Spider-Man : Hunted

part 8


George Stacy shoved his way into Harry Osborn's office. He was shocked to learn how young the new owner of Oscorp really was. He couldn't be much older than 22, the police captain decided. Young Osborn looked like hell. He had dark rings under his eyes, a 3 day stubble beard, his clothes were ruffled and dirty, and he looked like he hadn't taken a shower in at least 3 days.

" Captain Stacy, " Harry greeted the policeman as he stormed into the young CEO's office.

" Your Spider-Slayer campaign has to stop. " The policeman looked grim.

Harry sighed. " It's out of my hands, Captain. There are more people than just me involved. "

" It's attempted murder, Osborn. Spider-Man might have super powers, but he's a human being. "

" How can you be so sure? " Harry's dark brown eyes narrowed. " For all we know, he's a mutant. And you know the government's position on mutants. "

Stacy frowned. He knew all too well of the government's stance on the mutant population of New York. There were several projects in the works for the detection and destruction of any and all Homo Superiors, as they were known by the science community.

Harry flopped down a file in front of Captain Stacy. " This is Oscorp's next project. We are to mass produce robots, based on our Spider-Slayer designs, for the elimination of mutants. "

Stacy picked up the folder, marked " Sentinal Program " and flipped through the papers. His hands were tied. There was nothing he could do to stop the madness. " Several of my men were endangered by one of your things, " he spat as he flung the folder back at Harry.

" That was Spider-Man's doing. " The youth defended himself. " He caused the device to malfunction, thus leading to the scenario you're telling me about now. "

George sighed. The kid had done his homework. Sure, he didn't look like much, but he had his father's cunning. Harry had covered every angle.

" Now, if you don't mind, Captain Stacy. I intend heading home for a night's rest, if there's nothing else. "

The police captain rose to his feet slowly, thinking things over once more. Without a word, he left the young businessman's office.

A smile crossed Harry's lips. Nothing could stop the Spider-Slayer project. He had the backing of the public, and the go-ahead from the government. He would soon have his revenge.

A sinister voice interrupted his thoughts. " Revenge. " It hissed, sending a shiver down the young man's spine.

*****

Silently, a black figure lowered itself to the floor of the museum. He looked around, making sure no security personnel would spot him. Without making a sound, he crossed the floor of the display area, and stopped a few meteres away from the central display case. Reaching into his bag, he removed a cylindrical metallic object, set it down on the floor, and pressed a switch on the side of the device. It came to life, illuminating the room in a blueish - green light, which revealed several red lasers criss crossing the floor of the display area.

" Ah, I thought so... " The masked black figure whispered to himself. He reached into his bag again, and removed a grappling hook. Aiming at the far end of the room, he shot the line into the wall, and shot the other end of the line into the wall behind him. Using a winch-like attachment, the man hoisted himself into the air, and travelled to the display case in the middle of the room, hanging upside down. " The Mask of Amon Ra... " The man mused to himself as he lowered himself to the artifact within its glass casing. He extended a gloved hand to lift the glass cover off the precious item, when something skittled across the floor, its metallic legs making odd clicking noises. " What the hell!? " The masked robber exclaimed, startled by the sudden movement.

He activated his infrared goggles, and searched frantically for the creature which had run past. Then he saw it. A robotic spider. It moved again, right to the centre of the room, where the mask was. The robot crossed one of the laser sensors and triggered the alarm. " Damn you!! " The catburglar spat at the robot. He ripped the glass cover off the stand of the display case and grabbed the egyptian mask. Shoving it into his backpack, he detached his safety wire from one wall, swinging to the other side of the room.

A security guard came running into the room, armed only with a nightstick. " Hey! " The security man called, seeing the burglar making his escape. Behind his black mask, the robber grinned. He was home free. He ran to the nearest window, smashed it with his elbow, peeked outside and fired a grappling line to the roof of the museum. He used his winch to propel him to the roof. As he clambered over the side of the roof, a red boot stepped into his view. He looked up, and cursed silently as he realised he was in deep trouble.

" Spider-Man... " the hero yanked the black clad robber up to eye level. " You know Spanky, I thought I was the only masked man climbing walls in New York. " The hero joked. Suddenly distacted, Spider-Man jerked his head to the side. His spider-sense was warning him of something. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a metallic spider, scurrying away from the hero.

Seeing his chance, the burglar kicked out at the hero, freeing himself from the wall crawler's grip. He broke into a run, crossing the roof of the building in a hurry.

" Hey wait up, Spanky! " Spider-Man called after the fleeing robber. " We haven't finished our conversation yet. " He bounded up into the air, and shot a webline which attached itself to a higher building. Just as he was about to release the line at the apex of his swing, and pounce upon the escaping criminal, the hero was knocked out of the air by a heavy metal object.

He grunted as he fell to the surface of the roof, rolling over to avoid a steel claw. " Ugh... these things sure don't waste time travelling. " The hero muttered to himself. The new Spider-Slayer snapped its jaws in response. Spider-Man lashed out at the robot with a mighty uppercut, forcing the steel creature into a backwards somersault. With a mighty clang, it crashed to the floor, sparks flying as its bulk scraped along the surface.

Spider-Man was able to shoot a web at the robber just as he was about to shoot his own grappling hook at the closest building to make his escape. The burglar fell over at the force of the shot, webbed solidly to the roof. " Stick around, Spanky... " Spider-Man started. His sentence was interrupted once again by the killer robot. Its lifeless eyes flashed bright red, and emitted a blast of heat - aimed directly at the hero's chest. Spider-Man flipped in mid air, twisting to avoid the blast. He felt its searing heat barely scraping by his back.

" You sure don't play nicely, pal... " He muttered at the robot. " What am I doing! " He exclaimed. " Talking to a tin can. "

The spider-slayer once again leaped at him, claws and teeth flashing. Spider-Man caught the robot in mid air, rolled onto his back, using the momentum to fling the robot. Its metal body screetched along the surface of the room, causing Peter to grit his teeth underneath his mask. " Man I hate that sound, " he said, more to himself than anyone else.

When he saw the creature get to its feet again, he took to the skies, swinging away from the museum, trying to lure the robot to a more secluded area. The beast leaped right after the hero, and as it travelled through the air, wings protruded from its cold steel back.

" Oh no! This one can fly!? " Spider-Man quickened his swinging, narrowly avoiding the side of a skyscraper. The robot followed its target with deadly precision. A red hot blast emitted from the robot's eyes, severing the wallcrawler's webline. Spider-Man propelled himself to the side of a nearby building, and using his clinging ability, held onto the wall to stop his plummet. Using his vantage point, the hero spun two strands of webbing at the approaching slayer. The webbing hit the robot's body, and Spider-Man held on for dear life. Being persued by its target seemed to confuse the slayer. It spun and twisted in mid-air, determined to shake the hero off. Using the momentum, Spider-Man swung around the robot, and clung onto the bird - like machine's back. He wrapped his arms around the creature's throat, and yanked back, extending his legs to their fullest. With another mechanical whine, the creature's head was pulled clean off its body, the wires in the neck exposed and flaring with live electricity.

Spider-Man leaped off the back of the beheaded spider-slayer and clung to the side of the closest building. As the destroyed robot plummeted to the street, the hero shot two more strands of webbing at it, stopping its fall. He climbed to the roof of the building, dragging the lifeless robot with him, and left it right there. " Oscorp can clean up its own mess. "