Act V

Chapter 3

Celtic Thunder

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Last Chapter: Kodachi Kunou had Captain Japan defend her from the Ringer, while unwittingly nearly falling prey to Biko's assassin, the Ghost. Luckily the Ghost was killed at the last moment by the pawn of one of Biko's rivals, Sunset Bain's Spymaster.

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"I am so sorry about not being there to protect you."

"I told you, Captain, it wasn't your fault. You were stopping the obvious menace while another sneaked in and attacked."

"But I was supposed to be your bodyguard. And that Ringer guy was a putz. I could have taken him down quicker and checked on you to make sure you were all right." Captain Japan's broad shoulders slumped in self-blame.

Kodachi felt sorry for the man. He was accepting responsibilities that weren't his. She couldn't stand to see him punishing himself so while she lay in a hospital bed, leg bound, blood replaced. He just stood next to the bed, determined to prevent other attackers from trying to kill her while she was incapacitated.

Oh, to have him as her personal bodyguard, that would be heavenly.

But realistically he couldn't stay at her side *forever*, tempting though it was. They both had responsibilities, and as much as she adored him, it was possible to suffocate someone in attention. While she loved his constant attention and concern for the moment, it might become too much over time. Eventually he'd need to give her some space to be Kodachi Kunou.

But for now, having him next to her so protective, why it was even better than a date on her yacht, bullet wound notwithstanding. Most dates should not involve large puncture wounds and life threatening blood loss. And it was going to leave a scar, but amongst her peers that would be a sign of accomplishment. She was important enough people tried to kill her, and she could be dismissive about their attempts since she survived them. The other ladies were just there. Nobody tried to kill them. Kodachi was eminent in their circles now. The distinction was significant. Important people earned the envy of the others: it meant you won.

For now Kodachi was very much in favor of him remaining at her side, but she did have to relieve him of his feelings of failure. A depressed Captain Japan was hardy a captain at all. "The Ringer might have only acted the part of the buffoon, and you were fighting him alone. One slip up and we both know that could have led to disaster."

He considered the words. "You got a point. Gamecock was a loser in a chicken outfit with no powers. Ramrod, well, some guy that's going around topless, with only some metal on his head and over his shoulders, who's messing up some place because he failed a music audition, should have been a putz. Who knew he had that much super strength and invulnerability? He was trying to be a pop idol for crying out loud!"

Kodachi was delighted to see her Captain's morale improving. "Besides, I do not believe they were attacking in concert, but rather it was an unfortunate coincidence, especially given yet another party eliminated the Ghost."

With a problem to chew on, Captain Japan's guilt began to fade into the background. "Yeah, do we know who it was?"

"Video evidence showed it appeared to be one my security guards, Kentaro Okitsu. However, he immediately disappeared from the premises after killing the Ghost. Before that he had incapacitated her with a gun that shouldn't have injured her given her abilities. When we went to his residence to question him, we found him tied up. He claimed he was assaulted early that day and never went to work."

"So someone impersonated one of your guys just to kill this Ghost." Captain Japan held his hand to his chin in thought. "Yeah, sounds like we're part of someone else's larger game. That frosts me something bad."

"I will be looking into it," Kodachi promised. It had to have been someone with considerable wealth to have hired the Ghost. A couple of months ago she would have assumed it was tied to the earlier assassination attempts on her, and possibly the successful ones on her father and brother. But recently she noticed large amounts of Kunou Enterprise's stock hitting the open market, not all at once, but still considerable sums over time. Almost as though someone who had designs on a takeover had abandoned their plans and wanted their investment back.

Stane-Daitokuji was at the head of the list of potential people. Unfortunately none of Kodachi's attempts to spy on the woman had worked, so there was no way of knowing. And she was not risking a personal confrontation as Iron Rose while Biko retained that robot bodyguard of hers. The Avengers had decided it was too powerful to not tackle en masse, though they had discussed some strategies which they thought might prove effective if they went up against it.

Her ponderings came to an end as several waiters entered bearing serving trays topped with food. The only one that didn't carried a small table which he set up next to her bed. A chair was provided for Captain Japan and a maitre'd indicated he should sit down.

"What's going on?" Captain Japan asked.

"Surely, you can't expect me to dine on such mundane food as is provided here. I had my staff prepare a gourmet meal for the two of us, since you'll be guarding me for several days. I insist you join me." It was like a real date, aside from her being bedridden and in a public place where they couldn't do anything romantic. But she had to warm him up to the idea of them being a couple anyway. He seemed a bit slow when it came to romance and her obvious worth in relation to it. So this was yet another step in the right direction.

It made getting shot almost worth it.

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"Thank you, Shin-kun. You've been very helpful. Yes, I still miss her, too. Much of what I am today is thanks to her." Councilwoman Juna Ariyoshi hung up the phone. What her former campaign manager had made her was upset to the point of paranoia. What recriminations Juna had for sanctioning Ayako's demise were nearly gone thanks to the mess the woman had made. Some 'older guy' almost certainly knew something of Juna's plans. Maybe enough to ruin her.

Every time the phone rang Juna's heart skipped a beat, and when she answered she expected someone to say, "We have some questions about your future plans regarding some comments made by your late campaign manager, who was murdered under very suspicious circumstances."

This was what happened when people didn't understand what was good for them. Some forward thinkers probably would embrace her plans at this point, certainly more than a few months ago, but not enough. Nowhere near enough. The Red Rajah incident was sufficient to put Kerberos into play, but much more would be needed. Some of the people that knew what the next stage in her plans would be were starting to get cold feet because it would actually do something about a problem that needed taken care of. They needed some sort of reassurance they were on the right path, and not try to bail on her at this critical junction. And it needed to be made especially clear she was the woman to be in charge when it happened. No one else could be trusted. They just weren't as visionary as her.

Still the problem Ayako created remained. In trying to remove the source of her paranoia Juna had private investigators look into where Ayako's male friends and family members were at the time of her death. The handful who couldn't be accounted for Juna contacted personally, and in roundabout ways she got each to say where they had been, and then had corroboration from the investigators. With that phone call she had just cleared the last one. It wasn't anyone Ayako knew, not in any real sense.

Which was unfortunate. Had she gone to a confidant they could have been dealt with one way or another. And since the man she talked to wasn't someone Ayako knew well, it was almost someone who could facilitate the flow of information to the public. And that was a BIG problem.

The only bright side was the individual hadn't gone public with the information yet. Maybe they didn't know enough. Maybe Ayako hadn't revealed anything, the Split Second Squad had interrupted the meeting quickly. Perhaps Ayako's death had terrified the person so much they had gone to ground, never to surface again since there was a realistic chance their fate would match Ayako's. That was the rational choice. That made sense, but it wasn't a guarantee. Perhaps rather than being scared they were ferreting information on her, looking for corroboration of their own. Falsely accusing her would be a career ender for anyone, so that possibility existed as well.

It was time for the search to turn to the media. Unfortunately, Ayako had worked extensively with them as Juna's campaign manager, and was on speaking terms with many in the business. And while the media could be trusted to a degree, they might jump on the opportunity to go for some ill-timed headline rather than observe the bigger picture, which would help them continue to exist. They needed to show discretion in not revealing her plans just yet.

Now it fell to her to take a more arduous path in ascertaining the likeliest of suspects' locations at the time of the death and begin process of elimination. Better to do something that wasn't needed rather than something needed that she ignored.

She made a list of men who were around that age and called the first of the private investigators to start confirming whereabouts on the night in question.

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Akane Tendou stood outside Dr. Tofu's office, alternating between wanting to run away and just curling into a ball. She'd never been afraid of entering his clinic, but now she was as terrified as if she was about to approach a troll orgy. She'd stumbled upon one nearly 1000 years ago, and the image remained seared into her mind.

If there was something that could be called an abomination to nature itself, that was it.

Time to refocus on what was important. All that remained in her mind was the mission. Today was the day of ultimate judgment and the course of her future to be decided: she was going to confess her feelings for Dr. Tofu.

There was still time to run.

No! She had to remain firm. It was time to stop dancing about and cutting to the chase. A great man like him wouldn't be single for long. It was a miracle he had made it this far. It was clear Kasumi was now just another person to Dr. Tofu, and she didn't need a Kasumi 2.0 walking into his life and kicking Akane back to square one. She was mature enough now it would be appropriate… not entirely inappropriate, for him to date her. Sure, they would get some strange looks, but she would be getting older all the time, so the stares would be at their worst at first, then they'd get better as she got closer in age to him. Or rather she'd be older and it would go from almost inappropriate to not inappropriate at all for them to date.

Besides, they'd make a great couple. Once he said yes. Assuming he said yes. She prayed to Odin that he say yes.

There was still time to run.

Which was why she had to go now. She walked up to the door and went to open it. Her arm refused to rise to the handle the first couple of tries, but then she told it she'd head butt her way through the door, and professing her love to Dr. Tofu while covered in blood and suffering massive head trauma would be a mood killer. So her arm obeyed and opened the door.

She was in luck. He was in the reception area and had on street clothing rather than his usual doctor's attire. She decided for a normal greeting, and once he greeted her back, she'd tell him she had something important to tell him, then do it. It was all mapped out in her mind. Only the answer remained uncertain.

Akane put on her best smile. "Hello, Dr. Tofu."

"Good news." The grin nearly reached from ear to ear. "I'm shutting down the clinic for a little while. I need to go overseas on some important business. I'm getting rid of something that never gave me anything but trouble. So that means you'll be getting some time off for a while. It's good news for you since you'll be able to focus on your studies more."

Akane couldn't seem to form words. Not now. Not when she was going to pour her heart out to him. She should tell him right at this moment, but if he was going away…. and looking at the determination and delight in his face he was definitely setting off. While if he said no it wouldn't matter, if she said something now, if he said yes, then left it could mean disaster. What if in her absence, without her being at his side constantly reminding him how great they were together, he reconsidered and broke up with her before they had a chance to go on a real date? If he was going to say yes they should be together immediately to move things along in their relationship, not take only one step then wait lord knew how long until they could continue. There was no point in starting now if it meant he was going away.

"Have a safe trip." It was all she could say. At least not without cursing a lot. A whole lot.

It didn't end there. There were a few details he needed to tell her. Since she had keys to the place he asked her to look in on it from time to time. He said he'd already contacted his patients, what remained of them, and recommended them to another physician until he returned. He was vague about how long it would be since the matter was not a simple one to resolve, but it was necessary, he insisted. After he discussed what he wanted with her, she was left behind, waving good bye to him and cursing every fate there was.

Why couldn't he have waited just one more week? She could have, would have confessed. A week together would have been enough time to cement their relationship. He could have made it all the way to second base in that time if he played his cards right. That would have guaranteed him sticking around. Why did everything in her life seem to go wrong? Why was the timing always off? Why was she so cursed?

Akane knew what she was doing tonight, and it wasn't what she had originally planned on. Thor was going to take flight and look for someone to beat the hell out of. She was so angry she found herself hoping it was someone deserving of their fate, and that they would survive it.

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Kerberos: Wolf Brigade Training Facility Number 9 was in full operation. Since it used to be a Hound training center, reopening it to its former functionality had been simple enough, Irie Soyozoh noted. All former Hound personnel had been recalled and now formed the core of Kerberos. That meant a smooth transition since everyone was familiar with the type of organizational hierarchy they were implementing. Building upon Hound as the core meant they were actually ahead of schedule. If pressed into service Irie was convinced they would have a high success rate.

They were even used to dealing with a form of super powered being in the Phantom Cats. Now it was mostly a question of diversifying their skills to deal with a wider array of abilities. There was an actual database of known powers in the world, from alices, altered humans, extradimensional travelers, several alien species, beings claiming to be gods, and others. The list was quite large and abilities incredibly diverse. They would have to train to potentially deal with every single one.

Their equipment had been updated across the board. Much of it cutting edge. Ariyoshi hadn't been joking about the increased budget they'd been given, and while there was some degree of security, it wasn't as high as it had been when dealing with Phantom Cats. Back then everything had been hard copies since they could hack nearly anything electronic. One person checking out an internet porn site could have spelled doom for Hound back in the day. A part of him missed the carbon paper stains that had been a near permanent feature on most personnel's hands.

He looked down into the mockup of an alleyway system that the troops were using for their training in urban battlefields. It was all a simulation and it lacked a certain substance. A pity they couldn't enlist people with actual abilities to help with the training, but that was a rule from the government that was inviolate. It was all normal humans, with normal being a relative term, but no powers was a must. Rumor had it they might make some robots or other mechanical devices to simulate abilities, but that would be further down the line, if it ever came about. All they could do now was practice going through the motions.

The companies were now utilizing their new gear, quite different from the standard issue military style garb Hound personnel normally used. When they had been Hound, they wanted to keep a low profile so looking like an official branch of the military had facilitated that. Now it was more about intimidation.

According to psychological tests the uniforms they were using were intimidating. They wore black full body armor over everything, bulky in appearance but surprisingly lightweight considering its highly protective abilities. The metal helmets covered the entire head, dipping down low to protect the back of the neck, with only the face open. However those were not unprotected since they had also been issued a mask that covered the entire front of the face, preventing any toxins from getting in. The eyes were lenses that allowed the users to see just about anything: light amplification in darkness, ultraviolet or infra-red spectrums, even heat sensors for invisible foes. The members of Kerberos had taken to calling them 'Red Spectacles' since they glowed red to intimidate opponents. Stane-Daitkuoji knew how to make armor and weapons.

Narusawa had been expressing qualms about the look. While it would intimidate the opposition, it would also do so to the public which they were supposed to be serving. Irie accepted it as a tradeoff. He wasn't worried about being popular, or even hated. Many people hated him, at least those that stood in opposition to his duties which he always performed to the best of his abilities. But he didn't hate anyone in return. Outside of his job, he was, 'benign' as Narusawa referred to him, when doing, well anything. He not only didn't have any hobbies, he had no desire for them. If he was forced to pick one, it would probably be collecting and reading over old government documents. Mostly because so much of his life revolved around them. No friends or lovers either, and he was perfectly fine with that.

Narusawa also referred to him as the ultimate company man. He probably was.

There was a loud crash as one of the prop doors did not simply get broken down, but flew off the hinges, as the unit entered a building for interior combat training. From his perch above Irie knew exactly who it was from size alone.

Plans called for Kerberos to be much larger than Hound had been, so individuals from various organizations were being transferred to the new unit. Corporal Randel Oland was such a person. A transfer from the JSDF, one they were happy to get rid of since he was from some experimental tactics unit which, word through the grapevine said, had failed abysmally. Something about training individual soldiers to take on tanks singlehandedly. Had anyone in Irie's organization approached him with such a suggestion, he would have insisted on the author undergoing the training first to see how well it worked. He rather liked it when people put their money where their mouths were when it came to suggestions that were that far outside of the box. When confronted with that stipulation most of them tended to reconsider the benefits of such programs. Later they would hate him for not being 'open minded' to new suggestions and somehow undermining their careers. As though letting people implement stupid ideas helped their career in some way.

Actually he had seen that happen both in business and government. But it was not a tactic he would use. Promoting incompetents tended to make things worse, not better. There were times when he looked at the world and thought he must be odd for thinking that sort of thing.

In any event Oland was very well-trained. If anyone could take on a tank single-handed, he might actually have a chance. He seemed to be very good at taking orders, but only good enough to give simple straightforward commands. He wasn't exactly officer material. He'd make sure Oland remained under Narusawa's immediate command. She knew how to use a soldier that could possibly beat someone with low level super strength using brute force alone.

Kerberos was taking shape. Once they were an efficient machine, and had been employed in a few situations to prove their worth, Councilwoman Ariyoshi said the second branch would be formed. One composed of power armor units, smaller but used for surgical strikes when situations called for them. With the implementation of a second branch, it would be named Panther Brigade.

And two heads of Kerberos would be in place.

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Three men walked through a neighborhood in Tokyo. Not a nicer one, but they blended in perfectly. So much so most people cast a wary eye toward them. The colors shown on their outfits clearly marked them as members of the local gang that controlled this area, and thus most people were content to leave them alone, hoping they didn't attract their attention, since they weren't the sort of gang good things came from when dealing with them. Unless one enjoyed paying protection fees and being forced to show respect to people they didn't have any for.

Of the trio, one of them was stocky, the way a tree stump was. Thick around and generally unmovable to most of the world. Unless one had a tractor and steel chain handy. Or some dynamite.

The second was the tallest, and held an air of command about him. Like a king that enjoyed saying, "Off with their heads," and expected the order to be followed. Unlike many kings, he also radiated being the type that would do it himself because it was fun.

The last was the leanest, but only when compared to the others. He was also noticeably handsome, so much so that many women gave him a second glance as he passed. Though his gang affiliation made them not approach him, no matter how alluring he appeared.

The tallest said, "You're certain the Eye of Avalon is here?"

The handsome one opened his hand to reveal a lodestone of some kind. "Yes, most of it anyway."

That made the tallest scowl. "What do you mean, 'most of it'?"

"The Eye is capable of being divided. Now that we are close enough I can get a more accurate read on it and not all of it is here, though I would say," he regarded the stone. "All but one piece is. We'll collect it, then track down the last one."

The tallest growled. A throaty thing like that of an animal. Or a leader about to order a city razed. "I want Avalon as soon as possible. For too long have we Formare been outcasts of our own realm. With the Eye we will hammer down the gates of Avalon and bind everyone to us. We will be ascendant gods once again."

"And since we're gods we can afford to be patient," the thick one reminded him. "You heard Bres. Most of it is here. It's only a matter of time. A short time, I will add."

"Perhaps you are correct," the tallest conceded, then noticed a large number of men approach them with intent. The nature of the intent became obvious as the trio found themselves surrounded. He looked to the one named Bres. "I thought you said your glamour would make us blend in to our surroundings."

Bres scowled, his retinas glowing for a second. "The spell is working properly. I'm uncertain of what is happening."

One of the newcomers, who held an air of authority himself, acted as spokesman. "Okay, guys. You might be wearing our colors, but you ain't one of our gang. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to tell us what you're up to, and then we'll beat the shit out of you. Or we can beat the shit out of you, then you'll tell us what you're up to. You'll notice the only option you get is the order of events, just to head off any questions about alternative courses of action."

Bres now understood and explained things to his own leader. "It is a drawback to the spell. It made us appear in what would be the mortal equivalent of our true nature while being appropriate for the area. Deal with them with as little fuss as you can, please. The whole purpose of coming here in disguise was to avoid the Japanese pantheon noticing us. I'd rather not deal with the local gods on their turf."

The tallest smiled. "This rabble knows not who they deal with, thus I will afford them some measure of mercy. Besides, we understand what it means to have others encroach on your territory. They have no reason to believe we are not here for that purpose. I can respect that."

And his fist crackled with electricity.

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Thor flew through the air, angry beyond measure.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

She was supposed to be in her lover's arms. Blissful beyond all measure. Her heart fulfilled in a way it could never manage on its own. The stuff troubadours and bards spent their lives extolling and what all beings craved.

Instead the fates had cheated her of her due. She was more than worthy to have a lover at her side. It wasn't fair. She needed to take her anger out on someone. Why couldn't Man Beast emerge from his coma? There was one she could use her unmitigated might against. Or had the A-Bra-Mination survived, that would have been one who could endure a sound thrashing. She was almost tempted to confront Biko mostly to battle her robot again.

Thor's mood grew fouler until she felt a shift in the ether. Someone was calling on the power of storms. Raiden? No, she would recognize one who had sovereign right to the divinity here and the telltale signature of energy, which she was sensitive to being a Goddess of Thunder, was different. It was some other god.

The idea this could lead to confrontation made her slaver in almost Pavlovian reflex. She flew in the direction of the disturbance, between tall buildings which led her deeper into Tokyo. So eager was she that it did not take long to arrive. From her airborne position she saw close to two dozen men scattered about the ground like leaves after a storm, the air thick with one who wielded nature with godly power.

Three men stood amongst the carnage. At first glance they appeared to be common ruffians, not different in appearance from those that had fallen, but a closer inspection detected some aura about them. The magic was familiar. More divinity. She recognized it after a moment: a glamour. Loki employed those often enough. It was subtly different, though still familiar. She had encountered this specific type of magic before. What was it? Ah yes, the power of faerie. Understanding its true nature enabled her to focus her concentration to see through the illusion.

Now the trio stood revealed in their true forms. The smallest, though by no means small, had a golden hue to his skin, tiny horns, too small to gore anyone with, protruding from his forehead. His face was what most would consider monstrous in appearance. He wore only a loincloth and boots. Thor recognized him as Bres 'the Beautiful', a member of the Celtic Pantheon referred to as the Formare. They were held in much the same regard by the denizens of Avalon as the Dark Elves or Trolls were by Asgardians.

The thickest of the lot was very different, much darker skin, three fingers on each hand, and a more bestial face, though he lacked horns. His raiment was purple, and covered all but his muscled arms. Another familiar face: Dulb, the God of Weapons.

And as to the last, he was much like Bres in appearance, though older and with a finely groomed mustache and beard. Almost distinguished. He wore a leather loincloth and vest which showed off a powerful physique. Thor recognized him immediately, and a rage like none she had felt before flooded her.

"Elathan!" she shouted, bloodlust in her eyes.

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The trio of Formare looked up in shock. Bres got out, "What is an Asgardian doing in Japan?" as Thor landed and simultaneously threw her hammer.

It was a blur as it went mere centimeters past Bres' head and struck Elathan in the gut. The blow sent him flying with such force he probably would have been hurled into the not remotely nearby Pacific. The only thing that prevented it were the buildings between his starting point and destination. He went clean through two buildings before stopping in the middle of the third. Which was no measure of solace to him since everything he struck broke and things like walls were sturdy constructs.

Bres began to formulate a spell as Thor rushed toward him, and panicked as knew he would be too late. The Asgardian was a blur, and he could never get the spell off with the way the God of Thunder closed the distance. Then by some miracle Thor ran past, near insane in rage.

Elathan had only started to rise when Thor sent a fist into his jaw, sending him further backward. She loomed over his fallen form. "This be but the beginning of your ending, Formare." And sent another fist into him.

"Oh, right. I forgot about what Elathan did with that girl of his," Bres said. Blood feuds old and renewed were a common theme among the gods. Thor seemed intent on seeing this one through to the end given the beating he was administering. This was worse than the other time. The savagery Thor was displaying would have been more appropriate on a God of Bloody Vengeance. He was pretty sure there was a Chinese deity dedicated to that. They had one for practically everything.

It was then Bres noticed something was off, and the memory of Thor in the past was not aligning correctly with the one before him. He turned his fey senses to look deeply into the God's form, then realized it was actually Goddess now. He focused deeper, to see if some trickery was being played upon the Formare.

Not exactly, he determined. While the spirit remained the same, the body had been totally remade. Transformative magic. Faerie excelled in its use, perhaps the greatest of any pantheon, but this was different in nature. More brute force than finesse. Bres had more than passing familiarity with Asgardians. There were but a handful that could rival a fey in the use of such magicks, but the power level involved in this was beyond impressive. That meant there was only one who could enact a transformation this deep and make it work the way it did.

Information which did Bres no good, sadly. Elathan suffered another blow. Many more of those, and the Formare would be looking for a new king. Bres would be a contender for that, being of royal blood himself.

"We'd better help him out." Dulb pulled out a sling and loaded it with a trio of deep red stones. His brow furrowed and the stones began to glow.

"A risky venture," Bres warned. "The Asgardian is insanely powerful and insane in rage. Not the Warrior's Madness, luckily, but even this mental state is not one to be trifled with."

"He is our king." Dulb swung the sling around three times overhead then hurled the stones as hard as he could. At first their course was slightly off and would miss Thor by the slimmest of margins. But then they corrected their course and flew true, striking home.

All three hit Thor squarely in the back of the head, knocking her helmet from its perch and rendering it into pulverized metal. Her head actually disappeared in the glow as the stones exploded in a blue flash, and every glass object with a ten meter radius shattered.

As vision from the intense flash returned, it found Thor looming over her foe, motionless as though she had been transformed into stone.

Then slowly she turned, and Dulb felt his heart tremble at the rage etched on it. He went for a blade at his side when Thor brought the pommel of her hammer to the ground. The blade had not cleared the scabbard before a massive lightning bolt leapt down from the heavens and struck the weapon maker in the head. He fell to the ground limp, hand still gripping the hilt of his weapon.

Thor observed her handiwork, pondering whether to strike the weapon maker again when arms came up from behind her and wrapped themselves under her neck and around her head, locking into place. The power behind them cut the flow of blood to her brain and with the leverage Elathan had, knocking him from his perch would be no simple task. So instead Thor tapped her hammer to the ground once again, and a bolt just as mighty as the last struck the Celtic God in the head even as it had Dulb moments before.

The results were far different this time as Elathan remained where he was, unaffected by the bolt. "Before I passed the title of Lord of the Lighting to Leir, I wore the mantle. It affects me no more than it would yourself. A fatal misjudgment, Asgardian."

Thor felt things going dark. If that happened it was over for her. None of the Formare were known for a merciful nature. Despite her best efforts to hurl him from her back, the king of the pantheon proved a master of grappling, and she could not shake him from his perch. Her brain lacking oxygen, she sank to one knee.

In desperation her fingers dug into the wrists holding her head in place. She used all her strength to squeeze them deeply into his flesh. Still the hold remained firm. Spots danced before her eyes. She felt herself fading. More injustice! Was there no end to it?! To be cheated of everything she wanted in one night?!

No!

She used every last ounce of strength she had and felt bones break in both wrists simultaneously. Finally Elathan released the hold and cried out in agony. Thor unleashed all her remaining rage in one blow to the head which snapped his body back so violently it actually shattered the pavement when it struck. This time he lay unmoving.

"For centuries you have avoided the due for your crimes. No longer," Thor swore. Then found herself flying straight up in the air like a rocket. There was no force involved, like the Hulk picking her up and throwing her. It was as though someone had snatched the world out from under her and left her standing there.

Bres had the semi-conscious Dulb with him, the weapon master with one arm draped over the god's shoulders for support. Bres stood next to the prone form of his king and said, "We are leaving before Thor gets back. The Eye isn't worth this effort. We'll find another way to conquer Avalon." And he and the others left in a flash of light.

Thor flew back to the spot where the Formare had just been standing. Loki had used that particular spell before, one that negated gravity, which was simple to overcome when the victim propelled themselves in any direction, breaking the spell. Mjolnir served well for the function. However, the spell had served its purpose as her foes had evaded her. Had she the means to track them down, she would, but of all her abilities following teleportation, and most likely dimensional at that, was impossible. Instead she brought her fist down in rage at where the fallen Elathan had been, envisioning it as his skull. Damn that man for….

…wait, what had she been angry at him for? She had flown into a rage the moment she recognized him. His crime had been so great death was not unwarranted, yet now that she thought about it, she could not recall. It was on the tip of her tongue… no, nothing was there. Why had she been angry with him anyway? Surely whatever he had done was of no consequence…..

And it was then she realized her thoughts were not merely drifting away from the subject; rather they were being pulled by some other force. And now that she concentrated with all her might, she realized this was not the first time it had happened. In fact, whenever the past came up, her mind wandered away from it. And there had been many anomalies. Wait, anomalies about what…?

It was happening again! Not this time. She was enraged at how she'd been cheated of being with her love, and after that her revenge, she would not be cheated of her memories! No matter what she would retain them. She remained focused on Elathan and the rage. The anger was so similar to what she was experiencing now. It was of the same flavor, the same subject matter. Love, it had to do with loving someone….

And at last she felt something in her mind snap, as though she had been held down in quicksand, but had suddenly burst free to the surface, only to discover the quicksand was solid enough to crawl out of. Something was trying to obliterate her memories of the distant past. But she had overcome, if not the block, at least whatever it was attempting to prevent her from realizing she was being affected. And now that she knew something was trying to prevent her from remembering things, she could attack it, for an assault upon the mind was like any other, and the perpetrator would be dealt with in a similar manner.

One way or another she would regain full access to her memories, and heaven help whoever would try to stand in her way.

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Ukyou watched Ranma wolf down yet another okonomiyaki. It was his third one. He had always eaten like a horse even when they were younger, well he was a sizeable kid even then, but nothing had dulled his appetite over the intervening years. He probably would have stopped at two, which was his usual limit, but since she was trying to keep him here she kept giving them 'on the house', which he was only too eager to accept. All Saotomes seemed to love a free lunch.

At the moment he was the only one in the restaurant since she hung up the closed sign after they entered. This was supposed to be an important meeting as far as she was concerned, and she didn't need customers interfering with it. She had hoped Akane would come as well, she had the time since her employer had gone overseas, but the newly unemployed girl was in a foul mood for some reason of late and had passed on the invitation. Well, Ranma was the one she really wanted anyway. Akane would have been a nice addition was all.

Ranma finished the meal, mindful to wipe his face afterwards. It was odd. While Genma was all slob, he had always tried to make Ranma considerate of his manners. He always muttered something about icons when being insistent with his son. Ukyou had been cleanly as well, but that was because her father had impressed upon her customers wanted a clean chef serving them, not someone who had food splattered all over them as if they had been at a murder scene of a vegetable garden.

"Great as always, Ucchan," Ranma said. "No one I ever met could hold a candle to your okonomiyaki."

"Kuonjis are the best in Japan," she assured him. Then panicked as he got up to leave. That wasn't good. She needed him to stick around. It was time to bring out the big guns which never failed when it came to Ranma. "Um, why don't I serve you another one?"

Ranma looked at his stomach. "I think three should be my limit. Besides, you spoil me like this I might move in with you."

Ukyou laughed. There was a time when his living with her had been all she dreamed about. Now if he had tried to insinuate himself that way she'd punt him out the door. She'd grown a lot since she arrived at Nerima on her mission of misplaced vengeance. Now she was at peace with herself. Actually even better that at peace: she was overjoyed. And she wanted Ranma to know why so that meant keeping him right where he was. "I'll make the crab and lobster one you like so much."

He remained where he was. "I guess I'm staying."

As she prepared the food, she asked, "So why were you absent from school the last few days?"

"I, uh, had important stuff to do. But I took care of it."

That was evasive. Ukyou wondered if she should pry or leave it alone when someone entered the establishment. And since there was only one person she had told to come in even with the place was closed, she felt her heart pound harder.

Sure enough, it was Mousse in his civilian clothes. He preferred loose robes, apparently they were a necessity with the hidden weapons technique he used, and he wanted access to them at any time. And he tacitly avoided red so no one would associate him with his masked alter ego, though he needed others to tell him the color since he was blind. He admitted to her he had no idea his initial outfit had been red. He had intended on yellow and brown, which would have been hideous but he wasn't exactly the best judge of color schemes, but apparently had gotten confused and made it out of the wrong material. She felt red suited him, so it had been a fortuitous mistake.

He was also making a production of using his cane to get around. It was the last thing he needed to navigate thanks to his enhanced senses, but it helped with appearances.

Food forgotten, Ukyou shot out from behind the counter and went to meet him. "You came!"

"Of course, I told you I would." His smile was as wide as hers.

She turned to Ranma, who looked confused. "Hey Ran-chan, I want you to meet someone." She waited for him to rise from his seat and walk next to her. "This is my new boyfriend, Mousse. And Mousse, standing slightly to your left is the guy I was telling you about: Ranma."

As the last word left her mouth Mousse froze. Thanks to his radar sense and ability to detect heartbeats, his ability to identify people was as certain as if he examined their fingerprints. Which is how he knew that his girlfriend had just introduced him to Captain Japan.

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[End chapter]

And there we go. Left this one on a bit of a cliffhanger, or at least some anticipation as at least one identity is about to be revealed. It might be a bit slow, but we are moving things along, and I don't want to rush it.

And yes, Kerberos/Jin Roh/Illang is what the armor is from, as is the Wolf Brigade name. Always loved the character designs in that.