DB Sommer wrote:
Yep, decided to (Finally) try and wrap up this first story arc. I did sort
of leave it on a cliffhangerish ending with the heroes getting defeated.
Will probably do the next chapter of this, then go back to The Things We
Wish For... just in case anyone was concerned about me not finishing
'Things.'
And now on to the story...
Yey!
Avenging Chapter 10
Ten Rings to Rule Them All III
Any and all C+C is appreciated. You can contact me at
sommer@3rdm.net
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Standard Disclaimer: Various anime characters are owned by their respective
creators. The super heroes are owned by Marvel Comics Company
When last we left our heroes: The attempt to attack the Musk fortress
failed. Daredevil, Hulk, Hawkeye, Iron Rose and Thor had all been captured.
The fate of the Wasp and Giant Man remains unknown, and Captain Japan was
separated from the others as he tried to rescue the assassin, Elektra from
drowning.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Spare me your platitudes," the Mandarin snapped, looking over the quartet
of prisoners Tarou, Power Man, Speed Demon, and Swordsman had retrieved.
"Why are you carrying that green pig?"
"And isn't one of you missing?"
"I don't care about her breast size!" the Mandarin snapped. "Does all of her
power come from her armor?"
Well, they don't know that for certain....
"Ah, ah," Speed Demon warned with a wag of his finger.
The Mandarin rolled his eyes. "Speed Demon, Power Man, secure the prisoners.
The archer and red man can be placed in standing shackles. Strap down the
armored one in the titanium bonds and use the electric nullifier on the
armor, the one we use for twitchy Centurion robots. Since it's only armor,
attaching it to the head should render it completely immobile. Remember to
attach it to the head, not the body."
I'm amazed that Mint got away with that.
Her consciousness began to wither and die, and she felt her soul being
sucked out. Death had come to visit her. Once dead the Hand would consume
her, as it did with all those who failed, and use what remained of her
immortal soul in their plans anew. The Hand was greater than any one member.
The Hand was eternal. No one left the Hand. Once accepted, you belonged to
them even unto death. And beyond. She would forever be a part of something
she hated more than anything else in the world.
Like middle school.
Truly evil.
Now Elektra understood: Magnanimity. A useless gesture fools engaged in. To
give something without the expectation of receiving something in return was
a waste of effort. Obviously this girl believed herself some sort of
Samaritan whose duty it was to protect others.
Is samaritan a proper noun?
Elektra shook her head. "I am indebted to you. You saved my life when I
would have drowned. I will not raise my hand against you or signal an
alarm."
I can only assume that she's lying here, given her previous thoughts.
Bucky shrugged. "Okay. They're a pretty tough bunch. I can take them on my
own, if my buddies haven't beaten them already. But without me, they might
have more than they can handle. We'd better sneak back, just to be on the
safe side. You got any idea on how to get back?"
Aww... so gullible. >_<
A tiny pair of eyes fluttered open. There was darkness with light around the
edges of it. Groggily the girl reached upward, towards the darkness. She was
rewarded with the cool feel of metal at her fingertips. Instinctively, she
pushed forward, trying to ward off the darkness. She was rewarded by the
piece of metal scrap, from her perspective nearly fifteen meters in length,
go flying away from her.
rewarded by the -- rewarded with the sight of the (?)
Seems like something's missing from that sentence.
It was just as she had leveled off, not more than a handful of meters above
the ground, when the quinjet crashed, exploding and sending debris
everywhere. One large piece in particular had headed towards her...
her... -- her....
Four periods in an elipses that terminates a sentence. Rawr!
....And that was it. She couldn't remember anything else. Perhaps the debris
had struck her, and she had fallen to earth with Giant Man...
Man... -- Man....
Giant Man! She had completely forgotten him. "Giant Man, where are you?!"
she ccalled out, but there was no response. She cried out again, but still
there was no answer. Wasp began to panic. What if something bad had happened
to him? What if he had been hurt because Kasumi Tendou had gotten it in her
head she wanted to be a superhero? What if he had died? Could she forgive
herself?
ccalled -- called
Giant Man winced. "You don't have to sound disappointed, Ka... Ka.. Kasumi."
His eyes fully glazed over, a state of insentience far worse than when he
had first started to come around.
Ka.. -- Ka...
Power Man shouldered his burden again and set off down the corridor. His
concentration was fixed so firmly forward, he neglected to notice the hammer
that had been dangling from Thor's wrist by its strap and come loosed and
had fallen off when he set her down.
loosed -- loose
"Good idea. We need to get our priorities straight, after all." The two
continued on.
Yes... yes they do.
At this point she was assuming her friends had lost the fight. Bucky was
fairly certain they would have sought her out immediately if they had been
victorious. That lot might have been a little rough around the edges, but
they did seem the good sort. She wouldn't have been difficult to find. The
Iron Rose probably had some sort of gizmo that could track her, while Thor
could have flown down the length of the river to spot them. But there was
nothing.
this point -- that point
Elektra tried to say something, but there was hesitation in her voice. She
shook her head fiercely, as though to clear it of some errant thought. "An
ideology like yours is stupid. Try to live your life like that, and you'll
pay for your naivet� someday."
Elektra : Like the second I'm behind you and have something to
stab with.
Bucky : Huh?
Elektra : Nothing....
Bucky mentally planned a course of attack that would take her between her
two opponents, in the hopes they would get caught in their own crossfire,
when she felt a hard blow strike a single point in the back of her neck. She
wanted to turn around, but instead she felt her body grow limp.
A voice from behind her said, "I told you you'd pay for that naivet�
someday."
Thought so.
As Elektra began to walk up the path to the fortress, Swordsman
pontificating about how fortunate he was to be in the presence of two lovely
visions of beauty, she caught Tarou muttering something about "Chick's
probably a dyke and wants the babe for herself."
about "Chick's -- about, "Chick's
Tarou nodded in approval "Yeah, lucky you found that spaceship with all
these advanced gizmos and stuff, otherwise this whole takeover the world
scheme would just be a dream."
approval "Yeah -- approval. "Yeah
The Mandarin gave Tarou an evil stare, "How did you find out about the
space-"
stare, "How -- stare. "How
"Is there no end to these interruptions?" the Mandarin snarled as he headed
for the nearest security checkpoint to monitor the nature of the intrusion.
"One Villain, Many Heroes."
"I doubt that very much. I think you're getting a touch over-enthusiastic
about this super hero thing. Not everyone who's wealthy enough to own
something like this is an evil mastermind bent on world domination." Giant
Kin Ono: Aaaah--CHOO!
And then dozen lasers struck the statue, slicing it into a number tiny
pieces.
Hmm.
"I did a heat scan in the room. There was nothing larger than an insect in
there. No, he was obviously maladjusted. I have no need of unbalanced
lackeys. Somewhat stupid ones are okay though," the Mandarin said pointedly
to Speed Demon and Power Man.
Personally, I would have expected him to suspect communications
equipment, or a non-corporeal companion rather than passing it off as
dimensia.
Why exactly is the Mandarin saying what qualities he looks for in a
lackey? My only guess is that he somehow makes anyone who he captures
join him.
Where was she? It took only a moment for her to recall what had transpired.
Her blood began to boil as she remembered how easily the Mandarin had dealt
with her. She would make him sorry. She felt recovered enough now from the
injuries the villain and his rocket had inflicted upon her. At near peak
condition, and aware of his rings and inherent abilities, she would be able
to kick the crud out of him and show what she could do. Akane Tendou was a
wimp that lost in everything, and she would be damned if she would allow
that to happen when she was Thor as well. All she needed to do to even
things up was tap her cane...
cane... -- cane....
"That's right. It's not Daredevil's fault they stripped him because of all
the weapons he had concealed in his clothing. By the way, have you ever
considered briefs instead of boxers?"
I wonder why they didn't bother stripping Hawkeye or Bucky, since it's
concievable that they might have had something hidden on themselves as well.
Speed Demon added. "Sometimes he shows very little mercy to those who do
obey his every whim as well."
added. "Sometimes -- added, "Sometimes
"Maybe he was someone else you pissed off," Bucky offered. "You don't seem
to be the type that has a shortage of enemies."
"That's true," Speed Demon blurted out. He saw the look the Mandarin turned
on him again. "But it is," he insisted.
Heh.
The Iron Rose shouted. "Ha! I knew it. No system made on Earth could track
my... I mean my employer's Quinjet. Her genius is the most brilliant on the
planet."
Anyone with a half of a brain (the only member of the cast who seems to
qualify on this count so far is Elektra) would figure out nearly
everyone's secret identities given how much they all flounder and mess up.
The Mandarin relaxed visibly. "My worries were for naught. There will be no
further interruptions. No more attacks from random people whom I've never
met before. My base is secure. My would-be attackers are now my prisoners,
and all of my plans will reach fruition."
Somehow, I expect that French guy with the pink trenchcoat from Giant
Robo to show up any second now....
"Sure." Bucky twisted a bit in her chains. "I've got nothing better to do,
and I'm curious as to what's going on here that had you so worried about
people knowing this place existed.."
existed.." -- existed."
"Get out of here!" the Mandarin snapped. The duo exited immediately. "Does
anyone else wish to leave?"
"Me," Iron Rose said.
*snicker*
But at the same, I'd expect this comment from DareDevil or Hawkeye,
seeing as Kodachi seems to generally be a bit brighter, and would
probably see what Bucky was doing for what it was.
"Alone, it could not. However, my invisible nature means I can strike with
impunity, and strike I can. Today I was finally able to launch my satellite,
the last piece to my master plan. It's no ordinary one. Oh no. It employs
the most powerful weapon from the space ship: an orbital particle beam. With
it stationed in orbit, I can create a thirty-five kilometer wide beam of
destruction that can eradicate anything in its path. And it leaves no
harmful residue behind, unlike nuclear or biological weapons."
Hmm. I could have used that back when... er... nevermind.
"And you think you can trust the Chinese? Believe me, they'll turn on you
the first opportunity they get. I can attest to that firsthand, " Daredevil
spat.
firsthand, " Daredevil -- firsthand," Daredevil
The Mandarin laughed. "Have you seen the state of the world? It is nothing
more than a collection of fractionalized narrow-minded people constantly at
each other's throats. There is always at least one war going on somewhere.
Governments change almost every day in some parts of the world. Brutal
military dictatorships. Widespread famine and disease. Overpopulation.
Religious, economic, and political dogmas that cannot coexist with one
another. They will destroy themselves, or at the very least continue to make
themselves miserable for eternity. That is unless one force conquers them
all. Conquers them and unites them. And that force shall be me.
I think two paragraphs ago opened with the same line.
FYI, yes, there really was a character called Squirrel Girl and yes, those
were her powers (though I'm not sure about her being a mutant). She appeared
in one of the seasonal Marvel Super Hero comics in the early 90's in an Iron
Man tale. She defeated Dr. Doom. I'm fairly certain Doom has since explained
that it was really a defective Doombot she had beaten, and that it had been
summarily destroyed for daring to debase the good Doctor's name. I mean,
wouldn't you if someone claimed Squirrel Girl kicked your ass? ^_^ And yes,
the Mandarin's Centurions are indeed identical to Cylons from Battlestar
Galactic. Kudos if you're old enough to remember that series.
In case anyone was wondering, Mexico City's population is somewhere around
13+ million by the latest census estimate. Just in case the full impact of
Mandy's statement wasn't fully realized.
Special thanks to
Gary Ee
Chris Horton
William Morse
Was still a fun read. Looking forward to the next chapter... but I need
to take care of some other things first. Hopefully later today.