Spider-Man : Hunted
part 5
Peter was sitting next to Mary Jane on her bed, staring off into space. Obviously deep in thought about the night's earlier happenings.
Mary Jane cupped Peter's face in her hands. " Don't worry about those people, Peter. " she said sympathetically. " They are probably just brainwashed by those trashy editorials Jonah Jameson writes in the Daily Bugle. "
Peter smiled a little, trying to hide his cynical expression. " You know I risk my life every day for these people. And this is the thanks I get? " He got up from the bed, pacing the room. " After what happened to my uncle Ben, I thought... " He paused, saddened by the memory of his uncle's death.
Mary Jane followed his pacing, tears welling up in her eyes.
" He died because of me, MJ. " a tear ran down Peter's cheek. " I could have stopped his killer before he even got close to him... "
Mary Jane sprang up from her bed and hugged him. " It wasn't your fault, Peter. "
" Yes, it was! " He exclaimed. " How is it not my fault? "
The young red head put her hands on her hips. " Anyone else would have done the same. "
" Well nobody else got these powers! " Peter exclaimed. A moment of silence passed, then he looked at his feet. " I'm sorry, M.J "
Mary Jane put her finger to his lips. " Sh. Don't think about it anymore. Just remember you've got your number one supporter right here. " She kissed him. Peter surrendered to the pleasure of her lips touching his. Until recently, it was something he had only fantisized about.
*****
Harry threw his jacket over the back of his leather couch. It had been a long day, he didn't even have time to attend the Oscorp charity ball. It was probably for the better, he decided. He knew that Peter and Mary Jane had attended. He wondered what they would think of his company's new project. Both of them were after all fans of Spider-Man.
He made his way through the large living room, and paused in front of the hallway mirror. Dark circles were under his brown eyes, evidence of his late nights, and his new... addiction. The young man moved the mirror aside, revealing behind it, a large safe. He entered the combination on a touch keypad, and the metallic door slid open with a mechanical whine.
He reached inside and smiled as he removed the items he sought. A packet of white powder, a razor and a straw. Cocaine.
Harry smiled broadly as he sniffed up the white powder from his coffee table. He felt energised. He looked at his reflection from across the room again. It was laughing. Laughing at him?
" What are you looking at!? " Harry bellowed at his reflection. He giggled to himself as he realised that expecting an answer from a mirror was insane. But then it happened. It replied.
" Apparently I'm looking at a poor Daddy's boy who spends all his time and money building toys to hurt Spider-Man. " It spat at him.
" Who are you? " Harry stammered.
Harry's vision became blurry. Harry closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids hard with his knuckles. When he opened them again, his father had replaced his own reflection.
" How could you, Harry!? " Norman Osborn exclaimed. " You deserted me when I needed you the most. "
" Father! " Harry burst out in tears. " That's not true, " he stammered. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
Norman's cruel expression stayed fixed on his son. " You depended on me to fix all your problems, didn't you? "
Harry dropped to his knees. " No. NO! "
" Why don't you be a man and take matters into your own hands for once? " His father said, snorting in disgust at the younger man. " You're weak. You've always been weak. "
" Shut up!! " Harry screamed, and flung an ashtray at the mirror. It shattered into hundreds of pieces. Harry looked at the broken shards, his father's image having left it. He shook his head, not believing what he had experienced. He rose to his feet again.
" Yes father, " he muttered to himself. " You were right all along. It's time to take things into my own hands. "
****
Jason Macendale poked the sleeping man, somewhat annoyed at the man's inability to stay focussed on the task at hand.
" Wake up, Smythe! "
The long haired man woke with a start. " No trace of Spider-Man today, Macendale. "
" How would you know, you could have been sleeping all day for all I know. " the businessman retorted.
Smythe shook his head. " Spider-Man will show up soon. And when he does, I'll be ready for him. "
" You'd better be, Professor. " Macendale folded his arms over his chest. " You'd better be. "
****
" This is Captain Stacy! " The policeman bellowed into his loudspeaker. " We have the entire building surrounded. Come on out with your hands up. "
In reply, the trapped man fired two shots into the air. " You'd better back off! " The man yelled. " I've got hostages! "
George Stacy gritted his teeth. " Then you'd better let them go before I come in there and kick your ass! " He shouted.
" I'm not kidding around, " the man yelled out of the 10th story window of the Daily Bugle. " I'll kill a hostage every ten minutes if you don't leave. "
The police captain turned to his men. " We'd better get a hostage negotiator, he said to a sergeant standing close by. " Radio Collins, and tell him to get over here. "
" Yes sir, " the sergeant replied and muttered his instructions into his radio.
The gunman was nervous. A nervous man armed with a firearm was not a good thing. " Don't you move!! " The man screamed at one of his hostages. The frightened man remained as still as possible. " Where is Ulrich?? " the captor demanded of his hostages. " Ben Ulrich! Where is he? I have a score to settle... "
The window behind the gunman shattered, and a red and blue clad figure smashed into his back. He man tumbled to the floor.
" Hiya Chuckles, " Spider-Man quipped. " Mind if I join the party? "
The fallen gunman turned over onto his back and aimed his gun at Spider-Man. The hero leaped up into the air, and clung to the ceiling as two shots went off. The wall crawler leaped back to the floor, kicked the weapon out of his opponent's hand and picked him up by the collar of his shirt, looking him in the eye.
" It's not nice to play with guns, " the hero said, waving a finger in front of the criminal's face. He attached a strand of webbing to the man's back and flung him from the window, screaming. " Bungee!!! " Spidey yelled as he yanked back on the webline, swinging the gunman to the ground, to the waiting police below.
As he clambered out the window, his spider-sense went off again. The tingling feeling at the back of his spine was warning him of danger. He crawled up the side of the newspaper building, to the roof. Taking a moment to scan his surroundings, his danger sense flared again. This time stronger. Before he could sense which direction the attack was coming from, Spider-Man was bowled over by a large metallic shape. He rolled across the rooftop, and leaped to his feet, clenching his fists.
A dog-type creature, with long canines and vicious spikes on its back was hunched down on its legs, ready to pounce on the hero again. A spider-slayer? They were actually going ahead with the project?
Spider-Man somersaulted right over the beast as it leaped at the hero again, it's teeth snapping visciously. Landing behind the robotic monstrocity, Spider-Man fired two strands of webbing at the machine, trying to tie it down. Within a split second, blades emerged from inside the creature and freed the slayer. Its glowing red eyes unnerved the hero, as it crawled to him, slower this time.
Spider-Man ran to the edge of the roof and hurled himself off it. He shot a webline to a nearby building and swung through the air, glancing over his shoulder to look at his attacker.
Captain Stacy looked up into the night sky to see Spider-Man, swinging from the Daily Bugle and another... thing, which leaped from the roof of the building right at the hero.
The Spider-Slayer collided with the hero in mid-air, slamming him into the side of another building. Peter grunted under his mask. The robot was strong. He swung his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the slayer's metallic canines snapping at his neck.
The two figures fell to the ground, rapidly. The spider slayer seemed to have no concern for its own wellbeing, it relentlessly clawed and snapped at the hero as they plummeted. Spider-Man turned himself in mid air and managed to kick the slayer away from him. Having some distance between them, he shot out a web at the side of a building and swung himself to safety. He clung to the side of the building and turned to look at the plummeting spider slayer.
The policemen on the street scattered to avoid the large metallic creature crashing to the street. With a mighty clang, the spider slayer hit the asphalt, cracking the pavement and street with its weight. Sparks flew from its damaged body, and it lashed out at everything in proximity.
Spider-Man leaped from the side of the building, landed on the creature's back and slammed his fist right through its skull. " Time to chill out, pal! " he hissed at the robot. Inside the robotic head, he scrambled his hand around, damaging the wiring that kept the robot going. Then, the spider slayer dropped to the floor, motionless.
" Well I'd better be off, " the hero said to the gathering police officers. " Hold it! " one officer ordered, but the hero ignored the command. He sprang over their heads, and was soon swinging away from the baffled police.
George Stacy studied the fallen robot, scratching his head. " Well, I guess the score is Spider-Man : 1 and Oscorp : 0, " he said to himself, kicking the metal body of the slayer. " Get the city council to clean this mess up, " he ordered his men. " Oscorp is gonna be in a heap of trouble if I get my way. "
part 5
Peter was sitting next to Mary Jane on her bed, staring off into space. Obviously deep in thought about the night's earlier happenings.
Mary Jane cupped Peter's face in her hands. " Don't worry about those people, Peter. " she said sympathetically. " They are probably just brainwashed by those trashy editorials Jonah Jameson writes in the Daily Bugle. "
Peter smiled a little, trying to hide his cynical expression. " You know I risk my life every day for these people. And this is the thanks I get? " He got up from the bed, pacing the room. " After what happened to my uncle Ben, I thought... " He paused, saddened by the memory of his uncle's death.
Mary Jane followed his pacing, tears welling up in her eyes.
" He died because of me, MJ. " a tear ran down Peter's cheek. " I could have stopped his killer before he even got close to him... "
Mary Jane sprang up from her bed and hugged him. " It wasn't your fault, Peter. "
" Yes, it was! " He exclaimed. " How is it not my fault? "
The young red head put her hands on her hips. " Anyone else would have done the same. "
" Well nobody else got these powers! " Peter exclaimed. A moment of silence passed, then he looked at his feet. " I'm sorry, M.J "
Mary Jane put her finger to his lips. " Sh. Don't think about it anymore. Just remember you've got your number one supporter right here. " She kissed him. Peter surrendered to the pleasure of her lips touching his. Until recently, it was something he had only fantisized about.
*****
Harry threw his jacket over the back of his leather couch. It had been a long day, he didn't even have time to attend the Oscorp charity ball. It was probably for the better, he decided. He knew that Peter and Mary Jane had attended. He wondered what they would think of his company's new project. Both of them were after all fans of Spider-Man.
He made his way through the large living room, and paused in front of the hallway mirror. Dark circles were under his brown eyes, evidence of his late nights, and his new... addiction. The young man moved the mirror aside, revealing behind it, a large safe. He entered the combination on a touch keypad, and the metallic door slid open with a mechanical whine.
He reached inside and smiled as he removed the items he sought. A packet of white powder, a razor and a straw. Cocaine.
Harry smiled broadly as he sniffed up the white powder from his coffee table. He felt energised. He looked at his reflection from across the room again. It was laughing. Laughing at him?
" What are you looking at!? " Harry bellowed at his reflection. He giggled to himself as he realised that expecting an answer from a mirror was insane. But then it happened. It replied.
" Apparently I'm looking at a poor Daddy's boy who spends all his time and money building toys to hurt Spider-Man. " It spat at him.
" Who are you? " Harry stammered.
Harry's vision became blurry. Harry closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids hard with his knuckles. When he opened them again, his father had replaced his own reflection.
" How could you, Harry!? " Norman Osborn exclaimed. " You deserted me when I needed you the most. "
" Father! " Harry burst out in tears. " That's not true, " he stammered. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
Norman's cruel expression stayed fixed on his son. " You depended on me to fix all your problems, didn't you? "
Harry dropped to his knees. " No. NO! "
" Why don't you be a man and take matters into your own hands for once? " His father said, snorting in disgust at the younger man. " You're weak. You've always been weak. "
" Shut up!! " Harry screamed, and flung an ashtray at the mirror. It shattered into hundreds of pieces. Harry looked at the broken shards, his father's image having left it. He shook his head, not believing what he had experienced. He rose to his feet again.
" Yes father, " he muttered to himself. " You were right all along. It's time to take things into my own hands. "
****
Jason Macendale poked the sleeping man, somewhat annoyed at the man's inability to stay focussed on the task at hand.
" Wake up, Smythe! "
The long haired man woke with a start. " No trace of Spider-Man today, Macendale. "
" How would you know, you could have been sleeping all day for all I know. " the businessman retorted.
Smythe shook his head. " Spider-Man will show up soon. And when he does, I'll be ready for him. "
" You'd better be, Professor. " Macendale folded his arms over his chest. " You'd better be. "
****
" This is Captain Stacy! " The policeman bellowed into his loudspeaker. " We have the entire building surrounded. Come on out with your hands up. "
In reply, the trapped man fired two shots into the air. " You'd better back off! " The man yelled. " I've got hostages! "
George Stacy gritted his teeth. " Then you'd better let them go before I come in there and kick your ass! " He shouted.
" I'm not kidding around, " the man yelled out of the 10th story window of the Daily Bugle. " I'll kill a hostage every ten minutes if you don't leave. "
The police captain turned to his men. " We'd better get a hostage negotiator, he said to a sergeant standing close by. " Radio Collins, and tell him to get over here. "
" Yes sir, " the sergeant replied and muttered his instructions into his radio.
The gunman was nervous. A nervous man armed with a firearm was not a good thing. " Don't you move!! " The man screamed at one of his hostages. The frightened man remained as still as possible. " Where is Ulrich?? " the captor demanded of his hostages. " Ben Ulrich! Where is he? I have a score to settle... "
The window behind the gunman shattered, and a red and blue clad figure smashed into his back. He man tumbled to the floor.
" Hiya Chuckles, " Spider-Man quipped. " Mind if I join the party? "
The fallen gunman turned over onto his back and aimed his gun at Spider-Man. The hero leaped up into the air, and clung to the ceiling as two shots went off. The wall crawler leaped back to the floor, kicked the weapon out of his opponent's hand and picked him up by the collar of his shirt, looking him in the eye.
" It's not nice to play with guns, " the hero said, waving a finger in front of the criminal's face. He attached a strand of webbing to the man's back and flung him from the window, screaming. " Bungee!!! " Spidey yelled as he yanked back on the webline, swinging the gunman to the ground, to the waiting police below.
As he clambered out the window, his spider-sense went off again. The tingling feeling at the back of his spine was warning him of danger. He crawled up the side of the newspaper building, to the roof. Taking a moment to scan his surroundings, his danger sense flared again. This time stronger. Before he could sense which direction the attack was coming from, Spider-Man was bowled over by a large metallic shape. He rolled across the rooftop, and leaped to his feet, clenching his fists.
A dog-type creature, with long canines and vicious spikes on its back was hunched down on its legs, ready to pounce on the hero again. A spider-slayer? They were actually going ahead with the project?
Spider-Man somersaulted right over the beast as it leaped at the hero again, it's teeth snapping visciously. Landing behind the robotic monstrocity, Spider-Man fired two strands of webbing at the machine, trying to tie it down. Within a split second, blades emerged from inside the creature and freed the slayer. Its glowing red eyes unnerved the hero, as it crawled to him, slower this time.
Spider-Man ran to the edge of the roof and hurled himself off it. He shot a webline to a nearby building and swung through the air, glancing over his shoulder to look at his attacker.
Captain Stacy looked up into the night sky to see Spider-Man, swinging from the Daily Bugle and another... thing, which leaped from the roof of the building right at the hero.
The Spider-Slayer collided with the hero in mid-air, slamming him into the side of another building. Peter grunted under his mask. The robot was strong. He swung his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the slayer's metallic canines snapping at his neck.
The two figures fell to the ground, rapidly. The spider slayer seemed to have no concern for its own wellbeing, it relentlessly clawed and snapped at the hero as they plummeted. Spider-Man turned himself in mid air and managed to kick the slayer away from him. Having some distance between them, he shot out a web at the side of a building and swung himself to safety. He clung to the side of the building and turned to look at the plummeting spider slayer.
The policemen on the street scattered to avoid the large metallic creature crashing to the street. With a mighty clang, the spider slayer hit the asphalt, cracking the pavement and street with its weight. Sparks flew from its damaged body, and it lashed out at everything in proximity.
Spider-Man leaped from the side of the building, landed on the creature's back and slammed his fist right through its skull. " Time to chill out, pal! " he hissed at the robot. Inside the robotic head, he scrambled his hand around, damaging the wiring that kept the robot going. Then, the spider slayer dropped to the floor, motionless.
" Well I'd better be off, " the hero said to the gathering police officers. " Hold it! " one officer ordered, but the hero ignored the command. He sprang over their heads, and was soon swinging away from the baffled police.
George Stacy studied the fallen robot, scratching his head. " Well, I guess the score is Spider-Man : 1 and Oscorp : 0, " he said to himself, kicking the metal body of the slayer. " Get the city council to clean this mess up, " he ordered his men. " Oscorp is gonna be in a heap of trouble if I get my way. "
