Peter locked eyes with his opponent. One thing was immediately obvious: Kraven was bloodthirsty, perhaps worse than before. There was an anger, a darkness in his eyes like nothing he had noticed in their previous encounters. The man then charged him, and Peter locked arms with him as the man pushed him through the door of a building with such force that it tore it off its hinges. Once they were out of sight of potential onlookers from the alley, he squared up, hardening his stance to cease their momentum before momentarily tossing Kraven aside.
Looking around, Peter then took off, hoping to find a place where he could quickly strip off his outer clothing in favor of his Spider-Man suit. The ground level floor of the building seemed to be unoccupied, but that didn't mean the rest of the building was the same. It may have been past conventional closing times, but it was New York after all; people worked late all the time. He couldn't afford to have someone see him fighting someone superhuman as Peter Parker. If someone's life was in danger, he would do what was necessary to save their life, but if he could, he would protect his secret.
Kraven didn't make it easy on him though, pursuing him relentlessly. Making sure nobody else was around, Peter turned and shot several webs along the walls, forming a thick barricade that blocked his opponent's path. It would only be a temporary solution, but Peter hoped it would by him the time he needed. He didn't look back any longer than he had to; as soon as the large web was complete, he turned and continued running.
Eventually, he found a bathroom. Ducking inside, he quickly stripped off his clothes and slipped on his mask. He then hopped into the ventilation system, intent on avoiding the security cameras catching him going into the men's room as Peter and exiting as Spider-Man. He quickly retraced his steps, peering through every spot he could and listening where possible. Kraven had clearly settled down a little after his initially crazed ambush attempt, as even with his enhanced hearing Peter still had difficulty finding him. He eventually popped back out of the shaft and onto the floor, landing gingerly on his toes and fingers in a crouched position.
"Uhm, hello?" he spoke up, deciding on a bolder approach. "Any psychotic Russian jungle men nearb..."
His spider sense got his attention just in time for him to flip out of the way as his opponent came after him again.
"Ah, there you are!" Peter observed. The man came after him again, swinging at him with everything he had. Despite his intensity, a proper look at the guy was all Peter needed to see that Kraven was still not fully recovered from their last encounter. His moves weren't quite as fluid and he seemed to favor using almost exclusively one arm to strike, grimacing in the rare occasions he used the other.
Wanting to take the fight somewhere a bit more private, Peter performed a quick spin kick, sending Kraven flying out a nearby window and crashing onto the ground.
"Look, can we talk about this?" Peter said as he stepped out of the building. "You're obviously not yourse..."
The man let out an angry yell as he forced himself up and came at him again. Easily avoiding his opponent's increasingly sloppier attacks, Peter grabbed him, spinning and almost casually discarding him against the wall.
"Dude, stop!" Peter exclaimed. "No offense, but isn't it kind of obvious by now that you're not going to win?"
"Then I will die FIGHTING!" Kraven yelled back as he struggled to get up. Once on his feet, he came at Peter again, who simply grabbed his first attempt at punch, stopping it cleanly in his gloved hand. He looked into the eyes of his opponent, who was struggling against the firm grip he had on his hand. Whereas even a day ago he would've still felt nothing but anger towards the man, Peter now almost felt pity for him.
Almost.
Clutching his fist, he delivered a powerful uppercut to Kraven's chin, sending him flying upward. Quickly leaping up after him, he then somersaulted in midair before delivering a powerful kick. His opponent slammed against the side of a ventilation unit; Peter quickly shot a couple of thicker webs, binding the man's wrists against it. He walked up to him as he struggled and fought against his bonds.
"Yeah, you're not getting out of those so easily," Peter explained as he stopped just a few feet from his opponent. "That's my most updated web formula yet."
Kraven just looked up at him with nothing but hatred and disgust, lightly baring his teeth at him almost like a wild animal. Peter came over to the man's side and squatted down.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Why is killing me so important to you?"
"You haven't been paying attention," Kraven replied in disgust.
"No, I have," Peter countered. "I've heard your whole thing about how you're some great hunter who can't find a real challenge anymore, blah blah blah. Do you really have nothing else that makes your life worth living other than taking it from other things?"
"I'm a predator," Kraven said.
"You're a person," Peter argued.
"Same thing," his opponent insisted. "We are no different than the great beasts of the world. We fight, we take, and we kill. The only difference is that humans try to fight the natural order; establish 'justice' and maintain a peaceful society,' but mankind's true nature always wins out in the end. We claim territory and possessions through violence and death. When I first discovered this, I was angry, and I abandoned society. After spending enough time among the wild things of the world, I came to realize that it is not our fault. It is simply the way nature intended it to be. You and everyone else is simply in denial of that."
Peter took a few moments to ponder what his opponent was saying. He then removed his mask, so he could look Kraven in the eye, man to man.
"You're wrong," he said. "Well, not necessarily about how we can be violent and do terrible things to each other, sometimes over the dumbest things, but we have an ability that no other creature has, at least not in the same way."
"What's that?" Kraven said, his tone seemingly one of only feign curiosity.
"Love," Peter answered. "Sometimes it's easy forget, and even easier to lose, but when it is prevalent in our lives, it's the most powerful thing there is. It's because I love that woman that I came after you so hard."
"No, it wasn't love," Kraven scoffed, "it was the same desire as any beast's: to protect your territory, to hold onto your own. Do you really think that, if your situations were reversed, she would do the same for you? She's just the like the powerless females in any given herd: always relying on the male to save her."
"Wow," Peter said, "first of all, that is INCREDIBLY sexist, and second, have you seriously never heard of a female Praying Mantis eating its mate's head off after the honeymoon? Actually, I really don't advise it; it's kind of disgusting. Oh, and for the record, Mary Jane Watson is the strongest person that I know, and she would do anything for the people she cares about. You are right about one thing though: I do want to protect her. I've lost people close to be before, and it hurts worse than any physical pain out there, and trust me, I've felt quite a lot of that too. In the end though, even despite the pain, it's always worth it."
Peter then stood up, slipping his mask back on.
"You know," he spoke up, "more than anything, I honestly just pity you now. You have such a bleak, terrible view of people that you don't realize what you're missing out on. Again, we can be pretty terrible sometimes, but there's a lot of good too. I guess you just have to be willing to look for it. Maybe you'll get that opportunity..."
Peter shot a web, attaching it to a nearby building.
"...in fifteen to twenty years."
He then yanked himself forward, swinging off.
Kraven struggled against his bonds as he watched Spider-Man swing away, but it was pointless. The harder he struggled, the more it seemed like his bonds grew tighter. It seemed they had lived up to Spider-Man's word. He couldn't just give up though; he had to find a way out of...
He suddenly thought he heard something. Giving up on his struggling, Kraven listened, eventually hearing what sounded like some kind of machine running nearby, one that was getting closer. As it drew near, it sounded bigger and bigger with each passing second. Finally, his suspicions were confirmed, as a large metallic appendage grappled onto the edge of the wall nearby, the rest of its form being lifted up as a result. It came over to him, remaining silent at first, eventually lifting one of its "arms."
"Apologies, my friend," a voice came from the machine as a blade emerged from the end of its appendage. It then sliced through the webbing, releasing him.
"It seems that our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man wasn't so friendly to you," the voice inside the machine continued. "Perhaps you might be willing to tell me where he is? I can make sure he receives what he deserves on your behalf."
Kraven just stared at the metal form in front of him. Why was the individual controlling this thing interested in helping him out of nowhere?
"I am grateful for your help," he assured whoever it was that he was really speaking to, "but Spider-Man dies by my hand."
"Come on," the voice replied, "don't tell me that I went through all this trouble of building this thing for nothing? Let me help you man."
"No," Kraven insisted, his voice sterner this time. "Spider-Man belongs to me."
He tried to walk away when suddenly the machine grabbed him by the throat, shoving him back where he'd been pinned before.
"Forgive me, I wasn't very clear before," the voice growled at him, "the asking was more of a courtesy than anything else. Now, either you tell me where he is, or I snap your neck like a twig. "What's it going to be, my friend?"
Peter had made it about ten blocks away when the police radio in his mask came in with a report: a large machine had been sighted in the area, not too far from where he had been dealing with Kraven just a couple of minutes earlier. He immediately made a hard U-turn, heading back in the direction. It seemed that today might be his lucky day after all; it wasn't too often he had an opportunity to handle not just one but two problematic individuals in a single day.
It didn't take him long to catch sight of the machine, so he arched his web, launching himself upward and landing on a higher spot, allowing him to overlook and properly assess the situation. What he found was certainly not what he'd expected: Kraven had apparently been freed by the Spider slayer, only for it now to be tossing him around like a ragdoll before picking him back up again. Smythe must have assumed that Kraven would cooperate and point him in the right direction, which was clearly not happening. Granted, it was probably because the man wanted to finish him off himself, but still, it counted for something, right?
The large machine slammed Kraven against a wall, something resembling either a hand or a pincher at his throat while another one was drawn back, a blade unsheathing itself. Realizing that he was out of time, Peter lunged downward, coming between Kraven and the spider slayer just as the blade was about to be driven in. He barely got in front of it in time, grabbing it with both hands.
"There you are," came a voice out of the machine, "just the superhero I was looking for."
"Smythe?" Peter questioned. "Look man, if you wanted an autograph, all you had to do was ask."
He forced back the appendage with the blade, the rest of the robot barely moving. Peter turned momentarily to Kraven, who had a rather perplexed expression on his face.
"You good?" Peter asked. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to get an answer, his spider sense reminding him of the ever-present threat in front of him. The machine tried to stab at him again; he grabbed the arm again, shoving it to the side. He then leapt off it, intending to lure the fight somewhere else. However, the slayer caught him by the leg before he could swing off, tossing him like a ragdoll and sending him tumbling onto a nearby rooftop. Quickly recovering, he stood up as Smythe's machine met him.
"Have to admit, I liked your other designs better," Peter insisted. "At least those were somewhat original; this one looks like you just took the design from that machine off the Incredibles, miniaturized it and tried to change just enough so I wouldn't notice."
"You really are as annoying as they say," Smythe replied, two of the legs shooting at Peter, who dodged them relatively easily.
"That's because criminals have no sense of humor," Peter countered, landing on a nearby wall. "Also, what made you actually decide to join the party this time?"
"Because I realized that was my mistake the previous two times," Smythe replied. "I was overdependent on these things running themselves that I failed to realize what they were missing: the human element. Now, with this thing's capabilities and my brain, we will finally accomplish what we've intended from the start: killing you."
Peter continued backflipping and dodging to avoid multiple attacks as they traversed from rooftop to rooftop, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
"Do you have any idea how many times I've heard something like that before?" he asked. "Also, who is this 'we' that you keep mentioning?"
"Doesn't matter," Smythe answered. "At least, it won't matter for you here in a minute."
Smythe then sent one of the other arms after Peter, who leapt towards it. Grabbing it, he used it to increase his own momentum and deliver a powerful kick to the machine, knocking it down. He immediately leapt again, intending to keep it down while it was, only this time he wasn't fast enough when another one of the arms suddenly launched forward, his spider sense warning him too late. It wrapped its arms around his body, squeezing tightly.
"After you decimated my last one, I made sure to reinforce this one much, much more," Smythe bragged, the machine righting itself so that it stood upright once more. "You won't be breaking out this time."
One of the other legs produced a knife again as Peter struggled against the grip of the arm. It was no use though, and the blade rose, the arm arching back to deliver the final blow. It was about to launch forward when, out of nowhere, Kraven landed on top of the machine, stabbing at it with his blade. It didn't do any real damage, but it must have distracted Smythe, as he felt the arm's grip around him loosening slightly. He watched as one of the other arms grabbed Kraven and tossed him aside. Taking advantage of the distraction, Peter managed to slide out from his bonds, rushing over to Kraven.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"No," Kraven replied. "No I'm not."
Peter glanced back, observing as Smythe's machine approached. He grabbed Kraven, moving him over a few rooftops and setting him back down. He wanted to ask why he'd done that, but that conversation would have to wait.
"Stay here," he instructed, "I'm going to try and..."
His spider sense going off again, Peter leapt out of the way, swinging off as Smythe pursued him in the slayer. His intent was to lure him to a junkyard not too far from their present location. He figured if he could do that, then not only would they be away from any civilians, but he could also have something to throw back at this thing and actually do some damage.
Unfortunately, they hadn't gotten too far when Peter noticed some debris from one of the slayer's attempts at grabbing him sending a large sign crashing towards an older woman using a cane below. Quickly shooting another web to change direction, he swooped down and scooped her out of harm's way, trying to be gentle as he set her down.
"You okay ma'am?" he asked her.
"What?" the woman shouted out. Trusting she was okay, Peter turned to find that Smythe had blocked his way to the junkyard. The slayer then appeared to turn its attention to other nearby bystanders, shooting an arm out and sending more debris headed their way. Seeing they would be unable to get out in time, Peter hurried over, stopping it with his bare hands to give them time to get away.
"Go, GO!" he urged them. Right as they did so, one of the other arms grabbed him by his chest, drawing him close.
"No more," Smythe said. The arm then proceeded to slam Peter down against the top of a truck repeatedly, knocking the wind out of him. Each hit seemed to sap more and more will from him. Finally, Smythe raised him back up, preparing to deal the killing blow again. Peter was hurting and almost delirious from the repeated hard impacts he'd just endured, but he was awake enough to know what was coming: his end.
Before the final blow could be struck, however, Peter heard a banging sound coming from below them. He initially assumed that it was Kraven jumping into the fray once more, but when he looked down, he saw that it was not the hunter: it was Mary Jane. She was wielding a baseball bat, banging relentlessly against one of the legs of the machine.
Peter was suddenly tossed aside, the machine turning its attention toward M.J. Peter watched in horror as the slayer scooped her up in one of its appendages, the concerned look visible on his girlfriend's face.
He couldn't let this happen.
Adrenaline flowing through his veins, Peter felt renewed strength as he burst forward, delivering a powerful kick even harder than the last one to the back of the machine, causing it to drop Mary Jane. He quickly caught her, setting her back down before turning his attention back to the machine. He looked back at the truck that he'd been smashed into, webbing it over to himself. He took it and rushed towards the slayer, slamming it as hard as he could before it could properly get up. He proceeded to repeatedly slam it into the machine, refusing to so much as let it move.
Once it was obvious that he'd dealt significant damage, Peter discarded the truck, tossing it aside. He then reached down into the robot's midsection, slowly tearing it open with his hands as it short-circuited. He could now see Smythe, who cowered within. Reaching inside, Peter grabbed the man by his shirt and yanked him out, the man protesting as he did.
"So, what do you think?" Peter asked, holding the man up to him so that their faces were inches apart. "Want to try a round or two without the suit?"
Smythe just shook his head, terrified.
"Hmm, too bad," Peter said, an undercurrent of anger still in his tone. "Sounded fun to me."
He then proceeded to web Smythe up tightly and leave him for the police, who'd just arrived at the scene. Peter shot a glance in M.J.'s direction before swinging off. He made his way back to the building he'd left Kraven at, only to somehow not be all that surprised to find that he'd disappeared. It was tempting to try and pick up his trail, but now he was also battered and bruised, so he thought it wiser to wait and recover. Besides, the man had saved his life, so who knew, maybe he was turning over a new leaf?
He wasn't saying he actually BELIEVED that, but he'd seen enough to know that anything was possible.
Peter had just finished bandaging himself up when he heard a knock at his door. He slid his shirt back on and went to answer, finding M.J. on the other side, who slid herself in.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied. "You know, nothing I haven't dealt with before. Also, I thought I told you to run earlier."
"Are you complaining?" she questioned.
Peter let out a light snort.
"I guess not."
"I know I should have," she said, "but I just felt like I had to do something, and seeing you in the arms of that machine, I just...I knew that I couldn't do much. I guess I just thought that if I could distract him long enough, it would buy you the time that you needed."
"Well, it worked," Peter pointed out. "I'm just glad we're both okay."
"Amen to that," Mary Jane replied, moving in for a hug from his side. Peter put his arm around her, reciprocating the gesture. He was still a little sore in almost the exact area she was pressed against, but he managed to hold in his discomfort for the duration of the hug.
"Also, I just wanted to say that I'm glad you told me everything that you did earlier," Mary Jane added. "It was a lot, but I'm glad that I know now. I want you to feel like you can be open with me, even about the dark stuff like that."
Peter nodded.
"I just feel lucky that you didn't run away," he confessed. "I was worried that knowing all that stuff might push you away for good."
M.J. looked at him, a big smile on her face as she casually rubbed her hand along the top of his arm.
"I'm not going anywhere," she assured him.
He just smiled back at her; man, what had he done to ever deser...
Then it hit him, what he'd decided he would finally do tonight before all the craziness went down...
"What?" M.J. asked.
Peter held up his pointer fingers as he backed in the direction of his room.
"J-just a second," he said. He then ran to his room, grabbed the ring and returned, keeping it clenched in his right hand.
"Listen, M.J, I uh..." Peter struggled to get his words out. "Oh, whatever; I had a whole speech planned, but I think you'll get the point. Besides, who knows when we might get interrupted again."
He then opened his hand, revealing the ring to her. She covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide.
"Mary Jane Watson," he began, "I love you. Will you mar..."
He was prevented from finishing by her suddenly pressing her lips against his with seemingly all her might, taking his face in her hands.
"Of course I will, Tiger," she assured him. An unexpected wave of relief washed over him; she held out her hand, and he slid the ring on her finger.
"Wait," he said, a realzation suddenly dawning on him. "Did I even kneel? Okay, we need to do that again; I need to do it righ..."
Once again, M.J. shut him up with a kiss. It seemed to be a habit of hers, though Peter certainly wasn't one to complain about it.
"When has our relationship ever been normal anyway?" she asked.
She was right, he didn't need to focus on specifics. What mattered was that he and Mary Jane Watson were engaged and would one day be husband and wife.
What mattered was that this was the happiest moment of Peter Parker's entire life.
One more chapter to go!
Thank you once more to all who've followed along and supported me!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." Romans 12:3