After Life

Kaine is taking a cab out of Houston, Texas. He has fallen sleep in the back seat and dreams of the day, not long after his birth, that he was cast out by the Jackal. He remembers running for his life as his creator pointed a gun at him. Running from the bullets, Kaine falls into a pit filled with the corpses of failed Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy clones.[1]

Kaine is woken up by an explosion that goes off in a building behind him. When asked, the cab driver says that the blast came from the medical center. Kaine remembers that this is where he brought the girl he found in a shipping container earlier. He kicks the cabbie out of the car when he refuses to get out of the vehicle. Kaine then turns around and heads for the hospital cursing him himself for doing something stupid for a girl he doesn’t even though. He convinces himself that this will only take five minutes and then he’ll get back on the road to staring his life over.

Inside the hospital a fire wielding man is searching for the girl, Aracely, the lone survivor of a botched human trafficking operation. He finds Doctor Donald Meland and orders him to tell her where the girl is. He tries lying but this man is prepared to give him what is called the Kiss of Xiuhcoatl when he spots the girl running away. The man knocks Donald aside and heads toward the girl. Aracely pleads with the man to keep away and asks who he is. Her pursuer is amused that she doesn’t remember who he is.

That’s when Kaine — wearing the stealth Spider-Man suit he took from Peter Parker — comes crashing in the room. The attacker is amused by this new arrival as he always wanted to fight a superhero. Kaine slashes the man’s face and he responds by lighting him on fire. Kaine begins to panic at first but the flames set off the hospital’s sprinkler system puts out the flame. Pushing Aracely aside, Kaine lunges at his foe, kicking him so hard it sends them both flying out a window. As they fall to the ground Kaine slashes the attacker’s face again.

On the hospital grounds, Kaine saves an officer from one of his attacker’s flame blasts and uses the cop’s gun to shoot his foe. Furious over getting shot the man unleashes a powerful blast of flame. At first he thinks he incinerated Kaine, but luckily he was able to shield himself by wrapping himself up in webbing. As he has been called Spider-Man throughout the entire fight, Kaine angrilly pummels the attacker into submission and webs him up for the authorities. With the battle over, Kaine is surprised when the bystanders begin cheering him on.

That night Kaine returns to the hospital to check on Aracely to see if she is okay. As she whispers how he saved her in Spanish, Kaine’s visit is interrupted by Doctor Meland and Officer Wally Layton. Kaine says that he doesn’t want any trouble and that he is going to leave town. However, Meland and Layton wonder why, pointing out that Houston is devoid of superheroes, unlike New York. They ask him to stay and help defend the city. Particularly, they hope he will help protect Aracely who is an illegal immigrant and could be deported back to Mexico where she will be unprotected by the type of people who attacked the hospital earlier, suggesting that a vigilante such as Kaine could keep her safe.

At first, Kaine refuses and leaves, however after stopping at the Mexican border he decides to go back. Later, when Doctor Meland checks on Aracely he discovers that she was gone. This is because Kaine has brought her to his hotel room. The following morning, Kaine is back in costume looking out over the city. He is once again thinking about how he has been given a second chance. While he doesn’t think he can become a hero like Spider-Man, he believes that he can work at not being a monster and make up for the horrible things he has done in his past. He figures that in Houston he can stop running for the first time in his life. As he swings off he figures if this doesn’t work out at least Mexico is right next door.

Recurring Characters

Scarlet Spider, Aracely Penalba, Salamander, Donald Meland, Wally Layton

Continuity Notes

1. For more on Kaine’s creation see Spider-Man #61.