Studio YOGIPIGS presents:
SAILOR MOON AX"
Based on Bishojo Senshi Sailor Moon by Takuechi Naoko
Written by Studio YOGIPIGS' "Project Muffinhead"
LEAD WRITER: ROBERT BARBA
CO-WRITER: ELIZABETH THOMAS
SAILOR MOON AX LEGENDS WRITER: AMY ANGEL
SAILOR MOON AX LEGENDS WRITER: EMANUELE BONAMICO
Research by Studio YOGIPIGS' "Odango Labs"
LEAD SAILOR MOON ANALYST (US VERSION): MARVIN PEACE
LEAD SAILOR MOON ANALYST (JAPANESE VERSION): SAKURA EDWARDS
TECHNOLOGICAL ANALYST: JOHN SHEAREN
WEAPONS AND MILITARY ANALYST: DAVID CLARE
PROJECT EDITOR: SAMUEL LAMBSON
CHAPTER THREE: She is the One Called....
Los Angeles Police Captain Clarence Davids wasn't having the best of days. He'd already gave up his plans for leaving today on vacation--and a well deserved one, thank you. Unfortunately, Captain Davids, or Clare to his pals, served a specialty position. He was the commander of the SoCal HLO. The SoCal HLO, or Southern California Heroes' Liaison Office, was the coordinating team
of cops between the Southland's law enforcement agencies and the 70 registered legally sanctioned vigilantes, or "superheroes", as the media liked to call them. Whether it was working with solo heroes like Terra Knight, the Paladin or Stormhawk, or superteams, such as the Power Force, MegaGuardians or the Sailors, his unit was expected to be on the scene, and occasionally take on high-
risk criminals--the so-called "supervillians"--themselves. Fortunately, they were equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment that would make most SWAT teams green with envy, and more importantly, had a special Governor's writ that allowed them police authority from Santa Barbara down to the border; CentCal HLO in Frisco and NorCal HLO in Eureka had the same setup.
There were times, however, that having this job sucked. ((Like now. If these scumbags had only waited until tomorrow,)) he mentally moaned, ((I'd be in Acapulco, and Samson could have handled this.))
At his side, his second in command, San Diego PD Detective Samson Sheppard was somewhat apologetic. "Sorry, Clare. I told 'em you were already gone, but they weren't buying it."
"Naah, don't worry about it," Clare returned. "I'm an old school cop. They knew I wasn't gonna run. 'Sides, what if no hero shows up? Means we gotta move in," he said, checking the charge on his TS-022 laser rifle.
"Fortunately, Clare, honey," a sultry and silken voice replied, "the heroes were already here. We just came to help."
Clare didn't even turn around. He knew that voice too well. Chuckling, he commented, "Always the smooth talker, hmm, Venus?"
"You know me, pal: Ms. Personality. So, who we up against?"
"The Kray brothers, Burton and Chase--also known as Pyromancer and Recoil. They recently broke out of their cages, but we didn't think they'd surface so quickly."
"They broke out?" Jupiter snapped. "When? Why wasn't it on the TacNet?"
"Three weeks ago. We did put it on the TacNet--I think it was during the time your Delphi system was down for maintenance.
Firebird, Wolf, and the Magician were out searching for them for a few days."
"Fuck," she replied. "I hate those bastards--especially Pyromancer."
"Personal issue, Venus?" Samson asked. Ever stringent to the law, he didn't like loose cannons.
"Kinda, Sammy. Last time I arrested him in Riverside, he was trying to feel me up. I think he has it in for me--and I don't mean lethal intent."
Not wanting to deal with the current topic, Mercury brought it back to the matter at hand. "You sure it's the Krays? They must be pretty desperate to not only try something like this, but to work with low-life henchmen," she pointed out. "Not their usual style."
"Not their usual style, true," Samson conceded, "but we've heard rumors that they've worked with Neil Bushnell, a.k.a. the superhacker CapsLock, before. The mall's security systems are computer controlled, so he might be in this as well."
"We'll take that in advisement," Venus said, her mouth a thin line. "What's the conditions of entry?"
From behind them, a cop running some kind of computer rig answered, "We've got control of the Crystal Court section of the mall across the street. It's got an underground access tunnel that apparently the Krays don't have covered. We've got the section secured with Costa Mesa SWAT and a couple of our boys, but we're still outgunned, and they have hostages. That'll be your entry point."
"Okay, we got ya," Jupiter replied. "Our comms will be set to TacNet channel 14--but don't call us; we'll call you. The least thing we need is for our call signal to go off while we're just about to ambush someone."
Clare turned around. "Okay, then ladies. Good lu--"
They weren't there. He sighed, turned to Samson, and muttered, "Sometimes that Sailor Mercury girl's a little *too* quick."
In the space it took for Clare to make his comments to his partner, the three Sailors (courtesy of the Mercury Express) crossed the street, entered the Crystal Court, followed the cops' directions, entered the access tunnels, crossed back into South Coast Plaza's main building, then stopped and surveyed their surroundings.
Well, at least Mercury did; the other two, unused to the sudden stop, momentarily dropped to their knees as the blood came rushing back to their heads.
"Amy," Venus whispered harshly, "next time, no sudden stops, please?"
"Ain't that the truth," Jupiter said, pulling herself back to her feet. "I don't think I can take it."
Mercury blushed. "Sorry. I'm so used to them, I forget about it when I'm carrying passengers." She went to the nearby door, and peeked outside, looking for the mall's stun cannons. Sure enough, mounted on the mall's ceiling at intervals of every hundred feet or so, were dark gray domes that signified the housing blisters for each particle projector unit. In addition to that, there were several heavily armed thugs and one Washington-class minitank, a heavily modified variant of a humvee. "Man, they really came packed for bear. Wonder if the Army's missing any of their little tin cans?"
"Can't say," Venus replied, also peeking through the crack. "I'll take out the tank. That'll leave you with the gunners, Mercury."
"Easy as hell, but I'm worried about the stun cannons. I might be fast, but not even I can run FTL. Is there any way we can take out those security guns?"
"I can do it," Jupiter replied, "but the timing's gonna be a little tight. Here's the plan...."
***
"Captain Davids," a police tech said from his terminal, "we have a call coming in for you, sir. TacNet Channel 14, Code 5."
"Jupiter," he commented. "What's she got to say?"
"Shut off all the comm gear for five minutes."
"She said what?" Samson barked. "Repeat that again?"
"She said to get off the regular EM band; it's not ideal. Either switch the systems off, or boost the broadcast power. Since we can't do that, we'll have to shut down." The comm operator began to flick switches towards the STANDBY position.
Clare waved his thanks to the cop, then began to confer with his right-hand man. "Why the hell would they want us to move off the normal EM band? It's not like we're the damn Pentagon; boosted frequencies are hard to come by."
"I'm more concerned as to *why* they want us to." Samson furrowed his brows. "It makes me kinda wonder what hell's about to go on in there."
"Well, let's think about it," another cop, next to Samson, commented. "Venus is an illusionist and energy thrower. Mercury has serious amounts of speed and some control over sonics. Jupiter has control over lightning, and electricity...."
The cops all paused, realizing that the answer was staring them in front of their faces.
"Oh, shit!!!" Clare grabbed a radio unit and started screaming, "I want everyone in the vicinity of Crystal Court, and all those near the windows and exits, to *completely power* down for five minutes. Radios, laser rifles, the works. And I want it *NOW*!"
***
CapsLock stared at the monitor, noticing the three superheroines as they raced out into the open. Getting on his radio, he contacted Pryomancer. "Hey, Burton--ya gots viruses in the system. And I ain't talking the computer."
"Cops?" came the request.
"Only if you were lucky," the hacker commented. "Naah, we got ourselves a coupla Navy girls, if you catch my drift."
"Ahhh, those high and mighty Sailors," Pyromancer seethed from the other side. "Well, you have control over those security cannons, right?"
"Burton, bud, I got control over everything tied into the central core. Whether it's the security particle cannons or the carousel, it's mine."
"Then you know what to do. Those cannons ain't lethal, but it'll make it that much easier for us to bust a cap in their pretty little heads."
"Gotcha. Over and out." Beginning to switch over the functions of the security cannons to the targeting computers and feeding in the Sailors' visuals, he knew there would only be one chance. CapsLock just got out of a five-year hacking sentence two months ago, and he damned if he was going back in.
***
Venus raced out into the clear, flanked by Mercury and Venus, as dozens of guns trained on them. She could hear the voices of several people shout, "Let the bitches have it!"
Venus in kind turned to her partners and cried, "Okay ladies, take 'em down!"
Jupiter went first. Already having her power at the ready, a green nimbus of energy enshrouding her, she punched the floor with both hands and bellowed, "EMP Shockwave!" The blast of green electricity rippled outwards, punching into and affecting everything electronic that it slammed into. Laser guns were rendered inert. Power fizzled out. Radios went silent. The lights died in that portion of the mall as everything within visual distance of their entry point was sent back to the stone age.
The scene became total cacophony as the thugs realized that a third of their firepower was lost, and the other two thirds were now firing at the last seen location of where the trio was. By then, the girls had already initiated step two of their plan. With Jupiter's part already done, Venus immediately targeted her victim--the minitank. Screaming out, "Cupid's Arrow!" she held her left hand as though wielding a bow, while drawing back her right as though she was readying. She thrust her right forward, and an orange shaft of energy rocketed forward, hitting the tank. Although she didn't use enough power to destroy it, her aim was true--the primary turret of the tank was destroyed in a blast of sparks. Two more rapid-fire shots took care of the secondary lasers.
With that explosion, Mercury got just enough light to see where the various fire groups were. Taking off like a bolt of Jupiter's lightning, she barreled left and right, throwing dozens of punches as she raced around the vicinity of the blast radius, taking out every gunman that she'd seen. All her opponents saw was a second's flicker of blue, then nothing else. When the ground
opposition was defeated, she then raced up to the second floor and began her attack anew.
As Venus and Jupiter were watching, a huge mass of muscle, about 7 feet and weighing in at 400 pounds, strode in front of Mercury. She bounced off him, then flipped back, instantly coming to a stop and landing on her feet. She snarled, "You're under arrest! You know the rest."
The man, whose face could barely be seen, spoke in a derisive tone, his voice a boom. "I am Massive, little rocket. Can you stop me?"
Mercury smiled wickedly. "Oh yeah. You betcha I can."
Watching from below, their eyes having adjusted to the ambient light, Jupiter whispered to Venus, "What the hell does she think she's doing?"
Venus glanced back at her teammate. "Trying to over-prove herself--as usual."
From where they were, they could see Mercury pull her arms back, then swing them forward, shouting, "Sonic Boom!" Twin blasts of white noise spiraled towards Massive, slamming into his chest and pushing him back.
Jupiter turned to Venus and commented, "Maybe it's just me, but I think she's been playing too many video games, lately."
She then initiated a spin kick, spiraling round and round and round again, hitting her sizable foe each time. She spun to the point where she was lifting several feet into the air, before swatting the giant back to the floor with a well-placed ax-kick. During this attack, she called out, "Shippu Jinrai Kyaku!" and it was clear from the bad pronunciation that she'd been taking Japanese lessons courtesy of CAPCOM.
Venus looked back at Jupiter and replied, "You know, I think you may be right."
Jupiter rolled her eyes, then deadpanned, "Oh, you think?"
As the behemoth slammed onto the floor, Mercury landed as well, and wasted no time. She thrust forward, and in her multimedia-inspired combat frenzy, roared, "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire attack!" Her fists began to move at lightning speed, nailing Massive with powerful blow upon powerful blow.
"I see she's been borrowing those Japanamation videos from Cathy again."
"Looks like it. I think it's time to go get her before she ruins the entire operation." Venus then yelled, "Hey Chun-Li, when you're done up there getting the top score, you mind terribly helping us save some lives?"
Mercury paused in stride after kick 437. Looking down sheepishly at her teammates, she apologized. "Sorry, guys--I guess I got carried away again." Pulling away from her opponent, she raced down to her friends' side. "Well, ready if you are."
"Oh gee, thank you ever *sooooo* much." Venus' voice dripped pure sarcasm. "Let's go, before we have to deal with more of them." Nothing more to be said, the three Sailors sped off (at a normal human pace, much to Mercury's annoyance).
Above them, Massive fell, cut down to size by the little rocket. He pitched forward, and slammed into the floor, thankfully unconscious.
***
Up in the confines of the Security systems control booth, CapsLock was drooling. Although 25 percent of his weapons blisters had been made inoperative by Jupiter's attack, he smiled as the three Sailors came into the range of his operating units. They would storm in, expecting to defeat their enemies, and three jolting red beams later, would be lying on the ground, twitching and
helpless for the bullets that would come soon after.
"Just a second more, and you're mine," he crooned, his fingers gently dancing along the directional pad, arming the weapons and locking onto a section just ahead of where the three women ran. If his luck ran well, the beam would slash through Sailor Jupiter in the middle, dropping her like a fly, while Venus and Mercury would be cut down by the much-stronger corona of the beam.
He was so involved in his living videogame that he never heard the door open. By the time he heard the slither of metal sliding free from its confines, a slash of violet energy tore into and through the cannon control panel, turning it into so much wire and scrap. Likewise, a fist slammed across his face, making him slump against the seat. A split second later, CapsLock was tied up and readied, should the cops make their appearance to the control room.
A cool voice rasped, "That oughta make it fair," as the mysterious person stared at the screen, showing the three Sailors approaching a small store at the far end of the mall. There was a soft chuckle, and the person left the control room.
***
On the other side of the mall, there was a fairly popular specialty store, and its specialty was simple: rabbits. The Bushels O' Bunnies store not only sold the aforementioned, but was in itself a celebration to them, as it sold books about them and stuffed-bunny dolls as well. The decor looked like it came straight from a Beatrix Potter tale, from the homey wood-and-wallpaper look to
the Victorian-era writing on the window that stated simply, BUSHELS O' BUNNIES in an arc, with the words S. DAVENPORT, PROPRIETOR. Despite its success, the place was a serene little number, one that radiated calm and joy in celebration of everything that was rabbits.
Within the store, currently, however, things weren't so peaceful. The frightened rabbits were mewing and screeching, making noises that most people couldn't picture rabbits making. There were burn marks, laser carbon scoring, and bullet holes throughout the store, including the glass cages--the dead rabbits proved that. People were on the floor, with some crying hysterically, or fearing for their lives. The newest people in the store were the reason why.
Four of the gunmen were in there, holding the cashier and several of the store's patrons at gunpoint. One of them was holding a laser pistol to the head of a small girl. Despite the fact that the child was practically frightened to death and had soiled herself, the goon held the gun to her head, playing with the pistol's intensity slide to get his point to the assembled victims.
The second man, apparently the lead-thug, chomped on a cigar, gave his best sneer through his stubble, and snarled to the person at the cash terminal--probably the owner--while pointing a nasty-looking flame-thrower at her, "Cough up your cash, or I kill the little shit! Now!"
The cashier commented in what sounded as a calm, controlled, voice, "Fine--just don't hurt the girl. You can have whatever you want. Just let her go."
"Listen bitch, I take whatever I want and I do whatever I want." Stubbleface leaned in forward, took a draw from his cigar, then blew it in her face. "I want your money. Now. Or I'll kill everyone in this room." The way he said it, his heated demeanor indicated that he was not bluffing. Sizing her up to see if she would be any trouble, he glanced at the cashier. A beautiful young woman with long, flowing blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, she was wearing a long-sleeve pink shirt and blue jeans. She looked like that rare
smart type of blonde, he decided--probably smart enough to mind her own business.
The lady at the cashier punched in the void entry code, then opened the cash drawer. As she began to fill a small bag with the money currently in the tiller, another woman, a cute teenager with short black hair and violet eyes commented, "You're not going to get away with this."
A third punk, trying to look too cool with the bandanna over his pate, trained his assault rifle on the girl. "Shut the fuck up!"
"Heather, dear," the blonde woman warned, "please cooperate. I don't want to see you getting hurt."
"Yeah, *Heather*," Bandanna said, making her name an insult, "don't fuck with me. I'd have ta cap ya, an' yer sister might not like it."
Heather pressed on, defiant as ever. "She's not my sister, you moron. She's my foster mother."
Stubbleface examined the cashier. "Really? You don't look older than 25, and she's what, 14--"
*"15, fuzzface!"* Heather snapped, before getting shoved against the wall by Bandanna.
"I'm 23," the cashier explained with a trace of anger in her voice, "and before her parents died, I promised them that I would take care of her. Not that it's any concern of yours."
"Listen, lady," Stubbleface snapped, "if I want an answer, I get an answer, or you get dead. If you and your kid want to live through this, then you do what I say. Got that?" The blonde, properly cowed again, meekly nodded.
Heather, ever heedless to the level of danger, continued. "You punks think you're so big and bad, with your guns and all. You're nothing but a bunch of brainless goons! You guys are gonna end up behind bars any time now."
"And who's gonna stop us?" Lasergun, still holding the gun to his hostage, said, nearly laughing. "You?" He laughed heartily, staring at the girl with the torn jeans, black _X-Files_ T-shirt and Nikes--definitely no threat.
"Nope." Heather's answer this time was to point behind them using her chin. "They are."
*"Electroshock!"* Jupiter's thrown blast of lighting downed the closest punk, the silent type carrying a military-style mini-chaingun. He fell to the floor, twitching from the painful--but non-lethal--dose of lightning he was hit with.
Lasergun turned with the kid, to let their assailants know that he had a hostage. At least, that was the plan. He'd got no further than turning around when he felt his pistol ripped from his hand, then the child, then to take a series of rapid fire hits to the face. Of course, he didn't see most of that. What he did see was a blur of light blue.
Bandanna pressed his gun to the head of the ever-defiant Heather, but he was spun around and nailed in the gut by a gloved fist.
He was then palm-punched in the face, and finally slammed by an uppercut, as a voice called out, "Lovely Shock Combo!" As he staggered back and away from the girl, he was able to discern the face of Sailor Venus just before she laid him out with a snapping high kick.
Stubbleface turned to fire on the Sailors, but he forgot the cashier, and that was his mistake. She promptly picked up a wooden bunny statue and slammed it over his head, breaking it and knocking him unconscious.
Heather looked at her saviors. "Wow...it's the Sailors!"
Venus looked at the cashier. "You shouldn't have put yourself at risk, Ms., um--" Venus looked back at the store's sign, checking the name, "--Davenport. If your stunt didn't work, he would've fired on you. But we appreciate the assistance."
Ms. Davenport blushed at the semi-compliment. "Just a concerned citizen," she said mildly.
"I...see." As the crowd got to their feet and professed words of thanks to the Sailors, Venus turned to Mercury and Jupiter. "We need to get these people out of here. Think we can do it?"
"You betcha," Jupiter replied. Turning to the crowd, she said, "Alright, I need you all to get as close to me as possible, but leave me a foot radius to move around. We'll do this once we step outside."
Mercury handed the child she was carrying to her grateful mother. "You're gonna need a clear path. I'll take care of that." With an azure flash, Mercury was off again.
Suddenly, Heather turned to her foster mother, just as they were about to follow the crowd outside. "Oh no! Brenda's still in the back!"
"Oh my--I forgot!" Ms. Davenport explained to Sailor Venus, "Heather's friend is in the lounge at the back of the store. I'll have to get her."
Venus nodded assent, then watched as Heather and her foster mother disappeared behind the EMPLOYEES ONLY sign. Calling a sphere of energy to her hands, she commented, "Get these folks out of here. I'll cover your back."
"What about them?" Jupiter commented, pointing to the Davenports.
"Tell Mercury to come back for them once you get these people to the exit. Now get these people out of here. We don't need anyone else at risk."
As the group assembled outside the store and encircled her, Jupiter raised her hand in the air and canted, "Jovian Shield!" An umbra of green energy, similar to the shield that covered her car, formed around the group; this one, however, remained visible. As she checked the shield's integrity, she instructed her charges, "Stay at least a foot away from the shield. If you'll notice, it's making your skin tingle--that's because I'm pumping enough electricity into it to destroy anything that comes in contact with the shield.
Unfortunately, that means you too, so be careful where you step. We'll be moving slowly enough so that everyone can keep in step. Everyone got it?" As she got murmurs and nods of understanding, she began to walk, saying, "Okay--let's go."
Venus watched the assembly take off, then slid the door to the store shut, and ran to the back. Once through the employee's door, she looked at the pair. "Okay, where's Brenda?"
"Back at school, Mina," Heather answered, a sullen tone to her voice. "She didn't want to come with me to talk to Serena."
"No," Serena Davenport clarified, "she didn't want to be here watching you fail at trying to get out of your latest grounding."
Venus turned to Serena. "Why's she grounded?" It was clear by Venus' voice this wasn't the first time.
Serena's response was to stare at Heather, who meekly supplied, "I'm grounded for a month. Remember Chad's concert at Dodger Stadium two days ago?"
"Yeah," Venus said. "You did a great job of saving Ms. Fraser. But that wouldn't be why you're in trouble, is it?"
"Well, to go to the concert, Brenda and I skipped school without telling Serena. Chad gave me the tickets, and I'd forgot to ask Serena in advance, so I thought I'd go and no one'd be the wiser. I wasn't expecting Amy or Raye to be there--and I wasn't expecting the Triangles, either."
Venus' response to that was to turn to Serena. "You grounded her for *that*? Honestly, I can't remember how many times *we* skipped school! Serena, you're starting to act like your mother."
"*That's* not why she's in trouble," Serena said, tersely. "Heather, continue."
"Serena, it's not fair! Those weren't mine!" Heather shrieked.
Unfazed, Serena explained. "Yesterday, while I was doing the laundry, I found a pair of marijuana joints in her jeans pockets. She says they're not hers, but how else did they get in her pockets?"
*"What?"* Mercury, who'd just strolled in the door, cried. "Heather, how could you do this to us--to Serena?!? After all the times we've busted drug dealers, and now this?"
A tear rolled down Heather's cheek. "Amy, I'm telling ya, they aren't mine!" Then in a smaller voice, "They're Brenda's. I took them away from her at the concert."
All three adults gasped. Heather's best friend, Brenda fit the classic role of a bookworm to a T, even more so than Amy. Not having been known to be the troublemaker that Heather was, the rather mousy-looking girl was the least person they'd thought who would have them.
Heather continued, the tears coming easier. "I chewed her ass out for even thinking about it, much less having 'em. I thought you would have more faith in me--especially you, Serena! The reason Brenda didn't want to come is because she was too ashamed to have you look down on her like you're doing to me! You know I wouldn't do them. I may have done a lot of bad things before, but I'd never do that!"
Venus pressed. "You're telling the truth, Heather?"
Serena spoke, a dry whisper. "She's never lied to me, Mina. She's done a lot of things, but she's never lied to me." The three women were stilled for an eternity's worth of a second. Serena then broke the thunderous silence. "I'm sorry, Heather. I should've had more faith in you. Please forgive me." The blonde hugged her foster daughter to her. "I never meant to hurt you."
"T's okay, Serena," Heather replied. "I know you were just looking out for me. Just at least listen to me, next time?"
"Of course," Serena said, wiping the tears from Heather's eyes. "I promise."
Before the other two could also apologize, Heather continued, "Don't. I know, you all have my best interests in heart, an' all that. I may be a punk at times, but I love you all--you've all been the family I haven't had since my Mom and Dad died. An' I know you're just trying to keep me from becoming like them."
"I'm glad this is all cleared up. However," Mercury replied, "we've still got a mall to clear out."
"Well, then I say we clobber 'em," Heather said.
"No mercy," Serena added, her mouth a tight line and her eyes blazing righteous fury.
The raven-haired teen shoved her hand towards the sky, crying, *"In the name of Kronos, I call upon my birthright--POWER OF SATURN, ARISE!"* Light exploded from her amethyst ring, enveloping her, and a second later, Sailor Saturn stood where Heather Thomas was.
"I guess it's my turn then," Serena said. Thrusting her diamond ring into the air, she called upon her own power. *"In the name of Artemis, I call upon my birthright--POWER OF THE MOON, ARISE!"* She was enveloped within a cocoon of white light. Her pants became white spandex shorts with black racing trim. Black bobby socks and white shoes replaced her soft boots. Her shirt faded into the light, to be replaced by a black T-shirt, which in turn was covered by a midriff, short-sleeve tunic with a flap on the back. Black Nelson stripes appeared on the flap and sleeves, and two black stars winked in on the back flap, one in each corner. A black neckerchief appeared, giving the uniform the appearance of a sleek, fashionable variation of a US Navy dress whites uniform,
while on her long blonde hair, a second bow also appeared, tying her hair in what Raye called a Japanese-style ponytail. Lastly, on the left arm, where normally would go the complex rank insignia of a US Sailor, appeared a simple black crescent moon shape.
Serena Davenport had changed into her alter-ego, the Champion of the Night, the Lunar Protector, the Sailor of the Hunt and Justice herself...
...Sailor Moon.
Moon clenched a fist, and a burst of silvery-white energy erupted from it. "Ladies, I think it's time we paid our friends a little visit." Looking at Venus, she said, "Who's responsible for this mess?"
"The Krays," the other blonde replied. "They apparently broke out of prison three weeks ago while Oracle was upgrading the Delphi system."
"I told them that I was done screwing with them; you think they would've listened to us when we arrested them in Riverside," Moon seethed. "I think it's time I showed them that I mean business." With that, the four of them raced out of the store, ready to do some serious ass kicking.
***
Moon and her crew began their all-out onslaught, beginning to bust their way through the enemy. Moving through each wing of the mall, her precise and militant level attacks subdued group upon group of criminals, a general leading her forces into victorious war. Large numbers of supposed thoughs fell like tenpins, as each Sailor tore into the waves of criminals before them. Jupiter was blasting each with bolt upon bolt of lightning, while Mercury provided safety by catching each bullet fired at the group. With no time to use her powers (an irony not lost on her teammates), Saturn had to settle for pure martial arts fighting, as did Venus.
But it was Sailor Moon herself that was the impressive sight. A pure force of nature, the woman moved this way and that, taking out any that opposed her. Currently, she raced towards one, and as he began to fire his gun at her, she hit the floor, moving into a tight roll. Coming out of it just near him and before he could react, she powerslid and tripped him. The second he was unbalanced, she went into action. She barely leapt to her feet, then called out her attack: "Lunar Orbit!"
If Venus' joke about Mercury playing too much _Street Fighter_ was true, then it was clear that Moon had an advanced case of Ken-Ryu-itis, most likely due to Serena's advanced blackbelt in Shotokan. Her Lunar Orbit was a clear copy of the hurricane kick, with the added bonus of slamming ivory-hued flame into her opponent each time she connected. The gunman went down in an instant, and Moon was off against the next foe.
Said next opponent had a minigun and made it bark; the blast of tracers against the air was so much that it appeared as though it were a small laser cannon of its own. Attacking with the goal of turning each Sailor into bloody scraps, the guy with the minigun swept the room, tearing up serious parts of the surroundings, yet failing to tag a single one of the Sailors.
Mercury dodged each bullet with ease, as though a three-year-old had gently lobbed the rounds at her. Admittedly, due to the fact that they were HEAP--High Explosive, Armor Piercing--rounds, she didn't want to take the chance in catching them, and she only hoped that someone could do something to stop the problems before one of them was tagged.
Venus vaulted behind one of the fountains as the bullets tore it to pieces...as well as the two guys trying to get the drop on her. Blood and body fragments rained on her as the two were literally buzzsawed into so much sushi by the explosive supersonic rounds. As the rounds came closer to punching through the marble fountain, Venus made the jump of her life, diving through the
glass facade of one of the stores before the deadly rain of bullets began to follow her.
Jupiter immediately put up one of her Jovian shields. The problem was, though, was that in order to fully protect herself against the fire, she couldn't devote any more power to send out one of her other attacks. Also, due to the nature of the shield, she really couldn't engage them in hand-to-hand. Saturn, also under the shield, was having the same problem. Fortunately, she was able to assist Jupiter by taking the older woman's hand and channeling her own power to aid Jupiter's.
This left Moon in the open. Which was perfect, in her opinion. She began to focus her power, and an aura of white energy began to supercharge around her. Unfortunately, that also meant that everyone was getting ready to draw a bead on her. Heedless of the impending danger, Sailor Moon continued to charge up for whatever she was about to do.
Mercury was far too busy dodging all the fire coming her way to be able to do anything to assist Moon. However, she did notice what was going on...and that as fast as she was, she might not be fast enough to stop what was about to transpire.
The minigun trained on the head Sailor, yet she continued to stand there, charging up for what appeared to be a massive assault.
Saturn screamed, but in vain: *"MOON, LOOK OUT!"* She tried to run forward but was grabbed by Jupiter before she would fatally impact against the shield.
The minigun wielder said in a scornful voice, "Shoulda joined the Army, bitch."
Sailor Moon simply looked at him with a feral smile.
Minigun-man depressed his trigger, loosing the 3000 rounds per minute of the gun. In fact, everyone fired at the same time, as bullets, lasers and gouts of flame blasted towards the center--and cut Moon to shreds. When the amount of projectiles being heaved at that centerpoint died down, there was absolutely nothing left, except for a faint orange glow.
Faint orange glow?
From her place near the shattered store window, the glow faded from where Venus had been standing. As a few noticed it and turned in her direction, she called out, "Haaah! Madeja look!" She dived deeper into the store...
...as Moon, who had been suspended from the ceiling on one of the banners, leapt back down to the floor. Taking advantage of everyone's distracted state, she channeled her power into her hands and screamed out, *"Grand Lunasphere!"*
The world lit up as a huge blast of plasma erupted in all directions at once, a contained detonation; that is, contained only by the fact that Moon was trying not to kill these criminals--for now, anyway. With the power of the blast going, Mercury poured on maximum speed to get out of the range of the blast, which easily blazed over 150 cubic feet. As windows shattered, marble
crumbled, metal snapped and bent and bad guys fell like feathers before a gale, Moon poured on the power. A second later, she let the sphere die down.
The scene that greeted her was that of utter urban warfare. It was clear that this portion of the mall probably no longer had structural integrity, and much was a burnt, charred mess. Bodies were still around, covered in soot and grime, but only a few were dead; those were the ones who were crushed under fallen walkways or had landed at odd angles, critically injuring something. The
rest of them were out like lights. As the police began to slowly move into this area, Moon signaled her troops to come to the forefront. Before Clare had a chance to say something, she and her forces took off to clear out the last remaining area of the mall, the one where the Krays were.
"Moon? What's she doing here? I didn't see her--or Saturn, earlier," Samson commented, as he watched the white-clad girls run off to their final gauntlet.
"Sammy, amigo, look what she did and how many of them she's taken out. Personally, I'm *glad* she showed up. Maybe we'll have a minimum amount of lives taken this time."
"Look at all this damage she caused, Clare! How much more is she gonna do? Burn the mall down?" Samson moaned. "Whenever Moon does intense and extensive damage, it usually makes the news--as the amount of lives she's saved. In short, she's unintentionally giving other superheroes, and those associated with the Sailors in particular, the message that it's okay to go a little overboard in order to save lives. Man, she's always a case of setting the farm on fire in order to find the needle in the haystack!"
"She's doing a great job, and would you rather have, say, that hero they have in New York? Caliber--the one who kills all his marks?"
Samson sighed. "You just think she's cute, Clare."
"No, actually, I'm impressed by her. She told me a little about her off-duty time, Sammy. Did you know that Saturn's her foster child? Saturn's parents were Fire and Ice."
"Fire and Ice? The mass murderers?"
"The very same. When she caught them three years ago, they committed suicide rather than be arrested. However, they made her promise that she would make sure that their only child didn't grow up to be like them--she was manifesting powers at an early age. So instead of taking her to a shelter, Moon decided to raise the girl on her own. And Moon's only 23. Think about that." Clare looked once more into the horizon of the mall. "Yes, she's cute. But more importantly, she's beautiful, right where it counts most." He pointed towards his heart, implying hers.
*"BURTON! CHASE! C'MON OUT, YOU BASTARDS! I'M THROUGH PLAYING WITH YOU!"* Moon screamed into the last criminal-controlled section of the mall. "You're surrounded, boys! C'mon out, now!"
"Well, well, well. If it ain't the Moonie," a voice commented. Moon initially dropped into an offensive stance, then saw something coming her way. She did the splits and bent down forward as low as possible, narrowly avoiding the stream of bullets and flames that came her way. A second later, she felt herself being moved pretty much instantaneously--Mercury must have moved into the fray in time, pulling her out. As she stopped Moon heard Mercury's familiar voice asking her if she was okay. This voice she ignored; Amy wouldn't be offended, since she knew how Moon worked, and she had something more important on her mind at the moment, anyway.
Flanked by a small squadron of henchmen, Pyromancer and Recoil stepped out of the front of Saks, heavily armed. "Hiya, Moonie. I'm sorry you didn't like my little present," Pyromancer commented. Strangely enough, his voice held a slight tone of respect for the girl in the ersatz sailor suit.
Moon ran back to where she was, but crossed her arms and tried to be as unassuming as possible. "Burton. You know you can't get away this time."
"Shut up, Moon! I'm gonna walk out of here, and you can't stop me!" Pyromancer bellowed, as he fired a small fireburst from his wrist throwers, scorching the well-polished floor. "Hiya, sweet thing," he commented, leering at Venus.
"Get a reality check, moron," Venus snapped. "Your problem is that your head--both of them--get you in too much trouble, freakshow,"
Recoil easily armed his gun at Venus' head. "Warm body's a warm body, Venus. No rule says you have to be alive, though it's more fun."
"Go get bent, gunboy." Venus charged a Cupid's Arrow, while Jupiter and Mercury readied attacks as well. Saturn looked for an opening, ready to move in close as required--if the others had fire attacks ready, they'd be vulnerable if they somehow missed.
Meanwhile, the verbal trade between Moon and Pyromancer continued. "Burton, you were given a chance," Moon commented, her voice sounding like she was trying hard to lose whatever anger was present, " and you fucked it up."
Recoil yelled at Moon, "Shut the fuck up, bitch! He doesn't have to explain this to anyone."
"Shut the fuck up, Chase, before I put you ten feet under. I've lost my patience with both of you bastards, and this latest escapade will get you guys life at the very least."
"Oh, don't worry, Ms. Lunatic Goody-two-shoes, we have every intention of living," Recoil jibed, "though you won't. May I present to you a new partner of ours, who apparently you've run into before, or so he says. C'mon out!"
A blur of black, purple, and indigo leapt over the Krays, and landed between the two of them. Having dropped into a crouch, the warrior then stood up before them, his presence dripping menace. He was oriental, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, and very well built. His long purple hair cascaded into a ponytail just past his waist, and his brown eyes looked as if they would melt a woman's soul. His aquiline nose looked slightly out of place, but at the same time, attractive; it gave his face the merest touch of a Roman aspect to it. Yet the cool, examining look that he had on his face made Moon feel just a bit uncomfortable.
He looked at Moon, then finally opened his mouth, letting a deep, bassy voice comment in Japanese, "New look for you, Sera Muun?"
"What did you say? Speak English, you moron; I don't speak Japanese." Sailor Moon looked at the newcomer with a slight case of wariness, to make an understatement. The costumed freak repeated his comments in English, only to have Moon retort, "What are you talking about? I've always worn either this or my winter gear. Have we crossed paths before? I don't recognize you. You
must be out of your mind, buddy."
"Oh, Senshi of the Moon," he said, voice sneering and full of vitrol, "don't you remember your old friend Bauxite? We tangled in Nerima once or twice while I worked for Beryl. You may not remember me too well, because she had those others, like my Lord Jadeite and Lord Nephrite, who fought you way more than I. It's funny, though: I don't remember you being such a grim hero like you are now."
"What? Who's Beryl? Or Jadeite and Nephrite?" Moon countered. "An' I've never been to Japan before, either. I think I'll be taking you to the mental institute instead of the County jail." Sailor Moon began to watch her opponent, looking for any sign of an attack.
"You are so different now," he continued, pressing his opinion. "Not as jovial as you used to be, though still as determined if not more so. I remember you in that little sailor fuku of yours, waving your hands around and making that little speech of yours. How did it go again? Ah yes--something like, 'In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!' or words to that effect, ne?"
"So you know me from a weird battlecry and some sign language, huh?" Moon said, her anger fading slightly into amusement. "I think I can provide one." Moon thought about it for a second, then as she began to slowly pull back her hands, and said a little verse:
"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe,
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."
Bauxite looked at her oddly, saying, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you let your guard down long enough for me to do this." She thrust her hands forward, shouting, "Moonbeam!" A blast of white energy erupted from the Sailor's palms and slammed into Bauxite, throwing him back into the store. Moon followed him, shouting back to her teammates, "I've got this one! Sailors, choose your targets!"
"I got candleboy," Venus said as she darted towards Pyromancer.
"Gun-happy's mine!" Mercury said as she ducked under Recoil's first volley of bullets.
In turn, Jupiter and Saturn attacked the groups of henchmen, allowing the final battle in this war to commence.
