Delays and massive school projects aside, we finally come to the next installment. Here's a tip for you all, after you read this, go out and rent any of the Naked Gun movies. I finally watched them again after a few years and they are the funniest movies of all time. The awesome gents and ladies who reviewed show see them to; The Aceman, xStarfirexRobinxo, erifrats101, cartoonfire, Sizzlin'-Starry-Night-Sky, Sklyer-A-Teloiv, Xoroth, Realfanficts, tennisgal456. Enjoy! And Happy Halloween!

Chapter Five

Coast to Coast

The battalion which Bell mentioned was indeed patrolling the surface and due to Chang's meddling remained unaware of Koma's escape. Two SF's walking side by side came to a halt as a slight rumbling began moving up through the earth below them. With each passing second it grew larger and more powerful. Just as something terrible began to dawn on the two of them, a glowing fist burst up through the ground and sent them flying. The scene easily gathered the attention of all present. With little more than a few well placed punches, Koma was stepping up onto the paved road with eyes blazing. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to be entirely surrounded.

A voice over a loud speaker ordered. "Get down on the ground with your hands behind your head!" Koma moved her head about, after a few stiff alleviating cracks she was ready. Her feet slowly left the ground; clearly unbridled joy was not the driving force behind her flight. She continued rise into the air until she was no more than fifteen feet off the ground. Koma curled her arms and legs close to her body and a field of purple energy began gathering around her. The one operating the loudspeaker hesitantly brought the microphone back to his mouth. "This is your final warning. Get down on the ground!" Among the sounds of a building charge around Koma, the hundreds of soldiers cocked their weapons and took aim. The C.O. took one moment too long to give the final order. "FIRE!"

"ARGHHH!" Koma spread her arms and legs apart, unleashing a devastating wave of energy. All around her, as well as any heavily armored vehicles, were either disintegrated or blasted away. Survivors attempting to make their escape were soon left falling to the ground with smoldering holes blown in their chests. From her eyes and fists Komand'r rained nothing less than utter blight upon all before her. Bell made his way to the surface and gazed upon the ensuing carnage with his mouth ajar.

"Dear God….."

Komand'r kept her place in the air, laughing gleefully at the numbers trying to run and the same number trying to fight back. No matter which action they chose, they were soon to be laid low and made as dust.

UPSTATE D.C……………….

The morning dew painted a foggy sheen over the freshly cut grass of a small estate, which was surrounded by a wall and a guarded by iron gates. Anyone who lived nearby knew well that this was among Bruce Wayne's many summer homes. The billionaire himself stepped out onto the front porch holding a steaming cup of coffee and watched as an ambulance and a black SUV approached the front gate. The iron partition slowly opened, granting the two vehicles access. They came to a slow stop and people began stepping out. A police officer offered a helping hand to Toni as she climbed out of the ambulance with her patient carefully wheeled behind her. The paramedics and security personnel took Victor aside through a larger set of double doors while Toni approached Bruce.

"Lovely house you have here," said the doctor.

Bruce shrugged. "It's hardly worth the insurance. We have everything inside; if you need any additional personnel just ask." Toni smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne."

"Bruce, please."

Toni could only chuckle and look away sheepishly. "Well I am very sorry, but I doubt I'll ever ever ever feel comfortable calling you 'Bruce'." Bruce nodded slightly and took a sip of his coffee.

"Fine, you hungry?"

"Oh very, but it'll have to wait. We need to begin as soon as possible." He stepped aside and she entered.

Miles away from Bruce's summer home was the congested streets of downtown D.C., FBI Deputy Director Douglass Whitman sat at a table with a breakfast menu unfolded in his hands. The restaurant around him was a series of rooms divided by glass walls. The air was a buzz of quiet and modest chatter, but never anything above an "indoor voice." His waiter finally arrived at his side and asked for the Deputy Director's order.

"I'll have the ham and eggs, no hash browns please."

"Your eggs?"

"Uh over easy, thank you." Before the waiter could leave, someone else suddenly sat down across from Whitman. Richard set his cane aside and gave his arms a quick stretch. Whitman of course was less than pleased to see him.

"Agent Grayson what are you doing?"

"Hold that thought Doug," said Richard. He looked up at the waiter. "Gimmie a 'Grand Slam' and make sure it comes with pancakes." The waiter and Whitman exchanged odd looks.

"Sir this isn't Denny's, we don't have a 'Grand Slam' on our menu." Richard rolled his eyes and stuff a few notes into the waiter's pouch.

"Here's twenty bucks, throw one together and make sure it comes with pancakes." The waiter positively rolled his eyes and took his leave toward the kitchen. Whitman cleaned his glasses with an extra napkin.

"So, why are you here?"

Richard folded his arms. "I've got a case." Whitman nodded and let his eyes fall to a newspaper article.

"Wonderful, you've managed to earn your annual salary yet again." Richard let an amused snort escape his grinning mouth.

"Doug Whitman, did you just make a funny?" Whitman tried not to pay Richard any attention. "This calls for a celebration, you should get a 'Grand Slam' too. Hey Garson!"

"Agent Grayson, the reason you're here……"

"Right, I need you to give the green light for my team to go to Vegas," said Richard seriously.

"You've used your vacation time already, last month in fact. Oddly enough the trip to Malibu for your entire team somehow only consisted of you and Mrs. Anders."

"Yeah," said the crippled agent wit ha dreamy grin. "That was a fun weekend. But seriously, the Emily Regan case…" Whitman returned his eyes to Richard. "We linked her to a sorority at Howard U. From there it leads to a performer in Vegas." Whitman nodded.

"Very well, notify the California office and get heir authorization."

"Can't do that," said Richard predictably.

"It's far outside your jurisdiction, Agent Grayson. You can't just march into their territory and arrest whomever you want. It's called 'procedure' because it's a rule we all have to follow."

Richard, however was determined. "Whoever is pulling the strings behind this obviously wields considerable influence; we can bet they're a frequent trafficker of information. If I do things by the book, I'll end up tipping them off." Whitman shrugged.

"Unfortunately the law says that we have to take such risks." Richard then leaned forward and spoke rather hoarsely.

"In case you haven't noticed, my partner is half dead and several bystanders weren't as lucky. This girl just ran into a mall food court and suicide bombed herself in broad daylight. I've had Rachael look at her psych records; no history of erratic or dangerous behavior and certainly never any desire to kill herself!"

"That's enough!" Both men managed gain the attention of everyone in earshot. They relaxed and the crowd around them resumed their own conversations. Whitman cleared his throat and continued in a more subdued voice. "You're a smart person, so I know that you have to understand what it is you're asking me. You want me to allow you to breach protocol just because you have this theory of a coast to coast conspiracy and that some girl was hypnotized into blowing herself up." Richard rubbed his forehead. "It's completely ludicrous."

"You know I pretty much make my entire career on 'ludicrous'," said Richard. At that moment the waiter returned and low and behold with Richard's 'Grand Slam'. He glanced up at the waiter with an impressed look. "Nice job, son." Whitman thanked the waiter. They were left alone once again. The Deputy Director knew that he was well within his power and probably his responsibility to deny Richard his request. However today, for an unknown reason, he felt compelled to extend the benefit of the doubt.

"How long do you think you would be?"

Richard shrugged. "Hard to say. Kory's gone undercover with the sorority and they're making a weekend trip to the town." Whitman nodded and drew in a long and heavy breath.

"You have a convincing arrest record, Agent Grayson. Don't make me regret this." Richard smiled and held a glass of water aloft.

"Dougy, not in a million years."

After concluding her class and sending them on their way for the weekend, Rachael gathered everything she would need while taking her temporary post at Kory's side. To further the clandestine nature of her job even more, Rachael chose to take a philosophy position rather than psychology. Kory was also to ensure that she chose Rachael's course as part of her electives.

"Rachael." Logan had entered the lecture hall, unbeknownst to her. She acknowledged him with a nod of the head and went back to packing.

"So it's really happening; Kory's actually going undercover?"

"Yes she is." Logan moved his lower jaw about nervously. She looked up from her bag and shook her head. "Did you need something?"

"Dick said I'm going with you."

"He says a lot of things, but yeah…….. Shannon was reluctant at first but she soon realized that it's necessary." Logan folded his arms.

"You mean you were reluctant and you realized it's necessary." Rachael snapped her suitcase shut.

"Well what if I am?"

"I'm tired of this Rachael. If you really have given up on us, fine……but at least treat me with some respect. We're going to have to be watching each other's backs, just last year."

"We were attacked by aliens!" she exclaimed.

"SO! Come on Rachael, are you really going to stay mad at me for keeping that psycho from killing you?" Rachael walked out from behind her desk and stood before him. He was just a little taller than her and the dimmed lights played off her hair like a soft glow.

"It just strikes me, why didn't you ask for help?"

"This guy…..this guy had eyes and ears everywhere. He knew what I was thinking before I even thought it." She didn't flinch or try to pull away when he took her arms. "I'm tell'n you, if he had made good on this threat to kill you……..I'd know just how Dick feels. I never wanted that."

"But I wasn't your wife." He smiled and bobbed his head about.

"And you're telling me you never thought about it?" Rachael was abundantly thankful for the failing light, so successful was it in hiding the rising red in her face. "I mean I know I've never had much of a chance, me and Dick making fun of your job and all-"

"That's right! You did!" She said giving him a few jabs in the stomach. He laughed while she quickly trotted back over to her suitcase.

"I mean seriously, its all bunch of psycho-babble. It's not even an exact science."

"Laugh it up, funny man." she warned. She closed her suitcase and pulled it free of the desk. "Guess you should be asking yourself, who's going to be keeping my bodyguard safe?" She quickly walked past him and it was a full two seconds before he swiveled in place and stared after her.

"Was that a threat?" He then heard her voice call back through the closing doors;

"It sure sounded like one….."

Kory was nearly done packing as well, but not only for her trip to Vegas but also for her home away from home……..away from home. It was confusing at times, but gradually she was coming to accept Earth as her new home. Richard walked in, snapping his phone shut as he went.

"Ready?"

"Almost," she replied.

"Okay, now remember; You'll have to stay with them pretty much the whole time. I'll be on the same flight but in a different section. If we bump into each other at any point, you have to act like you never met me before in your life."

"Never?" she questioned.

"If they even suspect that we know each other then your cover'll be blow and the jig will be up." She understood perfectly but still she placed a pensive finger beneath her chin.

"I understand, but……what is a jig?"

"What? It's uhh….never mind, look….." He placed her pink Razor phone in her hand. "I put a new number in it, my pager; it's under speed-dial-3. You ever need me, just hit that."

"I will," said Kory. Richard paused. He knew what he had to say, but it was her confidence in her first serious op. that he had qualms with. Nevertheless he owed it to her to be honest. "Richard?"

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Of course," she said definitively.

"There are some who think you may not be." Just as he predicted, Kory's eyes shown with malcontent. "I want you to prove em' wrong." She did not smile but it was clear that the fire of determination was rekindled.

"Indeed."

DULLES INTERNATIONAL……………………

Just as Richard instructed, Kory was obliged to separate from them in order to travel with her "new friends" and so as not to arouse suspicion. In meeting up with them, Kory was surprised to learn that her roundtrip first class ticket was bought and paid for. As Mama-San Marika put it, "One of the many perks to come." They soon boarded and Kory sat beside the young Geisha Richard and Shannon had spoken to, Martha.

Martha lay back in her seat, trying to nap with a velvet shade over her eyes. Kory always found it difficult to sit still on a plane; the small space, the muffling sounds, and the people tripping over themselves trying to get to the last window seat. She preferred the open air around her and not to be confined within a pressurized metal tube. She was not even sitting back against her seat. She kept gazing nervously out the window, wondering when or if they were ever going to take off. Martha peeked out from under her shade when she heard Kory utter an anxious moan.

"Don't like flying?" Of course not! Koriand'r loved flying……..just not like this. But resolved she was to remain in character.

"No…..I suppose I do not." Martha pulled the shade off and sat up straight, ready to talk. "It is just; I am accustomed to a different means of travel."

Martha nodded. "I know what you mean. It's odd when you have to see for yourself how the other half lives." Kory arched a brow. Was this girl serious? "Four hours may seem like a long time but trust me; it'll fly by like nothing…..if you'll excuse the pun." With that she put her shade back on and reentered dreamland. Kory sighed and for the first time actually lay back against her seat. At long last, the plane began pulling away from the gate and they were finally on their way. It was saddening, but Kory truly did not like anything about the conventional means of flight. Every take-off she could swear the plane itself was falling apart and there would surely be a mid-air tragedy. To her great relief, yet again, this was not the case. Soon they were cruising at maximum height and on their way.

-----

Back in the second class, Richard, Shannon, Rachael, and Logan sat together in a section best suited for larger groups. Logan kept craning his neck around the isle with a look of longing. He sat back when he felt a powerful tug from Rachael.

"Okay Dick, you're pals with a billionaire…..why couldn't we sit up front? Or take one of his twelve private planes?" The other regarded Richard with the same question.

"First of all; he has ten. Second; we can't attract attention. Don't worry; you'll forget all about plane once you see the hotel. I hear its 'Concubine Night' at the Tangiers." Logan didn't even need to say or do anything to earn a 'think-twice' look from Rachael.

"Been to this city before have you?" asked Shannon.

"Couple times. I actually suggested it to Barbara for a honey moon but she gave this 'are-you-on-drugs' look." A stewardess arrived with their previously made orders. She set a Perfect Manhattan down before Richard.

"Are you serious?" asked Rachael, holding her soda.

He shrugged. "Can't take my pills at this altitude, have to find a substitute. As Socrates said 'Beer, wine, and painkillers are signs that God loves us'." He took a drink then gestured to Shannon and Logan. "This magician, Moira, what'd you get?"

Shannon drew from her bag a series of papers. "Moira Yen-Mah, the premier illusionist in not just Vegas but pretty much the whole world. She's constantly moving around to different countries but primarily she operates out of Vegas." Richard's eyes wandered out the window as he listened. "One of the top members of The Hollywood Magic Castle and owner of two casinos on Las Vegas strip. Over the years she's also been responsible for organizing a number of charities and programs, much of it funded solely by her. And I'm afraid she beats Mr. Wayne in number of jets owned."

"Industrious little witch isn't she?" said Richard with 'Richard-whit'.

Logan snorted as he thumbed through the brochure. "Listen to this: Prepare to enter a world filled with fantasy and wonder, where to be spellbound is to be privileged. From the moment you sit down you will not rise until the very end. You will have entered a swirling spiral of humor, romance, and peril as one illusion follows the other. Prepare to be astounded, prepare to be mesmerized, prepare yourself for Moira the Enchantress." He put the brochure down and threw his hands up.

"A bit high and mighty if you ask me."

"It's certainly ostentatious," said Rachael. "But it's also good advertising."

"It would have to be," said Shannon. "Balcony seats for her show sell at three hundred dollars a pop, and make no mistake……every night every seat is filled. And don't even ask how much the good spots go for."

"Stage seats?" asked Richard with a grin. Shannon blew out a befuddled breath.

"Its possible mortal man cannot say for sure how much." Richard leaned his head against the window. He slowly turned his drink about in his hands but he seldom consumed much of it.

"She's rich, she's powerful, and from the sound of things……….she's bored."

"Bored?" said Logan quizzically. "How could someone like that be bored?"

"Trust me, especially when you have more money than God you will get bored and you will find something to give you a rush." He trained his eyes back down to half glass. "The question is……what kind of rush is she getting for herself?"

----------

Kory might have kissed the ground upon landing, but fortunately she was able to restrain herself. Her, along with nine other Geishas exited the terminal and made their way down the hall toward the valet. Kory stopped in mid walk and darted her eyes between the group and another direction.

"Umm pardon me." She said humbly. They all stopped and looked back at her.

"Something wrong Kory?" asked Marika. She still had not been formally introduced to everyone, thus she felt sweat beginning to emerge as she stared at her.

"What of our luggage?"

Marika chuckled and waved a hand. "Never mind that, they're being sent to the hotel. Come, we've got something to show you." They then continued walking at Marika's lead. After taking a few twists and turns down the halls they came to an ATM. Kory tilted her head oddly at the machine.

"I do not understand. I do not need currency at the moment."

"At the moment, is the key phrase there," said Marika. She took Kory's shoulders and made her face the group. "Girls, now that we're here I would like you to meet our new Geisha. This is Kory Anders."

With almost dopey grins and in complete unison they answered, "Hi Kory." The red haired alien swallowed, quite thoroughly creeped out. Marika draped an arm over Kory's shoulder.

"Of course you will need to go through the proper rites and assume your Geisha name, but time enough for that when we return home. Now, Kory, this is for you." She handed Kory a card contained within a thin paper sleeve. Curiously, Kory removed the sleeve and found it was a bank card with the Geisha house insignia illustrated in the background.

"You are…giving me money?"

"Like I said, perks. Give it a try." She placed the card into the ATM and followed its instructions up until the password was needed. Marika comically slapped herself. "Silly me, sorry here's the pin." She gave Kory the PIN number and printed a receipt with the amount on the card. Upon taking a good look at the tiny paper, Kory's eyes bulged and her mouth sank to the center of the earth. The paper in her hands read, Available Funds: $500,000.

"Thi-this….this is….uhhh.." The poor alien could only stutter.

"Don't worry about spending it all, it gets replenished every three months. Now to business, right?" She opened a pair of double doors behind her and a stretch limo stood waiting for them. "Girls welcome back, Kory…..Welcome to Las Vegas."

Get ready, next chapter the real fun begins. Yes, Vegas has been called Vice City, Sin City, America's Playground……..but doesn't mean it still can't be fun, right? Right? Later dudes!...........oh yeah and Dudettes!