December 31, 2007 (Yes, I did finally update in 2007, believe it or not!)

My apologies, as usual, for not updating sooner. I sincerely hope all you readers had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year. With all the chaos of life, we need a season to be jolly.

Caribbean Sundown: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like the story, and my apologies on the grammar errors. I'll work harder to catch those before the chapter hits the net.

Freegirl: Thanks. I'm glad you like the content of the story. I think stories appeal to a wider crowd of people when they are clean. Not only that, but swearing adds absolutely nothing to any story. Glad you like the plot twists and Wesley. Thanks for a thorough review.

Wanda W: Thanks. I'm glad you like the details, and thank you for the compliment about Wesley. I'm relieved he didn't turn into a Mary-Sue type character. Remy, he should do fine. After all, Gambit is a professional at what he does, and what he does isn't nice.

I was reading the news a few weeks ago, and I found this wonderful story, something that I thought only happened in movies. Some guy who wanted to commit mass murder went to a mega-church in Colorado and started shooting people, and a voluntary security guard shot him multiple times, successfully incapacitating him and saving many lives. I looked at the picture, and there's the security guard, an absolutely beautiful forty-two year old woman named Jeanne Assom. And I used to think it was only in Hollywood films where a stunning woman with a handgun saved the day.

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"Who are they?" Frank Castle asked Wesley in a low voice, looking at Jubilee, Rogue, and Logan.

Wesley introduced them. "We're in a bit of trouble. I'm sorry to bother you, but I didn't know who else to turn to." Wesley said. The Punisher sighed, then walked back into his small apartment. Wesley followed. After a moment's hesitation, so did the other three.

"What happened?" Frank asked, sitting down on a dingy chair. "You better have a good story, showing up on my doorstep like this." Wesley glanced around. The place was nearly the same as the last time he had seen it. A workbench, and desk, a fridge, several guns out on a table. Wesley had slightly been hoping Frank would be at another one of his safe houses. Jubilee and Rogue looked uncomfortable. Frank motioned them to sit, putting the handgun in a holster on his hip.

"I was briefly staying at that school in Westchester, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and-" Wesley stopped suddenly, seeing the questioning look Frank was giving him. "No, I didn't enroll there, I helped two of them out when they were attacked on a backwoods road in Canada and I was taken there for medical treatment. Broken ribs, mild concussion, you get the idea."

"The school was attacked by the military." Logan interrupted. "They kidnapped about six or so of the kids at the school. We escaped, and managed to kill eight of them in the process."

Frank looked rather surprised. "Your school was attacked by the military? Why?"

"Yes. They attacked, we briefly fought them and fled. And I have no idea why they attacked, or what I should do now." Wesley said flatly.

"Xavier's school is a mutant school." Frank said. He gave Logan a look. "I assume…?"

"Yeah. All of us except for him." Logan said, nodding at Wesley. "You got a problem with that?" His questioned had a challenging edge. Frank didn't care.

Frank ignored Logan's question and turned to Wesley. "You're sure it was US military? Not just some private contractors? A terrorist group?"

Wesley closed his eyes, reigning in his frustration. When he spoke, his voice held the respect Frank Castle was owed. "I could tell by their gear. Some sort of special forces. They had 5.7mm P90's, tranquilizer pistols, interceptor body armor, flash grenades, night vision. Who else could it be?"

Frank Castle rubbed his eyes. He dealt with law enforcement officers frequently enough, but avoided tangling with military. "So why couldn't you almighty mutants hold the school? I've heard quite a bit of rumors about how powerful Xavier and his X-Men are." The Punisher smirked at the obvious surprise on the faces of his guests. "You think you can do the things you people do and no one would ever find out about you?"

"Jean, Ororo, Scott, and Xavier were away at the time." Logan said coldly. "Although I did my best to fill in for them." Snik! He extended the claws on his left hand briefly, then retracted them. If Logan hoped to elicit a look of shock from Frank Castle, he failed miserably.

Frank looked almost bored at seeing Logan's claws. "Saw a relative of yours a few weeks ago."

"What?" Logan asked, startled.

"Put that down, now." Frank ordered. Jubilee dropped the stainless steel .357 magnum revolver back onto the workbench. Frank returned his attention to Logan and leaned back in his chair, about to recall the incident. "I was at a crack house two months ago. I'm about to breach a door with a 12 gauge shotgun, when I hear the glass in a window shatter, then some screaming. I waited fifteen seconds, then stormed the room. On the ground is a decapitated, disemboweled serial killer in a pool of blood. The bathroom door is kicked in. Out walks an intruder, with two long claws in each hand. He was wearing some sort of body suit, a balaclava, with goggles covering his face. He glances at me for a second or two, then simply runs and leaps out the window. I checked in the bathroom. Laying there, with a cut chain attached to her ankle, is a teenage girl, Heather Kelley. She had been kidnapped two weeks earlier. The intruder killed her kidnapper, cut her bonds, and left without harming her."

"It was a man?" Logan questioned.

"I couldn't tell what gender the attacker was," Frank said. "There was no exposed skin or hair at all. Roughly four feet five inches, slender build." Logan was silent. He had thought that he was one of a kind, unique, but now things were changing on him.

"Anyway," Wesley said, "we need to-" Someone tapped on the door. Wesley stopped talking, and everyone turned. The Punisher tensed, drawing his sidearm.

"Excuse me?" A woman said quietly from the other side of the door. Frank relaxed and walked to the door, opening it.

"Yes, Joan?" Frank asked the woman, speaking gently. Joan was his next door neighbor at that apartment complex, a thirty-something blond woman trying to restart her life.

She stepped into the room, looking at Wesley and Logan. "Is one of you named Logan?" She had a cordless phone in her hand. "Because, someone's on the phone wanting to talk with him."

"That'd be me." Logan said. Joan stared for a moment, taking in his appearance. Logan held out a hand. "Oh, right." Joan said. "Just leave it outside by door when you're done." She handed him the phone and left the small apartment. Logan put the phone to his ear. Frank, Wesley, Jubilee, and Rogue were all dead silent, looking on. Logan hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Hello?" He asked finally. The mystery phone call had even unnerved him somewhat, Wesley noted.

"Logan?" A voice said. "It's Jean. What happened? The school is totally empty, we couldn't raise anyone on-"

"Jean? How'd you…?" Logan interrupted.

"What? Get this number?" Jean said. "I basically opened up my mind to several thousand people at a time in various New York counties and listened for any of you guys to think loudly. Like walking into a crowded convention center blindfolded and finding someone just by stumbling around until you hear him talking. Then I figured out your location and found a nearby telephone once I had the address. What happened at the school?" At this point Frank got up to leave. He whispered something to Wesley about checking over the van for explosives or tracking devices before leaving the room.

"It got raided. Several dozen soldiers, military." Logan said. "Peter took most of the kids and escaped into the woods through the tunnel system. I was covering their escape and ran into Jubilee and Wesley. We made our way to the garage and escaped in a van. We found Marie a short distance away from the school on the main road. She and Remy came back late from their date. Remy saw what was going on, and he went to check it out. We haven't heard from him."

"Put it on speakerphone." Wesley ordered. Logan complied.

"You're on speakerphone, Jean." Logan said. "All four of us are listening."

"Scott and Charles were kidnapped." Jean said. "When they visited Magneto in prison. Charles managed to use telepathy to alert me just before being incapacitated. Government agents ambushed them."

"How?" Rogue asked. "How could they capture both Scott and the Professor, while they are together? That'd be a tough duo to beat."

"I don't know." Jean admitted. "Charles didn't have time to tell me."

"What do we do now?" Wesley asked. "They captured several students at the school, and we can hardly go to the authorities, seeing that Logan and I killed some the raiders at the school before escaping. You know what the punishments are for killing federal agents, even if they are the ones in the wrong."

"We have to regroup, and get Scott and Charles back," Jean said, "Ororo and I are on the way. We'll be at your location in thirteen minutes."

"I don't think you can land the jet here." Jubilee said. "There's a lot of junk, refuse, whatever. Their barely looks like enough room to park a car, much less a jet."

"Where would you suggest?" Jean asked.

"There's an abandoned gas station two blocks north of us." Logan said. "Their parking lot is clear, would that do?"

"Should be fine." Ororo said, breaking into the conversation. Apparently, Storm was the one flying the jet. "We'll talk again in a few minutes and fill you guys in on all the details." She hung up.

"So, they waited until Storm and Jean were out, and the Professor and Scott were visiting Magneto, then they hit the school." Wesley said. "Divide and conquer."

"I doubt those troops at the school were acting officially." Logan said. "Law-enforcement, BATF, FBI, they always put a perimeter around whatever compound. If the first attack force is repulsed, they'd be able to just settle down for a siege."

"I'd better ask Frank if I can leave my van parked here." Wesley said. "Might not be back for it for several days."

"Do that." Logan said. "And remember not to leave that machine gun in your car, either. You might need it later."

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Frank did a quick examination of the van. No bugs, no explosives. He didn't expect to find any. From what he had heard, the invasion of the school didn't sound like a blatant attempt to capture a bunch of mutants. He looked over Wesley's captured weapon. It was indeed a FN Herstel P90 sub-machine gun, a weapon costing roughly a thousand dollars. He laid the weapon back in the van, covering it with a discarded coat that had been on the backseat. Satisfied no one could see the weapon by merely peering in through a window, he closed the back doors and locked the vehicle. The doors had required little pushing to loudly slam into place. The van was armored up, with several inches of steel plating inserted into the doors, safeguarding the passengers from small arms fire.

He heard the slight crunch of gravel under a boot and turned.

"We've got a ride on the way." Wesley said, walking quickly towards him. "Professor Xavier's personal jet. Jean and Ororo are on it. Can I leave my van here for a few days, tops?"

"You can't land a jet anywhere near here." Frank Castle said curtly. He tossed him the van keys. Wesley caught them easily. "Nearest airfield is over ten miles away."

"This jet is highly modified." Wesley said. "They could land it in a Wal-Mart parking lot, they'll easily be able to land it right around here. It also has a cloaking feature, making it very hard to see. Don't worry."

"Fine. You can leave your van, if you really want to. The garage is in the back." Frank said. He didn't seem to be paying much attention, instead staring off at something. Wesley followed his gaze. A black, brand new looking SUV was slowly driving amid the run down buildings, making it's way toward them.

"They look out of place." Wesley said quietly, noticing Frank's look of concentration. "Know who they are?"

"Not exactly, but I have good idea." Frank said. "An informant gave me a heads up. The Pinette family is upset with me. I hit a chop shop they own. Now they want to hit me." A chop shop was a place stolen cars were taken, and dismantled to be sold for parts across the country. They were fronts for all sorts of illegal activity. Just a day earlier a woman had pulled up to a stoplight, and was shot dead in cold blood. The carjacker simply opened the door, threw body onto the sidewalk, and drove off.

"You hit a chop shop? Hit, as in, set it on fire, informed the cops about it?" Wesley asked gingerly. He was fairly certain what Frank meant, but wanted to verify. He couldn't really object to what Frank did to criminals, but it still was horrifying. Even justice seems cruel in such a twisted world as ours. Wesley thought.

"Hit, as in killed thirty-two of its employees, caught the manager of the shop, tossed him in a garbage compactor, then turned it on." The Punisher said, not changing the tone of his voice or the expression on his face. "Anyway, I plan ahead." He turned and walked rapidly back to his apartment. Wesley followed. The Punisher threw his apartment door open, quickly walking past Logan, Jubilee, and Rogue to the back of the room. Whatever conversation had been going on, abruptly stopped. Jubilee had a guilty look on her face, as if she had just been saying something rude. If Frank noticed, he didn't care. He opened a wooden crate and took out an M 79 single shot 40mm grenade launcher. It was older technology, used in Vietnam. But it could still inflict devastating damage, enough destroy a helicopter.

"Something wrong?" Rogue asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

Frank sighed, taking a massive shell out of the elastic pouch on the side of the launcher and loading it with the air of a practiced expert. "Just some unwelcome visitors, Marie." He said calmly. "Nothing to worry about. Just stay here, both of you." He ordered two the girls.

"You're going to kill someone?" Jubilee asked. She sounded rather opposed to the notion.

"That's the general idea," Frank said, striding out of the door, holding the grenade launcher casually, not unlike how many people hold their briefcases when on the way to work. Logan looked at Wesley.

"Does he normally act this way?" He asked. He had met two of Wesley's friends so far. Remy and Frank. An expert robber and a brutal vigilante. He could only imagine what the Private Military Contractor Company Wesley worked for was like. "Better question, are all your friends so… out of the ordinary? Do you have any normal friends?"

"Who's normal these days?" Wesley said, shrugging. He followed Frank Castle outside the building. Frank took out a monocular and studied the enemy vehicle for a few moments, confirming that the occupants were the hitmen he was expecting. He handed the monocular to Wesley, and aimed the grenade launcher. Wesley examined the driver. Suit. Sunglasses. Silver earring, bald.

"Distance?" Frank asked. The monocular had a range-finding feature. Frank was going to kill them, it was clear.

"Two hundred fifty-eight meters, closing at four meters a second." Wesley said. Grenade launchers fired at a slow velocity compared to a rifle. Frank would have to carefully calculate the speed and distance to accurately compensate for projectile drop and target movement, if he wanted hit the vehicle and destroy it with the first shot.

Frank aimed carefully, leading the target for several moments. He took a deep breath, slowly releasing it. Then he fired. Wesley could see the grenade, a blur as it flew threw the air. The SUV instantly exploded, the tires and doors flying off as the main vehicle was lifted into the air by the power of the grenade. Wesley winced as the wave of searing heat reached them. Frank closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the small victory. The shell of the SUV smashed to the ground, the metal screeching as lost its shape. Flames encircled the wreckage for at least ten feet on all sides, the gasoline that had been in the fuel tank adding to the fire.

"How long, untill…?" Wesley asked, his words trailing off as he stared at the burning vehicle. He was intending to finish his question, but his mind was having a hard time focusing after seeing the Punisher calmly kill three people who, at the time of their deaths, had not been posing a threat. Wesley had killed those soldiers at the school without hesitation, but it those kills had been in self-defense, in a fight with adrenaline rushing.

"Three to seven minutes." Frank Castle said, knowing what the younger man was trying to ask. What the police response time was.

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I sincerely hope I portrayed Frank Castle accurately enough. He's my favorite Marvel character. He's not in the least afraid to use violence against criminals who want to kill him. It so annoys me, in the 90's Spider-Man, The Animated Series cartoons, how Spider-Man always saves various villains from death and injury. I always think something along the lines of, He's a villain who wants to rip your arms of, has tried to kill you multiple times, even kidnapped the beautiful blond who's always flirting with you, tried to turn her into a vampire, and you fought Blade just to save him?!

Anyway, this chapter actually was a good bit longer, but I decided to cut out a couple of chunks that didn't seem to fit. Hope it turned out okay, especially considering all the work that went into it. Please leave a review.

Frank's apartment, nieghbors, and such, I got from the 2004 movie The Punisher. I also watched the game by the same name, in order to better be able to portray the character.