SMST: The Hero Initiative – By DS Wynne
Disclaimer: "Sailor Moon", "Ranma ½", "Star Trek" and other creations belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Special note: This story takes place between the "2008" story ARC and the "2009" CHAPTER. It also serves as a sequel to "SMST: Hero Unlimited" and "SMST: Hero Unlimited Next". Enjoy!
Part 1
In the center of Time and Space, there is exists a place known as "The Rock of Eternity". For thousands of years, this place—which is essentially made from two mountains, one from "Heaven" while the other was from "Hell", that were connected at their base—has been watched over by various guardians who went by the name "Shazam". This solitary figure guarded against the evil that was imprisoned there: the living embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins (encased in statues that display a particular vice) and the Three Faces of Evil (one of the more powerful cthulu in fact). There were other evils trapped within its surface, but as long as someone watches over the Rock, an escape by these entities was unlikely…
In recent days, the Rock's interior has been modernized. Technomagic has been used to create the allusion of modern technology, as monitors were present throughout the place. Even the statues that contained the Sins have undergone a radical transformation. Gone was the anthropological imagery that the old statues invoked. Now, each statue had classical art connotations (the fact that "Lust" now represented two lovers in an embrace would not be lost on anyone). In fact, the throne room of the Rock was more of an Olympian palace with the influence of the European Renaissance, than simply a cavernous cave-
"Computer," says a feminine voice. "Show me…Earth 50."
CHIRP!
In an area dedicated to observing events, Lady Shazam (also known as Usagi Tsukino, also known as "Sailor Moon") takes a look at one particular world. There, she sees the homunculus "Injustice" enjoying his reunion with HIS Sailor Moon, who was a cyborg. On that world, Lady Shazam's husband Ranma Saotome did not become a martial artist, but a martial scholar (i.e. using knowledge as a weapon). THAT Ranma and his Usagi had many of the same adventures that she and HER Ranma had. The difference was that Ranma was pro-active in trying to make the world a better place, but paid a price for it when he became a soulless thing. Lady Shazam and her husband would do much to help Injustice, especially when it was possible to restore what went wrong. Thus, Injustice returned to his world with the return of his beloved…
Incidentally, this wouldn't have been possible had Usagi not had been a slider (or dimensional hopper) due to an accident on the part of a graduate student's science experiments. It was not the first time she performed a dimensional hop, but it wasn't until THAT particular incident that she and Ranma adopted the term "sliding" (they had spent time exploring the Rifts, after all). The Kromaggs—who were descendants of Cro-Magnons, who became the dominant humanoid species instead of homo sapiens—were a pain to deal with, especially their version of Sailor Moon and the Magnificent Mask. Together, they were conquering other Earths with their war machine. In the end, Usagi and Ranma, with the help of the enigmatic "Doctor", was able to convince the Time Lords to "pocket" the worlds that the Kromaggs had conquered—150 Earths in all—while restoring the Earths that had been conquered to their normal status BEFORE they conquered them. In the end, the Time Lords sent the Sliders-gang to where they needed to be, and had kept an eye on things up until the time of the last "Time War", in which the Time Lords seemingly died along with their enemies, the Daleks.
Interestingly, the side effect to all of this was the creation of a universe that had 52 alternate realities, each monitored by 52 versions of the planetary senshi known as Sailor Pluto. As Lady Shazam, Usagi could look into these realities, including the one where Injustice comes from. There were other universes that had a Sailor Moon, but only as an imaginary character while, for example, Ranma would be "real'…and vice versa. As for the 52 worlds in HER universe, each one had a different Usagi and a different Ranma; sometimes they have met, other times they have not. Some of the weirder ones were the ones where they were related, either in a parent-child relationship, as siblings or as cousins. Basically, it went like this:
On Earth-0, Lady Shazam's Earth, both Usagi and Ranma started the lives the normal way. Usagi became Sailor Moon, and Ranma defeated Saffron. However, Karume and Natsumi Tendo never existed in this world, as well other more animated cast of characters. Also, Tuxedo Kamen is more powerful in this world than in many others, particularly in the area of Terran psychometrics.
(A/N: Manga canon.)
On Earth-1, the opposite was true. Karume and Natsumi exist, while Tuxedo Kamen was less powerful, and did NOT have any special powers pertaining the Earth.
(A/N: Anime canon.)
On Earth-2, Usagi and Ranma's histories were much more lively, including Usagi having another form: Princess Sailor Moon. This version was much more callous towards those who would get in the way of her true love. Furthermore, the Dark Kingdom, along with Tuxedo Kamen, had corrupted that world's Sailor Mercury.
(A/N: Live action canon.)
Earth-3 was where the Sailor Scouts were "supervillains", while the Nerima Wrecking Crew was a criminal gang. It must be noted that this alternate timeline is known as "The Mirror-verse".
On Earth-4, there were American versions of Usagi (called Serena on that world) and Ranma; both of them lived in "Little Tokyo" in the Los Angeles area in California.
Usagi lived on Juuban Street, while Ranma lived on Nerima Ave.
(A/N: Dubbed canon.)
On Earth-5, Usagi never became Sailor Moon; Naru Osaka did. Meanwhile, it was the Tendo sisters and their father that went on the ten-year training journey, not Ranma and his father.
On Earth-8, Beryl and the Negaverse defeated Sailor Moon, while Saffron defeated Ranma at Jusendo. Both are now locked in competition on who dominates their Earth.
On Earth-10, the Axis Powers won the Second World War. As a result, Usagi and Ranma served at the pleasure of Imperial Japan.
On Earth-17, the Overfiend, the Nephandi, and other demonic and monstrous entities took over the Earth during the so-called "Week of Nightmares". The result was human males becoming extinct, while human females are trained in Inujutsu and the warrior arts as a means of fighting back against the darkness as the famed "Sex Warriors".
Needless to say the development of these women and their martial arts would produce techniques—because of these women warriors' war against the Darkness—that made even Lady Shazam blush…and she's supposed to be experienced. Still, she spent enough time as that world's counterpart to appreciate the difference between love, lust…and outright debauchery.
On Earth-22, an older Sailor Moon comes out of retirement to reign herd on a new generation of Sailor Scouts and other magical girls, who promote justice in the name of Lust and Vengeance (aka the Latex Creed). Also, an older Ranma, who returns from his self-imposed exile (as a result of the accidental death of an innocent bystander between himself and Ryouga), returns to meet his son Kenma and the newest generation of the Nerima Wrecking Crew.
Earth-26 was the world that was not dominated by humans, but rather by sentient, cartoon animals. So the Usagi of that world was a talking rabbit, while Ranma was a talking horse (or pony). Other than THAT, the timeline was "normal".
Earth-34 was the new home of various types of clones and duplicates of Ranma's female form and Usagi, which was given to them in recognition of service to Empress Serenity, also known as the Lord of the Sith "Darth Lune" (aka Mirror-verse Usagi). They stand ready to serve the will of Usagi or her consort Ranma as "Soldiers of the Imperium".
Earth-50, which Injustice's homeworld, is where cyberpunk and hyper-science completely supplanted magic and mystery in the so-called "Age of Steel". It was only recently that Lady Shazam brought back her alternate counterpart to life.
And Earth-51 was an Earth where Usagi and Ranma were normal people without any special abilities.
"Hmmm," Lady Shazam mused, as she sees Injustice and her counterpart "marriage renewal" ceremony. She was slightly jealous by the fact that she never had gotten a decent marriage renewal after going through what had happened. She should be thankful that she survived that experience long enough to have a small ceremony at least, which just her bridesmaid (Akane), Ranma's best man (Ryouga), and their immediate friends and family. Lady Shazam was surprised that both Akane and Mamoru were okay being there to see her renew her wedding vows. Still, with all that had happened, and with the two of them coming to terms with their place in all this—not to mention the way they came to terms with what went on—Lady Shazam was glad that things worked out for all parties concerned-
"Usagi?" says a deep booming voice from behind.
Lady Shazam turns to see her male counterpart, Master Shazam. Like Usagi, both were dressed in white outfits with sparkling gold trim (including the large lightning bolt symbol over their respective chests), and both had long, white hair (though Usagi's was longer). It was decided that they would share the responsibilities and power that coursed through the Rock: the Power of Shazam. As a result, both possess the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. However, their respective strength was within the domain of sorcery, hence the reason why Master Shazam was classified as a "wizard", while Lady Shazam was classified as a "witch". That didn't mean that either one of them couldn't get physical, but their talents lied elsewhere in the area of magic.
"Oh, hi, Billy," Lady Shazam says. "You're here early."
"Yeah, I was able to get out of work early today," Master Shazam says, as he sits down on his throne. "I tell ya, sometimes it's easier to just be a wizard full time, rather than attempt having a normal life."
"Just be thankful that you have the life that you have now. Otherwise, MARY will still be a handful."
"Tell me about," Master Shazam says, as he leans on his left arm. "I've made SO many mistakes concerning her…I'm just glad that she finally forgave me for seemingly abandoning her for THIS job."
"Right," Lady Shazam says, as she puts up the hood of her white cloak. The then picks up her staff.
"You know, since you are a wizard now, maybe you should invest in a staff."
"Mmm-nyah," Master Shazam replied. "It would make me more like Gandalf than I would want to."
"Hey, Gandalf was a good friend. In fact, he gave me THIS staff when I was his apprentice."
"Sorry, but no sale."
"Humph," Lady Shazam says, as she begins to leave. "I know when I'm not wanted…"
"Where you going?"
"Oh…just settling old scores, that's all."
And with that, Lady Shazam leaps off of the Rock of Eternity. She could use it to fly to any point in space and time, but she needed to be at a particular time and place…
Lady Shazam lands in New Orleans. Much of it was still damage after Hurricane Katrina smashed it up. The Rantsu Foundation was pumping money for reconstruction efforts, but only if there is involvement of local people. So far, it's been difficult in obtaining the workers needed to help in the reconstruction efforts.
Lady Shazam sees an old doll stuck in the caked dirt. She squats to pick up the doll.
"What a waste," she says to herself.
And then she hears the whine of engines touching down behind her…
"Hello, Antonia," Lady Shazam says evenly, as she turns around. "It's been a while."
"It has, Usagi," Iron Girl says. She wore a female suit of power armor—slim—that was silver and pink. "I didn't mind stopping those cybermen and ghosts, but we were supposed to have had our little conversation. But you ended up disappearing on me."
"I was…detained by other matters."
"I figure as much, since I've never knew you to be a coward."
Silence.
"And what's with this sword and sorcery business? You look like someone from a Renaissance Pleasure Fare or something."
"You're close," Lady Shazam says. "Among other things, I AM a magus."
"Ha, I take you were in Doc Strange's graduating class or something then."
"Actually, I was his tutor."
Silence.
"Okay, I'll get to the point. I want to know what happened to my father."
"I sent him on a one way trip to the future…to the year 5 Billion, to be exact."
"WHAT?" Iron Girl sys, as she got into a fighting stance. "How could you?"
"Your father was a good man, but he was out of control. That doesn't mean that we were always in a disagreement. After all, I did agree that 'Operation: Initiative' SHOULD be, well, initiated…based upon something that was discovered by Tony, our colleagues and myself. Where he went wrong was when he thought to take ME out of the equation, since he felt that I had too much influence in the American government…among other things."
The REAL reason, however, was that because of her destiny as the future "Neo-Queen of Crystal Tokyo", Lady Shazam would be an obstacle towards Tony Stark's goal of having an Earth that was completely free of religion, mysticism and magic. Crystal Tokyo's existence would be a nightmare for anyone who wanted to promote hyper-science and the cyber-punk philosophy. As a futurist, Tony had long since embraced this notion, and began a plan to not only to undermine Lady Shazam, but everyone and everything connected to her. So, using the "World War Hulk" event as a smoke screen, Lady Shazam got rid of Tony instead.
"And since he was a 'futurist', I figure that he should go there."
"You think this is funny, Usagi?" Iron Girl raged. "My father may be a jerk with alcoholic tendencies, but he was still my father!"
Lines of circuitry began to appear throughout her armor, as Iron Girl began to charge her weapons.
"I'm going to MAKE you bring back Tony Stark!"
"YOU are going to MAKE me bring back Tony?" Lady Shazam says, as her eyes began to crackle with power, lightning began to dance around her, as the gold of her outfit—including the lightning bolt on her chest—glowed brightly."
"Little girl, NO ONE makes me do anything…not after I went through this past year. But if you have the power to change my mind, then, by all means, let's 'debate' on the matter."
Tbc.
Author's note: I don't know how long this story is going to be. Suffice it to say, it will focus on the world of superheroes, from the point-of-view of the characters from "Sailor Moon" and "Ranma ½". Until next time…