The Amazing Spider-Man 4

Chapter 23

Peter locked eyes with his opponent. One thing was immediately obvious: Kraven was bloodthirsty, perhaps worse than before. There was an anger, a darkness in his eyes like nothing Peter had noticed in their previous encounters. The man then charged him, and Peter locked arms with him as the man pushed him through the door of a building with such force that it tore it off its hinges. Once they were out of sight of potential onlookers from the alley, he squared up, hardening his stance to cease their momentum before momentarily tossing Kraven aside.

Looking around, Peter then took off, hoping to find a place where he could quickly strip off his outer clothing in favor of his Spider-Man suit. The ground level floor of the building seemed to be unoccupied, but that didn't mean the rest of the building was the same. It may have been past conventional closing times, but it was New York after all; people worked late all the time. He couldn't afford to have someone see him fighting someone superhuman as Peter Parker. If someone's life was in danger, he would do what was necessary to save their life, but if he could, he would protect his secret.

Kraven didn't make it easy on him though, pursuing him relentlessly. Making sure nobody else was around, Peter turned and shot several webs along the walls, forming a thick barricade that blocked his opponent's path. It would only be a temporary solution, but Peter hoped it would buy him the time he needed. He didn't look back any longer than he had to; as soon as the large web was complete, he turned and continued running.

Eventually, he found a bathroom. Ducking inside, he quickly stripped off his clothes and slipped on his mask. He then hopped into the ventilation system, intent on avoiding the security cameras catching him going into the men's room as Peter and exiting as Spider-Man. He quickly retraced his steps, peering through every spot he could and listening where possible. Kraven had clearly settled down a little after his initially crazed ambush attempt, as even with his enhanced hearing Peter still had difficulty finding him. He eventually popped back out of the shaft and onto the floor, landing gingerly on his toes and fingers in a crouched position.

"Uhm, hello?" he spoke up, deciding on a bolder approach. "Any psychotic Russian jungle men nearb..."

His spider sense got his attention just in time for him to flip out of the way as his opponent came after him again.

"Ah, there you are!" Peter observed. The man came after him again, swinging at him with everything he had. Despite his intensity, a proper look at the guy was all Peter needed to see that Kraven was still not fully recovered from their last encounter. His moves weren't quite as fluid and he seemed to favor using almost exclusively one arm to strike, grimacing in the rare occasions he used the other.

Wanting to take the fight somewhere a bit more private, Peter performed a quick spin kick, sending Kraven flying out a nearby window and crashing onto the ground.

"Look, can we talk about this?" Peter said as he stepped out of the building. "You're obviously not yourse..."

The man let out an angry yell as he forced himself up and came at him again. Easily avoiding his opponent's increasingly sloppier attacks, Peter grabbed him, spinning and almost casually discarding him against the wall.

"Dude, stop!" Peter exclaimed. "No offense, but isn't it kind of obvious by now that you're not going to win?"

"Then I will die FIGHTING!!" Kraven yelled back as he struggled to get up. Once on his feet, he came at Peter again, who simply grabbed his first attempt at punch, stopping it cleanly in his gloved hand. He looked into the eyes of his opponent, who was struggling against the firm grip he had on his hand. Whereas even a day ago he would've still felt nothing but anger towards the man, Peter now almost felt pity for him...almost.