Animal Instincts (Book 2): At War with Monsters (Ultimate Spider-Man Cartoon)

Chapter 11: Welcome to the War

________ POV

His side still hurts.

It's only been a few days since his orders to take out the jungle kid and the wound he'd received in return wasn't healed up yet. Which was aggravating. It was bad enough training with gremlins of pain eating away at his ribs, he didn't need it while he was out on the job too. Besides, it was getting colder and the decreasing temperature made it feel even worse.

The aches and pains were like a relentless stick poking his eye, reminding him of his mistake with each new shove into his pupil. All the training and preparing he's done before the mission was useless, because no matter how many agents he fought off and strategies he memorized, he still hadn't been expecting the jungle kid to snag him the way he did. They liked reminding him of it too and it only rubbed more salt in the wound. His superiors were not happy with his performance and it'd be a while before he was back in their good graces. If he could even call it good graces. The relationship between him and those above him was built strictly on the fundamentals of "Go there. Go here. Kill that," Which he did, every time, without fail. He did everything they told him to when they wanted him to do it, and usually, he did a good job.

Except for three days ago when a knife was shoved into his side.

It was a real shame jungle kid already left for the Savage Lands. He would've loved to make it even.

But he reasons that his superiors can't be too disappointed in him. He wouldn't be staking out on the rooftops of lower Manhattan otherwise. His mission, however, was far from ideal in his opinion. He was a little surprised, and admittedly, irritated when they ordered him to follow the SHIELD Academy students on their patrols again. Trailing them while they "served the people" was dull, and when it wasn't dull he was getting stabbed, which, okay, he'd been trying to stab the jungle kid too, but that was beside the point. Watching them punch bad guys and squabble with each other got old, even when he had a legit mission to go with it. But if he meant redeeming himself, he'd followed them right back to the Tricarrier and infiltrate SHIELD if he had too. He had been proud of the reputation he'd built for himself among his cohorts, so having it all crumbling down after one mission was a heavy blow to his pride.

It also meant he was itching to attack something. The anger simmering in his gut was the kind that threw punches first and never asked questions, and he'd be glad to slice up a few of those students to relieve frustration building in his stomach. But he was given strict orders to follow ONLY, do not engage in all means necessary or he'd regret it.

So following he did and it was boring.

It was normal for them to patrol in a group, but they were also fond of splitting up to cover more ground. But ever since his attack on their comrade, he was both pleased and smug to find, that they've begun patrolling together more, so he supposed that his mishap hadn't been a complete waste. Besides, it was hard trying to keep tabs on all of them when they decided to make New York their free-for-all playground. It was easier to do his job this way.

There were four students on patrol today, one more than usual. He focused on each of their faces, names flashing through his brain, followed by a list of their powers and the best way to take them down.

The tall muscled one with the black and white spider symbol. Agent Venom. Strength: symbiote - living creature. Assets: webs, super strength, danger-sense. Aggressive. Dangerous. Weaknesses: Electricity, fire, and vibrations.

Grey and black one with the hood, hovering off the ground, glowing eyes. Cloak. Assets: teleportation. Spontaneous. Random. Good for escape. Best way to take him down would be to hit fast and hit hard. Take him out when he's stunned. No more escape.