"…and in today's news, career criminal Charles Wright, commonly known as Papa Shango, was found unconscious in the National History Museum, where it is believed he was trying to break in and steal valuable items. He is said to have caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the antiques, and he will be sent back to prison sometime today. In other news…"

"Mark?"

Mark looked away from the TV above him, now that the news of his nocturnal exploits was over.

"Are you okay?"

Mark looked at his girlfriend Maria, trying to get his head back into the real world. They were having breakfast at the Denny's near Mark's apartment.

"I'm fine" he said. "Just watching something on the news."

Maria looked up to where Mark had been looking, but now there was something else about Angelina Jolie or something or other.

"What was it about?" she asked.

Mark shook his head.

"Nothin', really" he replied. "They found some guy in a weird outfit trying to break into the museum."

"Really? What happened to him?"

"Not sure. They found him unconscious. Not the first time either."

Maria looked at the newspaper Mark had been rifling through.

"It's just, you seem really interested in stories like that" she noted.

Mark shrugged again.

"I don't know. Just have a fascination for the bizarre, I guess."

In reality, he just wanted to make sure he hadn't done anything tremendously stupid last night. As it stood, he had already destroyed priceless antiques. Luckily, they were pinning the blame on Papa Shango. But Mark really wished the Undertaker would be more careful when running around in his body. After all, he didn't need 'Taker doing something that could be traced back to him, or to Maria, for that matter. He had tried hard for years to keep his two personalities separate, to keep the Undertaker as far away from his civilian life as possible. After all, not only did he not want the authorities tracking him down, but he also needed to keep Maria safe. He didn't need something strange being traced back to him, because then the government would be all over this place, and then he would have to run again and start over somewhere else.

So far, they had no idea how Shango ended up the way he did, and they weren't going to believe a word Shango said when he came to. They never did. They didn't believe him when he claimed he had voodoo powers, and they weren't going to believe that he had been busted by a ghost or a demon, or whatever it was Shango thought the Undertaker was. So far, Mark was safe.

"Mark?"

"Huh?"

"You're drifting again" Maria said, a look of concern on her face.

"Sorry. My mind's all over the place today."

"What's wrong? Is it a work thing?"

"You could say that" Mark replied. "I've just been really busy, that's all. I hardly get any time to myself."

"Maybe you should ask for time off" Maria suggested.

"Not an option. My boss would never allow it" Mark said. "You could say he's a real…"

Mark was cut off by something on the TV.

"…that another body has been found. This makes the fifth victim this week. The police now believe this to be the work of a serial killer, but have no leads as to who he or she is, or where they may be. But our prayers go out to the families of…"

Mark felt in his soul, the strange feeling he got when the Undertaker was trying to tell him something.

"Mark!"

Mark came out of it, and noticed Maria looking at him, an annoyed expression on her face. Apparently, she had been trying to get his attention for quite a while.

"Sorry, I gotta go the bathroom. I'll be right back." Mark got out of his seat, as Maria stuttered in protest.

Mark got to the bathroom and, after checking to make sure there was no one else there, looked at the mirror and said one simple word: "What?"

A face looked back at him, and to an innocent bystander, it would have appeared to be Mark's own reflection. But this reflection had glowing green eyes, and it appeared in the mirror was located in another dimension.

"Those murders this week. We need to address them" the reflection said in a low, guttural voice.

"You mean, YOU need to address them" Mark said. "By the way, nice job in the museum last night. Next time, can you just destroy the whole place and just let them know it was me?"

The Undertaker ignored Mark's off-hand comment.

"I have a hunch as to who is committing these murders. We put a stop to them, tonight."

Mark sighed.

"So why are you telling me this? Get to it, then."

"I need you to figure out where the killer is. There are clues that the authorities have missed. You need to find them."

"So you want me to play detective again?"

"Yes. You're in the real world. I'm not. Therefore, you need to solve this, and then I will deal with the murderer."

"And I assume you know who it is?"

"I believe this to be the work of Abyss. I understand he has escaped prison again, and is lashing out."

"And why would he be doing that?" Mark asked.

"I do not know, nor do I care. I just know we stop him, which means you need to find out where he is" the Undertaker replied.

Mark let out a breath.

"Fine. But when you take him down, make sure you're more careful. I didn't need your shit getting into my life."

Once again, the reflection ignored his comment, and simply drifted away, leaving Mark staring at his normal reflection.

Mark walked out of the bathroom, and headed back to his and Maria's booth.

"Is everything alright?" Maria asked. "You were in there a long time. I was about to come and get you."

Mark smiled.

"I'm fine. Come on, let's finish our breakfast. There are some things I need to take care of."

ELSEWHERE…

The man sat in the boiler room, staring at the leather mask in his hands.

Soon, it would be time.

He looked around, remembering when his predecessor had been here. But his predecessor was dead, thanks to the demon. Thanks to the Undertaker.

The Undertaker had killed his predecessor and sent him to Hell, as he had done to the man himself.

But now, the man had been released from Hell. Now, he could take up the mantle of his predecessor, and he would succeed where his predecessor had failed.

He would take up the mantle of Mankind.

And he would put an end to the Undertaker.

The man put on the leather Mankind mask, and then he put on his trench coat. He had an arduous task ahead of him, and if he was going to draw out the Undertaker, he would need to put his plan into effect immediately.

Mick Foley was dead. Now this man was the new Mankind.

And he would take his revenge against the Undertaker for the crimes the demon had committed against him. And then he would make the Undertaker… rest in peace.