Hi, everyone. Mechalink here, 'official liason' for Working Title Fiction
(better known as WTF to its friends), an indie impro site.
This is the first chapter of an improvisational fanfiction hosted at WTF.
It's... well, why don't I let you read for yourselves, ne? And no, it's
not a SM/Captain America crossover. Really.
And if you like this story, and think you might be interested in writing a
chapter (or checking out some of the other stories we have at WTF), come to
http://wtfiction.sandwich.net/ and look around. There are some stories just
beginning, so go ahead and jump on!
And of course, don't forget about http://www.improfanfic.com/, where there
are even MORE super cool nifty stories to write for! We're always looking
for authors at Impro!
Well, I'll leave you to your story. Enjoy!
Official WTF liason (and Improfanfic writer)
Mechalink
*****
America is usually a pretty stable place. It has its crime, its
devaluation of the moral structure, and its corrupt government. Usually
all the citizens have to worry about is whether or not they paid their
taxes on time. Unfortunately, things were about to change.
Sally rode through the park on her rollerblades, jamming to some
local band's tape in her walkman. The local scene in the Bay Area
couldn't be beat. She always loved the thrill of great music, wind
blowing through her hair, as she rode through the park and just watched
everyone. Sally was a great people watcher. She prided herself in
being able to read people extraordinarely well. She glanced at the
couple making out on the bench. 'Cute, but they were too physical. It
wouldn't last.' She looked at the young mother watching her children
play on the equipment. 'Playing? At 10 o'clock in the evening? Must
be a single working mom.' She returned her eyes to the path she was
skating on. That monster standing on the path in front of her? 'Just
another Silicon Valley weirdo,' she thought.
"... A MONSTER!?" She scrambled to a stop, coming to a halt
right before it. She stared at it like a deer in headlights. It was 6
foot tall stick, with leaves sticking out of it's sides. "Wha.. what do
you want?"
"I'll have this entire park's energy before the night ends!" It
tilted it's head back in an evil laugh. "I am... Twignacron!" Leaves
shot out in all directions, attatched to Twignacron by tiny stems. One
attatched itself to Sally's forehead. She felt the strength leave her
body. She collapsed, and felt herself growing weaker and weaker. The
monster before her glowed with a dark aura as it absorbed the energy of
everyone in the San Jose park.
Without warning, there was a red flash, and the stem connecting
the leaf on Sally's head to Twignacron was gone. Sally's eyes opened
and she saw a figure standing on top of a light post. She blinked, and
he was still there. Dressed in a black tuxedo, classical style, with a
black top hat and black and red cape flowing behind him. A little mask
covered his eyes. She saw a rose sticking in the ground in front of
her, and she identified it as the source of the red flash. Then Sally
passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| A Third Impact Starter: |
| Tuxedo America: |
| Chapter 1: Strange Soil |
| By ColdFury |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twignacron stared at the newcomer wearily. Two of it's arm-like
limbs pointed at the figure and suddenly extended into long branches
with spikey ends growing at a super fast rate right in the direction of
the Tuxedo clad figure. Before Twignacron could track him, the Tuxedo
clad figure hopped down off the light post and was leaning against it
casually.
"Who.. who are you!?" Twignacron drew back it's arms, and
prepared for a faster fight.
"He who drains the energy from innocents exercising their right
to exercise has no place in the land of freedom! Tuxedo Kamen will not
forgive you!" Tuxedo Kamen pulled out his cane and expanded it,
charging the youma.
"Tuxedo WHAT?" The twig didn't even have time to dodge as the
cane slapped into it, knocking the monster a good 15 feet away.
A rose flew through the air and embedded itself in the center of
Twignacron's 'trunk'. It screamed in pain, and found itself unable to
move.
Tuxedo Kamen seemed to pause, and looked around. Finding no one
offering to finish the monster off with a spectacular finishing attack,
he seemed rather perturbed. A minute or two passed by, with Tuxedo
Kamen standing thoughtfully. Twignacron finally struggled to his feet
and freed himself from the rose. "What the hell is your problem!?"
Shrugging, Tuxedo Kamen said, "I've never actually finished a
Youma off before." A couple of people whom had slowly started getting
up, facefaulted, which was a new experience for them as they were
American and were wholly unfamiliar with the concept, except for young
Crystal across the park, who was a Japenese anime fan and was watching
the entire exchange with heart shaped eyes thinking, "WAI! BISHOUNEN!"
Twignacron cackled, "I'll take care of you easily then! RAZOR
LEAF!" Dozens of razor sharp leaves flew at Tuxedo Kamen. He blocked
most of them with his cape, but one scraped his left arm and staggered
him.
"Augh!" Tuxedo Kamen grimaced. He had to think of something,
and do it FAST. He remembered all the times Usako had found herself
over powered, and how she had strived to reach beyond her previous
capacity and overcame the obstacle. His mind reached for anything he
could use to finish the twing off.
"ROLLING THUNDER!" Twignacron pulled logs out of Treespace and
threw them hearitly at Tuxedo Kamen. He dodged out of the way but was
getting desperate.
An idea came to him. He had no right to even try it, but maybe
he could pull it off. He threw a dozen roses at Twignacron, which
embedded into his trunk once more. The youma froze. Tuxedo Kamen
pulled out his cane and extended it. Focusing all his power, he closed
his eyes. "Charging... cane... ATTACK!" He dashed foward and his cane
glowed with the power of the Earth. There was a flash of light and a
slashing sound. When the light cleared, Tuxedo Kamen was behind
Twignacron, and facing away from him. Twignacron slowly split into two
pieces, then turned into ash.
The energy dispursed among those who were drained previous to
the fight. Tuxedo Kamen took a look around and quickly ran off to
escape too many questions. Sally looked up just in time to see a cape
flap over the nearby fence. "Whoever you are... Thank You."
*****
Mamoru rode his new motorbike up the 880 Interstate. He was
still new to the United States traffic laws, but had easily passed the
driving exam. But his thoughts were on anything but driving, "I didn't
expect to be called into action here, particularly with Usagi still in
Japan." He blazed past a semi on the freeway as they went onto the
bridge to the maze.
"I was lucky tonight." The light shimmered off the visor of his
helmet as he pulled onto the 580 ramp towards Berkeley. "I don't know
where it came from." A quick glance down to his watch revealed the time
as being 11pm. "Crap! First day of class tomorrow!" He gunned his
engine as he headed for the dorms at UC Berkeley.
The next day, Mamoru awoke with a stiff neck, a slight headache
from lack of sleep, and a paper full of classroom locations he couldn't
remember how to get to. He quickly grabbed a cup of coffee out of the
dorm lobby and ran out to find his first class. A quick 5 minute sprint
later, he walked in to his advanced ethics class. As he walked in the
teacher, Professor Blout, glared at him. "Who would you be?"
Flustured, Mamoru quickly answered. "Chiba Mamoru, sir. Er,
Mamoru Chiba." A couple of students in the front row snickered at his
flub.
"Ah yes, the exchange student. I don't know how well they
handle things where you come from Mr. Chiba, but in America we come to
class on time," the professor sagely stated.
As he spoke about a dozen students walked in late, one of them a
young brunette girl with long hair and auburn highlights. She brushed
past Mamoru and stopped. He looked curiously at her, and she smiled at
him with a wink, "Don't mind old Blouty. He's just being *anal* again."
She said the last part in a whisper so the prof wouldn't pick it up.
She grabbed Mamoru's arm and led him up to the back of the lecture hall.
They sat down and turned their speakers on so they could hear the
professor in the 400+ student class.
"This class is semester length, and it shall--"
"Psst!" The girl next to Mamoru motioned for him to turn his
speaker down a moment. "I didn't catch your name."
"Mamoru Chiba, thanks for your help down there..."
"Kelly. Kelly Tyler. I take it you're an exchange student from
Japan?"
Mamoru blinked, "How did you--"
She giggled and pointed at his jacket's chest. "Name tag
silly."
He turned a shade of red just out of embarrassment of his
stupidity. "Shouldn't we be paying attention?"
"Do you know how to read?" Kelly's eyes twinkled once again as
if she was thinking of the funniest thing in the world.
"... Yes."
"Then we don't have to pay attention. He's reading, verbatim,
from his syllabus. Tomorrow we actually get into content. Today's just
here to get us to sign in for roll call."
Mamoru blinked, and turned his speaker up again, looking down at
the syllabus. Sure enough... the professor was speaking it word for
word. He turned down the speaker. "Good call."
"I've had this guy before for philosophy. No biggie. So
what're you doing after class?"
Mamoru shrugged, "I don't know. I have an hour break between
the end of this class and the beginning of the next one."
Kelly smiled, "You'll have to come with me then! I'll show you
the good place for a quick breakfast on campus!"
After taking a moment to blink, Mamoru nodded. Kelly smiled and
they both turned back to the monitors displaying the professor. While
listening to him drone on about the amount of course work, Mamoru's
thoughts drifted to Usagi and the others. "Usako would probably be
jealous if she saw me with Kelly. I wonder how they're doing. It's
night over there, if anything is going down it's probably happening now,
it always does."
He reached out with his senses, attempting to feel if Usako was
in danger. After a moment of concentrating, he could feel a brief
moment of danger, and uncertainity. But then he felt a surge of
confidence from her, and the danger passed. He could almost feel her
smiling at him. "Mamoru. Mamoru."
"Mamoru!"
Mamoru opened his eyes with a jump. Kelly stood over him,
holding in a laugh that her eyes betrayed. Smiling she tilted her head
at him. "Sleeping in class on the first day? And you struck me as
studious."
"Actually, I was just thinking about... my friends back home."
He didn't know what Kelly's interest in him was, but he didn't want to
ruin a potential friendship by bringing up Usagi just yet. Plus people
were a tad more sensitive to the age thing in America.
"Probably an old girlfriend hrm? Well we'll have that fixed in
no time. I'll introduce you to so many people you'll never want to go
home!" She grabbed her books, and Mamoru did the same. They walked
down the aisle, past Professor Blout, who snorted at them.
*****
Professor Blout walked into the room to his office. After he
closed the door, he peered around carefully in the small space.
Satisfied that his moronic officemate wasn't around he sat down at his
desk, and pulled a lever. The chair he sat down in slid into the ground
of his ground floor office, replaced by an identical empty chair. He
slid through a series of underground passage ways and other assorted
tunnels before coming to a stop. Exiting his chair, he pulled off his
professor labcoat to reveal a uniform akin to that of a general. He
walked up to a crowd of monsters standing in large hall. "Gentlemen.
Ladies. Monsters. I have recieved word tonight that a new hero has
come to town, and foiled the homework of one of your students. I'm
afraid Twignacron was lost."
There was a gasp of shock among the students. "This hero is
likely to endeavor to unbalance our plans. Fortunately, this plays
right into your training as student youma. The Univeristy of Black Moon
- Berkeley, is dedicated to teaching you the ways on how to avoid
peddling heroes. This new addition will strengthen the local faction,
and make for a real challenge for you."
The students clapped and cheered. "After we've had our fun with
him, of course we'll have to dispose of him." The cheering increased in
octaves. Bloutite smiled evilly.
*****
Mamoru stumbled to keep his bearings as he was dragged along by
an enthusiastic Kelly. She finally pulled to a stop in front of a
coffee shop. He frowned, confused. "Coffee? Why didn't we just go to
that Starbucks place I've seen everywhere?" He pointed to one at the
corner, and then pointed in the direction of the other corner.
Kelly smiled, "Silly! Starbucks is generic! This place has
flavor! Plus it has Keith!"
"Keith?" Mamoru looked at her questionally.
Kelly fidgeted, "I didn't mention him? He's my uh...
boyfriend."
"Oh. I see."
"I hope you're not mad or anything, I just wanted a chance to
get to know you without you thinking 'off limits'." Kelly looked at him
with concern.
He chuckled, "Don't worry, I have a princess of my own back home
waiting for me."
Kelly laughed, "You dog! A princess huh? Lucky girl."
Mamoru smiled, "Let's meet Keith."
Keith turned out to be a small japanese man around the age of
21. He was flipping through a manga as they walked up. Mamoru smiled,
"<Ah! A fellow japanese student?>"
Looking up, Keith flustered, "Uh... konichiwa? I dunno, I'm
Japanese but I've never actually learned japanese."
Nodding, Mamoru replied, "I apologize. My name is Mamoru, I
take it you must be the lucky Keith."
Keith nodded, and glanced at Kelly questioningly. She sat down
next to him and smiled, "He's a japanese exchange student, I thought
maybe we could show him around or something."
"Speaking of showing me around, I think I'll show myself to the
restroom." Mamoru excused himself and quickly walked to the restroom.
Kelly's smile instantly dropped as he was gone. "I sensed
something from him."
Keith tilted his head and looked in the direction Mamoru had
gone. "From him? Are you certain?"
"Definitely. Some sort of vibes were coming from him.
Especially in class." Kelly held Keith's hand in hers.
"Could he be the enemy?" Keith frowned.
"I don't know. He seems like a nice guy."
"We'll have to keep our guard up."
"Agreed." Kelly turned back to the returning Mamoru. "Well,
what do you think of our American toiletry system?" The smile was back
in her face.
"Well, the water still swirls the right way, so I'm happy."
Mamoru sat down across from the couple. They smiled at him, and began
an hour of small talk and chit chat. Mamoru couldn't help but think he
was on the road to making new friends in this new land.
*****
Bloutite walked into HER office carefully. One had to be sure
not to disturb HER before she was ready. He stood their as quiet as
possible until she noticed his presence.
"GAAAH! I TOLD YOU NOT TO STARTLE ME LIKE THAT!"
Bloutite trembled. "Yes m'lady."
"AND CALL ME MISTRESS."
"Y-yes mistress." The fact that last time he had called HER
that she had told him to call HER "m'lady" did not escape his lips. You
did NOT contradict HER.
"ABOUT THIS NEWCOMER..."
"Yes m'l... mistress. I believe he will be an interesting
training exercise for the students. The local resi-"
"STOP BLABBERING. I KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. BUT YOU ARE WRONG.
HE IS CONNECTED TO MORE. IF HE HAS A CHANCE TO ALERT THEM, OUR ENTIRE
PLAN MIGHT BE IN JEOPARDY. KILL HIM IMMEDIATELY."
Bloutite paled. "Kill him? Bu-but how?"
"*SIGH* MORON. HERE IS WHAT WE WILL DO...."
*****
Mamoru pressed the buttons slowly, to assure he followed the
complex directions correctly in order to dial the phone the right way.
Finally, after moments of tension and a quick wrong number to New
Zealand, Mamoru heard the phone ringing.
*click* "Hello?"
"Usako?"
"Mamo-chan!?"
"Usako!! I just wanted to call to tell you I settled in all
right."
"Oh I miss you so much Mamoru! Did you miss me???"
"Of course Usagi. I thought about you a lot constantly. Has
there been any.. trouble.. lately? I thought I felt you in trouble
earlier."
There was a pause. "Yes, but nothing we can't handle. Don't
worry Mamo-chan. I want you to finish school and not have to worry
about being Tuxedo Kamen for awhile."
"Usako... I'll be back sooner than you think. I promise."
"I... I love you."
"I love you too, Usagi."
Mamoru quickly said good bye, after wiping a solitary tear from
his eye. "I knew this was going to be tough... but this is impossible.
How can I live so long without her? Maybe a ride will clear my head."
Mamoru walked out of his room, and into the living area of his
dorm suite that he was going to share with 2 other guys. They hadn't
arrived yet however. He grabbed his helmet off the table near the door
and headed out for his bike. His mind was a jumble of depressed,
homesick thoughts as he pulled out onto the freeway. So much so that he
forgot it was rush hour.
*****
The Dumbarton bridge as jammed full of cars, as it always was at
6pm. In the 4 lane bridge, neither side was moving an inch. Many
drivers pulled out preprepared papers, cell phones, or Jack in the Box.
Others cursed violently and tried to contain road rage.
*HOOOONK*
Some contained it better than others. But one vehicle contained
a passenger of pure, unmitigated evil. The heart of this driver was so
cruel and calculating, it could possibly snuff the light out of the sun
and deliver us all into a cold ice age.
Then, behind Bill Gate's car, there was a youma behind the
wheel. Without any warning in the midst of the unescapable traffic; the
quiet and unassuming 1975 Ford Pinto exploded. In a turn of events that
actually surprised some, in the remains of the car stood a monster
shaped like an engine block. The rotors and pistons started spinning
and pumping, and it cackled evilly. "YOUR ENGERGY WILL SOON BE MINE!"
With nowhere to go, the occupants of the bridge were drained of
their energy and quickly passed out.
*****
Two figures in a dark room conversed quietly. "I feel the
negative presence again," said the short man.
"We must hurry," was the response the slightly taller female
gave.
*****
Mamoru sped through traffic on his bike, weaving past the stuck
cars. His thoughts were on Usagi, his far off love. And his friends,
the scouts. Would the 8 of them be all right without him? Or was that
10? Mamoru did a quick mental count. Nine at last count, including
Usagi. Mamoru idly wondered what happened to the starlights after they
left.
His train of thought was suddenly derailed as he noticed a large
walking and talking engine block draining energy from all the cars
around him. He skidded to a stop, and hopped behind a bus. After a
quick glance around, he pulled a rose from his jacket pocket, and
transformed into Tuxedo Kamen.
The youma picked up the form of a drained person, putting it
dangerously close to it's spinning fan. "Prepare to meet your fate at
the hands of V-8!" The person, although unconcious, managed to
sweatdrop.
Just as the person was being lifted to the fan, a red streak
flew past the man's head, and directly into V-8's fan. A rose stuck
into the fan, startling the mechanical youma into dropping its victim.
Tuxedo Kamen stood atop a big rig, "Cars and motorvehicles are
meant to be a modern convinience, not a tool for destruction and evil!
You have put the inventions of Henry Ford to bad use, and Tuxedo Kamen
will NOT forgive you!" He leapt into the air, his cane extended and
overhead for a diving strick, but the monstrous motor spat oil up into
the oncoming hero.
Falling to the hard concrete with a thud and sliding to a stop,
Tuxedo Kamen slowly pulled himself up off the ground. His cane was a
few feet away, but when he looked up V-8 was almost on top of him. The
Youma pulled out a rubber belt and swung it around Tuxedo Kamen,
trapping his arms to his sides. The monster swung the belt round and
round, causing the tuxedo clad punching bag to get knocked into car
after car.
The youma tossed Tuxedo Kamen to the ground, and held it's hands
over head. "Time for you to die, Tux-boy!" A glowing dark energy ball
formed over its head. Tuxedo Kamen vainly tried to get his body to
respond, but to no avail.
"Usako...." Tuxedo Kamen stared at his impending doom head on.
So he'll have to be forgiven for not noticing the pair of individuals
running up.
"SOOOLAR FLAAAAAAARE!" A ball of bright yellow flame swept in
and knocked the monster off it's feet. Before Tuxedo Kamen could turn
around, another figure, dressed in a black Gi with a black, eye-covering
nose resting mask on.
The man grabbed Tuxedo and lept to the top of a bus.
Concentrating, he glowed of purple energy, and cried out, "Mystic
Healing Art!" The glow enveloped Tuxedo Kamen, who suddenly felt rather
healed. The man in the gi looked rather tired. "Up to you now, Tux-
boy."
"Call me Tuxedo Kamen."
"You mean Tuxedo Mask?"
Tuxedo Kamen paused for a moment, and shrugged. "If you like."
He turned to see a woman with bright orange hair and a yellow skintight
spandex suit avoiding the attacks of a charred V-8. They were
exchanging blows evenly, until V-8 caught her with a faceful of hot oil.
Tuxedo Mask pulled a rose out of his pocket, and with all the force and
power he could muster, threw it 25 feet to embed itself in V-8's head.
For a brief moment the youma looked surprised, but then it exploded, yet
again living up to it's origin.
Tuxedo Mask turned to thank the man in the black gi, but found
him gone. When he turned to see if the woman with him had followed
suit, he found her missing as well. He paused thoughtfully, "So that's
what it's like." Noticing people around him slowly waking up, he
quickly lept off the bus and dashed to his motorbike. He jumped the
divider and drove down the bridge at high speeds between stalled cars,
his cape flapping dramatically behind him.
"Whoever this new enemy is, and whatever their dastardly overall
plan for world destruction or conquest is, I shall stop them. I am
Tuxedo.. Mask. And I will not forgive them."
*****
Meanwhile, back at the Youma College, Bloutite was giving an
important seminar. "This is how you growl menacingly: Grrrrr."
The class intoned after him: "GRRRRRR."
"Grrrr."
"GRRRRRR."
Author's Notes:
I know what you're all thinking. "A Sailor Moon starter without
Sailor Moon? Are you nuts?" Well I probably am. I know this isn't my
best work yet, but I think this has potential as a newbie starter.
Basic premise, typical silly "I can't see that it's my new best friend
who is the new super in town even though her costume is she ... looks
the same" SM themes. And a little bit of my flavor of humor. I really
wished they'd done more with Mamoru in the later parts of the series,
but I thought I'd give it a shot.
Special thanks to Lurker and Ardweden for morale support, ideas,
and fact checking. And thanks to #improfanfic just for being you! ^_^
Extra special thanks to Ard and Phoebe for reading it and
telling me to submit it. And thanks to Shad for some grammar checking!
^_^
--ColdFury
07/06/00
*****
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Working Title Fiction. http://wtfiction.sandwich.net/, and look around!
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