Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 11:20:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: James Geckler <jmsotc1@yahoo.com>
Subject: Punisher 8

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 8 Empty

	The sunset on Columbus, Ohio and Weatherby made it into downtown.
He did not feel the least bit tired as he was used to marching for miles
with a heavy load on his back.  The several miles he walked already were a
cake walk.
	Hopefully, the students got away from the Friends of Humanity,
Weatherby thought.  He continued his trek through downtown.

	The commandos awoke from their unconscious state to find the
warehouse pretty much cleared out.  The doors were closed and the lights
were out.  The group that had been outside waiting for any mutants to
attempt escape was put under a sleeping spell by Cloak.  They, too, were
awaking from unawareness.
	"What the hell?" one commando asked as she opened her eyes and
slowly focused.  "Where did they go?"
	"They beat us," a tall, well-built dark-skinned man said.  "The
mutants beat us.  And the students are gone."
	"Damn," a redheaded woman said climbing to her feet.  "This doesn't
bode well for the F.O.H. action in this city.  It could stretch to other
cities as well.  Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, to any other
city where mutant sentiment is strong.  I'm not prepared to lose an entire
state's support simply because a small band of mutant lovers beat us.
Let's mount up and head back to base."
	The commandos gathered their things, climbed into their vehicles
and headed back downtown toward their headquarters.

	Weatherby kept his steady pace passing the state capitol building.
As he walked, he noticed several F.O.H. vans driving from the direction of
the warehouse.  He kept walking trying not to be conspicuous but wanting to
see where they were headed.  They turned down a street and Weatherby picked
up his pace.
	As he came to the next intersection, he saw the vans pull into an
alley.  The alley was between Lazarus department store's two buildings.  He
moved a bit closer and saw the commandos climb out and enter the store.
	"The Friends of Humanity's hideout is in a department store.  They
must really use all their funding for supplies.  At least now I know where
they are.  I can always come back later."
	Weatherby went further west toward the warehouse.

	The Suburban and sports car moved through the night north on
Interstate 71.  Blade drove the Suburban with Harris and Davey beside him;
the Suburban full of supplies from the warehouse.  Ty and Tandy drove
behind him in the sports car watching out for pursuers.
	"Where are we headed, Blade?" Davey asked.
	"I don't want to go too far north.  I know we are wanted in
Columbus by the F.O.H. but it is still in need of protection.  Maybe we'll
head to Worthington.  It's just outside of Columbus and the F.O.H. won't
think to look for us there."
	"We hope," Davey added.
	Blade looked at him out of the corner of his eyes.

	Harris wasn't paying any attention to the two men discussing the
current situation.  He was too busy thinking about what he felt when Davey
looked in his eyes.  At first he thought it was love.  But why?  For
good-looking guys like Davey, love came with another drop-dead gorgeous
person who shared many of the same interests and goals in life.  Only for
those less fortunate to receive gorgeous faces or bodies of Greek gods did
the other things become more important.
	Harris, who at one time believed love was a matter of the heart,
realized in High School what the social mores were with dating and love,
and they didn't include people with average and lower attractiveness.  Love
was a game.  What he felt with Davey, he deduced, was nothing more than the
heat of the moment.  In a situation where their lives were changing, a
human connection was formed.  But it wasn't anything more than that, Harris
believed.  His heart and mind shut out love.  It wasn't important, or even
possible.  Love is a fairy tale, Harris thought.

	Weatherby walked up to the warehouse.  Dust had been blown around
that day as if the place had seen a lot of traffic.  "It is awfully quiet,"
Weatherby thought.  He approached the door cautiously, hoping that he was
being paranoid.
	The door slid open with a creak that echoed throughout the vast
building.  "The warehouse is empty," he said out loud.  "I wonder what
happened."  Weatherby saw the signs of a fight.  He saw a little bit of
blood, but not much.  "Good sign no one is dead."
	After looking all around, all Weatherby could find was Blade's
motorcycle.  He sat for a moment on the motorcycle's seat, regrouping his
thoughts.  Suddenly the motorcycle beeped.  He looked down and saw the
small radio attached under the gauges.
	"Who is this?" he asked answering the beep.
	"This is Blade."
	"It's good to hear your voice."
	"Yours, too."
	"What happened?"
	"The Friends of Humanity.  They traced Harris's telephone call to
his parents."
	"What about the students?"
	"They are safe.  Several mutants from the Xavier Institute came for
them."
	"It's good they are safe.  Where are you?"
	"We're north of Columbus.  If you turn on the tracking device, it
will home in on our signal.  The scrambler is turned on and only the gauge
on the bike can unscramble it."
	"Okay.  I'm going to my apartment to get some supplies.  I'll be
along as soon as possible."
	"Understood."
	The line went dead.  Weatherby didn't blame him for cutting it
short.  If the F.O.H. were monitoring the transmissions, they may be able
to triangulate the locations.  Weatherby didn't want that.
	Weatherby started up the motorcycle and left the warehouse heading
back to his apartment.  When he pulled up, all was quiet.  "Good sign," he
thought.  He parked the bike and went in the first door.  He heard a noise
come from upstairs and his senses became keen to his surroundings.
	Another noise came from outside and he turned looking out the open
door.  Without a word, he dived at Kevin's door.  The door opened with
ease.  At the same moment, he heard Kevin's voice say, "Mike", and then a
bullet whizzed by and Kevin tumbled down the stairs.
	Weatherby jumped up and slammed the front door.  "Where are you
shot?"
	"My...leg," Kevin said clutching his leg.  He wore a pair of
shorts and a t-shirt.  The shorts made it easy to assess the wound.
	"It doesn't look bad; though I'm sure it hurts like a bitch."
	"Yeah," Kevin said nodding.
	"You can't stay here.  They will interrogate you."
	"Who?"
	"The Friends of Humanity."
	"What?  Why are they after you?  Are you a mutant?"
	"No.  I was kind enough to break up a bit of their action today."
	"The...school?  You're...the Punisher?"
	"Yep."
	"Whoa!"
	"You'll think 'whoa' when they come busting through the door with
guns a-blazing."
	"What do you suppose we do?"
	"I need to get up to my supplies.  Can you stand?"
	"Let me try."
	Kevin grabbed the hand rail and pulled.  Weatherby grabbed under
Kevin's arm and helped him stand up.  "Up you go," Weatherby said.  "Now,
let's get upstairs."
	The two made their way up the steps to Weatherby's apartment.
	"What were you doing up at my apartment anyways?" Weatherby asked.
	"I hadn't heard from you since last night and I was a bit worried.
I thought I would come up and see how you were adjusting to Columbus life.
Evidently not well."
	Kevin smiled at Weatherby.  Weatherby looked at Kevin with a
serious look but the corner of his mouth curled.  Weatherby pulled out his
keys and unlocked the door.  Once inside, he bolted it shut.
	"I need to get my supplies.  Then we can get out of here and I can
fix your leg."
	"You know how to repair bullet wounds?"
	"I was in the Marines for gods' sake.  Of course I know how to
treat a bullet wound."
	"Sorry.  I forgot."
	Weatherby walked over to his chest and opened it up.  He pulled out
the weaponry and ammunition he did not store in his Suburban and loaded
himself up.
	"Now I'm easily reminded," Kevin replied.
	Weatherby peeked out the window and down at the street.  The
Friends of Humanity van sat across the street with several commandos
pointing their guns at the building.
	"We're being surrounded.  We need a distraction if we are going to
get out of here."
	"What do you propose we do?" Kevin said.  "Throw some rocks?"
	"No.  I have an even better idea."  Weatherby grabbed his
high-powered rifle and took aim at the van.  He aimed at a tire and fired.
Down the back end went.  He took aim at the front and "BAM" the front end
went down.
	"What good is that going to do?"
	"They are trying to figure out where the bullets are coming from.
It should take them a moment to figure it out.  Get ready to move."
	Weatherby took aim at the gas tank and fired.  The van went up in
flames and the commandos behind it caught fire.  Weatherby grabbed Kevin
and jumped through the partially open window, smashing through the glass.
He kept rolling with Kevin down the roof and over the edge.
	Weatherby made sure he landed on the ground and Kevin on top, but
as soon as they landed, he rolled Kevin over and kept the young man between
him and the porch.
	Several commandos came running out to investigate the explosion.
Weatherby pulled his fully automatic up and fired, cutting down the
commandos as they exited the building.  He turned and fired on several of
the commandos flailing around trying to put out the flames which engulfed
them.
	After ensuring safe passage, Weatherby got up and hoisted Kevin up.
He carried Kevin in his arms to the motorcycle, placed Kevin on back and
then climbed on his self.  He started up the motor and tore off down the
road.
	"Oh my God," Kevin replied.  "What the hell just happened?"
	"A battle in a war against humanity."
	Kevin just looked at Weatherby with widened eyes.
	"The Friends of Humanity are not really friends of humanity.  They
are elitists cutting down anyone born different than them.  Reminds me of
Adolf Hitler.  These people are hunting down mutants for no good reason
other than bigotry and fear."
	Weatherby adjusted the small scanner on the motorcycle and found
the signal Blade told him about.  He drove the cycle onto Interstate 71
North.
	"Where are we going?" Kevin asked.
	"Somewhere safe.  We have to get out of Columbus."
	"But what about my life?  My apartment, my things, what's going to
happen to that?"
	"I don't know."
	"Wait a minute!  Hold up!  What the hell did you get me into?"
Kevin said infuriated.
	"I didn't get you into anything.  The Friends of Humanity shot you.
Not me."
	"But they were gunning for you!  And now you have me involved!  You
made me a fugitive!"
	"I didn't.  They shot you."
	"You moved!  They were aiming for you and you moved!"
	"If I hadn't have rescued you, they would be torturing you to get
information.  They wouldn't believe you didn't know I was the Punisher."
	"Duh!  Hello!  I didn't know you were the Punisher!  Now I do!"
	"And they will do all they can to get information from you."
	"I don't know much about you, Michael!  What information could they
possibly get that would be important?!"
	Weatherby did not answer.  He kept driving.
	"Take me back!  Turn this thing around and take me to a hospital so
I can get it looked at!"
	"But the Friends of Humanity..."
	"...is your problem!  Not mine!"
	Weatherby could not believe his ears.  The person he just saved
wanted to be taken back.  He could not figure out why.
	"Let me get to where my friends are.  Then we can take a much more
comfortable vehicle back into town and I will drop you off at a hospital."
	Kevin sat back disgusted with Weatherby.

	Weatherby pulled the motorcycle into the condemned apartment
building where the signal told him Blade and his friends would be.  He
turned off the bike and reached out to help Kevin.  Kevin slapped his hand
away.
	"I don't want your help.  You've given me plenty of help."
	"Fine," Weatherby said.  He turned and walked up the stairs.
	Kevin managed to get off the motorcycle on his own and follow
Weatherby.
	"Blade," Weatherby called out.  "Tandy!  Ty!"
	"Up here," Tandy replied.
	Weatherby followed Tandy's voice and entered the apartment everyone
was in.
	"What kept you?" Blade asked.
	"I had a little visit from the F.O.H. at my apartment."
	"Are you okay?" Tandy asked.
	"Yeah."
	"But I'm not," Kevin replied hobbling in.
	"Oh my God," Tandy exclaimed.  "What happened?"
	"The Friends of Humanity thought he was me and shot him," Punisher
answered.
	"Bullshit," Kevin replied.  "You moved out of the way and I got
shot."
	Everyone turned to Punisher.
	"I didn't have any choice in the matter.  Had I known Kevin was
coming down the stairs, I would've tried to protect him."
	Blade approached Punisher and spoke so only he could hear.  "We'll
discuss this later."  He turned back to Kevin.  "Is the bullet still in
your leg?"
	"Yeah.  Mr. Punisher was going to take it out when we got here."
	"I still can."
	"No," Blade answered.  "I will."
	Punisher looked at Blade and then Tandy.  He turned and left the
room.

	Harris looked out the window at the night sky.  He felt so cold on
the inside.  His world turned upside down today and people that he thought
he could love and trust were now against him.  His life was perfectly
normal and in one moment in time everything changed.  And the feelings he
felt toward Davey...those were only moments of infatuation, not love.
What could Davey possibly see in him?  "Probably nothing," Harris said out
loud.  "Probably just a passing whim.  Or I'm just completely mistaken
about what I thought I saw.  That's probably it."
	Harris wiped the tears away that were forming.  "Why does this
happen to me?"

	Davey and Ty stood at the window in one of the apartments.  Davey
was looking at the night sky but his mind was not on the stars.  He had
been talking to Ty about the moments he had feelings for Harris: when
Harris played the piano and when they were in the warehouse just a few
hours ago.
	Ty didn't quite understand homosexuality, but he was accepting of
Davey and open to it.  He and Davey had known each other for the past few
years and he and Davey discussed a bunch of things.  He was a bit surprised
of Davey mentioning developing feelings for Harris.  Not that he believed
Harris was a bad guy but he just didn't fit the mold of being attractive.
	"It's so weird, Ty.  I never thought I could feel this way toward
anyone but people who measured up to my own looks.  I can't explain what it
is."
	"I don't understand it, either," Ty replied.  "Maybe you should
discuss it with someone who might be able to understand."
	"But who do I ask?  The skinny, blonde Vampire Slayer, or the loner
human-vampire hybrid?"
	"Good point.  What about the Punisher?"
	"I don't know.  He's gay and older, so he may understand a bit more
than anyone else.  But trusting my innermost feelings with a guy who calls
himself 'Punisher' seems a bit on the weird side, don't you think?"
	Ty considered Davey's words then agreed.  "But you have to ask
someone, Davey.  Who else can a mutant talk to, especially with what
everyone has been through today?  You can't really trust anyone."
	"You're right.  Maybe when Punisher gets here, I can tell him."
	"Did someone say my name?"  Ty and Davey turned to see Punisher
standing in the door way.
	"Oh.  Hi," Davey said.  "Yeah, I did.  I wanted to talk to you
about something."
	"Sure." Punisher walked in the room.
	"I'll see if Blade needs anything."  Ty walked past Punisher and
out of the room.
	"What did you want to talk about?" Punisher asked, taking Ty's
position on the other side of the window.
	"I wanted to ask you about Harris."
	"Okay."
	"I...I think I'm developing feelings for him."
	Punisher smiled.  "That's great!"  Punisher noticed Davey's
nervousness.  "I'm sensing a 'but' coming up."
	"Yeah.  I'm worried that..."
	"He won't feel the same way."
	Davey's eyes crinkled in thought.  "I never thought of that before.
I was wondering why I was feeling the way I was.  Harris doesn't seem to
fit..."
	"Society's attractiveness standards," Punisher finished with an
edge to his voice.  "Is that it?"
	Davey looked at Punisher and nodded.  "I'm confused about all of
this.  What's going on, Punisher?"
	"It's called love, Davey.  You are experiencing real love, not the
artificial love that society glamorizes.  Call me, Michael, by the way."
	Davey nodded.  "Please, continue."
	"Society has glamorized love by only showing gorgeous people in
love.  They never take into consideration that very few people match their
scale.  Movies show two gorgeous people in love.  Movies that do not deal
with love usually show not so attractive leads.
	"Even the gay community has done this.  I experienced it in the
Axis.  It's nothing but a pretty boy bar catering to the upper crust of
looks."
	"It's weird to hear you say this.  You fit in with that crowd."
	"But I won't always fit in that crowd, as far as looks go.  As for
attitude, I don't fit in and would never want to.  People who want someone
based solely on looks will never have a true, meaningful relationship in
their lives.  They will grow old and die alone.
	"If you have feelings for Harris; if you see past his looks, which
are not horrible in the first place, but look to his heart; if that is what
you are feeling, then you need to talk to him before it's too late.  You
may want to live your life enjoying the flesh of others, the looks and
beauty, the surface appearance.  But when you are old and wrinkled and that
desire for your body is gone and you search out Harris, or someone else you
rejected simply because of their looks, you may find someone rejecting you.
	"Don't do that to yourself.  Don't do that to Harris.  If you have
feelings for him, tell society to 'fuck off' and let love be your guide."
	Davey stared at Michael for a long time considering his words,
letting this truth come to full fruition in his mind and heart.  He was
given a new way of looking at things.  It scared him at first, but he also
felt liberated of chains of society and stigma.  Michael had given him a
new way of looking at things.
	Punisher turned and walked out the room leaving Davey behind with
this new perspective.

	Harris looked out the window.  "Why can't I get these thoughts out
of my head?  Why can't I stop feeling the way I do about someone I can
never have?"
	Harris had closed his heart to love.  But he did not count on still
feeling it.  He had feelings for Davey, plain and simple.  It mattered not
that he closed his heart to true love, he still felt it inside.  Love has a
way of getting inside at the most unexpected moments.  Love will create a
void in one's life if it is not acted upon, for everyone needs love.  One
cannot live without love; it would just be existing.
	"What should I do?" Harris thought.  "Should I act on it or let
Davey make the first move?  Should I give a small sign and see if Davey
picks it up from there?"
	For Harris, his outlook on the world was in the process of
changing.  He had believed in true love, even though he firmly knew of the
shallowness of the world.  He figured maybe one day he would have true
love, but he did not think it would happen with someone who looked like
Davey.  The world was imperfect and horrible and hard.  For the first time,
it looked a little better, a little softer, a little brighter.  Maybe it
was improving.  If someone like Davey could see the reality of love and not
the surface structure society puts forth, perhaps the rest of the world can
as well.

To Be Continued...

Next chapter, very pivotal moments for several of our characters.  I would
love to hear from you.  Email me.