Now that the GML's back up, we can try this again.  ;D  Apologies if
this somehow manages to get through twice, the first one was strange.

The fanfic bandwagon's there, so I figure we might as well ALL jump on
it, ne?  ;)  Anyway, here's an attempt, by myself and coauthored by
Harlock.  Enjoy!  :)

[Disclaimer]  This story has angst, sex, adult language, and relatively
graphic violence.  If you don't like those things, don't read it, don't
flame us, and we'll all be happy.  ;)



Rose-Tinted Glasses

	They couldn't believe their luck.  Finally, Katze was theirs!  For
once, he hadn't escaped from the mecha as it went down, in fact, Ken had
found him unconscious in it, stretched out next to some fallen
equipment.  Wasting no time, he'd dragged him on board the God Phoenix,
where he'd been restrained until he could be handed off to the UN
forces.
	'Not that it was necessary,' Ken thought with a satisfied smirk.  And
it really hadn't been necessary.  Katze had remained unconscious the
whole time, not even regaining consciousness as he'd been trundled off
to a lock-up.
	The team had a short stretch of days to unwind, then they were back to
duty.  They fell in behind Nambu as he strode down the passageways to
the room where they held Katze.  But before they made it to the room, a
scientist waylaid Nambu, babbling something about a problem in the lab. 
Nambu glanced at the team, then gestured them on as he hung back to
confer with the scientist.
	Ken preceded the others into the room, walking in cautiously as he
studied the form of the leader of Galactor.
	Katze stood in the center of the room whose only decoration was two
poles from which descended the chains that bound hir.  Naked from the
waist up, the dark splotches of bruises and other injuries where s/he
had been beaten marked hir torso and unmasked face.
	Ken eyed hir critically, passing an eye over the wounds decorating hir
body.  A few still bled sluggishly, a few were scabbed over but ringed
by the angry red flesh that bespoke that they hadn't been cleaned. 
Unbidden, he felt a wave of pity wash over him:  Katze, for all that
s/he'd been responsible for, still had a few rights.  Stepping slightly
closer, his voice drifted softly from behind his visor.  "How are you
feeling?"
	Katze glanced up briefly, then snorted, glaring at Ken with the eye
that wasn't bloody and swollen closed.  "Like shit.  Are you happy now,
Gatchaman?" s/he spat.
	Half-expecting that response, Ken swept a critical eye over hir again. 
"Are you in pain?"
	Katze sneered, spitting a clump of blood at Ken.  "I'm just ducky."
	Ken's eyes went dark behind the blue of his visor as he turned, at a
loss as to how to continue the interrogation.  Although he hated to
admit it, the bloody wounds over Katze's body bothered him.  Stepping
away from Katze's dangling form, he joined Nambu, who had just stepped
into the room, his expression cool and distant.  "Nambu-hakase, what do
I do?" he asked, his voice low.
	Nambu studied Ken for a moment, then looked at Katze with cold eyes. 
"You shouldn't care if it feels pain, Ken," he began.  "This... thing...
killed your father.  Remember that when you question it."
	Ken's face fell, his mouth hardening into a miserable line.  "But...
even so... it... he does have rights.  Can't someone clean him up? 
We've had him for days now.. and you haven't made any progress.  What
makes you think that I will?"  Ken's eyes remained darkened, masked, as
he hid the hopefulness that wanted to glint in them.  He was not,
however, quite able to keep the cajoling note out of his voice.
	Joe growled as he caught Ken's tone, then stalked over to Katze,
thrusting his face into hirs.  "What have you done to him?"
	Katze smirked, hir voice a snarl as s/he bit back the admiration for
the Condor's fire.  "Wouldn't you like to know."
	Joe's lips lifted into a sinister snarl, his eyes glinting dangerously
into Katze's.  "Fuckin' right I would."
	Katze's head rolled back as s/he shouted with shrill laughter.  "Go to
Hell, Kondoru no Joe!"  Hir head snapped painfully back as the Condor's
tensed muscled released into an uppercut against hir jaw, then Katze was
chuckling darkly and licking the blood from hir split bottom lip.  "Is
that the best you can do?" s/he mocked, hir mouth twisted into a sneer.
	Joe growled, pulling back for another punch and only dimly hearing
Ken's startled cry.  "Hakase, stop this!"
	Nambu shifted his weight slightly, his body language screaming
disinterest.  "Later, Joe."  He coolly met Joe's gaze as the Condor
glared at him.
	Joe shifted his glare between Ken and Nambu, his eyes never settling
for long on one or the other.  "He's not going to tell us anything," he
spat finally, "we might as well just beat him until we feel better."
	Katze giggled, a wicked grin splitting hir face and stretching hir
wounded lip.  "Yes, go ahead... Let them beat me, Nambu.  Then you're no
better than me!"  S/he loosed a string of maniacal giggles, hir hair
flying around hir shaking shoulders.
	Nambu frowned coldly at Katze, his tone glacial.  "Until you have
something useful to say, remain quiet."
	Katze giggled more, then burst out with broken, sing-songy renditions
of children's songs.  "Row, row, row your boat!  Mary had a little
lamb!  Pop goes the weasel!"  Hir voice swung wildly off-key,
alternately booming so loud that the team was glad for the insulation of
their helmets and dropping so low that only the motions of hir lips
revealed his continued singing.
	Ken looked at the prisoner, his expression aghast.  "He's mad," he
breathed, his tone both disgusted and worried.
	Nambu nodded at Ken, his eyes slightly narrowed behind his lenses. 
"I'm afraid so."
	Joe and Ken both stared at Katze.  The Condor's glare darkened as he
drew back his fist as though to punch hir again, then he was spitting on
the floor at hir booted feet and stalking away.  Gatchaman continued
staring at hir after his teammate left, inexplicably hurt that, after
all they'd gone through, s/he'd turn out to be mad, and it was with a
discouraged sigh that he walked out, the rest of the team trailing
behind him before separating for their separate quarters.
	Nambu remained behind for a few moments, coldly looking over Katze,
then he, too, turned and left, his authoritative strides the only
evidence of his anger.
	Katze's maniacal laughter rang through the halls after them before the
door hissed shut, abruptly plunging everything back into silence.

	Later that night found Ken sneaking into Katze's cell, a basket
clutched under his arm.  Setting it down, he drew some of the medical
supplies from inside it and began the slow task of tending to Katze.  He
carefully sponge-bathed hir exposed skin, then released hir feet and
pulled down hir pants, drawing on every ounce of his professionalism not
to gape as he ran the sponge over the rest of Katze's body.
	Ken sighed softly, certain that Katze was awake and laughing at him. 
But he kept on, hoping that some kindness and sympathy might get him to
talk before Nambu did him any lasting harm.  Finishing the sponge bath,
he pulled Katze's pants back up and stretched the muscle between his
shoulders that was starting to throb annoyingly.  Releasing another soft
sigh as that eased, he again dove into the basket and moved to dress
Katze's wounds.
	Katze had awoken to the cool feeling of the water on hir flesh and had
watched through heavily-lidded eyes while Gatchaman cleaned hir body and
tended to hir.  S/he kept silent, pliant, and mentally cursed hirself
for not strangling him with hir legs while s/he had the chance.  S/he
only distantly registered it as Ken moved his hands to hir shoulders and
began a gentle massage.
	The sound of a shoe scraping against the floor disturbed the silence,
betraying Joe's presence as he leaned against the wall near the door, a
bitter smirk gracing his face.  Ken's hands froze on Katze's shoulders,
his startled eyes wide as he stared at Joe.  "J.... Joe.."
	Joe gazed impassively at him.  When he spoke, his voice was smooth, but
dangerously low.  "Ken."
	Katze lifted hir head and looked at the Condor, hir face blank as Ken
startled into action, moving away to circle around hir and approaching
Joe with his hands held placatingly in front of him.  "It's not right to
leave him like that, Joe," he said softly, his eyes begging Joe to
understand.
	Joe faced Ken, ignoring Katze's presence as though s/he were a piece of
furniture.  "After all he's done to us?" he ground.  "You can say
that!?"
	Ken raised his hands further, his palms up as he addressed Joe.  "Can
you blame him, after all he's been through?  And think, Joe.. we only
know a small bit of what his upbringing was like."
	Joe stubbornly shook his head, his eyes narrowing fractionally.  "There
is no excuse."  He paused to tip his head back slightly, peering down
his nose at Ken as he sneered, "When did you get so WEAK, Ken?"
	Ken growled under his breath, glaring at Joe.  "I am NOT weak, you
bastard!  And what did you come down here for?  To bash him a little
more?"
	Joe shrugged, his expression snide.  "I knew you'd be trying something
like this," he smirked.  "You've gotten soft."
	Any further comment was interrupted as Katze roused a bit more and
smirked.  "The great Condor," Katze mumbled, "came to fuck a freak,
Gatchaman."
	Ken's eyes widened as Joe sprang across the distance between he and
Katze before drawing himself and glaring ferociously as he roared, "Shut
UP!"  A small scuffle ensued as Ken grabbed the front of Joe's uniform,
shaking him slightly.  "Nani?" he whispered, his voice stunned.  "Joe!"
	Katze grinned toothily, the expression looking somehow menacing.  "Come
on," s/he oozed.  "Show me what a STUD you are, Kondoru no Joe."
	Joe shoved Ken roughly away from him, his upper lip curled into a
vicious snarl as he stood with his hands tightly fisted at his sides. 
Rage quavered through his voice, demonstrating just how tentative Joe's
hold on his temper was.  "Damn you, shut up!"
	Katze dropped hir head back, shrieking with laughter.  "Why?" s/he
exulted.  "Does the truth hurt?   Are you afraid to tell your leader
that you want him?"  S/he giggled, hir glinting eyes fixing on Joe's. 
"That you want me?"
	Joe's eyes widened as the blood drained out of his face, then in the
next moment, rushed back in, turning him an interesting shade of
purple.  "I DON'T FUCK GUYS!" he bellowed, his knuckles gleaming white
against his clenched fists.
	"Don't you?"  Katze smirked knowingly as Ken pulled himself together,
moving quickly to Joe.
	"Joe... what is he talking about?"
	Joe slowly relaxed his fists, shaking as he reined in his temper inch
by painful inch.  Drawing a deep breath, he glared at Katze and hissed,
"I don't know what you're trying to do, but it won't work."
	Katze held hir smirk, hir voice oozing smoothly.  "Oh come now, Joe...
Why don't you tell him?  He has such a sweet, tight body."  S/he paused
dramatically, licking hir lips and letting hir voice become a seductive
snarl.  "Don't you just want to shove him down, like you did me, and
slam into that tight ass?"
	Ken's eyes snapped wide, even as Joe's narrowed, and he swung around to
gape at his angry friend.  "Joe.. did you!?"
	Joe turned a dark look on Ken, his eyes glinting through his narrowed
lids.  "No, Ken.  Leave.  Now."
	Ken blinked once, then turned a thoughtful gaze on Katze.  "He must
have hit some nerve to get you all riled up... Why don't you and I go
talk privately somewhere?"
	Katze crowed with laughter, basking in Joe's obvious upset.  "Ooh,
that's good!  See Joe?  He's willing!"
	Joe tensed, his face shaded a mottled, angry red.  "Go back to bed,
Ken," he ground out.  "Forget this ever happened.  And," he paused to
look Ken warningly in the eye, "if you ever mention anything he said to
anyone else, I'll kill you myself."
	Ken listened quietly to Joe, then cast a questioning glance over at the
hysterically howling prisoner.
	"Kondoru no Joe gives great head!" wheezed Katze, then set off on a new
wave of laughter.
	Joe tightened his fists and turned to leave, his rage emanating from
him in waves as he stalked back to his rooms.  Ken trailed behind him,
once again with Katze's maniacal laughter trailing from the room behind
them.

	Morning found Katze rested and Ken restless, wondering how much of what
Katze had said was true.  On a quest to find out, he quietly made his
way back to Katze's cell, pausing outside as he weighed the consequences
of visiting again.
	Through the slightly-opened door, Ken heard the rattling of chains,
evidence that Katze was awake.  Summoning up his courage, he stepped
through the door, waiting until the door had clicked shut behind him
before he posed his question.  "Katze.. why did you say those things
about Joe?"
	Katze glanced up as s/he flexed hir arms and legs the little bit that
s/he could.  "They are true," s/he smirked, feeling restored after
having slept exhaustedly and being clean.
	Ken drew his brows together thoughtfully.  "But how?"
	Tensing and relaxing hir muscles, Katze regarded Ken from under raised
eyebrows.  "How do you think?  What are you, a virgin?"  S/he paused a
moment before continuing softly, "I didn't know it was him until not
long ago, when I shot him with the mechanizer."
	"How did you meet him before that?"
	Katze eyed Ken sharply, abruptly changing the subject.  "I don't
suppose after your kind attentions last night, you'd let me sit down and
eat something?"
	"I can't," Ken started apprehensively.  "But if you're hungry, I can
get you something."
	Katze grinned wolfishly.  "Are you going to feed me, too?"
	Ken shrugged.  "If necessary."
	"It would be worth having to stand," Katze grinned wickedly.  "Nothing
heavy," s/he continued thoughtfully.  "Some broth.. maybe some bread..
some fruit?  Your Nambu," s/he sneered the name, "has starved me over
these last few days."
	Ken looked at hir, his expression still a bit apprehensive.  "If I get
you food," he began tentatively, "what will you do for us?"
	Katze grinned again.  "Tell you about Joe and give you the best blow of
your life."
	Flushing darkly, Ken turned and mumbled, "Just the first part would be
fine."  Still blushing faintly, Ken disappeared out the door and made
his way to the kitchens, bribing the staff for a small tray of food
which he bore back to Katze."
	Katze regarded the food, feeling hir mouth water despite the lack of
water for days.  "Doumo, Gatchaman," s/he murmured, intently watching
the food.
	Pausing a few feet away from Katze, Ken studied the set-up for a
moment.  "I can probably lower the chains a little bit," he mused
aloud.  "Enough so that you can feed yourself... But you have to promise
not to try anything; you can't get away anyway."
	Katze pouted seductively.  "I was hoping you'd feed me," s/he purred,
then sobered.  "You may have to anyway.. My arms are rather numb,
still."
	Ken stood for another moment, considering his choice, then nodded. 
"All right," he said softly as he walked over, offering up a piece of
bread as he approached.
	Katze opened wide, then thoughtfully chewed the mouthful of bread s/he
ended up with.  Swallowing, s/he ignored the demand for more from hir
empty stomach and queried softly, "Gatchaman..?"
	Keeping his expression carefully blank, Ken offered up more mouthfuls
of food.  "Nani?"
	"Thank you," Katze started hesitantly, "for last night.... your efforts
weren't totally wasted..."  S/he ducked his head, hiding hir gaze from
Ken.
	Ken nodded, concentrating on feeding Katze the rest of the food, though
he couldn't shake the urge to be careful with his fingers.  "Sure."
	Katze eyed him thoughtfully.  "Why are you on this team?" s/he queried
softly.  "I know.. I've seen you..."  S/he paused to laugh at a memory. 
"Felt you.. in battle.. but you have such a sense of... chivalry and
honor.  Had our positions been reversed, I can't say I would have
treated you the same as you are treating me."
	"I don't particularly enjoy it," shrugged Ken, finishing off the last
of the food and setting the tray aside, "but someone's got to do it. 
And I owe Nambu."
	Katze snorted.  "You don't owe that cold bastard anything."  S/he fell
silent suddenly, looking around appraisingly.  "Where are we? 
Underground?"  S/he breathed deeply, swelling hir chest with the feeling
of freedom.  "Do you know that this is one of the few times I can't feel
X singing in my head.  This place must be heavily shielded.. It's nice
to breathe again," s/he finished, smiling faintly.
	Ken paused a moment, then decided against questioning hir outburst. 
"He took me in and raised me," he stated quietly.  "I owe him that
much."  He picked up the tray again, readying to leave.  "Do you need
anything else?"
	Katze glanced at him worriedly.  "Are you coming back?"
	"Nambu-hakase wants us to try talking to you again later today, so,
hai, I'll be back."
	Katze cut him off hurriedly.  "I won't tell them anything," s/he
insisted, "but..."  S/he glanced away, dropping hir tone.  "I owe you...
if you stay...."
	Ken raised an eyebrow.  "What can you tell me?"
	"I'll give you three questions," Katze whispered, "and I'll answer if I
can."
	Ken frowned thoughtfully.  "Does that include your telling me about
Joe?"
	"Any three, in exchange, if you will, for what you've done."
	Ken nodded, moving to set the tray by the door and then sitting
cross-legged on the floor a good distance away from Katze.  "All right,"
he started hesitantly, not knowing where to begin.
	Katze eyed him expectantly, then burst out with what s/he thought Ken
wanted to hear about the most.  "I... picked Joe up in a bar somewhere. 
He was drunk and in a shitty mood, but I liked his looks.  It was only
once.  I did find him again, but his communicator went off and he had to
go."  S/he glanced slightly to the side, blushing.  "He can be quite
gentle and kind.....  Do you... like him?"
	Flushing slightly, Ken glanced sharply at hir.  "He's my teammate," he
snapped.  "Of course I like him, or we'd have been blown up long ago."
	"Not what I meant," Katze smirked, "but I won't press you.  What else
would you like to know?  Something about me?  Or the Syndicate?"  S/he
paused before continuing tentatively, "Or your father?"
	Ken winced, shaking his head.  "Tell me about you."
	Katze shrugged, smiling bitterly.  "I'm a mutant.  Twins fused at
birth.  I change sexes, and if your Nambu isn't careful with me, much
more of this and I will change, and I may not make it through.  I'm
weak, Gatchaman," s/he explained quietly, "I have only so many
reserves.  My life was horrible.  I've been shown the 'better' side of
human nature.  As you said, you know so little, my life made me what I
am.  Sosai crippled me to his will."
	Ken nodded, mentally filing Katze's tirade away for future
consideration.  "What makes you... Change?"
	"Pain.. death."  Katze shrugged.  "Or just it's that time of year.  I
generally don't know until it's happening.  I don't have any
forewarning."
	Ken frowned thoughtfully.  "Do you could do it at any time now, and it
might be fatal?"
	Katze shrugged again.  "It might always be fatal.  Depends on the
wound, my strength beforehand, how recently I've changed prior to that
one.  And that's 4, Gatchaman," Katze finished softly, looking down at
hir feet.  "Will you come back after the main interrogation session
again?"
	Ken grinned engagingly.  "That was three, plus the one you already
promised me."  He rose lightly, brushing himself off.  "I should
probably come back, just in case."
	Katze nodded, hir outward expression not revealing any of the turmoil
in hir brain.  S/he found hirself wanting to say more, but needing to
keep Ken wanting... He was Katze's only hope of surviving the team. 
"I'll tell you about your father," s/he whispered, "later, if you want."
	"If you'd like," murmured Ken, his expression carefully blanked.  He
turned to pick up the tray again and made his way to the door, pausing
just inside the threshold.  "I'll see you again soon, Katze."  He nodded
curtly, then exited the room, leaving Katze dangling with still-loosened
chains.

[Disclaimer]  This story has angst, sex, adult language, and relatively
graphic violence.  If you don't like those things, don't read it, don't
flame us, and we'll all be happy.  ;)
----------

	Joe spent a restless night, alternately pacing his room or shooting
things.  He was involved with the process of brooding back in  his rooms
again and was stretched out on his bed when a knock sounded on the door
and Ken's voice drifted through.  "Joe?"
	Joe glowered at the door.  "What do you want?" he snarled.
	The door swung open to allow Ken to step through and lock it behind
him.  "Talk to me," he insisted.  "What was that all about?"  He dragged
a chair closer to the bed, straddling it and resting his arms over the
back of it, then his head on those, as he studied Joe quietly.
	"Fucked if I know."
	Ken watched as Joe turned away.  "I think you know," he began, "and you
won't tell me.  Don't you trust me?  We know so many things about each
other, most of them uncomfortable, and no one else has found out.  Why
won't you talk to me?"
	Joe blushed, then blushed darker when he realized that he was
blushing.  "Because I don't DO that sort of thing... Once.  One fucking
time.  And it had to be HIM."
	Careful to keep his expression blank, Ken queried softly, "Was it good,
at least?"
	"Yes," growled Joe, embarrassed, turning away from Ken.
	Ken stretched a hand out, lightly touching Joe's shoulder.  "So...
Other than who it was with," he hesitated briefly before plunging on. 
"Why regret it?  I certainly don't think less of you."  He paused again,
then continued shyly.  "Probably more."
	Joe looked at Ken, his eyes darkened to a slate blue.  "Nambu would
kill me if he ever found out," he ground out.  "And it WAS who it was." 
He shuddered in distaste, his expression warring between distraction and
embarrassment.
	"I won't tell him," Ken assured him, "and I have a feeling Katze won't
either.  It would make him too vulnerable."  He let the last trail off,
hoping Joe got the implication that he sort of knew Katze now.
	Joe gave Ken an almost accusing glare.  "So he got to you too, ne?"
	"Joe, he didn't 'get' to me," Ken hurriedly explained, then smiled
shyly.  "But if he did.. I'm in good company then, ne?"
	Joe glared at him, then rolled onto his side away from Ken.  "He didn't
'get' to me," he muttered.
	Ken grinned.  "Good.  Then he didn't get to either of us."  He suddenly
leaned forward, looking guardedly at Joe.  "Did you get any sleep?"
	"Fuck no," Joe snapped, then laughed shortly.  "Was I supposed to?"
	Ken nodded, silently rising from his chair and, in one swift motion,
pushing Joe onto his stomach, straddling his hips and pinning his
shoulders down with a slow massage.  "Then why don't you take a nap?"
	After a momentary resistance, Joe sighed and relaxed, letting Ken work
the knots out of his tense muscles.  "Can't," he muttered, "Nambu wants
us in with Katze again, remember?"
	"Not for a couple of hours," Ken said softly.  "Sleep will do you
good."  He worked Joe's muscles for a few more minutes, then grinned
faintly.  "God, you're tense.  I should do this for you more often. 
Question is," he trailed off teasingly for a moment, then purred
quietly, "do I get payback?"
	Joe smirked faintly and closed his eyes, too tired to argue.  "Sure. 
I'll go easy on you some day in training."
	Ken laughed lightly, continuing to work his hands over Joe's back.  "I
can still whip your ass."  Laughing again at Joe's answering snort, he
suddenly became aware of his own drooping eyes and sat back to stifle a
yawn.  "Damn, I didn't get much sleep either."  He slid off the bed,
masking another yawn behind a raised hand.
	Joe smirked sleepily, already dozing off.  "S'g't'bed."
	Ken nodded, smiling as he made his way to his own quarters and
nose-dived onto the bed, asleep before he impacted on the mattress.

	When the team and Nambu entered the cell again the next morning, Katze
was dangling listlessly between the posts.
	Nambu stepped forward, glancing over hir hanging form with a critical
eye, then transferring his gaze to hir loosened bindings.  "Who did
this?"
	Katze lifted hir head, a faint smirk deepening the pain lines around
hir mouth.  "A Smurf."
	Without acknowledging Katze's hiss, Nambu raised an eyebrow before
pushing his glasses further up his nose.  "I see."  Without another
word, he swung around to face Ken, his expression dark.  "You will not
do that again, do you understand?"
	Ken ducked his head, looking chastised, while Nambu turned a glare in
Joe's direction at the Condor's snicker.
	Katze eyed Nambu malevolently.  "What are you afraid of, Nambu?  How
could I possibly do anything to anyone like this?"
	Nambu gave Katze a cool look as s/he rattled hir chains.  "You've
escaped from us before, Katze," he said, his voice without inflection. 
"We're not going to let it happen again."
	"You bore me.  Why don't we just skip the questions and go right to the
beatings and the torture?"  Katze leered evilly at Nambu.  "I know how
you like to watch helpless things scream."
	Nambu regarded Katze, ignoring Ken's softly uttered denial.  "I'm
sorry, Katze, but you'll have to fulfill your fetish somewhere else. 
We're only interested in information."
	"Pity," smirked Katze.  "Then I guess I'll be in for a long afternoon
of one of your ceaseless lectures.  Very well.  Get on with it."
	'Sounds like he's been listening to our briefings,' ran through Ken's
mind, prompting a hastily muffled snicker.
	Nambu glared at Ken again as he pushed up his glasses, then turned the
disapproving look on Joe as he agreed.  He turned back to Katze with a
world-weary sigh.  "What will it take to get you to tell us what you
know?  Money?  Resources?  Our heads on poles?"
	"Now there's an interesting offer," Katze perked.  "Can I have yours
with Hollandaise sauce?"
	Ken half turned, watching them as Nambu spoke.  "I'll do whatever it
takes, Katze.  I will have you beaten and drugged if it comes to that,
but I'd rather not resort to such crude methods."
	Ken's hastily uttered 'Hakase!' was completely overshadowed by Katze's
howls of laughter.  "I win!  I win!  Go ahead, Nambu, because I won't
tell you anything!"
	Nambu walked to the doors, opening them to admit two guards.  The pair
of burly, large men promptly advanced on Katze, administering a brutal
pummeling that, although it looked impressive, wouldn't damage the
leader of Galactor much beyond some immediate bruises and aches. 
Throughout the beating, Ken and his team stood stiffly, their heads
lowered and their fists clenched at their sides.
	As Nambu dismissed the guards with an idle wave of his hand, Katze
gasped for breath, laughing brokenly.  "I win... I win..."
	Nambu looked hir over, his ears ringing with hir chant as he did so. 
"I was hoping it was true.  But you are quite mad."  Without any further
comment, he turned, gesturing the team out before him as Katze's
laughter yet again echoed behind them.

	"This isn't right."
	Ken's hiss caught Joe's attention as his leader's hand came to rest on
his arm.  Noticing Nambu's eyes on them, Joe nodded minisculely, then
stepped away as Nambu approached Ken.
	"Ken, if I find out that you've gone back there again, I'll have you
confined to your quarters," Nambu coldly informed him.  "Do you
understand?"
	Ken nodded silently as Nambu dismissed them all curtly, leaving them to
return to his office and arrange things for Katze.  Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu
all glanced at Ken as he pulled Joe aside again, then went their own
separate ways.
	"Now what?" Ken insisted.  "What he's doing.. isn't right!"
	"Maybe not."  Joe sighed, running a hand through his hair as he fought
the unfamiliar pricklings of conflict at the edges of his mind.  "But
Katze's not leaving him much choice."
	"Joe.. I did go back again last night."  Joe's eyebrow raised at Ken's
soft admission.  "I fed him and cleaned him up.  He talked to me." 
Ken's head hung slightly as he studied his feet, waiting for his
second-in-command to take a swing at him.
	He was to be disappointed as Joe sucked in a breath and tensed, then
relaxed and raised an eyebrow again.  "About what?" he managed to ask,
his voice sounding only slightly strained.
	Ken glanced around nervously.  "Let's.. do this some place else."
	Joe paused another moment, then nodded, striding off for his rooms. 
When he was assured that Ken had followed, he shut the door behind them
and turned to Ken, crossing his arms over his chest.  "Okay.  Talk."
	Ken sank down on the edge of the bed.  "About.. himself, some.  And
about you."  He held his breath as he watched Joe, who straddled the
chair, much as Ken had done before, and raised an eyebrow at him as
though to say 'oh?'  "He was vague, but complimentary.  He said he found
you in a bar, didn't know you were the Condor, but liked the way you
looked.  You were rather drunk.. You took him home, and when you two
tried to see each other again, you got called on a mission.  That was
it."
	When Joe merely nodded slowly, Ken plunged on.  "Joe.. He's been
through Hell.  And he said something about X being inside his head all
the time."
	Joe shrugged skeptically.  "He could just be saying that, too."
	"But why?  I'm a dupe.  I'd have helped him last night anyway."  He
glanced down at his hands, his expression wistful.  "He offered to tell
me about my father... I didn't ask.  I don't think I want to know.  I
guess you were right.  I am getting soft."  He punctuated his sentence
with a soft snort.
	"You're too gullible."  Joe smirked faintly.  "Not everyone has good in
them, Ken."
	"They why don't you talk to him?  See for yourself.  I'm not saying
he's good per say.. but I don't think he can be blamed entirely,
either."  Ken paused his impassioned diatribe to glance away, continuing
in a softer tone.  "If Nambu keeps this up, he'll kill him."
	Joe nodded solemnly, his mouth drawn into a tight line.  "I almost
think that's what he wants, not the information."
	Ken mirrored Joe's nod.  "Joe.."  He stumbled to a halt before he
managed to continue.  "I won't let that happen.  There's enough blood on
my hands.  I won't have his."  He shook his head thoughtfully, then
looked at Joe again.  "I know.. I know he helped my father to his death,
but I think he was headed that way anyway.  He was just as reckless as I
am."  He paused again, and this time when he continued, his voice was
barely a whisper.  "I think he was going insane.  Katze only gave him a
way out."
	Joe smirked faintly, tipping the chair back on its legs as he looked at
Ken.  "Yep, goin' soft."
	"Will you go back with me?  Or for me?"
	Joe sighed as he heard Ken's soft question.  "Nambu specifically told
you not to go.  Do you really want to go against that?"
	Ken snorted faintly, his bright blue eyes suddenly dark and cloudy. 
"Do you think Nambu scares me?  What's the worst he can do to me? 
String me up like Katze?"  He shrugged, his hands gesturing eloquently. 
"I wouldn't feel such... guilt then."
	"What the Hell happened to your spine, Ken?"  Joe rolled his eyes as he
stood, pushing the chair away.  "I'll go see your little pet; I haven't
been banned from there yet."  He paused at the door when he heard Ken's
next softly uttered question.
	"Do you hate me now?"
	Joe shook his head, not turning around so that Ken wouldn't see the
fond grin that crossed his face.  "Nah."  He nodded over his shoulder as
Ken insisted he call if he need anything, able to hear the grateful
smile in his voice, then left his room, navigating the halls to Katze's
cell once again.

	The door slid open with a click and Katze's head snapped up, finding
hir voice before s/he found hir sight.  "Gatchaman?"
	Joe stopped with one foot over the threshold, reminding himself that he
wasn't here to fight with the mutant.  "No," he growled softly.  "He
couldn't come.  He sent me instead."
	Katze's eyes widened as s/he finally focused on the darkened form of
the Condor.  "Ooh, are you here for more fun and pummeling.. or," s/he
paused, hir tongue flicking out over hir lips, "just for a good fuck?"
	Joe tensed for a moment as Katze's eyes widened, displaying hir instant
regret at hir words.  "Neither, hopefully," he finally managed to grate
out.  "Ken's worried about you, the idiot.  Do you need anything?"
	Katze sighed, dispensing with the games.  "I'd like to lie down for
just a few minutes.  You can leave me chained and hold your gun to my
head.. I won't so much as twitch."  S/he coughed painfully, the muttered
under hir breath, "I feel like shit, I want to vomit."  When Joe
loosened hir bonds enough that s/he could stretch out, Katze sank to the
ground in a heap.  "Very kind of you."  S/he curled onto hir side,
huddling hirself into a protective fetal position.  "Your friend took a
great risk last night.. You are, tonight."
	Joe snorted, waiting until later to ponder why he hadn't pulled his gun
on hir.  "The idiot would be getting into even bigger trouble if he'd've
come tonight.  Someone's got to watch out for him."
	Katze regarded the self-satisfied smirk that crept over the Condor's
face.  "He is an interesting duality.  I am glad you are looking out for
him."  S/he paused, groping for the right words to continue with.  "Tell
me.. was knowing me so horrible, back then.. that time?"  S/he got hir
answer in his silence and faint blush, barely visible in the dim light.
	Joe cleared his throat self-consciously.  "Do you need anything else?"
	"I don't suppose you'd find my mask and retrieve one of the little
explosives I keep in my mouth.  I'd very much like to explode my head
and end it before Nambu has too much more fun."  Aware that s/he was
starting to beg, s/he hurried on.  "I want to cheat him out of the
satisfaction of killing me!"
	Joe paused a moment, looking down at hir, then shook his head.  "I
don't think he wants to kill you quite yet."  After another moment of
consideration, he spoke again.  "I'll talk to Ken and the others about
it, ne?  See what they say and what we can do before you do anything
drastic."
	Katze smirked, hir fatigue showing in the tightened lines around hir
mouth.  "You do care.  How touching."  S/he rolled over slightly to look
up at him.  "I'm tired and hurt.. I don't mean to be rude.  If I was
whole, I'd do it for the fun of it.. You understand the difference." 
One of hir hands stretched up, falling just short of grasping his. 
"Don't let Nambu destroy you..."
	Joe studied Katze until hir hand fell again, the trembling muscles
unable to keep it up.  "Ken cares.  I just care about Ken."  He nearly
slapped himself when he realized how childish that sounded.  No matter
how much they wished it, no one ever completely outgrew those moments. 
He was relieved when Katze just eyed him critically.
	"You do, don't you?  Have you told him?"
	Joe shrugged.  "He's like a brother who always has to get his sorry ass
dragged out of trouble.  What's there to tell?"
	"Is that all?  I had thought you meant something else."  Hir eyes
glassed over as fatigue slurred hir voice.  "You won't admit it, will
you?  Too proud."
	Joe smirked faintly, a hint of amusement shading his words.  "You're
trying to get me to admit that I'm attracted to him, ne?"  He shook his
head slowly.  "I suppose he's attractive, but I feel like his big
brother.  And, whether or not I swing towards guys, which I don't, I
don't swing towards incest."
	Katze nodded, hoping that s/he was successful in keeping the defeat off
of hir face.  "Forgive me.. Some small part of me wanted my time here to
have redeemed my miserable existence.  I guess I misjudged."
	Joe raised an eyebrow.  "You can still redeem it," he started softly. 
"Just tell Nambu what he wants to know.
	Katze's eyes snapped open as s/he snarled, "Fuck Nambu!  He's no better
than Sosai X!"  S/he quieted, but continued, her voice a harsh hiss.  "I
won't hand the world over to him, either.  Galactor will crumble without
me.  I wasn't all that brilliant, mind you, but they must have a strong
figurehead.  With X inside my skull.. I was easy to manipulate.  It took
his years to make my mind supple enough for him to control.  He won't
find another quite so.. soft.  Tell Nambu only aids Nambu's quest for
Global Domination."
	Joe shifted his weight, uneasy over hir tirade.  "The ISO already
controls the world, except for what Galactor holds.  What would you lose
by telling him?"
	"What dignity I have left," s/he muttered quietly.  "Us mutants have
our pride, too.  Sosai X used and abused me like a cheap whore for
years.  I won't buckle under Nambu."
	Joe nodded grudgingly.  "I hate to admit it, but you have a point
there."
	"Ah, the satisfaction of being agreed with.  Anything else you want to
know?  You may not have another chance."  At Joe's surprised 'nani?',
s/he sighed, trying to roll over and prop hirself up on hir elbow.  S/he
failed.  "Anything you want to know?  I'm in the mood for a free answer
or two."
	Joe stilled a moment to mask his surprise, then shrugged.  "Anything
you particularly wanted to tell?
	Katze snorted lightly.  "Tricky bastard.. throwing the question back at
me.."
	"It's what I'm here for."  Joe shrugged, waiting as Katze lay back
thoughtfully.
	"Personal or with the Syndicate?"
	Joe bit back another 'nani', his tired brain not quite following
Katze's jump before he shrugged, hoping to mask his momentary
confusion.  "Whatever you'd like to tell."
	"You were wonderful."
	Joe blanched and blushed as Katze paused before continuing.  "Would
you.."  S/he watched him, smiling faintly.  "No.. I don't suppose you
would."  S/he watched for a few moments longer as Joe coughed and
sputtered before drawing himself back together with a few quick blinks. 
Suddenly overcome by the desire to move, s/he pushed and pulled feebly
with hir hands and feet until s/he managed to lean up against one of the
poles, gasping for breath.  "Will you.. sit next to me.. for a moment?"
	Joe studied hir for a long moment, then silently sat down next to hir. 
It was a long moment before Katze spoke again.  "I am a coward, Kondoru
no Joe.  I only bite when you have me cornered, otherwise I run.  I've
had all of you so many times and could have easily killed you off,
but... a united team is not as frightening as an enraged few seeking
revenge."  S/he sighed, then plunged on.  "I know you and Ken both.. had
your personal needs for revenge, but the death of his father and your
parents was not nearly as.. catastrophic to you, compared to my having
killed one of you."  S/he sighed again, continuing in a much softer tone
of voice.  "I desperately want a kind word and a soft touch.  I'd kiss
you once more if I wasn't so scared you'd blow my head off.  I am a
coward.  And it still perplexes me why I fear your killing me, and not
the taking of my own life as Nambu tries to kill me."
	Joe, surprised at the outburst, could do little more than blink.  "Why
do you think?"
	"Why do I think what?  That I am a coward?"  Katze spat the words from
hirself as though they were vile.  "A tiger knows it has stripes.  Why
do you think I fear you?  Damned if I know..."
	Reaching over, Joe lightly touched hir arm.  "Why do you fear our
killing you more than taking your own life?"
	"No, not our," s/he corrected, "just you, and maybe Ken.  I don't fear
Nambu, I just tire of him.  I'd take my own life to cheat him out of the
pleasure."  S/he glanced away self-consciously.  "Maybe.. I fear you
because I'm not sure it would be pleasure for you.  It would just be
'business'.  I don't make much sense, do I?"
	Joe nodded slowly, understanding hir too well.  "I think I know what
you mean."
	Katze chuckled softly.  "I have a perverse request to ask of you." 
When Joe raised a curious eyebrow at hir, s/he smiled.  "Would you..
would you deliver a little something from me.. to Ken?"  Katze continued
as Joe's other eyebrow joined the first.  "Take off your glove and lend
me your hand.  I promise I won't hurt you."
	Joe obediently pulled off his glove and held out his hand, wincing
slightly when Katze took it between hirs and chuckled.  "I know you
don't feel this way about him, but do this one thing for me.. as a final
request.  I know he wanted to find out."  Bringing his hand up to hir
mouth, s/he gently drew one of his fingers in.  S/he sucked lightly,
nipping at the rough fingertips before swirling hir tongue around the
length of his finger.  S/he continued hir torture, using every trick in
hir considerable repertoire to send shock waves through his body.  S/he
released his hand and sat back, hir breathing uneven as s/he quirked a
grin at him.  "You still taste good," s/he murmured.
	Joe's eyes, steadily widening as Katze's mouth worked over his finger,
nearly boggled out of his head as he backpedaled away from hir.  "What..
what the...!?"
	Katze coughed weakly.  "He fed me last night.  I kept feeling his
fingertips touch my mouth, and he blushed when I caught him at it.." 
S/he felt a weak mental smile cross hir mind as s/he voiced the lie; it
would have been true if Ken had let it.
	Unable to stop gaping, Joe blinked at hir a few times.  "You w.. I'm
sorry, you want me to do that to him?"
	"I wish I could do more for you, but I'm not feeling quite up to it." 
Katze winced slightly as s/he moved against the pole supporting hir. 
"Would you please.. or at least tell him, maybe?  I know I'm asking a
lot.. from you."
	Joe blushed, turning away.  "All right.  But only once."
	Katze smiled sadly.  "Mm.. Maybe I'll be able to find out how he liked
it."  S/he ducked hir head, seeking his eyes with hirs.  "And.. remember
my request.. the bomb.. if you can.. or.."  S/he paused to glance away
again.  "Just do it yourself."
	"I'll remember."  Joe watched as Katze tried to struggle to hir feet,
failing as hir muscles refused to comply.  Rising lithely, he pulled hir
up, cradling hir against him for a moment.  "I'm going to have to chain
you up again."  He glanced to the side, his voice gruff with apology. 
"I'm sorry."
	Katze nodded.  "It's okay.."  S/he tried to reacquaint hirself with hir
wayward body as Joe chained hir upright again, noticing distantly that
Joe left enough slack for hir to flex a little.  S/he locked hir knees,
waiting until Joe had gone to the door, nearly screaming as he paused to
glance back before exiting the room.  As soon as the door clicked closed
behind him with a final-sounding click, s/he slumped into the chains,
biting back a moan as hir shoulders were jerked back, then blackness
encroached on hir vision and s/he couldn't feel the pain anymore.

[Disclaimer]  This story has angst, sex, adult language, and relatively
graphic violence.  If you don't like those things, don't read it, don't
flame us, and we'll all be happy.  ;)
----------

	Ken was waiting in the chair in Joe's room when Joe stormed in,
unclasping the band from his wrist and flinging it across the room.
	"Well?"
	Joe threw himself down on his bed, sprawled inelegantly as Ken shaded
his eyes against Joe's switch from BirdStyle.  "He asked me to give him
something to kill himself with."
	"Did he?  I'm not surprised.  But I didn't know he was that bad.  Did
you?"  When Joe silently shook his head, Ken's grip on the back of the
chair loosened from its former white-knuckle tightness.  "You look
upset."
	Joe smirked faintly, not even having to look at him for Ken to be able
to pick up on it.  "You're perceptive today."
	"Well, your whole body is tense.  Your body language would knock over a
horse at 20 paces.  It's not hard to miss."  Ken looked baffled as Joe
raised a silently questioning eyebrow at him.  "What!?"  He shrugged
self-consciously.  "Okay, so I don't let on a lot that I can read you
like a book, or any of the others for that matter.  Figured it would
make you uncomfortable."
	Joe's eyebrow lowered as his lips curved with another faint smirk. 
"You are perceptive today," he repeated.
	Ken snorted.  "I'd like to not be some times.  I'm the mighty Owashi no
Ken, lectured and drilled by Nambu for hours and hours, days on end. 
It's why I'm so good at keeping you guys away.  I can read you, and I
know when you're preparing to gang up on me and make me admit things
that I don't want to, so I run."  He sighed quietly, looking away.  "I
can get inside you, and keep you all out.  Nambu taught me well."
	"Ken the Great MindReader?"  Joe raised a mocking eyebrow.  "All right,
what am I thinking right now?"
	Ken looked intently at him, his gaze taking on a strange focus. 
"You're.. upset about him, though you don't want to admit that.  You're
upset about me; you always are."  He smirked faintly, hesitating for a
moment.  "And there's something..."  Cocking his head thoughtfully, he
regarded Joe through narrowed eyes.  "Something you don't.. want to do,
but.. you're debating telling me about it."
	Joe sighed, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and leaning
towards Ken, his tone whisper-soft.  "I can't tell you.  I will,
however, show you, but just this once."  His hand shot out, grabbing one
of Ken's and pulling it to his mouth, using what Katze had taught him
against Ken before he released his grip and stretched out on his bed
again, rolling the taste of Ken's skin over his tongue.
	"Na.. nani?"  Ken's hand hung in midair, his mouth gaped open.  With
tingles still running through his body, he pulled his hand back, cupping
it with the other as his eyes fixed on Joe, wide and staring.
	Joe shrugged, feeling Ken's eyes boring into his back.  "He asked me
to," he explained.  "Sort of a last request."
	Ken blinked quickly, finding himself unable to stop gaping.  "Na..
nani?" he repeated.  His mouth worked for a moment without producing any
sounds until he managed to squeak, "Why?  I..."
	Joe shrugged again.  "He said you fed him last night and you kept
blushing when he touched your fingers.  As to why exactly he wanted it
relayed.. that you'll have to ask him yourself."
	Ken's expression crumbled, making him look like a lost little boy. 
"I.. I never touched him.. I was careful.. not to.."  Ken's eyes went
round as his voice rose in pitch, sounding frightened.  "Joe..?"
	Joe opened an eye, rolling slightly to peer over at Ken.  "Huh?"
	Ken stood, his hand still grasping the affected finger as his eyes
stared.  "I.."  He paused, fighting to reassert his aloof shell. 
"Nothing."  He turned towards the door, forcing his hands apart.  "I..
thank you.. must have been.. hard.. for you.
	Feeling completely out of his league, Joe grunted in reply, closing his
eyes as he heard the door open and close behind his back.  He sighed
quietly then, pondering what the fuck just happened, unknowing that Ken
was doing the same back in his own room.

	Ken lay stretched out on his bed, his thoughts in turmoil.  At the top
of the list was.. why?  He wasn't entirely sure that he knew what the
'why' was in question to, but he hoped that there was one person who
would know.  With a determined look in his eyes, he left his room and
made his way back to Katze's cell.
	He walked in quietly, unsure of his welcome.  "Katze?"  Noticing the
faint stirring in the prisoner's hanging form, he crept a bit closer,
unconsciously dropping into a defensive stance as he did so.  "Katze,
you awake?"  he was rewarded by the blonde head being raised, a
questioning hum escaping hir lips.  "Do you need anything?
	"Don't suppose you'd let me out of these.. this hurts.."  S/he was
surprised when Ken immediately released hir, letting hir crumble to the
floor.  "Much better.. doumo."
	Ken crouched down next to hir, his hands flying to move hir into a more
comfortable position.  "You look like shit."
	"Thanks," Katze managed weakly.  "I'll try to be more gracious with my
compliments.  I feel better some how.. might be your cologne."
	Ken blushed faintly as a slight smile crept over his lips.  "Um.. thank
you.. for the, um, message."
	Katze perked at Ken's stutter.  "I wasn't sure he'd do it.  He's very
kind."
	Ken smiled again, picking up one of hir hands and running his own over
it.  "I appreciated it."  He kissed the back of hir captive hand as hir
face took on a hungry look, hir hand unconsciously tightening around
his.  "Is there anything I can do for you?"
	"I have a list."
	Ken sat back slightly, raising a curious eyebrow at hir as hir cue to
continue.  "Um.. a shower, a hot meal, a warm bed and.. um,"  S/he
stopped, blushing and unable to meet Ken's eyes.  "A good lay."
	Ken smiled at hir, standing easily.  "We can do that."
	"What about Nambu?"
	"I don't care about Nambu," frowned Ken, pulling hir to hir feet.
	Katze grunted in acknowledgement, leaning hir weight on Ken as hir own
legs failed to support hir.  "Would you take it personally if I said I
loved you?"
	Ken smiled, a hint of bitterness shading it.  "I wouldn't know how to
take it any other way."
	Katze nodded, smiling faintly.  "I wouldn't know how else to tell you."
	He hefted Katze's weight further onto him, convinced that s/he was
getting delirious.  Then, with a careful eye out for other people, he
lead Katze to his rooms, breathing a sigh of relief when they made it
with no undesirable encounters.  Once they were over the threshold, he
released his hold on Katze, waiting until s/he had hir balance back
before stepping away.
	"It's nice."  Katze cast an appraising eye over the sparsely furnished
rooms.  "Are you here a lot?"
	Ken nodded.  "Don't get out much.  The bathroom's through there."  He
pointed towards one of the adjoining doors.  "You can do your shower
while I see about some food."
	Katze nodded at him, fighting hir body's urge to collapse again.  "Do
you.. have any uppers?  Caffeine pills or something?"  When Ken silently
reached into a drawer and offered over a couple of bottles with a bitter
smirk, Katze blinked, then took them.  After eyeing the labels, s/he
popped two and handed the bottles back.  "I wouldn't want to fall asleep
on you.  They won't last very long.. but for you.."  S/he smiled
slightly and touched the back of one pale hand to his cheek before s/he
stumbled into the bathroom for hir shower.
	Ken thoughtfully tucked the pills away again, then left his room to
journey to the kitchens.  Before Katze was out of the shower, he'd
returned with a heavily laden tray and deposited it on the table.  He
smiled as Katze called out from the bathroom, sounding much more
chipper.
	"Mm.. Smells good!"
	Ken chuckled softly as he arranged the plates over the table.  "I
bribed them for something good."  His eyes turned to Katze as s/he came
out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped loosely around hir hips and a comb
in one hand.
	"I, uh, took the liberty of borrowing the comb.. and your..
toothbrush.. thought you'd like to know."
	Ken blushed faintly, suddenly finding his feet particularly
interesting.  "Considering.."  He stumbled to a halt as his blush
darkened.  "What's a toothbrush matter?"  He watched, entranced, as s/he
paused in combing hir hair out and moved to him, tilting his face up and
pressing the gentlest of kisses against his lips.  His eyes shot wide
open, the white of his sclera contrasting sharply with the bright red of
his face, then his hands were on hir shoulders and he was pushing hir
down into the chair.  "Eat."  He snatched the comb from hir hands,
desperate for anything to do to keep from fidgeting.  "I'll do that."
	Katze pulled his hands from hir hair, pulling him around in front of
hir and snuggling into his arm briefly before releasing him.  S/he dug
into hir food as Ken moved behind hir again, running the combs, then his
hands through hir hair.  S/he smiled when s/he could feel him rubbing
hir hair over his cheek, and pressed hir face against his hands when
they journeyed forward.  "This is good," s/he murmured, unsure of
whether s/he was referring to his attentions or the food.  "Here."  S/he
offered up a bite of steak.  "Try a bite.  Surely you need some too."
	Katze watched as Ken bent over, slowly sliding the meat off the fork,
then gracing hir with a slow smile as he chewed languidly.  S/he
shivered, feeling an answering smile crossing hir face.  "God.. I could
cum just watching you eat.  Bastard.."  The smile became a wicked grin
as s/he offered up another forkful of food.
	Ken smiled, his fingers caressing hir cheek.  "You sound like you're
feeling better."
	"It's the company."  Katze sighed when hir response merely made Ken
smile and resume running his hands through hir hair again.  "I'm loathe
to have you move.. but you should eat.  When was the last time you had
anything?"
	Ken chucked hir gently under the chin.  "Just now.  You watched me do
it, ne?"  He smiled when Katze chuckled and pushed the heavily-laden
fork at him again, and wrapped his tongue around the food, tugging it
off the fork and chewing contentedly.
	Katze moaned softly, unable to tear hir eyes away.  "You must practice
this."
	With a smile, Ken nodded.  "I have nothing better to do with my time."
	"Why the Hell didn't I try this sooner with you?" Katze murmured.  "I'm
not only an idiot but blind."  One of her fingers came up to trace his
lower lip.  Hir breathing turned ragged as Ken dipped his head, lightly
sucking on the finger before speaking.  "No, there were just
circumstances."
	"Oh.. God.. what a jewel you are.."  Katze stared at hir finger still
resting against his lower lip, unable to deny the fire that was tingling
through hir body.  S/he started badly when Ken kissed hir fingertip
gently.
	"Finish eating."
	Katze sucked at hir own lips with a whimper, then reclaimed hir hand
and resumed eating.  S/he offered Ken more tidbits, entranced as Ken
played with each bite before making sure that s/he ate more.  It was
quite a bit later when Katze sat back with a contented sigh, feeling
Ken's arms slide around hir from behind.
	"Better?"
	Katze reached back, hir hands seeking to go around as much of him as
s/he could manage at the odd angle.  "Yes.. Thank you."
	"You're welcome."  Ken kissed the top of hir head gently, then s/he was
shifting, moving around in the chair to face him and embrace him fully. 
He bent, pressing his lips lightly to hirs before he pulled back and
whispered, "What was the rest of your list?"
	Katze nuzzled against him, feeling the muscles contract under his
shirt.  "I think.. bed.. was next on the list."  S/he smiled and blushed
shyly.  "And the.. opportunity to find out what we've been missing.. to
not have any regrets."
	Ken nodded, pulling hir to hir feet and leading hir to the bed. 
"Here's the bed."  He nudged hir down onto it, bending over hir.  "Now
for the rest?"
	Katze shuddered when Ken's lips brushed over hirs, then hir arms were
around his neck and s/he was pressing hirself against him.  "Love me..
just for a little while.. please.."  S/he closed hir eyes, biting hir
lip and panting heavily as hir body shuddered, Changing against his. 
S/he gasped as s/he felt hir body shifting, working words out from
behind clenched jaws. "I.. can.. only.. hold this for.. so.. long.."
	With wide eyes, Ken leaned back to take in hir changes.  Hir limbs had
shortened, hir hips had swelled, and s/he'd acquired a sweet pair of
breasts perched on hir naked chest.  His eyes widened further, then his
hands were smoothing over each change, marveling over the differences
even as he sought out the nerve endings, teasing and soothing them at
the same time.
	Katze panted, hir nerves singing a symphony in hir head as s/he watched
with unnaturally bright eyes as Ken pulled back, hastily striping
himself of his clothes and pulling the towel from Katze.  S/he arched as
his lips came to kiss over hir skin, and s/he twisted to return the
favor, pressing hir mouth fervently over his skin.
	Ken shuddered, then shifted, cupping hir breasts in his hands and
bending to place a kiss on the swell of each before his lips moved to
hover over hir mouth.  "It's a crime to do anything to something this
perfect."
	Katze felt hir thighs growing slick as Ken's mouth settled hungrily
over hirs, taking, giving, sharing their heat.  S/he gasped for breath
when he broke the contact to push hir over onto hir back, his body
settling over hirs.  "Mm... That's why I never hurt you more than
superficially.. and I always regretted that."  Hir hands slid over hir
skin, pausing to cup his chin as hir eyes probed deeply into his.  "So..
beautiful."
	Ken smiled, gently kissing the tip of hir nose as he slid his erection
into hir welcoming warmth.  "Hai, you are."
	S/he colored prettily, sliding hir legs around him and arching hir body
against his.  "Gatchaman.."  S/he purred happily as Ken ran his hands
over hir torso, his lips passing whisper-soft over hir face as his hips
found a rhythm of movement with hirs.
	"Katze.."
	Katze skillfully worked hir body under his, rocking hir hips,
tightening hir inner muscles, kissing his face, his mouth.. Sucking on
his tongue, his lips, nibbling his ear.. Anything s/he could think of
bring him to his orgasm.  "Gatchaman.. Ken.. Ken.."
	Ken moaned, burying his face against hir throat as he drove himself
into hir, slowly losing the internal battle to hold himself back.  When
Katze slipped hir hands down to their joined sexes, dampening hir
fingers in hir juices, and brought hir hand back to his mouth, he
groaned, closing his lips around the offered digit and licking the
clinging moisture from it.  He shuddered at the taste on his tongue,
then felt himself cumming violently, his hips locking against hirs.
	Katze beamed, then let go of hir own orgasm, shuddering and shivering
as hir arms crept around Ken's shaking body, pulling him with hir as
s/he sagged into the bed.  S/he smiled contentedly at him, barely
hearing the soft whoosh as the door slid open.  But what happened next
definitely held hir attention.
	Guards swarmed through the open door, followed by Nambu, who stood near
the exit with a resigned expression on his face.  He watched distantly
as the guards ripped Katze and Ken apart, as Katze wailed and clawed at
hir captors.  Ken silently mirrored hir struggles until someone knocked
him unconscious, binding his hands and feet and dropping him to the
floor.
	Nambu glared at Katze, his apologetic expression all but forgotten.  "I
don't know what you did, but you.."  He trailed off, sneering as hir
body ground a painful retreat back into male form.  "You are not going
anywhere but to the lab.  We'll see what you'll tell us now."
	In his rooms down the hall, Joe roused slightly, hearing the
commotion.  With a faintly worried expression, he left his rooms and
headed down the hallway towards Ken's.  His eyes widened when he caught
sight of the source, and he bolted the rest of the way.  "Hakase?"  He
skidded to a halt next to Nambu, his eyes widening further when he
caught sight of Ken.  He could only watch, shocked, as Katze's nude and
writhing form was dragged away by the guards.
	Nambu turned slightly, catching Joe's gaze with his hard eyes.  "This
doesn't concern you, Joe.  Go back to your rooms."
	As though he hadn't heard Nambu's quiet order, Joe snarled and surged
past him, dropping to his knees next to Ken.  "Ken!"  His fingers flew
to gently probe his teammate's bruised face and cut lip before he
growled, surging to his feet and swinging on Nambu again.  "Hakase!?"
	"It pains me to do this, Joe, but I will if I have to."  Nambu gestured
to the guards as he addressed Joe.  "Restrain him as well."
	Joe stepped up to Nambu, his expression suddenly masked.  "I'll go
quietly.  At least give him some dignity and let me dress him..."  Joe
swallowed thickly, trying to look humble.  "Please, Hakase.. Please."
	Nambu regarded Joe for a moment, his eyes cold and icy.  "Do it
quickly."
	Joe breathed an internal sigh of relief, dropping next to Ken again,
pulling the tie from his ankles and helping him pull on his pants. 
"Ken," he whispered, "it's going to be all right.  I swear it."
	Nodding groggily, Ken pushed Joe's hands away, fumbling to do the fly. 
"The bastard.. How.."
	Joe quickly smoothed his hair, shushing him softly.  "Shh, don't talk. 
Don't say anything to make him do anything else."
	"He's going to kill her.."
	Ken's eyes filled with tears as he and Joe listened to Nambu directing
the guards.  "Tell the scientists to feed whatever they want to it.  It
won't last long anyway, we may as well analyze it while we have it."
	The guard Nambu had spoken to nodded and trundled down the hall as Joe
turned back to Ken, taking his face in his hands.  "Shh.. Keep it
together."  He glanced towards Nambu, only to find his attention on
them.  Turning quickly back to Ken, he whispered hurriedly, "Look for a
way out.  Keep it together."
	Ken slowly shook his head, his eyes full of shattered illusions behind
the tears.  "Why...?"
	Nambu gestured to his guards again, his eyes still following Ken and
Joe.  "Come."  He turned to the guard who approached his side, waving
him on towards the pair on the floor.  "Restrain them if necessary. 
They need to see this."
	Joe watched Nambu leave, then glared at the guards.  "I can get him. 
Back off."  As he snarled his words, he bent to help Ken up, feeling the
lack of response in Ken's body as he followed the guards down the hall. 
He registered distantly that they were being led to the observation
rooms over the labs.
	Nambu smiled faintly when they arrived, gesturing through the glass at
Katze, who was strapped to a table, hir arms spread out to the sides
like a crucified victim.  "You're going to be viewing this first hand,
boys."  He gestured to the guards again, then led them all down to the
operating floor.  He watched a dozen or more guards surround the two,
then he joined the scientists.
	They watched, horrified, as the scientists swarmed over Katze's bound
body like vultures on a dying steer.  Every so often, a brave one would
step forward, a syringe glittering ominously in their hand as they
injected some unknown compound into Katze's body.  Then the flock
stilled again, aside from much frantic scribbling on a number of
notepads as s/he frothed and writhed, straining painfully against hir
bonds.
	Ken watched it all, frozen with shock, as Katze's eyes fixed on his
blurring figure.  S/he could feel hir body dying around hir, a not
entirely unfamiliar sensation, though never a pleasant one.  Then hir
mind was blank as s/he went into a seizure, silent screams pouring from
hir mouth as s/he Changed, hir reshaping body bound by the same ties as
hir larger male form.
	Joe watched horrified until he couldn't anymore, then turned away, a
stream of curses escaping under his breath.  "Oh, God.. Stop.. Stop..
Can't you see?  You're killing hir!"  With a fierce growl, he lurched
away from the guards holding him, swinging blindly.  He took three down
before a fourth caught him from behind and a fifth slammed into his legs
from the side, dislocating the Condor's knee with a wrenching pop.
	Ken screamed as Joe fell, howling, and tried to bolt for Katze.  He
barely made it three feet in his blind charge before he was tripped and
pinned down by more guards, ending up spread-eagle on the floor.
	Nambu pulled his eyes away from Katze's writhing form to favor them
with a bland look.  "I told you that you would be restrained if
necessary.  Don't push your luck."  He turned back just as Katze's
twitching subsided and hir heartbeat leveled out.
	"I love you."
	Ken screamed again as Katze's glazed eyes locked on his and hir
strained murmur reached his ears, then he was passed out and the
scientists were swarming over hir flatlined body.  Needles were jabbed
into hir, electrical jolts were sent through hir body, other virtually
unknown means were used on hir, but hir heart never beat again.  It was
a few minutes later that Nambu waved everyone away from hir.
	"It's about time."
	"Damn you," murmured Joe brokenly from his position on the floor, tears
of pain and anguish building in his eyes.  "Damn you.."
	Nambu glanced over at the guards, casting an appraising eye over the
Condor and the Eagle.  "Bring him around," he ordered, gesturing at
Ken.  He stood back and watched as a guard obediently smacked Ken's face
a few times, bringing him to a reluctant level of consciousness.
	Joe stared at Ken when he swung a gaze full of shattered things towards
him, then screamed his rage.  "Bird GO!"  He lurched to his feet as the
BirdStyle enveloped him in a flash of light, throwing the guards off of
him and ignoring the pain that screamed through his injured knee.  A
guard - several guards - screamed for him to halt as he lunged towards
Nambu, his hand flying to pull his cable gun even as the other drew some
shuriken.  There was a loud crack, then a strangled sound from the
Condor as he dropped to his knees, his eyes fixing on the gaping hole
that had suddenly appeared in his chest.
	"Ke.. n.."
	Ken watched, unresponsive, as Joe's lifeless body slumped forward onto
the floor.  He vaguely heard Nambu's orders to the remaining guards.
	"Dispose of them.  Confine him to his rooms.  Take his band."
	Ken was dragged to his rooms, his mind frantically telling his body to
resist, but unable to gain a hold.  He registered it as his band was
torn from his wrist, then he was tumbling head over heels into his room,
unhearing when the door clicked closed behind him.
	He lay as he was sprawled for a moment, then forced his disobedient
body to listen to him and clambered shakily to his feet.  "God.. Katze..
Joe.. I'm so sorry."  He stumbled to a chest of drawers, leaning heavily
against it as his hands ripped open a drawer, fumbling through the junk
and personal mementos until they closed around the Birdrang hidden in
its depths.  Summoning his waning strength, he staggered to his bed,
collapsing onto it.  His nose twitched at the faint scent of Katze that
still clung to the sheets.
	"Forgive me.."
	Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he clenched them shut,
hearing whispered memories in his mind.
	'I love you.'
	'You're too gullible.'
	'What makes you Change?'  'Pain.. Death..'
	'Not everyone has good in them.'
	'Ken.'
	'What makes you Change?'  'Death..'
	'Ken..'
	He choked back a sob and raised his trembling arm.  "Bird.. fly."  His
broken whisper drifted through the air as his arm swept down in a savage
arc.  Blood sprayed from the blade in a fine mist as he tried to cry
out, only to feel his breath gurgling through the gaping hole in his
neck.  He slumped back on the bed, his blood spreading in an
ever-widening circle to stain the sheets.
	'Everyone.. I'm so sorry..'
	Ken flew.

	Outside the door, the guard sensed something.  He would never know what
it was that made him think that, a change in the air, an intuitive
sense, but something was wrong, and he knew it.  He cautiously opened
the door, half-expecting an attack, then a faint, coppery smell hit his
nostrils and his gaze riveted on the bed.  His hand shot out to slam the
alarm even as he stumbled a few feet away to retch.
	Nambu arrived in a flash, ignoring the guard as he stepped through the
door, his eyes going instantly to the bloody corpse on the bed.  All
that was left of the great Gatchaman.  He stared at him for a brief
moment, then turned to the squad of guards who had followed him, firing
off his orders.  "Dispose of that.  Assemble the backup team.  Call the
termination squad.  Take out the others."  He turned and strode down the
hall way, calling back orders to refit the God Phoenix for the new team.

	Saburo Nishi would never know why he got into this line of work.  It
was hardly his dream job.  But, still, it paid the bills, and he did
have a wife and child to support.  He sighed heavily and tugged on his
gloves, unable to keep the grimace of distaste from his face as he
advanced on the first.  BirdStyles were a bitch to burn; that one was
going to take a while, and Saburo didn't want to be around when the
smell started to waft out.  With a grunt and a shove, the body was away
from him and into the flames.
	Brushing his hands off distastefully, he turned his attention to the
second.  Nude, he noted with an approving nod.  Quick to go.  He frowned
slightly, then.
	'No, old boy,' he told himself.  'That one's dead too.  You've been
down here too long, your eyes are playing tricks on you.'
	He hefted the body, sweating slightly, and carried it the short
distance to the entryway to the giant inferno.  With another pained
grunt, he flung it away from him, then stumbled back, bringing a gloved
hand up to clutch at his throat.
	'You've definitely been down here too long.  She did not just look at
you.  She did not just open those big blue eyes and stare at you.  Go
home, sleep with the wife, and you'll forget this in the morning.'
	And then the screams began.