A/N: Yay! SG read my fic and reviewed it. The one who got me into fanfiction likes my work! Happy dance time!
(shrug) Hey, we're all inspired by someone… LONG LIVE SIMPLE WISH, WHICH PROVES SI's CAN BE COOL AND FUN!
I will also be doing 52 short fics, one for each week of the year leading up to these events! With lots of tie-ins! And SOMEONE WILL DIE! Someone will pretend to be a hat! Black Adam gets some! And most controversial of all, BAT-LESBIAN! TvTrope it, dattebayo!
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Takamachi Nanoha of 2814
by Shadow Crystal Mage
Chapter 5: One Year Later: Gay– er, that is, CRY– For Justice!
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story.
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One Year Later…
"SUGOI!" Green Lantern cried, looking around the spacious and shiny interior of the new 'Watchtower'. "It's so big!" She spun and twirled in midair, looking around, wide eyed. "How did you make this?-!"
"Trade secret," Batman said, not looking up from his computer console. All in all, the concept of Green Lantern– a ten year-old girl with a nearly-all powerful mind-controlled weapon guided by will and imagination– terrified him. The fact she seemed to be happy, well balanced young girl wasn't helping. He'd heard of the crazy stuff they did in Japan. There was no way she could actually be this normal.
"Green Lantern! Green Lantern!" a young boy, his light-brown hair cut in a page-boy style, called out, domino mask firmly on his face as he came from a side passage with Wonder Woman and Flash right behind him. "The kitchen is HUGE! We can bake a cake and everything!"
"Yay! Cake!" Green Lantern cheered, swooping down and taking the boy's hands in hers as the two of them began to dance around in a circle. "Cake!"
"Cake!" the boy agreed, twirling around with her. "Cake!"
"Cake!" Flash joined in, and the two made as space for him as they danced. "Cake!"
Wonder Woman chuckled. "Well, they seem happy. What was Green Lantern's friend called again?"
Superman's smiled. "I'm not sure," he said. "But he used to go by 'Ferret Lantern'."
Batman nearly choked. "You're kidding." Please let him be kidding.
"Nope."
...
One Year Before…
Boss Bishonen looked at the paperwork in front of him. Green Lantern-chan, bless her soul and all, seemed disturbingly prompt with her paperwork. "Ultimon, did your society have any records of ever fighting giant kittens?"
The rather stiff-faced hero considered this. "They fought Hobesu, the giant tiger, servant of Karibinu, and similar things along the same lines, but no, no records of giant kittens. Why do you ask.?"
Boss Bishonen waved a piece of paper. "Green Lantern-chan filed a report of fighting a giant kitten in the area of Uminari city. She says, and I quote, 'it was a big baby really, and seemed more curious than anything else'. She says she was able to shrink it back down to size."
Ultimon considered this. "No tossing it into a volcano or making it explode just as her power was about to run out?" he said hopefully.
"Nope. And don't you start about that. You should know as well as I do only really evil people kill kittens, giant or otherwise."
Ultimon deflated. "Still, it's just not the same, defeating giant monsters with non-violent means."
"She says she nearly set a forest on fire."
"What? How come?"
"Another magical girl showed up."
"Eh, well, magical girl business. Probably arguing over who could make the most boys fall in love with them so they can become the queen of Shrimp Manju Land, or something like that. Best leave it to them."
...
"Another magical girl collecting the Jewel Seeds," Nanoha mused as she lay back on her bed, her ring sound-proofing her room. Since she'd learned her lesson the last time she did this, she also made sure to set a listening device so she'd know if anyone knocked on her door or anything. "I think I remember her from a few days ago… she was the little Deathscythe-chan who was there helping us fight down invaders."
Yuuno sweat-dropped over his pudding cup. Keroberos was right, it did help a little! "Um, well, regardless, we can't allow her to regain the Jewel Seeds. The distinct possibility exists that she's some kind of agent of evil. After all, she wears a lot of black and has a tight outfit that shows off her body."
"The standard Green Lantern is mostly black and is tight and I'm not evil," Nanoha retorted, then paused. "Yuuno-kun… why do you say that?"
"I've been reading your sister's Magical Girl manga. It's all there…"
...
Miyuki glared at her shelf. "WHO'S BEEN READING MY MANGA?-!-?-!"
...
"WHAT?" the Senshi chorused. "A NEW MAGICAL GIRL HAS APPEARED?"
"Crap, we're doomed!"
"It's Galaxia all over again!"
"I just got over being dead! Again!"
Nanoha blinked at the reactions of some of the Senshi. She'd contacted them to give them a warning in case this 'Fate' girl showed up in Tokyo, but she hadn't expected this. "Huh?"
Sailor Mercury smiled wanly. "Don't mind them. You see, every time a new magical girl appears, there's a good chance that we'll die."
Nanoha looked Mercury up and down critically, then scanned her with Ring-chan. "You don't look dead."
"We get better. But it's all very traumatic. Plus Teleute-chan says we're pissing off someone named Nekron…"
...
Somewhere, escaped convict Tsukuyomi (no known other name), formerly of the Shinmei Ryu and Cosmo Entelechia, was killing things. Because it was FUN! And the colors were so PRETTY! And it made the nice voice in her head so HAPPY!
"The blackest night falls from the skies," she sang, "The darkness falls as all life DIES…"
...
Nanoha sighed, depressed. She'd kept up with the happy chatter during the initial leg of the trip to the hot springs resort she and her friends and family were heading too, but now that they'd reached the midpoint and Alisa and Suzuka were napping, she let herself slouch, looking forlornly out the window.
Nanoha? Yuuno asked, concerned. What's the matter? You've been like this the whole trip, and it's quite unlike you. Are you being possessed by the forces of evil without you knowing it?
Clearly, Yuuno had been doing his research properly.
Nanoha suppressed a loud sigh. It wouldn't do to attract her parent's attention. Superman warned me about this. Doctor Light was nice enough to warn me about this when I ran into her yesterday. The Senshi warned me about this when I mentioned it. They can't all be wrong…
Wrong? About what? Nanoha, what did they warn you about? Yuuno asked.
There is no such thing as a vacation for a superhero OR a magical girl, Nanoha said morosely. We're going to run into something here, and there'll be a fight, and there goes my vacation. I charged up my ring to full this morning, and didn't use it at all so it stays at full power. Because I'm definitely going to need it.
Nanoha, that's silly! Going on vacation cannot possibly raise the probability of something going wrong!
Clearly, Yuuno hadn't quite made it that far into his research…
...
"See Yuuno? I told you so! Fate-chan, I'm afraid I must ask you to step away from that Jewel Seed."
"… No."
Yellow, Pink and Green Hilarity Ensued.
...
"She beat Nanoha!" Yuuno said, pacing and quite concerned, watching the sleeping Green Lantern out of the corner of his eye. "This is bad, this is very bad…"
"While certainly a cause for concern, the outcome of this battle was not overly disastrous," Ring-chan said quietly, floating around behind Yuuno. "She clearly outclassex Lantern Nanoha in practical combat applications of magic, combat reflexes and initial speed, but Lantern Nanoha was more than able to compensate with my help. And the combat data collected from the incident will be of great use in changing the outcome of future encounters."
Yuuno turned to squint at the ring. "Shouldn't you be on her finger or something?"
"I have been given no orders to do anything," Ring-chan said primly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just go and rub it into Raging Heart's face how useless it was."
...
Clark Kent went on vacations– sometimes– but he'd quickly realized that unless the vacation was to Smallville so he could be with his parents and see childhood friends, it was almost guaranteed that eventually it would include a job for Superman.
Still, he was never if not hopeful, so some times, when he felt particularly daredevil-sh, he'd file for some time off and take a vacation. It never ended well, but at least this time he knew how it would end. He kept a small collection of souvenirs, such as terrorist bullets, fangs, and other little mementoes of things that had tried to ruin his day.
The day Nanoha had showed up, horribly aggrieved at her vacation being ruined, he showed her his collection and explained why he had it. Green Lantern had left with a thoughtful look on her face, and Clark would later hear she'd begun to collect postcards with after-action reports written on the back.
All in all, a good days work.
Though he'd have to keep an eye on Yuuno. He'd seemed a tad too red when Kara had been snuggling him to her chest…
...
Never let it be said that Green Lantern was too prideful to accept training. She, Yuuno, Ring-chan and to an extent Raging Heart quickly worked out that as good as she was with a power ring, she needed to familiarize herself with magic more. Problem was, Yuuno really wasn't that good at the combat aspects of his magic to begin with– he said Nanoha had already surpassed all he knew– so Nanoha had to creatively find someone to teach her.
Dr. Fate
"So… it's not just ALL from your hat– er, helmet?" Nanoha said.
Dr. Fate shook his head. "Alas, no. Though the Helmet of Fate gives me great power, it has only been a gateway for me to realize my own strength, and now a tool to help me control that strength."
"Which you had to earn from long study?" Ferret Lantern– darn, he needed a better name!– said, stating the obvious.
"Yes. Though I seldom take the time to teach others, occupied as I am with my own studies and duties, as a favor to Superman I am willing to help you learn," Dr. Fate offered.
Green Lantern perked up. "Really?"
"Truly. In about three years, you can complete an apprenticeship…"
Green Lantern deflated. "Three years… so, no chance you can teach me enough to counter another magical girl in a fight that might happen in,say, three days?"
"Uh, not likely. I am sorry. But if I may, a piece of advice: if you will be fighting a magical girl as a magical girl, would it not be best to learn from a magical girl?"
Green Lantern perked up again. "Hey, that's right. Thank You, Fate-sensei!"
"A cookie before you leave?" Inza offered. She couldn't help it, the little Lantern was so cute!
"THANK YOU, INZA-SAN!"
Zatanna
"Uh, sorry kid, but I'm the wrong kind of 'magical girl'," the Logomancer said, watching the little Green Lantern seem to wilt slightly at these words. "Tell you what though, I might know some people who can help you. And they're in your general area too, so no long commutes. Let me just get me address book… ah, here we are, Mahora… Anyway, it sounds to me that the best way to defeat a magical girl is to keep them from using magic. These people shold be able to help you with that."
"Oh, thank you, Zatanna-san," Green Lantern said. "Oh, would you like a cookie? Dr. Fate's wife made it. it's really good!"
"Hey, thanks! And here, have a souvenir."
"Wah, that's a nice hat!"
Evangeline A.K. McDowell
"WAH! SUPERMAN! KILOWOG! SAVE ME! MOMMY!"
"Oh, stop whining girl! So you nearly get impaled, isn't that a normal hazard for you superhero types? If you can't handle a little light training, then you're not going to last long in life!"
"FLASH MOVE! FLASH MOVE! FLASH MOVE! Raging Heart, why aren't we Flash Moving?-!-?-!-?-!-?-!-?-!"
"Flash Move requires a period of refresh."
"I'M GOING TO DIE! AND IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN FIVE YEARS YET! I'M NEVER TAKING OFF RING-CHAN AGAIN!"
"Hey, you came to me kid! Stop being ungrateful! You're lucky I was bored enough to take some time out of my day to train you! Now, see if you can take this! Lic Lac La Lac Lilac…"
Outside, Yuuno and Ring-chan stared at the bottle. What was going on in there?
And that was the end of Nanoha's search for Magical Girl training…
...
Nanoha staggered home, so completely out of it she didn't even notice Shinobu, Mikuyi and Kyoya making out in the sofa. She got dressed and flopped down on her bed, trembling.
How was she supposed to learn enough about magic if everyone who was in a position to teach took too long, wasn't compatible or was just plain scary? Oh, Evangeline-chan looked like she wouldn't really have killed Nanoha– her eyes seemed to kind for that– and she'd kindly given Nanoha something to wear while her undies had been cleaned and dried. She'd even complemented Nanoha on her new hat, and given her a nice new bow to put on it. But still, Nanoha shivered.
If only Raging Heart could answer her questions about how to use it like Ring-chan could. Ring-chan was very convenient that way, having a help menu annotated by billions of years of generations of Green Lanterns.
Nanoha paused and considered that.
"Raging Heart, do you have a help menu? Or a Users Manual?" Nanoha asked.
Yuuno slapped his face. Why hadn't he though of that?
"Tutorial Mode, Set Up. Stand by. Ready. Please briefly answer this questionnaire to ascertain training settings: What would you choose, a sword, a magic staff, or a shield? What Alignment do you see yourself as: Lawful Good, Neutral Good, Chaotic Good? Please roll 4d6 and remove the lowest roll…"
...
The next time they fought, Fate and Nanoha felt more evenly matched. She still had to concede the Jewel Seed, however. Anyone insane enough to put her hands around what was essentially a bomb deserved to keep it if it didn't kill her…
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- To be continued...
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A/N: Goeff Johns is good. Not only did he give Dex-starr a plausible reason for joining the Reds, he was genuinely able to do so while pulling heartstrings. GO, RAGE-CAT! FIND AND KILL THAT EVIL BASTARD!
Because rage has to come from somewhere…
Teleute is Gaiman-Death, and is THE personification of Death. Nekron is the personification of Empty Darkness/Entropy, and he just thinks that's death. His connection to deadness has more to do with Emotional Spectrum wavelengths, unlike Death herself, who is the event personified. Nekron handles the bureaucracy of dead souls, which happens AFTER you die. See, it all CAN make sense.
If you watch REAL closely, you'll see Fate WAS mentioned last chapter…
Cookies… hats… ribbon… surely I must have some secret purpose for giving these to Nanoha, right? Bet you can't guess why… :-p
Sorry, but I doubt even Nanoha has the nerve to not be traumatized by Evangeline. The reason Ala Alba can is because they're all a little nuts already…
Had a thought: Thunder God-Mode Negi teaching the Flash Martial Arts. Because really, who else can keep up with the guy long enough to teach him anything in that field? He'd never survive Rakan, after all…
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Deleted Scenes: Contracting Out For A Hero
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Takamachi Nanoha, Green Lantern, needed to find someone. This 'Fate' girl was proving to be frustratingly unlocatable by her ring, and it was a fortunate twist of fate– heh, pun!– that she'd spotted this add just when she'd been pondering this question.
She dialed the number and waited.
"Moshi moshi. This is the Tendo Dojo, Kasumi speaking" a young woman's voice said.
"Ah, this is Green Lantern. I'd like to talk to," Nanoha checked the ad again, "the Great Detective Tendo Akane. Is she in?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, you just missed her. She left for England yesterday on a class trip. Would you like to leave a message, Green Lantern-sama?"
Nanoha sighed. Well, there went that idea. "No, thank you. Thank you for your time."
Putting down the phone, she picked it up again and tried another number. "Hello, is this Mori Kogoro's office? This is Green Lantern…"
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END!
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Had to use all my willpower to keep from putting this in the main fic and making it cannon. I have hereby depleted all my Green and am very deeply in the Orange end of the spectrum. I want a hamburger. And reviews. And a hundred hamburgers! And a thousand reviews! I want it! I WANT IT ALL! MINE!
Please review, C&C welcome.
Until next time, this is Shadow, signing off.