Sitting at the bar Bryn stared at their phone contemplating whether or not to answer, as it rang three times. After taking a drink from their cherry coke and gin, they finally found the strength to pick up the phone.
"Tell me you have some good news." Silently they listened, but they had trouble holding their tongue as they hunched their back over clenching their fist.
"What do you mean the judge refuses to see us?! You showed him the petition, right?" They were letting their anger get the best of them.
"Fuck the S.K.U.L.L.! I don't care! We need to get them out of there. They've been in there so long it's getting ridiculous," they blurted out.
"Right, right, I'm sorry, it's been a long week for me. I appreciate everything you've been doing for Sam and Toni, but I can't..." They calmed down and glanced around the bar to see if anyone was watching them. "I need to see them."
"Yeah, we've just gotta hope for the best. Alright I'll talk to you later, bye." Bryn hung up their phone, exhaled sharply, and finished off their cherry coke and gin.
Frustrated and exhausted they fought hard to hold back tears as they buried their face in their palms. A young man in a leather jacket sat down next to them and placed a fresh gin and coke in front of them.
"Thanks," Bryn smiled and took a sip from the drink, but that smile quickly disappeared as they turned and saw Robbie Reyes sitting next to them. "What are you… oh, you got the email too."
"Yeah, an address and time." Robbie replied. "Normally I would ignore an email like that, but it was sent to my Avengers email account and no one sends me emails to that account, not even Blade."
"Why would Blade send you an email?" Asked Bryn.
"No reason, I just wanted to mention that I'm on the same team as Blade," bragged Robbie. "You know we hang out sometimes."
Bryn looked at him cocked eyed. Embarrassed, Robbie cleared his throat.
"Anyway, looks like we're not the only ones that were invited," Robbie gestured towards the booth in the corner.
Looking over, Bryn saw two young women with raven black hair. One appeared to be in her twenties and completely uninterested by anything around her. The other appeared to be in her preteens and interested in everything around her.
"Who are they?" Asked Bryn.
"Wolverine and Honey Badger." Answered Robbie as if to be stating the obvious.
"Oh right, I've never seen them with their masks off."
"So…" Robbie pressed through the awkwardness of the conversation. "It sounded like you were having a heated phone call before I came over here, you want to talk about it?"
Bryn brought the gin and coke to their lips and downed it. After shaking off the aftertaste they looked back at Robbie.
"So what do you think is the reason the four of us have been called here?" They asked.
"You don't know?" slightly surprised, Robbie raised an eyebrow. "I think it has to do with the fact that we all know the Punisher."
Robbie paused for a moment and exhausted sharply before adding, "and even though we may not want to admit it we could use him out of prison and killing again."
"Damn it, he's the last thing I want to think about right now. I lost my only form of income, I've got the fucking S.K.U.L.L. cops on my ass, two of my friends are in jail, my best friend has been missing for months, and the Punisher… I don't know, are we friends? What do you call someone who you are begrudgingly attached to and for some reason you feel the need to help! Is that friendship?"
"You're drunk," Robbie stated matter-of-factly.
Bryn bursted out laughing, then took a moment to clear their thoughts.
"Yeah, I suppose," they admitted.
"Well, I don't know what we're doing here, but as long as we're in a bar I might as well join you," Robbie waved to grab the attention of the bartender. "Two gin and cokes."
Bryn nudged Robbie to get him to look at the TV above the bar. A basketball game was interrupted by a newscaster. The volume was turned off, but the news began to show security camera footage of Ryker's Island. The inmates of the prison were being shown rioting and attacking the guards. The security camera footage paused and zoomed in to show The Punisher fighting the other prisoners.
"Speak of the devil," Robbie said with a gasp. "And he shall raise hell."
"Should we go there? Should we help him?" Asked Bryn.
"Wait," Robbie looked around the bar confused. "Is it me or are there a lot less people in here than earlier?"
"You're right I-" Bryn looked around too. Then together the two of them watched as Wolverine and Honey Badger got up from their booth and quickly walked towards the front door.
"Yeah, let's go," Robbie placed several dollar bills on the bar then followed after Wolverine with Bryn.
"Hey, what's going on?" Robbie asked Wolverine as they exited the bar.
"When everyone disappeared I noticed a strange scent leaving," replied Wolverine.
"Scent? Where did it go?"
Suddenly a new Jeep Gladiator truck zoomed past them on the street.
"That way," Honey Badger pointed at the truck.
"Shit, I'll get it," Robbie turned into Ghost Rider and ran down the street as his demonic mustang drove up behind him letting him phase through into the driver's seat.
"Please tell me you have a car," Bryn turned to Wolverine.
"What? No, we don't drive," she replied.
"Shit, I'm too drunk to drive," Bryn slapped their head. "Okay, come with me."
Driving through the busy city streets at over sixty miles per hour Robbie Reyes chased after the truck. Shifting into fourth gear he went full Ghost Rider engulfing the car in flames. He was careful to drive around innocent bystanders and other cars, but the ones that he couldn't dodge he phased through to catch up with the truck that was recklessly speeding away. Once close enough Robbie let the Ghost Rider powers take control over the car like autodrive so that he could climb through the windshield onto the hood of the car. Once standing on top of the hell rider he pulled out his chains and swung them around like a cowboy at a rodeo. He tossed the chains forward and lassoed the bed of the truck like a bull, then pulled them to get the truck to slow down.
"Shit, how did they get past me?" Asked Ghost Rider as he witnessed Bryn driving around him and the truck. Once in place in front of them. Wolverine and Honey Badger opened the back passenger doors and jumped out of the moving car onto the hood of the truck. The back passenger windows rolled down and two thugs with submachine guns leaned out and began firing at the mutants. The bullets didn't bother them as they popped their claws and disarmed the thugs. Wolverine did so literally as she sliced the arm off one thug. Honey Badger grabbed the other thug out of the door window and threw him out onto the moving street. A thug in the front passenger seat leaned out with a shotgun. He fired at Wolverine, sending buckshot into her face. She spun around on the roof of the truck and snarled at him before stabbing her claws through his neck leaving his body half hanging out the truck as it raced through the city.
"We need to slow this thing down before we cause a big wreck!" Honey Badger yelled out.
"Be my guest," replied Wolverine.
The truck was reinforced with bullet proof armor, but that was no match for Honey Badger as she tore through it with her adamantium claws. She cut a hole in the roof of the truck and pulled the driver out of the truck and threw him into the bed. Out of control the truck whipped around. Ghost Rider tried to keep it straight as he pulled on his chains, but he pulled too hard breaking the truck in half detaching the bed from the cab. Wolverine and Honey Badger jumped away to safety as the front of the truck continued to plow forward into a traffic light. The truck flipped over as it hit the light and violently crashed into a bodega.
Robbie Reyes slowed down and parked his mustang on the side of the road. Bryn turned their car around to meet up with him. Once regrouped the team gathered near the crash to assess the damage.
"So we were supposed to kill those guys, right?" Asked Wolverine.
"Well we sure did anyway," Robbie scratched the back of his head feeling embarrassed.
"Oh shit, we should all get out of here before the cops arrive and arrest us," said Bryn.
Then one of the back doors of the truck swung open as a cloaked man ran out and into the bodega.
"Laura, Gabby, circle around to the back through the alley ways," commanded Robbie. "Bryn and I will chase him through the bodega and out the back door."
Splitting up as planned, Robbie and Bryn ran towards the bodega just as the glass front door shattered as two gunshots were fired. Quickly they took cover behind a brick wall to the side of the entrance of the store.
"Stay behind me," Robbie summoned his Ghost Rider powers igniting himself in flames. Bryn followed close behind him as they approached the front door again. Once again two shots were fired, but this time Ghost Rider's demonic powers made him bulletproof, deflecting the bullets. Inside they could hear the noise of the hooded man running through the bodega knocking over things. As Ghost Rider and Bryn entered the Bodega two more shots barely missed them as the hooded man fired blindly as he ran away. Ghost Rider threw his chains at him, but missed as the hooded man ran through the door to the storage room. Ghost Rider and Bryn chased after him into the room, but were halted as two large shelves holding heavy boxes fell over blocking their way.
"What the hell, how did he do that?" Said Bryn as they examined the shelves. "These are massive, it would take a crane to knock over these shelves."
"Stand back," Ghost Rider created a large fireball burning a path through the downed shelves.
Together Ghost Rider and Bryn ran out the back door to witness Wolverine and Honey popped their claws and attack the hooded man. Wolverine slashed at his hands causing him to drop his guns and Honey Badger jumped on his back. He spun around and powerfully threw them away from him without touching them as if to do so telekinetically.
Ghost Rider flung his chains towards the hooded man, but he summoned a shield of purple energy that deflected the chains. Swirling his hands around he manipulated the purple energy and took control of Ghost Rider's chains wrapping them around his arms and legs.
The Man approached Bryn as they backed up against the wall. They trembled in fear as they bent down and reached for their ankle where they kept a small caliber gun holstered. They didn't want to use the gun, but they had no other options.
However they could not draw the gun soon enough as a gun shot rang out and the hooded man doubled over clenching his shoulder in pain. Behind him out of the shadows a black woman wearing a Punisher skull t-shirt and holding a shotgun appeared.
"Maylene?!" Gasped Bryn.
Ghost Rider was equally shocked so much that he didn't even notice the chains unraveling releasing him. Wolverine and Honey Badger got back up and joined them.
"What the hell, where have you been?" Asked Bryn.
"I'm sorry, I haven't been able to keep in touch, I've had a lot on my plate lately and I'll explain later," replied Maylene. "But you four helped me a lot by luring out The Hood here."
"Wait, you mean his name is Hood?" Ghost Rider gestured towards the man on all fours moaning in pain. "That's not very original."
"Well his real name is Parker Robbins," stated Maylene.
Ghost Rider snickered.
"You're going to regret calling me that, only my mother gets to call me by my full name," The Hood threatened as he tried to get up.
"Oh you mean the old lady with Alzheimer's that you left in a convalescent home while you go around snorting cocaine and shooting guns," Maylene forced The Hood on to the ground by stomping on his back and aimed her shotgun at his head. "Yeah, I've been doing some research on you. That's how I also know that you are conspiring with mayor Fisk by not just sending the Punisher to hell but also cursing him with a spell that prevents him from killing anyone."
"Holy shit, he wasn't just bat shit crazy?" Said Wolverine. "The Punisher really is cursed."
"Okay you've proved your point Maylene. Now let me take him back to the Avengers headquarters so that we can imprison him on the Raft," commanded Ghost Rider.
"Sure, but first we need him to remove the spell that he put on The Punisher," said Maylene.
"I would like to help you guys out, but I can't," said the Hood.
"You had the ability to create the spell, you could reverse it," Maylene pressed the shotgun closer to his head.
"No, what I meant was that I don't have the means to do so," replied the Hood. "I would need to create a mental link with a weapon that the Punisher used for murder."
Maylene lifted the shotgun away from his head and unloaded all of the shells.
"Here use this, I'm sure he murdered at least a hundred drug dealers with this," she held out the shotgun to the Hood.
While still on the ground with Maylene's boot on his back, the Hood took the gun and summoned his magic again.
"Barra ante malda, Barra ange ge yene. Zi dingir Anna kanpa, Zi dingir kia kanpa. Gaggamanju." The Hood wrote symbols on the gun with his fingers and purple energy swirled around it. Then the purple energy moved like smoke in reverse into the gun.
"There it is done," said the Hood.
"That's it?" Asked Wolverine.
"We'll have to go to Ryker's Island and find him," said Maylene as she lifted up her foot and reached down for the shotgun.
Quickly the Hood rolled over and fired the shotgun upward at Maylene causing her to fall back into a dumpster.
"May! No!" Bryn yelled as they pulled out their gun from their ankle holster and fired it at the Hood. The small caliber bullet struck his chest and embedded itself an inch in his flesh. Wolverine and Honey Badger jumped on his back stabbing at him with their claws.
"Enough! Stop!" Ghost Rider lassoed his chains around the Hood's neck and pulled him away from Wolverine and Honey Badger towards himself.
"Wait, let me finish him," Maylene got up from the dumpster and pulled out a bulletproof pad from underneath her shirt. She picked up the shotgun and walked up to the Hood.
"No, bullshit this time," Maylene held out the shotgun barrel first at the Hood. Then turned to Ghost Rider and said, "If he tries to kill me again you have my permission to strangle him."
Trembling in pain the Hood reached out and touched the shotgun. He coughed up blood and closed his eyes, before he began to chant.
"Mashrita nanna zia kanpa! Ia Mag! Ia gamag!" Again the Hood summoned his magic creating purple energy swirling around the gun. "Ia zagasthena kia! Ashtag karelliosh!"
The purple energy rose above the gun and formed a skull in front of Maylene before shooting up into the sky and disappearing.
"There, I did it. The spell has been reversed. Now can I go?'' said Hood.
"Yeah, sure," Maylene loaded a shell into the shotgun and pumped it. Then fired it, blasting the head off the Hood's shoulders.
"What the hell?! You're killing too? Fuck!" Yelled Ghost Rider as he wiped blood off his leather jacket.
"What if the spell didn't work and the Punisher still can't kill?" Asked Bryn as they approached their friend that they couldn't believe was still alive.
"Then we go to Brother Voodoo, he must be good for something," replied Maylene.
"Yeah well, it's good to see you again, but where've you been?" Asked Bryn
"I'll explain later, but now we must help the Punisher and break him out of prison," Maylene began walking away.
"You meant them," said Honey badger.
"What?" Wolverine looked at her little sister in confusion.
"The Punisher has they/them pronouns. They're non binary like Bryn," replied Honey Badger.
Everyone looked at Bryn confused as if to ask the question of if they knew.
"What do you mean that the Punisher is non binary? Did he tell you that?" Bryn was just as confused if not more than everyone else.
"Yeah, they gave me a ride a few months ago and asked me to use they/them pronouns," said Honey Badger.
"We can talk about this later. Right now we've got to help The Punisher stop a prison riot. Come on, lets go," Maylene gestured to have everyone follow her.
To be continued