The NightWalker: Reborn

Punisher

More masked vampires burst out of the trees and surround the podium, brandishing crossbows and swords. My eyes dart widely between them. I can hear their hearts thundering in their chests. I can see the bloodlust in their eyes. This is too much. It's all too much.
"At the end of this, you will kneel," Punisher puts his hands on his hips, grinning behind his mask.
"Not to men like you, you stupid fuck nugget!" I yell as I raise my middle finger at the man. Loki smirked at me.
"There are no men like me," Punisher grinned, sadistically. He eyed me up and licked his lips. Loki let out a loud growl. He mouths mine to Punisher, who just smirks.
"There are always men like you," Melody clenches her hands.
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos," Punisher crosses his arms "You people are so petty... and tiny,"
"You're gonna lose," I speak clearly. Punisher turns his head to me.
"Am I?"
"It's in your nature,"
"where is my disadvantage?" Punisher's hands drop to his sides.
"You lack conviction," I stared down Punisher. He might scare me but I don't back down so easily.
"You will all fall before me," Punisher points towards us, a blank look on his face "Kill them all!" The Punisher's men open fire, spraying into the crowd with bolts. The crowd descends into alarmed chaos, screaming and running in all directions. Thor dives forward, pushing me out of the way and a bolt punches clean through his shoulder.
"Ahh! God damn it!" Thor yells, pressing a hand to his shoulder. Huggin quickly runs to his side.
"Sir!" Huggin says as he ducks his head from a bolt. Thor rips the arrow out of his shoulder, spinning it in his hand and throwing it into the eye socket of an unchained.
"I got this. Help the others escape!"
"Sir?" Huggin frowns.
"That's an order!" Thor snaps, pointing at some of his clan.
"Of course!" Huggin hurries toward the dispersing crowd as Thor dives into the fray, Melody right behind him.

Nearby, Melody jerks a crossbow out of an unchained's hand.
"I'll be taking this," She hisses as she spartan kicks him in the balls. Loki and I both wince "You do not want to be messing with this,"
"Emily, run and take cover!" Loki yells as he punches a vampire away. I go to argue with him But Loki spins me out of the way as a couple of bolts fire into Loki's back. He lets out a yell. His eyes burn bright. He turns around and growls. Making the unchained runaway. More unchained are running towards us, holding swords and stakes.
"Emily! Move!" Sif orders. I go to turn and I see an unchained heading straight for me, sword held up high above his head.
"Die, council scum,"
"For the last time, I ain't on the fucking council!" I snarl and with my newfound speed, I dive toward the unchained, managing to block her sword arm and knock her to the ground.
"Urgh!"
"I totally just did that! That was a thing I did!" I beamed. I was so impressed with myself that I took my eye off the unchained. with a grunt, the stupid cow presses her feet to my chest and kicks me off. I fall back to the ground as the vampire rises to her feet.
"Lucky break. It won't happen aga--" She is cut off when Loki's hands grab her head from behind and snap her neck with a sharp crack.
"Hey, Loki," I smiled, leaning on my elbows. He tosses her body aside, stepping forward. He smiles as he holds his hand out for me to take.
"That will keep her down. Are you okay, Emily?" I grip his hand and smile back.
"Yeah, I am fine. Just not used to moving around with this new body," I wiggle my arms.

All around me, the scene is chaos. My friends battle the unchained and protect the wounded, as the night erupts with gunfire and the clang of metal. Punisher stands and watches the chaos. It is as if he is waiting for the chance to come in and finish off the council leaders. Seeing him smirk, Loki turns to me.
"Emily! We need to get out of here now! You are not ready for this!"
"But... there are still so many wounded," It looks like they all need help and with my new powers, I might actually be able to fight. I close my eyes, finding my inner strength and when I open them, I know for a fact that my eyes are red "There is no way in hell I am running!"
"Emily," Loki goes to reach for me but he is distracted by an unchained tackling him "It is rude to interrupt people,"
"Hccck," The unchained says as Loki slams his fist into the unchained's skull. He calls for me as he sees me walking away. Loki kicks another unchained and lifts him into the air. With a loud growl, he SLAMS him down, hard, breaking quite a few bones.
"Emily," Loki calls my name again. I growled loudly as I stared down at an unchained idiot with an enormous rifle. He levels it at me and fires.
"Ah fuck," But time seems to slow around me and I can see the two bullets as they fly through the air. I deftly stepped out of the way, letting the bullets whiz by me and into another unchained, turning that one to dust "Cool,"
"You..." I lurch forward and yank the gun out of the fuck nugget's hand and smash it across his face, shattering both "I had a smashing time,"
"You... will... pay for... this," The man moves towards me but I grab him by the throat and snap his neck.
"Nice try," I then launch the weapon to the other side of the battlefield, smacking another asshole in the head. I gape at my hands, wondering at the new strength they possess.

I yell out as someone grabs me by my neck.
"I will kill you for what you did!" He snarls at me. I struggle in his hold as the unchained holds up a stake, ready to plunge it into my chest.
"If you thought I was an easy target... think the fuck again," I whisper. I grab the unchained's wrist and squeeze. I am rewarded by a satisfying crunch as his bones shatter.
"Agghhh!" I am flowing with a strength I have never felt before. I feel as if I could benchpress a truck. With a tilt of my head, I easily grab the unchained and fling him over my head, hurling him to the ground.
"Doesn't feel very nice, does it?" I place my foot on his good arm and smile.
"You fucking bitch!" But I slam my foot down on his arm, shattering it. I leave him screaming as I skip away.

I catch a glimpse of the others, watching in awe as Sif drop-kicks an unchained bastard and Loki smashes another into a tree. Thor is a blur with his weapon and Melody is cackling as she fires her crossbow.
"They all seem to be handling it but I bet they could use some help,"

I glance at Loki, an unchained is coming at him from his blind side with a stake. I hurry to his side and I push the unchained out of the way, then kick their head to make them stay down.
"Emily? You shouldn't be here," Loki said as he elbowed a vampire that was behind him.
"What sort of girlfriend would I be if I let you have all the fun to yourself?"
"A normal one," I walk up to Loki and press my finger to my lips.
"Hush and let me have this," I whispered.
"Well, if you insist," Loki smiles at me, licking his lips. Grinning, I spin around and press my back to his and together, we face down the unchained hordes.
"Would it be weird if I said that this was kind of hot?" I uppercut someone. Loki chuckled.
"At this point, I would expect nothing less," Loki grabs a man by his legs, smashes him against the floor repeatedly and finally throws him to the side "Puny man,"

At some point, the five of us, press back together into a tight circle, staring down the enemies around us.
"Where the fuck did these guys come from?" I trip an unchained over and ram a stake down his throat. Melody got her hands on a rifle gets her hands on a rifle and shoots the hell out of the vampires.
"I don't know but I am going to make sure they go back there!" Thor jumps up again, kneeing an unchained in the face. Sif is right behind him as she kicks Unchained in the face. Angry, the unchained takes a swing at her, but she grabs his arm, twisting it. The vampire writhes in pain. Using his other arm, he tosses the knife over and begins to slash at Sif. She dodges every move but finds herself in a lockhold with him. As he forces the knife down, she bites his wrist. The vampire lets go of the knife. Sif wraps her legs around his neck, flips him over and arm-locks him. She slams his head into the ground, crushing his skull.

Twirling a stake, Thor rushes at an unchained when a battle axe chops down on him from behind, cleaving his shoulder. Thor yells out in agony as he falls to his knees, gasping and standing behind him holding the axe is Punisher.
"Honestly, If I want to get something done, I gotta do it myself," Punisher grinned. Thor slumps down, breathing fast.
"You bastard!" Melody fires at him but the bolts bounce harmlessly off his armour. He grins and whips his hand up from his waist, hurling a spiked ball that cracks into Melody's head "Ow,"
"Damn you," Loki leaps at Punisher from the side, only to catch the edge of his battleaxe between the ribs and go hurtling into the brush.
"No!" I screamed. no one hurts my man. Snarling, I leap forward. Only for Punisher to bat me away with the back of his fist. As I land in the brush, my mouth floods with blood and my vision flares red.
"That's four down. one to go. Where is that fancy Queen?"
"Up here," Punisher looks up to see Sif perched in a tree above him. He tries to raise his blade but she plunges like a meteor. Driving both of her daggers into his eye.
"Aggggggrhhh!" Punisher flails, hurling Sif off, as blood streams down his face. His remaining minions close ranks and drag him away.
"Protect the boss!"
"Get back to base!"

The unchained retreats, pulling back as they drag Punisher away. All around me, my friends pull themselves up, even as they bleed.
"Yeah, that's right! run while you still can!" Thor picked a rock up and launched at the fleeing vampires.
"That was way too close... way too close," Melody pulled the spiked ball out of her head. I ran over to Loki and helped him stand up.
"Cowards!" Sif bellowed as she twirled one of her daggers. Blood dripped its point.
"So what do we do now?" I look around. The night has been shattered. the park is a ruin, torn apart by gunfire, littered with wounded bodies and fluttering ash. All my friends slump on each other, wounded, weary and afraid.
"For now, let's get out of here before they strike again and then we can figure out how we are going to strike next," Sif ordered as we all limped away.

Back at Odinson HQ, in Loki's office, our whole group collapses, tending to our wounds. Loki throws us all a blood pack. Sif sits and cleans blood off her daggers with a scowl as Loki leans against his desk.
"I knew something was going to go wrong but I didn't expect that," Thor winced as he took his jacket off.
"Hey so, what the fuck happened? Did we really get terrorized by a bunch of vampire cultists in masks?" Loki offered Melody an ice pack for her head.
"They called themselves the unchained. A bit pretentious if you ask me," Sif slid her daggers back up her sleeves.
"Their leader, Punisher. Have any of you encountered him before?" Thor and I both raise our hands.
"I have. He's a big, mean son of a bitch," Thor sighed.
"As I said back at the park. His name is Frank Castle. I saw him a couple of times at Stark Industries. He works with Daredevil. Sometimes. Picked a fight with Spiderman. Basic arsehole, really. Stark didn't think he was Avenger standard," I crossed my arms.
"Okay, I get why you didn't tell us about him. But Thor, you didn't tell us about him before because?" Melody pointed at me and then at Thor.
"1, I didn't know he was a vampire. He wasn't the last time we met and 2, strangely enough, the whole running around and trying not to die takes up a lot of concentration,"
"How did you meet him?" Loki asked as he crossed his arms, wincing a little.
"He used to be part of a human faction that I ran that helped out the clanless that lived in Hell's Kitchen. As a human, he was a merciless killer. And then he fell into a crowd run by one of Volstagg's men,"
"So one of them turned him?" Loki frowned.
"It would seem so. If he was dangerous and sadistic before, it only grew tenfold once he became a vampire," Thor sighs. Now I can see why Stark didn't want him as an Avenger "I had really hoped that he had cleaned up his act,"
"Look how that went," I mumbled. Loki smiled at my obvious sarcasm.
"Oh, it went as well as you can expect. He refused to follow the rules. He was an asshole and a creep. The last straw was when he killed a few innocent humans who had come by to be fed on," Thor explained. Melody covered her mouth.
"God..."
"I knew that he would just be a menace if we kicked him out so I tried to kill him. The tough bastard overpowered me and fled," Thor sat down on the couch by the window "I last saw him about 9 months ago. I had figured he had left town. I had no idea that he would stay behind and plan all this,"
"No one is saying you did," I placed a hand on Thor's shoulder "No doubt that he thought to take advantage of the chaos Odin left in his wake,"
"Which is a problem, considering we have under 48 hours to get this city under control before Hayward moves in," Sif crossed her arms as she sat on the edge of Loki's desk.
"I'll deal with it," Loki moves to the door but after one step, he staggers and drops to his knees. He hisses in pain and holds an arm around his midsection, where I can see a large, bloody gash on his side.
"Loki!" I vamp to his side, pressing my hand against his wound.
"I guess he hit me harder than I thought," He wince. I wrapped his arm over my shoulder and helped him to his feet "And he ruined one of my favourite suits," I looked at the others. Melody's head is still bleeding and Thor has an enormous cut on his torso.
"Why not leave Punisher to me?" I said as I moved Loki over to a chair. There's a beat of silence before Thor clears his throat.
"Emily. Listen to me when I tell you that wankstain is strong and massively dangerous. He's an experienced remorseless killer," Thor placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.
"What is your point?" I frowned, crossing my arms.
"It is not a one-person job," Loki spoke as he removed his jacket and shirt "I liked this suit,"
"It won't be. I will be going with her," Sif spoke. Everyone turns to stare at Sif, myself included "What? It makes sense,"
"Sif..."
"I'll take Emily with me and out where Punisher is hiding. Once we know that, we can strategize how to take him and his followers out,"
"But--" Thor tried to stand up but Melody pushed him back down.
"No point in arguing, Thor. This is happening. You can't argue with either one of these ladies. I've tried," Melody offered us a half smile.
"It's a good plan but Emily, are you feeling well enough for this?" Loki looked at me, he didn't want to let me go but he knew that I would be safe with Sif.
"Put me in the team, coach," I grinned. That comment earns a fleeting smile.
"All right. Good luck to you both. Remember, don't engage yet. Just find out where he is hiding,"
"And please don't get killed again. Like, pretty please," Melody put her hands together.
"We will do our best," Sif goes to walk out the door before Loki grabs her arm. He mouths something to her, Sif nods "I will,"

After kissing Loki bye, I go to follow Sif out the door but I am distracted by something familiar sparkling on a side table nearby.
"Not again," It's one of those memory shards. I hate these things. I know that if I touch that thing, my BloodKeeper ability will show me a vision from the past.
"Emily, you coming or not?" Sif speaks.
"In a minute... I think I have a vision incoming," I reach for the shard and I feel a familiar and ancient presence. Biting my lips, I reach out and pick up the shard "This had better be worth it," The office around me fades away.

On the throne of Mydiea, where a cruel King once ruled. Upon her throne, Queen Frigga sits. The floors around her are still stained with the blood of the old King.
"Report," Queen Frigga rests her chin resting on her fist as she sits casually. Odin and Heimdall are both in attendance, standing before her. Heimdall looks at Odin and nods.
"My Goddess Frigga, My Queen, we have reports that several rival city-states are beginning to amass their armies. The states of Athens and Sparta seem to be at the forefront of this endeavour. They have been aggressively drafting young men for weeks. We believe they mean to march against Mydiea. Against us,"
"I see. Trust the Spartans and Athenians to join forces. Is there a blue moon tonight?" Queen Frigga sits and contemplates this for a moment, her brows furrowed in concern.
"There is more, my Goddess," Heimdall gulped.
"Go on,"
"I have received reports of a new faction, here, on the island. They call themselves the Sons of Ares. They are loyalists to the old King. My father," Hemldall held up a parchment that bore the seal of the Sons of Ares "They plot your downfall,"
"It has only been a score of weeks since I have taken up the rule of Mydiea and already everyone is eager to see me perish" Queen Frigga places a hand over her face, letting out a loud groan "I only ever wanted to free the people from that tyrant. To show them a better way. A way of peace,"
"Queen Frigga..."
"There are those who will always favour bloodshed. They do not change their minds so easily,"
"Between the other sites and the Sons of Ares, what does this mean for us? Do we fight? How can we possibly fight such a force when we face opposition on all sides,"
"If we fight, we will be overrun. We need to take decisive action," Odin slapped his fist into his hand.
"What do you propose, my disciple?" Queen Frigga finally moves, stretching herself out of her throne.
"I propose we draw out the Sons of Ares and execute them as an example to the people,"
"Execute?" Queen Frigga looked visibly shocked.
"It is the best way to demonstrate our power, my Goddess. To strike fear and obedience into your followers," Heimdall spoke up.
"Your father ruled with fear. I do not wish to follow in his footsteps," Queen Frigga quickly declined.
"My Queen is right, we must find another way,"

Another man enters the throne room, sparing a small smile for Queen Frigga.
"Ah, Baldr, my beloved! At last, you join us here!" Baldr approaches Frigga, taking her in a warm embrace. Odin watches him intensely, and not without jealousy "Have you come to give advice? I will happily entertain your counsel,"
"My Goddess, with all respect, Baldr is but a man, not one of our kind. Perhaps he--" Odin stepped forward to speak but Queen Frigga shot him down with a glare.
"Baldr is the most loyal, caring and wisest man I have ever known. He was my betrothed when I was human," Queen Firgga placed a hand on her love's cheek "And if he can still love me and accept me as I am now... as we are now... then perhaps there is a way forward,"
"Indeed, my Queen. I believe a path to peace is not impossible. After all, bloodshed tends to beget bloodshed. The threat we face now may well have been avoided had the throne been taken some other way," Baldr glances at the bloodstains on the throne. Queen Frigga looks downward.
"I should have sought another solution. The tree's power... overwhelmed my senses. Drove me to violent passions," Baldr places a gentle hand on his love's shoulder.
"My Queen, what is done is done. What's important now is how to deal with these new threats,"
"And what do you propose?" Heimdall crossed his arms.
"Violence is what they expect, yes? Then we should retaliate with the opposite," Baldr crossed his arms across his chest "Send them peace treaties. Strike up trade negotiations. Perhaps even these Sons of Ares can be brought. If there is one thing I have learned as a merchant--"
"Everyone has a price," Queen Frigga walked away from the throne, clasping her hands together "The bloodshed shall end here. King Njord may have deserved his fate but I will do whatever is in my power to spare the innocents,"
"My Queen,"
"As long as we show our would-be enemies that we mean no harm, I am sure we can come to some sort of agreement,"
"I trust in your decision, my Queen. You will rule with a merciful, capable hand,"
"And you shall always be right beside me, in the kingdom we shall build," Queen Frigga approached the men and all three kneeled before her "Together, we shall make this island a sanctuary. A place of peace for humans and vampires. A place to settle and live free," Queen Frigga gazes at Baldr "a place for families," As Queen Frigga and her love embrace, Heimdall and Odin exchange an uneasy look.

I come back to myself with a gasp as the vision ends. I am feeling slightly dizzy. I stumble in my step. I heard some hurried footsteps. I felt a set of arms wrap themselves around me.
"Emily?" Loki spoke.
"What was that?" Only a second had passed. I pressed my fingers to my temple.
"Emily?" Loki puts a hand on my back, Running small circles "Darling, are you alright?" I blink a few times. I see the others are already far enough ahead.
"Yeah... I..." I glance down and the crystal is gone. why does this keep happening? I wonder if anyone else can see them stupid shards "Sorry. I had another vision," Loki helped me steady myself.
"What about?" Sif asked as she handed me a drink.
"Urm, Odin, Heimdal. another man... begins with B and I think her name is Frigga. I ain't sure. there was a throne," I winced. Loki wrapped his arms around my waist "I'm okay,"
"Really?"
"It ain't the first time I have had these things and it won't be the last," I shook my head as the pain finally went away "I had honestly thought that becoming a Vampire would get rid of these things."
"Emmy..." Melody spoke.
"Honestly, I am okay,"
"Are you sure you are alright to go on this mission?" Sif crossed her arms. I downed my drink and smiled.
"Fuck yeah," I cheered. I wasn't alright but I had no choice. Who else was there to do this mission?
"Are you sure, darling?" Loki looked at me, worried. I smiled at him.
"We have less than 48 to complete this mission before they nuke the city. I am more than ready to do this," I nodded as I cupped his chin.
"Come on, Let's go," Sif walked to the door and once again I kissed Loki bye and followed Sif out of Odinson HQ.

Sif leads us out of the building and into the ruined streets of New York.
"God, it seems so strange to see it this way," I jumped onto a tipped car. I glance at the burning wasteland.
"We will rebuild it. We always do," Sif moved the car out of the way.
"I hope so," I mumbled as I hugged myself. The last time Sif and I walked the streets was to go to the thunder den. Seems like such a lifetime ago when really it was only a week ago.
"Trust me on this, Emily. We will take care of Punisher and then call another meeting to delegate tasks. We can do this," Sif looks at me expectantly, so I force myself to smile.
"Okay. soooooo... where do we start?" I asked as we walked past my second favourite coffee shop. It was burnt down and crumbling. I looked across the road to see the worst coffee shop in the history of New York. It was still standing and barely touched. Why does all the good stuff fall but the crappy shit remains?
"Punisher was careless. Sloppy. A man like him would have likely left some sort of trail," Sif frowned. She looked around for some clues as to where the asshole might be.
"Some of his followers ran from the fight... Maybe we can track the idiots, too," I don't know why I said that, I don't know how to track. Even if I did grow up in the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere.
"Agreed. And in the meantime, we should work on your vampire skills," Sif smiled at me as I jumped down from the car.
"I have skills?" I tilted my head. Sif rolled her eyes at me "And really? Now?"
"Why not? come with me,"

I nervously follow Sif to a nearby alleyway. We were three blocks away from the thunder den. She crosses her arms and looks at me.
"One of the most useful skills we have as vampires is the way we move. Silent. Swift. Undetected," Sif paced around in a circle, I kept turning to keep up with her. It was exhausting. Now I know how Fury feels in his ship "You are still bumbling around like a human. You need to refine your movements,"
"Hey, give me a break. It's only my second day," I put my hands on my hip "And bumbling?"
"Try to blend in with the shadows. If I can sense you, I will let you know," I wait for more instructions, but none is forthcoming. I swallow.
"Anything else? Any hot tips?" Sif's eyes dance as a slight smile tugs at her lips.
"Impress me," With a sigh, I walk farther into the dark alley. I looked around and tried to feel the shadows around me.
"I need to channel my inner Assassin," I need to be one with the shadows. I need to be silent and undetectable. I try to focus and then Sif is suddenly in front of me "Ahh!"
"I can still hear you breathing and rustling around. Try harder," Sif leaves me again and I take a deep breath to clear my mind.
"I can do this. I just need to concentrate," I remember Sif's warning and I pay attention to how I am breathing, making sure it's quiet. The darkness around me is equally silent, a heavy stillness that wraps around my body. So far so good.

As I concentrate, the shadows prove stubborn, unwilling to swallow me completely. I then feel Sif's presence behind me, making me catch my breath.
"Here, like this," She gently wraps her arms around me, pressing my back against her chest "Slow your heartbeat. Let it become so slow it nearly stops,"
"Okay..." I take a deep breath and feel Sif's chest grow silent and calm behind me. Even her breathing has stopped. I concentrate intensely on my own heartbeat, slowing it down beat by beat.
"That's it. Just like that," Her arms tighten around me slightly as we both become one with the shadows around me. I feel light and invisible, able to move without the slightest sound.
"Wow. This is incredible," I practise a few more times (More like half a dozen times) before Sif deems me adequate and we move on.

The two of us get back to the park and see where the fight took place. A few ferals have already begun to descend on the bodies left in the grass. Sif frowns.
"We need to clear them out before we can investigate the area. Are you up for some more training?"
"More training? With those things?" I point at the ferals. I hated those things as a human but now I am a vampire, I hate them even more. And not because I know what they can do. My heightened eyesight just points out the unsightly features a lot more. That's a thought, do I still need my glasses if I have amazing eyesight? I took my glasses and made out that I needed to clean them. As I wiped my glasses on my top, I noticed the world was not as fuzzy as before. It wasn't perfect but it was a hell of a lot better than before. But I still need them. Sif sighs at me as I put my glasses back on "Why do I need to train with them?"
"You should always make good use of your resources," She points out a couple of feral gnawing at a body. I feel like I am going to be sick as one sucks up the intestines like spaghetti. Man, vampire life is gruesome "See those two? I want you to take them out,"
"How?" I gulped.
"Hone your senses. use them wisely" Sif backed away from me "Remember: when you hunt, you need to be silent and unseen. You've seen how we fight. Just trust yourself. The rest will flow with ease,"
"This does not seem like a very good idea," I groan and hide in some nearby shrubs.
"Just shut up and get on with it. You're a predator now," That's all the advice she gives me before she gestures to me to move along.

I close my eyes and focus on my heightened senses. Everything comes to me at once. The squish of flesh between the ferals's teeth, their growling. Even their musty sense. I try to hone my senses as Sif instructed. I focus until I hear only the two she told me to hunt. I can hear their faint heartbeats, the low rumbles in their throats.
"Okay, Emily. You got this. Just remember what Sif said. Silent and unseen," The ferals sniff at the air and growl as I stalk up behind them. I keep myself behind the ferals, utterly silent, keeping out of the line of sight. With a snarl, I grab the first monster and twist its head around with a sickening crack. It drops to the ground as the other ferals whirl around. It lunges for me, its bony fingers scrabbling at my throat but I manage to kick it off me and lunch my fist through its chest "Fuck yes," I stare at my blood fist in wonder as Sif appears beside me "I just did that," I beamed as Sif grinned.
"Well done. I couldn't have done it better myself," she praised.
"Good thing that I have such an accomplished teacher," I patted her shoulder. Sif rolls her eyes but allows herself to smile.
"Let's take out the others,"

Once all the ferals are taken care of, Sif and I begin to search for signs of where the unchained went. Ash litters the area and the air reeks with the smell of blood.
"I cannot believe that this is what they want," I pinch my nose. It stunk. And not a nice stink either. It smells like rust and mould. And sort of like my grandma's house.
"There will always be those that favour chaos. And there will always be those that stand against them," Sif kneels and inspects the grass, frowning.
"What did you find?"
"There are tracks all over the place. this might take a while... unless..." Sif stood up and walked off. I follow her away from the site, going deep into the park.

Eventually, she lets out a dark, triumphant laugh. Quickly rushing over to wherever she was going.
"What a bunch of fools," She bends down and picks up an abandoned mask and shows it to me "Looks as if we are on the right track. and this thing reeks of their appalling scent," Sif sniffs it, cringes and gags "This way," she then turns west and begins to walk with surety.

Eventually, we come across a rundown-looking subway entrance. I looked around the area, Frowning. I knew where we were. I tapped Sif on the shoulder.
"Sif, you do know where we are right?"
"West Midtown. Why?"
"Do you know that this place is also known as Hell's Kitchen?"
"Your point is?"
"This is where the Punisher is from. Thor spoke about when he said he helped the clanless here,"
"Good memory," Sif wiggles her finger at me. She then stops and pulls me around the corner "I think this is it. See those two guards," I peer around the corner. Sure enough, there are two guards standing watch.
"So how the fuck do we get past Madmax 1 and Madmax 2?" I asked. Sif shook her head.
"We don't. Not today anyway. We need to get back to the others and let them know that we found out where the unchained is hiding. Then--"
"HEY! WHO'S THERE!" the two guards reach for their weapons as they advance.
"Time to go," Sif turned swiftly on her heel.
"You don't have to tell me twice," We started running at normal speed, hoping they didn't quite catch a glimpse of us. We heard one of the guards shout at us and both of them started running after us "Vamp run?" Sif nodded and we picked up the pace.

The two of us vamp run away, racing through the streets. And the guards follow us, hot on our heels.
"Persistent bastards,"
"Why the fuck are they following us?"
"Because they now know we know where Punisher is hiding, We will have to take them out or lose them in the city," Sif spoke softly "Remember what I have taught you, Emily. Move silently. Hone your senses,"
"I know, I know. Unseen and unheard," I rolled my eyes.
"Do me proud," She winked.

I reach a four-way intersection and look around. I see a shop awning and an old telephone booth. I run towards the awning and feel the strength building in my legs. I push myself off the ground, leaping higher than I have ever jumped before. I thought I missed the timing of the jump, I landed on the awning and rolled. Safely hidden above the street. Sif lands beside me.
"Good thinking. Although your landing needs work,"
"It's only my second day," I grinned. She then puts a finger to her lips and points to the street below where the two unchained guards are looking around.
"Come out and face us, cowards!" Guard 1 shouted. He then pointed to the only car on the street.
"The reign of the council is officially over! You have no power over us," The second guard lifted a car that was near us "Check over there,"
"Nowt wrong with the power of a bath," I pinched my nose.
"Idiots," Sif peers at them, clenching and unclenching her hand.
"What do we do?"
"It's your call, Emily,"
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Did you say it was my call?"
"You heard me. You're a vampire now. Show me what you have learnt," I stare at her, hoping it's a joke but this is Sif we are talking about. She doesn't joke. She merely raises an eyebrow at me. I let out a sigh.
"Alright. Here's to flirting with death. I guess," I watched the guards scour the street, sensing our presence nearby. I close my eyes and focus on my rapid heartbeat. As I concentrate, it begins to slow. Sif mumbles something but I didn't quite catch it. My heartbeat grows faint alongside Sif's. The guards growl in frustration.
"COWARDS! WE KNOW YOU ARE HERE!" The taller guard shouts. Sif nods and gestures for me to take the lead. I look around and spot a loose brick nearby.
"This should work," I whisper. Picking up the brick and eye the street. Gathering my newfound strength, I cock my arm back and hurl it through the air. When the brick strikes a building down the street, the two guards run towards the sound. As they begin to run, Sif pulls me back to the intersection.
"Use the shadows," I blend in with the darkness around me, moving soundlessly beside her as we leave the unchained behind.

When we reach safety, Sif shoots me a proud smile.
"You move like a natural," She pats my shoulder.
"I did learn from the best," The two of us ran as far from the unchain as we could, heading back towards Central Park "Plus, it does help that I spent nearly a year hanging out with Vampires. You pick up a few things,"
"Maybe we don't tell Loki that we almost got caught by those two,"
"Maybe it's for the best,"

I found a spot in the park to rest for a bit. I sit on the ground and catch my breath, exhaustion winding through me.
"I had no idea that vampire training would take so much bloody energy out of me," I lean my head back, yawning.
"It doesn't help when there are ferals and unchained running around," Sif sits beside me, contemplative. then she laughs "You really handle yourself well. The looks on those guards' faces,"
"I'd be nothing without you," I smile, adrenaline running through me.
"If you want, I can show you a little more before we head back. Just the two of us. We might not get the chance again in the next couple of days. And it would be nice to spend some time alone with you,"
"I would like to learn more,"
"I was hoping you say that," Sif stands and helps me up "Don't worry, I don't plan on stealing you away from Loki,"
"I don't think you could,"
"I could if I wanted to," Sif mumbled, patting my knee. I highly doubt that she could. Loki is mine and I am his. Even death didn't split us up "The world is a dangerous place for vampires. Well, you already know that. But the opposite is also true,"
"Huh?"
"We are hunters, first and foremost," Sif stops and concentrates for a moment, gazing off into the distance "There is a presence nearby. Tell me if you feel it," I close my eyes and expand my senses. I smell the overgrown grass, the pollen in the trees, the old blood and something else.
"I think I feel something... something alive and big,"
"Good. Follow it," I swallow and begin to track the feeling, wondering what Sif has in mind.

Sif walks beside me but lets me lead. Her presence is warm and comforting.
"I think... I think it's this way," I pass by a burned-up section of the park. Ash floats up into the air as we walk. It's like a weird kind of snow. Wouldn't make a very good snowball. There are bodies in the bushes, along the side of the walkways "So much devastation," We come to a split in the path. I stop and reach for the feeling again. To the left, I feel a cold presence and to the right, I feel heat and movement.
"Which way?" Sif asked, staring at me.
"The right,"

I lead Sif to the right, following the curious heat. Sif smiles a bit. The more I concentrate, the more I begin to catch a now familiar smell.
"Do you know what that smell is?" Sif asked, her eyes red as she kept an eye out for trouble.
"Blood," I nod, whispering the word "What exactly are we hunting?"
"You will see soon enough"
"You know, you are being way more shady than normal" I narrowed my eyes at her. Sif smiled.
"I thought it would enhance the training experience,"
"If by enhance you mean to scare the fucking crap out of me, then yeah, I'd say it's working,"
"Just keep going,"

As we go down the right path, the scent of blood grows stronger. I also begin to hear something else... a rumbling low growl.
"Urm... Sif..."
"What, you never heard a growl before? Keep going," Feeling very uneasy, I continue on, following the evergrowing presence. That is until I see a huge bear up ahead.
"What the fuck? what the hell is a bear going in the middle of Central Park?"
"It must have escaped the zoo in all the chaos,"
"How are you so calm about this!?" The both of us watch from a safe distance as the bear lumbers across the grass, its muzzle and hide streaked with dried blood "Do you think it's responsible for some of the bodies in the park?"
"It is possible. Or maybe it was only defending itself from other predators. Hard to say," I watch the bear paw at its face, grumbling.
"Why are the cute ones also the dangerous ones?"
"Please don't tell me that you want to keep it?"
"Oh, fuck no. Human me would have wanted to pet it. Vampire me has somewhat more common sense though,"
"Good to know. Think I prefer human you. What do you think we should do about the bear?" I stared at the bear. If it has been killing people, we should kill it but then again, it could also be killing the asshole vampires.
"I don't want to hurt it. It might be vicious but it is still just an animal," The bear swings its head from side to side, blinking sleepily before it continues on.
"What if it's been killing people?"
"Honestly, there are far worse threats in this city than one bloody bear. I'm rooting for the bear"
"You're rooting for a bear?"
"His name is Sir Shaggybottom," Sif stared at me, a blank look on her face "Just roll with it. Humour me," However, Sif does in fact, not want to roll with it. I put my hands together and plead with her. She gives the retreating bear a withering look.
"Bye... Shaggybottom," She mumbles out the corner of her mouth.
"Sir Shaggybottom," I correct her "and see, was that so hard?"
"Don't push it,"

The two of us leave the bear and wander towards a more secluded part of the park. It seems relatively untouched compared to the rest of the park.
"I have one last bit of training for you,"
"And what is that?" Sif sits on a bench, her eyes are bright and mischievous.
"Use your heightened senses on me,"
"What do you mean?"
"Like what you did with that bear. I want you to learn how to differentiate a vampire's presence from that of an animal or even a human,"
"Right..."
"First, try and find my heartbeat," I take a deep breath and try and relax, to open my senses up. At first, all I can hear is my own heartbeat. And then, little by little, I begin to hear a second heartbeat. It's slow and steady "Can you feel the difference between mine, the bears and the ferals?"
"Sort of. Maybe... I... I'm not sure," Sif takes my hand and flattens it on her chest.

"Close your eyes and listen," I can feel the force of the heartbeat reverberating against my palm. The strength of it. It's like it is on crack.
"It's stronger. Not just louder but... wow, this is wild,"
"You learn quickly," I let my hand fall.
"Thank you for teaching me all of this. Without you all... I..." I wrap an arm around her neck and hug her tightly. Sif smiles as she pushes me off her.
"Please, do not get all sappy on me. Teaching a newly turned vampire is the responsible thing to do"
"Is that why you taught Melody all those months ago?"
"More or less. Loki can only teach so much but I taught him so I know what I am doing,"
"But still. You're a really good teacher, Sif. I am so lucky to have you and the others,"
"Before you start getting soppy, We should probably head back and tell the others what we have learned,"
"Cool," We stand up and head back to Odinson HQ. Taking out a few feral vampires as we left the park.

When we get back to Loki's office, I am relieved to see the others are doing okay. Even Huggin, a bit battered, is there. Loki smiles, scooping me up as he spins me around. I wrap my arms around him. Loki whispered that he missed me. I said that I missed him too.
"Hey, Huggin," I waved as Loki put me back on the floor.
"Miss Emily. I am glad to see you are alright," Huggin bowed his head.
"How are the others?"
"They are quite rattled but I have managed to fortify them for now with some bracing tea,"
"The drinking kind or the petty kind?" Huggin blinks at me, bewildered and Melody chuckles "How are all your wounds?" I looked at the others. Thor nodded and said his wound was healed. Melody complained that she had a headache "And you?" I placed a hand on Loki's ribcage. Loki placed his hand over mine.
"Already healed. We took a trip downstairs to feed, which sped the process along,"
"How are the humans doing?" I whisper. Loki gives me a knowing look.
"The human that you fed from is just fine, Emily. And nor does he hold a grudge for what happened"
"So did the two of you get any good intel?" Melody spoke as she sat on Loki's desk.
"We did. We found the exact location of Punisher's hideout," Sif informed.
"I figure it wouldn't take long. The man was never very subtle. Where?" Thor frowned, crossing his arms.
"Hell's Kitchen,"
"Why did I not think of that?" Thor slapped his forehead. I walk over and pat his arm "Now that we know where the bastard is hiding. What's the plan?" Loki walks behind his desk and takes something out of a cabinet. It's a set of stakes, all whittled down to fine, lethal points.
"The plan is to put an end to Punisher and his band of merry men," Loki picks up a stake and twirls it "For good,"