A/N: Sorry it's been a while. I've been busy. But, here's the next chapter, where Frank, Billy, and Alice fight to survive in Bagalia's prison.

Music: "Guns Of Brixton" by The Clash

Bagalia

Alice's eyes fluttered open, looking around to see herself laying on the cold floor of an isolation cell. She groaned, sitting up, just as the door opened, and a HYDRA agent stood in the doorway.

"Get up, bitch." the agent snarled. Alice rolled her eyes, but complied anyway, slowly getting up and being led out of solitary. The guard walked closely behind her, until she grabbed a tray in the cafeteria, watched as gray slop was scooped up and dropped onto the rectangular metal, and searched the area for a table. Alice found one, squinting her eyes to see Russo at the very back, sitting alone. Beth mirthlessly smiled, walking over to Billy, and sat down across from him.

"Don't touch the meatloaf." Alice joked. "I heard it'll give you a rash down there."

"Yeah, and they put chemicals in the eggs to keep it from getting up." Billy snorted in reply. Alice giggled, before suddenly lowering her voice in a more serious tone.

"Why didn't you and Frank take Zemo's offer?"

Russo paused, looking over to her, and frowned.

"What?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "Zemo said if you joined him, he'd give you Bruce. Why didn't you take it?"

Billy sighed, looking out across the cafeteria.

"I don't think he wanted you to be here alone." Russo murmured. "Being in here, no one to help you. We don't know what kind of murderers or rapists are in here."

"I can take care of myself." Alice scolded.

"He knows… and he still sabotaged Zemo's offer." Billy told her. "But it's not Frank's style to leave someone behind. That's not how he works. And to be honest, I wouldn't want to leave you here either."

Alice smiled at Billy, looking into his eyes, and suddenly began to feel a new emotion rising within her. One that she hadn't felt in years. Not since…

Kate. Alice shut her eyes, trying to keep tears from falling out.

"Are you alright?" Billy asked, looking at her with concern. Kane slowly opened her eyes, nodding.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Alice wore a plastic smile. "Just thinking about my dead sister, that's all."

Billy's expression turned to one of sadness, looking away.

"I know you're using humor to cope with your grief, but…" Billy sighed. "You want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" Alice asked, genuinely confused. "Homelander killed her, and Commander Crow- my father- blamed me."

Billy nodded, looking down at the table.

"Okay… that woman who was with the warden. Tatiana, I think you said her name was." Billy changed topics. "She said she trained you, right? Is that where you were before you came back to Gotham?"

"Perhaps…" Alice shrugged. "Or maybe I was just locked up for nearly fifteen years-"

"Come on. Don't do that coy bullshit." Billy rolled his eyes. "I remember hearing about the crash on the news back in '04. You said yourself you spent eleven years in captivity, which would have a three year gap before you returned. What happened?"

Alice stared into Billy's eyes, frowning in sadness. After a mere minute, she broke off contact, staring into her cafeteria food.

"When I escaped captivity, was pissed at my mother in law for making my family abandon me." Alice explained. "I wanted revenge, and the best way I saw fit was to steal one of her yachts. Turns out, great minds think alike, because Tatiana, among more of Safiyah's guards, found me below decks, sipping from a five figure bottle of wine. Or was that six figures?"

"Alice." Billy said sternly, getting her attention again.

"Right. Sorry." Alice smiled sheepishly. "They found me, drunk, and decided to take me to Coryana after they found out I wanted to make Catherine Hamilton pay…"

Coryana

2015

Beth struggled against her bonds, having been tied to a chair in the middle of a courtyard of sorts. In front of her was a woman with shoulder length black hair, wearing a silver robe, while another woman dressed in all black stood next to her.

"Why the Hell am I here?" Beth growled at her captors.

"Can I kill her now?" the woman in black asked, almost in a whining voice. "She drunkenly tried to attack one of my men."

The woman wearing the silver robe looked at Beth amusedly, walking over to a table and picking up a cloth. After wetting the rag with water, she placed it on Beth's head, causing the captive to flinch.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." the woman said gently, in a British accent.

"Why am I here?" Beth hissed out. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why a young woman such as yourself was found sequestered on a yacht." the woman told her. "You're lucky Tatiana and her men found you. A few moments later, and you would have been apprehended by the superhuman known as The Deep."

"Who?" Beth frowned.

"The Deep. One of Vought's superheroes." the woman explained.

"Ah. Well, I wouldn't know, since I've been held prisoner for eleven years." Beth said snidely. "As you can see, I'm quite used to living in small spaces."

"Interesting… the real world can be an overwhelming place sometimes." the woman mused. "Men with iron suits and magical hammers make battle with aliens. Machines drop cities from the sky. Superhumans become brands for the companies that own them…"

The woman stopped, glancing over to her guard, Tatiana.

"I understand that you and I have something in common." she told Beth. "See, we both have a bone to pick with Catherine Hamilton."

"That's an understatement." Beth seethed. "While I was in captivity, that bitch made my family think I was dead this whole time."

"And yet, here you are." the woman pointed out. "You escaped. The siren trapped in a net… got out."

The woman in silver paused, reaching out to touch Beth's forehead.

"Such anger… rage. I can teach you how to turn that into power."

The woman smiled, looking over her shoulder at Tatiana.

"You will begin training her immediately."

"What?" Tatiana asked in shock. "Safiyah, she's… she's a filthy outsider. An untamed animal-"

"All the more reason to train her." Safiyah countered with a smile. "She has potential. She just needs… discipline."

Music: "Quiet Reflection" from Punisher Season 1 OST

Now

"Safiyah wanted my loyalty, more than anything." Alice said bitterly. "She wanted to harness my anger toward Catherine Hamilton, make me a good little soldier."

Alice shook her head in disgust, as she looked at Russo.

"Do you know what that's like? To realize that you're being used?"

Billy slowly nodded, looking off to the side.

"Yeah. I do." Billy admitted. "Frank and I, we were part of a covert CIA operation eight years ago. Cerberus, they called it. The guy running it, Rawlins, he had us take out high value targets. One day he got shit intel, and we nearly paid the price."

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"We got ambushed in Kandahar." Russo continued. "Bunch of Muj were pinning us down. LZ was crawling with bogies. And then there was Frank, going in on his own and clearing out the entire sector.

"After we got back, the first thing Rawlins asked was if we killed the target. I could barely hear what he said, but Frank… he just snapped. Got up in Rawlins' face, punched out an eye, and went for his throat. It took me and two other guys to restrain him."

"And that's when you got out." Alice guessed.

"Yeah." Billy nodded. "I just… I couldn't do it anymore. So I left. Frank followed me soon after."

Alice looked at Russo in sadness, as he stared down at his untouched food. As she continued staring at him, that same feeling from before began to bubble up inside Alice. But why now?

Before she knew what was happening, Alice felt herself leaning forward, towards Billy, when-

A loud clanging sound violated Alice's ears, making her and Billy flinch and look up. Right next to them was a HYDRA agent, having slammed his stick on the table.

"No conjugating. Eat your damned food!"

Not sure how long I was out for. Just found myself in solitary when I got up.

Frank groggily woke up, seeing light flood into the isolation cell. As the dark form of a HYDRA agent stood in the doorway, holding onto a rifle, Castle stood up from the floor, squinting his eyes to filter out the darkness.

"Morning Castle. Rise and shine." the agent said cruelly. "You were so sleepy, you skipped breakfast. The guards should've left your food in here for you. Or did they throw it out with the rest of the trash? Because that's a violation of your civil rights. Real fucking disgrace. You should go on a hunger strike and protest that shit."

The HYDRA agent bellowed with laughter at his own joke, as Frank glared at him.

Christ. Does this prick shut up?

"So here's something you should be interested in. Zemo, the warden, they're trying to figure out what to do with you. I mean, Boss already has an idea of what he's going to do with the woman, but you, well, that's a mystery. But considering they're both evil bastards in their own right, I'd say you're well and truly fucked."

"You done?" Frank groaned, causing the agent to smile wider.

"Yeah, I'm done." the agent smirked. "Come on out. It's lunchtime, and you should meet the neighborhood. Because believe me Castle, they really want to meet you."

Frank shuffled out of the isolation cell, being escorted down the halls and toward the cafeteria by the agent, who was joined by another.

"I hope you like your stay here, Castle, because you'll be here for the rest of your life." the agent smiled. "Which won't be very long."

Frank ignored the agents' laughter, grabbing a tray and walking down the line. The cook, wearing an apron of brown clothes, scooped out a pile of gray mashed potatoes and plopped them onto Frank's tray, before ushering him along.

Great. Even the MREs would taste better here.

Frank walked away from the cafeteria line, noticing Billy and Alice were already sitting at a corner table.

"Anything good?" Castle asked, sitting down next to Russo.

"Come on, Frankie." Billy scoffed. "We're locked up eating some shit that not even dogs would touch."

"Even Arkham served better food." Alice muttered in agreement. "Please tell me we have some kind of plan to get out of this shithole and find Bruce."

"Working on it." Frank murmured, just as a lone HYDRA agent approached them.

"Hey Castle!" the agent shouted. "You murdered my brother!"

"That right?" Frank raised an eyebrow, though continued eating his food.

"He was a ground agent, and you slit his body and lit his ass on fire."

"Gotta be more specific." Frank shrugged. "I killed quite a few of you fucks over the last couple days."

"He was burned so badly, our mother wasn't allowed to see his body at the funeral." the agent snarled.

"Well, maybe mommy dearest should have given you a lesson on who to hang out with." Alice said mockingly. The HYDRA agent glared at her, before unzipping his pants.

"Zemo said we weren't allowed to touch you. Any of you… unless you try something." the agent grumbled. "So I won't touch you, but I'm going to make sure your lives are made living Hell for years… unless you try something with those plastic forks of yours. Then it'll be pretty quick, I promise. How's your food by the way?"

The agent suddenly began urinating on their trays, coating their food in piss.

"Hail HYDRA, you motherfuckers-"

Frank grabbed the agent's head, slamming him face first into the table. As the man groaned, Castle turned him around, plunging his thumbs through his red lens mask and into his eyes.

"Fuck! Get him off!" the agent screamed desperately.

"Momma's gonna be zero for two on open caskets." Frank muttered darkly, as four agents began running towards Frank.

"Castle, let him go-"

Billy stood up, clotheslining one of the agents, while Alice picked up her plastic fork and jammed it through the other's neck. A third agent ran full speed at Castle, ramming his shock baton into his back, and Frank felt his body get electrocuted.

"Holy fuck, it's at full power, and he's not stopping!" the agent's eyes widened. Frank swiftly turned around while yelling in pain, grabbed the baton, and slammed it down the man's throat, smashing several teeth in the process.

"Stand down, dog!" the final agent barked, smacking Castle in the back of the head. Warden Boss arrived, flanked by four more HYDRA guards that were running towards Billy and Alice. As the guards began to beat the three prisoners, Boss took one look at the dead agents, staring at their corpses with cold indifference.

"Well shit. He actually tried something."

Springwood

Allyson, Michael, Riley, and Billy walked into the Springwood Diner, hearing the bell above the door ring. Nelson looked around, seeing everyone in the establishment staring at them all with wide eyes, as she glanced over to an empty booth in the corner.

"Allyson…" Riley whispered, tapping her friend's shoulder. "Everyone's looking at us."

"Don't care." Allyson shrugged, leading everyone over to the booth and sitting down. Wasn't surprising, after everything both she and Michael did with the rest of The Boys. She ignored the crowd looking at them, as a waitress began walking towards them.

"Wanna talk about last night?" Riley asked.

"What are you talking about?" Allyson frowned.

"Come on, Al." Riley smiled wryly. "I'm a light sleeper. You woke me up, and I saw you lift your shirt. What happened?"

Allyson sighed, placing a hand to her chest, right over the area where Homelander blasted her in the dream.

"Was it Krueger?" Riley guessed. "Those reports from Westin Hills were real?"

Allyson looked up at Stone, seeing Michael and Billy staring at her curiously, before slowly nodding.

"He somehow got into my head." Allyson said grimly. "Krueger tried killing me with those knives on his fingers, but when that didn't work…"

Allyson shuddered, taking a deep breath.

"He made me see Homelander."

Riley arched an eyebrow, prompting Allyson to continue.

"He knew that Homelander was one of the only people I've ever been afraid of. Well, him and Stormfront. And Krueger had him try to burn my heart out."

The group suddenly heard a short gasp, and Allyson looked up, seeing the waitress had been listening in on the conversation. Her blonde hair was tied back, with a name card reading Lori attached to her apron. Her hands, which held a small notepad and pen, were shaking slightly.

"Don't say his name." Lori whispered.

"Krueger's?" Allyson tilted her head in confusion. "Why?"

"Saying it gives him power." Lori explained, while pouring four mugs of coffee. "The parents of Springwood didn't know how to beat him, so they made us all forget about him."

"That's how you defeated him?" Riley scoffed.

"It was only temporary." Lori said begrudgingly. "He eventually came back by getting enough people to believe in him."

"What is he?" Allyson asked.

"I don't know." Lori admitted. "Ghost, demon… I don't know."

Lori shook her head, dropping her voice by another octave.

"Just… leave Springwood." Lori requested. "I know who you are, but we've had twenty five years of peace. That includes no visits from Vought."

"I'm sorry, but we can't do that." Allyson groaned. "We have to stay here for now."

"Why?" Lori's voice cracked.

"You saw the news, right?" Allyson asked. "About how our friend killed the representative of Bagalia?"

"I did." Lori nodded. "But what does that have to with Springwood?"

"Well, turns out he wasn't the real Bruce Wayne." Riley revealed. "He thinks the real one is in Bagalia, but he sent us to find evidence."

"And you think it was here, at Westin Hills." Lori sighed. Once she noticed Allyson and Riley staring at her in surprise, she added, "I'm not naive. I knew about Westin Hills being run by Vought for a time."

"Then you know why we can't leave." Allyson told her. "We weren't able to find anything on Wayne, but we have to stop Krueger. If he's a supe-"

"He's not." Lori murmured, looking out the window. "He's something worse."

Allyson frowned, looking into her coffee. She supposed that was true, given what Sheriff Barker had told her about Frederick being burned to death.

"How do we stop him?"

Lori gave her a pointed look, as her scowl deepened.

"You can't."

"I don't believe that." Allyson shook her head. "Homelander was defeated, and I've seen worse demons than Krueger. There's always a way."

Lori let out a deflated sigh, staring down at the ground.

"I was able to pull him out of my dream and into the real world." she revealed. "I thought he was gone for good, but now…"

Allyson nodded grimly, staring out the window.

"It's starting again."

Music: "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers

New York

Millie sat in front of an array of monitors, overlooking New York City. She was in a safe house near the Brooklyn bridge, formerly used by Frank and The Boys when they were hiding out from Vought seven years ago. After a lengthy conversation with her friend and battle buddy Alice Pierce, they agreed that their squad would meet here, instead of her family's house, it was better this way; because Cass would no doubt not approve of what she was planning to do.

As Millie continued to wait, she stood up, going towards the cot and picking up a guitar that was resting next to it. Frank's guitar that he had given to her while she was in college. Kessler sat down on the mattress, strummed a few notes, and began to sing.

"On a warm summer's evening, on a train bound for nowhere, I met up with a gambler. We were both too tired to sleep, so we took turns a starin' out the window, at the darkness. The boredom overtook us, and he began to speak-"

Millie looked up, hearing footsteps. A young woman walked into the hideout, her reddish blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, smiling slightly.

"That Kenny Rogers?"

Kessler nodded, absently strumming a few more notes.

"The Gambler. Frank said it wasn't his speed, but he always loved listening to him." Millie smiled. "Well, that and Springsteen."

Millie set the guitar down walking over to the woman and giving her a short hug.

"How was your trip, Alice?"

"Boring." Alice Pierce shrugged. "Where's William and Harley?"

"Should be coming right about… now."

Millie glanced at the monitors, seeing two men enter the hideout from the outside. One of them carried a long case and had slicked black hair, while the other sported messy brown hair and carried what appeared to be a small metallic tube. A few moments later, they joined Millie and Alice inside, with the black haired man setting down his case at their feet.

"Thanks for coming." Millie grinned. "It means a lot to me."

"Hey, Mill, we're family." William reminded her, opening up the case to reveal a compound bow, with steel arrows. "That makes Frank family too."

Millie rapidly blinked her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying, while Harley cleared his throat.

"So what's the plan?"

Kessler smiled, walking over to the computer monitors and rapidly typing along the keyboard. The screens changed from the security cameras outside to that of several images; Frank, Billy Russo, Bruce Wayne and Helmut Zemo, among others.

"This is all the intel I found." Millie explained. "The man that Frank killed at the United Nations wasn't Bruce Wayne. Rather, it was a former patient from Arkham Asylum, named Thomas Elliot. But because the world thinks it's Wayne, Grace Mallory handed him over to Zemo. Currently, he, Billy, and the serial killer and terrorist from Gotham known as Alice are being held captive there.

"After they were turned in, Mallory revealed to myself and Cass that Frank found out Bruce was being held captive in Bagalia." Millie continued. "He let himself get captured, so he can rescue Wayne."

"Interesting plan." Alice noted. "Uncle Andy did something similar to rescue Aunty Nica."

"This isn't Harrogate." William pointed out. "That was a minimum security psych ward. This is a foreign nation's prison. Hell, it might be even worse than when my dad was in Slabside."

"That's why I need your guys' help to break them out." Millie explained. "But if any of you wants to walk away, that's fine. I won't think any less of you. But you gotta do it now."

No one said anything, and stayed rooted to their position.

"Okay. Thanks." Millie nodded. "Make no mistake, what we're about to do is highly illegal. Bagalia has the backing of Coryana, North Korea, Canada, Markovia, Nanda Parbat, Libya, Syria, Madripoor, and Latveria, just to name a few. If word gets out of what we're going to do, and that we're American, then the United States will become ground zero for World War Three. Henceforth, we won't be wearing the flag, nor the colors.

"This is a clandestine mission, so there will be no ground support, or air support. And the injuries we sustain… we'll be walking out with."

Millie looked from William, to Harley, to Alice, seeing them all nod in agreement.

"Once we arrive in Bagalia, we need to get to the prison, and fast. We'll have to take out the guards and blind the security cameras." Millie declared, pulling up an overhead map of Bagalia on one of the monitors. "We find Frank and Billy, help them in locating Bruce Wayne, and we get the fuck out."

"What about Alice?" Harley asked, crossing his arms. Millie sighed, taking a deep breath, and shook her head.

"She's a criminal and terrorist from Gotham." Kessler reminded everyone. "If we end up rescuing her too, fine. But she's not a priority."

"And how are we going to get to Bagalia?" Alice spoke up. Millie grimaced, looking back at Pierce. Damn, she didn't really think about that.

"Maybe I can help." a new voice echoed from the hideout. Millie and her friends turned towards an opened area at the bottom of the steps, seeing Mallory approach them.

"How'd you know we'd be here?" Millie asked.

"Like Frank, you're a creature of habit." Grace told her, while holding onto a folder. "Here."

Millie gingerly took the folder, reaching inside to reveal a file with the image of a military chopper.

"Bagalia is landlocked by the Czech Republic and Slovakia." Mallory explained. "Given the United States' relationship with Slovakia, you'll have to jump out and land on the Czech border, then get to Bagalia on foot."

"Why are you doing this?" Millie asked. "If the government finds out-"

"They'll most likely execute all of us for treason." Mallory interrupted. "But I was able to keep The Boys off the books for years until I eventually retired. I know how to keep a secret."

Millie smiled, nodding in thanks, before turning back to her friends.

"We have our intel, and our plan." Kessler announced, as she walked back to her cot. "Make whatever preparations you need. Dustoff at 0300."

Alice, William, and Harley gave short nods, before dispersing among the hideout. Meanwhile, Mallory approached Millie, who had picked up her guitar again.

"Are you ready for this, Millie?" Grace asked. "You know you can't go back to your old life after this. If this fails, you'll be fugitive, and you'll drag your team down with you."

"I'll deal with it." Millie retorted, as she began to absently strum a few notes. "I haven't had a normal life for six years."

Mallory wore a pained expression on her face, before turning and walking away. As Millie continued playing, she looked down at the ground. Yes, she said she'd deal with it, but she was actually scared. Scared of what would happen if she got caught, Hell no. No, she was scared of being too late. If Frank had died before she reached him. If Billy died. Those feelings quickly turned to irritation, and Millie made a silent vow:

She would rescue Frank and Billy, no matter the cost. And if she was too late, she would personally tear Zemo's heart out.

Bagalia

Billy woke up with a splitting headache, looking around to see himself back in the isolation chamber, laying on his back. Russo groaned, slowly sitting up, as the door opened, casting a blinding light into the dark room.

"Wakey wakey." Warden Boss' voice cackled. "Time for your daily shower."

Billy stood up, staring tiredly at the warden, while two HYDRA agents appeared to escort him towards the showers. While he was being walked down the halls, Russo frowned, realizing something: as far as he knew, it was afternoon, maybe even evening. He knew that prison shower time was usually in the mornings, so why was he being taken now?

Russo arrived at the showers a few minutes later, noticing that Alice and Frank were already inside.

"Strip!" Boss ordered, forcing the three prisoners to take off their white uniforms in front of him. The warden grinned, eyeing Alice up and down.

"You're a sick fuck." Frank spat, instantly realizing what Boss was doing.

"Just the way I like it." Bill grinned cruelly. Castle scoffed in disgust, turning his back on the warden, as he finished taking off his shirt and pants, revealing his chest. Billy and Alice widened their eyes, seeing the image of a skull, not unlike the one spray painted on his bulletproof vest, was carved into his skin.

"Dear lord." Alice gasped out loud. "What happened?"

Frank stared down at the floor, sucking in a breath.

"Few months ago, a girl named Chase held me captive." Castle revealed. "While torturing me, she got me to believe I kill because I like it."

"Beth…" Alice murmured, remembering what Russo told her. "Do you still believe it?"

Frank looked up, shaking his head.

"No." the Punisher muttered. "But she still left a parting gift."

Alice felt a twinge of pity for Castle, as she and Billy peeled off the rest of their clothes and stood underneath the showerheads. While each of them felt the rush of cold water running down their bodies, Alice closed her eyes, slowly exhaling. Time seemed to slow down, as she thought back to when she was locked up in Arkham. She and Mouse had agreed to turn the asylum into their own personal castle, and she betrayed him for her desire for revenge. She was to blame for who Mouse was now, and her alone-

Music: "Cell Block D" from Daredevil Season 2 OST

"Hey Castle!"

Alice's eyes snapped open, feeling a blade slash down her back, and she cried out in pain. She quickly turned around, balling up her fists, as she saw the man with dozens of tally marks on his skin, staring back at her with a shiv.

"Zsasz." Alice sneered. "Still Safiyah's bitch?"

Victor narrowed his eyes in anger, preparing for a fight, when Alice suddenly felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder. She looked over to her left, seeing Billy glancing at her in concern.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll live." Alice shrugged, despite feeling the shower water attacking her wound. Billy reluctantly nodded, joining Frank's gaze to see that two more people had joined Zsasz: Gargan and the patient from Smith's Grove.

"Walk away, assholes." Frank said in a low voice. "Only warning."

"Can't do that, Castle." Zsasz snickered, brandishing his weapon. Frank looked over to Billy and Alice, seeing them nod in his direction.

"Okay… okay." Frank turned back towards their attackers. "Let's get this over with, yeah?"

The supe from Smith's Grove charged Castle, yelling in Russian, while Frank sidestepped, smashing his elbow into the back of his head. Mac Gargan pulled out his own shiv, slashing towards Billy, but Russo ducked and punched him in the ribs. Meanwhile, Alice dodged Zsasz's blade, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. Victor grunted in annoyance, as she twisted her body and flipped him onto his back, using his weight against him.

The Russian turned around, throwing a punch at Frank. The Punisher quickly jumped out of the way, watching the man's fist smash into the shower stall's tiles, the force of the blow causing the small structure to crumble.

Shit. Guess this prick got super strength from Compound V.

Castle threw a punch at the bearded man, but it felt like he had hit a brick wall. Whatsmore, the Russian smirked, seemingly not even feeling the strike.

And enhanced durability. Fuck.

On the other side of the showers, Gargan continued trying to slice Russo, who kicked him in the back of his knee. As he went down, Mac slashed upward, cutting across the side of Billy's face. Russo growled in pain, before punching him in the jaw, and followed by kicking him in the chest so hard, his body smashed through one of the tile stalls.

Zsasz quickly got back up, slashing Alice's leg as he did so, and grabbed her by the throat.

"I'm going to cut your fucking nipples off, you cunt-"

Alice brought her elbow down on Victor's forearm, forcing him to let go. Before he could recover, she formed her hand in a straight line, smacking his windpipe, and wrestling the shiv from his hands. Once she pried the blade loose, Alice closed in, stabbing Zsasz in the chest and began dragging the weapon downward, cutting vertically and coating her hands red.

The Russian slammed Frank into the shower walls, punching him in the face and making Castle spit out blood. Refusing to be beaten, the Punisher repeatedly smashed his fist into his opponent's face, before placing his palms on the stall's side. By the time the bearded man realized what was happening, it was too late, and Frank kicked out, catching him squarely in the chest and sending him back. Castle bellowed out a primal roar, before charging at the Russian head on.

Gargan continued rushing at Billy, who blocked his knife arm and punched him in the face, before spinning him around and flipping him towards the showers, causing his back to slam into the tile while upside down. Mac growled in annoyance, flipping himself back upright and delivering a kick towards Billy's head. Russo held up his arms to block, before reaching out and grabbing his ankle. His foe's eyes widened, just as Billy swung him around and slammed his back onto the floor. Billy began to kneel down, but Gargan swept his leg out, tripping Russo and causing him to fall as well. While the wind was knocked out of him, Mac slowly got up, raising his shiv.

"Time to die, you-"

A shiv suddenly flew out of nowhere, embedding itself in Gargan's neck. Billy looked over to his side, seeing Alice standing there, her hands all bloody. At her feet was the body of Zsasz, a gory red line slashed down from his thigh to his Adam's apple. Russo looked back up, seeing Gargan's body begin to fall, and rolled out of the way. The body crumpled to the floor, while Billy and Alice smiled at each other.

"You saved me." Russo raised an eyebrow. "Thanks."

"Well, we can't have you up and die on us, can we?" Alice asked rhetorically. Russo's mouth pulled into a smile, as the two stepped closer to one another. As they looked deeply into each other's eyes, everything else seemed to melt around them. They didn't see themselves in a prison's shower anymore. They weren't covered in blood, with two inmates dead at their feet. Frank wasn't fighting off a Russian supe, enhanced with Compound V-

Shit. Billy looked away from Alice, seeing Castle still fighting the bearded man.

"We have to help him." Russo declared, stepping forward. He paused, however, when he felt a bloody hand rest on his shoulder. Billy looked back, seeing Alice smirk.

"I got this." she grinned.

Frank let out a rage filled roar, lunging at the Russian. Unfortunately, the supe was prepared, wrapping his meaty hands around Castle's throat and lifting him up in the air.

"So this is so-called 'Punisher', yes?" the Russian laughed, as Frank began choking. "You look just like picture. You look so strong, but you are not so strong. I kill you with bare hands!"

Can't break out of his grip. Vision fading fast. Gotta… think… of something-

Frank suddenly felt the grip on his neck loosen, and he stared at the Russian. He was looking down, and Frank followed his gaze, seeing a shiv was sticking out of his gut.

"Knife in the guts, yes?" the supe frowned, looking over at Billy and Alice. Even while being strangled, Frank could see them widening their eyes in shock. "Not very nice! You think tiny blade can hurt Love Sausage?"

This sick fuck is named after his dick? Come on.

"Think of what I will do to them once I am finished with you, Punisher!" Love Sausage grinned cruelly.

Frank groaned, hammering his fist into the Russian's face while he was distracted, and miraculously set himself free. Castle dropped to the floor, gasping in pain, while Love Sausage looked down at him with hate.

"You hurt me, you American pig!"

The Russian was about to kick Frank in the face, when Castle suddenly reached up, ripping the shiv out of his side. Love Sausage looked at him, confused, as the Punisher leapt up, delivering an uppercut to the supe's face, before jabbing the blade into his neck. Love Sausage sputtered, as Frank dragged the knife across his neck, making blood spill out across the floor. Castle wasn't finished, as when the Russian fell to his knees, he began rapidly sawing through the neck, cutting through the flesh, muscles, and bone. It would've been easier with his ka-bar, but he had to work with what he had.

By the time Frank finally cut Love Sausage's head clean off, Warden Boss entered the showers, flanked by six guards.

"This all you assholes got?" Frank spat, flinging Love Sausage's head towards them. Boss flicked his eyes down, seeing the head roll along the floor, before stopping at his feet.

"'A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red.'" Alice smirked, while reciting a passage from Alice In Wonderland. The warden stared at Alice curiously, or more specifically, staring at her breasts.

"Shame. I couldn't see enough of her tits." Boss complained, smiling sinisterly. "Subdue them, and make it hurt."

Frank sighed in exasperation, as he, Alice, and Billy got on their knees, their hands placed on the back of their heads. That didn't stop the HYDRA agents from beating them with their batons, causing the shower water to mix in with their blood. But as they were being beaten bloody and bruised, Frank kept thinking about why those three were inmates to begin with. First Nubian Prince, and now Zsasz, Mac Gargan, and Love Sausage. Why were these criminals being locked up? Wasn't Bagalia supposed to be a safe haven for murderers, terrorists, and supervillains?

Springwood

Allyson, Michael, Riley, and Billy followed Lori home, coming to a white house with a green roof and red door. Nelson arched an eyebrow, seeing the number 1428 etched right above the frame.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Riley asked Lori. The blonde looked back at Stone, gazing between the small group, and nodded.

"Freddy Krueger murdered my mother." she murmured. "I am not going to let him terrorize anyone else."

Riley stared at Lori in sadness, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I lost my mom too." Riley revealed. "She was… among the Vanished, when Thanos snapped his fingers."

"I'm sorry." Lori murmured. "The same thing happened to my husband. God, I miss him everyday."

Allyson flashed the both of them a look of pity, before turning to look at Michael. Despite wearing his pale, blank face, she always knew what he was thinking. And right now, they were thinking the same thing.

"I promise you, we will find a way to bring them back." Nelson vowed.

"How?" Lori frowned. "When you and The Boys revealed what Homelander did, Thanos said he destroyed the stones. You can't just go back and undo it."

"Actually, we can." Allyson grinned, wondering why she never thought of this before. "Our friend, Dredd? He's a time traveller."

Lori raised an eyebrow, folding her arms.

"Time traveller?" she scoffed.

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Riley asked. "After Vought, Homelander, and Krueger?"

"I guess not." Lori sighed, turning to walk up the stairs. "It just felt easier to assume his weapons were Stark Tech."

Riley, Allyson, Billy, and Michael followed her upstairs, entering a bedroom to find a metal briefcase resting on top of the sheets.

"What's that?" Allyson raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"It's how we'll connect in the dream." Lori revealed. "In the early 2000s, the military used experimental technology, developed by Westin Hills, for shared dreaming. That way, soldiers could practice shooting or stabbing each other without killing them."

"So how'd you get this?" Riley inquired. Lori simply grinned, while opening up the case to reveal several tubes, cylinders, and a white button in the middle.

"I took a trip to Los Angeles a few years back and met a man named Cobb." She answered. "He lent me this after I told him about Krueger, and helped me in being able to control my dreams."

"And Westin Hills created this." Allyson frowned. "Which was funded by Vought…"

"What are you implying?" Riley asked worriedly. Allyson looked up at Michael, wearing a grim expression.

"I think… Krueger might have been working with Vought."

"Why?" Lori's mouth hung open in horror. "Westin Hills was trying to make everyone forget about Freddy."

"Then maybe this was a contingent." Riley suggested. "To make sure Krueger wouldn't turn on them."

"I thought he preferred working alone." Lori continued. "The last time he tried working- I mean using- someone, it ended badly. For him. I wasn't blind to what Vought was doing, but I didn't think they'd stoop to this."

"I don't know." Allyson shrugged. "But it makes sense, since they were working with the Sisters of Death…"

"Who?" Lori frowned.

"Long story." Riley shook her head, noticing Billy hang his head. Stone smiled mirthlessly, placing her hand on his shoulder in reassurance.

"Billy, it's okay now. They can't control you anymore."

Allyson glanced over to Michael, seeing him hang his head as well, before clearing her throat.

"We were going to stop Krueger?"

Lori looked back at the bed, her gaze softening.

"Right."

Lori pulled out four of the tubes, handing three to Allyson, Michael, and Billy.

"Once you get these attached, a sedative will be administered once that button is pressed." Lori explained, pointing back to the briefcase. "Riley, I'll need you to give us a kick if anything goes wrong."

"A kick?" Riley repeated. "What's a kick?"

"Anything that'll wake us up." Lori answered. "A bucket of water, a slap to the face, even music… use your imagination."

"Wait a minute-" Stone frowned. "I'm not going in with you?"

"We'll need someone to stay awake and monitor us."

"But-"

"Riley." Allyson spoke up, garnering the younger woman's attention. "Frank told me not to get you involved. This is the closest I'll get to keeping that promise."

Riley glanced over at Nelson, before reluctantly nodding. Allyson sighed in exhaustion, as she attached one of the tubes to her arm, while Michael and Billy did the same.

"Get nice and comfy." Lori humorlessly joked, while attaching her own tube to her arm. She, Allyson, Michael, and Billy all laid down on the floor, while Riley waited by the briefcase. "Now, normally, I'd suggest you all create totems, but we have to stop Freddy before he can fully return."

"Totems?" Allyson raised an eyebrow.

"Objects that you slightly alter so that only you know its characteristics." Lori quickly explained, before looking over to Riley.

"Now."

Stone nodded, and after pressing the button, her four friends all closed their eyes, falling asleep.

A/N: So, I actually got writer's block during that last bit with Allyson, Michael, and their friends. But, I did decide to add in some bits that will be important to later in the story. Hopefully, I'll get back to writing quickly like normal. If not, oh well, but I am going to be working more on my Judge Dredd/Mandalorian crossover for a bit.

Take care everyone.