Missing

Harry Osborne was in his limo going to Oscorp; his mind still on Spider-Man. "Why doesn't that freak leave people alone? Why can't he just… What's wrong Bruce?" The vehicle had abruptly stopped, making Harry mad. He banged his fist on the driver's seat. "Why did you stop?"

"There's a cat in the street sir," Bruce calmly replied. "Did you want me to kill it?"

"No!" Harry rolled the window down and looked at the feline. "Hey, that kind of looks like MJ's cat." He stepped outside and made his way towards the feline. Harry picked it up and surveyed it closely. "That red collar, those green eyes; it has to be MJ's cat, Arthur." Harry returned to the limo with the cat in his arms. "Bruce, drive to MJ's apartment."

"But sir, you're already late for that meeting."

"They'll have to wait." Meow

When they reached the building Harry walked to the door holding the cat with one hand so he could push the call button with the other.

"Who is it," asked MJ.

"Harry. I have a surprise for you."

"Ok, come on up."

Harry climbed two flights of stairs to reach MJ's apartment. He knocked on the door and she quickly opened it.

"What's the… Arthur!" He handed the orange kitty to her and she hugged him close. "I've been so worried about him. Where did you find him Harry?"

"He was over by the Hudson river."

"Really, that far out? Well, someone must've taken care of him because he's been missing for almost two weeks and he looks well fed." Then the phone suddenly rang and she sighed. "That might be Peter again."

"Well, I'll see ya around MJ. I have to get to Oscorp." With that Harry left and MJ closed the door. Then she put Arthur down and picked up the phone.

On the other end was Peter who was just outside the Daily Bugle. The overjoyed MJ told him about Harry finding Arthur.

"Really, that's great," Peter replied. "Where did he find him?" She told him. "That's odd. You think that he was being fed? That's even odder… I have to go MJ, we'll talk later." Peter hung up and started to make his way to an alley.

'Maybe that person who was feeding him was Dr. Octavius,' he thought while making a quick change. 'That would be why he robbed that store of cat food.' Peter put on the Spider-Man mask and began to climb the nearest wall. 'If I can find where he's hiding maybe I can talk to him.' Once he reached the roof he looked over the edge, jumped and then started to web-sling.

-----

A few days had passed and Doc Ock knew that something happened to his beloved Fred. He would leave the pier door wide open for him to enter, and he even left a can of food open for him, but the cat was missing. Finally one night he decided to take action.

"I know Fred is out there somewhere," Ock said, "and I'm going to find him." He stormed out of the pier and started to scale the streets. Then after a few blocks he saw a sign taped to a pole. "A missing cat… That looks like Fred! ... Arthur, what kind of name is that for a cat? … Well, I'll go get him back."

Above Ock the wall-crawler had landed on a roof and was spying on him. 'I knew that if I watched that area along the river long enough I'd find him,' thought Peter. 'But, where's he going now?' Ock started moving again so Spidy followed. After a few minutes the buildings started to look familiar. 'It's as if he's going to… Oh no, MJ!'

Mary Jane was in her apartment waiting for someone to arrive, and when the buzzer sounded she went to the door. "Come on up John." Meow "Are you hungry Arthur?" Meow MJ went to the kitchen, but the cat stayed by the door. When it opened Arthur ran past the man and down the stairs.

"Hey MJ," said John Jameson, "Arthur just went out the door."

"Oh, he won't get out of the building. I'll go find him later." But as she said that a man who lived on MJ's floor opened front door, allowing the cat to exit.

Doc Ock was just about five blocks away from MJ's apartment when he heard a familiar voice. Meow He looked across the street and there was an orange feline. Meow "Fred," Ock shouted.

The cat began the cross the street when it happened. A truck was speeding by and didn't stop. It hit Fred and still kept going. The driver, who was short and stocky, felt the bump and then finally hit the breaks a few feet from the accident. Ock was in shock; he hadn't seen the truck like the driver didn't see Fred in the street. He made his way to the bloody corpse and fell to his knees. Fred's body was flat and stiff, and red fluid oozed out of his mouth.

The driver went to see what he had hit and saw the feline. "I'm so sorry," he started. "I swear I didn't… Ah!" Doc Ock had used a tentacle to pick the man up. Their eyes locked; the man's were fearful and Ock's were full of pain and rage. Ock threw the driver and then started to sob.

Spider-Man watched the whole scene from above. When Ock had thrown the man Spidy rushed to shoot a line of web and swing down to catch him; he was successful. Then he brought the driver to his vehicle and told him to drive off. After the truck was gone Spidy turned to Doc Ock; he had removed his shirt and covered the cat with it.

'Poor guy,' thought the web-head. 'Everything he seems to loves dies; his wife, his dreams, and now his pet.' Ock slowly started to walk away, and in the other direction police sirens began to get louder and louder. When they came to the spot where the incident occurred Spidy told them what happened and then ran off.

-----

All that night Doc Ock sat on the floor in his pier crying and holding the bundle that contained his lost friend. The blood had soaked through the cloth and stained his hands, but he didn't care. Tears clouded his vision, but he made no effort to wipe them away.

"I could've saved you," he uttered. "I could've saved you, but I didn't. I let you down, just like I let Rosy down. You're with her now. I killed you, I killed you!" Next he went into another crying fit and couldn't continue to talk. Finally, after hours of mourning, Ock went to the hole where Fred had fallen through and dropped his body in the river. "Farwell Fred," he managed to say. "I'll never forget you."

Fin

Author's Note: this was written in the memory of my first cat Fred (1994-2002).