It's painfully obvious none of you read any comics, so I'll help you out here: Grant Morrison's Multiversity Pax Americana #1. Look it up, read it, and you'll know where I got that Captain Atom from.
And for this chapter I won't be using the Punisher from the Netflix series, because that isn't the Punisher. I'll be using PunisherMAX by Garth Ennis, Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon
"The things been there for the past twenty minutes. Should we do something?" Asked Neptune as he smacked the top of the television.
"I'm sure something will start soon. Let's just give it another five minutes." Summer said. Qrow grumbled, bored of waiting with everyone else.
"Taking too damn long..." He took a sip from his flask. Raven scoffed at his words, but internally admited that he was right. Suddenly the screen began to glitch and the skull disappeared.
Nora gasped happily. "It's starting!"
"Alright! Let's see what this has!" Sun cheered excitedly.
As the screen cleared up all that was shown was a gravestone. There were three names etched into the front.
Weiss Schnee Arc
Lisa Arc
Jaune Arc Jr.
An older, mountain looking Jaune stood in front of it, hardened eyes looking down at the names.
"Woah! Jaune looks huge!" Neptune shouted, genuenly shocked by his fellow huntsman appearance.
"And really old." Coco pointed out. "Wait a second, did anyone else see that?"
The image rewound to the gravestone, and almodt everyone fell quiet. Weiss stared at the names etched into the stone and her mouth went dry.
"I-I'm dead?"
"And apparently also married, with children." Said Ozpin, smirking behind his mug as he took a sip. "Congratulations, Mrs. Arc."
Weiss sputtered, face bright red as everyone tried to hide their laughter. Even Glynda couldn't help but let a small grin form on her face, before smacking Ozpin. "Leave the poor girl alone, Ozpin."
'Jaune was married, and had children. With Weiss...' Pyrrha couldn't help but feel saddened by the quick revelation, but silently felt some sort of comfort knowing Jaune was happy.
Key word: Was
The screen went black and his voice rang out.
They hated the old man so much they shot him through my family.
The world went crazy that day at the park, in the days before uzis and berettas, before nine millimeters and popguns ruled the streets, before mechashifting weapons were being toted around.
It was a Thompson, like the ones our fathers carried, and I recognized its rattle even as its big, man-stopping fourty-fives punched blood and breath from my lungs
I hit the ground beside my daughter. She'd been gutshot, badly, and when she saw the things that boiled and wriggled from her belly, the expression on her face was not a little girl's
Brief flashes of his daughter appeared on screen. She was screaming with no sound, and her platinum blonde hair was stained with dirt and blood.
While Weiss was more than shocked at knowing she was married to Jaune in this world, and even more so that they had children togethers, it shocked her more to see that they were all dead.
The screen went black again.
My wife bled out on the operating table, her heart a gaping hole her life drained through. Whenever I get careless, that yearning in her eyes creeps up and brings me to my knees.
Another image flash showed Weiss, now in her 30s, clutching her chest with terror in her eyes. They scremed at Jaune to save her.
Ruby felt sick and shut her eyes, startled by what was shown. Weiss gripped her chest, panicked by seeing herself in such a state. Yang and Blake comforted them as the scene played on. Neptune glanced over at the heiress, and felt a pang of panic as the inmage flashed in his head again.
"I'm gonna have nightmares, man..."
Right then the old man's soldiers started shooting back. My son dropped wordlessly, without a mark on him.
I took a breath that cut like glass, spat blood, rose to my knees, picked up the boy and searched in vain for entry wounds.
Another flash showed one of Jaune's arms wrapped around his son, his other held viscera in the palm of his hand that leaked through the boy's mouth.
The bullet had entered through his open mouth.
That was our picnic at the park.
The screen lit up once more, and Jaune walked away grin the grave.
And now, ever night...
Jaune opened a door to a safehouse. Guns and explosives covered the walls and various tables inside.
...I go out and make the world sane.
The camera then showed Jaune, standing tall and with numerous weapons strapped to him. He was clad in all black, from the tactical boots to his jacket. What stood out, however, was the large white skull on the front.
"Make the world sane..." Qrow repeated to himself. Eyes wandered to him as he thought the words over. Glynda confirmed his thoughts with wide eyes.
"He kills people..." RWBY and NPR went wide eyed along with Neptune, Sun, Penny and Summer.
"Well, that explains all the guns..." Tai chuckled, getting a bad feeling in his gut. "This is gonna be hard to watch."
The camera suddenly cut to a mansion party with various people attending. Each of them greeted each other with glee and friendly rivalry. There was respect here, but not for each other.
Don Arthur Watts turned one hundred today
Ozpin couldn't help but snort somewhat at that, mostly because of his own age.
"Wow, that's old..." Sid Ruby, honestly impressed that someone even managed to live so long. Yang shrugged.
"I dunno, doesn't seem like much of a win if you ask me" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.
'I couldn't agree more...'
Don in title only. These days all he does is wet himself and wait for death. Still, they've turned it into an event, every family in remnant sending someone to wish him happy birthday.
All those wiseguys. All in one place.
Reality crashed back when he spoke. Ruby pulled her hood over her face and bit her lip.
"No..." Pyrrha began to feel incredibly uncomfortable with what would happen next, but steeled her nerves and watched on.
Jaune stood nearby in the trees that surrounded the house wiping a large hunting knife clean of blood. Behind him, lying on the grass was a dead security guard.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Nora groaned, horrified by her leaders actions. Ren rubbed her back as he kept his eyes on the screen, also feeling somewhat nauseous at the action.
Ozpin said nothing as he watched, used to death in various ways. But seeing his own student sink to such a state was saddening, and sickening. He didn't have to look over at Goodwitch to know she felt the same, nor did he have to look over at his former students to know one was drinking as much as he could from his, now bottomless flask, another staring in intrigue, and two were pressed up against each other with their children.
The old man from the park is long since dead; so are his soldiers. So is the shooter. So are the people who called the hit, and hundreds, maybe thousands more.
But the war goes on.
"This guy's not alright at all." Said Qrow. "He couldn't be doing this just because of his family."
Neptune looked at the older Hunter. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that he's probably enjoying this a little too much. We could argue that he's preventing further deaths something, but nobody does that. It's just an excuse."
As Jaune made his way towards the mansion, the birthday party for the elder Don continued.
Inside the dining room, sat an old man in a wheel chair; his moustache long and gray, and his skin wrinkled and sagging. He had an I.V. attatched to his chair with two catheters hanging from it, and an oxygen mask.
Several mafiosos raised their cups in respect, with smiles on their faces.
"To Don Watts!" The rest cheered. "Salut!"
The door to the garden burst open, and in walked in a hulking brute of a man with a large white skull on hIs chest. He remained in shadows, somehow, and glared straight ahead.
"Arthur Watts. I'm here to kill you."
They noticed the pistol in his hand, and knew what was going to happen. Ruby covered her eyes, still peaking through her fingers while her friends began feeling their hearts beat faster and faster.
Nobody moved for several seconds, and when they did it was too late.
"Wait. Just-" Jaune ignored them and lifted his hand faster than they could see. A gunshot rang out, and the back of Watts' head exploded. "NO!"
Nora suddenly threw up. Luckily a basket had appeared before hand. Ozpin narrowed his eyes at the scene, but specifically at Jaune's retreating form. He did something so horrible so casually, and he just knew more was coming.
"What really happened to you, Mr. Arc?"
Jaune turned away and walked. He only had a handful of seconds.
"MotherFUCKER!"
Couple of seconds to shock.
He walked across the garden. The mobsters began bottling towards the door, angry shouts accompanying them.
Couple of seconds to get pissed.
He jumped over a smal hedge and leaned down.
A few more to get everyone out the door.
That's all I'm going to need.
"He's good." Raven stated. Glynda glared back at her, wanting to thrash her around, but Ozpin stopped her.
"Not now." He said, not looking away from the screen.
Sever soldiers, many belonging to Watts but most from other families, ran outside.
"You murderin' cocksucker!"
"You killed a hundred year old man!" They only carries handguns. Jaune had something better.
()
Jaune rose, and in his hands was an M-16, which didn't hesitate to open fire on every single suited bastard in front of him. Jaune sprayed bullets without end in sight, blowing heads clean in half, severing limbs and exploding chests.
It's Ohama Beach. Wounded Knee. Rorke's Drift, the Killing Fields, the first day on the somme.
It's a World War in northern Atlas. And only now, pouring fire into a human wall-
The camera cut to Jaune's face.
-Do I feel something like peace.
Ruby covered her eyes and whimpered slightly. Yang held her breath as the scene played out. Weiss stared in frozen shock. Blake almost threw up.
Pyrrha and Nora cried quietly in despair, the champion covering her mouth while the pink bomber clung to Ren, who stared wide eyed and terrified at his friends actions.
Sun and Neptune couldn't hold back and vomited into some bins that had appeared before them. Velvet and Coco swallowed the lumps in their throats. They'd seen many horrible things on the few missions they'd been on, but it never seemed to get easier to stomach. Especially since Jaune was the one committing these acts.
Ozpin broke his stoic facade and dropped his mug, not believing what played out in front of him. From the corner of his eyes he saw Glynda holding her mouth, trying not to vomit, while Qrow drank as much as he could from his flask, and Raven continued to watch unaffected. Port could only stare at the inhumane actions his student was dealing out, and Oobleck held a stony face, unwilling to move out of shock.
"What the hell is this guy?" Qrow gasped, breaking the silence that fell on the group.
"No mercy nor boundaries. He's not trying to be a half-measure." Raven stated.
Taiyang ran a hand down his face while Summer rubbed his back, trying to soothe him. "He's a monster..."
Jaune quickly turned to the left, just as several goons ran towards a small poolside.
Someone's been watching war movies. Get the bright idea to try an flank me.
Four jump into the pool, and see several bloodied bullets pass through them.
Wrong again.
Ruby sobbed as the scene continued, Penny trying desperately to calm her down. She refused to look away, wanting to face this sudden and new fear. The others watched on as well, hearts beating out of their chests as the scene continued.
A few make it to cover. Not a problem. Most wiseguys are one part street-smart, two parts muscle. Maybe enough to scare the saps that owe them money, not much more.
They attempt to run around him in the bushes and trees, not doing well in keeping quiet.
Out of their element they're children.
At their feet, where they didn't bother to look, we're more than a dozzen boxes on stands. Each of them had the words Front Towards Enemy printed on them.
"Claymores." Nora quickly realized. "This can't be good for them."
An explosion occured behind the older Arc, who continued to fire his weapon until it clicked. Quickly, and with extreme precision, he loaded his gun.
Fresh belt to finish off the wounded. To make sure nobody's faking.
He opened fire at the various bodies lying on the dirt and grass.
Fire at moans. At movement. Give them the whole two hundred rounds to be sure.
The camera continued to zoom in on Jaune's face, taking in every detail in his rage filled, elderly face. Suddenly the screen went black, and the sound cut off.
"I-is it over?" Weiss asked, still afraid of witnessing more horrible bloodshed.
A sunny day greeted the Arc household. The birds chirped and the cool summer breeze never felt nicer.
"W-what?" Yang asked, confused at the sudden change of, well, everything.
An older Weiss walked down the stairs from her room, fiddling slightly with her thumbs as she walked into the kitchen.
Weiss stared at her older counterpart. She looked so different than she expected; no fancy clothes, no family insignia, just a simple white shirt and summer shorts.
"Wow. That's actually me..." She stared at how similar she looked to her sister, yet her eyes held more noticable warmth behind them.
Inside she saw her husband facing rhe counter. "Jaune, did you not come to bed last night? Jaune?"
The blonde turned to face her, and he had the same stoic face he had when he arrived back from the war.
"Woah, he looks... different." Yang said. And he did. His face was less boyish, and more defined. He looked as if his face was carved from stone, and his eyes seemed cold.
"And you're married to him." Teased Blake, who, while still in some shock, managed to make Weiss blush ever so lightly.
"W-well... I mean..." She bit her lip. Married to Jaune Arc. She didn't seem to mind it.
"He does look rather handsome." Said Velvet. Coco nodded with a half smirk.
"You got lucky there, Ice Queen." Weiss face went red, earning a few chuckles from everyone around her.
"I packed us some lunch. I thought... we could spend the day together as a family."
Weiss froze when she heard him speak then. Something in her gut felt very wrong, and she wasn't alone.
"This feels..." Yang couldn't finish her sentence. Ruby felt anxious, and held onto to Penny's arm, who also felt that something was wrong.
"Did he not mention something about the park earlier?" The robot girl asked.
"Oh no..." Pyrrha silently realized.
"How does the park sound?"
Weiss' eyes went wide, and an indescribable fear crept up on her. "N-no..."
They were about to witness something horrible.
Jaune locked the door and looked out to his wife and kids. They looked so happy together. There was a stirring in his stomach.
They rode on the subway train. The park was only a few minutes away like that, so they didn't need the car.
I could've just told her. When she woke up, I could've told her at the table. If I did, she'd still be alive. They all would.
But I just had to pretend for one more day. Pretend like we were a family.
Like I was happy
As Jaune sat next to Weiss, watching their children play, the blonde tried to wrangle his thoughts together.
I stayed up all night trying to find the right words to use, but when the moment came I still didn't have them. So I sat there staring off into space, trying to think of something that wouldn't make her cry.
Taiyang already knew what was going to happen, and his gaze quickly drifted to Raven. While she never actually said anything before leaving, he could tell plain as day, from the look the boy had that he wasn't going to stick around.
Qrow caught on as well, and he shut his eyes.
If I hadn't been so wrapped up in my own head, maybe I would've seen them. Those men who came into the park, who obviously weren't there for a jog.
A few bad looking men walked right passed them, all with dirty faces and sneers that belonged to Grimm instead of people.
Maybe I would've smelled it in the air like I did in the service. But I didn't...
I didn't notice a damn thing.
"Weiss..." He started. He didn't know how to continue, and stayed quiet.
"If you have something to say Jaune, I wish you'd just say it." There was a familiar respiration in her voice. The one he'd heard more than once since returning home. He blinked and continued to stare ahead.
"I can't do this anymore."
"I knew it..." Said the older blonde, sighing covering his face. Yang looked at her father, worried.
"Knew what?" She asked. Qrow opened his eyes and put a hand on her shoulder.
"When you've been in a war for too long, you run the risk of getting a taste for something bad. And sometimes you can't let it go, no matter what you do or have..." He explained. "Sometimes you'll feel miserable when you're back to normality."
Yang looked back at the screen, and into the blank face of her fellow blonde; he, in that world, was turned into a kiling machine. And he liked it.
"Can't do what anymore?" She looked at him, scowling softly at his choice of words. His face stayed the same.
"Any of this. I can't pretend like I'm something I'm not." Weiss glared at him and grit her teeth.
"Pretend? Jaune, we're you're family. And you haven't even given us a chance. You haven't even tried."
Ruby looked ay her friend, and was surprised to see tears forming in her eyes. Her uncles words sunk in then, and she realized what Yang did.
"Jaune... what happened to you?" Pyrrha shut her eyes, having also heard the dusty hunter's words, and feeling horrified.
He didn't try to defend himself. She was right. He didn't bother to try, but it didn't seem to matter anymore.
"If you want a divorce, I'll sign whatever papers you give me. You can have everything. The kids, the house. But either way, Weiss..." He looked at her, and his blue eyes never seemed so colorless. "I'm leaving."
"That... bastard..." Was all Weiss could muster to say.
"He knew what he wanted." Stated Raven. "He wasn't going to let himself become weak."
Nobody second guessed themselves when they turned to glare at the bandit leader. And although she couldn't care about their words to her, she decided to not say anything else and watch the scene.
Except for Velvet, who smacked her in the back of the head with Coco's purse.
Weiss could only stare in shock at her husband. A single tear began going down her cheek as she glared at him again.
"Jaune... you... you..."
No sound came as a bullet ripped through her chest.
"No... Oum please no..." Weiss sobbed. She didn't know them, but those children were hers. They were her family, and they were all going to die. Several arms wrapped around her as she sobbed. "Not my family..."
The thing that still haunts me isn't the moment they died. The moment my daughter's belly exploded and my son's brains exploded out the back of his head.
No. It's the moment right before that, when I had everything...
...And I threw it all away...
The screen went black. The sound of rain slowly crawled forwards.
There was a time when I wished I died with them thay day. But I know the reason I survived.
It wasn't so I could avenge their deaths, or wage my little war. It was so i could suffer.
The elderly Jaune walked into his safe house and shut the door behind him. As the lights came on, a stoic pained look came to his face, and he dropped his jacket and slipped his shirt off.
Everyone winced at seeing his injuries; bulled wounds, stray shrapnell, shrapnel cuts and bruises littered his body.
"He's gotten used to it." Sun pointed out. "He's been doing this too long."
Slowly, he made his way to the bathroom.
Dying beside my family would've been too easy a death for me. What i deserved was pain, and years worth of it. I deserved to be cast down among the lowest of the low, surrounded by nothing but horror and death. No joy. No rest.
I deserved a lifetime of punishment.
One by one, he dropped the bullets he'd pulled out into the sink. The rubbing alcohol burned, but he didn't mind. A few minutes later he stepped out, torso patched in stitches and light bandages.
He slipped his shirt back on and sat at a small table with a police scanner next to him.
And even now, after so many years, when I dare to stop and wonder...
Has is been enough?
The answer comes from somewhere deep inside.
Nora shut her eyes, knowing full well what her leader would say. Ren hugged her close.
"It's not our Jaune..."
The scanner went off, dispatch telling of a few surviving mobsters from the Watts birthday massacre. "Confirming: Mercury "The Beaut" Black headed down southwest. All units be advised, target is armed and dangerous.".
Jaune stood again. He grabbed his guns and jacket and walked out the door.
The screen went dark around Jaune, leaving only the skull visible
No.
It will never be enough.
The screen went black, leaving everyone reeling from the experience. Nobody said a word and simply attempted to calm their nerves before the next segment began.