Ranma 1/2 property of Rumiko Takahashi Spider-Man property of Marvel Comics Both used without permission. Special Thanks go out to Gary Kleppe and Arthur Edwards for their pre-reading and support. ----------------------------------------------------------- Hikaru Gosunkugi: The Amazing Spiderman Issue Seventeen Innocent Victims -------------------------------------------------------------- The Nekohanten's food was even good when eaten cold, a fact that Hikaru barely noticed as he sat in his bedroom with an empty styrofoam bowl beside him. His conversation with Cologne replayed itself on an endless loop. Triads, he thought. Chinese gangsters, of all things! "Focus, Gos," he muttered. Everything he had discovered - while not much - seemed eerily connected somehow. Those Black Lotus people had to be in Japan. The Yakuza, he knew, wasn't overly friendly with foreigners on their turf, especially Chinese. Japanese men were wearing fake Black Lotus rings. They had to be Yakuza. The Yakuza was trying to set up a Triad organization. Why? Could this tie into the whole thing with that kidnapped girl? At first, Hikaru didn't want to believe it. It seemed like a totally separate thing. What would one girl have to do with the Yakuza and the Triad? Likely nothing. But maybe everything. One crisis at a time, he thought. He looked over to his costume, which lay across his bed. The sun had set a half hour ago. He had to find the girl he had managed to rescue from that night. She was his only link to the missing Yukio. Gosunkugi groaned in frustration. He was running around in circles! Swinging around blindly wouldn't accomplish anything - good luck was a capricious thing - but he couldn't think of anything new. All he had was a memory of the one girl and the name of... "Hey, wait a second..." Yukio. He at least had her name. Hikaru suddenly got an idea. His computer was already on, and his web browser took only a couple of seconds to load and log on. ---------------------------------------------- Miku replaced the phone after hearing the busy signal from Gosunkugi's number. She'd try again later. ---------------------------------------------- One custom that Japanese law enforcement had adopted from its American counterpart was to distribute flyers of missing people; showing a picture, name, birthday, age, and any other relevant information. Since the advent of the World Wide Web, this information was available to any concerned party with an internet connection. Hikaru Gosunkugi was counting on that while the Missing Person's Database loaded onto the monitor's screen. He scrolled past the text which stated that anyone with information should contact local Koban preceints immediately, down to the dialog boxes for a search of the files. "Let's see... Name: Yukio." He typed in an asterisk immediately afterward. Gosunkugi didn't know her family name, so the wildcard character would have to do. "Sex: Female..." He skipped the Age and DOB fields, inputting "Odaiba Ward" in the location field. With slight trepidation over what he might - or might not - find, he clicked the Search button. He could have kicked himself for not thinking of this approach sooner. "Ah, here we are," Gosunkugi muttered when the file came up. It was the only hit from his search. Hikaru dared to hope that it was the right one. The file read: Name: Yukio Segawa Sex: Female Age: Sixteen DOB: 04-18-1982 Date Missing: 10-22-1998 "What the hell? Yukio Segawa had been missing for over four damn *years*!? Hikaru's heart sank. She couldn't possibly be the girl he was searching for. Nonetheless, he read on. Status: Found Deceased. "Poor girl," he whispered. And then he read the date beneath that line. Gosunkugi read it three times, just to make certain his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. She had been found dead two days ago, and merely one day after he had rescued the girl who had given him the name. There was no way this could be a coincidence. "Damnit," Gosunkugi hissed. Yukio was dead, and he had been powerless to do much of anything. He couldn't help but feel that he had failed her somehow. Hikaru burned her face into his memory. If nothing else, he would find whomever had murdered her. He had never met Yukio Segawa, but he owed her and her family at least that. And what about the one he had managed to save? She had to be in danger still. Other than a description, he had nothing on her. No, he thought, I am not going back to square one. But, he couldn't interrogate every lowlife in Odaiba, either. Hikaru logged off and - after powering down his computer - walked over to the bed and began to don his costume. His previously discarded idea of breaking into the Odaiba Koban building was now his only choice. He had to do it tonight. Gosunkugi slid the mask over his head last. There might still be a chance of finding that unnamed woman before Yukio's killers could, but only if he moved quickly. Pausing only to slide an empty CD-R into the belt hidden benath the waist of his costume, he was out the window and swinging into the night before his telephone began to ring.20 ------------------------------------- "Hello. You have reached the Gosunkugi residence," an unfamilar male voice said. "We are unable to answer the phone, but if you leave your name and number we'll get back to you." "Hi, Hikaru, it's Miku. Listen, I want to talk to you about... well... we just need to talk. Call me back. Bye." Miku hung up after leaving her number. She leaned back into the cushions of the sofa and tried not to be irritated. First, she had ignored him - a thing which had been surprisingly easy to do - and now that she wanted to talk she couldn't catch him. "Boy trouble?" Akemi asked. "Kinda, Auntie," Miku replied. An awkward silence stretched between the two. They both knew first hand just what boy trouble could lead to. It had been scarcely a month since her ex, Shigeru Katsuo, had wounded Akemi and kidnapped Miku. She still hadn't told her aunt all of what had really happened in Juuban Ward that night. "Miku-chan," Akemi said softly as she eased down onto the couch next to her. "Talk to me." "His name's Hikaru Gosunkugi," Miku began. "I met him at Furinkan." "Does he seem nice?" "Yeah, I guess..." "You don't sound certain about that." Miku didn't reply right away. How much should she tell Auntie Akemi? There was so much that Miku didn't understand about Gosunkugi, and what she felt for him. Maybe a fresh perspective could help straighten things out. "It started just before Shigeru kidnapped me." "Oh?" "I asked Hikaru to come over so I could ask him about someone." "Who was that?" "You won't believe me..." "Try me." "I wanted to ask him about Spiderman." Akemi stared at her in open-mouted shock for a moment before replying. "Spiderman? Why on earth would you want to ask this Hikaru boy about that... freak?" "Remember the message Shigeru left on our answering machine?" "Yes..." "Well..." The words began to clog her windpipe. Miku hadn't realized just how much she had needed to talk to someone about this. "I found out that Hikaru had been taking all those Spiderman photos for the newspapers, and I..." "Thought he might know the man," Akemi finished. "Yeah." "So, did he?" "I never got to ask, but I think so. When I asked him to come over, I had told him that I had questions about Spiderman." "He must have come by just after Shigeru's thugs attacked." Akemi had wondered who had reported the entire thing. A faint memory began to stir in the back of her mind as Miku related the events of those few horrible days. "Miku. I want you to tell me what happened. All of it." Miku did so at length, ending with her preventing Spiderman from murdering her captor. Akemi, for her part, merely stared at the floor. She nervously wrung her hands, her face unreadable. "I had no idea..." "I still have a little trouble believing it, but that's the whole story, Auntie." "Spiderman saved you?" "Pretty much." Neither spoke for a moment. "Why did you stop him?" "Auntie!" "I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that..." "No, it's okay," Miku said as she placed a hand on her aunt's shoulder. "For a while I wondered that, too." Sometimes, in the darkest hours of night, Miku Tachibana would ask herself why she hadn't let Spiderman kill Shigeru. There was no doubt he deserved it, and equally less doubt that Spiderman had fully intended to carry it out. It would have been wrong - murder was still murder - but at times she couldn't help feeling that she should have kept her mouth shut regardless. "Miku, I want you to stay away from Hikaru Gosunkugi." "What?!" "Girl, listen to me!" Akemi hissed. "From what you told me, he's dangerous. Especially if he's involved with Spiderman!" "But, Auntie..." "No buts, girl." Miku couldn't believe what she was hearing! "Spiderman *saved* me!" "I know that," Akemi said. Her brown eyes locked onto Miku's own with smoldering intensity. "I know that, and I'm grateful, but Spiderman is just too dangerous! You saw him against that big robot on TV, and those bombers last night!" "But..." "No, Miku, I won't hear it!" Akemi was practically shouting now. "Hikaru's not..." "Spiderman is more dangerous than Shigeru ever was, and this Gosunkugi boy knows him. Hell, he even takes pictures of what that man does. You said so yourself!" "I..." Miku rose and ran to her room, all the while fighting against tears that seemed hell bent for leather on falling. She finally let them go once the door to her bedroom slammed shut behind her. All she had wanted was to talk to someone, and it had turned into a shouting match. Why couldn't she just meet a normal man for once? Miku flopped onto her bed and sobbed into her pillow. The words hurt more than any blow. All because of Hikaru Gosunkugi. No, because of Spiderman. Hikaru had little to do with it. Right? ------------------------------------------------- Bless whoever invented ventilation ducts, Hikaru thought as he shimmied quietly across the cool, smooth metal. These things were truly a Spiderman's best friend when sneaking into a building full of cops. The fact that he didn't really know where in the building they kept records of cases didn't matter all that much. These things went everywhere. He'd find it sooner or later. Manoman, I cannot *believe* I am doing this, he thought as he eased around a bend in the duct. Somehow, sneaking into a Koban building in search of records about a murdered woman he had never seen before had never crossed his mind before he had gotten his powers. Gosunkugi could feel the vibrations in the metal from the pumps which circulated air throughout the building. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why metal vents which carried warm air would feel so damn cold! Hikaru crawled down at a four-way junction of bolted aluminum for a few meters before hearing the clacks of fingers on a keyboard. He slowed his descent as he approached a grilled vent and peered down. He saw a lone man sitting before a computer terminal, looking bored as all hell. Could this be the data room? Could he be so lucky? He waited up there for a few moments, pondering his next move. He really didn't want to knock the guy out... The cop manning the workstation solved the problem for him by getting up and moving rather quickly for the door. Nature seemed to be calling, and the man didn't even bother to lock the computer. Hikaru popped the vent out of the way and dropped to the floor, braced for the tingle of his spider sense which never came. He was alone in this place, and that was just fine. Gosunkugi looked about the space which was enclosed in metal screens. Beyond those were boxes lined on shelves which were lit only by evenly spaced shaded bulbs which hung from the ceiling. "Is this some kinda evidence locker?" Could he find the case file he was looking for in here? Hikaru took a step forward and froze when his spider sense went on alert. He followed the mental signal toward a camera that was pointed directly at the terminal he had fully intended to investigate. If there was one thing Hikaru Gosunkugi knew inside and out, it was cameras of all shapes and uses. It was digital, stationary, and hadn't spotted him yet. There had to be someone in the building who was looking at the image it transmitted, and it would not do at all to have that someone see Spiderman accessing a Koban computer in the Evidence Room, would it? A shot of webbing solved the problem of the camera, and another made sure that the door would stay shut for a little while. Satisfied that all was in order, Gosunkugi approached the terminal and deactivated the screensaver. He was happy to discover that the terminal was still logged into the server. "Schweeet...." he whispered as he brought up a search program. How long before whomever was at the other end of that camera's cable would look at a blank screen, or that skinny guy would come back? Hikaru pulled the CD-R case out of his belt and loaded it into the burner. Okay... Search: Yukio Segawa. Go fetch, boy! The terminal obediently retrieved the case file, a process that took about ten seconds. It must have been a big file. Hikaru then accessed an options menu and - after a few seconds worth of looking - ordered the machine to copy said file to the CD-R. "So far, so good," he muttered while the burner etched the files onto the CD. Gosunkugi shifted his weight from one foot to the other while waiting for the process to complete itself. Only then, did thoughts of what could go wrong cross his mind. Finding the terminal logged in and unoccupied had been a stroke of pure luck. And what would happen once the cops found the webbing he'd left? Breaking and entering - especially into the Koban - had to be a major offense. Spiderman, a criminal. Just freaking wonderful... "Uh-oh," Gosunkugi said. The distinct whir of the CD Burner showed no sign of ending, and the cop who called this desk home was trying to open the webbed-up door. He knew that his webbing was pretty strong and would hold against one guy, but that one guy would go get more. Hikaru glared at the burner as if it would make the damn thing speed up. "Go baby, go baby, go baby..." The door shook a few more times and then stopped. Gosunkugi ejected the CD-R and resisted the urge to kiss it as he replaced it in its case. He had gotten what he had come for. Time to leave. After securing the case in his belt and pulling the costume back in place, he leapt up into the vents. Hikaru didn't bother to shut the grate behind him. ------------------------------------------------------ The clock read four in the morning, but Hikaru Gosunkugi paid it no heed. School was out tomorrow. He popped a Staind CD into his stereo and selected track eleven. He had always liked that song. "Okay, let's see what the cops have on you, Yukio-san." Hikaru accessed his D drive in the web browser and began to read. Yukio Segawa had been a known prostitute, Gosunkugi was shocked to discover. Even more disturbing was that she had picked up the trade only a scant few months after her sixteenth birthday. This girl had been younger than him! The police had reported to her parents on finding this, yet she hadn't gone home. Had that been Yukio's decision, or had her parents not wanted her back? Gosunkugi stopped thinking about that. Yukio was dead now. What had happened between her and her parents didn't matter. "Jeez. I never knew any of this." Hikaru had never considered the darker side of Japan, of what those who lived on that side of normality were capable of. It was quite a wake-up call. And then he found the autopsy report... "God..." Hikaru stopped halfway through. How could *anyone* do something like that to another person? He felt tears well up at the corners of his eyes at what he had just read. Yukio had led a truly hard life, harder by several orders of magnitude than what Gosunkugi knew as suffering. "I thought I had problems," he whispered to the screen. The lonliness, the isolation, the ridicule, it was nothing next to Yukio having no choice but to sell her body to anyone with enough yen to partake. It was enough to make him sick. This was even worse than a few assholes who thought that rape was a good pasttime. He remembered that girl sobbing that they had taken Yukio. Had she been in the same boat? If so, then she was definitely in danger. Hikaru searched for any mention of that woman, any at all. This was worse than he had ever imagined. The last mention of Yukio Segawa being alive was a statement given by one Sachiko Tanemura on the night Gosunkugi had rescued her. The information was limited, save that she was also a prostitute. Hikaru pulled up a photo of her. Yep, he thought, that's her. Gosunkugi read through Sachiko's statement twice, then twice more. There had to be something in there. His eyes caught the words "Silver Fox", a club she had said the two were visiting. He doubted that the two had been there just for dancing. There was someting bigger behind all of it, and Hikaru had to find out what. There were a few entries on the Silver Fox nightclub. It was owned by one Tatsu Ishikawa, who owned a few other such places in Odaiba Ward. In fact, it was noted that Ishikawa was known to have several Yakuza connections. Man, it always comes back to them, doesn't it? Gosunkugi thought as he brought up information on Tatsu Ishikawa. It was a good thing that Koban files were so neatly indexed and cross-referenced. Tatsu Ishikawa's name came up more than a few times in the report. Could he have something to do with Sachiko and Yukio? Apparently someone in the Koban seemed to think so, but no concrete evidence had been found, save rumors of illegal prostitution. Hikaru backed out of the file and read up on Sachiko Tanemura. She had several known hangouts in Odaiba Ward. Even more interesting, she had been a student at Furinkan High. She had been there while he was still in junior high, back in Kyoto. He rose from his chair, deactivated the computer, and went into the kitchen for a snack. He would need some serious food before swinging out again. He would try to find Sachiko tonight - the files he had seen told him that time was of the essence - and hope to find some answers. Sleep could wait. Sufficiently fortified, Hikaru crept out the window and swung into the darkness which would soon change to light. He hadn't even bothered to check his answering machine. ------------------------------------------- Nabiki stood outside the motel, already counting the hours until she could sleep in her own bed. Her own room, her own bed, no having to worry about using Nonoxynol-9 on the sheets and mattresses. She knew all too well what usually went on in motel rooms. She still had trouble looking at herself in the mirror every morning, and that disturbed Nabiki Tendo. Even stranger was that she had no real desire to collect on loans owed her by Furinkan's student body of late. At least Nabiki didn't have to wonder what was wrong with her. She knew full well. Squeezing people for money had brought much-needed funds into the Tendo Dojo. While true it was an excuse Nabiki had often used to justify her greed to herself, backed up by thoughts that her enterprises had never really harmed anyone. And they hadn't until very recently. Nabiki could now admit - to herself if no one else - that she had bitten off far more than she could chew with Spiderman. Now admit it? she thought with a bitter chuckle. She had known it months ago when she had been kidnapped as bait for Spiderman the first time. It hadn't been like the time on Togenkyo, when the juvenile Toma had taken her along with over a hundred other girls as bridal candidates. Doctor Octopus and whomever had been backing him had meant business. They had fully intended for her to die alongside the wallcrawler. That both of them had made it out qualified as at least a minor miracle. Then there came the Black Widows just a scant week ago. Nabiki had been certain that she would die then, as would her sisters, her father, Ranma... Nabiki still cringed at the memory of female Ranma leaping back over the fence of what had been the Yamaguchi Industrial Complex to help Spiderman. Then there was the thought that the two of them had died. Back in the motel room, seeing her sister awaken to the news that Ranma had died in the massive explosion, Nabiki had realized what it meant to truly hate herself. Had she been capable, she would have unleashed a Shi Shi Hokodan blast that would have made Ryoga envious. "Nabiki." "GAH!" She whirled to find Akane, clad in a pair of pajamas, standing next to her. "Y-yeah?" "We need to talk. Just you and me." Nabiki didn't reply. However much anger Akane wanted to vent on her, she deserved it. Akane had almost died because of her greed. "Nabiki..." "Just go ahead, Akane," Nabiki replied, absolutely miserable. "Hit me." "What?" "Hit me, yell at me, do something. I know it's all my fault, and I know..." Nabiki promptly shut up when Akane's arms encircled her waist. Nabiki, at a total loss for words, could only embrace her younger sister in return. "I'm not going to yell, or hit you, no matter how much you deserve it," Akane said into the crook of her neck. "You've tortured yourself enough." "I..." Nabiki pulled away, guilt and self-loathing chewing at her guts. "Akane, you..." "Nabiki..." "Damnit, you and Ranma almost died because of me!" Nabiki shouted. The tears fell freely, and Nabiki did not try to stop them. "You heard that Wu Long guy! He wouldn't have stopped at just us!" "But he's dead now," Akane said, her own voice strained. "It's over..." "No, it isn't. They'll try again, I know it!" "And next time, we'll be ready," Akane stated simply. "But..." "Damnit, Nabiki, shut up and listen!" Akane shouted. "How all this started doesn't matter! You've been beating yourself up over it for days now!" "Akane, do you have any idea how much I love you?" "What? Of course..." "No, Akane, listen to me." It had been years since Nabiki had told her younger sister how much she meant to her. There was no time like the present to let her know again. "I love you, Kasumi, and Daddy so goddamned much that it hurts!" "N...Nabiki...?" "And I almost lost all of you, because I couldn't see past my own fucking pocketbook!" "That ain't true." Nabiki received her second rude shock of the night when Ranma seemed to materialize out of the shadows nearby. How long had he been there? She cast a glance at Akane, who showed no reaction at all. So, the two of them had planned this little meeting? Akane could be rather slick when she wanted to be. "Nabiki, you didn't know any of this was gonna happen." "We talked about this in that place, remember?" Akane said.20 "Yeah." "Sis, I know how much you like having all the information and I know how much you hate it when something seems out of your reach." Nabiki nodded wordlessly. Akane really did know a bit about her, after all. It didn't come as that much of a shock. "I know what you mean, Akane," Nabiki said at length. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to let it drop." "Y..." Nabiki saw the intense glare that Akane sent Ranma's way the second he began to speak. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had almost come out of his mouth. Nabiki couldn't begrudge him the comment. Not this time. She thought better of saying that she no longer wanted to know Spiderman's true identity, for all three of them would have known it to be a lie. Nabiki still wanted to know, but she had realized that some things came at too high a price. "I wonder what Spiderman's doing now?" "Who knows?" Ranma replied. "Far as I'm concerned, he's okay." "You never did tell us what you know about him," Akane said. She couldn't hide the curiosity in her voice. "It doesn't matter now, does it?" "No, Nabiki, I guess not." Nabiki followed Akane and Ranma back into the motel. Neither one had said "I forgive you" outright, but she knew it just the same. She was satisfied with that. Maybe words were sometimes not all that important. 3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D 3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D Hikaru Gosunkugi awoke to find the sun near the middle of the sky. By habit he reached up to rub his eyes only to find the mask in his way. He briefly wondered why the hell he had slept outside. Sachiko Tanemura. The name came to his brain at once, along with the fact that she was in mortal danger. Gosunkugi shot to his feet - any weariness forgotten - and quickly scanned the rooftop. He had stopped for a moment to get his bearings... "I fell *asleep*!" Gah, that was humiliating! "I gotta find her!" Hikaru had checked every single place Sachiko Tanemura had been known to frequent, even that Silver Fox nightclub, with no success. He hated to think the worst, even though he knew it to be a very real possibility. Gosunkugi walked to the edge and looked at the world below. It was soeasy to put things in perspective up here, yet today it yielded nothing good. Despite what he now knew, he was searching for one woman in a sea of millions. The odds were astronomical. "I'm never gonna find her like this," he muttered to the daylight. "What if they've already got her?" Hikaru didn't allow the thought that two lives would be lost due to him form itself. "I dunno, maybe I'm goin' about this all wrong," he said to himself as he leaned against an air conditioner. "This needle-in-a-haystack shit isn't working, that's for sure." Yukio Segawa, he thought. Sachiko Tanemura. What other names do I know? It came to him then, and Gosunkugi immediately slapped himself on the forehead. Tatsu Ishikawa. He had connections with the Yakuza. He was rumored to be involved with illegal prostituion, not the semi- legal brothels that Tokyo's red-light district was famous for. He owned the Silver Fox Nightclub, which Gosunkugi had staked out just a few hours before. Maybe he should pay that place another visit. --------------------------------------------- William Pate paced about the office he shared with Keiko Megumi. For the first time in months, he noticed exactly how cramped the space was. There was no point in commenting on Chief Toju's mood. To be honest, he was surprised that his tirade that morning hadn't been heard all across Japan, as loud as the man had been yelling. "At least we know who was responsible," Keiko said. "Yeah." Goddamnit, what did Spiderman of all people want with *his* casefile?! "William, sit down, will you?" "Sorry." Pate crashed down into the chair which let out an outraged groan at the sudden impact. "Spiderman's definitely in on this. I want him in here." "Good luck," Keiko said sourly. "Chief Toju wants this kept under wraps." It had been said - not in so many words - that it simply would not do to have the public find out about how a costumed weirdo had snuck into a Koban Headquarters, stole a case file, and swung away before anyone could so much as raise alarm and all without being seen. The embarrassment would stay in the papers for weeks at the least. He had also made it clear - again, not in so many words - that *any* officer who let *any* detail slip to the media would be harshly dealt with. "The most we can expect is an increase in patrols." Not that beat cops on the ground could really do much against the Spiderman. Keiko wished suddenly that Odaiba Koban had a helicopter or two. "It's up to us," Pate growled. "It's our case." "Yes," Keiko agreed. "Spiderman managed to steal the entire file, so he now knows everything you and I do about the Segawa murder." "And he doesn't operate within the law, either." William Pate didn't have to state that such was one of a cop's nightmares. A vigilante with classified police information was every bit as dangerous as any psychopath out in the Big Bad World. The fact that Spiderman had superhuman abilities made the situation even worse. "We have to figure out his next move." "I see two options," Keiko said, raising her left forefinger into the air. "First: he could look for Sachiko Tanemura. "Second," another finger joined the first, "he could check out Tatsu Ishikawa. Aside from Yukio, those are the only names we have at present." "Yeah. If I were him, what would I do?" "I think he'll try to check out Ishikawa. He would be far easier to locate." "Good point. Hell, if Spiderman's got balls enough to sneak into a police station, what's to stop him from doing it to an office or a private residence?" "I agree." "The question now is, what asset of Tatsu Ishikawa is Spiderman gonna visit? There's the man's house, and the nightclubs he owns." "The Silver Fox, The Pink Room, Tech Noir, and Outer Heaven," Keiko said, ticking off the names of each club on her fingers. "A total of five targets, including Ishikawa's home." "Hmmm... not good at all... Any ideas, Keiko?" "We have to remember that Spiderman is not a cop. In fact, I know that people are more afraid of him than of us. He likely knows that, and will use it." "Maybe, but he doesn't know who our informants are." At least I hope he doesn't, William thought. "We'll have to stake out all of them." "You know what the chief will say." "Yeah." Even if it could mean bringing in Spiderman, Toju wouldn't dedicate his already tight assets to staking out all of Ishikawa's nightclubs. Even if it seemed like an excuse, neither of them could countermand his decisions. "Keiko, you got any plans for tonight?" "Not really," she replied coyly, knowing what he was suggesting. "Should I get out my evening wear?" "Yep. I was thinking about The Silver Fox tonight." "Why that one?" "It's the club Sachiko gave us. It's as good a place to start as any. So, meet at nine?" "I can do that." ------------------------------------- Raizo Yamata could hardly believe it. Such was impossible, a coincidence of the most improbable magnitude. But it had still happened. "Spiderman, you are making a very annoying habit of this," he growled. The names Yukio Segawa and Sachiko Tanemura were familiar to him. A quick check had revealed that the two had once belonged to Tatsu Ishikawa's "stable", for lack of a better term. Both young, both attractive, and both known - to him at least - as mules, girls who carried the Paradise Powder from supplier to dealer. Cocaine - as it was more commonly called - had brought the Yakuza more than enough profit to allow them to ignore any ethical issues about selling drugs. Foreign or not, evil or not, the white powder was a gold mine. Many a success-crazed businessman craved the rush of energy that coke provided, regardless of how expensive it got. As time went on, they needed more and more to get the same effect. It was truly a vile substance, insidious in nature, but it made the Yakuza a fucking mint so such things were overlooked. Yukio was dead, Raizo knew, and Sachiko was still missing. Spiderman had intervened in the attempt to deal with the latter. Apparently, he wanted to find out what was really going on. There was a connection somwhere in this tangled mess, one crucial idea that would make it all coherent. Raizo knew he was close to it. ------------------------------------------------ Pao Leung was also close to the core of the matter. Spiderman's rather audacious entry into Odaiba Koban - which he knew to be more or less under Raizo Yamata's control - had sparked his own imagination. The most obvious reason for Spiderman to steal a casefile would be to gain more information about whatever it was he did when not mucking about with Leung's own plans. Granted, such an approach would only work once if at all, but such was irrelevant. The one piece slid into place. Leung's eyes widened involuntarily at the epiphany which struck his brain like a shaft of ligtning. All the pieces finally fit together. The men - Japanese men - wearing forgeries of the Black Lotus Society's ring. The bombing of one of Raizo Yamata's businesses. The gang war that was merely hours from erupting into full-on conflict. The one constant awash in an ocean of variables was Tatsu Ishikawa. Leung shook his head, thoroughly impressed. He hadn't thought the little toad capable of such a deception. Tatsu Ishikawa had been Wu Long's means to enter the facility which had once housed the Black Widows. In order to save his own skin, he had initiated a battle between his own former employer and Leung himself. It was a scheme worthy of me, Pao Leung thought. The only question left was if Yamata had yet to arrive at the same conclusion. Leung began making calls. Tatsu Ishikawa was obviously going to skip the country. Pao Leung would not give him the chance. ----------------------------------------------------- "Yes, what is it?" Otto Octavius said, thoroughly annoyed at having been taken from his research. He was close... "I have an assignment for you," said the voice he heard only when it was time to give a report. "I cannot, Mr. Leung," Otto replied tersely. "The research...." "Can get along without you for one night." "Bah, as if I would trust any lab rat to run any of..." "Doctor Octavius," Leung's voice said over the digital connection, "this is not a request. Have you forgotten the terms of our agreement?" "No, I have not," Otto said. So far, Pao Leung had more than comethrough on his promises. Otto Octavius could at least respect that. Besides, it had been months since the man had called for more than a status report. I am so close, he thought. I cannot endanger my work now. "Doctor Octopus, how would you like another chance to get even with Spiderman?" "Keep talking." Perhaps this would be a worthy diversion after all... "Come to my office. I will explain everything." "Very well. I will be there in two hours." "Good enough." Otto replaced the phone, and grinned. He still wanted a piece of that irritating Spiderman. Even now, that defeat in the warehouse stuck in his pride like a thorn. A chance to settle the score with the webhead was likely the only thing which could persuade him to take a break from the project, even when it was so close to completion. Sanzaki, he thought, how could you have possibly missed this? I thought you were my brightest student. Or, perhaps you didn't? The potetntial of recombinant genetics were staggering. Whatever Ryo Sanzaki had done, it had opened up new realms of science. Cross-breeding could be taken to new heights with this! With the recombinator system - a thing based almost soley on Octavius' own research - it was likely possible to cross the DNA of an animal with a human in such a way as to give the subject enormous power. To think what a government could do with such an innovation! And that led to the subject of Spiderman. On discovering what Sanzaki's research had uncovered, Otto Octavius had begun to wonder if perhaps the wallcrawler was indeed a subject of the research. Tokyo University would never have authorized human trials, but what if Ryo Sanzaki had decided to conduct such an experiment anyway? It was mind-boggling. Ryo Sanzaki was simply not capable of taking his science that far, not at such an early stage. Unlike himself, the Japanese man had his limits. But what if that were not the case? No. The man's character simply would not allow him to pursue science in that way, and more was the pity. But that didn't dispell the creeping certainty that Spiderman was a product of this process, however crude Sanzaki's methods had been. Doctor Octopus set about giving instructions and making last-minute checks of the equipment. There were many exciting possibilites racing through his brain. Perhaps a night out of the lab would be for the best... --------------------------------------------- Tatsu was ready. All the evidence had been gathered for elimination. Just a few keystrokes, and judicious destruction of computers afterward for good measure would erase any paper trail. There was merely one last thing. "Ayame, have they all been gathered?" "Yes," she replied as she cuddled next to him. "They'll be loaded within the hour." "Excellent." Tatsu glanced about the spacious office he held in the upper floor of The Silver Fox nightclub. The oak and leather furniture alone had cost him a mint, almost as much as the security in the sub-basement which only a select few people anywhere knew about. "I'm surprised to say that I'm going to miss this place." "You won't for long," Ayame purred. "A few days in the Bahamas will take care of that." "Perhaps you're right." Tatsu still couldn't believe that he was actually going to pull this off. "I think I'll get out of this business. Slavery is simply too dangerous." "It's not like you didn't make enough money from it." "Once those girls are taken care of, there will be nothing to tie me to any of this." Some part of Tatsu Ishikawa railed at the fate he had determined for the fifteen young women who unwillingly had been in the lower holds. Some he had trained to be sold, others he had used to carry the Paradise Powder. Some were simply for the pleasure of his business associates. Not that it mattered. In ten hours he would be far away from Japan and out of the world of vices. He had taken far too many risks already in the criminal set. ------------------------------------------------------------ Keiko Megumi found herself casting furtive glances upward at every wall and shadow as she and William Pate walked up to the entrance of The Silver Fox. Already a line was forming at the entrance. The Silver Fox was hardly remarkable on the outside, much the same as any other building in Downtown Odaiba save for the line of people and the purple neon sign. Keiko had never been inside before, yet she had heard that the interior of the club was as wild as anything could get. "Wonder if he'll be here," she heard Pate mutter. The tall gaijin's dress was conservative, a white button-down shirt and black slacks which hinted at the powerful muscle beneath. The thought that nobody would try to mess with her with such a big man around gave Keiko a slight fit of the giggles. "What's so funny?" Pate asked. "Oh, nothing much." There were some things a woman simply didn't tell a man. William Pate had a difficult time keeping his eyes off of Keiko. The shimmering black miniskirt hugged her hips in a way to make most men go slightly mad. A light blue silk coat covered her arms and shoulders, which set off the china-doll face and wavy black hair. To be honest, he had never thought his partner could look so sexy. Ahem. Back to the matter at hand, Pate admonished himself. Hikaru Gosunkugi crouched in the shadows above the entrance, watching for any sign of... well... anything. He had always wanted to go to a nightclub before, just never in spandex tights while clinging to walls and ceilings. Oh, well, at least he was going for once. Perhaps one night he would visit a club as himself and just relax. After the past few weeks, he definitely felt the need for a little R&R. He spied the woman next to one of the largest men he had ever seen. She was a knockout, that was for sure. That gaijin had to be one of the luckiest guys in the world to go out with a woman like her... "Uh-oh..." Gosunkugi cringed as the spider sense began to buzz. Something was wrong... Oh, no. No way. This has gotta be a joke! Hikaru saw five men clad in black suits climb out of a sedan across the street. The tallest wore an equally dark overcoat over his bulky frame. Gosunkugi blinked his eyes a few times, but the brown hair and wrap-around glasses remained on his head. "What in the hell is Doctor Octopus doing here?!" Hikaru nearly lost his grip on the wall as the five strode purposefully toward the entrance to The Silver Fox. Whatever it was, Gosunkugi doubted that dancing and mixed drinks were involved. "I think I may have hit a gold mine here," he said as he searched for a way in. ------------------------------------------------ "Hey, pal, get in line," the bouncer, an muscular sort with all sorts of piercings growled as they drew near. "I believe you will let us through," Doctor Octopus replied. "Yeah? Well, I got two fists that say otherwise!" "Only two?" The bouncer's eyes grew wide as Otto drew open his coat to reveal the four metal tentacles writhing beneath. "If you want to live, then stand aside!" "You think that scares me?!" "William?" "Keiko, I think we may have a problem," Pate replied, pointing toward the group of men who had passed by them a few seconds ago. The guy in the center looked familiar. Where had he.. "HOLY SHIT!" The metal... thing... lashed out with incredible speed to wrap around the bouncer's neck like a snake. The appendage squeezed and, with a horrible crunch, the bouncer hit the ground in a dead heap. Could it be? Pate thought amidst the screams of people fleeing from what had just happened "William, who is that?!" "Keiko, go call for backup. NOW!" "But..." "Listen, the FBI has a file on that guy! If he's even half as tough as as they think he is, then we've got a *huge* problem!" "What about you?" "I'll follow them," Pate said, knowing how stupid it sounded. "What?!" "Keiko, damnit, get some help here! Whatever's been going on, it's coming to a head tonight! Tell them to mobilize every cop in the ward if they have to! Trust me!" "Okay," Keiko replied with great reluctance. "Be careful, Pate-san." "You, too." William didn't allow himself to look back as he fought through the fleeing people, nor did he let himself think about what an idiotic thing he was doing. I didn't have a clue that Doctor Octopus was in Japan! he thought as he shoved past a kid who was obviously too young to be at a nightclub. Man, I wish I had my gun right now! Stupid Japanese firearms laws!! Otto strode into the room and was immediately assaulted with a barrage of lights and thundering bass riffs. All four tentacles streaked out from his back and impaled the marshall stacks with a spray of sparks and feedback. Nearly thrity pairs of eyes locked on him as he retracted his extra arms, suprise in all of them. The silence grew thicker as each of the four men behind him brandished an H&K MP10 semi-auto. "This little soiree is over," Doctor Octopus said. "Leave. Now!" The group stood clear as the patrons of The Silver Fox double-timed it out the door and another group of men came charging in from the back. "No," Otto said as soon as one of his men lifted a weapon. "Allow me." The tentacles lashed out like spears, catching two of the men in the face and sending another three sprawling. "Spread out! I'll handle Ishikawa." Doctor Octopus stalked ahead toward the west side of the room, grumbling all the while. So far, there was nothing in this glitzy rathole that would have warranted his might! If Spiderman didn't show up, then he would be sorely disappointed. "There they are!" "Jeez, what the hell are those?!" "Just shoot!" "More of Ishikawa's private guards, eh?" Otto said. "Too easy." Hikaru Gosunkugi slid into the office just as his spider sense went on high alert. He didn't even have time to wonder what the hell was going on before the muted reports of gunfire reached his ears. "Oboy. Doc Ock, missing girls, and now a gunfight," he groused. "What's next?" As if in answer, the door to the darkened office burst open. Tatsu was aghast. How could Yamata have found him out? What if it was Leung? "Sir! We can't hold him off!" "Him?!" asked the club's security chief into the small radio mic in his collar. "That six-armed guy! He's tearing us a new... Ah! AAAAHHHH!" "Report!" The chief barked.20 "Six-armed man?" Tatsu asked.20 "Tatsu-san, this way!" the chief shouted as he kicked in the door. "Hide in here while..." "Spiderman!" Tatsu nearly screamed. Stunned, Gosunkugi could only stand there as he locked eyes with the man named Tatsu Ishikawa. "Well, how the hell do ya like THIS?!" "Die!" "Y'know," Gosunkugi said as he webbed up the man who was levelling a gun at him. "If I had a hundred yen for each time someone's tried to kill me..." A fierce yank snatched the burly man off his feet. "...I'd be a freakin' millionaire!" Hikaru finished as his fist impacted with the face of the man flying toward him. "This is impossible!" Tatsu stammered as he took a few steps back into the hall. "You've got a lot to answer for, you murderer!" Hikaru stabbed a finger toward Tatsu's chest at the remark. He let the anger grow, fueled with a sense of justice. No. Payback. That was the more appropriate term. "What are you..." "Did you think you could just use her and throw her away like garbage?!" "Who?" "Does the name Yukio Segawa ring any bells?" Gosunkugi stomped forward as Tatsu's face went pale. Oh, yeah, he knew her. "WORTHLESS WORMS!" roared a voice that Hikaru Gosunkugi really didn't want to hear, accompanied by the sounds of splintering wood and crumbling concrete. Otto Octavius was getting angrier by the second, as was evidenced by the amount of damage he did to any of Tatsu Ishikawa's men he happened to find. The nerve of those ingrates, to stand in his way! He was truly beginning to hate this Ishikawa, if for no more reason than he had casued him to dirty his hands like a common criminal. With a bellowing insult, he smashed through one of the walls that was unlucky enough to be in his path and was rewarded with the sight of Ishikawa cringing in fear. Good! Let the bastard sweat. But Tatsu wasn't looking at him. He was looking at the costumed figure that stood merely a meter in front. "Spiderman!" Oh, SHIT! Gosunkugi swallowed with an audible click as he beheld Doctor Octopus. Memories of his previous two fights with the tentacled maniac flashed through his mind, and he didn't need his spider sense to tell him that he was in deep crap. "Hey, Ock! I guess Armani really can suit anyone!" This is way past bad, he thought. This space is narrow, and he's got incredible reach with those extra arms! "I see you've gotten some new clothes as well, wallcrawler," Ock snarled. "Not as if they'll do you any good." "Okay, so you've got a more expensive tailor. So what?!" I've gotta hold him off... "HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Tatsu paid him no attention as he scampered off to safety. "Don't worry about him, Spiderman!" Hikaru dodged clear of a stabbing tentacle just before the other man spoke. "Worry about me!" Keiko had no trouble getting backup. In fact, she had heard the sirens even before she had dialed the emergency number. Good. That takes care of that. She stared at the entrance to the nightclub and felt a pang of worry about Pate. He was in there, unarmed, and... "Keiko!" his voice shouted as the man came running toward her. "William!" "C'mon, let's go!" "Where?" she asked as she ran to meet him. Sachiko Tanemura felt eerily calm despite her situation. Even with what they had done to Yukio, she could not bring herself to be afraid. She was dead inside. The cold of the corrugated metal beneath her was insignificant, as was the painful presence of the handcuffs on her wrists. She heard the whimpers of the other girls who sat in the van with her. Some were openly crying out of fear. They had to be the new ones. There was only one reason why she was still alive, and being transported with all the others. They were all going to die. Whomever was running this show had decided that he had no more use for them. I tried to get freedom, she prayed to Yukio's spirit. I tried to get enough freedom for all of us. I'm sorry... "Why..." duck, dodge... "are you..." whoa, that was close!... "you here, anyway!" The walls, floor, and ceiling were pitted and cracked from where Doc Ock's tentacles had smashed in their attempt to kill him. "I was sent here for Tatsu Ishikawa..." "You let him get away!" Gosnkugi's breath was heavy in is burning lungs. He couldn't go after that bastard and take on Ock at the same time! "Who cares? You're the one I really want!" "Yeah?! Well....." The insult was cut short as a tentacle raced past only to bend back and wrap around his torso. He could barely scream with pain as the metal appendage squeezed with obscene strength "Allow me to re-introduce you to the crushing strength of my arms, Spiderman!" he gloated as two more held Hikaru's arms at bay. Gosunkugi could feel his ribs groan and crack from the pressure. How long before they broke? He struggled as best he was able, yet the tentacles held him fast. His chest burned, his muscles screamed, yet he could do nothing. "Tell me, Spiderman," Doc Ock said in a conversational tone, "how did you come about your powers?" "What?!" "I would like to know." "Why?" He had to gasp for the breath to form that one word. "I am a scientist, Spiderman. You alone may have the answers I seek to complete my research." "Research?" What was this loon talking about? "It appears you will be of far more use to me alive than dead..." "There they are!" "Kill them!" Hikaru could only watch as a trio of men emerged from around a bend in the hall and began to open fire. The rounds smacked against Doc Ock's wide armored back, to which the man howled with rage. "Attack me, will you?!" he bellowed. "Take this!" Gosunkugi gasped for breath as the tentalces released him. He knelt on the floor for a few moments while the mad scientist whirled and set his arms about them. The sickening sounds of bones being crushed reached his ears even above the gunfire. He had to get out into the open. His only chance to beat Doc Ock was to have room to move. He rose just before his spider sense blared of an attack. It came too late as the metal smacked against his head and sent him through the window. Pate rounded the alley with Keiko to his right. In the shadowed distance, they saw the Toyota panel truck sitting idle in the narrow space. "The girls," Keiko breathed, ignoring the pain of her stockinged feet against the pavement. "Bingo!" They had to be in there. As he and his partner ran, a pair of headlights shone behind the truck with the screech of peeling rubber. "He's getting away!" "It's the cops!" shouted a male voice near the waiting truck. "Kill them!" replied a feminine voice just as the two came up alongside. "You're under arrest!" Pate yelled as his meaty fist collided with the jaw of a man who was just drawing his gun. "Bitch!" Pate saw Keiko slug the daylights out of a woman who had made the mistake of trying to stop her. He almost complimented her swing when the sound of shattering glass drew their eyes upward. The form fell on top of the truck with a hollow thud before rolling off to the cold asphalt. Even in the dim lights, Pate and Keiko knew who it was. "I knew you'd be here, Spiderman," William said as the costumed man rose shakily to his knees. "Wh... who are you?" "Koban," Keiko replied. "You're under arrest, Spiderman." "Listen to me," Spiderman said. "Run away. Now!" "You think you can escape me?!" William and Keiko looked up as the speaker descended. From his back were four tentacles which grappled onto the walls of the alley. His feet touched the top of the van, tentacles disengaged from the walls and waving menacingly about. "Otto Octavius!" Pate shouted. "You know me?" "The FBI's got a rap sheet on you a mile long!" "FBI, eh? So, little man, you think you can arrest the great Doctor Octopus?" William didn't get the chance to reply. A tentacle slammed into his chest like a rocket, lifting him off his feet and forcing the breath from his lungs. He felt himself hit the ground a good four meters away, torso burning from the blow. "William!" Keiko cried as she raced to his side. "Hmph. It appears I shall have to kill the two of you before I deal with Spiderman," Doctor Octopus mocked as his tentacles drug him closer. "Kei...ko..." William managed as the maniac drew closer, a tentacle ready to kill them both. Hikaru forced himself to his feet. Doc Ock was going to kill those two, and he couldn't let it happen. Disregarding the pain in his ribs, he thrust both hands out and focused on knocking the hell out of the six-armed villian. Twin streams of spider silk shot out and converged before they could hit him. Gosunkugi nearly cursed until he saw them form a tight ball of webbing and rocket toward the back of Doc Ock's unprotected head. He leapt up just after the impact, which left Doctor Octopus dazed. Gosunkugi's arms wrapped about his throat while his legs encircled his waist. "Get out! Now!" Keiko half-dragged William to his feet, the latter still gasping for breath, while Spiderman kept Doctor Octopus busy. Pate seemed to know him. She'd have to find out who that guy was. "William!" she shouted. "Are you okay?" "Peachy," he managed. "Those girls..." "They're in the truck. Come on, I have an idea." Ignoring Spiderman's battle with the strange gaijin above, she helped Pate over to the passenger side of the van. "What are you doing?" "I won't just leave them here," Keiko said as she helped him in. She climbed into the driver's seat and blessed any deity she could think of that the keys were in the ignition. Sachiko felt the thrum of the engine through the metal, powerless to do anything about it. She only hoped it would be quick... "Get off of me!" Doc Ock bellowed. Gosunkugi held on tighter as the two bobbed and weaved about. I can't wrestle this guy down, he thought, not with all those arms holding him up! At least they're occupied... "YEOW!" Three sharp pincers from one of the tentacles sunk into his back. "I said GET OFF!" Hikaru was thrown skyward as if he were a limp doll. He didn't even bother to right himself, merely shooting out a webline and hoping that he could gain some distance. "You will never escape me!" "Who said I was running away!" Gosunkugi returned hotly as he released the web and anchored himself to the side of another building. Two of Doc Ock's tentacles were holding the man aloft, the others undulating like steel snakes. Hikaru ignored the blood that was running down the back of his costume and the stabbing pain that accompanied it. Wow, that's a lot of cops, Gosunkugi thought as he glanced downward at the crazy display of red and blue lights. The truck he had landed on earlier came charging out of the alley, turning with the scream of peeling tires toward the cops. "YIKES!" he shouted as he leapt up. A metal tentacle was embedded in the wall where he had once crouched. "Ignore me, will you?" Doc Ock shouted. "And now, young wallcrawler, you *will* die!" "Aw, jeez, could you have made that rip-off any more obvious?" Okay, he thought, I've got a lot more room here, and Ock needs at least two arms to keep him in the air. Let's see just how he is with the other two. He leapt forward as soon as the spider sense blared and balled both his fists ahead of him. He'd seen this move in a video game once, and grinned when both fists struck home right in Doc Ock's kisser. The truck stopped just before the line of gawking policemen, air brakes squealing from the sudden pressure. Keiko Megumi and William Pate hopped down just as one of the cops did a double take. "Megumi-san! Pate-san! What are you two doing here?" And dressed like that, he didn't ask. "Come around back!" Keiko shouted. Three officers fell in behind as the two detectived reached the door and pulled it open. "Good God..." Pate gasped. In the back of the truck were at least fifteen women; all young, bruised, and chained. They looked at them with fear and confusion and, in a couple of cases, detachment. What had Tatsu been doing to them? "Sachiko!" Keiko shouted. Sachiko Tanemura could hardly believe it. Standing in the wild lights and amidst the noise of battle were the two detectives to whom she had spoken that night, along with a few patrol officers of the Koban. For the first time in what felt like decades, hope began to bloom in her chest. The cops entered the van and set about undoing the chains that held them down. Free. They were all free. Tears began to fall from her eyes at the joy of it all, tinged with the regret that Yukio had not lived to see it happen. It was finally over. Gosunkugi kept moving, constantly dodging the strikes from Doc Ock's two free arms. With each avoided blow, the stone and windows of surrounding buildings were shattered. Tiny chunks of mortar and glass rained down to the pavement, and onto a rapdily growing crowd of onlookers. Damnit, he thought, I can't let any of them get hurt! I gotta wrap this up *fast*! -------------------------------------------------- "Man," Ranma said as he watched Spiderman and the other guy duke it out on the television, "and I thought *I* had enemies." "This is coming to you live from outside The Silver Fox nightclub in Odaiba Ward," the reporter said excitedly. "The entire Odaiba Koban is out tonight, and it seems that none of them know quite what to make of the battle that is raging on the streets tonight! Wait a moment..." The camera shifted to a blue Toyota truck, from which several mostly nude women were emerging. "I have no idea what is going on here, but it appears that..." The camera zoomed in closer. "Gods," Akane gasped when she noticed the bruises on them. "These women have been the victims of abuse." The reporter could not keep the hint of anger out of his voice. "Police are not allowing us to come any closer." The women went around the truck, outside the camera's view. The scene shifted back to Spiderman. Nabiki almost froze at the sight of Spiderman's opponent. She had hoped*never* to see that man again. "Nabiki," Kasumi said, "is he the one?" She nodded. "So, that's Doctor Octopus," Akane snarled. "The name really fits," Ranma said coldly. Getting to Odaiba would take almost an hour by train. By then, the fight would likely be over, anyway. Go get 'im, Spiderman, Ranma thought. This is your fight. Damn shame I ain't there to get a piece of that freak, too. In the Nekohanten, Cologne watced the newsfeed with interest. Spiderman was indeed fast, and stronger than he had a right to be. Ryoga would be jealous, even. She could hardly reconcile the image of Hikaru Gosunkugi with the image of Spiderman on her TV. The dichotomy was almost mind-bending. But, she had felt his aura. She knew it to be true. The man with the extra arms appeared tough. In fact, Gosunkugi was spending more energy dodging around than actually fighting. Why? Two of those things were useless! Why not... "Ah, there you go," she muttered as Spiderman launched himself off a wall to deliver a double kick to the man's midsection. Get close, boy. The man took the blow fairly well. He had to be wearing some sort of armor, then. Cologne watched as Hikaru landed two ferocious blows to the face. "That Spiderman is pretty strong, Great-grandmother," Shampoo said in Chinese from her space on the sofa. Mousse was in his cage, unable to bother the girl for the night. "That he is, girl." If Ranma only knew, Cologne thought with a wry grin. --------------------------------------------------- "DAMN YOU!" Hikaru kicked off of Doc Ock's chest just before the two tentacles could seize him, performing a flawless somersault before swinging off another web to come around from the side. I'm doing it! he thought with no small sense of elation. I'm winning! Just a little more... "Bah, enough of this nonsense!" Otto Octavius swore after spitting out a mouthful of blood. He could feel his face swelling and the bruises forming beneath his body armor from where Spiderman had managed to get close. It was time to end this! He sent his tentacles below and wrapped them about the truck that had parked beneath them moments earlier. What in the world is he doing?! Gosukugi gaped as the two tentacles dragged the truck backward with ease. He wouldn't. No way. "Try this on for size, Spidrman!" Doc Ock roared as he sent the truck spiralling right at him. Oh, no! he thought as he leapt clear. When that thing hits... The impact and subsequent explosion rocked the night. Hikaru spun in midair to see flaming steel and smashed stone rain down right on a small group of people unfortunate enough to have been there. "NO!" He was moving away, and the whole mass was falling down and they were all screaming and andandand... Gosunkugi fired two streams of webbing over their heads. They were running, but not fast enough! "GET OUTTA THERE!" The streams of silk began to grow, but Gosunkugi knew the webbing was too thin even before the net formed... -------------------------------------- "Oh, no..." Ranma could hardly believe it. "Gods..." Ranma heard Akane's whisper, but closed his eyes against the sight of it. "Aiya..." In the Nekohanten, Cologne sent a silent prayer to the souls of those whom that attack had killed. ----------------------------------------------------------- Nobody could speak. The entire force of Odaiba Koban stared in shock at the pile of flaming debris which had claimed those lives, and at the forms of Spiderman and his strange adversary. The six-armed man stared at what he had done and - after shouting something about meeting Spiderman again, used his tentacles to escape into the night. No. Hikaru Gosunkugi kept trying to deny the sight of it. His world became silent, the burning rubble which had become a funeral pyre the center of it all. They were dead. He couldn't save them. He wasn't strong enough. Doctor Octopus was getting away, but he didn't care. The cops were swarming below him. Again, he didn't care. They were all dead. Some force within him made his arm lance out and shoot a webline across the street. That same force carried him back to his apartment. -------------------------------------------------------- He stood above the city, staring down at the streets far below. The signal was getting stronger. Just another second before visual contact, and another before Ishikawa got in range. Ah, there you are, he thought as the cursor on his helmet's Heads Up Display indicated the vehicle in question and magnified it in the upper right corner of his vision. Several streams of data scrolled down the sides of the HUD as the suit's systems determined the best angle and wattage. Three seconds, and all was ready. Tatsu Ishikawa never saw it coming. Just as he was congratulating himself for escaping with his life, the world became filled with light and then nothing... "Yamata," came the voice over his suit's comm system. "It's done," he replied. "Tatsu Ishikawa is toast." "Excellent," Raizo Yamata's voice replied. "How did the suit work out?" "Like a charm, boss. The vibro-shock units worked just fine." "Good. Report back to the lab for debriefing and analysis." "Got it." He surveyed the burning remains of the BMW, and of the man Raizo Yamata had ordered dealt with, from fifty stories up. The suit was even better than the man had promised. He walked away, already having taken his pseudonym. The Shocker. That seemed appropriate...