Kitty reported their encounter with the four Sailor Guardians to Professor Xavier as soon as she and Illyana returned to the mansion
"All I know is that metal monster and those girls were all magic, because Illyana could sense the fight and her sword turned the robot back into a kid," she said.
The professor rubbed his chin in thought. "This is most unusual. Do you believe these people are connected to what happened in Limbo in any way?"
Kitty shook her head. It was a natural assumption, given that the X-Men's recent experiences with magic mostly consisted of their battle with the sorcerer Belasco in Limbo and the assault of the Limbo demon S'ym on the mansion. But they knew there was more magic in the world than just Limbo, as the New Mutants' recent battle with the Demon Bear proved.
"No. This seemed totally different." Kitty looked to the side. "Actually, now that I think about it…"
"What is it?"
Kitty looked at him. "Those girls, the way they dressed reminds me of Sailor V."
Xavier frowned. "Interesting."
Sailor V was a teenaged superhero who fought crime in a mask and sailor uniform. She had been one of Kitty's heroes before she joined the X-Men, but had fallen off the face of the earth in recent months. Most 'superhero watchers,' as they were known, speculated that Sailor V had been killed in action.
"This doesn't seem to concern us," Xavier said. "But I'll keep an eye out in case they pop up again."
"You failed, Zoisite," Queen Beryl hissed from her throne. "Again."
Zoisite trembled as he bowed. "I am deeply sorry, your majesty! I do not know how they defeated Bunbo. There was no way Sailor Venus could have freed him from our control like she did the others."
Beryl scowled. "You also let the Sailor Guardians get away with another rainbow crystal. Give me a reason not to take your life here and now."
"I-"
"OOOOOOHHHH"
Beryl stood up and turned around.
"Begone," she instructed Zoisite, who stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't have time to waste on you."
Beryl walked into the chamber behind her throne and dropped to one knee. Her waist-length red hair reached the ground as she bowed low despite her status as ruler of the Dark Kingdom.
"What is thy bidding, oh Great Ruler?"
A mass of dark energy began to pulsate in front of her, forming the outline of a face.
"The moon princess has appeared," said a soft voice, barely more than a whisper. The voice seemed to come from every direction.
Beryl's eyes lit up with fury and hatred. "That girl?"
"I felt her power," the soft voice said. "She was there."
"So, the Sailor Guardians have finally joined up with their princess," Beryl observed.
"You must destroy her immediately," the voice commanded. "She cannot be allowed to reclaim the Silver Crystal."
Beryl bowed her head to the ground. "She is as good as dead, Great Ruler."
The New Mutants had a Danger Room session the next morning. While Professor Xavier insisted that they were not being trained to be the next X-Men, he still made them practice using their powers and working as a team.
One New Mutant did not participate in the training session. Danielle Moonstar had been released from the hospital just a few days earlier following her near-fatal encounter with the Demon Bear, and she was still confined to a wheelchair. She watched impatiently as her friends and teammates battled various robots without her.
Xavier did not need psychic powers to notice Dani's frustration. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"I just wish I was out of this chair and down there with them," Dani complained.
"In time," Xavier assured her. "You're lucky to be alive after the injuries you received. These things can't be rushed."
Dani nodded and looked down at the fight going on in the Danger Room. She knew Xavier was right, but she still hated being confined to a wheelchair.
Below, Magma was melting a robot with her powers while Sunspot lifted another robot up and threw it into Cannonball's flight path. The resulting collision was spectacular.
Wolfsbane was struggling against a bipedal robot with super-strength. While the lupine mutant was far stronger than ordinary humans in her transformed states, this particular robot was programmed to test Sunspot's strength and was pushing her back.
A disk of light appeared, cutting off the robot's arms and freeing Wolfsbane from its clutches. Wolfsbane turned to the side, where Illyana was looking at her out of the corner of her eye.
"I didna' ask for youir help, witch," Wolfsbane spat.
Magik turned away to focus on another opponent, and above, Xavier buried his head in his palm.
This was Illyana's first Danger Room session with her teammates since officially joining the New Mutants. Xavier knew the trainee team was having a hard time accepting Illyana after learning she was a sorceress in addition to being a mutant, but he was starting to realize the problem was worse than he initially believed.
His brow furrowed as his psychic senses detected multiple unfamiliar presences approaching the school, and he turned on the speaker. "That's enough for today. Everyone hit the showers. You'll receive my assessment of your performances later. Illyana, please meet me in my office."
"What's wrong, professor?" Dani asked as he quickly moved to leave.
"It's nothing, Dani," he assured her. As soon as he was out the door, his hand shot to the side of his head as he telepathically contacted Kitty.
Mina, Rei, Amy, and Lita were dropped off by a taxi outside the grounds to the Xavier school.
Mina was a British girl with a large pink bow in her long, blonde hair. She carried a white cat with a crescent shaped bald spot on its forehead on her shoulder.
Amy was a studious New York girl with short blue hair and carried a black cat with an identical bald spot on its forehead in her arms.
Rei was a serious-faced Japanese girl with long, blonde hair whose eyes carefully scanned the grounds and the mansion as they approached.
Lita was a tall, muscular girl with brown hair tied in a pony tail who towered over her companions.
The front gate opened electronically for them.
"Seems we're expected," Mina said as they entered.
They crossed the grounds and made their way to the front door. Mina raised her hand to knock, but it opened before she could, revealing Kitty on the other side.
"Hello there," Kitty said.
"May we come in?" Mina asked.
Kitty opened the door fully and beckoned them inside. "The headmaster wants to talk to you."
"Headmaster," Mina observed, "like being back in England."
"Kitty closed the door behind them and led them down the hall to the left. "So, how'd you find this place?"
"The boy you and your friend saved last night has the power to see the future. He was able to give us enough information to know where to go."
"Thank you so much for saving Greg," Amy said. "I don't know what we'd have done if you hadn't been there."
"That was all Illyana. Her sword disrupts all magic. All I did was watch." Kitty stopped in front of Xavier's office and paused before entering. "I gotta ask, are you people related to Sailor V?"
Lita laughed. "Related? Mina is Sailor V!"
Kitty's stoic expression parted into a wide smile. "Really? Wow, can I get your autograph?"
"I was Sailor V," Mina corrected. "I don't do that anymore."
"Too bad," Kitty said as she opened the door to the office.
Xavier was sitting in front of his desk, with Illyana standing to his left.
"Welcome to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters," he said. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"
The cats leapt off of their carriers and landed on the desk. "We're looking for someone," the white cat said in a male voice.
"Did … that cat just … talk?" Kitty asked.
"Luna and Artemis both talk," Amy answered. "It was weird having cats as our guides at first, but you get used to it after a while," Lita added.
Mina spoke up. "We Sailor Guardians are reincarnated warriors from a long-extinct kingdom on the moon. We were reawakened to do battle with our ancient enemy, who has returned and threatens this world the same way they destroyed our kingdom."
"That doesn't explain why you're here," Illyana said.
"Well, if they need help saving the world, the X-Men are the right people for the job," Kitty replied.
The black cat, Luna, spoke in a female voice. "While any help you can provide would be appreciated, I'm afraid we must find one specific person or else this world is doomed for sure."
"Who are you looking for?" Illyana asked.
Mina pulled out her crescent compact and handed it to Kitty. "Would you both look into this mirror?"
Kitty raised an eyebrow at the strange request but complied, opening the compact to reveal the mirror within.
"It's just a normal mirror," she said when nothing happened.
"Now you look into the compact," Artemis instructed Illyana.
Kitty handed the compact to Illyana, who looked down into the mirror and gasped.
As the mirror aligned with Illyana's face, the compact began to glow and vibrate in response, and a silver crescent symbol appeared on the forehead of her reflection.
Artemis and Luna exchanged satisfied looks and all of the girls stared in awe as the center of Illyana's forehead began to glow as well, the silvery light growing into a crescent symbol to match the one in her reflection, only brighter.
Illyana raised her free hand to forehead to try to wipe the mark away, but it remained, as much a part of her skin as a birthmark. She quickly shut the compact. The glow from the mirror and the mark on her forehead vanished immediately.
"It's you," Mina whispered, "at last."
Illyana put the compact down on Xavier's desk and asked: "what the hell was that?"
Mina dropped to one knee and knelt with her head bowed down. "Princess Serenity, we are your humble servants and guardians. Please accept our vow of loyalty, and we shall protect you and the Silver Crystal until our dying day."
Kitty looked back and forth in confusion, and Illyana appeared just as lost. She turned to the window and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths and shaking her head.
"I'm afraid this is somewhat overwhelming and confusing for Illyana, for all of us, really," Xavier said. "Perhaps you could explain what you mean?"
"The Sailor Guardians were the protectors of the royal family of the Moon Kingdom, the Silver Millennium, which ruled the entire soler system" Luna explained. "We have been searching for the Moon Princess for some time. She was reincarnated along with the guardians, and is the only one who can wield the power of the Silver Crystal to stop the Dark Kingdom. It is the sworn duty of the Sailor Guardians to protect her as she accomplishes that task."
Mina looked up at Illyana, her expression slowly morphing from joy to concern as Illyana continued to face the other way.
"Get up," Illyana said simply.
Mina rose and slowly, tentatively approached her. As soon as she got close, Illyana sun around, her fist moving in a rapid right hook which struck Mina directly on the side of her eye.
Mina was lifted off her feet by the force of the blow and land on her back in front of the other Sailor Guardians.
"Mina!" Artemis yelled, leaping off the desk to his young charge.
"Illyana!" yelled Xavier.
Kitty covered her nose and mouth with her hands in shock as the Sailor Guardians bent down to help Mina up.
"What'd you do that for?" Lita demanded.
"Get out," Illyana spat. "I never want to see any of your faces again."
Rei and Lita stepped in-between Illyana and Mina as Amy continued to try to help their leader, ready to fight if necessary.
"So much for Princess 'Serenity,'" Rei observed.
"W-wait," Mina said weakly as Amy helped her to her feet. She held her hand to the eye Illyana had struck "We're leaving."
"Are going to let her get away with-" Lita began.
"I said we're going!" Mina snapped. She grabbed her compact from the desk and gave Illyana one last, sad look before turning and walking quickly out of the office. The other guardians and the two cats followed immediately after her.
Xavier glared daggers at Illyana. "We do not assault our guests, young lady."
"Why'd you do that?" Kitty asked.
Illyana humphed and summoned a stepping disk to teleport herself away, leaving Kitty and Xavier to look at each other in shock and confusion.
Mina was laid on the couch of the apartment the Sailor Guardians were using in New York, holding an ice pack to her eye, which had become covered in a large, purple bruise.
"So, what do we do now?" Amy asked.
"If that's the 'princess,' we're better off without her," Rei said.
"No," Mina declared. "We finally found the princess, and we're sticking close to her."
"I told you there was a darkness to her!" Rei exclaimed. "You didn't listen to me!"
"It doesn't matter," Mina said. "The mission hasn't changed."
"The mission," Rei said dismissively.
"Mina's right," Artemis said. "Illyana is the Moon Princess. The compact proved it."
"What if our sticking around is what leads the Dark Kingdom to finding her?" Lita asked. "We'd be putting her in danger instead of protecting her. If she doesn't want us around, maybe it would be better for everyone if we went our separate ways.
Mina shook her head. "It's too late for that. She and Kitty are already involved. After Bunbo, the Dark Kingdom will be looking for them."
Xavier found Illyana sitting in the dark in the room she shared with Kitty.
"Your behavior earlier today was unacceptable," he admonished her. "What got into you?"
Not for the first time, Xavier wished that he could read Illyana's mind as she did not respond, but her psychic shields remained as powerful as ever.
"I understand that you're angry at how Rahne has been treating you, but you don't have the right to take that out on others."
"This has nothing to do with Rahne," Illyana snapped.
"Then what is it? Why did you strike Mina without provocation?"
Illyana turned away, and Xavier sighed in resignation. "Consider yourself grounded until you either explain your behavior or apologize to Mina."
He closed the door, and Illyana pulled out her locket. The Beatrix Medallion, which she wore at all times, was given to her by her former master, the demon lord Belasco. She opened the locket, and stared at the three bloodstones embedded at the points of pentagram within.
Xavier sighed again as he re-entered his office where so much had happened that day. A light was flickering on his desk, from the Shi'ar communicator left to him by his beloved.
Xavier hurriedly activated the communicator, and a hologram of Lilandra, former Empress of the Shi'ar Empire, appeared above his desk.
"Charles," she said, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to respond before. Things have been hectic with the Starjammers. It is good to see you again, my love."
"For me as well," he replied, both overjoyed at hearing Lilandra's voice and relieved that his signal had gotten through. The Starjammers were so often in parts of the universe where communication was impossible these days.
"Why are you calling me?"
"I wanted to ask, have you heard of an ancient space-faring civilization on Earth's moon called the Silver Millennium?"
"The Silver-? Yes, many thousands of years ago, there was a great civilization with that name which was known and admired even in the Shi'ar Empire. It is how we knew of the SOL system in the first place."
"And the Sailor Guardians who protected it?"
"I believe the legends speak of a group of four warriors who guarded the queen and her family and treasure. The name has been lost to time."
"And that treasure, was its name lost to time as well?"
"No. It was known as the Silver Crystal, and object of immense power. Perhaps the comparisons to our own M'Kraan Crystal are responsible for it being more well known."
"I see. Thank you for confirming this is all real. I'd appreciate it if you could send me any information you have on the Silver Millennium, the Silver Crystal, and whatever force destroyed their civilization."
"I'll see what I can do. I doubt the information would be in the Starjammers' computers. What is going on Charles? Why are you asking me these things?"
"I'm not sure myself yet," Xavier answered. "It would seem that the past is becoming more relevant to the present, and my school is about to get swept up in whatever is coming whether we want to or not."
"Very well. Be careful, my love."
"You as well, my love."
Lilandra cut off the signal, and her hologram vanished. Xavier walked around his desk and stared out of his window into the night sky, looking at the crescent moon.