Shit. Shit. Shit. Of all the times to not have her sword with her. Niko grumbled at herself. This was why she often hated to go out in her persona as Melissa Kobayashi, the party girl, social media socialite as opposed to herself. It would look awfully strange for such a person to walk around New York City carrying a sword. But that was also the problem, this was New York. The fact that she was out at all unarmed was going to eventually lead to a problem like this.

She had agreed to participate in judging a Mr. U.S.A. contest. Why not? It was a simple gig. Sit at a table, talk with some judges, leer and judge some handsome muscle heads, then be home before she knew it. It was a simple enough affair, nothing that she should have had to stress about. Unfortunately, stressing was exactly what she was doing right now.

The verdict had been passed. Konner Fuego, a.k.a., Mr. Texan had won. The epitome of gentlemanliness, had won by a landslide after the talent competition when he displayed his trick shooting skills. Everyone had graciously accepted the loss...except for one contestant -- Mr. Manliness.

The towering, muscular man with the thick red beard and the perfectly combed hair, had developed a look of utter anguish. To anyone else, it wasn’t a surprise. Mr. Manliness, as it turned out, was nothing more than a well-defined set of pecs and quads. His talent was rather offense and did not bear repeating, even less than his more lewd-filled answers to the questions he received. Still, it seemed that Mr. Manliness thought he should have won as, upon seeing Mr. Texan take the prize, the veins began to bulge on his neck.

Niko couldn’t have reacted if she wanted to.

With a shout of fury, Mr. Manliness pounced upon the winner. Though the Texasborn winner could have easily handled him, no one had expected for Mr. Manliness to be a mutant. Without warning, a huge fist flew at Mr. Texan, knocking him in the face with unrivaled strength. The punch was a surprise not only because of the strength it displayed, but the fact that a third, muscularly defined arm had shot out from the man’s beard!

Things went downhill from there. A few lucky people had managed to escape but those that were slow were quickly corralled. Mr. Manliness mutation gifted him with super strength and speed (on top of the third arm from his chin), thus he was easily able to gather up would be victims and subdue anyone who dared to stand up to him. However, while he was strong and fast, he wasn’t the smartest. Rather than escape when he had the chance, Mr. Manliness instead began to monologue, to the point that the authorities arrived before he knew it.

Now, trapped in a building, a group of hostages his only trump card, the psychotic muscle man demanded another contest -- where he was the only competitor. After all, he was the strongest and the best in New York and wanted to make it official. The judges, Niko included, defied him. Not out of stubbornness but because they were trying the bide time. The cops would get him, they just had to be patient and hope the fool wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Sitting at the table, her clothing askew from so many hours being in this room, Niko sighed as she looked up at the peacocking Mr. Manliness. ”Sir. Please. Just give yourself up. There’s no where to go.”

“Oh yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, sweetheart?” he grimaced. “We’ll see about that! Those twinkie cops ain’t going to do nothing to stop me! Now, announce me the winner and we can all get outta here and I won’t pull your arms off!” Mr. Manliness loomed over Niko, flexed all three of his arms, and awaited her judgement.

Desperate people wailed, demanding that the judges just announce him the winner so that they could get out. But Niko knew people like Mr. Manliness. They thrived on weakness and fear. Once you give them what they want, they get greedy and will demand more. Right now the judges had something he wanted, the trophy and prize money, but it was locked away into a safe underneath the desk. It could only be opened by the winner and only via voice command. He could try for days to smash it open, all it would result in is a safe full of destroyed money thanks to many rigged ink packs.

Yes, they took this competition seriously.

“Now!” Mr. Manliness smashed a meaty fist through the table. “Give me the prize and the title!!!” He screamed. He then pointed dramatically off to the side. “Or I break their necks!”

Cries of terror. Niko, stone-faced, sighed. ”There’s no one over there! You’re pointing at nothing!”

Mr. Manliness turned, saw that he was indeed pointing at nothing, and then turned back to Niko. With a rush his third arm lashed out, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.

With the smell of raw eggs and a sinus infection wafting across her face, Niko attempted to turn away from the mutant’s mouth but his grip was stronger than she wanted to admit.

He pulled her close, mistaking her disgust for fear as he he pulled her right up his face. “Prize. Now. Or you’re dead.”

Ranger almost spit coffee when he heard the call. The Mr. U.S.A. contest was now the site of mutant terrorism. There were many obvious questions. First, there was a Mr. U.S.A. contest? Second, there was a Mr. U.S.A. contest? And third, why would someone hold people hostage at a Mr. U.S.A. contest?

It was a legit thing and it was in a large enough venue that it was taking time to lock it all down. NYPDs ESU was on scene and was securing it but it turned out there was a mutant on scene causing the issue. SUPER had been called in to assist.

As an agent of SUPER who had years of counter terrorism experience, Ranger was the one tapped to handle the situation. It was only complicated by the fact Ranger was supposed to be hiding the fact he was a mutant. That complicated matters. Especially when he was asked to bring in the mutant alive if possible.

The “if possible” being highly stressed.

On scene Ranger took charge of the situation. As the federal agent responding to a mutant terror attack he had jurisdiction and the boys in blue fell in line. The problem Ranger had was that that day, of all days, Ranger had not taken the Fordasaurus with him. He had no kit.

Playing at being human, without his own kit, and responding to a hostage situation. It could be worse.

Ranger spent a few minutes directing the ESU officers on where to go and what to do. As they set up Ranger raided one of their transports and found himself a vest and a helmet with NODs. If Ranger couldn’t be seen as being a mutant, he could make sure no one saw as he was a mutant.

When Ranger entered the building, the officers took their positions. WhenRanger gave them the signal they would storm the building. Until then one lone officer waited ready to cut all power to the building.

“Prize. Now. Or you’re dead.”

Ranger watched a muscular man with a red beard and… Was that an arm coming out of his chin? It parted his beard like curtains! Ranger could wonder about the physiological logistics of a chin fist later. The man was holding a woman by the throat.

Breaking squelch twice, Ranger dropped from the mezzanine down to the ground floor. Before his feet touched the ground the lights went out. All of them in the entire building. The only light remaining as Ranger ran toward the was the green glow of tritium from the exit signs. Ranger kept his NODs up as he moved, as his mutation kicked in. There were only a couple unsteady steps before the world returned from darkness. Only, instead of seeing the world in reflected light and color, Ranger saw the world by heat.

Had Ranger had the time, he would have moved slower, stealthier. Approached the target and subdued him without him ever knowing what was coming. Ranger did not have the time. Instead he ran forward. The sound of his boots telegraphed his approach, but Ranger was prepared to rely on speed and violence of action.

When he had closed the distance, Ranger slowed his run just enough to time his footfalls so he could jump up and drive himself higher up by pressing himself with one foot off the judges table and then bring a leg around directly at the mutant's jawline. The mandibular nerve was a great reset button for a person’s brain.

This wasn’t a good feeling. Niko has lived for centuries. She’s been beat, stabbed, shot, poisoned, and many other methods of demise that she cannot remember have been inflicted upon her. However she always managed to come back. Because of her abilities, her stubbornness, and yes, her blade. All of those served to keep her alive and push on to continue her journey to destroy the Man of Shadows.

She wanted her sword in this instance. She could feel her throat collapsing in on itself as her attacker, Mr. Manliness, squeezed tighter and tighter. Inadvertently she gurgled from her mouth, unable to swallow the saliva. In all honesty, she would spit in the man’s face if she could, sadly the most she could muster was some drool that shook off the corner of her mouth every time she shook her head in an attempt to escape.

Yeah. This sucked. She was sure that she could get out of this but it wouldn’t be without exposing herself. By transferring some of her blood essence into her body, she could strengthen her body just enough to get herself free. However, even then, she wasn’t entirely sure that she could stop him on her own. Besides, Melissa wasn’t supposed to be some immortal warrior. She could kiss her cover goodbye if she acted.

Still, what use was keeping her cover if she was going to be strangled right here and now.

Shakily she craned her head to look him in the eye. The man wore a disgusting expression of masculine bigotry. It was a look she was all too familiar with given her centuries of living as a woman in man’s perceived world. For a second, a merely second, her eyes flashed a dangerous shade of crimson. It was only a moment but it was just enough for Mr. Manliness to catch it and give her a look of utter confusion.

Then, everything went black.

Had she died? Did he pop her head off? No, she still felt pain. Not only that, but she felt that panic associated with trying to catch her breath. But her panic was replaced with confusion as the sound of running boots echoed through the air. Niko couldn’t see what was happening except for the flash of a dark shadow briefly illuminated by the harsh green of the “exit” sign. The table to the side screeched obnoxiously, and the next thing she knew, there was the sound of leather striking flesh.

“OOMPPHH!!” Mr. Manliness shuddered, his entire frame rattled and he stumbled off to the side. Due to the sudden impact, his grip loosened around Niko’s neck, dropping her onto the ground as he flailed.

Niko fell into a heap, one of her pumps ejecting from her foot, her outfit rumpled up. She fell into a coughing fit, struggling to suck in air and swallow saliva at the same time. This resulted in a hacking cough fit that gave her lungs a run for the money. Holding her hand to her own throat, she attempted to rub the soreness away, looking into the darkness, trying to discern exactly what had happened.

What had happened? Did someone attack Mr. Manliness? That’s what it sounded like but, damn, how’d they manage to catch him off guard so spectacularly? But, being plunged into the darkness meant not having any answers, which was unfortunate considering how much she wanted to wail on the bastard herself.

Mr. Manliness, meanwhile, was struggling to stay upright. That was a good hit, whatever it was. It felt like a short circuit through his body, His brain became hazing, difficult to concentrate, and even in the sudden darkness of the room he could feel that urge to fall into unconsciousness. But the giant never toppled, instead he sucked in a breath, tapped his temples with his palms and snarled.

“W-W-Who was that?” he snapped. “You’ll pay!” He shouted. “I’ll rip you apart!” hearing a sound, he suddenly lunged for it, a massive, super-strength powered first flying forward but not before turning his head and lashing out with his third arm that protruded from his chin. He’d find them! He’d kill them! He was the champ!!!

As Ranger’s kick connected, the large man gave. He was knocked to the side, and more importantly, dropped the woman he had been holding by the neck. When Ranger’s foot made contact with the ground he pivoted around, burning out the last of the momentum he was carrying so he could regain solid footing. While most people would be down after a single strike like that, some could withstand it. Ranger needed to be ready to press the advantage.

A quick look at the woman, she was coughing and rubbing at her neck. That was good. Ranger had managed to stop the man in time. It didn’t mean she didn’t need medical attention, but in that exact moment eliminating the threat was the best way to save her and the other people being held hostage.

Looking back at the large man, Ranger saw him with his hands on his head. Likely trying to help turn off the stars he was seeing. “W-W-Who was that? You’ll pay! ...I’ll rip you apart!”

Ranger moved around the man. His footfalls drew the attention of the man who lashed out with all three of his fists. Ranger had the advantage. Not only could Ranger see the man and the man could not see him, Ranger had a small lead on what arm would move before it did. The subtle movement before a punch was thrown contracted the muscles. This generated heat. The large size of the man was working against him. More mass meant more heat. More heat meant easier to see.

In the darkness, Ranger was leading the man further away from all the hostages. The sound of the man’s arms rushing through the air was something Ranger was intimately familiar with. Those were the sounds of someone with strength only a mutant could have. If he missed Ranger and struck someone it would be devastating to them.

When Ranger was ready to press on, he ducked a punch and as he moved past the man, drove an elbow right into the man’s kidney. Men like them had low body fat. This was aesthetically pleasing but left a more direct shot to a very sensitive organ. At the same time he hooked a foot around the man’s ankle and pulled, his kidney strike transitioning to a shove as his arm rotated to make contact.

”Give up now, friend. I can do this all day.”

Her throat hurt. Every time she sucked in a breath, she felt a strange twitch and tickle that almost made her want to hack up a lung. It was uncomfortable, and would be until she healed, but at least she was still able to suck in a breath. That was the good part of all this, she was still alive. She only hoped that whomever her rescuer was that he was going to survive the inevitable onslaught.

After backing away to a safer distance, or so she assumed after being plunged into the darkness, Niko tried to take her breath. Her head whipped from side to side, listening and attempting to follow the sounds to track both combatants. Her ears of fighting in a variety of scenarios served her well in this case. She couldn’t see them, but she could certainly hear where they were.

Mr. Manliness was massive. That meant that he was heavy. It made it easy for her to follow him.

But the other? She couldn’t see him but she caught the softest sounds of their footsteps as they kept behind the raging berserker. Niko turned, trying to focus but the sounds of Mr. manliness destroying everything that came in his path was proving to be a distraction. If she had her sword she could probably take him herself, buy seeing as that was out of the question, she uttered a silent prayer for the single soul that was squaring off against their prey.

Mr. Manliness growled again, pulling Niko’s attention in his direction. She scooted back, apparently just in time as she felt the wind rush and a thunderclap echoed from a chair being thrown nearby. She kept her voice down and didn’t say anything; there was no point in giving out her location in this blackness. A few people cried out from the corners of the room but luckily it seemed that the psychotic mutant wasn’t making his way towards them. No, he wanted the aggressor.

Speaking of…

There was a thud of another strike. This one caused a squelch of pain to issue from Mr. Manliness’s mouth and the sound of a massive amount of weight tumbling back down onto the ground. Niko listened intently, unsure of what happened, when a voice of challenge broke through.

It was a man’s voice. Deep. With a slight twang to it. It honestly sounded somewhat familiar but nothing she could strictly connect with. The voice was assured but not overly so. There wasn’t cockiness in the man’s voice, but instead it was a promise. He was going to end the fight one way or another so it was best to just end things now. Anyone else listening to that tone would have stood down. But the growl and the slam of fist indicated that the madman thought otherwise.

Mr. Manliness had indeed fallen. Pain radiated from his side, near his kidneys. It felt like a railroad spike had been driven into his body. No blood. But the pain was not something he could easily ignore. Grinding his teeth, he scrambled onto his knees when the challenge was issued. He spat off to the side and roared.

“Quoting that sh*tty movie?” he shouted, raising all three arms into the air. “That wasn’t the real Lieutenant America! He was too much a twig boy!! LIKE YOU!!”

All three fists slammed into the ground. The room, in its entirety, shook and rattled. Cracks spiderwebbed outward in all directions around the point of contact. It was enough to knock anyone off their feet who was standing too close, as well as shake the foundations of the building enough to knock loose a few large pieces of concrete. For Mr. Manliness, there was no loss, only rage.

Ranger’s confused look couldn’t be seen in the darkness. He wasn’t sure what movie the man was talking about. Losing ten years of your life does a number on your ability to understand pop culture references. At least he was kind enough to let Ranger know what movie it was from. One of the Astonish Screen Dimension movies. Ranger had only seen two of them so far.

It was clear that Ranger had pissed the man off though. Following his inane yelling, he slammed all three fists onto the ground and shook the whole building. Ranger barely managed to keep his footing. Had he not had a wide stance he would have fallen ass over teakettle.

The man had to be put down before he could tear the whole building down around himself. Ranger would give it one last go before just shooting the man. A flying triangle choke was off the table. The man had an arm sprouting from his chin. Ranger would likely need to use his power in the darkness.

The moment the man stood, Ranger moved. He charged at the man. He easily dodged one punch that was blindly thrown. The second he deflected. The third. THat was the one he wanted. The third was the chin arm. It lashed out sweeping for where it knew Ranger was from the deflection of the previous hit.

A primal and victorious yell escaped the man’s mouth before Ranger wrapped his hands around the chin arm, shifted, and translated all his forward momentum into angular momentum. Ranger’s power enhanced his strength as he spun the man around and threw him bodily into a wall. Away from any hostages.

Ranger broke squelch on his radio and said ”All teams, move in. Lights on.” Ranger clicked his NODs down as the lights came on and the men of NYPD’s ESU poured into the building. A moment later, after he was sure people saw him weaning the NODs, Ranger clicked them back up and removed his helmet.

”Everyone stay calm. We’ll get y’ all sorted. Y’r safe.”

Ranger looked around the space and as his eyes returned to normal vision he saw the woman who was being choked when he had entered. Ranger approached the woman and—squatting next to her—asked, ”Y’ alright ma’am. D’ y’ need a medic? He had y’ pretty good there.” The bused chair near the woman told Ranger how close the woman had come to being killed despite Ranger’s efforts.

She saw nothing but she knew most everything that was happening in the room. Plunged into the dark, she was deprived the chance to follow the battle with her eyes, but she turned, craning her head and listening to the sounds of battle as they erupted in the room. She could hear the breathy roars and heavy footfalls of Mr. Manliness, as well as the stealthily moving steps of the rescuer. Who was this person? How was he still alive?

The battled raged. After Manliness was knocked down he attempted to end their stalemate by making a rather rash move. He slammed his considerable strength into the ground, causing everything to shake and rattle.

Niko had to roll off the side, hearing a piece of the ceiling break and fall from above. The glass from a light fixture smashed into thousands of pieces, making her sigh in relief. That wouldn’t have been pleasant.

Thud! Thud!

The sound of flesh meeting resistance. Only this time it was firmly blocked. Niko craned her head, listening more closely. What was this rescuer doing? When the third thud sounded, she was immediately treated with a primal roar. Mr. Manliness was apparently going for a right as he seemed to be moving far quicker than normal before he painfully was thrown into a nearby wall. More rattling, more debris, but she could hear nothing from her attacker anymore, saved for his labored, unconscious breathing.

Silence prevailed for several tense seconds before the voice of the brave soul cut through the darkness, issued orders to unseen aid. Like that, the room filled with light once more and Niko momentarily blinked her eyes.There was someone telling everyone in the room to remain calm and that assistance would be there before they knew it.

Niko blinked when she turned to look at him. She coughed again, feeling the strain in her throat still, which alerted his attention. They locked eyes as he walked over and Niko found herself taken aback.

As he walked towards her, Niko honestly thought she was looking at a ghost. The firm yet kind face, the demeanor, and, finally, the eyes. It was in the eyes that she saw it. She knew this person, or rather he reminded her of someone that she knew in her long life. Dammit, her memory was still so hazy sometimes. She shook it off, instead seeing the person as they were here and now and looked up at him.

He squatted near her, concern in his voice as he inquired if she needed medical attention. Niko gulped and shook her head. ”I...think I’ll be alright,” she said hoarsely. "Just...gonna gargle some -a-ahem- ice the second I can." She rubbed her throat again, wincing as her fingers grazed over several spots that were quickly coloring into a bruised purple. ”You...took him on by yourself?” she asked, feigning astonishment. Melissa Kobayashi would be super impressed. She had to play it up. ”You must seriously know your stuff.”

The woman was able to answer, but her voice was hoarse. THat was a positive. Her throat hadn’t been damaged to the point where she needed to go to hospital. She would likely have one hell of a nasty bruise though. Ranger asked for someone to bring him ice over his radio. One of the EMTs said they would.

”I know a little, beside’s I could see him an’ he couldn’t see me.” Ranger said as he set the helmet with NODs on the ground and gave it a pat. ”Always cheat, always win. The unfair fight’s the one y’ lose.”

Ranger held out a hand to the woman, ”Let’s get y’ off the floor.” There were comfortable chairs nearby. Ranger thought it best to move the woman to the judges’ table. She could sit not on the floor and there would be somewhere for the EMT to drop off ice and she could get some water.

”If y’r up t’ it. Can y’ tell me what happened? What caused this?” Ranger gestured to the mess and then indicated the three armed man who had ESU officers buzzing around him like flies trying to figure out the best way to apprehend someone with a third arm coming from their chin.

Niko was impressed. She has seen what Mr. Manliness could do and if this guy was able to take him on single handedly, well, he was either the luckiest guy in the world or he had a bit more to him than he was letting on. Which was fine. Niko wasn’t in the business of prying out people’s hard-earned secrets. Whatever you chose to reveal, that was up to the person themselves and no one else. Still, she was intrigued.

However he seemed to pass it off as something akin more to equipment than anything else. He removed his helmet, patting it affectionately as he gave it the majority of the glory for his victory than his own skill. Oh his skills had still done plenty, but tactics had played a major role as well. He used the darkness, speed, and brains to his advantage against the overwhelming threat that was Mr. Manliness.

Niko could respect that.

A small, nervous smile flitted across her lips as she looked between him and the hand he offered. She looked past him to the unconscious brute who was now being swarmed over by police officers and other agents. They seemed as perplexed as most people would be when coming across a three-armed man with said arm protruding from the chin. However the danger seemed to have passed...for now. Allowing herself a small breath of relief, she gave the man a small nod and smile.

Taking his hand she allowed herself to be helped up. There were no other aches or pains as there should have been, but her throat was still fairly sore. When she was led to a chair, she graciously took the seat, and the ice that was offered to her. Gently she pressed the ice to her neck with a wince as she refocused her attention on the rescuer.

He had questions. Understandable. Gulping she nodded as she started to explain. ”Name’s Melissa. Melissa Kobayashi. Myself and a couple others are judging the Mr. U.S.A. contest. The person who attacked me is a contestant,” she swallowed. ”He didn’t win. Took that personally and was keeping us here, demanding the trophy and prize money.”

There was a brief moment before the woman took his hand where she nervously looked to where the three-armed man lay. Ranger waited, after what had happened he understood someone being hesitant. The man likely wasn’t getting up anytime soon though.

Ranger led her to a chair and an EMT brought ice. When the woman, Melissa, did answer questions she still seemed quite shaken. To help her feel more comfortable in the situation, Ranger grabbed one of the other chairs. Better to be at her level than looming over her while he interviewed her. Put her more at ease after a highly stressful situation.

Melissa was a judge at the Mr. USA contest. The three-armed man was a contestant. One who didn’t win. He demanded the trophy and prize money. So he was motivated by greed in addition to pride or vanity.

”Howdy, Melissa. I'm Michael." Ranger gave his name in kind with a reassuring smile before he dove further into the interview. "Had he shown any violent tendencies before then?” Ranger asked. He wanted to know if the man had suddenly flipped or if there was a build up. Was it a crime of passion or was the man just a ticking time bomb? They were not mutually exclusive, but one should be more prevalent than the other. ”Why didn’t anyone give him the prize money? Not that anyone should’ve, but it seems like someone would’ve chosen their life over principles an’ paid him if they could... Also, what was his name?” Ranger thumbed to the three-armed man that still had officers swarming around him.

Niko sighed, holding the ice against her neck and sighed at the relief. She knew it would heal up rather quickly but she still felt it was necessary to put on the act. “Melissa” was supposed to be a bit more fragile, a little more innocent and not as hardened as the centuries has tempered Niko to be. It may have been a little overkill at this point (she had been doing this a very long time but consistency was something she prided herself on.

After their introduction, Niko gave the handsome man a shy smile as she closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths. She wasn’t really panicked but something nagged the back of her mind. Something familiar that she couldn’t put her finger on. He looked so very familiar to her but she was certain she hadn’t met any “Michael” recently. She took a second to dig through her vast memories before refocusing on him.

That’s right. Questions. He was an official and questions needed to be answered. He asked the most obvious, why didn’t they just give him the money. She scoffed a little -- she wished it had been that easy.

”It’s because the way the safe was built. The safe is voice locked to the winner. Before competition all the competitors spoke the password into the audio-lock. When a winner is chosen we program it with the winners voice pattern.” She gestured to the small, yet heavy looking safe under the table she had been at. ”Mr. Manliness had knocked out the winner, pretty badly. Only he could unlock the safe. If it were tampered with, anti-theft dyes would burst inside the safe, making the money worthless.”

It was a lot of protection, true. But Red Pearl Publishing didn’t do anything half-assed. When they were approached for assistance with the competition, Niko had agreed and those who worked under her immediately provided the best. The safe was state-of-the-art but cost nothing to Red Pearl to donate for the event.

She shrugged her shoulders. ”I don’t think Mr. Manliness knew any of that. I didn’t want to tell him because I figured if he knew that the winner was the key he would just make off with him and...I didn’t want to put Mr. Texan at any more risk.” Finally setting the ice aside her wrapped her arms around herself as she spoke. ”Um...Morris,” she said in answer to Mr. Manliness’ true name. ”Morris Chuckington. You can see why he prefers Mr. Manliness.”