Chapter Eight: Tracking Her Down
He hurried down the streets, hoping he could find her. There was something he needed to do first, however. Something was definitely wrong, and he knew it had to be something that had to do with Doctor Strange's range of expertise. Just before he had left, Fury had told him Doctor Strange was on his way, and that he would make sure the three of them met up somewhere later on.
Come on, Ava, he thought as he swung over the George Washington Bridge. You've got to be somewhere around here. I just know it! But where could she be? Last I heard, she had just gotten off the Tricarrier. Does that mean she has extra power? I know she slammed Norman Osborn's face into that window, but it seems that it could have been done quite easily, in all honesty. She has the power of the amulet…
His eyes widened. With the amulet, and the extra power he guessed she now possessed, she would be near-unstoppable. There was no other way she could have gotten off the Tricarrier without someone stopping her without a different kind of power than that of the amulet. Or maybe she could…
He wasn't sure!
All he knew was that he wanted Ava to be all right by the end of this ordeal. He couldn't think of what would happen to her if he didn't find her in time. What could be controlling her? He thought of all his enemies that could have possibly brainwashed her, but he couldn't think of a single one who could have pulled this off. Something more was going on, it seemed. Something supernatural, quite possibly. That was why he'd told Fury to call Doctor Strange, just in case that suspicion turned out to be true.
"Spider-Man!" came a voice in his ear. He realized he had his comm link on, and he began listening to it, as he recognized the voice as that of Nick Fury. "Spider-Man, where are you?"
"I'm just now entering Manhattan, and I'm still looking for White Tiger," Spider-Man replied. "I'm not sure where she's going. There's nowhere in New York where she has a connection, or anything of that sort, is there?"
"No, there's not," Fury said. "We're attempting to track her. There's a tracker on her suit, but it's not working. I think she might have short-circuited it somehow, but—"
"Wait, a tracker?" Spider-Man asked incredulously.
"Yes, a tracker," Fury said back sternly. "We placed a tracker on all of your suits to keep an eye on your activities and what exactly you are doing at the moment. Do you understand me?"
"What in the name of God were you thinking?" Spider-Man exclaimed. "You breached our sense of security without us even knowing it! That's not something you should ever do! It's not allowed in any way, and yet you decided to go ahead and do something we would have never wanted. What is wrong with you?"
"We were trying to keep you safe," Fury replied.
"From who? Our families? I understand when we're fighting to keep an eye on us with cameras all around the streets of New York, but to do so all the time is just…I can't even think of a word. It's just…disgusting. That might not be the right word, but it's the best thing I can say at the moment."
There was silence on the other end, and Spider-Man knew he'd made an impact.
"Fine," Fury said. "So maybe you're right. But it's not my fault I wan an eye kept on you delinquents. I understand that's not exactly what you are, but I can't think of another word at the moment. Look now, Parker, all I want is for you to find White Tiger before I lose my temper. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," said Peter, who then disconnected the comm link. He landed on a building and looked all around him. He suddenly heard the sounds of screams, and he looked for the source. Finding the right direction, he swung over there and found who he was looking for.
White Tiger stood over a group of people. Spider-Man smiled for a moment, and then remembered what was going on. Something was definitely wrong with her now. He was going to have to do something, or they would begin to distrust superheroes, quite possibly. That scared him horribly. As if J. Jonah Jameson wasn't enough to deal with…
"Tiger, stop!" he yelled at her. She didn't look at him. "White Tiger, you've got to stop! There's something wrong with you! I know that! Because I can see that something is badly affecting you! Please, let me help you! I've got to help you right now, and you've got to understand what I'm trying to tell you, all right?"
But still, she didn't turn around or give any sign that she was listening to him in any way. Spider-Man sighed, thinking to himself, I'm sorry for this, Ava. I love you, but I have to do this…for your sake.
And he swung right at her, hoping he would be able to literally knock some sense into her. But it was a failed attempt, as she whirled around and kicked him in the chest. He groaned in pain. "I know you're not evil, White Tiger," he said. "Something's wrong with you, I can see that! Please, allow me to help you! I want to help you, because I love you!" He saw now that the people around him were whispering amongst themselves. "Please don't keep this up! I don't want to fight you!"
He looked into her mask's eyes, and he saw that they were now glowing even more than usual, which scared him somewhat. "What is in you, Tiger? What is happening to you right now? Who has done this to you?"
"No one has done anything to me!" roared White Tiger. However, her voice was much more different than usual. It was deeper and raspier, and it sent chills down his spine. Something was definitely wrong with her, he could say that much.
She outstretched her claws and aimed for him as soon as he stood up. He dodged the blow, but she kicked him again. He landed on his feet, however, and she growled menacingly at him. Even the growl sounded inhuman.
"What in the name of God is wrong with you?" Peter asked. "Good thing Doctor Strange is on his way—"
Suddenly she seized him up from the ground and threw him through the glass window of a bank. He groaned in pain, and he slowly got to his feet, pondering why exactly she had done that—
"Oh wait, now I know," he muttered to himself, horrified. "What's gotten into you, White Tiger? All I want to do is help you, but you're not allowing me. Please, just let me in. I know I haven't always been there for you in the past, but I promise you, I'll be there for you during this time."
She looked at him and began growling again. And then—
"No."
And she ran off, leaving him to stand there, with the people she had been threatening watching the scene unfold before them with wide eyes. It was obvious some of them were a little scared, and Spider-Man couldn't blame them.
"It's all over, people," Spider-Man said. "For now, at least. I've got to go and find her, if you need me. I'm sure that you're all safe from now on, so don't worry about anything while on the way home, all right? This will all be taken care of quite soon, so just return to your normal lives."
He felt something warm trickling down his arm inside the costume, and he looked down to find a cut on his shoulder, likely from the glass. He sighed, and he turned away from everyone else. He reactivated the comm link, and he waited for Nick to answer the call. Hopefully, he would.
"Hello?" came a mocking voice.
"Nick, this is Spider-Man, and this is an urgent situation right now," Spider-Man said.
"You don't say?" Nick said. "We're tracking her down right now. We think we have a pretty good idea of where she might be going, and so we'll tell you when we're sure."
"Just tell me now!" Spider-Man cried. "This is serious! She could be hurting right now! I don't what it's like to have someone controlling you—" Then he stopped for a moment. "Okay, so I do know what it's like to have someone—or rather, something—controlling you. After all, I had to deal with the Venom symbiote that one time, as well as the Carnage symbiote, and let me just say, none of those are very pleasant. I'll be the only one who can really help her in any way, besides Doctor Strange. You have to allow me, Nick. Please. There's no other way for this to go. If we don't hurry, she might try something even worse than terrorizing a group of people." He sighed. She might—she might try to hurt herself."
Nick was silent on the other line for a minute or so, during which Spider-Man became very impatient. He didn't know what Fury was up to at the moment, but all he cared about was finding White Tiger and saving her from whatever evil was controlling her. He tried to think it all over in his mind, but before he could, Nick cleared his throat on the other end of the line, and he began speaking.
"All right," he said. "I'm going to be sending Doctor Strange down there soon, though, so don't be too surprised when he shows up. But just so you know, if she was strong enough to throw you through that bank's window, then be very careful, okay?"
"Well, she's strong enough to do that anyway, thanks to the amulet, but I understand," Spider-Man said. "Maybe, quite possibly, I'll forgive you for all that you've done after this."
"That would be nice, but first, get back on your mission! White Tiger needs you, and if you don't hurry, something really bad will happen!"
Spider-Man turned off the comm link and hurried outside. He had to make sure nothing bad was about to happen to Ava. But first, he needed to find out where exactly she had gone. It made him wonder for a few minutes. If I were her, where exactly would I go? I'm not too sure about this, but maybe it's better that I check it out. It's just a thought, and quite possibly, it could help. Especially in a time like this.
He swung off, hoping he was correct.
During that time, his thoughts flicked back to how much he truly loved Ava, and he hoped sincerely that she was all right. There was so much going on at the moment, and he didn't understand it all too well, but he hoped he would be able to by the time it was all over.
"Why didn't you kill him?" Nightmare asked her menacingly. "You had the chance to kill him, and because you didn't, he is still following your trail! He will find you soon enough! He knows where you are by now, I am sure, and as a result, he will attempt to rescue you, which I wouldn't mind. I would appreciate a little challenge. But he has Doctor Strange with him, I am quite sure. Because of that, this whole plan of mine has been compromised, all because of you! And as a result, you will be punished."
Ava lay on the floor of the abandoned apartment. It had been the only location Nightmare had forced her to go to, and she was grateful that it was not a worse location, despite the mounds of dirt and dust that littered the floor, the mice that scattered all over it, and the fact her head was pounding. At the moment, all she wanted was for Spider-Man to crash through the window and find her here, and then save her. And if Doctor Strange was with her, then that meant, quite possibly, that she wouldn't have to deal with Nightmare too much longer, something she hoped was true.
"Your love for him has made you weak," Nightmare continued. "You continue to say you love him, but in reality, I am sure that is not completely true. The feelings you share for him are only temporary. Because when I have finished with you, you will feel nothing at all. You will believe he is your enemy, and only that. He is your greatest enemy, and I want you to kill him. Will you follow my orders, little one? Will you allow me to give you this task, or will you continue to be insolent and daft?"
"If you're asking me to kill him, then it won't work," she said. "You're going to have to kill me first before I'll allow that to happen. Go ahead, try to break my will, but you're not going to be able to. I've trained for moments like this my entire life, and there's no way you can get past the mental barriers I've set up around my mind."
"If you truly believe that, then I can only hope your love for him grows stronger by the moment, because soon enough, none of that will even matter. I will not kill you, not yet, for you still hold great importance to me. You are surely mistaken about the mind barriers you've set up. I am no ordinary being. I am a demon that will rip you apart from the inside, and while I will not do such things just yet, I will tell you this: when I have penetrated your mind and forced you to rethink every thought you've ever had, you will come to realize there is only one greater force in this world: Nightmare. I am sure you're wondering why I have come here to do this to you, and the story is long, but it should be told. You see, after I was defeated by Spider-Man, Iron Fist, and Doctor Strange in my own realm, everything changed for me. I felt as if there was no point for me to continue on. But I was wrong. I had a reason to continue on. I wanted my revenge against Spider-Man, and I decided coming here would be the best way for it to happen. You must understand that I am not weak, but when I am forced out of my own realm, I must rest, for I will not be able to move on from such an event, if you understand. But it was dangerous for me to even be here. There has been another force in this world, though one more human, and it has haunted me for many generations. But I tell you now, they will not find me yet, I am sure of it. The bloodline has been attempting to keep those such as myself in check for so long, and while I have succeeded in killing some, I fear there is still another out there. But I will end them all, I am sure of it. They will all die."
Ava thought about this for a moment. She tried to block her thoughts from Nightmare to prove to him her mental barriers were still quite strong. But it didn't help her whatsoever.
"I see your barriers, and they are very strong, I must compliment you there. But the only problem is, it won't help you for very long. You're going to be dead before long, as a result of your complete stubbornness. I'll kill you very soon, of course, and then move on to my next host—wait…no, I will not have to move on to another host. You have given me all the strength and power I need. I thank you for that. After so long of waiting for another person to help me, I found you, and your will has helped me to become better, more powerful. Soon enough, I will not have to worry about the Doctor's power. I will be able to continue in my quest to end all Sorcerers and Guardians who dare oppose me! But first, I will make you do something for me. You will do it, whether you wish for it to happen or not."
"And what would that be?" Ava spat.
"Kill the one you love. You will find him at his place of residence, or at his place of education, and kill him. I want there to be nothing left of him when you are done. Do you understand me?" Ava was suddenly unable to speak anymore, and there was a force that seemed to overtake her. She'd felt it before…on the Tricarrier, at the bank….
"KILL HIM."
