Spider-Man: Issue 9 “The Hunter" - Vigilante 5/6

Spider-Man gracefully flew out of the air vent from the side of the NYPD building and quickly swung up to the top of a nearby building. He then sat down, his legs hanging off the sides. He sighed and his eyes fixed on the atmosphere around him. The city was coated in a sheet of grey and the lights of numerous buildings brightened as the sky became darker. A raindrop gently tapped his head and he looked up. Another drop hit his cheek and slowly trickled down his face. The few drops started to turn into a gentle drizzle.

 

He stretched his arms the sky and felt a large crack tingle down his spine. He let the rain fall upon him. The interaction with Gwen’s father still wandered his mind. No, it was Gwen. His mind was always filled with Gwen. It was his fault she was in pain. He had hurt the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with.

 

He removes the sunflower bracelet from his suit and stares at it wistfully as the guilt ricocheted about his mind. He collapsed onto his back, the rain hitting his suit and soaking his body. His lip quivered as he closed his eyes. The look on her face tormented him. He had let her down. Again and again, time after time. He swallowed hard, tears filling his eyes. His body started to tremble as guilt raging inside of him rose. The cluttered thoughts of his mind stopped as he heard a pair of boots land behind him. His eyes flickered rapidly and his vision cleared, the tears subsiding.

 

Spider-Man: Carol! You got my text.

 

Spider-Man turned around to find a boot in his face. This knocked him off the building and caused him to lose consciousness momentarily. The sunflower bracelet flew from his hand and drifted in the sky next to him

 

His eyes flashed open seconds before hitting the ground. He stabilized himself and landed on three limbs and rolled, skidding to a halt 15 feet away from the building. He spots the sunflower bracelet midair and fires a web, keeping it safe on a nearby wall.

 

???: Spider-Man!

 

Spider-Man looks up to a hooded figure standing on the edge of the building

 

Spider-Man, whispering: So much for my plan.

???: I wish to-

 

The familiar thwip of Spider-Man’s webs stopped the booming of the hooded man’s voice.

Peter takes the opportunity to launch himself back up to the building as the hooded man rips the webs off his face.

 

???, his face now slightly reddened: I only wish to talk you Spider-Man.

 

Conflicted, Spider-Man loosens his posture and lets out an angry growl

 

Spider-Man: Why should I listen to a psycho like you?

???: Psychotic? No no no, that is far from the truth Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Then why have you been killing people, hm?

Normal people don’t go about their day doing such a thing.

 

The man lets out a coarse, yet emotional laugh

 

???: I will not disagree with the last statement, but I do not murder.

I purge and purify this city of its worst filth.

My mission is to remove the tumors of society.

All of them, starting with this beautiful city.

 

With the last few words, he removes his hood.

Spider-Man observes the man. Late thirties, sizeable facial hair, and slightly long, black hair.

 

Sergei Kravinoff: I, Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven the Hunter, will accomplish the greatest hunt the world has ever seen. Starting from the bottom, all the way to the top. I will accomplish what you and any authority could ever possibly have imagined. I will make this world perfect.

Spider-Man, sighing: You’re right, I would and could never dream of doing that.

If you haven’t noticed, no one has to die.

There are systems in place-

Sergei Kravinoff: How idiotic can you be!?

The systems fail over and over.

Ever wonder how the All Mighty Kingpin is still in business?

Corruption Spider-Man, corruption is the one and only answer.

And there is only one way to fix it.

 

He draws a black short sword from his belt and takes an oblong shaped shield off his back

 

Sergei Kravinoff: I could use an ally Spider-Man, but if you shall deny my offer…

 

He raises the sword to Spider-Man’s chest and twists his hand, gently touching the middle of his breasts

 

Sergei Kravinoff: You will not take me in as you did to my brother.

 

A chill runs down Spider-Man’s spine.

He had his suspicion when he first said his name, but this confirmed it.

This was the brother of Dmitri Kravinoff, otherwise known as the Chameleon.

The man that encouraged and shaped Peter to what he has become

 

As he comes back into reality, he focuses on Sergei and his lenses narrow

 

Sergei Kravinoff: *Sigh* I’ll take that as a no.

 

Spider-Man backflips, landing ten feet away from his opponent and within seconds Sergei had already closed the gap. Quickly, Spider-Man aims for Sergei’s mouth and fires, but the man simply cuts the webbing into two parts. He then lunges forward slashing a small cut into his bicep. Reeling in pain, Spider-Man dodges to the side and fires two more shots. Sergei struggles as Spiderman accomplishes his goal of getting Sergei's’ sword above his head. He takes the opportunity to fire another web, which makes direct contact with the flat of the blade. Sergei loses control of his weapon and growls. Spiderman slides underneath Sergei at the last minute and webs his shield to push it close to his chest. He then jumps off and roundhouse kicks the shield into the top of Sergei’s back and the lower portion of his head.

 

Sergei hit the ground hard and dazed, but shuttered awake when Spider-Man began to web him down. With a loud roar, he rips himself from the ground and stands up triumphantly, webs blowing in the breeze on his arms. He charges at Spider-Man, wildly, yet calculatingly swinging at the wallcrawler. Spider-Man dodges effectively, but soon gets exhausted. His Spider-Sense could only save him for so long against a trained fighter such as Sergei. Even in anger, Sergei was calculated. Peters breathing becomes shallow and he trips, panic starting to take over. Pain pricked his calf and pain flowed up his body when Sergei struck. Sergei brought his palm to Spider-man's chin, sending him sailing down to the ground with a thud. Sergei lifted his sword to deliver the final blow, a triumphant face staring down at Spiderman.

Peter rolled onto his stomach and spun, knocking Sergei to the ground.

 

Spider-Man stood up, exasperated. Blood oozed from several areas and his body ached. He stumbled over to the now barely conscious Sergei and kicked the sword away from Sergei’s hand. The metal shrieking against the concrete as he did so. He collapsed to his knees above Sergei and tiredly rose his fist. Peter contemplated what Sergei had said. He was right. Spider-Man could easily end this now and the world would never have to worry about Sergei Kravinoff ever again, but something stopped him. Peter looked at the lacerations on the unconscious body and shuddered. He knew it was wrong, even with all of the pure rage boiling inside of him.

 

He threw his head back and began to sob. All the emotions pouring out at once.

Tear by tear, the anger and sadness surged out of him. He stood up and limped towards the edge of the building.The pouring rain beat against his raw wounds and the adrenaline wore off.

He winced and jumped, retrieving the piece of metal that encompassed his love. The sunflower.

 

Done