Kemono Arc

PHASE 1

Kemono
Dates run:	February 9 - September 17, 2009
Run By:	Ben
Plots:	Omikami no Isan, Clause 16, Atomic Angel

"Kemono cares not for the future or safety of this land, only to destroy the kami. And you want to allow him! What honor is that? You would kill just for power."

Shiro Yoshida's ancestral enemy, The Hand have a plan to summon their demon lord to this plane, using the young thermonuclear mutant as the battery.

Timing

February 9 - September 17, 2009

Arc Summary

Following the mutant terrorist attack at Srinagar, India, the countries of Asia have been put on red alert. This was the first public mutant attack in that region of the world, and it highlighted just how unprepared Asia is for such an event. Since last summer, the government of Japan has been privately discussing what they could do to prepare for a domestic or international mutant threat. While establishing an analogue to SHIELD and/or Alpha Flight would be best, it's questionable whether or not the Japanese constitution would permit it. Given the already dubious status of Japan's military, the prime minister is considering a proposal to amend the constitution to explicitly permit a self-defense military. The government doubts there would be much public support, though, so the prime minister has not yet publicly announced this possibility.

Keniuchio Harada is unsurprisingly very much in support of such an initiative, as this would allow significant increases in military spending, and more business for Silver Samurai, Inc., which is suffering under the global economic crisis. Even his illegal businesses in the Yakuza were suffering due to attacks by The Hand. So a Japanese SHIELD/Alpha Flight would be exactly what he needs to recover. Harada reasons that the Japanese people just need some incentive to realize how much of a threat mutant terrorists really are. Should a terrorist strike Japan on even a fraction of the scale of Srinagar, support would shift. And although a nuclear attack isn't really in the collective consciousness of Japan anymore, such an attack would still resonate with the people. Fortunately for Harada, he knows a nuclear-powered mutant who could be manipulated to unite Japan and even take out The Hand in one fell swoop.

Harada leaked the existence and potential magical power of the sanshu no jingi to The Hand, knowing that mutant deaths would attract the X-Men and bring Shiro to their attention. He then leaked the possibility of using a mutant energy source to fuel the ritual, and plotted to "detonate" Shiro when The Hand summoned Kemono. However, The Hand discovered Harada's spy just before the events of Clause 16, and instead decided to abduct Walter Lawson for their failed scheme.

Summoning Kemono has been a bust two times now, thanks to Shiro's efforts, and it now is pointless pursuit for the time being. The Hand has recast their sights on the Yakuza to take revenge for having been fooled twice. Matsu'o Tsurayaba finds Harada's plan to be a good one and decides to twist it for his own gain; rather than launching a mutant terrorist strike on Japanese territory, they will attack a neighboring country (China or North Korea) and expose Japan's secret plans to develop their own SHIELD/Alpha Flight. This blatant violation of their constitution would result in severe international condemnation and possibly military retaliation by the victim country, ultimately collapsing the Japanese government and allowing The Hand to have the opportunity to pick up the pieces. All they need is Shiro.

Arc Plots

Omikami no Isan: The X-Men travel to Japan to investigate brutal murders of mutants, and end up embroiled in a race to secure mystical artifacts before The Hand can.

Clause 16 - In Japan as part of his plan to restitute prisoners-of-war, Shiro encounters the Hand yet again.

Atomic Angel: Driven into psychosis by the Hand and his own meditations, Shiro returns to Japan with a 'holy mission' that could destroy an entire city.

Related Links

Blaze of Glory

Full Metal Mutants

Kick It Up

Krakoa

Trivia and Meta

Trivia

This arc became Shiro's exit from the mansion, as he was sent to Muir Island to recover his sanity.

Meta

Plotrunner: Ben