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Chapter 3- Central Zoo
Frank's apartment, New York, Earth-199999
Frank walked towards his small rundown apartment where he had a few friendly neighbors. While he preferred to be alone, the neighbors were a friendly lot and he didn't mind their company that much. The ones he knew were Joan, Bumpo and Dave. They liked him because he had once driven away Joan's abusive ex-boyfriend from the place when he had tried to harass her and Dave.
Frank soon reached his door and was shocked by the sight in front of him. A photo had been embedded on his door by a knife. Frank looked at the photo and was horrified. It was Joan. A tall man wearing shades had her at gunpoint. As Frank looked closely, he realized the man didn't have an arm and in its place, he had a weapon arm fitted to him.
At the bottom of the photo, there was a message for him- "CENTRAL ZOO. 11 PM. OR SHE DIES!"
Shaking with rage, Frank embedded the photo back onto the door with the knife. Only, the knife was now embedded on the man's head.
Central Zoo, New York, Earth-199999
"No! Please!" Joan begged as the man, who was called Bushwacker, held her at gunpoint with his weapon arm. He threw her to the ground.
"Who's the girl?" one of his men asked.
"She's bait", he said, "Get ready."
He picked Joan up and shoved her to the front as they all walked deeper into the place.
Frank climbed up the zoo's wall and jumped down. He brandished his shotgun, knowing that he would meet a lot of resistance here.
He saw a man walking out from a side and shot him dead. Another one tried to attack but Frank grabbed him and dragged him to a nearby chip shredder.
Slowly shoving him into it, Frank threatened, "Cooperate, or you won't live to regret it."
"No!" he begged, "Don't you get freakin' psycho."
"Looks like you don't know much about me", Frank said as he shoved him further and there was a cut on his leg.
"Shit! That hurts!" he cried out, "Let me go! I can help you!"
Realizing he won't get any info from this man, Frank shoved him into the chip shredder and he screamed as it shredded him into bits and pieces. Some of his pieces and blood sprayed out of the machine as it stopped working.
"Not much of a criminal, but he makes good mulch", Frank said dryly.
Frank then kicked a door open and grabbed the first thug he saw, taking him hostage. Putting him in the way, he managed to avoid getting hit by the other two's bullets.
He then fired his shotgun and killed one before reloading and killing the other. He reloaded again and pushed his hostage away before shooting him in the back of the head, killing him.
He then went to a small eating area. There were a lot of bottles kept there. He suddenly heard the click of a gun and ducked behind a table to avoid gunshots as five thugs arrived.
He then got an idea. Picking up a bottle, he tossed it into the air. As it flew near the thugs, he hit it with a pellet.
The bottle burst open and the glass hit two of the thugs in their eyes, blinding them while the other three also had the beer fall on their face, which temporarily blinded them.
Using the opportunity, Frank took out his twin pistols and shot them all dead.
Putting them back inside, he walked out of there while taking out the shotgun again.
"Hey! Punisher!"
Frank looked up to see Bushwacker holding Joan hostage.
"Looking for this?" he taunted before moving out of view, "Come get her!"
Frank shot a thug in the knee before dragging him towards the fountain. Picking him up, he slammed him on the fountain, "Where is Bushwacker taking Joan?"
"You're wasting your time asshole!" the thug protested through his bloodied teeth. Frank pinned his head down with his foot and slammed him again, breaking some teeth.
"Fuck you! That hurts!"
Frank repeated what he had just done and one more tooth was gone.
"The rainforest!" the thug confessed, "He's heading there! Please, let me go!"
Frank slammed his head hard on the fountain with his foot and he was dead as his blood splattered into the water, giving it a shade of red.
Frank then opened a door and realized he was in a bathroom. He saw a thug coming out of a stall. Grabbing him, Frank shoved his head into the toilet seat, "Your life's worth nothing to me. What is it worth to you?"
"Let me go and I'll help you!" the thug begged.
Frank realized this thug was in a better position to help him so he dragged him outside into the hallway.
"I'll distract them!" he said, "Go through the ladies restroom."
The thug then went off to do what he had said.
Frank went through the empty restroom and reached the other side of the hallway. Taking out an assault rifle, he killed the first few thugs he saw. The last was about to fire when Frank tossed the rifle to him. The thug dropped his gun and caught it instead. As he looked at it in confusion, Frank stabbed him on the face. He retracted the knife and took the rifle back as he let the man drop dead to the floor.
He then walked out and realized he was in a piranha enclosure. A thug was in front of him, looking at some piranhas in a pool.
Frank grabbed him from behind and started shoving him into the pool, "What's upstairs little man?"
"Get off me, asshole!" the thug protested.
As Frank shoved him closer, he confessed, "It's an ambush. Take me with you and I'll tell them not to shoot you."
"I think you have served your purpose", Frank said acidly as he shoved him into the pool and the piranhas started eating up his face. Soon, there was no skin left on it and he was dead.
"Bon appetite, boys!" Frank said as he ran up the stairs and shot two thugs who were waiting for him.
As he continued to run up the stairs, a thug rushed him. Frank dodged and stabbed him with his knives before hurling him into the pool below where the piranhas did their work.
Frank continued walking and then reached a bridge. He ducked to avoid a gunshot and saw that it was Bushwacker, still holding Joan hostage. Frank tried to fire with his assault rifle but Bushwacker had Joan in the way. Frank lowered his weapon as Bushwacker ran off into the corner and disappeared.
Frank then crossed the bridge as he shot down the two thugs who had replaced Bushwacker. Frank then looked down to see some thugs firing at him. Frank threw a grenade and it exploded, killing them all.
Frank then walked further in and saw an unarmed thug. He saw an altar placed there. An automated recording spoke in the background, "The Aztecs used to perform human sacrifices."
Now that gave the Punisher an idea. Grabbing the thug, he shoved him onto the altar as the recording said, "The victim was placed on the altar-"
Frank stabbed the thug in the heart.
"-And their heart was ripped out-"
The man's blood flowed profusely and exposed some markings on the altar.
"As their blood flowed on the stone-"
The blood flowed down into a container near the altar.
"In this way, the gods and demons that ruled the Aztecs were said to be appeased."
He then heard someone yelling, "No! Please don't!"
Frank walked through a door to see a security guard being threatened by two thugs. Frank shot them both dead.
"Thanks!" the relieved and grateful guard said, "They're setting up a trap near the stone archway."
"Thanks", Frank said as he moved there, "Now get out of here."
As he got closer, Frank threw a grenade. It exploded, killing all the ones who had thought they had laid a trap.
As he walked past them, he saw dead animals lying. They looked like they had been dead for a while. Frank clenched his fist in rage at the site. Killing defenseless animals was low. Even for the Gnuccis. They were going to pay for this too.
He then saw a closed gate with a guard standing on the other side.
"Open the gate", he said.
"No way!" the man protested, "The Gnuccis will kill me just like they killed those poor animals."
"I killed them all. Open it up!" Frank said firmly.
"All right", the guard relented as he did what Frank said, "But I hope you're right."
"Where did Bushwacker go?" Frank asked. On seeing the guard's puzzled look, he said, "The guy with a weapon hand."
"I think I saw him go into the Avian house", the guard said.
"Did he have a woman with him? Short, brown hair", Frank asked.
"Yeah", the guard confirmed, "She was screaming and he dragged her to the Avian house."
"Get out of here!" Frank snarled. The guard complied.
He then walked through a door to see two thugs holding two guards hostage.
Making a plan, Frank managed to get a clear shot at one. He shot that one dead and threw his knife. It hit the man on the hand and he dropped his weapon. Walking towards him, Frank yanked the knife out and started shoving his head into a cage which had an angry rhino inside it, preparing to charge.
"How did Bushwacker set this up? Why haven't there been any alarms?" Frank asked.
As the rhino got closer, he blurted out, "We bribed the guard at the gate! He was supposed to delay you."
"When this is over, I'll shoot him myself", Frank snarled as the rhino ended up impaling him on its horn. The man coughed up blood as he died painfully while the rhino managed to throw him away.
"Good rhino. Nice team up", Frank commented.
"Get out of here", he said to the guards.
"We'll come with you", one of them said, "We need to protect the animals."
"Funny", Frank said, "I'm going to hunt some animals. But you really should get out. And if you see the guard at the gate, give him a bullet for me."
Frank then walked into the aquarium and engaged in a firefight with some thugs, killing four out of five. He then grabbed the fifth one.
"For your own protection", the recorded voice said, "Do not touch the water. Eels inside."
Frank shoved him face first into water where the eels killed him.
He then walked out and heard Joan screaming, "FRANK! UP HERE!"
Frank looked up to see she was in a cage which was being slowly lowered into a pool full of piranha below.
"You can chase me Castle", Bushwacker gave him a choice, "Or you can save the girl."
He then ran off as Frank made his choice. He rushed up, shooting down any thugs who tried to stop him. He grabbed one and hung him upside down, "How do I save her?"
Fearing for his life, he said, "Emergency release valve! In closet behind waterfall!"
Frank threw the man into the pool where the piranhas ate him while he went into the closet and shut off the valve. The water level lowered, revealing a bridge that had been covered with it.
Frank lowered the cage and shot the door open. She wrapped him into a hug, "Thank you! Thank you! You saved me!"
"It's okay", Frank comforted her as he then lead her back home.
Now next chapter is going to be more brutal. And Slade is about to show up in a while.
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