A Shocking mission.
Some time had passed since Peter and Nova's match and still no major leads on the spectres that had been attacking important targets. And there had not been to many missions either, just some small work even rookies could pull of so there was no need for Peter or Nova to be called in. Safe to say they were getting rather bored with the lack of missions, not to mention a little frustrated by the fact that they still can't go after the terrorists. They knew, the longer it took to find them, the more damage they could cause and who knows how many people could end up dead because of it.
Peter walked in to the training area and saw Nova practicing her aim, she had already scored plenty of bullseyes and it did not look like she even knew what miss meant "Not bad. I can see why you are such an idol for the others".
"Idol and a victim of plenty of jealous people" Nova said without looking at him, still focused on the targets as she hit another bullseye.
"Nothing wrong with some friendly competition" Peter pointed out.
Nova reloaded her weapon "True enough. But not all competition is friendly. Not everyone likes being outdone. I have been challenged plenty of times and sometimes people take defeat very personally".
"What happened?" Peter asked.
Nova hit another bullseye "Some jealous guy broke in to my privet quarters and tried to stab me while I was in the shower".
Peter got wide eyes "Oh... sorry to hear that. I take it he faced justice for what he did?".
"You could say that. I killed him with my towel" Nova said as she hit another target, and Peter could have sworn he saw a smirk.
Peter gulped "Yikes, you really are one of a kind Nova. Still gotta feel nice to be the best Ghost around".
"I am not the best" Nova corrected as she was once again reloading.
"Huh? There is someone better than you?" Peter asked.
"Well, there was someone better than me. Sarah Kerrigan. She is the only one who's skills and power surpassed my own. Tried to reach her level several times. Never got close" Nova answered, a trace of venom in her tone.
"Sarah Kerrigan? I heard about her. She was that Ghost who was killed by the zergs during a mission. A shame, she was good soldier" Peter said, remembering reading about Kerrigan in his spare time, though the details about her life and missions was classified so there was only so much he could learn.
"That's what the mission reports say. And soon after that, James Raynor goes rouge on us, taking a lot of skilled men with him" Nova said as she shoots the last target.
"James Raynor. Heard he's gone quiet" Peter said.
"Making him hard to track. But they don't really send Ghosts after him since he has not prove to be a dangerous enough threat for people like us. So they let ordinary meat heads look for him. It's speculated he is hiding somewhere in the outer rim, where scum bags of all shapes and sizes live. So not the ideal place to go to catch one man" Nova said as she rested her back on the wall.
"Yeah, those places are full of bounty hunters as well. And I am sure we got more than a few credits on our head" Peter agreed leaning on the wall next to Nova "Still, nothing we can't handle, right partner?".
Nova snorts "Say that after our mission is done and we catch those terrorists".
"Geez, you are cold" Peter muttered before someone contacted them.
"Nova, Spider-Man. You there?" A man asked.
"Read you loud and clear sir. What is going on?" Nova asked.
"We finally got a lead on your friends, they are robbing another bank. Head to your ship, you will be briefed on the way" The man said.
"Understood sir. We're on our way" Nova said before looking at Peter "Ready?"
"You know it Partner!" Peter said as he pulled his mask over his smiling face.
Nova rolled her eyes but they hurried to the hanger to get their ship. Soon enough they were flying towards their destination while the commander from before spoke.
"Ok, we finally know the name of the man behind this. His name is Herman Schultz. Born in a rundown part of Mar Sara City, he became a high school dropout despite having brilliant talents as both an inventor and an engineer. Instead of using such talents to gain legitimate employment, he became a successful burglar and one hell of a safe-cracker. After finally being caught and incarcerated for his crimes, he had somehow developed psionic abilities which brought down the entire prison. He somehow survived and has been on the run ever since" He explained.
"And now he is involved with terrorists. What could he goal be?" Nova asked.
"Whatever it is, it must have something to do with whoever made his armor" Peter speculated as he checked his gadgets "We just have to ask him ourselves when we get him".
"Be careful you two. His powers are not to be taken lightly" The commander said.
"Understood sir, we will contact you when he is caught or if we need back up. Nova out" Nova said as they arrived at the crime scene. Just in time to see a ship trying to escape "There hey are! We can't let them escape! Brace yourself for a chase!".
"Got it!" Peter said as the chase began.
Nova tried to get a clear shot so she could shoot them down. But just as she was about to fire, Herman opened the back of his ship before shooting at them with his gauntlets, forcing Nova to make a sharp turn and lost her chance to shoot them down in the process. Nova cursed under her breath as she tried to re-align her shot, but Herman just wouldn't give her an opening. And she couldn't just fire randomly in case she hits something that could harm innocent. Herman on the other hand did not seem to have that sympathy and fired at them the moment his power finished charging, causing major property damage.
"Dammit! He will destroy the city at this rate!" Nova shouted as she avoided several more shots.
"I got an idea. Keep him from entering orbit and try to get as close to his ship as you can" Peter said as he was about to leave the cockpit.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Nova demanded.
Peter looked at her "Just trust me on this Nova. It might be our only chance".
Nova thought about it only for a single second "You better not make me regret this".
Peter smiled under his mask "Don't worry, you won't".
Nova avoided another blast as she got closer to Herman's ship. At this close range he could blow up the ship in a single shot, this was a very dangerous game they were playing. Peter had climbed out of the ship and was waiting for his chance. Just as Herman fired of another blast, Peter jumped over it and shot a web-line at the ship, hitching a ride on Herman's ship and began to climb closer to it.
"Hey! Get of my ship you bug!" Herman shouted as he was about to shoot Peter of.
But this distraction allowed Nova to finally open fire, hitting the wing of Herman's ship and causing him to miss his shot. Peter managed to close the gap and kicked Herman back in to his ship before following him inside. Herman growls in anger as Peter slugged him across his armored face. Herman grabbed Peter's neck and threw him against the ship wall. Peter ducked under a punch that left a dent in the metal and punched Herman in the gut, making him stumble back before Peter tackled him down, only for Herman to send him in to the sealing.
The pilot struggled to control the ship while the brawl happened behind him "Boss! Get him out of the ship! It can't handle this much abuse!".
"Shut up!" Herman shouted back as he went to punch Peter who leaped back on to his hands before using both feet to kick Herman back.
Herman flew right in to the ship controls, much to the pilot's horror "NO!".
Peter had to jump out as the ship began to crash. He webbed on to a building and watched the ship crash near an old part of town. He swung over there and found the smocking ship. The pilot had unfortunately died in the crash, but Herman was no where to be seen. He heard something and looked up to see Nova arriving in their ship. She landed and ran out, only stopping when she reached Peter.
"What the hell was that? That was a suicide move!" Nova all but shouted in his face.
"Calm down, it was the only way to get to him without being shot down. Besides it worked and I'm fine" Peter said, trying to calm down his angry partner.
"When I saw the ship crash, I was almost worried that you where on it. I don't want to lose another partner Peter! No matter how annoying you may be!" Nova said, her voice sharp.
"Aww, you do care" Peter teased before being punched in the face by Nova "Alright alright, I get it".
"You and I are going to have a nice long talk when this mission is over. But for now we need to catch Herman Schultz before he gets away" Nova declared.
Peter could only nod as they saw some tracks that must belong to Herman, lead in to an old building that looked to have been abandoned for years. With their guard up they made their way inside. They followed the tracks until it ended, meaning Herman could be anywhere now. Walking around blindly would be to dangerous in case he is waiting to ambush them.
Peter focused a little and then whispered "I can sense him nearby. He is hiding and waiting for us".
"How do you know that?" Nova asked.
"Spider-Sense, I can use it to detect danger" Peter answered.
Nova took a moment to let it sink in, that could be a very useful ability "Can you pin point where he is?".
Peter shook his head "Not without being in the same room as him".
"Alright. I will use my goggles to track him. Stick to the shadows and see if you can distract him long enough for me to get a shot at him" Nova instructed.
"If there is one thing I am good at, it's distractions. Leave it to me" Peter said as he leaps on to the sealing and began crawling in to the room where he could sense Herman.
The room was large, and looked like an old dance room, the type of room some real pros performs at. Herman was nearby, Peter could sense it, he just needed to locate him without being discovered himself. But to do that he needed to make Herman talk and keep moving so Herman wouldn't track him down.
"Hey Herman! Aren't you a little to old for hide and seek? Come on out and we can talk this out as adults" Peter called out while remaining on the move.
"You first bug boy!" Herman called back, clearly angry.
"Now that is a common misconception, spiders are arachnids not bugs. Bugs have 6 legs while arachnids have 8" Peter said like a teacher scolding his student.
"But they both are just as easily squashed!" Herman shouts as he jumps out of hiding, creating a shock wave that almost knocked Peter down "Have it your way freak! You want a fight!? The come out and fight!".
"We don't have to fight, if you just surrender and tell us who you work for, maybe we'll go easy on you" Peter quipped.
"If I talk, I'm dead. And I rather die here than submit to anything they have in store for me if I fail! Now enough talk! Come out and fight, or I will bring this entire building down!" Herman shouts before being kicked in the back by Peter.
"Have it your way. Let's end this Herman" Peter said as he got ready.
Herman let out a battle cry as he unleashed several quick blasts out of his gauntlets. Peter jumped from side to side, avoiding the blasts before shooting web in to Herman's face. He growls as he rips it of, only to be kicked down by Peter. Herman retaliates with a blast, which Peter had to back-flip to avoid, but Herman kept blasting, not giving Peter a single second to fight back. Luckily Nova finally got a clear shot and hit one of Herman's gauntlets.
"What the Sam hill!?" Herman cried out before he had to rip of his gauntlet and tossed it away just s it blew up.
"Nice shot Nova!" Peter praised as he kicked Herman in to a wall.
"You were taking to long. Had to do something" Nova said as she aimed her weapon, ready to shoot Herman the moment the dust clears.
But Herman still had one functioning gauntlet left and went berserk as he began blasting in random directions. At this rate he would bring down the whole building on top of them. As Nova dodged a blast, she dropped her weapon. She looked at Peter and they shared a quick nod before Peter lifted a heavy boulder and tossed it at Herman. He saw it coming and quickly destroyed it, only for a web line to hit his gauntlet and restrained his arm, giving Nova the opening to stab in to his gauntlet, causing it to go out of control.
"What have you done!? NOOOOOOOOO!" Herman screamed in terror as he took the full brunt of the exploding gauntlet.
Peter pulled Nova to safety as they avoided the blast. When the dust cleared they saw Herman laying on the floor... half his armor destroyed and he was not moving.
Later, Herman was brought in to a medical ship before being taken away for treatment. His injures where bad, but with the right medical attention, he would live long enough to hopefully answer any questions regarding the people he worked with.
Peter and Nova watched as Herman was taken away before Peter spoke "Well... despite the close calls. I say we did good, right?".
Nova looked at him before holding up her hand "Good job... partner".
Peter smiled and happily shook her hand. He was happy that she finally accepted him as her partner. And they had a lot of ordeals ahead, but together, they are confident that they can take on anything.
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Tell me what you think.
