“Everyone, stop!” shouted Amy. The group stopped their dash through
the streets to turn and look at her.
“What is it?!!” demanded Bobby. “My dad is in danger!”
“If Malachite is after your father, he won’t let him go without a
fight,” informed Amy. “If that’s going to happen we must be ready. We
should transform before we attempt a rescue.”
“She’s right,” agreed Caitlin. “We all have secret identities to
protect.” The redhead then glanced into a nearby alley. “In here.
There’s no one around, so it should be safe.”
“It’s better than using a phone booth,” joked Grunge as everyone
herded into the alley.
“So are you guys wearing your costumes under your clothes or
something?” asked Lita.
“What we’ve got is way better than that, girlfriend,” grinned Roxy
as she reached for her flashband.
Light flashed and molecules moved as the Scouts watched in amazement.
When the light cleared, Gen13 was dressed for action.
“Not bad,” complemented Serena. “But we can top that. Okay,
everyone, transform!
“MOON PRISM POWER!”
“MERCURY POWER!”
“MARS POWER!”
“JUPITER POWER!”
“VENUS POWER!”
A spectacle of light, energy, and magic that would make the world’s
greatest magicians jealous began. The Gen-Actives watched in wonderment
as their new allies were changed from ordinary girls into the champions
of justice.
“Ow!” winced Grunge as Freefall whacked him in the back of the
head. “What the hell did you do that for?!”
“I saw the way you were gaping at those girls while they changed!”
snorted Roxy. “God, you’re such a pig!”
“Sarah was doing it too! The way she was looking at Jupiter you’d
thi--”
“I was not!” protested Sarah.
“Stop jabbering and start moving your asses!” shouted Burnout as
the others dashed out of the alley.
“What was that all about?” whispered Venus.
“Who knows?” shrugged Mars. “Americans are just plain weird.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The explosion shattered what had started out as a peaceful night.
Within a heartbeat, the main entrance to Tokyo Memorial Hospital had
been turned into a giant smoking hole. From that hole emerged a being
that had once been a man.
From nowhere Malachite appeared. He then looked over the damage and
the monster that had once been John Lynch. “Your power is even greater
than I’d hoped for, my creature,” grinned the General. “Do you
understand what you must do?”
“Start trashing the city until my brats show up to stop me. I’m
then to capture them and bring them to you,” said the youma. “But what
about the Sailor Scouts?”
“If an opportunity presents itself, destroy them,” ordered
Malachite. “But capturing your young companions is to remain your top
priority. Once they have been turned to the Negaverse’s side, your
combined might will be more than enough to kill the Sailor Scouts and
wrest the Silver Imperium Crystal from Sailor Moon’s cold dead hands.”
“Understood,” nodded the creature.
“Good. Now burn this pathetic city to the ground!” With that, the
General disappeared.
“My pleasure,” smiled the monster. The right eye of the thing that
had once been John Lynch then glowed with crimson energy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Gen13 and Sailor Scouts were only blocks from the hospital when the
sound of a massive explosion reached their ears. Looking around wildly,
they soon discovered the source of the explosion. The top third of Tokyo
Tower had been sheared off by a giant fireball.
No! screamed Raye mentally. My dream is coming true! The monster
from my nightmares is here!
“What in the hell did that?!” shouted Rainmaker.
“I don’t know, but we have to check it out!” declared Sailor
Jupiter.
“But what about my dad?!!” protested Burnout.
“Bobby, whatever did that is a danger to everyone in city!”
exclaimed Fairchild. Bobby opened his mouth to protest. “It’s what Mr.
Lynch would want us to do,” said the redhead.
“Okay,” agreed Burnout. “I guess this is what superheroes do.”
With that, the young heroes raced toward the damaged tower.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chaos. There was no other word that could describe the streets of
Tokyo. Children screamed, glass shattered, cars were overturned,
pavement cracked, fires burned, and people stamped like animals to
escape the destruction. And Gen13 and the Sailor Scouts were headed
right into the heart of it all.
“God, look at this nightmare,” shuddered Sarah. “What kind of
monster could do this sort of damage?”
Just then a nearby storefront exploded, sending shards of glass flying.
From the flames a figure began to emerge.
“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that kind of monster!”
shouted Venus.
“About time you kids joined the party!” cackled the thing that had
once been John Lynch.
The power of the Negaforce had done its job well. Lynch now looked
twenty years younger, his hair was fuller, his skin had become a odd
grayish blue and he wore a green uniform almost identical to the one
from his Team 7 days.
But most striking were his eyes. His left was now a gleaming
yellow, his right scarred eye burned with crimson energy.
It’s him! thought Mars. He’s the monster from my dream! The one who
killed the other Scouts! At that moment, Raye Hino realized she had
never been more afraid in her entire life.
“Dad! What did those Negaverse guys do to you?!” gasped Burnout.
“Mr. Lynch, please, you have to let us help you,” pleaded
Fairchild. “You have to fight whatever Malachite di--”
Caitlin was cut off as a stream of energy shot from Lynch’s right
eye, blasting her. “John Lynch is no more!” cried the youma. “From now
on the name is Topkick!”
“Well, we’re going to topkick your butt!” promised Jupiter as she
fired a lightening bolt.
The thing once again unleashed its crimson energy. It struck Jupiter’s
bolt causing it to dissipate. “Was that your best shot?” sneered
Topkick.
“Stop him but don’t hurt him,” ordered Sailor Moon. “He’s not
responsible for what the Negaverse did to him.”
With that, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Rainmaker launched their powers
at Topkick. “I’m sorry, dad,” whispered Burnout as he unleashed a
barrage of fire at his father.
The massive outpouring of energy struck the youma, and for a moment
he staggered. But then a bubble of red energy surrounded the monster’s
body. “Is that all you brats have to offer?” mocked Topkick as the
barrage began to pound at his shield.
Nearby, Mercury was analyzing the turn of events with her visor and
computer. “This is very bad,” she muttered.
“What wrong, Amy?” asked Sailor Moon, who stood fingering her
Crescent Moon Wand just feet away.
“According to my computer, this youma’s power levels are off the
charts. I don’t think we’ve ever faced anyone this powerful before.”
“That’s because Mr. Lynch was already a powerful psionic,” came
voice.
Mercury and Sailor Moon turned to find Fairchild, slightly supported
by Grunge, heading toward them. “Whatever the Negaverse did
to him, it must have amplified his power exponentially.”
“And given him a sense of humor,” commented Grunge. “Mr. L never
cracked jokes before.”
“Caitlin, are you okay?” inquired Mercury.
“I’m fine,” assured the redhead. “Just a bit sore from getting
blasted. And having to dig myself out of what used to be someone’s
Toyota.”
“We gotta do something!” exclaimed Grunge as he watched the others
continue their futile onslaught on Topkick’s shield.
“No, Grunge,” warned Fairchild. “Our powers wouldn’t be of much use
against that energy shield. We’ll just have to wait until the others
find a way to breach it.”
“Maybe I could shatter it with tiara,” suggested Sailor Moon.
“No, he’s too powerful for that,” said Mercury. “Maybe we cou--”
It was then that Topkick released a powerful wave of energy,
knocking Rainmaker, Burnout, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter to the ground.
“Funtime is over!” he shouted. “Gen13, fall in! You’re all coming to the
Negaverse with me. Like it or not!”
“I choose or not!” shouted Freefall as she zoomed onto the scene.
Topkick whipped around to face his former student. That was a mistake.
He never saw the small van Roxy had secretly been levitating until she
dropped it on his head.
“Way to go, Rox!” cheered Grunge. “I was wondering were you were.”
“That won’t hold him for long,” said Fairchild. “We have to get out
of here right now.”
“No way!” proclaimed Jupiter. “We don’t run from the Negaverse!”
“Caitlin is right,” cut in Mercury. “Topkick is too powerful for us
to fight like this. We need a plan.” Jupiter was about to protest again
when a crackling sound cut her off.
The heroes looked and saw that crimson energy was building beneath
the van. “You brats are going to pay for that!” swore the monster
trapped underneath.
“Roxy, get the non-flyers out of here now!” ordered Cat.
With a quick nod, Freefall began to extend her powers around
Fairchild, Grunge, and the Sailor Scouts. Grunting from the strain, she
pulled the group into the sky. Burnout and Rainmaker followed.
Only yards away the crimson energy reached its peak. With an
ear-shattering blast the van was rocketed into the air. Seething with
rage and energy, Topkick stood and looked around for his adversaries.
“You won’t get away!” he promised as he saw the teenagers flying away.
“I’ll find you! If I have to level this whole city to do it, I’ll find
you!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Several minutes later, the young heroes touched down in nearby
Hibiya Park.
“Guys, I think we’re all in really big trouble,” Venus commented.
“Us? What about poor Mr. L?!” exclaimed Roxy. “He’s gone over to the
dark side of the Force!”
“Speaking of your boss, what’s up with that ‘Topkick’ stuff?”
questioned Jupiter. “I thought you said his name was Lynch.”
“It is. Topkick is military slang for a commander,” explained
Burnout. “It was also my dad’s codename during his Team 7 days.”
Though she was only a few feet away from the others, Raye heard
nothing of what they said. She was busying dealing with a revelation of
her own.
I know this place. It’s the park from my dream. This is where that
monster killed us all. Struggling to control her fear, Mars cast a look
at her companions. Of course, Gen13 wasn’t a part of my vision. Maybe
together we can stop this monster.
Raye held onto that thought like it was a lifeline. Any other
possibilities were too horrible to consider.
“Hey, you two Einsteins want to share your conversation with the
rest of the class?” called Grunge to Sailor Mercury and Fairchild.
The two girls stopped their conferring, glanced at the others,
looked at each other, and nodded. “We’ve got some good news and some bad
news,” reported Caitlin.
“Bad news first,” said Sarah.
“According to my readings, we’ve only seen a fraction of Topkick’s
power,” informed Mercury.
“No way!” gasped Jupiter. “That guy held off five off us without
breaking a sweat and that was a fraction of his power?!”
“It gets worse,” cut in Fairchild. “You see, the energy the
Negaverse charged Mr. Lynch with is starting to bond to his Gen-Factor.
But the two energies are somewhat incompatible. It’s taking time for the
Negapower to fully integrate itself. The power Topkick has now comes
from the fusion the two energies have achieved so far. Once they’re
fully bonded, not only will he be twice as powerful, but…but the change
will be permanent.”
“God, and from the way he was talking, it sounds like the Negaverse
wants to do the same thing to us,” muttered Bobby.
“You said there was some good news,” said Mars.
“We think that if we can purge the Negaenergy from his system, Mr.
Lynch will return to normal,” replied Mercury.
“So how do we do that?” quizzed Rainmaker.
“Amy and I have come up with a plan. But it’s going to take all of
us to pull it off,” informed Fairchild. The redhead then focused on
Serena. “And Sailor Moon, you’re going to be the key to it all.”
“Uh, who me? Oh boy,” gulped the Scouts’ leader.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The bus came to a landing in the street with a loud crash.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” called Topkick. All around
the monster what had once been Hibiya-dori, one of Tokyo’s most famous
streets, lay in ruins. “Come out, you little brats! I’m just going to
keep destroying this town until you do!”
“No need for that, sir,” came a female voice.
Topkick whirled to see Fairchild and Grunge standing behind him.
“You always were a smart girl, Caitlin,” grinned the youma as he
approached his former student. “You see the futility of trying to defy
the will of Queen Beryl. And I see you managed to convince Grunge to
join you.”
Topkick stopped a few feet from the teenagers and looked at them
approvingly. “You two will make fine additions to the army of the
Negaverse. Now we just have to round up Bobby, Roxy, and Sarah. Once
you’re all transformed we’ll be a family again,” promised Topkick.
“After we’ve helped Queen Beryl conquer this mudball, you’ll all be
princes and princess of the dark kingdom she will reign over.”
“You misunderstand what we came here for, sir,” informed Fairchild.
“We didn’t come here to join up with the Negaverse. We came here to do
THIS!” With blinding speed Caitlin hit her former mentor with a uppercut
that sent him hurtling.
“Sucker!” mocked Grunge as he and Fairchild dashed away.
As the two Gen-Actives fled, Topkick raised himself off the ground.
“Clever girl,” the youma muttered as he rubbed his jaw. “Okay then,
rabbits, run! Run all you want! I’ll find you!”
Seething with anger, Topkick began to pursue his former students.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Cat, have I told you I hate this plan?” asked Grunge as he and
Fairchild raced though Hibiya Park. “Being bait really sucks.”
“I’m not too thrilled with it myself,” admitted the redhead. “But
we have to lure Topkick into position if this is going to work.”
“Now I know what Shaggy and Scooby felt like,” Grunge grumbled.
“You can run but you can’t hide!” screamed the creature.
Fairchild glanced over her shoulder to see Topkick closing in
rapidly. “Well, Shaggy, you’d better move it, cause we’ve got a monster
on our butts!”
Just a few feet behind the Gen-Actives, Topkick came to an abrupt
halt. His right eye flashed and immediately burning red energy
surrounded his hands. With an inhuman scream, the youma slammed his
fists into the ground. The energy fragments torn though the earth like
the fins of a hungry shark, right on the trail of the two Gen13 members.
“Crap!” cursed Grunge as he saw what was closing in on them. “Cat,
we got trouble!”
“We’re almost in position. I hope the others are ready,” whispered
Fairchild.
She then reached over and grabbed Grunge. With her teammate in her
arms, the statuesque redhead leapt into the air. Just as she did, the
two energy sparks collided were they just been, causing a small
explosion.
The two came to a rough landing in a tangle of arms and legs about
twenty feet away.
“Grunge! Get your hand off my--”
“Uh, sorry, Cat.”
“Game over!” snarled a voice. The two teems looked up to see Topkick
approaching. “You brats are coming to the Negaverse with me if I have to
drag you there in pieces!”
“Roxy, now!” shouted Fairchild.
Before he could even turn to look for anyone else, Topkick felt
himself slammed to the ground. “What the hell?!” he grunted.
A few feet away, Freefall, her hands glowing with the energy of her
gravity powers, stepped out from behind some trees. Burnout, Rainmaker,
and the Scouts were right behind her. “Sorry to do this to you, Mr. L,
but it’s for your own good,” said Roxy.
“You kids led me into an ambush. I’m proud of you,” complimented the
youma. Topkick’s body then began to radiate crimson energy. “But you
won’t be able to hold me for long!” Slowly, but steadily, the monster
began to stand.
“His Gen-Factor is almost totally bonded with the Negaforce!”
reported Sailor Mercury as she studied her computer.
“Sailor Moon, now!” cried Fairchild.
Serena nodded silently and then removed her tiara. “MOON
TIARA…MAGIC!”
“Now, everyone! Use everything you have now!” shouted Mercury.
Her words were unnecessary. Both Gen13 and the Sailor Scouts knew
that everything rested on this moment.
“MERCURY BUBBLES…”
“MARS FIRE…”
“JUPITER THUNDER…”
“VENUS CRESCENT BEAM…”
“BLAST!”
“IGNITE!”
“CRASH!”
“SMASH!”
As the Scouts let loose, so did Burnout and Rainmaker. Sarah fired
as large a lighting blast as she could, while Bobby unleashed blazing
stream of fire. The energy from the six heroes flowed into the glowing
disc that had been Sailor Moon’s tiara. Instantly, the weapon began to
burn with an intense light.
It was then that Topkick, with a howl and a burst of crimson energy,
broke free of Roxy’s power. He had just enough time to notice the
glowing object flying at him, and scream before the tiara impacted.
Gen13 and the Scouts were knocked to the ground by the ensuing
explosion which was accompanied by a large and brilliant flash of light.
“Did it work?” asked Sarah as she stood.
“You bet. Look!” Venus exclaimed.
Nearby, his uniform shredded, Topkick lay unmoving in a small
crater. But the Venus’s joy was to be short lived. Suddenly, the youma’s
eyes shot open and it began to lurch to it’s feet. “You..you…little
bastards…are..going to…pay for that!”
“Sailor Moon, you know what to do!” shouted Fairchild.
“Time to put this monster to bed,” quipped the blonde girl as she
grabbed her Crescent Moon Wand. Sailor Moon then began to draw a large
circle in the air with the wand. As she moved, something very much like
stardust fell from the tip of the wand. “MOON HEALING…ACTIVATION!”
The glowing stardust then flew over Topkick, causing the monster to
scream again. There was then another flash of light. When it was over,
it was John Lynch, not Topkick, who remained.
Immediately the young heroes dashed to the injured man’s side. Fairchild
wrapped Lynch’s left arm around her shoulder and pulled him to his feet.
“Sir, are you all right?”
“Dad, please say something!” implored Burnout.
“Oh, I hope we didn’t hurt him,” worried Sailor Moon as she moved to
help Fairchild support a man who, moments ago, had been her enemy.
“Bob..Bobby? Ca…Caitlin?” rasped Lynch.
“We’re here, sir” assured the redhead. “How do you feel?”
“I…I…feel like hell,” moaned Lynch. It was then that the injured man
turned his head to see Serena beside him. “You!” he gasped.
With a quick burst of strength, Lynch broke free of Caitlin’s grip.
Lynch began to tumble forward, but was stopped by Serena’s hold on him.
“Hey, are you okay?!” gasped the Scout as she knelt down to help the
Gen-Active stand.
With a quickness that should have been impossible for a man in his
condition, Lynch grabbed Serena’s right hand. On pure instinct, she
tried to recoil.
But the man’s grip held firm. Before Sailor Moon could do anything,
Lynch raised his head to where she could see his face. His eyes were
filled with tears. “You…sav…saved me. Than…thank you,” Lynch sputtered.
His eyes then rolled back and he collapsed.
“How touching,” sneered a voice. The kids looked up to see Malachite
floating in the air above them.
“You’re the one that did this to Mr. Lynch!” accused Rainmaker.
“Aren’t you the clever one?” retorted the General.
“Come down here and fight, you Negaslime!” demanded Jupiter.
“Another time,” promised the Negaverse denizen. “Congratulations, Sailor
Fools, you’ve managed to win a small battle. But we will win the war.”
Malachite then turned his gaze to Gen13. “As for you, you’ve only
delayed the inevitable. The day will come soon when all of you will
serve the Negaverse!” pledged the General. Then Malachite was gone.
“Go bleach your roots, creep!” shouted Roxy at the empty air.
“Don’t forget about Mr. Lynch!” exclaimed Serena. “We have to get
him to a hospital!”
“After what just happened?” asked Venus. “Someone could recognize
him.”
“We have to get him to the temple,” said Mars. “It’s the only place
that’s safe.”
“We’d better haul ass!” shouted Bobby. “’Cause I think the cavalry
is on the way!” Everyone looked up to see a squadron of Blackhawk
helicopters heading toward the park.
“Looks like someone called in the SDF,” assessed Jupiter.
“No surprise there. Mr. L did more damage than Godzilla,” joked
Grunge.
“We have to get out of here now,” said Fairchild as she regained
her grip on Lynch. “This place is going to be crawling with soldiers any
minute. And I have the feeling they’re all going to be very
trigger-happy.”
With that, the two teams of heroes fled into the night.