The final chapter of The Leopard from New York. I hope you've enjoyed it.

As usual, I don't own Spider-Man or any of the characters you recognise.

Feedback would be nice.

The Leopard from New York.

Peter stepped through the door into the apartment he shared with Harry exhausted. He had spent the entire day with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. His aunt was still unconscious following the attack of the Green Goblin and Uncle Ben was stressed out from keeping watch on his wife and sorting out the mess left behind by the Goblin. Ben always went on his own despite his nephew's occasional asking if he wanted him to come along and help, but Ben had always refused; he didn't want his wife to wake up in the hospital ward alone, and Peter understood that but he just felt so hopeless and useless in the room.

Peter had no idea how long it would take before the house was repaired, but tonight Ben had told him to go to college the next day and come visit the hospital when he was finished with work. Peter didn't like the idea of leaving his Uncle all alone, but Ben had put his foot down. He knew how important it was for Peter to get his education, but that didn't mean Peter had to like it. In any case, Ben refused to be responsible for his nephew losing out on life.

The apartment felt like an alien world to Peter. It had only been a few days since he had seen it and yet the place felt odd. On the way back, however, Peter was actually glad to be away from the hospital because while he had been there he hadn't had that much time to think.

"Harry?" he called through the flat, wondering if his lazy friend was here or not. When no answer came back Peter had his answer, but he wasn't bothered since the empty flat meant he would have the place to himself for a while. The only thing that concerned Peter the most was the open balcony doors, but he didn't pay them any attention for now; in any case, the breeze was refreshing. He went to the sink and took out a glass and filled it with water, and he took a deep sip.

Peter took a look at the state of the fridge and saw there wasn't that much to eat. He was starving and he wanted to wake up in the morning with a bit of his energy back, but all that was in the fridge were a few things that would require time to cook. While he would preferably like a home-cooked meal, Peter was just too exhausted to have anything complicated.

Instead, he grabbed some milk and a bowl and some cheerios and dumped a ton into the bowl. As he moved his nose wrinkled with distaste as he caught a whiff of his BO. Peter went into his room and grabbed a towel and some fresh clothes, and he went to the bathroom and after making sure the shower cubicle was clean he slipped inside and started to wash.

As he let the water run over himself and wash away the suds made by the shower gel and closing his eyes in pleasure as the water soothed his tired muscles and body, Peter suddenly paused as his leopard-enhanced hearing caught something over the sounds of the rushing water. Peter stood very still and listened. He thought he could hear the sounds of an engine, and his teeth bared in a very cat-like snarl as he realised that it was the sound of the Green Goblin's glider.

Peter shut off the shower and he stepped out of the cubicle carefully before he took the towel and quickly rubbed himself dry before he donned the clothes he'd prepared and stepped out of the shower, his exhaustion forgotten. He slowly opened the door and stepped out, not really bothering to keep quiet when he saw the Green Goblin standing there. The Goblin's mask was still fixed in that grotesque grin, but with the lenses covering his eyes, Peter couldn't tell what the Goblin was thinking, but from his stance, he could tell the man underneath that body armour was prepared for a fight.

"So you do know who I am," Peter said, though there had been little doubt since the Goblin had gone after his relatives and only them instead of anybody else in the street at Forest Hills.

"Yes. You're an amazing creature," the Goblin said, not bothering to hide the truth, "we're not too different."

Peter scoffed. "Oh, we're very different; I burgle people without revealing what I can do. You blow things up wearing that stupid mask and that body armour. We're very different."

A sound emanated from the Goblin's mask. He clearly didn't like being contradicted but Peter didn't care about that.

"What do want?" Peter asked, wanting the Goblin to get down to business.

The Goblin suddenly loosened his posture and his body language became less aggressive. "I want us to start over," he said.

Peter couldn't believe it. "What?" he started to snicker at the very idea that the Goblin was coming up with though he had no idea if it meant what he thought it meant. "What do you mean?"

"We are stronger together. Think about it; we were both created by Oscorp technology. We are both exceptional. Think of what we can do if we together," the Goblin said while he tried to make his gravelly voice as inviting as possible.

Peter was silent for a moment as he considered what the Goblin was saying. He couldn't believe the Green Goblin had the gall to suggest they forget everything and just work together, and he wondered if the Goblin was wackier than he had first thought. As he thought about the things this thing had done, the destruction of the police stations, the hospitals, and that school where even children were killed or injured, Peter didn't have that much trouble in guessing what this man wanted out of an alliance.

The idea of going from a burglar to a murderer made him feel sick because it didn't just go against his morals - he might be a burglar but he had no desire to kill people - and he knew that if the Green Goblin did let him live, that would all he would become; a thoughtless murderer. Peter did not want that.

And then he considered the fact this man had attacked his aunt and uncle. Was this some kind of intimidation game? Your relatives will die if you refuse to do as I tell you to do? Peter stiffened with rage as he considered what would happen if he said no, his aunt and uncle would be killed, and yet a part of him wondered if they wouldn't all die anyway even if he said yes.

Peter made up his mind, but he still said, "Do you mind if I think it over?"

The Goblin's head jerked up slightly in surprise. "Yes, of course."

Peter nodded and left the room slowly and went to his bedroom where he snatched up one of the balaclavas he used for burglary. He slipped it on his head and he dashed back out again to confront the Goblin. However the Goblin was prepared for the attack, and he had in his hand one of his trademark bombs. But he was taken by surprise by Peter's running leap.

The Goblin groaned as he had to struggle with Peter's weight, and he forced the glider out of the apartment. "I knew you'd say no!" he cackled.

"Then why did you make the offer?"

The Goblin continued to cackle. It was starting to grate on Peter's nerves. "I wanted to see if you were weak-willed," he replied.

Peter delivered a punch to the Goblin's mask. He felt his knuckles graze themselves on the high-tech materials of the mask, but the blow made the Goblin groan although he quickly shrugged off the blow.

Peter was not really shocked; he had already worked out from the stories about the Goblin and from his own experiences the Goblin was enhanced in some way since it was the only way he could stay on the Glider without being blown off by the inertia and the force of the wind, and on top of that he had lifted people up in his hands and took them high in the air. Forcing himself to ignore the pain he was going to be getting back in return, Peter started pummelling the Green Goblin while the glider lurched from side to side.

One of the blows as was powerful thanks to Peter wrapping his legs and thighs around the Goblin suddenly and then using the power of both of his fists to deliver a blow to the head. The Goblin shrieked under the force of the blow, though Peter had no idea if it had truly stunned him though because he had no idea what the Goblin had done to himself, it was impossible to tell.

Still, the blow disturbed the Goblin's skilled concentration with flying the glider, and nearly sent them careening towards a tower block.

"Stop doing that, you fool! You could have killed us!" the Goblin screamed, only for him to gurgle in surprise as Peter suddenly wrapped an arm around his neck and choked him. Peter grunted as he heard the Goblin struggle, and he almost cried out in pain as he was surprised by the claw-like nature of the Green Goblin's grip which made him think of a clawed hand, but he held back the urge. Instead, he leaned forward and hissed low so then the Goblin didn't get the satisfaction of knowing he was hurting him.

"Then that's the way it should be!"

"Are you mad?!" the Goblin recoiled even as he tried to both throw off Peter's grip and steer the glider. "You'll kill us both!"

"You tried to murder my aunt and uncle!" Peter retorted harshly. "You knew I was the one who broke into Osborn's penthouse, but instead of keeping this between us, you brought this on yourself."

"I was sending you a message-!"

"You could have done that some other way instead of coming after me!" Peter snapped back while he wondered just how much longer he could hold onto the Green Goblin like this; the Goblin was strong and regardless of his mental state, Peter had no doubt that at some point he would find a way of shaking him off. And the Glider and its attitude didn't fill him with much confidence either; now he was on top of the Green Goblin, travelling very fast, Peter wondered how long it would be before he either fell off because he'd slipped or if the Goblin simply pushed him off. Either way, it was a long way to the ground.

"You shouldn't have broken into the Penthouse, Parker!"

"On that subject, how do you know so much about me? How is it you seem to have become a sick guardian angel for Oscorp?" Peter demanded, pleased that the Green Goblin had just given him an excuse to vent some of the questions he'd had on his mind since the penthouse and then later when Uncle Ben and Aunt May had been attacked.

"I don't have to tell you anything-!"

"Oh, that's fine," Peter snapped as he pummelled the Goblin while he wrapped his legs around the other man's legs, not really bothered the Goblin refused to talk. The blows elicited grunts and groans from the Goblin, but they were still flying through the air between the canyons separating the skyscrapers and the streets.

The Green Goblin swung his body around, throwing his arms out to either knock him off of his back or to deliver a blow of his own. Peter either ducked underneath the Goblin's arms, making the Goblin scream in anger. The sound shocked Peter whenever he heard it. The sounds were like the caws of some wild bird, mixed with the sound of a witch's high pitched rattle of a cackle.

Peter felt his frustration growing with each second they were both in the air. The longer he and the Goblin were fighting up here, the easier it would be for the bastard to shake him off. The blows the Green Goblin were trying to land were getting more faster, and Peter had no doubt the Goblin would connect sooner or later.

"Get off ME!" the Goblin shrieked.

Peter winced as the Goblin yelled, and he managed to grab hold of the Goblin's arm as he swung around again. He strained against the Goblin's strength, marvelling at how his enemy was giving him problems. He was in awe of how the Green Goblin seemed to strain against his strength while Peter was pushing the arm back as though they were two railway locomotives of near-equal power pushing against each other. He had wondered when this fight started which of them was the strongest, but this was hardly a good demonstration.

His opponent was still locked into the glider meaning he wasn't entirely mobile, but he was still in control of their flight through the air above the streets of New York, and it was travelling at incredible speed. All of the Goblin's blows were lightning fast, and he knew one of those blows would connect at some point.

Peter pushed as hard as his leopard-enhanced strength could budge, but it didn't work because the Goblin's other arm swung around, and Peter had to let go of the arm he was hanging onto otherwise he would have been knocked off. Peter growled like a leopard while he heard the Green Goblin's insane cackle; his enemy was loving this despite the setbacks he was facing, and he was enjoying having an enemy around his level in his midst.

But the Green Goblin used another tactic, he started to swerve from one side to another with his Glider, slamming to both the left and to the right with incredible speed. He cackled each time, certain that his young opponent wouldn't be able to hold on. Peter had been taken by surprise when the Goblin had swerved to the left, and nearly sent the pair of them into one of the many office blocks that lined the streets of the city, but he had managed to grab onto the Goblin's back at the last minute, and clung on for dear life.

After that, Peter had to hand on as the Goblin kept swerving, and the Goblin laughed each time he felt Peter's grip loosen. For a long moment, Peter was frustrated that his enemy was laughing whenever he lost his grip and needed to work hard just to keep hold. He wished instead of a leopard that he had been spliced with a spider, although from what he knew about them spiders had little hairs on their legs, so the thought of his hands being covered with hairs was not a very nice one, they'd definitely help him hold on. After being swerved about far too many times, Peter finally became frustrated and he grabbed hold of the Goblin when he swerved again, and he put more weight onto the Goblin's body.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU'RE CRAZY, YOU WILL KILL US BOTH!" the Goblin shrieked and was now trying desperately to right himself.

Peter grimaced at the volume of the shout but he didn't react as he looked down and saw that the Goblin controlled the glider thanks to the foot-rests. Peter kicked out, gathering all of his strength and shoving it all into the kick.

The Goblin yelled as the blow critically damaged the foot control and he took the full brunt as the glider suddenly crashed into one of the office blocks, which made him yell with something Peter took to be surprised pain.

Peter grimaced underneath his mask as he heard the sound of shattered glass and grinding metal and he also heard the sounds the Goblin made as they went through the wall, and he leapt off just as the Goblin crashed into another wall. Peter stretched his legs, relieved to be off of the glider which had landed in a completely different part of the office, but now he waited while he gathered his energy.

The Green Goblin staggered out of the hole he'd made, his bodysuit covered with trails of plaster dust. Peter sprang into action. He covered the distance separating them and he started pummelling the Goblin, determined to get a few blows in before his enemy recovered. The Goblin grunted under the onslaught, and he went down.

Peter had always tried to keep his emotions under control whenever he went out or when he had to fight as he had with Flash and those mugger because it sent him into a berserker-like mode. Peter had no problems with unleashing it now, using his memories of seeing what had happened to Uncle Ben and Aunt May, the helpless state of his uncle at the attack on top of the mess where the safety of their family had been injured by that robber. He thought about his Aunt, frail and unconscious, lying in that hospital bed and he felt his anger increase.

The Goblin staggered under the onslaught as he found himself being pushed back by Peter. He tried to fight back with his own considerable cybernetic enhanced strength and power, but he had come into the fight too late. In any case, Peter used his superior agility to sidestep around him while they crashed around the office, smashing desks and wrecking computers, and sending documents to the floor.

It didn't take the Goblin long to fight back after getting a second wind, and Peter soon found himself matching the Goblin blow for blow. He found himself blocking blows he knew would easily shatter an ordinary human-beings jaw right in. He had to admit they were quite well matched, but while the Goblin's power was rooted in strength, speed and reflexes alone, he didn't have the cat-like agility and speed Peter did. Peter immersed himself deeply into his animal instincts and pretty soon the second wind the Goblin had gotten back was gone and Peter was delivering blow after blow and he was using brute force instead of intellect behind his blows instead of careful thought.

Pretty soon the Green Goblin realised he had been overwhelmed and he collapsed to the ground where Peter continued to rain down blows on his head and chest.

Suddenly something incredible happened. The Goblin held out his hands desperately. "Please stop!" he said in a different voice that was lighter than the gravelly tone he used. "Please! I-I can't take anymore!"

Slowly and with shaking hands the Green Goblin removed his mask. Peter gaped in surprise under his balaclava when the mask with the grotesque face of the Green Goblin's smile was taken off, revealing the bruised and terrified face of Norman Osborn!

"Mr Osborn!" Peter whispered. All this time he had wondered what the clear connection between Oscorp and the Green Goblin was, but finding out Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin was a shock. And yet... So much made sense. The Board members. Norman had wanted revenge there, and the Penthouse burglary? It was simply a case of one defending their home. Only the Goblin took it a step further.

I should have guessed, Peter thought to himself, but there was nothing he could do about it now, and truthfully he didn't really care. Norman Osborn wasn't really his problem if you looked at it from a different point of view, but he was now.

Osborn sobbed. "I'm sorry, I tried to stop him…! But I couldn't! He-he took control of me!"

Peter frowned under his mask when he noticed Osborn wasn't referring to him by name or what he had done. And then he realised, looking around the office they'd just trashed, there were security cameras. Had Osborn picked up on that, but he didn't want to reveal it to the public, or was there something else?

Osborn noticed that he was looking around, specifically at one of the nearest security cameras. "Don't worry, I shut them off when I had a brief moment of sanity back," he said reassuringly.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I have just as much to lose as you do," Osborn replied simply, looking down at his hands and sobbing.

"You killed everyone on that balcony, you attacked the world-fair!" Peter said wondering if this was an act.

Osborn suddenly laughed, his face twisting malevolently, his original fear replaced and Peter stiffened in anger that it was all a sham. "I had to. They were going to sell my company, the organisation I had sacrificed so much to build. They had to go," a sneer crossed his face as he glared at Peter, "and so must you!"

Peter tensed at the threat while the Green Goblin reasserted himself, and a twisted grin that was only half the size of the one which was the most defining feature of the mask he wore spread across his face... Peter let out a breath when he realised he was seeing the true face of Norman Osborn.

Osborn stood up. "There's nothing you can do, Parker," he sneered. "Yes, I shut off the cameras. You are the best enemy I've had. I'm not going to reveal your name to anyone."

"So it was all an act, you sobbing?" Peter asked, remaining tense as he realised the Goblin probably had dozens of tricks up his sleeve.

"Yes. I am always in control. I am the ultimate evolution of Norman Osborn," the Goblin boasted, and his voice rose higher and higher as he ranted with his eyes becoming fanatical. "Smarter, stronger. I am more ruthless than he ever was."

"What made you flip like this?" Peter asked, curiously though he remained tense and ready in case the Goblin attacked. But so far the Goblin looked poised and mellow.

Osborn cackled. "Wouldn't you like to know, Parker?" he grinned.

"You're insane," Peter whispered as he realised for himself just how mad his opponent was.

"Too right, boy!" Osborn snarled.

For the first time, Peter realised his enemy was touching some kind of control on his wrist, and at the same time he heard something behind him that he hadn't been able to hear before.

It was the sound of the glider. It had been ripped off the Green Goblin's feet when they'd crashed through the window, but Peter had disregarded it when he had been caught up in the fight. The Goblin Glider was humming gently, and it was coming closer. Peter tensed even more but he didn't turn around to alert the Goblin what he knew.

The Goblin started laughing.

"W-what are you laughing at?" Peter asked, playing along while he focused on Osborn's hand. It was touching the button again.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Osborn laughed, and he tilted his head back his laugh transforming into a cackle while he pressed his button while Peter heard a sound like metal grinding on metal before the glider let out a shrieking roar as it accelerated. Peter reacted instantly and he leapt into the air and performed a back-flip and he caught sight of the glider speeding past with long metal knives sticking out of the front. Peter thought he heard something from Osborn who spoke in his normal voice.

Osborn shrieked in agony as the glider's blades impaled him through the armour, the force crumbling the plaster walls like meringue. Osborn gurgled as the blood rose in his mouth, choking him and he collapsed onto the glider, blood trickling out of his mouth and onto the glider.

Peter sat brooding in the living room of his aunt and uncle's house, still dressed in his neat suit which he had worn to Norman Osborn's funeral for moral support for Harry. His friend was inconsolable about the death of his father. It was bad enough his father was dead, but Harry refused to believe the facts; his father was Norman Osborn.

Osborn had been giving him a half-truth. On the one hand, he had blocked the security footage and yet he hadn't. He had blocked the sound, but he hadn't blocked the visual feed though Osborn's mouth had been fogged much like those people whose face was hidden whenever the footage was confidential though it didn't stop everyone from seeing who the Green Goblin really was, so now the entire city knew the truth. Peter leaned back in his seat, not wanting to think about the consequences of what would happen with the revelation. He had no doubt Harry would lose a lot of Oscorp's assets after what his father had done since he had destroyed large amounts of the city, but there was nothing Peter could do to help his friend except to be there.

Another frustrating problem with Harry was his anger towards the man in a mask who he saw fighting his father. The only consolation was even Harry could not deny the masked man had little to do with his father's death; granted, Peter had leapt into the air over the glider and let it impale Osborn, but that was semantics. The newspapers and the rest of the media were in two minds, while some people and outlets were saying that the Green Goblin was now dead, they vilified Peter as a vigilante, a mutant vigilante.

Peter wasn't bothered. No-one would identify him since he had not worn some stupid costume, no-one had seen his face without the balaclava on, and without anyone really knowing who he was since the Goblin had harmed many people over the last few weeks, the police wouldn't know where to start. When Peter had gotten back to the apartment (not a nice journey since he had needed to find a way out without any security camera spotting him when the security men in charge of the building at night came in) and he had cleaned up any damage the Goblin had left, but fortunately there wasn't that much.

Peter closed his eyes and thought back to the night. After the Green Goblin was killed, Peter had heard lift doors open and two security men stepping out. After hiding away while the security guards were puzzled over the death of the Green Goblin and argued about what they were going to do next with the body, Peter had dodged around them and he went down a fire escape all the way to a door as silently as he could before he found the street. Once he was out in the open, he had raced down the alleyways and he had escaped back to the apartment and cleaned up any damage the Green Goblin and he might have left before they had rocketed out and had their fight.

Peter opened his eyes and stood up and looked around the living room. It was good to be here rather than near Harry, who wasn't really in a good place right now, and while he felt guilty about having a hand in the death of the man Peter wasn't sure how he felt deep down about the death of Norman Osborn.

Peter shook his head and he stood up and walked through the house and looked around. Uncle Ben was upstairs, supervising the reconstruction of the house while Aunt May was in the hospital. Peter decided that he would need to shove Norman Osborn out of his mind completely, and focus on other things.

He could claim that he had killed Osborn in self-defence.

He only wished he found a way to live with it.

In the time since his death, Peter had been bothered a great deal, but it was lessening with each day.