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

Chapter 11

Peter carried that thought with him through the rest of that month and into the next. However, the only news of Taskmaster after the attack was his sign popping up every now and then in some park or on the outside of buildings. Peter kept meaning to go to the alley where the tracking device had disconnected, but he always found an excuse not to. You're scared, he scolded himself. You don't want to fight him again cause you know he'll win.

Meanwhile, Dakota had made an almost complete recovery. Since they were no longer able to use the school building anymore, classes had been moved to sheltered tents on what was left of the lawn. For their P.E. class, the teachers had the students help with clearing out rubble. Peter had to admit that this was definitely the best part of the day for him as he and Dakota always worked together. Having her leg in a cast didn't stop Dakota. She worked just as hard as everyone else, and Peter told her that he would be surprised if she didn't have a solid A in the class now.

Peter still worried about her curiosity of his strange behavior. However, ever since the explosion, he had been more open towards the idea of Dakota knowing his secret. There were some definite downsides to this idea, but Peter hated having to lie to his friend about so many things. Probably the worst thing that could happen would be her not believing me, I guess, Peter thought. But before he could put these plans into action, he had somewhere to go.

                    ---

Peter landed silently, checking to make sure no one was watching him. Then he turned his gaze to his scanners. I don't see anyone... yet. He jumped down into the alley. He was standing in the exact spot where his tracking device had been deactivated; he started searching for something, anything, that would tell him that Taskmaster had been there. Nothing. I should've known.

In despair, Peter leaned back against the brick wall behind him. He heard a metallic click and he spun around to see the wall opening up into a dark passageway. He stared in amazement as the bricks formed a perfect archway. Peter looked around and, seeing no one, cautiously stepped inside. However, he failed to look upwards.

The hall sloped down and opened up into a large circular room. Most of the space was taken up by a computer- no, several computers, all lined up and connected to each other. Weapons lined the walls, and the middle was dominated by a glass table covered in machines, tools, and half-finished projects. Peter walked over to the computers and started searching its contents. So many files! This guy could write a library out of all this informa- wait. He selected a file titled "Project Spider." Whoa. This is not right.

The file was full to the brim with photos of him, Spiderman, saving people, fighting, and swinging around the city. He found videos that had been filmed on phones and what could only be from secret cameras. Among these videos he found one of his most recent fight with Taskmaster. He planned this! He only fought me then so he could get this video! But why?

Peter searched the computers' history and came across some sort of app. He opened it and found schematics of Spiderman, or rather, his fighting moves. My moves, my techniques... he's learning them. He's copying them so he can beat me no matter what!

"It seems that you've finally found my lair. Bravo, Spiderman." Peter jumped and spun around. Taskmaster stood behind him, fiddling with a knife from his belt. "You're so smart, aren't you? But this doesn't change anything, and now you know why."

Peter felt confused. "I don't get it. You wanted me to come here and find out about you copying my moves?" he asked.

"Correct," Taskmaster answered.

"Why?"

"Because," Taskmaster explained, "I need you to know... you can't stop me. I'm going to win. And you don't even know what..."

Taskmaster erupted into insane laughter, abruptly cut off when he threw the knife straight at Peter's face.