The Protector
DISCLAIMER I don't own Glee
Chapter 1: The Beginning
During a Christmas party at Rachel St. James's house, twenty-eight-year-old Noah Puckerman and two-year-old Liza Marie Anderson were napping when they awoke to screams and gunfire. Noah then gets his Duffel bag, taking out his gear and a small bulletproof vest.
He looks over at Burt and Quinn, who rushed into the room, before he says, "Don't worry, she's staying with you two, and I have a shotgun in my bag for her. It's the type her Grandpa taught her how to use." He winks at Liza Marie before leaving the room, and Liza Marie locks the door. Then they hear Noah say in a deeper voice, "Let's dance, Assholes!"
Before they heard the shotgun go off twenty times, but Burt and Quinn knew there was one more gunman. So they look over at Liza Marie and mouth, "One more. Please help Uncle Nono!"
Then Liza Marie hurriedly gets the gear on and calls General Young back, asking, "Where the hell are you guys? Uncle Nono is out of ammo. There is only one guy left!"
General Young replies, "More outside, your Auntie Tana is with us. Puckerman's half-brother is dead outside. Called for backup, got hit." Soon, the call drops, and Liza Marie rushes to help Noah. She sees Noah having the other guy's neck in a chokehold. She aims for his chest before whistling to Noah and shooting the other guy in the chest.
They soon hear more gunfire outside, and Santana runs back in with the men behind her, asking, "Where's Quinn and Burt?"
Noah points to the bedroom before his buddy Eagle Eye says, "Santana got Rachel out. Liza Marie's Papa was hit but is fine." Then Eagle Eye looks at Burt and says, "I'm sorry, sir, but your son and wife are dead."
Liza Marie storms outside with the gun Noah gave her as she says, "Eagle Eye, Puckerman, Are you and the others planning to hide in here or help me out here?!"
Then Santana said, "Puck, we'll be fine. Now, go! I doubt you want Little She-Hulk to turn her anger on you! Ha, I know that's why your buddies gave her that call sign, and Blaine knows your call sign is Hulk overseas. Now, get moving!" Soon, Noah and the others are outside helping Liza Marie take down the bad guys before the police come along with Sergeant William Reynolds.
Later, Noah is holding Liza Marie as she cries with her head on his shoulder. She says, "Why did Dada and Nana Carole have to die, Uncle Nono?! Why did those mean men come here? I hate them!" Noah just held her the whole way to the hospital as they sat in the back of Burt's car and never let her go. Not even when they find out Blaine was hurt worse than they thought and died of his injuries. Noah even held her as he learned Beth was at the party and got shot first. Noah and Liza Marie were both crying after this and were inconsolable.
Noah was riding out in his gear on his motorcycle with a police scanner for weeks after this. Liza Marie and Quinn even noticed that there was talk on the news about a mysterious man; on a motorcycle rescuing girls around Beth's age. Liza Marie thought the man had to be Noah, but Quinn thought it was just a coincidence. But on the nights Noah went out, more girls got rescued. Quinn refused to believe Noah was the one saving them. Because some areas where the crimes happened were too dangerous to be around at night, Quinn couldn't believe that Noah would risk riding to these areas on his motorcycle at night. Quinn saw a picture on the news of the mysterious man dubbed The Protector and thought his jawline was like Noah's, but still refused to accept it was him.
One day Noah went to the police station to be part of a lineup, and different witnesses looked at him with recognition. Yet, they would lie and say it wasn't him every time. Noah smiled and thanked God that he was free to go. Then, when he returned home, he saw General Michael Young sitting on the porch swing with Liza Marie.
General Young looks at Liza Marie and says, "You're not John Henry Irons, Puckerman, and this is real life. This little girl looks up to you, and you are her hero. You can't fight the bad guys alone. Do you really want to risk your military career saving those people? Look, I'm not trying to stop you, but I want you to realize this will catch up to you. If you don't lie low and stay under the radar."
Noah glares at Mike and says, "I don't know what you are talking about, sir."
Then General Young says as he starts to leave, " Yeah, right, Puckerman. I know you and those girls you saved are not Beth. If you plan to continue to do this, ask yourself, "Who am I doing this for?" Later, Puckerman and feel free to stop by my place day or night."
Soon he leaves, and Quinn asks, "What did General Young want?" Noah doesn't answer her and walks inside as Liza Marie follows him.
Quinn was shopping one day while Noah worked at the base hospital, and Liza Marie was at daycare. Noah is watching the news in the break room when he sees that Quinn is a hostage at a store in the mall along with fifteen other people. At one point, Noah has gone missing before his coworkers see The Protector saving Quinn and the others from the gunman. When Noah returns, he tells somebody he had been on the roof taking a smoke break. Noah didn't know his buddy Eric Johnson, a.k.a. Eagle Eye, was there, and he knew Noah wasn't.
Noah came home from work to find Quinn and Burt on the couch. Then Burt says, "Puck, don't you think this has been going on long enough? Saving us at Rachel's party is one thing, but Quinn could have blown your cover. Plus, you have Liza Marie and Quinn to think about here. What if you got hit in the face or had a wreck on your bike? Come on, Puck. Just let the police handle this."
Noah gets mad and yells, "Like they handled saving us from those assholes that killed Beth and Jake or Kurt and Carole? Burt, you can't sit there and tell me you didn't want to kill the assholes that killed people we love! Goddamn it! Liza Marie lost her parents, and Rachel gave her to us out of guilt. Because Beth was ours! I know I am not Batman, but there is no fucking way I'm about to let Liza Marie grow up in a world feeling scared. I am her dad now! Nothing you say will get me to stop this!" Then Noah storms out of the room and heads to his bedroom.
After Burt leaves, Quinn comes into the room and says, "Puck, all we're asking is for you to think of the risks here. Plus, Liza Marie already sees you as a hero, and I doubt she wants to see another dad laying in a casket any time soon!"
To which Noah says, "I am, Quinn! I know that if I stop this, you or Liza Marie might be the ones in fucking caskets! I lost Finn and my Ma to drugs! I lost Beth to a drug lord, and I am not willing to let one more person lose a family member to people like that. Goddamn it, Quinn, dad is sitting in prison because he became a drug dealer. My ma lied to me about my dad for years and was hitting me because she blamed me for him leaving her! She was even pimping me out to the MILF's and I tried to steal that ATM because I was sick of it! I was sick of feeling like a fucking loser! Doing this makes me feel like I am doing some good in this world for a fucking change! It's like the feeling I got when we won that one football game with Kurt's help! Hell, or that feeling you got when you became prom queen! Quinn, when I am out there saving those people! I feel like I am doing what I was supposed to do! Being a Top Gun doesn't even compare to this! Quinn, I am doing this for you and Liza Marie! I am doing this for Burt and Sarah, who cut me out of her life after Ma died!" Before long, they hear the door to Liza Marie's room open.
Then Liza Marie sniffles before she says, "Mama Queenie, Daddy Nono is doing more than those slow policemen did, and I told you it was him! But you didn't believe me until he saved you! Now, you want him to stop being a hero because Daddy Nono might get hurt?! Mama Queenie, what he is doing is no different from flying fighter jets! You big meanie! I'd rather know he died saving somebody! Then see him dead because he was in an accident, and yeah. I looked up to him. But so did my parents, it's why I am here and not wiff Mama Rachel! It's not because she felt guilty because you lost Beff as Daddy Nono thinks! Daddy Nono is Dada's hero. Yeah, he didn't protect Dada and Papa or Aunt Beff. But Daddy Nono saved you twice, and Daddy Nono saved Grandpa Burt! Daddy Nono might not have saved everybody at the party, but he protected us! Now, give him a fucking break. Unlike you, I can see this made him heal. Mama Queenie, if I wasn't two. I would be right there by his side! Plus, I only helped take down those bad guys at Mama Rachel's because I knew his buddies wouldn't let me get hurt! God, I am two, and I'm not stupid, Mama Queenie! I knew it was risky to help Daddy Nono, and I didn't do it because you told me! I fucking did it because it made me feel happy! Now, will you two stop fighting, so I can take a goddamn nap! Jesus, when Dada and Papa fought about stuff, at least they would whisper! Daddy Nono is as loud as Grandpa Burt!" Liza Marie was still fuming as she left the room and slammed the door to her bedroom.
That night Noah was on patrol again when he heard about another home invasion in Burt's neighborhood. Then he receives a text from Quinn saying, "Burt is the hostage, Puck. It's on the news, and I fear those guys will give Burt a heart attack. Do whatever it takes to save him for Liza Marie."
Then he heads to Burt's house, and as soon as he arrives there, Lieutenant Edward Winslow comes up to him, saying, "Protector, Buddy, we can handle this."
Noah jumps off his bike and says in a deeper voice, "Sure you can. Now, move out of my way!"
Before he gets his shotgun ready and heads into the house after kicking the door in, shooting all twenty men there and taking Burt out, when Burt says, "Thank you, sir! There should be more people like you in this world." Before long, Quinn calls Burt and Noah gets on his bike to do more patrolling before heading back home.
As Burt sits on the couch with Liza Marie on his lap, General Young and Eric Johnson sit beside him. Then Eric says, "Look, Puck, even John Henry Irons had help here. You can't do this alone, and General Young promises to keep his mouth shut."
Then Eric glances at General Young before he says," You know, I almost lost my wife Stacie to guys like the ones that we took down, and after nearly getting attacked tonight, I want to help too. Puckerman, let's start with that lame name the media gave you."
Then Mike glances at Liza Marie before she replies, "Wolfman because when you use your deeper voice, you sound like a werewolf, and your unit is called The Wolfmen."
After this, Noah makes a phone call using his deeper voice as he says, "Don't call me The Protector, call me, The Wolfman." and ends the call.
As he winks at Liza Marie and replies to General Young, "So, I guess you and Eagle Eye are willing to risk your military careers to help me, Sir?"
Then Mike replies, "I'm retiring in a few months, since Eagle Eye here works with you at the army hospital. Plus, he is the only other person who smokes on the roof there, too and has a convincing poker face when lying. I believe your secret is safe here."
After this, everybody looks at Liza Marie, who replies, "Come on, I can keep a secret! I promise!" Which made everyone laugh.
A month after General Young retired, Noah went to see him with Liza Marie while Quinn was in the hospital on bed rest while she awaited the birth of their son. As soon as they walk in, they see a man in a wheelchair, and Noah says, "Hey, Jamie, man, I thought you got your own place."
Jamie rolls his eyes and looks over at Mike, who says to Liza Marie, "Don't mind him, Squirt. He's mad because his online boyfriend dumped him for a girl."
Noah chuckles before Jamie gets on his laptop, and they hear a computer voice say, "Dad? I doubt Puck's daughter needed to know that."
Then Liza Marie says, "I'm Congressman Hummel's granddaughter, and his son was my Dada." Don't worry, I'm okay with you liking men, and I can tell you like Daddy Nono."
Before, Mike chuckles as Jamie blushes. Then Noah says to Jamie, "I used to tease her Dada a lot back in high school, man. So, what was it you wanted to show me?"
Jamie looks over at Mike, who replies, "Follow me." Then, they followed him to a hidden door on the floor, and Mike made Noah open it.
Soon, Mike takes Jamie out of the wheelchair, and they all walk down some steps to a room that looks like the Bat Cave. The first thing that caught Noah's eye was a motorcycle in the corner of the room. Then he asks Mike, "So, how long has this been here?"
Mike looks at Liza Marie as he says, "Since I built the cabin, I didn't injure my leg overseas, Puck. I was a comic book nerd. Stacie was a computer nerd, and we built this cabin together. She made me give up crime-fighting before Jamie was born. He found the room when he was thirteen, and we have made improvements over the years. Then, after his last stay in the hospital, he saw you on the news that day you saved Quinn, and he has been begging me to tell you since."
Then Mike says to Liza Marie, "Your Grandpa Burt doesn't know about this, and I would like to keep it that way. Even though he knows about your new daddy there."
Liza Marie just made the sign for sealed lips. Then she saw a picture of some men holding a sign saying, "Wolfmen Unit Rules" and some protective gear that looked like it could fit her. Then she looked at Jamie and yelled at Mike, "You were lying to my daddy, General. You stopped because your son got hurt, and I bet he knew about the room before he was thirteen. Now, why did you want me to find out about this room?! You didn't need me to be here to show Daddy this room!"
Mike just looked at her and said, "I saw your face when you would tell people about getting to help your adopted dad take down the guys that killed your Dada Kurt. It was the same look Jamie had when he came patrolling with me. Look, I know you could get hurt, but come on, your call sign here is the Little She-Hulk for a reason, and it has nothing to do with your anger. I bet your new daddy doesn't even know that you could probably lift him over your head."
Before Mike can say another word, he and Jamie watch her grab the belt loops on Noah's jeans and lift him over her head as he says, "Holy fuck! Ha, Papa Blaine wasn't lying. God, Little She-Hulk, I am guessing. I need to keep this from Mama Quinn and Grandpa Burt."
As she puts Noah down, she says, "G' Pa Burt knows already and has been begging me to tell you since that day Eric and General Young came to the house. Mama Queenie only knows I can open jars and carry trash bags that weigh as much as you. If she found out about this, she might try to lock me in my room until I'm as old as you."
Then Jamie uses his other wheelchair to say, "Ha, mom tried that too after I got hurt, and I wonder if your new daddy heard about you playing Army Men World with me, Little She-Hulk. Or if your Grandpa Burt knows you learned how to shoot guns from that game, not him."
Then they heard Burt say, "I do now." Mike, I've known about this room ever since Jamie got shot. Are you crazy? Puck fighting crime is one thing, but Liza Marie is just a kid and my granddaughter! I lost Carole and Kurt! I am not willing to be without her either."
Then he looks at Noah as he says, "If she gets hurt, I'm telling Quinn about this! I know I can't stop Liza Marie from hurting herself! I can stop you, Puckerman! For God's sake, you lost Beth. Do you want to lose Liza Marie, too?"
Then Liza Marie lifts Burt over her head as she says, "G' Pa, if you tell Mama Queenie about this, I'm telling Mama Queenie why you bought me my brand-new gun, and it wasn't to take me hunting! Now, you better keep this room a secret from her!"
Burt looks at the others as he says, "Okay, okay, Little She-Hulk. I won't tell her. Now, put me down, please! " As she put Burt down, the other men busted out laughing.
Before they heard Stacie yell, "Puck, the baby's coming! You need to get to the hospital now! Jamie and I will watch Liza Marie! Now, go!"
As soon as he got to the maternity ward, he heard, "Code Blue, Room 517!" And it scared him because that was Quinn's room. When he got to her room, he only heard the baby's heartbeat fade and dropped to his knees. Burt and Mike had to hold him up when he walked into the room to say goodbye to Quinn and his son. When Burt sees the name on the birth and death certificates, he sheds a tear as he says, "Ha, you named your son after Sue? Puck? Did you want him to be like Kurt?"
Noah laughs as he replies, "Uh, that's my middle name, Burt. I named him after me. My parents and Sue are the only other people that know that. Ha, if Kurt knew that when we were in glee club. He would be teasing me about it for years. Ha, and yes, Dad named me that. I am glad Dad didn't name him, or we might be the brothers both named Sue."
Then Burt gets out his wallet and shows Noah his birth certificate. Noah busts out laughing as he says, "Leslie?! Does Kurt know this?"
Burt chuckles as he says, "No, I never told him that, and I don't want this info to leave this room!" Mike and Noah smirk at each other before they say, in unison, "I'm telling Liza Marie!"
After Quinn's funeral, Noah saw that Liza Marie would accompany them on runs with Noah and his unit every day after school. Plus, Burt noticed she was doing roundhouse kicks or high sidekicks. Then both men noticed she was losing her baby fat, and Jamie Young saw Liza Marie was getting better at playing Army Men World.
One day, Noah was at the shooting range with Liza Marie, and she was on the ground shooting her rifle. The other soldiers even noticed she was hitting the bullseye every time. Then Eric came up to Noah and whispered, "Little She-Hulk has now become The Wolf Cub. Are you planning to tell Jamie, or should I?"
Noah didn't answer him, and as Liza Marie finished. She storms out stone-faced and says, "Daddy, I want to see General Young now!" As he follows her.
When they get there, Mike smiles as he says, "She's ready. Come with me." Then they followed Mike to the secret room. Before long, Liza Marie is putting on Jamie's old gear and says, "Call me, Wolf Cub."
As she gets on a small motorbike, Noah says to Jamie, "She's tougher than she looks, man." As he lightly hits Jamie's shoulder, soon, they hear Stacie say, "Someone is holding Burt hostage again. Puck, you better leave now!" Before Noah could move, Liza Marie was gone on her new bike, and Mike said, "I had extra padding put in the gear and a tracking device in the helmet."
Then Noah hears a beeping noise from Jamie's computer in the room. Before, Liza Marie's voice says on an intercom, "Come on, Daddy." I'm not doing this alone! Get moving! You're the Wolfman! Now, come on! Mrs. Young told me that's how Jamie got hurt, and I don't plan on being in a wheelchair!"
Noah was soon riding his bike toward Burt's house. As he gets there, he sees Liza Marie's bike out front, and the cops pull up just as he walks in, hearing machine gunfire. Then Burt runs out as another man gets thrown out the window on the second floor of Burt's house. Before, Noah went to help Liza Marie fight four other men and put one in a chokehold as Liza Marie shot the guy in the chest and howled like a wolf.
When they returned to Mike's cabin, Burt sat on the front porch staring at Liza Marie for five minutes before saying to Noah, "I'm glad the cops only saw her come out of the house. They thought you threw that guy out the window and didn't see you or her go in. Ha, I'm glad you are not the only single father your size raising a little girl alone and that they haven't connected everything yet."
After Burt says this, Sergeant Edward Winslow pulls up in a red convertible. When he gets out, he says to Noah, "I knew it was you! Look, I'm a big fan of the movie Steal, and I'm not going to rat you out. But you better hope one of that little girl's friends' parents doesn't figure it out. I don't live far from here, and I'm a single father. So, I know you want to do whatever it takes to protect your kids. Look, I got to go. Just know you have a friend on the inside, and I know this city like the back of my hand."
Then he hands Noah a piece of paper and says, "This is my cell; call me if you need any help." He soon looks at General Young and says, "I guess he knows you were the first Protector or Wolf-man. My captain thinks he's your son, and I guess he doesn't know about Jamie being in a wheelchair. Like, I said, I'm not ratting anyone out here, and now I got to go."
As Edward was leaving, Burt asked, "How do we know this isn't some kind of setup?"
Edward looks over at Liza Marie and says, "You don't, and Jamie's not the only one in a wheelchair. My son got shot last year, and I moved here to keep him safe. By the way, I was there the night your son got killed. Everybody in this town knows he is the new Wolf-man, but no one is willing to rat him out because they know he does a better job protecting this town."
As soon as Edward leaves, Mike says, "That was too close. Maybe you need to lie low for a while, Puck."
Then Liza Marie screams before saying, "No, you heard Officer Winslow. He is doing a better job of protecting this town, and I am not Jamie, General! I freaked out because Daddy Nono wasn't following me. Okay? Now, stop treating me like a baby! I threw a grown man out of a window! For God's sake! I shot another man at Mama Rachel's and helped you attack the others! Now, I don't want to hear any more about this! I know I'm not bulletproof, and I could get hurt. But I am not Jamie, and you need to stop feeling guilty about what happened to him! It wasn't all your fault! Why did you even show me that room if you feared me getting hurt? Why did you let me put on Jamie's gear? Just because the cops were too close doesn't mean anything. I had the best night of my life and loved every minute. Do you want Daddy to stop? I. Am. Not! Jamie!" Then she storms into the cabin, still fuming.
Mike chuckles before saying, "God, have I been treating her like Jamie? I know she's not him, and I'm not the one doing the crime-fighting here. I guess I lived vicariously through you, Puck, and thought Jamie should live through her."
Burt and Noah glare at him, asking, "You think?"
Chapter 2 will be up soon. Sorry if there are still errors.
