[FFML] [Ranma/Marvel] Avenging Act IV Chapter 1

[DB Sommer]

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Avenging
Act IV
The Hate Monger and the Peacemaker
Chapter 1



Any and all C+C appreciated. You can contact me at:
[sommert at consolidated.net]

All the previous chapters and my other works are stored at:

At fanfiction.net:
http://www.fanfiction.net/

Standard disclaimer: I don’t own any of the Marvel characters or other 
characters from the numerous animes which are within.

Here’s a great reference guide for many character and objects in the 
Marvel Universe.

[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/index.htm]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Captain Japan burst through the doors and into the Avengers meeting 
room. “Okay, guys, what’s the… emergency?”

Sitting at their meeting table was an attractive young woman, about the 
same age as him, with her long black hair tied into a ponytail that hung 
off the side of her head. She smiled warmly at him.

Captain Japan pointed an accusatory finger at her. “What did you do to 
my teammates?”

The girl raised a quizzical eyebrow. “I’ve provided them with a 
headquarters, operating expenses, and a weekly stipend.”

“Err, that doesn’t sound too evil.”

“I should hope not. I’m Kodachi Kunou, your benefactress.” She rose and 
bowed before him.

“Oh, pleased to meet you.” He bowed back, then rose up. “This ain’t the 
time for introductions. We got an emergency.” Most likely it was another 
world beater, like the Mandarin, MODOK, or Master Vamp and his Allies of 
Evil.

Kodachi remained smiling. “I know. I’m the one who activated the signal.”

“What’s the emergency and where are the others?” Captain Japan asked.

Kodachi’s delight grew. “It’s an emergency only you can help me with. I 
need a dat… bodyguard, for a function tonight.”

“I thought Iron Rose was your bodyguard.”

Kodachi grew slightly flustered. “Ah, yes, well she’s… indisposed. 
Therefore I’ll require the services of someone else to protect me. If 
you can’t make it, I’m afraid I’ll have to call off the charity party. 
And the guest list is so large as well. I invited nearly everyone I could.”

Captain Japan thought about that. Charities definitely fell under the 
‘paragon of virtue’ standard he was supposed to be, and no doubt it was 
for a good cause. He proudly stated, “Sure, I can do it.”

Kodachi gave a delighted clap of her hands. “Excellent.” She snapped her 
fingers and a small army of tailors emerged from the rear entryway and 
descended upon Captain Japan.

He resisted the urge to start swatting them with his shield. “Hey, 
what’s going on?”

She smiled beatifically at him. “They’re fitting you for your tuxedo, of 
course.”

“But I’ll be wearing my outfit.”

Kodachi shook her head. “Oh no, that will never do. You’ll be incognito 
at this party.”

“But my outfit already makes me incognito.”

“You misunderstand. Your identity as Captain Japan is what you’ll be 
incognito for.”

“You mean I won’t be wearing my outfit?”

“Goodness, no.”

Captain Japan breathed a sigh of relief.

“Traipsing about naked is your partner’s habit. You’ll be wearing the 
tuxedo. It should be ready in about two hours. Where shall my limousine 
pick you up?”

Captain Japan sighed. This was not turning out the way he had thought. 
Now he was sorry he had agreed to the whole thing. But he had, and he 
wouldn’t go back on his word even if he wasn’t a paragon of virtue. 
Still there was no way he could let her know his secret identity. He was 
going to have to think fast.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

“And here’s the ‘Cobalt Canon’,” Fixer said.

“Is that the one that was originally made by some guy named Damocles?” 
Mentallo asked.

Fixer read the information sheet that was under it. “Yes. Is there 
another one on the inventory list?”

Mentallo looked at the electronic pad in his hand. “Yep. Three Cobalt 
Cannons, including this one. Also there’s a Cobalt Cuffs System, a 
Cobaltronic ray, which is opposed to the Cobalt Ray Weapon, and a Cobalt 
Bomb.”

“This is why I hate doing inventory,” Fixer sighed.

Currently the pair were in Hydra’s main storage facility (nicknamed the 
‘doohickey warehouse’) where all of the odds and ends Hydra had 
accumulated over the years were tucked away for potential future use. 
Swords, ray guns, robots, and even chemicals, such as Formula 410 (which 
safely cleaned porcelain, enamel, glass, and all consciousness from the 
brain) and a host of other items both mundane and bizarre. Not that much 
of it saw any use, as evidenced by the dust that coated just about every 
inch of the room. The Imperial Hydra was very much a pack rat, evidently.

“This is punishment for not coming through on that whole mental device 
booster, isn’t it?” Mentallo lamented.

“Most likely,” Fixer agreed. “Beats being killed, or reassigned to the 
Antarctic base.”

Mentallo’s head jerked so suddenly he almost gave himself a case of 
whiplash. “Whoa, I sense something evil nearby.”

Fixer panicked. “The Hydra Legal Division?”

“No. I mean the type of evil that feels like an inky cloud of darkness 
creeping over your soul, not the type that tortures you while 
overbilling you for it. It’s in this direction.” He navigated the aisles 
of the warehouse, moving unerringly until he stopped directly in front 
of some kind of bulky, weird-looking, golden helmet with a large ‘V’ 
symbol on the top.

Fixer looked closely at it. “It is garish, but evil?”

Mentallo nodded. “Definitely. It’s like it’s calling out to me, but it’s 
‘voice’ is muted.”

Fixer read the information sheet under it. “According to this it was 
purchased at an estate sale ten years ago. It originally belonged to an 
American, Paul Destine, a politician who ran for the presidency in the 
late 40’s. Says he had almost supernatural charisma. Was a front runner 
until he announced to the world he could fly and promptly jumped off a 
building and to his death. Evidently he confused falling with flying.” 
Fixer put the sheet back.

“We need to report this to the Imperial Hydra.” Mentallo said. “And 
whatever you do don’t wear it.”

“Why would I wear something that hideous, let alone evil?”

“Everyone knows evil helms of power are incredibly seductive, the more 
ostentatious and ridiculous the more irresistible they become.”

“I’m not going to put it on,” Fixer assured him.

“That’s a relief.”

“I’m a scientist, so I’m going to find out what makes it tick.” Fixer 
cradled the helm protectively in his arms as he took it off the shelf.

Mentallo sighed. This was not going to end well. He could feel it in his 
bones. At least there was one redeeming thing about the situation: there 
were no lesbians involved in it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Four hours later Fixer and Mentallo found themselves standing in the 
Imperial Hydra’s audience chamber. The leader of Hydra was seated behind 
an expensive antique desk that everyone knew bristled with hidden high 
tech armament that could kill anyone using a host of inventive means 
with the flick of a switch. Not too many people argued with management 
under those conditions.

As they waited before the Imperial Hydra, one of Fixer’s passive 
scanners informed him there was some sort of incoming transmission being 
directed to their leader. It was a heavy information beam, more than a 
normal person should be able to process. Most likely it was some sort of 
remote, which implied the person before them was a robot. Oh well, it 
wasn’t any of Fixer’s business who was pulling the strings to the 
organization. All he cared about was getting paid and being allowed to 
use the labs to build whatever he wanted. The man behind the curtain 
could stay right where he was, as far as Fixer was concerned.

“All right, this had better be good,” the Imperial Hydra warned.

Fixer held out the item that had drawn him to their leader’s chambers. 
“While doing inventory we discovered this. After hours of research we 
determined that the helmet you see before you is in fact a casing, one 
which acts as shielding for what’s inside.”

“Like one of those annoying Russian dolls that has other dolls inside of 
them? I hate those things,” the Imperial Hydra warned.

“A babushka doll,” Mentallo provided.

“Oh, a name to my pain. Would you like one given to yours? I’m thinking 
‘electrical discharge.” The Imperial Hydra’s finger hovered over a button.

“No thanks,” Mentallo said quickly.

Fixer returned to the matter at hand. “Here are the images we managed to 
glean.” He showed a set of black and white sheets, similar to x-rays. 
“From this we can determine it’s another, smaller crown.”

The Imperial Hydra perked up noticeable. “Now that sounds interesting.”

Mentallo said, “At this point I feel compelled to point out that the 
exterior is intended as shielding as well as camouflage, and that it 
might have been put around the ‘insanely evil artifact’ for a very good 
reason.”

The Imperial Hydra scoffed. “Probably some namby-pamby do-gooder who had 
no idea of how to deal with real power. Now crack that baby open like a 
piñata and get to the goodies inside.”

Fixer took out a cutting laser from his belt, adjusted it to its highest 
setting, and turned it on. It took several seconds, but it eventually 
cut through the casing. He continued moving the laser over the metal, 
bisecting it. He was almost halfway done when there was a loud cracking 
noise and the casing split in half the rest of the way on its own, as 
though some power forced it apart. With the casing gone, its contents 
stood revealed.

The interior crown was scaly green with seven snake heads on the top 
lying flat. Three were pointed to the left while three others pointed to 
the right with one facing forward. All of the eyes were pure red, yet 
malevolent in some indescribable manner.

The Imperial Hydra nodded in approval. “Seven heads. Obviously it was 
destiny for this item to fall in the hands of an organization named Hydra.”

“The last guy to own it was actually named Destine and it didn’t do him 
any good,” Mentallo pointed out. “Now that the shielding’s gone, it’s 
giving off a serious ‘wear me’ vibe. Kind of like a psychic 
sledgehammer. Perhaps we should dump it somewhere safe, like an active 
volcano or the bottom of the ocean?”

The Imperial Hydra scoffed. “Don’t be such a ninny. How much more 
dangerous could it be than a Death Spore Bomb?”

“Do you plan on wearing it?” Fixer asked.

“It really, really wants to be worn,” Mentallo warned.

“Put an immensely powerful object of unknown origin on my head? That’s 
up there with injecting yourself with untested drugs to make you more 
powerful. That happened to one of our researchers. He made a formula 
that was supposed to make one as strong as a gorilla. Since he was your 
typical skinny scientist type convinced of his infallibility, he used it 
on himself. Well, it worked all right, by turning him into a gorilla. We 
code named him ‘Monster Ape’. No, I’ll allow the privilege of wearing 
the crown to one of my subordinates. Not you two,” the Imperial Hydra 
assured them as the pair tensed up. “I have a different type of lackey 
in mind.” The Imperial Hydra hit a button to an intercom. “Send me 
Madame and Master Hydra.”

Ten minutes later a pair of agents entered the room. One was a woman in 
a skintight suit of Hydra green, showing off an athletic body. She even 
wore green lipstick along with her merciless gaze.

The other was a man in the more standard green outfit of a Hydra agent, 
loose almost to the point of bagginess. He didn’t wear a mask, and he 
showed off an unearthly pale face.

Both agents held up their hands and shouted out the Hydra slogan.

Once the formalities were complete, the Imperial Hydra spoke. “Now 
listen up. I’m looking for an agent to lead a special mission, one that 
needs someone really evil to run it. You two come highly recommended, so 
I’m going to ask you a few questions and your answers will determine who 
gets the assignment.” The Imperial Hydra pulled out a questionnaire and 
began reading from it. “What’s the largest amount of money you made 
using an evil scheme? Madame Hydra?”

“I used a convent as a front for a drug smuggling and prostitution ring 
that made millions,” Madame Hydra answered primly.

The Imperial Hydra turned to the other applicant. “Master Hydra.”

“Please, call me Orochimaru,” he asked.

“Nice name. Unsettling, yet friendly in a creepy way. Now, what’s the 
scheme you came up with?”

“I once sent out a chain letter that made me hundreds,” he offered.

The Imperial Hydra grimaced. “Ah yes. I’ve always hated those things. 
You know they’re a scam, but you’re so afraid of receiving bad luck that 
you send money anyway. Very evil indeed.” The leader went to the next 
question. “What is the greatest number of people you’ve killed at one 
time? Orochimaru?”

“I once blew up a Japanese restaurant because of poor service.”

The Imperial Hydra nodded. “I know what you mean. Every time I order 
drive thru from fast food franchises they always get my order wrong, 
even if it’s only one thing. It takes everything I have not to order 
every McDonalds razed to the ground.” The Imperial Hydra turned to the 
other applicant. “Madame Hydra?”

“I once blew up an entire village because I was bored.”

The Imperial Hydra wrote the answer down. “Next question. What’s the 
evilest act you take the most pride in? Madame Hydra?”

“I’ve killed over a hundred people in the human testing phase of the new 
poison I’ve created.”

“Inventive. Orochimaru.”

Orochimaru pulled out his sidearm and shot Madame Hydra in the head. “I 
once killed a coworker because we were in competition for the same job 
opening.”

The Imperial Hydra nodded. “Thinking outside the box. I like that. I 
like it a lot.” A button on the desk was pushed. Loud speakers blared as 
the leader said, “Attention, clean up in the Imperial Hydra’s office 
with a mop.” It was shut off and the Imperial Hydra returned to 
Orochimaru. “You’re definitely evil enough for the job. But before I 
give you the mission profile, there’s just one little thing I need you 
to do.”

With a snap of the fingers Fixer and Mentallo stepped into the room, the 
Serpent Crown borne on a wheeled serving cart, next to a tea set. They 
stopped in front of Orochimaru.

“You’re offering me tea?” Orochimaru asked.

“No, although you’re welcome to some. It’s that crown I need you to 
wear. It’s the perfect adornment for a strike leader.”

“That’s a relief. I’ve always been more of a coffee man myself.” 
Orochimaru donned the crown. As he did so he jerked suddenly, tilting 
his head as if listening to a far off voice.

“How do you feel?” the Imperial Hydra asked.

“As though my horizons had suddenly been broadened.”

“His pupils just became vertical slits. Did anyone pick up on that?” 
Mentallo asked.

“They better to see you with, my dear, that’s all,” Orochimaru assured 
him as he shot a slender tongue out that licked the underside of his chin.

“Excellent,” the Imperial Hydra said. “Now on to your mission. It’s a 
money-raising venture against the greedy capitalist imperialists of both 
the East and West, since I don’t want people to think Hydra 
discriminates. It’s a hostage/ransom thing, so you have wide 
discretionary powers, and feel free to use your nifty new helmet however 
you see fit.”

“With pleasure,” Orochimaru hissed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi internally grimaced at how things had turned out. Really, and 
she had thought it was a wonderful plan. Finally she had worked up the 
courage to land Captain Japan for herself. The first step in getting him 
alone with the bogus emergency worked like a charm, as was manipulate… 
convincing him to go out with her sans uniform. She had assumed the rest 
of the plan entailing him falling in love with her after basking in her 
company would go as easily.

It had taken her four hours to choose the right dress, a high-necked 
gown that accentuated her lithe form while being tasteful. It was 
perfect. While she would have liked to show some bosom, there was the 
little matter of the device affixed to her chest to keep the shrapnel 
out of her heart. While she had miniaturized it as much as she could, it 
was still visible, and a dress that peeked too low would have shown it. 
She really needed to consider designing a surgical implant for under the 
skin. A variation of an artificial pacemaker would be ideal. But that 
was for later. At the moment Captain Japan was what really mattered.

Her limousine had picked him up from Avengers Mansion and brought him to 
her. However, when he arrived things had not gone quite as she had 
expected. While his tuxedo was perfectly fitted to his muscular frame 
(and showed off his great ass), he had shown up with freshly permed 
hair, a bushy mustache, and large aviator style sunglasses. She saw more 
of his normal face with his mask. When she asked him why he looked that 
way, he had explained he had to maintain his secret identity –even to 
her! Kodachi had not been happy about that at all. This was when they 
were supposed to ‘let it all hang out’ (well, perhaps not *everything*, 
at least until the third or fourth date). When she had asked him his 
name, he informed her to address him as ‘C.J.’. Really! Still, she had 
not informed him of her dual identity yet, so she couldn’t demand it of 
him, and some men did not appreciate a woman’s guiding hand, so she 
would have to take what she could have… for now.

That included attaching herself to his arm in front of the 
crème-de-la-crème of the rich and famous she had invited to this party. 
She had pulled out all the stops, hiring only the best facilities, 
caterers, and even snared the musical duo of Chiaki and Noda, two of the 
most sought after musicians in all of Japan. Not that she thought she 
could buy her Captain’s attentions, he was much too heroic for that, but 
flaunting it didn’t hurt either.

Already Kodachi and her escort drew many stares from the guests, which 
delighted her to no end. This was much more fun that always being locked 
away in some stuffy lab designing the ‘next big thing’ in modern warfare.

As they made another circuit of the ballroom, the disguised Captain 
said, “This is just a stupid party. What am I supposed to be guarding 
you from anyway?”

“Oh, the usual. Kidnappers. Radicals. Helmut Zemo’s wandering hands.”

“That guy did have cat-like reflexes,” ‘C.J.’ agreed, recalling how he 
had nearly managed to touch-brush both Kodachi’s breasts and ass 
simultaneously. If Zemo went the super-villain route, ‘The Human 
Tentacle’ was probably the perfect name.

A high feminine voice called out, “Dachi-chan!”

Kodachi jerked as if struck in the face by a cattle prod, and then 
slowly turned to the caller. “Blast,” she hissed under her breath.

The ‘incognito hero’ looked at the girl that had called out Kodachi’s 
name. She appeared about his age, with aristocratic features that were 
shared by the man she was holding hands with, the family resemblance 
between them unmistakable. “What is it? Party crashers?”

“Oh, if only it were someone so desirable. It’s Ryoko and Shuutaro, the 
Mendou Twins,” Kodachi thought about it a moment. “Well, technically 
they aren’t twins, but they’re together so often they might as well be.”

She had put up with Ryoko’s crap in particular for far too much a 
portion of her life. The problem with the rich and privileged was that 
they generally only allowed their children to mingle with other children 
of the rich and privileged, as though lack of money was a contagious 
disease. And frankly most of Kodachi’s contemporaries were spoiled 
brats, Ryoko first and foremost among them. She wasn’t a physical bully, 
but she had an acid tongue and haughty attitude. The one time she had 
actually become outright frightening was when her brother, Shuutaro, had 
paid what Ryoko deemed too much of his attention to Kodachi. Not that 
Kodachi liked the pompous twit: he reminded her far too much of her 
missing brother. At least he didn’t run around with a bokken and pretend 
he was a samurai.

Kodachi’s frown was replaced by a strained smile. “Ryoko, dear, so nice 
of you to drop in.”

“Oh, I could hardly pass up an opportunity to attend one of your 
parties, since they’re so infrequent. And that’s a nice dress you have. 
It covers you up nicely.”

Kodachi’s eyebrow twitched. She had a better body than Ryoko, she just 
couldn’t display her wares in that manner. “I see you have a nice dress 
as well, especially for it being off the rack.”

“It’s a Dior original,” Ryoko assured her, then turned to Kodachi's 
compatriot. “I see you’ve hired a new bodyguard.”

“Actually he’s my escort for the evening,” Kodachi ‘corrected’. “This is 
C.J., who is quite the man.” She felt her Captain jerk at the statement, 
and went on before he could say an awkward statement. “A pity you 
couldn’t dig up anyone other than your brother to take you.”

Ryoko mirrored Kodachi’s motion by putting her arm through Shuutaro’s 
snuggling against him even more closely. “I’d only date a man who could 
compare to my brother, and I haven’t found one yet.”

Shuutaro finally entered the conversation. “And I feel the same way 
about finding a woman superior to my sister. Mendous don’t settle for 
second best.” He turned to C.J. “So, I understand you’re one of 
Kodachi’s test subjects for the new line of steroids from her recent 
pharmaceutical acquisition?”

“I do not use steroids,” The hero assured him, as well as reminding 
himself snobby blowhards were not super-villains you could go around 
beating the hell out of, no matter how popular it might make you. “You 
could probably afford to put in a few hours at the gym.”

Shuutaro gave him an appalled look. “And have people think I work for a 
living? Hardly, I’m going for the ‘indolent, decadent rich’ appearance.”

“And you pull it off wonderfully, brother,” Ryoko said as she all but 
genuflected in his presence.

Before the verbal sparring could continue, a girl, European in 
appearance, took Shuutaro’s arm in an affectionate manner. Ryoko shot 
the girl a look a truly evil glare. Kodachi recognized her as Justine 
Hammer, another child of the rich, though from what Kodachi had heard 
her powerful father, Justin Hammer, was not exactly thrilled with her 
behavior. She wasn’t an official black cat of the family, but nor was 
she held as the heir apparent.

“Mendou-kun, so wonderful to see you,” Justine said, as a larger man 
followed her over, though his attitude was deferential rather than that 
of an equal.

“It’s good to see you, Justine, though you are a behaving a bit 
friendlier than normal.” Shuutaro grabbed his sister’s hand as she 
raised it up, looking like she was about to point an accusatory finger 
at the newcomer.

Under her breath Justine said, “That damned Zemo tried cornering me so 
he could show me his ‘Death Ray.’ Really, just because our fathers do 
business together he thinks he can take liberties.”

“Oh no. He does it because women get within arm’s reach,” Kodachi 
informed her.

Justine finally seemed to notice the others, though she remained 
attached to Shuutaro’s arm. “Nice bodyguard,” she said to Kodachi in 
reference to the C.J..

“Escort!” Kodachi hissed. Why was it everyone thought she couldn’t land 
a man as hunky as her Captain?

The large man that had arrived with Justine spoke in English. “I could 
just rip out off his arms. It comes with super strength.”

Justine rolled her eyes. “My ‘escort’,” she explained to the others, 
which obviously translated into ‘bodyguard’, which irritated Kodachi 
even more. Justine said to him, “Just because you were formally known as 
‘Man Brute’ doesn’t mean you should continue to act like one. You can’t 
kill guests.” She gave a questioning, almost hopefully glance to Kodachi.

“No, you can’t.” She hoped Justine was joking. Her father was known for 
his ruthlessness in business dealings, and he might have had people 
crushed more than figuratively.

Another man walked over to the gathering. He was an American in his late 
twenties with dark hair and mustache. On his arm was a striking redhead 
in a dress what showed off her rather obvious attributes. Kodachi 
identified him as Tony Stark. Finally, someone that did something. He 
was a genius in his own right, rivaling her own, and he owned his own 
business. Stark Industries was a rival thanks to its Japanese branch, 
and the two of them had bid on the same projects on a number of 
occasions, breaking even on landing them.

“Greetings, Miss Kunou. Nice mustache,” Stark said to the hero in only 
slightly accented Japanese as he kissed Kodachi’s hand.

C.J. felt pride at his disguise being so excellent that everyone thought 
it was a real mustache.

“Mr. Stark, I wasn’t sure you could come,” Kodachi said as he kissed her 
hand. Tony Stark was quite striking, though a second to her Captain. Not 
a distant second, just second.

“I was in the country and it wouldn’t do my playboy image any good to 
skip out on a party, even one thrown by a rival. Or to not have at least 
one attractive lady at my side. Allow me to introduce Bethany Cabe.”

Kodachi noticed her Captain pay far too much attention to the buxom 
redhead. Really, what was it about large-breasted bimbos that men found 
so appealing, like that Bucky trollop? Blow up dolls had the same 
appeal, and were nearly as dynamic conversationalists.

A waiter approached bearing a tray full of wine. “It’s Bollinger,” 
Kodachi informed them as she accepted a glass, her Captain doing the same.

Stark’s eyes lit up, but just as he was reaching for it Cabe cleared her 
throat meaningfully. “Club soda for myself. I’m driving.”

“No chauffer?” Shuutaro asked as he took a drink.

“For a Ferrari? That would be as disgraceful as driving it under the 
speed limit.” He laughed at the joke.

Another voice joined in, saying “And here I was hoping to beat you to 
the prettiest woman in the room for a change, Stark.”

All eyes turned to another American, this one with no accent in his 
Japanese whatsoever. He was in his late forties to early fifties, 
slightly overweight. On his arm was a beautiful Asian woman and while 
her attributes were not as noticeable as Cabe’s, they still made Kodachi 
feel a bit intimidated.

Not that she paid the woman much attention. Kodachi’s surprise was 
genuine as she said, “Mr. Jones. I’m delighted you came.” She had sent 
the invitation to him largely as a formality. A man as important and 
influential as Hugh Jones rarely attended parties, and even then it was 
usually only if large business proceedings were at play, which, despite 
their contact with one another, had not happened.

“So this is your ‘heavyweight’, Ling?” Cabe said to the Asian woman.

“Told you I had the bigger whale this time out,” Ling said.

Ha! Whores, Kodachi thoughts to herself. She wouldn’t be surprised to 
find out Tigra was an acquaintance of the pair.

Hugh Jones, the head of Roxxon Energy Corporation, gave Kodachi a short 
bow. “Given our recent dealings, a transpacific flight is hardly an 
inconvenience.”

The caught Stark’s interest. “I didn’t know you two had any dealing 
together.”

“Perhaps we should have one ourselves,” a new voice ventured.

Kodachi felt her teeth grind as yet another beauty approach the 
gathering, one that had no shame displaying her wares either. The furry 
slut would be quite at home with this lot, although in the case of 
Sunset Bain at least she had accomplished something. Baintronics had 
been a relatively small firm until the miraculous inroads in robotics 
they had made over the last year. They were quickly become a force on 
the market, and some said in underground markets as well.

A man with a face that could have been made of stone stood next to her 
as she said. “It is Tony Stark, isn’t it?”

“Indeed Ms…. Bain, I believe.” He kissed her offered hand as well.

Ryoko looked at them curiously. “Wait a minute. Weren’t you two dating 
last year?”

Stark nodded. “It’s a little game we play. Whenever we run into one 
another we act like it’s the first time we met.”

“Wouldn’t that make marriage rather awkward?” Shuutaro ventured.

Sunset looked over Cabe. “I see you brought a nice little toy to this 
soiree.” Cabe’s only reaction was a narrowing of the eyes, though Bain 
didn’t react to it. “My own is Aaron Stack, and he’s a fully functional 
toy.”

Her companion didn’t react to the comment. Kodachi thought the man might 
be dead. Perhaps that was the only way a man could stomach the haughty 
bitch.

“I can’t help noticing that an S-F 202 Grenade could triple my share of 
the market.”

All eyes turned to the latest newcomer, a striking woman with long 
flowing black hair and a gown that flaunted attributes which rivaled 
Cabe’s. Despite being Kodachi’s age, she had an air about her that 
reeked of perceived superiority to all things under god, and maybe an 
even standing with him. At her side a slender, though handsome Japanese 
man about the same age as her.

Stark was the first to respond. “Greetings, Ms. Stane. Mr… Shaw, I believe.”

“Shinobi Shaw.” The man bowed formally.

“It’s Stane-Fujikawa,” Biko corrected. “Part of the concession on 
selling to my late father was that he take the Fujikawa family name as 
well as the family business.”

“My condolences on his death,” Jones said. “He was a formidable 
businessman.”

“You mean he was a bastard,” Biko corrected without a shred of remorse. 
“And that carried over to his family life as well. Of course many say 
the same thing about me.”

Justine said, “Has anyone noticed the disturbing number of grisly 
demises of company owners of late? It makes me glad I’m only the 
dilatants offspring of one.”

“Here, here,” Shuutaro said, raising a glass then lowering his sister’s 
arm as it lifted toward Justine yet again.

“Thish shtuff is good,” C.J. said as he swayed slightly.

“Indeed, Captain High Tolerance,” Shuutaro quipped.

“How’d you know I wash a Captain?” he asked.

“Good taste in facial hair and drinks. I used to be a Captain Morgan man 
myself,” Stark joked.

On Kodachi’s part she could only stare at her escort in horror. Her 
Captain was inebriated? He only had two glasses. Surely one of his 
fortitude could imbibe more than that with no ill effect. On the other 
hand if he was rendered in such a state she would be able to take 
advantage of him using her feminine wiles. She did want him to respect 
her in the morning, though. To ply him with more drinks or not?

Her indecision was proven secondary as a loud crash emanated from the 
entryway of the ballroom. Two dozen armed men in green outfits and masks 
identifying them as Hydra agents stormed into the room. A trio of women 
followed, Titania and Letha in their wrestling tights while Poundcakes 
wore a chainmail outfit with oversized boots and a metal helmet which 
covered most of her face. Mentallo and Fixer hovered in on the one-man 
anti-gravity platforms they had used in the ‘Takeover of Nerima’ plan. 
Following them was a large ape with a nametag clipped to his fur that 
had the printed words ‘Hello, My Name is’ followed by in red magic 
marker, ‘Monster Ape’. The final person to join the group was obviously 
the leader, a pale faced man, his skin scaly, wearing a gaudy crown with 
snakes on it.

Orochimaru shouted so everyone in the room could hear. “Ladies and 
Gentlemen, I am proud to announce this is the point in the party where 
you are to give generously to our charitable organization. Since you are 
all men and women of both influence and affluence, the contributions 
will be in the sum of five million each that will be deposited 
electronically into the account numbers you will be provided with. In 
exchange you will all be given the gift prize of… your lives.”

The plainclothes hero said, “It’s about time something happened. Now I 
can shed this ridiculous disguise!”

Kodachi was both thrilled and excited that her Captain was willing to 
give up his secret identity for her welfare.

He jumped up on a table, ripping off his sunglasses and mustache. “Foul 
villains, prepare to be beaten by the greatest Avenger of them all. 
Captain Morgan!”

“Here, here,” Shuutaro agreed, downing the rest of his drink in one gulp.

As everyone else stared at ‘The Captain’ in confusion, Mentallo ran a 
telepathic scan of the room’s occupants to gauge the potential 
resistance. Oh ho, the attractive redhead with Stark was a bodyguard, 
and the woman with Jones was her partner. Hmm. Oh good, that was 
business partner, not sexual partner. Moving on, uh oh, that brother and 
sister would be a problem unless they were gotten out of arms reach of 
one another. And, Captain Japan was incognito at that party. That was 
potentially worse. He was about to alert Orochimaru when a particularly 
strong thought came from one of the guests. He read it

…And his heart froze.

He turned to Fixer. “We don’t stand a chance of winning! We have to 
leave right now!” And flew out of the room as thought he demons of Hell 
were on his tail.

Fixer hesitated a moment. What the hell had sent his partner packing? 
The Imperial Hydra would not be happy about them fleeing a mission 
without a valid reason, and he sure didn’t see one. You couldn’t run 
when one random drunk said he was going to beat on you. On the other 
hand, his psychic partner had seemed terrified.

He went with Mentallo’s judgment. Oh well, they would simply hang 
together if it was something stupid.

He caught up to Mentallo. “What the heck was that about?”

Mentallo told him.

“Oh god! That was there? I heard AIM had sold it, but I had no idea that 
was who had purchased it. Why didn’t I see it?”

“Because it can make itself into a duplicate of anyone if it’s around 
them long enough.” Luckily being able to tell the Imperial Hydra who 
owned it now should keep them in his good graces, or at least what 
passed for them. Running inventory for the rest of one’s life was a hell 
of a lot safer than being annihilated with ones own power.

Xxxxxxxxx

Orochimaru scowled in distaste at the cowards who had deserted him. Set 
would see to it they were dealt with once this mission was over. The 
Hydra agent seemed to have a natural affinity with the Elder God for 
whom the crown was a link. Lacking the casing, the Serpent Crown was 
truly unfettered for the first time in ages. Oh yes, Orochimaru had a 
plan in addition to the kidnapping and ransom. Before he released each 
of these pompous billionaires each would have the crown adorn their 
heads, and once their minds had touched Set’s, they would forever be in 
his thrall. Having control of a goodly portion of the business world 
would be the first step to true global domination.

But first it was time to retake control of the situation by disposing of 
that would be hero. “Titania, take care of that drunken fool.”

“With pleasure.” The Idakaya Bomb Bar was specifically designed for 
drunken louts, even if this one hadn’t hit on her.

Titania went over to the swaying idiot and brought her arm back in so 
she could clothesline his head off.

Instead he reacted with lightning speed, bringing a fist up dead on 
target and catching her right in the jaw. The guy was a true powerhouse, 
and she had been so convinced he was genuinely drunk she hadn’t 
considered defending herself. The blow knocked her senseless.

“Titania!” Letha cried out. With feline grace she bounded across two 
tables and aimed a drop kick at her mentor’s attacker. For some reason, 
rather than trying to move, he held his arm up in front of him, like he 
had an invisible shield.

Her blow caught him clean in the gut, knocking him off his perch. She 
landed on a table, then crouched and pounced upon him, but he had enough 
of his senses to roll out of the way, and, in a show of remarkable 
agility and coordination, got to his feet.

As Letha looked at him, she suddenly recognized him. “You’re that guy 
that ruined Poundcakes’ date.”

He stared at her. “And you’re that chick that was a pretty good fighter. 
Too bad thunderthighs ruined it.”

“Well not this time!” The two began fighting.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Orochimaru scowled at the display. Really, what use was the glorified 
wrestler when she couldn’t even take care of a single drunken idiot? He 
turned to one of the men next to them. “Shoot him.”

“Letha is in the way, Sir,” the agent said.

“Shoot them. Shoot them both. On stun, though. I don’t want a stray shot 
to kill one of our hostages, at least not until after they’ve paid their 
ransom.”

Kodachi overheard the command and saw several men aim their weapons at 
the pair, who were too caught up in their fight to notice the guns aimed 
in their direction. She cursed her lack of foresight in not bringing her 
armor along, but she had truly believed she had nothing to fear with her 
Captain at her side. And romance had been the primary objective of the 
evening. Now what was she to do? Heroically throw herself in the path of 
the oncoming beams? While it sounded noble, it sounded even more 
painful, and it wasn’t like she would stand a chance to do anything.

A hail of gunfire took the decision out of Kodachi’s hands. She turned 
to see Cabe and the Ling girl had overturned two tables and pulled out a 
pair of guns from under their dresses while their charges were under 
cover, though Stark seemed to be protesting. They were shooting with 
dangerous accuracy, each shot striking a Hydra agent. It was then 
Kodachi recalled the name of Cabe, and a Ling McPherson. They were a 
bodyguard agency, highly recommended as she recalled. Well, no doubt 
they whored themselves out as well, though at the moment their 
bodyguarding was the more important skill set they were bringing to bear.

The gunfire attracted the attention of the Hydra personnel, and a hail 
of energy beams saturated the area. Apparently Justine didn’t care for 
the attention as Kodachi saw her order her bodyguard into action. 
Several stray blasts struck him, but he barely flinched. It was only 
when he met Poundcakes that his progress was halted, the large girl 
kicking him while he tried hammering her with his fists. Biko and Shaw 
sought cover elsewhere, Shaw placing himself in front of the girl. Stack 
was standing before Bain, who seemed nonplussed by all the gunfire 
around her, as though assuming her date could withstand the withering 
fire. Kodachi swore she saw several of the shots arc away from them.

It was then the Mendous stood up, Ryoko’s left hand in Shuutaro’s right. 
She announced “Your drink seems to have ended up all over my dress. I’m 
really quite put out. Let us put an end to things, brother dear.”

“Well put, sister.”

The pair leveled their free hands at the cluster of Hydra agents. A red 
beam of energy emanated from Ryoko’s hand while a blue one came from 
Shuutaro’s. The red beam struck the floor, melting it and causing all 
the men standing upon it to fall downward, while the blue one struck in 
the midst of another group, the impact sending men flying everywhere.

That turned the tide of battle as the remainder of the Hydra personnel, 
not anticipating super-powered resistance, began to run for it. Even 
Monster Ape grabbed the semi-conscious Titania, followed by running into 
Captain Japan from behind and making like Faye Wray with Letha as he 
leapt out a window with the pair. Kodachi assumed it was over, as only 
the leader of the group was left standing.

And then beams of energy emanated from the seven serpent heads on the 
crown. One caught Shuutaro, hurling him from Ryoko’s hand. Rather than 
shooting the leader, she cried out in distress and went to help her 
brother. Another leveled both Poundcakes and Justine’s bodyguard, while 
the remaining blasts forced everyone, except the still standing Bain and 
Stack, to run away.

“I got you, Snake Head,” the costumeless Captain Japan shouted, using 
near inhuman agility to dodge a number of blasts aimed at him. Once next 
to the leader he began pounding away. Kodachi’s heart hammered at her 
chest as her future boyfriend saved the day, pummeling the fiend who had 
tried to ransom her. It made her want to swoon, were she not made of 
sterner stuff.

Just as it appeared the leader was incapacitated a random blast from the 
helm clipped the hero in the head. Stunned, the Hydra leader fled out 
the way he had come in.

Kodachi rushed over to her fallen hero, who was recovering quickly. How 
was she to approach him? Damsel in distress relieved at her hero saving 
her? Concerned comrade? Hmm. The latter seemed the best, and if it 
failed, she would do the former.

By the time she had decided the Captain was on his feet, rubbing his 
head. “Are you all right?” she asked.

The hero scowled. “Yeah. Darn it, that grappler chick got away again. 
One of these days we got to have a fight without any interference so I 
can prove I’m tougher once and for all.”

Seeing him in such foul spirits, Kodachi decided to cheer him up. “You 
were the one who put a stop to the leader when everyone else failed.”

That brightened his mood considerably. “Yeah, you’re right. I did save 
the day.” He turned to Kodachi and looked her in the eyes. “I got to 
confess something to you.”

Kodachi felt her heart nearly rip out of her chest it beat so hard. A 
love confession after only one date. Yes! It was her dream come true.

He continued. “At first I thought this whole bodyguard crap was going to 
be the most boring thing ever – who wants to hang out with a bunch of 
rich snobs stuffing themselves with fish eggs and boozing it up like a 
bunch of drunken lushes-- but it actually turned out pretty good. I’m 
glad I came. It was a great party. Thanks for inviting me.”

Kodachi sighed on the inside. Too bad, she was hoping for him to confess 
his love for her, but she supposed it would take at least two or three 
dates, and he was obviously sincere in having a good time. It really had 
been a near perfect evening, she thought as the sirens of fire engines, 
police cars, and ambulances headed toward the party. There was only one 
burning question in her mind.

How could she make the second date top this one?

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Orochimaru staggered away from the sound of sirens. He had 
underestimated his mastery of the Serpent Crown and the mental energy 
required to harness its power. The force blasts had taken a lot out of 
him, and those sledgehammers that drunken idiot called fists had taken 
their toll as well. It had taken the last of Orochimaru’s mental 
strength to summon the final burst to throw the fool from him and make 
an escape.

But it was a temporary setback at best. A day, two at the most, and he 
would be far more in tune with the Serpent Crown as well as replenishing 
his mental energies. Then it might be time to let the Imperial Hydra in 
on the wonders of being a servant to Set. All it would take to get his 
foot in the door was donning the Serpent Crown but once and all would be 
well.

Orochimaru turned a corner and encountered three people. Or more 
appropriately, two people and a yellow ball with a face on it that held 
a plastic bag with DVDs in it. The boy was a teenager with dark hair 
that exuded angst (even more than the typical teen). He wore a blue 
jacket with a fan on it and seemed vaguely familiar. The dark-haired 
girl appeared about the same age, dressed in a skimpy pink kunoichi 
outfit. While the boy radiated angst, the girl held an aura of perpetual 
cheer about her. Even her headband had a smiley face on it.

The boy took one look at Orochimaru and said, “You!” It wasn’t the sort 
of you that was in the vein of, “You just won a million dollars,” nor 
was it, “You need to feed the meter.” It wasn’t even, “Mr. Yu, so nice 
to drop by.” It was, “You aren’t going to exist a moment longer.”

Orochimaru hated that one.

Lacking any weapons, and unable to summon the energies of the Serpent 
Crown, Orochimaru went with wheedling his way out of things. He waved 
his hand before the boy’s face, “I am not the terrorist you are looking 
for.”

The girl and yellow ball said in a droning tone, “You are not the 
terrorist we are looking for.”

The boy’s response was, “Of course you are!”

Damn, two out of three wasn’t bad, though. “I am certain that whatever 
you resent me for is totally out of proportion with what I actually did.”

“You blew up my family’s restaurant with them in it!”

Of course! That was it. Orochimaru had just mentioned that incident. 
“Would it help if I assured you they had it coming?”

In response Sasuke inhaled deeply, and then exhaled a steady stream of 
fire that would have put napalm to shame. Orochimaru died instantly and 
was incinerated within seconds, the faint smell of roasted snake and a 
pile of ashes the only indication he had been there.

xxxxxxxxx

A hand popped out from Onsokumaru’s body and reached up to touch 
Sasuke’s shoulder. “Now have you come to the realization that the path 
of vengeance leaves one empty inside?”

“Are you kidding? For the first time in years I feel great. It’s as 
though a great burden has been lifted from my shoulders, and I’m filled 
with a satisfaction that boarders on ecstasy.”

“But you’re not smiling,” Shinobu pointed out.

“Sasuke Uchiha smiles on the inside.”

“You’re just staying angsty so the girls continue to flock to you, 
aren’t you?” Onsokumaru accused.

Sasuke remained silent.

Onsokumaru sighed. “In any case, I’ve led you to the man you wanted to 
kill, as I promised. Now you have to keep working for me.”

Sasuke turned on him. “We were out on your weekly porn run and we just 
happened to run into him.”

“’Ninja Girls Go Wild’ is not porn!” Onsokumaru insisted. “It’s a 
valuable tool in assessing potential recruits. Sort of like the ninja 
equivalent of a combine in college football.”

“How does knowing a ninja girl’s breast size help recruit them?”

“It tells us what size uniforms we need to order.”

“But mine are always too short and too tight,” Shinobu pointed out by 
fingering her low cut, tight top.

“No, they’re just right,” Onsokumaru assured her, drool escaping from 
his mouth.

Shinobu was about to say something else, then turned and pointed at the 
pile of ashes that had once been Orochimaru. “Look. That snake crown is 
sitting there, unmarked by the flames.”

“Let me see it.” Hands extended from the sides of Onsokumaru and 
stretched out to pick up the crown. He placed it on his head. Instantly 
his red orbs turned into vertical slits and his yellow surface took on a 
scaly composition. To no one in particular, he said, “Yesss, I sssseeee, 
SSSSSSet.” He paused, as though listening to a voice only he could hear. 
“No, I don’t have to hissss my essssesssss. I thought it would be a nice 
touch.” He paused again, “Ultimate power? Well, let me sssssee.” He 
pulled a mirror from out of nowhere and gazed at his reflection. “Sorry, 
while it’s tempting, there’s no way I can pick up babes wearing 
something as hideous as this.” He lifted the crown off his head and 
tossed down a nearby sewer.

He turned to his companions. “Now let’s go watch those recruiting 
films.” And continued heading to his headquarters with his two ninja 
associates in tow.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[End chapter]

Yay! We’re back. Yes, this one was a bit loaded with new characters, but 
I’m trying to keep how Mentallo probed a mystery at the moment, though 
there are probably some people who suspect based on previous chapters. A 
No Prize to those who know what Mentallo and the Fixer ran from and 
figured out who owns it, given the clues in previous chapters. The 
Mendous abilities are identical to Fenris (the Von Strucker twins). 
Heck, I even wrapped up Sasuke’s little subplot from way back in Act II.

Next chapter will have a little plot development that will make things a 
little more difficult for Ranma.