A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I didn't create Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi did. I just created this particular version of the characters. I don't own anything except for original characters, and my storyline.
CHAPTER 7: THE TEAM ASSEMBLED
JUNE 8, 1986
ARTHUR'S COFFEE SHOP, LA HABRA, CALIFORNIA
9:30 AM
Jerry Logue pulled his 1975 Harley-Davidson SS250 into the parking lot across La Habra Boulevard from Meltebeke Volkswagen. He parked between a maroon 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Arkansas license plates and a silver 1984 Ford Thunderbird. After he parked and shut the engine off, he and Mina McCoy got off the bike and went in, where Barbara St. Onge was waiting, along with Tommy and Mamie Logue, as well as Jerry Lee and Bonnie Logue, who were accompanied by a brown haired girl who appeared to be a few years younger than Jerry and Mina. "Hi everybody," Jerry said.
"Does Rae know about the blonde?" the younger girl asked.
"Not that it's any of your business, Debbie," Jerry said, "but not yet, but she will. In fact, I'm hoping Mina and Rae will become good friends."
"You're delusional," Debbie said.
"Rae has nothing to worry about," Mina said."I'm your cousin."
"So you're not seeing some other girl behind Rae's back?" Debbie asked.
"Why would I?" Jerry said. "Anyways, dad, after breakfast, I thought I'd take Mina over to Usagi's, she has a couple friends coming over I want Mina to meet."
"Sure," Jerry Lee said. "That sounds like a good idea."
They were seated just after Jerry and Mina arrived. The hostess asked if anyone wanted coffee, everybody except Debbie got coffee. When they got their coffee, everyone who got some did theirs the way they liked it. Jerry mixed in several packets of Sweet-N-Low, Mina used 3 packs of Sweet-N-Low and some cream. After a few minutes, their waitress arrived to take their orders. Barbara, Tommy, Mamie, Jerry Lee, and Bonnie ordered, and last it was Jerry and Mina. "Bacon and eggs," Mina said. "Over easy, plain potatoes, white toast, and a large orange juice with my meal."
"Biscuits and gravy," Jerry said. "Sausage, with plain potatoes, well done, and a large orange juice with my meal."
"How do you like California so far?" Barbara asked Mina.
"It's not bad," Mina said. "I can't wait to start school here in September."
"I can't wait either," Jerry said. "Maybe we'll have a class or two together."
"I hope so," Mina said. "Anyways, what do you do around here, when you're not in school?"
"I have an after school job in a record store," Jerry said. "But mostly, when I'm not working, I hang out with friends. Usually my girlfriend, but I have a few other friends I hang out with sometimes. And usually on weekends, I stay with my mom."
"You're not his mom?" Mina asked Bonnie.
"I'm his stepmother," Bonnie said.
"My mom lives just behind Meltebeke Volkswagen," Jerry said.
"Now where's that?" Mina asked.
"Right across the street," Debbie said. "My mom and I live on the street right behind there. Anyways, I'm Debbie, Jerry's sister."
"I guess that makes us cousins," Mina said. "I didn't see you at the picnic yesterday."
"I wasn't able to go,": Debbie said. "I'm going to be a cheerleader at Washington Middle School in the fall, we had a meeting for the squad yesterday."
"Ok," Mina said.
A few minutes later, everyone's food arrived. Jerry sprinkled salt and pepper on the gravy that covered his biscuits, as well as his potatoes, which he also put ketchup on. Mina put ketchup on her potatoes as well, as did Debbie, who put sriracha sauce on her eggs, which she got scrambled. "Have you ever met any of Jerry's friends?" Mina asked.
"Only his girlfriend," Debbie said. "Until last weekend, she lived next door to my mom and me."
"Cool," Mina said.
"Debbie, you want a ride home after breakfast?" Jerry asked.
"No thanks," Debbie said. "I'll walk home, it's only a couple blocks."
"Sorry, I forgot how you are with motorcycles," Jerry said.
"Didn't you want to take Mina to meet some of your friends anyways?" Debbie asked.
"Yeah," Jerry said.
After breakfast, Jerry took Mina home on his motorcycle. They didn't actually go home, they went to Usagi's house. However, Jerry did park his motorcycle in his own garage, since Usagi only lived across the street. Once he parked his bike, he and Mina went across the street to Usagi's house. As Jerry and Mina crossed the street, Usagi came out of her house. "I was about to go over to your house," Usagi said ,when she saw Jerry and Mina.
"I need to see Rae, Amy, and Molly now," Jerry said. "Sailor Soldier business."
"Ixnay on the ailorsay oldiersay," Usagi said. "Isn't that why they call it a secret identity?"
"You must be Sailor Moon," Mina said.
"How would you know that?" Usagi asked.
"Because I'm Sailor Venus," Mina said.
"Come inside, right now," Usagi said. "Both of you."
"What's going on?" Jerry asked once they were inside.
"Sailor Soldier meeting," Usagi said. "As soon as everyone gets here."
"Good," Jerry said. "That's what I was hoping for. I wanted all of you to meet Mina, now that she's part of the team. But what about me, I'm not a Sailor Soldier."
"But you are part of the team," Usagi said. "You said it yourself."
"That I did," Jerry said. "But sometimes, I feel like I don't belong."
"Bullshit," Usagi said. "You definitely belong."
"What's this I hear about you not belonging?" Luna asked.
"I just said I sometimes feel like I don't belong," Jerry said.
"Wait a second," Mina said. "You mean, there's another talking cat?"
"What do you mean, another talking cat?" Luna asked.
"I'll be right back," Mina said.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Usagi said.
Mina left, and came back a few minutes later, with Artemis in her arms. "It's okay, Artemis," Mina said. "You can trust them."
"Hi, I'm Artemis," Artemis said. "I'm Mina's guardian cat."
"I'd wondered what happened to you," Luna said.
"I ended up in a little town in Arkansas," Artemis said. "West Fork."
"My parents took me to a shelter to adopt a pet," Mina said. "I saw this one white cat there, for some reason, I knew that cat and I were a perfect match. That cat turned out to be Artemis."
"And a few weeks ago, I realized Mina was the Sailor Suited Super Soldier Princess of Venus," Artemis said.
"I thought that name was a bit long for a superhero name," Mina said. "So I suggested getting rid of everything but the first and last words, and just calling myself Sailor Venus."
"That's how I came up with Sailor Moon," Usagi said.
"And for the same reason," Luna said. "She thought Sailor Suited Super Soldier Princess of the Moon was a bit long of a name. She also said that by shortening it to Sailor Moon, it met Jerry's criteria for the perfect superhero name."
"You mean short, memorable, and fits neatly on a headline?" Jerry asked. "That's why I call myself Golden Hawk. Granted, the name has nothing to do with my powers, I just thought it sounded catchy."
"So where did you come up with the name anyways?" Luna asked.
"I go to El Dorado," Jerry said. "Our team name is the Golden Hawks, and the school colors are black and gold, which is why my costume is those colors."
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you look like a ninja," Usagi said, as Rae, Amy, and Molly arrived.
"Ninjas look cool," Jerry said.
"What's she doing here?" Amy asked, referring to Mina.
"You must be Sailor Mercury," Mina said. "I'm Sailor Venus."
"The girl who saved us yesterday," Amy said.
"Yeah," Mina said.
"The blonde I saw on the back of Jerry's motorcycle this morning," Rae said. "Might I remind you that I'm Jerry's girlfriend,"
"And I'm his cousin," Mina said. "Second cousin, that is. I'm originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas."
"So what are you doing here?" Amy asked.
"After my parents died," Mina said, "I needed a change of scenery."
"I've never been anywhere in Arkansas," Usagi said, "but I would imagine it's a lot different than California."
"So you're going to start at El Dorado in September?" Rae asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Mina said.
"So am I," Rae said. "You know what that means? It means the two of us can be new there together."
"I'd like that," Mina said. "In fact, I'm looking forward to becoming good friends with all of you. Except for Jerry, of course. He and I are already good friends."
"So what exactly are your powers, anyways?" Luna asked Jerry.
"I can tap into an alien dimension," Jerry said. "I don't know the full extent of my powers, but so far, I can fly, I have superhuman strength, speed, endurance, stamina, and durability. I can also project force fields, shoot energy either from my hands, or channel it through an object, and teleport."
"How exactly do you teleport?" Usagi asked.
"I enter the dimension I tap into, while at the same time, opening a portal wherever I want to go," Jerry said.
"I thought the smoke had something to do with it," Amy said.
"It doesn't," Jerry said. "It just makes for a cool looking entrance or exit. Once you get to know me, you'll find I occasionally tend to have a flair for the dramatic."
"So you don't need the smoke," Amy said.
"No," Jerry said. "I only use it when I don't have to worry about drawing attention to myself. Also, I don't use it much indoors, especially in confined spaces. Anyways, I believe we have one more order of business right about now."
"And what would that be?" Mina asked.
"You need a communicator," Jerry said. "That, and you need to choose a code name."
"If you would hold out your hand," Luna said. Mina held out her hand, and a compact appeared, much like the ones the other girls used.
"Now you need a code name," Jerry said.
"So what are all of yours?" Mina asked.
"Big Bird," Jerry said. "Because I'm Golden Hawk."
"Bugs Bunny," Usagi said. "It's because my name is the Japanese word for rabbit."
"Hello Kitty," Amy said. "Because I collect Hello Kitty."
"Wonder Woman," Rae said. "Because I've been told I look like Lynda Carter."
"Cookie Monster," Molly said. "Because I make a mean oatmeal chocolate chip cookie."
"How about Miss Piggy," Mina said. "She's my favorite character of the Muppets."
"That'll work," Jerry said.
"I'm Bad Luck Charm myself," Luna said. "On account of me being a black cat. Anyways, Artemis, it's your turn, you need a code name."
"I'll go with Walking Mousetrap," Artemis said. ""That's what one of Mina's cousins calls me."
"All right," Jerry said. "We're now a team of superheroes. And if there's one thing I want us to take away from this experience, it's that being a hero is more than just kicking ass and rescuing people. It's about leaving the world a better place than you found it."
"I agree," Usagi said.
"And another thing," Jerry said. "We're going to start training. I believe with a little training under our belts, we can be a much more effective team."
"So who put you in charge anyways?" Molly asked.
"I didn't see any of you trying all that hard to be the leader," Jerry said.
"He's right, you know," Luna said. "Jerry's the only one who's taken the initiative to be the leader."
"But if anyone wants, I'm willing to put it to a vote," Jerry said. "Anyone care to run against me?"
"Not me," Usagi said.
"Me neither," Amy said.
"Ditto," Molly said.
"Count me out," Rae said.
"I haven't been part of the team long enough, so no," Mina said.
"So that means Jerry's leader by default," Luna said.
"But if any of you change your mind," Jerry said, "I'll be willing to put it up to a vote again in the future."
"Deal," Usagi said.
À SUIVRE...