A/N: Hey everyone. I'm back with another Frank and Wanda oneshot! It's been awhile since my last one, and this has been sitting at the back of my head, so what the Hell.
This story is supposed to take place a few days after my last installment, Cut From The Same Cloth. I always wanted to bring in more characters, particularly from the Punisher tv show, so here we go. Enjoy.
Wanda Maximoff looked around, finding herself back in the town of Westview. As a moving truck passed her, she looked down at her clothes, frowning to see herself wearing a maroon colored hoodie, with plain jeans. This wasn't right. She was supposed to be wearing the red long coat from when she became an Avenger. Why would-
"Wanda?"
Maximoff turned around, seeing a blonde haired woman walking towards her, wearing a light pink shirt. Interestingly enough, she knew exactly who the woman was.
"Dottie?" Wanda gasped out loud. She hadn't seen her since…
Since Wanda mind controlled her.
"My name is Sarah." the woman named 'Dottie' told her. "I have a daughter, she's eight. Maybe… maybe she could be friends with your boys. If you like that storyline, right?"
Wanda opened her mouth slightly, hearing the words pouring out of Sarah's mouth. She sounded… desperate? Scared?
"Or she could be the school bully." Sarah quickly offered. "Really, anything. Just please, let her out of her room. If I could just hold her, please."
Wanda stepped back in shock, at a loss for words. Did she do this? Did she take away someone's child from their mother?
As she backed away, Maximoff looked around, seeing more and more of the town's residents walking towards her. Some, like Sarah, looked afraid. Others, they looked angry. Angry at her.
"I don't recognize my own face in the mirror, or my voice when I speak." a bald, dark skinned man with a beard told Wanda, while wearing a confused expression. "I used to try to resist you, but now I can't even remember. Do you?"
"My husband's on a business trip." a woman with black hair and a yellow jacket said frantically. "Tell him I love him, and not to come back here- ever."
"I'm exhausted." a man wearing a blue and yellow shipping uniform sighed in exasperation.
"No, no, you're fine." Wanda protested. "You're- you're all going to be fine-"
"When you let us sleep, we had your nightmares."
Wanda whirled around, seeing the man who had spoken was Vision's friend from work, 'Norm'. Now, she wondered if that was even his real name.
"No… no, that's not true." Wanda whispered, suddenly feeling small. As if she was shrinking. "I've… I've kept you safe here. You… you've felt at peace."
"No." Sarah shook her head sadly. "We feel your pain."
"No." Wanda murmured, breathing heavily from anxiety.
"Your grief is poisoning us." an older woman, whom Wanda knew as 'Mrs. Hart', accused.
"No, stop." Wanda pleaded, placing her hands over her ears. That didn't do any good, as the crowd continued speaking.
"Please, let us go-"
"I just want to go home-"
"Let us go-"
"Please, just let us go, Wanda-"
"Please!"
Finally, Wanda couldn't take the multitude of voices any longer, and she threw her head back and screamed.
"STOP!"
Crimson energy pulsed out from Wanda, wrapping around the Westview residents' necks. Maximoff panted from tiredness, realizing everyone had stopped talking. Her eyes widened, however, when she saw the reason they stopped speaking was because she was strangling them with her powers.
"No." Wanda gasped, holding up her hands in an attempt to stop choking them. "No, no! I'm so sorry-"
A shrill, screeching sound was suddenly heard, and Wanda looked up, seeing her vision fading into darkness-
Wanda woke up with a gasp, frantically looking around to realize she was sitting in the passenger seat of a van that had just stopped. A simple look over her shoulder allowed her to see a plethora of firearms and other weapons stocked in the back, with nothing else stored. And upon turning her head back to the front…
Maximoff's eyes widened, seeing the man in the driver's seat was Frank Castle, wearing his usual black trench coat over his bulletproof vest with the painted white skull. But that wasn't what made her eyes bulge. No, what made her pause was the fact that he was grasping for his throat, as a scarlet covered ring of energy tightened around his neck. The same kind of ring that was choking the Westview citizens in her dream.
"No." Wanda gasped, mentally commanding the energy ring to dissippate. Once the ring disappeared, Frank took a gulpful of air, wheezing slightly.
"I'm sorry." Wanda murmured, pressing her back against the passenger door. For a brief moment, she considered just getting out of the van and leaving Frank to drive alone. It might be for the best anyway. "I'm so sorry, Frank."
They've been driving for days now. However long it was, she wasn't sure. After she freed Westview from the prison she created, Castle and her began travelling west. They had only made a few stops, either for gas and food, or to spend the night at a cheap motel, but even that was hard to keep a low profile. Wanda was an Avenger, and Frank, well… he was the Punisher. Throw in the fact that he had killed the director of SWORD, Tyler Hayward, before leaving with Wanda, and they both stick out like sore thumbs. Luckily, Wanda had been taught by the Black Widow herself, Natasha Romanoff, on how to hide in plain sight.
Frank looked over to Maximoff, seeing her eyes shimmering. He'd seen that before- with Maria. With his kids.
Castle sighed, seeing tears start to pour down Wanda's face, and he reached his hand out. He stopped though, when Wanda flinched as if she got burned, and tried to press her back against the door further.
"Hey, Wanda, it's okay, yeah?" Frank murmured, putting the van in park mode. "You didn't mean it, right?"
Wanda continued sobbing, but didn't recoil this time, when Frank reached out again, wiping away her tears.
"It's okay." Castle repeated. "You didn't hurt me, alright?"
Wanda eventually stopped crying, and gave Frank a sad smile.
"I am sorry, Frank."
"Yeah." Castle mumbled, Looking out through the windshield to see it there was still some daylight. Thank god there wasn't another car out there. There's no telling what would've happened.
"Another nightmare?" Frank suddenly asked. Wanda slowly nodded, pulling up her knees and hugging them closely to her chest. Ever since Westview, Wanda would have nightmares when she fell asleep. They'd usually end with her screaming herself awake and Frank comforting her. This was the first time that she had lashed out with her powers.
"Was it Vision?" Frank asked. Wanda tilted her head in confusion, while raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Did you dream about Vision?" Frank repeated. Wanda ran her tongue along her teeth, let out a deflated sigh, and focused her gaze on the dashboard.
"No." she quickly denied. "You helped me accept he was gone, and stopped me from keeping thousands of people hostage. I'm thankful for that."
"So what was it?" Frank inquired. Wanda took a deep breath, staring out the window.
"I was back in Westview, and the people I had controlled were begging me to free them. They told me they couldn't even remember their names, or their faces were unrecognizable. One of them, Sarah, had even pleaded with me to let her see her daughter."
Wanda stopped speaking, as she felt fresh tears spill. Frank slowly breathed out looking over in her direction.
"You remember when I said we're not that different, yeah?" Castle asked. "We're both haunted by what we've done, and the only way to bury those ghosts is to forgive yourself."
"Forgive myself?" Wanda repeated out loud. "How can you say that, knowing what I did?"
"Because I've done worse." Frank sighed, leaning back in his seat. "You knew I was a soldier, right? Ever know what for?"
Wanda looked over to Castle shaking her head. No. Of course she didn't. She could've read his mind, but she didn't want to get into his head. Not after what she'd done.
"I was part of a covert CIA operation, called Cerberus." Frank told her. "We were supposed to take out high values targets, but that was all a front to smuggle drugs back to the States."
"But… if you were still killing targets…" Wanda's voice trailed off.
"The guy running the operation, Rawlins, said they were all terrorists." Frank explained. "Problem is, we captured a guy named Zubair, a member of the Afghan Police."
Wanda's eyes widened in shock, realizing what he was saying.
"What… what happened to him?" Wanda asked quietly.
"Rawlins had him killed anyway." Castle muttered. "I personally put a bullet in him."
Wanda placed a hand over her mouth, looking away from Frank. So that's why he had been hellbent in helping her. He saw himself as a monster… just like her.
"Yeah… we're both haunted by our pasts." Frank mumbled. "But you gotta forgive yourself for what you've done, yeah?"
"You make it sound like it's easy." Wanda sniffed, leaning her head against the window.
"It's the hardest thing in the world." Frank admitted. "Trust me, I know."
Castle put the van back into drive, and veered off the road, into the nearby forest.
"Where are we?" Wanda suddenly asked, looking out the window to see nothing but trees and foliage.
"Kentucky." Frank grunted, as they drove through the woods. "I got a friend who lives up here in a cabin."
"Does he know we're coming?" Wanda inquired. Frank bit his tongue, averting his eyes for a moment, before speaking.
"No."
A few minutes later, the van stopped at the back of a small log cabin, with darkened windows. Frank opened his door and got out, waiting for Wanda to exit the vehicle as well, before walking up to the front door. Castle was about to open the door, but stopped, looking down at the ground and noticing that it was already opened, just a crack.
Frank groaned, pulling out a pistol, and creaked the door open.
"What's wrong?" Wanda asked, seeing Castle's change of expression. "I thought you said this was your friend's place."
"It is." Frank mumbled, as he slowly walked into the cabin. The interior was nothing remarkable, with wooden chairs sitting at a dinner table, while the entire room was dark from the lack of electricity. Castle paused, trying to hear something, anything, when…
A slight creaking noise invaded Frank's ears, and he looked over his shoulder, seeing Wanda right behind him.
"You good?" Castle whispered. Wanda silently nodded, right before a soft thumping noise was heard.
"Where was that?" Maximoff frowned in confusion. Frank grit his teeth, letting out a rumbling groan.
"Bedroom."
Castle turned on his heel, marching towards the back of the cabin, right in front of a locked door. The Punisher hesitated, racking the slide of his gun, before kicking the door open, and surging forward. The moment he crossed the doorway, a dainty hand darted out, grabbing the barrel of his gun and pushing it to the side. Another hand snakes under his wrist, and before Frank knew it, the pistol was ripped away from him.
Castle raised his hands in gesture of surrender, although he didn't have to turn around to know who disarmed him. There was only one person who taught that to… but what was she doing here?
"Frank." a familiar voice greeted, and a young woman with wavy blonde hair stepped into his line of view. "It's been a while."
Before he could say anything, scarlet colored energy wrapped around the woman and lifted her above the floor, twisting the pistol out of her hands. Castle quickly turned around, seeing Wanda right behind him, her hands raised, and the same energy dancing Along her fingers. Frank's eyes widened, seeing that her pupils were beginning to glow crimson.
"Wait, wait!" Frank shouted, parting his arms to put himself between both women. "Easy. The kid's a friend."
Wanda tilted her head at Frank, but nevertheless let her arms drop to her sides. At the same time, the red energy disappeared around the blonde woman, letting her fall to the floor.
"Kid, you good?" Frank asked, helping her up.
"It's been five years Frank." the girl chastised, brushing dirt and grime off her jacket. "I'm not a kid anymore."
"Good point." Frank murmured. The two of them looked over to Wanda, who was staring back at them in confusion.
"Who are you?" Maximoff asked out loud. The young woman simply stared at Wanda, having her jaw hanging open in disbelief.
"I'm- I'm Amy Bendix." the girl finally introduced herself, holding out her arm. "And you're one of the Avengers."
Wanda stared down at Amy's outstretched hand, as she shakily raised her own to shake it. The gesture of friendship only lasted for a few seconds, but when it was over, Maximoff averted her gaze, staring down at the floor of the cabin.
"Not anymore." she whispered, crossing her arms over her chest. Frank recognized her body language, having grown familiar with it himself. It was the sign of protecting themselves from harm.
"What happened?" Amy suddenly asked. "How come you're not an Avenger anymore?"
"Kid- Amy…" Frank warned, shaking his head. "Just drop it, yeah?"
"She's fine." Wanda smiled half-heartedly, lifting her head to look back up at Bendix. "I… I took an entire town hostage."
Amy's eyes widened, stepping back a bit.
"You what?"
Wanda swallowed the lump in her throat, before continuing.
"After we all came back from the Blip, I went to retrieve Vision's body." Wanda said softly. "He deserved to have a funeral, but SWORD… they cut open his remains. They wanted to turn his body into a weapon."
"My gosh." Amy gasped, placing a hand over her mouth.
"I became enraged, and stole his body from their headquarters." Wanda continued. "I had no idea where I was going, but I found myself in Westview, and… in my attempt to revive him, I somehow twisted the entire town to how I wanted to see it."
"What do you mean?" Amy frowned. "Like… changing how it looked?"
Wanda solemnly nodded, again staring at the floor with guilt.
"It was Frank who made me realize what I was doing was wrong." Maximoff murmured. "Him and Vision. They were able to convince me to release the inhabitants, but I still see them… in my nightmares…"
Wanda sank to her knees, breaking down and beginning to cry. Amy gently reached out, placing her hand on the older woman's shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay." Bendix told her. "They're just nightmares, right?"
Wanda simply shook her head, rocking her body back and forth.
"It wasn't just a nightmare." Maximoff sobbed. "It was real."
Amy looked over to Frank, seeing a grim expression line his face. The girl took a short breath, as she grasped Wanda by her shoulders, and helped her back up.
"Okay. Come on."
Bendix led Wanda towards the bed, where the former Avenger lay down on top of of covers, not tired enough to drift off to sleep, but enough to turn her head to the side and stare at the wall. Meanwhile, Amy turned towards Frank, nudging her head towards the door, and she and Frank quietly stepped out of the bedroom, pausing to pick up the pistol from the floor.
Once they were out of the bedroom, Frank and Amy stood out in the hallway, beginning to speak in hushed tones.
"You're wanted." Amy guessed.
"Yeah." Frank admitted. "I, uh… I killed the piece of shit director of SWORD."
Amy's eyes widened in shock, as she ran a hand through her hair.
"Jeez, Frank." Bendix murmured. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"Yeah…" Frank's voice trailed off, thinking about how Amy was here in the first place. She should be in Florida. How'd she get here?
"What are you doing here, Amy?" Frank asked. "I thought you were at that dive school."
Amy's face darkened, as she looked away.
"It… it didn't work out." Bendix said sadly. "That friend of Curtis you mentioned? He was… he was among the Vanished five years ago."
Frank stared down at the floor, letting the words sink in. After some of his own close friends had been part of the Blip, he hadn't really checked to see how anyone else was. Hell, it had been years since he spoke to Karen. He didn't even know if she disappeared or not during those five years. But there was something else that was nagging at the back of his mind…
"How'd you even find this place?" Frank mumbled. "I never told you about Gunner."
Amy ran her tongue across her lip, looking out one of the cabin's windows.
"When I read about you in Madani's apartment, I found one of her reports detailing a cabin in the woods of Kentucky." Bendix said quietly. "After half the population first vanished, I had nowhere else to go. So, I used the last of that cash you gave me to take a flight here, and…"
Frank stumbled backward, placing his hands on his head, as he realized Amy had been living here for the last five years.
"Jesus, Amy." Castle murmured. "You gotta go back to Florida, alright?"
"I will, Frank." Amy promised. "I'm just, not ready yet."
Frank nodded in understanding, just as they both heard the bedroom door creak open. Amy and Frank turned their heads, seeing Wanda standing in the doorway.
"Couldn't sleep?" Frank asked dryly. Maximoff chuckled, while shaking her head.
"I was… I was hoping you could teach me to properly shoot a gun." Wanda requested.
"You can rip that gun out of my hands with a thought." Frank reminded her. "What do you want me to teach you for?"
"Because what if they're not enough, or they get taken away?" Wanda asked. "When Vision and I were attacked by Thanos' people, I could barely fight them off, and we had to be rescued by Steve, Natasha, and Sam."
Frank sighed, looking outside, and reluctantly nodded.
"Okay… okay. But first, you gotta take mine first."
Castle pulled the slide part way on the gun, seeing there was still ammo in it. He sucked in a breath, before pulling out the magazine, when-
"Hey, Frank." Amy spoke up, turning his attention toward her.
"I can show her."
"You sure?" Frank's voice rasped out. Bendix nodded, giving him a reassuring smile.
"I remember everything you taught me."
Frank nodded, and handed the gun to Amy.
"Okay. Empty gun-"
Amy racked the slide, watching the lone bullet pop out of the chamber.
"-and no mag." Amy pointed the pistol right at Wanda's chest. "Try to take it from me."
Wanda bit her lip in confusion, having not actually seen what Amy did, and lunged forward, wrapping both hands over guns' slide. Amy simply grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from the pistol, before shoving Maximoff around and wrapping her arm around her neck.
"Ready to give up?" Bendix asked smugly. Wanda began breathing rapidly, remembering when Bruce Banner put her in a similar hold, and held her hand out in front of her. A ball of crimson energy formed, and Wanda pushed it through herself, hitting Amy behind her and making the young woman stumble backward. Wanda turned back around, widening her eyes from seeing Amy back up.
"Sorry." Maximoff apologized, realizing what she had done. "I didn't mean-"
"It's okay." Amy interrupted, straightening her jacket. "But are you ready to learn the right way?"
Wanda slightly smiled, nodding as Amy stepped closer.
"Alright. First, you want to take the gun offline, right?" Amy told her, placing her hand on the gun barrel. "Off-"
Amy had Wanda's hand wrap around the barrel, and pushed to the right, away from either of them.
"-line. Second, you wanna place your arm underneath theirs, right at the joint." Amy continued, having Wanda form her hand into a straight line and go under her wrist. "Joints are weakest. Third, you twist the gun away. Use your legs. You got all that?"
"Yes." Wanda nodded, taking her hands off the gun.
"Good. Show me."
Maximoff stepped forward, closing her hand around the pistol and pushing it away from herself, before snaking her hand underneath Amy's wrist. She quickly twisted her entire body to the side, using her legs and ripping the gun out of Bendix's hands, holding onto the firearm tightly.
"Look at that." Amy smiled. "You got the gun. Now, step four."
"Step four?" Wanda frowned. "But I have the gun."
"That you just got from somebody about to shoot you. So what do you do?" Amy pointed out. When Wanda didn't answer, she told her, "You shoot them. Show me."
Reluctantly, with shaking hands, Wanda pointed the pistol at Amy's heart, and squeezed the trigger. A faint click was heard, and Amy nodded.
"Good. Good job."
Wanda smiled, handing the gun back to Amy.
"Thank you." Maximoff whispered, while turning toward Frank.
"Can I shoot it now?"
Frank softly chuckled, barely nodding his head.
"Yeah. Come on."
Frank, Amy, and Wanda stepped outside, with Castle pausing to grab several weapons from his van. He pulled out an M16 assault rifle, a pump action shotgun, and a double barrel, which he handed to Amy.
"Here." Frank handed the rifle over to Wanda, and pointed to a fallen tree trunk.
"Aim for the trunk."
Wanda nodded, pointing the weapon right at the tree in the distance. She flipped the safety off, placed her finger in the trigger well, when-
"Wait." Frank interrupted, noticing Wanda's stance had her legs parted in parallel positions. "Place your right leg behind your left. Lean forward, yeah?"
Wanda nodded, changing her stance, and squeezed the trigger. A burst of gunfire ripped through the woods, making Amy cover her ears. Meanwhile, Wanda stopped for a moment, hearing nothing but a ringing sound.
"Hey, you good?" Frank asked, once he felt Wanda could hear again. Maximoff slowly stared at him, shakily nodding.
"Sorry. Forgot how loud they can be."
Frank fished into his jacket, finding what looked like a pair of wired earbuds, and handed them to Wanda.
"Ear pro. Suppresses most sound." Frank explained, as Wanda placed the buds in her ears.
"What was that?" Wanda asked humorlessly, making Amy and Frank smirk. Maximoff smiled back, before turning towards the tree line and squeezing the trigger again. A new torrent of gunfire echoed through the woods, and Frank watched, as the fallen tree trunk visibly splintered from the bullets.
"Good." Castle murmured, once Wanda emptied an entire magazine. As she lowered the rifle, Frank reached out, taking the M16 and handing her the pump action.
"Ready to try the slugs?"
By the time Frank and Amy finished teaching Wanda how to shoot the various firearms, the sun was quick to set, and the trio went back inside the cabin for supper. Luckily, Amy had recently found the pantry was still stocked, and Wanda ended up cooking chicken paprikash for them all.
"You didn't have to do this." Frank murmured, as Wanda set three plates on the table.
"It's the least I could, after all you've done for me." Wanda replied, sitting down between Castle and Amy. "What you've both done."
Amy half smiled, as she ate a piece of the chicken.
"Where'd you learn to cook this?" Bendix asked, between bites of food.
"My mother." Wanda said in remembrance, while Frank silently ate his own dish. "It's an old Sokovia recipe."
Frank was about to reply, when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Castle groaned, pulling out the small device and looking at the screen, reading a name.
Karen.
Frank sighed in frustration, standing up from the table. He'd been avoiding this call for a while, but even he knew he'd have to face the inevitable. Shit.
Castle began walking away, earning a look from Wanda and Amy.
"Something wrong Frank?" Amy asked. Frank flashed a fake smile, and turned away.
"Nah, it's good."
Frank excused himself, walking towards the bedroom, while Amy and Wanda looked at each other.
"He's lying." Bendix grumbled, causing Wanda to raise an eyebrow.
"How do you know?" the former Avenger asked.
"Because he rarely smiles." Amy said sadly. "Why didn't you just read his mind?"
Wanda sighed, staring off in the direction where Frank went.
"Because I've found it's intrusive." she confessed. "And… I'm scared."
"Of using your powers." Amy guessed. Wanda looked back at the young woman, numbly nodding. "Because of Westview?"
Again, Wanda nodded.
"Yes." Wanda whispered. "After everything I had done… manipulating the Avengers, working with Ultron… and now taking control of all of Westview… I'm scared."
Amy bit her tongue, beginning to inspect the wood of the dinner table. She racked her brain, trying to think of what to say, when a memory surfaced. Hiding under a bed… her friends lying in pools of their own blood… a man wearing a black coat and hat, walking around, searching for her…
Bendix looked back up, knowing exactly what to tell Maximoff.
"I don't blame you, for what you did." Amy confessed. "If I could do what you can, I'd bring my friends back."
"Your friends?" Wanda frowned. Amy pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily, as she thought back to when she first met Frank.
"I was part of this group, this… 'family', of other orphans." Amy revealed. "This woman, Fiona, she promised to take care of us, as long as we worked for her. One of the jobs was to take pictures of David Schultz and his boyfriend."
"Schultz?" Wanda raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That senator?"
"That's right." Amy nodded. "But we didn't anticipate his parents would hire a hitman to kill all of us. He killed all my friends, but missed me. I was able to make my way to Michigan, where I met Frank in a bar."
Wanda chuckled, trying to imagine Frank in such a setting. As far as she knew, he didn't drink.
"I know that what we did was wrong. We were blackmailing David, threatening to destroy his life, but…" Amy stopped, casting her gaze back towards the table. "They were still my friends."
Wanda shot Bendix a look of pity, as the younger woman tiredly looked up at her.
"I understand you're afraid you might hurt someone. I get it. But don't let it control you."
While Wanda and Amy continued talking, Frank stepped into the hallway and answered his phone. He held the device up to his ear, staying silent to hear the other person's voice.
"Frank? It's me, Karen."
Castle breathed out a sigh of relief. So someone didn't take her phone. Good.
"Hey Karen." Frank said gruffly. "Guess you heard about my trip to New Jersey, huh?"
"It's all over national news." Karen told him. "Frank, you have to turn yourself and Wanda Maximoff in."
"Yeah, why's that?" Frank asked. "You already know how I operate, Karen."
"In the past, they were just criminals." Karen reminded Castle. "This is so much worse. You killed the director of SWORD, and are on the run with someone who mind controlled everyone in Westview. Someone who used to be part of the Avengers, no less."
"Yeah." Frank muttered, looking toward the dining room to see the women still talking at the table. "She lost her family, Karen. The Avengers, they all left her. She was left to fend for herself."
"And I sympathize, I do." Karen insisted. "I know what it's like to lose family, but that doesn't excuse what she did. Come back to New York. We can have Matt defend her in court-"
"Ah, bullshit." Frank groaned. "The Accords are still up. It doesn't matter if you get Murdock to help, you know it wouldn't be a fair trial. Deep down, you know it, Karen."
The line went silent for a moment, and Frank could hear what sounded like Karen swallowing saliva.
"Just… be careful Frank." Karen murmured through the phone, before the call ended. Castle sighed, shutting off his own phone, before heading back to the table.
"Frank, what's going on?" Amy immediately asked. "And don't try to bull shoot me. I've been around you long enough to know when you're not telling the truth."
Frank exhaled in frustration, as he stared at his palms.
"Karen called. She wanted me to turn Wanda and myself in."
"And you're not going to." Bendix guessed. Frank numbly nodded, sitting down in the vacant chair.
"That's right."
The three of them stayed silent for several seconds. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes, half an hour, eventually. Finally, Castle looked outside, seeing it was now completely dark out.
"Let's get to bed, yeah?"
Frank and Wanda entered the bedroom, just now remembering there was one bed, single sized. Castle looked over towards the corner, seeing a small wooden chair, and walked over to it to sit down.
"Take the bed." Frank all but ordered. Wanda's eyes widened, looking back at the older man.
"But… what about Amy?"
"She took the couch." Frank shrugged, leaning back in the chair and resting his eyes. Wanda bit her lip in concern, before reluctantly laying down and shutting her eyes.
As the three of them slept, unbeknownst to Wanda, a wisp of her scarlet energy shot out from her fingertips. The tiny stream travelled around the bedroom, making its way toward Frank as he snored. The little red wisp got close enough to Castle, just as his head lulled, and seemingly phased through his forehead and skull, diving into his memories.
Frank looked around, seeing he was in some kind of warehouse. In front of him was a man wearing a white shirt, stained with blood, and his arms were held by chains from the ceiling. On either side of him were his brothers in arms, wearing black ski masks with their camo. And in front of the chained up man…
William Rawlins stood with his hands on his hips, his blue dress shirt stained with the man's blood. Frank's eyes widened behind his own mask, realizing he was reliving the memory of killing Ahmad Zubair.
Please God, no-
"If you don't know anything…"
Rawlins shrugged, looking over to Frank. The CIA operative stepped aside, as Castle strode forward, pulling out his pistol.
"Do it." Rawlins muttered, watching Frank's every move.
"Please! I'm not a terrorist!" Zubair screamed in English. "I have a family. I have a family-"
Frank squeezed the trigger, and a bullet tore through Zubair's skull. The moment the bullet connected, the scenery changed to a bedroom, with Frank laying in bed. In front of him was his wife, who's brains were splattered across his sheets. Standing behind her was a man wearing the same camouflage as himself and his brothers, with a ski mask to match.
"NOOO!" Castle screamed, as the soldier took off his mask to reveal… himself, with a cold, expressionless stare. Look looked at his mirror image in shock, as a new figure was standing in the doorway. Frank darted his eyes towards the new person, seeing a young woman with orange red hair, wearing a crimson colored coat.
"Wanda?" Frank asked in disbelief. "You made me see this?"
Wanda's own eyes bulged, realizing what had happened.
"I'm- I'm sorry Frank." Maximoff stammered. "I didn't know-"
Frank woke up with a gasp, eyes scanning the bedroom. He stopped searching when he focused on Wanda, who was also wide awake and sitting up in bed.
"Frank?" Wanda asked timidly. "Frank, I'm… I didn't mean to…"
Frank didn't say anything, slowly stood up, and walked out of the bedroom. Wanda felt tears sting her eyes, as she quickly got out of bed, running out of the room after Castle.
"Frank!" Wanda whisper shouted, just barely seeing the Punisher stomp outside. "I'm sorry!"
She was about to go after him, when a hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder. Wanda whipped her head around, the Amy staring at her grimly.
"Wanda… don't." Bendix shook her head. "I learned the hard way that when he gets upset, he needs to be left alone."
"I didn't mean to…" Wanda murmured, earning a sad look from the younger woman.
"I know." Amy said softly, looking outside to see Frank pulling out a shovel from the van. Bendix sighed, shaking her head, and laid down on the floor in the push up position.
"Did I wake you up too?" Wanda asked nervously.
"No." Amy mumbled, while pushing herself up and down. "I just can't sleep, and this has always helped."
Maximoff nodded absently, as she joined Bendix on the floor.
"So what did you do?" Amy asked, still pushing herself up from the floor. Wanda began to do the same, placing her palms parallel to the wooden boards.
"I… I saw him murder that man… Zubair." Wanda revealed. "And I unintentionally made him see himself killing his wife."
"Zubair?" Amy paused, looking over to Wanda. "I don't think he ever mentioned him."
"Frank told me he was part of the police force, but his superior lied about him being a terrorist." Wanda told her, while continuing to do her own push-ups. Amy slowly nodded, as she kept up her own, until the two women were in sync.
"He knows you didn't mean it." Amy said softly. "Give him some space for a bit."
"How do you know that?" Wanda asked, raising an eyebrow. Amy stopped for a moment, keeping her body raised above the floor.
"You remember that move I taught you to take someone's gun?" Amy asked rhetorically. "I tried to practice that on him one time- when he was holding a loaded gun."
"What?" Wanda's eyes widened in shock. Amy lazilynodded, remembering that day.
"He was close to shooting me." Bendix murmured, feeling her eyes becoming heavier. "But he does care about you Wanda. More than he lets on."
Wanda smiled at the girl, touched by what she said. She looked back out the door, seeing Frank was gone. In his place was what looked like a square hole in the ground. Was that freshly dug?
"Amy-"
Wanda suddenly heard a soft thumping noise, and she got up from her push-up position, looking over her shoulder to see that Amy had fallen asleep on the floor. It seemed those push-ups had finally convinced her to rest.
Maximoff chuckled, carefully picking up Amy and setting her down on the living room's couch. After taking a nearby blanket and placing it over Bendix, she looked outside once more, towards the square hole. Lying on the ground in front of the hole was Frank's tench coat and bulletproof vest, apparently discarded. Next to it was a shovel, which Wanda realized was the same one she had used to bury Vision's body. A new wave of guilt washed over Wanda, and without a moment of hesitation, she stepped outside.
Frank sat inside the small hole he dug, a smaller rectangular hole dug in front of him, and pulling out his ka-bar- a marine's best friend. As he stared at his reflection in the blade, Castle thought of an old military cadence, singing in his head.
I'm sitting in a foxhole…
Frank sighed, pulling out a whetstone from his pocket, and began running the knife's edge along it.
Sharpening my knife…
As he continued sharpening, Frank heard footsteps across the dirt above him, and a figure dropped down into the foxhole soon after. Given that it was dark, Frank didn't know who was in front of him, and the soldier in him took over.
Down jumps the enemy!
Frank lunged forward, grabbing the intruder by the throat and shoving them against one of the dirt walls and resting the ka-bar against their neck.
Had to take his-
The entire foxhole was suddenly illuminated in a crimson glow, and Frank saw Wanda's scared face. No, not him. Her. And she wasn't an enemy.
Maximoff's eyes began glowing a bright red, but Castle could see there was fear in them. Fear of him. Frank's eyes softened, opening his hand and letting the knife fall to the ground. He stumbled backward, while Wanda rubbed her neck.
"Sorry." Castle murmured, turning away and sitting at the edge of the second hole. "You should've blasted me."
"No Frank." Wanda whispered, crawling over to sit right next to him. "You didn't mean it."
"Just like you didn't mean to either, yeah?"
Wanda wryly smiled, shaking her head.
"I am sorry though."
Frank turned his head in Wanda's direction, forcing out a smile.
"Hey, it's okay." Castle mumbled. "I'm good, you're good."
Wanda sadly smiled back, reaching up and wiping a stray tear from her face.
"What is this?" Maximoff asked, looking around the small space.
"Foxhole." Frank muttered. "If a soldier can't get to shelter, they make it themselves. Some of us… we're more comfortable in it than our own beds."
"And this smaller one?" Wanda nodded at the deeper rectangle, as she dangled her feet over the edge.
"For when it rains." Frank answered. "That way, the rainwater won't get in."
Wanda solemnly nodded, staring down into the hole. Maybe it was just her, or just that it was dark out, but it felt like she was staring into one of the many pits of Hell. As she continued staring, she felt those same emotions rising up within her: guilt, mixed with fear.
"You're right." Wanda suddenly blurted out. "I am still that scared girl from Sokovia."
Frank frowned, looking over to Wanda in confusion.
"What?"
"The thing you said to me when we first met. That I'm still that kid who lost her parents." Wanda choked backs sob. "You're right. I am scared."
"That right?" Frank murmured, seeing her slightly nod.
"I didn't think about what would happen to the people of Westview if I brought Vision back, I was only focused on myself." Maximoff rattled off. "I took away so much time from them. From their families… I can't begin to understand the pain I've caused them."
Frank widened his eyes a little, beginning to piece things together.
"That's why you wanted to learn to shoot." Frank realized. "You're afraid of what you could do, so you're trying to shut yourself off. If I were to guess, that's why you buried Vision by hand, yeah?"
Castle just barely saw Maximoff nod, and he let out a deflated sigh.
"Look, you gotta stop beating yourself up over this, yeah?"
Wanda tilted her head, looking at Frank with a confused, yet annoyed look.
"How can you say that, after what I did?" she asked irritably. "I'm a monster for keeping them under my control. Why do you keep helping me? Why don't you hate me?"
"Wanda, you made a choice." Frank reminded her. "You wanted to see Vision alive again, start a family with him, right? Do you really know anyone, if they walked in your shoes, who wouldn't do the exact same thing you did?"
When she didn't answer right away, Frank added, "I'd do the same thing if I could do what you can!"
"With your family, right?" Wanda asked in a whisper. "And Zubair?"
Frank's gaze dropped down, looking at the space of dirt between them.
"Yeah… but not just them."
"What do you mean?" Wanda frowned. Castle sighed, turning to stare down at the deeper hole in front of them.
"I got a friend, Curtis. An IED went off in the marketplace, and he got his leg blown off because I wasn't doing my job. See, my job, it was to keep people away from Curt, but when I saw this woman, looking eight months pregnant and walking right at him, I froze. I couldn't pull the trigger. And in the end, I made the wrong choice, because when she blew up, she took his leg with her. Killed a kid he was trying to save too."
Wanda covered her mouth in horror, letting fresh tears pour out. Unfortunately, Frank wasn't done.
"Few years ago, I came up here to visit a friend- Gunner. I needed his help to find out what our unit was doing, but Rawlins sent some assholes to take care of him. I tried to get him out of there, but he took too many shots. And when he bled out, in these very woods, I left him with the promise I'd get help. I left my brother out here, to die alone."
Wanda felt her mouth open wide behind her hand, realizing that the man who owned this cabin- Gunner- had been dead for years. So that's why Frank said they weren't expected.
Castle closed his eyes, feeling a tear of his own slide down his face.
"Yeah… you think I wouldn't want to go back and change any of that?" Frank mumbled. "Wanda, I'm not excusing what you did, but you're not a monster. You wanted to change something. I get that. People make choices, and those choices affect everyone, yeah? For all your power, you're not a god. You're a young woman, who for whatever reason, was given these powers. But you're still human, who still makes mistakes. So don't be afraid of who you are, alright?"
Wanda smiled from Castle's words, genuinely smiled, and wrapped her arms around Frank.
"Thank you." Wanda whispered. "I think… that's what I needed to hear."
Frank simply nodded, as he softly patted her arm.
"Yeah." he mumbled, before looking up through the foxhole's opening.
"How's Amy?"
"She fell asleep, so I put her back on the couch." Wanda told him.
"Okay… that's good." Frank bobbed his head in a nod. "You, uh… you wanna get back to bed?"
Wanda chuckled, looking around the dark walls of dirt.
"Actually, this… 'foxhole' is growing on me." Maximoff grinned, letting the word roll off her tongue. Frank shook his head in amusement, reaching up and out of the hole to grab his trench coat.
"Here." Castle handed the coat to her. "Place it under your head, yeah? Like a pillow."
Wanda smirked and nodded, doing exactly what he told her, and laid down on the hole.
"Frank…" Wanda whispered. "Can… can you stay here?"
Castle raised an eyebrow, before slowly shifting himself to lay down on the opposite end of the hole.
"Sure." he grunted, resting the back of his head against his hands. As he stared up at the night sky, he heard Maximoff utter three words, before she fell asleep.
"Good night Frank."
Frank lifted his lips into a natural smile, as his eyes slowly closed.
"Good night, Wanda."
Hours later, Frank woke up to dark blue skies that were quickly becoming lighter. Damn, it had been a while since he'd woken up any time later than 3 AM. Castle groaned, starting to sit up… only to find Wanda laying next to him, with her head turned in his direction, though not touching him.
"Wanda?" Frank whispered, quietly nudging her shoulder.
"Mmm?" Wanda's eyes slowly fluttered open, looking up at Castle. It only took her a moment to realize that she must have laid right next to him the whole night, and she quickly sat up as well.
"Sorry." Wanda apologized, clearly embarrassed. "I just… after the last few nights in the van, i felt more comfortable being closer to you."
Frank calmly sighed, looking over his shoulder and into the deeper hole.
"Fair enough." Castle murmured, just as a shadow loomed over him. The two of them looked up, seeing Amy's face smiling down at him.
"Aw, you guys are so cute." Bendix teased, before her expression became more serious. "But we need to move. We're about to get into a pretty big flustercluck."
"'Flustercluck'?" Wanda raised an eyebrow, staring at Frank in confusion.
"She doesn't like to swear." Frank shrugged, as Maximoff reached toward the back of the foxhole and picked up his vest and trench coat. Castle nodded in thanks, quickly slipping both pieces of clothing over himself, before looking back up. Amy reached down, grabbed Frank's hand, and pulled him out of the foxhole. Well, Frank pulled himself up mostly, and he quickly turned back around to help Wanda get out as well.
"Thank you." Maximoff smiled, as she brushed the dirt off her jacket. Frank nodded, while Amy held up a detached rifle scope, looking through it like a telescope.
"What're we looking at, Amy?" Castle asked.
"At least a dozen guys wearing military uniforms." Amy murmured. "And… oh shoot."
"What?" Frank asked, frowning. Amy grimaced, lowering the scope from her eye.
"They're from SWORD." Amy revealed. "And they're carrying these new weapons. I think they're experimental."
Frank inwardly groaned, looking over at Wanda. He knew they'd find something to hurt her. Or worse, kill her.
"How much time do we got?" Wanda asked nervously.
"What time?" Amy muttered bitterly, as she hefted the double barreled shotgun. Castle grit his teeth, looking back towards the tree line.
"Okay… Amy, think you can cover for us for a while?" Frank requested. Bendix grinned, nodding as she checked her gun. Two rounds, still in the barrels. Good.
"I'll try to hold them off as long as I can, but, you know-"
She waved the shotgun around, silently proving her point.
"Yeah…" Frank grimaced, as he grabbed Wanda's arm and ran towards his van at the back of the cabin, all but dragging her with him. Once they got to the vehicle, Frank ripped the passenger door open, attempting to shove Maximoff inside.
"What are you doing?" Wanda asked in alarm, as Frank continued pushing her.
"Get in." the Punisher growled, as Wanda struggled against his grip. "They're after you, alright? You gotta stay here-"
"No!" Wanda shouted, wrenching herself out of Frank's grasp and glaring at him with crimson eyes. Castle's eyes widened slightly, and Wanda blinked several times, making her eye color return to normal.
"They're after both of us." Wanda reminded him. "And I will not let you or Amy die because of me."
Frank deeply exhaled in frustration, staring at Wanda's eyes. Despite not being red anymore, they still held the same determination from a few days ago, when they were confronted by Hayward. Unfortunately, she was right; SWORD was after them both.
"You still scared of using your powers?" Frank asked. Wanda didn't say anything, but nervously nodded.
With great reluctance, Frank sighed, before handing her a rifle.
"You're brave, you're stubborn, you want to help, I get that." Frank murmured. "But you stay behind me, alright?"
"Understood." Wanda said briskly, as she locked the bolt to the rear.
"Okay." Frank nodded in response. "Let's go."
Back in front of the home, Amy took cover in the foxhole, popping up every now and then to fire off a blast. Occasionally, she'd hit one of the agents, whether in the chest or the legs, but for the most part, she was wasting ammo.
Amy grit her teeth, taking cover once again as the SWORD agents fired at her. The bullets collided with the ground, causing bits of dirt to flake down from the foxhole's ceiling, until they suddenly stopped, even though the gunshots continued. A few moments later, Frank and Wanda jumped down into the hole, joining Bendix.
"Amy, you good?" Castle asked in concern. Amy quickly nodded, as she opened up the shotgun barrels and shoved two more shells in.
"What's the plan?" the girl asked.
"Same as last time." Frank told her, checking his pistols. "I kill the enemy before they get to us."
"You?" Amy raised an eyebrow. "Just you?"
Castle stopped, looking between Bendix and Wanda.
"You up for this?" the Punisher nodded. Both women nodded, making Casrle sigh from exhaustion.
"Neither of you gotta do this."
"No. But if we don't stop them, they'll keep coming." Amy pointed out, seeing Wanda nod out of the corner of her eye.
"Okay. You still don't have the stomach for this, aim for their legs, yeah?" Frank instructed. Wanda smirked, slapping the bolt of her rifle forward.
"Let's do this."
Frank and Wanda slowly peeked out of the foxhole, seeing the SWORD agents getting closer. Castle bared his teeth, as he fired his twin pistols at the agents, while he and Maximoff climbed out of the hole. As bullets crashed into their bodies, Castle noticed blood pour out of the wounds, while Wanda sprayed lead from her rifle.
The Punisher glanced at his right, seeing Amy pop up from below the foxhole, firing off two shotgun blasts. The second after she fired, a SWORD agent suddenly appeared, having snuck up behind the trio and grabbed Wanda from behind.
"HEY!" Frank barked. The agent turned to stare at Castle, while Wanda tensed up, throwing an elbow back and catching the soldier in the stomach. The agent stumbled backward, and Frank pulled out his ka-bar, running forward and kicking him in the chest.
The soldier fell to the ground, with Frank turning him onto his stomach and stabbing the ka bar down, going straight through his spinal cord.
Frank turned around, aiming his pistols at the approaching agents. Upon hearing the faint click of an empty mag, Castle holstered his weapons, before reaching down and grabbing the shovel laying next to the foxhole. Frank heaved the shovel and threw it like a javelin, watching it impale one of the soldiers in the stomach.
"Mother scratcher, I'm out!" Amy yelled.
"Same here!" Frank shouted back, holding his ka bar tightly. As Wanda kept shooting her own firearm, she heard her friends, causing her to widen her eyes from nervousness. She had to help them, but how? Wanda first thought about using her powers, but what if she accidentally hurt them like before?
As Maximoff continued worrying, Frank's words suddenly echoed through her mind.
Don't be afraid of who you are, alright?
Wanda glanced over to Frank, shooting a wry smile in his direction. He was right, she shouldn't be afraid of who she is. But she wasn't ready just yet, so she could at least do this.
"Give me your gun." Wanda told Frank. The Punisher raised and eyebrow, alstaring at her in confusion.
"What?"
"Just trust me." Wanda insisted, holding out her hand. Castle looked out to the tree line, seeing the wave of SWORD agents were still shooting at them, and handed Maximoff his pistols. Wanda closed her eyes, focusing her power on the gun, and Frank watched, as scarlet energy poured from her fingers and wrapped around the pistols' frame.
Wanda opened her eyes, the crimson glow fading from her pupils, and handed Frank his guns back. Castle nodded in thanks, before turning back towards the agents and pulling the triggers. Instead of normal bullets, the pistols shot out brilliant red balls of energy, which slammed into the soldiers and blew them backward several feet.
"Holy shoot." Amy grinned, as Frank and Wanda continued firing their respective weapons. When Maximoff's rifle ran out of ammo, she poured some of her power into the weapon, before squeezing the trigger. Like Frank's pistols, the rifle shot out scarlet colored orbs that not only blasted the SWORD agents across the woods, but also splintered the surrounding trees.
Within minutes, all of the SWORD agents were either unconscious or dead. Frank slowly exhaled, looking down at his pistols and seeing the scarlet energy fade. He looked over to Wanda, noticing the same energy disappeared from her rifle, while Amy climbed up out of the foxhole.
"Didn't know you could do that." Frank murmured, nodding towards their weapons. "And I didn't think you would."
"You have a way with words." Wanda smiled, as Amy approached them.
"That was… pretty cool." Bendix grinned. Wanda chuckled, before hearing a noise in the woods. The three of them looked over in the noise's direction, seeing a lone SWORD agent pointing his rifle at them.
"You freaks-"
The agent suddenly jolted, his body stiffening and jerking violently, as if he was being electrocuted. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain, as Wanda could see the shaft of an arrow sticking out of his back. An arrow that was similar to the one she had been struck with, years ago when she worked alongside Ultron.
All of a sudden, Wanda realized what happened, and she looked up, seeing a man wearing a black suit with straps and a lowered hood, holding a bow and arrow. Frank and Amy noticed as well, causing Castle's eyes to narrow in annoyance, while Amy's enlarged.
"Holy… that's Hawkeye!"
The man ignored Bendix, focusing his attention on Wanda.
"Clint?" Maximoff asked aloud, seeing the man slowly lower his bow. "What are you doing here?"
"I tipped off by someone you'd be here." Clint revealed, walking towards the trio. "I heard about what happened in Westview. I'm sorry Wanda."
"Sorry?" Wanda tilted her head in confusion. "What are you sorry for?"
Clint sighed, looking down at the ground.
"I should've taken you in." the archer murmured. "When Laura and the kids came back… I was too focused on my family, I forgot that yours wasn't coming back."
"No Clint." Maximoff whispered. "After what I did… I wouldn't have wanted you there. I wouldn't want to keep you from your family."
Hawkeye looked up at her, a sad frown etched across his face, before slowly turning towards Frank.
"What are you doing with him, Wanda?"
Frank's eye twitched, prickling from the passive aggressive question, while Wanda frowned.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "Frank helped me realize what I was doing in Westview was wrong. He stopped me from becoming a monster."
"Wanda, you're not a monster." Clint insisted. "But running around with him- what are you thinking?"
Frank opened his mouth to speak, but Amy beat him to it.
"What are you talking about?" Bendix asked snidely. "Frank's been protective of Wanda the entire time I've seen them together."
"He's also a murderer." Clint shot back. "He ran around New York like it was his personal shooting range-"
"And what did you do, huh Barton? What did you do?" Frank suddenly interrupted. "I saw what you did in the last five years. You went around the world, killing pieces of shit like I do."
"And I hated myself for it!" Clint shouted. "When Thanos snapped his fingers, I lost my whole family! But at least I stopped!"
Castle was beginning to grow sick of Hawkeye, as evident by his trigger finger flinching involuntarily. Time to pull out the ugly truths.
"You're a half measure, Barton." Frank accused. "You were just one bad day away from being me, and it happened when Thanos killed your wife and kids, yeah? You are no better than me."
Clint growled in anger, swiftly pulling out an arrow and shooting it straight toward Castle's head. The moment it was inches away from Frank's eye, crimson energy appeared, stopping the projectile in midair. Castle looked to the side, seeing Wanda holding her hands up, the same energy weaving itself along her fingers.
"Clint, please." Wanda begged, letting the arrow fall harmlessly to the ground. "Don't do this."
Clint looked at Maximoff in mortification, at a loss for words. Or maybe it was because of what Frank Castle just said. Nevertheless, he slowly turned back towards the Punisher, addressing him directly.
"You know, after my family vanished during the Snap… I looked into your history." Clint confessed. "I'm sorry for what I said. I was projecting how I saw myself for the last five years. To be honest, I like to think I was inspired by what you did."
Frank nodded numbly, as he stared off into the distance. For a moment, it almost sounded like Barton was trying to relate to him. Only problem was, he got his family back; Castle didn't.
"Yeah… if you'd ask me years ago, I would've said I was just like you." Frank murmured. "Only gave a shit about my wife being happy, my kids safe… and then I lost them. One second we were laughing, playing in the park, eating shitty food, then the next, they're laying at my feet in pools of their own blood. I thought… I thought maybe, I became someone else, something different. Until one night, I was sitting at my wife's grave, and I finally realized… this is who I always was. It wasn't like some switch that turned on, yeah? Nah, I was always like this."
Wanda, Clint, and Amy all looked at Frank in pity, as Hawkeye cleared his throat.
"Frank, you murdered Director Hayward of SWORD." Clint reminded him. "This has to end."
Castle sighed, rubbing his eyes with two fingers.
"Who's gonna end it though?" he inquired. "You? SWORD? You gonna have Wanda turn herself in, get imprisoned in the Raft?"
Barton grimaced, looking down at the ground.
"It's the law, Castle." Hawkeye told him. "I might not like it, especially after spending time there myself, but it's the best option right now-"
"Bullshit." Frank spat. "With the Accords still up, there won't be a trial. They'll just lock her up for good. You know they'll do it."
Clint's shoulders sagged, taking in what the Punisher said. He was right, of course. Truth is, he wasn't sure why he even suggested that in the first place. Maybe it was because he was thinking of his own family, and how he had agreed to be put under house arrest in order to see them again.
"But then what the Hell am I supposed to do here?" Clint asked. Frank looked from Barton, to Wanda, and finally Amy, seeing them all looking at him for a solution.
"I can't answer that for you, Barton." Castle admitted. "I don't… I don't have the answers for any of you, for any of this. But you gotta let us go."
Hawkey sadly shook his head, looking back at the bodies of SWORD agents in the woods.
"I'm sorry, but I can't." Clint murmured. "I've been tasked by Secretery Ross to take you both in, or else I can't see my family again."
Frank slowly nodded, wiping a hand over his mouth as he tried to think. Of course Ross, the asshole behind the Sokovia Accords in the first place, would be the one having the Avenger on a leash. In hindsight, he knew where Clint was coming from. Hell, if he was in Barton's shoes, there wasn't a shred of a doubt that he'd do anything to be with Maria and their children.
"I know. I know, you got your duty, yeah?" Frank muttered. "You got your orders. You want to see your wife and kids, I get that. But Wanda and I, we're going to walk away, and… you do what you gotta do."
Clint stared at the three of them in confusion, before his arm shot out behind him, grasping an arrow in his quiver. Frank looked at him expectedly, as Barton seemed to grip the shaft tighter and tighter, until… he let go. Hawkeye closed his eyes, letting out a defeated sigh. Once he finally opened them, it looked like he was fighting back tears.
"Shoot me."
Frank raised an eyebrow, taking a step back.
"What?"
"I said shoot me." Clint repeated. "If you don't, Ross will know I let you guys go."
Frank shook his head, unholstering one of his pistols. As he turned the weapon in his hand, something kept nagging at the back of his mind.
"Let me ask you something, Barton." Castle requested. "You said you were tipped off, yeah? Who was it?"
Clint shrugged, trying to remember.
"It was some woman from the CIA." Barton revealed. "I think she said her name was Madani-"
Frank scoffed, while Amy rolled her eyes.
"Christ." Castle muttered, earning a look from Wanda.
"Friend of yours?" Maximoff asked innocently.
"Something like that." Amy said sarcastically, while Frank held the pistol in an L shape.
"Yeah… sorry." Castle told Barton. The Avenger raised an eyebrow, just before Frank pistol whipped him in the face with the butt of his gun. Wanda watched his body fall too the ground, with a bruise already beginning to swell on his forehead.
"Is he going to be alright?" Maximoff asked in concern.
"Eh, he'll have a splitting headache when he wakes up. Other than that, he'll be fine." Amy shrugged. Frank nodded, holstering his pistol, and turning towards the van.
"Okay… we gotta go, right?" Castle reminded Wanda. Maximoff barely nodded, as she turned towards Amy.
"Thank you." Wanda whispered, wrapping her arms around the younger woman in a hug. Bendix returned the embrace, which lasted a few moments, before Wanda eventually ended it and headed towards the van.
"You coming with?" Frank asked, looking over at Amy. The young woman smiled and shook her head, turning to gaze at Clint's unconscious form.
"Nah. I'd better stay here and make sure he wakes up." Bendix smirked. "Then I think I'll take your advice and head back to Florida."
Frank smiled, as he began to turn away-
"Frank, wait!"
Castle whipped his head around, seeing Amy had stepped closer to him.
"Do you still think about them?" Bendix asked. Frank licked his bottom lip, before nodding.
"Everyday."
The corners of Amy's mouth tugged into a small smile, as she lunged forward, latching her arms around Castle's shoulders in another hug.
"That's good." Bendix whispered, before pulling away. "Don't ever stop."
Frank nodded again, as he looked out towards his van. If he squinted, he could just barely see Wanda in the passenger seat, patiently waiting for him. Amy noticed too, and her smile widened.
"Take care of her Frank." Amy told him. "After last night, I think she's good for you."
"Come on, Amy." Frank rolled his eyes. "It's not like that."
"But it could be." Bendix retorted, almost hopefully. Frank raised an eyebrow, before walking back to the vehicle. He quickly opened the door and climbed into the driver's seat, Noticing Wanda was looking out the windows.
"Hey." Frank murmured, while shutting his door. "You good?"
Wanda looked away from the windows and towards Castle, quirking her lips into a subtle small.
"I'm fine." Maximoff told him. "It's just…"
Wanda swallowed a lump in her throat, before continuing.
"Do they ever stop?"
"What do?" Frank asked in confusion.
"The nightmares." Wanda elaborated. "The ones that are memories. The ones that remind me of what I've done…"
Frank sighed, as he turned the key in the ignition and hearing the van roar to life.
"No." Castle admitted. "All the things that I've done… they've stuck with me. Now memories, they never hurt me. But the past, it's more than memories, yeah? It's the Devil you sold your soul to. And one day, he'll come… he'll come to collect."
Wanda shuddered in fear, trying to shrink into the seat. That was, until Frank rested a hand on her shoulder.
"But no matter what, I'll be right there with you, alright?" Castle promised. Wanda turned her gaze onto Frank, flashing a wide smile.
"Thank you." Maximoff whispered, before closing her eyes. Frank silently nodded, mostly to himself, and switched the van into drive, steering the vehicle away from the cabin. As the van got back onto the highway, Castle felt a small weight get placed onto his shoulder, and he looked to his right, seeing Wanda resting her head on him. Instead of pushing her away, Frank allowed her to use his shoulder as a pillow, as he continued driving.
While going down the highway, Frank thought back to what Amy had suggested. She didn't say it outright, but he knew what she was implying. There would always be a piece of himself that belonged to Maria, but maybe… just maybe…
No. Frank shook his head, as he continued driving. At least, not now. Maybe some day… but not today.
Right now, all that mattered was to stay on the move, and to keep Wanda safe, Frank decided, as he drove the van towards the nearest town.
A/N: I originally got the idea for this fic when I rewatched the Punisher season 1, when that kid Lewis was digging a foxhole in his backyard. I wanted to use that to illustrate how Frank is still haunted by what he's done, even though by now it's been years since the events of the show, but I also wanted to expand on Wanda as well. I already dealt with her grieving over Vision in the last story, so I felt that focusing on her fear of losing control was the next logical step.
I also threw in Amy Bendix and Clint Barton because like I've said before, the way I'm approaching Frank and Wanda's relationship is similar to his and Amy's in the show, albeit Wanda's a bit older. As for Clint, I wanted to give some explanation on why he never turned up in Westview. I'm pretty sure there were scheduling conflicts in real life, but in universe, they haven't explained where he's been yet. Oh, and those name drops of Karen Page and Dinah Madani will pay off in an eventual sequel story, whenever I get to it.
Speaking of, Frank and Wanda's relationship is still a friendship, even though I did leave the door open for it to turn into something else. But if it does, that won't happen for a long time. I'm definitely going to have this be part of a trilogy of one shots, but in the long run, if I'm not too busy, I'm hoping that I can write out at least two multi chaptered stories. One would take inspiration from the War In Bagalia comic arc, while the other would be my version of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. I might even throw in a one shot of Frank meeting Spider Man after Far From Home, since the Punisher first appeared in an issue trying to kill Spidey.
Anyway, whatever happens, this series of one shots is so far my favorite series to write, behind my Punisher/The Boys crossovers, and I can't wait to write more.
Take care, everyone. And stay safe out there.