Like Brothers

[Harry Osborn]

Harry stumbled through the balcony window, barely able to walk due to his hysterical laughter, "a bra..." he giggled once more. "Is that normal? I mean...really? Do you get girls to throw their...undergarments at you often?"

Walking through the great room, Harry entered the Goblin Lair and propped the Sky Stick up on its mount. He removed his mask and peeled off his gloves, lying them on a nearby shelf. He was about to undue the buckles and lower the zippers that would loosen his hodge-podge of miscellaneous pieces of armor when he realized that Peter had no clothes to change into.

"Do ya want to get out of that costume? Need a change of clothes?"

[Peter Parker / Spiderman]

"Half of my closet is your closet!" Peter replyed, tugging his mask off,"...but I might as well take the rest." he laughed walking through the familiar room. Peter looked around the place... though he's seen it many times... being overcome with memories that he thought would be the last of their friendship. Strangely and thankfully enough though, they would be able to have a few more adventures together.

But there was still something missing.... "Where's Bernard?" Usually by now, a voice would've asked if the two needed anything...

[Harry Osborn]

Harry jogged up the stairs separating the two floors, disappearing into his bedroom. He reemerged a few moments later with a change of clothes and handed them to Peter, "Here, these should do. Maybe a tad big though...but they'll work." He returned to the Lair and began to strip, allowing themselves both privacy as they dressed.

"Actually," Harry called from within the secret room, "I don't know where Bernard is. I should find out though, he's been loyal to my family for decades and he should be given the opportunity to come back if he wants." Harry stepped out, having changed to a pair of comfy, faded jeans and brown knit top, "I'll ask Vlad when he gets up if he knows where Bernard ran off to after my death."

Realizing that Peter had no idea who Vlad was, Harry began, "I've got a new roommate. His name is Drakken Kane, though he told me to address him as Vlad, and he now owns OsCorp and..." Harry waved his arms at the surrounding parlor, "the apartment. He's a scientist, and like us...has ablities. Happened during a lab accident as I understand it."

[Peter Parker / Spiderman]

(wait... apartment? I thought this was the penthouse?)

"Abilities...?" Peter asked suspiciously, pulling the baggy grey t-shirt over his head. It wasn't that this situation seemed familiar (though it did), Pete just didn't know this guy... and until he did... this was a potential rebel.

[Harry Osborn]

(I noticed that while reading the novelization, they used the words mansion, penthouse and apartment interchangeably. I don't think it matters what it's called, but it can be confusing...sorry )

"Yeah," Harry headed off in the direction of the kitchen and motioned for Peter to follow. "Apparently, he was working on creating a re-newable energy source and ran out of funding. In order to pay for the uh...containment field, he had to ditch a lot of the safety features. The containment field became unstable and he was hit by some kind of...wave..." He shot a look of apology at Peter for not being more literate in the field of science vocabulary.

"Anyway, Drakken was changed molecularly and he can now control energy, electricity, computers...you name it. But he is a friend Peter," Harry said with a reassuring smile. "He saved my life last night. There was a little...disagreement between Vlad, myself and some bank robbers and he helped quite a bit."

Upon finishing his explanation, Harry's mind was gripped by a sudden wave of panic. Does Peter know that Venom is alive? Harry didn't know himself how Eddie could've survived the blast caused by that pumpkin bomb, let alone the symbiote. But he'd fought off Venom himself the night before at the bank, so Harry knew it was the truth. Harry swallowed nervously and continued walking, I'll wait to tell Peter about that cheery detail. No reason to spoil this happy reunion over Venom being back. It's not like he's going to ambush us here at the mansion or anything... Harry immediately regretted that train of thought.

They'd reached the kitchen and Harry headed for the sink. He filled a glass with water, "since we don't have a butler, we'll just have to make do ourselves. Can I get you anything?"

[Peter Parker / Spiderman]

(As long as they don't cook with 50s music on. LOL Pete will dance circles around Harry)

Okay... so he's an ally... but for how long? This is a potential back-stabber, or so Peter would think. Harry's suffered too many losses... his own home could be at stake. Only time would tell if this stranger was really genuine or not.

Peter folded his suit neatly the same way he did after every use, and placed it on a stool in the kitchen. "I'll just have some water..." he replyed. Though the "Vlad" was still on his mind. "Harry, are you sure you can trust this guy? I mean... do you really know him?"

[Harry Osborn]

{{Hey now...no making fun of Harry's dancing . He and I are about the same level }}

Sighing, Harry handed Peter the glass he'd already filled and then reached for another for himself. He knew that Peter was only looking out for his welfare, and he was grateful for that. But at the same time, Harry thought Peter was being just a tad protective on this one.

"You want the truth Pete," said Harry as he filled the glass, "no I don't really know him. I don't know anymore about him than I just told you. But I do know two things...well three actually," Harry sat down at the table and held the cool glass between his hands. "One is that I've got no choice but to allow him access to the house and to OsCorp. I'm legally dead. I hold no more weight in this world than Mickey Mouse. Two, is like I said, he saved my life last night, and in this business...that counts for something. And three..."

Harry raised the glass and took a sip, wetting his throat before continuing, "three's this simple fact, do we really know anyone Pete? I mean really know someone? I didn't know you were Spider-Man, even though you're my best friend. I didn't know that my dad...was the Green Goblin...even though I was right there, living with him and seeing his changes. Did you know the hate...the resentment, the loathing...everything that I was feeling and everything that was going on in my head before I took that gas?"

Harry took a breath and re-wet his mouth. He looked back up at Peter, "I just think we should give him a chance is all." Realizing that he'd made his case, Harry smirked and attempted to shift the discussion to a bit more lighter tone, "tell you what, how about you meet him, and I'll allow you to pass final judgment. If you still don't like him, I'll kick him out on his hiney. Or you can kick him out on his hiney. Or we both could kick him out on his hiney," he said with a shrug. "That could a fun activity for the both of us to do."

[Drakken Kane]

(Howdy, I'm back... might be in trouble with the policio though, lol. Please don't ask)

The elevator door creaked open, standing inside was Drakken Kane wearing a nice silk buisness suit, coming back from finishing more paperwork. He never realized how much work it was actually running the business rather than patenting his things and merely selling them to corporations. It seemed as though OsCorps' stock had risen back from the dead as did its old owner, sort to speak. Their stock, since Drakkens' take-over, had risen nearly twenty points and business was booming.

Drakken walked inside the apartment finally, laying down a briefcase and just taking off his jacket and tossing it against a chair in the living room, "You two enjoying yourselves in there?" He could tell by several factors that he had come back and that he brought a guest, for instance the music he could hear and the closet door was still slightly ajar. His mind worked at such an accelerated rate that it was quite easy for him to notice these small details.

He unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and rolled them up, taking off his tie and throwing it with his jacket and then walked into the kitchen doorway and leaned against it. "Hm... by the looks of your friend he lives somewhere out in the bad parts of town and by the way he looks, his voice, and his overall basic frame matches that of Spider-Mans... am I right?" His powers were always so grand, he could tell whom someone was just by their voice and the physical shape of their bodies and compare it with another and basically make the assumption whom it was. Not only this Harry had spoke earlier that he was going to meet up with an old friend, and ofcourse knowing Harry for the short time he had known him already it was quite obvious that it was going to be someone he could trust.

He walked over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup and began to take a few sips, "So tell me Harry... have you two been talking about me already before I even got here?" He gave them a smile before he drank some more coffee, listening to the music playing on the radio. He enjoyed all types of music, especially those in the field of orchestras, the more challenging meant the more fun for him.

[Harry Osborn]

“Speak of the devil,” Harry commented upon hearing Vlad’s voice. He stood when Vlad entered and smiled knowingly as his new friend took in the sight of Peter and guessed at his alter-ego. Impressive, he thought, that’s probably how he knew me last night as well.

Turning the radio down a few notches, Harry began his introductions, “Drakken, may I introduce my best friend Peter Parker. Pete, this is Drakken Kane, the new ally I was telling you about. Yes,” Harry admitted with a grin, “we’ve been talking about you. I was telling Peter about your special abilities as well as last night and our fight with…those bank robbers,” he finished with a look of secrecy directed at Vlad.

Harry hadn’t yet told Peter about Venom’s reappearance, and he wasn’t sure that this was the correct time or place for such a topic of discussion. He sensed that the symbiotes presence would stir up some touchy feelings between he and Peter, and Harry was waiting for the right opportunity to bring it up. Maybe later, but not right now. He hoped Vlad would take the hint.

[Peter Parker / Spiderman]

Peter slapped on a silly grin while he outstreched his hand for greeting," Hey... it's great to finally meet the guy who saved my best friend... in more ways than one!"

This guy looked like a million dollars. A million dollars meant that anything was interchangeable... including people. Despite the fact the fact that Harry was legally dead, who knew what could happen if some wrong statements are thrown around...

He was smart, too. There have been a select few people in the past who have identifyed Peter as Spiderman. Ofcoarse, he would casually reject the idea and run away like a robber from the cops (with justifiable reason). But there was no running away from here.

But for this guy... well... now Peter's very life was on the line. His secret identity was no longer a secret... now it was a threat. It'll definately be awhile before Peter can really trust him.

[Drakken Kane]

Vlad gave Harry a slight smile, he understood quite well the hits he was giving him. He then turned to Peter after he was introduced, now stretching his hand out infront of Vlad. He drank what was left of his coffee and laid the cup down on the stand, grabbing Peter's hand.

He gave a slight chuckle when his pupils suddenly filled with some electrical energy and sent a surge of static electricity into Peter, causing the hair on his head sticking up. "Pleasure to meet you. You care very much about your friend, your body signals tell me that your worried and it's safe to assume it's about Harry."

He released his hand, Peters' hair falling down shortly after. He put his hands against the hard lanolium island and leaned against it, giving him a smirk. He then held up one hand, holding his fingers slightly apart, and then sending a massive quantity of electrical energy in between, causing electricity to stream from his finger-tips to the center of his palm and form into a floating sphere. "As you can see, I'm sure Harry explained it, but I'm a result of a failed experiment. Well it was successful, figuratively speaking, I just didn't really mean to make it so my body was the energy source." He then closed his hand, the energy fading back into his hand... "Essentially my body is a constant supply of raw electrical energy, you hook me up to a machine and I'll just keep it going and going."

He once studied Otto Octavius' own idea for a reknewable energy source, and despite trying to tell him that he would need to do it a different way, he followed through and thus became Doctor Octopus. It was shortly after that Vlad had taken the containment field idea and modified it and thus created his own version, a failure to maintain safety features without the proper funding resulted in his creation...

[Harry Osborn]

“Well, I tried to explain. Unfortunately I’m not as scientific as you two are, but I think you just wrapped up any loose ends I might have been a little hazy on. Quite dramatically at that,” Harry said with a wink.

Harry had to admit, he was fascinated by Vlad's ablities. He knew that Peter was a little apprehensive about trusting Vlad so soon. But Harry had seen him in action, and knew his loyalty. He was sure that once Peter saw for his own eyes, everything would be fine.

[Peter Parker / Spiderman]

Peter could only hold that expression of worried interest. What the heck happened to this guy?? Pete would ask a million questions if he could but... maybe Vlad already new that.

Speaking of which... how much does he know??? He carries himself so non-chalantely... he may have already conspired a way to do away with both Peter and Harry. Is Vlad just another villain in disguise?? A wolf in sheep's skin? Could Vlad even know all about Peter? His past? Or more over... his loved ones? Particularly Aunt May and Mary Jane???

Or is Peter simply thinking too far ahead and jumping to conclusions? Ever since he took that English Retoric class last year, he's been able to pin point every fallacy that he has ever made. And here's the chance where he can wave a finger at himself chanting "that's a fallacy! that's a fallacy!" Maybe Peter's life would be less stressful if he committed no fallacies... seeing that he's such an analytical person who has to find reason for almost everything.

Ofcoarse, whilst thinking of all this, Peter was still dumb-struck with that expression from before......... still trying to take in the plain aesthetic fact that Vlad was indeed a cut above the rest.... just like he and Harry.

[Harry Osborn]

Harry knew the look that was etched across Peter's face. He's still worried, he thought grimly. Harry understood Peter's reluctance to blindingly trust a new acquaintance.

There was so much history between himself and Peter, information that if held in the wrong hands, could lead to disastrous consequences for the both of them. There were also many innocents--Mary Jane and Peter's Aunt May to name the most prominent--who could be hurled into danger and have their very lives threatened if their existence were revealed to a charlatan.

Harry didn't blame Peter for being suspicious, for it was he who perhaps had the most to lose if Vlad were a fraud. But Harry was positive that Vlad was sincere in his actions and posed no threat to either him, Peter or any of their loved ones. He'd spent the last day with this new friend and had seen nor sensed any animosity directed at him--except for their tense introduction. Time could not remedy all problems within the world, but as the saying went, time heals most wounds. Harry had a feeling that only time would convince Peter of Vlad's worthiness.

"How was the day at OsCorp?" Harry asked Vlad in his attempt to shift the discussion to a more normal topic.

[Peter Parker / Spiderman]

(heh... so now I gotta wait?? )