Chapter 7: Hunted
"What's up, New York City?!" Spider-Man excitedly yelled as he swung throughout the city.
Approximately a month had passed since Vulture was sent to prison. Since then, Spider-Man had been dealing with a pattern of men trying to kill him in different ways. He dismissed it as a bunch of crazy psychos wanting to kill him, but he started to ask himself if it was all connected or not.
He landed on a building top and sat down, trying to think it all through. Who would want to kill Spider-Man this much? Sure, there was the Vulture, but he was in prison. Unless he had men on the outside. That was unlikely, however, as the news had reported that Vulture's justification for his criminal activities was financially supporting his daughter. So how could Vulture possibly have men on the outside? It just didn't seem possible.
These thoughts were really giving Spider-Man a headache, and it didn't help when his Spider-Sense started tingling. It was warning him to move. Spider-Man quickly moved his head to the left, avoiding a sniper bullet. He turned around and looked up to see a sniper on another building.
"Just my luck," Spider-Man groaned as he shot a web at the building, swinging over to it.
The sniper started shooting at Spider-Man, who dodged all of the bullets.
"Come on, really?" Spider-Man chuckled as he grabbed the sniper's rifle and snapped it in half. "Sniper no sniping."
The sniper threw a fist at Spider-Man, only for him to easily grab it.
"Normally, I would just leave you for the cops," Spider-Man explained as he threw the sniper aside. "But I'm gonna need some answers. This has been going on since Adrian Toomes was arrested. Who's behind this all?"
"You're not getting a damn word out of me," the sniper coldly stated.
Spider-Man shrugged. "Okay."
Spider-Man grabbed the sniper and threw him off the building. The sniper screamed for his life, and Spider-Man quickly shot a web at him, dangling him from the building. Spider-Man yanked the web, and the sniper landed back on the building.
"You wanna go for another ride?" Spider-Man warned.
"Okay, I'll talk!" the sniper exclaimed. "Kingpin and Vulture put a bounty on your head for $20,000! Please don't kill me!"
Spider-Man swung towards the ground with the sniper and webbed him on top of a lamppost, leaving him for the police. The young hero swung away, furious that people were now trying to kill him for money. He needed a plan, some way to force the notorious crime boss to call off the hit.
Adrian, Wilson, and Chameleon were all in a private room at the prison, and they weren't happy with their current progress in taking down Spider-Man.
"One month, nine men!" Wilson angrily yelled. "That means nine failed attempts to kill that bug!"
"Funny, Fisk. By this point, I thought your men would've handled it," Chameleon chuckled.
"Don't insult the man," Adrian scolded. "He's doing his best."
"I underestimated him," Wilson admitted. "That webhead is more powerful than I thought."
"I may have a way," Chameleon revealed.
Adrian's eyes widened. "He better be enough to-"
"He's more than capable," Chameleon started. "My half-brother Sergei Kravinoff, or as he likes to call himself, Kraven the Hunter. You may have heard of him. He's the most notorious and murderous hitman in Russia. He aspires to be the greatest hunter in the world. He may be enough to take down Spider-Man."
"I've heard stories about him. How many people has he killed?" Wilson asked.
"From what I last heard, around 400."
Adrian nodded in approval, and Wilson was sold.
"This'll be one hell of a hunt for him," Wilson said.
During lunch at school, Valeria was sitting alone at a table picking at her food. She was devastated that her father was in prison. Luckily, she was able to prove she could live on her own, so she was still living at home and able to go to school. Legally, she was allowed to do so because she was 18, but it wouldn't make up for anything. Sadly, she was just alone.
Peter carried his tray toward his table, where he usually sat with Harry, until he saw Valeria, one of the most popular kids in school, sad and sitting alone. Considering she was a senior, he never really got to know her that well. He looked at Harry, who waved him over. Peter shook his head and walked toward Valeria.
"H-Hi, Valeria."
Valeria looked up at him but didn't respond.
"My name's Peter. Parker."
"I know who you are, Peter. I've seen your Spidey photos. They're pretty good."
"T-Thank you," Peter smiled. "You mind if I sit down?"
Valeria shook her head, and Peter sat down.
"I'm really sorry to hear about your dad."
"Thanks."
"Listen, I may not be the best person to comfort you about this, but I sort of know what you're going through. When I was a little kid, both my parents were killed in a plane crash, and my uncle was recently murdered. So, I kinda know how it feels to not have family."
"I heard about that. Your uncle. That's terrible what happened to him. I'm really sorry about that."
"Thank you. Look, I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk at all."
"Thank you, Peter. But I'd just like to be alone right now."
"Okay. Enjoy your lunch."
Valeria watched Peter walk away, thankful that she had someone like Peter supporting her through this.
In the depths of Moscow, corrupt police officer Kharli Beyts was enjoying the night. He was driving with his partner Frenki Smolls. It was around 11 PM, and the two cops were just driving around.
"It's very quiet out here," Kharli said.
"Not usually like this," Frenki pointed out.
Glass was heard breaking in a nearby alley, startling the two cops. Kharli stopped the car, and they both got out, taking out their guns.
"Police!" Frenki warned, "Put your hands up!"
The two cops ran into the alley. Within a couple seconds, gunshots were heard, and then Frenki's screams. Horrified, Kharli ran out of the alley.
"What the hell do you want?!" Kharli yelled as he ran back to the cruiser.
Unfortunately, a knife hit the back of Kharli's leg, knocking him down. Kharli yelled in pain and tried to grab his gun, but a knife hit it. Kharli looked up to see the horrifying man walking over. The man was wearing a loincloth jacket, and his dark hair was slicked back. His evil brown eyes glared at Kharli.
"No, please! C'mon, man!" Kharli pleaded.
The man kicked Kharli in the face, pulling out his sword.
"'Man'? I have a name, you know. Kraven the Hunter."
Kraven impaled Kharli with the sword, killing him instantly. Lying in the alley was Frenki's body, covered with knives.
All of a sudden, Kraven heard a noise come from the alley. Unbeknownst to what the sound came from, Kraven got his sword ready.
"Who's there?!"
Wilson Fisk walked out of another alleyway and folded his hands in front of him.
"Wilson Fisk, mob boss of New York's underworld," he said.
"I've heard of you," Kraven revealed.
"Who wouldn't? And I know you. Sergei Kravinoff. Your half-brother Dmitri has told me about you. I assume you've heard about the Spider-Man that's been swinging around in New York."
"He put my brother in prison."
"That's right. And I bet you want revenge."
Kraven nodded, intending to save his brother.
"I have a job for you. It pays well. $20,000 to kill Spider-Man."
Kraven sadistically smiled at the opportunity. He had killed several men before, but Spider-Man would be a challenge.
"I'll take it."
Spider-Man crouched on a building top, waiting for some action. Much to his annoyance, his phone started ringing. He took it out to see it was Aunt May. He sighed and picked up.
"What is it, Aunt May?" Spider-Man asked.
"Peter, do you have any idea what time is it? It's 10:15!" Aunt May said, concerned.
"Crap, I lost track of time! I'll be leaving the library soon!" Spider-Man lied.
"The library isn't open at 10:00 at night, Peter! Why are you lying-"
Hanging up, Spider-Man swung down to the ground. He knew he had to get home soon, or May would kill him.
BOOM!
Startled, Spider-Man started swinging over to the source of the loud sound. Once he got there, the scene he saw wasn't pleasant. A car was flipped on the ground, and flames were starting to form. Inside the damaged car was an injured man.
"HELP! PLEASE!" the man desperately screamed.
Spider-Man ran over and ripped the door off the car.
"Grab my hand!" Spider-Man instructed, extending his hand.
The man grabbed Spider-Man's hand, and the hero pulled him out. The man's arm was broken, and part of his forehead was bleeding.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Spider-Man asked.
"I was just driving, and the next thing I know, this man with a loincloth just-"
If it weren't for his Spider-Sense, Spider-Man wouldn't have been able to shoot a web and deflect the knife that was thrown at the man.
"Run!"
The man ran away, and Spider-Man faced an incredibly buff and sadistic-looking man in a loincloth jacket.
"Another one sent by Fisk?" Spider-Man chuckled. "This should be easy."
"I finally get to meet the world-famous Spider-Man."
"Who the hell are you?" Spider-Man asked.
"My name is Sergei Kravinoff. I'm known as Kraven the Hunter."
"And what do you hunt? People?" Spider-Man joked.
"Spiders!" Kraven shouted.
Kraven pulled out his sword and threw it at Spider-Man. Spider-Man shot a web at the sword and threw it on the ground, breaking it in half.
"You think that's the only sword I've got?" Kraven asked, pulling out 2 smaller swords.
This time, he charged toward Spider-Man and started waving his swords around, attempting to impale the masked hero. Spider-Man quickly dodged all of Kraven's blows, and kicked away one of the swords. Kraven attempted to stab Spider-Man with his second sword, but Spider-Man yanked it away with a web, throwing it out of view. He was then punched to the ground by the Russian hitman.
"Stay down, spider," Kraven ordered before tying him up with a lasso.
"You know, for a hunter that carries a lot of weapons on him, you'd think they'd be stronger," Spider-Man mocked before breaking free of the lasso and shooting a web at Kraven's chest.
Kraven pulled the webbing off his chest and pulled out a spear.
"How do you fit everything in your pockets?" Spider-Man asked, eyes widened.
"I have big pockets," Kraven responded before tossing the spear at Spider-Man.
Spider-Man caught the spear in his hand and snapped it in half.
"See? Your weapons aren't strong."
Growling, Kraven charged toward Spider-Man and started punching him repeatedly.
Groaning, Spider-Man said, "You should rely on your fists more than your weapons."
"You're right. I should. Thanks for the tip," Kraven said before punching Spider-Man in the jaw.
Spider-Man lifted his leg and kneed Kraven in the groin. Kraven stumbled back while Spider-Man hopped to his feet and started shooting web pellets at him, which Kraven tried to block with his arms.
Kraven pulled out a dagger and ran over to Spider-Man, swinging it multiple times. Spider-Man swiftly dodged all of his hits and kicked Kraven, knocking him down.
The burning car exploded nearby, shocking both of the combatants. Kraven used the distraction as an opportunity to pull out another dagger and charge at Spider-Man. Despite Spider-Man's Spider-Sense, Kraven's agility was ultimately the advantage as Kraven swung at Spider-Man's shoulder, cutting him.
"Ah!" Spider-Man yelled as he stumbled against a car.
Kraven aimed the dagger at Spider-Man's face, only for the hero to quickly grab it. Spider-Man then flipped Kraven over on the ground.
As the fight ended, NYPD squad cars surrounded them.
"Police! Put your arms in the air!"
Spider-Man put his arms in the air before shooting a web at a nearby building and quickly swinging away. Kraven got up and ran as fast as he could from the scene.
To ensure his aunt wouldn't see the bruises on his face and arm, Peter pulled his school hoodie out of his backpack and put it on before walking back in his house.
He saw Aunt May turn on the lights while she was sitting in the living room waiting for him.
"Where the hell have you been?" Aunt May asked, angrily.
"I was out," Peter responded lazily.
"At midnight? Peter, look at me."
Peter kept his head down.
"Take off your hood and look at me!"
Peter put his hood down and looked at her, revealing the bruises on his face.
"Oh my god. How did that happen?" Aunt May asked, rushing to him.
"I got in a bike accident," Peter lied.
"You don't have a bike."
"I...borrowed a friend's," Peter answered, lying again.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, May, really."
"Okay. But you're grounded for being out so late. Besides school and work, you are not allowed to leave this house," Aunt May declared.
"What? Aunt May, please reconsider."
"No, Peter! You keep leaving me worried sick about you. After what happened to your uncle, how do you think I'm supposed to feel? You stay out all of these hours, and I can't help but worry that you'll end up like Ben."
Peter understood what his aunt was going through, but he still felt that he was a teenager, and he wanted to have freedom outside of his home.
"Just go to sleep, Peter. You have school tomorrow."
The next day at school, Peter and Harry were having lunch in the cafeteria before Liz walked up to them.
"Hi, Peter. Harry."
"Hi, Liz," Peter and Harry said in unison.
"Peter, I was wondering if you'd able to tutor me. I need some help with Chemistry, and you're at the top of our class."
Peter smiled, knowing she was right. But he also remembered that Liz was dating Flash, and if he found out they were hanging out, he wouldn't take it very well.
"Won't Flash be angry?" Peter asked.
"Why would he be angry about it? You and I aren't seeing each other or anything."
"I know, but he hates me."
"Peter, he's just jealous of you. You get all the right answers, and it makes him feel dumb or something," Liz told him.
"Oh. Well, sure, I'll tutor you, Liz. I can't be the only one making him feel dumb," Peter agreed enthusiastically.
"Is after school at 3:30 okay? In the library?"
"Sure."
"Great. Thanks, Pete. See you later," Liz thanked before walking away.
Peter watched her leave, afraid that Flash wasn't gonna be too kind about his girlfriend hanging out with Puny Parker.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are greatly appreciated.
To our reviewer that asked about great-detailed and connecting Spider-Man stories, I'd recommend 'Spider-Man: Year One' by Cking91
