Chapter 2: Strangers in the Night
"...Peter…"
He gently heard within the back of his mind as he raced through the streets. Sprinting as fast as he could as he followed the sound of car horns and screams. He cut through an alleyway, leaping at least four stories up before jumping across the building parallel to the one he was on before finally reaching the top of the adjacent building. The sound of thunder was an almost sickening perfect partner to the primal roars that dominated the streets. As Peter reached the edge of a building he was greeted with the mother of all car crashes down on the street below.
At least thirty cars were caught in the accident.
His attention moved to his right side as at least a block away a singular car stood ahead of the crash and at the top of it, a seven-foot creature that he could only pinpoint as a human dinosaur. It was prying open the top of a car belonging to a woman and her child as countless civilians ran away from the creature.
On instinct, he almost took off his clothes but quickly remembered that his uniform was in a state of severe disrepair underneath his bed.
"Least I have the colors," he thought. He put up his hood and hoped that God was on his side as the hood and the storm combined with bad New York street lights would be the only things concealing his identity.
He started running away from the crash and towards the creature until he was close enough. There was a group of civilians that were getting people out of their cars so he could ignore them and focus on the woman who was in the immediate danger of getting her head ripped off.
Peter leaped from the ledge of a building that was seven stories high, as he fell, he grabbed onto the street light that was below him and used it to propel himself into the lizard creature's side. The combination of his momentum and force sent the creature flying meters away before it could grab the terrified woman through the hole it had made.
The woman and her child screamed as it happened, preparing for the worst but looked on in shock as they saw the bright red jacket that belonged to Peter Parker. He was standing right where the creature stood just moments prior and instantly put up his hood again before the two could get a sight that wasn't his underside.
"It's Spider-Man!" the kid yelled enthusiastically as he associated the red he wore with New York's trademark web-slinger; Peter almost let out a grin as he heard the kid say it. Everything in this moment felt so right if he ignored the fact he was wearing his civilian clothing.
He dropped the smirk however as he saw the lizard creature get up from his attack.
"Get to safety!" he commanded, "I'll deal with whatever this thing is."
"My husband! He, he…" the woman tried to say but Peter stopped her. He already noticed the few people that were trapped in cars, unconscious due to the impact of the collision. "Don't worry, once I'm done beating the bejeezus out of this thing – which won't take long, I'll go and help him – It's what I'm good at," He stated confidently as he flashed the two a smirk before running off to face his new foe.
"Go spidey!" was all the kid could say before he was rushed by his mother. The creature roared as it used its powerful legs to leap high into the air to chase against the woman but Peter tackled it mid-air before it could do such a thing. The creature crashed into the cold wet street as Peter sat atop of it. It's blood red eyes glared at him as it let out an animalistic primordial roar which Peter responded to by thrusting his fist against the creature's scaly face. His punch did more damage to his fist than the lizard creature but he couldn't relent so he pulled back his left fist to hit the creature even harder than before but before he could, his eyes widened as he felt a familiar buzz within his head. Not even a second later, he felt something wrap around his waist and lift him into the air.
It moved his body to the left and Peter knew what was gonna happen next as the lizard creature flung his body to the right side of the street, sending him crashing through the front window of a store. The glass left tears within his raincoat but all things considered, he was fine. Peter slowly got up from his position, never taking his eyes off the creature. The creature paid no mind to Peter however, it looked around the area until it started walking in the same direction the woman and child went. Peter leapt on the display case that stood in front of the now broken window and watched as lightning struck, briefly revealing the creature's full form.
Its skin was covered with green scales, and its hands and feet housed viscous animalistic claws in the place of nails. Its face was the most animalistic however, its head almost completely resembling that of a t-rex with monstrous fangs and blood red eyes.
He brushed the water that was on his face and spat out saliva before saying,
"Hey, Earl Sinclair! It's gonna take more than that to beat me" Peter yelled, gaining the attention of the creature. From his peripheral he could still see people struggling to get out their cars to his left, focusing on the truck that laid on its side right in the middle of the cluster of vehicles. He had a bad feeling about the smoke that was coming from the engine but the most he could do was stall the creature and hope that they could escape before it was too late.
The creature roared as it leaped towards him which Peter reacted to by doing a flip over it. As he spun within the air he grabbed the tail of the creature and using all his might, he brought the creature over his head before slamming him into the ground. Thunder roared as the pavement broke with lizard's force colliding with it. The creature roared in pain as Peter gracefully landed in the space between the lying creature's legs.
As it tried to wrap its tail around his right leg Peter's spider-sense went off and he immediately backflipped away. Peter watched, formulating a plan as he saw the creature get up, its claws piercing through the pavement. He shook his head, throwing away whatever plan he had in mind and ran at the creature as it was still getting up.
With no web-shooters on him, he was limited to just his wits and his strength and he had plenty of the two. He ran towards the creature preparing a sucker punch that the Rhino could feel but before his fist collided the creature sidestepped the attack. Peter's eyes widened as he could see the lizard's tail move in his direction so he leaned backwards, faster and deeper than any normal human could possibly do, barely dodging the attack. The lizard however wasn't done and went to instantly grab Peter with its right hand but in response to this Peter did a simple back spring away, gaining distance from the monster.
But as he was going to stick the landing the creature tackled him to the ground. Pinning him down it roared in his face, "ugh, yikes," Peter said as he visibly cringed at the monster's breath. He had his right forearm underneath the creature's jaw to prevent it from biting him and did a left hook to the creature's face.
The impact sent the creature's face forcefully to the left as expected but what he did not expect was the lizard monster to let go of him as it roared in pain. It stood on its legs now trying to grab something on its back as its cries of pain were now conjoined with the sounds of something else.
As Peter rolled away before entering a familiar crouched position, he listened closely as his eyes widened. The sound that was mixed with the creature's own was the yells of a girl.
As lightning flashed once again, he could ever so briefly see a caucasian looking girl with waist-length black hair get off the creature's back. She elegantly dodged the creature's attacks, leaving huge gashes around its body in her wake. The creature tried grabbing her with its left arm but she swiftly dodged the attack before digging something into the creature's side and circling around to its back, leaving another gash on its body.
As Peter was just about to help her he noticed that the creature's previous wounds instantly healed.
From her position behind the creature, she was getting ready for another strike but before she could do that, it's tail swiftly went for a sweeping strike which the girl just barely evaded, but that's what the monster wanted as it turned around with such speeds that outclass even the finest of human athletes. She let out a cry of pain as the creature's hand wrapped around her body fiercely. It raised her body and roared but before it could do anything else Peter hit it with everything he got. His fist collided against the powerful jaws of the creature and sent it tumbling as the girl fell on the cold wet street.
Peter clenched his left fist as it felt like he fractured it just by hitting the creature. He looked at the girl who was currently at his side on her knees and asked, "you alright," before sticking his right hand out to her.
He didn't show it but he recognized that girl.
This was the same one on the motorcycle earlier.
She wore a black leather jacket with black fingerless gloves, black jeans with a pair of black biker boots were what dominated her lower half. She had waist-length hair that was as dark as the sky and her face was the shape of a triangle adorned with almond-shaped eyes.
Her vibrant emerald eyes met his blue ones as she got up on her own, completely ignoring the hand he held out for her.
"You're welcome," he mumbled.
"Last time I checked, I was the one who saved you first, you twit," the girl stated in an aggressive manner.
"Touché," was all Peter could say.
"What is that?" the girl asked as she looked at the creature who was slowly getting up.
"I don't know but it seems to be after one of the civilians," he said as he turned his attention from the girl onto the creature. The group of civilians was behind him but he couldn't afford to look back for this creature proved itself to be quick. "We hold this Godzilla wannabee here before it can hurt any of them," he said, rolling up his sleeves and brushing off bits of the creature's scales off his face. The girl nodded and followed his actions, clenching her fists before a 'snikt' sound came. Out from her knuckles were two metallic claws on each hand and one on each foot. He pushed the many questions he had about her to the back of his mind. This wasn't his first superhero team-up, he'd get answers later.
"I'll hit-"
"Don't get in my way," was the only thing the girl said as she ran at the monster before he could even state his plan, "...okay… never mind, I'll follow your lead," he said as he followed her. The raven-haired girl yelled as she charged at the lizard. The scaly creature roared back as it tried to maul her with its claws but the girl managed to dodge it by ducking under the arm, leaving the creature open to attack, an opening Peter used.
He jumped as he approached the creature and combined the momentum and his strength to punch the creature's face yet again causing it to take a few steps back. The raven-haired girl tried to go for a strike but the creature recovered quickly from Peter's hit and went to attack her again. She swiftly dodged the attack allowing Peter to go in for another one but the creature didn't fall for the same trick twice. The creature used its advanced physiology to grab the girl while she was still in the process of dodging its first attack. wrapping its palm around her face to Peter's surprise, panic started to settle within him as he was worried for the girl's safety.
The girl struggled and tried to cut the creature's arm but she only managed to make it halfway. "Let her go!" Peter demanded as he rushed the creature. He stood on its back as he barraged its face with attacks to little effect. It only relented as the girl used the claw on her foot to impale the creature's abdomen. In annoyance, it threw the girl's body with all its strength into the air prompting Peter to let out a "No!" as he jumped from the creature's shoulder and towards the girl's body.
The force of the throw made it impossible for her to gain control and break her fall but luckily she didn't have to. The boy managed to catch her before she hit the ground, unfortunately though, there wasn't enough space for him to land with her so he did the next best thing and used his back to break their fall.
They bounced down the street in the opposite direction from the crash with Peter taking most of the damage. They soon came to a stop and the two found themselves lying beside each other as the creature stood meters away.
The girl got up immediately and looked at the boy, a look of surprise across her face as she watched him. "...Ow…" was all he said as he casually sat up. "I'm gonna feel that in the morning," he quipped as he looked at his now partially torn jacket. She observed how he casually got up from a tumble that would leave most paralyzed.
His blue eyes turned from his jacket to meet her green ones as he said, "You alright?"
"Why did you do that," she asked in an infuriated tone as if she was mad that Peter saved her.
He looked at her dumbfoundedly, "...cause you were gonna get hurt," he stated as if it was the obvious answer.
"I heal quickly. I do not need your concern" she stated furiously and sternly, brow furrowed for she was not one who needed worry from anyone, much less him.
"Well, you have it," he said as he got up, "You know, you have a funny way of saying 'thank you,'" he joked.
She didn't like the joke, evident from her lack of response and scowl.
"So...are you done with the lone wolf schtick or do I have to get bruised more?" Peter said, putting his hands on his waist.
The girl just glared at him.
"I'm gonna take that as a 'yes,'" He said in a more serious tone as he looked at the lizard creature which was perched atop a parked car as it watched them like a predator in the bushes. "Godzilla over here is almost as fast as me and possibly stronger," he paused for a moment. "Its scales prevent me from doing any real damage but your claws seem to do the trick," he said as he turned his attention to her.
The girl looked at him, understanding what he was saying. "I'll distract the creature this time, while you use those claws of yours to make mincemeat out of this thing."
"Alright," the girl agreed as she withdrew her claws.
"So you do understand English," he joked with a grin of his own as he slammed a fist into his palm.
As the creature roared, the girl briefly said, "Shut up,"
They ran at the creature with the girl following closely behind Peter. The creature left it's perched position from the car as it watched its "prey" approach them and lifted the car above its head before it threw it at the two. The girl swiftly moved right as the car approached them but watched as the boy ran head-on, still retaining his grin.
She watched how the boy waited for the car to get closer to him before he jumped on it. He ran on it with ease as if the laws of physics did not apply to him before launching himself even farther into the air. He twirled in the air with a level of superior agility as he did a front flip with so many twists that it seemed impossible for a regular human to accomplish. The acrobatic spectacle seemed to confuse the creature as it couldn't comprehend what he was going to do next, which helped Peter as he turned the stylish move into a deadly kick.
The creature barely ducked under Peter's kick and as he landed behind the creature it spun around going for a hit which never came. The monster shrieked in pain as the girl's claws dug deep into its back, sending the message to never turn its back to her. She dragged them out through the creature's sides before cutting its legs tendons deeply as Peter from his crouched position pulled his fist back before doing a spinning uppercut to the creature's jaw.
The sheer force of the attack sent the creature into the air but as it tried to land the deep gash it had on its calves caused it to collapse and fall to its hands and knees. The girl ran at the creature, jumping over the creature's head as it tried to bite her. She twisted her body with the same elegance she showed when she saved Peter and dragged two claws from the creature's shoulder down to its upper back as her legs pointed towards the sky. It shrieked again as it straightened its back, allowing the girl to wrap her legs around the creature's waist as she was coming down.
She pulled out the claws that were stuck on the creature's back and used her left arm to wrap around the creature's neck. She then used her right hand to once again impale the creature, this time striking its ribs. With her against its body, its tail had no way of grabbing her and any attempts to do so with its hands were thwarted as once again the creature was struck by the boy in red.
After that hit he struck the creature again, putting more into this punch than the previous ones prior. As his fist collided, the creature's waist twisted and the girl swiftly got off from it, but not before slitting its throat with the hand that was around its neck.
Its body limply fell upon the pavement.
An odd silence washed over the two as they could only hear the sound of raindrops and each other panting. The girl found a place at the boy's side as he looked at the creature's body with a soft expression. "It's dead," she simply said as she looked at the boy, but he gave her no response.
"Yea…" he says with a hint of sadness in his voice. She recognized the sad expression and tried to console him, "It was not human."
"It was still alive," he solemnly said. It may have been an animal of some freak experiment but it didn't deserve this. He looked at the girl, his saddened expression slowly morphing into a small smile.
"Thank you though," he gratefully said. "We make a pretty good team if this is anything to go by," he finished.
She crossed her arms and let out a small "hmph," She could have handled this without him, she thought.
But as she looked at the creature's body she couldn't deny the results.
If only he talked less.
"Why did you go help that woman?" she asked the boy, aware that he came to the rescue and recklessly battled that creature before knowing anything about it.
He looked down for a second, trying to find a good answer, but there was only really one as he saw his reflection on the puddle beneath him. He saw himself, the reds, the blues, and the white lenses and let out a small chuckle. He looked at her and slightly tilted his head as he spoke wholeheartedly.
"Because I could, meaning I had to," he said with a smile that slightly took her off guard, "Why did you help me?" he asked with a raised brow as if he already knew the answer.
Before she could answer however her nose picked up something.
"There's a fire," she stated.
The both turned around to see where the site of the car crash was and Peter's eyes widened as they saw the truck that was turned to its side caught up in flames, alongside other cars. As he moved to go help them his spider-sense went off and at inhuman speeds, he turned around to see the lizard creature's tail move towards the girl.
He tackled her to the ground before it could strike her, but with both of them down the creature turned to the closest wall and leaped at least seven stories before scaling it.
They both got up immediately and the girl went to give chase but Peter grabbed her arm. "We have to help them!" he yelled, pointing towards the civilians.
She turned around and raised her other hand to his face and pulled out her claws, "These claws were made for killing, not helping!" she said with anger in her voice. She was angry that she fell for such a stupid trick, angry that she briefly dropped her guard.
But he wouldn't have it.
"Then let's change that!" Peter said as he challenged her ferocity, letting go of her arm as he bolted to the fire
"You idiot! That truck will explode before you even make it," she yelled.
"Doesn't mean I won't try!" he yelled back.
The girl glared at him, a look of surprise and anger as she watched the boy's figure get smaller as he ran towards the fire. She turned her gaze upwards to where the lizard creature was, its figure all but gone except for its tail which slowly disappeared from the edge of the building.
She looked back at the boy as he leaped into the heart of the crash.
He wouldn't be able to save all of them and something in her heart told her to follow him.
Peter already managed to pull two civilians from their car and managed to bring them to a group of people that were signalling him. He plopped the two civilians in front of the group where two people from it picked up the bodies and started moving them. The man who signalled to him let out a sigh of relief as Peter stood before him. "We managed to get most of the people to safety while you battled that monster," the man started to say as he gestured to where they moved the people. "We couldn't save some of them though, there's one in a flipped-over Nissan," he said pointing towards the vehicle which laid on its side. "Another two within the Malibu that's pinned down by the pickup, its a father with his unconscious son, we couldn't find a way to get them out," a different man said. "Don't worry, I can get them out," Peter said confidently as he began to move, however the man said more, "there's one within the Civic that's sandwiched between two cars and a woman in the Toyota Corolla!" the man urgently yelled. "Bring them to us! We'll move them!" he finished.
"I'll get the Nissan and the civic."
Peter turned around, eyes wide with a smile of relief as he watched the girl in black go towards her targets. "I knew you'd come," he yelled as he leaped from car to car until he reached the Corolla which stood mere meters away from the truck. The girl easily maneuvered around the cars until she reached the civic, failing to keep her eyes on it as she watched the boy easily rip the Carolla's door before taking the woman out.
"Who is he," she thought.
She reached the top of the car and drew her claws out, easily cutting through the metal of the car and making a hole. As she went down on her knees she could feel the heat from the flames make the metal beneath her warm as she lowered her upper body into the hole she created. She used one hand to hold the unconscious, and hefty man as she used her claws to cut the seat belt. She was able to pull the man out using both arms and managed to bring him to the group of civilians that were helping them.
She could hear one of them say "thank you" as she left to go help the other passenger.
She didn't deserve praise.
She then moved towards the Altima, noticing that more flames were catching fire now. She watched how the boy however didn't stop as he headed towards them, with full intention of saving the two people underneath the Ford Pickup.
There was about to be a mass explosion any second now and he was heading towards the heart of the crash.
She climbed her way to the Altima standing on the passenger side door as she once again used her claws to cut through the door.
She put the woman who was in the Altima on her back as she climbed down, watching as the boy lifted the Ford pickup truck, his face visibly red as he was sweating. "Go Spider-Man!" she heard the group of civilians cheer on as they watched the boy.
"Spider-Man..." she thought as she watched the boy.
There was no possible way that he was Spider-Man, she thought.
But there was something about him she could not pinpoint that made her doubt her own thoughts.
The way he fought, while amateur level at best still spelled out he had experience, and from what she recalled about the 'hero,' he also wore red.
He threw the truck with ease and quickly slammed his first through the roof of the car before tearing it right off. The man inside looked at him with pleading eyes as he laid on the back seat of the car, clutching the body of his son.
"It's going to be alright! Just take my hand!" he yelled.
The way he spoke, however, the way he seemed to care for people, even her...there was something more to the boy, she'll give him that.
The man was sweating profusely as he nodded frantically to Peter's words. He quickly sat up and passed the body of his son to Peter who held it underneath his right arm. As the man then gave his hand to Peter, Peter simply swung him up from his position and held him over his left shoulder.
The girl gave the last civilian to the group before she turned her attention to the boy who was currently running out of time. She watched with pure anticipation and worry for the boy as he almost made it out; however, God had another idea.
A large 'boom,' could be heard as the boy and the two civilians he carried were enveloped by the rupture of flames.
"No!" she yelled, instinctively sticking her hand out to where the boy stood, a look of anguish crossing her face as the boy disappeared with the flames.
But just moments later her look of anguish was one of surprise as he dived out of the flames.
His body was flying high in the air, looking down at her agape expression with a grin as the man he carried on his shoulder screamed for his life, the tip of his nose blackened from burns. He landed a couple of meters away from her, the group of people cheering for him as he gently placed the man down on his feet. He fell to his knees and put his hands on the floor as he caught his breath. He was a middle-aged man, graying on the sides, had a huge gash at the top of his head and yet his only words were, "my-my son...is he…" he tried to say, his eyes full of worry.
"He's safe," Peter softly said as used his other hand to gently change the boy's position from a hold underneath his arm to a more parental one. He then gently gave the boy who appeared to be no more than five to his father, who clutched him as if his life depended on it.
The man teared up as he looked at the brunette boy who just saved them and the only words he could find himself saying were "Thank you…thank you so much…."
Peter looked at him with wide eyes before taking a step back, watching the father clutch his son as if the ending of the world had just been prevented. He looked around, the fire behind him illuminating the scene with a soft orange glow.
He looked around, looking at where the civilians were all piled up, some were in the process of waking, others were still out.
But they were alive.
They were alive because of him.
That child was alive because of him.
The girl quietly observed the boy as he looked around. She noticed how his jacket wasn't fully on now, just barely hanging on his elbows as the outside was covered by black soot from the explosion. She saw the words "Parker," written on the tag that sat underneath the hood on the inside of the jacket.
He turned his gaze onto her, his blue eyes looking at her green ones softly as he gave her a small smile.
"You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you?" he said light-heartedly as he put his hands on his waist.
"Do not be a fool," she said as she crossed her arms.
He let out a small laugh at her response.
"You know I wouldn't have been able to save all of them if it weren't for you," He began to say as he looked back at the crowd. "Thank you for that," he said with all his heart.
She didn't respond, instead opting to look at the crowd of people she helped save.
He did the same.
"Shame that thing got away," Peter said as he put his coat on properly.
He didn't get a response from the girl, but at the mention of the creature he got something else. He stared at her oddly as she started sniffing the air, like a dog tracking things. He jumped a little bit as her gaze sharply turned to him.
"It's not gone," she stated.
"What?" Peter asked dumbfoundedly.
She simply pointed west, "it's somewhere there."
"Wait..." he said, recollecting the area. "That's where the waterfront is, there's an entrance to the sewers down there... You don't think?" he said as he looked at the nearest manhole cover.
The girl simply walked towards it and looked at him.
"Yes," was all she said.
He followed her and crouched down beneath the manhole, putting his hand over it and using his powers to lift it. The girl quietly observed how the boy lifted the manhole, palm fully flat on it before lifting it, almost like it was stuck to his palm.
Peter looked up at her and got the feeling he should clarify what he just did.
"Stick'em powers," he casually said. She already saw his face, how he fought and how he lifted a truck with ease. Didn't help that bystanders called him out but he did appreciate it at the same time.
And while normally he was extremely worried and paranoid about his identity, there was something about this girl that made him feel at ease.
She looked at him, visibly displeased with his childish response however, it did confirm her doubts. What were the chances that she met the hero the news loved talking about?
"Ladies first?" he gestured as he looked at her.
She glared at him again.
"Nevermind," was all he said before jumping in first, not bothering to use the rusted steps built in. She followed suit, albeit not as reckless as she decided to use the steps to go down the hole.
She closed the manhole as she went further down, the repugnant smell of the sewers burning her nostrils but she could also smell the boy and the various soaps he used, standing right beneath her, obviously waiting for her to come down.
More importantly however, the more she went down the stronger the creature's faint smell became.
It was here, alright.
The hunt was on.