Dragon's Claws #10

"There is much good luck in the world, but it is luck. We are none of us safe. We are children, playing or quarrelling on the line."
- E M Forster, 'The Longest Journey'

"Hello, Kimiko," Pen said as he looked on the young woman he'd not seen in eight, almost nine years. "Been a while." She slapped him hard, the flat of her hand whipping through the air and landing on his cheek. Dragon didn't flinch, but stood there and took it, much to Roberto's surprise. "Guess I had that coming."

"Yes," she said. "You did."

They were in the lower basement levels of the former compound of the Clan Yashida, where the Kokuryu-kai had set up their base of operations. None of the trappings previously associated with the Clan remained, their financial and political power being stripped of them when the aliens attacked, and their attempts at removing themselves from the criminal underworld had left them weakened, and without Wolverine to defend them as in times past, they had been easily taken over. The lair of the Shingen was a trap in itself and it was a prime location for the operations that the Kokuryu-kai were undertaking.

"Well, then," said Pen. "I think we have a few things to discuss."

"Indeed we do, but you will make amends for what you have done," Lei Kang said, his guards appearing around them, all armed to the teeth and before either of the agents could make a move Kang spoke again. "Do not try and make use of your genetic powers - apparently preparations were made."

Dragon grimaced, thinking that having his powers suppressed again wasn't fun. He wondered if the others could help out. With luck, X was using the satellites that floated over the planet to track the two of them and…

"Do not think your friends will help you," said Kang, as if reading his thoughts. "Your communications channels are blocked and you are invisible to radar while inside this complex." His people removed the PPGs from their hands. "Just in case."

"Lei Kang, there's no need for any of this," said Dragon. "We can discuss… well, whatever."

"Hahaoya," said a voice as a small child ran in, heading towards Kimiko. He threw his arms around her and began talking away in Japanese.

"I really wish I'd learnt to speak Japanese," muttered Dragon to Roberto.

"Is that who I think it is?" DaCosta asked.

"My 'son'?" Pen replied. "More than likely, then again Kimiko would lie flat on her back for almost anyone." Lie Kang's fist connected with Pen's jaw, dropping him to the ground with relative ease. "Oh come on," he said, tasting blood. "It's not like she's…" Kang's foot booted him in the stomach. "…chaste," he gasped, winded from the blow.

"Now that you had coming," Roberto said, half apologetically, helping him up, as Kang looked to his daughter and grandchild and she nodded her acceptance. She had less choice in what was to happen than Pen Dragon did and she and the child were ushered out. "So what're you going to do with us?' Roberto asked, while Dragon regained his equilibrium.

"Take them away and prepare them," Kang instructed. "The wedding will proceed as planned."

Dragon's eyes went wide at the statement. "Now wait a minute," he started as the guards started to take them out of the place. "You can't make me do this!"

"Yes," said Kang, his voice so low that Dragon didn't even hear the reply. "I can."

"What's going on?" asked Sam as she and Jess stepped through the tesseract portal back to the Arsenal.

"We've lost contact with Pen and DaCosta," Jack replied. "Elena thinks they're still alive, but we can't even track them with X. It could be a jamming signal or something in the atmosphere or they could be in trouble."

Jessica sighed. "Damn," she muttered. "We're going to have to find them. How long have they been missing?"

"An hour or so," Jack answered. "We've got a number of possible locations, but there's a lot of Martian activity about as well. They stirred it up a bit and they're being looked for."

"Any chance they've been captured?" asked Sam. "The Martians…" Jack tapped a few keys and shook his head.

"Too much going on." He looked at them and shook his head. "Until it dies down, it's not safe for us to randomly teleport in. We need it to let up, or to at least know where they are. It's simply too dangerous."

"We know that they met up with the Kokuryu-kai," said Jessica. "We know it wasn't the best of meetings but we know they left together. That's got help narrow down the search, surely?"

"It should," said Jack. "However the Kokuryu-kai aren't even in the SHIELD files other than archived data. It was thought they ceased to exist, amalgamated in to another group." He gave a causal shrug, because there was nothing that they could do about it. "Wherever they are, they're on their own."

"Put these on," Dragon was instructed as he was given some clothing. He lifted up one of them and he gave a slight shake of his head.

"A skirt?" he said. "I'm not Scottish."

"It's hakama," the man said, with a sneer. "You wear it and the haori over the top. It is your wedding clothes, gaijin."

"For the sake of argument, what if I don't put them on?"

The man gave a genuine smile. "Then we break both arms and legs and fit you in to them."

"That answer's that then." Dragon took off his jacket and started to unbutton his shirt, then he paused. "Privacy would be good." The man walked away, making sure the door was closed and Dragon heard the locks click and he sighed. This wasn't good, he knew it. In all likelihood the place had been fitted out to ensure that some one of Wolverine's capabilities would be unable to break free and Dragon knew that he wasn't Wolverine. Then again he wasn't without resources of his own and there had been very few cages or cells he'd not been able to get out of, one way or another, and not always with his powers. He hadn't been a spy for nothing. He tapped the walls, hearing the heavy resonance as his hand met metal painted to looks as wood. He knew enough about metals to know that it was quite dense, which if he guessed right was adamantium. He sighed, figuring there was no way to kick that in then, so he looked at the door and the lock was beyond him without tools. The place was as solid as it came.

"Are you my father?" said a voice from beyond the door and Pen steeled himself. This was something he'd dreaded, but at the same time… memories resurfaced, emotional scars echoed with pain but he pushed it back.

"I wish I was," he said.

In the cell next to him, Roberto was listening. He still couldn't figure out Pen Dragon's deal.

He knew all about Pete Wisdom from his time with Excalibur, and his relationship with Katherine Pryde had been much discussed by the various X-Teams at the time. He knew the guy was good at what he did, that he had certainly changed from the time he had worked with Black Air. He'd even become a team player, and that was evident from the way this team rallied around him now. For some reason the term Dragon's Claws had stuck. It had been something he'd heard on Genosha and it seemed to be doing the rounds, even though the team themselves had no official title or status. As far as he could tell they considered themselves to be an executive agency of SHIELD.

Yet he had seen few of those qualities so far. The man could be rude and obnoxious, he had an attitude beyond anything Roberto had ever seen, and he had seen some attitudes. He'd even had one of his own for a long time before he got over himself. He had some very interesting attitudes and he certainly wasn't shy with his opinion, even if it got him in to trouble. Yet there was something else about Dragon that echoed respect and he didn't know why. It was the same feeling he'd gotten from Xavier, from Magnus, and eventually from Cable and he knew enough to know the feeling for what it was. Pen Dragon wasn't nearly as great a man as those three, but the feeling was there all the same. He'd yet to see anything that constituted that and he hoped that this next exchange gave him a glimpse of what Pen Dragon was really about.

"I wish I was," he heard and Roberto could hear the longing in his voice. Lei Kang, and for that matter Kimiko, seemed certain and the child did have a resemblance to him. Why deny it? "Another time maybe I could have been." Interesting phrase, Roberto thought. There was also so much care in his voice as well, the bluster, the swagger, he'd had earlier was gone. There was something else there as well.

"I don't understand," the child said.

"I look like the man your Dad is, but I'm not him. He's a long way from here, living a life in the British Isles. Don't even think he knows you exist, and he can't get out." It was an elaborate fiction, though Roberto. Almost too elaborate. Did that mean that Pen Dragon really wasn't Pete Wisdom? This was confusing.

"The Barrier?" The child knew a lot, which was good.

"The Barrier," Dragon confirmed. "Look…" Dragon paused. "I don't even know your name, kid."

"My name is Fudo. That way I…"

"Never forget who your father is," said Pen. "Cute." Xavier's had been a school and Logan had taught Japanese studies for a time to the New Mutants and if Roberto remember it rightly then Fudo was the god of fire and wisdom in Japanese mythology. He heard Pen give a chuckle, and it was a wry one if he read it right. "Nice one, Kimi." Fudo didn't understand that aspect of tone yet and he spoke once more, ignoring Pen's aside

"The Dragon said you were my father and that you would be coming." This was another reference to the dragon and Roberto knew if there were a real dragon alive in Japan it would have been noticed, not just by the Martians.

"Tell me about the Dragon," said Pen, obviously thinking on the same lines and taking advantage of the child's naivety. "As I remembered the Black Dragon was a myth."

"When my father took the black diamond from the shrine, the dragon statue broke. Just before the monsters came an energy was released from the resting place of the diamond and the dragon came to life and told us to be not be afraid and that the time of the Kokuryu-kai was at hand. He gave my grandfather powers in exchange for doing things for him."

"What kind of things?" asked Pen

"I don't know," Fudo answered. "I am not allowed to know these…" The child cried out in pain and the guard suddenly spoke in Japanese, but Roberto knew the kid had been hurt for talking to the prisoners. He felt a welling of anger inside him and he wished he were outside.

"You touch him again and I will kill you," said Pen and Roberto heard the darkness in his voice. Pen Dragon was a murderer, an former assassin for Black Air. He'd slaughtered people; men, women and children and though he had realised what he was doing the capability was still there and it sent a chill down Roberto's spine.

"And what will you do, gaijin?"

Pen Dragon's words were simple enough. "Try me." The guard just laughed and dragged the crying child away. "You're already dead. You just don't know it…" Dragon said.

"You okay?" Roberto asked.

"Yeah, Bob, just grand." He heard Pen sigh. "Sorry, not your fault. Kids are a sore topic with me. I… lost one a while back."

"I… I'm sorry," said Roberto. "I didn't know." He waited a moment. "What's the deal with the black diamond?"

"Black Air wanted it," Pen said. "It had special properties, mystical energies and it interested them. My job was simple - go in and get it by whatever means necessary."

"What did it do?" Roberto was curious.

"Aside from being a good luck totem for the Kokuryu-kai?" Dragon chuckled. "Ever hear of the Destiny Force? It's a latent power within humanity, that Rick Jones was able to access and use it to his advantage. The Black Dragon Diamond was… is a mystical gemstone that focuses the Destiny Force and Black Air figured they could use it, because if there was a power out there that they couldn't handle… well, they needed a way."

"Didn't you steal it before Rick Jones got his powers?" Roberto had heard of it. Beast had been an Avenger and he'd let the X-Men have information from time to time.

"Let's just say that Rick Jones wasn't the first to access the Destiny Force…" Dragon said, enigmatically. "Stands to reason that the gemstone was here in Japan because there is a focus point for the Destiny Force here in Japan. It sounds like someone's been able to do something with it at any rate. I don't believe in dragon's too much, and did you see the hand of Lei Kang? Reminded me of the Iron Fist…"

"You mean it's a fake?" Roberto said. It hadn't felt like it when they had fought.

"No, just not very original. I'm also wondering if they had anything to do with the SHIELD communications compromise. Too much coincidence here."

"We're being played?"

"Me certainly, I think you're along for the ride."

"You're going to marry her?" Roberto asked.

"Get married or get killed," Pen said. "Not much of a choice to go with, but if I see a new option I'll let you know." There was silence for a moment and Roberto wondered what was going on. "Unless…"

"Unless?" Roberto wasn't sure what was going on here. "Unless what?"

"Power up," said Pen.

"What?"

"Your powers, turn them on." Roberto shook his head, thinking that Dragon had lost it, for Kang had said they'd taken their powers away. The next thing he knew he was hovering in the air. "Anything?" Pen asked.

"I'm flying," said Roberto. "But how?"

"He must have lied to us." Roberto shook his head. That was a rookie mistake they'd made. "Oh, now I'm upset…"

"How did you know?" Roberto asked.

"I'm attuned to myself," he said. "When I'm not distracted I generally know if something's right or wrong with me, or rather my powers, like there's something in the back of my mind I can feel when they're there. It comes with training. Give it time, and I'll show you how."

"So what do we do now?"

"I want to know who's controlling their dragon, because whoever it is has something to do with what we came here for. Let's go along with things for now and if it comes to a fight… well, we've our edge again." Roberto nodded. It was an interesting plan and he knew it was a better choice than the others they had.

"They have to be there," said Jack, as he and the others looked at the screen. "It's the only place that makes sense."

"The Yoshida compound." Jessica shook her head. "Figures."

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.

"It belongs… belonged to the Yoshida clan. Mariko was one of the few women Logan truly loved." Jessica sighed as she spoke and she wondered when, if ever, her path would stop crossing with that of Wolverine, even though he was dead and gone. "When the aliens attacked, the caln lost more than their power and influence. They lost Logan and they were destroyed. We always though it was just part of the alien cullings. What if it was some of their past enemies paying a visit?"

"The Kokuryu-kai?" said Elena. "Interesting premise." She looked at the screen and she could almost sense them in there. "I can't sense them as such, but I feel that they're in there." She looked at them and shrugged. "A hunch."

"We go in?" asked Sam. "The fact we haven't heard from them means they're in trouble."

Nomad shook his head. "That's jumping to conclusions, but then again it is Pen. I'm going to have to recalibrate the systems. If the aliens figure out we're teleporting in to their midst they could track us and we'd have Valhalla Base all over again."

"Great," said Sam. "I just hope the boys can take care of themselves."

Elena smiled, remembering the earlier exchange between the two of them. "That's if they've not killed each other first."

"This is a dumb idea," Roberto said as they both made their way to the Shinto shrine, where the wedding would be held.

"Got to admit, I do look good in this," Dragon said as they walked. "Still let this be a lesson, Bob. A good shag is hardly ever…" He felt a fist slam in to his back, around the location kidney. "…a free ride." He glared at the man who had struck him and the man pointed his gun at Dragon's head. "Jealousy doesn't become you."

"Why do you do that, man?" asked Roberto. "You know what'll happen."

"Sometimes they make mistakes after you say it. It's so not working at the moment though." There was music playing as they approached the door, drum and flute and Roberto was stopped. "Guess I go on alone," Dragon said and Roberto nodded. When Pen made his move he'd be ready and he watched as Dragon stepped through the door and just over his shoulder he could see Kimiko dressed in a magnificent white kimono, with an elaborate wig adorning the top of her head. He could see by the way Dragon paused that she looked even more amazing close up and as they drew close a man waved some kind of branch over their heads and the ceremony began.

"Just so you know," the guard said, moving in behind Roberto, "the inhibitor field is only in the area of the shrine. Lei Kang was highly amused to hear you making plans." Roberto's eyes went wide as he realised it had been a set up all along and suddenly there was a blade at his throat. "If the coward will not marry Kimiko, I will slit your throat and Lei Kang will execute Dragon himself…" Roberto quickly went through the options in his head, but there was little he could do right now and he hoped Dragon had his eye on the ball otherwise he was a dead man. He saw a slight flick of Dragon's head , and he was certain the eyes narrowed, as if he had seen what was going on. As the holy man spoke, he could see Kimiko say something to him and Dragon's fist clenched tightly to signal his frustration. Then he spoke."

"I, Peter Winston Wisdom, take Kimiko Kang to be my lawfully wedded wife, for the rest of my natural life, so help me God."

Kimiko then said the same and they each took a cup from the holy man and drank from it many times, swapping the cup after each taste. Roberto lost count and that was it. Pen Dragon had gotten married and there was applause from the gathered assembly, and Lei Kang came forward to silence them.

"Now, my daughter has her honour, my grandchild has a father and all is well." The audience were attentive, for this was what they had been awaiting. "Now we will sacrifice the Westerners to the Black Dragon and by their deaths they will make amends for their past…"

And from behind the shrine, the Black Dragon rose…