"Alright, Mr. Stacy, I'm heading out — I still have some unfinished work." Jean gave a small wave toward Jack. "See you around."
She climbed back into the police car and pulled out of the lot.
"Come on, Jack. I'll drop you home," George said, already moving toward his car. He turned back briefly. "Edward, take those guys to the station with the team."
"Yes, sir," Edward replied.
The drive was quiet for a minute or two before Jack broke it.
"Mr. Stacy… what killer are you searching for?" he asked, keeping his voice casual.
George glanced at him. "Why? You want to know about that?"
"Just curious."
George was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "Did you hear about the murders in Hell's Kitchen? A few in other parts of New York too, over the past few months."
Hearing Hell's Kitchen, something clicked. Jack remembered a news segment he'd half-watched at Gwen's house.
"I think I heard something about it," he said. "But I don't know much."
"Over the past few months, there's been a killer targeting people from different backgrounds — lawyers, city officials, businessmen. Civilians too, sometimes. Young women." George kept his eyes on the road. "We've been after him for a while now, but no one's been able to pin him down. The only thing we know for certain is that he's a psychopath. He leaves messages behind — says what he did was justified. Calls himself a 'sin eater.' That's what people call him now." He paused. "But he's smart. Every time we get close, he slips away."
Jack sat with that for a moment. Sin Eater. The name felt faintly familiar — like something from the edge of a Spider-Man comic he'd heard about once but never actually read.
"I believe you'll catch him, Mr. Stacy."
"…Hope so," George said quietly, his voice carrying the low confidence of someone who'd hit too many dead ends.
A few minutes later, they pulled up outside Jack's building.
"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Stacy," Jack said, pushing the door open.
"Jack." George's voice stopped him. "I'll say it one more time — don't go to places like that. It's dangerous."
"I won't," Jack said. "I mean it."
George looked at him for a second, then nodded. "Good."
"Good night, Mr. Stacy."
"Good night."
Jack watched the car disappear down the street, then turned and headed inside.
Of all the people to run into tonight… George Stacy. My luck really is something else. I'm pretty sure my image took a hit back there. Yeah… this was going to cause problems.
He dropped his jacket and headed upstairs.
"Red Queen — pull everything you can find on the Sin Eater."
"Yes, Master."
While Jack got cleaned up, Red Queen worked in the background. By the time he sat down, she had already compiled a full report on the screen in front of him. He read through it carefully, and the further he got, the more one thing became clear.
This guy is genuinely unhinged.
"Can you identify who he is?"
"No, Master. He operates with extreme caution and leaves very little traceable behind. I cannot determine his identity at this time."
Jack leaned back in his chair. Tricky — but not impossible.
"Keep a watch on the police channels. If there's any new development on him, update me immediately."
"Yes, Master."
"Alright." He set the screen aside. "Good night, Red."
"Good night, Master."
The lights dimmed, and Jack was asleep within minutes — the kind of heavy, immediate sleep that comes after a day that had no business being as long as it was.
The next day at school passed without incident. Flash kept his distance, and Jack and Gwen spent most of their time together in class — easy and comfortable, the way it had started to feel lately. Band practice went well, and after his dojo session in the evening, Jack slipped into his patrol gear and headed out.
"Master, Peter has left the house. Are you heading there like yesterday?"
Jack had just finished pulling someone clear of a burning building — twenty people out safely, the last one seconds before the stairwell collapsed.
[Host saved people from a fire accident]
[+65 Heroic Points ]
[Total Points: 483]
He closed the system screen. "Is Ben out?"
"No, Master."
Jack exhaled slowly. Not tonight then. "If he leaves later, let me know. I still have more to do — I want to hit 500 before I'm done. Keep watching them and update me if anything changes."
"Understood, Master."
In the distance, sirens wailed as the fire department rolled onto the scene. Jack slipped away on the XLR8 before the crowd could look too closely.
Elsewhere, far from New York…
"Why does this guy keep leaving New York? Finding him is turning into a full-time job." Natasha leaned back in her hotel chair, arms crossed, her expression hovering somewhere between focused and genuinely annoyed.
"Clint. You're sure he was in this area?"
"No doubts." Clint pulled up the report on his tablet. "Yesterday, local police found a group of animal catchers in the forest — all of them tied up in what looked like spider webbing. I don't know who else could do that. And the way he vanishes after the job's done, plus the rumors about him circulating here — he was definitely in this area."
"Good." Natasha straightened slightly. "Fury's been on my case constantly — wants me to make contact and learn about him and his alien organization."
"We'll get there," Clint said. "At least we're ahead of Coulson. That man's been trying to find Tony Stark through the Afghanistan desert for months with nothing to show for it. Fury's been calling every day, and at this rate Coulson's practically going to go bald soon — just like the director."
Natasha pictured it: bald Phil Coulson standing next to bald Fury, both of them equally miserable. She laughed at that, and the tension in the room eased for just a moment.
Then both their phones buzzed at the same time. They glanced at the screens, then at each other, and without another word, they left.
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
👉 patreon.com/BenBlazecraft