Avenging
Discussion X and X Preparation
Book 2: Chapter 8
As always you can contact me at
tsommer
My works are stored at
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As always, I do not own the rights to the numerous characters or series within.
This is a great place to dig up obscure Marvel character, many of which I use in this
Last chapter: Kasumi looked for an apartment, while in the bowels of Kunou Enterprises someone was manipulating them into creating an advanced robotic body. Also The Phantom Troupe killed members of the Avant Garde, who were trying to kill the comatose Mimic. This cleared the way for the Troupe to finally move in on the 'New York Job'. At the same time Elektra/Tigra discovered a Joketsuzoku relic being put up for auction at Kingpin's place in… New York. She decided it was time to recruit some help on recovering the relic…
And on we go.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mousse had a problem.
It wasn't the usual type of problem that normally confounded his life. Not an insane super villain trying to kill him -and his teammates- in an effort to conquer the solar system. Nor a lame ass wanna-be villain, like Leap Frog or Owl, who had aspirations of becoming rich through robbery, yet struggled with basic competence, (like understanding gliding didn't intimidate anyone). It wasn't even something along the lines of trying to balance school, being a super hero, and enjoying a girlfriend's company in a 24-hour day, while still getting enough sleep to make it through another day. This was an altogether new frustrating issue.
The source of the stress could be laid at the doorstep of Elektra. Word through the grapevine had reached Daredevil's ears (no hyper-senses needed), a message that stated, 'Daredevil: the woman who become acquainted with your balls the second time we met, needs to rendezvous with you at the place we met for the last time.'
'Acquainted' in the sense she kneed him in the groin hard enough he pissed blood for the next three days, and the last place they were in each other's company was where the Snakeroot met their well-earned demise.
So he immediately set out for the now even more run-down partially constructed skyscraper, and found her waiting for him. Thanks to her ninja training she remained as subtle as ever and it took some effort with his hyper-senses to spot her. Not caring for the open nature of the setting, she led him to a nearby, more complete, empty building where she explained the situation. An underground auction in New York was offering a reliquary from an 'extinct tribe of Chinese Amazons.' She then described it in detail (since radar senses could do a lot, but examining pictures wasn't one of them). He recognized the sacred relic of his people halfway through the description. Had any other Joketsuzoku been alive, undoubtedly they would have as well. It was one of their most important artifacts, its ornate nature making it a work of art that had been created at least a couple hundred years earlier.
Instinctively, he wanted to reclaim this lost legacy, as Elektra suspected he would. To that end she offered to aid him, explaining it was the least she could do to honor Shampoo's memory. His first instinct was to crash the auction, kick ass, and grab it (which was sort of the Avengers usual modus operandi). She shot down that idea and explained the layers of security would be more than sufficient to repel someone of his power level. The United States had its share of super heroes, and Kingpin would design appropriate defenses in case of heroic party crashers.
His second idea of bringing the Avengers along to help, since he knew they would back him up in a matter like this, met the same fate. They would be operating on foreign soil. Most countries, including the U.S. and Japan, did not care for other nations' costumed set dropping by when the mood suited them and busting up the place -their own heroes did that often enough—and no one wanted foreign imports doing the same. Especially when it wasn't some lunatic gearing up for world domination, but just an illegal moneymaking venture.
Likewise a *lot* of underworld types would be attending the auction, many of them with considerable resources, connections, and power. The Avengers making life difficult for so many of them at once -in a plan which didn't affect the heroes at all- might make the ostensible rivals inclined to unite long enough to cause many problems for the heroes in return. Unless the Avengers were looking for all-out war, one they might not win, then a more subtle approach would be required.
The logic was sound, and Mousse agreed. She then revealed her plan: infiltration, which she was an expert at. She had underworld connections which would secure legitimate invitations to the auction. They would go incognito of course, then figure out on site how to go about stealing the reliquary if possible. They agreed they would not allow it to fall into some criminal's hands and didn't want to take the chance of being outbid. It wasn't like they had Kunou Enterprises type money behind them. The more she explained things the more logical the tactic was, so in the end he agreed to her scheme. The idea of some criminal getting his hands on what was probably the last proof of his people's existence nauseated him. It belonged to him by every measure of decency.
It was only after he left Elektra's company that he realized he would potentially be gone from Japan for some time, and that he would have to explain his absence to Ukyou. Girlfriends became both worried and suspicious when boyfriends dropped off the map with no explanation. He considered lying to her and saying it was something inconspicuous, but he truly cared for her and couldn't bring himself to do it. Since honesty really was the best policy, he went ahead and he called her up, explaining he needed to tell her something important. She agreed to stay up late and leave the door to her restaurant open for him.
He changed into normal clothing and made the journey on foot. He'd done it so often he could have found it even without his radar sense. As he walked, he noted the lightness in his step that a few months ago would have been alien to him. It was wonderful having somewhere you looked forward going to every opportunity you had.
Upon arriving at the familiar outline, and even more familiar lingering scent of Ukyou's delicious cooking, Mousse developed cold feet. Somehow he doubted his girlfriend would respond to his explanation with, "Sure, run off to another country with a beautiful criminal. Why would I have an issue with it?" All of the realistic reactions she would most likely have made his guts knot up a little. If it wasn't so necessary, he'd probably bow out of the theft and save himself the stress. But it was that important. He'd never forgive himself if the reliquary slipped through his fingers. He had to do this.
Maybe he should just leave and explain things later. It wasn't like she'd break up with him over this, was it? Or was it? They hadn't been dating that long, and what if one of Ukyou's pet peeves was boyfriends sneaking off to other countries with exotic assassins? Did women have a hang up about stuff like that? It was a tough call. He was still new to the dating game, after all.
He started to turn and accept sometimes leaving your girlfriend ignorant of your actions was the better part of valor, but then his conscience started kneeing him in his metaphorical groin hard enough he'd be pissing guilt, the (metaphorical) bloody kind, for a lot longer than a couple of days. He had to face the music and inform Ukyou.
Having girlfriends really confined guys in their actions, Mousse was discovering.
Sure enough, as soon as he made his way through the main entrance there was Ukyou in the center of the room, sitting at one of her tables. The moment he entered she stood up, and his senses took note of her heartbeat, breathing, and even sweat. It all radiated intense tension. He had tried sounding casual on the phone, but had clearly failed. Either his acting wasn't up to snuff, or she could read his emotions far better than he anticipated.
So Mousse told her everything, almost to the point of blurting. The reaction was… foreseeable.
"No way are you going to some foreign country with that slutty, backstabbing, lying snake alone! She'll run you through and leave you dead in some ditch. Or she may be looking to kidnap you and sell you off at the auction. Or… or… or she might be trying to seduce you, or something worse."
He politely refrained from saying if the next to last was the case, it would end with Ukyou turning both him and Elektra into arrow pincushions. In this case seduction = death, which meant there was nothing worse than that.
But he was learning to be a good boyfriend and kept his mouth shut.
Ukyou continued, "There's only one solution: I'm going with you."
"All right."
"I mean it, Mousse. I understand why this tiny building thing is important to you, so I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but I am going along."
"I said sure."
"I'm not taking no for an answer, Mister. So you'd better accept the fact you are not getting your way this time. Someone has to watch your back before some top-heavy tramp puts a knife in it."
"I think your archery has made you as deaf as I am blind."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
He could hear her teeth grind with how tightly her jaw was clenched. "Replay my multiple responses to you, if you'd please."
"You said…." And once memory caught up with her thought patterns, she realized the error. "I thought you were going to be stubborn and irrationally concerned about my safety and refuse to let me go. Boyfriends tend to be overprotective."
He released a sigh. "We're both super heroes. I resigned myself to accepting that's part of the job for both of us, and any relationship is going to entail those risking life and limb activities. I do like you alive and prefer all your limbs attached, for the record."
She frowned at him. "Your good judgement in this situation is throwing me off my game here."
"Want me to stomp my foot and protest before giving in? I pout real good." And he did so for her benefit.
That made her giggle. "You look like a toddler told they have to eat their vegetables." Ukyou collected herself. "Now that we've resolved that matter, another idea occurs to me. We could use some additional muscle in addition to my muscle and yours."
"We are *not* having Hulk help us out," Mousse protested.
"Since that would almost guarantee the item in question being destroyed, as well as major sections of New York along with it, I concur. Instead I was thinking of someone with muscle, but less muscle and more brainpower, who can go in plainclothes, like us." And she told him.
Mousse nodded his head. If the muscle in question agreed, and he almost certainly would, that'd work out fine. His girlfriend was chock full of good ideas.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Elektra was dressed in her usual attire for going outdoors, baggy and plain. She also picked the nerdiest glasses she could find to hide her features. Who knew what undercover minions the Hand had around? They could be anywhere, being ninjas and everything, and her 'Kill on Sight for Tons of Money' contract was still very active. She thought she looked enough 'non-Elektraish' that no one would be able to identify her. And if someone did… her life would get light years more complicated in an unwanted way.
Praise the higher beings (not Thor), that she had her Tigra identity to camouflage her. There were times when you needed the peace of mind to not perpetually look over your shoulder in anticipation of a half dozen shuriken perforating your back. There was the issue that being Tigra also meant dealing with super-powered individuals who could crush your head as easily as a grape from time to time, but she tended to be faster than them. It was far easier to evade the attack you saw than the one you didn't.
Her eyes kept glancing at an old-style clock with actual hands hanging above the door as she waited for Mousse to show up at their new rendezvous: a small room meant for TED talks and business meetings she had rented in a mid-sized hotel. Nothing that should raise anyone's eyebrows, while still securing them the privacy they needed. Everything was set up for their New York excursion on the logistics side. If only she had been able to get intel on Kingpin's defenses, but there hadn't been time and her information network was not geared toward anything in the Western hemisphere. But that didn't concern her too much. While she knew any plan could go to hell in a heartbeat, she was confident this one would work with how carefully she had laid things out.
And her confidence was blown out of the water when Mousse arrived with his two guests.
Elektra recognized Ukyou instantly. Tigra had seen her out of costume after all. She supposed her appearance was to be expected all things considered. Someone with common sense would have stuck to the plan, but given this *was* Mousse, and it was obvious he and Ukyou were really hitting it off (not sexually yet. She was certain they'd be glowing when that time came about), common sense went out the door. Really, if Ukyou was going to be that much of an asset, Elektra would have cooked up an excuse to invite her along. But where they were going, a bow and arrow didn't fit into any scheme, and Ukyou was basically useless without them. She wasn't total dead weight, but not far from it.
The other person who had been brought along was a real surprise on every level. Despite the sunglasses and absurd mustache he sported, Elektra could tell from his jaw and build she was meeting the object of her adore out of costume for the first time. She looked past his ridiculous disguise and determined Captain Japan was cute. Not drop dead gorgeous, but definitely appealing. She highly approved, though if his face was horribly burned behind the mask she still would have been interested in him. However a lack of disfigurement was a definite plus in her book.
The one thing that concerned her was why he was traveling without a mask in Mousse and Ukyou's company. To the best of her knowledge he hadn't confided his identity with any other Avenger. She had hoped as Tigra she would be the first he revealed it to. Had it been just Ukyou, she'd have been very… put off. But Mousse knew too, and he and the Captain were not exactly the best of friends. There were facts in the situation she was ignorant of. To one of her training, it was like an itch she couldn't scratch, but the Hand also taught its members the discipline to not scratch an itch. It was done by stripping them naked, then dousing them with itching powder while having ninjas standing by with swords ready to impale them if they made the slightest motion to scratch.
Restraint became instinct when you received an advanced education like that.
Elektra went into an act that wasn't entirely an act. "Either you have two very weird-looking shadows or you brought friends to a private meeting." She scowled to let the others know her displeasure. Mousse would read her body rhythm to come to the same determination.
There was no apology in his voice, "I thought we could use some help just in case things get messier than we anticipate. These two can hold their own in a fight, and they're reliable. I'm willing to put my life in their hands."
She shot him a half-lidded stare he wouldn't appreciate if he could see it. He had brought two Avengers without their masks to a former Assassin Prime of the Hand. He knew she knew he was Daredevil, which meant the logical assumption would be his two cohorts were also Avengers. True, Ukyou had the 'Hawkeye is a guy' thing to make Elektra not connect the two, but she could jump to the misassumption she was Wasp. And as to Captain Japan, only one guy on the team had that physique. She wouldn't have been completely surprised if someone had told him he was 'as big as Captain Japan', at some point. It was either very stupid, or a sign Mousse trusted her that much. Maybe he felt their association had earned that measure of respect.
For whatever the reason, their identities were safe, even if he made a misassumption as to why that was.
Returning to the matter at hand, judging by the look Ukyou was shooting her, Elektra decided she wasn't going to fight their accompaniment. There was a real chance it would come to blows if she refused Ukyou's presence, and it didn't take a genius to figure out Mousse would chose love over an object, even an important one. The reliquary had to be recovered for her own peace of mind. At least having Captain Japan, even without his shield, with them was a definite plus. True, she couldn't advance any plans on seducing him since he was dealing with 'Elektra' and not Tigra; there was a potential future with only one of those identities. But if in the course of this caper she learned more about him on this little jaunt, then she could apply that knowledge to help her attempts at a later time in her other identity.
And spending time in his company out of costume thrilled her. Even if it was all about business and there was zero percent chance he would fall for her. She considered how to expand her plans to include the pair, because a lot of alterations would have to be made, and fast. Their inclusion complicated things hideously.
Or maybe not. The original plan called for her and Mousse to go in as a pair. But if things were altered to include two pairs, and a little mix and match was to follow. Yes, that could work. She mentally mapped out the altered strategy.
Elektra maintained an outwardly vexed façade while sharing her observations. To Mousse she said, "We'll have to rearrange things. You travel with your female companion, who I don't trust to watch my back considering the glare she's shooting, and I travel with Mr. Beefcake."
"You can call me C.J." Ranma said.
Elektra barely kept from snorting out in laughter. He was really, really, terrible at this. "And you?" she asked Ukyou.
"Uh… Jessie."
That was an interesting choice. It probably had meaning of some kind. But it would do. "Thanks to you we have a major problem," she informed Mousse.
"We can work around it," he assured her.
"Then do tell me where we can secure another legitimate invitation to the auction. It only allows one additional companion for the person invited, not three. Do you have one up your sleeve with all those other hidden technique items?"
That made him shift uncomfortably. "I thought maybe you could forge one or something."
The next scowl was legitimate. "Forgery is not my forte, and even if it was I wouldn't chance it in this case. There will be a number of super villains at this function. Not all of them like sharing their real identity with their criminal brethren. Criminals not trusting one another? Shocking, I know. Kingpin is smart enough to respect their privacy, hence the need for genuine invitations of his own creation with some secret means of authenticating them. Not knowing what that process is means it can't be forged. I'll say it again for the benefit of your friends: Kingpin is a shrewd man. Those who underestimate him tend to end up dead."
"So we get a real one," Ukyou said.
Which was exactly what Elektra was going to suggest. She pretended to consider it as if the idea was Ukyou's. If she felt she was being useful it might placate her. "A good idea. In thinking about it, I believe I know someone else who's been invited. He'll have to be 'convinced' to part with his invitation, though."
"I'm persuasive," CJ Insisted.
"I'm sure you are." Elektra mentally figured out what would be needed to secure the fellow afterward, since these three weren't going to allow her to silence him permanently. "It'll fall to you to impersonate him since your body types are similar," she informed Mousse.
"I'm good with impressions." He didn't try one to impress her, though.
"We'll have to move quickly. As in by tomorrow,, so clear your agendas for the next few days," she explained. "You'll also have to do everything I say from now on. No alterations. No improvisations. No more surprises. Try crap like this again and I'm out and you're on your own. I have some loyalty to Shampoo's memory, but it doesn't extend to getting myself killed because you're stupid."
She was ready for a verbal fight, and for a moment it appeared Ukyou would be the one to kick things off, but then she clamped her jaw shut and nodded. Mousse and CJ agreed readily, perhaps in the former's case he realized he had jeopardized the operation by including the pair.
Elektra would trust them just like she did in her other identity, while outwardly appearing reluctant to do so. She hoped they took her seriously this time. The situation was dangerous, and if their identities were divined at the auction, it would almost certainly be fatally bad. She had been confident she could get herself and Mousse out alive in an emergency. But with the additional two, those odds decreased significantly.
As they prepared to leave, Elektra told the incognito Captain. "And lose the pornstache. It looks ridiculous."
He looked at her curiously. "What's a pornstache?"
She rolled her eyes for real once again.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Hirokazu Yamura, far better known by his professional name, Blue Talon, awoke with a start. While of normal human abilities, he was a skilled fighter in martial arts, and had honed himself to react like a weapon when there was potential danger. He liked to think his instincts were as sharp as a blade, and any blade could be used to kill.
It was a foreign body that had brushed across his face. That was enough to trigger the reaction, a hard chop in the direction of the brush. Had he gone to bed with a woman, his body would have reacted less hastily. Killing one's sexual partners tended to kill one's love life as well. Most women were more into le petite mort than outright mort. But he'd gone to bed solo tonight, so his subconscious acted in appropriate fashion.
Yet the blow met nothing but air. His body continued on automatic as he shot up from the covers and surveyed the room for attackers, ready to defend if he must, then retaliate if he was able.
No one was nearby. Rather, the intruder, who had to have been the source of the disturbance, was in the doorway. A beautiful woman dressed in red with a bandanna over her hair. It took a moment to identify the outfit as belonging to a member of the Hand, specifically a female Assassin Prime. And there was one of those that always went to the head of the list: Elektra.
Her reputation preceded her in the underworld. You couldn't overhype her accomplishments. Defecting from the Hand, making it to the top of their hit list and surviving so long was testament to her skill.
She was feigning casualness. His trained eye saw through the illusion: she was a coiled spring prepared to go into action in the blink of an eye. There was also a message in that posture. 'I could have already killed you. I want you awake, aware, and alive… for now.'
Her next message was verbal. "Choose some clothing and meet me in the courtyard." She departed.
This was not how he would have expected a nocturnal visit with an assassin of Elektra's caliber to do down. Dead without ever knowing it, rather than calling for a rendezvous that promised civility in the opening moments, was what he would have put money on. There was more going on here than met the eye.
He went to the closet and donned some clothing. It was a standard personal outfit, loose fighting gear and a gi with an expensive silk jacket bearing his trademark blue sinuous dragon embroidered on the back. He didn't have the metal plates to put on the sides of his hands to add impact to his strikes- those were in his personal dojo downstairs. He doubted Elektra would approve of a side trip on his way to the inner courtyard to increase his combat capability. It was fine. He had killed many without the additional weaponry. He was the weapon. They were tools that sped up the inevitable.
Yamura emerged from the bedroom and made his way through the mansion. Technically owned by his employer, Damon Dran, it had unofficially been made into Blue Talon's personal residence for serving Dran both faithfully and effectively. Many bodies over the years. Too many to count. He remembered the first few, but when you slaughtered as many as he did, they really did effectively blur into one. Only a few kills here and there were worth remembering.
He had a feeling today's would be added to that small list.
As he made his way through the house he noted figures lying on the floor: his guards. While there was nothing special about them, they were from a reputable company and expensive. Each had clearly fallen at his post without sign of a struggle. That would be Elektra's handiwork, doing what she did best.
As he passed by a fallen body, he noticed the guard's chest move. So, Elektra hadn't killed him. That explained the lack of blood on the carpets. Blue Talon wouldn't have to replace them after all. But why was she of all people avoiding bloodshed? More questions with no answers that made sense.
He emerged into the open-air courtyard that lay in the center of the mansion, effectively cut off from the public eye. The garden bordering it was immaculate, with tasteful flora arranged by gardeners. He rather liked plants, not to the point of it being a hobby, but he found the area conducive toward meditation.
No time for that art, though. It was nearing the time to spill blood. Preferably that of his foes, and foes it was for Elektra had brought company. A man in white robes with a full mask covering his entire face. There were no obvious eyeholes to look out of. Perhaps the material was transparent in one direction. His arms were in the billowing sleeves, his hands hidden. Instinctively Blue Talon thought he held concealed weapons. There was something in the body language.
There was a woman, young, with a domino mask covering her feature. Her garb was unremarkable, and no weapons visible. She stood close to the robed man. Affectionately, if Yamura was judging correctly.
Elektra stood nearby, with a low lidded look that told him she'd have no issue with killing him in a heartbeat. He'd been around stone-cold killers nearly his entire life, was one himself, and he could always tell when a person was in that sort of mood. Being an expert in the art of body language often made the difference between life and death, and you always wanted to be on the right side of that line.
But what dominated his attention was the large man with the sunglasses and hideous fake mustache in the middle of the courtyard, almost as though he was in charge. He wore a red gi, blue pants, and his hair was done in a pig tail sticking out the back. Another young one.
If there was any doubt he was in charge, it was erased when he spoke. "Okay, pal. Here's the deal." He pointed to the former member of the Hand. "My psychotic friend here-."
"Elektra." Vanity wouldn't allow Blue Talon to leave others convinced he was that unaware.
"Yeah, her. She wanted to torture you to get you to talk, but I said, 'Nah, let's give the putz a fighting chance.' So here's how it's going to work. We want the invitation Dran gave you to the auction in New York. If I beat you, you hand it over and we put you on temporary ice. If you win, you walk no hard feelings."
Blue Talon doubted it was as simple as that. They hadn't gone to all this trouble and leave an unnecessarily high degree of failure attached to it. He was a top ranked assassin in his own right. No one in this line of work offered another a fair fight. There was something to this bizarre situation he was overlooking, but he was damned if he could figure out exactly what it was.
Regardless of what this large guy contended, Blue Talon planned on killing his way out. After he dispatched the musclebound clod, he'd target Elektra since she was the most dangerous. Maybe maneuver the battle so that after he unleashed a fatal attack on the big guy he'd be close enough to go for a second one on Elektra. It seemed the best option. Upon killing her, the additional couple would be dispatched into the afterlife seconds after one another.
But there was one thing that had to happen first. "Would you please remove that hideous thing on your lip. I can't take you seriously when you look so absurd."
"Said the guy calling himself Blue Talon, who's neither blue nor has talons."
"The blue dragon is something I always wore on my outfits, and it's clear he has talons on his hands."
"They're called claws, stupid. Dragons have claws. Birds have talons. If you were going to use that name, you should have used a blue bird."
"A bird on my outfit wouldn't be intimidating. It needs to be a dragon."
"You're not intimidating to anyone because you have a punchable face. No one with a punchable face can be intimidating.
Yamura's eyebrows twitched. "I do not."
The masked youth entered the conversation. "It's true. You have the most punchable face I've ever seen, and that's saying something." That made his girlfriend giggle far more than it should.
Fine, now he was going to kill them. Wait, he had already decided to do that. Now he would kill them *slowly* should the opportunity present itself.
The big guy said, "That's part of the deal too. If you lose, you stop going by the totally inappropriate name of Blue Talon, and change it to 'The Punchable Face'."
If Yamura had considered leaving him alive, that decision would have been reversed. He despised trash talkers, so much so he tended to kill them for nothing despite his intense dislike for unpaid work. His pet peeves were few, but emphatic.
And his face was not fucking punchable!
"Want to stretch out first? Not that it'll do ya any good," the big guy offered.
Again Blue Talon wondered what was up with the generosity. He took it, because limbering up before a fight was always a plus, and perhaps he'd notice something that would make sense of the situation.
Two minutes later he was still none the wiser, and since he was finished warming up, there was no sense in dragging things out any longer. He wanted this arrogant shit dead.
He indicated he was ready via a slight nod of the head: the only show of respect he'd give since, aside from his base insults, the youth still hadn't removed that stupid looking mustache. If it wasn't a wasted move that might make him vulnerable, he'd consider ripping it off that lip himself. But Blue Talon decided to settle for beating his opponent to death. Fists covered in his opponent's blood always improved his mood.
The professional assassin went for quick disabling strikes. Once he softened up the target, then he'd maneuver him closer to Elektra. At least that was the plan, but the large youth was far more nimble than his size would suggest, and fended off all of the attacks with disgusting ease. When it became evident there was no quick victory to be had, Blue Talon settled in for a lengthy battle using wear down techniques instead of one shots.
When his style changed, his larger foe wasn't prepared. A tag into the back of the head landed. Not debilitating -to put more force behind it would have slowed the blow down and it probably would not have connected- but damage nonetheless. And headshots were never a good thing for the person enduring them. As the large youth reacted to the pain, Blue Talon landed another shot into the stomach.
Curiously, the big guy smiled.
Apparently, Blue Talon's opponent had been holding back, too. Three attacks were deflected, only to have a fourth slip past Yamura's defenses. It was powerful enough to split the lip, which was going to swell like a balloon later. He'd been hit like that before and knew what was to come.
Unlike Blue Talon, the youth didn't press the attack, smiling wider instead.
Fine, the fight would go even longer. More attacks were launched, one slipping past to the face, hitting that absurd mustache but sadly not removing it. Another body shot to Yamura's side made a follow up impossible. Worse, it did more damage, and the large youth looked as sturdy as ever. Elektra's alliance with him started to make sense. The kid was for real.
As the fight progressed, Blue Talon compared his opponent to previous fighters he had known. His speed was the equivalent of Lotus. She'd been an ally on a few of Dran's operations. Yamura was convinced while he could have killed her if they fought one another, she'd have given him a few scars as a reminder of the fight.
The youth got in a solid shot to the ribs. That hurt a lot, but better there than the head. The brute was strong. Stronger than Kogar. The Southeast Asian pirate hadn't played nice with Dran, and Blue Talon saw to it he paid for that with his life.
Yes! A snap fist to the youth's nose made him recoil. A kick that hit the top of the leg instead of the knee did more. Now Blue Talon was starting to gain the advantage. Or so he thought until he took a really powerful blow to his upper mid-section.
That one was bad, but not as bad as when Ox hit the same spot. Yamura had nearly lost his life the day the Enforcers got the drop on him. Dran had not played nice with Crime Master, and the underworld head had sent the trio in to stress his irritation via the corpse of one of Dran's more valued men. Blue Talon had barely escaped and it had taken a month to recover from the beating he received.
The fight continued. Moments felt like minutes. The minutes felt like hours. The assassin was plastered in sweat and his body ached in a way it hadn't in a very long time. Far too few blows landed on his part, and far too many met his body for his taste.
And then he noticed it. The youth was slowing down! Both attacks and evasions were losing the crispness they had started out with. Blue Talon's cardio was second to none. Being on the verge of wearing his opponent down meant victory was ensured. He went for one of his special moves: a lightning- fast chop to the neck. Even if it didn't break something vital, it would be a turning point in the fight. No one lacking super human durability could just shrug that off. Maneuvering the youth so a follow up attack could be employed against Elektra was forgotten. He had to beat this boy and it would take all of Yamura's skill.
While the chop was on target, the youth sped up, moving faster than at the start of the fight. It was an unexpected move that cost Yamura everything. An uppercut landed on the jaw, one that rattled his sensibilities. A knee to the gut knocked all the wind out. A kick to the leg knocked it out from under him and he went to the ground, landing on his stomach. An elbow to the spine of his prone form and it was over. Blue Talon could barely twitch.
The larger youth, who did have a swollen cheek, bruising on his left bicep, and a slight limp in his right leg, stood over the defeated man. "Okay, Punchable Face, where's the invite?"
Elektra stood nearby with a sai in one hand. "You lose a kidney if you lie. And then you'll tell us anyway once you lose your bi lateral symmetry as I remove more noticeable body parts."
He'd heard that one before. He liked it when his pieces on each side lined up correctly. "In the study. Main desk. Bottom drawer left hand side. No lock."
The girl in the mask departed. When she returned, she showed Elektra the invitation. After a moment's examination, the former member of the Hand nodded her head.
And the world went dark for Blue Talon.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Elektra summoned men to detain Blue Talon and his unconscious guards at a secure location.
"You promised not to kill them," Ranma reminded her.
"As long as they don't try to escape," she qualified. "My men are under no obligation to risk getting killed by holding back against this murderous lot."
He reluctantly conceded the point.
Ranma took a moment to truly admire his handiwork. "He wasn't bad. Not bad at all. He fell for the old 'I'm gassed' routine. I thought there was only a fifty percent chance it would work."
"I wondered why you slowed down there. Usually you last a lot longer than that," Mousse said.
Elektra said to Mousse, "Grab one of Blue Talon's outfits in his bedroom. You're going to wear it since you have nearly the same dimensions as him."
"But do I actually look like him in the face?" Mousse asked.
"You're much cuter," Ukyou informed him, running a finger under his jaw.
"I already thought of that'" Elektra said. "When we get to New York we'll pick up a mask I'm having made for you. As your beefy companion pointed out," she indicated Ranma. "Blue Talon isn't very talony or blue. So in addition to the blue dragon gi and jacket, you'll be wearing a blue mask over the top half of your face with talons coming down on both sides meeting your jawline. If anyone asks about the change in appearance, you're going for a look that matches your name."
"Sounds like it'll work," Mousse admitted.
"Once this lot is collected, we need to get going," Elektra said. "We have two days left until the auction, and there are still many things we need to do between here and there."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next leg of their journey took place at an airport outside of Tokyo. The quartet allowed Elektra to lead them to a small aircraft on the tarmac where a pilot awaited their arrival.
"You have a private jet?" Ukyou asked in shock.
"I rented a private jet," Elektra informed her. "Mousse is fine and aside from the mask is ready to go. For you two, I'll make arrangements in New York while we're in the air. CJ only needs an appropriate outfit since he's going to be my 'plus one', but you need a lot of work done," she said pointedly to Ukyou. "There's no way you can go looking like that."
"Excuse me!" Ukyou snarled indignantly.
"Talon is supposed to be working with Damon Dran. Dran hires ugly men for the muscle and beautiful women for everything else. To his credit, no beautiful woman in his employ isn't outstanding at something else. If Blue Talon is here as a representative, he's the show of force while the woman accompanying him is the one in charge of the money. She decides how much something is worth and if it's worth getting. If you're not attractive enough, people that know how Dran operates might decide to pay close attention to you. That is something we don't want."
"Well pardon me for looking like something dragged out of a garbage can." Ukyou looked really pissed. Her hands were twitching as though trying to grasp an invisible bow.
"I'm certain with the right work we can get you up to acceptable standards," Elektra said as if sizing up a horse she might buy. "In the beauty business the best names are easy to find, and I'll pay for everything. It'll be extra since it's a rush job, but I can absorb those costs. We'll have to get you suitable attire as well. Don't worry, Eliza, I won't break out into song when the work is complete."
"It's Jessie, not Eliza, jackass!"
Elektra rolled her eyes. "You can watch the movie in question during the flight. It'll keep you preoccupied."
Mousse didn't need hyper-senses to hear his girlfriend muttering, "I'll preoccupy you with a punch to that big nose of yours, then you can get work done on it, Eliza."
Xxxxxxxx
The 'Elektra Company' was not the only group with plans to fly to New York and infiltrate the illicit auction for the purposes of theft. Another band, who had intended to rob the place upon first hearing the announcement, were also making their way via private jet across the Pacific enroute to the location.
Seven members of the Phantom Troupe were all that could be spared for the effort, rather than the entire group as had been initially planned. But with Mimic in a coma, some of the members had to be left behind to protect him. True, the death of the Avant Garde would make other would-be killers wary, but there were those with a similar mentality to the Troupe: the more difficult the feat, the more eager they were to prove they could do it, and reap the reward of notoriety in criminal circles.
Certain members had to go. Copycat and Vakume were the key to making off with the goods unnoticed. Without them the theft would have been scrapped. Needle was vital to infiltrating the auction, so she was a must. Binary Bug's role made him the quarterback in maintaining an elusive status once on the grounds. Blockbuster, Shatterfist, and Death Dealer were more interchangeable, just some muscle in case the going got rough.
Everyone was counting on that. Even with the planning, it felt like one of those situations. Blood would be spilled. It was just a question of how much, and whose it would be.
Silenced had reigned for the first twenty minutes of the flight, each member entertaining themselves in their own unique fashion. Needle spun smaller needles on each of her fingers. Death Dealer had played four games of solitaire and won every time without cheating. Binary Bug played on a handheld computer gaming system. Vakume… even she might not know what she was thinking about five minutes after thinking it.
Copycat was the one who spoke of the operation first. "How's the healing going?" The question was directed toward Needle and Shatterfirst.
"I'm at about 85%." She indicated her ankle, which still bore deep scars courtesy of the late Mole.
"My left is 100%. My right about 65%. Both the tendons and ligaments were shredded pretty badly," Shatterfist held his heavily scarred hand before him.
"Shouldn't we have left you behind and gone with one of the others then?" Vakume asked.
"We'll need at least a couple of people on top of their game guarding Lucifer," Blockbuster pointed out. "Franklin and Pakunoda are better choices. I can pick up the slack Shatterfist, or anyone else, leaves behind on the op."
"There might be more slack than you think," Death Dealer said as he began another round of solitaire.
The others looked at him. "And what does that mean?" Binary Bug asked.
"I've looked over the blueprints of the place. While it is sizable, it'll be packed full of people. The subbasement where the vault is has soundproofing, but the rest of the place doesn't."
"Spell it out," Needle said in a tired voice.
"Shatterfist's strikes are explosive, producing lots of vibrations and noise. One punch and you might as well publicly announce to everyone on the floors above and below something is going on."
"We can post him near the vault, then," Copycat said.
Blockbuster spoke up. "I might not make as much noise as Shatterfist, but I'm still loud."
Shatterfist said, "I can kill quietly. All I have to do is shut down my 'Boom' before going in." He used the nickname Bombshell had given to his own explosive abilities. He rather liked it, and it wasn't as though Bombshell would complain about him stealing it. Death made everything other than decomposition a near impossibility.
"If you get cornered and accidentally turn it back on, we'll all be having a bad day," Death Dealer insisted.
"I can't use it by accident. Once I turn it off, it takes a minute of concentration to turn it back on. I learned how to do that early on so I wasn't inadvertently blowing up everything I brushed against. Don't worry. I've killed plenty of people using the same skills everyone else has."
Death Dealer had an intrigued gleam to his eye. "I didn't realize your abilities worked that way. Good to know."
"We should have brought Franklin, then," Blockbuster grumbled. "This is why we need Mimic. He would have figured out that detail beforehand and chosen someone more suitable."
"I'll be fine," Shatterfist insisted, openly perturbed. "Want me to kill a few people barehanded before we hit the auction just to show you?"
"Don't draw unnecessary attention to us," Binary Bug insisted.
"It's New York. A half dozen corpses turn up at least three times a day there."
"No wetwork that isn't needed. We trust your ability to kill," Copycat emphasized. "Blockbuster will still be posted at the vault. Shatterfist will just do something nastier than blowing people when it comes time to kill."
"We're on a tight schedule. I don't think we'll have any time to kill," Vakume said.
Everyone just stared at her. Mostly because it hadn't been a joke.
Binary Bug broke the silence. "We'll go over every detail of the plan again to see if there's anything else we might have missed." The group gathered in the center of the plane to look over everything one more time.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Upon arrival in New York, Elektra's group was met by limousine and immediately taken to the shops they needed to go. She dropped Ranma and Mousse off at a clothing store to get Ranma's outfit, while Elektra took Ukyou to a boutique. A very expensive one.
Ukyou had never been in one before, able to make herself look perfectly girlish without needing to pay someone for it. The business was very bright and white, with lights all around and an assortment of equipment with mirrors and tons of cans and jars filled with colorful substances. It almost looked like the lab of a mad scientist in some ways. People paid large sums of money to come to places like this? It almost felt like a hospital.
As Ukyou examined her surroundings, Elektra introduced her to a 'Nadine', who had been told in advance what to expect and what was required. This older woman, who didn't appear *that* great in the beauty department as far as Ukyou was concerned, made her uneasy. It was the way she looked at her that did it. If being able to visually dissect someone was a super human ability, she'd be able to take on the Avengers and possibly win.
When it seemed the woman must have examined every one of Ukyou's molecules, she spoke. "We'll make your hair the center of attention. Most women would kill to have hair like yours. The rest will be simpler, but we'll make that hair gorgeous." She indicated Ukyou was to sit at a chair in front of a large, brightly lit mirror. Again she mentally compared her actions to Dr. Frankenstein about to go to work.
And work it was. Over the course of the next two hours Nadine showed her mastery of her art. In the beginning Ukyou didn't really grasp more than the basics of what was going on. Likewise she didn't understand why it cost so much to do what Nadine did, but once she was three quarters of the way there, Ukyou finally grasped what was happening. She was transforming -not the way Ryouga did- but still she was starting to not look like she did before. Subtle at first, but as make-up and hair arrangement was focused on, the image became clearer and clearer.
She hadn't been joking about the hair. Ukyou had no idea she could style it this way and that it would look… gorgeous. That was what it was. And while she used make-up all the time, it wasn't applied so perfectly in just the right way to make her look like this. Hell, she had no idea she could appear this way. She tried figuring out how Nadine was doing it, so she could duplicate it on the own, but she knew her actions would be amateurish compared to this maestro of makeovers. It would be like someone who had an afternoon lesson with a bow and arrow challenging her as Hawkeye.
By the time Nadine was finished, Ukyou hated to admit it, but Elektra had been absolutely right. She had been passable before. Now… now she was indeed beautiful, and somehow appeared older as well. Or perhaps more mature was the best descriptor.
Elektra gave thanks and a very big tip. Ukyou saw multiple hundred-dollar bills handed over. Before, she'd have been appalled anyone could be given that much extra for doing a job. Now, Nadine had earned every cent.
And thank god Ukyou wasn't the one paying for this.
Next Elektra took her to a clothing store. Very upscale. But there was no doubt while some of the garments were bizarre, others were the kind she had seen movie stars wear to award ceremonies. It was that kind of place, and Ukyou found herself feeling a bit of awe at her surroundings. Had she not just had the makeover, she would have felt so out of place she'd have been worried the owners might throw her out for merely darkening the doorway.
Now it was Elektra's turn to look Ukyou over. Another visual dissection. Finally she made her own verbal assessment as Nadine had done earlier. "Not much in the chest to go with. We'll have to focus on your shoulders."
Ukyou's voice would have plunged the room into ice if it could. "Sorry for not being tittyrific."
That made Elektra laugh. "I'm going to remember that one. What I meant was we'll accentuate your best feature, like we did with your hair. Your chest is nothing to get worked up about, but you have great shoulders. Definitely something off the shoulder for you so we show them off. Your legs are well-developed, but not particularly long. We'll go with something long that nearly reaches the ankles, but with a high slit so you show flashes of your entire leg as you walk. That'll draw men's eyes, and they should like what they capture in that fleeting glimpse. Now that we've narrowed the key elements down, we can focus our search for the appropriate outfit."
Finally something Ukyou was familiar with. She rarely chose clothing without going through a lot of outfits. It was then something occurred to her.
"Why didn't you get a make-over?"
"I'm going in masked and in costume. I even have a wig of feathers to go with the ensemble. My name will be Jackdaw once I'm in the outfit, so make sure you address me accordingly."
"You have another identity?"
"Since Elektra has a very big price on her head, and word will have reached the underworld here in regards to it, going as myself is a guaranteed death sentence. Kingpin might put me up for auction if I showed up as Elektra. The Hand was not happy about my betrayal. Once you're an official member, they regard you as being in for life."
"Oh, I didn't know." She was slightly rebuked. "So you're kind of risking yourself here getting that reliquary back for Mousse."
She shrugged. "It's the least I can do for the memory of someone close to me."
So, Elektra wasn't quite the backstabbing, heartless tramp Ukyou thought she had been. Now she felt a little guilty about insisting on tagging along. It was clear she was sincere in wanting to help. But Ukyou did feel better about being with Mousse in case something bad did happen. She needed to be there to watch his back, even if bringing along her bow and arrows was an impossibility. She could thump people in the head well enough if the need arose. Being a hero wasn't all about weaponry, after all.
The discussion over, the pair focused on shopping. With Elektra helping out, the selection didn't take long. Ukyou didn't even question the choice, since as soon as she saw it, she realized yes, the assassin had been right the entire time. The right make-up. The right hair. The right clothing. Damn, Ukyou looked incredible.
And when she discovered how much the dress cost, thanked god she wasn't the one paying for this.
xxxxxxxxxxx
Ranma fingered the neck of his tuxedo uncomfortably as he and Mousse waited outside the very upscale clothing store they'd been told to meet the girls at. It wasn't that the garment was uncomfortable: it fit perfectly thanks to Elektra measuring him on the flight over and giving his measurements to the tailors ahead of time. He felt bad about her paying as much as she did for both the outfit and the additional cost for a rush job, but she assured him it was well within her means. No, it was the entire concept of him wearing a tuxedo that made him uncomfortable. All of his life his entire wardrobe consisted of outfits he could fight in. Because when you followed the path of a future paragon of virtue, you never knew when a fight would break out '(frequently', and 'when you least expect it', were probably the best descriptors). Considering the situation they were in, somehow he knew there would be a brawl somewhere along the line tonight. Because that was a cornerstone to the Saotome way of life. Fighting in the outfit was not going to be fun.
Mousse had it lucky. Blue Talon's outfit was both beautiful and functional. You could fight in that, no problem, just as the fight with Talon had proven. The only issue Mousse had was his hidden weapon technique couldn't mask the various metal detectors that security would have on the premise, though once inside he could grab things and tuck them into the garment where they wouldn't be seen again until he revealed them. Still he was going in as weaponless as Ranma himself. Luckily he knew how to fight. If push came to shove he could hold his own almost as nearly as well as Ranma could.
With time to kill, his thoughts turned to the locale. It was his first time in New York. First time in this hemisphere. He had heard so much about the world-famous city he had expected every street corner to be teaming with exotic locals and spectacular vistas. After all, New York City was one of the most illustrious places in the world and nearly everyone wanted to see it at least once. But instead Ranma had been disappointed. The place looked like a dirty, drab, less colorful version of Tokyo. The people themselves tended to be livelier, and they were a lot more vibrant than the more sedate denizens of any Japanese city, but some of them were a bit much to take in. While most conducted their own business, some were… obnoxious. Not that he hadn't come across plenty of obnoxious people in Japan, many of them in stupid costumes, but this was more every day walk of life people that were rude. But those were the exceptions on the whole. Most people seemed intent to go from Point A to Point B with minimal interruptions.
He supposed that made it a lot like Japan, actually. Maybe like most of the world.
The shop they had gotten the pizza from was good, though. It was better than any version he'd tasted in Japan or China. A pity they didn't have more time, or they could hit more food places in New York. He heard they had some of the best cuisine on Earth, and the Saotome appetite could handle a lot of food. He wondered just how long it would take him to hit every restaurant in town.
The other thing that left him a touch disappointed was not seeing any American super heroes. New York was reportedly full of them, and he was interested in seeing what folks in the same business on the other side of the world were like. That Spider Guy, or whatever his name was. He was supposed to be some pretty hot stuff. The Challengers of the Fantastic might have been a bigger name than The Avengers. Nova, he had founded at least two different teams, the New Warriors and Thunderbolts. It would have been a kick to see him.
But there had been no one. In hindsight, it was probably to be expected. Many people in Japan thought there were super heroes everywhere, and Ranma knew better than that. Just here and there, and sometimes when there was trouble. Most of the time you waited for trouble to come out and disturb the peace, or occasionally you did subtle patrols where no one saw you. Because if the villains saw you coming, they went somewhere you weren't to cause the trouble. Better to sucker them into coming out on their own when you happened to be nearby and take care of business close at hand, rather than traveling to it.
So no heroes. The villains though, they were going to see plenty of those before the night was out.
Ranma was taken out of his reverie by his partner.
"They've been gone a real long time," Mousse said nervously.
Ranma laughed. "Buddy, if you lived with three women like I do, you'd learn this is 'slightly above average' on a normal day. And when you only have one bathroom in the joint, let me tell you, you'd better have master tier martial arts reflexes if you want to slip in there before them. Otherwise you get to learn to hold it for ungodly amounts of time. There were times when it felt like my back teeth were floating-."
"I get the idea!" Bathroom talk with Ranma was not something on Mousse's bucket list. Ukyou's mental state was why he was on edge. Her anger had been momentarily abated by watching 'My Fair Lady' on the flight over so she now understood Elektra's 'Eliza' reference. Not because she didn't think it insulting that she was so rough around the edges she needed a makeover, but because she had enjoyed the movie. And she didn't threaten to sing any of the songs, so Mousse didn't have to threaten to punch her in the mouth. It would have been a hollow threat, of course. Even with hypersensitive hearing he would put up with the caterwauling she referred to as a singing voice. It wasn't like his ears had ever actually bled: it only felt like they did.
And if that wasn't a sign of true love, he didn't know what was.
But there was still a pall floating in the air around her that would have had Mousse apologizing profusely if he had been on a date with her. Even if he had no idea of what to apologize about.
And now the pair of women had been gone for what felt like forever. What if something had gone wrong? What if Ukyou had tried to beat up Elektra and the assassin killed her? Or the make-over didn't work out and they got into an argument? Maybe this Kingpin fellow had gotten wind of their plans and jumped the girls. The things that could have gone wrong were endless.
Mousse's imagination ran rampant when his own reverie was broken by Ranma gasping out loud. Mousse extended his radar sense and realized Ukyou and Elektra had returned. His imagination had consumed him so totally he hadn't noticed them approach. Relief at his girlfriend's safety overcome him.
Had Ukyou's body not been giving Mousse a sense of her hesitancy, her voice certainly did. "How do I look?"
He sort of enjoyed it when she forgot his blindness. "I can honestly say you appear just as beautiful to me now as when you left."
"Oh. Right."
Ranma had visions, and said, "I barely recognized you there Uc… I mean Jessie. You look real good."
"I barely recognize me," she said and tension drained out of her body.
Elektra walked up to Ranma. "The suit looks great on you. You definitely have the 'hired muscle' vibe. There's only one thing off about it."
"What?"
Before he could react Elektra reached up and ripped the fake mustache from his lip, then threw it on the ground and stomped on it. "You'd have every eye in the room riveted to you when they saw that piece of trash."
Ranma held his hand up to his lip in pain. "That was glued on."
"Be thankful it didn't grow that stupid looking naturally, or I'd have ripped it out by the roots."
"It was a great disguise," he insisted.
"No, it wasn't," Ukyou said, relieved the hideous caterpillar like thing had finally been removed. Ranma had tested their friendship by walking around all the time with it on.
"I'm blind and even I thought it looked like crap," Mousse provided.
"But everyone is going to know who I am," he almost wined.
"You're a no name bodyguard traveling with a crime lord's gaudily-dressed super villain go between. No one will notice you're there unless they have to move around you, and then you'll be forgotten once you're out of their eyesight. Keep the sunglasses on if it'll make you feel better. Some heavy muscle types think it makes them look intimidating, so I doubt you'll be the only one wearing them."
"Okay." Ranma settled for half a disguise. He still thought everyone was overreacting. The mustache had been fine. His ability to not look like himself was second to none. He probably could have become a Chameleon-type super villain with his abilities, if he chose to.
With the last details of preparation taken care of, it was time to put their lives on the line and do or die.
Elektra announced, "We'd better get going. New York traffic can be hellacious. If we leave now from here we should make it there with a bit of time to spare."
And so the quartet entered the waiting limo, intent on walking into a lion's den with a hundred lions in attendance.
It was going to be quite the adventure.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
[End chapter]
Finally back in the saddle again. I'm confident I can get the next bit up in considerably less than one year's time. Had fun writing this. Hope you enjoyed it too.
Also a No Prize to anyone who actually remembers Blue Talon from Daredevil 92 back in '72. Yes, he was a Marvel canon character.