$Ho~ly crap!  I'm back!

I have to admit, I simply gave up this summer.  Work and stuff took up
so much time and energy that I gave up all pretense of writing,
commenting, or even reading.  I figured I'd get back to it when school
rolled around and I got some free time.  Well, school rolled around, but
seeing's how I'm now living with my fiancee and my bills are mounting
up, I had to take a part time job.  No problem, I thought, I'll find
time somehow...  Then my computer fried.  Motherboard, memory, keyboard,
and floppy drive.  Took WEEKS to get Dell to fix it.

Now I'm back with a new email address and a new webpage, 'cause I found
out my fiancee's family was looking around on the net and reading stuff
I would really rather they hadn't read.  Whoops.

Now I look at my mail folder and wince.  Arg, what a backlog.

Let's start with the most recent, shall we?


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...

	$Indeed.  I hope I can help, I think I'm kinda rusty.

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


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

The man once known as Herb, but now known to the world as the Mandarin,
stared at the woman he had just captured. His imagination swirled with
the
potential this 'Thor' presented.

	$Yeah, I bet.  I don't call autoeroticism 'imagining the potential'
though.

 He was so lost in thought

	$, most of which involved her waking up 'Thor' in the morning,

 he was unaware of
the arrival of his minions until Tarou cleared his throat.

"Nice work, Boss," Tarou said, lacking his trademark haughtiness.

"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?"

His employer's rebuke irritated Tarou enough that he chose to answer in
an
equally curt voice. "Some big green monster got dunked in Jusenkyou.
Unlike
me, his curse was not beneficial. We can carve him into ham hocks
later."

The Mandarin passed a hand over the piglet. One of his rings glowed with
a
light green tint. "Hmm. Gamma irradiated, like yourself. This will bear
further investigation." He turned to the others. "Tell me, who are they
and
what can they do?"

Speed Demon spun around so the prisoner draped over his shoulder could
be
seen by his boss. "His name's Hawkeye. No super powers. Just got a bunch
of
trick arrows."

"He took you out," Tarou jibed.

"He's darn good with the arrows," Speed Demon replied, showing no sign
of
embarrassment.

	$Strip search him!  He might have hidden tools or weapons.

Swordsman showed off his prisoner with exaggerated flair. "This foul
knave
goes by the name of Daredevil. He is deceitful, ill-tempered, does not
know
his place, dared to attack me, who is clearly his better, and is vastly
inferior to my own tremendous skills."

The Mandarin looked to Tarou.

	$Heh.  Simple, yet funny.

"Guy keeps hidden weapons in his costume. No other super powers," Tarou
translated.

Power Man took his turn with his prisoner. "Speed Demon said she's the
Iron
Rose. I don't know how large her tits are since this armor's so clunky."

"I don't care about her breast size!" the Mandarin snapped. "Does all of
her
power come from her armor?"

	$Power Man: Actually, I have reason to believe it comes from her
breasts.

"Yep. She almost knocked me out, and that was after Swordsman fought
her. Of
course I had just fought Thor and the pig right before, so I wasn't
feeling
too great."

The Mandarin considered that. "Armor that powerful might mean some of
the
technology could be potentially useful."

"Want me to peel it off her?" Power Man offered.

The Mandarin shook his head. "No, that would destroy the armor. Removing
it
now would be ill advised. It might be booby trapped."

"Excellent!" Power Man and Speed Demon said as one.

	$Heheh.  I didn't even see that one coming.

"That means it might explode! It has nothing to do with her breasts, you
idiots!"

Both visibly deflated.

	$Awww...  No, wait, you're talking about Mint and Lime.  You shouldn't
use that line when talking about breasts.

"I shall investigate it later. I'll leave all of them alive for now,
imprisoned. Each one is potentially useful to me. If they prove
otherwise,
or I find them tiresome, I will dispatch them later. Now... wait a
minute.
Where's Elektra?"

"She fell into the underground river with Captain Japan. That was the
last
we saw of either of them," Speed Demon explained.

"I insisted we search for them immediately, but our so-called team
leader,"
Swordsman shot a glare towards Tarou, "insisted we come here with the
prisoners first. Another sign he is ill fit to lead. There is no telling
what harm might befall the beauteous Elektra in the hands of such a cad
as
that Captain person."

"They both fell in the water and are probably dead," Tarou assured his
leader, shooting Swordsman a scathing look.

"I want confirmation," the Mandarin insisted. "Mint, Lime-"

"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."

"Right," both said.

"The pig can be placed in the somnia gas chamber." He turned to the
goddess
on the floor. "This one is of particular value to me. The neural
paralysis
table should immobilize her in similar fashion to her armored comrade.
Make
sure she's securely fastened to the table. I remember the mutant bear
that
slipped out of the bonds before you activated the neural paralysis."

	$Perhaps...  paralysis," he warned.

"We'll be careful," Speed Demon promised.

The Mandarin turned to Tarou and Swordsman. "You two are going to locate
the
Captain and our missing assassin. Bring the man to me alive as well." He
turned to exit the room.

"What if he's already dead?" Tarou asked.

The Mandarin stopped at the doorway to the room, "Then bring back his
body."

Once his employer had departed, Tarou finally allowed himself to
snicker.
"Now that, can easily be arranged."

	$The comma doesn't do much to emphasise 'that', it just looks out of
place.  Suggest you use something else.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Liquid dreams filled her mind as she found herself sinking into an
eternal
ocean of blood. An ocean she had created over the severed flesh of her
assigned targets. She was suspended in crimson ether that carried on
into
infinity. There was no up or down, left or right. There was just the
blood.
Slowly she felt her lungs crushed under the weight of her sins. There
were
no voices to taunt her, they had all been silenced at the end of a
blade,
but the sanguine fluid that had been spilled would stand in place of her

	$Oooh, sanguine.  There's a word I haven't seen used in a while.

victims' cries of revenge. She tried to keep the liquid out, closing her
mouth, but the blood seemed to seep into her body through her pores,
filling
her lungs, forcing the life-giving air out so that she might drown in
her
sins.

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.

And then there was light. And pain. Pain from within, worse than any she
had
felt since killing her best and only friend. She vomited fluid, and what
felt like most of her vital organs, and still the retching continued as
her
stomach tried reflexively throwing out what had already been emptied.

	$stomach continued trying to throw out

Eventually the nausea passed, and Elektra collapsed on her back. She had
to
regain her bearings. Pain was accepted, and she forced her mind to look
beyond the discomfort and evaluate her situation. She took stock of her
surroundings. She was laying flat on the ground, her body still
convulsing
mildly. She was wet, soaked almost as much inside her body as out. She
could
hear the movement of someone nearby. An enemy. All people were assumed
enemies until they were judged otherwise.

Her body was in poor shape, damaged temporarily. And like any other
weapon
that was damaged, she would have to rely on other tools until it was
repaired. Slowly her hand moved towards her sash where she kept a
stiletto,
garrote, and shurikens concealed within the folds of the cloth.

They were all gone.

"You're awake."

Elektra's eyes flashed open. She expected someone to lunge at her with
blade, bullet, or flesh. It would not be the first time such had
happened,
waking just in time to counter a fatal attack. But instead of a violent
killer intent on her death, she saw a short, busty girl with flame
colored
hair sticking out from the top of a mask wrapped around her face. Her
costume was red and white, with a rising sun emblazoned across both it
and
the shield affixed to her arm.

	$a shield

A full recollection of the events that led up to that moment came to
Elektra. She turned to see the flow of water beside her. She was resting
on
a rocky projection next to the river. It formed what was almost a crude
pathway, judging by the way the rock continued on upriver and out of
sight.
An odd phosphorescent glow seemed to emanate from the rock walls
themselves.
Obviously she had been pulled out of the river and onto dry land.

"You kept me from drowning," she said warily to her savior.

The redhead nodded. "Yeah, you took a nasty one straight to the temple.
You
were out cold. It's lucky for you I dove in after you."

"Why?" Once the word had left her lips, Elektra realized how irrelevant
the
question was. The action was done, the reasons meant nothing. This girl
had
her own designs, and an obvious use for Elektra, or else she would never
have saved the assassin.

The girl looked at Elektra as though she was the most stupid person in
the
world. "Well geez, I couldn't let you die."

The simplicity of the statement, as though the girl was saying 'Of
course
the sun rises in the East,' unsettled Elektra. "You mean you did not
save me

	$east

so I would be indebted to you?" she asked.

The redhead seemed confused by the nature of the question. "Ah, no. That
would be a pretty stupid way of doing things. Heck, I wouldn't be able
to
keep track of all the favors people owed me if I expected everyone I
saved
to return the favor."

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.

	$Pretty sure the s shouldn't be capitalized.

But still, despite the obvious foolishness, Elektra felt strangely moved
by
the gesture. No one had ever done anything for her without the
expectation
of receiving something in return, at least for long as she could
remember.
Everything the Hand gave had a string attached. When she went
undercover,
she would frequently be romanced with the intention of someone bedding
her.

	$No pun intended?  ^_-

There was always some form of compensation involved. But this girl
desired
nothing. It was most... confusing.

"Where are my weapons?" Elektra asked. She felt naked without them, and
was
suspicious of the redhead appearing out of nowhere to save her. It
seemed
too good to be true.

"I took care of them. I didn't want you to try to run me through aga...
I
mean like you tried to do to my partner."

"Partner?" Elektra looked the girl over. How could she have been so
blind?
Obviously from the way the girl was dressed and the shield she bore she
would have been partnered to Captain Japan. "I do not recall seeing you
in
the battle..." Elektra trailed off, unsure of how to address her savior.

"I was... ah, late getting there. And the name's Bucky."

	$was, ah...

The girl was lying about the former, and very poorly. What did she have
to
hide? Elektra looked at her more closely. The uniform bore signs of
combat.
There was a large tear in the front where the material had been sliced
open
and the faint redness of a fresh cut below that. The slash was long
enough,
and in such an area, that the girl's ample bosom clearly showed; a fact
she
seemed unaware of.

Noticing Elektra's stare, the redhead's eyes followed the gaze. Seeing
what
was poking out, she quickly muttered a curse, and proceeded to tear her
top
off, using it to tie around her breasts in a very tattered bikini top
style.
"No one's going to take me seriously with my belly button showing,"
Bucky
grumbled.

	$I dunno, it seems to work for most of the modern Marvel heroines.

Elektra was not as concerned about Bucky's appearance as she with the
wound.
The injury was identical to the one she had given the Captain himself. A
coincidence? Hardly. Elektra stood up, her eyes seeming to bore holes
through Bucky. There was no way the redhead could be the Captain in
disguise. The physiological differences made it impossible. Although
looking
more closely, she could see the uniform was actually loose on the girl.
Had
she switched clothes with the Captain? Why? She was not trying to
impersonate him.

Elektra reviewed the facts she knew. The last thing she remembered was
being
on the bridge, something shattering it, and being hit in the head by a
stray
piece of granite. The next thing she knew, she had been saved by a girl
who
looked similar to the man Elektra had been fighting, dressed the same as
him, and had an identical wound. The only problem was gender. So what
was
the solution?

The water!

The memory came back to Elektra, one long forgotten in a childhood that
she
had forsaken so long ago. If she remembered the tales correctly, there
was
indeed something that could change a person's gender. And cold water was
the
trigger. She pointed at the girl and said, "Jusenkyou?"

The shock on Bucky's face was evident. "Yeah, how'd you know about it?"

The past. For all of Elektra's efforts to bury it, it had come surging
to
the fore. She had not reflected on her childhood for years. Memories of
a
dead past only served to slow one down.

	$Could the Amazons take the Hand?

 Bucky's question, in conjunction
with this curse told as a tale from her youth, elicited feelings in
Elektra
that she did not want to remember. "It is none of your concern."

Bucky gripped Elektra firmly by the shoulders. "Come on, you got to tell
me.
I need a cure for this."

"It was only a fable I heard when I was very young. I did not believe
the
place truly existed. I am unaware of any cure." A lie, but one delivered
flawlessly.

Bucky did indeed believe the explanation as her shoulders visibly
slumped in
defeat. But then a resolve seemed to settle over her. "All right, so now
you
know the truth. What are you going to do about it? Are we going to have
to
fight again?"

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."

	$Won't stop me from kicking you in the back of the head, though, she
thought.

Bucky seemed visibly relieved. "Okay. Now I gotta get back and rescue my
friends. Well, they ain't really my friends. I only met most of them
once
before today. But that's beside the point."

"I shall go with you. It's a matter of honor," Elektra said firmly.

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?"

Elektra pointed upriver along the crude pathway that went up and out of
sight. "Following this as far as it can go would be the best. If there
is an
interruption in the path, we will make do as best as we can."

"Works for me," Bucky agreed.

With the matter settled, the two began to walk back.

Xxxxxxxxxx

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.

Wasp squinted at the bright light of the sun. She covered her eyes until
they had a chance to adjust to the sunlight.

	$Oh, come on, as small as she is, what, a hundred photons can squeeze
in to hit her retina?

She surveyed the scene around her. There was debris scattered all
around. It
took her a moment to recall what had happened. She had drifted off to
sleep
nestled among the landing gear, Doctor Tofu (no, Giant Man when he was a
superhero) still babbling incoherently, when there was the sound of a
loud
explosion and the sense of plummeting very quickly. Wasp had recovered
enough to rise to her feet as she heard further sounds of metal tearing
and
the falling continued. She had managed to grab onto Giant Man, used her
sting to blow a hole through the quinjet's landing gear doors, and flew
out
as the vehicle headed straight for the ground. She had barely enough
time to
stop her decent, especially with her super hero partner cradled in her
arms,
before crashing into the ground It was fortunate she retained her full

	$ground.  It

strength at Wasp height, else both she and her partner would have met a
rather grisly demise.

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....

....And that was it. She couldn't remember anything else. Perhaps the
debris

	$...And

had struck her, and she had fallen to earth with Giant 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?

Yes, she could. Doctor Tofu wanted to help the world as best as he
could,
and he would never want Kasumi to give up her new dreams in which she
helped
others, as well as living the exciting life of an adventurer. There were
risks involved, but didn't she take a risk every time she prepared
puffer
fish for the family?

	$Heh, only if she ate it too.

 Why, given the number of people who died in car
accidents, she was still more likely to die crossing the street, even if
she
gave up superheroeing.

"I will carry on in your name, Doctor Tofu," she swore.

"What's wrong with my name?" The voice came from under a piece of metal
located to the right of Wasp.

	$Would have been funnier if he'd thought she was proposing.

Stunned by the unexpected response, Wasp flew over, picked up the piece
of
metal and tossed it aside. Underneath lay her partner, only now sitting
up,
clearly dazed. His uniform appeared a bit dirty, but no external wounds
showed. "Oh, you're not dead after all."

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.

"Oh dear, it's happening again." Wasp grabbed one of the metal cylinders
on
Giant Man's belt and detached it. She pointed the nozzle at him, and hit
a
button located on the bottom. A stream of green gas enveloped the upper
portions of his body, dissipating almost immediately. The growth gas
served
to negate the effects of the shrinking one he had used earlier, and
allowed
Giant Man to live at least partially up to his moniker as his form grew
from
a handful of centimeters to the height of a normal man.

	$Only a handful of centimeters?  How big was he?

No longer in his Kasumi inflicted haze, Giant Man regained his bearings
and
looked around. "Where are we? This doesn't look like the airport."

<snip>

xxxxxxxxxx

Speed Demon and Power Man made their way through one of the long stone
corridors of the fortress that served as their base, their two remaining
prisoners in tow. Actually, Power Man was doing all of the towing, while
Speed Demon walked alongside him. The big man had the world's largest
piglet
tucked under one arm and the Goddess of Thunder slung over the other.

"Hold on a second." Power Man placed both his burdens on the ground,
then
pulled up his tights.

"What's wrong?"

"My outfit is a little loose. I think I lost some weight."

Speed Demon shook his head sadly. "That wouldn't happen if we had
uniforms
made out of unstable molecules. They fit you snugly no matter how big or
small you are. It's like the ultimate spandex. Too bad the Mandarin is
too
cheap to buy some for us."

	$Heh.

"Yeah, you think with the big missile and satellite system he built, he
could drop a few yuan on us to get us some decent clothing. I mean,
sure,
the material the old Spider Clan made is awful tough, but it itches
something fierce."

Speed Demon scratched his crotch. "I know what you mean. After we get
our
own countries, I'm sure we can afford to buy lots of outfits for
ourselves.
Now let's drop these guys off. The holding cells are just around the
corner."

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

	$loose

had fallen off when he set her down.

The pair turned the corner and entered the holding room. Unlike the
stony
corridors of the fortress, the room was completely encased in metal.
Computers lined one of the walls. A number of large glass cubes stood
alongside each other, while the third side to the chamber bore several
flat
tables. Huge metal restraints that could be snapped into place were at
each
one's sides, and odd-looking helmets rested at the head of each table. A
number of wires led from the helmets to one of the banks of computers
along
the wall.

Speed Demon said, "Let's hurry up. I'm hungry. I'll put the pig in the
somnia gas chamber. You put the girl on the table."

Reminded of the fact they had not eaten since their return from Japan,
Power
Man roughly tossed Thor upon the table and locked the bands into
position.
As each locked down, it tightened until it created a form fitting bond
across the unconscious woman. They were firm, but not tight enough to
cut
off circulation. He then placed the helmet on her head. Like the bands,
it
too tightened until it formed a perfect seal on the top of her skull.

Speed Demon's task was simpler. He tossed the pig into one of the clear
cubes, and closed the access door to it. With that he walked over to a
console located on the largest computer of all, and punched a button.
Red
wisps of the Mandarin's somnia gas filled the chamber. Seeing Power Man
had
Thor strapped down, he turned a second dial and was rewarded with a hum
of
power emitting from the helmet.

"Everything seems to be working fine. The gas will keep the pig asleep
and
the neural table will prevent any higher brain activity, like waking up,
from Thor," Speed Demon said as he looked over the control panel. "Let's
go
eat."

Power Man nodded in agreement. As the duo exited the room, the larger
man
said, "Hey, Mint."

"Speed Demon."

"Fine, Speed Demon," Power Man said with a touch of irritability. "You
don't
suppose the boss created those chambers to keep us in line if he thought
we
were going to turn on him or something, do you?"

"Not us. Probably if Pantyhose doesn't like his new name or something,"
Speed Demon assured him.

	$Heh.  Of course, they're not very likely to turn on him, either.

"Oh, that makes me feel better." They were halfway down the corridor
when
Power Man followed up with an, "Oh, shoot!"

"What?"

"We were so busy doing what the boss said, we missed a perfect
opportunity
to touch Thor's breasts."

	$*shakes head*

"We could go back."

Power Man considered that. "We'll eat first, then grab later."

"Good idea. We need to get our priorities straight, after all." The two
continued on.

And in the chamber they had left behind moments before, the sixtieth
second
had passed since Thor had last been in contact with her hammer. She
disappeared in a flash and was replaced by an ordinary Japanese
teenager.
The helmet slipped off the smaller head. The bonds around the body also
remained at their previous setting. Akane Tendou's form was so much
smaller
that that bands did not even touch her as she lay motionless on the
table.

	$that the bands

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bucky continued up the path along the river. It was almost as though it
served as some sort of access way, which seemed impossible. Why would
anyone
create a walkway alongside an underground river that led only down into
the
earth? It wasn't even part of the fortress proper. Just a crude
underground
passageway carved out of the earth by the flow of water. Still, she was
not
one to look down on a gift handed to her. With luck they could travel
most
of the way on foot. Hopefully the idiots in the fortress either thought
she
was dead or were too scared to come back.

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.

Trying to take her mind off the potentially bad situation, Bucky decided
to
strike up a conversation with her companion. "So, how'd you end up
working
for the bad guys?"

Elektra shrugged. "They hired me. It's just a job."

Bucky looked at her as though she had grown a third eye. "How can you be
so
blas� about it?

	$Shouldn't he mispronounce it or something?

 I mean, they're bad guys. They want to hurt people and
stuff." Suddenly she realized she didn't know what these people were up
to.
She had gone after them in the beginning because they were attacking the
police, and later, because they had defeated her. But she had no idea of
what their motives truly were.

If Elektra was moved by Bucky's concern, she did not show it. In a
casual
voice, she said, "I am of the Hand. I obey their wishes. They were
contacted
by the Mandarin, who was in need of enforcers to protect his fortress
from
attack, obviously a wise choice. I was selected to aid him. It is as
simple
as that."

"But that's wrong! You can't hurt people just because you're told to.
You've
gotta act responsible and protect others. It's the duty of the strong to
protect the weak and stand up for them."

Elektra shook her head. "So naive. You actually believe that mindless
idiocy
you're babbling about."

"Of course I do." It took Bucky a moment to realize what she had said.
"I
mean it's not idiocy or babble. It's the way you got to do things to
make
the world a great place."

"You cannot change the world anymore than you can change human nature.
Society is composed of two types of people. The strong and the weak. The
strong prey upon the weak. That is the way of things."

"That's crazy. You can't live life like that. Everyone would be
miserable.

	$Most of them already are.

You gotta try and help others. Wouldn't you like it better if everyone
treated you like I did?"

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."

Bucky was about to argue further, but thought better of it. She had more
urgent matters on hand than trying to explain to a super villain why her
entire method of thinking was wrong. There would be time enough for that
later, when she turned her in to the proper authorities.

Bucky concentrated on the path in front of her. Just as she was about to
turn a corner following yet another bend in the seemingly endless river,
two
figures came from around it first.

There was a moment of bewilderment between the two pairs. After a
moment,
Tarou, the first to recover, said, "Well, well, well. What have we here?
I
go out to find a putz, and instead I find a babe." He smiled
lasciviously at
Bucky. "What's your name? Cleavage Girl?"

	$Howabout Miss Nipples?

Swordsman seemed equally as pleased at the sight before him. "How kind.
The
goddess of fate has bestowed her favor upon me. I set out on a quest to
find
of one vision of loveliness, only to be confronted by two instead. Oh
joyous
rapture!" He held his sword up and pointed it to the Heavens, or more
correctly, towards the ceiling, since he was currently underground.

Tarou continued smirking. "Judging by the costume, what there is of it,
she
looks like a groupie of Captain Weenie. Hey honey, why don't I show you
what
a real man can do with a hot little number like you?"

"You lousy pervert!" Bucky railed. Keeping her eyes on the two
opponents,
she said over her shoulder. "Keep behind me. I'll protect you."

	$Is he really that stupid?

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."

Muscles not responding in the slightest, Bucky slumped to the ground,
turning as she fell so that she landed on her back. Her vision began to
grow
faint along the edges as Elektra came into view. "Why?" was all she
managed
to get out as darkness began to claim her.

A snort of derision came from Elektra. "I'm an assassin, you idiot.
Stabbing
people in the back is what I do."

And then the world went black.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tarou came closer to stand over the girl. He continued leering at her as
he
spoke to Elektra. "Where'd you find this one, and where's Captain
Jerkwad?"

Elektra was about to explain the Captain's situation, something Tarou
could
appreciate since once she had mentally reviewed the fight she realized
that
he too had a Jusenkyou curse, when she found herself saying instead,
"The
Captain is dead. Drowned. His body washed away. The girl is his partner.
She
stumbled upon me as I pulled myself from the river. She was unaware of
the
Captain's fate, and assumed, I was aligned with her. I was still weak
from

	$assumed I

nearly drowning, so I pretended to be on her side until you showed up."

Swordsman said, "It is good to see you did not suffer overmuch from the
base
attack the foul Captain unleashed upon you. It is for the best that he
met
his demise, else I would smite him myself for daring to try to harm
you."

Tarou ignored his comrade's excessively flowery speech. He kept his eyes
riveted on Bucky. "I'll tell you guys what. Swordy, why don't you take
Elektra back and go over things with the boss, since he'll want you to
confirm Flag Boy's dead? I'll ah... secure this prisoner and catch up to
you

	$I'll, ah...

guys later."

Elektra saw that Swordsman was too preoccupied with being allowed to
travel
with her to understand what Tarou was really implying. She had seen that
look before on dozens of faces, both on her opponents and occasionally
on
her fellow Hand members. Instead of being amused at the idea of the
arrogant
clod accidentally raping a man --a fact that would probably drive him
into a
frenzy-- Elektra found herself feeling inexplicably protective of the
girl.
"She's my prisoner."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be responsible for her. You've been through
a
lot and need a break," Tarou insisted in a smooth voice.

"I said she's mine." The assassin reached down and picked the girl up,
effortlessly tossing the burden over her shoulder. As she turned, she
noticed Tarou shooting her a murderous glare. She found that truly
amusing.
>From the moment she had met him, she had taken an intense dislike of him
that bordered on hatred. Probably because he reminded her so much of her
mentor, Matsuo. They were cut from the same cloth.

	$Matsuo's nickname was Pantyhose, too?

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."

Elektra was barely able to suppress her mirth. It was just as well,
since it
served to blunt the confusion at her own inexplicable actions. Lying
about
the Captain being dead and protecting him from Tarou's abusive hands
were
both acts that went against everything she had been taught. While
denying
Tarou his opportunity to pleasure himself was rewarding, it would also
serve
to make Elektra a target of his anger. He had the skill and power to
make
life difficult for her, and presently she didn't have the option of
killing
him without provocation. And she didn't want to think about what the
Mandarin might do to her if he found out she had lied. While it was true
the
Captain would still be a prisoner and represented no threat, it would
make
her employer trust her less. And trust was always a commodity one tried
to
broker, since it made turning on the person that much easier if one had
to
betray him.

	$Words to live by.

She would need to meditate on the matter later, when time permitted.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Centurions!" the Mandarin shouted.

Within moments, several robots lumbered into the room. Identical to one
another, each was humanoid, about six feet tall, and weighed well over
five
hundred pounds. Their lower torso and thick legs were jet black. Their
upper
torsos and heads were a polished silver that seemed to reflect all the
light
shone about it. The design was similar to that of a Roman legionnaire
wearing a mask and helmet. Rather than faces, each one had something
more
akin to a grill for their lower nose and jaws, while a black slit
dominated
the upper portion of the face. A solitary red dot bounced back and forth
across the slit, going the length of one end to the other, and the
repeating
the motion endlessly.

In a highly digitized voice, the lead robot said. "What... is... your...
command?"

	$Thwow him to the floor!  Vewwy roughwy!

"The reactor facility has been damaged even worse than I originally
thought.
All robots are to report to it and began repair work immediately. I will
not
have my plans undone at this stage."

"By... your... command." The robots turned as one and headed to the
lower
bowels of the fortress.

As the robots exited the chamber, Elektra, Tarou, and Swordsman
appeared.
Elektra still bore Bucky over her shoulder, continuously telling
Swordsman
that neither she nor her burden were interested in double-dating,
especially
if he was the only man there.

While the two quarreled, Tarou pointed at the departing robots and said
to
the Mandarin, "I always wondered, if you got those neat robots, why not
just
build an army of them and take over the world that way? They're pretty
durable and strong as hell. I mean, they are slow, but you could use
them as
walking tanks or something."

"Perhaps," the Mandarin admitted. "But the design has one major
drawback:
they're terrible shots. Have you seen their eyes? They only have the one
that keeps going back and forth. It would be a miracle if they hit
anything.
It's just fortunate their programs are capable of designing things, or
else
I wouldn't have been able to order them to build the higher functions of
this facility, like the rocket and satellite. Conscripting the local
villagers into building something basic, like the fortress, was simple.
But
farmers are incapable of the delicate work needed to create vehicles
capable
of breaching the atmosphere."

Tarou nodded in approval "Yeah, lucky you found that spaceship with all

	$approval.

these advanced gizmos and stuff, otherwise this whole takeover the world
scheme would just be a dream."

The Mandarin gave Tarou an evil stare, "How did you find out about the
space-"

"Shoot, we forgot to feel her titties again."

"Maybe I should run back for a quick grope."

"Aw, come on, Min... Whiz... I mean Speedy. I want to grab them too."

	$Speedy: You can grab them after I get back, it's not like I'm going to
tear them off and keep them.

"Oh," the Mandarin said in a flat voice as Speed Demon and Power Man
entered
the room.

The pair spotted Elektra, and more importantly, the burden she bore.
Despite
being face down draped over the assassin's back, they were somehow aware
of
the fact she was not only female, but had a bosom that was worthy of
attention.

"Who's that?" Speed Demon asked as Elektra prevented him from feeling up
the
redhead.

"Yes," the Mandarin agreed. "I was under the impression that this
Captain
Japan person was somewhat male."

Elektra repeated what she had told Tarou and the Swordsman.

"I was hoping to interrogate her myself," Tarou threw in before Elektra
could protest. "I guarantee I can get her to talk."

"I shall be the one to conduct all the interrogations," the Mandarin
informed him in a tone that would brook no argument.

Tarou merely bowed.

Elektra again hid the smile that threatened to come to her. She could
practically feel the anger boiling off Tarou, even if he openly accepted
his
employer's decision with a stoicism she had previously thought him
incapable
of.

	$The quickest way to learn tact and manners is to be around someone
that could squish you like a bug.

To Speed Demon and Power Man, the Mandarin instructed, "Secure the girl
in
the same room as the rest of the normal intruders."

Elektra was quick to say, "Perhaps it would be best if I were to
personally
chain her and allow those two to show me the way, since we should make
absolutely certain she is secured. After all, we wouldn't want any
distractions that might prevent them from doing a good job."

The Mandarin noted the way his henchmen drooled over Bucky's revealing
top.
"Yes, you raise a good point. You will bind the girl. Soon the satellite
will be in position. After issuing my ultimatum, I shall interrogate the
prisoners and discover how they knew the location of my secret base. We
should have been impervious to any form of electronic detection, none of
the
villagers would be foolish enough to betray me, and the members of the
government that are backing me have almost as much to lose as I, should
their identities be revealed. It is a mystery that tasks me, and I would
know what this all means."

Just as he was about to head towards his control room, an electronic
voice
emitted from a microphone at his belt and said, "Security breach in the
gateway."

"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.

	$Yeah, really.  My boss keeps looking in and wanting me to stop C&Cing
and actually work.  This'll do for half the C&C, anyhow.  Expect the
next half soon.  Then, working backwards, I'll eventually get around to
all of 'Things', as well as stuff by other people.

-Ragun




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