"you don't fight fair,
but that's okay, see if i care.
knock me down, it's all in vain,
i get right back on my feet again."
- Hit Me With Your Best Shot, ADONA

╳

~ Jenavieve's POV ~

Running for a couple blocks, I slow my pace once the streets start becoming more populated.

My eyes and ears perceive everything they can. The last thing I need right now is Evan showing up again. Because, it has crossed my mind over the past week that Stryker has been quiet.

Perhaps he's creating more serum, or trying to create more trackers. It won't be good, whatever the reason for his absence.

My mind wanders at the thought of Evan, and I feel a pang within my chest. I wish I could help him, release him from Stryker's clutches, send him back to his family.. He managed to show me kindness and mercy in a situation he couldn't afford to. Because by nature, he was good. Stryker lied to him, too. He's as much a victim as my unit and I have been. Especially now that Stryker's taken to experimenting on him, as well. When I escaped, I should have dragged Evan out with me. But then maybe his family would have ended up like mine.

The blood on my hands is already thick enough. And it's only going to thicken more. But I will try with all my might to ensure it's only bad blood that I'll drown in. No more innocent blood. And most definitely not Frank's blood.

I keep my head down, and keep a steady pace on the streets of New York, senses on high alert while my mind is reeling. While I mainly left for Frank's sake, I think it's good for me, too. New York air may not be the freshest but god, I was going stir crazy inside that trailer. If my presence is a bother to him, I have to remove myself. I won't make things harder for him than they need to be. All our bickering aside, he's been nothing but loyal, when he really didn't need to be.

As annoyed as I am at him for what he said, I find it's more his attitude that's bothering me, rather than his words. Things had been going so well between us this week, I don't understand this sudden flip. But he doesn't seem to like it when we get too close. Which I would accept and respect, if he didn't keep coming within reach.

But maybe whatever connection I thought Frank and I shared is only physical. His body likes me, that much I can tell. But his mind, apparently not so much.

Maybe it's not me, maybe it's the animal within that he doesn't like.

I turn my brain over and over our whole situation as I walk through the city, unbothered by anyone around me.

I know how to read men. I was trained to. However.. I was trained to read desire, lust, attraction.. short term, surface feelings. My targets would not live long enough to develop deeper feelings. Deciphering genuine affection is all guesswork for me. But Frank's eyes always tell me everything I need to know. And while he's not a man of many words, actions always speak louder.

So maybe I haven't read him wrong at all. He's simply made me doubt myself, because I value his opinion. I care about what he thinks, and I want him to think well of me.

Well, there you go, brother.. I didn't become what Stryker made me. He made me to be some kind of femme fatale assassin, but it looks like I'm just a simp.

Such a simp.

Everything has an exception.

And Frank Castle is mine.

A passerby shoulder barges me, but I barely acknowledge it since they come off second best thanks to my inner metal fame. However it sends my mind back to the trailer, when Frank flung me to the floor and pinned me down.

Another example of Frank being an exception.. If anyone else handled me like that, they'd lose their arm. But he just makes me salivate.

After hours of wandering the streets, I enter the lobby of Dinah's building. Hands in my pockets, I walk straight into the empty elevator and hit the number of her floor. As soon as the doors close, I take in a deep breath but my body goes rigid at the smell of the air entering my nostrils.

My claws itch under my skin at the lingering scent, wanting to extend at the threat.

I start to jab repeatedly at the button like it will make the elevator rise faster. And when the elevator finally pings its arrival, I slip through the gap in the opening doors as soon as I can, and race down the hall.

I burst through Dinah's unlocked front door and my eyes frantically search for her.

Relief washes over me as I spot Dinah at the end of her kitchen, near the dining table. She's conscious and standing and looking unharmed, but a little nauseous.

"Dinah! Are you okay?" I ask rushing to her. "Where is he?!"

Billy's scent is even stronger inside her apartment.

Dinah looks me up and down in surprise, but her quietening heart tells me she's relieved by my presence.

"He just left." she whispers with a grimace.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No." she says, shaking her head.

"You're okay?"

She nods. "I will be."

"Okay."

I turn and race back out the door.

I bounce and fidget, while the elevator descends at snail pace. And when it stops at a floor halfway to the lobby, I huff an impatient grunt and fly out the doors as soon as I can, past the people waiting to hop on.

My phone starts to ring, but I have no time for it. Running down the hall, I enter the stairwell and jump over the rails, dropping past flight after flight of stairs, making much faster progress.

I hit the ground hard in a crouched heap, the weight of my drop producing a crack in the concrete under my feet.

Bursting through the door into the lobby, I startle people that are nearby, but ignore them as I dart outside.

Closing my eyes, I take a big whiff, then turn and hunt my prey down the street.

This man is tormenting Dinah. Frank and Curtis, too. I can't stand it. He has to go, just as much as Stryker.

I ignore my phone for as long as I can, until the persistent ringing gets the better of me. I reef the device out of my pocket and bring it to my ear. 

"What?!" I snap.

"Where are you?" Frank asks, not acknowledging my little ill tempered snap. He sounds more concerned than angry.

"I just left Dinah's-" I start, but he cuts me off having answer enough.

"I need you to come home." he tells me.

"No." I state with an instant deep frown. "Billy's been here. I'm trying to track, and your calling is throwing me off."

"You have to come back." he says, almost pleadingly.

"Why?" I scoff, rolling my eyes. It's not like it's because he misses me. If he wants me home, well he's just gonna have to wait.

"Your man put a bounty on our heads, okay? Every piece of shit in the city will be looking for you." he explains, snarkily. But the concern in his tone does not go unnoticed.

A bounty?

I almost want to laugh.

"None of them can stop me." I state confidently.

Let these pathetic humans try to hunt me. I'll barely notice their useless crimson mixing with the thick blood already on my hands.

"What if they have that serum shit?" Frank argues. An angle I haven't considered.

Could Stryker have been silent because he was creating more serum and handing it out to bounty hunters?

"He needs me alive." I counter.

Stryker doesn't want me dead, he wants me obedient. I can't imagine him handing over his work to simple bounty hunting scum.

"Jen.."

Billy's trail is forgotten as I realise what Frank said at the beginning of the call. "Wait.. did you say on our heads?"

"Yeah, you and me." he replies.

Shit..

Stryker knows these people can't kill me. But they can kill Frank. Frank, who has gotten in Stryker's way multiple times already.

I don't think this hunt is meant for me.

"..Frank, I'll be fine. But you need to stay home." I tell him. "I think he's made this bounty to simply get rid of you, and draw me out."

I'm sure Stryker hopes Frank and I will be together when Frank is taken out, to which he will then pounce. Claim his broken prize and fix her the way he wants.

"Come home." Frank's voice pleads into my ear. 

I scoff under my breath. "Why? So you can yell at my freak ass some more? I'd rather have these pieces of shit shooting at me."

I'm not afraid of bounty hunters. If they want to try anything, they've chosen their fate.

"Goddamnit. Just-" Frank grumbles, cutting himself off with a self soothing deep breath. "Come home." he begs softly. "Please.."

The vulnerability in his plea absolutely shatters my resolve. Everything in me suddenly screams for me to return to him.

But a small gasp escapes me and I freeze on the sidewalk, stuck staring at the man in front of me, standing amongst the busy street.

"Hello, Miss Howlett." Stryker greets with a sickening smirk.

"Jen?" Vulnerability gone, the seriousness of Frank's voice returns along with a heavy dose of panic.

"Frank.." I mutter, my voice coming out a whisper.

"What's happening?"

"..Stryker." I reply in the same whisper.

"Is he there? Jen, is he there?" Frank asks, borderline frantic.

I struggle to find any more words, my body frozen by the trauma the man before me has bestowed.

"I'm coming, okay? How far are you from Madani's?" Frank asks, bringing me out of my spiral.

"Stay away, Frank." I warn, finally finding my voice.

I pull the phone from my ear, hearing Frank's shrinking voice calling my name before I snap the little flip phone shut.

I glare at William Stryker and his insufferable smirk, my fists balling and flexing, itching to slice the expression off his face.

Of course he'd come to a public place. He knows I won't reveal my claws in front of civilians.

But I can be discreet.

A/N

10k reads?! Thank you guys so much! 🥰

Also, Happy Birthday to Jon Bernthal! 🤍 I have so much love and admiration for this talented, passionate, masculine ray of sunshine.

Big, big love to him, and to you all. I appreciate your reads, votes and comments so much.

And also, I just want to add, I have another Frank Castle fic in the works. It will be quite a different tone to this fic, and will see Frank trying to move on from his Punisher days to live a quiet life. It will be more wholesome than violent, and will include an age gap romance. And the fmc will be related to a really good lawyer. 😉
I'm excited to work on it.

And lastly, in the meantime, I'm editing my Shane Walsh fanfic over the next couple of weeks. It's been really fun returning to my og fic. I gave it a pretty new cover and am just changing the chapter layouts and tweaking sentence structure and dialogue here and there.

So as you can tell, my brain has been consumed by Jon Bernthal this week. I'm certainly not mad about it though.

- K