Wraith [MARVEL x Invincible Crossover]

Chapter Forty-Six

"For your information, I'm not doing this because I'm bored. I'm doing this because government hires me to do it - FBI, NYPD, even Homeland if needed... so, that proper trial and justice you're talking about were already thrown out the window. Half of the world is gone. Borders are taken down. Alliances are broken. The government cannot risk gang wars or mafia wars right now. Not with the world in chaos. And they have no manpower to keep the streets safe, so they hire me."

"To pull the trigger."

"To do what you can't. You beat them up, put them in jail. Then the system does what it does best, then they're back out in the streets doing the same kind of shit they did before they met you, and they're doing it three times worse than before. You're not doing shit, you're just letting assholes go around a fucking rollercoaster - you beat them up, they go to jail, they get out and do the same kind of shit, then you beat them up again. It's never-ending. At least in my way, I stop that cycle. I make the real solutions, one that keeps the streets safe."

"But you're just striking fear to these people."

Rebecca scoffed. "Like your devil spandex doesn't?"

"Don't you think they deserve a second chance? Don't you think you deserve a second chance when it comes to it?! People deserve a chance to prove themselves, to prove that they could change! I've seen it!"

Rebecca got up from her seat, toppling the stool over. "I lost my second chance when Thanos snapped his fingers... and they disappeared right before my eyes... and it's my fault why... I do this because I owe it to them. I owe it to every person that disappeared to keep this world safe."

The devil fell silent for a moment, taking in what she said. "But do you really think that the way you're doing it is how they would want you to do it? There are other ways to help people. To protect them... Think about it, if your family was here, would they approve of your methods?"

Rebecca got out her push knife and pressed it to his neck. "You don't know me to say that."

"Nor do you know those people you kill every night."

"It's the job."

"Then what makes you different from the tyrant who did this to the world?"

After hearing that, Rebecca's grip on her knife faltered. She loosened the chains that held him, and then she ran before he could catch her. In the days that followed, Rebecca stopped running around as a vigilante and decided on a different approach. She went to look for Bucky's family, which then led to her volunteering in orphanages, refugee camps, and then Natasha finding her and recruiting her to work with her and be an Avenger. Which was what the world needed. A new hero. She never saw the Devil again after that.

Now, two years later, in a rundown apartment in a building, Rebecca stood before the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. She never thought that she would see him again, or better yet, even think of calling to him for help, but while she was working as a vigilante in the streets and for the NYPD, she heard whispers of a battle that happened in New York back in 2017. It involved a group of vigilantes fighting a large army of ninjas and rumored members of the Yakuza, and it caused the destruction of the building called Midland Circle in 560 West 44th Street. She tried investigating on that sight, but when she came, it was cleared out, and the hole that was said to have been made by the Yakuza was covered up. So, she never goes to figure out what happened then. It remained a mystery. A hidden war in New York.

"The last time we had a talk, you tied me to a post in a chain, then left me in a warehouse," said Daredevil.

"I wouldn't have done it if you weren't following me," Rebecca shrugged.