Author's Note: 2 weeks have been long, eh? For me, perhaps. April is the start of the summer here and thankfully, I have bought an advanced ticket for the upcoming Avengers film (yes, 3 weeks to go!) and I was getting along with the hype! Oh yeah, Marvel and Disney have announced the sequel to Captain America: TFA to be released in April 2014 so I will wait for 2 years to watch it!
In this chapter, Shizuka and Yuuka are the main focus (including Shizuka's conversation with Agent Coulson). Yuuka's identity will finally be revealed. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!
Black Rock Shooter and its characters belongs to Huke.
Captain America is the property of Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, and Marvel Entertainment.
"Well, Agent Coulson. Why am I not surprised?"
The man known as Agent Coulson began to reply. 'I'm calling you since I'm your longtime friend when you are with S.H.I.E.L.D. as an operative five years ago. I just want to know on what you are doing right now.'
"Oh come on, now you're spying on me, bugging on my personal life?" Shizuka joked. "Anyway, I'm very fine here. A decent yet kick ass job since I love basketball. Caring for my players, teaching them how to play well and how to be women, you name it."
'I appreciate that since you have experience, just like a mother who cares for her children. Are you now married?' Agent Coulson inquired.
"What? No! I-I'm not married yet since it's hard to find a boyfriend due to my schedule." Shizuka said.
Coulson chuckled 'Pardon me for that. Now, we go on to the next topic. And that involves one of your students.'
A bit surprised, Shizuka have changed her mood into a serious one. "What? Is there something wrong?"
'Before I'll tell you the whole story, let me give you a brief summary that will lead to that. Shizuka, I just need your patience so listen carefully.'
"What? That doesn't make sense!" Shizuka exclaimed. But having a calm and cool demeanor creates patience so instead of bursting herself; she took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Fine. I'm listening. Go on, Phil."
'Thanks.' Phil Coulson said. And he began to tell the whole story.
Secret HYDRA base
Outskirts of Nagano
Yuuka Shinzo is still sitting on her chair. As she was sitting, thoughts run on her head on the progress of her sector. The Red Skull put her on this position since he trusted her and she should never break his trust. Not only that, she had two thorns on her side: the Otherworlder known as Black Rock Shooter and the Star-Spangled Avenger, Captain America. It would give her a hard time because if these two will work together, she was sure that they will thwart her plans and completely defeating her, which is she would never allow it to happen. But she is also prepared so she should not need to worry at all.
'It's time to set up the cards.' She thought with a smirk.
She stood from her chair and with waive on her hand, she opened a portal. The portal was like a mix of red and white energy. Her normal orange eyes turned from normal into ringed, making her eyes seemingly… otherworldly. She entered to the portal and it disappeared in a flash.
Yuuka exited from the portal as she reached her destination and the portal was closed. The whole room is full of controls, computers, cameras and other communication devices; it is also a massive complex. In other words, she was in a massive airborne ship. It was none other than her personalized Terror Carrier called the 'Nehushtan'.
She surveyed the whole deck; most of the crew and staff are doing their own jobs. What's also intriguing is most of the crew are composed of Otherworlders, so even most of them are like teens in their looks but they are also intelligent and powerful beings. One crew member came to her and Yuuka turned her head to face her. The crew member is a female with the looks of a teenager. She had pinkish eyes and almost like other Otherworlders, her eyes are also ringed.
"Lady Serpent." The crew member said as she kneeled before her.
"What is your status?" Yuuka, who was called as 'Lady Serpent' by the crew member, asked.
"Everything is going well, my lady. Our forces are still mobilizing, seizing other areas to set up outposts. On the other hand, our soul harvesting operations are all clear and no glitches. Any signs of hostiles are either terminated or better, captured." The crew member reported.
"Good. That's very good." Yuuka remarked.
The crew member continued. "As of now, we are currently reaching 85% on the number of souls collected, primarily our goal. There are some complications due to some resistance but they were taken care of."
"To be honest, everything that happened in our world has a big influence in the real world, even there are some differences." Yuuka explained. "We are supposed to be supernatural beings that carry the sorrow and grief of our real world selves and killing us will set them free from their grief yet they'll completely lose their memories on something or someone which is the cause of their pain, even their closest friends. 2 months is very fast in the real world, but in this world, it's very long for things to change."
"It all changed. That's because Otherworlders like us can also feel like human beings, thanks to the human named Kuroi Mato and her Other Self, Black Rock Shooter, right?" The crew member said.
"Exactly." Yuuka continued. "Because of them, we are not treated as drugs or antidotes or tools made to carry their burdens and awaken our powers. In fact, we can do it on ourselves by using our willpower. There are fewer rulers in this realm but they were weak. All weak. And lastly, when an Otherworlder dies, it doesn't even affect the real world self anymore; he or she'll just turn into a soul. And those souls are waiting to be reborn as new being."
"And even you count Dragon Slayer as a weakling?" The crew member smirked.
"That woman? Heh, she would do nothing but just to sit and watch. She is a powerful sorceress and a master in swordsmanship. But she would never go to war unless if I attack her first; just sitting and watch while I'm doing my work. HYDRA is not only expandable in the real world but also in our world; I brought HYDRA here in the first place. Most of you weaklings have joined the organization's cause; some of you have set foot in the real world. If Red Skull thinks he's a god, then why wouldn't I?" Yuuka said in an insulting tone to the tyrant. "By the way, things are getting messy when Captain America entered the scene and helped that wretched twintailed bitch. Even though, I'm always prepared for the worst-case scenario."
"It seems that you're not only busy in the real world but aside from expanding HYDRA's influence, you're preparing yourself for battle, my lady. Just like old times, including having encounters with your real world self. But this is different game, isn't it?" The crew member inquired.
"Of course, I am." Yuuka replied. "No matter if things can get out of hand, they're becoming interesting to me. And yes, the game has changed and the new pieces on the board are all in place. I doubt the Captain will call the Avengers for help, but I'm expecting that Black Rock Shooter will be his greatest ally." Then she chuckled. "When everything is in place, I'm expecting for their defeat. And I'll make sure: if the Red Skull will get the real world on his hands, then this world will be mine!" Yuuka is confident on all of this. She acknowledged that Mato and BRS changed their world for the better, but instead of thanking them, she had animosity; an animosity that can even shook the two worlds.
Another crew member spoke aloud as she looks on something on her monitor. "My lady! We have detected some coordinates. It is a specific location, 200 miles from here."
Yuuka looked at the screen.
"It is more like a castle. Medieval structure in Otherworld terms." The second crew member reported.
"Black Gold Saw's lair…" Yuuka stated.
Then she gave an order. "Set course on the said location. I will lead 2 attack squads and 1 squad of Soul Harvesters. Send two Viper Jets as protection and backup. E.T.A. 30 minutes. We'll begin the assault on Gold Saw's lair. Make sure that we will collect many souls as possible for our other operation."
As response, one crew member starts to relay Chief Yuuka's order. The troops and the other units are beginning to prepare themselves for a battle. The weapons and other materials are now in place.
"And what will we do with Gold Saw, my lady?" one crew member inquired.
"We will capture her. And make sure that she will join our cause. If she's defiant, then…"
"Eliminate her?" the crew member noted.
Yuuka hit the mark as she smirked, "Precisely."
Then she began to make a statement. "This is just the beginning. They will feel the wrath of the beast. And they will know why they called me… 'Phantom Serpent.' HAIL HYDRA."
The crews began to stand and they all shouted. "HAIL HYDRA!"
Yuuka is on the balcony of her ship. As she surveyed the whole place from the rainbow colored sky, she still saw most of the parts of the Otherworld still being black and white, a barren wasteland. She also marveled at her own ship. Most of the Otherworlders have willpower human emotions and desires due to that cataclysm. Not only magic was expanded but their realm finally had easy access to science and technology, mostly from the real world. No wonder why Yuuka herself managed to build a ship like this, including powerful weapons, aircraft, armored units and other vehicles; even she had a powerful fortress located on the far side of the Otherworld. Not only she's a powerful Otherworlder but she is also a technological genius and a born leader and she made many followers to help her on her cause. But for Yuuka, she never wanted to thank Mato and BRS for what happened to all of her kind because she had hatred on those two.
'The Nehusthan. The name of this ship was based from a certain object. According to the Hebrew Bible, it is a sacred object in the form of a snake of brass upon a pole. The priestly source of the Torah says that Moses used a "fiery serpent" to cure the Israelites from snakebites. This is as a means for salvation for them. 'She explained on her thoughts.
'Kuroi Mato. Black Rock Shooter. You've changed this world for all of us.'
But she clenched her hand with pure anger and hatred.
'But this is not the world that I wanted! Most of our kind are like sheep gone astray. They need someone who has power. They need someone to rule over them. Someone like… me.'
As she looked over the barren wasteland she had conviction in her eyes.
'I'll continue on what I am doing. I'll make sure that I'll better than everyone, even the Red Skull. I will be the savior of this godforsaken world. I will make this world into a newfound glory. I will… change everything with my hand!'
Then a few minutes later, she saw a lush yet colorful landscape, which is their destination. She smirked on what she saw. But what she caught her interest is… that the place is more… colorful.
Shizuka was sitting on her chair. Her conversation with Agent Coulson lasted for half an hour. She kept on gathering her thoughts; most of them, however, have troubled her.
Thirty minutes ago
Agent Coulson started. "It all happened since Captain Steve Rogers and Agent Carter have received orders from Director Fury a few days ago. They were sent to Japan to investigate and foil a looming threat. According to our intel, it was HYDRA."
"'Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.' I've fought those bastards five years ago. They never stop, didn't they?" Shizuka inquired, remember her days as an agent.
"We detected HYDRA presence yesterday afternoon. One female agent attempted to kidnap a schoolgirl. The schoolgirl had blue eyes, she's 13 years of age, had short twintailed hair and also short in height." Coulson informed.
"Wait a minute: short twintailed hair, blue eyes." She thought. "Is the girl's name Kuroi Mato?"
"You know her?" Coulson asked Shizuka.
"Yes, she was one of my students when I was the coach in their basketball team." Shizuka informed. "But that was 2 years ago. But the question is: why would HYDRA wanted to kidnap her?"
"I have no idea, but Captain Rogers and Agent Carter will continue to investigate and they will foil the HYDRA insurgency afterwards." Coulson told her. And then he continued. "At the course of Mato Kuroi's abduction, some girl tried to chase the insurgents. She had long ponytail, had the same age as any schoolgirl, mostly 15. And she had… unusual blue eyes. She goes on the name of… Hoshioka Kuroi."
Upon hearing this, Shizuka smiled. 'You sure are really helping people, Black Rock Shooter, even your human best friend, which you and her changed that world a few months ago. I'm very proud of you.' Shizuka thought to herself. "Oh yeah, Hoshioka is also one of my students and at the same time, she works for me as an assistant coach and trainer in my current basketball team." She told Coulson, still bringing him more information.
"That mysterious girl kept on chasing the kidnappers using a motorcycle until they went to a warehouse. Then she was suddenly attacked by HYDRA units. But that Hoshioka girl was… something. She was a formidable fighter who managed to beat most of them, including a number of HYDRA foot soldiers. She wears an unusual outfit which consists of a coat and also uses a sword and a powerful cannon that was heavy as her weapons; that cannon can fire 20 bullets in a second and can perform charged energy blasts, which she managed to destroy 3 HYDRA Power Armors."
Shizuka nodded as she marveled on BRS's talents. For her, she is the epitome of girl badassery.
"However, she was nearly outnumbered as reinforcements have arrived. She was close to be exterminated."
"What? She's an Otherworlder yet she was outgunned? I see. I know that they're powerful beings yet after that cataclysm, most of them are becoming more human." Shizuka nodded as she kept on listening.
But here is the good news: someone saved her."
Shizuka's eyed widened when she knew that someone had saved her. "And who is that guy?"
"It was Captain Steve Rogers himself. Then the two worked together to eliminate the HYDRA threat. It was the first time that they meet yet it was a dire situation. Also, Captain Rogers saved Mato Kuroi. And after a brief conversation, they parted ways. And this ends my story." Coulson answered.
Shizuka was surprised. She knows that Black Rock Shooter is a girl from another world who has a fragile looking body yet ridiculously strong yet she can't believe the fact that the man who saved her was none other than the man who wields a shield which adorned a star of it. She never expected that one of her Otherworld friends would be saved and fought alongside with a legend. Someone like Captain America.
"So that's how it is. It seems that the two of them can fight these HYDRA scumbags, even with or without my help."
Coulson noticed this and he asked her. "So… in order to protect Mato Kuroi, you will come back?"
Shizuka thought for a moment, about her decision; a decision that would give up her means of living a normal life in order to protect Mato. She knew the dangers or the consequences, but for a former agent herself, she also knew the risks, because when you're next in line, you have to arm yourself because you are alone and no one else can save you: that is what it takes to be a secret agent, even though if it was S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I'll have to think about it. After all this stuff, it seems it's hard or not hard for me to come back." Shizuka replied.
"Take it if you need. We will wait. You can call us anytime. I'll give you Sharon's number." Coulson said.
"Ok, thanks." Shizuka thanked Coulson. And she ended the call. Seconds later, she received a text message from Agent Coulson and it was Sharon Carter's number.
She stood up from her chair. She gets a bottle of water from her cooler and went to the balcony, not only to replenish herself but to get fresh air from the cool wind. Agent Coulson's words still rings to her head: Mato's life is in danger. And since HYDRA is known for its resilience, they would never stop until they reached their objectives. After 10 long years, she had to leave the past and move on. But because of these circumstances, she decided to face them with resolve and great courage. She had a hard time: training, going into missions, protecting innocent people, and even killing off targets, which it also hurts her. But on the bright side, there is something that she would never forget: fighting alongside with the "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" and other known remarkable people superpowers and other amazing talents; and it was a great honor for her to fight with them. As she looked up at the stars at night, a smile plastered on her face when she found out that Black Rock Shooter and Captain America are fighting together. And she sighed in relief.
"Who would have thought? The Star-Spangled Man meets The Star Who Shoots through the Darkness. An Avenger and a Shooter. Master and student. They will be a formidable team like no other. Guess I should help out anyway."
Then she heads into her bed as she goes to sleep.
End of chapter 7.
Now you guys have an idea why Yuuka will be a formidable villain on the next chapters. On Shizuka, I will also put focus on her as she will play a vital role that will impact the lives of Mato, BRS and even their friends. I'm going to continue writing this as I wait for the much anticipated Avengers film!
Read+Review! And I will see you later. :)