Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 Fan Fiction ❯ A Goddess Comes to Call ❯ Chapter 2

Interlude the First

Beneath Genom's Tokyo branch, several levels underground. Down a darkened hallway to a closed door, then through it. Several people sit on a elevated level, and stare down at a young man standing there before them.

'A bit over the top,' he thought, trying to hide a smile, 'but I suppose it's effective.' He stood under their gaze, and tried his best not to fidget. It wasn't easy.

He struggled silently with his nervousness as he waited to hear their verdict on his project. Finally, after consulting the piles of paperwork and a softly whispered consultation, the head of the committee decided to speak.

"I simply fail to see any grounds for forming this division, Mr. Jacobson," she said to him with a fierce frown of displeasure. She waved the folder around, saying scornfully, "A Paranormal Research Department?"

Another board member shook his head mournfully, adding "I just don't see how chasing ghosts and youma will be of any help to achieving Genom's objectives."

"We wont just be chasing ghosts," Jacobson answered him, keeping his voice as calm as he could, "instead we'll be investigating things like this." He took out a small remote control and then activated a view screen on the far wall.

There was a bit of static at first, then the recording came on. On the screen, a section of Tokyo itself lay in ruins, fires burning through several of the buildings. Two figures stand there, looking at each other. Both young men are dark hared, and look almost eerily alike. Oddly, both of them are carrying longswords, and are dressed in boy's school uniforms.

One of the two turns towards the camera, his eyes narrow slightly as he sees the person filming them, and he makes a short, throwing gesture towards them. The visual record then abruptly comes to an end.

Jacobson used his remote to shut the video recording off. He turns, meeting the eyes of each of the members of the committee. In each of them he saw the horror of what they had seen, even as he let the silence linger for a few moments longer.

"The Kamui incident is a well documented event involving multiple beings of great psionic power, who did massive damage across the city of Tokyo," he said calmly. He looked up at the circle of faces, "Now imagine what Genom could do if we could find a being of such power."

Some of the committee members looked rather thoughtful at that, but the head still looked rather dubious. "Where would you find such beings?" she asked with a frown.

"There are a number of existing leads we'll be actively investigating," he explained, "the stories of the Sailor Senshi, the boy who was as strong as a wild horse, Boogiepop, the Phantom Quest Corporation, and that's just to name a few."

"But if those particular leads don't pan out? What if you can't find any of these beings of power?" another member challenged him.

Jacobson smiled back at them calmly, glad that he'd been prepared for that question. "We have also contacted with an expert in the field," he explained, "and I'm quite confident that she will be of great use to our search."

She walked from the shadows, long tawny hair flowing down her back. She dressed oddly, but even more strange was the odd looking 'v' mark on her forehead. There was a soft intake of breath from most of the committee, as they felt her power.

"I hope I can help," Mara said to them all with a dangerous little smile on her face, taking a moment to throw her hair back over her shoulder.

The vote was nearly assured at that point. A few more questions, and his budget was approved for the next few months. The head of the committee came over to him, smiling in a friendly sort of way. But the anger in her eyes wasn't so easily hidden.

"I wish you the best of luck," she said, shaking his hand. A cool smile, "We'll be watching your progress eagerly."

'In other words,' Jacobson thought wryly, "screw up and we'll know about it.' He smiled at her naturally, "Thank you very much."



The meeting was adjourned, and Mara walked him down the hall towards his newly set up office space. "I have a tip for you," Mara said calmly, "to start you off," and gave him the co-ordinate data for a location in downtown Tokyo.

"What should I expect?" Jacobson asked her, just a bit nervous.

Mara smiled to herself, thinking of who was likely to be there very soon. "Fireworks," she said to him dryly, "expect to see lots of fireworks." She looked at him sideways, before adding quite firmly, "Just do the data collection, to start off with. I wouldn't recommend you interfere with any of them, at least not just yet."

He nodded slightly, and took off to prepare his field team.

Author's Note: The 'Kaumi' incident refers to Clamp's X manga and anime. The other series he mentions are Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2, Boogiepop Phantom, and Phantom Quest Corp.