Spider-man: Christmas with Two Hawks

Suits and Tracksuits

'This is not what I had in mind when I decided to stake out an illegal auction!' Peter silently yelled to himself as the rich people around him screamed.

A giant hole had just been blown in the wall and guys were rushing out of it. Due to the massive dust cloud that had been created, the thugs that created it quickly spread across the room. They were all wearing the same style of tracksuits and ski masks. Many were carrying firearms and they were all feeling in both English and Russian. Peter heard something about a watch through the chaos but was too busy trying to not get caught to notice.

One unlucky bastard just happened to wander into the same aisle as him. Before he could let a word out, Peter pounced at him like a monkey that lost its voice. Peter threw a right hook at the guy and followed it by kicking the gun out of the guy's hands.

The thug didn't get a chance to even process this as he suddenly found that his ski mask had been ripped off and there was a fist heading at his face.

The guy hit the ground with a thud, something all of his bros heard. As they called out into the room of screams and dust, Peter put the black ski mask on his head. He didn't expect any action so he left his suit back at his apartment. Peter knew should've known better.

Peter effortlessly jumped on top of the wine shelf to get a better read on the area. This was a bad idea as he was immediately spotted and was being shot at. Peter immediately jumped off the shelf and ran as wine bottles exploded around him.

He was like an unstoppable force. Any thug that ran at him was immediately knocked out. After a few seconds, Peter realised that he wasn't the only masked individual beating the shit out of these guys.

Kate had somehow gotten her hands on the Ronin suit and was now using the wine bottles as hand batons. Speaking of batons.

Peter noticed a red and silver baton just lying on the floor. The label on it claimed that it belonged to the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Without hesitation, Peter grabbed the dangerous stick and threw it at the back of the head of the nearest guy. He expected it to bounce back to him, but the stick simply fell to the floor. The guy didn't even fall over. He just cursed in Russian and started shooting.

'The videos make it look so easy!' Peter thought to himself angrily as he rushed the guy and kicked him to the floor.

Peter turned back to where the Ronin impersonator had been fighting and saw that she was now fighting a dangerous criminal that is also armed with a gun while using a bowl.

"Shit. That girl is gonna get herself killed." Peter muttered to himself. He rushed towards the two body slammed the crook into the wall.

The mask of the suit covered Kate's mouth, Peter could tell that she was shocked.

"Why are you still here?" he demanded.

Kate blinked in surprise, suddenly recognising him.

"It's you?"

Peter rolled his eyes and answered "Yes, it's me. And you're the cosplayer that'll get herself killed."

Kate gave Peter an offended look. "Well, you must be blind because if you could see, you would know that I am handling this perfectly fine."

"Ronin!" A thug that was at least a foot taller than the two of them shouted as he charged at them with a crowbar. Kate took an instinctive step back while Peter took a step forward.

The thug swung high, Peter stepped to the side. The thug tried a horizontal swing, Peter ducked low. He sweeped the thug off his feet and pinned him to the floor. He followed this with a punch to the head that knocked the guy out instantly.

Peter got up and turned around to look at Kate. Once again, she wore an expression of shock and awe underneath her mask.

"Okay, that was awesome."

Peter his towards the hole that had been blown up by the thugs. He saw some of the guys making a break for it by running through it.

Peter sighed and then looked at Kate, "You wanna help? Then follow me."

Peter rushed through the hole in the wall, with Kate scrambling to keep up. He would have preferred if she had evacuated with the other guests, but he knew that would be impossible. He recognised that spark in her eyes. He saw that same spark almost every day whenever he looked into the mirror in the years before the Blip.

They ran into an alleyway and were greeted by a sight Peter was not expecting. In front of an open white van filled with a bunch of boxes, a bunch of guys were wrestling with what looked like a very best up golden retriever that was biting hard on one of their comrade's legs.

Peter was stunned by how bizarre the scene was that he wasn't sure what to do. Luckily, Kate was there to decide for him.

With nothing more than a loud "Hey!" as a warning, Kate rushed at them and kicked the guy the dog was biting. The action stunned the others allowing the dog to escape and run for the streets.

Kate, worried for the dog's safety, ran after it. Peter, worried for the safety of this very nice girl, ran after her. He didn't want her to be caught by the coming police. He could already hear the sirens in the distance.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Kate shouted at the dog as it ran into traffic. Kate followed, jumping over car windshields and sliding on the ice road, grabbing hold of the dog and taking it way before it could be run over.

Peter ran after the two of them. He had a much easier time weaving through traffic, but he had to be sure not to make it obvious that he had years of experience. He was so preoccupied.

Clint and his kids entered their hotel room. They had just returned from visiting the Rockefeller Christmas tree. They were all beaming with excitement.

"You were right about the tree, Dad. It was amazing." Lila said with a shine in her eyes. She walked towards the TV to check on the news.

Nate was hanging on his father's back like a baby koala. With the enthusiasm, only a little kid could have, he said, "I want one that big."

Cooper laughed at his younger brother's innocence and proclaimed, "It won't fit in our house, dummy."

Nate refused to be deterred from his dream and began to beg, "Please, please, please." He flopped onto the couch as Lila turned on the TV.

Clint immediately entered Dad mode and cheerfully scolded, "It's a little late for TV guys. I've got to pack."

He was interrupted by the voice of the female news anchor. "We are following a be raking news story. A high society gala was rocked by an explosion when it went off at Park Avenue and 68th Street tonight. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. But witnesses captured cell phone footage of a masked assailant fleeing the scene.

This caught Clint's attention. He knew that New York was filled with masked individuals, but the heroes/vigilantes are usually mentioned by name.

Lila was oblivious to Clint's thought process and said excitedly, "Check it out. A ninja saved a dog."

"Authorities believe the assailant could be the Ronin who terrorized organised crime in New York and elsewhere." She continued.

Horror filled Clint's eyes as he saw the image of 'Ronin'. His mind was attacked by memories of the Blip, of all he did as the Ronin.

"This is the first potential sighting of the Ronin in years. And it seems to be that he isn't working alone anymore, as he was accompanied by what peers to be a man parodying Maurice Lablanc's, Arsène Lupin Gentleman Thief."

The image zooms in from the fake Ronin to a guy in a ski mask wearing a familiar suit that Clint saw earlier that day. The fact that it appeared to be too small for the wearer raised even more questions for the Avenger.