Avenging
Chapter 4
The Masks We Don't Really Have to Wear
An Ranma 1/2/Avengers (the superhero group) fusion
All C+C is craved for
You can contact me at: sommer@3rdm.net
Standard Disclaimer: Hell, no. I don't own any of the characters
Avenging is being kept at:
Doug's Archive at:
http://www.theisp.net/pages/catman/
Slashley's page at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/5747/
And my own page at:
http://angcobra.jumpfun.com/dbsommer.html
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Again Ranma had to ask exactly how he had allowed himself to get roped into
the whole fiancee mess. It hadn't taken long. After only one night in the
Tendou household, his stress level had tripled, and it was not as though he
had been laid back all that much since acquiring his curse. Having two
fathers breathing down his neck, trying to force him into making a decision
he was never going to make, only added to it. And then there was the whole
mess with his father trying to exert even more pressure on him to become
some kind of ridiculous superhero. A lesser man would have broken down
under such a tremendous strain, but not Ranma Saotome. He was made of far
sterner stuff.
Even five near splashes of cold water weren't enough to make him panic.
Circumstances had forced him to use his still wrapped up shield to block
most of the thrown of water, and that led to Nabiki eventually asking what
the item he had under wraps was. Somehow, he had a feeling she wasn't going
to buy the 'lucky hubcap' story he had given her when he had been forced to
make up something on the spot. That meant there was now something else he
had to worry about, especially since she had seemed to have taken an
unhealthy interest in his shield since then. He was going to have to keep a
closer eye on her, lest she discover the embarrassing connection between
himself and the short-lived 'duo' of Captain Japan and Bucky.
And to top it all off, he was being forced to go to school once again. Not
only had he always disliked such places, but he had to leave his shield
behind as well.
"I feel like I lost my best friend," he sighed as he looked down at the arm
that usually held his metallic protector.
"What was that?" Akane asked.
Ranma looked down from the top of the fence he was walking on. His father
had informed him earlier that Nabiki and Akane were in the same school that
Ranma was going to. Akane was even in the same grade. So both of the girls
were elected to escort him to and from school. It was something of a mess.
When they were leaving that the morning, he had overheard the two sisters
fighting over who got to take him. The matter was quickly settled by Soun,
who said both of them to take him. Ranma had to sigh to himself. Not even
under their roof for more than twenty-four hours and his presence was
already causing arguments in the household. He only hoped no one would hold
it against him when he figured out a way to duck the engagement. The longer
the girls fought over him, the more resentment they'd probably have by the
end. He would have to give the matter some more thought. Maybe in the
middle of his classes.
"I said can't wait to get home," Ranma lied. He was a bit irked that he had
to slow down for Akane and her bad leg, but even at his worst he wasn't
insensitive enough to complain out loud about it. And it wasn't as though
Akane had any choice in the matter.
Akane shrugged, then looked over at the scowling Nabiki. It seemed to be a
permanent feature on her face since the announcement about the engagement.
Tough luck. Akane wasn't taking the bullet for her sister no matter what.
It would be best to simply get Nabiki engaged to Ranma quickly. The sooner
the matter was settled, the sooner Nabiki could accept her fate and get on
with her life. Perhaps there was something Akane could do to draw the two
of them closer together. Some common ground that they shared. It only took
her a moment to come up with something.
"Hey, Nabiki. When are you and Ranma going to spar to find out who's the
best?"
Talk of martial arts perked Ranma up. He was mildly curious to discover how
good Nabiki was. Since she was a girl, there was no chance she could win,
but there was an outside possibility that she might have a move or two in
her repertoire that could hold his interest for a moment.
"Depends on how much he pays me," Nabiki answered. "I don't fight for
free."
"Pay?!" Ranma snorted in both disbelief and disgust. "I don't think so. I
get into plenty enough fights without having to pay for them."
"And how often do you win?" Nabiki asked.
"Always." Ranma's previous incredulity was now replaced with a smirk. He
brought his hands around the back of his head and began to whistle casually
as he continued along the top of the fence. He failed to notice the
calculating gleam Nabiki's eyes had gained with his boast.
Looking around as he whistled, Ranma made a closer examination of the
neighborhood they were traveling through. There was definitely something
different about it. "Is this the same way we took to go to school?"
"No." Akane confirmed his suspicions. She moved closer to the fence. "I
have a job as a nurse. I go there right after school and Nabiki usually
tags along. It isn't that much longer than going directly from home to
school."
"Oh." So Akane had a job on top of going to school and with a disability
too. That was commendable. Ranma figured he would probably drop dead from
boredom if he had to go through that.
They continued the rest of the way in silence. Eventually Ranma was forced
to jump off the fence as they left the main street and cut through an open
area that was once a playground, though it was currently devoid of any
children. A closer look revealed the remaining playing structures were
showing a fair amount of deterioration from being out in the elements. Rust
had formed on the jungle gyms, the paint on wooden planks of the teeter
totters was peeling, and there was a host of other small signs on the rest
of the equipment. Small wonder the lot was deserted with the dilapidated
look it had.
The trio were only halfway across the lot when they noticed someone else
moving towards them in the opposite direction. As the two groups got
closer, the trio of students saw that it was five men in matching outfits
that identified them as coming from a different school. All of them wearing
bizarre, if plain-looking, animal masks. The trio stopped as they allowed
the masked men to approach, curious as to the group's unusual appearance.
It took only a moment for the quintet to size up the trio. At a nod from
the man in the oni mask, the group surround them.
One of the men in a snake mask stepped forward. "Give us all your precious
metals and you won't get hurt," he said. The effect was somewhat odd to the
trio, as there mouth on the mask was not capable of movement and the voice
simply sounded from behind the plastic face.
Ranma cracked his knuckles in anticipation. This was going to be the
perfect way to relieve the boredom that had been bothering him all day.
Besides, these thugs were the lowest of the low. It was obvious that Akane
had a handicap, yet they were going to rob her anyway. They deserved to be
beaten to a pulp.
Ranma only managed one step forward before Nabiki darted past him, giving
out a cry of anger as she hurled herself directly into the midst of the
gang. The first one she attacked was the man in the snake mask. He didn't
even have time to react as he crumpled under a single blow to the jaw. The
second was the man in the wolf mask, who received a kick to the stomach
that doubled him over. Flowing flawlessly from one move to another, Nabiki
leaped up into the air and elbowed the one wearing an oni mask, on the top
of his head. He was still in the process of falling limply to the ground as
she decided to get extravagant and executed a double leap kick, knocking
out the men in a goat mask and raven's mask respectively.
With all of the others unconscious, she went back to the only standing
member of the gang left: the man in the wolf mask.
Wolf Mask was still trying to catch his breath as Nabiki shot him a
contemptuous glare. "When you and your buddies wake up, remember that this
is Nabiki Tendou's turf." She finished him off with a fist to the head.
Not counting the little speech at the end, the fight had taken less than
five seconds. Ranma was almost impressed; he could have taken care of the
whole lot of them in less than three. Still, Nabiki did show some degree of
skill.
"I though you only fought when someone paid you?" Ranma pointed out.
"If people in my neighborhood get ripped off, then they won't have the
money they need to pay me for my services. Besides, these guys are going to
pay me." She bent down and began rifling through the pockets of the
unconscious men.
"Nabiki," Akane cried out in shock when she realized what her sister was up
to. "You can't go looting people. It's...it's wrong."
Nabiki fished the money out of the first gang member's wallet, then moved
on to the next, tossing the worn piece of empty leather on his chest. "Of
course I can. Think of it as an object lesson for them. Since they're
suffering the anguish of being robbed, maybe they'll think twice before
trying it again."
Akane rolled her eyes and headed for Dr. Tofu's without another word. Her
sister was perverting the art to make a quick buck yet again. No amount of
talk would persuade Nabiki to do otherwise, and Akane didn't have the
energy to try to argue the point. There were better things to do. Besides,
it would give Ranma a chance to learn more about one of his potential
fiancees.
The gang of four recovered consciousness about the same time, long after
Nabiki and the others had left the playground. A series of groans, moans,
and joints cracking greeted them as they regained their feet and tried to
assess the damage they had suffered.
"Damn that Tendou bitch," Oni Mask groaned as he felt the top of his head.
A lump had already formed and was threatening to get bigger.
"If she hadn't caught us off-guard, we'd have had her." Snake Mask's
bluster lacked any real emotion. Everyone knew it was nothing more than an
effort to save face. Even if they had been completely prepared for her and
had a month to train, the result still would have been the same. They knew
Nabiki Tendou by reputation and would never have been stupid enough to
challenge her if they had realized who she was in advance. There was no way
five street punks like them could take her on and hope to come close to
victory. The only saving grace was that no one had seen them lose so
easily.
"You boys look like you didn't fare to well. Why don't I give you a helping
hand?"
All five members turned in surprise in the direction of the sound of the
voice. Where there had been nothing but air a moment ago, there was now a
man leaning easily against a nearby jungle gym. Given that the whole area
was nothing but open ground for a hundred feet in each direction, there was
no way he could have sneaked up without someone seeing him. But no one had,
and he was there all the same.
The quintet examined the man carefully, not so much concerned that he might
be potential prey, but to make sure he wasn't going to attack them too. He
appeared Japanese and wore a very nice, formal-looking black business suit.
The fit was impeccable and helped to accentuate the man's tall figure. He
had to have been over six feet tall, nearly a half foot taller than the
largest member of the gang. Closely examining his face revealed something
unusual. There was something imperceptible about it. Some quality that made
the others watch the newcomer closer than they would have even if they had
been sizing him up as a mark. His features almost seemed to shift, just
slightly. It was something that could be caught only out of the corner of
the eye, and even then it seemed more illusion that anything else tangible,
for each time someone tried to look more closely, he appeared to be about
the same. Each member thought it was nothing more than an optical illusion,
and rather that sound crazy, said nothing to the others. Had any one of
them mentioned it, they probably would have ignored the man's proposal. But
they did not.
"What can you do for us?" Goat Mask asked
The strange man smiled, and all of the members of the gang suddenly felt
afraid. But it was a momentary fear, and it passed as quickly as it came.
"I can do so much for you. So very much for you. How would you like to
defeat that young upstart that so unceremoniously defeated you?"
"She's too tough," Raven mask complained in a nasally, whiny voice.
The strange man gave a toss of his head, then smiled at the speaker. "With
the right sort of help, you'll be able to defeat her with ease. You'd like
that, wouldn't you?"
"Yeah," Snake Mask said slowly. Instinctively, he knew he shouldn't trust
the stranger, but the lure of possible power was too much. They needed to
save face and put the impudent bitch in her proper place. If the stranger
had a way of doing that, then so be it. It would be worth any risk.
"Then we have a deal." The man stepped forward and held out his hand. It
took a moment for the group to figure out what the man wanted: a handshake.
They were a bit taken aback by the foreign gesture, but did as the man
wanted. Each of them took a turn shaking the man's hand. Once the last
member had done so, the stranger stepped back so that all could see him
clearly.
The stranger began to give his orders. As he spoke the gang began staring
at him with a sort of reverence, hanging onto his every word. "Here is what
you will do. Come this time tomorrow, you will ambush Nabiki Tendou and
hurt her as badly as you want. I personally don't care what you do with
her. Maim her. Rape her. Kill her. Just make certain it all happens in the
presence of her little sister."
"Who's her sister?" Raven Mask asked, his thoughts becoming cloudy as he
found himself trusting the stranger more and more by the second. How could
he have ever thought the odd man intended to do anything but assist them on
their holy quest for vengeance? He was their salvation, almost like a god,
when one thought about it.
"The girl with the cane," the man explained, his Japanese features shifting
slightly, not that any of the gang were capable of noticing any longer. All
they felt was the need to obey their leader.
"How?" Oni Mask asked. "She's tougher than us."
The man's smile now nearly took up half of his face. "With these." He held
out five masks for the gang members so that they could see them. Curiously,
there was a version of each animal or demon that the gang members already
had, although the newer masks were far more intricately detailed. The
craftsmanship was far beyond any of the group had ever seen. The masks were
also carved out of wood, and seemed to radiate an aura that beckoned the
gang members forth. Each man took the mask that corresponded with his own.
As one they took off their old masks and placed the new ones on their
faces.
And the stranger's laughter echoed across the entirety of Nerima.
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Silence reigned supreme in the empty boardroom. Empty save, for one person.
Kodachi Kunou played her fingers along the wooden pineapple inlays that
adorned the plush chairman's seat at the head of the mahogany table that
was in the boardroom of Kunou Enterprises. It was a chair she had never
been allowed to sit in; that honor had been reserved exclusively for her
father and Tatewaki. Just the way they both had wanted. But now both were
gone, and she was the one left in charge. In charge of a financial empire
whose vastness few truly comprehended, and fewer still appreciated. It was
something Kodachi was only just now starting to learn.
A datapad (of Kodachi's own design) was built into the armrest of the
chair. In its electronic memory were lists of phone numbers of anyone of
importance. Actually it was closer to everyone of importance. With a single
call she could have politicians, famous movie stars, or other industrial
leaders jump at the snap of her fingers. The Japanese government itself
would go out of their way to help her, considering Kunou Enterprises
manufactured almost eighty percent of the JSDF's equipment. And that wasn't
including some of the more exotic weapons the special government divisions
sometimes used. In one of their rare moments together, her father had
stroked the keypad and told Kodachi that that was the key to true power. It
was not so much what you could do, but what you could get others to do for
you. And he was right, to a degree. There was power there. So very much
power, and all of it resided in her fingertips.
And yet it felt like nothing compared to the personal power she possessed
when encased in her Iron Rose armor.
Oh, how she wanted to soar through the clouds once more, to fight another
green monster or strange flying vehicle, to feel the exhilaration as she
personally took care of matters in a way that only she could. Her father
was so terribly wrong, in that as in so many other things. That was what
true power was all about. Sitting behind a chair and ordering others was
something only those that lacked inner power could do. Perhaps on a
subconscious level she had realized this, which was why she never felt envy
at what her father and brother could do as the heads of the company. All
Kodachi had ever really wanted was freedom. And now she had it.
Or almost had it, as she now found herself in another cage. Here she was,
sitting in a chair that was designed for comfort, yet it might as well have
been a throne made of thorns. She wanted nothing to do with running the
company, but she had to. There was no one else that could be trusted with
the job, and her subordinates relied upon her to ensure they could still
make their living. She might have been better than them, but that meant she
had a responsibility to make sure the lesser people had the opportunity to
better themselves. Damn her responsibilities towards other! She had not
escaped, but simply found herself bound by a set of different chains.
Chains that were less restrictive, but there all the same.
Kodachi was still scowling at the inlays when her personal secretary (or
rather her father's personal secretary) buzzed her and let her know that
Misuharu Ohama had returned and wanted to talk to Kodachi personally. She
immediately told the secretary to allow him to enter. He was one of the few
members of the board that Kodachi had trusted enough to try discover if
someone was preparing a takeover of the company. He had always possessed a
curious nature, and if anyone could get to the source of the problem, it
was him.
The elaborate doors to the room opened and Misuharu entered, making certain
to close the doors behind him. Curiously, as the doors were shut, Kodachi
could have sworn she heard the telltale 'click' of Misuharu locking them.
She wasn't certain if it she had heard it or not, and even if they had
been, Misuharu undoubtedly had good reason for it. Perhaps he simply wanted
to ensure they were not interrupted.
As Misuharu moved to stand at the far end of the boardroom table, Kodachi
swiveled the chair, facing forward so that it was obvious to Misuharu that
he had her undivided attention. "What have you uncovered?"
Rather than answering right away, Misuharu spun in a slow circle, taking
the entirety of the room in with a sweeping gaze. Kodachi was about to say
something about his odd behavior when he at last turned his full attention
to her. "I have bad news for you."
Kodachi let out a gentle sigh. It was as she feared. "So it is a hostile
takeover."
Misuharu nodded. "Very hostile." And with that his hand went into his
pocket and pulled out a gun. He aimed it directly at Kodachi.
Time slowed from her as she found herself staring directly at her own
death. She seemed to see everything at once, from the burned out light in
the fixture directly above Misuharu, to the glazed look in his eyes as he
seemed to be not so much looking at Kodachi, but past her.
And then there was a brief flash from the muzzle of the gun, followed by
the loud report of the bullet leaving it.
The bullet sped true to its target and struck Kodachi right where it had
been aimed: th3e center of her chest.
Kodachi heard the loud ring as the bullet hit her chestplate, then a high
pitched whistle as it ricocheted off the thick metal.
With his eyes still focused in the distance, Misuharu fired two more times,
Kodachi at last reacting by shielding her face with her arms and hoped that
he didn't realize his bullets were having no effect and aimed higher.
Surprisingly, there was no fourth shot, but rather a dull thud as what
sounded like a bag hit the floor.
Daring to lower her arms, Kodachi looked out and saw that Misuharu was now
face-down on the floor. The gun had fallen from his grasp and was now lying
beside him. A gentle wisp of smoke coming from the barrel.
It took several moments for Kodachi to recover her wits after the
assassination attempt. She might have been a superhero, and at those times
prepared for the worst, but in her civilian guise she should have been
safe. Why on earth would Misuharu try to kill her? He was one of her
father's most trusted friends and had always been gentle and compassionate,
as well as loyal to her family. He had always gotten Kodachi the nicest
birthday presents. He even had a daughter Kodachi's age. What had just
happened?
She slowly got up from her chair, fearful Misuharu would suddenly awaken.
Cautiously and with carefully measured steps, she walked across the
tawny-colored carpet and made her way to his fallen form, taking note of
the chairs and perhaps a table she could duck behind should he get up and
try to kill her again. But there was no movement from him as she approached
his fallen form, at last getting near enough to kick the gun away. Still he
remained motionless in spite of the activity around him. Kodachi bent over
and dared to turn him over. On the white of his shirt, underneath the black
vest he wore, there was a blood stain right in the center of his chest.
It took Kodachi a moment to realize what had happened. A ricochet had
bounced off her and hit him instead. What irony. That was why there had
been no fourth shot.
Kodachi felt a mixture of relief that he wasn't going to try to kill her
again, and sadness that she had inadvertently killed one of the few people
that had treated her nicely in her life. And then she saw his chest rise.
Kodachi was on her feet in an instant and crossed the room to the
speakerphone next to her chair. Her ring finger hit a button that paged her
through to her secretary, "Miss... whatever your name is! I need you to
call an ambulance right now! Mr. Ohama has been shot in the chest and needs
medical attention immediately!" she clicked off the speakerphone, uncertain
with what else to say. Death was known to her -Professor Yinsen had all but
died before her eyes- but at least in Chu's camp it had been expected. But
this attempt had come out of nowhere, and she wanted to know why.
It was difficult, but she pushed the panic from her mind and calmed down.
Logic was what was needed now to try to determine exactly what had just
happened. Misuharu had been ordered to find out if someone was trying to
force a hostile takeover of Kunou Industries. He had come back saying that
that was indeed the case, and then tried to kill her. Why? Was he working
for the other competitor? That made no sense. There was no way he couldn't
have shot Kodachi and gotten away with it. Everyone would have known he was
the only one in the room with her and was guilty of the murder. So why
would he throw his life away just to kill Kodachi? She had never done
anything to him.
Blackmail? A possibility. But wouldn't he have shown some measure of regret
before trying to gun her down, or at least offered some sort of
explanation? He had not done either of those things at all. On the
contrary, he had simply come in and tried to shoot her. Almost
mechanically, now that she had thought about it.
Yes. Mechanically. Could someone have done something to his mind and made
him act almost like a robot and try to kill her? It made sense. Kunou
Industries might not have had dealings with any sort of brainwashing
techniques or equipment, but she knew there were others that manufactured
those sort of devices under the table for all sorts of disreputable
organizations. Could one of them have sent Misuharu to kill her, leaving
the company ripe for a takeover?
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Perhaps her father's
and brother's disappearances were connected. And now, whomever had removed
them was now intent on taking care of Kodachi too. If that was the case,
Kodachi would simply have to turn the tables on her would-be attackers. And
the best way to do that might be to show the opposition what they would be
up against. Namely, one armored bodyguard that the mysterious figure would
have to take out first in order to get Kodachi Kunou. It would mean making
a deliberate target out of herself, but at least she would have a better
chance of taking on the opposition directly rather than having some other
person she cared about turned against her.
The emergency medical staff barged into the room and went to help the
fallen man. Security followed hot on their heels, making certain Kodachi
was all right and to protect her from any further attacks. The fuss over
her was extreme, but despite that the precise details of her plan began to
form in her mind.
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"School still stinks," Ranma said as he made his way across the top of the
chain link fence. He was already beginning to fall into a rut, and it was
only the second day of school. The way things were going, he was halfway
tempted to strike a deal with his father to become a full time superhero if
it meant never going to school again. Almost.
Akane and Nabiki were being quiet as well, and he found himself wondering
if they were feeling any pressure on their end from their father. Yesterday
had found Ranma arriving home and his father waiting with an eager gleam in
his eye. "Have you chosen yet?" was the first thing his old man had asked,
even before a "How did school go for you today?"
Ranma evaded the question as well as he could, but his father kept harping
on about it all the way into the night until he fell asleep. Well, after he
had fallen unconscious when Ranma clubbed him in the head with his shield.
Really, four hours on the subject of fiancees was more than any man could
be expected to take. On the bright side, none of the girls had been arguing
over him for a change. If they began trying to get him to choose too, he
wasn't sure if he was going to be able to take it. He just hoped things
would remain as they were until he figured a way out of this particular
dilemma.
The whole events of the previous day had Ranma so wrapped up in his
thoughts that he failed to notice the dark clouds that had gathered high
overhead. It was only as the clouds gave off a deep rumble that he looked
skyward and realized the danger he was in. The telltale signs of tiny
droplets began hitting the street, first stages of the watery assault from
above.
Overcoming his panic, Ranma spotted a wide yellow awning that hung over a
nearby storefront. Without another thought he held his school bag over his
head and leaped from the chain link fence to rush towards the protection of
the awning. Several larger drops splattered on the knuckles of his hands.
Not enough to trigger the change, but more than enough motivation to make
him run faster.
And then Ranma found himself under the awning. As he paused to catch his
breath, he noticed that Nabiki was at his side, half doubled over and
panting as hard as him. He looked back in the street to see the sprinkle
had changed to a full downpour. Much to his surprise, Akane not only
remained where she was, but, rather than running for cover, held her hands
out from her sides and tilted her head back so that she could receive the
full force of the downpour.
Akane remained in that pose for several moments before turning her
attention to her two compatriots who had sought cover. She looked at them
oddly, as though confused as to why they were not still at her side. Ranma
noticed the odd look, as well as the smile that preceded it.
"How can you enjoy getting wet like that?" Ranma asked.
"How can you not enjoy it? Akane asked in return as rivulets of water ran
down through her hair and over her face. "There's nothing like being out in
the rain. It washes you free of your cares and leaves you fresh and
rejuvenated." She spun gleefully around in a circle, her bad leg not
hindering her in the least.
"Don't pay any attention to her," Nabiki said in a stage whisper at Ranma's
side. "She's been like this for months, standing out in thunderstorms and
stuff. She never used to do it either. I mean it's really-" Nabiki
reconsidered what she was going to say. 'Weird' was the sort of word that
might alienate Ranma from one of his two potential fiancees. And having two
choices was so much better than just having one. "-kind of neat, her
enjoying nature and all. It says a lot about her character," Nabiki
finished.
"I hate the rain," Ranma mumbled.
The retort Akane had died on her lips. She wasn't sure why, but there was
an odd, tingly sensation coming from somewhere around her. Slowly the
sensation seemed to become more focused and seemed to come from somewhere
behind her. Turning around, she saw five figures slip from the concealing
shadows of an alleyway across the street from Ranma and Nabiki. Five very
familiar figures.
"Didn't you guys learn your lesson yesterday?" Nabiki shouted across the
street. She really did not want to have to haul herself out into the rain
and kick their butts again. She hated getting wet almost as much as Ranma
apparently did.
Next to her, Ranma tensed up ever so slightly as he watched the masked gang
from the safety of the awning. The heavy cloud cover had obscured the sun
badly enough that it was almost as dark as night. But even with his vision
partially affected, Ranma could still see that there was something
different about the masked gang. Most of the difference seemed to be in
their postures. The day before, they had moved lazily and with little in
the way of the control most fighters possessed. Now they seemed different.
There was a sort of confidence that implied not only did they have more
determination, but that they now held some sort of power and possessed the
skill to use it.
As they drew closer to Akane, she able to make out some of the differences
as well. For her it was not so much in their movements, but in their faces.
The masks they now wore were far more elaborate and a great deal more
fearsome in appearance. Still they drew nearer, and for the briefest of
moments Akane felt afraid. It took her several moments before she forced
out, "Getting new masks isn't going to make you tougher."
The head of Oni Mask jerked quizzically in Akane's direction. "What masks?"
The mouth of the masked youth opened wider than a set of human jaws
possibly could, showing a set of sharp six inch dagger-like teeth. Red eyes
blazed as the face of the mask contorted, moving as though it were real and
with a musculature of its own rather than the motionless wood it was
supposed to be composed of.
Oni Mask was not alone as the other four members began to move forward as
well, matching their strides. The sounds of bones breaking and reforming
came from under their blue outfits as their bodies seemed to expand and
their limbs shifted, taking on more bulk. Like Oni Mask, their facial gear
too now seemed alive. Wolf Mask howled in a voice more like that of an
animal instead of a man. As the howl reached their ears, all three of
students felt a wave of terror sweep over them.
Ranma was momentarily confused at his reaction. In spite of the
circumstances, there was no way he should have been afraid of a little
howling, no matter how bestial is sounded. Yet the cry seemed to reach
inside and touch something primal within him, screamed at him that he
should flee from the scene.
After her momentary jolt of panic, Akane calmed down only to find herself
with a problem. No matter what their appearance was, she could take care of
the lot of them as Thor. However, that would mean revealing herself to her
sister and Ranma, as well as the gang. But there was something deep inside
her that screamed out for her to change and deal with these seeming inhuman
monsters, and it went deeper than the need to defend herself. There was a
sense of familiarity about them that made her want to lash out, as though
they were her enemies and that they deserved to be smited. She was
temporarily at a loss for what to do. While she was wracked with
indecision, the mask gang drew closer.
Ranma made a motion to go out into the street and save Akane from the
bizarre foes. Two steps brought him to the edge of the awning before he
stopped himself. He couldn't do it. It was the damned curse again. To go
out into the downpour would forever ruin any chance he had of maintaining
the secret. Everyone would think he was a weirdo, and people would bother
him about the whole superhero thing. But the alternative would be to allow
Akane to be attacked by the gang. Could his need for secrecy outweigh the
blow to his honor and conscience and allow Akane to be victimized?
A decision was made. Ranma took another hesitant step forward when a blur
shot out from next to him. Nabiki moved quickly, charging into the middle
of the group of masked men and scattering them in one move just as she had
the previous day. A satisfied look, capable of being recognized even with
their now inhuman faces, passed over each members' visage as they switched
their attentions from Akane to Nabiki.
Nabiki leaped clear of the group, striking Goat Mask with a kick to the
jaw. Unlike yesterday, his head only snapped back for a moment before he
gave her a monstrous grin and lashed out at her.
A high leap and she evaded the swing. This also had the result of taking
the fight further away from Akane. As Nabiki had hoped, the rest of the
gang followed both her and Goat Mask, leaving Akane alone in the middle of
the street. Akane now had a clear path to the awning.
"Take my sister and get out of here!" Nabiki shouted to Ranma as she began
working on Wolf Mask while evading multiple strikes from the others.
Ranma remained where he was because of the rain. Akane was only slowly
making her way towards him. For some unknown reason she stared longingly at
the fray, her desire to join her sister evident for even Ranma to see. He
wondered what she could possibly be thinking about; all she could do was
get in the way. Matters were further complicated now that Nabiki was in
danger, although Akane was still too close to the action and needed to get
out of harm's way first. But helping Nabiki would mean revealing his
identity just as well. What was he going to do?
An answer presented itself as a huge form, dressed in an oversized
trenchcoat with the collar pulled high, and a low, wide brimmed hat, ran up
to Ranma and forced an umbrella into his hands. The mysterious figure ran
off just as quickly as it had arrived.
Opening the umbrella, Ranma was out in the street in a flash. Without
waiting for her consent, he grabbed Akane and tucked her under the arm.
There was an initial verbal protest from her that he promptly ignored and
leaped off. As he leaped from rooftop to rooftop, he somehow managed to
keep the rain from hitting him in sufficient quantities to trigger his
curse, despite carrying his unusual burden.
"What are you doing?!" Akane shouted.
"Keeping you out of harm's way." Ranma leaped across a second rooftop and
focused on a third near at hand.
"You have to help Nabiki!" The next comment about the gang having become
some kind of monsters didn't make it out as she nearly lost her hold on her
walking stick. She reaffirmed her slippery grip on the stick and held it as
close to her body as she could. As she did so, she decided to keep her
mouth shut. Maybe Ranma taking her away from the scene was actually a
blessing in disguise.
"I will once you're safe." Ranma's plan was simple. He would take Akane a
few blocks away, making certain the bad guys couldn't get her. Then he
would go back and help Nabiki in her fight with those creatures. There was
no way she could handle them on her own; it would be up to him to save the
day. Hopefully, she had enough sense to stay out of their way until he made
it back to the fight and took care of the monsters. Fighting with an
umbrella was going to be difficult, but a red-haired girl dressed in a
Furinkan boy's school uniform was too likely to ruin his secret identity.
He was just going to have to tough it out. Lucky he was tough.
They landed on a mostly deserted side street a couple blocks away from the
fight. That suited Akane just fine. Once Ranma left, she would duck out of
sight and turn into Thor and save her sister. Ranma may or may not have
been a decent martial artist, but there was no way two normal people could
take on a group of monsters like that. It was up to a hero like her to save
the day. She just hoped Nabiki had enough sense to stay out of harm's way
once Akane had been sprung free. Their relationship might not have been the
best between sisters, but if anything happened to Nabiki...
Akane shook herself free of such thoughts and limped off to somewhere out
of casual sight so she could change. She would make it on time. She had to.
He was almost there. There was only one more roof for Ranma to clear when
the trenchoated form that had assisted him earlier leaped up next to him
and prevented him from going further.
"Thanks for the help, pop, but I can take it from here," Ranma said. He
would have kept on going, but his panda-father remained in front of him and
prevented him from going forward. "What are you doing?! I gotta help
Nabiki."
A sign appeared in Genma-panda's hands. *It's wonderful to see you taking
your role as a fianc� seriously, but there's one thing you're forgetting.*
He held out a red, white, and blue shield and rising sun outfit.
"I'm not a superhero!" Ranma swung at his father, who leaped out of the
way.
Genma-panda waved his sign at Ranma, trying to prevent further attacks.
*Think about it, boy. You'd be able to fight a lot better with a shield
instead of an umbrella. And you won't have to worry about revealing your
curse if you're wearing a mask. Besides, those monsters looked pretty
tough. You'll need every edge you can get.*
As much as he hated to admit it, his father had made several valid points.
With his teeth gnashing, Ranma nodded his head in agreement. He certainly
didn't want to wear the damned costume, and he most definitely was not a
superhero, but he did like fighting with the shield and that was the only
way he could use it. Not getting wet had a lot going for it too. There was
only one other problem. "I can't leave Nabiki alone while I'm changing."
Genma-panda gave a little jig. Ranma was going to be a superhero again.
*I'll save her until you get there.* Without another written word he threw
Ranma's shield and costume to him and ran off to help one of his possible
future daughter-in-law's. Apparently following Ranma, and carrying the
shield and costume around in the hopes that an opportunity would present
itself for Ranma to take up his proper role as a superhero was paying off.
And as a bonus Ranma would be saving his possible fiancee. At last, his son
was living up to his expectations. Life was finally turning out for the
best.
Nabiki found herself forced completely on the defensive. Whatever changes
the masked gang had undergone, it was obvious they had gone from a bunch of
pathetic nobodies to a serious threat. They were more powerful, more
durable, and were displaying a wide variety of inhuman powers. Goat Mask
had nearly broke her in half when he had lowered his ram's head and charged
her. She had narrowly avoided being hit by leaping over him. The follow
through on his charge shattered the wall Nabiki had been in front of and
sent bricks flying everywhere. Much to Nabiki's dismay, Goat Mask appeared
none the worse for wear as he picked himself out of the rubble and began
attacking again.
And then there was Snake Mask's arms, which had elongated almost as though
they were real snakes instead of limbs. The first time he had done the
trick he had nearly managed to wrap Nabiki up in them. And Wolf Mask's ear
splitting howls still set off every one of her nerves and made her want to
freeze up in panic. It was taking everything she had to keep her manic pace
of ducking and dodging, but even with her considerable skills, she was
wearing down. It would be only a matter of time before one of her opponents
connected with a telling blow.
She was considering making a break for it when she slipped on the wet
pavement and went sprawling across the pavement. As quickly as she tried to
recover, she still had only made it halfway up to her knees when she saw
Raven Mask bear down upon her. He kicked out, knocking the hand she was
using to regain her footing out from under her and sent her back to the
ground. Before she could react, she saw that Raven Mask had drawn his head
back and prepared to gouge her eyes out with the long beak that now seemed
to actually make up his mouth instead of it merely being part of his mask.
Sending a prayer to the heavens above, she closed her eyes and brought her
hand before her face, hoping it would be enough to ward off the blow.
There was a loud thud of something heavy landing in front of her and then
silence. Since the expected blow was late in coming, she dared to open her
eyes and peek through her fingers to see what was going on.
Before her was a large panda in a trenchcoat, sitting quit firmly on Raven
Mask. The gang member had been hit so hard his beak was now fully embedded
in the concrete.
*I've come to save the day.* The panda waved a sign before Nabiki.
All Nabiki could manage as an "Uh, okay." The appearance of the panda
seemed to throw the masked monster off long enough to buy Nabiki the time
she needed to recover. Along with the panda, she got to her feet and took
up a defensive posture. So far, she had been attacked by a pack of animal
men and now had a sign writing panda helping her. It had to be some sort of
karmic thing to balance out all of the times she had lamented about her
life being boring.
Genma-panda held up a sign before the masked men. *All right. Who's next?!*
Wolf Mask stepped forward and howled.
Nabiki watched as all of the hair on the panda's head stood up in terror.
In an instant he was running away, holding a sign over his back saying,
*Don't worry. Additional reinforcements are on the way.*
"Great," Nabiki said in familiar dry tones as she returned her attention to
her remaining four opponents. At least the panda had taken out one of the
bad guys and bought her some time to catch her breath. She probably wasn't
going to win, but at least she could hold out a little longer and let her
opponents they had been in a fight.
Goat mask lowered his head and charged her again while Oni Mask and Wolf
Mask tried to flank her. Nabiki was still trying to come up with a
defensive strategy when a circular disc crashed into Goat Mask's legs,
knocking him off his feet and drawing everyone else's attention.
Seeing the shield circle her way, Nabiki held up her arms in a defensive
posture once again. Before it arrived a masked figure, wearing a white and
red costume done up with a rising sun across the torso, leaped up and
landed next to Nabiki. The figure casually snatched the shield out of
mid-air.
"I'm here to save the day."
Nabiki looked her unusual savior over. It was a red-haired girl, who stood
a good four inches shorter than Nabiki herself. The costume she wore seemed
a bit loose, and even with the overly large shield on her arm she did not
appear all that imposing.
"Who are you?" Nabiki asked.
"I'm Ran-" No. That wouldn't do. Ranma-chan corrected herself. "I'm Cap-"
No. That wouldn't do either. "I'm Bucky," she sighed in semi-embarrassment.
"Lousy name. What did you do, lose a bet?"
Before she had a chance to answer, Bucky brought her shield up and
deflected the attack Oni Mask unleashed upon her with his nine inch nails.
The sound of screeching as the claws that had once been fingernails the day
before scraped across the shield made Nabiki cover her ears.
"The name wasn't my idea!" Bucky protested as she saw an opening and kicked
Oni Mask in the gut. The blow sent the demon skidding across the
water-slicked asphalt. "Anyway, we got more important things to worry about
than my name. These guys ain't human."
"No kidding," Nabiki said as she ducked under a swipe by Wolf Mask and came
up under his guard, connecting with his jaw. She was inclined to leave all
the heroics to her impromptu savior -after all, as a hero it was Buckeye's
job- but there was something about ducking out on the red-haired girl that
rubbed Nabiki wrong. It was an unusual feeling for her, since she
ordinarily had no problems with avoiding matters that were too big for her
to chew.
Whereas before Nabiki had her hands full trying to stay alive under the
masked creatures' assault, Bucky was proving herself a far better fighter
as she laid into the monsters. Her shield constantly deflecting attacks
directed at her as she punched kicked and tossed her opponents around.
Though, in spite of her superior skills, and the fact she was going full
out against them, the creatures continued to return to their feet and come
back for more. There wasn't the slightest hesitation or trace of fear in
their movements as they continued to throw themselves at Bucky and Nabiki
with a variety of attacks that served to keep the duo off balance. Nabiki
moreso than her partner.
After several minutes of the stalemate, Bucky realized she needed to change
tactics. It appeared the creatures might have been slowing down a little,
but it was hard to say. Even if they were, at the rate they were going, it
would take another hour to wear them all down. Judging by Nabiki's rasping
breaths that were loud enough for Bucky to hear without trying, the middle
Tendou sister was not going to last that long, martial arts or not.
That meant taking a chance as a plan formed in Bucky's mind. She singled
out Oni Mask, who continued to slash away at her with his claws. The hero
had to admit that her father had been right; trying to go into this fight
without her shield would have been impossible. At least as long as she had
to watch out for Nabiki.
Bucky faked an opening, hoping her opponent would take the bait and lunge
forward with his claws. She was rewarded as Oni Mask charged forward,
intent on running Bucky through. His nine inch nails were less than two
centimeters away from his opponent's throat when Bucky leaped up and out of
the path of the claws. Twisting in mid-air, she not only evaded the attack
but ended straddling Oni Mask's neck. Locking her legs around the throat to
maintain her perch, she quickly grabbed the bottom of the monster's jaw,
right at the yellow flesh of where the mask should have started, and pulled
up. At first it felt like skin rather than a mask, but Bucky continued
pulling upward. The pain to her attacker was so great that he failed to use
his claws to attack Bucky. Instead he tried to remove her hands from his
skin while being careful not to accidentally slit his own throat.
Bucky doubled her efforts and, just as she was about to give up for fear of
killing her opponent, she felt the skin take on a wooden texture as all
resistance suddenly gave out and the mask came off the gang member as
though it had never been attached at all. Bucky also found herself
unexpectedly thrown from her perch on top of his shoulders and went flying
backwards, landing solidly on her back. The blow wasn't enough to wind her,
but it had still hurt. As she returned to her feet, she took a closer look
at the mask she now held in her hands. It had gone from a fearsome, living
oni visage to that of a simple wooden mask. A quick look at her fallen
opponent showed that he too had changed back to his human form, the nine
inch nails having disappeared completely.
"I got one!" Bucky shouted, catching Nabiki's attention. Nabiki took her
eyes off her opponent, Wolf Mask, for the briefest of seconds as she felt a
surge of relief pass through her. Their inhuman opponents could be beaten.
But not by Nabiki Tendou as it turned out, since, in allowing her attention
to drift from Goat Mask, she had left herself open for a charge by him. He
connected solidly with her ribs, sending her head crashing against the same
wall he had earlier damaged when Nabiki had dodged his first charge.
"Nabiki!" Bucky cried out, making the same mistake Nabiki did in leaving
herself open to an attack as well. Wolf Mask was upon the smaller girl,
ripping through her outfit and sinking his jaws into her left shoulder.
Reflexively, Bucky brought her shield up and the edge of it met Wolf Mask
between the eyes, sending him reeling back and whining in pain just like a
real dog.
As Nabiki lost consciousness, she wondered how Bucky knew her name, since
to her recollection she had not mentioned it to the shorter girl. It
mattered little, as the last thought that went through Nabiki's mind was
that the pavement felt really chilly with it being as wet as it was.
A kick met the spot right between Wolf Mask's eyes, and he went reeling
back further under Bucky's assault. She would have launched a third strike,
but suddenly the world was reeling as her very blood seemed to grow hotter.
Her hand went to her shoulder, and under the darkness of the thunderstorm
seemed to her to be inflamed beyond where Wolf Mask had bitten her.
She returned her attention to Wolf Mask, who was joined by the remaining
two members as well as Raven Mask, who had at last recovered enough to pry
his beak out of the ground. The quartet looked at each other, then
advanced. Bucky tried to suck it up and defend herself, but it was becoming
harder by the second to focus on her opponents. They were even starting to
blur, much to her dismay. And if that wasn't bad enough, the storm suddenly
seemed to pick up in intensity.
Wolf Mask said something that Bucky didn't understand. She tried to throw
some acidic comment in his direction, but nothing came to her fever
stricken mind. Staggering backward a few steps, she saw the group begin to
spread out, undoubtedly so they could fall on her at the same time. She was
about to risk throwing her shield at one of the men and hope for the best,
when a hammer flew from the sky and landed in the midst of the group,
sending them flying in all directions.
"Not her again," was all Bucky got out before darkness fell.
In the alcove of a nearby building, magically concealed by darkness, a
figure that had taken on his true form smiled at the arrival of the
newcomer from above.
"All you need to do is summon the thunder but once, fool," he mumbled under
his breath.
Thor looked down at the scene of carnage below. There were three people
lying unconscious on the ground. One of them was obviously a gang member,
now rendered into human form. The other was her sister, and the third was
the harlot that had saved the Iron Rose, the emerald hued monster, and
herself from that strange attack craft. That she had to be saved by a
mortal was something that had angered Thor to no end. The whole matter was
so ignominious. Now at least she had a chance to return the favor and
restore her honor.
"It's the Son of Odin!" Wolf Mask cried out as he saw Thor's hammer return
to her as she landed on the ground.
Thor looked at them in surprise. There was something about their faces that
was familiar. She took a moment to examine them more closely and moved
closer towards them. "Who are you that speaks of mineself so familiarly?"
The remaining four masked creatures seemed to recover from their surprise
and spread out, preventing Thor from hitting them all it once again. Snake
Mask spoke before the others. "Surely you remember me, Thunderer. Though my
form is somewhat changed, my essence remains pure. I am, after all, your
death."
Thor took a moment to look Snake Mask over intently. Now that she was
closer, she could definitely feel the presence of magic on them. Asgardian
magic. Still, she tried to associate a name with the faces. They were
vaguely familiar...
"The Masques of Hagalla!" Thor cried out. Now she remembered them. They
were artifacts of power, ancient even by Asgardian standards, that had the
essence of several of the creatures of Asgard. The Midgard Serpent had been
the snake mask's representative, and Fenris was the wolf's. The others
escaped her recollection at the moment.
It had been long in the past when they had been employed against him. He
had been in Niefflhiem and was traveling with Hogun the Grim and Baldar the
Brave in order to locate the White Pearl of the Queen of Algarond. It was
then he and his two companions were attacked by the five masked beings who
had been possessed by the essences in the masks. Later, they had learned
that it had been a plan to stop them, and the instigator of it was-
A lancing pain shot through Thor's mind as she staggered backward a few
steps. It had happened again. She was a woman, not a man. And why couldn't
she remember her past, or at least all of it?
Further thoughts on the matter were cut off as she was jumped from behind.
Ropy things wrapped themselves around her legs and arms, trying to bind her
where she stood. The pain that had struck had proved to be enough to
prevent her from bringing her full power to bear. It took her a moment to
shake off the effects from the headache and focus on the matter at hand.
Looking down, she saw that it was the Midgard Serpent's host that was
attacking her. The limbs of the possessed young man had elongated and
wrapped around her, just like a real snake's would. The others seemed
content to stay back and allow their friend to attack her one-on-one.
"And now, Son of Odin, it is time to die." The head bent backwards
impossibly far, just like his limbs. The jaw dropped and large fangs were
shown, poison dripping from them. Convinced Thor was securely in his grasp,
he stopped taking his head back and brought it forward, intent upon sinking
her fangs into her neck. Even if he wasn't the real Midgard Serpent, the
poison should prove sufficient to kill Thor. And if it wasn't, then he and
the others could tear her apart by more conventional means.
Snake Mask brought his head forward and, just as he was about to bite Thor,
stopped. Immediately, he began gasping for air as a hand tightened around
his throat. Its power was so great that, even as shifty as Snake Mask was,
he could not squirm out of it.
Thor continued grasping Snake Mask by the throat as she flexed her muscles,
nearly breaking Snake Mask's coiled limbs as he released his hold on her.
"Thou art mistaken if thou believe it takes but an essence of my doom to
finish me." She hurled him away, sending his body into a wall. Her chance
to catch her breath was brief as she found herself set upon by the
remaining three attackers who hurled themselves upon her as though they
were nothing more than the beasts that they represented.
Snake Mask returned to his feet, feeling the worse for wear. Thor had not
lost his, or currently her, strength over the centuries. Still, the outcome
would be different this time. All he had to do was-"
A shield narrowly missed Snake Mask's head. He turned to see the oddly
garbed red-haired warrior trying to attack him once again.
"Won't...let...you," Bucky got out as she tried to stay on her feet, though
found herself failing as her legs gave out and she sank to the wet pavement
once again.
"Very impressive, mortal. There are few that could withstand Fenris's black
bite. Allow me to put you out of your misery." Snake Mask would dispatch
the mortal, then attack Thor once again. Who knew? Since Thor had come to
her aid once, perhaps the mortal meant something to her.
Snake Mask half slithered/half walked towards the crawling Bucky, unmindful
of the punishment his comrades were suffering at Thor's hands. He extended
his head and neck once again, bearing his fangs. The mortal's throat simply
looked too appealing to pass up. She was going to suffer as few mortals
could before she died at the hands of a god.
"Yo! Scaleface! Looky here!"
Snake Mask darted his extended head around to see who had spoken. He turned
just in time to see a warrior, armed with a bow and dressed in a purple
costume, launch an arrow at him. Snake Mask had no chance to react as the
arrow struck him right between the eyes. As the projectile hit, it released
some kind of gooey substance that engulfed his entire face. He recoiled
backward as he tried to remove the tarlike substance enough to free his
jaws.
"Sucker," Hawkeye said as she notched another arrow and shot it at Snake
Mask. Again it hit right on target, the impact arrow taking him in the gut
and bowling him over so that he was motionless on the ground. Hawkeye
congratulated herself. It had only taken her third outing before she ran
into a genuine supervillain, and it had taken only two arrows to beat him.
Of course, from what the archer had gathered, Snake Mask had been hit
pretty hard by the hammer wielding chick. But still, it had fallen to
Hawkeye to save the red-haired girl in the odd costume from being killed.
The purple garbed archer turned her attention to the aforementioned 'hammer
wielding chick'. She debated notching another arrow or not; the blonde
seemed to have the situation under control, what with her bowling all three
of the masked men over as though they were tumbleweeds in the middle of a
sandstorm.
Thor turned her fury to the trio of masked men. The damned Fenris masked
one had actually bitten her, though her Asgardian physiology handled the
toxin in the bite far better than Bucky's mortal form had. For her it was
nothing more than a minor irritation.
As the trio of masked men began to recover, the memory of what she had done
the last time to release the possessed people came back to Thor. She went
over and grabbed the unconscious Snake Mask and hurled him at the others.
Her throw was on target as the unusual projectile had the effect of
knocking all of her opponents over and into a rough pile. Thor took a
moment to make certain they weren't near either Nabiki's or the harlot's
unconscious forms. Since they were well out of the area of effect, Thor
went into action.
"Now, beasts. Feel the wrath of the Goddess of Thunder!"
Thor brought her hammer down on the ground. An instant later, a tremendous
lighting bolt crashed down from the heavens and struck the group of masked
men.
And off in the magically concealing shadows, the figure hidden within began
to laugh, barely casting a globe of silence over himself in time to prevent
his joyous roar from being heard by the Goddess of Thunder.
Caught fully by the unexpected flash, Hawkeye blinked repeatedly until her
eyes cleared and she could see once again. The rain was still coming down
and splashing on the now fallen figures that had been hit by the lightning.
Hesitantly, the archer approached the Thor. "Ah, excuse me," Hawkeye said
slowly, making certain not to offend someone that could most likely fry her
where she stood. "You didn't kill them, did you?" Hawkeye sincerely hoped
not. She would be honor bound to try to bring the woman to justice if that
was the case. She wondered which trick arrow she had in her inventory that
could take out a goddess.
Thor stared at Hawkeye. She hadn't even been aware of the stranger until he
had said something. She looked over the newcomer thoroughly. "Thou needest
not worry, sir. They are unharmed. I did use but enough lightning to loosen
the enchanted items' hold upon their hosts, who, though far from innocent,
did not deserve to be possessed by the beasts so." Thor pointed at the
masks, which had fallen to the ground and appeared blackened along the
edges.
Sir? It took Hawkeye a moment to remember that, as part of her own secret
identity, she had bound her chest down and wore a padded costume so as to
conceal what sex she was. If people did not realize she was a girl, how
much harder would it be for them to uncover her secret identity? Besides,
she had all but sworn off her femininity after that whole sordid incident
with that lying, worthless piece of shit, fianc� that dumped her at the
side of the road. It was one of the reasons she had decided to come to
Nerima. Rumors placed her 'Ranchan' somewhere in the area. Eventually she'd
get around to hunting him down. Eventually.
There were other matters to take care of first. Shaking herself clear of
those feelings, she began her 'studly hero' persona. Unleashing the
brightest smile she could, she made certain to walk up to Thor the way a
guy would when confronted with an attractive gaijin goddess. "Nice job
there. You handled them like a pro."
Thor was moved a bit by Hawkeye's endorsement. His praise was nice to hear,
even if it was well deserved. As to the man himself, his voice was somewhat
high, but appealing, in a way. And he filled out his costume quite nicely,
especially in the-
Thor wondered where that had come from. She usually didn't think of men in
quite that manner. At least she never did as Akane. "My thanks for your
praise. In truth, I had fought them before, and though they did catch
mineself offguard, th-"
The rest of her speech was cut off as a lightning bolt, ten times the size
of the one Thor had summoned earlier, struck the ground nearby. Hawkeye was
knocked off her feet, and Thor herself barely braced for the shock in time.
As Hawkeye got back to her feet, she said, "What was that for?!" she
shouted, unable to even hear herself.
"I didst not summon that bolt." Thor blinked her eyes clear as she saw
something had been left behind from the lightning bolt. Surprisingly, tiny
bolts of electricity began to spark off from the center of where the large
bolt had struck, long after all such things should have ceased to be. It
took only another moment before a being emerged from the center of the area
of impact. He wore ancient style Japanese clothing, light blue and white in
color and with what appeared to be a yellowish padded chest piece on his
torso. A wide brimmed straw hat rested on his head, temporarily hiding his
features. As he raised his head, his face was revealed. He was clearly
Japanese, appearing to be in his late twenties, and handsome. However, the
most unusual feature about him was his eyes; they were glowing blue with
small veins of electricity flowing from them
He leveled an accusing finger at Thor. "So, the message left for me was
correct. I did not want to believe it, but when I felt you summon the
lightning, I knew it to be true! You are indeed in my lands, Thor, with
neither my permission, nor even a request to be here! Let it be known that
the penalty for an Asgardian God of Thunder daring to trespass on my
domain, is death!"
The archer felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she at last
recognized the figure that had appeared in the flash of lightning. Clearly
it could only be one person, straight out of her own people's mythology,
that was challenging the blonde, hammer wielding woman.
Hawkeye suddenly felt very scared as Raiden, the Japanese God of Thunder,
prepared himself for battle.