"SCENE: Usagi and Mamoru have been kidnapped by 'Bonnie and Clyde' wannabe's-dressed in 30's clothing and singing scary songs your Grandmother might have trouble remembering-and takes them on a bank heist."
Anyone who recognises the title will realise that I stole the main idea for the bad guys in this story from the series two episode of "Lois and Clark", entitled "That old gang of mine". For some reason, Capone and co. ended up in Tokyo, but I didn't really have time to explain all that, what with only having an hour in which to write the whole story. Please ignore any glaring typos, grammatical errors or plot holes, it's the middle of the night and I wanted to send this out to you all as soon as I was done.
Comments are welcome, and archiving anywhere is fine so long as you tell me about it.
That Brand New Gang of Mine
"Let go of me!" Usagi kicked out viciously at one of her captors and was rewarded by a cuff to the back of her head for her troubles. Secretly, Mamoru was glad that they hadn't hit Usagi harder, or with one of their weapons, though he never would have admitted to caring if anyone asked him.
Still, he wasn't about to let her get hurt. Reaching out silently, he placed a restraining hand on her arm. 'Not now', his eyes whispered to the bright questioning eyes that looked up in shock at his action, 'save your strength.'
"Don't make us tie you up", a gun was pointed in Usagi's direction and she visibly flinched, seeming to shrink down to almost nothingness.
He still wasn't sure what exactly was going on with these crazy loonies, but Mamoru had learned a long time ago that the best way to deal with a situation where you had no control over what was happening was to be silent and wait for a moment when you could act without unnecessary risk. His many battles alongside Sailor Moon had taught him that, if nothing else.
For a brief moment Mamoru allowed himself to wonder where the super heroine was, and if by some miracle she would be able to rescue them from this situation. He could usually sense when she was in danger, but did the bond work in both directions? And would it work when he wasn't transformed? One of these days he should probably corner the pretty-suited sailor soldier of love and justice and find the answers to his questions. Course, chances were that if he cornered her he'd just end up getting distracted and end up finding out the answers to a whole different bunch of questions, such as what those pink lips of hers tasted like…
"Mamoru, what is going on?" The soft, worried voice of Usagi brought him back to the present and their predicament rather suddenly. He had to stop her from worrying, her miserable face bringing forth all sorts of protective instincts in him.
"I'm not sure, Usagi", he said gently, squeezing her arm reassuringly, "but we'll get through this together. Just go along with what the kidnappers want for now."
She nodded, as the one known as Dillinger waved his gun towards them menacingly. "Don't talk, kiddies", the gangster said, running his hands along one of Usagi's ponytails with an evil smile.
Despite all his instincts telling him not to react, Mamoru's hand shot forward, grabbing Dillinger's and yanking him away from Usagi. "Don't touch her", he growled in a low voice.
"Or what?" The muzzle of a gun was suddenly pressing against Mamoru's forehead. Gazes locked, the two men did not speak, their emotions plain on their faces.
"Dillinger", another male voice cut through the tension, and as Dillinger pulled his gun back Mamoru thought that he heard Usagi sigh in relief. Could it be that the blonde had been worried about him, despite their terrible track record for screaming at each other for no reason? Mamoru doubted it; she just didn't want to witness him being killed by anyone other than herself after he'd insulted her somehow.
"Keep your mind on the job", Al Capone nodded his head at the offending member of his gang, "we want these two in good condition."
"I dunno why", Dillinger muttered almost sub-vocally, though Mamoru heard him softly. Usagi's hand reached up and touched Mamoru's own on her arm, and he took it allowing her small warmth to reassure him. Her touch did more than that though; it reminded Mamoru that he had to protect this girl at all costs.
"Alright kiddies, time to move out", Capone said, gesturing to his two captives. The other members of his gang finished packing up their plans and walked from the warehouse determinedly, heading for the first of the two authentic 1930s vehicles that were parked there. Capone and Dillinger walked Usagi and Mamoru to the second car, and Dillinger smiled as he made a snide suggestion to his boss. Capone nodded, and Dillinger's smile grew into a grin.
"Into the boot, kiddies", he said, opening it.
"I can't get in these", Usagi whimpered softly, "Please don't make me."
"I'll make you do whatever I want", he growled, "my pretty."
"Don't be such a bully." Mamoru again found himself speaking out on behalf of the blonde. This could be habit-forming, he thought, before realising that he wished such a habit were unnecessary. But Dillinger's attitude was getting on his nerves, Mamoru didn't care who the resurrected gangster was, he wasn't about to let him attack the bunny. "And keep your mitts off the girl."
"You going to make me, pretty boy?" The gun appeared out of nowhere into Dillinger's hand, and inwardly Mamoru sighed.
"We'll get in the boot", he said resignedly, squeezing Usagi's hand reassuringly, "just try to drive safely."
It had been a bright and sunny morning in Tokyo, and Mamoru had decided that he was going to go down to the arcade, have a coffee and a chat with Andrew, before heading home to get some study done. That was his grand plan, though if he was lucky he'd get that stupid physics assignment done before the day was out, so that in the evening perhaps he'd be able to do what he wanted for a change.
Things hadn't gone quite as he had planned though. Halfway to the arcade, a stray shoe had hit Mamoru on the head, and he'd turned with a growl, waving it at Usagi, who looked as shocked at the consequences of her action as he was. For a few moments they had stood there, hurling insults and bickering like children, Mamoru enjoying the activity a little more than was strictly necessary, to be sure, until a car had come speeding around the corner and nearly ploughed into them. Instead, it had hit a large garbage bin, knocking it sprawling, and leaving Usagi and Mamoru standing side by side with shocked expressions on their faces and Usagi with only one shoe on.
As distant sirens sounded far away, one of the men got out of the crammed car and gestured towards them with something black a shiny. That's a gun, some subconscious part of Mamoru's brain noticed, as he pushed Usagi behind him slightly. "Run", he whispered to her, and they were called over towards the car.
The terror on her face had been plain, as he was sure it was on his own, but as he told her to run, Usagi's eyes widened and she forced herself to smile. "I'll stay with you and keep you safe", she said with a cheer she did not feel, stepping towards those who were about to kidnap them. Mamoru had no choice but to follow, and though a part of him wondered at the old-style clothing and cars their captors were using, he was too busy keeping himself from panicking to make any connection.
The boot was cold and dark, and Usagi was shaking.
"It's okay", Mamoru whispered softly, "I'm here with you."
"I'm scared of the dark and closed spaces", she said, and he realised that she was crying. Although there was not a lot of room in the boot of the car, Mamoru had rather carefully positioned himself so as to not be touching Usagi and causing her more pain than she was already experiencing due to him. He should have made them leave her behind hours ago, no matter what the Gang's plan was. Bonnie Parker would have done just as well for the token female; it didn't have to be Usagi. But here they were, and Usagi was afraid of the dark and all alone.
Gently, softly, Mamoru shifted his weight so that he could reach out and draw Usagi into a hug, hugging the girl he had thought of as his nemesis, hugging her and realising that her hair smelled like strawberries.
In the front section of the car, Dillinger was singing a number of bawdy songs that had been out of circulation for at least seventy years. Mamoru tuned out that racket, listening instead to Usagi's sobs and wondering how he could best sooth them. He whispered soft words to her, not trying to make sense, but just encouraging her to stop her crying and calm her down. A part of Mamoru's mind noted that Usagi was too distraught even to wail like she normally did when he was fighting with her, but he knew that this time her distress was more real and painful.
"We have to get away from them", he heard her say in the dark as she squeezed him gently and sniffled a little. "I can't protect you like this, Mamoru-san." Mamoru smiled down at the young woman in his arms.
"You don't have to protect me, Usagi-chan, I can take care of myself. You should be more worried about trying to save your own skin." Mamoru thought he'd heard some form of beeping from somewhere nearby in the darkness with him, but couldn't place where it was coming from.
As the car turned a corner, Mamoru suddenly felt himself rolling over, so that he was lying awkwardly over Usagi. "I'm so sorry", he said as he tried to remove himself, not wanting to think about which particular piece of soft female anatomy he fingers had been resting against.
"Don't fret about it", she said, hugging him tighter, "I feel safer with you here." Truth be told, he felt safer with her in his arms too, but Usagi was only fourteen years old and he was thinking inappropriate thoughts. Ack, Mamoru sighed, I'm a dirty old man for touching her at all, let alone enjoying it. "Thank you for protecting me from Dillinger earlier. He frightens me."
"I won't let him touch you, Usagi. We're friends, of a sort, and we have to look out for each other."
"Thanks", she murmured, resting her cheek against his chest. The bumping of the car was quite lulling, and after her tears and the storm of emotions that had swept over her, Usagi was feeling very tired. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, relaxing and feeling safe for the first time since she'd lost her shoe that morning.
Mamoru smiled as he carefully listened to the soft sound of Usagi's breathing. For a moment he debated the thought of transforming and seeing if somehow Tuxedo Kamen's cane could be used to cut a way out of the back of the car, but somehow he knew that transforming would be the worst thing imaginable for all involved. His secret and the life of his princess were too valuable to be risked on something as chancy as jumping out of a speeding car with Usagi in his arms.
A cramp caused him to shift position suddenly, mumbling a curse under his breath. Usagi shifted her weight accordingly, and a strange moment of stillness passed between them.
Before he realised what he was doing, Mamoru leaned over, to kiss Usagi. As his lips narrowed in on hers, though, common sense reasserted itself and he pulled away, wondering what he was thinking. He couldn't betray Usagi's trust of him, not in this situation, not like that, or he'd be no better than Dillinger. She didn't seem to have realised what he'd been thinking though, for Usagi allowed him to move away, though he couldn't really move, their legs entangled and her hair a soft blanket beneath them. As the car slowed to a stop and the boot was opened, Usagi and Mamoru held hands tightly for courage and hope that someone would rescue them.
"The plan is simple. The kids will do the robbery for us, they will do all necessary talking and generally display to everyone that we're in control of this town now. It's not home, and I'm not sure how we ended up in this country or know the language, but Tokyo is our town now and it's time we started running it properly." Capone smiled as he looked around at his Gang. "The good doctor resurrected us, and now that we're done with him, it's time that someone should go out and take care of him."
A flash of light and a faint smell of smoke caused Usagi to scream and faint, so she hadn't seem the blood that splattered as the doctor, who had created such a strange science as to bring the dead back to life by some form of genetic manipulation, had fallen to the ground, dead. She had lay on the floor, almost too still to be alive, and Mamoru had been forbidden to go to her. Usagi's eyes had fluttered open just as Capone was asking for someone to dump the body.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Dillinger had volunteered for that duty. Usagi had watched in horror as the doctor's body had been carried from the warehouse and dumped unceremoniously into the back of the car.
As if nothing unusual had transpired, Al Capone, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker had gone back to their plans for the heist.
"We want all the money from the vault", Mamoru said softly to the girl at the teller's counter in the bank. "Please, could you do it quickly?"
She looked at him as if he had gone mad. "What did you say, sir?" she asked, coldly, "I couldn't quite hear you."
Mamoru and Usagi had walked into the bank quite calmly, followed unobtrusively by Bonnie, Clyde and Capone. The gangsters were there to ensure the good behaviour of their captives, and as Mamoru closed his eyes and again made his demand of the woman working the counter Capone stepped forward, making a nasty gesture towards Usagi.
After a few more moments, Dillinger, who had been watching from outside, burst into the bank, a gun in reach hand and swearing for all he was worth. "Give me all the money in the vault!"
The teller screamed, but otherwise seemed to keep her head. She unobtrusively reached under the counter and activated the alarms, summoning the police silently to the bank that was now under siege from a number of bank-robbers, for three other people in the bank had drawn weapons.
As the teller made her way towards the vault at the back wall of the bank, Dillinger came up to Usagi and started playing with her hair again. Something inside Mamoru lost all sense of sanity and knocked the gangster's hand away. "Leave her be, you filthy animal", Mamoru growled, "She is not for you to touch and I will not let you harm her innocence."
"Try to stop me, pretty boy. Capone already said that she was to be my reward for this job."
Mamoru hit him, hard, in the face, not caring about the fact that the other man had a gun and he was unarmed. All he knew was that this man was planning on crushing Usagi's spirit, and that he would never allow that. She was far too precious to him.
Wait a minute, some part of his brain piped up, since when was Usagi precious to you? She's always been precious, Mamoru realised, and a part of me has always cared about her. Fighting with her just seemed the best way to keep her at a distance, so she couldn't hurt me.
As these amazing thoughts were passing through Mamoru's brain, Dillinger was raising his gun and snarling at the university student. The other gangsters were too busy hunting down their money to notice what one of their members was doing, and it was Usagi who was forced to make the decision that would save the day.
Most of the bank staff had quietly fled the bank, and those members of the public who were there were huddled on the floor, covering their eyes for the most part. No one was looking at her, and the sound of sirens in the distance told Usagi that help was almost there.
Often-ditzy eyes narrowed, and she mumbled something that Mamoru only caught the edges of as he realised what Dillinger was about to do. There was a flash of light, a loud banging sound and then silence.
When at last Mamoru dared to open his eyes, Dillinger was unconscious on the floor in front of him, and as he looked around he saw that Sailors Mars, Mercury and Jupiter were holding onto the other criminals as Sailor Venus directed them in how to keep them until the police arrived. He got the vague impression that she had done this sort of thing before. The bank staff were very politely thanking Sailor Moon for her timely arrival and stopping the bad guys when she did.
Mamoru couldn't help but stare at the beautiful young warrior as she smiled and talked to the people around her. Finally, the police showed up and the Senshi gave brief statements, though they said that the word of the bank staff and Mamoru would be enough to prosecute the resurrected gangsters. Then all but Sailor Moon seemed to disappear as quickly as they had arrived, and Sailor Moon walked over to him, a slightly embarrassed look on her face.
"We should probably get out of here before people start questioning how that blonde girl who was with you disappeared", she said, smiling wryly, a faint blush staining her perfect cheeks.
"That's probably a good idea", Mamoru said, feeling the stress of the day finally start to drain. "Shall we go somewhere to talk, Usako?"
"I think I'd like that", there was a hint of the old Usagi in the smile that she gave him then, as she took his hand and they walked from the bank while no one was looking at them.
For a long time there was silence between them, until they reached the park and he asked what was foremost in his mind. "Did Dillinger really shoot you?"
Sailor Moon nodded. "I threw myself in front of you, and the armour of my fuku deflected the bullet into the ceiling. It was the only way I could think to save you."
"Thank you for that." He paused a moment, trying to find the words to tell her his own secret, since it didn't seem fair that he knew hers.
"I said I'd protect you", she said in a smug voice, as if baiting him to say something snide back. Mamoru's instincts took over and he spoke before his brain could stop him.
"It's about time you returned the favour, Odango Atama."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Her voice rose several octaves in response and Mamoru found himself wincing at the noise. Rather than speaking over her, Mamoru reached into his jacket and drew out a red rose, grinning wickedly at the string of curses Sailor Moon was hurling at him.
"I love you too", he said, leaning in and silencing her with a kiss. For a moment she thought about struggling, but as his clothes changed into a stunning black tuxedo and his arms wrapped around her she decided that maybe, just maybe, it was time to stop fighting with Mamoru.
At least until after they stopped kissing.