Chapter 615: Thing the Second


    "This is... awful," Mary''s eyes were still warm with morning tears but even with years of her ruthless professions, both, the past and the current ones, she wasn''t ready for this. The better half of Central Park destroyed due to actual war. The police had cleared off the bodies but the blood, the smell, not only of the deaths but the bullets still remained. "W-who would even do this?" The cameraman continued to shiver. "Let''s just get on with a brief exnation of the situation. This case is too high profile," Mary whispered, carefully wiping her eyes before looking into the camera.


    "Hey, Dan," Nik greeted the young man perched on the tree quite a bit far away. "You live nearby?" Nik inquired as Danny silently nodded. "I just came to the park to rx after ourst mission''s stress. You know, staking out for some pickpocketer or a mugger but I came toote."


    "I seriously doubt you could have lived this," Nik stated while leaning against the tree, "But I have been thinking of getting after the guys responsible for this bloodbath. I live in the neighborhood and things like this make me consider just destroy every crime syndicate altogether."


    "If you can, why haven''t you done it?" Danny jumped down and inquired with a furrow of his brows. "I know this for a fact that mopes exist in every crime organization and not just from the rival gangs. Police, too. So that would be unfair, just like this was... oh, my god, I now have to solve this for real. Why did I have to say this isn''t fair," Nik grunted and looked at Dan, "You seem motivated. Wanna join me?" His inquiry was matched with a confused stare.


    "What about others?"


    "Come on, it''s just some stupid gang wars. I am sure we can handle this ourselves." Nik sighed, "Not to mention the lesser we are the silent we will be. Just imagine Cindy now jumping in while practicing her swinging, Ava trying out her new projectile ws, and Luke ripping off a pir of the hideout. You are actually the calm one out of the group. And I the most silent one."


    "I understand. But... how would we handle the situation when we catch them?" Iron Fist inquired as Nik grinned, "In the fairest manner. We keep the informants alive, suck out every bit of information regarding the shootout, and... well, fill the morgues. Oh, and if you are wondering how I know gangs did this, emphasis on plural, I actually caught a radio chatter before the local cops cleared the scene."


    "Yeah, we are not killing, right? But I should still include others," Danny said while taking a step back.


    "I did not expect this from you, Dan... screw that, Danny. Not you, too," Nik gasped.


    ---


    "How is this on the news?" Samantha Reyes, a DA under the service of the government shouted in frustration as she pointed at Mary''s face while mming her TV remote on the table. "It was supposed to be a three-way bust. Not a massacre! It is supposed to be covered under the wraps," she looked at her associate before shaking her head, "Contact the channel and get the cleaners there. Right now. If the news travel, we need to prepare an irond statement."


    Tapping her forehead, she looked at the Assistant DA once again, "What happened to the survivor?"


    "That''s what I came here for, Ma''am... he escaped. But we did ID the guy before he took off"


    "He escaped?" Reyes'' voice turned real low as her assistant nodded, "Yes," while taking out a file, "The man is identified as a war veteran Frank Castle. His escape from the hospital has been a brutal one and that I was able to cover. For now, every victim of the shootout is... unable to live anymore."


    "Good," Reyes took a moment to calm down before sighing, "We still need to figure out another bust. This time, we go after each gang individually."


    "Yes, Ma''am."


    ---


    "Are you really going to give up finding Newton?" Nik inquired as he slumped beside Anna while she continued to pile pillows over her head. "I don''t wanna do anything," she just grunted out a reply, still a little upset by the ident in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Gwen called out from the living room. "Nik, check this! There''s a chopper recording live about a... rock person!" Only devastating news like this actually brought joy to Spider these days and while twisted in contemtion, it wasn''t much Nik could do about it.


    "Anyway, rest well. Just call me if you want to hang out." Patting Anna''s backfortingly, Nik left her room and walked over to the couch and gazed at the television. "The Brooklyn Bridge is quite possibly under the attack from some form of mutated monster. The traffic is piling and one of the transportation trucks is utterly destroyed as we speak."


    The reportermented on the recording brought live from the chopper as the scene zoomed in on a bulky rock-like humanoid, orangish in color, pick up the driver inside the truck alongside the seat. The scene even showed how a few cops had begun to surround the being as Nik scoffed, "That guy is clearly trying to save that driver. Mary is way better than this dumb bitch."


    "What if this news reporter just lost her mother?" Spider inquired as Nik crossed his arms, "I don''t know? Are you implying that I am being too harsh on a stranger?"


    "Maybe a little?" Spider''s lips twitched as Nik shook his head. "Nah, it''s nothing like this. Anyway, this looks fun. I''m going to the scene. Wanna join?" Nik offered as Spider hurriedly jumped andtched on the back of Nik''s shirt before quickly climbing up to his shoulder. "We really need to get you a body. This is getting weirder every time," Nik shook his head as Pickle dutifully turned the both of them into an elegant white monstrosity with the most precious smile and the whitest set of teeth.


    "Let''s go!" Nik grinned and vanished from the apartment.


    ---


    "Hey, hey, it''s alri"


    "Put down the driver... and the seat!" A cop shouted with his gun pointing at the rock-man while taking cover behind one of the crashed cars. presently, three cops manned the scene with two of them pointing their guns towards the man who had, in a manner, caused the scene indirectly. As the boulder person moved towards the cop with the trucker''s seat in his arms, the cop shouted loudly, "Drop him! Now!"


    "Kaboom!" Arge shout behind the two cops scared them witless as they turned back with full intentions of firing their weapons only to find out their guns were not in their hands any longer and what they held was actually a stic toy. "Yeah, that is 7 bucks and you will need to pay me back," Nik smiled widely, making the cops break into a cold sweat as he cackled, "Don''t worry, I know that destroying your arms is c.u.mbersome. Too much paperwork," waving their guns and then cing it on top of the cab, Nik continued, " Now, I''ll ask you nicely. Step away... I... er, well, call me Vanish. Wow, my alias feels cornier as I say it again. Need to find a good one..."


    "How about White Devil?" One of the cops inquired as Nik crossed his arms, "Hmm, will you guys shoot me if I call myself a devil?"


    "Oh, good point," the other one sighed in relief, "And you really should find a society friendly name with that face of yours."


    "Something wrong with my face?" Pickle snarled as the duo backed away with a gulp, shaking their heads quickly, "It''s just hardcore! Too much for kids and elderly!"


    "Hmph!" snorting, Pickle retrieved herself once again as Nik looked at the rock person, "Don''t worry. The citizens and everyone else is just rattled and would attack you with extreme prejudice if you make any weird move. What are you called?"


    "I''m... Benjamin," the man grunted as he let down the trucker while still keeping a cautious eye of the situation as more and more civilians began crowding after seeing two monstrosities in the same location.


    "What the hell is going on? Can you see Ben from here?" Anky and well-trimmed man inquired with a frustrated expression as he stepped out of the cab with a blonde woman exiting after him. "He just survived the crash against the truck," the woman hissed in worry while a blonde youth pulled his bike onto a stand and took his helmet off, "I mean, he just scientifically proved that rocks can crush trucks. That''s impressive."


    "Of course, they can crush trucks. And, not now, Johnny!" The woman groaned before trying to push through the crowd only to fail.


    "I can see someone else!" Johnny stated while stepping onto the hood of the cab, "Oh, there''s Ben, too. He found a pal. Thing the Second, in roman numerals," he chuckled to himself.


    Meanwhile, from the other side of the bridge, Nik could hear the collective sirens of the police vehicles and a fire truck.


    "Alright, your backup is arriving," Nik gestured towards the two cops as the third one now pointed his gun at Nik.


    "Not, now, George! He''s the guy who got all the civilians out of Rick Mall," his partners hissed.


    "Oh," Geroge looked stunned for a moment before lowering his weapon, "I- I didn''t know. Your service has been a great help to us cops. You''re called Vanish, right? That''s a pretty cool name and... awesome costume," he stated while nodding.


    "You know what, George, you''re my hero," Pickle grinned as Nik shrugged while gesturing towards Benjamin, "You seem scared enough. Confused, too. I''ve got a free afternoon, too," Nik mumbled as Gwen scoffed, "Wow, is that a motivational speed?"


    Not minding the sarcasm, Nik continued, "Let me take you out of here before something bad actually happens."


    Creating a portal right beneath Benjamin as it consumed the man whole, Nik disappeared, too."


    "And they just vanished," Johnny jumped down and looked at the woman, "Sue, are you sure that this isn''t just your power?"


    "Alright, we need to find Ben before something bad happens. Good thing I slipped in a tracker into our clothes after experiments. Now I just hope that Ben''s trousers still have that chip..."


    "You chipped us?" Susan''s anger red as the brown-haired man backed by a step, "Even I have a tracker."


    "Not cool, man," Johnny shook his head as he got back to his bike, "Just text me the address!" And he turned around before racing away.


    "Johnny! That''s the wrong side!" Susan shouted before ring at Richards, "Where is Ben?"


    "Yes, we need to get back to our ce and get myptop."


    "Your phone isn''t synced with the track nevermind forgot that you do not carry a cellphone."


    "Neither should you," Richard sighed as the entered the cab once again."