Unity
Chapter six:
Central Park:
Chibi-Usa hurried up to Hotaru, who was walking a bit aimlessly in quite a pensive mood.
"What's wrong, Hotaru-chan? This isn't the time or place to get glum."
"Ie, it's not that. I was just going over the conversation I had with David-san."
"Hai, he is a bit of a pain," the pink-haired girl said as they went back to Bobby, "But I guess I shouldn't blame him; he's not mean, he's just angry. And besides, it's not as bad as being teased for looking like an eight-year-old at 500." The pale girl raised an eyebrow.
"You know, I often wonder how minna-san fail to notice this second similarity between Setsuna-mama and yourself. We should talk about it someday."
"I guess eye color is easier to notice," the princess giggled. Hotaru smiled back, then her eyes went wide in shock.
"Chibi-Usa, duck!!"
"Nani!?" She turned as she was pulled down and saw a woman about to strike her with a large branch. She would've hurt the young girl badly, if she hadn't been hit in the face with a snowball.
"Run for cover, now!" Bobby yelled as he created another icy projectile. The girls looked around, it wasn't just that woman. Out of the blue, nearly everyone in the park was attacking them.
Remy and Rogue worked together to keep Kathy from harm, since the silent girl had no way of defending herself. He threw charged pebbles at two guys, while Rogue used some of the moves she'd learnt from Logan. David was too far from the rest, so he had to hold his own against three. Only Henry and Setsuna were fighting properly.
"Even the children are after us!" the emerald-haired woman exclaimed as a stone hit her shoulder, "But why?"
"I have no idea, but we'd best escape," he answered, "Let's gather the kids and head for the car." If only the others weren't busy.
*****
About the same time, the rest of the X-Men were dealing with a brawling trio of morlocks. Cyclops tried to stun the large woman with a well-placed beam, it didn't work. He got ready for a counterattack, but she just kept on fighting her original opponents. Wolverine jump-kicked the one with scales, flooring him.
"Now, are you gonna stay down, or do I have to keep you down?" the feral man taunted as he drew out his claws, "Huh?" His would-be-opponent just shoved his way past him and went back to his own fight. That's when Uranus and Neptune showed up.
"Hey, those three are part of the group we fought last night," the latter noted, "What's going on?"
"Umm, my guess is we're being snubbed," Storm answered, "When we got here, these guys were all over each other. Except him." It was Gus. Jean was tending to him, and indeed, he seemed to be the only one unaffected by this madness.
"Don't ask me," the gooey one said, "We were taking a shortcut down that alley when the fight broke out all of a sudden. Their argument was getting more and more violent, but I never expected this."
"Well, they seem to be busy enough already," the wind senshi observed, "We could just sit this one out and let them finish each other." One of the morlocks threw a blast and destroyed a wall.
"Brilliant plan," Wolverine mocked.
"Look, it doesn't matter if they're against us or not," Cyclops piped up, "We must stop them now." The brown-haired man set his visor "We'll take them two to one, fight until your opponent's unconscious. With luck, we'll be done in a few minutes, alright?"
"Hai," Uranus answered, even though she disliked being given orders. "Let's do it then. World shaking!"
*****
Back at the park, the battle had grown into a closed circle, with Chibi-Usa and Hotaru at the center. The young pair hadn't been given the chance to slip away and henshin, and Setsuna didn't have much luck either.
"These people are restless," Bobby panted, "What's going on? A person can't possibly fight after this." He has right to be puzzled, he'd used his power to numb some of them and yet they kept going.
"They almost seemed possessed," Remy added.
I'm quite sure they are, the ruby-eyed woman thought. By the Kami, all I need is one second. "McCoy-san, I'll try to make it to the car and bring it here. You try to round-up the kids."
"Right," the blue-furred man agreed, "good luck!" Setsuna sprinted her way out of the fight. It was easier than she had thought at first, for the attackers had no real interest in her. So she assumed it was the mutant students they were after.
"I just hope Miss Meioh hurries back," Rogue panted as she kicked another one, "I won't be able to keep up-KYAA!!" Somebody grabbed her face with his bare hand, she managed to shove him away immediately.
"Rogue!" Remy rushed to her side. "Are you okay?"
"Uh-huh, I don't think I got that much." The streaked girl gasped with fright. "Chibi-Usa. They're after Chibi-Usa!!"
"Huh!?" Setsuna stopped and glimpsed back. This moment of distraction cost her a blow to the head with a handbag that left her out cold.
"Ie, Setsuna-mama!" Hotaru gritted her teeth. "Come on Chibi-Usa-chan, we're making a run for it-Nani!?"
"Hotaru-chan!" A muscular man who had been jogging a few minutes ago, raised the violet-haired girl over his head. "Let go of Hotaru-chan, you big gorilla!!" The odango-headed child ordered as she pounded him. What he did was throw the small girl towards some bushes far away, then he turned his attention towards Chibi-Usa. There was a gleam in his vacant eyes that made her tremble. "Eto, you're not taking that gorilla thing as personal, ne?"
"On guard!" Out of nowhere, David charged and backhanded the large man. The blow was quite fierce since his hands had turned into large, bony claws, his mutant power. The pink-haired girl's mouth went wide open when she noticed this.
"Now get the hell out of here," the dark-haired boy ordered, "before-GAHH!!" A shot was fired and he was hit in the hand! It hurt terribly, fortunately, there wasn't much damage thanks to the extra-hard bone.
"David-kun!" Chibi-Usa looked up and saw one of the men who had come under Rogers' orders, the one called K. He was armed and aiming straight for her head. She wasn't fast enough to escape, Bobby and Remy had drained their energies, and Rogue and Beast were too far away. There was no one or nothing to stop the bullet.
"Silence Wall!" The barrier appeared in the nick of time. K spun and found the youngest senshi holding her glaive against him.
"My guardian is the planet of silence, Saturn. I am the senshi of death and rebirth, Sailor Saturn!" the suited man, and everyone else, was bewildered by this sudden appearance. But they were even more surprised when he gave a shriek of terror, for when he did so, a dark cloud flowed out of him. It floated there for an instant before flying away at great speed. All of the people who'd been fighting staggered then fainted. David stepped up to Saturn, who stood there blinking.
"Nice spear, but I don't think it's enough to scare a guy like that."
"He wasn't," she replied, "that man wasn't the one who got scared, it was that thing." But what was it? She wondered.
"Whatever it was, it's gone," Remy said as he stepped up, "And by the way, who are you exactly?"
"Didn't I say it already?"
"You know what I mean," the red-eyed boy snapped, "This situation started and ended too suddenly. Remy wants answers and you're the only one who can give them."
"Me?" the silent senshi stepped back, "I know as much about this as you do, maybe even less. If it's answers you want you'll just have to wait."
"Well I'm not very patient, girl," David threatened with a sharp finger at her cheek.
"Excuse me!" Chibi-Usa cut her way in between the three, "Right now we have more urgent matters. These people need attention and we're the only ones available."
"Right," Remy agreed, then he slapped himself on the forehead, "Merde! We forgot about Hotaru."
"Urk! Umm," Saturn stuttered, "I better get going and see what I can find out." Throwing her friend a wink, she took a few steps and teleported.
Remy and Bobby hurried towards the bushes to search, Chibi-Usa went there to distract them a little. While David stood there, grunting painfully. Kathy put her hand on his shoulder and gestured for him to slow down. Changing the shape of his hands was a painful procedure, especially when rushed, even more so thanks to the stinging wound.
"Okay," he muttered, "just help me back to the car."
"Miss Meioh, Miss Meioh, are you all right?" Henry tried to rouse Setsuna as gently as he could.
"Hai," she responded groggily, "I wasn't hit that hard. How are Hime-chan and Chibi-Usa-chan?"
"Hotaru's all right," Remy answered, "unless I'm speaking too soon." He was helping the pale girl stay on her feet, those quick changes and teleportation had worn her out.
"I'm just a little sore from the crash, nothing serious."
"Well, if you need help of any sort," the brown-haired boy offered as he took her hand, "Remy will be right there to-ugh!" Rogue had come up from behind and smacked him in the head.
"Quit flirting, swamp rat, and get going. There are a lot of people to take care of."
"Right," the blue-furred man agreed, "I better go check on them myself."
"Actually, McCoy-san," the mocha-skinned woman said, "it would be best if you took your students away. Please don't get me wrong, but it wouldn't be convenient for the likes of you to be seen here with so many people injured."
"I understand," he responded, "Will you be able to tend to them on your own?"
"Hai, the ambulances shouldn't take long." Henry gathered the mutant kids and left, while Hotaru healed Setsuna's bump. "Well, at least now we know that gas-like creature is provoking all the riots. We still have to figure out exactly what it is though."
"And why it reacted like that upon seeing Hotaru-chan," Chibi-Usa added, "Also, it was after me." She turned to Setsuna and saw her thinking hard, biting her thumbnail. "What is it, Puu? Do you remember something?"
"I'm trying to, Small Lady. Kuso, this is all too familiar."
"In the meantime, let's take care of these people while we wait for Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama," the amethyst-eyed girl suggested, "Maybe we'll find out something if we all put our heads together."
*****
Even when they were only three opponents, the battle was long and tiring. But the X-Men, senshi and Gus managed to defeat the raging morlocks.
"I think we finished just in time," Neptune said, "I can hear the sirens approaching. So now what do we do?"
"Leave these guys to the police of course," her love answered, "These guys are too dangerous to be left free."
"Whoa there!" Gus protested, "These guys are my friends, and I'm not going to let a single one of them go to jail."
"Be it as it may, the sailors do have a point," Storm said, "Whatever drove your friends crazy might affect them again. Think you can handle them on your own?"
"Look, they're hurt, and no human's going to help them. Work with me here, we've got healers back at the colony."
"You can't take all three of them," Jean challenged.
"And even if you could, they'll probably keep slipping off," Wolverine quipped.
"Shut up. All I need is to get them off the street." The morlock was getting visibly agitated. "But the cops are nearly here."
"And that's why we're going to help you," Cyclops announced.
"What?" "Nani?" "Huh?"
"He's right, a mutant won't get the proper attention. Storm, keep the police at bay, the rest of us will carry the fallen," he turned to the senshi, "Can we count on you as well?"
"Hai," Neptune answered, "even if we don't fully agree with you."
While the white-haired girl held the police with mist and mini-hurricanes, the senshi and X-men carried the unconscious morlocks down a manhole. When Storm saw the lid close, she flew away. Being claustrophobic, she would've never been able to stand going underground.
"Okay, we're done," Wolverine said as he put the last one down. He sniffed a bit, "This path's used often, he won't have to wait long for help to arrive.
"That's good to know," Jean said, "They're in good shape, except for the bruises we gave them. They seem awfully tired, but they didn't fight that fiercely."
"Let me check." Neptune knelt next to the redhead and used her mirror. "Just as I thought, their energy's been drained."
"Energy?"
"It's hard to explain, but they'll recover after resting." The wavy-haired senshi turned to Gus, "All you have to do is wait for them to wake up."
"And they won't go crazy again?" he asked.
"Experience tells me they won't, but be careful anyway." There was nothing more to do and much less to be said, so the heroes left the gooey morlock to himself.
"Are you sure of what you've done?" Uranus asked Cyclops once they were back outside, "They'll probably cause more trouble as soon as they're feeling better. Also, they could have given us a clue as to what is going on in the city."
"Right! We could've just waited there for a few hours until they woke up. We've got nothing to do anyway," the feral man replied sarcastically, "Listen, rookie, you're useful at battles, but you better leave the thinking to the home team."
"Well if you feel so confident," Neptune challenged, "We'll let you crack this case open on your own."
"Oh?" Cyclops tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, "I suppose you'll do so much better than us."
"Right," the sand-blonde senshi retorted, "And we'll be back to rub it on your faces afterwards," she added as they teleported away. The three X-Men watched the empty spot for a while.
"Can you believe those two?" the brown-haired man asked his friends, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone so arrogant before."
"You two are not too shabby yourselves," Jean scolded. Both men turned to her with questioning gazes. "Have you forgotten the giant at Brooklyn already? The scouts were the ones who knew what to do, we need their help for this, Scott."
"You're starting to sound more and more like Chuck, you know that?"
"Jean's right, Logan. These fights break out all of a sudden and for no apparent reason. Whoever transformed that man is the only clue we have, and the scouts have the knowledge we need to go further."
"Maybe, but we still ignore too much of each other. Consider this, how is it they know so much about these demons, energy and stuff?" The redhead glared at him.
"You're not serious, are you?"
"I've met a lot of two-faced people in my life, Jean. Helpful as they may be, we shouldn't give our trust so easily."
"Time will tell," Cyclops said as he led the way back to the vehicle. He thought about his friend's suspicions. Logan was partly right, trust is very hard to earn, it had taken quite a while for the X-men to just get along with him; but it all turned out well in the end, the same could be true for the scouts. Also, and more worrisome, was the fact that the mutants they'd fought were trying to destroy each other.
*****
Haruka and Michiru received a shock when they returned to the others. They had a lot of questions, but decided to wait until they were back in the privacy of their hotel room.
"So you were attacked a few minutes after we left," the racer grumbled as she dropped on the armchair, "what a coincidence."
"I doubt both incidents were related, Haruka-papa, at least not beyond facts we know for sure."
"Hai," the aqua-haired girl agreed as she held her mirror, "When I checked on the mutants a while ago, I noticed a queer aura around them, it looked like a sort of infection. And I got the same readings at the park."
"But it couldn't have been controlling both groups at the same time," the future princess pointed out, "I felt the youma's power as it escaped, it wasn't that strong."
"Which means it was using that man it possessed as protection," Michiru added, "But enough recaps, let's try figuring out something new. Our first question: Why was it after Small Lady?"
"The only reason that a youma would go after her specifically," the sand-blonde answered, "is that it knows she's the princess of Crystal Tokyo. It must be here on an mission to hunt her down."
"Ie," Setsuna countered, "if time travelling had occurred I would've felt it. But your deduction isn't that far off, Haruka-san. It must have a slight idea of who we are, which explains its behavior in front of Hime-chan; when it saw the Silence Glaive, it must have recognized Saturn as-" she stopped when she noticed Hotaru staring at her. "Ahem…well, this leads me to believe this creature is one we confronted in the past, that's how it knows about us."
"From the Silver Millenium, huh?" Haruka rubbed her chin, "But if that's true, it would be in Tokyo after Usagi-tachi." She started tapping her foot angrily, "We're getting nowhere." They remained quiet for a while, each trying to come up with the best conclusion. Chibi-Usa made a suggestion.
"Why not tell the X-Men? They might be able to help."
"How do you figure that out?" the mocha-skinned woman asked.
"Well, this youma is controlling both humans and mutants, and the X-Men have expertise on how both groups relate. With their help we may be able to solve this puzzle."
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Surprisingly, it was Hotaru who said that. "This situation will surely get increasingly dangerous, and I don't want to get Rogue-tachi involved."
"How very kind of you to think that way, Hime-chan," Michiru said, "Ie, Small Lady, we better wait until we find out more on our own. Now, why don't you two go get ready for dinner?" The children left for the bathroom and the grown-ups kept talking. "Off the record, I'm glad to have found out there is no relation between mutants and youma, the Aqua Mirror showed me so."
"Hai," Haruka agreed, "and we do make a good fighting team, but we don't know about their intentions yet, so we shouldn't reveal ourselves entirely. Now that I mention it, Setsuna-san, what did you find out at the school."
"It was an eye opening encounter," the ruby-eyed woman answered. She told them about the interview with Charles Xavier, the way he acted and the conclusions she came to. She even mentioned the professor's offer. "Out of courteousness, I told him that we would consider it, but of course, we know that being a senshi won't allow her to enter."
"And even if she wasn't," the violinist said, "I would never leave my child at some school on the other side of the ocean." She then noticed that Setsuna had become a bit glum. "What's wrong, Setsuna-san?"
"Have you two noticed anything different about Hime-chan lately?"
"Come to think of it," Haruka answered, "she does seem more cheerful, more outgoing."
"And it's because of Rogue-chan and the others," Michiru guessed, "When I talked with Jean-san and Ororo-san the other day, I learned how they are all outcasts, in one way or another. Hime-chan feels a connection with the mutant children because they've all been through the painful experience of rejection."
"But it's not meant to last," Setsuna said soberly. She leaned forward and rested her head on her hands. Just as she'd said before, Hotaru could not stay because of her duties as a senshi. Still, her conscience bothered her, the pale girl was so young and had gone through so much, she deserved some sort of compensation. She gave a start when she felt Haruka's hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, we've still got a few more days until we go back to Japan," the sand-blonde said with a wink, "Hime-chan can still go to the school as often as she wants to." The emerald-haired woman took her friend's hand and smiled warmly. "Now come on, we better start getting ready too."
"Aaah," Chibi-Usa took a deep, relaxing breath as she entered the tub, "Can you believe the people in this country would spend so much money to have a luxurious furo, and then use it only once a day?" The ruby-eyed girl turned to her friend. "Say, Hotaru-chan, don't you feel a little guilty about lying to Rogue-tachi?"
"Nani?" the violet-haired girl responded as she turned around in the tub, "What do you mean by lying?"
"Well, I know that we have to make up an excuse for your healing power, but it doesn't feel right, making them believe it's a mutation like theirs."
"Frankly, Chibi-Usa-chan, I'm not sure whether it's a lie or not. My power could very well be a mutation."
"Nani? You know it comes from the power of your crystal."
"That's what I thought, but consider the following." Hotaru sat up and counted on her fingers, "My power first appeared when I was nearing twelve, and none of the other senshi can manifest their power under normal guise."
"What about Rei-chan?"
"Her ability didn't appear suddenly, it grew little by little, anyone can strengthen ESP with the right training, it is merely a lost art."
"Good point," Chibi-Usa replied, "Are you sure about this, Hotaru-chan?"
"The more I think about it, the more certain I am." For a moment she recalled David's words, and trembled despite the water's warmth. The pink-haired girl noticed this.
"What's wrong, Hotaru-chan?"
"Would it make a difference, knowing what I am?"
"Nani, are you serious? Of course there's no difference! You're still Tomoe Hotaru, you become Sailor Saturn, and most importantly, you're my friend. There's no reason for anything to change." The pale girl stared in amazement then gave a grateful grin.
"Domo arigato, Chibi-Usa-chan."
"Hey! Are you two done yet?" Michiru called as she knocked on the door, "You're not the only ones who need to use the furo."
"We'll be right out. Hotaru-chan, how about going somewhere else with Rogue-tachi tomorrow? I have to thank David-kun for helping me back at the park."
"Hai, let's do that."
*****
Xavier's school:
Henry McCoy headed immediately for the professor's office to tell him about the incident at the park, while the kids went over to tell Giselle.
"Wow!" the scaly girl exclaimed, "Everyone was after you?"
"And hitting us with anything they could get their hands on. I tell you, Remy never thought his lessons would be useful someday."
"The one who stole the show was David," Bobby said, "Tackling that guy away from Chibi-Usa was a great move."
"Seriously?" Giselle stared at her boyfriend, who was sitting next to her, "You saved Chibi-Usa?"
"It was just a reflex, my opinion about her hasn't changed. I still say the likes of her have nothing to do with us." The reptilian girl kissed him on the cheek and giggled teasingly.
"You don't fool me, my Davey's a sweet little angel." The dark-haired teen just grumbled while everyone else had fun at his expense. Kathy then snapped her fingers to get her friends' attention and mimicked the contour of a cloud.
"Right, the thing that came out of that guy," Bobby guessed, "What do you guys think it was?"
"Maybe it was a mutant," David said, "One that turns into gas, goes into your body, and controls all your movements."
"Getting inside physically?" the fair-haired boy asked, "Dave, that's just plain gross. Also, everyone was acting as thought they were possessed."
"Telepathy perhaps," Giselle deduced, "But that would require a tremendous amount of power."
"Rogue, cherie, what went through your mind when that guy touched you?"
"It was weird. The memories I get are never clear, but this time they were really jumbled."
"But you were able to see who they were after," Bobby pointed out.
"Actually, I saw a figure that only looked like Chibi-usa," the pale girl cleared out, "she had a similar hairstyle, but was much taller. There was something about a queen, a crystal and…" she shook her head in frustration, "Some sort of…metal? Ugh, it's no use! I'm losing it already." She tapped her temple, "Come on, come on, there's something else in there… Saturn! I saw people dressed like Sailor Saturn!"
"Now that's useful information!" David exclaimed as he sat up, "You better go tell the grown-ups; the problem's in their hands, we'd just get in the way."
"Perhaps mes ami, but if our new young friend is involved, then so are we," the bayou dweller declared, "And cherie don't forget about that crystal, it's a very important clue."
"What makes you say that?" Giselle asked.
"Remy has a hunch."
*****
Jack Stevens' new H.Q.:
John Doe had been useful in entering Steven's organization, but only once. Now he, or rather his guise, had been disposed of. The mutant polymorph known as Mystique was posing as an elderly secretary. As she took files and packages here and there, she memorized names, routines, and habits, not to mention escape routes for when the time came to get her original job done. She glimpsed around a corner and saw Stevens coming down the aisle with Rogers, Michael was trailing behind. Keeping a safe distance, she eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Two mutant related incidents, Jim. Are you still not convinced?"
"Yes, Jack, I am convinced, but for your safety, don't push it," the older man grumbled. His agents had been caught after that fight at Central Park, and thus, was in a very foul mood. "I've already placed people inside the major news channels and papers, we should get little trouble from the media. It'll take time to place units at strategic spots while maintaining secrecy, but we'll be able to respond immediately when thew next attack occurs."
"I'd rather strike first," the mousy-haired man said in an eerie tone, "Hunt down those animals and exterminate every single one of them."
Mystique clenched her fist tightly until it nearly bled. To hell with caution, she thought, she wanted to charge and kick that creeps head off. Michael spoke at that very moment.
"Umm, sir? It looks as though we have a situation here."
"What the devil is going on!?" Stevens shouted. There was a bit of a scuffle in the room they had entered, and push had come way beyond shove.
"It's Lou here who's being an ass!" somebody said.
"Me? You started it!" the other one retorted as he gave another shove.
"BEHAVE YOURSELVES!!" Rogers hollered, the military authority in his voice was felt and everyone froze right on the spot. "All of you form a unit, insubordinate behavior makes the unit fall. It shall not be tolerated!"
"Y-yes sir, it won't happen again," one of the troublemakers stuttered. Everyone hurried back to their business, and soon, it was as if nothing had happened. Only Michael had remained impassive during the whole scene.
"Shouldn't you get back to work as well?" the indigo-haired majordomo scolded Mystique.
"Umm, yes, I'll, I'll get right on it." Quickly, she left her errand at some desk and rushed into a restroom. Once inside, she locked the door, made sure there was no one there and finally gasped. He hair turned from gray to bright red, her slightly plump figure became slender, clothes dissolved away and her skin took a deep blue color. Rogers had scared her so much that she had nearly lost concentration; and there was something else. "What happened back there? I was ready to kill all those people." True, the death of all those intolerant bastards would've made the yellow-eyed woman very happy. But the one thing she kept through all her disguises was self-control, a moment ago she'd felt an enormous fury. "You don't lose control like that," she told herself, "get a grip." She took some more deep breaths before resuming her disguise. "The sooner I get this over with, the better, definitely."
*****
Atlantic Ocean:
His wounds were aggravating, he felt utterly exhausted, his body demanded rest, he just wanted to give up and plunge into the dark waters below; but a firmer resolve gave him strength and pushed him forward. He had to reach his friend, let him know about this beast he'd unwillingly set free, warn him before it was too late.