Chapter 91

  Arc 7 - Ch 8: Breakout

  Date: Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

  Location: House of M, Manhattan, New York

  The New York City streets were sparsely poputed as Tyson, Jessica, and Logan made their way from House of M. Despite the urbay of the night, a heavy silence hung over the trio, each lost in their own thoughts as they walked the empty sidewalks.

  Logan was the first to break the quiet. "You're handling this well, kid," he said, eyeing Tyson. "Better than I would've expected, givehing that's happened."

  Tyson shook his head. "I'm not handling it," he admitted. "I'm just... partmentalizing. I 't think about Jubilee right now. Not until we get Felicia back."

  "Even still," Jessica said softly, "if it had been Gwen..." She trailed off, uo finish the thought. "I don't think I'd be much use right now."

  Tyson's pace slowed as they walked south down Broadway. "There isn't much to do," he said. "Mago is dead. I killed him. Revenge has been served." He paused. "But I still feel... empty."

  "Killing doesn't fill the void, bub," Logan said, his tone gruff but not unkind.

  "I know," Tyson replied, his gaze distant. "I could hunt down every member of the Brotherhood, take out Kaine... but would it make me feel better?" The rhetorical question hung in the air as they tinued walking.

  "Grief isn't something you fight your way out of," Jessica said. "It's not an enemy you defeat. It's... it's more like a wave. You have to let it wash over you, through you. Fighting it only makes it worse."

  Tyson absorbed her words. "This... feels like a piee has been ripped away."

  Logan's hand came to rest on Tyson's shoulder. "That's because it has," he said. "Jubilee ecial. And family... well, that leaves a mark on you. Good and bad. You won't fet her," he said gruffly. "You 't. But you honor her by living. By fighting for what she believed in, what she died for."

  Jessiodded in agreement. "I didn't know Jubilee well. But she didn't seem the type to want you to lose yourself in revenge," she added gently. "She'd want you to keep helping people, keep making a difference."

  Tyson's fists ched at his sides, and a surge of emotion threateo overwhelm him. "It's not fair," he said, his voice crag slightly.

  "Life ain't fair, kid. Never has been, never will be. But that's why we gotta try and bahe scales, even just a little bit."

  "I keep thinking about what I could have done differently," Tyson admitted, breaking the silence. "If I'd been faster, stronger, smarter..."

  Logan interrupted, "You 't dwell on 'what ifs.' It doesn't help. It doesn't bring anyone back."

  Tysohey were right, logically. But the ache in his chest, the hollow feeling where Jubilee's vibrant presence used to be, that wasn't something logic could touch.

  "So what do I do now?" he asked.

  Jessica's hand found his, squeezily. "You keep going," she said softly. "Oep at a time. We save Felicia. We protect the people who are still here. We honor Jubilee's memory by living the way she would have wanted us to. And when it gets too much when the weight feels like it's gonna crush you... you lean on the people around you."

  Jessica tightened her grip on Tyson's hand, pulling him to a halt. Without a word, she gently pulled him cluiding his head to rest against her chest. Her arms encircled him, holding him in a tender embrace. He stiffened for a moment, caught off guard by the sudden dispy of affe. But as Jessica's warmth enveloped him, he felt the walls he'd hastily structed around his grief begin to crumble.

  "You were there for me when Uncle Ben died," Jessica murmured softly. "And I'm here for you now, okay?"

  Her fihreaded through Tyson's hair. Jessica's heartbeat increased beh Tyson's ear, betraying her emotions. She cared for him, and now, holding him in his moment of vulnerability, those feelings rose to the surface. His breath hitched, and Jessica felt a tremor run through his body. She tightened her embrace, silent support as he grappled with the weight of his loss.

  "It's okay," she whispered, her lips close to his ear. "It's okay to not be okay right now."

  Her words seemed to break something loose in Tyson. His arms came up, ing around Jessica's waist as he leaned into her fort. She felt the dampness of silent tears against her shirt, but she didn't move, didn't speak. She simply held him, the sanctuary of her embrace.

  Logan stood a few paces away, watg the se unfold with a mixture of sadness and uanding. He'd spent months at the Institute and also felt the bitter sting of Jubilee's death. He cared for the kid but wasn't nearly as close to her as Tyson was. Seeing him, usually so posed and in trol, allowing himself this moment of vulnerability stirred something in the gruff mutant's heart. A small, sad smile tugged at Logan's lips. This momeween Tyson and Jessica was sweet. He could see the care in Jessica's eyes and the tenderness iouch. It spoke of feelings deeper than friendship, though Logan doubted either of them fully realized it yet.

  He sidered saying something, some words of fort or uanding. But he held his tongue, knowing that sometimes, silence was the best support. Tyson his moment, this e, far more than he needed Logan's words right now.

  As the seds ticked by, Logan noticed the tension slowly easing from Tyson's shoulders. Jessica's presence seemed to anchor him, providing shelter iorm of his grief. Her fingers tiheir gentle caress through Tyson's hair, a rhythmic motion that seemed to soothe them both.

  Jessica's eyes met Logan's over Tyson's head, and a silent unication passed between them. Logan gave a slight nod of approval, aowledging the importance of what she was doing. Jessica's lips curved in a grateful smile, and she closed her eyes, fog all her attention on Tyson.

  "Keep your head up," Jessica said, "You 't ge the past, Tyson. All you do is learn from it."

  Tyson suddenly stiffehe abrupt shift caught Jessid Logan off guard, and both tensed in respoo the ued ge. Logan's nostrils fred, sing the area for any hidden threats. His eyes darted from alleyways to rooftops but found no immediate danger, his gaze snapped back to Tyson, fused. Jessica's rea was more measured but no less ed. She looked into his eyes and asked, "Tyson? What is it? What's wrong?"

  But Tyson barely registered her touch or her words. Her mention of ging the past triggered a thought.

  The Time Stone.

  With it, he could rewrite history. Save Jubilee. Prevent all of this from ever happening.

  Logan's voice cut through Tyson's thoughts. "Kid? You gonna share with the css, or do we o guess what's got you spooked?"

  Tyson blinked, slowly ing back to the present moment. He looked at Jessid Logan, seeing the worry in their eyes. For a split sed, he sidered sharing his revetion. But... it wasn't time to tell them. Not yet.

  "It's nothing," he said, f a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Just... processing everything. You're right. We 't ge the past. We o focus on the present. On saving Felicia."

  Jessica's brow furrowed, clearly not buying his expnation. But before she could press further, Tyson was already moving again. He led Logan and Jessica to the er of Lafayette and Worth. The trio stopped at the southeast er, where a set of metal ptes y embedded in the sidewalk. At the base of the ptes, words were etched into the metal.

  'Subway Keep Clear'.

  "This where we're heading?" Logan asked skeptically. "Don't see much here, bub." In aysoended his hands toward the metal grates. The ptes groaned and shuddered, slowly prying open uhe force of his power. The sound of twistial echoed through the small park nearby. "What's down there, kid?" Logan asked, peering into the darkness below.

  "The Worth Street Subway Station. Abandoned in the '60s."

  Jessica asked, "Felicia's being held in an abandoned subway station?"

  Tyson shook his head. "No, this is just the closest entrahat Mago was aware of."

  With a simple gesture, nearby street signs and a mailbox tore free from their ms, flying towards him as if pulled by invisible strings. The metal twisted and pressed in mid-air, f a rge, dense ball that hovered obediently behind Tyson's shoulder.

  Logahe metallic sphere warily. "What's that for?"

  In respoyson spread his palm. The ball separated into tless smaller pieces, spinning rapidly around him like a miniature metallic tornado. "Ammo."

  Jessica whistled low, impressed despite herself. "Looks like it could do some damage."

  Tyson pulled out Muse, his Uru dagger. "This is the real deadly on," he said. Gesturing to the swirlial fragments, he added, "That's for if I want to hurt someone or restrain them. He let go of the dagger, and it hovered at his side. This is for… well, let's hope I don't o use it."

  The implication was clear as they desded into the abandoned subway station. Darkness enveloped them, but their enhanced senses allowed them to navigate the underground without needing additional light. Graffiti-covered walls loomed oher side. The air was stale and heavy with dust, carrying the unmistakable st of abando.

  Logan's nose wrinkled in disgust. "What now?" he asked.

  Tyson poio a nondescript door set into the wall. "This way."

  As they moved through the narrow tunnel beyond, Jessica's curiosity got the better of her. "Where to now?"

  "One block west and down."

  The tunnel led them to a staircase that seemed to desd into the very bowels of New York City. At the bottom, another door awaited them, unremarkable save for its location so far beh the city streets.

  Tyson pushed it open, revealing a sight that made Logan and Jessica pause ihey stepped into a massive tuhat could easily aodate twe trucks side by side, with room to spare. And that was on each side, b the wide railways that split the tunnel's ter. He answered their unasked question, "It's an abandoned military project. They call it... The Alley."

  "The Alley, huh? Got a feeling there's more to this story, kid."

  Tyson nodded, staring down the seemingly euretg before them. "It was supposed to be a secret transportatiowork, eg military instaltions throughout the city and beyoending up to ecticut and down a good way into Jersey. But somethi wrong during stru. Official records say it was abandoned due to budget cuts, but..."

  "But the truth is always messier," Jessica finished for him.

  "Exactly," Tyson firmed. "Rumors started cirg about strange occurrences, workers disappearing. Some say they uncovered something dowhat was never meant to be uhed."

  Logan shough his posture remaiense. "Great. Just what we need. A rescue mission in a haunted underground tunnel."

  Tyson's lips quirked in a humorless smile. "Not haunted. At least, not in the way you're thinking. But mutants are living down here... and I think there might be other things, too."

  As if to underscore his point, a distant sound echoed through the tunnel between a screed an utterly inhuman moan…

  Like something that would e from a Monster…

  Jessica said, "Please tell me that was just the wind."

  The trio tinued down the eunnel of The Alley. As they he area Tyson referred to as "The Grotto," he and Logan stopped abruptly, their enhanced mutant senses deteg a subtle shift in the air.

  Logan's nostrils fred as he inhaled deeply. "You cat' that st too, bub?"

  Jessiced between them, her senses failed to pick up whatever had put the two men on high alert. She strained her eyes, peering into the dim tunnel ahead of them. "What is it?" she whispered.

  Tyson slowly shook his head, his face grim. When he replied, his words were hushed. "Blood. And something else... a cloying, bittersweet st. Frankinse, maybe. Plus something... like a bird, no, feathers."

  He urged them forward, their pace quiing with a sense ency. As they rounded a er, the se that greeted them was nothing short of nightmarish. The tunnel opened into a wider chamber, but what y at the ter of the wall made the heroes pause in shock.

  A figure io the far wall in a cruel mockery of crucifixion. At first gnce, he appeared to be an angel. White wings were spread wide across the wall behind him. But as they drew closer, the horrific details came into agonizing focus.

  The angel's beautiful features were twisted in torment. Iron nails, each as thick around as a finger, had been ruthlessly driven through his palms, ankles, and wings, anch him savagely to the cold crete. Blood, both fresh and dried, stained his clothes and matted his feathers. Great ragged holes had been torn through his wings. Blood dripped steadily from his wounds, f crimson pools on the floor.

  Logan's cws slid out with a soft 'snikt'. "What the fmin' hell is this?" he growled, eyes darting around for any sign of the perpetrators.

  Jessica's hand flew to her mouth, barely suppressing a gasp of horror. "Oh my God," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Is he...?"

  Tyson stepped forward, and his face became a mask of trolled fury. The orb h at his shoulder split into metal fragments that swirled around him. He reached out with his powers, preparing to extract the iron nails.

  "He's alive," Tyson firmed, his voice tight with barely suppressed rage. "Barely. Whoever did this... they wanted him to suffer."

  Logan prowled the perimeter of the chamber. "This ain't random," he muttered, eyes narrowing as he examihe se. "It's staged."

  Jessica moved to help Tyson, ready to catch the mutant as the nails were extracted. She asked, "Who would do something like this?"

  — Rogue Redemption —

  Kaine nded back at the secret Oscorp b. As the door hissed shut behind him, Harry Osborn emerged from another room to greet him.

  "Kaine!" Harry excimed, rushing forward to embrace the e. "You magnifit bastard, you did it!"

  Kaiiffe the ued enthusiasm. "Did what?" he growled, pushing Harry away. "I didn't do anything. I was interrupted by Peter and Jessica, the meddlesome spiders."

  Harry's grin only widened. "That's not the point. You left Tyson vulnerable. He's being swarmed as we speak. It's the perfect distra."

  Kaine's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Distra for what?"

  Harry's excitement seemed to bubble over as he gestured for Kaio follow, leading him deeper into the b. "Our ce to free my father. The RAFT's security will be spread thin, fog on Tyson's battle in Times Square. If there was ever a time to strike, it's now."

  "You and me against a supermax prison?" Kaine scoffed, "I may be crazy, but I'm not suicidal."

  Harry shook his head. "Not just us. I've got a team prepping. They are some of our most loyal security personnel. I'll outfit them with tech we've been developing i."

  Before Kaine could respond, Harry led him into a cavernous engineering bay. Two massive suits of armor domihe space, each attended by a team of teis making st-minute adjustments.

  "Kaine," Harry announced with a flourish, "meet Mac Gargan and Aleksei Sytsevich."

  Two men stood before the suits, lookied but nervous. Kaine's gaze swept over the armors, taking in every detail.

  The first suit was sleek and predatory, with a design remi of a scorpion. Its long, segmeail arched over its back, ending in peared to be a high-powered energy on i behind a sharp bde. The other was a behemoth, easily twice the size of a normal man. It had thick armor pting, and a wicked horn protruded from its forehead.

  "The Scorpion and Rhino armors," Harry expined.

  Kaine circled the suits, his fiwitg with a mixture of curiosity and bloodlust. "And what makes these tin s so special?"

  Harry's smile turned predatory. "Both suits are equipped with bio-enhancers based on Dr. ors' cross-species geics research, bined with some... iing findings from Dr. Warren's work. They interface directly with the wearer's nervous system, using designs we... acquired from Dr. Octavius."

  "These suits will make Gargan and Sytsevich more than a match for any so-called superhero."

  Kaine's ughter echoed through the b. "Oh, this is rich. You're creating your own little freak show to match Tyson aer… I like it."

  Harry ighe outburst, instead pointing to the horn on the Rhino's armor and the stinger on the Scorpion's tail. "See those? They're made of Adamantium. We purchased the recipe for the alloy from the gover. It's nearly iructible, but we only use it sparingly due to how expe is to create. The rest of the armor is made from a material called Sedary Adamantium. It's far weaker than Adamantium but far strohan steel. We've ied research provided by our military partnership. The suits will fuse with their bodies, permaly being a part of them."

  Part of Kaine screamed that this was madness. But another part, the part that burned with hatred for Peter and Tyson and everything they represented, saw the potential for chaos.

  "And where do I fit into this little scheme?" he asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

  Harry cpped him on the shoulder, either oblivious tn the tension in Kaine's frame. "You're our a the hole. While Scorpion and Rhino draw attention, you'll infiltrate the prison and locate my father. Your abilities make you perfect for the job."

  This time, Kaine's ugh was softer and even more manic. "Oh, I'll find dear old Norman alright."

  For the first time, a flicker of uainty crossed Harry's face. "Kaihis is bigger than personal veas. We need him if we're going to take dower, Tyson, and their allies food."

  Kaine's mind fshed with images of Norman Osborn, of memories of fighting the Green Goblin. Of him attag Kaine's… Peter's aunt. But beh the anger from those feelings, a cold logic asserted itself. Osborn was a resource, a means to an end. And that end ider-Man and Mirage's destru.

  "Fine," Kaine growled. "I'll py along with your little jailbreak. But make no mistake, Osborn. I'm not doing this for your daddy. I'm doing this because it brings me closer to tearier's life apart."

  "That's all I ask. Once my father is back, you'll have abundant resources and allies to deal with Spider-Man and Mirage."

  As Harry turo brief Gargan and Sytsevich, Kaiared at his refle in the polished eyes of the Scorpion armor.

  The face that looked back at him was a scarred and haunted version of the one he once had. For a moment, the world seemed to tilt on its axis as Kaine imagihat he eaking to Peter instead of his refle.

  "Sooer," he whispered to his refle. "Soon, we'll meet once again. And this time, only one of us will walk away."

  The b bustled with activity as final preparations were made. Aleksei Sytsevid Mac Gargan stood before their respective armors.

  "Last ce to back out, boys," Harry Osborn called out. "Once we start, there's no going back."

  "I did not e this far to chi out now," Aleksei rumbled in his thick Russian at. "Let's do this."

  Maodded in agreement. "Yeah, boss. We're ready. Time to bee something more than human."

  "More than human?" Kaitered, "Oh, you poor, deluded fools. You have no idea what you're in for." He ughed bitterly.

  Harry sigo the team of stists, wh into a. They swarmed around Aleksei and Mac, attag sensors, preparing iion sites, and making final calibrations.

  "Initiating bio-fusion process," the lead stist, Alistair Smythe, announced. "Subjects, please enter your respective armors."

  Aleksei approached the Rhino suit. The Russian was over six feet tall, but the armor's massive frame dwarfed him. The chest cavity opeo reveal a co-like interior. He stepped inside, allowing the teis to secure him in pce.

  Mac, meanwhile, slid into the sleeker Scorpion armor. Its segmented design opened more fully and then closed around him like an armored exoskeleton.

  "Vital signs stable," another stist reported, eyes fixed on a bank of monitors. "Preparing to admihe serum."

  Kaine picked up the slight tremor in Mac's voice as he asked, "This stuff... it's safe, right?"

  Harry answered, "As safe as pushing the boundaries of sce be. Remember, gentlemen, you're making history today."

  Kaine couldn't suppress a snort of derision. "History. I made history once," he muttered, earning a sharp gnce from Harry.

  Before anyone could respond, Smythe called out, "Initiating iion sequen three... two... one..."

  A series of pic hisses filled the air as the serums were simultaneously administered to both men. For a moment, nothing happened.

  Then, Aleksei let out a bellow. "It burns!" he roared, his body vulsing within the fines of the Rhino armor. "Like fire in my veins!"

  Mac's rea was no less violent. His screams took on an inhuman quality as the Scorpion armor seemed to ripple and shift, melding with his ging physiology.

  The stists called out readings and made rapid adjustments from their stations. Arms bred as vital signs spiked dangerously.

  "Cellur restru accelerating beyond projected parameters."

  "DNA rebination at 200% of expected levels!"

  Harry asked, " you stabilize them?"

  The lead stist shook his head. "We're past the point of urn. All we do now is ride it out and hope they survive the transformation."

  Kaiched the se unfold with a manic grin. "Now this... this is eai," he cackled, drawing ed looks from the nearby teis.

  The metamorphosis tinued for minutes. Aleksei's massive frame expanded even further, his muscles and bones fusing with the Rhino armor until it was impossible to separate them. The Adamantium horn on the helmet and the helmet itself fused with his skull.

  Mac's transformation was no less dramatic. His body eloaking on an almost ioid quality as it merged with the Scorpion suit. The tail began moving and swaying with sinuous grace, clearly as much a part of him as any limb.

  Finally, mercifully, their yelling subsided into heavy breathing.

  "Vital signs... stabilizing," Smythe announced, "They're alive. And their readings... my God, they're off the charts."

  Harry approached the two armored figures cautiously. "Aleksei? Mac? you hear me?"

  The Rhino opened his eyes. When Aleksei spoke, his voice was deeper, resonating through the very metal of his new form. "I hear you, Osborn. And I feel... powerful."

  The Scorpion's head swiveled unnaturally, taking in the b with new eyes. "Everything's so clear now," Mac hissed, his voice carrying a new, predatory edge. "I sense every heartbeat in this room."

  Kaine said, "Well, well, gratutions Harry. It looks like your little sce project didn't end in a horrible death. Mildly disappointing, but a great stific achievement, I'm sure."

  Harry shot him a warning gnce before turning back to his newly created super-soldiers. "How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

  Aleksei flexed his massive arms. "Pain? No. I feel like I could tear this building apart with my bare hands."

  Mac's tail whipped through the air behind him as he walked. "We need a real test of what these suits do."

  Harry's face split into a triumphant grin. "Then you're in luck, gentlemen. We have a prisoo execute, and yoing to be our battering rams."

  Kaine circled the two transformed men. "Oh, this is going to be fun," he cackled.

  As the stists began diseg monit equipment, Harry pulled Kaine aside. "Remember the pn," he said in a low voice. "Rhino and Scorpion will create the diversion. You get in, find my father, a out. No unnecessary risks."

  — Rogue Redemption —

  The streets of Manhattaed into chaos as Rhino and Scorpion emerged from the nondescript box trucks. Aleksei led the charge, his massive form barreling through parked cars as if they were made of cardboard. The screech of tearial and shattering gss filled the air, apanied by the screams of terrified civilians scrambling for cover.

  "This is what I call a night oown!" Aleksei bellowed. He lowered his head, and the Adamantium horn rammed into the front of a venieore. The entire facade crumbled, sending up a cloud of dust and debris.

  Ma his Scorpion armor, was no less destructive. His tail whipped through the air, firing energy bsts at anything in his path. A fire hydrant exploded, sh the street with a geyser of water. As they carved a path of destru through lower Manhattan, sirens began to wail in the distance. Police cruisers screeched around ers, only to halt as their drivers spotted what they were up against.

  "NYPD! Stand down immediately!" an officer shouted through a megaphone.

  "Stand down? But we're just getting started!" Aleksei announced. He charged the police barricade with surprising speed. Cars were sent flying, and officers dove for cover as the Rhino plowed through their defenses like they weren't even there.

  Meanwhile, high above the streets, Kaine g to the side of a skyscraper. A manic grin spread behind his mask. "Oh, brother," he cackled to himself, "if you could see the cirow. Your precious city, thrown into such chaos! I wonder, will you show up to stop them? Or stay with your precious Gwen?"

  Another explosion rocked the street below. Then Kaine spotted headlights exiting from the RAFT, where the prison floated off the shore to the south.

  SHIELD was responding just as pnned. It was time to move.

  Kaine began swinging toward Manhattan's southern tip. He muttered to himself, "A prison break, they said. We're all prisoners, aren't we? Trapped in these bodies. Me with my pain and those two stooges with their armor."

  He paused on the side of a building, watg as a police helicopter circled Scorpion. Mac's tail shed out, a bst of energy catg the aircraft's tail. It spiraled out of trol, crashing into a skyscraper in a spectacur fireball.

  "That's right," Kaitered, his voice dripping with dark amusement. "Keep your eyes on the shioys. The real danger is the one you 't see ing."

  As he he waterfront, the sounds of battle began to fade. The RAFT sat ier, one of the world's most advanced prisons. Under normal circumstances, it would be virtually imperable.

  But these were far from normal circumstances.

  Kaine's eyes darted across the facility's exterior. "Eeny, meany, miny, moe," he sang under his breath, his finger pointing at different potential entry points. "Catch a spider by his toe. If he hollers... Well, we know you won't let me go."

  He leaped from his perch, and one weblier, he sailed through the air towards the Raft. He nded silently on aerior wall, immediately blending into the shadows cast by the facility's harsh floodlights.

  As he began sg the floating fortress, arms suddenly bred. For a moment, Kaihought he'd been spotted. But then he realized the arms weren't for him. They were reag to the oving through the city.

  "Distra successful," he chuckled. "Time for the mai."

  Ihe RAFT, guards rushed about. The panic hadn't gone unnoticed by the prisoners. And deep within the facility's most secure wing, Norman Osborn sat in his cell, smiling at the unusual tension in the air as if he could sense what roag.

  Kaine reached his entry point; a ventition shaft. Its grates were secured by formidable locks. But with a quick yank, he tore the grate free, slipping ihe narrow passage.

  As he crawled through the ventition system, Kaine's mind wandered, "Spiders always find ways to get into your house."

  He paused at a jun, looking down through the grates, watg as guards rushed through the corridors below.

  "All avaible persoo the security ter! This is not a drill!"

  "What the hell is going on out there? The reports say it's some kind of... monsters?"

  Kaine scoffed. "Monsters, they say. If only they khe real monster was already inside. Isn't that right, Norman?"

  He tinued his jourhrough the RAFT's innards, moving purposefully towards the high-security wing. Every so often, he paused to listen for any sign that his presence had beeed. However, the facility remained focused oernal threat, leaving it vulnerable to the spider in its midst.

  Finally, Kaine reached his destination. Through a grate, he could see the corridor leading to Norman Osborn's cell. Two guards stood tense as they listeo the chaos unfolding over their radios.

  "Poor little mbs," Kaine whispered. "You have no idea what's ing, do you?"

  With a sudden, violent movement, Kaine burst from the ventition shaft. Before the guards could eveer his presence, he on them. A flurry of strikes, delivered between dodging point-bnk gunfire, left them crumpled on the floor.

  Arms bred to life as Kaine approached the cell door. Through the small window, he could see Norman Osborn rising to his feet with that infuriating smirk pstered across his face.

  "Right on time," Norman called out, his voice muffled by the thick door. "I trust Harry sent you?"

  The smirk vanished from Norman's face as he reized the intruder. His demeanor instantly shifted to one of surprise and fusion. "Spider-Man! What are you doing here?" he excimed.

  Kaine's hand hovered over the cell's trol panel. Part of him buro tear open that door and front the man responsible foing after his aunt. A another part whispered to leave Osborn caged, o rot forever in this prison.

  "Oh, Norman. Harry might have pointed me in your dire, but don't think for a sed that I'm here as some errand boy."

  "And I'm not Spider-Man… I'm his evil twin."

  Norman stepped back. For ohe smug fidence had drained from his face. He stared at Kaine, unsure whether this intruder was joking or sincere in his cim.

  Kairied bypassing the cell's security but failed. Instead, he took a few steps bad charged at the door. Norman ducked to the side as Kaine nded a full-strength kick, g in the hihe reinforced door withered the attack mostly, but he'd de just enough that Norman could squeeze out.

  Norman Osborn stretched as if he'd just woken from a pleasant nap rather than escaped months of incarceration.

  "Well then, my araid friend," Norman said, "Shall we depart? But first..."

  He strode to the neighb cell, where another prisoner sat silently . The man's dark eyes followed Norman and Kaine's every movement with intense focus.

  "Hunter, would you fancy the ce to catch the spider once more?"

  Kaine regarded the prisoner carefully. Peter's memories provided a clear picture of the man.

  Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven the Hunter.

  Kraven had relentlessly pursued Spider-Man to prove himself as the world's greatest huheir violent csh had ended when Mirage impaled Kraven the same night he'd captured the Green Goblin.

  Perhaps freeing the unstable hunter was unwise. But if ahreat roamed the streets seeking Spider-Man's demise... well, the more, the better.

  "e," Kaine beed as he again kicked through the cell door. Kraven was just a man, so his cell wasn't reinforced like Norman's. "Join us, hunter. I believe we have a spider to catch."

  Kraven unfurled from his crouched position, rising to his full imposi. His eyes burned with predatory excitement.

  "The hunt tinues," Kraven rumbled, stepping from his cell to stand beside them.

  — Rogue Redemption —

  Sergei Kravinoff stepped into his apartment. The st of vender aic spices wafted through the air, stirring memories of passion and danger.

  "Calypso," he called out.

  The sound of water spshing echoed from the bathroom. "Sergei? Is that you, my love?"

  Kraven strode towards the bathroom, his heart pounding with longing. He pushed open the door to find Calypso lounging in a cw-foot tub.

  Kraven strode towards the bathroom, his heart pounding with longing. He pushed open the door to find Calypso lounging in a cw-foot tub.

  "Ah, you 'ave e bae," she purred.

  Krave beside the tub, drinking in the sight of her. "Nothing could keep me from you, my dear."

  Calypso reached out, her wet hand caressing his face. "Tell me everyting, mon chasseur."

  Kraven reted his escape. When he finished, Calypso rose from the bath.

  His eyes traced the rivulets of water as they journeyed over the tours of Calypso's body. Each droplet seemed to g to her dark skin, outlining the upturned curve of her breasts and dripping dowomach toward the generous soft cheeks of her ass. She was beautiful, clever, and ferocious, a lethal bination that had ensnared Kraven from the moment he first id eyes on her. Her hair, a wild mane of dark curls, g to her ned shoulders.

  He reached for a plush towel on the nearby rad approached the tub.

  "e, my love," he said. Kraven ed the towel around her, pulling her close.

  She leaned into him, her cheek resting against his chest. "You 'ave been through much, mon chasseur," she murmured.

  "With you, I find my strength," Kraven replied encirg her with his strong arms. "And now, my love, the hunt begins anew," Kraven decred, his voice thick with anticipation. "I have unfinished business with the Mirage and Spider-Man."

  "Worthy prey, indeed. But tell me, mon chasseur, you are prepared for suidable oppos, non?"

  "I've faced them before."

  "And still dey remain ued," Calypso tered. "Per'aps it is time to embraew strengths, mon amour."

  "What do you propose?"

  "I will 'elp you, of course. You o be stroo fight such powerful prey. I enhance your abilities."

  Kraven grinned, showing his teeth in a predatory dispy. "I knew I could t on you. Yic has always been potent, and it may finally be time for me to embrace it."

  Calypso slipped from his embrace, and moved to the bedroom closet. She pulled out a form-fitting dress for herself and Kraven's signature lion-ma and leopard-print pants. "Get dressed, mon amour. reparations to make."

  Kraven couldn't help but admire Calypso's form as they doheir outfits. She caught his lingering eyes and smirked. "Focus, chasseur. Dere will be time for dat ter."

  Once dressed, Calypso led Kraven out of the apartment and into the night. They moved through the city aually arrived at their destination.

  The Bronx Zoo.

  "The zoo?" Kraveioned, uo keep the disdain from his voice.

  Calypso chastised, "Where else would you 'unt in dis city? Per'aps you would prefer to gairengths of de rats or de pigeons."

  Kraven's eyes widened with uanding. "Brilliant, my love. Whiimals shall we target?"

  "De big cats, of course," Calypso replied. "Dey are all masters of de 'unt and possess other qualities. Lions for ce and leadership, tigers for stealth and power, leopards fility and ing. And per'aps... something ued."

  They slipped into the zoo, easily evading the night guards. At the lion exhibit, Kraven vaulted over the barrier, nding silently in the grass. The male lion, a massive beast with a golden mane, raised its head, sensing the intruder. Before it could react, Kraven on it.

  Calypso watched as the lion's roar was cut short, and moments ter, Kraven emerged, holding the still-warm heart of the beast.

  "Magnifique," Calypso breathed, taking the an from him. She pced it in an ornate bag hanging at her side.

  They moved on to the tiger enclosure, where Kraven faced off against a Siberian tiger. The great cat's stripes seemed to ripple in the moonlight as it circled the hunter. Kraven matched its movements, analyzing his target, respeg the beast's danger and the strength it represented.

  The tiger pounced but Kraven was ready. He rolled beh the massive paws, ing up with his knife in hand. The fight was brief but intense, ending with Kraven standing victorious, the tiger's heart joining the lion's in Calypso's bag.

  The leopard proved to be challenging. While not as strong as the others, its speed and agility nearly matched Kraven's. But in the end, the hunter prevailed, adding the spotted cat's heart to their colle.

  As they moved away from the big cat enclosures, Calypso paused, her head tilted as if listening to an unheard voice. "Dis way," she said, leading Kraven to a different part of the zoo.

  They stopped in front of an enclosure housing a massive silverback goril among aire troop. The creature sat in the er, its intelligent eyes following their movements.

  "Are you sure about this, my love?" Kraven asked, a note of uainty in his voice.

  Calypso nodded. "Strength of body is important, oui. But strength of mind... dat's what will truly set you apart from your prey."

  Kraven sidered her words and nodded. He ehe enclosure and approached the goril. The silverback rose to its full height, beating its chest in a dispy of dominance.

  What followed was unlike any hunt Kraven had experienced before. The goril's strength was immense. Kraven found himself pushed to his limits, relying on every ounce of skill and experience he possessed.

  In the end, Kraven stood panting, the goril's heart in his hand.

  Calypso smiled, adding the final heart t. "e, mon amour. We 'ave what we need. Now, we prepare you for de greatest 'unt of your life."

  — Rogue Redemption —

  As Kraven focused on his hunt for the alpha predators, Calypso had followed him with her own agenda. She khe power that y in the hearts of all creatures, not just the mightiest.

  The remaining lionesses huddled together in the lion enclosure, where Kraven felled the pride's leader. Calypso approached an isoted younger female.

  "Your 'eart 'olds de essence of loyalty and family. And among de pride, de females are de true 'unters," Calypso whispered. Using a minor spell, she stuhe lion. She extracted the lioness's heart while it was still beating, starting her own colle.

  Moving to the tiger exhibit, Calypso found the mate of the Siberian tiger Kraven had sin. The female paced restlessly, agitated by the st of blood and the absence of her partner. Calypso's fingers danced in the air, weaving a spell of calm.

  "You, ma chérie, embody patiend stealth," Calypso murmured as she approached. The tigress, entranced by the magic, offered ance as Calypso cimed her heart.

  Satisfied with her colle from the big cats, Calypso turned her attention to other animals, ohat Kraven had overlooked in his pursuit of raw power. She made her way to the reptile house. Inside, she found a massive python. "You, serpent, 'old de secrets of transformation ah," she said. With a plex gesture, she immobilized the snake aracted its heart, adding it trowing colle. On her way out, she stopped before a chameleon. She mumbled, "Adaptability, camoufge."

  , she visited the aviary. Among the cacophony of bird calls, Calypso found a wise old owl. "Your 'eart tains de essence of wisdom and fht," Calypso fired a stunning bolt at the bird, causing it to fall to the ground. The owl hooted softly as she gently took its life, its heart joining the others in her bag.

  As she moved through the zoo, Calypso's bag grew heavier, filled with the hearts of creatures both great and small. Eae represented a different aspect of nature's wisdom and power.

  She paused at the wolf enclosure. "De strength of de pack," Calypso mused. She selected the beta wolf, knowing its heart would hold the essence of cooperation and strategy without the overwhelming dominance of the alpha.

  In the primate se, Calypso sought out a particur species. While Kraven targeted the goril, she found the enclosure filled with a family utans. "You possess problem-solving skills dat rival 'umans," Calypso said. "Intelligend de wisdom to use it effectively."

  Her final stop was a small, easily overlooked enclosure holding a y of naked mole rats. "You may not be beautiful," Calypso murmured, "but your 'earts 'old de secret to loy and cooperation." She carefully extracted a ti.

  With her bag now full of hearts, each representing a unique aspect of animal wisdom and power, Calypso returo the zoo entrance, where Kraven waited for her.

  "Did you find what you were looking for, my love?" he asked, notig the fullness of her bag.

  "You're not de only one we'll make stronger. We will 'unt together," she promised.

  Kraven smiled slowly. "Together? My dear, you've always been my support, my guide. But to join me in the hunt itself?"

  Calypso caressed the bag filled with hearts. "De world is ging, mon amour. Our prey grows stronger and more ing, moving in a pack, 'erding together for prote. To truly bee de ultimate predators, we must evolve together. And 'unt together."

  She led Kraven away from the zoo to an abandoned warehouse. Calypso knew he'd eventually free himself, but she had months to set everything up, given Kraven's impriso. She pleted her preparations ihe air grew thick with the st of inse and herbs. dles flickered in the ers, and twe, orone basins stood in the ter of the room.

  "What is this?" Kraven asked.

  Calypso set her bag down beside one of the basins. "Dis is where we transd our mortal limitations, mon amour."

  She began to unpack the hearts, arranging them carefully around the edges of the basins. As she worked, she expined her pn.

  "Each of dese 'earts represents a different aspect of nature's wisdom and power. De lion's strength, de tiger's stealth, and de leopard's agility are for you." Calypso said. She held up the ti of a naked mole rat. "And for me. Loy and cooperation." Then, the heart of an utan. "Problem-solving and adaptability." She tinued, listing off the unique qualities of each creature she had harvested.

  Kraven listened ily, his respect for Calypso growing with each revetion. "And we will absorb all of these qualities?"

  She finished arranging the hearts and turo face Kraven. "Together, we will be unstoppable. No prey will be beyond our reach."

  Kraven's eyes bzed with excitement. "When do we begin?"

  "Now."

  — Rogue Redemption —

  Calypso's ting filled the air, her voice resonating with otherworldly power. The flickering dlelight seemed to pulse in rhythm with her words. The st of inse grew stronger, mingling with the metallig of blood from the harvested hearts. Her eyes rolled back, showing only whites as she entered a trance-like state. Her body swayed, moving to an unheard rhythm as she flowed through intations.

  "Lwa yo, tande mwen! Bondye Agwe, Ezili Freda, Papa Legba, louvri pòt pou nou!"

  "De loa, 'ear me! God Agwe, Ezili Freda, Papa Legba, open de door for us!"

  The air grew thid heavy, charged with mystical energy. The hearts arranged around the basins began to pulse, beating as if they were still alive. Kraven watched in awe as Calypso's movements became more frenzied. She reached into a pouch at her waist, pulling out a handful of powder that she cast into the air. The powder, made from crushed bone, ignited, creating a shower of sparks that hung suspended in the air, f intricate patterns.

  "Nou ofri kè bèt sa yo, fòs yo ak sajès yo. Ban nou pouvwa yo, fè nou vin pi fò!"

  "We offer de 'earts of dese animals, deir strength and wisdom. Give us deir power, make us stronger!"

  As Calypso's t grew louder, the hearts began to dissolve, their essend their physical forms melted into liquid in the basins. The red fluid swirled with streaks of gold and silver.

  "Plonge nan dlo vi a, chasseur mwen. Vin tounen yon bagay ki pi gran pase yon nonm!"

  "Dive into de water of life, mon chasseur. Bee something greater dan a man!"

  Krave a pull towards the basi for him. He stepped forward, drawn by an irresistible ford plunged his head into the basin. The liquid enveloped him, burning like fire and freezing like ice simultaneously. He felt his body ging, his muscles twisting and ref as he drank in the essence of the predators.

  Calypso tinued her t, her voice rising to a fever pitch.

  "Lwa yo, ban nou benediksyon nou! Fè nou tounen yon sèl ak nati, ak tout fòs li!"

  "Loa, give us your blessing! Make us o' nature, wit' all its strength!"

  She, too, stepped into her basin, submerging herself in the mystical fluid. The warehouse around Calypso seemed to fade away. Her sight was repced by visions of lush jungles and vast savannas. The spirits of the animals whose hearts they had taken swirled around them, merging with their bodies and minds.

  Calypso's t reached its climax.

  "Nou se chas ! Nou se nmò a! Nou se vi a! Aksepte sakrifis nou epi fè nou tounen yon bagay ki pi gran!"

  "We are de 'unt! We are de death! We are de life! Accept our sacrifid turn us into something greater!"

  A blinding light filled the warehouse, apanied by a deafening roar that seemed to e from everywhere and nowhere at ohe basins shattered, sending shards of stone flying in all dires. The liquid they tained had vanished, absorbed pletely into Kraven and Calypso's bodies.

  As the light faded and the roar subsided, Kraven and Calypso stood to face each other, their bodies transformed. Kraven's muscles bulged with newfound strength. Calypso's transformation was more subtle but no less profound. Her eyes shimmered with wisdom, and her movements had bee fluid and graceful like a serpent gliding through water. Her skin seemed to shift and ge, allowio blend into her surroundings. The ritual had ged them both, imbuing them with the strengths and abilities of the creatures whose hearts they had sacrificed. But it had done more than that. It ected them to the primal forces of nature itself, making them more than animals and more than humans.

  "De ritual is plete, mon amour. We 'ave been reborn."

  Kraven flexed his new muscles, feeling the power c through his veins. He could sehe world around him with unpreted crity, hearing the scurrying of a mouse in the walls, smelling the lingering st of their ritual.

  "I feel... incredible," Kraven growled, his voice deeper and more resonant than before. "Like I could take on aire pride of lions single-handedly."

  "And you could, mon chasseur."

  Kraven decred, "Together, we are the ultimate predators. No prey will escape us."

  Calypso walked to the shattered remains of the basins, kneeling to examihe remnants of their ritual. "De loa 'ave blessed us," she murmured, running her fingers over a piece of stone. "But deir gifts always e wit' a price. We must be careful not to lose ourselves to de animal instincts we've absorbed."

  Kraven nodded solemnly but turned his attention to the hunt. "Spider-Man, Mirage... they won't know what they're fag."

  A slow smile spread across Calypso's face, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Non, dey won't. But we won't rush into dis 'unt, mon amour. We'll pn, we'll prepare. We'll study our prey. We'll gather what we need. De 'unt begins now, but de chase... will e ter."

  As they prepared to leave, Calypso paused, looking back at the site of their transformation. The dles had burned out, leaving only wisps of smoke curling in the air. The inse had faded, repced by the earthy st of their new, enhanced bodies.

  "Mèsi, lwa yo. Nou pap bliye kado nou," she whispered, a final prayer of thanks to the spirits that had grahem power.

  Author's Note

  There's a new poll up oron site for the Arc 9 Love I. Feel free to go vote if you care about such things!

  Behind the Ses

  - The Worth Street subway station is a real abandoned subway station located where it's described in the first se.

  - Gargan and Sytsevich were introduced earlier iory during Arc 4.

  - Kraven and Calypso were introduced way back at the end of Arc 1. Kraven didn't make another appearail Arc 4, whe stomped by Tyson in a single se. The Spider-Man 2 game way overhyped Kraven, but I felt like, with a boost, he could be that level of a threat.

  - This Arc is titled 'Sinister', and now the pieces are falling into pce. Since you've gotten this far into the story, I'm going to assume that most of you are big enough Marvel fans that you've caught the double meaning.

  Support Plug

  For those of you ied in supp my writing.

  patreon./Steatoda

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