Rewriting stories... Yeah... I should probably be updating Winx or Pearls, but really, I can't stand the atrocious writing in this... so... enjoy? First chapter is still heavily inspired by Codename Sailor D's story New Friends, by the way. The timeline's set mid R, so Mamoru's still pretending to hate Usagi, Pluto hasn't revealed herself yet, and Rubeus has been destroyed.
Disclaimer: The Sailor Moon manga, and all the variants thereof, including the animes, musicals and the live-action series, all belong to Naoko Takeuchi as well as whomever she gave the rights to. Teen Titans, on the other hand, belongs to DC comics. I, obviously, don't own either media.
A running Usagi finally slowed down at the entrance of the Hikawa Shrine, throwing open the doors to the room that the meetings of the Senshi were usually held in. Releasing a breath, she slowly walked into the room, her face slightly red from her frantic sprint from her house to the temple. "I'm sorry girls," the blonde apologized, bowing deeply before she straightened to walk closer to the group. "What's wrong?" she finally asked, her expression turning dead serious. "What's the meeting about? Is it a new enemy?"
The four guardians were strangely silent. Even the two Lunar felines, who were watching the conversation from a distance, didn't speak a word, only sharing short, knowing glances between the advisers.
Usagi felt fear stir in her heart. She really didn't need another problem to deal with alongside the strange twinges of darker magic she occasionally felt reaching out to her. "G-girls?" she stammered out, her voice lightly shaking.
"It's not about the enemy, Usagi-chan," Ami's quiet voice cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter.
"Then what's the matter?" Usagi ventured, uncertainty in her tone. 'The' enemy, Usagi noted silently. That meant that there was a new threat. She swallowed nervously.
"It's been a team decision, Usagi-chan," Minako began gently. "We've been discussing this for a while, and we've finally made a choice. The four of us," the blond Senshi paused to gesture around to the four guardians, who all bowed their heads, barring the aloof Rei, almost as if they were ashamed of facing her. "Have decided that..."
"Get on with it, Venus," Rei said sharply, her face of delicate, aristocratic features cold and stoic. "Don't drag it on for more than needed. We made the decision, now spit it out."
"Fine!" Minako snapped, her blue eyes lighting up in irritation. "Usagi-chan, it pains me to say this, but..." the reincarnation of the Venusian princess swallowed and looked at the others, who all returned her with a pitiful glance, only Rei having her eyes narrowed. "You're off the team. It's-it's for your own protection."
"Wha-what?" Usagi stuttered, stunned by the other blonde's words. "Why?"
"It's just because you can't take care of yourself during a fight," Makoto tried to explain, the tall brunette looking at the Moon Princess with begging green eyes that matched the colour of her transformation wand. "Please, Usagi-chan, just accept it. We'll still be your friends, and we can still meet up for meetings, but all you need to do is stay away from the battles!"
Usagi's eyes narrowed, a frown on her face. Surely Ami couldn't feel that she needed protection... could she? Turning to the blue-haired Senshi, the princess was startled to see Ami breaking down in tears. She took a shaky step closer to the guardian of Mercury, hand outstretched to comfort her, but Ami slapped her hand away, sobs shaking her frame.
"I'm sorry, Usagi-chan!" the genius blurted out, tears running down her face. "Mako-chan and Minako-chan... they're both right. You need to be safe and protected." The girl leapt to her feet, throwing her arms around Usagi in a rare act of affection for the other girl. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeated, sobbing into Usagi's shoulder. "Forgive me, Usagi. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Shaking her head frantically, Usagi shrugged Ami off, stumbling back with her eyes wide. "Girls..." she whispered softly. She shook her head, her long blond pigtails swinging in the air. "I won't!" she shouted out. Her brooch, pinned on the front of her uniform, gleamed, the crystal inside responding to her distress. "You need me!" she cried out. "We're a team!" Fresh tears stinging her eyes, she bit back the sob that was going to escape her and she tried to reason with her friends yet again. "We're supposed to... work together..." With each word, her voice grew softer and softer. "Please... reconsider."
Minako looked to be fighting back tears of her own as she shook her head full of long, lustrous blond hair. "I'm sorry, Usagi-chan," she apologized. The girl gave a sideways glance at Makoto, who was busy consoling the hysterical Ami. "But you're in too much danger out there in the battlefield. You're our princess. We're supposed to keep you safe." As she spoke, her hand reached out to gently clasp Usagi's shoulder. "Be reasonable."
Usagi didn't move, her fists slowly clenching tighter and tighter as what the Senshi said drilled itself into her mind. "No," she spat as coldly as she could manage, her hand slapping Minako's away. "No," she repeated louder, much to the astonishment of the others, who, she bet, were probably expecting her to cry and give in. "I'm not going to stand down," she hissed at them. "And I'm not going down without a fight."
"Usagi." Rei stepped in, and with a fierce glare, silently ordered Minako to step back. Much to the Moon princess' surprise, the blonde obeyed, joining Makoto and Ami, soon breaking down along with the blue-haired genius. "Be reasonable, odango-atama," the raven-haired priestess stated sharply, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't want to have to force you out of here too."
"Don't bother," Usagi snapped at the priestess angrily. "I'm leaving. You always wanted me to follow you, well now I am. But I'm never coming back." The princess' face turned impassive as she took a step back. She turned her back onto the four, as well as the two cats, who still hadn't spoken a word yet. She took a few steps towards the door, but just as she was going to walk out, she turned back to face them, her eyes narrowed in anger.
"If this is the way you want things, then so be it," the princess spat, her eyes hardening into icy blue rocks. "But one day, I swear on the name of the Moon that I'll show you my worth as a Senshi, and I'll make you regret doing this to me." She whipped back around, her long hair slicing through the air. Storming out, the door slammed forcefully behind her, nearly splintering into small pieces.
Artemis and Luna stared after her, their eyes filled with regret and pity for the princess. Both cats looked at each other, then transformed themselves into their human forms. Artemis headed over to comfort Minako, while Luna walked over to Rei, who, by now had started shaking, with fresh tears in her eyes. Luna clapped a hand onto Rei's shoulder. "It's okay, Rei," the woman gently said to the priestess. "You did what was needed." Luna's long, deep black curls fell over her shoulder as she continued to speak with the raven-haired girl.
Artemis gently soothed Minako, his hands gently rubbing her back as he looked back to his partner. Luna met his gaze, eyes regretful. Both knew that they had done what was needed to make their princess stronger.
Yes, I'm showing a new side to this. This time, not everyone's so black and white. Rather, all of them are grey. Usagi may be our protagonist, but while she seeks revenge just like any other betrayal story, she still isn't completely in the right. Call this a deconstruction of sorts, I suppose.