Chapter 13 [ The Hunt Begins ]

NEW YORK CITY, 17:00

'Today is the day. I am invited to Dr. Connors's lab at Oscorp. Can't say I am not nervous. But furthermore I am exhausted. This whole past week there has been a lot of thiefs and gang shootings in New York. And on different places too. At a rooftop, in an alley, at the park, inside garage buildings, on a parking lot, at the harbor..'

I find it a bit strange that so many thugs were on the streets in just one week. What's even more strange is that some of them didn't steal anything or hurt anybody they just saw me and ran at me with weapons or were shooting at me.

'Well you have other worries now.'

I walked into the building.

Hundrets of people on elevators, escalators and stairs walking up and down...

I looked up and admired the building. Even though it is my second time here it is fascinating...and scary.

"Excuse me?...hello?.."

The secretary tore me out of my admiration.

"Can I help you Sir?."

"Yeah hello. I am looking for Dr. Curt Connors. I have an appointement with him."

"Mr. Peter Parker right?."

"Yes Ma'am"

"Dr. Connors awaits you in his office at the 63th floor."

"Thanks Ma'am"

"You're welcome"

She smiled at continued looking at her computer screen.

I was getting on the elevator as a bodyguard signilised other people who wanted to use the elevator too to back off.

'Oscorp and Connors are treating their guests well..'

"WAIT PLEASE WAIT..."

A guy with glasses and a horrible haircut screamed and rushed through the crowd. He had blue rolled up, what looked like, plans under his right sleeve and a briefcase in his left hand.

"PLEASE I AM IN A HURRY.."

The elevator doors were about to close but I managed to get my hand between them. I tapped the security guard at the shoulder.

"Let this man through.."

He did as I said and the man entered the elevator out of breath.

Catching his breath he looked at me.

"Thank you very much sir.."

As he shook my hand.

"No problem."

"My name is Max...Max Dillon if you ever need help here in this building just come to me and I will fix it. I work here as an electrician and handyman and you just saved my life."

"Haha you are welcome. I am Peter Parker."

"Nice to meet you Peter."

"Nice to meet you too Max."

Max got out 20 floors below me. We said goodbye too each other and I continued my way up.

'He seems nice. He probably thought I work here so he offered me his assistance on future problems. Shame that I will probably never see him again...Well maybe we will cross paths someday...'

'I finally got to the 63th floor. I saw Dr. Connors and a man in a dark blue suit and brown hair talking in Dr. Connors's office. This man...alone his stand showed dominance.

As I got closer I recognized who he really was.

The head and name of the building I am walking through.

Norman Osborn.

The situation seemed tense.

I noticed a teenager, probably as old as I am, standing next to him. He looked rather sad.

I entered the office. All three of them looked at me.

"I am Sorry Dr. Connors if I am interupting something important. If you don't have time today then we can meet at another day..."

"Who are you." Osborn asked.

"He is my new pupil. A promesing High School student."

Connors answered for me.

"Taking a high schooler under your wing Connors...

He turned to me.

"He must be special.."

"How old are you boy."

"16"

He looked at the kid beside him.

"16 and a pupil of Connors. He has already achieved more than you ever will."

The kid still looked down. I couldn't see his face in this angle.

Osborn turned around and looked at Conners again.

"About what we discussed earlier...just think about it."

With that he and the kid left the office.

Connors stood up walked towards me and said with a smile on his face.

"Shall we start."

"We have protein structure, our dna chromotography, transgenics testing, x-ray video and many more essential chemical tools."

Connors gave me a privat tour of his lab and it was beyond impressiv.

He clicked a button and a giant hologram with dna strings, human skelletons, and a hologram with a lizard showed up.

"What you see here is a computer model of a lizard. Now many of these wonderful creatures have so brilliantly adapted that they can regenerate entire limbs at will..you can imagine my envy.

We are trying to harness this capability and transfer it into our hist subject Freddie the three-legged mouse in the hope that with the lizards dna, he will regenerate his fourth missing limb."

I looked at him.

"Cross-species genetics ?"

"Exactly"

"Wow that is...fascinating..."

"It is... it would change millions of lives mine included."

"But...lets say it works. How much of the new dna would take over the host?"

"Well...it is hard to tell as no animal survived the experiment because the problem is...

"The decay-algorithm.."

I cut him off.

He looked at me with an weird expression.

Maybe he was impressed...maybe confused.

But I did the exact same study when that spider bit. At some point I was even scared that I would turn into a spider. I researched everything about genetic crossing and somewhere along the way I came across the decay-algorithm. I studied the spider that bit me and wrote down every different spider dna it had. I took some of my blood and compare me and the spider and after many sleepless nights I finally figured out how much "spider" and how much "human" i am. And along this way I solved it.

The decay-algorithm. Maybe it was unintentionly or maybe even luck but I solved it. Something world wide known scientists like Connors dedicated their life to. I took paper and pen that was laying nearby and as Dr. Connors still looked at me I hesitated to wright the formular on the paper. I never told anyone that I solved it and how could I. They would ask too many questions. Eventually the would find out that I was bit at Oscorp when I snuck into an presentation and kinda broke into the lab where they breed spiders. They would take tests on me and would find out that I have powers. My life would have gotten flipped upside down.

But if I give it to Connors... he can change the world...

I wrote the formular down and gave it to Connors.

He looked at it, looked at me, looked at the formular again.

"Where did you come up with this?"

"I just, you know..."

I tapped my head with the pen and smiled.

He smiled too.

"Peter how about you visit me more often. Every Friday at this time. Does that work for you?"

"Absolutly sir."

I answered while a stone fell from my heart because he didn't question me any further about how I came up with the formular.

NEW YORK CITY, 19:00

Peter Parker was sitting at the rooftop of a tall apartement building.

'It is quiet tonight. My daily night patrole is boring today. I don't understand. There was so much to do this week. I got or 4 hours sleep at max on everyday this week. I am compleatly drawn out. Bad guys crawling from everywhere around the city and so many too. But today is quite.

Maybe I can rest today.'

Before I swung away and wanted to go home my spider sense was tingling and I heard a womans scream. I swung as fast as I could and with each swing the buildings gone smaller and smaller until there was nowhere to swing and I had to ran to the screaming voice.

I found myself at a parking lot. It was quite big. Not a single car was on sight. And the houses around it were very small.

'Swinging is no option. I have to fight on the ground. Wait...there is nobody their.'

"HEEEEELLLP"

I looked towards where the screaming was coming from. I got closer.

"A music box ?"

"HEEEEELLLP" it screamed again.

I crushed it with my foot. It didn't took long until I realised that someone lured me here.

Only the center of the parking lot was illuminated.

'The others don't work? No...someone destroyed them. I don't know how many men there are in the dark around me. Maybe they are pointing their guns at me at this moment.

Alright focus.'

Then suddenly my sense started tingling again. But it was too late. The bullet has already grazed my arm. I managed to dodge just enough so that it would only graze me but..

'I am too tired. My senses aren't working properly.'

I sense started to tingle again but this time stronger than before.

Stronger than ever in my life.

Emerging from the dark a tall man, maybe 6 feet 2. Very muscular. I could see his muscles because he wasn't wearing a t-shirt. Only black sweatpants and a jacket without sleeves and a black fur hood. Long dark hair that he wore in a braid and a scar that went across his right eye. A chain of what looked like teeth of lions or tigers. I couldn't help but to notice the weapons he had. Daggers around his waist. A sniper on his back. He probably shoot me with that.

As he came closer he started clapping and grined.

"Very fascinating. Dodging my bullet that is traveling at supersonic speed. Such agility...such grace...truly pray worthy."

He liked his teeth

As he spoke I couldn't overhear his really thick russian accent.

"Now where the hell are you coming from?"

I asked.

"Mother russia..but my way of mother africa."

As he took two daggers that were around his waist and attacked me.

"Two mums and still so ill-behaved?"

I managed to dodge all of his attacks but each attack got closer to my body.

'He is fast. Definitely superhumen. I can only dodge right now...wait for an opening. I wish there were buildings around me to swing at... so that I can keep him at distance.'

With each attack my sense got stronger and stronger. I was certain.

'This man is lethal.'

But even tho I am exhausted I can tell.

'I'm still physically stronger, faster, more agile. So why am I feeling so weak.'

I kept dodging until I saw it an opening.

Trying to put as much force into my fist as I could so I could knock him out with one punch but not kill him unitl I felt weakness in my feet.

I was too slow and he managed to avoid my fist and countered me with a kick in my stomach.

This shit hurt.

'So super strenght too...'

I felt my body suddenly getting weaker and weaker.

"Starting to feel dizzy. You know I studied you for the past week. Every fight with these little thugs. I bought them especially for you and distributed them to different places in the city. And every fight you made helped me create the ultimate hunting ground for you.

What do you think you are here without the possibility of swinging because of a bad coincidence. Not only that but I realized I can't physically defeat you, so I had to weaken you a bit by making you fight non-stop for the last few nights. I noticed that you were slowing down from day to day and to give me extra security.."

He grinded at pointed at my arm...the graze...I didn't noticed...it turned green.

'Poisen?!'

"My bullets have enough poisen to take down 3 full grown elephants. Even though it only grazed you it will weaken you enough. I must say. It was easier than I thought."

I couldn't stand anymore. The only thing I saw was that monster running torwards me. Each strike, each cut I took hurt more than the last one. My body got weaker and weaker. He suddenly stopped attacking.

I was standing there...in my fighting position...blood covering my suit....

I need one hit...one solid hit that buys me enough time to get out of here...

He walked towards me.

"Fall."

He said. And as he approached me I could feel my consciousness slowly fading away.

"You are alone.

There is only death for you.

He got closer and closer.

"You are strong. But I am beyond strenght.

I am your end."

He stood 10 feet across me.

"I am Kraven."

CHAPTER 13 END