40 The Creed

The full moon was elegant as it had been since the conception of its being. It remained unbothered to the massacre that took place under its silver light.

The crime rate of NYC had plummeted at an alarming rate. There is a good reason for that. They say a group of bloodthirsty hyenas are running around hunting sheep in a wild abandon. Those that reel the slightest of evil were torn into ribbons of meat.

When NYC had reached an all-time high, Spider-Man came and put the crime scene in a chokehold. But it seems that he has it easy now since there were fewer criminals around and they are still dwindling.

With each fall of the sun and the rise of a new moon, a hundred more fell. Wiped out from the face of the earth, vanished into the sky above it or buried into the dirt itself.

Not a soul would know the fate of those who have been judged by the Creed.

A black shadow haunted the abandoned alleys of the city that never sleeps, the vultures that were responsible for the fear and pain of thousands of others were backed into a corner.

Partners in literal crimes, they have, they do and they will do unspeakable.

That is if they were left alive. But salvation isn't a gift they would receive and mercy is a luxury they can't afford.

"W-We had a deal, didn't we?! I gave you all the names! E-Even the name I wasn't supposed to!" One of six guys spoke up as he mustered his courage. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he gripped his gun nervously. The men had their backs to each other as they fumbled in their places with guns in their hands aiming at the shadows frantically as they thought they saw something move. "H-Hell kill us. Just let us go-"

*Whoosh*

There was a low whistling sound as the lethal steel gleamed under the moonlight before it lodged into the mouth of the man.

The men that were fortunate enough to be allowed to breathe a few minutes more began to shake in their boots as the man hit the ground, his blood staining the asphalt below.

"Y-You said you would hold your end of the bargain! What happened to your honour-" The other man had no time to reach as the shadow shifted slashed his throat out.

"S-She's here!" The black fabric of the suit reflected the moonlight as it hugged the dominating figure of the masked female. The fabric of her costume lashed out wrapping itself around the hands of two of the grunts as she spun on her heels and slammed them into the ground.

"I don't want here a thing about honour from scums like you." She hissed out.

Lifting her leg she stomped on the head of the man that was near her and didn't even react as his head caved in. Flicking her wrist she pulled the other man who was fumbling to get onto his feet towards her and kicked in the chest without holding back rupturing his internal organs.

Performing a backflip she avoid getting hit by bullets as she pulled out her trusty daggers from their holsters.

Landing on her feet she didn't pause, nor did she take a break as she rushed towards the gun-wielding men. She narrowly dodged a bullet as she slid on her knees as she approached the group.

She rammed into the leg of a grunt which made him fall into the ground face first. She capitalised on this moment and stabbed him in the back severing his spinal column. Rolling ahead she used the dead body as a cover to shield herself from the bullets before tossing it aside as she got back onto her legs.

She flicked the blood of the dagger as she dashed towards them once again.

Her movements were calculated and precise. Each strike was intentional, aiming to kill. Aiming to eliminate. She is graceful and yet so brutal. She is deadly and yet so silent. She's a ghost, a wisp of revenge.

She is the Wraith, the one who haunts the nights.

She clashed the leg tendons in half before stabbing the man in the temple and cutting his brain open from one side. She was about to finish off the last man standing but blinked in confusion as the man hit the ground with a bullet hole in the back of his skull which has been blown apart a bit. She hummed in realisation as she looked up in the direction the bullet must have come from.

"Thanks a lot for the help, even though I had it under control this time." Wraith said into her comms as she smiled behind her mask. "Bout the time you took care of your crowd. All the best, Castle."

On the rooftop opposite of Wraith's direction was a man dressed in all black with a white skull on his vest and was wearing the ghost skull mask as well.

"One batch, two batch, penny and dime." Frank Castle a.k.a the Punisher whispered as the smoke from the muzzle of the rifle dissipated. Unmounting the rifle from the support, the infamous punisher turned as he heard the footsteps rushing toward the rooftop entrance. Brandishing his gun he calmly approached the door. "Fools. The lot of them. Volunteering choosing their end. Is this stupid bravery or just a fucking kink. Either way, your verdict is..."

"Not to disturb your philosophical monologue, I'm sure it's supposed to provide a nice look for the readers into your scared mind and I hate to be the guy to blue ball your nutty mind but bossman told us to please keep it down so can you-"

"Death."

*Bang!*

"Ah, or you can just blow their brains up and wake up the whole neighbourhood at the same time." The Punisher grunted as he ignored the chatter in his earpiece.

"Hah... It's fine Wade. How are things on your side?"

"So far so smooth. Smooth like butter, like a criminal undercover-"

"We get it, Wade." Wraith replied as she piled up the dead bodies and tossed a sphere on a pile. The sphere glowed for a second before it exploded disintegrating the dead bodies into the dust which was blown away by the chilly night breeze.

"I love this suit man! It's awesome! Yeah, can't tell if there is blood on it or not! Haha! And certainly, you can't tell if it's mine or theirs!"

"Wade, you are enjoying this way too much-"

"Fuck... Y-You, how dare you stab me in the back... Ack. I'm dying!"

"Wade are you okay-"

"Hehe. Just kidding! Take this! And this and this and this and this. Bwahaha! Surprise, surprise! I'm immortal, you goatfucker!"

"...he's fine."

"Yep. He's having a field day."

"This toothpick you are wielding isn't enough to impale me. You are going to need something bigger! Dattebayo, motherfucker!"

"Pfff-" Wraith and Peter almost burst into laughter and even Frank cracked a smile while he simultaneously casually broke a grunt's neck.

"That sounded so wrong!" And yet Wraith laughed. "And what's with that Japanese verbal tic?"

"I think the less we know the better it is for us." Peter replied. "Anyways, enough horsing around. Tidy up, I've already intercepted 25 complaint calls, cops will be around in half an hour. Don't leave behind any traces."

"You know you don't have to tell us that." Wraith said as she looked up today the rooftop as she flicked her fabric towards the parapet and launched herself up. "But roger that."

Performing a flip she landed on her feet and took a stance only to blink as the Punisher stabbed the muzzle of the sniper inside the last guy's eye and pulled the trigger.

"Well... That was disappointing."

"What? My efficiency?" The Punisher grunted as Wraith shook her head.

"Nope. The lack of action. It looks like I'll be sparring with Spartan to let off some steam." Wraith said as Punishment nodded tossing a sphere onto the pile of bodies watching them disintegrate.

"You and me, both." Punisher said as he put the rifle away.

"That were all of them?"

"Yep-"

"Nope. You left one." Deadpool called out, walking out of the rooftop entrance as he dragged a thrashing grunt by his leg behind him. Flicking his hand he tossed the man in front of the Punisher's feet. Dusting his hand he stretched his back, stopping only after realising the look his two partners were giving him. "Well, go on. Finish him."

Lifting his leg the punisher stomped on the man's neck, breaking it with a sickening crack before crouching and putting a sphere in the dead body's mouth. "Could have done it yourself."

"Heh. Yeah, I could have." Deadpool replied as they walked away from the dead body as the space in front of them tore open revealing a swirling vortex of distorted space and energy. "But then you'd complain about the kill count and accuse me of cheating."

"Hnn." The Punisher just grunted in reply.

"Whoa, spoken like a true Uchiha."

"The fuck is that?" The Punisher hissed.

"It's a disease."

"What the-"

"Let's just go boys." Wraith giggled as she stepped into the portal prompting the other two to do the same.

"Welcome back home." Peter greeted them as he stepped out of the computer terminal. Wraith, Punisher and Deadpool smiled behind their mask the portal closed behind them.

"Reporting bossman! The mission was successful. Total annihilation and no witnesses whatsoever." Deadpool gave a mock salute as Peter rolled his eyes.

"I expected no less." Peter said as he turned towards Wraith. "You all should get changed. Freshen up, I'll brief you guys on what's next for us."

They nodded and walked towards their respective pods. As they entered the pods, the glass door closed and robotic arms were ejected. The robotic arms, gently removed their respective suits, revealing skin-tight black fabric underneath.

The arms then shifted to hoses and gave them a pleasant steam shower as well as tending to any minor scratches they might have had but it was pointless since the three of them and been enhanced and their wounds never stayed permanent.

Dressing them up in standard casual clothes the pods opened revealing the three with a look of bliss on their face.

"Man! This never gets old." Wade grinned almost shinning.

"I agree." Frank nodded.

"Well, let's go. Peter is waiting." Yuri said as the two nodded and followed her.

Entering the conference room, Yuri smiled as she saw Susan sleeping on the couch with her head in Peter's lap. Peter smiled at them and gestured them to take a seat.

"First of all, I'll assess today's performance." Peter said as the nodded. "Yuri, you should think about getting a sidearm just in case. Daggers and knives are good but sidearm will do you miracles."

"I told her the same." Frank said as Yuri elbowed him in the side. "She said she wanted to learn to dance in combat kek."

"Why you-"

"Well, you have achieved that no doubt." Peter smiled. "You can manipulate the battle to your tastes and you are pretty good at it already. What you should focus on is your efficiency."

"I understand."

"Good. I'll ask Juno to adjust the simulation room for this purpose then." Peter said as Yuri nodded. "Frank, I wish you would listen to me when I said no guns."

"It's hard to resist once you get hold of those bad boys you know." Frank grinned in a bloodthirsty manner as Peter sighed.

"I know. And I'm working on better toys, you can go all out once they are done. Till then stick to the silent ones."

"Gotcha'."

"Also, Susan brought me some good news. We have taken over U-GIN Research Group and so Helen Cho will be transferred to the AfterLife HQ in NY. In a month or so Susan and I, we will be working on the regeneration Cradle personally and as soon as I have some concrete success we will start treating your wife and daughter." Peter said as Frank looked and Peter and nodded quietly.

"I... Thank you. Thank you." Frank said looking down as he clenched his fists as Peter smiled.

"And Wade-"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wade giddily tapped his hands on the table as he looked at Peter with eyes full of anticipation.

"...I have nothing to say to you."

"Awwww... And to think I tried my best today." Wade visibly deflated.

"Anyways, we have managed to cut this head off as well and shut down the human trafficking ring they there running. Harvey is making the calls as we speak and the rest should be taken care of tomorrow." Peter said as they nodded. "But the problem is that the whereabouts of Kingpin is in the air now. My network will take at least a year to fully cover the whole world but we can't be sitting duck until then. The Hand's operation has also gone silent. Wade, I have a special mission for you."

"Woohoo-"

"This is serious. No fucking around."

"Umm... Okay."

"I'm stationing you in Japan for the next six months. I have a lead and I need you to do snooping. I'll dispatch you in a week, you can take Vanessa with you but she is your responsibility. I'll arrange for the safehouses and contacts." Peter said as Wade nodded. "I might as well customise a few toys for you by then."

"Sweet." Wade grinned.

"Frank. I need you to do interrogation and clean up in Russia. You get any lead of Laura Kinney, you take it. So whatever you have to do to get to find her."

"Roger." Frank nodded.

"Good. So, Susan is going to start secret recruitment in a month or we will have enough manpower to manage the logistics and all the jazz. It will give me time to concentrate on the core projects and expand AfterLife's reach." Peter said as he patted Susan's head gently. "This is going to be our main HQ for now. This was only finished a week ago so there might be hiccups here and there. Eryl and I are still figuring out what works and what doesn't but the pros far outweigh the cons. This place is vastly bigger than my basement base, and has more facilities than you could imagine and we are still adding new ones, like the gravity chambers, advance simulation room and so on."

"Cool." Wade said. "This is going to be my new home right?"

"Yes, this place has living quarters for over three thousand individuals and as you can guess most are empty because of the lack of manpower." Peter smiled. "I designed it for the future but I... Went overboard with the idea."

"Haha. Overboard is an understatement." Yuri giggled as Wade and Frank joined her. "But the place is self-sufficient right?"

"Yep. Designed as an advanced fallout shelter. Indoor organic farming, animal husbandry and more are all managed by robots specifically designed to manage and process them. The canteen is also managed by robots for now since we don't have much manpower."

"I think it's fine." Frank shrugged. "I ate the food and it was delicious. It obviously didn't have the same taste as a home-cooked meal but it's the next best thing and it's healthy. This place is a heaven for a shut it."

"Haha. Basically." Peter said. "First we are recruiting a hundred core members. After they have sworn loyalty to us, I am going to use a special kind of venom to make sure they don't betray us and have them go through a safe experiment where I'm going to give them limited lie detection powers and they are going to be in charge of a hundred manned group each so they can weed out spies and traitors. We are going to call them First Officers. As we grow in numbers, we will create more First Officers through promotion. The authority of First Officers will be second only to the core members of the Creed, that is us."

"That's... That's pretty solid."

"But it doesn't seem concrete to me." Frank said. "What if there's a traitor who can bypass all this and betray us still?"

"Then we will hunt them down." Peter said grimly. "I'll do it personally if I have to."

"Hmmm."

"But, with the organisation, I'm creating and the Spartans Soldiers that I will be mass producing soon. Who would dare betray us? If one does... I'll send my hunters to hunt them down and tear them into pieces." Peter said as Wade chuckled nervously.

"Ahaha... Not to sound rude but I think you may have gone to the dark side a bit Peter."

"Hmmm. Then I guess then our recruiting motto should be, come to the dark side, we have cookies?"

"Actually... That's not a bad marketing idea." Oddly Frank agreed with Peter as Yuri just rolled her eyes.

"Let's just concentrate guys."

"Well, it isn't going to happen immediately. This is going to take a lot of time. For now me, Gwen and MJ we are going to be attending University and finishing our higher education so Susan is going to do most of the heavy lifting in my absence."

"It's starting soon? Where will you be going anyways?" Wade asked.

"Empire State University." Peter smiled as he picked up Susan and carried him out of the conference room. "Classes start from tomorrow and so I need some shut-eye. Yuri, I think you should skip sparing for today. It's time to put the big bed to use and cuddle together with the whole family."

"I wasn't gonna say no." Yuri giggled as they walked towards the ground bridge and it lit up automatically.

"Thanks, Juno."

"Hmph!"

"Why... Why is mad?"

"For neglecting her." Peter smiled dryly as they entered the vortex and when they stepped out they were in his basement base.

"She knows that you want to give here a vessel right?"

"She does. She just wants to be pampered." Peter chuckled as Yuri just shook her head.

"My god. You have some kind of luck with women."

"Correction, I have luck with some kind of women." Peter grinned. "But it's never unpleasant, I love my life and I love you all."

"That's what I'd like to hear." Yuri giggled as they climbed up the stairs of Peter's renovated house and entered his bedroom. As they entered Gwen, May and MJ were already fast asleep, cuddling into each other.

"Look how adorable they are." Yuri cooed.

"Welp. Let's join them." Peter said as he laid Susan on the bed and climbed the bed himself as he removed his shirt.

Yuri joined him as she stripped down to her undergarments and hugged his naked torso.

"Sleep well, Yuriko."

"Mmm... Goodnight, Peter." Yuri planted a kiss on his neck and placed her head on his chest. Sleeping, as his strong and steady heartbeat, lulled her to sleep.

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Alternate Tiles:

- Night Janitors (lol)

- Peter 'Villainus' Parker

- A New Phat Crib

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So... The start of Vol. 3 Yay!

Anyways, I hope you like the chapter. Next chapter, Gwen, Peter and MJ will be going to the Empire State University to enjoy their causal normal college threesome life in peace....

As that's ever going to happen lmao. The Parker's luck is going to kick in on the very first day so you better strap yourselves in bwahahaha!

Anyways, I'll see you in the next one.

P.S: Do you like how I write the monologues lol?