243Throughout the course of a couple of days, Laura Kinney had learned to limit herself – to not kill – to be a hero who waged war against a crime lord whose quest for power ruined thousands of lives.
All the while dealing with Peter Parker's amusing or headache-inducing antics. By night, they were the superhero duo who alongside the crime wave and NYPD's superhuman response division – The S.H.R.D – took the media by storm, while by day, they were sixteen-year-old Peter Benjamin Parker and Laura Kinney, students of the Xavier Institute and the newest members of his X-Men.
Laura had crafted an identity for him, which allowed him to take the next steps of making the costume. His identity – Ricochet – was a mutant hero who wore a black leather jacket, which is why he was currently shopping inside one of NYC's expansive malls which had stores of every kind. She followed him of course, watching on as the price tags instantly turned him off from buying jackets that had caught his eye – mainly because he was broke and couldn't afford them and partly because they didn't fit the biker aesthetic Ricochet inherited from his designer.
They ate there, the brunette boy munching on his burger and fries with manners that would gross out many – Laura included if she was not already accustomed to manners that somehow developed under the clean and tidy May Parker. She ate lemon chicken stir fry mind and body finding peace in moments like this before she would eventually put it on alert the moment the sun went down. By the time they had finished, a majority of the stores within the mall had already closed, and most had already left with bags in hand.
Save for Peter who did not find what he was looking for, however, his disappointment would be replaced by genuine curiosity when his blue orbs fell on a crowd that had gathered. With time to spare before the darkness of night called for Spider-Man and Talon, he asked the girl he spent most of his time with now if she wanted to check it out, and receiving her typical impartial answer, they went in to see what stole the spotlight.
"Woah…" his juvenile voice ogled under the sound of crackles and explosions, "...See? I knew this was gonna be worth checking out," he said with an amused smile to the girl who stood beside him, her emerald eyes containing the various sparkles that illuminated colorful and vibrant lights.
"Hmmm," she simply hummed, slightly interested in the showrunner's event that spurred an amusing reaction on the brunette boy's face though she was more focused on the time so that they could continue the fight against The Kingpin.
"Zippity-do-dah-diddy-wop-bop-a-loo-bob-a-wop-bam-boo!" The showrunner spoke with teenage glee, excitingly voicing out the sounds her fireworks had caused. She was Asian, her features telling Laura that she was of Chinese descent and that she was around the ages of fourteen and fifteen due to the lack of a majority of adolescent features, unlike her and Peter. She had slicked back short black hair, a black t-shirt that had a smile on it, with a leather jacket and skirt.
Tens of fireworks escaped her hands, giving wonder and amusement to all – even her to a slight extent.
"How do you think she does it?" Peter whispered to her, not wanting to disturb the others that surrounded them, unable to see anything around that would allow her to do such a thing, but as he tried more and more to find answers as to what caused these miniature fireworks, he found that he couldn't find the answer.
Upon getting asked that simple question, Laura – someone who was highly trained in analyzing everything – half-heartedly tried finding answers as well, only to find that her nose had not picked up anything that would suggest this was a trick, backing what her eyes and senses had told her.
This was not a trick.
This was power…
"These are not tricks," Laura declared, masking her statement with her breath to make sure only Peter could hear, but even though he trusted her, even though he knew she could not be and was not wrong, he still gave her a look of skepticism, of doubt.
"You're not saying…" He suggested what Laura was trying to convey, but what the joyful teenage girl would say next, would all but confirm their suspicions and the crowd that filmed her as well.
"In case anyone's curious, these are pieces of raw energy…that come when I call them," The teenager confirmed to the two in a boastful yet educational voice, relishing in not just taking center stage but also in the amazement she provided those who were in attendance of her debut, but while the ramifications of this comment were oblivious to her, they were not oblivious to the two who suddenly gained a sense of urgency for the girl.
The worry was amplified when it wasn't just the crowd that had noticed her spectacle, but mall security who had called the cops.
Cops who reeked the stench of going against their oaths – who worked for filth – for The Kingpin.
This minor event of stopping to see what appeared to be a street performer would be a catalyst for the following events. There was a quip by her in response to them stopping her show, "If you guys say so, but I never close a performance without a grand finale!" she said, turning her sparkling attraction into a weapon that disorientated the guards allowing her to scramble away, her false bravado leaving as well.
As Peter instantly went to change to the renegade vigilante Spider-Man, Laura had gone to try and assist the girl from the scum which slowly made its way to her but the girl proved able to outpace the officers with parkour and gymnastics which was adequate for a girl in her age range.
She kept her distance from the girl of course, staying out of the lines of sight of the hundreds of people who recorded the event as she bolted up an escalator – the cops following suit, captivating the idle maintenance man who stood by – who provided Laura with the means to assist the girl inconspicuously.
Knowing how escalators worked, she lifted the keys that operated the them from the distracted middle-aged man. She stumbled – putting on the show of a dolt who wasn't paying attention to her surroundings which enabled her to secretly put the key into the hole of the machine and reverse its course in the span of a second, having the men who chased her instantly tumble as the one they chased managed to get away.
The girl looked back and chuckled instead of running – a foolish mistake from a foolish girl who had done an action whose vast consequences she was naive to, but she was not naive to what caused the seeming accident and her brown eyes met Laura's flat emerald ones before winking.
The girl escaped through the doors soon after, entering an alleyway she knew too well.
But others knew it too.
When she turned a corner, she ran into the path of a van with its back open, ambushed by a group of men who forcefully constrained her despite her best efforts before putting on a collar that – to her shock, prevented usage of her fireworks.
The last thing she remembers before fading to black was pleading in complete and utter fear…
…When Laura and Spider-Man arrived, she was nowhere to be seen.
The scent had run cold.
She growled as Peter clenched his fists in anger.
After a long and extensive line that traveled through the criminal bracket, Wilson Fisk dropped his phone.
A smile on his disgusting face.
There was a hunt for her – a search that all the heroes they were acquainted with followed – that those in the police force who were not corrupt put out, but every turn, every possible lead – every thug questioned all led to the same useless answer.
Until an arrow with a glistening sharpened tip came soaring from the heavens with a message that obtained what they sought.
And also a challenge…
"Mother nature is unforgiving to cubs who wander into the jungle, and The Kingpin is worse, however, I am not without mercy. You seek the girl, I seek you both. Let us accomplish both our desire. Come find me. Hunt Me. Let us see who will triumph. Let us see who will be the others fresh-kill."
The note did not have to be signed for them to know who it was, and they did not need the obvious to be said. This was a trap – a bait to lure them out into territory that would be turned against them but the girl's life was at stake – this was their only lead, and Kraven The Hunter from what she had seen had some semblance of honor.
Them not going to their desired hunting grounds only meant that they would lose the offer – the only lead to the unsuspecting girl's whereabouts. Whether Kraven would hunt them or not was a stupid question that was easily answered. Since the very moment he became aware of both of them, both Spider-Man and Talon were…
Chapter 21: Hunted
Those who bore the name 'Kraven the Hunter' were male heirs of The Kravinoff family who – if the rumor was true, were taught to hunt the moment they came out of the womb of the chosen woman who carried the worthy genetics. The Kravinoff family itself – despite their vast wealth, were secretive, off the books, not even known nor mentioned by anything relating to the general public but that was unsurprising given the ties they had with both the Russian and South African Governments. This secrecy was extended to the fabled Hunters who only took up contracts should the targets be worthy of their skill.
The Facility had a file on The Kravinoff family, as they did with all their competitors – all of hers. Supposedly there was a tradition or procedure the family had taken to enhance their human forms, but the previous Hunter, Sergei, had undergone a procedure under the KGB's own efforts to recreate the much-desired super-soldier, further augmenting one who was already one of the world's most dangerous assassins.
And now they were against his heir, someone who supposedly surpassed the previous Hunter, as was the tradition. The tales created by their reputation told stories that those who entered the jungle with The Hunters would end up a taxidermied statue in their estate.
But up until now, those who had entered the jungle were not Laura Kinney or Peter Benjamin Parker, and though The Hunter did best the former, she had been training every morning, honing her skills to make it so that it would not be her who was hunted, but The Hunter himself.
By the end of this night, Kraven The Hunter would be another foe they would vanquish and the girl used as bait would be saved from The Kingpin's grasp.
This was her mission.
"Ughh, talk about this park living up to its name," Spider-Man scowled at the revolting smell of death emanating from a freshly killed squirrel, "This place smells worse than that dumpster we were in."
"Be quiet," Talon snapped over her shoulder, body on high alert long before they had reached Staten Island's Fresh Kills park. They had been lured with a promise – baited, put in surroundings that had been scouted, hand-picked, and trapped by a Hunter who was not to be underestimated.
If their location had not already been compromised, then any extra sound surly would considering The Hunter too had increased senses.
"What? To soo-"
"We do not know where he is or what he has planned, but he means to kill us, and he will should we underestimate him. He has had a week to prepare, there is no telling what he has in store," Laura bluntly interrupted, trying to silence his mouth while listening to the information her senses were giving her.
"So the same old same old?" Peter chuckled with a shrug, but a glare from her had left him silent and cooperating with her demand. Spending most of his time with her now, Peter was no stranger to furrowed brows and glares, but the specific look she was giving him, the seriousness it conveyed had him listen which pleased the girl. Despite his exterior which joked and didn't take things seriously as if he did not care, she knew that it was all superficial, that he did to an extreme. There was a girl's life on the line here, and that was more than enough for him to listen to her even though he personally believed that she was overestimating The Hunter.
They moved silently, Laura's claws already out as she walked with a hunch, ready for a fight as Peter casually strode beside her, the only sound they made being the crunching of grass and breaking of twigs which were accompanied by the soothing chime of crickets and the hum of cicada's. Fresh Kills Park in spite of its flourishing plant life was horrendous, unpleasant, and eerie with how ghastly the evergreen around them was shaped. The night sky was obscured by the towering trees and their jagged branches that suffocated them in shadows with only small blemishes of light being able to reach through the thick layer of leaves. All of these factors casted an ominous ambiance in the already twisted forest but what furthered the creepiness of it all were the vines. They infested the forest, the pervasive wooden limbs strangled the trees in a suffocating grip as they sprouted out and twisted and bent, constructing makeshift walls that dictated the route they would make.
The ruffling of trees and the sharpened bushes spurred Laura to sharply change her attention each time a new sound was made while Peter's casual walk slowly morphed into a more cautious one upon feeling the light tingling of his sixth sense.
Said tingle instantly turned into an alarm that urgently compelled his body to instinctively pull Laura back with incredible force that had her stumble in surprise. Catching her off guard, causing her eyes to widen before hardening instantly into a glare, Laura stared at the boy before her automatic reaction was changed when his momentary lack of breathing and odd stillness had realization quickly wash over her. His Spider-Sense had gone off, warning him of something that her senses were oblivious to. Watching his head snap between numerous places before narrowing in on the ground, Laura followed his gaze as he locked on to the spot that was going to be where she took her next step.
"Th…there's something in the ground…" he muttered as he lowered himself, hesitantly extending his hand to the spot much to the growing warning of his sixth sense, "and it's really not good," he added, voicing out the severity which told him to stay away.
"It is a landmine…" she concluded in a whisper, lowering herself too and managing to just catch a whiff of the explosive scent that was heavily masked with that of the forest.
They shared a glance.
Her assumptions had been proved correct by the mines she could barely detect but her scrambling had awakened the creatures nearby, and in their panic, the tiny creatures which called this forsaken forest home, broke their patterns and they scurried off…
…awakening the beast.
"Welcome!" The thick and deep Russian accent they were acquainted with eagerly echoed through the forest which concealed his whereabouts, "I assume with the fleeing of the squirrels that you both are here. Good, I expected as such," His reverberating voice declared, echoing from multiple different locations, preventing Laura from honing in on his location – once again keeping him invisible from her senses.
"I hope you did as I told and sharpened your fangs little wolf, but considering how you are still standing with the Pauk, it would seem you have not," Laura grit her teeth at his taunts which told her what she thought he was – what she would prove wrong.
"Do you know what this place is? Why Mother Nature is so twisted yet still beautiful?" Kraven asked, his voice sporadically changing locations, interchanging between getting closer and farther from them with each spoken syllable.
"A park," Peter amusingly whispered, more entertained than threatened at the trap they were immersed in.
"It is because this park was once a landfill – the largest in all of New York. There would be towering heaps of trash that poisoned the earth with its repugnant stench that you could smell all throughout the island, but now – through change, it is no longer something vile and ugly, but a beautiful and thriving oasis that is full of life, but it still tainted by its past – by its origins…Something you both can relate to, no?" He questioned the two, earning the boy who did not take him seriously to raise his brow in confusion, wondering what he meant by that, but he would hauntingly get his answer that would cause a cold sweat to wash over him.
"A girl created by men to kill plenty – children included, and a boy scorned by the world so greatly, that he became so bitter and selfish that it resulted in the death of the one he loved, but now they stand as 'Heroes.' Their origins though will always follow them – taint them, just like the twisted trees that surround us," The Hunter finished his statement, causing Peter to freeze in his tracks – his heart stopping as well from the revelation that caused Laura to narrow her eyes.
"Wha-" Peter uttered, fear taking hold and preventing him from moving – preventing him from breathing as the secret he vowed to keep the utmost secret had been unveiled by a foe – again.
"Yes, I know your stories. It is quite easy once you know where to look. In your arrogance, wolf, you told me that you thought your Facility had sent me, and your foe who is related to you in more ways than just donning the moniker of your fallen enemy, Pauk, set me on the path when he uttered the foul name of 'Norman Osborn,'" He taunted the both of them with predatory hunger, the rumbling and resounding of his voice resembling a lion who growled with its teeth bared and claws out, but the petrification Peter felt would only paralyze him for so long.
Wide eyes became narrowed, as fear turned into anger, and the boy clenched his fists and he –
"He wants you to talk," Laura – who noticed Peter making moves to speak up – reminded him, ignoring The Hunter's tactics which aimed to reveal their location. This was a hunt and they were the prey, the girl was used as bait to lure them here, and now his words aimed to do the same with their deaths.
The Hunter was testing them, trying to see if they could find him before he did them.
"It was quite difficult however, even with my contacts, finding out just who The Facility was outside the service they provided was a strenuous task," his voice pushed more, wanting to provoke a reaction she would not give, "and do not get me started on where you come from Volk, for just like the Pauk, out of all the countless documents the Russian foreign intelligence agency has on your government, there is only a few that mention Weapon X, just like the supposed failed weapons twelve program between the US government and Oscorp," Kraven declared as Laura gazed at the boy who took point with dreary eyes.
They were two of a kind. It was a sentiment that provided her comfort, that gave her someone like her, but there were nuances to it that had left her with questions that her own life experiences could answer, but similar they may be, there were differences and gaps to a story she wanted to know.
She wanted to know about Norman Osborn, The Goblin who slaughtered many in hysterical madness.
Who Peter Benjamin Parker was entwined with.
However much she wanted to know though, like how he didn't press her unless she was ready, she would give him the same courtesy.
"It is quite interesting, hmm? how fate has tied us all together, for like you both, I too was chosen to be better than what came before, to carry on a legacy, to be an heir. Born into the Kravinoff family with the nature and destiny to be a Hunter, just as the Volk who was cloned from a weapon to be a wea-"
"The only thing that's interesting is that you're better at psychoanalyzing than you are at hunting! Like was this a thing you chose or something chosen for you?" Spider-Man defiantly spat to the voice hidden in the demonic trees, "You think that knowing where we come from – who we are – that you have the advantage? he roared, the revelation of his identity wiping away his jokey and casual exterior, "That just makes you stupider than the rest 'cause you know that I've faced bigger and badder and from what I know, you're not supposed to hunt what you can't kill" Spider-Man mocked the now silent Hunter.
"What are you doing?" Laura urgently and ferociously asked, the actions of Peter giving their location completely away to the man who did what all Hunters did with their prey. Find out everything about the target they are hunting, lure it out with bait, and finally, kill them.
"What we came here to do," Peter declared as he readied himself for a fight, Laura reluctantly doing the same, scouring every single movement the deformed forest made.
The Hunter laughed, his sporadic voice racing towards them.
"YES! ROAR! PAUK! ROAR!" Kraven yelled with pure enthusiasm at Spider-Man's words, "YOU ARE RIGHT! I DO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE FACED MORE FEARSOME FOES! FOR YOU HAVE FACED THE DEVIL HIMSELF! I WAS WAITING TO SEE HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE FOR YOU TO BEAR YOUR FANGS! YOU ARE NOT THE VOLK WHO THINKS AND STRATEGIZES! YOU RUSH IN! EVEN WHEN IN THE HEART OF THE ENEMY YOU ROAR WITH POWER – LIKE A LION! AND LIKE ONE, YOU WILL NOT ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE PREY! YOU WILL NOT ACCEPT ME TALKING ABOUT YOUR VOLK! NOR WILL YOU STAND BY WHEN THE GIRL IS TAKEN! AND IT IS WHY I KNOW YOUR BLOOD BOILS FOR A FIGHT!" His primal voice echoed, reeking with ravenous hunger as it rapidly sped towards them from multiple locations at once, causing the birds, the squirrels, and the frogs to scurry in panic as the beating of jungle drums began to resound through the forest and their minds.
"Show me what you got, you jungle nut! But I hope you know that you're not hunting a lion! You're hunting Spider-Man!" Peter stood his ground, not scared by the man whom Laura made a great effort to inform him of. He was just another wackjob who fought because he loved it but Peter liked to fight too.
And he was stronger.
"As you…"
"Wish," the voice of Kraven appeared right behind them just as Peter's spider-sense alerted him – pulling his gaze to the spear that was rocketing towards his partner but the whistling of the wind at the incredible speed it went alerted the girl who weaved out of the way. The Hunter soon came too, pouncing at Peter like a savage animal, but the boy leaped over him with his amazing power. The two hundred and thirty-five-pound man was surprisingly swift, his speed being enough to have his calloused and conditioned hand grip the boy's calf and with all his might, The Hunter threw him at a tree, shattering it.
As quickly as she could, Laura engaged in combat with Kraven once more, putting all of the strenuous training and lessons she had learned to the test. Her moves to attack him led to a clash against his bracelets which withstood the power of adamantium and Laura found herself dwarfed not just by his size, but by his strength which disregarded her arms to the side.
The clash was a short one, ending with the raven-haired girl getting lifted off her feet from a combination of attacks which each contained the power to burst a human body instantaneously.
"This is what I was afraid of, the both of you being too easy to defeat!" Kraven yelled in disappointment as to how easily he had toppled the two, but as he went to continue his assault on the girl, translucent webs that refracted light like a prism bound him, preventing him from striking her. Holding him in place with immense strength that caught him off guard, Kraven was forcibly controlled like a puppet on strings, and like a puppet, he was commanded by his puppeteer to spin into a punch which repaid what he had done to the girl tenfold.
"We're only in round one," Spider-man quipped after his fist connected with Kraven's head, sending him flying in the air, blood escaping through his mouth, "and we're just getting started," he hissed, charging at the oh-so 'prestigious and threatening assassin.'
Grunting in pain but smirking at the challenge – at the power, Kraven landed on his feet and entered a brawl with a foe much stronger and faster than he was – but Spider-Man was inexperienced. For all his power, he lacked skill, and Kraven was able to dodge his telegraphed attacks no matter how fast and numerous they were. Taking the upper hand against the boy who fought like a wild beast, Kraven used his superior skill to predict what Peter was going to do and channeling his power that could knock down a full-grown rampaging rhino – the same power he hit Laura with – he hit Peter on the cheek.
The blow echoed, it even caused his face to slightly move with the motion but it also caused Kraven's bones to shake and knuckles to ache like he had just punched an immovable object. An unstoppable force soon arose. The Hunter knew his blow didn't nearly cause as much pain as he wanted, and if he had not dodged the hook that the boy retaliated with, he knew he would have resembled the tree that took the hit for him.
Collapsing from the hole that tore deep into its core.
"As am I," Kraven retorted with a growing smile, grabbing his spear which had embedded itself in the tree he had positioned himself beside before engaging in combat once more. Spider-Man was bold and powerful, choosing to fight a frontal assault, living up to the classification given to him. Talon on the other hand, the wolf who tried to be a lion, the weapon who tried to cease killing was not as powerful as him, and as such, she resorted to a more stealthy approach.
Where the Lion would force its prey away from its herd, The Wolf would wait until it was isolated, creeping in the shadows before pouncing from behind…
…And the wolf did just that…
Meeting her claws before they pierced into his body with his spear, the sparks created by her adamantium claws clashing against his spear ejected miniature pieces of metal that glowed the color of blazing fire, illuminating the both of them as they glared into the opposing figure's eyes.
"Please, do not tell me that you have learned nothing since our last encounter," The Hunter implored Laura who was just as easy to predict as their last fight. Knowing that she could not hold against The Hunter's might, Laura broke the clash, her superior speed and agility allowing her to do a backward cartwheel swiftly, creating space and keeping her crouched lowly on the floor. Already knowing that the girl would make the most optimal moves, The Hunter prepared for the various scenarios that she was no doubt playing in her mind, however to his shock, instead of going for his calves, the girl used her mighty legs to propel herself past him, slashing deep into his side and catching him completely off guard.
Groaning slightly to suck up the searing pain, Kraven smiled as he met the girl's silent but burning eyes, "hmm, it would seem you have…" he retracted his previous statement with great approval at the girl who inflicted the wound that stained his lion jacket.
"I still feel the wound you carved into my skin when we first met. The wound brought not by a computer, but by instinct enacted with masterful skill," he referenced the opposing side which had been devastatingly impaled when she previously listened to her instincts, "You have learned well…planning and patterns can only take you so far, and should they fail, the only thing you can rely on then is instinct," he lectured her with great glee, "However, it will take more than that to triumph, Malen'kiy volk," Kraven confidently said to Laura who would show him she had more.
"Is this enough for ya?" Spider-Man asked from above, giving The Hunter a fraction of a second warning to dodge the smash that would have flattened him, but instead, catapulted the dirt he stood on high into the air like a crashing cannonball.
"You have forgotten who is The Hunter, Pauk," Kraven slyly stated with amusement, watching how the boy recklessly chased after him.
His spider-sense had gone off but Peter was too late to act on it and in lightning speed, he was swooped off his feet and entrapped in a net which left him vulnerably hanging from a tree.
"You have forgotten who is the prey," He fiercely reminded his foe, aiming his spear at the squirming boy but just as swiftly as he was captured, the net was torn to shreds by stingers that reflected his thrusting spear much to Kraven's surprise.
The Lion did not just have power, but claws too.
"And you've forgotten who I am," Peter sternly declared, dashing at The Hunter who knew who he was. Kraven tried to keep a distance with his eight-foot spear but with Peter's superior agility, it was fruitless. Unable to maintain the space, The Hunter's back violently crashed into a tree from a dropkick that kept the boy not only parallel from the thrust spear, but separated The Hunter from it too.
Snarling, The Hunter glared at the Lion who charged at him with a powerful punch but Kraven weaved, and summoning his might, he demolished the side Spider-Man struck with, smashing his knuckles into the nerves of his shoulder, disabling Peter's arm and sending shocks of electrifying pain through his nervous system but the advancements of Laura had stopped any attempt The Hunter had of pursuing to take advantage of such a grievous opening.
"On the contrary, I know you both," Kraven snarled, meeting Laura's attacks with his bracelets before batting her away, "I know your names, I know your history, I know you both are worthy! So why is it that this is not a fight? Why am I not challenged? Where is the girl who is one of the world's deadliest assassins? Where is the boy who felled the Green Goblin?" Kraven aggressively yelled at the two who disappointed him greatly.
"Right here," Spider-Man confidently stated, appearing right in front of Kraven after leaping off a tree.
"Do not-" Laura tried to order, knowing that if he recklessly charged at the Hunter again then he would suffer greater injury. No matter how much she detested the fact, The Hunter was besting them, and a frontal assault with the both of them would be superior but she had gone ignored.
Left in the dust as he rushed in.
"If that is the case, then maybe the Gree-" Kraven began to say, throwing a punch at the teen he dwarfed, but to his surprise – to his shock, the attack he had sent towards the boy had been parried effortlessly despite him being only one handed.
"You want a challenge!?" Spider-Man said, turning the tables in his favor with his power alone, "I'll give you one!" Peter declared, overpowering Kraven with his one arm causing The Hunter's heart to stop.
With one arm, the boy had overwhelmed him.
Peter's attacks, his wild punches which connected with his body hurt greatly but what terrified The Hunter, what scared him so much was that upon retaliating with his own attacks, his bones, his body rattled against insurmountable power he could not topple, could not break – could not compete with. The boy didn't move, didn't react when his fist collided against his body which was made up of muscles that were stronger than steel.
Kraven looked at Peter whose strength was so great – so giant, that in a single moment when he looked at the blank lenses, all he could see was his own fearful reflection.
Sweat dropped from his temples and for the first time in a long time, The Hunter felt fear which caused him to create a lengthy distance.
"You are stronger than I could have ever imagined!" Kraven yelled in hysterical exhilaration that increased with each beat of his heart, "But you hold back," Kraven scowled in complete disdain upon catching a glimpse of the boy's true power, "Put against you at your full potential I truly am nothing, but no matter how big you are, no matter how strong a lion can be, if they refuse to use their power – if they refuse to bare their fangs – if they don't even know how to Hunt! then they are as threatening as a cub!" Kraven staunchly declared, dodging Spider-Man's wild strike and taking out one of the many lion teeth that constructed his belt, and embedding it deep into his collar before taking out a trigger that activated the surrounding mines with an ear-shattering explosion.
Not caught in the blast and withstanding the force that came with it, Laura looked around, eyes darting to every angle just to catch a glimpse of The Hunter who put her on edge, and the boy who upset her while worrying her at the same time.
But The Hunter was gone, the space he occupied being left empty as Peter shakily stood up, tearing out the tooth that had done more than just puncture his body. This was evident by him almost falling over which resulted in him collapsing onto his knees.
"Are you okay?" Laura urgently asked, her previous and immense frustrations at both him and Kraven being shoved to the back of her mind the moment the costumed boy collapsed.
"No…in just about every single possible category…" he confessed to Laura through the throbbing headache that attacked the entirety of his brain in multiple waves while fatigue and the burning sensation of his blood set in with great pain.
"You have been poisoned…" She asserted with a snarl upon noticing the poisoned tip of the fang which had just infected his bloodstream with a mixture of intense toxins and drugs that it was a miracle that he was still conscious even with his powers. "I told you to stay quiet! You did not listen!" she aggressively scolded, frustration and worry fueling her growing anger as she helped him up to his feet. His foolish action of running in without thinking – a foolish act he has done numerous times had forced them into a fight that had him come out poisoned, down a usable arm, and had the both of them struggling against The Hunter who had no doubt planned for all of this to happen.
"Look, I don't need you telling me how much I screwed up, I can feel it…" Peter initially spat before his irritated tone shifted into one of regret upon assessing his own condition and the event that just transpired, "I just…He…he knows who I am…I have to end this before someone else I care about ends up hurt…" He confessed to the girl in a whisper that showed the anxiety he felt – fear which may have just accomplished what it was working to prevent.
"I do not know what is more insulting. That you hold back, or that you believe I would be cowardly enough to pray on those who are beneath me," The hidden voice of Kraven once again echoed through the wilderness and over the beating of tribal drums that masked his presence with their brain rattling thumping.
"I am only interested in the both of you. You both are worthy prey on your own, but together, you both give me what I have wanted my entire life – my great hunt, but you both struggle. Where one is reckless, the other is too cautious, and where the volk struggles with killing, you struggle with even harming," The Hunter noted to the two who hesitantly began traversing the woods once again, wary of what else the hunter would have in store.
"Is it because you know what you are capable of? That you have seen firsthand the carnage you can reek – the destruction? the death?" Kraven spoke to Peter, who narrowed his eyes underneath his mask.
"Us weapons, we originate from Captain America – he is our ancestor, and like all animals, the offspring — or in our case, The Programs that came after evolved to create different families – different versions of the super soldier. The KGB created various programs, Black Widows, and Winter Soldiers, they even took in my father to advance their Hunter's – The Family I come from. While the Westerners continued their research, creating projects like Perseus and Sentry, creating weapons such as Weapon X who to my understanding with all the evidence at my disposal, is the family where the Volk comes from. We are all super soldiers, weapons, but I come from a legacy of Hunters, The Volk, Killers, but you…you Peter Benjamin Parker come from a legacy that pertains to the unholiness of man and all its horrific evil…" Kraven led on, his words bearing weight on the boy's head, forcing him to lower it while Laura who walked with him listened keenly to the words spoken, the gravity of the situation she was in preventing the growing worry from interfering with her decisions.
"You are a Goblin!"Kraven stated to all, though Laura was the only one who was surprised, "You have a different name…but your blood burns the same power that did The Green Goblin! And it terrifies you doesn't it?" he suggested with a primordial rumble in his voice but instead of averting his gaze, the boy looked up into the trees above.
And he stepped forward.
"I've had this talk before. None of this is new," he bitterly recalled to The Hunter, "You're not the first person to know about where I come from, and I'll tell you what I told him: I don't come from him, I come from Ben and May Parker," Peter declared to the unseen voice.
"Your mind does, as does your metaphysical heart…but what of your body? What of your power? Your beating heart?" The Hunter questioned Peter who remained silent.
"You come from multiple legacies Peter Benjamin Parker. Born to Richard and Mary Parker, raised by Ben and May, nurtured by George, and loved by Gwen Stacy, and though they may not walk this earth, you carry them with you as you venture off to new frontiers," he expounded to Peter who silently walked through the forest once more, Laura behind him, watching his sides and hers, making sure he would not get hurt further.
"As you do with Norman Osborn – The man who gave you power," Kraven yelled, trying to force the idea into the boy's head while the girl beside him looked on with worried eyes for but a second, "Your silence betrays you, Pauk. Deep down, no matter how much you wish it to be different – how far you try and distance yourself, you know that you come from him. You cannot escape him, you cannot say goodbye to him and no matter how far you try to cast him into the abyss, you know he is still there," His voice echoed throughout the forest, throughout his mind, but Peter still remained silent, allowing The Hunter to continue, "You do not deny any of this, meaning that you have come to terms but like a foolish child you deny it. You reject it. You refuse the dark – a part of yourself, you limit yourself, stop yourself from indulging in your power, in using it fully as he did," Each word spoken by him brought forth memories of death, of destruction, of madness…
"Nor will I ever!" Peter staunchly replied in anger, "The Green Goblin was a sick maniac who I choose not to be!" he vowed to The Hunter, to The Goblin, to himself.
"Learning from does not mean choosing to be, Pauk. A killer he was, but how many times was he defeated, hmmm? Whose will did he follow?" Kraven voiced words that he didn't even fully know the length of, but Peter did.
Peter did…
"Men like The Kingpin who you seek to topple would not exist if he were still here. This fight would be over before it even began if it was him I'm fighting, but I'm fighting you. A boy who is stuck at a crossroads of his own doing – not wanting to hurt, but choosing to fight. A boy who is scared of himself! Of what he can do! It is why you hold back more than you should," He proceeded to taunt the boy whose ground he once stood on staunchly began trembling.
"HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE YOU HELD BACK!? HOW MANY FIGHTS WOULD'VE BEEN WON QUICKER – WITHOUT CASUALTY – IF YOU JUST USED YOUR STRENGTH FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!?" The Hunter's deep voice morphed and twisted, turning into one that was malignant and raspy, every word spoken from the horrid voice containing his sinister intent…
"You have all the power I have Peter! all my strength, all my agility – and you're even more cunning…" The Goblin stated with satisfaction at the boy who cradled the worthless corpse, "We are alike in so many different ways but you choose to be the prey – reacting to whatever life has in store for you instead of having it react to you! Like a fumbling rabbit just waiting to be eaten!" he spat his venomous spit at the boy, "You stand by, idly waiting for life – allowing life – to rob you before you even lift a finger like a deplorable craven and like a deplorable craven you have been robbed yet again," The Green skinned demon circled around the distraught boy who he sought to mold into his heir, looking on with a growing smile as tears of pitiful sorrow became hateful anger, "This is what you get for being weak –"
"BE QUIET!" Laura tried to speak up, to silence what she was hearing, but the results of it were the same if she had chosen to remain silent.
"You are scared of your dark side – of your inner Goblin, and that fear is why we are still fighting because you refuse to master – to even use what he has given you!" Kraven yelled at the top of his lungs, but his shout would be spoken over by an even more volatile one who would not listen to another sentence he spoke.
"And I never will!" Peter yelled back in disgust – in hatred, refusing the dark – the goblin that peered at him. He would not choose it like Norman, he would not give in, he would not be a monster.
"Then you will die," Kraven's voice stated, before quickly pouncing on the two once more.
In an instant, his Spider-Sense went off again.
Combat ensued against The Hunter once more. His ruthless and experienced combat prowess allowed him to fight against the two simultaneously. With swift and expert movement, he used the length of his spear to its fullest, using the tip to deal with Laura who was slashed, while the blunt end battered the poisoned and drowsy – but still quick and agile, boy around.
"You both share the same problem!" he scornfully snarled, tearing into Laura's skin, creating new wounds that would not heal from the now carbonadium-coated tip as he assaulted Peter with a succession of attacks from a combination of both spear and limbs. "Like this forest, you two come from vile beginnings, but unlike Mother Nature – you deny it. Weapon – Goblin, you tell yourselves that is not what you are, acting like if you do not, then that will be who are in your entirety," He mocked, weaving their ceaseless and angered attacks that he repaid with their blood.
The Hunter's attacks kept Laura at bay, clashing against her claws as she looked for openings through his tight defense. Peter on the other hand, the lion, the goblin, charged in, getting battered by his attacks only to get back up and try so again, and with his sheer tenacity, he landed a hit on The Hunter, knocking the wind out of him along with a tooth despite all that hindered him.
The attack from the brute enabled the swift girl to unleash her anger with a yell that delivered a deep slash that carved his body. With each blow he suffered, with each cut he endured, The Hunter's smile grew as adrenaline pumped through his body, allowing him to compete against the two who challenged him – who pushed him and themselves. They worked well together, they impressed him with how they suddenly turned the tables, but The Hunter thrived at being disadvantaged.
Looking past his brow as he was thrown by their attacks, The Hunter headbutted Peter, throwing the boy off his balance with the instant blow. He was then swooped off his feet by a fell sweep of his spear that twirled around his body before grinding against adamantium claws that he challenged in every single conceivable way.
Laura growled, spit and blood landing on the excited Hunter's face.
"That's it…" he goaded Laura, "...growl, howl, hate, feel the urge to tear me into pieces and think about every possible way to fulfill your desire. A desire that comes from a Wolf – a weapon," Laura roared at the top of her lungs, rage overtaking her as instinct told her to calm down – to keep her sound mind that worked with instinct and combat prowess to dodge what The Hunter was going to do and have her deliver a severe laceration.
"I am not!" she yelled, fighting against Kraven and holding her ground against The Hunter whose crazed eyes looked into her orbs which contained flames that no furnace could hold.
"You have convinced yourself that these are bad things, but tell me – Are they? Does the Wolf not survive? Was the spear – man's first weapon, not created to protect man?" He asked the girl who ignored the question and pursued him with Peter not too far behind as Kraven retreated.
Laura snarled, focused on beating him – on annihilating him, but in her rage, she too had forgotten who was The Hunter, and who was the prey.
"Laura!" Peter yelled, speeding up to catch up to her as his spider-sense warned him of the danger that would befall her.
There was a boom.
A mine had been tripped.
A loud explosion that obliterated the area enveloped the two in bright wild flames that died out into a cloud of smoke. Her mind was in a daze, frantically collecting itself, piecing together what had just occurred and what was going to. There was the searing pain of burns and a bone protruding from her forearm – that she swiftly rectified – but her limbs had not been torn from an explosive that could disable tanks…
…which only meant one thing…
…she instantly looked around, powering through the headache that probed every single wrinkle in her brain to search for any sign of Peter, and there he was, struggling to get up at the epicenter of the blast. A loud, long, and heart-dropping agonizing groan escaped his lips upon feeling the multiple scraps of fragments that permeated his blackened body which tripped the mine instead of her boot.
Unable to use his webshooters with his trembling arm, he was forced to use his body to protect her.
Her gaze was then pulled to The Hunter who came to the same conclusion of the events she had, and meeting his eyes, he maliciously smiled.
And in an instant, the moment she exclaimed "No!" The long eight-foot spear that was thrown so hard that the wind around it shrieked, was propelled deep into Peter's shoulder, carrying him as he was impaled by it and into a tree.
She froze.
Eyes stuck on the unreactive body before slowly moving to The Hunter who looked at her with a devilish look.
"I told you Malen'kiy Volk, that the next time we meet, I will kill the both of you. That time has come," Kraven softly declared, pulling out his duel machetes with killing intent on full display in his eyes.
"Unless you fight," he commanded the girl who still remained stuck in place, though her heart quickly picked up pace. Her mind was in a flurry of thoughts that overloaded – overwhelmed her brain until all of them were silenced at the single prevailing thought, and realization that caused her to roar as loud as her lungs could and more at the sight that spurred her to enter a frenzy.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" She said with the utmost antipathy through snarls and growls that were expressed with overbearing rage that riled The Hunter.
"That is it, Volk! HOWL! CRY! AS THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE ONE YOU CARE ABOUT ESCAPES HIS BODY! ESCAPES YOUR LIFE!" Kraven excitedly goaded the girl who boiled his blood, who pumped adrenaline through his veins, "Unleash your talons, unleash your nature – show me who you really are!" He shouted, charging at the enraged girl who pounced at him. Maddened by everything he had done, she disregarded her cautious approach which his lack of a spear enabled to eviscerate The Hunter off this earth.
"Yes…" Kraven muttered as the girl slashed his arm, "...Yes…" he repeated, finding himself pushed by the girl who bared her teeth in animalistic hatred. No longer did she plan for every scenario, she fought from the heart, reading Kraven's moves from his intent and body movement. Her brain had taken a back seat, still telling her what the best option was, analyzing and recognizing his patterns while her instinct took control and listened to the unexplainable rhythm which had guided her to not just stand her ground, but to rend him to pieces.
"RAGGGHH!" She yelled, fueling all her power and rage into a slash that not only broke his guard but split his shoulder and obliques open with a hellish pain he reacted to with a forced smile, and repaid with a headbutt that sent her back but this would not stop her.
"GOOD! GOOD! ROAR AT THE HEAVENS! ROAR AGAINST THE INEVITABLE!" He pleaded in excitement, putting up his guard before she instantly went to continue her assault amongst her bestial shouts. Adrenaline pumping through his veins with each wound, Kraven stood his ground, the both of them trading slashes with one another, coating the trees and the park in their crimson blood. Rageful howls replied to hysterical ecstatic shouts and grunts that were not phased by the wounds inflicted like the jungle drums which had constantly been playing got louder and louder, intensifying just as the combatants. She aimed at his neck. Her claws met his machetes. She went to attack his sides, he dodged, and when she went low, he countered. Both fought as hard as they possibly could, as best and as efficiently as they could, but even though the rhythm of the fight – the orders of her instincts was listened to, she was getting pushed back. Each attempt to gain ground caused her to lose more. Each time she aimed to attack, another wound adorned her body, but she refused to surrender.
She viciously howled.
she viciously gasped.
Cutting through her rage as it did her body, Kraven the Hunter had parried her ceaseless and endless strikes and thrust his blade deep into her abdomen, forcing her body to freeze and ooze blood just from the wound, but her mouth as well.
She stared at The Hunter before being sent forcibly spinning to the ground by a punch which dropped her instantly.
She grunted, getting up once more and engaging against The Hunter, powering through the excruciating wound. The Hunter was amused though, toying with her as he weaved through her attacks before he widened the devastating wound in her abdomen with a punch that contained all his strength – like all his previous ones, that tore into her body. She cried out in pain, her body being lifted by the force of the attack before landing back down as he tore his fist out to attack her again, flooring her.
She shook, she trembled, she coughed up blood but she tried to get up onto her knees only to be picked up by his arms and through the wide and hard trunk of a tree in throbbing, prickling torment.
She groaned, powering through the immense pain that stung her entire body, and managed to turn herself over onto her stomach. She pushed herself back up but her ribs were then shattered by a boot which smashed into her side and sent her tumbling.
Ribs shattered, body bleeding and aching from the multiple wounds that littered her body, Laura Kinney refused to allow these to stop her. She was no stranger to pain, no stranger to wounds that would kill another, and though it was a challenge to get up, she would – she would beat The Hunter. She had trained for this, she had prepared, it was something she had to do – something she needed to do to save the boy she wished to protect.
She got up again, blood, dirt, and soot staining her porcelain skin, eyes burning with determination to best The Hunter even though her mind told her that there was no way she could beat him given the situation she was in. She would not listen, her instincts still told her she could win, her heart told her she had to, she must, to save Peter's life, to prove to the Hunter that he was wrong and with a yell that gathered all her strength, she stood, and she looked at the Hunter with impressive resolve and unbreakable will.
That was shattered by a punch that had knocked her back down to the ground with great force.
She coughed, she wheezed, spurting blood each time she did. Her body was on the precipice of breaking while her mind, her heart, and her instinct all told her one thing…
…She could not win.
She got up onto her knees.
And that was all she aimed to do.
"Get up," The Hunter sternly commanded through a furrowed brow, but he received no response from the idle girl who panted in exhaustion – in pain – in sorrow.
"Get up," he threatened her, making gestures to attack her but only stopping at the last second just so he could get a reaction, a counter, a dodge, anything from the injured girl who despite the color of her skin, was as lifeless as a corpse.
"I…I cannot beat you," Laura admitted, resignation filling her eyes as defeat crossed her again. Outside of The Lizard, she had been beaten by only one other – repeatedly, and her mind told her the same thing now it did then…
…That all her training, all her skills, all her experience and knowledge were useless when faced against a Hunter who was superior.
It was pointless…
…there was no winning…
…nor would there ever be.
She waited for a deserved death which should've come quicker but something in her eyes, her infliction, her words…they angered The Hunter — offended him greatly, as if she had just committed the gravest of offenses.
"So that is it!?" He bitterly spat at the girl, "After everything you have been through, all the battles you faced – all the challenges you overcame and endured, you will just lay down here…and die?" He angrily asked the girl, saliva seeping through every word, but Laura remained silent, his words spurring memories to come to the front of her mind.
How many due to her actions were in the state that she was in right now? At the hands of death and recognizing just how fruitless the attempt to live was when against such an unstoppable killing machine?
How many did she instantly kill before they could even reminisce about their dreadful lives?
How many of those lives were dreadful?
How many of those lives were good?
"It would appear that I was correct about you," Kraven snarled in utter disgust at her pathetic sight, "You are but a whimpering wolf, cowering away in a corner because it knows it will die," he declared with the utmost hatred he could muster, pacing back and forth, trying to contain the great hatred he held for her.
"What about the girl you came here to save?" he asked Laura who remained silent, "WHAT ABOUT YOUR LIFE? DO YOU NOT WANT TO LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY? DO YOU NOT WANT TO LIVE OUT YOUR ASPIRATIONS? TO EXPERIENCE YOUR DREAMS?" He shouted passionately, urging the girl to get up, to fight for life…
…but she didn't want to…not anymore…
Dreams…aspirations…they involved the people she cared about being close to her – being with her. She dreamt of a family, but all of them had left her one way or another and the prevailing voice in her mind told her she never would get what she wanted and why should she? Why would she? She robbed people of the most valuable thing one could ever have, and the one she cared about, the one she had sought companionship was slowly leaving her too…
'Peter…that fool…' she amusingly thought as she looked at his dangling body.
…having her believe things she had given up entirely on…
"EVERYTHING I AM IS BECAUSE OF YOU!" She roared at the man whose cursed heritage plagued her, turned her into everything she despised, everything she hated.
"WE ARE WEAPONS!" she yelled, tears flowing through her eyes as she held one fist to his chin and another to hers in a final mission to rid the world of machines of death.
She had been coaxed into giving this world – to give herself another chance, but even then she did not fully do that. She would spend the following days living a life that was not hers, wondering what she was doing, questioning if it was even worth living another day and if the emptiness she felt was just penance for her actions.
But then he came into the picture…
..and though it had been short…she was glad he did.
She was happy.
"You are pathetic!" Kraven yelled, backhanding her and sending to the ground in pain but she did not worry, "You are no hero for no hero would give up so easily. You are a coward," he ragefully declared readying his blades for a killing blow, "AND IF YOU WILL NOT EVEN FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE! THEN I WILL TAKE WHAT YOU ARE UNDESERVING TO HAVE!" He roared, set on taking her head clean off her shoulders as she closed her eyes, thinking about the people she cared about.
She thought of her now-lost family.
She thought of her mother in the snow.
Would she have been proud?
She thought of Peter.
"No…" a voice muttered, freezing The Hunter in his tracks…
…It was dark…
…Peter couldn't feel anything. He couldn't feel the pain that made it impossible to move his body, couldn't feel the poison that made it hard to even think, to see, to feel, to hear, but through the haze, he could see the glider that impaled his heart.
The force of the impact had his back scrape against the hard surface which shredded his skin.
In a blink, his surroundings changed into that of a forest, the glider into a spear, and the boy into a beautiful girl facing death.
That sight broke through the haze in full force, having his clouded mind shriek in pain at the spear that forced his shoulder to crumble under the weight of his body and the pull of gravity. Struggling against the eight-foot pole that bore through his body – through the thick tree's stump, he squirmed, moving his feet in an attempt to gain firm ground but with his feet dangling in the air, it was pointless, and with each movement the pain was amplified, punishing him for refusing his fate…
…was this how he felt?
Panic set in as the corners of his vision blackened by the hands of death that wrapped around him, eagerly awaiting his demise – awaiting her demise as he watched her like a weak and deplorable craven.
"No…" Spider-Man muttered, not wanting life to rob him once again. He tried raising his hands up, to lift them, but his body ached, his body cried at the hands of fate, for the mercy of god.
"No…" Peter muttered, bleeding on the ground from monstrous teeth that ripped apart his insides when the woman grabbed The Lizard's attention. He lifted himself despite the shattered ribs, despite the torn abdomen which couldn't sustain his weight…
"No…" The Goblin muttered as he pushed against the glider that pierced his heart. His broken body yelled in agonizing pain at the destruction of his heart which told him to crumble, to give in…
… to die.
"...I refuse…" The monster passionately declared under his broken breath, eyes staring at the end and stalwartly holding back the darkness – declining the advance of death. "...I will not die…here…" he vowed, grinding his teeth against each other with so much force that they cracked.
"...Not like this…" he spat, forcing his body to move – keeping it together despite nature, despite god, despite death, tearing and ripping it apart to quench his life, "...Not like some…pathetic…meandering …worm…" he pushed against the strike that damned him. His body fought against him, it tore, it screamed, but he raged, roaring like the devil – refusing to be banished from the heavens he was promised – from the world he deserved – that was his to take – to conquer – to rule.
"AGHHHHHHHHHH!" The unearthly howl was so powerful that the world stood still as the impossible occurred – as indomitable strength overpowered unimaginable pain, pushed back against the hands of death – against the will of God.
The Goblin roared, the serpent hissed, his demonic howl frightening the unetheral forces that sought to dictate his fate that was his alone to control. With scalding blistering hellfire – with all-consuming hatred that took his destiny back from fate, back from the heavens, from death, from the one who stood above all, The Devil freed himself from what should've cast him down to the unspoken depths of the underworld and he plummeted back to the ground the boy who watched in utter fear stood on. His horrifying tenacity bending logic, reason, all that made sense to the universe to his ungodly will that forced the world to stand in place as it watched the rising of something beyond them…something unstoppable, unkillable – something that would not rest – would not die until what it sought to do was accomplished.
"I'll burn you all…" He promised in his dark voice the annihilation of all – the incineration of man through his satanic hate which kept him moving even without his black heart.
"I'll fight for it…" Peter promised The Hunter, hauntingly rising from his knees as blood that should've been pouring from the gaping wound in his shoulder drizzled, before ceasing entirely as he pointed with the arm that still should have been disabled.
"Impossible…" Kraven muttered, instinctively listening to the alarm bells that commanded his body to step back. Wounds that should not have been able to heal given the Carbonadium – given the boy's abilities slowly began to cease oozing his blood.
What is this?
"...I'll scorch this world to ashes…" Norman Osborn stated with venom, his wobble becoming stronger with each bellowing step as his mind pushed his body beyond the limits of man.
"...you…won't take her…" Peter Parker stated with resolve, his wobble – his body becoming stronger by the second.
"...I'll show you all…" he muttered, a blazing inferno of rage forcibly turning his blue eyes to a burn a vibrant hellish green.
"...What a Goblin is…" The Goblin vowed, striding towards The Hunter with both fists clenched, indomitable will puppeteering a body that got stronger by the second.
But the strings were cut.
And without a body to puppet, the devil, the serpent, the goblin was cast back down to the darkness.
"No!" Laura exclaimed, life and emotion flowing through her as she and Kraven watched him abruptly collapse.
The Hunter looked at the boy and back at the girl who had just been brought back to life, uncertainty quickly being covered by a devilish grin that sent shivers down her spine.
"If you will not fight for your life, then fight for his…" he changed his course of action, causing her eyes to widen and heart rate to increase the moment he turned to pace towards the helpless hero.
"Stop…" she desperately ordered, worry and anxiety quickly arising, hoping that The hunter would turn his attention back to her, but he did not listen. His shadow terrifyingly loomed over Peter, intent to harm so clear that he did not even have to look at her for her heart to drop.
"Do not touch him!" she angrily spat, but her words had fallen on deaf ears.
"What are you going to do?" He challenged the girl who looked on in horror as he proceeded to kick the downed body. He stomped, the impacts of his foot echoing as the limp body moved with the attacks, its earlier attempts at self-repair coming undone while The Hunter sadistically laughed.
"I SAID STOP!" She half roared, half shrieked at the repeated attacks that battered his body wounding the both of them with greater pain.
"IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP THEN YOU MUST FIGHT!" Kraven commanded, his deep and powerful voice giving her the answer she could not give. The carbonadium that flowed through her blood making it so the wounds that broke her body prevented her from fighting, from winning, from-
"YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN GIVE UP AND STILL HAVE THINGS YOUR WAY?" He bitterly asked the girl, stomping on the boy's body with all his might, "YOU THINK ALL YOU HAVE TO LOSE IF YOU DO IS YOUR LIFE ALONE!" Kraven angrily stated her thoughts, continuing to bash the boy much to her dread.
"THAT IS NOT HOW LIFE WORKS, COWARD! IF YOU LOSE YOUR LIFE, YOU THROW AWAY ALL THAT PEOPLE HAVE DONE FOR YOU! ALL THE SACRIFICES MADE! ALL THE AID THAT WAS GIVEN!" Kraven spat, his anger, his disdain, his hatred bringing out all the memories her brain refused to think about, "AND GIVING UP AS A HERO IS WORSE! FOR YOU LEAVE ALL THE LIVES IN YOUR CARE FORFEIT TO EVIL!" he expressed his anger by continuing to assault Peter, stressing her more.
"I CANNOT BEAT YOU!" She yelled but that just increased the power of his strikes against her heart.
"IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU CAN BEAT ME OR NOT! ALL THAT MATTERS IS YOU HAVE THE WILL TO FIGHT!" Kraven yelled. "Heroes – Lions, they fight no matter the odds, no matter the enemies. It does not matter if they are against an army or the devil. It does not matter if the sky falls or hell is set forth by the evil of man. It does not matter if it is lady death that they are facing…" he monologued to the girl who listened.
"They will stand against the armies, they will battle the devil, they will lift the sky, they will spit in death's face! They will do anything if it means to protect life and if they fall, they will rise back up," his voice rumbled, giving her strength as she tried to stand but she failed – once again, "AND THEY WILL FIGHT! EVEN IF GODS STAND AGAINST THEM! EVEN IF THEY STAND NO CHANCE! AND IF DEATH DOES CALL – IF THE DARKNESS DOES EXTINGUISH THE LIGHT, THEY WILL NOT GO GENTLY! THEY WILL REFUSE! THEY WILL REJECT FATE! THEY WILL RAGE!" he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the forest.
"AND THEY WILL ROAR!" Kraven howled, his voice echoing through the stars as the kneeling girl listened in, vividly remembering what Peter had told her back when they dealt with the Lizard, back when she too thought that besting the creature that was superior to her was impossible, back when she believed fighting back against her was pointless…
"DO YOU NOT CARE ABOUT THE BOY!" Kraven viciously asked, holding the battered body so that the wounds were on full display to the girl who dreaded the appearance.
"I do!" She desperately answered in a heartbeat, causing him to drop him onto the ground.
"DO YOU WANT HIM TO LIVE ANOTHER DAY? DO YOU WANT TO SEE HIM, AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!?" He shouted at her, veins slowly reappearing throughout his body for each syllable spoken contained power that was slowly being found in the girl's voice.
"Yes!" she answered once again.
"THEN GET ON YOUR KNEES EVEN IF YOUR BODY SCREAMS THAT YOU CAN'T!" He ordered the girl who did so not because she was told to, but because she had too, she needed to. Her body resisted – it screamed, not used to being without its innate healing power, unable to bear the pain but she snarled, pushing herself back up with arms that wobbled from gaping wounds, and with a fire that had been slowly given a second life, the girl lifted to her knees despite the suffering.
"DO YOU REMEMBER THE SACRIFICES YOU HAVE MADE – THE SACRIFICES OTHERS HAVE SO THAT YOU CAN LIVE?" Memories flashed before her eyes. Memories of an elderly Asian man being kind, memories of a mother reading stories, memories of a girl whom she found sisterhood with, memories of a man telling her not to give up, memories of a boy making her laugh.
Her sensei died in her arms because he was kind to her.
Her mother was in the snow because she freed her.
Her family was somewhere she could never be because she was with them.
She remembered the endless hoard of bodies that died because of her.
She looked at the boy who made her laugh – who protected her life even at the cost of his own…
Her life cost so much.
She had ruined so much.
Her penance was not over.
It would never be over.
"Everyday…" she muttered, her gaze falling when the accusing glares she received from those who scolded her for even considering giving up. She had no right to give up and die, no right to surrender until her debt had been paid.
"THEN STAND! EVEN IF YOU WANT TO FALL! SO THAT THEY WERE NOT IN VAIN!" he demanded the girl who was lifted up by ghosts who would not allow her to die until wrongs were righted. Her wounds, her body, her bones, they broke, they crumbled, they tore under the weight – they trembled, unable to support it but she refused. She stood, legs shaking, breath trembling, wounds oozing life, but she stood, looking at The Hunter as her eyes had been ignited.
"JUST AS YOU CARE ABOUT THE BOY, JUST AS SACRIFICES HAD BEEN MADE TO KEEP YOU ALIVE, THERE IS SOMEONE ELSE WHO CARES ABOUT THE GIRL WHO WAS STOLEN! SACRIFICES MADE FOR HER LIFE! WILL YOU LET THOSE ALSO BE IN VAIN? WILL YOU LET OTHERS ENDURE THE INSURMOUNTABLE PAIN OF LOSS!?" Kraven asked the girl who growled.
"NO!" she snarled, remembering the girl who was the reason the both of them were here.
That was half the reason she was here, to make up for the wrongs she had done, she was here to save lives – to do good.
She could not fail, she would not fail. She had not done enough good, she could never do enough good, but she would try. She would fight. She would not allow him to beat her. She would not make the sacrifices of her sensei, of her family, of her mother, be in vain. She would not allow him to take the one she cared about from her.
"THEN UNLEASH YOUR CLAWS!" He demanded with a growl, taking out his blades once more as the girl did hers, remembering all the things she came here to do, all that she wanted, all that she cared for, all that she had to do, all that he had done…
He had harmed the boy she cared about, she had wounded him – beat him – hurt him…
She ravenously growled, glaring daggers at The Hunter – at herself for even thinking of giving up when she had no right to – when she did not want to – when she couldn't.
"AND ROAR!" Kraven roared at the top of his lungs with a primordial, primal, animalistic, and bestial rage that Laura reciprocated with even more hate.
"RAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" She roared. She shouted. She raged at The Hunter, instinct, and skill, being fuelled by will that refused to be extinguished, that refused to lose, that fought, despite the odds, despite the state of her body, that refused any other outcome than victory.
She would fight. Fight to save the girl's life. Fight for her mother. Fight to see another day, to spend another one with Peter Benjamin Parker.
"YES! ROAR! LIONESS! ROAR!" Kraven incentivized drawing his machetes as adrenaline filled both their bodies, pushing it so that it exceeded their limits, "ROAR AGAINST FATE! AGAINST DESTINY! AGAINST DEFEAT!"
They clashed for the final time, the girl taking the upper hand as she took all the blows and reciprocated them tenfold with a resolve that gave her power like nothing before. Fighting while only making the most efficient moves made her predictable, fighting with instinct had changed that, but when that was not enough, when defeat was inevitable and it would be wiser to surrender, will would keep her standing, will would keep her fighting no matter how foolish it was, and will was what gave her the power to take ground from The Hunter – to take blood.
The Hunter's insurmountable might might have dwarfed hers, but her speed that was greater than his rendered it useless for he could not hit her, and she would not engage in any activity where it was a battle of strength. This was a battle of skill, a battle of assassins – of Hunter's bred for battle and though The Hunter came from a powerful lineage, she came from a killer. She came from the best.
The best there is.
She cleaved, she slashed, pushing The Hunter back with strikes so fierce and swift that gashes began littering his body, wounding him and slowing him down. He could not keep up, the fire he had ignited in her consumed his own, leaving him helpless and exhausted. Deep cuts were scattered across his body, purposefully limiting his mobility in ways that crippled him, and meeting her talons once more with a violent roar, The Hunter's blades were flung out of his hands – his guard broken, and a pair of two metal claws tore his torso into shreds before one was dug deep into his gut.
The final move that not even The Hunter could endure.
And with a mighty yell as she pulled them out, The Hunter fell.
He had been bested.
And standing over his body was the rageful girl who placed the tip of her boot right under his chin, a vicious and angered look of a wolf who had just stumbled upon helpless prey crossing her face.
"Good…good…ugh…you…you have done well…" he wheezed out blood in immense pain, but despite all of this, The Hunter smiled, "...You have beaten me…" he praised Laura with pride in his voice, "...Now do as your nature commands you…" he asked the girl who clenched her fists as hard as she could.
She looked at the man who threatened Peter's life, who pushed her like no other – who she wanted to kill…
"...Wh-what are you waiting for…"
"I want to kill you…" She bitterly declared, holding back her rage, "...I want to tear you to shreds for what you have done…" She admitted, the barriers that kept The Hunter alive slowly crumbling, "You…and The Facility…" she began to say through teeth which contained her killing intent, "You think that I am a killer…say that I am evil…a wolf…a weapon…but…you are wrong…I-I am a person," she staunchly declared to The Hunter who keenly listened to her words, "and though I do not know for sure if I…if I am good…" she sincerely said with uncertainty, "My nature tells me to do this," She finished with conviction, removing her boot and the threat of The Hunter's life with an action that left him surprised.
"You told us that you would show us where she is if we best you…you cannot do that dead," She reminded the Hunter, looking for the piece of information that she had now earned.
Kraven looked at her with wide eyes that attentively listened before breaking out into a small laugh that garnered her attention.
"It…it would appear that I was both wrong and right about you, girl," Kraven gently admitted to Laura who tilted her head, "You see…wolves are smart, they are fierce – they make their own rules and they do what they need to protect their own. They know when to flee – they know when to not pick fights given their smaller stature – and they innately know how to kill. They are…misunderstood though…seen only as killers…a scapegoat for our own sins…when in reality…they fight for the same reasons we do…for life…for love…" Kraven took a pause, knowing that the girl could and was relating to her given animal, "Lions on the other hand are strong – they are the king. They do not flee – they do not know how. They fight, they rage, they lead, they abide by the rules, and they protect other Lions even if they are not their own…but they are predictable," The Hunter paused, taking a broken and staggered breath as blood that escaped through his mouth seeped into the ground.
"When…when I first laid eyes on you I saw a Lion. One who sought to protect others. One who was brave, who was strong, who was always willing to fight with their great power, but then I fought you. You…you fought strategically using what you have been taught to approach situations – and did so with great anger – with great lethality – like a wolf…" He weakly informed the girl with a growing smile, "and with their traits you had their weaknesses…you were predictable, like a Lion…and you lacked will that would refuse death, like a wolf hence my naming of you…but now…now you have overcome those weaknesses – you have triumphed and my conclusion about you has come…" he told the girl who listened keenly.
"You use what has been taught to you to approach any situation. You are smart, You are wise – you have the mind of a Wolf, but you are brave, you are strong, and now, the same fire that burns in the Pauk now burns in your Lion heart, Little Lioness," Kraven sincerely stated, surprising Laura with his words, "This path you have chosen is one you belong on. You stand amongst your own – you stand with the Pauk," He spoke the words which validated her beliefs.
"But like the Pauk…you are still but a cub…and you still have much to learn," He instantly remarked before everything went black.
Ending his great Hunt.
Laura Kinney has defeated Kraven The Hunter.
Laura Kinney has learned skill Enhanced Willpower.
Laura Kinney has leveled up to rank Hero.
anyways, laughs outside, this HAPPY ANnIVERSARY. Crazy how two years ago I released my first chapter and now I'm writing out an idea I've had far too long. we pushed laura hard, this girl whos been okay with death since chapter 3 has now grown to not wanna die - crazy. putting ideas out is one thing but finishing them is another, I hope you guys liked this. We're not done yet with the hunter but that's next chapter which will be shorter and come quicker I just wanted to get this out today because well, its special. look, its 6am, I have to study for the my online exam that's due at the end of the day, so I have to sleep, but ill be keeping an eye on the reviews and stuff.
i cant even talk about how we got to 400 - idk even know how that happened but I have this question to be posed? how do you guys feel about the quality of Laura and is she the good strong female lead i want her to be while still remaining true to her character? how do you feel about PEter being a goblin and the little bits of NOrman I have so that we can learn more about him? how do you feel about the quality of my writing and my story? would this be something you would pay for or can picture being in a comic or manga? (this will always be free cause this is just a passion project but i ask this to know if its worth the time, ya know?)
just some questions, anyways, i really gotta go, have a good night or good morning, have fun with this, and have fun with spider-man 2.