Steve T. wrote:

You know, all the hubub over RA 9 has pushed my mail archive to over
ten thousand e-mails. Just thought I'd provide you all with a
thoroughly useless fact. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for a
title, I'd be grateful.

Mighty Max, Jackie Chan Adv, and all related is copyrighted to their
original owners. No money is being on this and no such intent should be
inferred.

"I see you survived the storm."
"But the washing machine is dead."
-Under The Tuscan Sun

Black steepled his fingers and tried very hard to appear calm as he
stared at Max and Jade. Also gathered in his office was Norman, Virgil,
Annabelle, Tohru, Jackie and Mrs. Chan, who was the only one who
appeared to be enjoying the events.

Max and Jade stood before Black's desk, Jade in a approximation of
parade rest, Max sort of slouched.

"Dare I ask how long this has been going on?" Black asked softly.

"Two, three years," Jade said without any trace of shame. "How did you
find us?"

"This is a goverement agency, Agent," Black replied, his tone icy as he
said Jade's title. "We monitor all points of access. Including the air
shafts. Not to mention the vents carried the...noise the two of you
were making." Max blushed slightly. Jade simply frowned.

"What were the two of you thinking?" Virgil burst out. "Max is the
Mighty One! The fullfillment of procephy! He has no time

fulfillment.  

And is it some kind of quirk of Virgil that he pronounces "prophecy"
that way?  

for...lollygagging!" The dimmunitive Lemurian paced about the office,

diminutive

clearly agitated.

"You know the rules for fraternization, Agent," Black said.

No touching below the waist until the third date?  

"They're stupid is what they are," Jade muttered.

"And what if you are discovered?" Virgil shrieked, waving his arms.
"Max's enemies are not mortal. They are forces that often threaten the
very cosmos itself! They will not hesitate to use you to get to the
Mighty One!"

Jade made a dismissive gesture. "I'm not afraid of demons." She held up
her hand and a puff of chi flame danced across her fingertips.

Jackie, Captain Black, Tohru and Mrs. Chan stared in shock.

Jade blinked. "What? You think I wasn't watching Uncle when he did his
stuff? Please."

"This isn't about that!" Virgil shouted. The Lemurian was in the grip
of full-blown hysteria. "I've spent a great deal of time here with
Uncle and Tohru! I watched her grow up! She is rude! Impetuous! Fails
to obey orders!"

"I don't care!" Max shouted. "For Pete's sake, Virg! I love her! I can
protect her!"

"That's what you said about Bea!" Virgil shouted back.

Max froze, his face twisted in extreme pain and apocolyptic rage. "You

"apocalyptic" and since he doesn't kill anyone that's probably hyperbole
anyway.  

piece of..." He stormed out of the office.

****

In his days with the Umbra Via, Black had learned well the power of
having independant financing. Goverment money was not something that
was one hundred percent reliable. Therefore, one of his first acts as
head of Section Thirteen was to use part of the budget to buy up some
of the buildings around the warehouse that housed Section Thirteen's
entrance. That done, he'd then set up a shipping company that actually
did a fairly brisk bisnuess and by proxy, funded Section Thirteen's

business

activities.

As time had marched on, he'd purchased a few other companies and
buildings, invested money and then buried it all in a web of stocks and
shared partnerships. 

So basically he embezzled a fortune?  

"I take it they're both dead," Black said.

"Yes and no." Virgil sighed and turned away from the view. "The Mighty
One was called upon to halt the...excesses of a being named Dionus, one
of the...results of Zues' fascination with mortal women. Felix and Bea
were caught in one of his rampages. Felix remains in a coma to this day
at Stanford Medical."

"And Bea?"

"Dionus shared his father's fascination, to a degree...but...I chose
not to examine what was left of her too closely. Based on the items
left around her...remains...it was not quick, nor painless."

"Bad?"

Virgil nodded. "Max blames himself...what he is for it. We nearly lost
him to his grief and rage." Virgil adjusted his spectacles. "In the
end, Norman took him to the mountains of Norway. I don't know what
happened, neither one will speak of it, but Norman did tell me that it
would not work again. I am pleased that Max has someone he cares for,
but I cannot afford to lose him. Skullmaster is nothing like
Dionus...nothing, and Max is the only thing that stands in his way."

"Skullmaster..." Black cocked his head. "Max mentioned him briefly, and
you've mentioned him a few times, but never in any detail. Tell me
about him."

Virgil hesitated.

"Please, Virgil," Black said. "What little I know about him tells me
he's a threat to the whole world and that means he's a threat to
America. I need information if I'm going to protect this country."

Virgil sighed. "What you must understand is that Skullmaster is beyond
anything you have faced. Shendu craved power yes, but he had pleasures,
appetites. You could outhink him, use those against him.
Skullmaster...is beyond such things. He does not know pain or fear.
Empathy of any kind is an alien concept to him."

Black felt a little shiver pass through him. "Where did he come from?"

"He came from me...so to speak. When I first knew him, he was the sixth
son of an Atalantean Nobleman, who was in line for the throne. At the
time, Lemuria passed on its knowledge freely to whoever sought it. We
instructed students from all over the world. China, Japan, Persia,
Atlantis. But there were things we did not pass on. Lemuria had been
entrusted with many artifacts and secrets. Each and every Lemurian was
sworn to to gaurd those secrets.

When he who would become Skullmaster came to me, seeking knowledge, I
was struck by his mind. It was agile, quick, powerful. The most
complicated mathamatical concepts were nothing to him, nothing. I
forgot myself and led him into other territories...theories and
concepts we ourselves had sworn never to explore. I showed him some of
the secrets we had kept safe for millenia." Virgil shivered. "In the
end, I believe that whatever was left of him held me responsible, or
perhaps he simply wished to eliminate opposition. He sunk Atlantis and
destroyed Lemuria. Norman was born soon after to the Viking Clans of
the far north. The surviving Lemurians and Atalanteans journeyed north

Atlanteans.  

to see if the signs were true. We knew that the Mighty One was coming,
had known for some time, but we did not wish to dwell on it."

"Because if the Mighty One came, it meant the end of your world," Black
said. "Because the last Lemurian would be his teacher."

Virgil nodded. "We questioned Norman's father closely and determined
that yes, Norman was in fact, the Gaurdian. However, his father
demanded that we leave. He cared very little for our procephies and our
woes. The Atalanteans were offered sanctuary, but the Lemurians
were...requested to leave. We returned to Lemuria and the one treasure
we had managed to keep safe. Max's Cosmic Cap."

"That's the part I don't fully understand," Black confessed. "What
makes the Cosmic Cap so valuable? It's just the key to the portal
network, right?"

"Not entirely. You must understand, Augustus, humans are unique. Every
race on this planet posesses certain traits that align it with one side
or the other of the Cosmic Balance. Humans do not posess these traits.
You are totally and completely nuetral, as is the cap. In human hands,

neutral



             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'