{Three Weeks Later}
The thug kicked open the door and dragged the man out. He threw him on the pavement, four other thugs surrounded him.
Man: I promised I'd pay you back soon! In a week!
The thug holds a crowbar as he leans over to speak to the man.
Thug 1: It's been a week too late, buddy.
He looks over at his colleague.
Thug 2: A broken kneecap should teach him not to break the rules.
He laughs as the first thug brandishes his melee weapon. He is about to land a blow at the man, but a web sticks to the crowbar and is pulled out of his hands.
You land in the alley, and face the thugs.
You: Hey, boys. Let me guess...loan shark business?
Thug 3: Shoot the fucker.
The fourth thug raises his gun, but you web it out of his hands and throw it back at him, sending him to the ground.
You: Does it really take all five of you to talk down to an old man?
The first thugs charges at you, but you leap over him and web his face. He tries to pull it off of him, but you do a flying kick at his back. He's launched to the wall in front of him.
The second thug swings his fist but you dodge and grab his arm. You hold it up as you land two blows to his stomach. He doubles over, in which you hit him in the jaw with your knee.
The fourth thug had gotten up and went over to grab his gun. You pull it towards yourself with a web line and crush it.
You: Nope. Guns are bad.
You shoot another web at him and pull him forward, uppercutting him when he gets close.
The third thug grabs the man and holds a knife at his neck.
Thug 3: Stand back! I'll kill him!
As you're trying to survey the situation, the man does something extraordinary. He elbows the thug, giving you room to web the knife out of his hands and charge at him. You knock the last thug out with a single punch.
You look at the unconscious thugs as you crack your knuckles. You look at the man.
You: Not bad, man. That was awesome.
Man: I take self defense classes.
You: Keep taking them. Next time you can probably take all five out.
The man chuckles. Jokes aside, it'd actually be better if the man moves out of town for some time to avoid these loan Sharks.
You: Seriously though, I suggest you move.
• •
{Later That Day}
You're on the rooftop of a building reading from a newspaper. You flip the pages and see a story of an attack at a Ten Rings encampment in Gulmira, Afghanistan. This was the fourth one in the last month.
The U.S Military say they still do not know who or what are attacking these camps.
You get a call as you keep on reading, and answer it via your mask's Bluetooth. It's Clementine.
You: Hello?
Clementine: Hey. What are you doing?
You: Just finished reading. I'm on my way home.
Clementine: Cool, you ready for tonight?
You begin to think. What was tonight? Man, you forgot.
You: Uh...yeah...that's why I'm on my way home...to get ready.
Clementine: You forgot, didn't you?
She got you.
You: Yup. Sorry.
Clementine: We're going to watch that new Kevin James movie!
Now you remember. Clementine wanted to see Paul Blart: Mall Cop which came out a few days ago.
You: Oh, yeah. Now I remember.
Clementine chuckles.
You: Well, I'm on my—
Suddenly, your spider sense goes off. You're then wrapped in wire and you fall to the ground.
You: Argh!
You look up, and see a figure appear in a gust of smoke.
A/N: Art by Needham-Comics on DeviantArt.
You: I'll...call you back.
Clementine is about to respond, but the call hangs up. You break free from the wires and face the man.
You: I know you...you're what goes on my porch on Halloween.
The man brandishes his sword.
Taskmaster: The name's Taskmaster. You have some enemies that want you dead.
You: Yes, I've heard that before.
Taskmaster: They paid good money for your head. I'm a man of my word.
Your head? Where have you heard that before?
You: Let me guess, New Frontier hire you? Did you hear about what happened to the Kill-Bill cosplayer they hired?
Taskmaster: I'm not her. You're dealing with a different beast now.
Taskmaster swings his sword at you, but you leap over him. You shoot webs at him, but he quickly blocks them with his sword. You charge him, but he leaps over like you did and does a flying kick at your back. You fall down.
Taskmaster: I've been watching you. I know your moves.
You get back up.
You: That's not cool. I can sue.
Taskmaster shoots a wire and zips forward, imitating a web zip. He punches you. You try to punch him, but he grabs your arm and lifts it up. He punches you in the stomach and then tosses you aside.
This felt a lot like your encounter with the loan sharks earlier today. He must've been watching.
You shoot a web at a nearby wooden plank on the roof. You launch it towards him, disorienting him. You leap forward and land three blows until he kicks you away.
Taskmaster tries to do the same, shooting a wire at an nearby slab of concrete and tossing it at you. You dodge, and shoot a web at his face.
You sprint forward and land more punches. Your last punch knocks his skull mask off, revealing his face.
A/N: What's up Daryl? About time you entered this universe.
Taskmaster swipes his sword at you, but you backflip away from the attack. He then takes out his bow and arrow, quickly shooting at you.
You dodge the arrows, but then Taskmaster shoots a different type of arrow at the ground. It beeps for a second then emits an electric current, shocking you.
You: Argh!
He kicks you as you're paralyzed. You fly back and crash into a vent. You slowly get up, but then another arrow hits near you and beeps again. You try to jump away, but the explosive arrows detonates and launches you forward.
You roll over on the ground. Your body stings from the electric shock and the explosion.
Taskmaster grabs you by the back of your neck and pins you against a wall. He unsheathes his sword and holds it by your neck.
Taskmaster: You took of my mask, now it's time to take off yours before I kill you.
You were in great pain and were exhausted. You try to get out of his grasp, but he grabs your mask and pulls it off.
Taskmaster looks at you. He looks into your eyes as you look into his. Two combatants, unmasked.
You expect the worst. But, Taskmaster's grip loosens. He lets you drop on the floor and paces back. He sheathes his weapon.
Seeing your face made him think of his son. He thought of his three children. He never thought Spider-Man, who he was hired to kill, would be so young.
Taskmaster tries to let out words, but he can't. He deploys smoke, and vanishes.
You lean against the wall, recovering from the explosion. You don't know why he spared you, but deep inside you were thankful. You slowly stand back up, and lean over to grab your mask from the floor.
You put it back on, and swing away.
THWIP!
• •
Daryl Dixon only recently took up the mantle of Taskmaster: A mercenary paid to do the dirty work of other people.
He sits in his hideout, mask off and looking at the photo of his family. They're back in Missouri, and they think he's on another business trip.
Spider-Man would've been the first man he killed on the job. Most of the jobs he's gotten so far have been achieved non-lethally.
He was about to murder a young man, somebody who has a whole life ahead of him. He does this for the money, but how far can he take this?
It was time to stop being Taskmaster. Joan from the New Frontier never saw his face, so he can go off the grid without the consequences of not killing Spider-Man.
Daryl picks up his bow and arrow and places it on the table. He looks over the name his son etched onto the bow the last time they went hunting.
Hawkeye.
He looks at it, and wonders what is next for him.