To Live Again
Chapter 5: Crescendo
True to his words Frank had stolen a car. The girl had hot-wired it too, because apparently, he was now dragging a kid into this mess. Frank didn't have the time to waste yelling at her anymore. It wasn't even that this odd Spider-child wasn't capable, because she had shown many times that she was. It was the fact that if his daughter was alive right now, she would look like Gwen, and fuck him if that didn't hit too close to home.
But she held herself like a cornered predator, like a creature used to violence that was only just recovering from heartbreak. He saw her panic just as quickly as she calmed down. Someone had taught her to prioritise. Some fucker had also taught her to fight, disarm bombs, and hotwire cars. Frank had half the mind to take down the group recruiting and training child soldiers once this whole mess was cleared over. But Lewis... well Lewis was only one minor problem in the sea of bullshit that was about to come. And Gwen had found herself in the middle of the storm.
"I should throw you out of the car right now," he said.
"But you won't. Because you literally can't," she snapped back.
Frank grunted. "You should lay low. Micro will get you a new identity. You're too young to be putting yourself in the crossfire like this."
"I didn't intend to ok. But he hurt Curt. I don't forget that kind of shit Castle. If you weren't some alternative version of yourself I'd frankly murder you too," she said honestly.
"You called me by my name in the docks, like you knew me. What's the story there?" Frank asked.
He gave her a look, and the anger in her eyes dimmed to something far away and glassy. Trauma. She was getting lost in her memories, and Frank was a hard man, but it worried him to know he had a hand in it... even if it was some different universe's version of him. As ridiculous as that sounded.
"He's not you anyway. A different Castle. I can tell the difference of course," Gwen replied. "And we're not buddies ok. Not partners. Definitely not some weird pseudo mentor, mentee, family bullshit. We take down Lewis, and once Curt's safe we better not see each other again."
Frank would have been impressed by how no-nonsense the kid was if she wasn't so irritating. He didn't have any desire to kindle some kind of familiarity with her, but he would be lying if he didn't see a lot of himself in her behaviour. Closed off, extremely pissy... and grieving.
"You don't have to worry about that. Just don't get in my way, and once this is all over, we're finding you a home. You put away those ridiculous webs and go to school."
Gwen scoffed. "Sure thing dad."
Somehow that hurt more than she probably had intended it to. Frank decided she was a little shit. Gwen, the angry blonde sixteen-year-old that grinded his gears worse than Micro did. At least David didn't actively antagonise him.
They entered back into his and Micro's base, and Gwen turned on the TV.
"An anonymous tip led police to this house in Queens where Castle was fleeing the scene, with an unknown partner possessing the same superpowers as Spider-Man."
Gwen huffed in worry. "This isn't good."
Frank put down his gun and watched in sinking worry too.
"Police were unable to apprehend Castle or his partner, but this image was caught on a dashboard camera. Facial recognition software confirms is indeed Frank Castle. He is alive."
Frank's face wasn't blurry or grainy in the video. It was smack bang in the middle of it. Whatever shot of Gwen was found was simply a blur, however.
"Early reports of a casualty and police pursuit of a fleeing suspect. It is suspected that Spider-Man or an imitator is working with Castle. So far, those reports are unconfirmed. Stay tuned as this story develops."
Frank turned off the TV and Gwen sighed, rubbing a hand on her face and realising she had only managed to smear Curt's blood over it even more.
"I don't think Lewis is all there is to this, is there?" Gwen asked. "It has nothing to do with Micro, or you."
The girl was sharp. Frank nodded. There was no way of convincing her to leave, and she seemed the stubborn type too. He couldn't have her go in with half the story and get herself killed.
"I was going after the group that ordered my family killed."
That seemed to catch her full attention. "It all ties back to a job I did in Kandahar. An off the book's operation. Assassination. Interrogation. We tortured and killed a man named Ahmed Zubair, Afghani cop, who David got the footage of. Proves that US military has been shipping drugs in the carcases of dead vets," Castle explained.
"Damn..."
"Yeah. You're in it now kid. You got training?" Castle asked.
He didn't know whether to be relieved or furious when she nodded firmly, standing up straight, like a goddamn child soldier.
"It wasn't military. A secret organisation called the Hand... well one of their head operatives had personally trained me. I know the basics. It was only two years," she provided.
At least she wasn't stupid enough to lie about it. Two years was still too long of a time to put a child through that kind of training, but the world wasn't fair, and Castle didn't want to dwell on what he couldn't change.
"And the job in Kandahar... how does it tie in with Lewis?" Gwen asked.
"It doesn't. It's a separate personal matter."
"And Micro... David, what's his game here?"
"He's the NSA agent who found the footage of Zubair's execution. He's on the down low to keep his family safe."
She nodded, soaking in the information. Wordlessly she turned back to the screens and frowned.
"I don't want to get involved in your personal affairs Castle. To be frank, I don't trust you, but I'd rather we work together on Lewis."
"And then what?"
"What?" she asked back.
"What, you're going to just go back to Curt after? Get yourself a life here and move on. What's the plan kid? Going to try and find a way home?"
Gwen looked uncertain and lost, and Frank almost forgot the kid was only sixteen. She was barely into her young adult years and judging from how little she wanted to go back, he assumed she didn't have anyone waiting, or anyone good at least. He realised it might have been unfair to ask her that question when he didn't know the answer to it himself.
"I... I don't know," Gwen said honestly, voice full of fear. "I'm... let's just catch Lewis, yeah. What's the plan?"
Frank wasn't cruel enough to not play along with the change of topic. Gwen was clinging onto something she could control. It was her way of coping. Frank supposed they were the same in that regard.
"The plan is that Senator Ori is going to sit down with Karen Page today for a piece. Lewis will target them. We intercept," Frank said, as he went online and searched the building up. "I'll set up an escape route up top and down here. Can you fit in the vents?"
Gwen nodded.
"Good, you tail me from above. Don't alert anyone unless you have to. Lewis will have bombs in the area. I need you to deactivate them."
"What about you?" Gwen asked.
"I'm going to put him in the ground," Frank said.
He expected a little more protest. As far as he could tell, she had only subdued the people she fought against, never killed. But she didn't put up a fuss like Red did.
"Here's a com. Keep me updated," Frank said, throwing her an earpiece. "And don't put yourself in any dangerous situations."
That got him a glare. It wasn't that he didn't trust her to do the job, quite the opposite really. She had disarmed a bomb on Curtis after all, and he'd seen her fight, deadly and swift on the docs. She wasn't incapable, but she was a kid, and he didn't want her to throw her life away.
"Come on, let's get the guns," Frank said.
"I don't use guns. Not unless I have to. I've loaded my web shooters. They won't run out for a while," she said. "Do you have a knife though?"
"Multiple."
Frank pulled open the car boot and showed her his weapons arsenal. Gwen took a knife, weighed it in her hands and holstered it to her side.
"You're not so bad here, Castle. You must really care about Page, if you're protecting her this much," Gwen said, eyes looking him down with approval.
Frank grunted. "I owe her a lot. Come on, we have a trip to make."
It didn't take long before they were at the building. The kid put on her face mask and threw on a hoodie. Frank watched her climb up the side of the wall and access a chute. It was as impressive as it was creepy. He made his way through a more direct route, keeping his head low and making his way toward the stairway.
He made his way up the stairway, gun in hand, as he looked outside the next door. It was Anvil guard duty on the ground, a bullet through their head. This meant Lewis was already here. It made sneaking in easier, but it also meant Lewis was one step ahead.
Frank heard the sound of an explosion and rushed in. Lewis had filled the area with a smoke grenade. Frank could hear Karen pleading 'don't shoot' and it made his blood boil. He rushed inside, gun in hand to find Lewis standing over them, Karen stubbornly in front of Ori, protecting him. Before Lewis could shoot, he jumped in the way of the bullets, letting it painfully smash against his bullet-proof vest.
He grunted as he got back up, gun aimed at Lewis, but the kid had managed to rush in and grab Karen. His arm tightened around her neck, and even through all the smoke, Frank could see the anxiety in his eyes.
"Stay back, I have bombs! I will use it. Stay back!" Lewis ordered, backing out of the room with Karen whimpering in his arms.
Frank lowered his gun as he tentatively followed. He was met outside with at least five Anvil security agents. Lewis threatened them with Karen's safety, and they put away their guns to appease the terrorist, as he backed into the lift.
"I will kill you," Frank promised.
And the moment the door closed, the Anvil agents drew their guns and shot at him. It hit his vest painfully, and Frank rushed to grab a body on the floor, pulling it up against his back to take the majority of the shots as he rushed back towards the stairs. He threw the body away, getting shot in his arms as he ducked behind the wall. Frank didn't waste time running down.
"Castle, drop the weapon!"
Frank grunted in frustration as he turned around to see Agent Madani pointing a gun at him. He didn't have beef with her, but she was taking precious time of his.
"This isn't on me, Madani. None of it."
"I believe you. Now drop your weapon."
"That's not gonna happen. You're just gonna have to let this go."
"No. No, I'm not gonna let this go. You're going to stand up in court and tell the world about Cerberus, Rawlins, everything. We want the same people, Frank. We want the same thing."
Frank let out a sigh. Madani couldn't have known about Rawlins, or Cerberus. Those were names only he and Micro had. It hit him... David had gone behind his back and talked to Madani. The sting of betrayal was still a buzz behind his worry for Karen.
"You've been talking to somebody I know, huh?"
Frank made to move when Madani shot the railing beside him. He stopped, trying to control his temper. Karen was being held by a paranoid kid with a bomb. He didn't have the time to toy with Madani.
"Okay," he said, making his way up to her.
"You're going to kneel and put your hands on your head," she ordered, rolling her shoulders.
"You're going to shoot me, shoot me. Yeah?" he said, putting his head straight against the gun. "I'm gonna walk down those steps. Do what you gotta do."
Frank exhaled deeply and took a step back. The moment passed and he was caught off guard by a sharp pain to his head, as gunfire rung to the side. He fell down the stairs groaning, as he gripped the side of his head.
"What the hell are you doing?" Madani screamed. "Stand down!"
"He was gonna shoot you!"
"This is my prisoner, Russo!"
Russo... Billy? Frank touched the side of his head, looking down at the blood in his hands and cursed. Billy was the one who did this? This day was getting better and better.
"Stand down or I'll charge you with obstruction. Why are you still pointing that gun at me?!"
"I am trying to save your life!" Russo shouted back.
"I'm a federal agent, ordering you to drop your weapon!" Madani hissed.
"No need for you to get hurt. This dies with him."
Frank was confused. He looked up to see Billy still holding out his gun.
"It was war Dinah. And the only crime in war was to lose," Billy said.
"What'd you do?" Frank asked, feeling his stomach drop at the implications.
"Walk away," Billy warned Madani.
"You killed my partner. It was you," Madani whispered in horror.
Frank looked up in horror. Billy, his closest friend... knew. He knew about what happened in Kandahar. He was working with Rawlins, the man who had murdered his family. Frank didn't have the luxury of processing this shit when a high-pitched voice rung out. He looked up to see Gwen drop from the ceiling, webs capturing both Dinah and Billy's guns as she dropped on in.
"How about none of us kill each other in a cliche western standoff today, when we should be working together to take down a terrorist!"
"Spider-Man?" Madani asked.
"Do I look like a man to you? Although, it's always nice to ask for pronouns… so thanks? I'll be taking Frank off your hands. Thanks again Agent hottie!"
Frank would have been caught off guard by the sheer character change if he weren't already reeling from multiple horrifying revelations already. Before he could complain, the police stormed in, and Gwen didn't waste them grabbing him again and dropping them down the middle of the stairs, holding him by the collar until they crashed into one of the floors below.
"Down three floors," Gwen informed him, holding her arm, which she'd hit painfully as she fell.
"Thanks kid. You stay hidden. I'll de-escalate."
"You, de-escalate?" Gwen asked as if the idea was unbelievable.
"Not your Castle," he reminded her. "Stay hidden. If he goes to pull the trigger use your webs."
"Affirmative," she said, saluting him as she crawled back up the wall and disappeared. It was still weird.
Castle bit down his pride. Being manhandled by a little girl wasn't his style, but if she hadn't been there, he would have been shot to hell right now. He needed to focus on getting Karen safe though. He could contemplate the many betrayals of his life later.
He stumbled into the room where Lewis was. The kid grabbed Karen, holding her close as he made a show of his finger on the trigger. Frank felt his heart skip a beat.
"I'm unarmed!" Frank said urgently, holding out his hand.
"Stay back! You take one more step, I swear to Christ this is going off!" Lewis growled.
"Whole world thinks we did this together, kid," Frank said, before taking a slow step forward.
"Hey! Hey! Stay back!"
"You know, kid, maybe you were right. Maybe you and me, we are the same. Maybe this is the way it's supposed to end. Just... just you and me, though, right? Just you and me, and a bomb. Come on, kid. Let's do it, okay? Let's do it!"
Frank noticed Gwen by the ceiling corner, slowly crawling her way toward Karen and Lewis. He kept his eyes firmly away. He needed to keep talking. Keep the kid from doing something he couldn't take back.
"When we were with Curtis, you didn't pull the trigger. You did the right thing, kid. You could do it again. Let her go."
When Frank took a step forward, Lewis became flighty.
"Hey! Hey! You stay back! Get back!"
"God dammit, kid! Didn't your father teach you not to hurt a woman?" Frank cursed as he walked back.
"My father had nothing to do with this!"
Frank sent Lewis a disgusted look. "The second that bomb went off, you made him a part of this. One day, not long from now, he's gonna wake up, he's... he's going to walk outside, and the word 'terrorist' is gonna be painted on his car."
Frank knew this line of questioning was making Lewis falter. The kid liked his dad apparently. The fear and realisation in his eyes were tragic, but Frank didn't feel pity for him, not when he was holding Karen in his arms trembling and afraid for her life. Gwen was nearly above him now. He just needed to hold Lewis off for a few more minutes.
"His mailbox is gonna be so full of hate and death threats, he's just gonna give up. His friends, his family, they're not gonna come around. His phone won't ring. He will know loneliness, Lewis. He will suffer!"
Frank held out his hand, although it was more a warning for Gwen to stop than anything, and to her credit she did.
"Your old man, his life, it's ruined. I know what that's like. You and me, we are the same. We try to pretend that there's something more, something noble. Brothers-in-arms, right? We try to create a version of the world that we can stand to live in. We're creatures of habit, Lewis. Right? We like to do the same thing over and over again."
Now, was the moment. Frank nodded, signaling Gwen to come closer.
"It's just like women and their goddamn bags, right? I mean look at her. After everything she's been through, she's still got that bag around her neck. Miss Page, I imagine you could tell me everything you have in that bag, right?"
"Yep," Karen said, eyes hardening.
Almost in an instant, Karen pulled out a small knife and stabbed Lewis in the arm. Gwen dropped from the ceiling and twisted her legs around Lewis's neck before using her weight to throw him into the freezer room behind him. Frank shot forward, closing the door, and locking Lewis in. Frank looked through the small window. Lewis was whimpering. He'd come to the end of his line.
"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's Plains and the women come out to cut up what remains, just roll to your rifle... and blow out your brains," he sang.
Frank could see the horror in his eyes. Lewis fixed his bomb and rolled his neck. He was a dead man walking.
"That's right Lewis."
"Shit. Shit. Shit! Frank, we need to get out of here right now," Karen shouted.
"Castle, he's going to blow himself up," Gwen said, her spidey sense sending spikes of pain through her head.
"Karen, kid, you go! Go now!" Frank said.
He needed to be here. See Lewis die with his own eyes. Needed to be there for the last moments, as fucked up as it was, Lewis was still a vet and he deserved as much. He intended to run before it exploded, but he still needed to be there. Unfortunately for Frank, Gwen had different plans. She shot out her webs, catching both Frank and Karen and throwing them back. The explosion that followed, left Frank reeling as he groaned the ringing out of his ear. He looked down to see Gwen grabbing at her ears, head on the ground, and shrapnel from the metal door, dug deep into one arm. He turned to see Karen mostly fine and realised Gwen had taken the brunt of the damage. He rushed over to the girl's side and held her shoulders.
"Hey... hey," he hushed her, whispering for her to come back to him.
"Loud. Too loud," Gwen whimpered.
Frank noticed her ears were bleeding and cursed. She had enhanced senses so of course the sound had overloaded it. He pulled her up onto her feet.
"Come on kid, come back to me. We need to go now. Hey. Hey—kid it's me," he said, shaking her of her panic.
Her eyes seemed to eventually focus enough, and her face twisted in a painful grimace. She shook herself of her daze and looked out the exit.
"It's hard to hear. But there are people there," she said, holding her ears.
"Frank, you need to hold me hostage," Karen said. "Hey Spider...Man? You ok to go up the vent?"
Gwen nodded, accepting Karen's question with ease. She grunted as she sprung from the ground and landed on the ceiling before crawling away.
"Get to the rendezvous point," Frank said.
"Don't get Miss Page killed, Castle. I like her," Gwen said before disappearing into the vents.
Karen turned to Castle and snorted. Her life was wild. "I guess there's another vigilante I get to add to my ever-expanding list."
"Come here," Frank said.
He was glad Karen trusted him enough to willingly let him put a gun to her throat and drag her out, none too gently.
"Hands up!"
"Don't shoot!" Karen shouted.
Frank ignored the spike of adrenaline that came with being cornered as he moved down the hallway with cops aiming for his head. He hated that he had to keep Karen firmly in the way as he backed into the elevator. They only took a moment to breathe once they were in. Frank breathed deeply as he handed Karen his gun and she pulled the emergency stop on the elevator.
"Frank. Frank," Karen called out, holding his shoulders, and pulling him into a hug. "You're hurt."
"Not as badly as I expected," he said, putting his forehead against hers.
Metal creaked above him and they turned up to see Gwen pulling the metal sheet above like it was wrapping. She waved down at Karen.
"Nice to meet you Miss Page."
"Uh, likewise," Karen stuttered, unsure of what to say. "Take care of Frank for me will you."
"Depends on how he behaves," Gwen remarked, before she leaned down to give the man a hand.
He took it, pulling himself up with his good hand and onto the roof. Gwen moved to grab him, but Frank shot her a look.
"I'll climb on my own," he said.
"Sure, your grave," she said, shooting her web to the top and swinging up there in one swoop.
Frank really hated those webs. He climbed the ladder and came out to the roof to see Gwen already on the other building waiting for him. He grabbed the zip line she had put up for him and slid down to the next building, rolling his landing smoothly.
"You're hurt," Frank said, looking at the shrapnel still stuck in her arm.
Gwen grunted in frustration as she yanked it out and webbed her arm. Frank had a feeling she did things like this often.
"Enhanced healing. I'll be fine in a few days," she said, before pulling down her mask and looking out at the city. "I guess this is it, huh? Curt's safe. Lewis is dead."
Frank couldn't believe what he was about to do. He couldn't believe he was going to keep this kid around, even if it was for a little while longer. It wasn't like he could kick her to the curb. Not when she insisted on not associating herself with Curtis for his safety.
"Curt isn't safe just yet. There are more forces out there than Lewis. Billy will be looking for him soon to get to me," Frank said.
"Billy? As in Billy Russo? Why was he pointing a gun at you there anyway..." Gwen asked before her eyes widened in realisation. "Oh, he was part of the hit on your family, wasn't he?"
Frank pursed his lips and nodded. "This isn't on you kid. You didn't pull Curtis into this. I did, but he's hurt, and he needs someone to look out for him."
Gwen folded her arms, looking away uncomfortably. "I... I'm not all that great at protecting people Castle. I have a track record of getting people killed under my care."
"It's either you or no one. Curtis doesn't need a babysitter, but he could use a friend. Watch his back, yeah?" Frank said. "How about you come with me for now. We need to lay low first before we can move. The streets will be swarming with cops."
"It's temporary, ok. I can't. I can't do people anymore," Gwen said.
"Temporary," Frank agreed. "Come on, you look like you need some sleep."
