Of Birds and Hunters
The sequel to Severing Ties
Summary: The rollar coaster of leaving home has finally come to a halt, and Peter Parker is left scarred and in emotional turmoil. A best friend he thinks he loves doesn't help, and new problems arise as tempers flare, cruelty reaches new heights, and a certain concept is proven wrong.
Chapter 1: Jackie Salvani Was Just a Bit Weird
It had been a month since Phoenix's containment. Peter didn't like admitting that he was still grieving over MJ. Jackie had understood, and didn't question.
Phoenix was kept in one of the secret rooms in Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Children. More than once, Scott went missing, only to be found in that room, gazing at Phoenix.
"It's not Jean, anymore," Xavier had told him.
"I know," Scott replied solemnly. It was then he thanked God for his visor, and no one could see him cry.
It was a month after Phoenix's containment that Scott noticed something odd. The shell around Phoenix had started to crack.
Someone, somewhere, was deep in the jungles of South America, learning from the many witchdoctors of potions and elixirs that would increase power and stamina. This person was named Aloysha Kravinov, and his aristocratic family wasn't quite so aristocratic any more. He crossed the wild jungles in search of something to restore his family's lost nobility, and had taken up hunting.
Eventually, Aloysha knew that the animals of the South American jungles were just too easy. Remembering his life's experiences, he wondered what he could possibly hunt that would be a challenge.
His memory reached a time in New York. On one of his family's vacations, a few years ago, they stopped in New York for a spell. There, Aloysha had decided to take a walk by himself, something no one should do in New York if down dark alleys.
Surprised by a group of men who wanted to mug him, he backed himself into a corner, and was stuck. Then he saw, one by one, the men were being thrown off. He looked up and saw a red and blue figure.
"Are you all right?" the figure asked.
"Yes. Yes. Thank you very much," Aloysha managed. "Who are you?"
"Just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." With that, Spider-Man had swung away on white ropes, and let out a "WAHOO!" as he almost jumped from rope to rope.
Interesting. A man with the abilities of a spider. If I had his head on my wall that would be a huge accomplishment, he told himself, nodding with satisfaction.
But he's a human being, another voice argued. That would be cold-blooded murder.
No, he's not. No human being can spin webs. I've been murdering animals all this time. That's all he is. Another animal.
As he devoured potion after potion, his mind started warping. What are these things flying at me? His axes were out in a flash, trying to get the things away from him. He didn't realize that they were only trees. He started to see things that weren't really there.
Now, everywhere Aloysha looked, there was the bug boy. He turned around, and staring him straight in the face were those white, pointed eyes. If he went anywhere, he felt the wall-crawler following him. Nerves on fire already from the many elixirs he consumed, he jumped at the slightest movement.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed into the jungle.
"I will, if you find me," his vision laughed at him.
That's when Aloysha started hacking away at anything that moved. "GO AWAY!" he roared.
"Come, find me. Destroy me, and I'll leave you in peace."
Peter Parker jerked awake, bathed in sweat. His breathing was labored, and his eyes were frantically looking for an intruder in the hotel room. He looked to the bed next to his. He calmed down somewhat. There she was. The girl he'd found himself falling in love with in such a short time. Jackie Salvani. That wasn't her real name, but that was how Peter would always think of her.
After everything that had happened, Peter couldn't think of anyone else—besides himself, of course—who needed a bigger break from mutants and villains than Jackie. He'd heard about the chilling experiences she had with the mutant Triotrite, and a firsthand account of her battle with Phoenix. As Peter took long, steadying breaths, he remembered why he woke up so suddenly.
He'd had a terrifying dream about a madman who wanted to kill him. Hunt me, more like, Peter mused. He shook his head and got up for the bathroom. As his bed creaked, he winced as he saw Jackie stir.
"Wassamatter?" she mumbled into her pillow.
"Nothing, Jackie. Go back to sleep," he assured.
"Liar." Even in her sleep, she was perceptive. She sat up and looked at him, eyes half open. "What woke you up?" she asked, voice groggy from sleep. Her eyes closed as she succumbed to a large yawn.
"It was nothing." He stood up and entered the bathroom.
"I can tell you're not telling me the truth," he heard from outside. He turned on the tap and cupped his hands. When they were full of cold water, he splashed his face.
"I can find out the hard way," Jackie threatened as he walked out.
"The hard way?" Peter repeated in a disbelieving tone.
"Okay, it's actually the easy way. But it includes invading your privacy. I didn't want to do it unless necessary," she explained.
"I just had a nightmare," he shrugged.
"About what? Goblin?"
"Jackie, as close as you and I are, I seriously doubt we share nightmares," he jokingly shot.
Jackie made a face. "You try getting thrown off a building, see if you like it!"
"I probably wouldn't mind it at all."
"Oh yeah…forgot. You're Spider-Guy."
"Spider-Man," Peter corrected.
"Spider-Man…Spider-Guy…Eight-legged f-f-" She had to pause for a yawn. "Eight-Legged Freak…whatever. It's all the same."
"Eight-Legged Freak? I don't have eight legs."
"You might have come very close to having them…I can see it now, Spi Ock. Spider-Octopus." Jackie was thrown into a fit of giggles at her own joke. "Try hiding THOSE every day!"
In actuality, Peter didn't find 'Spider-Octopus' funny. He figured it was just Jackie's odd way of dealing with getting up. Most people were cranky in the morning. Some were unusually chipper. Jackie Salvani was just a bit weird.
(A/N: Welcome to the awaited sequel for Severing Ties! So glad you could make it. Be warned, this story moves a tiny bit faster, and the POV changes many times a chapter, and usually without warning. But life goes on. I want to thank all those who reviewed Severing Ties for the very last time.
Oddball91: It did take you a bit of time to finally read that last chapter, didn't it? Life goes on, in a very fast way! Things are fine between me n Nikki, now, so no worries. Note that the stories that end up here will never be published in book form, unless Stan Lee reads this and steals my ideas, which he can't because I use villains he's already used and this is movie verse so it just won't work and I'll stop rambling now…;-) thanks bunches for the review, and I hope you enjoy the sequel! Yay! Friends and sisters 4evr!
Darth Zelda: I'm thrilled you loved the story. Wait no longer! Here it as! In the summary, it says that cruelty reaches new heights so be prepared! Thank you for reviewing Severing Ties so many times throughout the months!
Mary Jane Watson-Parker: No! Don't die! I've already killed you once! Lol! Here's the sequel, and thanks for reviewing Severing Ties. You've been there since the beginning, and that's cool! :-D
Bumblebee, Hickory Dickory, Winkerbean, 57one, and clickity (whom I suspect to be the same person): I'm sorry you don't like Jackie, but, guess what, she's important to my story, and it's my story so I'm writing what I want. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you've stuck with the story even though you didn't like Jackie.