•AFTER THE WAR: SPIDER-MAN'S STORY [COMPLETED]•

Chapter 3

Peter swung down onto an old warehouse on North Road and crouched, watching for any movement. Seeing nothing at the moment, he decided to go over the facts he had gathered. Palmer certainly was a powerful man, at least in Queens he was. What could he have done to aggravate the murderer? Peter turned around and walked to the other side of the buildings roof. He still didn't see anything. Maybe that guy was lying. But this was the only lead he had. Surely something had to be here, a trail or some sort of clue-

All of a sudden, Peter heard something. It sounds like someone's inside the warehouse. He climbed down the wall headfirst, sticking to the bricks as he went along. Peering through the window wasn't an option, owning to the fact that they were filthy. Peter tested the widow pane, seeing if it would open. It did. He crawled inside, deciding not to close the widow behind him. Looking around, he noted several details. Some overturned tables leaned against the walls, and papers, wood, and trash were scattered everywhere. Boxes were stacked in corners, and some lay open on the floor. Suddenly, Peter heard voices coming his way. As quickly and quietly as possible, he hid behind several big boxes in the corner farthest from the door. Then he settled down to listen.

"...I warned you it was risky, going there in broad daylight." The voice that spoke sounded nervous and sketchy, and like he didn't want to be there.

"And I already told you that I don't care. Let the police try and find me. They never have and they never will. We're perfectly safe." The second voice sounded deeper and darker, and when Peter saw the two figures enter the room, he felt a jolt of recognition. One of the men fitted the thug's description of the murderer perfectly. They're talking about Palmer! he realized. He listened harder.

"I'm aware of that sir, but I don't exactly agree. It's not just the police out there anymore," the first man's voice trembled audibly, obviously terrified of opposing the other.

The hooded figure strode across the room and sat down in a chair, putting his feet up on the only standing table. "If you're referring to Spiderman, he's no concern of mine. Probably just another kid who thinks he can live up to Captain America's 'shining example.'" The man chuckled as if the possibility of this being true was hilarious.

Peter gritted his teeth. You'll soon find out how wrong you are, murderer.

The other man drew himself up and boldly declared, "If you think you can outrun the law so easily, then it seems as if you no longer need my support. I quit."

Quick as a flash, the killer leaped onto the table and drew his sword. Pointing it directly at the man's throat, he growled, "Funny. Palmer made the same mistake." He lifted the sword high over his head, and at the same moment, a web flew out of nowhere and knocked it out of his hand.

"Tut tut. Don't you know killing your employees is bad manners? You're never going to have any friends if you do that, you know." Peter had stepped out into the open. He shot a rope of web at the cloaked man, but he dodged it, rolling toward his sword. "Nope, sorry. I can't let you play with that big knife now. You might cut yourself," Peter taunted as he jumped over and kicked the sword away. Growling with anger, the man charged Peter, who neatly sidestepped. "Missed me, missed me!" he sang, only to get hit right in the chest with a box that his opponent had thrown. Peter shook his head vigorously to clear it, and sensed the man's fist coming towards his face. He dodged to one side, catching his arm and flinging him away as he did so. The man leaped up to a bar on the ceiling and swung off it, kicking Peter hard in the stomach. Whoooosh!! Peter got the breath knocked out of him as he landed with a crash onto an old table. The table collapsed, causing dust to fly everywhere, obscuring Peter's vision momentarily. He got up and automatically jumped out of the way as his quarry threw a knife at him. However, he wasn't able to move quickly enough. The weapon caught him on the right arm, slicing a deep cut just above his elbow. Peter cried out in pain as blood started to seep through his costume, dripping onto the floor.

The man had regained his sword and now raised it high above his head as he said, "Bye bye, little spider." Before he could bring down the weapon, however, Peter shot a web at the man's skull mask, nailing him in the eyes. "Argh!" he shouted as he was blinded. Peter used the chance to sweep his feet out from under him. Then he stood up and ran towards the window. Climbing up the wall and through the opening, he never looked back as he fled from the building and into the night.