LP Side Story: Versus paladin@mars.superlink.net Started 3/10/98 Notes: This fanfic is based upon Capcom's Versus series (X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, and Marvel vs Capcom). Don't expect to see everyone but a lot of the cast will be in it. The events here take place after LP#6. I know, I know, I haven't *finished* LP#6! But that's okay because LP#6 is hardly linked to this story except for an occasional reference. The only a few things you need to know: 1. The good guys won in the end 2. Ryu and Chun Li are romantically involved. a. The go *way* back but were separated for long time. b. They were recently re-united in LP#6. c. Ryu becomes more powerful when he's protecting her. "-kun" is a designation that shows that person has your respect and seniority over you. It is pronounced "koon" or "kune" not "cun" (rhyming with fun). Doctor Wily working for Bison? Of course! If you've watched the animated movie, you know that the evil scientist working for Shadowloo is none other than Doctor Wily with his mustache shaved! Little comic book knowledge is needed to read this fic but if I make a reference you don't understand, feel free to ask. Of course, I may be as clueless as you since I've fallen *way* behind on the Marvel Universe. Knowledge of of Versus series, though, is recommended. Speaking of comic book knowledge... I hint at it, but just in case you miss it. Doctor Essex is an alias of a very famous X-Men villain. One of the things I love about Capcom's "Versus" series is that it captures Marvel's characters at their peak. The heroes are icons, symbols of happier times in comic book history. Wolverine isn't an nose-less, bandanna wearing freak, who's filled personal turmoil... he's a tough berserker with attitude. Spiderman isn't suffering a mid-life crisis... he's our Friendly Neighborhood Web-Slinger! So if the characters represented here aren't up to date or seem a bit shallow... at least they aren't struggling with drug abuse and the death of a love one! LP Side Story: "VERSUS" by Paladin Ryu remained determined and focused upon his goal. He would do it no matter what! Clearing his mind of everything except the task directly in front of him, Ryu refused to give up. He would do it. He would make... Breakfast. As an experienced bachelor, one would think Ryu capable of making breakfast, and he was... a bachelor's steak, or cereal, would easily cover the most important meal of the day or satisfy any other nutritional needs that might arise. Failing that, rice gruel, tofu, ramen, and whatever else he was offered or could find made up Ryu's standard diet. Not exactly gourmet. This time around he was actually trying to make a *real* breakfast. A special one... for the woman upstairs. Trouble was, he didn't know what to do. Ryu vaguely remembered Ken trying to teach him to make an omelet once, but that ended in disaster. With Ken's chef cursing and throwing the two delinquents out of his kitchen in an angry fit. Chun Li wouldn't have faired much better but at least she was not as limited in this field as Ryu. While she was hardly a master chef, Chun Li never had any problems making a delicious and quick stir-fry meal with some minute rice. This was a routine she followed every time she came home from work. It was awkward at first, cooking for two rather than just herself. But she had quickly adjusted and happily made it a part of her routine. Ryu felt she had done more than enough and that it was his turn to try to lend a hand. So here he was. Cooking... breakfast. Ryu looked quizzically at the eggs in the pan and scratched his head. Unless omelets were supposed to look like horseshoes, he wasn't quite doing this right. -=-=- Chun Li brushed her hair humming happily to herself. She could smell Ryu's cooking even up there. The muffled sounds of frying eggs, scraping pans, and running water came to her attention. It should have felt awkward, as Chun Li was used to waking up to sterile and silent mornings, but it seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. Natural. That was what it felt like to be with Ryu. Even when she was trying to get him to wear socks or he attempted to reason with a mugger, everything thing seemed so... *right*. Being with him even made this place seem like home. She had to pull some strings, but Chun Li managed to get this Interpol safe house to live in temporarily. It had four bedrooms, a fireplace, lakeside view, and it was secluded. Chun Li wanted to stay until she decided what to do next. What *should* she do next? Wait for Ryu to propose? Propose to him? Ask him to move into her apartment with her? Quit her job? Follow Ryu around? Start a family? She had no idea what would be her next move but she knew she didn't want to be separated from Ryu. -=-=- "...as you can see, while androids make good spies, they are really too stupid for practical or military use.", Dr. Wily said as images of androids getting hit by cars, falling out of trees, or having their heads kicked off were displayed on the monitor. "Loyal thugs are good, however they often have weaknesses or their own agenda...." An image of Sagat looking hatefully at Ryu while clutching his scar came up. "The combination of technology and your Psycho Power is a force which no mind can withstand. But given time, the strongest willed can overcome it." Images of Ken and Cammy fighting for Bison came up. It was quickly replaced by photos of them now, living their own lives of their own will. "Finally, Cybernization, a process used on the half-dead warrior shown here, Gouki. Was effective in increasing the subject's power and destructive force." Clips of the Cyborg Shotokan blowing up buildings and smashing tanks appeared. "But provided no control over the subject... who escaped." A slideshow of photos passed by, displaying the path of destruction to one of Shadowloo's labs... the one from which the Cyborg had escaped. The deep frown on Bison's face twitched slightly as he lifted his face from resting on his fist. His eyes glowed menacingly as he slowly stood up. "Doctor Wily, as entertaining as it is to watch this multimedia presentation of your failures... I suggest you tell me something good right now, before I kill you out of my depressive despair.", Bison said dryly. "Well, Project Shadow is ready to proceed, Lord Bison. As you recall, Dr. Essex and I have used nanotechnology to create what we call the Shadow. The nanos are injected into a corpse which they quickly take over and reanimate. They can gather energy from most external sources like electricity or fuel, but the majority of their power comes in the form of light. The light is absorbed so efficiently, that little to none is reflected off, causing an unnatural darkness about the subject... and thus, the Shadow. The energy taken is used to animate the corpse as well as give the subject superhuman strength or powers. Imagine the applications! You could outfit troops with Shadow so as they fell in battle they could come back stronger and more deadly! Or you could put Shadow on time delay so that the fallen bodies taken into enemy morgue or autopsy would awaken right in your enemy's base! Your agreement with your- ah... um...-", Wily did not want to commit himself to the word fearing Bison's reaction. He wiped his brow of cold sweat. "Partner." "Yes, him- should cover the control aspect of the subject. We just need your permission on one thing, Lord Bison." "What's that?" "The subject that Essex and I want to use for the Project is one of your most prized trophies." "Nash...." "Yes, Essex and I both agree he has the most potential and has been preserved well... he is the best choice for the Shadow proto-type." "I am reluctant... but I will part with him. You may do with him as you wish. Just one thing Doctor." "Yes?" "Don't disappoint me again." -=-=- "Mmm... smells good, what's cooking?", Chun Li asked as she put her arms around Ryu. Ryu looked back warmly. "An omelet... sorta." Ryu gestured to the mix of cheese, ham, peppers, mushrooms, egg, etc. not quite in omelet-like form. "Ugh... this corner's beginning to burn and stick to the pan." "Here lemme help." She maneuvered around him and started moving the contents of the pan around with a wooden spoon. "It's edible and doesn't look half bad. I bet it tastes wonderful too! Here, hand me a plate." Ryu obliged and the Chun Li emptied the pan onto the plate. She pulled a fork out and took a bite. "Mmmmm. Not bad! Open wide!", Chun Li giggled as she guided a fork-full to his mouth. Her backside bumped the counter when she did that, causing an unused egg to roll... and fall off the edge. "Oh!", she gasped as she saw it fall. It never hit the ground. The egg's fall stopped in mid-air. Inches from the kitchen floor it floated then drifted up to Ryu's open palm, which was glowing blue. When Ryu caught the egg, his hand stopped glowing. "Um... I got it." Ryu looked uncomfortably at the egg. He was still getting used to his new powers. Evidently, right now he had little control over them but they helped him as instinctive reflexes. ... Ever since Ryu had absorbed Evil Ryu back into himself, Ryu found himself with more power than he ever wanted, needed, or knew what to do with. He found that with the merging also came new knowledge. If he concentrated, Ryu could recall martial art forms he had never learned or moves he had never done. Ryu could meditate and begin to perform a completely different style from his own, however Ken and Akuma's styles came more readily to him. Ryu's new goal for martial arts was to bring all these moves to his conscious mind and create the ultimate Shotokan style, while also incorporating his new found powers. But this was not his life goal anymore. His life was now dedicated to training. Training in how to maintain and improve his relationship with Chun Li. Training in how to be there for her. Training in how to be a true man of honor with a woman. Training to protect his love. Ryu wasn't an expert on relationships, far from it, but he was observant and had Ken to study from. When Ken was younger he would fall head over heels in love with a new girl. Things would be wonderful at first, but things would go too fast, and end in disaster when someone got hurt. And someone *always* got hurt. Ryu would never let that happen. ... "Hello? Anybody in there?" Chun Li waved her hands in front of Ryu's face. Ryu shook his head and apologized. "S-sorry... I was just thinking." "About what?", Chun Li asked as she set the table. "About my new powers... about us." "What about them?" "I am going to start training to control my abilities. But more importantly, I am going to start training to be- .... to be a husband." "Oh Ryu!" "It is my intention to marry you. I-if you'll have me. I know I'm unskilled in this field, but if I have you to- mmmphf!" Ryu was unable to continue when Chun Li latched herself onto his face. "So... where's my ring?", she asked with eyebrows raised. "R-ring? ...." -=-=- He was not *The* Devil. He was not Satan, Lucifer, or Beelzebub. He was not the Prince of Darkness or the Monarch of Hell. He was none of these. In fact, viewed objectively his appearance was cliche... almost comical. Yet Doctor Wily just couldn't shake the association he had with... Mephistopheles. As far as he was concerned, Lord Bison *had* made a deal with The Devil. A partnership in fact. It wasn't just that Evil Incarnate was dealing with his boss, it was because Dr. Wily was a scientist. Doctor Wily had always trusted in science and technology as the supreme power in the Universe. Even Bison's powers could be analyzed scientifically. Mephisto's presence- no, his very existence- flew right in the face of that. Besides... his druids were creepy. Dr. Wily had always asked specifically, *not* to be around when Mephistopheles was. As of yet, only Dr. Essex and Lord Bison have had any direct dealings with Mephisto. This time, Dr. Wily did not have a choice. Mephisto would not be there, but his druids would be. He shuddered... druids. The co-designer of the Shadow was almost as eerie as the druids. Dr. Essex was a brilliant geneticist and Dr. Wily an expert on cybernization. Wily developed the nanos and Essex programmed them to work organically at the molecular level. The tall, evil Essex was always confident in the presence of Bison. Wily couldn't help but to feel jealous. Essex always seemed to have his own motives and would often disappear for days at a time. Rarely was he not smiling, only once did Wily catch him upset and muttering the name "Summers." Otherwise Essex would always have a smile plastered on his face that was, absolutely... Sinister. -=-=- "Ring? What ring?" Chun Li looked disappointed for a moment then quickly covered it with a weak smile. "Um, it's not important. I guess...." Ryu began to smile. "Chun Li, do you really think I'm so far removed from the World that I don't know to get my fiancee a ring?" Ryu walked over to a drawer and rooted around the back, producing a small velvet covered box. Chun Li gasped excitedly. "It's beautiful.", she cried, tears coming to her eyes. "Eliza helped me pick it out that week we were visiting with Ken and his family. I had a whole romantic evening planned to give this to you... but I had a strong feeling that I should do it now. We can still go out to celebrate after all." "I love you!" The couple locked in a long passionate kiss. Nothing could spoil this moment. .... ** "*DIE* AMERICAN PIG!!!!" Except, maybe, an eight foot tall Russian zombie armed with Carbonadium Coils smashing through the kitchen wall. -=-=- "We're ready to proceed, Lord Bison." Bison nodded and they began. Essex took a complicated sliver canister and locked it in place above the pale body of Nash. Wily punched a couple of keys and the canister hissed as it opened to reveal a living black liquid under glass. "The Shadow is beginning to work itself into the corpse." "Assimilation at 20 percent." The Druids began to chant softly. "Assimilation at 40 percent." The chanting became louder. "Assimilation at 60 percent." The strange droning intensity increased. "Assimilation at 80 percent." Wily began to become nervous while Essex and Bison seemed to take delight in dark ritual. Nash's body began to twitch causing obvious excitement on the part of Shadowloo's dark leader. It was as if he has happy at the prospect of killing the dead soldier all over again. Nash's body began to tremble violently. If not for the restraints, he would have been thrashing about wildly. "100 percent... he's alive." -=-=- Arkady Russovich, better know as Omega Red, wasn't the only visitor to come smashing through the couple's moment uninvited. In the clutches of Omega Red's tentacles was The Star Spangled Avenger, symbol of Freedom, Justice, and everything American... Captain America!!! The Cap'n wasn't all that inspiring, however, while being slammed against the ceiling, floor, and through a wall. He was also rapidly losing strength to Omega Red's Death Factor. His sight was filling up with spots as the coils wrung tighter. "T-that's Captain America!", Chun Li exclaimed. "Captain-kun!" "You know him?" Ryu simply nodded. Bits of drywall, wreckage, debris, and a cloud of dust told the tail of destruction. It was not until now that Omega Red saw that he was not alone with his prey and that they did not look like they intended on letting him enjoy his meal. Ryu raised his guard unsure of how to attack. This wasn't the first time Ryu had gone up against a superhuman opponent, but usually he had time to develop a strategy. Captain America didn't look like he could last much longer if Ryu didn't do something soon. Omega Red resolved Ryu's dilemma by lashing out at him with his free coil. Ryu was flung through the air. Chun Li dodged deftly as Omega Red's coils crossed around her trying to smash her succeeding only in causing more damage to the former kitchen. Their efforts did little more than distract Arkady but that was all Captain America needed. Even through his star filled vision, he was able to make out the bright red, white, and blue shield laying across a piece of wreckage. The Avenger kicked down on one end of the shield popping it enough for him to catch it between his feet just as Omega Red began to lift him. Captain America swung his legs back once then smashed the edge of his shield into Arkady's face. The blow hardly damaged the Russian zombie but it was enough to cause him to drop Captain America. Cap fell to his knees gasping for air but didn't stay still for long. He charged Omega Red, shield first sending back through the wall they came through. Once outside, Captain America had room to maneuver. Chun Li watched in awe as he avoided Omega Red's swift coils with the agility of an acrobat. She had never seen someone of that size with so much speed or agility. "Get out of here! He's dangerous!", The Avenger called out to Chun Li. To him, she was a civilian asking to get hurt. Chun Li shook her head. "I can take care of myself, I'm Interpol." "Interpol or not, he's a monster- *NOOO*!", Cap yelled as Omega Red decided to target Chun Li. The huge Russian lunged at the small Chinese woman with a crazed look and fangs bared. "KIKKOSHO!" Arkady found himself stopped by a ball of energy which fried him, smoke rising from his body, then flung him away. Chun Li dusted off her hands while Cap went wide-eyed. "Okay, guess she *can* take care of herself." "You alright?", Ryu asked Chun Li as he climbed out of the house. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her over. "Yeah, fine." "Ryu... is that you?" "Hai, good to see you Captain-kun." "I told you, my friends can call me Cap." "Cap-kun?" Ryu tilted his head. "Close enough.", Cap smiled. Omega Red roared as he climbed back up to his feet. Growl rising deep in his throat, Omega Red folded his forearms across his chest and.... "OMEGA DESTROYER!!!!" -=-=- The demon eagerly anticipated the human soul he was about to devour. He had been promised the life of a human soldier and they had the most robust of flavors. Ardeth tried to recall the last time he had tasted a soldier's soul. It had hardly been a blink in his lifetime... but a memorable moment. His victim had resisted until there was nothing left. Now Mephisto had commissioned him to return to Earth and take control of a soldier. In exchange he would have to be subservient to some *human*... but it would be worth it. After all, what did he get out of staying here? The murmurs of human druids attempting to speak his tongue was comical, yet practical, as obvious from the dimensional gate that began to open. The demon stepped through and found himself sealed in, surrounded by magical barriers. The aroma of human souls was overwhelming... had it really been so long? Ardeth looked at the body before him. It was cloaked in a strange darkness but that didn't matter. Ardeth dove in prepared to feast... and came out terribly disappointed. Where was the *SOUL*!?!? The body possessed a faint trace of a soul yet didn't actually have one. How could these humans be so stupid?! Did they really believe they could fool him with a false sacrifice? Enraged Ardeth began to fight against his magic bonds. "What is he doing!?", Doctor Wily cried. "Fools! I was promised a soul! If I can not find one in this proxy of a human... I will feast on *YOURS*!!!", Ardeth roared as he broke free. The magical backlash sent one druid to the ground who Ardeth quickly pounced on gutting him and tearing out his throat. Scanning the room Ardeth looked for an appropriate target to devour. Feeling a surge of power from the largest man in the room, the demon attacked Bison. Big mistake. Bison looked amused as the demon rushed him. His Psycho Power flared around him repelling the demon backwards. Bison's laugh filled the room as his Psycho Power radiated outwards. Ardeth found being stopped by a human distasteful and doubled his efforts. The dictator roared and the intensity of his Power began to melt Ardeth. Suddenly, Nash's shackles broke and the zombie did a backflip with his leg out, blue flames trailing behind, through the demon. He landed on his feet and took a defensive pose as the tattered remains of the demon drifted downward. "Nash?", Bison asked. The zombie made no sound. "He probably won't have any speech functions for the first couple of days. The Shadow works on animating the body's functions before anything else. The brain is much more difficult to work with and so it takes the nanos some time before they can restructure it to a configuration they can control.", Essex explained. "I see. So... he is without a soul." "I'm sorry, Lord Bison, this is a problem we couldn't foresee. The existence of a soul-", Dr. Wily apologized nervously. "Have you ever heard of Soul Power?" Bison didn't wait for an answer. "So our Shadow is soulless." "Shadow doesn't have a soul... but that may not be a problem Lord Bison. No soul means no will. No soul means no regret. No soul means no feelings. This soldier is a machine... ours to control and manipulate. A soulless being has no desire to resist your will.", Doctor Essex explained. "A demonstration perhaps?" "Excellent idea. Shadow... kill-", Bison's finger hovered in the air then landed on an anonymous druid, "-him." Shadow's eyes glinted as he acquired his target. The druid panicked and tried to run but Shadow was already upon him. The man who had once been Nash lifted the druid by the throat staring him right in the eye. Shadow then jumped up four times his height hefting the druid into his arms. The druid's back was broken in two upon Shadow's knee when he came down. Shadow rolled the limp body off his knee and stood up awaiting his next order. "My soulless killing machine... I like him.", Bison smiled. -=-=- Carbonadium Coils of death flailed mercilessly around him, smashing up the ground, and "klanging" off his Vibranium-Adamentium shield. The Cap'n looked over to check on the others and was surprised yet again. Ryu was standing in front of Chun Li, forearms crossed and eyes narrowed... focusing. A spherical field of translucent blue energy was deflecting the tentacles. Ryu pushed his forearms forward suddenly, breaking the shield, causing Ryu to burst into blue flames, and sending a wave of energy at the Russian hit-man. Omega Red was thrown off balance and backwards. Ryu began to stride forward. "I have to get something, can you guys keep him busy for a while?", Captain America asked Chun Li. Chun Li glanced at her determined fiancee and nodded. Omega Red lashed out at Ryu with his coils which Ryu blocked or knocked away with the back of his palm as the Shotokan continued to walk towards him. A coil slash got through making a long thin cut on Ryu's cheek. Ryu calmly wiped the blood and flicked it away. The Russian was enraged, his attacks seemed to do nothing to this man and for some reason, he couldn't wrap a coil around Ryu. The field was too... slippery? There was no good word for it. The only thing he could do was watch Ryu come closer and closer. Even though Ryu was much smaller than the zombie, Omega Red found himself intimidated by the Japanese fighter. Ryu looked up into his eyes with a look that almost appeared to be pity. Omega Red deserved pity because he was about to be hit by the Shin-Shoryuken. "SHIN-" The sky darkened and the air grew still. Ryu's fist encased itself in lightning and a thunderclap was heard on impact with Omega Red's gut. Thunder rang out three more times then Ryu crouched for the final blow. "-SHORYUKEN!!!" Ryu landed and his aura flickered out. He became woozy and unbalanced. Omega Red landed right after with a heavy thud, knocking Ryu to the ground as well. Ryu stumbled to his feet as Omega Red groggily took wild swings at him. A lucky hit threw Ryu into a tree. "Ryu!", Chun Li cried out. "Don't worry, I've got him covered.", Captain America said as he got back. The hero was holding two strange spherical objects, and when he brought one to his mouth and pulled a pin out with his teeth it became obvious what they were. Grenades. One hit Arkady right on the chest. An explosion of white gas came from the grenade then the gas quickly crystallized. Omega Red roared in defiance as he tried to resist the freeze. The Russian flexed and broke out of the ice only to be hit by another frosty explosion. This time the icy prison stuck. "You happen to carry those around?", asked Chun Li. "Only in this case, we had been told in advance that Omega Red was hired to hit our witness." "Witness?" Ryu rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, Dan Hibiki. Ever heard of him?" "D-D-Dan-....!" Ryu's response was cut off by a helicopter coming around the the bank of the lake. It attacked. Machine gun fire peppered the lakefront forcing everyone to dive for cover. "Get back in the house!", Cap screamed over the guns. They all jumped back through the hole in the wall and ducked inside. The attack helicopter's continued to destroy the Interpol safe house in Omega Red's place. It hovered only a couple feet above ground continuing its suppression fire. After a couple minutes it was gone. And so was Omega Red. -=-=- "DAN! DAN!!! DAAAAAN!!", Cap yelled through cupped hands. Cap brought the other two to the place where Omega Red had attacked them. It was on the road to the safe house. The hit man had struck sooner than anticipated but they were still prepared somewhat. Omega Red flipped the sedan over and tried to tear it open, finding it to be heavily armored. Two agents armed with freeze rays crawled out but were quickly taken out by the hit-man. Then the final surprise, Captain America, came out looking for a fight. Dan had been knocked out, but was alive, when Omega Red turned the car over. But when Cap, Ryu, and Chun Li got there, he wasn't inside. They feared the worst, thinking that the helicopter that had extracted Omega Red had also captured Dan. Moaning was heard off in the bushes. "Dan! Are you alright?", the Cap'n checked him over as he helped the groggy witness to his feet. "Yeah, I crawled outta the car a while ago... I think there was a helicopter by here. Oh man, I musta hit my head harder than I thought... Ryu? Is that Ryu?!" "It's been a long time, Dan." Ryu shook Dan's hand firmly. "What's your part in this?" -=-=- Strider Hiryu moved swiftly and silently through the Malaysian jungle. He came to a clearing a stopped. Everything was quiet and the air was *too* still. <*MOVE*!!!> The young Strider jumped back just in time to avoid the falling Shadow. The undead soldier came falling from out of nowhere, his impact with the ground created an explosion that rocked the jungle and caused it to come alive with the sound of panicking wildlife. Shadow got out of his smoking crater and looked around for his target finding it had disappeared. Strider watched from the edge of the clearing at his would-be assassin. Shadow turned around angrily looking for his prey. Strider rubbed his eyes not sure of what he was seeing... it looked like the areas where the moonlight hit Shadow were actually *darker* than those parts not lit. This inverse lighting caused him to question what he was seeing. Unfortunately, he blinked and Shadow was gone... but not for long. Suddenly, Strider found himself in a iron-grip sleeper hold. Strider slammed the handle of his Cypher (a Strider's main weapon- a sword with a tonfa-like handle and is wielded in a similar fashion) repeatedly into Shadow's side. No effect, no flinch, not even a grunt. Without any hesitation, the Strider inverted his Cypher and stuck it through Shadow. His grip didn't loosen a bit. Strider could feel his lungs aching for air, if he didn't do something fast he'd be toast. Strider Hiryu was one of the 1st of his kind. The Strider Project was an anti-terrorist organization that breeded a special kind of agent trained in mystic and martial arts, all complimented by high technology. As of now, there were only a few Striders, and only one Class A Strider... him, the first of the Project. Right now the Project was small, but little did he know, over 50 years from now, his descendant would save the World. His assignment was to infiltrate Shadowloo and assassinate its head... M. Bison. But as things stood, Strider wouldn't even get as far as the headquarters' perimeter. He didn't know *why* he was supposed to kill Bison, but he was sure it had something to do with the monster that was choking the life out of him. When martial arts and technology failed him, mystical arts could not. He relaxed and focused upon nothing but a simple ring of light. The ring expanded until all he could see in his mind's eye was intense white light... and he was gone. Strider Hiryu teleported out of Shadow's grip and even in his state of meditation he had remembered to grab his sword. He appeared only a short distance away from the soldier so he didn't even bother trying to catch his breath before he started running. The youth flinched slightly when a tree exploded and ignited to his left. Shadow's pulled his fist back and threw it forward as if he were doing a sidearmed throw and off flew a fast disk of purple energy. His forearms glowed as he threw disk after disk at Strider. Then he lost track of the special agent. , Strider thought as he looked down from his perch at Shadow. Strider fell silently, Cypher held overhead. Suddenly Shadow crouched. A flash of purple-blue and the next thing Hiryu knew, he was laying on his back, his garments smoking. Strider shook his head, his ears were still ringing, and jumped to his feet... and fell. He tried again, this time more slowly. The forest was in flames and he could feel the heat on his face. Out of the wall of fire and burning cinder came Shadow walking slowly forward, the light glinting off his glasses. Not wanting to play with this monster any longer Strider decided to take out a charge. He inserted the charge into its place in the handle of the Cypher. The charge would allow his Cypher to cut a huge arc in front of him with projected energy for a period of time. Now was the time to use it. ** ** ** His blade rung out as it cut through Shadow from a distance. The smell of burnt flesh reached Strider's nose as he waited for his enemy to fall apart. Shadow almost did, his head sliding from his neck... but then everything slid back into place and he appeared to be unhurt. Strider lopped off an arm but Shadow merely picked it up and put it back in place. All the wounds had been bloodless... all that was inside this being was more blackness. Slicing, dicing, and mincing was doing no good, Shadow just kept reforming himself. All Strider was doing was slowing him down. Strider decided to pull out his napalm grenade. When in doubt, burn it to the ground! Strider tossed the grenade at Shadow and it attached itself to the undead soldier's chest. ** , Strider celebrated and continued on his mission. He had lost time to make up. -=-=- "Is that all you have for me, Doctors?", Bison growled as he watched the display. The monitor showed Shadow being blow up from a surveillance android's point of view. Bison had been pleased, almost impressed, with the battle until then... now he was very unhappy, to say the least. Doctor Wily cowered back behind Doctor Essex. "Give him a moment.", Essex smiled. "There." He pointed to the monitor that showed Shadow slowly reforming itself. "The Shadow nanos introduced into Nash's body steal his genetic coding and model themselves after it. Now, Nash's body no longer contains any of the original organic material and is composed entirely out of Shadow. He's nearly indestructible!", Wily said excitedly. "Currently, the nanos are running off a previous android combat model. When they take control of the brain and integrate Nash's instincts, experience, and fighting skill... he'll be ten-fold more deadly! This fight only demonstrated the raw power of his body. When the technique and intelligence is added to this....", Wily stopped to let Bison use his imagination. "But not only will we have his ability to fight, we will have access to all his memories. Whatever relevant information we want to extract from his time as a soldier is ours to ask for. We estimate another few days and Nash's body *and* mind will be ours.", Essex concluded. "Excellent. I'm glad you haven't let me down. Send news to me if there are any more developments." "Ah, Lord Bison?", Wily called. Bison stopped and turned. "I was wondering. What of the Strider?" "I created them, did I not? I will handle it personally." -=-=- That's it for now... more to come as I write it. Please send in your comments and corrections. E-mail me at paladin@saturn.superlink.net and visit my Lemonade Punch Archive at: http://members.tripod.com/~PaladinX13/index.html