The three members of Rough Justice stood in the front lobby of their office in Baltimore, their heads tilted up slightly.  Karishi and Jolly Roger wore full face masks, covering their faces. However, Stargazer’s dropped jaw and open mouth mirrored the other two’s hidden expressions.

“I’m impressed,” Jolly Roger finally said.

The seven foot figure, dressed in black pants and boots with a form-fitting red tank top, smiled.

Above him, looking down from her perch on top of her desk that the man held with little effort with two fingers, Julie Cameron was also smiling. The brunette was eyeing the handsome man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail. To her, he looked like one of those handsome heroes on the covers of the trashy romance novels she liked to read. “Me too,” she purred softly.

The man gently set the two-hundred pound mahogany desk back on the floor. He then offered his hand to Julie. “Milady,” he said.

Julie giggled slightly as he helped her to her feet again.

“I could do that,” Stargazer muttered under his breath.

Karishi cleared his throat. “So, you said your name is Magni…”

“Aye,” the newcomer said, “Magni, the Norse god of strength and son of Thor, tis I.”

“What’ya know?” Jolly Roger said. “An actual god, here in our office.”

“Aye,” Magni said, “and I come to offer my services to you.”

“I am sure you could be…” Karishi started to say and then paused. “That is, why come to us exactly?”

“I’ve read of your exploits – grand adventures battling vampires,” Magni explained. “I too have faced such creatures – a powerful one named Stalker – shortly after coming down from Midgard. He put up a good fight but could not best me in combat. The coward then fled into the night from whence he came.”

“I do not know of him,” Karishi said. “I would like to learn more about him at some point, if you would share the details of the encounter.”

“Aye, we could do so over a tankard of ale,” Magni said as he clasped the cloaked hero firmly about the shoulders. Karishi tried not wince from the firm grip.

“I like this guy,” Jolly Roger stated. “I think he’ll fit right in here.”

“I agree,” Julie said, still not taking her eyes off the god.

The others turned to Stargazer. He thought for a moment and then sighed. “Sure, I guess we could use a little extra muscle around here.”

“Looks like you’re in, big guy,” Jolly Roger said. “Let’s show you around.”

Magni released Karishi and nodded. “I would like that.”

Karishi adjusted his shoulders and heard something snap back into place. “I think we should have a team meeting first,” he said. The others followed him into the main conference room.

“Before we start,” Julie said, “we had some other visitors earlier in the day.” She glanced down to the yellow pad where she kept some notes. “A young oriental man and a younger oriental girl had stopped by the office. They didn’t leave names – they struck me as tourist types. Wanted to know if this was the office of the team that Jolly Roger belonged to.”

“Hmm,” Jolly Roger said.

“Something wrong?” Stargazer asked. He sat on the same side of the table as Jolly Roger. Julie and Magni sat on the other side and Karishi was at the head of the table.

“That description sounds just like a pair that was at my girlfriend’s martial arts studio yesterday,” Jolly Roger explained. “The man was very adept at various martial arts styles. The girl stood on the sidelines watching. Julie, was she dressed in a school-girl fashion – a white blouse, short green skirt and saddle shoes?”

“Yes, she was.”

“Why would this concern you?” Karishi asked.

“It might be nothing,” Jolly Roger said. “Or it might be connected to a conference going on in Baltimore this week. The local Datatronics Corporation is meeting with a group from Oshioto Electronics later this week. Oshioto has been rumored to be connected to Musabori Industries, the later whom I am certain has direct ties to the Yakuza.”

“What is this Yakuza of which you speak?” Magni asked.

“The Yakuza is the mob in Japan,” Jolly Roger said, “organized crime. They often use businesses to front their illegal operations, to launder dirty money, etc.”

“I assume you will be looking more into this,” Karishi said.

“Definitely,” Jolly Roger said.

“Speaking of preparation,” Karishi continued, “I believe we need to discuss some training exercises. We could do well to work on coordinating our fighting skills. It will help us to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Plus, having a new member of the team, it will be a good way for Magni to become familiar with us and vice versa.”

“Can I train with Magni too?” Julie asked.

“We need you behind the front desk,” Karishi said. “Now, Jolly Roger will work up a schedule for weekly sessions and Magni can assist him with the training.”

“Aye,” the Norse god said. “T’will be good to keep our skills sharp, ready before any enemy can strike!”

Karishi nodded at the enthusiasm of the newcomer. “As the only remaining active member of the founding three, I will continue to be administrative head. Julie will assist me there. Jolly Roger will continue to act as field commander. And, since he has proved successful with it in the past, Stargazer will continue to be responsible for public relations and group image.”

“I can do that,” Stargazer said confidently.

“Speaking of that,” Julie said, “I have a message for you.” She flipped through her pad, tore off a page and slid it across the table to the stellar hero. “The Jergens Advertising Agency called for you. Their rep said they were interested in marketing a line of merchandise with your likeness – action figures and such – as well as setting up some potential product endorsements. Their phone number is there.”

Stargazer was beaming. “Awesome! I’ll call them…”

Suddenly, the entire room swirled about him.

Stargazer found himself no longer standing in the conference room in Baltimore. He was back again on the world with the red sand, with smoke rolling in from a distant mountain. He was walking. Not again, he thought to himself. As he got closer to the landmark, he could make out what appeared to something on the rock face surface. Is that a temple carved in the face of the rock halfway up? He started to climb the craggy surface, carefully locating hand and foot holds. He could feel the sharpness of the rocks and taste the staleness of the air. Still, he climbed on as if drawn to the temple.

As he reached the edge of the plateau, he was no longer on the red sand world.

Stargazer was standing on top of the conference table as the others sat around looking up at him with curious, concerned looks.

“Uh, guys,” the goggled hero began, “I think I have something I should fill you all in on.”

***

Dressed in civilian guise of Yoshikaz Kunimatsu and McCoy Pauley, Karishi and Jolly Roger respectively attended Wednesday’s press conference outside of the Datatronics corporate offices. A large stage stood near the front of the building, and the parking lot was full of local media and other interested citizens.

As McCoy scanned the crowd and those near the stage, he spoke in whispered tones to his friend. “So, you think Star is okay?”

“Hard to tell at this point,” Yoshikaz replied in a similar low tone. “I will need to have some in-depth sessions with him to literally try to get inside his head.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to know what is going on before it become majorly serious.”

“Agreed.”

“Spotted them. Just left of the stage, near the back corner.” He indicated the young oriental man and the younger girl standing next to him. “Are we close enough for you to get a read?”

Yoshikaz nodded. “I will go for a surface read.” He concentrated on the man, attempting to probe his mind.

McCoy continued to scan the crowd as men in business suits started to take the stage. The American he knew from local news as the head of Datatronics. The older oriental gentleman he concluded had to be Musabori’s CEO Chu Nakatari.

“The man’s goes by Hitsusatsu,” Yoshikaz said.

McCoy nodded. “That’s Japanese for ‘certain death’.”

“The girl is Amako Kamakiri.”

McCoy nodded again. “That’s the same last name as the name of the man who supposedly sent me that death threat telegram a few weeks back. So they young guy is the ‘certain death’ the telegram referred to.”

“His thoughts indicate he is here to protect the Musabori CEO.”

“That may be,” McCoy said, “but why keep tabs on me as well? I don’t consider this all coincidence. Besides, I was right about their connections. Check out the guys on the right of the stage, by their necks.”

Yoshikaz squinted to see what his colleague meant. “The hint of tattoos?”

“Typical Yakuza markings,” McCoy said. “Can you get a surface read off of Chu Nakatari?”

Yoshikaz focused his mind for a moment as a man on the stage addressed the crowd from the podium. Finally, he spoke. “His mind reveals that his purpose is the merging of Oshioto’s fast RAM technology with Datatronics’ robotic research. It appears to be an honest business venture.”

McCoy frowned. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

***

At a quarter to eleven that evening, the red and blue lights of the police cars bathed the parking lot of the Regency Heights Hotel with a sense of urgency. The officers escorted people out of the hotel, many in bathrobes and slippers, to a safe distance beyond police barricades.

Off to one side, the four heroes of Rough Justice convened. “Still think it’s an honest business venture?” Jolly Roger asked.

“It may not be connected,” Karishi suggested.

“So, what’s the plan?” Stargazer asked.

Jolly Roger tapped his mask on the side near his left ear. “According to the chatter on the police frequency, there is an incident on the top floor of the hotel – which, according to my research earlier, has been reserved by Oshioto Electronics. I suggest we get up there and see what’s going on.” He turned to the newest member of the team. “Magni, you can fly?”

The black haired god raised the battle mace in his right hand. “Aye.”

Jolly Roger nodded. “Good. You and Stargazer take the direct approach. Karishi and I will go up through the building. We need to contain find the Oshioto folks and contain the situation.”

The other three heroes nodded, and the team split up in pairs.

***

The two heroes approached the upper floors. “I wonder where the Oshioto suite is,” Stargazer said aloud.

“Tis that one, I suppose,” Magni said as he gestured towards a broken plate glass patio door. The glass shards lay on the carpet inside the room.

Suddenly, a loud scream for help came from the room.

“We better get in there,” Stargazer said.

“Aye,” Magni agreed. With a swing of his mace, he broke away the rest of the glass and most of the metal doorframe with a single swing.

Beneath his goggles, Stargazer raised an eyebrow. “Thanks.” He darted into the room, taking the lead. The god followed behind on his heels.

At the far end of the room, an older oriental man ran in with almost a half dozen robots in pursuit. The later were egg-like in shape, about three feet high, hovering a few feet off of the ground. A small head-like piece with a single optical sensor attached to the top, and tentacle like arms with clamp-like hands sprouted from either side.

The man noticed the heroes had entered the room. “Help me!” Chu Nakatari exclaimed in English. “They are trying to take me.”

Stargazer moved quickly, putting himself between the man and his pursuers. “Not so fast, tin men,” the hero said. “You’ll have to get through me first.”

Two of the robots turned their heads toward one another as if conferring. They turned back to the hero and elongated their tentacles at lightning fast rate, wrapping them about the hero’s limbs and torso.

“Hey,” Stargazer said as he tried to move his arms and legs. He felt the metal entanglement resist him. “You think you’ve got me?” He smiled. “Think again.” With the aid of the power in his star-goggles, the black haired man in the yellow, white and black costume instantly became immaterial. He slipped out of the bindings as easily as steam releasing from a teapot.

The robots again glanced at one another, conferring.

The intangible Stargazer laughed. “Guess you didn’t see that coming.”

The two robots turned back to him, firing beams of energy from their optical ports.

The blasts hit Stargazer firmly in the chest, forcing him to materialize once more. He caught himself against the wall before falling. “Damn, that hurt.” He reached forward, grabbing the head portions of each of the two robots and slamming them together.

“We should not play with these creatures,” Magni said.

“They are not alive,” Nakatari cried as the others closed in on him. “They are machines.”

Magni smiled. “Good. Then I can do this.” He lofted the mace in his hand and swung it out like a club, smashing one of the robots into the wall. Plaster and metal went flying everywhere.

The other two robots turned, recognizing the other hero as a threat. One thrust out its tentacles and entangled him while the second did the same to Nakatari.

“Magni,” exclaimed Stargazer as he saw the robot dragging the entangled warrior towards the balcony edge.

Magni struggled with the binding. “Save the man,” he said. “I shall handle this beast.”

Stargazer turned and grabbed the captive Nakatari and the robot holding him fast. “Time to go, sir,” he said. He teleported all of them away from the hotel suite in a flash of light.

As soon as they materialized in the parking lot below, Stargazer grabbed the robot and attempted to pry it off of the confused and startled business man. “I’ll have you free in a moment, sir,” the hero said. He tore one of the tentacles from its socket, exposing sparking wires.

The robot turned its head and blasted Stargazer directly in the face, knocking him backwards. “Those little things pack a punch,” the hero said as he lifted himself off the pavement. “But there’s only one of him and one of me, so I think…”

He hesitated, mid-sentence, as he realized something glinting in the sky was approaching fast. Using his goggles, he was able to adjust his vision to get a better look. “Oh no…” Stargazer said as he realized it was another robot, much bigger and more human-like in form with full arms and legs. In fact, he remembered this robot from something he saw in the news growing up as a kid. “That’s Mechanon.”

Stargazer reached for his radio to call the others.

***

As Jolly Roger and Karishi emerged on the upper hotel floor, they found a figure standing in the hallway blocking their path. “That is as far as you go,” the black haired figure said with a heavily Asian accent. This man was dressed in black boots over tight white pants, a flowing blue tunic and a black domino-style mask to cover part of his face. He stood in a defensive martial arts stance.

Jolly Roger took lead. “Hitsusatsu, I presume.”

“You presume much, Jolly Roger,” the Asian man replied. “You will not attack my employer.”

“We have nothing to do with this attack.”

“No more lies.” Hitsusatsu brought up his arms into a blocking position. “I will not let you pass.”

Jolly Roger continued to move down the hall. Hitsusatsu struck at him with a kick.

The hero moved back to avoid the blow. “We have come to help save Nakatari,” he said. “I don’t want to fight you, but I will if you continue to impede our actions.”

Karishi contacted his partner via telepathy. What do you want me to do?

Jolly Roger turned his head slightly and thought his response. Go on ahead. I have this.

Karishi nodded and dissolved into a cloud of mist. He moved quickly beyond the defender towards the suite.

“What is this?” Hitsusatsu exclaimed. “Where did the other go?”

“Forget him,” Jolly Roger said. “Your beef is with me, so let’s get this over with.” The hero leapt forward, attempting to strike his opponent.

Hitsusatsu rolled to the side, allowing the strike to only graze his side. He then turned and launched a kick directly into the hero’s chest. “You have no honor. You Americans are all alike.”

Jolly Roger pushed himself off the wall and tackled his opponent. “You know nothing about me,” he said. “But know this – you threaten me and I will strike back.” He emphasized his point by driving his fist downward on the Asian man’s shoulder.

In his head, Jolly Roger heard Karishi’s voice. JR, we have trouble. They have Nakatari.

Hitsusatsu tried to grab the hero. Jolly Roger broke the hold. “Sorry, but our play time is over.” He jumped to his feet. “Your boss is in danger, and I don’t plan to see him or anyone else hurt.”

Hitsusatsu started to rise. “I will stop you.”

Jolly Roger pulled one of the grenades from his belt and let it detonate at the Asian man’s feet. The blinding flash clouded the later man’s vision. “Sorry, but I can’t let you do that.” Jolly Roger ran up the hall towards the suite. As he entered the room, he saw the destruction of the fight.

Magni smashed the robots that had entangled him and attempted to drop him over the patio edge.

“Where is Nakatari?” Jolly Roger asked.

“And Stargazer?” Karishi added.

Magni pointed out the window. “Our ally took the man to safety below.”

Jolly Roger and Karishi joined him on the patio and looked down. Jolly Roger’s goggle immediately adjusted to get a better view of the parking lot below. “We better get down there fast!” he exclaimed.

“Very well,” Magni said. He grabbed a hero in each arm and flew down.

With one hand Mechanon easily swatted away Stargazer, sending the hero flying back into a parked car. With the other hand, the mechanized menace grabbed the clearly confused and frightened CEO. “It is time for us to depart, Mr. Nakatari,” Mechanon said in a processor-twinge of a voice. “I have plans for your technology.”

“Not so fast, metal-head,” Jolly Roger shouted as the three heroes landed. He unclipped a grenade from his belt and tossed it at the robot’s feet. A burst of light flashed before him.

“Uh, JR,” Stargazer said as he pulled himself out of the mangled metal of the car he had hit.

“Yeah, Star?”

“I tried that,” Stargazer continued, “with my teleport-flash. It doesn’t even slow him down.”

Mechanon moved unhindered. “My optical sensors have long since been upgraded to avoid meager tactics to disengage them,” the villain said. “My business here is complete. I will take my prize and depart.”

“Guys, my mind control has no effect on him either,” Karishi announced.

The engines in Mechanon’s boots began to engage.

“We need to stop him the old fashioned way,” Jolly Roger shouted, “with brute force.” He flipped his Tozuku rifle from around his back and took a crouched position to aim.

“Brute force I understand,” Magni said as he jumped forward and grabbed Mechanon’s leg as the robot started to rise off the ground. With both hands firm, the Norse god bent his knees and pulled. “Nay, you shall not depart.”

“You may have dispersed most of my drones, humans,” Mechanon said, “but you will find I am not as easily defeated.” The villain clutched Nakatari tighter to its chest plate with its left arm. Its free right hand, however, pointed its palm directly at Magni’s chest. “You have been warned, humans, now die.”

A plasma blast seared into the hero and forced him to let out a loud yelp of pain. Still, the hero held fast. “I say to thee nay!” Magni said through gritted teeth.

“What he said!” Jolly Roger added. His finger squeezed the trigger, firing three shots at Mechanon’s head. The first two made slight dents into the skull-piece of the robot but the third ricocheted off.

Chu Nakatari cried out as the rogue projectile grazed the side of the man’s neck.

A crowd started to form on the perimeter of the parking lot, hoping to view the spectacle of the local heroes in action.

“Humans, you will interfere no further,” Mechanon said, “or the deaths of many of your kind shall be on your hands.” It lifted its right arm to take aim towards the crowd.

“We can’t let him hurt anyone else!” Jolly Roger said.

“On it!” Stargazer said. He rocketed through the air and grabbed Mechanon’s arm as he flew past. He was surprised, however, when the robot held its ground when he pulled. “Uh oh, not good.”

“Hold fast, friend Stargazer,” Magni encouraged through gritted teeth. It was taking all his vast strength just to counter Mechanon’s attempt to fly off.

With its arm held, Mechanon fired wildly towards the crowd.

Jolly Roger dove through the air, putting himself directly in the way of the blast. It knocked him across the parking lot.

“Jolly Roger!” Stargazer exclaimed.

The hero with the skull and crossbones on his chest groaned as he tried to stand. The blast knocked the wind out of his sails a bit, but he was not out of the fight yet.

Karishi stood silently, watching as his teammates struggled with the powerful foe.

“Enough,” Mechanon said. It released its grip on Nakatari, letting the wounded man fall to the ground. With a free hand, the villain struck at Magni in hopes to break the god’s hold on its legs. “I have wasted enough time on this pointless confrontation.”

One of the remaining robot drones sent a shocking charge through Magni, and the extra jolt was enough to force him to release his grip.

Mechanon reached around and grabbed Stargazer by the chest. The villain then flipped the goggled-hero forward and tossed him away.

Karishi concentrated, focusing all of his mental energies at Mechanon.

“And now my prize,” the villain said. The robot looked down at Nakatari, curled into a fetal position on the ground.

Mechanon paused.

“What is this?” it asked. It started to reach down towards Nakatari and stopped.

What Mechanon saw was a mechanical duplicate, down to the smallest detail. The wound in the neck revealed exposed wires and circuitry, now sparking. The man-machine then began to convulse slightly and wisps of smoke began to rise up from where seams in the joints would be.

“This is a deception,” Mechanon exclaimed. It stood up straight, leaving Nakatari on the ground at its feet. “I will locate the real Nakatari and obtain what I need.” And with that, the villain flew up into the air and shot off to the west.

“No!” Magni exclaimed. He slammed his fist down on the last of the drones, smashing it to pieces in frustration.

“We have to stop him!” Stargazer added.

“Let him go,” Karishi replied. “We have more pressing things to deal with.”

Jolly Roger rose. “What happened?” he asked groggily.

“Mechanon is gone,” Stargazer said.

Jolly Roger walked towards the others. “Nakatari?”

“The varlet left him behind,” Magni said.

“Why?” Jolly Roger asked.

“My doing,” Karishi said. “I took a chance that my mental illusions might be able to confuse Mechanon. I made him see a robot duplicate rather than Nakatari’s human body.”

“Good thinking,” Jolly Roger said. He looked down at the Asian CEO on the ground, bleeding from where his ricocheted bullet hit his neck. “We should get him to a hospital.”

“No,” a voice said behind them.

The heroes all turned to see the costumed Asian man. “Hitsusatsu,” Jolly Roger said.

“You have done enough,” he said as he pushed past the quartet. Hitsusatsu bent down to cradle Nakatari in his arms. “I will see that my employer gets the care he needs.”

“Good,” Jolly Roger said. “Let’s go, guys.” The heroes nodded and started to leave.

“Jolly Roger,” Hitsusatsu called.

The hero in gray turned.

“This is not over between us.”

Jolly Roger nodded. “I figured as much.”