Avenging

Book 2: Chapter 6

Building a Better Ant Farm

Part 3

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Previously: High Technician enacted a second plan to eliminate the Avengers by trying to plant an ionic altered being in their midst. Only Kishou Arima decided ruling the world would be better and went rogue, taking on Thor and Iron Rose. The battle was a stalemate until his abilities went out of control and he met a grisly end. Now with the game moving ever onward and the time limit approaching, Shirogane has decided to use an alternative strategy.

And here we go…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Haruki Shirogane missed actual newspapers. There was something more real about feeling processed trees under your fingertips as you read lines composed of ink and processed the information within. The physical sensations kept you more connected to the real world. He also admitted electronic dispersion of information was far more efficient. It had taken him a while to incorporate how this new system affected the ants around him and how to anticipate their interactions. Luckily none of the core of what humanity consisted of was truly new. It was old tendencies simply taking new paths to the same conclusions. Timing everything was the only meaningful adjustment that had to be made. Once he had made the adjustments, it made accumulating wealth even easier.

It mattered little overall. Once everything was in place in a few years, he'd wipe out the old giant ant farm the world had created in favor of the new, and far more interesting ones he'd device. He truly had no idea how each would function, which was why joy had finally entered his life once again. Anticipation was something he had missed for far too long.

But first he had to win the game, and things were not going well on that front. Case in point, the news article he was reading on the computer screen before him, which was what had triggered his reminiscing of newspapers in the first place.

The Reborn had been arrested in Carnelia. They had been indicted for assassinating a local government official at a state function. Specifically Techno had blown a hole through him right in front of everyone. They had video of it and everything.

Aside from the outright act of murder, this was an international incident of a high order of magnitude, and Carnelia was probably the worst place to commit it in. Since its declaration of independence from the original country it had been a part of, Carnelia had been very war torn (which was part of the reason their host country had agreed to grant them said independence,) but it was all internal rather than external. It turned out rebellion from the motherland was the only common ground the various organizations that formed the rebels had, and they had turned to fighting as a means of resolving their disputes, with terrorism and assassinations a constant event. After well over a century of this, someone realized that there had been so many assassinations, that that was responsible for more changes in who was in charge of government functions than actual elections. The few who survived the end of their first term rarely ran for a second since, even if no one attempted to the kill them, the threat of it was constant and wore them down. And it wasn't one sided; it always happened to whoever was in power at the time. Hardly anyone wanted to run for office, since it was almost certainly a death sentence, and the few that did were rarely suited for the job. Everything was falling to pieces.

So for the first time since independence, consensus occurred amongst the warring factions. It was decided that even the attempted assassination of any public official, right down to the mailmen, was a capital offence which would be immediately taken to trial with execution to follow. After the first couple of assassins were dealt with, as well as their co-conspirators, they curbed down to nothing and stabilization occurred. Likewise that consensus proved the starting point for eventual resolution of said conflicts and peace reigned for the first time in the country's history. To that end the people and government still found assassination the highest of crimes and the one to be dealt with most harshly, since their memories were still fresh enough to not allow history to repeat itself just yet.

Which was supremely bad news for the Reborn. While efforts were being made on behalf of the Japanese government to at least slow down the process so they could try and come to an agreement of punishment other than execution of the Reborn, the Carnelian government was once again united in its mindset and was telling them unequivocally: go to hell.

Since the likelihood of the heroes suddenly becoming assassins in that particular country, at the same time Shizuka Homura targeted them for elimination, was nearly as close to zero as a number could get without being it, it seemed Homura was about to take the lead in the game. Shirogane had no idea how the man had engineered the situation, but if he pulled it off, Shirogane would have to kill all the Avengers to leapfrog his opponent.

And that was proving as difficult as he had anticipated. But it was a necessary path to take to win the game. High Technician had come close both times to eliminating them, and his latest plan sounded very likely to succeed. Not only that, but this Death Spore variant truly intrigued Shirogane. Once he had everything in place and his Vaults built, and if it didn't look like Doomsday was around the corner, he might want to use High Technician's spore to trigger it.

He also didn't want to wait to see if High Technician's latest plan bore fruit. Shirogane hadn't put everything on the scientist's shoulders. That would have been foolish. He had two back up plans in place. One of them was all but guaranteed to work but would cost him far more money that he'd like to spend. Even though it would mean winning the game, it would also delay the larger plan this was all a part of. Too much time had to be spent, and he wasn't getting any younger.

The other one was far more fiscally reasonable and had a good chance of some degree of success. Perhaps even total. But even if only two or three Avengers were killed, it would make successive plans all the more likely to prevail.

Shirogane set the events of his latest plan into motion. Unfortunately, it turned out Spymaster was unavailable. Fortunately, the same could not be said of his former associates, who were currently between missions. They came highly recommended, and one of Spymaster's caliber would not have worked as long as he had with this crew if they weren't that damn talented at their jobs.

While there were no assurances, deep down inside he felt good about this plan. There was something about its subtle nature and striking at them from a different direction that was inspirational. It would be interesting to see if the ants he was sending could eliminate the ones he was targeting.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Finding himself with time to work out in the Tendou Dojo was a much too rare occurrence for Ranma. Sure, he was talented enough to juggle a job, school, and progressing on the never-ending path to be the best martial artist that ever strode the Earth, and while he preferred a busy life to a boring or mundane one, well even someone as active as him liked a little down time.

The series of moves he was going through would make most minds seize up at the idea this was 'down time', since even if they could duplicate the complicated patterns with the physical acumen Ranma displayed, they would be exhausted afterward. Down time usually produced the inverse, but for one of Ranma Saotome's talent, it was basic. Simple practice making sure the body instinctively used techniques in situations that lacked time to think, only react, and to use those techniques perfectly. They had saved his life on occasions too numerous to count, mostly because he stopped keeping track around the thirtieth one.

Yep, busy lives were far more stimulating than boring ones.

He had just completed his third set of movements when Nabiki strode into the room, wearing one of her flashier gi's: green with a golden phoenix decorating the front, while a trail of feathers pathed its way onto the back. Several golden flowers adorned it in more open spaces. Ranma was content to wear a t-shirt and shorts.

"Let's spar," she said.

Ordinarily an offer like that would have been met with a 'yes', but Ranma knew Nabiki better than that. "We've been down this road before. I don't pay to get into fights. If I got paid on a per fight basis I could buy an A.I.M. franchise."

Nabiki began stretching out. "No charge. I just want to fight."

Ranma looked at her strangely. "Say something only Nabiki Tendou would know."

Now it was her turn to return the look. Then she figured out what he was implying. "I am not a shapeshifter impersonating me."

"Actually I was thinking mind control, but yeah, that would work, too."

She continued stretching out, lifting a leg so straight up it was nearly parallel with her body. "I'm not under anyone's mind control either."

"That's what everyone under mind control says. Try again."

The foot came down and her arms crossed under her bosom in annoyance. "Fine. I sucked face with Fred J. Dukes to get you out of a jam."

Suspicion became indignation. "You're the one that got me into it."

"From a certain point of view, one could say you were the one who got yourself into trouble, and I was an innocent bystander."

"From a certain point of view, murder only exists because people allow themselves to be killed by others."

Nabiki's eyes lit up. "Oh ho. A philosophical discussion."

"No, it's not, and yeah, you're the real Nabiki Tendou." Which was both a good and bad thing in his eyes.

"Never accept a substitute for a one-of-a-kind item," Nabiki said.

"So you really want to spar for nothing?" he asked.

"Yep."

This was unexpected, but not unwanted. Sparring would be more effective than just katas. "Okay."

"You want to warm up first?" Nabiki asked as she approached.

"Nah, I'll be fine."

The last syllable had barely left his mouth when Nabiki lashed out with a lightning fast kick that winded him and drove him back a step. She utilized the Anything Goes school's boxing techniques by striking full force with a right cross followed be a left cross and then an uppercut that would have made any professional boxer nod in approval. All the blows were delivered flawlessly and effectively.

Most people would have been defeated at that point, but Ranma was whatever the antithesis of 'most people' was. Instinctively he lashed out with a leg sweep that knocked Nabiki's limbs out from under her, resulting on a hard fall to the floor on her posterior. Rather than pressing an attack as he normally would he backed off. While he did Nabiki seemed to slide along the floor yet somehow returned to her feet and was ready for action. Since her attacks had been effective, he needed time to recollect his thoughts.

Which she had no intention of giving him. Blows rained in, foregoing any attempt at defense for offence. Ranma covered up as best as he could, but it was a skilled barrage that took its toll on the arms he used to deflect the punches, and the non-vital areas of his body her kicks struck. Ranma absorbed them as he recovered, and while he took damage, she lacked super strength. That meant he could handle the punishment for a brief time. He'd ache and be badly bruised in a few hours, sleep would be a bit tender, but nothing would be broken which is what would really cost him.

Weathering the storm until his wits recovered, Ranma played like he was still too injured to do more than defend, while watching every movement her body made. Finally, he saw an opening in her offense and went for it. Then there was surprise. What he thought was a mistake was a trap, and instead of landing a punch it was Nabiki who connected with a solid kick into a kidney that made him wince in even more pain. Super strength wasn't needed when blows were delivered with precision skill like that.

Frustration built, and the not the usual type when dealing with Nabiki. While in the past she had been forced into sparring with him (for free), she had never been this good. He had underestimated her skills, and now was paying for it.

Her aggressive assault continued. He played a waiting game. At some point she would slow down and falter. People who didn't routinely fight this way tended to overestimate their endurance and would start running out of gas. They would essentially 'rope a dope' themselves if they weren't careful. He just had to outlast the punishment, though he was going to hurt even worse once the fight was over. But victory was a salve to physical pain. Losing was a type of pain that would only disappear once victory was achieved on the next occasion.

Another opening appeared, but there was something about it that felt similar to the last one. Ranma let it pass by. Another hole opened up and this time he went for it, holding nothing back.

The punch towards the mid-section connected squarely and did damage, the first serious blow Nabiki had taken in the fight. It forced her to back off. From the way she had talked, she dished out way more punishment than she took. He noted she reacted well by defending herself adequately and was more selective in her aggression. He remained patient and didn't press too hard. He had already underestimated her once and was not inclined to do it a second time. There was something to be said about learning curves.

The fight became a stalemate, sweat pouring from their bodies, plastering their outfits to their bodies as the two martial artists used every one of their abilities in what had become grueling combat. Satisfied he had retaken her measure, Ranma stepped up his own attacks with a methodical pace. Nabiki kept pace at first, but eventually a second solid blow connected. There was a time when he might have held back against women in a fight, but having encountered enough dangerous, powerful ones during his heroic tenure, and thanks to the beatings/singeing/electrocutions/and every other form of varied abuse dished out to him, he no longer had an issue with going all out and hitting them as hard as he could. Putting misogyny by the wayside sometimes resulted in broken noses. Equality for all.

And because of that Nabiki simply couldn't recover from the second blow. She lasted a while longer, but it was the attack that turned the tide and decided the match. Ranma was more tested by the fires of conflict and was simply a better, stronger fighter. The battle of attrition was one she couldn't maintain. The match finally ended with Nabiki on the receiving end of a pair of body tosses, another punch, and third toss in consecutive order. Nabiki yelled her surrender from her prone position on the floor and made no effort to get up. To her credit she dealt with loss better than Ranma.

The winner was breathing hard himself. That had gotten his blood flowing and for all the bruises that would develop, he had enjoyed himself. The pain was worth it as it would remind him to keep his guard up against an opponent he thought he knew. Better to learn this lesson here than in the field, when it could be one of Daredevil's cheeseballs who might go from bouncing around on springs, to upgrading to a super powered exo-skeleton that could enable him to lift a one-ton weight, then crumple the metal into a ball and hurl it with enough force to go through a brick wall. Drop your guard and you might discover the misestimation when the ball goes through your head instead of a wall.

Now that the match was over, he examined Nabiki, hoping he hadn't roughed her up too badly. As he looked her over, she smiled, then actually laughed, though remained on her back.

"You seem happy," Ranma said.

"That's because I just went," she looked at a clock on the wall. "Two and a half minutes against Captain Japan. Not too bad. Not bad at all."

Ranma panicked and looked around in every direction. Much too loudly he stated, "Oh no. I'm not as good as Captain Japan. He's much better than me. I doubt you would have lasted two minutes ten seconds, fifteen at the most, against him."

Nabiki shook her head sadly. Secret identity paranoia of this magnitude only made her decision to never become a 'stupid hero' reaffirmed in her mind. She might respect Ranma on a number of levels, but that was one terrible life decision he had made.

But the match had served its purpose. The campfire talk with her sisters made Nabiki accept, in a way she never had before, that this was her life now. If she was going to run a dojo, she had to know her stuff, and this fight demonstrably proved she did. Ideally she would have preferred to defeat one of the best martial artists in Japan, but she was realistic in accepting she wasn't at that level. While she wanted to get better, one upping one of the most successful super heroes on the planet was not a life goal of hers.

Running a dojo? Being good enough to build a reputation that brought in tons of students and their wallets? Now that was an achievable goal. And she found herself admitting once she had committed to going all out against Ranma, well it had been perversely enjoyable. Holding nothing back could be fun, as long as the stakes weren't too high.

She wondered if there were other kinds of fun to be had with him. Physical but not as punishing. It was food for thought.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke sat at the monitor station in Avenger's Mansion, staying alert for any emergencies that needed handling. While the system was largely automated –thanks to his employer's genius—and only reacted to key words, it was decided that a person should be on hand to give a human perspective on what the computers considered a dangerous matter. Likewise at least one Avenger would be on hand to react immediately to an emergency in case it was so urgent there was no time to let the team assemble.

The exception to the rule was Iron Rose. Since she had 'official duties' outside of being an Avenger, namely functioning as Kodachi Kunou's bodyguard, she got a free pass. And since Sasuke was on her payroll as well it was a case of one Kunou employee swapping out for another, with the butler filling in for that 'human factor'.

When it came to monitor duty, Sasuke loved it almost as much as Wasp: it made him feel kind of like an official Avenger. Also he didn't have to buttle but still got paid like he did. That made it win-win in his book. Now if only there was some situation so dire they'd need his help. If he was useful enough, perhaps he'd become a full-fledged member of the team.

Perhaps today would be that crisis.

As he fantasized about defeating both Inheritor and Kang at the same time, the computer alerted him to an incoming call. He answered as fast as he could, ready for the earth-shaking menace that was surely at the other end of the alert.

A video image showed the outside of the wall surrounding Avengers Mansion. It was a man in a Tokyo Utility Company uniform with another, identically suited man, standing next to him.

"Yes?" Sasuke asked.

"Utility inspectors, Sir. We need to check your water meter."

"Oh." Water meters were not earth shaking. They were the very definition of mundane.

Or maybe not. No one was simply allowed into Avengers Mansion. There were security precautions to take. One never knew when a villainous infiltrator would try sneaking into the mansion and attempt to beard the team in their lair. They'd had inspectors come by before, so Sasuke knew the procedure. He had the men flash their IDs, took note of them, then called the Tokyo Utility Company.

They answered on the second ring. Sasuke listened to the standard greeting, then spoke. "This is the Avengers' residence. Two of your people are here to inspect our meters. I need to verify their IDs and assignment as a security measure."

"Certainly. Did they show you official identification?"

"Yes." He read their badge numbers, but not the names.

"Those would be Inspectors Saito and Fujiyama. They are indeed assigned to read your meters today. Do you require anything else?"

"No thanks." And he hung up. He went to the computer that controlled the Avengers Mansion's defenses and lowered them. As always he'd make sure to turn them back on once the inspectors were inside.

He went to the front door and did what he knew best: be a butler. He opened it up and greeted the men with the all the professional decorum he could muster.

As they entered Sasuke said, "I can show you the way to the meters."

"Thank you," Inspector Saito said, then pulled out an aerosol like can and sprayed Sasuke in the face with it.

He was out in seconds.

Xxxxxxxx

Both men drew side arms, highly sophisticated, and held them at the ready, eyes scanning the hallway leading into the heart of the team's headquarters.

'Inspector Saito' spoke into a transmitter, disguised as a lapel. "We're in."

From the van sitting outside the mansion four other people, two men and two women dressed in city utility uniforms, emerged from the interior with cases in hand. Had anyone been around, they would have noted nothing peculiar about the city employees. A closer examination would have noted despite their movements appearing casual, they covered the distance to the mansion extremely quickly. They were giving an illusion of casualness that required training in obscuring body motion.

Once inside they closed the door and began pulling out weapons and equipment, again all of it cutting edge sophisticated tech.

The Espionage Elite were complete.

Originally the men and women were individuals in, as their name suggested, espionage. Each was hailed as an expert in their chosen field. Then one day they were assembled by someone who was regarded as one of the greatest spies ever: the man only known as Spymaster. No one had any idea who he was, not even his actual appearance since he always went about in either disguise or his trademark yellow and blue full body outfit. Even his eyes were hidden in that outfit. There were many rumors as to his true identity, or even country of origin, but they all amounted to little more than urban myths. Ones he encouraged.

Spymaster approached the experts with the idea of working together as a group, which would enable them to take on larger, more complicated (and therefore more highly priced) jobs while completing them more quickly. The idea of working as a unit and making more money appealed to everyone, and they all agreed.

With that Spymaster took them under his wing. While each was an expert, that skill was mostly focused on only one aspect of the espionage game, from hacking to physically piercing security systems to explosives. Spymaster trained them in broader terms, teaching them other aspects to round out their abilities as well as learning to function as a unit.

And it worked. For a time they were by far the most sought-after spies in the world. Corporations, terrorist organizations, governments, all vied to employ them for a variety of operations in which they were always successful. The money was more than they could imagine.

But their successes proved insufficient for some. The members of the Elite were all just that: elite. Their egos became larger than they had been with each new vista they conquered. Over time they became jealous of Spymaster, feeling he was given too much credit for their success. The resentment trickled through to how they worked, and Spymaster grew weary of their borderline insubordination. Both sides decided to part company before their relationship soured to the point it became fatal for one or the other.

Since then the Espionage Elite continued to cash in on their prestige and still made a great deal of money, but at the same time Spymaster continued garnering more accolades than they. No matter what jobs they pulled off, he was still the premiere spy everyone went to first. Then several weeks ago someone put the Elite on retainer to come up with a plan to kill the Avengers. If it proved feasible, their benefactor promised a hefty sum to pull off the job. They were eager for more than the (considerable) monetary reason to take on the assignment. Its success would cement them as the top group to hire. Finally they would be out from under the shadow of their former leader.

When discussing how to kill the heroes, it was decided brute force was out of the question. While the Elite had access to state-of-the-art technology, much of it stolen by them personally, none of it was on par with confronting all but the weakest members of the team. And the contract specified killing them all. No survivors or no pay. More difficult members like the Hulk and Iron Rose required finesse and the perfect weapons for the job. Previous battles were analyzed and stratagems reviewed. It was eventually decided infiltrating the Mansion and ambushing the Avengers one at a time was the most likely course of success.

Surveillance was the key to that plan, and Elite were experts at that. Since the heroes had a well-known base of operations, it made the job infinitely easier. The Elite were able to do everything short of hacking Avengers Mansion computers themselves as they gathered intelligence. The team were neither the most subtle nor secretive of targets they had dealt with. It didn't take long to come up with a plan that was judged likely to succeed.

It was learned there was always one Avenger in residence for emergencies with one exception: Iron Rose. It became evident she only visited when other members of the team were present, usually a number of them. Since she was employed as Kodachi Kunou's bodyguard, it was most likely connected to that. So it was decided that would be when they'd infiltrate the mansion.

They were enthused to learn despite the team's rather exalted status, city inspectors still had every right to request entry into the mansion for official business. It was decided the water meter route was the way to go, aided by the fact they had an official upcoming inspection in a couple of weeks. It had been simplicity for such men and women to steal official uniforms and a vehicle from the city. Since they were certain their identities would have to be determined before they would be allowed entry, they set up a device that would scramble and intercept any outgoing transmissions in a two-block diameter. It would make a lot of people upset when they lost all forms of communications except their landlines, but the Elite cared nothing for the inconveniences of people. Had blowing up the entire area with a low yield nuclear device been the most likely method of killing the Avengers, they'd have taken it. Collateral damage came with the territory.

When the butler made his call, Number 5 intercepted it and responded to his inquiries. With his guard down, he let them in and that was that. They took Sasuke alive to be used as a possible hostage if things went wrong, though so far everything had gone according to plan. But the Elite were pros and knew things could go to hell in a moment from any unexpected vector. They would kill him before they left, of course. No witnesses were a necessity until they were in the clear. Then the entire underworld would be informed of what they had accomplished. Their prices would soar once it was learned they had killed all the Avengers.

With insertion complete, it was time to enter the next phase of the operation. They continued going by their code numbers as Spymaster had suggested, at least when on ops. Unlike him, they had been somewhat famous in spying circles before their recruitment and were internationally known by their actual identities. All of them had some degree of disguise ability, with Number 2's slightly better than Spymaster himself, and they tried to not broadcast who they were when out in the field.

As Number 1 and Number 4 began to set up the variety of traps in the entryway, concealing them in the process, Ein appeared at the end of the hallway. Seeing an unconscious and cuffed Sasuke in Number 6's hands, he began to bark.

Number 1 aimed his pistol at the canine. "All right, buddy. I like dogs but you get in our way and you're a dead duck instead."

Ein yipped and ran off.

"Smart dog," Number 5 said as she took her equipment, intent on finding a computer she could hack.

"I have a soft spot for them. Not too big a one, though," Number 1 said as he and Number 4 went back to setting up the traps, deciding the best locations for them.

Number 2 and Number 3 began a search of the mansion together while 6 went to find a location to secure Sasuke in.

It didn't take Number 5 long to find the Avengers main monitor room, which had the computers she'd been looking for. She informed the others of her location and that she was getting to work. It would only be a matter of time before she'd get into the machine and copy every iota of information in their mainframe. Ideally, if they could find some way to pick out particular Avengers and summon them to the mansion singly, they could lure each one into the trap with none the wiser. In theory they could eliminate the entire team that way. Like a super hero version of Christie's 'Ten Little Indians'.

She also intended to look up each member's personal information to see if there were any weaknesses the Elite could exploit. While they were optimistic regarding the weaponry they brought, they'd take every advantage they could find. That made getting the information out of the computers paramount.

From out of her case she removed her equipment and went to work. She was an expert hacker who had made her way through every government's database, except Latveria and Genosha. Trespassing in Doom's domain was a good way to get yourself killed, and Genosha had mutates which could merge with electronics. She'd heard if you got too close, you could find a hand literally reach through the screen and kill you. She knew at least one hacker who tried and been found dead at their computer from a broken neck, his apartment still sealed from the inside.

But everyone knew Avengers didn't kill, though they could certainly die, as they were about to find out.

Number 5 got her hacking rig hooked up and tried infiltrating their computers but found herself stymied. She was a bit surprised. For practice she had pierced Kunou Enterprise's database, figuring the Avengers would have a similar set up since they were owned by the same company. The corporation had good protection, but she had penetrated the system all the same. This was different. Much more sophisticated.

After fifteen minutes she decided to cut to the chase and bring out the big guns. She called Number 1 to inform him. "Stiffer resistance than I thought. I'm going for a dive."

"Do you want 6 to standby while you're in?"

"If it'll make you feel better. All he's going to be doing is watching me sit at a terminal."

Number 6 chimed in. "I've got a safe in what appears to be Kunou's personal bedroom. I'm working on popping it. I'd like to finish in case there's something useful in it."

"You forgot to add in 'valuable,'" Number 4 said.

"Valuable things are useful," Number 6 clarified.

Number 2 said, "We're trying to get an elevator to the lower levels working. It seems like a simple bypass through the plate will work. If not we'll cut through the bottom and rappel down. I'd rather not break off from this either since there could be something useful down there."

"I'll be fine," Number 5 assured them.

"All right. Everyone keep doing what you're doing. We're nearly done with the bottom tier traps, so we're still on schedule. I'd like to stay that way," Number 1 said.

With the matter settled, Number 5 pulled a fake skin strip from the back of her neck to reveal a cybernetic jack in the base of her skull. She'd gotten it from the same place Warzone had received all of their cybernetics, and they were all nearly full conversion cyborgs. They knew their stuff. Though the cybernetics made her work easier, while she was mentally plumbing a computer's depths, she was fully vulnerable to having someone mess with her body. Had the dog been any larger, she probably would have wanted someone to watch over her just in case it decided to protect its domain. But it had been a corgi. The most dangerous thing that breed could do was lick you to death.

She put one end of the wire into her jack, put an adaptor on the other end, then hooked herself into the Avengers mainframe and mentally entered the computer.

Less than a second passed when, for the first time ever, a voice spoke directly through the jack and said, "Hello there, Sugar. While these aren't normal visiting hours, I think I can make an exception for you. Let me show you some down-home hospitality."

Instantly, Number 5 discovered the definition of what constituted 'hospitality' was much broader than she had ever imagined

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Number 1 was nearly finished setting up the gas cannisters they would need for the Hulk when Number 5's voice chimed in. "Good news. I found the armory. It's on the bottom floor and get this, they have something labelled, 'Anti-Thor Weapon', in the inventory."

"You mean they have a weapon specifically designed to take out one of their own?" Number 4 asked incredulously.

"Looks like it was seized as a spoil of war off some villain. I bet they thought it might be useful for something else."

"Or they have it on hand in case Thor gets out of hand," Number 1 suggested.

"We'll check it out," Number 3 said.

"I'll pop open the door for you so you can go right in." Number 5's voice provided them with directions to the armory.

Number 2 and Number 3's bypass job had gotten the elevator working not a minute earlier, and the pair had just started inspecting the level. They followed Number 5's instructions and found themselves in front of two very large, very solid metal doors. As soon as they stood before them the doors opened to reveal a vast chamber, unadorned. It was two stories tall, lined with metal walls on every side and an observation room to look down in the area. It was bare of anything else.

"I don't see anything down here," Number 2 informed Number 5.

"Everything's stored in retractable shutters along the walls. I have control of the room. It's going to pop up on the far side of where you are."

Word was deed as what appeared to be a small turret sprang out of a panel in the wall. The weapon was aimed upward.

"That doesn't look special," Number 3 said.

"Or detachable," Number 2 added.

"It is. Walk up to it and you'll see where it unhooks from its housing."

The pair approached the weapon. They were halfway to the item when the doors sealed behind them with a 'whoosh'. At the same moment a multitude of other turrets popped out of the walls as well.

As one the guns were aimed at the pair.

"What the hell's going on, 5?!" Number 2 raged as she brought her gun out and aimed at a turret.

"Target practice, Sugar."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Number 2's voice erupted over the communications link. "We've got a problem here."

"What is it?" 1 asked.

"This thing looks plenty dangerous, but its real heavy. I guess we should have expected it for some kind of 'Anti-Thor' weapon. We're going to need some muscle down here to help us move it.

Number 6, the strong man of the team, said, "Coming. I just got through with the safe's contents and there was nothing useful there. A little bit of cash and some memos that don't look like anything important. I took them anyway just in case."

"When you're done, bring the weapon up here and we'll figure out the best way to use it," Number 1 said.

"I'll guide you to where 2 and 3 are," Number 5 informed him.

It was Number 6's turn to follow Number 5's directions.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Ein was fretting under a bed. He wanted to help his human friend, Sasuke, but had no idea how. He knew the man was secured in the kitchen and alone, but Ein didn't see how freeing him, if he was even able, would help against these intruders. For that matter he had no idea of how to deal with them either. His new friends needed to give him a doggie gun or something if this was going to be a regular thing. He wanted to be a guard dog, but you needed to be a big dog to be a good one. Barring that, weapons would make great equalizers.

The corgi whimpered in frustration when a voice in a high frequency range only dogs could here said, "Hey, Ein, it's me, a friend." The voice explained who it was. "I know you're close to our lil' butler buddy, and I want to help him too. Also we need to take these jackasses down before they try killing the Avengers. Now I've been able to handle all but the last two, but I'm going to need a little help when it comes to them. Here's what I need to you to do."

Ein listened to the voice's suggestion. It was a good plan indeed. He ran out from under the bed to gather what he needed.

Xxxxxxxxx

Number 1 and Number 4 had finished setting up the gas cannisters and made sure they were in working order. It was colorless, odorless, and highly effective. At least on everything up to an elephant. The Hulk had lungs and he definitely needed to breathe. Their calculations indicted the mix they were using was five times the dose they needed to put him down. They would have made it six times but when it was that concentrated the gas became volatile, and they didn't want to blow themselves up in the middle of an op. Five times would have to do.

"How's that weapon coming along?" Number 1 asked.

Number 6 answered. "We've got it but putting it in the elevator is tricky. It's big but looks like it could blow a hole through the moon. I have no idea how they brought it down here in the first place."

Number 5 said, "Specs on it show it should blow a hole through a goddess."

"Once you get it up here we'll see if we can figure out where to set it up," Number 1 said.

It was just as he finished that Ein appeared at the upper end of the hall. This time he seemed to have a friendly look on his face, as opposed to the first encounter. He didn't bark due to his mouth being full.

Both men looked at the canine. Number 4 said, "Oh look, he wants to play ball."

Ein opened his mouth. The object in question fell in two parts. He smacked the round one with his nose as hard as he could, then turned and ran back where he came from, around the corner and out of sight.

Number 1 watched the object roll toward them and identified it. His training was such that his mind instinctively timed everything, analyzed the situation, and realized that what was about to happen was inevitable. An odd sort of calm come over him as he said in a resigned voice, "It's not a ball. He's playing 'catch the grenade'."

And the stunner grenade Ein had gotten off Number 6 went off.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The term 'couldn't believe your eyes' had never been more appropriate as far as Kodachi Kunou was concerned.

She had departed for Avenger's Mansion as soon as she could after having been contacted. As she pulled up, she noted the proper authorities had already arrived, and she quickly learned they were taking care of the aftermath of the situation. She was briefed on what had occurred as the unconscious team of intruders had just finished being secured and were in the process of being detained at a facility until formal charges could be brought against them. Breaking and entering, theft, assault, possession of illegal explosives and weaponry, were the bare minimum. Kodachi informed the authorities she was pressing full charges. She'd nail them for littering if she could.

The authorities had asked Kodachi to inventory the mansion and see if anything had been stolen or defaced. The traps the intruders had placed were not activated yet, so removing them was a simple task. Aside from breaking into an old safe in her bedroom in the manor, nothing appeared to have been stolen. It seemed this outfit's true purpose had been one of aggression toward the Avengers rather than theft. In examining the situation, she had to admit, their plans might have been effective –fatally so. She was beefing up security after this. Clearly she had been lax if this many people had been able to penetrate this deep into the mansion and had enough time to set up so many lethal traps.

Now she was left piecing together what had happened. From the sounds of things Sasuke was not at fault; he had followed security measure to the letter. These saboteurs had been talented and smart enough to circumvent them. But what happened next was unbelievable.

Sasuke's memory only covered the moment to being gassed, then finding himself in the hallway with two unconscious men. That was when he had called the authorities and Kodachi. Technically he probably should have sent an Alpha Priority to the Avengers, but he had instinctively reacted to the intruders as thieves rather than super villain menaces.

Since Sasuke remembered nothing for a large segment of time, Kodachi went to the mansion's video cameras and computer logs to piece together what had happened. External and entryway cameras confirmed the arrival of the disguised intruders and their dispatching of Sasuke. The entryway cameras had also shown two of the men had spent their entire time there setting the traps.

As to the rest of the team that went inside, it was more difficult to track them since there weren't cameras throughout the entire mansion. One of the infiltrators had tried to hack the main computer system but failed. She was found unconscious at a console still plugged into the system. It had to have been from something external since none of the computers system's firewalls or encryptions were designed to harm anyone.

The elevator had been broken into and jury rugged, with three of the intruders going down to the lower levels. Kodachi knew exactly what happened there since their high-tech training room had video monitors throughout to record their sessions with the equipment. They frequently used videos to review how they could improve their teamwork and individual fighting styles. The Hulk's were fairly simple as he went with smash, smash, and more smash, which to his credit worked.

She watched as two of the intruders were stunned into unconsciousness when one of Captain Japan's training sessions had been activated while they were in it. They were certainly not on his level as they had been dispatched within seconds. A while later a third intruder, no doubt wondering what happened to his comrades, arrived and met the same fate. However the systems weren't automated, which meant someone had turned them on and chosen that program to run. In examining who had logged into the system, which was password enabled, she discovered it was Sasuke's that had been used. Only she and Sasuke should have known what it was, and he had been rendered unconscious as soon as the intruders arrived. It was a mystery.

When it came to the final pair, she knew exactly what had happened there. The hallway cameras showed Sasuke tossing a grenade, one of the intruder's own, at them. Her butler had caught the edge of the stunner effect, which resulted in knocking him out as well. Since he had only caught a bit of it, he had recovered first and promptly called everyone.

Except he remembered none of what happened between initially being knocked out and waking up in the hallway with the unconscious pair.

As Kodachi pondered the matter, Sasuke said, "I think I know what happened."

That made her lift an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yes," Sasuke said enthusiastically. "While I was initially knocked out by the gas attack, my resilience allowed me to recover from it faster than they anticipated. I've been taking online 'How to be a Ninja' classes offered by Ninja World amusement parks. It's only 50,000 yen for their entire 20 step course."

"You do realize they aren't actual ninjas any more than Disney has real mice running their amusement parks?"

"Oh no. It's real. They're certified and everything," he insisted, then continued. "I've been learning ninjitsu in an effort to be more useful to the team. And I was. Thanks to that training, I was able to slip my bonds, which is covered in Step Eight: 'How to Get Out of Bondage (Unless It's Your Thing).' Sneaking silently around, I found the intruder trying to get into the computer system and dispatched her with Step Eleven: 'How to Dispatch Intruders, Thieves, and Door to Door Salespeople.' Then I located the others in the training area and, using my natural brilliance rather than ninja wits -which hasn't been covered yet- I activated the systems, subduing all three. Then I purloined one of the grenades and used it on the remaining two. Unfortunately, I accidentally knocked myself out as well. None of the lessons concern determining the area of effect of grenades. I'll mention that in the 'suggestions' box next time I log in. But in any case, the grenade affected my memory, which is why I don't remember any of it. But it's obvious that must be what happened."

It wasn't 'obvious' to Kodachi at all. It sounded absurd. The only thing Sasuke had ever taken out was the garbage, which to his credit he did quite well. However as impossible as it sounded, that must be what happened. She had video evidence of Sasuke disabling those last two people, and it was his password on the computer. But she knew her butler all too well. It was inconceivable to her that some online scam could have bestowed upon him the ability to do what he claimed.

As she continued trying to come up with another, far more sensible, solution, Sasuke said, "Since I was so helpful to the team, can I become an official member?"

Upon asking, Kodachi realized Sasuke did deserve some kind of reward. He had suffered for their benefit, and at first blush did help the team greatly. Still, one had be realistic when doling out rewards. "Why don't we make you a mascot instead? Like Ein."

"That would be wonderful! I'm an official Avengers mascot!" He looked like he would fly off in delight. Luckily his much-vaunted ninja courses didn't seem to cover actual flight, as he simply danced around instead.

In mentioning Ein, Kodachi wondered if she should try interrogating the dog on what happened. He was intelligent and could communicate "yes and no" through barking. Perhaps he had witnessed what had really occurred, and she could get to the bottom of the matter.

But no, she was being too incredulous. Interrogating a dog? Really? Dignity must be maintained. Besides, there was no other rational explanation for what had happened. If it was some conspiracy, who would, and had the ability, to fake video and electronic evidence on behalf of the diminutive butler?

She just had to accept Sasuke was hero for a day.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Alpha Prime is dead!"

Those words echoed in Shirogane's underground 'lair', where all the competitors were seated around the table for an update on the course of the game. Kyoko Saionji's grin reached back as far as she could manage. Had any of her acquaintances been present, they would have been astonished since, while she didn't act emotionless, she wasn't one to express pure delight. That it was over the deaths of several young super heroes would have made most draw back in distaste.

The statement was hardly a revelation. Shirogane had known of the group's demise for the last few days; it had made all the headlines. The team had been blown up in their headquarters, all of the bodies recovered from the debris and identities confirmed. This was the first time something of this magnitude, an entire team of super heroes being assassinated, had happened and a massive investigation was underway. A large funeral open to the public was scheduled in a couple of days, and any public figures stated their intention to attend. While Alpha Prime might have been a low tier group few had heard of, they were being held as heroes who had fallen in the line of duty. While other wearers of masks had occasionally met a grim demise, never had so many fallen at once. It dispelled a lot of the illusion of invincibility surrounding heroes and was sobering to public perception that these super powered beings were able to achieve any goal and conquer any foe, including death.

More importantly, at least to the other competitors, it put Kyoko alone in first place.

"How did you manage it?" Shirogane asked. There was no anger in his voice, just interest.

"I hired Spymaster himself to get the job done. I'd give him a bonus if I wasn't already paying him so much. But he was worth every yen."

So that was why he had been unavailable. Kyoko had beaten Shirogane to the punch. A pity on two fronts since Spymaster might have succeeded where the Espionage Elite had failed, and it might have prevented Kyoko from disposing of her targets.

Open depression emanated from the other human in the room. Sullen didn't come close to describing Shizuka Homura's mental state. "I was so sure my plan would have worked. It almost did. How was I to know Haruka Bloodstone had diplomatic immunity? If they hadn't let her out to discover who I hired to take over Techno's armor, I would have succeeded."

Shirogane had been aware of that situation as well. Unknown to most people, including himself, it turned out Bloodstone Island was regarded as a sovereign nation. Had been for centuries. That made Ulysses Bloodstone its leader and he had anointed his children diplomats from said country with the various immunities that came with that title. Had Shirogane come up with Homura's inspired plan, he would have made the same oversight. But the understandable mistake did the politician no good in this game where the stakes were so high.

As if reaching the same conclusion, Homura admitted, "I don't think I'm going to be able to come up with something with what little time remains. It looks like I'm going to be owing someone a lot of favors."

Still giddy, Kyoko said, "Don't worry. I won't be frivolous or petty. As Shirogane pointed out at the beginning of this little game, even if you lose we want you to ascend as high as you can go. I might even wait until you're Prime Minister to call in some favors. And rest assured I won't make you look bad in the process."

"The game's not quite over yet," Shirogane reminded her.

"You have to kill all the Avengers to win now, and you haven't even managed one," she countered. "Though I'll admit you came close a few times."

"I still have a trick or two up my sleeve." Aside from High Technician's Death Spore scheme, which left more to chance than he liked, there was one last plan that was all Shirogane's own. It was also guaranteed to be successful, or as close as one could get to a guarantee in this plane of reality. He would have gone with it in the first place, but it was by far the most expensive scheme and would set his overall plan back six months to a year. But it would take longer than that if he didn't spend the money. So it was necessary he put the first parts of it into motion once the meeting was over. The deadline was looming after all.

The plan was straightforward, which was why it was so certain to work. He would put a one hundred million dollar bounty on the Avenger's heads. Technically it was a hundred and five since he required the crime lord, Mantis, to be used as a go between, and that was her cut of the action. But it wasn't like he could personally announce his intentions to the world, after all. Since Mantis was a reputable underworld figure, everyone would believe her when she announced the bounty. He had quietly approached her associate, the Arranger, with feelers about this scheme. Using him as a liaison, they had worked out the details so that all of the criminals would know it wasn't some kind of scam and the money was real.

Shirogane had studied the ways of super villains as he had the other ants that made up humanity. By his estimation one of two things would occur: both of them involving large groups of super villains.

Scenario one had three waves hitting them. The first would be a united effort by impetuous, less powerful villains and inexperienced ones new to the game and eager to make a name for themselves. They would rely on sheer numbers to bring the Avengers down, and while they might succeed in killing one or two, it was highly improbable they would eliminate the entire team. It was guaranteed to weaken them for the second wave

These would be the more powerful and experienced villains who would take longer to organize since they tended to operate more independently or as individuals. They would devise a battle strategy to succeed since the first wave failed. Given their superior abilities, and functioning with some coordination, there was a very high probability of successfully killing the entire team, and almost no chance of all of them surviving. While the Avengers were powerful indeed, they couldn't fight off that many 'heavy hitters', as the term was used, all at the same time. Even they had their limits.

And if somehow there were some survivors, the third wave would finish them off. This would be a collection of more intellectual types that would be careful in their planning, which is why it would take them so long to strike. They would also be the most dangerous. He could see any member of the Magnificent Ten, or even a couple of them, willing to go out of their way to eliminate whatever remained of a potential thorn in their schemes. And even ones such as they could use a hundred million dollars.

The second scenario was even more assured. Two or three of the masterminds teaming up, organizing a good portion of the second wave villains, and utilizing them to eliminate the team. That much force with highly competent direction, and the Avengers would fall as well. That was a less likely scenario, though the odds of winning were even greater.

Shirogane could envision no path in which he failed to win once he initiated it. Technically he still could lose somehow, even he was unable to figure out everything, but the random variables that would have to occur to make this plan fail were so great as to be laughable.

There was a loud rumble from the building above that made the trio looked upward. Only Prime Mover remained motionless.

"What was that? An earthquake?" Homura asked, eyes transfixed as though he had x-ray vision that could allow him to see the events happening above.

"I have no idea," Shirogane admitted. "If it's something serious my staff would alert me."

There was a second, louder, rumble.

"I believe that was the sound of an impact. And it's closer, so not an earthquake," Kyoko said.

The source of the sound was revealed when a wall exploded, showering everyone with dust and small shards of building material. The occupants recoiled, and Homura was actually knocked off his chair. Again only Prime Mover failed to react.

Then the wall on the opposite side of the room did the same.

The dust from the first wall settled, revealing nearly a ton of green yeti-riding-bull-while-carrying-eel-and crane standing in the middle of the destruction. A small flying girl in an insect costume hovered nearby while an alluring cat girl in a skimpy costume stood next to him.

The A-Bra-Mination, Hornet, and Dragon Pink.

The dust from the second wall settled, revealing the people standing in the newly created aperture. A young man with flowing white hair, adorned in dragon scale armor and bearing ten rings with bizarre ornaments on them, stood imperiously. Next to him was a large muscular man in a tiger skin outfit, and two women in borderline bondage gear and cloaks, complete with whips in their hands.

Mandarin, Power Man, Blacklash and Whiplash.

All of the room's occupants were at a loss. Even Shirogane.

As Homura rose to his feet he gave voice to what the others wondered. "What are you doing here?"

Finally Prime Mover spoke. "When I chose the Lethal Legion for elimination, I anticipated an 81.4% chance of success. Failing that, there was only an 11.8% chance they would successfully calculate the origin of the attacks and eventually track down this location. They have beaten considerable odds on two consecutive occasions. The human factor remains very telling in any game."

"You goddamn computer!" Kyoko raged.

Mandarin approached the rich and powerful elite, death in his eyes.

Kyoko was the first to leap from her seat and run toward the passage which led to the chamber.

Mandarin raised his left hand. Flames leapt from one of the rings and to her body, setting it on fire. She screamed once, staggered two steps before falling to her knees. She made it another foot before slumping to the floor. Her body became motionless and the smell of burning flesh, clothing, and hair filled the room.

"Coward," Mandarin softly intoned.

Homura rose to his feet, pleading. "Look, I'm an important man in the Diet. I can help you. Don't kill me."

Mandarin aimed the left hand at Homura. From a different ring electricity leapt from it and to the man, frying him instantly. After his body ceased spasming it struck the ground. While Homura's smoldering corpse produced an unpleasant smell, it was drowned out by Kyoko's own pyre.

"Politician," he spat as contemptuously as he had his previous declaration.

Shirogane was the picture of composure. He had a sad look as he said, "All I wanted to do was build a better ant farm."

This time Mandarin aimed his right hand. A crimson beam leapt forth and Haruki Shirogane turned into a pile of ash.

"Madman."

With all the human occupants disposed of, the group's attention shifted toward the only remaining participant in the game.

"That is one funky-looking robot thing," Pink said, referring to Prime Mover.

The machine spoke. "I was created by Dr. Doom to play games with him. Rather than conventional games, I was designed to use humans as the pieces and the world the gameboard."

Mandarin aimed his hand at Prime Mover. "I do not play games."

One of the rings began to glow.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[End Chapter]

Pretty sure most people will be taken by surprise with this one. It was always meant to be a three parter, and our trio of villains was lower on the totem pole in the big scheme of things, which is why they fell to more powerful forces they made the mistake of dabbling with. And Herb and company haven't strutted their stuff for a while. And this three parter allowed me to put some more pieces into play I put on the board earlier. Hopefully this little arc entertained.

Oh yes, Homura's plan is nearly identical to the on Justin Hammer used in Iron Man's comic.