Nightmares...

[Spider-Man]

"Peter... Peter... wake up..." The sound of his wife's sweet, sexy voice echoed through the deep dark chasyms of Peter Parker's mind.

"Come on honey, time to get up." Peter's eyes opened and layed upon the glorious red headed vixen who he had loved and married for years.

"Mary Jane?" Peter said groggily, sitting up and shaking his head, familiarising himself with his New York apartment.

"Yeah honey, now get dressed. We're meeting Ben and May at noon."

"Ben?" Peter asked as he walked to wardrobe.

"Your uncle Peter. The man who raised you since you were in diapers." Mary Jane laughed, trying on some of her dresses.

"But he's... wait a minute! MJ, where's my Spider-Man costume?" Peter enquired, failing to see the familiar red and blue costume in his wardrobe.

"Spider... Man? Peter, what are you talking about?" MJ raised an eyebrow at her husband.

"Oh no... it's a dream..." Peter groaned as he came to.

He was lying in an alleyway, shaking and huddled under a hideously smelling coat he'd found.

He was once one of the most famous superheroes on the planet, the Amazing Spider-Man. Now he was a bum on the streets of a distatorship state country.

It had all happened so fast. The war between the Justice League and the United States Government.

Peter was in London, working on a story for the Daily Bugle, when he heard about the devastation across the Atlantic. He heard about the deaths of his family and was trying to return to America when Britain had been overcome by Adrian Karel and his political regisme.

The moment he arrived at Heathrow airport the security immediately turned on him, suspecting him of being an American terrorist.

He'd been on the run for months.

Too long.

He wasn't sure if he was sane anymore.

[Bane]

Bane walked into the alley, keeping a close eye on what was happening behind him. Checking for stalkers. He finally found somewhere to hide, to shed his grubby orange prison jump suit and find his identity. Maybe kill some of the law along the way.

He took a breath. What he would give for some Venom right now. It was like not breathing, the urgh, the panicky feeling you get. Or like not drinking for a few days. He could taste the sweet Venom. Though he'd never tasted the stuff, due to it being injected, he knew the smell, and he could almost taste it.

Bane looked over to his right, from his pressed position against the wall.

Some guy was sitting under a filthy looking coat, probably in the same predicurement as Bane. Well, almost the same.

A Fingerman darted past the entrance to the alley, no doubt heading to the crushed taxi and Bane pressed against the wall harder.

He could easily fight his way out of at least a dozen enforcers, but he prefered to keep a low profile at the present time, which wasn't going to be easy.

[Spider-Man]

Spider-sense screamed in Peter's head. He didn't really feel like getting shot, but with the mental state he was in he wasn't sure if he should trust his own judgement.

He stood, the coat falling to the ground and his tattered old Spider-Man outfit underneath.

"Hey!" He barked at the giant of a man who hid in the dark.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?"

[V]

November 4, 2020 11:36 P.M.

Across the rooftops, the quiet clank of boots rattled down the ducts along the sides of the brick building. V hoped he didn't disturb the sleep of anyone within. Surely a poorer family, living in the heart of a cancerous city. Not that the slight disturbance would matter. In less than one half hour, they were in for quite a wake up call.

V needed to reach a much higher elevation. The nearby flat. It was slighter more upscale with a nice view of the Woman standing in "Lady Justice's" space, the Young lady with Painted lips he'd come to see. He had a date to keep with her. The night silence smiled at V and welcomed him with a Welcome, V, I've awaited your coming. I have longed for your caresses.

Suddenly, a loud voice caught his ear, beneath the wig. "Hey!"
Perhaps the fingermen had snared a naive youngster. He changed is direction to the sound. He'd better investigate. Some one was about to get caught up in a much larger Spider's web. V chuckled to himself as he jumped, flawlessly onto a rooftop just above the break in the night's silence. What he saw was a large man standing over a homeless sort of man...He'd known that life...for a time...

[Spider-Man]

Peter, who was unmasked (but didn't care) stared at the gigantic mass of muscles. This sort of man reminded him of others he'd fought many times back in New York.

He then wondered for a second if New York was still there.

It didn't matter now anyway, MJ was dead, his world was gone.

He honestly didn't care if he died now.

"I said what the hell are you doing here?" Peter asked again, this time with much more venom in his voice, pulling down the old webbed mask of his.

[Bane]

Bane glanced out to the alleyway as another patorl steamed by. He scowled.

"Look kid, just sit down and shut up. You don't wanna start a fight here. Save the energy for those guys..." He said looking down at the little man, then back out to the street.

[Spider-Man]

The blinding fury that raged through Spider-Man was too much.

Without warning he lashed out, propelling Bane out of the alley with a titanic punch to the jaw.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!" Peter barked, running at his prey as Bane staggered up.

[Bane]

Bane frowned. Was he getting weak? Or were these kids getting stronger. He rubbed his jaw quickly then slammed his assailent into one of the walls, the brick caving in around him.

"Don't attract the Enforcers!" Bane whispered in a harsh tone.

[Spider-Man]

THWIP!

Spider-Man webbed Bane's two wrists together then swung him around like a hammer.

Bane slammed in to another wall, causing another crash.

Peter didn't care who watched.

He was angry and he was going to let it out, even if he was shot doing it.

[Bane]

Bane closed his eyes. He'd had a harder hit in his time, but not a harder cord. He looked down at his bound wrists and pulled. A minute strand broke, but the rest remained firmly holding his massive arms together.

If only he could get some Venom right now, his body was weakening - he NEEDED it.

He twisted his arms so the bound was twisted, and he continued to twist as far as physically posible. Then he pulled. He pulled as hard as he could, subliminally roaring as his muscles ached and throbbed. A strand popped, then another. Soon the strand was thinner and dug into his wrists, bringing up blood. In one last mighty roar it tore in two, his hands were free.

No need to take it quiet anymore.

Bane brought his hands together, like a musician brings together symbols, his two massive fists slamming together on the mans head (Peter), then he front kicked him into the wall.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?!" He roared, then remembering that this guy was pretty strong, placed a dumpster on top of him.

Something caught him in the arm. It was fast, painless to startwith. Bane knew exactly what it was, he was shot.

Bane backed through the opposite wall to Peter, taking cover in the building he had just wrongfully demolished as more bullets tore past the entrance.

[Spider-Man]

"Urgghh..." Peter struggled as he lifted the dumpster from under it.

He stood there, with a tonne of metal over his head and a hail of bullets flying his way from the fingermen as cop cars came in to view.

Ok, too many people... Peter thought as he threw the dumpster.

It landed on the engine of the cruiser, causing an explosion.

The cops were so involved with the fire that Spider-Man made a hasty exit via the rooftops.

[Bane]

Bane watched Peter escape then he, himself turned and left the scene, through a hole that he made.

[Spider-Man]

Reflecting on what had just happened, Peter realised he was no longer going to be able to just go home and rely on the loving support of his wife anymore.

He was on his own.

Or was he?

Who, or what, was triggering his spider-sense while he was in that alley fighting the big guy?

[V]

Across The Rooftops, a Spider ran, David outrunning his Goliath.

Shadowed by a devil, not a devil out of hell, a devil creation of the earth. A monster ready to make final preparations against his Frankenstein.

But a face from the past was needed, a symbol of the people. V knew some of the champions of the earth would still breath, though here and now one of the greatest of them all was impossible. But there he was. V knew this was more than chance.

His target stopped and looked around in some kind of panic, his heart likely racing. V took this pause to make his entrance.

From the shadows of a higher roof, down onto his future alley's level, his cape catching the hard wind of a late night, he made his existence known, much like one of V's personal heroes. A man who made injustice fear the night.

"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout. Down came the Reign and washed the spider out."

He could fear the instant apprehension of the smaller man, who seemed ready to fight to his own death.

"Forgive my theatrics, but it is the nature of this introduction to the overture," the white smiling face inspired little trust.

"I assure you I mean you no Harm." He said gesturing rather casually, flapping a corner of his cape over his left shoulder.

[Spider-Man]

Spider-sense checks out Peter thought, Then again, a minute ago he was flinging knives.

The wind which made V's cape fly was biting cold and Peter was prepared to fight if need be.

But God he was tired, he was dying from malnutrition and needed to get some rest.

"Who are you?" Spider-Man asked.