Francis David 'Frank' Castle has seen many things in his life. He has seen both the extremes of good and bad and even things that did not fit into those convenient circles.
He had seen good men die in the line of duty. He had seen the workings of vile men that labeled them nothing short of monsters. He has seen tragedy and caused tragedy. He had seen men do the impossible and had seen impossible men.
He had seen men with enough power to singlehandedly topple a country and had seen countries topple themselves because of the power of one man.
In other words, Frank Castle has seen a lot of bullshit in his life, lived through them even, and what he was currently looking at did not lose out to the things he's seen in his short long life.
The three things that Isaac, the Merchant as he had called himself, had dropped in front of him were all outlandish but the first and smallest one was the most outrageous piece of compact weaponry he had ever seen in his life.
—Lawgiver Mk II (Judge Dredd): A voice-activated machine pistol that serves as the standard-issued sidearm to Judges. This multifaceted weapon is capable of firing a variety of ammunition from a single cartridge.
This is the textbook definition of an efficient compact killing weapon. If you ever find yourself in a world where local law enforcement use this, just don't do anything stupid. For your own sake.
Price: $11,500.
He couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of madman created such a piece of weaponry and why they would ever think to make it the standard issue.
The features were what truly made it outrageous. Now, Frank was no stranger to deadly weapons and firearms due to his time in service, but for a sidearm this was just too much.
For one, it could be voice-activated and according to Isaac, upon purchase it would be DNA-locked to him so no one else can use it, and that was the most normal thing it could do.
It could switch between different kinds of ammunition without needing to change the cartridge and that was where the fun started. It had its own standard ammunition mode, and it could also switch between armor-piercing rounds, ricocheting rounds, incendiary, hi-explosive rounds and gas rounds. And to top it off, it came with a heatseeker mode that locks-on the target's body heat.
—Arbitrator (Judge Dredd): A 12-shot shotgun capable of annihilating even well-armored enemies. It is capable of firing seven different types of shell.
This is the textbook definition of overkill. You shouldn't be doing crimes in the same zip code as the owner of this gun. This should be common sense.
Price: $15,000.
Like the Lawgiver, it fired off the same types of shell, except for the gas rounds which it made up for by having a shell that targets multiple targets at once. It was just a shotgun version of the Lawgiver Mk II but he could somehow accept all these things being in a shotgun(not really) than being in a handheld pistol.
—Bulletproof Vest, Coat Model (John Wick): A cutting-edge flexible, cloth-thin body armor is sewn into the padding of the coat. Unfortunately it does little to nothing about the pain.
Aesthetics are part of a killer's routine. You look good, you feel good. The extra handles for hidden weapons feel good. Your insides remaining inside feels good. What else do you want from a piece of cloth?
Price: $10,000.
The progression of the night had been straight weird and it was so strange that this was the culmination of it. The three things that were in front of him, as a result of the night's progression, was so jarring a response to his earlier aggression.
He had come here to blow up Isaac the supplier the Merchant based on his understanding that he was selling guns to enable street crimes, only to find out that said man was indeed selling guns, but not to enable crimes. It was instead something much worse.
He was selling it just to sell it. He didn't care who bought it. All he cared about was that he sold the weapons he had in his backrooms. And they were quite absurd weapons.
Now, Frank Castle, as the Punisher, was an arbitrator of Personal Justice—Retribution— and by the scales he judged every criminal with, Isaac's life was supposed to be a past tense by now but that was something he couldn't do.
It wasn't because the man's apparent stance was that of a staunch neutral given that he sold to anyone, but was because he couldn't even kill him.
The fact that Isaac wasn't even concerned that he wanted to take his life and even came full circle to sell him some absurd weapons only made him that much more dangerous in Frank's eyes.
And apparently he was also some kind of telepath, or whatever they were called.
Frank was not 'cool' with him or any such thing but he could at least admit it in the bottom of his gut that he was relieved that the man didn't care that much.
Now, as a self-proclaimed Arbiter, he did not have the capital to procure these guns and coats. He could at most buy two and that would be him scrapping off his last cash.
"I would have bought that shirt off you for a pretty penny if you'd been at this for years." Isaac shrugged at Frank's confused face.
Frank looked down at his shirt, the faded painted skull peeking out under the compact bulletproof vest he wore.
"This? Why?"
"I also buy things I'm interested in. Things that have hidden value."
Frank looked at him in doubt. "Like painted military tee?"
Isaac just smiled. "You'd be surprised. I'll still buy it if you want to sell it."
He looked at the weapons. They were as tempting as the first night he put on that shirt and hit the streets. He wasn't one for golly sentiments but he didn't feel like selling it. For the first time in a long time, that simple undershirt was the best thing that defined him.
"I ain't selling." He said tersely. He looked at the gun, the small one, and the coat. "And these are legit?"
"Frankie, I run this whole establishment on quality and trust. It works as advertised. If it doesn't, bring it back and I'll refund the whole thing and you get to pick out anything you want from the shop. That's the warranty on anything I sell."
Frank scoffed. "And who enforces that warranty?"
"If I don't, someone will." Isaac said with all seriousness. Frank didn't put much stock in those words but he held it to a degree. The only thing he knew was that there was no way someone like Isaac was pushing it on his own. He probably had a boss or someone that was supplying him with this stuff.
He picked up the Lawgiver and tested the way it felt in his hands. It was a little big and heavy compared to other small firearms but it wasn't something that would hamper his marksmanship.
He ran his fingers over the hem of the folded coat. If he did this… he didn't even know what would happen.
"You're not going to track me with these?" He looked at Isaac, doubt clear across his face.
"If you don't want to buy anything then just get out and stop wasting my time, man. I'm not forcing you." Isaac said with the groan of a man who had given up and was hoping that the universe was not as cruel as it seemed to be. "Just… go." He sighed.
Frank nodded solemnly, seemingly taking Isaac's broken will as proof of trust and pulled out his card.
"I'll take the Lawgiver and the coat."
Isaac looked at him as if he couldn't comprehend Frank's decision making pattern. He did not bother wasting any more of his brain fluid and just smiled, a relieved and vindicated one. The universe truly wasn't as cruel as he feared.
He took the card and swiped it with a self-satisfied smirk and returned it. "Want me to package it for you?"
"No need." Frank shook his head. "I'll be taking it for a… field test."
"Of course." Isaac smiled and pushed them towards him, just happy enough that he made the sale. "Now don't be a belligerent douche and refer us to your friends… if you have any."
Unfortunately, Frank couldn't say anything about the terrible manners since he was the one who first fired the gun, both metaphorically and literally.
He removed his old coat and threw in the new one and instantly noticed how comfortable it was and how it fitted smoothly to his body. It was so comfortable that it felt uncomfortable. It was a quality of fashion wear that he was not used to wearing.
He never would have thought that he would ever spend $10,000 on a piece of clothing but here he was. He looked too put together that he felt disgruntled about it.
The gun was married to his hand as he studied the make and compartment of its build.
[User DNA identified. Voice command is now activated]
The gun came to life. He could feel the faint humming on his fingertips.
"Ammo?"
"Got them in supply, unless you know how to make them. Ten mags for the discounted price of $4,500."
"… Later."
"Sure."
He redistributed his guns, but not before checking every magazine and trigger to make sure it wasn't jammed(it wasn't).
He did not linger, leaving the second he got his tools all fitted not wanting to stay any extended duration in close vicinity with Isaac.
Cold breath left his lungs as he closed the door behind him. He had been so close to having his head messed with and he had found out for the first time how much that possibility scared him.
He wondered why the panic he felt inside the store was not as intense as the one he was currently feeling. His legs were shaking and his breath came in stops. His heart hurt against his chest and his fingertips were cold.
'Did I just buy a gun and a bulletproof coat in this condition?' He thought, half astonished and half in dread. Compared to his current breakdown, his mind had felt too clear to the perceived threat that being inside the store and standing in front of Isaac presented.
His training and discipline kicked in a little too late as he forced himself into a semblance of balanced calm and put some healthy distance between him and the store.
Despite everything, he didn't feel like retreating for the night. If anything, he felt strongly that some scum bastards out there needed to pay. The night was still young. There was still a list of punishments to dole out.
.
...
[Kamar-Taj]
The Ancient One sipped her tea on top of a floating carpet as she watched the acolytes go through their training in the courtyard below.
Her face, set in an impassive mask, hid the deep contemplation that was going through her mind as a result of her recent actions.
She was coarsely familiar with actions and consequences so she knew that she had to make some preparations and take healthy precautions to stave off the brunt of the consequences that was sure to blow her way.
For weeks she could feel Dormammu banging against the dimensional barriers in a fit of unbridled rage but she had nothing to worry on that front.
What she had to prepare against would be the trickles of his influence that had undoubtedly managed to slip through. She knew he would be prodding her soon to find out exactly what she did, so she had to watch out for the increase in demon activity, cultist activities and the more subtle possession.
"Hmm? Well, I must have been quite eager back then. Not one of my finest moments." She said softly in reply to the shuffle of her carpet.
"Who knows? Maybe you'll have the chance to flap your lapels beyond these walls." She let out an amused chuckle at the excited shrill it let out.
"Master." Someone greeted in heavy respect as they came to her side.
"Master Kaecilius." She put down the teacup and turned to face him. "What is it?"
"We picked up some strange infernal activities in Ouagadougou. We checked the barriers but there was no leak. Master Arno and I, along with some of the Senior Acolytes, will be going to see what happened."
She looked at Kaecilius, one of her most promising students, and looked at the students training down below. "Whatever it is, I trust you enough to handle it."
She sighed and gave a helpless shrug after he bowed and left. She picked up her cup and gave a pleased hum as the rich taste soothed her mind.
"I guess there are some things that are hard to change. How grating." As the Keeper of the Time Stone, the constraints of Time and Fate, Destiny, always humbled her whenever it let her witness its unfurling.
"In the end, we'll do what we can." The carpet thrummed in understanding under her.
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