M Bison stood before his chosen operatives as his Second in Command gave them their marching orders. Cammy White slapped a swagger stick to a board as she elaborated, "this is the Amazon village of Joketsuzoku. Lord Bison wants the place leveled. Some of its inhabitants possess esoteric lore that Shadoloo can use so be judicious with your carnage (faces around the briefing room fell with that order). Besides that, loot anything you can find, these Amazons supposedly possess many magical treasures. Himura Shidoshi!"

The self-styled Hitokiri Batto-sai stood at attention. "Hai!"

"You will be in command of this mission. Remember, kill only enough to make the people of the village capitulate, leave the rest alive."

Shidoshi acknowledged the order with a sullen "ryoukai" (understood).

The stealth plane brought the Shadoloo invasion force into the heart of China undetected by the technology utilized by the Chinese Government. Then again, most nations had a hard time keeping up with Shadoloo technology anyway.

Under the cover of night, Shadoloo forces crept up on the unsuspecting village. The cyborg, Bruticus awaited from atop a hill overlooking Joketsuzoku for a signal from his leader. His fingers twitched irritably over the trigger. He wanted to blow things up NOW. He did not want to wait for the signal. Only the fact that Shidoshi would emasculate one of his few surviving organic appendages kept him from firing early. A single click on his communicator made his musings moot. With a manic cackle, he loosed two incendiary missiles straight into the heart of Joketsuzoku. The horrible whine of the missile culminated in a fantastic explosion that set fire to over half of Joketsuzoku. The straw-thatched roofs of the village were a natural fire hazard after all.

Amazons ran out of their houses, many clad only in moonlight, and milled in confusion as their homes burnt down around them. The first dozen or so died silently before the rest realized that there were intruders in their midst. The Amazons rallied and readied their weapons. They were warrior born and warrior bred, even in all of the turmoil all save the youngest were armed.

(Itadakimasu: a traditonal Japanese phrase said before a meal. In this case, she's saying it for her swords).

A trio of sisters fought back to back when a woman in pale blue floated up to them. She seemed ethereal in the moonlight, especially with her feet floating an inch of two off the ground. The woman clutched her hands to her bosom and implored them, "I am so cold, could you please share your warmth with me?"

The sisters made warding signs against evil as the lady passed unharmed through their weapons. She grasped each of the sister's hands in turn, imploring for understanding.

She floated away from the three sisters and danced in joy. She was warm again! The Lady of Ice did not notice the three mounds of rapidly melting ice that was the mortal remains of the three sisters. Soon the warmth she stole would fade and she would innocently seek more victims.

Shan Fu, village champion of the Amazons in her age group grit her teeth as she ignored the agonized cries of her sister writhing in the dirt. It appears as if the reptilian humanoid she was facing could vomit out some sort of caustic mist that ate through metal, flesh and bone with equal rapacity. A quick stab broke through the mutant's defenses and Shan Fu raised her sword in victory as her blade cut a deep gash in its belly. The reptilian face seemed to be smiling at her as the gash healed almost instantaneously. As Shan Fu joined her sister in the dust, she was glad that her sister was already dead. Her own pain was just beginning.

Lo Shun, Grand Matriarch of the Amazons lead members of the Council of Matriarchs as the spearhead of a counter attack. Their effective was blunted when a bizarre hybrid of man and machine blocked their path. Bruticus laughed maniacally as his opened fire with the dual chainguns built into each arm.

Kwon Shun Er, ran towards the rally point the Elders presented in the town square when she nearly tripped over an huddled girl. The girl was heart-achingly beautiful, so magnificent that she could move a mountain to tears. The woman fearful eyes were too much for the soft-hearted Kwon Shun Er. Speaking as if to a fearful deer, she clicked her tongue once, "come girl, take auntie Kwon's hand. I'll take you to the Elders, you'll be safe."

The girl screamed, "get away from my! Run! You don't know what they did to me!"

Kwon Shun Er peered quizzically at the girl. What was she babbling about, she sounded like she was speaking Japanese....... Too late, Kwon realised that this girl must be one of the invaders. But why did they bring a non-combatant in their invasion force?

The girl suddenly shrieked and clutched her head. Tendrils of blue light flared from her eyes as the Psycho Drive in her was activated by the proximity of an enemy. The last thing Kwon saw was a fist sheathed by the cerulean energies of the Psycho Power.

Kho-om grimly handed a coral necklace to Rin-Rin. "Listen child as you have never listened before. Flee the village with your husband. This heirloom has been in the family for generations, it will keep you safe. The Nujiezhu can survive this but only if we run now to regroup later. All the other Matriarchs are sending away their heirs with our magical treasures. Get help, call Makoto and all the other fighters you can find; if enough of us escape we may yet be able to retake Joketsuzoku at a later time."

Rin-Rin looked up at Kho-om, "but what about you?"

Kho-om hefted her bonbori grimly. "Joketsuzoku was where I was born and it will be where I will die. Go now child."

The Elders managed to hold off the Shadoloo operatives ravaging their village by coalescing in the Town Square. These invaders were unlike anything they had ever seen; most of them were not even human. Not even in the constant battles with the formidable Musk did the Amazons face such devastating combatants.

The wail of a thousand damned souls heralded the arrival of one of the most deadly of the enemy. Her blades had already accounted for some of the best and the brightest of Joketsuzoku and the Matriarchs would be damned if they did not extract their vengeance from her hide! One of them, Va Lun, charged up to her and lead her in a merry dance. Only the other Elders knew the significance of the spiral pattern Va Lun was using. It was the key to one of their most sacred martial arts techniques, one that would turn the power of the invader against herself.

Punching her fist into the air, Va Lun screamed, "Hiryuu Shoten Ha!" as she completed the "Dragon Ascension Wave". Yet instead of the expected hurricane battering the swordswoman, an explosion of Psycho Power knocked the Elders off their feet. Va Lun herself was fried by the malevolent energies radiating from Shidoshi.

With the Elders down, the rest of Joketsuzoku broke ranks and scattered. Amazons died in the dozens while they tried to escape the slaughter; many valiantly sacrificing their lives so that their sisters could live to fight another day. The Battle for Joketsuzoku was over.