Trinity Limit

“He’s a very headstrong and passionate guy and you can see how it’s a flaw as the movie progresses.” Julius said, talking over the screams and chatter of fans and photographers.  The Fader magazine reporter nodded, smiling, then asked another question, “So, I watched Rebel Without A Cause and fell in love with your acting. I googled you because I was like ‘Who is this guy?’ and your first role was a Japanese film? ” Julius nodded and smirked, “Yeah, it happened so fast, seriously. I was working at H&M and my agent -- who wasn’t at the time -- came up to me and said, ‘You’re an actor.’ She didn’t ask me she told me. I was being shy because everybody was looking at me like who the hell is this kid? And--”

Pistol shots popped and screams followed. The crowd scattered for safety. Julius grabbed Cara, the Fader reporter, and hid her behind the Golden Globe. More gunshots rang out except these were machine guns. Julius ran for the gun sounds, keeping an invisible shield around him. He wanted to keep his powers a secret, so he was as stealthy as possible as he grew closer. Hiding behind a thick palm tree, he spotted the culprits. Three people dressed in black and their faces were concealed with dragon masks. When Julius’ eyes flashed emerald green the guns were snatched away from the terrorist’s hands. They started speaking Japanese, Julius’ native language.

One girl, two boys. They were arguing about Julius preparing to attack. “They know me...This an assassination attempt?”Julius thought furrowing his eyebrows. His Julius Basquait identity detached completely from Marcellus Essex. So he wondered what misstep he took to reveal his identity, let alone that he harnessed power. The summer sun hit Julius’ velvet red Louis Vuitton tuxedo and a sweat drop ran down his face. “Man I’m not sweating this suit out…”He mumbled, as he approached the Japanese assailants, stealthily crouching. He swiftly grabbed the closest aggressors arm and pushed his palm in his face. Then tossed his unconscious body at the female and elbowed the other man in the neck. “Who the hell are you?” Julius uttered, leering at the women.

“Mine” she delicately said. Julius’ lips parted from the surprise and he whispered, “The girl in my dreams…”Cameras clicked and the crowd watched cautiously from behind palm trees and such.  “Freeze!” a black cop yelled pointing his pistol at the man who got to his feet. “And I’m Ryu” the rising Japanese man said, raising his hands in the air. Ryu and Mine looked at one another then Mine tossed a black ball on the ground, creating a thick, black smoke cloud. Julius was engulfed in the smoke as Mine spoke again, “We’ll be back for you, Markie...”

The black smoke faded and Julius and the unconscious man were left. Two LAPD officers rushed towards Julius aiming their guns in search of the escaped assailants. As the black cop cuffed the unconscious man, the Golden Globe attendants and nominees poured from their hiding places.   Julius closed his eyes and pressed his fist against his forehead as the crowd surrounded and congratulated him. Mine and Ryu were real and the dreams and nightmares he had were real -- forgotten memories. 

He was a middle-aged man, sitting in his den of his mansion, entertaining company. Most men of his stature collected things from around the world and that's what they filled their dens with, trophies from expeditions and the like. He on the other hand, while a man of that caliber, was much more a patriot in his own right. Everything was very Victorian, very English, from the drapery to the furniture, on the table in front of the gentleman was a sole bowler hat sitting next to his cup of tea.  
 
"You made this yourself, Mr. Blackman?" The woman seated on the sofa across from him asked, taking a sip of the tea, staining the edge of the cup with her lipstick.  
 
"Yes, yes. It's actually imported." Blackman said with his somber smile. 
 
"Probably the only thing imported in this entire room." The man seated next to the woman chuckled, taking a look around the room. 
 
"What about your help?" The woman queried. Blackman paused momentarily, shifting in his seat and clearing his throat.  
 
"You see, I can't trust anyone to prepare this tea correctly but myself." Said Blackman with a slight shrug, "You understand." 
 
"Of course, if you want something done right you have to do it yourself." The man agreed, Blackman nodded and the woman took another sip of her drink. In the bowels of the mansion, in the hidden subbasement was a figure standing before a large computer screen, his frame silhouetted by the bright monitor as he tapped away at the keys. Brushing back his black hair, he muttered a swear under his breath, his eyes darting from the many displayed angles on the screen. Narrowing his eyes, he clenched his teeth, and in the video that he was so closely observing he saw what he needed. Standing from the chair, pulled the cowl that sat on his back and pulled it over his eyes. The door at the other side of the secret basement that was filled with gadgets, weaponry and training equipment slid open and Mr. Blackman strolled in. 
 
"I had company, you know." Blackman said, pushing the bowler atop of his head back only slightly with the umbrella he had in hand.  
 
"Really?"  
 
"You could at least pretend to be interested, Charles." 
 
"Oh, I'm sorry." Charles insincerely apologized, "Was it the ever so spectacular Mrs. Worthington, that dreadful woman?" 
 
"This wouldn't be a problem if you'd went with the other cover, Charles. You decided you wanted to go with the cover that you were my butler, though. So as my butler I would like you to at least look like you're present, I can keep things nice and tidy by myself--but when I have to serve the company I'm entertaining tea you're damaging your cover." Blackman watched Charles make his way from the computer to a desk where he had been cleaning his pistols, assembling the automatic he tucked it away into his breast holster.  
 
"We're not having this argument. I'm busy." 
 
"We could have went with the gay lovers cover, then you wouldn't have to be present as much, you can damn well be down here for the rest of your life if we'd gone with that cover." 
 
"I'm not gay." Charles muttered, lifting the utility belt from the back of a chair. 
 
"You're not really a bloody butler, either. Are we insecure? Secretly wonder if we're a batty boy, mm?" Blackman knew what buttons to press with Charles, how to get a reaction out of him. Clue glared at Blackman from the corner of his eye. "I need more out of this, Charles. I set you up with all of this so that you can keep the city safe, so you can do what you do best. I give you all of these resources and all I ask in return is that you keep your bloody cover, because if you were my actual butler--mind you, I don't have one at the moment to sell this sham, I would have fired you a year ago when we started. I'm running out of excuses for you not being present, Charles, I really am."  
 
"Take this time to think up of new ones." Charles coldly responded, once his belt was secured he headed for the car, his cape billowing behind him. Blackman stood there, one leg crossed over the other, leaning on his umbrella, watching Clue speed off into the night to protect London by beating on it's grimy underbelly. Tonight he had a target, the Puzzle Men, a group of men who kept a puzzle theme to their robberies. He crashed through the skylight of the warehouse they were held up in, painted the walls with their blood and left their teeth scattered on the ground. Grabbing Marcus Mallory from where he laid, he dragged him to the table they had set up where they counted their money. Throwing him on the table, he pulled a knife from his leg and placed it against Mallory's cheek, showing the man a photo of a man and his family. A little girl and woman by his side. 
 
"You set up a puzzle that killed these three." Clue whispered to the man, leaning in closer. 
 
"Th-th---that--" Mallory stammered, Clue realized that he recognized them. Lifting the knife, he plunged it into the man's hand, skewering him through and pinning him to the wooden table causing the man to shriek.
 
"TALK!"  
 
"I DON'T--I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS FOR THEM--!! I JUST SET UP THE PUZZLE!!" The tears streamed down from the man's eyes, wetting the large domino mask he was wearing. "THAT'S ALL I DID! I--I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS FOR CHARLESTON!!"  
 
"Who were you working for?" 
 
"We never met...I...I don't know his name...I just---my hand." Mallory wept, "My hand..."   
 
"Give me something, Mallory." 
 
"He was specific--it wasn't--they weren't my puzzles. He--he designed them, I just--I set them up, I swear...!" Gripping the handle of the knife, Clue with one mighty tug, ripped his hand free from the table. He cleaned the blade on Mallory's shirt then placed some a roll of gauze on his forehead. Placing the knife back on his hip, he turned away and made his way toward the rope that dangled in the middle of the skylight. Without another word, he grasped the line and the line reeled back, lifting him into the air. The image of the bat-like creature rising in the moonlight would forever been burned into the mind of Mallory. 
 
"We'll be in touch, Mallory. Don't bother leaving town." 

Rio

“You can tell while she’s not showing it, it’s defiantly on her mind, she loved that man…” before the she could finish her sentence the secretary was cut off. “And he loved her” a voice said; causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand at ease. “Ma’am” I didn’t know you were there” the young women said looking back in the room where Sha had just previously been training. “Its fine, I don’t mind being talked about, but I’d at least like you to speak with some form of verity” Sha said pushing her now raven hair from her face. The mystery behind her hair was in her age; as she grew older her hair would change colors; the Raven hair signified her as a “middle aged” Ninjan woman; which kind of fit the lifestyle she was now living on Earth “Do I have any messages?” she said using a towel to wipe the sweat she had accumulated from practicing her sword techniques.  

“Nope no messages ma’am” her secretary replied trying to sound professional; the last few months had left her feeling bitter; not that she didn’t have a reason to be, her attitude was finally becoming a strain on everyone else. She felt like Zariah and Ka’len didn’t need to see her was, so for now they would live in Solace City, with her mother.

Walking down the hall smelling like the outdoors; she quickly took a trip to the shower; she had gone to the shower for a quick sense of comfort, though the water nullified her powers for a few hours she would experience what it was like to relax. She had gone on absence for a total of 34 weeks; she had managed to stay out of the limelight; allowing the local heroes and the local police to handle day to day affairs.   On top of her recent relationship problems; and coming back from the Alterverse*, she was having trouble getting adapted to her ever growing powers.

The thought of that parallel universe caused a sharp pain to surface; in that world everything was backwards and distorted, she fought the mental opposite of herself and just barely escaped the universe. One thing that heavily hindered her mind was the whole Jean thing; she couldn’t believe how everything fell apart as of late it kept her deeply depressed. She always thought that her mother and father were the perfect couple; her mother happened to be one of the strongest women on the whole planet of Ninjeta; while her father served as the only male and the strongest being on Ninjeta. She watched as her mother submitted her power before the might of her dad, but remains strong in her own right; she felt she had done that with Jean; perhaps that’s why they did not last because she put too much into it.

Since she had been back, she hadn’t actually seen Jean, she really didn’t need to, to hear about all these floozies he had been courting around as if he had gone to some high end strip joint and just drafted them. “I can’t do it anymore…” she said tossing her towel to the side revealing her bare hips and thighs. “I’ve tried to stay in as long as possible but it’s almost not possible” she said strapping her ECHOsphere to her arm.

The Echosphere was a newer model of the Sethosphere which came with a bunch of neat gizmos and gadgets. “S.H.A up!” she yelled and disappeared into a flash of blue rays; when she returned from the lights; she had a pair of star spangled shorts on with Red boots, and a red top on equipped with a Tiara that had ancient Ninjan scriptures written across the top; and two stainless steel bracelets. With this change she changed from “The Ninjan Queen Sha, to the Ninjan Empress Sha” in her hands she wielded a mighty blade commonly referred to as a “Ninjeta Sword” and on her arm she held a mighty shield.   The change may not have been a very noticeable one on the outside, however as a result from her time in this “Alterverse” Sha fused with her counter being, and now experiences a surge in strength and enhanced mental capabilities when in S.H.A form.

“This world is in danger…” she said tossing her cape to the side and quickly taking to the air. As she opened the door; the world seemed to be in some sort of inverted lifestyle. People were in the streets fighting; killing and doing a bunch of other blatantly wrong things. Her eyebrow raised when she saw a prophet of Lucifer “In the Name of Satan, allow us to purge the world of these infidels!”. “Where the hell am I?” She said putting her shield up to block various items that were thrown in her direction.

“Hussein, Osama, Jong IL, Castro?” Sha said looking at people take pictures in front of four huge statues of these dictators. Gun fire richoeted from all over it was like she was standing in the middle of an active war zone. Things were so bad the local news stations were even calling Villains to help with all the loitering and rioting.

“There’s nothing here all the major doctors, nurse and healthcare specialist have run away” a man said to Sha whom was trying to think of an effective strategy. “Something wrong…The world didn’t wake up to this Mayhem it was created…” She said using her Ninjan Keen eyesight; she slowed time down in her own mind so that she may better analyze the situation.

While still accessing her Keen Sight; she noticed that space and time were being torn apart and readjusted. “Mandrake…” Sha said blinking her eyes as she done so her red eyelids slid down over her eyes. Sha hoisted her shield up again this time ready to try and bring some order to the chaotic city. “Something in the time stream is screwed up…SOIF this is where you come in…” Sha said softly; watching as the wind blew past her which symbolized SOIF’s understanding.

“In the meantime…I’m going to need some help…”

"This isn't a good look, Kileena." Julius uttered holding his golden award. Kileena's light brown eyes widened, "Julius, what do you mean you won an Oscar, this is--" The Asian Academy Award winner rose his voice, "Forget the Oscar. The problem outside. They have me on tape." The recording of the red carpet fiasco bothered Julius only because the filmers possibly caught him using his power on camera. To add to his problems Mine and Ryu were real. The two people haunting him in what he assumed were dreams. The Academy Award was a beautiful accomplishment for Julius, a dream of his. But his current problems took reign of his mind.  

In Julius' pocket, his iPhone vibrated and a picture of his father, Johto flickered on the screen. "Relax...” Kileena suggested as she left the dressing room to give Julius privacy with his father. He grumbled at her and brought his phone to his ear. "Hello Father...." Julius answered letting bright smile spread across his face. "Yeah, it's big. I even mentioned you in my speech. “Julius plopped in a black leather lounge chair and as he shifted to find comfort, he pushed off his polished, black Gucci to stand back up. "What!?" he said screwing his face. "Father, this doesn't make sense. Explain it to me." The obedience of a son to his father was shown in Julius' tone and choice of words. But Julius questioned Johto's sporadic order to save a random kid in Rio de Janeiro. 

"Okay, Father." Julius hung up, slid his phone in his Gucci trouser pocket and clenched his fist. His hand went pale he squeezed so hard. He thought sustaining an acting career aside from the government business would save him from these odd jobs. It had been over a decade since the US government summoned him for business.  Julius spoke to Kileena before he left the Award Ceremony, telling her it was a family emergency. He rushed home, changed into his black cosmic resistant costume and left for Rio. 

Two Hours Later.... 

In the hot, humid Brazilian night, Julius flew over Rio de Janeiro, a beautiful city now at crisis. Speaking into a cosmic communicator to his friend in California, Julius watched a frightened dark skinned boy carry his Rottweiler puppy away from the nearby violence. "Chris, this is worse than I thought. My dad put me in a warzone. I'm sensing a few energy signatures out here, so finding this kid'll take some time..." Julius lifted the boy off the ground. "Hey, I'm Mercury. What's your name?" the little boy stared at Julius, wide eyed. He comforted the boy with a candid smile. "S-Cisco..." The Rottweiler growled at Julius as Cisco shared his name..  "What's your buddy's name, Cisco?"  Cisco hushed his dog. "Bennie" he answered.   

Julius landed on a farm a mile outside Rio and made Cisco promise to avoid the city until the conflict was controlled. Julius promised to come back; and with their promises to each other established, Julius raced back to the city in a green flash. Calming city riots always annoyed Julius. He wanted to disintegrate all the pedestrians committing the pointless destruction. "Okay  Pedro , stop smashing the BMW..." Julius grabbed the crazed man away from a wrecked car. "And tell me what's going on--" Julius shot a cosmic pulse at a man preparing to stab a pregnant women. "De ihe o SANGUE! De o SEU--! (GIVE HIM BLOOD! GIVE HIM YOUR--!)" As the man brought his knife down, Julius' cosmic pulse collided with the man's back and launched him across the ruined street.  
 
"Oh sh!t, Chris. Its a meta." Julius said as his communicator   beeped for him to speak. "This isn't a random riot, I think they're under something - a spell.  This man was chanting something before I blasted him. I felt two strong energy signatures when I got here. I need to find this Enrico kid quick." Julius swooped the pregnant women off her feet and in a flash dropped her off with Cisco at the farm."Take care of each other." He smiled and flashed back to the city.  
 
"Really don't feel like fighting the ringleader to this, Chris. I wanna get this kid and get out..."  He sighed, punching the wannabe ladykiller in the face as he tried to recover from Julius' blast. To his right, the familiar sound of shaking spray scans caught Julius' ear. When he arrived to the sound, two men spray painted, "Baphomet is alive" in red letters on a cafe's alley wall. "Cut this devil worshiping sh!t out!" Julius yelled, cosmically sandwiching the two amateur artist together and slamming them inside a dumpster. 
 
With that taken care of, Julius flew skyward.  He saw a source to one of the strong energy signatures he sensed from the jump.  "Sha." He thought, leering at her. "This is getting fishier by the minute..." To avoid a fight Julius used his  celebrated  acting skills. Playing his desired role, he hovered towards Sha with a confused look painted on his face. "Sha!?.....Do you know what's going on here?..."

In the middle of the street the Brazilian government opened fired on its Satanic Civilians, it became hard for Sha to distinguish who was doing the right thing in all this madness. She had very little time to think, which became apparent when she focused in on a highly explosive white Phosphorus round came spiraling her way.  Acting quickly, she dug her shield in the dirt and then took a knee behind it, while behind it; her body began to generate a solar energy which constructed a light shield around her completely protecting her from the attack. The dust particles began to levitate around her before they finally dispersed.   Glancing around at the battle in front of her it became obvious about who was who, the Brazilian governments were in poession of huge black tanks with Yellow inverted Pentagrams painted on the side. “Alright” she said to herself pulling back her shield much like she had seen War Killer, Solace and ANDY do before her and heaved it forward. The Xechcellum laced shield quickly cut through the tank causing the engine to explode killing everyone inside.   For the time being Sha had secured this small area but whatever was causing time to act up; kept the aggression coming. Sha’s eyesight caught a familiar foe, it was Mercury her missing sisters former Boyfriend and a familiar adversary.

Her hatred for him had intensified in her “Empress” mode, but he approached her not in a threatening posture which caused her to at least pull back her sword and bring her shield to the forefront. As he spoke to her, he genuinely sounded as if he had no Clue what was going on. “Something…or someone is re-arranging the events of the past.” Sha said confidentially while strapping her cape back on her neck. As the two continued to converse multiple mortar rounds exploded around them causing a gigantic explosion that rocked the ground they stood on. “The weird thing is even as a Ninjan my Keen Eyesight cannot pick up the exact location of where Time is being shifted.”

“I’ve developed a hypothesis about what’s going on but I cannot be sure until I get further information on it; I hope you won’t be insulted if I keep it to myself for now” Sha said looking at Mercury. As the two stood their attention was captured by a man laced in black that had become dominant in her peripheral.   “Can we help you...?” she said standing in a fighting posture at least until her Echosphere began to go off. Apparently she had come into contact with him before; it didn’t take long for the scope to set the date and location. “New York…” the once tense Ninjan Empress relaxed and then switched back to “Queen Mode”. “You’re that guy that was a friend of my sister…” Sha said pointing at the darkened figure.

“Greetings and Salutations will have to wait” she started to say as she was once again entering her ruthless empress state. “Right now, we have to send these bastards back to hell…”

Middle Ages on Ninjeta

The Ninjan Queen fired a huge light energy towards the man however he was able to block it with his superior energy shields and send it flying back. “Mandrake…” the woman said as she took the blast full on. The beam severed all her armor and sent her flying back until her beaten body rolled to a stop. Much like her race was known for, she returned to her feet, as the blood dripped from every available pore she wasn’t going to allow Mandrake to keep terrorizing the dreams of people.

The hulking figure moved forward with his hands bleeding, the blood of the Lone Ninjan, “Not only will I become king of this realm, I shall rule multiple words as well” he said showing a bit of Mercy and entering his spaceship. “No…” she said quickly attaching herself on to the vessel; it’s destination was not on her mind, if she had anything to do with it she would stop it before he got where he was going. Before she could get a good grip on the ship it started to vanish, the energy it generated pushed her off, and sent her flying back towards Ninjeta. She was able to quickly recover but it was too late the space pirate was gone. As she stood with her sword in hand she watched as his ships exhausted reminded her of her failure. “Mother what’s wrong?” a little blonde hair girl said carrying her own sword and shield. “Nothing sweetie mommy is going on a trip” and with that she stormed off with Ziccarra on her back, on her way to her very own spaceship.

Middle Ages Earth

It didn’t take long for Mandrake to penetrate the Milky Way Galaxy; He had a terminal understanding as to how the universe worked, he was from the future time period, but through the dream corridor he managed to make his way back in time. Using his minions he can attack the present from the past so that the heroes of the present weren’t on to his trail. Many years ago the Ninjan god Zephyr created a crown that was supposed to be the key to the universe, but the Scarlet Ninjans abused this power and the Supreme god, Current cast the crown down to Earth for she knew the Earthlings would not have any recollection of how to work the device. This same device was what Mandrake wanted now; with himself at the center of the universe he wouldn’t have a problem with Ninjans or Humans forever.

His presence on Earth seemed to attract hundreds even thousands, many of feeble minded people whom thought he was the messiah. His minions who already infiltrated the Earth and took human form came to greet him, most were in a significant poession of power. He gave off a smile, his Xechcellum began to shine through his hands and in his eyes with that he gave the order.

Playing Brazil's hero was irrelevant to Julius' main goal, but it was apparent the rioting and destruction was otherworldly inspired. It was possible Johto sent Julius to handle this crisis while he retrieved the boy, Enrico. As Julius fought the hell spawn with Sha and the Man in Black, he spoke into his communicator. "Chris, one of the energy signatures was Sha and there's a vigilante here too..." Julius thrust his emerald katana into the thorax of a grey creature and it crumbled to hot ash. "Still haven't seen this Enrico kid, I'm already impatient and annoyed.” Cutting his hand through the air, cosmic frisbees collided with deranged natives and pinned them against the wall. The cosmic energy expanded, hardened and sealed them in place. They struggled to no avail.  
 
Despite Julius' disinterest in fighting for Rio de Janeiro's freedom, Sha and the vigilante fought with no reservations. They pushed through the satanic invaders, blasting and pounding them from Earth's existence. The possessed natives were detained as best as possible, once the instigator to this problem was handled they would return to normal. At least that was what they hoped for, so their lives still held value.  
 
As Sha and the mysterious vigilante fought, Julius hovered over them speaking into his tiny communicator. "Father, is this kid a meta? I'm with Sha and this other guy fighting off...hell creatures" Julius blasted an incinerating beam of emerald energy at a cluster of creatures. His beam left a glowing green crater in the street with the creatures remains nowhere to be found. "Perfect, he is. He must be the other energy signature I'm sensing. I can track him." Without a second glance at Sha and he unknown ally, Julius followed the energy trail.  The two heroes were handling themselves pretty well. His absence wasn't a loss.  
 
In the impoverished district of Rio, where the houses were rusted and painted metal shacks, Julius watched a boy dismember hell creatures. "Found ‘em" Julius said into his communicator. The Brazilian boy's power allowed him to rip the flesh off the creatures like a jet speed vacuum. Julius either loved or hated manipulators, he truly hoped he would like this boy... 
 
Asuka Period, Japan (Mandrake's Earth Invasion)  
 
Wrapped in her purple kimono with black trim, Princess Kani creaked open her father's door and eavesdropped. Emperor Shotaku's voice boomed through the room, it was near impossible for him to hear his curious daughter's entrance. <.....the alien invasion our ancestors predicted has come.> The Emperor spoke in Japanese as he paced across the regal room.  <Their weapons far exceed our's, but there discipline and loyalty to one another can be tested.> an officer spoke, <When do we strike?> The Emperor of Japan, stopped his pacing and said, <They strike today, we fight tonight.> The officer audience voices rose into a concerned hum as they turned to one another. <Dismissed.> The Emperor said as he stood composed and tall. The officers silently bowed and exited the meeting room. 
 
<Come in Kani.> The emperor said softly, but clearly. Kani timidly stepped into the room with her head bowed down. When she reached her father she spoke, <Father, is Kotoku fighting the aliens?> With his hands behind his back, the Emperor replied. <Yes, Princess along with Tenji and Saimei. They are our hope. Our protectors.... >

Mandrake’s forces set foot on southern Japan and razed through to Central, where the Yokohama empire stood.  Emperor Shotaku’s couriers updated him on the creatures, their leader and the fate of his fellow natives. The news was never good; this put a fear over the empire.  Emperor Kotaku, couldn’t relocate his family to the Osaka safe haven. He was sure they invaded the Ryukyu Islands. The Empire’s fate was in the hands of three mutant teenagers: a Prince, his friend, and his lover.  

 
Present Time, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil  
   
Julius sat on a shack roof watching Enrico fight, "Father I found him, we're on our..." a loud explosion sounded from the city. A fire mushroom pillared into the sky.  Enrico stopped and watched until finally he tore through the sky back towards the explosion. "Dammit, Enrico! Get back here!" Julius' communicator bleeped as an emerald aura radiated from his body. "I take that back he took off and headed back.....Okay, I'll just knock em out." Leaving a green light trail behind him, he flew back into the sky to pursue Enrico, once again.

When he arrived on the scene bodies were laid out everywhere. And creepily all Julius could hear were the snarls of the hell creatures. Julius wondered, “What happened?” He created a cosmic twister to ward off the thick dust cloud, attacking his eyes and lungs. Then knelt beside an unconscious woman and checked her pulse. She was alive. “I'm so tired of this...”he said flying back into the sky. Like a maze, he was with the mysterious man and Sha again. Enrico hovered around the trio, silently leering at the destruction of his city.  Julius wanted to ask the two what happened, but couldn't think of any levity to ditching them. As for Enrico, Julius knew he wouldn't leave until Rio was at peace.  

“That theory you had…Share it” The cloaked man said using his abilities as a combat “ninja” to sneak up on Sha unbeknownst.   The battle had her focus; pulling her mighty shield up she blocked the torrential fire from the Semi-Automatic Weapons that a select group of villagers had. Sparks hissed at the air as the propellant filled projectiles recoiled from the shield impact and plunged to the ground below her.   Glancing around there were so many smoking barrels; what was a bit of a harsh realization was that all the rounds fired from these weapons were at her and Clue.   Despite not knowing too much about him Sha wasn’t too worried about Clue, she knew she was the only “True” hero currently “painting the battle field” with her modern day combat techniques.   She could see more people advancing from her right flank. “Looks like their flanking us” Sha said watching as the Brazilian coalition began to storm them from both the right and left sides.

“Jump” Sha said turning back at Clue, with her eyes turning red. The Ninjan quickly began absorbing the ambient light energies around her, including the sun; the day looked as if someone had sucked the life from it and all the energy focused on a single point; Sha. The Ninjan Queen stomped on the ground as hard as she possibly could, unleash a catastrophic Earthquake throughout the city of Rio. The ground they stood on elevated a good 50ft in the air, while everything else was subjected to a powerful concussion relative to Ten thousand pounds of pressure. A lot of people lay injured, however the barrage of sporadic rounds that were flying from every which way had ceased. She stood on top the elevated plateau with her cape flapping westward, while his towards the east. The sun slowly began to get its glow back and revealed the extent of Sha’s almost cosmic level strength. “I didn’t even try” she said whispering to herself.

Smoke stacks billowed for miles throughout the city of Rio most of which were there previously; a huge gust of wind pushed through the area sending a dry and eerie presence over the plateau. “We’re not done” Sha said pulling her sword from its sheath. It was at that point that Mercury and a little boy came back to join them; Sha allowed her Ninjan Cells to overpower her so much that she had not noticed his abrupt departure. “A long time ago, my great great relative Current, created a crown that was supposed to be the “Key” to the Ninjetic Universe, however it had so much power she cast it down here to Earth in hopes it would never be found.” Sha took a pause watching as what looked like a portal opened and closed releasing more “Deranged” citizens into the area, this did nothing but confirmed her suspicions. “Well a Space Pirate by the name of Mandrake is after it, and he’s used a spectrum known as the DREAM CORRIDOR to enter the past… He’s searching tirelessly for it” Sha said pointing down at the “dead bodies” below. “These people aren’t real, they produce no blood…I would guess the REAL people are in hiding somewhere” She said turning back looking at Marc, Enrico and Clue. “I hate to say it but this fight isn’t ours…it’s our ancestors”

No sooner than the words left her mouth a portal opened right on top of the Plateau; from it a horde of angry people carrying various objects.   Pushing her shield in front of her, she blocked a point blank shot from an armor piercing .50 Cal, the impact undoubtedly knocked her a few inches back.   “Here comes the help” She said pushing her hair from her eyes.

The Queen landed just in time, from what it looked like Mandrake had just begun his assault on the Earth. “I can’t believe I let this happen!” she said landing her Ninjan Vessel. There was an increased sense of fear that shadowed this world.   “He’s already begun his attack” She said trying to do a mental assessment of the damage. It was from this ruthless damage that she saw the true power of the Rouge Ninjan manifested in true form.   “This job is way too much for me to handle” She exclaimed.  The air was filled with a putrid smell; it smelt like burning flesh, only it wasn’t the flesh never burned. The citizens of this town had been hit by a massive amount of energy, more than likely from Mandrake himself. The beam vaporized their bodies leaving nothing but dust imprints where people once: walked, played, shopped and talked.

She took a stroll through the barren city and watched as the wind gutted its lifeless markets; it didn’t take her long at all to notice the rising temperature around her. A gigantic sphere of pure energy was descending down upon the town; looking off into the distance she could see a ton of them. “This is how he did it” she said taking off into the sky. As she flew up her face began to singe with heat however it didn’t affect her too much. Extending her hands outwards she used her own wind manipulation to push the huge fireball back towards outer space. When she finished with the huge fireball she returned back down to earth and found something of interest. “Whoa…” the statue was of a man standing with his hands folded as if he were the protector of this village.

“Must’ve died with the rest of them” she said turning around watching as the dark minions began to pour into the desolate streets of the village. Just like Sha would do years from now, She pulled in the ambient energies around her; and fired a huge beam of pure light energy vaporizing these grunt level employee’s in an instant she wiped out a good 15 warriors, she could see the looks in their eyes; she wasn’t the only one fighting back and if this was true she needed to meet up with the others. Extending her hand she lobbed a bright illuminating light into the air bright for all to see this would let anyone know where to start helping at.

“These people aren’t real, they produce no blood…I would guess the REAL people are in hiding somewhere” With that said, Julius rested his hand on Enrico's shoulder. "Let's get outta here." He did his mission and he didn't want to hang around. "Where are you taking me?" Enrico looked up at Julius, skeptical of leaving. "Whatever happened to your family, we're gonna figure it out. It's not safe here. You're staying with me until we figure this out." Julius truly felt for the boy; his city was destroyed. If this happened to Kyoto or Tokyo, he would do the same. "O - Okay" Enrico said, hovering a few inches off the ground. He decided following Julius was his best option.
  
As Julius and Enrico prepared to take off Sha turned around, “I hate to say it but this fight isn’t ours…it’s our ancestors” Julius grasped Enrico's arm, "Wait." Julius clenched his strong jaw, feeling old emotions billow to his chest again. He couldn't get dragged into another alternate reality conflict. He lost his brother the last time. Julius wanted to leave; but as he analyzed Sha and the vigilante, he felt a small connection to them. It was a strange feeling. A feeling he didn't want, he knew something was already being altered with their ancestors….

Asuka Period, Japan (Invasion of Mandrake) 

Kotaku, Tenji and Samei fended of Mandrake’s minions, but not without a price. The town was partially ruined. A handful of the Emperor’s regiments were wiped out; and, the Emperor himself was killed in battle. Their battle was over, but the war waged on as Prince Kotaku, became Emperor Kotaku. Samei saw the light beacon shoot into the sky, the one in his vision. Samei saw death for one person in the trio, but the fight would end where the beacon was fired. With no time to mourn, Kotaku lead Tenji and Samei to the man himself, Mandrake.

A blonde haired woman was fighting Mandrake and his blind followers. The Japanese mutant trio fought alongside her with no questions. Samei and Kotaku fought together, while Tenji ventured on his own. As the battle progressed a brave, but blessed man joined the fight. He didn’t portray any supernatural power, but he fought ruthlessly with advanced gadgets. Tenji distanced himself from Kotaku and Samei with envious feelings. He wanted to rule as Emperor and it angered him Kotaku earned it so easily. A Mandrake minion readied to cut Kotaku down, who was engaged in battle, Tenji watched with a malevolent smirk. Before the enemy could cut him down, Samei sacrificed herself to save her love. On her knees, she looked at Tenji horrified, uttering, “Traitor.”

Kotaku heard these words, but didn’t understand their direction. Instead of repeating herself, Samei refused to let those be her last words. “I love you Kotaku, protect your throne.”  

Present Time, Rio de Janeiro

The battle on the surface waged on, The Ninjan Queen kept a steady pace in dispatching the enemies and protecting herself, but it was as if her theory was true. The past was being affected and they were paying for it dearly in the future. Even though she worried mostly about herself and the civilians around her; her “Buddies” still remained in the fight as well. Marc surprised her for staying as long as he did, once he found the kid he was looking for he made an abrupt exit leaving both Sha and Clue to fend for themselves. She watched as Mercury, flew off and once again the chaos grew thicker. Clue had been damaged slightly by a projectile which means his maximum output would be hindered a bit.   She had fought valiantly throughout the day, but her Ninjan durability was finally starting to be maxed out.   She grew sluggish by the moment.   Someone grew close and landed a right across her face; the force knocked her back causing her to roll back on her spine. She popped back up on her feet and wiped the blood that would precede the blow away. “I…m so tired” she said reverting back to her “Queen” form.   She could feel the world around her shifting, as if the constellations, God, and Tom Cruise had something else in mind. Her spell ended when a huge foot came across her face, knocking her back even further. On Sha’s front, she was being overrun, the manifestations were appearing faster than she could kill them. “Clue…” she said struggling to get back to her feet. “I need to break contact” She said rising to her feet again. Making a fist with her hands she absorbed some ambient Light energies and then released a high octane of screening light; which would by her a minute of time to escape.   “Echosphere, pinpoint nearest safe house” The little white machine on her arm activated; as she entered it time around her went on as normal, she however halted. The small device planted a location in her brain, and gave her directions on how to get there; the “briefing” ended in a flicker of the eyebrows.

“Follow me” She said taking off into the air and flying northeast; she hadn’t stopped to see if Clue had followed but she knew for the time being she was safe. “If Mercury were still here then…” she had to catch herself she didn’t want to utter that she needed Mercury, however something just propelled her to do it; she didn’t even know him that well. Landing on top of the building, she descended down into what looked like a penthouse; her energy was dangerously low; and until she got both food and sleep it wouldn’t be replenished. Her breathing picked up causing her to almost hyperventilate, she didn’t know what exactly was going on, and as this was the first time she had ever maxed out her durability. As the energy drained from her body she slowly crawled over to a couch and laid upon it, trying to rest herself, no sooner than she got on it her whole body went numb and she passed out.

Waking from her slumber she was in the middle of downtown Solace City, It had been destroyed, Clue and Mercury were nowhere to be found, and there was an ominous silence present that became a characteristic of this dead city. “What happened here?” she said holding on to her sword and shield standing around in bewilderment. Something terrible had torn through Solace City; the bloods of citizens had been plastered all over the roads and large structures none of them stood a chance. As she took a stroll around Ninjeta, she saw Ancient Ninjan writings; most of which contained her name. She made her way to Main Street and she saw the main message; the one that all the branch line messages led up to. “For My Ziccarra, in the name of the Ninjan King Jean”… As she stood in awe at the writing she could feel the energies of people surrounding her. What made her a bit cautious was the fact that these people had a similar power output as she did. The air around her grew cold suddenly she began to feel as if she weren’t going to make it out. (To be continued in Sha #1!)

The Space Pirate himself came out in the open; to access the damage he had already caused; the search for the crown had been a destructive one; however he cared not about the time it took, only results. It was only when a light beacon went hovering in the sky did he find a reason to doubt his forces.   Closing his eye’s he teleported in place to the source of the light energy. “YOU FOOL!” his voiced boomed throughout the area as he watched the advancing troops of the emperor, and the Knights from the west all come to one point to aid the Ninjan from space.

“Fine then…” he said with his hands once again turning purple… “It’s my turn!” pushing his hands out forward he fired a gigantic wave of pure energy, relevant to that of an exploding sun. It took moment to vaporize a bunch of forces from all sides.   His very presence drained the life from the earth; the day blackened as his eyes grew dark.

“So you chose a new Venue to die!” The Ninjan Queen yelled from not too far from the pirate; however he wasn’t in the mood to speak; from his eyes he fired his dormant energies. He over powered her, but she herself was not to be taken lightly. In an attempt to repel his beam; The Queen removed her shield and presented it in front of her, the energy smashed against the shield but the shield held… now.   Digging her feet deep within the dirt she tried her hardest to push it back. However Mandrake applied more force within his energy in an attempt to overpower her for one final time. “Help!” she yelled out trying to keep her shield erect against the death wave.

Asuka Period (Mandrake Invasion)  

With a broken heart Kotaku continued the battle. His stomach turned when Mandrake himself appeared. The female alien warrior was the first to reach Mandrake. Kotaku and Tenji cut through the waves of his minions to reach him. Raising his crimson psi-blades in the air, Kotaku screamed a battle cry and charged at the enemies protecting Mandrake. He sliced clean through their flesh and they crumbled to grass as ashes.

Kotaku and Tenji stood back-to-back as they watched more enemies pour out a flashing portal. "Ignore the hellspawn, we rid of Mandrake the battle is over." Kotaku said to Tenji. He nodded to signify his cooperation. "HELP!" the offworlder yelled; she was fending herself from Mandrake's energy blast behind her shield. Kotaku and Tenji approached Mandrake from different sides. Pushing their hands out, psi energy pulsed at Mandrake's sides, screeching in his ears and crunching him between their wall. Mandrake thrust out his arms and the force knocked Kotaku and Tenji off their feet. They sailed through tthe air and slid across the dirt and patches of grass.

There damage was less effective than they predicted but it gave the man and women they were assisting an opening to attack Mandrake. 

Present Time, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California

Julius landed with Enrico in his backyard. He sighed with relief looking at the illuminated pool, dreaming of jumping in to cool off. But he waited for the cold shower. Looking into the dark living room, he curved his lip and nodded in approval. "Chris must be sleep or out. Perfect." Strangely Julius shivered from the light early morning chill. He shrugged it off and entered his security code to get in the back door. It beeped and he slid the door open. After Enrico stepped in hesitant he shut the door and entered the code again. Secured. 

"You're rich" Enrico said exploring the living room. He stopped and gazed at the flat screen 42 inch HD TV. In his briefs holding his boots and costume, Julius grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV. "Watch whatever, 100 through 300 has all the good channels. Don't stay up too late." Julius smiled and grabbed a large blanket out a nearby closet. "You good on the couch for now?" Enrico plopped back on the couch; he was absorbed into the show Planet Earth. "Yeah..thanks" The Television flashed across the dark living room, lighting Enrico's tanned face.   Julius headed for the shower.   

That chill came back to him as he turned on the shower; he turned the dial to hot. He tested the water temperature with his hand and stepped in. The hot water hit his worn body like therapeutic needles. He dropped his head and massaged his neck, wondering if a hot bath would have been better. "Marc..." Julius heard as he grabbed his scrubbing sponge. His eyes narrowed then he shrugged the faint sound off. Fatigue. He squeezed out coconut scented water-activated gel cleanser onto his sponge. "Marc!" Julius jumped as his incandescent green communicator flashed into he ear. "I know you're awake." It was his uncle screaming at him. 

Scrubbing his neck Julius sighed, "Be quick. I'm on short time." Yashima grew to become someone Julius silently hated. He had no shame in his malicious ploys. Johto, Julius' father, didn't agree so, Julius had to show civility and respect. Inside he wanted to burn him.   "You've been ordered to kill Sha, I'll be there tomorrow." Julius chuckled at Yashima, "You're joking." He continued washing his body. "No. We want her dead."Julius swallowed down hard. "No, I'm --" Yashima cut in. "Look, the top CEO's and government invested in you know about your little acting career. Where do you think you got your roles from? They know you're trying to pull away from them. Screw this up they're coming after you."

This was an offer Julius wanted to refuse, but couldn't. His body suffused red with anger. "Why am I doing this?" he growled back at Yashima. "Yashima?"There was no response, he was gone. (Continued in Mercury #1)

She woke fully rested and seemingly back to full power; but there was one thing about her dream that caused her to look at her life on a new perspective. She came to Earth and was dubbed “SHA” a super human advanced in an effort to try and fit into the lives of the everyday citizens she accepted the name; however as of today she wasn’t accepting it anymore. “I’m Sha no more” she said holding on to her head trying her hardest to shake the exhaustion from her system. As she tried to regain some sort of bearing for where she was, she felt it; something was approaching Earth. “It’s a Ninjan” Z said rushing back out to the roof hoping to get a glance of the approaching Ninjan, but it would not land here, she knew exactly where it was going; to her last documented home of record…New Jerusalem. Z knew that Rio was where she was needed as of right now however, she fought every inclination to try and not leave just as Mercury had. “Maya…I’m getting a reading on a huge space shuttle coming from Ninjeta, I need a report ASAP” Z said using her echo sphere. “I got no reports of any outgoing space shuttles, Z whatever your feeling isn’t from Ninjeta” Maya responded. Even though Maya had pretty much given the confirmation of a non Ninjan vessel, Z knew it was one of hers. Empress Mode had drained her powers, to the point where she wouldn’t be able to activate it again, until she rested more but for now she would go out and join the fight.

Mandrake had just pushed back both Kotaku and Tenji, to who were natives of the local area; there power had impressed him, Earthlings weren’t typically associated with such power. As for the Queen of Ninjeta it was his duty to ensure that she didn’t live much longer; her death here would affect Ninjeta for a many years to come. He continued to pour on the energy; one false move from her would reduce her to dust. However he couldn’t hold it on to long as he was now battling at least 3 more people. As he intensified the power on the Queen’s shield something unexpected happened; a boy a simple child with no type of protection at all managed to gain access to his blindside and jam his blade into his sternum. While it wasn’t so much damage that it would kill Mandrake this was important, now the dream corridor was starting to shatter. “NOOO” Mandrake screamed causing the very Earth to violently quake. There was only two options, continue the fight or retreat and start anew; Mandrake’s pride wouldn’t allow him to retreat. “Come with me to hell!” he screamed at the little child; his insides began to burn red; this was evident in the hole the young lad had managed to puncture within him; Mandrake reared back and fired a huge explosive wave of his latent energy at the child. The Queen quickly hopped into action jumping in front of the blast planting her feet in the dirt and fought the energies. The sheer wind pushed everyone who wasn’t able to weather it away, but the Queen steadily held her ground. Slowly taking her right hand off the shield she extended it forward and absorbed the energy on the front side. Her body began to glow with a bright red color but finally she returned to normal.

Once the residual smoke had cleared Mandrake was gone; all of his minions vanished; this world was how it once was. The Queen looked around and smiled at Kotaku, and Tenji; she then double back at the lone child and walked up to him; she got in distance of him and then crouched down so that she may get eye level with him. “You’ve done a great thing here today; I know it doesn’t mean anything given what you lost, but I hope this will bring you some sort of honor. The Queen walked to a spot in the ground and kicked a nearby tree; the tree toppled over revealing a chest. Removing her necklace she placed the key into the chest and opened it. From inside she pulled out a yellow crown, with huge gems attached to it. “Space, Mind, Power, Reality, Time and Soul” She said holding the crown. “That’s what each of these little gems mean”. Walking towards him she removed the gem for mind and soul and then handed it to him. “I think you can guard these well” she said turning back towards Kotaku and Tenji. “You two, I entrust these with you, Space and Power” she said handing one to each of them. “I’ll keep Reality and Time, with these will shall forever know what happened here today.” The Queen flew off without saying another word.

Present Day Rio

“What the hell” Sha said looking outside watching as the time warp caused all of the mayhem and chaos to disappear. “Nice job mom” She said with a smirk on her face. Opening her echoephere she changed back into her blue jeans and a black and pink “Sha” shirt; she quickly ran a comb through her now blonde hair and headed towards the airport. Her destination was New Jerusalem, whatever was coming was going to be heading there that’s where she needed to be. “Thanks Marc, Thanks Clue” she said as she entered the plane.