Lounging on his sofa, in his apartment, Percy brought out his phone, checking the time, he decided that it wasn't too late to give Jean a ring. Hitting the video-call app, he waited, as the picture of her face on the screen bounced around from place to place. After only a few moments, she picked up. She looked tired, but happy. Her hair brought up into a messy ponytail, that still managed to frame her face beautifully, and drew attention to her startlingly pretty eyes,
"Hey," Percy said, a sappy smile finding purchase on his face,
"Hey yourself," She laughed back, her cheeks dimpling,
"Now a good time?" He asked, hearing the dull roar of the television behind her,
She nodded, "Just relaxing in the lounge, watching…I don't even know what this is, Kitty turned it on,"
There was a slight scuffling, and Jean looked away from the screen for a moment, before another face filled the frame. She was young, maybe thirteen or fourteen, with a heart-shaped face, and dark brown hair.
"Mr. Percy!" Kitty Pryde said happily, waving enthusiastically at Percy in the camera. Percy smiled tiredly and waved back. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Kitty, nor was it that he didn't want to talk to her, but he was exhausted, and he just missed Jean.
"Hey Kitty, how ya doin'?" Percy asked,
"So good! We saw you on the news the other night, and it was so cool. You just, like, walked in and were, like, 'BAM'!" She emphasized the point by miming an explosion, before adopting a faux masculine voice, "Sit down, and shut up, because I'm awesome and you just need to accept that," Her voice changed back to her normal tone, "It was, like, so awesome!"
Percy smiled thinly and laughed uncomfortably. Awkwardly rubbing at his neck, "Just trying to help deescalate a bad situation,"
There was a giggle on the other end, before Jean's voice cut across, "Alright, you mind letting me have my phone back Kitty?"
"Oh, right," The girl said, deflating slightly, she genuinely looked excited to talk to him, and Percy did feel a little put out at her disappointment,
"I'll try and swing by the mansion soon Kitty, been a while since I've had a chance to see you all, sound good?" He asked, and Kitty instantly seemed to perk up at the promise,
"Sounds great Mr. Percy! I'll tell Patty, she'll be sad she missed you, bye! Have fun with Miss Grey!" And she disappeared, and Jean's amused face came back into frame. The camera shifted slightly, the background distorting around Jean's face as she stood up from wherever she'd been sitting,
"Always Mr. Popularity huh?" She teased idly, as she popped in a pair of ear buds, so as not to be disturbed,
Percy snorted, shifting in the couch to get a bit more comfortable, "Apparently. Talk about a departure from when I was in high school,"
Jean gave him a look as she started climbing the stairs, "You weren't popular in high school? I find that hard to believe,"
Percy shrugged, "Getting arrested during math class ain't great for your rep,"
"Funny," She said dryly, "I'm guessing since you're calling me from your ratty couch instead of a hospital, that everything went ok?"
"Hey," Percy said, feigning hurt, "I love this couch!"
Jean just quirked a brow at him,
"Ok," He admitted, "So maybe it's a little lumpy, but it's got character,"
Jean rolled her eyes but grinned at him,
"Anyways, yes, things went great. Got to meet the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, beat the hell out of some mobsters, and caught the guy that's been killing the local gangs."
"Your life is wild."
"Pot, meet kettle."
"Touche,"
They fell silent for a few moments, and Percy watched as Jean ascended the stairs, he assumed she was heading to her personal room, so they wouldn't be continuously interrupted. "So, how does it feel? to be working again I mean." Jean asked,
Percy shifted his head side to side as he thought about it, "Feels…good," He finally admitted after a moment of thought, "Feels right. This whole legal thing with the Avengers is kind of annoying, makes it so I had to skulk around and do everything real quiet like. But that's pretty par for the course if I'm honest." He fell silent again, and sunk lower into the couch, "Really though? It just felt nice to be doing something again. I don't handle stillness well, you know that"
"Understatement of the decade," Jean laughed, as she opened the door to her room,
"For a little while, it was like nothing had changed you know. I had a mission, had a goal, and I could just focus on that. It was nice to not be thinking about…"
Jean frowned, then her expression morphed into one of sympathy, "I know hon. How're you doing now though? Now that it's over,"
Percy squirmed; he hated these kinds of conversations. He'd never been all that good at talking about himself or his own feelings. But he knew Jean was just trying to help him out,
"I don't know," He admitted, looking away from the camera, "It feels more like this whole Castle thing, that's the guy we caught by the way, was more of a distraction. Just something to briefly keep my mind occupied. Now that it's over, I don't really know what to do. Talking to you always helps though. Looking at you has a way of taking my mind of depressing thoughts," He added with a cheeky grin. His smile only widening when her face colored slightly, and a happy expression came over her,
"Flatterer," She said with a small laugh,
"Just speaking the truth," Percy said, he stretched, and put one arm behind his head, "In all seriousness though, not sure what I'm going to be doing now. Part of me wants to do what the Devil's been doing. Put on a costume and start beating up thugs and street criminals."
"That's not healthy Percy," Jean chided softly, placing her phone down on her dresser, giving Percy a great view of her ceiling.
"I know, I know," He conceded, "I didn't say I was going to do it, just that the thought had crossed my mind. Honestly, the whole thing went by so quick, I don't even know what I want to do now."
"That's not everything though, is it?" She asked, and Percy cursed that she knew him so well,
"It's really not, he conceded," She didn't respond, she knew he would talk when he was ready, and he was thankful for that. Finally, with a heaving sigh, he ran a hand over his face,
"It's just…more than being used-again-and more than the betrayal. For years I thought I had been doing the right thing. Had been working to help the world become a better place. A safer place. I did…I did some real terrible stuff Jean. Stuff that-stuff that makes it kind of hard to sleep sometimes. But I always justified it by telling myself, that we were the good guys. That we had been fighting the good fight. Every person I killed, every regime we helped topple, I told myself it was in the betterment of the safety of the planet. But now? Now that I know who was really calling the shots? How we were being manipulated by HYDRA?"
His eyes started to water, as images of some of the men and women he'd killed over the years started coming to the forefront of his mind. Just as it had every night since the fall of SHIELD. Since it was revealed they'd all been pawns. Not just him.
"I don't even know Jean. I just feel so lost."
There was a tingle of warmth in the back of his head, coming from a small piece of Jean, that was always part of his inner psyche. It blanketed him in warmth, and comfort.
"I love you Percy." She said, her face coming back into frame briefly, "I know what you've done, I know what they made you do. Open communication, remember? I know how you feel, and how everything you've done, every action you've taken, has been in the service of the good of the planet. You are not to blame. You were used, manipulated, and taken advantage of when you were your most vulnerable, and the people manipulating you were pawns themselves. There was no reason for you to know. No way, for you to know. You have a noble heart, and a kinder soul. You wouldn't be the man I loved if you didn't."
A tear threatened to slip down his cheek, but he dabbed it away quickly. He still felt rather lost. Conflicted, and hurt. But knowing that this wonderful, kind-hearted woman was willing to accept him, despite all he'd done, was more than enough for him.
There was a slight pause, and the sound of drawers being opened and closed, and when Jean spoke again, her tone was slightly more subdued, almost nervous
"You could…you could always move here, into the institute. I could ask Charles if he'd hire you. Lord knows we could always use more teachers."
Percy almost laughed, but he knew that might bother her, so he refrained, "I'd honestly love nothing more than to move in, start a real life…with you," He said genuinely, "But I'm not exactly a teacher, I don't think I have patience or the temperament for it,"
"You're selling yourself short Percy. The kid's already love you; you have a way with them that I wish I could duplicate." Jean said, her voice sounding a little further off, "But that's not all of it…is it?" she asked,
Percy hesitated, but he decided that he wanted their growing relationship to be an honest one. He wanted there to be open, and clear communication, and that meant sometimes saying things that might be uncomfortable,
"No…not it's not,"
"…This is about New York, isn't it?" Jean asked, the nervousness was back in her voice, and she sounded as uncomfortable as Percy felt.
"A little bit, yeah." Percy said, "Not that I don't understand where he was coming from, and like I said, I don't hold a grudge against Charles, or the rest of the X-Men, and obviously I don't hold it against you. I know that he was just doing what he thought was best for your kind, for all of your kind. I agree with, that humanity might not be ready for your existence yet. They're still just getting accustomed to us," He didn't need to explain who he meant by us, it was clear enough.
"But that doesn't mean I don't feel a little…bitter. You weren't there for it Jean. I've seen reruns of the battle, it…it doesn't do it justice. The screaming, the panic, the falling buildings…. the bodies." Percy shuddered, as images of the fighting once more lashed across his mind,
"It just…bothers me, you know?"
There was silence for a minute, before Jean finally responded, "I know Percy," her voice was soft, vulnerable. Percy wanted nothing more than to reach out, hug her, wrap her up in his arms and hold her. But he couldn't, so he did the next best thing. Searching within his subconscious, he found the tendril of power that was ever present, the piece of Jean that she had left inside his psyche, the bit of her that she had implanted into him so long ago. With a mental tug, he pulled on that connection. Sending his feelings of care, love, and reassurance of his devotion and care for the woman through it.
There was instant response, as Percy felt a surge of warmth spread throughout his body, and his mind was encased in a feeling of tender security, compassion, and care. Jean understood what he was doing and was thankful for it.
"I miss you," He said softly into the phone, wrapping himself in the mental comfort of her telekinetic presence,
"I miss you too," she said, her face reappearing in the screen, she had changed. No longer was she wearing her work clothing, but instead she was in a flowing silk, neglige of periwinkle blue. Her hair, no longer in the tight ponytail, was cascading down her shoulders, framing her face beautifully.
"Gods above you're a vision," He couldn't help but breath, a tender smile on his lips, she colored and smiled shyly back at him.
"Keep talking like that and I'm going to get a swelled head," she said,
"You deserve it," he said earnestly,
"Are you lying down?" she asked abruptly, and Percy arched a brow in confusion,
"Yeah, I'm on the couch, why?" he asked, confused,
"Close your eyes, I'm going to try something."
Confused, but curious, Percy did as he was told. Closing his eyes and sinking into the couch. There was a soft beep from his phone, as Jean suddenly ended the call, before he could open his eyes and try and call her back however, he felt a strong, and strange pull, from the thread of Jean in his mind. Reaching out, he pulled on the thread himself. There was a sudden pulling sensation, somewhere around his naval, before it felt as though he was being pulled through a narrow tube, he gasped out, and tried to open his eyes, but felt he couldn't.
He panted, confused and suddenly fearful. What was going on, what was happening, was this Jean's doing, or something else? He didn't know, but before his panic could reach a fever pitch, a pair of cool, soft hands cupped both his cheeks. He felt a pair of achingly familiar lips on his own, and he suddenly found that he could open his eyes.
Blinking open, it took him a second to gain his bearings, as his vision was swimming slightly. After a few seconds, his vision cleared, and he saw the familiar curls of red hair, and startlingly green eyes of Jean looking up at him, a self-satisfied smile on her face.
Looking at her in utter bewilderment, Percy glanced about them, taking in the scenery of the room around them. It looked like exactly like Jean's room at the mansion, except there was something distinctly different about it. There was a faint red hue to everything in the room, not enough to be overtly noticeable if you weren't explicitly looking for it. But Percy could tell. He also recognized the thick and heavy air, that he associated with whenever Jean exercised the use of her power. The thrum of power in the air itself, and strangely enough, the absolute absence of any real water in the atmosphere.
Looking back at Jean, Percy asked, "What-what is this?"
"Scott might be an adulterer, but he and Frost did have the right of it. This is a mental scape I've been spending the past few weeks crafting." She glanced around the room, clearly proud of her handiwork, before turning her attention back to a befuddled Percy, "I created it in my mind, and dragged our subconsciouses in. Everything we see, hear, and…touch," She emphasized her point by rubbing her hands over Percy's shoulders, "Feels real."
Percy was stunned into silence, before a cheeky, and devilish smile found purchase on his face,
"You sneaky little pixie,"
She giggled, and slid past him, striding towards the bed. She ran a speculative hand over the covers of the plush duvet, before climbing onto the bed,
"Guilty as charged," She said, a predatory gleam in her eye,
"Now are you just going to stand there, or are you going to join me?"
Percy didn't need to be told twice.
BREAK
Foggy slammed his briefcase down onto his desk, before collapsing into his chair. Things had gone from bad, to unbelievably epic shitstorm, in a matter of days. The case was going poorly. Not only was their defense for Castle flimsy at best, but the medical examiner's report, the backbone for their defense, was thrown out. Add that to the fact that apparently Matt's psychotic ex was in town, threatening his witnesses, and interfering in his case. Matt's lying. And Reyes controlling every step of the narrative, and Foggy was about ready to scream.
He groaned, laying his head on his desk. He desperately needed a drink.
"Yikes, not looking so hot there buddy,"
Foggy jumped, his knees colliding painfully with the underside of his desk. Gasping in pain, he rubbed at his knee, as his eyes watered slightly. Looking up, his vision slightly blurry, he was less surprised than he should have been to see Sentinel, or Percy as he preferred, in his office, a manilla folder in his hands.
"Jesus Christ," Foggy said, trying to calm his racing heart, and ignore the throbbing in his knee, "Don't you ever knock,"
The man just shrugged, an easy grin on his face, "Less fun that way,"
"What do you want?" Foggy grouched, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
Percy raised a brow, "What's got you in such a pissy mood?"
The dam holding back the frustration, anger, hurt, and betrayal, that had been gathering inside of Foggy since the trial began, finally burst.
"Gee, I don't know," He said sarcastically, raising his hands in the air, "Maybe it's because I'm trapped working a hopeless case, that my best friend pressured me into taking. In spite of the fact that the man is a murderous psycho, and there's a mountain of evidence showing that he deserves to die for all the shit he's done. Maybe it's the fact that my best friend, who was supposed to work this case with me, is too busy running around with his equally homicidal girlfriend, threatening my witnesses. Or maybe, it's the superhero, who thinks he can just pop in and out of my office, like it's a goddamn bathroom at a rest stop!"
Foggy panted after his tirade. His face red with anger, which quickly turned into a flush of embarrassment.
"I'm sorry," He said quickly, placing his face in his hands as he tried to cover his mounting shame at shouting at one Earth's Greatest Heroes. "It's been a bad day,"
"I can tell," Percy said calmly, pulling the chair out from in front of Foggy's desk and sitting down in it. "I take that meeting about the medical examiner didn't go well?"
Foggy froze, and looked up at the man in confusion, "You were there?"
Percy nodded, an easy smile on his face, "I literally have nothing better to do with my time. Girlfriend works upstate, and for the moment, I'm unemployed. So, I decided to pop in, see how the trial was going. But man," he leaned back in his chair, and lazily stretched an arm behind his head, momentarily distracting Foggy. The man was ludicrously well built.
"Real court is nothing like Law and Order. That shit was boring. How do you sit through that? Twenty minutes in and I was going stir crazy. But that might just be ADHD."
Foggy couldn't help but laugh at that, already feeling his shoulders loose some of their tension. There was something about the man that just put people at ease. Maybe that was one of his superpowers.
"I know what you mean. When I first started law school, it was one hell of a rude awakening just how much is fabricated for tv." He sighed, rolling his shoulder, "But, I'm guessing you didn't come here just to chat, did you?"
Percy shook his head, "No, I didn't," he placed the folder he'd been holding down on the desk, "Thought you might want to read through that,"
Foggy didn't make any moves to pick up the file. "I'm not going to like what I find in there, am I?" he asked, hesitantly,
Percy shook his head, "Probably not, would you rather I just tell you?" Foggy nodded, biting back another groan of frustration, leaning back and rubbing tiredly at his eyes.
"Reyes is the one responsible for the death of Castle's family," And just like, all manner of exhaustion evaporated from Foggy immediately,
"What?" he demanded, quickly reaching out to snatch the file. Tearing it open, he began to read through it, Percy speaking over him as he did so,
"It was a sting operation. One that went south. NYPD had an undercover in one of the gangs, told them about a potential meetup between the three. Something about a new dealer, calls himself The Blacksmith. Apparently, he's seized total control over the heroine game in town and called the meeting between the three gangs. Reyes opted not to clear the park before the meetup, my guess is she didn't want to spook the bad guys. But that's irrelevant. One of the gangs got spooked, opened fire, the gangs up and killed one another. Castle's family got caught in the crossfire, so did the undercover cop."
"And then she put a Do Not Resuscitate on Castle," Foggy murmured, looking up from the file to meet Percy's gaze, "She was trying to cover her mistakes. Bury the lead on Castle, his family, and the undercover cop. Make sure her name stays clean in all of this."
Percy nodded his head, "There's more though," He then reached over the table, and pulled another page out from the stack, and placed it in front of Foggy, tapping it with a finger.
"Now, this could be related, it could be nothing. But there's something about this that doesn't add up to me. There's a missing six months in his duty file. Six months, during some of the worst fighting in Afghanistan, where one of the most decorated marines in the corps was apparently left to sit on his ass. I don't know if it has anything to do with Reyes, but it could be something worth looking into."
Foggy hummed to himself, looking over the case notes. Before he sighed dejectedly, "As…insightful as all of this is, I just don't know if it's going to be useful."
"How so?" Percy asked, "Wouldn't this be considered a conspiracy? Granted, I'm not at all a lawyer, but I have to imagine that you could use this to paint the prosecution in a very poor light. Couldn't this call into question the validity of any evidence produced by the prosecution? If you have evidence that Reyes was doctoring evidence, it makes any evidence they produce seem questionable at best."
"That's the problem though, how did you get the information? If you got this by…um…utilizing your Jarvis friend, then all of this is illegal. I can't present it. Even worse, if this came from SHIELD, I shouldn't have to tell you how that's going to look to a judge."
Percy sighed, and rubbed at his face, "Damn," He said softly, "Really that was going to be useful,"
"No, no," Foggy was quick to amend, he didn't want to make it look he was ungrateful. It was clear that Percy had put a lot of time and effort into what he found, "This is all very good stuff, I just don't know if I can incorporate it, you know?"
Percy gave him a grin that was closer to a grimace. "You don't have to try and make me feel better man. Not the first time I've done this," He laughed lightly, "Ah well, can't win 'em all now can you?" He stretched his arms over his head and let out a tired groan, "Well," he said, clapping his hands against his lap, "Is there anything else I can help with? I'm kind of new to this whole…doing things legally way of life."
Foggy grimaced, "Probably not if I'm honest. Not unless you can get me solid proof of mental deficiency or disease in Castle. That's what our entire defense is based on."
It was Percy's turn to grimace, "Not exactly my forte unfortunately," Then he smiled, "Looking forward to seeing how you swing this though,"
Foggy snorted, "Yeah, can't wait for you to watch me flounder on my own again,"
"Was going to ask about that. What's going on with Murdock, thought he was supposed to be helping you? Or does this have to do with that, erm, psycho ex-girlfriend you mentioned."
Foggy hesitated for just a second, before deciding that if anyone might be able to help him understand his friend, it would be Percy.
"His nighttime activities have been taking precedence over the case. Instead of putting together the brief, the witness lists, and the statements, he's been running amok with that lunatic Natchios. Apparently, she intimidated the medical examiner into admitting he'd doctored the medical records."
Percy furrowed his brows when Foggy mentioned Natchios. "Natchios, why does that name sound so familiar to me?"
That caught Foggy's attention, "You've heard of her? I guess not too surprising, she's the daughter of some former Greek diplomat or something,"
Percy shook his head, "Something I'll have to look into. But what does that have to do with his 'other' life?"
"According to Matt, she hired him to work some superhero bullshit case with her. I don't know, but he lied to me, again, about this. Told me he was getting us a case for a wealthy client, someone who was going to pay big. He promised it had nothing to do with the Devil, but he lied. He keeps lying, and I'm done with it. I'm done with the secrets. Done with the lying. I might just be done with Matt."
Percy frowned, letting Foggy get his tirade out of his system before speaking. "I'm going to say something I don't think you're going to like,"
Foggy groaned, "Please don't tell me you agree with him! This life? This-this whatever he's doing? It's going to get him killed! He's not like you, or the other Avengers! He doesn't have superpowers, sure, he can do things no blind man should be able to do, but still! One of these days, he's going to disappear, and I'm going to walk into his apartment, to find him dead on the floor."
Again, Percy waited patiently for Foggy to finish, "No, to answer your question, I don't agree with him. He shouldn't be lying to you, he shouldn't be trying to push you away, but that doesn't mean I don't understand why he's doing what he's doing. I also understand why he keeps lying to you, in spite of you already knowing his secret."
Percy waited for a minute, but when it was clear Foggy wasn't going to say anything, he continued,
"Misguided as it might be, he's trying to protect you. This life he's choosing. It's ugly. I'm sure you've seen it already. The morning's that he comes in, looking like he spent twelve hours getting smacked in the face with a bat, the haunted looks, the people he fights. It's an ugly world, one he's trying desperately to keep you from being a part of."
"He's supposed to be my partner!" Foggy shouted, then slumped in his chair "More than that, he's supposed to be my friend. We're supposed to share everything with each other. The good, the bad, and especially the ugly. I know what he's doing is for the good of the city, for the betterment of the people living here. But every day, it feels more like that-that costume, is what he cares about more than me. More than our dream." He waved a hand around the room dejectedly, "This was supposed to be our first step to greatness. And now…" He shook his head in defeat, "I just don't even know anymore."
For a minute, Percy didn't respond, just let the silence drag on and left Foggy alone to his thoughts. It wasn't really his business, and he had no reason to inject himself in their personal drama. But he also saw an opportunity to help someone. To maybe start righting the wrongs he'd committed.
"I don't want to speak for him, but I think I can tell you what's going on with him. I don't even think he's really aware of it himself." Percy leaned forward, so that his arms were resting on his knees and he was meeting Foggy's eyes evenly,
"Murdock, he's a warrior. A soldier. He's been trained, that much is obvious. He's been trained to fight, act, and feel a certain way. It's something that exists in all of us, everyone who does what we do. Whether he likes it or not. Whether he knows it's healthy or not, he cannot sit idly by while people are hurt. When there are injustices in the world, and when he knows he has the power to maybe do something to stop it. If he were to sit on the sidelines, and not get involved, and if someone got hurt, he would blame himself."
"But that's stupid!" Foggy said, exasperated, "He can't be everywhere at once, he can't wage a one-man war on all crime! It's asinine, and it's going to get him killed,"
Percy shook his head, "I don't disagree. Like I said, it exists in everyone in this…profession. If someone gets hurt, and he could have done something to stop it? He's going to blame himself. Stupid or not. Misguided or not. It doesn't matter, because that's simply how he's programmed." Percy sighed and leaned back,
"Right now, he's going through the same thing we all go through. He's going to start trying to push you away. He's going to lie to himself and tell himself that forming personal attachments is going to get in the way, going to prevent him from…completing the mission. More to the point, he's going to tell himself that it just draws the people he cares about into the line of fire. I did the same thing when I first started. But I'm telling you, pleading with you really, not to let him do it. He's spreading himself too thin, trying to do too many things at once, and it's going to get him killed. Or worse, isolate him to the point where he wishes he was dead. I know how much it hurts you; I know how unfair it is to you, but he needs you to be stronger. To stay true to your friendship and help him through this, to help him see that he can't do everything on his own."
Foggy was looking down, his hands flat against his desk, as he processed Percy's words, "Why are you doing this? Why do you even care?"
Percy shrugged, "Like I told him, with the state of the Avengers, and my own personal involvement with my former employer, I can't get involved as much as I want. I want nothing more than to help him keep New York safe. With my powers, it would be easy. But I can't. He can though, and I respect what he's trying to do. But I don't want to see him self-destruct before the limits of his own abilities can be reached. He cares about this city, cares about humanity. I want to protect that, guide that, and help where I can. I've done…I've done a lot I'm not proud of, but if I can help someone else do some good in the world…I guess it makes me feel like I'm atoning for my own sins."
Foggy nodded at that, but the frown remained on his face, "I understand what you're trying to say, really I do, but I just don't know if I'm strong enough to do it. We've spent this entire time talking about him, but what about me? What about my own feelings? Am I supposed to sacrifice my own self-respect to protect his own ego? Am I supposed to sit back, and let him lie to me, over and over again? When does enough become enough?"
Percy shrugged again, "That's not up to me, I'm afraid. If this was easy, you wouldn't be in this position in the first place. Life is hard, and it's full of choices, it's up to you to decide how the choices you make, and the choices of others define you." Percy stood up,
"I'm not going to force you to do anything. At the end of the day, its your friendship, and your business. I just didn't want you two to do anything the both of you might regret, without thinking things through, and understanding each other fully." Turning Percy made to leave the small office, but stopped, his hand on the nob, when Foggy spoke,
"I appreciate what you're saying, and what you're trying to do. I'll-I'll think about it. And…and thank you for all you do."
Percy didn't respond, and he left the office.
AN: Admittedly mostly filler here. Needed a transition between the Punisher stuff and the Hand stuff and this worked out well enough for me. The next couple of chapters get a lot more fun though, I promise. Anyhoo, hope ya'll are having a good time. Love ya all, and stay safe. See ya tomorrow.
Love,
LilDB