Chapter 10- The Tribu

Third Person:

Kato was still growling at the team for waking her up, even as they continued on through the jungle, until they finally reached the tribe, which, everyone was thankful for. Nova had whined almost the entire way there.

It was a bit different than from what everyone had expected. They were all out in the open, yet looked as if they could disappear in a moment's notice. All around the team there were Katojns- about ten of them that they could see. There were three women, three men, and two children (excluding Vaquina). Most of them weren't in their Katojns form beside two of the women and all of the children. Everyone, however, did give the team weary looks- the men even stepped in front of the women and children. Yet the second that Kato stepped forward with Vanquina, the defensive stances were dropped.

Kato smiled as the children ran to Vanquina and gave her big hugs. A second later, Kato was their victim- putting Kato at the bottom of a dog... cat... pile.

Power Man had to laugh as Kato's form was covered by little furball kits.

"Help," Kato laughed from the bottom of the pile.

Power Man reached down to help her up when the kids jumped onto him.

"Hey now," he protested.

Kato chuckled as the three children were dangling off of his towering form.

"Crianças, saia do homem bom," one of the woman laughed. She gave Kato and Power Man an apologetic look. Kato smiled,

"Eles estão bem. Por favor, poderíamos falar Inglês para o bem da empresa," Kato asked politely.

The woman nodded.

"Very well," she said politely, "Now, who are your... acquaintances? Are they... human?"

"Friends," Spiderman corrected, "And sort of."

He gave a sheepish laugh and Nova laughed as well. The woman looked to Kato for confirmation, and Kato gave a nod.

"Yes, they are, Ana," Kato said, "There's some business that I... we...need to discuss with Chief Aldo."

Ana nodded.

"Very well, but first, we all must thank you for bringing Vaquina back. A proper thank you... So tonight- We celebrate! For you have brought our little Vaguina back in time for her birthday!"

Kato grinned and the others gave a confused smile.

Alex sat on a rock and watched as Kato and Vaquina continued to be greeted with open arms. She smiled.

She thinks she doesn't deserve friends, she thought, And yet, here she is, being surrounded by them. Very ironic, really.

She chuckled to herself while Iron Fist sat down next to her. She was to busy thinking and watching the kids run around and play to notice his presence at first. Only when he spoke did she realize he was there.

"Are you sure you are okay?" he asked her.

She nodded and shot him a smile.

"Yeah. I guess I'm just a little homesick. I've never been out of New York for this long, you know? Not only that, but next week is the Death Day."

He gave her a quizzical look.

"Death Day? For whom?"

Curse me and my big mouth, she thought.

She sighed and shrugged.

"Eh, don't worry about it."

"When you say that it only makes us worry more. You can speak to s if you need to do so. You are aware of that, yes?"

She nodded and sighed again.

"Well, it was one year, eleven months, and twenty-four days ago. We were at a dojo owned by your company, I believe. I had been hired there, Stark's orders, and..."

Iron Fist looked at her shocked. He remembered something like that. One of his dojos had mysteriously blown up, and most of the students there had passed on. There were only three survivors, and one of them had been Alex. He was suddenly sorry for pressing on. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You do not need to finish. I know what happened."

Kato, from the distance, heard the conversation- as did the others Katojns. The difference between Kato and the others was that Kato acknowledged it. She turned away from Vanquina and Power Man- both of whom she was speaking of. She gave Alex an understanding nod, her eyes filled with pain. Alex nodded back.

"Shouldn't we warn them about Taskmaster now," Spiderman whispered.

Kato scowled,

"They won't take it to heart just yet. I.. well we have to speak to Chief Aldo. He'll understand the danger of the situation better and the whole tribu listens to him."

Spiderman nodded like he understood- even if he didn't really.

Currently, Spiderman, White Tiger, Power Man and Kato were all sitting on a log around the fire at the tribu. Kato was currently in human form, but that didn't stop Vanquina from sitting in Kato's lap, sound asleep. Across from them, on the other log sat a few members of the tribu. Alex and Iron Fist were nearby, situated near the tree. Nova was annoying one of the men of the tribu- asking annoying questions.

As time passed on Alex became more antsy and jumpy. She just knew that something was going to go wrong. She felt it in her gut. However, she didn't show it. She just kept talking to Iron Fist as if nothing was wrong, She didn't want anyone to worry-not until they saw the chief.

"So, what's your favorite type of music," Alex asked Iron Fist.

He thought for a moment.

"I like zen the most, but I will also listen to orchestra."

Alex nodded.

"I like orchestra too. It's fun to beat box to. I also like classic rock and rap."

He looked at her thoughtfully.

"Perhaps you could give a demonstration of your beat box skills later on."

Alex shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe. It's kinda weird doing it without Axel though. See, I usually do it while he's singing the main part so it's more realistic, you know?"

He nodded and smiled at her.

She rubbed the metal socket where her arm should have been nervously. He looked at her quizzically.

"Is something wrong?"

She shook her head.

"No, it's just the weather. There's going to be rain later on."

"...And you can tell by your stump?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, it always starts to ache when the weather gets all droopy. Then again, we are in a jungle, so I'm not particularly surprised it's going to rain."

"You're better at predicting the weather than an actual weather man."

She laughed, and Iron Fist smiled. Her laugh was nice and soft, and unlike all the other times, it wasn't forced.

Kato looked over at Alex and Iron Fist curiously and grinned.

They like each other, she thought, But they are completely oblivious to each other's feelings for one another. It's rather funny actually.

She was pushed out of her thoughts by Power Man, who was offering her some fruit, which she gratefully took.

Kato pet Vanquina on the head comfortingly as the child rested in her lap. She felt the corners of her mouth turn into a small smile at the kit. Ana, though she was Vanquina's mother, enjoyed the fact that Vanquina had attached to Kato since the kit needed another person to attach to besides parents- and she wasn't making that bond with others in the tribu.

The tribu was like a large family with everyone taking care of each other. At least, it was that way in Brazil. Kato knew for a fact that other tribus were a bit different- 'you're a part of the family and we'll always love you... until you make a mistake' seemed to be the Irish and Mexican tribu's rule.

She wondered where she might be if she didn't make her mistake, if she didn't get captured, or if Moriko wasn't captured as well. Would she be this happy? It didn't really make sense for her to be happier now, even if she was still sad about Moriko, than she was when she was with her family. Perhaps it was because her 'real' family didn't really act like a family, yet this tribu and the team acted like it. It made her feel loved.

She smiled to herself as everyone else slept. Yet, she, Power Man, Alex, and Iron Fist were awake. Yet, Alex and Iron Fist were a bit off from the fire and camp to keep watch.

"You really should get some sleep," Kato said to Power Man, "We don't know when Taskmaster might show so you need the rest."

"So do you," he pointed out.

Kato just shrugged and shifted a bit awkwardly. The shifting caused Vanquina to wake up. The kit whimpered and tossed and turned. Kato's eyes widened,

"Aw, poor kit... Shhh shh. It's okay..."

The kit didn't calm down and there were tears in her eyes- obviously having a nightmare of sorts. Power Man looked panicked- not knowing what to do.

"Hush little baby," Kato sang softly, "don't say a word, momma's gonna get you a mocking bird..."

Power Man's eyes widened when he heard her sing- it was soft, beautiful. It wasn't rough like he expected- it was just melodic.

The angelic voice made Vanquina calm down and go back into a peaceful sleep.

"Saudações, Chefe Ado," Kato greeted with a small bow.

In front of her and the team stood Chief Ado. He was very tall and broad shouldered. Despite the fact that he was obviously older- being roughly in his seventies- he did still have muscles. He was in human form so they could see all the winkles on his face and the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. He wore dark clothes that were similar to the other men's. Yet, he had a red feather in his hair and his hair was longer, being in a small short ponytail.

"Saudações,"Chief Ado greeted, "Now, I'm told that you have news for me."

"I... I failed," Kato said softly.

Chief Ado looked at her in shock and disappointment. Kato kept her eyes down.

"It was my job to protect the idol, but it was also my job to keep our species in secrecy. These outsiders are my friends, yes, and they are to be trusted. But one has found out about us. He is... Not good."

"That doesn't mean you failed," Power Man said comfortingly, "You didn't know..."

He turned to the Chief,

"Look, there's a villain by the name of Taskmaster. He wants to capture all Katojns to make a profit. He's a big threat and we're here to stop him."

"All of us," Spider-Man added, "are here to help."

Chief Ado pursed his lips but nodded.

"I trust Kato's judgement, for she is, the majority of the time, correct. However, if you harm any of us in any way, we will not hesitate to tear you limb from limb."

They all nodded nervously-minus Kato, who knew he was most likely bluffing.

"Iron Fist!"

They all whirled around to find Iron Fist flying towards them, but no Alex in sight.

Kato sniffed the air.

"He's here."