Chapter 8
Peter sat at his desk; his Spider Man mask pulled over his head to help him think. Even if he was wearing jeans and a lab coat, just the mask by itself put his entire mind in a different place. He tapped a pencil on the desk while his hand propped up the colorful face.
Carol barreled through the door. "What is it?" She asked. She had been at her apartment, most likely doing something important when she got the text from Peter about him having a new lead.
"I assume by know you saw Wilson Fisk is running for mayor." Peter said, slipping the mask off his face. "His campaign is built around ridding New York of all heroes except for people like the Avengers. Probably because he knows he'll lose that fight."
"Yeah, I saw." She said, following the story.
"He can do it." Peter said. "Harry brought me in on the Oscorp project that Fisk is using for his campaign. I did a little digging and the machine is unmatched. It was labeled 'New York Skyline'. Basically, it's a giant dome that will enclose the entire city. Imagine a forcefield with cameras and sensors all over it; monitoring the people in the city and tracking whoever he wants."
Carol couldn't believe the idea. "That's impossible, no one wants that. People like their privacy and they wouldn't give it up just to get rid of some colorful dressing kids."
"But that's the thing, he is Kingpin. Someone pulls ahead in the race, they'll disappear. Plus, he's going to lie about it anyway. He won't talk about the cameras, just how it is going to make the city safe and how he can block out rain for sporting events and allow it to fall in Central Park when the grass gets dry." Peter explained.
"You really think he could sell the idea?" She asked worried.
"Without a doubt. What I'm confused about is the hero killer. Kingpin obviously seems to have some of the same goals as the guy. Why would Kingpin think he is bad for business?" Peter asked.
"Politics." Carol shrugged. "If all the vigilantes are gone by the election, then there would be no reason to vote for him; that problem would already be solved."
"What about the fact that he has his own vigilantes? Seems hypocritical." Peter said.
"Makes sense. Kill all the other ones and then you've got a monopoly in the enhanced individuals department." Carol explained.
Peter shook his head and tried to let all the information fill his head so he could sort through it. "Now we have Kingpin and the hero killer out there." He sighed.
"How can you be so sure that it wasn't Kraven? There wasn't an attack last night and Kraven was locked up." Carol said.
"I just know." Peter shrugged. "I need to talk to Kraven. He may not be the hero killer, but he sure has killed some heroes, and he always monitors his competition."
"Goodluck convincing Fury to let you in. Last time we were in a maximum-security prison it didn't go so well." Carol said.
Peter thought for a moment and then looked up to his girlfriend with a grin. "I need your help. If I don't talk to Kraven then that is a possible lead that we won't have access too."
"How do you plan on doing that?" Carol asked.
"Just walk into Fury's office and plug this into the security monitors." He said grabbing a flash drive from his desk. "It'll loop the cameras and I can program it to force the rest of the system to go into maintenance check mode. Then I can get in and talk to Kraven." Peter explained.
Spider Man crawled across the roof; the guards got lazy with all the new tech. After the attack on the Raft, Tony Stark and Reed Richards decided to help in building the new temporary prison while they rebuilt the Raft. Turns out it was more secure than any prison they had ever made. Luckily, SHIELD still had control issues and gave all the power to one man.
Peter got word from Carol that the device was plugged in and so he got in without a problem. He scanned the cells for leopard print and the smell of raw meat, but instead it was the voice that drew his attention.
"Spider." Said the scratchy deep voice of the Russian. "Sneaking around?" He asked.
Spider Man lowered himself down from the roof with a web and looked at the man in the orange jumpsuit. "You know, I didn't recognize you without an entire zoo thrown over your shoulders." He said in a hushed tone.
"Going against orders? Very good Parker." He laughed.
Peter sighed. "Did you kill White Tiger?"
"No." Kraven said sitting back on the metal bench in his cell. "However, I wish I did. I have hunted that family for generations. I didn't kill the large boy either, if that was your next question."
Peter nodded to himself. "Why were you trying to kill Kid Arachnid?" Peter asked.
"I wanted another trophy." Kraven said, crossing his arms.
"There is more to it." Peter said.
"How can you be so sure?" Kraven smiled.
"Because, he is a new hero. Only just made a name for himself. No way that is a big enough prize for you to waste your time on." Peter said.
Kraven nodded. "The boy wasn't my trophy. I was going to be awarded one after the challenge."
"Someone challenged you to kill Kid Arachnid?" Peter asked.
"Not just anyone Spider."
"The hero killer." Spider Man realized. "Who is he?" Peter demanded.
"I don't reveal your secret Spider, why would I reveal a fellow hunter?"
Peter clenched his fist, ready to break the cell open and beat it out of Kraven himself. But a voice came into the Velocity Suits coms.
"Almost out of time." Carol's voice said into his ear.
Peter shook his head and bared his teeth. He jumped up to the roof and snuck back out before the security system came back online.
"I just tripped and hit my face on the countertop." Miles explained. Ice held up to his eye that didn't look nearly as bad as it did the previous night. He realized that a day after the Kraven attack, he barley felt the bruises. He watched his black eye heal at a rapid rate and hoped it would be gone by the morning, but it was still a slight blue.
"Seriously Miles? How does your school get attacked by a super villain and you're fine, yet when you are home alone you go on and hurt yourself?" His mother asked.
Last night he was able to stay in the dark more since both his parents got off their late shifts. He was able to hide the bruise from the punch he took to the face. It was funny to him that he could hide the bruises from an insane hunter and not that of a few thugs going after his dream girl.
"Well, can we trust you not to kill yourself today or do I need to take a day off?" She asked.
"No, it's fine. I was being dumb and was dancing around all day. I will be more careful." He pleaded. Apparently, they needed more time to conduct the investigation on the school, so he was out of school until the rest of the week.
His mother sighed. "Be safe." She said and turned to walk out of the room. He waited for the door to close as she went out to work and he threw off the sheets that covered him. Under it he wore his Kid Arachnid suit and he practically bounced into his desk chair.
The night before he had done some late-night research on the grapple. An in-depth analysis showed traces of substances separate from the main material. He wasn't sure what it was just yet, but the reason he could pinpoint it was because it had an odd reaction to his electromagnetic field. He pulled out his Geiger counter, which measured levels of radiation and kept his microscope pulled in close. When moving his hands towards the rope, he observed a return of electricity.
In his gifted science mind, he knew this only meant one thing. Nuclear fusion. It was extremely hard to do at a safe level due to the heat that a fissile material needed to be heated to in order to absorb an additional electron, but his powers seemed a stable source. The only two fissile materials that could render this type of reaction in such a small quantity was uranium and plutonium. Both of which were used in nuclear plants.
Miles smiled as he raised his healing eye from the microscope and searched up the facility on his computer. A dormant nuclear plant that was adopted by a large company sat right in the heart of one of the biggest crime sectors. The only problem was the large company belonged to Wilson Fisk. He had just decided to run for mayor which meant Miles would be dealing with heightened media personnel and security. Although, nothing was going to stop him from finding Black Cat's base.
Miles pulled on his mask and jumped out into the light of day. He swung around in the air, grateful to have returned to the skies after a few days' hiatus. He spent his whole life on the ground, but once he got a taste of the air, he would never want to leave it.
He swung between the buildings at an almost leisure pace. He felt that he could've gone faster, but he wanted to make sure he didn't make a stupid mistake and fall to his death. Plus, he didn't mind the view.
Once arriving at the ominous side of town, he watched over the buildings while perched on the roof. The nuclear plant didn't look very industrial. Instead of the big cylinders that normally would be visible, it was instead a brick wall. They broke down most of the buildings once they stopped using it, but for now it was an abandoned warehouse like area.
Kid Arachnid turned invisible and made his way to the large facility. It wasn't hard to get in; the second window he checked pushed right open. It seemed to be the perfect place for a vigilante like Black Cat. Easy to get in and no real security needed since no one would have a reason to go inside.
Miles looked over the contents of the space. Empty floors with not many things out of place, but as he crawled to the middle of the room, he noticed a rope running down the center of the building. There were holes in the floor and the roof with the rope running down it. Miles assumed Black Cat used the rope to get quickly between floors in her own fun way, but Miles wasn't sure he trusted it.
He shot a web on the roof and lowered himself down right beside the rope. He was still invisible, but the slowly extending string of web was not. Kid Arachnid felt his mind buzz; he jumped from the web and onto solid ground. The alert knocked out his stealth and he stood in a crouched stance with both fists clenched. He looked to the web and saw it dangling with a clean-cut right through it.
"You could've knocked." Black Cat said leaning up against the back wall.
"I assumed you wouldn't answer." Kid Arachnid said, readying for a fight.
"Of course, I would have answered. I love having friends over." She said strutting her way to the other end of the room. Her tight suit stretched and hugged the curves of her body, they were so much easier to see in the light. She pulled out a throwing knife from the wall, she used it to cut the web.
"What makes you think we're friends?" Kid Arachnid shot a web at the woman since her back was turned to him. He landed the shot and pulled her towards him. She rolled to the ground and cut the web mid tumbled. He jumped into the air ready to pin her down, but she rolled again. She launched to her feet and then flipped backwards and onto the rope in the center of the room. She slid down it and vanished under the ground.
Miles jumped after her, diving down the hole. He watched her slide down the same material rope that he had pulled from her before. She hit the bottom floor and bolted. Miles grabbed at the floor just above the ground to slow his decent and then landed in a much less elegant tumble.
He assumed she left the building, but when he recovered, she jumped onto him. Her silence was enough to trick even his Spidey Sense. Her claws ejected from her glove and she placed the razor-sharp blade against his throat. She kicked at the back of his leg and he fell to his knees. She shot out the grapple from her wrist and used it to tie him up in a few seconds.
He was ready to shock her with an electric blast when she was grabbing him, but he held back. He had to start thinking smarter. When she thought she had him captured, she stepped back and looked down on him.
"Can't we just get along? I really don't want to hurt you." She admitted and retracted her claws.
"If I don't bring you in then you will hurt others." Kid Arachnid said, not struggling against the restraints.
"I haven't hurt anyone. I just steal whatever I'm told to steal. It pays the bills." She said begin to walk circles around him.
"I thought you said you stole from the rich and gave to the poor?" Kid Arachnid asked.
"I do. My boss points me to the rich and I'm the poor." She explained.
"But Wilson Fisk is one of the richest people in the world." Kid Arachnid said, smirking under his mask.
"How did you figure out I worked for him?" She asked, walking back into his vision.
"Lucky guess." Miles laughed slightly.
Black Cat sighed. "I don't want to work for him, but I don't have much of a choice. I'd much rather be running around on some playdates with you every night." She said, kneeling to his level.
"Sorry, I've already got someone else." Miles said, his mind only able to think of Sara in this moment.
Black Cat smiled for a moment, but then put on an overexaggerated pouty face. "How unfortunate. Do you think she would mind if I snuck a little taste?" She said batting her eyelashes and leaning in closer.
Miles tried to think of a witty comeback that Spider Man would say, but his streak of confidence was diminishing fast. He stayed silent, not wanting to show her how flustered he was.
"Pity." She said and then leaned over and kissed the mask. He felt the warmth of her lips through the shield; the way they found his under all the fabric.
"We should do this again." She winked before the grappled retracted quickly. The rope flung around his body and condensed back onto her wrist. She did a few flips on her way out the front door and then grappled up into the city skyline.
Miles debated chasing her, but he was still in a daze after the kiss. He didn't need to taste her lips to understand his desire to have them. But it wasn't worth it. Sara was better for him. She was real, Black Cat was only a fantasy.
Authors Note:
Well, it's been quite some time. I know I truly can't be sorry for having such a long break for if I was then the break wouldn't have happened. Had a lot to deal with and all the normal stuff you would hear from an author who seemingly abandoned a story, but I am hoping to finish this one off as I am proud of it. It took me a while to reread and rewrite some of my drafts for the next few chapters, but hopefully we are back on track.
I was hoping to continue writing more stories after I finish this one off, but no promises.
Enjoy reading!