The Punisher

The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division—S.H.I.E.L.D.—an agency that operates above nations and answers directly to the United Nations, didn't find it difficult to investigate the sudden rise of the Inner Demons organization in New York.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York division spread its intelligence personnel across the city like a net, coordinating efforts to locate their target.

Before long, all the information they gathered about the Inner Demons was compiled into a report and delivered to Miss Stark and her team.

The leader of the Inner Demons was a wealthy Chinese-American businessman and philanthropist named Martin Li. According to intel, he possessed some form of special power, which allowed him to grant his abilities to others.

At the same time, Brock Rumlow's rapid response team successfully captured one of the Inner Demons members, empowered by Martin Li, through an ambush. The individual was brought to the underground research facility at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York office.

It took Miss Stark about three days to figure out the nature of the Inner Demons' powers. To ensure safety during the research process, the captured member was kept heavily sedated with an inhaled tranquilizer throughout the entire procedure.

Granted, this approach might seem unethical, violating basic human rights. However, given the crisis New York was facing, Miss Stark had no choice but to employ these harsh methods.

As she had initially hypothesized, the Inner Demons' abilities were linked to a special energy, which she provisionally named "negative energy."

This negative energy seemed to be drawn from a dimension that was the exact opposite of the real world—a kind of mirror world. The members of the Inner Demons couldn't control this energy on their own. Only Martin Li, their leader, had the ability to harness and manipulate it.

Because of this, Miss Stark gave him the codename "Mr. Negative."

She needed to quickly figure out how to neutralize this negative energy, but such research would take time.

Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. kept a 24-hour watch on Mr. Negative and the Inner Demons through satellite surveillance and intelligence operatives.

The Inner Demons continued to launch frequent attacks, as if they had a personal vendetta against the city government. Again and again, they targeted government offices, as if following tactics straight out of a guerrilla warfare handbook.

They operated in the shadows, blending into the New York populace, striking when needed, and immediately scattering after each attack. This hide-and-seek style of assault frustrated Silver Sable International's security forces, who struggled to counter it.

Though Silver Sable's mercenaries were well-equipped and highly trained, they found it difficult to respond effectively to these guerrilla tactics.

Fortunately, the deployment of the National Guard eased the pressure on Silver Sable, freeing up more resources to protect key government sites.

During this period, Miss Stark practically lived in the underground research facility of the New York division, fully engrossed in her work.

Her personal file was classified as Level 10, while she held an official clearance level of 8 within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientific division. This meant Miss Stark had nearly unrestricted access to most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s facilities worldwide.

Though not a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal hierarchy, her status as a special consultant allowed her to act as an equal to the heads of many divisions.

In less than a week, Miss Stark successfully developed a special neutralization field device to counter negative energy. This also sparked new ideas—such as creating devices that could absorb and block all forms of energy.

However, these ideas were still in the conceptual stage. The immediate priority remained the Inner Demons.

Several unused armored vehicles sat in the underground garage at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York office. Miss Stark had some of the neutralization devices mounted onto these vehicles, aiming to make them mobile.

For now, it was impossible to cover the entire city with these devices, so she opted for a more localized, mobile approach.

She consulted with Steve Rogers, and after some discussion, they agreed on a sector-based patrol strategy.

The NYPD had already received orders from the city government to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. in eliminating these dangerous terrorists posing a significant threat to society.

Naturally, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't openly operate under its own name. Instead, they posed as FBI agents, driving vehicles marked with FBI logos.

Whenever a command was given, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would immediately deploy in their FBI-branded vehicles, delivering the equipment to the incident site. They worked alongside the NYPD and Silver Sable's forces to neutralize the Inner Demons, ensuring the group wouldn't wreak further havoc.

Meanwhile, as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents poured out to deal with the crisis, a lone figure made his way into the New York division headquarters.

"Tech Division."

"Agent Castle, welcome back to S.H.I.E.L.D.," said the automated voice of the elevator.

The newcomer, however, paid little attention to the no-smoking policy inside the elevator. Dressed in a long black coat, he strode through the research division, standing out starkly against the white lab coats around him.

Most of the researchers barely gave him a glance. Men like him weren't their concern.

He finally stopped at the makeshift lab Miss Stark had taken over. The first words he spoke after entering the room immediately caught attention.

"Tell me—who do you want dead?"

Miss Stark blinked, surprised at the odd question from the intruder.

The man wore a long black coat, identical to the one Nick Fury favored, but underneath, he sported a T-shirt emblazoned with a white skull.

"I've been out of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a long time, but I still owe Nick Fury, so here I am," he said.

Frank Castle—formerly an operative in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s field division. Before joining the agency, he had a past he rarely spoke of.

Nick Fury held Castle in high regard, though Miss Stark wasn't entirely sure why Fury had called him back into action.

Castle had retired a long time ago, sick of the violence. His pension was generous, but his home was always empty.

Eventually, he took a construction job at a site run by a company—Disaster Control.

He knew who Miss Stark was because the construction company he worked for was hers.

However, Miss Stark probably didn't even know she had an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. operative working as a laborer in her company.

Castle didn't care about any of that. He had received a call from Fury, and that was all the reason he needed to show up.

Miss Stark, on the other hand, was still trying to wrap her head around Fury's motives.

After a long silence, she finally spoke, her words somewhat ambiguous.

"Agent Castle, you're aware New York is turning into a war zone, right?"

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