TRIGGER WARNING: bullying, name calling, fatphobia


(Nearly an hour later...)

"Where is he..? He should've been here by now," Lincoln spoke his thoughts out loud.

In his office, Lincoln paced back and forth, and stopped in front of a window. He had been waiting for Herman's return from his patrol and report to him and Kingpin. Yet, Herman hadn't come back, which was a possible bad sign. And Lincoln thought it could be either because of the Spider-Men and Black Cat or Hammerhead's men. Both were still bad news. Not wanting to think about the worst, he exhaled calmly and looked at the moon shining the night sky.

The cold breeze coming from the room's air conditioning units and the beautiful sight before him. It made Lincoln reflect on his past. How things were different for him when he was younger. And how he met and befriended the Kingpin.

*

(Three decades ago, on one afternoon...)

At a dirty alley somewhere, two boys surrounded a teen Wilson Fisk. One held Fisk's school bag upside down and shook it pretty hard, causing its contents to fall onto a pool of filthy water on the ground. Some of them were physics and biology textbooks.

"Aww look. Fat Willy loves science!" Cameron mocked Fisk as he shook the bag.

"Please, stop calling me that! Just leave me alone!" His hand tried to reach his school bag and snatch it away, only for Simon to push Fisk away.

Simon laughed at him. "What's the problem, Willy? Daddy's gonna spank you when he finds out what happened?"

Hearing that, Fisk growled. "Don't you even mention him."

"Oh? Daddy issues? Daddy abandoned you? Poor Fat Willy, huh?" Simon snickered.

"Shut up! Give me my bag now!" Fisk gritted his teeth and rushed toward Cameron, intending to take it back. Only for Simon to deliver a jab to his cheek, causing Fisk to stumble backwards and fall.

"Fat Willy who wants to be a scientist," Cameron blew a raspberry. "Who in the hell wants a fat scientist!?" He and Simon then laughed at Wilson Fisk.

However, they were interrupted as two hands held their heads from behind and banged each other. Because of this, Cameron dropped Fisk's school bag onto the ground. The two boys screamed in pain and turned around to find a young Lonnie Lincoln wearing a black hat, a pair of sunglasses, a long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of black gloves. He glared at them.

"You..! So you want your turn now, eh? I guess I'll just make the sun burn you then!" Simon gritted his teeth and tried to snatch Lincoln's hat.

Lincoln realized this and quickly gripped Simon's arm, before punching him in the nose. Soon after, blood started rolling down his nose.

"What the- What the fuck?!" Simon's eyes widened when he felt something warm flowing down from his nostrils. He wiped off the blood and he was horrified. He turned to Cameron, "Let's get outta here! He's gonna beat the heck out of us!"

Cameron, who had a terrified look on his face, agreed and the two ran away, leaving the teenagers alone.

Lincoln approached Fisk and offered his hand, which he accepted. "You okay?" he asked Fisk in a concerned tone as he helped him up, "Those guys are really troubles."

Fisk shook his head and turned his eyes to his bag and soaked books. "I think my mom's gonna be mad..." he sighed and proceeded to collect them. "Uh... Thank you for stopping them, it could've gone worse." He then asked, "Who are you? I don't know your name."

"Lonnie Lincoln. Yours?"

"Fisk. Wilson Fisk. You can call me Will or anything if you want. Just don't call me Fat Willy, okay?"

Lincoln frowned, "What? Why would I do that?"

"Because..." Fisk lowered his head in embarrassment, "Because of how I look. Some students from my school always call me that."

When he heard that, Lincoln felt pity for Fisk. He put his hand on Fisk's shoulder, which earned his attention. "I understand how you feel," Lincoln expressed his sympathy, "I've been called names just because of suffering from albinism. It... It hurts a lot."

"I'm sorry, Lonnie."

"Yeah, me too, Will."

"Lonnie. I'm glad I met you," Fisk said, his voice was filled with relief. "It feels like I'm not the only one."

He chuckled softly. "It's nice to meet someone new too. At least someone who doesn't hurt me."

The look on Wilson's face changed to a furious one. His voice seething with rage. "Hurt... So many times I've been hurt. I'm tired. I'm through being ridiculed. But what should I- we do?"

"We show them how horrifying we can be. We fight fire with fire. After that, they won't mess around with us," Lincoln grinned darkly. "But if anyone still does, they will regret it. Maybe we'll have to become...someone with huge power and influence. Then they'll fear us."

"So, it shall be our dream."

"And I have your back. I'll make sure no one destroys our dream. You can count on me, Will."

The two smiled at each other, feeling the trust that had formed between them.

"Friends?" Fisk asked.

"Friends," Lincoln answered.

*

(Back to present day...)

As he recalled his memories, Lincoln couldn't help but smile a bit. He remembered how things had changed in later years. He and Fisk would join the criminal underworld and rose through ranks. But they also faced rivals, who would attempt to stop them or kill them. One of their attempts on Lincoln's life was to trap him in a chamber room, filled with experimental gas. It was thought to be lethal, only for it to turn him into a superhuman and cure his skin sensitivity to sunlight, yet he remained pale. Because of his pale appearance and having been thought he rose from the dead, Lincoln earned the name "Tombstone". To intimidate his enemies, he filed his teeth, turning them razor sharp. He'd like to think of them as fangs.

As time went on, the two would gather their own resources and people. They also battled and eliminated their competitors. It was a hard journey. But in the end, Fisk managed to build his own empire, with Lincoln trusted to be his representative and mission coordinator. Even if they both had achieved their dream, they still had to protect it until the end, no matter what. No matter what.

While deep in thoughts, Lincoln heard the sound of his office door opening, prompting him to turn around and find Herman. The man stood there with a defeated and fearful look on his face. Lincoln's expression turned into a worried one.

"What happened?" he asked as he approached Herman.

"One of- One of our safehouses got breached." Herman's voice trembled as his eyes met with Lincoln's pink ones.

"By. Who?"

"By...the Spider-Men and Black Cat."

Lincoln nodded and proceeded to recall what he said yesterday. "I was right. They did strike again," he let out a slight chuckle, "And they outsmarted us. Impressive." He then turned on his laptop and set up a video meeting with Wilson Fisk, which terrified Herman. "Tell him the rest. The Kingpin must know."

Herman could only sigh and remain silent as he waited, resigned to the wrath of the big boss. When Kingpin appeared on the laptop screen, his body started to shake and his hands sweating.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Kingpin greeted them, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Herman bit his lip nervously and turned to Lincoln, who nodded at the screen, telling him to deliver the news. He took a deep breath and looked back at Kingpin. "We... A safehouse of ours got breached."

When he heard that, Kingpin's eyes widened in shock. He rose from his office chair and slammed a fist on the table, startling Herman. "WHAT?! How could this be!?"

"It's the Spider-Men and Black Cat's doing," Herman explained, "They managed to penetrate its security and stole a piece of information."

"What piece of information?" Kingpin asked.

"Probably a bill of lading. Which explains how they managed to get to one of our warehouses. And what's worse is that a virus was found in the safehouse's system."

"All that... All that and you didn't stop them?!" Kingpin raised his voice.

"I tried! I even gathered security guards to stop those three bozos. But they overpowered us all!"

Kingpin growled and leaned closer to the screen. His eyes was full of fury. "Do not test my patience, Herman. You have proved to be none other than a disappointment."

Those very words pierced his heart. Herman shook his head and looked at Kingpin pleadingly. His voice was shaken. "B-Boss... Please, I tried my best. Give me another chance at this!"

Kingpin didn't reply, which terrified the poor man even more.

"Will, that's enough," Lincoln raised his hand, before lowering it and spoke to him. "It's best if I lend a hand to Herman here."

Fisk turned his attention to his friend, confused with what he said. "What?"

"Listen. I know the two of us have different duties. But I don't think this will work any longer." He began to explain his intent, "If Herman keeps focusing on those three alone, no matter if he has the assistance of his men or security guards. The Spider-Men and Black Cat will surely destroy us and this empire we've built! So let me help him, Will. You've seen what I can do. You know about it."

For a few moments, Fisk stared at the screen, considering what Lincoln said. Who would coordinate the mission there? Although his friend could still coordinate missions, he might not be able to focus on two different things at the same time.

"Will. Trust me. If you still want me to be the mission coordinator, I can do that. But our friend here needs help too," Lincoln tried to convince him, "Besides, those clowns don't know what I can really do to them. They won't know what's coming."

In the end, Kingpin calmed down and relented. "Fine... If that's what it takes. I believe in you." Then, he turned to Herman and said, "Be glad I didn't decide to cast you out. Do what you must do. And do NOT disappoint me again." Shortly after, he ended the video meeting.

Herman and Lincoln shared a look, knowing they must plan something to even the odds. As Herman thought of the three heroes, he clenched his fist pretty hard, swearing to kill them and not spare any mercy. While the pale man grinned at the prospect of finally going back to the field, enjoying the thrill of fight and death, and catching the heroes off guard.

- To be continued in Part 2B -


A/N: And so this chapter concludes Part 2A! I hope you enjoyed reading it :D I think I'm gonna take a little break cuz final exams are coming and I need some space after spending two months writing these final chapters. (But I think I'll probably write the Part 2B chapters in my spare time.) For you who's about to have final exams, I wish you good luck! Anyway, feel free to follow and favorite this fic! Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. And follow me if you want to stay tune with future works. Thank you everyone and have a good day!