THE MAN SAT beside the bed. Under the covers laid a woman, who looked rather sickly. She listened attentively as he read from the book.

"But I realized that these three appealed to me because they were like the heroes in the novels I read. Dally was real. I liked my books and clouds and sunsets. Dally was so real he scared me. Johnny and I never went to the front of the church. You could see the front from the road, and sometimes farm kids rode their horses by on their way to the store."

He suddenly paused and looked up from the book. The man groaned as he glanced at his wife.

"Мне снова становится скучно (I'm getting bored again)." He said. "И скажите мне еще раз, почему мы не можем просто читать что-то из страны, а не эти американские книги? (And tell me again why we can't just read something from the country and not these American books?)"

"Sergei." Aleksandra replied. "You know how much I love this book. And we have to work on our English in case we ever take that trip to the states."

Sergei nodded as a weak smile formed on his face. That was the goal...the dream...to take his wife to the United States and enjoy some of that Westerner life. But her condition was making it a fruitless endeavor as days went by.

"You know..." He listened to his wife and spoke English. "I see myself in Ponyboy. He is smart and handsome."

Aleksandra chuckled. "And also impulsive. Even sometimes angsty."

"Can you imagine me wearing a leather jacket and having slicked-back hair?"

The couple laughed together. Suddenly, the woman had a coughing fit which worried Sergei. He put the book down and quickly handed her some water.

"Боже мой (My God)." He muttered as he felt her head. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting a fever?"

"I'm fine..." She replied.

He shook his head. "Just rest, my beloved. Actually, let me bring you some of the tea."

She weakly nodded and Sergei left the room. He took the teapot containing the medicinal beverage and poured it into a cup.

He walked back inside and saw that his wife was fast asleep. She must've been exhausted but kept it under wraps from him, wanting him to continue reading the book. He let out an exhale, putting the tea beside the bed and kissing her on the forehead.

"Отдыхай спокойно, Саша (Rest easy, Sasha)." He muttered, saying the name he'd often give her.

Sergei walked toward the door, looking back at his sleeping wife before finally shutting the door and leaving.

That was the last time Sergei saw his wife conscious. The next day, she hadn't woken up and was taken to the hospital where they informed him that her sickness put her in a coma.

He didn't need to be told by the doctors that she was getting worse. He knew that it was only a matter of time until the sickness took her from him. Every passing moment without hearing her voice caused him pain.

As a last resort, Sergei went to ask for help. He was always a man that did his own thing, solved his own problems, but this time he had no clue what to do. And the help he requested came from a Haitian witch that resided near the border of Mongolia.

"Kravinoff." The woman named Calypso greeted.

Sergei further walked into her abode. He had not seen the woman in years.

"Ezili." He referred to her by her last name.

"I knew you'd come running back eventually."

"Those days are behind us." He retorted.

She pouted. "A shame."

Calypso walked to a table that contained many jars and bottles, all filled with liquids of various colors. Plates of herbs were also beside them.

"So you are here for business? I thought those days were also behind you." She added.

Sergei still had a stoic look as he walked up to her. "I need your help."

"And what is it you need assistance on?" She asked as she started to crush herbs.

It took a moment for him to admit it.

"My wife." He finally answered. "She is very sick."

Calypso glanced at him but continued working. Sergei kept speaking.

"I know your work, Ezili. You have things that can make her better. Something that can save her."

"My remedies, my potions, they can grant strength...they can heal surely. But only wounds on an able body. Tell me...how sick is she?"

Sergei didn't want to answer. His silence told her everything she needed to know.

"If she's dying, what I have won't work. I'd have to research...I'd have to figure out a new recipe that can even attempt to cure her. But even all that hard work isn't worth it for a pipe dream."

"I'll do anything." He abruptly said. "I'll get you what you need. I don't care what it takes."

Calypso attentively listened as he continued.

"I'll steal from wherever I have to. I'll kill whoever I need to. Just please..."

After a moment of silence, the Haitian witch nodded. She walked away from her table and went up to Sergei.

"You'll do anything?"

He nodded. Calypso got closer and ran her fingertips across his cheek. Sergei simply stood in place and didn't react.

"You're going to have to become what you left behind." She said. "Kraven."

He kept his stoic look as he stared at her. "If that's what it takes."

Calypso's face got closer to his. Before Sergei could decide to move, she did so herself and started walking back to the table.

"There's this artifact that I've been seeking for some time now. Even my mama, God bless her soul, had told me about it when I was a little girl..."

Sergei kept listening to Calypso.

"It's an amulet. Bears properties within that grant it's wearier enhanced abilities...even an advanced form of acceleration recuperation. You bring me it, I can study and use it to make a potion that can save your wife."

He was intrigued. What she did with the artifact afterward didn't matter to him. Sergei just wanted her to do the best she could in helping Sasha.

"And where can I find this amulet?" Kraven asked.

Calypso looked up from her table and at the Hunter.

"It's currently en route to the States. New York City. Going back to the family of the last known person who had once donned the name...White Tiger."

• • •

THE GUNMEN KEPT watch on the parking lot as the rest were unloading crates in the garage. A man kept his rifle strapped to his side as he puffed a cigarette, blowing the smoke as he looked up at the night sky.

"You got another one?" A colleague of his asked, walking up to him with his gun also in hand.

He let out a scoff. "You're lucky I ain't an asshole like the rest of them here."

The man took out his pack and let his colleague take a cigarette out. He lit it for his friend and the man put it in his mouth.

"They almost done in there?" He asked.

His colleague blew out the smoke. "Hell if I know. Sometimes they get it done quickly. Sometimes they take all night."

"Unless Mister Stone wants all that shit counted and sorted by a specific time." He replied mentioning their boss. "They're lucky he hasn't called yet."

The other man chuckled and started to walk away. "Let him call. I can take that albino son of a bitch."

"Oh, I'd like to see you say that to his face." He replied.

They laughed and the man kept walking away. The gunman turned away to throw aside his cigarette before looking back to call out to his friend.

"Don't come back and ask for—"

He stopped upon seeing that the man was gone. He looked around for a bit, before looking up and finally seeing him. His colleague was stuck to the top of the tall lamppost strung up by web.

"What the f—?"

The gunman was immediately pulled up by a web. Spider-Man was perched on the other lamppost and quickly rolled the man up in a web as well. He dangled him from the light.

"Giving you a great view of this starry night." Y/N quipped. "You're welcome."

Spider-Man zipped to another perch and watched a couple of the guards pacing around the lot. They exchanged a few words before leaving each other.

One of them walked toward one of the parked semi-trucks. As he made it to the end, Y/N swung down and grabbed the man. The other gunman turned around after hearing the noise but the two were out of view since Y/N and the man got behind the truck.

He crept toward the end of it, holding up his rifle. He then turned to his left and saw the back of the truck, where the other man was already webbed to it.

The man's yells were muffled. Before his colleague could react, Y/N dropped down from the top of the truck onto him. He grabbed his head and slammed the back of it into the asphalt, knocking him out.

Suddenly, two more men came out of the small building the semi was parked near. They immediately saw the web-slinger and were alerted.

"Shit! It's him!"

One of them raised his rifle, but an arrow flew in and stuck the man's chest. It electrocuted the man and he fell to the floor. His friend was surprised for a moment and couldn't react as another arrow stuck to his rifle.

He pulled the trigger but it was now jammed because of the trick arrow. This gave Y/N a chance to charge at the man and land an attack. He quickly dispatched the goon and brought him down.

Y/N looked up and eyed the rooftop in the distance, seeing Kate Bishop on a knee with her bow drawn.

They shared a nod, but Y/N's spider-sense blared.

Behind him, the man that was shocked had recovered and weakly reached for his gun. He shot at Y/N, but the vigilante back-flipped over the bullets and landed on top of the man. He kicked his face and knocked him out.

Again, he looked back at Kate in the distance and spoke to her through the earpiece beneath his mask.

"Might have to reevaluate the voltage on those trick arrows."

"But I did! This morning." She thought about it. "Wait...I think I mistook it for the EMP arrows. Shit!"

"It's okay. I mistake my Android for my iPhone and charge the other at night."

"Really?"

"No. There vastly different. And I only have one phone."

"Whatever."

As they bantered, some men came out of the garage to inspect the lot. They immediately spotted Spider-Man.

"He's here!"

Y/N leaped out of the way once they began to fire. He perched on the side of a lamppost.

"Gonna need to some cover fire once the rest come out of the garage." Y/N swung to another light once they shot again. "Don't confuse your regular arrows with the putty ones or something."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay!"

Spider-Man zipped toward one gunman and brought him to the floor. He then avoid gunfire with a cartwheel and quickly landed a kick to the shooter's face. Y/N then leaped up, stepped off of another man's chest, and backflipped onto the shoulders of the gunman nearby.

Y/N wrapped his legs around the man's neck before using his weight to flip him over. Once he brought him down, he immediately shot a web at the face of the man he had just stepped off of.

"Mmph!" The man reacted.

Spider-Man quickly zipped at the man and landed a flying kick, causing the goon to hit the side of the semi-truck behind him.

With the four goons down, he awaited the rest to come out. His spider-sense blared as they ran out of the garage, but two were quickly shot down with arrows.

"Son of a bitch!" A man exclaimed. "He got backup somewhere out there!"

Spider-Man dashed at the rest and began to take them on. Once a few more came out to join the fight, they were quickly incapacitated by arrows.

Y/N dealt with three goons himself, but as he continued the fight, another larger one came out of the garage. He almost took the vigilante by surprise but he leaped over him after he tried to attack.

"What's with you Big Show types?" Y/N asked. "It's like every group of bad guys I fight has that one brute that comes out of nowhere."

Y/N shot a web at him, but the large man tugged the line that was stuck to him and pulled Spider-Man toward him. He landed a hit on his face and knocked Y/N down.

"Okay..." Spider-Man rubbed his face as he stood up. "First time someone has done that to me."

They were around Y/N. The three men from before stood behind him while the brute was in front of him. Y/N was ready to take them on himself.

Suddenly, an arrow pierced into a lamppost nearby. A zip line was attached to it and the archer came down like a blur.

She detached and kicked one of the men into the other. Once they fell, she sprang back up and landed a roundhouse kick across the face of the third goon.

Y/N took the chance to engage the brute himself as Kate dealt with the rest. He dodged his attacks and then jumped up on top of his broad shoulders. He started to punch him.

"Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sle—"

The brute grabbed Y/N and pulled him off. He held onto Y/N by the shoulders but the hero kicked him in the face, escaping his grasp.

He landed on all fours before shooting web lines from both his hands at the man. Unfortunately, he tugged them both again and flung the vigilante aside. Y/N rolled over but quickly got back to his feet.

"Shit...again? That's embarrassing, Y/N." He muttered to himself.

The brute glared at Y/N but was suddenly shot with an arrow. It stuck to his shoulder and he turned to look at Hawkeye. She had her bow drawn at the man.

The archer, bleeding out her nose from a punch sustained during her fight, called out to him.

"I got enough to turn you into a pin cushion, asshole."

The brute spoke for the first time during their whole encounter. He had a raspy tone.

"You kill me like you did the Kingpin?"

She raised a brow, confused at his question, and lowered her bow slightly. But the man scowled and charged at the archer.

Kate raised her bow but Spider-Man leaped in and tackled the brute. He landed a couple of punches but was thrown aside.

The man stood up and went up to Y/N but was shot in the back by an electric arrow. He spasmed and groaned, then was hit by another arrow.

As he was incapacitated, Spider-Man shot webbing at him that wrapped him up. He then shot a line at his face and brought the brute to his knees, then landed a hard flip-kick that knocked him down.

Finally, the large man was defeated. Y/N let out a sigh of relief as he let go of the web line. Kate put her bow down and walked up beside her partner.

"Jesus..." He breathed out. "What the hell do they feed these guys?"

Kate did not have an answer. She was still wondering why the man thought she killed Wilson Fisk. Did the rest of them also have that thought? Was there a rumor going on throughout the criminal underworld?

Y/N noticed her silence. He decided to go on to another subject.

"How far out are the authorities?" He asked.

"Five minutes or less. Called right before we infiltrated the lot." She replied.

"Good. Captain Stacy on the way?"

She nodded. Y/N gave a nod back and rested his hands at his waist.

"Man, I love the guy. Probably the only guy in the force that does not want to shoot me."

The two heroes gave Captain Stacy the rundown on the operation they foiled. The arms dealing racket was another one they stumbled upon that belonged to a mysterious gang leader known as "Mister Stone".

The Captain thanked the two and let them go before more authorities showed up to investigate the scene. Spider-Man and Hawkeye traversed the rooftops of Harlem, the former with his webs-slash-leaping abilities and the latter trying the grappling mechanism from her new wrist bow.

Y/N landed on a rooftop and let out an exhale. Moments later, Kate joined him, catching her breath from the traversal feats she's been pulling off.

"You're getting the hang of it." Y/N said with a chuckle. "In no time, you'll be like...Hawkspider. Spider-Hawk. Something like that."

Kate laughed. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, I am not good with names." He replied and walked up to her. "I would've gone by Human Spider if it wasn't for a cool wrestling announcer."

She smirked and went up to him too, closing the space between them.

"Human Spider?" Kate teased.

"Very terrible." Y/N shook his head.

"You're right. Doesn't sound as hot as Spider-Man."

Y/N chuckled. His girlfriend's body was practically flushed against his. He held her by the waist and looked at her.

"Never had someone tell me the name was hot." He remarked.

Kate pulled up his mask. They kissed for a few seconds before he parted.

"Thank you, wrestling announcer." He joked.

The two softly laughed before resuming their kiss. Their embrace got more feverish to the point their hands roamed each other's figures. Her hand went down his abdomen and he knew where it'd lead to.

"Here?" He asked with a chuckle. "On some random rooftop in Harlem?"

"Sounds pretty fun." She replied rather breathlessly.

"It's like 40 degrees. Unless you want to keep the costumes on. But I do prefer them off."

"You're right." She said with a nod. "Got caught in the moment."

"I totally get it. It's hard to keep your hands off of all this."

She playfully slapped his chest and backed away. The man laughed and rubbed the area she hit.

"Then back to the apartment it is." Kate said and started walking away.

Y/N smirked and followed her.

"And I'd also prefer not to get caught with you while in costume. Imagine the tabloids? And it'd be weird explaining to my friends why Spider-Man is banging my girlfriend."

• • •

THE FOUR FRIENDS sat at a table near the coffee stand in the college's courtyard. A couple of them sipped from their cups as the other two talked.

"How'd you pull it off man?" Flash asked Y/N.

"What?"

"How did you do it? Pull someone like Hawkeye?"

Y/N shook his head. "This is like the fourth time you've asked me this week."

"I need to know your ways." He replied. "Are you some type of Rizz God?"

"Rizz what?"

Indira chuckled at their exchange. Another one of Flash's friends, Randy, who was also Robbie Robertson's son, sat with them and laughed.

"Nobody says that, Flash. Only online." He told him.

"That's not the point, I need to know the secrets of his rizz."

Y/N spoke. "I don't know about this rizz, and I don't have any secrets. Just...be yourself."

They all stood quiet. Flash glanced at Randy before he let out a laugh.

"Yeah, I don't think you pulled her with your personality."

He was suddenly hit in the face with a ball of foil that came from Indira. He flinched and looked at her.

"Ow."

"Someone understands that my personality is amazing." Y/N remarked as he pointed at the Latina.

"I don't know about amazing." She replied. "And I just wanted to hit Eugene because he was being an asshole."

Flash scoffed. "What did I say about calling me that? You sound like my mother."

Indira's phone chimed and she looked at it. The girl began to get up from her seat.

"I gotta go guys. My mom's waiting."

"Where are you going?" Randy asked.

"Uh, to pick up my late uncle's personal effects. They're bringing it from Puerto Rico."

"Oh." He simply replied.

Y/N wanted to stay quiet, but the mention of her late relative made him speak up.

"You—you knew him well?" He asked.

For a moment, he thought asking that would rub her the wrong way since it pried into her business, but she appreciated that inquiry.

"Mostly when I was little. Once I reached my teens I didn't see him as much though. He was always busy."

Y/N nodded. Indira bid the three farewell and they all sat there. It was sometime later that Y/N decided it was time to go.

"I'll see you guys later, all right?"

"I don't know about later. You say that and we don't hear from you until the next day." Flash said.

He simply shrugged. Flash leaned back in his chair and laughed.

"But hey, I don't blame you. The Rizzler has to keep refining his skills in secret."

"The Rizzler?" Y/N asked.

"Dude." Randy looked at Flash. "Now you're just saying random shit."

He shifted toward Randy. "If Y/N was somehow dating Captain Marvel you'd be on both knees asking how he did it."

"Bro, don't invoke her name."

"You literally are in love with her."

"Bro, quiet down!"

Y/N chuckled before walking away, leaving the two friends as they continued their conversation.

• • •

THE WORKERS LOADED boxes into the van. One of the men checked off what they had before they moved out.

"This all of Ayala's things?" He asked.

"Should be." One replied.

"All right. His family is waiting at a public storage in Greenwich. Let's not piss anyone else off this week."

The man scoffed. "I got lost that time, man. They gave me the wrong address."

The other man chuckled as he went into the truck. His colleague entered it as well and they began to drive off.

They were about to pull out of the alley, but their tires were suddenly punctured. The van stopped and the driver came out to see what happened.

"What the hell?" He muttered as he saw the flat tires.

He bent down and saw blades stabbed into them. He rubbed the back of his head and called out to his friend inside.

"Hey, man...there's knives—"

He was suddenly tackled by a burly man. The other worker was only able to see the blur of the man and he fumbled to get out of his seat.

The man got out of the car and ran to his friend. There, he saw a man pummeling the driver. He got up, wearing a black jacket with a jaguar design, black pants, and boots. His collar was outlined with fur and had a leopard-print cloth wrapped around his biceps. He also had a necklace containing sabertooth teeth.

It was Kraven the Hunter.

The other man was speechless at the sight of him of his seemingly unconscious colleague. Kraven slowly walked up to the man.

"I'm going to need you to open this van."

"Uh...I—"

Kraven got close to the man, where he pulled out a large knife and brandished it.

"Make this easy, or else I'll gut you and just break the doors open myself."

The man was frozen in fear. Kraven dragged him toward the back of the van where the man finally got the keys out. Once he opened it, Kraven hit him in the back of the head and brought him down.

Kraven began to look through the several boxes. He used his acute senses to sort through the things quickly, then finally found the artifact he needed.

He opened the wooden box and within it laid the amulet. It had the face of a tiger and the necklace contained claws.

Kraven nodded contently as he closed it back up.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He spun back around and spotted the red-and-blue colored vigilante.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone rob a U-Haul truck before." He remarked. "Especially by someone who could be an extra out of Crocodile Dundee."

Kraven didn't bother talking back, simply bringing out a smoke bomb and throwing it to the ground. It caught Spider-Man by surprise and he waved aside the smoke but looked up to see the man climbing up the fire escape at a quick pace.

Spider-Man followed him and made it to the roof. He shot a web at the man's foot and stuck him to the floor. Kraven looked back in confusion.

"What are you..?" He asked in both awe and intrigue.

"I should be asking you that."

Kraven quickly took out his knife and cut away the webs. Immediately afterward, he took out his crossbow and shot at Y/N, who dodged the arrows with ease. Kraven was even more awed.

"I have never seen a specimen like you before."

Sergei quickly threw a couple throwing knives at Spider-Man, which he dodged as well. Y/N landed on all fours and looked up at the man.

"Where'd you come from?" He asked the man.

"Mother Russia." Kraven took out his knife as well as another. "By way of Mother Africa!"

Y/N scoffed. "Two moms and still so ill-behaved?"

Kraven charged at Spider-Man and swung his knives, which the vigilante was able to weave away from.

Y/N webbed both knives and pulled them out of his hands before hitting Kraven with a flying kick.

Sergei rolled back onto his feet. Again, the man was astounded by the hero and his strength. The thrill he once felt as The Hunter was filling him once more, a thrill he hadn't felt in years.

Kraven shot from his crossbow a couple of more times before running at Y/N again. Spider-Man avoided his hits and countered with his own attacks. Kraven then tackled the web-slinger and the two began to fall off the building.

Spider-Man shot a web nearby to swing away, but Kraven grabbed his arms and forced him to let go. They continued to fall as he had the hero in his arms.

"There's no use in escaping Kravinoff's grasp!"

Y/N shot another web and ended up swinging toward another building with Kraven still on him. He turned around and forced the man to hit the side of the window, causing him to let go.

They made it onto the street, where Kraven fell onto a dumpster and Y/N landed on the sidewalk. Kraven recovered, groaning as he got onto his feet.

"I don't know how the hell you survived that fall, but it should hurt very bad and I'll give a chance to—"

Kraven interrupted Spider-Man by charging and grabbing the hero, hitting him against the side of a taxi cab.

Y/N pushed him off and grabbed Kraven, holding him up using his strength before throwing him onto the hood of another car.

Kraven laid against the dented hood and rubbed the back of his neck. He grunted as he got back up and ran at Spider-Man, attacking with swift kicks and punches that the hero avoided.

"You..." Y/N parried a punch. "...just..." He parried another. "...don't..." And another. "...get it!"

Y/N finally found an opening and landed a hard hit at Kraven's face. He stumbled back and held his head.

"You're good." Y/N remarked and backflipped onto the top of a car.

Kraven leaped onto the same car but Spider-Man jumped up and hung onto a streetlight. The young man continued.

"Maybe at the whole hunting thing you got going on...you're the best. But when it comes to the New York superpowered scene..."

Kraven threw a knife at Spider-Man, who deftly caught the blade before it can hit his face. Kraven looked on at him in awe.

"You are out of your league." Y/N concluded.

Spider-Man zipped toward Kraven and landed a hard kick in his face. The inertia of the blow caused Kraven to fly toward the front of a semi and hit it. He then landed on his stomach and was unconscious.

Y/N stood over the man. He caught his breath and looked around, seeing the bystanders on the sidewalk that were witnessing the whole fight. He even looked at the driver of the truck Kraven had just hit.

"Sorry about that." Spider-Man said with a wave.

Y/N looked down and saw that an item fell out of the Hunter's pack. He picked it up and saw the wooden box, choosing not to open it. He assumed it was from the van he robbed, so he made his way to the nearby alley where it was.

He saw the two workers regaining consciousness, thankfully the Hunter decided to only take them out nonlethally. Y/N went to the back of the van and saw the other boxes.

"Lots of other goods...why only take this?" Y/N wondered.

He placed the wooden box with the rest. Y/N also helped one of the men up, who gave the web-slinger a nod of appreciation.

"You okay? In need of a hospital?" He asked.

He shook his head and looked at his recovering friend. He went to go assist him and Y/N went back to the street where Kraven was.

Unfortunately, the man was gone. Y/N rubbed his masked face as he let out a groan.

"Of course, the one time you decide to not web up the bad guy...they leave." He spoke to himself. "I thought that kick did him in."

Y/N shot a web upwards and swung away from the scene, not wanting to explain to authorities whose fault the damages were.

• • •

THE NEXT DAY the friends were back together. This time it was at the cafe they frequented. Indira spoke to Y/N, Kate, Flash, and Randy. Harry was with his father on an errand.

"That's pretty crazy." Randy remarked as they read the news on his laptop. "They tried stealing your things?"

"My uncle Hector's things." Indira clarified.

"What did they want?"

"I'm not sure. I'm just thankful they weren't able to get away with anything."

"But the guy is still out there." Randy said.

"And he's gonna be scared as hell now after Spider-Man kicked his ass." Flash added as he pointed at the photo. "Look at that! He threw his zookeeper ass onto a car!"

Y/N chuckled and glanced at Kate, who also laughed. Flash looked at the young man as he kept pointing.

"How do you keep getting these photos? You Spidey's personal photographer or something?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I just keep track of what he posts on his Twitter and stuff. I...have a pretty good guess of where he patrols with that."

"So you're a stalker." Indira said.

"Heh, no."

"Kinda sounds like it." Randy said.

"But I'm not."

"No, it kinda does now that I think of it." Kate chimed in despite knowing the truth.

He looked at her and scoffed. "Come on."

"And I thought I was the super fan." Flash joked.

"You can't talk, bro." Randy pointed at him. "You have a whole Spider-Man-themed comforter in your dorm."

"Aye, man! Nobody needed to know that." Flash glanced at Kate and muttered to Randy. "Especially the frickin' Avenger sitting with us."

Indira read a bit more of the news. She sighed and Y/N took notice of her mood.

"You all right?" He asked.

"I'm just grateful Spider-Man was there to keep my uncle's things safe. He meant a lot to us. And a part of him is still with us."

Y/N smiled. Again, that was what made his job as Spider-Man worth it. He felt a hand touch his arm and he looked to see Kate smiling at him, having heard what they were talking about.

After their moment, the friends continued to talk with each other in the cafe.

• • •

SERGEI SAT IN the dimly lit room, the only source of light coming from the moon that shined through his window.

Kraven's arms were bruised and cut up from the fight against Spider-Man and he'd have to bandage them up soon. He sat in his chair, sharpening one of the many knives he had.

He had never seen a person like Spider-Man. He had hunted many prey and predators alike, both in his home country and in Africa during his earlier years. No threat, man or animal, was a match for Kraven...until Spider-Man.

Sergei's goal was to acquire the amulet for Calypso to help save his wife. Spider-Man kept him from that goal...and because of that, she continues to suffer. He thought back at their fight, and how the thrill of the hunt affected his immediate judgment.

He could've kept running. He could've outrun the web-slinger somehow and escaped with the amulet, but his need to hunt and take him down made him forget his true goal. And that angered him.

But now his goal was clearer. To acquire the amulet, he needed to take out the one person that could keep him from accomplishing that. He told Calypso that he'd kill anyone in his way to save his wife. Again...he had to continue being what he left behind to hunt down the ultimate threat...

Spider-Man.