X-Men: A Case of Mistaken Identity..... Chapter 5 Disclaimer: The X-Men belong to Marvel, the Coda to Wildstorm, and the story to me. An ancient Byzantine palace, in Greece: Where a group of the X-Forces have journeyed to discover the key to an insidious mystery.... They have discovered a series of scrolls, inscribed with diaries of Lady Artemis, one of the Majestrixs of the Coda.... Kwannon held her psiblade to the head of her half-remembered twin brother... "If that's the only answer you can give us, it's not good enough!" she spat, partly wanting to allow his blade to impale Lady Elisabeth Braddock, but knowing that she'd be no closer to her answers... Gambit and Beast looked at each other, perplexed by the strangeness of the evening's events, "Why, Gambit, we do seem to have become the voices of reason in this little soiree?" The Cajun shrugged at the big, blue-furred mutant who perched on a carved rosewood cabinet, he held a handful of charged cards in reserve, should things get ugly, "Th' price we pay f'r bein' so mature, Beastie.... Do we let 'em go at it, or what?" he asked. Keniuchio looked soberly at his twin sister, Kwannon; who now threatened him as though he were the enemy, and then at Lady Elisabeth, who he'd helped train. She'd been a sharp student, and quietly, stubbornly proud, working herself harder than either he or Artemis would have ever believed.... He'd started to....have some feelings for her as something other than a teacher to his pupil....but she'd desired none of him.... Still, he didn't want to hurt her. His mind dwelled temporarily on what might have been between himself and the gaijin telepath before his own Coda and bushido disciplines forced him back to the present, on the peculiar matters at hand. "Psykeye--release your hold on Lady Artemis, for I warn you, I have *sworn* to protect her, so that my family may one day regain its honour..." he stated as calmly as he could, considering the situation. He was cut off by his twin... "Make a move on her, Keniuchio, and I assure you, she will *not* die alone!", Kwannon threatened, pulling the taller man down to look her in the eye. For her part, Elisabeth ignored the Oriental twins, concentrating on Artemis alone, carefully peeling thru the layers of mental shielding the Coda assassin had established years ago, <> she replied, managing to look dignified, even though she had been knocked from her feet, and lay partly sprawled on the floor, Elisabeth practically 'shouted' at the top of her telepathic lungs, <> The lavender butterfly mask spread over Artemis' face, and she winced at the 'volume' of her 'student's' vehement response. "Yet, the way you wield a blade... the fury in your eyes... those are bits of the Coda in you, are they not? I took you in, and taught you, so that you might better reclaim your life....did I not?" The tip of the glowing psi-blade rested mere millimetres from Artemis' throat, and it was Kwannon's turn to ask questions of her own, "And what of me, Artemis? In appearance, I am Kwannon, but I remember "my" life! My twin brother....Mojo...Poor, lost Tom... I do not accept this..." Artemis sighed, and shifted her position as much as Elisabeth would allow her, "But you must, Kwannon... Psylocke. For either both of you are wrong, or you are lying, my love... And who would stand to gain from this position? Certainly, not I...." Gambit stepped forward, aiming his charged cards at the Coda's throat, "Talk..." "I would like assurances..." the voluptuous assassin purred, as she managed to present as enticing image for the Cajun. She hoped she could distract him enough for her elite guard to arrive and dispose of this whole mess. Remy raised his eyebrows, knowing full well what a femme fatale like Artemis would be willing to do. He might not have heard of the Coda, but he *knew* assassins... After all, his late wife, Bella Donna was one, and even she'd not been able to resist his "sweet-talking".... "You talk, an' we walk, mes petites. You don', then me an' Henri turn our backs...an' let the four of you deal wit' this, all on yoah own...." Artemis groaned, forgetting her desire to call for her elite guard, "Hardly the most _attractive_ of alternatives for me...Gambit. Very well... I shall accept that I am at a disadvantage.... Do the names Matsu'o Tsurayaba and Shinobi Shaw mean anything to you? And my conditions: Kwannon stays with me, Keniuchio stays with me. Elisabeth goes with the two of you. That way, we should all be happy..." The next morning.... Tokyo. Among the multitude of steel towers which rise from the ground in the most over-crowded of cities stands the penthouse home of Shinobi Shaw, mutant upstart and corporate demon, who infests this home that reaches for the heavens, with a daily, corrupt descent into hell.... His state of the art bathroom would have made many of the nouveau riche *very* envious... And the three beauties who were helping him bathe was not to dissimilar to the opening scenes of "Coming to America". They were in his permanent employ, and he'd managed to find a set of identical triplets and purchase them on the black-market.... Murasaki, Midori, and Mishuki... Amethyst, Jade and Pearl...his jewels... -:Don't forget the toes, Mishuki, doll...:- Shinobi giggled as she tickled him, splashing water over her long black hair... -: Well, then, stop wriggling them, Shinobi-san...:- she tittered, as she strove to avoid the most of his splash. One of her sisters was washing his back, and the other was well...attending more intimate functions.... Midori squealed, -:AAAhhhhh...! Shinobi--what's happening?!:- She ducked under the water to avoid the flying shards of glass, and the other triplets were phased by Shinobi, so that the glass flew _threw_ them... -:Who the....?!?:- he snapped, looking around for the intruders. An auburn maned Cajun, an indigo furred Beast, and a violet haired Otherworlder woman appeared around the edges of his huge Jacuzzi tub, but the Cajun spoke first, " 'Least y'could do, poule mouille, is offer a couple of house-guests a little of that nice Dom Periengnon..." His wry grin irritated the young Amer-Asian magnate to no end; and the Beast, who hung from the track lighting added his two cents worth, "Ah, in *my* younger days I would have preferred the lovely ladies over the bubbly, myself.... 'younger days'-- What am I saying....." Shaw was outraged that his home had broken into for the second time in the last 24 hours.... Surely his security systems were better than that? "You are the gaijin American X-Forces.... Gambit and Beast? And who is the woman?" Elisabeth's butterfly 'mask' glimmered over her incredibly beautiful face, <> Her brilliant violet eyes sparkled behind the 'mask' as she watched him with mind and those unblinking cybernetic eyes. Shaw partially arose from the water, and then realised that it was a very beautiful woman who was pinning him to the opposite side of his tub.... He halted just before he embarrassed him self. "Obviously, you are both capable of animalistic behaviour, X-man. By what right do you invade my home?!" he snapped, his dignity slipping away as his girls cowered behind him in fear. Gambit sent a small charge down his staff, which was conveniently slipped between Shaw's legs.... sssvvvvtttt! "We're here t'talk, Shinobi-chile! An' judgin' from our respective positions, I'd be sayin' you in NO position t' argue th' point. So why don' you tell us what y'know 'bout this band o' fops callin' themselves the Upstarts?" He jumped, trying to avoid the little spark of bio-kinetic energy, only to find Psykeye's butterfly fanning out over his face...<> Shinobi paled noticeably, "The Upstarts? I can't believe they can be of any interest to you! It's merely a gathering of the too rich, too spoiled. Just a small, little 'club' I dabble in...." Liz's eyes flashed, as she looked at her teammates, <> Beast's expression took a decidedly feral turn, though his voice remained perfectly civilised, "My hubris-driven Richie Rich, I no more believe you, than I did your late unlamented father, and in your current state of endesebelle: small, little and club are not words which should be combined in the same sentence!" Gambit removed the telescoping staff, and slipped it up his sleeve; "As f'r your li'l "Upstarts" group--jus' go back an' tell 'em the X-Forces know they exist--an' that means you're on our choppin' block! Understan'?" Shaw felt something he'd only become acquainted with the night before.... Fear. These people got into his home, and terrorised his 'pets'... interrupted his bath for crying out loud... And now they threatened him?? It was *not* going to be a good day.... He had no choice but to answer the Cajun and his comrades, "Completely, Gambit. Completely...." It was hours after he left before Mishuki, Midori and Murasaki were calmed down and reassured... And his days fun and games was shot to hell... He would make them pay.... Later. The house of Matsu'o Tsurayaba, near the town of Chosin, on Japan's Pacific coast... He built it himself, by hand, from scratch......the way an artist should. Carefully, thoughtfully and with precision and passion. For Matsu'o considers everything in life to be a work of art--including, most definitely, the art of death! For Matsu'o is an assassin, as well as an artiste--and no one knows more about the craft of killing than he--except perhaps the Coda, and his uninvited house guests.... "Do you hear anything?" the Silver Samurai whispered to his sister, who lead him through the breathtaking gardens, as they sought their query. "No.." she replied, moving as quietly as her whispered words, "...nor would I expect to." "And even knowing the silent winds around my home carry nothing but death, will not prevent you from dying at my hands...." he decried, as he leapt from the upper balconies, down upon Kwannon. A strange triple bladed sword one hand.... She cried out as he fell upon her, "Matsu'o!!" Keniuchio turned, with out a word, the twins moved in unison, the one fluidly following the motion and lead of the other... As one parries Matsu'o's sword defensively, the second takes the offensive, slicing into the young jonin's back and he finds himself victim to the artistry of others... He rolled with the motion, letting go of his sword, taking care not to roll onto his bleeding shoulder, pain written on his handsome face, "Artemis is *far* more devious than I gave her credit for being... to take such carefully sculpted plans, and turn them on their creator..." Kwannon looked down at him, "I care nothing for Nyorin's quest to control the jigoku, nor Artemis' desire to use everyone around her to further the Coda's plans. We only came to learn what you did to my mind...." He struggled to his feet, a Mona Lisa smile curving his finely made face, " I did nothing--I merely took the lump of clay presented before me in the form of you, Kwannon; as Artemis molded Psykeye... and together, yet apart we sculpted you both into something new--into something better than the sum of your parts. Tell me truthfully, that you do not secretly thrill at what you have become??" Keniuchio simply let his sister do what she felt necessary to avenge herself on the Mandarin's jonin... after all, he had made her "Lady Mandarin"... It was only fitting that she reassume the title... "Perhaps I do, Matsu'o..." she said, her voice dangerously soft, "allow me to show you just how much...." Her psi-blade fired with an eerie crackle in the early morning light, and the young jonin's screams echoed across the bay as she taught him his first lesson in serving a new mistress... For no one misused a Coda assassin with out paying the price....