Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Unity ❯ Unity 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Unity

Chapter five:

It's not uncommon to see super-powered beings in New York, however, the attire worn by the five females leaping over rooftops was sure to draw attention.

When the outer senshi and Chibi Moon arrived at the place from were the blast had been heard, they discovered a full-scale riot. Several morlocks, led by a magma-skinned one were demolishing everything in site.

"If this is a diversion, it's much too destructive," Neptune observed, "and there seems to be no purpose to all this."

"It gets worse," Pluto noted, "take a closer look." Upon closer inspection, the senshi noticed that several humans were joining the brawl, armed with bats, broken bottles and other improvised weaponry. "We can't wait for the authorities to arrive, and when they do, they'll just end up hurting even more people."

"Hai," Uranus agreed, "Small Lady, you'll come along with Neptune and I, Saturn, you team up with Pluto."

"Right," the pale senshi replied, "Be careful, and remember, we're not fighting youma."

Rob and Cloud had gathered a group of the strongest fighters they knew. Their plan was awfully simplistic, to destroy everything and let surface dwelling mutants take the blame. While the ashen-haired Rob went around punching and melting stuff, his gray-skinned friend flew around in gas form intoxicating everyone.

"Nyah, nyah, guns don't hurt me," Cloud mocked, "Don't you think we've hung around long enough, Rob? The people are scared enough and the cops will be here any second."

"No need to worry about the police," the leader replied, "Just like you said, they can't do much against us."

"Hey, it's easy for you to brag, you just proven yourself the strongest morlock. Besides, it's not really the cops I'm worried about."

"Those goody-two-shoes X-dopes? If they show up, they'll see that-What the!?" The magma-skinned mutant raised his arms just in time to block Pluto's Garnet staff. Cloud was about to rush over to his friend's aid, but was halted by the Silence glaive's edge at his throat.

"I strongly suggest you put an end to this madness," the amethyst-eyed senshi warned, "otherwise, the consequences will be nasty."

"U-huh, whatever. Rob, you think these are the girls Gus mentioned?"

"I'll bet my lava on it," he glared at the long-haired one, "So, you think you can take on the grown ups?"

"Don't you dare blame me for your own bad influence, baka," Pluto growled, "Now fight!" She spun and tried to hit his left flank, Rob blocked again and countered with an uppercut that was barely avoided. The long-lived senshi could feel the awesome heat emanating from his fist.

"Please, just leave," Saturn asked Cloud as she kept a firm hold on her weapon, "no more people have to get hurt."

"Sorry yo disappoint you kid," the gray-skinned man answered, "but every revolution has its casualties." Upon saying this, he morphed into mist form. The silent senshi was taken by surprise and had no defense against the gaseous attack. She swung her glaive wildly, the flat side of the blade acted like a fan, and in this form it was like a kick to the stomach for him. Still, the toxin had affected the violet-haired girl, and now she was too weak to fight properly.

"Ugh," the gray-skinned man had returned to human form because of the blow. "I don't know what the hell that thing is, but I'm not getting near it no more," he groaned as he staggered away.

Meanwhile, two guys armed with shotguns were facing a pair of morlocks. One was extremely large and had a brutish appearance, she also had superhuman strength; the other one looked normal enough, except for color-changing spots on his skin, he stood in front and all bullets bounced off him. The mutated woman raised a car over her head, she was about to toss it at her enemies when Neptune showed up.

"Deep submerge!" The watery blast threw the vehicle away. Uranus charged and tackled the giant off her feet, then she threw a kick at the other one.

"Nani?" Her foot went clean through his body! The polka-dotted morlock had the ability to alter his density, from diamond-hard to intangible. He switched once more and backhanded the sand-blonde, the blow felt like a ton of bricks.

"Nice threads, girlie, but clothes don't make the man."

"Trust me, baka, I have the abilities to deserve this uniform. World shaking!" The attack hit its target thanks to the magic in it. The mutant was down, and so was his partner, beaten by Neptune. Chibi Moon ran up to the ones with the guns.

"You two okay?-Whoa!"

"Hands where I can see 'em, you rabbit-eared freak!" one of them said as he aimed his weapon at the princess.

"In case you didn't notice, baka, we just saved your lives!" the ocean senshi protested with ire.

"Uh huh," the other man said sarcastically, "the way I see it, you're only animals fighting over prey." He raised his gun. "No decent person can do those things, so-" (Thwip) "What the hell!?" A grayish strand suddenly attached itself to the guns, they were yanked away just as fast. Everyone turned and saw a man in a blue and red outfit clinging to a wall.

"I know that New York's infamous for its rudeness, but you guys take the cake."

"Aww man, we're not paid enough for this!" The vagrants tried to escape but Spiderman caught and attached them to the wall with his web, with a good slamming naturally. He climbed down to the senshi's eye-level.

"You okay? That was quite a scare."

"Hai," the pink-haired girl answered, "Domo arigato, Mr.…" Further sounds of fighting caught their attention, there were a lot more involved in the melee than the ones already mentioned.

"We'll talk later," the web-slinger said, "there's work to do." He threw another web. "Try to be careful next time, these people are too panicked to realize we're helping them," he warned before swinging away.

"That was a strange encounter," Chibi Moon commented, "What's wrong, Uranus? You look a little troubled."

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, Small Lady, but that guy just cost us a large bet." The younger senshi became puzzled and the aqua-haired one giggled.

The battle went on for several minutes, during which Rob fought against Sailor Pluto. The increase in his power plus his victories at the tournament had given him too much overconfidence. So the mocha-skinned senshi was able to keep him busy this whole time, and this was no easy task. The magma-skinned morlock glimpsed towards his companions and discovered that the rest of the senshi had beaten nearly all of them with Spiderman's assistance. He growled and leapt backwards, then he concentrated the most heat possible and released it in one powerful blast. Fortunately for the time senshi, Saturn had recovered enough to raise her Silence wall.

"Cloud, gather everyone! We're getting the hell out of here!" Those morlocks who were able to, escaped as fast as they could, the rest were left behind, after all this was war. The young princess ignored the escapees entirely and rushed to her friend's side.

"Saturn, are you all right!?" The silent senshi was using her glaive for support.

"To be honest, I feel awful," Saturn answered among tired breaths, "I need sleep, badly." Uranus picked her up gently.

"Let's hurry back to the hotel then. We'll figure out the rest once you're better." They surveyed the area before leaving, the damage was tremendous, but fortunately, very few people were hurt, so they didn't feel to disturbed when they teleported away.

Rob had originally planned a lot more destruction, so his next attempt was going to be even more brutal.

*****

Early morning, Daily Bugle:

Jameson and Robertson were at the former's office, the subject of their conversation was the battle several hours ago.

"It's going from bad to worse, Robbie. The police are still dealing with rioting here and there."

"And they're going to deal with lots more until this mess is over," the black man added, "And you don't have to tell me, you suspect Jack Stevens is behind all this."

"Right you are." J.J. took a puff from his cigar. "That creep's only looking for political favor. He doesn't stop to figure out the root of the problem nor the true solution."

"What do you mean?"

"Mutants are dangerous, Robbie. And do you know why that is?"

"Well…I suppose it has to do with-"

"They're kids!" Jameson hollered as he pounded the wall, "You know how they are at that age, thinking they can swallow the ocean in one gulp!" He sat down, "They've inherited all these modern commodities, thinking life is so damn easy. And now they get these powers, of course they're gonna go around doing as they please!" The mustached man took a deep breath, "It's all our fault, the older generation, for neglecting their upbringing." Robertson pondered upon the words his boss had just said. Jameson could be an arrogant jerk, but when he wanted to, he was a regular Solomon. Now, if only he practiced what he preached. There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Here are the photos, Mr. Jameson, just developed," a young brown-haired man said as he handed a folder, "I assure you, sir, they're my best so far."

"I'll be the judge of that, Parker," the chief editor replied gruffly. He ran through the pictures. "Should've known that wall-crawler would stick his nose into this," then he came over one picture that caught his attention, "Who the hell are they?" He showed the other two a photo of Sailor Pluto.

"I'm not sure," Peter answered, "they made a brief appearance a few days ago, I guess they're a new group trying to help people."

"Hmph! You mean trying to become famous. Just look at how ridiculously skimpy those outfits are."

"Come now, Jonah, you can't possibly judge them by the way they're dressed. Check out how the wavy-haired one's dispatching these three."

"A bazooka can do just as much damage," Jameson retorted as he set the senshi's photos apart, "If they're showing that much leg, these girls should be in a men's magazine, not a newspaper."

"I thought they'd be good enough for a tabloid, J.J.," Peter murmured as he took the pictures back, "I'll get back to work then." The young man left the office along with Robertson.

"Don't let Jonah get to you, Peter, the pictures are great."

"Yeah, but they didn't help with the rent. And I agree with you, appearance shouldn't have anything to do with being taken seriously."

"Oh? Didn't I overhear you the other day, comparing Jonah's moustache to Chaplin's." The older man laughed and put his arm around his young friend.

It was likely that last night was going to be the only encounter between Spiderman and the senshi. But Peter had a hunch that the sailor-suited girls were going to accomplish something very important before long.

*****

Xavier's school:

The professor watched the news with a grim look in his eye. Henry came from behind and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You're not omniscient, Charles, you can't spend your entire life using Cerebro to scan the planet."

"True, but by the looks of things, I'm going to have to make up for lost time." Dr. McCoy raised a curious eyebrow. "The leader of this outfit had very destructive thoughts, the only idea in his mind was 'death to all humans'."

"Many mutants feel that way," Henry rushed to say.

"Yes, but as strong as they were, these were merely lingering thoughts." The blue-furred man was stunned to hear this.

"It sounds like what I encountered yesterday." Both men turned to the door.

"What do you mean by that, Jean?" The redhead walked up to the couch and sat down.

"The morphed man we fought, Hank. I scanned his mind briefly and found something similar to what the professor described, he wanted to destroy all mutants."

"It isn't an uncommon idea either," Henry said as he rubbed his chin, "but I don't think we should mark this off as coincidence."

"Definitely not," Logan announced as he and Ororo entered the room, "Since our newfound friends were the ones to attend the party last night, I went there to investigate. I discovered the exact same scent the giant was carrying."

"Which means that the same person is behind both groups," the white-haired girl said, "he wants to destroy both humans and mutants."

"No," Charles corrected as he linked his hands and rested his head on them, "he wants us to destroy each other." Everyone fell silent.

"But," Jean was starting to feel frightened, "that's the same as saying it wants all of humanity destroyed! What can be gained from that?"

"No idea," the feral man said, "But whatever the purpose, the one pulling the strings must be awfully strong."

*****

The Hotel:

Although Hotaru felt ill during the first few hours, the poison was quick to leave her system, and she was up and about by late morning.

"Are you feeling better Hotaru-chan?" Chibi-Usa asked with concern.

"Just a little lightheaded."

"Should I call McCoy-san and tell them to be expecting us?" Setsuna asked as she put her hand on her daughter's forehead.

"Hai, I'm looking forward to meeting Rogue-tachi," the pale girl replied with a bright smile. The ruby-eyed woman grinned back.

"I'll make the call then."

"Then I guess Michiru and I will meet you later in the day," Haruka said, "Don't forget, this is supposed to be a family vacation."

"We won't forget, Haruka-kun. Hurry, Hotaru-chan, let's get ready."

*****

Steven's H.Q.:

Jack and Michael were about to greet an important visitor from Washington, Jim Rogers. Rogers was a middle-aged man, in charge of several undercover military projects. So undercover, that many people in the government ignored their existence. He had also been Steven's commanding officer and tutor in the army, and had kept in touch with the mousy-haired man all these years.

"Jim, so good to see you! How long has it been?"

"An eternity when you're chained to a desk, Jack," the older man quipped as he scratched his white sideburns, "But I can only stay here so long, let's get down to business."

"Everything that you need to see is at the office," Michael announced, "this way." The indigo-haired man followed the pair down the aisle, behind him were two secret service agents.

"I'm completely aware of the situation, but I still can't give the green light. This is too big to cover up, we're not talking some love affair scandal, we're talking the ultimate in robotics and A. I."

"We can't wait! Last night occurred because we didn't act first. If we want the mutants under control, we have to destroy each and everyone of them, now!"

"I know the threat those creatures represent, but try and understand, my hands are tied."

"You're going to do nothing!?" Stevens roared as he grabbed his friend by the neck, the agents reacted instantly and pinned him to the wall hard.

"Let him go," Rogers ordered tiredly as he spruced himself, "You're as impatient as always, Jack." They began walking again. "Now listen, I haven't given my approval for the project, but I have done other things to help your cause."

"Explain." By now the group had arrived at Stevens' office, Jim put his portfolio on the desk and took out some papers.

"Property deed, on the outside it will simply look like new campaign headquarters, but down below it is a research and development complex, not to mention the arsenal. All set to cover our needs."

"You have to admit sir, it's a pretty good deal," Michael said, "And who knows, maybe the mutants will get more violent and convince Mr. Rogers that drastic measures shall become necessary."

"I suppose so," the bigot admitted, after calming down a little, "Okay Michael, call everyone and tell them we're moving. Jim, tell me about that arsenal, if you don't want that weapon to come out, then we'll eradicate the reason."

"Strike at terror before terror can take a strike at us," the gray-haired man smiled, "you were always a good student."

*****

Xavier's school:

Rogue was lying on the top bunk reading a magazine and toying with her streak, trying to distract her mind away from her worries. Surprise, it wasn't working. The brunette was aware of the grave situation, she had been paying attention to her teachers' behavior and knew that something big was going on; last of all, she was worried about that girl she had met yesterday, Hotaru. Rogue realized they possessed a similar complexion, but what made the Japanese girl so vulnerable was her innate kindness. New York was going to eat her alive!

"Penny for your thoughts." Rogue looked up and saw Giselle clinging to the wall.

"I thought Ororo warned you not to crawl around until you were sure that ability was permanent."

"Relax, I made it all the way from the hallway, there's no need for waiting any-Whoa!" the reptilian girl slipped and fell on the floor, knocking the nightstand over.

"You were saying?" Rogue teased as she looked down.

"Shut up, or I'll make you have scales for a week," Giselle threatened, "new ones itch like crazy." Both girls started picking up the mess. "Hello, what's this?" The green-scaled girl had found the picture of a lunar landscape, what made it so unusual were the columns and old palace.

"It's the copy of a photo Dr. McCoy has in his office," the pale one explained, "A colleague of his sent it, umm…Dr. Richards."

"Heh, who would've thought that rubber egghead had a thing for fantasy art?"

"Actually, they claim that's a real photo, no touch-ups. It's from a region called 'blue area', supposed to have an atmosphere." Giselle stared at the picture with wide, yellow eyes.

"Manmade ruins at the moon? You're pulling my leg." At that moment, Kathy peered into the room and knocked to get her friends' attention. She then made elaborate gestures over her head.

"Are you trying to say Chibi-Usa's here?" Rogue beamed. The white-haired girl nodded vigorously.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Giselle exclaimed as she bolted through the doorway.

Jean was the one to welcome Setsuna and the children inside.

"You two made quite an impression yesterday," the redhead commented, "Remy and the rest are very eager to see you again."

"I'll bet Remy-kun is," Chibi-Usa said as she nudged Hotaru, the violet-haired girl blushed horribly. "By the way, Jean-san, are you feeling better today?"

"Better?" Jean became more puzzled when Hotaru elbowed her friend.

"Never mind, Grey-san. Chibi-Usa-chan just likes to worry about people, it's a quirk she has." She gave the pink-haired girl a severe stare. Are you sure there's no klutz-gene inside you?

"Would you please take care of the little ones, Jean-san?" the mocha-skinned woman requested, "With your permission, I'd like to go to McCoy-san's office."

"No need to look for me," the blue-furred man announced as he came into view, "Actually, Miss Meioh, Charles and I would like to have a word with you."

"Certainly," the long-haired woman answered. She had a very good idea of what the conversation subject was going to be; and so did Hotaru, who tugged on her sleeve.

"Agree to anything they assume about me," the amethyst-eyed girl whispered.

"Gotcha."

Charles Xavier was looking out the window, deep in thought.

"Come in, Henry," he said before there was even a knock at the door. Setsuna was only partly surprised when she entered the room.

"I was told about your telepathic abilities, Xavier-sama, but that was plain old showing-off."

"An occasional game can be quite soothing," the older man replied, "Please be seated, Miss Meioh, I'd like to know a bit more about young Hotaru, her history and background."

"Her history after she manifested you mean," Setsuna guessed, the professor nodded, "I honestly can't say much, Haruka-kun, Michiru-san and I adopted Hime-chan only recently. We didn't know her very well previously (nor even bothered to do so) and she is very reluctant to talk about her past. I can only repeat what you already know, how her abilities caused her to become shunned by her peers."

"Yes, but there have been improvements since she came into your custody," Henry assumed.

"Hai, plenty! Both in her mental and physical health. Her self-esteem is still low, but we're working on it." There was a brief pause in conversation. "You want us to register Hime-chan here, into the school, ne?"

"Only if you consider it to be necessary," Charles cleared out. The emerald-haired woman leaned back on her chair.

"The truth is, Xavier-sama, McCoy-san, I ignore too much to make a proper decision. I never knew Hotaru-chan's abilities made her a mutant, in fact, the term 'mutation' is still rather new to me." She thought her next words over carefully, "But what's really stopping me is the school itself. You seem an earnest man, professor, but all of this seems too…"

"Too secretive," Charles guessed with a gentle tone, the Japanese woman lowered her gaze. "I understand, many people have their own reservations, all these manifested teenagers, gathered in this institution, you have good reason to doubt. 'What is it they're being taught?'" Setsuna gulped when she heard her own suspicions from last night. "Rest assured I am not using my powers, only experience from previous interviews."

"As I stated yesterday," the doctor said, "the school is a haven. People fear us, Miss Meioh, and most mutants fear themselves."

"And said fear stems from lack of control," the ruby-eyed woman guessed.

"Correct, and as you may have seen in the news," the blue-furred man continued, "that control is often abused. So you see, our goal is threefold, we want to teach the young ones acceptance, control and responsibility."

"Hai, but we're only one step away from square one." Setsuna got up and walked around the desk to face the professor. "Tell me Xavier-sama, what is your idea of responsible behavior?" Many would've taken that insinuation as offensive, but the smile never left Charles' lips.

"Very true. Bottom line, this school teaches the ideas of one man, and history has proven how dangerous this can be." He turned and looked out the window. "Some do not agree with me, others oppose me, the rest consider me a fool. All I have is an optimistic view," he glanced at Henry, "and friends to help me. And all I ask for, Miss Meioh, is you trust. My intentions may not be enough, but they are sincere, I only want the best for young Hotaru."

"Well…" Setsuna took a moment to search her mind. Indeed, Professor Xavier was not spying in her head, and her thoughts were her own. Plus, she could tell from the older man's voice that he was honest, not the evil agent or puppet she'd believed him to be. The X-Men are fighters but because they have to be, as long as they are feared they'll be attacked, our experience at the diner is proof enough. By chance, she caught a glimpse of Hotaru and Chibi-Usa in the garden. "I'll have to discuss this with my sisters, I can't make this decision alone."

"Of course," Charles nodded, "If you have any other questions, please ask."

"Ie, I have no more doubts left," she said warmly, "But I would like a bit of your time, McCoy-san, our conversation yesterday was interrupted at a very interesting point."

"'Twas never in me to refused a lady," the blue-furred man said as he arose and bowed.

The group had reunited under the same tree and Giselle took her place on the branch.

"You know?" Hotaru said all of a sudden, "I've had these healing powers for years and I never stopped to wonder. Where did they come from? What made us what we are?"

"Bad luck," David answered in his usual tone, "The professor has an interesting theory, something to do with genetics and all that."

"Not quite," Rogue countered, "it's more inclined into evolution." Kathy tapped on her shoulder and gave the brunette a challenging gaze. "I know the two are related, but not in our case. I doubt we inherited anything from our parents."

"Right, and I have other disagreements with that idea," Giselle said, "Evolution takes generations to occur, we appeared overnight. Mutations can't be natural, there must be an artificial cause of some sort."

"And there is one," Remy replied, "well, the cause at least, the result is perfectly natural."

"You're not making any sense, LeBeau," the dark-haired boy accused, "If don't know what were talking about, then shut up."

"I think I know what our bayou friend is trying to say," Bobby said in Remy's defense, "You've all heard of Darwin, right? The adaptation of the species."

"I know what you're going at," Hotaru guessed, "All of the damage humanity has caused, deforestation, the ozone layer, polluting the seas, this planet has become rather inhospitable to live in. The new generations must be stronger in order to survive."

"That sounds logical," Giselle said, "But I still don't swallow that 'jump ahead' thing, nor that this is the first time it happens."

"Maybe it's the second," Chibi-Usa spoke, "It was probably mutation which caused humans to appear in the first place. And that's why the missing link was never found." Everyone looked at the pink-haired girl with surprise, the princess herself was quite amazed at her conclusions.

"In other words," Rogue said, "we're the next step up from chimps."

"While others remain silly little monkeys," the pale girl said as she noogied her friend.

"I still say I prefer playfulness," the odango-headed one retorted cheerfully. She checked out her watch. "Look at the time! We promised to meet Haruka-kun and Michiru-san later today."

"Hai," Hotaru got up, "Gomen, but we really must leave."

"What are you talking about?" Bobby asked, "The day's still young, we can spend it together."

"You can come with us?" Chibi-Us asked with visible surprise.

"Sure, this is a school not jail, we'll need a chaperone of course, but we can go out anytime." The fair-haired teen looked up, "Those of us who can that is."

"Ah, I'll be fine with some cable and popcorn," the green-haired girl claimed. She looked down at David, "And you, you stubborn grouch, don't you dare say you're staying just to keep me company."

"Don't worry, lizard hag, I wasn't planning on staying anyway," he replied with a smirk. Giselle grumbled at that. "But no one's going anywhere until we get permission. Come on."

Setsuna was glad to accept the extra company, and quite surprised to see who the one in charge of the mutant youngsters was going to be.

"I thought you never went anywhere," the emerald-haired woman commented as Dr. McCoy put on specially tipped gloves.

"Iron bars do not a prison make," Henry quoted, "I couldn't attend the concert because an overcoat and fedora are not proper attire, but for a stroll in Central Park, they suffice." He finished putting on the hat, "Wouldn't you say?"

"Hmm, it's a bit eccentric and that clearly doesn't become you. But I think I can come up with something overnight." The blue-furred man chuckled then gallantly offered his arm to Setsuna.

"Shall we go?"

"Hai, let us."

*****

The underground:

Cloud walked among his companions, appraising the losses. In truth, only a few had been left behind, but some of his friends were amongst those few. Plus, he'd heard many rumors about the way mutants were kept prisoner. He found his leader at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Still ignited?" the gray-skinned man asked, "You've been like that two days straight, you're going to tire yourself out."

"A leader must keep appearances," the magma-skinned one replied, "Show a sign of weakness and you lose all your respect and power."

"In my opinion you'll be showing common sense," Cloud said as he leaned against the wall, "When we started this I thought the X-Men would be our only worry, but now-"

"Excuse me, we?" Rob interrupted, "I am the one who started it all. Since the beginning you are only following me, just like all of these." He pointed at his friend with a fiery finger, "So don't take credit that's not yours!"

"Okay, okay! I stand corrected, jeez." The shape-sifting morlock stepped away cautiously. "As I was saying, now we have to worry about those girls in miniskirts. Man, that little girl with the spear turned out to be something."

"I told you they were strong." The pair looked up and saw Gus approach. "I'll bet you saw their outfits and thought they'd be a piece of cake."

"You speak the truth, o' slimy one. And I'll tell you one thing, that short-haired blonde has really trained her legs right."

"Keep your brain above your waist, bro," a new voice spoke, "You're all acting stupid enough already." Rob was the one to approach Jennifer.

"Didn't I order you to stay at the colony?"

"If you're not going to listen to me, I won't listen to you," the orange-skinned girl retorted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was a strange gesture on her face a second before that, as if she'd realized a moment of weakness from her part. "I will not get angry," she whispered, "Cloud, why do you insist on doing this? You know that we won't gain anything this way."

"Look sis," the gray-skinned man got to his knees, "right now it may seem that we're only going out to get hurt, but that's only because we're barely beginning. Have a little patience, you'll see that there's a lot to be won."

"For who's gain?" Jenny questioned, "Look, I'm not going to insist because I know you're tired, but as soon as that thing starts getting to you, I'm pulling you out." Then she left without awaiting a reply.

"Isn't that cute? A little girl worried for her big brother," the goop-covered one mocked.

"Shut up man," Cloud said tiredly, "she alone has been giving me a hard time already."

"She's going to give everyone a hard time!" Rob growled, "If that stupid bitch keeps babbling about those hallucinations of hers-"

"Watch it!"

"-everyone's going to be too scared to get anything done." The sound of quarreling caught the morlock leader's attention, "What the hell is going on over there?"

While Gus, Cloud and Robert were talking, a more violent discussion was brewing among the rest.

"Nice going, jackass," a morlock woman complained, "I guess it doesn't do any good to throw stuff at someone who can throw beams, huh?"

"Shut your pie hole, I didn't see you do any better."

"That's right," a scaly one seconded, "in fact, since the fight started all you did was boast your crappy power, which was barely useful."

"The pot calling the kettle black, you don't even have a power, you're just a martial-arts poseur."

"And he's still more useful than you in this war," the second one yelled with even more anger, "Heck, I don't even know why Rob let's broads into this. Women should be left behind where they belong!"

"Why you little!!" She was about to lunge forward but a column of fire got in the way.

"Save it for the humans," Rob growled as he came over, "you three go back to base and sleep it off. You'll hear from me tomorrow, if I consider any of you to be useful, understood?"

"Yes sir." "Yeah." The trio went down the tunnel, throwing dirty stares against each other. Gus stepped up to his leader.

"Wouldn't it be better if you sent them down different tunnels? Lest they start fighting again."

"If you're so worried, then go with them!" Something in the magma-skinned mutant's voice caused the gooey one to tremble. As the former left, Cloud walked up.

"That stuff your sis talks about, it's something about a weird presence, right?"

"Right," the gray-skinned one answered, "And I'm starting to believe her."

*****

Central Park:

Two groups were formed almost immediately upon arrival; Henry and the grown-up outers went to look at a modern art exhibit, while the young ones searched for something that had the least to do with schooling possible. Soon, smaller groups were formed, Bobby kept Chibi-Usa company, Hotaru decided to have a serious talk with David and Rogue teamed up with Kathy to keep Remy on a leash.

"I've heard a little bit about those girls in scout uniforms," the cold-wielding boy told Chibi-Usa, "but never enough to believe they weren't fiction."

"Believe me, Bobby-kun, they're as real as you and I." The princess looked up, "What puzzles me is how we never heard anything about what's been going on in this country."

"Hey, you're busy with giant lizards and all that," the mutant teen explained, "Besides, weird happenings aren't really news when they come from here."

"Nani, what do you mean?"

"It's New York, weird is the city's middle name. Every day you're bound to see a guy running around naked shouting that the world will end Wednesday."

"Cheese whip is Satan's feces!!"

"…Or something."

"…So I see." The odango-headed girl took a second to regain composure, "Eto, back to the senshi, any opinions about one in particular?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I'm a bit intrigued by the little one in pink."

"Really?" Chibi-Usa asked excitedly.

"Yeah, so far she seems capable of is getting in the way." Bobby wouldn't find out the reason for Chibi-Usa's huffing for a while.

"David-san, could I have a word with you?" Hotaru requested.

"It's a free country," the dark-haired boy answered.

"It's about Chibi-Usa-chan, she's my best friend and I don't like the way you treat her."

"I'm not fond of her and you can't change my mind," he retorted harshly.

"Hai, I have no right to control you. But you shouldn't dislike people just because they're a different, umm…"

"Race, specie? I don't know and I don't care, I'm just not fond of the girl."

"But why? She's been nothing but nice to everyone since you've met her."

"Nice or polite? You said so yourself, she had no idea you were a mutant until now (which is quite dumb). Who's to say she won't start treating you differently?"

"She's my friend, of course she won't!" the amethyst-eyed girl protested angrily, "David-kun, what happened to you? What makes you act so?"

"Leave me alone," the dark-haired teen said as he turned away, "I don't feel like talking no more." Hotaru sighed and walked away, she knew that Chibi-Usa wouldn't think ill of her. "……" She was pretty sure.

Henry made quite an insightful analysis of each sculpture, drawing Setsuna's complete attention, and although modern art was not Michiru's cup of tea, she was also quite interested, only Haruka was getting bored. Besides, she had other issues in mind.

"Setsuna-san, did you find out anything important at the school?" the sand-blonde asked quietly.

"Hai," Setsuna whispered back, "but we'll talk about that later, right now I want to listen to McCoy-san."

"I understand that, but at the rate he's going, we'll be here all day."

"And we don't have much time either," the violinist added as she joined in, "We must return to Japan in order to protect Usagi-chan, not the mention getting the girls back in school, and I'd hate to leave this case unconcluded."

"I agree," the mocha-skinned woman said, "but now isn't the time, you'll just have to wait until we're-"

"Pardon," McCoy interrupted.

"Hai!" The female trio felt like a student caught sleeping.

"I just received a call from Charles on my cellular," the blue-furred man explained, "Please excuse me for a moment."

"Go right ahead, McCoy-san," Michiru answered, then she turned back to her sisters "From his tone of voice, it seems like something important."

"Hai, and I'll bet it concern the X-Men," the short-haired one said rubbing her chin, "Michiru and I will check it out. Setsuna-san, cover for us."

"Matte! How am I supposed to do that?" But the pair had already teleported away. "Che, I'll be sure to make up an embarrassing excuse, Haruka-kun." Henry was back after a few minutes. "What was it?"

"Bad news I'm afraid, but it's not something you should burden yourself with." The professor's message was that several mutants had started fighting each other in the middle of the street and were causing a panic.

"Well, shouldn't you attend to it?"

"No, it doesn't require immediate attention." It was happening too far away to get there in time. "And our present priority is right here," he added as he signaled the kids.

"Hai, we can't just leave the kids here." The X-Men should be able to handle whatever the problem is, and they'll have enough help with Neptune and Uranus.

"By the way," the doctor commented as he looked around, "What happened to Haruka and Michiru?"

"A minor inconvenience," Setsuna said mischievously, "Haruka-kun is…"

Unbeknownst to them all, the whole group was being observed by three agents sent by Rogers.

"We hit paydirt," a bearded one said, "almost every one of those kids has the x-factor, and so does that big guy in the trench coat."

"Don't you mean all of them?" the second one asked, "According to this radar, that goth girl, the one with bunny ears and that walking centerfold also have something."

"Yeah, but it's not a mutation, or maybe a new sort."

"Right, we should inform this at headquarters. Let's grab that white-haired one and… Hey, K, get your head out of the clouds!"

"Uh, guys," the third one stuttered, "Who's making that shadow?" All three turned and discovered the source.

"Kill them."