Exiles: New World (Marvel NEW)/Issue 15

The fifteenth issue of the Marvel NEW ongoing series, Exiles: New World and the sixteenth overall installment of the comic. It succeeds Exiles: New World Issue 14 and is preceded by Exiles: New World Issue 16. 
==Synopsis==
The Exiles might have lost two godlike beings in their roster, but the power of an Infinity Stone now reinforces the team! With the next mission taking place in Castle's own world and the Vision's inclusion, what could possibly go wrong?
===Continuity===
This issue is the start of the story arc, Reborn. It is set after the ending of Answers and The Hulk of Two Worlds story arc.
==Plot==
===The Panopthicron===
Continuing from last issue's ending, Castle's face expresses doubt as he receives a holographic folder Kang created. On the blue folder that's carefully-crafted to resemble a SHIELD File, the cover mentions Frank's reality's designation of Earth-200111. After he takes a brief look at it, Castle asks if she's serious about his homecoming. Kang states his tenure in the Exiles hasn't expired yet until his dead. In other words, going back to his world doesn't mean he's off the team.
Castle sighs in agreement, saying he's not even keen on going home. He guesses his world's problems include some more criminals from other universes craddling to his Earth. Kang corrects him and tells that there is just one extra-universal convict there but his appearance somehow invites more anomalies. He asks her what they are and Kang orders the vigilante to open the folder.
Inside the folder, numerous pictures of Frank's old and slain enemies are seen prowling through the streets of Manhattan. From the bastard Nicky Cavella and his two enduring bodyguards to his everlasting and most hated rival, Barracuda. Seeing the black man's picture, Frank recalls the night he's snugged out of time to join the team. That time, he was tortured by that f*cking sh*t-show until she and Alien-Child intervened.
Knowing this, Frank instantly realizes a thing and asks Kang if he's going to die the second he gets to his reality. She reveals that she did not pull him out right before his death. In fact, such torment didn't kill him anyway so he's still alive. In response, Frank says that with his absence in the streets of his world, there are even more criminals. The two stare at each other before Frank angrily cusses at her, asking if she knows how many innocents have died since that day.
She calmly answers by saying that every realities the Exiles were plucked off from have special compensations. If he recalls, Strange's absence as his world's Sorcerer Supreme is compensated by the summoning of another Sorcerer Supreme to defeat Shuma-Gorath's threat. He asks how can she hire a nutso and she responds by asking him if he's not a nutso himself. 
Frank sees her point but can't believe if there's a punk-ass version of him running around and killing every bloody criminals in his world. Kang smiles at this and Punisher looks at her in disbelief. He asks her if he's right. Kang assures him his replacement is as willing as he is in killing criminals in cold blood, and he's as familiar as he is in identifying targets. Frank grunts in response and asks who the stowaway is, then.
Without showing the being's identity, Frank flips the next pages of the folder after Kang orders him to do so. He looks at the immigrant's picture and identity for a while before asking Kang if this isn't a freaking joke. With a smirk, she assures him that this man is no joke and he's the most wanted men in the Multiverse. He looks at her before deciding to exit his room to notify the team. Before he can enter, Kang adds one more thing to him. She tells him that for this mission, the Tallus will be his. Castle knows the meaning of this and although he's initially shocked, he calms himself and accepts the duty before going out. 
-
In the new recruit's room, Vision is seen wandering around in his human form. He takes a look out the window that leads to the Desert Beyond Space and Time, reminiscing what happened previously. Afterwards, he also remembers his past on his universe, from Thor reviving him to life, defeating Ultron, took on Captain America and his rogue faction, his showdown with two of the Black Order, and finally his death at the hands of Thanos. 
In these memories do Vision found himself missing for his love, Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff. The mere thought of Vision's mind suddenly pops out a picture of him and her near his television screen. He picks it up and monologues on how he loved her and regretted putting much burder upon her. Deciding to move along, Vision goes to turn on his television to see what this thing can show in a place outside space and time. 
To his terror, the first thing he sees in that TV is all those who died in the wake of his death and Thanos' snap. Although he deeply resents their deaths, he knows he can't do anything now since he's back for a bigger cause. Nevertheless, Vision is grateful of the survival of some of the more prominent heroes who preceded him in the past. 
In the next few seconds, Vision's room gets a guest in the form of Nova who knocked on his door. She awkwardly greets him and Vision asks of her intention. Nova says she's just there to greet him and admit her amazement of him. He is taken aback by this and asks if she wishes to talk about those things or just say it to him. Nova states she has more things to say and asks if she can enter. Vision allows and she sits down before informing him of things.
First, Nova welcomes Vision to the Exiles despite his rough awakening. She understands well of how he reacted after his death. Second, she assures him she'll have his back and if he needs anything just notify her. Vision quickly responds before she can move on to the third statement, asking why must she act like that. Besides, he believes that all they are in for is getting the job done despite teamwork being a crucial component.
Nova stammers a bit but knows he is right to a capacity. Afterwards she explains that in her world, Vision had become an operating system that ran an entire planet. He also saved one of the last original heroes of Earth during the Martian Invasion of the planet. Those are the reasons he's amazed of him. Vision nods in acceptance but asks if he's really that relevant to him on her home. Also, he doesn't know who he saved back then.
She defends her statement by saying that she didn't get to meet many original heroes before she's here, so it's an honor for her to see even an alternate version of a hero from the "Age of Heroes". He sees her reasoning and agrees, but also asks again if the others aren't an alternate version of a hero from such age. She says the closest equivalent to her native Vision (and Rojhaz's to an extent) is him while the others are huge deviations from those that she knew:
*Rojhaz is a time-displaced Captain America that resembled her own but ever since he's in Earth-311 he became something more different.
*Greenskyn is just, a magical Hulk who's a troll.
*War Machine was actually a Thor.
*Spider-Man still had the Enigma Force by him and that's just out of his game.
*Ghost Rider, while similar, was a child and he could do things even her version couldn't.
*Doctor Strange is actually the most similar to her version, but how much younger he is compared to hers and the fact he's not the Ancient One sets them apart.
Vision on the other hand, although having a Vibranium body and the Mind Stone, has the most amount of similarities to her Vision before becoming the Mainframe. Vision sees and asks her if she has anything else to say. She identifies the hero he saved as Wonder Man and tells Vision of one thing the Worldmind told her before she came here.
Apparently, the Worldmind states that Infinity Gems or Stones no matter their name or origins, can only be used in their home realities. That means Vision's Mind Gem really means nothing and all he has going for him is his Vibranium body. Despite this, Vision asks if her "Worldmind" is sure because he remembers well that he used it against them in this place beyond space and time.
Nova's eyes widen in realization and says it doesn't make sense. Vision admits that he knows nothing aside from its power, capability, and relationship to the other Infinity Stones but says he doesn't get where this is going. She decides to just leave it there before returning to her room, saying goodbye to Vision. After she left the room, Vision is left pondering if he'll be of use to this team.
-
In another perspective, Rojhaz is seen fighting against hordes of Hydra agents in a ruined city. Utilizing his newly-acquired shield, he practices it against duplicates of his past foes such as Madame Hydra, Baron von Strucker, Crossbones, the Serpent Society, and the Red Skull alongside other goons. While maneuvering through those villains and their henchmen, Rojhaz recounts of how long he hasn't used a shield. 
After he destroyed some Hydra drones with a single throw of his weapon, Crossbones suddenly takes him by surprise by knocking him down with a gut-wrenching kick. Laying on the ground, he sees Crossbones with a pistol asking him to prepare to die. Before he can die, a giant debris suddenly flies at him, taking his head off as a result. Greenskyn apparently enters the battle and asks Rojhaz how does he know this place exists. Rojhaz reveals that this is the training room and basically every room exists in this place.
The two team-up side-by-side to finish the training and it ends with Rojhaz knocking out the Red Skull construct after he got smashed up into the air by his green friend. After the simulation ends, the room turns back to its original state that resembles those of the Danger Room. Uatu comes in the room and praises the two for such an astonishing performance. He asks Rojhaz if he's beginning to lose his cool and he answers that he's just getting one of those unfocused moments. 
Greenskyn asks of how he can set the training room and Uatu points out to a console planted on the ground meters away. There, he can operate the machine to bring in LMD constructs made of hard-light in a specified setting throughout the Multiverse. The LMDs will be proportionately as strong as their original counterparts and the Exiles can set weaker enemies to be stronger than usual regardless of origin. 
Rojhaz says this can be a good place to build teamwork but doubts the possibility of frequently using it since their missions should be more rapid in the future and they're just lucky they haven't got two realities in a row (discounting Earth-2081 and Earth-9200, that is). Uatu mentions that a mission has been assigned to them. In fact, they should be in the mission reality right now. 
The Captain is surprised by this and rushes to notify his teammate. However, Uatu stops him with a laugh and reveals that he's joking. There is a mission but they have to wait for the leader to brief them. Greenskyn thinks that Rojhaz is the leader but Uatu says for this mission only, Rojhaz's status has been switched to Castle's. He is surprised yet amazed by this, asking if this is supposed to be an experiment or something.
Uatu recommends him to go to the monitor room but he assures him he can go one more round in the training room (or the Danger Room as he likes to call it). Rojhaz nods in understanding and asks Greenskyn if he wants to go another match. Before going to operate the console, Greenskyn asks more importantly if he's jealous of the switch. He's not jealous of Castle being the next leader and states if he and his next replacement died in a continuous mission, Castle can be a more effective and relatable leader. 
The troll agrees and leaps to the console in order to find the biggest threat he can go at. Rojhaz advises him to not be overconfident and Greenskyn says he knows his limits. Immediately he sets the difficulty to the highest, set the battlefield in space, and finds the biggest bloke he can find. After doing so, he says Rojhaz will love this and he believes him. 
The two then step in the arena once again and Uatu floats to the console to push the start button. When he sees Greenskyn's choice, his eyes widen and asks if he's sure about this. Greenskyn reasons that this is just a training and Uatu leaves him to his choice. After he presses it, the duo suddenly float and gets transported to an asteroid field. Rojhaz is terrified by Greenskyn's choice of challenge when the troll says this will be fun.
In an instance, the enemy that Greenskyn chose makes an appearance and puts a grimace on the other's face, revealing that Greenskyn has chosen Galactus as the challenge.
-
The sound of the duo screaming out in pain thanks to Galactus' energy beams echo throughout the Panopthicron. Kang and Punisher, who's walking to the monitor room, hear this. The former wonders what the hell did Greenskyn do and the latter states it's coming from the training room. She believes that Greenskyn has gone overconfident and picked a cosmic entity to train against. Castle chuckles and asks her if this criminal of their interest an equal to a cosmic entity. 
Kang says it depends on how he sees it. Despite his mentioned records of beating several powerful beings, he was defeated rather handily by a group of weaker individuals. Castle responds by mocking the criminal, stating he's a toothless lion. She comments on such irony, saying this man is an immensely powerful superhuman. He ignores such status and believes he's just like any other scumbags he put down in his fresh years.
When Kang teleports to the monitor room, the Punisher goes to the remaining Exiles' rooms to notify them. In Strange's room, the titular Sorcerer Supreme is seen stretching his body to try and mend the wounds Vision gave him. In Bull's room, she's washing her hands before putting on bandages covered with brass knuckles beneath her gloves to compensate for her wrecked knuckles. In Nova's room, she's still seen admiring all about the Vision while the latter is re-watching the deaths of his fellow heroes in his room with concentration. 
-
Minutes later, the heroes are seen gathered in the monitor room alongside Kang, Frank sitting down facing them. They are soon joined by a pissed off Rojhaz and a regretful Greenskyn who walk in the room and sit separately. Uatu teleports to the room, giggling. Kang asks his giggling's reason and Uatu advises her to see the training room's history. The team soon look into Rojhaz and Green's eyes, both of them having their own problems.
Vision asks what has befallen upon them and both heroes simultaneously tells him to not talk about it. Their reasons are soon revealed when Rojhaz disbelieves that Greenskyn has pitted them against Galactus. Nova laughs but stops when she notices none of her teammates are laughing. She asks them if any of them knows Galactus and to her surprise, only Rojhaz knows. 
Still, she advises Greenskyn to at least notice who he's going up against and the troll defends his action. He says he doesn't know a man with a silly-looking hat can be a god. Nevertheless, Punisher goes on to brief his teammates after telling Green to save his strength for later. He starts off by dropping a bombshell on the team, telling them their next mission is going to take them to his home. 
Hearing this, Vision asks if that means the Punisher is going to die. Castle says he also wondered about that but apparently Kang already clarified him about sh*t he don't even understand, Kang looks at Uatu and whispers of her attempt to make it simple. Anyways, Frank continues by advising them to just close in their hearts on Earth-200111 (he's just known his reality designation) and let everyone that dies die, and everyone that lives live. 
He informs the team the world lacks any colorful superheroes whatnot and the only a few good men out there. Not just in his streets, but the world. He admits that he's not much of a good person, but then he's trying to make a better world. Nova is disturbed by this and says it could've gone better. Frank acknowledges but he continues anyways. He tells them of his deadly old enemies returning from the dead, and that alone is a solid reason why they should be there. 
He begins identifying some of their key "hit-lists" which consisted of all the notorious criminals, corrupt cops, generals and all. However, the moment he mentions "Nick Fury" Rojhaz, Nova, and Vision object. Vision says although Fury is a secret agent at heart, he's somewhat responsible for the Avengers' formation in his world. Although Rojhaz and Nova's Furies are different, their statements are somewhere along Vision's.
Frank tells them to calm the f*ck down and says they simply have to watch out for him if they stumble upon him. And with all the company he got, they will meet him nevertheless. But indeed, aside from that Fury is a man of justice. Speaking of justice, he continues by telling them of his only fellow vigilante that he knows: Foolkiller. His face soon pops up on screen, picturing a black man in a simple undershirt utilizing a katana and handgun.
Nova comments that he's heard that name somewhere and asks the Worldmind to search for it. The Worldmind comes up with Greg Salinger, the Foolkiller. The Worldmind tells of him being a vigilante that uses a disintegration ray to annihilate those who lack poetry in their hearts. The Exiles look at Nova in horror and Castle breathes in relief, saying that at least this Foolkiller's called Mike Trace.
Anyways, Castle adds that with all those piece of f*cks he mentioned, they haven't even gotten to the real reason they're there. He reveals of the incursion of a villainous bastard from another universe who looks like a "real comic book boy-scout". He doesn't show the picture but describes him as the most wanted man in the Multiverse, just as Kang told him. Bull asks him if he can show them his appearance, so she may identify who he is and probably let the Captain Britain Corps detain him. To the new Kyln, preferably.
Kang steps in and suggests them to not know his identity because they will all basically disbelieve of what he is doing in this reality. After a little chatter among them, they comply to Kang and continues to hear the Punisher. He delivers a request to the team, asking them to not outright "assist" him if he stumbles upon some of his "old pals". Rojhaz reasons that he can't take on an entire army of his worst targets alone and Castle understands. Problem is, these guys are supposed to be dead and if they're dead, they have to be killed by him. Reason? "All that balance sh*t and some personal f*ckery".
Greenskyn compliments Frank for being a "real man" and suggests him to kill them with utmost efficiency. Vision looks at him and asks what "utmost efficiency" means. He says that means he doesn't really need to kill them as slow as he would in the past since Castle got lots of goons and gangbangers with personal grudges to start with once they arrive there. Castle grunts, reminding that those words came from a giant whose main hobby is killing people. 
Greenskyn chuckles but reinstates his point that truly, he doesn't have to kill everyone the same he killed them in the past. Bull agrees but asks him if he requires their assistance if he's overwhelmed. Frank reveals that with this Tallus, he can render them invisible at will. So if he truly needs help, he'll de-cloak them immediately. But as a compensation, they can reveal themselves by joining the fight. Hearing this, Nova proceeds to ask what's the point of the first statement, then. Frank asks her if she's implying they all will not wait for him to "have his fun" and Nova confirms and denies. She expresses her concern over Frank since he can't refute the possibility of having an army of his worst enemies and strong brutes altogether in the same place trying to kill him.
Vision agrees, telling him the argument of casualties in this type of mission is fallible. The Punisher asks why and the team simply look at him in silence. Frank guesses that he's a "family" to them and Rojhaz thinks that everyone here is family the moment they're in the team. He nearly blushes but regains his nature, reminding the team that the trip there's gonna be rough. 
Frank goes on to invite the team to the Bridge to get to his home he described as being sh*t-stained. They follow him to the Bridge's entrance where Frank is seen brooding in front of the portal. Rojhaz assures him that he has friends this time around and he acknowledges it. But for now, it's time for them to f*ck things up. Before they can enter the portal however, Castle suddenly curses and remembers that they should be in civilian clothing. 
The team abruptly stops as he says those words, with Nova first responding by asking whether they should change now. From behind, Uatu appears and tells them the Tallus can suit their needs in clothing. Vision however, replicates his casual clothing back in the Avengers Facility of his home with ease while morphing his facial features into a human one. The team looks at him and Greenskyn comments of how lucky he is. 
===Eart-200111===
====NYC====
Note: From this section on, the comic will be considered a Marvel MAX comic until the arc ends, which means there will be no censors in cussing, swearing, and all. Language-wise, anything offfensive goes.
The scene switches to Frank's home reality, specifically his world's New York City. It is completely the same as the one in our world, with the difference being the city lit on fire and chaos. There, many types of criminals are seen running around tormenting the inhabitants of New York. From raping innocent people to wrecking buildings and harassing the remaining police officers.
Turning towards a family of African-American descent, they are seen threatened by a group of men wearing straw masks armed with multiple weapons. The father pleads them to spare them as they have nothing to give but a thug responds by shooting his groin, prompting his family to scream in fear while he orders him to shut the up. Another thug tells him that these negroes don't have the rights to stay here and he agrees. 
Another thug mentions that he's still struggling to keep his balls on his pants ever since that "hot chick" denied him. The first thug bashes his head with his rifle's butt, mocking him for trying to fuck with blacks. A thug nods in agreement, saying that Brother Sound and Fury's examples should always be followed and the others also agree. The second thug then decides to have some fun with them, suggesting to hang 'em high like the others. 
The thug steps aside and points at his back, revealing street lamps being decorated by corpses of various non-white civilians with some having mangled corpses while barely hanging on their heads. As the thugs slowly walk towards the mother, the daughter, and the infant son (the father gets shot later on), a thug gratefully expresses the Punisher's absence and that pussy copy's doom (revealing the alternate Punisher's demise). 
When the two females huddle up to pray for God's forgiveness, an unquestionable figure sneaks behind the thugs with a knife in hand. While the family is slowly moving towards the alley's end, the same thug adds to his words by suggesting them not to count on anyone. Hell, even that Foolkiller guy's got his meat beat to death. They keep on praying when the thug begins to raise his machete up to slaughter them.
Lucky for the family, a familiar voice suddenly pops out from behind, asking them if they're having fun yet. The eerily familiar voice alone stuns the entire group and gives a burst of hope to the family. The thugs slowly turn back and there they see the terror they all were afraid of many times before: the Punisher himself. Armed with a simple knife, the Punisher glares to the frozen thugs. 
One of the thugs break the silence by uttering his name, voicing his disbelief. Another thug tries to overcome his fear, ordering his fellow thugs to strike him down. They try to do so but end up still frozen by the disbelief that the Punisher is back. Frank asks if they've lost their balls and the thug screams out the order to kill him. Before they can rush at him, Castle tells them that he'll be doing the favor instead.
In an instance, Castle blitzes them with unimaginable speed with his knife. He cuts them down to pieces with surprising agility that even the watching Exiles are surprised. Bull asks Vision if he's OK with this and the android confirms, yet admits he's not accustomed to seeing the "worst of humanity" come out. Greenskyn says that's not the worst of humanity, but the best of warriors.
After Frank finishes his butchering, he sees the terrified yet delighted family. Castle sees their dead patriarch, traumatized daughter, and crying infant. He gets reminded of his own family yet focuses on the mission. Castle tries to tell the family to get somewhere safe but the response he gets is unexpected. The mother and daughter suddenly rush up to him and hug him, thanking him for his return.
Castle turns them down and says it's not important. All that matters is that he's back now, better than ever. After he asks what has gone down in New York City, the mother reveals that legions of criminals (worst of them all) suddenly came crashing down the United States, decimating cities and forcing the president to present martial law to the remaining "civilized" cities in the nation.
He curses out and asks how the f*ck can this happen. Behind him, the cloaked Rojhaz suggests that it may have something to do with that intruder. Frank acknowledges while turning his head back, prompting the daughter to ask what he's looking at. Castle reasons that he's watching out for scumbags and she says the only "good" city here is DC itself. The rest of the world on the other hand, refused to help their country out of "old grudges". Rumours however, have the info that someone powerful actually forced their hands in ignoring the US. 
Vision comments that it seems Kang has a point. This prompts Bull to ask if he's implying he didn't listen to Kang. He denies, simply saying that he can't take the fact that an extra-dimensional supervillain is staying in this world where nothing is supposed to be meaningful for him/her. Castle goes on to ask if the Foolkiller's around. The mother reveals of the Foolkiller's absence lately, with not even the "good thugs" knowing where on Earth he is.
The daughter interjects, informing the Punisher that there was a Punisher prowling around these streets but he's gone silent ever since he took on a large black man. She asks if that happens to be his protege. Castle denies but tells her he knows him. When the voice of a large mob suddenly booms in, he advises them to hustle and hide while advising them to shut the baby up; he'll handle this.
They comply but before they can leave, the daughter asks the Punisher to avenge his dad. He exclaims that he's avenging everyone now. He then turns away to face the mob while the family is finding a hiding spot. Walking towards his teammates, Vision tells him there are thirty heavily-armed mobsters and three armored SUVs heading this way.
Frank tells him to relax while arming a giant assault rifle-rocket launcher hybrid. Strange asks if he's really sure to take on an entire horde of angry rapists all by himself. Frank cocks his gun and looks at Strange, revealing that he's killed over 2,000 bitches over his career and he sure as hell have no time in making shit personal. Strange says it's not about being personal, reminding him that the odds are against him and he has no intentions of summoning them now.
Nova advises Strange to not be so brash, saying they're always here for him. Castle says Strange has a point, and he as a leader has made it their first order to just stand back and watch the fireworks go. The team complies and stands back as Castle pulls off a show. Walking towards the convoy with his identity concealed, a gunner on one of the SUVs calls out who the fuck's blocking the way. Without any warnings, the Punisher suddenly steps in and answers that it's their worst motherfuckin' boogeyman. 
With no time to react, Punisher begins to bombard the horde with such intensity that none of them was capable of returning fire, let alone know what just happened. In the aftermath of the massacre, the Punisher is surrounded by rings of fire courtesy of his experimental weapon. Seeing that he's done his job, Castle seeks to return to his teammates, telling them through the Tallus that he's done. But suddenly out of the fires behind him, a massive figure comes through with a yell and slams Castle down.
He tries to retaliate, but the man has apparently taken Frank down with him over his body. He recognizes this strength and guesses that it's no other than Barracuda. However, his guess is immediately crossed out the moment the attacker reveals himself with anger: the Mennonite. The bloodied Mennonite curses out Frank, asking where was he all along instead of that heathen duplicate. 
Frank recounts of how strong the Mennonite was, remembering the fact that he nearly beat him to death if it's not for that shelf. Although wounded, the Mennonite still has the strength to bring the same amount of beatdown on Frank as he did before his death. Lucky for Frank, his experience with the Exiles gave him more unique ways to bring the Mennonite down on his knees. He managed to break his knee and tries to go for a quick kill via a headshot but the Mennonite punches Frank's groin so hard he fails to stand in the aftermath.
He mutters to his Tallus for his teammates' help but the Mennonite who hears this simply kicks his face, turning his body around. He proceeds to monologue, telling him that everyone's been waiting for the real man to come. He might have killed them, but here they are and him standing over his body despite his attempts. Life has been gifted to those who has served God, from the "purest of men" to the "greatest of humanity". Castle asks of what he's talking about. The Mennonite clarifies that every righteous men that Castle tried to sacrifice to the Devil had returned, and his days of heresy are over.
Retrieving his hammer, the Mennonite brings it down upon the Punisher after asking him to "do a favor for everyone" and die. Unfortunately, he doesn't know of the vigilante's new allies and gets a visit from Rojhaz, poking his shoulders. Attracted, the Mennonite turns back to see a curiously simple face before a superhuman punch flies at him within a split second. This does nothing to move him, but it outright blows his face in. 
Taking opportunity, the Punisher quickly unsheathes his handgun while ignoring his pain and shoots the Mennonite's head. Seconds later, the religious criminal falls to the ground with a wretched head. Rojhaz kicks the corpse aside and helps Castle out, sarcastically asking him if he needs help now. Castle curses him with a joke-toned "fuck you" and asks Strange to heal him. Strange is disturbed the moment he knows his kind of pain but helps him out nevertheless. Returned to his combat-ready state, Castle thanks him before telling the team that the world's basically gone to hell.
Vision agrees but wonders what they should do now. Killing Frank's rogues gallery is something, but they have to know who the true instigator is. Greenskyn agrees and guesses they should be working their way through the "ranks" of whoever is running the show. From what he's heard, it seems that this "syndicate" the family mentioned is composed of lots and lots of Punisher's enemies and a leader so powerful they all would accept unity under his lead.
Castle tells of the problem with that statement, saying that nobody's tough enough around here to boss around a bunch of greedy bastards. Bull says he's right, but they're led by a man not of this universe as of now. Nevertheless, they all settle on the fact that they have to move across the USA to find out who's the leader by "having fun" with his/her underlings. Afterwards, Strange advises them to not stay on these streets as he's sensing even more energy signatures at a distance, all of them having a negative aura.
Frank decides to take his team to his hideout although he doesn't know if it still exists. Despite Strange's reservation to teleport the team, the leader himself suggests his underlings to have a "slice of life" in his reality. Frank tells them that they need a vehicle and seconds later, Greenskyn got himself a truck on his shoulders.
-
In the truck, Rojhaz and Castle is seen on the front seats while the rest of the team are concealed within the vehicle's container, the former his co-driver and the latter the driver. While driving through New York's streets of havoc, Rojhaz takes notice of all the criminal activity that literally shows up everywhere. He asks Castle if this the nightmare he had before joining them and he confirms, without doubt. Aside from dreams of his wife and children's appearance, this is his worst nightmare. All those time he spent in abolishing crime and all those corrupt authorities, and now when he's gone for the "greater good" his world has gone to hell.
Castle admits that his world has never been good in any ways, but he sure still wants to retire after serving his term on the Exiles. Rojhaz continues to ask Castle who were the thugs that he slaughtered. He identifies them as the White Angels, a group of white supremacists scattered across America. They're not his real deal, but the Foolkiller's the one who handled them. That was until this whole show started anyway. 
Rojhaz asks if Foolkiller is his friend and he simply says he's merely a like-minded person with poetic justice. He adds that if he thinks he's brutal, he should see how Foolkiller meddles with his victims. Rojhaz continues to ask him if he can really live on with this, saying that he's never known his Punisher to go as far as this. Castle turns to him and says that all he cares is getting their cancerous fucks off this world no matter how long it takes even if he'll die eventually. That, is when their conversation ends.
After a longer drive, Punisher discovers that the way to his home is blocked by a "toll gate". Seeing it at a distance, Castle guesses that it's time to rumble. The other Exiles hear this via the Tallus' telepathic feature and Greenskyn reacts gleefully. Rojhaz sees two distinct figures around the outpost, asking Castle if they're friends of his. Noticing this, Castle curses out in disappointment as he discovers the presences of the Gazzera siblings, Teresa and Carmine. 
Rojhaz guesses that both of them are also as strong as that farmer man he killed. Castle tells him that won't be a problem since they got his back. Rojhaz reminds him that he said he's the one who wanted all the fun but Castle guesses that it may be more fun with his "friends" this time around. While approaching the gate, Punisher telepathically messages Strange to put down every bloody thug he can sense from that container. Refusing to kill but complying, Strange puts every guards and thugs there to sleep including the Gazzeras. 
Near the gate, Castle orders the Exiles to drop off and invites them to the Gazzeras. Greenskyn insults Teresa of her ugliness upon seeing her even by troll standards. Bull can't say much about his statement but knows that this person is one that's 100% going to prison without sentence in her world. Vision suggests to not judge a book by its cover but Castle asks him to make an exception here since every shit-heads they'll come across are the same in both heart and ass. Vision reluctantly complies by nodding.
Castle proceeds to order Strange to wake her up alongside her brother. Of course, Teresa and Carmine "Pittsy" Gazzera are confused and shocked at the Punisher's appearance standing over them. The two quickly try to maul him down without questions but Frank gracefully dodges them before the hidden Greenskyn knocks them out with his fists. Frank looks at the dissatisfied Greenskyn and asks what the fuck was he doing.
Greenskyn simply says that he can't take their faces anymore and asks him to just kill them. Without looking, Frank fires two clean headshots at them and the Exiles are silent in the aftermath. Castle proceeds to tell them to ignore what just happened and informs them that it's time to continue their trip. Now, they're walking. Strange asks why and Castle asks him if his legs are now as weak as his hands. Nova tells Castle to cool off and he nearly has his temper blown off until he soothes himself.
Seeing this, Bull asks if he just can't accept this reality. He initially hesitated, but Frank soon admits it. He says that he can't believe that every single fucker he killed came back and that's just bullshit. Vision understands this and assures Frank that everything will be alright. The mission may take longer than usual, but for the record he has everyone on the team willing to finish the job for him.
Vision's statement shocks Frank as he stops his statement, asking him if he's really willing to kill. He reminds him that although he is merciful, that doesn't mean he's not going to finish the task. Yes, he is a considerate and protective android. But there's no question in the fact that they have to kill in this mission. Nova nods multiple times, saying that he might be a little more different than the Vision he knew. Rojhaz tells her that from what he heard, there's another Vision back in the old Weapon X's days and he is more than willing to kill. Bull asks him if he knows the difference of being bloodthirsty and compliant, sparking an argument that's soon put down by Frank who reminds them that his hideout's just two blocks away from here.
-
Walking through a street that teems with dead thugs and bullet trails, Frank sees the carnage surrounding the pathway leading to his hideout. While walking, Nova's Worldmind analyzes the corpses and puts their death days around two or three days ago. She informs Castle of this and asks if he has bodyguards. Castle reveals that nobody's ever reached his hideout. Well, a woman did once but not criminals. 
Vision is seen kneeling over a corpse with a bullet planted on his head. Examining the bullet, it's apparently a full rifle bullet and Vision predicts that whoever shot this man must be prowling on the rooftops. Strange tells Vision that his energy senses pick up no life signs whatsoever. Realizing something, Rojhaz asks Frank if Kang told him how long has it been here since he's left off. Frank stops his walk and curses, saying she didn't tell him anything about it. He asks if he wants to ask Kang through the Tallus and Punisher thinks that they're busy trying to figure out why the hell's his bitches are all back.
After walking for a while, the team finally arrive to the entrance to Castle's hideout. The entrance is apparently open with blood and thugs soaking up everywhere. The Worldmind once again examines the corpses and tells Rael that these corpses are fresh; they've just been killed around two or three hours ago. Nova asks if that gate was intended to block off anyone who tried to kill Frank and the man himself accepts it as a possibility. 
Castle asks Strange to see if these men are truly dead. Strange sarcastically replies not but he does feel as if someone is actually down here. The same time he said that, Greenskyn's surprisingly acute ears suddenly hear footsteps coming from downstairs. Castle looks at Greenskyn and tells him that the armory's downstairs. 
The team soon make their way through Castle's complex hideout down to the armory where they the Punisher's arsenal. Curiously, none of them are touched and the rooms near it are clean as if Frank has never used it. With little to no lighting, Frank asks any one of them to get a light source. Strange lights up a magical flare from his hands and reveals the room's entire content. Focused on knowing what actually happened, Frank and the team's attention was diverted when a female voice calls out to the former, asking him where has he been all this time.
Frank's eyes widen at this prospect, not believing that she could be there. Bull is the first one to turn to the source of the voice. Thinking she's hallucinating, she asks Frank if this is what she's looking at. The female ignores Bull and continues to speak to Frank who doesn't turn when the others turn to her. She asks Frank why did he abandon them for a poor substitute. She also asks why did every goddamn bitches they killed came back and why the world died. Frank sighs in disappointment and says he doesn't know, but all that matters is that he's home and he's going to fix all of this.
The woman disagrees with him, saying it's too late for them to fix everything. Death no longer matters, and life has teemed itself with the infernal. Those are the words of Castle's deceased-yet-standing one-time ally and admirer: Jennifer Cesare.
==Trivia==
*This is the first Marvel NEW issue to have its age rating changed for a special occasion.
*Rojhaz's civilian look has him wearing a bag that contains his shield and a haircut that makes him similar to Earth-616's Captain America.
*In his civilian form, Greenskyn retains his height but not his ears and skin color. 
*This issue reveals Justicer Bull's true face beneath her mask, being a brunette with a fair complexion and turquoise eyes.
Category:Comics
Category:Marvel NEW