A/N: Yes, I'm a horrible person. Blah, blah, excuses. Blah, blah, Covid-19. Blah, blah, varsity. Blah, I won't do it again. No kidding, I definitely will. Anyway, this is sort of a spin-off chapter, maybe. Take it as you will. Either way I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 20
Itachi stood tall atop the Midtown Tech school building, the music and foot traffic inside a backdrop to what was potentially about to happen. The sparse lights in the back of the school left big enough shadows for the man he was following to hide behind. Right now was the perfect time to make his move and stop the illegal alien weapons dealers Spider-Man had been failing spectacularly to bring down.
A shadow dropped down beside him. A cursory glance revealed it was his brother. "Otouto why are you here?" "I was bored." Sasuke replied with a careless shrug. "What are you doing here? Does Zack know you're lurking around his school on homecoming night?" Itachi didn't deem that worthy of a reply. "This isn't part of your mission, is it?" Itachi gave him his patented blank look. "And how did you come to that conclusion?" Sasuke shrugged once more. "Harry might have forwarded me your location and it doesn't match with where you're supposed to be." "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
Sasuke's red eyes penetrated the dark seeing as much as Itachi was. "Stalking petty criminals behind a high school?" The amusement in his voice made a tiny vein pop on the older's temple. "They steal and illegally distribute advanced alien technology to buyers who don't know any better. Taking them out would be doing the community a favor." He said succinctly. Sasuke scoffed. "And since when do you care for the community?" Itachi crouched when he felt some movement. "Spider-Man would owe me big time." "Ah, that's you angle." Sasuke dropped lower too, senses now focused on the door that just slammed open.
He let out a breath of silent laughter at the figure dressed in red and blue fluffy costume that resembled what Spider-Man might have worn of he had made his suit at home on an extremely low budget. "It's a Spider-Clown." He chortled. Itachi shuffled a bit to get a better look, still swathed in shadows. "Stark took away Parker's costume." "And this is his back-up?" his amusement was getting harder to contain. A blast out of Spider-Man's blind-spot sobered him up pretty quickly. Both he and Itachi sat still on the edge of the roof. The hero's web shooters clattered away out of reach with Parker skidding on the tarmac painfully.
A dark-skinned man walked out to him, a smug little grin in place and calm in his assured safety with an energy blaster on his fist. "He gave you a choice, you chose wrong." Sasuke let his arms dangle over his knees in his crouched position. "Classic villain monologue coming up." "Shut up, Sasuke." Itachi took out a hand-gun, making sure it was loaded and disengaging the safety. Sasuke looked over. "You're not going to use jutsu?" "I'm not wasting precious energy on a low-level thug."
Spider-Man tried to make a run for his shooter. His opponent struck a school bus which went careening towards the teen scrambling for his weapon. It hit him hard, throwing him across the parking lot into the side of another bus. Sasuke winced at the impact. Spider-Man stumbled to his feet but was promptly backhanded and sent tumbling through a couple of school buses until he disappeared into one of them. The man advanced slowly, cockiness in his step. He punched the bus Spider-Man was in, sending it rolling across the parking lot and Parker screaming inside at the dizzying sensation of being in a spinning cramped up space.
"I think you can pull that trigger now." Sasuke suggested, feeling sorry for the boy. Itachi leveled his gun but didn't shoot. "He can take a few more hits." He said, annoyed by the many hours he spent tailing the boy and making sure he didn't die. He may be rotten to the core but even he didn't condone the loss of young lives. Parker might have signed up for this but Stark was right, he should really let more experienced people handle this.
Down below Spider-Man tumbled out of the wrecked bus to rest on the glass peppered floor. His opponent came to loom over him. "Why did he send you here?" Parker wheezed. The man raised his fist, weapon glowing with energy. "Guess you'll never know." This is when Itachi pulled the trigger, sending the bullet straight through the side of the villain's brain. Blood spattered onto the bus window and he dropped lifelessly to the ground. A web shot too late grabbed harmlessly onto the side of the bus where the man's cocked arm had previously been. Another kid stood frozen to the side with arms raised and web-shooter pointed on the spot where the man had been.
"What the fuck?!" Parker exclaimed, going over on his hands and knees to check if the man was alive. He The absence of a pulse made him remove his fingers and prompted him into action. He ran over to his friend and pulled him behind a bus. Sasuke stood back up along with Itachi. "Nice shot." His brother gave him a condescending smile. "No one compliments people for breathing so I won't thank you for those kind words."
"Who's there?" Spider-Man asked in a trembling voice. He couldn't exactly dodge bullets when he didn't know where they're coming from. Itachi hopped down from his hiding place, Sasuke a shadow to his side. Once close enough Sasuke nudged the still body with his foot and started searching his pockets. Itachi went towards the spooked teens.
Itachi tilted his body sharply to the right to avoid a web meant to incapacitate him. The next web caught his arm. The wrapped his hand around it and pulled, dragging Spider-Man into the open. His friend stumbled out as well since he had been holding onto Peter. Spider-Man rolled forward with the pull and tried to bind Itachi's feet. The raven stepped back out of range then Spider-Man was in his personal space throwing a jab at his throat. He bent backwards with a flip, his boot catching the hero's jaw. Parker groaned, clutching his smarting jaw.
He jumped onto the bus to gain some sort of advantage. From here he could see the area more clearly. He was about to engage his new opponent further when he heard his friend whimper in fear. He spun towards him to see that the other man who he had forgotten about held a dagger to his friend's throat. "Ned!" "I'm sorry man, I shouldn't have come." He apologized, knowing that with him as a hostage the bad guys could do anything they wanted.
"Let him go!" Parker hissed angrily. "Calm down." Itachi drawled as he brushed imaginary dust from his clothes, his calm demeanor a contrast to the teen's frazzled form. "We're not here to hurt you." Here, Sasuke pushed his hostage away from his to sheath his dagger and lift his hands in a 'I'm not a threat' way. Peter was quickly at Ned's side. "I'm fine." The chubby boy assured. Peter's attention returned to the two men. "Why are you here then? Are you part of the authorities? With the FBI or something?" "Or something." Sasuke chose, placing his hands on his hips.
Peter gained a bit more bravado. "Why did you kill that guy?" "He was in the way. You on the other hand should be inside with your friends." Itachi said. He stepped forward in the blink of an eye seemingly to attack the teen. Peter cursed in his mind because he let his guard down. He lifted his arms up to block. A prickle at his wrist made him open his eyes to look. There was a shallow line cut into his skin where his web shooter used to be. It was now in Itachi's hand. Peter glared at him with suspicious eyes. "Enjoy your night. We'll handle the rest."
"And you expect me to just trust you?" Peter asked. Sasuke sighed in exasperation at his brother. "The kid at least deserves a proper explanation." Itachi jumped onto the school roof again and disappeared. Sasuke turned to the teens. "We work for another secret not-so-secret group like the Avengers. We're taking the time to help you out because so far your list of failures is embarrassing." Peter winced at the jab. "So just go back in there and have fun with your friends. Forget all this is happening. Got it?" The two nodded hesitantly. Sasuke ran in the direction the two just went.
Ned turned to stare apologetically at his friend. "What are we going to do?" Peter started for the inside of the school. "I have some spared somewhere in there. I'll get them. You call Happy Hogan, he's Mr. Stark's head of security. Tell him the guy with the wings is Liz's dad." "What?" Ned's eyes widened in shock. Peter agreed whole-heartedly. "I know! Also get a computer and track my phone for me." With those instructions the teen ran into the building to retrieve his spare web shooters."
~Scene Change~
The two brothers saw the warehouse collapse in the distance. "What happened over there? Do you think our target's alive?" Sasuke asked. Itachi didn't reply, which was his way of saying he didn't know. He put on some shades and the spy tech activated. "This is not a test run, is it? Or so help me I'm not helping you ever again." Imperium's voice flittered through. He hopped onto the next and last tree then dashed across the open space ahead of them towards the next house. "No. I need you to search for any life signatures in the building ahead of us." "Searching."
They closed the space between them and the target building in seconds. "There is one coming your way. Another is still inside." Just then a winged machine flew over them like a bird of prey, heading into the city. Luckily they weren't spotted in the shrubbery surrounding the warehouse. "Follow him." Itachi instructed. Sasuke nodded and ran after the figure. The older stalked into the collapsed building, senses sharp and honed onto any movement.
The rubble shifted slightly and drew his attention. He went to the spot where he suspected the other individual was. He heard gasps and wheezes from the wreckage, a young voice filled with terror for a near-death experience. A look confirmed his suspicions. "I thought I told you to stay out of this." He said, coming over to stand before the teen. Peter slumped over in his place trying to catch a bit more breath. He had taken off his mask so Itachi could clearly see the gash on his forehead.
Peter ignored the man's words and tried to push himself out of the debris trapping him. He shouted with the effort of lifting himself up with piles of heavy masonry and steel beams above him. Unsurprisingly he couldn't budge. He slumped to take more breaths. "Help, please." Itachi watched him, contemplating just letting him be. He wasn't dying after all. "I should leave you here to reflect on your actions." Silent anger crossed Peter's features, a stubbornness that had no place in this situation energizing him. His next effort had the piles of rubble shifting up slightly. Itachi brought his arms up into a hand seal. "But you're quite persistent."
The weight above Peter suddenly disappeared. He looked around to see the earth had come around him and under the debris and was pushing upward. The masonry toppled over bringing up clouds of dust that made Peter cough. He turned over to rest a bit more. "Thank you." He breathed, giving Itachi a thankful smile. Itachi looked down at him expressionlessly. "Let's go then. You want to be a hero? You have to keep up." Peter scrambled up to his feet. Itachi was already running ahead, his speed making Peter's eyes widen with shock. He ran after him and once he could he took to swinging from trees and buildings to keep up with the man hopping from rooftop to rooftop, a wraith in the shadow of the moon.
Itachi caught up to Sasuke who had stopped chasing after the wing guy. He was looking up into the sky. "Our target just flew after a jet full of Stark's stuff. I can't follow." Peter landed beside them. "What's going on?" "We're too late." Itachi said. He brought his communicator to his mouth. "Please track him." "Yes, sir. I'm also sending a jet your way. It'll be there in ten minutes." Sasuke sat down to wait, the three perched on an old billboard in the crappier side of town. "So…how will we do this?" Peter asked taking a seat next to the younger Uchiha. Sasuke glanced at the ruffled boy. "So you're joining us after all." "Yeah. I still don't trust you though." "Good for you. As for your question, we're waiting for a ride to get us to our guy." "Cool." The two dissolved into silence.
The sound of a drone above them gained their interest. "That's our ride?" Peter asked doubtfully. Three packages fell from the drone and it zoomed off. "Your mission hasn't authorized you to use the jets so this is all I can do for you." Opening the duffle bag revealed a jet pack, a breathing mask and goggles. "Great." Sasuke mumbled. He showed Peter the basics of his jet pack. He jumped when the pack activated, wings snapping out until they covered the length of his arms with small but powerful thrusters. Itachi was already putting on the safety goggles and breathing mask which covered his lower face. He could hear Imperium's smirk at the next words. "Oh and Master will be most eager to know what you're up to. Don't keep him waiting, Itachi-chan." The older man's features twisted in a resigned grimace.
"Are you ready?" he asked his companions. "Yeah." They confirmed and shot up to the sky. Peter shouted in elation, his ascent a little wobbly but soon enough he was flying steadily. "This is awesome!" Sasuke laughed along with him. "Don't get too excited, these things only fly for like thirty minutes. If we haven't found our guy by then it's probably game over." "Don't exaggerate otouto. We can catch him tomorrow just as well." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I was trying to sound cool here."
"So are you guys related?" Peter asked over the wind. Sasuke nodded. "He's my brother." "Who do you work for?" "Phoenix. I doubt you know about it." Itachi gave Sasuke a warning glare. Peter thought about the name. "Mr. Stark has mentioned you before. Are you guys like villains? Good villains?" "Neither. We look out for our own interests." Before Peter could open his mouth to ask more questions Itachi cut him off. "That's enough questions. Our target's right ahead."
Ahead of them they could see the jet they were trailing. Imperium's scanners showed there was one individual in it. He had gained entry from below where he had created some sort of opening. His flying equipment was acting as a seal to keep the inside undisturbed by the high altitude high speed pressure. "This is so cool." Peter breathed, marveling at the images behind his borrowed goggles. "Thank you. At least someone appreciates my brilliance." "Oh, are you an AI? Hi, I'm Spider-Man." "I know who you are, Peter Parker." Peter was creeped out by how human the AI sounded, as if he was talking to someone over the phone instead of a program.
Soon they were directly over the jet. They flew lower until their feet could touch down. The jet pack's wings folded inwards until it looked like a very expensive bag, small enough to not impede their movements. The Uchihas bound their feet to the surface with chakra. Spider-Man went on all fours to get a good grip on the speeding jet and not be blown off to his death. Imitating the Spider-Man pose Sasuke crawled down to the machine blocking their target's entry point. He nudged at it. "This thing's on tight." He said through their ear pieces. Itachi splayed his fingers onto the roof, his other in a ram seal. An electric current flowed throughout the jet, making the camouflage screen flicker erratically. "That won't work." Sasuke commented. "This thing's built to last, frying it will work as well as it does on the jet itself."
Itachi hummed. "Brute force it is." He drew a compressed sword and with a click of a button the blade shot out to its full two feet length. Peter moved aside, not sure what the raven wanted to do. Itachi stabbed the sword into the roof then relinquished his foothold, allowing the turbulence to pull him back and tear a hole into the jet. He regained his footing again once the tear was large enough. With his hands he pried the sides of the opening wider so he could look inside. He could see a familiar figure inside looking up in astonishment. Determination settled on his features and he dove for the opening at the bottom which he had secured.
"He's coming your way, Sasuke." "Hai." Sasuke stuck himself to the machine. Just in time too because the wings unfurled from their position and he and his target started dropping. The man righted himself in the air, quick to match the jet's speed not realizing yet that he had a passenger. Once he did he tried to throw Sasuke off, but the Uchiha held on with a bit of effort. One of the wings bent at an angle and razor sharp blades were directed toward the raven. He swung up over the man's shoulders avoiding the attack by a hair. As soon as his feet touched his target's torso he jumped off. His jet pack opened up in mid flip, thrusters sputtering to life and holding him aloft.
He made some hand seals. 'Wind style: Air bullets.' He blew out pressurized air from his mouth which shot at the other man. Indents and holes appeared on the steel wings, knocking the man slightly off course. He smartened up and covered his body with those wings so he wasn't riddled with holes. With a grown he shot forward to get close and personal. A swipe of a wing had Sasuke shooting upward to avoid it so the jet took the attack, a great furrow being torn into the side. Sasuke came back down at a free-fall, his foot slamming into his opponent's shoulder. The man was sent careening away in a daze.
At the last moment his foot managed to snag Sasuke's leg, a clawed mechanism clamping down on the limb. It dragged Sasuke along with the other's fall. "Uh, guys, a little help." "I'm on my way." Peter responded. He was very impressed with what he'd seen so far. Sasuke's dexterity, strength and flexibility could be equated to his own. His own jet pack covered the space between him and Sasuke in moments. The winged man seems to have gained his bearings because he started flying up toward the jet again. Peter's web shot into the rotors in the guy's wings. They clogged up with a screech of protest. Sasuke managed to pull himself up enough to pry the clamp from his leg. Once free he fired up the jet pack once more, watching his opponent tumble out of the sky with no means to fly.
Peter shot out after him. He grabbed the other under the arms to stop his fall but once he did it became pretty obvious this wasn't a great idea. His jet pack whined with strain at the added weight. "No, no, no!" he shouted in panic as his equipment died with a sputter of smoke. He too was now falling out of the sky. He screamed in horror. In a last ditch effort he shot his web upward, or in what he thought was up considering he was tumbling around in a confused pattern so he didn't really know what way was up. His web grew taut as it snagged something at the end. He breathed a sigh of relief, the other man held tightly close to his body. They were both breathing hard.
Sasuke grit his teeth, hands wrapped tightly around the web Peter had shot aimlessly. Sweat was pouring down into his eyes. He had switched his jet pack to heavy-duty mode but even then the weight was too much. His arms were straining to hold them up and he could hear his pack failing too. He three options; go down fighting and die, get Peter to get rid of the extra weight, or just let go. When push comes to shove it wouldn't be very hard to decide what option he'd take. He likes Peter, but not that much. "Peter, let go of the old man." Sasuke instructed. "What? No! He'll die." "And so will you if you don't give him up!" "Critical failure imminent." "Don't you have some hidden mechanism to help here?" "I'm an AI, not your personal Messiah." "You fucking…" Imperium was suddenly offline. Sasuke shouted in frustration.
Itachi swooped down towards the two dangling on the other side. "Another web, Peter." He ordered. Petered acquiesced without question, his passenger freeing his hand to wrap his arms around his shoulders. "What took you so long?" Sasuke asked, sighing as some of the strain left him now that he was sharing the weight. "I had to seal up that hole I tore open. I'm not especially equipped for it so it took some trial and error." "Great. Can we get down now?" Peter asked. They started descending.
Peter was ready to swear he would never engage in high-altitude combat ever again. This was not good for his heart. Liz's father had tried to escape as soon as he was able but was quickly wrapped up in webs so he couldn't move. Peter laid himself down on the beach they had ended up on, ready to call it a night. The click of a safety being pulled drew his awareness once more. Itachi had his gun pointed to their target, ready to pull the trigger. He shot up to his feet in a wild panic and in moments he was between him and Liz' dad, arms outstretched as if that would help. "Wait, stop! You can't kill him." Itachi quirked a brow. "On the contrary, I believe I can." "I mean you shouldn't. We can't save him just to kill him."
Off to the side Sasuke took off his jet pack, goggles and mask. "We weren't saving him Peter, we were saving you. So unless you wish to die along with him step aside." Peter stood firm, determination written in every line of his being. "No." The man behind him was stiff, observing the situation. He was confused as to why Peter was so determined to save him but right now he couldn't complain.
Itachi sighed with exasperation. "If he doesn't die he would just go on to selling alien technology again." "He'll go to prison; he can't do anything from there." Peter protested. "People escape from prison all the time." "Please, you don't have to do this." "He's right, you don't." Sasuke quipped, ready to just go home. A high-altitude and high speed battle was not good for one's heart, shinobi or not. Itachi pulled the trigger anyway. The sound of it echoed around the beach, Peter's disbelieving look imprinting itself into the older's memory. Up until their captive started screaming in agony. It he was lying face first in the sand, unmoving but still able to express his pain. It seems he had turned around to make a run for it, using Peter's form as suitable cover. Itachi had shot at him through the miniscule space between Peter's armpits right into the target's spine.
"I can't feel anything. I can't move!" the man screamed, a hysterical note in his voice. Peter was by his side in an instant, hands covering the bullet wound to stop the bleeding. "What did you do?" The teen had tears in his eyes, a glared of betrayal aimed at Itachi. "Stopped the threat. An ambulance is on the way since you were so eager to save him. Perhaps you can also tell the authorities what he's being punished for." Itachi started walking away. Sasuke followed suit with an apologetic smile. "Don't blame yourself for it, kid. At least you saved his life." They left Peter with the broken man. He may have been alive but he would suffer for his mistakes for the rest of his life.