When Ruby came to, she found that she was now on a rooftop of some sorts, leaning against a chimney. It was dark now, and there was a warm, sticky liquid running down the side of Ruby's face. She moved to stand up, but she found she was restricted by something. Whatever it was that restricted her, clinked together when she moved. She was chained to the chimney. She could see the silhouette of a man crouched near the edge of the building, just leaning against the short wall in front of him.

"Why am I here?" She asked. She knew who he was. She didn't need to see his face.

"Everything you do out there… in the streets, Red, it doesn't work. Did you know that?" He didn't turn to her, he just stared thoughtfully into the night sky. His voice was quiet and delicate as he spoke.

"And what you're doing is better?!" Ruby angrily asked, straining against the chains. Castle turned around, and looked her in the eyes. There was a flash of softness, but it soon disappeared and his tone changed.

"What I do, I just do it. It's out of necessity." He told her. Ruby scoffed.

"Come on." She said. "You know you're not the only one, right? Who did you lose? Huh? Was it someone you loved? Well, boo-hoo. Let me tell you something. Everybody's lost someone. Doesn't mean you have to do this." He quietly growled, stood and turned around, pacing.

"Well, loss doesn't work the same for everybody, Red." He told her.

"Yeah," She said. "That's right. It's clearly not working for you."

"Maybe not." He said. "We don't get to pick the things that fix us, Red. Make us whole. Make us feel purpose. My moment of clarity? It came from the strangest of places. What kind of name is The Iron Rose, anyway? I mean, really?" Ruby didn't say anything, she just looked away.

"This isn't about me." She quietly said. He quickly moved over to her and crouched in front of her. He was really close now, and it made Ruby uncomfortable.

"You ain't runnin' from who you are. Why should I?" He asked.

"Because I don't do this to hurt people." Ruby said.

"Yeah, so what is that? A job perk?" He chuckled.

"I don't kill anyone."

"Is that why you think you're better than me?" His hand rested on his gun.

"No."

"Is that why you think you're the big hero?!"

"It doesn't matter what I am, or what I think," she said. "People don't have to die." He stood and turned back around.

"Come on, Red. Do you really believe that?"

"I believe it's not my call. And it's not yours either."

"I'm not a bad guy, Red." The softness flashed again, but only for a second.

I'm not a bad guy, Red."

"You wanna explain that to the orphans and the widows of the men you killed?" He looked angry again.

"For Christ's sake, that's what you think? I'm just some crazy asshole going around unloading on whoever I want to?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think."

"That it?"

"You think you're anything else?"

"I think that the people I kill need killing, that's what I think."

"You shot a young man in the head over small time thievery!"

"He got off easy, in my opinion."

"You shot up a hospital last year!"

"Yeah, and nobody got hurt who didn't deserve it."

"Oh, yeah. What about you, Frank? What happens the day someone decides you deserve it?"

"I'll tell you what, they better not miss."

"Come on, you run around Remnant like it's your damn shooting gallery."

"Yeah, what do you do? What do you do? You act like it's a playground. You beat up the bullies with your toys. You throw 'em in jail, everybody calls you a hero, right? And then a month, a week, a day later, they're back on the streets doing the same goddamn thing!" His gun was now out of its holster, but not pointed at anything in particular.

"Yeah, so you just put 'em in the morgue?!" Ruby was now straining against the chains with every ounce of strength in her body.

"You're goddamn right, I do."

"You ever doubt yourself, Frank?"

"Not even for a second."

"Really? Really? You never think for one second, 'Shit, I just killed a human being'." He chuckled

"That's being pretty generous."

"A human being who did a lot of stupid shit, maybe even evil, but had one small piece of goodness in him. Maybe just a scrap, Frank, but something. And then you come along, and that one tiny flicker of light gets snuffed out forever!" Within a second, he was across that rooftop, and his gun was pressed to her head. She didn't flinch, she had expected it.

"There ain't no such thing as redemption, Red!" He shouted. "You should know that! Everybody in this fuckin' city knows what you're here for! Who you're looking for! What are you gonna do when you find them?! Huh?! You gonna lock 'em up?! After everything they've done?! Look around, Red. This city, it stinks. It's a sewer. It stinks and it smells like shit and I can't get the stink out of my nose. I think that this world, it needs men who are willing to make the hard call. I think you and me are the same!"

"That's bullshit, Frank, and you know it!" Ruby leaned forward, only pressing the gun harder into her skull.

"Only I do the one thing you can't. You hit'em and they get back up. I hit'em and they stay down!" As soon as he finished talking, her pistol whipped her. It didn't knock her out, but it drew more blood, and stunned her. When Ruby finally regained her senses, he was back on the other side of the roof, just as he had been when she first woke up.

"You've killed a lot of people, Frank. Why am I still alive? Huh? I pissed you off twice now... and you don't strike me as someone who just lets that happen." He didn't say anything. Not for a long time.

"Cause you're so young." He quietly said. "I never killed anyone as young as you before. Hell, the only reason you're here now is because I was so Goddamn worried that I'd killed you. With that bomb. Didn't think it would do that much damage. And then, when I hit ya. Damn. You went down."

"I don't understand." Ruby said. "Why does age matter? I thought it was the crime." He didn't say anything, he just moved towards the stairwell.

"Your friends will be here soon." He told her. "I hope this is the last time we meet. Cause if I see you again… age won't be an issue." With that final statement, Frank opened the door, and left Ruby on the roof, chained to a chimney.

A/N: Let me just say, age isn't the only reason Frank didn't just kill her. And if you know anything about The Punisher, you probably know why. Especially if you watched Daredevil on Netflix.