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 5 Making Appearances
"Hold it right there," an officer of the Friends of Humanity task force said to Harris and Davey. Her stun gun was aimed at Harris, who was also holding a stun gun.
Moments ago Harris tried to distract the F.O.H. task force from their duty of rounding up mutant teens. Harris threw a chair at their leader, Commander Lilandra, and ran. Two F.O.H. officers pursued him. Davey distracted them for a few moments. Harris had obtained one of their stun guns and stunned the two officers before they could get Davey.
Harris and Davey turned. In a split second, Davey jumped at Harris knocking him around the corner as a stun beam contacted the wall.
"Damn," the F.O.H. soldier exclaimed. She ran over to the corridor to get the two teen boys. The corridor was empty. She pulled out her radio. "Commander Lilandra. This is Peco. A boy helped the sympathizer. They got away."
"We'll find them both later. Right now I need you down here. Get Minx and Lee and get back here."
"Understood. Peco out." She walked over to her two stunned comrades and began to arouse them.
Davey and Harris quietly snuck down the back stairwell. Davey peeked around the corner and saw Lilandra busy with her duty. "Let's get out of here. This way." Davey ran down the hallway passed the music room. Harris followed.
"Why are you helping me?" Harris said once they were a safe distance from the school.
"Hold on," Davey replied. He walked over to a pay phone and hit the silver plate on the bottom of the phone. The casing snapped to pieces spilling quarters everywhere. Davey grabbed one, inserted it into the phone, and dialed a number.
Blade and Punisher finished up some more work on the car when the phone rang. Ty walked over and answered it. "Davey? Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
Blade and Punisher looked up.
"Yeah, he's still here. Hold on." Ty walked over to Punisher with the phone. "It's Davey. He needs to talk to you. He sounds scared."
"Hello," Punisher said taking the phone in hand.
"You've got to get over here and help us. There's a group of soldiers working for the Friends of Humanity at the school now. They are rounding up students who are mutants and mutant sympathizers. They have stun guns."
"I'll be over shortly. How far away are you?" Davey gave Punisher his location. "Stay put. We'll be there shortly." Punisher pushed the button to disconnect the conversation.
"What's up?" Blade asked.
"The Friends of Humanity. They are going after mutant students at Davey's school. They have weapons. I have to stop them."
"You're not going alone," Ty said. "We'll go with you."
"That's right," Blade added.
"I appreciate your help. Blade, do you mind if I ride your motorcycle? You and Cloak can drive in the Suburban. I will need you guys close by to help the mutants we free."
"Sure."
Punisher opened his Suburban and grabbed several weapons. After pulling on his leather overcoat, he placed two pistols on his person, tossed a rifle over his shoulder and placed a shotgun between some parts of the motorcycle to hold it.
Blade pulled on his leather overcoat and climbed into the driver's side of the Suburban. Cloak was tying his cloak into place. He pulled his hood up and his eyes seemed to disappear into the shadow.
Punisher pulled on his sunglasses, nodded to Blade and started up the motorcycle. The two black vehicles took off out of the warehouse and down the road toward their destination.
Tandy sat in her classroom listening to the lecture when a knock came to the door. The teacher walked over and opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"We are officers with the Friends of Humanity. We are here for the mutants in this classroom."
"I must object," the teacher replied. "I will not allow my class to be disrupted."
"We have our orders, ma'am. Please, stand aside."
"The principal will hear about this!"
"The principal already knows of this. Stand aside or we will move you!"
The teacher reluctantly stepped aside. Five officers entered and one pulled out a device that he moved slowly across the room. He was through it at the students. He stopped at Tandy. "Her," he said.
"Come with us, young lady. We are here to help you," a soldier said approaching her.
Tandy nodded and stood up. She threw out her hands and five light knives flew out and hit the officers. The students screamed. "I didn't kill them!" Tandy tried to explain. "I only paralyzed them! They'll be okay!" However, she could not be heard over the screams of the students. "Oh, forget it!"
Tandy grabbed her purse and backpack and ran out the door.
Punisher headed down the road toward the school. He saw Davey and another student standing at a phone booth. He motioned to Blade and Cloak in his Suburban and pulled over.
"Thank God you're here," Davey said to Blade, Punisher and Cloak.
"What's going on?" Punisher asked.
"The F.O.H. has a task force invading the school. They are rounding up students who are mutants and taking them into custody."
Blade looked at Davey's friend. "Who is this?"
"This is Harris. He saved me from being taken into custody."
"How many are in this task force?" Punisher asked.
"About fifteen or twenty, I think."
"I'm going in. Cloak, Blade, I need you two to get the mutant teens to safety. Load them in the Suburban if you have to."
Punisher turned and mounted the bike. He started it up and drove off toward the school.
Cloak stared for a moment then turned to Blade and said, "Who in the hell made him our leader? Last time I checked, we had no leader."
"He's a military officer," Blade replied. "He knows what he's doing."
Blade and Cloak climbed into the Suburban. Harris began to when Cloak told him to stay put.
"But the task force is after him, too," Davey replied, "for helping me. They don't like mutants or anyone who helps mutants. He would be taken into custody, too."
Reluctantly, Blade and Cloak allowed Harris to get in. The tires of the Suburban spun out as Blade tore down the road to the school.
Tandy crept along the hallway listening for any signs of the F.O.H. She peeked around the corner and saw the commandos in the cafeteria. A line of students heading out the door. One commando was writing stuff down while another was placing collars on the students.
"What do those collars do?" Tandy asked no one in particular.
"This group is done," a commando said.
"Take them out to the van," another replied.
"They are taking them away," Tandy said. "That is so wrong."
Tandy watched the line of students be marched out the door. She spied a small corridor that had a door to the outside and decided she should help. She ran to the door and opened it to see five vans. One was opened and the students were being loaded. The commando locked the door and headed back inside. The students just sat still.
"Why aren't they fighting?" Tandy thought.
Deciding to investigate, she approached the van quietly and peeked in the door. None of the students looked up. She tried to open the door but it was locked. Grabbing hard on the handle, Tandy pulled and snapped the lock. The door still staying closed.
"Oh, darn!" Tandy exclaimed.
She put her fingers between the cracks and pulled. Tandy heard the creaks and the snaps of the metal being taxed and finally giving in to her Slayer strength. She got the door opened and stepped inside.
"What are you doing in here?" Tandy asked.
"We're mutants. The Friends of Humanity is going to try and cure us of our disease."
"Mutation isn't a disease," Tandy said. "It's just one way that humans can be."
"You're a mutant, too. You should get help with that. God doesn't like mutants. He never meant for people to be mutants. It was an accident."
"What do those collars do?" Tandy asked.
"It keeps our mutation under control so we don't hurt anybody or ourselves."
"Oh, great," Tandy said. "A van full of people who can help and they can't. Just my luck."
Tandy heard the familiar sound of Blade's motorcycle roaring up the street and she jumped down and went around the van hoping to see Blade. Instead she saw the guy who helped them out last night with the vampire gang. She waved to him and he slowed down.
"What's in the van?" Punisher asked.
"Students."
"Get them out of here."
Without further word, Punisher drove off on the motorcycle.
"But I haven't had driver's training yet," Tandy replied. "Oh, great!"
Tandy climbed into the driver's side of the vehicle only to find the ignition keyless.
The motorcycle roared as the Punisher sped up toward the doors. At great speed, the motorcycle slammed into the glass doors. The glass shattered as the mammoth machine entered the school.
Several commandos turned to the sound of the shattering glass. They took aim at the new interloper, readying to fire. Punisher, however, had different plans. He pulled out his automatic Uzi and open fire on the commandos. He did not care if they died. This was war in his mind. Those who chose to fight in it took the risk of being killed, him self included. He felt that this was a war, a cause worth dying for.
Punisher turned the motorcycle and went down the hall looking for more commandos. He saw several filtering out of a classroom looking stunned and disoriented. He grabbed his shotgun and held it perpendicular to the motorcycle. The gun clotheslined the commandos as he drove passed.
Blade and Cloak pulled up to the school and found Tandy sitting in the driver's side of one of the F.O.H. vans. Cloak jumped out and approached her.
"What are you doing here, girl?" he asked.
"Punisher told me to get the students out of here. I can't find the keys to the van, though. I thought I would just sit here and protect them."
Cloak went to the back of the van and saw the students sitting in silence. One girl looked over at him but said nothing.
"What are those collars for?" he asked.
"They repress our mutation so no one gets hurt."
"How do they come off?"
"There is a key or something. The guards have them."
"No time for that." Cloak held his hands up as if to embrace someone. He took a deep breath and uttered, "Liberatio."
An electrical shock flew from his hands and traveled along the collars of the students. The collars opened and fell off the students.
"You're a mutant?" the girl asked.
"And a wizard. Stay put. We're getting you out of here."
Cloak went up to the driver's side. Blade was out of the Suburban and talking with Tandy.
"The children?" Blade asked.
"The collars are off. But we have to get them out of here. Traveling in Punisher's van isn't such a good idea with all the weaponry. We should probably take their van."
"There may be a way to track the van."
"I can use a protection spell to scramble any signals that may be sent from it. It could give us enough protection to get the children to safety. Then we can dump the van."
"Do it. You and Tandy get the students to safety. I'll see if I can help Punisher."
"Got it."
Blade walked back to the Suburban. "You two get in the van with Tandy and Cloak."
Davey and Harris climbed out and got in the other van.
"Be careful," Cloak said to Blade.
"You, too."
Cloak watched Blade walk into the school then turned back to the van. He grabbed a pouch off his belt, reached in and, with a wave of his hand, said, "Abscondo." A powder flew over the van and a faint green shell appeared momentarily. Cloak climbed in the driver's side, held his hand over the ignition, and it started.
"Everyone buckled in?" Cloak grinned, put the van in gear, and drove the kids off to safety.
Punisher reached the end of the hallway and turned around, heading back to the cafeteria and the way he came in. As he roared up the hallway, he came upon the cafeteria to see a row of commandos and their weapons ready to fire. He stopped the motorcycle and stared at the group. Their leader stepped forward.
"I am Lilandra, commander of the task force for the Friends of Humanity stationed here in Columbus."
Punisher did not respond.
"We understand your concerns for the welfare of the students. However attacking my commandos with bullets is not a good thing. You are lucky they were wearing bulletproof vests, otherwise they would be dead."
"They are lucky," Punisher replied. "I was shooting to kill."
"Why? Are you a mutant?"
Punisher knew she was only stalling.
"No."
"Who are you?"
"The Punisher."
Lilandra fought back a smile. "Whom do you punish?"
"Ignorant bastards like yourself who don't give a shit about anyone different than you."
Whatever problems Lilandra had hiding a smile were gone. Her smile was wiped from her face by Punisher's words.
"You don't understand our reasons for this."
"Sure I do. Fear. You are threatened by a mutant's existence. It calls into question all of your previous beliefs. In order to feel righteous, you seek to control that which you do not understand. It's a story that has been told for thousands of years. I'm really getting tired of hearing it."
"Then perhaps you should stop."
Lilandra waved her hand and all the commandos took aim.
"I thought you didn't want them dead," Punisher said.
With a quick fluid motion, he pulled out his shotgun and fired into the group. Then he turned the motorcycle and went along a row of lockers, using them as a shield against the fire of the F.O.H. task force.
Blade, who had watched and heard this go down, ran to the Suburban and started up the motor. Punisher came flying through another glass door and headed off in the direction they had come, with Blade bringing up the rear.
To Be Continued...
This Punisher isn't too different from the comic book one. He's not afraid to kill if he has to. More to come!