Epilogue
Kaine swings through the dark and dreary city of New York. The rain falls from the sky slowly, coming down in heavy drops. As Kaine whips tendrils back and forth between his arms to move about the skyscrapers, the rain hits the suit. The water slides off the smooth surface of the black suit, instead of being absorbed into it.
Kaine suddenly comes to a stop, jumping to the side of a building and sticking closely to the wall. He turns around and rests his back against the cold metal of the building. He feels his spine uncomfortably rubbing againt the hard metal beams.
Kaine forgets the pain, ignoring it. He stares at the suit on his arms, examining every inch of the thick encasing liquid. He touches it with his hand, but feels nothing. He rests his head in his hand and takes a heavy sigh as he commands the suit to pull back from his head.
"Dammit." Kaine says with regret. "I really thought things would change after Blackheart. I thought I could...rid myself of this damn scar. God, it hurts...even now I can feel the pain."
Kaine brushes the hair out of his face, pushing is back. The rain falls from the sky harder now, the drops of liquid running down his face and soaking his hair.
"Things have been so...unexpected lately. I find this suit. I thought it would be a Godsend. I mean, it healed me! If I didn't have it...then what? I'd still be lying on the ground left to die." Kaine slams his fist into the building behind him, embedding his hand in the steel facade. He pulls his hand from the wreckage, unscathed and unharmed, protected by the suit.
"Dammit! What do I want?" Kaine rehtorically asks. "What is it? What!? I thought I knew what I wanted! I thought I had what I wanted. All I think about now is the past. The damn past. And when I look back...all I see is regret. Living for what I want. Living for what suits me." Kaine pauses as he breathes heavily, deeply lost in his thoughts.
"I can do what I want! No one will dare stop me! No one can. So why do I feel like this? Why do I feel empty? Why do I feel...lost?" Kaine hears the sound of gunshots below. He looks down to see a man with a gun running down the street. Behind him follow two policemen, running as fast as they can in pursuit.
"No." Kaine says as if to respond to someone. "I'm not doing it. It's not my problem. It's not my problem."
Below the criminal continues to run. He breathes in heavy heaves as he quickly runs out of breath. Looking over his shoulder, the criminal sees the police gaining on him.
The criminal turns backward and aims his gun. He pulls the trigger and the gun fires. The police close their eyes, expecting to feel the heated burning of cold lead in their chests. To their surprise, they feel nothing. They continue their chase, running faster toward the fellon.
Behind the two policemen, a woman crossing the street with her young daughter falls to the concrete. Her white shirt begins to stain with dark red as she rolls on the ground in pain. She begins to claw at her wound, putting pressure on it, hoping to ease the agony. Her daughter falls to her knees at her side and begins to cry.
"Mommy..." She asks with tears in her eyes. "Mommy? Mom! Wake up!" The woman's eyes roll back into her head and her eyes close shut. The daughter falls onto her mother as she breaks down. The tears run from her eyes like rivers as she continues to repeat the same phrase over and over. "Mommy! Wake up! Mommy!"
Without regret or remorse, the criminal continues to prolong his escape. Now out of breath, he looks around him for a new plan. He sees a young boy with a back pack walking toward the apartment building close by.
With an evil smile, the criminal rushes to the boy. He grabs him tightly, picking him up off the ground in one swift motion. He puts the gun to the boy's head and begins to laugh as the policemen slowly come to a stop.
"One move, boys. That's it! One more step and I'll kill the kid. You still want me?" The criminal says as he shakes the gun, taunting the policemen. "You still think you got me?"
"Hold it. Don't do anything drastic, just calm down." One of the policemen says, hoping to calm the erratic felon.
"Oh, I am calm. But this boy's mother won't be if you come near me! Now stay away! Stay the **** away!"
"Look, don't hurt anyone, okay? Just calm down."
"Ha! Ha! I love your faces! You were so sure you'd get me seconds ago and now? Now who controls the game! Ha! Now who's in control?"
Suddenly, a black line shoots out from the shadows. It wraps around the gun in the criminal's hands, coiling around the barrel. With a tight yank, the line pulls back, taking the weapon from the criminal's hand. The gun flies back as the line retracts, going back to its source.
The criminal looks up on the street light above him to see a figure standing on the metal pole. To his surprise, he sees a black figure with big white eyes staring down at him. In his hand the figure holds the gun, pointing it up in the air.
[blackout]"Me." [/blackout]It says with a hiss. The figure points the gun at the criminal, lining up the sights so that he has a clear shot of the man's head. [blackout]"Let the boy go." [/blackout]
"What are you? Crazy man? I ain't puttin' this runt down! I can still break his neck!"
[blackout]"Do you really think you can kill the boy before I put a bullet in your head?" [/blackout]
"Want to find out?" The criminal says with a sneer. Before he can take another breath, the sound of a gun shot rings loudly in the street. The criminal drops to the ground hard, crying out in a painful shriek. The young boy runs from his capture, seeking refuge in the arms of one of the policemen.
The figure on the street light jumps down. He walks toward the criminal, still holding the gun firmly in his hand. The criminal rolls on the ground in agony, holding onto his shoulder where the bullet penetrated his skin.
"Ah, you crazy ****! Why'd you do that, huh?" The criminal suddenly spring up, holding a switchblade in his hand. As he goes to swipe at the suited man, he yells loudly, spewing saliva from his mouth. "This wasn't your buisness!"
Before the criminal can even get close enough to cut the figure, the black suited man takes the end of the pistol and strikes the criminal across the face. He falls to the ground, blood now pouring from his mouth and soaking his hands.
[blackout]"I've had a bad history with people like you. People who prey on the innocent." [/blackout]The figure tosses aside the gun and moves onto the criminal. He leans down to the criminal, grabbing his head by his hair. [BLACKOUT]"You would use a boy as a shield?"[/BLACKOUT] He balls his fist and punches the man in the jaw, dislocating the muscle from the bone.
[blackout]"Coward!" [/blackout]He shouts. The figure continues to beat the criminal, pounding his fists into the man's throat and face. Blood stains the sidewalk, pooling with the puddles of rainwater. The policemen watch as the vicious attack continues.
"Is that Spider-Man?" The policeman asks his partner.
"I don't know, it looks like him."
The figure suddenly stops his attack. He turns to the policemen, a frown on his face under his mask. He grabs the battered man by hid throat, his fingers curling around his windpipe.
[blackout]"Spider-Man?" [/blackout]The figure asks, rising to his feet. Pulling his arm back, he tenses his muscles. With a powerful strike, he thrusts his arm forward, sending the criminal's head through the side of a brick building. [blackout]"I am Kaine!" [/blackout]The figure growls as debris falls from the hole in the building. The criminal's body soon slips out of the wall, and falls to the ground, motionless. Lifeless. [blackout] "These are my streets!"[/blackout] Kaine yells with anger and hate.
"What the hell?!" One of the policemen says as he raises his pistol to fire at Kaine. "Get on the ground! Now!"
[blackout]"Mm. Do you want to die too, officer?" [/blackout]Kaine asks in a cold heartless voice. [blackout]"I'd suggest taking another look at the body on the ground here before you pull the trigger." [/blackout]Taking his eyes off Kaine, the officer glances at the mutilated body of the criminal for only a second. As he looks back up, he sees a fist coming straight for his head. Before he can react, he is knocked to the ground unconscious, falling in a puddle of rainwater.
The other policemen stares at Kaine with fear, his hands shaking as he tries to raise his weapon to take aim. Kaine sneers beneath the suit. He grabs the pistol and rips it from the man's hands.
[blackout]"Don't try." [/blackout]He says, tossing the gun into the alley behind him.[blackout] "It wouldn't end well for you." [/blackout]
Kaine jumps high into the air and quickly shoots a tendril from his forearm. The tendril latches onto a building side and Kaine swings off into the distance, his figure dissapearing amidst the rain.
As Kaine swings through the air, fleeing the scene, his mind begins to fill with regret once more. He feels an emptiness in his soul, a yearning for something more in his life.
As he wonders what the missing piece in his life is, his mind drifts back to the woman's body in the street. He sees the little girl falling next to her body, praying and screaming for her mother to come back to life.
[blackout]"Mpf. I wonder if that's why Pete was a hero. I wonder if that's why the rest of them are heroes. Saving people. Protecting them."[/blackout] Kaine sneers beneath his mask as he thinks about the thought. A hero? Him? Kaine? Suddenly, he errupts into laughter. His evil cackle fills the streets, echoing loudly to every alley.
[blackout]"Yeah, right! Me a hero? Why would I waste me time being good,"[/blackout] an evil smirk comes across his face. The smile transfers to the suit, revealing a toothy and frightful grin. [blackout]"When being evil is so much more fun!" [/blackout]
[blackout] "Hero. Ha! Ha! Ha! Hero! Ha! Ha! Ha!"[/blackout]
