skyscapes | ( do we need to guess who this is for at this point )

( do we need to guess who this is for at this point )

Everyone had a threshold for dealing with shit and Harry had finally exceeded his.

Amid all the threats and not-so-accidental accidents, Octavius finally made a move. It was only thanks to an overpowered stun-gun Peter made him that Harry escaped. Octavius had gotten arrogant, moved just close enough to get in range, then ZAP. Both Octavius and the tentacles went on a fritz, throwing Harry to the ground. He was lucky to have gotten away with nothing worse than a gash on his shoulder and a mess of bruises from the encounter. But more than anything, it simply wasn't enough just to survive Octavius anymore.

Harry knew - now more than ever - that he needed to fight back. He needed to save himself from this guy. --But how? Even the stun-gun could only do so much.

And then he kept wandering into the study for long periods of time, staring at the mirror, long since replaced to hide the lair behind it once more. The serum was gone. Destroyed. But the weaponry, the materials, the blueprints... all of that was still in there. Granted, he couldn't use any of it as is. It belonged to the Goblin, and Harry wouldn't follow in those dark footsteps. If he wanted to use them, he had to become something else; he had to redesign everything.

...But could he? Harry was no genius, after all.

And yet - while that was true, he was resourceful and creative-- and he did exactly what he set out to do. Not without blunder, of course. There were plenty of mishaps and imperfections, but he had access to the programs, the blueprints, the materials his father had left behind. With them, Harry was able to create a new suit, a new glider, new weapons-- all entirely of his own design. He started out just tentatively flying around in abandoned subway tunnels, building confidence in himself and his tech. Especially trying to keep a low profile. This was just to fight Octavius, he told himself. He didn't need any attention on him; he didn't want Peter finding out until he was sure he could pull this off. And he had honestly meant to avoid heroics-- but then one day, he saw someone in trouble on his way to his makeshift training grounds. It seemed too cruel not to help.

They had been so grateful, and for the first time in a long time, Harry was proud of himself. He actually made a difference! It was an exhilarating feeling.

After that, he made more of an effort to help people before heading off to the subway tunnels. He still tried to stay low-key about it, but a new guy swooping in to save people was bound to get some attention. Today, he was even using the opportunity to test out a new gadget: a snare he'd built from razor bat scraps. It was supposed to lock onto a target and - when within range - break open and shoot out a cord that would ideally restrain said target. He was hoping to figure out a way to tie down Octavius' smart arms with it, but he figured this stupid mugger - trying to take off with some lady's purse - was as good of practice as any. The lock-on feature worked great, but the cord thing? ...Not so much. It just kind of ended up clotheslining the guy more than anything. ...Oops.

Thanks to that, Harry ended up staying behind longer than he wanted to, making sure the woman got her stuff back and that the mugger was properly restrained this time. In a hurry not to draw any more attention to himself than he already had, he was quick to return to his glider and hurtle off into the sky, hoping to get to the abandoned subway tunnels without further incident.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You say that like I can't shake it out of you." He is not Daredevil, he won't punch this guy into submission. But Peter is not above breaking the goider and dangling him over the edge of a building.

"You are telling me," Peter started slowly, wanting to make sure he was getting this straight because what. "Harry Osborn gave some random guy Goblin technology." Harry didn't, did he? He wouldn't do something like that without telling Peter. Would he? Fuck, and now Peter had to worry about this guy getting shot by the cops, in addition to the Harry-Otto situation.

"How do I know you didn't steal it? That he really gave it to you?" Besides asking Harry himself, which Peter would absolutely be doing later. "More than that, who are you and what makes you qualified to do something like that?"

It didn't seem like this guy did this for a living, like he was some hired mercenary, and it was worrying that Harry would entrust such dangerous technology to someone with no experience. Unless the guy stole it. That was a better explanation than Harry being reckless.

"Seriously? Are you always this much of an asshole?" Out of reflex, Harry took a wary step backwards, increasingly aware of how close Spider-Man was to him.

"No! Not some random guy--" Shit. It was obvious he had zero experience in dicey situations. He'd nearly crashed them into a billboard after he couldn't even correct the glider. What kind of hired muscle would do that?

This was going downhill fast. So much for lying. He couldn't come up with a coherent cover that would get him out of this. Nothing he could conjure up was going to cut it. Spider-Man didn't seem like he was going to have a lot of patience for excuses, and anything that came out of Harry's mouth would just sound pathetic. But... as frustrated as Harry was with the guy right now, he seemed like he might be sympathetic to his plight. He closed his eyes behind his mask for a minute and sucked in a breath. Good-bye, secret identity. It's not like he had a lot of options available to him. Hopefully this wouldn't end badly. "...Fine. You got me. He didn't give me anything."

Hitting the switch on his suit, the mask retracted and revealed his face. "'Cause I'm Harry Osborn, and I built everything myself." He tried to keep the fear out of his face, but to little avail. "Look, I know this looks bad, but please believe me. This guy-- he almost killed me a few weeks ago and I-- I just want to be able to fight back. I only meant to protect myself and the people I care about, but-- but then I started getting involved with the city's problems because it felt... y'know, nice to make a real difference for once, and it was good for training, and--" His breath hitched, his fear catching up to him. "I'm not my father! Please don't turn me in..."

"Are you always so ridiculously shady?" Peter's hand twitched, but he didn't shoot a glob of webbing. The guy wasn't trying to get away, not really. Good to know he was having the desired effect of unnerving him, though.

And just like that, all of Peter's anger evaporates because - seriously Harry? Peter is definitely glad for the mask, now, because he knew his jaw had just dropped open. He almost did a double take, barely hearing what Harry was telling him. "I. What the hell."

Peter has to take a second to organize his thoughts enough not to give himself away. "I'm not going to turn you in. Not unless - you didn't drink the same juicebox as your dad, did you?" He didn't think there was any more serum lying around, they'd destroyed it, right? But then, he didn't expect Harry to show up with Goblin tech either, so. "He was on something, I know that much."

"What guy?" Peter asked, hoping he didn't sound too nervous, since he already knew the answer. Otto almost got him? When? Why the hell hadn't Harry said anything? "What did he do? Why - is he after you?"

Hard not to be intimidated by a guy that could lift ten tons. Harry had been fairly indifferent towards Spider-Man, but he knew enough about him to know that he could easily overpower him if he wanted to. Not really a guy he wanted to tussle with.

The assertion that he wouldn't be turned in completely drowned out his frustration within a second though. Harry's relief was practically palpable and he visibly relaxed once the notion of being thrown into Ravencroft was off the table. Even put a hand over his heart, like it would stop it from leaping out of his chest. "Thank you." So distracted by his relief, he almost didn't catch the follow-up question.

"What?" Juicebox? ...Oh-- right. Of course he'd want to know about that. "You mean the serum? No, I didn't take it. It's... gone anyway. Destroyed." There were still the notes, but Harry promised he wouldn't take the serum. He had no intentions of recreating it. He could do this without powers. "No one else is going to run around using it, I promise."

Harry didn't really want to divulge the details on his whole problem to a stranger, even if Spider-Man was supposed to be one of the good guys. The whole thing was an ugly mess - his ugly mess - and he had a feeling it'd just backfire on him if he tried to drag someone else into it. ...But what if Spider-Man could help him though? He shifted awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck as he waffled around with conflicting wishes. "I don't--"

Only when he settled on an answer did he look back up, leveling his gaze with Spider-Man's and trying to look confident. Strong. "Look, Spider-Man... I know you've got more important things to deal with, and I don't really want people catching wind of this. I can take care of myself." Probably. Sure, he didn't have the super reflexes or the strength or... whatever, but neither did Octavius. He didn't want to take any more chances, get anyone else involved.

Peter frowned behind the mask, seeing the obvious relief on Harry's face. He was seriously worried about getting locked up - well, he was flying around in a Goblin suit. If Peter hadn't stopped to chew him out he probably would have just webbed him and turned him in.

"Good. We should stop the human experiments." Good to know Harry hadn't reached his previous level of desperation when he was hiding it from Peter. Which they would so be having words about, come on, dude.

Peter wasn't sure how to get Harry to trust him, besides revealing himself. Which wasn't really an option, at the moment. But Harry had a hard enough time letting Peter-as-Peter help, so he expected a bit of convincing to be due. "First of all, I really don't. If there's a maniac running around Queens, he's already made himself my problem, even if he's only going after one person. If I can help one person, it's worth it." Especially if it's Harry.

"I couldn't help your father," Peter said quietly, the tension in his shoulders bleeding away. "Let me help you, Harry. No offense but uh - I could help you train."

Worrying the inside of his lip, Harry's gaze drifted back to the ground after a moment. He was kind of touched Spider-Man would go out of his way to help him; he admittedly hadn't expected it. The comment about his father really grabbed his attention. He'd been so frustrated with practically being ambushed, he never stopped to acknowledge how Spider-Man might've felt. He was mostly just a guy in a mask to Harry, but there was a thinking, feeling person under that mask. Even if he'd been a total jerk before now-- but Harry supposed he could begrudgingly understand. "You stopped him before he could hurt anyone else. He's still alive. He can still get help. That's what matters." Harry had to be hopeful that Norman could still be saved somehow. Thinking about never getting his dad back was too painful.

His brows furrowed when he glanced back up. Not in genuine anger, but hey, he couldn't help but still a little offended. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm doing okay." Except for the part where he wasn't exactly.

...But Spider-Man had been dealing with stuff like this on a regular basis, had a lot of experience under his belt. Would it be so bad to let him help? This wasn't just about Harry, after all. He had to think about Peter, Aunt May, Bernard... and that was enough to make him cave. The sooner Octavius was out of the picture, the better. "...Alright. I'll tell you what's going on." He took a breath. "But could you... do me a favor? The guy that takes your pictures for the Bugle - Peter? He's a friend of mine and I'm worried about him and his aunt. Any chance you could help me watch out for 'em until this is over?"

Watching over Bernard was easy as pie; he spent most of his time around Harry as it was. Not so much the case with Peter and May.

Peter was silent for a long moment. It would never be enough, not that he could tell Harry that. It wouldn't help anything. Instead, he moved on to how he could help Harry. "I mean this in the nicest way possible - you almost flew straight into a billboard. And I wasn't trying to kill you." Sparring with Peter would be different than fighting for his life against Otto. Not that Peter intended to let Harry do such a thing along.

"Bugle boy, huh?" Peter couldn't help the mild amusement in his voice. Well, it'd be easier to pretend to be tailing himself than for Harry to be trying to do it in secret. "Deal. Now spill it, Osborn. Everything, don't be omitting the fun stuff."

On the bright side, maybe Harry would finally come completely clean? Peter realized now that there were pieces he was missing, that Harry had left out so as not to make Peter worry. Which only made him worry more. What had Otto done?

"No, but you sure wanted to deck me," Harry snarked without any real rancor in his voice. "You scared the shit out of me! I've only been at this for a little while, gimme a break."

That would never work, him trying watch out for Peter. Harry would end up crashing into a dumpster or crawling under tables or something - trying not to be seen - and completely out himself. Spider-Man's agreement earned another breath of relief. "Thank you. Really."

There was something about the way Spider-Man said that though. Familiar, almost. Harry made a face when he couldn't place it and brushed it off, moving on. Not important. "This guy-- his name is Otto Octavius. He's one of my ex-employees. Long story short, he was working with some dangerous stuff and built these metal smart arms so he could safely work with hazardous materials. He went too far and I fired him, but now he wants my head. It was just threats for a while." He hesitated for a minute about voicing his suspicions, but it could be dangerous not to.

"Problem is... I think he's working with someone. Someone inside Oscorp. I don't know who, but he's been able to steal those arms and come and go without being detected and..." Sigh. No matter what he did, nothing kept him out. "I was working late at Oscorp when he decided to ambush me." He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. "When he attacked me, he had these - I dunno - retractable spikes that he could use at the ends of the smart arms. I know those weren't in the original design, which means he's been upgrading his stuff somehow. God, I don't even know what else he could have done to those things, but I know he's got some hideout and someone's feeding him materials."

"To be fair, in my experience, people flying around tend to be bad news." Peter couldn't help but snort a little. "Did you really not expect to run into me? Manhattan has already heard about you. I'm surprised it took this long, honestly."

Only more of a reason to accept Spiderman's help, in the long run. It didn't occur to Peter that maybe he should have pretended not to know who Peter Parker was, but, eh. Harry was too busy to read too much into it - there was a funny look on his face for a second that made Peter wonder what he was thinking, but it disappeared quickly enough that Peter didn't get a chance to ask.

"Crazy scientist with creepy arms, got it." Peter crossed his arms comfortably, glancing out over the city. "An insider, huh? Do you have any leads on who that might be? Anyone from his old team, maybe?"

He'd be calling in a few favors, probably, to start a quiet manhunt across the city for Otto. As many eyes as they could get, really, not that Peter was going to tell Harry that's what he was doing. "Alright, let's talk about you and this - " He gestured to Harry's general situation. "And what exactly you've got going on here." And maybe not-so-subtly improve it. He doesn't know what modifications Harry has made, but Peter will be testing all of the weak points he knew Norman's version had, so as not to leave Harry any more vulnerable than he needed to be.

"Way to generalize," Harry countered pointedly. "--I dunno..." Honestly, he hadn't thought about running into Spider-Man or anyone else. (As usual.) "I thought I was doing a pretty good job of staying under the radar. ...Kinda."

Nobody seemed to have found his makeshift training grounds, at least.

A frustrated sigh followed Spider-Man's question. "No... There are a lot of people at Oscorp who hate that I'm in charge. It could be anyone, and I haven't been able to dig around for answers much without letting 'em know I have suspicions. All I know is that it's gotta be someone with high clearance. Those arms were in our vault, and that thing's pretty sealed off."

Blinking, Harry glanced down at his suit. Was he gonna criticize that too? He thought he did pretty good for what he had to work with, but then... for him 'stuff that functioned' was pretty good. Brows furrowing a little again, he glanced back up. "...What about it?"

"Sorry for stereotyping, but." Peter shrugged, not particularly apologetic. Oops. "...someone pointed you out to me. I was over here looking for the new vigilante on the block. Under the radar my ass."

It was the small blessings, really.

"Do you have a list, anywhere, of people with that clearance level? Could help weed through it faster." Even if it was a risk, getting the info - they had to start with something. It was only getting worse the long they waited. And if the conspiracy ran deeper than Otto and his maybe-assistant...well, they had some digging to do.

"Well firstly," Peter moved forward and clapped Harry on the shoulder, gloves pressing against the shoulder pads curiously. "Is it exactly the same as the other model? Or did you tweak it? The other one had a few weaknesses we could try to avoid this time around."

"Secondly, I gotta know what you've got to help you maximize your training. How have you been practicing, anyway? Besides the occasional vigilante justice schtick."

"Yeah, but someone still had to point me out to you." Just getting technical now. He devolved into mumbles that neared pouting. "I tried, okay."

"Sure. That's not too hard to get." With all the top-secret projects they had going on at Oscorp, they had to be pretty careful about keeping track of employees. Just... not careful enough apparently. "How do I... get it to you though? It's not like you have a Spidey hotline."

"No... I did a lot of messing around, trying to put as much distance between this and... my dad's stuff as I could. I took a lot of the armor off 'cause it was too heavy which meant I had to move stuff around. Most of the controls are in the bracers now." Plus some stuff in his shoes for the glider to track his feet. He's not sure that's important. "And the glider-- I redesigned it and added some stuff, but the programming is pretty much the same. I didn't... mess with that 'cause I didn't understand it."

"Just some weapons right now." He gestured to them: the knife of his thigh, retractable arm blades on his right arm, and the sword on his back. "The sword is electroshock, self-charging. I made it to disrupt Octavius's arms, but... I haven't really been able to test it. I was testing a snare today too, but it didn't work." Not the way he wanted anyway. "Uh-- I've mostly been flying around in abandoned subway tunnels, just trying to get the hang of things." Challenging himself and trying not to crash into stuff.

"I'm a busy spider, what can I say." Typical Harry, picking it apart. Peter was finding it hard not to fall into their regular pattern of banter.

"You could give it to your photographer friend," Peter wasn't teasing. Okay, maybe just a little. It was kind of really funny, okay? "He does enough stalking me."

"Or we could just meet here tomorrow." Barring any catastrophe, and he didn't just jinx it, did he? "Nice. Speeds up your reaction time, smart. Does it still list on the left when you barrel roll?"

"So you need a sparring partner." He could just imagine Harry flying around the tunnels, smashing into walls as he tried to work on precision control. Now, Peter was curious to test his sword against his magnetized webbing. And here Harry thought he wasn't good at science, bullshit. "I'll do you one better; my super secret Spidey warehouse. Follow me?"

"Uh--" Well, Harry could do that, but... "I haven't... exactly told him about a lot of this yet." Guiltily rubbing the back of his neck, he pressed his lips into a thin line. He assumed Peter would probably be mad at him for doing this, and honestly he couldn't blame him too much if he was. It was pretty stupid. "So... let's maybe hold off on that and just meet in person for now."

"Really?" Harry tried not to seem eager, but his eyes pretty much lit up at the compliment. It was a huge deal to have his work praised, especially when Spider-Man seemed to know his shit. "Yeah, it does, actually. I couldn't figure out if it was my design or something in the computer..."

His brows rose, taken aback by the offer. "You serious?" A beat. "I mean-- I'm grateful, I just... half the city doesn't even trust me. I'm surprised you do." He managed a lopsided smile before nodding.

"If you're sure, lead the way."

"No? Don't you think he should know if his life is in immediate danger?" The words aren't said judgmentally; it's a genuine question. Was Harry trying to protect him or something? Probably, if his request for Spiderman to guard Peter was anything to go by.

"Yeah, I bet it gives you more maneuverability in the air, right?" It's why he ended up in the red and blue spandex getup he has on now. Lot of trial and error but ultimately, the lighter the better. "I'm not sure either, but it's pretty easy to off-balance that thing when it's listing. We can take a closer look at it."

If it had been anyone but Harry himself, he probably wouldn't have. And if Peter were anybody else? Definitely not. But he can't exactly say that and honestly? Why should he? Maybe Harry needed to feel like someone other than Peter believed in him. "I know a thing or two about how hostile the public can be. And - I mean this kindly - you're very honest. I believe you, Harry."

"Try to keep up," Peter couldn't help but tease, giving Harry a little, two finger salute before taking a jogging start and launching himself off the roof.

"I mean-- he knows about Octavius. Hell, it's only 'cause of his help that I even got away. He just doesn't know about--" Harry gestured to his suit, the glider. "And I don't wanna say anything until I know I can do this. ...If I can do this. The last thing he needs right now is to be worrying about me getting myself killed."

Harry nodded. "I figured, I don't have superhuman strength or anything. If I get hit, it's going to mess me up either way so... I'd better focus on speed so I don't get hit." If only he thought ahead like that more often. "Really? I mean-- that'd be great!"

Alright, maybe you're not a total asshole after all, Spider-Man. Harry was a complete open book when he swelled up, both touched and proud. "Thank you. That means a lot, Spider-Man." All he needed was somebody to give him a chance. He wanted so badly to step out from under his dad's shadow.

What a show-off. Harry couldn't think of a witty comeback before Spider-Man launched off the building, so he just slid his mask back on and jumped on the glider to follow him. Besides, this didn't compare to chasing around muggers and petty criminals. Superheroes were in a league of their own and Harry had very little experience. He was inclined to take that remark seriously and focus on staying close to Spider-Man.

Peter barely held back a snort, instead just nodding. Harry doesn't know Spiderman, it'd be weird for him to give him any further advice. It's both sweet and self-sacrificingly dumb for Harry to keep this from Peter; luckily, he isn't, whether he knows it or not.

"Yeah not getting hit is - you'll be grateful you didn't." Even if it was just Otto and his robot arms, Peter had been hit with plenty of robotic-esque things to know they were stronger than your average carjacker. He didn't know if Harry's armor would be able to really protect him if he was thrown through a building, god forbid. "Yeah we can run a diagnostic on it."

Again, he stayed silent, merely nodding. Harry looked so proud, like it really had been a confidence booster. Poor guy. It was still only Peter, but he'd keep the reinforcement going if it helped.

The thing about webslinging is, Peter's hard to follow even when he's not trying to evade. He's fast, a pendulum down the streets, all of his turns very abrupt as the web momentum yanks him this way and that. He lets out a whoop, navigating through the streets towards the abandoned warehouse district.

"Already been hit. Wasn't fun," Harry remarked, making a face. His ribs were all sorts of banged up for a while from taking a metal arm to the chest. He'd be just fine if that never happened again, thanks. But he supposed he'd rather take that over Octavius's fancy new stabbing tools. Harry was just glad Octavius only got his shoulder and not his heart with those. "Yeah?" He's started to grin a little in spite of himself. "Do you have a special Spidey computer? I bet you have a ball with web jokes."

A Spider-Man web site. Hah!

For the most part, Harry's training had always been at his own pace. He's never had someone to to compare himself to. It's always just been confidence building down in the tunnels. Now Harry realized how inadequate his training had probably been for what he wanted to do with it. He found himself struggling a little to keep up with Spider-Man.

And his fighting abilities were even worse. This was going to be embarrassing. He hoped this guy wasn't the sort to make fun of him for it, and he'd better not tell him just to go home. Harry refused to give up; he needed to be able to fix this.

"Where?" Peter couldn't help but ask, frowning underneath his mask. The idea that Harry had already had an altercation with Otto was more than a little worrying, especially since Peter hadn't known about it until now. "Hardly. You'll see - my Spidey cave is nothing to write home about."

"Oh god," Peter groaned, throwing his arms up. "They haunt me, everywhere I go."

Peter lead them down the path less travelled, with fewer pedestrians. They didn't need people misconstruing the two of them as 'NEW GOBLIN CHASES SPIDERMAN'. That wouldn't be helpful in the slightest. He took Harry through the warehouse district, weaving in and out of the buildings until he stopped, clinging to the side of one, next to a broken window. He jerked his head, nodding Harry in, before slipping inside himself.

The top of the warehouse, the little upper landing they've entered on, has a shitty mattress and what looks like a bunch of random junk. Stuff Peter rescued while dumpster diving, for future use in repairing and/or developing his webshooters. He's got a makeshift setup to make his web fluid, and a cooler where he can store food, in addition to some extra changes of clothes and a first aide kit. "Welcome to Casa de Spiderman."

"Um--" Harry hesitated, feeling a little awkward talking about injuries. They hadn't been serious. His shoulder had long scabbed over and his ribs - he didn't think he'd broken anything but had avoided the hospital - were okay now. He managed to sound fairly calm for someone who was still scared shitless of Octavius; it's mostly bravado. "He hit me once in the chest and got me a little on the shoulder with one of the blades. Nothing too bad."

His grin pulled a little wider - he couldn't help it. "Sorry, I had to ask."

Spider-Man had been on the news often enough, but no one ever really got clear shots of him most of the time. Harry never saw him in action before, and now that he didn't have to worry about getting his face punched in, he had to admit: it was pretty cool. The guy was really agile and seeing him cling to walls was pretty trippy.

Where they ended up was surprising. Harry had kind of expected something... fancier? Guess Spider-Man wasn't kidding about the state of his headquarters, but not everyone could have an Avengers Tower. He hovered inside carefully and shut the glider down once his feet were on the floor. Any smart-ass remark Harry might have made about it was forgotten when he saw Spider-Man's web fluid setup; his mask retracted and revealed a look of amazement.

"Whoa, you make your own webs? I always thought it was just... one of your superpowers or something."

It's not like anyone ever got close enough to look at his wrists to confirm or deny it.

"Doesn't sound like nothing. Next time you get hurt, you find me, okay? I know a thing or two about patching up, you won't have to go to a hospital." And it's more than just super-healing-first-aide, he stitches the Devil up occasionally (usually if he's unconscious, he's not really one to pop in asking for help, so). Besides, he's not as hard to find as people make it out to be - he runs a pretty consistent beat, actually.

"I'd just like to point out that a spider is an arachnid, not a bug. So the bug boy jokes are really irrelevant." Okay, maybe he's echoing Harry's smile a little.

Therein lay Peter's anonymity problem - he was pretty much the only photographer who could ever get a good picture of Spiderman. He's already had a few people ask him about it, though he was quick to beg them off each time.

Peter chuckled, shooting a web to hang upside down from the ceiling. It was more comfortable, being up high, and in costume he didn't have to hide it. "Most people assume. I'd like to keep it that way, if you don't mind. The less people know, the less they can fuck with me." People didn't attempt to disable his webs if they thought they were organic.

"But yeah, I mix it myself. Not gonna lie, kinda based it off Oscorp organic fiber." And that's where he buys his supplies, on the DL, but he won't divulge that to Harry, presently.

"Next time?" Harry earnestly hadn't thought about getting injured again or what he'd do if he was. Even in his final confrontation with Octavius, he had pictured it as being relatively straightforward. For all his self-doubt, he hadn't actually thought about being defeated. Hearing that brought him back down to earth in a jarring sort of way, but Harry tried not to look unnerved. "I hope I won't need to, but... thanks. I'll remember that."

Oh, geez. How come Harry couldn't go anywhere without people trying to make him learn stuff? "What's the difference?" he asked before he could think better of it.

"Sure, I won't say any--" He was so busy marveling that he hadn't noticed Spider-Man zip up to the ceiling until he turned to look at him and then realized-- up. He stopped mid-sentence and did a double take. So weird. It's not like Harry'd been around a superhero before. He stared before remembering he'd been saying something. "Uh-- yeah. No, that makes sense. My lips are sealed."

"No kidding?" Who'd have thought? "Nice to know, actually." To know that their work had contributed to something nice instead of just... all the bad stuff. "How strong is it? I mean, it must be pretty tough if it can hold up against all that swinging."

Peter just watched Harry process that, resisting the urge to shake his head. Dear lord, Harry, how would you ever survive without him? Peter's not convinced Harry's sense of self-preservation is any better than his (re: log). "Plan for the worst, you know?" Better to have a back-up plan than be up the creek without a paddle. Not that Peter followed his own advice, but hey: do as I say, not as I do, right?

"Insects have three body components whereas arachnids have two. Insects, six legs; arachnids, eight legs." He's full of useless information, sorry.

He barely held in a laugh when Harry openly did a double take, instead choosing to raise a hand in an upside down wave. There's a reason Peter locks his door before curling up in the corner of the ceiling. Better to be a weirdo in skintight spandex. "And mine, about your tech."

"Not the same formula, but the concept is an awesome one." Peter also strengthened his formula, and magnetized the webshooters (which involved some minor adjustments to the fluid, to keep it from conducting electricity). He'd been working on making it flame retardant, as well, but he wasn't quite there yet. "It has a tensile strength of roughly 120 pounds per square millimeter. So it can hold about...3048 pounds per inch. At 300 p.s.i., no less."

Well, Harry probably wouldn't. His heart was usually in the right place, but his mind... Not as much. Somehow, Harry and Peter did better at watching out for each other rather than themselves. "Right," Harry agreed with that lopsided smile of his-- the one that said he was suddenly very aware of his flawed thought process. "I can do that." Probably.

"Ugh. I swear, I'm a nerd beacon." Harry rubbed his temples, more humorously than anything as evidenced by the joking: "I thought superheroes were supposed to be cool?" Yes, let's sass the guy who's offering to help you out, Harry. Great idea.

"I guess you take your name pretty seriously." Skittering around on ceilings and everything.

Even Harry, the guy who went out of his way to avoid science when he could, recognized that was a pretty big deal. His brows scaled his forehead, jaw dropping a bit. "You're kidding! That's amazing. Nothing we've come up with at Oscorp even comes close. I'm kinda tempted to offer you a job."

Honestly, it was a little ridiculous that they went to such great lengths to take care of each other and such a poor job at managing their own lives. At least he's made Harry reflect on everything, to an extent. Even Peter had those moments of, what am I doing?

"Uh, excuse you, I'm the epitome of cool. Red and blue spandex doesn't scream 'chick magnet' to you?" His light tone said otherwise, grin splitting his face beneath the mask. "Maybe don't run the biggest name in biological research. Just an idea. But what do I know?"

"It comes with the territory." Peter had never given much thought to how the bite had affected him, beyond the obvious changes. Gwen made a list once, though. It was...yeah.

"Well clearly you need to upgrade your facilities to trashy warehouse chic." Peter spread his arms and laughed warmly. "Is there a dress code? Kind of fond of the mask."

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