A/N: Alright, here's the second chapter for you guys! Hope you enjoy!
The mysterious figure was hidden behind a rock, observing the teenagers and the mythological creatures known as creatures carefully. This figure was none other than Kraven the Hunter, still in his feline hybrid mutation. While he could have used his senses to track down his targets like he usually does, he had to use different means to find his targets. Finding them, especially considering that they moved around the world often, was not easy. He knew that if he was going to strike, it had to be now. For the next day, they could be on the other side of the world.
His targets? The legendary Lemurian, a member of the thought to be extinct Ornithocheirus simus, and as a bonus, a Komodo Dragon. All of which were under one roof.
He observed the two children that were with them as they went outside. From what he learned about the Saturdays, which wasn't much because of their secrecy, the boy was the owner of all three. He knew nothing about the girl that was with him. But neither of them would be a factor in stopping the hunter. The real problem would be the parents, who seemed to be nowhere in sight. He had no knowledge of them leaving for a night out. So in his mind, he knew that the best way to take down his prey was quickly before he was outnumbered.
He also was under the assumption that there would be a security system of some sort. A family that travels this much with such valuable creatures in their possession would have some sort of protection to greet unwelcome guests he would think. He surveyed the area. There was an electric fence. And that seemed to be it. But Kraven knew better. The simplicity of the security from the outside was a ruse. Anyone with ill-intent who wanted to enter would be lulled in by the simple fence, and then that's when the true security system would reveal itself.
Kraven knew he had no choice but to wait for now. Going in blind would be foolish. He knew that eventually, one of two things would happen, his prey would come to him, or the others would show themselves. If they showed themselves, he would knock them out cold with tranquilizer darts. They would keep them out long enough for him to get away and not be able to catch up to him.
And so he waited…
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
15 minutes later
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for something to happen, and it was the teenagers that made it happen, which was why it was unsurprising to Kraven. Known to be stir-crazy, he knew the kids would not be able to sit still. But there was still no sight of the parents. He was going to bank on the assumption that they were away from the headquarters, but assumptions would get him caught, and impatience was not a trait that this hunter had when it came to hunting his prey. He has waited longer on other hunts before. He could wait another 5-10 minutes.
As he waited, he recalled the reason as to why he was even here in the first place. After his and the rest of the Sinister Six's defeat at the hands of Spider-Man, he was collected by the Tinkerer. But the entire Sinister Six was picked off one by one and sent to prison. It was a reversal of roles from the pack, who was the Sinister Six being the hunters of Spider-Man to becoming the hunted. Kraven made the decision to fight another day and find another hunt.
It was completely by chance that he saw the group in the eastern part of the US about 3 months ago. What they were there for was unknown to him, but the creatures that they had were unlike anything he had ever seen before. And because of that, he knew they had to be valuable. Unbeknownst to his new prey, the hunt was on. During that three month gap, he tried to gather as much information he could about the family. He had their scent, but he needed more info about what he was up against. From what he gathered about the family that wasn't scrubbed from the public eye, they were a family that traveled the world often, almost never needing to stay in one spot. There were several sightings of this family around anomalous events throughout different parts of the world. This included the incident with the strange purple monster. Outside of the encounter that he had by chance 3 months ago, this was the most recent info he had about the family, which isn't much, and even then, this source he got it from was more off speculation and a low-quality image.
Even someone like Spider-man had a large amount of information readily available about him. This family, there was little to nothing. No one except someone in the government or someone that wanted to be hidden would have so little information about them.
Now his hunt has led him along the Pacific Coast. And now would be the time that he would strike and obtain his prey as an additional ten minutes had passed.
"Zak, are you sure this is a good idea?" Wadi asked concerned.
"Of course! It's completely safe. Dad said not to destroy the HQ. Does this look like this can destroy the HQ to you?" Zak said with unwavering certainty, holding a jetpack in his hands before putting it on.
Wadi folded her arms in response. She could have easily brought up China when they got captured by Fuzen's men, but decided against it.
"I'll take that as a no." Zak said before putting on the jetpack. He activated the thrusters.
"Woohoooo!" Zak said, making loops in the air. He was having the time of his life. He would eventually make the same "S" symbol that was seen on Zak's shirt. He twirled in the air before the thrusters suddenly shut off while he was in the air. He started to yell.
"Zak!" Wadi yelled. He was too far away for her to do anything where she was, and by the time she got Zon, Fiskerton or Komodo for help, it would be too late. In most cases, Zak could rely on the Claw to get him out of these types of situations and land safely. But there was only one problem: He dropped the Claw when the thrusters lost power. She had to do what something to save her boyfriend, which was think exactly like him: Wing it and swing into action!
She got to higher ground using her yo-yo, ascending the complex in any way she could until she knew she could reach him with the yo-yo. That is until the jetpack thrusters suddenly came back to life. Zak had a smile on his face. It was a trick!
"Zak Saturday that was NOT funny." Wadi said, pointing a finger at him before folding her arms, visibly upset with him that he would do something like that.
"You know, you're kinda reminding me of my mom right now." Zak said. Wadi was still frowning. "Okay, okay I'm sorry." Zak said, rubbing the back of his head, visibly embarrassed as his face was starting to turn red. And just like his mom, when she made a similar face to him, he couldn't help but apologize.
"I'll… go get the Claw." Zak said before walking away to retrieve his signature weapon.
"Hmph." Zak heard Wadi say before walking away. This was probably something he would have to talk to his dad about. What to do when girls are mad at you even after you apologize.
Wadi looks on at Zak, as he climbs up a rock to retrieve the Claw. "What a showoff." She said, before turning red. Why does he have to be like this sometimes?
Zak locates the Claw, but he can't retrieve it. Because someone else already has. He looked as if he was some sort of humanoid cryptid. Like Argost or Munya. Is he with them?
"Hey, uh excuse me, but that sort of doesn't belong to you." Zak said, trying to get its attention.
"This is yours?" The feline cryptid asked.
"Yeah." Zak said in response before realizing that it, and more specifically he from the voice talked. "You can talk? Without a translator?"
"Of course I can talk. I am no mere animal." He said before looking down at the Claw to further study it. "Such an interesting weapon. I have never seen anything like it."
"Thanks. Just give it to me and I'll show you how it works." Zak said.
"Thank you, but I believe I can do so on my own. This will make a fine addition to my trophy collection, and may possibly double as an excellent addition to my hunting arsenal." He said.
Zak's eyes started to glow. He didn't want to do this, but he left him with no choice. Even if it was a cryptid he hadn't seen before, he still needed to get his Claw back. And if he wasn't going to do so voluntarily, he would use his powers to convince him to do so. But he wouldn't do in a way that forced them to do his bidding like Kur or his evil counterpart would, he would attempt to speak to him, like he usually does. He tried to get inside his head to communicate with him.
After a few seconds, Zak realized his powers weren't working. "Wait, you're not a crypti-" He was interrupted by a sharp twinge. He look to see where the pain was. It was in his arm. It was a tranquilizer dart.
"Wadi!" Zak tried to call out. "Who-" Zak was out. He never even finished his sentence.
Within seconds, Kraven was gone.
Wadi had heard Zak call her but she ignored it. Thinking it was another joke.
A few minutes had passed and Zak still hadn't returned. "If this is another one of your tricks Zak Saturday, I will not fall for it!" She called out. Another couple of minutes passed. Still no response.
"This is no longer funny!" Wadi called out before using the same path Zak used. Once she got there, she began to scold Zak. "Zak, why do you…." She trailed off after noticing that he was out cold. "Do…"
"Oh my goodness!" She said right after noticing the tranquilizer dart.
Not long after did she hear a caw from Zon.
"It is useless to resist. This net is strong enough to contain a grizzly bear. You will not fare any better." Kraven said. It was too easy to catch and subdue them all. The Lemurian put up the best fight out of all of them, but even he fell, and was forced to be tranquilized because he put so much resistance even after he was captured in a net. He considered doing the same thing to the others if they made enough commotion. The Komodo Dragon, even with his invisibility was still caught due to the hunter's keen senses.
Wadi takes the phone from Zak's pocket and calls his parents and grabs on the net with her yo-yo and attempts to stop Kraven from taking the cryptids away. But it was useless. The net was too strong to get them free. She grabbed onto the hunter's back before she was shrugged off easy, and knocked on her back. But not before she was able to take a knife and cut open the net allowing them to get free.
While at a restaurant, Doc couldn't help but wonder if Zak and Wadi were okay and asked Drew about it. Conveniently, their phone rang. It was Zak.
"Zak, we were just talk- Wadi?" Doc said.
"Mr. and Mrs. Saturday, there's someone-" Wadi said before feeling a twinge in her neck.
"An impressive trick, but one that will not happen again." The two heard a voice in a Russian accent say.
"Wadi what's going on? Where's Zak?" Doc asked in a concerned manner. They saw nothing but the sky from Zak's phone. "Wadi? Wadi!" Doc said before the line went dead.
Wadi made one last grasp with her adrenaline to stop the man, but it was futile. She didn't have enough strength left. He effortlessly got her off. He went on to capture Zon and later Komodo after he was found by the still unconscious Zak.
He put the net of cryptids in the back of his safari Jeep and they were gone.
It didn't take long for Doc and Drew to return home to see both Zak and Wadi unconscious along with discovering that Zon, Fiskerton, and Komodo were all gone. The first thing they did was check their pulses. Doc breathed a sigh of relief. "They're just out-cold." He said.
"When I find out who did this!" Drew said anger in her eyes, fists balled before pulling out her fire sword.
"I want to catch them too." Doc said, angry, but doing a better job at hiding it than Drew. "But before we use our fists, we need to use our brains." He said, picking up a tranquilizer dart.
"It looks like whoever it was drove off to make their getaway." Drew said, calm now.
"Let's bring Zak and Wadi in. We've got work to do." Doc said, already locked in on finding out who did this.
Dakota City, Detroit United States
Dakota High School
Virgil Hawkins, 15-year-old high school student, who also doubles as superhero of Dakota, is walking down the hallway with his best friend Richie Foley. It was the end of the school day, so they were on their way out of the campus.
"Man, I still can't believe we're going on a field trip to New York!" Richie said, all smiles, beaming with excitement.
"You're saying that like it's a guarantee. We still gotta get the permission slip signed first." Virgil said, waving said permission slip in the air before he stopped to put it away in his backpack to avoid losing it.
"Come on V, you're on the honor roll, you've been consistently getting good marks on your tests. This is something that only brainiacs like us have the opportunity to go to." Richie said.
"Yeah, but you know how my pops is. I'm not exactly sure if he'd be okay with me traveling to another side of the country without him or Sharon to keep an eye on me." Virgil responded. "I really do hope he lets me go though. Being able to see Dr. Connors return to New York in person would be incredible." He said.
"You're telling me. He discovered a way to regrow human tissue. If that isn't Wolverine levels of insane I don't know what is." Richie said.
"It's a shame he abandoned his work though. Imagine what that could have done for the medical field. People that could never walk again, missing arms, etcetera. Crazy knowing that while we got our problems, there's somebody out there that's got it worse than you. Having all four limbs is a blessing man." Virgil said.
"You're telling me." Richie said, thankful to even be able to walk after being shot by Jimmy. Even though it was an accident, the entire ordeal still horrified him. The concept of possibly never being able to walk again.
Right as they exited the building they were in, Frieda and Daisy were there to greet them, with Virgil and Richie returning the favor.
"So I'm assuming you two got the forms for the field trip too right?" Daisy asked.
"Yes ma'am." Virgil said.
"Really hope you two get it signed. Would be a boring trip without you." Daisy said.
"Yeah but it'd be a lot quieter." Frieda joked.
"True…" Daisy said.
"Very funny." Virgil said, smiling.
"Alright V, catch ya later. Later Daisy. Frieda." Richie said. The other three exchanged their goodbyes before heading their separate ways back to their respective homes.
Hawkins Residence
"And this field trip is when now?" Robert Hawkins, Vergil Hawkins' father said, reading the permission slip and the details regarding the field trip, which was on a separate paper closely.
"Two days pops." Virgil said.
"I don't know. I'm not sure if I feel comfortable with you flying there by yourself. I'd come with you, but there's some urgent things I need to take care of at the Community Center. And I know your sister wouldn't be able to do it because of college." His dad said.
He lowers the papers to where they're no longer covering his face up to his eyes and looks at Virgil. "I'll be completely honest with you son, I don't feel a hundred percent comfortable with leaving you in another state with no family there to watch over you." He paused. "But I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you to meet someone as established and respected like Dr. Connors."
"So you've heard of him?" Virgil asked.
"I've heard of some of his work. Someone down at the center came from New York and told me about him. I saw in an article that he was working on a way to regrow human tissue. I don't know what happened to make him abandon the project, but someone with that type of knowledge can change the world." He said. He turns and puts down the papers on the dinner table and grabs a pen.
"I'll sign off and let you go to the field trip." He said. He couldn't see it because he was turned, but he could feel that his son was grinning.
"But, I want you to promise me this." His dad said.
"What is it?" Virgil asked.
"I want you to be on your best behavior. I want you to represent the Hawkins family name. And most of all… I want you to have fun." Robert said, before turning to smile at him.
"I will pops." Virgil said. His dad signs the paper.
"All right, it's done." He said. Virgil comes over to hug his dad. "Thank you so much pops." Virgil said. He really meant it.
"You're welcome son." Robert said. They released from their embrace.
"Come to think of it, the Avengers are up in New York. Along with Superman. I get into trouble I think I'll be in good hands." Virgil said. (A/N: DC Actually confirmed that Metropolis is in New York as of 2019)
"Just make sure you don't cause any trouble for them if you do happen to see them, son." Richard said, smiling.
Virgil rushes to his room to do his homework.
"Virgil! You forgot your-" Richie called out but stopped when he realized he was already up to his room. "-permission slip." He finished. "He'll come back for it eventually." He thought, and moved it to a place where it wouldn't get lost or ruined.
45 Minutes Later
After doing his homework, Virgil called Richie.
"Yello?" Richie said, pushing his chair back over to his desk, after answering the phone.
"Richie! I got the paper signed!" Virgil said.
"See? What'd I tell ya?"
"How about you?"
"Yep."
"Man this is gonna be off the chain! You think there's any chance we'll get any autographs from the Avengers?"
"I don't know. You could always try it as Static."
"Speaking of…" Virgil said before glancing in his closet. "Might wanna bring the costume with me." He said.
"You think one of your guys are gonna show up in New York?" Richie asked, referring to Static's usual suspects of enemies like Ebon and Hotstreak.
"I doubt it. But I think being the home of the Avengers should be more than enough of a reason to bring it." He said.
"Good point."
"Hopefully it doesn't come to that though." Virgil than came to a realization. "Oh man!"
"V? Hello?" Richie said.
Virgil ran down the stars. "My permission slip!" He looked at the table. It was gone. "Oh man, my pops is gonna kill me!"
"Calm down Virgil! He put it on the table under the lamp by one of the sofas so it wouldn't get lost." Sharon said from another room.
"When did she get Superman's hearing?" Virgil commented in a low voice.
Once he found it, he breathed a sigh of relief. He went to go put it away right away before he lost it for real.
Saturdays' Airship
Doc and Drew were at the front of the airship, with Drew piloting. It had been a little over 2 hours. Zak was still unconscious. Doyle was there as well. As soon as he heard what happened he dropped whatever it was he doing and came over right away.
Doc slammed his fist on the table in frustration. "I still blame myself for all of this. I should have tested the security system."
"This isn't your fault honey. We'll get them back, I promise." Drew said.
Zak, feeling groggy entered the room. "Mom! Dad! Uncle Doyle! There was this lion, cheetah guy, and the Claw, it's…" Zak said.
"The Claw's fine mini-man." Doyle said.
"How did-" Zak said.
"You're welcome." Wadi said. "Although I had some help from Komodo." She added.
"Komodo, Zon, Fisk, where are they?" Zak asked, noticing for the first time.
Wadi shook her head.
"He took them. But we're already on out way to get them back. That's why we're on the airship." Drew said.
"We scanned The Claw for fingerprints. While the DNA seems to be mixed with that of a lion, leopard, and cheetah, the human DNA still remains intact. And from what we've found in the database, it belongs to a man named Sergei Kravinoff, a skilled hunter. He's known for some of his crimes committed in New York, which is where we're headed." Doc said.
"It's not much to go off, but something is better than nothing." Drew said.
"Hang in there guys, we're on our way." Zak said.
Daily Bugle
New York, United States
"So Parker, you got those pictures of Spider-Man?" J. Jonah Jameson asked Peter as he walked in.
"Still fresh." Peter responded.
"Good, cause if ya didn't I would have told you to leave and not come back until you got me some." He said, typing on his computer like crazy. Peter set them on the desk where Jameson could see them.
"Yeah, yeah these are great kid, I'll pay ya accordingly." JJ said, still typing like crazy. He didn't even look at them. Peter had thought that same statement but decided not to say anything. If he was still going to pay him, who was he to complain? He did his job.
JJ suddenly gets up and looks Peter directly in the eyes. "I got something for ya to do kid." He said. "Have you seen the news about Dr. Connors returning to New York?" He asked him.
"Yes I-" Peter said but was cut off again. "That's all I needed to hear. I need you to cover the story. Get some pictures while you're at it. It's a guarantee that Spider-Man's gonna be there too, and I want you to be there to catch him in the act the minute he tries anything. Think an amateur like yourself can handle it?" JJ asked.
Peter never even had a chance to say anything before JJ said something again. "Good, cause if ya can't you can forget about coming back here!"
"Well, what are you waiting for, some sort of scene change? This isn't some comic! Go and get and me the cappuccino that I asked you for 13 sentences ago!" JJ said.
Peter just walked out to get him the cappuccino that he for sure did not ask him for 13 sentences ago. Even though he was sure the 13 sentences part was not a lie, as knowing JJ, he probably was counting them out as he went or was waiting to tell him that as soon as he finished assigning him the job.
It's still surreal to him that after all that time away, Dr. Connors is finally returning to New York. As much as Gwen and the others tried to comfort him and to not blame himself for what happened, he wasn't having any of it. Yes, he was able to help his Aunt May pay off bills, but of course, it couldn't have been without some sort of consequence. And in that case, the consequence was Dr. Connors leaving New York and his revolutionary work leaving with him.
Yes, it would be great to see him again, along with some of the other great minds in the science field, but what would he say when he saw him? Sorry for virtually destroying your life's work? The smell of the cappuccino was what made Peter snap out of it and try to get it off his mind. There's nothing he can do about the past. The only thing he can do at this point is move forward.
Abandoned Subway: Turtles' Lair
New York, United States
Donatello was reading an article on Dr. Connors' return to New York, as part of a collaboration with some of the biggest minds around the world. It was also told in the article that several students from several different schools around the world would have some of their brightest students attend a field trip to see them in person. Of course, New York's own students had the luxury of not requiring travel. Add mutant turtles to the list too. This was something that Donatello could not miss for the world.
"Well, you said you wanted to meet him. Now's your chance." Leonardo said.
"For sure. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. For the students that made this trip, I envy you." Donatello said, looking at his arms. There was no way he would be able to personally talk to Dr. Connors without him possibly freaking out, being a talking mutant turtle and all.
"My son, you have a lot to be grateful for as well, even as you are now." Splinter said.
"Love the skin you're in bro." Mikey commented as he was playing Alleys of Fury 3 on his Game Guy not far from where Donnie was.
"I know that Master Splinter. But don't you guys ever wonder how our lives would be if we were human?" Donatello asked, looking at the computer screen again.
"A good question. But it's something we'll never know the answer to I'm afraid." Leonardo said putting a hand on his brother's shoulder before walking away to join Master Splinter for tea.
"Maybe not." Donatello said, a new lightbulb being lit inside his always active brain.
A/N: And there's the second chapter!
Pop Culture References: 1. "Love the skin you're in" Dove commercial
2. Game Guy: Gameboy, referenced in the show before
3. Alleys of Fury 3: Streets of Rage 3, a sega genesis beat-em-up game. Ironically being played on a rival system.