Judge. Jury. Punisher.

"Explain it to me again?"

Weiss chuckled as she moved some sizzling bacon around in a skillet. Ruby was going on and on about a comic book she loved, Weiss was only half listening at first, as loving wives do, but something about this one had her interested.

"He's called The Punisher, but his real name is Frank Castle, he is a total B.A. if I was straight? Mmph!" Ruby clutched the comic in question to her chest, looking up at the ceiling as she no doubt dreamed of a B.A. Castle swooping in to save her.

Weiss couldn't help but grin, "should I be worried?" Weiss teased as she plated up her wife's breakfast.

"Ugh, of course not Weiss, it's uh, what do you call it? Hyperbole?"

"Sure, now eat your breakfast before it gets cold," Ruby nodded and placed the comic on the counter, demolishing her breakfast as Weiss sat with her, sipping her morning tea. Days like this were rare, Weiss didn't have work, she always made Ruby breakfast on her days off.

Once Ruby had finished scarfing down her food she stood up, cleared the table and in a whirl had thanked Weiss, kissed her and shot out the door. Weiss never minded though, Ruby never slowed down, being married to a billionaire had allowed the energetic girl to pick up many hobbies. Weiss knew she would get a text soon, explaining how Ruby forgot to tell her she was going to do whatever it was today. She sighed, "such a dork," chuckled under her breath.

She stood up after finishing her tea. Walking over to the counter something grabbed her eye. It was the brightly colored comic book, Ruby had forgotten to put it away. "Punisher Number one… not a very original name… kind of on the nose..." Weiss couldn't help herself, she thumbed through the pages, oddly impressed with how graphic it was, how accurate it was.

Weiss couldn't lie, the comic appealed to her on a primal level. It was scary, how much she resonated with Frank, of course, you may say she was nothing like him, but she was. Like him, she had been wronged by someone in power. She had lost so much, her mother, her dignity and almost her sanity on multiple occasions. Frank was written as an everyman of course, meant to appeal to anyone who had been wronged by anything. With Weiss however, the comic didn't speak…

It sang

Three Months Later, SDC Mining Camp 7, Eastern Mantle, Midnight

"Showtime..."

Weiss had spent three months preparing for this, her first strike. Studying maps, schedules, police response times and routes, making sure everything was perfect, like a true Schnee…

The muffled sound of an elevator arriving at its destination.

The deep breath you take before doing something you've never done before.

Four hours she had waited.

Four hours to send one message…

She stayed low in the backseat of the car, she had found she was incredibly good at crime, like everything she tried, of course. It wasn't like you couldn't look up how to break into a car, how to hide from others, read medical manuals to learn how to do the opposite of healing.

The holding of breath…

The click-clack of high heels on concrete…

Heartbeat…

Loud, hammering in her ears, closer, louder, closer, LOUDER.

Calm…

Jingling of keys…

Click and scratch of a car door lock…

A sigh of relief after a long day…

The slight shift of clothing over clothing…

Cold metal to the back of a neck…

Panic!

"W-who the hell are you? W-what do you want..."

"I have a message."

"W-what message? F-for who? Just tell me what it is and I promise I'll pass it on!"

Silence.

Stillness.

Final moments… the deafening silence, ringing in ears.

A soft chuckle.

More panic.

"The message isn't for you…"

"It's for your replacement..."

"WHA-"

The ringing, ear-shattering ringing, handguns and enclosed spaces, but Weiss was a self-made pro. What would The Punisher do? She ran through all the info she had gathered, all the simulations in her head. Stick to the plan. The casing, do not leave the casing! She catches it.

A quick sizzle, like bacon in a skillet.

The cry of pain and smell of flesh.

Next step, out of the car, down the steps one level, over the side, down the street seven blocks, take the alleys, change clothes on the fourth block, get on a bus, go home… home to her…

Flawless execution, on the bus ride back Weiss' hands were shaking, trembling. Why didn't more people murder?

It was so easy...

The Next Morning, Schnee Manor, Central Atlas, 9 A.M.

"Good morning sleepy head," Weiss leaned over her snoozing wife and gave her a soft peck on the lips. Ruby stirred slightly, her eyes opening to slits.

"Mm, could get used to waking up to the face of an angel..."

"Charmer..."

"Of course..."

The two snuggled for a bit before Weiss put her foot down and dragged Ruby from the bed, they decided to postpone breakfast and instead sat down to watch the news.

Breaking News: "Last night a high ranking Schnee Dust Company foreman was killed in her own car, police have yet to disclose the nature of the murder, however, this comes at a rocky time for the company, having appointed a new chairwoman just-"

Ruby covered her mouth, as she always did during bad news. "That's awful… that poor woman..."

Hardly, Weiss thought to herself. "Don't worry Ruby, I'm sure this was just a random murder, these things happen." Weiss took Ruby's hand, Ruby looked down a bit strangely.

"What's wrong with your palm? Did you get hurt?"

Weiss pulled away and opened her right palm to display her burn, "it's nothing to worry over, just burnt myself on the kettle yesterday..."

Ruby accepted that, giving the swollen skin a soft kiss, "okay, I'm gonna go whip up some breakfast."

Weiss nodded as Ruby got up from the couch, heading into the kitchen, Weiss glanced over her shoulder before ticking the volume on the news up a few measures.

"This just in, I'm hearing from multiple sources that the media has labeled the suspected hit man. "The Atlas Assassin," we now go live to special agent Xiao Lon-"

Weiss huffed as she clicked off the television, "pfft, Atlas Assassin…"

"Kind of on the nose..."