Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 06:46:30 -0800 (PST) From: James Geckler Subject: Punisher 6 Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It has no intentions of resembling any real persons dead or alive. This is entirely from my imagination, with a little help from already established sources. This story is based loosely on the comic book character "The Punisher" from Marvel Comics. Other characters may appear from Marvel comics as well as DC Comics. Punisher and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics. Blade and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel copyright Joss Whedon, United Paramount Network and Warner Bros. Respectively. I have written another story on nifty entitled "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". It is in the Celebrity/Boy Bands section. Batman may appear in this story once or twice, as the Punisher may appear in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". Any comments may be sent to jmsotc1@yahoo.com Thank you and enjoy. Chapter 6 Questionable Acts The motorcycle and the Suburban rolled into the warehouse to find Cloak standing with arms outstretched over the students they rescued from the Friends of Humanity. "Contego," Cloak said. Green energy lifted from his hands and surrounded the students forming a green shield. "What's going on?" Blade asked. "It appears the students didn't want rescued," Cloak answered. "They want to go with the Friends of Humanity and be made normal." "What?" "Why would anybody want to be different than what they are?" Davey said. "To fit in," Harris replied. Davey, along with everyone else, looked at Harris. "They don't want to be outcasts. They will change who and what they are just to be accepted by mainstream society. That's something I can relate to." Davey looked away ashamed. He knew what Harris meant. Davey was part of the group that rejected him. "They shouldn't feel that way," Punisher replied. "Society has much to learn. Yes, they have come a long way, but there is more to go. The Friends of Humanity is trying to stagnate society's growth. They need to be stopped." "Who do we contact to help these kids?" Blade asked. Cloak answered. "I've heard of a school in Westchester, New York that takes in gifted children. From things I've heard, the gifted children are mutants. I can look into contacting them. They may be able to help." "Get on it. We can't have all these kids here, especially if the Friends of Humanity find out where we are. They are not too happy with Punisher." "I can understand that. Stopping their mutant roundup is a good way to make enemies." "Not just that. He shot several of their commandos." "What?!" Everyone looked on Punisher with shock. "They were wearing bulletproof vests. They didn't get hurt." "That's not the point. You fired on them. You probably would have done the same had they not been protected." "Probably," Punisher replied, not feeling the least bit guilty. Davey and Tandy looked upon Punisher narrowly. They were uncertain as to how to deal with him, uncertain if they could trust him. "What do we do about them?" Punisher asked. "How long will your magic bubble hold them, Cloak?" "I'm not sure. It depends on what their mutation is and how powerful." Cloak lowered his arms. "I should probably find out how to contact the Xavier Institute about retrieving these teens." Cloak went into his bedroom. Blade turned to Punisher. "We don't kill human beings. Vampires and demons. Yes. People. No." Punisher turned and walked toward the group of children. He looked upon them. "Do you know what they would have done to you had they taken you to their camp?" he asked. "They would have made us normal!" one student shouted. "No they would not have," Punisher replied. "They would have performed tests on you. The tests would have been painful and humiliating. You would have been in torment until you couldn't stand any more. And when you beg to be released, they would not do it. You would have been put down so bad you would not want to get up. You would be an empty shell of a person, void of emotion and desire. "I know. I was in the military. They treat their prisoners the same way they treat some of their soldiers. They want to make you into what they want you. The military uses it to shape their officers into soldiers. The Friends of Humanity would shape you into mindless zombies. "They fear what they don't understand. And they are too proud to learn about what they don't understand. They conveniently hide it under 'God's will' and call those who are different from themselves immoral, evil, sinner." Weatherby felt his anger grow toward the Friends of Humanity. Being intimate with their ways made reality more personal. He had to stop them. He had to get at whoever was in charge and take them out of the picture. Once the leader fell, the group would have to dissipate. He would make sure of that. "What the hell are you doing?!" Blade exclaimed. "I'm trying to tell the kids what will happen if they go with the F.O.H. They are misinformed about the group and their agenda." "And you think scaring the hell out of them is the best thing to do?" "It sure beats them getting destroyed mentally and emotionally. I'd rather have them be scared and cautious than walking into the den of lions." "Terrifying kids isn't the answer." "It's not your answer. I don't question your methods. Don't question mine." Punisher turned and walked away from Blade. "I'll take care of the F.O.H.'s van." Davey walked over to Harris. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Fine," Harris replied. "This is kind of intense. I haven't known Punisher that long. I'm not sure I'm glad I do know him." "You've known the other guy for a while?" "Sure have," Davey replied with a smile. "He and I sort of work together." "You work with him?" "I'm a mutant, remember? I'm Marvel Boy." Davey smiled at Harris. Harris's jaw dropped. Davey laughed. "Yep. But you can't tell anyone." "I don't plan to," Harris said with determination. His countenance fell. "I don't think anyone would believe me anyway." "Why do you say that?" Davey was concerned that others wouldn't think him a cool mutant. But that's not what Harris meant by his statement. "I don't think anyone would believe you would share that secret with me in the first place." Harris turned and walked away from Davey. Tandy walked up to Davey. "Don't I know him?" "He goes to our school." "Oh, that's right. That's the guy some of my friends try to avoid. It's because he's not that cute. Why is he here, anyway?" "He saved my life, Tandy." Tandy's cheeks flushed a little. "Oh." Then she added, "Are you two...involved?" "No!" Davey said with disgust. "Just asking!" Tandy replied. She walked away. Davey, however, felt horrible about his answer to Tandy's question. Why did he say it that way? He didn't have a problem looking at Harris. He wasn't ugly in the face. He had a nice face. In fact, his only reason for replying the way he did was out of habit. What got him into that habit? Davey went to his room to think about why he would say something like that. Punisher drove down the road heading away from the warehouse. He was busy thinking about what had just happened with Blade. He had a group of people who were potential friends. He hoped their differences didn't get in the way. The current situation dictated to him his actions. He was dealing with people who did not care about rights. He was dealing fanatics. They did not care what they did or who they hurt so long as they had conformity. That kind of attitude does nothing for humanity. It only serves to foster hatred and discrimination. While thinking all this, Punisher noticed a black van driving behind him. It had followed him for several blocks and he was getting suspicious. "Looks like I have company." Punisher switched lanes, moving to the left. He watched as the black van did the same. At the light, Punisher turned left. He watched as the van did the same. "Let's see what they are after." Punisher pulled to the right side of the road. The van pulled up and parked two spaces to the rear. He waited for the light to change to red. As soon as it hit red, Punisher gassed the van and went through the red light. He looked in his mirror and saw the van pursuing him stopped by the crossing traffic. He smiled to himself. Cloak came out of his room and approached Blade. "I talked with someone named Dr. Hank McCoy. He said they would send over someone as soon as possible." "Did you explain to him what the kids wanted?" "Yes. He said there were several mutants at the school who could help in that area. They could find out why the students thought the way they do and, hopefully, help change their way of thinking." "So we have to worry about the kids until they get here. Great." "We're hungry," a student said from within the energy barrier. "Hold tight," Cloak said. "We'll get you something to eat." He turned to Blade. "Do you want me to change and go get some food?" "Yeah. Take Tandy with you." Cloak nodded and went to his room to change. He came out in a powder blue shirt, khakis and dress shoes. "Tandy!" Tandy came out of her room. "Yeah, Ty?" "Grocery run. Let's go." Tandy came down from her room. "Let's go," Tandy said to Ty as she climbed into his car. Ty climbed into the driver's side, started up the car and they drove off. Davey thought of what happened earlier. "Have I become so concerned with being cool and hip that I have become shallow and uncaring? Do I think so horribly of people who don't match society's standards that I would never consider dating one? What does that make me? "Shallow? Superficial? Insensitive and uncaring? I want straight people to be accepting of gays, yet I don't seem to be that accepting of those who are gay and look different from me. That makes me a hypocrite and that's wrong." Davey realized how he let his "friends'" attitudes affect his thinking. He realized the damage that kind of thinking causes and regrets flooded in. "What do I do?" he asked himself. "How do I fix this? How do I change?" Harris walked up to Blade. "Do I have to stay here?" he asked. "I don't know. What do your parents think of mutants?" "I don't know. We never really talked about it." "Chances are if they are friendly toward mutants, you have nothing to worry about. If, however, they believe mutants to be bad, they may turn you over to the Friends of Humanity for interfering." "I guess I better find out." "I guess so." Blade turned and walked away leaving Harris to think about his dilemma. Punisher drove the van as fast as he could through the countryside. He steadied toward a tree and jumped out at the last minute. The Friends of Humanity vehicle smashed into the tree. Punisher stood up and looked at the wreckage. His lips twisted into a grin. The faint smell of gasoline wafted from the van. Also the smell of smoke filled the air. "That baby's going to blow," he said with a grin. "That will teach the bastards to mess with the Punisher." Punisher turned and headed back toward the city knowing it would be well after sunset before he arrived in downtown Columbus. Lilandra stood before Reverend Exeter, her face that of a statue. Reverend Exeter, however, was very emotional. His face flushed with anger as he paced his office. "This Punisher did what?!" "I told you, sir. He interrupted out work. Several mutants got away." "Several. Don't you mean a whole van full?!" "Yes," she replied. "Where is the van now?" "We've tried to find it. For some unforeseen reason we cannot raise it on the tracer. They have some technological expertise we don't know about." "Did you get a good look at this Punisher's face?" "Yes." "Then talk to Weber in computer resources. He may be able to track down who this Punisher really is." "Yes, sir." Lilandra turned and left Exeter's office. Moments later, she sat next to Weber describing the Punisher's physical appearance. "He was around six-foot two-inches. Black hair." "Eye color?" "He was wearing shades." "Physical stature?" "He was built, that's for sure. And he had weapons." "I will get into the school's security records and see if their surveillance cameras picked up his image. With your description and that I should be able to find out who are mystery man is." "Find him, Weber. Exeter is breathing down my neck over this guy. I want him." Blade heard an unfamiliar noise come from outside. It ended as quickly as it had begun. Then, the door to the outside opened and a light skinned blonde man, a shorthaired Asian young lady, and a light skinned woman with white hair entered. "Can I help you?" he asked as he approached the three interlopers. "I'm Bobby Drake," the man introduced. He stuck out his hand. Blade looked upon him narrowly. Reluctantly he took the man's hand and shook it. "Blade." The shorthaired woman stepped forward with her hand out. "Jubilee. Nice to meet you." "I'm Emma Frost," the white haired woman replied. "What can I do for you?" Blade asked. "We received a telephone call from someone who said you had a large number of teen mutants," Bobby answered. "We are from the Xavier Institute." "They are right over here." Blade showed the three visitors to the energy bubble holding the students. "What is this?" Emma asked. She reached out and touched the shield. It felt warm to her. Then she reached out with her mind to touch the minds of the students. "That is a magical energy shield," Blade answered. "A colleague of mine practices magic. He's become quite a powerful wizard." "Hello, mom?" Harris said. "This is Harris." "Where are you, honey?" his mom asked. "I'm with some friends." "Where? Your father and I want to come get you." "Did you hear about what happened at the school?" "Yes, dear. Are you okay?" "Yes, mom. I'm fine." "I'm sure you're sorry for what those mutants did to you. I'll bet one of them took control of your mind." "No, mom. It's not like that. The Friends of Humanity were terrorizing the students. I couldn't let that happen." "Dear, mutants are evil! They had to have taken control of your mind! You don't do evil things! Tell us where you are so we can come get you!" "Is there someone there with the Friends of Humanity?" "Harris, listen to me! I won't tell you this again! Tell us where you are so we can get you help! You have been deceived by some of the mutants! We won't let them have you!" "I'm sorry, mom. I can't do that. The Friends of Humanity is wrong." Harris hung up the phone and ran out of the small room Blade let him use to call his parents. He saw Blade standing by the students, along with three people whom he did not know. "Blade!" he called out as he approached. "What is it?" "I talked to my mom. She...she thinks a mutant controlled my mind to do what I did. She wanted me tell her where I was so she could come get me and take me to the Friends of Humanity for help." "Sorry to hear that." "I think there was someone with her from the Friends of Humanity." "It's scary the way this hate group has grown," Jubilee stated. "They've become very powerful in a short amount of time." "With almost unlimited resources," Bobby said. "They have backers," Blade replied. "It's the only way they could have what they have in such a short amount of time. Religious leaders back them by preaching mutants as evil, executives invest in their cause, and political figures lobby for mutant control. It all makes sense in a twisted, power-hungry way." "When is your wizard friend coming back to lower this shield?" Emma asked. "He went to get food. He should be back soon." "Good. These students are greatly upset. I'll try to calm them, but I'm not sure if I can." Emma turned to face the students and concentrated on them, communicating with them telepathically that everything would be okay. To Be Continued...