Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It has no intentions of resembling any real persons dead or alive. This is entirely from my imagination, with a little help from already established sources. This story is based loosely on the comic book character "The Punisher" from Marvel Comics. Other characters may appear from Marvel comics as well as DC Comics.
Punisher and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.
Blade and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel copyright Joss Whedon, United Paramount Network and Warner Bros. Respectively.
I have written another story on nifty entitled "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". It is in the Celebrity/Boy Bands section. Batman may appear in this story once or twice, as the Punisher may appear in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". Any comments may be sent to jmsotc1@yahoo.com
Thank you and enjoy.
Chapter 1 The Watcher
Blade and Tandy entered the apartment looking for Harris.
"Harris!" Tandy called out. "Harris!"
Harris heard the call from the hallway. He ran out hoping to see Davey. Instead, all he saw was Blade and Tandy. "Hi. Where's Davey?"
"There's been an accident," Blade said.
Harris's eyes filled with tears. He shook his head no. "No. Davey can't be dead. He can't!"
"He's not," Tandy said. "But he's been shot. Ty went with him to the hospital. We came to get you to take you to the hospital."
"Then let's go."
The three walked down to the car and climbed in. Blade sat in the driver's side, Harris sat in the passenger side and Tandy sat in the back. The engine turned on and within moments they were zooming down the highway.
"He's lost a lot of blood," the paramedic said to the nurses and doctor as they wheeled Davey into the ER.
"I want two IVs of plasma on him now," the doctor ordered. "Does he have any family or friends here?"
"Me," Ty said who was rushing behind the paramedics.
The doctor looked back and him and recognized him as the same young man who brought the other guy in who was shot in the leg. The doctor was becoming suspicious of him. "Do you know his blood type?"
"No. I don't."
"Nurse, get a sample of his blood and determine his type."
A nurse nodded and took part of his blood-stained clothing off to the lab.
"No one is allowed beyond this point," the doctor said toTy.
Ty watched as the doors closed and Davey was taken to an operating table to undergo emergency surgery. He put his hands up over his eyes and wiped them. "Don't let him die," Ty said to no one in particular. "Please, don't die."
Ty went out to the waiting area and paced back and forth waiting for either news from the doctor or Blade to show up.
In a few moments, Harris came bolting through the sliding doors. "Where is he? Where's Davey?"
Ty grabbed Harris and pulled him close attempting to calm him down. Blade and Tandy entered and saw the scene. Tandy was affected emotionally by it. Blade kept his emotions under control.
"Davey is in surgery now," Ty said to Harris. "All we can do is wait."
Harris pulled away from Ty. "You were supposed to protect him." Then he ran out of the ER waiting room to the parking lot.
Ty ran after him. "Harris, wait."
Harris turned around once they were outside. "You were supposed to protect him! You have magical powers and you are a mutant! You should have kept him safe! You should not have let anything happen to him! I'll bet it's because you hate gay people! Better to let a gay kid die than become a gay man and spread AIDS, huh? I'll bet that was your reason! You don't want him to live! You want all gay people to die!"
"Stop!" Ty said. He held up his hand and said, "Sedo." Immediately Harris's heart slowed down and his nerves settled. "This was something none of us could foresee happening. We were all inside the building. Davey was looking out for trouble. We are not sure who did this but we will find out.
"And as for me hating gay people, I don't hate gay people. I just don't like the idea of two guys having sex. That is an issue I have to deal with and overcome. If anything, knowing Davey has helped lessen that disgust and fear. I don't know and understand everything about gays. But I want to learn. I have a friend who I care too much about to lose to ignorance." Ty looked into Harris's eyes. "Actually, I now have two."
Harris's eyes welled up with tears and he collapsed in Ty's arms sobbing and crying. Ty held him close comforting Harris in his time of need. "It's going to be okay, Harris."
About an hour later, the surgeon came down to the waiting room. A nurse pointed out Ty and the surgeon walked over to him. "Hi, I'm Doctor Krait. You were the one who came in with the young man who was shot?"
"Yes," Ty replied. "We're friends. His name is Davey."
"We removed the bullet from Davey's back. At first we were unsure how extensive the damage was. We were concerned that it might have damaged his spinal cord. But he's showing remarkable progress in healing. One would almost say supernatural progress.
"Is he a mutant?"
The group immediately became apprehensive.
"No need to worry. We are mutant friendly here. Mutants are people, too. It's not an issue. Here, you are safe."
Ty nodded. "Yes, he's a mutant."
"I thought so. His gift saved him from death. That should be looked at as a God-send."
"When can we see him?" Harris asked.
"In about an hour or two. He needs to come out of the anesthetic."
"When can he come home?" Blade asked.
"I'll want him here for the rest of the night for observation to see if he has any more damage or complications from the surgery. If not, probably tomorrow afternoon."
"Thank you, doctor."
The doctor nodded and left the waiting area. Everyone sat down. There was no longer a weight on their shoulders now that their friend was okay.
Davey was moved to his own room and everyone went back to see him. Harris was right at the side of the bed holding Davey's hand. A tear trickled down from his eye. "Hi, Davey," he said.
"Hey," Davey replied.
"How are you feeling, kid?" Blade asked.
"Horrible. Do I get a raise for this, boss?"
Everyone smiled and laughed.
"The doctor said you can come home sometime this afternoon," Ty said.
"This afternoon?"
"Yeah. We've been here all night."
"Wow. A pajama party in the hospital. Any hot guys walking around with the back of their hospital gowns open?"
"Hey," Harris replied squeezing Davey's hand. "I'm standing right here."
"You know I'm just teasing," Davey replied."
"Do you know who shot you?" Blade asked.
"I didn't see who actually pulled the trigger. But after I fell, I thought I saw Commander Lilandra going into the Bryce Building. She might have done it."
"We don't have to worry about her any more," Tandy said.
"Why not?"
"The Punisher killed her," Ty answered. "Kicked her out the window."
"Oh, no," Davey responded.
"But she shot you!" Harris interjected.
"We don't kill human beings, Harris. It's wrong. Monsters and demons are one thing. They have no soul. They cannot be redeemed. They will always be evil.
"A human being has a chance to change his or her ways. Human beings have souls. She could have changed in time."
"We don't have to think about that now," Harris replied. "You are going to be okay. And that's all that matters."
After visiting for a while, Ty and Blade went back to the apartment building to set up a room for Davey. They found parts to make a bed and some sturdy mattresses and blankets.
"Harris thinks I let it happen," Ty said. "He thinks I hate gay people so much I would let something like this happen to Davey. I can't believe he said that."
"Think about it from a different point of view. Gay people are minorities just like mutants and just like black people. You and I both know the hatred and persecution of both. It can be easy to blame someone who doesn't like your group for bad things happening, especially something like this."
"I could always put a spell on him to help him understand."
"No," Blade said. "Mankind would not evolve if they are forced to believe and forced to understand. Hatred out of ignorance can best be destroyed by knowledge and understanding. Let him get to know you and he won't blame you."
Later that afternoon, Davey returned how to find the room set up really nice for him. "Thanks, guys. This is so sweet of you."
"Any time," Ty replied. "We should probably leave you to sleep."
"Yeah, I'm feeling pretty groggy."
"I'll stay in here with you," Harris replied. "In case you need anything."
"That would be cool."
Blade, Ty and Tandy left the room and closed the door.
"Thank God Davey is going to be fine," Tandy said. "That is just too weird that we almost lost him."
Outside, a car pulled up and a light-skinned man in jeans, flannel shirt and khaki vest stepped out. He had long grey hair pulled back into a pony tail and a full grey beard and mustache. He walked up to the apartment building and entered.
"Hello," he called out. "Anyone home?"
He got to the top of the first flight of steps and was grabbed by the collar and pulled into the room. A dark-skinned man with short-cropped hair tossed him across the room and into the wall.
"Who are you?" Blade asked as he pulled out a gun.
"My name is Abraham Whistler. I'm looking for Tandy Bowen."
"Why?"
"She's a Vampire Slayer. I'm her Watcher."
Tandy poked her head around the corner. "Watcher?"
"Tandy, I presume," Whistler said.
"Yeah." Tandy walked in. "You don't sound like a Watcher. You're not English."
"Believe it or not, I have relatives who were in the Council. I was born and raised in the southern U.S. When I turned eighteen, I was sent over to London to be trained as a Watcher. Then, I came back here. Several Slayers were identified in Ohio and I waited for assignment. A Watcher was killed in Canton about a year ago and this past winter so was her Slayer.
"I was assigned to you, at first, but I looked all over Shaker Heights for you and couldn't find you. It wasn't until a week or so ago that I located you here."
"What exactly does a Watcher do?" Blade asked still not loosening up. He's had enough run-ins with people not to trust anyone.
"A Watcher trains a Slayer in her duties. We train the girls to fight, to think, to move, how to get maximum yield from their abilities and live to slay again. That's why I'm here."
Blade slowly put his gun away.
"I see you trust me now. Good. Would you mind telling me who you are?"
"Blade."
"Blade? Nice name."
"He's half vampire," Tandy answered.
Blade turned and looked at her surprised she would be so open and honest. But since Tandy always had a dingy streak to her, he let it slide. Blade could keep his eye on the Watcher regardless of what information he knew.
"His mom was bit by a vampire while giving birth to him. He ended up having all the strength and skill of a vampire. But he's completely human."
"Nice to meet you, Blade." Whistler stuck his hand out to shake Blade's hand. Blade just looked at it and then up at Whistler. "Smart ass," Whistler replied with a smile while lowering his hand. "Are you two involved? The last time a Slayer and a Vampire were involved, there was hell to pay. Literally."
"No," Blade replied. He turned and walked out of the room.
"Don't mind him," Tandy said. "He's always moody."
"Ah, I see. Is there anyone else in your group?"
"Yep. Ty is a wizard and a mutant. And Davey. He's a mutant, too."
"Interesting that there is a magically inclined person who is also a mutant. I wonder how supernatural powers are affected by such abilities. I wonder how that would work with a Slayer."
"I'm a mutant, too."
"Really? What are your powers?"
"I create light daggers. I can use them to decapitate and burn vampires. On humans, however, it knocks them out."
"Very interesting. What does Ty do?"
"He makes darkness. He provide smoke screens and he can send people into a dark dimension and bring them back out making them rather lax in doing anything. It drains their energy."
"What about Davey?"
"He is really strong, really fast, and has really intense reflexes and high endurance."
"Where is he now?"
"Oh. He's in bed. He was shot last night."
"What?"
"We had some trouble with the local Friends of Humanity group. A friend, I guess you could call him, was hunting down their leader. We followed a wizard to the same place the Friends of Humanity leader, Reverend Exeter, was. One of the F.O.H. commanders shot Davey."
"You mean the Friends of Humanity know who you are?"
"No. We have special costumes and code names we go by. I'm Dagger, Ty's is Cloak and Davey's is Marvel Boy."
"What about Blade?"
"He's...well, he's Blade."
Whistler looked at dumbfounded. "Well, tonight I go with you on patrol so I can assess your abilities and talents this far. See what I have to do to make you even better."
"Um, okay. I hope you know how to fight. Blade expects everyone who goes out to be able to handle themselves."
"Don't worry. I've fought vampires for a long time."
"I can tell."
Whistler looked at Tandy inquisitively. "What do you mean?"
"You seem really smart and they say that gray hair is a sign of wisdom. Being a Watcher that wisdom must come from knowledge of vampires and you have lots of gray hair."
"Thank you, I think."
Tandy smiled, nodded and left the room. Whistler pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number to the Watchers' Council. "Hello, Quentin. This is Whistler. Just so you know, I made contact."
To Be Continued...
A Watcher joins the group. Many of you have probably heard of Abraham Whistler through the movies "Blade" and "Blade 2". Kris Kristofferson played him. I intend to keep him as close to Mr. Kristofferson's portrayal as possible.
The next few chapters will deal solely with Blade and company. For Punisher's exploits, read "Trials of a Real Dark Knight" Chapters 2 through 6.