P3 - Chapter #13: Vengeance Part 2
A/N #1: This chapter contains mild violence. Proceed with your discretion.
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Two hooded masked teenagers stood opposite of each other in an alley as the rain fell. Both determined to achieve their goals, yet each was an obstacle to the other. Only one could decide how this night would end. Only one.
Kaine leaped to a wall and ran on it, he headed to the rooftop, as Peter rapidly followed suit. Then they ran and jumped across rooftops.
The older Parker glanced over his shoulder and his eyes widened in surprise–his younger cousin was faster than him!
He pushed his muscles further, and tried to run faster. Unfortunately, Peter was able to catch up and shot a web line to Kaine's back to stop him.
"That's enough!" Peter yelled as he yanked Kaine to him. This prompted the older twin to turn back, protrude a stinger, and slashed the web.
"What?! You're going to stop me!?" Kaine glared at Peter, fiery anger could be seen on his hazel eyes.
"I can't let something bad happen again! If so, this will be the third time!" Peter then sighed, his voice becoming softer and lower. "Why are you doing this, Coz..?"
Kaine looked away, "I... I just want the nightmares to end, Pete. My dad keeps coming back in my dreams. Almost. Every. Single. Day."
The younger Parker sighed softly and pulled the older one to his embrace, but Kaine didn't return the gesture.
"I'm sorry for you, Kaine. You know you could've texted me anytime, right?"
"I still feel undeserving of you and Anna after what I have done..." Kaine said in a sorrowful tone.
"Geez, you still haven't changed..." Both chuckled softly. "Kaine, listen... Have you taken things into consideration...?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you do this, will it do you any good in the end? Even our family and friend?"
Kaine froze, his stinger slowly going back to the inside of his wrist...
"If they find out what you've been doing, they'll be devastated. I don't want that to happen." He pleaded, "You can still stop this. Revenge is like a poison. And it can take you over and turn you into someone you were not... Just forget this and go home. Please..."
//"Don't listen to him! You have this one chance! One chance only and you can't let it slip!"// the voice in Kaine's mind pushed him.
Two sides with different intentions. Both were right in a way but which one should he listen to? He could go home but the nightmares would perhaps return. Or he could kill Flint, with the possibility of him getting imprisoned for murder and disowned.
Conflicting thoughts ran through his mind every second and he was unable to come to a decision... But it changed when the image of his father's killer appeared in his mind. In response, Kaine pushed Peter away angrily.
"Wh- What? Kaine..."
"I'm sorry, Peter... I'm sorry. I need the nightmares to be over," Kaine teared up as he reverted back to his previous look and growled.
The look on Peter's face changed into a determined, serious one. "Then I have to stop you, Coz. For your own good..." This prompted them to enter a stance and readied their fists.
Their outfits were soaked wet. They could get sick, but determination was still present in both of them. The two were bent on taking down the other, as they waited for each other's action.
Kaine rushed forward with a fist launched at Peter's face. He immediately ducked and vaulted over him. During the confusion, the red and blue masked teen shot web pellets to Kaine's back in order to stun him and spun two web lines to his legs. Afterwards, he pulled those to make his cousin fall to the ground. He then shot webs to envelope him to the ground.
This didn't stay long however, as Kaine protruded stingers and slashed the webbing to set himself free. Peter's eyes widened in surprise when his cousin rose.
Taking this opportunity, Kaine ran and tackled Peter to the ground. He delivered several punches to Peter's face–however one punch got stopped by Peter's crossed hands. With that, he kicked his cousin in the stomach–Kaine coughed and took a few steps backward.
Peter rose from the ground and felt something warm spill out of his mouth. It was blood soaking his mask, but he didn't pay attention to it.
"You should've let him have his chance to make the killer pay, Peter..." the demonic voice spoke through Kaine's mouth to Peter himself, in a furious tone.
"No way. I can't let that happen. You'll have to go through me."
"Even if that means us killing you?" he smirked wickedly.
"Yes," he answered with fear and determination in his voice, "Doesn't matter if I die or not today. The important thing is...I try to save my brother."
"Very well..." the voice replied as he protruded two stingers, "Have it your way!"
"NO!" Kaine took over the control for the moment and tried to retract his stingers, only to be met with a power struggle.
"HE'S JUST AN OBSTACLE TO US!"
"That...doesn't mean...you need to kill him!"
Peter shot a web to Kaine's face, blinding him for a moment. Kaine blindly slashed and let out an animalistic scream. He then retracted his stingers and tried to remove the webbing from his face with a little difficulty. Then, Peter launched himself toward Kaine. A vibrating sensation manifested in Kaine's head, causing him to reflexively stop his cousin by placing his hand on Peter's neck, choking him. After that, he slammed Peter to the ground, earning painful groans from him.
Kaine ripped off the webbing and looked at his cousin, "Stay down, Pete... Please."
He chuckled weakly. "Never..." he said with his voice restrained, "I w-won't. I will stand till the end. No matter if I die by your hands..."
//"Oh, let's just shut him up,"// the voice groaned as he commanded a stinger to come out of one of Kaine's wrists and raised his hand, //"We are wasting our time."//
The sight of his cousin's stinger terrified Peter slightly. He looked at Kaine in the eyes. Underneath the mask, the expression on his face was a sorrowful one. Perhaps his effort was in vain after all and he would really die tonight... Memories of him and Kaine flashed in his mind. Sighing heavily, he resigned to his fate.
"Go on. I'm just an obstacle to you, right..? He said it himself. Do what you have to do... Finish it."
//"Do it."//
Killing his own flesh and blood, especially the one who had loved him like a brother for years... It was something he was unable to bear. No matter what the voice in his mind told him, he would not kill Peter Parker.
"No. You're not merely an obstacle. You're still like a brother to me," Kaine spoke as he retracted his stinger, "But... I still need the nightmares to end." With that, he curled his hand into a fist and knocked Peter out with a single punch. But not before reminding him this...
"You can still walk away from this... Forget your quest of vengeance. You can still go home."
"Forgive me..." sighed Kaine in regret as he stood up, turned around, and started walking. But he stopped, as he felt a twinge of guilt... So, he turned back and carried Peter. Kaine's eyes scanned around for a quiet rooftop with canopy and a bench. To his luck, there was one nearby, just two buildings away. He jumped from one building to another with ease.
Afterwards, he rested the unconscious Peter on a bench under a canopy. Kaine took a moment to look at his cousin and smiled softly. "Doesn't matter if I'm good or not... You're still willing to stick your neck out for me, just to save me. You love me..." He lowered his web mask, leaned forward to his cousin's forehead, and placed a gentle kiss on it, before raising the mask.
Kaine walked to the ledge and leaped off. He shot a web line to a building and swung from building to building. His eyes darting back and forth, looking for an abandoned warehouse with desperation and anger.
"I'm coming for you, fucker."
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(Later, inside the warehouse...)
In a dimly lit, hot, and dusty room, Flint Marko was holding a small picture of his young daughter Penny and himself while sitting on a wooden chair. As he looked at it, he reflected about the past decisions he could've made differently that had led to his family nearly destroyed. He had lost his job to support his ailing daughter. And now, he had to do something he wasn't willing and didn't like, to be someone he wasn't. Just so she could get treatment.
//"I'm sorry, Penny... You don't deserve me..."// he lamented to himself.
He put it next to his revolver and a bag of money on a table. Flint let out a soft sigh and looked around his surroundings. It had been an hour since Dennis went out and hadn't returned. He was thinking of going outside to look for him, at the risk of getting caught by authorities.
"You enjoy hiding in this place, I see," a masculine voice chuckled grimly, which alerted Flint and prompted him to arm himself with the revolver and readied it.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!" the man checked the visible corners and the ceiling, but no sign of the one speaking to him.
"Me? I'm just someone thirsty for vengeance," the voice echoed as he growled, "Someone haunted... Someone who desperately needs closure for days... CLOSURE FROM THE NIGHTMARES CAUSED BY YOU!"
A hooded masked figure dropped from a dark ceiling in front of Flint. When Kaine looked up and growled, Flint was a little shaken by his appearance, especially his blood red eyes.
"N-No... What did I do- Stay back!" Flint's plea didn't matter to Kaine as he walked forward slowly. Flint moved back and shot a round to the masked figure, yet he dodged it. This terrified the man and made him empty his remaining bullets. However, Kaine dodged all of them and grinned like a predator behind his mask.
"You have nowhere to run, Flint Marko," said him in a taunting manner, "BECAUSE YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"
Kaine spun a web line from his fingertips, yanked the revolver away to the ground, and webbed it. Now cornering Flint, he began to beat him senseless, bruising him so hard and throwing the man across the room.
"No one will save you, Marko. NO ONE!"
"P-Please stop... Mercy..."
"Stop? Stop..?" Kaine gave a sarcastic chuckle, "Did you stop when you murdered an old man? Did you even give him mercy? DID YOU!?"
He proceeded to deliver a kick to Flint, which sent him to a bunch of barrels and knocked them down. Then Kaine grabbed the man by his neck with his right hand and slammed him to the table. Blood was spilling out of Flint's mouth, leaving a trail across the floor. He was unconscious after the beating he endured.
Kaine grinned in satisfaction and protruded a stinger from his left wrist. "Now, time for the price for the blood you spilled."
As he was about to slit Flint's throat, he noticed a photo on the table. It was him and his daughter... The shock made Kaine release the man from his hold and took a few steps backward.
//"What? What are you doing?"// the voice questioned.
The teenager looked at his hands, still in shock. "I... I almost killed a father..."
//"HE DESERVES FOR WHAT'S COMING TO HIM,"// he argued.
"I'd only make things worse! Not just for me, my family, Anna, but his daughter too!" Kaine fired back.
He then recalled what he had been told by others while events from the past in his mind...
//"We can't keep on dwelling on the past..."//
//"Holding onto the past won't help you. Sooner or later, you will have to face it."//
//"Is violence really the answer?"//
//"Despite something bad that has happened, there's still a chance to change."//
//"You can still stop this. Revenge is like a poison. And it can take you over and turn you into someone you were not... Just forget this and go home. Please..."//
//"You can still walk away from this... Forget your quest of vengeance. You can still go home."//
It all hinged on Kaine–the fate of Flint Marko and the aftermath of his actions. He could take a life. Or... spare the killer, leave him to the authorities, and accept what had happened. Whatever choice he would make determined what would come next.
Kaine took a deep breath and retracted his stinger. His appearance slowly returned to his normal look. "No more... No more of this insanity. I should've listened to them, not you! You are just a poison... Time to walk away from this..."
As he was about to turn around and carry Flint out of the warehouse however, Kaine's eyes widened in surprise. His body was not in his control. Like he was chained and someone else took over. The teenager fell on his knees and his whole body froze, his eyes still open... He became unresponsive.
It was not over yet. As a fight between him and his darkness would decide who would be in control in the end.
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A/N #2: Will Kaine win and regain control of himself? Or will he be gone forever? Find out in the next chapter coming out in two days ;)