Punishments (Punisher DC crossover)

Chapter 15

Getting to Santa Prisca had proved to be a little more difficult than Punisher had first realized. First, he had to go give a beatdown to practically half the city's criminals until he got a location. Second, he had to figure out how to get there. Fortunately, one of the thugs he gave a beatdown to worked at the docks and informed him of a shipment of some kind going to the small island. He managed to get onto the cargo ship and hid in the bottom of the ship, waiting patiently for his arrival. During his waiting, it gave him some time to reflect and think about the past. He pulled out a small picture from inside his coat pocket and looked down at his, the smallest of smiles on his lips as he looked at the three figures in the picture.

...Flashback...

"Come on Frankie!"  A little girl cried, dragging her older brother behind her.

"Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" Frank chuckled, stumbling to run with his much shorter sister.

"Nope!" The little girl giggled as the two reached their parents.

"Melanie, Frank, where did you two run off two?" An older woman addressed the 16 year old male and 9 year old female.

"Melanie, got distracted by the animals again," Frank informed, patting Melanie's head a bit.

"Not my hair!" Melanie protested.

"Come on, kids," An adult male chuckled, wrapping his arm around the woman's shoulders. "Let's go get some ice cream then start heading home."

"But I want to see the big cats!" Melanie complained.

"We'll pass them on the way out, now come on, what ice cream flavor are you going to get?" Frank chuckled, keeping the girl close.

This small family, were the Castles. Jeremiah and Clarice Castle with their two children Melanie and Frank. The two had adopted Frank four years ago when their daughter was six and they couldn't be happier, realizing he was the perfect addition to complete their family. Currently, the family of four were at the zoo celebrating the four year anniversary of Frank's adoption, all of them happy as can be.

"So, where to after this?" Jeremiah asked Frank as the four made their way out of the zoo, ice creams in hand.

"Well, I wouldn't say no to a movie," Frank shrugged. "But at home, not at the movie theatres."

"You really don't like those theatres do you?"  Clarice chuckled.

"Sitting in the dark surrounded by strangers? No thank you," Frank chuckled.

Suddenly, gunshots started ringing through the air breaking the peaceful atmosphere and making the pedestrians around them start running and screaming in fear. Frank looked around and noticed  people on opposite sides of him shoot at each other, the Castles caught in the crossfire. Frank felt sharp pain in his back causing him to scream out and fall to the ground, feeling every spot a stray bullet hit him. He slowly looked up to see his family falling to the ground, bullets tearing through every one of them. He reached out to Melanie, only to see her cold dead eyes wide with fear  as consciousness slowly left him...

When Frank woke up, he was met with bright lights and a sterile smell surrounding him. He shook his head and attempted to sit up, only let out a small cry of pain when he felt sharp pain in his back.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask that you don't move," A voice to his left ordered. "Any extreme movements could tear your stitches."

"Where, where am I?" Frank asked, looking up at the man and realizing it was a doctor.

"You're at the hospital, can you tell me what you remember?"  The doctor asked, checking his vitals.

"I-I was at the zoo with my family, then shots rang out and I, I got hit," A realization swept over  Frank. "My family, where are they?"

The doctor looked down solemnly, "I regret to inform," a new voice entered the conversation. Frank looked at the door to see a detective in the doorway. "You're family didn't make it."

"What are you talking about?" Frank glared, his fists clenching.

The detective walked closer and showed Frank his badge, "I'm Commissioner Gordon with the GCPD, and I regret to inform, that those gun shots came from two rival gangs currently in a war. A gang war you and your family got caught up in. Your family didn't make it."

In that moment, Frank's entire world came crashing down. He didn't cry, he didn't let one tear fall down his face. He just stared at his bed in shock. But then, pieces slowly started to fit into place in his head. What were the odds of a gang war happening in an extremely public area, in the middle of the day, exactly the grandson of Raz Al Ghoul was hiding. His fists clenched as he came to realize something; this wasn't just some random coincidence, this was a set up.

"Right now, we need to get you into protective custody," Gordon spoke, snapping Frank out of his thoughts. "You're the only survivor who could've seen anything, we need to get you somewhere safe in case the gangs decide to come after you to keep you quiet."

"Thanks but no thanks," Frank spoke gruffly. He slowly got out of the bed despite the doctor's protests. "I'll show myself out, thanks. Doc, where are my clothes?"

"Um, I don't think it's a good idea for you to leave right now," The doctor responded.

"Don't care, give me my clothes please."

The doctor eventually complied to his wishes and gave Frank his clothes, allowing the teen to slip them on, with help, and leave the hospital. He was followed by three police officers and Gordon out of the hospital.

"We're going to get you to a car then get you to your house, we'll collect some of your things then drive you to a safe house," Gordon informed.

"Right," Frank mumbled, quickly compiling a plan. 

When reaching outside, the small group were surrounded by the media, attempting to get his picture and demanding to know what happened. Using the chaos, Frank ducked around the police and trampled his way through the media, running as fast as he could down the street, ignoring Gordon's protests and the pain in his back. He knew where to go; one of his safehouses in case he ever needed to run. He ducked down an alley way and saw that he was no longer being followed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture of himself and his family smiling happily.

"Don't worry," Frank said, slipping the picture back into his pocket. "I'll make sure those sons of  bitches pay with their blood and their souls."