Spider-Man: High School Rules
Chapter 14: The Hammer Brought Down
The man in black climbed into the ring to join Peter, who felt kind of awkward standing there, despite the fact he had fought in one of these before.
"So what's your experience with fighting?" the man in black asked.
"Virtually none," Peter answered truthfully, "I mean, I signed up for a wrestling match once, and I won a fight with my school bully – and then there's my Spider-Man stuff, of course..."
"Right," the man sighed, "Look, Spider-Man – you have incredible strength, I understand that; but what good is it if you don't know how to use it?"
"Right," Peter nodded.
"Worst case scenario, you could go too far, step over the line, kill someone," the man explained, "I've taught you how to throw a punch, but you'll need to be better than that if you don't want Hammerhead's people to catch you again."
"Okay," Peter answered nervously, "I understand, I think."
"So," the man in black continued, "We don't know how long Hammerhead's going to stay at this location – maybe he moves around often. That means that the sooner we strike, the better, and the sooner we do it, the less chance that my informant will feel guilty and flip. I'm thinking we go there tomorrow. That gives me tonight to give you a crash course in how to fight properly."
"Tomorrow?" Peter clarified.
"If you don't want to do it, you don't have to," the man offered, "But I understand that this has affected you personally. That's why I took you on in the first place."
"No, I still want to," Peter replied adamantly, "I'll do it. I can do it."
"Good," the man smiled, hyping himself up. "You were saying about your spider-sense. I have something similar, so this should be fairly even."
Anxiously, Peter sparred with the man. He was right; while Peter still wasn't sure what exactly granted him these powers, he was able to dodge most of his attacks with ease, like he knew they were coming. In return, the man tutored Peter in where the most effective areas to strike are and how to disarm someone up close. Hours later, the man finally decided it was time to leave.
"Oh, Spider-Man," he stopped Peter before he left, "I don't know what your current disguise is like, but tomorrow I'd wear something dark, something stealthier. Anything too bright puts you at risk of being sighted, understand?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," Peter nodded, "I'll see what I can do."
Doctor Mendel Stromm knocked three times on the door of Norman Osborn's office.
"Come in," Osborn permitted. The doctor entered with a friendly smile, sitting down on the opposite side of Osborn, across his desk.
"Dr Stromm," Osborn greeted, "You know what I'm going to ask; the super soldier serum."
"Of course," Stromm nodded, "But you ought to know that we can't actually call it that anymore. See, the legal ownership of the name still falls under Stark's company, since his father developed it all those years ago. Us in the lab have settled on Biogenetic Project Supreme; it doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but we believe it has the edge that DARPA will like..."
"Yes, yes," Osborn waved his hand to cut him off, "That's all very good, but I'm here to talk about actual progress. I mean, how far along are you to completion?"
"Well," Stromm gritted his teeth nervously, "Progress is being made, of course, but I fear that it can't be done quickly enough to be completed by the end of this month. I'm sorry, Mr. Osborn, but it's a near impossible task with our current team – there simply isn't enough manpower!"
"I understand your predicament," Osborn twiddled a pen between his fingers, "But you must also understand that what you said isn't what I, or DARPA, want to hear."
"What do you suggest?" Stromm asked defensively, "We're talking about recreating an eighty-year-old serum, with no existing notes to speak of, by the end of this month?"
"We'll find a way, Stromm. I'm thinking if I can get approval for something from the Advanced Flying program, they might let this slide for now."
Stromm sighed and sagged back in his seat. "I'm sorry, Norman."
"Don't worry," Norman wiped his forehead, "You may leave now, Doctor."
Without saying another word, Doctor Stromm got up from his seat and left the room, pulling the door to behind him. Norman grabbed the phone on his office desk and typed a number into the keypad. It rang a few times before the person on the other end picked up.
"Van Adder," Norman greeted his newly-hired assistant, "Sorry to bother you while you're home. Look, to put it bluntly, Oscorp is ready to run tests on a drug we've been developing but we're all short of volunteers. It's completely safe, it's been refined, but we just need someone to actually test the thing so we can get it approved by DARPA."
"Well, I mean... you're sure it's safe, right?" Nels van Adder asked from the other end of the line, "As long as it definitely has no negative side effects, I guess I'm up for it!"
"I can assure you it's safe, Nels," Norman lied with a smile, "We wouldn't be testing it if it wasn't. Thank you very much for this – I'll make sure to up your pay this month. Have a good night."
Norman put the phone down quickly. Twice in a night he lied; he knew DARPA wanted this serum ASAP and that they would come to no compromise regarding it. He had no idea how safe the Biogenetic Project Supreme would be, yet he had just coerced his research assistant into testing it for him. That was the only way, in Norman's mind, that he could get DARPA off his back, by showing them it's not ready for consumption.
But how would he remove himself from the equation? If it was discovered that Norman willingly tested an unsafe product, he'd lose his job and everything he had worked for. It was up to him to decide how he would dig himself out of this hole.
Peter was having a tough time focusing at school. How could he possibly just sit here and act like things were completely normal when that night, he'd be joining the Man in Black in attacking Hammerhead's base of operations? It was driving him mad, and it was showing too; Peter had already made a scene by fumbling and dropping his books at his locker.
"You okay?" Harry asked as an exhausted Peter, bags under his eyes, sat down beside him in the cafeteria, "You look a little out of it today."
"One of those days, I guess," Peter sighed, rubbing his face.
"Look," Harry leant in, "I get things are tough, with what happened between you and Gwen – if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm still here, okay? I'm still your best friend."
Peter smiled. "Thanks," he said appreciatively.
Spider-Man followed the lead of the man in black, swinging along behind him as he kept a close eye on the man, flipping and parkouring from rooftop to rooftop. Peter couldn't help but wonder how he could possibly do it, but he thought better than to keep pestering him about his powers.
Peter had followed the man's advice on wearing less colourful clothing for this occasion. After school, he went out and bought a new, stealthy Spider-Man suit; a black balaclava, hoodie, gloves and socks with dark grey cargo joggers, but keeping the same welding goggles with the white lenses. Hopefully, this would keep him concealed enough, but Peter didn't really see the use in it if they were going to be fighting anyway.
As the man in black flipped onto the roof of a building, he staggered to a halt, kneeling at the edge. Following suit, Peter loosened his grip of the web he was holding, dropping to a squat beside the man.
"Are we here?" Peter asked, looking down at the street.
"There," the man pointed with surprising accuracy to a scruffy bar, "That's Hammerhead's headquarters."
"That bar?" Peter asked sceptically, "How can you be so sure?"
"I can hear my informant in there," the man replied matter-of-factly before staying silent for a few seconds. "Him... and twelve others."
Peter suppressed the urge to ask how on earth he could know that. "So, what's the plan?" he gulped.
"There are five on the bottom floor, in the bar itself," the man in black concentrated, "Four in the second floor, but I'm not sure what that's purposed for... and three in the top floor, one of which, I assume, will be Hammerhead himself. Spider-Man, if the footage of your face is anywhere, it'll be there."
"Okay," Peter nodded, "So I just go into the top floor, beat Hammerhead and destroy it, right?"
"Not that easy," the man smiled and shook his head, "If you go straight to him, no doubt the four thugs below will hear and come upstairs. You've got to take out the people on the second floor, quickly and quietly, got it?"
"Got it," Peter understood, "What are you going to do?"
"There's an entrance 'round the back," the man in black stood to his feet, "I'll go through there, hopefully take them by surprise. If I'm quick enough, I might be joining you. Good luck, Spider-Man."
On that note, the man in black scaled down the building using the fire exit, leaving Peter to deal with his part of the plan. He stood to his feet and examined the building; there were windows on the second floor he could possibly break through. It would make some noise, but as long as he took the men down quickly enough then hopefully he wouldn't get too overwhelmed. Peter took a deep breath as he positioned himself and fired a web, swooping down off the building and straightening his feet out in front of him, ready to smash through the window.
Shards of glass flung out in front of him as Peter broke in, sticking against the wall on the opposite side of the window. Four men stood up from around a poker table, baffled and angry looks on their faces.
"The fuck?" one of the men exclaimed; looking at him closely, Peter identified him as one of the men he fought the night he was captured – some kind of crazy martial artist.
Wasting no time, Peter fired four webs at each of their mouths, hopefully muffling the sounds of combat as to not alert anyone upstairs. Hopping off the wall, Peter took them on, honing in his spider-senses; detecting a punch towards the side of his chest, Peter shoved the man's arm in front of him and kicked the back of his shins to force him to the floor, webbing him down by his feet. The other free panic as they tried to pull the webbing off their mouths; when one made a break for the stairs, Peter was quick to fire webs his way, sticking him to the banister.
Fancy Dan ripped the webbing off his mouth, an annoyed expression on his face. "Thought I taught you a lesson, huh, freak?"
The sound of muffled fighting came from downstairs, drawing the attention of the remaining two men. "What the hell?" the other man looked towards the staircase leading down. Taking his chance while they both were distracted, Peter shot a web at the other man's hand, pulling him towards him with the thread. Grabbing him and picking him up, Peter tossed him out the window and stuck the other end of the web on the windowsill, leaving him to dangle there.
His senses were triggered; a kick that would hit the middle of his back. Peter flipped backwards, feeling the air rush under him as Dan's leg swept past. Dan grunted as he flung attack after attack towards Peter, all while the sounds of men groaning in agony echoed from downstairs. Upstairs, the sound of feet shuffling in panic could be heard. Not wanting to give Hammerhead an opportunity to escape, Peter caught Dan's hand and landed a punch across his jaw, blood spitting out of his opponent's mouth, before pinning him to the wall and sticking him there. The door opened and Peter prepared himself for another attacker, only to see the man in black.
"Good," the man panted, blood stains on his fists, covered in white boxing tape. A streak of blood ran from his nose. "Upstairs – now."
The two headed up the stairs only for the top door to swing open, revealing something similar to the large man Peter encountered the night he was captured. With a kick, he sent the man in black back down the stairs, walking down to reveal another man, built more like a boxer.
"You pricks shouldn't have come here," the large man taunted, picking up the man in black and throwing him across the room. Peter quickly pressed his web shooters, hitting the man with a constant stream of webbing which seemed to hold him in place momentarily. The other fighter weaved past the larger man, forcing Peter to stop and duck out the way as he threw a punch. Behind Peter, the man in black got back on his feet, charging at the boxer.
"Big mistake, boys," Hammer snarled as he weaved out the way of the man in black's attacks, "The boss is gonna have fun with you two!"
The Ox roared as he ripped his arms out of the webbing. Peter looked at the table the first four men were playing pool on; picking it up by two of its legs, he swung it into the Ox as he charged towards him, sending him staggering off to the side. Webbing the chairs over to him one by one, Spider-Man broke them against the Ox before being interrupted by a powerful punch, making him airborne as he flew onto his back. Behind him, Peter could hear the blunt sounds of punches and pained grunting. He needed to finish this off, fast.
As the Ox stood to his feet, Peter shot webs as each of his legs and pulled back, forcing him back down, hitting his back hard against the wall and sliding back down. Hearing a loud thud behind him, Peter looked behind to see the man in black pinning his opponent to the ground, yelling in anger as he punched repeatedly. He looked in bad shape but, as he heard the Ox trying to stumble back to his feet, Peter prioritized the matter at hand, webbing his hands down and restraining him.
Turning around, the man in black continued to unleash his fury on the other man, to the point where Peter almost felt bad for him.
"Hey – HEY!" Peter pulled the man off, "Stop it, man, look at – you're gonna kill him!"
Willard 'Hammer' Harrison lay sprawled out on the floor, raggedly breathing and wheezing with his face bloodied.
"We need to find Hammerhead," the man in black stated, walking right past Hammer's exhausted body. Growing confused on the morality of the man in black, Peter reluctantly followed.
Upstairs, the room was empty. A glass screen sat propped open, leading to the steps of the fire escape.
"Can you tell where he is?" Peter asked, checking the computer that had been left behind.
"He's..." the man in black paused, "Halfway down the steps – doesn't stand a chance. Do what you need to do."
Characteristically, he left without saying another word, leaving Peter to scour the computer's hard drive. It didn't even require a login; this was too easy. Remembering the date of his capture – Monday, 21st October – Peter found that the video file was stored separately from the others, in a folder simply titled "SPIDER-MAN". Plugging in a memory stick he had brought with him, he cut the video from the computer's hard drive onto his thumb drive. Checking that the footage from that night wasn't stored anywhere else on Hammerhead's computer, Peter looked up as he heard shouting below. He removed the memory stick and stuffed it into his pocket before leaping out the window.
Landing on the floor, he saw the man in black fallen against the side of the alley, clutching his chest. "Spi-Spider-Man..." he reached out as Peter rushed over, skidding to his knees in front of him.
"What happened?" Peter asked as the man gritted his teeth.
"Hammerhead... I never realised..." the man panted, "How he earned that name..."
"Can you walk?" Peter asked.
"I... I think so..." the man winced as Peter helped him to his feet.
"I'm gonna take you away from here," Peter wrapped an arm around him, "But you need to tell me where Hammerhead went."
The roar of an engine igniting rung out behind them before reducing to a low rumble. "Hold on tight," Peter fired a web up as the man in black held onto him. Peter leaped into the air, using the web to generate extra momentum.
"Wait, Peter," the man grabbed him as Peter lowered him onto the floor of the rooftop, "You need... you need to be careful, okay? Hammerhead – you need to be..."
"I know, I know," Peter reassured him, "I'm gonna get him, okay? I'll get him for both of us."
The man nodded as Peter swung off, spotting the car speeding off in the distance. Rapid firing webs, Peter quickly closed the gap between them. The car weaved through traffic, almost crashing into a number of vehicles as Hammerhead made a desperate escape. Swinging directly above him, Peter wondered if he knew he was still right on his tail. He needed to wait before he dropped; wait until Hammerhead was well out of the way of other vehicles.
As they moved onto an emptier stretch of road, Peter fired one last web before dropping down on the roof of the car, denting it inward and sending it skidding out of control. Firing a web at a building on the opposite side and sticking it to the side of the car, Peter slowed down the vehicle before its other side crashed into a lamppost.
Peter's senses went off – rolling off the roof onto the driver's side, bullets erupted through the roof of the car before the door swung open, revealing Hammerhead's ugly face, twisted with anger.
"Thought I toldja not to come back, web-head," he snarled, raising his gun, "I warned ya, and ya spat right in my face. Now, you're gonna get popped!"
Peter leapt over Hammerhead as he roared, opening fire from his tommy gun. As Peter landed, Hammerhead turned and leant back before slamming his forehead down where Peter stood. Fortunately, he managed to dive out the way just in time.
"That's your strategy, huh?" Peter teased, feeling playful and confident that he would earn the upper hand, "Headbutting everything? Now I know how you got so stupid!"
Tossing his gun aside, Hammerhead kicked at the ground like a bull before charging head first into Spider-Man who leapt up into the air, letting Hammerhead pass under him, denting another lamppost.
"Shoulda offed you when I snatched ya..." Hammerhead grunted, raising his fists as he turned, "Shoulda pumped you with lead the minute you stepped out that door!"
"What are you even saying?" Peter laughed as he moved out the way of Hammerhead's punches, "Have you, like, time travelled from the 30s or something?"
With an angry yell, Hammerhead swung his head sideways into Peter's arm, knocking him onto the floor. Shit – that hurt, Peter though as he clutched his arm. Before he could get up, he found Hammerhead grabbing him by the collar of his hoodie, holding him up slightly as he knelt over him.
"Listen here, shit-talker," he grinned, baring his teeth, "You play a stupid game, you win stupid prizes, understand?"
As Peter grabbed Hammerhead's arms in an effort to prize him off, Hammerhead smashed his head down onto Peter's, disorientating him.
"I'm gonna do what I shoulda done when I got the chance," Hammerhead flung back Peter's hood and roughly took hold of the top of his balaclava while sirens wailed in the distance. Peter's face dropped as he noticed something other than Hammerhead was triggering Peter's spider-senses; a gunman on a nearby rooftop had his rifle trained in their direction. Could he really let Hammerhead die, even knowing all the awful things he had done?
No.
Desperately grabbing Hammerhead by the back of the neck, Peter shoved him onto the ground beside him as a bullet from a sniper rifle whizzed past overhead. The sirens grew louder and Peter noticed the gunman no longer seemed to be a threat; maybe the area was getting too hot.
Standing up, Peter grabbed Hammerhead by the scruff of his suit jacket. The tables had turned. Looking at the angry but confused face of the small-time crime boss, Peter raised his fist and brought it down. Hammerhead went limp in Peter's hands as he blacked out.
The sirens got louder and louder before police cars skidded to a halt from each direction. Peter dropped Hammerhead to the floor, readjusting his balaclava so it fully covered his face.
"You, there!" Peter was shocked to recognise the voice before putting a face to it; George Stacy emerged with a pistol raised. "Stop what you're doing, right now!"
Peter raised his hands. "He's out cold, okay?"
"Stay where you are – don't even think of moving, you got me?" George roared, "Time's up, Spider-Man."
Glancing up through his lenses with his hands raised, Peter confidently assessed that, by firing a web from each hand to the buildings beside him, he could go up quickly enough that they wouldn't have a chance at landing a shot on him; he just needed to do it quick. As George grabbed a set of cuffs from his belt, Peter fired the webs to the peaks of each building, leaping into the air and pulling hard as to push himself upward. Letting go and hovering mid-air for a second, Peter pushed down on his web shooters again and swung down the street, the sound of distant gunshots echoing from behind him.
The man in black – is he alright?
Circling back round to find the building where he left the man, Peter found the rooftop empty. He must have been okay to leave here – maybe I'll find him at Fogwell's sometime soon.
Gwen, 8:32am: Is this you?
Attached was a link to a twitter video showing footage of an all-black Spider-Man facing off against Hammerhead. The video seemed to have been making the rounds online, with Spider-Man's small fan base excited to see his return.
Peter, 8:36am: Yeah.
Peter returned to twitter, where uninformed headlines were being shared to provide context to the video.
BREAKING: Vigilante returns in fight with crime boss
POLICE BAR RAID: Criminal bar found webbed up
WHO IS HAMMERHEAD?
THE MAN IN BLACK: What we know so far
Peter scoffed as he switched his phone off.
"Three days have passed since the capture of the criminal kingpin known as 'Hammerhead'. Real name Joseph Novikov, he was detained after a confrontation between Spider-Man, marking his first confirmed appearance since late October, and another vigilante known only as the man in black. On top of Hammerhead, a number of his assailants have also come into custody, including Wilard 'Hammer' Harrison, a former boxer, Daniel Brito, a martial arts teacher.
Police have put out a notice for Ronald Bloch, brother of Raymond Bloch, one of several men caught at a botched arms deal, alongside a search for an unknown gunman who missed a shot at Novikov shortly before his capture. Speaking this morning, here is what NYPD Captain George Stacy had to say on the matter..."
"The detainment of Joseph Novikov, known by many as 'Hammerhead', brings with it the downfall of his criminal empire. While relatively small in scale, the atrocities they committed cannot be understated. Joseph Novikov was a murderer, a backstabber and a downright vile human being. With his capture, the streets of New York will be a little safer."
Matthew Murdock switched off the radio, smiling gently upon hearing the report. He detected the sound of Spider-Man's webbing hitting a building a few blocks away; honing in on it, he found it to be coming nearer and nearer. Reaching for his mask, he pulled it down over the top half of his face, leaving everything from the bottom of his nose down visible.
Minutes later, Spider-Man would enter the gym, dressed in his more recognisable red-and-blue outfit. Peter was happy to see the man in black was there, seemingly uninjured.
"You're okay," Peter sighed in relief, "I was worried – I couldn't find you when I went back for you after I fought Hammerhead!"
"Don't worry about it," the man in black smiled, "I got over it. Nice work, by the way; I was just listening to the report on the radio."
"Yeah, we did pretty good..." Peter smiled giddily under his mask.
"You did good," the man pointed, "I knew, deep down, how scared you were, Spider-Man. You've overcome it."
"Thanks," Peter accepted, "So, what you got planned now?"
"Guess I'll keep doing what I've always done..." the man rested his hands on his hips, "... do my best to make Hell's Kitchen a safe place. What about you?"
"I guess I'll keep doing my part," Peter answered determinedly, "I figure with Hammerhead gone, that probably means someone's waiting to take his place, right?"
"Right," the man in black nodded, "And there's still Bloch and the gunman on the loose."
"Right."
The two paused, both appreciating the work they had done.
"We made a good team, don't you think?" the man in black asked, "I didn't expect to find a partner when I started this."
"We did," Peter replied, "But... I think now's a good time to go our own separate ways, don't you think?"
"No, I understand," the man replied assuredly, "We both operate in different areas."
"Yeah, but not just that..." Peter continued nervously, "That night, when we broke into the bar... you nearly beat that boxer guy to death."
The man went silent, his face dropping slightly.
"You lost control," Peter said somewhat bluntly, "And I think... you need to work that out."
"I wouldn't have killed him," the man defended himself. "I'm not a killer, Spider-Man."
"I know," Peter answered quickly, "But... you've just gotta be careful, man. You've got the devil in you, you've gotta control it."
Peter felt best to leave it on a bittersweet note, heading towards the door.
"Wait, Spider-Man," the man called out for him. Peter stopped with his hand on the handle. "If you ever need me... you know where to find me."
Peter smiled beneath his balaclava. "I'll see you around."
There was a knock at the door of Norman Osborn's private lab. Turning around, Osborn saw Nels van Adder's face through the window and motioned him to come in. The young man entered; fresh out of Empire State University, passing with flying colours in biochemistry, Osborn was impressed by Van Adder's knowledge and easily outshone the rest of the applicants for the role of Norman's research assistant. In terms of appearance, he was quite handsome, with a chiselled jaw line and short, bright blonde hair.
"Mr Osborn," Van Adder held out his hand, "Glad to be taking part!"
"Glad to have you," Osborn smiled wryly as he shook Nels' hand before motioning to the machine. "If you could undress to your underwear and take position..."
Van Adder looked at the machine as he unbuttoned his lab coat. It was just like the ones he'd seen in pictures in books about the Super Soldier Project. Van Adder kicked off his boots and unzipped his trousers, sliding them off before standing and lying back on the bench, which tilted him upright at about a 20 degree angle. Beside him were inactive syringes that, when filled and triggered by Osborn, would insert into several locations across his body, injecting the serum.
"So what are the side effects, exactly?" Van Adder asked, staring forward as he leant back.
"Exactly the same as that of the Super Soldier Serum from the 1940s," Osborn picked up a box containing vials of Biogenetic Project Supreme, stolen from Dr Mendel Stromm. "This is an almost exact replica, commissioned to us by DARPA."
"So nothing I need to worry about?" Van Adder clarified.
"Not at all," Norman smiled reassuringly as he strapped Nels in place before inserting the vials into the syringes. "It may seem daunting, but try to stay calm – there's really nothing you ought to worry about."
As he turned away, Norman's face dropped. Anxiously, he approached his monitor
"Ready, Doctor Van Adder?" Norman asked as he prepared to activate the syringes.
"Ready," Van Adder agreed, taking deep breaths.
"An anti-serum has already been prepared..." Norman activated the syringes, "To revert the process."
"Shame," Van Adder winced as the syringes penetrated his veins and his body was bumped full of this early, dysfunctional version of Biogenetic Project Supreme.
Almost immediately, it was clear that an awful mistake had been made. The readings that Norman was picking up on spiked, with Van Adder's heart rate reaching a dangerously high level as he began thrashing in his restraints, frothing at the mouth. Norman watched in horror as Van Adder twisted and made awful, guttural gargling noises.
"Dear God," Norman whimpered, "What have I done?"
Norman staggered backwards as Van Adder broke free from the restraints. He began to transform physically; his skin turned bright red, whether from heat or irritation wasn't clear. The whites of his eyes changed into this awful, infected yellow colour as his face took on an animalistic expression, snarling and baring his teeth. Horrified, Norman Osborn fled the room, slamming and locking the door behind him and running from the lab. Halfway down the corridor, Norman heard the muffled sound of glass shattering. What could he possibly have unleashed?
Outside, the thing landed haphazardly on the hard concrete below. Its transformation was now complete; its body fat had been almost completely burnt off, exposing its bulky muscles. All its skin was a deep shade of red and its facial features had been twisted and contorted, giving it a goblin-like appearance. The only human thing left of the creature were its clothes, what Van Adder stripped down to; a pair of black boxers and a ripped, white vest. At the end of its hands were no longer fingers, but jagged claws. Van Adder was completely removed from the being, except for one memory.
Norman Osborn did this.
Author's Note: So that's this arc complete! I'm not sure if or when I'll reintroduce Matt Murdock/The Man in Black/Daredevil, but I think it's better for Peter that he keeps working out how to be Spider-Man by himself for the time being. Not to say that's the last we'll see of DD - a fic, set in the same universe, detailing the first outings of The Man In Black, is on the way!
I'll be busy planning out the next arc and finishing off another fic I have in the works, so it's hard to say when the next chapter will begin. Until then, enjoy and review!