LP Side Story: Versus paladin@mars.superlink.net Started 3/21/98 Notes: Captain Commando is an old mascot of Capcom's. CAPtain COMmando... CAPCOM, get it? In 1991, Captain Commando got his own Final Fight type game. He's sort of a superhero parody but cool enough in his own right. His supporting cast is mentioned in this fic and all show up in both Captain Commando and Marvel vs Capcom. 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. LP Side Story: "VERSUS" by Paladin "Sir? Uh, Sir? Do you have an-" ** "...appointment.", the secretary sighed. It seemed that everyone found it necessary to make dramatic entrances. Next time she wasn't even going to bother! The well dressed blond man had marched in as if nothing short of Death would stop him. He was pretty upset. Inside, the man paced back and forth angrily addressing the back of an executive chair. "Tony, where do you get off selling Baby's designs for prosthetic limbs!?! Baby is a *Commando*. His designs are property of the Commandos! Just because we took that loan from you all those years back to get a leg up doesn't mean... DAMN! You know, it's not just that, either! The technology created or shared by the Commandos always ends up being presented by Stark Enterprises to the media. Baby Head comes up with a new type of scanner and Stark Enterprises launches a satellite with the same technology. Mac shares an anti-grav engine and you "invent" a new kind of floating base. I come up with suit-armor and- oh man, and did *this* piss me off- you get a brand spanking new bodyguard... Ironman. The Commando Team has always gotten the short end of the stick when it came to you, Tony. But this ends it! From this moment on, the Commandos go public. Ironman can join the Avengers? Fine. Ginzu the Ninja, Mac the Knife, Baby Head, and I will form our own public superhero team. The Commando Team. I will lead them...-" He covered his emerald eyes with a pair of ruby wrap-around shades. Suddenly white and blue armor phased in on the Commando leader. "CAPTAIN COMMANDO!!!" "You sure can talk." The chair spun around and Captain Commando found himself face to face with a stranger. Unless Stark had recently decided to pull a reverse Michael Jackson... that black man was not the wealthy industrialist, Tony Stark. He was, in fact, James Rhodes... his alter ego, War Machine. "Where's Stark?!", CapCom demanded. "On an extended... business trip." Actually, Ironman was on a deep space mission protecting a space station from a meteor shower. Rhodes was holding down the fort for both Stark and Ironman. "I'm, James Rhodes. I handle Mr. Stark's affairs while he's away. How can I help you?" Captain Command's face fell. "You can't help me." "Why not?" "I really wanted to chew out *Tony's* ear!", CapCom smiled. "That's how I get favors out of him, you see. Play the guilt factor then- *BAM*!- make a sale! Works all the time." Jim chuckled at Captain Commando's blunt honesty. "Okay then, what is it you *really* want?" "I was hoping I could borrow the Golden Avenger." "What for?" "Some bleeding-edge technology has been stolen from me. I need to get it back." "What technology? Who stole it?" "Nanotechnology, microscopic robots, that Baby and I created. We wanted them for healing and surgical purposes but in the wrong hands, who knows what they could do! We're not exactly sure who took them but I suspect Shadowloo... which is why I need the big guns, ie. Ironman." "What about your Team?" "Mac went back to his home planet to visit and Baby asked to to come along... he's fascinated with alien science. As for Ginzu, well he's a ninja and you know how they can just up and vanish. So I'm alone on this one. Unless you can get your boss to lend me that Shellhead for a while." "Hm, well Ironman's busy guarding Mr. Stark on his trip but I think I know someone just as qualified to help. Let me make a call and put this past the boss. Then we'll see if *War Machine* can lend a hand!" -=-=- Dr. Wily was never a confident man. Despite his brilliance and intelligence, he was never quite secure in his own abilities. His insecurity often led him to "borrow"- okay, *steal*- from other equally gifted inventors. To maintain his position at the forefront of robotics, Wily would steal cutting edge designs, advancing himself further and leaving them behind. When Doctor Wily "designed" the nanos used in Shadow, he had waited until his spies told him that the Commando Team would be at their weakest, then he easily bypassed the automated security and took his prize. Though he had made some modifications of his own and did provide some insight on how to further improve the nanos, *most* of the technology was not his. Perhaps his most spectacular theft was from his long time colleague, Doctor Light. Dr. Light had designed robots to help all mankind but Wily had taken the data for himself. Even with the data, Dr. Wily was still trying to break the encryption that locked away Light's inventions. One day, he would have an army of robots that would rival even Shadowloo. But until then, the evil doctor funded his experiments with their aid. Of course this help came with a price to be paid in services and loyalty. -=-=- "Does it hurt?", Chun Li asked. "Hurt? No, it doesn't hurt at all. Actually it doesn't feel much of anything at all, so I have to be careful not to be clumsy with this thing. It is so damn strong I keep breaking things like drinking glasses with it!", Dan said as he flexed his cybernetic arm. It turned out that Dan was not so much a witness as much as a piece of valuable evidence. Dan proceeded to tell his story.... "I was humbly training my students in the ways of my Saikyo style at my Saikyo-Ryu Karate Dojo when a woman walked in. At first I ignored her, but she kept coming on so strong that I had to let her down gently... after all, I'm married to my work. Carrying on the school my father built is my life." ... "Yes, and while you will never be as good as *ME*, training in the *ULTIMATE* Saikyo-Ryu style developed by the most ingenious, Go Hibiki and perfected by his legacy, I, Dan Hibiki, will make you nearly invincible!!!", Dan lectured his students. "Besides power and technique, Saikyo style is also the *COOLEST* looking fighting style! Nothing can defeat a Saikyo-Ryu master, like myself, at his peak! I can- .... W-O-W! Hubba-hubba!" Dan's students watched their master stop to drool at the blonde who had just entered. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore shades and a skin-tight pink and purple outfit. She was planning on just observing things at first, but Dan's advances forced her to interact politely. "Hey, Baby! What's a girl like you doing in a place like this? How 'bout you and me going out and painting the town red? What's ya sign, Chickadee?!" "Chickadee. Heh, that's funny because my name is Birdie.", she said with a weak smile that tried to cover her disgust. Dan was elated that she hadn't slapped him. "Birdie, what a sexy name! Let's blow this joint and get a couple of drinks!" "Uh... your students- aren't you teaching a class?" "Ah, forget about it, this is just a part time gig. My life belongs to you now, Honey." ... "Anyway, being rejected by me caused her to break down into tears. So I, being the sensitive guy I am, tried to comfort her as best I could. That was when she pulled a gun on me. Evidently she had been ordered to kill me. But I had won her heart and she was unable to pull the trigger." ... Birdie couldn't take it anymore, shoving his arm off her shoulder she brought out a large rifle causing Dan's students to panic. The mercenary aimed it at Dan's chest. Dan seemed clueless. She pulled the trigger and... nothing happened. "Damn! What the- fu- damn- ... jammed.", she cursed as she shook the gun. In all her years as a killer for hire she had a gun jam on her maybe only once. "Of all the luck- argh! Okay calm down. Creed you'd better get in here, we have a situation." ... "Just then, a fanged monster, foaming at the mouth, jaws and claws bared came smashing through the wall. Huge, hulking, hairy, foul smelling, and evil... it was the demon controlling the innocent maiden. The beast was obviously an animal of no intelligence." ... Creed, the mutant better known was Sabertooth, walked calmly in through the front door. He was wearing a business suit and smoking a cigar. The towering mutant addressed his sidekick. "Birdie, why didn't you use the neural stun gun on him?" "It jammed, Boss." Sabertooth sighed. "Alright. I'll handle this." He pointed to Dan. "Hibiki! You're coming with *ME*!", he beckoned with a claw. Dan's eyes went wide with fear. ... "I begged them not to, but my students heroically threw themselves in front of me. Bravely trying to defend their master!", Dan said emotionally with tears in his eyes. ... Dan's students screamed in terror as he hid behind them and pushed them into Sabertooth's way. Creed ripped through them as if they weren't even there. Pretty soon Dan's entire class was gone or on the ground bleeding. "Come 'ere ya little bugger!", Sabertooth taunted as he shredded a punching bag out of the way. But Dan continued to elude him. Not for long. Dan felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned. ** Dan went flying to the ground. Balrog flexed his arm then shadow boxed while grinning happily. You could almost hear the birds tweeting around Dan's head. ... "I tell you that guy musta had a horseshoe in those gloves or maybe a set of brass knuckles because no mere punch could floor Dan Hibiki so easily! Anyway, as I lay dazed the beast stood over me, about to devour me. You have no idea what it's like to about to have the life sucked out of you-" "I think I have a fair idea.", Cap said rolling his eyes. "Huh? Uh, right, anyway.... But my sweet Birdie threw herself on top of me begging the monster to spare my life. He must have, because the next thing I knew I was out." ... "Okay, Birdie, put this neural patch on him to put him out." "I got a better idea! Take *that*! And that! And that-", she said gleefully as she kicked him in the gut, ground her heel in his face, jumped on his head, etc. ... "When I came to I was in a room with this old guy. I tried to say hello and get some questions answered but he began to attack me. Very quickly I realized he was Shotokan... a good one at that." "S-Shotokan? H-his name... do you remember his name?" "Uh, yeah.", Dan said looking puzzled. "A-Akula? Akoda?" "Akuma!" Ryu slammed his fist into his palm. "Go on." "Okay, as I was saying. The old guy- what did you say his name was? Nevermind, I remember. Akuma was a good fighter but I had pity on the old man- there was something familiar about him- and *let* him win." Even the trusting Ryu looked doubtful at that, but said nothing. ... Over the next few days, Dan would be put in a room with the Shotokan master and each time, Dan would get his ass handed to him on a plate, and the next day, Dan would come back for a second helping. Evidently, Shadowloo was studying the data from their fights. A rather dull and painful routine for Dan. Strangely, Dan did not give up. Every morning he woke up fairly certain he was about to be beaten, yet he continued to fight. Dan wasn't exactly a pushover, after all. His ability to project ki, while admittedly poor, was better than most martial arts masters and his unique twist on Shotokan, was a style powerful enough to defeat even some of the best of "normal" contenders. Of course against any World Warrior or Marvel... well. So day after day Gouki beat the living snot out of Dan and each time Dan simply asked for more. After all, the odds had to fall in his favor at least once right? One day, Dan woke to find a pair of hi-tech looking gauntlets next to him. With nothing else to do, he decided to try them on. There was a click and a hiss as they locked around his forearms then a high-pitched whine as they seemed to charge up. Dan twitched a finger and a huge jet of flame came from his palm. Further experimentation revealed a freeze ray, mini-missiles, net-launcher, and more. "Ikasu! [Cool!]", Dan said with a tear in his eye. Akuma didn't stand a chance! Of course when it came to fight Akuma, Dan shot himself in the foot and Akuma slugged him hard, knocking the Saikyo out cold. Up in the observation chamber, Dr. Wily was banging his head against the wall. ... "It's my guess, but I think they were training me to become some kind of superweapon! Every day, new gadgets and gizmos would be presented to me. Even James Bond hasn't seen things like I have!" ... "Lord Bison! *Please*! Tell me why you make a mockery of my inventions by giving them to *HIM*!?", Wily asked in despair as he pointed to the monitor displaying Dan testing out his new mech suit. Dan was gorilla pressing his bed while making wrestling grunting and roaring sounds. "I want to see how much they increase a fighter's potential." "*THAT* is NOT a *fighter*!" Dan was flexing in front of his mirror grinning broadly. Wily cringed. "Wily, I was pleased with your success of restoring Akuma to health with that nanotechnology... *don't* upset me by raising your voice against me.", Bison said flatly as he watched Akuma enter the room with Dan. "I'm sorry Lord Bison, forgive me!" Dan was taunting Akuma to take his best shot. Akuma grunted and struck. Dan, and bits of his "Mega Dan" suit went flying. Wily tried to hold back the tears. Bison looked at the image thoughtfully. "However, you *do* have a point. It seems your inventions are better suited towards improving already innate talents. We will waste no more time upon this subject. I want you to bring Akuma to his greatest potential!" Wily leapt with joy. "He will become my deadliest cyborg ever!" "*MY* cyborg, Dr. Wily... don't forget your place." "Of course, forgive my excitement, Lord Bison. Um, what of Hibiki?" "Doesn't matter. Use him for a guinea pig. Aren't you working on a new project with nanotechnology?" "Yes, Project Shadow." "Good. Test that on him. Might as well make some use of him! If you can't use him, I'm sure Essex will have plenty of genetic experiments he'd love to run...." ... "They strapped me down to this table and injected something strange into my arm. I felt like my blood veins were on fire and I could feel something growing inside. I thought I was going to die. Then explosions started rocked the room. Everyone inside realized that "it" was getting closer and ran in panic but I was still stuck on the table." ... Cyber Akuma exploded through the wall like an unstoppable force of nature. He paused a moment and hovered over Dan so close that Dan could almost feel his breath on his face. The lights had been taken out by Mech Gouki's entrance letting Dan only see the red glow of one eye. An electrical spark from a broken cable lit up Akuma's face enough for Dan to recognize the Shotokan warrior. Dan tried not to pee in his pants as he feared that the monster might remember who he was. Cyber Akuma simply grunted and continued on his rampage of destruction. Even through his fear, Dan realized this was his chance to to escape. He struggled against his bonds without success. Frustrated, Dan wiped the sweat from his brow- wait! Dan looked at his free hand in amazement. It was metal!?! He couldn't feel anything with it either! No time to think about it! Dan used his new arm to free himself and followed the path Akuma was taking in hopes of escaping. Dan ran into a few guards but he was able to get by them pretty easily. Once he saw the light of the Sun, Dan knew he was home free... only then did he realize he was on a floating air-base. Doh! ... "It was around then that he, quite literally, fell into our lap at Avengers HQ.", Captain America said as he took over. "He explained his story to us and we had him analyzed. It seems he has a techno-organic virus, which, lucky for him, has spent itself. But what's important about his arm is that it is a proto-type to a weapon Shadowloo is coming up with called Shadow. Studying Dan's arm can help up prepare a defense." "So what is he doing running around with you? Shouldn't he be in a lab?", Chun Li asked. "No, the labs already have the samples they need. We're just trying to keep Dan alive. Although we're missing the one person who could really help." "Who is that?" "Dr. Hank McCoy... the reserve Avenger known as Beast." "I've seen him on TV discussing mutant rights!" "Yes, he's also an expert in this kind of thing... the only problem is that he's missing." Everyone was quite for a moment. "We can find him.", Ryu said. He stated it as fact not as a helpful suggestion. "It's our obligation to stop Shadowloo and help Hibiki-san." "Since when has that been your job, Ryu?", Chun Li asked. "Since I became engaged to you.", he smiled. "Ryu, you're an honorable guy but I've never known you to be the adventuring type!", Dan said. "Well fighting Shadowloo is the honorable thing to do." "No, I meant getting married!", Dan laughed. -=-=- The wind rushed through Captain Commando's hair as he and War Machine flew to the site of the disturbance. This wasn't exactly tracking down his nanotechnology, but it was what a Superhero was supposed to do. After all, the Spandex Union didn't go for slackers among their members! War Machine had received an Avenger hail saying there was a robotic "demon-monster" on the loose. The two heroes were on hand so they volunteered. They stopped and hovered over the site. "Down there. Let's g- WUH-YAHH!", CapCom yelled as something shot past him throwing his jet-boots off balance. War Machine helped right him and looked up. "What the hell was that?!" "Wanna bet it's our monster?" War Machine and CapCom took up the chase. Cyber Akuma looked back at them and had no intention of allowing them to follow. He stopped in mid-air and fired a missile at War Machine who to tried to dodge. ** Too late. Captain Commando unfortunately was watching the explosion rather than his opponent. Akuma came rocketing out of nowhere, tackling CapCom's mid-section and driving him downward to the ground below. This was going to hurt. War Machine survived the blast unscathed and tried to catch up with Captain Commando. But Cyber Akuma was dropping too fast. CapCom was *SLAMMED* into the ground, producing a small CapCom-shaped crater. Only his armor kept him alive... barely. The armored Avenger blasted Akuma in the back trying to get him away from his ally. The cyborg just grunted and fired a ball of energy at War Machine. Captain Commando struggled to his feet only to have Akuma's metal fingers wrap around his throat. CapCom pulled at the cyborg's fingers but they wouldn't budge. Cyber Akuma looked him in the eye and smiled. Cyber Akuma shot the hand choking Captain Commando out sending the hero flying into a tree and knocking the wind out of him. Akuma turned his attention to War Machine, who was barreling towards him a full speed, and threw him over his shoulder with one arm. Gasping for air, Captain Commando slammed an electrically charged glove into the hand around his throat. It crackled and fell limply to the ground. A new hand teleported in, replacing Cyber Akuma's lost one. Akuma picked War Machine by the face plate and Dragon Punched him into the next week. "Captain *FIRE*!" The flames distracted Cyber Akuma enough to turn around. Cyber Akuma walked steadily towards Captain Commando who had his flame thrower on its maximum setting. Captain Commando slammed his fist right under Akuma's feet causing a column of energy to erupt up from the ground. The Captain Corridor seemed to have no effect as Akuma emerged from it crackling with electrical energy. Cyber Akuma's eyes narrowed as he pulled his arms back, cupping a building orb of energy. "PROTON-" Captain Commando dove out of the way. Cyber Akuma halted his technique to turn slowly around and see a large device materializing on War Machine's shoulder. "-CANNON!!!!" After the white light from the intense beam had faded Akuma was gone. Thankfully, the Proton Cannon had been enough to scare him off. At the rate they were going, there wouldn't have been much left by the time they "captured" Cyber Akuma. Hell, they couldn't even dent him! Captain Commando smiled as he considered the Proton Cannon and his Captain Sword, then thought about how the Cannon teleported in much like his armor did... he would have to talk to Tony about that one. -=-=- "Chun Li, as an Interpol detective you carry some authority but I have something that should help make your search a little easier... maybe open a few more doors.", Cap said to Ryu and Chun Li. "This is kind of strange considering the roster cuts we have been doing recently but you two are Avengers as of now. Now, Ryu I know you turned us down but think of this as honorary membership without obligation... is that alright?" "More than alright Cap-kun, an *honor*!", Ryu shook his hand. "Good. I'd love to come with you guys but I'm going to be busy protecting Dan from himself!" "Hey! I heard that!", Dan called out from the jeep. "Until we meet again." "Good bye!" Cap and Dan drove off leaving Chun Li and Ryu at the curb. Ryu dug into his duffel bag looking for something. "Captain America seems like a good man." "He is. Ah here it is." Ryu pulled a folded piece of paper out. "1407 Graymalkin Lane... Salem Center, New York." "What's that address?" "Professor Xaiver's School for the Gifted & Talented." -=-=- He had such a burning hatred for him. It was like the taste of sulfur mixed with bitter ashes... a taste that stayed in his mouth never allowing him to forget. It gnawed at his bones and smoldered in his heart. His inner hell was worse than anything in the darkest of depths... and he would know. Blackheart hated his father. He hated Mephisto. Now that bastard was consorting, *AGAIN*, with lowly humans and commanding Blackheart to do the same. The fool! Mephisto was at the beck and call of the human, Bison... how disgusting! Yet Blackheart had little choice. He had suffered the penalty for failure before, he had no intention of going through that again. He refused bow, however. He would bend... only for now. Blackheart would bide his time and slowly prepare for that moment... that moment when he would crush his father and take the throne to nether realms! But for now... he would do Mephisto's bidding. -=-=- Hooked up to a strange mess of sensors and wires, Shadow sat brooding as flashes of Nash's memories appeared upon the monitors. A cruel sneer fixed on his face, eyes narrowed, he twitched with each new image. "The synaptic reconstruction is coming along nicely." "Yes, another couple of hours and he'll be able to spell his name then add two and two! Impressive, isn't he!", said Essex. "Aren't you a bit worried about the returned memories?" "What for? Memories have no meaning to a soulless being... it's just data to improve his performance. Why should they have any more significance?" "I'm not sure. I've been researching artificial intelligence for my robots... sometimes I wonder." "So memories, our programming, make our soul?" "No, of course not! You're right, there's nothing to worry about.", Wily said with certainty. Shadow's eyes glinted. -=-=- "Ryu! It's been a while, hasn't it?", Wolverine asked in perfect Japanese, smiling... a rare sight to see. "Logan-kun.", Ryu bowed then shook his hand just as happy but with obvious respect in his eyes. "Who's the pretty lady?" "This is Chun Li... my fiancee.", Ryu blushed. "Hah! I remember when you were this high on my thigh! And now little Ryu-Ryu-Kyuu* [Kyuuto: cute] is getting married! Man, I'm getting old!" "Ryu-Ryu-Kyuu!?", Chun Li giggled. Ryu blushed an even deeper shade of red. "'Chun Li'... hm, Chinese, eh?" "Yes, I'm Chinese. Although, Ryu and I met a long way back in Japan." "Ah, Ryu and I go far back as well. I knew him as a child when I was hanging out with his master, Gouken. He was such a serious and innocent little kid that I called him that nickname to try and get a rise outta him." "Did it?" "Yep, this guy's a cute little bugger when he's beaming at you with those bright shiners!", Logan smirked as he ruffled Ryu's hair. Chun Li yelped trying to hold back her laughter. Ryu couldn't have been redder. "Okay, sorry 'bout busting your balls, Ryu, us old folks can't help it." "It's okay. Logan-san, we've come to ask about-" "Beast. I know. Cap sent word ahead. Most of the X-Men are looking for him right now." -=-=- But they didn't know where he was coming from. Hiryu had to use that to his advantage if he was going to get in. The Strider looked down at the guards below. Who would expect him to be moving along the ceiling? Then he felt someone's eyes upon him. Vega was crouching on a rafter, looking right at him. Sparks flew as Vega's claw glanced off Strider's blade. Hiryu hung awkwardly with one arm, defending against Vega's attacks with his sword arm. A lucky swipe raked Strider's support arm causing him to lose his grip. The guards looked up just in time to see Hiryu use the Vagula kick, splitting into five confusing images and hitting one as he fell. He leapt out of the way of their gunfire, slicing down two more... and in a dance of death, the rest of the guards lay bleeding on the ground. Hiryu dashed to avoid Vega's fall which, luckily, only took a part of his sash with him. In strode a massive man with a patch over one eye and a long scar along his chest. Behind him was a built barefisted boxer who danced in, excitedly jabbing the air. Strider's spine tingled when Sagat entered, he could feel the *power* flowing off that man! The three Shadowloo agents cautiously circled Strider who was swinging his Cypher defensively. Vega rolled forward to attack. ** Strider's Cypher rang out and sliced cleanly through Vega's blades. The Spaniard hopped back in fear. Strider jumped high into the air, coming down with an overhead strike at Sagat. The giant raised his hand to catch the blade. Strider's sword, which could cut through armor like butter, bit into Sagat's hand and went no further. The giant crouched and released the Tiger Blow upon the small Strider sending him flying. Sagat plucked the bloody blade out of his palm and tossed it aside in disgust. Balrog picked up the sword-less Strider, grinning. There was a sickening ** as he slammed his skull into Strider's. Then he wound up for a powerful punch which Hiryu blocked at the last moment, sending him reeling into a pile of crates. Strider rolled to the side to avoid another punch that destroyed the crate behind him. A sliding kick from Vega sent Hiryu to the ground only long enough to be picked up by Sagat. The Thai kick boxer held Strider in place to be used as a punching bag for Balrog. He flexed his huge bicep and proceeded to pound Strider's gut. "*ONE*!" ** Hiryu coughed up blood. "*TWO*!" ** The Strider began to see stars. "*THRE*- wha-?" ** Sagat kneeled over and groaned from Balrog's punch. Strider had teleported out of Sagat's grip just in time to avoid another blow. Good thing too... another hit might have burst his insides. Strider staggered over to his Cypher and looked back at his attackers. Sagat stared the Strider down, his palms beginning to crackle with energy. Summoning the Tiger Cannon, Sagat was done playing with his opponent. But if he could have seen Hiryu's face behind his mask he would have seen that the Strider... was smiling. Strider Hiryu presented his gift to them bowing. Balrog went wide-eyed as he realized what it was. "IT'S A BOMB-" ** -=-=- Knocking upon Ryu's door, Chun Li went in when there was no answer. When they had arrived at the X-Mansion it had already been late evening so Wolverine suggested they stay the night before they began their search. Chun Li entered to see Ryu going through his forms like she had seen him do so many times before. "You're not yet asleep?" "I guess I'm just a bit restless... I'm not used to staying in one place as much as we have been lately." "You've always been on the move, huh? Are you sure you can settle down with me?", Chun Li asked jokingly. Ryu stopped his forms and looked at her seriously. "For you... I can do it." Chun Li sat down on his bed. "Ryu?" "Hm?" "Captain America... The X-Men... Street Fighter Tournaments- adventure after adventure. You've had this whole life that I haven't been a part of. Sometimes I feel like I don't know you." There was a sadness on her face but Ryu smiled kindly sitting down next to her. He took her hands into his and looked like he was searching for the words. "You're right, we don't know each other. But it isn't because I don't know your favorite color or your shoe size or any of your friends." Ryu paused and placed her hand on his temple. "Head: facts, information, rules..." He moved her hand to his chest. "Heart: love, strength, relationship. We don't know each other... it takes a lifetime to do that, but we have the will to. Even if I knew every little fact about you, it would have to move to *here* to mean anything." "It is because we truly want to know each other that we can say we love each other." Chun Li leaned against him absorbing what he had said. "Do you mind if I stay here a while and get to know you?" Ryu wrapped his arms around her in answer. -=-=- 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