Hello again, everyone! I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I'm still sickly, meaning I'm coughing, squeezing, all of those unpleasant things. The good new is though that my sore throat is almost gone, along with my fever and migraine! Yes, sounds like a small accomplishment, but it's better than nothing right? Since I won't be able to update any of my stories tomorrow, hanging out with friends and writing a paper in between, I decided to update 'Under the Mask' to an even number. I can't do odd numbers for some reason; they drive me insane, so here's chapter four! Thank you to everyone who has been very supportive of me over the years; my stories would not exist without you all, so thank you again and enjoy this chapter! Some action in this one, though it raises a worrying question: Kendall, who or what is he fighting? We'll find out later in the story but for now, read, review and enjoy to your heart's content! Thank you again everyone, I hope you all enjoy this latest update! :) Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush! I just love them and writing stories about them, particularly AUs! I also don't own Spider-Man or any of other Spider-Man related characters! All I own is the plot of the story! Sorry if the action was lame!
It didn't take long for Kendall to catch up with the robbers. The police cars were left in the dust as the masked blond took to the skies, dodging buildings and train bridges with ease while trying to piece this crime up as much as he could.
He could make out four silhouettes: one driving, two counting the money in the back while the fourth had his gun at the ready.
'Seriously, why can't you guys just get jobs?!' Kendall thought with a harsh bite to his lower lip, doing a back flip before he landed, hard, on his heels on top of the car's roof. The metal caved in a little at the surprise rise of weight, yet the impact had not been enough to break the roof into itself.
"What the hell?!" The robber driving exclaimed, the one armed sticking his head out the window.
"Who the fuck are you, you freak?!"
'I can't believe he's asking that.'
"The sheriff around these parts, so unless you want to get your asses kicked to the Carolinas I suggest you quit this little kid's game now!" Normally Kendall would have better wise-cracks to pester the baddies with, but today was certainly not his day.
He was tired, exhausted from patrol last night plus he was on edge. Having too many flashbacks of Venom in only twenty-four hours took a lot out of him; the memory of those long, sharp teeth, piercing shriek and claw-like hands made heavy chills run down his spine. The memory of James becoming Venom only made the sick sensation twisting Kendall's stomach into painful knots worse, the brunet's sweet angelic face being...being wrapped in thick, slimy black threads of goo.
The shrieking, James' outstretched hand being coated in a slimy, black sleeve followed by his soft hazel-green eyes being lost behind sinister-looking, white skin.
"K-Kendall, help me!"
"James!"
"Agh! N-no, stop! Ugh, gah!"
"James!"
"HE-MAWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"NO!"
"MAWHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, now we can some real fun!"
Kendall shook his head to clear the atrocious memory from his head, mind now back in present day. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it...!"
He crouched low and pushed hard off his heels; the robbers were confused as to what the masked hero was doing, until they saw the tunnel they were entering.
"What the hell is he doing?!" One of the two in the back hissed.
"I don't know!" The one driving shouted back while the one armed began firing.
'What's the best way to stop a runaway train? Full-on force.' Kendall worked his way through the tunnel until he reached the end, the place free of traffic for once since the NYPD had cleared the area since the robbers left their hit at the bank. With his feet planted firmly on the ground he began shooting ball of web after ball of web until the whole mouth of the tunnel was glistening with sticky, strong feather-light thread.
"That's covered, that should be enough to cushion the crash. Now, time for the real work-out." Kendall took a deep breath as the car's headlights illuminated the tunnel's dark, circular depth, muscles tense while he held out his hands.
"What the fuck! He's going to try and brake the car with his body!" The robber driving shouted, though the one still shooting only scoffed.
"Just keep driving!"
"We're going to crash into him!" One of the robbers in the back hissed, though the one armed only shot him a heated glare in response.
"We're going to RUN HIM OVER! NO IDIOT IN A COSTUME IS GOING TO STOP US, SO JUST SHUT UP AND DRIVE!"
"THIS IS A BAD IDEA!"
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
"STOP!"
"I SAI-"
CRASH!
-Page Break-
A loud crashing sound welcomed the NYPD cruisers as they finally reached the tunnel, all rushing out with guns and flashlights at hand. They took great caution as they approached a wrecked beyond recognition old Fold Fiesta laying on its back, wheels still spinning weakly while the glass of the windows littered the ground in small showers of mix-matched shards.
"No signs of survivors, the impact must have been fatal!" One officer said, guarding Captain Stacy. Said man narrowed his deep, dark eyes before he took a look over his head, torn between a feeling of relief and annoyance.
"Look again." Was all he said, his squad tilting their heads up to take in what he was seeing.
All four robbers, unharmed and conscious, webbed to the walls of the tunnel, the bags of money they snatched dangling like blackjacks in an empty theater. The one that had been armed was hanging upside down, his gun unloaded and useless at Captain Stacy's feet. Despite the fact that the car was in shambles, Spider-Man had managed to get the criminals out of possibly bodily harm before getting them all nice and ready for the police to pick them up. There were loose, broken strands of spider webbing blowing in the weak breeze entering the tunnel, but that was all that proved the masked hero had formed a blockade while using his own body as a brake.
The squad trained their flashlights on the groaning, struggling robbers, one approaching Captain Stacy. "Everything's all here, sir. The ten million dollars they robbed the bank of, the stolen Ford Fiesta..." She trailed off as she saw the skin between her boss's eyebrows curl up in thought, her blue eyes watching him carefully for a reaction.
All she got was a serious look, followed by he barking orders to get the robbers off the walls and straight to jail.
-Page Break-
'Looks like Captain Stacy still doesn't like me, just like Jameson.' Kendall thought, hanging upside down from a tall tree, watching the cruisers pull away with their targets handcuffed in the backseats. The blond sighed heavily under his mask, deep bottle green eyes dark with fatigue.
Captain Stacy has never accepted Spider-Man as New York's extension of protection outside of the common PD. Just like Jameson, he thought he was a bad influence on New York's citizens and their shared sense of justice but in a different sense: he didn't believe in Vigilantism to any extend, while Jameson was tolerant of other heroes like Iron Man or Captain America because they were part of S.H.I.E.L.D., a government organization. To him, someone taking the law into their own hands was a stupid act, a stupid act that showed no respect for the law of man. Jameson could tolerate heroes, but not the captain of the NYPD.
Even when Kendall had saved his daughter Gwen from falling to her death during a secret modeling shoot, Captain Stacy regarded the web-slinger as everything BUT a hero.
'You can't please everybody, but at least those robbers won't terrorize anyone again. I better get home, James is probably worried...' With that thought in mind, Kendall let himself fall forward, webbing across the rooftops and any close fire escapes to turn in for the day.
When out of nowhere, something...or someone landed hard on his back, followed by long, muscular arms locking around his neck.
"GAH!" Kendall struggled to break free from the iron grip but to no avail, he freaking out inside.
'W-what's going on?! My spidey sense...it didn't go off!'
His spidey sense, it was what alerted the blond of potential danger and gave him the advantage over his enemies. It was like having eyes at the back of his head; without having to crane his neck, he would be able to avoid an assault without his attacker knowing how.
But it didn't go off this time...
-Page Break-
James felt a pang go off in his chest, soft hazel-green eyes going wide behind his whole, thick-rimmed glasses.
"Kendall!"
Something was wrong, very wrong.
With that in mind, James grabbed his jacket, house keys and motorcycle helmet; he adjusted the headset he used to keep in contact with Kendall during big crime waves while activating the tracking system he installed in his best friend's suit, practically leaving the apartment in a sprint of flames.
He was quick to jump onto his motorcycle and kick it to life, his backpack hanging weakly from one shoulder as he sped away from the curb and tried to pinpoint the exact coordinates that marked Kendall's location.
'Oh no, Kendall...!'
-Page Break-
Kendall screamed as he thrown into another wall.
Half of his mask was ruined; his gums and lips were bloody, breathing uneven as another kick was delivered to his lower stomach.
"GAH!" The force of the kick vibrated off Kendall's bruised ribs, his broken wrist leaving him defenseless. Normally his healing attribute would kick in and save his ass, but not while he was beaten on by five individuals all at once.
Five individuals he couldn't see, five individuals that didn't set off his spidey sense. Five strong, silent-as-mimes individuals beating at him from all angles, leaving him as nothing but a pile of blue-and-red spandex splashed in blood.
The blond was limp on the ground, having crashed into an abandoned two-story house when his assailant(s) had pounced on him like a puma. He was unconscious by the time the five individuals decided to retreat, the tracking system in his suit blinking a bright red despite the immense darkness trying to snuff it out.
A long shaky gasp of breath broke between Kendall's badly cut lips, vision black as night as a thick, consuming numbness began to take over his whole body.
'J-James...'