Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Unity ❯ Unity 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Unity

Chapter two:

Queens, New York:

Sure enough, that incident at the convenience store, in which Uranus and Neptune were involved, became the top story of the news reports that evening. Michael was using what he read to write a new speech, a very demeaning one at that.

"Vermin, parasites, stealing the food we work so hard for," the indigo-haired man checked that last part, "No, stealing food from our children sounds better," he couldn't help but smirk as he wrote that. Stevens came in at that moment, talking on his cellular.

"Is the suit ready?… Good, wait until after the show, that's when the most people gather… Okay then, I'll beep you the cue." He closed the gizmo with a flip. "What's the word Mike?"

"It seems that these 'morlocks' we've heard so much about are not wino-stories after all. There might be a chance to use that 'Peril from below' speech again."

"With a little updating of course," the mousy-haired man added, "But this bit of news is worth a lot more than that, if we can confirm the morlocks existence, I've got a friend in a high place who'll be very happy." He saw something onscreen that caught his attention, "Who the hell are they?"

"No idea," Mike used his computer to watch these things in order to manipulate the images and catch small details. He zoomed in on those two girls.

"They're wearing uniforms so they must belong to a sort of squad, although I've never seen uniforms like those."

"I hear you. I know these so called super-heroines like to show their figure, but skirts?" He didn't get a response so the assistant turned to his leader, Stevens watched the screen with a thoughtful stare, "Sir?"

"What? Umm, I was just thinking," he picked up a folder, "I'm off to that rally at Central Park. Use that image with the girl scouts for our advantage, I'm thinking something like: mutants replacing the true men in the military, be creative."

"Are you sure sir? If we don't get some proof to back up our story the military will deny such an accusation."

"Mike, we're talking about the government here, those guys deny everything."

*****

A concert hall, Manhattan:

Michiru and her family stood outside the stage door.

"Well, this is where we split up," the violinist said, "Hime-chan, Chibi-Usa-chan, it'll still be an hour until the show. Are you sure you won't get bored?"

"Don't worry Michiru-san," the pink-haired girl replied, "I know we'll be too excited to get bored."

"Plus," Hotaru added, "Haruka-papa has a knack for keeping people entertained when she wants to." The sand-blonde responded by putting her hand on the girl's head.

"Now what exactly do you mean by entertainment, Hime-chan?"

"You know what she means," Setsuna answered, "quite often you're more of a clown than Usagi-chan and Mina-chan combined." Haruka narrowed her eyes and Michiru rolled hers.

"More and more we're acting like sisters." She kissed her love, got some good luck wishes and went inside with the other musicians; the rest of the Japanese girls went through the main entrance.

Inside a broom closet:

Two other people were also very expectant about the events about to unfold tonight, but not the music. Both were part of Stevens' organization. One of them was exceptionally large, and he was pulling a costume out of a bag. The other was verifying instructions through his cell-phone.

"We'll get the signal until after the show, when the most people are gathered."

"Humph! That means about three hours of waiting," the big one protested, "Why the hell did we have to come in so early? And why all this fuss? A well aimed molotov should send the muties a clear message."

"Number one: it was the best time to sneak in; number two: we want to convince people that mutants are dangerous. Violent acts from our part just turn more traitors towards mutant rights." The man peeked out the door and made sure the corridor was empty. "Wait here until I page you, and don't do anything stupid."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the big man was left alone and he began changing, "I should've brought my video-game."

Scott and Jean walked through the vestibule arm in arm. She wore a deep blue evening gown that had been bought just for this occasion, and in his opinion, she looked more than beautiful.

"An evening of classical music and a romantic dinner afterwards," the redhead said, "Life doesn't get better than this."

"It will," Scott replied, "we'll be man and wife in just a few more months, and afterwards, we'll get to enjoy family life. Then it won't be any better."

"You're really looking forward to becoming a father, aren't you?" Jean observed with a giggle, "me, I still have trouble keeping my students in check."

"I know you'll make an excellent mother," her brown-haired love assured as he embraced her.

"You're so sweet." Something caught Jean's eye, "Hey, check it out!"

"What?" Scott allowed himself to be led towards a painting.

"I knew I recognized this, it was made by Michiru Kaioh, she's first violin tonight."

"Oh yeah, she's the one Henry admires. I didn't know she was also a painter."

"You would if you also paid attention to our museum trips with the kids." Scott tried to act non-challantly. "This is one of my favorites, her use of color is particularly bold here."

"I can appreciate the technique, but color is another story." Jean slapped herself mentally, which is almost the same as physically when you're telekinetic, and leaned her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry Scott."

"It's okay," he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "Whom I'm feeling sorry for is Henry. It's too bad that he can't come here in person." Then he recognized someone out of the corner of his eye, "But we might get him a little something," now he led her, "Come along!"

Haruka and Setsuna chatted while the younger girls admired the lobby decorations. True to her nature, Hotaru was specially attracted by the chandeliers.

"The only thing I don't like about these events is the irony they include. I can't enjoy them with Michiru by my side."

"Come now, have you forgotten that sometimes you get to play the piano along with her?" the mocha-skinned woman replied, "If I remember right, you're due to do just that in the upcoming music festival."

"Hai, but the main attraction will be that new boy trio. You wouldn't believe how much Mina-chan admires them."

"We both know her dreams and personality well, it's normal that she looks up to those people as role-models," Setsuna scratched her chin, "And marriage prospects, now that I mention it." She turned her sight towards the girls, who seemed to be having a little discussion. "You know, sometimes I worry about Hime-chan. Small Lady is the only close friend she has, and girls her age have at least one infatuation. I don't think I've ever heard of at least one boy she had a crush on."

"She'll overcome her shyness soon enough, Usagi-tachi will make sure of that. As for the matter of boys," the racer turned to Hotaru, "she's going to attract plenty in just a few months." Her look became severe, "Of course, the hard part will be getting my approval."

"I was right, you are the family clown."

"I see that some people don't appreciate being in a place like this," Chibi-Usa commented after seeing a group of kids her age. It was plain to see that they were brought here against their will by their parents. "But at least we'll have someone to talk to until the show, let's go." She took Hotaru's hand and took a step towards the group.

"Matte Chibi-Usa-chan," the pale girl held back, "I just saw one of Michiru-mama's paintings, I want to take a closer look." Chibi-Usa knew it was an excuse, but she went anyway. Besides, admiring her friend's work would be very pleasant. A couple standing near them caught the pink-haired girls attention.

"I think I just saw my first example of New York eccentricity. Who wears sunglasses at night? Red ones at that."

"Said the girl with pointy odangos," Hotaru retorted playfully, "But it is a curious accessory," her eyes went wide, "And he's heading towards Haruka-papa." Hotaru hurried off.

"Matte Hotaru-chan!"

"Excuse me, Haruka Tenoh, right?" Scott addressed the sand-blonde, "The professional racer?"

"Hai," Haruka answered as she shook his hand, "I take it you've been keeping track of my career."

"I try to see the races you take part in every chance I get. I'm Scott Summers, and this is my fiancée, Jean Grey."

"Pleased to meet you Jean-san. This is my friend, Meioh Setsuna," the younger girls caught up, "And these two little imps are Tomoe Hotaru and Tsukino Usagi."

"Everyone calls me Chibi-Usa, though."

"I'm delighted to meet you both," the redhead said with a warm smile, "But Scott, you said there was something we could do for Henry."

"Right, you see a friend of ours admires Miss Kaioh greatly, he really wanted to, but wasn't able to come. And we'd really like to get him something special."

"I see, you saw Haruka-san and figured out that she could get that something," Setsuna guessed, "I'll let Michiru-san know, she'll be glad to comply. She often turns her admirers into pen-pals, and I've got the feeling that this won't be an exception." She took out a card with the number for the hotel and the room they were staying at written on it. Haruka gave her sister a slight glare, she didn't approve giving out so much information to a stranger. "And your friend's name is…"

"McCoy, Henry McCoy."

"Doctor McCoy?" Hotaru asked with visible surprise, "I remember Poppa mentioning him once, I heard he's a very capable physician and biochemist."

"He's more than capable," Jean added, "but he'll never accept it. He often says that medical breakthroughs are like a cathedral, they take the work of many hands."

"I've heard a little about Dr. McCoy as well," Chibi-Usa said. Back in Crystal Tokyo, during her history lessons, Sailor Mercury had often mentioned him and his important role in history. But the young princess had never paid enough attention to learn exactly why. "Puu-er-Setsuna-san knows a lot about medicine as well, she's working as the nurse at my school right now."

"Eto," the emerald-haired woman rubbed her temple, "What can I say? I guess I like children." Everyone laughed at that. They went on to talk about the weather until it was time for the concert.

Scott and Jean took their seats.

"I can't seem to find Haruka and the others," Scott said, "but I do know they'll be close to the stage."

"They were really nice people, I could tell right away," the redhead replied, "But Hotaru, something about that child worried me."

"How so?"

"I don't know exactly, even without using telepathy I could sense a lot of melancholy coming from her, and she's much to young to carry such feeling."

"She's obviously adopted," Scott observed, "I know from experience that such a life can become a burden. But she's with good company now, Haruka and the others will help her overcome her past," he got closer to Jean and whispered in her ear, "I also know that from experience."

"Scott," she faced and kissed him lovingly. Jean turned her sight towards the stage and found Michiru Kaioh taking her designated place. The music started, and the young couple set all their senses into enjoying it.

*****

The underground:

Robert watched as a gray mist took form and solidified into Cloud.

"More good news, the colonies over at the eastern ghetto and near the docks have confirmed their joining us." The young morlock sat on a rusty barrel and leaned back. "Kinda weird though, everywhere I went most of the people were more than eager to join this sort of army. It's like everyone woke up this morning and decided that they had enough of the humans."

"Who cares?" the stony one replied, "The important thing is, we're gaining support. All there's left to do know is organize a tournament and designate the leader," his fist ignited, "and I'm going to be it."

"Don't get cocky Rob, I saw some of the guys at the other colonies, you're in for some tough battles. One of them is able to turn into iron."

"Iron is soft against the flame, Cloud, don't forget." Two people came into the room just then, they were Jenny and the gooey mutant.

"Hey sis, Gus! You guys took your sweet time." the gray-skinned morlock greeted, "Where's Tom at?" Gus didn't answer right away, the newcomer tossed some cans to the floor angrily.

"Three cans of tuna! And Tom was captured! Everything would have been perfect if it wasn't for those two bitches!"

"Gus, Gus, calm down!" Cloud said, "you're scaring Jenny." He went over to his little sister and held her, the orange-skinned girl was still tired from that impromptu attack. "Now, what are you talking about? Did you meet the weather witch or something?"

"No, I doubt they were part of the X-Men. But they must belong to a team, both wore Girl Scout uniforms."

"Girl Scouts?" Robert asked incredulously, "Who the hell dresses up like that?"

"What?" Jenny spoke up suddenly, "Who's there?"

"What is it sis?"

"Someone's watching us," the girl said, "it's scary."

"Hmm." The gray-skinned teen moved his sister away and transformed. He floated swiftly from one tunnel to another and further away. "There's no one there Jenny," he said as the solidified again, "must've been your imagination."

"I didn't!" the girl yelled, "Someone was watching us, someone very strong!"

"Pipe down Jennifer," Robert ordered, "You're no telepath, and you can hardly control your power. You imaged it, that's all."

"But I-"

"Enough! I have to go train for the upcoming battles, no one bother me unless it's absolutely important." He left the room; everyone else was rather surprised, confused and frightened.

"Say Cloud," the gooey mutant asked, "What the hell is going on here?"

"Dunno, and I don't think I want to."

Jennifer wasn't hallucinating, something powerful had been watching them. But now, an old memory was filling it with worry.

……Serenity……

*****

The concert hall:

There was a sort of reception after the concert. A little food, some drinks, basically, a reason for everyone to stay a while and chat. This was especially good for performers like Michiru, whose friends and family came to see them.

"A well known doctor, ne?" the aqua-haired girl confirmed as she joined her friends, "I'll be glad to get something for Dr. McCoy. We should be able to find a CD in a store somewhere and I'll autograph it for him."

"He must be in the middle of a very important project if he had to miss this," Hotaru said, "You outdid yourself, Michiru-mama."

"Domo arigato, Hime-chan."

"Now that you mention it," Setsuna commented as she became pensive, "Dr. McCoy is a very busy person, everyone hears about his accomplishments but he never makes public appearances."

"That does sound strange," Haruka said, "But Scott-san and Jean-san gave him a very favorable description, I'm sure we'll enjoy meeting him."

"Who I'd like to meet is people my own age," Chibi-Usa half-complained, "Don't get me wrong guys, I like being with you but-Nani?!"

A large, hairy beast bolted into the lobby, roaring and scaring everybody. He had a long, black mane, claws and exaggeratedly long fangs.

"A mutant!" a man yelled, one of the two who'd been hidden earlier, "He's going to kill all of us!"

"That baka!" Haruka shouted angrily, "He's going to cause a panic." Indeed, pandemonium was already present. The monster went around knocking down everything in his way, and everyone else ran around uncontrollably. Worst of all, the senshi were given no opportunity to get out of sight and henshin, the grown-ups at least.

"Hotaru-chan, over here!" Chibi-Usa and her pale friend were small enough to fit under the largest table. They tried to slide underneath but instead bumped into a large foot. The pink-haired girl looked up and saw a very nasty scowl. "Heh, heh, we didn't happen to step on a corn, did we?"

"RAAHR!" The black-mane mutant raised his claw to strike at the girls. Hotaru grabbed Chibi-Usa and shielded her with her own body, she tensed every muscle and readied herself for the blow. The monster roared again and just as he was about to strike at the girls, Haruka tackled him away.

"Get out of here now!" The sand blonde ordered, she got into a battle stance and faced his opponent. I might not have the use of my powers, but I still have to protect the princess. "Gimme your best shot baka oni!"

"You Asian son of a bitch!" the monster growled. He grabbed a chair and tried to use it as a weapon. He was about to bring it down upon the racer when he froze suddenly. "Huh?" He felt something holding the chair, but nothing could be seen. He became even more confused when that strange force pulled his weapon away.

"Nani?" Haruka didn't quite understand what was happening either.

"Haruka hit the floor!" Scott's voice was heard. The racer did as she was told and saw a red beam hit the monster in the stomach. He was thrown against a column and was knocked unconscious because of the blow. The sand-blonde turned to the source of the beam but could only see Scott on his knees putting his glasses in place, Jean stood beside him. "Are you two okay?" he asked the girls.

"Hai," Chibi-Usa answered, "thanks to Haruka-kun. What about you Hotaru-Chan?" Hotaru's amethyst eyes were staring widely at the brown-haired mutant. "Hotaru-chan?"

"Umm, hai, I'm all right," Hotaru mumbled. Only she had seen what Scott had done, how that ruby-colored beam was fired out of his eyes. Using her best judgment, she decided not to say anything.

"I'm taking Scott out of here," Jean announced, "I think he hit his head with something."

"Go ahead," Haruka replied, "We'll keep an eye on this guy." The engaged couple left and everyone else went over to Setsuna, who was checking the mutant's condition. "How is he?"

"He's got quite a thick head," Setsuna responded, "He's going to wish to be dead when he wakes up."

"We only just learned about the existence of mutants," Michiru said, "Earlier, we saw one group stealing food, and now we see a large brute creating chaos for no reason." The aqua-haired girl shook her head. "Frankly, I'm getting more and more confused."

"Then get ready for some more boggling," the emerald-haired one called again, "Look at this." She reached behind his neck and made a stunning revelation.

"A mask?" Chibi-Usa took it away, "Why would anyone go through all this?"

"It's obvious," Setsuna answered, "From what I've figured out so far, a lot of people despise mutants. He wanted to create a very negative image for them, had he succeeded." They could hear sirens and the voices of the paramedics arriving.

"I want to look further into this," Hotaru said, "I need to learn more about these mutations, these incidents, whose side most people are on, everything."

"Agreed," Chibi-Usa seconded, "All I've seen so far leads me to believe that mutants are getting the worst part of it all."

"We will Small Lady, we'll find out who's responsible for this. But for now, we must leave and let other people do their work." The girls left and let the authorities go through. Hotaru took a second to look back at all the destruction that had been caused, and thought of the ones who were going to be unfairly accused.

"It's not fair," she muttered as a tear escaped her eye, "It's just not fair."

Jean and Scott were feeling quite upset as they made their way through the crowd. Things like these were no more than mere annoyances to them.

"I shouldn't have done that. If my eyes had been opened just a little bit wider, that man would've died in a second."

"You've been practicing for such a situation," the redhead reminded him, "You displayed more control now than a couple of months ago. Besides, it was much better than letting him strike at Hotaru and Chibi-Usa. We did the first thing that came to our minds and I'd like to believe we were right."

"And we were, if you see it from that point of view." He took a deep breath. "But I'm still not sure about leaving Haruka and the others with that idiot." Jean stretched a little.

"I see no need to worry, after all, it was just a guy in a cheap disguise. And from her attack, I could tell that Haruka's a very capable fighter." It's more than obvious that Jean Grey has enough telepathic ability to see through appearance. "They're very nice people and I feel bad about lying to them, but you know that something must be kept in secret."

"I say they're keeping some secrets of their own," the brown-haired man pondered, "While everyone else panicked, they remained focused, planning an attack against that guy. I could tell by the look in their eyes, they've encountered foes with such an appearance before, much stronger ones."

"Even the little ones?" Jean asked in amazement.

"Hotaru was the most determined one." They finally arrived at the car. "What do you think we should make of all this?"

"Tell the professor of course, he'll know what to do. If what you assume is true, it means that mutations must be common in Japan. And Charles will be glad to exchange information."

"Good point." Scott closed the door for Jean and got into the vehicle himself. "So, do you still want to go out to dinner, or should we go back and reheat a pizza?"

"Let's go out, we can't let this sour our mood." He nodded and drove away.

*****

Xavier's school:

What happened at the concert hall was in all the news reports by the next hour, all the scandalous ones that need big ratings. Charles, Ororo and Logan were watching it on TV, the last one was laughing at what he saw.

"Can you believe it? The guy who planned this must've been a real genius. I'd give up my claws just to look at his face."

"I'm glad to see, for once, a reaction from you that isn't anger, Logan. As serious as this case might be."

"Aww, come on, Chuck. You gotta admit few things are funnier than seeing these self-declared saviors make idiots of themselves."

"I'll admit it," the professor replied with a slight grin, "but I'm worried as well. As desperate as this plan was, they are becoming more clever."

"And insolent," the ebony-skinned girl spoke at last, "Imagine, having people believe that all mutants look monstrous. Hundreds walk the streets everyday without causing a commotion." She ran her fingers through her white hair. "Well, I would, but not exactly a negative one."

"Oh, such a humble one you are," Logan quipped, "Anyway, we ended up on top. They look bad and Scott and Jean will have an interesting anecdote for us." The feral man ignored just how interesting it was going to be. He got up from the couch. "I'm going to bed, good night you two."

"I'm tired too," Ororo said, "Are you staying up late, professor?"

"Yes Ororo, I still have plenty of paperwork to do. Sweet dreams my child." The girl gave her good bye with a smile. Charles watched the screen for a while and pondered about the possible consequences, then shook his head as he turned off the set and headed for his office. "Logan's right, I'm making a mountain out of an anthill."

*****

Brooklyn, the next day:

Several teenagers were arguing about an anti-mutant rally that was held last night at Central Park.

"You should've gone," one said, "then you'd be convinced of how dangerous the mutants are."

"Look, I know they can be dangerous, I've had first hand experience. But a lot more are trying to do something good."

"You mean those guys in spandex™ suits? Get real!"

"Yeah," a third one agreed, "They're no heroes in real life, just people looking after their own interests. Look I'm not saying us humans are perfect, but muties are deadly, even if they don't want to."

"They want to make us think they're dangerous," a girl reasoned, "If you-" She was silenced with a haymaker. One of the anti-mutant sympathizers just attacked her without warning.

"If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem," the bully quoted with a raging voice, "The only answer is to get rid of them, and that includes mutie-lovers like you."

"Are you crazy!?" the girl's boyfriend shouted furiously as he shoved the guy, "You're the ones that should be wiped off the earth." That comment was replied by another blow, and another, and another.

Madness, that's all it was. Without any escalation at all, a simple argument became an all out brawl. The violence didn't grow, there was none bottled up, it just appeared in its most deadly guise. A few concerned bystanders tried to stop this, but the moment they approached, the anger seemed to infect them. Instead of putting a halt to the fight, they joined it. One girl, with scratches in her face fell and saw something as she looked up.

"What the-KYAA!" As soon as the battle had started, it ended. Everyone laid wounded and exhausted. A dark figure stood among the unconscious bodies, feeding on their life force.

"Soon, very soon."