A/N: So, we've finally come to the end of this crossover. I gotta say, this is easily the longest one I've done. Know how many pages this was on the document I was typing this once I was finally finished? 495. Easily the longest I've written so far.
Anyway, the epilogue is technically two parts. One revolves around the funeral of the Boys member who died, and the other is more or less written from Frank Castle's perspective, as part of his War Journal. In any case, this has been a wild ride from start to finish, and I'm thankful for everyone who gave this a read! Can't wait for the Boys Season 3 to release!
Music: "Punishment" from the Punisher 2004 OST
Soon after it was reported that Homelander was deceased, the media went into a frenzy. The ones responsible for taking him out, identified as the former CIA black ops team known as the Boys, were instantly lauded as heroes, and received immediate medical attention. Through it all, Vought Tower was raided by SWAT, looking for any and all evidence of Vought International's crimes. They quickly found a goldmine, especially regarding Compound V, but what was most interesting was when a small squad looked through Stan Edgar's office.
Four SWAT soldiers, led by their captain, entered the president of Vought's office on the 82nd floor, taking note of the missing window.
"Search the place." the captain ordered. "Find anything that can be used as evidence."
The soldiers quickly swept through the room, with one of them picking up a piece of paper on the desk, tucked under a book so it wouldn't blow away, with writing on it.
"Captain, you gotta take a look at this!"
The soldier quickly handed the paper to his captain, who quickly read the note.
I leave this as a Declaration of Intent, so that no one will be confused.
Number One: Sic Vis Pacem, Parabellum. Latin. Colonel Schoonover made us recite it like a prayer. Sic Vis Pacem, Parabellum. If you want peace, prepare for war.
Number Two: Frank Castle is dead. He died with his family, when the supe and member of the Seven A-Train killed them. In his place is the Punisher.
Number Three: In certain, extreme situations, the law is inadequate. Murderers, rapists, pedophiles, sadists, they don't give a shit about the law. In order to shame its inadequacy, it is necessary to act outside the law, to pursue natural justice. True justice. Make no mistake, this is not vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive, it's only a bullshit emotional response. No, not vengeance. Punishment.
Music: "I Hung My Head" by Johnny Cash
Judge Dredd, Frank Castle, Becca Butcher, Allyson Nelson, Michael Myers, Annie January, and John Diggle stood over an open grave, watching as a casket was lowered into the Earth. Even though the coffin wasn't open, they knew who was in it. Dax, their associate and brother on the team, was given a private funeral, with only his closest friends and their families attending. Despite some of them not knowing him, it was agreed upon that he was a fallen hero, and deserved respect.
Behind the remaining members of the Boys, Billy Russo, Lyla Michaels and her kids, Becca's son Ryan, Grace Mallory and Valkyrie all stood a few feet away, mourning the loss of a member of their extended family. Most of them didn't even know him for long, but he still left an impact on their lives.
This was one of the many funerals the Boys had attended. Among them included Queen Maeve's, Ismael Cruz's, Victoria Neumann's, and the President of the United States himself, Robert Schaeffer. They had all gotten black suits in the days that followed, as most of them, particular Dredd and Castle, had no suits anymore.
Each funeral seemed to strike a chord with one of the Boys' members, in varying degrees. When they found out Ismael died, Allyson and Michael had hung their heads and sadness, both refusing to speak. Starlight was the most broken up about Maeve's death, with Frank doing his best to comfort Annie throughout the service. Interestingly enough, Michael was also upset over Queen Maeve, having seen her as the closest thing to a friend while in the Seven. Mallory seemed most hung up about Neumann's demise, though the Boys still went to the funeral out of respect. As for the President, whether they liked or disliked him, he was still the President, and he was honored as such.
Amongst the funeral's guests, Father Lantom stood over the grave, reading a verse from the Bible. No one except Becca knew him, but after hearing Dax was a friend of hers, he offered to read.
Allyson looked towards each member of the Boys, seeing them all wearing suits. Even Michael was in a black suit, and not wearing his true face. That was to be expected though. It wouldn't mean anything for the Shape to be here. It had to be Michael Myers that was with them. It was also mildly surprising to see Dredd and Castle in suits, but that was more because she was used to seeing them wearing the Judge's uniform, or the skull vest of the Punisher.
"He who is wicked, let him be wicked still, and the one who is filthy, let him be filthy still." Father Lantom read from the Bible, as the Boys hung their heads. "He who is righteous, let him be righteous still, and he who is holy, let him be holy still."
The casket finally stopped its descent, and Father Lantom closed the Bible, allowing the ones who knew Dax personally to grieve.
"I'm not sure what to say." Annie mumbled, staring at the ground. Frank silently nodded, whilst staring at the coffin six feet under.
"I'd give a speech, but after my animosity towards him, I don't think my words would mean much." Diggle added, as he looked into the casket.
"I don't think there's any words that are meaningful right now." Becca agreed, as she wrapped her arm in the crook of Joseph's.
Allyson felt someone take her hand, and she turned her head to the right, seeing Michael look at her. Though he didn't say anything, she knew what he was conveying. It should be her.
Nelson held onto Michael's hand, squeezing it tightly, and looked up.
"I first met Dax in the basement of Noodle Palace." Allyson spoke up, as everyone looked towards her. "I had been locked in a cage for over a year, and he freed me from my prison. He was the I became closest to in the Boys."
Allyson cleared her throat, fighting back the urge to cry, and continued.
"He always saw the best in me, even when I didn't want him to. When my best friend, Cameron Elam, was murdered by Stormfront, I forgot who I was. I was accepting hits from the Albanians, to distract myself from Cameron's death. I became a monster, and Dax helped bring me back.
"I only knew Dax for a week. The same amount of time could be said for any of us here. But it feels like we've known each other for years. Because we became more than a team. We became a family."
Not long after, the funeral was over, and the members of the Boys began leaving. As Becca went over to Ryan, Annie approached Frank.
"So, what are you planning to do now, Frank?" Annie asked. "I mean, A-Train's dead. Homelander's dead. The Seven have been disbanded. You're war's over."
"No Annie." Frank shook his head. "There's no warm, cozy ending for me. Not for me. My war will never be over, because war is all I know."
"What if there's a better way?" Annie pleaded. "A way that you and I can figure out together."
"No." Frank denied, continuing to shake his head. "There's no light at the tunnel. There's no light."
"There can be if you allow it." Annie told him. "Frank, you can't keep loving people in your dreams."
Frank stared at Annie with sadness, before looking down at the ground.
"I don't want it." Frank revealed. "I don't want to. I'm sorry."
Annie sadly nodded, and hugged Frank.
"There's still assholes in this world. Homelander's death didn't magically change things overnight." Frank said softly. "So I'm going to find them, and I'm going to murder them. That's my life, because I am the Punisher."
Annie sobbed into Frank's chest, until she stopped, having an epiphany.
"No." Annie pulled away, looking up at Castle. "I know who you are. You're the whirlwind."
"What?" Frank asked in confusion.
"The whirlwind." Annie repeated, looking in his eyes. "They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind. Hosea 8-7. The symbol of God's wrath. That's who you are Frank."
Castle said nothing, but solemnly nodded. Before he said anything, a sphere of blue lightning suddenly appeared a few feet away from everyone, and two individuals stepped out. The Boys squinted their eyes, seeing the forms of two women appear. One of them was holding onto a helmet, with a Judge's uniform and a badge reading Anderson on it. The other was shorter, was African American in heritage, and wore a slick black suit with gold stars and cufflinks adorning her uniform.
"Anderson. Chief Judge Silver." Dredd nodded in respect.
"Dredd." Silver replied, and both women nodded. "Our condolences to your friend."
"Why are you here?" Joseph asked, as Becca and Ryan walked back towards him. "I'm assuming you couldn't have dropped by to help with Homelander?"
"We knew you would be able to handle him." Silver revealed. "You always do."
"Dredd, we're here to take you home." Anderson told him. "Mega City One needs you."
"It was doing fine before I hit the streets." Dredd retorted. "It can survive without me. Mega City One has good Judges like you, Anderson, who can dispense true justice. Something I could never do."
"But we need you. You're the best of us, Dredd." Silver insisted. Joseph sighed, and looked out towards New York.
"No. This city needs me. It needs heroes." Joe murmured, before turning back to the Judges. "New York had been terrorized by Homelander and the Seven for far too long. They didn't give a drokk about the law. There were no superheroes. It all came down to the Boys to bring them to justice, in this cursed city. The New York City we knew is gone. We have to accept it and move on."
Anderson and Silver looked at Dredd with a puzzled look, before the Chief Judge sighed.
"When Eustace Fargo created the justice system, he put into place the Long Walk…" Silver's voice trailed off. "Perhaps he didn't always mean it literally."
"What's that mean?" Frank asked, confused.
"The Long Walk." Joseph explained. "When a Judge retires, they can go out into the Cursed Earth, to bring law to the lawless."
"And maybe Fargo meant it in the metaphorical sense, as well as literal." Becca realized. "Joe, this was your Long Walk. To bring Homelander and the Seven to justice in this cursed city."
Silver nodded, as she activated the time displacement belt on her waist.
"Go. Continue bringing the law to the lawless."
Chief Judge Silver vanished in a flash of blue energy, leaving Anderson. The Psi-Judge walked up to the Boys, and looked at each of them individually.
"It was good to see you all again." Anderson smiled slightly, before staring at Becca. "And it was good to finally meet you, Rebecca Butcher."
"You too, Judge Anderson." Becca grinned, shaking her hand.
Anderson nodded, and stepped back, before activating her own time displacement belt.
"See you on the streets Joe."
Joseph smirked, breaking his stony expression, as Anderson vanished in the same blue energy.
"See you on the streets, Anderson."
Music: "I Forgot Who I Was" from Arrow Season 1 OST
Three Weeks Later
The Punisher's War Journal
October 31st
Been three weeks since we offed Homelander in the white house, on what the media fucks came to call 'Chaos Day'. After that shitshow, the Sokovia Accords have been reinstated, and things have more or less quieted down. With the Seven disbanded, Vought being liquidated, and evidence exposing all that they've done, including the attempted kidnapping of Ryan Butcher in the Metro General Hospital, there's been a power vacuum. Supes, mobsters, gangs, they're all still out there. The Boys have also disbanded, gone their separate ways. Dig mentioned moving his family to Metropolis, or back to Star City.
John Diggle finished packing the last moving truck, and kissed his wife. His kids waited patiently in the car, as Lyla slowly pulled away.
"Oliver would be proud of you, Johnny." Lyla smiled, as she climbed into the car. "You honored him by still fighting for what's right."
Diggle smiled back, as his family drove off. He still needed to wrap things up, as he was driving the moving truck. As he walked back towards the black vehicle, he looked up, seeing what appeared to be a meteor crash land several feet away from him. The force of the landing resulted in Diggle being thrown backwards into the van, but he quickly got back up and walked towards the freshly made crater. The smoke began to clear, revealing a small, black box. Curiously, Diggle opened the box, only to find… a glowing green ring?
The kid, Annie, is still doing okay. I try to check up on her every now and then, just to see how she's doing. Heard she recently partnered with Mallory to form that team Neumann was going to propose to keep tabs on the supes. After the congresswoman bit the dust, Grace stepped up and took over the Office of Supe Affairs. As of now, their little club includes her, Stark, Cage, that magician Constantine, and the Flash. Because they're funded by the CIA, they don't have to worry about the Sokovia Accords breathing down their necks. They even got a cute name for their team too. The Thunderbolts.
The female, Allyson, and Myers went back to Haddonfield. Guess they were homesick or something. I wouldn't have given it a second thought to blow Myers' head off, but then, he did help us kill Homelander. Plus, the female vouched for him. So far I haven't heard anything on the news, so maybe the Boogeyman really did change. Then again, it is Halloween. His favorite time of year, from what I've heard.
Music: "Through the Woods" and "Prison Montage" from Halloween 2018 OST
Allyson and Michael stood over the grave of Judith Myers, each keeping their blank, expressionless faces. In her hands was Michael's face, as he had taken it off and given it to her for now. Michael had shed his clothes of Black Noir, and they had made sure to burn the uniform until it was nothing but ash. Allyson knew the power memories could have over someone, and she was certain the only memories Michael would have from that suit would only be bad ones.
Allyson slightly shook her head, and knelt down to place her hand on Judith's gravestone.
"Judith, I'm sorry you're not here." Allyson said softly. "Sorry that you cannot see the better person Michael has become."
Myers stared sadly at his sister's gravestone, remembering the last time he was here. He had taken off his pale face, like he had now, and whispered an apology to his sister.
"I'm sorry Judith."
Before he had even stood up, he had felt a slight prick in his neck, and he had reached up, pulling out a small syringe dart, dripping a green fluid. He remembered falling on his back, where armed men had come to take him, and he only caught a glimpse of what he would come to know as the logo for Vought, before he lost all consciousness.
Michael shook his head. That had happened two years ago. Vought was gone. The Seven were gone. Homelander was dead. Ironically, his undercover mission, given by Madelynn Stillwell and Stan Edgar, was now complete. So why was he feeling like something was missing?
Myers looked down at Allyson, as she continued speaking to his sister's grave.
"Your brother's good now. He saved me twice, before either of us were taken by Vought." Allyson continued. "And… I love him for it."
That's it. That's what Michael was missing. All he ever wanted in his life to be loved. He never felt that with Judith, or at least, he didn't feel it was reciprocated. Ismael Cruz was a nice guy, refusing to see him as a monster, but he was more of a friend, and saw him as such. That didn't stop him from trashing the office in the Flatiron building when he found out the former janitor of Smith's Grove was dead though, apparently killed by Homelander hours before he himself died. It had taken the combination of Allyson restraining him and hugging him to get him to finally stop.
Stormfront, or at the time he knew her as Liberty, was nice enough to him at Smith's Grove. But, just like the past few days, she showed her true colors when she would constantly remark that Cruz was a "good for nothing spic" who could only get a job mopping floors. Even when he was Black Noir, people only loved him for being a superhero, and because Vought marketed him as a product. It might have worked on Homelander, but not him.
Now, as Allyson stood up and stared at Michael, they both realized something. They both had the same blank, expressionless mask over their faces, and they both had the blackest eyes… the Devil's eyes, as Doctor Loomis would call them. But, as Michael and Allyson stared into each other's eyes, almost looking into each other's souls, they realized the blackness was slowly becoming lighter.
"Allyson... I did things." Michael spoke, as his expressionless mask broke. Allyson's eyes widened, as Michael rarely ever talked, even to her. "Bad things, horrible things-"
Allyson wrapped her arms around Michael in a bear hug, and he slowly returned the gesture. They both squeezed as tight as they wanted, given the fact they were both supes, they could afford to use their full strength.
"That doesn't matter to me, Michael." Allyson whispered, looking up at him. "What matters is you found me. Black Noir is dead. But you're alive."
Once their hug ended, Allyson handed Michael his face, which he slipped over his mask of pale flesh.
"Let's go home."
Michael slowly nodded, and together, he and Allyson began walking back towards Laurie Strode's house in the woods. As they continued their trek, Michael came to another realization. When he first found Allyson and Dax in that alley, he would have never guessed he would have unlocked his past. In doing so, he regained all his memories, but he also gained something else, when he found Allyson and began working with the Boys.
He gained a family.
Sometimes I check on that woman Dax was with. Valkyrie, that was her name. Never got her real name from her. Or maybe that was her real name. Didn't matter. Point is, she's living her life as best she can. Most of the time as a merc. On the offhand, she goes legit. But I've never gone after her, out of respect for Dax. She's lost too much already. They both have.
Russo checks on me every now and then. He and Curt set up a meeting group in the basement of Clinton Church. It's set up for veterans and civilians alike, to discuss their lives being difficult because of supes. It's nothing like that share circle bullshit Dredd showed me a while back. People don't worship these assholes anymore. Not after what Homelander did.
I'm still in touch with Dredd, speaking of him. We haven't gotten a visit from Anderson or any other Judges since they showed up after Dax's funeral. He and Becca are doing well, as is the kid. Heard Becca's gotten a job as a social worker, helping people go through life, whether they're a supe or a civilian. I've even stopped by once or twice, and Ryan calls me 'Uncle Frank'. Not sure if they told him to say it or not.
Music: "Ma Ma's Requiem" from Dredd 2012 OST
Joseph Dredd opened the walk in safe in his room, revealing his Judge's uniform. After the incident at the white house, Mallory was able to help him and his wife get a nice house in the suburbs of Brooklyn, complete with a walk-in safe identical to the one from their apartment. He had even gotten a dog like he always wanted, an english bulldog with a white coat that he named Terror.
As he stared at the gold badge, reading Dredd on it, Becca walked over to him, looking at his uniform.
"Hey." Rebecca said softly. "I was thinking… you never told me what you said to Ryan in the hospital."
Dredd sighed, and looked at his wife.
"I told him I was cloned in a tube, and didn't see the outside world until I was made a Judge." Joseph said sadly. "I was created the same way as Homelander. So why is it we turned out differently, if our childhoods weren't that different?"
"Because you were raised to uphold the law in your city." Becca told him, as she cupped his face in her hands. "Homelander was raised to make Vought money, no matter if he did good or evil."
Joe smiled, and leaned in to kiss his wife. Their kiss only lasted a few seconds, but to the lawman, it felt like forever. When the kiss finally broke off, Becca looked back to Dredd's Judge's uniform, a smile playing on her lips.
"Are you ever going back to it?"
Joseph sighed, and looked at the floor of the safe, eyeing his combat boots as he remembered Chief Judge Silver's last words to him.
Go. Continue bringing the law to the lawless.
"I don't know." Dredd admitted, growing weary. "I only returned to that life to keep you safe. Now, I just want to return to being Billy Butcher."
"No, Joseph." Becca shook her head, as she smiled wryly at him. "Billy Butcher was a disguise. Your disguise. This-"
She placed her hand on the uniform's jacket, right below his badge.
"-is who you always were."
Dredd grinned at his wife, as she began speaking.
"The world still needs heroes. They need you."
Joseph smiled, and leaned in to kiss his wife, but was interrupted by their dog barking. Dredd shook his head in amusement and walked outside to see Terror pick up a football in his mouth and run towards him, as the dog was chased by Ryan.
"Hey Uncle Joe." Ryan smiled, as he and the dog come to a stop at Dredd's feet. "Do you have time to play catch?"
Joseph smiled-genuinely smiled- and took the football out of Terror's mouth. Uncle Joe. It's been awhile since someone's called him that. Not since Vienna… he wondered what she was doing right now.
"Sure Ryan."
Dredd winded his arm back, and chucked the football as hard as he could. Given that he was a trained Judge, that throw was pretty far. Ryan grinned, and took off flying after the football, as Becca walked outside to join Joe.
"I'm glad we decided to raise him this way." Becca murmured. Joseph nodded in agreement, as they both made an effort to raise Ryan the right way. "No more secrets, or lies. Letting him practice his powers, so one day he can be a hero."
"Yeah." Dredd nodded, turning towards his wife. "Vought was on the right track, when he had you raise the kid. But there was something missing."
"What do you mean?" Becca frowned. Dredd smirked, and looked back towards the treeline of their backyard, seeing Ryan flying towards them with the football in his hand.
"He needed a father figure."
Not sure what Rebecca told him, but Dredd patrols the streets of New York from time to time. He and I have crossed paths, and we've sometimes helped each other out to take down a drug ring or a gang. But more often than not, we go different paths. There's some pieces of shit he'll simply arrest, with suggestions to the NYPD on how long they should be detained. Sometimes they listen to him, other times they don't. Can't imagine why, I'd just put them down permanently. But since he sometimes helps the Thunderbolts out, they trust him enough to not hit him with the Accords. They do it their way, I do it mine.
Frank Castle sat in his black van, which he jokingly nicknamed the Battle Van. After what happened to it at Smith's Grove, David Liebermann had helped him fix the vehicle up, and the rest of the Boys were fine with him taking it as his own. It was more or less his mobile home, keeping all his weapons and gear in one spot, and never leaving them at a compound. Thankfully, when the Boys had gone their separate ways, Allyson was perfectly fine with Castle taking Laurie's weapons for himself. After all, why would she need them? She could rip a man's head off with her bare hands. Nevertheless, Frank had asked, and she quickly said yes.
Tonight was supposed to be a drug deal, or so it seemed. He'd given two rival gangs the same invitation, on the pretense the other called. Now, all he had to do was wait for the last of them to enter the warehouse.
As Frank continued waiting, he heard his cell phone ring, and checked the caller ID.
Annie January.
Castle sighed, and accepted the call, and set it to speaker mode.
"Hey kid." Frank said gruffly, yet his voice was soft.
"Hi Frank." Annie greeted. "So, since I've lately been trying to find new members for the team…"
"No." Frank shook his head in the car, even though Annie wouldn't be able to see it. He knew what she was going to ask, just like how she already knew his answer. "The answer's no kid."
"Come on, Frank, we need good men like you!" Annie practically whined. "The team needs someone who can make hard choices."
"Isn't that what Dredd is for?"
"He's more like a liaison." Annie replied.
"What happened, you get sick of reading them their rights?" Frank asked.
"I guess you could say that I spent too much time with you, huh?" Annie chuckled.
Frank looked up, seeing a couple of expensive cars pull up, and some two bit gangsters stepped out, walking into the warehouse.
"Frank, if you join us, you won't have to worry about the Sokovia Accords coming down on you." Annie spoke again.
"Do I sound worried to you?" Castle shot back. He didn't mean to make it sound rude, if it came off that way. He was just being blunt.
"I'm offering you a job, Frank."
"Already got a job, Annie. You take care."
Frank ended the call, and stepped out of the van, walking to the back and opening the doors to reveal the plethora of weapons and gear.
Music: "The Punisher's Job" from Punisher Season OST
Inside the warehouse, the Cripps and the Chinese Triad faced each other, as their gang leaders attempted to strike a deal.
"So you wanna make an offer? I'm listening." the leader of the Triad smirked, wearing a tan colored suit. "But it needs to involve you handing it over to us, and just walking away."
"Man, that is bullshit!" the Cripps ringleader shouted. "When you called this sitdown, I thought you were ready to see sense! Then again, it's not like you're seeing much, are you?"
"Hey fuck you! I didn't call this! You did!" the Triad leader said.
"The Hell are you smoking?" the Cripp yelled, before pulling out his gun. "Oh, you wanna dance, huh?"
Pretty soon, every gang member had pulled out their piece, and pointed it at the opposition.
"HEY!"
Both gangs looked towards the entrance of the warehouse, seeing the silhouette of a man in a dark coat walking towards them. As the man got closer, the light illuminated him, revealing him to be wearing a black leather duster, with a bulletproof vest underneath. On the vest, painted crudely, was a white skull.
Frank Castle stood before the gangs, wearing the same black duster Judge Dredd had given him when he abandoned his Billy Butcher identity. Beneath the duster, a new bulletproof vest, with the skull spray painted a perfect pale white.
"I'll dance with you shitbags."
The Punisher threw back the sides of his duster, revealing twin AR-15 nine millimeter pistols. Before either gangs could react, he lifted the guns up, squeezed the triggers, and roared loudly, as each and every criminal in the warehouse was mowed down in a hail of lead.
Even though the Boys were disbanded, we'll always be there for each other, if one of us needs help. After all, it's like what Allyson said, we're more than just a team. We're a family.
End of Journal Entry
The End
A/N: And there's the end of this crossover! It's been a blast writing this, while watching the Boys tv series! I'm not sure if I'll do a sequel to this one. The groundwork for one is in there, I just don't know if I have the time for it. At the very least, I might end up writing it after my semester in school is over.
Also, since the sequel story will be it's own thing (it's not going to be based on season 3 of the Boys), it'll most likely be significantly shorter whenever I get around to it. I am planning on primarily basing it off of a couple Judge Dredd comics, as well as the Punisher MAX line.
Until next time. Stay safe out there, and stay tuned.