If you have not read before here is a link to Batman: Punishing Gotham - 1 The Fan-Fic below is rated M for gore and language partial nudity and such. No\w that Ive warned you go ahead and continue reading the EPIC conclusion of Batman: Punishing Gotham..... Oh yeah this one is EXTRA long :D
Friday night, April 29th, 2011. The Punisher is kneeling on top of an old, abandoned apartment building. He has an M-107 50 caliber rifle set up on a bipod, and is looking through the telescopic sight at a building several hundred yards up the block. There, in the window, he sees The Joker's girlfriend, Harley Quin, wearing her customary skin tight black and red court jester's costume. The Punisher has her right in his sights, the cross-hairs of his scope coming together just over her heart. He holds his fire, waiting for his primary target. The Joker come into view and appears to be playfully tickling his lover. Harley Quin laughs and runs away from the window, and The Joker gives chase, disappearing from view. The Punisher sits and waits.
"Don't do it Frank," says a raspy voice from behind.
"I figured you'd find me sooner or later," says The Punisher as he sets the rifle down and rises to his feet. "Although to be honest," he says as he turns around, "I kinda thought it would be sooner."
"I can't let you continue killing people in my city Castle," says Batman, "You know I have to stop you."
"I know you have to try," he replies.
"Why don't you end all of this?" asks Batman, "Let me take you in."
"War isn't over yet. Still too many of the enemy walking the streets."
"We're not at war," argues Batman, "There is no enemy."
"We are," counters Punisher, "And there is. You hear about it all the time on TV. Read about it in the newspapers. 'Police continuing the war on crime'. 'War on drugs continues'. The police don't want to fight this war to win it. Just like 'Nam, they're satisfied with the status quo."
"You can't just arbitrarily go around killing people!" says Batman, "There are some lines that you just don't cross!"
"You aren't the one who draws those lines," replies Punisher, "They are. They tell you, 'If you wanna stop me, you're gonna have to kill me.' And you say 'No.' I say, 'You want it, you got it.'"
"Look, Frank," says Batman as he tries changing tactics, "I know why you're doing this. I know all about you and your family. It's a tragedy that never should have happened. But no matter how many criminals you kill, you're never going to bring them back."
"I know," he replies, "Just like no matter how many times you send Joker to Arkham, it's never gonna bring your parents back. Will it . . . Bruce?"
"What did you call me?"
"Don't act so shocked," says Punisher, "You can't fight this war as long as I have without becoming somewhat of a detective as well. Most people who dress up in tights to fight crime either did it because some freak accident had granted them super human powers and they believe that with great power comes great responsibility . . ."
"Sounds like someone I know in Metropolis."
" . . . Or they suffered a tragic loss and the system failed them. You have no super powers, which means you're likely the latter. The Batman rarely travels outside of Gotham City, which means you're likely a local. Gotham is over run by crime and corruption, so finding the names of people who had survived violent crimes is all too easy. But your fancy gadgetry must cost a fortune. And crime fighting takes up so much time that one could never hold down a nine to five job and work as a career vigilante. That means you're independently wealthy. The only person who lives in Gotham City that fits that criteria is billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne."
"That's an interesting deduction," says Batman.
"There is corroborating evidence," says Punisher, "Like the fact that the few times The Batman shows up in other places around the world, Bruce Wayne is always conveniently in the same area 'on business'. I'm just surprised that the local police haven't figured it out yet. They're either monumentally stupid, or they just don't give a fuck."
"Clever," says Batman, "But it doesn't change the fact that I can't let you kill Joker and Harley Quin."
"Why not?" asks Punisher, "How long have you and The Joker been at each others throats? How many times has he been thrown into Arkham Asylum only to break out again soon after? How many people does he kill before you can catch him and put him away again? How many lives would have been saved had you simply killed him when you first met him? All those men, women, children, who are dead because of that lunatic? Their blood is on your hands as much as The Joker's."
"I know," says Batman, "I have to live with that every day. But that doesn't make your way right. Just easier."
"I don't want to have to fight you, Batman," says The Punisher.
"Then don't," says The Dark Knight, "Let me take you in quietly. I'll find you the best defense attorney in the country."
"I can't do that," says Frank, "Still too many of the enemy out there. The war's not over. Not by a long shot."
"I'm sorry," says Batman.
"Me too," replies The Punisher.
Batman quickly pulls a batarang out of his utility belt and throws it at The Punisher. Frank dives out of the way, going into a forward roll and coming back up to his feet. He then gets a running start at Batman, leaps up and attempts to deliver a flying kick to The Dark Knight's face. Batman too, ducks out of the way, causing Frank to sprawl onto the rooftop when he lands. Quick as a cat, The Punisher springs back to his feet.
Punisher throws a punch at Batman. The Dark Knight blocks it, then retaliates with an elbow to Frank's jaw. Before he can recover, Batman grabs him by the arm and throws him over his shoulder. Punisher hits hard, but quickly kicks Batman in the face to break the contact. As soon as The Caped Crusader lets go of Frank's wrist, Castle rolls to the side and regains his footing. He puts his hands back up in a ready position, and Batman does likewise.
Batman comes at Punisher now, delivering a front kick to his abdomen, then a spinning side kick to his chest, knocking castle against the fire exit door. Batman then goes for a thrust kick to the head, in an attempt to knock The Punisher out quickly, but Frank moves out of the way and Batman hits nothing but the heavy steel door. The Punisher immediately grabs Batman's extended leg, with the ankle resting on his shoulder and being held in place by his left hand, and then brings his right elbow down onto the leg, hyper-extending the knee. The Dark Knight cries out in pain as his knee bends in a most unnatural way. Then Frank shoves him down onto the rooftop. Batman rolls away and comes back up onto his feet, with a very noticeable limp in his right leg. They once again begin circling each other.
"You're good," says The Punisher.
"So are you," admits Batman.
"Kung fu?" asks Frank.
"Ninjitsu," replies Batman, "And you?"
"Marine Corps," says Frank.
"No specific style?"
"Whatever works."
Batman comes at Frank with a punch aimed at the face. However, with his knee injured, his delivery isn't what it should be, and Castle avoids it. The Punisher blocks the punch, twists Batman's arm, then locks him in a sleeper hold. Batman knows that if he doesn't escape this hold quickly, he'll pass out and will be unable to keep The Punisher from killing The Joker and Harley Quin. As a last ditch effort, The Dark Knight grabs Frank by the hair, leaps up, then brings both of his knees up over his head to crack Frank right in the forehead. It wasn't the most effective maneuver, but it did stun Castle enough to allow Batman to break free of the sleeper hold. He tumbles out of reach and then squares off against The Punisher once more.
"Clever," says Frank as he shakes off the effects of Batman's knees hitting his face, "I'll have to remember that one in the future."
"Thank you," replies Batman, himself recovering from the effects of The Punisher's sleeper hold.
Punisher charges right at Batman. Despite his injured leg, Batman manages to sidestep the vigilante's charge. The Punisher collides face first with the steel fire exit door. Batman comes up behind him and delivers a series of punches to The Punisher's lower back and kidney region. Castle tries to deliver a wild elbow to Batman's face, but The Dark Knight ducks under it and drives his shoulder into The Punisher's abdomen. He then hits Frank with a hard uppercut, knocking the back of Frank's head against the door. But when he tries for a right cross to Frank's face, Castle instinctively ducks causing Batman's fist to collide with the metal door. Batman cries out in pain as he feels the bones in his hand fracture and he backs off a step. Punisher throws a haymaker punch, knocking Batman down to his knees.
As Batman tries to regain his footing, Punisher takes a few steps forward and kicks him in the ribs. He tries to rise again, and The Punisher kicks him in the head. Again, The Caped Crusader tries to rise. And again, The Punisher kicks him back down.
"Stay . . . down," says Frank as he sees Batman stubbornly trying to rise again.
"No," comes the reply.
The Punisher kneels on Batmans's chest. Then he pulls back and punches The Dark Knight in the face. Then again. And again. And again. And again. Until finally, Batman stops trying to get up. The Punisher takes off one of his gloves and presses two fingers to the side of Batman's neck. He breathes a sigh of relief as he feels a strong pulse beneath his fingers. He didn't kill him. Good. He removes Batman's utility belt, then proceeds to tie him up.
Sometime later, Batman awakens to find himself heavily bound with rope to a defunct air conditioning unit. He sees his utility belt lying on the rooftop, about a yard away from his foot. Duct taped to Batman's hand is a Glock-17 handgun with laser sighting. His left hand is left unbound just enough to aim the weapon. Over by the edge of the building, Batman sees The Punisher kneeling down, looking through the sight of his M-107 sniper rifle.
"Castle?" says Batman, his voice horse from having been knocked unconscious.
"About time you woke up," says Frank, "I didn't want you to miss this."
"What are you doing?"
"The same thing I was doing when you first arrived here," he says, "Getting ready to eliminate The Joker and his girlfriend."
"What's with the pistol?"
"You're gonna have to kill me in order to stop me," says Frank, "There's one round in the chamber. I'm wearing body armor, so you're gonna have to make it a head shot. You only have the one shot, so make it count."
"What?"
"If you don't pull the trigger, you're gonna have to live with the knowledge that someone else died because you couldn't do it."
"What kind of choice is that?"
"The same one I make," says Castle, "Every time I pull the trigger."
The Punisher lines up his shot. Harley Quin is standing in the window wearing nothing but her bra and panties. Black lacy things that she most likely bought (or stole) to entice The Joker. Apparently it worked, because The Joker comes up behind her and embraces her tenderly. She turns around and they kiss. He leads her off to the side, out of sight from the window.
The Punisher quickly removes the telescopic scope off of the M-107 and replaces it with a TWS-X20 thermal weapon sight scope. He turns on the scope and looks through it. He sees the heat signatures of Joker and Harley as they're making love. Joker obviously has Harley pressed up against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist. The Punisher places the cross-hairs of the sight right between Harley's shoulder blades. Batman points the gun towards Castle, the red dot of the laser resting on the back of his head.
"Last chance," says Frank.
"For God's sake," says Batman, "Please don't make me do this."
"I told you," says Castle, "You only have one way to stop me."
The Punisher lines up his shot. Batman aims the laser at the back of Frank's head. The Punisher gently begins to squeeze the trigger of his M-107. Batman begins to squeeze the trigger of his Glock-17. There's a loud 'crack' as they squeeze their triggers. Batman looks on in horror as his weapon doesn't fire. The Punisher looks through the scope of his rifle with satisfaction, as he sees The Joker's heat signature backing away, and Harley Quin slumps to the floor. He fires again, this time hitting Joker directly. Joker falls to the floor. The Punisher fires one more time, hitting Harley Quin in the back of the head. Then he picks up the rifle and turns to face Batman.
"You son of a bitch," says Batman, "There never was any bullets in that gun."
'Oh, it had one in the pipe alright," replies Punisher, "It just doesn't have a firing pin."
"Then what the hell was the point?"
"A split second before I pulled the trigger, I heard you pull your trigger. You and I, we're more alike than you think. And if the criminals here knew that, then maybe you can finally start doing some real good."
"I won't be tied up like this forever," says Batman, "I'll stop you."
"Not before I leave town," replies The Punisher, "And I intend to do so tonight. Before you can free yourself."
Frank Castle kicks Batman's utility belt towards him, making it easier for him to reach. Then he turns and walks over to the fire escape and begins climbing down the old iron ladder.
"So long Bruce," he says, "Perhaps we'll meet again."
"Count on it," says Batman to the departing figure.
---------------------------------
Back at the Bat Cave, Bruce Wayne is sitting on his medical examination table as Alfred administers to his duties as Batman's personal medic. Sets his broken nose, and wraps up his injured ribs. Bruce winces as Alfred tightens the bandage around his employer's chest.
"My apologies, sir," says the butler, "But it must be tight if it's to allow your ribs to heal properly."
"Don't worry Alfred," says Bruce, "It's fine."
"You seem troubled," says the old gentleman, "Upset that you lost?"
"Not at all," replies Mr. Wayne, "I never expected Frank Castle to go down easily. He is a marine after all."
"Ex marine," corrects the butler, putting the emphasis on the 'ex' part.
"There is no such thing as an ex marine, Alfred," says Bruce, "The Corps has a saying, 'Once a marine, always a marine'."
"Very good, sir," replies Alfred, "Then what, pray tell, is bothering you?"
"I pulled the trigger," says Bruce, "I was actually willing to break my vow in order to stop The Punisher from killing The Joker and Harley Quin."
"But the gun was disabled," says Alfred.
"That doesn't matter," replies Bruce, "For years I have refused to take a life, believing that that's what sets me apart from the criminals that I hunt. But tonight, I broke that vow. I was actually willing to take a man's life to save another. And whose life would I have been saving? The Joker's? The man who murdered Jason Todd and God only knows how many others? Or Harley Quin? She killed every guard, nurse, and orderly at Arkham during that last break out! Yet I was willing to kill in order to save their lives."
"Please, sir," says the butler, "Don't go reading too much into what happened. You were put into an impossible situation. And people are capable of doing all sorts of things while under duress. And you are no exception. I am very proud of you. I have always been very proud of you. And tonight is no exception."
"Thank you Alfred," says Bruce.
"Here," says Alfred, "I'll help you up into your bed. Things will look better in the morning after a good night's rest. You'll see."
"Again, thank you."
"Just doing my duty, sir," says Alfred, and he helps the billionaire up into the mansion above and into bed.
War Journal: Entry #239
The enemies known as Joker and Harley Quin have been eliminated. Had a run in with the vigilante known as Batman. He's tough. I think he may have been holding back, as his reputation suggests he should have been able to defeat me in hand to hand combat. But I've eliminated all of his high profile enemies, at least those who aren't currently locked up. Making a strategic withdrawal, before Batman or the local authorities can catch up to me. I'll leave the street level thugs to Batman for the next little while. Once his high profile enemies return, so will I.
Under the cover of darkness, The Punisher drives his Battle Van out of Gotham City limits and heads off down the highway.
THE END
ALL CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS ARE PROPERTY OF DC COMICS OR MARVELPlease comment below and tell me what you think.
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