Part Two - Out For Blood


I

Laura breathed in the fresh New York air. A light breeze whipped over her face. She looked down at the duffle bag in her left hand, feeling naked without her mask and armour. Mac strode up beside her, his own bag held in his right hand.

"Where are your sunglasses?" He asked her.

"Where's the sun?" Laura objected.

"Sunglasses at night aren't as weird as those snake lookin' eyes of yours."

Laura frowned, slipping the glasses over her eyes. She looked around the airport, making sure there was no one watching them.

"So where's this contact of Hammerhead's?" Lauren asked.

"Here he comes," Mac waved at a limo as it pulled in front of them.

The trunk popped open. Laura and Mac tossed their bags in and circled around to the doors on the opposite side. A gloved hand opened the door for them. Mac hopped in first and Laura followed, sitting beside him. The man with the gloved hand sat opposite them. He had pale blue skin and white hair, cut into a perfect flat top.

"This is Tombstone," Mac introduced him.

"That's your name?"

"You may call me Lonnie," Lonnie replied. "You must be Laura. I trust the flight went smoothly?"

"As smooth as one can hope," Mac replied after Laura had ignored the question.

The limo moved out of the airport and moved down the busy New York street. Laura looked out into the busy streets. She watched both the joyous and irritated bystanders eat and fight as the limo zoomed by them. Laura couldn't help the feelings of nostalgia well up in her chest.

"Where are we going?" Laura turned back to Lonnie who was speaking with Mac, cutting the reminiscence off from within her.

"Laura-" Mac started.
"It's quite fine, Mac," Lonnie started. "You must have a lot of questions. They'll all be answered once we're in a safe location. Not too far, now."

"Good," Laura turned back to the window.


They stood in a small room with a wooden floor surrounded by glass windows. The door they had come through led to a staircase leading into a larger warehouse stacked with boxes and palettes.

In the centre of the room was a table with a large map and other slips of paper. The wall beside the door had a large screen fixed to the wall.

"So, what's the plan?" Laura asked.

Lonnie and Mac exchanged looks between each other.

"What?"

"Laura," Mac started. "We can't… rush this."

"Hammerhead said you've been on this for 10 years," Laura said to Lonnie. "What would we be rushing?"

"We can't just attack Norman or his men without care," Lonnie told her. "This is a delicate situation. If Norman gets a hint of our operation, he'll find us and end it."

"So let him try."

"You underestimate him," Lonnie told her.

"If we act now, we'll draw him out. When we do that, we can kill him," Laura told them. "Once he's dead, his men will all look for a new leader."

"It's not that simple, Laura," Lonnie said. "Osborn has linked almost every gang in New York. If he dies, another leader will step up to take his place."

Laura looked down at the maps and the sheets spread out across the table. She clenched her fists and suppressed the anger building within her.

"Okay," She finally sighed. "What is the plan then?"

"I've been tracking Flint Marko," Lonnie moved around the table, sliding another sheet over to Laura and Mac. "I believe he reports directly to Norman. He is trusted with most of Norman's dealings."

Laura looked at the photo. She recognised Flint.

"Sandman?" She asked.

"That's what they call him, yes." Lonnie replied. "He's very powerful and he's constantly at battle with the Avengers… hasn't been behind bars for 5 years now."

"I can take him," Laura said.

Lonnie laughed. "Laura, it took the likes of Spider-Man and Tony Stark to beat this man years ago. One of them hasn't been seen in 5 years and the other spends his days bossing all the heroes around."

Lonnie walked around to the side of the table where Mac stood. Mac took a half step to the side.

"I believe he'll be leading a team to attack this transport today," Lonnie pointed at a route marked on the map in red.

"How do you know?" Mac asked.

"It's remarkably easy to track Stark's movements when you've been doing so for 10 years. Usually he transports weapons through the air; this transport is a red herring."

"The Avengers want to draw him out," Laura rubbed her chin.

"My thoughts exactly," Lonnie told him. "I say we scope it out. If the heroes stop him, we move in and take Flint for ourselves. If Flint is successful, then we retreat."

"That's a poor plan," Laura looked up at Lonnie.

"It's a safe plan. One that Hammerhead is comfortable with."

"Fine," Laura ground her teeth. "I'll do it."

"Hammerhead doesn't trust you that much yet," Mac said.

"So let me show him that he can trust me."

Lonnie and Mac exchanged glances once more.

"Laura, I'm sorry but-" Mac started.

"Let her do it," Lonnie raised a finger. "She knows what's on the line."

"Lonnie, she-"

"I can do it, Mac," Laura headed to the door.

Mac scowled at her.

"Fine," Mac crossed his arms.

"The transport mobilises in twenty minutes," Lonnie threw a small comms device to her. "We'll monitor you from here. You'll do everything I say."

"Fine," Laura fixed the comms device into her ear. "I'm gonna get into my gear."

"Don't screw this up," Mac called to her as she walked out the door.

Laura flipped him off and headed down the stairs.


Laura sat on the ledge of a building, watching the Stark Industries vehicles move silently into an unmarked warehouse. She had noticed a van across the street, parked there for hours. A lone man watched the vehicles pull into the warehouse and lifted a phone to his ear.

"I have eyes on one of Sandman's men," Laura reported.

"Are you sure it's them?" Lonnie's monotonous voice scratched through the comms device in Laura's ear.

A man in a green and blue striped shirt exited the back of the van followed by a gang clad in advanced armour bearing rifles.

"I'm sure."

The armoured men moved around the building, but Flint Marko moved straight for the front entrance. Laura watched him check the street before he launched himself into the air on twin pillars of rock-hard sand, towards the roof.

Laura cursed to herself for not moving sooner. She launched herself backwards and turned on the spot. She dived off the opposite side of the building and clung to the wall. She crawled across its surface, wary of the armed men beneath her preparing to breach the back door.

"I can take out the men right now," Laura checked above her, assuring that Flint hadn't seen her. "I have eyes on them."

"Negative, this is a recon mission," Lonnie replied.

"They won't see what hit them," Laura clawed her way down the bricks, slowly approaching the armoured soldiers.

"That's an order, Laura. Not from me, but from Hammerhead," Lonnie told her.

Laura paused. She heard a loud crash from within the building. A window beside her erupted, glass shards and sand particles bursting outwards and showering over the street below. A security guard went hurtling towards the street. Laura moved slightly to shoot her tail out and stop the guard from crashing into the road below, but held herself back and pushed up against the wall.

Laura turned, so as not to watch the guard meet his demise, but the sound of a crunch upon the road never came. Laura looked back and saw the guard being placed safely on the ground by Iron Man.

"Boss!" One of the armoured men beneath her shouted. "It's Iron Lad!"

"That's Iron Man now," Iron Man launched at the group, firing beams of energy.

The soldiers sprung into formation, leaping over each other's shoulders and firing similar energy blasts back at Iron Man. Laura watched as their arms morphed into blades and hammers and then back into arm cannons as the fight was pushed into the street.

"Impressive tech," Laura remarked.

She turned and looked through the smashed window. She saw Flint fighting Spider-Man. She watched as Spider-Man danced around Flint's relentless whips of sand whizzing by him.

"You know, Flint, this was pretty dumb," Spider-Man launched himself over Flint's head and brought down a huge concrete slab on top of him, crumbling him into a heap of pale yellow grains. "You attacked an unguarded weapons transport. What did you think was gonna happen?"

"Flint's been dealt with, I'm moving in-"

"That's a negative, Iron Man and Spider-Man are too powerful for you," Lonnie said.

"I can take him," Laura ripped the comm device from her ear and crushed it in her palm.

"Too powerful," Laura muttered.

She crawled through the window, watching Spider-Man turn to leave the warehouse.

Laura launched herself off the wall, her flight pack boosting her at full speed into Spider-Man. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a swipe of Laura's talons. Laura's tail whipped out from beneath her flight pack as she twisted around in the air. It lashed out into Spider-Man's face, sending him sprawling over the warehouse floor.

Iron Man flew in through the door beside her, blasting them off their hinges. Laura burst upwards, coiling herself over Iron Man's attack, and rocketing back down. Her feet collided with Iron Man's back in mid-air, slamming him into the ground, sending ripples through the floorboards.

"Iron Man to champion leader! There's something else here! She's-"

Laura thrust forward and threw a barrage of punches into Iron Man's helmet. Iron Man shot a short blast from his unibeam, the blue streak of energy pushing Laura off and across the warehouse.
"Spider-Man, my comms are out!" Iron Man tried tapping the side of his armour.

"Mine too," Spider-Man stood up groggily, rubbing his head.

The heroes turned to Laura as she stood up. She raised her arms, claws poised, ready to fight.

"You know, lady," Spider-Man walked forward. "This is a private party."

Spider-Man jumped into the air and vanished into thin air. Laura felt her eyes slowly adapt to the outline of Spider-Man, the heat of his body rippling slightly, moving towards her. She stepped to the side as a fist slipped by her jaw. She thrust her hands outwards and grappled the back of his costume and threw him straight into Iron Man. The two crunched into each other, Iron Man managing to slow the impact.

"I only want Marko," Laura spoke through clenched teeth.

"That's too bad," Spider-Man stood up, nursing his side. "I really saw something here."

"So be it," Laura stammered.

Laura flew forward and somersaulted over the heroes. Her tail whipped downwards, swiping at Spider-Man, but he twisted around and shot a web at Laura and slammed her back into the ground. Iron Man fired two repulsor blasts, but Laura launched upwards and then straight down at Iron Man. She tackled him and flew him through a window, out into the brisk New York sky. She launched punch after punch, talon after talon. Iron Man activated his own thrusters, changing their course. They plummeted towards a building, Iron Man climbing out of Laura's grip and kicking off her. Laura flipped backwards and slowed her descent, touching off the roof of the building before launching straight back up. She felt something attach to her foot and she was thrown back towards the earth. She saw Spider-Man dragging her down. Her tail lashed out, cutting the web and she dove towards him.

"Now what?" She heard Spider-Man mutter to himself.

Laura flew into Spider-Man as he jumped away. She threw her tail out, wrapping itself around Spider-Man's ankle. She propelled herself back towards the sky, dragging Spider-Man with her. She saw him try to shoot webs out to stop their ascent, but she manoeuvred through the air and the webs overshot the rooftops.

"Any chance you wanna talk this out?" Spider-Man asked her. "Didn't think so."

Spider-Man curled upwards towards Laura and shot a web into her face, covering her eyes.

"Heads up!"

Iron Man flew straight into Laura and the grip of her tail loosened as she was sent plummeting back to the city below. Spider-Man pried the tail from his leg and dove down, attaching a web to Iron Man as they returned to solid ground.

Laura tore the webbing from her face and reactivated her flight pack, veering away from the corner of a skyscraper and soaring back to the two heroes. As she neared, she saw Iron Man curve upwards suddenly and fling Spider-Man towards her. She tried to evade him, but she was too slow. A bangle of orange electricity gathered around his fist and collided with her. She felt the armour at her chest snap and cripple as she was tossed backwards. She crunched through a brick wall and slammed through an empty office space, destroying everything in her wake. She came to a skidding slow beside a row of cubicles on the opposite side of the building.

Laura raised her stiff and sore arm, slamming it into the floor beside her and let out a sigh of anger.

"Hey, so, sorry about that," Spider-Man's voice came from across the office space. "You were just being a little uncooperative."

"That," Laura stood up and brushed the dust and grit from her front. "Hurt."

"Oh boy," Spider-Man stuttered.

Laura launched forward with her flight pack, deactivating it and bounding off the floor. She crawled across the ceiling, her talons ripping the paint off as she went.

"Hey, that's my thing!"

Spider-Man fired web pellets and Laura twisted around them and launched at Spider-Man. He flipped to his side and bent backwards avoiding a swipe of Laura's tail. Laura fell back onto her tail and sprung a kick into Spider-Man's jaw and then swept a kick low, knocking him down. She coiled her tail around his ankle and tossed him out the window.

Laura turned and flew out the other side. The glass shattered and showered towards the street below her. She made a beeline straight for the warehouse, but saw Iron Man closing in from the side.

"You people are insufferable," she muttered to herself.

Laura flew low, going beneath Iron Man's flight path and sending a tail into the arc reactor on his chest. She ripped it out, tossing it aside. She reached up to him and held the lifeless armour around the throat, suspended high above the city.

"Next time," Laura heard the armour crack under her grip. "I'll kill you both."

She tossed him to the city beneath and watched as a winged hero came soaring in to stop the fall. She turned and dove for the warehouse, crashing through the ceiling and into the floor. She walked over to the concrete slab, lifting it and tossing it aside. The pile of sand was gone and so was Flint.

Laura let out a scream and kicked a nearby Stark Industries truck, edging it back. She launched back out of the warehouse.


II

Peter sat beside Tony at the comms centre in his penthouse. One of the camera feeds showed Miles being placed on a building top.

"Is he okay?" Tony asked.

"I'm just a little…" Miles coughed. "Winded."

"Falcon, go check on Iron Man, his comms and feed are still down. Spider-Man, stay put," Tony ordered.

"Copy that," Falcon replied.

A quick fist bump between Spider-Man and Falcon was seen before the feed showed him soaring off into the sky.

"Is it her?" Tony asked.

Peter broke away from Falcon's feed and looked at snapshots of Miles's feed before it went offline. The photos were lined up alongside images captured of the woman in Madripoor.

"Same eyes, her hair is the same colour," Peter walked around Tony's shoulder, closer to the screen. "It has to be her."

Peter sat beside him and split the touch screen keyboard into two.

"May I?"

"Be my guest," Tony replied.

Peter typed, a new window opening beside Falcon's feed.

"I'm gonna start a facial recognition scan, citywide," Peter started. "Those eyes can't be too common."

"Good idea," Tony remarked. "Still haven't lost your touch."

Peter glared at Tony.

"Iron Man's alive," Falcon's voice crackled through the speakers. "But she took out his suit and he's badly injured."

"I'm sending a Quinjet for them," Tony said. "Where's the girl?"

"She took off," Falcon replied. "It was chase her or save Iron Man, Tony."

"Good. Team first-"

"Mission later," Falcon responded.

"Quinjet is on its way. Champion leader, over and out."


"Hey MJ," Peter said through the phone.

"Hey Tiger. It's late, you coming home soon?" She asked.

"I'll be home later tonight, don't wait up. I'm just sitting with Miles."

"How are he and Nathaniel?"

"They're pretty banged up," Peter trailed off.

He leaned against the frame of the door, rubbing the nose of his bridge.

"It's her," Peter finally said.

"You mean-?"

"Laura… yeah."

"Peter, I," MJ stammered. "What're you thinking?"

"I think she needs help," Peter said. "She's been led down the wrong path."

"You know I'm here for you Pete, no matter what you choose," MJ started. "But just know that you do have a choice. Don't let Tony guilt you into suiting back up."

"Oh don't worry, he's tried," Peter smirked. "It's not that though. She can't be older than Miles. She doesn't need a cell, she needs someone to talk to her."

"Well, maybe that someone is an old student of her Dad's," MJ said. "You could speak to her when Tony catches her."

"Yeah, maybe," Peter replied. "Thanks, MJ. You better get some sleep."

"I'll see you tomorrow. Love you." MJ told him.

"Love you too," Peter said.

"Go home, man," Miles croaked from behind him.

"You should be sleeping," Peter laughed and sat beside him.

"I can't," Miles propped himself up and coughed. "What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to-"

"I'm fine… we're fine," Miles smiled.

"I guess I wanted to see if that facial scan found anything too," Peter said.

"Who was she?"

Peter hung his head in thought. The memories of 15 years ago floating back into his mind.

"She's Curtis Connors' daughter," Peter told him.

"The Lizard?"

"Yeah," Peter replied. "She saw her father die. Norman Osborn did it."

"Damn," Miles muttered.

"It's my fault she's where she is now," Peter rubbed his eyes, feeling them start to slump. "She went missing and I couldn't find her."

"You can't put that on yourself," Miles said. "You did everything you could."

"I…" Peter trailed off.

"What?"

"I just had an idea," Peter stood from the chair. "I think I know where to find her… sorta."

Miles sat up to follow him.

"You stay there, you need to rest."

"No way!" Miles grabbed the crutch beside his bed and limped after Peter down the hallway and to the elevator.

They sat at the comms desk in Tony's room, the facial scan results showing no matches.

"She was in Madripoor two days ago and now she's here," Peter typed into the touchpad keys. "So, she had to have flown in yesterday at some point to be here now."

Images of airport security smothered the screen.

"That's a lot of footage," Miles hesitantly replied.

"It'll be easy," Peter smiled. "She had to have flown a private jet to have her equipment with her."

"Right," Miles leaned forward as Peter scrolled through the footage.

"There's only three private jet arrivals, and they all- got it!" Peter leaned back.

The image blew up to the size of the screen. A picture of Laura next to a man outside the airport shone across their faces.

"That's her!" Miles grinned, looking at Peter. "Who's with her?"

"Looks like…" Peter scanned the face and a moment later, his criminal profile popped up.

"Mac Gargan?" Miles raised an eyebrow. "The Scorpion?"

"Never thought I'd see the day," Peter said.

"So they were both in Madripoor," Miles muttered.

Peter played the footage slowly. After a few seconds, a limo came into the scene, picking the two up.

"Can we track the plates?"

"Read my mind," Peter said as he typed. "Weird…"

"What?"

"Limo belongs to a private rental company that was shut down after Fisk was arrested," Peter said. "I remember tracking Fisk the same way."

"So it should be easy, right?"

"Well," Peter started. "Not exactly. We have to be inside the limo to access the travel log, and even then, they may have already deleted the travel data."

"So, what do we do?" Miles asked.

"We need to connect to the computer in the limo and hack it remotely,"

"Easy," Miles tried to stand, but groaned and fell back into the chair.

"You're not going anywhere, Miles," Peter helped him to sit upright.

"We can't just wait," Miles retorted.

"You're right," Peter stood up. "We can't."

"Wait-"

"It's just a little light breaking and entering," Peter cut him off, knowing what he would say next. "Easy peasy."

"Next it'll be jumping off buildings," Miles smirked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Peter pulled a hat low over his head and swung a dark brown jacket over his shoulders. "Hope Tony doesn't mind me borrowing this."

"I'll monitor you from here," Miles opened a drawer under the comms desk and pulled out a small earpiece. He tossed it and Peter caught it, stuffing it into an ear. "You know where you're going?"

"Yeah, it's parked in a garage that Fisk used to own," Peter said.

"You'll need this too," Miles reached back into the drawer and handed Peter a small, square device.

"Thanks Miles," Peter turned to walk out, stopping at the last second. "Miles… could you keep this between us for now?"

"Don't worry," Miles laughed. "MJ won't hear a word."

Peter smiled and nodded before turning and leaving through the elevator.


Peter got out of the cab and walked slowly down the street, enveloped by the silence of the night. The sharp lashing of the wind blew discarded newspapers and leaves across the sidewalk. There was the sound of arguments and the cheering of drunk people fluctuating as Peter passed by the different apartment buildings. He crossed the street and slipped into an alleyway, the last traces of light fading as he reached the middle. Only a thin sliver of moonlight shone into the narrow alley, barely casting a shadow. Peter faced the wall and breathed in and out slowly.

"You got this Pete," He whispered to himself.

Peter placed a hand on the wall. He followed it with a foot and then his other hand. One after the other he climbed up the face of the dark, brick wall. He looked back down and saw the sea of shadows flowing through the alley below. He swivelled back up and climbed to the top, pulling himself onto the rooftop.

At the other side of the roof, Peter looked down into a fenced off garage. The garage was old and made of red bricks. Dust and grime marred the windows and roofs and the main sliding door had been scratched and rusted.

"I'm here, Miles," Peter touched his earpiece. "Garage looks like it's been closed for a while now."

Peter checked once more for signs of bystanders before climbing down the building, stopping halfway. He propped himself up, his feet staying glued to the wall. He launched himself from a horizontal position, diving over the fence and rolling across the old road, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Peter ran for the garage, jumping for the wall and running up the side.

"Can you see a way in?" Miles asked.

Peter tried to open a window, but it wouldn't budge.

"Nothing yet," Peter replied.

He shifted over the wall, crawling sideways to the next one. He pulled at the lever and the window slid open a crack, but stopped in place, jammed. Peter lodged his hand in the small crack, forcing it up.

"I think I almost got it."

The window shattered into large slices of glass. Peter moved his hand, avoiding the razor-edged pieces falling to the ground below.

"Great," Peter mumbled.

"Still as clumsy as always?" Miles asked.

"Hey!" Peter exclaimed. "Wait, no, yeah, you're right."

Peter crawled into the garage through the smashed window. The space was relatively small. It could fit three cars in the main area, with two offices to the far side along the walls. The shelves were stacked high with unmarked cases and two limos sat in the centre lanes. Peter recognised the plate of the one nearest to the garage door.

"What are the chances this little gizmo will unlock the car?" Peter pulled the square device out that Miles had given him earlier.

"You're on your own there," Miles replied. "Check the offices for keys."

Peter jumped down and crossed the workshop. He climbed a small set of stairs and went into the first office. It was small and cramped with file cabinets and a large desk. Along the wall beside the door was an assortment of keys.

"There has to be fifteen sets of limo keys here," Peter sighed.

"It'll have central locking, so just click the unlock buttons until you get a winner," Miles replied.

Peter cycled through the keys, clicking the buttons and watching the limo stand in a stiff, mechanic silence. On the seventh key, the lights blinked on and a clicking noise reverberated through the garage.

"Yes!" Peter pumped the air.

"You really miss this, huh?"

"What? Of course not!" Peter laughed it off.

"Mhm…"

Peter opened the door of the limo and sat inside, powering up the centre console's computer. The screen lit up and showed a menu with options for maps, entertainment and settings. Peter clicked the maps icon and navigated to the travel log, but a message popped up telling him it had been cleared earlier that day.

"Damn, it's been cleared," Peter cursed.

"Use the 'gizmo'. Place it next to the console and activate it," Miles told him. "I can do the rest remotely."

"What's wrong with calling it a gizmo?"

"I hate you,"

Peter smiled to himself as he placed the device down and powered it up.

"This is gonna take a few minutes, maybe have a look around and see if there's-"

Peter felt his spider sense send chills down his spine. A pair of bobbing lights shined through cracks in the garage door as the squealing of a car's brakes came from outside the workshop.

"Someone's here!" Peter whispered.

"It's still got three minutes to go!"

"Why can't these things ever be simple."

The garage door squealed as it slowly began opening. The metal grinding of the mechanism scratched against the door itself, rolling upwards a few inches at a time. Peter got out of the limo and launched himself into the air, barely clinging onto the surface of the ceiling in time. The door slid open and three armed guards walked in, their flashlights scanning the garage.

"Silent alarm was set off about five minutes ago," a woman said. "They could still be here."

"Boss says we gotta get rid of the limo," The man replied.

"I'm sorting it out tomorrow," the woman replied. "Check the office."

Peter crawled across the ceiling to get a better view of the limo. He could just make out the blinking lights of the device hacking into the car's computer system.

"It's almost done," Miles said. "Can you get to the device without alerting the guards?"

"I can try,"

Peter crawled down the side of the workshop, landing softly at the open garage door, kneeling behind the limo. One of the guards was coming towards the limo.
"Hey, the computer's on!" The guard shouted. "Get the keys!"

"Keys ain't here!" The man in the office shouted back.

The woman ran up beside the limo, slamming the stock of her rifle into the window to no avail.

"Someone's hacking it! They have to still be here," The woman turned, her rifle scanning the workshop as she neared Peter.

"Get out of there, Pete, don't let them see you!" Miles told him.

Peter waited as the woman slowly came to his end of the car. His palms were lined with sweat as he prepared to jump out and fight.

"Over here! This window's smashed!"A guard called out.

The woman turned and ran over to inspect the window Peter had come through.

Peter crawled beneath the car and up the side, avoiding a man standing across from the passenger's side of the car. Peter opened the door slowly, gripping the device and leaving the key on the driver's seat. He shut the door until it was slightly ajar, not risking a full slam of the door. He turned on his heel, slowly pacing out of the garage. Once his feet touched the gravel outside, he broke into a run, heading for the fence.

"I got it! You did it!" Miles cheered in his ear, before the line started going crackly and cutting out.

He jumped, launching over the fence and into the air. As he did, the hairs on his neck stood up and his spider sense blared inside his head.

A dark figure collided with him, sending him sprawling across the sidewalk. The device slipped out of his hands, skipping out onto the road. Peter pushed himself up and ducked below a kick. He noticed the long hair of the attacker falling over a set of slim shoulders. She had a black costume, though her wild hair covered her face.

Peter threw a punch back, but the attacker cartwheeled backwards, her foot catching Peter in the chin and knocking his hat off. Peter fell onto his back, bringing his legs up to block her next attack, but she stopped above him. She stood just outside the reaches of a nearby street lamp, the shadows dancing across her face presenting her as no more than a silhouetted shape. Her hands fell from a fighting stance to her hips.

"Peter?" The woman asked.

She came forward into the light, the luminous glow crawling up her body as she moved forward. Her face became lit up, the light bouncing off her silvery-white hair.

"Felicia?" Peter got up, rubbing his chin.

"Well," she stopped in front of him. "This is a surprise."

"Why'd you attack me?"

"I thought you were one of those creeps in there," Felicia pointed at the garage. "I've been tracking them for a few days."

"They're still in there," Peter told her. "Sorry."

"So many questions," Felicia started to walk past him towards the fence in front of the garage. "But I have to run, sweetie."

"Felicia," Peter turned to face her. "Who are they?"

"Rumour has it," Felicia climbed the fence, launching off the top and landing on the other side. "They're Hammerhead's men. Word on the street is he's making his way back into New York."

"Hammerhead?"

"See you round-" Felicia turned and smirked at Peter. "-Spider."

Peter watched her run for the garage as he turned to continue down the street.

"Peter?" Miles' voice cut back into his ear. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, Miles, I can now."

"What happened?"

"I uh-" Peter scratched his head. "I bumped into an old friend."


III

"Reckless," Mac said.

He stood across from Laura, who sat spread out across the couch with an ice pack resting on her forehead.

"That's certainly one word for it," Lonnie entered the room and strode up beside Mac, folding his arms. "Hammerhead is furious. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that your plan was rubbish," Laura sat up, tossing the ice pack aside. "And mine was better."

"You went against direct orders and picked a fight you could not win," Lonnie retorted.

"It wasn't about-" Laura tried to interject.

"I'm not done," Lonnie cut her off. "What good did this do you? What did you even gain?"

Laura stared at him, her slitted eyes drooping with an exhausted rage.

"Marko escaped, his men captured, you revealed yourself to the Champions and you jeopardised this whole operation," Lonnie paced to the centre of the table and picked up a small remote lined with buttons.

The screen opposing Laura flickered on revealing Hammerhead's face, bearing gritted teeth.

"Sir," Lonnie addressed Hammerhead.

"You ruined everything," Hammerhead stared at Laura before turning to Lonnie. "We've had a new development."

Laura stood, affixing the flight pack back onto her armour while Mac and Lonnie were facing the screen.

"Someone got into the workshop downtown, hacked into our system," Hammerhead said. "Only a matter of time before you're tracked to here. With Laura's incompetence, Norman'll be hot on our tail soon too."

"Shall we proceed as planned?" Lonnie asked.

"No," Hammerhead swivelled his head over to Mac. "I've arranged for you and Laura to fly back to Madripoor."

"When will we-" Mac started.

"Go back?" Laura interjected. "Why?"

"Because you got the Avengers on your tail," Hammerhead said. "You're lucky I don't have my boys kill you right here."

"You seem to think I'm another one of your little servants," Laura looked between Mac and Lonnie, then back to the screen. "I will kill Osborn, with or without you."

"We had a deal."

"You had a deal. I have a goal, and unlike you, I don't need anyone else to finish what I started," Laura turned to leave, but Lonnie crossed the room, blocking the entrance.

"Move."

"You will have your pound of flesh," Lonnie told her. "But we will not allow you to bring our operation down any further."

Laura turned her head to Mac, who had his left arm raised and a dart poised in a barrel of his gauntlet.

"Listen to 'em Laura," he said. "If you do this, and you do somehow kill Norman, you'll be an enemy of the only man who can hide you from the Avengers."

Laura looked between them, her tail creeping out from beneath the flight pack centimetres at a time.

"I don't care about what happens after Osborn is dead. All that matters is that he suffers."

"Don't do this, Laura," Mac pleaded.

"Listen to your friend, Laura," Hammerhead's words were laced with a venomous cynicism. "Don't be stupid, like your father was."

Laura frowned at his last words and she pulled her mask up. Her tail lashed out, smashing the screen as Mac's visor crawled over his face. He fired a dart, but Laura kicked back off Lonnie, dodging it and stunning Lonnie. Her tail went in to sweep Lonnie, but he jumped and threw a counter punch at her. She sidestepped and wrapped her tail around his fist, throwing him into Mac, darts bouncing off of Lonnie's pale blue skin as he was tossed.

Laura circled around the room with a thrust of her flight pack, skidding beside the table. She curled her talons under the wood, sending it pelting forward effortlessly into Lonnie and Mac.

She snatched loose flying pieces of paper and maps, stuffing them beneath the creases of her armour. Laura pivoted on the spot and crashed through the door.

Laura leapt from the top of the staircase, slowing her descent with a minute thrust of her flight pack.

"Laura!"

Laura turned on the spot. Lonnie stood at the top of the staircase, glaring at her. The top half of his suit was ripped to shreds, but his body was unscathed.

"You have one last chance!" Lonnie called.

"Hammerhead can't do anything to me," Laura said. "Not even his best men stood a chance."

Lonnie watched Laura fly directly upwards, crashing through a window in the centre of the roof.

Lonnie breathed deeply, fists clenched. As the glass showered down and smashed against the floor, Lonnie felt his pocket vibrate. He loosened himself, his fists folding back out as he took one last deep breath. Lonnie let the composure flow in and subdue the anger. He reached into his pocket and answered the call.

"She escaped," Lonnie spoke with a calm and indifferent flow. "Took some important documents with her."

"Leave her be," Hammerhead said. "Let her cause some trouble for a while on her own, make it clear we ain't back in the picture."

"Shall I remain in here? Keep eyes on everything?"

"No. I got someone else working on it. Come back with Mac, we got a lot to talk about."

Lonnie heard the phone click and he slipped it back into his pocket.

"What now?" Mac said from behind him.

Lonnie stared at the hole where Laura had gone before turning to face Mac.

"First," Lonnie looked down at the shredded clothes loosely dangling from his torso. "I need a new suit."


IV

Peter stepped into the silent, midnight stillness of his apartment. He reached his hand out, fumbling his hand over the wall before finding the switch and flicking it on. Light flooded the kitchen. The yellow glow bled into the living room, casting light over a pair of legs hanging off the side of the couch.

"MJ," Peter stopped, confused. "It's 2 in the morning, what's up?"

MJ got up off the couch, walking into the kitchen and sitting across from him at the kitchen bench.

"I couldn't sleep," she started. "Where were you?"

Peter slumped his shoulders and sank into the stool across from MJ.

"5 years Peter," MJ reached across and held his hand. "That's how long it's been since you gave it all up."

Peter gave MJ a smile, but his eyes drifted off, preoccupied with his thoughts.

"All I want is honesty Pete," MJ said. "I don't need you to tell me there'll be no more Spider-Man, that will always be a part of you."

"I can't stop thinking about it," Peter replied. "How I failed her."

"Don't do that Pete, you can't blame yourself," MJ said. "It took you a long time to realise you can't save everyone, and this is no different."

"Laura, she just needs help."

"And she'll get it," MJ said. "But she's hurt people, Peter. You can't forget that."

"Yeah," Peter hung his head. "You're right. MJ, I'm sorry. I should've told you where I was."

"It's okay," MJ held Peter's face in her hand. "We're in this together. And if Spider-Man needs to come back to help stop Laura, that's okay. I just want us to be in this together."

"I don't deserve you," Peter grinned.

Peter leaned in and they kissed. They pulled away after a few moments.

"So what'd you find?" MJ asked.

"We tracked Laura to an airport with camera footage and saw her get in a limo with Mac Gargan," Peter started.

"Mac Gargan? You think they were together all these years?"

"I'm not sure," Peter sighed. "We tracked the limo to a workshop, it was one of Fisk's old private companies. Word on the street is that Hammerhead's making a play for Norman."

"So Laura could be working for Hammerhead?"

"It's possible, but…" Peter paused.

"What is it?"

"The attack today," Peter stood up suddenly, his eyes wide as the cogs turned in his brain. "She wasn't after the weapons or Miles and Nathaniel!"

MJ looked up at him and after a moment, stood up, joining Peter in a shared moment of awareness.

"She was after Marko," MJ said.

"Exactly! She wanted to find Osborn, so she wanted to go through Sandman to get him," Peter said. "That's why she ran, she was outmatched and Flint had already gotten away."

"We need to find Flint before she does," MJ said.

"We were able to get a list of locations from the limo, we should hear from Miles about it tomorrow."

"I'll try to dig up all I can about Flint Marko and anyone else connected to Osborn, see if we can find out who her next target is," MJ said.

"Are we really doing this?" Peter scratched his neck. "I mean I don't know if I'm ready to put that suit back on."

MJ gave Peter a reassuring smile and rubbed his cheeks.

"Peter, Spider-Man has and always will be a part of you," she said. "That doesn't mean you have to make a commitment to it. Laura needs your help, and no matter what you choose to do to help her, it will be a conscious choice to do good. You're not being forced into this, Peter. There's always a choice."

Peter pulled MJ in, embracing her, feeling her nurturing warmth.

"You always know what to say," Peter sighed in relief.

"I know," MJ laughed and pulled back, her arms resting around Peter's. "This is probably gonna be our last normal night for a while."

"Yeah," Peter smirked, admirimg MJ and pushed a lock of hair from her eye. "No matter what happens, we still have this. These moments will always be more important to me than Spider-Man."

"I love you, Peter Parker."

"I love you."


V

Norman sat behind a desk in a wide rectangular room. The only light in the room shone over Norman himself, the outer corners nothing more than shadowy crevices. The blue hologram shimmer across the surface of his desk, displaying a map.

The door across from Norman squealed open and a beam of white light cut across the room. The silhouette of a tall, muscular man stepped through the arch of light, sealing the room and inviting the absence of light once more.

The man walked forward with a heavy lumping, striding through the dark. He stopped at the edge of the cone of light illuminating Norman's desk. The hologram disappeared.

"The weapons convoy was a dud, as we suspected," Flint Marko said.

Norman tipped his head slightly.

"They only sent Spider-Man and Iron Man. You were right; there ain't many heroes in New York at the moment," Flint smirked. "There's something else though."

Flint's smirk flattened and he scratched behind his ear. A trail of sand rushed down onto the floor.

"There was someone else," Marko said. "I was watching her fight before I left. She was strong."

Flint waited for Norman's response, but it never came.

"She could fly too, looked like she had Adrian's old pack. She's got some… I don't know, fancy tail too. Looked a lot like one'a Otto's arms."

Norman raised an eyebrow. He leaned forward and cleared his throat.

"If you come across that girl again, bring her to me."

"Should we look for her?" Flint asked.

"No," Norman said. "Something tells me that she'll find us."

Norman leaned back in chair and brought the hologram back up, going over the notes on his desk as he took glances at it.

"My men? They're still in lockup." Sandman asked.

Norman looked up from his notes slowly.

"If any more of your men are arrested," Norman said. "I'll have them killed in their cells."

Flint tilted his head back with a glare of concern, before returning to a solemn stare of indifference. He gave Norman a nod and turned around to walk out.

Norman reached for a telephone on the desk, punching in a series of numbers before holding the receiver to his ear.

"I want you to keep an eye on Marko for me," Norman spoke plainly, his voice steady and evenly paced. "Join his crew, watch for this girl. She seems to think Marko will lead her to me. Don't let that happen."

Norman placed the receiver back in its cradle before turning his head back to the hologram map.

To Be Continued...


Part 3 - 'With Great Power…' coming soon

In the next part, Laura's past is explored further as she continues her path of destruction in search of Norman Osborn while Peter finds himself caught between responsibility and guilt when a lead to finding Laura arises.

Wattpad Link: story/293143680-spider-man-path-of-vengeance