Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 12:18:15 -0700 (PDT) From: James Geckler Subject: Punisher 12 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 This chapter was co-authored by Leo, author of "Tales of a Superhero Band" found in the Celebrity section of the Nifty Story Archive. Thank you and enjoy. Chapter 12 Mall Music Davey and Harris made their way through the throngs of people. They laughed and giggled and talked of things they had experienced at school. As they laughed, Harris looked into Davey's eyes. "What is it?" Davey asked with a grin. "This is nice." "What do you mean?" "Being in the mall talking and laughing with you." Davey smiled. His hand reached over and took Harris's into his. He looked into Harris's eyes. He felt a connection with Harris and realized one never knows what might happen if the heart is opened. "Maybe we should just ask him what he's doing," Melvin said. "He hasn't done anything much." "Yeah right, and have him point those guns our way?" Reuben said. "Unless you sensed wrongly, Dylan." "Nope, he has guns, that's for sure," Dylan said. "Just can't tell if there are bullets." "I think he knows we're following him," Joy said. Punisher turned to face the group of kids heading his way. "Why are you following me?" "What are you planning to do?" Joy asked. "None of your business. You should turn around and go back to your shopping and hanging out. You are too young to get involved." "Involved in what?" Joy asked, definitely more curious with his answer. "Believe me, you are better off not knowing." A door opened up at the security office and twenty F.O.H. commandos came out headed by Lilandra. "Hello, Punisher. What brings you to this neck of the woods?" "The Friends of Humanity." Lilandra looked at the young people with Punisher. "Are you his new recruits? Do you know who this man is?" "Never seen him before in my life," Dylan replied. "Let me tell you who he is. He is a rebel. I don't know how familiar you are with the Friends of Humanity but we have permission by the government to organize and work for the safety of humanity. Our cause is to register and remove all mutant threats. This man, however, believes it is unconstitutional and immoral for us to act. Isn't that right, Punisher?" "Damn straight," Punisher replied. "So, kids. You have the choice to walk away from here and go on about your merry lives or to get into serious trouble." "Oh, like we have a choice now," Dylan said sarcastically. "Unfortunately for you, we kind of agree with Mr. Rebel over here." Harris and Davey entered a music store. Several keyboards lined the walls. "Oh, wow!" Harris exclaimed. He turned to the clerk. "Can I try one out?" "Sure," the clerk said with a smile. Harris grinned and looked at Davey. He turned some background on which sounded strangely like a song from Moulin Rouge. He began to play "Your Song" from the movie. Davey sat and listened to Harris's playing. He watched Harris's fingers dance over the keys creating beautiful music. He could almost see Harris's soul in the notes as they poured forth to the ears of the patrons. Davey looked around and saw the customers looking at Harris. He smiled thinking, "that's my boy." A loud thump brought their attention out of the enchantment of Harris's playing. "What the hell was that?" Davey asked. Everyone ran to the door and looked out. Nothing was readily noticeable on the third floor. Dave ran to the edge and looked over the railing. He could see all the way down to the first floor commons. Two elevators went up and down on the opposite side. He noticed people running away from the right hand side. He moved to the left side to get a good look at the right. What he saw shocked him. "Oh my god," Davey exclaimed. "What?" Harris asked. "There's the Punisher." Punisher and a group of young people, obviously older than Davey and Harris, came running from the security offices. From the corridor also flowed a group of Friends of Humanity commandos. "Just great," Davey exclaimed. "What do we do?" "We have to stop the commandos. We saw what they could do with innocent people at the school remember? We can't let them do anything to the innocent people here." Harris nodded in agreement. Punisher ran toward the elevator. He hoped the commandos had enough decency not to open fire in a crowded place. That was why he attempted to infiltrate the base in the first place. "Bright idea!" Dylan rolled his eyes. "Start a gun fight in the middle of a crowded mall! That's brilliant!" "I didn't think the F.O.H. was as insane as this," Punisher replied. "Why don't you guys get out of the way before you get hurt?" Punisher pulled out a pistol and took aim behind him. He fired two shot into the commando crowd. One fell. "Fire!" Lilandra ordered. Bullets came flying at the group. Joy turned and stretched out her hands. The bullets bounced off the invisible shield and fell onto the floor. Melvin flung his hands out, and a deep green glow surrounded two of the gunmen. They immediately collapsed to the floor. "Joy, can you cover me?" Reuben asked, running forward. "Righto!" She focused her energy onto him as well as he charged at one of the gunmen. Dylan followed after him, the bullets flying harmlessly through him as he fumbled at the pockets of his cargo pants. He pulled out a small green stone and shrugged. It was not what he was looking for, but it would do fine. He focused on the stone's power and felt it empowering him. The aventurine was a stone of increased perception and luck, and Dylan found himself suddenly more aware of the environment around him. Things seemed to move in slow motion, except for Reuben, which could only mean he was moving at Reuben's accelerated speed. A bullet moved slowly towards his face and he instinctively dodged it, despite the fact it would have just gone through him. His dodge, however, caused him to topple. Dylan spun on the floor for a moment, his power deactivated, and he felt himself knock someone. He reactivated his power, and stood up, realizing that the stone had caused him to fall and knock over one of the commandoes. He got up and kicked the guy's face, then spun off to fight another. Punisher was impressed by their powers. He wondered what kind of wizards or magicians they were. If he survived and they survived, he would have to ask them. He rolled behind an elevator as a shower of bullets came at him. "I have to get off this level," Punisher said. He climbed up on a railing and used the butt of his gun to shatter part of the glass elevator shaft. He climbed up on the elevator cart and it started its journey up. Punisher watched as the commandos took aim. Lilandra, however, told them to hold their fire. Evidently she had some brains about firing on a moving elevator cart full of innocent bystanders. "Good," Punisher thought. Punisher turned and noticed Davey and Harris on the third floor looking down at him. "Just great." Reuben spun and kicked the gun out of the hands of his opponent. The gun flew through the air, accidentally striking Joy's shoulder. The shield around him faded, and someone cuffed the back of his head with their gun. Before the man could shoot Reuben, however, he found himself being flung backwards. A blue glow surrounded two men and they fell asleep. "Joy!" Dylan shouted. "Shield Reuben again!" Joy nodded, and Dylan reached into his pocket and drew out the stone he had originally been looking for. The carnelian's red gleam shone as he concentrated on drawing its power. At the last moment, he released it, and a great blast of fire ensued from his body, knocking most of the commandoes off their feet. Dylan picked Reuben up and carried him over to Joy. "See what you can do," Dylan said. Punisher hit the button for the third-floor doors to open before the elevator got there. He jumped out as the cart arrived and ran over to Davey and Harris. "What are you trying to do now?" Davey asked. "Get a bunch of innocent people killed?" "I'm trying to infiltrate the Friends of Humanity. They have a headquarters here in the mall." "It looks like they will be moving now they know that you know it is here. Good going, Punisher." "I don't have time for this." Punisher started to walk away and stopped, turned back and said, "It is good to see you two together. I hope things work out between the two of you." "Uh, thanks," Harris replied. Davey, however, was too busy looking at the first floor and the friends of Punisher facing off against the commandos. "There are more coming," he called out. "They don't see the other commandos." "We have to help them," Harris replied. "Have you seen their powers?" Punisher said. "Yes. They are very formidable. Thank heaven they are on our side." "The other group of commandos is closing in!" Harris said. "Look out!" Harris called down. But the crowds were so loud that his voice could not be heard. Davey looked at Harris's worried face and decided to take action. He grabbed the railing and leapt over it, plunging down the two floors. With his mutant ability, he was not hurt by the hard impact. The kindred turned and saw Davey's amazing feat. Then they saw the group of commandos coming from the other side. Davey reached up and grabbed one of the handrails going up the four-step steps. Pulling hard, the top of the handrail popped off. He swung it like a baseball bat and hit the commandos knocking them over. One of the kindred smiled at Davey and went back to dealing with the commandos. "We need to get out of here," Dylan said. "Follow me," Davey replied. He took off running down the mall with his new friends close behind. "Where is he going?" Punisher asked out loud. "Probably trying to get away from the commandos. Follow me." Harris took off running in the same direction as Davey, only two floors up. Punisher followed behind him. The heroes on the first floor ran down the corridor with commandos in pursuit. Melvin knocked two of them out with his power, but they still kept coming. Dylan stumbled and fell, dropping the unconscious Reuben onto the ground. Dylan began to gasp for breath, his eyelids were blinking rapidly, and his eyes looked unfocused. "Dylan, are you alright?" Melvin asked. Dylan did not reply. He was too busy panting. He coughed suddenly, and Melvin stepped back in surprise. Dylan got up, and so did his copy. "You multiplied," Melvin said. Dylan nodded. "My power finally developed." The two Dylan's picked Reuben up easily. A couple of bullets zoomed near their heads. Davey grabbed a trashcan and picked it up. He hurled it at the commandos, knocking two of them down and slowing the others. They reached the escalators and were joined by Harris and Punisher. "Thank God you're okay," Harris said. "Not for too much longer. Here they come." "Go on," Punisher told the others. "I'll stop them." "How?" Davey said. "No time to answer you. Go!" The young people went down the escalator to the basement level where the furniture was sold. Punisher reached in his jacket and pulled out two pistols. Aiming into the commandos he fired. Several commandos went down in death. The Punisher kept firing until his guns were empty. He dropped the clips and ran down the escalator while reloading the guns. At the bottom of the escalator, the Punisher found the others. He turned to the kindred and said, "It may be best for you to leave town. The Friends of Humanity no doubt have good images of you. They will be watching out for you. It's no longer safe for you here." "Did you kill them?!" Davey said incredulously. "How could you kill them?" "It's what the government trained me to be," Punisher said. "Look, I don't like death. But the enemy dying is much better than innocents dying." "What do you think the mall is filled with?! Innocent people!" A noise of movement could be heard above them. "Get to your vehicles and get away. I'll hold them off." Punisher took aim at the top of the escalator. "Go." Reluctantly the group took off out of the basement into the streets. "We are parked in the covered parking garage," Davey said. "So are we," Dylan replied. They ran down the city block toward the parking garage. Punisher saw a commando come down the escalator. He fired several times and the commando fell down the rest of the steps. He fired a few more times and grabbed the commando's body pulling it toward the exit. Punisher picked up the commandos weapon and examined it. It was some sort of electrical discharge gun as well as equipped with bullets. He threw it over his shoulder and fired again on the commandos as they rushed the escalator. With the commandos stopped for a minute, Punisher picked the body up and placed it on his shoulder, and then he ran to the door, flung it open and tossed the body outside. He stepped back in and found a metal bed rail on the floor by some of the mattresses. Punisher stepped out and jammed the railing into the door handles. The commandos would not be able to get out for several minutes, giving him time to escape. The kindred, the mutant and the everyday human arrived in the parking garage. "Thanks for your help," Joy said. "Thank you, too. Without you, who knows how that might have ended? It was nice meeting you, by the way." "So I don't believe I caught your name?" Dylan asked. "I'm Davey, and this is Harris." "I'm Dylan, and these are my friends Joy and Melvin. The unconscious one is our fearless and invulnerable leader, Reuben." "Looks pretty knocked out to me," Davey laughed. "Come on, we have to go." Davey shook hands with his new friends. Harris shook their hands as well and the boyfriends ran toward their car. Punisher watched the little interaction between Davey, Harris and the kindred. It made him glad to see Davey meeting others close to his age with special powers. "He won't feel so alone," Punisher thought. He ran toward his Suburban and tossed the dead commando into the backseat. Punisher climbed into the front, started up the motor and took off down the road. "They seemed nice," Harris said. "Yeah. I just hope they don't think we all act like Punisher. That would be horrible." "What do we do now?" "We have the supplies," Davey answered, "so we head back to the apartment building and let Blade know what's going on." The black sports car tore down the road toward the interstate. "That was pleasant," Dylan said. "Did you see those two?" "Reminds me of how you and Justin never looked," Melvin said. Dylan punched him playfully in the arm. "I hope we meet them again," Joy said. "They're definitely friendlier than Mr. Rebel. And you obviously like them better than Mr. Wizard." "Why do you call them that?" Dylan asked. "Mr. Rebel and Mr. Wizard?" "Well, it's not like we know their names, right?" Joy said. "And that's about all we know of them." "Well, you can be sure that if I meet either one of them again, it's not going to be pleasant," Melvin said. "I can't believe that the rebel guy actually killed those people! He's insane." Punisher drove out of Columbus to a wooded area and pulled over. He climbed in the back and undressed the dead commando. Once the commando was nude, Punisher pushed the body out, closed the back door and drove off. He had work to do and could not be bothered by such considerations as burial. After about an hour's drive, Punisher again pulled over to check out the commando's suit. He searched it thoroughly and found a radio transmitter and receiver. A data card also rested in a pouch of the pants. The card, no doubt, was a security card to gain access to otherwise restricted areas. He had a key to get in to the Headquarters of the Friends of Humanity. He would have to further analyze the suit's contents in order to ascertain all that he acquired from his latest stint in going after the Friends of Humanity. "Whoever is in charge," Punisher thought, "they will regret their stupidity in forming this hate group." Punisher hit the accelerator and the Suburban tore off down the road. To Be Continued... Would you like to see more crossovers with the heroes and heroine from "Tales of a Superhero Band"? Perhaps in a chapter or two there will be another crossover. Please, email Leo and let him know what you think. If you are not a reader of "Tales of a Superhero Band", you now have a taste of what the story is about as well the writing style of the author. More to come!!! By the way, the song Harris played is based on the second "Moulin Rouge" Soundtrack, the first "Your Song" Instrumental. The song is beautiful.