Okay so on to chapter 27... I want to thank everyone for all of your support... I'm getting into a really intense part of the story, and things are going to start flying by, so your going to have to pay close attention, and ask questions. As always, let me know if you wanna talk... and I'm always free to talk about stories... I really like to read and to write, so let me know if you wanna talk shop, also I have a lot of great ideas, and a lot of people have been helping me out, with content, I wanna thank all of you that have offered OC's and ideas. If anyone wants to talk hit me up... I'm always free, also I have a request if you guys don't mind... I really love all the OC's and I try to add all the one sI'm given, but they are starting to become lost in the pages, and pages of reviews I'm getting, to those who can, I would like to ask you to keep you're reviews, and your OC's separate, please send me your OC's as a pm, with the characters name as the subject, that way I can keep them organized better... otherwise I love all the support, and you guys are really getting me pumped to keep writing, anyway let's begin!

Fall of a Hero, Rise of a Legend.

Chapter 27

(Ace's POV)

"... sorry about this guys." Aiko stated in a low voice, as the last member of Justice Forever walked past her into the large cooler room.

Ace, and Lisa were close enough to hear her, and turned back just as Aiko, grabbed the freezer door and shut it behind them.

"What the hell!" Lisa shouted as the rest of the group turned to look at the sudden noise.

Ace rushed back to the door and began pounding on the door. "Shit! This can not be happening!" He growled to himself.

"Aiko! Aiko, open the door!" Ace shouted as he pounded on the door.

Suddenly the group member heard two other doors on the opposite side of the room, swing open. Their eyes widened in horror, as dozens of legionaries poured into the room.

"She set us up!" Andrei shouted to the bewildered group members, as he dropped to a knee and started to take shots at the oncoming legionnaires.

"Son of a bitch!" Dave growled as he braced for the legionaries.

"Aiko!" Ace whispered in disbelief.

"Ace! Come on!" Lisa shouted as she pulled him back from the door.

The legionnaires broke rank, and charged into the stunned heroes.

As the attack commenced the heroes regained their focus and began to fight back. In the tight quarters it was hard to fight back, or be sure who you were taking shots at.

Ace broke out of Lisa's grip and ran back up to the door. "God Dammit, Aiko! Open the god damn door!" He shouted again.

"Ace... she's gone! Get your head in the game!" Lisa shouted to him, as she countered a legionnaire, who had lunged at her with a sword. She caught the sword handle, and quickly twisted it out of his hand, before driving it into his throat.

"Aiko! I know you're out there! I know what it's like, to do shit like this... to be the bad guy... I saw how hard you fought against Chris and his cunts! You didn't expect anyone to have your back like I did that day, but I did... I had your back, and we fought together... I don't know why you're doing this, but I can assure you... it's a stupid fucking reason!" Ace shouted into the door, as the fight raged behind him.

"I know you felt it... felt how good it was to be the good guy for once... I've felt it too. You got a taste of what it was like to be a hero... and you liked it! Be the hero again! Open the door, and save the people who called you a friend!" Ace growled as he stepped away from the door and joined the fray.

The legionaries, hadn't counted on the heroes putting up this much of a fight... the heroes got organized faster then they could have predicted.

Dominic stood knelt next to Duncan, who was shooting legionnaires in the parts of their bodies that weren't blocked by their shields, this included, arm, heads, and feet.

Miranda was pinned to the floor by a legionnaire, who was trying to drive his sword into her heart. Right as he was about to get the upper hand, Peter tackled the guy off of her. Barbara was quickly by his side, and she ruthlessly drove her hatchet into the legionnaires head.

Ace brought up one of his trench knives to block a legionnaires sword, as he blocked the strike, he pulled out his revolver and shot the legionnaire in the gut.

As the legionnaire fell to the floor, Ace heard the cooler door slide open.

He looked over and saw Aiko standing at the doorway, sword in hand. She looked right at Ace, a look of guilt plastered on her face. Her gaze fell to the floor, as she stepped to the side, motioning for the heroes to make their escape.

"Come on!" Ace shouted.

The other heroes glanced over, and saw that the door was open, they all made a break for the door, the ones with guns covered the ones with melee weapons.

The heroes all filtered out of the cooler, as he ran by her, Dave grabbed Aiko and pinned her against a wall, as Duncan, Andrei, and Lisa, all stood at the entrance, they had just run through, and began to fire at the legionaries, who had formed a testudo and were slowly approaching.

"Dave!" Ace shouted as he saw Dave slam Aiko into the wall.

Donald, placed a hand on Ace's shoulder, and shook his head, telling Ace that there was nothing he could do or say.

"Give me one reason!" Dave growled as he placed, one of his swords to her throat.

"You need to leave now... Cain is waiting for Mindy. They're on the twenty-fifth floor, east corner of the building. You need to hurry! I'll hold them off!" Aiko replied with a sad look.

Dave's eyes widened, he stared at her for a moment, before he released her and bolted for the exit to the warehouse. Most of the members of Justice Forever charged after him, a few remained, looking at Aiko.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered as she walked past them and stepped into the cooler.

"No! Aiko!" Ace shouted, as Duncan and Lisa grabbed him and began hauling him away.

Andrei stared after her for only a moment, watching as a few legionnaires broke rank and charged at her. He dropped his gaze and quickly slid the cooler door closed, before turning to follow after the others.

"No! Let go of me!" Ace fought and struggled as they hauled him further and further away from Aiko.

"Ace! She's gone!" Andrei, said in a low voice, as he approached them. He quickly got Ace into a headlock, and assisted the others in dragging him away.

"No she can't be gone. She's tougher than that! Let me go!" He shouted, and struggled.

"I'm sorry... she made her choice..." Andrei said, it what had to be the most compassionate voice he could muster.

"God dammit! You Bitch..." Ace sobbed as he stopped struggling and allowed himself to be man-handled.


-Later-

Ace sat in the hospital waiting room, he had just finished visiting with Mindy, and was waiting to hear from the doctors who took Dave.

A few other group members sat in waiting room with him. They hadn't bothered to ask what Dave, and the others had went through at the hanger, most didn't want to know, whatever happened, it had changed Dave.

Ace looked up at Samuel, who leaned against one of the walls, his eyes were closed and his head was bowed, Ace couldn't get this guy, he was almost bipolar, he went from uncaring and cold as ice, to a freaking lunatic, and then back to a cold bastard, and now he goes and swears his life to Dave? What the hell was with this guys, whatever the whole sword thing was about, it must have held great meaning to Samuel.

After a few more minutes a doctor walked out. "Dave Lisewski?" He asked.

"Yeah." Ace answered.

"You're friend suffered some major wounds, he damaged one of the arteries in his shoulder, and lost a lot of blood. He's lucky he has such extensive nerve damage, otherwise his body might have gone into shock from the pain. He'll be bed ridden for a few days, but he should be okay to leave, soon." The doctor finished explaining with a smile.

"Is he awake?" Ace asked with a solemn look.

"Yes... but if you could, keep it brief. He needs his rest." The doctor informed him.

"I will..." Ace replied as he stood.

"He's in room 315" The doctor said as he turned to leave.

"Right..." Ace said in a low voice as he went off to Dave's room.

Ace stepped into Dave's room, he had just been through hell, and everyone knew it. None of the group members, could bring themselves to go see Dave, they were afraid, and worried...

Dave looked over at Ace as he entered into the room, Dave was wearing a nightgown, one of his arms was in a sling, and the forearm of the opposite arm, was bandaged up. Dave looked exhausted, but other than that, his face was emotionless.

"Hey, man... how are you doing?" Ace asked with a half grin.

"I've had better days. How's Mindy doing?" Dave asked with a small smile.

"She keeps asking where you are. Todd and Marty have been making up excuses." Ace replied as he pulled up a chair and sat next to Dave.

"Oh really? What's the current consensus?" Dave asked with a chuckle.

"That you're to big of a pussy to see her like that." Ace replied with a laugh.

Dave simply rolled his eyes and laughed again. After a moment he looked over at Ace.

Ace looked up and noticed Dave's eyes on him, he had a look that said 'What do you want?'

"Dave... about Aiko..." Ace began but Dave stopped him.

"Ace... if she hadn't told me about Mindy... she'd be dead... In my eyes... she died a hero..." Dave said with a warm smile.

"I spent so much time with her at the end... I should have seen it... maybe then I could have..." Ace started to say, but once again Dave cut him off.

"Don't do that to yourself... she fooled us all... and yet... in the end, she chose us. She put us in the fire, and then she pulled us right back out... and you know what?" Dave said, with a small smile.

"What?" Ace replied, as he eyed Dave, sadly.

"She did it for you..." Dave stated simply. "In the end, she must of realized, that you were her friend." Dave continued in a compassionate tone of voice.

Ace looked at him, sometimes he forgot who he was dealing with. Dave could be an insanely brutal, and violent fighter one minute, and a compassionate, and caring friend the next.

"I think I loved her..." Ace admitted after a moment.

"I know." Dave replied. Ace looked up at him, Dave held a comforting smile, and yet his eyes showed Ace, that he too, was grieving for Aiko.

"If she were still with us..." Ace began but couldn't find the write words to voice, his statement.

"I don't know if I could ever trust Aiko again... what I do know is that I forgive her for what she did, and that I have nothing but respect for her." Dave stated.

Ace just smiled and nodded his head. He and Dave sat in silence for a few more moments before he finally stood.

"I'm gonna let you get some rest." Ace stated as he left.

"You do that." Dave stated in reply, as Ace left.

Ace stood in the hallway for a few moments, he didn't know why he felt he needed to talk to Dave about this, but something told him that it was the right thing to do. Ace smiled as what Dave had just said, began to repeat in his head. After a moment he started forward.

He walked silently, back to the waiting room, right before he reached it, the memory of his and Aiko's kiss, flashed into his head. He paused, as he felt his eyes begin to water. "Catch you later... Aiko." He said to himself, as the image faded and he walked into the waiting room.

(End Ace's POV)


-Noon, the next day-

Mindy awoke, as a nurse pulled back the curtains and let the light in. If she wasn't feeling so shity she would have hissed at the woman, for letting in the sunlight.

"How are we doing miss Macready?" The Nurse asked, with a smile.

"What day is it?" Mindy asked as she tried to bring up an arm to shield her eyes. She let out a yelp, as a sharp pain passed through her shoulder, she glanced down, and saw that she was wearing a hospital gown, and just underneath it, she could see that her shoulder was bandaged up.

"Are you okay?" The nurse asked, at Mindy's cry of pain.

"Fuck... I was kind of hoping, that, that ass whooping was just a dream." Mindy whined in reply.

"No such luck." The nurse replied.

After a moment, Mindy noticed that the nurse was staring at her.

"What?" Mindy asked.

"Oh sorry..." The nurse apologized as she realized that she was staring. "...it's just... I've never met anyone famous before."

"Famous...?" Mindy asked, it was was a moment before she realized that she had been brought in, wearing her Hit Girl, costume. "...Oh."

"I'm sorry... I'm just a huge fan." The nurse stated with an embarrassed smile.

"Well, sorry we couldn't meet on better circumstances." Mindy replied after a moment.

The nurse was about to reply, when a doctor walked in, along with Marcus. "How are we doing?"

"I feel like shit!" Mindy whined.

Marcus, just smirked and rolled his eyes at her potty mouth.

"Well... that's to be expected... you lost a lot of blood, and probably have a lot of holes, in your memory, from what occurred..." The doctor explained.

Mindy stared at him, confused for a moment. 'hole in my memory.' Mindy thought to herself as she thought back. She remembered Cain's attack, and... then she remembered, arriving at the hospital. "Crap... I really can't remember..." Mindy stated aloud.

"That's to be expected, you were in shock when you arrived here. The memories should come back to you in time." The doctor affirmed to her.

Mindy let out a huff, before asking. "So, what's the damage doc? How long until I'm back out, and kicking ass?"

"Well that enthusiasm is going to play a large part in your recovery time. You'll need to stay here for a few days, then you can leave... it will be a few weeks before we can take your stitches out, and until we take them out, you're going to need to take it easy. Afterwords you're going to need to undergo physical therapy for your leg, and possibly the arm too. It's going to be a few months at least, but if you take it easy, and work hard on your physical therapy, I can say with confidence that you'll be back up to one hundred percent." The doctor explained.

"Here it comes..." Marcus stated with a smirk.

"Fuck!" Mindy groaned. "A few months... what the fuck am I going to do for a few months?" Mindy whined, more to herself than to anyone in particular.

Marcus just smiled, and looked at the doctor, who gave Mindy an amused look.

"You know she is just how I expected her to be." The doctor stated as he and Marcus turned and walked out the door.

Mindy caught that statement and glared after the two of them. "The fuck does that mean?" She groaned angrily.

The nurse just smiled, and turned to leave.

"Hey! Are my friends here?" Mindy asked, before she could leave.

"Yes. Would you like me to go get them?" The nurse asked with a smile.

"Actually... could you get my boyfriend Dave... he's kind of tall, bushy hair, dorky glasses." Mindy explained.

"All of your friends are still in costume." The nurse stated.

"Oh... okay, then he's the big motherfucker in the trench coat." Mindy stated, tiredly.

"Oh... you mean him... he's in another room. I don't know if he's awake..." The nurse started.

"What!" Mindy interrupted.

"Is he hurt? What happened?" Mindy asked, frantically, as she sat up. Mindy grit her teeth as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder and thigh.

"I don't know..." The nurse stated as she stepped forward, and helped lean Mindy back onto the bed. "... all I know is that he showed up here with you last night, then he left, and when he came back, he was covered in blood, and smelled like smoke."

"Oh shit! How bad?" Mindy asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"I'm sorry, I don't know... I can go check, and see if he's awake." The nurse said as she turned to quickly walk out of the room.

"Thanks..." Mindy called after her.

"No problem." The nurse replied as she exited the room.

Mindy sat there for a few moments, she couldn't escape the feeling of dread in her heart. 'What had happened? What kind of trouble did Dave get himself into? Who the hell did he kill?' all these thoughts ran through her head, as Marcus, Eileigh, Jaina, Miranda, and Katie, walked in.

"Hey there, Mindy how are you doing?" Eileigh asked as they all gathered around her bed.

"What happened to Dave?" Mindy asked.

Most of the them looked around at each other, they all held looks of unease, they were all still in costume, so it was hard for Mindy to gauge some of their reactions.

"He and a few of the others, got really pissed, and they went after Cain." Marcus stated after a moment.

"Shit! What happened?" Mindy asked, she held a look of worry.

"We don't know... none of our friends were hurt..." Katie, started to reply, but stopped as she thought how best to explain.

"But... something happened to Dave. I couldn't tell you what it was... but when he left, he was really pissed... and when he came back, he seemed... different." Jaina, finished Katie's sentence for her.

"Different how?" Mindy asked, she was so full of worry, that it was almost like she wasn't even hurt anymore. When she woke up, everything was so hazy, and she felt so drained, but now that she knew that something had happened to Dave, she was alert, and focused.

"...He just seemed different... like something profound had happened to him." Marcus explained.

A few moments went by before Todd, Marty, Ace, and Andrew walked in, they were followed by the nurse, who was pushing Dave in a wheel chair. He looked tired, just like Mindy.

Mindy's face lit up when she saw him, her eyes quickly began to scan him. He looked exhausted, and he had a few bandages on his body, one of his arms was in a sling, while the other was wrapped up.

The nurse pushed him up next to her, She helped Dave as he got to his feet, and sat next to Mindy, on the side of her bed.

"Hey there, pretty lady." Dave said with a smile.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Mindy asked, with a mixture of anger and sorrow.

I just got into some trouble..." Dave replied, wearily.

"Bullshit, Dave! Tell me what really happened, you asshole!" Mindy growled, she could tell, just like they had said, something seemed different about him. The way that Dave held himself, had changed, he somehow, had this weight about him.

"It's nothing... I just picked a fight with a much bigger asshole." Dave joked in reply.

"Dav..." Mindy began to retort, but was cut off when Dave, leaned in and quickly kissed her.

"Aw." The nurse cooed.

Marcus and the others, looked over at her.

"Sorry..." The nurse said as she dropped her head in embarrassment.

"I'm fine... I've been through worse." Dave stated, with a small smile as he pulled away from the kiss.

Mindy just stared at him, she had a sad look about her, for the first time, she couldn't tell if her was telling the truth, or if he was hiding something.

After a moment, the rest of Justice Forever filed into the room, along with Harper.

"Can you give us a moment, please." Harper stated to the nurse as the team filed in.

"Oh! Sure... just buzz if you need me." She said, as she turned and left the room, Harper closed the door behind her before turning to address the group.

"Aiko is alive." He stated suddenly.

Most of the group members recoiled at his proclamation.

"What?" Ace asked in a low voice.

"How can she still be alive?" Dave asked curiously.

Mindy looked around at the group before locking eyes with Dave. "What happened to Aiko?" she asked.

"She trapped us in a cooler, then decided to let us go." Katie stated dryly.

"She also told me where to find you... if she hadn't, you'd be dead. Not to mention the fact that she stayed behind to by us some time..." Dave stated in a scolding tone.

Katie and a few of the others let out sighs of resignation. It was hard to remember the good things a person did for you, just moments after they betrayed you.

"Shit!" Mindy said with disbelief. "I knew I didn't like her for a reason."

"How do you know she's alive?" Marty asked Harper.

"Aiko is the daughter of the leader of the Yakuza. The Order of Carnage will not kill her. Cain will have his men torture her for a few days, and eventually they'll get around to telling her father, where she is, and he'll probably make a personal trip out here to pick her up. This will be one of the few chances you'll have to strike at the criminal leadership." Harper explained.

"What about Aiko? You said that Cain and his men were going to torture her?" Ace asked, in a worried tone.

"She was has been trained to resist torture... she'll be fine." Harper stated dryly.

The group members sat in silence for a few moments, most were eying Dave to see what he would do, finally he stood up, and looked around at all of them, before beginning.

"I know how you all must feel, it's hard to forgive her for what she's done. I know it's going to take a long time for her to earn our trust. She was a viper, and we didn't even know it. She stood at our back, we thought she was our friend, and yet she betrayed us. She would have left us to die, in that cooler... but something brought her back..." Dave looked at Ace as he reached this part.

"...she let us go, she told us how to save Mindy, she even stayed behind, to buy us a few moments to escape. If she hadn't done what she'd done... Mindy would be dead right now... and so would Donald, and Eileigh. I know that I wont be able to trust her for a long time, and I know that some of you will never forgive her for what she's done, let alone forgive her, but I truly think, that in that final act, she showed us where her true loyalties lie. I believe a part of her, loves the time that she spent with us, and I think... that if she had the choice, she would be here, by our sides. I think she's earned the right, to be given a second chance, even in you never forgive her, even if you never trust her, I think, that we'll never know, how we really feel about her, unless we see her, one more time. Let's give Aiko the chance to show us who she really is. Let's give her the chance to show us, what's beneath the mask." Dave finished, Mindy could tell as she looked at a few of the group members that they were moved by his words.

"You would risk your lives to save that woman?" Samuel asked, with a curious look.

"Yes, we would." Ace stated with a smile.

"How about it Samuel, you swore to me yesterday that you would stand by my side, until you figured out what allowed me to dishonor Cain." Dave stated with a smirk.

Mindy looked at the two of them curiously, she watched as Samuel, smirked in reply before shaking his head. 'did he just agree to go along with Dave's plan?' Mindy thought to herself, 'What the fuck did I miss?'

"If you're with us... then there are two things I need you to do." Dave stated as he walked over to Samuel, Mindy could tell that he was slightly favoring one leg over the other.

"What would those be?" Samuel asked in a professional manner.

Dave simply stuck his hand out, after a second Samuel read his mind, and pulled a sword off his back. Mindy examined the sword as he placed it in Dave's hand, after a moment it clicked, that was Cain's sword.

Dave took the sword from Samuel, he had given it back to him, after Samuel had presented it to him, because he wasn't allowed to take a sword into surgery.

Dave held the sword in his hand for a moment... he muttered quietly under his breath, "The sword that's responsible for six thousand deaths..."

After a moment he held the sword out for Samuel to take back. Samuel looked at him curiously, before taking it back.

"Break it." Dave stated simply.

"What?" Samuel asked.

"Break the sword into two pieces. Shatter his weapon, and we'll take our first step, on the path to shattering his hold over us!" Dave stated with conviction.

Samuel stared at him for a moment, before taking hold of the blade itself, with his free hand. He stared at the sword for a moment, Mindy wondered, if the super ninja would be capable of breaking the Katana in half, another second rolled by before Samuel brought the blade down with his hands, while bringing his knee up. His knee made contact with the exact point between his two hands and, surprisingly, it snapped in half.

Most of the group members recoiled slightly, they were surprised that he could actually do it.

"What do you want me to do with it now?" Samuel asked as he held both halves in his hands.

"Reforge it, Into two blades." Dave responded.

Samuel looked at the two pieces, then looked at Dave, then back to the pieces, then finally back to Dave, he stared at him for a second before smirking.

"I will use his weapon, as my tools of Justice and Vengeance." Dave stated, with a determined look.

"Very well, but if you ask this of me, I will turn them into true swords, not like those commercial, media hyped, pieces of crap you are currently using. I will have this sword reforged into two Wakizashi." Samuel said, keeping him smirk.

"Fine by me." Dave replied as he too started to smirk.

"What was the other thing you wanted me to do?" Samuel asked.

"Find Aiko." Dave stated simply.

Samuel stood there for a second, before nodding. "Very well."

"I will find this woman for you, but know that I am against, risking our lives to rescue her." Samuel stated, as he turned and started to walk out the door.

"Your objection is noted Samuel." Dave said in a calm voice, as Samuel departed.

Dave stood there for a second before looking around at the rest of the group.

"Does anyone have any objections to going after Aiko?" Dave asked, after a moment.

No one said anything, after another moment of silence Dave finally nodded. "Go home you guys... get some rest. See what kind of trouble Eisenhower has gotten herself into, since we've been gone."

"Are you sure?" Marcus asked.

"Get some rest Marcus, we're not going anywhere." Mindy stated in a tired voice, as the energy she had from earlier, quickly dissipated.

Marcus stared at her for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh, and nodding.

"I'll be back in a few hours." Marcus said, as he walked forward and gave Mindy a kiss on the forehead. She just smiled in reply, as the others quickly said their goodbyes.

"Andrei." Dave stated as they were leaving, Andrei stopped and turned to look back at him.

"Let everyone get some rest... then put them to work. We need to upgrade the headquarters defenses. Run through it's layout, find areas where we can set up defenses, or make improvements." Dave stated.

Andrei nodded his head before turning to leave.

The only one to remain was Harper, he stood in place, staring at Dave for a few moments.

Dave just stared back at him, the to stood there like that for a few moments, just staring at each other, finally Harper spoke.

"You know... it's pretty impressive to see Samuel responding so much to you." He said in a calm voice.

"Yeah... doesn't seem like the guy who swears his life to someone, so casually..." Dave replied, he and Harper were still staring at each other.

"You'd be surprised." Harper replied as he turned to leave.

"Harper... They're afraid of us, aren't they?" Dave asked with a knowing look.

Harper stopped dead in his tracks, Mindy was beginning to feel exhausted, and yet somehow she found the energy to stay immersed in this conversation.

"I don't know what you mean..." Harper replied without looking back.

"It's why they sent Samuel, because they're afraid of us?" Dave stated, his eyes were narrow.

"Yes... they are afraid of you." Harper replied.

"Okay, what the fuck are you two talking about?" Mindy asked tiredly.

"They sent him to kill us... right?" Dave asked.

Harper let out a sigh, before turning to look back at him. "What tipped you off?"

"After our confrontation yesterday, I began to rethink everything that has happened. You told us originally, that this ordeal would be carried on the backs of civilians, and yet, Samuel shows up and gets put in charge of handling the group. Now I wouldn't be so bothered by this, if it weren't for the fact that Samuel isn't any normal secret agent... he's a weapon." Dave stated with a smirk.

"I wondered if you would ever catch on?" Harper stated with a smirk.

"What's he waiting for? If they sent him to kill us, then why hasn't he?" Dave asked, by now Mindy was back to being fully awake, and was listening intently.

"The orders weren't for him to kill you immediately, you still have your uses. They just wanted him to be close by, so that when the order came, their wouldn't be any problems. They're more afraid of Cain, then they are of you... that's why you're still alive. That's why he hasn't killed you yet." Harper explained.

"Why?" Mindy asked tiredly. "Why go through all of this? Why ask us to help, only to have us killed when we manage to do, what you asked us to do?"

"Because you're a threat, but they think that they can control you. At the same time, they're worried that you'll become too powerful to control, so they set up a fail-safe." Harper stated with dreary and tired look on his face.

"Why are they so afraid of us?" Mindy asked, curiously.

"To answer that question, I need to explain something to you..." Harper began as he leaned against a wall.

"Samuel, was trained from birth to be a weapon. He's thirty years old, and he's been training, since he was old enough to walk." Harper began to explain.

"Cain was trained by the same people... right?" Dave asked, in the middle of Harper's explanation.

"Yes... Cain was trained to be a leader, to be a soldier. Samuel was trained to be an assassin. Cain grew up, in Samuel's shadow, they were taught to be emotionless, to be cold and calculating. They were taught that emotion equaled weakness. Samuel adhered to that doctrine, and has to this very day, he was the best of all the children that were trained in the program. Something happened, on one of Cain's missions, when he was a teenager. When he came back, he was a changed man. Cain began to resent the program, and his teachings, eventually he left, and vanished off the face of the earth. It took MI6 two full years to track him down, and when they did, Samuel was sent to kill him. Samuel was the greatest weapon to emerge from the program... he and his superiors believed that he was the greatest fighter to have ever lived. They knew he could defeat Cain. They knew he would be victorious. And they knew he would erase their problem." Harper explained in great detail.

"...But he failed." Dave finished for him.

"Yes... when he finally met up with Cain. The two did battle, though, unbeknownst to Samuel, Cain had changed, he wasn't a cold heartless tool anymore. He had changed, and instead of Samuel wiping the floor with him, their battle turned into a duel, that has been described as epic. It lasted for over three hours, and finally ended with Cain disarming Samuel, and forcing him to the ground. Tradition dictates that the honorable thing to do, would have been to kill Samuel, but Cain didn't, instead he left Samuel alive, and Samuel has lived with the shame of his loss ever since." Harper, finished explaining.

"They still think Samuel is an emotionless tool? They still think he's just a weapon?" Dave stated with a smirk.

"Yes... but you've proven that he's not. For years, there was only one thing Samuel cared about, and that was his families honor. There was no one he loved, no one he liked, no one he hated. He simply didn't care about anyone. After his battle with Cain however, he changed. I don't think Samuel, is even aware of it, but he hates Cain, he hates him with every fiber of his being. He'll do anything, to beat him. That's why he swore his life to you. You did what Samuel was unable too, and he desperately wants to know how." Harper stated with a shake of his head.

"What will you tell them?" Dave asked.

"What do you mean?" Harper asked in reply.

"About Samuel... will you tell them, about him swearing his life to me? Will you tell them that he is starting to become an actual human being?" Dave asked, he had this look in his eyes, Mindy couldn't tell what it meant.

"If I tell them... then I'll just be confirming their fears, and they'll pull the plug on this whole operation. Regardless of what you may think of me... I still believe you have the power to save this city, and change it for the better." Harper stated in a tired tone of voice.

"What do you mean?" Dave asked, as he leaned on the wall next to Harper.

"This all started with Mindy..." Harper began.

"What started with me?" Mindy asked as she focused intently on Harper.

"They spent twenty-six years training Samuel to be the best. You've been trained for just over a decade, and you'll soon be, stronger than him. You're father gave you something Mindy... and whatever it was, you've given it to Dave, and he's passing it on to every member of your team." Harper explained.

"So they're worried because I'm a bad-ass?" Mindy asked, stuck between flattered and insulted.

"In two or three more years, you'll be stronger and faster, and more agile, then a man who's been training for over two and a half decades. Look at Dave... he managed to humiliate Cain... who's been training for just as long as Samuel, and yet Dave's only been training for four years! They aren't afraid of you because you're a bad-ass, they're afraid of you because of what you're creating. They spent millions making warriors like Samuel, like Cain. You're doing what they thought was impossible, and you're doing it for free. It scares the hell out of them..." Harper stated as he stood and began to pace in front of them.

"I get it..." Mindy stated with a nod. "They can't wrap their heads around how, I became as good as one of their super agents, in half the time. They can't figure out how, Dave has been training for less than half as long as I have, and yet, he's only a year or two away from being as good as me. I get it. I guess I never really thought about it before... but it is kind of scary."

"That's one of the main reasons they're scared of you, but theirs another, and it's just as interesting. Somehow Dave, you've managed to inspire this city into fighting for it's freedom. Look at all of the people you have fighting with you. You've got an ex criminal like Ace, you've got a psychopath like Andrew, you've got an ex Russian Spetsnaz who would have no reason, what so ever, to fight for our country, and yet he and his sister are risking their lives to protect this city. The things you've done Dave, are impressive, you've started something, you've disrupted the natural order of things... and it sends a cold chill running down their spines." Harper stated as he looked at Dave, there was something about the way the he looked at Dave, Mindy couldn't tell, but it looked like he was proud to be admitting it.

The three of them sat in silence for a few moments... before Dave let out a weary sigh and spoke. "So... what do you think I should do about Samuel?"

"Keep doing what you're doing. Somehow... by working with you guys, he's beginning to change. It may take a while, but if you keep doing what you're doing, you should be able to win him over." Harper said with a nod as he stared up at the ceiling.

"What do you think I should do about Aiko?" Dave asked after a moment.

"You do what you feel you have too. This is your show after all." Harper said with a smirk as he leaned off the wall and turned to leave.

Dave and Mindy watched him depart, both were deep in thought about what they had just learned. Mindy held a worried look, she didn't like the idea of letting Samuel anywhere near them, especially if, at any moment he could receive the order to kill them.

Dave noticed the worried look on her face, and let out a chuckle.

Mindy looked over at him and noticed him grinning. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"Better the devil you know..." Dave said with a mysterious smirk as he hobbled over to her bed side.

Mindy just gave him a curious look, before settling back down. Dave sat on the side of her bed and looked down at her. "You tired?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Mindy replied as she turned her to stare at him.

"I'll let you get some rest..." Dave stated as he started to stand back up.

"Dave..." He heard Mindy whisper his name, he looked at her and almost visibly recoiled at the sight. Dave watched as all her strength left her, she just lay there looking tired and weak.

"What is it?" He replied in a compassionate tone.

"Can you stay with me? I don't wanna be alone right now." Mindy asked. Dave just gave her a sad nod, he had never seen her this vulnerable before.

Dave just sat next to her, as sleep began to overtake her. It was another few moments before she passed out.

Dave stared at her sadly... after a moment he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I will make The Nightmare go away... I promise." He whispered as he stood and walked over to the window.

He stared out towards the cities skyline... somehow the majesty of the skyline had vanished, now the city just looked like a vicious set of spires reaching for the heavens... beckoning unwelcome souls, to venture into the city.


-Two weeks later-

(Aiko's perspective)

Aiko felt a sharp pain in her jaw as a legionnaire punched her across the face.

"Why the hell won't this fucking bitch say anything!" The legionnaire growled to his partner who was leaning against the wall.

"I don't know... she wouldn't talk when I was here yesterday, either." He replied with a shake of his head.

"I don't know what you think is going to happen to you, but I can promise you, if you don't open your fucking mouth and tell me what I want to know, then your death is going to be far worse then you can imagine!" The first legionnaire leered as he leaned close to her.

Aiko quickly smiled as he leaned close to her, she flung her head back and then smashed it into the legionnaires head. He let out a wail of pain and fell back, the other legionnaire just shook his head and knelt to help his comrade up.

"You bitch!" The injured legionnaire shouted as he got to his feet.

Aiko quickly laughed and said something in Japanese.

"What the hell did you say?!" He growled as he grabbed her by her neck and cocked a fist back.

"She said you hit like a complete bitch and you should probably change your day job." Came a mysterious voice.

The two legionaries looked back at the entrance to the small interrogation room, there stood two men, one was average height, obviously Asian, he was dressed very formal, the other was slightly taller, he was also Asian, his eyes were small and his skin was pale. The second man had a small polite smile, and was dressed in a business suit, he also held a briefcase in his hand, his skin was pain and he had short bowl cut, black hair.

"As much as I'd like to see you hit her again, I'm afraid my associate here would not take kindly to it, so, sadly, I'm going to ask you to refrain from that." The shorter man stated, with a smile

"Daichi, Hanzo!" Aiko stated with a smirk.

"It took you long enough to get here." One of the legionnaires growled.

"My sincerest of apologies, severe weather in L.A. caused our flight to be delayed." The smaller man stated keeping his smile.

"Where is mister Fugiwara?" The other legionnaire asked.

"He regrets that he couldn't be here today. Pressing business with Cain, you see." At the mention of their masters name, the legionnaires became more respectful.

"I see... we release her into your care. Do you require any assistance?" The injured legionnaire asked, in a very formal tone.

"No, I do believe we have everything under control." The smaller man responded, keeping his smile, after a moment the legionnaires caught the hint, and left the three of them alone.

"Princess Aiko... look at you... your father would be most distressed to see you in such a state." The smaller man stated in a mocking tone.

"Fuck you Daichi! You and my father can go to hell!" Aiko spat in return.

"Oh... I see... so being here, amongst these animals, has ruined your attitude." Daichi mocked in reply.

"These people are not animals! You watch your tone Daichi! The second I get out of here, I'm going to tear your eyes out!" Aiko growled.

"What happened to you Aiko? You had a simple mission... and it seems that you somehow managed to fuck it up." Daichi chided her.

"I woke up! Maybe you should too... otherwise you might find your life ending sooner then you planned." Aiko stated in a menacing voice.

"Princess Aiko appears to be in a foul mood." The taller man stated with a smile.

"It's good to see you again Hanzo." Aiko said as she gave the taller man a small smile.

The taller man simply smiled in reply.

"Yes well, we should probably..." Daichi started, but stopped when they heard a loud thump against the door.

In an instant, the two men spun around and drew silenced handguns. They both leveled them at the door.

After a moment, the door flung open and a black mass came rushing in. The two men fired at the mass as it barreled into Daichi, and Aiko, knocking both of them over.

Aiko looked over just in time to see the familiar form of Andrew using the body of a legionnaire as a human shield.

"Hanzo, stop!" Aiko shouted. As he heard her voice the taller man, lowered his handgun and just stared at her.

As Daichi struggled to his feet, Aiko saw Dave, and Marty charge in and tackle him. Dave landed on top of him, while Marty pinned his arms, Aiko watched as Dave drew one of his swords, she noticed that he had switched out his straight ninja swords to Wakizashi. Dave quickly plunged the sword into Daichi's heart. Aiko couldn't escape the feeling of glee she felt as the bastard began to choke on his own blood.

Andrew, got to his feet and raised a sawn-off shotgun, and aimed it at Hanzo.

"Andrew! It's fine!" Aiko shouted to him.

Andrew looked down at her, as Hanzo just looked around, keeping his smile.

Dave quickly appeared at her side, she felt him cut her bindings. He then stood in front of her and looked her in the eyes. Aiko was surprised to see that he didn't look angry, he almost looked happy to see her.

"Let's get you home." Dave said as he stuck out a hand for her.

Aiko looked at him, then at his hand... after a second she smiled happily and took his hand.

"What do we do with this guy?" Andrew asked as he eyed Hanzo.

"Take him with us. He's my body guard... all of my siblings have one, there is no one he is more loyal to then me." Aiko told them.

Dave looked at her, then looked at Hanzo.

"Keep and eye on him, if her tries anything, kill him." Dave told Andrew.

"That sounds like it could be painful." Hanzo commented.

"Creepy fuck!" Marty stated as he followed Dave out of the room.

"Stay close Hanzo. Be good." Aiko said to him as she followed after Dave.

"We have her... go loud!" Aiko saw Dave, shout into a walky-talky.

As he finished speaking, Aiko heard a loud crashing sound, they walked by a window, that overlooked a large loading dock, she watched as two, very familiar, armored, SUV, busted through the gates of the loading dock, and a cluster of heroes hopped out of the cars and started to shoot up the place.

She stuck close to Dave as he and the rest of them made their way to the roof. Dave quickly pulled out a flare and tossed it. A moment went by before a familiar helicopter appeared.

"Justice Forever, your flight has arrived, if you could all board in an orderly and fashionable manner... that'd be great." Jon said over the walk-talky, as he landed on the roof.

"We're at the helicopter... get out of there guys!" Dave called over the radio, as they all piled into the helicopter.

They quickly took off, right as the SUV's tore out of the loading docks, the members of Justice Forever, safely inside.

"You look like shit!" Dave shouted to Aiko, as they flew.

Aiko looked at him, and smiled, before replying "I missed you too, Dave!"

"Let's get you home... I think theirs someone who wants to give you a big sloppy kiss!" Marty laughed.

"It'll be good to see Ace again." Aiko stated with a warm smile.

"I think he meant Eisenhower, but yeah, Ace too." Dave shouted, with a big grin, under his mask.

"You seem to have made a lot of friends, princess Aiko." Hanzo commented, he still had that same happy smile.

"Creepy fucker!" Andrew stated.

"I know, right!" Marty shouted.

"Thank you guys... I didn't think you would actually come for me..." Aiko admitted.

"Don't thank us yet... you've still got the tiny fucking terror to contend with... and Mindy's nowhere near as forgiving as the rest of us." Dave chided.

Aiko just sat back and smiled at him.


-Twenty Minutes Later-

They landed the helicopter just outside of the headquarters, and got out... the garage was open, and the SUV were already inside. The helicopter had to fly around for a bit to make sure they weren't being followed, before they could fly back to the headquarters.

The group members all piled out and walked towards the open door. Aiko was taking her sweet time getting to the entrance.

"Is there something wrong, princess Aiko?" Hanzo asked, as he stood by her side.

"Just nervous... I don't know how, any of them will ever forgive me for what I've done." Aiko admitted.

"They probably wont. You infiltrated their organization, and eventually betrayed them... this is the kind of thing people get executed for... I would watch my back." Hanzo stated, he still hadn't lost his small smile.

"Have I ever told you how much I missed you?" Aiko asked looking at him sideways.

"No..." Hanzo stated after a moment of thought.

"Good." Aiko responded dryly as she marched towards the door.

She found the garage empty, but the door to the armory was open, as Aiko approached it, she took a deep breath, and tried to settle her nerves.

After a moment she walked through the door, she found all of the members of Justice Forever standing in there waiting for her. She scanned the crowd for Ace, but her eyes stopped when they caught a glance at Mindy who was leaning against Natasha for support.

"Don't give me that look... I'll be better and back to kicking your ass in no time." Mindy stated after a moment.

"You still haven't won a fight against me." Aiko commented, with a small smile.

"Why the fuck do you think I wanted you back here? I won't be able to win, if you're not here." Mindy huffed in response.

"We'll talk about punishment later... for now... get some rest." Dave told Aiko, as he motioned for the rest of the group to disperse.

"...and about your friend?" Dave continued after a moment.

"He's with me... I'll keep an eye on him. He wont be a problem." Aiko responded.

"I'll hold you too that." Dave stated giving her a look, before turning and walking over to Mindy.

"I'm watching you." Mindy stated dryly as Dave helped her hobble out of the room.

The only one to remain was Ace... he just stood in the center of the room staring at her, after a moment he decided to walk up to her.

The two stood in silence for a few moments before Aiko finally spoke up.

"Ace... about what happened... I..." She began but Ace cut her off with a kiss.

The two held the kiss for a few moments before Ace pulled away and gave her a small smile.

"Rest." He said to her, as he turned to leave. "You're gonna need it... I think Mindy plans on running your ass till midnight... for a month." Ace finished with a laugh as he left.

Aiko just stood there for a moment, her eyes wide with surprise, Hanzo finally broke the silence when he commented. "Well, now this awkward."

Aiko looked over at him and then hung her head... "Hanzo... you are one of a kind..."

Aiko, couldn't escape the feeling of happiness she felt... if felt like... somehow... she had come home.

Okay! I'm Done here's you next chapters... review and let me know what you think... I'll try to have the next chapter out sometime late next week. Until then, see ya!