Frank stared at that unfamiliar white old man for a full three seconds.
Then, with a flick of his thumb, he flipped the safety back on and holstered the pistol at his waist, appearing as if he didn't doubt the man at all.
Nick Fury watched Frank's action of holstering the gun, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"I look like this, and you still believe it's me?"
Frank tore a relatively clean piece of cloth from a nearby corpse and wiped the blood from his hands.
"The World has changed, old man. Nowadays, aliens are lining up to come to Earth, and superheroes fight in the sky all day long. Even if you turned into a talking dog tomorrow, I wouldn't find it strange."
"Appearances can change, and genes can mutate." Frank sneered. "But that self-righteous attitude of yours—I could smell it from three blocks away."
Fury let out a noncommittal grunt.
He knew Frank; this was just the man's style. He then tucked his own pistol back into the inside of his trench coat.
Two veterans who had crawled through trenches together years ago completed their reunion in this peculiar way.
"Enough reminiscing." Frank gestured with his chin toward the Mafia boss still gasping for breath on the ground.
"You said you wanted me to hand him over to you? What do you plan to do?"
Fury stepped past Frank and walked toward Costa, who was lying in a pool of blood.
"You'll find out in a moment."
Fury grabbed him by his suit collar and hoisted him up.
Costa looked at the one-eyed man before him in terror, an inexplicable fear welling up in his heart.
A ring of orange Fire, like hellish magma, suddenly ignited around Fury's pupils.
His voice grew deep, sounding like an echo created by many voices layered together.
"Look into my eyes!"
Costa instinctively tried to close his eyes, but an invisible, terrifying force pried his eyelids open, forcing him to stare directly into that hellfire.
In an instant, every sin he had committed in his life—the people he killed, the drugs he sold, the wails of the innocent whose families he had destroyed—all the pain and despair were magnified countless times, pouring into the depths of his soul all at once.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!!!"
Costa let out a blood-curdling scream.
Frank stood to the side, witnessing the whole ordeal. He had no intention of stopping it; instead, he felt this punishment was just right for the piece of trash who had murdered his family.
A few seconds later, Costa's screams stopped abruptly, and his entire body, starting from his eyeballs, turned into charred remains.
Fury let go, exhaling a long, scalding breath. He clearly felt the Fire of Vengeance lurking within him return after devouring that wicked soul.
"Is this your new trick?" Frank asked coldly. "Looks like you made a deal with the devil."
"This is power I reclaimed myself." Fury's expression remained unchanged. "A man must rely on himself."
Frank looked at the corpse on the ground, then back at Fury.
"What exactly are you trying to do, Fury?"
The flames in Fury's eyes faded.
"This World is rotten, Frank. But people are still immersed in a false peace..."
"They have no idea that darkness is spreading beneath their feet. A war is about to begin—a war that will dismantle humanity from within. They must be stopped at all costs."
"Those high-and-mighty superheroes are nothing more than Jokers entertaining the masses."
Fury reached out his hand to Frank.
"Frank, come help me."
"Help me burn the trash that wants to devour this World to ashes."
Frank looked at Fury's extended hand and fell silent for a moment.
He didn't shake it; he simply lit a cigarette and dropped a few words.
"As long as it's about killing scum, I don't care who I work with or how dark the methods are."
"Just tell me who the next target is."
Feeling the determination in Frank's heart, Fury withdrew his hand and smiled slightly.
"Since we're debuting as a duo, we need a catchy name." Fury rubbed his chin.
"How about the Spirit of Vengeance? It sounds quite intimidating."
"Spirit of your mother!" Frank sneered, retorting bluntly.
"Sounds like a stand-in for your ex-wife. I don't do those flashy terms. Let's just go with The Punisher."
"If you don't like it, get lost."
Fury wasn't angry at the rebuff; he just gave a soft chuckle.
"Very well. The Punisher it is."
The two walked side-by-side out of the factory littered with corpses, disappearing into the New York night.
...
Alaska, Skrull Enclave.
The day after Fury left.
A heavy transport plane bearing the Vought logo landed on the Base's tarmac.
Dozens of armed personnel in V.G.D. combat gear stepped into the Base's central plaza.
The enclave's broadcast system turned on simultaneously, a mechanical electronic voice echoing over every living area, cafeteria, and activity plaza.
"Attention, all Skrulls. This is not a drill."
"Everyone, stop your current activities immediately and gather at the central plaza."
"Repeat, everyone is to proceed to the central plaza immediately. Any violators will be considered hostile toward the Vought International."
The cold announcement caused an immediate uproar within the quarantine zone.
"What's happening? Why the assembly?"
"Is the Earth government going to purge us?"
Panicked discussions broke out among the crowd.
"Everyone, stay calm! Do not panic!"
Talos shouted to reassure his fellow countrymen.
"Don't do anything rash. Follow the broadcast's instructions and gather at the plaza. Fury is here; he won't let Vought run wild. He promised to protect us."
Under Talos's reassurance, the panic subsided slightly.
Thousands of Skrulls surged toward the central plaza in a massive wave.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the lead supervisor began to release the modification announcement for all Skrulls.
In the plaza, as the thousands of gathered Skrull refugees heard the words "Unstable Element Removal Surgery, permanent loss of Mimicry Ability" in the announcement, a fierce protest and commotion immediately erupted.
"They are stripping away our last bit of dignity!"
"We are Skrulls! Without our Shapeshifting Ability, what are we?!"
"We want to see Fury! He guaranteed us that this place was safe!"
Waves of anger echoed through the plaza. Some young Skrull warriors even began to clench their fists and approach the armed personnel on the high platform.
The situation was on a knife-edge.
"General Talos! Say something!"
"Did you bring us here just to have our teeth and claws pulled out?!"
Facing the angry questioning of his people, Talos stood at the front of the crowd, his expression extremely grim.
He while suppressing his inner anger,He shouted at the supervisor who had spoken..
"I want to see Supervisor Nick Fury. Now!"
"He would never agree to this modification plan!"