A/N: Hope everyone had a happy Easter! Here's a new chapter!
Music: "Street Shootout" from Punisher Season 2 OST
The Punisher's War Journal
1230 Hours
New York
Gotta keep a low profile. No doubt killing the Gotham golden boy lookalike pissed a ton of people off.
Frank walked down Times Square, keeping his trench coat zipped up, as he scanned the streets. As Castle continued moving through the crowd, his eyes locked on to two people, male, sitting at a bench. One of them, wearing a brown jacket and glasses, tried looking up while covering his mouth, while the other, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, pretended to be reading a newspaper while staring at the subway.
These pricks think they're being smart, whispering to each other while facing opposite directions. One looking at the entrance to Penn Station, the other down the street. Most passerbys wouldn't notice. Too bad for them, I did.
"Hard day at work?" Hawaiian shirt asked.
"Not if you do what you love." Glasses replied.
"Business is good?"
"Don't worry, our time will come soon."
Frank frowned, walking closer.
Who's time? The fuck is he talking about?
"Here. Orders from Zemo himself." Hawaiian shirt told his contact, handing him a piece of paper. "Pass this to all your subordinates. Understood?"
"Yes. Understood-"
"Passing notes in class?" Frank asked, inching closer and getting the two men's attention by unzipping his jacket.
"Fuck, it's the Punisher!" Hawaiian shirt yelled, scrambling up. "Quick, he can't go after us both if we split up-"
Frank whipped out a Beretta pistol from his jacket, firing a round and catching the man with glasses in the back. Hawaiian shirt's eyes widened, seeing his comrade crumple to the ground, before taking off toward the subway. Castle grit his teeth in annoyance, as he raced down the steps of Penn Station.
Can't let this prick get away. Didn't know Zemo was still around, but I gotta figure out what his next move is.
Once Frank reached the bottom of the steps, he looked around the subway platform, seeing the man in the Hawaiian shirt laying on his back, looking up with a horrified expression while people were screaming and running out. In his leg was what looked like a butterfly knife, and kneeling over him...
"Sorry, you wouldn't believe how often I lose my knife." a woman with blonde hair, wearing a light pink jacket over a white pinafore said sarcastically, as she bent down and painfully ripped the blade out of the man's leg. Frank narrowed his eyes, stepping closer to the two of them.
Seen this woman on the news close to ten years ago. She was a criminal in Gotham for a good while, calling herself Alice, before disappearing the same time Batwoman was found dead. If I was being honest, I thought she was snuffed too.
"What are you doing here, Alice?" Frank growled, keeping his pistol by his side.
"Is that how you greet your new friend?" Alice asked snidely. Frank shook his head in annoyance, as he crouched down next to the man in the Hawaiian shirt. He'd deal with Alice later. He could take her on in a fist fight, and if she tried to run… well.
"You try to run, I kill you before you leave this station." Castle threatened Alice. "You know I'll do it."
Alice reluctantly nodded, and Frank turned his attention back to the man on the ground.
"What was the message?" the Punisher growled, pulling out a ka-bar knife. "What's Zemo planning?"
"Fuck you, Punisher." the man groaned, spitting in his face. "I'm not afraid of you."
"That right?" Castle murmured, grabbing his left hand and cutting it off with the ka-bar. "How about now?"
The man screamed, opening his mouth wide, and that's when Frank saw it: a tiny blue pill, lodged in one of his teeth.
Shit. Bastard's got a suicide capsule in his teeth. Plenty of terrorist fucks have used these. Two of them are most recent, and I doubt he's working for HIVE…
Frank reached into the man's mouth, painfully ripping out the tooth with the cyanide capsule and causing blood to pour along the subway tiles.
"Please! It was protocol forty-two!" the man yelled, spitting out blood.
"Which is?" Frank asked, restraining him with one hand.
"That all agents cease operations and go to ground, until somebody kills you" the man revealed. Frank narrowed his eyes in confusion, before looking up at Alice to see her frown.
Agents? Agents for who?
"Who are you working for?" Frank demanded, grabbing the agent by the neck. The man simply smirked, as he spat out a wad of blood at Castle.
"Cut off one head, two more shall rise. Hail HYDRA."
HYDRA. These fucks were supposed to be dead. The Avengers raided their base in Sokovia, and locked up Strucker before Ultron killed him.
"Let's test that." Frank declared, raising his ka-bar and jammed the blade into the man's neck. The agent gasped, as Castle quickly sawed through the flesh and bone, until his head came off completely.
"Hmmm… 'Off with his head!'" Alice giggled. Frank stood back up to his full height, staring at her curiously.
Great. Forgot she likes to throw out quotes from that storybook.
"You never answered my question." Castle muttered, racking the slide on his pistol. Alice huffed, as she paced around the subway station.
"If you must know, I came to vacation in New York." Alice rolled her eyes.
"Try again." Frank told her, stepping closer to the man on the ground. Alice matched his glare, before sighing.
"Fine. I saw you kill fake Bruce Wayne." Alice said irritably.
"And?" Frank shrugged. He shouldn't have been surprised that she somehow knew that the Wayne at the UN wasn't the real one. "Everyone saw me kill him."
"True, but you don't know who it really was who wore that face, did you?"
"That right?" Frank snorted. "And you did?"
"Bingo." Alice grinned. "His name was Thomas Elliot."
Frank frowned for a moment, trying to remember where he heard that name before. Once he finally remembered, he tilted his head in confusion.
"That asshole's been dead." Frank scoffed. "His body was found in Arkham."
"Not… exactly." Alice grimaced. "I faked his death before making him a new face."
"Wayne's." Castle realized. "So why are you happy?"
"I made a mistake." Alice confessed. "And… I'm looking for the real Bruce."
"Why's that?" Frank inquired. "You gonna kill him?"
"No." Alice quickly denied. "Bruce Wayne is my cousin."
Cousin… didn't Wayne have family outside of his parents-
"You're the one who went missing." Frank muttered. "Beth."
Alice narrowed her eyes in irritation, as she dropped her voice an octave.
"Beth's gone." Alice hissed out. The Punisher looked off to the side, sighing in exasperation. In a way, he understood what she meant. Hell, he thought Frank Castle died with his original family... until he gained a new one.
"Yeah." Frank mumbled. "So, uh, you think he's here?"
"No. But I have an idea." Alice told him.
"Yeah, where's that?"
Alice simply smirked, leaning forward to look right at Frank.
"Bagalia."
"That right?" Frank scoffed. "Why do you think that? Because Elliot was representing them?"
"Exactly." Alice nodded. "If Tommy tried to address the nation as Bruce Wayne, my cousin would instantly let everyone know that someone was pretending to be him."
"So if you know where he is…" Frank's voice trailed off, realizing why Alice was here in the first place. Why they were talking instead of killing each other.
"No."
"I need your help to get in." Alice insisted. "Come on, it'll be fun."
"The answer's no." Frank growled. "I'm not allying with a psychopath that could backstab me at any time."
"'You should learn not to make personal remarks,' Alice said with some severity: 'It's very rude.'" Alice recited.
"Quoting that damn book won't make me change my mind." Frank grumbled, beginning to walk off.
"I know you've lost your family." Alice called back to him. "So have I. I was held prisoner for over ten years, my only friend being my captor's son."
Frank stopped, turning around to look at Alice. Her eyes almost seemed to be… pleading.
"My sister and mom are dead. My father hates me, for good reason." Alice revealed. "But Bruce… when I went missing, he never stopped looking for me. He refused to believe I was dead, even when Catherine Hamilton made it seem like it."
Alice stopped for a moment, squeezing her eyes shut, before continuing.
"I have spent eight years searching for Bruce, and this is the first real lead I've found. So please… help me find my family."
Frank squinted his eyes at the woman, trying to tell if she was lying. When he couldn't, he looked off to the side, taking a deep inhale.
Goddammit. She looks like she really does want to find Wayne. Working with her goes against my code, but then again, that was already null and void long ago the moment I threw in with Myers and Lenz.
"Okay." Frank turned back towards Alice. "You want to find your cousin. I get that. But if you turn on me, I won't hesitate to put you down. Got that?"
Alice smirked, and nodded.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you."
"Yeah." Frank muttered, just as he heard sirens wailing above them. "We gotta go. Now."
Music: "Hydra" from Captain America the Winter Soldier OST
Bagalia
"In the past, most of you have been at odds with HYDRA. Some have never been in contact with us, by your choice or by ours. That ends today."
Baron Zemo stood inside a small warehouse, before him was a crowd of criminals and terrorists. Some of them, Zemo knew. Others, he didn't. Flanking him were two guards, wearing black military camo uniforms with red trimming. On their shoulders, instead of a flag patch, was a crimson skull with tentacles. The symbol of HYDRA.
"I brought you all here to offer a gift. I believe in you and what you do." Helmut continued. "The world has cast us all aside, but I am offering to take you in. Some of you have parted ways with your parent organizations. Take Safiyah Sohail-"
Zemo pointed to a dark haired woman wearing a violet and golden garb. Next to was a woman wearing a similar black colored outfit, with a sword strapped to her back.
"-she left the League of Assassins to form her own faction on Coryana." Zemo revealed, before pointing to a shorthaired man in an undershirt. "Some of you, such as Konchevsky and his brothers, have been kicked out of the Russian Bratva. That's fine. I will take you in, but you must do something for me first: we have a common enemy in Frank Castle."
"Oh, fuck that!" a man wearing a red and yellow with a red domino mask shouted. "Remember what happened six years ago? He fucking slaughtered Soldier Boy and Payback!"
"We are still Bratva, and we do not need HYDRA's money, nor will we fight HYDRA's problems." Konchevsky spoke up in agreement. "You of all people should not be in bed with them, Zemo."
Helmut narrowed his eyes, stepping forward slightly.
"You have a point, Sergei. In a way, HYDRA did as much damage to Sokovia as the Avengers." Zemo admitted. "And I did not forget what the Punisher did years ago, Big Game. But he had allies then. Mister Diggle and Starlight are dead. Myers and Nelson have lived a quiet life in Illinois. The Butchers have seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth. So unless we work together to stop him… he will be the death of us all.
"I know what you're all thinking. Why am I working with HYDRA in the first place? It is simple: with the leaders extinguished years ago, the organization needed a new head to set their course: me. HYDRA is under my command. The murder of Bruce Wayne was unfortunate, forcing my men to stand down across the globe, but the Punisher is a shared problem."
"If he was, then why are you sending us to deal with him?" Safiyah asked, raising an eyebrow. "You want us to do your dirty work so nothing gets pinned on you or Bagalia?"
"A necessary evil, Miss Sohail." Zemo countered. "If anything gets traced back to HYDRA, Bagalia will be in jeopardy. The last thing we need is my men to be a part of Frank Castle's war. I know that."
"But does the Punisher?"
Zemo looked up, seeing a bald man with a yellow shirt and purple jacket push his way through the crowd of criminals. In his hand was a tablet.
"The news claims this man had his head removed while waiting for the N train." the man revealed, handing the tablet over to Zemo. "One of yours?"
Helmut didn't say anything, as he gazed at a digital image of a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
"Both men were suspected members of the terrorist organization known as HYDRA, previously thought to have been dismantled by the Avengers." a news reporter announced. "We warn you, this amateur footage may be upsetting to some viewers."
Zemo watched, irritated, as shaky camera footage revealed the Punisher brutally cutting off the HYDRA agent's head. Right next to him was a woman wearing some type of white dress and pink jacket, giggling like a maniac.
"Yes, Batroc… it is."
New York
Alice and Frank arrived at the Punisher's safehouse in Brooklyn, quickly shutting the door behind them. Well, one of his safehouses in the city, this one being the same that the Boys used seven years ago to hide their families when Vought went after them. Hopefully, no one remembered it.
"Nice place." Alice wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You sure we'll be safe here?"
"We were able to hide from Homelander here." Frank shrugged. He looked over his shoulder, just barely seeing Beth's face fall.
"You good?"
"Yeah." Alice lied. "Yeah, it's just… Homelander killed my sister."
"Kate." Castle murmured. "She was Batwoman, yeah? Didn't you want to kill her?"
"Yes, but…"
Alice took a deep breath, before continuing.
"When the Walrus killed Kate, I was angry. Angry at him for taking away my chance at ending her life. But now…"
Didn't expect her to call Homelander a walrus. Haven't read that book in a while, so I wouldn't know what she meant by it. But I knew what she was getting at about him killing her sister.
"You miss her." Frank finished. Alice nodded, about to speak, when they both suddenly heard a pounding against the door. Castle quickly pulled out a pistol, while handing Beth a spare, but his plans changed once he heard a familiar voice.
"Frank? It's me. You in there?"
Castle peered out of the safehouse's windows, seeing Russo still pounding on the door.
"Yeah, Bill." Frank shouted back, as he opened the door a crack. "I'm here."
"Can I come in?" Billy asked. Frank looked to the side, seeing Alice staring at him in curiosity.
"Sure." Frank nodded, opening the door wider. Russo stepped in, looking around.
"Goddamn Frankie. It's been a while since we've been in here…"
Billy stopped, staring at Alice sitting on the couch.
"Isn't she-"
"Yeah." Frank interrupted, knowing exactly what he was going to ask. Beth cocked an eyebrow at Russo, before standing up and mockingly curtsied.
"I'm Alice. How do you do?"
"Billy Russo." Billy told her, before turning back to Frank. "This is who you're running with? That lunatic from Gotham?"
"You didn't have a problem when I joined up with the likes of Dredd and Myers." Castle pointed out.
"Joe still had morals, even when he was Butcher, and Michael Myers had Allyson to reign him in." Billy reasoned. "She has neither."
"She is standing right here." Alice spoke up irritably. Russo glared at her, as he clenched his fist.
"What's your game?"
Alice blinked in surprise, taking a step back.
"What?"
"What's your angle?" Russo asked. "Why are you working with Frank?"
"I just want to find my cousin Bruce." Alice said defensively.
"And you believe that?" Billy whipped his head to stare at Frank. "Didn't you just blow his brains out on the UN floor?"
"Technically, it wasn't him." Alice smirked, raising her hand like a child would in a classroom. "Just someone who looked like him."
"That's right." Frank nodded. "Cass helped me a bit with reading people. She's telling the truth."
Russo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Speaking of Cass, she wanted me to find you."
"Why's that?" Frank raised an eyebrow.
"She's worried about you." Russo revealed. "The cops started a manhunt on you. Frank, you just killed Bruce Wayne on live television, in front of the United Nations."
"I just said it wasn't Bruce-" Alice began to say, but Billy interrupted her.
"Does it matter?" Russo pointed out. "He looks like Bruce Wayne, therefore, that's all people saw."
"Fair enough." Frank muttered. "How is she?"
"The NYPD wanted to question her and Millie, but Mahoney was able to keep them away." Billy reported.
"Good." Castle murmured, staring at the floor. "I can't go back."
"When will you?" Russo inquired.
"Probably when Zemo's dealt with." Frank decided, as he loaded his pistols.
"And Bruce?" Alice asked hopefully.
"We don't know for sure he's in Bagalia." Castle reasoned. "If we go there, and he's not…"
"So we find out." Alice suggested, flipping her butterfly knife around. "We find more of HYDRA's agents, and make them squeal."
Much as I hated to admit it, she had a point. Find more guys like that fuck in the subway, and make them cough up if Wayne really is in Bagalia.
"You got a place to start, since these pricks are going underground?"
"Actually yes." Alice grinned. "There's quite a few of them in Gotham."
"And how do you know that?" Billy asked snarkily. "They set up a dating site?"
"Arkham Asylum was secretly funded by Vought, right?" Alice reasoned, glancing at Frank. "And Frederick Vought was originally a scientist working for HYDRA. Isn't that what you and your merry band of misfits revealed seven years ago?"
"That's a pretty big leap in logic." Castle muttered, walking over to the corner and taking an M16 of the rack.
"Do you have a better idea?" Alice asked, as she folded her arms over her chest. Frank grimaced, before shaking his head.
Unfortunately, I didn't. I got lucky with those assholes by the train. Now, they know exactly what I'm doing, which will make it harder to find them. Shit.
"Fine." the Punisher grumbled, just before they all heard pounding on the doors.
"NYPD! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!"
"Dammit." Frank groaned, turning to Russo. "They follow you, Bill?"
"I swear, they didn't." Billy insisted, as the pounding increased.
"Well." Alice smirked, flipping her butterfly knife around. "Looks like this tea party just got interesting-"
"You kill anyone, we're done." Frank interrupted, shooting her a death glare. "I won't help you find Wayne. Got that?"
Alice narrowed her eyes, but reluctantly nodded, just as the safehouse door was kicked down. Police officers in riot gear stormed in, one at a time, giving Billy the opening he needed to tackle the first unlucky man to the side, while the Punisher let out a guttural roar and kicked the second in the chest. The force of the blow sent the officer tumbling back, smashing into the others behind him, while Billy wrestled the gun away from the man he tackled and knocked him out by smacking the stock against his head, shattering the riot mask in the process.
"Hmm… eenie, meeny, miny, moe." Alice hummed, skipping out of the safehouse and kicking the remaining officers unconscious.
"Let's get out of here, yeah?" Frank suggested, running off towards his black van. Alice and Billy followed suit, quickly climbing in, with Castle and Russo taking the two front seats.
"Get comfy." Frank muttered, as he began driving away from the safehouse. Seconds later, the trio heard a phone buzzing, followed by the song "Secret Agent Man" being played.
"The fuck?" Castle frowned, looking over at Billy. Or more specifically, under Billy.
"Shit." Russo murmured, raising himself slightly and reaching under his seat, finding a cellphone. On the display screen was four words.
Incoming Call: The Colonel.
Only two people I know that are called the Colonel, and Schoonover's dead. Dammit.
Frank groaned, hitting the call button, and lifting the phone to his ear.
"Talk."
"Is that any way to speak to an old colleague, Frank?" a female voice asked.
"You break into my van just to leave me this phone, Mallory?" Frank shot back.
"I wanted to chat." Mallory replied. "You're a hard man to find as of late."
"You send the cops after me?" Castle pressed. "That how they knew where to go?"
"Yes I did. You killed Bruce Wayne in front of the entire world." Mallory confirmed. "You should turn yourself in."
"Not interested." Frank scoffed. "Besides, it wasn't him. Just some asshole by the name of Elliot."
"I thought you would say that, Frank." Mallory sighed. "That's why I always have a backup plan. In fact, you're about to run into him. See you soon, Frank."
"You know, you should really watch the road." Alice said snidely. Frank looked up, just in time to see a dark skinned bald man standing in the middle of the street, his arms crossed over a black and yellow hoodie.
"Fuck."
Music: "Hell Broke Luce" by Tom Waits
The van smashed into Luke Cage, completely demolishing the front and shattering the windows, throwing Frank, Alice, and Billy through the windshield and into the street. In the process, Russo and Beth held onto each other, rolling on the ground until she was on top.
"Get off me." Alice grumbled, quickly pushing herself away. Meanwhile, Frank landed on his back, but quickly got back up, pulling out both pistols and firing at Cage. Neither bullets, nor the van, seemed to injure him in the slightest. After all, why would they? The man was bulletproof.
"Castle! Are you out of your damn mind?" Luke shouted, as bullets continued to bounce off him. "You wanna keep doing this? Fine."
Cage stomped over to Frank, picking him up by the shoulders, while Alice and Billy picked themselves up.
"Seriously man. What the Hell is wrong with you?" Luke asked, just as Frank pulled out a grenade.
"Got you a gift, Cage." Castle muttered, pulling the pin and sticking it down Luke's shirt.
"Sweet Christmas." Luke's eyes widened, dropping the Punisher in surprise. Frank pushed himself away and bolted, just as the grenade exploded, sending Cage flying backward.
"Gotta watch those grenades, Cage." Frank murmured, pausing to reload his pistols. "They'll get you-"
A fireball suddenly crashed into his armored vest, causing Castle to stagger back.
"Gotta watch out for them balls, mate. You alright, Cagey?" a British voice asked.
"Fine. I think I'm gonna murder this dude." Luke growled.
"Don't worry mate. I got him."
Frank turned his head to the side, seeing a blonde haired man in a beige trenchcoat walking towards him. As he held out his hands, flames seemed to dance along the fingers, but not burn them.
"Constantine." Frank growled, stepping back and placing another grenade inside a nearby car's gas tank. Out of the corner of his eye, Billy had taken cover behind a truck on the other side of the street, practically dragging Alice with him.
"Mallory's got you both on a leash?"
"She wants us to bring you and the girl in." Constantine revealed, setting both his hands alight. "You really want to keep doing this, Frankie?"
"Do you?"
"C'mon, mate." Constantine smirked, moving closer with his flaming hands in front of him. "You know I can just cast a spell and you'd be snoring like a baby."
Behind the truck, Russo pulled out a pistol, which Alice quickly snatched away.
"What the Hell are you doing?" Billy demanded, as Beth popped up from behind cover.
"Castle, move!" Alice ordered. Frank immediately dove out of the way, knowing what she was about to do, and she fired a shot, right at the car. The moment the bullet struck the grenade, the vehicle completely exploded, throwing both Luke and Constantine across the street. Once the two heroes got their bearings together, Frank, Billy, and Alice were gone.
"Bollocks!" Constantine shouted, holding his head as he heard ringing. "You alright, Cage?"
"Not exactly." Luke grit his teeth, slowly standing back up and looking around the street. "Where'd they go?"
"Don't know."
"Great." Luke rolled his eyes. "Mallory's going to be pissed."
"Y'know what, Cagey?" Constantine grumbled. "Fuck Mallory."
Alice and Billy led Frank into the subway station, his arms draped around their shoulders, as they entered the train and sat him down on one of the seats.
"What the Hell were you thinking?" Russo asked harshly, glaring at Beth.
"I was thinking that if we didn't do something, Frank would've been dead." Alice said defensively.
"And what you did was helping? Look at him!" Billy scoffed, pointing to Castle. "You nearly blew him up-"
"Bill…" Frank spoke up groggily. "That's enough, yeah?"
Billy stared grimly at his friend and brother, just as they all saw a flash of golden lightning outside the window, followed by a gust of wind.
"I have to ask…"
Frank looked up, seeing a man in a red suit at the end of the subway car. On his chest was an emblem of a white circle, with a golden lightning bolt down the side.
Can't say I'm surprised that Red turned up. With Cage and Constantine working for Mallory again, it was only a matter of time.
"How did you think this was going to end, Frank?" Barry asked, looking down at Frank with pity. "You have the entire NYPD after you, along with half the superheroes in New York and their neighboring cities. I even heard a rumor that Zemo's put a bounty on your head."
"You trying to collect?" Russo asked dryly. "Or are you still Mallory's bitch?"
"Come on, Billy, it's not like that." Allen groaned. "Frank's still my friend, and I'm trying to help him. But it's hard to do that when there's a video showing him and Alice torturing a guy in the subway, just hours after killing Bruce Wayne."
"He was working for HYDRA." Alice reminded, rolling her eyes. "And it wasn't Bruce."
"That's not how everyone else sees it." Barry pointed out. "Come on, Frank, when does this end? Where are you going to go from here?"
"Make a stop in Gotham, kill any HYDRA fucks that worked at Arkham." Frank shrugged. Flash was about to respond, when they all heard scraping noises all along the train, followed by the thumping of footsteps above them.
"You bring friends here, Red?" the Punisher asked, pulling out his pistols.
"No." Barry frowned, while Billy and Alice looked around the train car.
"Then if you want a piece of me like Cage, you'll have to take a damn number." Frank muttered, tossing one of his guns to Alice and pulling out a spare. "Cause it looks like we'll have to team up."
"No. Stay put for once." Flash said adamantly, zooming out one of the windows and speeding down the subway tunnel. At the same moment, the doors to the car opened up, revealing at least a dozen assassins. What caught Alice's eye, however, was the fact that they were adorned in white robes, holding onto spears.
"What is it?" Billy asked, noticing her frown. Alice simply looked over at Russo, a grim expression plastered on her face.
"The Many Arms of Death."
"Hey Punisher!" one of the assassins called out. "Zemo sends his regards!"
"Works for me!" Frank shouted back, spreading his arms to either side and began firing. Alice and Russo crouched on one knee and began firing their weapons as well, attempting to use the seats for cover. Meanwhile, the Flash kept racing along the train, knocking away more of the ninjas, as well as members of what Barry assumed were the Bratva.
"Not sure why you C-listers want a piece of the Punisher now, but you'll have to wait your turn." Allen joked, while zooming across the top of the train. "I'm not done with him yet."
Back inside the train, the Punisher, Billy, and Alice continued shooting at the Many Arms of Death assassins, dropping bodies left and right, until a bald dark skinned man in a black coat barged through, pulling out a gun with gray coils on the end.
"Get down!" Alice yelled, throwing herself to the floor. Russo followed suit, just as the man squeezed the trigger. A slammed into Castle's chest, causing him to be thrown backward.
Didn't expect that to happen. Thank God I still got the Judge armor.
Frank quickly got back up, firing a bullet straight at the man's head and dropping him to the floor of the subway.
"Damn." Frank grunted, looking down to see the sizable dent in the middle of his armor, on the forehead of the skull. "The fuck was that?"
"It's called the railgun." Alice explained. "Developed by Hamilton Dynamics to penetrate the Batsuit. Apparently, our now dead friend Tommy gave it to him."
"Guess they didn't account for futuristic armor." Frank said dryly, walking over to the man who carried the weapon. "Who was this prick?"
"He's called the Rifle." Alice revealed. "He's one of the Many Arms of Death's many arms. Probably working for head bitch Safiyah."
"How do you know this?" Billy asked skeptically, while Frank grabbed one of the still living assassins and dragged him to the side of the train.
"Because I was once part of their little club." Alice said bitterly, as Frank opened the subway door and hung the assassin's head out.
"Wait, don't-"
The assassin never finished speaking, as another train zoomed by, smashing into the man's head so hard, his skull completely exploded, spraying blood across Castle's face. At the same time, Flash sped back inside, staring at all the bodies in mortification.
"Frank, this has gone on long enough." Barry announced. "I have to bring you in-"
"Hate to keep interrupting your speeches, Red, but we'll have to deal with that first." Castle declared, pointing out the window towards the end of the car. Alice, Billy, and Flash followed his finger, seeing a humanoid covered in hair, while wearing what looked like a spiked dog collar rip one of the doors off its hinges.
Dogknott. Former member of Teenage Kix. After A-Train moved onto the Seven, Popclaw left, Mesmer got killed by Dredd, and I killed several of those assholes, the group disbanded. Guess the leftovers threw in with HYDRA.
"Let's go!" Barry decided, jumping out of the train car. "If we jump, maybe he won't crush the train-"
Frank didn't listen, instead pulling out another grenade.
"Come on, you walking carpet."
Dogknott let out an animalistic growl, slamming his fists into the ground and shaking the train car. Frank, Billy, and Alice held onto the rails for support, while the hairy supe continued trashing the subway train, ripping the car in half. The trio was forced to jump, diving out into the underground tunnels and rolling along the rails, as the rest of the subway crashed.
"Think that got him?" Billy asked hopefully. All they got in response was another low growl.
"Shit no." Frank grimaced, as Dogknott emerged from the wreckage.
"Well, what do we do with bad dogs?" Alice smirked, flipping her butterfly knife around.
"We put them down."
A trail of golden lightning zoomed towards Dogknott, but the supe swiped his hand to the side, sending the Flash tumbling against the subway wreckage. Billy and Alice began shooting at the supe, while Frank surged forward and punched him right in the neck. Dogknott gagged, opening his mouth wide, and Frank pulled the pin on his grenade.
"Eat up, asshole."
Frank shoved the grenade into Dogknott's mouth, before kicking him away. The supe stumbled backwards, trying to spit out the explosive, but it was too late. His head exploded, sending blood, brains, and hair in every direction.
"What the Hell, Frank?!" Barry asked angrily, speeding over to Castle and glaring at him. "How could you do that?"
"He put the lives of everyone in this city in jeopardy. For money." Frank said coolly. "He's a big boy who made his own choice, Red. He just made the wrong choice."
"Speaking of the city…" Alice pointed up. Frank and Russo followed her gaze, seeing a station sign reading Gotham City- Chinatown.
"We made it." Billy mused, prompting himself, Alice, and Frank to walk up the tunnel's stairs.
"Yeah." Frank nodded in agreement. The moment they reached the top, the trio found several armed guards waiting for them, pointing military grade rifles at them. On their person was a uniform with a bird-like insignia on their shoulders, matching the hats they wore. The lead guard, standing in the middle, wore a name tape on his right side, which read "Kane".
Goddamit. Forgot that Gotham was still being protected by Crows Security- and that Alice's father is the one running the show.
"Hands up, all of you!" Jacob Kane ordered, glaring at Castle. Frank sighed in annoyance, as he, Alice, and Billy raised their hands in the air.
"Red, you mind giving us a hand-"
"Sorry Frank, you're on your own this time." Barry shrugged, preparing to speed away. "Looks like it finally caught up with you."
With a flash of golden lightning, the Scarlet Speedster zoomed away, leaving Castle, Beth, and Russo to be apprehended by the Crows.
"Wish I was surprised you turned up again, Alice." Jacob muttered, as he put his daughter in handcuffs. "But I should've known you'd eventually crawl out of your hole."
"Good to see you too, Commander Crow." Alice sneered, dripping venom into every word. She, Frank, and Billy were quickly restrained and placed in a Crows armored van, and the vehicle drove off.
A/N: For anyone who's read the comic this arc is based off of, almost all the scenes taking place in New York will be set in Gotham instead. Oh, and all those villains who were listening to Zemo won't necessarily appear later in the story. That was just to show how many people Zemo had working for him. Like Batroc, I only included him because I originally wrote this chapter when Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered.
Anyway, next chapter will explain how HYDRA is still around in the first place. And I'm introducing a character who's connected to Alice, and replaces Jigsaw's role from the comic, since in this story, Billy Russo never becomes Jigsaw.