them, seven grand altogether," She told him, her tone final. "Or no photos. And I go to the New York Times with them and they'll make sixteen million dollars off of them in the Sunday paper."

The threat worked. She saw him pale at the mere mention of the New York Times, his rival. Truly Pearl had no intention of going to the New York Times, not after the nasty review they gave about Mary Jane, but he didn't need to know that.

"You drive a hard bargain Ms. Parker." Jameson gruffly relented, writing down something on a piece of paper. "Deal. Give this to the girl up front, she'll see you get paid."

She smiled and handed him the photos.

"A pleasure doing business with you Mr. Jameson." She replied as she took the paper and sashayed out the door, not missing the look Jameson gave her ass. "Have a nice day."

The Daily Bugle was chaotic, everyone talking loudly about deadlines and going every which way. But the woman at the front desk was alone and very relaxed, talking on the phone with her friend until she noticed Pearl right in front of her and had to let her go.

"Welcome to the Daily Bugle, Ms.-Pearl Parker!?" The woman said as she read the paper Pearl gave her, her face knowing and her tone filled with excitement. "Oh are you the Pearl Parker, the cousin of Mary Jane Parker? The singer and Broadway star?"

She barely nodded before the woman stared jabbering away at how much she loved her cousin's rendition of 'Can't Help Falling In Love', how she brought Mary Jane's CD for her sister's birthday last week and how much she loved it, and how she tried to get tickets for Moulin Rouge but they were all sold out...

She was talking nonstop for ten minutes before Pearl finally had to end it.

"My cousin will be playing at the Oscorp World Unity Festival tomorrow." She whispered to her, making sure others around didn't hear. "If you come early, I can get you a picture with her and an autograph. But you have to keep this thing quiet. I don't want everyone in here harassing me for pictures and autographs."

And it was true. Ever since Moulin Rouge came out, Mary Jane's CD of her covers three days later, and Zales used her song 'Can't Help Falling In Love' in their commercial, people have been hounding her nonstop for pictures and autographs. It was the reason she was fired yesterday, because she refused to give her jackass boss 'Moulin Rouge' tickets. Truly Pearl couldn't even get any if she wanted to as they were sold out until the end of the year before the show was suppose to move on Broadway, at the Gershwin Theatre.

And with that Mary Jane even told her it was sold out until spring!

The woman squealed in excitement at her words and promised to keep silent. She handed Pearl her check and she quickly left, but not before she heard the woman phone her husband to tell him to cancel his plans tomorrow.

Hopefully he knows to keep his mouth shut.

Pearl Parker walked out of the Daily Bugle with a check for seven grand in her pocket, the cool December air feeling refreshing on her skin, and a huge smile on her face. It looked like it was going to be a very Merry Christmas for Pearl after all! Finally she had good money in her pocket and a way of being Pearl Parker without Spider-girl's responsibilies interfering, something she thought impossible until now.

And the irony was, it was Spider-girl that helped her attain it!

She wouldn't have to worry about meaningless dead end jobs anymore, the pitiful salary it brought in, and the inevitability of her getting the boot whenever she had to change costume. It was a perfect job, photography something she was born to do, and she would protect the city more often as Spider-girl, not to mention be with her family and friends more too.

Pearl had no idea of knowing how much this decision would come back to haunt her.

Chapter Text

It was the day of Oscorp's World Unity Festival and everyone was in high spirits.

Pearl Parker watched as her cousin Mary Jane performed 'Sparkling Diamonds' from her hit Broadway show. She was dressed as her character Satine and was on a high swing that lifted her several feet from the ground, like in her stage play, as she sang her number to the crowd below her. Her sparkling gown which was embedded with several hundred diamonds showed off her very ample cleavage (But not too much of course-keeping it sexy but classy) and long model legs which were crossed. Her arms were covered with white opera gloves and diamond bracelets were decorated on both of them.

She looked like Jessica Rabbit herself brought to life...with a much better wardrobe!

"Diamonds! Diamonds!" Mary Jane sang beautifully, not missing a single note. "Square cut or pear shaped these rocks won't lose their shape! Diamonds! Are a girl's...best...friend!"

The crowd roared in applause at the end of her number, Pearl the hardest. Thinking of how much she wished her grandfather Ben could be there to see Mary Jane finally shine, Pearl felt tears spring in her eyes and quickly wiped them off with her sleeve.

'Someday that's going to be your name up there Mary Jane and your face.' She recalled her grandfather Ben saying to her adopted cousin with absolute conviction as he pointed to the lights and billboards in Times Square. 'You'll be the biggest star of them all!'

From the time they were young children, grandfather Ben had always believed in Mary Jane even when no one else did (Besides Pearl and Marigold, of course). You see, it wasn't until her teens that Mary Jane started to open up more (Singing, acting, dancing, etc) but when she was a child she was completely silent around most people. And the reason for that was the abuse she suffered by her birth parents before she stood with them. Mary Jane moved into their neighborhood when she was six, about a year after Pearl's mother ran off and she was forced to live there. She was a dirty child then with her wild red tangled hair and worn out clothes. With her father always passed out drunk in the street and her mother always begging on her knees for her next hit, it was obvious they weren't fit to raise a dog much more a daughter. Mary Jane was always at their house morning, noon, and night. It was the only time she could eat or bathe or get fresh clothes since her parents unfortunately could care less about her. Her Aunt Marigold tried to reason with them at first, tried to help them get their lives together so they could take care of her daughter, even offered to watch Mary Jane while they went to rehab.

But it was all for naught.

Her mother didn't care about anything but her next fix and her father didn't care about anything but his next bottle. Pearl overheard her mother say very loudly (They did live right next door after all) that she didn't even want to have Mary Jane but kept her for the extra money from the government she would receive for her. Her father told her Aunt bluntly that he didn't even believe Mary Jane was even his with as much men as his wife went through even though she had his vivid red hair. Then they told her to mind her own fucking business and threatened to kick her ass if she didn't leave their property.

Really wrong words to say.

After her grandfather Ben had bailed her Aunt out of jail on assault charges later that day, she quickly set work to adopting Mary Jane. Her Aunt Marigold simply... persuaded her birth mother and father to give up all custody and allow the adoption to go through Godfather style. Soon after her birth mother and father left the neighborhood, well more like they were evicted by the marshals for nonpayment of rent. Unfortunately even with her birthmother and father gone, their reputation still followed Mary Jane. Her mother had slept with practically all the teachers in school for money to get high and most of the kids parents too. Both male and female, and most of them were married at the time. Needless to say taunts and jeers followed Mary Jane throughout the years from kids and adults both, with cruel comments of how the only thing she would ever be good at doing was laying on her back or on her knees. As much as Pearl, Aunt Marigold, and Grandfather Ben comforted and defended her over the years, even gotten to several fights with some of the instigators, Pearl could tell it still got to Mary Jane sometimes.

Pearl hoped they all were watching now (As NBC was broadcasting the World Unity Festival live) eating their own hateful words as Mary Jane sparkled like the diamonds she sang about and regretted every last terrible thing they ever said about her beloved cousin.

"LET'S HEAR IT ONCE AGAIN FOR MARY JANE PARKER, STAR OF OFF BROADWAY'S NEW HIT SHOW 'MOULIN ROUGE', SOON TO BE PLAYING ON BROADWAY AT THE GERSHWIN THEATRE!" The NBC broadcaster announced. "AND DON'T FORGET TO TUNE INTO MARY JANE'S PROMOTION OF HER NEW PERFUME 'SATINE' THIS NEW YEAR'S EYE ON NBC AT SEVEN/EIGHT CENTRAL, AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER AT MACY'S NOW!

Pearl eyebrows went way up in shock and she turned to Harry who looked just as flabbergasted by the news as she was. But before either one could address it, her spider-sense went off.

"What's wrong?" Harry said, sensing her change as Pearl scanned the environment with her dark chocolate eyes. "What is it?"

Pearl didn't know what it was, she never did, and she prayed it was nothing too bad. The place was packed, it looked like New Year's Eve right before the ball dropped, and if someone managed to sneak in a gun or something, the casualties could be catastrophic.

"I need to change." She immediately said as she turned to go inside, the NBC broadcaster in the background announcing the next artist Macy Gray. "Keep your eyes peeled Harry."

Knowing better than to waste time, she quickly rushed inside their private luxurious restroom and locked the door. She stripped off her black sweater dress to reveal her spandex Spider-girl outfit. Suddenly an explosion rocked the building she was in, making it shake violently as if an earthquake had happened. Pearl hurriedly put the rest of the outfit on and slipped out through one of the windows, praying to the heavens it wasn't a suicide bomber.

There was nothing she could do then if the bomb already went off.

But it wasn't a suicide bomber. It was a man in a green outfit on a glider (As absurd as that sounded but hey who was Pearl to talk?) attacking the balcony with explosives shaped like balls that detonated on contact. She saw Harry get hit by falling debris, knocking him unconscious. Gwen Stacy, Harry's new friend at college (Apparently she let him cheat off her all the time) and the daughter of one of the captains of the police force, was now in a fight for her life as the part of balcony she was trapped on threatened to fall at any moment.

Pearl saw the green man roll another ball that didn't explode on contact towards Mr. Osborn's board of directors as she prepared to swing from the building to knock him off the glider. Pearl watched shocked and horrified a few seconds later as they disintegrated into dust right in front of her eyes.

He killed them all.

"It's Spider-girl!"

She saw the green man turn toward her at the civilian's exclamation but it was much too late. She had already rammed him off the glider. He fell screaming down on a tent and his glider took out one of the parade's balloons.

Pearl watched as the balloon deflated and started heading rapidly toward the ground towards several hundred civilians. Good thing was most of them ran out the way, all except one that is.

'Come on kid move!' She thought as the balloon fell faster onto the concrete, taking the 'World Unity Festival' stand with it in its descent.

But the kid wasn't moving. He was like a deer caught in headlights and Pearl had no intention of him sharing the same fate as those unfortunate animals. She swung down from her spot and managed to save just in time, handing him to his relieved mother as she thanked Pearl repeatedly. She then noticed the Daily Bugle newspaper abandoned on the ground by her feet with the headline blaring out for anyone to see.

BIG APPLE DREADS SPIDERBITE!

Pearl was reminded once again that she was going to kill Jameson come Monday morning but her attention quickly was diverted when she saw the green man still alive walking out of the tent he had fell in. He didn't look the slightest bit injured. A fall like that should have done that at least.

Who the hell was this guy?

"Hold it right there!" One of the police chiefs demanded with his gun leveled as his officers surrounded the green man. "Hands where I can see them!"

The green man put his hands in the air.

"I surrender!"

"Oh boy," Pearl murmured at hearing the green man's mocking tone. "This is not going to end well."

And it didn't. He took them all out effortlessly, as if they were nothing but annoying pests in his way which in his mind they probably were. The policemen were down and Pearl could tell they were not getting back up. It was up to her to stop him. She jumped over to him and swung a fist at his face to knock him out.

He caught it.

"Impressive." The green man commented as Pearl looked on in disbelief. "Very impressive."

His grip was like nothing she had ever encountered, she couldn't escape it! Pearl could smash through iron but she couldn't escape this man's hold on her! She was only released when he kicked her out of sight and oh God was that so painful! The force of it cause her to destroy a pastry table, a couple hundred of wine glasses, and a lamp pole that managed to hit an unfortunate police officer when she crashed into it. Pearl got up a few seconds later, dazed and so very sore, when shots brought her screaming back to reality.

The green man had managed to get on his glider and was now shooting at her!

Pearl quickly ran for it as fast as she could but she could see innocent civilians getting caught in the cross fire. It was very obvious by now the green man didn't give a damn about who he killed or how much, so far as she could tell he actually enjoyed it with the cackling laughter he let loose, laughter that sounded so very...familiar to Pearl but she was in too much of a panic to think about it now. She needed to fight him somewhere where there wouldn't be mass casualties or serious injuries. She noticed the parade balloon and, having an idea, swung onto it landing on top.

He was nowhere to be found.

"SPIDER-GIRL HELP ME!"

Pearl turned towards Gwen's frantic and fearful voice and saw her about to fall from the deteriorating balcony. She quickly jumped from parade balloon to parade balloon to rescue her, completely forgetting for the moment about the manic in the glider that was shooting at her a few moments ago.

That is until she was interrupted once again mere feet away from saving Gwen by the fiend who smashed her right into a window with his damned glider, pinning both her arms with his right elbow in a death grip as his creepy yellow mask eyes stared at her.

"Why do you fight for them?" He murmured to her as she desperately tried to get out of his grip yet again, his creepy voice sending shivers down her spine. "Don't you know they are beneath you? You should be ruling them as a Queen, being waited on hand and foot, instead of slaving away saving their pitiful, meaningless lives."

His free arm traced her suit, lingering on her breasts and thighs. Pearl shuddered in disgust and fury. Really a feel up? A few seconds ago he was shooting more bullets at her that would gather Rodney King's sympathy and now he wanted to cope a feel?

"The only pitiful and meaningless one is you." She spat at him, as she tried to move her hands at least towards his head. "You're a coward attacking innocent people with bombs and bullets. You wouldn't last a second against them in a fair fight without your green suit and glider."

Pearl managed to finally angle her hand right and shoot a web in his face. When he dropped her with a curse to get it off, she quickly smashed her hand into his glider and ripped out a few wires.

"WE'LL MEET AGAIN SPIDER-GIRL!" The green fiend swore as he flew his glider away that was smoking and clearly now harder to control.

Then he was gone and Pearl took a breath in small relief. She didn't defeat him, not technically and it agonized her because she always defeated her enemies, but at least he was gone now and couldn't harm any more civilians.

Suddenly she heard a loud scream drawing Pearl from her thoughts and suddenly remembered Gwen. She was falling to the ground and Pearl quickly dove for her. When she caught her, she quickly shot a web and got them out of there. Gwen Stacy gripped her tight as she swung past building after building, finally landing on one that had it's own garden on top startling the couple that was there.

"Well it beats taking the subway." She told her, careful to disguise her voice as always. "Oh don't mind us, she just needs to use the elevator."

The couple looked at her in amazement and awe like most of the New Yorkers she came across. Suddenly remembering she left Harry unconscious on an unstable balcony, she prepared to leave to get him but Gwen's hand around her wrist stopped her.

"Wait!" Gwen said to her, halting Pearl's movements. "You saved my life twice now and I don't know how I could ever repay you. I don't know if you are going to find this information helpful or not but the man that attacked you today had Norman Osborn's glider, the one I presume that was stolen a few months ago."

Pearl turned to her in shock.

"What? Are you sure?"

At Gwen's words, Pearl suddenly remembered the news report a few months ago about the horror that happened at Oscorp and speaking to Harry about it. Oscorp was robbed and Mr. Osborn's assistant was murdered that night, most likely by the thief who was never caught, and the glider was stolen along with many other prototypes Oscorp had there.

"Yes." Gwen nodded. "One of his board members next to me confirmed it just before..."

Her face paled and her breathing hitched as she recalled the horrific events she just underwent.

"It's all right." Pearl murmured to her as she pulled her in a hug, trying to keep her from having a panic attack. "You're safe now. He can't hurt you."

If only Pearl felt the same conviction in which she said those words to Gwen. All she could think about was the way he murdered all Mr. Osborn's board members with a careless toss of his hand, his strength surpassing her own as he kicked her away as if she were a stray cat, and the way he felt her up when she was struggling to get out of his grip.

And those eyes. Those horrible yellow eyes that was sure to give her nightmares for weeks to come.

Who was this guy and why did he want Oscorp's board members dead? Was he just a nutcase or did he have some personal vendetta against Oscorp? And most importantly, were Harry and/or Mr. Osborn next on this psychopath's list?

Chapter Text

It was Monday and Pearl Parker once again found herself at the Daily Bugle.

She was furious as she strolled into Jonah Jameson's office in her high heels and low cut blouse, ignoring the assistant who tried in vain to stop her from entering. She was beyond tired as she had an extremely long day but that didn't stop the anger from welling inside her the moment she saw Jameson's face. Pearl had spent all morning in the hospital with Harry who thankfully did not have any sort of head trauma or internal bleeding but the hospital did want to keep him one more day for observation just to make sure. Then she had spent her afternoon taking care of her Aunt Marigold who was still sick as a dog and insisted on chicken soup from her favorite Dominican place in the Bronx! When she finally crawled back after sunset and got dressed to go to the Daily Bugle, Mary Jane had arrived from the ending of her two-o-clock show and stopped her from wearing her simple sweat pants outfit, convincing her that there was no way in hell she'd be able to get inside his office wearing something like that especially since she didn't have an appointment. Mary Jane did her make-up and picked out her outfit as she did the last time, reminding her that it was better to look sexy when threatening to sue a man out of existence that way he was conflicted about calling security or the police on you and if he managed to, then you can simply play the stupid buxom blonde thing with the cops so they could let you off with a warning.

Something she clearly picked up from Aunt Marigold who had so many cases dropped against her with a simple flash of her ample cleavage.

"-copyright the name Green Goblin. I want a quarter every time somebody says it!" J. Jonah Jameson was saying to one of his assistants, waving him off with a simple flick of his wrist when his eyes suddenly clashed with Pearl's angry brown ones. "Well hello again Miss Parker-"

Pearl threw the Daily Bugle 'TIMES-SCARE! SPIDER-GIRL AND GREEN GOBLIN ATTACK THE CITY!' paper at his face before he could even finish his words.

"What the hell is this!?" She angrily demanded, taking the cigar he was smoking and throwing it out the window in an act of pettiness that gave her great satisfaction. "And what the hell was up with the paper last night with the pictures I sold you!? I told you Spider-girl saved that armored truck, not tried to rob it! She did the same thing at the Osborn festival yesterday when the Green Goblin, as you say, showed up more strapped than the Taliban throwing bombs at civilians and shooting up the place like it was Compton! It's because of her there were miraculously no casualties whatsoever-besides of course the board members of Oscorp but that attack was before Spider-girl showed up-because the police officers there were incapable of stopping him as he had taken a whole gang of them down like they were mere ants at his feet! There were hundreds of thousands of witnesses, including me, who saw everything that happened after the video feed went down and it was clear that Spider-girl was in no way working with that evil man, she was trying to stop him! What you're doing Mr. Jameson is slander and you could have your ass sued in court for it!"

"It is not! I resent that!" He had the audacity to argue, his eyes slipping down to her bust yet again. "Slander is spoken. Print is libel. And what are you her lawyer? Let her sue me, get rich like a normal person! That's what made this country so-"

He never got a chance to finish that statement when suddenly the windows exploded right in front of her. Pearl flew back to the wall at the mere force of the blow, shards of glass covering her all around, and she found herself face to face with the villain of her nightmares yet again who was hovering in the middle of the room.

The Green Goblin. (Catchy name, she had to admit.)

"Jameson you swine!" The fiend snarled as he lifted Jameson by the throat who was cowering in front of him, the air around them filled with the terrified screams and fearful shouts of the Daily Bugle workers. "Who's the photographer that takes the pictures of Spider-girl!?"

Pearl felt her heart jolt in fear at his words as she quickly ran off for a place to change, being banged into constantly by workers running out for their own safety and lives. So he was looking for her? That couldn't be good. She still remembered his strength from the night before and the fact that he held such weapons in his suit that had the power to vaporize dozens of people with a mere toss of his hand. That was not an Osborn prototype as she found out from Mr. Osborn last night, he made that himself! Oh God, what else did this sadistic psycho have up his sleeve? How was she suppose to defeat him this time if her powers didn't have any effect on him and his weapons were beyond even her level of genius, something straight out of a sci-fi channel or comic book? Pearl doubted he would fall for the same trick she pulled on him yesterday twice.

"I don't know who she is-"

"She?" The fiend's voice was dangerously low at Jameson's slip up, Pearl cursing quietly under her breath as she rapidly changed in Jameson's private bathroom. "Come now Jameson, there's no need to lie to me. You and I both know you triple-check all your sources of information ever since that lawsuit and re-print you had a few decades ago. I do not wish to harm the girl. All I want from her are the whereabouts of Spider-girl."

'Likely!' Pearl thought sarcastically as she remembered his cackling laughter as he shot her down, uncaring of the civilians who were shot in the cross fire too. 'Lil Kim would be teaching Sunday school before I believe this maniac's word!'

"I don't know who or where she is!" Jameson insisted, choking under the strong grip of the Goblin. "Her stuff came in the mail! It was only a one shot deal two days ago! I swear! I never had the time to check up on her!"

Pearl had finished dressing and quickly made her entrance before the Goblin had the chance to kill Jameson who she had gained new respect for not ratting her out even though his very life hung in the balance. Jameson may be a liar but at least he wasn't a snitch.

"Set him down tough guy."

The villain turned at her statement and Pearl once again found herself facing those horrid yellow eyes.

"My, my, speak of the devil." He cackled gleefully, carelessly tossing Jameson aside as if he were a mere doll. "The savior spider has decided to grace me again with her presence. I've missed you so darling. Did you miss me? Though I must admit our first meeting wasn't exactly ideal."

Spider-girl paled at his words as she felt the ghost from his hands yesterday feeling her up and her ribs ache from the sheer force of his kick. She didn't know whether this fiend wanted to kill her or fuck her. Maybe he wanted to do both.

"Spidergirl!" Jameson furiously said as he got up from his spot on the ground, forcibly dragging Pearl out her flashback moment, pointing a damning finger at her. "I knew you two were in this together! I-"

She shot a web at his mouth, not in the mood for any of his wrong conclusions.

"Hey kiddo," She casually replied even though her body was tense for the fight of her life, wanting to get Jameson the hell out of the line of fire. "Could you run off? Let Mommy and Daddy talk for a minute will you?"

"Sleep."

The Green Goblin's command was followed by gas filtering out of his gloves trapping Pearl dead on. Its effects were instantaneous. Drowsiness consumed her and her grip loosened on the building despite her desperate tries in vain to stay awake and regain control of her body. Soon she was free falling towards the ground, unable to do a single thing about it as her body completely shut down, not even able to make a simple web to save her from splatting on the Manhattan concrete. The last thing she remembered is the Green Goblin catching her bridal style before everything went black.

When she finally regained consciousness, the sun had completely set with only the bright lights of NYC as illumination and Pearl had difficulty remembering where she was or what the hell she was even doing there on that very cold rooftop. She felt as if she were in a deep fog as she blinked the sleep from her eyes and tried to recall the events past.

"Wake up little spider." She heard an unmistakable voice urge sending a flood of very unwanted images rushing back to her and causing her heart to pound in alarm. "Wake up. No you're not dead. Yet. Just paralyzed. Temporarily."

Sure enough the fiend was right. Pearl couldn't move her entire body a single inch besides blinking and breathing. But thank the Lord her costume was still on and undisturbed, her identity was safe but why Pearl had no clue given the Goblin had the perfect opportunity to unmask her.

God damn it! She knew she should have added that gas filter for her mask and utility belt with weapons she herself created from 'borrowed' materials at Oscorp but stupid her felt too uncomfortable with it and arrogant enough to believe her abilities were enough to not even need it. And now she couldn't even find the darn things since Pearl's room was as tidy about as much as cats loved taking a shower. Plus she had the terribly tendacy of misplacing her items, some of the time even at Harry's penthouse and she definitely didn't have the time to check there with all the time she spent at the hospital while he underwent all those tests to check if he wasn't brain damaged.

"You're an amazing creature Spider-girl." The Green Goblin murmured to Pearl, bringing her forcefully back to the present time as he stood before her in all his full arrogance and wickedness. "You and I are not so different."

Pearl wanted to scoff at his completely insane statement but she found herself presently barely able to form words because of the drugs that now coursed throughout her entire system thanks to him and herself for being stupid enough to get caught up in it!

It was the first time in her life she had felt so completely helpless and she loathed it.

"I'm nothing like you!" She spat out difficultly, trying in vain to regain control of her body and frantically think of a plan to get herself out of the predicament she found herself in. "You're a murderer!"

"Well to each his own." He shrugged carelessly at her words like the psychopath he was causing Pearl to become infuriated at his indifferent reply and the fact that he was inching so very close to her. "I chose my path, you chose the way of the hero. And they found you amusing for a while, the people of this city. But the one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you've done for them eventually they will hate you, why bother?"

"Because," Pearl hated how her voice showed the slightest hint of faltering when the Green Goblin suddenly was toe to toe with her. "It's right!"

Suddenly he knelt right in front of her and roughly grabbed her masked face in his hands. She caught back the gasp of fear she almost let out at his gesture. Pearl may be terrified out of her wits of the present situation she found herself in but she would never ever give the Goblin the satisfaction of knowing it. He started feeling her up, again, and Pearl felt rage build up inside her as he took even more very unwanted liberties with her body, like kneading her breasts (God this guy was worse than all the gropers she met in NYC combined-and that was saying something!). Thank God though they were covered and he didn't slip his hands under her costume!

"Here's the real truth. There are seven million people in this city. And those teeming masses exist for the sole purpose of lifting the few exceptional people onto their shoulders. You and I darling, we're exceptional." He spoke the words to her as one lover would another and Pearl had to stop herself from gagging. "I could squash you like a bug right now, if I wanted to, but I'm offering you a choice. Join me. Imagine what we could accomplish together. What we could create."

The Goblin's hands traced the outlines of her hips with his last statement and Pearl felt like vomiting. Surely he didn't mean...he couldn't have...not that!

"Or we could destroy." He threatened, his sinister voice filled with ugly promise and a hint of savage glee in just speaking about causing further acts of terror. "Cause the deaths of countless innocents in selfish battle again and again and again until we're both dead! Is that really what you want, little spider? You have three days to think about it hero."

After his mocking ultimatum The Green Goblin took off, completely disapearing in the huge labyrinth of buildings that was NYC and a few seconds later when Pearl finally regained some movement in her body there was only one thing running through her mind as clear as a rare cloudless summer sky in NYC.

The Green Goblin was much too dangerous and way too intelligent to be simply handed over to the authorities even if she did manage to defeat him and take all his weapons. He had to be killed for the greater good of NYC and she had to be the one to do it before he claimed any more victims.

Chapter Text

A BIG HELLO TO MY FELLOW FANFICTION READERS, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN!? AND JUST BEFORE YOU BLOW UP MY REVIEW OR PM BOX WITH 'WHERE THE F# K IS THE 'WAKE UP LITTLE SPIDER' CHAPTER YOU PROMISED US A YEAR AGO B $#CH!?' I HAVE ADDED IT TO THE LAST CHAPTER 'ENTER THE GREEN GOBLIN' SO GO CHECK IT OUT. I KNOW I PROMISED THAT THE GREEN GOBLIN WOULD UNMASK SPIDER-GIRL AND I DID INITIALLY TYPE IT THAT WAY UNTIL I REALIZED HOW BADLY IT WOULD MESS WITH THE STORYLINE SO I DECIDED TO REWRITE IT AND SAVE THE JUICY STUFF FOR LATER. I ADDED IT TO THE LAST CHAPTER BECAUSE I'M TYPING THIS STORY BY DAYS AND EACH CHAPTER IS ONE SINGLE DAY. THERE WILL ONLY BE A WEEK AND THE EPILOGUE, THAT'S IT. MAYBE A FEW BONUS CHAPTERS AND SOME INTERLUDES BUT SATURDAY-FRIDAY IS THE MAIN STORYLINE. I REALIZED I COULDN'T WASTE AN ENTIRE DAY WITH 'WAKE UP LITTLE SPIDER' SO I JUST ADDED IT TO THE LAST CHAPTER. NOW I MUST APOLOGIZE FOR MAKING YOU GUYS WAIT OVER A YEAR BEFORE FINALLY UPDATING AND I PROMISE YOU THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN EVEN THOUGH I AM FORCED TO TYPE ON MY PHONE BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN I AM OUT OF A LAPTOP!

ANYWAY NEXT CHAPTER IS HARRY OSBORN' S POV AND A VERY TIGHTLY KEPT SECRET OF PEARL'S SINCE BEFORE SHE EVEN MET HARRY IS SPILLED TO HIS FATHER NORMAN OSBORN (OH THE GOBLIN IS GOING TO HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH THIS ONE AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING SPIDER-GIRL)! WHAT, YOU ASK? JUST STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT.