# # #
The thief knelled in the lone spotlight, briefcase in hand. "Show yourself," a voice from the shadows demanded. She slowly pulled off her mask to reveal a young woman. Her curly blond locks flowed down the back of her head. There was a hint of Japanese parentage in her face, but her skin tone was a bit darker. She kept her head down as the voices continued. "Were you able to retrieve the Brûler Sapphire," it asked.
"It was a trap," she answered. "If such a jewel exist, it was not there."
"Yet you brought the briefcase," another voice asked.
"Hai," she answered. "It is...a token. A sign to them of my abilities." She opened the case and pulled out the contents within. "I have stolen the pants of one of the Professional Heroes," she declared.
"How is this a sign," a voice asked,
"He was still wearing them at the time," she answered.
"What purpose do these pants serve," a voice asked.
"A reminder," she said. "and a warning. Nothing is safe from the Moondagger clan."
"Foolish child," a voice spoke. "that case was rigged to track you."
She smirked. "I was prepared for that, and left the tracking device back in the hotel. All they will find is a couch cushion."
"Then your task now is to dispose of the Hero known as Deadguy," a voice requested. "He was the one who exposed us, him and the rest of those infuriating Professional Heroes Our secret will die with them."
She stood up. "It will be my pleasure."
Deadguy sat back in one of the circle booths at The Obsidian, an underground Gothic nightclub, enjoying the view. After the police and Jill tracked down a couch cushion, everyone was right back where they had started. He decided the best idea was to go somewhere and relax. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a familiar Asian goth girl. He turned to see her, but she was gone.
"Looking for someone," a voice that was entirely too cute to be goth asked. Our Hero turned back to see a young lady with curly blond hair and light brown skin. She held a drink in each hand.
"I think I found her," he answered. "Hello, Beautiful. What's your name?"
She slid into the booth, sitting dangerously close to him. "I'm Kiri," she introduced. "Who might you be, handsome?" She placed one of the drinks in front of him.
"Name's Deadguy," he answered, taking a sip of the drink. "Mm. Tasty."
"The Deadguy," she asked in amazement. "The Professional Hero Extraordinaire?"
He held his arms out, presenting himself. "The one and only."
"OhEmGee, I am such a huge fan," she gushed. "That battle against Rampage was complete kyoki."
"Complete what?"
"Kyoki. Madness."
Deadguy eyed her. "You speak Japanese?" She nodded enthusiastically. "You're not like one of those anime fangirls that knows a few things in Japanese and throws it out in conversation whenever she gets a chance. Are you?"
Kiri tilted her head, confused. "No," she answered. "I'm actually half-Japanese and half-black."
"Sounds like someone had a fun night," DG quipped, taking another sip of his drink.
"My father was Japanese," she explained. Our Hero stopped in mid-sip.
"Completely not what I thought," he said.
"Are you enjoying it," she cooed.
"What? Your company? Yes, I'm finding it very enlightening."
"Your drink," she answered. "It's been laced with a lethal poison that will erode your stomach once ingested." DG looked down at the drink, then back at her. "Any minute now," she stated, starting to sound worried.
"Two things Beautiful," he said. "One: I'm a Professional Hero. I know not to accept any drinks from strangers. Or Valk. Two: Even if I had drank that, it wouldn't have had any effect." He looked her over. "Oh no. Don't tell me..."
She nodded slowly. "I'm with the Moondagger clan. I'm here to kill you."
"I told you not to tell me that," he huffed. "Alright. Fine. What's the game now?"
"You're not even a little queasy," she asked, hopefully.
"Dead. Guy," he stressed. "What part of that do you villains have a hard time understanding?"
"We're not the villains here," she argued.
"You just tried to kill me. That's kind of a villainous thing to do."
"This was retaliation for what you and your little friends did to expose us." Deadguy suddenly jumped onto the table and ran out of the booth. "Hey, where are you going," she yelled after him.
He stopped and looked to her. "The people I care about are in trouble. I have to go help them if I still can." He started running through the crowd. "You'd do the same thing for the people you cared about."
Kiri stood there, upset and concerned, then noticed shadows moving above her. She looked up, concerned about the figures crawling across the skylight.
Deadguy ran up to Jill's apartment building just as Valkadaidan was running up from the opposite direction. "They sent a cute girl to assassinate you too," he asked.
"No," he growled. "They sent a squad. They failed."
There was the sound of gunshots heard coming from Jill's bedroom. "Don't think she has time to buzz us in," Our Hero said. Valk charged up to the door and sliced it off with his katana. "but we have other options apparently," he noted. "Hey Valkster, remind me no to call you if I ever lock my keys in my apartment."
The Heroes scrambled up the stairs. Valk slammed into the door, katana drawn. They found Jill with her back to them and her gun in hand. She held her fist up to command them to stop where they were. She extended two fingers, then pointed into the darkened hallway. The Heroes stood on either side of her, ready for the worse. Several throwing knives shot out from the darkness. Jill barely dodged them, letting Valkadaidan deflect the rest. Deadguy vaulted over the couch and charged into the darkened hallway. There was the sound of someone getting shocked. One of the Moondagger clansmen staggered out into their line of sight, then collapsed. "One down," Deadguy yelled out from the back. "The other one is...wearing your underwear?" There was the sound of electricity being shot from a gun.
"Deadguy," Jill called out. The other Moondagger clansman bolted out of the darkness, quickly cut right, and crashed through of the balcony sliding glass door. Our Hero staggered out.
"That tricky bastard," he remarked.
"He's getting away," she exclaimed, rushing to the balcony. "Valk. DeeGee. After him."
"Yeah, I'll just use my amazing," Deadguy started.
"Up the ladder," she ordered.
"Oh. Yeah. Forgot about that."
Our Hero followed Valkadaidan up the fire escape as the two began their pursuit of the lone Moondagger assassin. Leaping over alleyways and dodging air vents, they never seemed to quiet catch up to him. "I didn't know you did parkour," he commented.
"I don't," Valk replied, leaping over an air vent.
"Then how the hell are you able to pull all this off," he asked, skirting part a chimney.
"Thousands of years chasing evil entities inside temples, through dungeons, and across cityscapes has honed my body," he explained, sliding under a massive heating tube.
Deadguy stopped. "Just how old are you," he yelled.
"Old," he shot back, still running.
He shook his head. "It's like pulling teeth with this guy sometimes," he remarked before starting up after them. They managed to catch up to the lone Moondagger assassin at the edge of the building. There was a several yard gap between the ledge and the other side. "Alright, no more running and leapfrogging," DG said, trying to catch his breath. "You're coming with us."
The assassin shook his head, then started to leap across the street, but another clan member tackled him in mid-jump. Both went plummeting down to the busy street below. "Come on," Valk said. "Now's our chance."
"You're suggesting we jump five stories down," DG questioned. The Dragon-Blooded didn't answer, just leapt over the edge. "And they say I'm the crazy one," he muttered, then slowly climbed over the ledge. He missed a spot and slipped, falling the five stories. His c
ollision with the concrete caused every bone in his back to shatter. "Ow," he whimpered. His body healed in time to see Valkadaidan and the very feminine Moondagger clan member locked in combat with the assassin.
"Traitor," the assassin hissed, ripping the mask off the clan member. The familiar blond locks of Kiri tumbled down.
"I'm the traitor," she shot back, throwing a punch. "You're the ones who tried to murder me."
The assassin dodged the attack, then struck back with his hand extended like a blade. "You have failed the Moondagger clan for the last time," he threatened.
Valkadaidan took a swing with his katana. The assassin tried to move, but Valk was still able to slice a chunk off his arm.
"This isn't over Heroes," the assassin hissed, gripping the wound. He threw a few gas pellets on the ground and disappeared among the confusion.
"Damn it," Deadguy yelled. "Got away."
"Not a problem," Valkadaidan replied. Our Hero turned to see him holding his katana to Kiri's throat. "We can question her."
"Go ahead," Kiri commanded. "Do what you want to me. I don't care. I've lost everything."
Deadguy sighed. "Put the blade down Valk."
"She might escape," he argued.
"If she wanted to escape, she would have done it by now."
The Supreme Warrior was hesitant, but finally lowered his katana. Kiri didn't move, but he didn't take his eyes off her. "What are you planning Deadguy," he asked.
"You just helped us fight a fellow member of your clan," DG stated to Kiri.
"Former," she corrected. "They tried to kill me."
"Yeah, you mentioned that. Why did you help us?"
Kiri relaxed a bit. The bold look of determination melted into sadness. "It was what you said," she answered. "about protecting the people you care about. I...don't have anyone that cares about me."
Our Hero thought for a moment. "We can change that," he said.
# # #
Back at the office the next evening, Deadguy stood before Jill, presenting Kiri. The former Moondagger clan member had changed into whatever clothes that Deadguy had at his apartment. They fit her, but she didn't want to know why he had random articles of women's clothing at his apartment."What," their boss asked. He gestured to Kiri again. "Words, Deadguy. Words help," she stressed.
"New member of the team," he said finally. "Group. Family. Conglomerate."
"I don't know..." she started.
"I'm good with tech," Kiri chimed in. "I could outfit your office with a security system that not even my former clan can get through."
Jill's face lit up. She suddenly had an idea. "How good are you?"
"Oh, I can whip up anything from nothing," she answered happily. "I once made a Wi-Fi hotspot from a magnet, three paper clips, and..."
"Yeah yeah yeah, that's great," Jill said, cutting her off. "Valkadaidan has some paperwork to do. Meet me on the roof in ten minutes, do exactly what I say, and you've got the job."
"Hey, Valkster," Deadguy called out, walking in the fire exit. "Jill wants to see ya on the roof."
Valkadaidan turned from his computer. "Why," he asked.
"I don't think you want to question this one," he answered.
He glared at Our Hero, then slowly got up to head outside. "Any warning about what I'm getting into," he asked.
"Nope. Well, one." Deadguy grinned. "You'll like this." He shoved Valk out and onto the ladder that led to the roof. He found a small stage set up. Kiri was messing with a few wires before turning on a romantic song. Jill was standing in the middle of the setup, wearing the same evening gown she wore at the Diamond Club event.
"You still owe me a dance," she said, reaching out to Valk.
The Dragon-Blooded was speechless. Deadguy nudged him. "Go on," he encouraged. "It's not nice to keep a lady waiting." He stepped forward as Kiri walked past with a huge grin. He took Jill's hand and place his other hand on her waist.
"I haven't dance in a long time," he admitted to her.
"It's okay," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "just as long as you don't have two left feet."
Deadguy and Kiri watched for a moment as they danced. "They look so cute together," Kiri squealed. "Totemo romanchikku!"
"You said it. I think," Our Hero agreed. He then tugged on her arm and motioned to the ladder, leaving the two to dance alone.
END
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