The Amazing Spider-Man 4

Chapter 10

"M.J..." Liz muttered nervously as her and M.J. backed up slowly, the latter trying to determine their next course of action. The men were now beginning to crowd them, with a couple trying to get to the other side to cut off a potential escape attempt. Mary Jane knew that, while Peter would undoubtedly get there as fast as he could, he could be coming from anywhere in the city. They would have to fend for themselves for the time being, which would be tricky to say the least, given that they were outnumbered six to two.

The one thing they had in their favor was that none of the men had drawn a gun, knife or any kind of weapon yet, probably because they presumed that they could simply crowd and overpower the two women. M.J. wasn't going down without a fight though, but they had to act fast, as the circle was about closed around them.

"Liz," M.J. said in a tone just above a whisper, "run."

At that, the two ladies turned and took off. One of the men tried to stop them, but M.J. reacted first, shoving him just enough to get him out of the way and clear the path. They darted down the alley and around the corner, leading to a small street that seemingly never ended, with buildings on either side.

"Great, now what!? Liz yelled in a panic.

"I don't know!" M.J. shouted, "I'm making this up as I go along! Come on!"

Grabbing her friend, who was about a step behind her, M.J. tugged so that Liz turned into another alley with her. Unfortunately, it didn't lead back to a wide-open street, which was what she'd been hoping for. Instead, it was just a series of smaller, partially demolished buildings that had been part of a business's expansion plan that ended up not working out.

This wasn't going to be as easy as she'd hoped.

----

Peter's heart was the only thing racing faster than he was as he practically flew through the city, his webs carrying him faster than ever before. The location he'd been given was almost completely on the other side of Manhattan, so he couldn't spare a single moment. In addition, he'd also received an indication that Mary Jane's signal was on the move, which meant she was either on the run from whoever was after her, or she'd been kidnapped and was being taken away.

Peter really hoped it was the first option as he scurried up his most recent web before firing a new one as he turned a corner. He'd been doing this for almost thirteen years now, but not even all that experience felt good enough right now. His mind was as focused as he could be, with Peter refusing any particular thoughts into his brain other than one in particular: get to Mary Jane Watson.

That wasn't to say that they weren't on doorstep of his mind though. Specifically, it was hard for him not to think about how this was not the first time that this had happened to him, where he was racing to save the life of a woman he loved. It was even harder not to think about how he had the advantage back then of being right there with Gwen, and even that hadn't been good enough. Now, with Mary Jane, he had no real idea what he was flying headlong into, but he didn't care. He could end up going against someone a hundred times as strong or fast, but with the life of the woman he loved likely on the line, it didn't matter. Somehow, he'd find a way to save her...if he wasn't too late already.

His worries only intensifying by the minute, Peter somehow willed himself to go even faster.

----

Mary Jane tried to peek around the corner of the debris they were hiding behind. By now, her and Liz had been running all over the area, with the men consistently in hot pursuit. The two women had managed to round a corner fast enough to hide behind a chunk of an old, rotting building, and now they were waiting it out, hoping for the right opportunity to make a clean getaway.