Ranma « used without permission
Spider-Man used without permission.


     Hikaru Gosunkugi, The Amazing Spiderman
     Issue Twenty
     Who Fights Monsters


     "Excellent, Shocker," Raizo said over the intercom as
the flare from the vibro-shock blast faded. "All systems
show green. Good job."
     "Yeah, whatever," Shocker replied. "When do I get to
really have some fun with this fancy suit?"
     "Soon, my friend. Very soon. Now, take the suit off and
prepare for debriefing."
     "I hear ya."
     Raizo Yamata grinned at the thought of how soon it
would be. Pao Leung wouldn't see it coming. His mind had
reeled when he had put the pieces together. To think that
the Black Lotus Society had been aiming for this!  Who else
but Otto Octavius to head up the research? Yamata thought.
After all, it had been his idea in the first place.
     It had begun earlier that morning, with Yamata seated
at his desk poring over old articles on Otto's work. The
main thrust of all his research had been recombinant
genetics, a thing once thought impossible. Octavius and his
assistant, Ryo Sanzaki, had pioneered the project back in
the eighties on grants by the now-defunct Genutech. On being
bought out by Shikon Pharmaceuticals, the research had been
picked up again, with Sanzaki heading the team at Tokyo
University.
     It was then that Raizo learned who SP's CEO was: Pao
Leung. The revelation had been startling. Leung's company
had bought out the firm who granted the original research
and hired one of the men who had worked on it and, when the
development had come along enough, stole the research for
the project's founder to finish.
     Raizo stepped into the elevator bound for the sub-
basement briefing room, still looking over the mostly
assembled puzzle. Pao Leung was an elite member of the Black
Lotus Society, answerable only to their enigmatic Council of
Twelve. This was being done with their blessing, of that
there was no doubt, but what was their ultimate aim? What
was the significance of the Black Widows weapons suite they
were trying to develop? Why had Spiderman destroyed it?
There were still many pieces missing.
     Recombinant genetics. What kind of power could such a
technology bestow? If there was anything certain, it was
that it had to be in the hands of Japan. Of the Yakuza. Of
Raizo Yamata.
     Dealing with Anthony Stark could wait for a while. The
Triads had to be stopped.


     "What do you have for me?" Pao Leung asked as he
entered the lab. The scientist had not once asked to meet
since they had begun this deal. All the German would divulge
was that what he had discovered would be well worth the
Chinese man's time, and that it involved Spiderman.
     Doctor Octopus turned and smiled, his four metal
tentacles waving slowly in the air.  "Ah," he said, "so good
of you to come, Mister Leung."
     "Forgive me for not being overly friendly, Doctor, but
I am a very busy man."
     "I see," Octavius said. "Then perhaps I should cut to
the chase."
     "That would be most wise. This had best not be a waste
of my time." Leung had enough to worry about without the
Council of Twelve breathing down his neck. Not that he could
tell Doctor Octopus that.
     "As you no doubt know, Mister Leung," Otto began as he
strode over to the prototype, "recombinant genetics yields
unlimited potential. I, however, have found something even I
would not have believed possible."
     "Go on."
     "I believe that this technology is what spawned
Spiderman."
     "Are you certain?" Leung asked his pulse beginning to
race. If this was true.
     "As I was going over the research of my former
assistant, I found that he had stumbled across something
extraordinary. Ryo Sanzaki has found a way to incorporate
animal DNA into a host human, with fantastic results."
     "How does Spiderman fit in?"
     "I was hoping you would ask," Otto replied, turning
about to face Leung. "Spiderman seems to exhibit many
characteristics of several species of arachnids, namely
spiders. He appears to possess their proportionate
abilities, such as his strength and agility. If I may direct
your attention to the monitor, I think you will agree."
     Leung looked over to his left just as the wall monitor
flickered to life. On it was an image of Spiderman, taken
from the main camera of a Seeker Drone, as he swung through
the city.
     "See how easily he performs such meta-human feats,"
Otto said as Spiderman dodged and weaved on a webline over
thirty stories above the street. "Any normal human would be
completely disoriented, and yet Spiderman is not. It is as
if he possesses an entirely different equilibrium from other
humans."
     "Fascinating."
     "Indeed. From the video data, not to mention my own
personal encounters with the wall-crawler, I can draw the
conclusion that his powers are natural, rather than
artificial. His ability is too graceful for this to be
mechanical. No machine can duplicate such abilities as
these."
     "Wait, something isn't right," Leung said as the
monitor switched to Spiderman's battle against the Major
Variant Black Widow. "This could mean that Sanzaki was
conducting human trials of this technology. But he wasn't."
     "Oh?" Otto asked. "And how do you know?"
     "I monitored his progress closely. There was no way."
     "And how did you manage to do that?"
     "I have eyes everywhere," Leung said, realizing that he
almost made a terrible blunder. Doctor Octopus had no idea
that this had been planned from nearly the moment he and
Sanzaki had begun this research.
     "At any rate, I am certain that Spiderman's powers came
from this technology. I am so certain, in fact that I have
set up my own experiment."
     "Oh?" This had to be good.
     "Over the past weeks, I have studied what Sanzaki had
found. I believe I may be able to duplicate what he did. In
fact, I think I have improved on it."
     "How so?"
     "I intend, Mister Leung, to do to another human what
Sanzaki did to this one. I have already selected a
template."
     "And that would be?"
     "A scorpion. They are, after all, natural predators of
spiders. What else could capture Spiderman?"
     "I see." Sanzaki could not have done this
intentionally. If he had, Leung would have known it.
Spiderman's powers had to have been the result of an
improbable accident, and that meant that Ryo had no idea
what he had done. "Doctor, how many other people know of
this?"
     "Aside from you and I, none."
     "Good. What do you need to make this happen?"
     "All I require is a suitable guinea pig. I already have
a few in mind."
     "Tell me the minute you select one. This project will
go ahead as soon as possible."
     "Yes, Mister Leung."
     "If that is all, I must take my leave."
     "Of course."
     "Pao Leung walked out of the lab, hardly able to
believe the conversation he had just had. If Spiderman's
powers could be duplicated, even surpassed, then this entire
plan could yield even greater rewards than he had hoped.
Once Otto found a suitable subject, all that was left was
for the wall-crawler to show himself.
     And, if all were true, he would never have to worry
about the Council of Twelve again.


     Hikaru Gosunkugi walked out of his final class of the
day, the world seeming far stranger than normal. The only
noise in the hall was shuffling feet, none of the other
students having anything they really wanted to speak about.
They were afraid, every one of them, especially since the
latest murder was on campus and during school hours. They
knew that none of them were safe anywhere so long as the
killer was on the loose.
     Gosunkugi couldn't keep his mind off of Ryoga, held
captive by the demon which had killed three people so far.
He had seemed unhurt when Lorelei had appeared on the soccer
field, but what guarantee did Hikaru have that he was alive
now? What if she had already killed him?
     "Hey, watch it!"
     "Oh! Sorry, Saotome." Hikaru stepped back, suddenly
aware of several pairs of eyes on him. "I wasn't paying
attention."
     "Uh. sure, Gosunkugi."
     "Well, see ya, Saotome." Gousnkugi walked away,
wondering how Ranma would take the news that Ryoga was being
used as bait for Spiderman.
     Once again, my double life rears its ugly head.  But
this is gonna be the last time.

     Ranma began to walk again, commanding his heart to slow
down. The tension of the past days had wound him tighter
than a spring. Everyone was in danger from a murderer
without a name or a face. What if the next victim was Ukyo,
or Shampoo?
     What if it was Akane? No matter what he said about her,
the thought of her being taken by that lunatic sent icy
chills down Ranma's spine. No way was he gonna leave her out
of his sight on the way home.
     Ranma spotted Akane at the other end of the hall and
leapt over the heads of several students to land by her
side. Hikaru Gosunkugi was the farthest thing from his mind.



     Lorelei studied the chained man, the hunger burning
like a raging furnace as her eyes traced the lines of his
muscles. His scent was tantalizing, the feel of his spirit
strong. How sweet would his flesh taste? Lorelei tore her
gaze away from him with an effort. She would feast later,
once that Gosunkugi boy was defeated and fettered beside
this one.
     She gazed about the dilapidated shrine with a sense of
irony. To think that a demon would choose former holy ground
as a roost! Lorelei could feel the agony of the souls that
had passed in this place, almost sixty years gone. The ruins
were overgrown, now, the place remembered as Setsuna Shrine
mainly by the older humans. The world had been at war, then
- what a concept! - And this place had been decimated in an
attack by the enemy. Lorelei hadn't bothered wondering why
the shrine hadn't been rebuilt, just so long as it served
the demon's needs.
     The sun was beginning to set. It wouldn't be long, now.

     Hikaru Gosunkugi felt as if he were going insane. The
hours since school had let out crawled by with agonizing
slowness, as if the world was trying to prolong the wait on
purpose. Homework was out of the question. Since it was
Saturday, however, that didn't mean much.
     "Why am I thinking about homework?" Hikaru muttered as
he finished mending the rips in his costume. If he was going
to be Spiderman again, even if just for one night, then he
might as well have a suit that was all in one piece. At
least the mask hadn't been torn.
     Setsuna Shrine. Hikaru remembered his parents taking
him there one afternoon, when he was merely five. The shrine
had been destroyed in the Second World War by American
bombers, a few scant months before the fateful bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They had told him the story of how
his grandfather had been in the shrine that day when the
bombs fell. It was said that the site was cursed, that the
spirits of those who had died would take revenge on anyone
who tore down the remains.
     It seemed strange that this Lorelei demon had chosen
that particular place for their battle. Had she studied up
on his family? Was this part of some sick joke? If so, then
Hikaru Gosunkugi was not laughing.
     "Eleven o'clock," he said when he checked the digital
clock near his computer. Swinging out there wouldn't even
take him twenty minutes, but he would wait no longer. The
costume slid over his skin easily, the holes cut for his web-
shooters finding their accustomed place. The police would be
out in force tonight, with a curfew having been established.
At least he wouldn't worry about being spotted by
pedestrians. He just had to make sure some enterprising cop
didn't nail him with a spotlight at the wrong time. Once the
mask was in place and the wards were safely secured in his
utility belt, Hikaru opened the window and crawled out.
     "This is it, Lorelei," he said. "It's time to put an
end to you."
     As he swung, Gosunkugi couldn't help but feel a slight
thrill. No matter what, this was the absolute best way to
travel. Swinging on webs made him feel so alive, so free. If
only it didn't come with such a heavy price.
     Hikaru pushed all thoughts out of his mind, save for
Lorelei and Ryoga. He had to save the poor guy. Or die
trying.

     Ah, here it is, he thought as he came to a stop outside
the old Setsuna Shrine. The ruins lay nestled in a small
alcove between several buildings a few blocks outside the
Ginza.  Talismaned rope was stretched around the perimeter,
to ward off evil spirits. Obviously, it hadn't worked. Why
had the city let it remain for so long? Why wasn't there
another high-rise on this spot? Why keep such a reminder of
that war?
     "Who cares? I gotta go in." One leap carried him to the
moss-covered entrance. Hikaru removed the paper ward on the
rotting wood gate and stepped in. The pale moonlight shone
across the remains of the floor. There was no roof and many
of the walls were gone. If Lorelei had wanted seclusion,
then she wouldn't have chosen a place like this. What was
the deal? Gosunkugi stalked deeper into the overgrown ruins,
over where a stone wall had collapsed, and braced for his
spider sense.
     "I don't like this," he muttered. The sense remained
dormant as he cleared the rubble. Where were they? As if in
answer, brilliant gouts of flame erupted from the ground
ahead.
     Hikaru leapt back as the flames split into several
balls, wondering why his spider sense still kept quiet. This
was a threat if he'd ever seen one! The balls hovered in
place for a moment before retreating onto shadowed poles in
the dark.
     "Just a light show." The torches blazed far brighter
than they should have been able to, enough to completely
banish the night around them. The underbrush was clear here,
enough for him to easily see the remains of the shrine's
outer wall through the trees.
     "Looks like Lorelei bought herself a weed-whacker," he
quipped aloud. Everything about this place seemed wrong
somehow, but his spider sense said nothing. Maybe none of
the effects were a threat?
     "Ryoga!" Gosunkugi spotted him between two trees,
wrapped head to toe in steel chains. The other didn't reply,
though Hikaru was relieved to see his chest still rising and
falling. He was still alive, at least. He ran over to the
bound man, fully intending to pull the chains apart when the
spider sense finally shouted out.  Hikaru felt the displaced
air as he leapt away. With a deft twist, he brought himself
about before landing to see Lorelei standing in front of
him, clawed hands flexing in anger.
     "Impressive, Hikaru Gosunkugi," she growled. "I've
never seen anyone move so fast. But, why the silly costume?"
     "Hey, I think it flatters my figure. Besides, red and
black tights are in this year." Man, he thought, if I had
been a second late that swipe would have gutted me!
     "Joke while you can, boy. You won't be doing much
talking when I'm done with you!"
     "Hey, since I'm here, how about letting that guy go?"
     "And pass up a prime supper like him? I think not."
     "Well, it was worth a try. YEOW!" Hikaru shouted as he
dodged another slash. He countered with a blast of webbing
while Lorelei was recovering from the lunge. The silken
strands encircled her like snakes, cocooning her in an
instant. Lorelei howled in rage, the sound hammering his
eardrums as she fell to the ground.
     "Keep it down; you'll wake the whole neighborhood!"
Hikaru yelled as he pulled a ward from his belt. Not a
second to lose, he thought, have to do this before she gets
free! With a short hop, he landed astride the still-
struggling demon and slapped the ward against her forehead.
     The strip of enchanted paper burst into flame on
contact and Lorelei's screams became those of agony.
Gosunkugi stepped away as the mystic blue fire engulfed the
struggling demon
     "I did it!" he shouted jubilantly. "I just didn't think
it would be so easy."
     "Worthless. child."
     "Worthless? I'm not the one getting roasted, demon."
     The flames died as abruptly as they had been born, and
Hikaru's heart sank. Lorelei was. No, damn it, NO!
     "Disappointed?" She purred as she snapped the webbing
apart and came to her feet. Her forehead was smeared with
ash where the ward had once been. It was also the only proof
he had even used one at all.
     "How. That was supposed to have wasted you!"
     "Face it, boy; you simply don't have what it takes.
Now, I think I am done playing with you."
     Hikaru watched in astonishment as Lorelei's skin became
leathery and wrinkled. Her eyes grew to clouded white orbs,
the hair changing to a shocking white as fangs stretched out
from an impossibly large mouth. As she changed and grew, her
arms stretched out far longer than was proportionate, the
hands gnarled and fingers razor sharp. The dress she wore
was replaced with a red and white hakama, her taloned feet
digging grooves in the grass.
     "Oh, gross."
     "I take it you don't like what you see." Her voice was
like a rockslide, rumbling with pure malice. "Since my
feminine wiles don't seem to affect you, I don't see why I
should bother with a disguise."
     "What the hell are you?!"
     "A Vorche, an eater of flesh and consumer of souls. You
and this other mortal are next on the menu." The creature
that was Lorelei yanked open the top of the Hakama, and
Hikaru nearly threw up. In three spots below its disfigured
breasts, the skin was twisted into three separate faces,
each one staring out and screaming.
     "Oh, God."
     "The souls," Lorelei explained. "They are my strength
and, as I always say, the more the merrier!"

     Cologne shook her head in dismay. How could she have
forgotten that Vorches consumed not only the flesh of their
victims, but took the power of their souls for its own?
     Old age must be making me senile, she thought. This was
not going to be so easy. Unless those souls were forced out
of its psionic gullet, then those wards would be
ineffective. Without them, Hikaru was history. There was
only one final chance.
     Cologne pulled out the crystal. The unholy light from
the torches glinted off every facet of the clear star-shaped
jewel like specks of white fire. The spirit stone would draw
the human souls from the demon, but only if it gained
sufficient power. The wizened elder squeezed the stone in
her palm, focusing all her energy into it. She would get
only one chance, and she had to make it count.
     Keep her distracted, boy, she thought as she watched
the battle. This will take a few minutes.

     Hikaru bobbed and weaved for all he was worth between
Lorelei's sweeping arms. Each blow came within a hair's
breadth of slicing into his flesh, her strikes too fast for
him to counter.
     It's taking everything I've got to keep ahead! he
thought as he flipped backward over a claw swipe to land on
the trunk of a nearby tree. Lorelei didn't waste a moment as
another slash severed the tree at the base. Gosunkugi barely
managed to leap clear, flipping once and finding the demon's
unprotected back toward him.
     Do or die time, Spidey! He thought as the webs fired
from his wrists. The threads struck true just as he landed.
     "Do you think I'll be taken by the same trick twice?"
Lorelei mocked as it wrapped about her disfigured torso.
     "No, but this isn't the same trick!" he yelled as he
spun about and yanked with all his strength. He felt the
demon's feet leave the earth as he swung her around,
building up speed with every rotation. "Have a nice flight!"
     He released the web just before Lorelei could tear it
loose. The demon sailed across the lawn like a missile to
hit the stone wall face first. Gosunkugi felt gratified to
see the granite crack and buckle from the impact. Even if it
didn't kill the demon, it had to have hurt like hell.
     "I am impressed, boy!" Lorelei shouted as she regained
her feet. "You know how to keep a girl amused. But playtime
is now over!"
     The spider sense was too late in coming. Hikaru was
helpless as the demon whirled and a roaring torrent of black
light screamed from her mouth to hit him square in the gut.
     The world was filled with pain as every nerve lit on
fire. Gosunkugi was dimly aware of being smashed through a
tree and coming to a rest at the edge of the arena of light.
He struggled to rise again, to shake off the pain that still
rippled through his entire body. Lorelei was strong, far
stronger than he had suspected. She even made Doc Ock look
like a wimp!
     "Why do you still try to rise?" the demon asked with in
astonishment. "Why not accept your ultimate fate at my
claws?"
     "I. won't give up." Even if Lorelei was right, there
was still a life on the line besides his own. He wouldn't
just roll over and die with someone depending on him.
     "You don't think you will save that man, do you? You
can't even save yourself!"
     "This fight. isn't over yet!" Hikaru yelled as he
regained his feet. The world tried to spin, gravity almost
becoming an irresistible force, yet he held his ground.
     "I commend your courage, boy," Lorelei said. "I think I
will save you for dessert."
     "Like hell you will!"
     Hikaru gaped as Cologne leapt between him and the
demon, a blue aura blazing about her diminutive form. How
the hell had she gotten here? How did she know? The ash wood
staff in her right hand crackled with mystic energy, while
her right held a star-like jewel which glowed with a strange
inner light.

     Lorelei froze in fear. The power she sensed from this
human, it was the same that had hit her two nights before!
And in her hand was. a spirit stone!
     "NO! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"

     Cologne held the jewel forth just as the Vorche began
to lunge.
     "You don't have any say in the matter, creature!" The
power she had invested into the spirit stone burst out like
a nova in miniature, halting the Vorche in mid-lunge. "This
battle is now over!"

     Gosunkugi couldn't believe what his eyes were telling
him. Lorelei was helpless against the blast of pure light,
her demonic howls reverberating off every surface in a
cacophony of chaos.  Whatever the hell that old woman had in
her hand, it was doing the trick!
     The eyes of the faces on her body locked on the weird
stone, longing clear in each pair. The skin began to stretch
as the demon's shrieks grew, each soul reaching out for the
stone in Cologne's hand.
     It's taking the souls out, he thought as he regained
his feet.
     "NO! No, damn you!" Lorelei roared as the souls burst
free from their hellish prison and fled into the jewel. The
intense light faded, leaving the demon crumpled on the
ground in a quivering heap.
     "Now. Spiderman." Cologne gasped, "Use the wards!"
     "Glad to." Hikaru brought out the last two and walked
over to the whimpering demon. Its body was human once more,
the sobs like that of a wounded girl. Gosunkugi couldn't
bring himself to feel pity, though. This monster had killed
three innocent people. It had to die before taking another.
He bent down, a ward at the ready to send.
     "NEVER!" Lorelei screamed as her hand lashed out,
slapping the ward from his. "I WILL NEVER GO BACK!"
     "You don't have a choice!" Hikaru replied as his other
hand planted the last ward on her face. Beneath the mask,
his eyes were hard and cold. "All those souls you stole and
not one of your own. I almost pity you." He ignored the
demon's cries as the flames consumed her body and desiccated
the form to ash.
     "It is over," Cologne said as she came up beside him.
The light from the torches began to fade, the night
returning to claim the space.
     "No shit," Gosunkugi snapped. "Why didn't you tell me
that demon could steal souls?"
     "I did not know it was a Vorche," the elder replied
testily. "You didn't exactly give me much information last
night." The jewel began to glow again, its light pulsating
like a beating heart.
     "Say, what is that thing?"
     "It is a spirit stone," Cologne answered. "It is a very
rare and powerful artifact capable of drawing souls from
other creatures."
     "Whoa."
     "Now, watch."
     The spirit stone crumbled to dust in Cologne's tiny
hand as three streaks of energy raced out and shifted to
images Hikaru knew. Hiroshi Sakamoto hovered above the
ground, between the shades of Gensao Kenjiro and Natsuki
Ichimonji.
     None of the three spoke, yet their translucent eyes
told him all he needed to know. He had been given these
powers for a reason. It hadn't been some random act. Maybe
it was fate, maybe it was destiny, or maybe an act of God,
but there was a purpose to all of it.
     Still silent, the three souls rose into the sky and
vanished among the stars.
     "Not many humans get to see something like that," he
heard Cologne say in his ear.
     "Hey, your spirit stone's busted," he replied lamely as
he glanced to Cologne's palm.
     "Don't worry; it will re-form itself in a thousand
years or so."
     "Oh, hell, Ryoga!" The light vanished completely as
Hikaru ran over to the slowly rousing man. His hands found
no chains, merely Ryoga's tunic. "Hey! Hey, man, you okay?"
     "Uh. what. who. Spiderman?"
     "That's me, pal. Are you gonna be okay?"
     "Yeah. What happened?"
     "Buddy, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." The
wail of sirens echoed through the air, startling Hikaru.
     "Man, it took them long enough. That demon and I had to
have made enough noise to wake the dead!"
     "It was the field the Vorche set up," Cologne
explained. "Now that it is gone, this place is no longer
hidden from others."
     "Demon?" Ryoga asked, bewildered. "What demon?"
     Hikaru Gosunkugi fired a web up to the side of one of
the buildings which couched the ruined shrine. If ever there
was a time for a hasty retreat, this was it.

     Cologne watched as Hikaru swung into the night. She
would have to move quickly to catch him. Swinging about the
city would be a sure way to draw Sergey Kravenov. It was a
wonder that the Russian hadn't found him before now.
     "Cologne, what happened?" Ryoga asked.
     "You will be fine, young Hibiki," she replied. "The
police will be here soon." Quick as lightning, Cologne
tapped a point on Ryoga's neck which sent him back into the
arms of sleep before bounding off after Hikaru. That point
would suppress his memories of the past few minutes. She was
in no mood to answer questions to either Ryoga or a police
officer.
     Besides, Hikaru Gosunkugi was about to have even more
trouble this night if her hunch was correct.


     Sergey smiled the smile of a predator which has finally
found its prey. His skin flushed with excitement as he
prepared the bola. Spiderman was swinging right toward him,
unaware that this would be his last night on the town. The
feeling was almost godlike; the hunter deciding the fate of
the prey without the latter's knowledge.
     "Come, Spiderman, step into *my* parlor."

     "Aw, NOW what?!" Hikaru groused as he yanked himself up
on his web just in time to avoid a spinning blur that raced
beneath his feet. The spider sense was focused on a point
just ahead on a brick outcropping where a shadow stood in
wait. Was this another demon? That was the last thing he
needed.
     "I don't have time for this!" he yelled as he changed
trajectory to land on an office building. The spider sense
flared again just in time for Hikaru to dodge another
whirling shape. Whoever this was had damn good aim, and
likely wouldn't give up. Hikaru crawled up the sheer surface
as fast as his hands and feet would allow. Ryoga was bound
to have told the cops about him by now. It wouldn't be long
before a whole army of Koban went nuts trying to find
Spiderman.

     Sergey grunted in satisfaction. This would be a very
good hunt. The Russian bounded to the top or a roof top exit
and hurled himself toward the other side of the building
Spiderman was climbing. The fact that the wall-crawler had
dodged his bolas not once but twice was impressive indeed.
     He fired a wrist-mounted grapple up to a ledge several
meters up and winched himself to the roof. If he was lucky,
he would arrive at the same time as Spiderman.

     Hikaru hit the roof running, anger and fear beating in
time with his heart. He had to get away before a police
helicopter managed to spot him.
     "Crap!" The spider sense burst in the base of his skull
just as a massive shadow cleared the lip of the roof.
Gosunkugi stopped as the man stood to an impressive seven
feet, every bit of it scarred and bulging muscle. Across his
barrel chest was stretched a thin vest bearing the face of a
lion, orange fur lining the neck. Black tights adorned
overly muscled legs with tanned knee-high boots on his legs
with the same fur trim around the tops.
     "Let me guess, you're Jungle Man."
     "Nyet," the strange man rumbled. "I am."
     "Cat-Man?"
     "Silence, whelp!" the man boomed. "My given name is
Sergey Illych Kravenov. To you, I am Kraven the Hunter!"
     "If you're hunting rabbits, you're in the wrong part of
town!" The spider sense kept up its low buzz, nowhere near
as violent as when Lorelei had been around. This guy was
human but he was still a threat. Best to deal with this
quickly.
     "It is spider season!" Kraven boomed just before
lunging. Hikaru jinked left as the massive man soared past.
     Great, he thought, *another* fight tonight! I must be
getting popular! He landed just as Kraven tucked into a
commando roll and sprung to his feet again. The spider sense
flared as the other spun and launched a brown leather bag at
Hikaru's feet.
     The dirty brown powder erupted into the air, filling
his lungs with noxious fumes that denied him air. He stood
there hacking violently, unable to move when the spider
sense warned of a fist aimed at his jaw. The sudden impact
rocked all of his senses at once, flinging him free of the
cloud of powder to roll to a stop at the edge of the roof.
     Whoever this guy is, he's a powerhouse! Hikaru thought
as his lungs kept coughing themselves clear.
     "Tell me this is not the end of it," Kraven mocked as
he walked through the noxious cloud unaffected. "Can
Spiderman truly be this weak?"
     "You call this weak?!" Hikaru yelled as he sprung and
landed a double punch to Kraven's stomach. The muscle felt
hard as steel, yet the other man's feet left the roof
nonetheless as the breath was forced from his lungs.
     Can't stop, Gosunkugi thought as he landed another blow
to Kraven's temple. His chest still burned from whatever had
been in that pouch, muscles weak from lack of oxygen. Even
weakened like he was, he still had to hold back. Kraven was
a man, not a demon.
     "That is more like it!" Kraven roared as a mule kick
like a transport truck landed in Gousnkugi's gut. "Fight! It
makes the hunt all the more gratifying!"
     "What did I do to you, anyway?" Hikaru asked. He had to
stall for some time so he could regain his strength. The
fight with Lorelei had taken a lot out of him, and this
battle wasn't helping matters any! "What's with you, Elmer-
san?"
     "I am Kraven!" The man boomed. "My name is not Elmer!"
     "Yeah? What's the diff?" Hikaru thrust his hands out,
focusing on the web ball he had accidentally used on Doc Ock
that fateful night. The strands lanced out and formed a ball
of webbing which Kraven easily leaped over. Gosunkugi rolled
clear just in time to avoid Kraven's diving kick which
cracked the hard surface of the roof.
     "Well," he said as they faced each other again, "I
guess twenty million would make anyone dress like a Tarzan
reject and hop on roofs."
     "I do not hunt you for the money, you fool," Kraven
replied. "I hunt you for the pleasure."
     "Man, you are really sick, you know that?"
     "I have hunted lions on the Serengeti, grizzly in the
Rocky Mountains, tigers in India and China! Kraven the
Hunter always bags his prey!"
     "Yeah? Bet you never hunted spiders before." The sound
of rotors chopping the air came seconds before the intense
spotlight bathed them both. Hikaru flung his arms over his
eyes as the light stabbed them, his spider sense peaking.

     "Eagle One to tower!" The pilot shouted into his
microphone.
     "Tower, go ahead, Eagle One."
     "We have spotted Spiderman on a rooftop on Fourteenth!
Repeat, Spiderman and an unknown individual spotted on
Fourteenth on the roof of the Fukamachi Building!"
     "Acknowledged, Eagle One, backup is en route."
     "Oh, yeah," the co-pilot said as he slid from his seat,
grabbing the rifle along the way. "That bounty is all ours!"

     "Spiderman!" the voice from the helicopter boomed. "You
are under arrest! Cease and desist at once! Lay face down
and spread your hands out!"
     "You got it wrong, pal," Hikaru yelled. "This psycho
over here attacked *me*!"
     "I won't tell you again, Spiderman! Lie face down and
surrender or we will open fire!"
     "Let me think. NO!" Gosunkugi leapt away just as the
crack of a rifle sounded over the rotor wash of the
helicopter and the round smacked into the surface of the
roof. Were all the cops carrying guns now because of
Lorelei? They were looking for a serial killer who would
never strike again, and they had no way of knowing it.
Spiderman, on the other hand, was fair game with a hefty
reward.
     Hikaru swung as fast as he could manage, adrenaline
pouring into his blood. The spotlight from the helicopter
still bathed him, spider sense buzzing like mad.
     "No way I'll outrun this thing," he gasped just as the
spider sense warned of another round. Gosunkugi twisted
around with not even a half second to spare and dropped for
a few stories before swinging in the opposite direction.
     "ARE YOU PEOPLE NUTS!" he roared. "You'll hit someone
with that!"

     "Bring us around!" the co-pilot shouted. "Gimme another
shot!"
     "Put that away, idiot! We can't fire in a residential
area like this!"
     "Fine, but stay on him!"
     "Our backup will be here in another minute! He can't
outrun us!"

     "Maybe this'll slow you down!" Hikaru yelled as he came
about and fired a glob of webbing at the source of the light
on the underside of the chopper's nose. "Now to. oh, crap!"
In the distance and closing rapidly were two more
helicopters. Accompanying the roar of their engines were the
faint sounds of police sirens far below.
     "I gotta get outta here before they can play anymore
lights on me!" Gosunkugi immediately dove toward the
streets, hoping that the helicopters wouldn't be able to
descend any lower after him.

     "DAMNIT! Eagle One to all units, Spiderman took out our
light! He's diving toward the street! We can't follow!"
     "Roger, Eagle One. We see him, but he's coming too
fast!"

     Hikaru's web latched onto a building half a block away,
changing his course just seconds before he would have hit
the pavement. The ground officers - just getting out of
their cars - could only duck as he swung just over their
heads.
     Twin beams of light fixed on him from above, and Hikaru
cursed. As long as those choppers had him, he'd never get
away from the cops! The helicopters remained safely above
him, moving about in random patterns. He'd never get a clear
shot at those spotlights!
     "They haven't shot at me again," Hikaru gasped as he
gained altitude. "They don't want to risk it. Bet if I swing
out of here, it'll be a different story. Think, Gos, think!"
He couldn't keep swinging forever, and it wouldn't be long
before one of them gets a sharpshooter in place. He had to
escape, but how?
     An idea came to Hikaru as he landed on the side of
another office building. It was crazy as hell, but it just
might work.

     "What the hell is he doing?" one patrolman asked as
Spiderman leapt across the gap between the structure he was
on and the apartment complex on the other side.
     "He's going inside!" another shouted as the sound of a
window shattering came through the wind. "All units surround
that building! Don't let him get away!"

     Too much to hope that no one's home, he thought as the
spider sense pointed out people in the room beyond the
bedchamber he had landed in. It didn't matter, he just had
to move! Time was almost up!
     "SPIDERMAN!" a man screamed as Hikaru splintered the
door and charged through the living room to the exit.
Gosunkugi shouted a quick apology to him and his family, a
wife and little boy, as he punched down the door and ran
into the hall, thankful that it was mostly empty.
     "Hot soup, comin' through!" The few residents in the
hallway jumped clear as if he were on fire, fear on their
faces. Hikaru had to find a way down, and fast! He stopped
in front of an elevator, relieved to find it several floors
above him. He gripped the seam in the doors and easily
yanked them apart.
     The elevator shaft beckoned him, its depths lit in
places by maintenance lights on the sides. How far up was
he? Who cared? Hikaru leapt down.
     Wish I'd stashed some clothes around here, Gosunkugi
thought as he plummeted past another two floors. He anchored
a web to a spot above him and grunted when he was jerked to
a stop just in front of another door to the elevator shaft.
     "No spider sense. That means I have this place all to
myself. For now." Hikaru pulled the doors open and entered
the cluttered and dimly lit room. "How lucky. The basement.
Yeah, Spidey, *this* was a great plan."
     Dust covered boxes and crates were scattered everywhere
in the small cinderblock room. One the far end rested a
large grey box - the main circuit board, Hikaru realized -
beside a small incinerator. This was where the tenants of
this building kept stuff they didn't need anymore, then.
     "Maybe I did get lucky after all," Hikaru said as he
ripped the lid off of one of the crates.

     They swarmed the lobby, each officer brandishing a 9mm
Beretta. Each weapon swept the main lobby, eyes scanning for
any sign of Spiderman.
     "What's going on here?" screamed the desk manager.
     "Clear out! Now!"
     The balding man took one look at the armed men and
decided that running would be a good idea.
     "He doesn't have many places to hide in here," one
officer noted. The lobby was a small affair, plain white
walls holding only a few pictures here and there. If the
wall-crawler was planning to make an exit through here, he'd
be facing down ten armed men with nowhere to hide.
     *DING*
     Every man whirled at once to the closed elevator doors
to the right, not even daring to breathe. They all knew how
dangerous Spiderman was and what he could do. Fingers
tightened on sensitive triggers, hoping to see that red and
black costume. If he didn't surrender, then they were
authorized to use lethal force.
     The doors slid open revealing.
     "DON'T SHOOT!"

     Hikaru didn't have to pretend to be afraid as he faced
what was probably his firing squad. The barrels of the small
guns may as well have been the size of howitzers, so far as
he was concerned. Spider powers or not, there was no way
he'd survive being shot by that many weapons. He had no way
to dodge them.
     "Who're you?"
     "Look, don't shoot me, okay! I'm just trying to get
outta here!" I hope they buy this, Gosunkugi thought. The
clothes had been a fairly good fit, and the blue cap would
at least do a little to hide his face. "Spiderman attacked
me in the basement!"
     "Those webs look like his," the lead officer said,
glaring at the strands Hikaru had strewn on the clothes. "He
still there?"
     "He crawled up a vent!" Gosunkugi gasped, glancing at
each and every weapon. "I couldn't stop him, officer!"
     "Get out, son," another cop said. "Spiderman's too
dangerous for you. This is a police matter."
     "Right." Hikaru was only too glad to oblige, hurrying
through the men and making for the exit.

     The air outside was bitterly cold, promising the first
winter snow of the year soon. Hikaru shrunk into the
borrowed clothes - he was sure the owners wouldn't mind him
using them for awhile - his heart pounding in his chest and
the rushing blood keeping him somewhat warm. Reds and blues
flashed over everything from the cars parked outside the
buildings, men shouting orders and rushing in through the
doors he had just left. Overhead, the helicopters which had
menaced him only minutes before circled like vultures.
Unwilling to tempt fate any more by hanging around, Hikaru
turned and walked away, grateful that he hadn't been noticed
by anyone yet.
     Well, Hikaru, he thought, this is another fine mess
you've barely escaped from. If those officers hadn't
believed his story, then he would have been spider paste in
that elevator.
     If I hadn't fought Kraven, he thought dejectedly, I
could have gotten home without those cops having spotted me.
Okay, so that loon attacked me first, but why didn't I just
run away? It's not like he could have followed me!
     The costume beneath the borrowed clothes seemed to grow
heavier the more he chased his tail as he walked back to the
apartment.
     C'mon, Gos, look on the bright side, he thought. At
least you stopped Lorelei before she could kill Ryoga. Or
you, for that matter. Nerima's serial murderer will never
strike again.
     But could he tell anyone that? How would the police
know? Okay, they'd realize something was up when no more
mutilated bodies turned up. Ryoga had seen him, and would
tell them about it, but the cops would probably think that
he was in cahoots with the killer.
     Lorelei was the reason they were carrying guns now.
Even though the demon had been sent back to hell, they would
still be hunting for someone. Even in death, that crazy
bitch was messing up his life.
     Gosunkugi stopped thinking about it, instead focusing
on putting one foot in front of the other. His apartment was
only a few blocks away.

     Sergey Kravenov fumed at the insult. The Koban dared to
interfere with his hunt! Spiderman was *his* prey, and his
alone!
     "I have your scent now, Spiderman," he whispered as he
slunk through the shadows back to the motel. "It is only a
matter of time before I make a trophy of you."


     "Four-thirty in the damn morning," Gosunkugi groaned as
he crested the stairs to the floor on which his family
lived. Ever since losing the house they once rented, they
had been forced into this small apartment on the edge of
Nerima.
     "Huh?" Gosunkugi stopped at the door, staring at the
light coming from beneath it. He had turned all the lights
off before leaving. What the hell were his parents doing
awake? They always went to bed as soon as they got home!
"This is gonna suck," he said as he opened the door.
     "Hikaru!"
     "Hi mom. Hi dad." His parents sat on the small sofa,
staring up at him with evident relief. The television was
on, showing images of the building he had just left. As if
he really needed a reminder of that.
     "Where have you been?!" his father demanded as they
both rose from the couch. "You had us worried sick!"
     "Son," his mother said, coming over to him. "Hikaru,
why are you all bruised? Were you in a fight?"
     "Something like that."
     "And why were you out in that cold without a coat?
You'll catch your death of cold!"
     "I'm okay, mom." I almost caught my death twice
tonight, but not from the weather, he didn't add. "I'm going
to bed."
     "Young man," his father said, "we were up half the
night worrying about you! I think you owe us an
explanation!"
     "Yeah?" Gosunkugi replied, the stress of his recent
adventure as Spiderman bringing up emotions he hadn't
bothered facing before. "I didn't know you were so
interested in my life." Gosunkugi regretted the words the
second they left his lips, but the damage was still done.
His father seemed to deflate like a balloon, the bags under
his owl-like eyes suddenly darker.  "I'm exhausted." With
that, Hikaru walked away.

     "Hoichiro." Nanase Gosunkugi said as her husband
collapsed on the couch. She felt as if a knife had been
plunged into her heart. Did her son truly feel that way
about them?
     "Where did we go wrong, Nanase?" he asked as he clicked
the television off. "What didn't we do for him?"
     "Hoichiro, we haven't exactly been there for him much
over the past year."
     "I can't help that," her husband replied weakly. "Is it
our fault that we have to work double shifts every day just
to make ends meet? Is it our fault that I got laid off from
my last job, and we were forced to move out here?"
     "No, but it's not our fault that our son has grown up
on us, either."
     Hoichiro Gosunkugi remained silent for a moment,
shutting his eyes in frustration.
     "I'm going to bed," he said at length. "I won't lose
another job because I stayed up all night."
     Nanase nearly cried at it all as her husband left her
alone in the living room. Her baby boy wasn't a baby
anymore. He was practically a man, now, and was leaving them
behind.
     But, where had they been while he was becoming that
man? Did her son truly think that his parents didn't care
about him anymore? They hadn't spent more than a few hours a
week together since moving out here, and that had dwindled
to almost none of late.
     How much about Hikaru did she not know? The money from
those Spiderman photos had helped with the rent, but lately
he had stopped taking them. Had he started again? Had he
been at that building, trying to take more photos of that
costumed menace? And all those bruises! Had Spiderman
attacked him?
     One thing was clear. Her son needed her, and she would
damn well be there for him. She had earned some sick leave,
and it was high time to take a little. Maybe a little mother-
son time would do him some good.