Thunderclaps: Prologue - The Underworld Unchained

“Oh, I know. You can call me Offbeat. Everyone has, ever since I was a child.”

-Initial statement from Super Offbeat, the world’s first superhero (1960, from an exclusive interview with the Daily Comet)

July 8, 2001.

Once the woman had left the helicopter, it quickly flew back up as if it did not want to remain in contact with the land here for even a second longer than necessary.

The young woman’s black ponytail and the hem of her plain gray skirt flapped wildly in the powerful wind whipped up by the rotors. She was too busy holding onto her briefcase with both hands to worry about her white thighs.

A solid voice spoke over the wind pressure to reach her eardrums.

“Welcome, Professor Takahashi. I am Director Nakagawa.”

The woman in the plain gray suit only now noticed the solid rock of a large man standing in front of her, so she quickly bowed.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Takahashi Yoshimi from Joutou University’s Supercriminal Psychology Lab. I knew my request was a longshot, so I am truly grateful you were willing to assist with my research.”

Nakagawa’s muscles looked like they were going to burst through his black uniform as he stepped forward and held out a hand for a handshake.

“I cannot even begin to describe how much help I have received from Joutou’s Professor Kimura, so his protégée is more than welcome here. Especially when she’s as good looking as this.”

Nakagawa’s gaze contained more virility than one would expect from a 53-year-old man, so Yoshimi’s cheeks blushed below her thick glasses and she brushed a stray lock of hair back with her right hand.

“This is the first female visitor we have had since the facility opened two years ago. Most men want nothing to do with this place, so I’m impressed you made the request, even if it is to research criminal psychology. There are even rumors that simply breathing the air here will physically change your body. Are you aware what this place is called?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

She tilted her head and looked around.

The heliport was bordered on all sides by sheer cliffs. The sound of crashing waves was incessant and there was no place to moor a boat. The helicopter that had brought her was the only way in.

There was only one structure visible on this remote island: the entrance to a large elevator shaft situated behind Nakagawa.

The metal door to the shaft said the following in black paint: National Ogasawara Super Maximum Security Prison.

She obediently spoke that name.

“That is indeed the name written on our paychecks, but no one here calls it that.”

The metal door behind the large man parted between the Ogasawara and the Super to open like an opera curtain. With perfect timing, he spread his arms in a theatrical way.

“Welcome to the Ogasawara Pit!”

After riding down an elevator large enough to carry a tank, Yoshimi found herself in a large hallway with strange prison cells lining either side.

The inmates’ freedom was restricted by clear reinforced plastic instead of metal bars. According to Nakagawa, a direct hit from an anti-tank gun would not leave a scratch on those barriers.

Yoshimi frowned after looking in the first cell.

There was no one on the other side. Instead, it was filled with about 30cm of rippling water. It looked a lot like an aquarium without any fish.

“U-um, what is this? Why is there only water in- eek!”

Nothing had hit the water, but a pillar of it shot up.

It rose higher than the researcher’s head and stayed there in defiance of gravity. The surface rippled and solidified into a certain shape.

White and black colors appeared on the surface of the clear water, forming two eyeballs. Those bloodshot eyes glared at frozen Yoshimi’s beautiful face.

Red appeared below the water pillar’s eyes to form lips. The lips in the water opened to reveal two rows of pearly whites and a pink tongue.

“What’s this?” The water pillar spoke while a nose, ears, and hair took shape. “Offering me a woman? This place has finally learned how to treat a man.”

Nakagawa spoke calmly.

“That is Inmate #054, Shigemori Yukimasa.”

All at once, the water pillar became a tanned man in his 30s wearing a gray prisoner uniform. His powerful-looking light brown fist slammed against the reinforced plastic wall.

“Don’t use that name! My name is Tidepool.”

“He was originally a skilled employee at a well-known trading company, but something must have happened during a trip to the southern Pacific island of Ponape because he gained the power to change his body into water and stooped to becoming a brutal Offbeat criminal naming himself Tidepool.”

“Forget that old shit’s boring stories, miss. Ever wonder what it’s like to not just fuck in the water, but fuck the water itself?”

Only his prisoner uniform reverted to water. The water flowed along the surface of his body, gathered around his crotch, and formed an inhumanly large erection.

“Kyah!”

Yoshimi covered her eyes with her hands and turned her head away.

Nakagawa’s large hand pushed on her trembling shoulders.

“It’s because of people like him that bars are entirely useless in this prison.”

“I-I see.”

She was pushed toward a different cell, which contained an unexpected person.

A small and frail man in thick glasses sat on the bed reading a book on mathematics. He was so old she imagined an elementary school kid could knock him out with ease.

His lonely gray-haired head moved just a bit to glance over at her face. But he immediately re-immersed himself in the book.

Curious, she moved her face in toward the clear plastic.

“Is he really a criminal necessitating such strict security? He certainly doesn’t look like- ahh!”

Something slammed into the plastic right in front of her face with the speed of a bullet. Several dozen leech-like white creatures as thick as a baby’s arm had attached themselves to the transparent barrier. The inside of the strange creatures’ suction cup mouths was lined with sharp fangs that clacked together in a bizarre chorus.

She backed away in disgust and her eyes followed the strange creatures back to their source. Their bodies were reminiscent of rubber caterpillars and they extended back to the cell’s bed where they disappeared underneath the old man’s uniform.

“This is Inmate #042. His real name is unknown, but he goes by Blood Fest. He is ordinarily a powerless wimp, but like some kind of vampire, his strength grows to the level of a power shovel after sucking human blood with his tentacles.”

After the director’s introduction, Blood Fest lowered his book and grinned. His deeply wrinkled mouth contained the same kind of fangs as his tentacles.

The next inmate she was introduced to was a lanky young man.

He was lying on the bed and he did not have any noticeable physical characteristics. However, the lower half of his face was covered by a strange device.

“What is that muzzle for? That must qualify as violating his human rights.”

“We must make exceptions at times. His name is Honjou Mitsuhiko, aka Rumormonger. He modulates his voice in an instinctually calculated way that leads any who hear him to believe every word he says. If that voice changer were removed, he could simply say all of the prisoners have been pardoned and I would not hesitate to release every last one of them.”

Yoshimi looked skeptical, so Nakagawa shrugged and continued.

“The Ogasawara Pit holds 72 inmates and they are all dangerous Offbeats with physical or mental superpowers. Sigh. I suppose you would be too young to know happened 41 years ago.”

“You mean the Super Debut? I have read through all the relevant documents.”

“But you did not experience that frenzy for yourself. I was 13 on January 5, 1960 and I still remember it like it was yesterday. That really did shake the entire world to its core. On that day, terrorists fired a nuclear missile toward Washington DC. Everyone the world over believed America’s capital would be reduced to ashes and hundreds of thousands would die. But just before it hit the White House, a man in a flashy costume with a red cape appeared flying through the sky with no equipment or machinery to assist him. He caught the missile with his bare hands, flew out into space, destroyed the detonator, and discarded it beyond lunar orbit. The caped man was interviewed by a newspaper that very night.”

“And he named himself Super Offbeat. I have a reprint of that issue in my collection. The interview was personally conducted by Editor-in-Chief Paul White who advocated for the good American journalism could do for the world.”

“The earth changed on that day. Who knows where they were hiding all that time, but superhumans began popping up all over the place. Psychics, cyborgs, biomonsters, sorcerers – they came in all forms.”

“And they began calling themselves Offbeats in honor of Super Offbeat, the original superhuman, right?”

“Correct. Unfortunately, most Offbeats were criminals just like those you see here. The world is full of monsters with superpowers. And thanks to the UN’s 1961 decision to recognize the humanity of and grant human rights to all beings with free will, regardless of the appearance, structure, and composite materials of their bodies, even monsters like this must be tried for their crimes and cared for in a prison.”

Nakagawa pointed toward a cell where a beautiful woman in a revealing belly dancer outfit lay on a sofa watching TV and sipping at a tropical drink.

“I thought this was a men’s prison! And why is she receiving special treatment?”

“Joy Division there was a 2.5m man until yesterday, but they suddenly turned into a woman this morning.”

“My, are they a shapeshifter?”

“Oh, this is nothing as gentle as that. Do you remember March of last year when a 50m naked woman climbed Tokyo Tower? This is your culprit right here. Joy Division is a legit Arabian djinn. They claim to have been sealed inside an ancient pot smuggled in from Kuwait. We managed to seal them inside with an anti-magic defense barrier, but unfortunately, we cannot prevent their magic from bringing outside objects inside the cell.”

“So the rumors were true. Ogasawara does hold a real mystical creature.”

“We aren’t the only ones. Iriomote Super Maximum Security Prison holds Offbeat criminals from western Japan and they have both a mermaid and an incubus. The only reason these villains have not destroyed the world yet is because of the Offbeat superheroes who have taken the side of justice.”

“Of course!” Yoshimi’s face lit up. “I once met the superhero named Flare! She was such an amazing woman.”

“Really? We have several here who were captured by Flare. Oh, but we can’t stand here chatting all day. I will show you to the control room of the Pit, which has not allowed a single Offbeat to escape ever since its opening.”

Once the door to the control room opened, Director Nakagawa spoke to his working employees with a lively voice.

“Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Takahashi Yoshimi, a young genius of a criminal psychologist from Joutou U.”

The 13 prison guards in oppressive black uniforms all responded with vacant looks on their faces. They all looked behind their boss with surprise, suspicion, and doubt in their eyes.

“Oh, c’mon, guys. I know you’ve been out on this remote island for a while, but is a woman really that surprising a sight? And you knew she was coming, didn’t you?”

“B-but, Director.” The bald-headed sub-director adjusted his glasses. “Are you sure that person is a psychologist? Is this some kind of psychological test? If so, I’m not sure I can give my consent.”

“Yoshida-kun, what are you talking about? Is that any way to greet the professor?”

Feeling apologetic, Nakagawa looked back.

His jaw dropped.

The person behind him was supposed to be a plain researcher who was good looking but did not know how to show off her feminine charm. At the very least, she had been just before he opened the door.

But now he was facing a sexy woman in a bondage-style outfit made of black enamel.

She pushed her ample breasts prominently forward as if as a challenge to the world.

Her waist was tight and skinny.

Her butt also showed off an overwhelming sense of mass.

A body seemingly made from concentrated male desire was stuffed inside a black and glossy leotard.

The material over the crotch was so skimpy it looked like her labia were going to push out on either side at any moment. The thighs exposed by the leotard’s high-leg cut were plump and the legs as a whole were long and lithe. Glossy black stilettos adorned her feet.

The leotard’s chest had a diamond-shaped opening that generously showed off her deep cleavage. The bumps of the nipples showed through the thin material and it looked like they would slip out into the diamond boob window if she moved even slightly.

Also, both her shoulders were covered by creepy, skull-shaped protectors.

The face was still Takahashi Yoshimi’s, but the glasses were gone. Her hair had been let down and it spread out over her back.

Finally, a golden letter D glittered on the black leather choker around her neck.

The director of Japan’s most secure prison asked a question while his face stiffened from the very bad feeling he had about this.

“Who are you? Are you the real Professor Takahashi?”

“There is no real Professor Takahashi. All of that was false information I created. My name is Eclipse.”

Director Nakagawa did not speak up in surprise or anger. Before he could, red beams fired from Eclipse’s eyes and pierced his muscular chest.

A simple glance from her icy gaze was enough for a scorching hot scalpel to slice through the torsos, necks, and heads of the director and other employees in the room. The cuts were cauterized by the heat, so the corpses were produced without blood. She kicked them aside like garbage and began operating the computer that managed the prison.

After calling up the information she needed, she typed on the keyboard with a delighted smile.

The following text appeared on the monitor: Opening all cells.

On that day the Ogasawara Pit became a true hell.

Jailor Yamashita fled to the staff dining hall’s kitchen and immediately grabbed a large pot from the stovetop. He tried to dump the boiling soup on the prisoner pursuing him.

But not a single drop fell from the large pot held overhead.

He looked up to see the previously bubbling soup had frozen solid. In fact, the metal pot was covered in frost and his hands were frozen to it. His despair-filled eyes met the mocking blue eyes of the prisoner.

“Helmut, please spare me. I…I have a wife and daugh-”

The prisoner’s white arm reached out.

“-ter.”

Yamashita’s trembling voice froze. All of his body tissue froze too, he lost his balance, and he fell to the floor.

The frozen flesh shattered and the shards slid across the floor to scatter around the kitchen.

Jailor Iijima fled down the hallway to the Third Storeroom. Cries of terror, rage, and joy pursued him.

“Shit. I need to survive this. I will survive this. I swear to god I’ll survive this. If I can reach the Third Storeroom, I can grab me a bazooka or a flamethrower. I’ll slaughter every last one of those fucking monsters!”

When he took one step, his foot found only air. The solid concrete floor had suddenly caved in to form a bowl shape.

“A-Ant-”

He could not stop himself from tumbling down the steep slope. As he rolled, he realized what had happened. He also knew what was about to happen to him. That was why he screamed in despair at the bottom of the hole.

Two giant claws burst out through the concrete and pierced him through the stomach and back. Iijima became a victim of Antlion, one of the insect humans created by the mysterious criminal organization known as Testament.

“Stop. Please don’t say anything.

“I beg you. Don’t say a word.”

“I won’t report the jailbreak. I’ll even help you escape. So please stay quiet.”

The three jailor’s pleas fell on deaf ears as Rumormonger threw off his muzzle and whispered to them.

“In five minutes, a giant meteor will land here. It would be a lot less painful to die before that happens.”

The three went pale, drew the pistols from their hips, and pressed them to their temples.

They each pulled the trigger.

The murderer stared idly at the splattered blood and then whispered again.

“That seemed a bit rash for nothing more than a baseless rumor.”

“Die! Die, die, die!!”

Jailor Sasaki fired a submachinegun in full-auto mode.

Into the naked chest of the monster standing a mere 2m in front of him.

A carnivorous dinosaur with the human-sized height of only 2.3m adjusted the angle of the top hat on his head, fixed the position of the monocle in his right eye, and traced a claw along the chest scales that had deflected the bullets. The tail extending from the hole in his pants swished along the floor and the lizard mouth moved to produce human language.

“I say, public employees these days have no manners at all. I, Mr. T-Rex, shall teach you some manners that you might behave like a proper gentleman.”

Sasaki pulled a new magazine from his belt. This time, he aimed at the dinosaur man’s head.

But the enemy arrived from an unexpected direction. The thick concrete ceiling collapsed and crushed Sasaki before he could even scream.

The bondage woman standing atop the deadly rubble did not seem at all bothered by the pool of blood forming at her feet.

Mr. T-Rex did not seem to care about Sasaki either. He bared his fangs as if rejoicing in his good fortune.

“Lovely madam, would you care to engage in a gentlemanly round of lovemaking with me?”

Without waiting for a response, his claws skillfully unzipped his pants to reveal a grotesque penis covered in scales.

“Get lost, lower life form.”

“Deary me, those are not the words of a proper lady. It would seem some punishment is in- gwah!”

Eclipse’s right arm jabbed below Mr. T-Rex’s thick chest scales that had repelled a machinegun. She pulled her hand out with a still-beating heart in her grasp.

The dinosaur man collapsed and she tossed his heart aside before entering the cell in front of her.

She respectfully kneeled and lowered her beautiful head to the floor before the elderly man seated on the bed.

“I have come for you, Doctor Disorder.”

The elderly man gave a deep nod and looked down at the woman with his biological left eye and mechanical right eye.

“So it is finally complete, my daughter.”

As the scientist reached out his mechanical right arm, a bell’s ringing sounded between him and Eclipse. Eclipse and Doctor Disorder exchanged a puzzled look as white smoke poofed up in front of them and a sexy belly dancer appeared with hips awiggling.

“Yahoo, Doctor. Sounds like you’re planning something fun, and I want in.”