Disclaimer: All series, characters, and mecha mentioned herein are the properties of their creators.
This is not a challenge of any sort to their ownership, so don't sue me, because I have no money.

Explanations
Communication: In this fanfic, I have to deal with several types of 'speech'. I will type them as
follows:
"Talking",
[Thinking],
and {'Sending,' or using telepathy or mental communication.}

I will also use the usual Internet symbols for emphasis:
'slight',
_medium_,
*strong*,
and SHOUTING!

This is a fanfic set in the Bubblegum Crisis world, the year
2032, in MegaTokyo, Japan. I am making the assumption here that in
1992, the events of the Iczelion anime occurred. People interested
in information on either series are advised to visit the Anime Web
Turnpike (at www.anipike.com) and check out the links listed there
for more information. To fill in the gap between the end of Iczelion
and the beginning of Bubblegum Crisis, I will provide this loose
background:

At the end of Iczelion Act 2, the enemy leader Chaos is not
yet defeated, and the mystery of where the Iczels' creators (the
Iczers) are is unresolved. In "my" timeline, it takes the Iczelions
three years to finally destroy Chaos and his forces. After that,
three of the Iczelions - Nami Shiina, Black Iczelion; Kiro Ijima,
Gold Iczelion; and Kawaii Kawaii, Silver Iczelion; decide to leave
Earth and search for the Iczers. Nagisa Kai and her Iczel partner
remain behind. Nagisa pursues her wrestling career, using a "noble
alien warrior" character gimmick and becoming quite rich. In 2010,
she marries, and in 2015, her son, Sean Kai, named for his
grandfather, is born. Unfortunately, Brian, the father, becomes a
vocal anti-GENOM protester and dies in a "mugging" in 2020. Sean is
scanned by Iczel and proves to be able, as his mother is, to
'synchronize' with an Iczel to create Iczelion. Under the guise of
preparing him for a pro wrestling career, Nagisa begins training
Sean to succeed her as the defender of the Earth. Sean is, in fact,
the main character of our story. With that in mind...

Characters

Sean Kai, son of Nagisa and our main character. He's 17 years
old, rather short, at only 5' 9" tall (and growing), has brown hair,
brown eyes, and is well-built. He's good at wrestling and several
martial arts, and his training and natural agility have combined
to make him incredibly hard to hit - as long as he's able to dodge.
He's also *very* strong-willed, to the point where he might win a
staredown with either Priss or Sylia.

Iczel (Normal Type), Nagisa's partner as an Iczelion and soon
Sean's as well. A brief note on capabilities; the basic functions
of each Iczelion are the same, including firing energy beams,
creating force fields and beam swords, and the changing or
concealing of the human's features to keep from being recognized.
The 'higher functions' of an Iczelion partnership are determined by
the partners, however: Sean's are, as yet, unknown.

Priscilla (Priss) Asagiri, the lead singer of "Priss and the Replicants," a popular rock band. Also a secret member of the Knight
Sabers, serving as the assault specialist. Sean has seen Priss sing,
and idolizes her as a rebel and (though he won't admit this) as a
sex symbol.

Leon McNichol, the best detective in the A.D. Police and
leader of their 'tactical response teams,' or 'Tac Squads' for
short. He and Sean don't know each other, but have bumped elbows at
Priss' concerts.

Nene Romanova, at 19 one of the youngest computer/
communications specialists in the A.D. Police - and made even more
special by the fact that she serves the Knight Sabers in a similar
way, albeit from a hardsuit and not from HQ. She doesn't know Sean
either, but is the closest Knight Saber to his 17 years of age.
Her perpetual 'cute and innocent' attitude is a nice balance for
the grimness of the BGC series.

Mackie Stingray, Sylia Stingray's teenage brother and a
friend of Sean's ever since the two met at Raven's Garage in 2030.
Mackie lost a bet to Sean and had to soup up Sean's prized
motorcycle. Mackie is a technical assistant to the Knight Sabers
and a bit of a lecher, but he has a secret that he may not be
aware of... (see Sylia Stingray)

Sylia Stingray, founder and leader of the Knight Sabers,
inventor of their unique "hardsuit" combat armor, and daughter of
the renowned Doctor Katsuhito Stingray, who invented Cyberdroids,
the artificial humanoids now called "Boomers." Sylia always acts
cold and distant, and there is good reason for this. In the BGC:
Grand Mal comic series (Available from Dark Horse Comics,) it was
revealed that, in order to counter the abuse that GENOM was
certain to put his inventions to, Dr. Stingray used an
experimental nanotech process on his two children, changing their
brain structure biomechanically to give them hyperintelligence.
Sylia sometimes wonders if she's even human anymore...

Linna Yamazaki, an aerobics and martial arts teacher at the
Fitness Bee, one of MegaTokyo's more successful health clubs.
She's also the close combat specialist of the Knight Sabers, and
is currently Sean's martial arts instructor, having been
impressed by how well he did (before losing) in a match they
fought in 2031.

(Email address: Iczel_prime@hotmail.com, comments and criticisms welcome)
David Gordon's
Bubblegum Crisis/Iczelion crossover:

Bubblegum Cris-Icz, Episode 1: Beginnings

Nagisa Kai looked around the hospital room. [Overall,] she
thought, [not the worst place to end up after a car crash on the
Autobahn. So much for my vacation in Germany, though.] The Japanese
woman was close to sixty now, in 2032, but her life had kept her in
a shape that many of the young pro-wrestlers she trained would
envy. That may have been all that had kept her alive. She thought
back to the doctor's bad news.

"Miss Kai," he'd said, "You were hurt rather badly in that
collision. You broke several ribs, your right wrist and left knee
were damaged, and you sustained a serious concussion. I'm sorry to
have to tell you this, but the rib injury also damaged your left
lung. Even after we release you from the hospital in several weeks,
you *must* remain at low altitudes for at least a year, perhaps
more, to avoid oxygen deprivation until you recover normal lung
capacities again. Likewise, you cannot engage in *any* strenuous
activity for a similar period of time. I realize this prevents
you from flying home to your son in MegaTokyo, but there's very
little I can do. If it helps any, the German Wrestling League has
offered to keep you on as an advisor at your full head trainer's
pay until you recover." Unfortunately, her finances had been the
least of her worries.

[If only the others were still here,] Nagisa thought. [Nami,
Kiro, Kawaii... My fellow Iczelions, gone to find the Iczers who
vanished years ago. After all we'd been through, fighting Cross,
the Voids, and finally defeating Chaos himself to end three long
years of battle, why did they have to leave?] She shook her head.
[It doesn't matter, does it? As it stands, I can't protect my
home from rogue Boomers any more. That means _he_ has to start.]
With a sigh, she pressed the call button to summon a nurse, and
hopefully, to get a telephone. [I have to call my son.]

*** *** ***

Chapter 1: Introductions

Sean Kai, riding his motorcycle through Tinsel City as he
headed for his home in the suburbs, was feeling great. He had
been in a martial arts training session with the instructor his
mother had hired for when she was out of town. Yamazaki-sensei
had given him lessons before on gymnastics, dodging, and
parrying, and today for the first time it had all seemed to
come together. He hadn't gotten to her yet, but she'd hardly
laid a hand on him, either.

Sean thought, [Hmm. It's January 2032, so in eight months
I'll be eighteen. Maybe it's time I started looking around the
pro-wrestling organizations for openings.] He grinned. [Mom
sure had a great gimmick with her 'alien warrior' shtick. No
one believed it, but it got a lot of attention. Err.. Son of
Alien Warrior doesn't sound so great, though. Guess I need to
think about a shtick of my own.] He frowned briefly, then
smiled. [Naah, I'm just going to feel good today. I can finally
compete on Yamazaki-sensei's level without getting my butt
kicked!] Sean rode off toward home, almost dancing for joy.

Sean was fixing himself a pizza for dinner when the phone
rang. He dashed for it, wincing as he dropped the pepperoni in
the sauce jar. Grabbing the phone, he composed himself and said:

"Hello, Kai residence, Sean Kai speaking."

"Sean? It's Nagisa."

"Mom! Great to hear from you! I thought you weren't
calling till Friday, though. What's up?"

There was a pause on the line, and then Nagisa replied.
"Sean, I was in a big car accident this week on the Autobahn."
At his gasp she hastened to add, "I'm fine, and I am in no
danger of dying, but I can't go to high altitudes or get into
strenuous activity for at least a year. The GWL has offered to
keep me on with good pay until I can return home, but there
are... things... that can't be left unattended for that long.
I can't talk about it on the phone, so you should go down to
the basement and meet a - a friend - down there. She's probably
listening in, but if she isn't there, just say 'Nagisa says it's
time.' Got that, Sean?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"Sean, I can't talk about it on a phone. She'll explain -
and don't be scared, she looks... _different._ Good-bye; and
I'm sorry." Sean stared at the phone, finally setting it back
on the hook. [Oh, well,] he thought. [I may as well do as she
asked; I've got to admit, I'm curious. I wonder if this has
anything to do with how she'd disappear every so often?] He
walked to the basement door, grateful again for the wrestling
money that had let his mother afford a separate house and not
an apartment. As he walked down the basement stairs, he thought
he heard a small noise, like tapping on a tin can. He paused
at the bottom of the stairs - and gaped at the metallic-yellow
apparition *floating* above the basement floor!

"Greetings, Sean! I am Iczel, your mother's synchro
partner!" it said.

[Oh Good Lord, what's a weird little Boomer doing down
here?!?] Sean thought wildly. Its voice was high and tinny, like
a child on a radio broadcast, and despite the fact that it had
no mouth, Sean got the distinct impression that it was smiling
at him. Sean struggled to speak past his shock.

"YOU... are the friend Mom wanted me to meet?"

"Yes! For quite some time now, your mother and I have been
the only protectors of Earth, ever since the other Iczelions left."

"Uh... how long is that?"

"Since the Earth date of 1992."

"1992! There weren't even any Boomers then; ah, um, so I
guess you're not a Boomer. Err.. Iczel, was it? ...Maybe you'd
better start at the beginning."

"OK! Several decades ago, a race called the Iczers, who were
protecting the galaxy, encountered a race of destructive androids.
The Iczers couldn't handle the androids alone, so they created
us - the Iczels - to bond with natives of other planets and give
them the power of an Iczer so they could defend their own worlds,
as Iczelions. This would free the Iczers themselves to fight the
androids in space. I came to Earth with three other Iczels: Black,
Silver, and Gold-Types. I was the last to find my partner, who was
Nagisa Kai, your mother. We..."

(hours later)

"...and ever since Boomers started to run amuck here in
MegaTokyo, Nagisa and I have stopped the ones that we could attack
unseen. Now that Nagisa can no longer be here, you will have to
synchronize with me, Sean."

Sean was having trouble absorbing all that he had been told.
He'd always known that his mother was extraordinary, but who'd
have guessed that she'd been fighting biomechanical monsters while
she was younger than Sean's seventeen years of age? Suddenly, he
thought back to his mother's encouragement about learning to
wrestle, to dodge, to fight; her steering him toward science-
fiction entertainment: and it all came together.

"Mom was _grooming_ me for this, wasn't she? Ever since I
was young."

"Yes. I scanned you at an early age, and knew that you would
be as suitable a partner as your mother. Nagisa was determined
that you would not be as unprepared as she was."

"Well, I would hope not!" Sean, however, had always valued
his independence. He'd had a lot of it, as the son of a widowed
mother; he'd been proud that he chose his own path in life. The
revelation that his life had been almost entirely shaped by other
people was truly upsetting, and he reacted as most teenagers
would. He rebelled.

"But what gave you the right - either of you - to take me
and make me into what you needed? I'm a person, dammit, not a wad
of clay or a programmable Boomer! How dare you two control my
life like this!? Maybe I don't want you as a partner, Iczel; in
fact, maybe I don't even want you in my home!! GET OUT!!"

Iczel sighed, shaking her head and muttering 'not again!' in
an undertone. She obediently made for the door, pausing only to
make one final statement. "Sean, I'm sorry you feel this way. One
thing that you have naturally, though, is your respect for life.
I ask you; now that you have a chance to save lives, to keep the
rogue Boomers from hurting people, will you really pass that up?
If we had met because I synchronized to save you from a Boomer,
would you have just run away, or would you have tried to stop the
Boomer?" A long, silent pause. "Sean, I think I understand how you
feel. I'll leave now, but if you want me, for help or just to talk,
think of the phrase, 'Charging Up' and I will come to you.
Good-bye." With that, Iczel zipped across the street to a sewer
cover, lifted it up, and vanished into the tunnel. All was calm.

Sean's thoughts, however, were anything but serene. His mind
was whirling in a circle from his being used (as he felt he had
been,) to his mother's secrets, to Iczel's final points. His mind
was still spinning as he went to bed, his last coherent thought
being; [I have to sleep on this. Maybe it'll be clearer in the
morning.]

*** ***

The next morning, however, brought no new clarity to Sean's
dilemma. He turned his feelings over and over in his mind, but
couldn't reach a conclusion. He finally thought, [I can't resolve
this myself. I need some advice; maybe I'll talk to Yamazaki-
sensei. Let's see, she's usually at the Fitness Bee until 3:00
each afternoon: I'll catch her there.]

That afternoon at 3 o'clock sharp, Sean strode into the
aerobics room at the Fitness Bee, the health club where Linna
Yamazaki taught aerobics and martial arts. Seeing Linna, he waved
to her, and she walked across the room to him, calling:

"Back for more, Sean? You sure are a glutton for punishment!
I'll be available at half past." Then, seeing his expression,
"Sean? Is something wrong?"

Sean's polite upbringing kicked in: he didn't want to
interrupt Yamazaki-sensei while she was working. "Nothing that
can't wait. I'll just go spar with one of the Mannequins until you
come get me."

She watched him go, concerned; he'd seemed pretty upset. She
frowned and resolved to finish quickly.

*** ***

In the sub-basement of the Fitness Bee was the newest
addition to the club: a twenty - foot square ring, usable for
boxing, wrestling, or martial arts practice. In secure lockers on
the walls were several Mannequin-class Boomers, programmed with
various styles of martial arts, and VERY strong action blocks to
keep the Boomer in control. Sean, upon arrival, walked over to the
yellow locker and used his F.B. membership card to open it. The
Mannequin, called Yellow for its 'skin' color, stepped out and said,

"Sean Kai, Member, authorized to practice in: freestyle,
wrestling, kick boxing, tai chi, aikido, judo; to levels of: brown
belt. Practice style?"

"Freestyle," Sean answered. He _really_ wasn't in the mood to
have the machine cry 'foul' on him because he mixed in moves from
other styles.

"Skill level?"

"Brown belt." [Maybe,] he thought, [if I have to fight really
hard, I can do the Zen thing and put all this out of my mind.]

"Proceed." Boy and Boomer entered the ring and bowed. The
fight seemed to blur into action and reaction, Sean staying just
one step ahead of the machine. In his mind, however, he kept
hearing voices: Nagisa's, Iczel's, even his own.

[Iczel: "One thing you have naturally is your respect for
life."]

[Nagisa: "There are - things - that can't be left unattended
for that long."]

[Sean: "I read in a manga once that 'with great power comes
great responsibility.' "]

[Iczel: "Now that you have a chance to save lives... ...will
you really give that up?"]

[Sean: "What gave you the right... ...to take me and make
me into what you needed?!"]

Sean's thoughts gave him no peace. [Do I really have the
right to refuse to help Iczel save lives? Was I too harsh last
night? WHY ME!?]

Unnoticed, Linna had quietly come down the stairs and was
watching Sean - despite his distraction - handily outmaneuver
Yellow.

Finally, Sean could take no more. [*Arrgh!*]

With a mental shout, he simultaneously silenced the inner
voices, sidestepped Yellow's front kick and leveled a vicious
elbow smash into the back of its head. The skull casing dented,
and the malfunction removed most of the blocks controlling the
Boomer. Suddenly, it twisted, grabbed Sean's wrist, and slung
him into the corner of the ring, hard. Through tears of inner
torment Sean watched Yellow move in. There were noises from
ringside, but they weren't important. Yellow flung Sean into the
opposite corner, bruising ribs. Now, all Sean could see was a
yellow blur through the tears. [Mother, why are you hurting me?]
Yellow was the color his mother wore in the ring, wasn't it?
Another slingshot, Yellow [Mother?] noticing Linna [What's she
doing here?] and pausing: staring at her like a side of beef:
and something within Sean broke loose. He grabbed the ring rope
beside him and vaulted to the ring apron, then onto the top rope,
lunging headfirst to the ground just five feet in front of the
distracted foe. [Motherrr...] He was screaming something he
couldn't make out as he landed on his extended hands, flipped
forward, performed a handspring, and lashed his right foot
around and up with all his combined momentum...

*** ***

"DON'T YOU HURT HER!!!"

Linna jerked back as the bellow hurt her ears. She'd jumped
onto the ring apron to get her student away from the damaged
Boomer, and it had seen her and turned to her, and then Sean had
exploded off the turnbuckles, springboarded for momentum,
handsprung, and caught Yellow in the head with a hook kick that
caved in the side of its skull, wrecking the GENOM - issue
electronic brain. Yellow 'died' quickly and Linna slipped through
the ropes to check her pupil's ribs.

Some time later, when they were sure that Sean was calm,
his ribs were okay, and that no, Yellow hadn't had time to do
anything to Linna, they sat down on the floor to talk.

"So," Linna said, "you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

[Oh, boy,] Sean thought, [if only I could.] "Well," he
replied, "after I went home yesterday, I got a phone call from Mom.
She was in a car crash on the Autobahn - I told you how she was in
Germany - and she can't fly home for at least a year because of
the complications. So I was a little out of sorts because of that,
and then I found out that I wasn't really as independent as I
thought I was, that Mother had been guiding me the way she wanted
since Day One of my training. Add a little moral problem on top
of that, and I'm one crazy, mixed-up kid."

"Oh, _Sean._ That sounds really bad. Can I help with any of
it?"

"Well, the moral question, maybe. Umm..." [Now how can I
possibly phrase this?] Sean wondered. "Let's see... Yamazaki-
sensei, if someone had maybe been watching or manipulating you for
a long time, then offered to help you save lives, and that was why
they were doing what they had with you, what would you do?" Linna
jumped, and Sean wondered if he'd somehow put his foot in his
mouth.

Linna, meanwhile, was startled, because that 'watching'
phrase described just what she felt Sylia had been doing before
she recruited Linna into the Knight Sabers. [Has Sylia decided to
enlarge the group without telling me?] Putting that aside, she
thought about her answer. "I suppose I'd have to say yes, Sean, I
would. The whole reason martial arts exist is so that you can
protect yourself and others - preferably without hurting anyone.
If someone is prepared to do something like that, they have a
responsibility to try."

"Hmm. That does clarify things a lot. I guess you're right.
Thanks. Oh, and tell the manager that I'll work off the cost of
repairing Yellow, all right?"

"Not all of it. I saw that you were disturbed before you came
down here, so I'm partly to blame. I'll pay half the cost."

"Linna! Can you afford that?"

"Aha! You finally called me 'Linna' and not 'Yamazaki-sensei'!
You have no idea how _old_ that made me feel!"

"Don't change the subject."

"I'll just pay in installments out of my salary. My
apartment's paid for, so I can afford that."

"Okay. And I'll try to remember to call you Linna." Just then
a pager on Linna's belt went off, and she stood up.

"Oops, that means I've got to go."

"Oh- well, I guess I'll head home too, then. Thanks, Yama-
whoops, Linna!" Both people ran to the stairs and headed for the
door.

*** ***

Linna drove up to the Silky Doll shop minutes later and,
after being briefed on a runaway Boomer, pulled Mackie off to
one side. "Mackie, has your sister approached anyone else lately
about joining the Knight Sabers?" Mackie stared for a moment,
then shook his head.

"Nope, she's been buried in completing everyone's motoroids.
Why?"

"Well, a student of mine - your friend Sean Kai - just asked
me a question that strongly reminded me of how I felt when Sylia
asked me to join."

"If she's recruiting, she's built a double of herself to do
it."

"Okay, Mackie. Thanks," and she blew him a kiss before
sprinting to the Silkywagon. They had a job to do...

*** ***

Sean arrived home somewhat later. It was a fair distance
from the Fitness Bee downtown to the Kai house in the suburbs, and
traffic had been so snarled - some ADP action or other - that he'd
finally taken some of the abandoned highways home. He'd been
startled at one point to see a van from a lingerie shop on a
neighboring roadway, but had reasoned that he wasn't the only one
dodging traffic. He got inside and immediately went down to the
basement, thinking the phrase that Iczel had said would call her
back.

{Charging Up!}

Sure enough, there was some noise, and Iczel floated out of
the storage room. Sean smiled and spoke. "Iczel, I have to
apologize - you were right. This is a job that needs doing, and I
may be the only one who can help you do it. I shouldn't have
yelled at you like that, even if I did resent what Mom did."

Iczel responded by beaming at Sean. "Does this mean you are
willing to synchronize with me?"

"Yes. So maybe we'd better discuss what we can do, and a
practice period before we actually go into battle - I don't think
I'm ready to take on a C-class just yet!"

"Well, we have..."