Avenging

by DB Sommer

It's a fusion of Ranma 12 and Marvel's Avengers. Chapter 1 lays the groundwork for what's to come and deals with several of the heroes origins. It is a bit dry and serious compared to the rest of the story. Chapter 2 is more like the rest of the story if you want to skip to it. Book 1 is complete and Book 2 is the sequel.

67. Act V Chapter 14: Furthering the Cause

Avenging

Act 5

Chapter 14

Furthering the Cause

Any and all C+C appreciated. You can contact me at:

tsommer

All the previous chapters and my other works are stored at:

At :

www. fanfiction

Standard disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or other characters from the numerous animes which are within.

Last Chapter: Thor learned the truth about his/her origins from Odin, who had been impersonating Happosai. Thor then elected to retain her mortal form.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kasumi found herself deep in thought as she finished cleaning the dishes in the kitchen of the Tendou home. Not about matters of a super heroic bent, which consumed her thoughts the majority of the time, but rather issues with her home life, which used to be what had consumed her thoughts before. She remembered that with a hint of exasperation, and perhaps distaste.

That irritation had much to do with her current train of thought, as she considered whether she should move out and get her own place. With her Avengers' stipend she had more than enough money to live on her own. Her living expenses were on the low side. Aside from basic necessities, heroic outfits were her only real expenditure. Unlike the others she was not content wearing the same outfit, or in Bucky's case lack of thereof, all the time. She liked bouncing back and forth from outfit to outfit, a wide array of them with different types of style and coloring. And of late, perhaps showing a bit of skin, though not to the degree of Tigra. Skimpy two-piece bikinis were a little too much, or in this case too little.

Aside from that her finances were quite secure and looking into the market revealed plenty of affordable housing. Rather, the only thing holding her back was her family. Not directly. If she said she was going, no one would tackle her to the ground to stop her. Okay, her father would probably bawl his eyes out and might clutch at her ankle for a while, but some parents did have issues with letting go. In truth he could be a poster child for them.

Indirectly however, that was another matter. She was the one who took care of hearth and home. Household duties still fell to her, a task she no longer felt inclined to do for the rest of her life. She had far better, more exciting things to move forward with. But to leave now would be like pulling the rug out from under them. She should at least try to transition things so her family could adapt to being on their own, collectively speaking. Nabiki was learning the family art, which was a responsibility that was taxing, though in hindsight it wouldn't have hurt Kasumi to have learned some just to help her in her Wasp identity. But while Nabiki did that, she could share a bit of the burden of homecare. Doing the laundry on top of practicing martial arts shouldn't be more than she could handle. Akane could cook at least one family meal a day… Make that Akane could do the laundry, and Nabiki could learn to cook. If terrible culinary skills were an actual super power, Akane might be on par with the Hulk.

In thinking about it, she determined this felt like the right step to take. They needed to learn to take care of themselves, the way she had. Actually, Kasumi had had to learn on the fly, so they would have the benefit of an experienced hand to train them. Course decided, she attempted to locate either sister and inform them of the good news that they would start learning to fend for themselves. Insistently if necessary.

Kasumi spotted Akane first, sitting alone at the living room table with the television off, looking melancholy. This was a stark contrast to her demeanor of late, which had been bright to the point of being chipper. Lately she'd been going out all the time, presumably with friends, and returning home very upbeat. It'd been the happiest Kasumi had seen her youngest sister in her life. To witness this rather sudden return of depression made Kasumi's heart reach out to her sibling. Thoughts of informing Akane of her new household duties went on shelf. Emotional disturbances were immediate concerns. She was the oldest sister, after all, and she had to look out for her younger ones. Unlike household chores, that was a duty you held for your entire life.

Kasumi put on her warmest smile and greeted her sister. "Hello, Akane. You seem a little down."

Akane looked at her, not really attempting to deny, or even hide her feelings, as many would be tempted to do in the situation. Instead she said, "I just have a lot on my mind."

Kasumi took notice of the acceptance and found it peculiar. She would certainly try to get to the bottom of the issue. "Like what?"

Her eyes took on a bit of a distant cast, as though she was older beyond her years. "I am discovering that even the things you think are great and awesome usually have something bad about them that makes them not so great."

Ah, so that was what it was. Kasumi had learned that lesson herself, and right around Akane's age. It had taken her a while to figure things out to her satisfaction, since her mother was no longer with them and she had no older siblings to confide in. Luckily for Akane she had such resources on hand. "Well, that might be true, but just because something isn't perfect doesn't mean it's not great anyway. I think you have to embrace something worthy while at the same time preparing yourself to be punched in the face and rolling with the blow even if you do."

A voice from the doorway said, "Gee, Sis. With explanations like that maybe we'll make a martial artist out of you yet."

Nabiki was there, leaning against the door jamb rather than entering. If only you knew, Kasumi thought to herself. But best to remain the polar opposite of her alter ego and forgo such verbal taunts. "Oh no. No fighting for me."

Nabiki looked at her younger sister. "Does this have anything to do with Doc Tofu?"

The memory of the insensitive jerk made Kasumi frown. He had abandoned her into the hands of that awful Mandrill ape person. People made use of the term 'fate worse than death' quite liberally, but in this case it might have been the truth.

Rather than act embarrassed and go into instant denial, which everyone would always recognize as an admission of guilt on her part, Akane shook her head. "No, although now that I've gained some perspective on the matter, I think maybe I had more of a crush on him than anything else. I was more in love with the idea of loving him rather than actually being in love with him." Yes, it was far more like the situation with Belldandy than she was comfortable with. It occurred to her it was quite sad that over the course of over a thousand years, she had never really been in love. Then again, given her character, she might not have been capable of the emotion. Now though she felt she was more than ready.

As if reading her mind, Nabiki said, "You know, Ranma is quite the catch."

Akane smiled. Now that was a transparent ploy by any measure. However, when she considered the words, rather than try to get out of it, as Nabiki would expect, Akane went in the opposite direction. "Yes, now that I've gotten to know him, he would be. Didn't you notice?" she asked innocently.

Nabiki hadn't expected the admission, nor the turnabout that followed. Akane was behaving oddly. Still she had gotten to know Ranma and he was that nice a guy, so it would be stupid to deny it and sound like she was unobservant. Or cowardly compared to her sister. "He's a nice guy. Not my style, of course, but reliable."

Kasumi felt the urge to enter the conversation. "He does have a number of likeable qualities. He's not bad on the eyes, either."

Nabiki's brows shot up. "Why Sis. I didn't think you were interested in guys."

That rubbed Kasumi wrong, even if Nabiki was just teasing her. "I've been on more dates than you."

Once more on the defensive, and not liking that position on the field, Nabiki grumbled, "I've been on dates."

"How many have been more than once with the same guy?" Akane pressed.

"I don't recall you being on a date, Little Sister," Nabiki countered.

"Kasumi and I dated Ranma at the same time," she reminded her. "But your point is taken. I have an idea. Dad doesn't seem to be letting the 'families have to be united' thing go like I thought he would. So why don't we do this? Since we all agree there's nothing critically wrong with Ranma, we'll go on legitimate, individual dates with him. That'll get Dad off our backs, and if one of us hits it off with him, then the other two will back off."

"And what if more than one of us 'hits it off with him'?" Nabiki asked.

"Then it'll be every girl for herself, of course," Kasumi answered.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was in the dead of night at the Dark Projects wing of Stane-Daitokuji that Dr. Naoko Akagi checked the figures for the third time. The results were identical to the first two. A part of her couldn't believe it, but every other part of her was delighted. It was the best news she'd received since being hired, then being informed she'd play second fiddle to some kid whose ink had barely dried on the PHD the university handed her.

Admittedly Yui Ikari possessed a certain kind of brilliance, but she lacked the experience required to head an important operation like Project Wideawake. Had Naoko been placed in charge from the beginning, the project would have been completed by now. Especially considering what was before her.

She still couldn't figure out why the results had been falsified in this manner. What could be gained through them? It was unfathomable. It was also irrelevant. Once the findings were revealed to Fuyutsuki, heads would roll. And since it involved Stane-Daitokuji, that might be literal. At least two people had disappeared from some of the projects under mysterious circumstances, and management was encouraging the idea it had been the direct result of breach of contract on the parts of the missing parties. Given the nature of the projects they were working on, it was easy to believe.

It was pushing close to one A.M.; the only time Naoko could check the data without anyone looking over her shoulder and perhaps discovering what she was really looking into. Especially the perpetrator of it all. While Naoko wanted to call up Fuyutsuki now, at this time of night he might be upset with her as well for waking him and dropping this problem into his lap when he was exhausted and not thinking clearly. Best to do it during business hours. First thing in the morning though. No sense in dragging things out either.

This called for a little celebration. The 'special' kind. She hadn't really indulged in it for a while since it could interfere with work if she wasn't careful, but this was a special occasion. So she went back to her room, intent on indulging herself the night before what was going to be the best day of her life.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm afraid the tests came back as I thought: Dr. Akagi overdosed on pain medication," Fuyutsuki informed his employer, Biko, in her office as she listened to his report. "We knew she used them recreationally, but they had never interfered with her work, so we let it go. Apparently, she went on a binge and went too far."

Biko shrugged. "As long as her absence has no impact on Project Wideawake, it is of no consequence."

"Dr. Ikari assures me everything is on schedule. All the tests are coming back in the green. The initial boot up sequence should be ready in a week or so. Dr. Ikari is still eager to be the one to do it."

"There's no reason why not. I like the desire to personally see things through to the end, rather than shifting it to the shoulders of someone else," Biko said. "Especially in light of Dr. Akagi's passing. If anything goes wrong, then clearly she wasn't the right woman for the job either. Also, this close to the end of the project, I see no need to promote anyone to Akagi's position. Project Wideawake is about to go on line, and if it doesn't, there will be a lot of vacancies in the unit, not just hers."

"Yes, Ma'am." Fuyutsuki bowed before his employer and went to make necessary arrangements. Too bad for Akagi. She had been quite diligent at her job and, if things turned out as they should, he was going to recommend her for a bonus. But some people had a bad tendency to drop the ball just as they got to the goal line. Evidently, she was one of them. Also it made him look more brilliant in recommending Yui for the head of the project rather than Akagi, who had been the 'logical' choice. She was someone who had a good head on her shoulders, except when it came to men. He had met her boyfriend and was more convinced than ever that Rokubungi was a creepy guy that shouldn't be trusted. He couldn't understand why Yui seemed to have a thing for him. She could do better. She really was a difficult woman to understand.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kang stood at his time portal in the Citadel of Time, waiting for the right moment to use it to reenter the time stream and appear before what he hoped would be his new subordinates. While on one hand he hated utilizing a similar plan to the previous one he used, which had been one of abject failure, his back was to the wall and he had little choice. Time was almost up. Just one more chance to save the woman he loved and reenter her life. Otherwise all would be lost.

The Avengers had to die, but on this occasion, it would have to be at ground zero of the Event. This time he would meet them with near overwhelming force and as a group. The individuals he recruited in nearly every case had either already beaten or come close to defeating an Avenger. And as additional insurance he'd use that ace in the hole as well. Why not use an organization composed of some of the deadliest assassins in the world to kill people? He even had the perfect bait with which to lure them in. He only needed them for one job, after all. Avengers were tough, but so were they. Between them and his recruits, and himself since he would personally lead the assault this time, the Avengers would die, and the love of his life saved.

But he would be cutting it so close. One mistake and it could all be over. It made even one of his stolid nerves tremble.

The monitor found them. The pair were holed up in one of those specialized hotels that were owned by Justin Hammer, though not directly. Much like that chain of bars he owned, the clientele was exclusively of the 'wanted' variety and specialized in super villains. Neutral ground and no one that wasn't in the business was allowed to use their services. The pair were currently in one of the more expensive suites, lounging around in bathrobes on a couch in the room, at ease. Kang decided the direct approach would be the best. He had studied them enough to have confidence in how to make a sales pitch toward them. He grabbed the small cloth sack with the contents he had grabbed for just this occasion and set the coordinates. He then pushed a button on his buckle and reentered the timestream.

In-between the second he appeared in the middle of the room and the next, Whiplash and Blacklash had whips suddenly appear in their hands, drawn back and ready to use. That was remarkable. He had no idea where the weapons had come from since they had been dressed in nothing but bathrobes and the whips hadn't been visible. Their reaction time was astonishing as well.

He decided to open negotiations before they opened up with their whips. "I am Kang, the Conqueror. You two are eager to work for someone with power and an agenda. As it turns out I have both. I control time and will rule the world. I believe these two traits are what you're looking for in an employer?"

The pair never took their eyes off him. Whiplash spoke, "Teleportation isn't too shabby. Time travel sounds a bit far-fetched, but in this business, not outside the realm of possibility."

Blacklash said, "If you're from the future what are tomorrow's winning lottery numbers?"

Kang laughed. "You can't just go grabbing anything from any point in time with reckless abandon. You'll constantly create alternate timelines and you'll keep line jumping, often without realizing it. That's not to say you can't do it, just that you have to be careful."

"Okay, you know a little about it," Blacklash said, but kept her whip ready to use.

How odd. They shouldn't have known anything about time travel as they were implying. Few did. "However, if you're careful you can remove certain items at certain times with no repercussions. Such as raiding a Spanish galleon loaded with riches before it sinks to the bottom of the ocean with what is presumed to be its entire cargo. Since its cargo is never found in the history books, who is to say it was there to begin with?" He pulled the small cloth bag from his waist and placed it on the table, then backed away to allow one of the women to examine the contents.

Whiplash remained with weapon poised as Blacklash poured the contents out on the table. Jewels of large shapes and sizes. Considering the era it came from, it might very well have been part of an actual king's ransom.

As she examined them for authenticity, Kang said, "As it stands now, I require your services for one specific task. Consider it a trial period to see if an extended working agreement is desirable. Regard that as your payment for this one job."

Blacklash held up an item from the middle of the pile. It was a metal vial with a stopper sealed into place with wax. "What is this?" she asked him.

Kang looked at it curiously. "I don't know. I simply took what I could from the nobleman's chest. I assumed everything in it was valuable. I confess that while I'm a master of time, I'm not one of gemology."

Blacklash continued staring at the vial for a moment. Then she blew lightly along its metal side. Sigils, previously hidden by some means, appeared, glowing. Her eyes widened and she handed it to her sister, "Tell me this says what I think it says."

Kang watched in confusion. These two were supposed to be interested in jewels, not ancient vials of whatever.

Whiplash noted the sigils and whistled. "Damn. It is the Golden Ticket to Diablo Wonka's Factory of Chocolate and Other Goodies." She looked to Kang. "We're in."

"You'll want to change into your battle gear then. We're leaving and it won't be long until it'll be needed."

The women slipped out of their bathrobes and headed to their bedrooms, naked. Kang took no real notice of their bodies, other than in an abstract way. No woman in the world could interest him other than her. Besides, he wagered it was a calculated move since both women were exhibitionists, but dangerous at the same time.

They returned in their borderline bondage gear, maybe over the border, actually. The vial was nowhere to be seen, though Whiplash was certain to grab the jewels anyway. Just because they hadn't been the center of attention didn't rend them valueless. He did another adjustment with his dial and the trio were shifted back to the center of the Citadel of Time.

Both women looked around, visibly impressed. Whiplash said, "This is positively medieval." As she took in everything around her, her brows furrowed. "Sis, do you feel weird?"

Blacklash nodded, "Something is very off."

"Time doesn't pass here the way it does everywhere else," Kang offered in explanation, wanting to get orientation completed quickly. He still had a few others to collect. Then he'd hit the Avengers at the last possible moment with everything he had. He could feel the seconds of his life ticking. Everything was still happening properly. And perhaps one advantage of hitting them at the moment of the event was that he didn't have to be concerned with his actions altering the timeline after saving her. As far as he was concerned there was no time after the Event. And once she was saved, then he could decide what to do next. Since saving her was all that mattered, he had made no plans after that.

"So what did you need us for?" Whiplash asked.

"To kill the Avengers."

Whiplash whistled. "That's a tall order, and you're going to need more than us to do it. You'll need major firepower. And I don't mean the super villain by that name, since he isn't. He got curb stomped by Captain Ultra once."

"I have some. Speaking of which." Kang indicated a man that approached the trio.

He was tall, at least six feet, and made of pure muscle. He appeared to be of European decent, with black hair that was cut short close to the skull. He wore a sleeveless red tunic and blue breeches with leather boots. He was also adorned with several melee weapons, swords, knives, even a spear slung across his back. He looked as though he were going to fight his way through a dungeon to take on a dragon at the end.

Kang said, "Allow me to introduce Ares, one of the 'major firepower' that will be accompanying you."

Both women stared at him in open sexual interest. Whiplash licked her lips suggestively. "Named after a god, like Thor."

"I am a god, like Thor," Ares said in a deep baritone, his voice businesslike. He also didn't react to the women's mannerisms.

Blacklash sidled up to him. "So what brings a god like you to a gang like this?'

Finally he showed emotion. Anger. "I owe Thor a debt, and I mean to repay it." He fingered the hilt of his sword.

"It takes a god to kill a god," Kang said philosophically.

Ares stared at him. "No, it merely takes skill. Gods simply tend to have more of it than most mortals, which is why we fall most often to our kindred." He finally openly took note of the girls hovering close to him, who acted unaware of his potentially dangerous nature. Either that or uncaring. Instead he looked at them more intently, especially deep into their eyes. After a moment he said, "You two are more than you appear. Mortals that capture my interest are rare. Let us go to my chambers and become more acquainted with one another."

Both women tittered with girlish excitement as they each looped an arm through his and walked off together.

Kang watched them depart, caring little for their fornicating antics as long as they were prepared to fight when the time came. In the meantime he needed to locate the exact place his next minion's armor was, since she was useless without it. At least he had every confidence in the world she'd agree to his terms, since she was in no danger of leaving prison in the foreseeable future without him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dr. William Foster, Bill to his friends, and one of the world's leading bio-chemists, looked up from his microscope and rubbed his eyes. The computer program had told him what would happen, but he had to make a practical test to be certain of the results. Computers could extrapolate information and run simulations but living matter didn't always react in the way it was supposed to. That meant going in and testing the cells yourself. But the results were as expected. Best to let his 'patient' know the results, which would make him ecstatic.

Foster turned from his lab equipment. The lab itself was state of the art and provided for by the government, which was part of the agreement he made with them to work for them on occasion. He was probably the best bio-chemist in the country, and perhaps the world, with the death of Henry Pym and Hank McCoy going missing. And that bio-chemistry wasn't a specialty of Reed Richards.

So that left Foster as the go to guy for all things bio-chemical. Which was the main reason Tofu had come to him with his unique 'problem'. Well that and he had some familiarity with Pym's work. They'd met a few times at symposiums and got along well enough, but after the death of his with Pym had become a bit of a recluse while Foster had his own marital issues to deal with at the time.

And what a problem Tofu had, or at least a conundrum. When he informed Foster of what Pym's machine had done he'd been highly skeptical. But then Tofu arrived in the U.S. and shown Foster firsthand. It was unbelievable. He knew Pym was brilliant, but he had no idea he'd developed this 'Pym Particle' which in theory could revolutionize everything. But all the notes had been lost and the only machine that could harness them destroyed. If only he had come to Foster instead, then it would have been in good hands. But maybe his government connections had made Pym wary. And Foster's first inclination probably would have been to go to them to get the resources necessary to test and control the groundbreaking science. Now, having witnessed it in action, maybe keeping it more personal would have been the wiser choice rather than placing it in government hands. Lifelong bureaucrats didn't always exercise the best judgement at times. He knew that firsthand since he had worked for the government.

Foster went to his office where Tofu waited impatiently. He always seemed agitated. Apparently, this ordeal, as he termed it, with the Pym Particles was more than he could handle. Well, Foster had good news for the man on that front.

The moment Tofu spotted him he looked imploringly, like a dog hoping to be handed a bone. This time he had an entire skeleton for Tofu to chew on. No sense in drawing things out. "I have good news. The Pym Particles can be separated permanently from your tissue. Once removed they should be gone from your body forever. If you want, I can explain why I think that in detail for you."

"No, no need." Tofu looked like he wanted to jump up in joy. It really was as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. It was times like this Bill felt like his field was worth entering. It was almost worth the way it had possessed his life and ruined his marriage to Claire.

"How soon can you remove them?" Tofu asked.

Foster held up his hands in a waiting gesture. "Not right away. I only know the Particles can be separated. I don't know for certain what might happen when it's done. I wouldn't want to cure you of this only to have your heart stop or tissue necrotize in the absence of the Particles. I assume you'd like to be alive and have a long happy life after the procedure?"

The agitation returned. "Of course. I just want this crap gone. It's given me nothing but trouble and ruined my life."

"Of course." Foster neglected to inform him of something else, which Tofu probably wouldn't have cared about anyway, but why take chances? Shortly after Tofu showed Foster he could grow, it didn't take Bill long to put two and two together and realize Tofu had been the Avenger known as Giant Man. He had never paid much attention to the super hero thing, especially in Japan since the U.S. had plenty of its own, but the Avengers had a reputation that was worldwide now. With Tofu wanting this ability removed at the same time Giant Man disappeared from the roster, and him being Japanese, well anyone could figure that one out.

And then Bill Foster, who had never had an interest in super powers, suddenly found the idea of becoming a size-changing super hero fascinating. Maybe he'd been cooped up in labs too long. Maybe it was time for a little excitement in his life. Scientific achievements were great, but your celebrity status was limited to the people who knew the field. Super heroes were known all around. And who knew, maybe if he became a 'big man' in the world of costumed adventurers, Claire might be more amiable to reuniting with her ex. He could call himself 'Black Goliath'. No, wait, it was obvious he was black. How about just 'Goliath.? Yes, that had a nice ring to it. It invoked a giant of a man without actually using the words 'giant' or 'man', since they'd already been used with a size changing hero.

But in order to do that Foster had to not just remove the Particles from Tofu, he had to make sure they could be re-bonded to another human being. That meant making sure they could be isolated, or at least directly transferred to another being to ensure they were never lost. He had only one shot at this, so he could not afford a mistake.

As the saying went, one man's trash was another man's treasure.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Avenger's quinjet flew over Tokyo enroute to the latest scene of chaos from a villainous ne'er do well. All the heroes save the Hulk were present, but if one were to take bets on who wouldn't show up, he was the best odds at nine to seven. Wasp was the worst at five to one.

Iron Rose flew the aircraft, mostly because she hadn't done it in a while and wanted to keep her skills sharp and superior to any of her comrades when it came to flying. She wouldn't rub it in their faces at all. Unless they tried acting superior, then of course she would. Teammates or not, sometimes they didn't realize she really was better than them in most things. But not at being a hussy. Tigra had the market cornered on that.

Just as she was musing on how to convince the cat girl to tone things down, like getting neutered, Iron Rose received an upload of information from the main computer at Avengers' Mansion. She listened to the information, then shared it with her friends. "Our foe has been identified. Her name is Karou Koganei, better known as Diamond Lil. She has the ability to change her entire body into either diamond or a diamond like substance that is highly impervious to harm."

"Just skin or insides, too?" Tigra asked.

Iron Rose reskimmed the data. "It doesn't say. Why?"

"Best to know full range of abilities. If only skin, can just chip off and hit vulnerable part underneath. If not, much tougher."

"Oh." That made sense. There were times when Iron Rose felt her teammate was an airheaded dimwit with an exceptionally base nature. But every now and then she was exceptionally perceptive… with a base nature. Oh well, no one was a moron all the time, in the same way even an idiot would occasionally have a good idea.

"So why does someone made of diamond loot diamond stores?" Hawkeye asked.

"Fetish?" Daredevil suggested.

"Money probably. I doubt she'd want to sell off her skin, assuming you could find a buyer for it," Captain Japan said.

"We can ask her ourselves once we bring her in." Wasp wondered how her bio-blasts would fare against someone with diamond hard skin. Maybe she was soft on the inside, like Tigra suggested, in which case Wasp could fly into her ear and cause problems there. She'd been working on shrinking smaller, and while it could be physically taxing, she could make it down that small. Size changing really was like a muscle. The more you used it, the stronger it got.

"We're here," Iron Rose announced as she landed the Quinjet and hit the door button to disembark at the same time. Her companions had developed a flare for leaping outside while the vehicle was in motion. She suspected seeing a Quinjet disgorge a near total team of Avengers all at once was intimidating to most foes.

However as they hit the ground, they saw the remains of a scene of extensive carnage. Clearly there had been a serious firefight, though there was no gun fire at present. Neither was there a diamond skinned woman. Rather than were two dozen soldiers in giant overcoats and heavy weapons with helmets and masks with glowing red eyes. There were also several people in three different kinds of power armor about, including the type that had been present at Bitterfrost.

Iron Rose aimed a repulsor at one of the armored men. "Stand down or face the wrath of the Avengers!"

The men looked at each other in surprise. One of them jerked his head, then said, "We're on the same side. We're with the government. The man in charge says you've met him before, and he'll explain everything. He'll arrive momentarily."

Since none of what the Avengers had assumed were Diamond Lil's gang were taking any hostile action, they remained tense, but didn't provoke what might very well have been government soldiers. They had enough problems fighting fellow super teams due to misunderstandings or mind control, so they tended to be sensitive to those issues.

In less than a minute a non-descript man ran up to the group. Not only was he familiar to a couple of the Avengers, so was the woman in military garb that followed him.

"Oh, 'tis you," Thor said dryly to Irie Soyozoh, recalling him from the time he had her shot down with a missile during the Phantom Cat issue.

"Oh, it you," Tigra said coldly to Lieutenant Naruawa, who she recalled from the same issue; the woman had given her a full body cavity search sans lubricant.

"I'm so glad you recognize me," Irie said delightedly. "We've already taken care of the matter involving the super villain. Don't have any of those Phantom Cats who never existed to worry about, so we've been re-tasked to dealing with something everyone knows about: super villains."

"Oh?" Iron Rose asked, identifying the other two armors as Raider and Mandroid. Quote eclectic, really. And there was still the question of why his men were going about in stolen Soviet armor, all of which she thought destroyed.

"Yes, yes. You'll be seeing more of us around. Actually, I'm fairly certain there's going to be some public fanfare about us in the near future. We're going to be taking jurisdiction in cases like this. I mean if you get there first and take care of the matter, more power to you, but we are government officials for matters like this now."

Captain Japan said, "Look pal, I don't want to rain on your parade-."

"No, go ahead. Is fine," Tigra assured him, still glaring daggers at both government agents.

"—but super villains can be dangerous. Not all of them, or course. But for every goofball juggling a running chainsaw, there's a fifty-ton bench pressing powerhouse, like Powerhouse. You might be out of your league here."

"I don't know about that. We handled Diamond Lil quite fine, as you can see." He indicated the ground where one of his men was in the process of sweeping up glittering fragments.

"Oh, so she made of diamond inside, too," Tigra said casually.

The rest of the Avengers were horrified.

"Thou did'st kill thine foe?" Thor asked.

Irie remained nonchalant. "We don't have the benefit of invulnerability or super strength on our side, so when it comes to powerful foes, as your shield throwing friend pointed out, we sometimes have to improvise. It turns out while conventional firearms don't fare well against crystalline skin, amplisonic shatterguns can do wonders."

"We would have taken her alive," Hawkeye said, disapproval replacing revulsion.

"Which you would have been more than welcome to do had you arrived first." Irie was remarkably friendly and diplomatic despite the tension in the air. "But since you can't be everywhere and stop everyone, we step in where we can. It is our job to prevent these types of people from doing these types of things. We asked her to surrender, and her response was to attack. We simply defended ourselves. She had only herself to blame for the outcome."

"This is true," Thor reluctantly admitted.

Unlike the others, Iron Rose had an easy going, almost flippant tone "That's interesting, and inferior, power armor you have. Who's your supplier?"

"That's classified," Irie said.

"I see. " She strolled over to one of the Super Troopers and wrapped gently against the breast plate with her gauntlet encased fist, causing its wielder to tense up. "Walking death trap," she quietly informed him.

"If you're interested, you can read the report I'm writing on what happened today," Irie offered. "I'd like to keep channels of communication open since we'll be sort of unofficial co-workers from now on."

"That won't be necessary," Iron Rose said before the others could speak. "Since the matter is resolved, we'll be returning to our headquarters. Good hunting." She indicated the rest of the team should follow.

The others looked at her curiously, but did as she indicated, loading themselves on board the Quinjet. Once it took off, Captain Japan spoke.

"Is there a reason you had us pull out of there so fast?"

"We need to discuss many things about this situation," Iron Rose said. "I have numerous bad feelings about this new government unit, including where they're getting their armaments, and what their real goal is."

"No one put man like that in charge of things on up and up, especially something potentially powerful," Tigra said. "If only about super villains, put police captain or military general in charge. He used for too, too sneaky things."

"I'd say he was telling the truth about everything by his heartbeat, but I'd also wager he could be a pathological liar," Daredevil said.

"And some of that stuff was from Russia," Captain Japan said. "What's the Japanese government doing with it?"

"The Raider armor has seen some limited marketing through Stane-Daitokuji," Iron Rose mentioned.

"Her again?" Wasp recalled the fight she, Thor and the Hulk had against the industrialist's multi-powered robot.

"Her name does seem to pop up every once in a while, and never about anything good," Hawkeye said.

"I think things are about to go south again," Captain Japan said.

The others nodded their heads in agreement. They needed to make plans on what the future might hold.

Xxxxxxxxxx

[End Chapter]

And now we're getting close to the end of Act V. It's been a while since I've seen Speed Grapher, but some of its cast was ideal for this story, even if the plan the bad guy had in that series was hilariously awful. That and the hero killed people with a camera were all I really remembered about it. And Duran Duran's 'Girls on Film' was a rare popular English song opening to the series.

Yep, Bill Foster was originally named Black Goliath. I actually liked his brief series.

Listened to a bit of Tangerine Dream's 'The Keep' soundtrack while writing. Cool stuff.