The marvellous spider-man

Chapter 18

Dmitri, wearing the principle mask, limped through the hotel hallway, leading a man in a maintenance suit who held a long box that resembled a suitcase. Finally the weapons had been sent from Oscorp, though Dmitri wasn't terribly pleased about it. It meant that Sergei would resume his hunt for the Spider. Still, it was probably for the best. Sergei had been getting impatient, and Dmitri's negotiations to stall the arrival of the weapons by asking for unnecessary safety precautions in the transport of the weapons had only fed that impatience.

Sergei's impatience was, after all, the reason for his limp.

Still, Dmitri was close to figuring out the Spider's identity. He had narrowed it down to three individuals. All three had their grades drop after the incident at the bank, and Spiderman's recent increase in crime fighting would explain that. One of them, a Peter Parker, was a little less suspicious than the other two, as his Uncle had died in the bank incident. He doubted school would matter much to someone in that position.

But he had not yet ruled him out.

The next moment Dmitri had entered the hotel room and taken the suitcase from the maintenance man. Sergei, who was wearing a bathrobe and was wet from shower steam, stepped into the room and took his hyena grin at the sight of the case.

As usual they spoke in Russian.

"Is that them?" he asked. "It had better be, unless you want your other leg limping as well."

"It is," said Dmitri irritably, pulling off the mask and revealing his white face. "Care to take a look?"

Dmitri opened the case to reveal two machetes with black handles. The metal resembled steel, but wasn't as reflective. They also had tiny grooves near the edges. Sergei picked up the weapons by the handles and swung them around. They whistled as they flew through the air and Sergei grinned all the more.

Then he swung one of the blades through a metal lampstand. It cut through with ease and the lamp head fell to the ground.

"Yes," said Sergei. "This will put me back on even ground with the Spider."

"Of course," said Dmitri under his breath. "Because you're all about having a fair fight."

"What was that?" asked Sergei.

"Nothing brother," said Dmitri, irritated, then his tone lightened. "Anyway the blades are made with Wakandan Metal, known as Vi'branogun in its native tongue, and Vibranium among contemporary scientists. Interestingly enough the fact that its name resembles the word 'vibrate' and that the metal is indeed stronger when it absorbs vibrations is purely coincidental. If struck with enough force the vibrations cause the molecules of the metal to pack closer together. The more vibrations, the denser the metal becomes. It's why Captain America's shield is so powerful. The stronger the force against it, the stronger the shield. In the case of those blades vibrations affect the edge of the blades as well, causing those molecules to pack closer together, creating an effect like a scissor closing and making the blades sharper as well. It really is a marvelous piece of..."

"Yes yes," said Sergei, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Strike things hard. I understand the concept."

But you still insist on simplifying it, thought Dmitri as he rolled his eyes.

Sergei experimented with the blades and found a pair of hidden triggers under his fingers. Suddenly the grooves on the blade opened up and small sharp hooks came out. Dmitri silently cursed. The Blades alone would cut through nearly anything, but those hooks would get caught in the flesh. A gruesome, yet effective way to catch prey, and truthfully Dmitri had hoped that Kraven would just overlook that particular feature. In the meantime Sergei's grin widened.