Super-Size Me

Tony Patrano had been a two-bit thug for most of his life. Whenever somebody needed a quick job pulled, Tony was your man. If there were a need for a getaway driver, Tony was your man.

Things did get a bit dicey when he raped that woman after pulling a robbery and the time that he robbed that retirement home and was fingered by a half-dozen witnesses. But each time his mob connections managed to bail him out making a mockery of the judicial system.

Tony thought that he was the luckiest man on Earth the way he would do whatever he wanted and paid no consequences for his actions. That was until tonight. After he shot up a liquor store in broad daylight, he made his way into the back alley where he was going to count his money.

“Prepare to be punished, defiler of women and murderer of innocents! You have escaped justice for too long, Tony Patrano.”

Startled by the proclamation, Tony managed to look upwards in the direction of the voice. His eyes went wide in terror as he saw the flying form of the super-powered Angel of Justice, La Femme Punisher!

Tony immediately tried to escape through an alleyway that he was sure was too narrow for her to fly in after him. He quickly turned down another passageway before entering an abandoned brick building. Scampering towards the opposite door, he looked behind him in time to see the powerful-looking woman plow through the brick wall and come straight for him.

“There is no escape from the ultimate punishment!”

Tony moved quickly through the door in front of him before turning around just as the sleekly muscled woman emerged through the other side of the building. Tony aimed his pistol at the dark guardian of Angel Falls and fired an entire round square into her breasts. The bullets flattened against her invulnerable body before dropping harmlessly to the ground at his feet. Before Tony could make another move, twin beams of red, hot laser shot out from her eyes and cut him down where he stood.

Francine Castella landed next to his body to ensure that he was dead but she already knew the answers to that question. Her super-hearing detected no pulse. The cauterized holes made their way straight through his lungs and heart leaving very little in the way of blood underneath him. “You have been punished but there are others who still roam free.”

Francine flexed her leg muscles which propelled her into the sky as she scanned the area. Using her super-hearing, she hears no police reports over the airwaves nor does her super-vision detect any illegal activity in the area. She flew up to the highest building in the city and sat on the top precipice. Soon she was lost in thought.

There were no court cases involving anyone who might get off on a technicality. Most of the major criminals from Angel Falls’ past are either dead or incarcerated. The only two major criminals at large were currently exiled. The Occupant had eluded her grasp preferring to remain in Canada which was out of her jurisdiction… for now. The other was her greatest enemy, Ultrawoman, who had sequestered herself on the Moon. She will punish the alien for all that she had done.

Of course with all wars, there had been casualties. Several of the city’s superheroes had perished in Francine’s pursuit of punishment. Collateral damage, she thought to herself, those who misunderstood her mission and interfered, those that had simply gotten in the way, and those who had interposed themselves between her and the punished. They had all paid the ultimate price.

Whatever gets you to sleep at night, bitch.

Francine looked around but saw nobody. With a sigh, she pulled out an old photograph of her late husband and herself when she was pregnant. “This battle will never end until everyone is punished, John. I’ve done my best to clean up this city and the country. But there are those who still have escaped punishment in the world. There are plenty of evil men and women who still roam free, free to terrorize others and they pay no consequences for their actions. Perhaps it is time to expand my punishment zone to include the entire Earth. Their petty governments hold no jurisdiction over me. They must be held accountable for their actions, perhaps even more than those petty criminals who roam the city streets.

“Only then can I turn my attention to the Moon… and beyond. Bardak! He still has that spacecraft of his available. I will force him to take me to the Moon! And after I exact my punishment on her, the rest of the Earth shall be cleansed of those who have escaped their rightful punishment.”

The face of a blonde woman is projected in front of her, laughing at her and mocking her.

You see? I told you. You and I aren’t that different at all. We both want the same thing!

“Nooooooo!” She fires the laser beams from her eyes straight through the image dissipating it.

*

“Nooooooo!” Francine Castella sits upright from the comfortable couch immediately drawing one of her pistols aiming it straight at the blonde in front of her. Breathing heavily, sweat on her brow; she quickly scans the room trying to orientate herself. The room appears to be an office of some sort. Inside the room are two females, one very professional in dress while the other appears like she is heading to a rave wearing colorful clothing with a white lab coat while blowing bubble gum.

“Calm down, my dear. You’ve been having a dream and you’re still injured from your earlier experience.”

“Who are you? Where am I?” She tries to stand up but grabs her ribs in pain.

“Yes, you really shouldn’t try to stand like that, not with the injuries that you’ve sustained from your little skirmish that you were involved in. But to answer your questions, I am Dr. Sheila Hauptmann and this is my assistant, Rebecca Weller. You were found injured on the streets partially buried beneath some rubble. Some associates of mine dug you out and brought you here where I patched you up as best as possible. I’ve let you rest here on my couch since I highly doubt that most hospitals would admit the famous La Femme Punisher.”

“I’ve got… to get out of here.”

“Not in your current condition. I’m here to help you.”

“Help me? You said your name is Hauptmann? You’re the Guardians’ psychiatrist!” Francine pulls out her twin .45s from their holsters, aiming it at the blonde doctor. “You evidently don’t know me very well if you think that you can help me.” She fires off a sudden shot bursting the bubble from Rebecca’s gum that she was in the process of blowing.

“Whoa, Quick Draw, watch where you’re pointing that thing, will ya?” Rebecca makes a repulsive face at Francine then nervously proceeds to chew her gum at a faster pace and with her mouth open.

Dr. Hauptmann assesses the damage from the bullet into her office wall and sighs. “On the contrary, Miss Castella, I know quite a bit about you. You’re every psychiatrist’s dream patient, the obsessed vigilante who’s trying to avenge her dead husband and unborn child, the loner who has no friends, who tries to gun down everyone who has escaped justice due to one technicality or another. Oh, I know you quite well, Miss Castella.”

“Hey, doc, you want I should…” Rebecca is interrupted by an outstretched arm with her palm pointed directly at her in a stop position.

“I said I don’t need your help nor do I want it. I’m doing quite well for myself, thank you very much!”

“Oh, I can see that. Traveling and sleeping alone, always on edge not to mention all the drinking that you do to rid yourself of the pain. Both the police and criminals alike hunt you. You’re always on the run. I can see why you wouldn’t want my help.

Dr. Hauptmann leans in close to Francine, her eyes softening almost pleading the vigilante to listen to her. “Francine, let me be your aid and comfort. I can provide you sanctuary from your everyday worries. All I ask is that you trust me and allow me the chance to help you, to be your friend and confidant.”

Francine seems stunned by some of the revelations that Dr. Hauptmann tells her. For some reason, she does not question that fact, she only accepts it. She feels as though a curtain has been lowered in her personal defenses. “I’m… sorry, doctor, but I’m afraid that I cannot ask anyone to be my friend. That would endanger themselves during my mission, my war on crime. Thanks for tending to my injuries but I must leave now.”

“I understand, Francine. Everything will remain confidential between us if you ever wish to better yourself and to make yourself a stronger person. Please take my card and call me anytime day or night. I would appreciate it if you would call me your friend.”

Sheila reaches her hand towards Francine who grips it tightly before embracing each other in a tight hug. A short time later, Francine leaves through the office door into the streets of Angel Falls.

Dr. Hautpmann looks out the office window watching the vigilante meld into the shadows of the streets. “Well, Rebecca, that was most certainly an unexpected encounter today. I do believe that things have taken another turn for the better for our number one client.”

“Ya know, I’m really impressed, doc. The way you handled Jessie James without my help was pretty neat to watch. I thought for sure that she was gonna blow your head to smithereens.”

“This is only the beginning of what we will accomplish, my young ward. Wait until you see the next few clients who will grace us with their presence.”

***

Now you get to see how the good doctor cares for her patients, nurturing them and guiding their lives towards a happier and healthier mental outlook.

I hope that everyone enjoys this little piece of fiction set in the offices of Dr. Sheila Hauptmann within the city limits of .

La Femme Punisher belongs heart and soul to and used with his permission. He also created this gorgeous piece of rendering.

Ultrawoman belongs to and used with permission.

General Bardak was mentioned and is the property of .

The Occupant was also mentioned and belongs to .

The aforementioned Dr. Hauptmann and Rebecca Weller belong to me.

Z