by: 10950
Fuma Hanzo was busy whittling a walking stick out of a branch, out by his cabin in the woods. He was so invested in carving each detail, that he didn't notice the shadowy figure stalking him just inside the tree line. Suddenly, the tree stump next to him burst into splinters as a gunshot echoed through the woods. Taking cover behind a large rock, he tried to spy his assailant, but couldn't find him. He began listening to his surroundings, hoping the animals of the forest would clue him in. Just then, he heard the loud crash of one of his traps being sprung, as a familiar voice yelled in surprise. Normally, the traps around Hanzo's woods were meant for game, but he wasn't upset one trapped an intruder instead. Walking up to the man dangling from a rope by one ankle from a tree, Hanzo tapped him with his now unsheathed sword.
"How's it going, Island?" he said to the captured intruder.
"Uh........ Hey Hanzo." Mayor Justice, aka Island, replied. "Fancy meeting you here. I was just hunting some squirrels and got caught in this snare."
"Fancy meeting me here?" Hanzo asked. "I live here. You know this. So why did you take a shot at me?"
"Shot at you?" Mayor Justice feigned innocence. "Was that you? I thought you were a big squirrel."
"A 150 lb squirrel dressed in a yoroi wearing a pirate hat? Seriously?" Hanzo replied.
"We've both seen way crazier things and you know it!" exclaimed Justice. "Now cut me down."
"No." answered Hanzo.
"No????" exclaimed Justice. "What do you mean no? You can't just keep me dangling up here! I'm the Mayor!"
"Not till you tell me why you're here taking pop shots at me." demanded Hanzo.
"I think I can answer that." came another familiar voice.
Hanzo pointed his sword in the direction of a man dressed all in red techno armor.
"Hello, Rakly." he said. "Something I should be concerned about here?"
"You're damn right you should be concerned!" yelled Island. "Rakly, get him! Look what he did to me! It's obvious he's guilty! Take him out now! You're done for, ninja boy! The cavalry has arrived!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" paused Rakly. "We're not taking out anybody."
"Guilty of what?" Hanzo asked.
"Do me a favor." Rakly asked. "Cut him down and we can talk about it inside your cabin."
"How about we just leave him hanging out here while you and I go inside and have a talk instead?" posited Hanzo.
"Or we could just do that." answered Super Rakly as the two headed for the cabin.
"You can't just leave me here like this!" yelled Island. "This is completely undignified! I'm the Mayor, gd it!"
Several hours later after Rakly debriefed Hanzo on the situation, the 3 headed back to Avengers HQ to devise a plan. Rakly showed Hanzo one of the man bees they had captured, that had some of Hanzo's DNA as part of its genetic makeup. After about an hour with the creature, Hanzo and Rakly met with the rest of the Avengers in the Avengers League Hall.
"Well" Hanzo started. "I have been able to communicate with it despite its limited human vocabulary. The presence of my DNA in these creatures allows me to communicate on an almost telepathic level with it. Separated from the hive, it seems to be rather easy to control for me, using our genetic similarities to convince it I am one of them. However, the hive mind is always in the background seeking to reassert control. We have to get inside the hive, find and dispose of the queen, and then I can use my connection with them to control the rest so that we can bring this nuisance to an end."
"What do we do once you have control of them?" asked Anomaly. "I don't think we have the facilities to hold so many prisoners."
"I will convince them to take my ship, the Time Bandit. and find a new world they can call their own." answered Hanzo. "Everyone get your gear together and get yourselves ready. We leave in 0200 hours."
To Be Continued.................
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