Luna was inside her room playing on her guitar to pass the time. At the same time though she thought about what had happened to her the past two days. First she ran into the living myth himself, and earlier today she saw Frank become something no one in the school has ever seen. What got her attention was Frank's tone of voice, it sounded very familiar. She couldn't place why it was. Her thought was interrupted when she heard a doorbell ring and Luan went to get it.
"Who's there?" asked Luan.
"Lemy."
"Lemy who?"
"Lemy in please, I have a lot of work to do with your sister Luna." Luan gave a chuckle at the knock knock joke, and opens the door.
"Good one..." she couldn't finish because she saw Frank standing there. She continued to stand there, leaving a very awkward silence.
"So uhh are you going to let me in?" asked Frank.
"Oh right sorry." she moves to the side and lets him in. He sits on the family couch waited patiently for Luna. Luan ran up the stairs to her room, and had questions for Luna.
"Luna, why didn't you tell me Frank was coming over?"
"Huh what? He's here? Shoot I forgot, I promised that I would help him out with music theory stuff." Luan gives a sly smile at Luna, which annoyed her.
"What?" asked Luna.
"Oh nothing, just remember that you can't tuna fish, but you can tune a piano, hahaha." Luna's face drops at that joke, but she ignored it and went downstairs with her stuff to meet with Frank.
"Hey Frank, sorry I was busy running down a dream."
"It's all cool, as long as you're ready to show me how music theory works." They went right into it, Luna was telling him how to write music, how timing works, and how everything needed to flow. The two were having a really good time with the session. Luna wanted to use this time to learn more about Frank.
"Dude, where did you learn how to play bass this rad?"
"Back in New York, I had a lot of time on my hand so my escape was music."
"Oh cool you're from New York? Doesn't it get hectic with all of these heroes and bad guys fighting everyday?"
"You get used to it, I mean someone has to do something."
"Awesome. Did you get to chill with some of the heroes?"
"If you mean the Avengers? No, they were busy saving the world. I did get see other heroes, all I can say is the rumors you hear are true."
"So you mean, the devil of Hell's Kitchen, the man with the unbreakable skin, the immortal Iron Fist, all of them are true?" He Just gives a small wink. "How do you know?"
"Being the sole heir to my family's company, I've had quite a few people come and make sure I didn't get it."
"That must be rough, no wonder why you moved here."
"Well there's more to it then that." He started to think about the last thing he remembered before he left New York. So many people were sad and angry. He himself wished he had done more, but alas he was only one person, he couldn't have stopped what happened.
"Did you hear me?" Asked Luna.
"Huh? Sorry I just spaced out. What did you say?"
"I was wondering if you met the white skull demon?"
"Oh him? I've heard that he is called The Punisher. Why do you ask?"
"I uh actually ran into him, he saved my life."
"I see so you ran into a hero of your own?"
"Hardly, that guy was so not chill. He was willing to kill a guy who was begging for his life."
"What do you mean? That guy probably deserved what he got coming to him." Luna couldn't believe what she just heard. She thought Frank was this perfect guy, but now she realized there's no such thing as a perfect guy. There was no way she could let this one go.
"You actually agree with this guy? It's not up to him what happens to other people, there are others who decide that."
"What have they been doing to stop it? Gangs in this city is growing larger everyday, and no one is doing anything about it, except tell everyone to run and lock up their home. At least he is doing something about it."
"We don't get to decide who lives or who dies, there are rules that have to be followed."
"Yeah well there are those who don't follow rules. Whoever this White Skull person is, he is giving the test of their own medicine." The tension between two was fierce, before Luna could continue she gets phone call from Sam.
"I gotta take this, you can show yourself out the door." Frank didn't need to think twice about it, and gathered his stuff and stormed out. Luna answered the phone call.
"Hey Sam now is not a good time to..."
"Luna I need your help, I went out to another concert, and the gang from the other night kidnapped me. They are demanding you to show up and..." Sam gets cut off and heard an older and gruffer voice.
"Listen kid, if you want to make sure your friend is okay I highly suggest you come here alone. There's some things we need to discuss together about what happened, I'll send you the address." He hangs up and she didn't have to wait long for the address. She decided to go against her better judgment, sneaks out of her house, calls the police and told them everything, and heads to the address.
-Elsewhere-
Frank was getting his gear on, getting ready for tonight's patrol. He needed to clear his head of what had happened between him and Luna. She was the first person aside from a couple of Titans back home, he felt he could almost call a friend. He wished he could get her to understand his views, but the words kept running through his head
"Great Power Comes Great Responsibility." echoed in his head. He regretted hearing that phrase. That phrase had been haunting him for a while now. He couldn't help but wonder if there was actual truth behind that statement. He lost his focus when Mr. Lieberman comes in.
"Ready for tonight Master Frank?"
"Yeah give me a second. Just making sure the War Van is ready." He puts on the finishing touches and heads towards the War Van, but Mr. Lieberman stopped him to address something.
"Frank you need to hear this." He turns to the giant computer screen and turns it on. The police radio was playing telling them about the 911 call they just received.
"Calling all officers, there's been a kidnapping. A high school student has been taken by one of the gangs in downtown, and they are demanding a Luna Loud to come at this location." Frank turns it off and walks back towards the War-Van
"Are you going to do something about this sir?" asked Mr. Lieberman.
"She has a lot of belief in the cops, let them handle it. Maybe she'll learn a thing or two."
"You can't be serious, you're going to risk a life of an innocent all because of a disagreement?"
"She's in no real danger, the cops will be there to take care of it.
"Why the sudden faith in the law enforcement?" Frank realized his hypocrisy, but refused to let Mr. Lieberman know that he was right. Just kept on walking.
"Frank, I'm sure both you and Ms. Luna had a falling out, but The Punisher does not let innocent people get hurt. It is why you became who you are." Frank knew he was right. He not only vowed to kill all criminals, he vowed to protect the innocent.
"Fine, saving Luna is now priority number one. Send me the fastest route with the least possibility of encountering police officers." He gets in the War-Van and drives off, Mr. Lieberman does what he was instructed. He couldn't help but smile. Could this Luna be the key to finally ending all of this?
-Elsewhere-
Luna arrived at the location. It was a nightclub of all places. There was a long line for those who wanted to enter. She didn't have time to wait and went directly to the door.
"Let me in." Said Luna to the bouncer.
"Sorry love, can't get in without a ticket." Someone from the inside came out and whispered into his ear about who Luna was and why she was here.
"You mean this pipsquek is here to see the boss and the one who..." The guy nodded his head yes. "My apologies love, come right in." He lets Luna inside the club, she gets lead inside by the guy who told the bouncer who she was, and led her to a giant room. Inside the giant room was filled with gangsters and mobsters, the likes of which she never seen before. She walked in, looking at everyone and searching for Sam. She found her tied up in a chair.
"Sam you alright?" asked Luna as she untied her.
"Luna!? You shouldn't have come here! This is just one big trap!"
"Don't worry love, I called the cops, they are coming."
"You don't understand! The cops are not coming!" said Sam.
"Dude what are you talking about?" Luna finally looked around and noticed the police commissioner standing with Sam's captors.
"Okay boys, we got them both right where we want them." said the commissioner. "You see child, this city hasn't had crime in for a long time, and because of that there's been less of a need of police officers. So I say, let's remind them why we're needed. I got a contact in New York and told him about how great it would be if they came here. And then next thing we know BAM crime rate went up, as did police funding went up. Any questions?"
"Yeah uh, why?" asked Sam.
"What do you mean why? I just told you." said the commissioner
"No I mean why did you tell us this?" said Sam
"To be honest we really don't care about all of this, we just want to get out of here." said Luna
"Grrr forget this, boys take those two. Let's show everyone what happens to those who mess with us." Everyone got closer to the two. Luna started to panic, and she knew she had to do something.
"That wasn't us who killed your gang members! It was..."Said Luna but was interrupted by the commissioner.
"Yeah yeah, I know the white skull demon. Please how many times do I have to tell everyone, this demon does not exist!"
"He's not a demon, his name is the Punisher." They then hear one of the men drops gun and saw him shake uncontrollably.
"P...Pu...Punisher!? He's here!? Oh god no...I...I need to get out of here..." he makes a run for the exit. As he opens the door he gets punched out by a black glove.
"I'm not one for theatrics, so let's cut to the chase. Leave those two alone." Said the Punisher as he entered the room. Everyone in the room started to murmur to one another. They were saying the white skull demon actually does exist and to those who knew who he was, started to panic for they knew what was going to happen.
"Well what are you waiting for, ninjas to pop out of nowhere!? Get him!" Those around him started to fire the guns at the Punisher. He rolls out the to a nearby crate. As everyone stopped to reload, Punisher used this opportunity to strike.
"My turn. He presses a button on his wrist. An explosion goes off and the wall collapses taking out a few men. This gave Luna and Sam the opportunity to move out of the way and escaped through the hole.
"You okay Sam?" Asked Luna.
"Yeah I'm good. Just a little shaken up by all of this."
"Let's get out of here." As she pulled on Sam's arm, Sam didn't budge.
"Sorry Luna we gotta see how this plays out."
"That's a really huge mistake you're making."
"Yeah well it's mine to make." She goes as close as possible to the hole and see what happens. Luna couldn't leave her behind and joins her. When the wall exploded, it also gave Punisher an opportunity to pull out dual pistols and fire at the men. One by one each men went down, everyone started to panic at the sight of people dying, and started to get sloppy. One got so desperate that he used a flamethrower and spread fire all over the place. The Punisher's trench coat and mask caught fire and he took them off immediately. He quickly shot him before he could do more damage. Luna finally saw who was behind the mask.
"Frank..." The commissioner panicked through out all of this and pulled out his walkie and called the police station.
"This is Commissioner Flop, I was kidnapped by the white skull demon. I managed to get free but I need back up ASAP, my location is..." The walkie gets taken out of his hand and gets destroyed by the Punisher. The commissioner looks around and sees the carnage and everyone else dead on the floor.
"You're finished commissioner." Said the Punisher.
"Please don't hurt me!"
"I can't guarantee that." Before he could continue, the familiar sound of police sirens was heard by everyone.
"Ha! What are you going to do now! You'll be arrested and I'll be out here doing all of this again."
"Well there's one thing I can do." Punisher puts hand around his throat and lifts him up, slowly choking him out. Luna had enough of this and rushed inside.
"Stop! The police are coming and you need to get out of here!"
"Not until he pays for his crime."
"No you can't do this. This is wrong, all of this is wrong! How many more people have to die!" Shouted Luna.
"Dude we need to get out of here the police are here!"
"Not without him!"
"Why do you care? He is just another killer, we need to leave!"
"You leave then!" Sam was conflicted. She didn't want to leave her friend behind. However, the situation was getting out of hand.
"Promise me you'll be okay?"Luna nodded her head, giving Sam the cue to get out of there.
"Let him go, killing him won't solve anything."
"He needs to be punished for what he did. All of this crime that has happened to this city and to you was caused by him." The police busts in heavily armed and ready.
"Open fire on them!" Said the commissioner.
"Bloody hell." Punisher tosses the commissioner to the side and uses his body to shield Luna from the hail of bullets.
"Oh my gosh Frank you okay!?"Asked Luna.
"I'll be fine." Punisher pulls out a few pellets and creates a smoke screen. He presses a button on his wrist and grabs Luna by the hand and ran towards the War-Van. The door slides open and the two dive inside and the van drive on by itself.
"Where to sir?" Asked the computer.
"Back home Chip."
"No to the hospital, Frank you got shot a lot, you need to see a doctor fast!"
"I'll be fine, Chip continue with the destination."
"What do you mean you're fine!? If the bullets didn't kill you, the blood loss will!" Punisher takes off his shirt, Luna's face turns red and covers her eyes immediately.
"Take a look for yourself." Said Punisher. Luna slowly opened her eyes, fearing the worst. She saw that the Punisher's back is completely healed.
"H...how?"
"It's my secret power, I can heal real fast." There was so much she wanted to talk about, but she was feeling a bit tired from everything, and passed out.
"Luna! LUNA!" Was the last thing she heard before passing out.
-Elsewhere-
Luna woke up in a big comfy bed, wearing pajamas that she normally would never wear. It was still nighttime, and she was concerned about how her parents will react when they find out she's not home She gets out of the bed and exits the bedroom and finds Frank's butler, Mr. Lieberman.
"Ah good evening Ms. Loud, I hope you had a good rest, you gave Master Frank quite the scare."
"Where am I?"
"You're at Master Frank's House. Don't worry he already told our parents where you were, so they're not worried."
"Did you tell my parents about Frank?"
"No, no your parents do not know about Frank's extracurricular activities. As far as they're concerned Frank demanded that you come over and help him with school work. He didn't know about you being grounded and apologized profusely." Luna was not relieved that her parents were not too concerned about where she was. She was however more concerned about Frank.
"Mr. Lieberman how can you let Frank do all of this? He's a killing people every night!"
"I know..." Mr. Lieberman has sorrowful look on his face. "Ms. Loud, I do have one request to ask of you. Please save Frank from his Punisher persona."
"What? Why me?"
"I've been with him his entire life. Ever since he became the Punisher he almost lost his humanity. He is still in there, I know it. While he does take lives away, he also protects the innocent. Ms. Loud before he met you, he never cared about anyone else as deeply."
"What do you mean?"
"Last night was proof of it after all. How else did he know where you were? I beg of you Ms. Loud, please bring Frank back to the light. I know he can be the hero like the Avengers and the Justice League."
"I don't know if I can, I'll try."
"Thank you Ms. Loud. I will lead you to the dining room, you must be famished" She follows Mr. Lieberman downstairs to the dining room, where Frank was eating silently. She sits down as Mr. Lieberman gives her food. She eats silently as well, taking in what has happened to her. Still couldn't believe that the person across from her was around her age and is using his time to kill other people.
"So...how are you feeling?" Asked Frank.
"I've been better." They just continued to eat in silence until Luna broke the silence. "Frank why do you this? What made you do all of this?"
"Frustration over how crime was being handled. They hit them, they get back up. I hit them they stay down."
"What about hope Frank? Have you ever thought about the good in people? These people have families and people they have to take care of. No one is completely evil."
"Well I think you're wrong. There's no good in the filth I take out."
"There is still hope in this world. Don't stop believing, You've got to hold on that feeling."
"If you only knew Luna, the scum of this world deserve to be snuffed out."
"Why don't you tell me then. I have time." Frank took a deep breath, he didn't know whether or not to tell her. He looked up and saw Mr. Lieberman.
"Sir I think it's time you told her." Frank looks at Mr. Lieberman, takes a deep breath and starts to tell his story.
"Luna, have you ever made a choice in your life you always regretted?" Luna thought about the time when she believed that Lincoln was a huge jinx and by being around him caused bad luck to those around him. Of course this wasn't true, but the fact that she treated her brother like trash still haunts her. She promised she would always have his back, and the one time he needed her, she turned her back on him.
"Yeah I do."
"There was a time in my life when I believed that by doing the right thing everything will just work out. One day, I saw someone getting robbed, and when the police asked me who it was I immediately identified who he was, and the cops assured me that he would be locked away, and that I did the right thing." Frank's lips started to quiver and hesitated to continue, but he still pressed on. "A month later I came home from school, and I saw the same guy with a bunch of other men. They made me watch...They made me watch my parents die right before my eyes. My parents are gone...and the guy is still out there...the police wouldn't even touch him." He starts to tear up and for the first time Luna saw Frank vulnerable, and needed someone to comfort him. She walks over and hugs him. "I...I...I just wanted to do the right thing...That's all I wanted to do."
"It's alright dude, let it all out." He continues to tear up and held on to Luna. "I'm no therapist, but you're clearly hurting. You can't keep this up Frank. Killing won't heal the pain." Frank finally calms down and lets go of Luna.
"Then what do I do?"
"Try to see things differently, try to use your equipment to protect lives and not kill." said Mr. Lieberman. "Master Frank, you have been given this opportunity to make a real difference in this world, be the hero you were always meant to be."
"I don't know...if I can do it."
"Hey Frank, anytime you feel the pain, don't carry the world upon your shoulders. We'll do what we can to help." She looks at the clock and notices the time. "I need to get back home, I am supposed to be grounded." She walks away, but is stopped short by Frank, who pulls her in for another hug.
"Thanks Luna..."
"Anytime dude." She walks home, leaving Mr. Lieberman and Frank in their home.
"I think I'm going to call it a night, it's Royal Woods will be fine without the Punisher." Said Frank. He walks upstairs and goes straight to his room. Mr. Lieberman plops on a big comfy chair, and pulls out a locket. Inside the locket is a picture of Frank Castle and his family. He looks at and tears start to fall down, and for the first time in a long time, Mr. Lieberman smiles.
-Elsewhere-
Commissioner Flop was in his home office panicking about over what to do. Not only the two girls knows what he had done, but the Punisher is now after him. He is drawing up plans on getting more protection, building up more crime so Punisher can focus on that, and possibly run away to his cousin Flip. No matter what he could think of he knew he was done for. He was so focused on what to do, he didn't notice someone walking in.
"My my commissioner if you are not too careful you could've suffered an unfortunate fate." said the intruder as he tossed a bowie knife up and down.
"Who are you and how did you get in?"
"I am one of the enforcers for a certain contact you had back in New York, does the Kingpin ring a bell? I go by Jigsaw. As how I got in, just like any normal person through the front door."
"Kingpin! Tell him I already gave him his money so he can just leave me alone." Jigsaw throws the knife and narrowly missed his head.
"I'm not here for Kingpin, I'm here to offer some assistance with this Punisher problem." Commissioner Flops perks up immediately, after hearing this.
"You know how to stop the Punisher!? Tell me right now!"
"Relax there. You just leave him to me. All I ask is complete control of all gangs in this city, and no police involvement."
"You listen here. That's not going to happen." Jigsaw pulls out a stack of documents detailing the commissioner's deals with the Kingpin and how he used funds to support the rise of gangs in the city.
"This is just a small sample of evidence against you, what do you think will happen when the press gets hold of this?" Commissioner Flop looks down in defeat at the documents.
"Fine I'll agree to your terms."
"Good now if you don't mind." Jigsaw walks towards him. Step by step, the commissioner get more and more nervous. Jigsaw walks up to him and pulls out the knife, and smacks his back, "Did you honestly think I was going to kill you." He starts to laugh, while commissioner laughed as well in nervousness. "Do you have anything to contribute?" He just stood there silent. "Didn't think so." Jigsaw just leaves the house. The commissioner was relieved, he got to breath for another day. Or so he thought. He heard a beeping noise closeby. He searched all over the place, until he checked his body until he felt something on his back. He didn't know what it was, but he knew he had to get it off. It was too late however, as an explosion goes off and immediately killing him.