Since the day Uncle Ben died, Peter has hated guns with a passion. If he was honest, he probably always disliked them, but Uncle Ben's death cultivated an honest to god hatred that he would never let go of. They were loud and deadly, an unnecessary weapon that gave cowards the power to kill. Not to mention the fact that the only thing his spider sense was more obnoxious about was an incoming punch to the face.
He resented the fact that every would-be thug in the city had their hands on one of those iron monstrosities. Criminals used their guns to instill fear in those they targeted, and more often than Peter liked, used them to either hurt or kill someone. It made him sick to his stomach.
That's why one of the main things he tried to do as Spider-Man was stop people with guns. Taking out some guys like this means less guns on the street, and New York was inherently safer. Since so many people in the city had guns and bad intentions, he was rarely ever scared when facing them. His spider sense would keep him from getting shot.
But right now, staring down the barrel of a gun handled by the Punisher, Peter was scared. He was terrified. Unlike most of the idiots with firearms in New York, the Punisher knew how to properly use a gun. If he wasn't careful, he could be dead within a minute.
Slowly, the Punisher cocked the gun. Spider-Man straightened out, lowering his hands a little in an attempt to defuse the situation. Castle tilted his head a little. His face was unreadable, completely shrouded in shadows.
"I've been waiting to meet you." Castle declared simply.
Peter didn't dare move a muscle. "What do you mean?" He willed his voice to not shake, trying to add a layer of steel beneath it.
He had no idea if it worked. Castle didn't react, unmoving, just like Peter.
"Do you know who those guys in there are?" Castle asked, lowering his gun by an inch.
"Uh, duh. Of course I do."
"Then you and I are here for the same reason," That sent a chill down Peter's spine, almost making him physically shiver. They were absolutely not here for the same reason. "How's about I put my gun down, you put your spider hands down, and you help me take these guys out?"
"Woah! Absolutely not!" Peter dropped his hands and curled them into fists. "I do not kill people. Don't think that I have no idea who you are."
Castle huffed, sounding far too pleased for the current situation. "Huh. I'm surprised."
"About what?"
"About the fact that you don't want to take revenge on the guys that ruined your life."
Peter stiffened, completely thrown off balance by that comment. "What are you talking about?" Some of the emotion he'd been trying to hide seeped into his voice.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Castle lowered his gun. "Don't you know?"
"About what?" Peter growled, daring to take a step closer.
"About the Maggia and Mysterio."
"What?" Peter's voice was barely above a whisper.
Castle opened his mouth to say something else, but he was quickly interrupted by the sounds of engines beneath from. To Peter's enhanced ears, they sounded expensive. It was the Dons.
The Punisher looked back at him. "Now or never, kid. You in?" He asked, taking the pistol by the barrel and holding the handle out to Spider-Man.
Peter hesitated, unsure what to do. After a moment, he slowly took a few steps forward. Castle's breathing and heartbeat were consistent, not plagued by fear, anger, or adrenaline. It only served to heighten Peter's own anxiety.
His phone buzzed. It was probably Foswell saying something about the Dons. With the whole Punisher thing happening, Peter nearly forgot about him. No matter what happened at this point, Foswell and every other nearby civilian was at serious risk. Peter had to do something.
He was right in front of Castle now, the gun only inches from his face. Man, this guy was massive. Probably one of the tallest and bulkiest guys Peter's ever seen, and that's mixing him in with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
Castle extended his arm a little further without a word, silently imploring Peter to take it.
Cautiously, Peter reached his right hand out to take the pistol. Once he had a good hold on it, Castle dropped it in his grip. The weight of the gun in his hand made Peter more nauseous than he was before. Luckily, he knew exactly how they worked. One of the perks of having them pointed at you on a regular basis since you were 14.
As fast as he could, he ripped the clip out of the gun, poured half the bullets on the ground, and threw it as far as he could off the roof. He threw the rest of the pistol in the opposite direction, and was satisfied that they both completely disappeared into the darkness.
Spider-Man curled his right hand into a fist and hooked it through the air, catching the Punisher right in the jaw. Before Castle had a chance to recover, Peter dropped to the roof and swept his legs under Castle's, toppling him to the ground hard. Peter quickly stood and grabbed one of Castle's legs, throwing him across the roof and away from his weapons.
"You know, Tony Stark taught me a lot of things when I worked for him. How to find the most cost-effective wine, how to build an arc reactor, all that kind of fun stuff." Peter rambled as he set about trying to dismantle the sniper rifle still perched on the ledge. "But the one thing that stuck the most with me, is that I don't like being handed things, especially weapons."
Castle made a muffled snarl behind him as Peter finally figured out how to work the tripod. He reached to dismantle it before his spider sense began screaming at him. He ducked just as an arm swept through the air, right where his neck had been.
Spider-Man barrel-rolled once to get distance between him and Castle, who had grabbed a massive hunting knife from somewhere. Peter wasn't about to ask, especially once Castle threw it at him. He ducked to the side as the knife flew by, grabbing it by the handle. He looked back at Castle, who had a gun with a silencer trained on him.
He pulled the trigger once, twice, three, four times. The bullets ripped through the air with deadly force, all precisely aimed at Peter.
Spider-Man ducked around the first two, did a flip to avoid the third, and went left around the fourth. When he looked back at the Punisher, he still had the gun trained on Spider-Man.
"Huh," Castle said, far too casually. "You've got some impressive reflexes there, kid. I'm sure the military would love to get their hands on 'ya."
"Maybe, but New York is my home. This city needs me." Peter huffed.
"Funny. I feel the same way. Except," Castle shot the gun again. Peter pivoted backwards. "I actually take care of the guys that threaten it. Make sure they can't hurt the city ever again. Vigilantes like you don't actually do anything to help. You're just a bandaid on the disease. I'm the cure." He pulled the trigger again, but evidently, the clip was empty.
Peter shot a web at the gun and pulled it from Castle's grip. Once he got it in his hand, he turned and threw the gun as well as the massive knife off the roof, shooting a web to trap them against the next building over. He looked back at Castle and squared his shoulders, trying his best to make himself seem bigger. "You really want to call yourself the cure when you go around killing people?"
"Sometimes you have to amputate the leg to save the life." Castle grabbed another knife and lunged forward, swiping it above Peter's head. He ducked, then threw himself to the side when Castle slashed forward.
"An eye for an eye and the world goes blind." Peter remarked as he flipped onto his hands and spun, kicking Castle a few times. After the third roundhouse, the Punisher grabbed his foot with an almost crushing grip. Okay, so maybe this guy was more similar to Rogers and Barnes than Peter first thought, cause it took a massive, almost superhuman level of strength to hurt him this bad.
Castle threw his foot to the side, knocking Peter off balance and sending him tumbling to the ground. Spider-Man only had a second to gather his bearings before the Punisher's foot came down hard on his chest. Castle poured all of his weight onto Peter, leaning in close.
This was the first time Peter got a decent look at his face. The guy was covered in scars, with a deadly seriousness in his eye that rivaled the strongest of the Avengers. His face was coolly neutral as he studied the body pinned beneath him. After a long moment of nothing but a crushing weight in his chest and labored breathing all around, Castle smirked ever so slightly.
"You've got quite the skill set, kid. In all honesty, neither of us should be wasting our talents on each other. We should be working together to take out those guys, especially after what they've done to you and I personally."
Peter forced out a breath, reaching up to grab Castle's ankle. He could easily throw the larger man off of him, maybe even off the roof - though that'd be less than ideal. But he was curious. "What the fuck do you mean by 'you and I personally'?"
"So you actually don't know?" Castle shifted his weight ever so slightly as he rested his other leg on the ground next to Peter. "Why the hell'd you come out here, then?"
"Cause I'm trying to do the right thing by stopping these monsters. They haven't done anything to me."
Castle's smirk grew. "That's where you're wrong, Spider-Man. Think about it; who has been the main problem in New York's crime world since you and I Blipped back?"
"Seriously?" Peter rolled his eyes, not that the other man could tell.
"Indulge me."
"Fine." Peter grunted. "Once Thanos killed half the universe - thanks for your help in dealing with him, by the way - organized crime boomed in the city, with the Maggia at the forefront."
"Exactly. And during the 5 years we were gone, who dealt with them?" Castle rested his hands on his knee casually.
Peter blinked. "I'm assuming the heroes that remained. Captain America, Daredevil, Iron Man, that kind of thing."
"A swing and a miss, kid." Castle shook his head, as if he was talking to an actual child. "No one dealt with them. Those other heroes were too focused on themselves, and they let the Maggia infect this city for 5 whole years.
"You see, they had a sort of peace built among the different crime organizations. They all had their turf, they helped keep the cops off each other's backs, and they stayed out of each other's way. New York was a perfect cesspool of crime with half its population, under the total control of those few, disgusting people."
"But… didn't the Avengers-"
"I know they're your friends and all, but those assholes did nothing to stop it. They completely ignored the city, and it's all their faults that it turned out this way. And now, 5 years in the future, when guys like you and me reappeared and started pushing back against those assholes, it pissed them off something fierce. So, they take their revenge swiftly and strongly." Castle explained neutrally.
"So, you think that since I've been trying to take them down for the last year, they- what? They had something to do with Mysterio?" Peter was feeling a little breathless at this point. He needed to wrap this up fast.
"Oh, I'm positive they did. Last group of guys I infiltrated, I found some… interesting black mail material on them. All kinds of stuff they could use against the Manfredi crime family. And it just so happens to all tie back to you." Castle rested the butt of his gun (where did he get that one?) gentle on Peter's chest, just above his own foot.
"So what do you know?" Peter asked. "What exactly do you know about Mysterio?"
Castle's foot became a little lighter on Peter's chest. He twirled the gun around his finger as he lifted it in the air. "At this point, I mostly have guesses, but if you-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence before some kind of small, wooden pole flew through the air and collided harshly with his face. Castle tumbled over as the dark red stick bounced back a little, gliding in the air back to where it came from. He quickly got his feet under him while Castle recovered, and they both turned to where the stick came from.
Daredevil flipped onto the roof from the next building over, retracting his billy club as he landed. He stood tall in his dark red suit, his shoulders displaying a grim confidence. He slowly looked up, his eyes shining red in what little light came from the street below.
He didn't take a fighting stance; rather, he flipped his stick in his hand a couple times and nonchalantly sauntered a little closer to Peter. Daredevil looked down at him, as if he was staring right into Peter's soul. Finally, after a long moment, he sheathed his billy club on his lower back and held out a hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Spider-Man." Daredevil offered a small smile.
And- huh. That voice was kinda familiar. But Peter was a little too caught up in the moment to let himself follow that train of thought much, so instead, he took Daredevil's offered hand and got to his feet. Once he was standing, he awkwardly shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Daredevil."
"Daredevil's fine. Mr. Daredevil was my father." The other hero joked as he let go of Spider-Man's hand.
"That's not what I remember."
They both looked over to find Castle back on his feet, towering over the both of them. He had a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. For the first time, Peter saw a strong emotion in him; anger. All of it directed at Daredevil. The hero had a similar look of disdain on his face.
"What are you doing, Frank?" Daredevil's voice flattened out once he looked away from Spider-Man.
"Fixing the mess that you created during the Blip. What you were supposed to do." Castle bit back.
"Then why fight Spider-Man?"
"Who said we were fighting?"
Neither man moved a muscle, both seeming to have an intense stare down with the other as they fought for some semblance of dominance. A second later, both men moved quickly, almost too fast for Peter to track. Daredevil grabbed his billy club and separated it into nunchucks as he put a foot in front of Spider-Man, defending him. Castle, on the other hand, shifted his stance and pointed his gun at Daredevil, shooting it.
Spider-Man grabbed Daredevil's arm and yanked him out of the way, but Daredevil seemed to be already doing that and didn't have time to correct himself before he collided with Peter and they both fell down. Castle used that blunder to his advantage and threw the knife. Peter rolled over and switched their places, pinning Daredevil between his knees as he caught the knife with his free hand. Daredevil stared up at him, clearly startled. "Uh, nice catch?"
"Shit, sorry!" Peter blurted out as he scrambled off of Daredevil.
"Don't worry about it, Spider-Man, but you should get out of here. The Punisher isn't someone that's easy to deal with." Daredevil hardened his voice as he stood up, planting his feet beneath him.
"Says the guy whose ass I kicked on multiple occasions." Castle remarked as he shot at Daredevil two more times.
Peter briefly panicked, but Daredevil had dodged both bullets as if it was the easiest thing in the world. He breathed a sigh of relief as Castle realized that the clip in the gun he had was empty again.
Daredevil swung his billy club out and knocked the gun out of Castle's grip before sprinting forward and jumping. He put both feet on Castle's chest and pushed hard, knocking him off balance. Daredevil landed on his side and quickly rolled over, getting back on his feet and lunging at the Punisher again.
Peter was a little torn. On the one hand, he knew Daredevil was a hero, not that he had any enhanced abilities. He should step in and help. But on the other, he really wanted to know what Castle was talking about, and he was half tempted to stop the fight.
Without really knowing his plan of action, he took a half step forward as the other two men continued grappling with each other.
Out of nowhere, gunshots erupted from behind him. Peter whirled around, seeing flashes coming from inside the warehouse where the Maggia meet up was. Either something had gone terribly wrong, or - more likely - they'd heard the commotion out here and assumed one of the other families had set them up.
"Spider-Man!" Daredevil called as he dodged a punch from the Punisher. "You need to take care of that!"
"Uh, right!" Spider-Man nodded. "On it!" He called behind his shoulder as he ran to the roof's edge.
"A shame we won't get to finish our conversation!" Castle called, making Peter stop for a brief moment. "Come find me if you ever want to! I'd sure love to compare notes!"
Peter wanted to respond. He really did, but his phone started ringing. He didn't need to glance to know it was Mr. Foswell, probably panicking inside the warehouse.
"Spider-Man, go!" Daredevil ordered.
Spider-Man flung himself off the roof, connecting a web line to a streetlight and swinging himself to the warehouse. He crashed through one of the upper windows and landed on a support beam.
Beneath him was utter chaos. A bunch of different guys who all looked the exact same were shooting at each other, a few looked to be wounded. There were a few small clusters of guys huddled around their respective Dons, all of whom were yelling. Peter swept his eyes across the warehouse, and released a tentative sigh of relief when he saw Mr. Foswell's disguise - someone vaguely named the Big Man - running out of there like a bat out of Hell.
Relieved that no civilians were in the line of fire (and that Mr. Foswell would call 911), Spider-Man jumped off the beam and into the fray.
He launched a web and swung into a guy standing on a crate above the rest before pinning him to the wall he flew into. Peter backflipped off the crate and onto a guy's shoulders, using his weight to swing him in a circle and right into the ground. As he stood, Peter gave the goon a swift kick to the head to make sure he wouldn't get back up.
At this point, the rest of the warehouse had noticed his presence and was now split between killing Spider-Man and killing each other. Peter took off, swinging in the air and kicking guys up before either knocking them out or trapping them with a web. Despite the decent amount of guys in the warehouse, Peter was making quick work of them. Before long, he'd taken out half of the people there.
They must've noticed that, too, because before he knew, the Dons were ordering their men out of the warehouse. Pretty quickly, men were running everywhere, scrambling for the nearest exit. Peter tried to take care of as many as he could, but all the Dons and most of the remainder of goons had gone.
Spider-Man prepared to give chase when he noticed a man still standing in one of the doorways. No, not man - a monster. Silvio Manfredi and a few of his meanest, evilest men were still in the warehouse. Their mistake. Peter knelt down, ready to lunge at them.
Manfredi pulled a small metal canister out of his jacket and threw it as hard as he could. "There will be a reckoning, Spider-Man! You fucked with the wrong family!"
As the canister flew through the air, a cloud of gas spiraled around it. Manfredi and his guys made a quick exit while Peter was distracted. The gas spread through the space quickly, and Peter recognized the smell far too quickly. Chloroform. He had to get out of there.
He sucked in a breath before the gas was everywhere, but quickly began coughing. Man, did he miss the Stark suits and their built in gas masks. Peter was choking on the gas as he slung a web out, doing his best to limit his air. He'd already got enough of the gas to knock him on his ass, anymore, and, well…
Luckily, he was quick enough, and Peter jumped out of the same window he came in, back onto the rooftop opposite the warehouse.
He knelt down and began coughing hard. His vision was blurry, his knees were weak, his head was swimming. He just had to get through this. He could do that.
There was a muffled voice somewhere nearby. He thought he heard someone say something like "You okay?" Peter slowly looked up to see a blurry red figure standing above him.