Volume IV: The Wolverine Part I
This will be the eighteenth chapter of Volume IV and Part I of the two part story, this will introduce the first appearance of a mutant name Logan who goes by his codename Wolverine, he heads on to New York City with his lover Mariko Yashida who wants to legitimize her family's name by breaking their partnership with Oscorp, however her treacherous uncle Tomo Yashida opposes her vision for the clan as he takes matters into his own hands by sending his clan's top enforcer, Kenuichiro Harada, a mutant swordsman who goes by the name Silver Samurai to take her out, this will bring conflict in New York as Logan will protect Mariko, but he'll be overpowered by Silver Samurai, that is until Spider-Man steps in and saves the day, but unfortunately the hero will end up being pulled into the clan's affairs after he shames Harada who kidnaps Mary Jane in order to force Spider-Man to come to Japan to challenge him in combat. Peter will travel to Tokyo and seeks out Logan for his help in rescuing Mary Jane from Silver Samurai, Logan will turn him down, but Mariko convinces him and he agrees to train Peter in the way of the samurai for the challenge against Harada.
Happy 62nd Anniversary, Spider-Man!
It's March 21st time is 10:12 PM in Tokyo, Japan at the secret meeting site of the Yakuza, coming in is Tomo Yashida being escorted by his most trusted bodyguards as he's about to have an audience with the heads of other Yakuza factions called the Oyabuns to discuss certain events concerning the fate of the Yashida Clan, Tomo finally stood before the Oyabuns.
"Tomo Yashida, at last you've come."
Tomo bows his head. "I am here to honor my clan as always."
"Your clan's honor is exactly what we need to discuss, that is why we've called you here, to demand an explanation."
Tomo sighs. "If you're talking about my niece Mariko..."
"It seem like your niece has other visions for the clan, ever since she became Oyabun, she's already using her position to cleanse away the Yakuza's good name, our sources tells us that she's already on the way to New York to dissolve the company's partnership with Oscorp, we've been aware how profitable that partnership has been to your clan, the wealth you've received, all of it about to be undone."
"None of this would've happened if my brother had chosen me instead of his daughter, I would've made sure the Yashida Clan remain strong. Oyabuns, give me the word and I'll see to it that my clan's name shall be restored." Tomo said.
"How do you plan to do that?"
"There's only one way, Mariko must be removed from the picture, permanently."
"Tomo, do you realize what you're asking of us? To kill your own niece."
"I'm fully aware, everything I'm doing is in honor of the clan, once she's gone, I shall take the position as Oyabun, I only ask for your blessing." Tomo said.
The other Oyabuns all talked and nodded with one another in agreement.
"Very well Tomo, you have our blessing, but... it shall not be that easy, Mariko will be accompanied by her lover, that Gaijin Logan-San, he is not to be trifled with."
"That won't be a problem, I have just the man to deal with that Gaijin." Tomo has a solution.
Coming into the room is a man dressed in silver samurai armor with a katana in the sheath on his belt, the chest armor has the rising sun logo on it.
"Gentlemen, I trust you all remember our clan's best and trusted enforcer, Kenuichiro Harada." Tomo introduces his man.
"So the Silver Samurai has finally returned after a year living in shame."
Silver Samurai bows his head down. "I am at the Yakuza's service as always, ready for battle."
"Are you? Have you forgotten the last time you've face this Gaijin Logan-San? He proved himself a powerful warrior and managed to defeat you, a master swordsman, the best of the Yakuza. What makes you think you have a better chance against him the second time?"
"I've never forgotten the shame he dealt me, but it hasn't diminished my skills, I've spent a year honing them with such grace, waiting for the right opportunity for my next challenge. Oyabuns, give me the chance to prove my worth to the organization and allow me to regain my honor by taking down this Gaijin once and for all." Silver Samurai still bowing his head.
The Oyabuns all agreed to allow Silver Samurai the opportunity to prove himself to them.
"Very well Harada, we shall give you the chance to face off against Logan-San, but we still want Mariko dead, we shall send our very best assassin to accompany you to New York."
Stepping out of the shadows is the Yakuza's best hit woman Yukio all dressed in a black leather suit as she is to join Silver Samurai on this mission.
"The jet awaits, you're to leave for New York immediately."
"I vow to accomplish my mission and to cleanse the shame by defeating my most hated enemy, Logan-San." Silver Samurai made a vow.
It's still March 21st but the time is 2:49 PM in New York as a private jet is flying over New York airspace heading towards New York City, inside the jet itself is the CEO of the Yashida Corporation Mariko Yashida, she's taking a sip of her tea as she notice her lover Logan still looking out the window as he felt uneasy coming to America for so many reason. Logan is a mutant male who's age is still unknown but he looks like he's in his mid 30s by his appearance, he's around 5' 3" with black hair and sideburns that extends to his chin, dressed in a black bomber jacket with three yellow stripes around the upper arms, Mariko can't help but being worried for him.
"You didn't have to come, Logan-San." Mariko said.
"I had to, what you're doing isn't going to sit well with the Yakuza, they're going to take drastic measures against you for this. So like it or not, I got no choice but to come and be your protector. But I won't lie, I still don't like the idea coming back to the West, so many things I want to put behind me." Logan said.
"You're still haunted by your past." Mariko said.
"So many still haunt me, so many question plaguing my broken mind, like who am I? What kind of person was I before..." Logan pulls out his adamantium claws. "This."
"I may not know who you are before, but I know who you are now, you're Logan, the man I love." Mariko smiles.
Logan smiles. "How'd I get so lucky?"
Logan pulled Mariko onto his lap for a passionate kiss as emotions are getting intense.
Mariko giggled. "Really? Here?"
"Got something better to do?" Logan kissing down Mariko's neck.
The two are still caught up in their moment that is until the pilot says in Japanese. "Ms. Yashida, we're about to land." Logan and Mariko stopped upon learning they're about to arrive in New York.
Logan sighs. "Talk about bad timing... to be continued?"
"Business first." Mariko flirts.
"Pleasure later." Logan flirts.
Mariko kisses Logan before getting off his lap and went back to her seat as the plane is coming in for a landing at private airfield in Queens.
Later around 3:36 PM in the Garment District of Manhattan, at Van Dyne Fashion, Janet Van Dyne is here with Gwen Stacy who is dressed in a newly designed strapless wedding dress for her upcoming wedding with Peter Parker, Janet is making some adjustments to the design to fit her beautiful physique as Gwen stays perfectly still and lets Janet do the work.
"How much longer?" Gwen asking.
Janet still sewing. "I'm almost finished, just making the finishing touches. Gotta say Gwen, you sure have quite a physique, you ever think about modeling? You certainly got the right disposition."
Gwen smiles. "Thanks, but I'd rather stick to being a straight 'A' science major."
"You sure? I think your fiancé might love the idea being married to a model, in fact I thinks he's getting too comfortable." Janet said.
Meanwhile in another part of the building, Peter is here with his personal camera doing some freelance photography by taking shots of Mary Jane posing in the newest designer dress as she's very comfortable doing this in the presence of her friend Peter, he's comfortable too doing this job.
Peter aiming and shooting his camera with smile. "Nice! Very nice MJ!"
"Are you almost done Tiger?" Mary Jane in a pose.
Peter took the last shot and lowers his camera. "Yeah, I'm done."
Mary Jane undo the pose. "Thanks for filling in for our photographer, Tiger."
"Anytime, thanks for hooking me up with this job." Peter said.
Mary Jane grabs a bottle of water for a drink as she's beside Peter looking through the shots his camera took, he scrolls around seeing shots of MJ posing spectacularly in the designer dress, coming in are a couple models, one is of Latina descent name Toni Tuner and the other is African American name Jillian Jerold, both in their early 20s, as they've spotted the new model with a young photographer who is attractive.
"Hey MJ, who's the hottie here?" Jillian asking about Peter.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Toni asking.
Mary Jane looked embarrassed. "Oh no no, he's not my... Toni, Jillian, this is Peter Parker, the photographer who helped me get into the modeling world with his amazing shots."
Toni looking up and down at Peter with a smile on her lips. "Mmm, I can see why you'd pose for this hottie, he's pretty cute."
Jilliain giggles. "Maybe I'll hire his services, he can take great shots of me."
Toni giggles. "He can take shots of me wearing lingerie... or not wearing any."
"Hello!" Jillian teases and giggles.
Peter smiled as he stays quiet as the models are into him, coming into the studio is Gwen Stacy back to wearing black turtleneck tank top and blue jeans, Peter felt relieved to see his fiancée coming his way as he walks up to her for a kiss.
"Hey, how's the dress?" Peter said.
"All set for our wedding, how's the photoshoot?" Gwen said.
"Went pretty well." Peter said.
"Too well I see." Gwen smile as she notice the models.
"Oh yeah, they're just complimenting my photography skills. So are you ready to head out?" Peter said.
"Yeah, I have a craving for some Chinese." Gwen said.
"Sound good, you coming MJ?" Peter said.
"Yeah, I'm all done for the day, let me go change and I'll meet you outside." Mary Jane said.
Mary Jane is leaving to get changed as Peter and Gwen are waiting for their friend to go out for a bite.
It's now 4:34 PM at Oscorp Tower where Logan is waiting outside the conference room with Mariko's personal security, he just walks back and forth waiting until he got tired and just sat down and picks up a Van Dyne magazine with Mary Jane on the cover of the front page, inside the conference room itself is Mariko Yashida speaking with the board members, Norman Osborn is here as well with Donald Menken, Mariko is talking about dissolving the partnership as she's got good reason to do so, but this doesn't seem to please Norman.
"Ms. Yashida, we the board still don't understand why you'd want to break this partnership, we've got a great one for years despite the rumors about your family's ties to..." Vargas said.
"Mr. Vargas, with all due respect, this isn't just about my company's reputation, it's also about yours." Mariko said.
"I don't understand." Vargas is confused.
"After I assume control of Yashida Corp, I looked over the books, business transactions between our companies and I've noticed some irregularities." Mariko said.
"How so?" Vargas said.
"In the past years our company has supplied yours with so many components, but the numbers simply don't add up to the profit margin of the exact number of component sold." Mariko said.
"Are you accusing this company of doing something illegal?" Vargas said.
"That's preposterous, I can assure you Ms. Yashida that Oscorp is 100% legit, all above board." Norman said.
"Perhaps, but I'm not my father who looks the other way when something shady occurs under his watch, I may not be able to prove it, but I won't continue risking my father's company doing something under the table, I won't. Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for dissolving this partnership, thank you for your time." Mariko said.
Mariko gets up from the seat and bows her head showing Japanese politeness as she's leaving after official ending her company's partnership with Oscorp, Norman Osborn isn't pleased by what Mariko just done, not only did she destroy this partnership with his company, but she's also stirring up the pot by exposing some of the shady things his company has been doing behind the board's back, this will cause everyone to have some concern over these accusations Mariko made about Oscorp, Vargas for example is more curious as to what Mariko means by something shady going on between the two companies, he intends to find out.
Coming out of the room is Mariko as Logan puts away the magazine and gets up from the seat to walk by her side followed by her security detail, they all entered the elevator together and heads down while listening to music.
"How'd it go?" Logan said.
"It's done, the partnership is officially over, although I've might've stirred up the board with this accusations." Mariko said.
"I hope it was worth it, cause your uncle won't be too happy, neither would the Yakuza." Logan said.
"I know the risk I took when I came to America, I just don't want to live my life the way my father did, also don't want the Yashida name be tied to any organized crime like the Yakuza, I want to steer my family into a more legitimate direction, something more worth of respect, something very honorable." Mariko said.
Logan smile. "You really are an amazing woman, Mariko, that's what I love about you."
The elevator stops and opens up as Mariko and Logan are making their way through the lobby to the outside where the limo is parked, far out in the streets is Yukio maintaining surveillance as she spotted Mariko and her lover climbing into the back of the limo, she then tries to devise a way to carry out the assassination in broad daylight and catch the whole of them by surprise, she then spotted an NYPD squad car parked nearby as an officer is getting out and entering a coffee shop, she smile as she got something planned.
Later around 4:45 PM in Chinatown at a local restaurant, Peter, Gwen, and Mary Jane are all waiting for their food to come by, the waitress came by and handed them their food as Peter said "Thank you" in Cantonese, they started eating while a few customers here are eyeballing Mary Jane as she's quite familiar, Peter and Gwen noticed the attention she's getting.
"Wow, just a few months and you're already famous." Gwen smiles.
Mary Jane smiles. "I'm not that famous, I'm just a model on the cover of the magazine."
"Sure you are, Victoria's Secret." Gwen smiles.
"Van Dyne made a perfect choice putting your face on the cover, to think it was just months ago you were a barista trying to make a decent wage for acting school, now here you are, a rising star model known throughout New York." Peter said.
"So how's the modeling business treating you?" Gwen said.
"It's doing great, I'm making more money than I ever did brewing coffee, I've already applied for Juilliard and they've accepted me, taking acting classes in my spare time, with the money I'm making, I'll be able to afford a place of my own very soon." Mary Jane said.
"So you're thinking about living on your own?" Peter said.
"I am, don't get me wrong, I enjoy the time sharing an apartment with you two, but with your wedding coming up, you both need a place to yourselves, we all knew this was coming somewhere down the road." Mary Jane said.
"Yeah... change always on the horizon, I know you're going places MJ, I knew it since we were young." Peter said.
Mary Jane smiles. "I'll never forget where I came from or the people I love, they help make me who I am today."
"I know the feeling." Peter said.
The young waitress came by the table as she's very familiar with Mary Jane Watson, she's being very shy as she pulls out a Van Dyne magazine she was hiding behind her back as she speaks Cantonese, Mary Jane has no idea what she's saying.
"I'm sorry I don't understand..." Mary Jane said.
"She's asking if you'd sign her magazine." Peter is translating Cantonese.
"Oh right, sure." Mary Jane being friendly as she took the magazine and autograph it. "Here you go."
The woman said thank you in Cantonese before she walks back to doing her job.
"Gotta say Tiger, your Cantonese has improved." Mary Jane said.
"Spending a week in Hong Kong, you pick up the language pretty quickly." Peter said.
"Aren't you full of surprises." Mary Jane said.
Peter, Gwen, and Mary Jane return back to eating their Chinese Food in peace. Gwen picked up a piece of dumpling with chopsticks and feeds them to Peter, he took a bite as he leans in closer for a kiss, Mary Jane watches and envies them for what they have, a great love for one another, she still has feelings for Peter but she knew that it wasn't meant to be and it does get to her sometimes, they're about to get married very soon and there's no room for her in their lives.
Around the same time the limo with the flag of Japan flapping on the antenna registered to the Yashida Corporation is driving around Lower Manhattan, the two bodyguards are in the front while Mariko is in the back with Logan still sightseeing, she noticed Logan remains very quiet and uncomfortable staying in New York.
"Logan-San?" Mariko said.
"Huh? Sorry Mariko, just... thoughts we'd be flying back to Japan, didn't think we'd still be sticking around here a while longer." Logan said.
"I'm sorry Logan-San, it's my first time seeing New York, I heard great things about this city, so many great places to visits, I even hear people call it the city of heroes." Mariko said.
Logan sighs uneasy. "Yeah... heroes."
"Are you still thinking about them? Your time in Alpha Flight?" Mariko said.
"That's all in the past Mariko, it should stay in the past!" Logan wants to put it all behind him.
"I'm sorry, didn't mean to..." Mariko tries to apologize.
Logan sighs in guilt. "I'm sorry too... just... what happened that day, it still haunts me, I just don't want to go back to that life, I want to put that past behind me, try to find my place in this new world."
"Is that what brought you to Japan? To find yourself?" Mariko said.
Logan smiles. "In the end, I found you, you're the only thing keeping me going Mariko, my place is at your side."
Mariko smile warmly as she and Logan lean in closer for a kiss but the moment got interrupted once more as they've heard a siren sound coming from behind, they took a peek from the back windshield to see an NYPD squad car flashing their sirens.
"What the hell does the NYPD want?" Logan said.
"Not sure, pull over." Mariko tells the driver.
The limo is pulling over to the side of the street as the NYPD car pulls up behind, the officer got out of the car and walks up to the limo, inside the back of the limo Mariko and Logan are curious as this sudden pullover, Mariko is rolling down the window as the officer came up to the left backdoor, Logan suspects something is off as he sniffed the air, his eyes became shocked as he immediately recognized this scent.
"Something wrong officer?" Mariko asking.
The officer pulls out her weapon from the holster but Logan quickly reacts as he pulled Mariko away and used his whole body as cover, this cop started shooting but Logan took the bullet, this cop is none other than Yakuza assassin Yukio dressed in NYPD uniform, she failed to assassinate Mariko as the bodyguards came out from the front and started shooting, Yukio quickly ducked and shot back at the driver, the other one is trying to get an aim at the assailant, Yukio jumped and slides across the roof as she shot at the second bodyguard, she made it to the right side of the limo, Logan quickly kicked the right back door open and knocked Yukio off her feet, he got out of the limo and pulls out his claws, the healing factor is forcing the bullet out of his body and closing up the wound.
Yukio looks up at Logan, she lick the blood off her lips with a smile. "Hello Logan-San, how'd you know it was me?"
"Your scent, I'd recognize it from anywhere." Logan said.
Yukio flirts. "That's not the only thing you recognize, remember?"
"You're a fool Yukio, you know better that you're no match for me." Logan said.
"I know, but he is." Yukio said.
Logan is confused by who she's talking about, but he was strike by a supercharged slash by a katana from behind, he went down hurt as Mariko screams in concern for her lover, Logan's back is healing back up as he turns around to look at the guy who attacked him, it's none other than his old foe Silver Samurai using his mutant power to supercharge his katana. A lot of people are surprised by this unexpected turn of events as a guy dressed like a samurai is causing trouble here, people are recording the event and some are calling the police, Logan is getting back up on his feet after a quick heal with his claws still out and ready.
"Harada." Logan said.
"We meet again, Logan-San." Silver Samurai said.
"Didn't think you'd show yourself again Harada, haven't you forgotten the last time we've faced off?" Logan said.
"You were a fool to spare my life that day, I had to live in shame because of you, but that only made me stronger, I've been preparing myself for this very day." Silver Samurai said.
"If you want me to shame you twice Harada, I'll be happy to oblige. I've defeated you once before and I'll do it again." Logan said.
"Don't count on it Logan-San." Silver Samurai said.
Logan still has his claws ready and Silver Samurai has both hands on the katana all charged up, unknown to anyone here a Yakuza henchmen is hiding among the civilians as he's got his phone out connecting to a live feed all the way to Tokyo, Japan where the other Yakuza bosses are watching the rematch between the Gaijin and Silver Samurai happening in New York. Both opponents are waiting for the other to make the first move, they charged in at each other simultaneously for a strike, as they passed one another standing, Silver Samurai is still standing as Logan is feeling the pain from that sword strike, he fell down bleeding in pain as it's very effective.
"LOGAN-SAN!" Mariko screams.
Mariko rush over to Logan's side who is in extreme pain while Silver Samurai only shows some claw marks on his armor but other than that he's perfectly fine.
Logan is in pain. "How Harada?"
Silver Samurai chuckles. "Did you really think I'd risk facing you without being prepared? My new armor is reinforced with carbonadium, not as durable as your adamantium bones, but enough to protect me from deep cuts."
Logan growls. "Still a coward as always Harada."
Silver Samurai charging his katana. "I've waited a very long time for this moment, Logan-San, I've finally defeated you and regained my honor. But not to worry Logan-San, you won't have to live with the shame of defeat, cause I'll do what you failed to do to me, I'm going to kill you here and now."
"Mariko... run..." Logan pleading in pain.
"No, I won't leave you Logan-San." Mariko refuses.
"How touching, you both shall die together." Silver Samurai said.
Mariko stays by Logan's side as he's still too weak and still in middle of recovery to fight back or move, Silver Samurai has the advantage as he raised his katana up all supercharged for the kill, he screams as he's about to swing it down but a webbing hit his hands and knocked off his swing, saving both Logan and Mariko, Silver Samurai is confused as who denied him his revenge, coming in swinging is Spider-Man as he drop kick Silver Samurai hard, crashing him against a nearby car, Spider-Man landed down in a three point stance. Silver Samurai stands back on his feet with the katana still in his hand, Spider-Man is confused as to why there's someone dressed like a samurai is here about to cut down two people.
"You!" Silver Samurai said.
"I see you've heard of me, Tin Man." Spider-Man said.
"Fool, you have any idea who you're dealing with?!" Silver Samurai said.
"No, no, no, don't tell me, let me guess, the Shredder? Sorry to disappoint but there aren't any ninja turtles living in New York anymore, I think they moved away." Spider-Man being playful.
"You jest, but you made the mistake crossing me, denying me my revenge." Silver Samurai said.
"Sorry to disappoint you Samurai Jack, but cutting up people with swords is illegal, I'm afraid I'll have to arrest you." Spider-Man said.
Spider-Man fired his webbing at Silver Samurai, but the villain uses his supercharged katana to cut through the webbing before they could ever touch him, Spider-Man noticed the way the sword has been charged, it's coming from the warrior's hand, he then charges in swinging his sword as the hero does the back flip, Silver Samurai kept on swinging his sword but the hero is too fast and agile for him to cut, he swing his sword as the hero dodged it but ended up cutting through a light pole like butter, he swing his sword down vertically but Spider-Man dodged and strikes back with a spinning back fist, knocking him back hard. Silver Samurai fell down as the Yakuza henchmen is still recording everything, the Oyabuns in Tokyo are watching Silver Samurai being shamed by a hero. Silver Samurai growls that someone else other than Logan managed to best him, he knows he's being watched and that he's being shamed before the Oyabuns eyes. Coming to the scene is Mary Jane among the crowd as she gets to witness a fight between Spider-Man and Silver Samurai.
Silver Samurai growls. "I will destroy you, Spider-Man-San!"
Silver Samurai won't give up as he ran up with his charged katana to slice Spider-Man, but the hero backflips and does the flash kick to knock the katana off Silver Samurai's hands, disarming him, Spidey then jumps back up and does the spinning back kick and knocked Silver Samurai down again easily, he underestimated Spider-Man as he's not Logan, his abilities are on a whole different level. Silver Samurai is still shamed by Spider-Man for this humiliating defeat as he won't let this go so easily, but Yukio then hears police sirens coming from a distance as this could complicate things.
"Harada! We need to go now!" Yukio said.
"I'm not leaving, this man has shamed me." Silver Samurai said.
Silver Samurai won't leave as the NYPD are closing in, but he spotted Logan fully recovered and getting back up on his feet, he can't fight both his enemies at once as he rethinks his strategy.
"This isn't over, Spider-Man-San!" Silver Samurai said.
Yukio and Silver Samurai both tossed down smoke bombs as the whole area is engulfed in smoke, Spider-Man and Logan are both blinded by the smoke until it dispersed only to find both Silver Samurai and Yukio has escaped from the scene. Spider-Man has no idea what's going on, but he turns his attention to the people Silver Samurai tried to kill, Mariko is helping Logan up on his feet as Spider-Man noticed the cuts his jacket suffered along with the blood stains on his clothes, but his bigger surprise is that this guy quickly recovered from all the lethal injuries within minutes and retract his adamantium claws which made Spider-Man have many more questions.
"Hey, take it easy pal." Spider-Man said.
"Don't tell me to take it easy Bub, I'm perfectly fine." Logan said.
"Wow, you got a strange way saying thank you." Spider-Man said.
"Don't count on it Bub, besides... I didn't need your help." Logan said.
"Really, cause that guy came close to killing you and your lady friend if I hadn't intervened. Care to explain what was that all about?" Spider-Man said.
"No, cause it's none of your business, so stay out of it... we're done here." Logan then walks away.
Mariko bows her head in politeness. "Thank you so much for saving our lives, Spider-Man-San, and please forgive him, he's... troubled."
"So I've notice, so care to explain what this is all about?" Spider-Man said.
"I appreciate you coming to our rescue, Spider-Man-San, I really do, but this is one matter you don't want get involve in... now if you'll excuse us, we have a plane to catch." Mariko said.
Mariko heads back to the limo where Logan is helping the bodyguards up on their feet as they're both alive, they were wearing bulletproof vests underneath their suits, they're all getting into the limo and leaving the scene before the NYPD arrived, Mary Jane is walking to Spider-Man's side as among the crowd the Yakuza henchmen blending is watching Mariko leaving the scene of the crime with Logan, but what caught this guy attention is this hero chatting with the red haired female.
"What was that all about?" Mary Jane said.
"No idea, I had so many questions and I didn't get any answers. Did you ask anyone what started all this?" Spider-Man said.
"Yeah, apparently a female cop pulled over the limo, she came up to the back window and started shooting, from there everything erupted into chaos." Mary Jane said.
Spider-Man is walking to where the limo once was before it drove away, he spotted a firearm on the ground used by the assailant, he picks it up for a closer look.
"If I remember, she wasn't wearing any gloves, with any luck we'll get a print." Spider-Man said.
All of a sudden Spider-Man and Mary Jane heard a pounding sound coming from the squad car's trunk, Spider-Man walks up to the back of the car and opens up the trunk to find a guy all stripped wearing nothing but a boxer with tap over his mouth.
"Hey pal, care to tell us what happen?" Spider-Man as he slowly removes the tape from the guy's mouth.
"I'm a cop, some woman took me by surprise, she knocked me out, next thing I knew I woke up in the trunk and my uniform was taken."
"I see, okay let's get you out, come on." Spider-Man said.
Spider-Man helps the stripped cop out of the trunk, the Yakuza henchmen is taking photos of the hero helping the cop out, but he even took photos of the young woman in his presence, he then disappears from the crowd after getting everything he needed for the Yakuza.
Later it's 5:25 PM at the Plaza Hotel at a luxury suite guarded by a security detail, Mariko is having some tea to calm her nerves after surviving an assassination attempt on her life, meanwhile inside the bathroom where slashed and blooded clothes are laying on the floor, inside the shower is Logan cleansing off the blood off his body with hot water as he's got both hands on the wall, he feels shame for letting Silver Samurai get the best of him and almost failed to protect Mariko in the process. Mariko is drinking tea and having her nerves calm as the bathroom door opens up and Logan is coming out with a towel around his waist, the man has so much hair all over his body, he caught Marko's attention.
"How're you feeling?" Logan said.
"A little shaken, but I'm alright, I was more scare for you, Logan-San, you almost died out there." Mariko is very concerned.
Logan sighs in guilt. "I'm sorry Mariko, I underestimated Harada, I was too careless, he could've killed you too, you could've died because of me."
"But I didn't and neither did you Logan-San, we were lucky a hero came to our rescue." Mariko said.
"Yeah *sighs* I hate to admit it, but I was glad, this time." Logan is still uneasy but this subject.
"I know how you feel about this whole hero thing, Logan-San, I'm sorry you had to go through all this again." Mariko said.
"Don't be, I don't blame you, I blame the Yakuza for coming after you, didn't expect they send Harada after he was shamed since our last fight." Logan said.
"We have to go back to Japan, if I know my uncle, he'll be taking drastic steps to push me out of my father's company by any means necessary, I need to make sure that doesn't happen." Mariko said.
"Good, the soon we leave the better, I don't like getting back into this hero business anymore." Logan said.
Logan walks over to the bed where his spare clothes are in his suitcase, he removes the towel from his waist and started dressing himself in Mariko's presence as she's not too bother by Logan's nudity, they're getting ready to fly back to Japan.
Around the same time at the Spider-Cave, Ganke Lee is running the prints from the gun against the Interpol database waiting for a hit, Peter is here in his suit along with Miles and Anya in their suits too, coming into the cave is Gwen in her suit as Peter came up for a hug.
"Hey, sorry I wasn't there Pete, there was emergency in another part of town." Gwen said.
"It's alright Gwen, I was able to defuse the situation before it got any worse." Peter said.
"Any idea what this whole thing was about?" Miles said.
"We're about to find out, Ganke is running the prints the assailant left behind." Peter said.
The supercomputer got a hit as it's pulling up everything on the woman known as Yukio and her rap sheet.
"Got it, according to the Asian Interpol database, the woman's name is Yukio, she's been suspected as a hit woman for the Yakuza." Ganke Lee said.
"The Japanese mob." Anya said.
"No wonder nobody is talking, these are very dangerous people we're dealing with, so what's their interest in that woman they tried to kill?" Peter said.
"I ran facial recognition on her earlier, her name is Mariko Yashida, a Japanese national and the acting CEO of the Yashida Corporation, looks like she assumed control after the death of her father Shingen Yashida. Apparently the late Mr. Yashida's name has been flagged by Interpol and Tokyo PD, Shingen was suspected of being the Oyabun of the Yashida Clan based out of Tokyo, there's been suspicions that the company is actually a front for numerous criminal activities, but nobody has been able to prove it." Ganke Lee said.
"So why would the Yakuza send assassins to kill one of their own? Some kind of clan feud or something?" Gwen said.
"Well whatever Ms. Yashida did was enough to bring a enhanced individual to stir up trouble in our city." Peter said.
"How do you know he's enhanced?" Miles said.
"The way his sword was supercharged with some kind of power, enough to cut through steel like butter, but it look like the power came from himself and channeled through his sword." Spider-Man said as he suspects something more.
"What is it Pete?" Gwen said.
"The other guy who was with that woman, he had claws, like metal claws and it look like he took some serious cuts, but he recovered so quickly." Peter said.
"So we got two enhanced, one tries to kill the woman and the other was protecting her with his life." Miles said.
"According to this, looks like she's schedule for a flight back to Tokyo, it leaves in an hour." Ganke Lee said.
"So what's the next move?" Anya said.
Peter sighs. "Me and Gwen will go and keep an eye on Ms. Yashida, make sure she's escorted to the plane safely, after that she's on her own."
"Wow, so you're just going to make sure she just leave to deal with this whole mess on her own." Miles said.
"Listen Miles, I don't like this anymore than you do, but she made it very clear not to get involve, besides this is a Tokyo matter, we can only focus on the things that happens in New York. Look, I feel the same way you do Miles, but we can't solve all the world's problems as much as we want to." Peter said.
Miles sighs. "I see, you got a good point."
"Let's go Gwen, let's give Ms. Yashida a safe escort to the airport." Peter said.
Peter and Gwen puts on their masks as they're about to head out to protect Mariko Yashida in case the Yakuza tries again.
Later at a Yakuza hideout in Brooklyn, Yukio and Silver Samurai are video chatting with the Oyabuns at their secret headquarters in Tokyo, Japan about their failed mission, but that's not the only thing that's got Silver Samurai worried as he knows he's been shamed once more courtesy of Spider-Man.
"Unacceptable, vey unacceptable!"
"Please accept our forgiveness." Yukio said.
"You were suppose to be the best, Yukio, you had one chance to take out Mariko and you failed, now she'll be on her guard more than ever, you've been shamed! As did you Harada, you've also been shamed greatly!"
"Oyabuns, with due respect, I have defeat Logan-San and regained my honor, that should mean something." Silver Samurai said.
"And yet you've been shamed once again by another Gaijin, this Spider-Man."
"He's nobody, he's just someone who was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Silver Samurai said.
"Enough excuses! Some warrior you turn out to be Harada, bested by a Gaijin in red tights. Perhaps we should reconsider your place in the Yakuza, whether you should stay or be exiled in shame."
"Wait! What if I can prove to you I can defeat this Gaijin in combat! Give me another chance to prove myself, please I beg you!" Silver Samurai bowing his head down.
The Oyabuns are whispering to one another considering Harada's request to prove himself again, they all came to a vote.
"One chance Harada, you'll only have one chance to prove yourself, assuming this Gaijin will accept your challenge."
"He will... I'll make sure of it." Silver Samurai said.
"One chance, should you fail once more, you'll have to choose, death or exile."
"I won't fail." Silver Samurai said.
"We shall see..."
The Oyabuns switched off the feed as Silver Samurai walks over to make preparations for his next challenge with Spider-Man, Yukio is starting to change out the NYPD uniform as she's revealing her back with tattoos, Silver Samurai just ignores Yukio changing as he picks up the tablet and looks over photos from earlier, he focused on Spider-Man, he scrolls down until he came up to the one with Spidey chatting with a young red haired female he seems to have a personal attachment to, Silver Samurai smiles as he might've found a solution to his problem, a way to get Spider-Man to accept his challenge.
Around 7:45 PM in Chinatown at the homeless shelter F.E.A.S.T., Mary Jane is here doing some volunteer work with May Parker as they're helping some homeless taking shelter for the night by handing them blankets and pillows, Mary Jane seem to keep herself busy while she's got other things on her mind, such as her plans to find a place for herself and the upcoming wedding between her best friends, May noticed Mary Jane being all quiet in her work.
"Everything alright dear?" May said.
"Yeah, just thinking about my future, guessing Peter didn't tell you that I'm planning to move out, find a new place for myself." Mary Jane said.
"No, he didn't. Are you sure this is what you want?" May said.
"It's time, with their wedding only months away, they're going to need a place for themselves and there's no place for me in their lives. I knew this was coming sooner or later, I need to start living on my own life." Mary Jane said.
"I understand, change is always inevitable, to be honest I was worried when Peter would have to leave the house after graduation, but deep down I knew it was coming, nothing ever stays the same forever. But that doesn't mean that you still don't have a special place in Peter's heart, you mean a lot to him just as much as Gwendolyne. You're an amazing woman Mary Jane, your Aunt would be so proud of how far you've come." May said.
"She is." Mary Jane said.
"Speaking of whom, how is she?" May said.
"She's doing fine visiting Uncle Spencer, he's a judge in Motoursville looking to relocating out here." Mary Jane said.
"I've heard of him, Anna talks about him often, he would officiate weddings between couples, do you think he could do the same for Peter and Gwen?" May said.
"We'll see." Mary Jane said.
"Okay, I think we're all done for the day, I'm gonna head on home." May said.
"I'll walk you to your car." Mary Jane said.
May and Mary Jane grabbed their stuff as they're about to walk out of F.E.A.S.T., they came out and walking down the sidewalk towards where the car is parked down the street, unknown to them a sedan is driving up slowly as to not attract any attention, the individuals inside are all Japanese, they've waited until the pair are far away from any eyes, the car drove up and surprised May and Mary Jane as Japanese men along with Yukio came out and surround them.
"Take the red hair woman!" Yukio speaks Japanese.
One of the Japanese men came up from behind Mary Jane and another one from front, one got a hold of May to keep her from intervening, Mary Jane fought back by kicking the front one below the belt, causing him intense pain in the testicles, MJ was grabbed by the shoulders but she steps on the guys foot hard, she got one arm loose and then does the rear elbow strike to the guy's head, giving him a black eye, MJ was too distracted to notice Yukio coming up and injecting a needle onto her neck, Mary Jane is feeling the effects as she's losing consciousness and loses her footing, Yukio got a hold of her and kept her standing as the two Yakuza men are still in pain and standing.
"Take her." Yukio speaks Japanese.
The two Yakuza men took Mary Jane and put her into the sedan with Yukio, the other one holding May pushed her aside and jumps into the passenger seat, Yukio rolls down the window as she tossed a scroll at May as the car is driving away with their hostage, May is on the ground and terrified as Mary Jane got kidnapped, May quickly pulls out her phone and switches to the camera app, she aims at the car's license plate, the car then turns right and disappears.
"No... Mary Jane." May is terrified.
(Spider-Cave)
Ganke Lee is still at the supercomputer with Miles and Anya still in their suit, coming back through the tunnel is Peter and Gwen taking off their masks.
"How'd it go?" Miles said.
"It went well, they made it to the plane without any trouble, they're on their way back to Japan as we speak, which is odd, I thought for sure the Yakuza would've made a move." Peter said.
"Unless something changed." Gwen said.
"Like what?" Anya said.
All of a sudden Peter's phone is ringing as he pulls it from his utility belt to see his Aunt May is trying to reach.
"Hang on." Peter then answered the call. "Hey Aunt May, I was just..."
"Peter... they took her!" May sounded distressed.
"They took who?' Peter is confused.
"MJ, men in suits kidnapped MJ!" May said.
"Oh no, MJ." Peter is stunned.
"Pete, what happened?" Gwen noticed something is wrong.
"MJ has been kidnapped." Peter then switches to speaker. "Aunt May, do you know who kidnapped her?"
"Three men in suits and a woman, they were all speaking Japanese." May describe the suspects.
Peter is stunned upon the description of the criminals who took Mary Jane. "Oh no... Yakuza."
"I was able to take a picture of the car they're driving in, all I got was a license plate, I'm sending you the picture." May said.
Peter holds up the phone as he received the picture from his Aunt's phone, it got a picture of the back of the car with the license plate in plain view.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." May said.
"It's alright May, you already did good, we'll take it from her." Peter hangs up the call and turns to Ganke. "Ganke, can you run the license plate number from this photo?
"I'm on it." Ganke Lee is typing the keyboard.
Ganke pulls up the photo from Peter's phone he got from Aunt May, the picture of the car shows up on the screen as Ganke got the number, he types it into the police database and got a hit.
"Got it, it's a rental, good news is it's equipped with a GPS, it's in Brooklyn." Ganke Lee said.
"Let's go." Peter said.
Peter, Gwen, Miles, and Anya all put on their masks as they're about to head out to rescue Mary Jane from the Yakuza.
(Brooklyn)
Later around 8:15 PM at the Yakuza hideout in Brooklyn, the Web-Warriors came bursting through the door only to find the place is empty with nobody in sight, not even Mary Jane.
Spider-Man sighs. "Damnit, she's not here!"
"This is the right address, the rental car is still parked outside." Kid Arachnid said.
"Unless they've just switched vehicles to cover their tracks." Ghost-Spider said.
Spider-Man spotted the NYPD uniform nearby on the floor. "This is definitely the place, that woman was wearing this uniform earlier. Look around, there's gotta be a clue here somewhere."
Everyone spread around searching, Spider-Girl looks around until she spotted a camera, she turns it on and looks through.
"Hey, over here!" Spider-Girl calls out.
"What do you got?" Spider-Man said.
"See for yourself." Spider-Girl said.
Spider-Girl shows Spider-Man the contents of the camera to show Mary Jane face looking all awake for the photo.
"I don't get it, why would they need a picture of MJ?" Ghost-Spider said.
Spider-Man spotted a laptop nearby, he walks over and opens it up to see it's still on, the screens flashes on as Spider-Man scrolls around to find clues, he access the emails to find a US passport with a photo of Mary Jane Watson under the alias "Gayle Barnes", Spider-Man quickly dials Ganke Lee.
"Did you find her?" Ganke Lee asking.
"No, but we found out they made a fake passport for MJ, we think they're gonna smuggle her out of the country." Spider-Man said.
"Fake Passport? Can they do that?" Ganke Lee said.
"It's the Yakuza, nothing is impossible for them. Ganke, can you track any flights coming in or flying out to Japan?" Spider-Man said.
"Give me a minute..." Ganke Lee is doing some work at his end. "Got it, another private plane was flown here from Tokyo, it landed here this morning, flight log said it's all fueled up and scheduled to leave in 30 minutes, you better hurry!"
"Thanks Ganke." Spider-Man hangs up the phone and turns to his teammates. "Let's go, we need to stop that plane from leave!"
The Web-Warriors rushed out of the hideout as they got a flight to catch before it's too late.
It's 8:43 PM at the private airfield in Queens, a private plane is all fueled up and waiting on the runway with Kenuichio Harada all dressed in a regular suit holding a sheath with a katana inside it, he spotted a different rental sedan coming his way, the car made a stop as Yukio came out of the passenger seat all dressed up in her black leather bodysuit, a couple of Yakuza came out of the back with Mary Jane all sedated, but one of the Yakuza has a black eye courtesy of Mary Jane's elbow.
"You're late." Harada said.
"We had a little trouble, she's no stranger to violence as you can see." Yukio said.
"No matter, I trust you left the note?" Harada said.
"I did, I hope this was worth all the trouble." Yukio said.
"I will be, she's the means to bring this Spider-Man to challenge me, get her on board and let's go back home." Harada said.
Yukio gave the order in Japanese as she and Harada are getting on board the private jet, the Yakuza men are boarding the plane with an unconscious Mary Jane, they're all on board inside the plane as Mary Jane is being laid down on the couch, the men are closing the hatch as the pilots are prepping for takeoff, the jet's engines are spinning and it's being rolled onto the runway. Coming into the airfield are a couple of Spider-Cycles, Spider-Man is driving his with Spider-Girl in the back, Ghost-Spider is riding hers with Kid Arachnid, the Web-Warriors spotted the jet speeding up on the runway.
"There's the jet, it's taking off!" Ghost-Spider driving.
"We can't let it get away or we'll lose MJ, we have to catch up!" Spider-Man driving.
The Spider-Cycles are driving onto the runway to catch the jet, it's speeding up with the pilots and the Yakuza unaware of trouble coming their way, the pilots are speeding up the jet for immediate takeoff as the Web-Warriors noticed it moving too fast.
"It's speeding up!" Spider-Girl holding on.
"Then we need to speed up too! We can't lose that jet!" Spider-Man driving.
"How are we gonna stop the jet?!" Kid Arachnid holding.
"I'm gonna board it, hang on!" Spider-Man driving.
Spider-Man speeds up the Spider-Cycle, getting close enough to the jet as it's taking off from the ground, Spider-Man fires up a web line at the jet as he got dragged up in the air, Spider-Girl took the handles and hits the brakes, stopping the Spider-Cycle as did Ghost-Spider, the heroes look up in the air at Spider-Man being dragged by a jet. Meanwhile inside the jet, the pilot noticed the plane's sensors are picking up a drag as this caught the attention of Harada.
"Is something wrong?" Harada speaking Japanese.
"This is strange, we're experiencing some drag in the air. Something outside is causing it."
"Keep flying in the air, I'll go deal with it." Harada speaking Japanese.
Spider-Man is still outside holding onto the web line as he's very high up in the air flying over Queens, he's climbing up the line towards the plane, the left hatch is opening up as Harada is taking a peek to see Spider-Man is the one causing the drag, the hero spotted someone in a suit pulling out a katana.
Harada chuckles sinisterly. "Spider-Man-San, I knew you would come to me, but now is not the time. I shall be waiting for you in Japan for our challenge, if you survive that is."
Harada swings down the sword and cuts the web-line attached to the plane's hull, causing Spider-Man to loose his grip and falls down high up from the sky down towards Queens, his advanced suit activates emergency parachute, it deployed from the back and steadies his fall as Harada is glad that Spider-Man survive as he's counting on him to face him soon, Harada closes the hatch and went back to the seat where Mary Jane is still unconscious and at his mercy. Spider-Man can't do anything but watch as the plane is flying far away heading west, he failed as MJ is now long gone.
It's now 9:15 PM back at the Spider-Cave where Ganke Lee is waiting along with May Parker who is holding a scroll in her hand left behind by Yukio as a message, coming riding through the tunnel are the Web-Warriors on the Spider-Cycles but without Mary Jane, Spider-Man takes off his mask as May and Ganke could tell from his expression that the rescue mission was a failure, the other Web-Warriors all took off their mask with the same expression as Peter.
"Peter..." May asking.
Peter sighs in guilt. "I'm sorry Aunt May, they got away with MJ on board, I failed."
"Don't beat yourself up Peter, you did everything you could." May said.
"But it wasn't enough." Peter still felt guilt.
"I don't get it, they went from trying to assassinate a CEO to kidnapping a model, this doesn't make any sense." Anya is confused.
"Unless she's just bait." Peter said.
"Bait for what?" Miles said.
"The guy on the plane, he was wielding a sword, I think he was that samurai guy I fought earlier, he said something to me just before he cut me off from the plane." Peter said.
"Did he say what he wanted?" Gwen said.
"Yeah, I think he wanted... me." Peter said.
"So this guy kidnapped MJ just to get to you." Anya said.
"How'd he know she was connected to you?" Gwen said.
"Cause she was with me at the scene... oh my god, they must've seen her with me and figured out she has a connection to me... this is all my fault." Peter felt more guilty.
"Pete... that's not true, you couldn't have know they were watching." Gwen said.
"Still, I was too careless and I ended up putting her in their crosshairs." Peter said.
"Peter, you did everything you could to help her, you still can, don't give up." May said.
Peter sighs. "You're right Aunt May, I can't give up, I won't give up, I'm gonna bring MJ home no matter what."
"Any idea where to start?" Miles said.
"Japan, he told me he'll be waiting for me in Japan, so where I'll start." Peter said.
"Are you sure about this? It could be a trap." Anya said.
"Maybe, but I don't have a choice, I have to risk it if I'm gonna rescue MJ." Peter said.
"I get it, but this is Japan we're talking about, you're about to enter uncharted territory without any assistance over there, you'll be on your own." Miles said.
"I know, it's a risk I'll have to take, for MJ." Peter made up his mind.
"I understand." Gwen agrees.
"Oh, I forget." May holds up a scroll. "The woman who abducted MJ, she tossed it to me, I think it's a message for you."
Peter took the scroll and opens it up to find Japanese handwriting which is unfamiliar to any of them.
Peter sighs. "Guess they didn't want the message in English."
"I could help translate it, but it'll take some time." Ganke Lee said.
"MJ doesn't have time, so I'll have to take it with me to Japan." Peter said.
"Ah yeah, how exactly are you gonna get there?" Anya said.
"That's a good question, you only made it to Hong Kong thanks to the Bugle, I take it you're not load with some cash at the moment." Miles said.
"And I don't know how to explain to Anna Watson her niece was abducted." May said.
"Don't, and let's not get the authorities involved either." Peter said.
"Still Peter, how are we gonna keep Anna from finding out the truth? At some point she's gonna try to contact MJ and she won't be able to." May said.
"I might have an idea, hang on." Peter pulls out his phone and makes a call.
"Hello?" Janet said.
"Hey Janet, sorry to bother you at this hour, but this is an emergency." Peter said.
"What happened?" Janet said.
"Mary Jane has been kidnapped, her aunt doesn't know yet nor do any of her other friends, I need your help to fake her alibi, tell anyone asking that she's away on a photoshoot, buys us some time." Peter explained.
"I understand, don't worry I'll take of it, anything else?" Janet said.
"As a matter in fact yeah, do you happen to have any private jets available?" Peter said.
"I got one, it's parked in an airfield in Newark, why?" Janet said.
"Cause I need it and I need it ready to fly out tonight. Can you do that?" Peter said.
"Sure, where are you heading?" Janet said.
"Tokyo, I'm bringing MJ home." Peter said.
Later around 10:03 PM in Lower East Side as Peter and Gwen are back in their apartment, Peter is in his bedroom packing up everything he needs for his trip to Tokyo, Japan, Gwen is in the living room along with Miles, Anya, and May with Ms. Lion on the couch, Peter packed up his backpack and zips it up as he puts on his black moto racer jacket and walks out of the room with his backpack on his back and his passport in his hand where his friends are waiting.
"Okay, all set." Peter said.
"Are you sure you don't need me to go with you?" Gwen said.
Peter smile. "Thank Gwendy, but... I gotta do this one alone, beside you need to lead the team while I'm gone."
"Not to worry, we'll keep New York safe in your absence as always." Miles said.
"You can always count on us." Anya said.
"Let us know immediate once you found MJ." Miles said.
"Sure, I'll send a postcard." Peter said.
Gwen steps up in front of Peter, placing her hands on his face cheeks. "Promise me you'll be careful out there."
"I don't plan on dying in Japan, still got a wedding planned." Peter smiles.
Gwen smiles as she leans in and kisses Peter before he leaves for his trip.
Gwen stopped kissing and looked at his eyes. "Find our friend, coming home together."
"I will, promise." Peter said.
May steps in. "You ready Peter?"
"I am, let's go. I'm off to the Land of Anime." Peter said.
Peter picks up his suitcase and walks out of the apartment with Aunt May giving him a ride to Newark to catch a private jet to Japan, the rest of the Web-Warriors stayed behind to protect the city in his absence.
(Newark, New Jersey)
Time is 10:54 PM at an private airfield in Newark, Peter is boarding the private jet belonging to Janet Van Dyne, he took one last look at his Aunt May and waves goodbye to her, she waves back as he enter the jet and the hatch closes up, Peter took his seat as the plane is moving onto the runway, the jet took off and flew in the air heading towards Tokyo, Japan. Peter is still sitting down thinking about Mary Jane and what she must be going through.
"Hang on MJ, I'm coming." Peter said to himself.
It's March 22nd in Tokyo, Japan, time is 9:01 PM as it's 13 hours ahead of New York's timezone as a sedan carrying Mariko and Logan is driving around town until it finally reached the Yashida Estate, the gate opens up as the place is surrounded by many bodyguards all on alert, the car opens up as Mariko and Logan being greeted by the staff helping with their luggage, Logan looks around the estate as he's glad to be back in Japan.
Logan sighs. "Home sweet home."
"Let's not get too comfortable Logan-San, we need to keep both of our eyes open more than ever, I'm sure the Yakuza won't give up on removing me." Mariko said.
"Not unless they remove me first, they want you, then they'll have to go through me." Logan being calm.
"They almost did, they sent Harada after us and he almost killed you, it was only luck we both survived." Mariko said.
"Yeah, rotten luck." Logan said.
"You're still upset a hero came to our rescue, aren't you?" Mariko said.
"That and that your own uncle tried to kill his own niece, he's the one who asked the Yakuza for their permission to kill you, he set this whole thing in motion! He's gonna pay Mariko, I'm gonna find him." Logan is upset.
"Logan-San, do not restore being a murderer, that's crossing a line!" Mariko trying to reason.
"He crossed the line first Mariko, he tried to have you, his own niece, murdered. I didn't start this war, but I'm as sure gonna finish it!" Logan being angry.
"Logan-San! Don't try to get blood on your hands, you're not a murderer! If you do this, if you take a live with your own hands, then you'll cease being the man I love!" Mariko pleading.
Logan stopped upon hearing Mariko's words, he looks at her eyes filled with tears as he's scaring her with his rage and need to kill, it's really getting to her and her pleading is getting to him too, he walks towards Mariko and pulls her in for a hug to comfort her.
"I'm so sorry Mariko." Logan still hugging.
"Logan-San, please let this go." Mariko said.
Logan is calming himself down for Mariko's sake, she then takes his hands and leads them to their bedroom for some privacy, she and Logan slide the door close.
Later around 11:34 PM at another part of Tokyo, at a secret hideout Harada is walking down the hallway with several Yakuza henchmen dragging a fully awake Mary Jane trying to shake loose from her captors, the thugs opens up an empty room with a bed inside along with an adjacent bathroom, the windows have bars to prevent escape, Mary Jane knows this is a holding cage for her.
"Put her in." Harada speaks Japanese.
The black eyed thug shouted in Japanese. "You heard him, get in."
"I don't understand what you're saying." Mary Jane said.
"He says get in." Harada speaks English.
The thug tries to shove Mary Jane in, but she fought back by striking with a rear elbow strike and gave that same thug another black eye, she then kicked the other thug in the groin as she make a run for it, but there are two more Yakuza thugs blocking her escape.
"Very persistent, but futile. This is Japan and there is no escape for you." Harada said.
The black eyed thugs is so pissed. "That damn Gaijin, she's gonna pay for this! I'm gonna kill her!"
"You'll do no such thing unless I say so!" Harada protest.
"Back off Harada, my loyalty is to the Yakuza, not to you! You have no authority!" The thug pulls out a knife. "I'm going to enjoy this, an eye for an eye."
The thug has his knife out threatening Mary Jane, she's frightened for her life, Harada still his has the sheath in his left hand, he draw out the katana from the sheath and quickly beheads the thug threatening Mary Jane, the head drops down first as the rest of the body fell to the ground, Mary Jane covered her mouth as she felt very disturb like she's gonna throw up upon seeing the beheading with her own eyes as did the rest of the thugs, Harada just killed one of their own and still has a sword in his hand.
"Anyone dares to challenge my authority?" Harada holding up his katana.
The Yakuza thugs knows better than to go up against a master swordsman like Harada.
"Good, now this be clear, I want this woman alive and unharmed... for now, understood?" Harada said.
The thugs all said "Hai."
"Lock her up and keep her there, comfortably." Harada said.
A couple of thugs got a hold of Mary Jane and forced her into a room alone, they closed it shut.
"And clean up this mess." Harada said.
Harada then walks away as some thugs look at the headless corpse next to the head, meanwhile inside the locked room itself Mary Jane looks around for a way out, she took a peek at the window all barred up, she's got her hands on the bars and tries to wedge them loose, but their screwed up tight, she looks out at Tokyo and thinks about her friends and family.
"Where are you Tiger?" Mary Jane said to herself.
It's March 23rd, around 1:05 AM at the Yashida Estate, both Mariko and Logan are still asleep on the futon down on the floor, clothes are everywhere as they've just had intercourse together, Mariko is sleeping peacefully, Logan on the hand is twisting and turning as he's having nightmares about his past, he's all sweaty from the nightmare as they're getting very intense.
Logan still has his eyes closed. "No..."
(Flashback)
The year is 1991 around the near end of the Cold War, at a secret base hidden somewhere in the snowy mountains of Canada, a US government project codename Weapon X, a group of scientists and military officials are about to witness a experiment involving a mutant male trapped inside the tube filled with liquid with all sorts of sharp instruments awaiting to be used, this male is none other than Logan, he's all naked with a breathing mask on his mouth, he's still unconscious unaware what's about to happen to him, what the group has planned for him.
"Subject has made it through the brainwashing process, he no longer remembers anything from his previous life, not even his real name, but he is in perfect condition for the experiment, the subject's natural mutation has gifted him with extraordinary regenerative capabilities just like the other one, he is one of two, we are ready for the adamantium bonding, the process would be very hot and fatal for any being to survive, but with the healing factor in the equation it would be possible for the subject to survive the process, in theory not only would the subject survive but the adamantium would be permanently bonded throughout his entire skeleton, making them virtually indestructible." The Professor said.
"Good Professor, if this prove to be a success, then we'll do the same process with the other one, having two is most certainly better than one... go on Professor, proceed with the adamantium bonding."
"Yes sir, beginning adamantium bonding in three, two, one." Professor said.
The instruments are all injecting drilling needles directly through the test subject's skin and to his bones, a hot raw liquid metal alloy is being transferred through the needles and bonding the alloy throughout the entire skeleton, as the alloy is extremely hot it's causing the man so much intense pain as the vitals are going off the charts and rising, the man is screaming in agony trying to fight it until he finally passed out from the pain, eventually the process was completed and the adamantium has been permanently bonded to his skeleton, making them indestructible. The scientists is stunned upon the subject not responding as they all assumed the worst has happened, he did not survive, but a vital sign spiked as the man is waking up in the tank.
"What the... Where am I? What has happened to me?!" Logan is terrified.
Logan is looking at his hands as he unconsciously draws out his new adamantium claws, he growls upon this unexpected turn of events, he fights to break free from his confinement using his adamantium claws to cut the bulletproof glass, eventually he broke free from the glass as liquid poured out and he jumps out with his adamantium claws still out, he starts to runaway from the lab, fight through security using his claws to cut down anyone standing in his way, the whole facility is on alert, Logan continues to run until he opens up a hatch and escapes to freedom.
(Present)
Logan suddenly wakes up from his nightmares, he breathes and calms himself down upon realizing that it's all just a dream, but he knows better, it was a memory from his haunting past, that day when he received his adamantium claws and he was reborn as Logan, but he looks around to find he's in a room with his lover Mariko still asleep peacefully, but he can't go back to sleep himself after reliving that nightmare all over again, he gets up from the futon and quietly walks around to the crate where he stores his personal stuff such as dog tags, a book with pictures and stuff he's trying to piece together, a photo of himself in costume with a group of Canadian superheroes called Alpha Flight, but what caught his attention is the yellow and brown along with a yellow brown pointy eye mask, he then just closes it shut as he want to keep that story of his old life closed forever..
He got himself dressed up in blue jean, white tank top, and a new black bomber jacket with yellow stripes to replace the old one that got cut and blooded, he slides the door open and took one look at Mariko still asleep peacefully, he slides the door close as he walks out of the estate and towards the garage where the Yashida family has a fine collection of cars and bikes, but what interest him is his own personal motorcycle, a Harley Davidson Fatboy, he hops on and turns on the engine, he rolls the throttle and rides out of the garage and out of the premises, taking a ride around Tokyo in the middle of the night.
It's 2:04 AM as a private plane flying from Newark has finally touched down in Tokyo, Japan, sometime later a taxi cab is driving around the Shibuya district with Peter Parker sitting in the back, he looks out the window to see a whole new city, the buildings all have logos of some Japanese companies such as Fujikawa Industries and Yashida Corporation, he asked the cab to stop as he plans to explore Tokyo on foot, he paid the cabbie saying "Arigato, Gaijin." before driving away, Peter has no idea what those words means as he walks around town with his backpack on his back, he spotted an American bar and grill across the street as he's feeling hungry, he joins up with the other civilians waiting to cross the street.
Eventually traffic stopped as everyone got the signal to cross the street, but this one is way different than the ones back at the state, everyone is crossing across the center of the intersection, this is what is known as the Shibuya crossing, Peter took part and crossed the intersection to reach the other side of street, he finally made it to the bar and grill here in Tokyo, a few Americans along with Japanese are dining here, Peter walks over to a table as a waitress come by and handed him a menu for him to check out.
"One cheeseburger with fries and a soda, please." Peter said.
The waitress wrote down the order and walks away as Peter sits alone feeling all hungry after a 14 hour flight, he needs to think about on how to find Mary Jane in a city he's unfamiliar with, he doesn't know where to start looking. About 10 minutes later outside of the bar and grill, a motorcycle is parking on the sidewalk as Logan is getting off the bike and walking towards the bar, inside the place itself Peter is chowing down on his cheeseburger and fries. Coming into the bar is Logan as Peter is all stunned upon finding the same guy he encounter in New York here of all place, Logan is walking up to the stool as a bartender comes by.
"I'll have a beer." Logan said.
The bartender pops open a beer bottle and hands it to Logan, the mutant is drinking up trying to calm his nerves down after the nightmare he had, he finished drinking half of it as he took a sniff, that is until he sniffed a very familiar scent in the air, he smelled it back in New York as he looks up at the mirror overlooking the whole bar to find someone sitting at the table eyeballing him, Logan has some suspicion who this guy could be, he drank up the rest of the beer and paid the bartender as he gets up and leaves, Peter wants to see where he's going, he left his money on the table and picks up his backpack.
Peter exited the bar and grill as he looks around, he spotted Logan walking down the sidewalk as he decides to follow from a distance hoping to get some answers, Logan kept on walking down the sidewalk until he made a turn at an alley, Peter still following from a distance and makes a turn for the alley only to lose sight of the man, he quietly looks around, just spotted a few Japanese low level gangsters hanging around up ahead, but still no sign of the man. Peter kept on walking only to be caught by surprise as he was tackled and pinned against the wall by Logan, this trouble caught the gangsters attention.
"Whoa, take it easy." Peter pinned down.
"What the hell are you doing here, Bub? Why are you following me?" Logan demands answer.
"Who said I was following you? I just came sightseeing Tokyo, I just got a little lost." Peter made up a lie.
"Drop the act, I know who you are... Webhead." Logan said.
Peter is stunned upon this guy somehow figuring out he's Spider-Man.
"Webhead? I don't know what you're talking about?!" Peter tries denying it.
Logan put his right fist underneath Peter's chin. "I know it's you Bub, you might not be wearing the mask, but I'd recognize that scent of yours, you still smell the same. Since you know who I am and what I can do, you better explain why you're here or I'll pull out my claws through your skull."
Peter could tell this guy means business, but that's the least of their worries as the gangsters are walking their way armed with bats and chains as the pair noticed it.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Beat it Bub, this doesn't concern you!" Logan said.
"We don't take orders from a couple of Gaijins, you're on our turf and you've just disrespected us."
"Listen, didn't mean any trouble, this guy has started it." Peter said.
"Says the guy who was following me!" Logan said.
"You really got some serious anger issues, pal." Peter said.
"You want to see some anger, Bub, I show you..." Logan said.
"ENOUGH! I don't care who started it, you're both in our turf and we're going to teach you Gaijins some lessons you'll never forget."
Logan lets go of Peter as the gang has them surrounded in an alley, there's about six of them with bats and chains spinning around as they mean business with brute force, Logan and Peter are back to back about to face them head on.
Peter chuckles nervously. "Are you sure we can't work things out?"
One of them came at them swinging down a bat as both Logan and Peter split up, the fight has started, Peter ducked down as a chain was swinging at him, he then does the sweep kick and knocked one gangster off his feet, another is swinging his chain as Logan has his arm wrapped by chains, he pulls them in by force and punched the thug down hard, Peter strikes the one from behind with a rear elbow strike and strikes the front one with an uppercut, he took down three. Logan picked the fifth one up and tossed him against the wall, but he was too distracted to noticed one swinging his bat and hit his head, the bat broke off as Peter noticed it, the thug holds the broken handle as he looks at Logan's head wound, his skull has metal as the wound is quickly healing up right before anyone's eyes. Logan growl as he grabbed the last thug and pulls him closer all frightened.
"What the hell are you?"
"Your worst nightmare." Logan said.
Logan then headbutt the last thug and knocked him out cold, the pair has taken down the gang easily as Peter has so many questions to ask but their moment got interrupted as they hear police sirens from the distance.
"What's that?" Peter said.
"Tokyo PD, listen Bub, we need to go now, it's better we're not here when they show up, trust me." Logan said.
Logan is making a run for it as Peter quickly picked up his backpack and follows Logan down the alley leaving the injured gangsters laying on the ground, they made it to the sidewalk and runs down the sidewalk, they made it to a safe distance as Tokyo PD made it to the scene only to find a gang all injured but no suspects, Peter and Logan made it out as they're walking with the civilians, Logan made it back to his motorcycle and hops on, turning on the engine.
"Hey wait, I want some answers." Peter said.
"Listen Webhead, I don't know why you're here and I don't care, this isn't your town, go back home, leave Tokyo while you still can." Logan rolls the throttle.
"I can't go home, Listen to me..." Peter said as the bike rides away, Logan ignores. "Your friend in the armor! He kidnapped my friend!"
Logan hits the brakes upon hearing this news about Harada committed a kidnapping, this got his attention as he looks back at Peter.
"Now you know, I can't go back home, I won't, not without her." Peter being very serious.
Logan sighs. "Let's talk, but not here. You got a name Bub?"
"Peter Parker." Peter introduce.
"Call me Logan." Logan introduce.
"Logan... what?" Peter asking for a last name.
"Just Logan, one name, like Madonna." Logan said.
Peter sighs. "Fine Madonna, let's go."
It's 3:03 AM at the Yashida Estate as Mariko is already awake and dressed in a kimono having some tea thinking about Logan who went out in the middle of the night, she then heard a motorcycle coming in as she got up and rushed over outside to find Logan in the presence of a Gaijin, a young American, just outside the gate as a few of her bodyguards are denying them passage to the compound.
"What's the hell, you know who I am, let me through." Logan speaking Japanese.
"We know you, but we do not know this Gaijin, I'm sorry Logan-San, but we cannot allow you passage!"
Mariko is coming up to the gate. "What is going on here? Who is your friend, Logan-San?"
"I'm sorry Mariko for this misunderstanding, he's not my friend, but I need him to come into the house, he has something urgent to tell us, alone... please." Logan pleading.
Mariko sighs as she speaks Japanese. "Open the gate, let them through."
The gate opens up as the motorcycle drives up around the circular driveway, Logan parked the bike as he and Peter got off, Peter looks around at the Japanese estate, it's beautiful with cherry blossoms and a koi pond, Logan leads Peter to the entrance but stops him before he could enter the house.
"What?" Peter is confused.
"Shoes!" Logan said.
Peter looks down as he's still wearing shoes. "Oh!"
Peter is taking off his sneakers and puts on Japanese slippers Uwabaki, he enters the house as Mariko is coming inside to meet with Logan and this young foreigner he brought with him.
"Mariko, this is Peter Parker, an American. We've already met him... back in New York." Logan said.
Mariko is stunned upon this revelation. "Oh... so you're..."
"Yes, and can you like... not tell anyone." Peter said.
"Of course, I am in your debt, I give you my word that I shall not divulge your secret. It's very nice to meet you, Peter-San, welcome to Japan." Mariko bows in Japanese politeness.
Peter returns the same politeness with a bow. "Thank you and I'm very sorry to disturb you at this hour, but I really need your help."
"Of course, it's the least I can do to return the favor, how can I help?" Mariko said.
Peter pulls out a phone and shows them a recent photo of his friend Mary Jane Watson.
"Mmm, she's cute." Logan said.
"Her name is Mary Jane Watson, 18 years old, she's a model, she was kidnapped recently in New York by the Yakuza." Peter said.
"That can't be, it doesn't make sense, it's not their way." Mariko said.
"It's the truth, that guy I fought against, the one in the Silver Armor, he's involved." Peter said.
"Harada, he goes by the name Silver Samurai." Logan said.
"Why is he doing this? Tell me?" Peter said.
Mariko sighs. "He's been shamed in the eyes of the Yakuza, he lost face."
"What's that got to do with me?" Peter said.
"He was already shamed once last year because of me, but recently he was able to best me in combat, he regained his honor, that was until you came along and shamed him once more in combat, he lost his honor in the eyes of the Yakuza, he was humiliated, you made it personal." Logan said.
"Yeah, well now he's made it personal for me too, he took MJ." Peter said.
"He's been shamed once more, what you need to understand is that a samurai cannot endure such shame more than once, you defeating him brought him great shame, and the only way to cleanse himself of that shame and to regain his honor is to challenge and defeat you in combat." Logan said.
"Kidnapping an innocent woman just to get to me, doesn't really sound honorable." Peter said.
"I wouldn't put it past Harada capable doing such an act, he's always been a coward." Logan said.
"One other thing, one of the kidnappers left this behind as a message, but it's written in Japanese, I can't make out what it means." Peter holds up a scroll.
Logan took the scroll and rolls it open for him and Mariko to read as they can understand Japanese writing.
"Well? What does it say?" Peter said.
Logan reads the scroll. "Spider-Man-San, I have something of yours, if you want your woman back, then you must accept my challenge and come to Japan, in this letter you shall find the time and place for our duel, and you must fight with swords only and only under the samurai code, if you win then you shall have your woman return to you, alive and unharmed, but should you lose or refuse to accept my challenge, she shall die. I will be waiting for you, Spider-Man-San... signed Silver Samurai."
"So he does want a fight... fine by me." Spider-Man said.
"Hang on Bub, what you're accepting is a samurai challenge, it means you're fighting under the samurai code." Logan said.
"So?" Peter said.
"So this is a match that test skill, no powers allowed." Logan said.
"Right, he wants me to fight with swords, no problem." Peter said
"Bub, it's a very big problem, I've seen the way you fight, you're at a total disadvantage, Harada is a master swordsman and a samurai, he lives and breathes the way of the warrior everyday, you just a kid who only gotten by with just your powers and luck alone, you're no match for him." Logan said.
"Okay, then I'll just find their hideout and rescue MJ the traditional way, what about that location on the scroll." Peter said.
"It's the location of the place for the fight, I doubt Harada would just stash her there, if I know Harada, he probably has her stashed somewhere hidden, and even if you attempt to try to find her, the Yakuza has eyes and ears everywhere, if they even see you attempting to find her, they'll kill her before you could ever get to her. Listen, I hate to say this, but there's no way you can rescue her and you won't be able to defeat Harada with your pitiful skills alone... I'm sorry Bub, you have to give this up, let this go, go home before it's too late." Logan said.
"Hey! I'm not leaving, didn't I make that very clear!" Peter refused.
"Haven't you heard anything I said! You're fighting a losing battle! You can't win! If you face Harada as you are now, you will die!" Logan said.
"Then I'll die trying... I won't abandon MJ... I won't." Peter remains stubborn.
Peter picked up his backpack and walks away as Mariko can't help but feel sorry for him, Logan is glad that Peter is finally leaving as he still doesn't want anything to do with heroes, but Mariko can't shake this feeling of wanting to help him as she can sense how deep his feelings for this woman go, she seen this level of commitment in Logan before.
"What's on your mind, Mariko?" Logan said.
"We have to help him Logan-San." Mariko said.
"Mariko, we both know how skilled Harada is with a sword, this kid doesn't stand a chance against him, he's no samurai." Logan said.
"Then make him a samurai." Mariko said.
"What?" Logan looks surprised.
"You're a samurai too, Logan-San, you can train him, give him a fighting chance." Mariko said.
Logan sighs. "Mariko, even if I could train him, I won't, I don't like mixing up with heroes anymore. I came out here to get away from that life and I won't risk myself by going back."
"Logan-San, the only reason we're still here in the world is because he saved both our lives, we wouldn't be here if he didn't come to our rescue, now someone he loves deeply has been taken from him, he's in this mess because of us, he knows the big risk he's taking and he won't stop until he rescues the woman he loves." Mariko said.
"How do you know he loves her?" Logan said.
Mariko smile warmly. "I'm a woman, I know things... that boy will risk everything, he'll fight with all his heart for the woman he loves... the same way you did."
Logan smile upon remembering those moments he fought Shingen for Mariko's hand and that other time he fought against Harada, Mariko has a way of getting through to Logan's heart. Meanwhile outside the estate, Peter is putting on his shoes as he's feeling conflicted as nobody would help him rescue Mary Jane, he's feeling hopeless but he won't leave without here, he got up and picked up his backpack, he's walking away until Logan managed to catch up to him before he leaves.
"Bub!" Logan said.
"What do you want?" Peter said.
"You really are an idiot, you're know you're gonna get yourself killed out there." Logan said.
"Wouldn't be the first time. Did you come by to insult me?" Peter said.
"Yes, and to ask you one thing?" Logan said.
"What would that be?" Peter said.
"This woman... how far are you willing to go to save her?" Logan said.
"I'd die for her." Peter said.
Logan looks at Peter's eyes to see seriousness in them, not an ounce of fear, he really means to save her by any means necessary, even at the risk his own life, all that indicates how much Peter loves Mary Jane, he then noticed a ring on Peter's left hand, he assumes Peter is either engaged or married to this woman.
"Logan sighs "If you're serious about facing Harada, then you gonna need more than just your martial art skills alone, you'll need to be prepared and well trained."
"How?" Peter said.
"I'm gonna train you Bub, I'm going teach you the way of the samurai, give you a fighting chance... So, are you in?" Logan said.
Logan agrees to train Peter in the art of samurai combat, give him a fighting chance against the Silver Samurai, Peter nodded his head as he agrees to train under Logan in the way of the sword, there's hope yet after all for him and Mary Jane.
... Too be continued.
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