Act IV (Part 2)
Kraven starts to gear up, gathering his weapons one-by-one. He gets outside of the base and starts running faster than ever as fast as a lion.
He leaps side-to-side on walls with his feet to reach to the top of the roof. From there, he runs and jumps off rooftops. As he runs and stops he sniffs for direction to find where Spider-Man is.
"The hunt has now begun, spider..." Kraven states firmly.
Betty meets with Ned and MJ at same place outside of the restaurant and sits down on one of the seats.
"Hey, guys. Where's Peter?" She asks before realizing it was a stupid question.
"Right, stupid question," Betty self-realizes.
Ned chuckled at this as they just casually talked about anything ranging from college, semesters, opinions and theories on Star Wars although that was only Ned, which he stopped doing cause the girls weren't interested in it as much.
"Speaking of which... are you gonna quit the Bugle?" MJ asks casually.
"I really cannot... despite going to a STEM school, I was worried about not having experience and besides I kinda need money to pay tuition cause my parents aren't going to pay for it," Betty says sadly, while also determined.
"I see... and you don't think you can get another job?" MJ asks again.
"Do you know how hard it is to find a new job post-Blip? Everyone has been struggling to get homes and you know the new Captain America has been trying to his best to get everything in order for everyone in America," Betty remarked.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. However, the government doesn't have the best history with heroes..." MJ also remarked, remembering how the Avengers first broke up with their civil war in Germany.
"You're talking about the Accords?" Ned asks.
"Yeah, it's crappy legislation and wasn't the government overrun by HYDRA a few years ago," MJ remarks again remembering simpler times researching why the government was corrupt with the Avengers.
"How do you know all of this?" Ned asked.
"The files released online by SHIELD. Exposed everything actually." MJ replies, smirking a bit knowing exactly what to show her two friends.
"Well there's that and I listen to Ant-Man's podcast," Betty said.
Ned and MJ stared at her as Betty raised her hands up, "What?"
"Nothing, it's just we never took you as a podcast person," MJ commented.
"I'm not, but Ant-Man's podcast has been helpful in letting people what's been going on in the hero community. And plus he's pretty funny and charming," Betty said while remembering and chuckling at some of the jokes Scott Lang makes in podcast.
"Although for whatever everyone thinks Ant-Man is Spider-Man," Betty laughed.
Ned and MJ also laughed at that. "I guess Peter's got a bug brother," Ned said while trying to contain his laughter.
"Spiders are arachnids, not bugs." MJ stopped laughing and glared at Ned, jokingly.
Ned started at her in bewilderment again. "Are you always gonna be a 100% serious with me about that?"
"Maybe," MJ said back, humorously.
Kraven continues jumping off rooftops, using all his new strength and power, he detects a particular smell... Spider-Man's! But it is around by different people.. a particular trio in a restaurant with outdoor seating. Why did they have his challenge's smell? Kraven wondered, but didn't care enough to think about it, only do. It was enough for him to start his plan.
He leaps down onto the table. Unbeknownst to him, Ned, MJ, and Betty were startled and shrieked in terror in his sight. They were about to get up and run, however, Kraven grabs Betty, who lets out a big yell for help.
Kraven runs across the street, begins climbing up fire escapes, and jumping across rooftops as Betty screams in horror of being kidnapped.
Back at the outside seating of a restaurant, Ned and MJ stare in utter shock that their friend has just been kidnapped. Ned quickly whips out his phone and calls Peter.
"Come on... come on, pick up!" Ned said frantically while still visibly shaken up by what he just saw. The call is accepted by Peter and Ned puts the phone to his ear.
"Yeah, Ned," Peter answers the phone.
"Dude! Betty just got kidnapped!" Ned yelled into the phone.
"Whoa! What?! By who!" Peter also yelled.
"Some guy that looks like a hunter! Smelled like vodka! You gotta find him and save Betty!" Ned yelled frantically, worried of what might happen to his friend/ex-girlfriend.
"Shit! That's Kraven! I'll come by you and you point in the direction he went!" Peter yelled and ended the call.
MJ was about to ask something, but in a few minutes Spider-Man arrived and landed near Ned and MJ.
"Where'd he go?!" He demanded.
MJ and Ned point in the direction and Peter immediately swings fast to see if he could catch Kraven.
"Shit!... Shit!" Spider-Man cusses aloud as he continues to swing the direction Kraven went by. He had wished his spider-sense warned him about Kraven coming by and that Betty wouldn't had gotten kidnapped.
He hears a scream and tries to pinpoint where it's coming from and follows it. It's definitely a young adult yelling "Help! Spider-Man!" across Queens and it definitely is Betty.
He swings as fast as he can, leaping on taxis, running on top of trucks and jumping off them, doing flips to propel himself faster, running on sides of buildings and jumping off them to get better distance and to get faster to Betty and Kraven.
He only wishes Kraven hasn't done anything bad to her. It appears the direction he's heading, as he's hearing the screams more, is a bit suspicious. Obviously, Kraven kidnapped Betty in order to get to Spider-Man via a trap. But would that mean that Kraven knows Spider-Man is Peter Parker?
It's a bit impossible due to Strange's spell and yet... No, it has to be something else he did. There just be another reason he kidnapped betty other than him knowing Parker is Spider-Man. Peter doesn't know how much of an experienced hunter Kraven is, however, he was going to find out today.
The screams stop and it appears he's lost the direction now. Spider-Man lands on a rooftop, raises his fists in the air, and shouts "Goddamn it!"
"Maybe, I'm not that much of a hero... I can't save her... Betty is going to die and her death will be on my conscious..." He starts to say. It appears Parker luck struck him today. "I saved people today in a fire, but while I was doing that, Kraven kidnapped my friend, and now I've lost the trail to find her."
He sits, down on his luck, and shakes his head in shame. "I guess I'll go apologize to Ned and MJ... That I couldn't save our-" He hears a beeping noise coming form an alley way. Peter quickly leaps down and approaches the beeping noise. It is some sort of walkie-talkie, but not exact. He wondered why no one else heard it or picked it up, then assumed it's beeping at a frequency only he can hear. He picks it up and talks into it.
"Hello?" He asks.
"I would like to speak to the spider," Kraven speaks back on the radio. "I assume you're the one I' speaking to?"
"Kraven," Spider-Man said bluntly and unpleasantly.
"I'll take that as a yes," Kraven says delightfully.
"What have you done with the girl you've kidnapped?" Spider-Man asks calmly, while also hesitant to not let anything happen to Betty.
"The girl? You saw me take her? Wow, I guess we are on the same page," Kraven says delightfully again.
"Enough games! Tell me where she is!" Spider-Man demands, starting to lose control of his emotions.
"No, no, we have enough time for games. As you see spider, the hunt has just begun. If you want the girl, try to find her and me." Kraven said devilishly.
"If you do anything to her, I swear-" Spider-Man was interrupted by Kraven.
"You'll do what? Murder me? Don't worry, spider. I am an honorable man. I'm not going to kill her. However, in order for you to be a challenge, I want you to be ready for I will give to you." Kraven said happily.
"What does that mean?" Spider-Man asked feeling concerned that this was going to get crazier and crazier.
"The people of this city look to you as a murderer, shamed you, destroyed you. I want to increase that. Give you a chance to show me the beast you really are. From here on out, our fight will be glorious. Come by Central Park, I will be there with the girl and a special surprise," Kraven said happily again.
"Central Park? You can't be serious?" Spider-Man asks nonchalantly.
"Everything will be revealed to you as we fight. There are forces in this world that wish not to be messed with, Spider-Man." Kraven said vaguely.
"What will be revealed to me?" Spider-Man asks and felt this enemy was just being vague for no reason.
"Are you more spider or man? That will be revealed. Are you a beast or a human? The line between the two trembles at such a thought," Kraven starts and SPider-Man is now even more confused than ever.
"What are on earth are you on about?" Spider-Man asks, hoping to get an answer, but most likely he's not going to get one.
"How much are you familiar with predator-prey interactions?" Kraven asks back.
The arachnid hero was taken aback by such a question, specially since it's more of a science question, even more specifically it is an ecology question.
"Yes, I do. Why do you ask?" Spider-Man asked.
"They are very complex, wouldn't you say? The idea that a predator kills its prey upon capture. I want to see which of us will become one... the predator or the prey..." Kraven said as that sent chills down Spider-Man's spine.
"I will find and beat you, Kraven." Spider-Man threatened.
"We'll see about that, Spider-Man." Kraven retorted.
A chilling laugh could be heard from the radio and Spider-Man stands there bewildered by what he just heard.
"I really hope Betty is ok," he said worryingly. "I gotta get back to Ned and MJ and discuss this back in my apartment." He jumps up and swings away.
And part 2 is done! Alright, Act IV is heating up the plot. Hope you enjoyed it!
