Avenging
Act IV
The Hate Monger and the Peacemaker
Chapter 10
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Standard disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or other characters from the numerous animes which are within.
Here's a great reference guide for many character and objects in the Marvel Universe.
www. /Appendix /index. htm
Writers note: Yes, this is focusing on the main story arc directly. And I'm reintroducing a character from all the way back in Act II Chapter 9 Part A. One of the reasons I liked Marvel was continuity. Of course I did do my own version of the Handbook so no surprise there. Oh yeah, he's a little different but will have a chance at some depth.
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Tomoro Daguchi was delighted at his promotion. Most corrections officers wanted nothing to do with guarding super villains, but not him. Not that he wasn't wary around the lot, just that he wanted the pay bump and resume enhancer. Besides, most of them were fairly benign ability-wise. Weapon users were no more dangerous than the average criminal once they lacked their weapons. High tech geniuses weren't allowed access to anything other than rudimentary items and while they might have thought otherwise, no one beat you up with I.Q. points. The ones that were fancily dressed acrobats never had more than a fist to rely on. They weren't nearly the threat people thought.
And now it was time to show up for his first day of his new assignment. He went to the management's office and reported to the proper officials, finalizing bureaucratic paperwork and cutting through the last bit of red tape. Once the last of the forms were filled out and Okayed, he was given an interview with his immediate superior. That was how he found himself waiting in an interrogation room sitting in a mildly uncomfortable chair.
The wait was brief as the officer came in and greeted him by name before sitting down. He pulled out some papers and read them, lips moving slightly. Finally he looked at Tomoro. "Everything appears to be in order. There's just one more thing I need to personally ascertain. Have you ever at any time possessed a double X chromosomal structure?"
Tomoro stared at him for several moments. Finally he said, "Are you asking me if I'm a woman?"
"It doesn't matter what you personally identify yourself as," he quickly explained. "This question relates solely to a matter of genetics. So, have you ever at any time possessed a double X chromosomal structure."
"No, I'm an XY kind of guy," he answered.
"All right then. We'll get you started with your new assignment right now." The supervisor rose and indicated Tomoro should follow him out of the room. "Sorry about the question, but it's necessary for the man who you'll be guarding. You'd be surprised at the crap the union tried pulling when we said we were only taking male applicants. We had to explain why in this specific case we had to take that measure. And we still got crap since our security procedures theoretically make the guard's gender meaningless. But why take unnecessary chances? Some people just don't get it. This guy's dangerous, even if he used to be one of the good guys."
"Good guys? Which one" Tomoro asked.
"He was part of Eyeshield 21. Small-time group. Never went big league like the Avengers or the Fantastic Four. There's more of those types out there than you think. Anyway so this guy was a mutant. Sorry, I meant Alice."
"Mutant's fine with me. It's what they were called forever."
The supervisor became nervous. "Don't let HR find out about your using it or you'll get a grievance filed against you if the wrong person overhears. Play it safe and go with Alice until some new term becomes official." They came up to a sealed metal door, one that would have looked more appropriate in a bank vault. He had Tomoro place his thumb on an ID scanner next to it to make certain his identity was in the system. Although maybe it was used to winnow out shapeshifters. At least those that couldn't replicate fingerprints. "Anyway, so this Gibbon guy was just your standard agility type, except he had big hands and feet so I guess he was more agile than a normal guy."
"An acrobat," Tomoro provided.
"Yeah. One of them. Anyway, after he's been a hero for a while, he has one of those secondary Alice's kick in."
Tomoro rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you can still say mutation in that case. That's when they continue genetically changing and get additional powers, right?"
"Basically. In this case he had a massive physical transformation that made him stronger and more agile. But the real kicker was he got this pheromone ability. With it he can basically make any woman so attracted to him they'll obey him and do whatever he wants. And I do mean anything. That would be bad enough, but it gets worse. The guy's full blown delusional. He thinks women are actually into him, and when you get a look at what his secondary mutation did to him physically, you'll see why that ain't possible. So he refuses to stop using his power since in his mind he's not using any. It's subconscious or something.
"Anyway, after the new abilities kick in, he ended up making these two girls his teammates knew into, well they were his love slaves was what they were. So this freaks his teammates out because they know something's going on. Eventually they figured out how he did it, and boy were they pissed. Led to a big fight and he got beat and turned over to us. Once we ascertained how he did it and that he did do it, he goes to trial. Slick lawyers almost got him off saying pheromones are natural and it ain't his fault women like them. Luckily, the judge didn't see it that way, and he's found himself in a special cell here."
Another airtight door was opened and Tomoro saw the cell in question. It was made of some clear plastic, with very thick metal bars along its length. Filtration systems were hooked up to the cell, making certain none of his pheromones could escape as it provided an airflow into the airtight cell.
As to the incarcerated villain, he was dressed in a drab orange jumpsuit. The head that poked above the neck was that of, well it was as if someone had the head and face of a mandrill. Now that Tomoro looked more closely, he could see the arms were exceptionally long and both his torso and legs unnaturally thick. His attention was riveted to the newcomers as they entered the room.
"Hey, Mandrill," the supervisor said.
The villain shot to his feet, sharpened teeth revealed as he roared, "It's Irresistible Sexy Beast, you envious jerk!"
To Tomoro, his new boss said, "You don't actually have to do anything. Cell's sealed and he doesn't come out for any reason unless there's a system malfunction. Everything should automatically let us know, but check in on the radio so we have human eyes verifying. He's strong enough to rip your arms off, so unless there's a full team with you, it doesn't matter what happens to him. He faked a heart attack once, but we didn't fall for it. He hasn't tried anything since, but that doesn't mean he won't try to trick the new guy. You sit there." He pointed to a desk with a monitor on it. "Basically you'll be babysitting. Easy money. Call in if you have any questions." After making certain the system was working, the supervisor left.
The instant he departed, Mandrill approached the edge of the cell and spoke. "What is your lifetime dream?"
"You being quiet." Tomoro knew it wouldn't work, but he had to try.
It didn't. "Imagine your entire existence, you wanted only one thing. One thing you needed more than anything else, but it was denied you in any capacity. Everyone else but you could have it. Some people had so much of it, they tossed it away on a regular basis because they knew they could get more at any time. Imagine being trapped in a world like that."
"A silent one?" He hoped goading would make him give up. The stuff of dreams.
"I was. I'm serious when I say I contemplated suicide on numerous occasions. Many others have killed themselves for less. Sure, others told me, 'Monta, don't be so down, you'll get a girl,' but I never did. The worst ones were the girls that said it, the hypocrites. They said I was worthwhile as a boyfriend for 'someone', but that someone was never them. It was like a running joke, all of those who said it, while not a single one believed it. That's why I respected the ones that, when I asked them out, refused to my face. At least they were honest. No false platitudes to make you feel better when you should feel miserable because all your fears are justified. You are alone. And the world will see to it you will always be alone."
"Never been there. Married my high school sweetheart, and we have two children." Please kami above let him shut up.
Mandrill no longer reacted to the barbs, lost in memory. "And just when you thought you were damned in hell, because you were, salvation comes to the one who not only was the most worthy, but the one who needed it most. I no longer had to be alone. I developed an animal magnetism which women can't resist. Women say they want a quiet, understanding man, but that's a lie they tell themselves. What they really want is an animal that will order them around. And that's what I do, and every one of them loves me for it. The truth is, I am their ideal man, and when confronted with me, they cannot help themselves. No one enjoys heaven more than the soul that had been eternally consigned to hell."
Tomoro's jaw dropped. He really was full blown crazy. "Dude, you look like a monkey and the only reason any woman can stand you are those pheromones you excrete."
"LIES!" He hammered against the plastic so hard the entire cell shook, making Tomoro nearly fall out of his seat. But it held, nothing even marring the surface.
Mandrill was nearly rabid. "There are no pheromones! It's all me! They want me for who I am! Trying to undermine my confidence by lying to me about mythical pheromones won't work! I know the truth!
"Everyone is jealous because they want to be me! I'm every man's worst nightmare because I'm every woman's greatest fantasy! My teammates turned on me because of jealousy! The system locked me away because it fears me! They know their fragile egos could never endure the fact I am more seductive than they could dream! This is unjust!"
Now his voice took on a pleading tone. "I'll tell you what. You let me out, and I'll talk any dozen women you want into sleeping with you. They love me so much, they'd be willing to do that. Be a real man. Find it in yourself to not be jealous of me, and you can reap any reward you want."
"All I want are earplugs, Ape Face." Suddenly, pay raises weren't really enough to cover the maniac. You didn't need super powers to make people fear you. Crazy was more than enough.
As Tomoro began to regret his promotion, the airtight metal door flew off its hinges. Through the opening walked a large figure dressed in a plain black outfit with a loose fitting hood over the head. He was followed by four other similarly dressed figures. The last one in the room was different, wearing a purple conical mask and matching tabard with an 'H' on it. Thick arms and legs jutted out from the tabard, encased in chain mail, while he wore bulky leather boots and gloves.
One of the plain black outfits leapt up with clearly superhuman agility and landed feet first into Tomoro's face, kicking him out of his seat and making him skid across the floor, unconscious.
Hate Monger looked to the prisoner. To the largest member of his retinue, he said, "Release him."
That big one took a single look at the cage and declared, "Hey, it's an ape man. We don't need another ape man."
Hate Monger whirled on him, eyes blazing through the slits in his hood. "'Another ape man' would imply we already have one in our group, which we do not have, now do we?"
The large one gulped. "Nope. Never had one at all. So he'd be a welcome addition to our team with no ape guys."
Hate Monger brought his masked face next to the cell. "Mandrill, I will release—"
"That's Irresistible Sexy Beast," he corrected, then saw his rescuer glare even more menacingly at him than he had his cohort. It was the kind of glare that would make one not want to leave his cell, since worse than incarceration waited for him outside it. "Mandrill works for me, Sir."
The glare didn't waver. "Mandrill, I will release you if you agree to work for me in whatever capacity I desire. In exchange I will not only grant you freedom from here, but an opportunity to use your abilities to make society pay for incarcerating you."
Mandrill's eyes lit up. Making society pay? That was his second most powerful desire in the world. "Done."
And with that the largest member of the team smashed open the bars and plastic with a double fisted blow. For the first time in months Mandrill took a deep breath of non-processed air. It truly was the smell of freedom.
"Let's go." Hate Monger ordered the powerhouse to destroy the nearest wall to provide them egress from the facility. Again mortar and concrete proved no impediment to his strength.
Just as they were about to exit through the hole, Mandrill stopped by the unconscious Tomoro, then brought his foot down on all of his legs and arms, shattering them. Hate Monger snorted in pleasure, then confusion as the former prisoner went through the man's pockets until he found Tomoro's ID, then tossed the wallet aside.
Mandrill sensed his newfound partner's confusion. "He dared to mock my pain. While he's hospitalized, I'll be visiting his wife and showing her what she's been missing out on. He'll never be able to satisfy her again once I'm through with her. We'll see how a man who boasts he's never known rejection, to one who experienced nothing but a lifetime of it, deals with it."
Cruel laughter escaped Hate Monger's lips. "You know, I genuinely like you."
"I like you, too. You're the first guy I've met that's not intimidated by my animal magnetism."
"Animal magnetism!" Hate Monger laughed even harder at that.
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Tofu Ono sat at his desk in his office, after hours, waiting to give the most important speech of his life. And it wasn't hyperbole. This was the one that decided the course of the rest of his life. Seeing his old college friends had been a far greater blessing than a fun night on the town. Tofu now realized his life had become something similar to coasting along in a stupor. Complacent. But seeing them triggered memories of a better time, when he had been a better man. When he used to make things happen to make him happy. He hadn't been that man in far too long. It was time for the real Tofu Ono to come back.
It was time for momentous events to occur.
A voice from the entryway called out, "Dr. Tofu?"
There was a time when he'd have rushed to the door to usher her inside and been rendered a drooling idiot. But it was a delightful kind of idiocy, not like the more coherent idiocy he'd been engaging in for months now. It felt like an eternity ago when he had any measure of happiness. Maybe those days were coming back. But since they hadn't yet, this new him would remain seated. "I'm in back."
Kasumi entered, a bounce in her step. "You wanted to talk? Is it about planning some additional strategy on countering bad guys? I've been thinking about incorporating more size-changing, like we did against that intangible killer robot."
Tofu could barely keep the disdain from his face. Keeping it from his voice, though, was impossible. "No, this is about something important. It's time for this nonsense to come to an end. We'll give up this superhero drivel and announce our retirement to the Avengers, and unlike Captain Japan ours will be permanent. Sure it was fun," he nearly choked on the last word. "But it's over now and we can finally return to enjoying our real lives."
Kasumi stared at him silently for a full fifteen seconds. Finally she spoke. "In light of all you've done for me, I'm going to do you the greatest favor ever, and pretend you didn't say that."
Tofu's fist slammed on the desk top. "Pretend, pretend, pretend! That's all you ever do now. You risk your life pretending you're some kind of damn superhero-."
"I am a superhero!"
"You're a flying insect!"
Kasumi's face turned crimson. "That can blow a hole through an inch of steel and beat the hell out of people twice my normal size! I've helped save the world."
Tofu laughed. "No. Thor, Hulk, Iron Rose saved the world. You just happened to be there when it happened. They'll be perfectly fine without you, which they'll find out when you quit."
Kasumi's voice went cold. "They'll remove me from the team when they cart off my dead body."
"Which is exactly what I'm terrified of!" He threw up his hands in disgust. He couldn't believe that when he was laying down these cold hard facts, rather than having an epiphany, she was becoming more ridiculous. "Pym's damn machine must be affecting your mind."
"By showing me what I'm really capable of, which is more than I ever imagined. And now you want me to go back to being less than I am. That will never happen." She gave him a stare cold enough to match her tone. "I can reassure you that it didn't affect your mind."
"I know it didn't," he said confidently.
"You're the same self-centered ass you always were. I just didn't realize it until now." And with that she spun on her heel and walked out the door, slamming it hard enough to crack the wood.
Tofu was tempted to shoot up to twenty-five feet and grab her so he could seal her away for her own good, but she'd just shrink and slip away. Instead he settled for picking up the nearest object, a paperweight from his desk, and threw that at the door.
Well, that had gone the exact opposite of how he'd envisioned. How had she become so irrational, especially in her absurd rant about him? Self-centered? He was the exact opposite. Everything he had done was for her, put on a ridiculous outfit and risked his life to protect her while she lived this fantasy she had built around herself. And now he was asking for one simple thing which she was enraged he would even suggest. What had happened? She used to be ideal, and was now some kind of warped reflection of the sweet, caring Kasumi she'd been her entire life.
If Pym wasn't already dead, Tofu would gleefully have strangled him to death.
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Mandrill loved women's prisons. While he likened them to strongholds of females, which was a fantasy of his, the main reason was most of the staff were female as well. That meant they'd go along with whatever plans he wanted, because women had great taste in men and knew the real deal when it came up to them.
Mandrill fingered the outfit he wore. It was very similar to the other members of Hate Monger's crew, except a little looser. His hood was looser around the face as well, completely hiding his features, which he hated since women thought he was hot. But for some reason Hate Monger was determined he hide his identity both visually and with the generic name of 'The Master'. It really was a travesty that someone so seductive had to hide his features, practically a crime against humanity, but his personality was so awesome women could sense his studliness and were drawn to him anyway.
No wonder society hated him so. Not that he would forgive it.
After giving him his new name and outfit, Hate Monger informed him of what he had to do. Mandrill was amazed at the direction the plan took, since it precluded Hate Monger from personally profiting by it, which he could have tremendously. The mystery man really did want to bring Japan to its knees. Then again, so did Mandrill, which was why he was going along with the plan. Well, that and he was pretty sure Hate Monger would kill him in a very painful manner if he refused. But when a person decided forward was the only way to go, what difference did it make if you burned your bridges behind you?
In order to enact Hate Monger's plan, he needed some muscle. Mandrill knew exactly who to use. After all, when someone kicked your head in, you had a pretty good grasp of what they could handle. Upon informing him of who he wanted, Mandrill's new boss gave him the address of a female prison guard who was single and lived on her own. After seducing her, which consisted of showing up at her door and introducing himself, he had her contact some of her co-workers to come over to her place, one at a time, where Mandrill seduced them as well. Because he was that damn suave. Three days later, he had nearly the entire female guard population under his influence.
Now he found himself waiting outside the prison in a luxurious limousine provided by a lonely, wealthy widow, who adored him, but who he would not have sex with since she was really old and he could do better. But he made sure to flatter her since she was serving him so admirably. As with all women, whatever attentions he bestowed upon them were more than enough to sustain them.
Two o'clock finally arrived and the gates to the prison opened. As his chauffer drove him onto the grounds, he saw his loyal followers were waiting in position for him like he was a dignitary and they were an honor guard. The one he appointed leader informed him the handful of men, and women who were ignorant of his majesty, had been dealt with as had been instructed, and the prison was now under his complete control. He had her lead him to the main objective of this part of the operation: the so-called 'supervillain wing' of the facility.
Upon entering, Mandrill scowled as he saw a number of cells that were specially designed to contain the super-powered prisoners. It reminded him of his own unjust incarceration. Of course the difference was these were actually criminals, but since the whole system was criminal, it made everything shades of grey. At least he knew he was the good guy in all this, so whatever he did was fine, and whoever it happened to had it coming.
He entered the cell block with the 'celebrity' prisoners: the female members of the Serpent Society who had been apprehended by the Avengers shortly after they had stomped 'Gibbon, the Monkey Boy' unconscious. But he forgave them. This was the army, the 'Fem Force' that would serve him in his upcoming plan. While on one hand a genuine army appealed to him, Hate Monger had explained the difficulties in maintaining an extremely large force, including that the authorities, who still controlled things, could easily locate him. Instead a small cadre of super-powered talent would make up what sheer numbers normally provided.
Much to his delight, the Serpent Society was very much an equal opportunity employer since half of them were women, and all of them were hot. Well, except for Anaconda, but even highly unattractive women could serve a purpose in an organization, especially when they could bench press a car. As he paused in front of each one, it took but a moment for them to realize his awesomeness and genuflect before him. Asp, Diamondback, Black Racer, Coachwhip. It was like they were all recruited from a men's magazine. Black Mamba was probably the hottest, so she'd serve as his very personal bodyguard. The backbone of his Fem Force was now in place.
Finally he spoke, "Ladies, I am creating an all-female army to bring low this amoral nation who would confine such beauty, and you Anaconda, away from the world. All you have to do is obey me, your irresistible sexy beast of a leader, for as long as I want. You can be a sort of Praetorian Guard for being the first to sign on, so I'll treat you even better than most of the other women, since there will be a lot of them. What do you say?"
All of them agreed, as he knew they would. He had the guards bring the villainesses' weapons from the personal property room, as well as their outfits, and insisted they suit up before him. He basked in their luscious forms as they put on their uniforms. And to think, he'd never considered snakes all that alluring. Well, when these ones shed their metaphorical skin they were.
Satisfied with how events unfolded, and before anyone got wind something was wrong at the prison, he decided it was time to go back to his new lair. Or maybe headquarters was a better term. Well, roof over his head in any case. Just as he headed toward the exit, a female voice purred, "Hey there, Hot Stuff, how about inviting us to the party? We like working for big bads, and you seem the type."
He turned to the sound of the voice. It was one of two women sharing a cell. They appeared in their early twenties, one taller than the other. Both had red hair, bore a striking resemblance to one another that could only mean they were family, and were quite attractive. But it was the sultry gazes they were directing at him. Usually he had to talk to a woman before getting that response, turn on the charm, but they were doing it on their own. That made them interesting. "And you are?"
The taller one introduced herself as Blacklash, while the other one was Whiplash.
"And what is it you two do?" he asked.
Whiplash said, "Mix of magic along with high tech whips, as if the names weren't a giveaway to our weapons of choice. And as to what else we can bring to the table." The pair than removed their prison uniforms, showing they didn't have a high opinion regarding underwear since they didn't have any.
Now Mandrill was positively delighted. He always had to ask the women to do that, but these two were taking the initiative. And they were damn hot. He changed the plan and mentally made them his personal bodyguards. He'd still give Black Mamba a few one-on-one sessions to make up for it. He ordered one of the guards to grab their things as well.
His Fem Force had just grown by two. In a few days, once some details were worked out and groundwork laid, the next phase of the operation would take place.
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Yuji Daizaburo, head of the National Printing Bureau Printing Plant in Hikone, was bored. But printing bank notes was not the most thrilling thing in the world. Actually it was about as much fun as watching paint dry. Sometimes he dreamed of shaping all the money into paper cranes because that seemed exciting compared to what he was doing.
Truly one had the most boring job in the world when origami was considered thrilling.
The door suddenly opened, much to his annoyance. Everyone knocked. Everyone. He looked up to see Ami Tanaka in the doorway. He didn't care what she had to say, she was getting a reprimand. Though he supposed he should be grateful as she probably prevented him from slipping into a coma.
Just was he was about to chastise her, she raised a gun up and shot him in the chest three times. Ironically, since she was a poor shot, he survived the wounds and did slip into a coma from which he would never wake up.
There were some other cries throughout the building, all male, then silence. Ami called her master and awaited the lord of all's arrival. It hadn't taken any motivation on his part to get her to kill her boss. She had hated him for passing up promoting her on three different occasions.
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Mandrill entered the building, arms curled around the waists of Blacklash and Whiplash. One week with his Fem Force and already he controlled the fuel which made the machine called Japan run. Oh, the surprise they were in for. He was delighted events had gone exactly as planned. The female staffers he seduced had been able to take out security since they all belonged there, and security's senses were lax around people that one didn't think they needed security from. That allowed the former Serpent Society members to infiltrate the building and take down the rest of the staff that were not already loyal to Mandrill. Most of the defenses were designed to keep people out, not prevent people already inside from taking over.
So he strode through the most lucrative financial venture anyone could hope for. Most people joked about money making machines: he actually controlled them.
"I have to admit, this is an audacious plan," Whiplash said, posing sexily in her outfit, which was a leather bustier, thigh high boots, and elbow length gloves. She looked no different from any dominatrix, but as she had shown Mandrill, magic garments and nasty technological whips were a bit out of any dominatrix's usual realm.
"Money tends to equal power," Blacklash agreed. Technically she didn't wear any more or less than her sister. She had joked about the laws of conservation kicking in when they were magically created using the same spell. Her gloves only went partway up the forearm. Her boots were smaller, and the pants actually covered everything up to the waist. She even wore a hat. As to the top….
Two suspenders barely thick enough to cover the most important part of her breasts. By Mandrill's reckoning some of the fast movements she made should have had them shaking free and put everything on display, but somehow they never shifted in the slightest, no matter what she did. They always hid the most important part and just enough of the area around it, but nothing else. It had to have been magic that made them stay in place, since they came off easily enough when she wanted, as he could attest to firsthand. They were the best girls he had ever known since they initiated everything, and they were *really* inventive, to say nothing of their flexibility.
He was so lost in thought he was only vaguely aware Whiplash had just said something. "What was that?"
"So how much are we making off with?" she repeated.
"Oh, nothing. We're not stealing anything. Quite the opposite, really." And then he explained what the next stage of the plan was.
Both girls stared at him. "That is insidious," Blacklash said.
He loved the admiration. "This isn't about monetary compensation, it's about revenge." And then he smiled. "Besides, who needs money when you have the power of a babe army at your command? Now let's get those presses rolling!"
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People, Daredevil thought used exaggeration far too much. Like when they said, "I literally can't stand you," then spent the rest of the day around you perpetually pissing you off. Or when a supervillain said, "You'll never defeat me," a second before they went down from a billy club to the head.
So when people said, 'tension thick enough to cut with a knife,' it normally made him shake his head. But now, he could kind of understand it, though having super senses made it worse for him than normal people. That Wasp and Giant Man came in separately was the first tip off. That only happened when one wasn't going to show up. In fact some of the others had wondered if the two weren't married, though they never acted intimate. Even if they were just dating it had felt a bit off. Now, though, he was beginning to suspect they had been, since the amount of tension and anger directed at each other was like a married couple that had just discovered each one was cheating on the other at the same time.
Maybe it was Giant Man's drinking. Daredevil's olfactory sense made him aware of the growing man showing up half in the tank almost every time now, even if no one else seemed to notice. But to be honest, Giant Man became less uptight and more tolerable that way. He also tended to not hold back in a fight like he used to do, which helped the team. As far Daredevil was concerned it was a change for the better, and in any case to each their own.
Wasp was the exact opposite of her usual "happy-go-lucky shoot first who the hell cares about questions?" self. It was weird seeing her that way.
Maybe he should have expected something like this. After all, he was the only 'normal' person, personality-wise, on the team, though Hawkeye was fairly stable and reliable. Captain Japan was an egotistical jerk. Bucky wasn't all that much better, but could be more tolerable at times (and he was now convinced they were brother and sister given how alike they were. Probably twins). Thor was full of herself, but incredibly powerful so he could understand the mentality, even if the constant bragging about godhood was tiring. Hulk had actually grown on him. Sure sometimes he was like tossing around an unstable nuclear device, but he was like a big puppy most of the time. His alter ego could grate on the nerves, but he was no Cap. Iron Rose was such a corporate stooge she might as well have been a Kodachi Kunou sock puppet. Tigra alternated between sex kitten and amorous alley cat, and for some odd reason was fixated on Captain Japan despite a great guy like Daredevil being present. That meant she had questionable taste on top of her idiosyncrasies.
Yes, clearly he was the glue that held the team together with his level-headed thinking. In fact he was so sensible he wasn't going to get involved with the size-changing duo's issues. They'd have to work it out for themselves or get Doc Samson, 'Therapist of Heroes' to help them.
Gradually, others trickled into the meeting room at Avengers' headquarters. Bucky was the last to appear. Well, technically Hulk hadn't shown up, but he was iffy on ever appearing with his lack of direction sense, so it was decided to start without him and hope he showed up at some point.
Hawkeye, who had summoned the group, started things. "We've got a problem." She pushed some buttons on a console and the main view screen showed the information she desired. "Someone broke out all of the female members of the Serpent Society. That means the guys will be next, and that will double the problem that already exists."
Thor scoffed. "They managed but a small measure of temporary success due to surprise. Once their mettle was taken, they were dispatched with little effort. Such will not happen again. They are no threat. "
"I seem to remember someone had to come out of retirement to save the day," Bucky reminded her.
Thor's brow twitched. "T'was thy companion, not you. Thou should preen less."
Tigra piped up. "Handsome Captain is no here to point out he save the day. No reason Bucky can't do it for him." She shot the redhead a smile.
Thor's irritation doubled. "Thou were not there either."
"Is no point," Tigra said, ignoring the ire of the Goddess of Thunder. "Read file. Silly snakes not huge dangerous, but not joke either. Should be taken down fast."
"And half a Serpent Society is better than a full one," Iron Rose added. "We need to keep the rest in prison and put the ones roaming around back in. The question is, how do we go about it?"
Before the discussion could begin, Sasuke burst into the room and said, "Master Avengers. There's trouble."
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Ryouga Hibiki was trying to focus on the beeps coming from the transmitter sewn into his headband. Louder was better, and he was slowly closing in on his objective. That he wasn't the Hulk at the moment might be an issue with his team, but once someone tried to kill him it wouldn't be. Of course people trying to kill you could be considered an issue by itself, but then he'd be the Hulk, which was an issue for everyone else.
It seemed life was full of issues.
As Ryouga was walking along a street, that he had only gone past once so far, a semi with a flatbed trailer slowly drove by. He noticed pallets with large stacks of paper on them, and a number of women standing next to them.
One of them held up a megaphone and shouted, "Free money!" and the next thing Ryouga knew the women were throwing the paper over the sides of the flatbed and into the street. He bent down and picked one up. It was a 10,000 yen bill. There were lots of them, and more in an ever growing number as the truck continued making its way up the street. Ryouga thought he ought to do his civic duty and clean up as much of the litter as he could, and began to stuff them into his pockets.
Other people came to the same conclusion and began grabbing the money as well. Soon it was a frenzy of such ferocity it would have put a pack of starving sharks fighting over a single fish to shame. Some part of Ryouga's mind said he should have been repulsed by this display of avarice, but he was too busy delighting in finally having a large source of disposable income thrown right at his feet.
Life was really looking up for him.
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Iron Rose flew overhead, amazed at the scene before her. All that was left in every path the trucks took were riotous conditions. Normally peaceful, law-abiding citizens were fighting over money, often to the point of physical violence. At least some of them were smart enough to leave it at a handful and run for it. But for others every bill wasn't enough, even if they had so many they dropped as much as they picked up, ensuring they'd never come out more ahead. The hospitals would be filled to overflowing because of this.
She swooped in low to the closest flatbed and grabbed a pack of the monetary payload, then flew up and out of reach. She ran a quick analysis on the currency. All she needed was to prove it was counterfeit and then break up this ring.
Except to her surprise, it registered as legitimate. She scanned a second bill, then a third. They were the same. She was pondering what it could mean when she noticed the bills were all crisp, as though newly minted. The rest she had grabbed were in the same condition.
So, who was it that had access to freshly minted bills and could afford to give away truckloads of them for nothing?
The answer was: nobody.
"Avengers, we have a Crisis Level event on our hands."
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The quinjet hovered over the Hikone printing plant, sensors sweeping over it.
"We are not just going to go in and get our asses arrested, probably forever," Daredevil said.
"But the mint has been taken over," Iron Rose insisted.
Bucky scratched her head. "And how does giving people money make it a Crisis Level event? Trying to take over the world is Crisis Level. Trying to sterilize all but a handful of men on the planet, like Superia was going for, definitely Crisis Level. Cybertooth and his plan to bite everything… okay, that guy was an idiot. But giving away money? Charities do it all the time."
Iron Rose rolled her eyes inside her helmet. "You know how inflation works, right?"
"Of course. It's when you… uh oh."
"Exactly," she said. "In many ways it's worse than counterfeiting. You could eventually take those bills out of circulation by identifying them. But since these are real there isn't much that can be done at this point. And if it continues, well, if you want a quick way to collapse a society, this is one of the surest ways to do it. My analysis of the truck distribution indicates this is the source. We have to get down there."
"Not without proof," Daredevil insisted.
"Check this out!" Hawkeye, who had been situated next to the exterior monitor, focused it. The image of a woman in a skin-tight yellow outfit, with a pair of whips extending from her gloves, was seen entering a building.
"Coachwhip," the archer said. "It looks like we know why the Serpent Society got sprung. Time to take care of two problems at once."
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"Avengers quinjet landing outside," one of the women manning the security cameras informed Mandrill.
"Already? I expected to get at least another two runs out before someone figured it out." He stared at the screen intently as a ramp deployed from the side.
His bodyguards, Blacklash and Whiplash flanked him. Blacklash spoke, "Looks like it's time to pull out, Baby. I know guys hate to do that before finishing up, but sometimes it has to happen." She ran a finger under his furry chin.
Mandrill continued watching the screen, then laughed. "I think not. Were this the normal authorities, I'd have my Fem Force fight through them so we could make our getaway, but since this is the roster of the Avengers, I have a much better plan in mind. Still, it wouldn't do to let them grow suspicious. Warn Fem Force that they're coming through the front door and to prepare accordingly."
How unexpected. His most fanciful dream yet was about to be fulfilled. But he was owed it, so it was just. He wondered if humming, 'I've got the whole world in my hands,' would be gauche.
He did it anyway.
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Thor strode up to the very thick metal doors that heralded the entrance of the building. Apparently the government took preventing people from entering their moneymaking operations very seriously.
"We should make a plan," Bucky insisted.
"I shall destroy the door and dispatch the foes that lay yonder," Thor boasted. "They are but weak fools."
"But—, " Hawkeye started to protest, when Bucky placed a hand on the archer's shoulder.
"Huddle time," she said, and gathered everyone but Thor around.
On her part, Thor scowled at the Avengers, then the door. Planning was trivial nonsense. It was as she said, lacking surprise, these were most unworthy foes. And it was but half of the original team. What purpose plans when Asgardian might was all that was needed? She drew back her hammer and brought it forward, smashing the doors inward.
"Yield to the Goddess of Thun—" the rest was cut off as paralytic blast, explosive trick diamond, osmium tipped whip, elongated arms with super human strength, and a 130 pound human traveling at superhuman speed slammed into the goddess, knocking her backward a considerable distance.
However Fem Force's focus on the single intruder left them momentarily vulnerable, as Bucky had hoped. The villains were met with shield, arrow, billy club, bio-energy blast, claw, and repulsor blast. Anaconda was the only one who remained standing, and she succumbed to a second repulsor.
Thor regained her footing, finding Bucky standing next to her. The shield slinger said, "You were right. They were a bunch of pushovers. Thanks for distracting them."
"Teamwork is not unwarranted upon occasion." She really hoped there was at least one serpent left. She needed to take her anger out on someone for embarrassing her.
As they entered the building, and secured the villains, they noticed no one else tried to stop them.
Hawkeye kept an eye peeled, trying to spot anything. "You think they did this on their own?"
"Nah, I bet that Sidewinder guy is in charge again," Bucky said.
"It's odd, though." Daredevil focused his senses as far as he could. "Sidewinder was definitely a mercenary. Why give away money?"
"We'll ask once we find him," Iron intoned ominously.
With no one else challenging them, they went deeper into the facility. They hadn't been inside long when Tigra recoiled, shaking her head furiously. "Something smell terrible."
The others paused and sniffed the air. Daredevil said, "I've got nothing, but your sense of smell is better than mine."
"My analyzers detect no toxins." Iron Rose said, confident the silly kitten had gotten it wrong.
The group had barely moved another twenty feet when Tigra held her stomach and said, "Smell very bad. Tigra think going to throw up." And then did so.
"Um, I think maybe you'd better go back to the jet," Bucky suggested. She wasn't a sympathetic puker, but you didn't need supersmell to hate the scent of vomit.
Thor nodded sincerely. "None have stomach for battle when emptying it."
It was a testament to how terrible Tigra felt that she didn't protest, telling the others to be careful instead.
The facility was curiously deserted. They encountered no one until they entered a larger room with a hooded man and two really scantily clad bodyguards at the far end of it.
Everyone except Daredevil looked askance at the pair of women, but he could tell from the others' reaction there was something about astounding about them. He also finally noticed an odd… something in the air. He couldn't understand what there was about it that could have made Tigra sick, if that was it, but it was odd, unlike anything he had smelled before.
Bucky pointed at the trio. "Let me guess. Hooded Idiot and the S+M Twins?"
The girls held out their arms and whips suddenly sprang out of their gloves, despite there not being any space to conceal them. "We get that a lot, surprise, surprise," Whiplash coiled her whip around her body, making a great production out of licking the handle.
"Comes with the costume, so you'll have to try better than that," Blacklash confirmed. "Why don't you call us sluts who can't keep their legs closed? Oh, wait, we have enjoyable sex all the time. Guess not either."
Whiplash said to her sister. "Remember that guy that tried insulting us by saying our asses were fat? I was like, 'Oh honey, when you have guys throwing themselves at you left and right, only an idiot would be insecure about their looks'."
Blacklash shrugged. "You might want to skip over trying for the psychological edge and go straight to the threat."
Thor leveled her hammer at them. "If thou are responsible for this chaos, then it is time to fall." Then realized she had done exactly what the women had said. Bah, she should have just thrown Mjolnir at them. That would have shown the harlots.
"But before that, give up the serial numbers of all the bills you put out there," Iron Rose said, bringing her arms up and aiming them at the trio.
Mandrill said," I have a better idea. Female Avengers, take out your male counterparts."
Luckily for Hawkeye, even as she started to bring her bow up, intent on aiming at Giant Man, Bucky's superior reflexes allowed her to react first by bringing her shield up and slamming it into the archer's head, knocking her out. Daredevil was brought low when Thor backhanded him. Giant Man was still trying to process what was happening when Wasp shot him in the face.
It all happened so fast. The pain of the blast, the anger at Kasumi's irrational anger, the betrayal that she would hurt him, it was too much. Already on edge, he snarled out in pain and rage, trying to hit her with all his strength, holding nothing back. Fortunately for her she flew out of the way, while Iron Rose punched him in the stomach. The pain crumpled him to the ground, unconscious.
Mandrill did a backflip in joy. "I knew it. I'm such a stud, I can get superheroes to side with me because I've got that irresistible animal magnetism. Let's face facts. There is no woman on the face of the planet that can say no to the ultimate studmuffin!" He shook his fist up to the heavens. "I am a living sex god!"
The sisters smiled conspiratorially to one another. Whiplash ran her hands along his body. "That's right, Baby. Now what do we do with our new recruits?"
He looked the women over. He wasn't into, whatever you would call sexual interest in insect-sized women. But there was probably a name for it, like those guys that had a thing for ponies. And Iron Rose's armor was too bulky to judge: she could be ugly and flat-chested behind it. But Thor, statuesque wasn't a term that did her justice. Bucky was bouncingly pleasant as well. He envisioned having redhead as an hors d'oeuvre, then moving on to a divine main course.
Drool was unbecoming, so he wiped it away. "Welcome to my team. You'll be known as Fem Force from now on. Don't worry about being the new girls, I'll let you spend some quality time with me when we get to my new pad. And since this operation is blown, we'll head out."
The female Avengers were as obedient and docile as every other woman Mandrill had known. They followed him as he instructed the normal women to keep printing up and sending out as much money as they could before they were caught, and to just go ahead and give up when they were. While they might be sacrificed for the cause, he didn't want it to be literal since they had served him faithfully. Once society had fallen and he was made an overlord of some kind, he'd secure their release for helping him.
He was thoughtful that way.
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Giant Man felt someone shaking him, the movement caused pain to shoot through his body and jar him to consciousness. His face hurt a lot. His stomach hurt more. The ribs were at least bruised, maybe broken.
"Good, you're finally awake."
That was from Daredevil, Hawkeye at his side. It took a moment to remember what happened.
Oh, right, the final straw.
As soon as the phrase entered his mind, he understood it to be the truth. When the person you sacrificed everything for, put your life on hold for, shot you in the face, you were entitled to call it quits. Because lines had to be drawn somewhere.
As Giant Man came to his conclusion, he noted Daredevil was still droning. Like anything he said mattered. Giant Man deigned to pay attention, mostly because he still hurt a lot and didn't feel like moving.
"Whatever's controlling them is almost certainly scent based. That was probably what made Tigra nauseous. I'd wager it only affects women, since he could have ordered the three of us to stand aside rather than have the women beat us up. It would also explain why he only went for the female members of the Serpent Society. The problem is, I'm not sure how to counter it and free them from the control. It's not like we can make them stop breathing. This could be a problem."
"Don't worry about it then." Giant Man said, and it felt right. "Just let it go. Tell the authorities and let them handle it."
Both Hawkeye and Daredevil stared at him. "Our friends are in danger. We have to—."
"They aren't my friends!" he shouted. "I've had it! This wouldn't be happening if we'd stayed out of it. When you go courting danger, don't complain when it finds you and you pay the consequences. There's nothing about any of this that shouldn't have been handled by the proper authorities. As you pointed out at the beginning of this fiasco, the government is very testy when people mess with their money. They would have come in probably with guns blazing. Instead we stuck our noses in and got them bitten off."
"If this is about you and Wasp," Daredevil began.
"She attacked me!" he raged.
"She was under some kind of mind-control," Hawkeye assured him, unwilling to explain how she knew it for fact. There was still the little problem of how to keep from falling under the influence like before.
Words no longer meant anything to Giant Man. "She could have fought it if she wanted to! But she didn't! She attacked me like it was the most natural thing in the world! And the pathetic thing is, if I'd told her not to come since this is would be the end result, she'd have done it anyway because she's that stupid! Even when you tell her she's being stupid, she just gets pissed. So you know what, screw her! Screw everyone! I quit!" He shrank down to normal height so he could leave more easily. No more looking up to keep from bouncing his head off ceilings, which happened all the time. And it was not the fault of society for making small doorways. That one was all on him.
Hawkeye and Daredevil stared at him as he left. Then the blind adventurer snarled, "At least have the decency to quit after they've been rescued."
Giant Man didn't slow. Didn't even turn. "They think they're such hot stuff, they can rescue themselves. I'm no one's punching bag any more. I'd say good luck on not getting killed, but I don't care if you do." And he left, feeling terrible at how things had gone, but angrily satisfied that he was smart enough to walk away. He was right. They were wrong. Kasumi wanted to be some sort of insane superhero, well, sometimes you encountered someone you couldn't handle. Bigger dog around and all that. He'd warned her, and she ignored him. No, worse, attacked him without a moment's hesitation. Mind control his ass. She was angry at him for trying to make her see common sense and was taking her anger out on him. It was her fault, so she was on her own and had no one to blame but herself.
It was over, and to celebrate, he was going on a weekend long bender. Maybe even week long if he felt up to it.
And so it was the Avengers roster became one less.
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Mandrill and his Fem Force arrived at his palatial estates. Well, technically the widowed heiress owned them, but she had bequeathed them to him unofficially, which made it his place. He let her live there, free of charge of course. Just because she was old was no reason to turn her out on the street. She made an excellent maid, actually. It was surprising since she'd come from money and had always had maids do her cleaning for her. Maybe she was just naturally talented that way.
He assigned the Serpent Society to guard duty. They'd change out of their official uniforms and wear black suits and sunglasses so they just looked like female guards rather than easily identifiable supervillains. It avoided a lot of potential trouble, but they could still do the job. Normally he preferred them in their pool side guard outfits, which were skimpy bikinis or sometimes birthday suits depending on his mood, but he'd let his new members guard him and prove their worth that way.
In fact, it was time to come through with his promise and spend quality time with the new recruits. Well, Thor and Bucky anyway. Although now that things had calmed down, hadn't Tigra been on site? What had happened to her? Not that it really mattered.
He wasn't into furries. The whole human animal thing turned him off.
After a long day of trying to ruin Japan's economy, he needed to clean himself off. Luckily the original owner of the house had a fascination with European architecture or something. The bath was about the size of a small pool with fluted columns lining it. It was even heated. He had entertained nearly all of the women in his employ there at one time or another, though Blacklash and Whiplash were by far his favorites. They worked better together than any of the other girls. Actually when he had two women at the same time, they usually got in each other's way which detracted from the entertainment value of the act. It never occurred to him you'd have to practice that sort of thing.
That was why he decided on only Bucky for now. He'd build up to Thor, and find out how divine she truly was. Being so sexy even goddesses threw themselves at him was heavenly.
It was time to get down to the nitty gritty. "Bucky, I'll need you to help me take my bath."
"Of course," she said as casually as if someone had asked her to pass the salt.
"Thor, you can, well, keep things sunny. I like bright sunny days."
"No storm shall interfere with thy happiness," she assured him.
He looked at Wasp. "I guess, help with the garden, like flying insects do."
"I'm not used to gardening, but I can water it if you'd like."
"Sure," he said distractedly, ordering Iron Rose to assist her. He didn't really care about them: he just didn't want to seem rude. To the sisters, he said, "Guard the bath while I give the new recruit an introduction to the team."
"You enjoy yourselves," Whiplash said sweetly as the pair went into the baths.
As he entered, Mandrill considered allowing Bucky to undress him -he knew she could hardly wait- but he decided to do it himself for a change. He had just finished when he realized she hadn't stripped yet. Right, pretty much every woman he met, except for the 'Lashes, liked being led. Sometimes he'd prefer a little aggressiveness on the part of his women, but he guessed it was just a common thought among them.
"Go ahead and disrobe."
She did so without hesitation. She might have had the hottest body yet. Very nice dimensions, perhaps a little on the short side, but outstanding attributes with an athletic frame. While she didn't exactly put the Squad to shame, she was better than any of them.
Mandrill entered the water. He rested against the side, enjoying the warmth. One bad thing about his secondary mutation was his entire body was covered in fur. Before the change, he'd have thought it would turn women off, but he was delighted to discover it was no impediment to romance.
After letting his muscles unwind, he beckoned Bucky into the bath. He'd allow her to wash him, then they could move on to the good stuff.
As she entered the warm water, the hero's body underwent its usual metamorphosis.
As soon as the gender change occurred, Ranma's thought processes became clearer. To make matters both more simple and worse, he remembered everything. It took a second to realize that his female form had no revulsion to what had happened, and that female obedience to this… thing, had seemed normal from that perspective. He would have gone along with whatever this guy wanted without doubt, or even hesitation. And it had been clear from the start what he really wanted.
This was the most insidious villain he had ever faced. So much so he was nauseated. "You son of a bitch. You were gonna… I can't believe you. You nearly made me… Oh man you are so going to pay for…."
Ranma trailed off as, after the initial shock of his transformation wore off, Mandrill's own features were at least as maddened as Ranma's own. Perhaps even worse. The intensity was such even he was taken aback, especially since he was the victim here.
"You… you… you piece of shit!" Mandrill was practically foaming at the mouth. "How dare you trick me! How dare you make me believe you were a hot chick that was into me! How dare you mock me this way! All my life I've been rejected and ridiculed! And now, when I've finally been given my greatest wish, and all I want to do is indulge in it, once again you torment me by pretending to be a girl! Damn you for trying to twist my dreams into nightmares!"
Ranma collected his wits. "I didn't do nothing. You did it to yourself, you disgusting pervert. You controlled my mind somehow-."
"I can't control minds, liar!" he raged. "I'm irresistibly sexy! You're trying to trick me, so I'm going to kill you!"
With superhuman speed Mandrill leapt out of the water, spraying it everywhere. A lesser person would have hesitated and been crushed under Mandrill's weight, but years of training enabled Ranma to dodge left and evade the attack.
Before Ranma had a chance to counter, Mandrill lashed out with one of his long arms, catching Ranma in the side of the head. The force of the blow made him lose his balance for a second, and his larger foe was upon him.
There was no technique to Mandrill's attack: it was all animal-like ferocity backed by inhuman strength and agility. Ranma was unable to do anything but stay on the defensive, suffering blow after blow which, even when he blocked, served to slowly wear him down. His forearms would be covered with bruises, and a few shots that got through meant sore ribs and swollen face.
Frustrated at losing ground, Ranma took a chance and pretended to lose his footing, falling back in the water. As he hoped, his foe took the bait and went to leap on top of him, where he could employ his superior size and strength to drown his foe.
But Ranma had been counting on that. He was prepared by holding his breath and laying with his back on the bath bottom, his legs curled up in front of him. When Mandrill leapt on top, Ranma's feet were in his gut, and with his back braced against the tile, he used all his strength to hurl the simian-like mutant across the water. This time it was Mandrill's turn to slip, only it was no feint. He stuck his head against the tile. A blow that would have broken a normal man's skull only disoriented him momentarily.
That was the only opening Ranma needed. He began raining blows into Mandrill, holding nothing back due to his own rage. The first two shots to the villain's head made his disorientation more than momentary, and two shots into his body made breathing difficult.
But Mandrill was both enraged and desperate. He lashed out with a fist, this time catching Ranma cleanly and opening a deep gash on his forehead. Blood began to flow down, adorning him in a crimson mask.
Mandrill snarled and leapt again, grabbing at Ranma. His superior strength would win out in any sort of wrestling contest. Just as he was about to secure his grip, Ranma managed to turn the villain's force against him with a Judo style toss hard enough to shatter tile with his body.
Mandrill wasn't as injured as it should have made him, and he lashed out with a foot, causing more damage to Ranma's mid-section. Injured too much to jump on top, Mandrill settled for another lunge. Both combatants exchanged fists, sacrificing offence for defense.
Despite his superior attributes, Mandrill felt he was losing. Fear and anger drove him to desperate lengths, and he again tried to use his strength by grappling with his foe. Just as he was about to wrap both arms around Ranma the smaller man nailed him in the jaw with an uppercut that broke teeth and concussed the villain.
Ordinarily Ranma would have gone easy on a clearly dazed opponent, but not after what had happened and what nearly happened as well. He battered Mandrill's head mercilessly until he was unable to defend himself. Then he wound up and really hit him hard one last time.
Mandrill dropped to the tile with enough velocity to shatter even more. This time he didn't get up.
The fight was over. Ranma thought there was an outside chance the last shot might have even killed his foe. Somehow he didn't feel the least bit sorry about it. But then he saw the chest move.
Ah well, not every victory was ideal.
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From the doorway to the baths, Blacklash and Whiplash observed the outcome of the duel. They had heard the sound of fighting right after it had begun and barged in. When they saw their boss fighting the strange man, no Bucky present, the two were confused, but made no move to guard the Mandrill's body, as was their job description. They simply waited until the outcome was decided.
Ranma had failed to notice either of them, too exhausted and assessing his wounds. Softly, Blacklash said, "Looks like our Big Bad met his match. Think we should finish the hunk off? And I don't mean the way we'd prefer."
"Nah. He earned the victory, though I'd like to know how he got in here," Whiplash said. "Mandy was a means to an end, but it's pretty obvious he's not the guy in charge, and I don't like wasting my time with second stringers. Though he did put in a pretty good showing until now. Even the whole female army thing was a pretty good idea. Too bad it didn't play out longer."
Blacklash nodded in agreement and turned. They would head to the garage and lift one of the vehicles, taking the time out to grab some of the jewels lying about. "I know what you mean. Only the best for us. I want to be the muscle for someone I actually respect. Want me to respond to the snap of your fingers? You'd better be ruling over something of value."
Whiplash followed her sister. "Besides, the sex was nowhere near as interesting as I thought it would be. He was just way too excitable. I'm halfway tempted to wrap that stallion up and see what he's worth, but we'd better not linger. No telling who else might drop by, and I don't want to have to deal with anyone I don't have to for what might be questionable sex."
And with that the pair left both the estate and Mandrill's employ.
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[End Chapter]
Omake:
Author: A man who tried to sound sage once said, "If a hero lives long enough, he'll eventually become the villain."
Mandrill: What the hell are you talking about? I showed up once as part of a group, in what was basically a prologue, and might have had two paragraphs to myself. How the hell is that long enough to go bad? And that saying is demonstrably untrue. Otherwise no one would like heroes since you're always looking over their shoulder as to when they'll turn on you. Who comes up with trite crap like that? And how is going from Gibbon to Mandrill imaginative? How about this, 'Dumb authors think changing a monkey into another monkey is profound.'? I could have found the Mandarin's rings. That would have been cool. I could have disintegrated people. And characters from Sorcerer Hunters? That's over 20 years old. Watch something new.
Author: (Hands Mandrill Sorcerer Hunters manga)
Mandrill: (Starts reading it). Damn. The girls actually went around like that in the manga? And it's not outright hentai? Looks like it had an actual plot. Hmm. (walks off, somewhat placated)
End notes: Yay. A longer chapter. And finally some major plot development. Hope this longer one was satisfying, even if there wasn't any humor in it.
