10744/Answers by Moonlight

Answers by Moonlight
Date of Scene:	15 January 2020
Location:	Two Bridges (Chinatown), Manhattan
Synopsis:	Punisher and Iron Fist are invited to join the forces of the Steel Serpent but, even despite the hard sell, opt instead to try and take them down.
Cast of Characters:	Iron Fist, Punisher

---

Iron Fist has posed:
"Hey," Danny Rand says after dialing the number that Frank & Micro put in his phone. "I've found some stuff out. I figure it would help to meet up and talk about this. Assuming you're willing to meet."

He notes a time and place.

There and then, late at night on the rooftop of a Chinatown tenement, Rand stands waiting, dressed in his Iron Fist outfit, surveilling the neighborhood.

A block or two away, behind him, there's movement across the rooftops, slowly headed his way.

Punisher has posed:
The number went to a voice mail, initially. Fifteen seconds later, Danny gets 'affirmative' back in a text.

By the time Danny got there, Frank had already been at the tenement building area, setting up some lightweight traps and some gear in case of ambush. Two drones circled the area for coverage of all angles of the building, and Frank himself was hiding underneath some 'garbage' on the same rooftop Danny was at.

Being predictable was not a phrase the Punisher knew, and it always paid off, since you never know if other parties were gonna drop in...

... like tonight.

"Frank, I have movement on the rooftops two blocks away from you. I'd need to reposition drones to get a good look at them. How do you want to play this?" Microchip asks over the commlink.

"Drop the package on them, Micro." Punisher replies.

Suddenly, a lot less stealthy of a drone comes screaming off the streets, high into the sky, and a half dozen flares are launched in a 360 degree cover. They light up the night to the point of near daylight.

Time to see how Danny reacts. Are these associates?

Iron Fist has posed:
As the flares illuminate the approaching figures, the light's impossible to miss from the shadows suddenly cast into Danny's vision. He turns, quickly, to see what's happening.

"Shit," he whispers, tensing into a boxing stance in anticipation of the others' arrival.

About a dozen individuals parkour along the rooftops, their fluid movements now clearly visible. They all wear the insignia of the snake, but they appear unarmed and unarmored.

Punisher has posed:
"Died from terminal stupidity" is an epitaph a LOT of the Punisher's enemies should use, because coming over clear as day rooftops unarmed and unarmored? That's about as bad as turkey hunting season.

A couple 'used' mattresses suddenly give way as the Punisher in full 'Punisher' kit comes into view. His M4A1 gets it's safety turned off, and suddenly semi-auto shots start ringing out as Punisher aims for kneecaps.

He has more questions for these people, and surely, one of those assholes is someone higher on the food chain in comparison to his previous subject.

Iron Fist has posed:
As Frank emerges from his trash blind, Iron Fist dives for cover, trying to assess what's happening.

He doesn't have time to speak, though, before the the rounds start flying. Several of the gang members are assaulted squarely in the knees, their bodies spinning head over heels from the force of the blasts that completely disintegrate their kneecaps.

Others frantically try to get some cover between them and their destination, even as they attempt to close the distance. One or two of them seem to be shouting something, although it's hard to tell over the volume of the semi-automatic fire.

Seeing Frank occupied, Iron Fist moves closer to him, looking around to keep an eye on any other directions that would-be assailants might approach from.

Punisher has posed:
"GET SOME, ASSHOLES!" Frank shouts, even as kneecaps get blown out all over the place. From this distance, the only other person who could possibly land better shots is Deadshot himself.

"Microchip, get me eyes behind their cover, keep one drone above us for recon." Frank barks into his commlink. The two milspec stealth drones assigned to this one reposition. One moving above where the gangsters are getting into cover, and another acting an eyes. "No one else so far Frank, just them. I've got the utility drone ready with more flares." Microchip informs his partner.

"Good. Keep the night lit up. Good chance I'll have at least one straggler to keep pinned."

Iron Fist can easily hear this entire conversation from Franks side as 5.56 rounds continue to keep the intruders busy.

Iron Fist has posed:
"Frank!" Danny shouts. "Frank! I don't want to sound ... well, ungrateful? but ... they haven't even /done/ anything!"

Meanwhile, the remaining unmutilated gang members are mostly hunkered down behind roof staircase entrance points and A/C units.

"They haven't run off," Iron Fist continues. "I'm not entirely sure they're here to fight. You haven't even heard what I've learned--there's a whole movement happening. I think they've transformed from gang to cult." He sighs and mutters to himself. "Not that /that/ statement's going to make you less trigger-happy, I guess."

Punisher has posed:
"No invitation, and they're the ones who attacked the other gang. I'm not really seeing anything for them to talk about that can't be done where they can't lie." Frank keeps aimed in their direction. "Were you expecting them? Because I wasn't expecting them."

Iron Fist has posed:
"Well, no," Iron Fist says, sighing. He rubs his chin. "I didn't expect anyone other than you. And I'm guessing your support crew does a good job of staying unmonitored."

He puts his hands on his hips. "So I guess that means I've been watched. Or followed. Or both. But still--at this point, it doesn't seem like there's much imminent threat. HEY!" he shouts.

"...what?" one of the uninjured gang members calls in response.

"You ready to surrender?" Iron Fist shouts.

"I'm not movin' while the Punisher's got the drop on me!"

Sobs and other incomprehensible sounds of agony carry across the rooftops.

Punisher has posed:
"Normally, I don't consider surrenders. I take prisoners." Punisher's methods are brutally infamous, so it's not hard to get the implication there. "For the sake of gettin' this moving along, I'll let them come over." There's a pause, "one wrong move though, and they're feedin' the vultures." Punisher grates. "I'LL STOP FIRIN'." He visibly idles his weapon, "ONE WRONG STEP THAT I DON'T LIKE, AND YOUR BRAIN GETS SPLATTERED ACROSS THAT ROOFTOP. I GOT ENOUGH SUBJECTS ON THE ROOFTOP TO TAKE BACK WITH ME THAT I DON'T NEED YOU."

Danny can very easily tell Frank doesn't like this, but is going along with it for the sake of their partnership.

Iron Fist has posed:
Shifting into a defensive kung fu stance, Iron Fist nods. "Understood. Believe me when I say I don't want to get on your bad side--but I want to make sure that whatever info we get is provided coherently."

He glances at Frank. "No offense, but I figure that a lot of your prisoner interrogations have highly charged conversations."

The chatty gang member slowly raises his hands from behind the A/C unit he'd been squatting behind. "Okay! I'm coming to you! I'm not armed!" he calls.

The young man begins jogging toward the building where the Punisher and Iron Fist stand. "We--I'm a messenger. I was asked to deliver a message to you. The both of you," he calls as he nears, leaping to the destination roof.

"Our sifu wanted to extend an open hand to you before moving with the closed fist. His school has grown in number and strength. You two would be valued teachers," the gang member says in between heavy breaths after landing on the roof edge, not stepping any closer to the Punisher than, it seems, he has to.

Punisher has posed:
Not that it matters in the least if he gets close or not. Punisher has a combat knife and knows how to use it in his gear web.

"Maybe, maybe not." Definitely, in response to the 'highly charged conversations'. Then, the guy starts speaking.

"You believe this asshole? Far as I'm seeing, we got an idiot tryin' to recruit to a bunch of sadists." Punisher asks just loud enough for Danny, not for the thug.

Iron Fist has posed:
Danny flexes a hand, not moving much out of his defensive stance. "It's possible. I'm not saying that I like the rationale at all, but--let's be honest--a lot of sociopaths manage to be charismatic as hell."

"Who's your sifu?" he asks the gang member.

"You know him," the young man replies. "The Steel Serpent. He has been preparing us to transcend."

"See?" Iron Fist mentions to Frank out of the corner of his mouth. "'Transcend'. Wait," he adds, shaking his head. "Davos? I figured that was just a guess. He really /is/ involved?"

"Yes! The Steel Serpent is founding a new society based on the principles of fabled K'un-Lun. We will transcend, when we are ready, and all will be as it should be."

Punisher has posed:
There's a long pause as Frank listens. "What the fuck does 'transcend' mean?"

Still no shooting, so far.

Iron Fist has posed:
"Well," Iron Fist begins, "it probably means that, philosophically, they're seeking enlightenm--"

"No," the gang member states, shaking his head. "This is not metaphorical. We will transcend. He will transcend. Together, we will become a new force that replaces a weak, and obsolete, institution. The Steel Serpent will reign, and we with him."

"Okay," Danny says. "I'm not sure what he's getting at."

Punisher has posed:
"I don't suppose you just mean another bunch of nutbars is getting together and seeking global tyranny, would you?" Frank asks, actually almost entirely fed up with this conversation.

Iron Fist has posed:
"Global tyranny? No, not at all," the gang member says, shaking his head even more enthusiastically. "The Steel Serpent will guide the faithful to transcendence and paradise in K'un-Lun. But new life can only blossom from the compost of the old. So it will be here, too."

"That doesn't sound good," Iron Fist says. "So what about the Serpent Society? They're involved, too, right?"

"You mean the acolytes of the Steel Serpent Society. Yes. They are the shock troops that will open the gates of the city. If we students are the scales of this steel serpent, and Davos is its head, then the society is its fangs and claws," the gang member says, a warm smile on his face.

Punisher has posed:
"So... army of power hungry idiots?" Simple and effective, courtesy of the Punisher.

Iron Fist has posed:
"I take it that you're declining the invitation to come guide the school's students. And learn from our sifu," the gang member says, the smile fading from his face. "This was expected, although it was not desired."

He sighs and glances over his shoulder toward all of his knee-less comrades. "I suppose I won't be able to return to my teacher to let him know of your decision."

Iron Fist clears his throat. "Well, I'm not going to speak for my associate here, but I don't want Davos' army to be in top shape. No offense."

Punisher has posed:
"No, you can leave." Punisher says, simply, his carbine continues to idle against his chest.

Iron Fist has posed:
The gang member pauses for a moment, eyebrows raised but eyes narrowed, and then he nods. "Thank you." He turns and leaps off the roof, parkour-ing down the fire escape to a dumpster to the alley down below.

Iron Fist exhales slowly. "I wasn't sure how that was going to shake out. A lot of info there, for sure. Davos--the guy he described--that's the guy I thought /might/ be connected to the gang activity you brought to me. Clearly, they are. And I've run across one or two of the Serpent Society members. You have too. That Davos managed to convert them to his cause is--it's pretty freakin' alarming."

Danny slaps his forehead. "And what do we do about all the people you just maimed?"

Punisher has posed:
"One is comin' with me. The rest? I was gonna put a bullet in their heads." Then, Punisher clicks the comm again, "Micro, you got the tracker ready?"

Down in the Battle Van, David was monitoring the whole thing. "Ready and waiting Frank, are we tagging the guy you just set loose?"

"You got it, partner. Hit him."

Up in the sky above, the utility drone aims a small pressure based launcher, and attaches a tracker to the neck area of the shift the thug is wearing. Unless there's serious signal interference, Punisher will soon have a full list of locations to recon.

"That assholes gonna lead us to all his hidey holes." Punisher informs Danny.

Iron Fist has posed:
"I'm both impressed and terribly, terribly horrified," Danny responds. "I know better than to try to talk you out of it. But at least, if your tech works, we'll be able to find Davos quickly enough. And the sooner that happens, the quicker we can save the world." He cracks the knuckles on his left hand.

Punisher has posed:
"Did you have a better idea?" Punisher asks, gesturing with his free hand to the mangled bodies."

Iron Fist has posed:
Danny opens his mouth to respond, but then closes it again. He does this two or three more times before shaking his head. "No. No, I honestly don't. I just ... I'm used to hand-to-hand injuries and violence. But you're on a whole different level, and it's astonishing."

He shakes his head again. "Okay. So where do we go from here? Will you update me when you get some info about that tracker? I can keep trying to shake down those I come across..."

Punisher has posed:
"This is pretty mild in comparison to some of my other operations." Punisher notes, casually.

Given the news reports of how Punisher can turn entire buildings into what amounts to gigantic warzones? He's not exaggerating in the least. The man is capable of some /brutality/.

"I'll cleanup here, and keep an eye on the asshole for a couple days." A device is grabbed from his gear web, and tossed to Danny, "a mapper. It'll superimpose the assholes path over a map of the east coast so you can keep updated yourself. The tracker is working it's way into the dermal layer now, so he won't be able to lose it."

Then, he aims for the bodies, and the safety audibly clicks off as he prepares to fire. "By the way kid... Frank Castle is dead. He died with his family." Punisher grates. "Just call me Punisher."