I don't own Sailor Moon, nor did I create it. Naoko Takeuchi created Sailor Moon, this is just my alternate universe version, a sort of "If I created Sailor Moon" story...
Note: Any dialogue written like this is in a foreign language, the language, unless Japanese, will be specified.
CHAPTER 36: HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION #7
SUBURBAN VIGILANTE IN TRAINING
JULY 13, 1986
Jerry Logue clocked out from his part-time job at Tower Records in Brea, which was just the other side of Craig Park from where he lived. He worked on the video side, although he sometimes worked on the music side. One of the perks of working there was employees got a free video rental each week. After clocking out, he contemplated renting a movie, but quickly decided against it. As he was leaving, he saw someone suspicious enter the business. The thing that tipped Jerry off was that the man was wearing a heavy leather coat, despite the temperature being just above 100 degrees. Hiding in the corner, he called his cousin John McCoy on his communicator. "Kaua Hoku to Big Bird," Jerry said.
"Big Bird here," John McCoy said.
"Some guy just went into Tower Records, and he's raising all sorts of red flags," Jerry said. "My gut's practically screaming at me to call you."
"And I'm supposing since you're new at the superhero game," John said, teleporting to just behind Jerry, "you could use a little assistance. So what tipped you off, anyways?"
"Some guy just walked in wearing a heavy coat," Jerry said.
"Maybe he's cold," Jerry said.
"It's in the triple digits," Jerry said. "Or don't you remember the titty bar scene from Beverly Hills Cop?"
"You're the movie buff," Jerry said.
"He's probably using the coat to hide a weapon," Jerry said.
"You think he's trying to rob the place?" John asked.
"I'd bet my left nut he was," Jerry said, taking a coin with a starburst on one side out of his pocket. He transformed into Starlight Warrior as John transformed into Golden Hawk.
"Follow my lead," Golden Hawk said, as he teleported the two of them into the store, sans smoke.
As they teleported in, the man in the heavy coat approached the counter, and removed a sawed-off shotgun from inside his coat, and cocked it. "Listen up, everybody," he said, holding a large canvas bag with his free hand. "This is a fucking robbery. Everyone put your valuables in the bag, as I walk by. Wallets, jewelry, anything of value. And I don't give a fuck about sentimental value, all I give a fuck about is monetary value. And while you're at it, bitch," he said to the girl behind the counter, "empty the register into the bag as well."
"And just who do you think you are?" asked a middle aged woman who was about to purchase a Dave Brubeck LP.
"I'm Owen Hatfield," the robber said. "That's who I am."
"Did I hear that right?" Starlight Warrior asked, "Did you just say you're a Hatfield?"
"What of it?" Owen asked.
"If you're a Hatfield," Golden Hawk said, "there's a little problem. For starters, in case you've been living under a rock for the last couple months, you'd know that I'm a McCoy."
"And my grandma's a McCoy," Starlight Warrior said. "Which kind of makes me a McCoy as well. And if you ever bothered to read a history book, you'd be aware that there's some bad blood between us McCoys and you Hatfields."
"I know of the feud between our families," Owen said, pointing the gun at Golden Hawk and Starlight Warrior. "Looks like this Hatfield's gonna waste a couple McCoys."
"I don't think so," Starlight Warrior said. Just as Owen was about to fire, Starlight Warrior telekinetically put the safety on, so instead of firing, the gun just made a click as Owen pulled the trigger. Starlight Warrior then fired a blast of dark blue energy, that blew the gun from his hands.
"I am so going to enjoy this," Golden Hawk said, balling his right hand into a fist, and charging it with energy. "Time for a little of the old rock-a-bye-baby." He delivered an uppercut that, having been energized, was enough to knock Owen unconscious.
As Owen went down, Golden Hawk materialized some rope from Hammerspace, which Starlight Warrior used to hogtie Owen by hands and feet behind his back, tying a constrictor knot. As Owen was tied up, the police arrived. "We got a silent alarm from here," the first officer who entered the store said. "Someone was robbing the place."
"We already took care of it," Golden Hawk said. "We disarmed, subdued, and restrained the suspect."
"We?" the officer asked. "I thought when it came to little things like this, you worked alone."
"I just took on a protege," Golden Hawk said.
"Golden Hawk's teaching me how to be a superhero," Starlight Warrior said. "You can call me the Starlight Warrior. Anyways, when I noticed the perp enter the store, he was wearing a heavy coat. Seeing someone wearing a heavy coat in the middle of summer raised all sorts of red flags, I figured he was trying to conceal a weapon. So I contacted Golden Hawk, and told him what was happening."
"I got there, and the perp got a sawed off shotgun out of his coat," Golden Hawk said, "and demanded that everyone give him their valuables, and that the girl behind the counter give him the money in the register. Starlight Warrior disarmed him, I subdued him, and here he is, wrapped up nice and pretty, like a birthday present, so to speak."
"I hogtied him," Starlight Warrior said, handing the officer Owen's wallet, which he removed from his pocket as he tied him. "By the way, we got a name, in case you want to run him for warrants."
"Sure," the officer said. "What is his name?"
"Owen Hatfield," Golden Hawk said.
"I'll run it," a second officer said, as Starlight Warrior untied Owen, so the first officer could handcuff him. As the first officer put Owen in the back of his squad car, the second officer came back in. "I ran him," the second officer said. "Turns out Owen Hatfield has a couple no-bail felony warrants, and that's just California. He's also wanted for capital murder in Dallas, and there's a $50,000 reward for his capture. And I'll let the authorities in Texas know the two of you captured him, and you both are entitled to the reward. Now John, I know your dual identity is publicly known, how about your partner here?"
"I prefer to keep my identity secret for the time being," Starlight Warrior said.
"I'll make sure he gets his fair share," Golden Hawk said.
"Fair enough," the first officer said.
Starlight Warrior went to the back of the store, where he transformed back to Jerry Logue, and came out, pretending he was using the bathroom, going so far as washing his hands. Golden Hawk transformed back into John McCoy, and bummed a ride home from Jerry. "Let's go back to your house," John said.
"Sure," Jerry said. They get on Jerry's motorcycle, and ride to his house, just down Rolling Hills, between Associated Boulevard and Placentia Avenue, just off Rolling Hills Drive. He turned onto the first street on the right, a very short street that served as an inlet/outlet for the neighborhood. At the end of the very short street, he turned right, and pulled into the driveway of the fourth house on the right, parking his motorcycle next to a red Toyota 4x4 pickup with an xtra cab. Jerry and John went into the house, a split level 2 story, through the garage, to the lower level den of the first story, where Bonnie, Jerry's stepmother, was watching a movie on television, and polishing her toenails. "How was work?" she asked.
"Not too bad," Jerry said. "Some idiot tried to rob the place just after I clocked out."
"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah," John said. "Jerry saw the guy enter the store, and got in touch with me."
"John and I took care of business just as he pulled out his gun," Jerry said.
"He learned the hard way not to mess with Golden Hawk and Starlight Warrior," John said.
"Anyways," Bonnie said, "some girl called for you just a few minutes before you got home. She sounded kind of cute, said her name was Usagi."
"He'll call her back in a few minutes," John said. "I just wanted to give him a little debriefing first."
"Debriefing?" Jerry Lee, Jerry's dad, asked.
"We kind of got mixed up in a robbery attempt," Jerry said.
"We took care of it," John said. "Nobody got hurt, nothing got taken, and I'd be willing to guess the perp's probably just waking up from when I gave him the old rock-a-bye-baby."
"Is that a sleeper hold or a knockout punch?" Bonnie asked.
"Knockout punch," Jerry said.
"Guaranteed to put anyone down for the count," John said. "Anyways, Jerry and I will be in his room for a few minutes, I wanted to go over what happened."
"Okay," Jerry Lee said.
Jerry and John went up to Jerry's bedroom, and closed the door. "You didn't do too bad for a rookie," John said. "One of these days, you're going to make a fine suburban vigilante, or, if you prefer, super hero."
"You think so?" Jerry asked. "I mean, you have a little more experience than I do."
"But you handled that exactly how I would have wanted you to," John said. "You didn't panic, you listened to your gut, and instead of going in there half cocked, you called in someone with more experience. And when everything went down, you let me take charge and followed my lead. The only thing I would have had a problem with was when I said I was a McCoy, you said you were one too, but even then, you kept it vague and just said your grandma's a McCoy. And after everything went down, you managed to change back to your secret identity without attracting attention. And I have to admit, washing your hands and leaving them a little damp was a nice touch. I'm going to give you an A- for this one."
"Great," Jerry said. "So do you need a ride home or anything?"
"Not really," John said. "Considering I'll be home before you get to the door."
"Guess I'll see you," Jerry said, as John teleported out.
"So you giving John a ride home?" Jerry Lee asked, as Jerry came downstairs and got himself a glass of water.
"He already left," Jerry said. "He teleported out. And don't worry, he didn't use any smoke pellets. He says those are just for show, anyways."
"Bonnie told you some girl named Usagi called, right?" Jerry Lee asked.
"Yeah," Jerry said. "I was just about to call her. John wanted to briefly go over our little kerfuffle first."
"So what exactly happened?" Jerry Lee asked.
"When I left work," Jerry said, "I saw this guy walking in wearing a heavy leather coat, and I realized anyone who would dress that warmly in this weather was either raised on the surface of the sun or concealing a sawed-off shotgun, and my gut told me his shotgun was a 12 gauge. So I called John, let him know what was going on, and we took care of business."
"I don't know anything about being a superhero," Jerry Lee said, "but you handled that pretty admirably."
"Thanks," Jerry said. He picked up the phone, and called Usagi.
"Konichi-wa," Ikuko said, when she answered the phone.
"Hi Ikuko," Jerry said. "This is Jerry, is Usagi there?"
"I'll get her," Ikuko said.
"This is Usagi," she said, as she took the phone.
"Hi Usagi," Jerry said. "You called?"
"I heard what happened at Tower today," Usagi said. "I was checking to see if you were okay."
"I'm fine," Jerry said. "I saw the guy enter the store, and had a gut feeling he was up to no good, so I called John, and we took care of it. Anyways, how are you today?"
"Pretty good," Usagi said. "And also relieved that nothing happened to you. Either of you."
"Only thing anything happened to was the bad guy," Jerry said. "John gave him the old rock-a-bye-baby."
"That's good," Usagi said.
"If that's Usagi on the phone," Jerry Lee said, "see if she wants to come over. I want to meet her."
"You doing anything right now?" Jerry asked.
"Not really," Usagi said. "I heard your dad just now, and I can be over there in just a few minutes. Where do you live?"
"I'll be over there in a few minutes to pick you up," Jerry said.
"I kind of feel like walking," Usagi said.
"Okay, I'll be over there in a few to walk you over to my house," Jerry said. "I just live right around the corner from you. I love you."
"I love you," Usagi said.
Jerry walked over to Usagi's house, where she was waiting for him. As they left for Jerry's house, Usagi took Jerry's hand in hers. "You think we should tell my dad about us?" Jerry asked.
"I told my parents," Usagi said. "Of course, they already know I'm Sailor Moon."
"I haven't told my dad that you're Sailor Moon," Jerry said. "I mean, he knows I'm the Starlight Warrior, and he knows that John's Golden Hawk."
"John McCoy being Golden Hawk is public knowledge," Usagi said.
"He's also my cousin," Jerry said.
"He's one of my best friends," Usagi said. "Now that I think about it, if he's your cousin, how come you never asked him to introduce us, if you had a crush on me?"
"I never thought about that," Jerry said. "Come to think of it, at the time, I probably didn't have anything to say to you besides hello."
"I don't know what it is about you," Usagi said. "I mean, if you do the math, it just doesn't add up, I can't see what business you and I have together. But when I'm with you, it just feels like we're meant to be together. And I told you about the first time I kissed you, it felt like we'd kissed a million times before."
"It's the dreams," Jerry said. "Which weren't actually dreams, they were memories of a past life in which you and I were lovers. We were meant to be together. Anyways, we're here."
They got to Jerry's house, and entered through the open garage into the den, where Jerry Lee and Bonnie were watching a movie. "You must be Usagi," Jerry Lee said. "I'm Jerry Lee, Jerry's father. This is my wife, Bonnie."
"Nice to meet you," Usagi said.
A boy of 12 came in the house from the backyard, where he had been swimming in the pool in the backyard. "Hey bro, the rumors are true," the boy said. "You actually do have a girlfriend."
"Hey Steve," Jerry said. "What's this about a rumor about me having a girlfriend, anyways?"
"I talked to Brandi next door a few days ago," Steve said. "She said that she and Sara up the street were at Disneyland a couple weeks ago, and they saw someone who looked like you on the Mark Twain. She said he was holding hands with a cute blonde, and they looked happy together. She said they thought it was someone who looked like you until Sara's mom picked them up later that night, and they saw your motorcycle in the parking lot."
"Yeah, that was me," Jerry said. "Anywho, Steve, this is Usagi, my girlfriend. Usagi, this is Steve, my stepbrother."
"Nice to meet you," Usagi said.
"Likewise," Steve said.
"Anyways," Jerry Lee said, "we're going to the Regal Beagle for fish and chips in a couple hours. Usagi, you're more than welcome to come along."
"Let me call my parents and let them know," Usagi said.
"Phone's in the kitchen," Bonnie said.
Usagi went to the kitchen, and called home. "My parents said it was okay," Usagi said.
"Since we have some time," Jerry said, "mind if Usagi and I go for a walk in the park?"
"Just be back in a couple hours," Jerry Lee said.
Jerry and Usagi walked down Treeview Place to Gilman Park, where they walked through the park. "So now you're a superhero as well," Usagi said.
"I'm beginning to prefer the term suburban vigilante," Jerry said. "Guess it comes from John training me."
"So how did you come to be a suburban vigilante anyways?" Usagi asked.
"I'm not exactly sure," Jerry said, taking his transformation coin out of his pocket and showing it to Usagi. "Someone sent me this coin about a year ago. I had no idea what it was for, what it meant, but something told me I needed to keep it. Something told me that the coin's meaning would come to me by itself one day. And the other day, it came to me in a dream. The coin would give me powers. I also realized why I was given these powers in the first place. To protect my princess. So when I accepted the powers I was given, I chose the name Starlight Warrior."
"Where did that name come from, anyways?" Usagi asked.
"It's a play on the title of my favorite movie of all time," Jerry said.
"What movie would that be?" Usagi asked.
"Star Wars," Jerry said.
"I loved that movie," Usagi said.
"Me too," Jerry said. "I remember seeing it for the first time at the Fashion Square 4 Theater in La Habra. I might have only been 7 at the time, but I had heard it was something special, and I wanted to see it for myself. I saw it 12 times in the theater, and I don't know how many times on TV, but every time I see it, a part of me is still that 7 year old kid watching it for the first time. I always thought if I had kids, that was one movie I would definitely play for them. Heck, there's part of me that wants to have kids just to show it to them."
"Wanna make a kid right now?" Usagi asked. "It's real simple, and from what I hear, real fun."
"No thanks," Jerry said. "I'm not ready to be a father just yet. I mean, I just found the woman I want my kids to have for a mother, and I don't think she's ready just yet, either."
"You're right," Usagi said. "I'm not ready to be a mother."
"But you will be someday," Jerry said, kissing her.
"One day we will have children," Usagi said.
"I love you," Jerry said.
"And I love you," Usagi said.
Later on, they went back, and went to the Regal Beagle, where they got fish and chips, along with hush puppies and cole slaw, and they both got sweet tea with lemon. After dinner, they went back to Jerry's house. "You're not giving her a ride home?" Jerry Lee asked.
"It's a nice night," Jerry said. "I'd prefer to walk her home."
"Besides," Usagi said taking Jerry's hand in hers, "You can't really hold hands on a motorcycle. The two of then walked to Usagi's house, holding hands. As they walked, Jerry put his arm lovingly across Usagi's shoulders As they walked, Usagi put her arm around Jerry's waist. "I'll call you tomorrow after work," Jerry said, as they reached Usagi's house.
"I'll be waiting," Usagi said.
Just before Usagi went into the house, she and Jerry kissed for a whole minute. "I love you," Jerry said, as they broke off the kiss.
"And I love you," Usagi said.
Jerry didn't walk home as much as floated on air, much like Charlie Brown after kissing the Little Red Haired Girl in It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. He walked his motorcycle into the garage, and closed it behind himself, before entering the house. "Someone is in love, L-U-V!" Bonnie said, as Jerry made himself a glass of Tang.
"I'll say," Jerry Lee said. "The way Jerry and Usagi were acting, you'd think they'd been together a lot longer than just over a week. Thing is, I'm his father, and I've never seen Jerry that gaga over a girl before. Now I know he's had a crush on her ever since we moved here, but I have a feeling that whatever it is, it's a lot more than puppy love or teenage infatuation. I have a feeling this is true love. If I didn't know any better, I would say it seems like they've been together a lot longer than just over a week. If I believed in reincarnation, I'd think they were lovers in a past life."
Meanwhile, at Usagi's house, she entered the house. "Hi Usagi," Kenji Tsukino, Usagi's adoptive father, said.
"Hi dad," Usagi said.
"So how was your date?" Kenji asked.
"I can't really talk about it," Usagi said. "It's too hard to describe. But I will say this, I love him. His name's Jerry, he lives around the corner."
I've met him," Ikuko said. "He's a nice boy. He rides a motorcycle, works at Tower Records, and he's a B student."
"I know it's the overprotective father in me," Kenji said, "but the only thing keeping me from wanting to make this Jerry dig his own grave at gunpoint then beat him to death with the shovel is the fact that he does make Usagi happy. Maybe I'll give him a chance."
"Don't do anything too rash," Shingo, Usagi's younger brother, said. "He's a nice guy, once you get to know him."
"I have to agree with Shingo," Ikuko said. "Jerry is a great guy, and he does make Usagi happy. And she also makes him happy, as well."
À SUIVRE...
