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

Chapter 9

Taskmaster stopped in a shadowed side street with a sigh. He inspected his left arm. He had landed clumsily on it in his most recent fight with Spiderman. It's not bad, he thought. It'll just be sore. Taskmaster took something out of his pocket and examined it. It was a small, well-designed tracking device that had attached itself to his back when Spiderman had fired his web at him. Clever, Taskmaster thought. But not clever enough. He crushed the device in his hand.

Turning around, he scanned he area for anyone watching him. There was no one. Taskmaster pressed his hand against a certain brick in the wall behind him. It triggered a secret door which he then stepped into. Walking down a hallway that continually sloped downwards, he entered a room with equipment all around the walls. Armor, shields, swords, and all manner of weaponry hung on the walls. Traps lay on tables, half-constructed.  He went over to a large computer and clicked on a live feed coming from a camera hidden in the alley that he and Spiderman had fought in. Rewinding the recording, he stopped it at the part where they had started fighting. "Now then," Taskmaster said to himself, "what kind of skills do you have, Spiderman?"

                    ---

"Really Peter, you need to stop getting in so many fights," Aunt May scolded Peter. He had once again come home with bruises all over his face.

"Well, it's not always my fault, you know. That guy just jumped me; I never even saw him coming," Peter complained while he pressed some ice onto his eye. He winced as he got up from the table and headed for his room.

May called after him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"My bed," came the muffled reply.

Once safely back inside his room, he activated his web shooters. He stared blankly at the shining logo for a moment, then sighed. He checked the tracking device signal, only to discover that it had been deactivated. He must have found it, Peter thought. So much for that idea. He checked the last location that the device had been. Just another old alley. Maybe I should check it out though... but not now. Peter massaged his slightly re-injured arm. I need to rest.   

                    ---

It was the week after his last encounter with Taskmaster, and there still wasn't any sign of him. Peter tried to relax for the moment; however, this task proved impossible. He's doing this to me on purpose, I know it. He wants to keep me in suspense.

Peter was deep in thought one sunny day as he walked across the school lobby towards his locker. He was startled as he heard someone call his name. "There you are, Peter! I've been looking for you!" It was Dakota.

"Hmm," Peter muttered, not really paying attention.

"You okay Pete?" Dakota asked. She looked slightly worried. "You haven't been yourself lately."

Peter glanced at her. "What? Oh, it's nothing to worry about," he said.

"Oh really? What if I said I didn't believe you?" Dakota replied hotly. When she felt she was being lied to, Dakota Young could get rather angry. Peter knew this better than almost anyone.

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you. But first I need to get back to class," Peter said, hoping it would be enough to stall her.

Dakota sighed. "Fine, fine. But I'm holding you to your word, Peter Parker."

Peter grinned, then opened his locker to get his books.

Just then, an explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet. Peter sensed the danger even before he heard the sound of wood splintering above them. "Get down!" he yelled as he pulled Dakota to the floor. He shielded her as the roof came crashing down, covering them both completely.