This is just one of those stories that get completely out of control. I don't know how I'm going to wrap it up, but I will try. For now though, chapter eleven, with a little something for the geeks.

Crime and Punishment

Toad stormed into the Institute and faced Hawk, who was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, guarding the door with a machine gun.

"Where's Roadblock?" Toad asked; his voice dangerous.

"Toad, what's going on?" Asked Hawk.

"Where is Roadblock!" Toad shouted.

Hawk gestured to the war room. Toad strode past him, and into the war room, where Roadblock was studying a map of Bayville.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Asked Toad.

"What are you talking about?" Said Roadblock, his voice level.

"You know what I'm talking about. The Destiny Stone! The reason that Darkshadow came after me! The reason that Althea is laying in the medical wing fighting for her life!"

"Todd," said Roadblock, "You have to understand that-"

"That what? That you thought I'd be easier to manipulate if I didn't know what I could do? That there was no reason to tell me about a mystical power that possessed me? Save it," he turned, and started inputting coordinates on his watch. "I don't want to hear it." He disappeared.

Toad reappeared on top of a New York rooftop. He took the watch off of his wrist and crushed it with his foot, then hopped onto a fire escape, and climbed down into a back alley.

"Well, well, well," came a voice from the mouth of the alleyway, "If it isn't the world famous Toad. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want no stinkin' muties in my town."

Toad whirled around to see a gang, most of them holding makeshift weapons such as baseball bats or bike chains, spreading out to cover the entire entrance to the alleyway.

"Trust me," said Toad, "This isn't a good time for you to be messing with me. Just back off, and we'll go our separate ways."

"Well would ya look at that," said the leader, "It doesn't want to fight us. Shame that we don't feel the same way, huh fellas?"

Without any further exchange of words, the gang charged him. Toad leapt up, somersaulting over the head of one, kicking off the wall, and landing behind them. While they struggled to deal with this unexpected tactic, Toad charged into them, disarming and knocking each one out with a few blows.

One of them managed to get behind him and wrap a bicycle chain around his neck. Another swung a baseball bat. Toad flipped the man with the baseball chain over his head, putting him in the path of the bat. Then he kicked the man with the bat in the stomach, took the baseball bat from him, and hit him in the small of the back with it. The man crumpled to the ground. Then three more charged him.

Toad was a skilled fighter, but he had a bad wound in his shoulder, and he was exhausted. This, coupled with the overwhelming numbers, turned the fight against him. Finally a lead pipe connected with his head and he sank to the ground. One of the men produced a switchblade, and knelt to slit Toad's throat. Suddenly there was the sound of a machine gun rapidly firing, and the man sank to the ground. The other's whirled, only to meet with the same fate.

Toad's rescuer knelt to check Toad's pulse, and then slung him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

Toad awoke in a small apartment, lying on a couch. His rescuer, sitting in an armchair across from him looked over at him.

"Good," he said, "I was wondering when you'd wake up. Or if, for that matter."

"Who are you?" Said Toad, sizing up the man. He was large, well muscled, and there was something in the way he held himself that implied he knew how to use those muscles. And even beyond that he was armed to his teeth. He had more guns visible on him than Toad could count, as well as a bow and quiver of arrows on his back, and a wide array of knives on his belt.

"My names Frank Castle, but, for the most part I'm called the Punisher, or some other names I won't repeat."

"I've heard of you," replied Toad, "You're some sort of vigilante."

"My family got killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Punisher, "And because a mobster wanted to make sure there were no witnesses to a little family hanging. I'm making sure that they pay for that and that that ain't gonna happen to anyone else."

"I appreciate the rescue," said Toad, "But why am I here?"

"Two reasons. First off, after that gang jumped you, I figured you probably wouldn't be safe in a regular hospital, and I have some field medical training."

"What's the other reason?"

"I need your help with something."

"What?"

"Do you know who the Kingpin is? Never mind, I know that you do. I want to kill him, but more than that, I want to destroy his empire first. But in order to strike fast enough, in order to cripple him before he can realize I've declared all out war on him, I'd need to be in two places at one."

"Which is where I come in?" Said Toad, beginning to understand.

"I won't ask you to kill," said Punisher, "As long as you don't ask me to let them live."

Toad thought for a moment, then looked at Punisher, "Where do we attack first?"

A mugger, escaping from the scene of his crime never saw him coming. Within seconds he was disarmed, and beaten down. He was left cringing on the hood of a police car, begging the cops to arrest him as soon as they returned.

A drug lord, secure in his penthouse apartment suddenly found an arrow sticking out of his throat. By the time his bodyguards, hearing his scream, rushed in, he was laying on the floor, dead.

A group of robbers, thinking they had made good their getaway, were taken by surprise, and left bruised and broken in a pile in front of Kingpins apartment building.

As the gang lords left the meeting one at a time, they were picked of by a sniper crouched on a stone gargoyle. The last one turned and ran back inside, only to be pursued, and eventually stabbed to death.

"Unacceptable," said the Kingpin, looking over his city, "Simply. Not. Acceptable. There is only one man ruthless enough to be behind this," he whirled on Hammerhead, "I told you I wanted the Punisher dead! I paid you to make him dead! You told me that he was dead! And yet somehow, this dead man is out there, doing his best to bring my empire to its knees! And what's more, he is succeeding! Let me make this perfectly clear, by this time tomorrow, I want either his head or yours."

"I think I can help you with that," Kingpin and his bodyguards whirled around. The Punisher stood in the door, and he was holding a gun pointed directly at the Kingpin.

"You know how ruthless I am," he said, "And you know that I'm not bluffing when I say I'll kill you if you move."

"What do you want?" Said Fisk, his hand grasping his cane, "Money? I can give you more than you've ever imagined having in your life."

"Put the cane down Fisk, I'm not an idiot," said Punisher, "And as to your question, what I wanted was to see your face when you realized you'd finally lost this private little war of ours.

"What makes you so sure that you have?" Asked Fisk, smiling. Suddenly Punisher had the distinctly unpleasant feeling that there were at least twenty laser sights playing across his back.

"You see, I knew as soon as I heard about your first attack that you'd be here tonight," gloated Fisk, "So I took the liberty of setting a little trap. One that you obligingly walked right into."

"That's what you think," said Punisher under his breath, and then, more loudly, "But do you honestly think I'm that slow? Even if those goons do manage to kill me, you'll be dead first. Tell them to stand down."

"Please, don't insult my intelligence. I know you have no intention of letting me walk out of here alive. And if you are to die, who will carry on your crusade against crime? No, it would appear for the moment that we are stalemated."

"Not quite," said the Punisher smiling wolfishly, "Now!" he shouted.

A ceiling tile above the men behind Castle was suddenly kicked out and Toad dropped into the center of the men. He was rested now, his wounds bandaged, and perhaps most importantly of all, he had the element of surprise on his side. Within seconds the last of the men hit the ground. Toad stood beside Castle, his hand on his sword.

"Looks like I broke your stalemate," he said grinning, "Clumsy me."

"You think this is over?" Yelled Fisk, "Guess again." He depressed a hidden button on his cane, "My thumb comes off this switch and the whole building comes down on top of all the innocent secretaries and tellers."

"And you expect us to believe that you'll let us walk?" Said Punisher, the gun never wavering.

"No. In fact the bomb story was just a distraction." Fisk swung the cane up and fired a small dart that lodged in the ceiling above Toad and Castle's head. Immediately it began spewing some sort of gas. Punisher started shooting, but with remarkably agility for a man of size, Kingpin had thrown himself to the ground, behind a desk. The bullets missed, and the gas began taking effect. Due to his smaller body mass Toad succumbed first, falling onto the ground. Punisher, realizing that he couldn't win this fight lobbed a grenade, slung Toad over his shoulders and stumbled back out of the room. He made it into the elevator, and sent it down to the lobby before he passed out.

"Idiot's," muttered Kingpin, dusting his suit off, "Do they honestly believe that I wouldn't secure the elevators in my own building?" He picked up a phone.

"Detonate the elevator explosives." Without giving any further explanation he slammed the phone down.

"Um, Mister Fisk, I don't think that they did believe that," said Hammerhead, pointing at a pile of small gray orbs lying in the doorway.

For the second time in as many seconds Fisk threw himself to the ground behind his desk.

Toad came to in Castle's apartment again.

"Did you get him?" He asked.

Punisher handed him a pill. "Painkiller," he explained, "For the headache you probably have. But no, there was no way I would have been able to get him before I passed out from the gas. We lost."

"It's not over yet," said Toad, "We pretty much cleaned house as far as his criminal empire goes. It's gonna take him a while to build that back up. And until then, he's vulnerable."

"To what? A full frontal attack? We tried that. He blindsided us and nearly killed us."

"So we won't attack full on. Kingpin can't have been the only crime lord in the city. Considering how vulnerable his empire is, do you really think there's any chance that his enemies won't try to seize it?"

"So, what you're saying is, we wait and watch," began Castle.

"And when one of his enemies attacks, we'll take advantage of the confusion, and finish him off," finished Toad.

"I like the plan, but I need to do this myself."

"I can help you,"

"I know, but I've already put your life in danger. And besides, I can't afford any hesitation. You're not wiling to kill."

"Fine." Said Toad, walking out of the apartment, "But if you need me, I can help you."

As Toad wandered the streets, he heard the sound of somebody roaring, "When I catch you no good yahoos it's clobbering time!"

"You mean if you catch us!" Came the taunting reply. Toad glanced at the street name, Yancy Street. A few moments later, a huge orange rocky thing stormed out of the alley.

"No good Yancy Street little…" he muttered storming off.

Well that's something you don't see every day, thought Toad. Hey, he's that guy from the Fantastic Four, isn't he? Small world, I guess.

That's all for now.