Avenging
Book 2: Chapter 4
Building a Better Ant Farm
Part 1
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As always I do not own the rights to the numerous characters or series within.
Previously: Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane went on a girls only camping trip so Kasumi could make an announcement. Also Captain Japan went to a superhero party and almost had a bad thing happen to him, but luckily Tigra saved the day.
Also this arc is a multi-parter.
Xxxxxxxxxx
"Welcome to my humble abode."
Haruki Shirogane's use of the word 'humble' was the inverse of the actual definition. Ranked among the wealthiest people on the planet at the age of 68, he lived on a vast estate, in a gigantic mansion decorated in the most expensive ornamentation money could buy. It was as if someone had said, "The Taj Mahal is quite fancy," and he responded with "I'll show you what a lightweight Shah Jahan was," and then he did.
The introduction was for the benefit of his guest, Shizuka Homura. He was a politician, relatively young for his position in his 30's. He had inherited a considerable financial empire from his father, but had opted for public service instead, with said fortune helping him win his office. Due to his open opposition to Ariyoshi and her subsequent disgrace, his star had recently risen in the Diet, though not at the fallen councilwoman's original pace.
Haruki knew Homura well enough that the councilman's opposition to her hadn't been ideological. Homura had entered politics with an eye on becoming Prime Minister and Ariyoshi had the inside line on the position. His coming at her from the opposing side had proven a losing strategy until she stumbled and took herself out of the race. Now he had a chance, though there were some hurdles in his path.
Haruki knew why Homura was not ascending on the smoother path his predecessor had. Ariyoshi's allies in the media, and similar influential and powerful organizations, had been of a similar mentality to her. Not that the conspiracy theorists were right and they gathered together in cigar smoke-filled backrooms plotting to take over the world –they weren't the Magnificent Ten for goodness' sake—rather they met openly at parties they invited one another to. With drink flowing and much merriment, ideas were exchanged and opinions voiced on what was wrong with society and how it could be improved. Some ideas were met with approval and general agreement and then… well the results weren't all that much different from the backroom scenario. Ariyoshi had been a natural at framing ideas and knowing when to mention them at maximum receptivity. When she spoke people listened, then nodded.
Haruki knew this because while Homura had not received invitations to those parties, the elder man had. After all, he had quietly backed Ariyoshi (but not so quietly that he didn't let her know what he was doing) so they were more than eager to have him around to listen to their pitches. The alignment wasn't ideological on his part though: he simply wanted to curry favor with an important politician to facilitate his own plans for the future. But many of her allies were 'true believers' like her, and their alliance rested on who was saying what they wanted, rather than who looked like they were going to win. Homura had made it clear in his opposition he was not of a similar mentality, and thus he had an uphill battle when dealing with those people: one while wearing ice skates.
The changing situation was why Haruki had engineered the upcoming contest. He had lost a powerful political ally and needed a new one. Homura needed money to push him up the hill. The upcoming wager would put his desires up against the politician's and either one of them, or the third party involved in this, would win.
Well technically the fourth side might win, but that would make it a draw for everyone else rather than a loss.
"My father thought highly of you. A rare thing, I assure you," Homura told him.
"And I him." Which was an overstatement, but Haruki was a master of politeness. No one had ever heard him utter a word of genuine anger toward another human being. Not because he was that nice, but because of how he viewed humans. "Let's meet our other guest."
The pair entered an open air two-story library. Shelves filled with books lined every wall, including those of the second floor. Again the furnishings reeked of opulence.
"I actually do read some of them from time to time," Haruki provided with a touch of amusement.
There was one other person in the room, an older woman, dressed in a brilliant kimono, that was probably in her fifties but trying to look a decade younger. It was clear she must have been ravishing in her youth, and still would be regarded as attractive by most. Unless they knew her true personality, as Haruki did. Kyoko Saionji had been born a predator. Everything that entered her line of sight was prey to her in one way or another. If there was such a thing as a human shark, she was it, though unlike the ocean's eating machine she disguised it very well. As near as Haruki could determine, the only thing she had ever expressed protective feelings toward was family, which was the bait Haruki was counting on working. She was also ranked among the wealthiest people in the world, though not quite as highly as him. But she had enough to wager to make his dreams come true.
He introduced the pair to one another. After that he locked the doors to the library, which met with curious looks from both guests.
"I prefer my game room be away from prying eyes. At least the one where the important games take place." There was mirth in his eyes. He wasn't really a showman, but it would keep them guessing and prevent them from understanding who he really was inside. No one knew, and he never wanted anyone to find out. Not until everything was in place anyway. Then those who were left would discover it firsthand.
He went to two light sconces and twisted each slightly. He then went to four suits of armor at the corners of the room. Each was on a pedestal which, when he pulled certain fixtures at their base's, made them able to be rotated. After precisely turning each one, there was the sound of movement behind one of the walls. Then a row of shelves moved backward to show a passage behind them.
The pair looked at him in disbelief. "I saw that in a video game once and simply had to build one myself," he said in feigned amusement. More breadcrumbs on a false trail that led nowhere. No one could know the real him.
The passage led downward. The steps were concrete and illumination electrical, not at all like the video game with its collapsed walls and fiery torches. There were limits to how much of the illusion he was willing to use. When they arrived at the bottom it opened into another room, the first to not be opulent. Rather it was mostly sedate, with bluish metal walls and a large flat table dominating the middle of the room. It too was metal and fixed to the floor. Its length and width allowed up to a dozen people to sit around it, though there were only four chairs at present, one on each side. Nothing was on the grey surface of the tabletop. The chairs were high-backed with padding to make sitting in them comfortable, a touch of a contrast from the rest of the room's decor. The walls held no adornments other than electrical lights. Drab and austere were the two words that came to mind.
What dominated the newcomers' attention was the bizarre robot sitting in a chair at one end of the table. It was colored gold and humanoid, but its proportions were slightly off. Its waist was too narrow and chest too big. Its arms too long and too spindly. It had a place for a face, but there were no features, just a black surface. The most bizarre thing was its headpiece. It was twice the size of its head with a large round disc with concentric circles on the front. Wires led from around the disc to the 'ears' of the head. Its purpose was unfathomable.
"What is that?" Kyoko asked.
"It's called the Prime Mover," Haruki stated proudly. "It was built by Dr. Doom himself to play games of strategy against him, since he regarded everyone else's intellect as too inferior to challenge him. I purchased it from Doom himself, which is quite the accomplishment since he rarely parts with anything he values. I admit it cost an ungodly sum of money, but it is unique and worth it. I suppose being deposed has taxed his finances a bit."
"And you invited us here to show off your new toy?" Homura guessed.
"I'd never waste your time, or mine, for something so narcissistic." Which was the truth. "I'd prefer using my 'new toy' for its intended purpose. Now I'm no Dr. Doom, so rather than going one on one against the robot and almost certainly losing, I came up with an alternative. We'll play a game against each other as well as the Prime Mover."
Haruki saw both were intrigued. He knew they would be. "Prime Mover, explain your primary game mode to the others."
The robot spoke in a very mechanical voice that would never be mistaken as coming from a human. "While I am capable of playing conventional games such as chess, shogi, or other similar pastimes, due to my advanced programming I would play these perfectly, with the best-case scenario a tie, thus making playing them meaningless. Instead I have been created to play games using humans as the pieces and the world the gameboard.
"A scenario is agreed upon and the pieces the other player or players choose are pitted against my selections. The 'human factor' makes the outcome fluid and with a high degree of unpredictability. Even with my vast programming involving the intricacies of human behavior, there is always a chance I could lose. For example: Dr. Doom once pitted the forces of Nick Fury and his agents of SHIELD against my pieces of Treize Khushrenada and his Model Soldiers."
Homura looked at it in shock. "New York was nearly destroyed in the 'Mobile Suit Incident'."
"Yes. By my calculations there had been a 71% chance of that outcome which would have resulted in victory for me. Fury proved more tenacious than my calculations accorded. This is the human factor which can influence victory."
Haruki said, "So you can understand the appeal of playing this game. The more players involved, the more difficult it is for the Prime Mover to win due to the increased variables."
"And what game is it you propose we play?" Kyoko asked.
Now it was time for the hook. "The most dangerous game of all: a contest against super powered beings. But not just individual ones, that would be too simple. I propose against going up against teams. Each of us will pick a team to kill. The Prime Mover will assign a point value to how powerful the team in question is. Obviously the more powerful the team the more difficult they are to kill, decreasing the likelihood of success. But pick too low a hanging fruit and if your opponent succeeds against the more difficult one, then you lose."
"What if we don't kill the entire team, but only a few members?" Homura asked.
"We'll assign points for how powerful each individual is and how many are eliminated. That way if no one manages an entire team, we'll use that for scoring. However should someone kill every member of a team, that is automatically more valuable than someone who kills all but one member of another team, even if the team is more powerful. Think of it as a perfect score bonus for clearing all the obstacles."
Kyoko had an eager gleam in her eye. "While this sounds thrilling, I know you, Shirogane. You prefer playing games with wagers involved."
He had her. That was a certainty, but he knew that from the beginning. All that was left was the technicality of her acknowledging it. "I was getting to that. Since this is the biggest game we have ever played, we'll play for the highest stakes. Five hundred million dollars each. Winner take all. Unless its our esteemed Prime Mover, then it's a push and everyone gets their money back."
That took Kyoko aback, then her ephemeral state became thoughtful. "That is quite the sum. Losing that much would set me back at least a year or two."
"I think you overestimated my worth," Homura said, disappointed. "I would have to sell all my assets to get that much, and I'm not *that* eager to play any game."
Which Haruki had known before he made the suggestion. He had done his research. All of it. "I think we can accept something as a cash equivalent: political favors. You know, the usual. Putting in exceptions to laws whose conditions make people like us exempt. Knowing in advance what legislation will pass so we can set ourselves up to come out ahead. Maybe vote on something we want. Obviously we won't do anything to damage your career since that would make you less effective to us."
"It would behoove you to help me get as far as I can." Now there was a slight smile.
"Exactly. Even should you lose you would gain something: our backing. And if you win outright…." A billion dollars could buy many favors to offset the hurdles others had set up in front of him. Perhaps enough to get him that Prime Minister seat. Besides, there was something irresistible about that number, one billion. It made everyone's eyes sparkle when there was a chance it would become theirs.
"That would be acceptable to me. I'll play," Kyoko said.
That settled it for Homura. "I'm in."
As Haruki had known from the start. That was what it was like when you understood everything. He clapped his hands together in not feigned anticipation. "I don't know about you, but I'm eager to get this show on the road. Would it be acceptable to start looking over teams and their values? We won't finalize anything until everyone agrees upon who they want as their targets."
"Alpha Prime." Kyoko said without a moment's hesitation.
The men looked at her, then turned toward Prime Mover. "What's the value on that target?" Haruki asked.
A hologram emitted from the disc atop the head showing off the members of the all-female team. Next to it was a point total as well as a breakdown on each member's value.
"They aren't worth much," Haruki said. "Are you sure you don't want to aim a little higher?"
"They attacked my nephew's underground fighting operation and had him arrested. They will pay for that with their lives." An utterance with enough venom that made it clear she had intended to kill them at some point.
Haruki was glad he'd gotten to her before she'd taken matters into her own hands. After all, Kyoko was why he'd chosen super teams as their competition.
"Show me the Reborn." Homura ordered Prime Mover as he held his hand to his chin in thought. Many a fellow Diet member had seen that pose and knew it meant he had a goal in mind and was on the move to claim it.
He smiled when he saw the number next to the team. "They're my targets."
This was progressing faster than Haruki had anticipated. It was rare delight like this percolated in him, though he made certain to give no outward sign of it. "I'll admit since I was the one who came up with the challenge, I have already thought about matters and chosen my target. My only concern was one of you would try and select them first. Show the Avengers."
Again Prime Mover showed the image of the team in question next to the point total.
Kyoko took little notice while Homura lifted in eyebrow. "They might have the highest total, but I doubt you'll be able to kill all of them. Maybe any. They are one of the preeminent teams in the world for a reason."
"But if I can get them all, I win automatically." He'd already come up with a number of strategies to take them on. While he doubted he could eliminate everyone in one go, he could whittle them down by ones and twos, making them increasingly vulnerable. And who knew, perhaps luck would be on his side and he *could* get the entire team in one shot.
The highly robotic voice of Prime Mover broke Haruki's considerations. "And now for my selection."
The holographic screen showed its choice. Even Kyoko, who was clearly plotting ways of killing her targets, found her attention riveted to it.
"That's an… interesting pick," Haruki admitted.
"They're not heroes," Kyoko pointed out.
"The rules stated super powered team. That means any team."
"More points than any but the Avengers," Homura said. That feeling of near certain victory, one that had settled over him with Haruki trying to bite off more than he could chew, drifted away a bit.
"Aside from their raw power, there is an additional danger factor to them in their ruthlessness," Prime Mover explained.
"Indeed," Haruki agreed, then informed the others, "Prime Mover doesn't cheat. Any of us could have selected them if we'd thought about it."
"Time has proven them difficult to kill," Kyoko pointed out.
That truth settled the issue for Homura. "I have no objections."
"Then we've settled on our selections and the game can get underway. The time limit is one month," Haruki said. "After all, killing heroes is no simple task, or they'd already be dead. That should be sufficient time for one or two attempts, but not drag things out too long. We do want a resolution after all."
Once more the pair agreed. And with that the meeting broke up, since the game of life and death they'd chosen was afoot, and with the stakes involved, everyone was eager to win the competition.
Ever the polite host, Haruki escorted them out from the secret room, through the house and to their chauffeured vehicles, openly wishing them luck and naturally not meaning it. Once they had departed he went to officially make the arrangements for eliminating the Avengers and helping himself to that half billion dollars and politician in his back pocket. That money and influence were required in his plans. Luckily he had known both would rise to the occasion and accept the challenge. They were, after all, humans.
Haruki Shirogane had grown up in a poor farming family from a rural area. There was no one his age around, which meant he had to entertain himself for the most part. His life was fairly typical until one day his family bought him an ant farm. Most would have been bored out of their minds, but he had become fascinated watching his captive insects work out their existence in their unique manner. It was alien at first, but eventually made sense, their movements, construction of tunnels, eating habits, sleeping cycles. He watched them until he could identify every insect and knew what they would do before they probably did.
Once he learned everything, he shook it up and watched them restructure their colony. Again he watched and learned everything. Over time, he bought a second ant farm and used different ants and observed them. The more he learned the more he was eager to learn. He used different species, with queens and without, then went up to five farms going at once all the time.
Eventually he grew old enough to help run the family's food stall, a necessary source of income. They would drive to the nearest town and sell what they could. Over time, it occurred to Haruki to observe people the way he had ants. He started making mental notes of everyone that passed by and worked around them. What they did. How they interacted. When they did it. It surprised him that for creatures of infinitely more vast intelligence, they behaved much like the ants. He started applying what he learned from his pets to the humans around him and realized… that was what they were. Simply more highly developed ants.
With Haruki's skills in observation he began to accurately predict general patterns of behavior. Certainly individuals were more difficult -though not impossible- to anticipate, but when it came to larger numbers of humans it was frighteningly easy.
With that realization he knew he needed to see more of the world. He began to educate himself as well as going to school, and left home at an early age to go to Tokyo, making sure he got a variety of jobs that allowed him to observe large numbers of people. Again it took little time for him to grasp how the two-legged ants functioned in cities vs. smaller towns. More nuances in behavior were observed, and over time, he could once again accurately predict behavior.
And then he decided to put his knowledge to work. He took what money he had saved and invested it where he predicted money would be made, since you could nearly always tell when you observed the humans who made the money. It wasn't trailblazing, but following in others' footsteps, and over time his wealth grew in leaps and bounds. There was the occasional setback, but they were few and far between. Humans, like ants, were imminently predictable. In many ways his accumulated wealth made them more predictable since their selection of choices narrowed when it came to monetary matters, which was what he mostly dealt in. As he grew older, he eventually became one of the wealthiest men in the world because of ant farms. The world had become one in his eyes.
When he hit fifty billion ennui set in. To the man who had more than he needed, and had such few needs at all, it was inevitable. In many ways he was as much an ant as anyone. His only true passion were those ants around him.
But a most joyous day arrived one morn, when he recalled in his youth how much fun it was to shake up an ant farm and watch how the ants would react. That was what he needed to do! Shake up the ant farm that was the world around him. He wondered how different people would react to different events. Rich people reacted differently than poor. Honest men different from liars. Religious from non-religious. Political from non-political. Fanatic and apathetic. So many different things he could do, artificial experiences he could create and watch in interest at the new patterns the ants would form. If only he could put them in ant farms of his own creation. Oh the new behaviors he could observe. It would be like heaven.
Haruki and a couple of thinktanks he ran were predicting some kind of worldwide calamity, most likely nuclear war, would devastate the planet. All societies would fall. It was in that certainty that opportunity would strike. He and some other investors were creating an operation for self-sufficient 'vaults' that would be located deep underground offering opportunity to select people to survive. With enough money, and enough government backing, they could construct many vaults for the eventual doomsday.
Of course what he wouldn't inform anyone of was he would be choosing the people and where they would go. Oh, the elite would be included, after all he would be building it largely on their money, and he'd butter them up like they would be living the high life underneath while calamity claimed everyone above, but that would be a lie. Likewise in order to deflect criticism they'd have to have vaults with more 'common stock' in them as well. And there were so many different social experiments he could run with these people. Isolated and with no outside contact (since he would control all communications), he could create specialized ant farms and watch how the ants would react to his stimuli.
It would be glorious.
Most of his plans for launching 'Tech-Vaults' were in place. Kyoko's money and Homura's influence were the last two puzzle pieces he needed to set the gears into motion for his project. If humanity could hold on for another five years (and there was a reasonable chance it would), then the vaults would be ready and humanity could flock to them. Why, he might even engineer the Apocalypse himself in order to get things underway.
And all he had to do was kill the Avengers. Their deaths were the key to everything.
It was a good thing Haruki knew a man that he was convinced was up to the task.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was an underground laboratory in every sense of the word. Over the course of his lifetime, Haruki had encountered criminal types of every caliber. From cheap con artists to the best industrial espionage agents money could buy. He didn't employ them often, he was capable of making more money than he knew what to do with without breaking the law, but he familiarized himself with much of the underworld culture to understand how it functioned. It was one of the more interesting ant farms.
One of the more lucrative fields of illegality was super powered enhancement. Many criminals wanted a super ability for an edge, and not every thief was born with the ability to muffle all sound to make their job easier. There were a variety of experts in the underworld that commanded high prices for bestowing abilities. There were no cheap ones, it was always a question of how incredible the sum was. That meant relatively few people actually purchased any. Also despite the amounts involved some of the scientific types weren't terribly good at their job. A recipient could find their super strength in the form of weirdly oversized muscles that made them look like a freak. Or the power up offered was random and turned out to be harmful, like turning sweat acidic and it having no off button, meaning it was always only a matter of time before your clothing evaporated. And forget about making out since your saliva could eat through a gal's mouth. Acid burns were never regarded as romantic.
But Haruki had tons of money, which meant he could hire the best and get concrete results. So he learned the location of the scientist's secret laboratory and set up a meeting with the man known as the High Technician. He came with the highest pedigree: a protégé of the High Evolutionary, who was as big league as they got. Also HE was not available for hire, but rather a pure researcher. The High Technician had left the Evolutionary's employ and went freelance recently, but everyone spoke highly of him.
Haruki arrived at the front for the lab, a leather worker's shop. An elderly man greeted him and asked him what work he needed done. Haruki gave him the password and the man ushered him into the back. Once there the old man walked up to a door with a keypad. Keeping his back in the way to obscure Haruki's vision, there were beeping noises as the keypad was touched, and a moment later the door opened. As Haruki went through the doorway there was a tingling sensation that shot through his entire body. He looked at the front man of the operation curiously.
"It's a detector," he explained.
"What does it detect?"
"Everything. You'd have already been vaporized if you weren't who you said you were. He'll see you now."
Rather than be put off by the declaration, Haruki found it reassuring. It at least implied the High Technician knew his business.
The door locked behind him with a resounding, almost menacing, clang. It had looked like a normal door, but clearly it wasn't. Haruki wondered if he could buy this security procedure from High Technician. One could never have enough security when you owned things other people wanted.
The basement of the shop was like something out of a movie. A number of computers were on tables throughout the lab. There were standing clear tubes of fluid with rubber hoses leading into the cylinders, pumping liquid into them. Each tube had some sort of organic matter inside, though none of it was identifiable to Haruki. There were a number vats marked with serial numbers on their sides, some of the hoses leading between them and the tubes. There were other machines whose purpose Haruki couldn't begin to fathom. The only thing missing were Bunsen Burners lighting up beakers with gasses flowing out of the top.
As to the High Technician himself, he was encased in a powder blue version of the High Evolutionary's armor, softened a bit but still identifiable as such. He also had white, billowing sleeves over the armored arms. The armor covered every centimeter of his flesh. Not even the eyes were visible.
Next to him was an animal man that had clearly started out its existence as a dog. Some sort of mixed breed. His outfit was far simpler: denim jeans and a vest that showed off a rather bulging muscular torso. Rumor had it the High Evolutionary had an army of animal men, which loaned credence to the story he was indeed a protégé of the perhaps the greatest geneticist to ever walk the Earth.
"Greetings, Mr. Shirogane," The High Technician bowed formally. Haruki bowed back. "To what do I owe this honor?"
He had of course already worked through intermediaries to contact the High Technician regarding what the scientist could do for him, but Haruki had intentionally lacked specific details. There was no sense in letting everyone know he wanted the Avengers dead. "I would like to hire you to accomplish a feat many say cannot be accomplished."
As Haruki hoped, that caught the High Technician's interest. "And what is this feat?"
"Creating something that can kill the Avengers. I'll pay a huge sum of money to see their elimination. If you're successful, 50 million dollars." Few threw around money like that, and certainly not to a man like him.
On yes, the High Technician pondered that. "Since it's from you, I can believe that amount of money. I could do a lot with that. But the Avengers, that's a tall order even for one of my intellect."
"Hence the large sum."
The High Technician turned to the dog man. "What do you think, Cuddles?"
"Quit calling me that!" the dog man snapped.
Haruki could practically feel the pout behind the armor. "I don't know why you dislike the name. We chose it for you when you were a puppy."
"I'm not a puppy anymore," he insisted.
The High Technician suddenly gained an unmistakable aura of depression. "Karina picked you out herself." He turned to Haruki. "She's my ex-girlfriend. We were planning on getting married someday. We started out with plants, moved up to pets, and once that worked out we'd finally have kids. Only she left me for another man. A race card driver! A guy whose greatest accomplishment is driving nowhere as fast as he can! I can rewrite the genetic code of any living organism and allow it to adapt to any environmental condition. My works will last from now until the end of time. But no, it's the guy who goes 'vroom' 'vroom' that she chose over me. He doesn't even change his own tires, the lazy bastard."
Ah yes. Romantic notions. Haruki understood how they worked despite never having one in his life. He also knew how to deal with people in this state of mind. "A foolish choice."
"His name was Jacques LaPoint. Does that sound like a real name to you?"
"It sounds very French."
"Exactly!" High Technician said as if that was agreement, then his shoulders slumped.
Cuddles went from angry to comforting his owner/creator by placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Dad. You've got to get over it. She might have picked me out, but you're the one who genetically advanced me so I don't need walkies and I don't think eating scraps off the floor is the most awesome thing in the world. I'll always be grateful for that. You're my favorite."
"Thanks. That means a lot to me" He patted Cuddles on the hand then turned to Haruki. "Women, can't live with them, can't genetically reprogram them to make rational choices." With High Technician's mood improved he went back to business. "So about this Avengers business, I have a few projects that might be able to do the deed. I say might because I can't guarantee their deaths, and good luck on finding someone who can."
"An eminently reasonable stance," Haruki agreed.
That seemed to satisfy the scientist. "So here's the issue. In order to get these projects into an active state, I'm going to need access to money and resources I don't currently have."
"That's reasonable as well. I'll front you the money. We'll subtract it from your upcoming payment."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," High Technician stated, then turned to Cuddles. "You know who would be prefect for killing the Avengers?"
"Besides God?"
"Think. It'll take power. More raw power than anything else we have."
Cuddles gained a look of surprise and trepidation. "On hell. Not him."
"He's the best chance of success. We'll need something to get him going, but once he's fired up he's nearly impossible to stop unless you know his weakness. And there's no way the Avengers can know it. It also occurs to me if we send him after Hulk first his odds of killing the others go up considerably."
Cuddles threw his hands up in a mix of disgust and defeat. "I'll go get him." As he left he muttered something about accidently stepping on someone, except it probably wouldn't do any good.
High Technician turned to Haruki. "So here's what I'll need from you. By chance do you have access to a nuclear reactor…?"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The tractor trailer drove down the highway. It was a tanker, but a very special one with triple thick lead lined sides. The reason for that was due to what the vehicle transported: nuclear waster materials.
This was an unusual run. For some reason the higher ups at the company wanted the crew to transport the waste to some new disposal site immediately. According to them it was currently secret so they wouldn't be told the location in advance but would receive instructions via radio enroute. It was incredibly bizarre, but both men were being paid four times their normal rate for doing it this way, so they put up with the weirdness. Money could do that for a lot of people.
The radio chirped to them for what felt like the twentieth time. "Go north 1.2 kilometers and make a left."
The driver, Kentaro, looked as his partner. "Isn't that highway 245?"
Sano looked it up. "Yep."
Kentaro answered to the dispatcher, "We were just on that road ten minutes ago and you had us get off it onto 248."
"It's not my fault the target is changing locations. Fortunately he's moving slowly, so we're closing in on him."
The men in the cab looked at each other. This time it was Sano who spoke. "I thought we were going to a drop point."
There was nearly thirty seconds of silence followed by, "We're having you rendezvous with another waste disposal vehicle. That way you can arrive at the same time. Only they are having problems meeting up with you since the driver has terrible direction sense. So you see? There's a perfectly rational explanation for this. No worries."
Kentaro responded with, "You got it," and stopped transmitting. "I think they're going to try and have us illegally drop this somewhere."
"It definitely feels like they're up to no good. That wasn't even a good lie," Sano said.
"I heard from this driver that he knew somebody who did an illegal dump near this town. Apparently the material got into the town's water supply and turned everyone into flesh eating Toad Men."
Sano scratched his head. "I thought Toad Men were aliens."
"Nah, that's Skrulls."
"I know Skrulls are supposed to be aliens, but I think Toad Men are, too. It's not like there's only one alien species in the universe. Captain Lum Oni is an alien."
"Who's she with?"
"Um, Heroes for Hire, I think. Or maybe the Defenders. Who can keep track of all the teams around nowadays?"
"Aliens aside, my point is I am not dumping this crap anywhere it's not supposed to be dumped and I don't care how much they pay me."
"Totally onboard with that. I'm not turning a town into toad eating zombies."
But since they hadn't been ordered to do anything illegal they continued driving to where they'd been instructed. The rig hadn't travelled more than several tenths of a kilometer when the radio squawked again. "Stop! Now turn south another point three kilometer and you'll be there."
The pair looked to see the forest next to them. Kentaro said, "There's no road in that direction, Dispatch."
"Can't you just drive off road?"
"While I know tractor trailers are often cited for their fabulous off-road capabilities, this one lacks them." If sarcasm was a super power, he'd have been invited to hang out with the Defenders for at least a mission or two.
"Darn, I guess that's close enough. Just stay there."
Sano looked to his friend. "That's it. As soon as he tells us to dump the stuff, and I know it's coming, I say we walk off and make sure we take the keys with us."
Kentaro said, "Better yet, I'll make off with the spark plugs. They might think to bring an extra set of keys, but I doubt they'll think of bringing extra ones of those."
"Awesome."
And then there was the sound of a thud from inside the reenforced tanker behind them.
The pair looked at one another. Kentaro said, "Did one of the containers just fall over?"
"They were secured. I checked before we left. Last thing in the world I want is toxic waste splashing all around."
There was the sound of rending metal in back.
"Looks like the toxic waste is dumping itself. Let's get out of here!" And the pair abandoned the vehicle and ran off down the road.
It was nearly a full minute before a long arm burst out of the side of the tanker. Another one burst out, and between the two they pried open a hole allowing the occupant to emerge.
He was thirteen feet high and weighed over a ton. It was humanoid, but not human. Its body was armored, the torso resembling a carapace with an odd yellow symbol on the back. Its arms were exceptionally long and armored as were its stubby legs. Its face was like that of a human, though there was a band of armor across its forehead. Only three fingers and four toes were on the end of its appendages.
It shouted out to no one in particular, since no one was around, "I am the Inheritor! I am here to take this planet back for my kind! None will stand in my path!"
Since no one was standing in his path, and there was a distinct lack of people to appreciate their upcoming doom, Inheritor was left trying to decide what came next on its course for world domination. Then it sensed something to the south. Something nearby. Something useful.
And so it strode in that direction.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
High Technician observed the monitor in his lab and followed and the direction the lights were going. He turned to Cuddles.
"Just like I calculated. There was enough radioactive material to trigger the transformation and power Inheritor up. And thanks to my gamma detector I know he's practically in his first target's lap. I think this is going to go well."
Cuddles watched the screen as well. "I'm just glad I don't have to hear him drone incessantly about taking the planet back for him and his buddies. The putz is like a broken record."
"Yes, he rather is, isn't he?" High Technician continued staring at the monitor as one light drew nearer the other.
xxxxxxxxxxx
The Hulk was confused, lost, and hungry, but in a good mood, which was why nothing was being destroyed. He really didn't have a destination in mind so being lost didn't mean anything. Confused was a normal state as well. Hunger might get to him eventually, but it wasn't anger worthy yet. It remained at, "I'll keep my eyes open for the next burger joint and help myself."
He was in a wooded area. He liked woods. Nothing there was stupid enough to attack him. Except the occasional hill, but that hadn't happened in a while, so maybe they had learned not to mess with him and try to take over the planet. Sand on the other hand never learned.
Yes, a peaceful walk in the woods was just what his soul required. In fact it was so pleasant he started to change back into Ryouga Hibiki.
But that all ended when a giant armored man thing broke through the foliage. It was trouble. Hulk could tell after all this time. It was in the body posture. Also this was the middle of the woods, and what were the odds someone like this just happened to burst through the tree line in the exact spot he was in? Random chance on a nature hike? Not very likely.
Still, he should try to be certain his guess was on target and make it official. "Is Armored Man here to fight Hulk?
"I am the Inheritor! I am here to take this planet back for my kind! None will stand in my path!"
"Hulk will take that as a 'yes'." And he ran forward to smash the silly, albeit sizeable, looking man thing.
Inheritor saw the gamma spawned behemoth approach and met him head on. Typically this was a losing proposition when dealing with Hulk, since most people who thought they were irresistible objects were nowhere as far up the scale as the Hulk was to irresistible force. But not so in this instance. Inheritor stood his ground as the two collided with enough force to make the trees tremble and the wildlife flee for another county.
That threw Hulk off. "Stupid Armored Man is stronger than Hulk thought! Now Hulk will get serious!"
"This planet belongs to me and my kind!"
The two stood toe to toe and the fight began in earnest. It was mostly fisticuffs with no technique. When one was as powerful as either fighter, it didn't matter what type of punch you used to strike someone since you were hitting them so hard they tended to end up pulverized jelly. But to each one's surprise their opponent took what was being dished out and gave it back just as hard. The shockwaves from their impacts started bending larger trees away and breaking smaller ones altogether. Deforestation the hard way.
This made the Hulk angry. No matter how big they were, people he hit this hard were supposed to fall down harder. He was the Hulk after all. It was basically his catchphrase. But no, this creature was not being smashed despite the Hulk's best attempts.
Getter madder meant getting stronger in the emerald giant's case, but something bizarre was happening. While his rage built, his strength, and subsequently the blows raining down upon his foe, didn't. They remained the same.
He was pondering the conundrum when Inheritor landed a shot to the jaw. While he had hit Hulk there twice before, this one hurt more than the previous ones. Then a fist to the lower ribs produced the same issue.
Inheritor was the one getting stronger.
"That not fair!" Hulk raged and tried punching even harder but it was to no avail. Blow after blow by his opponent rained down and slipped past his guard as the battle took its toll. Even the Big Bull Man and Big Red Girl didn't hit him this hard. Inheritor had to be cheating.
But it mattered little as Inheritor softened Hulk up enough to use his head as a green punching bag. After a series of blows that would have shattered diamond, and maybe even slightly dented adamantium, the nigh impossible happened and the green goliath hit the ground, beaten unconscious. Inheritor stood triumphant, looking more powerful than when the battle started.
"This planet will be mine!" he shouted.
Then he noticed something curious. His foe went from big and green to small and pink. Now it was just another human, one that looked much softer than the large green version. So, there was a similarity between them. But it wasn't enough to show mercy. Since in order for the planet to revert to him and his kind, that meant the current occupants had to be not there, he'd have to kill the now small human. Inheritor lifted his leg up, intending to bring it down. Sometimes when he did it, he splattered the being, but sometimes he just put a hole in them. The worst was when he lifted his foot and they were clinging to it. He hoped this was a splatter.
Just as Inheritor's foot was about to connect an uru hammer struck him fully in the chest and sent him flying a good distance away from his fallen foe. It actually hurled him outside the small forest; a testament to the power that had been directed at him.
Thor, who had arrived just in time to see her teammate about to be crushed, caught the hammer on its return even as she brought her fist back and shouted, "Fall, behemoth!" And smashed him with a punch to the jaw. Anyone that could knock out the Hulk merited her full strength.
That blow sent Inheritor reeling backward a second time. With her foe off balance, Thor opted to finish the job by drawing back Mjolnir. A thunderhead formed behind it, a small storm appearing at ground level. Winds howled and flashes of lightning cracked as the ground itself trembled from the thunder. With the storm at her side, Thor thrust the hammer forward with all her might. A blow for the ages.
And to her shock Inheritor caught it in his hand.
"Od's blood!" she gasped.
Inheritor, who could barely feel that hand, kept his wits by lashing out with his free one, smashing her in the face and sending her flying, this time without the benefit of Mjolnir.
"I will inherit all!" he bellowed and moved forward.
Thor recovered her wits. Truly that blow rivaled, if not surpassed, that of Hercules. Now she understood how even Hulk could fall to such force. But she was the Goddess of Thunder, and more importantly her foe walked slowly. Clearly his large armored frame was not the most mobile. With a few extra seconds, she allowed the energy to build in the air. Had Inheritor been more aware, he might have sensed what was about to happen. But no, he lumbered forward, unmindful or uncaring of his surroundings.
As he was but a trio of steps away Thor brought her hammer down. The mightiest lightning bolt she had summoned since being restored the mantle of Goddess of Thunder, struck Inheritor from above. The sound of the bolt's impact made the land shake. The electricity unleashed charred the ground all around the large being.
He staggered, and for a moment his eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. Then they focused forward. "I will inherit all!" he bellowed and lunged forward.
Thor was an awe. Had even the Destroyer endured an assault like this? She was so taken aback Inheritor connected solidly with the side of her head, leaving her reeling. Another blow met her stomach, and she would have hurled the contents forth had she not been made of sterner stuff. Though it was a near thing.
More fists rained in, and Thor was knocked as senseless as the Hulk had been earlier. The course of battle mirrored the one from before as well, finally ending when Inheritor raised his exceptionally long arms up over his head, interlocked the fingers, then brought a two-fisted blow on top of the goddess. She was struck so hard and hit the ground with such force her body created an impact crater.
Inheritor looked upon his work. "All shall-."
And a beam of pure energy struck him full force in the back.
Iron Rose hovered above the battle, having arrived just in time to see the second of her teammates, and the two most powerful at that, fall before this creature's onslaught. His power had to have been off the charts to accomplish that feat. He was so dangerous she had not hesitated to unleash a full power Deathblossom into him while his back was to her. And she had used nearly everything in doing so. The only power she had left was a small reserve that was barely enough to keep her hovering.
But her most impressive weapon had done its work. He was on his knees, ready to keel over from her blast. While she wanted to take full credit for the victory, surely his battles against both Hulk and Thor had softened him up and made him ripe to suffer defeat. Still, it had fallen to her to administer the coup de grace, and she would accept the accolades for saving the day and ending the battle.
Then to her shock he rose to his feet instead of falling over.
"I…I will rule over all," he announced, swaying slightly.
This was… not good. She really had used everything and it would take a lot of time to get her armor's energy level back up. And even then, she had already hit him with full power and failed to drop him.
The Avengers Quinjet flew in fast and landed a short distance away, disgorging the rest of the team.
Iron Rose shouted, "It might be advisable to collect our comrades and retreat until we can develop a stratagem for dealing with our foe."
Captain Japan shouted, "Nah, the bigger they are the harder they fall. Let's get him!" And the rest of the team entered the battle.
Iron Rose watched in trepidation, uncertain of what they could do considering the three most powerful Avengers had failed to stop their foe.
Inheritor charged forward to engage them in conflict as well. An explosive arrow met him in the face, making him pause because of the proximity to his eyes rather than from pain. After blinking it away, he shouted, "I shall destroy you." And began forward again.
Captain Japan's shield met him at just the right spot in the legs to knock one foot out from under him, causing him to fall on his face. As he rose he found a bikini clad cat girl in front of him. "Be destroyed!" He bellowed and brought his fist down at her, but she nimbly got out of the way, the fist not coming close.
He tracked the agile cat girl, but then had a tiny woman with wings land and rest on his nose as though it were her personal perch. He had to look cross-eyed to see her. "Hi there!" she said.
He brought his hand up to swat her, but she darted away at the last second leaving him to hit himself in the face with a reasonably hard strike.
"I cannot believe I fell for that." It was a rare break in his train of thought.
An arrow detonated in his head again, but this one didn't hurt like the last. Instead his head was obscured in a cloud. Just as he emerged from the haze Daredevil raised his arms and Inheritor was blasted in the face with a double barrel fire extinguisher, blinding him again.
"Ahhh!" he shouted and blindly flailed away, striking at nothing.
When Inheritor emerged from the cloud Wasp struck him in the back of the head with a full force shot. It only irritated him, but his attempt to swat her out of the air failed since she was out of reach and he too slow to grab the fleet flying woman.
A shield then hit him in the back, the same spot where the energy beam had struck: more irritation. He saw Captain Japan snare the rebounding shield, then taunt Inheritor with an obscene gesture. He charged toward him, but a telescoping pole Daredevil produced was hurled between Inheritor's legs. It was durable enough it only bent as the man thing found himself tripped up yet again and landing on his face.
Once more Tigra was waiting for him as he rose to his feet. "Silly clunkhead too, too clumsy."
This time when he went to grab her she simply darted between his arms and used his head to vault over him and land well out of reach. As he turned toward her, Wasp flew past perpendicular to him and blasted him between the eyes. He flinched which allowed her to escape. Tigra did a one-armed handstand in contempt. He charged to her, but she did an inhuman set of backflips that would have won her an Olympic medal in every gymnastics category there was.
Then another explosive arrow hit him in the side.
Iron Rose hovered above the fray, observing. As unlikely as it seemed, her less powerful teammates were engendering more success than their stronger counterparts had. While her armor had recharged sufficiently to add a repulsor blast or two, she was reluctant to do so. The others had fallen into a successful attack pattern and she was reluctant to risk altering it. It was obvious their intention was to exhaust their foe rather than bludgeon him unconscious.
She observed their opponent was slow, perhaps the least mobile they had ever encountered. All of the current Avengers in combat were able to stay out of his reach with relative ease. By her estimation both Captain Japan and Tigra were deliberately slowing down to allow him the illusion of being able to strike them If he just kept trying, yet he never managed to move fast enough to get to that point. Daredevil and Hawkeye were keeping him off balance with a variety of different weapons so he never knew what was next, while Wasp flew in close with hit and run tactics.
It also became clear the behemoth was either stupid or at least incapable of formulating a battle strategy. He was literally focusing solely on whomever was attacking him at that moment. That meant all one had to do was attack, then stay out of reach until someone else did the same thing. They were constantly alternating foes to ensure he faced a fresh opponent while he remained eternally on the attack. Despite his completely ineffectual tactics, he employed the same one over and over again.
As the game continued, Iron Rose noticed something. She yelled out over her loudspeaker, "He's getting smaller!"
Everyone, including Inheritor, paused.
Captain Japan shouted, "She's right! Old Armor Puss is shrinking! Keep up the pressure!"
Inheritor shouted back, "I will be victorious! My kind well inherit the world once more!" And swung again.
Captain Japan intentionally got him to try an overhead strike, leaping out of the way at the last second so he hit the ground. The vibration from the impact was nowhere near as powerful as earlier ones. "He's getting weaker, too."
At last Inheritor sensed the truth of the matter which forced him to pause long enough to assess the situation. He was surrounded by foes he could not crush. If he could not crush them, he would fail like last time.
His kind would inherit nothing.
"NOOOOOO!" he wailed, raising his fists to the skies, and bringing them down.
It was a blow as powerful as the one that knocked out Hulk. The earth rolled outward like a wave in all directions with him at the epicenter, knocking everyone off their feet and kicking up a cloud of dust at ground zero. The Avengers quickly regained their footing, ready to back off once Inheritor emerged from the cloud and went back to the mindless series of attacks like he had before.
But he didn't emerge. When the dust settled, there was no Inheritor either.
Iron Rose shouted, "He didn't run of fly off. I would have seen him. Perhaps he turns invisible."
"No, I would still sense him," Daredevil informed them. "Maybe he teleported."
"Or shrank," Wasp suggested and flew into the area where they had last seen him. This was terrible. They couldn't let another foe escape, especially one so powerful he had knocked out Hulk and Thor. Too many of their enemies did so.
She flew low, her scanning for any miniature foe. She did see an insect-sized thing move, but it turned out it was just that, a cockroach. She ignored it and kept flying, hoping to spot Inheritor so she could blast him again.
So intent was she on finding their foe, she failed to notice the marking on the cockroach's back, a marking that was identical to the one that had been on Inheritor. The cockroach crawled into the torn-up ground and was lost from sight.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Back at his underground lab. High Technician pouted under his armor. The light indicating Inheritor's presence had winked off. "Darn. I was hoping between the radiation he siphoned off the truck, and especially the Hulk, he would be able to kill them before running out of gas. The Hulk had a ton of gamma rays oozing off him so Inheritor should have been able to go for a while. Did he at least kill any Avengers?"
Cuddles put down a receiver. "According to onsite witnesses, he only managed to injure Hulk and Thor before disappearing."
High Technician shrugged. "Oh well. Just goes to show you cockroaches aren't up to the level of humans, or dogs."
"I hope you're not suggesting I go out there and confront them," Cuddles said dryly.
High Technician was aghast. "Of course not. I'd never put you in harms way. I just mean, as you pointed out earlier, Inheritor was single-minded, and there wasn't much intelligence in that mind to begin with. But don't worry. I have an experiment going that will have tons of power and an actual human intellect behind it. You see, I'm working on bonding ionic energy with a human being…."
Xxxxxxxxxxx
[END CHAPTER]
Now we have a more action-oriented chapter to go along with those earlier character driven ones. Also I'm sure I qualify as a master of the obscure by now as Inheritor only appeared once in Hulk 149, and High Technician was a one timer from a three-issue story from Captain American in the mid-90's. Come on, has anyone done a fanfic with either of those two in it? I think not. But a No Prize if someone discovers otherwise.
Also our trio of bad guys were Bifrost from Psycho Pass 3. So yay, more newer anime characters. Not the most famous series out there and not the most famous characters from it, but you get the idea.
And yes, Haruki's mentality was my coming up with what the Vault Tec head from the Fallout series might have been. It makes sense to me.
Excelsior.
