Dark Phoenix Episode 2

A crowd cheers as a Japanese man finishes a prepared speech on stage. Behind him, a large new shopping center stands ready for business. Next to him, a young woman in a fancy red dress smiles at the proceedings. Her semi-short black hair blows in the wind, and her green eyes glimmer brightly in the sunlight and flashing cameras. Jericho makes his way through the crowd and stops to look over the situation carefully, plotting for his time to strike at the man who stole away his family. His eyes meet the young lady’s and a moment of dreadful near-realization strikes him like a bolt of lightning. “It couldn’t be…could it?” he thinks to himself, staring in disbelief at the figure before him. “Raisha, my daughter?” he whispers to himself, though no one hears him. Fearing that it might be true, he decides to abandon his mission for now until he has some answers. Turning to walk away he fails to notice that the young lady who he believes to be his daughter has taken a sudden interest in him as well. She motions for Hitori Yakuza to speed up the proceedings. He nods back in acknowledgement and proceeds to cut the ribbon, opening his shopping center for business. The lady in red looks back into the crowd and no longer sees the man in black. She begins to feel strange… as if she had met him before, long ago. But she shakes off the suspicion and remembers her childhood growing up in Japan…

A small private plane pulls into the Tokyo airport. A few large men step out of the plane carrying a rather large and lumpy duffel bag. They are followed shortly by Mr. Yakuza who is sporting an oh so trendy suit. The two men dump the bag into the trunk of a limousine and begin to pile into the car. Mr. Yakuza takes a deep relaxing breath before saying, “home.” And smiles as he enters the car. The car pulls away steadily towards the airport exit.

Later, in the Japanese countryside, the limo is seen pulling up to a somewhat large but by no means extravagant home. The yard is open for the most part except for some statues and other various garden decorations. Towards the back of the property up on a small hillside sits a small shrine. Out in the courtyard, some targets and dummies are set up for target practice. The side of the house that faces the courtyard is lined with weapon racks containing various medieval Japanese weaponry and some weapons that are not quite as old. The two men take the bag out of the trunk and set it on the ground. Mr. Yakuza stands in front of it, as they open the bag to reveal a semi-conscious Raisha, the daughter of the family they have just killed in America. Smiling, he wakes her up and helps her to her feet. She is still obviously drugged, as her speech slurs and her balance is like that of a newborn calf’s. Mr. Yakuza begins to talk to her, “Hello Raisha. I’m your uncle. You’re here because your parents met with an unfortunate accident. I’m here to take care of you from now on.” He smiles at her and speaks with the gentlest tone possible. The young girl is in shock from it all, and still being under the effects of the drugs, she collapses in Mr. Yakuza’s arms crying. Mr. Yakuza simply hugs her. “There, there child.” He says trying to comfort her. “I will take care of everything from now on. And I will teach you to protect yourself so you can protect those you care about in case something like this was to ever happen again, okay?” Young Raisha looks up at him and simply nods, wiping tears from her eyes. “Good. We will get you settled in and begin your training in a few days all right?” He states, receiving yet another nod in reply.

It is a few years later, Raisha is in the courtyard receiving training from Hitori Yakuza. She appears to be only ten years old, but is quite skilled. She stands still with a pair of wakizashin swords. Hitori pulls back the bow string of his bow and lets an arrow fly at Raisha, witch she easily slices in two in mid-flight before turning to deflect a few shuriken that followed it. She is seen later practicing with a staff and defeating quite easily five other men who are armed with the same weapon. “Child’s play.” She says with a smirk. She is then shown in the woods in the mountains taking sniper training with paint filled bullets on the men in the courtyard. She easily drops 3 of them before they can realize that they are being used for target practice. “Lucky them. These rounds aren’t lethal, right uncle?” she says turning to her uncle for approval witch she receives.

“In a few years, you will be moving with me back to America.” He says. “There I want you to be the leader of my elite bodyguards.” He informs her. She smiles and lets him know that she can’t wait.

The day has come for Raisha’s departure to America. While on the plane back to New York, She asks her uncle some questions. “Uncle, I know my parents were killed when I was young, but tell me, what were they like?” She asks him. Hitori just looks at her and smiles.

“Young child, your parents were not the best parents i'm afraid.” He says meekly. “Your mother died giving birth to you, and your father was always a drunkard, and gambled his money and life away on drugs and other illegal dealings.” He explains, lying through his teeth. Raisha just looked on through the window of the plane and loses herself in a daydream…

Back in the present… Jericho sits on a torn mattress in the old church that he now calls home, thinking deeply about the lady he saw at the ceremony. “It couldn’t have been Raisha…could it?” he asks himself as if he will be able to answer himself. “She looks so much like her, but it couldn’t be.” He tries to assure himself, although failing in his attempts. He finally decides that maybe he should go back and it will help him think on the situation more. Crafting his wings, he flies off through the window to the balcony and out into the cold night sky.

Back at the grounds of the ceremony, nothing much stands except some garbage, and an empty stage. Folding his wings away as soon as he lands, Jericho stands and stares at the scenery deep in thought. Behind him in an alley a figure watches silently. He moves out into the open kicking aside some garbage left on the ground. As he looks on, the figure in the dark slowly emerges. A rustling of paper, the silence is broken…
“Who’s there!?” Jericho asks. Spinning around he sees the stranger emerge from the shadows to reveal the one whom he believes to be his only daughter. She walks out slowly to confront him. “Are you Raisha?” he asks her, getting a shocked expression from her in response.

“How do you know my name?” she asks trying not to sound nervous. Reaching inside her overcoat, she pulls out a 2-foot long silver pole. “I will not ask you a second time, why do you know my name?” she asks again more sternly. Jericho watches her movements carefully not knowing what to expect from her. Pressing a small button on the pole, two spring loaded blades eject from both ends of the pole. Before Jericho has time to answer, Raisha begins to attack, swinging the twin-bladed weapon with expert skill in attempts to dismember Jericho. Jericho’s reflexes and improved strength give him enough of an edge to manage to avoid her attacks but due to his surprise, not enough to counter attack. Round and round spins the shimmering blades, the color and shape blurred by its master’s amazing speed and skill. A ripping noise, a small splatter of blood, and the blades cease for a moment. Jericho kneels down and holds his right arm, where the blade cut through his jacket and opened his skin. It was not a deep cut but it sure got the message across, she was highly trained and meant business, weather she was his daughter or not. Realizing he was going to have to somehow neutralize her before he could get his answers, he prepared to release some of his powers when the sight and sound of police sirens interrupted them. They both turn to face the oncoming sirens, and then meet eyes once more before running off in opposite directions into the sanctity of the shadows.

Raisha darts into a car and looks at her weapon before sitting it down next to her. She notices that the blood on the blade is boiling and then disappears completely in a puff of red steam. “Strange…” she says to herself as she closes the weapon and starts the car, driving off into the distance.

Jericho sits on the rooftop of a nearby cathedral accompanied by a rather grotesque looking gargoyle. He looks at his arm and watches as it begins to heal itself in a small flicker of flame and steam. He looks down into the city streets below and begins to reenact the events that took place just moments before. “That was my daughter. I’ve no doubt in my mind now. The look in her eyes; it’s the same look she always got when she wanted something and there wasn’t anything she could do to get it. That fiery determination she always had. It was evident in her eyes tonight. But even though I could tell she meant to harm me, I could sense no real malice in her attacks... its almost as if she it wasn’t her wish but her need to destroy me. Like she was protecting something by means that went against her code. She always had a heart of gold.” A smile and tear formed on his face as he recalled a memory of his daughter and him in happier times, “she was only 3 at the time. We were out in the driveway, and I was teaching her to draw simple things and write her name in sidewalk chalk. She got spooked when one of those harmless little lawn spiders crawled across her drawing. I told her ‘not to worry’ and proceeded to step on it, and brush it off back into the grass. She stopped me before I could, and hoisted the spider in her hands and kept it as a pet in a jar for a week before it died. Even though she was afraid of the spider she couldn’t bear to see it hurt. Maybe there is a way to convince her of who I am and that I don’t mean her any harm.” He stares off into the moonlit sky and ponders a way to get his daughter back…

A lavish apartment looking out on a New York city skyline. Raisha sits alone pondering the events that took place not too long ago. “who was he?” she thinks to himself. “he was so fast and skilled…and how did he know my name?” she wonders as she comes to a realization, “I must meet him again.” A flaming arrow shatters her window and a message appears in soft cool flames where the arrow lands… “Meet me in the St. Joseph’s cemetery tomorrow at dusk. ~The Dark Phoenix” the note reads. A smile creeps across her face. “sure ill meet you, but not alone.” She smirks as she looks out onto the moonlit sky dominated by the blood red colored moon…