RanPorn11 Porn World! By Jim Robert Bader (Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi and so many others who do not deserve the blame for putting me up to this series...) The Eleventh Encore. Under Seventeen Not Admitted ("World Without Men...") WARNING---LEMON MERANGE FANFICTION AHEAD! CONTAINS SCENES OF AN ADULT AND HIGHLY SUGGESTIVE NATURE THAT MIGHT NOT BE TO EVERYONE'S PALET. THIS IS A FANTASY WORLD IN WHICH 99.9% OF THE MEN HAVE BEEN KILLED OFF DUE TO AN ERRANT WISH BY HAPPOSAI, AND FIFTEEN YEARS LATER THE WORLD IS STILL COPING WITH THE AFTERMATH, INCLUDING THE ONES WHO MIGHT ALLEGEDLY HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH MASS TERRORISM...OH, AND THERE MIGHT EVEN BE SOME LOOSE SEXUAL REFERENCES IN THIS CHAPTER, SO ENJOY! (YOU HAVE BEEN DULY WARNED) "Hail Hydra!" "Immortal Hydra!" "We will never---" "Be Destroyed!" "Cut off one limb---" "And two more---" "Will grow in its place..." "Which isn't necessarily all that unusual these days, limbs grow back all the time, only I don't think two limbs is very likely since there'd be no support structure and...um...ah..." The other hooded figures standing about the conference table were glaring significantly at the last speaker, who finally got the point and ceased her chatter, but not before earning the dire disapproval of their leader, the current reigning Madam Hydra, who sat in the highest chair at the horse-shoe shaped table favoring the speaker with a look that would have curdled lumpy oatmeal. "Number Twenty-Two," she said after a suitably dramatic pause, "I will only say this once...no ad-libbing." "Sorry," the offending speaker sheepishly remarked, cringing slightly and hoping the other Hydra members would get tired of glaring at her and get on with their intended business. Madam Hydra cleared her throat to call the meeting to order, then bade the other Hydra members to be seated so that they could get on with their business. Once this was done the leader of this branch enclave swept the hooded agents of her executive committee with a glance then began to initiate matters by saying, "All department heads present, let us convene the Hydra..." "Ah..." one of the hooded representatives raised a hand to gain their leader's attention. "Yes, what is it Thirty-Six?" Madam Hydra asked that particular agent. "I'm sorry," Agent Thirty-Six replied, "But Thirty-Eight wanted me to convey her apologies...she's still stuck in the lab haggling with some of those AIM people about the new prototype Model X-32 Death Ray Mobile that you had on order from their department. She thinks it might be a while before she works free from their negotiations..." "You mean until they let her down from the harness?" another Hydra operative asked, speaking out of turn and earning a sour glance from their leader. "You have something to contribute here, Twenty-Four?" Madam Hydra inquired in tones that made it sound more like a reprimand than an inquiry. "Sorry," Twenty-Four hunched her shoulders apologetically, "I just meant to say that I had a look at what those AIM girls laughingly refer to as 'negotiations.' Seems their X-32 DRM module is way behind production schedule because they've blown their operations budget on some new S&M play toys that they've been crafting on their spare time. Something about marketing a new brand of recreational torture gear for the bondage and leather crowd, and they've decided to test out a real sadistic model on Thirty-Eight, which is why she's not going to be making it on time for this meeting." "All tied up in her work, huh?" another Agent asked. "More like she's going to be having trouble sitting down or walking normally for the next month or so," Twenty-Four replied with a slight shudder in her voice, "Trust a bunch of Nerds to concoct a device that fiendish...comes from playing a little too much with their slide rules, I'm thinking..." "Oh really?" Madam Hydra asked, stroking her chin, "I may have to pop down there and see if this device is as fiendish as you claim it to be. I can think of quite a few people that I would use it on for motivational purposes." The other Hydra members collectively looked uneasy in their chairs, and some were downright squirming as they imagined the leader might be looking in their particular direction. "A pity about the X-32 DRM, though," Madam Hydra sighed, "I was so hoping to have that one ready in time for the New Years. Ah well...on now to other business..." She let the words hover in the air with just the appropriate hint of ominous ennui before she continued, "Agent Seventeen...you will report your department's latest findings." "Ah," that worthy sat upright in her chair and then cleared her throat before beginning, "On the matter of continuing the inquiry over the unfortunate chain of events that led to the creation and dissemination of the Millennia Virus, our department once again affirmed that our agency was not involved, and that no members of Hydra past, present or deceased were in any way, shape or form responsible for the activities of Doctor Gregorio Chezlovski or his research team and-or their patrons, sponsors or associated research teams..." "Not involved?" Agent Thirty-Six asked incredulously, "But I thought Sadam and his whole regime..." "A side-franchise, nothing more," Madam Hydra waved the point away, "We long since wrote him off, along with the rest of those Baathist posers." "But what about earlier reports claiming that Chezlovski used laboratory resources and raw materials cultivated from an AIM research institute?" agent Twenty-Four inquired. "We know about no such report," Agent Seventeen replied, "And furthermore, our department is working diligently to refute any evidence of its previous existence." "But why don't we want to take credit for the Virus?" one of the other Agents asked, "After all, it's the greatest single accomplishment of bio-terrorism in history, to say nothing of it effectively reshaping the entire face of the planet." "All the men are gone," another Hydra Agent affirmed, "And wasn't Hydra originally set up to set the stage for eventual world domination?" "Yes," Madam Hydra replied, "And as evil plot devices go it succeeded in its mission beyond all of our wildest projections...but the problem is...it worked a little too well for anyone's liking. All the men of the world died, including our predecessors." "Not much point to a terrorist device if you can't stick around to gloat about it afterward, huh?" Agent Twenty-Two deduced with unusually keen perception. "To say nothing of how the Virus has forced the entire world, including this organization, to rethink our entire way of doing business? I should think so," Madam Hydra sniffed, "A pity none of our predecessors had a back-up plan for the Virus being a little too successful, but that's men for you, always thinking with the wrong part of their anatomy. And now that we women must cope with the consequences of their unfortunate lack of sound judgement we also must consider the fact that we are far from the only survivors, and that ninety-eight percent of the world still grieves for their lost male relations, including husbands, fathers, sons and boyfriends." "All of whom would sue the collective pants off of us if they thought we were in any way involved here," Seventeen explained for the benefit of those too slow to pick up on the implications, "And even an evil terrorist organization such as ours would be ill-equipped to fight a legion of seriously aggrieved Dyke lawyers." "So therefore official Hydra policy is that the Virus was none of our manufacture," Madam Hydra stressed the words as she eyed Agent Seventeen and added, "And I trust your department will continue to find nothing in future reports upon this matter?" "Count on it, Leader," Seventeen assured, "Under my leadership you can count on us to know nothing upon this subject." "Good," Madam Hydra replied, "Because if I learn you missed any incriminating documents or left a trail unaltered, then I will personally see to it that you spend a session with our AIM branch as a live test subject. Are we clear upon this matter, Seventeen?" "Crystal," Seventeen swallowed, "Pyrex, high quartz, premium polished." "Excellent," Madam Hydra turned and nodded towards a different Agent, "Ninety-Six, you have the latest report from our Legitimate Business Front Laundering and Sales Division?" "Of course," Agent Ninety-Six ruffled through some papers that she had laid out in a folder on the round table before her, pulling out the top file and reading the gist of the transcript, "Since the collapse of the World Market some twelve years ago we have been slowly sinking our tentacles into a number of failed industries and have been quietly turning them around into thriving new enterprises that help to fund many of our more covert and exotic research programs. Unfortunately, as you all know, our share of the market in Home Recreational Products is badly underrepresented and we've been getting some rather stiff competition from Latex Industries with their new line of fashion-fitting fall products. The good news is that Bodice Apparel is making an uplifting comeback, but condom sales are flat, and there's been a run on stockings and footwear in general with the new social trend of getting back to Au Natural basics." "Well, of course people are turning away from more traditional clothing styles," Agent Thirty-Six snorted, "The way girls rip their clothes off at a moment's notice these days, the last thing that anybody wants is something that takes longer than two minutes to get unfastened." "Yeah, like some halters I could describe," Agent Forty-Two said in disgust, "You ever try peeling those off a girl while she's got her hands all over you and you're feeling the rush and want to get at the goods without having to fight against the wrapping?" Many heads nodded from around the table, for it was a common complaint of many women in the world these days that taking the bra off another girl was something that ought to be a snap but could often prove to require a handy set of pliers. "Why are we still selling condoms anyway?" Agent Twenty-Four asked, "There are no guys left in the world to buy them!" "But Herms sometime favor them for the old, traditional reason," Ninety-Six explained, "And after all, not every Herm is out to knock up every girl she meets, even in these days of low birth rates." "Excuse me," another Agent raised her hand politely. "What is it, Sixty-Nine?" Madam Hydra inquired with a nod. "I was just wonder...on the subject of fashion," Sixty-Nine glanced down at herself and her robes before saying, "Do we have to wear these bulky, dull things at every meeting? I mean, look at seriously drab they are, and they make us look fat, and Olive Green? Ugh!" There were nods and voices of assent upon that subject, so Ninety-Six looked at Sixty-Nine from across the table and said, "They are supposed to be drab and unflattering to our figures, otherwise it might be difficult for anyone at this table to keep their minds on business. Besides, these outfits are a tradition..." "Nevertheless," Madam Hydra mused, "Sixty-Nine does raise a valid point. Just because we are an evil organization dedicated to world domination there's no reason for us to look like a bunch of retro hippos. I will tell you what...you two, Sixty-Nine and Ninety-Six, I want you to get together after this meeting and go over some design proposals, make suggestions in tailoring and come up with something that you can toss upon my desk. Take your time and go head-to-head if you must...in fact, I believe I will name this 'Project Fishtail' and let you sort out the details." "Um...well..." Ninety-Six reluctantly conceded. "It will be both an honor and a privilege working with you, Ninety-Six," Sixty-Nine assured her, "And...to tell the complete truth, I've always wondered what you'd look like without that robe on." As Ninety-Six started to work through the logical implications of that statement, Madam Hydra nodded to her and said, "Continue with your report upon the state of our business?" "Ah..." Ninety-Six tried ignoring the brazen way in which Sixty-Nine was now eyeing her and instead shuffled through her papers before continuing with her report once again, "Overall projections over the next quarter is that, with a four-point-two percent rise in the general economy, we may look forward to a projected One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Percent growth rate within the same period..." "What?" Madam Hydra sat upright, her eyes livid with outrage, "Are you telling us that we may be running that far into the black in the next quarter?" "Ah..." Ninety-Six quailed, "Perhaps I read these reports wrong...these figures are a bit fuzzy on certain details..." "For your sake they had better be," Madam Hydra's voice dripped with venom, "How many times must I stress that our cover businesses are not supposed to be making money...they are there for tax write offs and off-shore laundering purposes so that we can continue to report at a loss each quarter. Having them suddenly turn that profitable is bound to trigger investigations, which in turn will draw the wrong sort of attention." "I honestly don't know how a mistake like that could get by our accountants," Ninety-Six was now sweating profusely from beneath her hood, "Perhaps we need to invest in a few more failed business ventures to bleed off some of that excess profit?" "You had better restore things to the Red by the time of our next meeting," Madam Hydra growled, "Or else...rather than spend time with Agent Sixty-Nine, you will be forced to report to detention." "No!" Ninety-Six squealed out, "Not detention! Anything but that!" "Unfortunately the pool of hungry paranas is being cleaned out at the moment," Madam Hydra replied, "And the cage of starving gerbils hasn't been changed in over a month, so we'll have to improvise in some way." "I'll be good...I swear it, Leader!" Ninety-Six quailed. "Not too good I hope," Madam Hydra smiled nastily, "Or else I will personally supervise your discipline session. Now...if that matter is concluded here...yes, Twenty-Two?" "I just wanted to know how long this meeting will last this time," Twenty-Two replied, "I promised my mother I'd be visiting her while I was in town, and I need to pick up the kids from the day care center." "I need to take my little girl to soccer practice," Thirty-Six spoke up. "And I have a hot date at seven," Twenty-Four revealed, "So I hope we can conclude things by five at the latest." "It only takes two hours for you to get ready for a date?" Sixty-Nine asked incredulously, "The shortest I've ever managed is three and a half, and only because I was going to the beach that day..." Madam Hydra could feel a slight headache coming on but managed to keep her voice level and steady as she said, "Yes Agent Double Dee?" "Leader," Double Dee replied with a suave and casual air of nonchalance, "Unlike some of these ninnies, I have temporal needs that actually work to the benefit of this organization." "Oh yeah?" Agent Ninety-Six scoffed, "Like what?" "Well, for one thing," Double Dee replied, "I'm due to catch a flight to Belgium, where I hope to sample some waffles, not to mention a stewardess or two, and then I hope to rondevoux with a contact in a rival agency for some file-swapping and totally approved information exchanges, after which I intend to steal a prototype for the new NATO jet, Der Walkyrie, that is being produced by a secret German-based manufacturing plant, along with their PMSV missile interceptor units. After that, and some casual sex and quite pointless, meaningless violence on the side, I hope to then be in Brussels again for the annual Sprout Harvesting Festival..." "In other words you have a full plate on your schedule," Madam Hydra mused, "How unfortunate to have to cut in on your valuable time by attending this meeting." "Quite all right, mein Furher," Double Dee smiled grandly, "We all make sacrifices for the good of the Organization, heil Hydra." Agent Twenty-Four leaned closer to Agent Thirty-Two and whispered, "How come she gets to use Alphabet characters in her name while the rest of us are stuck with Numbers?" "Blatant favoritism," Thirty-Two murmured back, "She's supposedly the great-granddaughter of the founder of the original Hydra organization, Baron Strucker." "And besides that, look at the way she's stacked," Agent Twenty-Two added with an awed hint to her tone and expressions, "Even beneath that shapeless uniform there's no mistaking the bulge of those knockers..." "I once heard she did an entire girl's soccer league and got them eating her bush like regular clockwork," Agent Forty-Two added in with undisguised envy, "She's a real martinet beneath that hood, a true leather-whips-and-chains dominatrix who spends her free time teaching the art of Rope Bondage to glee clubs and Bingo parlors..." "Is there something that the four of you might wish to contribute to this meeting?" Madam Hydra asked with undisguised sarcasm that befit the annoyance of her expression. The four in question sobered abruptly and adopted patently false expressions of "innocence" as Thirty-Two said, "None at all, Leader...why do you ask?" "Might I be allowed to contribute something here?" The other Hydra agents all glanced around in dismay in search of the one who had just spoken, but only Madam Hydra remained calm and composed as she turned her attention towards a suspicious flower vase that was now sitting before her where none had previously been noticed. "Ah, Agent Thirteen," the green-haired Hydra leader said with a slight smirk on her green-tinged lips, "I was wondering when you would show up to make your report." "I was just making a personal observation, Madam Hydra," the vase replied with the nonchalance of such a thing as a talking vase, where such a thing to actually be expected, "Like...why is it that these meetings tend to degenerate so often into pointless tangents that sound more like water-cooler gossip than the concerns of an evil agency actually bent on world domination? I mean, shouldn't we be discussing our latest fiendish plans for conquest, or plotting to steal some vital piece of intelligence data that could tip the balance of world power? I can remember my mom telling me how Hydra used to stand for something, like how dad would always go to work with fresh enthusiasm and a dedication to wreck havoc on the free world that came from a sincere belief in the honest ideals for which this organization was allegedly founded?" "You have a valid point there," Madam Hydra dryly noted, "Do you have any practical advice to go with it?" "Well...no, except for some odd rumors that I overheard when comparing notes with one of my counterparts in a rival organization," Thirteen the Vase explained, "Seems she caught a hint of something big in the works that's got Sharon Carter of S.H.I.E.L.D. up in arms and is driving several Evist groups plum crazy." "Now this does sound fairly interesting," Madam Hydra leaned forward in her chair, "Do go on." "Remember the Marduk Group and their expedition to the Antarctic in search of the true origins of the Virus?" Thirteen began, "Well...you may have heard that they found something big under the ice, and I mean BIG in capital Romani letters. Some kind of frozen alien giant that's been code-named Lilith and whose DNA apparently got grafted onto a lab-engineered Ebola strain to create the Millennial Virus..." "That's classified speculation," Agent Ninety-Six broke in, "The grafting of alien DNA to create a male-destroying..." "Give it a rest for the moment, Ninety-Six," Madam Hydra urged, "I am interested in learning if there is more to this story than what we have so far been able to purloin through normal back-door channels." "Only this," Thirteen revealed, "That the DNA of the alien was found to be about ninety-nine-point-nine-eight percent human. The theory now holds that maybe the giant isn't an alien at all but rather some kind of ancestor or cadet branch of humanity that's called a Neflim after the Hebrew name for the spawn of a human and an angel." "Oh come on now," Agent Thirty-Six retorted, "What are we into now? Ancient mythology and Jewish Cabalism? Next thing you'll be trying to convince us that we all came from the Fifth planet that was destroyed to create the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, or even that old saw about how men were a failed genetic experiment in cross-breeding with a rival alien species..." "I always thought humanity was descended from the useless third of the population of the planet Golgafinch?" Twenty-Two asked with a puzzled expression. "If so, then it would go a long way to explain a few things," Madam Hydra muttered under her breath before turning back to the vase and saying, "A very interesting tidbit of information, Thirteen, but I require more than this if we are to turn it into anything more practical than to answer a Trivial Pursuit column." "Hey, I'm working at digging up more data, Chief," Thirteen complained, "I've been putting the moves on a real nice cookie in the accounting department of the ultra-secret group called SEELE that's been funding the Marduk outfit. You see, I've been disguising myself as a toilet in the lady's room in their hidden office complex, and whenever she takes breaks to visit the potty..." "That's...quite enough mental imagery, Thirteen," Madam Hydra all but pleaded, "Please do spare us some of the more sordid details concerning what methods you employ to obtain information and just skip to the parts that you have managed to coerce and/or cajole out of this leak..." the Hydra leader paused to wince as she belatedly caught on to her own unintentional verbal slip-up. "Be assured that you'll have all the data you need once the cutie spills her load on me, Chief," Thirteen promised, "You can count of me to work her over until she begs to give me the juice..." "Right," Madam Hydra hastily cut Thirteen off with a rather curt, "You are dismissed." "Right," the vase on the table replied, and promptly vanished in a puff of logic. There was a suitable pause before Agent Twenty-Eight said, "She's a fine one to talk about the integrity of this agency when she goes to such lengths to bring potty humor into a normal discussion." "Somehow I rather doubt that she's clever enough for that to have been her intention," Double Dee averred with a faintly disgusted expression. Madam Hydra had to forcibly restrain herself from making the observation that readily came to her mind concerning the point that Thirteen had raised concerning the goals of their agency and the lengths to which they were moving to achieve them. In all truth the current generation of Hydra was but a pale imitation of the glory days of Hydra's illustrious past when it had been a terrorist organization to be feared the world over, known for their ruthlessness and total dedication towards achieving world domination. Granted the previous generations of Hydra had been unable to fulfill their goals due to in-fighting and the constant interference of rival agencies, but at least they had made a good show of it and had even come close to achieving their goals on more than occasion. By stunning contrast the current Hydra was little more than a collection of Soccer Moms very loosely tied together in what was rapidly becoming more of a social outing than a serious body of dedicated fanatics. It was not just that they were far less ruthless in their methods than the Hydra that was before, nor was it the fact that they were---on the average---not quite as intelligent as previous Hydras, but it was the plain truth that they---like most of the other women of the planet---were far less prone to homicidal acts of a criminal nature since they would much rather screw with another girl than shoot her dead to achieve their ambitions. Again and again Madam Hydra came back to the fact that she was utterly constrained against killing her subordinates by the current rules of their existing charter. In the past a Hydra agent who failed in their mission (or who had performed badly in the eyes of their superiors) could expect only lethal results as the price to be paid for failure, but now---with their current relaxed admission standards---they were in a serious recruitment drive to fill the depleted ranks created by members who had succumbed to the Virus. Shooting people dead and/or dropping them into death traps were considered serious impediments that interfered with their ability to recruit and retain the sort of talented professionals that they needed to fill the employee gaps yet remaining within the organization. The plain fact that she wanted to shoot some of them dead on general principles was merely incidental. As such their agency was little more than a loosely connected bunch of youth-enhanced middle-aged biddies bent on dominating everyone and everything else in order to further their collective agenda and force everyone else into accepting their values, which made them only slightly less evil than your average PTA meeting, a fact that fairly galled Madam Hydra since she did have an honest dedication to fulfilling their group's original mission charter. Madam Hydra sighed, severely tempted to press a hidden button in her chair that would drop one or more of these girls into something rather nasty, but instead she surveyed the room and said, "Now that Thirteen has made her report, does anyone else have something to contribute?" "I do, Leader," Forty-Eight suddenly spoke up, "I've been waiting for the right moment to bring this up, but does anyone here know about a certain rumor concerning those various projects instituted by other rival agencies that are attempting to bring men back into the general population?" "You mean those attempts to create a successful counter for the Virus?" Ninety-Six replied, "I was under the impression that they all ended in catastrophic failure." "Because any attempt to counter or nullify the Virus seems to invariably result in a lethal strain that would also wipe out all women," Forty-Eight responded, "But this is not about the Virus itself but rather certain attempts that have been made to do an end-run around its lethal effects upon men, such as engineering circumstances so that a male child might grow to maturity and be able to impregnate yet more women with the 'Y' gene." "I have heard of several efforts being made in that direction," Madam Hydra remarked, "But nothing so far that would allow a pure-strain man to survive long enough to become such a bother." "Nonetheless, Leader," Forty-Eight replied, "There is word circulating about that one young man did survive by masking his chromosomes from the Virus for the past fifteen years, and that members of the Japanese government are supervising his activities in the hopes that he will produce yet more carriers for the 'Y' gene. After all, the stocks of male semen have been depleted over the years and many samples are approaching their expiration dates and are losing their potency, so before long there will no longer be any sperm available to fertilize women. A fresh producer of sperm is the next logical phase, if a healthy donor can be found who is resistant to the Virus. Necessarily, if this program is successful..." "Goddess!" Agent Sixty-Nine averred, "A male who's able to resist the Virus? It might restore the world to the previous scourge of male domination!" "Let's not be too hasty here," Agent Ninety-Nine urged with caution, "Rushing to conclusions wouldn't suit our needs at all, and obviously we are going to need a lot more data before we know for a fact that such a man is out there." "Nevertheless," Madam Hydra said sternly, "The existence of such a man would pose a severe problem to the long-term prospects of this organization and, as such, constitutes a clear and obvious threat to the existent system. As much as we may regret the loss of certain of the men who died due to the Virus, the truth is that we have profited much off their demise and will continue to do so just as long as nothing happens to restore the previous world order." "What if we could capture this male and use him for our own purposes?" Agent Thirty-Six suggested. "There might be some advantages to that," Madam Hydra admitted, "And having a Virus-resistant man under our thumb might actually work to our advantage. HOWEVER---and let me stress this point rather firmly---if we cannot obtain the services of such a man then we will be forced to eliminate him rather than allow him to fall into the hands of one or more of our rivals." "You mean...kill him?" Twenty-Two shuddered, "Isn't that a little...extreme?" "Of course it's a bit extreme," Madam Hydra snapped, "After all, we are an extremist organization." "Yeah, but..." Agent Twenty-Four hesitated, "...I mean...if he's a guy...and he's fertile..." "Goddess, I haven't been with a man in close to...um...well, never mind how long it's been," Agent Thirty-Two rather lamely asserted. "We could at least try him out to see if he's as fertile as you've suggested," Forty-Two noted pragmatically, "After all, it might be the last shot that some of us have to get pregnant using the old methods." "Not that any of us mind doing it with another girl, of course," Thirty-Six hastily amended. "Oh, of course not," Twenty-Four agreed, "That goes without saying." "Oh come on now," Ninety-Nine said crossly, "Don't tell me you guys actually want to bring men back into the world? Don't any of you know what sort of a mess they made the last time they had world domination?" "How can you say that, Ninety-Nine?" Thirty-Two asked, "Didn't you used to be married?" "Yes," Ninety-Nine said acidly, "To a real Eighty-Six, and let me tell you it wasn't always a picnic. Fact is, he used to drive me crazy doing one dumb thing right after another, and always taking credit for my accomplishments, and bumbling up assignments, which is why I finally got fed up with the old corrupt system and switched my allegiance over to Hydra." "I'm sure you had some issues to work out..." Madam Hydra began to say, only to wince as she missed her cue to change the subject. "I mean...the things he used to do that so annoyed me...like, would you believe he came this close to starting a war between the United States and one of the Indian nations?" "Don't you mean between the US and the nation of India?" Twenty-Two corrected. "No," Ninety-Nine growled before putting a hand over her mouth and mimicking the words, "Woo-woo-woo...I mean Native Americans, as in one tribe in particular who'd gotten hold of a big tomahawk that they fired off like a missile." "You mean a Tomahawk missile?" Thirty-Six asked in confusion. "Hardly," Ninety-Nine insisted, "And would you believe that they missed the White House by just this much?" she held her hands apart to indicate a meter-wide distance. "We all have horror-stories concerning certain men in our lives," Madam Hydra interjected, "You should try comparing notes with mine...but it's a bit hard to top having a coconut palm growing out of the top of his head, so what say we drop this?" "And the friends he used to bring home with him from work," Ninety-Nine resumed as if their leader had not spoken, "Thirteen was bad enough, but Hymie used to break things without meaning to, and Laraby...I could tell some real horror stories about him! But the worst of all was when our oldest son brought a girl home to dinner and it turned out to be the daughter of one of our worst enemies, and can you imagine what a strain it was for us to have to be nice for a whole evening to the likes of our prospective brother-in-law, Ziegfried?" "As in 'And Roy?'" Twenty-Two pondered. "No," Ninety-Nine snapped, "And every time we'd try to get into a romantic moment his shoe would go off and he'd be called back to one assignment or another. I mean, why did it have to be a shoe for Flemming's sake? Other agents got pens, but NOOOOOO...he has to be the odd one who stands out at parties." "I can see that some venting might well be in order," Madam Hydra conceded before wincing once again. "I used to be a US Senator, for Chrissakes!" Ninety-Nine continued, "I was at the top of my game, on the short-list for the Democratic ticket to the White House, then the Virus hit and wiped everything away, and suddenly I'm being called back into the Intelligence field, only you wouldn't believe the mess I found when I rifled through my husband's office. He was supposed to be the head of CONTROL, but you'd never believe he could control anything by looking through his file ledgers...and to think, he was supposed to be fighting against CHAOS, but..." It took a moment for everyone to wonder why the irate agent had ceased her continuous monologue about the evils of her late husband, but by the time everyone looked around and unstopped their ears to listen there was no sign of Ninety-Nine to be found anywhere around, just a large pit in the floor where her chair had been situated. Madam Hydra smiled grimly as she removed her finger from the button that she had just depressed and mused, "Would you believe that I've been wanting to do that to somebody for the whole entire evening?" "The old vanishing chair over the death-trap trick, huh Chief?" Thirty-Two remarked, not seemed all that upset over the fate of the vanished agent. "But...but...she was one of us," Twenty-Two gaped in real horror. "I wouldn't worry about her too much," Twenty-Four murmured to Twenty-Two, "Those pits have been inactive for the past two years now. The pilot light went out on the incinerator, the rabid gerbils all got rabbies and died off, and the hungry paranna joined a meat-less support group, so she'll be around in a bit, twice as ticked and about three times as annoying." "Not half as annoyed as I'll be if she doesn't learn to listen when I tell her to drop it," Madam Hydra sighed, murmuring under her breath, "I wonder if the Baroness at COBRA ever has meetings like this?" "You'll have to ask Scarlet of GI JANE sometime," Agent Forty mused, "Provided she ever lets the Baroness down from her leather-and-whips interrogation." "So," Thirty-Six asked as if seeking to reinitiate an earlier conversation, "What are we going to do if it indeed turns out that someone has found a way to overcome the Virus?" "We'll have to put our best field agent on the job of getting to the bottom of this matter," Madam Hydra replied, "Double-Dee, consider adding this to your current list of assignments and get back to me by no later than this time next evening with the pertinent information." "Jawouhl, mein kapitan!" Double-Dee saluted with a Nazi-like gesture and a clicking of high-heels under the table. "Brown Noser," Thirty-Two softly grumbled under her breath. "Not at all," Twenty-Four murmured back, "As a Bottom's-Up person she's at the top of her craft." "May I ask something here, Leader?" Forty-Two inquired, "Is it necessary that we recruit an actual man into this organization? Granted it could be one possible access to increasing our power in the world...but how exactly does it fit in with our ultimate aims of world domination?" "A fair enough question," Madam Hydra replied, "And we'll have a better idea ourselves once we know more about the particulars of this situation. Needless to say, if a man does somewhere exist in this world and can be obtained for our purposes then it would be a great boon to gaining control over the market in sperm-donors and fertility services. It is no great exaggeration to say that some women in this world would kill for the services of a man, and if we had one in our possession...well, the possibilities are quite endless...as would be the opportunities that would open to us, the doors that we could open would be quite literally without number." The other Hydra members all exchanged curious looks from beneath their hoods, then Sixty-Nine said, "Market share is good...and I suppose we could line up a healthy row of respectable clients..." "But still..." Thirty-Two dissented, "Beyond this highly suspect rumor of a possible surviving male at large somewhere, what other projects do we have at work that will achieve our goal of world domination?" "That's classified, on a strictly need-to-know basis," Madam Hydra replied, "But be assured that our dedication to the cause remains as strong as ever, for there is not a one of us who would not gladly give their lives to insure that Hydra..." "Um...excuse me?" Twenty-Two raised her hand. Madam Hydra sighed, "Well, yes, there is one here who has reasons to go short of death, but as for the rest of us, we're solid..." "Ah..." Thirty-Six raised her hand and said, "Actually, Leader, I joined Hydra because my late husband was involved, and he left our family heavily indebted to the organization." "It was a tradition in my family," Twenty-Four admitted, "My father and grandfather were both Hydra members, and this is where dad met my mother." "I joined to pay off my brother's gambling debts, which were quite substantial," Forty-Two explained, "And I also heard it was a great place to pick up some really hot women." "You know, I heard the same thing when I joined," Ninety-Six remarked, "Of course that was before I learned that we have to wear these hot, stuffy robes all the time, which totally blocks out a girl's figure..." "I don't believe this," Madam Hydra glanced around at the room, "Didn't anyone here join Hydra to advance the goal of total world domination?" There was an uncomfortable silence as the other Hydra members all exchanged nervous looks and even a few polite coughs and some shuffling in their seats, and then Forty-Eight spoke up and asked, "What about you, Leader? Why did you join Hydra in the first place?" "Ah...well...it's somewhat complicated," Madam Hydra squirmed slightly, "It involves my late husband and...well, it really isn't all that important." "Y'know," Twenty-Two said into the nervous pause that followed that statement, "It's kind of funny when you think about it...all of us gathered here, plotting conquest of the world and all that, and none of us started out really wanting such a thing in the first place..." "Irony of ironies," Thirty-Eight remarked, "And small wonder the other evil organizations bent on world domination think we're a little potty." "Way I hear tell even the people at ACROSS think we're a little over the top," Sixty-Nine observed by way of making commentary, "And the girls at THRUSH and SMERSH always snicker at us behind our backs at spy conventions and social outings." "Well," Madam Hydra mused, "If that's the way they feel, then just let them talk...they'll be begging to eat our bushes when we get through unleashing our greatest master plan when it finally hatches. Until then, let them snicker all they want. It will add incentive to our labors as we include their ranks among the people who will one day be dominated." "That's all well and good, Leader," Seventy-Six spoke up, "But I have another issue that needs raising at this time, namely the activities of a certain young entrepreneur who goes by the name of Moroboshi Tariko..." "What about her?" Madam Hydra asked crossly. "Only that it appears that her gifts in Telekinetic Fusion-Magic no longer seem quite so...unique as we were once given to believe," Seventy-Six replied, "In fact I have read reports that suggest that at least six others with her gifts have been discovered the world over...other women who have the strange ability to allow other women to get pregnant by their girlfriends..." "Six others you say?" Madam Hydra mused, "How very...interesting." "Leader?" Seventy-Six frowned slightly, "Doesn't it concern you at all that such abilities are being used now that may one day allow millions of women to enjoy the fruits of self-propagation?" "Why should we be concerned with this?" Hydra asked, "You know that Tariko-san has granted her services to many of our own members, and the prospect of women no longer needing the services of a man to become mothers fits right in line with the ultimate goals of our organization." "It does?" Seventy-Six asked in confusion, "How?" "Never mind," Madam Hydra said evasively, "It's should suffice you all to know that Tariko-san is not our enemy and is under the official protection of Hydra and---as such---off limits to Hydra agents save those who seek to employ her services. Of course it would be a good idea to learn all we can about those others who may be like her, but that report can wait for another day." "Well...if you say so, leader," Seventy-Six remarked with a dubious expression. "I do say so," Madam Hydra affirmed before sweeping her glance over the rest of the Hydra members, "And so, if there is no other further business on our plate, then I call this meeting adjourned until next Tuesday." "Ah...does it have to be Tuesday, Leader?" Thirty-Two asked, "My kid's got a Karate tournament that afternoon, so is it possible to reschedule it for another day?" "Anyday but Friday's good for me," Forty-Eight recommended. "Yeah, and I've got a hot date with a chick from UNCLE whom I've been scoping out for the past month of surveillance, so Thursday's out for me," Twenty-Two remarked, "I mean, it's so hard to maintain a social life when you're plotting to rule the world, you know that?" "Tell me about it," Twenty-Four nodded. "Word," Forty-Two agreed. "My kids are starting to forget what I look like even without the hood on," Forty-Eight complained, "Maybe it's time to move our agenda to more practical goals, like trying to dominate a major media corporation..." "Let's not get too ambitious here," Sixty-Nine cautioned, "Or we'll have the GOP on our ass for trade infringement..." Madam Hydra covered her eyes and began rubbing her temples. This was definitely not the way to run an evil organization, and at times such as these she actually wished that one or more of her predecessors were on hand so that she could consult with them on how they managed to keep order over their subordinates, though she greatly suspected that their methods would have resulted in having to find a whole new crop of junior elitists... The meeting so adjourned, the various Hydra members filed out from the conference room, all save for Agent Double Dee, who paused to give Madam Hydra a curious look before saying, "Leader...you know that I am loyal and would not think to question you or your decisions...but..." "You are wondering about my real reasons for protecting Moroboshi Tariko?" Madam Hydra replied, "Content yourself that they are my own, but if you are ever in need of the services of one who could make you a satisfied woman, then I will be only to happy to introduce you to her." "My thanks, leader," Double-Dee smiled, "Perhaps one day I shall take you up on your generous offer...in fact, I believe I may even know the perfect partner who would make a splendid mother to my offspring." "Your old friend Dare?" Madam Hydra smiled in contemplation, "Indeed...and an excellent pairing the both of you might make...it even beggars the question of how you shall raise the children." Content with that reply the formidable agent took her leave of her mistress, and Madam Hydra went about her way, using the secret tunnel access to her personal express shuttle. From there a rapid twenty minute ride passed uneventfully (if one could ignore the obligatory elevator music that accompanied the ride) all the way back to her home, a mansion in the suburbs of the Tokyo region. Exiting from her rapid conveyance, the woman known as Madam Hydra to a select few subordinates made her way to her private chambers and proceeded to disrobe, removing her garments and trappings of office and shedding with them her secret life as the leader of a major-league terrorist organization. A quick shower to flush the green dye out of her hair and she quickly adopted a silken bathrobe then retired to her private study. But no sooner did she begin to settle down when her other personal life intruded upon her sanctity in the form of her live-in maid and current domestic partner, Kyoko, who confronted her Mistress with an urgent matter of highly distressing proportions. "My lady," Kyoko declared, "The baby was throwing up a moment ago and I fear she might be running a fever." "Have you consulted the nurse?" she immediately inquired, "Is our daughter in need of serious medical attention?" "Nothing quite so dramatic, Kuno-sama," yet another woman already in the chamber replied, a clinically dressed lady of indeterminate youth, who might well have been close to retirement age prior to the influence of the Virus, yet who now was as young to the eye as any woman in her early twenties. "Doctor Sakura?" Lady Kuno inquired as she turned to the older of the two women, "Then you have already examined little Taichiko?" "Yes, and it was nothing to be unduly concerned about, Hitome," Doctor Sakura explained, "A bit of gas momentarily obstructed her digestive system, caused no doubt by the rich food that you've insisted on feeding her instead of the formula that I prescribed, but nothing too serious as I was able to correct the problem with the appropriate combination of herbs and Shiatsu." "Thank the Kami for that," Kuno Hitome sighed in gratitude that her fears had proved for nothing, "Once again you have earned your pay, Doctor, and you know that my gratitude is as great as my means to reward such favors." "I am only doing my job, which is as much as anyone else around here," Sakura noted, "But if you were around here more often you would understand that children are a high-maintenance operation, and despite my assurances, Kyoko-san has been worried sick about your absence." "So sorry to have distressed you, my darling," Hitome reached out with a hand to caress the cheek of her favorite house-servant, "But I was unavoidably detained by matters of business." "I wish you would answer your pager and phone when I tried calling you just now," Kyoko plaintively complained, "I worry so much about things when you're not around to help them make sense..." Hitome smiled indulgently at the mother of her youngest child and said, "Sweet Kyoko-chan, it is so nice to know how much you miss me when I am away, but you know that I have many duties to attend, and while none are as pleasant as you to devote my time to, I must needs maintain a roof over our heads if we are to continue to enjoy the sort of luxuries to which we both are now accustomed." "I know this, Kuno-sama," Kyoko replied, relishing the touch of her Mistress's hand upon her cheek, "But still...I do wish that the time we spend was not so short...and see? Your daughter misses you almost as much as I do." She indicated a crib that immediately caught Hitome's attention, and at once the Mistress of House Kuno was there peering down at the helpless infant resting within, seeing the tiny face as the child breathed in and out with slow and steady rhythm, her youngest daughter, her miracle-child, her pride and joy (after her eldest daughter, of course) and hopes for possible redemption for a sin committed long ago and much regretted as the folly of her youth. Looking down upon the innocent features of her little Taichiko always brought out something warm and maternal from within Hitome and gave her hope for the possibilities that yet lay open for the future. At the time when she had first taken Kyoko on as a live-in maid her intentions had been entirely...other than domestic, for the comely young lady was sweetly submissive and entirely accommodating to Hitome's needs, so naturally she had been hired for purposes quite unrelated to the stated job description of doing housework. But now---thanks to the intercession of the formidable young lady named Tariko---the child and her mother were of central importance to Hitome's personal ambitions, and as such she would indulge them both any luxury that was in her possession, even going so far as to adopt Kyoko into the Kuno family so that her child would bear the family name and thus have full family rights and privileges, though Hitome had stopped just short of going the added route of actually marrying the girl, which would have greatly upset Hitome's elder daughter. (And to think...I owe this happiness to the kindness of Moroboshi...yet one debt of honor that I am happy to fulfill, keeping the other rival agencies at bay who might object to Tariko-chan's practices for one foolish reason or another...) Even as such tender thoughts occurred to the erstwhile Madam Hydra, however, the long shadow of her late husband's memory yet haunted her thoughts, causing a slight frown to mar her otherwise perfect features, her youthful vitality---the gift of the Virus---that kept her looking like a woman in her twenties when she was...close to twice that age, and without even a twinge of the old injury to her leg that had long ago forced her to give up her other true love of Rhythmic Gymnastics... "My lady?" Kyoko asked with great concern, "Is something the matter?" "What?" Hitome blinked, then realized how things might have appeared to her lover, "Oh no...quite the opposite in fact. Everything is just perfect...it was but...a memory I was reliving...about my late husband." "Oh," Kyoko nodded, and wisely did not pursue the subject, for if there was one thing that could upset her lady---and the "Fama" of their child---it was the merest mention of Koucho Kuno Godai, the former lord of their estates and a man who had---in life as in death---been the subject of considerable backroom gossip among the various house retainers of the Kuno mansion. That was another thing Hitome liked about Kyoko...the girl's flawless sense of discretion and timing, yet another reason why she was so dear to the present Mistress of the Kuno fortune. But still the thoughts of her late husband, once resurfaced, were difficult to banish away back to the shadows, for it was because of Godai and his involvement in various underworld doings that Hitome had wound up becoming a member of the Hydra, one of many organizations to which her husband had belonged and yet in which a great deal of his personal fortune was unfortunately invested. In all truth Hitome had come to Hydra with only the greatest of reluctance, forced to attend their meetings in the hopes of possibly disinvesting her family's assets. To her dismay she found that the saying was true that "Once you are with the Hydra you are Hydra to the grave and beyond," and she thus faced the unenviable task of running a money-laundering scheme out of the Tokyo branch, handing trillions of yen worth of transaction deals that helped finance Hydra's Japanese operations, and to her even greater dismay discovered that she actually had quite a talent for business and stock manipulation. She had risen rapidly through Hydra's atrophied ranks and attained the title of Madam Hydra a mere five years back, making her the head of the Japanese branch of one of the largest terrorist enclaves on the planet. Adopting the goals of the organization as her own she had come to believe in the Order that Hydra stood for against the Chaos of the present system, and so she had become a dedicated leader and had every intention of fulfilling the goals to which her late husband had only paid lip service. If only she had a similarly dedicated cadre of underlings, however, they might actually get something accomplished, rather than repeat the mistakes of the past over and over, allowing their ambitions to be thwarted by one bollixed up mission right after another... "My lady?" Kyoko asked, having sensed the drift of Hitome's thoughts once again without wanting to appear intrusive. Hitome sighed, "My apologies, Kyoko-chan, I did not mean to flashback. My husband made many foolish choices in his life, and...I have spent considerable time attempting to make up for his...short comings." "Then perhaps you might divert your attention to a more immediate problem," Doctor Sakura noted with a nod towards the hallway, "Because I think I detect your other pride and joy about to bring home yet more domestic troubles." Again Hitome sighed and turned about to steel her nerves for dealing with the other "light of her life," her eldest daughter and heir, who was also at times the biggest pain in her rear fanny. The one problem with children, she reflected, was that they too soon left the "cute" phase and went on to become teenagers, and her eldest child had recently become quite a handful what with one romantic obsession after another becoming the cause for much agony and heart-ache. Of late Kodachi's obsessions had seemed to rivet upon the daughters of a certain family whose mother was known to Hitome from the old days, prior to her marriage, and while she had never had any particular grievances against the woman now known as Tendo Kimiko, there was enough lingering resentment in her memories for being on the opposite side of many an issue concerning Hitome's real romantic interests that she found herself quite dubious about having Kimiko as a possible in-law. First it had been Kodachi's crush upon the eldest sister, Kasumi, who was indeed quite a ravishing beauty, but then Kodachi had turned her affections upon the more interesting middle child, Nabiki, and enjoyed many a night in private "study sessions." Of late, however, Kodachi had worked her way down the line and become totally fixated upon the youngest of the Tendo daughters, Akane, a cute but pugnacious Tomboy whose rough-and-tumble ways did not seem at all befitting for the heir of House Kuno. But as she watched Kodachi approaching in an evident huff her instincts immediately warned her that something new was amis, for the distress in her eldest daughter's eyes did not appear to reflect the usual romantic heartache that came from her frustrated attempts to court the affections of a lover. "Mother," Kodachi said by way of beginning their encounter, "I thought you said that all the men of the world were dead, that none survived the ravages of the Virus that claimed both father and my...elder brother." "Eh?" Hitome asked, quite taken aback by this rather heated declaration, "What are you talking about, 'Dachi-chan? Of course the Virus killed all the men everywhere that we know of..." "That we know of, is that correct Mother dearest?" Kodachi scowled, "Then why did I, this very hour of yesterday, encounter a surviving male close to my own age who is possessed of all the equipment that only a man was said to be endowed with, and none of the attributes that would mark him as a Herm?" "What?" Hitome exclaimed with rounded eyes. "A boy your own age, Kodachi-san?" Kyoko asked. "Impossible," Doctor Sakura said flatly, "If any male child survived this long it would make medical texts the world over." Kodachi only briefly glanced at the woman-child whom her mother had adopted and made pregnant with her younger sister. Kyoko was hardly a couple of years older than Kodachi herself and was of low birth, coming from the common stock of the inner city and not at all a woman of breeding, for all that the girl was polite and deferential to a fault. She bore no particular hostility towards Kyoko beyond the basic resentment that her mother would "lower" herself with such common breeding fodder, but having already exhausted herself arguing the point with her mother she was in no mood to revisit old territory. Besides, her mother seemed quite content with the frilly thing as her paramour, and if it made her mother happy, then who was Kodachi to gainsay her? As to her younger sibling...well, the child was of such recent vintage that Kodachi had yet to fully sort her thoughts out on that particular subject. A younger sister meant that she was no longer the exclusive heir to the Kuno fortune...but beyond that basic complaint, there was something about the innocent baby that stirred curious feelings of materialism within Kodachi, which had added greatly to her own desires to find a woman of her own with which to have a baby, preferably with the other girl being the mother so that Kodachi did not have to risk marring her perfect figure with stretch marks. She had settled upon a girl whom she personally believed to be worthy of bearing a child of House Kuno, but now...with recent memories still fresh in her head, it suddenly seemed as though the thoughts of bearing the child of another were not such an onerous burden. So she spoke frankly, "Yesterday evening I went in search of my beloved Akane to once again convince her of the wisdom of joining with me in blissful matrimonial union..." "You know how I feel about that, 'Dachi," Hitome sighed, "Wait a couple more years before you decide which girl you will marry..." "But mother," Kodachi persisted, "Right while I was in the middle of courting her...some commotion downstairs drew us both into something entirely unexpected...an orgy that was taking place in the middle of the Tendo living quarters with both of Akane's sweet sisters in the middle of the action..." "What's so unusual about that?" Doctor Sakura asked, "Young people have orgies all the time with their girlfriends." "But that is just it, Doctor!" Kodachi snapped, "One of the participants of this particular orgy was not a woman and definitely NOT a Herm! It was a man...of that I am absolutely certain!" "A man?" Hitome blinked, "Kodachi...this is very important...how do you know it was a man? After all, you were too young to remember what your own father looked like when he perished." "I was riding his cock like a wild mare in heat all night long, Mother!" Kodachi said with heat, "His chest was flat and highly muscled, his thighs were rock-hard and lacked the padded softness of a woman, and his face...his face was enough to hurt the eyes with his manly beauty! I may never have ridden a man before, but I can tell you the experience was like nothing else that I could ever describe, and while I may have had to share him with the likes of those hussies he was with..." "The Tendo sisters?" Kyoko asked in mild confusion. "No!" Kodachi snapped, "They were strangers unknown to me...one had purple hair and had the largest set of...lungs that I have fondled in quite a while...while the other had long and silky brown hair and smelled a bit of food...I think she mentioned that she was a chef of some sort, but she was quite...athletic..." "Sounds like you've made some new friends," Doctor Sakura smirked, only to sober once again as she said, "But a man was with you? That seems...unlikely." "Not a man," Kodachi declared, "He was a GOD among mortals! And quite virile besides...I had him inside me all the way and I have never felt so full even when riding on Nabiki-chan's private dildo collection." "A man..." Hitome blinked her eyes at the possibilities then slowly scowled, "What was his name, do you remember that much, Child?" "I think I did catch it somewhere in the middle of it all," Kodachi considered, "The brown haired wench who smelled like fresh okonomiyaki kept calling him 'Ranchan,' and Nabiki said the name 'Ranma-kun' on more than one occasion when her turn came to ride the pony..." "Ranma?" Kyoko repeated in mild confusion. "Wild horse...an appropriate name for him from your description of his performance," Doctor Sakura noted, "But how could a man of teenaged years yet live? Let alone have such stamina to keep five adult women happy...?" "Seven," Kodachi corrected, "My Akane was there, though she sternly refused to touch the thing of the boy, and there was another girl...I think...didn't quite catch her name, but Kasumi-chan seemed rather fond of her, and she was quite a stunning beauty..." "Seven?" Hitome just stared in disbelief, then very slowly she mused, "Perhaps I should pay my respects to the Tendo house and learn more about this...gifted youth you mention..." "Mother," Kodachi said sternly, "If you are thinking of riding him yourself..." "Oh, I wouldn't think of denying you the pleasure, my dear," Hitome smiled in sly sweetness, an evil plan forming behind her brows as she considered things of a highly subversive nature, "In fact, if you are taking such an interest in a boy of such gifts...then it might well be something I would approve of. Yes indeed...I most definitely must meet this fellow named Ranma, and the sooner the better. In fact, if you have no objections to the matter, I might even seek to betroth you...assuming he is available with so many other young ladies to pick from." "Betroth me...I mean...us?" Kodachi suddenly appeared quite giddy and nervous, "Ah...well, I it is true that I have had my heart set upon my sweet Akane...but...if such a thing were possible...I might...be persuaded..." "Perfect," Hitome chuckled, admiring the youthful blush of genuine emotion in her oldest daughter and considering the matter as good as a done deal. Now all she had to do was ferret out the pertinent details from the likes of Kimiko, then discover who those other women were...and from there...why the possibilities were quite literally endless, especially if they could discover the means by which a man had been brought back into the world, and the likely implications of that would definitely go well to service the interests of the Hydra. Besides which, what mother could fail to revel in the discovery that her daughter was sweet on a new boyfriend? And since the laws had been recently amended to allow such things as Polygamy to come back into existence, why...the position of Head Wife was certainly one to be coveted, and if she knew anything about Kodachi it was that her daughter preferred to be on top of any and all sexual positions... Continued. Comments/Criticisms/Matrix Unloaded: shadowmane@msn.com (Yeah, I know it was a lame sequel, full of special effects and pretentious philosophy but not enough character, plot and story to justify the price tag, which is why X2 was an all-around superior movie for my money.) Next time around Ranma will find herself having to cope with the discovery of yet another inconvenient engagement, and how can she balance that against the already-current crop of commitments laid at her feet by her mother? And what is Ryoko to make of discovering the "little" secret that's been kept from her by her own clueless mother? Can even the formidable Ganglot make sense of the swapping that takes place in the next chapter? Find out next time in, "The Boy Who Would Be Queen," or "Overdrawn at the Mammary Bank." Be there!