Avenging
Book 2: Act II
Have a Hydra New Year
Chapter 2
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.
Writer's Notes: Last Chapter, Hydra Commander took over most of the operations within Hydra, starting off with blowing up the SHIELD helicarrier and initiating their infiltration plan. Also Nabiki asked Ranma out on a date and determined there was no long-term future with him.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
An Avengers quinjet, loaded with a full complement of one of the world's preeminent super teams, flew over the fields of Niigata Prefecture on their way to the latest trouble spot suffering under someone with a super powered bent. The emergency signal had been specific about the nature of the crisis, and that the local authorities had no idea how to deal with it. While on the surface the issue didn't seem urgent, like the Mandarin melting cities in a play for world domination, it was curious enough they felt compelled to investigate the situation immediately.
Staring out the front window of the craft, the team saw the incident they had been warned about were not the ravings of an inebriated farmer who had tipped one cow too many. In the middle of a countryside dominated by rice paddies was a field of corn several acres in size. While that would have been a simple curiosity, the fact it had been a field of rice, like its neighbors, the night before the maize replaced it was cause for alarm. Anything that could swap out one entire crop for a new one was a force to be reckoned with. For all they knew it could be some sort of prelude to an assault on Japan's farming industry, and this was ground zero for the action. What if every crop was replaced with something horrifyingly tasteless, like celery?
The idea was more than a sane mind could handle.
The matter had to be dealt with fast, which was what Avengers did best. So the quinjet flew low and disgorged its passengers directly at an edge of the newly changed field. At ground level, little could be seen other than row upon row of inappropriately grown agricultural product.
Bucky said, "Yep, that's corn all right. I smell a nutter behind this."
Iron Rose held her hand to a metallic chin. "The ability to convert acres of plants from one type to another in a short amount of time could be quite powerful in the hands of one person. But if you're using that ability to turn rice into corn, you're probably a moron of the highest caliber."
Tigra sniffed the air curiously while Thor muttered this entire situation was beneath her. Wasp flew around in annoyance dreading their foe would prove themselves a twit.
Daredevil would have held an attitude akin to Bucky's save he could sense his girlfriend was unusually tense for the situation. "What is it?"
Hawkeye fingered a shaft in her quiver. "We need to be careful. Sometimes demonlike things can exist in corn fields, take over children's minds, and cause them to slaughter all the adults so it can be worshipped unimpeded."
"I'm not letting you watch horror movies any more. You're way too impressionable. I still remember you being convinced we were walking into a zombie apocalypse when it was just Black Talon starting up a dance club."
"With zombies. They could have gone out of control and started munching on brains any second," she insisted.
"They were voodoo derived zombies. They don't even eat brains. That's a Hollywood thing."
The strongest member of the group was within earshot of the disagreement. "Bow man could be right. Hulk once fought hill that tried to take over the Earth. Truth is stranger than fiction."
"Just stop," Iron Rose said testily.
Sensing her teammates were getting on each other's nerves, which would make them more of a danger to each other than any villain, Bucky took charge. "Let's get this over with." She cupped her hand to her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Hey, demented plant switching guy! Come on out and tell us your stupid scheme so we can kick your butt and send you to prison!"
A voice came from somewhere near the edge of the field. "That sounds like a marvelous idea."
He emerged from the cornfield. Half his face was jet black while the other was a ghostly white. No other feature was visible since he wore a full bodysuit consisting of dark green with leaves around the elbows, midway up his legs, and around his waist. Instead of a normal collar, two halves of the mouth of a giant Venus fly trap came up from his shoulders and in the air, looking for all the world like they were about to snap shut and devour his head.
He continued in a jovial tone, "I am Plant Man. Now I know what you're thinking: this looks like one of those invulnerable types that flies and shoots laser beams from his eyes. But no, I control, get this: plants. Shocking, isn't it?"
Hawkeye turned to Daredevil. "One of yours?"
"Dear god, no."
"I mean, he controls plants. I just assumed-."
"I understand, but no."
Bucky gripped her shield and gritted her teeth. "Dude, you make plants grow, which is arguably more worthless than the ability to swim fast and control seafood. Should you really be using sarcasm against a team composed of super heroes, any one of whom could beat ten guys like you?"
Plant Man nearly doubled over with laughter.
Tigra scratched her head as she moved close to Bucky. "Is weird. Twig man act like Bucky say something funny, but didn't."
Plant Man kept laughing uproariously. "It's an inside joke. You'll figure it out later."
"Figure out this." And Bucky threw her shield.
On target, the weapon cut through the air and made contact, going clean through Plant Man's midsection, cutting him in half. The upper part fell one way while the lower went the other.
Looks of horrified shock shot through the group.
Thor was the first to find her voice. "What didst thou do?"
"That wasn't me!" Bucky insisted as she snatched the returning shield out of mid-air. "I mean my shield doesn't do that. It bounces off people, not slice through them."
Hulk backed off warily. "Shield Girl better not try to cut Hulk in half, or Hulk will smash."
Tigra recalled what her senses had told her earlier. Just as she was about to speak, another Plant Man suddenly shot out from the edge of the corn, appearing identical to the first one in every way.
The newcomer ran to where the other had been cut down and fell his knees, cradling the top half. "Oh my god! You killed him! He was my brother! And he was only two days from retirement! You monsters!"
Wasp asked, "What is going on here?"
"This not what it seems," Tigra informed them.
"I'll say." Iron Rose raised her arm and fired a repulsor beam at the newcomer.
It blew a hole through him and he fell over as though dead.
"Art thou insane?" Thor gasped.
Iron Rose lowered her arm. "Our inadequately attired teammate was quite correct. Both of our foes were non-human, which is why they fell apart so easily. Most likely some sort of plant simulacra, given the lack of any kind of fluid coming from the damage."
Before she could continue an explanation, a third Plant Man emerged, just as distraught as the second. He cradled the newest 'corpse'. "Noooo! You killed my other brother! You monsters! You took him from me! He never gave me back the bike he borrowed! Now how will I get it ba-."
The rest was cut off by an exploding arrow to the head. Now headless, the body fell between the other two.
Daredevil asked, "How did you know he was non-human too?"
"Would it matter at this point?" Hawkeye said in a tired voice.
This time a voice from the corn said, "Looks like the jig is up."
Corn suddenly sprouted up from the ground all around the Avengers, obscuring their view as they found themselves surrounded by four-meter-tall stalks of maize. It was so thick the only Avenger the heroes could see was the one standing next to them.
"What the heck?" Bucky shouted.
Plant Man's voice came from somewhere in the field, "How dare you strike down my children of the corn."
Hawkeye turned to Daredevil, "See?"
"This has nothing to do with that movie! He's just messing around with us because he has a terrible sense of humor!"
The voice said, "I heard that." Suddenly vines shot across the ground from deeper in the field. A number of them wrapped themselves around Daredevil's ankles and dragged him off before Hawkeye could react, while the others were unaware of anything other than Daredevil's cries of pain as he was pulled unceremoniously across the ground at high speed.
In more than a bit of pain, the hero twisted his wrist and out came a hedge clipper, but another violent jerking motion caused it to slip from his grasp. The dragging stopped, and the next thing he knew he was picked up off the ground by vines which coiled around his wrists and ankles, leaving him spread eagled while in mid-air. He twisted and tried with all his might to escape, but the veins held him firmly.
Emerging from the ground, like a seed becoming a full-grown plant at super-fast speed, emerged yet another Plant Man. This close Daredevil sensed no heartbeat, blood flow or breathing coming from the being. Another simulacra.
Plant Man clasped his hands in delight. "Okay, Meatbag, let's see how you like it when someone plows your furrows. You'd be amazed at what I can do with an ear of corn." He produced one from the palm of his hand. "Here comes the plant kingdom, Baby."
Daredevil froze, then shouted at the top of his lungs. "Someone get over here right now!"
Plant Man held his hands to his ears. "Whoa, I don't have ear drums and you still managed to blow them out."
Four arrows with extra wide, extra sharp, arrowheads came out from the corn in the direction Daredevil had originally come from and sliced through his horticultural bonds. A fifth then launched itself at Plant Man. As it impacted with his head, the tip shattered, splattering some kind of fluid over the villain's face . There was a sizzling sound as a virulent acid ate its way through his features.
Plant Man shrieked. "I really am melting! Meltiinnnng." His voice trailed off as his head dissolved.
Since their foe's body didn't move any more than the previous three, Hawkeye raced to her boyfriend's side. "Are you all right?"
He pulled the now dead vines from his limbs as he rose to his feet. "Yeah, but he was about to go places where even you aren't allowed to go."
"Not asking for clarification on that one." She had an arrow next to her bow string, ready to pull back on a second's notice.
A pair of very sharp swords appeared in Daredevil's hands. "Do you have a defoliant arrow by chance?"
"Nope."
"Now you know what you're getting for Christmas."
Iron Rose's voice pierced the air, due to her using her armor's loudspeaker function. "Everyone drop to your stomachs right now!"
Both did so. Several seconds later a laser shot past them at what would have been stomach level. The beam continued until Iron Rose had spun in a circle, cutting down all the corn in a twenty-meter radius and allowing everyone's view to return.
Until a new set of stalks took their place a moment later.
"Guys, seriously?" Bucky snapped. "We, the entire roster of the Avengers, who have defeated evil-take-over-the-world-masterminds, are being repeatedly stymied by some idiot with a terrible sense of humor who can make plants grow. We're better than thi—"
The air was suddenly filled with a cloud of yellow that emanated from the ground all around them. It filled the air like a dense fog.
Iron Rose shut her armor's face holes and went over to her internal air supply. "Now what?"
Tigra was the first to answer. *Achoo*. "Is pollen, but so strong *Achoo*, it make Tigra sneeze."
Daredevil joined in next thanks to his own sensitive sense of smell, but was then followed by the others.
"Now Hulk has *Achoo* Hay fever. Hulk does not *Achoo* like sneezing. Make yellow cloud *Achoo* go away!"
"Even Loki *Achoo* did not attempt such *Achoo* trickery as this."
"I'm killing *Achoo* this guy! *Achoo*. Lot of snot in that one," Bucky bemoaned.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
The only Avenger, besides Iron Rose, not affected by the cloud of yellow pollen was Wasp, who had flown above the battlefield the moment the corn stalks first appeared so she could have a better chance of locating their opponent. Like the others, it hadn't taken long for her to discern the figure confronting them was some sort of puppet. People only used puppets when they were afraid for their well-being, which meant this Plant Man was scared of the Avengers taking him down, and Wasp was determined to be the one to do it.
Far too often she was overlooked by the media when they brought low some evil villain eager to devastate the country, like when Moses Magnum tried to destroy the fault line under Japan. Or when Stegron transported a bunch of dinosaurs to overrun Kobe. Or Genecide and her plan to set off a 'Gene Bomb' that would genetically alter all of humanity so they were immune to disease, could live hundreds of years, and would do away with any genetic anomalies. A side effect was it turned people into seven foot tall, orange-skinned, mountains of muscle that were of low intelligence, but very obedient, as evidenced by the test cases she had already experimented upon. The ones the Avengers fought against when stopping her ambitions.
Wasp had been integral to defeating all of them in one way or another, but the press hardly mentioned her at all. It was so incredibly frustrating. Tofu had been wrong. It wasn't Thor or Iron Rose saving the world and Kasumi just being there when it happened. She was important too, and she was proving it right now!
Wasp stayed above the yellow cloud and continued flying, pondering the nature of their foe. He didn't seem like some sort of hive mind simultaneously controlling all of the plants, but rather one individual who was employing a variety of weapons against them. That was most likely why he hadn't attacked them with a large number of 'Plant Man' bodies, but rather one at a time, waiting until one body was destroyed before creating another. It made sense, and her gut told her he was nearby. If she could determine the central location he was operating from, she could beard him in his own den. Or in this case use a weed whacker in his glade.
And just why *had* he changed everything into corn? It was an unusual vegetable to go with, and he was sticking with that motif as the field popping up amongst the Avengers demonstrated. He'd gone so far as regrown it after Iron Rose cut it down rather than trying a different plant. It was not grown in this area, and why that of all the different kinds of plant life to choose from? Could it have something to do with camouflaging his location? But there was so much other thicker foliage he could have chosen, some indigenous to this region, which would haven't caused quite so much of a stir. It felt like there some importance to it she hadn't grasped.
Wasp flew to what she estimated was the center of the initial area that had been converted. Looking closely, she finally spotted something that caught her attention. It was very similar to a giant stalk of corn, but it had an unusual shade of purple tinging it. Also it resembled a humanoid form in a vague way. The top had a giant cylindrical like head, its roots were almost like legs, and its branches similar to arms with ears of corn for hands. This called for a closer investigation.
Upon flying lower, her suspicions were confirmed when a gigantic circle of dandelions, in seed form, erupted from the base of the singular stalk. As one their seeds sprang into the air, filling it like a pale white blizzard in July. It was a near whiteout with how thick the willows were.
The cloud engulfed Wasp. That was when she discovered the tactic was not one of obscurement, like the corn, but more deadly. The seeds that touched her body clung to her like the most potent of adhesives. More and more gathered until she was cocooned in a puffball ten centimeters thick. Her first instinct was to hurl them off –she retained her normal sized human strength despite her size—but her prison was so flexible that there was no rigidity to break it. Pulling them off did no good since other seemed to replace them.
Her breathing became strenuous. Wasp realized what that meant: this cocoon was airtight. She probably would have suffocated save her possession of powers that made her an Avenger. She grew to human size, her prison unable to adapt to the sudden shift of additional mass. It lost cohesion and fell off her like normal dandelions would. She started to fall due to her lack of wings, so she shrank back down, noting that once she had been encased in the willows, the rest of the cloud had disappeared.
The next attack came directly from the focus of her attention. The weird stalk raised its arms as a human would and aimed its corn 'hands' at her. Kernels soundlessly propelled from the ears and through the air toward her. It would have been comical if they weren't coming with bullet-like velocity.
Hours of training in their 'Battlezone' room in Avengers Mansion –as well as the dozens of deadly foes they fought- came to the fore as Wasp pirouetted through the air, evading the unconventional projectiles: a blur to any bystander's eye as she survived the lethal barrage.
With the last of the kernels gone, the attack ceased. Apparently, Plant Man could not regrow those appendages of his. Likewise that attack could only come from the main body and not surrounding fields of maize since she wasn't shot at from every angle. Even Wasp wouldn't have stood a chance if every stalk on the field fired upon her all at once.
But that wasn't the mystery plant's final line of defense. Long green shafts of slender roots shot from the ground. Each was hard as iron and their tips sharped like spear points as they tried downing her out of mid-air. Once again she flew for her life through a deadly obstacle course, getting ever closer to the plant.
Finally she was in range and aimed the most powerful blast she could muster at the stalk's 'head.' It had acted so much like a human in form and what movement it could manage, she felt certain it was the center of the intelligence controlling all of the local flora.
The crimson bio energy blast struck, detonating the head into a burst of purple juice and pulp. The effect was immediate as the plant went 'limp', and the attacks stopped. To be thorough, Wasp blasted its roots so no part of it was connected to the ground. She went further in destroying a few plants nearby to see what would happen, but nothing reacted to her attack.
Unable to do anything else, she flew back to where her comrades had been. They had remained in the same location, but their personal appearances had changed… drastically. All of their clothing, save Iron Rose's armor, was shredded most thoroughly. Much skin showed among the group, especially Tigra, who seemed to be competing with Bucky as to which Avenger could show off the most illegal amounts of flesh. But she did start out with only a bikini so she was nearer that goal than the female half of their shield slingers. Daredevil's outfit was so torn he couldn't use his hidden weapons technique, and Hawkeye, well it was a good thing she had revealed her true sex to the team earlier as her chest wrap was clearly visible and no man had pectorals in that shape and size.
"What happened?" Wasp asked.
"Tentacle Plants," Bucky bemoaned, struggling to keep the tatters of her top over her rather impressive bust, though the movement threatened to cause the last few strands keeping her bottoms on to snap so she could catch up to Tigra. Wasp noted she really needed to stop going around commando under that uniform. Too bad it hadn't been Captain Japan who went out with the team this time, though he never seemed to lose his outfit.
Some heroes had all the luck.
"Plants tried to do things to Hulk only Jarella can do," he said while trying to keep the remnants of his pants covering his most private parts.
"No details!" Thor urged, in relatively good shape compared to the others with her mostly intact cap draped around her.
Iron Rose remained as composed as her outfit. "I take it you had something to do with the cessation of grabby hentai vines?" she asked of Wasp.
The diminutive Avenger smiled proudly. "I destroyed the thing making all of the plants attack." She gave them a detailed report of what had happened, emphasizing the life and death nature of it.
"Excellent work," Iron Rose said. "We should gather the remains and see if we, or the authorities, can determine if that was the actual source of the problem, or just a conduit for an actual Plant Man who might still be out there."
"Do not make me think we have to deal with Cabbage Head again!" Bucky snapped. "We're Avengers. If word got out we had this much trouble with a plant guy, every loser in Daredevil's rouge's gallery will make fun of us."
"What happens in the corn field, stays in the corn field," Daredevil suggested.
Everyone agreed.
Wasp pouted, but was so small no one noticed. Great, she had saved the day but couldn't take credit it for it. It was a good thing she was a team player and would save her comrades from the public embarrassment of being outmaneuvered by sentient corn. She might have quietly told the International Enquirer of what had really transpired anyway, but Iron Rose had complimented her on the work. If her teammates acknowledged her, well that would be enough. But it would have been nice if the rest of the world knew how great she was, and she received the accolades she deserved.
Now it was time to wrap things up, and her heart soared in delight. Not just at her success in the field (in a broader sense rather than just a corn one), but because at last she had found a space in the world which was hers and hers alone.
She had her own apartment.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ein was resting in his doggy bed in Avengers Mansion. Only Sasuke was in residence since the entire roster of the Avengers had just dealt with a foe. It was decided since they were so tired everyone needed down time, and they would leave monitor duty vacant. Even Sasuke wouldn't be pressed into service as he always was when it was Iron Roses' turn, so the full team went to their respective homes. Truly it must have been a terrible foe for them to be so reticent. Maybe he should have encouraged them to pet him some. Humans seemed to cheer up when they got a chance to bestow affection upon him.
Ein was trying to decide if he should gnaw on his bone or go down to the computer room and see if anything was updated when a familiar voice in a hypersonic range only he could hear communicated with him. It was the same voice that had helped him rescue Sasuke and the Avengers from the intruders.
"Ein, I got a favor to ask. I need to do something important, but I need to keep it on the down low for now so no one gets all agitated. Same way we kept our dealing with the Espionage Elite to ourselves and let Sasuke take the credit."
Ein had approved of that. His primary caretaker was still flying high on the gratitude bestowed upon him by the Avengers for his service. Ein liked it when the members of his 'family' were happy.
"Now our l'il butler buddy would probably mention what I'm going to do, to the others if he knew about it. I can take care of everything; I just need him out of the house for a while. Think you can swing that?"
Ein barked once.
"Thanks."
Ein went into motion. He grabbed his leash in his teeth and made a beeline for Sasuke. For a ninja, he wasn't all that quiet, although Ein did have superior canine senses going for him and everything. He found the butler on a computer taking his online course in being a ninja. He was mumbling something about how the most effective disguise was the one where you mentally became the thing you were disguising yourself as.
"So if I want to pretend to be shrubbery, it's not enough to cover myself in leaves and branches. I must think of things the way shrubs would, like sustaining myself with water and nutrients from the ground. Simply brilliant. I'll be on par with the Chameleon in no time."
Ein dropped the leash on the floor and have a yip, attracting the butler's attention.
"Oh, is it time for a walk already? I suppose it would be a good idea." The butler picked up the leash and attached it to Ein's collar. As they headed for the door, Sasuke postulated, "It's a sunny day. I can work on how to photosynthesize as we go along."
Ein whimpered in concern for his human friend.
Sasuke exited the domicile and set the security systems to lock down the grounds until his return. With the vast upgrades provided by Kodachi Kunou herself, no one would be able to infiltrate the mansion no matter how hard they tried. At least by sneaking in. Someone like Hercules or Man Beast could simply force their way through, but everyone would know what had happened by the amount of destruction left in their wake.
Sasuke had just gone around with corner with Ein in tow when the large truck with a 'Kunou Enterprises' logo pulled up to the gate leading to the grounds. The driver went up to the intercom and spoke.
"We're here to deliver the robotic fabrication unit." He entered all of the numerous passwords and codes to identify himself.
A voice identical to Sasuke's answered, "Bring it on in. I've got something highly contagious, so it wouldn't be a good idea for me to get around you. That's kind of standard when you have a 'fungus of unknown origin' on you."
"No problem!" the driver said quickly.
"I'll guide you by intercom and cameras to where you need to go."
"Thanks." And the men removed the unit off the truck.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Commander Hydra looked over the information on his data pad, pleased at what he was seeing. The Imperial Hydra had divined early on, after the failure of the Death Spore Bomb, that their next plan for world domination would take time, and perhaps infiltration and undermining things might lead to better success. To that end she had taken great effort to secure a number of banks quietly. Most had been taken over legally, but in some cases a heart attack or two given to key individuals, who were replaced by… more open-minded ones, had taken place.
The end result was more than simply owning profitable businesses, and banking absolutely was. Politicians tended to be more corrupt than most, and some more than others. Since the banks could follow the money trails better than most, it didn't take long to figure out who was spending money openly one way, while clearly doing something else with it under the table. While a lot of the deals happened in plain sight and could be played off as coincidence, some of those political figures were greedy and needed some of their extraneous money laundered.
So it was Hydra offered very nice deals to those politicians and their allies who needed those bribes to change hands a few times to become legal. Naturally, in the laundering business the launderer typically went for the biggest cut of the action they could get away with. Illegal enterprises weren't done by folks wanting to help their fellow man after all. But since Hydra's motive wasn't making a profit on this venture, they offered the lowest percentage, and thus most of the politicians went with them.
This continued for years, with everything seemingly fine for those people in power and their associates. Until recently. There were certain individuals useful to Hydra's plans, so these political figures were quietly, individually, informed of who had *really* been laundering their money. Lengthy money trails that, if they were made public, meant that the politicians one and all would be serving what amounted to life sentences for dealing with an openly admitted terrorist organization. There was political corruption and then there was *political corruption*.
Of course, when blackmailing one had to make sure you didn't press the victim too hard. Desperate people made risky decisions, and the whole point of this plan had been to minimize risk and exposure. Commander Hydra made certain the concessions he needed were small from each person, and in exchange they paid the politicians well for their 'hard work' on Hydra's behalf. What recriminations most of them had went away with those additional payments. After all, they had been running on graft for years. It was as much their lifeblood as actual plasma. And it wasn't like Hydra was asking them to sneak a few nuclear missiles out of their stockpiles. No, all they needed was for certain zoning permits to be made where they shouldn't. Life made a legal hell for certain private individuals who needed to be moved aside. A little eminent domain here and there. A few contracts given not to the highest bidder, but the most 'acceptable one'. In many ways it was business as usual for them.
And one of the keys was, each of them thought they were the only ones Hydra was leaning on, so what havoc could the organization do when they were being given so little? If they could see the big picture, that a hundred small coordinated deals made up much larger ones that, combined, would result in major upheavals, some of them might have an attack of conscience for the first time in their lives.
Or more likely they'd hope they could get on the deal.
There were a couple of political figures who had, surprisingly, decided to only pretend to play ball. They acted nice with Hydra and agreed to being bought, but then quietly went to SHIELD and sent out feelers about them needing to do more about the serpent motif organization which had been allowed to run rampant for far too long. SHIELD assured them they would take their comments seriously and arrange a meeting with them about it at some point in the future.
And then, well drug overdoses happened all the time, especially to those who had money and power.
It was unfortunate that the people replacing them, even if they were corrupt, didn't have links to Hydra and therefore couldn't be blackmailed by them. But losing a few minor components to the plans was of no real consequence. Such things had been taken into account when the schemes had been first laid.
An (unwitting) political head of Hydra now joined the others.
For the next phase he would personally deal with at least some of the organizations. It was time to turn attention to the criminal cartels. While the politicians Hydra now owned would be useful in that regard (what politician didn't like appearing hard on crime?), some crime lords were stubborn, and others stupid. Brute force would have to be used to make them subservient to Hydra. It was a guarantee. In fact it might be wise to demonstrate a show of force and eradicate one or two of them as a signal to others when they were approached. Ones Hydra pegged to be problem children that wouldn't 'play nice' if they were leaned upon. Yes, he'd have to plan an operation on that.
It was long past time to bloody hands again. There would be a lot no matter how well they planned. Many were going to die, maybe a bit of global depopulation when all was said and done.
Oh well. The world was full of people. Mandarin had been right. A few million here and there could be spared and nothing of consequence affected.
Hydra Commander's thoughts turned to another issue he was eager to start upon. Rather than summoning the individual he required, he went to the agent. Each member of the 'Super Villain Squad' was valuable in their own way, so they had their own section in the main headquarters branch. Luckily the person he wanted was in.
Upon seeing who his visitor was, Mentallo shot to his feet and shouted their famed slogan.
Hydra Commander returned the oath and got to the matter at hand. "Mentallo, I need something done only one of your unique talents can accomplish."
Mentallo gasped. "Is it time to eradicate all lesbianism from the planet?"
"What?" It took Hydra Commander a moment to understand what the bizarre statement meant. Right, the telepath's reason for joining the organization. Mentallo had no issue with telling everyone about his 'origin story'. Everyone had a good laugh behind his back about it. Really, just because you threw yourself at some woman without knowing anything about her, and it turned out they were only into women, your reaction was joining an organization dedicated to global domination? That was one special form of pathetic.
Now if you were led on by a woman who pretended to be someone they weren't, and then they abused and abandoned you, they had whatever terrible fate might be in store for them coming.
Still, Kyosuke's path led him to Hydra, so maybe it would work out for him in the end. "That is for much further down the line. Right now I need you to do something a little more individualized. I want you to drive someone insane."
Mentallo grimaced. "My powers don't actually work that way, Sir. I'm a low-level telepath that can read surface thoughts, but without something that can boost my mental abilities, that's beyond my reach. Unless we had an amplifier like the one we got from AIM." His voice was laced with hope.
"Oh, right, that." He remembered the goofy looking device all too well. "No, I'm afraid that was a one off. So there's nothing you can do?"
Mentallo pondered the question. "While I can't just make someone go nuts, I can influence their minds. Like if I counted the correct number of steps, and you disagreed with me, I could convince you I was right and you were wrong. Assuming the difference was small, like two. That's something simple and the human mind can be tricked into thinking it saw things it didn't. I couldn't convince you it was a million, though."
"I'm getting a better grasp of your abilities, yes."
"So what I could do is, if I was in prolonged contact with someone, like I saw them for a while every day, I could convince them to let down their inhibitions and act on natural impulses. If they were a borderline serial killer, in a few weeks it wouldn't be borderline any longer. But they would have to have those sorts of impulses in the first place."
"Now that has potential." Hydra Commander's voice was thick in suggestion. He pondered the new information and came up with a plan. "I have a long-term assignment for you that is of the utmost importance. You're going to be moved into an apartment complex, incognito, and do your best to drive your next-door neighbor to become totally uninhibited and make terrible life choices. Or I should say more terrible than they already are. In fact, it might not be that difficult. I suspect they are already undergoing something of this nature already, so you might just be tipping them over a precipice they are already dangling over. Yes, that would be satisfactory. After all, 'Those whom the gods would destroy, first they make mad'."
"Oooo. That was a brilliant turn of the phrase, Sir. And I'm not butt kissing. I mean it."
Hydra Commander tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Thank you, Kyosuke. Sincere, but not overdone, flattery is called upon occasionally. Succeed in this assignment and you'll be promoted and receive a significant pay raise. Rest assured; you won't be executed if you fail. You've already warned me of your limitations and I don't have unrealistic expectations. I'm convinced you'll carry out your duties to the best of your abilities, which is all any leader can expect from his troops."
Mentallo nearly genuflected at the praise. "Hail Hydra."
Commander Hydra returned the salute and silently considered what steps would have to be taken to insert Mentallo where he needed to go. Just as he was about to exit the room, Kyosuke spoke again.
"Sir, before I forget. What I said about eradicating lesbianism. I want to eradicate gayness among men too. I wouldn't want someone to think I was sexist. That's just plain wrong."
"Of course." Hydra Commander reminded himself everyone had issues, and in many of Hydra's personnel it was pronounced, which was why they had signed on. Even he had them, it was true.
Still, he was going to have a serious laugh with Madame Hydra VI about this.
Xxxxxxx
Kasumi was so delighted she felt like becoming Wasp sized and flying through the air. She simply loved her apartment. It was the closest thing to perfect she had imagined. It was on the upper floor of a tall building, so no one could look into her windows. It had by far the best kitchenette of all the apartments -and there had been many- that she had toured. It had a decent amount of space for its size (and if it felt cramped, she could always shrink then it became the size of an empty warehouse). And perhaps best of all, there was a vent which had a direct route to the roof of the building. That meant she could fly in and out undetected. About the only thing she disliked was the color of the paint, but she could ask to have it redone at some point.
Kasumi threw herself on a chair she had purchased to celebrate her move and reminisced. She had prepared her family for her leaving for a while. When she decided on the place and the moving date, there had been sadness as was expected. Akane cried a little. Kasumi cried a lot. Even Nabiki had been sentimental. But the real surprise was her father.
She had expected him to bawl at the top of his lungs about his 'little girl leaving forever' -emotional was a gross understatement when it came to him- but instead he had been melancholically stoic: it was a mood she had never seen him in. He actually said he was proud of her, and thanked her for all she had done for the family over the years. He made it sound so final she assured him she'd come by regularly since they were her family and she loved them. She also threw in she'd cook when she came over and in big lots so they'd have leftovers. That had cheered him up a bit, but he made her promise not to overdo it and if she became too busy with her life she could cut back. After all, they had to learn to do things for themselves that she had been doing for them all this time. He was so understanding it was like he had been replaced by someone else's father. But no one would hire the Chameleon for something so mundane.
The move itself wasn't bad. She had most of her important things in on the very first day, and two other trips resulted in nearly all of the worldly possessions she wanted transferred to her new home. There was only one more set of items that her father assured they could take care of, and she could expect them today. It would be nice to have her family over to see her new place for the first time.
But as much as Kasumi wanted them to visit, she also wasn't inviting them to stay over. She was a part of her family, but no longer an extension of it. She was her own person for the first time in her life, as her apartment was testament to. It was exhilarating to spread her metaphorical wings rather than her real ones, and liberating in its own way.
There was more good news. Now that she was living on her own she could commit to being an Avenger full time. Instead of constantly making excuses about her absences or not being able to show up because of some family issue, she could come and go as she pleased without having to explain anything to anyone.
When it came to work, she was so eager she thought about volunteering to take over some of the other's monitor shifts. Daredevil and Hawkeye would enjoy it since it meant they could spend more time dating, and the archer had mentioned she had a business to run on top of her being a super hero. They'd love to have time freed up. And three times the monitor duty meant three times the likelihood of taking care of low risk matters on her own. The Plant Man type would require more people, but the Sewer Man and Para Man (a robot slightly stronger than the average human) type could be summarily dispatched by Wasp alone. Although she wagered she could deal with tougher opponents if they appeared, and began daydreaming about how she would deal with them.
Her imagination was in the middle of dispatching the A-Bra-Mination and Power Man simultaneously, when there was knock at the door. She glanced at the clock and realized she had been lost in thought so long the others with the rest of her belongings were due. She opened the door to find Ranma there, bearing two large boxes under his arms.
"Come inside." She looked for the others out in the hall, but no one else was present. They had made Ranma come all the way on his own with those heavy boxes? That seemed insensitive.
"Let me take one of them from you." She noticed the considerable weight, apparently she had left more behind than she'd thought. Before getting her powers she'd have had difficulty lifting the box, but now it barely took any effort at all. Although Ranma had displayed no effort in carrying both boxes what must have been a considerable distance. Really, that had been rude of her family to leave him to literally do all the heavy lifting.
She had Ranma set the other box down and then relax in one of her chairs so she could grab him a drink. She retrieved some juice from her refrigerator and served it to him from one of her glasses.
She loved that everything in the apartment was a 'her' and not 'the family's'.
Ranma accepted it and downed it in three gulps. When she asked him where the others were, he explained the two fathers had said everyone was busy and asked if he would be kind enough to drop off the two boxes. He figured it would be a good work out, so he had carried them on the train, then walked the rest of the way to her apartment.
"You must be worn out," she suggested.
"Nah, piece of cake. Pop once had me drag a hundred-kilogram weight on my back through a desert. Now that was tough. No water until I walked five kilometers with it. I did it, of course." There was a hint of boasting in that.
"I'm not surprised. You are durable." She smiled warmly at his efforts on her behalf.
Now comfortable, Ranma said, "So, how's the marketing going?"
Ah yes, her cover story on where her money was coming from. However, since she knew next to nothing about actual marketing, she gave an ambiguous. "Believe me, talking about marketing is not interesting to people not in marketing. I usually don't talk shop to people not involved in the work."
"Yeah, my eyes started to glaze over there with that explanation alone." His head began to sway in exaggerated fashion.
Kasumi giggled. He did have a rather nice sense of humor. It reminded her of someone else's, though she couldn't put her finger on it. Probably some guy she had known from high school. "I did receive some accolades for doing a good job from my coworkers today, so I am in something of a good mood."
"That's nice to hear." He gave sly grin. "Who knows, maybe someday I'll work for Kunou Enterprises as well."
That made Kasumi cock an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to run the dojo with Nabiki."
Ranma's attitude shifted slightly. "It's looking like I might pursue a different career. Besides, Nabiki and my philosophies on how to run a dojo don't exactly align that well."
"She wants to hire her students out to criminal organizations for additional muscle?" Kasumi asked jokingly.
"Don't give her ideas!" Ranma said in mock horror. "She's not exactly the most scrupulous person when it comes to making some yen." He then went into his best Nabiki impression. "Now Saotome, if Kangaroo needs a few guys to round out his Marsupials of Menace, who am I to judge? Besides, Australian currency is at an all-time high vs. the yen."
Kasumi laughed uproariously. "You sound just like her. And he's not even Australian. He's Japanese."
Ranma laughed right along. "I know. He speaks in that lame ass fake accent that sounds more Scottish than Australian. He couldn't even get that right."
Kasumi laughed harder. "I can't imagine fighting losers like that my whole life."
Ranma stopped laughing. "What?'
Kasumi thought fast. "If I was an Avenger. Since they fought him and they are meant to deal with people that are threatening, not stupid."
That put his suspicions aside. "Tell me about it. It would be hell." He looked at her curiously again. "Are you still beating up lowlifes to redeem the family honor?"
Kasumi shook her head. "No. In hindsight that seemed a bit immature." Also she had been so busy as an Avenger she didn't have time to look for trouble. It was probably best not to talk about super villains or fighting around Ranma. She might let something slip, as had almost happened right now and that night at the bar. Although if Ranma were to discover her dual identity, she felt he'd keep it a secret like he had when he thought she was fighting for family honor. He had that Captain Japan vibe, to say nothing of having a similar physique. Why, she wagered if he trained hard enough, he could be nearly as good as her teammate, even if he didn't have a shield.
Ranma nodded his head in approval. "Good. While I know you can handle yourself, that stuff's best left to the professionals"
"I agree." He had no idea.
Ranma got up out of his chair. "How about I help you unpack?"
Kasumi did the same. "Only if you agree to let me cook dinner for you afterward."
"Watch it. The way to win a Saotome is through his stomach. Do that and I might never leave."
"I did pick up a spare futon for guests," she said, amused. Although now that he mentioned it, having a guy around *her* apartment didn't feel scandalous like it would her *family's* home. It was quite thrilling in a way.
Maybe she would invite Ranma over from time to time.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Genma and Soun sat at a table adorned with sake and shogi, playing a game with minimal cheating, for a change.
Soun glanced at the clock. "It's getting late. He should have arrived and returned a while ago. It appears our plan to get the two of them to spend some time together alone worked like a charm."
Genma stared at the board. "Maybe he'll spend the night."
"Saotome!"
Genma waved a dismissive hand at his friend. "I was joking. He's a slow one. He won't stay, and if Kasumi tried to make him he'd break through the door."
Soun visibly relaxed. "That is true. I'm glad he's a gentleman, like I've always been."
Genma didn't outwardly change as he suddenly went, "Cough, Nanami, cough."
Instantly Soun's face reddened. "I was young! Foolish! And she was vivacious, which can be very captivating!"
"If by 'vivacious' you mean 'had the biggest rack ever seen' then yes, she was."
"That had nothing to do with my interest."
"What color were her eyes? Better yet, did she even have a head?"
"Brown," he stated adamantly, then added, "I think. But I found myself drawn to her in a way I had never experienced before."
"That was because of her chest. That's what happens when you go beyond a certain amount of mass: gravitational fields kick in."
Soun sounded a touch desperate. "The point is I grew out of it and became who I am today." He then calmed down. "You make it sound as though you've never been less than gentlemanly."
Genma primped himself up a bit. "I'll have you know in my younger days I was always a gentleman; it was the women who didn't behave ladylike when I entered the picture."
Now it was Soun who could barely keep from laughing. "Do tell."
That made Genma offended. "For example, back when I was in China, there was this ravishing creature men called 'The Devil's Daughter'. She could bend men to her will with a smoldering glance. Make them yield every worldly possession to gain her attention for a second. Throw their lives away at her instruction, and she was a whimsical creature. But when it came to me, she was the one who courted my favors."
Soun looked at him in a manner that would have put the term 'incredulous' to shame. "And why would they call this icon of femininity 'the Devil's Daughter'?"
Genma shuddered. "Because she was. It made leaving in the dead of night a no brainer."
Confusion reigned in Soun. "How long before we first met did this occur?"
Genma shifted uncomfortably, and if one knew him one saw it often. "Errr, a while. The past is in the past. Let's focus on the others. I'll wager three drinks the next time we go out drinking that the boy returns between two to three hours from now."
Suspicion returned to Soun. "That's a long time for them to just talk."
"The girl knows how to cook."
And with that Soun became totally relaxed. "No bet. He'll stuff his face as long as she'll let him, and she'll be grateful since he brought her things over alone."
Genma held up a cup. "To the houses united."
Soun clinked his cup to Genma's.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[End Chapter]
Sorry for the delay, but it took me forever to come up with the opening. Then the Zabi/Plant Man connection came to me, and I got to have all the Avengers present, while focusing on Kasumi, it worked wonderfully.
Our mystery voice in Avengers Mansion has a bigger role to play, so that plot thread won't be dangling.
Plant Man laughing at the. "Should you really be using sarcasm against a team composed of super heroes, any one of whom could beat ten guys like you?" Was because he could produce far more than the ten Bucky said. It was more literal than she realized.
Also next chapter, Hydra becomes a bit more forceful and direct as their plans continue to fruition.
Excelsior.