The Cale Storyline Story 14 Chapter 5

Attention: Generation X and their villains, as well as any other mutant mentioned in this story, is property of Marvel Comics. The character Richard Cale is named after family relations. Any other reference to anything copyrighted is a chance happening.

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Iron X

Chapter 5: Iron Chef Assault (updated)

Sequel pushed the large duffel bag down the ventilator shaft, slowly moving across studios towards the studio reserved for the Iron Chef show. It hadn't been too difficult for Sequel to get into the building. But the vents were especially small; Sequel couldn't even take full breaths as he wedged his way through the air duct. Finally the length of air duct opened up to an enclosed space above the studio. Sequel wedged his way out of the airshaft and sat down. He looked back at the airshaft, back towards the elevator shaft and his planned route of escape, "Fuck that." Kevin muttered to himself. Obviously he'd get stuck in the vents long enough for the buildings security forces to find him. Mentally Sequel made a change of plans.

Sequel looked around at the smoke detectors and sneered... God he needed a cigarette. He pulled out a square of nicotine gum and stuck it in his mouth. As Kevin chewed he opened up the duffel bag and pulled out a pocket fisherman and hooked it to a pipe above a ventilation grate. He hooked the other end to the grate and wound the line until it lifted the grate open about five inches. locking the line in place, Kevin reached back into the duffel back and pulled out the disconnected sections of a large rifle. As he snapped the gun together Sequel could hear the stagehands several tens of feet below setting up for the show. Sequel connected the tripod for the gun and set it up to the opening in the vent. Kevin peered through the scope to get a good look at the amphitheater, now all he had to do was wait for Canon.

" Ito, Kumiko?"

"Hai."

" Horibuchi, Yoshihito "

"Hai"

The cast manager looked at his list and then up at the group of sur-chefs gathered before him, "It doesn't seem you are on the list..."

"Tajiri, Soichiro" the young chef bowed, "I'm filling in."

The cast manager nodded, "Alright everyone get into position, we go on the air in 30 minutes. Behind the make-up and prosthetics Sequel had used for her cover, Balam smiled. Perhaps this would work after all. She got in place with the other sur-chefs.

The door to the Iron chef sound stage opened and the audience began to filter in. slowly everyone began to find their seats. The spacious soundstage began to fill with a steady chatter, growing stronger as more and more of the crowd filed in.

Two figures filed through the doors with the rest of the crowd, slowly making their way to their seats, a small Japanese man carrying a notebook and a towering sandy blonde haired man in a suit resembling a tuxedo. "Now Remember, Leveque-san, you are to distract the crowd from my work."

"I know my role in this, my friend, I suggest you be a bit more concerned with yours." Canon went to take his seat, "Don't forget whom is doing whom a favor here."

"I don't like your tone." Kanagawa began, but his voice trailed off as he saw the look in Canon's eyes. It sent shivers down his spine, in fact he had to take a step back it affected him so, as he did he bumped into another member of the audience and dropped his notebook. Kanagawa apologized and picked up the note book. He looked back up at Canon, whose angry stare had not shifted.

"I would be more cautious, if I were you. If I were not sitting right here you would have given yourself away just now."

"Yes, Leveque-san." Kaga bowed humbly, "I apologize Leveque-san."

"Good, Now find a seat elsewhere in the theater," Canon said resting back in the seat, "and not an eye will fall upon you for the duration of the show."

Richard Cale watched as people started to settle in their seats. Soon, the show would begin, but that didn’t help Rich’s nerves. The nightmare still stuck in his head. It made him more nervous as the day went on. He felt a hand on his shoulder and heard Yvette say in their mind link, {Are you nervous about the nightmare?}

Before he could answer, he heard the translator for the announcer begin his intro. “Hello everyone, and welcome again to Kitchen Arena. We are in for a real treat today, as another chef from the United States comes to challenge one of the Iron Chefs.”

He then heard the other announcer say, “Yes, but rumor has it that Chairman Kaga has a few surprises planned. And here he comes now.”

Rich watched as Kaga approached the podium where the secret ingredient would appear. When Kaga reached the point, Rich heard another translator speak for Kaga. “Not to long ago, Morimoto was defeated by American chef, Bobby Flay. Now, Morimoto has discovered a new talent. A very gifted chef who can cook in many different styles. Now he will have a true test of his abilities, and to add to the pressure, the man who helped him get his start is here to watch, and even taste his quicine. Let us now welcome the challenger, David Richmer.”

When the last words were spoke, the music started to play, and David headed in. Rich followed a step behind. This was David’s moment in the sun, and he needed to be in second place. Yvette was a step behind him, and next to them, two men carriyng the flags of the United States, and England. As they entered, he heard the announcer say, “Now entering Kitchen Arena. David Richmer, a master of many styles, being followed by the owner of Paladin Technologies, Richard Cale Jr. and his wife, Yvette Cale.”

He then heard the first announcer say, “Yes, and he’s more than that. He has the title of Lord in England, so you can bet that Chairmen Kaga is thrilled with his appearence here.” Rich wondered if part of the reason that David was picked was so he’d be there. He then cleared that from his mind. There was no guarentee that they would have come to Japan.

When they stopped in front of Kaga, Kaga greeted them all, but addressed mainly David. “I welcome you to Kitchen Arena. I hear you are a master of many cooking styles. I hope I did not hear wrong.”

Rich watched as David said, “You did not. I owe some of my skills to Mr. Cale. Cooking for him has allowed me to expand my horizons as a chef.”

Rich was a bit flattered, but could not take all the claim on that. It was some of Yvette’s unique tastes that allowed David to improve his skills. Kaga then looked at Rich and said, “I trust you will want to see how well your chef does in the tasting part.”

Rich nodded and said, “I would like to taste what he creates. I do hope he picks wisely. I know all your chefs are good.” It was true. Kaga only picked the best chefs to be his Iron Chefs.

Rich was almost surprised when Kaga said, “I don’t think that will be a problem. Now I summon the Iron Chefs”

Rich was in awe as the lights went low and the music played. Soon, the Iron Chefs began entering the arena. He then heard the announcer say, “Now entering Kitchen Arena are your Iron Chefs. Hiroyki Sakai, Iron Chef French. Chen Kenichi, Iron Chef Chinese, and Masiharo Morimoto, Iron Chef Japenese.”

Just then, Rich heard new music enter the mix, and everyone looked off to the side. Rich was stunned, as was the second announcer. “Wait a second, here comes Masahiko Kobe, Iron Chef Italian. What is he doing here? What does Kaga have planned?”

Rich looked over the crowd and saw the shock from everyone. This was not expected, not even by the chefs. Kaga then said, “Because you are such an expert in many styles, I decided that you, with the aid of 3 sur-chefs, shall chalenge all of the Iron Chef’s at once. In a true battle royal.” Rich and Yvette headed up to their seats as the Chef’s entered the arena. Kaga had played this well. When they were all in position, Kaga just said, “Unlike other battles, your dishes will be judged individually. You must make one of each style, plus a fifth of a different style or combining styles. And in honor of our guest, I thought I would pick an ingredient more in tune with where you are from. Today’s secret ingredient will be...”

Rich watched as Kaga unveiled the ingredient. As it slowly came up, he saw Yvette smiling as she said, “David will have no problems. It’s his favorite ingredient, and mine.” Rich then saw the red orbs on display.

Kaga then said, “Apples.” With that, he saw a huge grin go across David’s face, and a worried look across some of the Iron Chefs. David knew how to work with apples. Soon the gong rang and the battle was underway.

As the battle commenced, Rich watched over the audience across from him. He didn’t know why, but he felt he needed to look over at the people over there, especially the one on the end. Rich glanced at him and then realized he saw him before, at the airport. Rich did a quick look over the group again and noticed another person he saw at the airport, Kanagawa. Was it really him? He needed to know. He quickly said in his mindlink, "Hun, I think the spies are back. Give a quick mind scan, discrete of everyone in the area. Nothing that will bring notice to you."

He listened as she said "Alright, I’ll make it quick. If anything, they might notice a slight mental pinch, but nothing they will think twice about." Rich then went back to watching the contest. He hoped David would win.

Yvette glanced around the whole place. Someone was there that Rich recognized. She hadn’t seen the spies at the airport, but she had picked up on one. Now, they were here and she needed find them. She decided to look down at what David was doing, to disguise the fact she was doing a mind scan. It was something Emma once told her. If you are scanning minds, don’t let them think you are doing it. She quickly focused on everyone there. As she scanned, she detected many minds there. Most were watching the contest, and watching the time. She picked up on two minds, thinking about Canon. She couldn’t figure out more, but she didn’t need to. She then picked up on the spy. It was Kanagawa. That much was clear. Then it happened. She encountered the same barrier again. The same images she had seen before at the airport. One of the spies was out there. She didn’t want to give any clue that she tried to peer into the mind, but she got a little more. She looked across the room and saw him. He was out of place, the only non-asian on the other side of the room. That had to be the one she saw the images of. She was about to tell Rich what she found out when the scent of apples baking hit her nose. She was in heaven. She looked over where David was cooking and saw what he was making. She quietly said, “Hun, he’s making my family’s favorite dish.”

She watched as he took a breath and smiled. “You’re right, hun. He is making your favorite. I think the chefs have a run for their money.” She then noticed the show’s reporter coming over to them. She wondered if he noticed their little conversation.

When the reporter finally got to them, she heard him ask, “Mrs. Cale, do you know what Chef Richmer is making?” She was thankful that their interperter was there. If not for him, she wouldn’t know what they were saying.

She just smiled and said, “He’s making a dish from my homeland, the former Yugoslavia. I think the tasters are in for a real treat.” As the reporter stepped away, she quickly turned to the others and set up a mind link with all of them. "Listen, I think our spies are here. I picked up the same ones as before. I think we might be in trouble."

She heard Jubilee say, "Is it The Hand?" She could tell there was fear in the voice. Whoever the hand was, Jubilee was afraid of them.

Yvette then said, "I don’t think so. One name came up in my scan. Canon. It might be something big, but I don’t know. This Canon might be assoicated with some of the images I saw earlier."

She heard Clarice respond, by saying, "I know of that name, but only in passing. In my timeline, he was one of the first eliminated by Apocolypse. I don’t know why, but that was what I was told by the X-Men in my time."

Darrett then said, "I don’t know much about him in my timeline. He might have been dead in my timeline." These thoughts were not helpful. If Canon was something they didn’t know of in any timeline, they had big problems. She could tell everyone was thinking about this. A foe they knew nothing about, and it was at a most in opertune time. She thought of the images she saw earlier. Was Canon a group of seven people? If not, what did the seven mean?

She was lost on that thought when the ending gong sounded. The battle was over, and she saw 5 dishes on the table. David had done a good job. She then heard Kaga say, “I wanted to let you know, Mr. Cale, that you are invited to join in the tasting.”

She nodded as he said, “My wife and I would be delighted. It would be nice to taste what he made, and even sample the works of four of the best chefs in the world.” She saw Kaga smile at those words. She then heard him say, "I think you are racking your brain for answers, and we don’t even have all the clues." She nodded and then heard Rich say, “We’ll be right back. If anything happens, don’t join in unless told to. Understood. No powers of any sort.” It was a good precaution. She then got up with him, as they headed for the tasting area.

Jubilee watched as Rich and Yvette left for the tasting area. After finding out that they were still being watched was bad, but this made that feeling even worse. An old fear was resurfacing, one where ‘The Hand’ would strike and kill her. Although she had been a part of their defeat everytime, it only made matters worse. Once Rich and Yvette had been gone, Jubilee said, “I’m worried. If ‘The Hand’ is here, they might strike now.”

She then heard Clarice say, “Maybe I should be keeping an eye on Rich and Yvette. If this ‘Hand’ attacks, or this Canon group attacks, they might need my help.”

Jubilee then looked over at Everett as he said, “How? Rich said not to use any of our powers, no matter what, unless he says so. This isn’t someplace where we won’t be seen. We are in a television show.” She had to admire that about Everett. He was always thinking about the situation. To use their powers now would be a mistake.

She was stunned when Darrett just said, “He’s right. We aren’t really in a spot where we can do anything. Even if I use my powers, it would be humanish characters. Anything else would lead to suspicion and....” She heard him trail off as a gasp came from elsewhere.

Jubilee turned just in time to see a bunch of ninja enter the area. It was ‘The Hand’, but something was different. She then noticed it, the was a very large ninja. He looked like a giant compared to the others. Soon, a fight was beginning. It was not good at all. She then heard some words that made it go from bad to worse. One ninja looked at here and shouted, “It’s her. For our honor, capture our foe.” She watched in almost fright as ‘The Hand’ started to advanced. This was not good.

She then heard Ev say, “I think we better dive for cover. Last thing we need to do is engage them.” He was right. Right now, they needed to get out of harms way. She saw the other duck down, but she was still in shock. She couldn’t move. She then heard him shout, “Come on, Jubilee, move.”

She brought herself to move and said, “I’m on my way.” As she turned to move, she saw one of ‘The Hand’ come up in front of her. She quickly stopped and tries to move back, but she realized what she did wrong too late. She backed right into another ninja’s arm. She was stunned when he put a rag over her mouth. She then realized what it was as she drifted out of consciousness. It was chloroform. As she drifted off, she started to hope Gen X would do something before the hand was successful.

Equilibrium laughed, he hadn't expected to get such a pure enjoyment out of this mission, but the utter chaos that had eminated since he entered the room was nothing less than pure art to him and he hadn't even begun to use his powers.

A security guard ran up to the giant, ready to subdue the big man with a tazer. Underneath his Ninja mask Equilibrium just grinned, shot out his right arm and grabbed the man by the throat. The security guard dropped his tazer and struggled as Equilibrium held him high in the air for a few moments, then the giant slammed him down to the floor with a chokeslam. Equilibrium kicked the unconscious guard aside nonchalantly as he continued on towards the stage.

All around him the Hand was causing a panic, the audience was practically trampling each other to get to the exits. Meanwhile the buildings security had called in reinforcements, done up in SWAT armor no less. How utterly predictable. With a stroke of his hand Equilibrium sent the entire batch of reinforcements crashing into the wall behind them with a wind attack. Equilibrium laugh aloud, "Is this the superlative you can offer me! I do not even break a sweat at this meaningless attempt at an offense!"

A guard jumped on Equilibrium's back and began choking him with a nightstick. Equilibrium whirled around, trying to get rid of this annoyance on his neck. Finally he grabbed the guard and with one arm sent him flying into the first row of seats in the auditorium. Equilibrium went to finish the fight when he saw two members of the hand carrying off a small asian girl. "No, No, No, you half-witted barbarians. The Target is the young master Cale, and none other! Continue the dual and capture the true target! None leave until I give the command!"

Suddenly a figure dropped down from above knocking two of the Ninjas to the ground with his landing. This new figure dressed in black leather grabbed a third ninja by the back of his head and kneed him in the face again and again before he flipped off the dazed man and tossed him into the crowd.

One of the chefs from backstage leapt from the stage, casting the apron aside to display a girl with cat ears an a tail in a skin-tight leather outfit. She ran up to join her comrade as he grabbed a folding chair from over by the television monitors and struck randomly at the mass of Ninjas. The girl grew a considerable size and literally pounced on the ninjas, tossing them aside left and right. "So," Equilibrium said to himself, "they are here."

That was when the attack came; Equilibrium was hit at full force from behind. Stunned, the giant turned. It was that Richard Cale, readying himself for another attack. The young man rushed, slamming into the seven footer with another full speed tackle. The giant teetered. Cale saw his chance. One more full speed tackle, crashing into the heart of the big man. The giant fell to the concrete floor, sliding back towards the elevated stage as he hit.

Sequel smacked another ninja up-side the head with the chair, denting it on impact. Sequel then tuned to face a ninja charging at him with his sword drawn. Kevin grinned and tossed the chair at the ninja. Acting on reflex, the ninja grabbed the chair as it came towards his face, next thing he knew, a powerful kick had been delivered to the other side of the chair, slamming the steel object into his forehead, knocking him unconscious.

Sequel straightened his jacket and turned back towards the action. His eyes narrowed on one figure in particular, a giant seven foot ninja, just getting to his feet, even if Kevin had not recognized the man by his size, Equilibrium's mannerisms were a dead giveaway. Sequel cracked his knuckles and walked towards the big man. Another ninja dashed at Sequel, and without even breaking stride, Sequel grabbed the man, kneed him in the crotch, and backhanded him across the face, knocking him aside.

Sequel continued on towards the giant, now at his feet, and the young man dressed in regal attire before him. Suddenly a girl with red hair dashed in front of him, and struck a blow so powerfully delivered that Sequel had to back-flip away from her to avoid it. Sequel's mind worked quickly, she was definitely not on the side of the ninjas, but she was still in the way, the solution: take her down.

"You shouldn'ta done that," Sequel smirked, "A stuffed shirt little girl like you obviously isn't the combat type. And a guy like me has been fighting for so long it's the only life I know. I'm the game, the one to beat, so do yourself a favor and step outta the way."

The red head just smiled slyly, staying in a defensive stance. Sequel frowned, this was growing irritating. He feinted an attack just to show he meant business. The red-head dodged nimbly and the two faced off again, "I've been in a few life-or-death struggles." Then her voice came in Sequel's head [Can you top being a monster's meal for years?]

Sequel dropped his guard, momentarily, surprised. It was a moment too long. The attack came hard from behind, a hard driven blow right between the shoulder blades. Sequel crumpled to the floor, barely able to move. Sequel looked up to see a tall balding man carrying a light fixture, "The... Helll..?" Sequel managed to say before the older man drove the light fixture into his face.

Balam tossed another ninja against the side of the wall, knocking several others aside with the force of the blow. Their numbers were thinning out now, many of the ninjas had retreated. Balam looked around nervously. Where was Sequel? Had he found Canon? Who had survived? It was then that she saw it, a older man in regal attire ran at Sequel taking a hard strike at Kevin in the back, right between the shoulder blades. Kevin lurched forward and collapsed, fighting unconsciousness as he sprawled on the floor. Then the second attack came, right between the eyes. Balam turned, growling deep in her throat as she faced the new opponents. With less than a sprawl, she raced over to Sequel's side, chasing off those around him with the ferocity of a jungle cat.

Yvette cautiously approached the fifteen foot tall cat-girl, standing over the unconscious biker. Balam growled ferociously but made no other aggressive movements. Yvette paused for a second in front of the large cat-girl, a look of determination on her face, "Don't mess with me Ixbalamque," she said psionically.

Balam blinked, but never broke her defensive stance. "How did you know my name?" she said harshly in a half whisper. Yvette didn't answer but instead moved over to the unconscious Sequel. She placed a hand on his head and checked his eyes, then she turned to Balam and said psionically, "He'll be alright, he doesn't seem to have a concussion."

Balam began to shrink down to her normal size, still in a somewhat defensive stance, "You let him get away." Balam said.

Yvette looked around, the ninja's had all seemed to have retreated, and the audience was long since gone, "Who?" she asked.

Balam turned to Yvette and said grimly, "Evil itself."

Richard Cale looked on as the ninjas fled. This was a disaster. He had a bad feeling he knew who they were. He then looked over the whole stage. It was a wreck. He looked over at one of the cameramen who apparently was still filming. He just looked at him and psyonicly said, "Shut it off." He watched as the cameraman just shut the camera off and stepped away. With all the chaos that happened, the man would probably doubt it actually happened. He then saw Henry Stauf standing near. Darrett had broken the main order, “Don’t use your powers.” But then after what the cat-girl had done, Rich just stopped and said, “Emma is gonna be pissed at this.”

He motioned the others over and Everett was the most frantic. He looked at them and said, “I think this was the Hand. They captured Jubilee. They..”

Rich held up his hand and said, “...had help. I’ve never heard of a Japenese man getting to be seven foot tall. Besides, that tall man wasn’t Japenese. I saw something. He works for someone, and I saw some of the same images Yvette saw earlier. He’s linked to our spies.” He then looked around the room. He was looking for the spies, but only saw one, cowering in a corner.

Darrett then said, “Well, maybe those other two know something.” Rich looked at him quickly and Darrett knew what was wrong. Rich knew Darrett broke the standing rule, and the boy said, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t let that nut do anything. He had a gun, and I thought Henry wouldn’t stand out as X would have.”

Rich was about to say something when he thought of the only X that wouldn’t be phased by a gun. Rich just said, “Good thinking, now dismiss Henry. We need to do a fall back and regroup.” Rich turned to see Kaga was stunned, and not too thrilled at what had happened.

Rich’s interpreter was there, and Rich walked up to them, with Yvette next to him. He then heard Kaga say, “What has happened to Kitchen Arena? What is the cause of all this?”

Rich had a feeling he knew, but he had to put it the best way he could. He said, “I think a group of ninja’s were after someone in my group. One of them is missing. I have a feeling someone over there knows about it.” He pointed over at the cowering man.

He watched Kaga frown and say, “Kanagawa. I did not think he would dishonor himself this way. And what of the mutant, is she part of the attack on you?” He didn’t know where Kaga standed on the mutant issue, but Rich was going to try and sway him.

Before he said anything, he heard Yvette say, “I don’t think so. She was fighting some of the Ninja’s. She may know something about who organized this. If you don’t mind, sir, we’d like to see if she can help us save our friend.”

He watched as Kaga nodded and said, “Very well. She may be helpful. I shall ask Kanagawa what he knows. I do want to tell you that your chef won. He beat my French and Italian chef, and the combo dish sealed it for him. He is very talented. I wish you luck on rescuing your friend.” He watched as Kaga turned and headed over to Kanagawa.

Rich just said, “Nice save, now who are our mystery mutants?” He looked at the two of them, a cat-girl and a biker. They were an odd combination. There had to be something to them.

Yvette just said, “The girl’s name is Ixbalamque, but I think she might go by Balam. The boy is still a mystery, but I don’t think he’s afraid to die. Something in the way he talked.”

Rich nodded and motioned Clarice over. He said, “We need to get back to the apartment quick. When we all get out of sight, Blink us back there.” He watched as Clarice nodded. He then walked over to Balam and the othe one and said, “Ixbalamque, I hope you are ok. My name is Richard Cale. I’d like to thank you and your friend for help, but I must ask for your help.” He watched as she cocked her head, glancing at him almost as a cat would. He just mentally said to Yvette, "It’s like I’m talking with Grimore."

He heard Yvette say back, "But Grimore talks back."

He then said to Balam, “You two were trying to help us, and in the confusion, we didn’t know. We need your help to find our friend, and why we were attacked. If your friend needs care, my company can offer it. My company is for the betterment of the world. I have a feeling you know who is to blame, who is at the center of this.”

Rich watched as Balam looked first at the man, and then up at him and said, “We will help you. But, I don’t know if Kevin will agree with that.”

Rich nodded and said, “It’s ok. I’ll talk with him about it. Let me help you with him.” Rich walked over and helped get Kevin up, but he soon regretted it. He felt Kevin’s power enter his being, and with it, Kevin’s memories. It was frighteing, terrifying, and horrifying. This boy had died countless times, but kept coming back. It was scary. When they got him up, Rich just said, “I don’t want to seem mean, Balam, but I think I might want Kevin to wait in a seperate room., with two of my friends watching him. I don’t want him to do anything drastic.”

He watched as Balam nodded, as though the thought was expected, and said, "I understand.” He saw a smile cross her face. Maybe he had found two new friends in this whole chaos. If that was the case, maybe they might join Gen X one day, but for now, Blink had to get them back to the company, and fast.

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