Chapter Forty-Nine

Ben remembered a park near the NYSU campus back when Peter toured it in sophomore year, deciding it was the best place to search first, he started swinging in that direction. "Gods, don't let it be Kraven, pretty much anyone other than that psycho would be much better," Ben said as he swung through a large traffic jam.

In his original world, he knew the man to have an honor code of sorts, they'd eventually come to a compromise during their battle and Kraven no longer hunted him so far since then. The problem was, he didn't know how the man operated in this world, but he guessed he was still on the Hunter's list of prey in this one and apparently so was Gwen.   

Swinging through the city as quickly as possible, he stayed cautious to his surroundings, if it was Kraven, then he could expect a trap waiting on him. As he got near the park, he immediately noticed signs indicating a battle had just occurred. A trash can was flipped over with its contents spilled out, a street sign ripped out of the concrete and stuck halfway through a park bench and a few broken tree limbs littered the ground. Ben could safely assume Gwen had been here recently, he could only imagine the hell she had put her pursuer through.   

Trying to remain hidden as much as possible, Ben jumped to a tree and began to climb through the tangled limbs for cover. Ben knew from experience that when being hunted, it's always best to blend into your surroundings if possible. Most people didn't expect his costume to camouflage very well into any environment, but the crimson red colors seemed to effortlessly disappear the further he climbed up to the treetop.   

Searching through the park was taking longer than he had expected, it was one of the larger parks near the college. Thought this park wasn't on the same level as Central Park it was still very large in the perimeter. Just as he was starting to believe he needed to start searching for another park he spotted her, she was laying completely unconscious under a thick black net in an open area. Inspecting the net a little he confirmed it would normally be used to capture large animals in a jungle setting rather than people in a city this large. It was then he confirmed who his opponent was, one of the only few people he never wanted to face again... 'Kraven The Hunter'.  

He then noticed a familiar red-headed girl kneeling beside Gwen attempting to rouse her sleeping form. The girl was a little different than the person from his original world, leaner and paler... still it was her. Though the paleness could have been dismissed due to fear, she still had a fierceness in her actions that he could hardly find anywhere other than one girl... "Jean? No, it couldn't be." 

Dismissing the redhead for the moment, Ben knew Kraven wouldn't just leave these two out in the open. This was a trap, but he needed to be smart or all three of them would be captured in no time. He needed some kind of distraction only then could he ensure the girl's safety, but before he could face the Hunter head-on he needed them safe. 

Slowly sneaking down a nearby tree, Ben put his plan into action, using the hardest setting on his web-shooters he created something that resembled a human, it was a little rough around the edges but in the dim lighting of the park, he thought it might work. Then he threw the newly made mannequin into the open clearing at an extremely quickly and at the same time Ben shot through the tree limbs to land beside the redhead and his girlfriend.   

Within moments a knife pierced his web dummy directly into its chest making a clunking sound, sending it into a moonlit area of the park. The strike Kraven made on his dummy was a testament to his skill and ability. Ben knew for a fact, that if he had attempted to save the girls the same way he would have ended in a similar manner.  

The distraction seemed to work, Kraven was stunned when he got a good look at the 'kill' in the light. Licking his chapped lips, the hunter chuckled, "Good, good. You're worthy prey. Apparently, the male Spider is much more interesting to hunt. Come, face me!"   

Stepping into the light, he revealed himself to be an older version of Kraven than the man he had known in his original world. He had salt and pepper hair styled into dreadlocks, his skin was coppery brown with tattoos decorated the exposed area that wasn't covered in animal hide. His eyes were ferial staring at him making him want to fidget from the gaze. Ben couldn't tell if this man had the same demeanor hidden behind his predatory exterior as the man he had gotten to know in his own world.  

"You know, though we may dress as spiders, we are as human as you are Kraven," Ben said making an eyebrow raise on the man that stood in front of him.  

"Humans are some of the greatest prey." Kraven chuckled, "Humans with the abilities of animals... Well, that is just exciting!"  

Ben rushed him, flipping over his head and sending a kick to the Hunters knees. The hunter jumped just in time to avoid the strike. When he came back down Kraven had a knife in his hand and was already in the mid swing towards Ben's head. Dodging quickly, he sent a punch to Kraven's ribs making the older man cry out in a muffled curse. Hearing the crunch of a few ribs breaking, Kraven unexpectedly landed a punch on Ben's face in retaliation.   

Roaring in anger, Ben head-butted Kraven and sent a knee into his gut, briefly knocking the air out of Hunter's lungs. Acting fast, Ben attached a web line to one of the man's arms and pinned the other to a tree. Ben was a great fighter, but he was also a spider and he would fight like one. But Kraven wasn't known as the world's greatest hunter for nothing, recovering quickly he slashed with his dagger, cutting the web line and then threw another dagger making the net fall from a separately prepared trap.   

Swiftly shooting a web-line to a heavy rock he flung the bolder into the falling net, managing to send it flying off course. Kraven wasn't beaten yet though, pulling out a long wooden pipe he sent three quick concessions of darts back at Ben.   

The darts hit home and caused Ben to stumble in place, it was one of the few hits Kraven actually managed to make. A proud smile stretched across the hunter's face in victory, but soon surprise replaced the smile as Ben simply pulled them out and dropped them to the ground slowly. As a precaution before Ben arrived, he added a thick protective layer under his hoodie expecting something like this due to prior experiences with Kraven's counterpart.   

Kraven noticed that the spider always kept himself between the females and him the entire fight. Drawing the conclusion to win the battle he needed to use his bait once more, Kraven pulled out another knife and started towards the women with determination. He didn't get far before a web line attached itself to the hunter's shoulder stopping him in place, Ben wasn't going to let him get his hands on those girls again, he would rather die. 

With a hard tug, Ben ripped the old Hunter off his feet and towards him at full force, "Get over here!" A hard punch wrought across Kraven's face sending the Hunter back into the shadows flipping him end over end. Ben never saw the knife before it sliced its way into his side, but the pain was instantaneous.   

Dropping to his knee Ben watched as Kraven jumped back to his feet, though he was hurt badly Ben could if the hunter continued, he might have to give up his life to stop him this time. Inspecting the wound, he knew the amount of blood leaving his body wouldn't allow him to last much longer. 

Kraven understood too, so his next words came to as a surprise to Ben's ears, "We are done, for now, Spider. Your wounds won't kill you if you get them taken care of soon but today isn't the day you die. I wish to hunt you without... Distractions." He said the word as if it tasted bitter coming out of his mouth, "And without her." He pointed to Gwen's downed form on the grass. 

"Nor do I wish to do this for another man's money. I will only kill you for my honor and my glory. I've learned today, you can give me what I desire... A hunt to finish all hunts. I see my end when I fight you... Someone that could make me feel this way cannot be demeaned."  

Kraven's swollen face stretched into a wide grin while he was speaking but dimmed when he said the next words, "To hell with the Kingpin! He wished to capture you alive?! BA! I will kill you, but not now. Enjoy the days you have left Spider, may they be as sweet as the fresh kill." Kraven's deep voice permeated the air as he slipped away into the dark night. Ben was in no condition to chase the loon, using his web-shooter he sprayed a thick coat of webs bleeding wound on his side. That would have to do for now.  

"Kraven... at least you still have honor in this world," Ben said as he limped the remaining steps towards the girls, he began to remove the net containing Gwen picking her up bridal style, he found she didn't have many injuries to her person. Which stands to reason, Gwen was tougher than nails and twice as flexible than Ben ever thought possible. 

 Gwen's apartment wasn't far away, but he had one problem he wasn't sure what to do with the redhead. While he was contemplating what he should do EmJay spoke, "That's Gwen isn't it." It was a statement, not a question, but he really didn't know how to answer.  

Shaking his head, Ben eyed her with frustration. Glancing at her closer he knew she wasn't either of the redheads he knew back home, but she seemed familiar as well. Since this was another world, he guessed she was still MJ but maybe she had different parents or grandparents than the girl he knew back home. 

"Look I need to get her back home, where she can rest. If you have questions for her, you can ask them after she wakes up." Ben knew he had pretty much blown Gwen's identity with those words, but he didn't have the mental capacity to make up a plausible lie.

Especially since he wasn't sure what exposed her identity in the first place. If she was the 'MJ' of this world she was most likely trustworthy... If she wasn't, they would deal with it then. He just really needed to stop his blood flow first. 

Waving her to follow along they started walking in the general direction of Gwen's apartment.