—Punisher (Frank Castle)Only one way to cure a junkie. Same way you cure a killer.
Appearing in "New Ways To Live, Part 2"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Amtagonists:
- Quintas Cartel
- Jorge Valdez
- Hector
- Pablo (First appearance) (Unnamed)
Other Characters:
- Baja-Moreno Cartel
- Barack Obama (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- Texas
- Juarez
- Texas
- Mexico
- Rio Camundo
- United States of America
Items:
Synopsis for "New Ways To Live, Part 2"
As Anti-Venom collapses, the back of his head blown open by armor-piercing buckshot, Jenna exclaims in horror that the Punisher killed him. Smugly stating that's true, the Punisher takes aim at the horrified Quintas Cartel thug holding her hostage. The thug protests that if the Punisher opens fire he'll kill Jenna too, Castle sneering that Jenna drug addiction makes her subhuman. A piece of buckshot strikes him in the back of the head as the Anti-Venom symbiote begins healing Eddie. Rising to his feet, Anti-Venom roars that Jenna isn't a junkie and lunges at the Punisher, punching him through the door of the Quintas Cartel's hideout. Summoning his replica of Captain America's Shield, the Punisher prepares to fight as the thug takes advantage of the fight to drag Jenna to a van and drive away. Snaring the ricocheting shield, Anti-Venom wraps a tendril around the Punisher's pistol and yanks it out of his hand. Pressing the gun against the Punisher's head, Anti-Venom snarls that he'll kill Castle for calling him a murderer; the Punisher sneers that Eddie hasn't changed a bit from when he was Venom. Pulling the gun away, Anti-Venom sulkingly remarks that that's untrue and that he helps people now. Realizing Jenna is still in danger, Anti-Venom turns to see the somehow-undamaged laptop's video-chat still open; the Quintas Cartel's capo, maniacally informing him that Jenna has been captured by his men and that Anti-Venom and the Punisher are going to die for messing with him. Towering over the laptop, Anti-Venom demands to know where she is, Valdez sneering that she's en route to Mexico and that he's going to enjoy raping her, but that Eddie won't have to worry about that because he's going to die soon. The Punisher identifies the capo as Jorge Valdez, head of the Baja Moreno Cartel, and reveals that he knows where his home is, threatening to pay him a visit. Flying into a rage, Valdez screams at the Punisher to bring it; Castle putting a bullet through the screen to cut off his vulgar tirade. As the Punisher turns to leave, Anti-Venom demands to accompany him to rescue Jenna; angrily asking why Castle dismisses her as a junkie. Walking over to his battle van, the Punisher tells Anti-Venom that he caught her with some bags of heroin earlier in the evening, equipping himself with a wrist-mounted flamethrower. Anti-Venom protesting that she must have accidentally taken them when she helped him raid the drug-den. Coldly stating that the only cured drug addict is a dead one, the Punisher abruptly sets Anti-Venom on fire before trying to shoot him. Unamused and unaffected, Anti-Venom pins the Punisher to the side of his van and snarls that traditional symbiote weaknesses don't work on him anymore. Anti-Venom proposes a truce, threatening to cripple him if he refuses. As they pile into the Punisher's van, Henry Russo gushes over the Anti-Venom symbiote and asks Eddie if he wants to sell it, Anti-Venom retorting that he already tried that once and it didn't work out.
Reaching the border crossing outside of Juarez, Texas, the Punisher tells Anti-Venom to retract his symbiote; Anti-Venom making him promise not to try to kill him. At the crossing, Castle hands the border guard a set of fake passports, Eddie anxiously asking Henry if this will work. As the guard turns away to check their passports, Castle suddenly tries to stab Eddie in the throat with a combat knife, a flurry of tendrils snaring his arm. As the guard turns back to face them, Castle drops the knife and Eddie releases his arm so they can pretend nothing is amiss. As they drive away, Eddie transforms back into Anti-Venom and snaps that Castle promised not to try to kill him, the Punisher bluntly retorting that he lied.
Pulling up to Valdez' villa in the Rio Camundo canyon, the van carrying Jenna Cole is surrounded by gunmen who kill the driver and thug who'd abducted her. A butler apologizes for the violence, saying the van was supposed to be full of money but instead all they got was Jenna. Escorting her to the door, the butler says they'll nevertheless have to find some use for her.
Elsewhere, the Punisher's van pulls up in front of a compound, Anti-Venom noting it looks deserted. The Punisher mockingly suggests he go check it out, Anti-Venom deciding to do so. As he enters the compound, Henry asks Castle if they're going to follow him; Castle retorting that they're not. Henry protests that Eddie could be walking into a trap and seems like a decent person all things considered, Castle sneering that Eddie is human garbage and that the only reason he's with them is to soak up bullets, adding that the moment Eddie lets his guard down he's getting a bullet to the brain.
Retracting the Anti-Venom symbiote, Eddie steps into the building and finds a group of heavily-armed thugs waiting for him. A phone rings, one of the thugs telling Eddie it's for him. Picking up the phone and being careful not to take his eyes off the thugs, Eddie finds Jorge Valdez on the other end of the line. Valdez - lounging in a bathrobe and surrounded by drugged-up prostitutes - cheerfully asks what took Eddie so long, adding that he has someone who wants to talk to him. Valdez picks Jenna Cole up by the hair and holds the phone up for her to speak. Jenna - high on heroin - disjointedly tells Eddie not to worry about her and that she's having a great time with Jorge. As the thugs in the room snicker, Valdez mockingly tells Eddie that Jenna belongs to him now. As the thugs prepare to attack him, Eddie transforms into Anti-Venom and lets out a scream of rage, going berserk and ripping one of the thugs in half.
Solicit Synopsis
See Also
- 4 image(s) from Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom - New Ways To Live Vol 1 2
- 3 reprint(s) of Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom - New Ways To Live Vol 1 2