The Amazing Spider-Man 4

Chapter 8

Peter landed on the edge of the roof, squatting down into his usual perched position. He'd been out on patrol for a little over an hour now, and thus far, he hadn't encountered so much as a break in at a bakery. It was strange, because on nights like this, he was almost bored, which he then immediately felt guilty about. A boring night for him meant no one was getting assaulted, stolen from, shot at, etc. What kind of person was he to complain about that?

Besides, in the absence of crime, he had found some time to stop and help some people with simpler, more basic needs. For instance, he'd walked an old woman across the street earlier, whom he was pretty sure didn't even recognize who he was due to poor eyesight, which didn't really matter to him anyway. He'd also helped a local pizza store worker carry in some late-night ingredient deliveries, which the man had been kind enough to express gratitude over and even gave him a voucher for a free pizza if he ever happened to stop by. If there was one thing Peter had learned early on in life, free food could never be complained about, especially if it was pizza.

Still, Peter was annoyed that he'd been unable to pick up the trail of either his mysterious stalker or whoever was behind the attack of the giant metal scorpion the night prior. In the case of the former, he had literally nothing to go off, other than that maybe the man could turn invisible or something. There was no face, no costume, not even a typical villain monologue that fully explained to Peter their grand ambitions. Then again, he didn't have any of those things in the case of the latter either; he just knew that whoever it was really liked machines and likely had access to a lot of materials to make them. Sadly, that still didn't narrow down the list very much.

He was about to call it a night and head back home when Peter suddenly felt his spider sense go off, followed immediately by what sounded like the scream of a woman somewhere nearby. He followed the sounds until he came to a small alley nearby, where he saw someone dressed in some large cloak appearing to hold a blade to a woman's neck. Jumping down, Peter landed behind the two, quickly grabbing the man and the blade, tossing them off to the side and allowing the woman to escape.

"You sure know how to treat a lady, don't you pal?" Peter said, slowly walking toward the man. He a bit caught off guard, if even a little disturbed as the man just chuckled lightly to himself before rising to his feet.

"I am impressed, Spider-Man," the man said in what sounded like a thick Russian accent. "I'd anticipated that you would show up, hoped for it even, and yet you still managed to catch me off my guard. No creature in this world has ever accomplished such a feat."

"Well, I aim to please," Peter said, performing a mock bow, "however, I'm afraid flattery won't get you out of going to jail."

"I admire your confidence my young friend," the man replied, "but then again, you don't know who I am."

The mysterious man then removed his cloak, revealing a jungle styled look underneath. He wore a vest that appeared to be made from the skin and fur of a lion and pants with leopard patterned spots on them. He wore jungle boots, and he sported perhaps the most masculine beard that Peter had ever seen.

"Wow," Peter said. "First of all, thanks for reminding me that I can't grow facial hair. Second, what's with the safari getup?"

"These creatures were some of my first trophies," the man explained, gesturing to his outfit. "They were my first successful hunts. Success is all I've ever known, to the point where I no longer could find any creature worthy of challenging me. That is the worst thing any hunter can ever experience, and that is why I came to this city, Spider-Man: to find you."

"Me?" Peter questioned, the pieces starting to click in his mind. "Wait, were you the one trying to follow me the other day?"

"I was," the man conceded. "I'd hoped to study you from a distance first, but your sense of your surroundings was too great, so I was forced to return to merely reading what others have said about you, and I must say, I have not been disappointed."