Spider-Man Season One: Freestyle

2-1: Welcome to the Jungle Part 1

As the director stepped into the trailer, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. It wasn't that the concept of being in a (somewhat) celebrity's trailer that was daunting, he had done it dozens of times in his career. But then again, he had never been with this man, who could hardly be called similar to most celebrities. The entire floor of the trailer was covered with deep red carpet. It was already a curious choice, and when asked why, he had only replied with a smile, "It reduces the blood stains."

They were pretty sure he was joking. Only pretty sure.

It wasn't just a blood-red carpet that added to his discomfort. All around the area were trophies. Not the gold and sparkly kind, but the dead, hollowed-out animal kind. There was a tiger pelt on the floor, and various furs and skins covered other surfaces, including the bed, which as far as the director knew, had not been used once. Hung upon all the walls were a series of heads of large, intimidating beasts. For smaller animals, their entire bodies had been stuffed and positioned on top of furniture.

The atmosphere was so exotic that you barely would have noticed the man sitting by the window if you didn't know what to look for. He wore relatively little, consisting of leopard print tights, a pair of tight boots, and a top that was sort of like a vest, though from the back, one could hardly see most of it behind a large collar of hair that extended from the neck.

He sat next to the open window, quietly twiddling a hunting knife in his fingers. His eyes were focused on the world outside, and the director wasn't sure he had heard him enter. He was hesitant to alert him, as the series had already demonstrated his ability under threat.

Regardless, the director chose to clear his throat. "M-Mister Kravinoff."

Without looking away, the man held up a single finger. He had revealed to them that this meant they could be quiet, but not necessarily silent.

The director lowered his voice slightly. "Sir, we've been looking at the feedback from this last season...it seems that the most recent episodes haven't been tuning in as many viewers. Some of our consultants are recommending we get a significant change of location for a while."

He waited for a few moments. There was no reply. "...Mister Kravinoff?"

"I agree." The response came, and though his tone of voice didn't seem to indicate any hostility, his thick Russian accent was a little unsettling. "In fact...I had already planned for this."

The director cleared his throat again, "Y-you had an idea for a new location already?"

"Better than that, my friend." He said, grabbing a folded newspaper and sliding it across the table beside him. "I already have my prey."

Curious, the director lifted the paper, and was greeted with a copy of a New York newspaper (how he had gotten his hands on it the director chose not to question), and a headline article, stating "Enhanced Vigilante Strikes Again".

Hesitant to question him, the director asked slowly, "...Are you serious about this?"

Finally, Sergei Kravinoff turned around and looked him dead in the eyes, clutching his knife in his hand. "Of course. I am always serious about the hunt." As he finished those words, without looking away from the director, he spun the knife around before hurling it through the window over his shoulder.

The man glanced out the window to see the knife now embedded in a small raccoon a few trailers over.

"If you don't mind my asking, what makes you want to pursue this one in particular?"

He chuckled. "Oh, I have high hopes for him. I believe he's going to be much different from any other prey I have hunted. Very much different."

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