TRTSS13: The Blackest Reign and a Dark Night!
Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, DC/Marvel Comics and other properties belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Part 20
Meanwhile…
"I think we should be arriving at the right spot," Jackie said, as she guided the TARDIS to a room near the Hall of Science located on New Krypton.
"Why I let you pilot the TARDIS, I don't know," the Doctor said, as he lowers his magazine. "And the fact is, Doctor, how can you trust the words of a 'Trickster'?"
"Doctor, Lokidis IS your great-granddaughter, you know."
"No, Nabiki is," the Doctor replied. "Lokidis is the result of some sod who decided to wear her 'skin'."
"Regardless, I trust her."
"And why is THAT?"
"Lokidis wants something that only I can provide, Doctor."
"And because Lokidis likes predictability," Ranma said, as he brings his gear out to the central area of the TARDIS. "And managing predictability brings profit."
"Why am I not surprise…?"
"The fact of the matter is that I was able to confirm this as fact," Jackie said, as she brings out a USB key from her pocket. "Thanks to THIS…"
Jackie inserts the key into a port node on the control panel of the TARDIS.
"Luckily, I keep my contacts current," Jackie said, as he activates the video features of the data on the key. "Watch."
CLICK!
The screen shows a nearly nude woman strapped in some sort of apparatus. She appeared to have been beaten within an inch of her life.
"Oh, dear," the Doctor said, as he puts on his glasses. "I recognize her as 'Superwoman'."
"Wait, what is happening to Krista Wor-Ul?" Ranma asked out of concerned.
"This happened," Jackie said, as she brings up another screen, which features the files of another familiar face…
"What the hell is Lucy Lane being involved?"
"Remember those attacks on Kandor, before the city was moved to New Krypton?" Jackie said. "Apparently, Lucy's father-"
CLACK!
Another screen pops up in the video showing a stern man in an US Army uniform.
"-General Sam Lane, didn't like the fact that there were 100,000 'supermen' on the planet, after the inhabitants were freed from the clutches of Brainiac Prime. In fact, he hates all aliens, especially Kryptonians," Jackie said with a sigh. "He won't be satisfied until Earth is 'freed' from all alien influence, and given the fact that the Earth has been attack a lot in recent years, there are many behind the scenes that are listening to him, Norman Osborn being one of them."
"Where is he now?" the Doctor asked.
"After learning about his 'Project 7734', I had him arrested, interrogated and detained, while his operations were shut-down," Jackie said. "I guess Lucy took it hard that her father has been disgraced."
"And so Lucy is picking up where her father left off," Ranma said. "But what does this have to do with Krista?"
"What are you about to see is…hard to take," Jackie said, as she plays the primary data. "So…you've been warned."
CLICK!
Two attendants, dressed in containment suits, step into view and removes the last bit of clothing from Krista's body while making sure that she was still strapped into a crystalline contraption…
"Wait, isn't that the molecular bio-converter?" the Doctor asked.
Ranma turns towards the Doctor.
"How do you know about that?" Ranma asked.
"Because I'm the Doctor, of course," the Doctor replied. "But specifically, I am familiar with Kryptonian technology, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Jackie said. "It was back during one of your earlier incarnations."
"Precisely, and you and Ranma were with me at the time."
"Huh," Ranma said.
"Shhh, the voice documentation is about to begin," Jackie said, as she turned up the volume…
"Why are you doing this?" Krista demanded. "We were friends!"
"We were friends, Krista," said Lucy from the side, away from camera view. "My father, General Sam Lane was right about you and your kind."
"My…kind?"
"Yes, your fellow Kryptonians. He tried to warn Homeworld Security to do something about the threat, but no one was willing to listen…save for Norman Osborn. But before my father could do anything, Sailor Cosmos intervened…and took my father away!"
"She did so because she had family who are Kryptonian, partial or otherwise. How can you expect her to stand by and allow your father to harm them?"
"And how can she be allowed to harm MY father, and not pay the price? No, I plan on finishing what he had started. But first, I'm going to get rid of YOU."
At this point, the video shows Krista trying to get from her bonds…
"Let me go!" Krista demanded.
"No, and don't bother to struggle," Lucy said. "We bathed your body with the rays of red solar energy long enough to render you powerless."
"Then what do you want from me?"
"You? Not much. However, your body and mind will be very useful to me."
"Huh?"
"What interesting about the Moon Princess, is that she is far more brilliant than she lets on. Of course, she is not a super-genius in the strictest sense. Oh, no. She practices at being a super-genius, by reading, studying and improving herself over the course of many lifetimes. In a way, I kind of feel sorry for her. After all, how would one feel if it takes generations to be at the level where people actual respects him or her? I can imagine that she would feel inadequate, like a pretender, around those who are naturally gifted, but I digress…"
There was a noticeable pause.
"One of the things that fascinate me about the Moon Princess is her prone towards experimentation and of Kryptonian science. We were able to 'hack' into her files, and de-encrypt just a fraction of the vast warehouse of data that she has developed over the years…"
Pause.
"For example, you are in a modified trans-mat device that will convert your biological mass into pure energy. You will then merge with another biological mass, but with the latter being the dominant entity."
"But…why?"
"Because you have power that I want to control. And with that power, and once I release Brainiac Prime onto New Krypton, I shall have my revenge against your kind…and against the Moon Princess."
Pause.
"Any last words?"
"Usagi will stop you!" Krista yells. "Neither she nor Ranma will let you get away with this-!"
"Activate the machine."
ZAAAAARRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKK-!
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…"
Krista is converted into a luminous being, and then a mist of energy particles.
"Okay," Lucy said, as she comes into view of the camera. "Let's do this."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" said a voice, whose owner spoke out of frame. "There may not be a way to turn back."
"Yes. I want to be 'Superwoman'," Lucy said, as she disrobes. She then places herself into the same chamber that Krista was just in, while attendants place nodes throughout her body.
"And the only way to beat the Moon Princess is to have power, something that the Kryptonians have I spades."
"We've reached maximum conversion," said the same out-of-frame voice. "If we don't merge the Kryptonian's matter with yours, there may be an imbalance."
"Then, let's do this," Lucy said, as she lays into the chamber.
"Right. Activating machine…now."
ZAAAARRRRRRRKKKKKKKK…"
Lucy begins to glow, as Kirsta's energy begins to weave into Lucy's matter. Cells are converted into a hybrid of Lucy's matter and Kirsta's.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Lucy screams, as she becomes something else…
"Fusion has been achieved," said the voice. "Commence bio-scanning procedures…"
A light in shone over the tired form of Lucy Lane.
"And your body is stable."
"How…how long will my condition last, and is it reversible?"
"This is permanent," said the voice. "But, your body is stable."
"No matter," Lucy said, as an attendant helps her out of the chamber. "It is a small price to pay, I suppose…"
CLICK!
"Goodness," the Doctor said, as he pauses the frames while he and Ranma both turn towards Jackie who looked frustrated. "You invented that device?"
"I only theorize the procedure, that's all," Jackie protested. "It was a part of my attempt to see if it was possible to change a human into a Kryptonian. And, for the record, I developed numerous ways to do it."
"But how did Lucy manage to get a hold of your journals?" Ranma asked.
"THAT I don't know. The Technocratic Union is very picky about letting non-authorized personnel access to ANY library and records let alone mine."
"So, you know who got access to your files?"
"Unfortunately, I do now, and so will you," Jackie said, as she brings up another frame. "You wouldn't notice it, but I learned of the identity of the person helping Lucy by focusing on the reflection of the lab equipment…"
After a series of digital recreations, a familiar face shows up.
"Oh, no," the Doctor said in horror.
"Oh, boy," Ranma said with dread. "No wonder Lucy was able to get access to your files. Only a mad genius could not only de-encrypt your data, but is able to successfully translate your theories into applications."
"Exactly," Jackie said with a sad smile. "Lucy is having help from…THE RANI."
"Whatever the case, we have to get to her before her next regeneration," the Doctor said. "If we don't, Donna Noble will be lost to us…for GOOD."
"Well, we have more pressing business to attend to," Ranma replied, as he stretches his limbs. "We have to get to Zor-El and Allura before Brainiac attacks New Krypton," Jackie replies.
"Agreed," the Doctor said, as he feels the familiar thump of the TARDIS landing onto a solid surface. "The sooner we do that, the better."
Unfortunately, upon stepping outside of the TARDIS…
"What the hell-?" Ranma said, as he sees the rumble that was the destroyed Great Hall of Krypton.
"That," Jackie said, as she points upward.
"Oh, no," the Doctor said, as he, Ranma and Jackie looks up to see the skies over New Krypton. Above them all were flying death heads and Brainiac Droids (i.e. robotic skeletons with big heads).
"We're too late…"
"Worse, this means that Osborn just launched his operations against Asgard," Jackie said grimly.
Just then, a dozen of the Brainiac Droids begin their descent towards the trio.
"You belong to Brainiac!" said the lead droid. "You're knowledge will be added to our own."
"Why do I get the sense of 'déjà vu'?" Ranma replied, as he and his companions prepare for an attack…
Meanwhile…
"It appears that the forces against the Moon Princess are on the move," Madam MODOC said, as she and the Leader examines video feeds on New Krypton and on New Asgard.
"No, not yet," the Leader said, as clones of Hulkuruko (i.e. Hulk versions of Ranma-onna) tended to his needs. Out of spite against Ronin for interfering with his plans, he had a personal guard consisting of Hulkuruko(s), originally manufactured on the behest of US Army General John Ryker, CEO of the Origins Corporation (a front for the Technocratic Union), for his "Gamma Corps" (a special ops team designed to utilize gamma-enhanced beings against other gamma-enhanced beings). Besides tending to his personal needs, the Hulkuruko(s) serve as his personal henchmen…
"I want the Intelligentsia to take advantage of the obvious power vacuum, when Norma Osborn attacks New Asgard."
"You do now that Osborn will fall when he does, correct?" Madam MODOC replied. "It doesn't even take a statistical probability study to know THAT."
"Of course I know that. However, the heroes will be so worn down from Osborn's siege, when all is said and done."
Pause.
"And that is when we'll come in and pick up the pieces."
"Agreed," Madam MODOC said with a nod.
Pause.
"You do know that having concubines of Colonel Saotome's female guise, albeit gamma-enhanced, will 'piss him' off, right?"
"I know," the Leader said with a smirk, as he glances over towards a large, shadowy. "But don't think I am not without…counter-measures..."
Pause.
"Hulkuru, come," commanded the Leader.
A green-skinned, muscle bound version of Ranma stepped forth. He was as massive as the Hulk, but had none of the Neanderthal-like qualities that the Hulk had.
"Yes, sir?" Hulkuru asked.
"What do you think of Ranma Saotome?"
Hulkuru grin a nasty grin.
"I will kill him and take his women for myself."
"Good," the Leader said, as he smiled. "I like a man with a goal."
Tbc.