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She struggled to help the vigilante to her feet and glared at the blessed woman. She knew that woman was the key to finding the Man of Shadows but first it appeared she would have to get past her bodyguard. A feat that she was more than willing to undertake, given how weakened he now looked. Sword up and at the ready, she was about ready to charge when she heard the woman mention that the cross around the old woman's neck was her focus, a source of power. The samurai grinned under her demonic mask she looked between her and the weakening bodyguard.

Another man spoke up. One she vaguely recognized and found herself irritated by it. He was lucky to be on their side, otherwise she would have had no issue with cutting them stem to stern.

Then the other, Lenna, spoke up. Oh, she could certainly provide an arm if that was needed. Gently she shoulder of Ez, hoping she could stand on her own two feet. Once she had, Niko whispered to her. "Keep the gun on the woman," she said. "I believe the rest of us will handle the other."

Flicking her sword and squatting a bit low, Niko eyed the weakened Malachi and scoffed under her breath. He was an amateur, not a true warrior. A devout zealot and nothing more. She waited until the movements happened from the others before Niko suddenly launched herself forward. Pumped up by the blood her sword had spilled, Niko ran harder, faster than most and roared at the holy warrior before her. At his pitiful lashing of whatever weapon he had left, Niko turn, spun, and swiped her sword with all the ferocity she could muster...

...and watched as Malachi's foolish cost him something dearly...his own arm.

Moving around the towering man, the bloody samurai spun and turned, her blade sweeping through the open air and catching the emboldened warrior wherever she could. She couldn't get close to a solid hit, the minor ones were all she needed. Each time her blade cut, blood was pulled out, seeping down the blade and into her flesh. Each time it happened, Niko converted it, either to strengthen her armor, to sharpen her blade, or to heal her own wounds. One after another after another, for every dent her armor took or every bruise earned, Niko would counter it with another cut. She had been fighting evil for centuries and she wasn't about to be stopped by this behemoth anytime soon.

With an audible growl she charged but dropped low, slashing out with her sword to cut through the man's ankle. Any other blade would have been met with resistance, but Niko poured more of her converted lifeforce into the sword to make the edge sharper than imaginable. So with a surge of energy she ran the blade through, easily cutting through the man. As he toppled, howling into the air, Niko turned to see Aura as she challenged the mystic wreathed in fire. She had heard of Malachi before this, a mutant from years ago. He had been arrested before he was converted by these mad men. Taking her sword up, she readied herself to join the fight when a familiar voice echoed across the clearing.

Man of Shadows...eyes narrowed, she turned to face across the field where she spotted him, another of the "Supremes". Of course that was the mask he was wearing these days. Grinning under her demonic visage, Niko lifted her sword and pointed the blade to him. "I have chased you throughout time, Man of Shadows..." She says darkly. "What made you think this moment would be any different? Have you finally decided to accept your end?" She flicked her blade, taking on a combat pose. "For I am ready to deliver you to it myself."

Niko had said her piece. To be fair she wasn’t expecting a big response from A.J. He was essentially used by two rich people and if literary tropes had taught her anything, it was an unappreciated abuse of the less-than-wealthy. Niko had used him as a means of entertainment while Nat had used him for some sick attempt at humiliation. A.J. was a good man and deserved better than that.

He had every right to shout, scream, and snap at her with every name in the book. Had that been his path, Niko would have merely closed her eyes and accepted it.

But that wasn’t what happened.

Niko continued to look ahead, one leg draped over the over as she listened. He admitted that Nat had a hand in it but at the end of the day, it was his decision to follow through with it. He could have very well decided not to embarrass her, but he had. And it was that decision that he was taking responsibility for.

In all her centuries of existence, she could count on her hand the number of times she had seen people act with such maturity. It seemed that A.J. was making it a point to impress her time and again; the thought of which brought a small smile to her lips.

”Same,” she said with a nod. ”So...here we are...two selfish people...sitting in a park.” After a brief pause, a grin cracked her lips as she finally turned to look at him. ”Why don’t we start over?” she asked. She then offered her hand. ”My name is Melissa Kobayashi...” another momentarily pause. ”...but you can call me Niko.”

Why was she here? Why was she continuing to torture this poor man. Truth be told, Niko didn’t know why. He had been a thorn in her side since she met him while dressed as the Samurai. He was stubborn that entire night, put himself in unnecessary risk, and practically cursed her name. Then, after she had thrown a party as a sort of apology, he turned around and spilled wine down the front of her dress, in front of cameras.

And now he refused to even look at her or offer any kind of apology. Rather he...brought up a damn good point as to why he should be annoyed -- and she deflated. It was a reminder as to why she was here in the first place and why she put so much effort to track him down.

Leaning back against the bench, she took back the magazine and folded it up on her lap. After a long pause she pulled off her sunglasses, stared ahead and replied with, ”I’m sorry.” A pause. ”It wasn’t my intention to pull you into a ‘stupid game’. Those kinds of events can be...boring. And you were a welcome distraction.”

Great. She made it sound like she used him even more. She shook her head, against chastising herself for even caring what this guy thought of her. He was an EMT. A Stubborn one at that. And yet all she wanted to do was apologize to him.

”I...also know why you did it,” she confessed. ”Wasn’t hard to make the connection that Nat Pagel put you up to it because you trying to help me win my other stupid game.” She finally looked to him and lowered her gaze, offering a slight bow of her head. ”I am truly sorry you got pulled into it. That wasn’t fair of either of us to treat you that way. You deserve better.”

Niko had danced this dance before. There were a few times over the centuries where she took on the persona of someone wealthy and more often than not, they required times where she would have to play host. But she didn’t know why, there was just something more annoying about it in the modern age. The lies, the shameless attempts at self-promotion, they were exhausting to say the least. But, such was the persona she was living with now and therefore, it was her responsibility.

Standing at the table, she flashed her practiced smile, waved, shook, and posed for pictures. Melissa Kobayashi was such a public figurehead that these were standard practice for her. But for Niko, they were like pulling teeth. For each person that approached, she could see the good ones from the bad. She knew those people who didn’t deserve it would scoff at such money, but those that did would certainly treat it as a gift from the gods.

If only she had enough influence to help those who really needed it.

But, Niko continued on. This was just a part she was playing, after all. None of these people knew the real Niko Kobayashi. Well...save for one -- though he didn’t know it.

After the last handshake, Nico jumped a little at the familiar appearance of the dinner jacket that she had stained and then rescued. Her eyes moved up to that handsome face and Niko felt herself taking a moment. He knew. He had seen the real her that night when she was running about as the Red Samurai, though he didn’t know it was her.

He flashed her a smile, practiced all the same as his, and draped an arm around her for a picture. His words were direct and lifeless. It wasn’t gratefulness like she was expecting, but maybe unfeeling with a tinge of annoyance? Momentarily her smile faltered as the photographer struggled to get his flash working. He was upset by her deception, had to be.

She looked down for a moment before she glanced his way. ”AJ…” she whispered. ”...I’m sorry if I deceived you...but…”

FLASH!!!

The camera whined and flashed her eyes and briefly the only thing Niko could see were the spots and whiteness that burned into her corneas.

A sliver of silver cut through the night air, singing a humming song before it came to a stop. Pointed straight ahead, the blade itself narrowed it’s focus on the face of a young blonde girl, not the target it was expecting, but eager to draw blood nonetheless. When guns were aimed in retaliation, a tension quivered through the sword, readying to go on the offensive and cut down the owner before it was too late. But, as it would appear, there was more yet to come.

And in this case “more” means more people.

Niko was unsure of what to think. Still her sword was held, unwavering as she watched a hoodie-wearing blonde pick up the angry, gun-toting toddler, and hold her off to the side. She peered closed at Niko’s sword, marveling at it but seemingly unbothered by the threat. Were they part of the triad? As stupid as their name was, these two blondes hardly seemed like criminal masterminds.

”Who ar--?” But she couldn’t finish her question.

Casual footsteps coming from the wall drew her attention, slowly. Peering out from behind the demonic mask, her eyes gleamed briefly in the limited light as an alien-mask wearing individual literally walked down the wall towards them. He addressed her casually, referring to her as “Red” before he leapt a few feet away, landing with an acrobat’s skill at his feet.

And then he said it. Vigilantes. It didn’t seem as if he were working for the triad either, or even one of the local gangs. What on earth was going on here? Did every self-proclaimed vigilante in the area just decide to show u--

Interrupted. Again. This time a woman rode in on a gust of wind and landed with the crowd. She surmised that none of them were part of the Triad and guessed that this was a mistaking gathered group of some kind. She sighed. There was a reason she worked alone as all this was getting far too complicated.

”No…” she said. She looked at the woman before shifting her attention back to the alien and the two blondes. ”...I’m not Triad.” It didn’t seem that the rest of them were either. Annoying, maybe, but these weren’t criminals, no matter how mob-like the youngest dressed. She gestured to the blonde as she peered at her from behind her mask. ”You make it a habit of handing your kid firearms?” she asked.

A loud knock came from a nearby dumpster. She turned, drawing her sword again -- and once again found herself looking at an oddity. A young man popped out from the inside, seemingly confused as to what was going on -- and then started to shout at the toddler.

Niko’s eyebrow…rose. She then grumbled

”Everyone needs to settle down,” she growled. ”Listen, I don’t know if you all are here for the same reason, but there’s intel of a major criminal event about to happen that needs to be stopped.” Once more her sword was sheathed as she deemed those gathered to no longer be dangerous. ”If you do not want to be involved, I suggest you leave now. Things will get ugly quite fast.”

The rumors were out there. The signs were available. However it was only seen by those who knew what to look for. A symbol here. An illogical conversation there. It would take months for any local authorities to be able to decipher the cryptic messages and by the time they did, the cypher would be replaced by yet another kind of codex and thus knocking everyone back to square one. Even the X-Men, for all their brilliance and showboating in the pursuit of justice, had not been able to catch onto the movements of the Treacherous Triad in time.

And tonight was the night.

Sly Fox, Deep Blue, and Swift Gold, three up-and-coming mutant criminals had devised a plan. They would be establishing a foothold in New York City, the mecca of all mutant activity. And their means of doing so was quite brilliant. For weeks now their most trustworthy associates have been moving through the streets, looking for anyone and everyone who would help expand their budding empire.

One by one they set roots in the streets and alleyways. Avoiding the careful eye of the already established criminal Syndicate, slipping past the view of the X-Men and the police, the seeds were planted and began to germinate. All they needed now was one more ingredient to make the process complete: inventory.

Sly Red, the smartest and most cunning of the trio, had managed to use connections through Deep Blue to get their hands on some high grade weaponry. With Swift Gold, his talents were able to procure them a rather large stock of narcotics to start buying their way into the heart of the city. Everything was going according to his plan.

“Good,” Sly Red grinned as he looked at the map of New York. “We’re all set. Deep Blue,” he said as he pointed to a dark-skinned woman with a shaved head. “You and your aquatic friends will guard the shipments coming in via the harbor.”

Deep Blue nodded, holding up a hand and causing a swirl of spikey water to swirl. “Not a problem. Ain’t no one coming near ‘em.”

Sly Red nodded. He then turned to Swift Gold, a man with copper skin and gold eagle feathers sprouting from his shoulders, extended outward into wings along his back. “Gold. We set?”

“Hmph. As if there was doubt,” he grumbled. “I’ll be escorting the drones personally. Shipments will hit their spots with no issue. Guarantee.”

Red smirked. “Good. And I’ll be bringing in the last shipment through a series of unmarked vehicles to their designated points. By this time tomorrow…” The redheaded fox grinned, looking between each of them, “...New York won’t know of hit ‘em.”



Niko Kobayashi had followed the breadcrumbs. Those little hints of information that let her know something big was happening tonight. Her centuries of hunting the Man of Shadows had given her a clue into the mindset of her target, and all those who committed such acts of evil. Years of dispensing justice had allowed her a certain foresight when it came to understanding the signs whenever something big was going to happen, and Niko had managed to catch them just in time.

A move was being made on New York City. A new criminal organization known as the Treacherous Triad (horrible name) was supposedly cementing their foothold in New York. Sadly that was where her intel had ended. All she knew was that they were coming into the city with shipments but what and how, she was unsure. She had an idea that it wouldn’t be anything good and she would find out the rest as she proceeded.

Standing in the shadows of a dark alley, the red plated armor of the Bloody Samurai stood in waiting. Hand already resting on the hilt of her sword, she peered through the demonic facemask and waited for any signs of what was to come. Her intel had informed her that in this street closest to the docks, that one of the lower level thugs was supposed to be in this area.

He would have the information she wanted -- and she would extract it from him by any means necessary.

However, as Niko lay in wait, her muscles tense, the armor silent, she heard the sound of another approaching. But it wasn’t for the correct location. It was from somewhere behind her. With a deep, slow breath, Niko waited for another moment before she moved with speed that seemed unlikely in her armor. The red samurai whipped around, drawing her blade and pointed it firmly at the one who attempted to approach her.