Avenging

Book 2: Chapter 3

Keeping With the Times

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tsommer

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As always I do not own the rights to the numerous characters or series within.

Last chapter Daredevil and Hawkeye fought members of Hydra and AIM and ended up getting the Avengers an animal mascot.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kasumi looked into the living room and spotted her sisters sitting idly about, watching television. Her father and Mr. Saotome were out horsing around together, as the older men were wont to do. Ranma left to do something for a friend and wouldn't be back until late, according to him. That left her and her siblings as the only occupants in the house, Happosai having disappeared a while back and never returning. It was nice being able to rely on owning undergarments once again.

Reluctantly Kasumi admitted she needed to inform her sisters that she'd be moving out soon. She'd been putting it off for a while, a couple of months actually, but now she was starting to drag her feet on the matter to the point it was never going to get done. There was a somewhat bittersweet feeling, since, well her entire life had been taken up with home and family ever since their mother died. But she had much bigger things to worry about, earth shaking matters, now that she was a part of the greatest superhero team on the face of the planet. Hmm, perhaps they should be called 'World's Finest Heroes', or some other appellation attached to their name. She'd take it up with the others at the next meeting. There was nothing wrong with dubbing yourself as the best when you were.

But that was for later. Now would be the perfect time to inform them of what was to come. She suspected they'd take the news better than their father who was rather clingy, and that was the polite way of phrasing it. She'd already gotten the pair to take on some of the household duties with little effort. It was… mature of them to accept it. In thinking about it, she admitted they both had grown up a lot of late. It was a good sign.

Once Kasumi made the announcement it would be a point of no return. Now at the moment of truth she found herself depressed at the things she'd be losing once she departed. Looking at her siblings, she was struck by the urge to do one last thing with them as a family living under the same roof. But what could they do? They were so different in personality now from back when they used to do things together. There seemed to be no common ground any longer. Why the last time they had really done anything as a family was-.

That was it! They had all loved doing that together. It had been an annual event back when they were younger. Why not dust the mothballs off and do it again after all this time? The equipment was still in storage, just waiting to be used. It would be perfect.

Kasumi entered the room and turned off the television. She smiled broadly and announced, "I have a wonderful idea. Why don't the three of us go camping like we used to do? It can be a sisters thing since we don't really do anything together lately."

Akane nodded her head and grinned as she was cast adrift on memories of the past. "I loved going camping. We had a lot of fun being able to enjoy the outdoors."

"Yeah, it was fun," Nabiki agreed. "Finding out firsthand bears weren't the only thing that crapped in the woods. Running out of toilet paper. Having to leaf it and inadvertently using poison ivy for the deed."

"That didn't happen to you: that happened to me," Akane pointed out.

"I know. That's why it was fun. I'm free this weekend."

"So am I," Akane said while mentally swearing to bring extra toilet paper this time. "What about Dad, though?"

Kasumi shook her head. "I'd rather it was just the three of us. We're old enough to handle this sort of thing ourselves."

"Um, if Dad's not coming along, who's driving?" Akane asked.

Kasumi preened a bit. "Me, of course. I'm the only one with a driver's license."

Nabiki gave a serious look. "Kasumi, I love you like a sister-."

"I am your sister."

"-But there is no way in hell I'm letting you drive me anywhere. And I love Akane enough that if she foolishly agrees out of some sense of sisterly devotion, I would try to talk her out of it just like I would if she were about to jump off a bridge."

"No worries. I'm not suicidal," she assured Nabiki. "I've got too much to live for, so no car rides."

Kasumi released an exasperated sigh and put her hands on her hips. "You're both being ridiculous."

"You killed your instructor when you were going for your license," Nabiki insisted.

"I did not! What killed him was high blood pressure and morbid obesity. He could barely fit into the seat. He was a walking heart attack waiting to happen."

"That time I rode with you gave me heart palpitations, and I was in perfect health."

"You never actually passed your test," Akane pointed out. "They just gave you the license rather than making you take it with another instructor."

"They do that because of the potential trauma from losing your driving instructor that way. It would make retaking the test when traumatized unfair."

"They did it because they didn't want to lose another instructor that way," Nabiki contended.

As far as Akane was concerned riding with Kasumi was only slightly less terrifying than flesh golems. She supposed if she turned into Thor she might survive a car ride with her eldest sister. No, she'd ridden with her once and even that might not be enough.

Nabiki said, "I'll drop the cash and hire a car and driver to take us there and pick us up."

"You hate parting with money," Kasumi contended.

"I'd hate parting with my life even more."

Akane hugged Nabiki for the sacrifice she was willing to make on her behalf. It was times like this when siblings came through for you.

Kasumi was now irritated that she came up with the camping idea at all. Her sisters were being ridiculous. She was a perfectly fine driver. Why, the next time she and her teammates received an emergency call, she'd fly the quinjet and prove she wasn't a terrible driver. How much more difficult could flying be as opposed to driving?

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi Kunou sat behind her desk in her office, trying to bring herself to do something she might very well regret later. It was her fault she had placed herself in this situation by accepting the invitation in the first place, but still she felt an ominous cloud over come what may. How did thing go out of control to this point?

It had all seemed so simple at first. She had received in invitation for a large superhero soiree that was being thrown by a number of smaller groups that had pooled their fund so the costumed set could hang out with their own kind for a while. Compare notes, talk about their lives, that sort of thing. The Avengers had received an invitation sent to their mansion which Sasuke forwarded to her. Naturally being one of the most high-profile (and greatest) teams, she felt obligated to send at least two people to represent them at the function and informed the organizers of such. While the ideal solution would have been her and Captain Japan attending, making it the date in which they might finally fall in love, she had a meeting with the shareholders which absolutely could not be missed.

She kicked the ball to the next duo that would love to show up together: Daredevil and Hawkeye. It would be like a date for them, too, since they were officially dating. Only it turned out both were busy as well. So she tried contacting Thor and Wasp, but for some reason neither was answering their communication cards. She was *not* inviting the Hulk, since that was just asking for disaster level trouble. If things went horribly wrong, he might singlehandedly cripple every superhero in the country.

So that left the final two selections. Well, technically three but it depended on if Bucky or Captain Japan answered first. The two had that ridiculous rule about only one showing up since there was only one shield between them, so they wouldn't attend together. If it was Bucky, no problem. But if Captain Japan answered and agreed… that damnable cat woman might accept and the two of them would be left alone together with no one like Kodachi to chaperone them. There was no telling what someone of such loose morals would do to try and seduce her Captain, but it would be pornographic, of that there could be no doubt.

So Kodachi decided to call Captain Japan first. If he answered she'd ask him to attend alone since she was not sending Tigra with him. If it was Bucky, she couldn't care less. Let Tigra go out with the egotistical redhead and the two could try and figure out if their combined bust size was equal to that of their combined I.Q.s.

"Here's a hint: they aren't," she would love to inform them.

As luck would have it Bucky did indeed answer, and thus a great weight was removed from Kodachi's shoulders. She informed the heroine of the invitation.

"I'd love to go," Bucky said, "Got to keep up the hopes of the second stringers to stay in the game and try to make it to the first string, like us. They won't be as good as us, but they should try and better themselves. I'll inspire them."

"How very noble of you," Kodachi said dryly. The trollop was no Captain Japan. What could she do to inspire anyone? Perform a striptease? "I'll see if Tigra can go with you. Would the two of you try to not lose your clothing? I'd rather not deal with the scandal."

"Gypsy Moth is still in prison, so I don't see that being an issue," Bucky said acerbically.

Kodachi sent the information to attend the function through the card. She then sent a request for Tigra, which she answered in short order. No longer the least bit concerned about her being around the hunky hero, she informed Tigra that Bucky was attending and it would look better if two Avengers would be present instead of one. The werewoman immediately accepted. Kodachi swore it was with the same enthusiasm she would have displayed if it had been Captain Japan. She wondered what the sneaky feline was up to. It mattered little. As long as the scheme didn't involve Captain Japan, she didn't care in the slightest what the fleabag did.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Had Kodachi known what was about to happen, she would have been less enthused. While Bucky had answered the call, it was only because Ranma had recently been splashed with cold water, and though she accepted the invitation as Bucky, there was no way she was going to some flashy party with a bunch of guys from the superhero set. Patriotic Man hadn't been the only one that wanted to make time with the hottest hero around. She'd been hit on two out of the last three times she'd been Bucky and encountered male heroes. The exception was when some big guy named Brawler had the tastelessness to flirt with Thor instead of her. Not that she wanted to be hit on, but clearly she was the hottest Avenger. It offended her a bit that some big Nordic beauty was perceived as being more attractive than her when she clearly wasn't. Perhaps there was something about the cold which affected Canadians' brains, or simply made Swedes more appealing.

But Ranma had learned her lesson and was attending as Captain Japan. Sure, he got hit on by female superheroes at least as often, but as long as the women didn't come on too strong he didn't mind it. He was a hunk and couldn't blame them for having good taste. There was the possibility he'd net so much attention some of the other male heroes might get jealous, but better their anger than attraction as far as he was concerned.

So Ranma switched genders and costumes. Upon contacting Tigra, she agreed to meet him at the party rather than going together. A Kunou limousine picked him up and took him to the upscale hotel that had been rented for the occasion. He waited outside less than a minute when Tigra popped up, which was a heck of a coincidence. They had both arrived in costume, well, bikini in her case. Despite being recognized by security, he did have to give them the invitation Kodachi had been sent. The heroes who had put the party together didn't want imposters sneaking in, so it was by invitation only

Tigra made a point of looping her arm through his and rubbing close enough she was technically violating his personal space. At least he knew her and, well, maybe a little physical stuff with women wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't as though he had no interest in them, and Daredevil and Hawkeye were dating. Seeing the pair in action, and how happy they were with each other, got Ranma thinking maybe he could enjoy a bit of the same thing. Not getting married like his father was pushing for, just normal dating.

So it wasn't strange to enjoy females close to him like Tigra was doing. Not that this was a date, just that when it came time to date someone there was no reason to not appreciate attention from a teammate whom he knew and respected. As long as she didn't try too hard. That would be weird. But this was fine, he decided, so he grew comfortable with the arm looping thing.

Just as he started to relax to the point of casual enjoyment, Tigra removed her arm and moved slightly away from him, no longer in his personal space. For a moment he missed that little bit of closeness, then collected his thoughts. If they looked too close together people would speculate they were dating, which they certainly weren't. He didn't want rumors like that going around. He had to hear enough about what he and his 'partner' did, since everyone was certain Captain Japan and Bucky must be intimate in some fashion. It was especially bad when it came from his mom, who regarded both his identities as Public Enemy Number 1 and 2. No, wait, the Bloodstones were actually one and two now with their open borderline debauchery, so he'd dropped down to three or lower. That was a form of progress, he supposed.

That was enough with the introspection! It was time to enjoy the party. The hotel's largest, and most luxurious ballroom had been rented and looked very colorful. He spotted an open bar (that might lead to trouble: drunk superhumans) and a decent looking buffet (which was a bonus in his eyes as he always had time to stuff his face). The place was packed with well over a hundred gaudily dressed people interacting with one another. He wasn't too surprised by the number. A lot of folks had been popping up trying to make a name for themselves since it was a trendy thing to do.

In his opinion it was not a great idea. The majority of people who wanted to join the ranks of superheroes thought all you had to do was put on a colorful skintight outfit, then trouble would magically pop up for you to punch in the face. Once it was taken care of, you sat back and enjoyed the accolades.

Then reality slugged them in the gut. They quickly discovered all the problems associated with being a hero. First was you almost always had to track down trouble. The Avengers were an 'official' team thanks to Kunou's financing, with great equipment and enough respect from private, public. and government agencies that they were turned to for big problems and had quick deployment capabilities to get to a trouble zone. Sure, animal rights whackos might show up to hold your school hostage in exchange for stupid demands, but those incidents were few and far between. Nope, you had to go out looking for trouble and hoped you found some to see action.

Then there was the problem of these newbies being any good at heroing. Many had no powers and thought all it took were a few martial arts classes, then you could side kick a problem away. If those ones were lucky they found normal criminals who contented themselves with just beating the crap out of the hero before leaving. Those ones retired quickly. Some unfortunates encountered an actual villain with powers, then ended up in traction before retiring. The lucky thing about most of the costumed bad guys was few of them were interested in murder charges being brought against them, so they were usually satisfied by beating a hero badly enough to put them in the hospital and get bragging rights among their own set that way. Especially if said hero was scared out of the business and never heard from again.

Not everyone was a goof. Some new heroes had powers, and those ones usually had some measure of success. Most of it depended on the power. Bulletproof skin was great. The ability to replicate any sound you heard, not so much. Casting total darkness over an area was only useful if you could see through it. Otherwise it was the blind fighting the blind, which only worked if you were the Daredevil type.

And then they discovered more unpleasant truths beside prolonged periods of time off to heal those fractures: money. The superhero game generally didn't pay well. Bounties on criminals were few and far between, and most people you helped left it at a 'thank you' rather than, 'Here's fifty thousand yen for getting my stolen ten thousand yen bicycle back.' He wagered most heroes were part timers who had regular salaryman jobs, rather than millionaires who had the free time to travel the world and master all of the skills necessary to become a costumed hero. There weren't any government job opportunities either thanks to Ariyoshi's platform. Now in the U.S. he heard rumors the government was creating its own superhero team. And the Chinese took everyone who had an ability to the same central location for training so they had a super powered army that could be deployed as it wished. But an official job opening here was nearly unheard of. The Avengers were practically the only team with a company financially backing them while not directly working for it at the same time.

The main way money tended to be generated was by advertising their services, almost like mercenaries. Eyeshield 21 and Heroes for Hire both had offices through which they could be contacted and hired. There were a few folks whose abilities allowed them to be bodyguards or detectives. But since that was all self-employment money could be tight depending on the market. Again Ranma was glad he and the others received steady income from Kunou. That was going to come in handy when he graduated and went full time as Captain Japan.

But for all the negatives, there were some folks who were talented or powerful enough to cut it as real superheroes. They tended to garner enough success against their level of opposition to make a name for themselves and somehow make ends meet. From what he understood, a lot of the street level and low-powered heroes had a certain area they covered, and they would occasionally work together to handle bigger problems if they were near one another. Every now and then you heard of heroes teaming up to take down a bigger menace. There were a few times when the Avengers bailed out a mask in trouble, and occasionally one would show up to help them out. Not that they needed it of course, but it was the thought that counted.

Although occasionally there was some extraordinary circumstance that led to the necessity of recruiting other heroes to help out. Like when the 'World's Most Dangerous Feminist' Superia (a title she had given herself), had developed an 'Emasculation Ray' that worked on men and planned to unleash it on all of Japan. Due to the gravity of the situation, (and that no man wanted to go near a villain what *that* kind of a weapon) a number of female heroines had been called in to help the female Avengers put an end to her plans, which were highly unpopular with nearly all of the summoned heroes. They accomplished their mission. Vehemently so.

Superia was still very hospitalized the last Ranma had heard. He was flattered that so many women had stepped up to defend men's honor like that.

So there was a roster of consistent superheroes around and about the country. While over time some quit, or occasionally fell in the line of duty (there were some villainous types that were quite murderous), there was always someone with enough ability and desire to replace them. And many of them were at this gathering. It was probably the only time so many of them could interact with each other. The party really was a good idea.

Captain Japan noted Tigra was starting to attract a lot of male attention of her own. Apparently their entering together and his close proximity were not enough to deter the guys' interest. Had she shown any irritation he would have shooed them away, but she was accepting the attention with smiles, though only polite ones and not the type she unleashed on him. He'd observed a while back that for a 'playful sex kitten' she only flirted with him. Aside from it meaning she had good taste, it indicated she was monogamous when it came to her attentions. That was a desirable character trait in his book.

And since she was starting to interact with the crowd, he decided it was time to do the same. A lot of people wanted to rub shoulders with the greatest of the Avengers, and he'd give them the opportunity. He put on his 'Captain Japan' attitude and started milling about, looking for any familiar faces.

Almost immediately he spotted that would-be Casanova, Roy Mustang. He was talking emphatically with some extremely large guy in an outfit that showed off some seriously prodigious muscles. The man had a blonde mustache but was otherwise bald save for a single knot of hair on the front of his chrome dome. Seriously, why didn't he just shave off that lone lock of hair? He looked absurd.

He heard Patriotic Man say, "Come on Armstrong, we'd make an incredible team. I'm the brains, you're the brawn. 'The Titanic Duo: Patriotic Man and Strong Guy', has an irresistible name to it."

"Brawn I have in abundance." Strong Guy began bodybuilder type posing, which gained the attention of everyone around them.

Captain Japan rolled his eyes and walked away. Knowing Patriotic Man, he'd be hitting on everything female soon enough. If he did harass Tigra, the Avenger would be intervening. She deserved better than the creep breathing the same air as her.

As he moved through the crowd, people come up and greeted him, some quite enthusiastically, often citing him as an inspiration. He and the Avengers were definitely A-List when it came to reputation in the hero world. Well, saving it on a number of occasions and being as powerful as they were went a long way toward that. It was hard to believe they came so far when they had started out as a bunch of random individuals that just happened to cross paths with an excessively dangerous foe. And that their failure to function as a team resulted in tragedy.

Since then they had certainly averted enough of those. And aside from occasional moodiness and sniping they were pretty perfect now, as a list of their defeated foes was testament to. Life was good.

Captain Japan politely accepted the accolades and encouraged the lesser known heroes, paragon of virtue and whatnot. Everything went smoothly until some bare-chested guy in pants, fur around the waist, and a huge boar head mask, which hid all his facial features, approached. While he looked powerful, it was nowhere near Strong Guy's musculature.

He boldly announced, "I'm Razorback. We should fight."

That made Captain Japan give an inward sigh. While they were relatively few, some minor leaguers wanted to move up the food chain by challenging an Avenger. They never bested one, of course, but they thought they could. It was always a hassle dealing with some upstart punk, which most of them were. Best to defuse the situation and in this case there was a simple distraction to use. "So you're the new Razorback?"

"New?"

"Yeah, there's already one that has a dead pig on top of her head. Drives a truck. Electrocutes people that touch her. Part of the Geobreeders or whatever it is they call themselves now. You cleared taking on the same name as her, right? It's a courtesy thing."

"Uh, no, I didn't," he admitted. After a moment of scratching his head, he proclaimed in the same tone he had earlier, "I'm the Boar. We should fight."

Nuts. Most people wanted to keep the name they started out with. So much for sending this guy off on a quest to distract him. It was time to come up with an alternative plan. "Avengers can't accept challenges from people unless they pass the qualifiers. It's in our bylaws, and there's no way around it."

The newly dubbed Boar cocked his head quizzically . "Qualifiers?"

"Yeah, lots of people want to challenge us. You have to go up against our mansion's automated defenses to prove you're powerful enough to take us on. And you have to do it when we're in residence so call ahead."

"Oh." And with that he walked off.

That settled that. Of course the guy might actually show up and take them on. The defenses were usually enough to put down weenies and wanna-be's, like Daredevil's Rogues Gallery types. And if the guy could overcome them, well why not accept the fight? He might be an actual test against Captain Japan's abilities and there was nothing wrong with that. It helped to keep him sharp, and challenges were part of the fun of life.

He continued circulating through the crowd. For a moment he saw a horrendous collage of colors which hurt his eyes. At first Captain Japan thought it was some bizarre visual attack, but after his eyes stopped tearing, he realized it was good old Captain Colorblind (technically Captain Ultra, but the name he came up with was better given the garish outfit the putz wore). One would think he was a twit given the horrific outfit he designed for himself, but the hero had quite a win loss record, and had taken down a number of well-known dangerous foes. Too bad for Ultra he hadn't run up against Gypsy Moth, as shredding that outfit would be doing him a favor.

Then the Avenger spotted a guy, roughly his age, in a what appeared to be a Spanish Conquistador outfit with a shield on his arm. Captain Japan thought he had cornered the market on that particular weapon. Curiosity drew him near his contemporary.

"Hey there," he greeted amicably.

The newer guy began gushing. "It's great to meet you, Sir."

"Cap will do." The new guy both sounded and looked Japanese. So the outfit was chosen because it looked neat rather than stating his country of origin. "What name do you go by?"

"Defensor. I'm one of the Knights of Pendragon. I'm kind of new to this."

"Throw the shield?"

"No," Defensor admitted. "But Its magic allows it to reflect attacks back to the attacker, and it seems indestructible."

"Seems?"

"I was chosen by a higher power to be a champion of justice, along with three others. The weapons were assigned to us. Theirs are definitely more… aggressive." And with that admission his embarrassment practically radiated out from him in a wave.

This was where Captain Japan type inspiration was called for. He slapped Defensor jovially on the shoulder. "A shield's a great weapon and being able to deflect attacks will save your bacon, as well as others. Take it from me. I've been at this for a while and I know my shields. You can allow your teammates to use their more aggressive attacks while you protect them from harm. It's way more efficient. Teamwork gets the job done where individuality doesn't."

The pep talk did its job as Defensor's shoulders firmed up and he held himself with more confidence than since he became a hero. After a brief discussion, he left Captain Japan's side and went back to the party with a lightness to his step. The Avenger felt uplifted in his good deed, more so than usual. Shield heroes were rare in the business. They had to look out for one another.

Once more he circulated amongst the crowd, chatting with newer folks here and there until he spotted another familiar face: one of the Reborn whom they fought, then struck up a friendship with, during the Red Rajah affair.

He greeted her warmly. "Hey there, Waterduct."

"It's Aqueduct," Michiru corrected.

Now confused, he said, "I thought 'Aque' meant 'water'."

The heroine laughed. "Trust me, saying it that way won't work. Just go with Aqueduct. How have things been going with you?"

With that the two exchanged pleasantries. It hadn't taken the Reborn long to become top rank like the Avengers, though they weren't quite up to their level in Captain Japan's opinion. After all, they had lost in head-to-head competition the one time they fought. But it was a conversation of equals, rather than the deferential one most of the heroes held toward him.

"So you're here on your own?" the shield slinger asked.

"Nope. Bloodstone insisted on tagging along." Aqueduct pointed out her teammate, Haruka, who was with her father of all people. The two of them were acting very familiar with an extremely attractive heroine in a tight fitting, revealing outfit. "I believe she called this place a 'meat market', and she's very much a carnivore in her tastes."

"Uh, yeah," Captain Japan said hesitantly. "Are they doing what I think they're doing?"

"Hitting on that rather attractive brunette? Oh yes."

"Are they going to fight it out to see who dates her or something?"

"I'm more concerned if she lets both of them pick her up."

Captain Japan turned green. "Don't say it."

"Father Daughter tag team."

"Ah, that's gross! And now I can't unhear that!"

Aqueduct laughed. "Haruka would be so much more tolerable if she didn't try to seduce everything with a pair of breasts. Although her rather lewd come-ons work with some of the flighty types, so I guess she'll keep operating the way she already does."

He smiled. "I remember what happened when she came on to you. She hit on any of your other teammates?"

"Second time we got together, she got a stray hand toasted. Fourth time she learned nanites can get into some very tight areas of the human anatomy that aren't normally accessible to outside forces. At the next meeting, Lightning just electrocuted her on sight to save time." She saw his reaction. "Don't get me wrong. She's not that bad. She takes no for an answer and lets it go. Really, the only bad thing about her is she's not the most subtle type when she expresses interest in you. I asked her about it and she said, 'I was raised by a caveman. We don't play games and get right to the point,'. I guess the direct approach is a bit uncommon nowadays, but I can also respect it. Life is complicated enough, why make it more complicated than it needs to be? And she'll always have your back in a tight situation. She's saved all of us at least once. Lost her ring finger saving me, which freaked me out until she said all she needed was a week off to go into some regenerative trance to grow it back. And it did."

"Wasp found out the hard way her wings grow back. Ditto Tigra. Our green galoot can regenerate, too. The rest of us, not so much. If I could choose having a superpower, that would be it."

"You mean your super studliness isn't a power?" she asked playfully.

As he started protesting, she said, "I'm only fooling around with you. My tastes run the same as Haruka's. I am simply more ladylike about it. Although I'm going to take a chance here and ask, since I probably won't get to otherwise, by chance is your partner…?"

So, he went from being hit on, to not really being hit on, to being hit on again by the same person in the span of five sentences. It could only happen to him. Worse, technically Aqueduct would stand a light years better chance than all of the guys that had hit on her female form. But he wasn't interested in that sort of experimentation. He had his heterosexual hands full with women already. He had no desire to play the same game from the other side of the field. "No."

"Then I saved myself some potential embarrassment. But do warn her about coming with arm's reach of Haruka."

"Consider it done." Captain Japan returned his attention to the crowd. "You know, it just occurred to me some villain might decide to take out about half the heroes in Japan with a well planted bomb tonight."

Aqueduct shook her head. "Already thought of that. Techno swept the place beforehand for anything and everything. You couldn't slip an M-80 past her. We also have a few 'danger sense' guys to tip us off to anything threatening. Moreover any bad guy trying to get within a kilometer of this place risks a hundred plus heroes coming after them, including us. Not exactly the most tempting of targets after all."

"Oh." That made sense. Now he could rest a bit easier. If any costumed type tried hitting the place the biggest impediment would be the heroes getting in each other's way when they tried to kick his butt.

It was turning into quite the party. He was glad he came.

Xxxxxx

The camping excursion had gone perfectly, starting with the hiring of a driver to get the sisters there alive. That made Kasumi pouty about it in the beginning, but once they set up camp and sorted the equipment, old memories resurfaced. It was as though the years fell away and they were filled with the joy their younger selves had possessed when going on these rare family outings.

Nabiki had chopped firewood with her bare hands because she could and technically it counted as practice. Kasumi cooked. Akane made sure their supplies were accounted for (especially the toilet paper). Everything was as it should be.

By the time everything was in place and they had eaten, night had fallen. The sordid sounds of civilization were replaced by the more subtle sounds of nature. A fire provided light and warmth, not that it was needed on the summer night. The girls lounged around the campfire, relaxing, and talking in a way they hadn't done in years. Years which felt more like decades to them.

Akane stared at the crackling fire while smoke rose into the starry night sky. "Things sure have been changing a lot lately."

"That's what happens as time passes." While the statement could have been snarky, Nabiki gave it a philosophical weight.

Akane shook her head. "No, I mean it feels like there have been major changes. Not just that slow day to slow day stuff most people talk about."

"I know what you mean." Kasumi mentally noted Akane had no idea of what even half those changes entailed.

The eldest Tendou decided to change the subject, trying to keep things from becoming too dour. To Akane she asked, "Have you figured out what job you want for a living? We know what Nabiki will be doing."

Nabiki gave Kasumi a sour look. "I could just sell off the dojo once Dad kicks the bucket."

"Don't be so glib about both our parents being dead, "Akane snapped.

Nabiki accepted the rebuke and looked apologetic.

This wasn't turning out the way Kasumi envisioned. Time to course correct. "You are quite good at martial arts. Is it really such a terrible way to make a living?"

The sour looked remained. "It's just not my thing."

"What would you prefer to do?" Akane asked.

"I never gave it any thought since I never had a choice." Bitterness laced every word.

"Well, we're asking you now," Kasumi insisted. "What kind of career would you prefer?"

Nabiki's brow furrowed. "Accounting."

"You like accounting that much?" Kasumi asked.

"Not really."

Akane said, "I'm sort of amazed you'd be content being a salarywoman with a nine to five job. You're not much for rigid structure like that. You tend to be freewheeling and like coming up with things on your own."

Once Akane said the words, the mind-numbing boringness of a desk job settled upon Nabiki's mind, and she found it far more repellent than practicing martial arts. "I'd do something else then."

"Is practicing martial arts so terrible?" Kasumi persisted.

"Not intrinsically, no," Nabiki admitted. "But I also didn't have a choice in dealing with it."

"Neither did I," Akane pointed out. "There was a time I'd have done anything to switch places with you. I'd also have settled with just giving you the leg." And she tapped her lame one for emphasis.

"You're not like that anymore?" Nabiki asked.

Akane shook her head. "No, I've gotten over it. It's a part of me but doesn't outright define me any longer. I am who I am, and that's a part of me."

The answer surprised Nabiki enough she, didn't say anything else.

Kasumi also became pensive. "In hindsight perhaps I should have become the heir to the school. I was oldest and it could be argued it was my duty. But then keeping the house would have fallen to you instead."

A snort of disgust slipped past Nabiki's lips. "I am not getting a career as a happy homemaker." She went from sitting to flopping on her back so she could look up at the stars twinkling in the night sky. "You guys are starting to make me feel less bitter about my lot in life."

"Everyone has duties to uphold and crosses to bear," Akane said as she looked into the fire.

"You, Little Sister, are getting far too sage for your age. Kasumi is supposed to the be the one handing out wise advice."

"On that note," Kasumi said. "You two are going to be taking on more household duties so you can fend for yourselves. No, Akane, you do not get to do anything relating to food. You can do anything but that."

"The curse of Horrid Food Preparation is mine to bear." Akane sometimes wondered if Loki had cursed her in some manner. A toxic food spell was right up his alley as something to harass her with.

"I should have known better," Nabiki bemoaned. Cooking would be her realm now. How much ramen could you eat before you mutated into a noodle?

"And back to the original question," Kasumi reminded them. "Akane, do you know what you'd like to do for a living?"

"Not really."

"I thought you were interested in becoming a nurse," Kasumi said.

Nabiki provided the answer. "I think the passion behind that choice had nothing to do with intrinsic love of the job itself."

"Oh?"

"I had a crush on Dr. Tofu," Akane admitted. "That was the real reason nursing became my number one job goal. But he took that extended leave of absence, and I had something happen to me that made me really it was just a silly crush."

"I didn't realize that." Had Kasumi known that she would have torpedoed that quickly. She knew firsthand what a self-centered ass the man was. Akane should have nothing do with someone so unworthy of sympathy.

Nabiki said, "Then you're the only one. Akane isn't exactly good at hiding her affections." Nabiki tried her best love-struck Akane look. "Oh, Dr. Tofu, is there anything I can do for you? Arrange your schedule? Take dictation? Paint your house?"

Akane blushed slightly. "And here I thought I was hiding it well. I guess that's why my friends kept specifically asking how things were going with Dr. Tofu instead of 'how's work'? I admit I am a little sad it's over, though. Even if it was just a crush."

"Crushes are like that," Kasumi said.

Nabiki's interest was as subtle as a flare shot into the night sky. "Do tell. Who was your first crush?"

"Kenjiro Takiawa," Kasumi answered immediately. "He was Rumi's older brother."

"Oh yeah, I remember her. You used to hang out with her all the time when we were younger."

"At her place, you mean. She was fun to hang out with, but I was always hoping to see Ken when I was there. I was thirteen and he was 'only' three years older than me. So I figured in a year or two I'd be old enough and he'd realize I was perfect for him the way he was perfect for me."

"So what happened?" Nabiki prodded.

"The jerk had the nerve to date someone his own age," she said in mock heartbreak. "I was devastated at how he'd betrayed me. For about a month than I got over it. Although that might be way I've always had a thing for older guys."

"Your turn," Akane said to Nabiki.

"Gen Kanemaru from my 7th grade math class."

Kasumi's head jerked. "Isn't that the boy you picked on so much Father got called into school for a meeting to talk about your behavior?"

"Yep," Nabiki confirmed. "I used to torment the poor guy on a daily basis because I wanted to get his attention and it was the only way I knew how. It was the first time I had any interest in a guy and I had no idea how to deal with it. Luckily for him I finally figured out tormenting the guy you like causes the exact opposite of what you want so I stopped. Too late. Damage was done. He wanted nothing to do with me. He probably still has nightmares about the demon from 7th grade math."

"So when Father was called in about the boy you were tormenting in 8th grade you liked him too?" Kasumi asked.

"Toshi? Hell no. Couldn't stand that weasel. He called me 'Thunderthighs' to my face. You'd better believe I made his life hell. He finally wised up and transferred out." She became pensive again. "Maybe I have been a little harsh about learning Anything Goes. People know better than to cross me and I can deal out the harshness when they do." She smacked her first into the open palm of her other.

Akane and Kasumi sighed, both lamenting they hadn't been the ones to carry on the honor of the family art.

They were silent for a while. Kasumi decided it was time. She had been putting it off long enough. They needed to know the truth of what was to come. "There's something I need to let both of you know. I'm going to be moving out soon. Not tomorrow or next week, but at some point in the relatively near future." She watched the pair closely to gauge their reaction.

The younger sisters looked at each other. Nabiki smirked and Akane rolled her eyes. She went into her purse, pulled out several bills, then handed them to her older sister.

"What was that about?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki counted the bills as she answered. "I bet Akane you'd tell us what was bothering you on the trip. She said you'd do it after we got back. Now I've got back some of the financing on this venture."

"It's been obvious for a while," Akane supplied. "We figured your insistence about this was tied up to that."

It appeared Akane wasn't the only one with little proficiency at hiding her feelings. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You got to leave the nest sometime," Nabiki said. "I'm tied to the dojo, but Akane will be following suit in a few years, too. Don't get me wrong. We'll miss you, but you have that job you like."

"And you haven't been all that thrilled with keeping house like you used to be," Akane added. "I probably should have been thoughtful and offered to help out before."

"No," Kasumi said. "You've been happier than I've seen you in ages with your friends. I wouldn't want to impose on your time unless it was necessary."

"Well I'm unemployed now, so I have the time," Akane said.

"Everything isn't martial arts. Guess I've got to learn to feed myself," Nabiki said.

"So you two aren't angry with me?" Kasumi asked.

Both were appalled at the suggestion and took about fifteen minutes to assure Kasumi her moving out was with their blessing. She ended up crying a little and hugging them, but at the same time knew this was going to happen at some point.

It was time to get on with her life and saving the world.

It was what heroes did.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Captain Japan noted the gathering had taken on a more partylike atmosphere as the night wore on. No doubt the open bar had something to do with that. The Avengers had one, but the only member who had indulged in it was Giant Man, and he was history. But here it seemed the offer of free alcohol was irresistible to some members of the hero set. A couple of fights had almost broken out, but Strong Guy had proven an effective bouncer, and one of the mental types could calm people empathically, so nothing had been broken yet. Some people had departed already and the crowd had started to lessen a bit, but there were people dancing in an area where music could be heard making the place feel fuller since there was so much activity. Some of the dancers were all but molded against one another.

He was figuring another half hour or so and it might be time to head out when Tigra sidled up to him so smoothly it was like she had always been there. The gal could move, that was for sure. Once again she looped her arm through his and leaned in close. "Nihao. How party going?" She was near enough he could feel her breath caress his ear.

"Doing a lot of good with some of the more insecure types. Outmaneuvered a few wanna be challengers. Had a long talk with Waterduct."

"Water Duck?"

"I mean Aqueduct." And now he understood her comment of why you didn't use 'water' instead of 'aqua' even if they were sort of the same word. Who would want to be called that? Well, maybe a guy that looked like a duck, but that was about it. "How about you?"

"More people into furries than you might guess." She gave him a playful smile.

"I could have warned them off," he offered.

"Dress in bikini and am hot. Would be silly to think mens not come on to Tigra. Not type to wear clothing to attract attention then complain about getting it. That type always annoy Tigra. Not want everyone to hear what you say? Don't talk in loud voice in front of everyone. Is not their responsibility to ignore you. Want to get drink?"

"Nah." He'd drank alcohol before. It was nearly impossible for him to get drunk so that wasn't an issue. He just didn't like the taste.

"Aw, how is Tigra to take advantage of Captain if too, too sober?"

He noted she was good at mock pouting. "Does telling someone in advance you want to get them drunk to take advantage of them work? It sounds counterintuitive."

"Is called being 'openly sneaky'. Only work when people want to make it work. And if not going to work is easy to tell."

"That's… interesting." The two started talking. Captain Japan was quick to note that this was practically the only time they had spoken at length alone, and he learned a lot about her. Most of the time they were with the team and spoke only of the matter at hand, and certainly nothing personal. She did flirt with him, but that was about it. And for all the playfulness, she always seemed to be aware of not crossing any boundaries he didn't want crossed. Now she was a little more serious and he was starting to get a feel for her. It wasn't specifics, which she never really talked about, but more a general sense of what she was like.

It was proving an increasingly interesting night.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A pair of eyes observed the couple of Avengers while trying to make it look like they weren't. It was an opening she was waiting for, but with Tigra so close, none appeared. After being patient, she decided it was time to engineer one. Good things came to those who went out and grabbed them, as she was about to prove.

She walked over to one of the better-looking heroes, as in one of the few without a mask. He had a loose, white uniform and curious open-faced headgear with a long black ponytail coming out of the back. She knew a lot of women who would kill to have hair like that. There was a sword with two blades hooked in the harness over his back. "Hi there. You're part of that new group with the magic weapons ,right?"

His interest in her was immediate. "The Knights of Pendragon. Name's Shatterstar."

"Well, I'm going to do you a favor. See Tigra over there?" she pointed to the werewoman in question. "I overheard her say she thought you were cute. Why not go over and ask her to dance? I'll be your wingman and keep Captain Japan distracted."

Upon gaining the new information, Shatterstar's interest slipped to the next target. "Thanks."

The pair went over and Shatterstar introduced himself. He asked Tigra to dance, which she accepted with grace and let him lead her to where the others were dancing.

That left Captain Japan alone with Shatterstar's companion. She was an extremely attractive redhead with no mask, which was how he knew she was attractive. Her outfit was a low cut top that showed off a lot of her considerable cleavage in combination with a good deal of slender mid-riff, a mini-skirt so short she had to flash a good bit of cheek whenever she did anything, like lift her leg more than ten centimeters, and long legs. It was definitely one of the more impractical outfits he had seen. It was like a kinky Halloween version of a legitimate hero's outfit.

She gave him a dazzling smile. "I'm Hot Chick."

Ah, it was one of those. While he hadn't mentioned it to Tigra, he had received a lot of female attention as well. Most of them were a bit nervous about meeting someone with his fame and reputation, but some had been bold in trying to catch his interest. He had become something of an expert in extricating himself from these situations, though. "Of course you are," he said in an arrogant voice.

It didn't work. She continued on as though it was the exact right thing to say. "I am your biggest fan."

"Of course you are," he said just as haughtily. She'd give up soon. Anyone this openly egomaniacal would turn off even the most adoring of would be suitors.

Again she was unperturbed. "I'm still kind of new to this hero thing. I would love it if someone as big and strong as you could give me a few pointers. I would be really, really grateful."

Now she brought her arms around her back so her chest was thrust forward. It looked like she might pop out at any moment. He considered pointing out Haruka Bloodstone, who would be more than happy to take her up on that offer, but it was rude to ditch an unwanted suitor into the arms of someone that amorous. "Sure. First, you're going to want to get a more practical outfit. One with at least twice as much material. Second, you'll—"

"Wait." She looked at a larger hero in the room. "Oh darn. My ex-boyfriend is here. He gets really jealous when he sees me talking to other guys. I don't want to cause a scene. Do you think we could go somewhere private?"

Captain Japan really didn't want to, but also he didn't want some musclehead harassing him because he was talking to the guy's ex. He figured they could dart into one of the unused conference rooms for a quick pep talk. Then he could come back, dig up Tigra, and see if she wanted to head out. He'd done enough paragoning for one day.

He led the way. As they walked Hot Chick stumbled and her hand hit him in the small of the back hard enough to numb it a little bit. So the girl had super strength. Maybe she wasn't as ridiculous as her outfit would suggest.

They left the area and were down a hallway that had doors leading to conference rooms on either side when he felt the world sway. He probably would have fallen had Hot Chick not grabbed him from under the arms, supporting him quite easily. His equilibrium was so off he couldn't even keep his head from rolling around. "What's going on?"

"Goodness. You must have had too much to drink," she said loudly.

"But I dint nuffin." And he blacked out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Malty S. Melmromarc, aka Hot Chick, had a plan.

She was an extremely attractive woman. She was also a mutant, born with a pair of different superpowers. Once she mastered them she had become delighted, because she wanted to live the good life, and this was the ticket to money and fame that involved little work.

With the advent of superheroes she saw this as a way to gain fame and fortune. Hot superheroines would be the newest form of celebrity which she could cash in on. Her plan was to become a superhero, beat a few villains, then cash in on the fame by starring in movies, endorsements, and otherwise having people throw money at her for existing. It should have been perfect.

Then she discovered a few obstacles, in the form of reality, standing in her path to cash. For one thing, that unmitigated bitch, Councilwoman Ariyoshi, had given superheroes bad PR. Most companies wouldn't have anything to do with someone superpowered in a high-profile capacity, since it would have been seen as being no different than twirling around a loading gun under society's collective noses. Things were a *little* better now that Ariyoshi had been disgraced and removed from power, but there were still a lot of leftover sentiments that her opinions had been right: she had simply been the wrong messenger for them. It was sort of amazing how she was being actively forgotten by the media, politicians, and even the tech giants, rather than publicly crucified like many of her opponents had been. One had to be careful when mentioning her, or you'd suddenly discover you'd been banned for violating some TOS you didn't even know existed.

Anti-superhuman sentiment wasn't the only issue. It turned out there was a lot more competition than she realized when it came to female superheroes. She was one of the most attractive and played it up both in appearance and personality so she was somewhat successful on that front. But all these others stole some of her potential thunder. She should have been far more popular than she was. If only they violated some real-life TOS and been banned from being heroes. That would have been joyous.

There was also the issue of defeating supervillains. She had been under the impression there were hundreds of them, practically one on every street corner, but the reality was there weren't that many. It was the media hyping everyone with an outfit and dangerous sounding name which only made it seem they were that prolific. And the ones she had defeated were neither well known nor menacing. Katavia, the Man Killer: an idiot dressed in a cat outfit who used two knives. Fisticuffs Woman, who could box and do nothing else. And E-Coli, Poisoner of Food. There were others, but they were essentially all like these morons. You gained little in the way of credibility when that list consisted of your 'greatest foes'. About the only way she was generating any cash was though online streams with really pathetic superhero groupies. Some of them dropped a bit of money on her, but nowhere near what she wanted to make. And now she was getting heat from non-superpowered women who made money on livestreams about encroaching on their 'turf'. The bitches. She could literally have broken their necks and yet they acted like they were her equal.

Then the invitation for the party arrived. Naturally she was attending. She was trying to work some angle where she could make more money through it when she was struck by a brilliant idea. Women who were victimized in some way could generate a lot of media attention, especially if it was a man doing it. And if utilized properly, one could also generate a lot of money from it. Since many female superheroes could handle an entire football team, not many of them had been victimized by anything other then a supervillain, and that was expected of them. Hell, a gentleman villain with a code of ethics might even seem sympathetic to the press. So no, having one break a few of your bones was seen as natural in her chosen line of work.

Ah, but being victimized by another hero, that was new and to date unheard of. It was virgin territory, and she could be the first. The first one was always the most remembered. And so it was she set forth with the idea of allowing some hero to pick her up, have sex with her, then claim she'd been sexually assaulted. She didn't need proof since she wasn't going to press charges -putting him in prison wouldn't make her a single yen- but the accusations would. All that was left was who to pick and to make sure everyone at the party saw them together.

Once there, Malty looked over her choice of 'attackers'. She was leaning toward the new guy with the magic shield, her brief talk with him convinced her he was a putz that would be easy to set up, but then she spotted Captain Japan and her eyes nearly glazed over. Accusing some relative unknown would only generate a certain degree of interest: if it was one of the Avengers she might as well win a lottery. She'd get worldwide attention accusing someone that famous. It would be book deals, paid appearances for talks about female victimization, hell, she could start her own foundation against assault and skim as much money as she could out of it. It was lifetime employment for nothing.

The first thing was to get rid of his female companion. Feeding Shatterstar that made up story freed up the good Captain. While she hoped to simply pick him up and bang him -he looked like he'd be good for a ride- it soon became obvious his interest in her was minimal. That insult alone made her want to take him down. So it fell to her backup plan. She had one in case her mark had second thoughts at some point on their way to bed. She had paid for a ring loaded with a high-powered sedative that would work within a minute or two. One prick delivered when she 'bumped' up against him, and boom, unconscious hero. She had no problem supporting him with her super strength. She could press nearly four tons which made her, while not a heavyweight, more than enough to deal with this.

Rather than immediately taking him into a room, she waited in the corridor. Finally a member of the hotel staff passed down the hall. Malty started talking to Captain Japan like he was conscious. "Oh goodness, you have had too much to drink. Let's get you somewhere to sit down for a while." Out of the corner of her eye she saw the staffer casually look as they passed by. Good, now she had a witness that could verify Captain Japan had been 'drunk' with her.

She took him into the conference room. Luckily the door had been unlocked, though she would have simply forced it open if it had been necessary. Superstrength was the key to so many locks. Making certain it was closed behind them, she took him over to the floor next to one of the conference tables in the room. Since he wasn't conscious enough to actually have sex, she'd have to go with attempted assault. The first thing to do was put him in a compromising position to look like he had tried to do something. It was time for the pants to go down. She worked the middle of the outfit down to his ankles, then went for the boxers. And here she had him figured for a briefs guy. As she pulled them down she got to see the rather impressive heroic attribute he kept hidden. Damn! Too bad she hadn't seduced him into bed. Had he performed admirably, she might have kept him as a boyfriend and accused someone else.

But no, this was about money. She could have her pick of hung studs later once her tale had made the rounds. On a whim she pulled out her phone and snapped several dick picks. She might be able to anonymously sell them at some later point. Disgraced hero or not, a lot of people would want to check out that package.

Now she was going to have to sell the assault. She ripped open the center of her top so her breasts were free, but she could pull the material back over them. Had to make it look good after all. She also decided to lose the skirt. She still had a thong so she wouldn't be nude. She was saving that for a big cash grab, because you only made major money for nude shots the first time, when everyone was hyped to see the goods. After that it became, 'Oh, more of the same', to a lot of people.

And there was one last touch. Loathe though she was to do it, a bit of physical disfigurement would add validity to the assault charge. So she punched herself in the eye hard enough she knew it would blacken. She hated to do it, but she could put aside vanity for something as important at this. She wanted to punch him, but if he appeared beaten it might seem like… well she was the aggressor instead of the victim. Best to say she shoved him aside and he was so drunk he had passed out. She knocked several chairs over to make it look like there was a struggle and he had stumbled over them.

Malty looked down at herself and at her fallen 'would be rapist.'. Yes, things looked bad enough he would be disgraced and she would be on easy street. The scene was set. It was time to run out of the room screaming at the top of her lungs. She turned to leave….

…And found Tigra standing right behind her, a look of cold murder in those vertical pupils as they met Malty's eyes. Her heart nearly stopped. Dear god, how could she have been right there and Malty unaware of it? The cat woman had been directly behind her. Nothing should have been able to move that silently, escaping detection.

How long has she been there? How much had she seen? Malty's mind raced. She had to regain control of the situation. She sobbed, "It was terrible. He attacked me."

The look never changed. Fine. She knew. That meant she had to be eliminated. Having a dead catgirl was going to complicate things. Maybe she could spin it as Tigra was going to kill her to cover up the crime. They were teammates. They looked out for each other. Who knew what the dark underbelly of the Avengers was like? Yes, a rapist and a murderess trying to cover it up their hideous crime so everyone thought they were above reproach. Ariyoshi had been right about them all along. It might work.

Malty sniffled and brought her right hand behind her back, summoning up her 'hot fist'. It was her second superpower along with the strength and the other reason she called herself, 'Hot Chick,' (besides being one). Using a full powered blow, the heat would allow her hand to melt through fur and flesh. She hadn't unleashed the full power of it on anyone yet, since heroes killing people made them regarded as dangerous, which was the opposite of the look Malty was going for. But there was a first time for everything.

She sobbed, "I need your help." And started to bring her charged up fist from around her back.

Then a blow connected with the side of her head, nearly breaking her neck. She was unconscious in an instant.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Captain Japan started coming around, vaguely aware of his surroundings. He seemed to be moving, though not under his own power. He was being carried by someone whose hand was under his armpit on the opposite side of where they stood, meaning they were supporting his full weight effortlessly. He looked to his left and saw the short cropped blonde hair of Haruka Bloodstone. Yeah, she was easily strong enough to do that.

"Wass going on?" he slurred out.

"You had too much to drink," she explained.

"I don't remember drinking anything."

"That's how you know you had too much to drink," she said.

Off to the side, Aqueduct, who was walking alongside the pair, explained, "Tigra had some personal matter to take care of and asked us to look after you. Since we're calling it a night we're taking you with us. You can sleep it off at our base."

"That's nice of you." He was getting good at slurring, but still being understandable.

"No problem," Haruka said. "Besides, it wasn't quite the night I was hoping for. Turns out Veil was more into Dad than me. I always hate going up against him because he's got a few thousand years of perfecting his moves over me."

Captain Japan said, "I'm drunk out of my mind and that still sounds wrong."

"Because it is," Aqueduct seconded.

"Dad and I have the same great taste in babes. I don't see that as a crime."

Aqueduct just gave a grunt of disgust and acquiescence.

Haruka said, "So Cap. I've been meaning to talk to you about your partner. She seems like a nice person. Has she ever been bi-curious by chance? Because if she is, let me tell you I know someone that could broaden her horizons if she's looking for that sort of thing…."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tigra was extremely angry at the events of the evening. When she had started dancing with Shatterstar, it quickly became evident he thought she had a thing for him, a notion she disabused him of. For some reason he became unnaturally angry, to the point she thought she'd have to do something physically unpleasant to him, when he finally ended his tirade by calling her a tease and stormed off. Some guys were just assholes.

When she looked for Captain Japan she saw him walk off with the redhead who was trying too hard to impress every male she came across. It reeked of desperation. Then again, most didn't have Tigra's training in seduction, and how to do it with movement rather than gratuitousness. But when it came to the Hand, all training was pass/fail, with the latter always meaning death. So you learned and learned well.

There was something about the way the girl looked around that informed Tigra something else was going on other than a seduction attempt. She didn't blame the girl for going after Captain Japan: Tigra was attempting it herself, and she wasn't the only female participating in that game. But this wasn't jealousy over competition, this was more of that training kicking in. Her looks were too furtive. Amateurs never understood how to not look shifty when committing a misdeed. So Tigra went into trailing and observing without being seen in order to glean more information.

When she saw her teammate slump over almost instantly, that was when she knew something bad was going on. Bad for Hot Chick specifically. Once the redhead took the unconscious hero into the room, Tigra was silently on her heels, using her ninja training to enter and remain unnoticed. Once the girl went for the pants, her fate was sealed. Tigra waited until the right moment to surprise her, and when the little bitch made up that story, she understood what had almost happened. After relieving Hot Chick of consciousness, it was time to deal with the matter in appropriate fashion.

Tigra's first inclination was to kill her. Her second was to make the punishment appropriate to the crime. Her time with the Hand had familiarized her with many of the slavers and flesh peddlers operating in Japan. While someone with Hot Chick's looks would go for a good price, that she was a superhero meant she would have commanded ten times that. Tigra could have added considerably to her concealed wealth, and the girl could have indulged in an existence of being a sex slave for the rest of her life. It was the least she deserved for trying to commit such a horrendous act upon the man Tigra wanted for her own, especially when he had done nothing that merited being treated in such a manner.

But Tigra was trying to change her ways. That meant something a little less vicious. Oh, but the lying little bitch wasn't going to get away with it. No, she was still going to be ruined. That she had coming. It had taken some time and resources to set things up, but it was worth the effort. All it would take was one phone call to the police and one to the media, and that would be the nail in the coffin. In fact she would make the calls right now. She'd tip off the reporter who had blown the whistle on Ariyoshi. One nice turn deserved another.

Justice would be served.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The next day there was quite the scandal broken by Akemi Shutaro of the International Enquirer. Police had been tipped off about a wild drug party going on in a cheap love motel. When they arrived, they found the superhero known as Hot Chick naked with a large sum of cash, tons of sex toys strewn about, and passed out on what was revealed to be heroin. She insisted someone had framed her, but no one believed a word of it since that was the only defense someone caught red-handed in that situation would say. She trended for a couple of weeks after that.

Nodoka Saotome, the head of the Citizens Against Immoral Superheroes, managed to get more airtime than ever on her views of the blight certain heroes had on the moral fabric of the country. Drug using hookers made it at the top of the list.

And Malty S. Melromarc ended up getting the fame, if not the fortune, she desired.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

[End Chapter]

And there we have the final character development chapter for Book 2. Since the previous Act ended on a lot of action, we took a step back in order to see how folks lives were progressing. And of course a few call outs to earlier characters who may not have made much of an impression their first time around. Look up Captain Ultra's outfit. It really is that hideously awful. 'Captain Colorblind' indeed. He once got into a shouting match with Jack of Hearts over who had the more garish outfit. Trust me, both lost that one. And nothing like Malty being Malty in whatever story she's in. Because she's earned her infamy.