Chapter 35: The Hand (2)
—
Though the Demon, aka the Monster, was the true leader of the Hand, it also had five sub-leaders who managed the clan majority of the time.
They were titled the Five Fingers of Hand.
Murakami was one such ‘finger’ whose base of operations was in Japan, so he rarely left this country. Therefore, this mission of attacking Super-Nova was passed onto Alexandra Reid, the ‘finger’ who operated in America.
Currently, in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, on the top floor of the skyscraper that was the headquarters of Midland Circle, Alexandra Reid sighed as she sat in her office and rubbed her temple.
“This is so foolish.”
Amongst the five Fingers, Alexandra could be said to be the leader. She saw herself as the smartest among her peers, even though all five of them had lived three lifetimes in this world.
Alexandra was not an evil mastermind, she was a businesswoman as well and was actually planning to contact Super-Nova’s civilian persona to talk about this game company he was building.
All those plans just got poured water on by this single call from Murakami, who let her know about the Demon’s recent decision.
Worst of all, this idiotic plan was ordered to be initiated tonight; uncaring of the important appointments she had as a businesswoman.
“No, I am not going.”
Alexandra decided after a moment of thinking, gritting her teeth in frustration as she spoke to herself.
“I may be immortal, but this guy is a menace. He easily defeated the Mutant Hero Magneto, and then proceeded to change the weather of the entire city in his fight with this Electro guy. No, I will not fight this person.”
It’s not as if the others could blame her either; as long as she sent enough useful soldiers after Enrique tonight. Nobody specified that she needed to be present there in person, after all.
“That Nobu Yoshioka who works under Murakami,” Alexandra recalled. “He is nearby, in Hell’s Kitchen. He should be able to lead a group of Ninjas to attack the house.”
If someone were to die, it could be Murakami’s dog for all she cared.
“50 Ninjas should suffice, I think.” Alexandra noted.
Soon, however, she shook her head. ‘But wait, against four strong super-powered individuals, that may not work. Then, 100, perhaps?’
One hundred Ninjas, she recalled, maybe the right number needed to get this mission through.
In her opinion, it would be a miracle if Enrique and his friends survived since this would be a secret attack performed with great caution.
“Alright, let’s get this through.”
* * *
“At the very least, this would not be a surprise attack, though the Hand expects us to be oblivious to all this.”
The Hand wasn’t a part of Hellfire Club, and therefore it’s not under Emma’s control. So if Emma didn’t want to look desperate on taking Enrique down, she possibly couldn’t have revealed to the Hand that she had threatened him of not being able to sleep tonight; which if she had indeed revealed, the Hand would be less prone to attack in this night. If they do, then it would seem like they’re following Emma’s orders which would hurt their ego.
Therefore, the attack might not happen tonight; but if it does then Emma must have used some other trickery, possibly with her mind powers, to initiate the attack right on this night.
“Anyhow, we are assuming they are going to come tonight; therefore, we are taking precautions against them right away. The first procedure against this would be the gas masks in your hands.”
Enrique declared as he looked at the girls sitting on the couch in front of him, while he stood with his arms crossed.
“As they are Ninjas, they’d want to finish us silently, so they’ll attack at night when we should be asleep. But they would not want to take any chances of us being awake at night, so they would most certainly start the attack by spreading sleeping gas through the villa.”
The three girls were listening to his words attentively, while behind them the glass window showed the setting sun in the dusk sky.
“It’s evening, so we have a few hours in our hands since an optimal time for such an attack would be midnight or after,” Enrique said. “For a small group such as ours, it would be optimal to send a similarly smaller group. However, let’s not forget we are super-powered power-houses, so the attacker number is ought to be big. When they realize that we are indeed awake even after the spreading of the gas, thanks to your gas masks, they would attack us with full force, using their number to their advantage.”
“As they are Ninjas, they wouldn’t use guns but blades instead; Anna’s bulletproof super-suit is useless against them. To them, Anna would be the easiest target since she has no powers. You two can’t share powers with her since you two would be weakened in exchange; and she can’t touch the Ninjas either, as they’d be mostly covered from head to toe.”
Enrique looked at Anna. “However, these Ninjas do have minor powers thanks to something called the Substance that enhanced their physiology. So the plan is that Ava and Greer will keep Anna surrounded like a shield to keep her safe, and whenever you two manage to best an opponent you send her to Anna so that she can touch the slight open in their Ninja mask that gives access to skin. Therefore, mid-battle, when Anna is done touching a threshold of enemies, she would also be a strong force on our side.”
The three girls nodded attentively while looking quite a bit impressed. He had already planned everything based on so little information? —they thought. Though Ava Ayala hid her impressed expression quite nicely, embarrassed to admit it on her face.
After a moment of silence as the girls went over the plan in their heads, Anna Marie looked at Enrique and asked worriedly.
“What about you?”
“The sleeping gas, I thought, would be somewhat of a problem because of the increase in my smelling powers,” Enrique said. “But my Goddess said it’s fine, that my body’s natural antibody will fight against the gas to prevent me from sleeping. She claims she would know since her stepdaughter is Bast, the Panther Goddess of Egypt.”
“However, if my beast powers fail me, there is no need to worry since my invisible mask that you guys have never seen would work like a gas mask too.” Enrique finished.
Enrique yawned a little as he rubbed his eyes.
“In any case, I didn’t get much sleep last night thanks to Greer being loud, so I will go take a nap. Greer, you should too. Don’t worry, my Goddess will wake me up in a second if she senses anything suspicious. Everyone comes to my room, we better stick together.”
* * *
Nobu Yoshioka has been dealing with the criminal world of New York. That had been his job since he came here a few years ago. However, today there was a change in his pace.
Ordered by his boss, Murakami, he was to lead a group of one hundred Ninjas to attack the villa of the recent star, Super-Nova.
To most, this might sound like a dangerous mission; to make anyone take a back step. However, as an immortal who had consumed the Substance, Nobu feared nothing. Moreover, there were going to be a hundred more soldiers by his side, what was to worry about here?
In the evening, Nobu met up with his fellow Ninjas, all of them ranked below him, and explained the mission one more time.
"At midnight we go."
That was the final decision, and everyone prepared in their own way while waiting for that time to come.
Hours later, it was finally midnight. So, the clan of Ninjas started to move under the night sky of New York, reaching near Highland Park where the targeted villa was located.
—-
When the Hand Ninjas reached the villa rented by Enrique, they surrounded it in a big circle of hundred of people.
Nobu observed the villa from behind a bush as he found most of the lights turned off excluding the light in the front yard.
"...Group-A, get that thing turned off."
Nobu gestured to a dozen of his subordinates who nodded and then moved to shut down the entire power system of the villa.
The job was done in a minute, and the lights in the front yard flickered out.
The Hand Ninjas were trained to fight at night, so their vision in the darkness was great. However, with no lights, Nobu believed the four supers inside would have a very hard time.
"Group-B, spread the sleeping gas."
Nobu ordered next, and a group of two dozen Ninjas nodded at the same time. Quickly, they moved to corners of the villa and worked their way through the windows. They opened the windows and dropped small bombs inside them.
When the Ninjas ran back to their spots, the bombs exploded silently and released a thick green gas that quickly started to spread inside the entire villa.
"It's going good."
Nobu nodded at his subordinates.
"Now we wait. Five minutes."
Five minutes seemed longer than usual to these Ninjas; they were still nervous about this mission even though they had taken countless dangerous missions in their lives. However, those minutes passed soon nonetheless.
"Let's go in."
Nobu ordered and with a nod, all of the 100 soldiers and Nobu ran close to the villa, quickly putting their backs against the wall of the building.
"Group-C, you dozen people go inside and back and report asap."
The 12 members of Group-C all nodded at once and then swiftly, but silently, made their way inside the house through its windows.
Nobu waited for a minute, then two, and then three, but the ninjas didn't return.
"...Not good."
Nobu took a deep breath and announced loudly.
"Initiate Plan-B. The targets are awake and are fighting back. Everyone, rush inside!"
Like a domino effect, the 88 remaining ninjas who were surrounding the villa in a circle all moved inside it, one after another, with their alert hyper high.
—-
When Nobu entered the villa, it was dark as expected since the lights were off.
Swiftly, the Ninjas moved from one door to another to check the rooms, but every time only one report came back.
"Empty!"
In a minute, the first floor of the villa was reported empty, so everyone was sure the targets were on the second floor.
"Be cautious. Go up!"
Nobu ordered the men and they listened without any hesitation.
They all ran up the stairs one behind the other, and that's when things went bright white.
– Bzzt~
The ninja who was ahead of everyone on the stairs—stopped in his tracks as a person suddenly stood in front of him like a white pillar of marble.
An aura of electricity flared into life around the person; at the same time, his body started to change, transforming into the predator that all prey feared.
"Actually, girls,"
Super-Nova said, addressing the three girls who stood right behind him, as he fully transformed into his mutant, Tiger-Form, with large claws on his wrist and elbow.
"You just watch. From the twelve before, I am pretty sure I can handle them all."
Saying so, the hero flew down from the top of the stairs, electricity shocking anyone to death who happened to get touched by him or the aura around him.
* * *
Enrique's big black claws were merciless as they cut through the Ninjas like a hot knife through butter; his claws indeed were hot as he passed hypercharged electricity through them.
In a second, all the Ninjas who were climbing the stairs were either shocked to death, or severed in two, and for some unlucky individuals, both cases applied.
Enrique dropped to the ground, causing the Ninjas to freeze in thought for a moment, and then they started to rush towards Enrique; Enrique however, had the sole goal of keeping anyone from climbing the stairs. So the second someone got close to him, he punched them with the full force of his beast form.
– Bam!
– Bam!
– Bam!
Each punch released a shockwave of wind and electricity that touched the ninjas nearby; so when Enrique took down a person by punching them—destroying the part he punched—another enemy got paralyzed on the side.
The Ninjas swarmed at him from all sides, and Enrique just grabbed one of them by the throat, immediately killing him as the claw on his wrist penetrated the enemy. He moved his other hand from one side to another to slice across multiple enemies at once.
No ninjas could touch him either, the aura of electricity shocking them every time they tried, and that same aura released a whip of energy every few seconds that stunned any unlucky Ninja who got caught in it.
Blood, fried meat, and cut body parts littered the floor in just a few seconds as Enrique went all out with his powers. He growled like a beast, sometimes losing control as he kept punching a person continuously, causing brain matter to paint the house horrid.
One after another, as the brainwashed Ninjas ran to him, Enrique Nova sliced, shocked, or crushed them dead.
53 seconds into the fight, only 13 ninjas remained.
After a short silence of exchanging glances, twelve of them ran at Enrique all at once. But this time, Enrique decided not to raise his claws. He spread his arms as if to welcome the enemies, and then his body went blindingly bright.
[Thunder Bolt!]
Whips of supercharged electricity leaped from the aura that surrounded Enrique and struck twelve of the thirteen enemies; shocking them and turning their skin into charcoal.
They fell to their faces a second later, dead.
A minute finally passed and Enrique's Cloak of Lightning ran out of its fume.
However, the fight hadn't ended yet.
A Ninja still remained.
A few meters in front of him, a Ninja wore the same red outfit as the other ones, excluding a barely visible dark red arrow mark on his chest. That was a first and given he hasn't attacked yet and just watched from the sideline, Enrique theorized he was the one leading this mission.
"As you saw here, I needed a minute to take down a hundred ninjas,"
Enrique said the facts of what just happened here.
"Therefore, I hope you know what'd happen if you tried to attack me."
This person, according to Goddess Mut, was not to be killed. He needed to return alive, to report to his boss who would report to the Demon.
"I have a job for you, that if you agree to do, you get to return home alive."
Enrique said, with his voice way more gruff and harsh than usual, due to his transformation.
"Report to your boss, and tell him that his boss better contact his great-great-great grandmother in time," Enrique warned. "Otherwise, the Hand may fall apart."
As the dazed and stunned Murakami, who was fearful of death for once, nodded quickly before swiftly running away, Enrique asserted that the fight had ended. He had won, easily at that.
The Hand was dealt with; to never bother him and these girls.
Now, he should pay a visit to the White Queen, to live by his end of the agreement.
The agreement that—since Enrique didn't get to sleep properly tonight, he would rather be Emma's nightmare for the rest of the night.
**
**
**
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Chapter 35: The Hand (2)
—
Though the Demon, aka the Monster, was the true leader of the Hand, it also had five sub-leaders who managed the clan majority of the time.
They were titled the Five Fingers of Hand.
Murakami was one such ‘finger’ whose base of operations was in Japan, so he rarely left this country. Therefore, this mission of attacking Super-Nova was passed onto Alexandra Reid, the ‘finger’ who operated in America.
Currently, in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, on the top floor of the skyscraper that was the headquarters of Midland Circle, Alexandra Reid sighed as she sat in her office and rubbed her temple.
“This is so foolish.”
Amongst the five Fingers, Alexandra could be said to be the leader. She saw herself as the smartest among her peers, even though all five of them had lived three lifetimes in this world.
Alexandra was not an evil mastermind, she was a businesswoman as well and was actually planning to contact Super-Nova’s civilian persona to talk about this game company he was building.
All those plans just got poured water on by this single call from Murakami, who let her know about the Demon’s recent decision.
Worst of all, this idiotic plan was ordered to be initiated tonight; uncaring of the important appointments she had as a businesswoman.
“No, I am not going.”
Alexandra decided after a moment of thinking, gritting her teeth in frustration as she spoke to herself.
“I may be immortal, but this guy is a menace. He easily defeated the Mutant Hero Magneto, and then proceeded to change the weather of the entire city in his fight with this Electro guy. No, I will not fight this person.”
It’s not as if the others could blame her either; as long as she sent enough useful soldiers after Enrique tonight. Nobody specified that she needed to be present there in person, after all.
“That Nobu Yoshioka who works under Murakami,” Alexandra recalled. “He is nearby, in Hell’s Kitchen. He should be able to lead a group of Ninjas to attack the house.”
If someone were to die, it could be Murakami’s dog for all she cared.
“50 Ninjas should suffice, I think.” Alexandra noted.
Soon, however, she shook her head. ‘But wait, against four strong super-powered individuals, that may not work. Then, 100, perhaps?’
One hundred Ninjas, she recalled, maybe the right number needed to get this mission through.
In her opinion, it would be a miracle if Enrique and his friends survived since this would be a secret attack performed with great caution.
“Alright, let’s get this through.”
* * *
“At the very least, this would not be a surprise attack, though the Hand expects us to be oblivious to all this.”
The Hand wasn’t a part of Hellfire Club, and therefore it’s not under Emma’s control. So if Emma didn’t want to look desperate on taking Enrique down, she possibly couldn’t have revealed to the Hand that she had threatened him of not being able to sleep tonight; which if she had indeed revealed, the Hand would be less prone to attack in this night. If they do, then it would seem like they’re following Emma’s orders which would hurt their ego.
Therefore, the attack might not happen tonight; but if it does then Emma must have used some other trickery, possibly with her mind powers, to initiate the attack right on this night.
“Anyhow, we are assuming they are going to come tonight; therefore, we are taking precautions against them right away. The first procedure against this would be the gas masks in your hands.”
Enrique declared as he looked at the girls sitting on the couch in front of him, while he stood with his arms crossed.
“As they are Ninjas, they’d want to finish us silently, so they’ll attack at night when we should be asleep. But they would not want to take any chances of us being awake at night, so they would most certainly start the attack by spreading sleeping gas through the villa.”
The three girls were listening to his words attentively, while behind them the glass window showed the setting sun in the dusk sky.
“It’s evening, so we have a few hours in our hands since an optimal time for such an attack would be midnight or after,” Enrique said. “For a small group such as ours, it would be optimal to send a similarly smaller group. However, let’s not forget we are super-powered power-houses, so the attacker number is ought to be big. When they realize that we are indeed awake even after the spreading of the gas, thanks to your gas masks, they would attack us with full force, using their number to their advantage.”
“As they are Ninjas, they wouldn’t use guns but blades instead; Anna’s bulletproof super-suit is useless against them. To them, Anna would be the easiest target since she has no powers. You two can’t share powers with her since you two would be weakened in exchange; and she can’t touch the Ninjas either, as they’d be mostly covered from head to toe.”
Enrique looked at Anna. “However, these Ninjas do have minor powers thanks to something called the Substance that enhanced their physiology. So the plan is that Ava and Greer will keep Anna surrounded like a shield to keep her safe, and whenever you two manage to best an opponent you send her to Anna so that she can touch the slight open in their Ninja mask that gives access to skin. Therefore, mid-battle, when Anna is done touching a threshold of enemies, she would also be a strong force on our side.”
The three girls nodded attentively while looking quite a bit impressed. He had already planned everything based on so little information? —they thought. Though Ava Ayala hid her impressed expression quite nicely, embarrassed to admit it on her face.
After a moment of silence as the girls went over the plan in their heads, Anna Marie looked at Enrique and asked worriedly.
“What about you?”
“The sleeping gas, I thought, would be somewhat of a problem because of the increase in my smelling powers,” Enrique said. “But my Goddess said it’s fine, that my body’s natural antibody will fight against the gas to prevent me from sleeping. She claims she would know since her stepdaughter is Bast, the Panther Goddess of Egypt.”
“However, if my beast powers fail me, there is no need to worry since my invisible mask that you guys have never seen would work like a gas mask too.” Enrique finished.
Enrique yawned a little as he rubbed his eyes.
“In any case, I didn’t get much sleep last night thanks to Greer being loud, so I will go take a nap. Greer, you should too. Don’t worry, my Goddess will wake me up in a second if she senses anything suspicious. Everyone comes to my room, we better stick together.”
* * *
Nobu Yoshioka has been dealing with the criminal world of New York. That had been his job since he came here a few years ago. However, today there was a change in his pace.
Ordered by his boss, Murakami, he was to lead a group of one hundred Ninjas to attack the villa of the recent star, Super-Nova.
To most, this might sound like a dangerous mission; to make anyone take a back step. However, as an immortal who had consumed the Substance, Nobu feared nothing. Moreover, there were going to be a hundred more soldiers by his side, what was to worry about here?
In the evening, Nobu met up with his fellow Ninjas, all of them ranked below him, and explained the mission one more time.
"At midnight we go."
That was the final decision, and everyone prepared in their own way while waiting for that time to come.
Hours later, it was finally midnight. So, the clan of Ninjas started to move under the night sky of New York, reaching near Highland Park where the targeted villa was located.
—-
When the Hand Ninjas reached the villa rented by Enrique, they surrounded it in a big circle of hundred of people.
Nobu observed the villa from behind a bush as he found most of the lights turned off excluding the light in the front yard.
"...Group-A, get that thing turned off."
Nobu gestured to a dozen of his subordinates who nodded and then moved to shut down the entire power system of the villa.
The job was done in a minute, and the lights in the front yard flickered out.
The Hand Ninjas were trained to fight at night, so their vision in the darkness was great. However, with no lights, Nobu believed the four supers inside would have a very hard time.
"Group-B, spread the sleeping gas."
Nobu ordered next, and a group of two dozen Ninjas nodded at the same time. Quickly, they moved to corners of the villa and worked their way through the windows. They opened the windows and dropped small bombs inside them.
When the Ninjas ran back to their spots, the bombs exploded silently and released a thick green gas that quickly started to spread inside the entire villa.
"It's going good."
Nobu nodded at his subordinates.
"Now we wait. Five minutes."
Five minutes seemed longer than usual to these Ninjas; they were still nervous about this mission even though they had taken countless dangerous missions in their lives. However, those minutes passed soon nonetheless.
"Let's go in."
Nobu ordered and with a nod, all of the 100 soldiers and Nobu ran close to the villa, quickly putting their backs against the wall of the building.
"Group-C, you dozen people go inside and back and report asap."
The 12 members of Group-C all nodded at once and then swiftly, but silently, made their way inside the house through its windows.
Nobu waited for a minute, then two, and then three, but the ninjas didn't return.
"...Not good."
Nobu took a deep breath and announced loudly.
"Initiate Plan-B. The targets are awake and are fighting back. Everyone, rush inside!"
Like a domino effect, the 88 remaining ninjas who were surrounding the villa in a circle all moved inside it, one after another, with their alert hyper high.
—-
When Nobu entered the villa, it was dark as expected since the lights were off.
Swiftly, the Ninjas moved from one door to another to check the rooms, but every time only one report came back.
"Empty!"
In a minute, the first floor of the villa was reported empty, so everyone was sure the targets were on the second floor.
"Be cautious. Go up!"
Nobu ordered the men and they listened without any hesitation.
They all ran up the stairs one behind the other, and that's when things went bright white.
– Bzzt~
The ninja who was ahead of everyone on the stairs—stopped in his tracks as a person suddenly stood in front of him like a white pillar of marble.
An aura of electricity flared into life around the person; at the same time, his body started to change, transforming into the predator that all prey feared.
"Actually, girls,"
Super-Nova said, addressing the three girls who stood right behind him, as he fully transformed into his mutant, Tiger-Form, with large claws on his wrist and elbow.
"You just watch. From the twelve before, I am pretty sure I can handle them all."
Saying so, the hero flew down from the top of the stairs, electricity shocking anyone to death who happened to get touched by him or the aura around him.
* * *
Enrique's big black claws were merciless as they cut through the Ninjas like a hot knife through butter; his claws indeed were hot as he passed hypercharged electricity through them.
In a second, all the Ninjas who were climbing the stairs were either shocked to death, or severed in two, and for some unlucky individuals, both cases applied.
Enrique dropped to the ground, causing the Ninjas to freeze in thought for a moment, and then they started to rush towards Enrique; Enrique however, had the sole goal of keeping anyone from climbing the stairs. So the second someone got close to him, he punched them with the full force of his beast form.
– Bam!
– Bam!
– Bam!
Each punch released a shockwave of wind and electricity that touched the ninjas nearby; so when Enrique took down a person by punching them—destroying the part he punched—another enemy got paralyzed on the side.
The Ninjas swarmed at him from all sides, and Enrique just grabbed one of them by the throat, immediately killing him as the claw on his wrist penetrated the enemy. He moved his other hand from one side to another to slice across multiple enemies at once.
No ninjas could touch him either, the aura of electricity shocking them every time they tried, and that same aura released a whip of energy every few seconds that stunned any unlucky Ninja who got caught in it.
Blood, fried meat, and cut body parts littered the floor in just a few seconds as Enrique went all out with his powers. He growled like a beast, sometimes losing control as he kept punching a person continuously, causing brain matter to paint the house horrid.
One after another, as the brainwashed Ninjas ran to him, Enrique Nova sliced, shocked, or crushed them dead.
53 seconds into the fight, only 13 ninjas remained.
After a short silence of exchanging glances, twelve of them ran at Enrique all at once. But this time, Enrique decided not to raise his claws. He spread his arms as if to welcome the enemies, and then his body went blindingly bright.
[Thunder Bolt!]
Whips of supercharged electricity leaped from the aura that surrounded Enrique and struck twelve of the thirteen enemies; shocking them and turning their skin into charcoal.
They fell to their faces a second later, dead.
A minute finally passed and Enrique's Cloak of Lightning ran out of its fume.
However, the fight hadn't ended yet.
A Ninja still remained.
A few meters in front of him, a Ninja wore the same red outfit as the other ones, excluding a barely visible dark red arrow mark on his chest. That was a first and given he hasn't attacked yet and just watched from the sideline, Enrique theorized he was the one leading this mission.
"As you saw here, I needed a minute to take down a hundred ninjas,"
Enrique said the facts of what just happened here.
"Therefore, I hope you know what'd happen if you tried to attack me."
This person, according to Goddess Mut, was not to be killed. He needed to return alive, to report to his boss who would report to the Demon.
"I have a job for you, that if you agree to do, you get to return home alive."
Enrique said, with his voice way more gruff and harsh than usual, due to his transformation.
"Report to your boss, and tell him that his boss better contact his great-great-great grandmother in time," Enrique warned. "Otherwise, the Hand may fall apart."
As the dazed and stunned Murakami, who was fearful of death for once, nodded quickly before swiftly running away, Enrique asserted that the fight had ended. He had won, easily at that.
The Hand was dealt with; to never bother him and these girls.
Now, he should pay a visit to the White Queen, to live by his end of the agreement.
The agreement that—since Enrique didn't get to sleep properly tonight, he would rather be Emma's nightmare for the rest of the night.
**
**
**
Wish to read chapters ahead of here? Visit my Patreøn.
Link: Patreøn.cøm/Master4thWall
