The wreckage of prom night smoldered as the monstrous Goblin let out a primal roar that seemed to make the air vibrate. Flames flickered from its claws, and its eyes locked onto a single person in the crowd.
Nathan Drake.
Frozen in place, Nathan stared at the beast. His pulse hammered. His instincts screamed. He was the target.
"Nate…" Peter said beside him, voice low, tense. "You got your suit… right?"
Nathan's heart dropped.
"…I left it at home."
Silence.
Peter and Harry slowly turned to him, their faces shifting from hope to horror like a storm rolling over the sky.
"YOU WHAT?!" they both yelled.
"I thought nothing would happen!" Nathan shot back, panicked. "It was prom! I thought we'd get one normal night!"
Peter shook his head, already moving. "You are so lucky I made a backup. It's in my locker. Combo's 12–14–09. Go. Now."
Nathan blinked. "What are you gonna do?"
But before either of them could answer, Flash Thompson crown crooked on his head, confidence overflowing hurled a metal chair straight at the Goblin.
"HEY, FREAK!" Flash bellowed. "If you think you're gonna ruin me being prom king, you got another thing comin'!"
He strutted forward like a discount action hero.
The Goblin didn't even glance at him. Just backhanded Flash through a gym wall.
"Okay," Peter said, turning to Nathan. "Me and Harry will distract it. Just GO!"
Nathan looked between them, hesitation on his face. "But—"
"GO!" Harry shouted, fire in his voice.
Nathan hesitated no more. He turned and bolted.
The Goblin watched him go.
Harry looked at Peter. "Smartass. What's the plan?"
Peter gave a sideways grin. "Remember sophomore year?"
Harry's eyebrows rose. "The foam fight?"
Peter nodded. "Run."
Peter and Harry sprinted through the school's maze-like corridors. Behind them, the Goblin charged floor cracking beneath its weight, walls splintering as it clawed through lockers and doors like paper.
"This worked better last time!" Harry yelled over the chaos.
"Yeah!" Peter shouted back. "Because last time it was a HUMAN, not a walking flamethrower with biceps the size of motorcycles!"
The monster roared again, gaining on them fast.
They hit a dead end.
Peter turned. "Uh oh."
The Goblin raised a fist.
Then WHAM!
A red and black blur shot through the air and kicked the Goblin straight in the face, slamming it into the wall.
Nathan stood there in a modified version of his Spider-Man suit.
The Goblin pushed itself up, cracking its neck.
Nathan launched forward, webs zipping out with lightning speed. He tangled the Goblin's arms, leapt over its head, and yanked hard, trying to pull the monster off balance.
It roared and yanked him right back in.
They crashed through a classroom door, splintering desks and shattering chairs. Nathan twisted in mid-air and slammed his boot into the Goblin's jaw, flipping onto the whiteboard.
"Ever heard of breath mints?" he spat. "Smells like roadkill and regret."
The Goblin snarled and smashed its clawed fist inches from his head, shattering the wall.
Peter and Harry burst in. Peter grabbed a desk. "Hey, ugly!"
Crash!
The desk hit the Goblin in the shoulder.
Harry tackled the monster's waist, and all three of them slammed out into the hallway.
Nathan limped out, grinning through the blood. "Tag team! Love it!"
They moved together fluid, perfect.
Nathan flipped over the Goblin's back and webbed its eyes.
Peter hit the legs with a fire axe.
Harry grabbed a fire extinguisher and bashed it into the creature's ribs.
It wasn't enough.
The Goblin screamed and threw Peter down the hall. He crashed into a locker with a thud and slumped to the ground.
Harry lunged only to be snatched by the throat and hurled across the stairwell.
Crash!
The railing gave way.
"HARRY!" Nathan shouted, voice cracking.
He launched two webs, yanked hard, and rocketed forward, slamming his fist into the Goblin's face again and again.
It laughed.
Then it grabbed him by the throat and dragged him across the floor, sparks flying from broken tiles and lockers.
"You talk too much," it growled.
Nathan's eyes widened. The voice it was warped but familiar.
"You can talk…"
The Goblin hurled him straight through the double doors of the gym, demolishing what was left of the decorations.
Flames licked the walls. Streamers smoldered. Students screamed and ran as the monster stalked forward.
Nathan gasped, coughing. Blood spilled from his lip.
Harry limped into the gym, face cut and arm dangling. "Nate… I got you…"
The Goblin's head snapped toward him.
It charged.
Nathan screamed, "HARR—!"
Too late.
The Goblin tackled Harry and slammed him into the floor. There was a horrible, sickening crack.
Harry didn't move.
Nathan went into overdrive. Webs, kicks, punches that was desperate, wild. A blur of motion.
It didn't matter.
The Goblin caught him mid-air, smashed him into the ground so hard the floor cracked.
Nathan gasped, dazed.
He looked up and saw Gwen sprinting across the gym, tears on her face.
"No….Gwen, STOP!"
She was crying, rushing toward Harry's body.
She didn't see the Goblin turn.
Didn't see the claws rise.
Didn't see the lunge.
Nathan did.
"GWEN, NO!!!"
Too slow.
The Goblin struck.
She fell instantly still.
Time stopped.
Harry broken, bloodied crawled toward her, sobbing.
Nathan tried to move, tried to rise but a clawed foot pressed into his chest.
He couldn't breathe.
The Goblin loomed over him, monstrous and triumphant.
"You took my legacy," it hissed. "Now I take everything."
It turned and lifted Harry off the ground bloodied, barely conscious.
"NO!" Nathan gasped. "Don't… don't take him!"
The Goblin looked back. Those molten yellow eyes narrowed.
Then it vanished through the gym doors in a blur of green and flame, Harry in its grasp.
Gone.
Silence.
Nathan forced himself up everything in agony and crawled to Gwen's body.
"No…" he whispered, tears falling. "Please…"
Her eyes stared at nothing.
Her prom dress was stained red.
He cradled her, sobbing. Everything shattered around him.
Peter limped in, covered in blood. He froze when he saw Gwen and dropped to his knees.
Behind him, MJ and Ava burst through the smoke. They screamed.
"No… no no no…" Ava sobbed.
MJ dropped beside Gwen, shaking her, screaming her name.
Nathan stood slowly.
Peter met his eyes.
"Where's Harry?" Peter whispered.
Nathan stared down. His voice was barely there.
"It took him."
A pause.
"…And I'm going after it."
Peter didn't stop him. He just nodded.
Nathan stepped back, fired a web to the rafters, and swung into the night.
His body screamed.
His heart shattered.
But all that mattered now was bringing Harry home.