A/N: Not too much to say here, aside from the opening will be very different from how the episode started. And the scenes with Butcher from the actual episode are completely taken out. Billy/Dredd don't reunite with Becca just yet. That comes later.
Oh, to answer some of the guest reviews, Ant-Man's never going to show up. I just can't think of anything to do with him, and he doesn't return to New York until 2023 in Endgame. As for adding Frenchie and Mother's Milk, I am thinking on writing two or three chapters after the one that correlates to the season 2 finale. I might or might not write in a scene with those two, because those characters still exist in this story, even though the Boys team is completely different.
Music: "Order in the Chaos" from Dredd
Judge Dredd walked into a suspicious looking bar in Hell's Kitchen, and all eyes stared in his direction. Joseph ignored their glares, and surveyed the area. There were at least five bikers in the bar, easily, with leather jackets draped around their shoulders. On the backs of the jackets was the gang name, the Dogs of Hell. Below the name was the illustration of a doberman pinscher's head.
"Holy shit, is that Gunpowder?" one of the bikers, a man with black sideburns, exclaimed out loud.
"Naw, Gunpowder's all black." another biker's voice sounded in the corner.
"Maybe he came out of the closet." a third biker, one with a bald head and a white beard, sneered and stomped right up to Dredd. "He sure looks like a fag with all those colors."
Dredd looked at the man in the eye, ignoring his question, and sneered.
"I need a motorcycle."
"Oh, you need a bike, huh?" the biker mocked. "How about we just kill you, and take your helmet?"
Joseph scowled, and curled his hand into a fist.
"Bah, you better get out of here, before we cut you-"
Dredd's fist smashed into the man's jaw, and he staggered around, before hitting his head against the bar. The lawman turned around, seeing the other bikers suddenly get up.
"You'll pay for that one." the biker with the sunburns said. "You just knocked out our boss Big Joe!"
"Let's get this over with, creep." Dredd growled, cracking his knuckles.
Two of the bikers tried to rush him, but Joseph grabbed them by the sides of their heads and slammed them together, instantly knocking them out cold. The third tried barrelling into him, and Dredd sidestepped, bringing up his arm and clotheslining the man. Sunburns pulled out a large knife, making Dredd pull out his daystick. The biker let out a battle cry and charged, swinging his knife wildly. Dredd easily parted the attacks, and slammed the titanium core weapon into the side of his head, leaving a large bruise on his temple and sending him to the floor.
The biker named Big Joe slowly regained consciousness, just as Dredd walked over to him.
"Your bike."
Big Joe gulped, but he reached into his jacket pocket, and tossed Joseph the keys.
"First one on the left." Big Joe told him, just as the Judge caught the keys. Dredd turned towards the door, and quietly opened it to reveal the night sky.
"Turn yourself in, creep, or I'll come back." Dredd promised, and mounted the motorcycle, a black Harley Davidson, first one on the left. It wasn't the Lawmaster, but it would have to do. Joseph turned the keys into the ignition, revved the engine, and took off, making sure to be under the cover of darkness, as he rode back to the hideout.
Judge Dredd drove the motorcycle into the hideout, stopping when he was right next to the black van, and dismounted. He walked up the steps to the monitor, and Frank, Diggle, Dax, and Allyson suddenly appeared, various weapons pointed at him. The Punisher aimed a pump action shotgun right at his face, while Diggle and Dax pointed pistols at him, and Allyson curled her hands into fists.
"Who the Hell are you, asshole?" Castle snarled, racking the pump on his shotgun.
"Easy." Dredd said in a low voice, grabbing the sides of his helmet and lifting a few inches, revealing his face.
"Butcher?" Diggle asked, lowering his gun.
"Yeah, it's me."
"What are you wearing?" Dax frowned, staring at his uniform.
"Judge's uniform." Dredd said bluntly, lowering his helmet back down over his face. "I haven't been honest with you, and you might not believe what I'm going to say-"
"Try me." Diggle snorted. "We've seen the multiverse get consumed in anti-matter, and half the population got turned to ashes. There's nothing you can say that would shock any of us anymore.
Dredd stared at Diggle and everyone for a moment, seeing them all nod, before speaking.
"I come from a place called Mega City One, in the year 2111." Joseph revealed. "I was sent back in time by a hundred years in an accident, and had no way to return. The woman who would become my dear wife Becca gave me a home, and helped me find a job."
"You mentioned you used to work as a security guard at Stark Industries." Diggle mumbled. While the Boys continued their conversation, Allyson quietly walked away, returning to the television in the corner.
"It's true." Dredd nodded. "And that was all taken away after what Homelander did to her. I tried, so long, to abandon my old life. But…"
"You're desperate, Bill." Frank realized. "Desperate to find your wife."
"William Butcher is gone." Dredd told Castle. "My name is Joseph Dredd."
The hideout went silent, with only the sounds of the computer monitors humming to keep them company. Everyone stared at Dredd, until Dax cleared his throat.
"So… what do we do now?"
Dredd looked down at the floor, noticing that his leather duster was still on the floor. No, Joseph mentally scolded. Not mine… Billy's.
The Judge walked over and picked up the duster, before turning around and tossing it to Frank.
"Here."
Castle caught the duster, and slowly put it over his skull vest.
"Looks better on you anyway." Dredd commented. The Judge looked around for a moment, noticing the female in their group had slipped away while they were talking.
"Where's the girl?"
"She's watching the news." Dax spoke up. "She's still shaken up over her friend's death."
Dax walked away, finding Allyson watching the small box television they had set up near the bathroom, her arms wrapped around her knees and staring at the tv. In her hands was Michael Myers' mask, or face, as she called it. Usually, just holding it close to her would make her feel safer, less alone. Today was an exception.
"Reports are still coming in about the supe terrorist who attacked earlier today. His name has been confirmed to be Cameron Elam, a former American who was radicalized during a trip to Asia-
Dax sat down next to Allyson, and looked over to her.
"It wasn't your fault." Dax said softly. When she didn't turn her head in his direction, he changed his tune to be a bit harsher.
"Allyson, look at me."
The female slowly stared at Dax, causing him to shudder. Her face was still that expressionless mask, even more so now, and her eyes were blacker than ever. The mercenary calmed himself down, and leaned forward to kiss Allyson, before he felt a hand close around his throat.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Allyson hissed, tightening her grip and forcing his head away.
"I'm- I'm sorry!" Dax choked out. "I wasn't thinking!"
"Let's get this clear: I don't love you." Allyson's voice changed to a low growl. "Not like that."
Allyson released her grip on Dax, and he quickly hurried off, leaving her alone. He didn't stop until he was on the other side of the hideout, and he clutched his throat, gulping down air. A memory briefly flashed through his mind; one of him and Valkyrie watching their time turn to ashes before their eyes. At the time, he didn't know it was the work of Thanos, until the Seven revealed the Mad Titan's demise, as well as the Avengers. He had fallen into a severe depression, having no purpose, until Mallory came to home one day.
The Boys had given Dax a second chance. Even more so, they gave him a new family, to repair the hole in his heart left by his old one. He only hoped the Boys could be Allyson's family too.
Frank Castle walked through the streets of New York, coming across the memorial for the victims lost in the terrorist attack that morning. Castle scoffed. It wasn't the so-called 'terrorist' who did this. He'd bet his bottom dollar it was Stormfront who killed all those people.
Frank kept walking, stopping when he was right next to a woman with blonde hair and wearing a black coat. Grace Mallory.
"I was expecting Billy." Mallory muttered, looking over to Frank.
"He'd stick out more." Frank grunted. "But he told me to meet you here."
"I have a lead on that supe named Liberty. She was all over Rawlins' computer." Mallory handed him a torn off piece of Budweiser cardboard, having a woman with a hood on the front of it. On the top was an address. Frank only skimmed it, but he remembered the numbers 677.
"Do you know where Butcher's wife could be?" Frank pressed. "I know we didn't follow through on the deal, but he's desperate to get her back."
"I'm sorry, but no." Mallory shook her head. "Vought's being extra tight on locking her down. Homelander already found her, they don't want anyone else to."
Frank stared at the ground for a moment, silently nodding.
"Thanks."
Back in the hideout, Dredd placed a duffel bag on the table, and began loading weapons. As he placed a Colt pistol, he thought back to his Lawgiver. Grud, did he wish it was with him now. But then again, it was for the best, if Becca had it, especially if it could actually harm the Homelander…
"Where are you going?"
Dredd turned around, seeing Diggle staring at him.
"Going to run a personal errand." Dredd told him.
"Man, that's crap! Just tell us!" Diggle shouted. Dredd inhaled deeply, and slowly exhaled.
"I'm going to Hammer Industries." Dredd revealed. "To follow up on a lead Frank mentioned."
"And what's that?"
"When we killed Translucent, Frank floated the idea that the Judas Bullets they used to make could pierce his diamond hard skin." Dredd explained.
"Except that Homelander is way more durable than Translucent." Diggle pointed out. "Homelander has survived nuclear explosions. Translucent has been hit by cars and was thrown a few feet."
Dredd slightly tilted his head, as if deep in thought.
"Correct." Joseph nodded. "Then we'll have to think of something to coat the tip of the rounds."
"With what?" Diggle asked.
"Unsure right now." Dredd said gruffly. "In the meantime, why don't you and Frank check out the lead on that Liberty supe?"
"What about Dax?"
"He's been high like he's on narcotics for days." Dredd scowled. "He won't even know I'm gone. Or any of us, for that matter."
With the conversation over, Dredd slung the duffel bag over his shoulder, and mounted the motorcycle he took. With a roar of the engine, the bike took off, leaving Diggle standing at the monitors.
Starlight entered the elevator, pressing the button to go down. Just as the doors were about to close, a red gloved hand put itself in between, stopping the elevator from shutting. The doors reopened, and Homelander stepped through.
"Homelander."
The leader of the Seven said nothing, and allowed the doors to close again. As they were going down, however, Homelander took off his gloves and reached over to the numbers pad, hitting the emergency stop. Starlight stared at the button turning from red to orange, and looked up at him in fear.
"Maeve begged me to spare your life, and I gave you a second chance." Homelander spoke quietly. "And you blew it."
"What do you mean-"
Homelander grabbed Starlight by the neck, and slammed her into the elevator's wall.
"No more lies." Homelander snarled, digging his fingers under her ribs. "I told you to kill Frank Castle, and you hesitated."
"I said we should go to the police!" Starlight gasped out, feeling his fingers ready to rip her open.
"You disobeyed my order, because you're with him." Homelander growled, still speaking in that low, menacing tone.
"Fuck you!" Starlight shouted. "Frank Castle shattered my heart, especially when I found out he was the Punisher the whole time. Part of me wants to blast his fucking face off for using me. But if you're going to kill me because I won't execute someone like a murderer, go ahead. Now tell me… am I lying about that?"
Homelander didn't need to listen to her heartbeat, because in all honesty, he didn't really care. The Seven's leader released her, opened the elevator doors, and walked out.
"You're all lying." Homelander muttered under his breath, leaving Starlight rubbing her sore throat.
Black Noir walked into the crime analytics lab, coming to a woman with black hair and glasses, named Anik.
"Oh, Black Noir, hi!" Anik said nervously, while eating an almond joy candy bar. "Why… why are you here?"
As always, Black Noir said nothing, and handed her a folded piece of paper. Anik opened it up, revealing one word.
Butcher.
"You mean William Butcher?" Anik asked. Black Noir still said nothing, but pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.
"Uh, right. We can do a facial recognition scan to search for him right now."
Black Noir stared at the computer screen, as Anik typed away. In truth, he wasn't actually after Butcher, he was looking for Allyson. But no one had any idea who she was, and to be honest, he preferred it that way. Despite that, he still had the urge to look for her, to keep her safe. He tried leaving her alone once, and that ended with her kidnapping by Doctor Sartain's son.
The only lead Michael had was with Butcher. He finds Billy, then maybe he'll take him to Allyson...
Frank sat on the park bench next to the carousel, until Annie approached him.
"Hey kid." Castle smiled slightly, as Annie sat down.
"How are you holding up?" Annie asked. "I didn't hurt you too much, did I?"
"Nah, you're fine." Frank lied, making sure to cover up his collarbone to hide the burn.
"So, we exposed Vought for Compound V, but they're still kicking." Annie said grimly. "We risked our lives for this, just to make it worse."
"Annie, these things take time." Frank reasoned.
"How much time?" Annie asked. Castle stayed silent, as she started to weep. Without warning, Annie lunged forward, wrapping Frank in a tight hug and sobbing into his chest.
"I can't do this anymore." Annie's muffled voice sounded out. "I can't."
"It's okay." Frank murmured, returning the hug and patting her on the back. "It's going to be okay."
The hug was eventually broken off after several seconds, with Frank looking at Annie.
"That wasn't the reason I called you though." Frank revealed.
"What for then?" Annie frowned in confusion.
"We're going down to Raleigh, in North Carolina." Castle explained. "We're tracking down a supe by the name of Liberty."
"Didn't she disappear after the 1970s?" Annie pointed out.
"A friend of Bill's asked him to look into it, and he's handed it to us." Frank told her. "It's just me and Dig, so we could use the extra company."
Annie smiled, and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Thank you, Frank." she smiled. "Thank you."
"Are you insane, Castle?" Diggle asked harshly, as Frank and Annie stood next to the light brown car. "She's chipped!"
"I have a cousin who lives in North Carolina." Annie told the former soldier. "I can tell Vought I'm visiting."
"We'll be out of sight of cameras." Frank added.
"No." Diggle shook his head. "Her standing here is dangerous, Frank."
"C'mon Dig, we'll be knocking on a supe's door." Castle reasoned. "It'd make sense if we had one of our own. Besides, she needs this right now."
"Who really needs this? You, or her?" Diggle asked. Frank glared at Diggle, before turning to Annie.
"He's okay with it." Frank told her, opening the car door and ushering Annie in. "Come on."
Dax entered the apartment complex, and sharply knocked on the door. A few seconds later, his best friend and on again off again girlfriend Valkyrie.
"You smell like shit." Valkyrie wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"That's what happens with very few showers Val." Dax muttered, stepping inside.
"Why are you here, Dax?" Valkyrie asked, as Dax sat on the couch.
"I tried to kiss her."
"Allyson?" Valkyrie's eyes widened in surprise.
"Her friend died, I wanted to make her feel better." Dax murmured. "I thought it would help."
"I fail to see how kissing her helps the situation." Valkyrie pointed out. "But it's not that, is it? You want to make amends for all the people you- we- have hurt, even before Ryekker. You still see them, don't you?"
"Who?" Dax asked, playing dumb.
"The children that Lamplighter burned."
Dax stared at her, before turning away.
"You don't know anything." Dax sneered.
"I know what kind of man you are." Valkyrie insisted. "The kind who stayed with me when those robots attacked us in Chernobyl. The kind of man who checked that door, risking himself in case those things weren't shut down. But she's not some cat in a tree. You should let her grieve."
"What good does grieving alone do, Val?" Dax whispered, looking her in the eyes. "She tried to kill herself."
"What?" Valkyrie's eyes widened in shock.
"She tried to slit her wrists with a piece of broken glass." Dax explained. "She would have succeeded, if not for her healing."
Valkyrie sat there, her eyes wide from the revelation, while Dax simply turned his head, staring at the wall with a grim expression. The reason Valkyrie was so shocked wasn't because of the act itself, but because she herself had been there.
The year was 2019, a year after Thanos killed half of all life. Valkyrie and Dax were the only ones among their team who survived the snap, and they both had been severely depressed from the loss of their family. Val especially, because she had known Ryekker the longest, and saw him as a father figure. She was with him when his men were sent to die in Afghanistan, back when he was a captain in the Army. She also helped him in slaughtering those responsible for letting get killed, including their commanding officer.
When Mallory came to their doorstep, she approached them both, but only Dax accepted her offer to join the Boys. At that time, Valkyrie wanted nothing to do with any other group or organization. She couldn't bear to lose another family.
The night Dax was supposed to tail Lamplighter at a movie theater, he received a call from their apartment's neighbor, telling him about a disturbance in their apartment. Dax had raced back, where he found Valkyrie, attempting to overdose on sleeping pills. It took him all of ten minutes to make sure she wouldn't die, but by then, it was too late. By the time he returned to the movie theater, Lamplighter was gone. It wasn't until the next morning that they found out Mallory's house had been burned to the ground, with her grandchildren inside.
It had been two years since that night, and Valkyrie was still coming to grips with the reality. Most nights, she'd lay awake in bed, thinking how differently things could have gone if she hadn't tried to kill herself.
That night, Frank, Diggle, and Annie arrived at a motel, where Frank walked out of the front desk with two sets of keys.
"Okay, I was able to book two rooms." Frank announced, tossing one set to Annie, and the other to John. "Guess I'll be rooming with Dig."
"Good choice." Diggle muttered, as he began walking to his motel room.
"I'll meet you there in a bit." Castle called out, before turning back to Annie. "So what did you mean earlier by you can't keep doing this?"
Annie sighed, and looked away for a moment.
"Every time I walk into Vought Tower, there's a knot in my stomach." Annie revealed. "I don't know if Homelander is around the corner, just waiting to kill me. It's like living with a loaded gun in my face."
"I'm sorry." Frank murmured. He knew exactly why she felt this way. It was because she was helping them. Indirect or otherwise, it didn't matter.
Annie glumly nodded, and the two continued staring at the ground.
"Hey, what was that rhyme about?" Annie suddenly asked.
"What?" Frank knit his brows in confusion.
"That thing you said, right before you killed A-Train." Annie explained. "One batch, two batch, penny and dime."
"You remembered that?" Frank's voice cracked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"I just thought of it, after seeing the Deep killed, with a bullet to his head." Annie told him. "Just like with A-Train. That was you, right?"
"Yeah." Frank nodded, looking at the ground. "It was her favorite book. Lisa's."
"Your daughter." Annie realized. Frank nodded, and continued speaking.
"I thought I'd be scared on that flight across the ocean." Frank revealed. "For some reason, I wasn't. The killing, that was easy. Even when I watched my buddies in my platoon, shit, our major had gotten his arm blown off, and none of it fazed me. The thing that did scare me was the flight home, you know? I thought that somehow, God would pull the rug out from under us, but he didn't. The plane landed safely, and I found my ass in a taxi, on the way to her school. The whole ride, I was looking out the window, seeing fast food joints, donuts shops, all that greasy shit we fought to protect. Not to mention posters and billboards advertising the newest movie starring Homelander, or Queen Maeve.
"I walk into her classroom, and she pauses, right in the middle of some yoga exercise or something, and stares wide eyed at me in her Queen Maeve tee shirt. In an instant, she crosses the room and hugs me with such speed, such strength, I thought I'd bust a rib. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought she was a supe."
At that comment, Annie chuckled slightly, before Frank cleared his throat.
"The teacher's filming this, going to put it on Youtube, or Twitter or some shit. The kids are screaming all this bullshit that I can't even hear, because I'm too busy crying. But not my baby girl. She's holding me up." Frank squeezed his eyes shut, as a tear forced its way out. "We came home from school early, and the house was exactly the same. Dining room set. Piano's barely touched. Even the paint on the walls is the same. And that's when it finally hit me: I was tired. You ever been tired, Annie?"
Annie nodded. She knew what he meant, or at least had an idea.
"Yeah."
"See, you understand." Frank mumbled. "Yeah, I was tired. Too tired to play catch with my son. Too tired to take my wife to bed. I was too tired to even drink a goddamn beer. But Lisa, she... she wanted me to tuck her in, and read her favorite story to her. One batch, two batch, penny and dime. But... I said no, because Daddy's tired. I read that to her all her life, but that all changed one night, because I was tired."
Annie momentarily covered her mouth, as tears ran down her face.
"I promised to read it to her the next night. I fucking promised." Castle closed his eyes, trying to remember his family. "The next night, I just forgot to. So I promised to read it the next night, then the next, and the next. Those nights turned into weeks. The weeks became months. They finally turned towards years, and Lisa stopped asking me.
"It wasn't until last week that I realized I'd never be able to read that book to her again." Frank opened his eyes, staring at Annie with a sunken face that betrayed his age. "There wasn't even a body to hold onto. Every bit of them were flattened into the sidewalk."
Annie finally stopped crying for Castle, and looked up at him.
"I'm sorry." Starlight said to him.
"You have nothing to be sorry about." Frank said softly, diverting his attention back to the ground. "But I'd give a year off my life just to read to my girl one more time."
Music: "Sledgehammer V2" from Iron Man 2
Judge Dredd walked up to the flat building with the name Hammer written all over the doors. Joseph wore his usual scowl, taking the Widowmaker off his back, and kicked the doors down, watching them shatter with a single kick. Dredd walked inside, noticing a guard running towards him, and the Judge knocked him out by clubbing him with the rear end of his shotgun.
Dredd looked up, seeing more guards coming in his direction, and a low rumbling escaped his throat in a groan. He reached into his belt, taking out two items; a canister of Stumm gas, and his respirator. After placing the respirator in, he popped the cap of the gas and rolled it along the floor, causing the guards to gag and fall to their knees. Joseph pulled out his daystick and clocked several of the guards with the baton, rendering them unconscious.
A final guard appeared, brandishing his own security baton. Just as he raised his stick, Dredd aimed the Widowmaker and fired, striking the weapon and making him drop it. In the process, the baton broke in half when the slug made contact, and Dredd followed up by smashing his fist into the man's jaw.
Judge Dredd continued walking through the facility, eventually coming to a large warehouse with dozens of machines, all shaped to be similar to the Iron Man armor. In front of the machines, right next to a computer, stood a man in a gray suit, black glasses, and light black hair.
"Whoa, who are you?" the man asked, holding his hands behind his back. "You can't just barge in here like you're Captain America!"
"Better me than Homelander." Dredd growled, aiming his Widowmaker at the man's head. "I still can't believe you got let out of Seagate after what you did at the Expo, Hammer."
"In my defense, that was the work of the terrorist Ivan Vanko." Justin Hammer protested.
"Enough. Everyone knows you helped him escape." Dredd snarled, racking the pump. "SHIELD made sure of that."
"Then why are you here?" Hammer asked. "Come to kill me for Vought, so they can steal everything I have?"
"Everything you have is stolen from Tony Stark." Dredd told him. "Your crimes are theft, murder in the third degree, and aiding and abetting a criminal and a terrorist. If I still had the authority, I'd give you life without parole in a cube."
"Okay… don't know what all that meant…" Hammer raised his eyebrows. "...but if you're not with Vought, and since SHIELD is gone, why are you here?"
"Because as it stands, I need something from you." Dredd explained. "I need the ammunition you made after the Chitauri invaded. Judas Bullets, I think you called them."
Justin's face darkened, and he slowly nodded.
"Follow me."
Dredd and Hammer walked through the halls of Hammer Industries, until they came across what looked like a server room. Hammer reached under the desk, pulling out a small metal box.
"There should be twenty five rounds in there." Justin informed. "After the gangster Diamondback tried to kill Harlem's Hero with the stuff, the NYPD demanded I turn over everything related to the Judas Bullet."
"For good reason." Dredd grunted, opening the lid to see there were indeed twenty five rounds.
"Look, I know what you're going to do with them." Hammer told the Judge. "And let me tell you; it won't work."
"What do you mean?" Dredd asked.
"Lex Luthor borrowed ten rounds a few years back, and tried to kill Homelander with them." Hammer revealed. "They didn't even scratch his face, and Luthor ended up with a hole in his head."
"I'll think of something." Dredd muttered, and began to turn away.
"Why don't you try Vibranium?" Hammer called out, as Dredd began walking off.
"What?" Dredd turned around in confusion.
"Vibranium." Hammer repeated. "That's the only thing no one's tried to harm Homelander with. At least, that we know of."
"Because the only vibranium that we know of…"
"Is Captain America's shield, or in Wakanda." Hammer finished. "And I'm guessing you don't have time to make a trip there."
"No." Dredd's mouth formed a tight line. "But Captain America's dead."
"And Stark is the only Avenger still alive." Hammer pointed out. "He never went to space to fight Thanos."
Dredd looked towards Hammer, dumbfounded.
"Seek him out. He'll know where Cap's shield is." Hammer insisted.
"Why are you aiding me? Last I checked, you hate Stark." Dredd reminded him.
"You know what they say, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'." Hammer shrugged.
"I don't." Dredd muttered, and walked off, back towards the entrance.
"Must be new around here." Justin shrugged, before turning on his heel and heading for his office.
Dredd walked outside of Hammer Industries, looking around. His gaze travelled upwards, staring at a security camera attached to the telephone pole. Joseph's scowl deepened, before turning back towards his motorcycle, strapping the black box to the back, and taking off.
Unbeknownst to Dredd, the security footage was witnessed by Anika and Black Noir. The crime analyst paused the camera, and Black Noir leaned in close.
"Who is that?" Anika asked herself, having never seen this person before. Meanwhile, Noir stared right at the man's face, having what appeared to be riot gear on, and some type of red and black motorcycle helmet. On his chest was a golden badge, with the name Dredd.
Black Noir kept staring at the man's face, or rather, his chin. The chiselled look, the deep scowl… Black Noir suddenly stood up, and walked away. A mental image formed in his mind, one of portraying the man having a thick, black beard. If this man truly was Butcher, then he was somehow making himself even more known. Which was fortunate for him, if he wanted to find Allyson...
Homelander landed as softly as he could outside of Becca's home, and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened, with Becca holding onto that strange gun again.
"What do you want?" Becca sneered. "Ryan's asleep."
"I wanted to tell him that I'm not mad at what he did." Homelander told her, trying to step inside, but found Becca pointing her gun at his face.
"You know that thing won't do much to me."
"It gave you a bruise, which is more than can be said about any other weapon on this planet." Becca reminded him. "We had a deal-"
"Yes. We had a deal." Homelander agreed, putting emphasis on the had. "As in, past-tense. Now, all bets are off."
"If you hurt him-"
"What are you going to do?" Homelander asked coolly. "Your husband is a man possessed. He's been going after me for years. How can you not expect me to retaliate?"
"If you touch him..." Becca said again, and she shifted the gun to point just below her chin.
"Now Becca-"
"You've seen what an armor piercing round can do." Becca told him, looking at the supe with a cold glare. "Do you want to see what happens when I fire a Hi-Ex, point blank?"
A second later, that same humming sound echoed from the gun. Homelander stepped back in surprise, hearing her heartbeat reading normal. She wasn't bluffing.
"Get the fuck out." Becca told him. "Ryan doesn't want to see you ever again. And neither do I."
Homelander glared at her. For a second, she thought he was going to blast her with his laser vision, but he turned around, looking up.
"Fine. I don't need Ryan. I don't need you." Homelander snarled "I don't need anyone." With that, he flew away into the night sky. The moment he was gone, Becca sank to her knees, moving the gun away from herself. It was only then that Homelander's words sank into her, as well as their implications.
"What… what have I done?"
She was close, so close to death… but she was alive. She had hoped that one day, she would see her husband again, and not have to stay in this gated community, but now... she realized that keeping her and Ryan hidden from the rest of the world was what ensured their survival all these years. So for her son's sake, she would stay in this prison. All she could do now was pray that Billy was alright.
"Have you seen Vought's 'Saving America' ads?" Stormfront asked sarcastically, as a crowd jeered and booed. "Don't they make you feel safe and fuzzy inside? They don't care about you! They just want you to buy their shitty toys, eat their shitty food, and watch their shitty movies!"
Amongst the crowd, Allyson pushed past everyone, slowly making her way towards Stormfront. All she could see right now was red.
"One super terrorist has already gotten through, and who's to say more aren't already here?" Stormfront asked, as the crowd continued cheering her on. "We can't expect Homelander to save us, when he's on fucking talkshows!"
Allyson got closer and closer, each step making her flashback to the previous day. Stormfront punching her in the face. Cameron having his neck snapped. The entire building being lit up with lightning and torn apart.
Just as Allyson got behind the front row, she felt a hand grab her. She whirled around, seeing Dax was the one holding onto her.
"Allyson, don't do this." Dax pleaded. "You won't survive."
"I've slit my wrists and Michael stabbed my heart." Allyson growled in a low voice. "Let me go."
Just as she turned around, Stormfront blasted lightning from her hands, lifting herself off the ground and flying away, the cheers of the mob. Allyson looked back at Dax, and pushed him. It was a light push, but considering her strength, he still stumbled back.
"You asshole!" Allyson shouted. "I could've had her!"
"She would have killed you." Dax repeated. "Please. Let's go home."
Allyson glared at Dax, before turning around and storming off, with Dax slowly following after her.
Frank, Diggle, and Annie walked up the porch steps of a small green painted house, with the number 677 next to the door. Castle knocked on the door, prompting an older woman of African American descent to answer, wearing a bandanna over her head.
"Who are you-" the woman stopped, seeing Frank. "No. No."
"Ma'am, please-" Diggle tried to say, but the woman snapped.
"No!" the woman yelled. "You brought the Punisher here!?"
"Word gets around fast, huh?" Frank looked at Annie. "Homelander?"
Annie wordlessly nodded. The woman was about to slam the door, but Frank stuck his foot in front of the frame.
"Ma'am, please." Diggle told her. "We're not here to hurt you. We just want to know about a supe named Liberty, then we'll be on our way."
"No, please just go." the woman begged. "Talking about what happened won't be good for anyone. They'll kill me!"
"We promise you, that won't happen." Diggle said. "Look, just hear me out, and if you don't like it, we'll leave."
The woman stared at Diggle for a moment, before nodding.
"Okay. I had a brother. He and I were really close." Diggle explained. "He had a wife and child, until they were killed in an accident by a reckless supe. Now, Vought wanted him to keep quiet, but he didn't want to go down like that. So he fought them, tooth and nail. Every day, he would try something, anything, to expose them. When taking them to court wouldn't work, he tried broadcasting what had happen. When that failed, he tried the press. He didn't give up, until one day, when I went to visit him, I found him laying on the floor. His heart just couldn't take it anymore."
"I'm so sorry." the older lady mumbled, casting her eyes downward.
"I don't need your sympathy ma'am, but I need you to understand," Diggle told her, looking in the eye. "When I tell you that his fight is being carried on with me, right now. I'm going to make sure that Vought pays for what they've done to me, and to you. And I'm not giving up."
The woman looked over at Castle, just barely noticing a gash of white paint underneath his leather jacket and partially zipped up hoodie, and nodded.
"Come inside." the woman told everyone. "It's best I tell you in here, than out there."
The trio walked inside the house, seeing old antique furniture, as well as crocheted blankets.
"I tried telling everyone I could." the woman said, sitting down in a chair, while Diggle and Annie sat on the couch, and Frank stood up. "But a little black girl, accusing a white superhero of murder- in these parts?"
"Yeah." Diggle nodded his head in agreement. The woman sighed, remembering that fateful night in 1972.
It was on one of those rainy Summer nights, where you could just smell it in the air. I was only eleven years old, and asleep in the back of my folk's station wagon. My brother Miles was driving.
The woman, named Valerie, suddenly woke up, when she heard the bending of metal.
"What's the problem, ma'am?" Miles had asked nervously.
"Get out!" a woman's voice roughly shouted, ripping the car door open and pulling Miles out of the car. "Your car was involved in a robbery tonight!"
"No it wasn't!" Miles stuttered. "I don't know about no robbery!"
"Just… confess!" the woman, wearing a hood over her face, shouted, while brutally beating Miles against the car. With each hit, Valerie gasped, in fear for her brother's life.
"Why you doing this, lady?" Miles asked, trying to stand up. "Ain't you supposed to be a hero?"
"I am a hero." the woman in the hood growled. "By killing a black piece of shit like you."
The woman punched Miles so hard after that, his blood sprayed across the windshield. When she walked away, Valerie got out of the station wagon, and approached her brother's body. Her heart crumbled to pieces, seeing his face was mangled so badly, it didn't even look human anymore.
"I wanted to go to the police, but my folks thought it was pointless." Valerie sobbed. "So, when that man from Vought showed up and offered us money, we took it. Two thousand dollars. That's how much my brother's life was worth. Two thousand fucking dollars!"
Valerie suddenly stood up, looking at all three of them.
"But please, do not tell anyone I said a word to you about this." Valerie pleaded. "Because if that woman finds out, she'll kill me!"
"Ma'am, no one's seen Liberty since 1979." Frank pointed out. "Maybe she's disappeared… or dead."
"Dead?" Valerie laughed, walking over to the dining room table and picking up a newspaper. "She's not dead."
Valerie walked back to the small group, showing them the paper. On the front was a picture of Stormfront, with the headline, "Newest member of the Seven thwarts super terrorist!"
"That's her." Valerie insisted, pointing to the picture. "That's Liberty."
Frank, Annie, and Diggle stared at each other for a moment, having the same worried thoughts.
"How is that possible?" Annie asked. "She'd have to be in her seventies now."
"Compound V." Frank realized. "Maybe it slowed her aging. Like with Captain America, if he didn't go in the ice."
The three of them looked towards Valerie, who looked at them with a pained expression.
"Thank you for your time ma'am." Diggle told her. Frank and Annie nodded as well, and left the home. The trio climbed into the brown car again, and took off, driving back to New York.
As Allyson continued walking through the streets of New York, she began thinking of her family. More importantly, the day her parents died.
She had found Michael's face at the foot of a gravestone. Initially, she had gone to visit her grandmother's final resting place, but a flicker of white amongst the sea of gray caught her eye. Allyson walked towards the gravestone, as the name 'Judith Myers' became clearer on the slab. His face was still beautiful; white as chalk, without any bloodstains on it. She wondered if he had washed it, because the last time she and Michael had been close, the white was muddled with spurts of red. Red droplets, from her blood.
Allyson shook her head slightly. No, that wasn't the last time she saw Michael. The last time was when she was looking out her classroom's window, and he stared back at her. She had waved to him, and he, surprisingly, waved back.
She remembered clutching the mask close to her chest, and all but running home to Laurie Strode's former house, barely saying hi to her mom and dad, and racing up the stairs. They still didn't understand her relationship to Michael Myers, the Shape, the Boogeyman of Haddonfield. And they probably never would.
"Hey, Allyson, how was school?" Ray asked.
"Fine!" Allyson called back, as she was already hurrying up the steps to her room. Once up there, she threw the door open, marveling at the state of her room. There was a queen sized bed in the corner, providing ample room for her to sleep, with a writing desk for her to do homework on the other side. A window was placed parallel to the door, and just next to it was a book shelf that was hanging at eye level. Allyson tilted her head slightly, squinting at the names written on the spines of many of the books. Most of them were Vought comics, as she was what some people would have called a nerd in school, but there were others. Biographies, or memoirs. The book that caught her eye in particular was 'The Devil's Eyes', written by Doctor Samuel Loomis. It was the late doctor's careful documentation of Michael Myers, and how Loomis described him as pure evil.
Allyson tore her eyes from the bookshelf, and stared at the mask- no, the face- in her hands. Last time, she had stuck it under her bed, but now, she felt that wouldn't do. Nelson cast her eyes downward, seeing some loose nails in the floorboards, and got an idea.
Ever so quietly, Allyson crouched down, painfully and slowly pulling the nails out of one of the floorboards, and lifting it up just enough to place Michael's face in there. Her fingers shook slightly, as she let go of the black, scratchy hair, and set the floorboard back down. Allyson looked up to her bookshelf, grabbing Loomis' book. Thank God she bought a hardcover.
Allyson turned back to the floorboard, and after setting the nails back in place, she crudely hammered them back in place. It was difficult enough to use a book as a hammer, but to do it quietly to not alert her parents, that was a on a whole different level.
Just as Allyson finished nailing the board back in, she heard a loud zooming noise from down stairs, followed by a crash.
"Mom? Dad?" Allyson asked, frowning. No one answered, and Nelson raced downstairs, only to find a horrifying sight.
In front of the living room was a man in a white and blue costume, with blue sunglasses. He was covered in blood from head to toe, with the crimson substance pooling at his feet. Among the pool of blood were bits and pieces of skull and bone fragments. Behind the man was the front door, smashed and fallen from its hinges. Allyson's eyes panned towards the kitchen, seeing her father sprawled on the floor, with blood spreading from his head.
Allyson slowly turned her attention back towards the man in the blue suit. She recognized him almost instantly. How could she not? She had read every issue of his comics, went to his movies. When she was in middle school, she even collected some of his toys.
A-Train looked around the house, twitching like he was juiced up, before staring at Allyson.
"Oh, hey!" A-Train grinned. "Just the person I was looking for!"
"You... you killed them..." Allyson whispered, tears stinging her eyes.
"Oh, sorry about that." A-Train told her, even though he was still grinning. "I just couldn't stop, and accidents happen, right?"
"You killed my parents..." Allyson repeated, seemingly staring past the supe.
"Yeah, yeah... hey, I need your help on something." A-Train said, in almost a demanding way. "Where's Michael Myers?"
"Wh... who?" Allyson asked. Maybe it was from the shock, or the fact that Michael had saved her twice, but she wasn't about to give him up to anyone. It didn't matter if they were the police, or even a member of the Seven, she wasn't going to help them capture him... or kill him. Especially not to the man who just murdered her last living relatives.
"Oh, come on, don't bullshit!" A-Train shouted. "We know about you and him!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Allyson quickly shouted, as she reached into her back pocket and slowly pulled out a knife. She was pretty sure it wouldn't do much good against a speedster, but she was the granddaughter of Laurie Strode. She had to try.
"Oh for fuck's sake." A-Train rolled his eyes, just as Allyson attempted to slash at him. Even without using his powers, A-Train easily dodged, and grabbed her by the arms.
"Maybe talking to Vought's doctors will help you remember where he is."
A-Train and Allyson suddenly sped off, and before she knew it, she was strapped to a gurney in a darkened cage. She had no idea where she was, but everywhere she looked, there were men of Asian ethnicity walking around, carrying guns and loading vials of blue liquid in boxes.
"I would have preferred my own lab, but A-Train felt this will have to do."
Allyson craned her neck to the right, seeing a man in a white coat and white hair looking at her. Stupidly, he kept his nametag on him, which read 'Wynn' on it.
"Where is Michael Myers?" Wynn asked.
"I don't know, I swear!" Allyson cried out, and she began to cry.
"Lying will only make this more difficult." Wynn had told her.
"Please, I don't know!" Allyson insisted. It wasn't exactly a lie. In truth, she didn't know where he'd be at this moment. Most likely, he was back in Haddonfield, but that's not where she was anymore.
"Very well." Wynn huffed, and grabbed a syringe filled with the blue liquid. "If nothing else, you will prove to be useful for our tests..."
For over a year, Allyson was locked in that cage, being tortured and injected. When the injections were over, Allyson discovered she somehow gained the ability to heal from any wound, as well as be much faster and stronger. However, the fact she was isolated from the rest of the world had made her more savage than when she was kidnapped by Doctor Sartain's son, and she opted to no longer speak... just like Michael.
On one occasion, a guard had opened her cell to give her food, and she killed him by gouging his eyes out with her thumbs and ripping his jaw off. She proceeded to brutally two more guards, before A-Train raced in, pushing her back into the cage. From then on, she stayed confined to that tiny cell. The only form of entertainment was a small box tv, with the same jingle from an outdated company called Silver Shamrock playing on a loop.
"Eight More Days Till Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Eight More Days Till Halloween! Silver Shamrock!"
Allyson sighed, leaning against a brick wall in an alley. When Dax and the Boys rescued her from that basement, she had hoped she could trust them. Hoped that they could be her new family, to fill the empty space in her heart that Laurie, Karen, Ray, and even Michael vacated. Now, after what Dax tried to do, and Cameron's death, she felt more lost than ever.
Hours later, Frank and Annie were towards the subway tunnels in Manhattan, while Diggle had driven back to the hideout.
"Hey, thanks for letting me come with you guys." Annie smiled. "It was nice, until it got… horrible."
"Yeah, what can I say." Castle replied, staring off into the distance. "It's like Curt said, I'm a shit magnet of the highest order."
Annie chuckled for a moment, before her expression turned serious.
"Frank, we can't do something like this again." Annie told him. "I'm sorry, but we can't afford to feel safe, and let our guard down."
Castle grimly nodded. He knew they'd eventually have to break off all contact with each other, in order to keep each other safe.
"Okay. I get it." Frank told her, nodding slightly. "There's some things that you just have to do alone."
"We're always alone." Annie said sadly. Frank sighed, and the two closed the distance in the form of a hug. They both squeezed each other tightly, neither wanting to let go, but they knew that they had to.
When they finally decided to end the hug, Annie stood up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Castle's cheek.
"Goodbye Frank." Annie said solemnly, before walking towards the escalators leading to the tunnels. Frank watched, with a heavy heart, as she slowly disappeared from view.
"Goodbye Annie." Castle murmured, turning around and heading back towards the hideout.
A/N: The reason I didn't have Dredd find Becca in this episode is because honestly, after having him accept that not all supes are bad, similar to how Anderson changed him in Mega City One, he would've helped both her and Ryan escape. So I'm saving their reunion for much later in the story.
Now that Dredd has Judas Bullets, he's taking another trip to get more components to create a weapon that can kill Homelander. Expect some familiar faces from both the DC tv shows, and the MCU in the next chapter.