A/N: Jesus, it's been a long time since I've updated. Sorry about that. I'll get back to that at the end of the chapter, but for now, enjoy the final battle, full of a few twists.

Music: "Called To The Barn" from Brightburn OST

7:00 pm

Despite Becca leaving her house almost an hour ago, everything was left turned on. Hell, the television was left on as well, which was now playing an emergency broadcast.

THIS IS NOT A TEST.

THIS IS YOUR EMERGENCY BROADCOAST SYSTEM ANNOUNCING THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE FIRST ANNUAL PURGE, SANCTIONED BY THE US GOVERNMENT.

WEAPONS OF CLASS 4 AND LOWER HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED FOR USE DURING THE PURGE. ALL OTHER WEAPONS HAVE BEEN RESTRICTED (SEE GOVERNMENT PAGE FOR DETAILS).

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF RANKING 10 HAVE BEEN GRANTED IMMUNITY FROM THE PURGE AND SHALL NOT BE HARMED (SEE GOVERNMENT PAGE FOR DETAILS).

COMMENCING AT THE SIREN, ANY AND ALL CRIME, INCLUDING MURDER, WILL BE LEGAL FOR 12 CONTINUOUS HOURS.

POLICE, FIRE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WILL BE UNAVAILABLE UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING UNTIL 7 AM WHEN THE PURGE CONCLUDES.

BLESSED BE OUR NEW FOUNDING FATHERS AND AMERICA, A NATION REBORN.

MAY GOD BE WITH YOU ALL.

Just as the broadcast finished, the entire house shook, and Brightburn smashed through the ceiling, landing hard on the floor and cracking the boards under his feet.

"RYAN!" Brandon yelled, looking around angrily. "WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

Brandon seethed in anger, using his superhearing for any movement. Unfortunately, all he heard was a slight creak… right behind him. Breyer narrowed his eyes, and using his incredible speed, turned around and grabbed at what seemed to be thin air. A second later, a form shimmered, revealing an armored individual in Brightburn's grasp, shouting in surprise, as he dropped his gun. Brandon narrowed his eyes, noticing a familiar logo with an eagle on the shoulders.

"Fury."

Brandon slammed the soldier's head into the floor, completely obliterating the skull, before looking up. Seemingly out of nowhere, a gasp could be heard, and two more figures suddenly fired on him, while Breyer felt gunshots pepper his back. He smirked, backing up, until using his speed again to turn around and rip the rifle out of a guard's arms, then proceeded to impale it through the man's face. Before anyone could do anything, Brightburn turned to his left, grabbing another soldier who was shooting at him, and pushed him into the kitchen counter, splitting him in half, before grabbing the one to his right and flying into a wall, causing the body to explode from the force. The gunfire suddenly stopped, and Brightburn turned around, just in time to see the final SHIELD agent drop her gun and try to flee. Brandon grinned, zooming towards the agent and grabbing her spine, tightening the fist.

"Think you can run from me?" Breyer murmured in her ear, feeling the spine crack. The agent gasped in pain, as she raised a small device and pressed a button.

"It's been an honor, Director."

Brandon snorted with laughter, tilting his head.

"Director? Who're you talking to-"

Boom.

Brandon's vision and hearing were overtaken by a massive explosion, annihilating everything he saw. The superhuman blinked in surprise, looking down and opening his hand, letting the fragments of the woman's spine clatter to the destroyed ground. He looked back up, through the smoke and fire, and flew off, intent on finding Ryan.

"The honor was all mine." Fury murmured, looking down, while Mallory and Becca looked at him. All around them, SHIELD agents gasped in shock, as the satellite surveillance showed Brightburn fly away, completely unharmed.

"Jesus." Grace murmured, shaking her head. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was afraid. Despite being at a classified blacksite, there was a chance he'd find them, and then…

"I have to find Ryan." Butcher suddenly announced. "That… that monster's looking for him!"

"We don't know where he is." Nick said grimly. By now, he knew full well that Ryan Butcher's message just invited Brightburn to come after him. "The best we can do slow Brightburn down."

"I can help with that."

Nick looked over his shoulder, seeing Caitlin and Anderson walking towards them.

"I know Brightburn better than anyone. At most, I can buy us some time."

"Not yet." Fury told her, before turning towards one of the agents.

"Is the HAMMER ready?"

"Not yet. It'll take another twenty minutes at least-"

"Well charge it faster!" Nick shouted. "The fate of the world could depend on it!"

"And, done." Heisenberg smirked, handing a knife to Millie. After completing the specialized cell to contain both Brightburn and Ryan, Millie requested the village lord to coat her knife in the same metallic alloy.

"That little shit ain't gonna know what hit him. But are you sure you're up for this?"

"What do you mean?" Kessler tilted her head, while holstering the blade.

"Taking this Superman reject on." Karl explained. "Not even I wanted to fight that bitch Miranda without my army."

Millie grimly nodded, as Lady Beneviento approached them with a syringe of dark blue liquid.

"Concentrated Compound V." the woman announced, as Millie took the syringe. "Derived from yours and Captain Redfield's blood."

Millie nodded, sticking the needle in her neck.

"Yeah… I have to be."

Kessler pushed the contents in, causing her whole body to shudder, as the veins popped in her neck. After a few more seconds, she opened her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching in a smile.

"How ya feeling kiddo?" Karl asked.

Millie looked over to Heisenberg, her smile widening.

"Like a million bucks."

"Fucking spectacular!" Karl grinned. "Now where's Homelander's little bastard?"

Kessler frowned at the remark, before clearing her throat.

"He's taking care of something."

Heisenberg arched an eyebrow, before using his powers to pull his hammer forward.

"Well, let's hope he gets back soon. No doubt that threat to Brightburn stirred some shit up."

7:30 pm

Nick, Mallory, Becca, and Caitlin watched Brightburn from the satellites, seeing him travel all over the world at super speed.

"Sir, the HAMMER is charged." an agent announced.

"Then fire, dammit!" Fury shouted.

Brandon flew straight back to the United States, crossing the West Coast in a matter of minutes. Just as he began flying through an empty field in Kansas, the sky began to darken, making Breyer look up in confusion.

"What the hell-"

A massive energy beam suddenly struck him with full force, slamming him into the ground and obliterating everything surrounding a ten mile radius. Brandon struggled to get up, but when it did, he stared directly upward, right at the beam. With an inhuman roar, he flew into the air, zooming directly through the beam and into the machinery that fired it, bursting through the other end to reveal a giant satellite with a cannon. Yelling again, Breyerflew at super speed through the satellite, turning its exterior into Swiss cheese.

"Fuck!" Nick yelled, slamming his fist into the table. "That's 4.5 billion dollars, wasted for not even a scratch!"

The surveillance footage suddenly showed Brightburn descending back down to Earth, where he continued flying East.

"Let me go now." Caitlin implored. Fury looked at the girl, reluctantly nodded.

"Thank you." Connor wore a grim smile, while turning towards Anderson. "Do you still have that time travel belt?"

"It's a time displacement belt, but yes." Cass took her own belt off and handed it to Caitlin.

"Good luck."

Connor nodded in thanks, before activating the belt, and vanished in a blue light.

Mega City One

Ryan flew around at super speed, using his X-ray vision to find something. No, not something… someone…

There. Ryan narrowed his eyes, seeing a bald man with a black beard, in a Judge uniform hiding in an alley.

"Desmond Stich." Butcher snarled, landing in the alleyway so hard, his feet cracked the ground. "How did you escape the cubes?"

"Drokk you, freak!" Stich shouted, pulling out a gun and shooting at Ryan. The bullets bounced off, of course, and the supe sped forward, grabbing the weapon and broke it in two.

"No!" Desmond yelled, just as Vienna and McGruder entered the alleyway.

"So he really wasn't in the cubes." Vienna murmured, as McGruder raised her Lawgiver.

"That's right!" Stich boasted. "I used one of my droids to look like me and take my place, and you drokkers didn't even notice!"

"Well, we got you now." Ryan narrowed his eyes, using his x-ray vision to see that indeed, this Desmond Stich's insides were blood and bone. "He's human, by the way."

"Then it's time for his sentence." McGruder announced, levelling her Lawgiver. "In addition to attempted murder of a judge, evading capture, and conspiracy to commit genocide, the sentence is death."

The Chief Judge fired her Lawgiver, and a bullet tore through Stich's head, splattering his brains across the alley. As the body fell, Ryan folded his arms, looking down.

"Thank you for your assistance, Butcher." McGruder nodded. Ryan barely looked at her, before reaching down towards his time displacement belt.

"I have to go." the supe announced. "Can I count on the Justice Department to help us when the time is right?"

"Of course." McGruder answered. Ryan nodded in thanks, before vanishing in a blue light to return to his time.

7:45

Brightburn flew faster and faster, by now reaching West Virginia. Just a little while longer, and he'd be at the White House-

A rocket suddenly appeared out of nowhere and exploded right in his face, making him blink. It didn't hurt him of course, but it did make him stop flying to look down and see…

A girl with brown hair partially dyed pink, wearing a metal gauntlet on her left arm. The arm lowered, revealing that the rocket was fired from the wrist.

Brandon seethed in hatred, beginning to lower himself closer to her. He knew this woman well. Caitlin Connor. She was a classmate of his once, on his Earth. He thought she could be his mate, his partner, but she rejected him. And then he killed her mother because he thought they would be together, but that… that only made her hate him more.

She built that gauntlet for him. Made an entire suit too, to fight him. Kill him. She never came close though, but he never could bring himself to kill her.

Time to change that.

"You thought that could hurt me?" he sneered.

"No." Caitlin admitted. "But I wasn't trying to. I just wanted to get your attention."

Brandon's nostrils flared, and he zoomed forward, extending his arm out. Just before he grabbed hold, Connor activated the time displacement belt and vanished, before reappearing several feet away.

"Damn. Right for the throat?" Caitlin laughed. "Jesus Brandon, after all we've been through?"

"Keep out of this, Caitlin." Breyer growled, before rushing towards her again. Once more, Caitlin activated the belt and teleported away, teleporting several feet behind Brandon.

"You know I can't do that Brandon." she told him. "Just like how I couldn't on our world."

Brightburn didn't respond, instead ripping a massive piece of land from the ground and hurling it at Caitlin, who teleported out of the way just in time.

"Fuck." Connor laughed nervously. "I've faced death plenty of times, particularly from you. But I'll be damned if that didn't make me jump out of my skin. But… I just want to know why."

"Why what?" Brandon spat.

"Why any of this." Caitlin elaborated. "You had loving parents, an uncle, an aunt. And you threw all of it away for what, because I didn't like you?"

"I didn't need them!" Brandon shouted. "They were weak!"

Connor widened her eyes in surprise, before narrowing them.

"They were your family! And if you didn't watch me while I slept like a creep, we could've been friends!" Caitlin argued, letting it all out. "Which is why I figured you didn't kill them all just for the hell of it. You had your reasons to do it. Wanna get it off your chest for once?"

Brandon glared at her, before his eyes suddenly lit up, and he fired his laser vision. An instant later, Caitlin teleported away again, appearing behind the superhuman.

"Fine. Don't tell me." she shrugged. "But what about your mother, Tory? Did you at least tell her before you killed her? Or when you killed Kyle, and Noah?"

Brandon flew up high, his teeth grinding.

"Don't you dare say her name."

"Why not?" she challenged. "You killed her, not me. That's one thing you and I have in common by the way; you killed both our moms. Just like you kill everyone you deem not useful anymore. Wait… does he know?"

"Who?" Brandon frowned in genuine confusion.

"Ross." she explained. "Does he know that eventually he'll outlive his usefulness to you, and then you'll cast him aside like a broken toy?"

"Maybe." Breyer grinned. "But it won't matter."

"What do you think he'll do when he finds out?" Caitlin asked. "You think he won't have some type of toy that'll hurt you?"

Brandon scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"This is pointless. You can't stop me!"

"Yeah, you're right. I can't stop you." Caitlin admitted. "But I can do the same thing I've been doing since we got here. Since you started taking over our world.

"Buy us a little bit more time."

Brandon clenched his fists and flew forward, faster than Caitlin anticipated, but she still had time to teleport away- back to the black site. Breyer growled in annoyance, before flying up and away, back towards the White House.

Becca gasped, stumbling backwards, as Caitlin suddenly teleported in front of her and fell on her rear. As Nick and Mallory helped her back up, she gave the time displacement belt back to Becca.

"Well… that went well." she grumbled.

"Do we have anymore cards to play, Hill?" Nick asked an agent, who wore her black hair in a ponytail. "What about Blonsky?"

"Negative. The Abomination is still being detained in California." Agent Hill shook her head.

"Well find a way to get him out, dammit!" Fury yelled. "Once he's done in DC, where do you think he's coming next?!"

"Sir… we might not have to." an agent at their computer said.

"What do you mean?" Nick frowned, looking over at the monitor.

"An energy signature similar to Miss Connor's device went off in the Chicago area." the agent explained.

"Ryan." Becca realized with a smile.

Music: "Soldier Boy Vs Homelander" from The Boys Season 3 OST

Millie and Alice patiently sat in the Barclay's house, barely blinking when Ryan teleported in front of them.

"Ready?" Butcher asked. Kessler looked over at her friend, who nodded.

"Yeah."

Ryan smirked, as he wrapped an arm around her waist, and walked out the door.

"Stay here until we're ready." Butcher instructed Alice, before taking off into the sky.

Gotham

Gordon sighed, looking out across the city, as the echoes of screams, fire, and gunshots rang out across the night. It wasn't even an hour since this Purge was announced, and already the city was tearing itself apart.

Christ. The law and the police force was the one thing that kept the citizens safe here, but now…

Jim looked up into the sky, seeing the Batsignal shining through the smoke and pollution. He wasn't sure if the government would fine him for that, but fuck it. The world has officially plunged into chaos. The inmates are running the asylum. Maybe they always have, and have just now finally dropped the charade…

"There's still good people, Jim."

Gordon turned around, seeing Batman, Batwoman, and Russo standing on the other side of the department's roof.

"Didn't think you'd come." Jim admitted. "Since crime is now legal."

"I don't give a shit what the President says." Billy growled. "This is wrong."

"You don't need a badge to help save lives." Batwoman added. Jim slowly nodded, crushing the cigarette he forgot he was holding, and pulled out his gun.

"Let's save this city from itself."

Central City

Barry sped around the city, knocking over robbers, murderers, arsonists… anyone who was doing harm, he did his best to apprehend. But at the end of the day, he was still just one man…

Flash suddenly felt something hit him in the side, and he was thrown into a wall. Barry grit his teeth, looking up to see a squad of criminals, all having modified rifles.

Rifles that looked like anti-speedster weapons, originally owned by STAR Labs.

"Well, well well. Looks like we're got ourselves the Flash!" the lead criminal, a bald man with a long beard, chortled. Just as he was about to shoot again, an energy blast suddenly tore through his chest, while several more struck his cohorts. Barry widened his eyes, as the criminals all fell down, revealing a person in what looked like an armored suit… with a skull on the chest.

"Hey Red."

The faceplate opened up to reveal Frank Castle.

"Looks like I showed up just in time."

Normally, Barry would be upset that Frank killed several thugs, but not right now, as he quickly got up and shook his gauntleted hand.

"I'm glad to see you Frank. But I thought you'd be in New York."

"There's plenty of guys like you, but you're just one guy here, Red." Frank shrugged. "I won't be here long though. I gotta help out Ryan and Mill later, alright?"

"Right." Flash nodded, looking out across the city.

"Then let's make the most of it."

Washington DC

8:30

President Bracken dropped the file to the floor, stunned at what he saw.

"I can't believe it." he muttered, looking over to Ashley and Leon. "This whole time, he was the Power Broker."

"I can barely believe it myself, Mister President." Ashley admitted. Bracken slowly nodded, rubbing his forehead.

"Where is Secretary Ross right now?"

"Sir, the Secretary of the State is waiting in the bunker." a Secret Service agent revealed.

"Take me to him." Bracken ordered.

"Mister President, I don't think that's a good idea-" Leon warned, but was waved off.

"Not to worry, Mister Kennedy, what will he do?" Bracken smiled, as he was led out of the Oval Office. The moment they stepped outside, the entire building shook, and the roof burst open, allowing Brightburn to land.

"Shit!" Leon yelled, pulling out his gun. "Protect the President!"

The Secret Service agents all began firing at Brightburn, as Leon led Bracken and Ashley out of the hall and into a secret passageway, towards the bunker. Meanwhile, the alien swiftly grabbed an agent and ripped his head right off his shoulders, then proceeded to grab another's head and squeeze so hard, the skull split open. One agent screamed, attempting to run away, but Brightburn, flew straight through her, splattering her guts across the room, then kicked another with enough force that his torso was split in half.

Eventually, Brandon got bored, and activated his heat vision, clearing the hallway of the last few agents. Once he was the last living thing in the room, he finally calmed down, allowing the heat to dissipate.

At the same time, the building shook again, and two figures crashed through the ceiling, gaining Brandon's attention. The first one he instantly recognized as Ryan, but he wore a black trenchcoat instead of his usual suit with the cape. And the second… was a blonde female, who wore some type of military getup, but without any flags or patches.

"Huh. Ryan." Brightburn muttered, tilting his head at the pair. "So that's what Caitlin meant by buying more time. She was waiting for you to show up."

"Goddamn right." Ryan growled, in a voice that tried to mimic both the Punisher and Judge Dredd's.

"That is hilarious." Brandon sneered, his eyes heating up. "You couldn't stop me before. What makes you think you can with the help of your little human friend?"

Ryan looked over to Millie, who gave him a nod.

"Because this time, I know what I'm fighting for."

Brandon smirked behind his mask.

"Cute."

A blast of heat vision suddenly exited his eyes, striking Butcher so fast he didn't have time to react. The resulting shot caused him to slam into the wall behind him and crumble to the ground.

"Ryan!" Kessler shouted, about to go over to her brother, but Brightburn zoomed forward, grabbing her by the neck.

"Aw, sad about your boyfriend?" Breyer taunted. "Don't worry, I'll let him live long enough to see you die by my hand!"

Millie let out a strangled laugh, as she reached towards her belt.

"You really are just a cheap fucking knockoff of Homelander. Going after the President, taking over the world? He tried that already."

"Oh no. I'm the upgrade." Brightburn smirked, as his eyes glowed. "Because I'm actually going to succeed in taking the world, and there's nothing that can stop me."

"Not even this?"

Brandon suddenly felt a sharp pain in his gut, making him let go of Millie and stumble back. He looked down, touching his side, and pulled back to reveal blood. His… own?

"What? What have you done?"

Millie smirked, holding up her kabar that was now coated in blood. The kabar that she had outfitted with the same material as Brightburn's ship.

"Scorched Earth." she grinned, repeating what Alice told her while they were waiting for Ryan to return. Brandon narrowed his eyes, before flying right into Millie, pinning her to a wall and revving up his heat vision. Before he could fire, Kessler struck him under the chin in an uppercut, before kicking him in the side. To her credit, it seemed that she was actually hurting the alien, even if it was moderately. That didn't mean it hurt like hell everytime her fist connected.

They seemingly danced around the hallway for a time, with Millie dodging Brightburn's hits and delivering some of her own, while trying to slash her knife at him again. Unfortunately, it seemed Breyer learned from his mistake last time, and made sure to avoid the blade as much as possible. It wasn't until Millie through a haymker at his face that Brandon suddenly reached out, stopping her fist, while using his other hand to grab her wrist- the one that was holding onto her kabar. He twisted, making Kessler cry out in pain and drop the knife, and he wasted no time in bringing his foot down on the blood, splintering it into tiny pieces.

"No!"

Brightburn smirked, grabbing Millie by the throat again, and lifted her into the air.

"Well. You really had me going for a minute." he admitted, applying pressure to the strangulation.

"Oi."

Brightburn frowned, looking over his shoulder to see Ryan… just in time to see him fire his heat vision right at his face, knocking him to the ground, letting go of Millie, and burning half of his mask.

"Fuck!" Millie gasped, sucking in air, as Ryan ran over and helped her up.

"Wait here."

Butcher stalked towards Brandon, just as he got up, and grabbed him by the collar, hitting him with a right hook, then an uppercut. Breyer tried to come back by punching him in the face, but Ryan simply leaned back, before surging forward with a headbutt that disoriented the alien, before kicking him backwards into the Oval Office. Brightburn growled in annoyance, levitating up in the air and firing his laser vision, which caused Ryan to quickly meet him with his own. The two beams clashed against each other, and the two superpowered beings roared with anger, until Brandon felt a tugging on his cape. He stopped firing his heat vision and looked down, just in time to see Millie pull him back down to the floor and throw him through the President's desk, splitting the wood in two. Kessler lifted him back up and began punching him, who was joined by Ryan, and culminated in them both launching their fists at his face. Thinking quickly, Brandon ducked, and the resulting blows completely destroyed the wall where his face was. Brightburn proceeded to kick Millie away and grab Ryan by both hands, squeezing his neck in a desperate attempt to kill the supe. Butcher responded by choking him back, accepting that he could die, but he held on, wanting to take Brandon with him, until…

A blast of energy suddenly struck Brightburn in the side of the head, knocking him away. Everyone looked in the direction of the blast, seeing Frank in his War Machine armor, his gauntlet raised. Brandon tilted his head in exasperation, before firing his laser vision, but Frank held up his arm, and an energy shield was produced. That gave Millie just enough time to bodyslam Brightburn to the ground, while Ryan pinned his head to the floor, and she and Frank grabbed his arms.

"Mill, get the knife!" Butcher shouted, as Brightburn began to struggle under them. "While he's down!"

"I… I can't!" Kessler realized. "He destroyed it!"

"Fuck!" Ryan shouted, while Brandon's struggling increased. "What do we do now?!"

Before they could think of anything, Brightburn managed to escape their grasp, turned around, and flew into Ryan, taking them both out of the White House.

"Shit!" Millie yelled, looking in the direction they flew off.

"Come on!" Frank told his daughter, grabbing her by the shoulders and flying to catch up.

Leon, Ashley, and Bracken heard the last of the rumbles from upstairs, just as they entered the bunker to see Secretaries Ross, Fargo, and the other members of his cabinet waiting for him, surrounded by agents.

"Mister President, thank God you're okay-" Ross was about to say, but was interrupted.

"Save it, Ross." Bracken scowled, pointing to him. "Effectively immediately, I'm stripping you of your title as Secretary of State, and you are to be arrested for conspiracy to overthrow the government."

Ross smirked, looking the President dead in the eye.

"And what was your plan here? Arrest me, with no evidence?"

"We have enough evidence." Leon told him. "Even if we didn't, the Purge alone is enough to bring you up on charges."

"The Purge?" Secretary Ross grinned. "Just who do you think will be blamed for the Purge? Me? Or the President?"

Ashley opened her mouth in shock, realizing that he was already several steps ahead. Bracken, on the other hand, was still trying to maintain control, as he turned to the nearest Service agent.

"Arrest Secretary Ross-"

The agent suddenly pulled out his gun and shot Bracken in the head, making him fall to the ground. Leon quickly pushed Graham behind him and aimed his gun at the agent, but that caused all the other men in suits to pull out their own guns.

"I'd drop the piece if I were you, Mister Kennedy."

Leon narrowed his eyes at Ross, as the surrounding agents pointed their guns at the other members of the cabinet.

"You've been planning this." the agent accused. "Ever since you came back from the Snap!"

"Shame you won't be around to tell anyone." Ross shrugged.

"Ash, stay behind me." Kennedy murmured, just before Ross snapped his fingers. All the agents around them began firing, beginning to kill the other members of the President's cabinet. Fargo was the only one who had the sense to dive to the ground, while simultaneously pulling out his gun and shooting at the now traitorous agents. Across the room, Leon ducked and dodged behind cover, with Ashley following close behind.

"Don't move, Kennedy."

Leon looked up, seeing a secret agent pointing a gun right at his face. With the barrel towards him, Graham used the opportunity to kick the agent's wrist, taking the gun offline, while Leon shot him in the chest. As the body went down, Ashley grabbed the pistol, rotating it in her hands, and began firing at the other Secret Service members.

"You remember what I taught you?" Leon asked. Ashley let out a shaky nod.

"Good. Let's go."

The pair got up from cover, making their way towards the tunnel while firing, until Ashley saw Fargo cornered by several agents.

"We have to help him!" Graham shouted, just as a service member appeared in front of her and knocked the gun out of her hands. She responded by quickly throwing a haymaker into his face, followed by a knee to the gut, and finished with an uppercut that sent him barreling into two other agents. Leon followed suit by jumping over a railing and kicking two agents at the same time, while Fargo shot one in the foot and karate chopped another in the neck. The Secretary of Defense quickly spun around, shooting two more agents in the head, just before Ross tackled him to the ground and began choking him.

"Choke on it, Fargo!" Thaddeus sneered. "I knew you would never be on board with the Purge! You could've been my Vice President!"

Fargo slowly lowered his gun… and shot Rods in the foot twice. The Secretary of Defense howled in pain, loosening his grip, and Fargo brought his gun up and shot him in the chest.

"You'll never be my president." Eustace grunted, standing up as the body crumpled. The Secretary breathed out an exhausted sigh, before turning towards Leon and Ashley.

"Bracken's dead. We need to get the acting President out of here to a safe house." Kennedy declared.

"Copy." Fargo nodded, and the three of them cautiously made their way out of the bunker.

10:00

Brandon flew past the Washington Monument, throwing Ryan into the gates surrounding the White House, just as Frank and Millie caught up, flying towards the supe and helping him up.

"You couldn't live with his death." Breyer chuckled, indicating Dredd. "And where did that lead you? Back to me."

"Don't think you're special." Millie growled. "I've taken harder shits than you."

"And yet… here you all are." Brightburn pointed to the trio. "The Punisher, his adopted daughter… and the son of Homelander."

"Homelander is not my father." Ryan seethed, taking a step forward. "He raped my mother. He's a stain on my shoe."

"So you say." Brandon smirked. "And yet you're his spitting image and you possess all his abilities."

"Blood doesn't matter." Millie spat. "A horrific incident doesn't make Ryan his kid."

Brandon rolled his eyes, before levitating several inches off the ground.

"I feel I should thank you and Butcher anyway." he shrugged. "You've shown me that on this world, even ants refuse to kneel to a god."

Jesus, this asshole really is like Homelander, having a fucking god complex.

"You're not a god." Frank scoffed.

"I am compared to a worthless human like you." Brightburn retorted. "But now I know what I must do. I thought it was my destiny to take the world, but here… I will kill it instead. Reduce it to the smallest of molecules, and then I shall return to my own universe. It'll be like nothing ever happened here."

"You know we won't let you do it." Millie challenged.

"Too bad you won't be around to see it." Brightburn shot back, as his eyes began to glow crimson. Ryan and Frank suddenly surged forward, with Castle firing the machine guns from his armor, and Butcher trying to punch or kick Brandon. Meanwhile, Millie stayed a ways back, but pulled out her pistol and shot at the alien… not that it would do much.

Frank flew up high in the air, just as Lieberman's face appeared in his HUD.

"Hey, Frank, Miss Stark told me some adjustments were made to the suit that would be able to absorb Homelander's laser vision."

"What's that mean?" Castle asked aloud.

"It means you should have the kid aim right for your back."

Realizing what he was saying, Frank dropped to the ground, as a small holographic model of the suit materialized on his HUD, which showed components of the armor's backside open up.

"Alright Ryan, hit me!" Frank called out. Ryan quickly understood what he meant and fired his laser vision. In an instant, Frank felt his suit become supercharged, and he fired the unibeam on his chest, directly at Brightburn. The alien tried to fire his own lasers, but once he realized the unibeam was too strong, he began flying around, dodging the attack, until he saw an opening and rushed Frank, grabbing him by the armor's collar.

"Frank!" Ryan yelled, firing his heat vision again. That proved to be a mistake, as Brandon used the Punisher as a shield. The lasers hit the armor directly in the chest, sending him flying several feet away, knocking him out.

"Frank? Frank, get up!" Lieberman tried to say, but Castle was out cold.

Millie roared with anger at seeing her father figure attacked, and surged forward, firing her pistol. Brightburn fired his lasers in response, and Kessler slid on her knees, coming back up right as she got close to the alien to throw a punch. Brandon ducked, and Millie brought her knee up, catching him in the face and making him stumble back, before grabbing his cape and wrapping it around his neck. Breyer growled in annoyance, struggling to buck Kessler off, but she held on as if she was riding a bull. It wasn't until Brandon flew up and turned around, before slamming them both into the ground, did he feel the cape loosen, and he quickly looked up to glare at her.

"You little fucking whore-"

A blast of heat vision suddenly struck his side, causing Brightburn to look over his shoulder to see Ryan flying towards him. With an enraged yell, the alien kicked Millie in the face, making her skid several feet along the ground, and flew up to meet the supe, where they engaged in an aerial fist fight. The two of them grappled, trading punches and kicks, with Ryan mostly dodging Brandon's attacks. It wasn't until Breyer laserd him in the face with his own heat vision, followed by grabbing his cape and throwing him into the ground, did the fight stop.

Butcher groaned, holding onto his head, but he felt a hand grab his arm. He looked up, seeing a bloodied and bruised Millie standing over him, and together, they stood up, facing a very angry Brightburn.

"In all my years of… ruling my world…" Brandon murmured, while Frank groaned awake. "After my 'parents'... the violence, it was never personal. Not even slaughtering your 'father' was personal, Ryan, but this… what I'm about to do to your annoying little shithole of a planet… I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to enjoy it a lot."

As soon as he said that, bright blue flashes of light illuminated behind Brightburn, revealing five individuals- it only took a second for Frank and Millie to recognize them.

The Witch Woman that attacked Riley and Billy in Romania. That Bat-Beast monster that was in Gotham. That aquatic creature that Chris Redfield had apparently fought. The Martian-like alien that went after Becca and Cass. And finally, that nutcase in the red costume that Frank and Barry faced.

Jesus Christ. Looks like all of them were in cahoots with each other after all.

Further back, more flashes of light surged, and dozens- hell, thousands- of people wearing black suits and helmets appeared, having red armbands with Brightburn's symbol on them.

And he brought his own personal fucking army.

Frank grit his teeth in pain, as he slowly got up and stumbled towards Millie and Ryan, who quickly placed his arm over their shoulders.

"Oh god, Frank." Kessler murmured.

"I'm alright, kid." Castle grunted, staring straight at Brightburn and his legion. "We gotta stop him."

The three of them began making their way forward, staring down Brightburn and his army, when Frank heard a crackle in his ear.

Music: "Portals" from Avengers Endgame OST

"F-F-F-Frank? Frank, do you hear me?"

Castle frowned, tapping the side of his helmet. Was that…

"Bill? That you?"

"Frank… pain's only temporary, right?"

Behind the faceplate, Frank smiled, as they all heard the sound of sparks right behind them. Sparks that sounded very familiar...

Son of a bitch.

Castle looked over his shoulder, seeing the first of many portals open up to reveal Batman, Batwoman, and Russo. Billy gave Frank a brotherly nod, as the portal opened up even further to reveal Gotham's police officers behind them, led by Commissioner Gordon. A second portal materialized, and the first three individuals who strolled forward were the Dimitrescu daughters, with Redfield and his Hound Wolves behind them. Next to them were Ethan Winters and Riley, and further back were the Four Lords, who all wore some type of BSAA body armor tailored to their physique.

Ryan and Millie slightly turned around as well, just in time to see Vienna, McGruder, and the Judges arrive via a time portal, with Dredd nodding to her cousin. A few feet away from Vienna were Cass, Caitlin, and Becca, the latter gripping her crowbar and glaring at Brightburn in hatred. Connor matched her glare, as her mechanical arm extended into her armored suit.

Kessler turned back towards Ryan, as he let out a small smile.

"I see in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me."

Millie blinked, before her face widened into a grin, realizing what he was reciting from.

"A day may come, when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day." she continued.

Across the streets of DC, more and more portals opened up, inflaming Brightburn's annoyance. As the gateways enlarged, Frank, Ryan, and Millie could see even more of their allies over the years step through, as well as a few that they knew about, but never met before.

Constantine, Doctor Strange, and Wanda stepped out, all of them readying their magical spells. Flanked behind them was the sorcerer Wong, as well as all the other Masters of the Mystic Arts fom Kamar-Taj.

"An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down!" Ryan uttered, beginning to step forward. Millie followed.

The Flash sped towards Frank, giving him a friendly nod, while Spider-Man swung to the ground. A ways behind them were the remnants of what used to be Starlight's Thunderbolts team, being Luke Cage and Hawkeye, but were joined by a man in a red suit that Becca realized was Daredevil, and a black haired woman in a leather jacket who Frank recognized was Jessica Jones, his old high school crush. Next to them was a man with curly hair and glowing yellow hand, which gave it away to Millie he was the vigilante known as the Immortal Iron Fist.

"But it is not this day! This day, we fight!" Kessler shouted, walking side by side with Ryan, closer towards Brightburn and his army.

Speaking of Millie, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed five other individuals step out of a portal, them being James Bond, Paloma, Yelena, Bucky, and Sam, sporting a new Falcon suit. The portal right next to them opened up to reveal Andy, Nica, and Sienna, with Alice sitting on Shaw's shoulder. Behind them was what looked like an entire company of soldiers, whom Millie guessed was Barclay's graduating class at Kent. Right next to them was a smaller portal, which opened and revealed a tall Asian man step out, wearing a light jacket and carrying two sais. Further down was Alice's friend Lexi, her little sister Caroline, and their mentor Christian Wolff, who were all decked out in heavy body armor. Another portal not too far away opened up to show William, Nora, and Harley step out, who wore his own iron suit, just as Pepper Potts flew down to join him in her own blue and silver armor.

Right next to Becca was a man in a dark suit and long hair, who held a pistol in his hands. Behind him was a bald African American man with glasses, as well as an older man, all wearing suits, all being armed with either pistols or rifles.

"Thanks for coming John." Butcher smiled.

"Yeah." Wick murmured.

"YIBAMBE!"

Millie whirled around, seeing the battle cry came from Okoye, who was leading the Dora Milaje to their side. Finally, rounding out their own personal army was Ant-Man, having enlarged himself to tower over everyone, while his partner the Wasp stood on his shoulder. The giant sized superhero squinted, looking down at Brightburn, and frowned.

"Hey, why does that guy look like me when I dropped out of college?"

"By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!" Ryan finished, coming to a stop in front of all their allies. He gave Millie a nod, before looking back at his mother and whispered something only she and Vienna understood.

"For Joe."

He turned back towards Brightburn and his mob, cracking his knuckles. Time to live up to his namesake.

"Let's give these cunts a fucking spanking."

Millie and Frank gave a rage-filled battle cry, and the three of them raced forward to meet Brightburn and his legion. They were soon joined by a chorus of battle cries behind them, evidenced by the Batman and Russo running at top speed behind them. It took Brightburn a few moments to get over his shock, before he slowly flew forward, and his army followed with him.

Brandon and Ryan were the first that clashed, having increased their speed to fly faster and grappled midair, moments before the two armies came together. Butcher quickly delivered an uppercut to Brightburn's face and kicked him in the chest, before flying after him and escaping everyone else's sight. Meanwhile, Millie lunged at one of Brightburn's foot soldiers, punching him across the face, before kicking another in the chest, as Frank flew overhead, firing his repulsors and activating the minigun on his armor's shoulder. Several of the soldiers were riddled with lead, and the ones that weren't… were crippled by Becca beating them with her crowbar. Butcher swung her weapon with all her might, shattering one of the uniformed men's knees, followed by jabbing her fist in his face. She heard an angered yell behind her, but just as she turned around, the soldier that was trying to blindside her was struck in the head with a red nightstick. The man crumpled to the ground, revealing a figure wearing a red and black suit behind him, complete with a helmet and horns.

"You alright, Becca?"

Butcher frowned, recognizing the voice…

"Matt? You're the Devil of Hell's Kitchen?"

Daredevil nodded, while throwing one of his nightsticks at a uniformed soldier.

"Fury's also having me work to get the Sokovia Accords shut down." he explained. "Gotta say, having Strange portal me here came in handy…"

Daredevil proceeded to leap around the battlefield, just as Becca noticed John Wick mowing down soldiers with a powerful shotgun that caused their heads to explode. He paused, giving her a small nod, before whipping out his knife and slashing at any foe that came close. Not too far away, Millie weaved through enemies, shooting down soldiers and Flag Smashers alike, until she reached Karli.

"MORGENTHAU!"

Karli looked up, seeing Kessler stomp towards her.

"I didn't mean to kill your friend." she fake-apologized. "I only kill anyone that matters to my cause."

"And what was she, collateral?" Millie seethed.

"Exactly." Karli smirked, before charging forward. Kessler cracked her neck, before letting out an animalistic roar and ran at full speed, raising her fist. When they finally closed the distance, Morgenthau ducked, tripping Millie, who quickly flipped and landed back on her feet. She threw an elbow back at the terrorist, catching her in the face, but Karli recovered by punching her in the back, causing her to stumble forward. As she looked up, more Flag Smashers began running towards her, but were suddenly intercepted by two men: Bucky and Sam, with the latter dropping Yelena to the ground.

"Go!" Bucky yelled. "James and Paloma will cover you! Go after Karli!"

Go after?

Millie looked over her shoulder, seeing Morgenthau attempt to run away. More Flag Smashers were running towards her, but Bond and Paloma quickly engaged them, being extra careful because of their Compound V enhancements.

Kessler smiled, nodding towards the agents, and began taking off, leaping over Brightburn's men and chased after the terrorist that killed her friend.

That same friend was a mere few yards away, jumping from soldier to soldier, stabbing them in the head or slicing their throat, while her aunt and uncle shot at the enemy or fought them in hand to hand combat if they got too close.

"This is fun!" Alice called out. "We should do this more often!"

"Pass!" both Andy and Nica replied, before they both punched a Flag Smasher so hard, he went flying into a building. Just as Andy turned around, three of Brightburn's soldiers ran towards them, only to collapse in a hail of gunfire.. Barclay looked around in confusion, until he saw Christian Wolff walking towards him, accompianied by Lexi and Caroline.

"Andy." Christian nodded, while Lexi smiled at Alice.

"Alice-San."

The doll turned around, seeing Chozen pause from stabbing a Flag Smasher with his sai.

"Go after your friend."

Alice nodded, before turning back and running after Millie. As she ducked under the fighting, she remembered what Chozen once told her, about how it is her duty to stop anyone from getting hurt.

Well, she doubted Millie could get hurt, but she still wanted payback.

Across the battlefield, Anderson and McGruder found themselves side by side with Gordon and several members of the GCPD, all of which were ducking under cover and returning fire.

"Never seen you guys before." James commented, looking at Anderson's Judge uniform. "You lawmen?"

"Something like that." Cass replied, before firing a Hi-Ex round. "Just not from this time."

"Not the weirdest thing I've heard." Gordon muttered, looking to the side and seeing Doctor Strange swoop down, conjuring magical shields, while John Constantine and Wanda Maximoff combined their magic to hurl power energy blasts. The three magic users lead the sorcerers of Kamar Taj into battle, being able to take down the soldiers with ease, until a figure suddenly landed on the ground, creating a shockwave that sent everyone around them to the ground.

"Oh shite on a Friday." Constantine groaned.

The figure in front of them was Achlys, who now wore what appeared to be gray armor plating over her dress, complete with a silver headband. The Witch Woman grinned evilly, tossing sorcerers left and right, while simultaneously using her rope to wrap around the mystics' throats and snap their necks. She was about to advance on the demonologist, when a buzzing filled the air, followed by a swarm of flies landing in front of him. John tilted his head, seeing the swarm coalesce into the body of Bela Dimitrescu.

"I got this bitch." the blonde told him. Constantine nodded, moving over to help Wanda back up, while Riley fought her way towards Dimitrescu, eventually reaching her side.

"Time to finish this." Stone vowed, glaring at Achlys.

Music: "Blood Code" from John Wick 4 OST

Behind Bela and Riley, the Hound Wolves were mowing down the enemy combatants in front of them, as Alcina extended her claws to slice the soldiers into ribbons. Heisenberg swung his massive hammer like a baseball bat, knocking Brightburn's men into the air, while Moreau grew green slime that immobilized ground units to give Donna's doll Angie enough time to run up and stab them.

"Now this is what I call family bonding!" Karl laughed out loud. Just as he finished speaking, the shark-man that used to lurk in the village's reservoir suddenly appeared, shooting streams of water from his hands. Most of the Hound Wolves dived out of the way, as Daniela grabbed ahold of Ethan and flew them to safety.

"Elena…" Umber Eyes murmured, looking over to Lupu. The Hound Wolf grinned, her eyes already glowing molten gold, as her teeth elongated into fangs. Within seconds, hair sprouted on every inch of her exposed skin, and she grew a foot, howling at the aqua-monster. Both creatures stared each other down, before Elena charged forward, swiping her claws at the shark man. The monster shrieked in anger, as it and the wolf-woman continued to do battle, while the other members of Hound Wolf Squad began to shoot at it. Unfortunately, the bullets seemed to bounce off, and the shark man spread out his arms, shooting water from his hands in streams. Elena strained to move forward, holding up her arms to block the powerful water, but she was slowly being pushed back.

That was, until the aqua monster was struck in the face with a fireball, knocking him back. Elena and Umber Eyes looked to the side, seeing Constantine slowly walk towards them, with Vienna Dredd close behind.

"Armor Piercer."

Vienna fired her Lawgiver, and the creature was peppered with bullets, one of which embedded itself in its eye.

"Hi-Ex."

The woman from the future fired again, and in an instant, the shark-man's head exploded in a shower of gore.

"Good one, love." John smirked, while Hound Wolf Squad stared at the duo in gratitude.

"God damn." Redfield murmured, eyeing the Lawgiver. "I gotta get me one of those."

While Vienna was taking care of the shark-monster, Batman and Batwoman fought side by side, punching and kicking Brightburn's Nazi-like minions.

"These remind me of the time-traveling Nazis about a decade ago." Beth muttered, as she elbowed a soldier behind her, before somersaulting over another and kicking him in the neck.

"The what?" Batman asked, firing his batclaw at another soldier and clotheslining him.

"Long story short, some time traveling Nazis showed up in Central City in 2017 to kidnap Supergirl and Flash." Batwoman explained. "They wanted to brainwash them to fight for them and win World War 2."

Just as Kane finished explaining, they both heard a loud screech, and the bat-beast landed several feet away, roaring loudly. Bruce quickly jumped up, throwing freeze grenades at the monstrosity, but it screeched again, shattering the ice with its sonar waves. Batwoman extended a staff, smacking the beast from both ends, but the creature eventually reached out and clamped its teeth down, splitting the weapon in two.

"Shit, this thing again?"

Beth looked over her shoulder, just in time to see Billy fire a 42 millimeter grenade right at the monster, making her duck in surprise. The grenade exploded against the bat-creature's face, but aside from stunning it for a moment, it was otherwise unfazed.

"Shit."

The beast roared loudly, preparing to lunge, when a swarm of flies suddenly appeared, disorienting it for a moment, before the colony coalesced into a red headed woman wearing a black hood.

"Great. Who the fuck are you?" Russo asked out loud.

"Daniella Dimitrescu!" the fly woman beamed, bowing towards Batman. "It is an honor to fight by your side, Batman!"

Before Bruce could respond, Daniella turned around and flew towards the monster, brandishing her sickle. Wayne looked at Billy and Beth, who shrugged, and charged at the creature.

At the same time, Frank flew around the streets of DC, firing his repulsors at enemies, before touching down and activating the minigun on his shoulder to mow even more down. After a few seconds of shooting, an alarm lit up Castle's HUD, along with an echo of Lieberman's voice.

"Head's up Frank, you got that speedster guy incoming-"

A red blur suddenly rammed into the Punisher, knocking him down despite wearing the War Machine armor.

"Yeah, just felt it." Castle grunted, slowly getting up. He looked up, just in time to see a flash of golden lightning appear in front of him, with a red gloved hand reaching towards him.

"Hey Frank. Looks like I showed up just in time." Flash smirked.

"A little earlier would've been nice."

"Beggers can't be choosers." Barry shrugged, as the two of them faced down the Crimson Bolt.

"Strafe left, Red." Castle told him. "I'll take to the air."

"Got it."

The Scarlet Speedster flanked the Bolt, while Frank flew up in the air and fired the machine guns on his wrists. The villain sped away and was soon chased by Flash, but a quick throw of his monkey wrench knocked Barry out cold.

Damn. That lightning fast throw probably felt like a bullet.

The Crimson Bolt quickly sped over and grabbed the wrench, turning around to throw it at the Punisher, knocking him to the ground. He looked up, seeing the evil speedster prepare to run towards him, but a large swarm of flies blocked his path, making him step back in confusion. The swarm came together to form a brunette woman in a black dress, who looked down at Frank.

Must be one of the Dimitrescu daughters. Cassandra, I think.

"Ah, it's so good to see the Punisher in action!" Cassandra grinned. "As a fellow hunter, I admire your work!"

Not exactly what I was expecting to hear, but if she was willing to help out…

"Think you can keep this asshole distracted?" Frank asked. Cassandra eagerly nodded, before morphing into flies and surrounding the Crimson Bolt. The swarm began biting into his clothes and exposed skin, making the speedster scream, as several of the insects covered his vision, blinding him by feasting on the eyeballs. Despite his vision being lost, the Bolt began to speed around, running into people and debris haphazardly, before the Flash ran after him and tripped him, causing him to fall to the ground in a heap.

"Thanks Red." Frank called out, flying over and grabbing the meta human by the shoulders.

"Frank, wait-"

Castle fired his repulsors right at the Crimson Bolt's chest, creating a fist sized hole where his heart should have been. The speedster's body collapsed on the ground, just as the flies coalesced back into the form of Cassandra.

"Thanks for the help, ma'am." Frank nodded his head.

"My pleasure." Cassandra grinned. "I've always wanted to see the great Punisher up close-"

The brunette suddenly heard a familiar scream, and she turned around, seeing Daniella getting swatted away by the gigantic creature. In an instant, her grin morphed into a snarl, and her body began changing back into flies.

"I'll be right back."

Cassandra quickly flew over towards the bat-monster, using her flies to attack its skin, while one of her arms coalesced and began stabbing her sickle across its back and face. The animal howled, attempting to fight back, but Cassandra dodged and weaved around it's appendages, while also slicing away at its hands. The entire time, Batman and Batwoman stood there in shock at the vicious display, while Billy nudged Beth.

"Come on." Russo told her. "I don't think it's gonna bother us anymore…"

Frank looked out across the sea of bodies, eventually spying Cass and Becca fighting side by side. He began to fly over to them, when he was suddenly tackled from behind and thrown back to the ground.

Music: "Wetwork" from John Wick 4 OST

The fuck just hit me-

Castle quickly rolled over, seeing the Martian from the other night beginning to stand up. The Punisher began firing the minigun, and the monster flew around in response, just barely dodging the gunfire.

Frank, corner him towards Becca and I.

Frank blinked, hearing Cass' voice in his head, but obliged, directing his gunfire in Anderson's direction. Just as the Martian got close, Becca jumped up, slamming her crowbar into its face.

"Incendiary."

Cass fired the incendiary round from her Lawgiver, engulfing the Martian in flames. The creature began to scream, trying to escape, but Frank activated the flamethrowers on his wrists, slowly cooking it to death.

Once the monster stopped moving, Frank lowered his gauntlets and opened his faceplate.

"Hey Cass. You good?"

Cass smiled, walking towards Frank and embracing him in a kiss.

"Never better." she murmured, once she pulled away.

Coulda stayed like this if there wasn't a war going on. But…

"Where's Millie?" Frank suddenly asked.

1:30 am

Karli dropped down into the sewers and ran down the darkened corridor, keeping her goal in mind.

"KARLIIII!"

The supe stopped dead in her tracks, slowly turning around to see Millie stalking towards her, followed by… was that a red haired doll?

"Enough running." Kessler snarled, pulling out her broken ka-bar.

"You brought your toy?" Morgenthau smiled nervously, trying in vain to feign confidence.

"You know what they say…" Alice smirked, pulling out her own knife. "You just can't keep a good girl down."

"You…" Karli gasped, recognizing the doll's voice. "But I killed you!"

Alice didn't respond, instead running forward and jumping up, slashing Karli's face. The supe screamed in horror, while Millie saw her chance and charged as well, grabbing Morgenthau by the arm and throwing her over her shoulder. The Flag Smasher collapsed to the ground, but quickly rolled over when Millie pounced, getting back up, just as Alice leapt up and delivered a brutal uppercut.

That's when Karli realized that despite her body being that of a doll, Alice still had the strength of a grown woman. And I'm that time she realizes something else:

Millie had just grabbed her by the throat.

"This is for killing my friend, you cunt!"

Kessler jammed the blade shards into Morgenthau's neck, pushing the tip through her jaw and in her mouth, making her choke on blood. Karli gagged, stumbling back, just as Alice threw her own knife and embedded it hilt deep into her eye socket.

"I wanted to do that." Alice scolded. "But… thank you."

"Anytime." Millie smiled at her friend, looking around. Wait… she knew these tunnels… Frank taught them to her.

"These tunnels lead to the President's safe house if the White House bunker is compromised." Kessler realized. "How could she have known if he was already there?"

2:00

Leon, Ashley, and Fargo made their way towards the underground safe house, about to reach it… when Kennedy suddenly tackled Graham to the ground dodging a knife thrown their way.

"Ashley, stay down!"

Leon quickly got back up, turning around in time to face down the international terrorist known as Batroc, who looked at him in disdain.

"Ah. Famous agent Leon S Kennedy. I've heard of you." the Leaper grunted, pulling out another knife. "Let's see if you're as much a challenge as Captain America."

"Bring it asshole." Kennedy challenged, whipping out his knife. Batroc smirked, leaping into the air and aiming his feet right at Leon, who somersaulted backwards. The terrorist grunted in annoyance, rolling forward while taking out his pistol, firing several shots. Leon tried to dodge, but with the enclosed space, he could only move around so much… until Ashley suddenly joined the fight, sliding under Batroc and kicking his legs out from under him. The Leaper groaned, falling to the ground, and Graham spun-kicked him before getting back up, pointing her pistol at him.

"It's over, Batroc."

"Not quite." Batroc sneered, kicking out with both feet and knocking her gun away. Graham stumbled back, and Batroc took the time to flip himself back up, just as Leon was running towards them. Seeing this, Batroc performed a roundhouse kick on Kennedy, before grabbing the President by the throat.

"You can't beat me, Madam President." the Leaper taunted.

"Maybe…" Ashley smirked. "But I doubt you can dodge this."

At that moment, Batroc heard a faint click, and he turned his head, just in time to see a gun barrel shoved in his face. A gun that belonged to Secretary Fargo.

Bang!

Batroc's body collapsed to the ground, letting go of Graham in the process. Ashley began sucking in lungfuls of air, while Fargo and Leon helped her up.

"Thank you." she smiled at Kennedy. "But we need to go back and save anyone else-"

"Madam President… Ashley." Leon murmured, shaking his head. "No one else in Bracken's cabinet is alive. "It's just you and Secretary Fargo now."

Graham hung her head, picking up the discarded pistol and glancing at Eustace, who grimly nodded.

"This… Purge. It will tear the country apart." she whispered, continuing to stare at Fargo. "Are your Judges ready?"

"They are, ma'am."

"Good." Ashley sighed. "Deploy them."

"Ashley, are you sure?" Leon asked.

"Yes." she nodded. "We need to bring order back through this chaos."

Fargo nodded, pulling out his phone, while Leon led them into the safe house.

"Solomon, operation Judgement is a go. Have all available units deployed throughout the country."

Fargo ended the call and stepped inside, just as Ashley collapsed in a chair.

"Don't worry Madam President, you're safe now."

"Bullshit." Ashley grunted, staring at the gun in her hands. "You didn't read the file you gave Bracken, did you?"

"No?" Leon arched an eyebrow. "Did you?"

Graham nodded, looking up at her bodyguard.

"Ross didn't have Nagel only work on Compound V. He also wanted him to work on a special project, involving the Hulk's DNA."

2:15

Back in the White House bunker, Ross slumped against a wall, breathing heavily. Fargo shot him, the bastard. How dare he?

The Secretary groaned, feebly reaching into his jacket and pulling out a vial of red liquid. This was too soon. He was supposed to use this in an emergency.

Well, Ross thought, as he jabbed the syringe into his neck and pushed the contents in. This certainly was an emergency, as he looked down at his hand, seeing the skin turn a deep, bright red.

2:20

Back outside the White House, Bela charged at Achlys, grappling with the Witch, while Riley inched closer towards them, her gun ready. Unfortunately, she couldn't get a clear shot off, as Bela had resorted to using her swarm, flying all around Achlys in a flurry of black insects. Amongst the cloud, a face formed, looking over to Stone.

"Riley, now!"

Riley took that as the signal, and she pulled out the vial of fear toxin, charging towards Achlys. Just as she was within reaching distance, she stabbed downward… only for a strong hand to catch her wrist.

"You think you can kill me with this pathetic needle?" the witch sneered, squeezing Stone's wrist and hearing the bones break.

"Hey!"

Achlys and Riley turned their heads, just in time to see a hand emerge from the swarm of insects, holding onto a modified gas gun. The hand pulled the trigger, and a cloud of brownish yellow gas poured out, engulfing them all. Riley coughed, just barely noticing Bela reform into her human body, before her vision became overtaken by the Fear Gas…

Riley and Bela adjusted their eyes to the fog, finding themselves in what looked like a forest. Directly in front of them was Achlys, who was coughing from the dose of gas.

"Sorry." Dimitrescu apologized to Stone. "I wasn't planning on us to be dosed as well."

"But it's good to see you again."

Riley turned around, seeing Gibb standing right next to them.

"Who are you?" Achlys asked. Gibb grinned coldly, stretching out her arms.

"Your worst nightmare."

The trees began to move amongst themselves, but Achlys didn't pay attention, and began flying towards the trio. Just before she was within striking distance, the branches suddenly shot out, wrapping around the Witch Woman's wrists. Achlys grunted, easily ripping free of the restraints, but several more branches and vines appeared and bound her arms, then proceeded to bind her legs.

"You can't hurt me." Gibb smirked, twisting and curling her fingers. "You're in my world now."

Achlys continued to strain against her restraints, but the branches suddenly grew thorns, cutting into her flesh. The woman cried out in pain, while the branches that were wrapped around her ankles yanked her legs apart, making her look up in fear.

"What… what are you doing?"

Gibb smiled, opened her mouth, and a slimy, black slug-like being poured from out. If Riley had to guess, this was the same creature that forced its way into Krueger, and took control of his body.

The black slug dropped to the ground and slithered toward Achlys, who began to strain even harder against the branches. Gibb simply grinned, clenching her fists, and the branches grew even more thorns, further immoblizing the Witch Woman.

"No, no, please!" Achlys cried out, just as the slug touched her foot. All four women watched, with various expressions, as the creature crawled up the superhuman's leg, and Achlys' eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, realizing what was going to happen.

"Please, no, I beg of you!"

The slug didn't hesitate, entering up between the Witch Woman's legs, making her gasp in horror. Riley turned away, not wanting to see what was essentially a rape, while Bela looked on in mortification. It was… strange, as the blonde realized how disturbing this was. And considering she was a bioweapon who could disperse into a swarm of flies to either eat at one's insides and pilot their body like a meatsack, or cause it to detonate from within, that was saying something.

The slug disappeared completely between Achlys' legs, and she finally let out a terrified scream. Gibb's hands opened up, and the branches let go of the woman, allowing her to writhe on the ground, before going still.

"What did you do to her?" Riley asked in a whisper.

"You'll see." Gibb smiled. Bela looked closer at Achlys, about to shake her awake, when her eyes suddenly snapped open. Dimitrescu took a step back, preparing for a fight, when she realized something:

Her eyes were gray now- just like Krueger's when he was possessed.

"Well, that was fun." Gibb grinned, as Achlys opened and closed her hands. It took a moment for Riley to figure out that she was possessing the woman… somehow.

"How come you're still controlling your body?" Stone asked. "Why didn't you go limp like when you possessed Freddy?"

"Well, that was before I got his dream powers." Gibb grinned, speaking through Achlys' mouth. "Now, I can pilot this bitch's body remotely."

"Interesting." Bela nodded in approval. "But, I think our allies will need us back on the battlefield."

"Of course."

Music: "Street Shootout" from Punisher Season 2 OST

Gibb waved her hand, and in a haze of darkness, Riley and Bela found themselves back in the warring streets of DC, with Achlys right next to them.

"I'll take care of Brightburn." Achlys-Gibb told them, looking up at the villain and Ryan flying around and fighting above the White House. "Go help your friends."

"Good luck." Riley said hopefully. Achlys smirked, before leaping into the air and flying toward Brightburn, right as he kicked the Traveller away.

"Brightburn!" Achlys yelled, gaining the alien's attention. Brandon looked down, seeing the Witch Woman float up towards him, before cupping his face.

"I've missed you…" she murmured, leaning in…

And smashed her forehead into his, making Brightburn feel back in anger.

"Achlys? What the fuck!"

The witch grinned, kicking him in the chest and sending him flying a mile away. Meanwhile, Ryan floated towards them in confusion, before noticing Bela and Riley. Curious, he lowered himself to the ground, using his laser vision to blast one of Brightburn's soldiers unconscious in the process that was trying to sneak up on Riley.

"What did you do?" Butcher asked.

"We gave her a scare, and now our friend is taking care of it." Stone explained. Technically, it wasn't a lie.

Before Ryan could question it, Frank flew over to meet them, followed by Barry speeding towards them.

"Ryan, have you seen Millie?" Castle asked, as the faceplate lifted.

"Gimme a second."

Butcher concentrated, activating his x-ray vision, and looked around the battlefield. He looked in all directions, up above, down below-

There. Just a few feet underground, Millie and Alice were running through the tunnels- towards what appeared to be a bunker of sorts.

"Found her." Ryan announced. "She's underground-"

Frank wasted no time, firing the suit's unibeam directly into the ground, splitting the street and cracking the pavement.

"I got them!" Ryan shouted, flying into the hole. The supe pushed through the rubble and broke into the sewer tunnel, slightly startling Millie and Alice.

"Ryan?" Kessler asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Frank was worried about you." Ryan explained. "Come on, we're going back up."

"Wait!" Alice shouted, causing the supe to pause. "Karli was on her way to the President's secondary bunker before we killed her. How did she know he'd be there already?"

Butcher's mouth formed a grim line, before wrapping an arm around Millie's shoulder.

"Come on." he murmured, as Kessler picked up Alice. With the two women secured, Ryan flew forward, using his x-ray vision to navigate the bunker. After a few minutes of searching, he found a walled off area in the sewers, complete with a steel door that was reinforced.

"I can't see past it." Ryan murmured, attempting to use his powers again. "It's lined with… zinc?"

"Sound proof too I'm guessing." Millie grumbled, just as Butcher's ears perked up.

"Wait… something's coming-"

The wall to the left of them suddenly exploded, throwing Kessler and Alice to the side. A giant, red colored hand grabbed Ryan, completely engulfing the supe because of the palm size alone, and pulled him towards it.

"What the fuck?" Ryan shouted, coming face to face with a crimson visage. A snarling face, with black hair and a mustache, growled at Butcher, glaring at him with yellow eyes. But, as Ryan looked closer, he noticed the monster… looked familiar…

"Ross?"

The red monster- who Millie realized resembled the Hulk- roared loudly, jumping up and digging through the sewer's ceiling, as Kessler and Alice watched helplessly.

"Ryan!" she shouted, before turning on her earpiece.

"Frank, this red… Red Hulk just attacked us, and is bringing Ryan topside! He thinks the monster is Secretary Ross!"

2:30

"Copy!" Frank replied, just as the ground beneath him burst open, and the crimson creature emerged, holding onto Ryan.

Didn't expect to see this. Weird thing is, this asshole really did look like the Hulk, but red. And the mustache… it looks exactly like Ross.

Frank instantly began firing his repulsors, machine guns, anything that was part of the armor. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to harm the beast, who tossed Ryan aside, and roared loudly.

"What the fuck is that?"

Castle looked over his shoulder, seeing Bela Dimitrescu flying over towards him.

"A Hulk." Frank said bluntly, as the red monster began to gain more people's attention. "Secretary Ross did something to himself."

"Why's he red like Behemoth?" Redfield shouted, making his way over while shooting at the creature. Castle stared at them blankly, before putting two and two together.

"He used Behemoth's DNA." Frank realized. "Then he must've mixed it with Banner's."

"Well, I killed Behemoth." Bela grinned, pulling out her sickle. "I can probably kill this monster too."

Dimitrescu dispersed into a swarm of flies, zooming towards the Red Hulk and attacking him from all directions. Some insects stayed on the surface of his skin, while others flew up his nostrils and down his throat, attempting to eat him from the outside. That only made the monster angrier, as it roared loudly, picking up a nearby Brightburn soldier and biting him in half. In the process, the flies that were inside him flew out, quickly reforming.

"Not… not possible…" Bela gasped.

Jesus Christ. I don't remember Banner's Hulk being so unhinged he'd start eating people.

The Red Hulk howled with rage, tossing aside the half eaten corpse, and charged towards a cluster of Frank's allies, being led by Anderson and Becca. One look at the creature made Cass' eyes widen, but another swarm of flies grabbed her and Butcher and whisked them away to safety, coming together as the redhead Daniella. Flash surged forward, running circles around the beast in an attempt to trap it, but Red Hulk simply swept his hands, knocking the scarlet speedster aside. Doctor Strange, Constantine, and Wanda also tried to contain him by casting their binding spells, but the monster let out a mighty roar, breaking free of the magical threads with ease and slammed his fists into the ground, causing the ground to rumble and knocked the magicians unconscious.

"Frank, I'm picking up an energy signature." Lieberman told Castle. "It's coming from the mutated Ross."

"Yeah, I figured." Frank scoffed.

"You don't understand- his body temperature is rising at an alarming rate." Lieberman explained. "The angrier he gets, the more his temperature rises. And when it reaches critical, it'll be like a bomb went off."

Holy shit. He turned himself into a walking nuke.

"We can't stop him." Frank realized, as the Barclays, Wolff, and their friends from Kent all fired at the monster, while the Falcon flew towards him, dropping Bucky off to slam his vibranium fist into its jaw.

"That's the tricky thing- we can." Lieberman told him. "But you have to make him angrier. If you piss him off enough, it could overload him, and it could knock him out."

"Got it." Castle muttered, flying up. "Then let's hit him with everything we got."

Frank flew forward, activating his repulsors, guns, rockets, everything at the Red Hulk. I'm an instant, the creature was bombarded with a torrent of explosions and gunfire, momentarily blinding it.

"Cass!" Frank yelled. "Tell your Judges to fire every last round into him!"

On it! Anderson told him telepathically, while relaying the messages to her fellow Judges. A second later, a flurry of bullets- both incendiary and Hi-Ex- made impact with red flesh, making the beast scream in rage. Finally, Castle activating a small missile on his shoulder and fired, directly into the Red Hulk's mouth.

This thing was supposed to destroy an enemy's bunker, as small as it was. Hammer called it the "Ex-Wife" when he originally outfitted it into the suit. Hopefully Stark made improvements.

The moment the beast closed his mouth, an explosion rocket the area, engulfing its head, Frank had to shield his eyes, despite the faceplate, to avoid the light from the blast, but when the smoke cleared, the Red Hulk was still standing, roaring loudly.

"Frank, this is it!" Lieberman shouted. "You gotta get him outta here or he could level the city block!"

Frank flew towards the monster in response, zipping around him and pushing him from the back, pouring all his power into the boot's jets and flying upwards, high above DC. Red Hulk tried to swat him from behind, but Frank held on, going high above the clouds, until…

Ka-Boom!

A sudden blast of heat forced Frank to let go and sent him back down to Earth, where he began to free fall.

"Frank? Frank!"

Shit, shit. Gotta activate thrusters… c'mon…

Frank eventually got right side up while in midair and activated the boot's jets, flying back down just in time. He looked up, just barely seeing the Red Hulk fall down a several feet away from him, before making a crater in the middle of the street.

"Frank, the suit's temperature is overheating. You'll need to get out."

"Fine." Frank murmured, allowing the suit to open up. He stumbled out, feeling a hand on his side, and he looked over, seeing Cass holding him.

"Thanks." Frank smiled, before looking over to the crater.

"Help me get there."

Frank and Cass made their way over to where the Red Hulk crash landed, just barely seeing his body revert back to Secretary Ross.

"What.. what the hell?" Ross asked, looking around in mortification.

Son of a bitch orchestrated this whole Purge, and acts like he doesn't know?

Frank looked at Ross with disdain, before taking his pistol out and raising it.

"One Batch… Two Batch… Penny And A Dime."

Bang.

Ross' body slumped to the side, a bullet in the middle of his forehead. Frank sighed heavily, looking over his shoulder to see Millie and Alice climb out of the hole Red Hulk emerged from, the former beaming at him.

"Hey Mill." Castle's eyes softened. "I'm glad you're here."

Millie would've run towards him right then and there, but they all heard another crash, gaining everyone's attention. That crash was caused by Brightburn and the Witch Woman, who appeared to still be fighting.

And Brandon was winning.

Achlys attempted to throw a punch, but Breyer easily blocked the strike, and responded by plunging his fist through her stomach, making her keel over. She looked up, just in time for Brightburn to grab the sides of her head. At that moment, her eyes reverted from their gray color to the normal dark blue.

"B…Brandon?"

If Brightburn noticed the sudden change of eye color and voice, he didn't show it. Maybe he was consumed by anger. Or maybe he didn't care.

"I'm sorry." Brandon murmured, before twisting her head completely around. The Witch Woman's body sagged into a kneeling position, as the head coughed up black blood. What was more surprising, however, was the fact that the body began to rapidly melt before everyone's eyes, leaving them all- including Brightburn- in a state of shock.

Music: "If You Love These People" from Man Of Steel OST

Once Achlys' body was nothing but a puddle of blood and mushy gore, Brandon looked up at them all in hatred.

"You forced me to kill the woman I loved." he seethed, glaring right at Frank.

Shit.

Despite knowing it wouldn't do anything, Castle began firing his guns at the alien, even as Brandon flew towards him. Just as he thought it would be his end, a flash of lightning blinded him, and before he knew it, Frank was safely several feet away.

"Thanks Red."

The Flash nodded, speeding towards Brightburn and threw a ball of lightning, electrocuting the villain. Brightburn screamed in anger, flying up and touching down in an attempt to kill the speedster, but Caitlin flew past and kicked him with her metal boot as Allen sped away, while Bela engulfed him in her swarm. Once Breyer began using his heat vision, the swarm flew away, but that gave Becca enough time to hit him in the face with her crowbar. Not that it did any good. But it still surprised him enough for Cass, Vienna, and the Judges to shoot him with armor piercing rounds, further staggering him.

Seeing an opening, Millie ran forward, jumping up and kicking Brightburn in the face. She heard a loud cracking noise, most likely fracturing something, but before she could worry about it, the alien grabbed her by the neck.

"You take away who I love… I'll take away who he loves." Brandon sneered, powering up his heat vision. Just before he fired, Ryan tackled Brightburn, forcing him to let go of Kessler, then proceeded to kick him square in the chest, sending him flying into the air. It took Breyer a few seconds to right himself in the sky, but when he did, he looked down at Butcher in rage.

"I'm going to kill you, Ryan!" he screamed. "But first, you're going to watch me kill everyone you care about!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ryan roared, before flying towards the alien and uppercutting him so hard, he flew up a mile. Not allowing him to lose momentum, Ryan flew up to meet Brandon and punched him again, then flew away from DC.

"Ryan!" Millie shouted, seeing her brother disappear as a speck. "We have to go after him!"

"We can't all go." Barry interjected. "We still need to clean up here and stop the rioting."

"We can help you with that."

Frank and Barry turned around, seeing a small squad- platoon actually- of armored individuals walking towards them. Their uniforms seemed almost identical to Cass' Judge armor, albeit heavier, with matching helmets, although those were completely black, without red trimming and hood badges on the front. And leading them…

"Kimber?" Castle asked in disbelief.

"Hey Frank. It's been a while." Jack Kimber nodded towards him.

"Too long." Frank agreed. "Kandahar was a real clusterfuck."

"That we agree." Kimber shook his head. "But Secretary Fargo, he offered me a chance to serve again, but under a private branch."

"Fargo?" Cass asked, perking her ears up. "Eustace Fargo?"

"The one and only." another Judge, named Malloy, interjected. "He created this branch as a contingent to Ross' Purge."

Frank slowly nodded, the pieces coming together. Fargo knew the Purge wouldn't end well. He might've even guessed the Secretary of Defense would use this as a coup, so he created the Judges to bring order… to the chaos…

Castle looked back at Millie, remembering Ryan was still battling Brightburn.

"Take the armor." Frank told her, pointing to the discarded War Machine suit. "It should still work, just boot it up."

Millie flashed her father figure a grateful smile, before hurrying over to the armor and getting inside, allowing the metal to encase her. It took a few minutes, but eventually, the HUD flickered to life, albeit glitched.

"Mill, wait!"

Millie turned around, seeing Alice staring at her.

"Remember what I said."

"Yeah." Kessler murmured, before activating the boots' jets. Within a few moments, she was in the air, and while the suit was still jerking around, she began to fly off in the direction of Ryan and Brightburn. Luckily, she knew where they were heading.

"Good luck kid." Frank mumbled, watching her fly away.

2:45

Ryan flew through the sky, punching Brandon every time he got close, as they broke the sound barrier. At this rate, they were steadily flying across the Atlantic. Butcher paid no mind to the salty breeze flowing through his hair, and one more punch sent Brandon careening across Europe, while the supe gave chase.

"You won't hurt anyone ever again!" Ryan vowed, flying forward and tackling Breyer into Romania. Brandon began to pound his fists against the Traveller's back, but his foe held on, until they arrived at his destination:

Castle Dimitrescu.

Ryan threw Brandon into one of the castle's walls, shattering the stone and forcing them both inside. Brightburn tried to throw a punch, but Ryan easily ducked, kicking him farther down a hallway, towards a cell at the end.

Once they were close enough, Butcher grabbed the alien and threw him through the cell door, before stepping in himself and slamming the door behind them. Just like they planned. Only one could get out.

"What is this?" Brandon sneered, just as the lights turned on. The thing was, the lights were a bright green, ones that Ryan knew all too well. But so did Brandon.

"Did you seriously try to pull the same trick? Are you that stupid?" Breyer gloated, walking over towards Ryan.

"Oh, you'll die now. But this time, Dredd won't be around to save you!"

Brandon drew his fist back and threw a punch, preparing to cave Ryan's head in from a single blow…

And stopped in shock, as Butcher reached out and caught that fist.

"You're right, I would be stupid." Ryan admitted, before rearing his head back and smashing his forehead into Brandon's, in a brutal headbutt that rivaled Judge Dredd's. Brightburn instantly recoiled, blood streaming from both his nostrils, while Ryan balled his fists.

"That's why I had Heisenberg and Redfield use the same metal from your ship as the lens and filters." he revealed, staring down the alien.

"Come on, creep. Let's finish this."

Brandon's eyes widened slightly, as Ryan let out a battle cry, running forward and punching him square in the jaw. Brightburn's head snapped back, and when he recovered, he began to feebly raise his arms in an attempt to block, but Butcher simply kicked out, making him lose his balance, before stomping on his ankle. Breyer yelled in pain, kneeling down, but Ryan sent his knee into his chin, causing the back of his head to smack the cell's wall in a wet crunch. He stopped for a moment, seeing Brandon's body crumple, leaving a trail of blood where his head slid.

The Traveler stepped back, breathing heavily. He'd done it. Brightburn was dead.

So why did he feel so… empty?

Ryan began breathing quicker, and quicker, until he threw his head back. Brandon killed Dredd, and now he was avenged. And it meant nothing.

So Ryan did the one thing he could, and let out a pained scream.

2:50

Millie flew towards Castle Dimitrescu, already feeling the suit beginning to break down.

"Shit." she muttered, descending towards a sizable hole in the castle's walls. Just as she reached the makeshift entrance, the suit crash landed, leaving her facedown in the snow.

"Fuck, fuck!" Millie shouted, quickly pulling off the metal armor. Once she got the last piece off, she ran through the hole and down into the dungeons, finally stopping at the solid steel door that was just placed there days ago. Her heart pounding in her chest, Kessler quickly twisted the large handle and pulled, looking inward to see Ryan leaning against a wall, panting from exhaustion. Laying on the ground was Brightburn, the back of his head covered in blood that ended the trail from the wall, and the final remains of his mask a couple feet away from him.

"Ryan." Millie murmured, slowly walking over to her brother. "Are you alright?"

The supe barely gave her a glance, as he shook his head.

"I killed him." he whispered, as a tear formed in his eye. Millie looked at him in confusion, shifting her gaze between him and the alien.

"What?"

"I-I killed him." Butcher repeated, trying to hold back a sob. A knot tightened in Millie's stomach, remembering that he never took a life before. She quickly looked back over to Brandon, seeing that his body suddenly rose a couple inches, before settling back down.

"No." Millie realized, turning back towards Ryan. "No, you didn't kill him, you just broke him. Here, look-"

Kessler suddenly lifted her gun and fired, hitting Brightburn right between his eyes. Due to the room's lights modified with the metal that can hurt him, the bullet tore through his skull, coating the floor with his blood.

"See that?" Millie asked her brother. "You see that? I killed him. I did that."

Ryan still looked like he was holding back tears, causing the soldier to close the distance and wrap him in a hug.

"Hey, listen." she said softly. "That piece of shit ain't worth a single one of your tears, yeah? Don't you dare cry for him."

Butcher began to suddenly rock his body with Millie's arms around him, but she wasn't done.

"You take five seconds, alright? Deep breaths."

Ryan did exactly as instructed, eventually pulling back and giving his sister a mirthful smile.

"You good?" Kessler asked, seeing him nod.

"Okay. Let's go back, yeah?"

Ryan swallowed hard, but nodded again.

"Alright." Millie gave her brother a reassuring look, before turning on her earpiece.

"Frank, it's over. Brightburn's dead."

"Good fucking riddance." Castle spat. "You and Ryan are in the castle, right?"

"Yeah, we're still in the cell Redfield helped modified."

"Got it. Give us a second."

Millie waited in confusion, but moments later, red sparks suddenly appeared in the middle of the cell, enlarging into a circular portal. On the other side, Kessler and Ryan could see Frank, Becca, Cass, and all their friends and allies waiting for them.

"Let's go home." Millie said outloud. Ryan looked at her, seeing her give him a reassuring smile, and together, the two of them stepped through the portal, rejoining their family.

A/N: Man this has been one hell of a ride. I only got the epilogue to write now, and I'm planning on getting it done by at least the end of September or October.

Not sure if all the callbacks were obvious, but I kinda pulled a lot from Avengers Endgame, Invincible, The Boys season 3, Ultimate Avengers, and even Evil Dead and Assassin's Creed 2 for this final battle. I think this is one of the biggest chapters I've written, or at least it felt like that.

Speaking of, there's a reason why it's taken me so long to write these chapters and stories now. I don't have as much free time as I did years ago. I got a primary job with insanely early hours, and by the time I get home, I'm dog tired. And that's not taking into account the side jobs that I have to.

In addition to that, I'm finally getting closer to working on movies like I've always wanted. I'm starting out with editing a feature film for and indie company, as well as in the early stages of developing a script for my own personal project. I originally thought that with me graduating from college, I'd have more freetime to write on here, but it's almost been the opposite. So, moving forward, I'm planning on releasing the entire story once it's finished, or at the very least, will start uploading chapters once it's close to being finished. The only exception will be if the document I'm writing on is so long, it actually slows down the process of loading words/characters when I type.

Anyway, I do have plans for future stories after this. There is a set end goal to how I want this series to end, as well as possibly some other spinoffs, but first, there are a few "prequels" that I have ideas for:

If I get to it, the first story I'd be working on would Allyson's solo adventure. Think of it as my equivalent of the Black Widow movie, since it would obviously take place before Penance. But basically, it would be a retelling of Halloween Kills, with a bit of a retread of Halloween 2018 and some bits and characters from Ends. Instead of Michael though, the killer would be a copycat Black Noir, and Allyson and Michael would have to get to the bottom of who it is, as well as clearing their own names.

Another story I'd like to do is a sequel to Good Guys And Bad Girls, which would be a retelling of Terrifier 2 with some concepts from Chucky Season 2 thrown in the mix. I fucking love the Terrifier films, and seeing the second one in theaters inspired me to include the protagonist Sienna Shaw in this story to begin with, as well as being Alice's girlfriend. And that was always the plan to write a story on how the two of them met in the first place. But the story would also take place shortly after the epilogue of the first story, and will detail how a lot of average citizens, particularly the Barclays, were affected by Thanos' Snap.

Following that would be a third Good Guys story where M3GAN would be the main villain. That one would be more straightforward, and would also feature Chucky from the 2019 reboot. The story would mostly be about AI and cyborgs, so expect a lot of references to Terminator and such. Who knows, I might even consider including elements from the latest Mission Impossible, since I loved that movie.

Finally, one of my last ideas for this series is a Flash/Punisher centric story that redoes the Godspeed arc from Flash Season 7. I've only seen bits and pieces of those episodes, but from what I heard, they're shit, so I'm gonna pull from the comics on Godspeed's character, especially since from what I heard from some people on the internet, Godspeed might as well be the Punisher as a speedster.

And that's it for the Vengeance And Punishment series. Right after I finish the epilogue for this story, I'm going to go back to work on my Multiverse Of Madness crossover. Been dying to write this one, because I plan to fully flesh out the characters of Wanda, Frank, Doctor Strange, and even Wong a little bit. I'm still keeping America Chavez, because I don't see how the movie can really work without her, but she'll be better than what I saw in the film. And there will be actual consequences to the events of my Spider-Man No Way Home story. Lastly, the story will be both a celebration of the Marvel multiverse, as well as Sam Raimi. So if you guys know what I mean by that, you'll be in for a treat!

But that's it for now, and I'll see you guys in the epilogue chapter!