The appearance of Iron Man Tony Stark caught Kraven the Hunter entirely by surprise.
In truth, the sudden appearance of Batman just moments prior had also been completely outside his calculations. He hadn't even managed to clearly catch when Batman had appeared, or how he had swooped in and carried off the escaping Gwen and Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly, one under each arm.
Kraven the Hunter had no clue how Venom Robin—whom he had dead to rights—suddenly ripped off his clothes and transformed from an innocuous, altar-boy-like youth into a terrifying, three-meter-tall monster.
All he knew was that he needed to get away right now, or else the roles of hunter and hunted were about to flip—a scenario he absolutely refused to allow.
The urge to retreat had just flared within Kraven's mind when he sensed that something was off.
The figure lurking in the shadows wasn't just him alone; there was another fellow.
That individual was clad entirely in black, with skin to match, down to the straight blade gripped in his hand, which was equally pitch-black.
In the shadows, only the flash of the opponent's exposed white teeth gave him away, cutting off Kraven the Hunter's line of escape. It was Blade, Eric Brooks, who had rushed over the moment his encrypted communication with Batman ended.
Kraven's heart sank, a heavy realization dawning on him that things were looking rather grim today.
If I fight my way out with everything I've got, escaping should still be possible, Kraven muttered internally.
At this juncture, the dynamic between hunter and hunted had completely inverted, and his objective was no longer about hunting down the heads of those three little kids.
How to survive the current predicament and get out alive was the most pressing puzzle Kraven needed to solve.
Whoosh~
He drew in a deep breath, tightening his grip around the spear in his hand...
Boom!
A massive silhouette plummeted from the sky, slamming down with a colossal impact that violently jarred the spear straight out of Kraven's grasp!
During the Battle of Manhattan, the Incredible Hulk—the only heavy hitter besides Thor capable of handling the Frost Giants—had dropped straight out of the heavens!
Hulk didn't land right next to Kraven, instead crashing into an alleyway gap between buildings a good twenty meters away, mercifully refraining from demolishing the surrounding structures right off the bat.
While the Hulk hadn't landed directly on a building, another menacing silhouette with golden, vertical slit pupils sat quietly atop a rooftop.
Accompanied by the rustle of jagged bone spurs and shifting scales, alongside a reedy, aquatic stench, Professor Connors made no effort to conceal his aura of primordial savagery.
His thick tail twitched slightly. Though he wore the appearance of a beast and should theoretically have belonged on Kraven the Hunter's hunting roster, Kraven completely lacked the mental bandwidth to view him as prey at the moment.
Beside that massive lizard, a gray-furred jackal gazed at Kraven with glowing, baleful eyes. This was Warren the Jackal—the sole entity present who had openly erupted with killing intent toward Kraven.
Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly was a clone of his creation; from a certain perspective, Benjamin could practically be counted as Warren the Jackal's "child."
Now that someone had set their sights on his "child," the murderous rage boiling in Warren the Jackal's heart was thicker by several shades than even Batman's.
Tap, tap, tap...
A strange sequence of sounds rang out one after another. Kraven's heart plummeted to rock bottom; realizing he might not make it out of today in one piece, he simply shifted his gaze to the final arrival.
Even though that last individual wore goggles, Kraven felt as though he could perceive the eyes hidden behind them—and as if he could perceive nothing else besides those eyes.
He momentarily even overlooked the four writhing, jet-black mechanical tentacles swaying behind the figure, which looked exceptionally horrifying against the pitch of night.
Back when Venom Robin had just broken away from Batman to become an independent entity, the various scientists on South Brother Island had joked among themselves that "Robin might just have to call them uncles."
Upon hearing Batman state that Venom Robin might be in danger—aside from Dr. Morbius remaining behind to garrison South Brother and Miles Warren lacking any combat utility—the rest had deployed in full force.
Even Professor Lizard had prepared himself to trigger one of Batman's ultimate trump cards: transforming into a terrifying, hundred-meter-tall monster.
One had to remember that this was a trump card that hadn't even been unveiled during the Battle of Manhattan.
Under the obsidian night sky, monster after monster radiating a terrifying aura completely surrounded Kraven the Hunter.
Before a single blow had even been struck, the crushing pressure closing in from all directions nearly swallowed Kraven whole, choking his breath and bringing his heartbeat to a near halt.
"Batman?"
Just as Kraven was on the verge of asphyxiating, Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly and Gwen—sandwiched under Batman's left and right arms respectively—spoke in unison.
Kraven snapped his head around, regretting the decision the very next second.
Beneath scattered starlight, Batman stood towering above him, his Gargoyle Suit emitting an imperceptible, deep-blue sheen.
Kraven could read no trace of human emotion whatsoever within those eyes.
In a hazy flash, Kraven harbored a fleeting illusion that Batman's emotionless gaze was even more soul-crushing than Professor Lizard's golden, reptilian slits.
A sudden gust whipped across the ground, and a massive bat-shaped shadow flickered diagonally above Batman, moving at such blistering speed that Kraven couldn't tell whether it was yet another hidden monster or something else entirely.
He only registered that the massive bat silhouette possessed a pair of malevolent, crimson eyes.
"So many people..." Venom Robin stared in astonishment at the "uncles" who kept showing up back-to-back.
He hadn't expected that just as he ran into a minor hitch—when the situation was still well within his control—Batman would already be leading a massive contingent to pull off a deus ex machina landing.
Venom Robin glanced at Kraven the Hunter—who could no longer conceal his presence—and then swept his gaze elsewhere.
He firmly believed that a mere hunter wasn't worth a full mobilization from South Brother Island; some other unseen danger must have cropped up.
Yet after searching high and low for a good long while, he failed to spot where any other hidden threats might be lurking.
Even I couldn't spot them; no wonder a full collective deployment was necessary, Venom Robin thought inwardly with a nod, flapping the wings on his back to launch himself into the air.
An eerie silence fell over the scene, which was ultimately broken by Iron Man Tony Stark:
"Don't tell me everyone made such a massive fuss just to target a guy like this? That's like dropping a nuclear bomb on a mosquito."
Had Max Dillon (Electro) not still been in Wakanda, and had Hawkeye and Black Widow not been too slow in mobilizing, Tony Stark had originally planned to assemble the entire Avengers roster as well.
Given enough time, the destructive output of the crew assembled here was easily equal to or greater than a nuclear bomb.
Yet aside from Kraven the Hunter, not a single other suspicious target was in sight.
"If you're all gunning for me, I should consider myself deeply honored." Despite standing beneath intense pressure, Kraven the Hunter still managed to squeeze out a smile.
Even with the roles of hunter and hunted reversed, knowing he was prey worthy of drawing a collective turnout from so many terrifying freaks left Kraven profoundly satisfied.
To a certain extent, this served as validation of his prowess.
"Roar!" Warren the Jackal clearly lacked the patience to listen to Kraven's polite parting remarks.
Snarling with bared fangs, he couldn't hold back any longer and lunged forward first.
Kraven hooked a heel upward, flipping the spear jarred loose by the Hulk back into his palm as he braced himself to meet Warren the Jackal head-on.
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