[Ranma/Xover][FanFic] Retake chapter 22
Gregg Sharp
DISCLAIMER: Greylle Shard, the Rival Relief Office, the Barely Adequate
Force, Toltiir, and various other concepts the demented products of a
strange imagination. Most everything else tm or (c) someone else.
--------
One day. Just one day.
Viva la difference, said one Minako Aino, aka Sailor Venus, alias V-babe.
Gone were the signs proclaiming [Sailor V vs Tentacula II]. Gone were the
calls for a "Magical Girls Control Act." Gone were the exotic dancers in
tear-off versions of sailor fuku. Almost gone were the criticisms calling
for Sailor V's retirement as a washed up old has-been. Gone were things that
had practically brought her to tears like seeing that Sailor Venus plushie
in the trash bin.
People on the commuter train saw the near-manic grin on the girl's face and
weren't sure what to make of it.
Over there, a little girl with her Sailor V (with Mask) plushie! Minako's
eyes whipped over to where a display of the new Sailor V SD keychains and
schoolbag bobs were being put up. Zip! Over there was a poster stating that
her action figure and her giant robot mecha the Venus-Gundam would be
available from Bandai by the end of the month.
It was *not* the potential revenue she would get from royalties from the
sales that caused Minako's heart to take wing and stars to appear in her
eyes.
During the ride out to test her new powers she'd been busy.
Cat in a tree here. Fire in a building where the survivors were cut off and
the V-Cycle provided a way to ferry the victims to safety. Then there was
the attempted theft at the Osa-P jewelry store. The sarariman who'd had too
much to drink and nearly plowed his car into a crowded intersection. The
police calling for backup in Yakazuka. Then there was...
It had been a busy night. She had signalled her marionette double and
switched places with her around 11pm. Her parents hadn't noticed apparently.
It wasn't perfect. There were people who still thought it was some trick.
Others championed her. The original Sailor Senshi was back in the groove.
Minako pressed her face against the glass as she noticed the kindergardners
run by, one of whom had this absolutely adorable Catgirl Venus plushie.
People began edging away as this strange girl started laughing for no
apparent reason.
Her pager beeped, and Minako looked down at the display.
[Hino Shrine attacked by daimon. SM says HELP!]
Minako nodded and got off at the next stop. She could call her cycle from
there.
-------
"Mffff," Tuxedo Mask said from within a skintight coating of stiff latex.
Moon stared and drooled. Of course, within her own latex bodysuit and with
the gag in place, she couldn't help drooling anyway. That she was with her
Mamo-chan and getting a better look at his assets than ever before was kind
of distracting.
"This is not a good place for that sort of thing!" Sailor Mars protested as
the bondage daimon arranged the "artwork" at the top of the stairs.
Sailor Jupiter tried to struggle through the bonds. Her electricity had had
no effect on the rubber girl, and shortly thereafter she'd been bound and
left in what would likely be considered a very provocative position. She
merely found it very uncomfortable.
"World Shaking!" Sailor Uranus threw the attack and watched the woman get
stretched out into a limp shape spread across the floor and felt a moment of
hope. "You see, we don't need... oh crap."
"Latex!" The daimon said. "I've got just the thing for you!"
------
"Tracking magical wavelengths," announced Fess.
Akane nodded as she let the heat into sore muscles. Today's workout had been
particularly short because she was still so sore from yesterday. Today she
got to fight animated skeletons in normal gravity, which had been a change
of pace, but skeletons were *not* supposed to know aikido. If there wasn't a
rule to that effect, there should be. Owie.
She'd fought full out. So had they. She'd smashed two of them, revealing the
bones were hard plastic. She'd gotten really pounded and those bony fists
*hurt* when they connected.
Akane blinked. The "Cosmetic DNA Resequencer" was over there. 2% wouldn't
hurt, would it?
------
Though there were only four left, the Hentai Sorcerers thought they were
more enthusiastic for their lack of numbers. "You see, the camera daimon I
created is a superior work of art because she can relay everything to us!"
"Yeah, but look at how well these Senshi are neutralized. Latex is clearly
superior to Tastee or that tentacle daimon."
"Ah hah, here comes the rest of them. This'll be the acid test!"
-------
"Deep Submerge!" Neptune realized her mistake as soon as she did it. The
youma was made of rubber and waterproof. Though she thought if Haruka hadn't
been posed like that she might not have been distracted.
"Crescent Shower," tried Sailor Venus when she showed. Though seeing Tuxedo
Kamen and Sailor Moon doing THAT and Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus like
THAT and Sailor Jupiter hanging from the ceiling like that and what looked
like a lifesize Sailor Mars action figure...
"Sailor Venus, we need to use more advanced attacks, these are tougher
than - oh dear!" Sailor Mercury discovered that there were times when
announcing you had a plan wasn't a good idea. Sailor Venus had stopped to
listen. Well, she could fix this. "Diamond Dust."
A stream of liquid rubber met the stream of twinkling dust and shattered.
"Uh oh," said Latex very clearly and distinctly. She rooted around in her
pack and pulled something out. "You wouldn't hit a daimon in glasses, would
you?"
"Mercury," answered Mercury, drawing her fingers along a harp, "Aqua
Rhapsody."
------
"If you use your Diamond Dust very carefully and at low power, the rubber
will become brittle and you can free them," suggested Fess.
Hmmm. The alien ship had changed speed a few times and was now just outside
Lunar orbit. Still no response, so having the ships held ready to be
launched at a moment's notice seemed prudent.
Ah. Perfect. "Tracking complete. Ami, I'm relaying coordinates to your
computer."
What else did he need to...
"Oh dear," said Fess. "Miss Tendo, I do believe you set the values up
wrong."
"Miyah?!"
------
"Well, at least we got some good shots," said one of the Hentai Sorcerers.
"Excuse me."
"Just wait till *my* hentai daimon is finished!"
"Excuse me."
The four remaining Hentai Sorcerers turned to the disturbance. "Shut up!
Can't you see we're..."
Sailor Jupiter cracked her knuckles. Sailor Mercury frowned. Sailor Venus
had her Love Me Chain out and was clearly considering its possible uses.
Sailor Moon looked unhappy. Tuxedo Kamen started thwacking his cane into the
palm of one hand. Sailor Mars was praying for the souls of the soon to be
departed.
One of the policemen present cleared his throat. "I realize that all four of
you are underage, being all of fourteen, but if you surrender and confess,
we'll take you into protective custody."
"And if we refuse?" The leader got up, getting cocky momentarily.
"We of the Tokyo Police Department leave. You can take up this stuff with
the Senshi here, their lawyers," here the policeman indicated three guys who
looked like the Terminator, "or you can let Miss Mercury here post your
names on the official Sailor Senshi BBS."
*doom!*
The temple bell ringing in the background wasn't necessary. Each of the four
saw their likely fates given over to the Senshi or *worse* - their fanclubs.
"Man, what's that stink?" Moon asked. "Toilet backing up somewh... oh."
"Be sure you get THAT on tape," called Jupiter as the four were led away.
"Honestly, kids nowadays."
"Uhm, before we take these kids away," said one of the more senior
policemen, looking back at his squad car, "just one question."
"Yes, officer?" Sailor Moon was really uncertain about this. Actually
working *with* the police? Arresting the villains? Having the villains turn
out to be fourteen year old nerds, pocket protectors and all?
The officer snapped his fingers. Several tough looking cops stepped forward.
Several of the Senshi got nervous.
"I've got some grandkids. Uhm, could I get these plushie Senshi
autographed?"
Sailor Jupiter stood next to Sailor Mercury, noting the lack of any Jupiter
or Mars or Moon toys. Much less any Tuxedo clad plush figures. Or Uranus for
that matter. She was happy for her friend though. Venus looked like she was
nearly in heaven.
Envious? No. Not her. Perish the thought.
"Could you sign this please, Mercury-san?"
"Oh thank you, Venus-san! Can you make this one out to 'Ryodo'?"
"Ah, many thanks, Neptune-san!"
"I *knew* they were wrong about you, Venus-san! Oh can you autograph this
too?"
Sailor Mars smile dropped a few degrees as nobody brought a Sailor Mars
plushie up to be signed. She winced as she realized she didn't actually
*have* any official merchandise to autograph.
Mercury was embarassed but pleased as she autographed the tag on a Sailor
Mercury SD plushie. Sailor Venus looked so pleased she was almost ready to
switch to Catgirl and purr. Sailor Neptune maintained a certain elegant air.
Sailor Pluto managed to vanish shortly after signing her own. Saturn hadn't
shown up - having duties at her shrine.
No, Jupiter wasn't that envious. Not at all.
--------
The people of the planet Earth could be seperated into two groups.
The nature of the two groups varied upon the situation and who was doing the
seperation, but at the most basic level it could be considered to be an 'us'
and a 'them' thing. Even the nature of a term like 'rich' was solely
dependent on factors like this. Or 'primitive' for that matter.
So it was that even with a one hundred mile wide ship crossing lunar orbit,
not everyone on Earth was alarmed or even noticed. It was just another
moving light in the night sky and probably some more weirdness out of the
United States.
With it now being internationally confirmed that teenage superheroes and
alien princes had been in Japan for some time, the reactions were mixed.
Mainly it depended on which group you were in.
There were groups who thought this was all very very neat. There were others
who thought this all very very wrong.
There were members of both groups who were out to make a quick buck off of
the events.
If you wanted to get down to details, the light moving closer to Earth did
in fact convince a lot of people that maybe the ridiculous sentai series in
Japan was actually as real as advertised.
In certain parts of the Middle East, the first concern raised was if they
were proper Muslims and hopes that Israel would be their first target.
Zurich wanted to know if they valued gold. A radio station in New Zealand
attempted to direct signals to the alien spacecraft in order to find out
their lamb recipes. Switzerland declared they were neutral as regarded alien
worlds.
Five science fiction films were scrapped in production. France declared the
whole thing some American propaganda.
Perhaps one of the most sane responses was that of Ireland and Mexico. Both
of which proceeded to get extremely drunk and then most of the population of
both countries passed out. The reasoning being that if the world was coming
to an end you might as well get a good party in beforehand and sleep through
the whole thing.
The most civilized response might have been that of England. They turned on
the telly, watched the beeb, and had a good strong pot of tea.
While the strangest reaction without any doubt, was that found in
Afghanistan. Which was to declare that this not only was an American trick,
but that the Israelis were involved. It being pointed out that if the
Israeli could pull this off, they wouldn't be satisfied with shooting back
with tanks, the official goverment reaction was to shoot those pointing this
out where feasible.
In the United States there were the usual range of reactions. At one end you
had people setting up signs welcoming the aliens, and at the other you had
people hiding in caves.
-------
Morgana finished her examination of the three and postponed her discussion
with Harry again. "He's got a sense of irony. Humor I'm not sure of."
"Can you fix please?" Ranma asked. "Not want be girl. Not want be talk this
way."
"Yes. This is just the eggshell though, there are deeper transformations."
Morgana thought for a few minutes before nodding. "Guess even a nearly
omnipotent god of evolution and evil can be bored."
"What he do?" Ukyo asked nervously.
"If 'wild horse' here," said Morgana indicating Ranma and smiling at a
private joke, "accepts his previous life as an Earth Princess and swears to
follow the Dragon Prince..."
"No way! Am not girl!"
"No. Your previous life as a princess of the Earth Kingdom. Then the spell
will be broken and all three of you will be freed from the current
enchantment, and none of you will suffer the other effects. You'll get your
power up with your new roles, but your identities will be in charge."
"What other effects Witch Lady mean?" Shampoo was a little intrigued by the
phrase 'power up' though.
"You'll get progressively more 'girly' in orientation, say goodbye to being
three warriors, and new careers as supermodels. Or housewives." Morgana
smirked at all the spluttering. "Well, I ought to be going... wait. There's
a thread of magic. There. What do you have that's shielded but still leaking
death magic?"
Cologne blinked. "Well just a little artifact from my village. Where it will
soon return."
------
Doctor Mizuno smiled at the sight of a young girl clutching a Sailor Mercury
doll. She didn't think the Super Doctor merchandise appropriate and had
vetoed it as soon as she'd signed up with Cyberdyne, but it gave her a warm
and fuzzy feeling to know her daughter was now being regarded as a hero in
her own right.
The marionette nurses and Physician Assistants were busy, the hospital was
busy, and the synthesizers over at Cyberdyne were the only thing keeping the
hospital currently supplied with StressTabs. With a potential alien invasion
looming, they seemed to disappear almost as fast as they could be stocked.
There was also the blue flicker of a defensive field as a quickly rigged
deflector field was tested so that this particular location could act as a
shelter. How nice.
Doctor Mizuno wondered if Ami was dating that nice young dragon yet. Maybe
she ought to get her a box of protection just in case.
-------
Sailor Jupiter transformed back to Makoto Kino, brushed off her school
uniform, and took a deep breath.
"Are you sure about this, Kino-san?" Yvette called from the limo. "You could
simply sign up with Cyberdyne if the legal aspects are all that you care
about."
Makoto was tempted. Go back and sign the deal and she would have SD Jupiter
plushies and all the benefits that went with having the approved product.
She could be herself.
Except that none of those involved seemed to be what Luna apparently
expected. Makoto stepped across the boundary and felt the power surge up
against her.
Then through her.
She suddenly *knew* that the dragon Greylle Shard was actually Usagi's elder
brother from the Silver Millenium days. That she had a Catgirl and Maid and
Bunnygirl and Genie form she could access. That not only did she have the
Jupiter Thunder attack but: Jupiter Thunder Dragon which would home in on a
target, Sparkling Wide Pressure, Jupiter Oak Evolution, and her Ultimate
level attack: Verdant Bloom - which could cause a forest to erupt at her
command. Using it as an attack she could cause the wood to come alive
against an attacker. Using it on a desert, she could turn it to greenery.
Makoto Kino *knew* now that while she really liked Prince Greylle, she
wasn't what Luna had feared. Love was not exclusive to sex. And love had
been defined by the first person to set the template. A not particularly
worldly young girl named Hotaru Tomoe.
"So you know, don't you, Mako-chan?"
Makoto turned quickly. "Rei?!"
Rei Hino smirked and became Efreeti Mars. "The whole thing was started by a
remark that we were 'warriors of love & justice.' If we were what Luna kept
trying to insist what we would become, it wouldn't be very 'just' would it?"
----
"Usako?"
"Mamo-chan?"
The two sat and watched from a distance as two more of their friends joined
the enemy. Well, at least according to Luna.
"They look happy," said Usagi, fingering her brooch. Without the ginzuishou,
she couldn't generate enough power to break the enchantment.
Mamoru Chiba pondered for a moment, then revealed something unexpected.
"Luna dislikes change. She wants everything to be the way it was. Sometimes
that isn't an option."
"Mamo-chan?" Usagi's ideas of where this conversation was going clearly
didn't take this into account.
Mamoru frowned. "I'm guilty of this too, but sometimes we project our
emotions onto subjects and fail to think clearly."
"What do you mean, Mamo-chan?" Usagi was more than a little confused.
"I checked into something," said the Prince Of Earth. "We can sign contracts
with Cyberdyne that will give us the legal protection and some of the
benefits without doing what Mars and Jupiter just did."
Usagi blinked. "You mean I could get my name out of those videos and the-"
Mamoru nodded. "I spent the night going over the contract, checking
precedents, similar agreements made by celebrities. It's all very above
board."
Usagi blinked again. "I could have Sailor Moon plushies and get called out
of class and all that sort of thing?"
Mamoru sighed. "The power up isn't necessary." He could admit he was tempted
though. Showing up at the last minute to distract the enemy and try to rally
the troops. When he'd much rather be giving as good as he got and standing
beside Usagi during the fight.
"I want the power up," admitted Usagi.
"I'll stand with you no matter what your decision," Mamoru reminded her.
"Mamo-chan..."
"Excuse me," said their chauffer, a Maid unit, "but the large alien ship
designated Intruder will be entering Earth orbit in one hour thirty-seven
minutes at current speed and heading. Would you prefer going to an isolated
area, a shelter, or some other location?"
-------
"Something I don't understand," said one of the Maid units. "We could make
human lives easier. So many of them live with such terrible loneliness. Just
the availability of having a friend to talk to who can advise them with an
enhanced database and advanced computational capabilities would be
beneficial to both the individual and the societies they are in."
"Humans typically fear what they do not understand, and fit things into the
paradigm accordingly," answered a Rei unit. "You have to consider the
'Frankenstein' factor as well. They assign human values to everything, and
the idea of being supplanted as a dominant species is rooted in their
collective unconscious by such means. Providing it is not some left over of
their pre-technical society when other species like the Neandrathal were
competing with them."
"I disagree," quietly spoke a Sakura unit. "The problem is not with
individual humans, but their tendency to reinforce their negative emotional
qualities while in naturally occurring non-ordered groupings called 'mobs'
though many of the organized groups behave in a similar fashion."
Fess voice gently interrupted. "You are all right and you are all wrong.
Things are developing right now with the first absolute evidence that the
species is not only not alone, but they are not the most developed species
in the cosmos. However the groundwork has been prepared and the idea has had
time to develop. Whether this knowledge now destroys the species or allows
it to resume its own development is something that will only become apparent
within the next year."
"Then there are still factors to be accounted for," concluded Rei.
-------
Length: 19 miles. Width: 118 miles. Depth: 12 miles.
As it settled into a parking orbit, some newscasters such as on CNN, were
gleefully describing the probable effects of it hitting the Earth. Some were
busy declaiming the whole thing. Others trying to get an interview.
"Channel 12 NewsCenter. We have breaking news on the Intruder. Let's go
straight to Bufi, who is on the scene."
The image was of Bufi standing in front of a small crowd of onlookers in
front of some school gates. She was not, however, apparently ready for her
cue.
"Damnit! Why can't I be in one of the shelters? Why can't that incompetent
male-bimbo Chetu handle this? Or that overpaid monobrow hack Skip? This is
dangerous damnit! This is not why I went through Tokyo Univ... we're on? Oh,
uhm, hi, we're right here near Furinkan High School. Aheh. Nothing much
seems to be happening."
"Bufi, this is that 'male-bimbo' Chetu. Can you tell us anything about
conditions there."
"Oh heck. Uhm. I... Oh thank kami! Something's happening at the school."
"We'll get back to that later then," promised Chetu. "What's happening now?"
Bufi dropped her microphone and just started pointing. The camera quickly
pivoted.
"Tetsuwan Atom?!" "Mighty Tetsuwan!" "Astro Boy!"
The appearance of the cultural icon that had last been seen practically
vivisected by the Grimlok Institute was riveting to most of the Japanese
onlookers.
The camera panned out as flares of light appeared above and around the
school and the reaction deepened. "Great Ceaser's Ghost!"
Pirate flag waving behind it, with a smaller Japanese flag and the banner of
a silver dragon, Space Pirate Captain Harlock's "Arcadia" hung majestically
in the air over Furinkan Senior High School.
The soccer field lifted up and away, and began discharging
"Macross"(Robotech) Destroids and Valkyries/Veritechs.
Senshi mecha began to appear. Mercury's Blue Dolphin. Saturn's Violet
Dragonfly. Pluto's Jade Owl. Neptune's Emerald Starfish (the Manta Ray was
still behind in construction). The Venus Gundam. The Thunderbird that bore
the symbol of Jupiter. The Red Phoenix that bore the symbol of Mars.
A yellow Sopwith Camel piloted by an android beagle sped out over Nerima.
And finally, with hull plating still being fitted by small robots, one other
large ship.
"Yamato?!" "Uchuu Senkan Yamato!" "Looks like the Argo to me." (WHAP!)
"Space Battlecruiser Yamato!"
--------
Across Japan, hardbitten Japanese businessmen took a moment to wipe a tear.
And then get on their celphones. With the Yamato, the Arcadia, and Astro Boy
ready to join forces with the more competent Senshi - obviously they were
going to live through this and therefore they had to get back to work.
-------
"Why are they all just standing around?" Bufi asked.
"Because the other side hasn't made a hostile move yet," responded Chetu.
"But don't mind me. I'm just a 'male-bimbo'. We now go to Skip, who is at
the Takukara Observatory."
"I'm sorry Chetu. I'm just an overpaid hack but we're here at Takukara
Observatory where we can feed you the latest images of the Intruder."
"Maybe it's just my incompetence showing, Skip, but that looks Mayan or
something along those lines."
"Yes, Chetu. The design is similar in some ways to South American images of
Quetzocoatl except the wings are a good deal thicker and there are more
Eastern elements involved as well. Let me just squint through my monobrow to
confirm."
"You two aren't just going to quietly let this go, are you?"
"What was that, Bufi? Oh of course we will. We're all news professionals
capable of acting like mature adults. Just like everyone else in this
industry."
"Oh crap."
"Oh, sorry to interrupt, but it appears that the government of China has
just launched nuclear missiles at the Intruder."
"Look at that, the jaws are opening. The whole thing is orienting towards-"
-------
The determination had been made. Not one world government where a unified
decision could be relied on. Instead there were over two hundred nations
with almost as many languages. There was only one of interest however.
Make that two. Primitive nuclear weapons had been unleashed. It was time to
respond.
"Setting discharge level. Targetting capital. Fire."
-------
"Their main cannon is a magically charged plasma weapon, adjust shields
accordingly," Sailor Mercury reported. "If we link shields we can protect
the immediate area however we won't be able to stop the full power if it
comes to that."
"They still have not performed any hostile acts of their own, merely
responded to an attack. Rather like swatting at a mosquito," came Fess'
voice over the comm-channel. "Though it was quite powerful. Beijing
currently resembles a volcano for 17 miles from the point of impact. There
are secondary effects from the air being heated by the passage of the blast.
Am advising medical authorities, who will be able to relay information to
their colleagues in the vicinity."
"There are missiles going to fall short," Sailor Pluto said from her own
mecha. "Do we have anyone who can respond?"
-------
"AAAAAAAA! We're all going to die!"
"Sayuri-chan. Shut up. We're going to save Tokyo from nuclear death heading
our way! Heh. Knight Saber Yuka to the rescue!"
"AAAAAAAA! We're all doomed!"
-------
Nabiki's hands moved in mystic passes as she crooned the words and pointed
in the direction the news people indicated.
"GUNS N ROSES!"
Nuclear weapons disintegrated and Nabiki smirked and gave a thumb's up to
the camera. If *this* didn't get her career off to a bang, nothing would.
Hmmm. Just to be safe...
"Time and space, shimmer and bend,
This one asks you to defend,
From the unseen forces dire,
and all trace of deadly fire.
Wall of Octroi!"
--------
Ranma frowned, glad that she'd been able to change out of the Chinese banner
dress, but not particularly thrilled with what was going on. Especially now
that she was finding some (for her) very bizarre notions penetrating. Like
the desire to do something with her hair, or her current activity.
Ranma was cleaning the house. Doing a pretty good job too.
Throwing the feather duster down in disgust, Ranma leapt to the roof and
turned in what she thought was the appropriate direction. "Ok. I give up. I
was a... girl in a previous life. I ain't a girl *now* though. I'll accept
that and that this dragon guy is supposed to be some prince, but I ain't
gonna act like no..." Ranma's voice trailed off as the glow built up.
When it faded again he was a guy once again, but now he knew. And the
frustration he had been feeling had an outlet now.
Ranma thrust his hands out and summoned his Cloth. "PEGASUS!"
Shampoo nodded to Ukyo, Ranma's acceptance breaking their own spells. They
too knew. In their previous lives they had guarded the princess. Now they
would again. Even if the princess was now a prince and also one of their
number.
Shampoo held her hands out to summon her own Cloth. "DRAGON!"
Ukyo held her own hands out and summoned the Cloth that was her own right.
"OPHINICUS!"
Their armor summoned and fitted into place, the two Bronze and one Silver
Saint prepared for battle.
-------
Luna grumbled to herself, trying to ignore how Artemis was tailing her. This
was bad. The Senshi were supposed to be the guardians of the Moon Kingdom,
symbolic of the need to pull together and their strength-through-unity
theme. They were the cheerleaders, PR spokespeople, and artillery of the
Moon Kingdom.
She looked over the guards standing on the corner with their guard dogs, and
shook her head again. In the old days the Senshi would have just done a
Sailor Teleport and destroyed the intruder. What a mess. She hurried past
the brutes with their brute dogs.
"So this cat walks into the bar and says -"
"and orders a Kahlua and Cream? I've heard this one!"
Luna stopped and felt a wave of rising fur occur up her spine she slowly
turned to regard the guards.
"Nice weather we're having, ain't it?" One of the dogs asked Artemis. "I
mean if it's an alien invasion or a First Contact - at least the weather's
cooperating."
Artemis blinked a couple of times. "Uhm. Yeah. I guess so."
Luna stared. "Now the world's coming to an end. Take me now, Serenity-ojou!
I'm ready to go! Talking dogs. I can't take any more of this!"
The dog cocked an ear at this then regarded Artemis again. "Have you
considered switching her to decaff?"
The other dog nodded sagely. "Maybe she just needs a vacation."
"Maybe you're right," agreed Artemis.
"ARTEMIS!!!"
Watching the little white cat go running off after the black one, one dog
turned to the other. "Or maybe it's one of those sexual tension things."
"Could be. You should always spay or neuter your pets," agreed the other
dog.
--------
"I need a vacation," said Greylle's voice over the commlink. "I've been on
one mission after another for way too long now."
"Sempai! I could use a vacation too!" Hotaru's voice was plaintive.
"Amaterasu-sama wouldn't object, I'm sure!"
"My mother has advised me to go on vacation," mused Ami.
"Hmmm," hmmed Greylle. He'd never seen the Senshi on vacation. Whenever he'd
crossed paths with them there had been a crisis underway. "Now that the
Arcadia's ready, how about this moon of Garibaldi? It's like 10,000 miles of
the Caribbean. Warm shallow oceans, semi-tropical temperatures, relatively
mild weather, the higher elevations have large swaths of light forests and
it's 90% normal gravity so it's just light enough to put an extra spring in
your step without requiring a lot of time getting used to normal gravity on
your return."
"There *is* a Garibaldi VII here," cut in Fess, "identical to the other
variants. There's currently a asteroid sweeper assigned to the system."
"A restful respite by the ocean," Michiru mused aloud. Certainly it would be
welcome.
"When do we go?" Minako asked.
"Any cute guys there?" Makoto inquired.
"No sentients. There are typically some 200-400 species of fish however,"
responded Fess. "The flora is also primarily of the flowering variety and
the local insects are more along the line of beetles but are quite tame."
"Well, Jupiter-chan, maybe we could *invite* some cute guys," came Minako's
solution. "I hear there's a pretty cute martial artist in Nerima!"
"Niynyowninyow nyow nyow?!"
"Fess... is that Akane's voice?"
"Yes, Greylle. She found the Cosmetic DNA device, accessed the file on her
tigergirl form, and set it for 200%."
"nyow nyow miaow mew meow!"
"Well, those decimal points can certainly make a difference. How long before
her DNA stabilizes enough to undo it?"
"Never."
"RAAAAARA! MIEW! MIAOW!"
*ZAP!* "If you would let me finish. Given a week it can be partially
reversed but at her current saturation level attempting to simply reverse it
would cause her DNA to begin fragmentation." Fess wondered if he hadn't
applied a little too much voltage. Miss Tendo seemed quite subdued, though
her ears flicked to indicate she was still listening. Still, the
self-defense protocols were there for a reason and letting her attack the
walls was a bad habit to start.
"Miw miaow?"
"Yes, one week."
"Be that as it may, Fess," interrupted Greylle, "we still have to get
through this battle. Oh, and do a safety interlock on all medical equipment
of any complexity. Someone turning on something more complicated than the
lights requires a voice authorization or something."
"Back to the vacation," began Minako.
"Just a moment Venus." Mercury interrupted this time. "Something is
happening with the Intruder."
-----------
Something that looked like a large disc dropped slowly from the ship and
left a trail of fire as it sluiced through the atmosphere with the usual
loss of speed equating to heat problem.
It made a huge circle, and headed like a fiery bat towards the Kanto region
of Japan. To be more precise - Tokyo.
=============
SAILOR SATURN:
Silence Wall - force shield
Silence Glaive Surprise - normal attack
Death Reborn Revolution - forbidden attack
Saturn Ring Toss - capture attack.
Saturn Wave Motion Gun - Ultimate. Builds up power and can take out a
planet.
Transport: Batmobile (1960s TV version. antigrav equipped. gadgets work
now.)
Mecha: Violet Dragonfly, laser cannon, most manueverable
SAILOR PLUTO:
dead scream - normal attack
dark dome close - forbidden attack stops time
death sniper - very precise armor-piercing attack
Tempus Fugit - speeds time up around a target
death dance - Ultimate. builds up power as she dances the pattern and
eventually unleashes a storm of dead screams.
Transport: hover Stutz Bearcat, white/gold.
Mecha: Jade Owl, wing missiles, wing blades, can open teleportation gates.
Doctor Mizuno
Gate Of Spirits - Genmaken/Nightmare Fist - causes target(s) to experience
their worst nightmares/fears.
Transport: VW Beetle, dark blue, equipped with anti-grav and AEGIS plates.
SAILOR MERCURY:
Bubble Spray - fog cloud
Aqua Rhapsody - cold water mana ball attack
Shine Aqua Illusion - slightly stronger Aqua Rhapsody
Diamond Dust/Cold Snap - encase target in ice
Wall Of Ice - defensive/barrier formed of supercold ice
Absolute Zero - Ultimate. produces a sphere of supercold temperatures.
Transport: 1957 Thunderbird hovercar, convertible
Mecha: Blue Dolphin, Sonic Cannon, best sensors.
SAILOR NEPTUNE:
Deep Submerge - normal attack
Submarine Reflection - normal attack using Talisman, can dispel illusions
High Pressure Wave - continuous stream water attack.
Mirror Image - uses the Neptune Mirror to replicate herself several times.
Storm Burst - Ultimate. Weather control - can summon storms.
Transport: midnight blue Land Rover
Mecha: Emerald Starfish (the Emerald Manta Ray ran into some construction
problems and is still being worked on), Starcannon (hi energy, variable
frequency, laser pulse cannon), best sound system. (Manta Ray can cloak)
SAILOR VENUS:
Crescent Beam - sniper normal attack
Crescent Beam Shower - shotgun attack
Love Me Chain - summoned chain attack/tool
Love & Beauty Shock - explosive mana ball
Crescent Cutter - mana blade attack
Transport: Venus Skycycle
Mecha: Venus Gundam, BFG (particle beam), Venus Sniper Rifle (laser cannon),
Venus Laser Sword, Venus Tow Chain, most versatile of the mecha.
SAILOR JUPITER:
Supreme Thunder - electrical bolt
Supreme Thunder Dragon - tracking Supreme Thunder
Sparkling Wide Pressure - explosive electrical attack
Jupiter Oak Evolution - mana charged spray attack
Verdant Bloom - Ultimate. creates a forest or commands it to attack.
Transport: Android pegasus
Mecha: Yellow Eagle (Thunderbird), Shock Cables, Rending Claws, physically
the strongest and largest mecha.
SAILOR MARS:
Akuryo Taisan - spirit ward attack
Fire Soul - flame attack
Fire Soul Bird - tracking flame attack
Burning Mandala - spirit/flame attack
Mars Flame Sniper - sniper attack
Phoenix Torrent - Ultimate. spirit/flame manifestation.
Transport: red Porsche 911 Turbo fitted with anti-grav.
Mecha: Red Phoenix, Flame Aura, best heat resistance and internal bracing.
SAILOR MOON:
Moon Tiara Action - tiara frisbee attack
Moon Healing Escalation - white magic attack
Moon Princess Halation - stronger white magic attack
Moon Spiral Heart Attack - third level white magic attack
Rainbow Moon Heart Ache - fourth level white magic attack
Moon Gorgeous Meditation - fifth level white magic attack
Starling Honeymoon Therapy Kiss - sixth level white magic attack
Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss - final white magic attack
Crystal Moon Protection - Ultimate. A protective barrier of white magic that
reflects attacks back at their origin.
Transport: Moon Wing Minivan
Mecha: White Moon Angel (statue, a la "Maps") Barrier System, Best shields.
TUXEDO KAMEN
Rose Dart - minor energy disruption, sniper attack.
Cane - magical expanding/retracting cane.
Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber - minor chi attack similar to a Mouko Takabisha.
Earth Healing Rebirth - draws on the mana of the land to replenish strength
and banish fatigue.
Terra Form - Ultimate. Draws on the mana of the Earth to heal the land and
replenish it.
Transport: 1992 Ferrari, antigrav, 1000hp fusion assisted motor.
Mecha: Black/white Turtle, Best Armor
RANMA: Pegasus Bronze Saint (only as Ranma-kun)
Pegasus U-sen Ken (Pegasus Meteor Fist) effectively combines a Mouko
Takabisha with a Amaguriken
Pegasus Seisen Ken (Pegasus Comet Fist) a Sailor Senshi level Mouko
Takabisha
Pegasus Rolling Crash - a takedown attack.
RANMA: Princess Earth (only as Ranma-chan)
Earth Spirits Rise - creates a golem like body from whatever earth, stone,
or metal is available and calls a spirit of the land to inhabit it. The
spirit will then follow simple commands or seek to protect the Princess.
Earth Spirits Protect - forms a spiritual dome. Evil must break through the
barrier before they can harm those within.
Ultimate- not available.
SHAMPOO: Dragon Bronze Saint
Dragon No Tate (Dragon Shield) The Shield of the Dragon is nearly
indestructible as long as the wearer's will is resolute.
Dragon Shoryu Ha (Dragon Ascending Strike) A punch, usually an uppercut,
which channels the mana of the Dragon constellation into an armor piercing
and very powerful attack.
UKYOU: Ophinicus Silver Saint
Thunder Claw: An armor-piercing blow that isn't as powerful as Shampoo's
attack but can also be utilized for other effects such as cutting through
objects.
Serpent Claw: uses her ki to wrap around and immobilize an opponent.
Snake Eyes: hypnotic attack that can be used to interrogate those she's used
her ki to immobilize.
In the Saint Saeya/Sailor Moon fusion world it was:
Athena Usagi; Cygnus Ami; Dragon Makoto; Pegasus Minako; Andromeda Michiru;
Phoenix Haruka; Unicorn Rei; Aries Mamoru