Sailor Moon/Gen13: Crystal Destiny
San Diego, California USA
The 30th century
The thirtieth century is a time of science and magic. It is time
where the mystical and the technological have met to form a world the
likes of which have not been seen since the fall of the Moon Kingdom.
One need only look at city like San Diego to see the strange and
wondrous changes this new world has brought. San Diego’s skyline looks
much as it did before the dawning of the new age, but now its
skyscrapers are made of crystal instead of glass and steel. In sunlight
and in moonlight these towers gleam with promise.
Throughout the city music plays, art is created, people fall in
love, stories are told and children laugh. While these things happened
in the old world as well, in the thirtieth century such things are not
taken for granted as they once were. For this new age has brought not
only change to the city’s buildings, but to its people as well. Anger,
fear, hatred, greed, envy, vanity and humanity’s other sins, while still
present, do not hold the sway over the hearts and minds of mankind that
they once did.
And it is not just the people of San Diego who are this way. A
profound change has come over all the people of the earth. The very soul
of humanity now shines with a purity not seen since Eden.
Many people across the globe credit one very extraordinary woman
and her equally extraordinary friends for helping to usher in this new
golden age. As fate would have it, said woman and her companions were
due to visit San Diego today. And as is the custom, they have friends
waiting to meet them at the airport.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lindbergh Field, San Diego’s main airport, is a landmark in the
history of mankind. It was here that Charles Lindbergh took off for New
York City to begin his famous solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean to
Paris. But today a new chapter of history is to be written.
In an empty hangar on the outskirts of the airport a group of two
men and three women stood waiting. All were in their late twenties or
early thirties and all but one wore form-fitting two-colored bodysuits.
The exception was a short man of Asian descent who wore a pair of
gold and red pants with a slick black vest. Next to him was a white
woman whose bodysuit was pink and black. Nearby was a blond man sporting
a yellow and red outfit. Beside him was a woman clearly of Native
American descent who wore a suit of red and aqua. The last of the group,
a towering redhead, had a suit of purple and dark green.
“They should be here any second now,” informed the blond man.
As if in response to his words a slight humming sound began and
seconds later the hangar was filled with a bright pink light. When the
light had faded a new group of seven people could be seen. Five women in
their mid-twenties, a man a few years older and a child of about six had
appeared.
The most noticeable of the newcomers was a woman who wore a long
white dress and a jeweled tiara. Her blonde hair had been pulled into a
pair of meatball-like buns which trailed down into two ponytails almost
reaching the ground. In her left hand she held a scepter topped with a
crescent moon. The scepter glowed slightly from the residual energy of
the transport.
Beside her was a man wearing a lavender suit, a white cape and
holding a ornamental staff. Between them was a little girl in a blue
dress whose pink hair was done in a style similar to the first woman.
She clung tightly to the large toy ball in her hands which, curiously,
looked a lot like the head of a cat.
Behind them stood another blonde, this one in an orange and white
uniform well known to the first group. The women beside her wore almost
identical outfits of green, red and blue.
“Neo-Queen Serenity, King Endymion, Small Lady, Sailor Soldiers,
welcome to San Diego,” greeted the redhead as she bowed, as did her
teammates, in the traditional Japanese style.
“You should know better than that, Caitlin,” admonished Serenity
with a small smile. “We’ve all been friends too long for that kind of
formality.”
“I know, but you know what sticklers for formality some people can
be,” sighed Fairchild as she moved to meet the group. “It’s good to
finally see you again, Serena.”
“It’s good to see you too,” said Serenity as she gave the other
woman a friendly hug.
“Aunt Roxy! Uncle Grunge!” squealed Rini as she dashed to the pair,
her Luna Ball training right behind her.
“Hey, spore. Who said you could bigger since the last time was saw
you?” joked Grunge as he hoisted the girl up.
“Ignore him, sweetie,” sighed Roxy as she gave Rini a kiss on the
cheek. “But he’s right, you’re growing up so fast. Pretty soon you’ll be
so big, we won’t be able to call you Small Lady anymore.”
“Raye, Lita, Amy, Mina, it’s good to see you as well,” said
Rainmaker.
“Yeah, you guys haven’t been stateside since the war ended,” noted
Burnout.
“You know how it is,” shrugged Jupiter. “There’s a lot of
rebuilding still left to do in Crystal Tokyo.”
“I suppose the rest of the world got off somewhat lightly when
compared to Japan,” commented Sarah. “Reconstruction here in the
States should be finished in about eight months. It will probably be a
lot longer before Tokyo is back to 100%.”
“Yes, it will take years before the city, and the rest of the
world, is back to what it was before the Dark Moon Family attacked,”
agreed Mercury.
“That’s why the president asked us to come to this conference,”
said Endymion as he joined the conversation. “I’m not sure how much
help Serenity and I can be since we hold no official power, but we’ll do
whatever we can.”
“Don’t sell your and Serena’s influence short, Darien,” warned
Fairchild. “All of you were instrumental in making the world what it is
today. People trust and believe in you.”
“Caitlin is right,” said Venus. “After all, the press wouldn’t have
nicknamed you two the ‘King and Queen of the Earth’ if people didn’t
look up to you.”
“We’ve still got a few hours before the conference starts,”
informed Sarah. “I hope you’ll all enjoy the special tour we’ve
arranged.”
“A tour of the city sounds nice, but this isn’t our first trip to
San Diego,” said Mars. “I’d really rather spend some time getting caught
up with what’s been going on with you guys.”
“They’ll be plenty of time for that later,” assured Bobby. “But
this tour is special. I don’t think you’ve seen the city from Grunge’s
flying bathtub.”
Nearby, Rini heard this and a look of puzzlement crossed here face.
“Flying bathtub?”
“Come on, spore,” said Grunge. “You’re gonna love this!”
With that, everyone followed Grunge out onto the tarmac. There sat a
craft, about the size of a cabincruiser. The back was pulled down to the
ground to provide an entry ramp. In the front, a steering wheel, much
like that of a ship, dominated the controls.
“Bobby wasn’t kidding,” remarked Venus. “That contraption really
does look like a bathtub.”
“Contraption?!” snorted Grunge. “I’ll have you know that this
‘bathtub’ is nothing less than the newest generation of hovercraft. This
baby has a cruising speed of 70 mph and can go up as high as five
hundred feet!”
“Boys and their toys,” sighed Roxy. Next to her Queen Serenity
stifled a giggle.
“Yes, we know what a fine piece of craftsmanship it is,” said
Caitlin. “But we won’t need to push it today, Eddie. We’re just going to
just going to take Serena and the others on a nice sky tour of the city
and then it’s on to the conference.”
“Okay, okay,” relented Grunge. “All aboard! This train’s moving
out!”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sunlight glistened of the waters of Coronado Bay as the craft
carrying Gen13 and the Sailor Soldiers flew overhead. After spending
several minutes enjoying the breath-taking view, the two teams fell into
groups and began to get caught up on their lives.
“It sure is a beautiful city,” commented Jupiter as she looked over
the rail.
Beside her Burnout nodded. “That it is. Me and the others lived in a
lot of places when we were on the run from I/O, but San Diego is one of
the few places that ever really felt like home.”
“So, other than playing welcome wagon to visiting Sailors, what have
you guys been up to since the war ended?”
“The same thing as most of the other superheroes,” shrugged Bobby.
“Doing what we can to help in the reconstruction and trying to grab some
time to have a personal life. And you?”
“The same,” said Lita. “But we’ve got a few other duties. Being
guardians to Rini and going with Serena to the occasional diplomatic
function and the like. I know those things are important, but really do
wish I had more time to devote to my restaurant.”
“That’s still standing?” asked Bobby, genuinely surprised. “After
what the Dark Moon Family did to Crystal Tokyo I thou--”
“I was just as surprised,” interrupted Lita. “Thank god for small
favors, huh?”
“Definitely. So what are the others up to?”
“Well, even with all the crazy stuff that was going on in our lives,
Amy somehow managed to get though medical school. She’s finally a
pediatrician just like she’s always wanted. In fact, she and her mom
have been talking about opening up a small practice together.
“Raye and her grandpa are trying to build a new shrine. What with
the old one being turned into a Crystal Point and all. They’ve actually
found a site near Mayfair Park that looks really promising.
“Mina’s trying to get her music and acting career going again. In
fact, she and Raye were writing a song together just before we left.”
“I’ll have to ask her to send me a copy of her next album,” smiled
Bobby. “I have to hand it to her, Mina’s a real talent. I saw her in
Miss Saigon when she was doing some Broadway work. She was excellent.”
“Haruka and Michiru figured that the four of us were more than
enough to look after Tokyo and the royal family, so they decided to take
a leave of absence,” continued Jupiter. “They’re off touring the world
together again. Michiru playing her music and Haruka racing. Last I
heard they were in Brazil.
“Hotaru decided that she needed some time to herself. We got a
postcard from her a few weeks ago say that she was in Israel and that
she was fine. Other than that we haven’t heard a thing. I guess she’s
decided to do some traveling. As for Setsuna…well, she’s back at the
Gate of Time.”
“The more things change…” muttered Bobby, solemnly.
“The more they stay the same,” finished Jupiter as she turned to
look at the others.
At the front of the ship Grunge was entertaining Rini with some silly
faces while Freefall, Venus, Queen Serenity and King Endymion looked on
with quiet amusement.
“There’s a prime example of what I mean,” said Lita. “Even after all
these years Grunge is still a goofball. A nice guy, but a goofball.”
“Don’t sell Eddie short,” cautioned Bobby. “He may act like a goof,
but he’s smarter then he lets on. And to be fair, he’s grown up a lot
since the old days. Now he’s actually been known to resemble a
reasonable adult at times. He just has more fun acting like a clown.”
“I noticed you called him Eddie. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any
of you call him by his real name.”
“Well, he doesn’t like to be called that all the time. In his heart
he’s still the same old Grunge we all know and love. But everyone grows
up sooner or later. Besides, this is the thirtieth century. Would you
want to always be referred to by the name of a music style that went out
of fashion a thousand years ago?”
“I guess not,” conceded Lita. She then glanced over to the back of
the ship where Mercury and Fairchild were in the midst of a deep
conversation.
“What do you think those two are talking about?”
“Things beyond the ken of mortals like us,” answered Burnout with a
smirk. “You know, I love watching those two talk. Whenever they’re
together I think I can feel my own IQ going up just though osmosis.”
“It really is amazing what those two can come up with when they put
there heads together. Remember after we first met how puzzled they were
that Gen-Actives and Sailor Scouts had such similar energy signatures?”
“I do,” confirmed Bobby. “If only we knew then that it was because
we’d all been reborn though the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal.
God, there are days when I still can’t believe that really happened.
That thousands of years ago me, you and the others lived in the Moon
Kingdom.”
Lita nodded but said nothing. For several long moments neither
spoke. “So have you remembered any more?” Jupiter asked eventually.
“You mean of my life in the Silver Millennium? No, not really,”
said Burnout. “I do recall a few things. A castle on Phobos. My dad in
royal regalia. Man, of all of us I think he was the most surprised to
learn the truth. I also recall the surface of Mars. There were great
canals running all over the surface of our world. Mars was sort of like
Venice on a planetary scale.
“I also remember the last day of the Moon Kingdom. In my head I can
still see the eclipse, that horrible face in the sky and all the
explosions. I remember my duel to the death with Zoisite. You guys
weren’t kidding about that laugh of hers. It was awful! I can still hear
it ringing in my ears as she ran me though.”
Bobby stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. Lita waited,
expecting him to stop, but he went on. “After that it gets fuzzy. I
remember seeing Sarah and the others leaning over me begging me not to
die. Then a flash of light and then…then I hear Queen Serenity telling
me that we’re going to a better future and that my friends and I will be
together again.”
Lita turned from Bobby to look at the other four Gen-Actives on the
ship. “What about the others? Have they remembered more?”
“No,” informed Burnout. “Their memories of that time are about as
clear as mine. To be honest, I really try not to think about that stuff
to much. It’s just to big to take in. As far as I’m concerned, I’m just
plain old Bobby Lane and not Sir Robert of Phobos.”
“That’s pretty much how we feel,” said Lita. “I may have some of
the memories of Princess Jupiter, but in my heart I’m Lita Kino.
Princess Jupiter is a girl who died a long time ago, and as fate would
have it I ended up with some of her memories. She’s a part of who I am,
but she’s not who I am.”
As she finished Jupiter took a deep breath and then looked toward
the bow of the ship and Neo Queen Serenity. “Of course, the same isn’t
true for all of us.”
“I know what you mean,” said the blond man. “Of all of us she’s
changed the most.”
“It’s hard to believe that Neo-Queen Serenity is the same person
that we used to call ‘Serena the Hyena’,” mused Lita. “But she isn’t the
same person she was back then. When she got her memories of being
Princess Serenity back she changed. She became more formal and graceful.
The other Sailors and I actually started to wonder if the girl we’d grow
up with was gone.”
“If you’ll recall, that was pretty much our reaction when we first
met Serenity,” noted Bobby. “Talk about a 180.”
“It was disconcerting at first…but after a few weeks we could see
that the person we’d always know was still there. Did you know that
Serena still hasn’t mastered the kanji?”
“I guess what they say about some things never changing is also
true,” said Bobby.
It was then the Grunge, who was engaged in conversation with the
royal couple, turned to Serenity and said “Isn’t that right,
Meatballhead?”
At that Rini immediately burst out giggling. Freefall, Sailor Venus
and King Endymion tried to stifle their laughter but failed. A look of
embarrassment and anger crossed Serenity’s face as she turned to see her
the others laughing at her. She turned back to Grunge and gave him a
withering glare. “DON’T CALL ME MEATBALLHEAD!!”
“Of course, there are times when the old Serena comes shining
though loud and clear,” deadpanned Jupiter.
Small smiles on both their faces, the two then turned back to the rail
to enjoy more of the view. After several moments Lita heard Bobby make
an amused sound.
“What is it?”
“Down there,” indicated Burnout as he pointed to one of the
buildings along San Diego’s waterfront. “That the convention center.
That’s where we had that big throwdown with Rubeus and the Four Sister
that time they came to America. If only we’d known…”
“Known what?”
“Do you remember the first time we met?”
“Of course. Malachite turned your dad into a youma. That’s not
something you forget.”
“What I meant was if only we’d know what that was the start of,”
clarified Burnout. “After all, over the years we did end up having our
own clashes with just about everyone you guys ever fought. We fought
Alan and Ann and Rubeus and the Four Sisters here in San Diego. And
there was that time we took on the Witches 5 in Miami. The debacle with
the Snow Dancers…”
“Don’t forget that Christmas we all teamed up to stop Emerald from
flooding New York with Dark Power,” reminded Lita.
“I couldn’t forget that if I tried.”
“You guys did pretty well against our enemies, but it’s not like
the door doesn’t swing both ways,” said Jupiter. “We fought some of
your enemies to. Helmut, Threshold, the Seven Deadly Sins. We even
battled the Deviants!” Lita stopped to think on that and smiled. “Life
sure is full of coincidences, isn’t it?”
“Maybe some of the things we think are coincidences were meant to
be.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure how much sense this makes but I’ll try and explain,”
began Bobby. “This occurred to Caitlin just after the war with the Dark
Moon Family ended. We know that Queen Serenity arranged for the Sailor
Scouts to be reactivated if Queen Beryl and her flunkies ever broke free
of the Negaverse. We also know that back in the Silver Millennium me,
Eddie, Sarah and the others we just regular humans with no unusual
abilities.”
“Go on,” prodded Lita.
“Don’t you think it’s rather weird that when we were reborn on
Earth it was into lives that would not only bring the five of us back
together, but give us superpowers in the bargain? What if we were also
meant to fight against the Negaverse? Sort of a second line of defense
if Beryl should get past the Sailor Scouts.”
“Wow, that’s…I’m not sure what to make of that,” boggled Lita.
“I know it sounds out there,” continued Bobby. “But the more I think
about it the more I wonder. We know that we’re not the only superhumans
out there who lived before in the Moon Kingdom. I think Grifter is still
in denial about being a Guardsman for the Royal House of Saturn in his
old life.”
“Some of Earth’s superheroes may have been part of Queen Serenity’s
plan to protect the world from the Negaverse? Wow, that’s a lot to take
in,” said Lita.
“It’s just a theory,” reminded Burnout. “I’m not even sure if I
believe it. Anyway, the point is rather moot. Beryl is dead, the
Negaverse has been sealed off from our universe forever, and Queen
Serenity, the one person who could answer our questions, has been gone
for thousands of years.”
“The life of a superhero is never easy,” sighed Jupiter. “Do you
ever fell like just abandoning the whole thing and just trying to have a
normal life?”
“Sometimes,” admitted Bobby. “But the world needs people like us.
As a wiseman once said ‘With great power--”
“Must come great responsibility,” finished the Sailor Soldier. “Who
came up with that saying anyway?”
“You know, for the life of me I can’t remember.”
After that the two again fell into silence and simply watched the
ocean for a while. “After the conference do you want to go grab some
dinner?” asked Bobby.
“I have a better idea,” said Lita. “You live here in the city,
right?”
“Right, in La Jolla. In a place built on the site of where our old
house used to be, as a matter of fact.”
“How about I come over to your place and make dinner for us? I’ve
got a new variation on my famous chili recipe I’ve been dying to try
out.”
“Far be it for me to pass up some of you chili. But are you
wouldn’t be going out of your way?”
“Come on, Bobby. You should know me better than that,” admonished
Lita. “Since when have I ever considered the chance to cook going out of
my way? Besides, with us being so busy lately I haven’t had the chance
to make a home cooked meal in weeks.”
“Sounds great,” grinned Bobby. “How about I get out my guitar and
play some Three Lights songs? Just for old times sake.”
“You, Mr. Lane, have a date,” smiled Lita.
The two then turned back to the enjoy the view. As Bobby’s hand sat
on the rail Lita’s hand crept over and placed itself on top of his. With
an inward smile both heroes joined hands.
Below the sunlight sparkled on the ocean. Above the faint specter of
the moon could be seen in the blue sky.
The End
* Well it’s finally over. With the completion of this story I can
finally consider “Moonlight Heroes” finished. Okay, it technically ended
when “MH” was done, but I’ve always considered “Silver Twilight” and
“Crystal Destiny” to be a part of that story. Bookends if you will.
* I know some of the things in my vision of the world of Crystal Tokyo
don’t jibe with the show, but we know so little about this time I
figured things were open to interpretation. For instance, I had a hard
time believing that Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion were really the
rulers of the world. I mean, are the democracies of the world,
especially America, just going to hand the reigns of power over to a
monarch? Somehow I just don’t see. Besides, what do Serena and Darien
know about running a country, much less a world?
* My take is that they’re like the British royal family. They’re
figureheads who are respected, but hold no authority. Besides, I like to
think that Darien and the Sailors are out there making the world a
better place not only with their magic powers, but with the talents they
were born with.
*Grunge’s “flying bathtub” was supposed to be a altered version of the
Fantasticar, a plane/hovercraft vehicle used by the Fantastic Four and
often refereed to as a “flying bathtub. The line about how “With great
power must come great responsibility” comes from, as any comic book fans
knows, Spider-Man.
*If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m planning some sequels to this story.
I don’t want to give anything away, but some of the events mentioned in
this story will be coming to pass. Right now I’ve got solid storylines
for two more adventures in the Sailor Moon/Wildstorm universe, but I’ve
got a lot of ideas so who knows how many stories I may end up writing.