/What's In A Name?/
(The Naming of the HSL)
/Dexter Lee's House/
/Dexter's Room/
"Say WHAT?!!" Dexter screeched, making all of his friends, even Lindsey wince when he hit the high-pitch.
"I . . . think they're building something, a, uh, a base at the site of the explosion that was on the news," Lindsey stuttered as she repeated what she'd just told the bi-hair-colored boy.
"Sorry," the young genius tactician apologized, sitting heavily down on his sofa, "I heard you the first time, it's just . . . it's a lot sooner than I expected."
"What's a lot sooner than you expected?" Sandra asked.
"The others," he answered, leaning back, his face going into 'Go-mode' as the others of the Anime Club called it. "There, apparently, is another group forming out there. They've made alliances with others that have been . . . Changed. And they're already building their own headquarters. Most likely, the ones there now are either the instigators of that explosion . . . or the winners of the battle that happened there. Or both. Which would speak to the kind of power they would have access to, just through their own members."
"What should we do?" Lindsey asked.
"I'm thinking," Dexter quietly replied, more saying it out of reflex since most of his thought processes were already committed to the current problem. After about three minutes or so, he stood up and went over to an item that Dexter had bought less than two days after Halloween. A Go-board. There were already a number of white and black stones in place all over it, though to the other members of the Anime Club, with maybe one exception, it was just stones on a wood platform, not a representation of what was happening in Sunnydale as far as they had discovered, which to Dex is exactly what it was.
As he approached, he took a black stone out and then delicately, yet deliberately placed it at a specific point on the board where no other pieces were. Lindsey made note that it was atop a star-etching in the wood design, significant in comparison to taking the center square in Tic-Tac-Toe, or placing your opponent in check in Chess, or . . . or taking the high ground in a battle.
Dex stared at the 'game' set before him for some time, and none of the others dare bother or interrupt him as he sat and thought, weighing all the possible options before making his . . . their next move. Thankfully, he had a little help, in the form of Dungeon Master reappearing, with a little less flash this time.
"Gyyaaaahhh!" Dex screamed at Jonathan, "You surprised me!"
The teen that had dressed up as Dungeon Master simply smiled reassuringly, having appeared opposite Dexter in front of the Go-board. "Well, not all of you apparently," he commented as he had three swords against his throat and if he moved a micron he would behead himself. Lance, Lindsey, and Sandra had moved the instant that Jonathan had appeared, the former and latter drawing their own swords, Lindsey simply transforming her right arm into a blade, all of them having moved before Dexter could even blink from Jonathan's appearance.
"Guys!" Dexter shouted at them, causing them to withdraw for the moment. Dex glared further and they sheathed their weapons, Lindsey blushing and reverting her arm back to normal.
"What can we do for you Jonathan?" Dex asked once the situation was calm once more.
"Actually, I'm here to offer some help to you," Jonathan replied, taking a white stone and then mimicking what Dex had done with the black stone earlier, placed it delicately next to a grouping of white stones not too far off from where the black stone had been placed.
Dex's eyes snapped up to glare into Jonathan's. "What do you mean?" he growled. Any of the Anime Club could have told the Dungeon Master that /nobody/ touched Dexter's Go-board without permission or invitation. And that was more Dexter's issue than a leftover from Hikaru.
Jonathan smiled mysteriously and answered, "Why don't you go answer the door and find out?" Half a beat later, the doorbell rung.
"OK, that was just creepy," Lance admitted to Sandra.
"Let's go," she ignored his comment and unsheathed her bent katana while racing for the front door, Lindsey and Lance right behind her, while Dexter looked curiously at Jonathan.
After a bit of waiting, Dex heard the others opening up the door and then Lance shouting "You've gotta be kidding me!!" afterwards Lindsey called him into the living room. "Dex! I, uh, I think you'd better come out here!"
"Shall we?" Jonathan gestured, then disappearing in a small flash of light that at least, didn't leave the younger boy half-blinded.
Confused, Dexter got to his feet and went to join the others, only to find his living room rather crowded with twelve additional people of practically all sizes and ages. The most notable was the smallest, about three feet tall if he stretched his arms as high over his head as he could, counting the ears too. He had smooth unwrinkled green skin and what hair he did have was growing out of his ears. Beyond that though, he looked like some kind of young 20-something (instead of 900) version of Yoda from the Star Wars movies. There was one other alien among the group that he could clearly see, the others all human, but they were /all/ dressed in beige and brown robes. Their costumes Dexter assumed. Or the bits of them that didn't become permanent.
"Let me guess," Dex turned to Jonathan, "your 'help'?"
"Yours actually," the wizard replied, bowing at the twelve additions, showing great respect.
"Uh-huh," then he turned to face his visitors and said to them, "I, uh, apologize for being so rude. But . . . who exactly are all you people?"
"Like you we are," the young Yoda creature replied, even had his voice, "Changed us into costumes, Halloween did, yes!"
"What the twerp's trying to say," a young man that looked between 17 or 18 at the youngest, 20 at the oldest, "is that we dressed up for Halloween, got turned into our costumes, and now . . ." he shared a look with all the others before continuing, "now we're all training to become Jedi. We're the Jedi Council, and with a few other exceptions, near as we can tell, we're the only Force-users in Sunnydale. Kinda fitting that there are twelve of us, huh?"
"Jedi, huh?" Dexter said, grinning. "Neat."
/Abandoned Lot/
/Still-being-constructed subterranean Headquarters/
"So boys, any clue what the toy in the basement is all about?" Buffy asked as she walked into the Command Center of their new underground base. Marco, Jake, Giles, and Geoffrey Patterson all looked up at her in confusion.
Geoffrey Patterson in the real name of the man that used to be known to the group as the Gamesmaster and the one that lead the charge that resulted in the combined forces of the group as it stands. Turns out he was actually a Physics professor at the local university. And thanks to Marco's Psionic Suppressor, now modulated and miniaturized so that Professor Patterson can wear it with him all the time, he had become a much valued member of the group. He also is smarter than your average physicist, in part because of his mutant power of omnipathy allows him to... "borrow" brain power from many other people all at once.
"Nope, nada, nein, negative, no..." Marco started to recite but Jake quickly interrupted him.
"We're getting closer to figuring out what it can do, but we still can't figure out where it came from," Jake finished for his friend.
"Although I have been able to gather some clues from some rather... derelict resources," Giles pointed out.
"And?" Buffy prompted.
"Nothing good," Giles blushed.
"Please tell me Prime wasn't right," the blonde mutant winced even as she said the words.
"So what brings you here Buffy?" Jake quickly changed the subject. "I thought you and the others were taking a break for a while. Not to mention you and your mom were going to hang out this weekend for the whole mother/daughter bonding thing?"
"We are. But the mall doesn't open until noon on the weekends, which gives me a few hours to still be responsible leader girl, even if it's in a diminished capacity to what I used to be," she answered.
"Hey if you want the job..." the thirteen year old offered with a sly grin.
"Hell no! I get enough headaches just being responsible as the Slayer, I'm not the person that leads something... well, I can't lead something this big," she finally muttered. "I'm fine with being front line girl. Frankly, I've got to admit, if I don't go out and get a little frustration worked off every now and again I'd go even more bonkers than I already am just from fighting vampires and demons in the first place."
"Buffy..." Jake started to say.
"Mostly the reason I'm here is because of just what I said, my over-developed sense of responsibility made me come down to get an update on crisis report. The last thing I want on my day off is to be surprised by an attack in broad daylight at the mall while I'm doing the mother/daughter bonding thing with Mom," she admitted.
"Sorry, can't say I've got anything scheduled like that," Jake joked with her.
"Very funny," she snipped back, "OK, so the thing in the basement is still a brain buster, what about on our other fronts. I know the recruitment is up judging by all the new faces we've got working down below and on everything else. Any troublemakers?"
"None except for your occasional prankster, but we've got some of the more responsible adult members handling that," Cassie reported, walking into the shack carrying a PDA-type device, only a lot slimmer. She was reading from it as she walked up to Jake, showed him what was on it real quick, he nodded and then she left, turning to glance at Buffy before leaving, "C'mon Buffy, if you've got time to kill, might as well make yourself useful."
"Fine, fine," the blonde grumbled, "But no excavating! The dust makes me look filthy and I've got to meet Mom at the mall if three hours!"
The pair left the building that was, for the moment, the only thing left on the surface of the lot and Cassie quickly directed the Slayer to some materials that looked to be several thousand lbs each and began to lead the way down below. They were still busy constructing the basic frame of the place, so for the moment all they had were stairs and sloping levels. The elevators and "secret entrances" would be installed over the next month or two.
Along the way they passed the newest members of their group, some standing around looking a little lost, others skeptical, and a few were listening to those that had been there that first day during the Battle Royale, as it was being called, being told the whole reasoning behind joining together into a large group in the first place. Those that either wanted to, or had more experience in the group, were helping in their own ways in constructing the base.
Xander and Willow were both on the surface and watched as Cassie lead Buffy, carrying the heavy supplies down below. "So, how are things going between you and Buffy?" Xander asked his bestest friend.
"Huh?! What? Why should anything be going on between me and Buffy?!" Willow blurted out, her voice panicky.
"You two have been spending a lot of time together lately," the blue-eyed mutant clarified, "It makes the guy of our trio a little bit curious, y'know?"
Willow glared at her long-term friend, about to be much more short-term, not replying to that as he just grinned unrepentant. "Unlike you, Uncanny Xan-man, Buffy and I did not take to our powers like a fish to water. We've been trying to help each other to better control what we have. My telepathic powers alone require almost infinite control, and we don't have a lot of ruby quartz on hand if Buffy's control ever slips over her optic blasts... well it would be bad."
"Don't see you spending as much time with Cordy, and she's still got issues with her powers, right?" he commented with the same grin. "Unless it's you, Buffy and Cordy always getting together for..."
"You finish that thought I'm gonna make you think you're a five year old girl with a lisp problem for long enough that whatever reputation you've currently gotten since Halloween will /never/ recover, no matter how long you live, got me?" the redhead hissed quiet enough that he was the only one to hear her.
"Never mind," he squeaked.
"We're all still friends Xander," Willow told him, "it's just that everybody is trying to do their own thing, like you, like Cordy. It just happens that Buffy and I spend some of our time with each other than by ourselves. There's nothing wrong, or subtext worthy, about that. Why do you want to know, anyway?"
Where once upon a time Xander Harris might have stuttered his way through saying words such as 'No reason' or 'Never mind', the current Uncanny Xan-man replied with, "I'm a guy? Why else? For the fantasy material. Between you three babes, it's enough to last a lifetime!"
/Sunnydale YMCA/
"Good day to you Dexter," Henry Stevens, the Director of the local YMCA, greeted Dexter and his friend who walked in behind him. When the twelve other people followed, the blue-furred Beast did a double take and added, "Is there something that I can help you all with?"
"Hm, help us you can, yes," the child that was Yoda replied.
Smiling, Dexter quickly took over the conversation, "Thanks Mr. Stevens. We're actually here to see the kids. How are they doing?"
"All but six of them have, as they term it, mastered the Change, and those are very close themselves to likewise masking their appearances to human form once more. They've also had numerous visitors who I felt it was unwise to introduce them to the kids. Except for that young gentleman over there," he gestured to the corner where a very oddly dressed high schooler.
"Who is he?" Dexter asked, worried a little.
"Says his name is Barry Mann," Henry answered before going back to his book.
/Sunnydale High School/
/The Library/
/The Next Day/
"OK, we're here, now what do you want?" Buffy growled out as she and the rest walked into the Library. Cordelia, who was calmly sitting on the table with her legs crossed just shrugged and pointed at Jake, Giles, Joyce, Agent Smith and Mister Anderson who were all standing around the long table at intervals.
"Sorry," Buffy apologized for the rude statement, "I mean, what's up?"
"We're here, Miss Summers," Agent Smith began in his monotone rumble, "because of the organization that you and your friends are directly responsible for forming."
"Huh?!" Buffy, Willow, and Xander all exclaimed at once.
"What baldy means," Tom Anderson interrupted, "is that your little coalition of people that were changed by Halloween, while a good idea... it already has too many members for it to be anything other than what it is. An organization, legally speaking."
"I don't understand, what's that got to do with us specifically?" Buffy asked.
Rather than come from the group in front of them, the answer came from behind the three friends, as Mrs. Harris, Xander's mom (followed by Xander's dad), spoke up and came around to the table, "Primarily according to both National and Californian State statutes, an organization is a legally constituted group numbering more than 25 individuals created by private persons with no participation or representation of any government, and are to be represented by the founding members upon formal request for permission to create said organization."
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Xander hissed at her.
"I'm your lawyer," she told him straightforward.
"Why do we need a lawyer?" Willow asked, a little intimidated.
"Because, as near as I've been able to determine," Agent Smith picked up the conversation, "you three, along with Miss Chase and Mr. Giles are the, quote/unquote "Founding Members" of your organization. As I'm sure you're aware, from what my sons have told you, I've been put in charge of the investigation dealing with the incident that your group has been calling the . . . "Battle Royale" . . . ? In the course of the investigation, it came upon me to reveal your groups existence as the ones responsible for the destruction."
"Yeah, but I didn't mean to..." Buffy protested until Agent Smith held up his hand for silence.
"I have likewise managed to point out the evidence that while you were technically responsible, it's not your fault," he finished.
"Huh?" the three questioned again.
"Agent Smith has determined that what happened has been ruled . . . accidental, coupled with unstable fault lines," Mrs. Harris translated for the mutant teens. "And because of such, along with the fact that our group is making a claim on the land and the original deed hasn't been located, and that you and everyone else you have in the group are "repairing" what the "accident" caused, there is nothing to fear as far as legal repercussions from the matter."
"So I'm not going to be shunted off to Quantico for blowing up some demons and a bunch of not-used land?" Buffy clarified.
"Nope," Tom answered.
"Whew, that's a relief. And while I appreciate knowing... couldn't Mom have just told me this later tonight, like over dinner or something?" Buffy questioned.
"That's the other matter," Mrs. Harris remarked, bringing out a folder.
"What other matter?" Xander asked with a sense of growing dread.
"We're planning on buying and owning the land where the abandoned lot is," Jake answered. "Unfortunately, or rather I should say fortunately, the original deed concerning the land has been lost and nobody can find a trace of it. The unfortunate part comes in..."
"In that in order to dictate a /new/ deed, the person, persons, or organization planning on owning the land have to sign for it and dictate what can or cannot be done with it," Mrs. Harris interrupted. "At first it was thought that either the Sunnydale local government, or even the Wilkins family were thought to have ownership of that particular plot of land, but as has already been stated, nobody can find the deed."
"I wouldn't be too surprised if it said those Fyarl demons were supposed to have been the land owners," Xander sarcastically commented.
"Which is in favor for us Alexander," his mother continued. "The 'previous owners' of the lot have thirty days to contest us laying claim to the land, and if that were true, unless they had lawyers of their own, the land is ours free and clear. But."
"I hate buts," Buffy, Willow and Xander all said with a heavy sigh.
"We can't just call ourselves a group or an organization and that be it, not if we want to own that land or do anything else that we may have to end up doing," Jake explained. "We have to legally become an organization, capable of making legal decisions and everything else. But..."
"You need the founding members to bear witness at the formal request to create such an organization," Willow finished for the 13-year-old Star Fleet Captain.
"I thought this was why we made you the leader, Jake, and I know its why I /didn't/ want to be the leader," Buffy argued.
"An organization's leadership does not have to be solely dictated by its founding members," Mrs. Harris pointed out. "Though for the large part such matters are handled internally with many organizations. It doesn't change the fact that at least 75 of the organization's founding members must be present and sign the legal documentation. Which means either you three, or all five of you, plus myself as your lawyer."
"I don't like this," Buffy groaned.
"Just think of it as joining the cheerleaders, or any other club Buffy," Joyce said to her daughter. "Only this time you'll have fun instead of getting bored like you used to."
The blonde mutant snorted but nodded her head, "OK, I'm in, and while I'm not keen on being the leader, if we get stock options, I want a controlling portion in my name, all right?"
"Deal," Jake said with a smile.
"Are we allowed to sign legal documents to form an organization?" Willow asked, worried.
"Nothing to worry about Willow," Mrs. Harris told her, "I've already got everything taken care of. That's why Joyce is here and if anybody were actually to contest your signature or participation, it shouldn't be too hard to either argue gross negligence or to just simply convince your parents to say you had their full backing."
"There are several small matters that still need to be addressed however," Mrs. Harris continued. "While it has been largely agreed that, and while his age will be initially absent from records, Jake Berenson will act and be listed as CEO of the organization, there are still office and hierarchal positions to determine and assign. And ultimately... there is the name itself of the organization. What are you... we... What are we going to call ourselves?"
The group frowned at that, and finally moved forward towards the table. Shortly after that everyone was placed once more around the long table, Jake at the head and Buffy at the opposite end. "I'd rather avoid having anything to do with myself, my family, or the word Slayer being put in the name, in any form," the mutant Slayer told them after some time.
"Well..." Xander spoke up after a moments thought, "What if we have two names? The name that we tell ourselves when we're facing supernatural stuff... and then the legal name? I mean, just calling ourselves 'The Group' isn't exactly gonna spark up a lot of membership, y'know? And whatever we pick for the legal name, it's not going to be something that will inspire a lot of confidence or even respect when dealing with the supernatural. That's just my thoughts on it," he finished.
"Well, what about and acronym? Like three or four letters that stand for longer words?" Buffy suggested in her 'blonde' tone.
"Oh, and we can call ourselves a League!" Willow put forth excitedly. "Like the Justice League, or other comic book and cartoon stuff!"
"And being called a league isn't something that will hurt us publicly if we use that in the legal name," Mrs. Harris pointed out, writing on a notepad in front of her.
"This all started with Halloween," Jake said, "And what is it that you called the mystical convergence Giles?"
"The Hellmouth," the Watcher answered directly.
"Both begin with the letter H," Joyce noticed.
"There's also the fact that everyone is saying the mandate of the group is to provide security and safety for both its members and other citizen, right?" Tom added to the conversation.
"L, H, S?" Cordelia repeated slowly.
"Sounds like we're talking about somebody's high school," Xander snipped at her.
"Well it was Buffy's idea to use an acronym," the white-striped brunette snipped back.
"S, H, L?" Joyce offered as a way to prevent the looming argument from starting.
"Security of Halloween League?" Jake translated it, though with a sour look on his face.
Buffy's face suddenly went blank as she was struck with inspiration. "Hellmouth Security League..." she whispered.
"... And Halloween Safety League," Willow finished for her, with the same look.
"H, S, L?" Jake repeated. Then he nodded, and said it again, almost as if tasting the new word, "HSL. The HSL. Hellmouth Security League, and to the public, Halloween Safety League. Sort of a community watch program, inspired by gang violence that was perpetrated on this past Halloween. I think it could work."
"And if further investigation were to lead me to believe that the 'accident' was truly caused by one or another of the gangs that this . . . HSL was created to stand against, then I just might be able to even get you some government backing," Agent Smith added as he realized the possibilities of such a story himself.
"So... the HSL, huh?" Mrs. Harris asked. When everyone nodded, she pulled out the folder once more and began to fill out all the necessary information. At the place for the name of the organization, she simply put down the initials, HSL.
/Cave System/
/Directly beneath Dexter Lee's House/
(The following scene was written by author Enterprise1701D at my request and has been posted here as part of this story with his permission. Thanks E!!)
Dexter walked up to the platform built at the front of the meeting room, buried deep underneath the ground level of Sunnydale, CA and more specifically directly beneath his own house. For a moment, he looked out over the people present. Seventeen pairs of eyes looked at him, and he sought out the eyes of his two friends and the love of his life.
He was glad to see that Lindsey was smiling encouragingly at him. He wasn't exactly used to speaking in front of large groups, and even though he had done his fair share of speeches as captain of the chess club, this was not something he was looking forward to.
Everyone was silent, waiting for him to say something. Finally, he drew a breath, gathered his courage, and spoke. "I guess you all know me. I'm Dexter… the guy who bought most of you their outfits. I guess the people I bought them for can blame me for their current predicament."
He was half expecting to be booed out of the room. He wasn't. The people present just stood there, watching him, most even smiling, as if they weren't bothered by the situation in the slightest. Taking it as a good sign, he went on. "Some of us were here when it happened," Dexter said, indicating Sandra, Lance, and Lindsey. "But for those of you who heard only bits and pieces, here's, briefly, what we've found out happened."
He then gave a brief rundown, ending with the knowledge Barry brought them on the Dark Mage and his magicked outfits, as well as Lindsey's Hilbert Effect, which helped to make the changes semi-permanent. "I guess you can blame Lynn, too," he finished his explanation, earning him a chuckle from the room and a playful glare from Lindsey. Smiling, he went on.
"Anyway, thanks go to Barry, who has been kind enough to join us so far, providing invaluable information as well as this incredibly comfortable base." Barry dipped his head, and waved it off. He had asked his atoms to do most of the work, he wasn't about to take credit for that. Ever since he performed a Stellar Acquisition, he had, once again, more power than he knew what to do with.
"I guess the only thing left to do is introduce ourselves, as most of you don't know each other, and I guess, explain a little about the character we've become, maybe even the powers, and after that… I guess we need to figure out what to do." He drew a breath, and went on. "I dressed up as Hikaru, from the anime series called Hikaru no Go. Trained by a ghost in the tactical game of Go, Hikaru used his talents to become one of the top pro Go players. I guess it translates into other areas as well, as I have found myself become a whole lot more aware of tactics and strategy. I'm now a world-class chess player, as well as a Go player, and during the Sunnydale situation, I found myself in tactical command at one point."
He stepped away, indicating he was done. Lindsey stepped up, and smiled. "Hi. I'm Lindsey. I dressed up as KOS-MOS, from the Xenosaga game. Basically, I'm now a cyborg that can shift her arms into various weapons, including swords and a guns and plasma casters of all kinds. I'm also indestructible, or very nearly so, anyway. I also have a Hilbert Effect Generator. Basically, it is a generator that throws out a field that translates matter from the Astral Plane down to our level of existence, ready to be killed. That's what made these effects semi-permanent, or so Barry figured."
Barry waved once again, getting another strange look from the group, giving his exotic appearance. Lance stepped up now that Lindsey was done. "My name is Lance. I dressed up as Kyo, from Demon Eyes Kyo… for those of you who don't know Kyo, imagine the most ruthless swordsmaster you can imagine. Kyo has a swordstyle called Mymyou Jinpuu Ryuu, the Black Wind of the God-murdering Sword technique. It is incredibly power, and the strongest attack can not be defeated. If you block it, it will come back, stronger. Again, and again, and again."
Sandra stepped up after Lance. "I'm Sandra. I dressed up as Saya, from Blood+. Basically, I'm now a sort of alien lifeform, I am awake for about a decade, before going back to sleep for thirty years. Basically, Saya is a kick-ass swordswoman, incredibly resilient, her blood kills vampires and demons that were created from the blood of her twin sister, she's faster than a blinking eye and quite a lot stronger, too. Oh, and she's ruthless when she needs to be."
Barry stepped up. "Those were the four people founded in the Anime Club," Barry said. "My name is Barry. I dressed up as Guy Mann, my own creation. Basically, I'm a super-being now… Guy developed something he called Guillaume atoms. They're intelligent atoms, designed and constructed to replicate and rebuild Guy, or the constructs he, and now I, chose. Guy is linked to a Ship, something the size of a small city and nearly indestructible. The Ship will rebuild Guy and his consciousness should he be smitten into subatomic sludge. Same thing the other way around… The Ship will be rebuilt out of Guy's atoms should it be sub-atomized. The Ship's, and Guy's, power come from any source available… sunlight, fuels, water, air, gravity, what name you. But, the most powerful ability is called Stellar Acquisition. Basically, the ability to eat a star and have enough power stored to go without recharging for decades, if not a full century, and last through quite a bit of rebuilds. I used my atoms to build you this base… it is indestructible, will rebuild itself, and has been programmed to respond to your command and to protect you. It has all modern comforts, including spatial relocation engines should you have the need to move the base to another planet, replication built into every room so you can generate what you need out of energy, and sensors that can help you see every conceivable wavelength at any conceivable speed."
As Barry stepped down, he got applause as a well-meant thank-you from the people present. Barry, the new Guy Mann, actually blushed slightly under the praise, then waved it off. "I'm just a Guy," he said, sprouting his character's favorite line. "Looking for a good time." He grinned at the meeting hall, large enough to hold dozens of people, and able to expand to hold meetings that would encompass tens of thousands of people.
Next one to step up was Abby. "I'm Abby, the first non-native, I guess… I'm from an all-girl's boarding school, in upstate Virginia. I dressed up as Éclair, from the series Kiddy Grade. Éclair's power is called 'Power'… basically, an extreme form of telekineses, which can make her hover, create shields, and interfere with the wavelengths of laser-light, making them ineffective. She is extremely strong and fast, and is able to move at speeds that seem like short-range teleportation. She has been reincarnated a couple of times… but I will let Jessie explain that." As she motioned for the girl in question, she was rewarded by a vicious scowl that seemed to come straight out of her character's repertoire.
"Anyway, moving on," Abby said quickly. "Éclair works for the Galactic Organization for Trade and Tariffs, a 31st century interplanetary organization responsible for stopped smuggling, illegal imports, free trade, fair government, and so forth." She stepped down, and Gabrielle took her place.
"Hi, I'm Gabrielle. I dressed up as Lumière, also from Kiddy Grade. Lumière's power is called 'Puppet', and it enables her to interface directly with any computer or energy system. Her full power is called 'Particle', and it allows her to rebuild herself and her friends, in a similar way as Barry's Guillaume atoms. She once recovered herself, Éclair, and their combat robot called Donnershlag, from an energy-recuperation unit that had converted them completely into energy."
Barry let out a whistle, impressed despite himself. He wasn't sure if his Guillaume atoms could do something similar. "Lumière also works for GOTT. Where Éclair is the fighter, Lumière prefers to think her way out of things." She smiled at her friend. "But they're the best of friends, and an incredible pair. Lumière has also been reincarnated, and Jessie will explain."
Once again, the Jessie in question glared. Lumière ignored her. "Thank you," she bowed respectfully, something she had taken over from her assigned character, and walked elegantly off the stage.
Jessie came up next. "I guess I'll explain, then," she muttered under her breath. "Hi, I'm Jessica. I dressed up as Eclipse, also from Kiddy Grade. Eclipse is the commander of GOTT, so I get to boss those two around… or rather, I would have gotten to boss them around, had we all been in our characters still. Eclipse's power is called 'Kvant', which is Russian for 'Quantum' and allows for short jumps, quantum jumps, basically. It also allows for quantum-manipulation of the mind… basically, transporting consciousness from one body to another. All of the special squads of GOTT had that right… but only Éclair and Lumière are here now. It had kept them alive when their bodies start to break down, transferring them, their mind, consciousness, and powers, to another body."
Barry whistled again. It looked as if he was going to spend a lot of time around Jessica and Gabrielle. One could quantum-entangle minds, the other could interface with computers directly, something he had trouble doing without using his link to Ship, and have Ship hack in.
The next one up was Amber. "Hi, my name is Amber. As these other three, I go to the All-Girl's School, and I dressed up as Yuna, from the Final Fantasy game. Basically, Yuna is a Summoner, able to do white magics as well as summon creatures. One thing I have found out already, next to summoning creatures, summoning equipment is nothing. If you give me an example, I can duplicate it. Or, if you give me an atomic schematic, I can build it out of nothing. For instance, I can summon perfect diamonds. Another thing Yuna is great at are guns. She's a wicked gunner."
Amber stepped down, to be replaced by Adam. "Hi, I'm Adam, from an orphanage about 45 minutes outside of New York City. I dressed up as Himura Kenshin, the lead character from Rurouni Kenshin. After having fought in the revolutionary war, Kenshin became discouraged and took on the life of rurouni, a wanderer. He also accepted his reversed-edged sword at that point. Kenshin is an extremely powerful swordsman, relying on strength, speed and almost supernatural skill to defeat his enemies. He is able to read his opponent's styles very quickly, and is able to read his opponent's emotions off their faces at a speed that's almost clairvoyant. Using those skills, he is able to move before his opponent can, and strike with god-like speed. His style, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, is the most formidable sword-art taught in Kenshin's world, is passed down from one teacher to his apprentice. The final act of mastership... when mastering the final, secret move that denotes mastership of Hiten Mitsurugi, is the killing of the Apprentice's teacher. For, you see, that final, secret technique is infallible, can not be blocked, and even the teacher falls to it when teaching it to his Apprentice. Kenshin's teacher survived, thanks to the fact that Kenshin is carrying the reversed-edged sword."
K.C. was the next one up. "Hi. I'm K.C. ... I dressed up as Witch Hunter Robin." A couple of chuckles went through the room. "No, I am most definitely not going to get into that setup again. Anyway, for those of you who don't know, Robin is a Witch Hunter. In a world where magic runs freely, there are those witches who try and hurt the people. Using her own formidable abilities, Robin hunts those witches. She was raised in an Italian Convent, before moving to Japan as a Witch Hunter. As time goes on, she becomes more powerful, and starts to question the treatment of the Witches she captures, and starts to question the validity of hunting them. In the end, it is shown that Robin is the result of a genetic engineering program named after her. Her full abilities awaken when she finds the remains of the witches she helped capture. She is one of the most powerful pyrokinetic people in existence in her world, able to burn even tools that are specifically designed to stop and dampen magic."
Alexandra was the next one up. "My name's Alexandra. I dressed up as Teletha 'Tessa' Testarossa, from Full Metal Panic." Gasps in the crowd. She smiled slightly. "Yes, that means I trump most of your brains now, expect maybe KOS-MOS' over there, or that atomic dude that created this base." The crowd chuckled slightly. "Anyway, for those of you that haven't heard of the character, Tessa's a prodigy, high affinity for technology, mathematics, and sciences in general. She grew up around military bases and on submarines, was captain of her own boat by age sixteen, was the chief designer of said boat, and created Dana, the artificial intelligence that governed the computer system of said boat. TDD-1, Tuatha De Danaan is the chief offensive submarine for the anti-terrorist organization known as Mithril. Tessa's also known as a Whispered, meaning she has intrinsic and instinctive knowledge of mathematics and science. Understanding comes through application, but the initial lay-work is there, and under times of stress, the effect is amplified. As she is a captain and a battlefield commander, Tessa's incredibly well versed in tactics and strategy,"
She stepped down, and any commotion in the group went down as a little girl took the stage. Without a second thought, Adam and K.C. walked closer to the stage, as if taking a protective stance. "Hi, I'm Violet!" the girl said, practically bouncing up and down. "I dressed up as Natsume Maya, from Tenjou Tenge. She usually takes the form of an eight-year-old girl to conserve energy." She closed her eyes, and the next moment, a fully matured Violet was standing in the six-year-old's place. As she had been dressed in a full kimono, the fabric now stretched across her body, barely covering the essential bits. "Unfortunately, the clothing does not shift with me," she said, smiling slightly as Amber used her Yuna-abilities to conjure a robe out of thin air, and threw it at her. "Thank you, Amber," Violet replied with a smile as she slipped into it, at least covering some of her modesty.
"Anyway, Maya is the inheritor of her family's martial arts style, Natsume Goushin Ryu. Able to use any wooden object as a weapon, Natsume is also skilled in the use of the sword, and the use of her fists and feet as weapons. An incredible fighter, Natsume uses her ki as a weapon, able to strike from afar, or able to make various parts of her body virtually unbreakable. For instance, the Iron Finger technique is used to harden the fingers, and strike through hard muscle and hit the internal organs directly."
The next up was Bernadette. "Hi, My name is Bernadette. Me and my two friends are from Canada, from a school in Montréal, the French-speaking region of Canada. I dressed up as Hyuga Hinata, from Naruto. Even though she is only a supporting character, she has shown some very impressive character development, resulting in the creation of the technique known as the Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Even though she is considered a failure by her family, Hinata's technique is the culmination of the techniques of her family, and enables her to attack and defend at the same time, making her defense an absolute one. She is also capable of her Family's genetic technique called the Byakugan." The veins around her eyes protruded suddenly, and her eyes shifted from a warm lavender to a harsher white. "The Byakugan allows the user to see in an almost three-hundred and sixty degree of vision, which only a small blind spot." She lifted her finger, and moved it to behind her head, showing a small spot behind her neck. "Right here. Anyway, I also see everything within a fifty-meter radius, as well as see through solid objects, and see the internal energy pathways in people's bodies, enabling me to strike at them with the Hyuga family techniques, literally crippling opponents."
The next one up was Celestine. "My name is Celestine," she said. "I dressed up as Honoka, from a show called The Third. Honoka has a third eye," she explained, lifting the red bandana that was tied around her forehead, showing the blue eye embedded in her forehead, "It enables Honoka, and now me, to see the lifeforce of opponents. It also allows her to generate a force that can be used in battle. It allowed Honoka to take out an entire mechanical army... in one strike." Her blue eye flashed slightly. "Honoka uses guns and weapons of all kinds, but her primary attack strength lies in her katana, which she can use to cut anything, ranging from giant desert ants to the barrels of tanks. Her katana is the reason she is known as the Sword Dancer."
Delphine was last. The moment she started speaking, the others realized that, without exception, they had been speaking Japanese this entire time, the language feeling so natural to them now that they never even questioned it anymore. Delphine was different. It was clearly audible that Japanese was not her native language, and giving that, her ability to speak it was even more impressive. "My name is Delphine," she said. "I dressed up, now as an anime character, but as a character from a book. I dressed up as Telzey Amberdon." Dexter smiled, knowing the character now, after all, he had bought her the outfit.
As nobody else reacted, she went on. "Telzey Amberdon is a thirty-first century character, a sixteen-year-old genius studying to be a lawyer on one of the Federation's most prestigious schools. As seeing how she comes from a society, called the Federation, that spans hundreds of worlds, her being sixteen and the youngest student at the college, has to mean something." She smiled slightly as the people present nodded, acknowledging her point. They glanced at Alexandra, who had issued a challenge as Tessa Testarossa. Delphine smiled, and went on.
"No, Telzey is not a scientific genius. She's a law student, not a science major. She also doesn't have command experience, but she does have combat experience. You see, Telzey has an ability called 'Psi', which enables her to manipulate minds, both read them, and alter them. She is also able to defend herself with Psi weapons, burning her opponent's minds when sufficiently pressed. She doesn't have a range, and once almost killed someone when she was in orbit around a planet and her intended target was down on the planet. She is also able to learn quickly from other people's minds... and that's how I am able to speak Japanese now."
The people present were suitably impressed, and Delphine stepped down. Dexter took her place, once again standing in front of his friends.
"As Barry will be leaving us soon, I think we should move on with the rest of the schedule." He swallowed. Would his friends go along with it? "As we dressed up, and became our characters, I'm sure that other people dressed up as bad guys, and they also became their characters. I thought that we could organize ourselves, using our abilities and this base to protect against them. After all, that's the anime thing to do."
The group chuckled, and he could see some of them nodding eagerly, while some of them just shrugged, less enthusiastic but still seeing the truth in his statement. Going on, Dexter said, "Seeing how we have a good cross-section of people and characters here, I think we can get a very nice group going. I would suggest Jessica and Alexandra, as Eclipse and Tessa respectively, as our leadership."
The people present nodded eagerly, nobody objecting, while Jessica grinned and Alexandra flushed slightly, but still nodded. "On one condition," Jessica added. "Dexter, as the person who got us all together, and our unofficial leader up until now, not to mention the tactical genius of Hikaru no Go, would be an ideal third member of the leadership. Even without command experience, which is something we can teach him, he's got the tactical guts to be very good."
Alexandra nodded, smiling widely at Dexter, who flushed. He never would have suggested himself. In fact, himself was the only person who he couldn't place. The rest of the group cheered, and Dexter finally nodded. "Thank you, all. I'll promise to do you proud." He swallowed. "Anyway, moving on... We have a couple of swordfighters among us. Kenshin, Kyo, Saya, and Honoka, how about you are the sword group? Kenshin is ideal as close range, Kyo is good at close to medium range, Saya can take a lot of pusnishment, heals quickly, and is good at close range but complementing Kenshin, and Honoka is good at close and medium, but given sufficient time, can wipe out armies."
Adam, Lance, Sandra, and Celestine looked at each other, and nodded. "I'm sure we can work together," Adam said, while Lance and Sandra nodded and Celestine smiled. From then on, Dexter seemed to call them by the names of the characters they had inhabited, and nobody seemed to mind. The characters had become such a part of them that partly, they identified with them so closely that being called by their names was only the next logical step.
"Next up, magic. Robin, Yuna. Would you mind working together as our magic group?" K.C. and Amber looked at each other, and nodded together. Dexter smiled. "Great! Next up, our largest group... Éclair, Lumière, Maya, Hinata, would you mind being our physical assault group? You guys have very diverse abilities, and I'm sure you'd be great together."
Abby, Gabrielle, little Violet who was not so little anymore, and Bernadette looked at each other, and nodded.
Dexter then looked at Delphine. "Delphine, as Telzey Amberdon, you're our only psi, and our law genius. Your character was brilliant in a different way than the rest of us. Would you mind being detached directly to the command group? Kinda like a special agent... you're our ultimate ace-in-the-hole. You can read our opponent's mind, inform us of their weaknesses, and if I read those books correctly, you're able to wipe a mind half a planet away."
Delphine shrugged, a little sadly.
Dexter went on. "Lindsey too, has a special detachment," he said. "As KOS-MOS, she's our bodyguard." And mine especially, he added in a silent thought. Delphine looked up and grinned. She had caught that, and Dexter flushed quickly. "Not to mention that her shape-shifting abilities allow her a wide range of action. Like you, she's too good to be placed in a single box." Delphine looked at Lindsey, who smiled at her, and the newly-born Telzey Ambderon felt her spirits lift. "To that same effect, I was hoping that Tessa, Lumière, Telzey, and Yuna, could work together as a research group. Each has a genius-level ability in their field, and they can bring the level of technology and magic from the universes they are from to us. Which would help us in our fight."
The people in question glanced at each other, and Bernadette actually looked hopeful. Being a special agent within the group was nice, but being an official part of a group was even better. The people nodded, and smiled at each other.
"Great!" Dexter crowed, glad this was over, and stepping down.
Barry smiled. "Then it means that I am off. I'll just activate the system for you." He sent a single thought to the computer system, and he felt it disconnect from himself and from Ship. The large wall behind Dexter, the same wall everyone had been facing, turned black, before going opaque, displaying a single line, which expanded to reveal a simple bluish-gray background, before different windows opened and various readout became visible.
It was as if the very building took the breath of life. "You're totally self-sufficient now. Replicators are active, energy is supplied through the Guillaume atoms' own regeneration, air and light are recycled. You can survive in here for eons. Of course, some of you don't have that long." he said, smiling, and winking at some of the more mortal people.
"Anyway, I am off. Enjoy the base, and if you need me, the computer knows how to contact me." A flash later, and he was gone. The last window, empty until now, flickered to life. It revealed a shield status, and the people smiled. Their base was now impregnable. The Research Group immediately got together.
As the group mingled excitedly, time passed them by quickly as they had a great time. The clock had passed midnight, when the people in the Research group came up to Eclipse and Hikaru.
"Eclipse, Hikaru, we've got our first upgrade ready," Tessa said, excitedly. Dexter, from now on known as Hikaru, looked at his friends. Eclipse, formerly known as Jessica, looked as intrigued as he did. "What is it?" Hikaru asked.
Tessa smiled, turned to the huge status monitor. "Wake up – Dana." (A:N, pronounce this as daanaa, with two long 'a's, instead of the American daina.")
The computer flashed, the status screens shifting styles. "Yes, ma'am," the computer answered, and Dexter broke out a wide smile. The only thing better then a supercomputer was a talking supercomputer!
To Be Continued...?