Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Marvel; all rights belong to their respective owners.
This chapter will incorporate a large amount of the 'Other' stories in the Spider-Man mythos that will eventually incorporate the inheritors.
Chapter 53
Shathra Part 1
New York City
"You're sure you're okay?" Spider-Man asked as he fired off another web-line. He launched himself into the air. He stretched out his wrist and shot another line of webbing to continue his journey as he talked.
"I mean, after everything that happened yesterday…"
"Peter," Mary Jane said over their com-link, "It was just a broken arm. Considering who we were up against, I'm surprised no one died!"
"Yeah…" Peter muttered as he landed on the edge of a building. He sat down on the wall, adhering to it while he hung upside down. "But you still got hospitalized."
Lenox Hill Hospital, Manhattan
"This is just my aunt being overprotective." MJ said as she leaned back on her bed, munching on a cup of Jell-O. She absently poked at the green jelly as she listened to her boyfriend sigh on the other end of the line.
"Hey Tiger, don't beat yourself up." She said.
"Yeah…I know…but what that bastard did to you…what he would've done to those people…I…I wanted to kill him MJ."
Mary Jane placed the colored jelly down on her food tray. She brushed back her hair and looked up at the ceiling. "Peter…"
"I thought about every consequence I would face. I thought of what everyone would think of me. And I still wanted to kill him. I wanted to rip his heart out."
"But you didn't." MJ said quietly.
"Yeah…but only because Captain Stacy stopped me. If it was anyone else…I don't know."
"Then don't think about it." She replied. She heard the squeaking of a cart outside her door. "Sorry, Tiger. I've gotta go."
"Yeah…I'll see you soon."
"Mrs. Watson?" the nurse said as he wheeled in a cart of food. "Were you talking to someone?" he asked looking around the room for anyone else.
"Huh? No, sorry, I was talking to myself. I've been reading a really good book and I was rehearsing the lines." She said with a smile.
"Alright then." The man said as he took a tray of food off the cart and placed it on her bedside table.
"Goodnight." The man said before walking out of the room.
Mary Jane sighed as she looked at the hospital food. "Maybe I should ask Peter to pick up pizza." She mused with a smile.
Manhattan
"Give me the money!" the mugger screamed as he held the family at gunpoint.
The family of three had their backs against the alley wall as the disheveled mugger held the gun up at the father's face. "Give me the money! Give it now!"
The father slowly moved his hand back to get his wallet as his wife held their young daughter close, shielding her from the crazed gunman. The man constantly shifted his gun, pointing it at the man, then his wife, and finally at his daughter.
"I don't see the money in a second! I start shootin'!" he screamed with shaking hands.
"I'm going to give you the money! Just give me a second!" the man shouted.
The mugger retrained the gun on the father. "You talkin' back shitface?! Eh? EH!? I'LL KILL YOU!"
THWIP!
The mugger tried to squeeze his forefinger to shoot, but found his hand was swallowed by a thick ball of webbing. The occupants of the alley looked up to see the shadow-covered form of Spider-Man, glaring menacingly down at the gunman.
"So picking on people who can fight back is your thing, huh?" Spider-Man growled.
"Y-you!" the man screamed, stumbling back. He fell butt first onto the ground before scrambling up. He tried to bolt out of the alley, but a web-line snagged his back, pulling him back onto the alley-floor.
He looked up to see the menacing form of Spider-Man, standing in the middle of the alley, his reflective lenses showing the mugger his own terrified face.
The man scrambled up, his right hand and gun still made useless by the thick webbing. Using his left hand, he drew out a red switchblade.
"D-die freak!" he screamed, lunging at the masked vigilante. Spider-Man shifted slightly to the left, allowing the man to lunge pat him before he kneed him in the stomach. The man gasped in pain before he was fung back by the impact.
Before he could hit the ground, anoth web slammed into his chest, pulling him back towards the hero. Spider-man caught him by his wrist, and squeezed.
SNAP!
"GIAAHH!" the mugger screamed as his left wrist snapped under the hero's incredible strength. The knife fell from the whimpering man's hand as he rested his now shattered wrist on his webbed up hand.
"My hand! Y-you broke my hand!"
"No. I snapped your wrist in two. Learn anatomy shitface."
The next thing the man knew, was that a hard foot smashed into his face, knocking him out cold. His body slumped to the ground, unmoving. Spider-Man turned to the family and saw them looking at him in complete horror.
"Mommy!" the daughter cried as she sobbed into her mother's stomach. The father stood protectively in front of his family, refusing any access t his wife and child.
"It's okay." Spider-Man said as he raised his hands to show he meant no harm. But the family only pushed themselves further up against the wall.
"Stay away from us!" The man shouted.
"No I'm—argh! Forget it!" Peter snapped. He knelt down next to the man and webbed him up next to the wall. He then crawled up the alley's wall before speaking to the terrified civilians again.
"Get out of here. And call the cops…and an ambulance." He muttered. He the leapt out of the alley and swung away.
The family quickly ran from the alley, leaving the beaten thug to hang unconscious on the dirty brick wall.
All was quiet until the shadows in the alley began to twist and warp themselves. The dark reflections crawled up the wall, swirling together to create a small vortex of inky blackness in the center of the wall.
Wind whipped as trash and litter slowly began to be sucked up into the shadowy vortex. The sudden sensation of the cold wind whipping past his face awoke the beaten mugger, who's eyes drifted towards the black portal before widening in horror.
A long black-clad arm emerged from the portal, its two-fingered claws dug into the side of the bricks as it dragged itself out of the void. The man screamed in terror as his eyes fell on the monstrous creature that now perched on top of the wall.
Twin black wings buzzed as they adjusted to the cold. The creatures mandibles snapped as they caught wind of the scent of her prey. The meal she so desperately craved. Her feet touched down on the ground, followed by her knees as she collapsed in pain.
"HISSSS!" it shrieked as it felt its body twist and contort. Her own body was devouring itself. It needed sustenance. The trip through the Astral Plane had taxed heavily on her reserves. She needed to feed.
Her senses caught sight of a single being in the alley, one who was thrashing in a web. She turned her gaze onto the horrified mugger. The man thrashed against the wall in a vain attempt to free himself. His cries of terror were muffled by the patch of webbing that covered his mouth.
The creature rose form the ground, its glowing blue bug-eyes reflected her terrified victim in their gaze. The monster slowly approached the man, its mandibles clicking together in eager anticipation for its first full meal in years.
"MMRHHPH! MRRHP!" the man screamed as the monster grabbed his head with her clawed hands, he could feel blood trickle down his face as the creature's talons split his flesh.
"KRRSHHH!" the monster hissed before its insect like jaw devoured the man's head, splitting it in two before slurping up the blood like it was juice. The monster quickly went to work, tearing through the web-prison to reach the man's body. She tore through his clothes as well before devouring the rest of the mugger like it was her last meal.
"SKREEE!" it shrieked before turning its nasty maw towards the sky. She sniffed the air twice before her mandible clicked together. She had it. She had his scent.
"Little spider…run from the wasp…be Shathra's prey!
Spider-Man leapt through the air, firing off another web-line as he launched himself towards another building. 'That could've gone better.' He thought to himself as he touched down on the edge of a roof and then leapt off of it, swinging back into the air.
'Maybe aunt May was right. Maybe I am more of a terror than I'd like to admit. I thought I could do the whole vigilante thing without caring what people thought but…'
Spider-Man swung towards an unfinished construction sight, planning to cut through it to get home faster. He swung in closer until his sight blurred. And then it happened.
"AAAARGHH!" he screamed. Blinding pain shot through his mind like a hot poker had pierced his nervous system. His spider-sense was going crazy, everything around him was a threat, everything around him blared danger. He couldn't concentrate, he couldn't think. He let go of the web.
Peter never even felt the wind as he plummeted towards the construction sight. The pain in his mind was briefly dulled as he smashed through the wooden planks and aluminum sidings of the building roof.
He smashed into a stack of concrete bricks before rolling to a stop near the edge of the floor, stopping just short of a fifteen-story drop.
"Ahhh…" he moaned, gripping his head as the pain slowly dulled. "W-what was…what the fuck?" he muttered, gripping his side. He slowly crawled to his feet, using a steel beam to steady himself as the pain in his skull finally faded.
"M-my spider-sense has never…it's never done something like that before." He said.
That's when he felt it. The throbbing in his skull continued, but this time it wasn't painful, it was just intense. He'd never felt a vibration this powerful since his fight with the goblins. His spider-sense was on red alert, making him look at everything around him.
Then he saw a shadow. As fast as he could blink, it was gone. "Fuck…now I'm in a horror movie." He muttered, ejecting his claws. Another shadow passed over him, making him look up, but nothing was there.
A flicker of movement darted past his right side. He whirled around, unleashing a barrage of webbing into and empty stack of crates. The wooden cubes tumbled to the ground as Spider-Man's senses honed in on anything and everything.
Then he heard a hissing noise. It wasn't like a snake, it was more like a bug. Then came the buzzing. The noise echoed off the walls, making pinpointing the sound impossible.
"Whoever you are…come out right the fuck now!"
"KRRRSSSSHH!"
Spider-Man back-flipped to avoid the black missile that shattered the floor, demolishing the concrete foundation and sending plumes of debris into the air.
Spider-Man slid back, hand fingering a web-grenade. The smoke slowly cleared as a single creature hovered in the air above the hole she had just made. The monster's twin wasp-wings hummed as her glowing blue eyes burrowed into Spider-Man.
The teen's spider-sense was screaming at him, telling him to flee. "So…you're new." He said. He just needed her to talk, find out who or what she was, then he'd take the upper hand, just like always.
"Little spider…pretending to be a man…Shathra will feed…Shathra will DEVOUR!"
With speed's unlike anything he'd ever seen, the monster smashed into Spider-Man. He felt himself go hurtling back before smashing through a set of steel beams, shattering them like glass.
"GUAAGH!" he gasped as the air had fled his lungs with that one blow. He coughed into his mask, and tasted blood. 'Not good.' He thought before something grabbed the back of his neck.
Using all his strength, Spider-Man adhered himself to the floor, stopping Shathra from hurling him through the air again. Or so he wished.
Using all her strength, Shathra tore Spider-Man off the ground, tearing the concrete floor he had adhered to apart. Spider-Man felt himself being hurled into the ground, shattering the floor and sending both beings tumbling down into the hole.
Spider-Man fired off a web, snagging himself as the monster fell to the floor. Instead of colliding with the floor, the monster gracefully landed on all fours before looking up at Spider-man with a predatory stare.
"Okay lady…you're really starting to freak me out."
"SKREEE!" Shathra rocketed off the ground. Spider-Man flipped away, allowing Shathra to sail past him while he slashed her with his talons. Shathra smashed into the ceiling above, gripping the steel beams with her talons as blood ran down the side of her leg.
"KREEAAAHH!" she wailed before shooting back down. Spider-Man leapt to the sisde, allowing her to smash into the ground. She then rocketed towards hims, slamming into him with the force of a truck.
"GRAH!" he screamed as the monster plowed him through another set of walls. She finally released him by smashing him into a set of crates. Spider-Man coughed as he felt his body screaming at him to flee.
"Now…Shathra will feed…" she hissed with glee. Her massive pincers opened wide to devour the downed hero.
SHLLK!
"SSKKREEEE!" Shathra screamed as two red scythes pierced her shoulders, spilling crimson fluid on both fighters. Spider-Man snarled up at the monster before grabbing her by the head.
"EAT THIS!" he screamed, sending a massive surge of bioelectric fury through his hands and into the monster. Shathra screamed and writhed in agony as she tried desperately to free herself from the prey that had become the predator.
Spider-Man sashed her face with his talons, tearing off a mandible and sending more blood flying. Shathra reeled back in pain, breaking free of the hero's waldoes as she collapsed to the ground in pain.
Spider-man took the brief respite and hurled a web-grenade at the monster, allowing it to explode in her face, burying her in a cocoon of impact webbing.
He fell to his knees as he felt how fatigued he really was. He crawled back and rested his body against a stack of crates, panting before he pulled up his mask to spit out a thick glob of blood. He leaned back as he felt more trickle out of his mouth.
"Internal bleeding…gah…fuck." He muttered.
SHRRIIP!
Peter's blood ran cold as he turned his head to see a black hand burst through the cocoon. The claws on the hand tore at the cocoon, tearing through the impact webbing with little resistance.
"How the Hell…" Peter whispered in horror. Soon Shathra burst through the cocoon, screaming in mad ferocity as she laid eyes on her wounded prey.
"SKKKREEEEE!" she shrieked before dashing towards Spider-Man.
Putting all his remaining strength into his legs, he leapt up. Shathra skidded to a halt to see her prey crawling through one of the many openings in the ceiling. Shathra leapt from the floor, smashing through the wooden planks.
She hovered in the air, sniffing around for any scent of her prey. She then caught his scent. She turned towards the source and moved forward, only to stop at the sight of a bloody hand print pressed into the wall.
Shathra sniffed the air again and found the scent again, but in the opposite direction. She shot through the air, flying towards another wall where more blood had been placed.
"NO!" Shathra wailed as she desperately looked for any sign of her prey.
"Gah…" Peter grunted as he gently lowered a large propane tank onto the ground. He looked at his webbed up wrist and then back to the stack of flammable tanks.
"Hope this works better on her than Electro." He muttered before kicking open an emergency roadside kit. He pulled out a flare before slashing open his wrist again.
Shathra smashed through another wall, sniffing desperately for any sign of her prey. Then it hit her. The scent. She shrieked in glee before rocketing through the remaining floors.
She hovered before a bleeding Spider-Man who held a single flare in his hand. The teen smirked under his mask as he stood near the edge of the building. Spider-man cracked the flare open ,allowing the red flames to jut rom its tip.
"Hope you like explosions…" he chuckled before tossing the flare near the propane tanks. Shathra looked at the red light curiously before she saw a small ripple of gas spewing out from a gash in one of the tanks.
She looked up at Spider-Man in terror. Spider-Man waved goodbye before stepping back, allowing himself to plummet from the building's edge. "and collapsing buildings!"
Shathra screamed in rage before the gas ignited.
BABBOOOOM!
Fire and heat engulfed the entire floor as the explosion ripped through the building, The foundation shook as the lower supports buckled. Too many steel beams had shattered during the fight, leaving the building powerless to hold itself together. The structure buckled, allowing hundreds of tons of steel and concrete to collapse onto the monstrous creature.
Spider-man tumbled through the air, crashing into a massive billboard sign. He rolled to a stop a few feet from the buildings edge and looked up to see a plume of smoke and debris floating through the sky.
"Hahaha…" he chuckled as he crawled towards an air-conditioner, and leaned up against it. "Well that was interesting." He muttered before limping away.
Down below in the skeleton of the construction yard, the rubble shifted. A thin hand broke free from the metal debris as Shathra dug herself free of the wreckage.
She hissed in pain as her mandible slowly regrew from the stump on her face. Her shattered and torn leg twisted until it reset itself, allowing her dark flesh to slowly regenerate.
She sniffed the air again and caught Spider-Man's scent. Then, the sound of sirens caught her ears.
"Little spider thinks he's a man…but the spider must be drawn out…the spider-wasp will feed!" she screamed, shrieking into the night.
New York City, Apartment Complex
"Mmm…" Mattie moaned as she held her boy friend closer, deepening the kiss by shoving her tongue into his mouth. Flash pulled the girl closer to him, bringing her onto his lap as they continued to make out inside the girl's room.
Mattie pushed her boyfriend back so she could straddle his waist, the whole time never breaking contact as they continued to kiss.
When they finally broke for air, Mattie grinned down at her equally happy boyfriend. "So when your uncle's away…" Flash said as Mattie leaned closer to him.
"The kids can play…" she purred with grin.
KLANG!
The two teens jerked up at the sudden noise from outside the door. The two looked at each other with slightly worried looks. Flash was the first to speak.
"Is your uncle…?"
"No!" Matte hissed in a whisper. He wasn't suppose to be home until late! He had a massive meeting, no way he could've bailed on that!"
"Then who?" Flash asked.
More sounds came from the apartment's living room. Mattie hopped off the bed, her footsteps touched the floor without a sound. She ever so quietly walked to her door and slowly opened it, making sure it wouldn't creek.
Flash followed close behind as the two walked into the dimly lit hallway. They could see a shadow moving across the floor as light from the living room poured into the hallway.
The two super-powered teens stepped closer to the hallway, with flash on one side of the wall hidden from sight, and Mattie on the other side. She gave Flash a small signal as she readied her muscles for a fight. Flash mentally called on his symbiote. He could feel the creature seep from the pours of his skin and slowly coat his right arm.
Mattie stepped out into the room to see a lone man standing near a photo frame. One of her, her uncle and another man. The intruder looked up from the photo as he saw the girl's reflection in the glass.
"Mattie?" he asked turning around. Mattie stopped moving as she saw who it was.
The man was tall, standing about 6'2 with dark brown hair cut in a military styled crew cut. He had a strong build that his suit emphasized. He easily dwarfed the shorted and more petite Mattie, but he merely smiled kindly at her.
"John!" the girl shouted in glee before embracing her cousin and legal 'brother'. Hey there! Easy kiddo!" John replied with a smile as he hugged his younger cousin.
"When'd you get back?" she asked excitedly.
John smiled as he broke the hug. "Just a few hours ago. I was recently reassigned to New York again, so I thought I'd stop by and see the family."
"Cool! How long are you staying?" she asked like an over-hyper child, nearly bouncing for joy.
"I'm staying for just a few we—" John stopped as he saw a small shadow move from in the hallway. The man moved past his younger cousin, trying to get to the hallway.
"Mattie, do you have someone over?"
"W-what? No! Of course not!" she said nervously. John looked at her before quickly moving around the wall and grabbed Flash who was too late to try and run back to Mattie's room.
"Who are you?!" John demanded, pushing the teen up against the wall. Mattie tensed as she saw her boyfriend's fist clench and become coated in his symbiote.
Flash took a deep breath, calming his nerves and forcing his passenger to retreat beneath his skin. "I'm Flash." He said as calmly as possible, raising his hands in surrender.
"John please let him go!" Mattie whined. John reluctantly let the younger man off the wall. He then turned to Mattie.
"And who is he exactly?"
"He's my…he's my boyfriend." Mattie said with a small blush dusting her cheeks.
John looked at his cousin with a raised eyebrow. He then turned back to Flash. "Boyfriend, huh?" the man said while eying the jock. Flash gulped but extended his hand slowly. "Nice to meet you sir." He said as politely as possible.
"Right…Flash." John said as he shook the boy's hand. He then looked back to Mattie. "Does dad know that he's here?"
Mattie's face paled in horror. "No, but John you can't tell! He'd kill him!" Mattie wailed in fear.
John sighed and smiled,, rubbing her hair as she pouted like a child. "Don't worry. If he finds out, I'll tell him I let you invite him over."
"You're the best!" she exclaimed hugging him again.
The three sat down on the chairs that surrounded the coffee table as they continued to talk.
"So you're here for a new NASA program?" Mattie asked. John nodded as he looked down at the latest copy of the Daily Bugle.
"Yeah…we're testing a new space shuttle program and they want me on board to help…who exactly is this guy?" John asked holding up the front page of the newspaper. The two teens looked at the photo to see a picture of Spider-Man.
Mattie and Flash cringed at the photo. It was an image taken by Norah Winters on her video camera. The image was that of Spider-Man strangling Doctor Octopus.
"That's…" Mattie started, not sure how to phrase her answer. Fortunately, Flash answered for him.
"That's Spider-Man. He's a hero who showed up about a year ago." Flash said.
John gave the teen a skeptical look before placing the paper on the table. "A hero? If he's a hero I don't think this photo is a good look for him." The man said.
"John, I know how this looks but—"
"Mattie, this guy is strangling a beaten man in the middle of the street."
"Hey man, I know that might seem over the top to you, but that psycho had it covered!" Flash snapped. "That newspaper doesn't do him justice at all!"
John turned to the teen with a scowl on his face. "Flash, I'll be blunt. This is not what heroes do. This guy almost killed a man in the streets. And it also says that he goes around town crippling people. If I'm wrong then please tell me."
"Well…" Mattie said looking down. "He does do pretty dark things…but…"
"But what?" John asked with a curious look.
"Does that paper say who he's crippling?" Flash asked. John didn't respond. "They're criminals. People like muggers, drug dealers and murderers. And I'll admit it, he's a bit excessive—"
"A bit? He's a vigilante that puts more people in the hospital then in jail." John said.
"At least he's keeping the hospitals in business." Mattie said with a half-hearted grin. John turned to her with a disapproving look.
"Mattie, you think this is funny?" he asked. "Vigilantes aren't heroes. They're criminals. And this guy is just border-line psychopath."
"At least he's doing something. Besides that Doc Oc guy had it coming." Mattie said with a scowl. John raised an eyebrow before turning to Flash.
"I got the same opinion of that guy. I'm not a fan of the death penalty, but in this case I don't think Spider-Man was in the wrong."
"He can't just decide to be judge, jury and executioner. Where is this all coming from?" John asked a she looked at his cousin in shock. Mattie grabbed the paper and flipped the page, pointing to a name and a picture.
John read the name and saw a picture of a teenaged girl with red hair. "Mary Jane Watson…who is she?"
"That Doc Oc guy held her hostage over the Brooklyn bridge with a family of four in a car." Flash said.
"He threatened to drop them off a bridge. MJ is our friend. And now she's in a hospital because of that guy." Mattie said. "And if it hadn't been for Spider-Man, she and that family could've ended up in a morgue. And we'd all have another funeral to go to."
John looked at his cousin, shocked by the news. "Mattie…I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't know. Look, I can understand that you would want this guy to pay, but it shouldn't be like this. Someone can't just wake up one day and decide he's above the law. There are rules."
"Yeah?" Flash said. "Well not all those rules work."
John opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted when the teen's cell-phone buzzed. Flash picked up the cell and saw it was a text from Liz. Mattie saw the surprised look on the boy's face and she realized what it was.
"Is Liz texting you?" she asked with a frown. Flash looked up at her with a concerned look. Mattie's frown dropped. "What is it?"
"Turn on the TV! Turn it to the New York News!" Flash exclaimed.
Mattie hopped off her chair and grabbed the remote turning on the TV before changing the channel. The newswoman began to speak.
Sharol Burnes: I'm Sharol Burnes, here at the New York News station in Manhattan. I'm happy to announce our guest speaker for those just now joining us.
The camera panned out to show an attractive older woman with waits length black hair. Her eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses.
Sharol Burnes: I'm here with Sharon Keller, the jilted lover of New York's very own Spider-Man.
Mary Jane stared up at the TV in shock before an enraged scowl formed on her face. "That bitch." She muttered.
Nelson and Murdock: Attorneys at Law
Foggy Nelson watched the TV report in stunned amazement before he ran towards his partners door. He flung open the door, ignoring the fact that Matt was bandaging his ribs after his latest patrol.
"Matt!" he shouted.
"Easy Foggy…" Mat muttered as he turned on Peter's sonic buffers. "What's going on?"
"You need to see this!"
"Foggy, you know I can't 'see' things." Matt said with a smirk. The smirk fell as he heard his partner's erotica heart rate. "What's happening?" he asked, getting up off his desk.
Foggy led his best friend in front of the television set where he turned up the volume. Matt sat down as the TV reporter continued.
Sharol Burnes: So you were involved with Spider-Man romantically for the better part of a year, Miss Keller?
Keller: Oh yes. We we're together for almost eleven months before he called things off between us. I noticed that his behavior as of late was becoming extremely violent and unstable.
Sharon Burnes: And he began to exhibit this behavior while you were together?
Keller: Yes. Then he became increasingly aggressive and savage…this also occurred with his sexual exploits.
Foggy turned to Matt who was scowling at the TV. "Matt…who is she?" Foggy asked.
"A liar. That's what." Matt growled before he picked up his phone.
Queens, Parker Residence
"Peter, do you see this?" Aunt May said as she watched, eyes glued to the TV. "Spider-Man is a menace. I can only imagine what that poor girl must've went through."
Peter stood in the kitchen hand gripping his cell-phone as he barely heard his aunt. Instead he had to listen to J. Jonah Jameson. "Parker! Get down there and get photos! This is exactly what we need to ruin that criminal! Move your ass!"
Peter glared at his cell in rage before MJ's numbered appeared cutting Jameson off. Peter immediately swapped lines and raised the phone to his ear. "MJ…you know she's lying."
"Of course I know that! Peter, we need to stop her! She's going to keep talking! There's gotta be someone at the Bugle or something that can tell she's lying!"
"Jonah won't here it. He's gonna spin this like everything else."
"Peter, there has to be away to stop her!"
Peter looked up at his kitchen window and saw his own enraged reflection. "There is." He growled.
Mary Jane knew that tone. "Peter! No don't do th—"
CLICK!
Peter threw his cell on the counter in a rage. Aunt May heard the clattered and turned to see and empty kitchen.
"Peter?"
Heroes for Hire
Luke stared at the TV in stunned silence as Danny simply glared at it. "What the fuck is this?" Luke muttered.
"Some skank trying to draw attention to herself." Jessica said as she leaned back in her chair. Lana turned to her with a questioning look.
"You really think she's just some attention whore?"
"Lana, look at who we're talking about. We actually know the guy under the mask." The remaining members of the office turned to look at the girls. "Not like that." Jessica muttered.
"We all know him, he wouldn't do anything like this. Especially since he's with Red." Jessica said.
Lana thought this over before nodding. "Yeah, believe me I know about boyfriends, and Spidey's got it bad for the Redhead. Doing something like this doesn't seem legit for him."
"I think we have a bigger problem." Danny said, looking at his phone. He held up a text from Daredevil. "DD can't get him on the phone."
Luke looked back at the TV. "Man I've got a bad feeling about this."
TV Station
"Really?" Sharol Burnes said. Keller nodded her head. "Well, you're certainly a brave woman for doing this Miss Keller."
"I'd like to think so." The woman said. "I've sat by for too long as he's continued his downward spiral. He needs to answer for everything he's done."
KRRRASSH!
The window to the studio exploded as a single red and black-clad figure smashed through the glass and rolled onto the set. Spider-Man stopped just short of the woman claiming to be his ex.
Spider-Man glared at her before his spider-sense started to blare. He knew he she was. "You!" he growled as the woman merely smirked.
The newswoman looked terrified as the studios security burst into the room with their weapons drawn "Freeze!" they exclaimed.
Spider-man fired off two web-shots immobilizing the two men's guns in a thick blob of webbing.
"Hello dear." The woman said as she stood up with a smirk. Spider-Man leapt forward, striking her across the jaw and sending her flying back into the set, demolishing it.
The cameramen scrambled to get the shot as they filmed Spider-Man striking an innocent victim. The newswoman wasted no time in reporting this.
"For those of you just joining us, Spider-Man has broken into the studio and stuck an unarmed woman! I don't know if she's injured but…oh my god…"
Spider-Man glared at the pile of rubble as a single monstrous being tore through the rubble. Shathra emerged from the rubble, wings abuzz. Her glowing blue eyes locked onto her prey as her mandibles clicked together in glee at the prospect of a meal.
"Little man is gone now…only the spider remains…"
"Oh my god!" the newswoman screamed as everyone began to flee from the set. "It's…it's some kind of monster! My god it's a mutant or something!" the woman screamed.
Spider-Man snarled at the monster before he leapt forward, smashing into the creature and tackling it to the ground. He wasted no time in unleashing his claws and slashing her across the chest, spilling a torrent of blood onto the sets floor.
Shathra shrieked in pain, striking the teen in the jaw. The blow sent the hero flying back, smashing through a wall and landing onto the crowded New York streets.
He was immediately slammed by Shathra who flew through the hole in the wall to tackle the teen. The two smashed into a car, shattering its body and sending glass flying. The streets around them erupted into panic as people ran for their lives, desperately trying to flee from the super-human battle now raging in the streets.
Spider-Man slugged Shathra across the jaw, making her stumble back. Spider-man slashed at his staggered foe before kicking her in the jaw, sending her head smashing into a Taxi's window.
Shathra retaliated with a powerhouse kick to the stomach that sent Spider-man flying back. He smashed through another car, demolishing it before he slammed into a fire-hydrant cracking the red structure and releasing a torrent of water onto the street.
Shathra stepped forward, her heeled shaped feet splashing in the water as she made her way to her prey, claws extended. Spider-Man looked up to see the monster approaching. He then looked down to see the stream of water she was walking on.
He slammed his hands onto the water and sent a massive surge of electrical energy into the monster. Shathra screamed in pain as steam erupted from the ground. Shathra stumbled back as her body burned .
Spider-Man leapt forward, allowing all his anger, resentment and frustration at everything in the past week, to flow uninhibited. Each blow tore apart the monster skin, spilling more and more blood onto the street. He didn't even think, he just did. Each blow sent the monster careening back.
Shathra skidded to a halt before slashing at the hero, nicking him in the jaw and tearing apart the lower portion of his mask. Spider-Man flipped back. Slamming his foot into the creature's head before snagging her with a web-line.
He pulled her forward and slashed her again with his talons. Shathra reeled back in pain before she lashed out, slashing the hero against the stomach. Spider-man ignored the pain in his stomach and retaliated with an electrically charged punch.
The spider-wasp was sent flying by the power behind the blow, crashing into the asphalt. The monster roared in rage before Spider-Man pounced on her. He wailed on Shathra like a madman, with no regard for any wounds he was suffering.
Each blow slammed Shathra into the ground. Every slash toe open her flesh and spilled blood all over his black and red suit. Shathra flailed about, piercing Peter's stomach with her talons before slashing him open. Spider-Man roared in savage defiance as he slammed a bio-electric charged fist into the monster's jaw, breaking off a mandible.
"GRAAAAHHH!" Spider-man roared as he stabbed a claw through Shathra's gut.
"AIIIEEEEE!"
Spider-Man turned his head at the sound of the scream. Across the street he saw a mother holding her screaming child. "Mommy! Mommy the monsters are here!" she cried.
"Monsters…?" Peter muttered as he stood up. "There's only one monster…" he looked to his right to see a shattered window reflecting his own tattered and bloody visage. "…here." He whispered in horror.
His mouth was bloodied and his mask was torn. It hung around his jaw in taters while the rest of his suit was covered in slashes and blood. He wasn't even sure how much of it was his.
He stepped away from the reflection in horror before noticing that the ground was wobbly. He looked down to see he was standing on a massive web that covered the entirety of the block.
"What the Hell…I don't…I don't remember doing this…when did this happen?!" he muttered as fear began to overtake him. His hands were covered in blood and he stumbled back. Exhaustion began to overtake him as he felt woozy.
He collapsed to his knees, tumbling off the web and falling onto the shattered asphalt. He gripped his stomach in pain as he realized that the wound on his stomach was spilling out massive quantities of blood. He sprayed a patch of webbing on the wound, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. His healing factor wasn't like Wolverines, this wouldn't heal for days.
The teen looked around at the demolished city block to see it was covered in webbing and claw marks. Street lights dangled from broken lamps and billboards fell and sparked.
"D-did I do this?" he asked to no one in particular.
"Yesss…" an eerie voiced hissed out.
Spider-Man's blood ran cold as he looked behind him to see Shathra emerging from the web. Her wounds slowly began to heal as even her lost mandible began to grow anew.
"Little man is gone now…only the spider remains…and the spider is the prey…the spider is my food!"
Fear began to overtake the teen as his spider-sense wailed inside his skull. He sprinted off the ground and dashed into a nearby alley before Shathra launched into the air to give chase.
Spider-Man dashed down the alley with Shathra in hot pursuit. He could hear the buzz of her wings mere feet behind him. He didn't dare glance back for fear of what he'd see. He leapt onto the nearest wall before scurrying up its surface.
Shathra shifted in mid-flight, shooting to the left to chase her prey. Spider-Man leapt off the wall and sprinted across the roofs. He could hear Shathra shriek before giving chase again.
Spider-Man leapt into the air before firing off a web-line to lift himself into the air. Shathra raised her wrist as a single stinger like weapon broke from her skin. She took aim at her intended meal and fired off a dart. The projectile sliced through the webbing, allowing Spider-Man to plummet.
Spider-Man thought fast and fired off another web-line to pull himself towards an alley where he slammed into the fire-escape before back-flipping down into the streets where he broke into another run.
Shathra perched on the top of the building, her glowing eyes locked onto her target. "Run little spider…Shathra loves the hunt!"
The spider-wasp launched from her perch, rocketing into the ally where she narrowly missed the hero, pouncing into a wall. Spider-Man rolled onto his feet and spun around, firing off a hail of webbing that Shathra leapt to avoid.
Spider-Man took off in another sprint, leaving a primed web grenade in his wake. Shathra ignored the device and shot after the teen. The sound of the grenade was the only signal to the sensation of being jerked back.
Shathra was pulled back by a thick sludge of impact webbing. The spider-wasp shrieked in rage before she unleashed her claws, slashing through the strands of webbing before taking off again.
Spider-Man tumbled into a wall and collapsed to his knees. His lungs were on fire and his body ached. Blood oozed out of his open wounds, coating the ground in a dark crimson paint. He slowly rose to his feet, leaning against the walls for support.
"H-how is she so fast…what is she?!" he breathed out as he tried to gain his bearings. He was probably in lower Manhattan or closer to Queens. If he could just get to Queens he could lose her.
His spider-sense screamed at him just seconds before Shathra flew around the corner, shrieking at him. Spider-Man had no time to react as the creature swatted him across the face, sending him flying back into a wall. He smashed through the brick structure and crashed into a set of mannequins.
"AGH!" he growled as he felt pain shoot up his side. He looked up to see he had stumbled into a thrift shop that was apparently closed. He tried to stand but was slammed face-first into the floor by Shathra.
The Spider-Wasp hurled him out of the shop and back into the alley where he crashed into another wall. Before he could fall to the ground, Shathra slammed him into the wall, pinning him to the building.
"Shathra is hungry…Shathra now feeds!" the monster's mandibles opened wide a she prepared to feed, only for Peter to grab the monster by the neck and sent a massive jolt of electricity through the monster's skull causing it to scream in pain.
Shathra reeled back, falling off the wall and landing on the ground where she writhed in pain. Spider-Man landed on all fours before he began to limp away.
Shathra hissed in pain but looked up in time to see her prey was escaping. She screamed in rage before raising the stinger on her right arm. A sharp dart firedfrom the stinger, striking Spider-Man in the back.
"AAGH!" instantly Peter was hit by a blinding sensation of pain that shot up his spine. He fell to his knees as the pain intensified. Shathra shrieked in glee as she saw her prey crawling on the ground.
Peter couldn't move. His arms slowly began to stiffen and his other limbs followed soon after. His entire body became paralyzed as Shathra's venom fought its way through his systems.
"Hunt is over…Shathra feeds!" she screamed.
Spider-Man looked up at her in shock and fear before his eyes fell on a single glowing dot on her chest. Shathra saw her prey's look was now one of curiosity. She looked down herself to see a small laser-red dart centered on her chest.
She looked up to see a single lone figure standing atop the edge of a building brandishing a massive crossbow with a laser-sight.
BANG!
A massive harpoon-like arrow struck Shathra through the chest, piercing her sternum and breaking through her back. The force of the shot pinned her to the ground before four prong-like devices popped up on the end of the weapon before a surge of electricity coursed through the monster's body.
"GRIIIIAAAAEEEEE!"
Spider-Man tried to turn his head to see his savior before a strong set of arms hoisted him over his shoulder. "Do not move. I have you." A deep Russian voice said. Peter instantly recognized the voice.
"K-Kraven?" he muttered through his beaten state.
"I wish we could've met again over better circumstances, but now is not the time for talk!" Kraven shouted as he sprinted down the alley with Peter hoisted over his back.
"W-what is she?" Peter slurred out.
Kraven sprinted through the alley glancing briefly behind him to see Shathra tearing apart the arrow in her stomach. She frantically slashed at the projectile, tearing apart the electrical rods.
"Run now! Talk later, my young friend!" Kraven shouted as he saw Shathra tear herself off the arrow. The monster fell to her knees as blood poured from the hole in her chest. The monster whimpered in pain until she saw her prey fleeing the scene.
The sensation of pain was instantly overtaken by rage as she forced herself into the air. She rocketed after the two as the fled into the streets of New York.
People shouted in anger as a single man carrying the beaten form of Spider-Man leapt into the streets, plowing through people and leaping over moving cars like a gorilla. Shathra flew after them at incredible speeds, sweeping over the terrified people and moving car like a black arrow. Kraven saw the creature coming and took a sharp right, taking cover in the alley before Shathra shrieked in rage, smashing through the walls to reach her prey faster.
Kraven rolled to avoid one of Shathra's swipes, he pulled out a knife from his boot before chucking it at Shathra's face. The monster wheeled to the left, dodging the knife before a second one got her in the stomach.
Kraven wasted no time before drawing out a short pike that extended into a long javelin. He held the weapon in his hand as Shathra tore the dagger from her chest. She hissed in rage before Kraven backed up.
He glanced behind him but stopped when he saw he had stopped in front of a dead end. Shathra hissed as she prepared her stinger.
"Two meals…the spider…and the grim hunter…" Shathra hissed with glee. Kraven snarled at the monster while he raised his spear.
Shathra slowly moved closer until she stopped. Kraven turned his head and his eyes widened. Behind him was a massive swirling vortex of darkness erupting from the wall.
Before either of the two could react, a barrage of light daggers exploded from the darkness, skewering everything in their path. Kraven himself barley managed to hit the deck, shielding Peter with his body.
Shathra wasn't so lucky as she found herself impaled by a volley of light daggers that pierced her body. The vortex however increased in power. Kraven stabbed the ground with his javelin, using it as an anchor as trashcans, dumpsters and numerous loose objects were sucked into the void.
Shathra's claws scraped against the ground as she felt herself being pulled towards the vortex. But the wind died, dropping everyone on the ground. And then the wind sped up with tremendous force. Everything that the vortex had absorbed was spewed forth like vomit as a massive dumpster came hurtling out of the darkness and smashed into the alley. Kraven grabbed Peter and rolled to the side, allowing the massive object to crash into Shathra crushing her beneath the metal cube.
Kraven stood up, pulling Peter off the ground by the arm. "Come!" he called as he pulled the sluggish ten to his feet before wrapping his arm around his shoulder to support him.
"W-wait…" Peter slurred as he looked up at the vortex. "I…I know you guys… don't I?" he muttered.
A small glimmering figure emerged from the shadows and held out its hand. Kraven looked at the glowing figure and then back to Shathra who was slowly recovering, crawling out from beneath the dumpster. Her wounded limbs began to heal and she saw her prey.
"NO! SHATHRA WILL FEED!"
Kraven looked back to the light in the vortex and took its hand. Suddenly, the shadows surrounded them. Shathra rocketed off the ground, aiming straight for Kraven and her prey.
The shadows moved faster and swallowed the three beings whole, the vortex collapsed on top if the group, allowing Shathra crashed through the alley's end. She tumbled through the opening in the door before slowly rising to her feet. She sniffed the air twice. And her fears were confirmed.
Spider-Man was gone. Shathra fists shook before she glared up at the sky, releasing an enraged scream for all to hear.
"SKREEEEEEE!"
End of Chapter
Hoped you like this cliff hanger as it was rather fun to write. Personally, I loved this storyline as it was one of the first Spider-Man comics that got be back into loving comics, so it has a bit of a nostalgic feel for me.
Next time!
Chapter 54: Shathra Part 2
