"Please keep those men away from me! Please keep those men away from me . . .!"
"Oh, relax, you fradey-cat!" Caltrop snarled as she bopped Mizunokooji Asuka over the head with a fist. "These dorkheads practically worship the ground you damn hell walk on!" She waved to the crowd of broken, beaten-up -- and in many places, shot through the kneecaps thanks to the MP-5 submachine gun Caltrop had obtained from the Mendou estate before she and her friends went on their spy hunt -- alien observers currently under watch by the Mizunokooji Clan's Kurotenshi bodyguard force, they augmented by Wild Rider (who only had to give several of their leaders a "ride" in her Yukari-mobile to make them behave and the others surrender), Soul Searcher and Heart Player (they currently scanning the Niphentaxians with their psionic powers to locate whoever it might have been who had been involved with Moroboshi Ataru's death).
And, to augment it all, there was the twenty-metre high Minira sitting nearby in a relatively clear area of the estate, he grunting angrily, smoke and bursts of flame escaping from his mouth, as he glared down at the mean humans who had taken him away from his papa. When the Niphentaxians had absconded with him from Daikaijuu-jima, they had all sorts of weapons to ensure the little monster would behave. Once stripped of those weapons, they had proven themselves to be real cowards; collapsing at the first sign of directed force fired at them, usually at the business ends of either Rampage's or Warwind's fists or being reached out and touched by Caltrop's weapons. And, of course, there was always Wild Rider close by to help out.
One observer watched as Caltrop berated the Blessed Mate of the Fifth Holy Apostle of Lum -- Mendou Shuutarou, in other words -- and then she screamed out, "Heretic! How dare you speak out against Asuka-sama?!"
"Problem, Caltrop?"
The agent fell instantly silent as Wild Rider walked up, the glitter in the English teacher's eyes telling the Niphentaxians that she was more than willing to -- to borrow her very words! -- let them all experience her need for speed. "Nah, no problem, Rider!" Caltrop replied as she adjusted the strap holding down the Barrett M-82 .50 calibre sniper rifle she had lifted out of that weapons locker at Mendou's place. "Just a bunch of loudmouths who don't know when to shut up when they're told."
"Keep an eye on them . . . eh?!"
The rumble of jets echoed over the grounds from the east, making Caltrop and Wild Rider turn to see as a silvery-grey machine soar past a very curious Minira before it moved to vertically land at a nearby helipad. "What sort of machine's that?!" Makige Kinko, leader of the Kurotenshi, wondered aloud.
"Search me . . . oh! There're Rampage and Warwind! Hey, guys!"
People turned as two women came down for a landing close by, one in the blue-with-silver doves of Rampage and the other in the jet black leather one-piece bikini with arm and leg straps, fingerless gloves and knee-high jack boots of Warwind. "Hey, guys!" Warwind called out as she and her friend jogged up; both had, as soon as they had got clear of Tomobiki General Hospital, changed into their fighting costumes to come to the Mizunokooji estate. "What's going on here?!"
"Just got that weird jet showin' up," Caltrop replied. "Did'ja see . . .?"
"Another one came by Tomobiki General Hospital," Rampage reported. "They came with personnel from some strange Canadian military unit to pick up Moroboshi-san's . . . " -- while in costume, Shinobu had to be careful about how she spoke about her late ex-boyfriend -- " . . . body so a proper autopsy could be done on it."
"In Canada?" Wild Rider asked. "Why there?"
"Because this one's so-called fiancé . . . " -- the scorn flowed out in torrents from Rampage's mouth as she glared at Asuka -- " . . . tried to block an autopsy that was going to be done by the town coroner."
"Why?!" Caltrop exclaimed.
"Why not?! He wanted to make sure Lum wasn't blamed for Moroboshi-san's death!"
Hearing that declaration, a faint cheer echoed from the Niphentaxians. "The Fifth Holy Apostle's loyalty to the Goddess is proven!" one man wailed. "The Great Evil is slain! Let the whole Universe rejoice! Now all will fall before Lum-sama!"
"ALL WILL FALL BEFORE LUM-SAMA!" dozens of others echoed.
Watching this, the crowd of metahumans could only shake their heads in disgust. "Hey, can't I at least break a few of their skulls?!" Warwind wined.
"DON'T TEMPT ME!" Wild Rider shrilled.
"Excuse me, please."
Heads snapped around to see a man walk up, he dressed in arctic camouflage, major's rank on his epaulette slip-on, the crimson beret and thunderbird hat badge of the Canadian Forces Military Police on his head. Seeing him, Asuka screamed out in fright as she moved to grab the nearest heavy object to fling at him, "A MAN!"
Warwind's and Rampage's elbows smashed her face-first into the ground. "What a gutless dork!" the former muttered as a pained moan escaped the young heiress of the Mizunokooji sporting empire. "Sees a guy and totally freaks out!"
"Agreed," the latter hissed before she turned to face the just-arrived officer, a smile crossing her face. "Can we help you, er . . .?"
"Major Sam Guthrie, officer commanding Security Squadron, Specialised Warfare Regiment of Canada, ma'am," the man introduced himself with a smart salute. "If these are all the spies your group rounded up, we're here to take them off your hands."
"What's going to happen to them, Major?" Wild Rider asked.
"We've got very cold cells in our home base in the Arctic waiting for them to fill," Guthrie declared with a very mirthless smile. "While they're there, they'll all be effectively brainwashed to forget that Oni bitch ever existed in the first place." He ignored the shocked look on Rampage's face on her hearing him call Lum that. "Only when we're sure that they'll be of no harm to anyone in this city in the future will we send them back to their home planet." A knowing twinkle flashed in his eyes as he added, "Most likely, that'll happen after your Yizibajohei friends decide to unleash the 'Mother of All Fight Scenes' on Phentax Two and Uru to make sure we don't have to deal with those idiots ever again!"
"Go for it! Hell, we'll probably be in those fight scenes!" Warwind declared.
"Er, excuse me," Kinko then spoke up. "Much that the Master and Mistress didn't mind these people using our grounds to corral these monsters -- not to mention allow a place for Minira-san to rest before he was reunited with Gojira-san -- I would believe that they would be turned over to Japanese authorities, not Canadian . . . "
"Ah!" the security officer spoke out as he reached into his pocket to draw out another envelope sealed by wax and the Imperial mon. "From His Imperial Majesty, ma'am," he then declared as he handed it to the Kurotenshi's leader.
Seeing the mon, Kinko's eyes went very wide as she took hold of the envelope. Opening it, she scanned the message there. There were two letters in the envelope, in fact; atop with a personal letter addressed to Asuka's mother, Mizunokooji Saeko, from the Son of Heaven himself; there was an official form from the Japanese Interior Ministry declaring that the Niphentaxians were to be turned over to officers of the Canadian Department of National Defence, no questions asked. "I see . . . " she then breathed out before she gazed on Guthrie. "I'll inform the Mistress of this right away, sir. Would you require any assistance with the prisoners?"
"No, thank you, Miss Makige. We'll be fine." And with that, Guthrie drew out a communicator the size of a portable MP3 player from his pocket. "Now!"
Silence fell, and then gasps escaped the other Kurotenshi as they watched all the Niphentaxians -- all now with dazed looks on their faces -- slowly stand up. In an instant, burly men in Canadian uniforms walked through the ranks of pretty bodyguards to roughly seize the alien spies, then drag them off. Watching this, the small band of metas and Kinko could only gape in shocked awe at the brutal efficiency the Regiment's security detail could use. "What's happening to them?" Caltrop asked.
"They've been telepathically blanked out of all conscious thought, turning them all into living robots," a voice then announced, that making everyone turn to see Soul Searcher and Heart Player walk up to join them. "We sensed a pair of very powerful psionics in Major Guthrie's group," the transformed Mizuhara Koyomi then added as she adjusted the wrap-around safety goggles that had replaced her normal glasses when she donned the black-and-white jumpsuit of Soul Searcher. "I hope they won't get any headaches over dealing with these loons."
"They're expertly trained to deal with aliens, especially stubbornly resisting aliens," Guthrie assured her. "Once we're done here, ma'am, we'll clear out," he then added as he stared at Kinko. "Thanks for your assistance."
"Our pleasure," the Kurotenshi's leader replied with a polite bow.
"Batman, who the hell are those guys?!" Flash demanded.
As the strange convoy from Niigata finally moved to make landfall at Tomobiki, the people inside the Batplane watched as the CY-199 lifted off, it soaring away towards Canada. "Canadian Specialised Warfare trans-atmospheric transport craft," the Dark Knight Detective declared. "It doesn't surprise me that they're involved in this."
"'Specialised Warfare?!'" Hawkgirl wondered.
"Canadian military euphemism for paranormals and metahumans employed as soldiers," Batman answered as he switched the Batplane to vertical hover mode. Nearby, Infinity moved to guide the telekinetic bubble holding Gojira -- and tons of seawater -- down so the King of Monsters could reach down and pick up his boy from the ground. "A more kinder version of Project Cademus, but controlled by the Department of National Defence. They provide some support to the League, mostly technical help."
"Why have you never told about them, Bruce?"
"You never asked," Batman replied. "Further, the Specialised Warfare Regiment -- that's the name of the overall formation -- can be very prickly when it comes to exchanging information with groups and organisations they don't fully trust. Their first priority always is the defence of Canadian sovereign territory from metahuman threats. You ever wonder why we never had to do anything in Canada when those aliens who came when we met each other and J'onn? The Regiment dealt with those who wandered too close to the larger Canadian cities like Toronto and Montréal."
"We have to make some alliances with these people."
"I'm working on it now," Batman declared, and then he perked on seeing the hatchway open, revealing Wonder Woman. "What is it, Diana?"
"Lady Lofting's communicating with Gojira now," the Amazon princess reported. "As soon as Gojira is satisfied as to Minira's condition and the fact that those who were involved in his kidnapping will be dealt with, Infinity will transport them back to their home." A wry smile then crossed her face. "Atop that, Prodigy has invited us to her house so we can have some tea and snacks before we go back to the Watchtower."
"Really?" Batman wondered as the others blinked at her . . .
Later . . .
"Ayumu, are you sure you hid the Batplane well?"
"Hai, hai, Sensei! It's perfectly camouflaged! Even Batman-san says so!"
"She's got a point there, Coach," Kagura Michiko noted as she, Kasuga Ayumu and Kurosaki Minamo headed down from Mihama Chiyo's bedroom, where the Justice League and the others involved in today's action up in Niigata and over in Tomobiki currently relaxed. "It's a good thing Mai-san can make that Kagutsuchi fellow vanish when she don't need him. He's almost as frickin' impossible to ignore as Gojira!"
"True," the swimming coach mused as they walked in to join the impromptu party being held at the Mihama home. She was glad for this little chance to get together with the others affected by Chiyo's actions the previous evening; it would give them all a chance to ask the young genius from Yiziba a lot of important questions about what will happen to them in the future.
It wasn't that Nyamo was angry at Chiyo. Given how much they had interacted in the last two-and-a-half years together, ever since Chiyo had been elevated to high school and allowed to join Yukari's class, it was clearly obvious that the alien-born girl had acted out of friendship and love, not malice or hatred.
Yet, still, there were too many questions . . .
"Worried, aren't you?"
Nyamo gasped as she spun about to see the unmasked Bruce Wayne standing there -- he was still in the Batman uniform, though -- a cup of sencha in hand. It had surprised everyone when, in the wake of the locals' willingness to unmask and introduce themselves, that even the notoriously secretive Dark Knight Detective had been willing to reveal the truth about himself. "Wayne-san, you scared me!"
"My apologies, Kurosawa-sensei," Bruce said with a smile, and then he glanced at the two younger girls. "Would you two excuse us for a moment? I need to talk to both of your teachers alone for a while."
"Sure thing," Kagura said as she and Ayumu headed off.
With that, the two adults headed into the kitchen, where Tanizaki Yukari was currently standing, a cup of coffee in hand. Also there was John Stewart. "Konnichi wa, Wayne-san," Yukari greeted the Gotham detective with a smirk. "Stewart-san here just told us that you actually visited Chiyosuke's home planet not so long ago. Are we going to have to start preparing for another alien invasion?"
Bruce shook his head. "Most likely, no. What passes for a worldwide government on Yiziba is more concerned about ensuring that what little social infrastructure can survive in a place of constantly battling metahumans."
"And this Destructo character wants to bring that sort of stuff here?" Yukari asked. "Wipe out all governments, all sense of social order -- hell, if what I heard Shinobu-chan say about what she remembered of that place, concepts like wealth and economic power are totally worthless there! -- and for what?"
"Full freedom of choice," John declared.
"You've visited that place, too?" Nyamo asked.
"Not me personally. Others in the Corps have done so," he replied. "Small visits; it seems often that as soon as you get there, you automatically get warped into one 'fight scene' or another." A chuckle escaped him. "Still, all in all, I wouldn't say they're anywhere close to the monsters Shayera makes them out to be."
"Hol-san lost a relative in Thanagar's war against Yiziba," Nyamo noted. "Yomi and Kaorin were both quick to sense it when they met her."
"Her grandfather," John confirmed with a grim nod.
"Poor woman," Yukari said with a grimace.
"So . . . " Nyamo said as she moved to force the conversation back on track. "What now? I'm not sure how it is for all of you in the League, but we all have lives to worry about here. Much that I don't really mind what Chiyo-chan did to me . . . " She then glared knowingly at her friend. "And I know you just love what she did to you, Yukari!" A pause. "We have to adjust our lives to take into account what we've become. That's going to be hard."
"You don't blame the girl?" Bruce asked.
"Chiyosuke?! Hell, no!" Yukari spat out before she took a deep breath. "She's just doing what she's been made to believe was right! If there's someone to 'blame' in all this, it's this Destructo character! He's what triggered it . . . "
A scream then echoed from the living room. "What's that?!" John shouted.
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(Posted Mon, 18 Sep 2006 06:38)
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