42 Escape
He tensed up. Captain America noticed, her arm twitching by her side. Dr. Octavius' smile waned by the smallest of margins.
"Do you not talk?" Dr. Octavius asked. She looked back. "Does anybody here know sign language?"
Felix clenched his fist. 'Heal, heal, come on…!'
Captain America glanced at her comrade. "You believe he's mute?"
"Just a theory," Dr. Octavius said. "He could be blind. Maybe that's why he's so fast. His senses were dialled up further from the spider-bite."
"Hm."
Ah, finally! The burn marks from the literal bolt of lightning dropped on him had healed, as did the damage from the demon avatar. Extremis was absurd, just as he expected. In a matter of fifteen seconds, he was seventy percent healed. Still not at full capacity, his back searing from being rammed into a wall of fire. All that was left was the dizziness from whatever brain damage Mr. Negative gave. The world was a little wayside and he felt that a step would set-off his dizziness. He estimated a minute more to heal all the internal damage.
"We've been instructed to bring him in," said Captain America. "Whether it's by force or dialogue, it does not matter. Moreover…" She squinted through the red goggles. "He can hear us. He can see us too. There's nothing wrong with him."
"You don't know that. Seriously, what if he's mute?" Dr. Octavius said.
An excellent point. He could be mute. However, Captain America wasn't convinced, brows furrowing deeper. 'Does the Super Soldier Serum give her psychic abilities too?'
Captain America raised a two-finger hand. "Everyone, guns trained."
"Captain—"
"Do you see that crane? He stopped it from falling. He's strong, fast, and well-equipped. He leaves behind no traces of his existence, but most importantly, he's a vigilante. Someone with a strong sense of justice. Do you really think he will come along willingly? When given powers, only crazy people go out in the middle of the night, dress up, and fight crime."
"Maybe if we give him a chance—"
"Speak up, Spider-Man. It's your last warning. Come with us. We won't warn you again."
'Shit! Barely twenty seconds have passed—! What do I do?' He felt the first burning red spot on his chest. The second was soon to arrive. The world was in slow-motion, his Spider-Sense kicking into overdrive. He counted another two sniper dots as another two seconds of silence went by. He wanted to talk. However, it was like his throat was fried.
No, it was fried. Whatever Mr. Negative had done to him, it was worse than he thought. And without Herbie, he couldn't get a self-diagnosis.
"Come on, Spidey." Dr. Octavius' smile shrank. "We don't want to hurt you."
Nothing. He said nothing because he couldn't. His fingers were so tense and screwed up that he couldn't properly signal either. Only his legs worked.
"Hands in the air!" the Captain ordered. "We will not repeat!"
Tick, tick, tick, tick. Another four sniper dots—
Spider-Man leaped back.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
He propelled himself backward, narrowly evading the hail of gunfire that erupted from the snipers' positions. Bullets whizzed past him, tearing through the air with lethal intent, as he back-flipped over the construction site perimeter wall and onto the sidewalk of New York.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The world was slow. So, so slow. But as he moved through the air, finally seeing the sidewalk, he felt a searing pain lance through his right leg, left arm, and chest. Fuck! Fuck! Of course SHIELD possessed guns way above the market. Of course they could break through his suit's bullet-proof fabric. The impact of the three bullets sent shockwaves of agony radiating through his body. He gritted his teeth against the pain, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he fought to stay conscious and balance himself through the air.
Spider-Man landed on the sidewalk and pushed himself to keep moving. He felt several red dots behind him, his Spider-Sense and instincts getting him to turn and run even as his body screamed in protest. With every ounce of strength he could muster, he propelled himself through the street, scrambling over cars and trucks with a desperate yet graceful urgency.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The bullets followed. The snipers did not relent. Just as he guessed, snipers were everywhere, even at the building he was running toward. Web-shooters weren't an option. He had to rely on his other skills. His acrobats and his feet gave him the ability to crawl and leap and do whatever was necessary to dodge the specialized bullets. The snipers were the best the world had to offer, no doubt.
'Keep going, keep going—' He ran into the alleyway, head avoiding the bullets as he followed his Spidey Sense. He went down and slide-tackled over to the alleyway, gasping in pain, the bullet wounds scraping the ground, leaving thick blood behind.
'Heal, heal, heal!'
He was really about to die—!
No, no! He could do this. He placed a foot on the alleyway wall, breathing, ignoring the two bullets that whizzed behind him. Then, he ran. He ran fast and hard while ignoring the blood dripping down his body. There was a sniper on this rooftop. However, that was the crux of it.
'There's one sniper per every two rooftops. If I take care of this guy and go in the direction behind him—'
He could escape. Maybe. Herbie still wasn't rebooted, so his ideas were limited by what his adrenaline-fueled brain could conjure. Upon the final step, he leaped high into the air and avoided the two bullets the female SHIELD agent was able to aim. He didn't think about her blonde hair or the quick way she reacted in close-combat. His overwhelming speed closed the distance between them and he knocked her out in a single punch.
BANG!
Two rooftops over, there was another SHIELD agent. He was coming closer, trying to get him. He sensed another agent beginning to lock in on him from behind. The two SHIELD agents were trying to trap him. Luckily, with the defeat of the blonde agent, there was an opening. He ran and jumped off the building, going further away from the construction site. He managed to reach the next rooftop and kept going.
Even as blood dripped out, his hand over the wound on his left arm, no one could follow him. He leaped through one, two, three, four, five rooftops in record time. His wounds slowed him down but not to a point that a normal person could keep up with. He was fast. Faster than almost anyone.
Almost.
His Spider Sense went crazy again and he narrowly dodged the iconic Vibranium shield. It bounced off the large HVAC rooftop unit and forced him to limbo under it. He turned back and saw her join the rooftop calmly. Captain America, the super soldier, the shield sliding into her arm smoothly. He thought he saw a magnetic mechanism in the wrist of her glove.
"Good reflexes," Captain America praised. "But you can't escape. I'm sorry."
She was already in close-quarters, a punch coming from her right hand. He watched and back-stepped accordingly, only to feel his Spider-Sense warn him of the shield in her left arm. It possessed a wider range and he was forced to catch it, thumb and index finger keeping it locked.
Bam!
She kicked him in the solar plexus, blood flinging forward from the holes in his arm, leg, and chest. Captain America didn't hold back and tried a roundhouse kick. Spidey raised an arm and blocked it, though not without being sent reeling three feet. The momentum continued and she ran over, jumped, and attempted a dangerous kick to his head.
He caught her leg, only to be met with her other leg. He released her and ducked under. He should have backed off at this point. Instead, as her legs touched the ground, he went for a strike. Captain America struck him with her shield first. So what?
His fist still struck her cheek, forcing her back. She was shocked. He seemed to hit her just as hard as she did—and she was wielding a Vibranium shield. Feet spread, lips in a flat line, she wiped the blood oozing from her nose. It was a good hit. 'If only I could have landed it without hurting myself.'
His left arm and right leg were compromised and he had no web-shooters. Would that be enough to fight off Captain America?
"The law isn't on your side. You are a vigilante, just like Gwen Stacy, and a danger." Captain America inhaled sharply. "We have your blood, friend. It won't take us long to find you."
"..."
The bullet inside his arm slipped out from behind. Captain America blinked, hearing the small cling. Flesh knitted together and the bullet in his leg was pushed out too. 'I'm healing faster…?'
This was the first time Spider-Man was being pushed. Mr. Negative's powers fluxed between mystical and scientific. It challenged his body in ways it initially did not understand. The mind and the body were confused. However, as the seconds ticked by, the absurd powers of Extremis entered.
Extremis, the power to heal and adapt. A nanotechnology that changed the brain, regulated its neurons and the overarching systems of the body, identified problems, and adapted. Adapted, adapted, adapted until the issues in the body were fixed. The bullets fired by SHIELD were special, specifically crafted to take into account the great reflexes and healing factor of a spider-enhanced being.
"You shouldn't be able to walk." Captain America narrowed her eyes. "One milliliter of the poison in those bullets can paralyze an elephant."
Three bullets. Thirty milliliters of whatever specially made poison they inserted in the bullets and flooded in his bloodstream. His nerves were loaded with something that should have at least slowed him down. Alone, with the spider-bite, with Gwen Stacy's powers, that might have been the case. But Extremis was inside him as well, rendering the preparation of the almighty SHIELD useless.
Felix didn't feel a damn thing. In fact, as the seconds went by, he felt better. He felt the muscles inside him coil together, stronger, and he promptly charged at Captain America. The fear that once plagued him was gone. He could do this! He could—
BANG!
'Shit!' He back-flipped, just barely slipping away from the bullet. The snipers had caught up. Herbie still wasn't online either. 'Shit, what do I do—?'
"Change to another poison type," Captain America said, pressing the coms in her left ear. "I'll hold him off."
Talk about a scary intuition. Spider-Man took several steps back with the captain walking forward to prevent the steps from making distance. His Spider-Sense was telling him another sniper arrived.
He stopped. Then, he closed his eyes. 'From our brief scuffle, I can tell she's much more experienced and more skilled. I need to overwhelm her with so much speed that she can't keep up.'
The world, which had been in slow motion, resumed and he faced Captain America head-on. Her shield immediately came to strike the side of his head. He ignored the minor concussion and shoved a fist into her side. The nasty hit caused her to stumble back. There!
Bam!
His vision went wayside. She backhanded with the Vibranium shield, causing his concussion to deepen. He tasted blood and tears in his eyes, but he pushed anyway. His fighting instincts were ordering to fight back; to win.
Attack, attack!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
His punches were deftly blocked by her shield. Somehow, through his slowing muscles, she found an opening and jammed two fingers into his neck. She probably intended to disable him with some kind of pressure point technique.
Not possible when up against a healing factor of his scale. He slapped her arm aside and threw a fist. Alas, she swerved under the big swing and smoothly countered by grabbing the back of his head and slamming him into her knee.
His nose bled. She felt it and he felt it. The difference was that he didn't care, stepping back from the blow and charging right back at her. It was like he didn't have a bullet somewhere in his chest. It was like he wasn't slightly slowed by his mystical battle with Mr. Negative.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The captain raised her shield and blocked his punches. He swooped in for a low-kick, which she leaped back to avoid. Surprised by his tenacity and seeing him charge at her again, Captain America attempted an overhead strike with her shield. Bad move. She sacrificed power and accuracy for raw speed. The dark vigilante slipped under her shield and uppercutted her. Her other hand came in the way to block the blow. The super soldier presumed herself capable of handling his punches with her own physical ability.
That presumption didn't stop her knuckles from cracking or her feet from lifting from the floor. In that moment, as her world was rocked, she realized overestimated herself. Captain America's raw strength could never compete with Spider-Man's.
Captain America crashed down and that was when Spidey bolted. She wasn't done. He knew she would recover fast.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three snipers. Three bullets to avoid. His Spider-Sense sharpened and he detected and avoided all of them. Two bullets were aimed at his legs, which led him to side-flip out of the way. The third bullet came a millisecond second later and went for his chest, which he caught and threw back. There was a sound of metal breaking. The sniper rifle broke.
He ran across the rooftops. Still no web-shooters and still no Herbie. He was all on his own here. He needed to get to the shadows but where? How? Knowing SHIELD, the shadows belonged to them. He needed to act not just swiftly but effectively. 'I could just end up leading them to my base. If that happens, there would have been no point.'
The darkness was his friend. The neon green lights in his lenses and spider-symbol flickered till they were completely off. He leaped across another rooftop, then another. Upon gliding across the third gap, he glanced down and saw that there were not cameras nearby. 'Perfect!'
He purposely slowed himself and stuck against the building wall. It was an apartment and he professionally scaled down the fire-escape ladders. His eyes looked through every window. Every curtain, every open window, and every closed window. He checked and checked until he found what he needed.
An empty apartment unit. It was on the third floor. His feet planted themselves and he forcibly opened the window with a pull of his sticky fingers. He slipped through, feet-first, and closed the window behind him. Panting, his wounds closed, not a droplet of blood followed. To SHIELD, it was as though he disappeared during his first jump.
The room was empty and large. No question, no one was living here. He went out and crept through the living room and into the kitchen. He sat down, panting, and inspected his wound.
The bullet wound on his chest pierced his right lung. Though the hole was covered up, the bullet itself was still inside. Leaning against the cabinet under the sink, he let out a shaky breath. Slowly but surely, his wounds healed. Slowly but surely, his eyes adapted to the pitch-black darkness.
'Those snipers...those bullets...they weren't normal,' he thought. 'They were intended to hunt down those with spider-powers. They must have researched Gwen Stacy and applied those principles to me.'
It was quiet. He heard only his heart and his breath. Beside him was a refrigerator. He opened it up and sighed in relief for a second time. Whoever moved out of here left behind a crate of energy drinks. He swooped one into his lap, cracked it open, and took a swing.
'Watermelon burst. Mm.' He sipped again. 'Very natural tasting.'
He hit his head on the cabinet. His back was healing bit by bit, inch by inch. He defeated Mr. Negative, fighting through his corruption, and even managed to escape SHIELD. 'I have to lie low,' Felix thought. 'Herbie still isn't rebooting either. I should try and get him sorted first before I make any moves.'
"The law isn't on your side, my friend. You are a vigilante, just like Gwen Stacy, and a danger. We have your blood. It won't take us long to find you."
Felix kept his eyes and ears alert. Alone in the kitchen of a random apartment unit, he knew SHIELD wasn't going to stop until they found him. His panting slowed but his heart refused to remain calm. Escape was his goal and escape he would.
