Note: Sweet Baby Turkey, this took forever, I kept falling into  
wasting tiime with exposition, rather than plot. But at long last,  
after over a year, I think I've got a balance. C&C is, as always,  
welcome.

Disclaimer: Spiderman is the creation of Lee and Kirby, Sailor Moon  
by Nakao Takeuchi. No money is being made from this and no such  
intent should be inferred.

Today's Fortune Cookie: The universe does not have laws -- it has  
habits, and habits can be broken.

**********************

Friday Night . . .

  "A large, green thing," Beryl repeated with heavy sarcasm. "And it  
dropped out nowhere and beat you up."

Magnetite glared at her queen. She sat on a small gurney while a  
Healer youma tended to her wounds. She was heavily bruised and one  
eye was swollen shut. Her hair was matted with blood and she clutched  
at her side in obvious pain.

"I don't know what it was," she snapped. "All I know is that it was  
big, green, and fast. I didn't even get a good look at it since I was  
too busy trying to stay alive."

Beryl narrowed her eyes at the insolence, but forced herself not to  
take action. 'You suborned Okasa because she's the only person who  
can think like Tsukino in any way and you can't afford to have that  
psycho mess things up. Not at this stage,' she reminded herself. 'You  
need her alive . . . for now.' When she was sure she had banished her  
anger, Beryl spoke. "Are you sure Tsukino is out of commission?"

Magnetite's grin was savage. "Positive. Last I saw of her, she was  
laying on the sidewalk like a rag doll." She frowned. "But Kino and  
Mizuno might still be alive. By the time I got myself out of the  
rubble, all three were gone. No clue where they went." Her grin  
vanished. "Kino is all muscle and no brain, but Mizuno isn't the  
number one brain at Juuban for nothing. Not to mention she's got two  
other personalities in her head." Beryl raised an eyebrow and  
Magnetite smiled. "Oh, you're going to LOVE this."

* * * *

Saturday Afternoon . . .

Ami listened with half an ear to her juku teacher as she scribbled  
notes on her paper. The conversation she'd overheard at Banterman's  
had scared her far more than she wanted to admit, even to Mercury and  
Spiderwoman.

She and Flash had managed to get Usagi home before going home  
themselves, but Ami had been unable to sleep. Clearly, the Senshi  
weren't as discreet as they thought they had been.

But the real problem was Usagi. She was like a doll. Utterly  
lifeless. Ami couldn't blame her, she'd been shocked as well to find  
that Magnetite was Naru. But Usagi had shut down completely and that  
was truly frightening.

'Then you'd better start me back up,' snapped Usagi's voice in her head.

'Who was that?' Ami wondered.

'Me? I'm just the part of you that's WWUD. What would Usagi do? Don't  
worry, I'm not manifesting as another personality. Besides, it's  
crowded enough in here as it is.'

'I doubt that,' Spiderwoman snapped.

'Hey, believe me or don't, Webhead, I don't really give a rat's ass.  
But you should be asking yourself how to snap Usagi out of her funk.'

'She's right, my friends,' Mercury said, ever the voice of reason.

'We only have her word for what she is,' Spiderwoman said.

'Actually, I never gave you my word. I didn't even give you a noun.'

Mercury let out a sigh. 'You said you were the part of us that would  
ask what Usagi would do. If we could stick to that?'

'Sure. The answer is pineapple.'

'That's not an answer!' Spiderwoman exclaimed.

'I know,' was the smug reply. 'Look, your big problem is Banterman or  
whatever his name is. That dude with the pencil mustache said he was  
powerful enough to take down the Moon Princess, who, by the way, is  
supposed to be some kind of Messiah or something. Then you have this  
Nur freak whose about to wake up from his nap and from the sound of  
it, he's not a morning person. Not to mention the dude with the  
eyepatch had government and military written all over him.  
Figuratively speaking, of course. And that Stephen Strange guy. You  
should probably find out why he looks so familiar.'

'We do know him from somewhere, yes,' Mercury agreed cautiously, 'but  
Usagi is our friend, we should concern ourselves with her.'

'Yeah, that's a good idea. Even though Eyepatch Guy's agents have  
your underwear sizes written down somewhere, which means they've  
probably broken into your house, but hey, why worry about personal  
privacy?'

'One thing at a time!' Mercury snapped.

'Ding dong, reality calling! You can't take this one thing at a time!  
Usagi is out of commission, there's a conspiracy afoot that has the  
Senshi as the number one threat to God, apple pie, and puppies, and  
oh yeah, BERYL WANTS YOU DEAD! You need help, and I don't mean the  
psychiatric kind . . . though you could use one. Voices in your head  
arguing with each other? That's . . . weird.'

'She's right,' Mercury said. 'We can't do this ourselves. We need help.'

'I just said that.'

'The other Senshi would be the logical choice.'

'And if they were awake and in the neighborhood, you'd have heard  
something.'

'Tuxedo Mask.'

'BZZZT! Wrong! He considers the Senshi an irritant at best. Next!'

'There is no next.' Spiderwoman said flatly. 'We shall have to do  
this ourselves and die in the attempt if need be.'

'She's right, I'm afraid.'

'Somebody get me a spoon, I feel the need to gag. Will you two stop  
being so self-sacrificing and noble? Gendo would spit on both of you.'

'How dare you!' Spiderwoman snarled.

'You are not fit to speak his name!' Mercury snapped.

'Bite me. The guy's been dead for months. Get over it. Ami?'

Ami frowned as she considered the question. She supposed that they  
could always try to make a deal with the eyepatch man. He was hardly  
a friend, but from the sound of it, he no more wanted to see Beryl  
win than the Senshi did.

'No,' Spiderwoman said.

'It's a tried and true tactical theorem,' Mercury said. 'The enemy of  
my enemy is my friend. Perhaps we can make some sort of deal. The one  
called Strange seems approachable, but I have no idea what we can  
offer them.'

Ami absently scribbled a note to herself regarding the logic pattern  
the teacher was assigning as homework.

'No,' Spiderwoman insisted. 'We can't trust him, we can't trust any  
of them.'

'We have no choice. We need their help. Tomorrow is Sunday, we should  
spend it doing research.'

* * * *

Sunday Night . . .

  Luna had been asleep on Usagi's chest when she sensed something  
approaching and the sheer power of it raised her hackles. But she was  
unafraid. The Mau weren't without power in their own right and Luna  
had not won her position as the Moon Princess' Guardian and advisor  
to the Senshi by being weak.

Like a ghost, the thing passed through the wards that Luna had set up  
around the house and began to coalesce at the foot of Usagi's bed.

Teeth bared and claws out, Luna stood up to attack and then saw the  
amulet around the figure's neck. She sat, tail curled about her feet  
and waited. Still wary, but if that amulet was the real thing . . .

"Greetings, guardian of the line of Diana," the figure said  
respectfully, bowing ever so slightly. His tone was formal, the  
language ancient. Tonight marked the first time it had been spoken in  
thousands of years. He removed the amulet and held it out to her for  
inspection. Ears twitching, Luna examined it with all eight of her  
senses. Yes! Thank the Mother, yes! It was the Eye!

"You are welcome here, Sorcerer Supreme of Earth," Luna replied  
formally in the same language, inclining her head. "How may my house  
aid you?"

"I have come to heal the child," he said. "By your leave?"

"Please, and gladly so," Luna responded and moved off of Usagi's chest.

  "My thanks," the figure said and faded from sight. Usagi made a  
slight moaning noise and then stilled.

* * * *

Monday Afternoon . . .

"Gone?" Ami repeated. "Gone where?"

"No idea," Flash said as they entered the locker room. "I was going  
to make her come to school if I had to pick her up and carry her, but  
Luna said that she was up and gone before dawn. No clue where she went."

"Oh, dear," Ami murmured as she set down her equipment bag. The  
locker room was noisy as the team suited up for the game.

She'd spent all of Sunday afternoon at an internet cafe, doing  
research on everything she'd heard in the conversation between  
Banterman and the two men. None of what she'd discovered gave her any  
hope.

"Yeah," Flash agreed. "She's my friend and I hate not knowing where  
she is. It'd be just like her to jump up out of nowhere, just to  
scare us to death." Flash spun to look behind her, just in case, and  
then looked back at Ami, who'd removed her shirt and stood there in  
her underwear. "Jeez."

"What?"

"You. You're so . . . fine . . . it's disgusting. I'm jealous."

Ami blushed. "I'm a freak."

"Freak? Ames, you know how many girls would kill for your shape? Look  
at yourself!" She gestured at Ami's chest. "Look at those!" Flash  
indicated herself. "When I aint sleeping, eating, or doing school  
stuff, I'm working out and I still don't look half as good as you."

"Mores' the pity," Ami said coldly, remembering just how this had  
come to pass. "You did this to me."

"Yeah . . . about that . . . look, after the game, can we sit down  
and talk? There's something I need to tell you. It can't make up for  
all the shit I did, but you deserve to know why."

"Very well," Ami said in that same cold tone. "I'm sure it will be  
enlightening."

They finished dressing in silence.

* * * *

The game was against Eriol Academy, a cross town rival to Juuban.  
There was a history of ruthless competition between the schools, each  
one boasting an impressive list of Alumni.

The biggest concern was Tamayo Kuzuki, a tomboy with a reputation for  
being one of the few people who'd ever made Flash work for a victory  
at karate meets.

"Kuzuki is small and fast," Flash lectured the team as they gathered  
for the pre-game meeting. "She may not look it, but she hits hard and  
she likes to go for the neck." She pointed at the Twins, a the only  
girls at school who were bigger than Flash. They also had very little  
neck to speak of. "You two keep her away from the puck, I don't care  
how. Kusango, Sawamura, you two stick with me. Everyone else keep  
that puck out of our goal. Mizuhara, you're our goalie. We beat them  
and we're off to the playoffs, so shut them down fast. Word is that  
Eriol has a new bag of tricks and the less time they have to use it  
against us, the better. Any questions?"

One of the girls raised her hand. "How hard do we hit them?"

"As hard as they hit us," Flash replied. "But be careful. I'm not  
about to start racking up penalties this close to the championship.  
If we can win by default, so much the better." She gazed around the  
room. "Juuban hasn't been to the playoffs in ten years and the  
Championship in longer. I want gold in the trophy case, ladies, so  
let's do this."

* * * *

Flash had told the team to hit Eriol as hard as they hit him, but  
Eriol was proving difficult to match.

Coach Sazaki called a time out and waved Juuban in.

"It's like they're possessed," Kusango gasped, leaning on the low  
wall between the ice and the team benches. "They're more interested  
in hurting us than the game."

Flash made a face. "And the damn referees are ignoring them."

"Crowd's loving it, though," Sawamura noted.

"Ideas, people," Sazaki said.

Ami looked towards Eriol. The team stood in a loose group at the far  
end of the ice, staring at them. Her danger sense was buzzing a  
warning, far too strong for only a possible threat.

Her eyes narrowed and she replayed the game so far in her mind and  
then realized the pattern and waved her hand to catch Flash's eye.

"Yeah?" the taller girl asked.

"I believe that there's a youma behind Eriol's unusual brutality,"  
Ami whispered. "They've been targeting our fastest skaters and  
Kusanago in particular. If she is taken out, wouldn't I take her place?"

Flash's eyes narrowed. "They want you on the ice? Why? We can't  
transform in here. Not in front of all these people."

"And on the ice, we can't slip away to change either," Ami said. "I  
believe the term is 'Sitting Duck'." She looked over at Eriol. "Take  
Kusango out. At least I know there's a trap waiting out there."

Flash invented a new swear word and then turned back to the coach.  
"Coach, I'd like to replace Kusango with Mizuno." She hesitated.  
"Also, they've displayed excellent sportsmanship this far. I'd like  
to repay the debt generously."

Sazaki didn't even hesitate. "Do it."

Kusango breathed a sigh of relief and climbed over the wall, while  
Ami pulled on her helmet.

"You heard Coach, Ladies," Flash said as they took their positions on  
the ice. "Show them what good sports we are."

The whistle blew, the puck dropped, and Ami's Danger sense screamed  
as the Eriol player leapt forward, stick slicing upwards towards her  
knees. Ami used her stick to parry and turned, letting her shoulder  
strike the player in the chest. There was no give, confirming Ami's  
theory of Youma possession, but Ami's own spider-strength made her  
equally unmovable, and the thrall, unlike Ami, had not been expecting  
this.

The girl went down hard and Ami took off after Flash and Sawamura,  
her speed and danger sense letting her avoid Eriol players, the crowd  
screaming insanely.

She dodged fallen Eriol forms and took up her position flanking Flash  
as the taller girl drove the puck towards the goal and it's glowing  
goalie.

Glowing?

Ami dropped her stick and grabbed Flash's arm as she turned her  
skates sideways, the blades sending up a wave of ice flakes as they  
skidded to a halt.

"What? Oof!" Sawamura said as she collided with Flash.

The three girls watched as the black disc of the puck sailed across  
the ice and into the net the, buzzer announcing another point for  
Juuban.

Eriol, however, had made no move to stop it.

A hush settled over the arena. It was so quiet, you could have heard  
a pin drop.

"Guys?" Sawamura said. "Guys?"

"Run," Ami said and the three of them sprinted for the Juuban bench,  
practically flying over the ice, sticks forgotten.

As they reached the bench, Ami looked back. The Eriol team had  
gathered into two groups and then, as she watched, they merged into  
two youma.

The Arena erupted in screams as the crowd stampeded for the doors.

"Well that gets rid of the civilians," Flash said wryly. "Where's  
your costume?"

"In my bag," Ami said.

"Aw shit! So's my pen."

At that moment the lights went out and then the emergency lights came  
on, barely lighting up the arena. There was a soft sound, like two  
great wings.

Then someone started laughing, a loud, cackling laugh, one that  
promised pain and triggered your fear.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night," intoned a woman's voice.  
"I am the steel toed boot that crushes your prostate when your ass  
gets kicked."

"Well at least we now know where Usagi is," Flash said.

The lights came on and Sailor Moon was standing on top of the  
announcers booth, a hockey stick in each hand, her coat flapping in  
some unseen breeze. "And in the name of the Moon," she shouted,  
spinning the sticks in her fingers and then dropping into a crouch,  
one stick extended before her, the other held back, "Yee-haw,  
motherfucker."

If she frightened either of the youma, there was no sign of it. One  
of them sprinted for the booth, the other straight for Flash and Ami.

"Move!" Flash yelled and the two girls dashed over the ice, but not  
quick enough as the Youma collided with the wall, the shockwave  
knocking them both over and sending them sliding until they hit the  
wall.

"Shit! Ow! Damnit! Fucker!" Flash yelled, adjusting her helmet.

The youma loomed over them, pointed teeth bared in a menacing smile.

"Excuse me, sir." A large green finger tapped the youma on the  
shoulder. The youma turned and stared at a large, green chest covered  
by a black tank top. Large for it's kind, the Youma was used to  
looking everyone in the eye while standing. For the first time, it  
had to look up into a pair of brown eyes and a confident smirk.  
"Arena security," the emerald green behemoth continued. "The ice is  
for players and game officials only. I'll have to ask you to leave."  
The last word was punctuated by the giant's fist colliding with the  
youma's head with a sound not unlike thunder. The youma was knocked  
off its feet and flew through the air, smashing a hole in the bleachers.

"Locker room!" Flash shouted and they ran in the opposite direction.

Somehow they managed not to break an ankle as they hurried down the  
cement hallway and into the locker room.

"Ah jeez, what was my combination?" Flash muttered as she started to  
dial her lock but Ami slapped her hand away, grabbed each lock and  
twisted. With a sharp snap, the steel broke and Ami then grabbed the  
doors and tore them off their hinges.

'Oh, shit' Flash thought to herself. 'She did that and she wasn't  
even trying. And I've . . . note to self; never make her mad if I  
want to live to see twenty-five.' She dug into her bag and pulled out  
the pen.

"Jupiter Power! Make-Up!"

* * * *

David Banterman, ne Bruce Banner, A.K.A. The Incredible Hulk, was  
surprised when he realized he was enjoying himself. He supposed part  
of it was that only one-third of him was still Bruce Banner, a small  
statued genius with some big brains. The other two parts of his  
psyche, the savage, primitive beast known as Hulk, and the almost  
amoral Mr. Fix-it, both enjoyed a good fight. But he was careful not  
to let himself go. Too much enjoyment, to much anger, and he would  
revert to Banner's human body, but with the Hulk in control.

In the middle of a fight, that . . . would be bad.

"Damnit, Reed," he muttered as he picked up a steel bar and began  
beating the youma with it. "I should have ignored you when you  
pointed out the missing decimal point.' The youma punched him in the  
gut. 'No,' he corrected himself, lifting the youma over his head and  
throwing it the length of the arena. 'No, fuck that. I never should  
have let Tony drag me out to celebrate my twenty-first. That's where  
it all went wrong.'

There was a flash of color and then Sailor Jupiter and Spiderwoman  
were there.

"Thanks for the save," Jupiter said. "We had no idea how we were  
gonna get those kids away safely."

"Save it, Kino," Bruce replied.

"You're with S.H.I.E.L.D.," Spiderwoman said flatly.

"Only temporarily," Bruce replied as the youma charged towards them.

"Ya Hado Cyttorak!"

Both youma were suddenly yanked into the air, arms and legs bound by  
glowing bands of crimson. Floating across the ice was a tall thin  
American with a pencil thin mustache and gray hair at his temples. He  
wore a blue shirt and pants, and a huge red cape fastened about his  
neck by a golden amulet that looked like a closed eye.

"Took you long enough," Sailor Moon called out to him as she made her  
way across the ice.

"My apologies, Sailor Moon," he said. "It seems the spices from lunch  
disagreed with me. Accumulating the needed amount of toilet paper for  
cleaning took longer than I thought."

"Ew!" Banner said. "Stephen, TMI!"

Sailor Moon hugged Jupiter and Spiderwoman. "Sorry to worry you," she  
whispered and then stood back. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Doctor  
Strange, Mystic Master of the Occult, and you already know Banty-chan."

"Charmed," Strange said, bowing. Both girls automatically bowed back.

"I told you not to call me that," Banner growled.

"What are those things, anyway?" Jupiter asked, looking up at the  
floating youma who were struggling to free themselves from the  
crimson bands.

"The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak," Strange said. "Capable of binding a  
god, if need be." He smiled. "I didn't want to take chances."

At that moment, the doors slammed open and two dozen men in full riot  
gear ran in, guns at the ready.

"Ah, Nicholas," Strange said, "I see the government reputation for  
punctuality continues."

"Fury," Banner growled.

"Can it, Strange," said the last man in. He was a big man, all tendon  
and ropey muscle. An eyepatch was over one eye and a lit cigar was  
clamped in his teeth. "Last thing I need some clown thinking he's  
funny. I want snark, I'll go over to Stark's for a drink." He exhaled  
some smoke as he looked up at the youma. "Don't look like much," he  
mused.

"They're far more powerful then they look, Nicholas," Strange said  
and then cocked his head listening to some distant sound. "I suggest  
we continue this elsewhere. The local constabulary may prove  
difficult to convince of our good intentions."

"Too many big words," Fury growled. "Damn educated yahoos." He raised  
his voice. "Back to the trucks boys and girls," he said. "That  
includes you three." He pointed at the Senshi and Spiderwoman. "We  
need to talk and I aint gonna do it here."

"Relax," Sailor Moon said, "it's all good. I cut a deal with Strange.  
Let's go."

As they walked out, Spiderwoman glanced at Fury's face. Something  
about his face suggested that whatever deal Sailor Moon had cut with  
Strange, he wasn't all that interested in honoring it.

* * * *

The trucks bore the colors of a delivery service, but the inside was  
little more than benches. The Senshi and the S.H.I.E.L.D. troops  
squeezed inside along with Banner. Strange had commented that he  
would transport the Youma and himself before all three vanished in a  
flash of light.

They were in the trucks for half an hour before they disembarked at  
the airport in a private hanger where they boarded a cargo helicopter.

Throughout it all Sailor Moon explained, having to shout to be heard  
over the noise of the engines.

"So after Strange helped me get my head together and realize what an  
arrogant bitch I've been, we started comparing notes with Luna. He  
thinks that because of my name, and a few other reasons, that I might  
be the Moon Princess. Which sucks. Who wants all that responsibility?"

"You?" Jupiter retorted.

"Responsibility no, Male harem, yes. The point is, it makes a twisted  
sort of sense. But we won't know if I am or not, unless the Silver  
Crystal can be found."

"Does he know where it is?" Spiderwoman asked.

"Nope. As soon as can, he's going back to New York to consult some  
procephies. He thinks that there might be something he missed."

"Yeah, I -- Holy shit!" Jupiter leapt out of her seat and stared out  
the window.

Rising out of the clouds was a massive structure of metal and  
spinning blades. The afternoon sun reflected off what few windows  
there were in the tower that rose off one side.

"How tall is that building?" Jupiter asked. "How was it built?"

Spiderwoman, for the first time in her existence, had a tremor in her  
voice. "I don't think that's a building."

"But it has to be," Jupiter protested. "Come on. Something that big,  
what else could it be? An air . . . ship . . . Oh My God."

The structure had risen fully out of the clouds and it was indeed an  
gigantic airship. Fully half a kilometer long, if not more.

"You rang?" Sailor Moon said.

"Welcome to the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier," Fury said, pride in his voice.

* * * *

They were hustled off the copter before the engines had even shut off  
and into an electric cart, which whisked them through gleaming metal  
halls and to the double doors which opened to reveal a large room.  
Several small couches and chairs were arranged around a large desk  
which sat before a glass wall. A large emblem was painted on the  
floor and a Giant TV screen displayed a map of the world.

Banner took one of the couches and filled it all by himself. The  
Senshi squeezed into another and Fury sat on the desk. The doors  
opened again  and Strange entered with two more men, both in blue  
jumpsuits. One was as big as Fury, with white hair and dark skin. The  
other was shorter with a slight stomach and a small hat on his head.

Fury pointed at the Dark Skinned Man. "Colonel Bridge and the other  
one is Colonel Dugan. Better known as Dum-Dum."

Dugan tipped his hat. "Charmed."

"Wait a second," Jupiter said, sitting up straight. "You're all  
speaking English. How come I can understand you?"

"Trade secret," Fury said gruffly.

"Makes sense to me," Sailor Moon said.

The doors opened again and a beautiful woman entered, blond hair tied  
back. She wore the same uniform as Dugan and Bridge and she carried a  
folder of papers.

"Val Cooper," Fury said. "All right, Strange, go over it again."

The following sixty minutes made Jupiter's head hurt. Strange  
explained about some long gone place called Usaga, from where another  
place called the Moon Kingdom came, which Beryl then trashed.

"Yeah, yeah," Sailor Moon butted in. "But why? Why did she trash it?  
Was her sensibilities offended or something?"

"I believe I can best answer that."

Tail held high, Luna gracefully leapt onto the desk and sat next to  
Fury, tail curled elegantly around her legs.

"My name is Luna, my people, the Mau, are pledged to serve the Line  
of Diana. I was the Moon Princess' tutor before the Fall. I escaped  
to Earth, but my memory was . . . in pieces. It has only been in the  
past few hundred years that I remembered enough to begin piecing  
together who and what I was. But it was not until I awoke Sailor Moon  
that I began to remember more."

"All right," Fury said, scowling. "Enlighten us."

"Understand," Luna said. "There are still holes and things I do not  
remember. And to answer your question, Grover," yellow eyes focused  
on Bridge. "I got on board this airship with help from Strange.  
Which, if you applied some logic, you would have figured out.  
Clearly, your education is deficient and your tutors substandard."

Dugan snickered quietly.

Luna returned her attention to the room. "As Strange has said, the  
nation of Usaga evolved on Earth. All to soon, flying machines were  
invented and  the Usagans began to wonder about the Moon. An  
ambitious noblewoman named Diana financed a craft and blasted off  
from Earth. Upon landing, Diana decided to move her holdings and  
people to the Moon. Using magic, they made a small section of it's  
surface habitable and built a wondrous city. You humans today call it  
the Sea of Tranquility. I believe the ruins are still there."

Jupiter watched as Fury and Cooper exchanged looks. There was  
movement of eyebrows, slight shifts in body language and then Cooper  
excused herself and left the room in a hurry.

"Diana's daughter, Serena, formally established her domain as a  
Kingdom. separate from Usaga, who chose to graciously accept the  
split, at least publicly. Privately, there was several generations of  
cold war between the two. Diana's great granddaughter, the youngest  
of eight children was a brilliant scientist and built the first of  
several spaceships, which she and others colonized Mercury,  
channeling water and their intellect to make it habitable. In time,  
seven of those eight princesses would go out and colonize one of the  
planets in the Solar System, using certain traits and abilities  
unique to them. Only Aehl, Nazduseare, and Senit were not colonized."

"What, what, and what?" Banner broke in.

"Sorry," Luna said and actually blushed. "Aehl, what you humans call  
Pluto, Nazduseare was between Mars and Jupiter, and you have yet to  
discover Senit."

"What happened to Planet Nazduwhatever?" Sailor Moon asked. "Did  
somebody kick it someplace tender?"

Luna glared at her charge. "To continue. Senit was and is little more  
then a very large ball of ice and Pluto is already occupied."

"Wait," Bridge held up his hand. "Hold on. Is? Not was?"

"Hm." Luna regarded Bridge with a teacher-like stare. "Perhaps I  
spoke in haste about your tutors, Grover. Yes, is. Pluto is home to a  
creature of vast powers. It takes human form, calls itself Setsuna,  
and promised terrible vengeance should there be any attempt to land  
or come near her world. Or at least, that is what Queen Melaniadesire  
told us after conferring with it." She gazed at the room. "I would  
advise honoring that bargain, if I were you."

"The point," Bridge growled.

"If you do not understand the past, the present will not make sense,"  
Luna shot back. "But very well. In time, the Moon Kingdom ruled all  
the planets save Earth, whom it maintained a friendship with. Now,  
soon after contact with Setsuna was made, it appeared in the Queen's  
throne room in the form of a human. It announced that each of the  
seven planets that made up the Moon Kingdom must send their crown  
prince or princess to the Moon to serve as Senshi; the royal court  
and bodyguard to the Moon's crown prince or princess. It then knelt  
and swore oath to the Moon Princess as her Senshi. The other planets  
followed suit."

"All right, that neatly explains the Senshi, but not Beryl," Usagi  
chirped.

"I'm getting to that," Luna said. "As I said, Diana was a noble of  
Usaga and had certain hereditary titles and duties. One of those was  
keeping safe an Artifact of vast power called the Silver Crystal. It  
feeds on energy from Earth, but also provided the power that allowed  
the Moon to be habitable. Roughly ten thousand years ago, the Moon  
Princess, who was my charge, fell in love with the Prince of Earth,  
Endymion by name. It soon became clear that they intended to marry."

"So Beryl wanted to break up the marriage," Dugan mused. "She wanted  
Endymion for herself, right?"

"Correct," Luna said. "However, remember that Beryl serves Mettalia,  
who is our true enemy. More to the point, the Crystal feeds on Earth  
Energy. After centuries on the Moon, there was little to be found  
except in the occasional visitor. I believe Mettalia feared not the  
union, but rather any results of it. A child of the Earth and Moon  
would almost certainly carry Earth energy within themselves. Perhaps  
even self-renewing without the need for Earth. That, combined with  
the child's own powers, and strength of will, the Crystal's powers  
could double. Evil would have no safe haven from such a person."

"So why are we lookin for the Moon Princess then?" Fury said. "Sounds  
to me like any Earther would do the job."

"The Crystal answers to the Line of Diana alone. It has no other  
master," Luna replied. "We can't use the Silver Crystal, or even find  
it without the Moon Princess and we won't find the Moon Princess  
without Sailor Moon."

"Which brings up a point," Sailor Moon said. "How much are you paying  
us?"

Fury raised an eyebrow. "Pay?"

"Yeah. You want our help, we want cash. Ten Grand American per youma.  
Each."

"What happened to doing it for your country?" Fury asked. "For the  
world?"

"My country can go to hell," Sailor Moon replied in a voice as cold  
and empty as death itself. "And the world has yet to do me any favors."

Strange made a small gesture, more sensed than seen.

Fury nodded. "I see. Why don't you three go down to mess and get  
something to eat," he suggested. "We'll mull that over and get back  
to you." The doors opened and a man in a blue uniform entered. "Wayne  
will escort you."

"Going to talk about us in private?" Sailor Moon said asked. "Or is  
this a time out so you all can have sex? Can I watch?"

Dugan roared with laughter as everyone else made choking noises as  
they stared at Sailor Moon, eyes wide in shock.

"No?" Sailor Moon asked. "Pity. Hot yaoi action is always nice." She  
shrugged. "Ah well, come on ladies, let the boys talk about us." She  
led the way out the door. At the door, Jupiter turned around and gave  
them a smile.

"Sorry about that," the Senshi of Thunder said. "She's . . . you  
know." Jupiter tapped her forehead and shrugged.

"Will you come on?" Sailor Moon said, reappearing. "They can't get  
their bone on if there's womenfolk around." She grabbed Jupiter's arm  
and yanked her out of the room, the doors hissing closed in their wake.

"Mother preserve us if that child is the Moon Princess," Luna sighed.

* * * *

The cafeteria was on the other side of the airship, a massive room  
filled with tables. It was mostly empty with only a few men and women  
in blue uniforms, other in gray. The food was very western, but they  
ate it anyway. Spiderwoman pushed her mask up just enough to clear  
her mouth and nose to eat, but the other two had no such problems.

"AH-CHOO!" Sailor Moon sneezed into her bowl of soup. "Someone's  
talking about me. Or is that if your ears are burning?" She dug into  
the pockets of her coat which lay on the bench next to her. "Lessee,  
penguins, the Mona Lisa, an Arctic Fox, where the fucking hell are  
the fucking tissues?"

Jupiter shrugged, her eyes fastened on the thin white scar on Sailor  
Moon's neck. She'd seen it briefly while In Banterman's office, but  
that had been brief. It looked like a knife or razor cut, about where  
someone would hold a knife to the neck, right where it met the shoulder.

"Of course," Sailor Moon continued, blowing her nose, "why shouldn't  
they talk about me? I am the greatest human being alive. Next to  
Osamu Tezuka, of course. Astro Boy is so cute!" She whipped around to  
look at the serving counter. "Ooh! Cupcakes!" She ran up to the counter.

"Hey . . ." Jupiter said, looking at Spiderwoman. "Is Ami . . ."  
Jupiter paused, wondering how to put it. "Is she . . . you know . . .  
in there? I need to talk to her."

What she could see of Spiderwoman's face subtly changed and became  
slightly more open. "What?"

Jupiter took a deep breath and began to speak. She told of her  
childhood, of what happened at Okinawa, and her life since. She  
talked about how it hurt to see Ami on the news all loved while she  
had no one. She opened her heart and spoke from it.

When she was done, Ami was silent for the longest time. "The why  
doesn't make up for the what," she said. "Telling me all that isn't  
an excuse."

"It aint supposed to be," Jupiter said. "It's just . . . you should  
know why I did all that, is all. Nothing more."

"It doesn't make up for it," Ami repeated, and then laid her hand on  
Jupiter's and smiled. "But it's a start."

"Chocolate!" Usagi exclaimed sitting back down. "They had reams and  
reams of chocolate!" She looked at them, and then down at Ami's hand.  
"Aw man!"

Jupiter knew she wasn't supposed to ask. She wasn't supposed to say a  
damn thing. She didn't want to know. But her mouth refused to obey her.

"What?"

"There's hot yaoi action going on in Fury's office," she exclaimed,  
causing a few people at nearby tables to spit their food out in  
shock. "Now there's Yuri in here with you two, though I didn't think  
Ami swung that way, and here I am with nothing. How come I never get  
any action?" She crossed her arms and sulked. "Just for that, neither  
of you get any chocolate."

* * * *

"You're the one who called a time out, Strange," Fury said. "Talk."

"I assume you all noticed her reaction when Fury suggested she do it  
for her country?" There were nods and Strange took a deep breath. "In  
order to cure her, I used a technique called Uishuio, which  
suppresses the patient's emotions and imagination. In this manner,  
they may see clearly and be healed. While under Uishuio, she  
displayed emotion several times. Then today, you all saw her  
reaction, not to mention what Bruce saw."

Dugan made a questioning noise.

"Six months ago," Banner said, "A young girl came to me for  
treatment. She claimed her . . . condition was the result of a date  
gone bad. Notable among them was a cut made by a blade along her  
neck, perilously close to the jugular. Two days ago, when Spiderwoman  
was brought to me, Sailor Moon showed that she has a scar the same  
length and the same place as that cut." Banner leaned forward and  
pressed his hands together. "That cut could have easily been self- 
inflicted and the story she told me of how she got it doesn't jibe  
with her psychological profile."

"Bottom line it, Strange," Fury said.

Strange stood. "Bottom line, Gentlemen . . . and Lady, is that I  
don't believe Usagi is crazy at all. She is an incredibly focused,  
agile minded individual with a strong will and a disdain for rules  
and limits. She has displayed a willingness to break the law, a  
disregard for her own safety, and a lack of remorse for her actions,  
thus meeting four of the seven diagnoses for antisocial personality  
disorder. Technically, it can't be formally diagnosed before she's  
eighteen, but the signs are there and I believe that this is one case  
where we can't wait four years."

Bridge and Banner both turned pale, no easy feet given their coloring.

"Strange, I said bottom line it," Fury said.

"Antisocial personality disorder means that that Sailor Moon, the key  
to ending the threat posed by Beryl and Mettalia, is a sociopath. And  
possibly psychotic."

Dead silence reined in the room and then Fury lit a cigar and took a  
deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Well, shit."

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