Cad Bane was positioned strategically in the shadows, carefully observing the young man in the distinctive red and blue costume as he sat eating at the food vendor's stall. Not far from his hiding spot, members of the Coruscant Security Force were in the process of arresting several thugs who had just been caught in the act of extorting protection money from local vendors.
The experienced bounty hunter planned to make his move once the kid had finished his meal and moved away from the crowded area. From what he'd managed to overhear during the confrontation, the young man calling himself "Spider-Man" had single-handedly taken down multiple armed criminals who had been harassing the food stand owner. That kind of ability suggested this target might be more challenging than typical bounty work, which meant Cad would need to be especially careful about timing and tactics.
All he had to do now was wait patiently for the right opportunity—when the target was isolated and vulnerable—then strike quickly to subdue him and transport him to the location his mysterious client had specified.
Spider-Man finally finished his meal, used a napkin to wipe his mouth clean, and continued his conversation with Garen the vendor.
Garen shrugged and asked with genuine curiosity, "So, what exactly are you planning to do now, kid? Do you have somewhere to go?"
Spider-Man scratched his head thoughtfully and replied, "I guess I'll just keep exploring this world while trying to help people wherever I can."
"You mean like how you helped me deal with those thugs?"
"Exactly! Speaking of which, who were those guys anyway? What kind of criminal organization do they work for?"
"Oh, those particular lowlifes are scattered all over Coruscant unfortunately. This whole sector can be pretty dangerous territory, kid. I'd strongly recommend you try to stay away from areas like this in the future."
Spider-Man considered this advice and said, "Okay, thanks for the warning, Garen. Do you happen to know where I might be able to gather some useful information about this planet?"
"What kind of information? Like a library or research facility?"
Spider-Man nodded eagerly, mentally thanking whatever cosmic forces had led him to someone who understood the concept of libraries.
"Well, I can think of two main options for you," Garen said thoughtfully. "One is located on the completely opposite side of the planet, which would be quite a journey from here. The other option is actually much closer—it's near the Jedi Temple."
"Where exactly is that?" Peter asked with growing interest.
"Right over there," Garen said, pointing toward a distinctive building that Spider-Man realized he had actually noticed earlier during his aerial survey of the city.
Spider-Man looked in the direction Garen was indicating and asked with surprise, "That impressive building with the five spires?"
"That's the one. But I should warn you, I'm not sure if you'll be able to get inside. To enter the Jedi Temple grounds, you typically need special permissions or an official invitation."
Spider-Man thought about this potential obstacle for a moment before saying, "Well, thank you so much for all your help, Garen. I promise I'll definitely come back to visit you again, and next time I'll make sure to have proper payment for the meal."
"I'm definitely looking forward to seeing you again, kid. Stay safe out there."
Spider-Man nodded with appreciation, pulled his mask back down over his face, crouched low, and launched himself high into the air while simultaneously firing a web line toward a nearby building.
The bounty hunter Cad Bane, who had been concealed in a shadowy corner throughout this entire exchange, decided that now was the perfect time to make his move and capture his target. From what he'd overheard of the conversation, this mysterious young vigilante was planning to head directly toward the Jedi Temple. The bounty hunter absolutely could not allow that to happen, because if this kid actually managed to reach the Temple and get inside, capturing him would become exponentially more difficult and dangerous.
Cad quickly activated his rocket boot thrusters and launched himself into pursuit, following the direction Spider-Man was heading through the urban landscape.
He also knew that if he lingered in this area much longer, he would almost certainly be discovered by those two young Jedi Padawans he had ambushed earlier, and that encounter could complicate his mission significantly.
Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Barriss had just arrived back at the scene of the earlier confrontation and found members of the Coruscant Guard preparing to wrap up their investigation and depart. Barriss approached one of the security officers and said, "Excuse me, Officer. I am Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee, and this is my fellow Padawan, Ahsoka Tano."
The security officer turned around to face her with a respectful nod. "Hello there. How can we assist you, Padawans?"
"We're currently searching for someone who may have been in this area recently," Barriss explained. "But first, could you tell us what exactly happened here?"
"Oh, it was just some gang members harassing one of the local food vendors," the officer replied matter-of-factly. "We've been receiving complaints about this particular group for quite some time, but we never managed to catch them in the act until today. Finally managed to apprehend the whole crew."
"How exactly did you manage to capture them?" Ahsoka asked with growing interest.
"That's the interesting part," the guard explained with obvious amazement. "Some kid dressed in bright red and blue somehow managed to subdue all of them using some kind of binding material. According to witness reports and footage from nearby security cameras, the young man was able to restrain multiple armed criminals using projectiles he shot from his wrists."
"What kind of binding material are we talking about?" Barriss asked, her excitement barely contained.
The guard shrugged with bewilderment. "It looked remarkably similar to spider webbing, actually. Incredibly strong and adhesive stuff. We've never seen anything like it."
Ahsoka moved closer to her friend and said quietly, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Red and blue costume?" Barriss said thoughtfully, recalling some of the colorful outfits worn by various Avengers they had encountered. "This could definitely be our person."
Both Padawans turned back to the officer urgently. "Do you have any idea where this individual went after the incident?"
"Are you Jedi looking for that Spider-boy too?" came a voice from nearby.
Both young women turned to see a Twi'lek vendor cleaning and organizing his food stall.
They looked at each other with surprise and then back at the Twi'lek. "Spider-boy?"
"That young man seems like a genuinely good person," Garen said with obvious fondness, "though he struck me as being somewhat naive about how dangerous this city can be."
"You actually spoke with him?" Barriss asked, hope evident in her voice.
Garen laughed with obvious pride and satisfaction. "Not only did I see him in action, but he even shared a meal at my humble establishment. He was the one who took down those criminals, which helped me tremendously. I'm very grateful to him."
"Where is he right now?" Ahsoka asked with barely restrained urgency.
Garen pointed in a specific direction and explained, "For some reason, the kid wanted to find a library or information center. When I told him about his options, I suggested he try the archives near your Jedi Temple."
Both Barriss and Ahsoka's eyes widened with a mixture of relief and renewed concern. They knew their mission was far from over, and time was running short.
"Which direction did he head when he left here?"
Garen pointed toward the Temple district of the city.
Both Padawans bowed gratefully to the helpful vendor. "Thank you so much for your assistance, sir. You've been incredibly helpful."
"We need to move fast," Barriss said to her companion with obvious urgency. "Whoever attacked us earlier is probably tracking him too."
The two young women immediately began running in the direction Garen had indicated, leaving the Twi'lek vendor somewhat confused and bewildered by their sudden departure.
At that same moment, higher up in the cityscape, Spider-Man continued swinging between the towering buildings on his way toward the Jedi Temple, taking time to admire the impressive alien architecture surrounding him.
"I have to admit, this place definitely beats New York when it comes to interesting skyscrapers and urban design," he said to himself as he swung past particularly impressive structures.
But suddenly, something felt wrong. Why did everything around him seem to be moving in slow motion?
Peter began to feel the familiar sensation of every hair on his body standing on end, his enhanced hearing picked up subtle sounds that didn't belong, and his spider-sense began tingling with increasing intensity. Spider-Man's eyes went wide with alarm as he recognized the warning signs. "Wait... this tingling sensation means—"
Acting purely on instinct and years of experience, he quickly twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding a bright blaster bolt that had been fired from his blind spot.
"How could I possibly miss such an easy shot?" muttered the frustrated Duros bounty hunter from his concealed position.
Spider-Man quickly swung down and landed on a nearby platform, startling several innocent passersby in the process. He looked around frantically, scanning the surrounding buildings and rooftops. "Who's shooting at me?! Show yourself!"
Cad Bane stood positioned on the rooftop of a mid-level building, convinced that his target had only escaped the first shot through pure luck. This time, he would make absolutely certain of his aim. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Cad grinned with cold confidence and fired his next carefully aimed shot. But somehow, his target managed to lean just slightly to one side at the last possible second, causing the deadly blaster beam to miss by mere inches.
Growing increasingly frustrated, Cad decided to adjust his strategy completely. He cranked his weapon's firing rate up to maximum and began unleashing a rapid barrage of blaster bolts, determined to overwhelm his target's apparent luck with sheer volume of fire. He watched through his scope as Spider-Man dodged the first several shots with impossible agility, then launched himself high into the air to avoid the remaining bolts in the deadly salvo.
"Once might be coincidence, but twice in a row is definitely not luck," Cad muttered to himself with grudging respect.
By this point, Spider-Man had successfully identified the source of the incoming blaster fire. While it was admittedly pretty cool to see actual laser weapons in action, it was significantly less enjoyable to be on the receiving end of those energy beams.
"Alright, let's see what we're dealing with here," Spider-Man said with determination as he fired multiple web lines, anchoring them securely to two nearby support structures. He then stretched the webbing as taut as possible, creating an improvised slingshot large enough to launch himself directly at his hidden attacker.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at p@treon.com/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~