Honestly the late nights out as the spook haven't really bothered me. Always been more of a night owl than a morning person. Also like the night life rather than the day. At night it's like a whole other world, especially in New York. Kind of reflects who I am too in a way.

It's been a couple of weeks since I talked to Logan and thankfully nothing much has happened. It's been pretty calm so far in New York city. Except for the occasional burglary or heist gone wrong thanks to your truly. On top of this I've been gaining more attention because of the bugle. The main editor J. Jonah Jameson has been really selling that I'm some kind of menace. Though he's not wrong but not in the way he sees it.

His main feud with me is my brutal tactics along with taking the law into my hands. If he doesn't like my methods he can talk to someone who cares. I already said I'll save people my way and if people will demonize me for it I can live with it. I've grown numb to disappointing people but at the same time breaking someone's arm or some other bones so I can stop them from hurting someone else is what it takes. I'll do it in a heartbeat. Not going to lie that it does bother me a bit but I push it down.

Landing on top of a water tower I knelt down overlooking the city waiting for something to happen. Which brings up another thing I need to do, get a police scanner. Running around waiting for something to happen isn't a bad thing but having a police scanner will make things much easier. Closing my eyes I let the sounds of the city flood through my ears just listening. While doing this I heard the sound of glass breaking in the distance. Sounds like a break in.

Jumping through the air I took off toward the noise. Getting close I saw three men breaking into an apartment through a window. Little crowded on the fire escape so I'll wait until they make it to the roof or the alley way. They all came crawling out the broken window wearing your typical ski mask. Honestly I feel like wearing a ski mask just makes you more noticeable. Thankfully they decided to head to the roof for their escape.

Once they got into the roof I jumped across the gap kicking one to the ground. Turning onto his back he saw me making him scurry back to his friends in fear. His buddies were just as freaked out. Honestly I get a kick out of when thugs get afraid when they see me. It also leads them to making mistakes.

"One choice, one chance. Drop what you stole and walk away. I'm feeling merciful tonight", I said glaring at them. They all looked at each other before rushing me. Wrong choice.

The first came at me with a weak right hook which I caught with my hand and threw to the side making him hit his friend instead. He started apologizing to his friend before I kicked him in his chest making him lose his breath. At this point their first friend I knocked down was back up and came at me with another weak punch that I dodged just by simply moving my head to the side before sending a punch to his gut that brought him to the ground. Looking around they were all sprawling on the ground in pain. These guys are amateurs from what I've seen. Grabbing one I pulled off his mask to see it was a kid about my age.

"You've got to be shitting me", I said, dropping him. Usually I would call the police but this time would be stupid and actually embarrassing. Behind them were the duffle bags they used in their shitty heist. Can't even call it that really. Picking the guy I just dropped up again I stared at him in his eyes holding him close.

"Listen good and listen well because I ain't going to repeat this shit. I'm going to let you go but if I ever..EVER see you kids do this shit again. You'll be in a hospital, got it?", I said, holding him closer. He was shaking but he gave a nod. Dropping him onto the ground he took his friends and ran using the fire escape.

After they were gone I grabbed the bags heading back to return them. Stepping inside the apartment I saw the broken glass. Hopefully they have insurance but I can't leave the window open like this. Putting the bags in a pile in a safe place I left a note saying I got their stuff back with "the spook" written on it. On my way out I grabbed a garbage bag and some tape to cover up the window until they get home which hopefully is soon.

Patching up their window I continued on my patrol. Should have beaten some sense into those kids a bit more. I think scaring them will do actually. With the Daily Bugle painting an image for me it actually comes in handy at times. If people paint you as a scary person and you know it you can use it to your advantage if you want. Not saying I'm not scary when I want to be. Jumping into the air I stuck to the side of a building trying to find any other action for the night. Looking around I noticed a seven year old with a backpack?

Seeing this kid she was walking down the road looking around like she was looking for someone. What's a kid doing out at this hour? Gonna have to be careful about this. Don't really have any experience with children. Camouflaging I made my way ahead of the kid to cut her off. Landing on the ground I leaned against the wall, decloaking, leading the kid to run into me.

"Hey, watch where you're walking, kid", I said, trying to be friendly. The kid just looked up at me before shaking with a scared look. Fuck. Kneeling down I got to her height while holding my hands up to show I didn't mean harm.

"Sorry, not really good around kids. Just wanted to know what a kid like you is doing out at this hour"

"I was told to never talk to strangers", the kid said. I just let my head hang already seeing this isn't going to be easy.

"Where's your parents?"

"Stranger"

"What's with the backpack?"

"Stranger"

"What color is the sky?"

"Stranger"

"F-crap, this is going nowhere". The kid just looked at me as I tried to think of some way to get her to open up to me. Looking around there was no one else on the streets. She is seven years old so I doubt she'll remember. Plus it's just a face, no name.

"It's the mask isn't it?", I asked, pulling the mask up over my nose. She nodded shyly so I pulled my mask up so it was no longer covering my face.

"You're not the first person to be scared of my mask. Now, why don't you tell me why you're out by yourself at night?". I gave her a friendly smile hoping it would make her feel more comfortable. Looking down she contemplated before speaking.

"I'm looking for my daddy"

"Do you know where he is?"

"I don't know, he left", she said, starting to cry. Suddenly she ran into my chest making me very uncomfortable. With both my hands up I wasn't sure what to do so I just put one hand on her back lightly patting her.

"no need to cry. Let's just...take a moment to breathe ok?", I said, very unsure how to do this. She kept crying so I tried to remember what my mother would do when I was like this. If anyone saw me do this I would be a laughing stock.

"Can you think of a river?", I asked. She lightly nodded her head.

"Ok, think of a River. The river by itself is moving slowly because of a light breeze. It's a sunny day but at the same time it's not too hot. Imagine that sun hitting your skin as your feet soak in the river and you feel the breeze against your skin also. You have no worries and all you care about is enjoying that nice day. Now hold onto that image", I said slowly. She soon began to stop crying now down to a few sniffles. She took a step back, wiping her tears away.

"Better?"

"Better"

"Let's get you home", I said standing up and pulling my mask back down. Holding my hand out she took it before telling me how to get her back home.

The whole time I talked to her about her dad. Apparently her dad left her and her mother when she was born. This led me to ask why she went looking for him suddenly. Apparently today was a bring your dad to school day but she didn't have one. So she decided to try and find him so she filled her backpack with a couple of sandwiches she made and her lucky bear. It was cute to listen to but also sad.

"I know what it's like to not have a dad but you still have a mom right?"

"yeah", she said sadly.

"Then you don't need him in your life. If he left then he wasn't meant to be your father but your mother though has been there since the beginning. Appreciate what you have right in front of you". Suddenly she hugged my leg but instead I just rubbed her on her back comforting her.

"When we get you home give your mom a hug ok? better say sorry to, I'm sure she's worried sick about you"

"Sophia!!!". Suddenly a woman came running at us which I guess was her mom because "Sophia" went running toward her. They both shared a hug but Sophia was hugging her for dear life tears running down her face. She kept saying how sorry she was. Watching it reminded me of the times I did the same with my mom. Guess my work here is done, turning around I began to walk away.

"Wait! please wait!", the mother said, chasing me down with her child in her arms.

"Whoa, I didn't kidnap her!", I said, expecting the worst.

"no, I wanted to say thank you for bringing her home. I've been worried sick and I called the police. I was so worried. Thank you! Thank you for bringing her home!", the mother said with tears in her eyes. Sophia gave me a smile while hugging her mom. Couldn't help but smile myself.

"Don't worry about it mam, just doing the right thing"

"You're that spook they talk about in the paper aren't you?", she asked.

"Yeah, your friendly neighborhood...I can't finish that statement sounds stupid", I said trying to play off how uncomfortable I am. Still not used to people appreciating what I do.

"Well they're wrong about you, you are a hero". My whole body went tense as my eyes went wide. Suddenly she gave me a hug along with her daughter but I returned it still in a state of shock. She pulled away, giving me a smile before walking away, her child watching me the whole time. I gave her a wave in return before she shouted.

"your my hero mister Spook!". Couldn't help but chuckle at how cute it was. Guess not everyone hates me.

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A man is seen sitting at a bench in a penthouse working with a mixture of chemicals and tools. All he was wearing was silk pajama pants with a matching silk bathrobe. The man's head was bleach white to show he was actually wearing some kind of mask. Suddenly a phone is heard ringing. The man stops his work, setting his tools to the side. Walking through the penthouse he enters an office sitting down at his desk while answering a phone. Turning around he looked over New York City, the lights shining bright.

"Speak"

"It's me"

"Are the preparations set?", he asked while pouring a glass of whiskey for himself. The man on the other end cleared his throat.

"all set and ready to get what you need. Are you sure you can keep him busy?"

"Why mister Beck, I'm about to play the role of a lifetime and by the end of it we'll both be one step closer to taking control of New York. He'll be too busy to realize what's going on along with the police as long as you keep this quiet", the man said hanging up. Standing up the man walked over to a bookcase pressing a secret button making it split open to show multiple masks but pressing another to open another secret compartment.

Pulling out its contents he began to put them on along with the mask. Closing the secret shelf he walked over to another pressing another button showing another compartment full of different gear. Grabbing a set of metal gloves he put them on along with special shoes that both blended into the suit he was currently wearing. Closing the compartment he made his way to his balcony opening the doors and stepping out into the fresh air.

"Soon, this city will be mine"