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From The Smoke (Ben Reilly Marvel SI)

Darkness. Light. Oblivion. Life. Memories spin like universes. Explode like suns. Chaos becomes order. Formlessness. It becomes form. The urge to know rises from the silence, becoming a shout of being that echoes into consciousness. There are no words. There is no language. One question resounds in the dark abyss. Who am I? Peter Parker? Spider-Man? Or someone else?

DragonField · Anime et bandes dessinées
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65 Chs

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.

Chapter 11– The Enforcers.

Edited: 26/03/2023

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"I'll handle the guy with the 'lariat', and you go deal with those guys up there. We can't get away with that guy aiming that RPG at us, and he will draw attention to us if he keeps firing it. You are faster than me and stronger, so you handle those two, and I will take care of Montanna." Felicia says, stepping in front of me to face Montanna, the cowboy hat-wearing leader of The Enforcers, one of Wilson Fisk's various hired lackeys.

"Now, hold on there, little lady. I think you are underestimating me a little and very much overestimating yourself. A pretty little thing such as yourself isn't going to be able to handle me, and that fella over there ain't going nowhere." Montanna steps forward to meet Felicia, swinging his lasso round and round by his side, ready to throw it out to capture something.

"Right, well, you handle the dude with the lasso who still thinks it's the 60s, and I will go take care of Fancy Dan and Ox. Also, dude, learn to speak. You ain't going nowhere means I am going somewhere, which is over there to smack the idiot who thinks it is okay to fire missiles above a busy city." And saying so, I about-face and run off in the direction of the big lummox that is currently trying to reload his RPG so that he can shoot a missile at us again, but that isn't going to happen.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Montanna fling his lariat towards me, and to my surprise, that thing is actually quite fast, zipping through the air towards me so quickly that I nearly don't have time to react. Except I do have time to respond, but I don't since Felicia has already sprung into action and grabs the rope along its length and yanks on it, pulling Montanna forward, who wasn't prepared for her intervention.

However, I no longer pay attention to the going on behind me and focus on my task. Just like Felicia is focusing on her job, I need to focus on stomping both of the fools across the way. So I hop, jump and leap across the New York buildings, not bothering to limit my speed or ability since I don't want this guy to let off another explosion. One is going to bring down some heat, but it could be explained away, but another is going to bring down the big boys.

The big oaf finally seems to have managed to load his bazooka again just as I leapt off the top of the last building, and I soar through the air towards him just as he points the RPG directly at me and prepares to fire. Unfortunately for him, I am just too fast, and I manage to land on the very curb of the building. And I reach out and push the bazooka straight up into the sky just as he pulls the trigger.

*BOOSH*

And the missile explodes very high up in the sky directly above us, shadowing us from the sun in its smoke. But just for a second before it disperses, replaced by the New York smog, which is honestly not any better, and I am left staring up at Ox with my right hand tightly grasping the RPG.

"Now, that wasn't very nice, was it? If you don't know how to use this RPG responsibly, then I don't think you should have it anymore." I tighten my hold on the bazooka and pull my arm back, ripping the weapon from Ox's grasp, which I then tossed behind me onto another building entirely, ensuring that nobody was going to go get it and use it during the rest of this encounter.

"It's not an RPG. It is a rocket launcher, stupid." Ox says, punctuating his point with a right fist which I slip under and jump past into a roll to get a firm footing on this building. I don't want to be thrown off and forced to stick to a wall, thereby showing casing my powers. And sure, there are a lot of people that can stick to walls. Of course, you can do it with tech as well, but I am sure there are some super geniuses out there that will make the link and super-geniuses in the Marvel universe are a dime a dozen.

I don't have time to relax, however, as a dandy little man named Dancy Dan immediately shoots over and tries to attack me with a flying kick to the face, which I easily duck under. But my evasion doesn't deter Dan as he simply lands on the floor next to me and tries a spin quick, which I move back a little to avoid.

What follows is Dan making a series of quick, skilful moves in which he tries to damage me. Moving quick and powerfully, he snipes in with fists and strikes, all of which I avoid by the narrowest of margins. All in all, this man is skilled, not to the point of someone like the Black Widow or Daredevil, but when he works in tandem with his compatriots, I am sure he can prove a hassle.

Unfortunately for Dan, he is alone right now, and his comrades are busy. Montanna having his hands complete with Black Cat and Ox- Oh, would you look at that. He overextended on his punch which I dodged and ended up falling forward, which could have been genuinely disastrous as he was right on the edge of a building.

Still, it looks like he managed to hold on by the tips of his fingers and is now hanging precariously over the edge. I should probably end this fight right now, so I can go stop him from plummeting to his death. Dan seems to have also realised the situation as he suddenly stops his barrage and hops back, continuing to jump from side to side on his tippy toes so that he can act quickly, and he opens his mouth to talk.

"Listen, we are only here for the dame. So how about you clear off out of here so I can go help my buddy? You can g- KAAGGHH!" I throat-punched him. I mean, what the hell else was I supposed to do? He let down his guard and gave me a perfect target. I literally just rushed forward and punched him in the throat, and he fell down onto his knees, clutching at his throat. Given how he is turning red in the face, I don't think he will be getting back up after that. Man, fights are easy, especially when you don't have to worry about crushing a guy's larynx.

I leave him there, sure that he won't be getting back up for at least a few minutes, and I walk over to the edge of the building where Ox is struggling for his life. I walk over to the edge and look down at him as he struggles to lift himself back up. It seems in this situation, all of that bulk is working against him, and it is all he can do to hang onto the building. Finally, he looks up to see me looking down at him, he doesn't say anything to me, but his struggles to get back onto the building increase.

"Hey there, bud. Looks like you could use a hand. Why don't you let me help you up before you lose your grip and become street pizza? Better decide quickly since your fingers look like they are slipping." I say to Ox before kneeling down and offering him my left hand, he regards it for a moment, but he really doesn't have any choice. He is hanging on only by the tips of his right hands' fingers, and his left hand is free, but he can't manage to reach up to grab the building.

Ox swings his left hand up and grasps my left hand in a tight grip, and I promptly slog him one right in the face with my right hand, and I can feel him slacken in my grasp. I knocked him out in one punch. I mean, why am I going to pull him up just so he can continue attacking me when I can just take him out when he is in a vulnerable position? Ox is now dead to the world, and I pull his unconscious body up by his left hand, and I chuck him onto the building, upholding what I told him I would do, but I never said he would be awake for it.

"Wow, that was ruthless. Good job, I like it. Things are so much easier when you get straight to the point instead of faffing around just like you used to." Felicia says from behind me, clearly referring to Spider-Man taking so much longer with his battles and how my new methods are much better.

And when I turn around to see her, she is standing next to the unconscious form of Fancy Dan, clearly having knocked him out while I took care of Ox, though I am the one that disarmed the man by throat punching him, and she just came along and knocked him out.

"You took care of Montanna? That was quick. I'm impressed." I say, walking back over to her because I got over here very quickly and took out both Ox and Dan very quickly, but I am obviously not as good or skilled as some of the guys out there, even with my powers.

Black Widow or Wolverine would have taken care of these guys instantly, with their skills for the former and their powers for the latter. Still, in contrast, I took around a minute to put these two down for the count, but Felicia took out Montanna, a skilled fighter, at the same time with no powers, which is very impressive.

"Yeah, yeah, I am impressed with your performance as well. Now let's get out of here quick before anybody can come to investigate." She says, turning around and walking to the edge of the building, sidestepping the unconscious bodies on the roof.

"Yeah, you go ahead, Cat. I have something to do. I'll catch up with you later." I say, watching her go, she turns around and gives me a look, but then she shrugs.

"Whatever, see ya later then." She says, no longer paying me any attention, before leaping off the roof and away from the scene, leaving me to my own devices. It has been quite a while since I first met Felicia on that roof, and we have both become accustomed to each other.

We both go out and do our own thing, and we don't question the other, though I am sure she goes out and does various illegal things. But my only agreement with her was that we wouldn't rob from people who couldn't afford it or deserved it. I never said she couldn't go out and do that on her own, and I am sure she wouldn't listen even if I tried.

I quickly walk over to Fancy Dan and check over his unconscious form to make sure he is breathing all right. I did punch him straight in the throat after all, and I might have crushed his windpipe. I am not being so frugal with my strength lately, and I might have caused him serious harm.

Becoming a murderer right now will bring me a lot of attention, both from the law as well as the criminals with whom Fancy Dan associates. Thankfully his throat is fine, if a little bruised. He probably won't be talking for a while though.

With that done, I then turn one hundred and eighty degrees and sidestep the body of Ox and jump off of the building and onto another, where I walk over to get my objective. I can't just leave this lying around after all.