"Well behaved women rarely make history."

-Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

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"I hate ninjas." Amira groaned.

"Hey! I'm right here you know!" Althea said a bit testily.

"Sorry. I meant—THESE!" Amira grunted as she tossed a black and grey cyborg ninja aside. About halfway through breakfast the Misfits—and Amira—were alerted to a rip in the Earth's dimensional fabric in the mid-United States. Shao-kahn was trying to establish a beachhead. Again. Thanks to the Mass Device, the Misfits were first on the scene.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Althea admitted as she delivered a high kick to the metallic face of another cyber unit. "These things are tougher than B.A.T.s."

When Shao-Kahn first started sending his cybers through the dimensional rips to the Earth Realm, the Misfits first treated them like the stupid and easily destroyed Battle Android Troopers of Cobra. After the first engagement, they never made that mistake again. Althea rubbed a scar over her right eye. No, she'd never treat the cybers like B.A.T.S again.

"Then we'll just have to be tougher." was Amira's response. "Duck!" Althea ducked just in time to avoid being smacked by a flying cyber.

"Sorry!" Fred yelled as he tossed another cyber half a football field away. "They aren't very aerodynamic!"

"They're not pretty either." Pietro noted as he ran around them as they fired lasers and missiles at him, striking one another instead. Wanda hexed more of them aside, smashing them against the ground like rag dolls. Pyro cackled with glee as he melted more of them into metal puddles. Lance caused a medium sized tremor, cracking the ground beneath the cybers feet and sending several of them tumbling down into the depths.

"I wish…" Lance panted with exertion. "…That Shane and Angelica were still with us."

"Well they're not. Deal with it!" Althea snapped irritably. It was still a bit of a sore spot with her. About a month after the Stamford Massacre and the Xavier Institute Slaughter, Angelica and Shane had left the Misfits. They both needed more…stable environments than the insanity of the Misfits and the Joes could provide. Angelica joined the Teen Titans and Shane resumed a more civilian life…under a fake name and false identity, courtesy of the X-Corporation. It was am amicable parting of the ways. Angelica still kept in touch with Lina and the others. It wasn't an easy decision but the stress was just eating away at her. Plus her unlucky streak and accident-prone nature didn't help.

Fortunately, Todd found something to take Althea's mind off it. "I think we found the head honchos." He pointed at a yellow and red cyber of slightly different configurations.

"Sektor and Cyrax." Althea identified them. "Great. They're not mindless cybernetics. Where's Raiden when you need him?"

"Probably hitting on Storm again." Amira snorted. "Last time Shipwreck showed up in the middle of their date both Raiden AND Storm fried him."

"He was coughing up smoke for days." Althea nodded. "Still, we have to delay the Cybers until Trinity can adjust their little toy to close the dimensional rift."

"You guys handle the cybers." Amira said. "I'll take Sektor and Cyrax."

"Excuse me?" Althea looked at her. "Since when are you a ninja? Xi and I will take them." Xi grinned toothily. He liked the idea.

"It will be my pleasure." Xi bowed. Amira looked at them sidewise.

"All right…but I'm coming too." She insisted.

"Suit yourself." Althea replied. "Okay let's go! Yo Joe!" Althea and Amira rushed at Sektor and Cyrax head on while Xi—who turned invisible—went to attack them from behind. Unfortunately, being a robotic ninja has its advantages, like x-ray vision.

"Terminate." Cyrax droned as he launched a mini-missile out of his chest cavity that struck the ground right in front of Xi. It exploded, knocking Xi off his feet and into a rocky outcropping. He banged his head and turned visible, and unconscious.

"So much for Plan A." Althea winced. "Take them!" Amira nodded.

"You got it!" Amira grinned as she hurled herself at the cybers, half a step ahead of Althea.

"Surrender or be destroyed." Sektor warned.

"Not happening!" Althea kicked at him. Cyrax moved to kill the helpless Xi. Amira tackled him from behind. "We can't fight them and protect Xi at the same time!"

"Then get him out of here!" Amira snapped.

"Are you insane? Take them both on by yourself?" Althea shouted.

"Probably." Amira shrugged as her hands went to her belt. "But I have a trick or two up my sleeve." She idly fingered a dozen small throwing knives she kept in knotted loops. Her mutant power gave her the ability to control every muscle in her body and get them to act with a swiftness and flexibility beyond anything that was humanly normal. It also gave her great hand-eye coordination. When she threw those daggers, and with as great force as she was capable of, whatever target she wanted to hit got hit.

As Althea moved to gather Xi up Amira charged at the cybers again, screaming and shouting, causing as much of a ruckus as she could. "Souless machines fear me! I was born in the moondark and am here to seal your doom!" Amira crowed. "Allahu Akbar! Look upon your fate! Allahu Akbar! ALLAHU AKBAR!" With that she threw a pair of her knives at Sektor, each one striking him in the shoulder.

Sektor raised his arm and fired blasts from his wrist mounted laser. Amira leaped and twisted in midair to avoid them. Unfortunately, Cyrax managed to graze her arm with one of his shots. Amira winced as she landed on her feet. "Two cybernetic ninjas against one X-Man? Hardly seems fair…" She grinned. "Perhaps if I closed my eyes—" She hurled the rest of her daggers at the cybers and then leaped upon Sektor's head.

She grinned manically as she perched delicately upon the evil cyborg's head. "Arabs rule, ninjas drool!" As Sektor and Cyrax tried to stop Amira as she danced on their heads, Trinity was putting the final touches on the dimensional rift sealer.

"Almost done!" Brittany shouted to Althea as the Misfits finished off the last of the cybers.

"Could you hurry up?" Amira shouted as she overheard. "This isn't as easy as I make this look!" As she stood on Sektor's head, she kicked Cyrax in the face.

"Then why are you smiling?" Wanda demanded.

"I never said it wasn't fun!" Amira called back.

"Got it!" Daria announced. "Let's send 'em back!"

"Let's do it!" Althea shouted as the Misfits rushed the two remaining cybers. Fred handily picked up and through Cyrax back through the rift. Amira leapt off Sektor just in time for Wanda to hex him back through too. Trinity flew over with their device—which vaguely resembled Forge's middleverse generator—and sealed the red rip that linked Outworld and the Earth.

About half a minute later, a sudden flash of lightning heralded the arrival of Raiden, god of Thunder and defender of the Earth Realm.

"Late as usual, brat of Oberon." Amira snorted. Raiden's eyes narrowed and lightning cracked through them.

"Don't start with me. I've been with Oberon and the other gods. They still don't know what objects Q referred to that might stop Unicron."

"There's only one god." Amira said loftily. "I doubt he lounges about with you phonies."

"You really do have a death wish—" Raiden growled.

"All right, enough!" Althea stepped between them. To Raiden she said, "Thanks again for your help. We appreciate it. Please let us know if you find anything new." Raiden nodded once before vanishing the same way that he arrived.

"Now what?" Todd asked as he looked around at the broken cybers littering the area.

"The Justice League will come and collect the remains for study." Althea said. "Same as usual." She sighed. "Sad thing; most of those cybers were probably once human." Todd and the now recovered Xi nodded.

Nearly all of Earth's ninjas were attacked and slaughtered during the first days of Shao-kahn's invasion. Those that weren't killed were forcibly converted into cybernetic units with no chance of ever becoming human again. As agonizing as it was the heroes of Earth had to fight, even destroy them. There weren't many ninjas left now.

Lina decided to change the subject. "We aren't that far from Jump City. Perhaps we should take the time to visit the Teen Titans. We can give them an update and trade notes." Althea nodded.

"All right. Let's go."

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