Red Lightning: The Gods are Amongst Us
S1E2: Kage no Mori

My life changed when a storm, full of red lightning, split the sky in half as it struck the ground.

My friend Double-D was given super speed. He's all good and justice and stuff, but he's a good guy to have in a fist-fight now. He calls himself Flashpoint now.

As for me, I'm a giant metal man. Half the time, anyway. I'm untouchable, stronger than anything, and all it takes are some magic words. Who am I? I'm Quarterback!

-Eddy McGee

Ed and Eddy were sitting in Eddy's canary yellow hatchback, looking out on the shopping complex. Parked somewhere in the Entertainment District. With Eddy's illegal window-tint, and the engine turned off, it blended perfectly with the other cars that were parked for the night.

"So, my cousin's going to have the baby in a month's time. My moms are gonna take us all to Blackpool for the christening, but we're also gonna' spend the rest of the week at the pier." Ed finished, before taking a gulp from his coffee.

"Oh, cool. Is it a boy or a girl?" Eddy asked.

"I dunno, Sarah says she won't even let me near the baby when it's born." Ed said.

"Yeah, well, my pa's taking me back to America for the Easter holidays. He says the old tribe's meeting up for a family reunion. Y'know, to scatter gramp's ashes." Eddy shrugged, taking another large bite out of his donut.

"That's cool." Ed said. "Hey, remind me again why Double-D couldn't be here?"

"Damn it Ed, remember this time!" Eddy grunted. "He's trying to figure out that wacky collar that those schmucks strapped on Kevin."

"Cool, cool." Ed grinned. His grin disappeared as he noticed shapes near the old electronics building. The shapes were climbing the walls and getting onto the roof.

"Hey, you see that?" Ed asked, tapping Eddy's arm, and pointing to the shapes.

Eddy squinted, his vision much better than his human companion's.

"Now, that is suspicious." Eddy said. "Let's go scope it out."

Ed was thrown by Eddy to the roof, and he landed on his feet, crouching and balancing himself with one hand, landing with a semi-graceful thud.

"Yo, Burrhead, you see anything!" Eddy hissed.

Ed looked around, seeing nothing but shadows. But his ears pricked up. He heard metallic swishes. Something was behind him.

He tucked and rolled, narrowly avoiding the blade of a kusarigama.

"EDDY! I've got company!" Ed shouted, as he dodged a Naginata blade. He flipped forward, quick to dodge the weapon.

He heard more swishing sounds, both metallic and meat-like. Thuds, like people landing in the shadows. Ed was virtually blind, but he could hear.

"HYYAA!"

Ed flipped, dodging the oncoming attack. It was a girl, a small one at that, barely 100 pounds, and at least a head shorter that he was. She was wielding two Sai weapons.

She had silver hair, although it was purple at the roots. It was short and spiky at the front, but was longer at the back, kept back by a large pink bow. She was a skin-tight leather outfit, covering her top, neck, wrists, thighs, pelvis and calves. The rest was bare-skin. Her skin was pale, and she was of mixed decent, Ed clearly making out both Chinese and Caucasian features, but her face was covered by a dark blue domino mask. Most indirectly, her shoulders had an extravagant feather structure, like fins of black and white feathers. She also had a dark blue tattoo under her eye, like a slash mark. On her black and purple leather tunic, she bore the kanji for "Roxie", on her left breast.

She roared and lunged, two fast for Ed to dodge. With her Sai, she ensnared his wrists in the space between the monouchi and the yoku of the Sai. The sai wear punched into the roof floor, cuffing Ed down.

"No witnesses." She growled. Ed heard a metallic *shink* behind him. Several footsteps, all ever and forcing the earth to shudder. Someone was behind him. Ed felt a girl's hand at the back of his head, pushing his head down and forward, exposing his neck.

"EDDY!" Ed shouted. "HELP ME!"

"Don't worry Ed!" Eddy shouted from the ground level. "I got something that'll really bring down the house!"

On the ground, Eddy took a run up. He then bolted, heading straight for the electronics building wall.

"IRON UP!"

Eddy's skeleton creaked and expanded, and his skin solidified. His innards faded and he became metal, all the way through.

Quarterback thundered into the wall, bulldozing it with ease and bringing down the building. It collapsed in a veritable landslide of rubble.

Ed's fist burst out of the rubble, and Quarterback's golden hand grabbed it and yanked, pulling the rest of him out.

Ed bent down, hands on his knees, gasping for air.

"Oh, god. They were gonna cut my head off!" Ed shouted.

"Wait, who were?" Eddy responded in shock.

There were more swish noises, more metallic than anything else, and before Ed or Eddy knew it, they were both surrounded by four ninjas.

With breasts.

The first was Roxie, wielding her twin Sai.

The second was far larger than Roxie. She wore a red and black tunic that covered most off her torso, with a golden sash between her breasts and belly. Her tunic was completed with slits down her chest and at the bottom at the thighs. She had a large rack and large belly. Her hair was chestnut brown, tide in four ox horns at the back, letting her fringe spike out a bit. She had black and crimson leggings, and wielded two Shinken. On her sash, she bore the kanji for "Moka".

The third was slimmer than Moka and shorter than Roxie. She wore a black and purple leather tunic with leather leggings up to her thighs, and leather sleeves on her forearms. She had scruffy blue hair that looked like it was cut by a sword. Strangely, she wore a headband with cat ears on them, and had purposely cut her lip to resemble a cat-smile. In her hand she wielded a Naginata spear, and on her hip was the kanji for "Neko".

The final girl was as taller that Moka, and slimmer. She had long, flowing black hair, and wore a blue make-up mask. She wore a red and black leather outfit, composed mainly of bands that wrapped around her chest and stomach, with tights to cover her pelvis. Her arms were fully exposed to the elements, and she wielded a Kusarigama and she wore a sash across her torso. Her calves were covered by black bands, and the bands wrapped over her heels. Her kanji read as "Ju".

Each female ninja looked at the pair like a meal. Moka twizzled her swords in her hands, and Neko gripped her Naginata, purring as she did.

Roxie repeated what she said early.

"NO WITNESSES!"

The ninjette's retreated into the shadows and dust created by the rubble, almost vanishing. There was more metallic swishes, and more swirls in the shadows. The girls were surrounding them.

The was a shout, and Moka bodyslammed Eddy from the side. Apparently used to that technique working, Moka didn't expect to harmlessly bounce off of Eddy's invincible form. Tucking and Rolling, she quickly got back on her feet, and kicked a pile of rubble with all her strength, creating a shroud of dust. She sank into it, and shouted again, reappearing from a totally different ankle. She swung her twin swords, attempting to cut Eddy. The swords shattered upon contact with Eddy's golden skin.

"Ed, get behind me!" Eddy shouted. Ed did so, and Eddy was in full on defence mode.

It was on.

Eddy was the first to dive into the fray, headstrong and confident that his golden hide would protect him.

He was correct, as Moka and Neko double-teamed him with their own weaponry, which clanged against his broad-shoulders and created a few sparks, but ultimately proved fruitless. While the two Kunoichi were still in the air, Eddy grabbed their weaponry, yanking at them. The two girls held fast, and were smashed into the concrete.

"Eddy, look out!" Ed shouted behind him.

Eddy could hear an oncoming KIIAAA! Sound, and turned to see Ju running at him and swinging her Kusarigama chain above her head, the scythe attachment audibly slicing the air.

Eddy clapped his giant metallic hands together, creating a loud metal clang that functioned as a shockwave, blasting Ju off of her feet before the ninjette could even get close.

Roxie jumped on his gleaming shoulders, bludgeoning him with the pommels of her sai. Eddy felt nothing, but heard the clanging noises the kunoichi was making.

However, this proved to be a mere distraction, as Ed yelled, and Eddy looked forward to see Moka and Neko running towards him. Moka body-slammed him in the chest, while Neko used her Naginata's pole to sweep at his ankles. This combined move proved effective, and while the golden giant wasn't injured, he did topple over, landing on his back with a clang.

Never mind the Gōremu!" Roxie shouted to her three companions. "Attack the Chōrikigu instead!"

Ed yelped as all weaponry turned on him. Ju's Kusarigama chain wrapped around his ankle, and dragged him into the dust cloud.

"EDDY! HELP ME!" Ed shouted through the dust as Eddy heard more metallic swishes.

"ED! I'm coming!" Eddy shouted, as he stood up as quick as he could. The dust was swirling and thickening before very eyes, and all he could do was punch blindly at the cloud.

'Alright, c'mon McGee, think! What would Double-D do?' Eddy thought to himself.

In a stoke of enginuity, Eddy jumped into the air, and landed with a stomp. A rippling force was blasted from all sides, blowing away the smoke and dust and exposing the ninjettes, who were all about to cut Ed's head off.

Eddy shouted as he barrelled towards the ninjettes, his heavy stomps shaking the ground and leaving deep footprints in the concrete. He collided with Moka, throwing his shoulder into her stomach and sending her flying. Eddy tehn swung his trunk-like arms into Neko, almost crushing the littlest ninja as Neko was send flying, grinding against the rubble until she stopped.

Ju shrieked as he attempted to spear Eddy, blindly believing she could harm into. The spear tip shattered on contact with Eddy's metal skin, and Eddy slugged her in the face, sending her flying.

Much to Eddy's shock, before his brain could register anything, a pair of Sai trapped his wrists to the floor, and Roxie was on top of him, kicking him in the bag of the head and began to shout at her compatriots.

"Never mind the monster. We're running out of time. Get what we came for and retreat!" Roxie shouted. Moka, Neko and Ju all nodded and jumped up the nearest wall. Roxie quickly followed them, leaving Ed slightly beaten and Eddy unable to move properly.

"Ed..." Eddy grunted as he tried desperately to shimmy himself into a position in which he had more purchase. "You alright buddy?"

Ed coughed and held his stomach, where the ninjette's had walloped him.

"I'll live." He said.

"Good..." Eddy grunted. "Iron OUT!" He shouted.

Eddy shrank back down to normal size, the metal almost dissolving around his skin Back in human form, Eddy was able to slip his wrists out of the sai with ease. He cricked his neck to both sides, creating an audible crunch.

"Damn, that felt good." Eddy said, rubbing his neck. "Who the hell were those chicks?"

Ed stood up, still rubbing his sore spots.

"I dunno Eddy, they looked like ninja's to me..." Ed pondered out loud.

"Yeah, but what the heck would Ninja's be doing in Peach Creek?" Eddy wondered. He rubbed his head and tried to think, but nothing came to mind. "Gah, we need Double-D for this sort of thing!"

"They said something about getting what they came for, and they seemed pretty fixated on making sure there were no witnesses." Ed said out loud, scratching his chin.

"I say we follow 'em." Eddy said, getting up and digging into his pockets for his car-keys. "They're heading to the meat-packing district."

"Huh? But mom says that all the poofs live in Greece?" Ed said in puzzlement.

"What? No, Ed! I mean there heading to the slaughterhouses." Eddy said as he climbed into his hatchback. Ed got into the passenger seat.

"Let's follow 'em."

The ninjette's leapt over buildings and various other obstacles, with amazing speed and agility, traits they had worked their whole lives to attain.

Roxie, however, was distracted. She was honour-bound by her clan to do as her master had wished, but she was afraid. She had seen a monster today. A monster with golden skin, with enough power to crack the earth beneath his feet and failed to even notice their weaponry.

And that other one, with the red hair. Did he make the monster? Did he control it? Or was he something even scarier?

If her task tonight meant she had to deal with yokai, then she feared for her very life.

"Hey, Roxie." Moka shouted from behind. "They're following us!"

"What! Impossible!" Roxie snapped, and looked backwards to see a canary yellow hatchback in hot pursuit

"We're getting close to the target!" Neko purred as she ran on all fours over the rooftops.

"I say we keep running for it. Our window of opportunity is closing." Moka grunted as she picked up more and Ju nodded in agreement and increased speed. But Roxie couldn't help but look back. Roxie saw the car speed up after them, and to her amazement, saw the door fly open, and neither the monster, nor the ginger man got out of the car.

"Ed, take the wheel!" Eddy shouted as he grabbed Ed's hands and forced them onto the wheel.

"WHAT!" Ed yelped as he leaned over and held onto the wheel as Eddy let go of it. "What in god's name are you doing?"

"Ed, when I say 'now', I want you to slam the breaks!" Eddy shouted as he opened the door, letting the wind rush into the car and the allowing the gale to drown out his voice.

Ed thought Eddy had lost his mind as Eddy climbed out of the open door and stood on the roof of the speeding hatchback.

Eddy struggled to stay balanced on the hatchback roof. He could see the ninjette's hopping from roof to roof, heading for the slaughterhouse. But, what he did notice was that they were very close.]

"NOW, ED!"

Ed slammed the breaks, causing the hatchback to abruptly halt, sending Eddy flying.

"IRON UP!"

"WHAT THE...?"

Roxie could only watch in amazement as the yellow hatchback halted, and the short little man was send flying towards them.

Then he stopped being little.

He grew, and expanded, his muscles rippled and surged, and his skin stiffened and began to glitter, like gold. And then it shouted.

"RAAR!"

It's him! He was the goddamn monster!

Roxie stopped in her tracks, not wanting to be tackled by the golden monstrosity.

The golden man sailed past her, and crash-landed into the rooftop, smashing a large hole in the roof and sailing down through to the floor.

The three other Ninjette's looked back at Roxie, than at the large hole.

"What the...?" Was all Moka could say.

There was a sort of groaning noise and a metallic clang, and suddenly the roof began to collapse.

"Quickly!" Roxie snapped as she and the other three ninjette's made a mad dash towards the slaughterhouse.

"We're being followed!" Moka yelled. Neko rolled her eyes as she too ran on all fours.

"No shit!" Neko meowed as her head nodded to the falling building behind them. Eddy was evidently in hot pursuit beneath them, the concrete walls and steel beams not even slowing him down.

"I meant that!" Moka snapped. Moka pointed down and the three other Ninjette's saw a canary yellow hatchback in hot pursuit.

"Just who are these guys?" Neko hissed.

CCCRRRAAASSSHHH!

Neko shrieked in a very catlike manner as Eddy's golden form burst through the roof they were standing on, grabbing Ju in his giant clumsy fist.

"Keep running! I see the target!" Roxie shouted over Ju's shrieks and Eddy's earth shattering footsteps.

The three Ninjette's jumped off the building and onto the road, landing in front of the hatchback. Landing gracefully, Moka turned around a bodyslammed the hood of the car, crumpling it.

"MY CAR!" Eddy yelled. "MY DAD'S GONNA KILL ME!"

In rage, Eddy chucked Ju at the offending ninjette and Moka.

Ju collided with Moka, knocking the two ninjetes out of commission. Ed started the hatchback up again, steering his way past the collapsedKunoichi.

Roxie and Neko kept running, with Eddy in hot pursuit. Then the slaughterhouse came into view.

"We're almost there!" Neko said as Roxie reached into her tunic and pulled out three metal spheres.

"SMOKE BOMB!" Roxie shouted as she threw the smoke bombs into Quarterback's mighty chest, creating a shroud of thick, smelly smoke.

Eddy stumbled backwards, wafting his giant hand in front of his face to try and clear the smoke. Unfortunatly, the golden behemoth took one step to many and his foot stompedits way through the ceiling corner, causing him to fall off the building, creating a Quarterback shaped hole in the pavement.

Ed pulled up the slightly damaged hatchback and got out, peering down the Eddy-shaped hole.

"Oh my god, Eddy, what the smeg happened?" Ed asked, reaching into the hole and grabbing Eddy's hand. Ed heaved and heaved, and with Eddy's help he managed to pull the golden giant out of the crevice.

"Aw, man, they got away." Eddy huffed in a bad mood. "That really blows, man!"

"Hey, we got two of 'em. I'm sure we can still get answers." Ed reassured.

Eddy sighed, and muttered "Iron Out", as he allowed his metal form to evaporate.

"So," Eddy sighed with a breathe. "Where are the two captives?"

Ed froze. He had forgotten to secure them.

"KKKYYYYAAAA!"

Ju's shriek alerted Ed and Eddy, the former of which turned just in time for Moka to body slam him into the pavement. Ju took advantage of Eddy's fleshy form and tried to spear him with her Naginata.

Eddy rolled out of the way, and swepted at Ju's feet in a break dancer-ish fashion. Eddy's chuck tailors kicked Ju in the ankles, causing the lanky girl to stumble.

Meanwhile, Ed was having a grapple fight with Moka, Ed repeatedly striking his opponent in the stomach, but Moka's fat only served to weaken his blows. Moka growled as she continued to grapple, making sure to grab and tear at Ed's chest.

"You've got lots of aggression," Ed commented as he allowed Moka to get a grip on him, before swivelling and locking her arms over his shoulder.

"But your technique is sloppy!"

And with that Ed tossed Moka over his shoulder, using her weight and his strength to pull off a near perfect IpponSianagi.

Moka landed on her back with a thud, and Ed went down after her, locking her into a KesaKatami.

Eddy took note of Ed's method, and as Ju fell to the floor, he kicked her Naginata pole right out of her hands, and knelt down on her stomach. Ju continued to struggle.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you. I could change into the big guy, and lemme tell you, he's heavy."

Ju ceased struggling.

"Now..." Eddy said, putting his hand on Ju's forehead, pinning it to the pavement.

"Where are the other two going?" Ed demanded. "Why are you so keen to eliminate any witnesses?"

And with that, Ed gently placed the sole of his shoe on Ju's cheek.

Roxie and Neko landed outside the slaughterhouse, with a blue truck was waiting for them. The driver, a dirty blonde man with glasses and a small goatee, barely 23 stepped out.

"Are you two my contact?" He asked, taking off his gloves. He looked at the bladed weaponry, and he panicked, putting up his fists.

"I don't want any trouble okay!" He snapped, as Roxie and Neko dropped their weapons. "I'm just like the boss. Y-you have no idea what I can d-do...!" He stuttered in fear.

"We're you contact." Roxie said. She'd already fought one monster tonight. She wasn't taking any chances. "We don't want any trouble."

She kicked over her Sai to the man's feet, and motioned for Neko to do the same. Neko did not.

The man squeezed his fist, making some blue sparks dance around his fist. Roxie stepped backwards, as did Neko.

"Okay then," He said, keeping his fist in front of him. "The crates are in the back, each device has been hand made by me personally. Now, tell the boss, I've done my bit. I'm out."

The man turned and stared at a nearby fusebox. His body crackled with lightning.

"Wait," Roxie said, stepping forward. "Before you go, what's the boss got on you?"

The man did't turn around, but Roxie could see him stare at his feet and sigh.

"It's my mum. They said if I made these things, they'd pay her enough to pay off her mortgage. Then maybe she can get to sleep at night." He said. He turned slightly, to look Roxie in the eyes.

"You?" He asked.

"It's our village. They said if we worked for them, the rest of our village gets to stay where they are."

"Well, more power to you then." The man said.

"Thank you," Roxie said. "And...I'm sorry about your mother, mr...?"

The man turned around, looking her in the eye. He had sad eyes, like he knew he did something wrong. Sad, golden eyes.

"Hector. My name is Hector."

And with that, he transformed into electricity, and shot into the fusebox, punching through the metal casing and travelling down the wires. Roxie looked at the light travelling down the wire and into the ground.

"Come on," Neko meowed. "Let's get the truck to where it needs to be."

Roxie nodded and the two got into the truck. Roxie hit the gas and the truck's headlights sprang to life, and the truck pulled away from the slaughterhouse.

Roxie and Neko sped down the high street in the truck, the cargo rattling in the back. Roxie turned the car to the nearest roundabout, going back down the street they came.

"Why are we going back there?" Neko asked, as she gribbed at her seat, startled at the speed Roxie was driving at.

"We have to get Moka and Ju back." Was all Roxie said, not taking her eyes off of the road.

"But…"

"I know that the monster has them. But we're ninjas. We don't leave our clan behind."

Neko huffed. "Yeah, but how will we know that they're still where e left em. That monster's probably taken them…god knows where."

"Even so, we have to find them. Our clan looks out for eachother." Was Roxie's reply.

Neko rolled her eyes. She would rather go back to boss. But, Roxie was right. The never left a man behind.

"So, where do you think they are?" Neko asked. "They could be anywhere in the city?"

Roxie nodded, but then her eyes went wide and her jaw hung open.

At the end of the road, standing atop the crumpled hood of a canary yellow hatchback, stood two figures, one tall and one small, each with a Kunoichi under their feet. Roxie remembered the small one. He was the monster.

Roxie hit the breaks. She left the lights on, allowing the truck to seemingly stare down the two.

"Alright!" Roxie heard the small one shout. "We have your allies. I demand you surrender the collars!"

"What?" Roxie repeated from inside the cab. "What are they talking about."

"I think…I think they mean the goods inside the truck?" Neko meowed. "Only Ju knew the full details. But she's so tight lipped, they couldn't possibly make her talk!"

Roxie turned off the ignition, and stepped out of the truck's cab. She unsheathed her Sai, and pointed at Eddy.

"First, I want you to BACK OFF!" She demanded. "I'll have none of your tricks."

Roxie then began to talk, a relatively unreadable tangent, hopping from topic-to-topic. This kept Ed and Eddy occupied, while Neko slung off to the back off the truck, and popped the top off of one of the crates. Metal collars, hundreds of them, were inside, each individually sealed inside a plastic, airtight wrap. Neko purred smugly, as her cleft lip formed a cat-like smile. She picked up a collar with her left hand, and flicked her fingers on her right hand, showing incredibly sharp nails.

With her cat-like claws, she cut open the collar's packaging.

"ENOUGH!" Eddy shouted. "Hand over the truck! We know what those things do, and we can't let you have them."

Roxie held up her sai defensively. "Well I can't let you take them!"

Eddy looked at Ed, and they both grinned and nodded.

"Iron UP!" Eddy shouted. However, rather than turning into his invincible behemoth form, red electricity crackled around his diminutive form, causing Eddy to howl in pain, as he fell off the car bonnet, releasing Moka from her entrapment.

The beaten Ninjette hopped up from where she was laid down, and instantly head-butted Ed, knocking him off Ju. Ju got up and Moka body-slammed the Car's already broken bonnet. The car spluttered and banged, creating a cloud of smoke. The ninjette's were back in their element.

Ju made a decisive sweep, and through the fog, managed to kick Eddy in the face. Eddy skidded across the ground and collided with Ed in a painful collision.

Ed rubbed his head and tried to wave the smoke out of his head.

"Eddy, why can't you iron up? What's wrong?" Ed asked frantically, hearing the swishes in the smoke, meaning the Ninjette's were circling them, like hungry sharks.

"I've changed to often, too quickly. I don't know how long I have to rest for." Eddy said, gripping his chest, trying to cope with the new found ache. The swishing sound grew louder, and Roxie appeared out of nowhere, swinging the pommel of her Sai at Ed's head. Ed tucked and did a crocodile roll between her spread legs, unfurling to give her a kick in the privates.

Roxie shrieked in pain, and nearly collapsed as her knees buckled. Ed continued to roll until he unfurled, landing on his back, out of breathe.

Ed heard a shout, and out of the smoke, Moka came barrelling towards him from above, intent on performing another body slam.

Ed barely rolled out of the way, letting Moka hit the pavement. The sumo girl smashed into the concrete, creating a small crater.

"Hey, Moka, Ju!" Came a meow from above. It was Neko, sitting atop a street lamp, holding Moka's swords and Ju's polearm. She tossed each weapon at her companions feet. Ed tried to run back to Eddy, who was defenceless in his present state.

There was a metallic swish behind him and Ed grunted in pain and shock as claws dug into his back and a weight appeared on his shoulders. Neko was literally on top of him.

"Now, let's see what you can do, freak!" Neko purred as she clamped the collar around Ed's neck. Ed choked at the tightness of the collar, and tried to pry it off. Neko purred smugly, and kicked herself off of Ed's back, pushing him to the floor and herself into the air, doing a somersault and landing cleanly on a nearly lamppost. She smiled, her cleft-lip again resembling that of a cat.

She reached between her breasts, and pulled out a remote control, not unlike the one Ed had seen the Liverpudlian use.

"Now, Mr. Monster, let's see what party trick you can do?" Neko purred as she began to mash the buttons.

Ed just stood there, with a very annoyed look in his eyes. Neko's jaw dropped. How was Ed immune to the collar. The instructions on the packet said they worked on people with superpowers. 100% of the time.

"What the...!" Neko spluttered. "Why isn't it working?"

Ed continued trying to pry the metal collar off of his neck, and with a grunt and a yank of his unnatural strength, Ed ripped the metal in twain, removing the collar from his neck. His eyes had changed. He was no longer sweet, lovably thick Ed. He had Ed-Rage.

Neko hissed as Ed roared and barrelled towards the lamppost she was sitting on top of. Ed grabbed the metal pole with both hands, and pulled and pulled. Slowly but surely, the metal pole began to bend. Neko's eyes went as wide as dinner plates as she felt the lamppost bend and buckle. She jumped off it as Ed succeeded in ripping it from its foundation.

As Neko was in midair, Ed swatted her into a nearby wall with the lamppost he had just uprooted. He grinned, and looked into the smoke. He dropped the post as he realised he had forgot something of vital importance.

Eddy.

Ed jolted back into the smoke, waving his hands around his face in a futile attempt to clear it. He could clearly hear the metallic swishes. The three ninjas that he had ignored while he tussled with the catty one were moving in for the kill.

"Eddy!" Ed shouted over the car's rattle, and the metallic swishes. "Eddy, where are you!"

"…Ed…"

The weakened cry came from somewhere in the smokescreen, almost drowned out by the metallic swishes and the rattling car. Ed ran around blindly, trying to locate Eddy, until he hit something with a clang. A heavy, hot metal wall collided with his stomach, making him fall to the floor. It was the Hatchback.

Rattling around and spewing it's hot, smelly ashes, Ed was overcome by rage once more. Roaring, he gripped underneath the car. With a grunt and tremendous heave, Ed began to drag the car as he twisted on his heels. Round and round in a circle, Ed standing in the epicentre, the car becoming easier to move as Ed pickled up speed. He spun around rapidly, the hatchback lifting off the ground, higher and higher, and finally with a shout Ed let go, hurling the hatchback and the smokescreen futher down the street.

The smoke cleared, and Eddy's weakened body was on the floor, surrounded by three Ninjette's, all brandishing their weaponry.

Ed roared as the Ed-Rage overtook him, turning his skin brick red and steam exuding from his pores. The ninjette's looked at this and screamed. The Rage, a chi attack that ninjitsu masters trained their whole lives to maintain for a few seconds at a time.

Moka, headstrong as she was, roared and switched targets, swapping from the defenceless Eddy to the rage-empowered Ed. Waving her twin swords, Moka swung, slashing Ed up the arm, leaving a wound that would definitely need stitches later. But the rage-empowered Ed took no notice, as he punched Moka in the stomach, with a force so powerful it left a shockwave as Moka was send flying with the force of a cannonball.

Ju screeched as she swung her polearm and Ed, who jumped and landed a stomp-kick on the pole, snapping it in half, before roundhousing Ju in the stomach, stomping her into the ground.

The steam and red colouring faded, and Roxie took this opportunity. She brandished her sais, screaming as she ran towards him. Ed ducked, as Roxie swung her truncheons over his head. Ed grabbed her wrists as she swung, ripping the Sais from her hands. Roxie gasped, as Ed swung the pommel down on her head.

CRACK

The pommel pounded Roxie's skull. A sicken crack echoed over the alleyway, as she collapsed on the pavement, trembling and gasping as a little blood dribbled out of her wound.

Ed panted, as the adrenaline wore off. He was too tired to notice a bruised and beaten Moka and Ju sneaking up behind him. But Eddy noticed. Painfully, he moved his fatigued body, crawling along the pavement until he forced himself to stand. With a paied grunt, he sped up, heading behind Moka and Ju.

"Iron up."

With a pained cry, red electricity crackled around his body. But Eddy endured, as his frame expanded and his skin solidified. He transformed despite crippling pain, and as the lumbering behemoth, he grabbed Moka and Ju's heads in his huge hands and clanged their heads together, knocking them out.

"Ed," Eddy coughed, as he dropped to one knee. "What you did was pretty cool. But, you totally wrecked my ride. I'm gonna have to kill ya."

Ed was also panting, hands on his knees, seemingly oblivious to the fact he ad just brained somebody, but maybe that would catch up with him later.

"Right, let's go get that truck. We can't let those collars fall into the wrong hands, and we've got questions that need to be answered." Eddy said, as he struggled to pull himself up. His strength was now gone, and he was too weak to change back, leaving him weighed down by his metallic bulk.

"Right," Ed agreed. The two slowly hobbled towards the truck, containing countless crates of collars, which were meant for god-knows-how-many god-knows-whats.

The suddenly the headlights turned on, and the engine revved. Eddy, who had much better night-vision than Ed, saw that a bruised and battered Neko was behind the wheel, looking crazed.

Neko gunned the motor, and sped down the alleyway.

There was a metallic swish behind them, as Ed and Quarterback felt chains wrap around their ankles. Ju's trademark "KYYYYYAAAAAA!" was heard in the background, and their chains were yanked backwards to the ground.

The truck continued, obviously intent on running them over. Eddy shoved Ed with his metallic arm, rolling the ginger boy to the right and eventually onto the sidewalk.

Eddy rolled to his left, but the tires rolled over his ankle as he escaped, allowing a single crate to fall off the back.

Moka and Ju, previously thought to be incapacitated, shot up from their spots on the road and jumped on top of the truck as it sped down the road.

"Damn, on the one night Double-D takes a break, we need to chase somebody." Eddy wheezed.

Eddy tried to move after them, but his tired, pained body could only manage a slow, clumsy stumble.

Ed put his hand on Eddy's side, gently forcing his tired and injured friend to stop.

"Eddy, I think we should our cut our loses. I mean look, we've been smacked up and down tonight, but we've got a crate of these Collars for Double-D to look at, and besides…I bet she could answer some questions."

Ed pointed at the unconscious Roxie, who was left behind by her three companions.

Eddy lumbered over and picked her up with one hand, slinging her over his shoulder. He then slowly walked over to the crate and hoisted that on his shoulder. Eddy and Ed coughed; they were battered, tired and hungry. But they had more questioned, and an even bigger mystery in front of them.

But, they just walked home, completely unfazed one of them was a giant metal man with an unconscious ninja over his shoulder.

"Hey Ed."

"Yeah?"

"You know that thing Double-D does, y'know, when he wiggles his fingers."

"Y'mean like that time he put a banana in his hand and made a smoothie?"

"Yeah that. Well, d'ya thing he could ue that to get the dents out of my car?"

"…"

"Ed?"

"Yes. I think he could."

Moka, Neko and Ju knealt on one knee, in a dark room, with four staticy, low resolution television screens, covering each wall.

"You've done well. We've received your delivery…with almost no problems."

"There were witnesses! You tore up a whole damned street!"

"And you lost a box! God knows who found it. We have enemies, ladies. Those who wouldn't take to kindly to our operation."

"Oh please David. Can I kill them? They deserve to be punished."

"Not yet, young Carpenter. Let them…prove their worth. I'll spare their village, for now. But remember girls. We treat those on our payroll very nicely. But fail me again…and then yes, young Carpenter. You may kill them."

Neko, Moka and Ju cowered at the sight of the screens.

"But in the mean time ladies…"

Moka walked back slightly, only to bump into an insanely tall man, covered in black garb.

"You can explain to young Frag what's happened to his sister.