I don't own anything except any original character and/or any original plot.

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Chapter Twenty-Five: The Hobgoblin

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A/n: So I've decided that the last chapter, epilogue, and goodbye will be posted on Christmas Eve, and my new story will be posted on Christmas!

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After a good night of sleep, I was unsure what to do the next day. Peter and I could go on patrol for the entire day, but since both of us had suits that would easily form in a crisis - him in his Iron-Spider, mine my Riptide suit from Tony - there was no point in stressing ourselves like that.

So we took to the original group chat and organized a catch-up at Starbucks. Within an hour of sending the text; Ned, MJ, Peter, and I were set to meet at the nearest Starbucks.

Informing my parents of the plan, I took the elevator to the main lobby. There, I was pleasantly surprised to see Jess at the main counter. Since her and Via got married, she had been working the front desk less and less. The only reason she continued after she got the manager position was because she wanted to stay close with all the tenants. But she was married, and her and Via were focusing on the newlywed life, and Jess was getting more and more work as the manager. It made sense for her to pull back, no matter how sad it made me to not see her as often.

"Jess!" I practically leaped over the desk to hug her, "I've missed you!"

"I missed you too. Via says hi, she wishes she could have come in with me to help out, but she had a meeting with her charity directors today she couldn't avoid. It was for the one in Sokovia dealing with homelessness."

"It's fine. Not all of us can run multiple charities and see our friends at the same time," I joked, ever-impressed with how much good Via was doing for the world. Not all heroes wear capes- in a figurative sense since neither Peter nor I ever wore a cape, "How's the newlywed life?"

"Good! She's the best thing ever, besides you Short-Stack. What about you? I'm sorry I missed the trial after what happened with Beck, I was in South Africa. But I could have been a good character witness. Secretaries hear everything."

"Peter was acquitted, that's what matters. And I get it, you're all over the world saving lives now. I'm just happy you could be here today. Will you be visiting more?"

"Hopefully. Via's biggest travel time of the year is over, so we'll be able to stay in New York more. How are you faring with being a public hero?"

"Well, after the trial, Peter and I didn't leave our apartments very often unless it was for patrols or to go to Wakanda, so we haven't had to face the public a lot. But, I'm ready to handle giving out pictures and to deal with fans and haters and stuff. Mutants deal with that in general anyway. Being a hero is just another layer to it."

Nodding, Jess hummed thoughtfully, "This is probably really good, honestly. It means you can speak more openly about mutant rights. The general public listened to the Avengers, and now that you're technically one, it'd be pretty easy to speak out about it and get more awareness."

I hadn't thought of that before, but it'd be nice to have so much influence over something I thought so passionately about. When I was about to respond, my phone buzzed in my purse, drawing my attention.

"I've got to go meet the group. I'll see you later Jess," I waved goodbye and walked out of the building, taking the short trek to the Starbucks where we agreed to meet.

Already waiting was Ned, MJ, Peter, and a new arrival; Gwen Stacy. Similar to other dimension Gwen in her fiery attitude and confidence; far from her in her lack of spider powers. She didn't look like a cartoon, either- not that anyone did in our home dimension.

"Any news on Harry?" I asked after getting my drink and sitting down in the last open seat at the table.

"No. It'd be better if you guys talked to him yourselves, too. He's always been against small time vigilantes, but since you're official Avengers now, he'll listen. It's that way for a lot of the force."

"We know, Gwen," Peter sighed tiredly. I could tell he didn't get a lot of sleep, fretting about Harry just like I had been.

"It's just easier if you're the one to do it. We're... busy."

"Dealing with Harry?" MJ already knew the answer, "Why not put an APB on Harry himself? He's probably not walking on the streets in his Hobgoblin uniform."

"Us ruining Norman's reputation is what spiraled him the first time. And now that everything is so public surrounding us, it'd be even worse for Harry. We want to help him, not ruin his life. He hasn't hurt anyone."

"Yet," Ned said what all of us were thinking.

Right on cue, a small trio of kids approached us - late elementary, early middle school age by the look of it. They were chattering nervously, and I picked up on what they wanted quickly.

"Can we get a picture?" One of the two boys asked.

"Of course," Peter and I got behind them and smile for the camera.

Peter got roped into a debate about who the best DC hero was, so I turned to the girl. Our first official picture as outed heroes. I wasn't going to mess it up.

"What's your name?"

"Charli."

"And who's your favorite hero, Charli?"

"Scarlet Witch."

I laughed at her bluntness. I liked her honesty, "And why is she your favorite?"

"Because even though she made some mistakes, she's still a hero. She taught me it's okay to mess up as long as you make things right."

"That's very true. Every hero makes mistakes, but it's fixing them and learning from them that's important."

The group retreated to their moms at a corner booth. While Ned fanboyed - "You're celebrities. And I'm friends with you!" - another person tugged my sleeve. Assuming it was another fan asking for a picture, I turned with a smile.

"Norman?"

"Get out now, (Y/n). This is your last warning."

"What?"

Smash!

As soon as the window shattered, Peter was on top of the drone that flew through. Laughter, just like Norman's flooded into the cafe. It was Harry's lament.

Tapping the bracelet on my wrist, I spun around and sent an icicle through Norman's heart. Immediately, the illusion fell, and a broken drone was in his place.

"Everyone out!" I yelled, watching the civilians closely as they scrambled out of the back exit. All of them exited safely, which meant Harry was after us and only us. Bad for us, good for them.

Peeking behind the counter, I spotted Ned, MJ, and Gwen hiding behind it. Smarter than waiting around for further orders.

"What do you want us to do?" Ned yelled over the sounds of small explosions behind me.

"Ned, I need you to call Jean or Wanda, maybe both. Tell them we need them here, now. I'll send you their numbers. Gwen and MJ, talk to Commissioner Stacy. We need the police to keep civilians away, but they can't interfere with this. Now go!"

The group scrambled to get away through the back exit, and once they were at a safe distance, I went to join Peter on the other side of the counter. He was in the middle of thickly webbing a circular bomb. Harry, on the other hand, was cackling as he pulled out another one.

"Harry, this needs to stop!"

Yelping, I ducked under the explosive he was holding. Quickly freezing it solid, it exploded and sent ice chunks through the room.

"What happened to all the strength you pretend to have?" Harry tilted his head innocently, "Such a strong woman, who's survived hell. What happened to her, huh?"

Our Harry was gone, that much was clear. So much time alone with himself the night before had shattered what remained of the true him. In his place, was something worse. Something similar to his father and his very own at the same time. Not the Green Goblin, but-

"I call myself the Hobgoblin. Interesting name, isn't it? Just like the father you took away from me."

I couldn't say how long the fight in the Starbucks lasted. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes? Long enough for a swarm of reporters to gather around the police barricade, and long enough for Harry to burn three holes in my suit that the nanotech had to rush to replace.

Finally, just when I thought there'd be a reprieve, Harry sighed, dropped one final bomb - bigger than the others - and flew out of the cafe.

"Bug-Boy, get out, now!" I realized the direness of the situation and dove over the counter and to the back storage kitchen. Sprinting towards the door, I screamed when a sudden forced shoved me through the door, a deafening boom running through my ears.

Landing on my stomach, I groaned in pain. Though, I knew the pain could have been a lot worse if I was in my former suit. Tony's tech and Shuri's vibranium were life savers.

"Misty-"

"No major injuries, only slight bruising. After this battle, I'd recommend repairing the nanotech. Shuri Udaku has access to such technology. I can contact-"

"Misty tell me where Peter is!" I all but screeched, looking around the rooftops closest to me. Worst case scenarios ran through my mind. It was never good when we were separated, Beck was a prime example of that.

"Tracking his location now... After the explosion, Peter pulled Harry away from the civilians to avoid casualties. Mapping."

In the short amount of time I had taken to recover, Peter had led Harry to the nearest flat building. Both to minimize the damage caused by his explosions, and to minimize the chance of civilian harm.

Pushing down my pain and getting to my feet, I launched myself up to the nearest building with a burst of water. I easily spotted the fight from the higher angle. My annoyance rose when I noticed a news chopper circling the scene. Wasn't there something more interesting to cover?

The fight wasn't fun, and I certainly didn't want to jump back in. But I did so anyway. I rolled under a bomb and used a burst of water to send it high enough in the air that it wouldn't harm the building. Making my way over to Peter, I tapped his arm frantically, motioning to the helicopter above us.

"We got to lead him away," I hissed, "Those idiots think it's smart to fly above us when the villain we're fighting against can fly too. If he wants, he could attack-"

Diving out of the way, Peter and I jumped back into action when Harry didn't take the time to allow us a little meeting. But I had made my point, and Peter understood. So he took the lead in luring Harry away by swinging off of the building we were on East. Pretty quickly I put the pieces together. He was going back to our first battle site. Coney Island, more specifically the beach running along it. Conveniently for us, the theme park was closed so we'd have no problems with civilians.

Harry didn't try to attack us too much while we were leading him away, likely because it'd be difficult to while he was so new to the Hobgoblin suit and all of us we in the air.

On the beach, we could continue our fight without fear of damaging anything, and passing through/under so many buildings and structures on the island had allowed us to lose the helicopter.

The screens behind my mask beeped with a voicemail. Automatically, it played, "I called Jean and Wanda. Jean said she's busy and Wanda's voicemail said something about exploring pocket realities."

Ducking under Harry's board, I swore, "Misty text Ned and tell him I'm thankful that he'd tried. Then call Jean."

The call went through, "Jean, when I said I needed your help with something, I meant it!"

"Sorry, (Y/n). We're at a genetic testing lab trying to-"

"I don't give a shit about what you're doing right now, okay?" I ducked behind a small bathroom building so I could talk in peace, "Let the others handle it. Peter and I can't do this on our own, and if one more person expects us to save the world then I'll turn into a villain. Get your ass to New York and take ten minutes out of your precious time to help us handle this... hello?"

"The signal was interrupted. I cannot pinpoint how much she heard, I apologize."

"Of course you can't," stepping into the warzone again, I sighed, "Something tells me it's gonna be a long night."