(A/N): Hey guys! Hope you had a nice weekend!
Thanks to Sora Loves Rain, Freyja-Njorda, hypercrazyx3, Adharablack85-2, Lullie, General Mac, sailorxbloom, KittyWolfM, Catzandbookz8, Famond, Silas Serenity, Westcoast222, peachx89, alexaguamenti, DOAWOTA, moozga, Pterodactyl1993, and Guests for reviewing with the last two chapters. Your encouragement and support mean the world to me!
Okay, so, in this chapter there will be scenes/characters from Thor 2, Daredevil, and The Punisherso if you recognize something (or someone) it's probably from one of those. I'm really looking forward to hearing what you all think about this chapter and the insight into Frank's character. He just breaks my heart sometimes and I want him to break yours too. We should all feel the pain.
This chapter was betaed (I know, I can't believe it either!) by the wonderful, spectacular, sailorxbloom. She's amazing and I'm so grateful she's willing to take on this hot mess of story!
Thank you all for reading! Enjoy!
Carol could almost hear Mia telling her what a terrible idea this was.
She could hear her daughter's voice in her mind listing out all the ways this plan could go wrong and what would happen if it did. But Carol didn't- couldn't- care. There wasn't time for caution anymore.
The longer they waited to act, the more likely it was that Thanos would find out about Mia. Or even that Ronan might find out about her. She and Loki had worked so hard to ensure that their daughter was safe and hidden. They had given her up to keep her safe and it was all for nothing.
Loki called it fate and destiny, but Carol had never believed in that. Fate was for suckers who were too scared to trust in their own merits. She might have been like that once, with the Kree. Might have believed in a higher power and the idea that she had been given her gifts for a reason. But now she knew the truth: she'd gotten her powers because she had made the right decision at the right time.
No God- or whatever Loki and people like him thought was out there- had decided that she deserved her abilities and mandated that she do good. She was the one who decided to help people. She was the one who decided to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. That was her choice and no one else's. Just like this.
It hadn't been easy slipping into the Asgardian records hall. She'd had to do it after returning Loki and not a single person in that hellhole trusted her. Which, considering Carol had broken into one of their most private areas and rummaged around in their sacred texts for her own personal gain, was probably fair. Not even Loki knew what she had done or what she was searching for. If he had, he'd have wanted her to wait until he could join her, and Carol wasn't willing to do that.
This… this was her responsibility. This was her fault. This was all her fault and she needed to fix it. And she was going to do it the only way she knew how.
Alone.
Mia lay in her bed, staring blankly up at her ceiling.
If she got up, she'd have to get dressed. If she didn't get dressed, someone would come down to check on her and give an over-encouraging speech about why she should get dressed. But, if she did get dressed, then she'd be expected to go upstairs and have a meal with everyone else. And that meal would be spent pretending she didn't see their gazes darting at her on regular basis and taking in how much she was eating, what she seemed to be eating more of, and if she'd finished her glass of water.
None of that sounded appealing to Mia so she had opted to just lie in bed until she had to move and then she'd make a decision.
Unless, of course, JARVIS offered her another idea. "Miss Stark, I have located the name of one individual whom Miss Reyes seems to be basing her Punisher case around."
It took a moment before Mia could rouse herself enough to speak. "Who?" she asked, voice laden with exhaustion.
A light filled the room then and Mia squeezed her eyes shut. "What…"
"My apologies for your discomfort, Miss Stark. I have projected the image of the man Miss Reyes believes to be the Punisher on the wall to your right."
Groaning, Mia slowly sat up, eyes still closed. "Since when has a projector been in here and why? Just… why?"
"Sir has hidden projectors in most rooms so that he can have access to his work even when not in the labs," JARVIS promptly answered, as if that was a normal explanation. Which, considering Tony, made sense.
Blinking rapidly in an attempt to make the spots dancing in front of her eyes disappear sooner, Mia asked, "What time is it?"
JARVIS seemed to hesitate for a moment. "It is 5:27 in the afternoon."
She should be more surprised to have slept the day away and Mia was; she was surprised that Tony, Pepper, or Bruce hadn't come to wake her up.
When her vision was finally clear, Mia looked over at the image projecting on the wall beside her and froze. "JARVIS?"
"Francis David Castle Sr," JARVIS began to recite. "Born on November 15, 1978 to Jacob Arthur Castle and Cynthia Lee Castle nee Plate. Lieutenant Castle was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen. At age 18, Lieutenant Castle enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and rose through the ranks quickly. While on leave at age 20, Lieutenant Castle met a woman named Maria Elizabeth Brandon and after three months of dating, the two were married. They had two children, Lisa Barbara Castle and Francis David Castle Jr."
It was the man from Hell's Kitchen- the one who had insisted on walking her home. "Had?" she choked out.
"According to a police report, on April 11th, the Castle family were stopped at a traffic light northbound on Buellton Avenue when an unidentified male suspect began firing a 9-millimeter handgun at their vehicle. The Medical Examiner report states that each member of the Castle family suffered from a single gunshot wound to the head. Only Lieutenant Castle survived."
She could clearly see the agony in Frank's gaze in her mind's eye. "Did the police declare it to be a drive-by shooting?"
"Yes, Miss Stark."
Mia may not know much about these types of crimes, but she knew enough. "Were each member of the Castle family only shot once?"
"According to the Medical Examiners report, the only wounds each person had was the shot to the head."
"If that's the case, then this should be labelled as a premediated or contract killing. A single would to the head implies skills and intent. If this were random, then the Castle's would have multiple wounds each because there would have been a volley of shots. Instead, it was single shots to the head- meant to kill instantly and painlessly."
"Based on the information given, I would have to agree."
"So," Mia mused, running a hand through her slightly-greasy hair, "the family was intentionally murdered, but someone appears to be going through some trouble to hide that fact. What does Reyes have to do with any of this?"
"While Miss Reyes appears to keep most of her notes and work on paper, Assistant District Attorney Blake Towers keeps his records online. According to his notes, Frank Castle is the man they believe to be the Punisher. When I cross referenced that name with Miss Reyes, I found that Miss Reyes was given Power of Attorney over Mr. Castle. After he was shot, Mr. Castle was brought to the Metro-General Hospital and Miss Reyes' placed a 'Do Not Resuscitate' order on Mr. Castle. After Mr. Castle was stabilized and placed on life support, Miss Reyes then submitted an order to have Mr. Castle taken off it."
It felt like Mia wasn't getting enough air in her lungs. "What happened?"
"Mr. Castle was taken off life support and while he initially flatlined, his heart began to beat again, and he was started breathing on his own. Several minutes later, Mr. Castle woke and less than an hour later, he left the hospital."
Throwing the blankets off her, Mia jumped out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. What were the chances that Mia would just happen to run into the Punisher while out for a walk? New York was a large city and, even if the Punisher kept only to Hell's Kitchen, it was more than just improbable that she would happen to run into him. But, did that mean something else was at play here? Did someone want her to meet Frank? Part of Mia thought that she might be being overly paranoid, but the rest of her had given up on believing in coincidences long ago.
Reyes had gone through quite a bit of trouble in order to kill Frank and Mia wanted to figure out why. And, if that reason had anything to do with the Castle family's murder- and she suspected it did- then Mia would do whatever it took to bring that women to her knees and face the consequences of what she'd done.
Mia was tired of innocent people suffering due to the incompetence of government officials. If she needed to burn this city's government to the ground in order to stop the corruption, then so be it. She hadn't been able to do much to Fisk and his collection of immoral individuals, but heaven help Reyes if she found out anything about her because Mia would rip her apart and would have fun doing so.
After showering and changing into a pair of jeans, a plain shirt, and a black jacket, Mia slipped on her black boots and left the tower. She had even managed to extract the promise from JARVIS that he wouldn't inform anyone of her departure unless specifically asked for her whereabouts. Which probably wouldn't buy her much time, but it was more than she'd expected to get from the AI.
New York was suffering from an extreme heat wave at the moment and Mia was grateful to have magic to help her. People might have looked at her funny for wearing so much if there weren't so many others wearing just as much; there were some New Yorkers who would suffer heat exhaustion in order to stay fashionable.
It was just past a quarter to eight and Mia hoped that Frank was a creature of habit and would be walking in the same general area she'd met him previously. She needed to find him, to talk to him and find out the truth of what was going on. And, if Reyes was after him, then she needed to find a way to protect him until they had the evidence to stop Reyes, one way or the other.
According to JARVIS, the evidence Reyes had that Frank was actually the Punisher was circumstantial at best. Apparently, she had no intention of him ever being tried for any crimes.
It took 20 minutes for her to make her way back into the heart of Hell's Kitchen and from there she just wandered, hoping that she would eventually bump into Frank again. She supposed she could have asked JARVIS to scan all the cameras working in the area to try and find him, but Mia felt like that was too much of an invasion of his privacy and she wasn't comfortable with that. Finding out about his family was already invasive enough.
To her surprise, it only took another 15 minutes for her to find him.
"Kid," he greeted her with a sigh when she came to a stop in front of him.
Slipping her hands into her pocket, Mia asked, "What happened to 'ma'am'?"
Frank just shrugged. "What're you doin' back here?"
Mia stood with a sigh. "I need to speak with you; it's of some importance."
"That so?" Frank snorted, seeming unconcerned.
She didn't want to play games with him. "It's about your family." That caught his attention and the way he stiffened made Mia feel badly about being so blunt.
"What do you know about my family?" he growled.
"I know that someone is trying to cover up their deaths," Mia told him, too tired to be subtle. "I know that the police are trying to bury what happened and that District Attorney Reyes tried to kill you twice in the hospital and is still now trying to get rid of you.
"She believes you to be the one responsible for multiple homicides of gang members in the area but doesn't want you arrested and put on trial for the crimes, she wants you killed on sight. What I don't know is why."
The more she spoke, the more angry Frank seemed to become but he also seemed slightly confused. "Who the fuck is Reyes?" he spat.
"You don't know who Reyes is?" she asked, somewhat surprised. "If you don't know who she is, then why does she want you dead?"
Seemingly becoming aware again that they were out in the open, Frank's eyes snapped up and scanned the street around them. It was mostly quiet, with only a few people here and there milling about. "C'mon," he ordered tersely, turning and walking away.
Mia followed him, unconcerned about where they were going. If Frank Castle meant to harm her, Mia had the feeling that he would have already done so by now. Or, at least, he would have tried to. To her surprise, they came to a stop outside a diner and Frank walked in without hesitation.
Sitting down in a booth in the back corner, a waitress quickly brought them each a cup of coffee along with a menu. "Do you know what you'd like to drink?"
"Just coffee for now," Frank told her politely.
She gave a him a tired smile before turning to Mia. "Anything for you?"
"No, thank you," Mia answered.
Once she had walked away, Frank stared at Mia with such an intensity that she felt like he could see into her soul. "Who's Reyes?"
Clearing her throat, Mia began. "Samantha Reyes is the District Attorney in charge of Hell's Kitchen. She's the one that ordered a 'Do Not Resuscitate' on you when you were first brought to the hospital and then ordered to have you taken off of life support. I believe she is also responsible for covering up what happened to your family."
Frank's finger began tapping against his coffee cup. "What do you know about what happened to my family?"
Mia stared down into her own untouched mug. "According to police reports, you, your wife, and your two children were shot in a drive-by shooting. Each of you suffered from a single gunshot wound to the head and only you survived. However, if that is true, then one could logically conclude that you were not attacked at random. If it had been random violence, there would have been more injuries. A single wound to the temple implies that the shooter was trained and aimed to kill you all with speed and efficiency. I don't know what Reyes' connection to it is though."
"That's bullshit," he growled. "They didn't die in some drive-by. It didn't go down like that."
"Then how did it go down?" she asked. "What happened to your family, Frank? Because someone is going through a great deal of trouble to cover it up and no one deserves that- no one deserves to be erased the way you and your family were."
His finger stopped tapping. Studying Mia closely for a moment, Frank's expression slowly shifted from anger and suspicion to sadness and pain, so much pain that Mia felt her own heart begin to ache in response to it.
"It… goes in and out. The fact that it fades…" his brows were furrowed, and Mia understood his concern. Before she remembered everything about her parents, she still relived the memories of them in her dreams. And every morning when she woke up and those dreams started to slip away, she would be left feeling terrified that she was forgetting something important and even more heartbroken when she couldn't figure out what she was forgetting. But there was also a fear that maybe those fragments she could recall weren't real at all, that they were fake and that's why she was forgetting the entirety of them.
"We took our blanket down to our spot," he started slowly. "She was by the carousel on the lawn… then I heard a shout. A scream coming from a grown man. I couldn't see who did it but I found out later: the Irish, the Cartel, the bikers. I should have seen it coming," Frank whispered, voice low and rough. "I heard it and I did nothing."
Mia said nothing, just closed her eyes as she tried to hold in her tears.
"It was my job to keep them safe and I didn't. My son, my baby girl… they're gone because of me."
After Frank finished speaking, Mia's teeth were grinding, and she was so tense she was shaking. His family was murdered before his eyes because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and Frank was drowning in guilt because he couldn't save them. But it wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault, yet he was the one forced to live with the guilt.
Before she could stop herself, words came spilling out with a small, bitter laugh. "Nothing's changed."
"Kid?"
Mia concentrated on keeping her breathing even. "I keep trying to believe that things have changed in the world, but nothing has. There are still good, innocent people suffering and the same sort of terrible, pathetic, monstrous officials are standing by and doing nothing."
She saw the way his face twisted, and Mia instantly felt a swelling of shame. He knew nothing about her and she knew everything about him.
"The first time I nearly died, I was twelve," Mia told him abruptly, causing him to look up from the table. "I was twelve and nobody cared. There was this… underground war going on- had started years ago and then went dormant for a bit- and the headmaster at my boarding school was a part of it. These terrible, awful things kept happening, but we didn't realize what was actually going on. We thought they were just grand adventures and mysteries that we got to be a part of-, we thought we were special.
"As I said, I was nearly twelve the first time, but I had a near death experience every year after that. He turned us into soldiers," she spat. "And we were grateful for the opportunity."
Frank's eyes were dark. "What happened to him?" he growled.
"He died," Mia told him, grimacing. "He died a hero, nobly sacrificing himself for the greater good. That's all anyone ever says of him. They don't bring up the fact that he used people as though they were chess pieces to be sacrificed at his discretion or that he used children to fight his war and made them think that they volunteered for it."
Jaw clenched, he rasped, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I know why you're fighting, so you should understand why I am." Mia clasped her shaking hands and pressed them into her lap. "You see, I know what it's like to suffer under the hands of a corrupt government. To have your world turned upside down, and then be forced to watch as the people who are supposed to protect the innocents end up being the ones who tear them apart.
"I grew up dealing with an immoral, bigoted, backwards government. A government that was either too stupid to notice or too morally bankrupt to care about what was happening to us at our school. Whose response to a terrorist threat was to either bury their heads in the sand or to pretend they were handling things so that the public wouldn't realize how useless they actually were. Who were dismissive to the fact that a prison full of violent, deranged criminals was broken into and the worst of the worst freed. Several of us nearly died in their office building- I was sliced open from shoulder to hip- and they did nothing because we didn't matter.
"If my family hadn't saved me, I would have died quite horrifically, and nobody would have cared. And, to be honest, by the end of it, I wouldn't have cared either if I had died." Frank's eyes had turned black with rage as she told her story. "I was so scared, malnourished, and broken that death would have been a relief. It just felt like we were always fighting and there was never going to be an end. Even the people on 'our side' weren't of any help because they staunchly believed that there was never a reason to kill. But, when they simply captured our enemies, it would only be a few days before they escaped and were right back on the streets."
"You were a kid," Frank spat. "You shouldn't have been involved in any of that shit. You should have been safe."
Mia shook her head. "I was a pawn." Her childhood ended the moment she opened her books on Magical Britain and read about the stigma and violence children like her faced because they had parents who weren't magical. She might not have been fully prepared for what was going to happen to her at Hogwarts and beyond, but she knew from the start that she was going to be a second-class citizen at best. It was why she had tried so hard in her classes to be the very best- the Purebloods could sneer at her heritage, but Hermione wouldn't give them the opportunity to look down on her for her intelligence.
They had gotten a bit off topic though. "But I'm all grown up now. I am no longer that scared little girl who thought I didn't have choice, who didn't understand what was actually going on. I know that there are some politicians and police officers and civil servants who truly are doing their best to help people, but there are also always others willing to do whatever is necessary to get what they want. I know that this city is a terrible, corrupt mess and the only way it's going to change, is if we make it."
Frank's gaze was heavy, taking in everything about her and trying to figure out just what category she fell into in his head. "What exactly are you gettin' at, kid? You trying to say you want to help me? This isn't a game; I don't do what I do to be a hero. I do it because it needs to be done."
"I told you before, Frank: I'm not a saint," she softly reminded him. "I'm a soldier too; I may not have fought in the same war as you, but don't dismiss my battles as meaningless. And I'm not saying I want to pick up a gun and become your sidekick. I'm saying that I want to help you get justice for what happened to your family and help you stop any more innocent people from suffering. I want to help you, not only because I think it's the right thing to do, but because I am sick and tired of innocent people suffering because our governments can't be bothered to stop it. You do what you feel is right when it comes to the gangs but let me help you with Reyes."
"If she was involved with my family's deaths, then she's dead," Frank spat. "I don't need your help with that."
"You're not going to kill her," Mia retorted, quickly elaborating when she saw Frank's anger increase. "People like Reyes care more about appearances than anything in the world. If you want to really see her suffer, then make her watch as I rip her to shreds in front of the court of public opinion and take away everything she's worked for. Then, we send her to jail with all the criminals she's put away and see how long she lasts."
The way his eyes tightened told her what he thought of that plan and he scoffed. "That so? You expect me to believe that you don't have a problem with what I do? What would your brother, hell, what would Rogers say, if he knew who you were hangin' around?"
It could go either way with Tony. However, Mia doubted Steve would be pleased to hear that she was trying to ally herself with the Punisher. She wondered if his views would change though when he finally learned about what had happened to Bucky.
"Steve would wait to hear my reasons before he cast judgement. As for Tony, well, it would be very hypocritical of him to judge, wouldn't it? But it's a moot point anyway since I doubt either of us have any intentions of telling them anything."
"Little early in our relationship for you to be asking about my intentions, isn't it?"
She scowled at him. "How unfortunate, you have a sense of humor."
It took much longer than it should have to plan another time for her and Frank to meet. Since she blew up her phones far too often for them to be considered a reliable form of communication, and Frank was constantly on the move, it was necessary for them to agree on a time and place right then. When she finally got back to the Tower, Mia spotted Tony standing down in the lobby with Pepper and quickly ducked behind a parked car with a soft curse.
She knew that JARVIS would have informed them of her departure, but she had hoped to have more time before they gently interrogated her about her whereabouts.
"Is there a problem?"
Freezing in place for a moment, Mia slowly turned her head to look up at the man standing next to her. He had slicked back black hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a small smirk on his face. Doing her best to keep her expression impassive, she allowed her eyes to slowly trail down from his light jacket to his shining leather shoes. All of his garments were finely pressed, cut in the newest styles- she thought she had actually seen his outfit at one of the stores Pepper and dragged Mia and Tony to before- and Mia could tell that the Rolex on his wrist was the genuine article.
"No," she finally told him, meeting his glittering brown eyes. "I'm perfectly fine."
"Really? Because you're hiding behind my car so that your brother and Pepper don't spot you." He leaned back against the car door. "What, you sneak out without permission?"
"More like I went out without an escort," Mia murmured. "The far more interesting question is who you are and why you're here. While I do understand that business waits for no man, isn't it rather late to be having a meeting?"
He laughed and held out a hand for her to awkwardly shake. "I'm Billy Russo, I run Anvil Security. Normally I'd agree with you about it being rather late for a meeting but when Pepper Potts request to meets with you, well, you'd have to be a fool to refuse."
Mia narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "And just what did Pepper want to meet with you about?"
Russo smiled. "Oh, you know, she just wanted to ask about what kind of work we do at Anvil and the security options we offer."
"Oh no," she groaned.
His eyes almost seemed to sparkle with amusement. "She was specifically interested in our personal security options. Escorts, bodyguards, that kind of thing."
Peeking her head up, Mia checked that Tony and Pepper were gone before straightening. "I cannot believe they called you."
"Neither could Tony," he joked, and against her will, Mia could feel her lips pulling up into a small smile. "He really doesn't like me, and had no problem making that clear."
"When you're as self-confident as Tony, what's the need for being subtle?" Then she sighed and told him, "I don't know what Pepper told you, but I have no need for a guard of any kind; I can take care of myself."
He snorted and responded, "Yeah, your hiding behind my car really demonstrates that."
Flushing, she retorted, "I don't need your comments."
"Kind of seems like you need something."
"I'm sorry, but did I ask you for your opinion?" she snapped. Taking a step away from him, Mia moved to go towards the Tower. "I have an idea what you and Pepper spoke about, Mr. Russo, and I suggest you do yourself a favor and avoid having anything to do with me and mine."
Russo eyebrows rose in surprise and he called, "Is that a threat?"
Mia paused but didn't look back. "I'd prefer to think of it as friendly advice. I'm sure you've heard enough about us to realize we Stark's tend to find ourselves constantly dealing with trouble and it rarely ends well for those standing too close."
As far as hiding places went, this wasn't the worst Carol had ever seen. Kind of a cliché, what with the Mount Doom vibe it had going, but solid enough.
According to what Carol had read, Bor had hidden away the Aether here after retrieving it from the Dark Elves. Placing it in a stone fused with the heaviest wards he could manage, Bor had ensured that the Aether would be untraceable by even the most sensitive of the Dark Elves' trackers. However, once it was taken from the stone, anyone searching for the Aether would be able to find it as long as they had the proper tools.
God, part of her was almost hoping someone would come try to take the Aether from her. It had been a while since Carol had a good fight. Knowing her luck though, whoever came after her would be less of a challenge and more of a pain in the ass.
Hovering in the area where Bor was supposed to have stashed the Aether, Carol scanned the crumbling ruins for the pillar she was looking for. After almost a minute, she spotted it on a narrow walkway. Carol zoomed over to it and pulled out a container from her bag.
She had been guaranteed that this cannister would safely hold the Aether. And, if the person who gave it to her had been lying, Carol had guaranteed that the first person she would be coming after while the sludge was in her veins was him. All in all, she thought it was a safe enough risk.
As soon as she neared the pillar, it started to glow red and Carol realized that the stone was separated into two sections, one hovering over the other. In between the stones was the Aether. She slowly reached out her hand and then yanked it back when red vines surged out and tried to snatch at her. Quickly opening the container, Carol watched with wide eyes as the Aether slipped into it without her having to lift a finger. As soon as was fully in the cylinder, she sealed it shut.
Mia had said that the Reality Stone wanted to be found but Carol really hadn't expected this. It was almost like the Aether had recognized her- like it had been waiting for her. Could that be possible? She'd known that the Mind Stone was sentient and the Time Stone had something weird going on with it too but… Were they all like that?
Carol sighed. It didn't really matter in the end. It wouldn't change her plans.
"One down. Five to go."
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