Swordsman cocked his head curiously. "How peculiar. I could have sworn I
heard an explosion." He supposed it didn't concern him. Odd things seemed to
happen regularly in this fortress.
After wandering lost for the last few minutes, Swordsman finally located the
chamber holding the prisoners. He supposed his detour was just as well; the
time spent walking had cleared his head. With the Mandarin's stated intent
of destroying Tokyo, a dark depression had settled upon him. He couldn't
remember feeling this despondent since he believed his family was dead. It
wasn't fair. If a handful of cities in some far off lands had to be
destroyed, fine, they were filled with nothing but gaijin anyway. However,
Tokyo was different. It was his home. He knew people who lived there. It
wasn't right they should be punished for the interference of a handful of
their countrymen that had made the fatal error of angering the future ruler
of the world.
"But there's no way out," Swordsman sighed as he pressed a button. The door
to the chamber hissed as it rose into the doorframe. Looking inside revealed
all was as it should be. The heroes were chained up, and Iron Rose was still
fastened to the table, the spider-like instrument attached firmly to her
helmet.
"Come to gloat some more?" Bucky spat.
Swordsman entered. "Truly you are a woman of unsurpassed beauty and spirit.
If only we had met under better circumstances. I bear grim tidings. The
Mandarin is intent on destroying Tokyo next. The attacks launched upon his
person have sent him into an ill-directed rage."
"No!" Hawkeye twisted in her bonds as Daredevil had earlier, gaining only
the same results.
Bucky also strained her body to the limit, threatening to break her wrists.
"No way! We've got to stop him from killing again!"
Seeing such a display of courage from the girl made Swordsman's resolve
firm. "Indeed. I shall petition the Mandarin to change his mind, pointing
out correctly that while vermin such as Daredevil might have been spawned in
Japan--"
"Actually I'm Chinese."
"There you have it," Swordsman said. "There is much greatness in Japan, for
after all, is it not the land of my birth? And if it could produce
excellence such as myself, surely it could also prove to create others who,
while not as magnificent as my own personage, would be better than the
majority of humanity."
"By the gods, you remind me of my brother," Iron Rose muttered from her
prone position.
Swordsman smirked. "Truly he must be a man of unsurpassed elegance."
"Actually he was a pompous twit who treated me like excess baggage. I could
barely tolerate him."
"Hmph! Undoubtedly if you are willing to besmirch his good name, he was
burdened to have you as a sister. My own is much more polite than you and
knows her place, as is befitting a Japanese woman. Obedience above all."
"Oh, shove it up your !#$%!" Iron Rose spat.
"And she never swore," Swordsman added solemnly. "I go now in an effort to
spare our homeland from such a miscarriage of justice. I will implore the
Mandarin to reconsider, and I'd advise you to curb your tongues. If all goes
well, I'll ask him to listen to you pleas for our homeland to be spared from
his wrath. Perhaps we'll be fortunate, and he'll listen to your petition. I
think it our only hope."
"You could always free us and we could kick his butt together," Hawkeye
suggested.
"I think not. I have little doubt you would turn on me, and do not bother
giving me your word, for I know it to be worthless. And then there is the
fact should the Mandarin be defeated, I would not be placed in charge of the
majority of our land. No, petitioning my case is the best solution to the
problem, I assure you of that. I take my leave now." And with that he exited
the room.
"I would sooner swallow my tongue than allow him to rule anything," Iron
Rose vowed.
"You might get your chance if we can't bust out of these restraints." Bucky
tried to bring all of her muscles to bear as she strained to lift her legs
and bring her arms down. With the super soldier serum flowing through her
veins, she was as powerful as a woman her age could be. But still the bonds
remained firm, although she could have sworn the right arm restraint had
given slightly in with the last five minutes.
"It looks like you need help," a disembodied feminine voice said.
Everyone in the room looked around, trying to locate the source of the
voice. All four of the people saw (or in Daredevil's case, sensed) a tiny
figure flying in front of them. At first glance, they had assumed it was a
tiny bug, but a second look revealed it was a tiny flying woman.
"Who are you?" Hawkeye asked.
"I'm called Wasp," she said. "I followed that Swordsman person here. Sorry I
didn't come sooner, but I had no idea where you were. Giant Man was hurt, so
we have to hurry and rescue him, as well as defeat that Mandarin person
before he destroys my home. Let me see if I can free you."
Wasp centered her attention on Bucky's restraints. They appeared as solid as
the others, but a closer inspection revealed a hairline crack along the
right one. Centering on it, she fired off a sting. The energy split open the
armor along the seam. Seeing no similar defect on the other restraint, she
was forced to focus all of her power into a second blast. Again the metal
was torn asunder as the left hand came free. Wasp was going to fire a third
time at the leg restraints, when a wave of weakness overcame her. She was
forced to use what was left of her strength to pump her wings hard enough to
flutter down to the floor. She sat down, thoroughly exhausted.
With her hands free, Bucky quickly opened the locking mechanism on the leg
restraints and freed herself. The first thing she did was go over to where
Wasp had fallen. Bucky picked the girl up delicately, mindful not to crush
her wings of hurt her in any way. "What's wrong?"
"I feel a little dazed. I was hurled into a wall by a blast of air from that
man with the rings. And using my blasts drain me over time. I think I'm more
susceptible today since I had already been in a fight. "
Bucky could just make out a little bit of blood matting on the tiny girl's
forehead. "Yeah, you look pretty worn out. You stay here and rest while I
free the others. You've done your part. And once we're all ready, we'll make
that Mandarin creep pay."
Declaration made, it took Bucky only seconds to free the rest of her
compatriots.
"That was stupid of them to leave our weapons nearby," Hawkeye said as she
grabbed her bow and took inventory of the number of arrows remaining.
Bucky swung her shield around a few times in order to loosen up. "Can you
find where Thor and the Hulk are?" she asked Iron Rose. "Our chances of
beating these guys quicker go up a whole lot with them around"
Mournfully, Iron Rose said, "No. I'm afraid not."
"Actually, I think at least one of them is free and fighting the enemy. I
think it's the Hulk," Daredevil said as he finished donning his robes.
"What makes you say that?"
A loud rumble came from somewhere below to the left of the room, the
vibrations easily felt through everyone's feet. "No reason," Daredevil said
with an amused grin.
"We need to find a computer," Iron Rose said.
"Why?" Bucky asked.
"If I can get to a terminal, I might be able to hack into the system and
destroy or reroute the satellite."
"Sounds like a plan," Hawkeye said.
"What about Thor?" Bucky asked.
Iron Rose magnified her vision to make certain Wasp was not too badly
injured. "She's a big girl, I'm sure she can take of herself."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Akane was beginning to panic. While she had left her pursuers far behind,
the sounds of their titanic battle could be felt through the very walls of
the fortress. The fight was so vicious it had made the area she was fleeing
through dangerously unstable. Cracks had formed in the ceiling in many
places, and on more than one occasion dust or pebbles had struck her on the
head. Had her survival instincts been in better working order, she would
have tried to find a way up and out of the fortress, but she felt certain
her hammer was located somewhere on the floor she was now on. She knew the
delay meant risking her life, but she had to find it. Life without the
ability to transform into Thor was meaningless.
Another piece of rock fell, this one striking her on the head hard enough to
draw blood and make her lose her balance. She tried to grab onto the stone
surface of the wall, but failed and fell to the floor, hurting her hip.
Tears filled her eyes as she pounded the floor with her fist. It did even
more damage to her flesh, another reminder of her pitiful state. She
remained lying on her back, sobbing. It was hopeless. The ceiling would cave
in at any moment and bury her alive. It was suicide to remain, but the siren
call of the hammer sang in her ear, even if it was nowhere to be found.
Everything was going to collapse and she would never be able to find the
stick again. It wasn't fair!
And then she saw it through the watery tears. It was just lying out in the
open next tothe wall of one of the corridors. A plain wooden stick that was
more valuable than all the money in the world to Akane. Now sobbing in
happiness, she began to rise.
Another loud rumble came from nearby, and Akane could swear she heard the
Hulk bellow in rage. The shock was powerful enough to cause the already
cracked ceiling directly above the stick to give way. Akane cried out in
grief as a ton of rock collapsed over the stick, kicking up a dust cloud
from the debris.
The cloud moved past Akane, covering in a healthy coating of dirt. She fell
to her knees, wracked with sobs as the cracks in the ceiling directly above
her began to spread out. Slowly, she began to rise to her feet, barely able
to summon the will to move. Vaguely she remembered a set of stairs leading
up a few corridors back, though she wondered what was the point. It would be
more merciful to remain where she was and share her fate with that of her
alter ego who was forever beyond her.
It was just as she turned to go that the dust settled enough to show that
instead of being buried, two of the larger pieces of ceiling had collapsed
in an upside down 'V', protecting the stick rather than burying it. Akane
gave a cry of joy loud enough to rival that of the Hulk's earlier one of
anger. Retrieving the stick would require a bit of maneuvering. There was a
carpet of jagged rock between her and the goal, and she would be forced to
crawl through the tunnel the fallen rock had formed, but her salvation was
not beyond her reach.
Course decided, Akane limped over as best as she could with both her leg and
hip protesting at the movement. She ignored the pain and began making her
way over the rock fall. Crawling over the debris was like traveling down a
path of thorns. Sharpened edges of stone tore at her clothing and flesh.
Scrapes and cuts soon covered every inch of her hands as she forced herself
forward. She was unmindful of the danger and disregarded the pain. Blood
began decorating the stone as her body inched painfully closer and closer to
her goal.
Akane squirmed forward, forcing herself between two pieces of rock wedged
tightly together. She moved between them fairly well, but the rubble
shifted, pinning her waist against the rock beneath it. It had only shifted
slightly, pinning rather than crushing, but she was trapped all the same.
She cursed aloud. If only she had been an inch thinner. It was times like
this she wished she had narrower hips. No one ever made fun of them because
of her condition, but she knew they were noticeably wide. Yet another of the
numerous shortcomings she had.
"Damn it," Akane gripped on tight to some rock and pulled with all her
strength. She felt the jagged edge of one of the rocks force its way past
flesh and dig deeply into her waist, filling her with a pain unlike any she
had felt since the accident. Again she called on reserves of strength she
didn't know she possessed. Her muscles strained and threatened to yield, but
then she pulled forward, free of the trap around her midsection. She gave a
cry out in joy until she felt a wetness spread through her dress. She knew
the cut was far deeper than the others, but still she soldiered on. Her
fingertips brushed once across the tip of the cane, and she gave a cry of
delight.
And then the ceiling of the level located directly above joined the one
below as it gave way, sending five tons of debris directly towards her. With
the earlier collapse, there was nothing to impede its progress as it came
crashing down to the floor two levels below. The cloud of dust formed by the
impact was ten times greater than the one that nearly buried the cane in the
first place.
And then there was silence.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
"But I disagree," Swordsman said in a plaintive tone.
"I did not ask for your opinion!" the Mandarin snapped. "Tokyo will be
destroyed! If the Hulk is loose, I want him contained immediately! And I
want the normal ones killed as well! I'm not taking any more chances!"
"It's a bit late for that," Elektra said as she drew her twin sai and
pointed down the corridor at the quartet of people who had approached them
from behind.
Hawkeye was on the point, had an arrow nocked, and was already pointing it
directly in the middle of her adversaries. Bucky and Daredevil stood
slightly behind the archer, while Iron Rose remained in the back.
Tarou cracked his knuckles. "They aren't even worth getting some water out.
I want Cleavage Girl."
"I'll take--" Elektra started to say when Daredevil charged toward her with
a swiftness that would have surprised everyone short of Speed Demon.
"Tell me where Shan Pu is!" he shouted.
"So much for him fighting Swordsman like we planned. Take them!" Bucky
shouted and charged forward, accepting Tarou's challenge.
Hawkeye fired an arrow at the Mandarin, only to have it sliced neatly in
half by the Swordsman's weapon. "Here we go again," the archer grumbled.
Iron Rose flew above the others to get a clear shot. She was met in mid-air
by a bolt of lightning. Instead of the yellow blast shooting her down, she
let out a hearty, "Ohhohoho! I can absorb electricity. All you've done is
made me more powerful, you ring bearing fool. Now pay for the innocent lives
you've killed!" She released her repulsor blasts.
The Mandarin gracefully leapt above the beam. While in mid-air he unleashed
a frigid blast of ice from his left and an impact beam from his right.
Like the first shot, both were on target. The ice weighed down the armor,
and the kinetic force of the impact beam knocked Iron Rose clean through a
nearby wall.
"Iron clad fool," he softly intoned.
Daredevil was practically frothing at the mouth as he ran directly towards
Elektra. Surprised at the undisciplined charge, she reacted by bringing up
one of her sai to force him to break it off. She would use the opening to
roll to the left and hopefully knock his feet out from under him.
Much to her surprise, he didn't hesitate in the slightest. The sai went
through the flesh above his hip, narrowly missing a kidney. He didn't react
to the injury, continuing his forward charge and hitting Elektra full with
his body. The blow made her drop her other weapon. With his superior
strength and momentum, he easily drove her backward until she was pinned to
the wall. He grabbed both of her arms and pinned them to her sides,
effectively trapping her.
"Tell me where she is!" he said, squeezing her powerfully.
Elektra cringed in pain at the way his fingers dug into her flesh. He wasn't
holding back. She was certain his grip would have broken the bones of anyone
else.
Daredevil drew her back just enough so that he could slam her against the
wall a second time, making her head thump against the rock behind her. "Tell
me now!"
"I'll tell you," Elektra gasped out. She brought her head forward and kissed
Daredevil fully on the lips.
It was a savage, passionate thing, wild and untamed. The emotion behind it
overwhelmed Daredevil, breaking through his haze of rage. His grip eased
slightly.
That was all Elektra needed to break out of his grasp and use the opening to
drive her knee between his legs. The blow doubled Daredevil over. Elektra
grabbed him by the back of the head, and rammed his face into the wall.
Once, twice, a third time, then he went limp in her arms. She released him,
wiping her lips with distaste.
"I hope it was worth it, fool," she said, rolling him over to retrieve her
weapon.
Bucky winced as the first of their numbers fell, and then realized it was
actually the second as Iron Rose still hadn't returned from being hurled
through the wall. It was unfortunate that the Wasp girl had been too injured
to keep fighting; her abilities might have tilted the odds in their favor.
Instead they left her to help her unconscious comrade, first breaking him
out of the ice before leaving her to revive him.
As to Bucky's own fight, she found it going slightly worse than before.
While she had long since grown comfortable fighting as a girl, and was a
slightly faster in that form, Tarou's now far superior reach advantage
negated any benefits she drew from her curse. It was a stalemate, at least
until Tarou grew tired or he splashed himself with cold water. There was
little Bucky could do about the latter, and the first was unacceptable since
every second they lost was one more closer to the Mandarin razing another
city.
There was no way she could let that happen, but the odds of winning looked
bleak. They had lost half their forces while the enemy lost none. It was a
desperate situation, and it called for desperate measures.
"I can't believe I'm actually considering this," Bucky mumbled under her
breath. Then Tarou connected with yet another fist to her jaw. That served
to settle the matter.
Bucky spun in a circle, deflecting a fire burst from the Mandarin's rings,
and left her back momentarily to the opposition. When she turned around, her
shield was to the side as she thrust her chest forward, purring seductively,
"Take a look at these, big boys."
The Mandarin, Swordsman, and even Tarou stopped momentarily as Bucky
revealed her impressive bounty, the remnants of her top having been ripped
off and tossed aside during her spin.
Bucky took advantage of the men's leering by unleashing a powerful kick
right between Tarou's eyes, sending him flying backward and onto his back.
Hawkeye, completely unmoved by the sight of a woman's chest, fired twin
arrows at her closest opponents. Swordsman, drooling at the sight of Bucky's
bared flesh, found his arms pinned to his side by a bolo arrow. Elektra,
equally as unmoved as Hawkeye, ducked under the projectile.
"This will stop me but a moment!" Swordsman declared. With a deft flick of
his wrist he brought his sword up and snipped the wire confining his arms.
"That's all I need," Hawkeye said as the archer loosed another arrow. With
his sword occupied in slicing through his bonds, the blunt tip of the
stunner arrow caught Swordsman right between the eyes. He fell to the ground
like a marionette with its strings suddenly cut.
Before Hawkeye could press her attack, she found a somersaulting Elektra
leaping up and landing with a solid kick to the archer's chest. Hawkeye
grunted, and fell backward, momentarily knocked off her feet.
"So you have extra padding in your chest. A wise precaution," Elektra
remarked.
"Oh, shut up!" Hawkeye swore, barely rolling out of the way of a kick aimed
at her skull.
Hawkeye used her roll to spring to her feet in an impressive show of
agility. She was about to loose another arrow, when she saw Elektra had
anticipated the move. The assassin brought her sai forward even as the
archer moved back. Superior reflexes were all that kept Hawkeye from having
the weapon driven clean through her shoulder instead of the half-inch of
steel that found its way there.
Crying out in pain Hawkeye backed away, blood now decorating the point of
the weapon. Elektra was prevented from pressing her advantage by the
backfist delivered by the topless heroine. Bucky made certain to keep her
body between the archer and assassin
Elektra shook off the glancing blow and backed away. She smirked at Bucky
while brandishing the bloodied sai. "Are you sorry you saved me now?"
"No. I'm just disappointed in you," Bucky replied in earnest.
The only response Elektra gave was to tremble slightly.
With Elektra distracting Bucky, Tarou gained a second wind and rose to his
feet. The right side of his face already puffing up from the kick. "I can't
believe I fell for such a pathetic trick! I was going to keep you around as
a plaything, tits, but now you're going to die!" Tarou went for a gourd at
his belt.
"Not this time!" Bucky threw her shield at the gourd.
The disc was right on target, but a chi blast met it in mid-flight,
deflected the shield wide. It bounced off a wall before landing right at
Tarou's feet.
"Nice try, but the only woman's chest I have an interest in belongs to a
Goddess, and you most certainly do not qualify as such," the Mandarin
stated.
Tarou snickered and poured the contents of the gourd over his head. The cold
water triggered his transformation into the A-bra-mination.
Bucky and Hawkeye began to back away nervously. "I don't suppose you have
some kind of fancy arrow designed to take out really big green monsters?"
Hawkeye shook her head and winced, just knowing this was going to really
hurt.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
The Hulk roared in rage as Speed Demon taunted him once again. It wasn't
that the little man could injure him, but he said mean things that hurt the
Hulk's feelings. They were really nasty comments, like that he was dumb,
clumsy, used bad grammar, and couldn't score with women. But the worst thing
the speedster had done was mess around with the Hulk's hair.
"Hulk hates pig-tails more than anything! Hulk's enemy wears one!" he
roared, and tried to untie the pig-tail once again.
That left him open for yet another hard right from the recovered Power Man.
The Hulk tried to retaliate, but despite the large man's size, Power Man was
quicker. Worse, it was a completely defensive fight, meaning the warrior of
the Musk would dodge six blows before trying for one of his own, and with a
slightly better technique than 'Smash Opponent,' he was connecting with
three blows for every one the Hulk landed.
However the thickness of the Hulk's skin, his endurance, and most
importantly his tremendous strength, gave the green goliath the advantage.
Every blow he landed was five times more telling than any Power Man
connected with. And the longer the fight went, the madder the Hulk got, and
the more powerful his blows became.
It would have been over already save for Speed Demon. Any time it seemed the
Hulk had an advantage, the speedster would distract the Hulk by doing
something that angered him so much that he would forget Power Man until the
big man attacked again. It was getting to the point where Speed Demon's
jibes were affecting the Hulk worse than Power Man's fists. He was beginning
to wish the large Musk warrior would just go away so he could deal with the
rambling loud mouth in relative peace.
Power Man connected two more times before the Hulk caught his wrist in the
middle of a third punch. Holding him in place, the emerald behemoth
unleashed a mighty fist right into Power Man's midsection. He was about to
hit him there again when a hot liquid substance was thrown into his eyes,
momentarily blinding him.
Power Man returned the favor by kicking the Hulk in his midsection. The blow
made the jade giant release his grip and gave Power Man yet another chance
to recover.
The Hulk roared in anger and wiped the offending substance from his eyes. He
was not surprised to see his personal bane, Speed Demon, there holding an
empty pot and laughing. The Hulk bellowed in rage, then a scent hit his
nostrils and he recoiled. "What is awful thing Hulk smells?"
Speed Demon said, "Centurion Split Pea Soup. I use it to clean off my
running shoes, since it's not good for anything else."
"Hulk hates split pea soup more than anything!" he roared.
"You said you hate pig-tails more than anything," Speed Demon pointed out.
"They are different things. Hulk hates pig-tails more than any other
hairstyle. He hates split pea soup more than any other soup. He hates the
way corn gets stuck in his teeth more than any other food gets stuck in his
teeth. And he hates Keanu Reeves acting most of any actor!"
"Got to agree with you there. The guy's about as compelling to watch as a
cardboard prop," Speed Demon agreed. "What's the color you hate the most?"
"Fuchsia. Because it's really dark red, but people try to confuse Hulk and
call red fuchsia. Hulk hates Fuchsia!"
While bellowing out his hate list, the Hulk saw a blur in front of him and
felt something tickle his chest. He blinked and saw a bunch of black
squiggly lines on his chest. "What that?"
"Like it?"
The Hulk scratched his head. "Hulk not understand."
"Can't you read?"
"No."
"It says 'Hulk likes Fuchsia. He wants his pants to look like that."
"AHHHH!" The Hulk's blood was practically boiling. Wanting to lunge at Speed
Demon, yet knowing it would do no good, made him even madder. He wished he
could swat Speed Demon like a bug. In order to vent some of his anger, he
visualized Speed Demon trapped in the palm of his hand, then brought his
hands together as hard as he could.
The resulting force of the impact sent a shockwave through the air in every
direction in front of him. Unable to evade the wall of wind, Speed Demon
found himself recoiling as though he had been struck a glancing blow from
Power Man. Still conscious, but thoroughly stunned, the speedster lay
insensate on the ground.
The Hulk pointed and laughed. "Now who hates fuchsia?"
The giant's amusement ended as he felt himself picked up from behind and
held in mid-air. Without any leverage, he found himself spun around, then
thrown violently through several walls.
Power Man, heavily winded from throwing the Hulk, gasped as he helped Speed
Demon to his feet. They looked at the hole the Hulk's form had created.
Speed Demon said, "Hey, did he end up where I think he did?"
"Looks that way," Power Man said.
The two looked at each other, then nodded their heads in agreement. "RUN!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bucky and Hawkeye had backed away only a handful of steps when a wind came
from behind them. They turned around, and cringed once again as they found
themselves hemmed in by Speed Demon.
The speedster gasped out to his ruler, "I have good news and bad news."
"Good news first," the Mandarin ordered.
"The Hulk's been taken out."
"That is good news," the Mandarin agreed.
"The bad news is we did it by throwing him into the armory."
The Mandarin paled, "You mean-"
A tremendous explosion, like a thousand cannons going off, shook the
fortress to its very foundations.
"- the one where we were storing the missiles we decided we didn't need,
since the laser system could down any aircraft that came too close. Wow! Are
those titties? Can I feel them? I promise not to pinch or anything," Speed
Demon asked as his attention became completely riveted to Bucky's chest.
"How can things possibly get worse?" the Mandarin wailed.
Mjolnir cut through the air like a missile, striking the A-bra-mination
cleanly in the face and off his feet.
"Thou must reckon with the Goddess of Thunder! Thy fate is now sealed!"
Thor, looking as though she had dug her way through half the mountain, ran
forward, catching Mjolnir in mid-run as it returned. Speed Demon got out of
the way of the charging goddess as she struck the rising A-bra-mination hard
in the jaw and sent him back to the ground.
The Goddess of Thunder turned to her comrades. "My apologies for coming to
the rescue so late, but I found myself in dire straits and was forced to..."
she trailed off as her eyes settled on Bucky's topless state. Her relief at
seeing her companions alive quickly changed to anger. She leveled an
accusatory finger at the shorter girl. "Harlot! Hast thou no shame? Once
again thou go traipsing about like a painted whore. No doubt thou sought to
save thy life by offering thy body to these depraved minions of darkness."
"I didn't offer nothin' to anyone!" Bucky shouted. "I was laying my ass on
the line while you were playing rainmaker with your dumb hammer."
"Obviously thou was laying more than thy bottom on the line."
"Don't get angry with me just because my chest is better than yours."
Thor took a step forward. "Take that back! I have a much better chest than
thou!"
A repulsor blast cleaved the air, separating the two. "We are losing focus
here," Iron Rose said impatiently.
Bucky turned on her. "Like you got room to talk after the Mandarin took you
out with two little shots."
"A thousand pardons," Iron Rose said sincerely. "The Mandarin's blast, while
unpleasant, did not reduce my combat effectiveness significantly. However,
the room I was knocked into had the very computers I had been looking for.
Hoping you would be able to hold off the Mandarin and his lackeys for a few
moments, I hooked up to the computer and found the necessary interface
system to allow my armor to communicate with this alien technology."
"So what did you find? Can you stop the satellite?" Bucky asked.
Iron Rose shook her head. "I was unable to either alter either the route or
the target of the satellite. Only the Mandarin can do that. However, I was
able to locate its current position and path of travel, as well as
discovering its current recharge rate. Unfortunately my armor's too big and
heavy for me to fly there before it fires. I knew I should have taken the
time to streamline the design, even if it meant sacrificing strength and
protection for speed! Damn it all!" Iron Rose took a deep breath, then
turned her attention to Thor. "How fast can you fly?"
"I can make the air quake like thunder should I bring my full powers to
bear."
Iron Rose did a quick calculation in her head. "Yes, that should do it. I'll
need you to fly me to the satellite so we can destroy it in time. With my
jets adding to our flight, we should just make it."
"But what of the villains?" Thor asked.
Bucky said, "Only you guys can stop the satellite, and you gotta leave now.
Don't worry about us. We'll take care of the rest of the bad guys."
An animal cry of rage came from the A-bra-mination as he finally recovered
enough from Thor's surprise beating to attack. He sprang up to his hooves
and charged the heroes.
"Would you please shut up?" Iron Rose disengaged her safety limiters on her
repulsors. Aiming her palms at his head, she unleashed a pair of yellow
beams of energy four times greater than any she had fired before.
Electricity from Thor's hammer joined the assault and leapt to the
A-Bra-Mination's body. This time when he went down he did not get back up.
Wisps of smoke rose from Iron Rose's repulsors. "Now I'll definitely need
you to carry me there, otherwise my repulsors will never recharge. I'm sure
they will be by the time we get there, even if my boot jets are going at
full burn." There was a hint of doubt in her voice, but at the same time it
was obvious she thought there was no other alternative.
Thor looked mournfully at her hammer. "And I did wish mightily to gain
revenge upon the Mandarin. Is it so important to destroy this satellite?"
It took Iron Rose a moment to realize Thor had not been present when the
Mandarin had been bragging about his scheme. "It can create a thirty-five
kilometer beam of destruction and Tokyo is its target."
"We have to stop him!" Thor tapped her hammer twice upon the ground. A
tremendous bolt of lighting erupted through the roof, striking the hammer.
The path of the bolt served to blast a large hole through the multiple
levels of the fortress to the air outside.
The goddess detached her cape and handed it to Bucky. "Thou doth need
raiment to protect thee from the chill."
"Thanks." Bucky was actually moved by the gesture. She wrapped the cape
around her upper chest, tying it off so while she still showed much of her
midsection, her top and all that lay there was covered. "I'll be sure to
give Mandy a good right for you."
"Make it two rights and a left," Thor said as she picked up Iron Rose under
one arm and spun her hammer around by its thong until it was a blur. She
then released it, and shot through the hole in the ceiling. Seconds later,
the sonic boom from above as she reached her top velocity echoed down below.
Satisfied the satellite would be taken care of, Bucky turned to confront the
opposition. "All right, Mandy. Here's where you get your... Hey! Where did
he go?"
"Elektra's gone too," Hawkeye pointed out.
"I'm still here," Speed Demon said.
The pair looked at the grinning man. Bucky started to tense up when Hawkeye
laid a hand on her shoulder. "You go on and take care of the Mandarin. He's
up to something. I can feel it. I'll join you as soon as I take care of
Speed Bump again."
"The name is Speed Demon!" he snapped. "And you got lucky with the grease
last time since I was fighting someone else. I'll beat you bad, just like I
did the first time."
"What about your arm?" Bucky asked Hawkeye, pointing at the blood that now
dripped all the way down the length of her firing arm.
"It looks worse than it is," the archer assured her.
Bucky was torn between friendship and duty, but eventually the latter won.
"You better watch out for yourself."
"I will." Hawkeye lamented her luck as Bucky ran off. If only it had been
that hunky captain showing such concern for her instead of his busty
sidekick. Now that the archer thought about it, she hoped the two weren't an
item. She could tell right away that the redhead was far too loose for an
upright kind of guy like Captain Japan. He needed someone who was a better
match for him; a hero who could compliment his fighting prowess on the field
as well as off. He needed someone like Hawkeye as a partner. She had range
attacks to compliment his defensive abilities. They would be a perfect
pairing. She'd have to drop a few hints to him the next time they met.
Hawkeye could see it now, after a hard day of adventuring and bringing down
thieves and thugs, they would return to her restaurant where she they could
shed their masks. Then she would cook him the best okonomiyaki in the world,
since it came from the heart...
"Hey, don't forget about me. I'm still here," Speed Demon said, noting the
dream-like expression his opponent had started to gain.
"I only wish I could." Hawkeye grimaced as she pulled an arrow out of her
quiver. The injury to her shooting arm had been worse than she let on. But
somehow she knew the Mandarin was up to no good and had to be stopped. Bucky
had to take him on, even if it meant Hawkeye would have to fight a man who
was much closer to peak condition than her.
Hawkeye brought her bow up and drew back an arrow. She was only able to pull
it halfway before the pain in her shoulder became so intense spots began to
dance before her eyes. She recalculated the trajectory to her target with
only a half pull and released her shaft.
Speed Demon easily snatched the arrow in mid-air and tossed it aside. "This
is ridiculous. You can't even shoot. Let me knock you out."
"No!" Hawkeye drew another arrow.
Speed Demon sighed. "Fine. I'll give you three shots at me. I'll just stand
here and let you shoot three times. And the one I grabbed counts. So you
only have two more to go. After that, I'm knocking you out whether you like
it or not."
"Fine." Hawkeye gave off a high pitched cry as she was able to bring the
string back even less than before. There was a light twang as the arrow was
forced to arc up in order to reach its target.
Again Speed Demon plucked the arrow out of mid-air. "I don't even need super
speed to grab these." He tossed it aside as well.
Sweat dripped down Hawkeye's cheek. If she didn't get him this time, it was
all over. That would leave Bucky to fight three opponents, and even if her
fighting prowess rivaled that of the Captain himself, she would still be
outmatched. Hawkeye had to take this guy out no matter what.
Speed Demon shook his head sadly as the archer drew a third arrow. He was
amused as he watched her rub the tip, then nocked it to her bow. He yawned
in contempt. He was yawning for so long he was almost caught off-guard as
Hawkeye gave a cry of intense pain and drew the bow string back as far as it
could go and released the shaft.
But for Speed Demon, almost was not enough. Instead the speedster found his
concentration in time and caught the shaft a handful of centimeters away
from his chest. He laughed. "Nice try, making that last one come hard and
fast, but-"
There was a click from the arrowhead, and Speed Demon found himself the
recipient of a heavy dosage of electricity. He fell to the ground, smoke
wafting from his prone body.
Hawkeye fell to her knees from the exertion. "Guess what. Shock arrows can
also be set on timers, and the shafts are always metal. Oh, but I guess you
found that out."
Completely exhausted, Hawkeye tried moving her arm, and found the limb
barely responsive. It had taken all of her remaining energy to fire the last
arrow, and she thought something snapped in her arm when she did it. She
hoped it was a strain rather than a tear. In any case, she was helpless. If
she tried to help Bucky now, she'd be nothing but a liability. She cursed
her luck.
The room vibrated slightly, and Hawkeye could hear the unmistakable sound of
portions of the fortress caving in. Maybe the whole problem with the
Mandarin was about to take care of itself. Hawkeye picked the still
unconscious Daredevil up with her good arm and managed to hoist him on her
back in a half fireman's carry. "You weigh a ton," she grunted, then
realized with all of the secret weapons he carried, he just might.
"You're going to owe me big for this," she groaned as she tried finding an
exit to the crumbling fortress.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
"How good of you to join me," the Mandarin said as he made his way into the
fortress's main control room.
Elektra detached herself from the shadows she had hidden in as she followed
her employer. "I do not live under the delusion I am capable of defeating
either Iron Rose or Thor. Only a fool does not run from what is obviously a
lost cause."
The Mandarin noted the words were directed towards him. He scoffed. "While
it's true I've suffered a major setback today, it is not the end. Yes, this
fortress is lost, There's no question it's structural integrity is
compromised, however I will take my revenge."
"How?" the assassin asked, noting that the ceiling of this chamber was
beginning to crack.
Dust began filtering down from above as the Mandarin laughed. He adjusted
the controls of the satellite. "Those fools believe the beam can only be
fired when it's fully recharged. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
That's only the beam's maximum setting. It can be fired at any point during
the recharge process. It's just that the beam won't be as wide. And really,
in the big scheme of things, what's the difference between thirty-five
kilometers or," he looked at one of the gauges. "Thirty-two?"
"Killing all of those people gains you nothing but the survivors' anger,"
Elektra said.
A pebble fell from above, bouncing off the Mandarin's mane of white hair. He
took no note of it. "Having second thoughts about killing people? An
assassin like you?"
Elektra's voice was cold. "I have never killed out of malice or some
misguided form of revenge. It was always with some notable gain in mind."
"So you killed for money. I'm doing it now for personal satisfaction." The
Mandarin raised his fists into the air. "These heroes have ruined my
lifelong ambition. It will take me years to reestablish my power base. Oh,
make no mistake. I will do it. I will rule this world. But these accursed
meddlers have taken away my victory, so I will make it as Pyrrhic for them
as I can manage, and that means Tokyo dies. Their nation will be thrown into
chaos and anarchy for years, and it will be solely because of their
meddling. Everything would have been fine and there would have been peace if
they hadn't stuck their noses in where they didn't belong. And now they'll
pay for it!" He threw a lever. "It's done. It'll take several minutes for
the canon to warm up for its premature firing, but it's over."
Elektra looked at the ceiling worriedly. "We should leave now."
"I'll remain here long enough to ascertain personally that Tokyo is
vaporized," the Mandarin swore.
"Not a chance, pal!"
The Mandarin turned his delighted look from his controls up to see Bucky had
entered the room. He shot her an evil stare. "You have my thanks for coming
here. You have no idea the satisfaction your death brings me. I would have
preferred to leave you alive long enough to witness your failure to protect
your homeland, but I'm afraid I haven't the time." He raised his right hand.
In response, Bucky brought up her shield to block the blast.
The Mandarin laughed. It was a painful thing to hear, filled with as much
suffering as it was anger. "Your shield can't protect you from
disintegration! Now I will kill you as I should have done the first time I
laid eyes upon you!" He unleashed the mental command to the appropriate
ring.
A sai was driven through the Mandarin's hand just as the beam was emitted.
Instead of going through the shield and into flesh, it cut a semicircle
through the stone under the Mandarin's feet, as well as several floors
below. He cried out, momentarily overwhelmed by the agony.
Bucky watched in stunned silence at Elektra's actions; inexplicable ones
that had saved her life. Then she saw the assassin pull back the Mandarin's
head and raise her second sai, obviously intending to plunge it into his
throat.
"No! Don't kill him!" Bucky cried out.
Elektra hesitated. It was all the Mandarin needed to lash out with a blue
encased fist from his good hand. The blow caught Elektra in her chest, and
she flew backward.
The Mandarin rose to his feet, pulling the bloody sai from his hand and
tossing it aside. The look of murder in his eye was twice that of before.
"Traitor! Now you'll die first!" He raised his other hand and pointed it at
her.
A thrown shield smashed into his wrist, causing his hand to fly upward.
Flames erupted from the ring, pouring out onto the stones above. Like
napalm, the alien fire clung to the rock rather than merely going out, its
heat intense enough to slowly begin melting the stone.
The Mandarin tried to bring his hand up, but Bucky was upon him, laying in
punches and kicks, driving him back. He couldn't seem to summon a defense as
Bucky continued hammering into his body. His dragon scale armor deflected
most of the force of the body shots, but still they took their toll, backed
by a strength no normal woman should have had. Several blows connected with
his face. Blood poured from a split lip. A hard right into the jaw, and
several shiny white teeth flew from the mouth and bounced off the master
control panel.
A particularly strong kick sent the Mandarin skidding across the stone
several feet away. He tried to rise and fell back down, curling into a heap.
"Finish him!" Elektra demanded.
Bucky stopped her attack. The words made her realize how much damage she had
inflicted, and the fact that she had no intention of stopping. But the
command had shocked her out of her anger. She gave Elektra a firm look. "No
way."
The assassin trembled in anger. "Don't be a fool! He's a mass murderer!
There isn't a person in the world who would say he deserves less than
death!"
Bucky shook her head, her resolve like iron. "I don't do stuff like that. If
I did, you'd be dead in the river."
"Roaring Dragon's Bite!" the Mandarin cried out, using Bucky's distraction
to supreme advantage. A huge dragon shaped chi blast hurled itself from his
body.
Caught unaware, the blast completely 'swallowed' Bucky in her entirety. As
the blast dissipated, she was left behind. She remained standing for a
moment, her form smoldering blue from the energy that had consumed her. Then
her legs began trembling violently, unable to support her weight. She fell
to the knees, then collapsed facedown on the floor, unable to rise.
Before he could press the advantage, the Mandarin found several shurikens
thrown his way. Three deflected harmlessly off his armor. A fourth found its
way into a joint at his elbow, the arm with the wounded hand. He snarled out
in pain.
"Die!" the Mandarin shouted, sending flames, bolts of electricity and shards
of ice in Elektra's direction.
Using every ounce of speed and agility she possessed, Elektra avoided the
beams of death by only the slightest of margins. Several of the smaller ice
shards embedded themselves in her skin, drawing only a superficial amount of
blood.
The Mandarin switched tactics. A sudden flash like a thousand light bulbs
shone in Elektra's direction, momentarily blinding her. A bolt of
electricity followed, striking home. Elektra fell to the ground, her
unmoving, partially blackened form, smoldering just as Bucky's had earlier.
The Mandarin aimed at the stationary target. "And now, as with all good
things, it is time we came to an ending."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thor found herself flying faster than ever before thanks to the thrust
Iron's Rose's jets adding to her own hammer-imbued flight. They had reached
the upper atmosphere within minutes. Thor's godly form was able to withstand
the rigors of such travel, even in deep space for a limited time. She was
uncertain of how she knew this, since she had never been in space, but she
did. Iron Rose had an internal air supply, and the armor was easily durable
enough to withstand the hardships of space temporarily.
Thor found the panoramic view from this height extraordinary. She could see
so much of the land below her, and with the naked eye alone. Mountains,
rivers, small clusters of buildings that were actually cities, passed below
as she flew over the landscape. It was beautiful.
Unfortunately, she did not have the luxury of enjoying the scenery. A far
more grimmer task was ahead as she and Iron Rose raced against time.
Millions of lives were on the line, including her family's. Failure was not
an option.
As she traveled through the atmosphere, Thor's mind raced ahead to her home
in Nerima. What was her family doing now? She tried to remember what time it
was there, since the journey to China and her hours spent in unconsciousness
had thrown her off completely. She suspected it was around dinner time.
Kasumi would be preparing the family's meal. Nabiki would be working out,
studying a martial art she openly loathed. Their father was probably
engaging in his new hobby of playing shogi with Mr. Saotome, or trying to
hook one of the girls up with Ranma.
Ranma. What was he doing? He was an unusual sort. Not at all like the jerks
at school. He didn't stare at her or treat her daintily like most people
did. Her affliction had not jarred him in the slightest. Actually, he was a
bit rude to her at times, which people never were. But that was because they
felt they had to be extra sensitive around her due to her handicap, which in
many ways was as painful as if they did mock the injury. Not that she liked
it when Ranma was rude, but on the other hand, he acted the same way around
Nabiki when she vexed him as well. It meant he viewed her in the same terms
as her non-handicapped sister, which was comforting, in a fashion.
And then there was the wonderful Dr. Tofu. This was his day off, so he'd
probably be tinkering with his machine again. She missed him already. And
there was Yuka and Sayuri, and everyone else she knew. All of them unaware
that they had been targeted for death by a would-be world conqueror, and it
was up to Thor and her companions to save them from annihilation. She
wondered if they get a chance to see the light coming from above and wonder
what it meant, or would death come in an instant and they would never
realize what had happened?
No! That could not be allowed to happen. Thor could not afford to fail like
she had against the Mandarin. They had to get to the satellite and destroy
it. She would not see everything she loved taken from her. She would give
her life itself before that would happen.
And then something in the distance caught her eye. It was a flash of light
that appeared somewhere in the upper atmosphere and slightly to the left.
Over the comlink Iron Rose had given her, Thor asked, "What doth that
portend?"
Iron Rose's voice was full of fear as she said, "It's the satellite. But
that's impossible! It still needs two minutes to recharge. I know it does!"
"Shoot it down!"
Fear became panic. "I cannot. It's out of range. Even if I were to boost the
power of my repulsors it would only increase the damage they could inflict,
not distance."
"We have to do something!" Thor insisted, tears beginning to fill her eyes
as the glow grew brighter. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. Thor
wasn't helpless like Akane Tendou was. She wasn't!
"There's nothing we can do. We're... helpless."
The light glowed like a small star, and a white beam began to stretch out
from the bottom, like a giant lance pointing to the world below.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Hey Mandy!"
The Mandarin turned from Elektra. The interruption was doubly irritating
since he had finally ended the mental debate of whether to fry her nervous
system with electricity, turn her into a giant block of ice, or burn her to
death. He had chosen burning since death would not be instantaneous and the
suffering would continue longer.
Since the annoying shield slinger seemed intent on delaying his fun, he
decided Bucky would suffer that fate instead. He turned, aiming at the
voice. The moment he saw what the hero was doing, his hand wavered.
Despite being battered within an inch of her life and completely exhausted,
Bucky stood next to one of the computers, shield raised over her head. "You
seemed to be fooling around with this panel right before I came in. I bet
it's important to you."
"I command you to stop!" the Mandarin shouted.
Bucky smirked. "That's all I needed to know." And brought the shield down.
A raging torrent of chi fire emitted from the Mandarin's body and headed
towards Bucky. But it was too late as the shield's adamantium and vibrainium
edge, backed by Bucky's serum enhanced strength, smashed through the metal
and shattered the controls, shredding the delicate circuitry underneath.
Sparks leaped about the whole control board and the command room filled with
the smell of ozone and acrid smoke.
Bucky had no time to enjoy her victory as the Mandarin's chi blast struck
her. She was hurled into the control panel she had destroyed, burned by some
of the electricity, and bounced back away to the hard stone floor. She was
left moaning on the ground, chi and electricity making breathing an ordeal.
"You bitch!" the Mandarin raged. "You destroyed the controls and aborted the
override on the firing sequence! You've destroyed my plans again!" He
brought his hand up once more. His eyes focused on the only thing that
existed in his mind. "There's no force in the universe that can save you
now. I, Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty, hereby sentence you to death."
Bucky weakly pointed towards the ceiling over his head. "Look out above
you."
"Don't insult my intelligence!" the Mandarin shouted. "No one ever falls for
that on-"
The rest was drowned out by tons of fire weakened, stress torn, rock ceiling
as it came crashing down on the Mandarin. The force and weight of the rock
was so great it shattered the disintegrator weakened floor, dropping the
entire mass out of sight.
"Told you so," Bucky said before her head slumped and she remained
motionless.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
The light died and all returned to the former blackness of space, punctuated
by only the normal pinpoints of light that signified the vastness of the
universe.
"It didn't fire." It was almost a question from the way Iron Rose stated it.
"It didn't fire." The next time was more confident and firm, said in obvious
delight. "It didn't fire!"
Thor felt the tension flee her body. Her family, her entire life, was safe
now. She looked again upon the land below. No longer plagued by the
knowledge that the fate of millions hung on her actions, she was able to
enjoy the scenery. She smiled at the land as it passed by below her. It was
a pity she couldn't ask the Iron Rose to take pictures (surely she had a
camera function in the armor somewhere) and show her family, but there was
no way she could explain how she had acquired them.
"Oh my god!"
Thor returned her attention to Iron Rose. "What is it?"
"Look!" She pointed off in the distance.
Thor followed the direction the finger indicated, and felt her heart sink
into her stomach again. The light had reappeared, much brighter this time
given the distance that had closed between them and their destination.
"But... but it stopped. It had stopped."
"Whatever it was that prevented it from firing prematurely must not have
interrupted its normal firing sequence. We have to destroy it!"
"Can thou smite it from the skies now?"
"Yes, I think it's in range. Damn! I eased back on the jets when I thought
it wasn't going to fire. We aren't as close as I thought we'd be!"
"Punish thyself not overmuch. I fear I acted in like manner." The light grew
brighter. "Now the world will pay for our mistake."
"Yes! I can just make it." Iron Rose raised her hands for a twin repulsor
blast. A moment later, she cursed. "Damn!"
Thor's heart was racing. "What now?"
"I can't get a lock on it. I thought by downloading its coordinates my armor
could automatically shoot it, but whatever it's made of is invisible to my
targeting system."
"Just shoot it down by aiming."
"It's not that close, and I'm not that great a shot, especially with long
distances!"
The brightness of the satellite doubled.
"Shoot!" Thor ordered.
Iron Rose did so. Twin gouts of energy emitted from the palms of her
gauntlets. The beams stretched across the void of space towards the light
that was their goal.
They sailed far wide to the left, leaving the brightness to triple.
"Again!"
"I know! I know!" Iron Rose fired a second time.
The blast went to the right. A white light began to stretch out from the
bottom of the satellite, identical to the previous time.
Iron Rose fired one last shot.
Time seemed to stretch into infinity. This close, they could make out bright
motes of red light circling the projection at the bottom of the satellite.
It seemed like the satellite hung motionless, and the light moved
independently. The world no longer moved below, the island of Japan directly
beneath all three of the bodies that hung in orbit.
And then time started again. The white light at the bottom flashed.
Iron Rose's blast struck the base of the satellite, exactly at the source
that the projection of light was emanating.
Silently a wide white beam of energy lanced forth from the satellite to the
planet below.
"NO!" both Iron Rose and Thor shouted as one.
A small explosion came from the point of impact of Iron Rose's repulsor
blast. Smaller ones joined with the first, traveling up the length of the
satellite and increasing in number and force. It listed to the side, like a
slender ship starting to capsize in an ocean of eternal night. There was one
last tremendous explosion, and it tore the satellite apart in the middle,
sending torn pieces of metal, wires, and plastics in all directions. One
half of it began a slow process of reentering the atmosphere, while the
other seemed content to remain drifting along the path it had previously
taken.
Thor found her mouth dry as she released her grip on Iron Rose and arrested
her own forward motion, hovering in orbit like the satellite had a moment
before. It was over. She had failed. Everyone she loved was dead. Surely
Ragnarok could be no less devastating than the horror she had just
witnessed. Her mind all but shut down, unable to deal with what had
happened. She felt like curling up in a ball and remain floating in orbit,
eventually either freezing to death or burning up in reentry. It didn't
matter. She couldn't live with the knowledge she had failed everyone so
miserably. All her power, and she was as she always had been; as helpless as
a cripple.
Iron Rose began waving her arms frantically, one of them striking Thor in
the chest. The blow eradicated the stupor Thor had fallen into. Anger
replacing sorrow, she grabbed Iron Rose by her thick helmet, where the neck
would be had it been slimmer, and threatened to crumple it as though her
companion was nothing more than an aluminum can.
"Tis thy fault too that we failed to stop the rain of death!"
"It didn't hit the mainland!"
Thor released her grip. "What did thou say?"
"My armor triangulated the path of the beam. My blast must have thrown off
the trajectory at the last moment. It struck the ocean instead. Not far from
the coast, but it missed. Everyone's still alive!" The armored girl would
have jumped for joy had she not been flying in mid-air.
A wave of relief washed over Thor. Still, she feared to hope. "Art thou
certain? Tis not another mistake in thine calculations?"
"I'm absolutely sure. Let me tune into the local radio frequencies."
Thor watched her armored compatriot cock her head quizzically, obviously
listening to something only she could hear.
In a handful of minutes, Iron Rose announced, "The JSDF is reporting a
strange light striking fifty kilometers off shore from the mainland. They're
sending out jets to investigate and rerouting commercial aircraft out of the
area. We did it!"
At last Thor allowed herself a moment to relax. She and the Iron Rose hugged
one another in joy, hanging in space as they were.
After a moment, Thor's demeanor turned serious. "We still need to mete
vengeance upon he who perpetrated this travesty in the first place."
With great relish in her voice, Iron Rose said, "Yes, let's tell the
Mandarin how we destroyed his plans before we tear his head from his
shoulders."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Elektra walked painfully over to where the floor had caved in, being extra
careful around the edge, lest she share the Mandarin's fate. The hole went
deep. Obviously the disintegrator had sheared through multiple floors,
weakening them enough that the mass from those above each one was sufficient
to drag the Mandarin and the tons of rubble down into the abyss with him.
"He is disposed of," she informed Bucky.
"I warned him," Bucky said, flat on her back and too tired to move. All life
was sacred, but she couldn't find it in her heart to feel bad about the
Mandarin's demise. He had literally brought it upon himself.
She watched as Elektra, only in marginally better shape, moved away from the
edge of the hole. Her weapons had been lost at some point during the battle.
The kerchief she usually wore on her head was missing as well, allowing a
tangled mass of black hair to fall freely past her shoulders and down her
back. Her outfit was torn in several revealing spots. Not as revealing as
Bucky's, but almost as bad. Especially the top, which had lost its straps
and was fighting a losing battle with hiding the impressive bust that was
holding it up.
"Why'd you turn on him?" Bucky asked.
The assassin shrugged. "Motives mean nothing. It is done. My fate is sealed.
I feel no remorse for my actions, nor would I have acted differently."
Bucky gave a smug look. "It was me, wasn't it? All my talking about doing
the right thing and being responsible for the safety of others made you turn
from a bad guy to good, right?"
Elektra shot her an icy glare. "I said I do not regret my actions. Do not
make me start now."
"Right, right." Bucky placed a hand behind her head and laughed nervously.
The destruction started by the latest ceiling collapse began to stretch
throughout the rest of the command center. Increasingly large piece of
masonry fell in a rain of rock and dust.
Bucky tried rising to her feet, but the punishment her body had taken was
too much, and she fell to the ground halfway through the attempt. "We need
to get out of here."
Elektra remained where she was, watching the hero's futile attempt to rise.
Shooting her an irritated glare, Bucky said, "Are you going stand there or
are you going to help me up? This place ain't going to last much longer."
In answer, Elektra moved away to a section where more rocks were starting to
fall heavily.
"What are you doing? We have to get out," Bucky insisted.
Elektra gave him a sad look, "Tell me something, Captain. I am still an
assassin with many deaths that I am directly responsible for. Would you send
me to prison?"
Bucky shifted uncomfortably. "Um, well, yeah. You sort of have to go for all
you did. But I'll tell them you helped beat the Mandarin. Not that I
couldn't have taken him on my own, of course. Just that you helped speed
things up. I'm sure you'll get a reduced sentence or something." She
shrugged helplessly.
Elektra moved back further. "I have no desire to spend the rest of my days
behind bars, not that my master would allow me to live for long after this
betrayal. The Hand can reach anywhere. No, Captain. I have burned all my
bridges and, for some curious reason, am happier for it. But I do not live
under the illusion that there are not lethal repercussions from it. I will
not waste my time, nor insult you, by suggesting you travel with me. A pity.
I think we would have had an enjoyable life together."
Finally, Bucky managed to rise to her feet. "Get over here where it ain't
collapsing as much and we can talk about it. Maybe we can work something
out."
Elektra laughed and gave the girl a grin. "I somehow doubt you would
compromise your integrity for someone with so much blood on her hands, and I
would settle for nothing less than having you for my own. I fear this is the
end, Captain." She smiled and took another step back.
Bucky saw the remaining portion of the roof above Elektra begin to fall.
"Look out above you!"
The amused grin remained. "No one ever falls for that one, Captain. Bie
Liao."
And the rocks hit, making Elektra disappear within the hail of stone. Bucky
lunged forward, heedless of the risk, shouting out Elektra's name.
And then the floor lurched, then gave out beneath her. Bucky tried to leap
back, but tripped over the uneven surface and fell, striking her head hard
against a rock.
Bucky tried fighting off the darkness, but the ordeal of all the fighting
from the last day and half proved too much. Just as she blacked out, she
thought she saw a figure looming over her.
And then there was nothing.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Giant Man had just completed dressing Daredevil's wound when the death
throes of the fortress reached her ears. He looked on in horror as the roof
gave out. With the top gone, the structure caved in on itself, like a house
of cards constructed of stone rather than paper.
Wasp looked on at the destruction. "Oh dear. You don't suppose Bucky was
caught in that, do you?"
Hawkeye said, "I don't see her. I need to go in and find out."
"Don't," Giant Man rose to a height of eight meters and placed a restraining
hand in front of her. "It's still unstable, and you only have one good arm.
We'd probably just lose you too."
"She stayed behind to take care of the Mandarin. We can't just leave her to
her fate. We have to do something!" Hawkeye protested.
Daredevil fingered his wound gingerly. "If someone could carry me close
enough, I might be able to hear her crying for help. Assuming she's still in
good enough shape to call out. Besides, I want to find Elektra. She still
has answers I need to hear."
Giant Man rubbed his chin in thought. "I can probably grow large enough to
move around the debris without worrying about it burying me."
It was at that moment that the air quaked, announcing the return of the
satellite destroyers: Thor and Iron Rose. All talk waited until the pair
landed next to the group of heroes. Thor did a quick headcount. "Where is
the harlot? And who art these two?" she said, looking at Wasp and Giant Man.
The duo introduced themselves. Thor looked them over. The small flying girl
was of no concern, she was the height of an insect, so what could she really
do? The man was a bit on the slender side and seemed passive. Compared to
the physically appealing Captain Japan or the archer with the tight buns
(and that was to say nothing of his ability to kiss), he quickly was ranked
a distant third, and maybe even fourth on the desirability chart, depending
on whether Daredevil acted like his usual reclusive self or not.
"Do you have anything that can find people underground?" Hawkeye asked Iron
Rose.
"Not really. This armor is suited more for combat than surveillance and
rescue operations. I could try something though."
"I knew I shouldn't have let her take the Mandarin and that backstabbing
bitch alone!" Hawkeye lamented. "I have to go find her now."
Thor restrained the archer with a firm hand. "Losing you would only make
matters worse," the goddess assured her. "We will let Giant Man and
Daredevil try their hand first."
Giant Man shot up to a height of fourteen meters, and was about to pick up
Daredevil, when a tremendous explosion came from the remains of the
fortress. All panicked at the idea of further destruction and the ever
decreasing chance of finding Bucky alive, when the cause of the destruction
finished its leap and landed amongst them.
"Stupid Not-So-Little-Man tried to bury Hulk! Hulk is not a bone! Hulk hates
being buried! Where is Not-So-Little-Man, so Hulk can smash!"
"Bucky!" Everyone called out as one.
The Hulk looked down at the burden cradled in his arms. "Oh yes. Hulk found
Shield Girl under some rocks. Hulk got her out before she was buried as deep
as Hulk was. Hulk bets she hates being buried as much as he does."
"Geez, being saved by this big galoot is so embarrassing," Bucky said,
crawling out of his grasp and onto the ground. She quickly found herself
encircled by the others.
They made quite the collection of people. Most of them looked like they had
been shoved through a blender filled with broken glass with all the injuries
they had sustained, then tossed into a deep pit with all the dirt and grime
they were covered in. But they were all alive and with no permanent
injuries.
Once things calmed down enough for the others to listen, Bucky informed them
what happened in the Mandarin's chamber. Thor seemed disappointed she would
not get a chance to avenge herself. Daredevil seemed despondent over the
assassin's death.
Iron Rose said, "It would be best to contact the authorities and tell them
what transpired here. With the Mandarin's threat ended, the world can sleep
well tonight."
The others started congratulating another on a job well done when Bucky
cleared her throat loudly. All eyes turned to her.
"I've been giving this some thought. I'll admit, I wasn't too enthusiastic
about becoming a super-hero in the beginning, but with what happened here
today, and with how close the world came to being conquered, well, I can't
deny it any more. The world needs people like us to help defend it from
people like the Mandarin."
The others nodded in agreement, even the Hulk.
"Now if we had worked as a team from the beginning, instead of a bunch of
individuals, we would have kicked the Mandarin's butt before he got his
satellite off the ground and killed all those poor people in Mexico. I mean,
I know he was responsible for it, but we still have to accept some of the
blame since we didn't stop him in time."
The others ashamedly agreed. They dealt with the loss in different ways,
from giving a moment of silence for those lost to praying for their souls,
or even shedding a tear for the fallen.
Bucky waited a moment to deal with some of the guilt that had settled in.
"Anyway, we can't do anything for them, but we can do something to prevent
it from happening again."
"How?" Wasp asked.
"All of us here agree to form a super hero team. We get some organization,
and stuff like that and, you know, work together to fight off menaces as
they appear. None of us could have handled this alone, so it only make sense
we be a team."
Wasp flitted about enthusiastically. "Oh my, that sounds good. I want to be
a real super hero. Count me in." Her family was just going to have to get by
cooking and cleaning on their own from time to time.
Reluctantly, Giant Man said, "Well, if my partner's in, so am I." He sighed,
hoping his practice didn't suffer too much from all the superheroing he
would be doing on the side.
Thor gave a broad smile. "It would be good to fight with comrades at mine
side again." It would be like the good old days when she dashed into
adventure with the Warriors Three. Many menaces they would fight. And after
they emerged triumphant, they would celebrate hard with copious amounts of
wine and wenching. "Wenching?"
"What did you wrench?" Bucky asked.
"Nothing, nothing!" Thor said hastily. "I wish to be part of thine group."
"Heck, I've been looking for someone to partner up with," Hawkeye said. The
lonely days of patrolling alone were over. And who knew, maybe she'd even
get close enough to one of the guys to reveal her true gender and finally go
out on a date.
The Hulk asked, "Are you Hulk's friends?"
Bucky slapped him on the back. "I guess we are, big guy."
"Hulk does not have many friends. Hulk will join."
Iron Rose said, "Not only shall I join, but I can guarantee my employer will
be more than happy to finance the team, as well as providing a base of
operations and a modest stipend as a form of recompense for your time and
trouble." And she was going to make it all one massive charitable
contribution and write it off her taxes.
Daredevil was the last to agree. "I'm used to working alone. Actually, I'm
used to always being alone. But recently someone told me that I might have
become a bit too solitary. I'm willing to give it a shot." But if things
didn't go the way he hoped, he would be the first to head out too. He didn't
care much for his companions, but he supposed there was the possibility they
would grow on him.
"What about Captain Japan?" Hawkeye asked, trying not to sound too eager
about it.
"I guarantee he'll join," Bucky assured her. "I speak for him all the time
and he does the same for me. Only, ah, we split time on the superhero thing,
so I doubt if we'll be there at the same time. But one or the other of us
will show up."
"I was under the impression this was a full time commitment," Iron Rose
said.
"One of us will be there. Two halves will be like one whole person there."
"Why on earth do you split time being heroes?" Wasp asked.
"Well... you see... it's sort of like," Bucky started to panic then the
answer came to her. "We only got the one shield. So we split time with it.
And we both feel naked without it, so we only go out one at a time."
"Thou doth have a tendency to go about naked even with it," Thor said with a
touch of irritation in her voice.
"And what's going to be our name?" Wasp asked.
"Yeah, we need a good name," Hawkeye agreed.
The others considered the question. Almost by some unspoken consensus, all
eyes turned to Bucky.
Realizing she was the center of attention, she was about to snap out why she
had to come up with the name, when it came to her. "Since we stopped the
Mandarin and avenged all those people in Mexico he killed, I say we call
ourselves the Avengers."
Everyone agreed solemnly with that.
And thus, it was on a lonely mountaintop in Western China that the superhero
group known as the Avengers was born.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And somewhere in time, the man more commonly known as Kang the Conqueror,
raged against all the heavens and everything under them as well. But in that
timeless void, his anger passed, and control was regained. After all, the
moment of truth had not yet come. Preventing the Avengers' formation was
merely the first chance he could take to prevent the event from coming to
pass. It was still some distance off. The event could still be averted and
he could make everything right once again.
After all, as the unequivocal Master of Time, he still had time.
Time to kill them all.
xxxxx
And here ends the first story arc to Avenging. Worked out just as I hoped.
Got to the resolution the way I wanted. Left lots of threads to pick up for
the second arc. Had the right mix of seriousness and humor I wanted. Anyone
want to see more? Still have lots of fun in mind, including the Hulkbusters,
the Enchantress and Executioner, the Steel Lilly, and Happosai getting his
hands on some gazongas. Do let me know if it sounds interesting to you.
Special thanks to
Chris Horton
Gary Ee
William Morse
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