The Great Hunt

by petersnightmare

The young man approached the house with trepidation. He had long heard the stories of the man he was to meet. Indeed he knew that the life he was about to begin was one of danger, yet one of purpose. He believed in the mission he was to undertake. He just did not feel prepared. But that was why he was coming here. Here he would learn all he needed to be prepared. As his nerves peaked, he rang the old doorbell. At first there was no answer. Surely there must be some mistake. He tried again. Perhaps the old doorbell did not work. The house was older than any he had ever seen. It was a dilapidated mansion. The kind he had seen in books. The man who had summoned him was supposed to be dead. Maybe he was really dead after all.

"Enter," a voice called to him as the door opened. He walked in and saw the man he was to meet. The man was misshapen and seemed to have trouble walking. His every breath seemed to be a labor. "Do not be shy, my boy," the man said, "you are here for a reason."

"Forgive me, sir," he told the man, "I was not expecting..."

"You were not expecting me to appear so frail," the man asked.

"No, I was not," he answered. He had expected to see a great man; a powerful man. How could this shell of a man be the one to teach him about the hunt.

"Make no mistake, my young friend," the man said, "you stand in the presence of Kraven the Hunter!"

"Forgive me, but how can that be," he asked.

"Ah, yes," Kraven said, "my current state of physical being startles you."

"No, I meant that...," he said.

"It is alright," Kraven said, "I will tell you." Kraven led the young man to a great room. He motioned for the young man to sit in a chair. Kraven sat down across from him and explained, "You see, it was the potion I took to gain my abilities which robbed me of my youth and my very life. I had the formula wrong." Kraven paused in his own regret. "I did not realize that the potion would turn me into the old man before you. The effects of so many exposures have left me weak." Kraven sat up in his chair. "You will be spared its effects. I have chosen you to carry my legacy, not my burden."

"I am honored," the young man told Kraven.

"That is as it should be," Kraven said. "I have taken great pains to find a worthy successor. And now you sit here in my home destined to assume that title. You, Kevin Hendrick, shall be the next Kraven!"

Spiderman swung across the city toward the ESU campus. For once he was on time for class. "It's nice to make it on time," he thought. As Spiderman, Peter Parker had found it hard to properly pursue his studies. His recent defeat of the remaining members of the Sinister Six was easier than he had imagined and there had been no activity from any of NYC's super-criminals since. Spiderman was happy to stop muggings and car thefts. It was a welcome change of pace. Spiderman slipped into a safe place to change into his street clothes. Peter went to class without a care on his mind.

It had been a few days since Kevin had met Kraven. He was chosen from many to be Kraven's successor, though neither he nor the others knew that was the goal. Kraven had secretly commissioned a hunting game for ten qualified applicants. Kevin had prevailed over the others in a hunt for loins in Africa. The hunt involved no weapons. Using his wit and prowess, Kevin was able to kill several loins bare-handed and by all accounts rather mercilessly. Now he was training to capture a new prize. As he trained he felt the thrill of the hunt consume him. On Kraven's property he was hunting animals like none he had seen before. Mutated beasts were his prey. Beasts unimaginable to most people. He caught them all, instructed not to kill them, but to bring them to Kraven himself. The goal was to conquer. Kevin was exceeding Kraven's own accomplishments in this new, strange arena.

"Come to me, boy," Kraven told Kevin as Kevin presented him with a captured beast. "Let us retire to the house for a moment."

"As you wish," Kevin said. He knew that he was to hunt a great prey. His training was not without purpose. But what would it be? He had an idea.

"Do you know why you are here," Kraven asked.

"I think so," Kevin said. "I think I am here to hunt Spiderman."

"Very perceptive," Kraven told him. Kevin was delighted to learn this. He hated Spiderman. He hated the thought of Spiderman running free and without a proper foe. Two years before, Spiderman had captured Kevin as he tried to break into a jewelry store. He spent a year in prison as a result and was waiting for his chance to exact his revenge. "You are familiar with the being known as The Tinkerer, no," Kraven asked.

"I've heard stories," Kevin said.

"Of course you have," Kraven said and pulled a large curtain open. Behind it was a battle suit. It was modeled after Kraven himself. "This is your new weapon."

"I don't understand," Kevin said.

"Instead of taking the potion, you will wear this to gain the enhanced abilities the potion offers," Kraven told him. "The Tinkerer built it for you."

"A suit to make me a great hunter like you," Kevin asked.

"Do not be so vain," Kraven said. "It is a weapon to make you a great hunter."

"How can it do that," Kevin asked.

"It is programmed to mimic my own actions while it adjusts to yours," Kraven said. "You will use it to gain the greatest prize I could not obtain."

"Which is," Kevin asked Kraven.

"The mask of Spiderman," Kraven told him.