In this world you've got to be strong
You've got to fight to keep your spirit alive
And you might feel like there is nothing left to go for if I fall
But it's the fight that keeps us ready and on guard
Even I can feel the power
When I think of you I see no fear
Feel no paaaaaain
The band The Moody Underground plays in their studio with their leader Akria Dizhou, Clifford Zelmore, Barry Calhoun, and Shingo Injrio playing an electric rock song. Then Clifford rifs the guitar and fist bumps himself.
Clifford: “YEAH! Thats what I’m talking about! That rocked Akria!”
Akria: “Haha! Yes, this is a good song! I think this will help make us great here in Japan!”
Clifford: “What do you guys think? Shingy?”
Shingo: “Uh, 誰もが私たちの演奏を聞くことができるように、言葉のないソロが必要だと思います。”
(I think we need a solo without words, so everyone can hear us play.)
Barry: “Yeah, the vocals rock, but I think a nice silent vocals, and a moment for the fans to just hear our music would do us wonders eh.”
Akria would rub his chin thinking to himself and Clifford would put his arms together looking up also lost in thought
Akria: “Ah! We could likely use a solo verse after the chorus. That way, after we leave it with high energy so the music can lead into the next verse!”
Clifford: “And maybe we can lean into the verse with both high and low momentum to keep it going, yes!”
Barry & Shingo: “Yeah!” and “うん”!
Clifford: “Alright, I’ll write that down, and we’ll have to meet later for this to be finalized. As always, great job tonight guys. Please have a good week, and stay safe out there. You never know what’s out there these days.”
Clifford said this with a slight bit of hesitation as Shingo gets up, leaving his drum sticks behind and leaves the studio after grabbing his backpack. Akria and Barry remain in the room.
Akria: “We heard there was a massive accident over by the docks the other night Clifford.”
Barry: “Yeah, said something about a lot of mangled corpses and a foreign businessman was at the scene. Also something about a yellowjacket dressed character zoomed by authorities on a motorcycle. What happened that night? You were involved, we know but you haven’t told us.”
Clifford sighed and put his hands on his hips
Clifford: “There was a chase to bring in Michael Vastrix. The old leader of a company that went to his son Jerimiah… But Michael never truly was gone. He lived vicariously through his son. Took over his body. I had learned about this from followers within the wrestling business I’ve taken residence in.”
Akria proudly pats Clifford’s shoulders
Akria: “Yes! It was a great appearance! Shingo-san was the most excited to see your caped crusader appearance! He had not seen it before!”
Clifford: “Heh, yeah. Between us, he’s the only one who hasn’t shown that much promise in justice and betterment, but that he’s the best drummer we could find in the market, given the surrounding circumstances.”
Barry put his arms to his chest then looked at Clifford
Barry: “But go on, what happened with that Vastrix person?”
Clifford: “He destroyed the commandos… I attempted to destroy him myself. But he proved more resilient than thought, and he threw me into the water. Good thing I learned how to swim back home, otherwise I’d be still with the fishes. All I know is after I was pulled out by the survivors, Vastrix’s head was in pieces.”
Barry: “So you didn’t kill him, but you tried?”
Clifford: “His power was absolute. He had to be stopped Barry! If not, he could’ve escaped Japan, and plunge the outside world into more chaos than it already is! Yes, it would’ve been the first life I would’ve taken, but he had taken several more that night… He ended the lives of many men and women in a stroke of evil… His life, for theirs to be remembered. It had to be done.”
Akria steeled his nerves and pointed at Barry
**Akria: **“You must understand Barry, in our line of work, we must fight. Both for fair and unfair! The enemy won’t play fair with us and there will come a day where it will be either our lives, or theirs. Even me, I’ve had to do what was thought unthinkable to stop evil. It is heavy unfortunate… But the day was saved thanks to my efforts. 勝利は決して簡単ではありません。 That is what my father told me.”
Barry: “It is true… Victory never comes easy. Sometimes the hardest choices are the ones that stick with you. Back in Canada, I’ve never tried to end another's life. I feel like everybody can be reformed. It just takes time, and considerable effort. It is why I was a law enforcement officer. But since I got trapped here with Terry and the kids, my credentials as a peacekeeper don’t mean much here…”
Clifford: “But Barry, they do matter. It’s why we asked for your help. You’re an excellent negotiator, and you play a mean bass. You out there with me, and Akria, we keep these streets as safe as they can be. It is the duty and honor that we uphold together. With Akria as the Star, me as the Lightning, and you as the Steel, we will keep Tokyo safe.”
Barry: “And what about Shingo? Can he help keep Tokyo, no, Japan safe? Is he able to help with that endeavor? Is he capable?”
Clifford paused to himself looking at the drumset that Shingo plays on in a long thought as says:
Clifford: “Shingo is young and impulsive. His mind is to the band, and understandably naive. If and when he grows into knowing our other professions, he can become a great partner to Akria and liberate Japan entirely of evil.”
Akria: “Trust in us Barry! Me and Jyunichi-san can take him under our brotherly wings and show him the true meaning of Japanese justice!”
Barry: “Hey I trust you guys eh. I know you have your way of dispensing justice in the best, and sometimes weirdest ways.”
Clifford: “Heh, come on you two. We should get on patrol. TMU will still be here when we’re done. After that though, I gotta get going on my training for my first match.”
The three bandmates, who guise as heroes, leave their studio with Barry turning off the lights in the room, but just as the lights flick off, he notices a pair of red eyes. Feeling like he’s hallucinating, he shakes his head and looks back at the area of the studio, and see’s nothing there. Barry shrugs, and leaves the room. Then, the red eyes open up again.
???: This… Is where the anomaly is from…
The eyes close again as the scene differs to the outside roof tops with black and yellow boots running and hopping off roofs on one and another. The man jumps over railings and glass roof tops before he stops himself and looks down at the city below. The man whose masked look is that of black and golden yellow inhales air and dives off the building falling at a great speed, until the man grabs his grappling hook from his waist belt and shoots a hook out onto a wall and hangs to a right unhooking his grapple and perfectly lands on a Honda motorcycle fitted out with similar colors of the masked man and engages his engines and rides into the streets of Tokyo.
While the streets aren’t as busy as they used to be, the Japanese feel still holds true. The man speaks over as he rides past cars and other vehicles in a blinding fast way.
Lightning Man: “My name is Lightning Man. I am the man who dispenses justice. Everyone who is a shred of evil will know my name. For months now, I have watched the good of Ultimate Wrestling prevail, but in recent times, it has shown that there is more unjust than good these days. From the North Koreans to what happened just two weeks ago with that evil Michael Vastrix. Good people suffer while their evil deeds go unpunished. But I cannot let it stand any longer.”
Lightning Man stops by an alleyway where a couple of hoodlums are hanging about and they notice him. Lightning turns his vehicle towards them and one pulls out a pistol and attempts to shoot Lightning, but then Lightning grabs his own firearm, a taser and hits the man in the hand and suddenly Lightning presses a button that unleashes an electrical charge that knocks the man off his feet.
The other men charge at Lightning Man and he revs his bike and rides toward them. He ducks an attempted clothesline and rolls off his bike kicking the aggressor in the gut before elbowing another man in the face.
Lightning Man: “Out here, there is a lot of violence. Too much. People are desperate, but they lose their humanity when they fall into these desperate traps.”
Lightning kicks one of the men in the knee before kicking his face and finally hurling him at a wall taking him out of the fight.
Lighting Man: “If I don’t show them the error of their ways, they’ll just return to this life of crime when this lockdown ends. I may be a villain to some scum, but I give hope to those who want it.”
Hoodlum: “お願いします！私を傷つけないでください！ここにいたくなかったんだ！ごめんなさい！”
(Please! Please don't hurt me! I didn't want to be here! I'm sorry!)
One of the men who initially charged at Lightning Man cowers in fear from the fast masked crusader. Lightning Man, however, reaches his hand out and offers the man a hand to get up. The confused hoodlum looks up and down and accepts the Hero’s hand and stands up, with Lightning Man looking at him in his eyes.
Lightning Man: “Some people choose to be evil, others don’t. It’s my job, to show that I can be a hero to not just normal people, but to evildoers too. For one day, they may join me in my heroic deeds.”
Lightning lets go of the man’s hand as the police arrive at the entrance way with weapons drawn
Officer: “手を上げて！警察！”
(Hands up! Police!)
Lightning Man: “There are those unfortunately who are always going to be skeptical of my presence. And those who are born to be evil no matter what.”
Lightning rushes to his Honda as the police actually fire at him, trying and failing to land a hit on him or his vehicle as he rides away with the police in chase now.
Lightning Man: “An example of neutral is this, Mr. Penguin. Whose identity is Oswald Knight. A person who is said to be neutral, but I can see his greed and view of the world around him. He owns many businesses, and has vast wealth that he does good only for himself. He wants to build an empire through Ultimate Wrestling. However it’s not like that hasn’t happened before. It culminated with Vastrix. Not to mention, he deals with the people that I stop on a daily basis. Knight may claim he’s not what everybody thinks of him, sadly for him, if he’s not with me, he’ll be against me. He’s cold and swift, yes, but I’m faster.”
As Lightning’s bike approaches 100MPH he engages an auto pilot button and shoots his grappling hook to the nearest tall building and virtually flies off his motorcycle as it goes even faster away from the police and he goes into the sky.
Lightning Man: “The other example of neutral is Duc Huy Nguyen. They call him the “Ruthless Dragon”. I’m not sure I believe in dragons but, I do believe in what he truly is, a person of evil intentions. He’s very strong, yes, but he’s also very aggressive, and his flaw is that he's too tough for his own good. He’s held to his own code now, which shows that he’s willing to do anything he wants to get to his achievements, even falling prey to cruel deeds. His moral code seems to be nonexistent, which makes him dangerous, therefore, he must be stopped.”
Lightning grapples onto the rooftop of another building and finds two other heroic crusaders with him
Lightning Man: “This battle, it can look like a battle of neutrals. Neutral good, me. Neutral… Neutral, Knight. And Neutral evil, Nguyen. No matter what though, good will shine through in the end. I’m the master of light, and I’ll show the world that I do have the power, and I will fight to win. I will fight till the end!
Lightning and his crusaders raise their arms in cheer!