But it wasn't a punch like the others he had taken from the arachnid. No. It was something far worse, as if a high-speed locomotive had chosen his abdomen as its point of impact. The air simply DISAPPEARED from his lungs in a single instant, ripped away in a merciless blast that made his lips burn as his body folded around the hero's fist. The next second, he was thrown backward like a rag doll.
From that point on, everything became a blur, with Kraven vaguely noticing the buildings rushing past as he spun uncontrollably through the air before beginning to fall toward the street.
'What just happened…' He tried, desperately, to draw air into his lungs. His diaphragm, however, did not respond.
The city spun around him in a chaotic dance of light and darkness as he fell, the asphalt rushing up far too fast.
And then, when Kraven could already see the cobblestones of the street in detail—
Thwip!
A web yanked him back upward with abrupt force. His body was torn from free a fall only to be met with another blow — a punch to the face, less devastating than the first, yet still enough to make his head spin and his ears ring.
"You still awake there?" Spider-Man asked, holding him by his lion vest while using the other hand to swing between the buildings, carrying the hunter as if he were little more than extra weight.
"Arghh…" Kraven groaned, the only response his lungs could produce. The air was beginning to return slowly, but every breath was a painful reminder of that first devastating punch.
"I'll take that as a yes." Without slowing down, the arachnid twisted his body and hurled Kraven against the top of another building. The impact was dry and violent. The hunter hit, rolled three times across the concrete, and only stopped when he collided with a small ventilation structure.
He barely had time to try to get up. In the blink of an eye, Spider-Man was already there, on top of him, kneeling over Kraven's chest, one hand pressing his throat against the ground, not enough to crush — but enough to remind him who was in control.
The white lenses stared down at Kraven, impenetrable, empty, cold.
"Of all my enemies…" Spider-Man's voice came in a low, reflective tone "…you are the most idiotic."
Kraven tried to speak, tried to retort, but the hand on his throat tightened slightly — a silent warning.
"You crossed the world… left everything behind, even your own body… just to hunt someone because you think it proves something." He tilted his head slightly, bringing the masked face closer to Kraven's. "You call me prey. You track me. You study me. You analyze me as if I were some rare animal you want to hang on your wall. And for what? To feed your ego? To tell a story around a campfire in the middle of the savanna?"
"That's simply pathetic."
Kraven tried to push him off, to react, but his body responded weakly to his commands.
"And you know what's even more pathetic?" Spider-Man continued, now releasing his throat to grab him by the vest and lift him a few inches off the ground. "That this 'desire to hunt' of yours is the reason you're a villain. That's your grand purpose. It's not revenge. It's not money. It's not the urge to do evil. It's… 'oh, I want to prove I'm the greatest hunter in the world.' Seriously? That's your speech?"
Spider let out a small nasal chuckle, short and dry.
"Right now I've got a guy flying around calling himself Vulture because he thinks the world stole everything from him. And guess what? His motivation makes more sense than yours, twisted as it is."
"You're not a predator, Sergei Kravinoff. You're just a big man chasing self-validation."
In a rough motion, Spider-Man let him go, dropping him back onto the concrete. "So here's some free advice. Go back to your 'Mother Africa.' To your savanna, your lions and elephants. To the place where you can play hunter without hurting anyone." he said, rising to his feet and taking a step back, moving off Kraven.
The moon illuminated his silhouette, casting an immense shadow over the fallen hunter. "This is MY city." The voice echoed across the rooftop. "This is MY territory. The people here are MY responsibility to protect. And I won't let them get hurt because of your little boredom game."
He paused, the white lenses glowing in the darkness. "This is the only opportunity I'm giving you to leave. If I see you again, I'll make sure you never see the sky without bars in front of it."
Spider-Man turned, beginning to walk toward the edge of the building. But he stopped after a few steps, slightly turning his head. "Ugh, did I really just say 'my territory' and 'my city,' huh?" A tone of sarcasm finally returned to his voice. "That was… extremely embarrassing. My God, I need to stop spending time around you." He resumed walking, readying the web-shooter.
"W-wait!" Kraven shouted, forcing his own body to obey as he tried to sit up. "Answer me something." he asked in a hoarse, broken voice, the result of the pain he felt with every breath.
Spider-Man sighed, turning around once more. "Sure, sure. Ask."
Kraven swallowed hard, tasting the metallic flavor of his own blood in his mouth. How much damage had that punch caused? "That first punch… that strength… you… you've always been holding back, haven't you? All this time."
"Oh. That." Spider scratched the back of his head, an almost juvenile gesture to contrast with the threatening figure that had dominated the rooftop seconds earlier. "Yeah. I always hold back. Sorry about that punch, by the way. It wasn't personal. I'm just… adjusting a few things. Reading some combat manuals, getting a better grasp on how to distribute strength, impact, that sort of stuff. I'm thinking about starting to go a little harder on genetically modified humans, you know? You guys tend to take more and stuff."
Kraven felt a chill run up his spine. That answer was terrifying in many ways. "How… how strong are you?" he asked, almost against his own will.
The white lenses fixed on him once more.
"…I don't know."
***
Disclaimer: This story and its characters belong to Sony Pictures and Marvel Comics (Disney). This is merely a fanfiction written by a fan, with no intention of infringement.