World's Finest
By Andrew J. Talon
DISCLAIMER: None of the animes or comics or anything in them mentioned in this story are my property. They are the property of their respective creators. I only claim ownership of the story itself. I am not writing this for profit.
A/N: Chapter 4. Sorry guys, you'll have to wait for Wonder Woman to appear until next chapter. But I guarantee it'll be worth it… And you still will never guess who she is, mwahahahaha!
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It was the following morning, and Keitaro, wearing his glasses again, sat at his desk in his room, a cup of tea in one hand. Across from him sat Mutsumi, looking mostly serene and composed as he usually knew her. However, there was no smile on her face, just a thoughtful expression.
"So," Keitaro began, clearing his throat nervously. "So… Well… Why?"
He decided that was as good a place to start as any. Mutsumi sighed, knitting her fingers and resting her chin on them, elbows resting against the table.
"When I was five years old… The same day we made our promise… My parents took me to the train station so we could begin our trip home to Okinawa," the turtle woman began. "We were a few blocks from the station a man walked up to my father. He had a gun and demanded he hand over his valuables. He did, and the man then tried to grab for my mother's pearl necklace. My father tried to stop him and… And he fired."
Mutsumi closed her eyes at that, steadying herself, before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"Both my mother and father were killed… We were walking to the train station because I had been car sick, and…"
"Mutsumi," Keitaro said quietly, "it wasn't your fault."
"I know that, logically… It didn't help," Mutsumi said flatly. Keitaro gulped, unused to Mutsumi being so… Intimidating. She frowned and sighed.
"I'm sorry Kei-kun… Anyway… Their murderer was eventually found. Shiro Watanabe. He went to jail and was supposed to remain that way for the rest of his life… But he was paroled when I was eight." Mutsumi shut her eyes again, but reopened them and kept going.
"He soon killed again… And when that happened, I swore an oath. To make sure that what happened to me, never happened to someone else again in Hinata. To that end, I began training in martial arts, criminology, technology… Anything I felt I would have to know to fight my own war on crime."
Keitaro frowned.
"But Mutsumi… Your anemia… You are anemic, aren't you?"
Mutsumi smiled sadly and nodded.
"Yes, I am."
"Are you crazy?!" Keitaro gasped. "What if you fainted in the middle of a fight?! What if-?!"
"I do have anemia, Kei-kun… But I can control it," Mutsumi answered calmly. Keitaro blinked in confusion.
"Huh?"
"You know how Motoko and Seta use chi energy to enhance their speed and strength, not to mention to perform those techniques of theirs?" Mutsumi asked. At Keitaro's nod she resumed.
"Well, chi energy can also be used to compensate for conditions like anemia. When I'm Batwoman, I readjust the flow of life energy inside my body to increase my respiratory and cardiovascular system efficiency." Mutsumi sipped some tea.
"Unfortunately, due to my anemia… Compared to, say, Aoyama-san, I expend an average of twice as much chi to do anything as she does."
Keitaro grimaced.
"You mean… If your chi levels get low enough…?"
"My anemia comes back on, and I faint. If I'm involved in a strenuous enough activity at the time… I will die," Mutsumi explained without inflection. She looked Keitaro in the eyes, and Keitaro could see a hint of vulnerability in those usually happy, content windows of her soul.
"Kei-kun… Do you hate me? Now, that you… That I've told you this?" Mutsumi asked dully. "I'm… Not exactly who you thought I was."
Keitaro frowned, thinking for a moment before responding.
"How long did you know… About what I could do?"
"Ever since the island," Mutsumi said quietly. "I managed to pull Naru to safety but you… You washed up and crashed into a rock on shore. You weren't even hurt from the impact."
Keitaro chuckled sheepishly.
"Er, well… Weird solar activity at the time… My powers come from the sun."
Mutsumi nodded at this as Keitaro cleared his throat.
"But Mutsumi, well… Tell me the truth. Your feelings, how you act around here… Is that you? I mean… Really you? Or another mask?"
Keitaro almost cringed at the dark look that came over Mutsumi's face. She couldn't hurt him, true, but putting her on the spot like that…
If the Mutsumi I know is a fake… He didn't know if he could take that.
"It's… Complicated," Mutsumi sighed at last. "When I turn my anemia back on, all my strength, my abilities… It's like I'm literally no longer Batwoman, you know? As though we're two different individuals. Not that I have two personalities," she said at Keitaro's alarmed expression.
"I know who I am, but how I feel? Well… When I'm Mutsumi… I don't have to be rough, or scary, or…"
"Sarcastic? Cold?" Keitaro supplied with a small, cautious smile. Mutsumi gently returned it.
"Yes… I can be warm and kind, and just let things go on around me… Though I'm always more alert than I let on." Mutsumi licked her lips. "I do care for you, Kei-kun, and everyone else here. That's genuine… It's just that, with my anemia on, I can't feel too angry, or too determined, you know? My body forces me to relax."
Keitaro nodded thinking of gold kryptonite and its effects. It had felt good to be normal when he'd encountered it, to not have any powers. For a little while anyway… He could play with other kids and not worry about hurting them.
"When I'm Batwoman, it's like… Like I can let out my anger freely," Mutsumi resumed. "On one hand, I have to be cold, dark and… Sarcastic," she ended with a small smile. "On the other… I don't get to be that with the anemia on, and I have to admit… Making criminals, demons and other scum like that tremble in fear is very satisfying…." Mutsumi sighed.
"Does that make me a bad person?"
She was a bit surprised at Keitaro taking her hand and squeezing it comfortingly. Mutsumi looked up to see the ronin giving her a warm smile that made her heart flutter just a bit.
"No Mutsumi… Actually, I think there isn't a whole lot of difference between you and the Bat."
"Ara?" Mutsumi asked, blinking. Keitaro chuckled a little.
"Before we, you know… Met, I had heard a lot about you. How you always keep innocents out of the line of fire, always minimize property damage, and how you handled those two little girls you rescued last night…"
"Wait, you saw that?" Mutsumi growled. "You were just floating overhead or something?"
"No, I was just… Telescopic vision, you know?" Keitaro offered. Mutsumi blinked and nodded.
"Right…"
"So yeah… I don't think there's as much of a difference as you might think," Keitaro concluded. Mutsumi nodded and smiled a bit.
"Thank you, Kei-kun… I appreciate it…"
"Though you could, you know," Keitaro shrugged, "maybe let your anger out a little here too?"
"Ara?" Mutsumi blinked in confusion. Keitaro laughed a bit, and Mutsumi pouted.
"I'm sorry, you're just so cute when you say that, you know?"
"Hmph," Mutsumi pouted, but she just looked even cuter that way. Keitaro continued his laughter, and the turtle lady couldn't help her own giggles that soon followed.
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Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno was not what anyone would really call a morning person. She wouldn't call herself an alcoholic, just that there was always too much blood in her alcohol stream (she had a small sign with this quote on her desk).
But somehow, she found herself blearily blinking at a clock that read seven in the morning, when she rarely got up before nine. Blinking again, she groaned and stretched… Only to sense something off with her attire.
"… The hell? How much did I drink last night anyway?" Kitsune groaned, staring down at the skintight, green, black and white outfit she now wore. A glow in the corner of her vision revealed itself to be a green ring on her finger, which she studied intently.
"… Strangest engagement ring I've ever seen," she mumbled with a short laugh. Unbidden, another green ring appeared on her other hand, and Kitsune frowned, holding it up close.
"Fwuh? It's a diamond, only… Green?"
The original ring began to flash urgently, and a green arrow appeared in midair, pointing to Kitsune's left. The foxy woman blinked, and stood up, looking the strange thing over. A tap from her fist revealed the arrow to be real. A pinch to her cheeks (all four of them) revealed everything else to be just as tangible.
"Ooookay," Kitsune shook her head. "This is… New."
The arrow, seemingly impatient, increased in size and jerked itself twice in the same direction. Mitsune scowled and put her hands on her hips.
"Hey! You wake me up and expect me to go wherever you want just cause… Cause you're some kind of… Arrow maker? Well let me tell you something pal, I ain't goin'! And you can't-OW! Hey!" She cried out as the arrow shifted behind her and poked her twice.
"Okay, okay, I'm goin'," she grumbled, poking her head out and looking around carefully, just to make sure no one was around. She crept out of her room and quickly made for the entrance to the Hinata Sou. The ring, however, did not seem to be patient, and the arrow vanished as more green energy came out, surrounding Kitsune with an ethereal glow.
"Huh? What the-! Hey! What gives?!" Kitsune demanded as she began to float in the air. She waved her arms futilely.
"Let me down! Put me down already! Put me-!" The glow abruptly disappeared, and Kitsune suddenly realized she was very high off the ground. And that she was beginning to fall.
"ACK! Take me back up! Take me back up!" She commanded frantically. The glow returned and she paused in her descent. Kitsune breathed a sigh of relief and glared at the ring.
"Fine, you win. Where to?" She sighed, shaking her head. The green arrow appeared again, and Kitsune followed, soon getting the hang of controlling the ring's power. In a matter of minutes she was swooping about, giggling like a schoolgirl with her power of flight.
"Wow, this is great! Heh, maybe I can meet Supercutie and get a date," she snickered, before being poked by the arrow again.
"OW! Would you quit that?" She demanded. The arrow pointed down into a grove of trees, and Kitsune followed, slowly descending and landing. She looked around curiously, until she finally spotted a small crater in the dusty soil.
Stooping down, Kitsune looked into the crater as the arrow indicated, and frowned as she spotted a green object partially buried in the dirt.
"Guh, good thing I have gloves," she muttered, and dug it out with only minor difficulty. Free of the earth, the object was revealed to be a sort of lantern. The arrow pointed at the front, and Kitsune looked inside. She cried out as a green flash blinded her, and Kitsune rubbed her eyes to clear out the spots.
"What the hell?"
"Greetings, Green Lantern of Sector 2814," a strange, aged male voice said behind her. Kitsune blinked, and saw that she was no longer in a forest. It appeared to be a large, round blue chamber, with odd hourglass-shaped symbols decorating it. Just like the one on her chest, she absently considered, before turning around. She blinked.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! PLEASE DON'T PROBE ME!" She shrieked at the site of several small, large-headed grey aliens in robes above her. A green energy field emerged from her ring and formed a shield with the kanji for "NO PERVERTS!" on it.
"Calm down, young one," one of the aliens soothed. "We mean you no harm."
Kitsune blinked, her ring's power quickly shaping itself into a question mark. "Huh? What the…?"
"You are confused. We understand," another alien said. "Allow us to explain, please, and all will be made clear."
Kitsune frowned, and shrugged. Her ring's power turned into a chair which she instinctively sat on. Blinking, she looked at what she had made and shrugged again.
"Okay… Um… Guys. Speak away."
"For countless millennia, we, the Guardians of the Universe, have made efforts to defend freedom and good throughout the cosmos," the lead alien spoke. "To this end, we created what is known as the Green Lantern corps."
Holograms of various beings appeared around Kitsune, resembling flying ants, ogres, pink bats, and dozens of other radically bizarre alien creatures.
But they all had one thing in common-They all wore variations of the same costume she now had, and power rings on their appendages.
"Green Lanterns serve throughout the universe in assigned sectors, with these primary objectives. To protect life and liberty in their assigned sector, to follow the orders of the Guardians without question, to not interfere with a planet's culture, political structure or the will of it's populace, act within local laws and obey local authorities within reason, taking no action against anyone or anything until they are proven to be a threat to life and liberty, refusing to use the equipment, resources or authority of The Corps for personal gain-"
"What?!" Kitsune interrupted in disbelief. "How can you say that? This thing… it does anything my mind wants it to! Makes anything! How could you NOT use it for your own gain?"
"Because a Green Lantern is a protector of life, and freedom, and personal gain with that power is against the very ideals our Corps was founded on," the head Guardian spoke calmly, but firmly. "That is not a toy you wield. It is an Oa power ring, easily the most powerful weapon in the Universe. It is only limited by your will and your imagination. Misuse of it has resulted in the destruction of entire worlds before."
Kitsune gulped, and nodded, sitting back down in her energy chair. "Um, sure, no problem! You were saying?"
"Yes… You must show respect for and cooperate with other members of the Corps and the Guardians, show respect for life and use force only when there is no reasonable alternative, give top priority to assigned dangers in your sector, and above all else, uphold the honor of the Corps."
Kitsune nodded nervously, biting her lower lip.
"Er, um… I'm, uh… Flattered, ya'll chose me, but-"
"We did not choose you," the lead Guardian spoke again. "The ring did."
"Eh?" Kitsune blinked, staring down at it.
"Yes. It is semi-sentient, and judges who will wield it carefully," another Guardian spoke. "It would not have chosen you if you did not have the ability to wield it."
"Um, I guess," Kitsune responded, wincing a bit at her trickery and less-than-wholesome actions in her past, and there were a lot.
Maybe this thing's busted, Kitsune thought with a sigh. She turned to the Guardians, standing up and saluting awkwardly.
"So… Can't refuse this duty?"
"Not unless the Ring rejects you, which it has not," one of the Guardians said. "Indeed, the fact that you wield it so easily is a testament to your will."
"Maybe," she murmured. She shook her head and tried to stand at attention, like she did back at her high school graduation.
"So, uh… Guardians? Sirs? What do I do?"
"Your first assignment is to investigate the murder of the Green Lantern who bore that ring before you," the head Guardian spoke. Kitsune gaped.
"M-M-Murder?!"
"Yes. He was caught by surprise and his ship shot down. However, we were able to get some information back from it's flight recorder before it was destroyed. The energy signature of his assailant has been matched."
A holographic screen of a fierce-looking woman, with spiky white hair and yellow eyes appeared, with alien script scrolling next to her. Kitsune took it in, surprised to find out she could understand it.
"This is Ryoko, a space pirate who terrorized the Juraian sectors of the galaxy over seven hundred of your years ago. She destroyed twenty-eight planets and sixty-nine colonies before being imprisoned on Earth."
Kitsune gulped as she noted Ryoko's abilities. So she can blast me to dust, teleport around me, block any attack… How the hell do they expect me to beat her?!
"However, she was under the control of the rogue scientist Kagato at the time, and has since been pardoned by the Jurai government," the Guardians went on.
"Huh? Pardoned?" Kitsune blinked.
"Yes. Until recently, Jurai claimed dominion over Earth and managed it, forbidding our entry into their space. However, with Jurai's war against Thanagar, they have withdrawn from much of their former holdings and authorized us to take up guardianship. The Lantern Ryoko shot down was to make a survey of your world and determine which of your inhabitants would make for good recruits," the head Guardian explained. Kitsune nodded.
"So uh, what do I do?"
"For the moment, investigate Ryoko only. She has been cloned and mind controlled in the past, so whether or not this is one of those cases we are unsure. Approach her residence on Earth and question her. The Ring can aid you in your investigation."
"Er, and if she attacks me?" Kitsune asked nervously. The Guardians conferred, before turning back to the young human.
"We will be endeavoring to send you an additional ring, which will choose it's own bearer to aid you. At the moment our own resources are somewhat stretched, but we will assist you however we can. Know this-Your ring will work for 24 hours before needing to recharge it. However, it is ultimately your will and imagination that will determine how well it serves you."
"Good Luck, Green Lantern," the Guardians said as one… And the chamber vanished, leaving her back in the forest. Kitsune gulped nervously, staring at the lantern before her, and the ring on her finger. She took a deep breath.
"Damnit, I thought Keitaro was supposed to be the one with the bad luck!" She grumbled.
A holoscreen appeared, showing a Guardian. Kitsune yelped.
"One last thing," the Guardian spoke. "To assit you in your duties, we have had a satellite access your world's computer networks and given you your first paycheck."
"Paycheck? I get paid?" Kitsune asked. The Guardian nodded.
"In order to allow our Lanterns to survive on worlds with such economies, yes. I believe this amount is equivalent to your region's average salary?"
The numbers appeared on the screen, and Kitsune gaped. It wasn't average-Hell, it wasn't even close to average, it was a lot bigger.
"Y-Y-Yes sir! Happy to serve sir!" Kitsune grinned, saluting. The Guardian nodded.
"Excellent. I wish you luck on your first assignment."
With that, the screen was gone, leaving a happily dancing Kitsune.
"YES! I'M RICH! I'M SET FOR LIFE! WOO HOO! This saving and protecting the world thing ain't half bad!"
Granted, the money made Kitsune enormously more enthusiastic about the whole Green Lantern gig, but she had to admit, holding her ring up to the lantern, and feeling the dedication and courage of every other being connected through it (which she really needed to ask about one of these days) inspired the usually cynical fox.
"In brightest day, in blackest night,
no evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil's might,
beware my power... Green Lantern's light!"
"… Though I really need to do something about this outfit," she sighed, looking over the green leotard, black leggings and arm covers, and white gloves and boots. Not to mention the mask… How was this going to protect her identity anyway?
Then again, Superman doesn't wear a mask and I have no idea who he is… Though he does look awfully familiar somehow…
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Thanks for reading and please review!