civilwarnovels Chapter 3951 MU Superbody Major Event (31)
Chapter 3951 MU Superbody Major Event (31)
Chapter 3951 MU: The Superbody Incident (Thirty-One)
The basement was quiet. The Punisher, Frank Cassel, jolted awake. His head throbbed; he remembered being attacked from behind. That damned killer had accomplices; he'd been far too careless.
There was a sudden noise by the door. He instinctively reached for his weapons, but found that his compound bow and gun were gone, so he tensed up. But to his surprise, a slightly thin, dark-haired young man walked in.
When he turned around, the Punisher was taken aback because the other man had a pair of very clear blue eyes and looked nothing like an assassin; he seemed more like a pampered rich young master.
Hello, sir. How are you?
The Punisher only then realized that his head was bandaged. He gently touched the back of his head and found it a little painful, but he didn't feel any bleeding or dizziness, which meant that his injury was not serious.
“I’m sorry to bring you here this way, but we really didn’t mean to kidnap you,” the young man explained. “It’s a bit complicated. You can eat these things first, and we can talk slowly.”
The other person handed him some food. The Punisher took it with his hand, but his eyes remained fixed on the young man as he asked, "What's your name?"
"Just call me Bruce." The other person sat down on the chair to the right of the small table next to the bed, poured all the food he bought from the supermarket shopping bag onto the table, picked through it, took a sandwich and a carton of milk, and started eating by himself.
Watching him eat, the Punisher became even more certain: this guy must be a rich kid. These fast foods bought from the discount supermarket were the greatest hardship he had ever endured in his life.
“Okay, Bruce.” The Punisher tried to take the initiative, saying, “Were you the one who attacked me from behind that day?”
“That’s right. But I have to tell you, there’s a reason for that. We don’t want to kill you, we just want to control you, so this is the only way we can do it. Luckily, I controlled my strength pretty well, right?”
“Why did you do this?” the Punisher asked. “You don’t look like gang henchmen. That gray-eyed guy is a professional hitman, and you look…”
"What's wrong with me?"
The Punisher flipped his hand, seemingly unable to think of a description for a moment. After a pause, he said, "You're like that unlucky guy in a spy movie who gets caught up in a bloodbath just by passing by a crime scene. Forgive me, but were your parents killed by some mysterious organization?"
Bruce coughed violently. The Punisher held out his hands and said, "Sorry, I absolutely didn't mean to poke you."
“Okay, my parents did die from murder.”
"Are they super-rich?"
"Globally renowned".
"Are you here to track down the real culprit?"
“I suppose so,” Bruce said, wiping his mouth. “That’s exactly what I wanted to tell you. I know you have a grudge against Puzzle, the New York mob boss, and you might be going to cause him trouble soon. We knocked you out and brought you here to prevent you from doing that.”
"Why do this?"
“The agent killed Kingpin’s men on Puzzle’s territory. This will ignite a fight between the two of them, and Manhattan will soon be in chaos, which will bring the Manfredi family into the fray. They are our target.”
"Those Italians? The Mafia certainly knows no evil. But who is this 'inspector' you're talking about?"
"It's that guy with the gray eyes, you've seen him before."
"Is he from law enforcement?"
“Maybe he used to be, but now he’s just an assassin,” Bruce said, taking another bite of his sandwich. “We’re here to investigate something.”
"What is it?" The Punisher tore open the packaging of the food in his hand, raised his eyelids, and glanced at Bruce.
Do you know Norton Experimental Science?
"what?"
"An experimental project funded by the Manfredi family. Have you heard of any trouble that's caused there?"
The Punisher actually thought about it seriously for a moment, and then said, "The Manfredi family was kicked out of Manhattan a long time ago. I've been active in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and I'm not very familiar with other parts of New York."
"Okay, so what's your relationship with the Avengers like?"
"I keep to myself and basically don't interact with them."
Bruce sighed, looking somewhat troubled. The Punisher looked at him and continued, "What does this have to do with the Avengers?"
“This is a very complicated matter,” Bruce said, looking somewhat troubled. “In short, we suspect that an experimental project invested in by the Manfredi family went wrong, and the serious consequences led to a division within the Avengers.”
"So what do you want?"
“We want to know if this incident actually happened, and what exactly happened,” Bruce sighed deeply again. “But we’ve discovered from previous news reports that this incident may also be related to Hydra.”
“This doesn’t sound good,” the Punisher said. “What exactly are you referring to as the serious consequences of this experimental accident?”
"It's too early to draw conclusions. However, if this is true, this experimental accident could have made an electronic life form stronger and more terrifying."
"Cyber lifeform? It attacked the Avengers?"
“Maybe,” Bruce nodded. “So, have you been feeling anything in Manhattan and Brooklyn?”
The Punisher didn't respond; he was lost in thought. After a long pause, he took a bite of his sandwich and said, "Is the location of the experimental project you're investigating on Long Island?"
A glint of shrewdness flashed in Bruce's eyes. He coughed a few times, feigning surprise, and said, "How did you know?!"
He chewed the food in his mouth vigorously, took two sips of water to swallow it all, stood up and said, "You know something, don't you?"
“To be precise, it wasn’t me,” the Punisher said, shaking his head. “You should ask Spider-Man about this.”
"Spider-Man? How does he know anything?"
"About two months ago, just as autumn was beginning, you know, it was peak tourist season, but Long Island experienced a major power outage. Many vacation homes and hotels lost power, which severely impacted tourism revenue for the quarter, and even local councilors had to apologize."
"My God, this is a big deal. What exactly caused the power outage?"
“Electro,” the Punisher said. “At least the official explanation is that Electro caused trouble on Long Island, and Spider-Man fought him to deal with him, which ultimately caused a major blackout.”
"From what you're saying, you don't seem to believe it?"
"Tch." The Punisher snorted. "Electro is an electrician, and Spider-Man is a wage earner. What would they be doing in the Long Island resort area? A single glass of sparkling wine there could cost them a day's wages. Even if they bumped into each other there, they would never fight there."
Bruce opened his mouth, speechless at this reasoning. Seeing his expression, the Punisher sneered and said, "Yeah, you're a rich kid whose main purpose in life is to travel to top resorts all over the world. If your family hadn't had that incident, you'd probably be lying on a bench on Long Island beach sunbathing right now, wouldn't you?"
“I’m not going to squeeze in with other people, I go to our family’s private beach,” Bruce said, pursing his lips.
The Punisher raised an eyebrow: "Looks like you're richer than I thought."
"That's all in the past, let's not talk about it. If it wasn't Electro who did it, could it be the accident we're trying to investigate?"
"I don't know about that. You'll have to ask Spider-Man. Only he knows for sure whether Electro did it. If he says no, then there's probably more to the story."
Bruce immediately picked up his phone and texted Schiller. He typed rapidly. The Punisher looked at his profile and said, "He saved you?"
“Uh…” Bruce looked up, his face blank, his brain actually freezing for a few seconds. He said, “No, why would you think that?”
"If it weren't for that, how would the two of you have become partners?"
“We’re not partners. If I had to say, we formed a team temporarily because we wanted to investigate the same thing.”
“He doesn’t seem like the type to just randomly assemble a team. I can only tell you he’s more professional than you think.” The Punisher stood up, sat down in the chair opposite the small table, and carefully examined Bruce. “You must be of some use.”
“Of course,” Bruce didn’t deny it. “Would you believe me if I said I was a detective?”
“You have a good brain,” the Punisher nodded and said.
Bruce was somewhat surprised. He looked at the Punisher and asked, "Shouldn't you think I'm useless and say the agent is blind?"
"Because you're not entirely useless. At least you got the information you wanted from me. While I'm not against telling you, I'm actually quite easily angered. You chose the only way out, which proves you're smart."
"What should I say? Thank you for the compliment?" Bruce rolled his eyes.
“And you’re quite courageous.” The Punisher suddenly laughed and said, “You’re the first person to hit me over the head and then dare to show up in front of me the moment I woke up. You have no idea how surprised I was when you walked in.”
“You won’t kill me.” Bruce was still texting with his head down. He said, “You’re a soldier, a former career soldier. You served in the Marine Corps from around 00 to 05. You performed exceptionally well during your service, earned many medals, and even served as an instructor. However, after you retired, you encountered some bad things and decided to fight violence with violence. You’ve been at odds with the New York mob ever since. They all see you as a thorn in their side.”
“It seems your talent lies in this area.” The Punisher showed no surprise, saying, “And you don’t seem to object to my approach.”
Bruce looked bewildered again, and asked the Punisher, "What do you object to?"
“Most superheroes don’t want to be my associates,” the Punisher said after a pause. “They think I’m too brutal, inhumane to criminals, and have killed too many people with blood on my hands. They all avoid me.”
“Oh, you mean that? But I’m past the age of debating whether or not to kill someone.” Bruce continued typing, looking down. “Whether I kill someone or not is none of your business. Whether or not you kill someone or not is none of your business.”
The Punisher seemed amused by his feigned maturity. He said, "Over that age? You talk like you're so old. You're probably only in your early twenties, right?"
Bruce looked up at him, smiled, and said, "I'm almost 30."
"You look quite young."
"That's what everyone says. Do you know why I look young?"
"why?"
"People who overthink things tend to look older. You can also stop worrying about trivial matters like whether or not to kill someone."
The Punisher burst into laughter.