Author's Note - I don't often like writing these as I feel it subtracts from the actual flow of the story if you're reading multiple chapters at a time but I would like to apologise for the delay uploading this. I have been pretty ill the last few weeks so haven't been able to write much. Apologies and hopefully I'll be back to posting more regularly.

Chapter Seven – A Negative Mindset

The following day dragged by at an agonising pace. My three-hour biophysics lecture felt like it was at least double that time, and I spent most of the time doodling in my notebook. The Black Cat was on my mind. The fact that she'd escaped with the data from the Life Foundation vexed me. I should've been better. The fight was sloppy.

She was probably after blackmail material, something to extort Drake and his son and part them with their money. I'd have to keep on the lookout, but it was doubtful that I'd be able to do anything at this point. I sighed loudly as I entered mine and Harry's room. Harry was still at his biochemistry lecture with Doctor Connors, but the through doors connecting our bathroom to Flash's and Ned's room was open, so I stepped through into their sleeping area. Both blonds were in their room, Ned sat at his desk on his laptop, glasses perched on his nose. Flash meanwhile was lay in his bed scrolling his phone.

"Yo." I said as I crashed out in Ned's empty bed.

"How was it?" Flash asked, referring to my lecture.

"Boring as." I replied. "Yours?"

"Love learning all about the world war." Flash said dryly about his history lecture – he was doing a module about conflict in the twentieth century currently, something he had previously made clear that he found dull.

"You should try writing an article on pigeons going missing." Ned grumbled – obviously JJ had him on some filler news for the Bugle.

"You need to get out more." Flash said, smirking.

"I'm the only one here with a girlfriend." Ned said, not looking up from his laptop.

"Ouch, low blow there Leeds." I replied, as Flash chuckled.

The group of us spent the next few hours chatting and messing around, both Flash and I doing our best to annoy Ned, and Ned doing his best to try not to punch both of us in the face. For a few hours I felt my anger at my failure the night previously slip away, the weight lifted from my mind. Everything seemed manageable again, even if it was just for now. Slowly though, this nonchalant atmosphere began to vanish. First Ned left, off on his date with Betty. Flash and I naturally took the opportunity as he was getting ready to critique his outfit choice, hair styling, aftershave, and every other thing possible, as friends do, until he left. Not long after this Flash rose from his sitting position on the floor to take off his clothes and replace them with his gym gear, shoving his basketball uniform and shower supplies into his bag so he could head to his practice, leaving me solo in their bedroom. Harry still had not returned from wherever he had vanished to; I guessed he was spending the evening (and probably the night and morning) in the bed of someone he had met.

I sauntered back into mine and Harry's room, closing the two bathroom doors behind me and pulled out Uncle Ben's case. I flipped the latches and grabbed my suit, pulling out to continue fixing the damage from the previous night. As soon as I'd grabbed it I felt my anger return and mentally chastised myself for my colossal fuck up with Cat the night prior. The suit had indeed been almost completely dyed black from whatever had covered me from that tube. Only the lower forearms and shins were still their normal colour. I ran my hand over the stomach of the costume, feeling for the rips from Black Cat's claws.

Curiously, they weren't there…

I felt more closely – there were definite sections where there had previously been rips, but they felt as if they had already been sewn shut. This perplexed me – I didn't remember fixing the suit last night, and in the drunken state I was in surely I wouldn't have been able to close the gashes as well as they had been, but undeniably the suit was fixed. I pulled my clothes off and slipped the suit on, then looked in the mirror at it, running a finger over the very faint lines of my stomach where the rips had been. Weird.

I fixed my mind back on the previous night. I would have to be on the lookout for Black Cat. Hopefully her work at the Life Foundation wasn't over and I could apprehend her. I'd have to pay a visit to Professor Steven at some point to keep him updated. I slid mine and Harry's window up, looking out into the darkening skies of early evening New York, then dropped out of the window.

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I observed the thugs below me loading crates into the back of a truck. I didn't know what were in the large wooden boxes, but it certainly wasn't anything good. The men who were going from warehouse to truck were dressed in dark clothing and adorned with Chinese yaoguai and mogwai masks – Mr Negative's men. They had been quiet recently, but obviously something had motivated them to emerge from the shadows back into the light. I had to find out what and stop it. My fist clenched instinctively and I felt the muscles in my thighs tighten as I prepared to jump down, but a few deep breaths relaxed me. It would be pointless taking out this small group of gangsters. No, that wouldn't get me close enough to their leader. I'd wait and watch, let them do their boss' work then lead me to their hideout.

I only had to wait about ten minutes before I saw one of the men pull the warehouse doors shut and heard the truck engine rev into action. A handful of men piled into the truck whilst the remainder of the group got into a nearby car. Both vehicles pulled out onto the streets of New York, both headed the same way. I flicked my wrist out and felt the webbing I'd released go taunt as it attached to a nearby building, and I slung my way across the skyline, following the truck and accompanying car. The two vehicles were keeping a low profile; their driving was perfect. They wanted to avoid attention. What a shame for them that they had mine undivided. Eventually they pulled into the parking lot of a second nearby warehouse, only a twenty-minute drive from the first warehouse. I saw the men get out and open the doors, and more similarly masked men exited the building to help with the unloading. These ones were armed – I saw a handful carrying rifles with glowing neon blue magazines. The ammunition had been charged by Mr Negative's darkforce powers.

I swung onto the roof of the warehouse and skittered along, searching for an opening. It wasn't long until I found a skylight window which was slightly open. I placed my palm on it and used my crawling powers to slide it open and lower myself inside. I dropped silently onto one of the upper-walkways and looked at the interior.

It was a large building; numerous crates were stacked high on one side of the room. The large open doors looked out into the New York night, and multiple figures walked back and forth carrying crates and placing them on the pile. Down by the pile I finally saw my target – Mr Negative.

Mr Negative, real name Martin Li, was a relative newcomer to the New York crime scene. He was, much like figures such as the Kingpin, Tombstone, and the Black Tarantula, separate to the organised Maggia families. Originally an immigrant from China, Li appeared to be a philanthropic investor. He had created a homeless shelter F.E.A.S.T. which helped to provide relief to many of the disadvantaged members of society. Aunt May was a regular volunteer there, which made it all the more concerning when it was discovered that Martin Li was harbouring the dark secret which was Mr Negative. He could switch between the two personas, sometimes involuntarily, and had something of a split personality…

He was stood observing his masked thugs moving the goods, arms folded. He was fully Mr Negative at the moment, his whole body inverted in colour. What would have been his black hair and warm light skin was instead dark blackish-blue skin and stark white hair. His dark grey blue suit was instead turned a muddled greyish-yellow, as was his matching turtleneck. Burning white eyes watched carefully as his gang continued their operation. Flanking him on either side were two armed body guards, rifles readied in their arms.

I moved silently across the walkway, considering my plan of attack. Ordinarily I would do it quietly, take them out slowly and stealthily, but something in me tonight was feeling particularly violent – especially aggressive. I wanted Mr Negative to know what was happening – to know I was here for him. I wanted to see Mr Negative scared, even if I felt sorry for the moral alter ego inside him that was Martin Li.

I vaulted the edge and landed square in the middle of the room. Before the bodyguards could react I flicked them both with my webslingers and yanked them towards me, jumping in the air and reverse kicking them to sleep when they got close enough.

"Spider." Growled Mr Negative, his voice deep and distorted by the dark energy flaring around his body. His hand emanated the neon bluish-white energy which I saw on the rifle magazines earlier.

"Hi." I said, waving a hand. I shot a web at him, but he moved with surprising speed to the side, diving out the way towards a row of rifles leant against one of the crates. He grabbed the closest and rolled back to his feet – the rifle lit up with his darkforce powers and a volley of inverted glowing bullets fired out the barrel towards me. It was my turn to dive out the way, using my webs to pull myself out of the way towards the pile of wooden crates and landing in a roll.

"Get him!" Mr Negative shouted angrily as his men ran to aid him. One of them opened a case nearby and pulled out glowing weapons: baseball bats, pipes, knives, and knuckle dusters. All of them had been powered up by Negative's darkforce, and let me tell you from experience that they packed a hell of a punch. I heard more assault rifles rip into the crates and paused… they were now out of bullets. I launched myself into the air and backflipped over the crates, landing in the centre of the foes. I spotted the two rifle-toting men and flipped myself towards them, relishing their panic as they tried to reload before I closed the distance, which they knew they couldn't. I ripped the assault rifle from the hands of the nearest man and spun kicked him, catching him in the side of the head and dropping him unconscious instantly. Using the momentum I flung the gun at the second man, catching him in the face and smashing his mask to pieces, as well as probably most of his teeth. I turned to face the group in a crouch, and I felt a growl involuntarily leave my mouth.

The men paused, stopped in their tracks by the amount of damage I had caused to their colleagues in the last three seconds. "What's the matter with you all? The bitch gets a new suit and you all become cowards? Kill him!" Negative instructed.

One of the figures ran at me and swung his bat which I dived under, and grabbed him around the stomach. I lifted him off his feet and flung him back, seeing him collide with one of the other men. I continued my movement towards the next man, my punch launching him off his feet and cracking his ribs. My head whipped round as my spidey-sense alerted me to an attack at the side, and I dodged the knife and knocked the assailant off his feet. Before I could turn again I felt a burn in my ribs as something hard collided with me, knocking me off my feet. Mr Negative had kicked me hard in the side and was moving towards me. I went with the momentum and kicked back up to my feet, just in time to dodge Mr Negative's follow-up swing. I grabbed him by the lapels and lifted him off his feet, and he instinctively grabbed my forearms. I felt an intense burn and threw Mr Negative backwards, my vision blurring.

I looked down at my forearms – now burned white from Mr Negative's darkforce. As my vision swam it looked almost as if my costume was moving as the effect wore off, the forearms turning the new black that my suit now was. I shook my arms out and turned, seeing Mr Negative jumping in the back of the truck that was parked outside, the rest of his gang attempting to join him.

"What's the matter!" I shouted after him. "This bitch's new suit made you a coward?"

The truck tires screeched as the van sped off, leaving me alone in the warehouse (save for the unconscious gang members). I snarled with annoyance that Mr Negative had escaped, but at least I'd disrupted his operation. I walked to one of the crates and punched it in anger, my black fist piercing through the wooden exterior as if it were paper. I ripped some of the planks off and pulled out some of the contents: it looked like a package of cocaine. I dropped it on the ground, thinking of how annoyed that Harry would be in a few nights when his dealer raised his prices again. I webbed up the criminals and sent an anonymous alert to the NYPD, then swung my way back out into the skies of New York.

Song Recommendation: Jekyll and Hyde - Five Finger Death Punch