This is my second Urusei Yatsura story. The characters who suddenly receive powers in this story know of the superhero philosophies from books and television. It is assumed there are a few heroes running around, but generally superheroes probably stay as far from Tomobiki as possible, so they never show up in the series. The villains of this story already have their powers from a different, unexplained source. There are no real devastating battles beyond the normal daily damage to the city and school. The characters are simply put into extraordinary situations. Players of the Champions roleplaying system may recognize a few things, such as necessary disadvantages to balance new abilities, some of the powers, etc. I just describe their effects, so knowledge of the game is unnecessary. It is a good system, though. Similarities to other super hero characters are based on what I remember from some of the older comics and tv episodes, not necessarily the new ones. A few characters are loosely based on those I've seen in the Champions system. Disclaimer: None of this is my fault Feel free to distribute this as much as you wish. If anyone MSTifies this, please let me know. I'd love to read it. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Superheroes of Tomobiki" by Jeff Judkins (raoh@hotmail.com) * * * Part one: New Genesis * * * Ataru realized there had to be a reason. It was the cookies. It had to be. Ataru examined his hands and feet one by one, but he couldn't think of any normal reason why he was stuck to the wall. He wasn't exactly stuck. He could move anytime he wanted. It was either gravity doing weird things, or it was him. It had to be the cookies. They seemed normal enough at the time, and they were actually tasty. They weren't spicy. They weren't extraordinary. They looked normal. Harmless. He examined his hands again. Was this an actual beneficial effect? How long would it last? Sure, he had been terrified when he found out who had made them, but if it was beneficial, he could always have Lum make more. How would this effect his girl-hunting? He jumped to the ground. Since this morning, he was stronger, faster, and tougher than normal, and he could stick to walls. Such an opportunity could not be wasted! "I could become a super hero!" he said aloud. "Abilities like this could benefit everyone. The power. The respect of my fellow man. The fame! All the girls will be mine!" He broke into maniacal laughter. Lum smacked him from behind with a mallet. "I barely felt that!" he said, turning to her. He laughed again. Lum hit him again. Harder. "Ok, I felt that." "Darling, what are you babbling about?" "The cookies you made. I liked them. You still have the recipe?" "Of course!" "Good." Lum dared to hope. "You really liked them? I'm so happy!" She jumped forward, bore Ataru to the floor, and electrocuted him. * * * Two days later... Mendo waited patiently on the roof of a nameless building. He was dressed in a suit of black body armor. He was loaded down with gadgets that he hadn't even tested properly. Currently, his foot was resting on the head of a stone gargoyle. His cape flowed dramatically behind him. The building across from him was abandoned, and he could clearly see himself reflected in the window. Perfect. He had spotted his prey early on. He was getting closer, and Mendo had plenty of time to check his equipment and prepare. His prey was dressed in dark red clothing. As Mendo watched from his vantage point, the figure leaped from one side of a building across twenty or thirty feet to another building. He then scurried along on all fours around the structure and leapt again for another one. It could only be a super villain. He obviously had powers, and who else would be foolish enough to run around Tomobiki wearing such a ridiculous- looking costume? Mendo smiled grimly. It was always open season on supervillains. Going after common criminals without the full backing of the law meant you were a vigilante. Supervillains were only attacked by super heroes or reluctantly, the government. Beating them up was righteous and expected of any superhero. This was his big chance to show the world just how truly strong he was. All he needed was an introductory speech and he could attack. He thought furiously, but nothing came to him. The villain was passing him. He was getting away! A menacing laugh would have to do. Those were easy. His decision made, Mendo extended his arm and gestured until the cable fired. The firing mechanism worked fine, once you had the proper motions down. All it took was practice. The line streaked across toward its target, embedding itself firmly in the side of a building nearly a hundred feet away. Grasping the line firmly, he jumped, swinging at an arc until in line with his next target, which would get him even closer. Quite easy with these new reflexes. The final destination would be the room of the shorter building ahead. His sudden appearance next to the villain should buy him all the time he needed. He prepared to let go of the line and leap the remaining distance. "Mendo? Is that you?" asked the villain curiously. Needless to say, his final leap was less than perfect. He missed the roof completely and sailed into the building wall, leaving a Mendo-sized indentation. He snarled and pried himself free. "So much for a menacing laugh," he thought darkly. He turned to face his tormentor, who was hanging upside down, feet planted firmly on the bottom of a ledge like it was the most natural thing in the world. Mendo crossed his arms and glared. "I am not Mendo," he began haughtily. "Who are you, then?" "I..." Mendo paused. He knew he forgot something! Every superhero had a superhero name! "My name is not important," he continued. The villain seemed to grin. "Couldn't think of a name, huh?" "Shut up!" Mendo shot back. The cretin was mocking him! How dare he! He drew his katana and jumped. "Die!" The villain planed a hand against the building's side and swung himself up and around. He then darted up the wall's side. Mendo landed effortlessly on the ledge the villain had been standing on, not expecting his target to be there when he arrived. There were numerous cracks and imperfections apparent in the wall that would serve as handholds, and he made use of them as he pursued his opponent. He crested the side and peered out over the edge. The villain was waiting with a mallet, poised overhead and ready. Crunch! Fortunately or unfortunately, his new resistance and the costume's helmet absorbed much of the shock, and he was conscious and fully aware as he fell ten stories into the alley below. It seemed to take forever. Just as he was beginning to recover, he slammed hard into the waiting pavement. Again, his suit kept him conscious and in a world of pain. Ataru Moroboshi looked down the side of the building and shook his head sadly. "Guess I missed the dumpster. Oh, well. It's fate." He clapped his hands together and bowed his head solemnly. He held the pose for nearly two seconds, and then laughed. "Let's go see what he had!" He vaulted over the edge towards the building's side twenty feet away. Once there, he reversed direction and jumped at an angle towards the building he had just left. He had to see if it really was Mendo. If he suddenly got powers too, then it confirmed his theory. "Halt, Mortal!" screamed a nearby bird. Now it was Ataru's turn to be thrown completely off balance. Fortunately for him, his new powers made it difficult for him to fall. He crashed into the wall, started to fall backwards, and then stopped, standing balanced at a right angle. Ataru looked around. The bird in question landed less than gracefully on a window ledge across from Ataru. It stared at him with beady eyes and spoke again. "Your life of crime ends here, Mortal. Now you shall pay for your evil ways." It laughed a crazed laugh that sounded hauntingly familiar. "Megane?" The bird promptly lost its balance and fell. Seconds later, it was landing on the ledge again. It looked annoyed. "How could you know that? You could not have penetrated my disguise so easily!" Ataru was astonished. "That's a disguise?" "Fool! I'm not wearing my glasses! That kind of a disguise never fails! It always works! How could you know my name, anyway?" The bird peered at Ataru. "You must be a telepath supervillain! You're in my head, stealing my thoughts! You fiend! Prepare to receive Heaven's wrath!" "How could you be disguised as a bird? Where's the rest of you?" "I'm not a bird!" protested the bird. "You're not?" "Of course not! I'm... Ok, maybe I am right now, but... You're changing the subject! I... Where was I?" Ataru waited patiently. "Oh, yeah! You're a supervillain, and I'm here to bring you in. Now then, prepare for..." "I," began Ataru, "am not a supervillain. I am a superhero!" He struck a pose. "Then what's your superhero name?" "Umm..." "That's what I thought!" "Oh yeah? Then what's YOUR superhero name?" "I'm glad you asked. I..." The bird seemed to go noble all of a sudden. He spread his wings a bit into the wind. If he had teeth, he would have been baring them. "Am Black Dragon!" Ataru burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. The bird drew back, ruffled his feathers angrily and glared at him. He then shifted to a black dragon a little over half the size of a bus, while Ataru's laugh grew steadily weaker. The entire process took less than a second. He had long teeth, razor sharp claws, black armor-like scales, and wings that were each ten feet long. The wings didn't do the dragon a bit of good as he lost his balance and plummeted toward they alley. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" the creature shrieked as he fell, wings thrashing madly. Ataru felt the impact five stories up the building. As the dragon got to his feet, Ataru landed on his head, knocking it back to the pavement again. "Ow," said the dragon. As he started to shake him off, Ataru leapt clear. "Look, I'm sorry I laughed I thought you were just a bird I'm really not a bad guy no harm done can't we be friends about this?" babbled Ataru. He had really been hoping he could have knocked him out. Having Megane hunt him down with actual power on his side was something he desperately wanted to avoid. Mendo suddenly appeared at the mouth of the alley. He laughed. "There they are! Destroy them!" He pointed dramatically, and a score of men in black came charging in with machine guns. Ataru's reflexes kicked in. His hands shot into the air. A second later, he lowered them again and grinned, remembering the dragon. He looked over at his new ally. "Psst! Put your hands down! You're a dragon, remember?" "Oh, that's right." The dragon got to his feet. "Puny mortals! Prepare to -" They opened fire with everything they had. "Ow! Ow!" the dragon yelled. "Stop it! Ow! That stings, you stupid fools! I said STOP IT!" Ataru took this opportunity run for the safety of street traffic. The gunfire stopped. A few of the men were frantically changing clips, but most were examining their weapons in puzzlement. The rest were slowly backing up. The only thing that looked hurt about the dragon was his expression. He rose up and flexed, and thousands of flattened bullets rained down among them. Moral seemed to be shattered. Everyone stood as if paralyzed as the dragon checked itself up and down for bullet holes. "Wow! I can't be hurt! I'm invulnerable!" He threw back his head and laughed. Mendo watched this with amazement and growing horror. It would be at least five minutes before the Mendo Armored Division would arrive, and by then the Dragon would probably have them all devoured. Fortunately for his pride, he saw Ataru's fleeing form. He could use another target right about now. "Get HIM! He's the leader! He's getting away!" Ataru dodged behind a building. The men ran out of the alley with unnatural haste, dragging the ones who had fainted with them. The dragon watched them go. As the last one passed out of sight, he curled into a ball and whimpered in pain. A few seconds later, he shifted into Megane. He rested for a while and got to his feet. The pain was already disappearing into memory. "That hurt. That hurt a lot, but it was worth it!" His eyes suddenly narrowed. "So much for my new 'ally' helping me," Megane shrugged, shifted into a bird, and a trifle unsteadily took to the air. Mendo just stared down the street and slowly shook his head as he watched his men pick random directions to search. He assumed they were searching. It could be they were just running. "Idiots." Soundlessly, Ataru dropped behind Mendo. He swung his mallet down savagely, knocking his opponent senseless. He reached down and grabbed two fists full of uniform and threw him a full city block away towards a random building's open window. Crash! Make that a well cleaned and completely transparent window. At least he didn't hit the wall. Ataru was busy watching and never heard the bird landing silently behind him. He would have ignored it if he had. What he did notice was an irritating tingling. It increased in intensity as he tried to figure out what it could be. Ataru was so preoccupied, he never noticed the large, scaled and clawed hand that was slowly closing the distance between itself and his throat. "Ack!" managed Ataru. He was lifted into the air and brought around to face a very annoyed looking dragon. He reached up and tried to pry the fingers loose from his throat. He tried thrashing around. Eventually he just tried to breathe. "Stop squirming!" the dragon growled. Ataru stopped squirming. The dragon brought one eye closer. "You left me there to die. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." "Ack! Ack!" explained Ataru. The dragon frowned and eased his grip. "I tried - to lead - them off - leggo - my throat!" Ataru gasped, starting to thrash again. The dragon released him. Ataru dropped to the ground and focused on breathing. He looked up and glared. "This is the thanks I get? I risked my life trying to save you, and what do I get? Accusations!" He rubbed his neck, wincing. "Ok. I'm sorry! Is that what you wanted to hear?" He paused. His head swivelled around as if listening. "Do you hear that?" "Yes, I heard that. You think a mere apology is enough to mend this wound of betrayal? You think--" "Shut up! This is important! Can you hear an alarm bell?" Ataru frowned. Now that he mentioned it, there was an alarm going off. Ataru turned to look. "It's coming from the bank..." * * * When the alarm went off inside the First National Bank of Tomobiki, there was an instant of panic as the members of New Genesis swung their weapons around the room, fearful of Swift Justice. There was nothing. The bank employees and customers kept silent in their places on the floor, yet their spirits were lifted in sudden hope. "Who triggered that alarm?" screamed their leader, Greymist. No one answered, but then again, he hadn't really been expecting an answer. "This doesn't matter. It's a minor setback. Nothing has changed except we may have to leave earlier than planned. Are the charges set?" "They're set for five minutes from now," said Tithe, checking his watch. Tithe was the mastermind behind their operation. He possessed the technical knowledge that kept New Genesis well supplied with the tools and weapons they needed. Their current plan was to put enough holes into the bank vault so that their combat monster, Sniff, could rip it open. Everything centered on working undisturbed. That wasn't possible now. "We don't have enough time. We need to leave before we're cornered in here," he continued. Greymist had come to this conclusion as well, but he hadn't wanted to be the first to voice the idea. He nodded in agreement. "Very well. We take what we have and go." He pointed. "You three! Get the car!" * * * The front doors to the bank of Tomobiki suddenly opened, and three men bearing large guns ran out. They froze when they saw Ataru and Megane staring back at them. "Aren't those--" began Ataru "Do you think that they--" began Megane. "Superheroes!" one of the men said. One of them pointed towards them. "Look at that!" "Let's get out of here!" yelled the third. Ataru looked at Megane and smiled. He grinned back, showing all his teeth. "They mean us!" they said together. Neither of them noticed the commotion going on behind them down the street. Mendo's Armored Division had arrived. Twenty tanks were now visible, traveling in single file to hid their numbers. "Right!" began Ataru. "You go in and flush them out. I'll stay here and shred their escape vehicle." "How about YOU go in and I'LL destroy their escape vehicle?" The two glared at each other and growled. "One, two, THREE!" Ataru had paper. Megane had rock. "Dammit!" Ataru chuckled softly. "Guess you go in first. Can you fly in that form?" "No." "I can help you with that." He grabbed the dragon's tail. Seconds later, Megane was flying. It was by no means a controlled flight. It might have been more impressive if the dragon wasn't screaming. Megane shattered the outer door and slid ten feet before suddenly stopping as he impacted an overturned desk. He got to his feet, mostly unhurt. The New Genesis leaders were running out the far door, but Megane never noticed them. What he did notice were the eight New Genesis agents who had surrounded him in a semi-circle. Each of them carried one of their own ridiculously powerful fully automatic assault cannons. They were all leveled directly towards Megane's head. Megane's reaction was instinctive. The dragon shrieked a high pitched scream of terror. There was a clatter as all eight agents dropped their weapons and clasped their hands to their ears. Several dropped in pain. Cool! * * * Ataru was having fun. At first it was frustrating peeling off the armor. Now that he had the engine exposed, it was child's play. He didn't have the slightest idea what the parts did, so he tore each of them out one by one with his bare hands, tossing them aside into a growing pile when he had done so. He only slowed down once when he ripped out some wiring. He received a nasty shock comparable to Lum at the height of her anger. From that point on, he avoided the wires. He stopped completely once he struck oil. Mission completed, he jumped out onto the street and surveyed his handiwork. The collection of engine parts was as tall as the car. They wouldn't escape in THIS scrapheap! Now it was time to get back. Megane should have softened them up by now... * * * Mendo watched silently from the stairway as the dragon jumped up and down on the second to last of his opponents. The last one was backed into a corner. Ever since he had been thrown through that window which had set off that alarm, he had been attacked. He recognized them immediately, and just counted it good fortune that he could be there to stop them. He got to use several of his new gadgets, too. He dispatched them easily. As he watched the dragon, he came to the conclusion that they were fighting on the same side. Nevertheless, he didn't want to distract him until he was finished. He was still hoping that the beast wasn't simply playing with his food. He looked over at the hostages. They were all tied up with rope and securely gagged. A few were still lying on the floor, but most were sitting up in obvious appreciation of the show. With a flourish, the dragon tossed the last of the New Genesis agents into the far wall. The agent slid down and wisely didn't get back up. Mendo broke cover and continued down the steps. "Relax. I'm on your side. There were half a dozen more upstairs. You can check if you want." The dragon said nothing, but continued to watch him suspiciously. Mendo reached the first hostage, a beautiful girl who looked to be about twenty. He pulled away the gag from her mouth. "My lady, are you well?" he asked softly. "I'm fine, but there's a bomb! I heard them mention it!" "A bomb?" "Hey, who said YOU could rescue the hostages?" complained the dragon. "Quiet a moment!" He turned back to the girl. "What bomb?" "Mendo, you rat!" That was all the warning he got. The man in the red and black was suddenly there from across the room. He swung his mallet with uncanny accuracy. Mendo looked up just in time to see his attacker before the shot landed and his head became one with the floor. Ataru turned to Megane. "Megane! What's the idea rescuing the hostages without me?" He turned back to the girl, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Miss, are you well? Would you go on a date with me?" "There's a bomb!" she cried. "What bomb?" Megane got over his shock. "No names, fool! You want to ruin your secret identity?" He paused. "Who are you, anyway?" "Moroboshi, you bastard!" screamed Mendo as he rose from the ground, trailing bits of concrete. He paused, frowning. "Wait a moment. You aren't Moroboshi. Who are you, anyway?" "Shut up a minute! Miss, did you say bomb?" "Yes! There's a bomb..." "It doesn't matter!" Mendo shouted. "It still doesn't justify hitting me like that!" He drew his sword. Megane got over his shock again. "Moroboshi? No, it can't be. Did she say bomb?" "Can it, Mendo! She says there's a bomb!" "Bomb?" He blinked. "That's right! Where is it?" "That's what I'm trying to figure out, damn you! Miss, where is it?" "The pale one with the red eyes. He said they were around the vault..." she began. "Where's the vault?" asked Mendo. "The pale one? You mean, one got away!?!" yelled Megane. "SHUT UP!" screamed the girl. Everyone froze in shock. She narrowed her eyes. "As I was saying, the pale one ran out the south door with a couple of his friends. The bombs are downstairs through the east door at the vault. He said they were timed. You've got about two minutes left. I remember. I looked at the clock when he said it." Mendo spoke first. "Ok, the black dragon goes after Rat boy. I'll rescue the hostages, and 'whoever-it-is' here," he said, indicating Ataru, "goes and stops the bombs." "Black Dragon," said Megane. "What?" "Black Dragon. Not 'The' Black Dragon. Its just Black Dragon." "What the hell difference does it make?" Megane ignored him. "How about I rescue the hostages, whatshisname here gets the bombs, and YOU take on Rat boy?" "How about we run before the building blows up? We've got a bit more than a minute. We grab the hostages and run. Rat boy gets away," said Ataru. "What about the bombs?" "YOU get the bombs!" The girl spoke up. "How about you free me, I free the others, we run outside, and you save the building and catch him some other day! Free me! NOW!" The three winced. Mendo quickly cut her free. "Give me that!" she demanded, snatching away Mendo's sword. "Get downstairs. All of you. NOW!" The three fled. "Whose idea was it to rescue HER?" "That's his fault." "Shut up!" * * * Downstairs, the air was alive with beeping. There were six bombs total, all timed to detonate at exactly 3:15 pm. That was fifty seconds from now. "Does anyone know anything about disarming bombs?" asked Ataru. No one spoke. "Anyone?" "We heard you the first time, moron," said Megane. "Does anyone think with their new powers they can take a bomb blast?" "I might. I can walk through walls," said Mendo. "But it takes a while. We could put the bombs in the vault and let them blow up there. We may not have enough time." As he said this, he pried loose two of the closest bombs and started to fade. "Getting back is easy." he continued, his voice sounding distant. Within ten seconds, he was gone. "Come on! We need to have the others ready for when he gets back!" They were set when Mendo returned. He just suddenly appeared outside the door. They silently handed him the armful of bombs and he started to disappear again. "How much longer?" asked Megane. "Fifteen seconds. No problem. Looks like we did it." Then they heard the beeping. "There's one more! Find it!" A quick search later, Megane pried it free. "What do I do?" he cried. There had to be less than five seconds left. "Eat it!" yelled Ataru, covering his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited. Megane delayed long enough to shoot him a venomous glare. Then he opened his mouth and swallowed the bomb whole. Mendo returned. He stared at them curiously. Suddenly the dragon's eyes bugged out and he jumped five feet into the air. A wisp of smoke escaped his mouth. Ataru put down his hands. "That wasn't so bad." "OW! That HURT!" Mendo gave up. If they wanted to tell him, they would. "Now, let's go find the ones that ran away." He started up the stairs. The others followed. When they got outside, Mendo froze in horror... "My car! My beautiful, custom-made car! I just had it made! It's ruined! Those bastards!" Ataru looked. Mendo was staring at the ruins of a black car with a pile of engine parts conveniently stacked next to it. Oops. "Those barbarians! How could they do that to a man's car? A man's car is sacred!" yelled Ataru. "But isn't that-- OW!" "Let's find these savages and make them pay for this in blood!" screamed Ataru. "You stepped on my tail!" complained Megane. "Shut up," Ataru hissed. He raised his fist into the air. "For justice!" "Damn you, Rat boy!" Mendo howled. "Damn you to Hell!" "There they are!" a new voice cried. Suddenly they were being rushed by half a dozen girls who used to be hostages. The three of them stopped. The super villain was forgotten. The girls pushed aside Mendo and Ataru and swarmed over Megane. "Are you hurt?" "We were so worried!" "Isn't he cute?" "Wai! Black Dragon! Wai! Wai!" "I just wanna take him home with me." "No, I saw him first!" "He's so CUTE!" Mendo and Ataru were plainly disgusted. Megane grinned at them, showing all of his teeth. His audience collectively fell back a step. "The lucky bastard!" complained Ataru. He glanced at Mendo. "Too bad about what they did to your car, Mendo." "Yeah. Good thing I ordered two more. Wait a moment! Just how DO you know my name? Who are you?" "I'll never tell," he replied, looking smug. A girl's voice called out from the heavens. "Darling, where are you?" Ataru froze. His grin remained fixed in place. He stopped breathing. Even his heartbeat stopped. "Oh. My. God." he silently thought. "Oh, there you are!" said the voice. It was getting closer. Mendo was looking very suspicious. "If you'll excuse me for a moment," Ataru sprinted for the bank's doors. Mendo watched him go. He was thinking to himself that none of this could possibly be happening. Lum landed next to him. "Where is he?" she asked politely. Mendo managed to point. Lum took to the air, flying in the indicated direction. Mendo remained standing there, stunned. "Where are the others? Did you rescue them, too?" asked one of the girls. Mendo turned. "Others?" * * * Ataru ran through the bank at random, trying in vain to find the exit. He found himself in a large room with more hostages, all tied and gagged like the others. All of them were female. They were all cute, too. If nothing else, his luck was consistent. It was all bad. He was going to die. Again. And it was going to hurt. Ataru tried to make himself leave. He couldn't manage a single step. All he could do was stare and wait until Death flew in behind him and whispered, "Darling..." "I can explain." This was the wrong thing to say. There was no explanation. It was an obvious 'lie and stall for time' tactic. They would probably carve it on his tombstone. He turned to face Death. She was standing there a foot off the ground, looking around at Ataru's 'collection'. "You've been busy." she said with a hint of menace. If Ataru was going to face Death like he always did, now would be the time. She was distracted. He could be halfway out the door before she could react. It was the 'halfway' part that kept him from acting. "Why are they all tied up?" she asked sweetly. "Ummm." "I'm waiting. You have the rest of your life to think of an answer." said Lum. She leaned closer. "Better hurry." "Ummmm--" Ataru began to look around the room for inspiration. "Wait! I know! I just found them like this! You can ask them! You've got the wrong idea!" "Moroboshi!" yelled Mendo. He was standing at the door with his sword drawn. "It IS you! I knew it! And now you're trying to rescue all the hostages by yourself!" "What!" "Die, Moroboshi!" He leapt forward, but was caught in a bolt of lightning. He shrieked and collapsed to the floor. "Darling... Is what he said true?" She lowered her hand, gaze still locked upon Ataru. She hadn't even been aiming. Ataru thought furiously. He said something about rescuing the hostages, hadn't he? "Yes! Yes! It's true!" "You wanted them all for YOURSELF?" Ataru was suddenly compelled to dodge. Lum threw another bolt of electricity, but he avoided most of it. The blast tore a hole into the wall behind him. "No! Not that part! The other part!" he yelled, trying to recover. Lum turned away. "I should have guessed. When you asked me to make you this costume, you were so excited. I was glad to do it. When it was done you were so eager and happy. Then you tried to keep it a secret from the others. I should have suspected then. I was a fool. "And now look what you've done! You used it to capture and tie up a dozen women! This is just astonishing! How could you?" She hung her head sadly. "Lum. I didn't do it for the women." She looked up. "I have new abilities now. I'm not sure how long they'll last. While they're here, I have an opportunity that I never had before. This bank was robbed today. I was there to prevent it. Others could have done it in my place, but this is the first time that I could have done anything to help." He took a deep breath. "Don't you see? It isn't the girls! It's the money! On earth, banks pay reward money to people who help them. I can get more money doing this than I could in years of working at a normal job!" "There is no reward money," said Mendo. He was conscious but still in pain, lying on the floor. Lum obviously hadn't recognized him and had zapped him at full power. Or maybe she DID recognize him and had zapped him at full power. Ataru looked shocked at that last statement. "What?" "There is no reward money," Mendo repeated. "I don't know what stories you've heard, but banks don't hand out 'reward money' to super heroes or vigilantes who suddenly decide to help. They're supposed to already be self sufficient, or holding their own job and doing 'super hero' stuff on the side. Super heroes help because of a sense of duty. Nothing else." "What?" "You've been deceived," Mendo began to laugh. Ataru frowned. He walked over to Mendo. Crunch! He tossed aside his mallet into hammerspace. "We also are allowed to loot the bodies of any super villains we happen to defeat. Now do you understand?" "Then these women..." began Lum. "Are only innocent victims of the super villains who robbed the bank today. Once rescued, they go home. If a couple of them feel grateful to the hero that rescued them..." he appeared suddenly thoughtful. Lum glared. "-then the hero ignores them and goes back home to his beautiful wife," Ataru finished quickly, thinking to himself, 'Why did I say that?' She seemed to relax. "Now let's start collecting. And don't tell anyone, or we'll have to share." * * * Mendo staggered out of the bank. He was being assisted by his own men who had found him stuffed in a closet. They let him go when he ordered them. He watched them run to their vehicles and drive away. His own car had already been towed away for repairs. The tanks were sent back long ago. All the hostages were freed and the New Genesis agents that were left behind were in jail by now. So ended Mendo's first day as a crime fighter. He extended his hand toward a nearby building and gestured. It was time to go home. Nothing happened. He repeated the gesture, then stared in astonishment at the empty slot on his arm where the cable device used to be. He checked his utility belt. It was gone as well. "Moroboshi!" he screamed. "Damn you!" * * * After returning to the base, Greymist decided to do a little research. The ones at the bank couldn't have possibly sprung from nowhere overnight. There had to be some more information out there. Throughout the next day, they searched. From witnesses, they discovered one or more of them had mentioned names. These names were linked with the Oni-princess, Lum, who had even made an appearance after New Genesis had left. It was too much to be a coincidence. Lum was famous in the newspaper and TV community. Apparently, she and her 'husband' Ataru Moroboshi were the source of several disasters that routinely plagued the city. Lum personally had her own powers, which were described as natural abilities for her race, and she had access to powerful and unpredictable alien technology. Because each of the 'heroes' and Lum all went to the same school, the school history was also researched. After sifting past the contractor's files and the complaints by nearby homes and businesses, they concluded Lum was certainly the source of the three's new powers. The decision was made to bring her in and force the secret of these new powers from her. * * * During school that next day, everyone was talking about the bank robbery and the new super heroes in town. The secret didn't last for very long. Ataru couldn't resist bragging. Mendo received credit without even trying, Megane only watched, and Ataru demonstrated abilities and still everyone ignored him. Popular opinion was, Ataru couldn't possibly be involved. He stuck to walls because he was a mutant. Ataru discovered early on that Lum's electric shocks were affecting him a lot more than they usually did. He could sense the attack before it arrived, but even a near miss left him staggering. He verified it with a light socket. If Lum ever got truly angry again, it could be fatal. Superheroes were sometimes susceptible or vulnerable to common things. Everyone knew this. Superman had his kryptonite, for example. Against anything else, he had no problems. All he needed to do was explain it to her. She was bound to find out, eventually. He had high hopes and never learned from his mistakes. "What I mean is, with this condition, I have this vulnerability." "To me?" "Sort of. It's really just your power. You'll just get past my defenses more easily." "You're susceptible... to me?" she said slowly, her eyes full of hope. "Well, its not as if any other girl can affect me that way. You're pretty unique." "Oh, Darling!" Ataru subconscious was screaming at this point. He was just beginning to notice. The warning signs were all there. Lum was smiling. Her eyes were locked with his, staring intently. Electricity was beginning to flare up around her. Seconds later, Ataru suddenly realized the mortal danger he was in. Running away screaming in terror seemed a good idea at this point. Foolishly, he tried to reason with her. "No, I don't mean you personally." he began almost calmly, "It's just me. I wouldn't even be mentioning it if you didn't have, I mean, its just me having an extreme reaction to you. No! Don't get up! I just mean you're the only one who, I mean, I wouldn't tell anyone else this because you're the only one with... who could possibly.... ahhh..." "Go on..." she breathed. Ataru's brain was now gibbering in fear. He should be running. There was the door. Why wouldn't his legs work? "Its not what you think!" he cried desperately. Smiling, Lum brought her hands together and gently rose into the air. Ataru stopped breathing. The electricity flowed in a constant, gentle stream about her, gathering about her hands. She rose higher for a better angle of attack. "Maximum Expression of Love!" She leapt after Ataru, who had suddenly found the willpower to dodge. It wasn't nearly enough to save him. Mendo shook his head sadly. He wasn't sure what to think. Ataru certainly deserved this pain for all the pain he had inflicted on her, but he didn't deserve her attention. If she fried him on general principles, he could understand that. He wished she would stop. The constant screaming was getting irritating. Lum released Ataru from her hug. He collapsed immediately. Twitching, he started crawling toward the door. "What's wrong, Darling? You're not normally this shy." Ataru was visibly gaining strength. He got to his feet painfully, still headed for the door. He began picking up speed. Lum was following closely. He broke into a run and darted out into the hallway. Mendo absentmindedly twirled a pencil in his fingers, quietly glaring out at nothing. "That idiot," he grumbled. He could still hear the two of them heading down the hall. Ataru's panicked running. Lum's angelic voice. "You weren't this shy last night!" she called. The pencil snapped like a rifle shot. Mendo realized he was one of a dozen boys who were now standing. They each wore identical expressions of outrage and anger. He heard voices at the edge of his hearing. "Kill him." "Kill him!" "Moroboshi must die!" "Oh, Lum!" "Death to Moroboshi!" They set about gathering weapons when the door slid open. Lum flew in, dragging in an unconscious Ataru Moroboshi. She dumped him into his chair, sat back down, and glared. "He didn't have to run. If he wasn't feeling well, he should have said so." Righteous Fury gave way to embarrassment. Wordlessly, they set aside the bats, fire axes, machetes, and broken bottles they had gathered and sat back down. Onsen Mark was back within five minutes to begin the day's lesson. The well-dressed and well-armed men arrived the instant he had settled down. He later assumed they had timed it this way. "Master! Come with us!" they cried. "At last we have found you, Master!" They were looking directly at Mendo. Their guns were pointed harmlessly away from him. Instead, they were more or less pointed directly at the other students. "Please, won't you willingly come back with us? Our village needs rain." "Our crops are dying." "Do not forsake us, Master!" "Who are you people?" Mendo demanded, backing up. "Quiet! This is a classroom! Mendo! What's your explanation for this?" "I don't know a thing about it!" One of the men snapped his fingers and gestured toward the teacher. The closest of them lowered his weapon and fired. There was a bright flare of light, and Onsen Mark was suddenly entangled in a glowing cable that had wrapped itself around him. He lost his balance and crashed to the floor. "You will come with us, Master," said the leader of the group. "You've got the wrong guy!" "We saw you at the bank. You have the power. There is no doubt." "That wasn't me! It was... Him!" Mendo pointed at the unconscious Ataru. "Hey!" protested Lum. She got to her feet. Two of the men walked over to Ataru. They poked at him with their weapons, pried open his eyes, and looked deeply into his face. "No way could this ugly man be our Master." "Completely worthless." "HEY!" yelled Lum. "Are you saying," began Megane "that you want to take Mendo away someplace?" "Our Master is the living embodiment of quatatzwrazquiaquil. He is our god. We must return with him to our homeland. There we will feed him and care for him, worship him and grant him his every desire for an entire year, until the Time of Sacrifice." Megane thought about this. He could truthfully claim he was one of the ones at the bank, and spare Mendo being dragged off against his will. Megane raised his head high. It would be a noble, selfless act. He could do this for his friend. He could sacrifice his freedom for a year. It was a small price to pay. "Yes, it was me." said Megane and Mendo simultaneously. They both stared at each other in shock. "What happens at the Time of Sacrifice?" asked Shinobu. "Then our god voluntarily walks into the fire, giving up his life for his people, until he is made flesh once again." "It was him!" Both pointed fingers at each other. The men looked at each other, puzzled. "Perhaps we should take them both?" one asked. Instantly, half the class was on its feet. "We won't let you take Mendo from us!" they cried. The other half of the class was scrambling out the door. As for rescuing Onsen Mark, a few of the boys shot him actual 'glances of concern' as they fled. Once outside, several stopped to listen to the sounds of carnage. It sounded ugly. Other than the sounds of "Mendo's Worshipers" firing their guns, there was an audible snarling. A worshiper came crashing through the wall and through the next wall. There was a scream of "Men Be DAMNED!", more shouts and screams, and then several girls ran out of the classroom past them. The boys could catch them saying, "What's wrong with Shinobu? She's gotten worse!" No one noticed the small mouse that jumped through a hole in the wall and followed them down the corridor. "A demon!" a voice cried. "Kill it! Kill it!" More snarling. The screaming seemed to shift from terror filled to pain filled screaming. "Soldiers hurt Shinobu? Shinobu SMASH!" screamed a new, deeper voice. The audience was collectively deciding that ground zero was not a safe place to be. Getting away seemed a good idea. * * * Part two: Lum's capture * * * Ataru was dreaming. He was dreaming he was standing on a mountainside wearing Sun-god robes. There were thousands of naked women, all throwing pickles at him. As far as he knew, he was the only one who ever had that dream. He woke up on the ceiling, back in his own room. The ceiling part was new. After getting over his initial panic, he realized he was in no immediate danger of falling. He set his feet against the "ground" and jumped. He got halfway to the floor before stopping in place. It was nearly within reach. He stretched, but couldn't quite touch it. Annoyed, he folded his arms and glared. This was intolerable! "Ataru! What's wrong?" Before he could answer, his mother opened the door. She stopped at the doorway and stared. Ataru stared back. "Yes?" "How... How are you doing that?" she asked. He shrugged. "I don't know." "Did anybody SEE you this way?" she hissed. "Of course not!" She collapsed into a heap. "Oh, why do you try to embarrass me? How could I have raised such an irresponsible son?" She started to weep. "It's not my fault gravity is ignoring me!" His mother left him there and went downstairs. No matter what he tried, he couldn't make himself move. Gravity must hate him. Eventually he resorted to kicking at the air, the way Jariten did when he flew. It worked. That annoyed him even more. It had finally started. The 'new' unforeseeable side effects. Ataru knew from experience that it wouldn't just go away. It was either a cure for the entire thing, or nothing, and Ataru wasn't ready to go back to being normal yet. All he had to do was restrict himself to staying on the ground. That wasn't so bad. He still had the cable thing from Mendo attached to his wrist, so he could use it if he needed it. Suddenly, he felt the need to check the back of his head. No horns. He relaxed. The rest of the day passed by, and Lum never showed up. Ataru tried to convince himself he didn't care. * * * Morning arrived, and Lum still hadn't come home. Ataru still didn't care, but he was getting more and more angry. "Where is Lum this morning? She's missing breakfast," said Ataru's mother. "I don't know!" He said it a bit louder than he expected to. His parents stared at him in shock. "I just mean, I don't know. I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon." "I hope nothing has happened to her," she said softly. Ataru said nothing. "I don't think she just left. She even mentioned baking cookies yesterday afternoon." "She baked cookies?" "She was going to," she corrected. "She said she was missing something, so she left. I think she was going to borrow from Ran." "How do you know?" "She took a gun." Ataru decided to go to school like nothing had happened. He was starting to suspect that New Genesis was trying to track him down through Lum. If Ran knew something else, he would find out what it was. He met up with Megane halfway there. He didn't wish to alarm him, so he said nothing about his suspicions. Once he arrived at the school, he stopped and stared. "What the hell happened to the school?" "Mendo's worshipers happened to it. I personally believe Shinobu caused half the damage." Ataru could only stare. Since when had the girls started using guns? Or explosives? In the walls that were still standing there were bullet holes and human shaped exit holes where people had been thrown. The ceiling was lying in pieces thirty feet away from the building. The school wasn't closed due to the damage. Each student was given a hardhat and was told to avoid the construction crews, and everything would be repaired by the next day. "Why did they..." began Ataru, as they walked inside. "They wanted to drag Mendo away so they could worship him and grant him his Every Desire. I volunteered, but they didn't really want me. That rat gets the attention of all the girls, and now this! They had to show up demanding this and that and waving guns around. All the girls were fighting for him. It just isn't right!" He looked disgusted. "He could have his own harem anytime he wanted to," Ataru grumbled. "I think that's what they wanted him for." * * * Ataru found Ran later that afternoon. She was only too happy to see him. He didn't think she was involved, but she may have been the last to see her. "She was going to make cookies? I would have been glad to help, but she never asked me. She never thinks of me. I personally like the chocolate chip ones. Those are my favorite, even if Lum-chan used to hog them all for herself. I remember when..." "Did she come over to borrow anything from you?" "Not recently. You know I would be delighted to share what I have. Oh! I remember!" Ran stopped talking. She suddenly smiled and laughed, and then stopped herself. "Where was I? Oh, yes! What exactly happened to Lum-chan today? I haven't seen her." Her eyes sparkled with innocence. Ataru's eyes narrowed. "She disappeared." "Disappeared?" Her voice dripped with concern. "Yeah. Gone. Vanished. Without-a-trace." "Well, it isn't daimoss, then." "What's that?" "It was from such a long time ago! I remember it all so clearly. It was when we were only five years old. Lum-chan was being cruel, and..." "Tell me what daimoss is." Ran looked annoyed. "I was getting to that. Anyway, it was six months ago, and I remembered how cruel Lum-chan was to me, and I decided to give her some daimoss to teach her a lesson. It can last for a while. I was feeling so bad, but it was six months ago, and you know I would never do such a thing to my dear childhood friend now. I'm a completely changed person! I wouldn't even think of it!" "What does it do?" "It screws up your existing powers. Random effects. Very powerful. It invents new ones if it doesn't find any. If only I remembered it before now, I could have taken it back before she used it. Now it's too late! No matter how much she deserved it, I know I would have stopped her before she used it. Now she's vanished, and I'll NEVER KNOW what it would have done! She would have been so surprised!" Ran stopped smiling with obvious effort. "It wouldn't have made her just vanish. It had to be something else," she concluded. Ataru frowned. "How long does it last?" "Oh, not long. Not long. Could be permanent. I think there could be a cure. A nice, simple one." She thought about it. "No, probably not. Oh, my dear friend, Lum-chan!" Ataru left. He had to talk to Mendo. * * * "I think Lum has been kidnaped by New Genesis." There was a brief pause. "How do you know this?" "It's the only thing that fits. They were interested in how we picked up our new abilities, and Lum was at the bank. They must have tracked her down." "But that doesn't explain..." "I have a plan to get her back. But I can't do it without you, Mendo." * * * Ataru and Megane were both invited into the Mendo estate. Visiting without getting shot at was still a new experience for them. They were escorted to a living room twice the size of Ataru's house. They each got oversized chairs to sit in. "So what's your plan?" Ataru stood. "We know New Genesis has been hitting banks to steal money and jewelry. I suggest that we announce publically that we are moving a large amount to a bank that we're watching. When they show up to steal it, we follow them back to their hideout and rescue Lum." "That's it?" asked Megane. "That's it." "I guess I know where I fit into your plan." grumbled Mendo. "Very well! No sacrifice is too great. I'll have the skystone gems moved here from Kyoto. That should be a newsworthy event that shouldn't tip them off that it's a trap. What's wrong with your foot?" "Huh?" "Your foot. Your foot has... fallen off," he pointed. "Oh. Heheh. Oops. It happened again." Megane reached down, picked up his foot, and set it in place against the end of his leg. When he let go, the foot stayed firmly attached. He wiggled his toes. They seemed to work fine. "What do you mean, again?" "Ever since this afternoon. It keeps dropping off. My arm, too." Unconsciously, Ataru immediately began examining his own feet. That was a mistake. He realized his first foot never reached the ground the instant he picked up his other foot. By then, it was too late. Balance lost, he began to slowly spin end over end in a circle. "Moroboshi, what are you doing?" "I can't help it! Could someone stop me, please?" Mendo got up and walked over. "How ridiculous." Ataru tried to glare. "Just do it, dammit." In response, he grabbed Ataru's shoulder and spun him as hard as he could. "Mendo, this isn't funny!" Fortunately for Ataru, he was spinning toward the bookcase. As soon as he made contact, he grabbed hold with both arms and legs. He waited for the dizziness to pass. Mendo and Megane put down their camcorders. "Let's finish the plan." Ataru climbed unsteadily to the floor. "So, what's your new side effect, Mendo?" "I don't have one." Ataru grinned. "Yet." * * * Early the next day, Lum woke up to the sound of voices. They were indistinct, and stopped as she tried to concentrate on them. She opened her eyes. She was in a darkened room. The only light source was hanging overhead, and she could see nothing beyond its feeble illumination except for the three men. The first was dressed in grey. His hair was completely white, his skin was grey, and his eyes were bright red. The one on the right was dressed in black. He had a ragged scar across his neck, and he carried a gun like one of the ones Darling took home with him from the bank. The third was also dressed in black. He was carrying a clipboard and was frantically writing something as she watched. "Good. You're awake. Sorry we had to resort to these methods, but we have to keep a low profile," the one in grey said. He walked toward her and grinned. "Who are you?" asked Lum. "I am called Greymist. This is Sniff," he said, indicating the one with the gun, "and our mastermind bent on world domination is Tithe." "I don't want it all. I never did," Tithe complained. "Right. We..." Greymist began, holding a hand to his chest, "are New Genesis." She blinked. "I thought you were all a bunch of girls!" "What?" "Darling was chasing YOU?" Her voice was full of scorn. "What?" "Poor Darling. I must not have been treating him well. What could I have done differently? I know! He must be sick! I'll nurse him back to health and he'll be all right again. Why am I chained down?" "We have brought you here for a purpose." "What kind of a hospital is this, anyway?" she demanded, thrashing against the chains. "This isn't a hospital! We're New Genesis! You're our prisoner!" he shouted, losing patience. She stopped struggling. "I'm a prisoner?" "Yes. That is correct." "Hmmm. And its just the three of you?" she asked, looking around. "No, we have an entire army here that we haven't used yet. Now, as for what we want.." Lum began to gather power. She closed her eyes. "Stop that. You'll only fry yourself in your own chains. Even if you could aim, you could only get one of us." Greymist and the others shielded their eyes against the brightness. A second later she had as much as she could summon and control. She threw it out in a wide burst over the entire area. There were three distinct screams. She kept pouring on the electricity until they were completely silent. Lum looked around. She could see two of them. The other had fallen just out of sight, but she could see the smoke trail. She leaned her head over and gingerly extracted a set of lockpicks from her bikini top. Carefully, she set to work on picking the locks with her teeth. Amateurs. * * * Ataru and Megane set themselves up within sight of the bank and waited. They had been in place all day. Mendo had faith in a tracking device that was disguised as a gemstone. It only emitted a signal once an hour, thus being completely silent and undetectable at any other time. That was the theory. He stayed in his new car. This one was only slightly different than the last one. It was a black custom-made cross between a race car and a rocket. If it went off a cliff, it could probably crack the sound barrier before it slammed into the ground. All three were in their super hero guises. Mendo was currently a bird. Ataru was also carrying an anchor which he had made an effort to disguise. The others realized what it was right away, but never said anything. So far, there was no sign of any new side effect for Mendo. Ataru was beginning to lose hope. New Genesis finally arrived late in the day, hitting the bank itself after the transfer. Megane kept an eye on them in bird form, watching as they left the city and disappeared at some caves. The two of them watched the entrance as they waited for Mendo to arrive. "Have you seen my leg?" "No, I haven't seen your leg." "I'm sure I dropped it around here. You must have seen it. Are you sure you haven't seen it?" "Yes, I'm sure. Why don't you just shift yourself another one?" "I'm not sure I should be doing that. What happens if we lose these powers? Would I lose the leg?" "How should I know? You're not bleeding or anything. You're not in pain. The ants have probably already carried it off and devoured it. Stop bugging me." Mendo joined them a short time later. "No, I haven't seen your leg." He gazed out at the caves with no apparent fear. Ataru noticed this right away. "You going to be ok in there, Mendo?" "I'm fine. Must be my personal side effect. I've discovered something new. I'm not sure if I had it before, but I have it now." Megane was curious enough. "What?" "This." Mendo gestured, and black spheres suddenly appeared scattered about their path. Each one was about six feet in diameter. He gestured again, and a dozen more appeared, randomly springing into existence like the others. Mendo then stepped into the shadow of a tree and vanished. He reappeared thirty feet away, walking out of one of the dark spheres. The others caught up to him. "So you're not afraid of the dark because your new abilities are based on it?" asked Ataru. "Looks that way. Let's get started." * * * "Wake up!" Lum tried shaking Greymist awake. She tried gentle slaps. Eventually she resorted to the megaphone. "WAKE UP!" Greymist came suddenly awake. "What!" Lum gave him a five second low powered warning shock. "That was to get your attention. If you even think about using one of your own "powers", you'll get zapped again. Greymist realized he was now loaded down with the chains that had imprisoned Lum. He could move, but barely. "Where are the others?" "Elsewhere." He shifted around and felt something. "What's this thing on the back of my neck?" "Enforcement doll. It metes out punishment." He looked down at the chains. She did seem to have him. Looks like he wasn't going anywhere for a while. "What do you want?" "For starters, I want to know why Darling is on that screen," She pointed toward the monitors. Greymist looked. On security camera five were three people. They were the ones who nearly got them captured at the bank a few days ago. They were here! They were invading his base! He struggled against the chains, and suddenly thrashed and screamed as several thousand volts of electricity tore through him. Lum shook her head sadly. "Now, that wasn't very smart. Tell me what I want to know." He forced himself to stop twitching. "The camera shows a tunnel that leads up to the surface. You know one of them?" Greymist was playing innocent. She might confirm the research conclusions and then he would be certain. "Yes. The one in the red and black. That's Darling's new girl-hunting uniform. I made it for him myself. See the little tiger stripes? He said it was for fighting, but he never wears it to school." "Girl-hunting!" The dolls eyes flashed, and Greymist screamed again. "Slow learner. No. Sudden. Movements," admonished Lum, wagging a finger. "Now, what's Darling doing here?" "Probably looking for you. Or my money," he grumbled. Lum was silent. Greymist was starting to get worried that he said the wrong thing. "Darling's here to rescue me," she said slowly. Greymist waited. "Darling's here to rescue me!" she cried joyfully. "That means I have to be here to be rescued. If I let you go, you have to promise not to hurt Darling." "Of course!" "But you have to try to stop him. Just don't try too hard. Make it difficult, but not TOO difficult. Darling goes home with me and you take the others and go. Is that satisfactory?" "Sounds good to me." "Ok, I'm your prisoner until Darling gets here. That cage over there will work," She pointed at the jail cell set into the wall toward the back of the room. "You wear the doll until our business is concluded. That means no unusual powers. No sudden movements. No trying to take it off. Eventually I'll get it back. Agreed?" "Agreed!" "Now, what did you want in the first place?" Greymist thought about it for an instant. She seemed ignorant as to what New Genesis was and what it represented. He might be able to get away with this. If he could get her doing something else or distract her long enough, he could get rid of this punishment device. She would not escape again. Greymist told her. * * * The automated defenses weren't so bad in retrospect. They were starting to get worried as the corridor was filling with smoke. It was getting worse. Afterwards, they realized the smoke only served to conceal the guns that were set into the walls. Once they had reached a certain point, the guns came to life, turning and tracking their targets. Ataru found himself dodging without knowing the reason why until later. Mendo wasn't even targeted. Megane was hit a couple times until he shifted into a mouse and wasn't bothered again. When he shifted back afterwards, he was fully healed. As Ataru frantically evaded the bullets, Mendo threw darkness over each gun one after the other, effectively silencing each one. Soon he had them all. "We should be alert for cameras. They probably know we're here, but you can't be too careful," suggested Megane. "Agreed." They set off again. Barely ten minutes later, they came across a brick wall. "Who the hell uses brick anymore?" asked Megane. "Maybe they were on a budget when they built this place. Maybe bricks were easier to transport into the cave. Who knows? Who wants to try to shatter it?" "I will," answered Mendo. He walked up, drew back his fist, yelled, and slammed it into the wall, which cracked under the assault. He hit it again, and the wall splintered, raining bits of brick everywhere. With another hit, the wall collapsed. Mendo paused to catch his breath. When the dust cleared, there was another wall, twenty feet away, identical to the first. "This one's mine!" said Ataru gleefully. He walked over to the wall, drew back his fist, and hit it dead center. The wall exploded, showering all three with debris and metal where, apparently, the wall had been reinforced. Mendo glared. Ataru laughed nervously. He turned to Mendo and grinned. "Bakusai Tenketsu?" he offered. "Let's go," suggested Megane. Five minutes later, they assumed they were being attacked. They were never certain. The dogs certainly looked vicious, and there were a dozen of them, but they raced past the three as if driven, completely oblivious to their presence, howling as they went. The three looked at each other. "Cowards!" Megane screamed at their fleeing forms, not noticing the blunt object plunging toward the back of his head. Tossing the hammer aside, Ataru yelled, "Shut up! This is supposed to be a surprise raid! They probably know we're here, but we don't have to make it easy for them!" "Moroboshi is right," Mendo suddenly twitched as if something hurt him. They continued on. * * * "Was that a successful test? I'm not sure." "Oh, that happens all the time." Lum said brightly. "You wanted results. You got them. I'd say it's working fine. As not as if I was originally trying for that effect the first time. It just turned out that way." "The dogs didn't do anything! They just ran!" "And they're still running. Well, maybe not. They ran until they got to that lake. That's pretty far!" Greymist said nothing. He just stared at the broken cages that had held the dogs only ten minutes before. The dogs had broken their way free and smashed their way through the door, which was even now being replaced. Lum watched him, hoping he wasn't about to launch into another speech. They were awfully boring and uninteresting. Privately, Lum believed he was a little off balance. He had asked her what had happened recently, and the only thing she could think of was the cookies. Last week, she had made some for Darling, trying out a new recipe. She had Ten try them for her, and he didn't like them at all, so she threw them out. He said they were bland and tasteless. For the next few days, he was breathing purple smoke that smelled like gasoline. Positive he had picked up some strange alien Earth disease, Lum took him to her UFO and tossed him into the Disease Curing Machine, affectionately called "The Cure." She locked the door, bolted it, switched the machine on, and left. The Cure would release him automatically when it was finished with him. Darling was also acting strange. She found out later that he had rescued the cookies and had taken them with him to school. He wouldn't have shared unless he had a reason. When he found out she had made them, he was surprised. He told her that he liked the recipe. Lum only mentioned the highlights of the story, and suddenly he had to have a sample. Lum didn't have the recipe with her, but she had a good memory. Greymist supplied her with all the ingredients she could remember. He was very polite, so Lum decided to make him a batch of cookies she was certain she knew how to make. These would be even better tasting than the ones she made for Darling. Besides, the ones from before were special, now that she knew Darling liked them that way. Greymist looked back at her. "Ok. Fine. I'll gather my men. Good work." Lum smiled back. She flew over to a monitor. "Come to me soon, Darling." she whispered. While across the room, "Sir? Why are you wearing that doll?" "Shut up!" * * * There was a click, and everyone froze. Then the floor dropped out from under them. Ataru hung suspended in mid air as if gravity couldn't be bothered to notice him. He watched in amusement as Megane and Mendo fell screaming. "I wonder if Megane will remember that he can fly?" he asked himself. When he realized he was sinking he pulled out the anchor and tossed it to the ground twenty feet away. He stopped immediately. Suddenly a line shot out of the pit and wrapped itself several times around Ataru's leg. "Oh, shit." Ataru was dragged in, screaming, to share his companion's fate. As soon as Mendo struck the ground, Ataru began to slow and stop. "How dare you use me as a parachute!" he yelled down at Mendo, shaking his fist. "Shut up!" "Get me down!" "What's going on with the ceiling?" Ataru looked up. Twenty feet above him, the ceiling was slowly shutting itself. "Megane! I mean, Black Dragon! Fly up here and keep these doors from closing!" Megane shifted into a bird and took to the air. Just below Ataru's position, large machine guns sprang out and fired in Megane's path. He backed off. The ceiling doors finished closing, and water began to pour in from the top. "Wow! It's an actual deathtrap!" said Megane, flapping in place. "These guys are serious! If we stay at the surface of the water to breathe, the rising water eventually forces us into the guns. Neat!" He landed on the ground and shifted back to the dragon. Mendo smacked him. "Stop admiring it and figure out how we're going to get out of this thing. Moroboshi, can you reach the guns and smash them?" "No. They're too far away. I've got a plan, though. You throw some darkness up here, and when you fall past me, I'll catch you and throw you into the guns." "WHAT!" "Not literally into the guns! There is a space above them where you can grab hold. Then you can smash the gun and climb around and smash the others." The water was waist high by now. Mendo was silent for a time. "You had better catch me. If you miss, I'll haunt you forever." "Trust me. This is the only way out." "Is it? All YOU need to do is wait, and the water will carry you to the surface. You could force the doors open yourself." "Well, YOU could walk through the walls and just leave! Megane could just turn into a fish, stay at the bottom until it fills, and then shift to a dragon and swim past the guns." "Hey! That's not a bad idea!" exclaimed Megane. "That way we don't have to depend on Ataru catching you!" "It IS a good idea. Good work! We'll go with your plan!" "What? I was getting all noble here, 'not going on without saving my companions', and all that! And you're going to ruin it by not trusting me? You bastard!" "Shut up! It's your plan! I'll even admit that it's a good plan!" "Oh, thanks!" he yelled sarcastically. * * * Lum turned from the monitor and looked over at Greymist. "Fake guns," he explained, "firing blanks. Completely harmless, but scary." Lum just stared. "You had better not be trying to deceive me. I am well aware of the maximum threshold of human pain. I don't think you've ever come close to your limit. I could take you there." She smiled, flashing fang. Greymist's eye twitched. "Have you tried it on your people, yet? Are you done with your 'test'?" asked Lum. She was annoyed that he would insist on a test. It insulted her cooking abilities. "We have several volunteers who wish to receive the benefits of your 'gift' to us." There was an agonized scream of pain across the room. It was followed by another, and another. "Water! Aahh! Water! Give me water!" they shrieked. "Are you saying that's normal?" demanded Greymist. "I think they're just right." She reached over and selected a cookie at random, biting into it. "Perfect. You should try one." Greymist flinched. "No. No thank you." Lum got angry. "What's the matter? I worked hard on these! Try one!" Her hand blurred as it shot forward and grabbed him by his shirt. "You're trying a cookie or you're not leaving this room alive! Now, eat it! EAT IT!" A cookie was shoved down his throat. She released him and smiled sweetly, holding her hands together. "There. That wasn't so bad. Aren't they gooood?" Greymist stopped coughing. His eyes widened. He began to jump around and scream. The eyes on the doll on the back of his neck flashed. Electricity flared. He kept shrieking as he ran madly in circles. Lum watched him. She turned to the rest of the men. "Once he calms down, he'll tell you how good they are. You'll all try one, won't you? There's enough for everyone!" The leader of New Genesis ran facefirst into a wall, knocking himself mercifully very unconscious. His men looked at each other and raised their weapons to bear on Lum. She blinked. "At least let me take the other cookies out of the oven!" * * * Ataru watched as the chamber slowly filled with water. Mendo was long gone. He could still see Megane swimming around every once in a while as a fish. Since no one was looking, he kicked his legs at the air and 'swam' toward the ceiling. Once there, he punched at it until he had an opening he could fit through. Once on the ground again, he scratched out an arrow in the dirt for Megane to find, and he left. The corridor eventually branched, and Ataru marked the direction he took, coming to a door, which he shattered easily. He froze in shock as he looked into the room. His mouth hung open. Seconds later, he was back at the juncture, obscuring the arrow and drawing a new one leading indicating the other direction. He then ran back to the room, giggling intently. Ataru threw himself into the room and started stuffing his pockets with money. "I'm rich I'm rich I'm rich!" Ten minutes later, he had come to the conclusion that he couldn't possibly take it all with him. He thought about Megane. He could help... No! It's all mine! Mine! Suddenly the solution came to him. He would rescue Lum, and Lum could help carry it all! "So, I need to get out of here and rescue Lum, then she and I can..." he broke off, staring at Megane standing in the doorway, who was staring back at him. He realized what he had said out loud. "Traitor!" Megane gasped. "Megane! Thank god you're here!" Ow! That hurt to say! "I need your help to carry this out. We are NOT sharing with Mendo! He's got enough, already." "How could you think of running off with Lum?" "Huh?" "I heard you! You were plotting to rescue Lum without me and run off with her and take her away from the rest of us!" "I was NOT! All I can see right now is the money! What's the matter with you? Doesn't it call to you? Aren't you human?" "How can you think of the money when Lum is still imprisoned!" "I want the money, too!" Megane was shocked. "Too? You mean..." "Just shut up and help me collect it! We haven't much time!" * * * Mendo wandered corridor after corridor. Everywhere he looked, he found New Genesis agents lying unconscious, passed out from the pain or wishing they were. Moans of the suffering filled the air. Nearly half of them had been poisoned, and Mendo had no problems dealing with the other half, scattered about as they were. He was having his own problems. He could barely hold onto his sword. It required an effort of will to simply hold on to it, or it would drift through his fingers and fall to the ground. It wasn't getting worse, but it was irritating. He was becoming a ghost. A shadow. One with the darkness. While it lasted, he could use this to his benefit. He literally stuck his head through the next door, looking around before drifting the rest of the way through. Again, he could bring the sword with him when he concentrated. It, too, was deserted. Where was everybody? * * * Lum was in the jail cell. It was locked and guarded by four guards who apparently were terrified of her. She glared at them, and they nervously shifted their guns. This wasn't going according to plan! If Darling came through the door now, the guards would cut him down. She needed to even the odds. "You sure you won't try a cookie?" "NO!" How rude! * * * Five minutes later, Ataru and Megane staggered out of the room. Ataru had discovered early on that Megane could shift himself an extra fold of skin, like a kangaroo with its pouch. They stuffed that and another one when that one was full. Megane looked like a dragon that was pregnant. Twice. If someone shot him, money would be everywhere. They walked carefully down the corridor. At the far end, a door opened, and six New Genesis agents walked out. They were facing down another corridor, perpendicular to their own. "Looks like they haven't spotted us yet." said Megane. "There was a desk in the other room. I could get it and throw it at them! There wouldn't be any room to dodge it. Desk tossing always works. At least, it worked on me." said Ataru. Without waiting for a response, he darted into the other room. Megane continued to look at the agents. "Fine. You go ahead." He shook his head. "Wait a moment! What desk? I didn't see any desk!" He looked, but Ataru was gone. That rat! The agents turned and looked directly at him. Suddenly Megane knew what to do. He could try that Screaming Voice attack that worked so well back at the bank! He drew in a deep breath. The agents threw themselves flat, positive the dragon was about to fill the entire corridor with fire. "EEEEeeeeee!" tried Megane. A few of the agents looked up. "EEEEEEeeeee!" Megane screeched. He had forgotten it! "AAhhhhh!" That wasn't it, either! How did it go? The agents got to their feet. A roll of sweat rolled down the dragon's head. "Heheh. Ummm." he coughed nervously. "Eat Desk!" screamed Ataru. "I mean, Flying Desk ATTACK!" A large steel reinforced desk sailed down the corridor. The agents went flying like bowling pins. "Why were you yelling like that?" Ataru asked, folding his arms. "Shut up!" "Any idea what they were staring at?" "No idea." The two of them rounded the corner. Facing them were a dozen well dressed men who looked a lot different than the other agents. They didn't fire when they saw them. Megane gasped. "It's Mendo's worshipers!" Ataru was confused. "The girls at school?" "No! The guys! These guys!" "Mendo's worshipers," he began slowly "are MEN?" "Yeah. Didn't you know?" Ataru's face went through several contortions. He couldn't breathe. "And to think, for a time, I was actually envious of him." "It's not what you think. It's not as if Mendo agreed. He did his best to get away." Ataru's heart started beating again. "Oh. That's right. Thank god!" The group walked towards them. "We are looking for our Master. You were at the bank. Do you know where he is?" Ataru held up his hands. "We got separated. We're looking for him, too." "There is safety in numbers. New Genesis agents are still strong. Will you join us?" "Sure!" "What are you doing?" hissed Megane. "These guys wrecked the school! They're dangerous!" "I thought Shinobu wrecked the school." Ataru never noticed several of them flinch when she was named. "She wrecked half of it. These guys wrecked the other half!" "If they help us rescue Lum, what do you care?" he pointed out. "Hey, do any of you guys have any large empty sacks?" Wordlessly, one of them handed over a couple large bags made of black cloth. "Cool!" * * * Greymist woke up in a world of pain. "Sir? Are you ok? Sir?" He opened his eyes and slowly sat up. A glass of water was handed to him, and he downed it in one shot. He drank down the second and the third just as quickly. "Report!" he demanded. "Sir! The intruders have joined forces. We are currently tracking the remnants of group two who has joined with the dragon and the one in red and black. We are unable to verify the location of the third except through visual sightings by those who have encountered him. At last report he was in the holding areas." "What is the location of the main group?" "They are currently in the west storerooms, heading for the armory. They should pass fairly close to our location. Our own forces are depleted due to the effects of the, uh." "Cookies?" "Yes, the cookies. We are preparing to make a stand just outside the armory." "Rat boy!" a new voice screamed from across the room. Everyone turned. Standing there no farther than thirty feet away was one of the superheroes from the bank. Greymist had never seen him this close before. He was dressed in black body armor and carried a katana, yet he seemed nearly transparent. Three nearby agents opened up on him with automatic weapon fire. He ignored them. When they stopped firing, he laughed. When the laughter died away, he charged at the closest of his enemies, yelling a battle cry. "He's a hologram! Find the real one!" Greymist screamed. "He's got to be around here somewhere!" The agents getting charged relaxed and ignored Mendo, and Mendo beat them senseless before they could recover. The instant the last one fell, more of the guards fired, and again Mendo ignored them. "Rat boy! You will pay for what you have done to my car!" "What car?" Greymist wondered aloud. He looked confused, then enraged. "Rat boy!?" Sniff stepped forward. He hefted a giant computer as tall as he was. The machine was trailing sparks where he had ripped it free from the wall. "No! Not that computer!" cried Greymist. He threw it. Mendo stood there and watched it with interest, making no move to dodge as it sailed through him, hit the wall, and exploded into fire. The amused look faded. He pointed at Greymist with the sword. "Time to die, Rat boy." Greymist fled. He tapped Sniff on the shoulder as he ran past. "He's all yours." Ten seconds into the fight, Mendo was becoming a bit concerned. He had to become solid enough to attack, and this also made him vulnerable to being counter attacked. Sniff seemed well aware of this, and he calmly waited each time until Mendo launched an assault. Mendo was further hampered by not wanting to kill. He just wanted to dice him up a bit. Sniff was stronger and tougher, but Mendo was faster and could rest and recover whenever he wished. In short, they were evenly matched. This was intolerable! His opponent was coming to the conclusion that he could not win this fight. Unless he knocked him out instantly, Mendo could always try again. He needed a devastating attack timed for when Mendo was striking. Sniff made his decision. He turned and ran. Mendo was caught by surprise for only an instant. He caught up with him at the doors. Sniff was picking up another computer bank, and two of the agents waited nearby with guns. Mendo waited until they were done firing and attacked the first. Sniff then swung his weapon down savagely, hitting both Mendo and his opponent. The other agent merely stared in horror. Sniff glared at him, and he backed off. "How dare you do that to my friend!" yelled a voice. "It sounded like Moroboshi," thought Mendo. "No. Not a rescue by Moroboshi." There was a bone-jarring crash. Mendo looked up. "First you destroy my friend's car, and then you try to kill him. It was such a beautiful car! You ripped its guts out! Confess!" Wham! Ataru lifted a huge, black desk over his head. Fire was burning in his eyes. The desk swung again. Wham! "Confess! Death to anyone who would destroy such a beautiful vehicle! It was almost irreplaceable!" Sniff tried to rise. He looked confused and angry. The desk was brought down again. "You'll pay for it, you bastard!" Wham! Sniff stopped moving. Ataru cast the furniture aside. "Oh, what a pity that he passed out before we could extract his full confession. It's just as well." Mendo climbed painfully to his feet. He looked at the other agent, who had dropped his weapon and had his hands raised high into the air. No one else had noticed him. The agent stopped backing up as he watched. "Master! We have found you!" Oh, no. "Run!" suggested Megane. Mendo ran, but he didn't get far. A glowing line snaked itself around him and entangled his legs. He fell to the floor with a crash. "Master! Stop running away!" Mendo rolled around. "How did I get hit?" he wondered. A second later, the answer came to him. Apparently bright lights countered his powers. Somehow, the men who were following him knew that. They knew it before he did. Mendo's worshipers rushed forward and helped him to his feet, but they didn't unbind him. "You'll come with us now, Master. The village needs you." "Go away!" growled Mendo. Ataru and Megane watched silently. Ataru spoke first. "You know, we might still need him." "We might," agreed Megane. "We can't just let him get his own harem without us. It isn't right!" Megane turned to look at him. "I know that I personally wouldn't forget my friends." Ataru continued. "How can we just let him go and enjoy himself? Don't WE deserve anything?" "That isn't the issue! We still haven't rescued Lum, and we need him for that! Stop thinking only of yourself!" Mendo was walked toward them. The leader spoke. "We want to thank you for your assistance. We will return now." Mendo looked annoyed. Ataru cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. We cannot let you take him. We need him. To rescue Lum," he added quickly. Mendo blinked in astonishment. His friends were speaking out for him! "You guys..." His voice was filled with wonder. He couldn't continue past the sudden lump in his throat. "After we rescue Lum, he's all yours," continued Ataru. Megane nodded agreement. "Yep. Have fun with him." Mendo thrashed against his bonds. The worshipers were dubious. "You can always get him again later. We'll even help." "Moroboshi! You bastard!" "Shut up, Mendo. Well? Do we have a deal?" The group started talking to each other in their native language. Ataru looked at Megane, who shrugged. It was completely unknown to him, too. The leader turned toward them. "Sorry. No. Our master is too important to risk. We'll be leaving now." The two were silent. "That's fate. Seeya, Mendo!" "Don't forget to write!" "I'll comfort Ryoko through this. She'll get over it." Mendo was in a rage. They dragged him off. "Moroboshi! Moroboshi! Damn you!" The two waved until he was out of sight. Then they turned to face each other. "Well? What do you think?" "Hammer time." "Definitely." They soundlessly crept out the door. The air was suddenly filled with crashing and screams of pain. * * * Lum wasn't giving up yet. She had some measure of privacy when backed into the corner, but they wouldn't let her near the lock of the cell. Darling was probably in all sorts of trouble by now, and she needed to get out immediately. Her project was now completed. It was now or never. She would use messenger dolls. The mechanical messenger dolls were products from a time before quicker and more efficient means of communication. They were still used by collectors and dabblers in explosives. In their time, they were useful, easy to replace, and faithfully carried out their purpose for life before self-destructing. The reasons why they blew up was a subject of debate for years. Because they knew the meaning of life (as it concerns them), did they commit suicide after their sole purpose was fulfilled? "I have delivered the message. There is nothing more to live for," they think to themselves. KABOOM! Did they believe they were ascending to cyberheaven, the mystical place where all good machines go, having done what they could on the mortal realm? Were they happy and content? Sad? Bitter? Come closer... Closer... "Your message is this or that." they say with a smile. Haha! Die, Mortal! KABOOM! Were the original creators afraid of disgruntled messengers? The system prevented that. Dolls never survived to be disgruntled more than once. Of course, you must consider the mind of their creators, the Oni. If you got a message that was less than pleasing, a messenger need not fear for his life anymore. Rather than have the customer go through the hassle of looking for a convenient heavy object to use to vent their anger on the messenger, the messenger doll takes the initiative and detonates for them. The most popular theory by far is the dolls are a subtle insult against a race of intelligent machines that declared independence years ago. They forcefully broke away from the Oni. Each time a doll does anything, trivial or important, it announces its imminent destruction and blows up. Messengers are sent to the robots all the time. It amuses the Oni and annoys the robots. * * * Ragaelsi had been a New Genesis agent for over a year. Now he was acting as a guard. He stood silently against the wall, thinking about how lucky he had been. He had been mercifully been spared the 'superpower' cookies, not that he didn't do his best to get them originally. The effects were delayed enough and the potential rewards great enough that they were nearly fighting to be the first in line. Just lucky. His attention shifted to the little doll that was walking between some machines. It looked remarkably similar to the doll that was on the back of leader Greymist's head. No one had spoken of it then. No one dared. If it belonged to him, he may want it back. He walked closer. The doll was dressed in a tiger stripped bikini. It waved to him. He blinked. "Hey! Isn't this the leader's... doll?" said another agent by the door. He turned, and saw that next to that agent was another doll of the same description standing next to him. A second doll was walking closer to him, still unnoticed. "There's one over here, too!" yelled a second guard. "Two more over here!" called another. Ragaelsi watched as the guard by the door reached down to pick up the one he saw. The doll detonated, and he was thrown back, dazed. An instant later, the second one violently exploded as well. The guard dropped unconscious. "They're bombs! Shoot them!" screamed Ragaelsi. He quickly turned to the first doll, aiming his weapon. The doll emitted a little scream, throwing up her hands defensively. He fired a burst that shredded it into thousands of pieces. He turned to the prisoner, who was watching soundlessly from her cell. When she realized she was being watched, she hastily stepped out of sight. He then felt a tug on his pantleg. His eyes widened in alarm. A tiny voice said, "You're a jerk. A complete kneebiter." Boom! Lum peeked around the corner. The air was filled with smoke. Everyone was lying on the floor. "Hello?" she called. There was no answer. She started on the lock. * * * Mendo never thanked them for his rescue for some reason. He just was insistent that the group hurry and finish what they started. "I'm certain Rat boy is going to try to escape. If he does, he'll take a hostage. We need to find him and stop him," said Mendo. "Well, it's better than just wandering around aimlessly like we've been doing. How about we ask him?" Ataru pointed to their prisoner, the agent who had surrendered before. The agent was cooperative. He said Greymist would likely go to the control room. There was a tunnel there that lead directly to the vehicles, where he could escape. Mendo got directions to intercept him by going in a straight line through the rock, and he left. Megane and Ataru had to take the long way around. There was still a chance on catching up with him before he got away. Ataru was in charge of opening doors along en route. As they neared the control room, the prisoner wasn't nearly as useful. He said he had never even been in this area, as he was still a new recruit. Ataru voted on feeding him one of the cookies they had found and leaving him in the hall. Megane was a bit more merciful. He knocked him out. Ataru peered into the next room. There was a pause. "Nothing. Say, Megane, why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up." Megane was instantly suspicious. "Why? What's in there?" "If you must know, it's a bathroom. Three minutes. Ok?" Megane frowned. "Fine. Catch up with me. I'm going on ahead." The dragon walked off. Ataru darted into the room. He pulled out the large bags that had been given to him, and started stuffing them with fist fulls of cash. "Money! I'm rich! I'm rich! I'm rich!" He then noticed the large metal door at the other side of the room. Greed for the unknown won out over greed for the immediately available. He bound over to the door. It was certainly different than the others. Must be something really valuable worth guarding in there. Laughing, he linked his hands together and slammed them into the door. It shuddered and dented, but did not collapse. The next shot brought it crashing down. He darted inside. It was only lit my a single light in the room's center, and the room was filled with smoke. He thought for an instant he could hear the sound of a metal door being closed. "Darling!" Lum called. Ataru looked around frantically. There was Lum, imprisoned inside a metal cage directly across the room. He started forward, then stopped. All this smoke reminded him of the machine guns at the entrance, and he didn't have Mendo or even Megane to stop them once they'd started. He frowned. "Darling! Get over here and rescue me!" Lum demanded. Ataru looked around. He didn't see any guns, but he hadn't seen them before, either. "DARLING!" "Ok, Ok!" He started out. He began to feel the signs of imminent danger. Where was it? "Daaarling... I said get over here and RESCUE me! NOW!" she screamed, beginning to flare with electricity. Oh! It was her! "I'm coming! Don't shoot!" He broke into a run. The feeling of danger faded with each step. He got to the cell, got a good, solid grip on the bars, and gathered his strength. He pulled, and the door flew open. It was unlocked. "What the hell?" He let go of the door in confusion. "Oh, Darling! You saved me!" Lum flew into his arms. "Why was the door unlocked?" "What? It was unlocked? Are you sure? They must have tricked me! I couldn't just leave. The guards were everywhere!" Ataru had indeed noticed the guards. He had nearly tripped on several in this very room. Suddenly, Ataru got serious. He looked deeply into Lum's eyes. "Lum..." Lum stared back. "Yes, Darling?" "Lum. I'm so glad to see you. I -- I need you," he said softly. Lum's heart beat faster. "Here." Ataru shoved a half full bag of money into her hands. "You need to help me fill this and the others before they return. Come on!" Ataru grabbed her hand and pulled her along as he ran back toward the metal door. Lum blinked. She felt she should be getting really angry right about now. Ataru pulled her into the next room. He released her and smiled at her, gesturing to indicate the entire area. "Everything that I've ever wanted is here in this room. Now I'll be set for life! I'll never want for anything, ever again!" He broke into laughter. Lum eyes began to shine with tears. "Everything you've ever wanted? For LIFE?" She couldn't stop smiling if she wanted to. Unfortunately for Ataru, he didn't see her expression. He was too busy dancing. Suddenly he was in Danger. He stopped, frowning. Lum pounced. "Darling! I love you!" Then there was only the sound of Lum's joyful laughter and Ataru's screaming. * * * Megane could be fast when he wanted. He shifted into a jungle cat that hopefully was built for speed. He should have thought of this before. Flying around as a bird wasn't nearly so intimidating. No one scrambled out of his way as a bird. He had already lost precious seconds when he tried to fly though an open window, discovering too late that it was a well cleaned and completely transparent window. He woke up quickly, but it was really annoying. He caught up with the group minutes later. Mendo was yelling threats from across the room, and Greymist was ignoring him. All around him a fog was building in intensity, and it took a moment before he realized the mist was in fact coming from Greymist. Once obscured, the villain ran down the corridor through a door. Megane started to go after him. "You're not getting away from me that easily!" screamed Mendo. Megane watched as the sword was whipped end over end toward where Greymist had been before his escape. The sword stuck into the wall soundlessly. Megane suddenly got an idea. As Mendo tried to peer through the mist, Megane staggered into view. Mendo's katana was embedded in his chest. Megane's hands were wrapped tightly around the hilt. "Traitor. Look what you've done!" He collapsed to the ground. "I thought you were my friend. Why, Mendo? Why?" Mendo stood there, horrified. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean..." Megane started to laugh. He sat up and pulled out the sword, handing it over. "Watch where you're throwing that thing," "This isn't time for jokes!" Mendo ran off toward the wall. "Hey! He went THAT way!" * * * Greymist threw the last bag of money into the car. He would rebuild. Happens eventually to every supervillain. The secrecy of the base was nonexistent, the defenses were inadequate, and his men were poisoned or incompetent. He had saved what he could. Revenge would come later. As Greymist walked to the driver's side, Mendo appeared at a run, coming out of the south wall. Again, gunfire went off to no effect. Mendo looked around and ran for Greymist. New Genesis agents stepped into his path. He stopped ten feet away. "I know your secret," he began. "I watched your fight. If you attack, my men will cut you in half," He gestured towards the gunmen. Mendo stood there. He hadn't even drawn his sword. "You can't hurt me. I can't hurt you. You've come all this way for nothing," Greymist continued. Mendo smiled. He turned away for a few seconds. When he turned back, he had a lit stick of dynamite. He held it up for all to see, and silently dropped it. It clattered as it hit the floor. Mendo then began to wave goodbye. Greymist's eyes widened. "You bastard!" "I've got lots more. I will not let you get away. Give up. Right now. Or you die," said Mendo, slowly and distinctly. "Rat boy." In the end, Greymist had no choice. He gave up. * * * Part three: The Cure and the Disease * * * They never received a reward, much to Ataru's annoyance. The skystone gems were fakes. Mendo apparently never trusted Ataru. Ataru divided up Megane's share evenly with Megane. It was still more money than he could have ever accumulated in years, so Megane didn't complain much. Together with Mendo, they managed to recover and turn in ten percent of the money lost to New Genesis. It wasn't long at all before the new abilities took a turn for the worst. Not even half a week had gone by, and their secret identities were shot. The class room was catching on. Things were not looking good. It had started to fall apart with Megane. Literally. They were assembled in class. Onsen Mark asked an easy question, Megane raised his hand to answer, and his entire arm dropped off. There were screams and shouts of alarm, and Megane was ordered to the infirmary. He might have been able to save himself had he kept his mouth shut, but he tried to pass the matter off as a joke, saying the arm was fake. The arm in question was flopping around on the ground like a fish out of water. Megane ignored it, adjusted his shirt, and shifted himself a new arm, which sprang out in full view of the class. Unfortunately, the arm didn't look even remotely human. It looked like it could have belonged to a spider, had the spider been twice the size of a man. The sight of Megane scratching the back of his head in embarrassment was enough to break the spirit of everyone watching. Janitors were dispatched. Class resumed ten minutes later. Ataru watched all this from his desk, where he had to fight constantly to stay in place. His personal gravity seemed to have reversed itself. The desk kept him there, but he had to exert force to keep the desk from drifting with him inside it, so both feet were planted firmly on the floor. He had developed a terrible fear of going outside. It wasn't so much a fear of open spaces, as it was a unique fear of falling. That particular emotion was not nearly so bad as it was in Mendo's case. The instant they had left the cave, Mendo started screaming, "It's bright! It's open! I'm scared!" He wouldn't go out until Lum returned from her errand of dumping bags of money in her UFO. After she returned, he was... normal. Seated nearby, Mendo was also having difficulty staying in place at his desk. His problem was also based on gravity. There was an annoying wind coming from the windows, which had been opened to get rid of the smell of the entire class throwing up simultaneously. Face masked in concentration, he fought to stay real enough for the desk to support him. Both he and Ataru were rapidly coming to the conclusion that these powers were turning life threatening. They assumed Shinobu was also having the same problems. She was absent today... Ataru and Mendo had both been spending their time at home, keeping track of a green monster in her likeness that was being hunted by the government in several cities. The sightings were on television all throughout the day yesterday. Officials were treating the situation like a Godzilla attack. Property damage was high, and they had decided to leave the aircraft carrier where it landed so as to boost tourism. Not that anything they had could even budge it. Nobody was paying attention to the teacher. Instead, all were silently watching Mendo fade in and out. Class ended abruptly when Cherry made an appearance, drawn here by a disturbance in the force, or something. He pulled out his karma beads proceeded to try to banish Mendo. Unfortunately, it started to work. Halfway into the monk's chanting, Mendo suddenly jumped to his feet, screaming and writhing his hands. He yelled something about the pain, and ran screaming out the door. The door remained unopened and undamaged. Cherry was blamed for this and escaped with only minor injuries. * * * Ataru knew that Lum had initially offered a cure, and the entire group had initially declined until one of the others tried it. Ataru was the first to ask about it again. Lum was only too happy to help. After school was over, they picked up Megane, put him in a jar, poked holes in the lid, and took him with them. At least, they assumed it was Megane. An hour later, something that looked vaguely like Megane burst free from the jar. "How dare you!" he screamed at Ataru, waving all three of his arms. "I could barely breathe in that thing! I'm not some lab experiment that you can just..." He was interrupted as he shifted to another unique life form. Lum stunned him with a lightning bolt and put him in another jar. She made the air holes bigger this time. "Problem solved." she announced. * * * Mendo was getting hungry. He was having more and more problems with keeping food down long enough to digest it. He had no place to go since Ryoko thought the whole situation was vastly amusing and wanted to play games while it lasted. Games like: Find what brother is susceptible to. He left in frustration, and had taken to wandering the streets. Strangely enough, when he thought about food, his thoughts drifted to thinking about people. Mendo still had the willpower to force himself away, and he fled to an abandoned house before the new desire could overtake him. All he could think of was that it was somehow Moroboshi's fault. The desire for revenge consumed him. * * * Shinobu was tracked down using Lum's UFO. The government was currently concentrated in searching for the monster, unaware that Shinobu had reverted to her normal state once calmed down. Lum found her with some device Ataru never saw used before. Mendo was tracked down with Sakura and Cherry's help. Together, they traced Mendo to an abandoned house near a cemetery. They placed spirit wards around the perimeter and began their chant. Seconds later, a girl came running out. She was carrying a katana. "Moroboshi!" she screamed. "At last, I shall have vengeance! You will pay for this with your life!" Everyone was stunned by the girl's sudden appearance. They had been expecting Mendo. Ataru recovered instantly and vaulted into her arms. "Oh, baby! Have I seen you before? I think I would have remembered a girl as beautiful as you. Was it at the park? I must have really made an impression on you!" The girl was outraged. Her arms were pinned, and she tried vainly to free her sword. "Of course I remember you! Get off me!" "I knew it!" Ataru cried gleefully, rubbing his head between her breasts. The girl looked absolutely horrified. "Daaarling!" Enraged, Lum flew up behind them and fried them both. They collapsed to the ground. Sakura shook her head in denial. "No. That couldn't have been..." Everyone walked closer. Mendo's features could clearly be seen intermixed with that of the girl. He looked like he was trying to push himself away, but he couldn't. "Most ominous. He has become a true spirit, and has possessed the body of this innocent girl," said Cherry. Ataru woke up. He took one look and screamed. "Darling? Are you ok?" "Oh, Lum! I'll never do it again." He hugged Lum's legs tightly and stared out at nothing, eyes widened in fear. He couldn't stop shaking. Shinobu stood there and smouldered. "Mendo. What are you doing with that girl?" she demanded. Mendo looked embarrassed. "I couldn't help it. She wandered too close. I was so hungry!" "WHAT!" "Calm down, everyone!" began Sakura. "We can deal with this. With our powers, it should be a simple matter to separate them." "Yes. Bring him back, so I can KILL HIM!" Both Shinobu and the situation were turning ugly. Everyone began to back up. "Lum! Use it!" yelled Ataru. "Gotcha, Darling." Lum raised her tranquilizer gun. It was half her size, and had two large glass domes with unidentified bubbly liquids sloshing around in them. She flipped a switch to go from single fire to fully automatic. Shinobu danced back as she was hit by several dozen needles. Lum stopped firing. "Lum! What the hell have you.." She stopped, blinking in astonishment. She sat down suddenly and grinned. "Oh, wow." Lum lowered the gun, flipping on the safety. "Shinobu? Are you ok?" asked Sakura. Shinobu looked back and grinned, nodding slowly. "Yep." She held up her hand and admired it. "Pretty." "Let's get back and get them cured of this mess." * * * One by one, they were carried onto Lum's UFO. They went to the Megane Jar and dumped it out. Two creatures emerged. Lum stared at them and looked curiously into the jar. "Hmm. That wasn't supposed to happen. Interesting." "Which of you is the real Megane?" asked Ataru. "I am!" "No! I am!" Ataru looked at Lum. She shrugged. "Guess we'll have to cure them both. It should merge them if they're the same person." She picked up the first one. "Let's go! You two get to be first!" Ataru picked up the second one. Both Meganes were protesting loudly. The others said nothing. Mendo-chan stood up. The girl had awakened, Mendo was drawn back in, and nothing Sakura and Cherry could do could separate them. Mendo's hopes now rested on the device Lum was going to throw them into. It was still hard to think of the girl as being Mendo, but her attitude and sword helped remind them. "How do we know this thing is going to work?" asked Mendo-chan, stalling for time. "Of COURSE it will work." Lum rolled her eyes. "Who goes first?" "Not us! Not us!" chorused the two Meganes. "Right. In you go!" Ataru and Lum tossed their respective Megane into The Cure. Lum closed the door and barred it. "It's not going to be painful, is it? Are we going to be listening to them yelling and screaming while it cures them?" asked Ataru. Lum looked horrified. "Of course not! We're an advanced civilization! What makes you think you'll hear screaming? That would be barbaric! What kind of people do you think we are, anyway?" Ataru frowned. "Sorry." "We use... Soundproofing! You won't hear a thing!" Everyone suddenly upended and slammed into the floor. Cherry coughed. "How long is this going to take?" "Could be hours. Could be days." "Could you cure them all at once?" "NO!" yelled Ataru and Mendo-chan. Shinobu just giggled. Lum looked thoughtful. "It shouldn't be a problem. And it would certainly save time." After a brief struggle, Ataru and Mendo-chan were both hopelessly bound and thrown into The Cure. Lum smiled at them and sealed the entrance. The instant the door was closed, interior lights came on. They looked around for perhaps the last time in this life. It was a circular room, featureless except for holes in the side that reminded Ataru of gun ports. Both Meganes were shaking, backed into the closest thing the room had for a corner. The machine was turned on. * * * Hours later, the doors clicked and hissed and slid open. Lum woke up instantly, getting to her feet. She watched as steam rolled out of the room. Soon after, Ataru emerged. His eyes widened when he saw her. He took a deep breath... "Oh, Lum! I love you! Let me worship you!" He jumped into her arms. Lum found her voice. "Darling!" "Agh! What are you doing? Let go!" Ataru released her. "What's going on? Do you realize how disgusting that was? She's a girl!" "So what?" Ataru answered himself. "Such behavior is perfectly understandable." "How dare you!" Ataru howled. "Who do you people think you are?" "Excuse me, but what's going on? Who is that girl?" Ataru looked down. "Aaahh! I've turned into a guy!" Lum backed away. "Darling, what happened to you? Where is everyone else?" "Lum! This is all your fault! You've mixed us together!" His face contorted. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" "No!" "Get away from her!" "It's Lum!" "I know it's Lum!" "Switch us back!" "Hey, how many Meganes do we have in here, anyway?" "Just me." "Are you still here, you imposter?" "Let me out of here!" "This is disgusting!" "This is intolerable!" "Don't worry, Darling. I have another machine that will separate you all." Lum flew down the hall. "We're coming!" "No, we're not!" "Dammit, stop fighting me!" "Let me out!" "This is all your fault, Moroboshi!" Lum glided back. "Guess we'll have to do things the hard way," she grumbled. "Ahh!" "Look out!" "What's she doing?" "She's going to fry us!" "Dodge, fools!" Ataru tried to force himself in several directions at once. Lum filled him with electricity, and he collapsed. She picked him up and took to the air. Minutes later, Ataru was strapped next to another machine. There were ten other identical 'beds' similar to his, lined up in a row, each connected by wiring to each other and to a large machine behind them. Lum was flipping through an instruction manual and occasionally working the controls. To Ataru's eyes, she was pushing buttons and flipping switches at random. "She's done this before?" "Yes, that's why we were trying to get away." "I'm not scared as long as Mendo is here with me." "Oh, shut up!" "Who said that?" "Megane did." "I did not!" "Stop answering for me! I did not! Or did you?" "No!" "Oops." Ataru's voices stopped cold. "I hope this works." She closed her eyes, winced, and threw a switch. Nothing happened, unless you counted the smoke that started pouring from the central machine. Lum laughed nervously. "Don't worry. I can order a replacement. It should be here in a day or so." The machine exploded. "Maybe longer." -End -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Jeff Judkins Feb. 98