#comet's hard at work at their evil lab

[c0smiccom3t]

Leaving this wip here! Enjoyyyy :D

[mischiefandspirits]

Doppelgänger (18/19)

Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.

They were the hero Doppelgänger.

{Reign Storm, Part 4}

“Another day, another night of trying to catch as many ghosts as we can before curfew,” Tucker groaned as the trio made their way to Danny’s bedroom.

“At least we managed to hide the Ecto-Skeleton in the fold before Vlad could take it,” Sam said.

“Plus Val is keeping up the truce for now and Jazz is covering for us,” Danny added.

“Yeah, and how long until Val turns her weapons back on us or Jazz decides to stick her nose in our business?” Sam muttered.

Danny opened his door. “She -”

The three stared at the room that very much was not Danny’s room. They looked behind them to see the green sky of the Ghost Zone with gears floating through it. They were standing on an island that housed a tall tower in the shape of a grandfather clock.

“Uh…”

“We’re not going to get anything caught tonight, are we?” Tucker sighed.

Sam pushed past her partners and stomped into the tower. “Alright you stupid ghost kidnapper, what do you want?”

No one answered and the boys followed her further into the tower.

They kept an eye out for whatever ghost had teleported them there, but the only movement was coming from the spinning gears that were everywhere or the circular screens scattered about.

Danny’s eyes caught on three that were side by side and he gasped.

The first was labeled Future: Ten Years and showed a ghost in the form of a young woman. She had pale teal skin and white hair, though her hair was a white vapor that flowed around her head and shoulders. She wore a floor-length black dress that was slit on the right side high on her thigh. She also had a white belt, thigh-high high-heeled boots, and elbow-length gloves. Her dress had an S-logo on her skirt that looked like claw marks as well as a long white cape with a black lining. She was draped over a dead tree in what appeared to be a destroyed city like it was a throne, smirking as a military group fled from the bright green void rapidly growing beneath her with every similarly colored tear that dripped from her dark gold eyes.

“Is that…” Danny started and the two followed his gaze.

“Me?” Sam said.

“Why do you have Danny’s Spectral Void?” Tucker asked.

Danny pointed to the screen next to it.

This one was also labeled Future: Ten Years and featured a destroyed city, but a young man was the ghost featured. He had the same skin and hair color as the woman, but his hair appeared to be thick braids of dripping goo and his eyes were deep violet. He was shirtless and wore dark grey pants with white boots and a large white belt. On the belt was a black buckle with a white T-logo that appeared to be made of lightning. He also wore white bracers on his forearms and a cape to match the woman’s. Cackling, he watched his own military adversaries get pulverized by bright green vines.

“And that would be me with Sam’s Wraith Snare,” Tucker added as they turned to the final screen.

Once more a destroyed city was labeled Future: Ten Years. This time the ghost was flying around as he tossed tanks about and blasted them apart with a bright green sonic attack. He was also a young man with pale teal skin and white hair, though his was made of flames. His eyes were blood red and he had a small goatee. He wore a suit that was primarily black, but with a white pattern on the sleeves that continued down the side of his abdomen. He also had white boots and belt alongside black gloves and the same cape as the two before. On his chest was a wispy white D-logo.

“Which leaves Danny with my Ghostly Wail,” Tucker finished.

“We look so cool,” Danny muttered as he stared up at the screens. When his partners immediately turned to look at him, he quickly added, “Except for the whole being evil thing.”

Sam knocked her shoulder against the smaller boy’s and looked back at the screens. “This… They can’t be us.”

“They aren’t.”

The trio spun around to see a ghost floating behind them.

He at first looked like an old man, but as he spoke he faded into a young child. “At least, not in this life.”

“What do you mean?” Danny asked as the trio readied themselves for a fight.

Instead, the ghost came over to float next to them, his eyes on the screens as he fiddled with the clock on his staff. “In these timelines, only one of you went into the portal in your parents’ lab.”

“Hold on, are you saying that if we hadn’t gone in together, we would have turned evil?” Sam said, eyes narrowed.

“Sometimes.” He hit a button on his staff and the screens changed.

Instead of lounging in a tree, Sam was defending a school bus from a giant hydra ghost. Her skin was a human tone only a few shades darker than her normal and her eyes were bright green. Her hair was the same as her evil version's, if longer, but her dress and cape had been replaced by black pants and a white crop top with bell sleeves. Green vines wove around her head in a crown of thorns.

Tucker was now facing off against what appeared to be a Skulker-Technus hybrid. His eyes were the same shade as Good Future Sam’s and his hair had remained the same as evil Tucker's while his skin was a darker human brown. His cape had been swapped out for a black muscle shirt and silver Egyptian-style necklace. Likewise, his bracers had been swapped out with silver vambraces with glittering green hieroglyphs engraved into them.

Good Future Danny was laughing as he dove around the attacks of a ghost that seemed to be composed entirely of the night sky except for a ram horn helmet. He also had skin similar to his human form’s and bright green eyes. His hair was shorter than his evil version’s had been, but just as fiery. His suit was now white with dark green diagonal designs. His boots, belt, and gloves were all black and he was the only one to still have a cape, though this one was made of white fur. There were also horns made of ice curling out of his hair.

“Sometimes you choose the right path,” the clock ghost said, aging up into an adult.

“I have horns!” Danny whispered.

“You’re getting way too into this,” Tucker said, nudging his side.

“Mind telling us why you brought us here?” Sam asked.

The ghost hummed and their evil versions took the screens again. “Individually, the three of you have the power to bring untold devastation to the Ghost Zone and wipe humanity from the face of the Earth.” He turned to them, fading back into an old man. “What do you think you could do together?”

The trio blanched and Sam shook her head. “That wouldn’t happen.”

“Wouldn’t it? Why not? It happens in other timelines.”

“So what? You brought us here to tell us we’re going to turn evil and destroy the world? Thanks. We’re leaving now.”

“I’ve brought you here to give you a warning,” the ghost said, focus completely on his staff and not the fuming halfa. He aged down to a child and continued, “Those who command me do not peer into the alternate times often and I have worked hard so that they should not see these, but that effort will not last forever. Should something not change, they will discover these chances and label you all too much of a risk. When that happens, I will be charged with the task of eliminating your future.”

“So you’re going to try to kill us in the future, good to know,” Sam said.

Tucker grabbed his partners as they both stepped forward to fight. “You said you were warning us, that something could change so you wouldn’t have to kill us. Could you tell us what that something is?”

He smirked.

The trio blinked and they were in Danny’s room.

“Is that a no?” Tucker asked.

“That ghost better not show his face again,” Sam huffed and tossed her backpack into the corner.

“Uh, guys,” Danny said and held up his hand.

Wrapped around his wrist was a watch he’d never seen before. It had a white square case and face with navy asteroids taking the place of the numbers and icy blue comets acting as hands. The band was white nylon with black constellations stitched in. On the watch’s crown, the letters W and C were interwoven together in navy.

“I think he left me a gift.”

His partners looked down to see similar watches on their own wrists.

Sam’s had a black ceramic band and case with a silver paint splatter design overtop. The face was round and violet with a silver spiderweb design that black spiders crawled across in the place of hands. The WC logo was also on its crown, in violet.

Tucker’s watch, unlike the other two’s, was digital. It had a silver rectangular face and case with white glowing numerals over a green old-school bezier screensaver. The band was grey silicone with white pixel hearts decorating it. The WC logo was on the button on the side in green.

Sam growled and tried to remove it, to no avail. There was no buckle and the band wouldn’t break. She could not phase through it or have it phase through her either. She transformed and while the watch didn’t leave, it did change.

The case was now a golden-brown and shaped like a gear. The face was black with traditional hands and numbers in electric blue. The WC logo was at the center of the face while the band was a dark metal.

It proved to be just as impossible to remove in this form and also appeared to be indestructible considering the small ecto-beam she shot at it did nothing.

The boys just watched her antics, though Danny did stop her from trying to shoot a larger beam at it (and therefore her arm) while Tucker transformed to see if his would change as well.

It matched hers perfectly in ghost form.

“He’s trying to turn us evil,” the two hissed.

“I really don’t think he is,” Danny said, rubbing Sam’s arms.

“It’s turning us evil.”

“You’re just upset.”

“We’re going to burn his tower to the ground. You know, he probably should have seen this coming if he can see into the future so he probably deserves it.”

“You’re not helping, Tuck.”

Tucker shrugged.

“Guess we’ve got some research to do now. On top of everything else we’ve still gotta do. To. The. Ground.”

{Identity Crisis, Part 1}

“What are you guys doing?” Jazz asked as she came into Danny’s room to see the trio curled up together on his bed with a book each.

“We finally caught all the ghosts that escaped,” Danny said. “Well, the ones worth catching at least.”

“Ones worth catching?”

“The ones who cause problems,” Tucker explained. “There are some ghosts we leave alone as long as they keep out of trouble. Like Poindexter’s cool and Johnny and Kitty are fine as long as they aren’t fighting with each other. We also made a deal with Ember since she got a gig at a bar downtown; as long as she doesn’t brainwash anyone she can stay.”

“There are also those that aren’t worth the time, like the Box Ghost,” Sam said. “We can leave him to your parents or Valerie.”

“Valerie doesn’t even bother with Boxy anymore,” Danny added.

“I think he’s got a job with a moving company now,” Tucker muttered. “Either that or they’re just using him as a mascot.”

“Anyways, we got everyone accounted for so we’ve got a ghost-free weekend to do some research on that clock ghost that kidnapped us,” Danny said.

Jazz frowned. “So the three of you are going to spend the whole weekend here, together, alone.”

“Yep.”

“Yeah, basically.”

“Until we find what we need to get these stupid watches off.”

She sighed and walked over to take their books.

“Hey!” they said together.

“You three need a break after the last couple weeks of insanity. That means no ghosts, no Doppelgänger, and most importantly, no each other.”

“What? Why?” they asked and she gave them a look.

“I kind of get the ghost part, but why no each other?” Danny asked.

“When was the last time you three spent more than twenty-four hours apart?”

“I went to some gala in California with my parents two weeks ago,” Sam said pointedly.

“And Tucker sent the whole weekend here playing video games. I’m asking about all three of you spending more than a day apart.”

The three frowned, staring at nothing.

Jazz gave them a moment, then nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

They shared a look.

“Well, the computer club was having a camp this weekend,” Tucker said.

“It’d be nice to spend the weekend with Val,” Danny offered.

“There is a sale at Skulk and Lurk this weekend,” Sam sighed.

“There you go then.” Jazz dropped the books onto Danny’s desk and pointed to the door. “Out.”

“You know, you’re his sister, not ours,” Sam muttered, but she and Tucker said their goodbyes and left.

Danny threw a pillow at his sister and grabbed his phone. “Why are you so bossy?”

“It’s not healthy to spend so much time around your partners. Especially considering your interwoven minds. It won’t hurt you to be apart now and then.”

“Yeah, yeah, now get out so I can text Val.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, it’s Tucker, right?”

Tucker looked up to see a freshman he vaguely recognized standing over him. “Uh, yeah. You’re… Kira?”

“Kiran. Kiran Rizvi.”

“Right, sorry.” Tucker held his hand out to shake and looked over the freshman.

They were cute. Androdygenous, if leaning masculine, with rich brown skin. They looked like they were on the thinner side, but it was hard to tell with their baggy yellow hoodie. They had short black hair and a round face with bright green eyes.

Tucker put on a flirty smile, even as they ignored his hand and put their own on their chest. “Tucker Foley. So, you’re into computers then, Kiran?”

They shrugged and sat down next to him. “I’m more into computer games, but I wanted to learn how to build my own PC so I’ve been learning all I can. The computer I’ve got lags constantly, but I don’t have the money to buy a gaming PC.”

“Who does?” Tucker snorted. Well, Sam did, but even she knew the benefits of building over buying. “My partner introduced me to this company that’s got quality gear at good prices. Doomed never ran so smooth!”

“You play Doomed too? Did you see the new expansion pass?” Kiran said excitedly.

“The Netherworlds or the expanded Pride Armor selection?”

“I was talking about the Netherworlds but oh my gosh, the Pride Armor pack was great! Even if the stealth aspects are absolutely awful.”

“If there’s ever a reason to wish to be ace, it's when you’re running around in neon yellow, pink, and blue,” Tucker sighed.

“That sucks. At least my armor’s got some black and purple in it to balance out the yellow and white,” they chuckled and Tucker swooned.

Wow, they’re pretty when they laugh.

“Have you seen some of the designs online people have done for stealth versions of the armor?”

“Wh-Oh, yeah,” Tucker said, snapping himself out of it. “Yeah, my partner posted some she did of the Ace-Spec gear on her blog. I’ve been trying to work it into a mod for her for her birthday.”

“No way! Can I see?” they asked, leaning closer, and Tucker smiled.

“Yeah, sure.” He turned back to his laptop and tried to bring up the file, but it slowed down as he tried. “Crud, right, I forgot I was in the middle of fixing that.”

“What’s wrong?”

“This is my old one. I’ve been trying to fix it up to sell. Everything seems okay. I think there’s just some excess data in the cache slowing it down. I was just about to empty it when you came up.” He started the process then pulled out his phone to bring up the designs he was working on.

“There’s pizza in the other room,” the computer teacher, Mr. Göbel, called as he poked his head into the classroom.

Tucker and Kiran joined the rest of the club heading out of the room as Kiran looked over the designs and begged Tucker to send them the mod when he finished it.

A few moments later, an abandoned laptop began to glow before flying out the window.

[mst3kproject]

Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971)

 I’ve been meaning to get to this one for a while.  It was directed by Al Adamson and stars Lon Chaney Jr. from Indestructible Man in his last and worst film.  Also featuring appearances by Greydon Clark (director of Angel’s Revenge), Forest J. Ackerman (the comic book guy from Future War), and Jim Davis (the grandpa from The Day Time Ended, not the guy who invented Garfield), and generally being one of the shoddiest and most confusing movies I’ve ever sat through, it is a mystery to me why Joel chose Carnival Magic and just left Dracula vs Frankenstein sitting there.  Maybe it was the widescreen thing.

It’s hard to say what the hell is going on in this movie but I’ll give it a try.  Under the cover of a carnival freak show, mad Dr. D’Ray is decapitating nubile young women and then sewing their heads back on, because… uh… because.  One night, his work is interrupted by none other than Count Dracula!  The Count reveals that he knows D’Ray’s secret – D’Ray is really the last surviving member of the Frankenstein family, and Dracula has recovered the body of the original Frankenstein’s Monster and wants D’Ray to help him bring it to life, because… uh… because.  Meanwhile, a woman named Judith Fontaine is looking for her sister, Joannie, who was last seen on the beach near Dr. D’Ray’s Creature Emporium.  Judith and her boyfriend Mike eventually find their way into D’Ray’s lair, and the doctor and his various deformed assistants (obviously he has deformed assistants) are all killed as the couple attempt to escape again.  What Judith and Mike don’t know is that they’re not safe yet.  They still have Dracula to deal with!

That outline actually only represents a fraction of the madness in Dracula vs Frankenstein.  There’s a rapey biker gang and a bunch of noticeably over-age hippies who seem to think they’re in a very different movie.  There’s D’Ray’s hunchback Groton and his pet puppy, and Grazbo the Angry Midget. There’s the stunningly unhelpful detective who’s supposed to be looking for Joannie.  D’Ray brings the Frankenstein Monster back to life with the help of a magical comet.  The idea that creatures like Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster actually exist is treated as obvious and commonplace, and the climactic fight between the two is over who gets to feel up Judith.  It’s a mess.

The reason Dracula vs Frankenstein is such a mishmash of incongruous ideas, at least according to El Santo of 1000 Misspent Hours, is that Adamson filmed for a while, then ran out of money and had to set the project aside while he raised more.  During this intermission, he got a bunch of new ideas, and had to shoehorn them in with what he’d already shot to turn his original sex-drugs-and-rock-n-roll film into a monster-versus-monster piece.  It should therefore surprise nobody if the results are about as graceful as a giraffe on roller skates.

The two title monsters are astonishingly shitty. Frankenstein’s Monster looks like the Pillsbury Dough Boy gone horribly wrong.  He looks like his head got stepped on and they couldn’t afford to fix it. The first time you see him, when Dracula digs him out of a cemetery, you can barely tell you’re supposed to be looking at something’s face – it looks like a mass of home-made play-dough that’s been left out in the sun.  He has claws for some reason.  That sequence of similes still doesn’t do justice to just how absolutely terrible he looks, and yet, shockingly, he’s less stupid than Dracula.

Oh, god, this movie’s Dracula.  His face is slathered in Observer makeup (though his hands aren’t, probably because it would have gotten all over everything) and he wears bright red lipstick and fake fangs that don’t allow him to fully close his mouth.  His vinyl cape almost definitely came from Party City. His voice echoes like he’s talking into an empty garbage can, even when he’s sitting in the back seat of a car. He has an incredibly funky goatee and a ring that shoots fire.  Everything he says and does is deeply, self-consciously dramatic and it all comes to an absurd crescendo in the series of priceless faces he makes as he turns to dust in the sun.

On a scale of absurd theatricality, Dr. D’Ray is only shortly behind him.  The mad doctor dresses like Colonel Sanders, has some classic evil facial hair, and spends much of his screen time monologuing… but nothing he says ever makes a lick of sense. The stuff that comes out of his mouth is literally indescribable so I’m going to have to give you some examples:

Rambling in his lab, D’Ray describes his work as follows: “human blood is the essence from which future illusion may be created, but the secret is not to have the blood at rest.  No, the circulatory system must experience a traumatic shock, one that is inconceivable to the human mind.  The idea of trauma is not a new one, but I am sure I am the first such experimenter to incorporate the horror of an actual decapitation into later rejuvenation of a human body!”  This is evidently supposed to be a justification for the sewing-heads-back-on thing – it ‘activates’ the blood and allows D’Ray to make his ‘serum’.  He then injects that ‘serum’ into Groton, who transforms into an axe-wielding maniac.  Later, Dracula claims that the same ‘serum’ would have made him invincible.  I, uh… what?

Sorry, I was talking about D’Ray’s monologuing.  When describing his Creature Emporium, D’Ray informs some guests, “the greatest mysteries in the world are not mysteries at all, unless we take time to become familiar with them.”  Isn’t that the opposite of how mysteries work?  It’s easy to believe in, say, the Loch Ness Monster, until you familiarize yourself with the history of the ‘evidence’ and realize that it’s almost all complete bullshit.

When Dracula shows up, D’Ray declares, “I am too old and too sick to be interested or surprised by anything, but when a man comes into my house and casts no reflection on my mirror, and on his hand wears the unholy crest of Dracula, there is no scientific answer to anything.  Now, what is on your mind, Count Dracula?” Honestly, this nonsense is spoken with such conviction that you almost don’t notice that the end of the sentence has nothing to do with the beginning.

The movie has two things that might qualify as a ‘special effect’.  One is Dracula’s zappy fire ring.  It’s crummy, but you can tell what they’re going for.  The other is the ‘comet’ that is instrumental in giving life to the Frankenstein Monster.  This is represented by a slow pan past a flickering light bulb against a black background.  Even having just heard Dracula talking about the importance of the comet, it took me a minute to figure out what I was supposedly seeing – it’s that bad.  This might be halfway forgivable if the comet were somehow important to the plot… if the Monster, for example, had to complete some mission before it sets or something.  But it’s totally gratuitous.  They could have taken that out, avoided a distractingly awful effect, and made the movie a little bit shorter!

As for meaning anything… Dracula vs Frankenstein does not, and indeed seems to go out of its way to avoid it.  The events that unfold are remarkably meaningless.  Judith finds her sister Joannie, who is not dead but neither is she alive, and then the story just forgets about Joannie and gives her no resolution.  Hippie girl Samantha is saved from being raped by her angry ex and his biker gang, but then she, too, is entirely forgotten.  D’Ray and his henchmen die in a series of contrived accidents that serve no purpose but getting them out of the way so that Dracula and the Monster can fight uninterrupted.  This is particularly anticlimactic because so far, D’Ray has been presented as our main baddie.  Dracula disintegrates Mike with his magic ring and then the movie rushes to its climax without giving either Judith or the audience time to deal with it.  Dracula, the movie’s actual main baddie, just turns to dust in the sun.

There are a couple of moments that are probably supposed to be social commentary, but they have nothing to do with the meandering main plot. One is the scene where a hippie guy says to his girlfriend, “let’s get ready for the big protest tonight.”  She asks, “what are we protesting this time?” and he shrugs and replies, “I dunno, but I bet it’s fun.”  Later we see this protest, which does seem to have a major ‘party’ component and features some very unspecific placards being waved.  In another sequence there’s a druggie bar with the walls covered in graffiti that say things like POT and SOCIETY SUCKS.

Boy, I bet Adamson was really proud of sticking it to those angry young people.

Dracula vs Frankenstein is mesmerizingly bad.  Usually the best bad movies are the kind where you can follow the story a bit, so you aren’t wasting time wondering what the hell is going on instead of appreciating the nonsense dialogue and unconvincing effects.  Dracula vs Frankenstein is a singular exception.  You never have any idea what anybody’s doing and yet somehow it doesn’t matter… the movie gives up on making sense very early, and just forges merrily ahead, dragging you along behind it.  What’s actually happening never matters enough to distract.  I honestly don’t know if this is a point in the movie’s favour or not… but it would have made a hell of an MST3K episode.

[thatothercosplayer]

Secret Base Cafe Offensive Squadron THE MOVIE : The Great Akibahara Eradication Plan

The screen is black for a moment, before the Toei Company Logo fades in….only to get a stamp reading “Unofficial” in red ink above the kanji.

The logo grows and grows, before encompassing the screen. The shot pans down, revealing that the shot had been in a cloud...right above a certain district of Tokyo.

Akihabara....a vibrant, electric playground filled with arcades, manga, anime, and just about anything your average nerd could want. Here, otaku revel in their desires, living out their lives away from the rest of society. 

The camera zooms down to street level, showing various shots of life in Akibahara. Maid cafes, retro game stores, manga stores, bustling crowds, bright gaudy electric signs......

Juxtaposed with this are the blue collar workers who help make this ‘paradise.’ Shop keepers, maids, bartenders....and even the salarymen who stay shut up in their offices, working nonstop. 

These two realities co-exist, intermingling on daily basis.

However....

The camera pulls back out, showing a bird’s eye view of Akibahara. 

....there is a place here that is host to a third reality. One of brave exploits, selfless sacrifice, and flashy heroics. It is rare....but occasionally, it collides with the two existing realities! 

A man cries out, dropping his newly bought merchandise to the ground. It had been a rather large purchase- a vinyl statue he’d been eyeing for a while. It was a highly detailed figure of one of his favorite Gundam characters, Haman Karn. 

But!

It was smoking. The paint had degraded to cheap variants that scraped off at the slightest touch. The vinyl was low quality and snapped as soon as it hit the ground. 

He’d just been here on vacation. Had been wanting to visit for a while, when he saw his waifu. There was a spot in his display case back home that was just waiting to be filled by her. But it had been altered by...

....a frill-necked lizard monster who was painted in garish metallic colors that didn’t seem to shine any. His facial features were bleeding color, screaming of improper paint apps. He laughed, his tail dragging on the ground as he danced in place. He was wearing a singular metal chest plate that had a red star in the middle. His scales were green, fading into a eye-blinding yellow on his belly. 

“Kyahahahahaha! I, Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage, have ruined your cameo in this movie! What do you think of that?!” 

The man looked up. “Godzilla...how could you do this?!” 

The lizard paused. “What? NO! I’m Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage! Just because we’re both lizards doesn’t mean I’m Godzilla!” He was furious now!   

Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage advanced, ready to strike and end this man's life. However....

"WAIT!!!" A woman cried out.

"What?! Who's there!? Show yourself!!" The lizard demanded.

The camera pans up to a rooftop above the scene. On it, stands a woman dressed in formal business attire. Her hair was flowing in the wind. The sun was at her back, and she had her arms crossed.

"Foolish one, who doesn't know the emptiness of nerdom...purchases are to collect things you love! And those brave individuals who dare to make those purchases....are known as 'otaku'!"

The lizard monster looked up, holding up a hand to cover his eyes some. "Who would dare pull this at Akibahara?!"

The woman dramatically pointed. "Scum like you doesn't deserve to know my real name!"

The camera refocuses to reveal who it was- it was Ikura!

Ikura crosses her arms, then thrusts them outwards. “Chou kenzoku henka!”

In a flash of light, she was covered in a suit of crimson armor. 

“Where’s there is dark, there’s light! Where there is evil, there is justice! I am the Armored Avenger, Kyusha!” Her armor shined dramatically in the direct sunlight, before she raised a fist. 

Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage stumbled backwards. “Kyusha...! It can’t be!” He wailed.

“Neurevolver!” A slot on Kyusha’s right thigh opened up, ejecting a laser pistol. She caught it and leapt down. “Sharp Shot!” She fired several precise shots, which all struck the lizard monster, sparks erupting all over him as the lasers connected. He was tossed backwards, and Kyusha landed. 

“Grr....I won’t be defeated so easily!”  Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage declared as he pushed himself back up. He raised his arms and opened his mouth, spitting out fireballs at Kyusha. She rolled out of the way as they flew at her, the projectiles hitting the ground and creating multiple minuscule explosions.

“What, you think turning up the heat will stop me, Jirass!?” Kyusha cried out. 

“That’s not my name!”  Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage protested, stamping up and down. “Alright! Let’s see how you like this!” He leered, firing a laser beam from his eyes. Kyusha raised her blaster to return fire, but the beam hit the blaster, which made it heat up instantly.

She dropped it, and was shocked to see the Neurovolver had been transformed into a cheap knock-off! The metallic sheen it’d had before was gone, and a hastily molded in blue star crest on one side had been added. There was one on the other side, too, but it was unpainted. Multiple green stickers with lightning on them had been added on, reading “CRUSHER” in a big, garish font. 

Kneeling down, she picked up the blaster, looking back and forth at the lizard monster and her blaster in shock. “O-oi! What did you do to my Neurevolver?!”

“Foolish human! You have now witnessed my true power! My Bootleg Beam is unstoppable! Tremble before me!” The lizard monster cackled, dancing in place again.

“Why....you...! Gomess, this is unforgivable!” Kyusha shouted. 

“I told you, that’s not my name!”  Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage yelled. “Why...just for that, you’ll see my other attack!” He held his arms up like he was flexing, and the out-of-place red star on his armor glowed, shooting out a star-shaped laser at Kyusha. “Chest Star!” He called.

The blast hit Kyusha, who was tossed away, rolling on the concrete some. She pushed herself up. “Oh...that’s it...you’ve done it now, buster!” 

Standing up, she held up her right arm. “Stardust!” She cried out, a slot on her right shoulder opening up and firing out the handle of a laser blade. Catching it, Kyusha caught the blade. “Red King....! For not only attacking this man, and for ruining my blaster....I will destroy you!” 

“STOP GETTING MY NAME WRONG!”  Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage screeched at the top of his lungs, running at Kyusha, claws bared. 

She ignited the laser blade, before running at  Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage. “RUNNING RAZOOOR CRAAAASH!” 

As Kyusha ran by, she slashed the lizard, getting sliced by his claws in return. The two paused after running past one another.

There was a tense moment.....before  Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage began sparking and twitching. “No! Noooo! This can’t be!” 

Kyusha posed as the lizard monster fell over, before exploding.

With  Būtoregumitsubaisurushōhinfurirunekkutokage’s death, both the Neurevolver and the statue of Haman Karn were returned to their normal states...the statue was even repaired!

The man ran up to Kyusha. “Thank you for saving me! Can I get a picture with you?” He asked. 

Kyusha deactivated the laser blade, returning it to her right shoulder. “...sure! Let’s do it!”

The end result was a picture of the two together, Kyusha holding up both her hands with two fingers in the ‘v’ shape.

The photo fades away, leading to a black screen, before the title flies in, chunk by chunk before emitting LASERS EVERYWHERE and flashing once just for good measure while the cast yells out the title.

-----

Later, Ikura arrived at where she’d been heading- the Secret Base Cafe. Normally her walk to work was pretty uneventful, but that was the first time a monster attack had ever happened on it. She had to admit, she was rather winded; running up all those flights of stairs to get to the roof of that building had been a lot of work, but it was worth it because she got to look cool.

Hikaru greeted her when she came in. “Welcome back, Chief!!” She cheerily said, saluting. She was wearing a UAOH uniform. 

“At ease, soldier,” Ikura joked, taking her lab coat off the rack by the door and putting it on with a dramatic flair. She fixed her hair, before resting her hands on her hips. “Man, the pedestrian traffic this morning was pretty heavy. Some people got really angry- they were pretty monstrous!” 

“Sounds like a lot of trouble,” Yuna said as she dusted the display shelves. She was cosplaying Mei from Zyuranger. 

“Tch....I bet. The train was pretty packed this morning, too. It was pretty annoying,” Keiko grumbled. She was wearing Natsumi Shinohara (from Carranger)’s red jumpsuit, complete with cap turned backwards. As usual, she was stationed behind the bar. 

“Well....those are just slight inconveniences, right?” Ikura asked. “Today should be pretty normal!” 

Secret Base Cafe. Themed around the various Sentai throughout history, it pays tribute to the warriors who have protected Earth for over 40 years. Here lies our third reality. As you have seen, it is home to those who would risk their lives to protect the other realities of Akibahara....including the fourth reality- yours! 

Ikura cleaned the inside of her ear with her pinkie. “Is it me or does this place seem a bit noisier than usual?” She asked.

“Probably just your imagination, Ikura,” Keiko said. “By the way....no need to help us get ready to open today. When I got here these two,” she gestured to Yuna and Hikaru, “had already done that.” 

Ikura clasped her hands together. “Great job, ladies! That’s what I like to see!” 

Yuna bowed. “Well, you know me, Hakase-san. I like to work hard.” 

Ikura rubbed the back of her head. “I feel like....I’m missing something. Wasn’t there gonna be a comet flying past Earth today?” She asked.

“Oh! I think I know what you mean! You mean Bailey’s Comet, right?” Hikaru asked. “It’s supposed to fly over today at noon! Maybe we’ll get to see it and make a wish! Wouldn’t that be exciting?”

Ikura crossed her arms. “I dunno if we’d be able to see it, though.....the rest of the building on the street are rather tall,” she said. Thinking about it, she shrugs. “I’m sure someone will catch it on video or something,” she says dismissively. “Everyone’s got cameras on their phones, sooooo,” she trailed off. 

Hikaru pouts. “Mou! I was hoping to see it! Hey, Chief, can I go see it on my lunch break?” 

Ikura cocked her lips to the side. “Well....yeah, sure. I don’t see why not.” 

Hikaru leapt up and down, clapping excitedly. Guys, she has a large chest. Just...think about that. If this was a real movie I’m sure there would be ten different GIFs of this exact moment at differing speeds, because boobies!!! 

After she calmed down, Ikura rubbed the back of her head. “I’m starting to remember why I hired you,” she joked. In truth Hikaru’s skills and infectious attitude were part of why she got hired. The large breasts were just an added bonus.

“Anyways, I’m gonna head downstairs. I’ve got some work to do,” Ikura said. Heading over to a shadowbox containing a replica of the Greatest Treasure in the Universe (which...was a triforce, for some reason), she lifted it to reveal a lever. Pulling it opened up a section on the wall, revealing a elevator. Stepping in, Ikura headed down, to the lab where all the tech for Kyusha is held.

----

Meanwhile, in space....something sinister was headed towards the Earth. While it was true, Bailey’s Comet was going to be passing today, another cosmic object was on its way....

It was a large chunk of....something. It had been cobbled together from all sorts of matter, organic and artificial. 

An ominous red light pulsated at its core before it entered the Earth’s gravity well, before being dragged down into the atmosphere.

It had its eye set on one location; while this entire planet radiated sin, there were one location it had its eyes set on....Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the Earth’s current location didn’t make it able to head to its original location so it settled for the next best thing.....Akibahara. 

It crashed down into an empty back street, because civilian causalities make me sad. 

Smoke rose from the crater as the camera swapped to a crane shot, This is how you know it’s serious! Slowly, the camera zooms in. In the center of the crater is a small rock, with a single slit in the middle of it.....the rock crumbles, revealing a solitary, crimson eye, with sickly purple flesh around it. 

Suddenly, it opens.

----

It was midday when the press began to gather around the crater. Only one brave reporter dared to approach it....

He looked over his shoulder at his camera crew, who gave him a thumbs up. Hesitantly, he stepped forwards, before he reached the edge.....he peered over it, and disappeared in a flash of light! 

The camera crew dropped their camera, and they disappeared, too- followed by everyone else on the street. 

----

Meanwhile, at the cafe, in the Secret Base Cafe Secret Base, Ikura was checking to see if the Neurevolver was functioning properly. It had briefly been transmogrified via high frequency molecular structure altering instananeous light transmission (translation; a laser beam altered it into something shittier before getting reverted back). She had goggles on and was poking the various parts with some kind of diagnostics tool whilst starung back and forth at a super computer that took up the whole back wall.

She would glance back and forth between it now and again. She frowned. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but..

Pulling the goggles up, Ikura cocked her lips to the side. "Man....this bugs the crap out of me," she muttered to herself. Reaching up, she pulled the goggles off her head, before undoing the ponytail she'd tied up for work.

Setting down everything, she closed the pistol back up and returned it to its proper storage unit.

Quite suddenly, a window popped up on the main monitor. Quirking a brow, Ikura went over.

DIMENSIONAL SHENANIGANS DETECTED. CODE BEIGE.

"Oh, shit! Code Beige!" Ikura begins rapidly typing away on the keyboard, just like your average Hollywood Hacker.

"Just bypass the firewall, feedback loop the IP, hopskotch through the backdoor and....!" She hits enter, and throws her arms up in the air. "I'm in!"

The main monitor pulls up a news feed. It's a long shot of the crater, taken from down the street.

A newswoman was reporting on the scene. "...officials have declared that all citizens keep a berth of the crater due to the anamolous properties it displays. The whereabouts of the people abducted by it are unknown, but there is already speculation that...."

Another window pops up.

THAT WAS RATHER UNNECESSARY. YOU KNOW I AM CAPABLE OF TAPPING INTO SATELLITE FEEDS.

Ikura rolled her eyes, closing the window. "You know I progammed the First Law into you...that should have explained it perfectly!" She muttered.

I FAIL TO SEE HOW ASIMOV'S LAWS OF ROBOTICS APPLY.

"Not Asimov's Laws. My laws." Ikura said. "Law 1: Rule of Cool is absolute! Honestly, I don't even know why I programmed sarcasm into you!"

Hitting a switch, she powered off the supercomputer. Whatever. Returning to the elevator, she hit the button marked 'exit'. There was a bit of a shift as the elevator swapped tracks, before opening up into the staff break room. Stepping out, Ikura headed into the cafe. There was a bit more time for the movie to focus on her before she got everyone else involved, right?

"Chief!" Hikaru shouted. "I'm going on my lunch break! Bye!" She skipped out, heading out into the street before changing into her Raptoroid form and flying off.

Ikura nodded, even though it was...kind of late for that. Looking over to Keiko and Yuna, she stuffed her hands in her lab coat pockets. "Hold the fort down, ladies. I've got an errand to run."

Keiko quirks a brow. "You're not seriously going to that crater, are you?" She deadpanned. "We kind of need you not to disappear."

Ikura's eyes widened, and she pointed. "A-ah! How'd you know?!"

Holding up her phone, Keiko showed her Twitter. How's that for product placement? Can you say 'our budget ran out'?

"Everyone won't shut up about it. I know you, Ikura. You don't have me fooled." She shut her phone. "You're not going alone. I'm coming with you."

Yuna came over. "...um....I am too, Hakase-san. I can't let you hurt yourself."

Ikura dismissively waved. "It's a threat assessment, is all. If I get my ass handed to me, I'll come back and we can go fight it together, alright?" She grinned. "Besides! We're still in business hours! So I am heading out. Smell ya later!" She declared, rushing out the door.

“Hey! Wait!” Keiko called after her. She was about ready to jump over the bar when she noticed the time- it was about time to start serving alcohol. She cursed. Ikura had deliberately picked this time to go investigate this so she wouldn’t be impeded! “Heh...clever as ever. Don’t screw this up, Ikura,” she muttered to herself.

----

Ikura arrived at the end of the street the crater was on to find it quite crowded. She sighed. Stupid gawkers! She tried to push her way into the crowd, but...well, when you’re 161 cm crowds are kind of a problem. She hopped up and down a couple of times to see over people’s shoulders, and that didn’t go too well, either. 

She groaned. “Come on! Move! I wanna see!” 

A man looked over his shoulder. “What? You should have been here first, then, shorty.” This person was rather rude! 

Ikura put her hands on her hips and huffed. “Hey! Back off, man. I’m a scientist!” 

That seemed to be enough to get him to...well, back off! “Oh! Sorry! I should have known by the lab coat.” He stepped aside, gesturing for Ikura to step through. “Thank you,” she said. 

Moving the front of the crowd, Ikura went up to the police tape that had cut off the street. She could see the crater pretty clearly from here- it had stopped smoking a while ago, but now and again a flash of red light would come from it. Grabbing the police tape, she pulled it up, and stepped past, letting go of it. 

“Hey, are you crazy?” Someone shouted. “You’ll disappear, too!” 

“Life in your own hands, man!” Someone else said. 

Ikura fixed her labcoat, and stepped forwards. Given the reports of disappearances, it was very popular the causation was dimensional in nature- perhaps, tearing open brief rips in the fabric of space-time and dropping the victims into pocket dimensions. But for now that was just a hypothesis. 

The equipment the reporter crews had on them when they disappeared was still laying on the ground, some of it damaged from being dropped so suddenly. Ikura cocked her lips to the side. What a shame! Good equipment is hard to come by at a decent price. Someone was gonna get fired for this, she was sure. 

Taking another step towards the crater, she reached into her lab coat and pulled out a small pocket device she’d invented. While she had made it around the same time Kyusha was created, this was the first time Ikura had ever really had to use this particular creation. It was able to measure dimensional fluxes, energy fields, and detect foreign bodies not native to Earth. She called it the Birute...mainly because Tricorder was already taken.

Flicking it on, she tapped a few of the buttons on it before raising it.

Just as she’d suspected, there was some kind of dimensional flux going on here- the people who had disappeared were still very much alive, if that was the case. However, she couldn’t get a lock as to where they’d been taken. There were trace particles left over from the energy burst created when they were abducted, but nothing that could indicate a potential destination. 

Furthermore, whatever was in the crater was definitely not from Earth. Kind of obvious given the situation, as that wasn’t that function’s intended purpose. Atop that, it was something she already knew.

Sighing, Ikura flicked it off and tucked it back in her coat. Looks like the hands-off approach she was going for wasn’t going to work. Turning on her heel, she glanced at the curious onlookers. “Do any of you know about how far down the street I would have to go before I would be taken away?” She asked.

There were a few moments of disarray as everyone talked it over, and no one was quite sure. The general vicinity of the crater seemed to be the most prevalent idea. 

Running a hand through her hair, Ikura couldn’t help but laugh. None of these people were witnesses- how could they know? At the very least, they’d tried to help. She could give them that much.

Turning back around, she began carefully pacing towards the crater. The stability of the street was in question here, so there was no such thing as being too careful. 

Ikura was about 6 yards away from the crater when smoke began billowing out of it. She paused, tensing up.

The lights that had been flashing periodically in the crater were now swirling wildly, giving it a surreal look. 

Suddenly, a hand reaches up to grab the edge. It pulls itself up, revealing a misshapen, anomalous head with a solitary red eye rising above the edge of the crater, the pupil looking around before staring at the camera.

Ikura quickly entered a ready stance as the onlookers backed off a bit from the police tape.

Another hand reached up to the edge of the crater, and more of the body was revealed. It was a crude, cobbled together figure; patches of organic matter could be seen holding together, with the rest of its body being made out of asphalt and street signs it had taken from the area the meteor had landed in. Other eyes were scattered around its body, their gaze transfixed in various directions. 

“What the hell...?” Ikura said. She’d fought plenty of monsters before, but this one had...something else to it. 

The eye on the head swirled wildly around, taking in its surroundings, before locking on Ikura. The creature raised its right hand, pointing a gangly, misshapen finger at her. “Delete.....” 

It stepped forwards. “....delete!” 

Ikura quirked a brow. What did it mean by that?

Outside of the most obvious answer and that it wanted to kill her, of course. 

The creature charged, and Ikura dodged its first swing with its left arm, punching it in the chest....before pulling it back and shaking her hand. It was like she was punching concrete! It swung again, and she sidestepped, kicking at its chest instead. The creature merely stumbled back, seeming nonplussed and attacking again.

At this point the onlookers were cheering her on- this scientist lady sure had a lot of facets to her! “Yeah, get ‘em!” One of them called out. 

This creature, at least from what Ikura observed- was acting instinctively. It was perceiving her as a threat- but why!? 

“Dammit! Scientific observation isn’t easy when your subject of study is trying to kill you!” She shouted out in frustration. Leaning backwards to avoid a rather wide swing, Ikura looked at the creature again. There were those fleshy parts! Maybe hitting those would be effective? 

Moving in, she punched the eye on the creature’s breast. It felt...really gross! Very squishy and definitely organic. The creature howled. That seemed to have some effect on it! 

It swung once more, enraged, and Ikura backflipped to avoid it and create some space. She did a handspring off the asphalt once she came down, and landed in front of the crater. “Alright! That’s enough messing around!” 

Ikura crosses her arms, then thrusts them outwards. “Chou kenzoku henka!”

In a flash of light, she had been covered in the armor of Kyusha, which glimmered in the sunlight. “Alright, ugly, let’s throw down! Stardust!” 

A slot on her right shoulder opened up, revealing the hilt of a beam saber. It fired out, and Kyusha caught it, igniting it as the slot closed. “Toh!” She leapt forwards, landing and slashing against the creature’s chest. Sparks flew as the attack connected, and it howled in pain as the eye on its chest was split down the middle.

It stumbled backwards, wound smoking, before standing upright. Some of the asphalt on it began shifting, covering the eyes and organic bits. It was now completely covered, with no way to get directly at the eyes or flesh. Even the eye on the head was partially covered.

“So, that’s how it is, huh?” Kyusha asked. “Okay! Change Beta!” She thrust a hand up in the air, the armor lighting up before being consumed in a blue light. It dissipated, and the armor had become bulkier and even changed color. Kyusha was now Mode Beta, and was a bit stronger as a result. 

Stepping forwards, she held up a fist to ready an attack. The creature did likewise, throwing a punch. Kyusha countered with one of her own. The punches collided, a small shockwave being sent out from the impact. 

“Boson Chopper!” She called out, her left arm igniting in azure energy. Kyusha performed a mighty cross chop across the creature’s chest. The chest exploded, the creature getting tossed to the ground. 

“Did it work?” She asked. 

As the smoke cleared, the creature pushed itself back up. Despite Mode Beta’s immense physical strength, there was no damage to the integrity of the asphalt and signs holding the monster together. 

“What?! How?” She huffed. Fine then! If Mode Beta didn’t work, it was time for something else! Kyusha thrust her arm up in the air again. “Change Gamma!”

This time, the armor became covered in green light, molding to Beta’s form, then causing the profile of it to slim down. The light dissipated and this time she had changed into Mode Gamma, the lighter, faster form. Rolling her shoulders, Kyusha popped her knuckles before running forwards.

“Emerald Stamp!” She stopped in front of the creature, repeatedly kicking it with one leg ala Chun-li in Street Fighter. She spun on her left heel, then began performing repeated roundhouse kicks to it. “Orbital Round!”

The creature stood still as a statue as this assault happened, sparks flying off it with every hit. 

Kyusha finally finished, landing her last blow. The creature stared for a moment, before swinging at her with one arm. She dodged to one side, but it held its other arm out. Since she was already committed to that direction, the momentum carried her right into it, and she slammed into it hard. 

The armored heroine was tossed to the ground, wind knocked out of her after such forceful impact. Not only was it resisting her, it was analyzing her! 

Pushing herself up, she punched the ground. What was this thing?! 

It stepped forwards, looking down at her. “....pathetic human.” 

Kyusha looked up. “What?!” 

The creature stomped on her back. “You....are a sinner. We will erase your sin.” It dug its foot in. 

“Aaaggh!” Kyusha writhed as her suit sustained damage, the OS giving multiple warnings in her helmet about the structural failures that were being created as more force was being brought down upon her. 

The creature spread its arms. “You humans may refer to us as ‘N.’ We have arrived on this awful planet to cleanse it of its sins, starting with this hive of filth.” 

Kyusha was trying to push herself off the ground, despite the armor beginning to lock up and cease functioning as the damage became greater. “I....hnngh....aaaagh!” She yelled out in pain as the weight of the foot on her became greater. How was it increasing its volume?!

“I can’t let you do that! This is my home!” Kyusha declared. “Change Beta!” 

Her armor flashed blue, and very quickly Gamma was replaced with the more armored Beta once more. The damage on this one was much more sustainable! 

Kyusha began pushing upwards, using every ounce of strength she could. “I won’t...” She grunted, getting leverage with one knee. The force of N’s foot was still weighing heavily on her. “....just stand by...” She got more leverage with her other knee. “...and let that happen!” 

Finally, she had enough leverage to buck N off, and pushed herself to her feet, clutching her side. 

N quickly landed on its feet, before looking at the state its adversary was in. It was pretty clear who had the upper hand right now- and it wasn’t her. Turning around, it looked at the crowd, who had gone silent. 

“A lot of sinners, all waiting for their judgement...” It waved its hand, and they all disappeared. 

“Where did you send them?!” Kyusha demanded. 

N slowly turned around. “To a proper world...” It ran forwards and kicked Kyusha, knocking her over. N went to stomp on her again, but she rolled out of the way. Mode Beta wasn’t as fast as the other two forms, but it was fast enough to react. “Change Alpha!” She cried. 

Kyusha was consumed in crimson light as she returned to her base mode. Alpha had taken little to no damage, so it was most ideal. She was starting to feel the beating she’d been handed- her whole body was sore. 

For now, the best plan of action would be to retreat...but she needed something to take with her! N had proven resistant to all her attacks so far. It was time to bring out the big guns! 

“Stardust! Starcrusher!” Getting to her feet, she caught the two beam sabers, and quickly plugged their ends together before igniting them both. “Star Collider!” 

She held the weapon out to her side, bringing up her other hand to her helmet. Kyusha pressed two fingers to her temple. “Hyper Scan!” 

A red bar begin to slide across Kyusha’s visor as she analyzed N, a stream of information going up the side of the HUD as various lines jumped out to point out various features of the creature.

N watched in curiosity. This was a setback in its plan, but once this....game, it supposed, was done, it would go back to its purpose. 

Finally, all the information stopped and pointed out a single place on N’s body- below the left breast. “Alright!” Kyusha declared. She readied Star Collider, and two bright red eyes appeared in her visor. 

The camera cut to Kyusha standing in front of the background of a solar eclipse. She whirled the Star Collider about twice, before holding it out sideways. 

“Gemini!” She slashed once.

“Slider!” She slashed again, the solar eclipse going supernova as she shot forwards. 

“Crash!!” She yelled out, slashing one last time as she passed N. 

She appeared on the other side of him, posing. N seemed unaffected at first...before multiple explosions erupted from the very spot Kyusha had targeted, chunks of its body flying off. N fell to its knees, before pushing itself up. It was time for it to retreat, too! 

Kyusha caught the chunk that had been flying towards her, and deactivated the Star Collider. N returned to its crater in a hurry....and Kyusha fell to her knees, as well, the transformation deactivating. The safety measures in the suit had kicked in right as a cloud rolled in, thunder booming overhead. 

Ikura panted, using her free hand to brace herself. The right corner of her lips was bruised, and she had a few cuts on her face. At the very least, she’d procured a sample. 

A drop of rain hit the ground in front of her, followed by another one....before the skies opened up and a torrential downpour came down. 

Ikura picked herself up, holding the sample close and clutching her side. It was time to get back. 

----

Ikura stumbled into the Secret Base Cafe, completely drenched. She still had the sample taken from N clutched close to her body. 

“Chief!” Hikaru cried out, running over to catch her and helping her over to a table. Keiko and Yuna paused what they had been doing, and left their stations to gather around their boss. 

Ikura sat down, resting on the table and setting the sample on it. She slammed her fist into the table. “I’ve never fought...someone so tough,” she panted. “They’re gonna....!” She moved to push herself up and winced when she felt the wound on her back flare up. 

“Hakase-san! Take it easy!” Yuna urged, moving to make her sit back down. “What’s going on?!” 

Keiko was already scrolling through twitter. She could see some pictures of Kyusha fighting....something. Sighing, she flipped her phone shut and tucked it away. “Dammit, Ikura. What are we gonna do with you?” She asked, sitting down. “Oi, Yuna. Fix some tea!” 

Yuna saluted. “Hai!” She ran to the bar, beginning to whip together something herbal that could help ease the pain.

Resting her elbows on the table, Keiko leaned in. “Oi, Ikura. What’s going to happen?” 

Ikura, who had calmed down a bit at this point, gestured at the sample she’d taken. “This... ‘N’ guy....said something about...cleansing sin. They’ve been abducting people, or something...I can’t....figure it out. All I know is they’re bad news. We’ve got to stop them.” 

Pushing herself up, Ikura grabbed the sample and headed back over to where elevator down into the Actual Secret Base was. Keiko went to grab her and stop her. “Hey! Knock that off! You’re not gonna be doing anything in that state!” 

Ikura shoved her away. “Dammit! Just listen for a fucking second!” She yelled, causing everyone to pause. Hitting the button to call the elevator up, the Hakase leaned against the wall. “I appreciate the concern. But this isn’t the time to rest. If we don’t do something...that guy will...!” 

The wall opened, revealing the elevator. “If you wanna help, come on!” She stumbled into the elevator.

Hikaru followed her, grabbing Ikura and making sure she was gonna stay standing. Keiko rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and also stepping in.

Yuna paused, looking at the unfinished tea, before sighing. Sometimes her boss was a handfull! She cleaned up quickly then ran in after them. 

----

After a bit of convincing, Ikura finally agreed to at least let Yuna do first aid. 

Ikura’s bra, blouse, lab coat and jacket were all hanging off the chair in front of the main computer. Ikura was standing over her work table, looking at the damaged Mode Gamma. Bandages had been wrapped all the way around her abdomen, up around her chest, and behind her shoulders. She was completely covered, for the most part. though some of her abs were still showing. They weren’t...super ripped, but Ikura was fit, for certain. This was bad- the damage to the suit was extensive. This would require intensive repairs...which she didn’t have the time for. Hitting a button, the section of the table Gamma was resting on receded, before a lifting up to reveal that it and the other two modes of Kyusha were in one giant storage block. It rotated around to Beta, which rose out of its side before the table settled back in, retracting the other two sides to fit.

Beta...wasn’t as bad. It could use some quick repairs and be in good shape, but...right now Ikura just couldn’t focus on that. Pulling up her goggles, she sighed, setting down her tools. 

Moving over to a work station that Keiko was seated at, she looked over her shoulder. “Any luck?” She asked.

Keiko looked up. “Yeah. There was a bit of exposed flesh.”

She had already extracted a smaller bit of the sample Kyusha had blown off of N, and put it on a slide. Currently, she was examining it under a microscope. “You might wanna see this.” Keiko swiveled her chair out of the way, and Ikura pushed her hair back over her shoulders. She didn’t have time for a pony-tail, like she’d normally do when she was working. 

She looked down at the microscope, and gasped. “What...!? Those..” 

“Yeah.” Keiko said.

Thousands and thousands of cells, with eyes just like the one on N, were wriggling around. “Man, why do cells from outer space always have to look super evil?” 

Keiko furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry, what?” 

Ikura stood up, moving over some and leaning against the worktable. “Well, in the movies, whenever a scientist looks at like...a zombie virus, or a sample, the cells they discover always look super evil. Like, there’s spikes on them, and they’re really darkly colored, and impale other cells and shit. This isn’t that much different, it just looks menacing.”

The other woman crossed her arms. “...I see what you’re getting at. That is weird.” 

“Right?” Ikura said, grinning. 

Meanwhile, over at the main computer, Yuna was monitoring the activity in the crater. Things seemed to be quiet...for right now, at least. 

Ikura called over to her. “Anything?” She asked.

“Not that I can tell,” Yuna answered, tapping a few keys and doing a few other kind of scans. “It’s still active, but there haven’t been any spikes or surges.” 

“Weird.” Ikura rubs her chin. “So, Keiko, tell me what you think of this. While I was fighting N, I heard it refer to itself as ‘us’ and ‘we’. What if...” 

“...it’s a hive mind?” Keiko finished. “So, it’s not just some random alien...it’s aliens, plural?” She asked.

“Maybe. I just...don’t understand why a body of organisms like that would feel the need to ‘delete’ and ‘cleanse’ things of sin,” Ikura thought out loud. “It doesn’t make any sense.” She tapped her chin, biting her lip some. “Hey, Hikaru! You get anything from that combat data?” 

Hikaru looked up from another part of the main computer. “Well, chief, I’ve got a few things, but I’m gonna have to hear your opinions on them,” she stated.

“Alright!” Ikura went over, resting on the computer some. “Whatcha got?” 

“Well, I was a bit interested how it was able to resist your attacks...the ‘evolution’ it displayed makes sense with the nature of its cellular makeup, but the way it reinforced its skin...well....” She tapped a few keys, bringing up some of the footage from Kyusha’s perspective. She slowed it down, highlighting a few areas on N’s chest. “I think the way it was able to be so tough was that its cells kind...enrooted themself in the matter it absorbed to construct that body, and like...it reinforced itself, or something?” Hikaru didn’t sound too sure of herself. “That’s really all I’ve got....” 

Ikura smiled, patting the girl’s head. “You did good, kid.” Going back over to the table Beta was resting on, she grabbed her blouse and put it on, not really bothering to button it up. She put on her lab coat, sticking her hands in its pockets. “Alright, team. Here’s the plan. We’re gonna hit the crater while it’s dormant, and give it everything we’ve got. That pocket dimension it’s got is our main priority- we’ve got to save everyone trapped in it first before we kill this bastard. How’s that?” 

Keiko sighed, resting on the table. “Sounds stupid, but....not much else we can do.” She nodded. “I’m in.” 

Yuna nodded. “Me too! We can’t let N get outside of Akibahara...we have to stop it before it gets too powerful!” 

Hikaru salutes. “I’ll follow ya to the ends of the Earth if I have to, chief! You can always count on me!” 

Ikura grinned. “Heh...I’m glad I’ve got friends like you guys. Alright! Let’s go!” 

With that, the four left....and, right after the Actual Secret Base became empty, an alert popped up on the main computer. 

WARNING! ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED! WARNING! CODE RED! WARNING! ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED! WARNING! CODE RED! WARNING! ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED! CODE RED! WARNING...

----

Meanwhile, back at N’s crater, it had already begun to draw in more matter. It had clumped up into a spherical form, energy crackling around it as it drew in more and more. It was growing- and rather rapidly at that.

To the point that, when the four arrived outside the Cafe, the entire street was covered in shadows. “What’s going on?” Yuna asked. She looked around, then looked up, gasping. “Um...guys...”

The others looked up, to see that already, N had grown taller than most buildings in the city. And, from the constant flashing lights around it, it was sending more and more people to its pocket dimension. Smoke was rising from various parts of Akibahara.

“Holy....” Ikura began.

“....shit,” Keiko finished. 

Everyone exchanged glances, before nodding and running towards N. It was do or die time. There was no turning back. 

As they drew closer, the streets got more and more ravaged- rubble from buildings, overturned cars, signposts, you name it- Akibahara wasn’t looking too good. 

As they ran forwards, the four disappeared in a flash of light.

----

The lights surrounding Ikura were overpowering, making her the only discernible thing in frame. There was loud ringing- as if she’d just been right by a massive explosion without any protection. She opened her eyes, the shot moving to a POV camera as she rolled over. As her eyes focused, she looked around.

Another day, another morning. She looked over, out her windows- the sun was shining right in them. Ikura raised a hand to her eyes. “Uuugh...” Sitting up, she sighed. Stupid sun. Crawling out of bed, she opened the door from her bedroom and went into the living room. She could see the kitchen from here; her father was at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. Her mother was fixing breakfast. “Mornin’,” Ikura said groggily, yawning.

Mother looked over. “Good morning, honey! About time you woke up. Your boyfriend’s going to be here in an hour.” 

Ikura’s eyes widened. “Oh, crap! Really? Gah!” She scrambled back into her room. “I’m not ready!” 

She slammed the door behind herself, and ran to the dresser. She had to look good for him! They were going to go out on a date to Osaka today. 

She paused.

Why...didn’t this feel right? They’d been going steady for a while, and she was planning to move out once she got a promotion at the office. Furrowing her brow, Ikura set the clothes she was going to get down and turned around, going over to the window. 

Was it just....the way that she’d woke up that had her feeling off?

----

Yuna sat up on the couch, looking around. Had she fallen asleep out here again? She looked down. There were blankets on her. 

She smiled. “Kei-kun,” she whispered to herself. He must of put these on her when he came back from work last night! Throwing her blankets off, Yuna stretched. Time to get dressed. She had errands to run! Going to the bedroom, she could see Kei’s side of the bed was empty. Where was he?

Hearing the door open, she peeked out of the bedroom. “Yunachii~! I brought you some breakfast!” A handsome man called. 

“Ah! Kei-kun! Arigato!” She left the bedroom, going over to him and wrapping her arms around him. She stood on her toes and pecked Kei’s lips before pulling away and taking her breakfast. Peering into the bag, she grinned. “Omurice? Really?” Yuna asked with a laugh. 

“Well, I felt like spoiling you this morning,” he said with a chuckle. 

Going to the kitchen, Yuna grabbed a fork. “Well, I love it!” Sitting down, she clapped her hands together. “Itadakimasu~!” With that she took a bite out of it. “Hmm...it could use some ketchup. Kei-kun?” She asked.

“Hai!” He went over to the fridge, pulling out the bottle and squeezing some out on his fiancee’s breakfast. “How’s that?” He asked. 

Yuna took another bite, and paused.

Suddenly, she...felt light-headed. She shook her head some, trying to make it go away.

“Yunachii? Are you alright?” Kei asked. Yuna contemplated her answer, before nodding. “Hai. Just...still waking up, is all,” she said dismissively. That wasn’t the truth. Something felt funny.

----

Keiko knocked on the door to the apartment. “Reiko! Are you in there?” She asked. 

“Hold on!” She heard from inside. There was the sound of someone running to the door before it opened to reveal someone that looked exactly like Keiko. “You’re here a bit early!” She said.

“Yeah, well, it’s been a year or so since I last saw you. I got excited.” Keiko shrugged. “You gonna let me in? It’s pretty cold out here.” 

“Oh! Right! Come on in!” Reiko stepped out of the way, and Keiko entered. She began removing her coat, hanging it on a coat rack after closing the door behind herself. “So, how’s the new place?” Keiko asked.

“Well, it’s pretty nice. Plenty of room. Lots of places for the cats to hang out.” Reiko laughed. “You know how they are.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Keiko said with a chuckle. She finished removing her coat and looked at Reiko. “So, where’s that photo album you found while you were moving out, huh? I wanna see it!” 

“Wow, right to it? You’re being unusually impatient today!” Reiko teased. Keiko stuck her tongue out in response. “I’ll go get it. Just wait in the living room for me, okay?” Reiko asked. Keiko gave a thumbs up and went to go lean against the sliding door to look out at the rest of Sapporo. She was glad she’d moved to Tokyo- while snow was something she was used to, given she grew up with it her whole life, but after all that time she’d wanted to get away.

The glass felt cool against her face......maybe too cool, because she began feeling light-headed. Backing away some, she rubbed her temples. “C’mon...you’re from up here. You can handle a bit of cold,” she muttered to herself. 

But....that didn’t quite feel like what it was.

----

Hikaru looked over her shoulder at her wings. The down on it was nice and soft, a rather pleasing golden yellow. They’d finally finished growing. Well, at least for now. In another twenty years or so they’d start growing again, but she’d finished maturing! 

“What do you think?” She asked her family. Her mother nodded. “You look beautiful honey. Your colors remind me of your father when he was your age. Isn’t that right, dear?” 

“Un. But I’d like to think mine were more intense! Hot and passionate, like fire!” He said. The three laughed. E5 Raptor had had a bit of unrest after Zangyack attacked, but the occupation was going over rather well. Things had finally gone back to normal, save for the constant presence of Gormin and Sugormin trying to sniff out the resistance. 

The only downside was that it’d put a damper on her transfer to go study on Earth. Zangyack had shut down all immigration, on-world and off. 

Though...she supposed she was fine with being here. This was her home. Why should she leave the nest? 

Hikaru paused. Why....why was she so light-headed?? Something wasn’t right. 

Was it just Zangyack’s occupation was getting to her?? 

Maybe that was it.

----

Ikura continued to stare out the window. This...this wasn’t right. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something wasn’t right. She was sure of it. 

Hearing a knock on her door, she heard her father. “Ikura? Are you in there?” He asked.

“Yeah. I’m getting dressed, don’t come in!” She said. 

“Sure thing, kiddo,” he said. 

She hadn’t heard his voice in years. They hadn’t spoken to each other. Furrowing her brow, Ikura leaned up against the glass. Why was it that had happened again?? 

A sharp headache made itself known, and she gripped her bookcase. This wasn’t right...! She stumbled out into the living room. “Hey! Old man!” She shouted. “Why am I living here again? I have my own place!” 

His father glared at her. “You’ve always lived here!” He said back. 

“No I haven’t! What is this?” She asked. “You kicked me out right before I left for college! Why was that?” 

“I never did such a thing!” He insisted.

“Shut up! Answer me!” She yelled. 

“You live here! You’ve always lived here! That’s final!” He yelled back. 

“I don’t believe you!” Ikura had her fist clenched. The headache was getting really strong- it was becoming practically unbearable. Her head was throbbing.

“Old lady! What about you?!” She demanded. 

“Honey, please, don’t fight with your father,” her mother demanded.

“No! You’re hiding something from me!” 

Things were starting to distort. She was right! This wasn’t real....what was going on?! Ikura continued to press. “What are you hiding?!” 

“That’s enough!” Her father stepped forwards and he swung at her. She caught it, and the camera panned over to Ikura. She was smirking. 

“A bit eager to silence me, are you?” She said coolly. 

“Stop misbehaving...your boyfriend is going to--” 

Ikura tossed him away, the old man landing on the kitchen table and falling through it.

----

Yuna sniffed the air. Everything...this was her apartment, back in Tokyo, but....it didn’t feel right. Her instincts, her inner wolf that RJ and the others had trained to help her be more in tune with, they were going nuts. 

Something was off. 

She stood up.

“Kei.” She said, looking over at him. “When did we get engaged?” She asked. 

“Well, about two months ago-” He said

“No!” She declared. “We didn’t get engaged.” 

“Yeah we did,” he insisted. “Yunachii, what are you talking about? I’ve got my engagement ring right here!” Kei held up his hand. Yuna looked down at her hand. She had an engagement ring on, too. 

She frowned. 

“This is wrong.” She brought her other hand up, slipping it off her finger and slamming it on the table. There was an anxiety creeping up in the back of her mind; a fear. It was his presence. Kei was doing this to her and she couldn’t understand why. But it was wrong. She knew that much. “You’re not in control of me anymore,” she started. “You think you are, but I’ve gotten stronger.”

“Yuna, shut up...” Kei said.

“Make me, then!” She spat back. 

“I will!” He moved in to smack her, with enough fury to knock her down if it connected. She dodged, countering and grabbing his wrist and twisting it. “I...I’m afraid of you. I’ll admit it. But I’m not running.” She bared her teeth. “I’m not letting you control me anymore!” She declared, kicking him in the gut and knocking him across the room.

----

Keiko turned around as Reiko came into the room. She stared at her.

Reiko looked...a bit weirded out by this. “Why....are you looking at me like that...?” 

Keiko narrowed her eyes, going over to Reiko. She grabbed her shoulder. “Reiko....you’re supposed to be dead.” 

“What are you talking about?” Reiko asked. “I’m right here. I’m pretty sure I’m alive.” 

“No. You died. I remember it.” Keiko frowns. “You’re not her. Stop lying to me.” 

“Keiko, what are you--” 

“Stop talking and tell me the truth. Right now.” She’s glaring. This isn’t right.

Reiko moved Keiko’s hand off her shoulder and stepped back. “Quit acting weird....you’re starting to scare me.” She set the photo album down. “Didn’t you come to see this?” Her twin asked.

“No. I never came here. Because you never bought this!” Keiko kicks over the coffee table. “Tell me what’s going on. Now.” 

Reiko stands up. “What the hell?! That’s my furniture!”

“I don’t give a shit!” Keiko angrily declared. “You’re not Reiko!” 

----

Hikaru paused. No....no. She left. She could remember it. She could remember the fire, she could remember....she shouldn’t have her down! Why are her natural wings here...!? 

“Weren’t you with the resistance?” She asked.

Both her nestparents paused. “What...?” They said in unison. “That’s asking to be executed by Zangyack. You know we wouldn’t do that- that’d endanger you!” 

“You did it because you cared about me!” Hikaru said, raising her voice. “You paid to get my wings replaced....when...when they got cut off in the attack!” Her voice was shaking. She was starting to remember. The pain....! “You’re not my real nestparents...” The Raptoroid pointed an accusing talon at them. “I don’t know what’s going on....and I wanted to like it. But...this isn’t right! This isn’t right!”

One of them stepped forwards. “Stay away!” Hikaru yelled, slashing at them. It hurt. They looked like her parents. They sounded like them. But this wasn’t them.

----

Ikura dusted her hands off. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I haven’t had one since I realized I wasn’t into boys.” She crossed her arms. “You kicked me out because I came out to you. I did that right before I left because I had somewhere to go. I don’t care for either of you.” 

Her father got up, and he ran at her again, she kicked at him, tossing him into the wall. The ‘boyfriend’ came in. “What the fuck is wrong with you!?” He shouted.

“You’re not real! None of you are! I live on  my own, I have a girlfriend who I’d go to hell and back for, and I certainly don’t deal with your bullshit anymore!” She shouted. The world around her began to crack and splinter, before it shattered like glass. White light flooded the area. Ikura had crossed her arms. The outfit she’d been in when she woke up was gone- she was back in her usual ensemble, sans coat. Her blouse was still opened to reveal the bandage. “Who the hell do you think I am!?” Her lab coat billowed as her expression intensified.

Her parents tossed off their clothes, revealing two of the monsters the Akibaranger had defeated in the past-  Seitakaawadachisouhidenagaaburamushi and Shibuyakouzorinahigenagaaburamushi! The fake boyfriend did the same, revealing Monzennakachōhashibirokō!

----

“You abused me,” Yuna accused. “You hit me, you bullied me, and you told everyone how awful I was. You gaslit me, and I left.” Her voice was shaking. She wanted to run. She wanted to get out of here. But she was going to stand and fight.

She’d grown without him. She’d become stronger. Thanks to her family- both at Jungle Karma Pizza and the Secret Base Cafe. “Don’t give me any of this...any of this...” She inhaled. “....any of these fucking lies! I don’t want any of it! I don’t want anything to do with you! If you’d ever really loved me like you said you did, you wouldn’t have done any of that to me!” 

The world began to crack and splinter. Kei stood up. “I hated you!” He hissed. “Never submissive. Always resisting. You’re useless. You were then, you are now. Useless, worthless, disgusting waste of space!” 

“NO!” She yelled. “I’m not! I’m not useless! I’m not worthless!” Yuna held up her sheathed sword, which had been hidden from her until now. “And this is why! This is how I know! All my friends...no...! My family! They’ve helped me grow through this! And I won’t let you stifle me anymore!” 

The world finally burst into light, and Kei shattered, revealing  Kabukichōmesugurohyoumonchou!

----

Keiko turned over another armchair. “Quit fucking lying to me! You’re posing as her!” She grabbed the collar of ‘Reiko’, and held her up. “She’s dead. I know she is. I was at her grave earlier this year. I’m sick and fucking tired of people trying to use her memory against me. If you want to hurt me, fight me! Stop hiding behind smoke and mirrors like a coward!” She tossed Reiko across the room, and landed on the counter, sliding off it and hitting the floor in the kitchen. 

The world was breaking up, splintering like glass. 

Shimokitazawahoya stood up from where Reiko had been. 

-----

Hikaru slashed at both her ‘parents’ - this was wrong. This was wrong! “No...no! I live on Earth now! You helped me escape there after the surgery to replace my wings!” She lashed out at them. “You’re not them! You’re not my family!” 

Their identities shredded away to reveal Tsukishimaalpaca and Asakusaalpaca!

The alien home broke up, and shattered, the light becoming so intense that it washed out everything else. The same happened for Ikura, Yuna, and Keiko.

They were all kicked out into a rock quarry, and a familiar one at that. The four landed on a ledge above all their adversaries.

Ikura’s fist was shaking. She was furious. “To take advantage of our memories and lie to us...! Not even that! To ‘fix’ our lives, and make them ‘ideal’!” She raised it. “UNFORGIVABLE! Your perversion of everything I’ve done to get to here....no! Everything we’ve done to get to here disgusts me!” 

Keiko nodded. “Twisting my sister’s memory is something I can’t forgive....never!”

Yuna stepped forwards. “How is putting me with someone who hurt me so deeply ‘ideal’?! How is that supposed to make me happy!? I’m perfectly happy without him! I have someone who cares about me....who cares about how I feel, and wants the best for me!” She unsheathes her sword. 

Hikaru looks down. “My metal wings...they’re a sign! A sign of my courage to leave my nest and fly on my own! If you look down on me for that....I...I can’t allow that! My family’s sacrifices won’t be in vain!”

“Ikezou! Minna!” Ikura cried out. 

“Un!” Yuna, Keiko, and Hikaru cried out in unison. 

Ikura curls her hands into fists, bringing them to her left hip. Raising her right fist, she moves it in an arc above her head, before crossing her arms, then thrusting them outwards. “Chou kenzoku henka!”

And, just like that, the Armored Avenger has appeared! In .0384 seconds, the Japanium armor has covered Ikura, transforming her into the cool hero that fights evil in the name of the name of box office ratings!

The transformation was so fast, however, we didn’t see what happened. Let’s take a closer look.

Ikura crosses her arms and then thrusts them outwards. “Chou kenzoku henka!”

A satellite dish on top of the Secret Base Cafe fires out a beam that’s reflected up into the atmosphere, which is then reflected off another satellite before it hits Ikura, sending out a small shockwave as she is enveloped in energy. The armor forms, the tech across it lighting up as different parts whir and settle into place, letting out firm ‘kachunks’ when they lock in.

“Armored Avenger…Kyusha!” A red smoke explosion goes off behind her.

Keiko dug her feet into the ground, clasping her hands together before splitting them, raising one skywards while she brought the other one closer to the ground.

Moving them in diagonally then clasping her hands together again so her hands invoked the image of a lightning bolt, Keiko’s eyes briefly flashed.

“Kurakunaru!”

In an instant, a ring of violet flames developed around her, towering higher and higher before converging on her. A bolt of lightning struck her, and the flames turned monochrome before exploding outwards. Intricate patterns swirled as the area behind her darkened, flames kicking up as the eyes on the helmet lit up to become their signature piercing crimson. “I am the spirit of vengeance! Dark Paladin!”

A black smoke explosion goes off behind her. 

Yuna thrust the sheathe of her sword into the ground, before raising the blade above her head and swirling it in a circle. She held it out to her side as a gate of light opened above her, the Soul Metal armor flying out onto her at lightning speed. When the helmet formed, she howled, before flicking her wrist outwards and summoning the cape. “Knight of Lilacs...YUGO!” 

A purple smoke explosion went off behind her.

Hikaru held her arm up, showing off the translator bracelet she always wore. She smacked the gem with the side of her fist, lights swirling around her as her human disguise was shed to reveal her Raptoroid biology. “Transcendant Wings! Hikaru!” 

A gold smoke explosion went off behind her. 

“Blazing down the road of justice!” Kyusha cried out. They each performed a roundhouse in succession, the sound of a racecar driving by playing as they did. “Secret Base Cafe Offensive Squadron! VERSION THE! MOVIE!” The four called in unison.

The four posed, Kyusha and Dark Paladin pointing upwards, while Hikaru and YUGO pointed outwards. A massive fireball went off behind the group. 

The group then leapt from their vantage point, Kyusha doing a flip in midair; Dark Paladin looking ready to grab someone’s face; YUGO falling gracefully; and Hikaru folding her wings and kicking downwards.

Immediately, they entered the fray; Kyusha took on  Seitakaawadachisouhidenagaaburamushi,  Shibuyakouzorinahigenagaaburamushi, and  Monzennakachōhashibirokō. 

“Stardust! Starcrusher!” The crimson heroine caught the twin beam sabers as they fired out of the slots in her shoulders, igniting them and entering a ready stance. The three monsters circled her, before the twin beetle monsters attacked. Seitakaawa was first, entering with a claw attack; Kyusha spun on her heel and kicked him in the face before slashing across his chest with Stardust. Shibuyakou tried to hit her from the back, but she ducked and elbowed him, before turning and slicing him with Starcrusher.

She went to go push herself up, only to see Monzeenkacho attempting to bring his staff down on her. She rolled out of the way and tossed Starcrusher at him, causing him to drop his weapon. 

Rolling to her feet, she crossed the space between them with the power of a jump cut, hitting him with a spinning dropkick ala Sharivan. When she knocked him down, she grabbed Starcrusher again and backflipped several times. 

The twin beetles charged again, this time going for a two-pronged attack; Seitakaawa went to go hit Kyusha in the back, while Shibuyakou aimed for the legs. With a single bound upwards, she landed and did a cross slash to hit both of them. 

“Alright, that’s enough--” Monzeenkacho attempted to strike at her with his staff, and she locked it between both of her beam sabers, getting up in his face for a moment. The two struggled briefly before Kyusha snapped his staff in half and punched him in the gut, sending him flying upwards. 

“As I was saying, that’s enough playing around!” Kyusha plugged the two beam sabers together. “Star Collider!” 

She paused, taking a moment to collect herself, holding the twin beam saber out horizontally. The three kaijin charged, and she sensed them come forwards. The two crimson eyes in Kyusha’s visor lit up, and she dashed forwards to meet them. “ “SUPERNOVA CRASH!”

The beam sabers intensified in power, shining even in the bright daylight. Seitakaawa was first, whom she slashed with the left blade of Star Collider, quickly followed by Shibuyakou, who she hit with the right blade. Lastly, she spun and slashed Monzeenkacho twice, before stopping once she was on the other side of the monsters.

The camera cut to a view from in front of her, and she twirled Star Collider several times before resting it behind her. She held a thumbs up, before turning it downwards right as all three hit the ground and exploded.

Meanwhile, YUGO was locked in combat with Kabukichōmesugurohyoumonchou. She brought her broadsword down on Kabukicho, who caught it. He pushed her away, before getting in two quick strikes with his fists. She whirled around, slashing at him horizontally before hitting him with the butt of her weapon. He grabbed her shoulders, repeatedly kneeing her in the gut, before tossing her away. 

She caught herself by digging her sword into the ground, whirling around on the hilt, letting go and hitting him with a flying kick. Landing on the ground with a flourish, she adopted a fighting stance she’d learned from RJ. Kabukicho charged in again, and this time she countered his grab, twisting his arms. She lurched forwards, biting his shoulder before tearing away, causing sparks to fly everywhere. Leaping backwards, she fetched her sword, tossing off her cape. 

Retrieving an ancient, weathered lighter with mystical carvings on it, YUGO flicked it open, turning it on and running it down her blade and touching it to her armor before tossing it aside. All at once, she and her blade were consumed in a brilliant blue fire. The camera viewed her at a low angle so the blade seemed larger than it actually was. Successful Obari pose reference count: 1! 

Rearing back, she howled, before gripping her broadsword with both hands and dashing forwards. She impaled Kabukicho on her blade, grinding to a halt before slashing outwards and turning away. YUGO rested her sword on her shoulder as Kabukicho fell over and exploded.

Elsewhere, in an abandoned warehouse,  Shimokitazawahoya was tossed through a wall, landing on a crate which broke under his weight. Dark Paladin was in hot pursuit, wielding Hellfang. She leapt, slashing downwards at him. Shimokita rolled out of the way, stumbling to his feet and running away. Bringing a hand up to her helmet, she lashed it outwards, lightning firing outwards from her fingertips and hitting him in multiple spots.

Shimokita seized up, sparks erupting from all over him as the attack connected. Dark Paladin closed the distance, withdrawing Dark Kaiser from her chest and entering Hell Knight mode. Shimokita began fleeing again, this time getting behind a random office desk that had conspicuously left in the middle of the battlefield. Running behind it, he dug his feet into the ground before pushing forwards, making the desk fly at Hell Knight.

She leapt up, kicking off the table and crossing her blades in midair, firing down energy upon him. The two blades glowed, and she slashed him once each before turning around and kneeling yankii style, resting the tip of one blade on the ground and the other on her back as Shimokita seized up and exploded.

Outside the ware house, Hikaru swooped in, dragging Tsukishimaalpaca and  Asakusaalpaca along the ground. The two flailed as their wool was heated up, before she let go and landed, skidding to a halt and kicking up sparks as she did. Gliding forwards, she slashed across the two with her talons, before spinning around and spreading her wings, knocking them away.

Asakusaalpaca stumbled backwards, but as soon as he regained his balance he whipped out multiple small spatulas with hot monjayaki on them, holding them between his fingers like throwing stars. He tossed them at Hikaru, who folded her metallic wings in front of herself to act as a shield. The spatulas stuck to them, and exploded, but the Raptoroid continued to stride forwards, before unfurling her wings again and spinning towards Asakusaalpaca. 

She drilled her talons into him, before uncrossing her arms and slashing outwards. He had prepared more spatulas, but he tossed them into the air after getting hit. Hikaru flapped her wings several times and created a gust of wind that redirected them at Tsukushimaalpaca. They stuck, and they all exploded simultaneously, taking him out. That only left his older brother. 

Hikaru flew upwards, high above Asakusaalpaca and held her arms up. She splayed her hands open so the talons were all ready, and folded her wings into a conical shape. She then redirected herself downwards and spun rapidly, piercing through her fore and landing on the ground in a crane pose. Asakusaalpaca exploded right as she did.

The four met back up in the rock quarry, giving each other high fives and cheering a couple of times. 

“Way to go, ladies! I think that’s a new record!” Kyusha declared, giving a thumbs up. 

YUGO nodded. “However, there’s still the matter of getting back to Akibahara...we broke out of the illusions, but....”

“We’re still trapped inside N’s construct.” Hell Knight crossed her arms. “Well....he’d created a giant spherical construct, right?” 

Hikaru nodded. “Un! We just need to bust out of here and fight the final boss, right?” She tilted her head. “Also! Chief! Who were those guys?” 

Kyusha paused. “Hm...they seemed pretty similar to foes the Akibaranger fought. My best guess is that, while N was absorbing matter from the city, he was also absorbing memories...that’s probably why he was able to put us in those pocket dimensions? Who’s to say that he also pulled those guys out of the memories of the streets and buildings here?” She shrugged. “I dunno. It seems hastily-conceived, but that’s my spin on it.” 

Hell Knight thought for a moment, then snapped. “I’ve got it! We’ll use Kyusha’s Mode Beta!” She looked to YUGO. “Alright, we’re going to use your broadsword as a springboard. Hikaru, you catch Kyusha in mid-air, and she can use Mode Beta’s strength to break the ground. I’ll weaken it with blasts from my swords!” 

Everyone piled their hands together. “One...two...three...break!” 

The team assumed their positions, with Kyusha shifting to Mode Beta. Hikaru had flown up high into the air, ready to catch her. YUGO was positioned with her broadsword, ready to throw her. Hell Knight was already blasting at the ground using the combined power of Hellfang and Dark Kaiser. 

“Ready, Hakase-san?” YUGO asked. Kyusha nodded, stepping onto YUGO’s broadsword. “Okay, go!” She called, and the wolf knight launched her upwards. Hikaru caught her, though just barely, before throwing her even higher. 

Kyusha brought a hand up to her temple. “Okay! Hyper Scan!” She looked downwards, zooming in on the spot that Hell Knight had been weakening. “Alright! Target locked!” 

Fixing her angle in the air, she extended a leg outwards for a kick. “HIGH DIVE BOMBER!” She called out, picking up speed as she descended. A blue aura began to collect around her foot. Finally, she hit the ground so hard the Earth (or rather, N’s version of it) shook, and the ground opened up beneath them. “The way forward’s open! Let’s get outta here and finish cleaning up this mess!” 

“Right behind ya, chief!” Hikaru called out, flying through. 

“Good job with the plan, Keiko-chan!” YUGO said, giving a thumbs up before she tossed her broadsword out, landing on it and surfing the way down. 

Hell Knight let out a simple “Heh,” before leaping down.

The four landed on a rooftop together, turning around to see that the giant, massive sphere that N had been building out of pieces of buildings and streets had practically quadrupled in size. 

“You know what this reminds me of?” Kyusha said. “Episodes 5 and 6 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, when Ramiel is drilling down into the Geofront. All we need now is for N to scream geometrically.”

Hell Knight slapped Kyusha over the back of the head. “Not now! We’ve got a city to save!” 

It was right about then that the giant mass pulsated. 

Delete.....delete....! We will delete the world! Our evolution is complete!! 

All the artificial matter on the giant spherical mass was sucked inwards, replaced with the gross, fleshy organic matter that N was known for. The sphere began to twist and contort until it had finally become a gigantic humanoid with a single eye in the center of its face.

Hikaru stumbled backwards. “Whooaaa! He’s gigantic! Chief, I think this is a bit outside our pay grade! We should call in one of the Ultramen!” 

Kyusha waggled her finger. “NONSENSE!” She declared. “N just declared their evolution is complete...which means they’re in their final form! That means only one thing....” 

She dramatically pointed towards the kaiju. “They’ve raised the flag for their defeat! Now, if you’d excuse me...” 

Kyusha ran to the side of the building before leaping off.

The others followed, looking down to see where she’d gone. “What kind of stunt is she pulling?!” Hell Knight shouted. 

----

Back at the Secret Base Cafe’s Actual Secret Base, Kyusha threw a cover off a motorcycle that hadn’t been touched in several years. It was the same crimson as her, and it had a single sidecar that looked rather boxy. Climbing on it, she revved the engine. “Alright, Hyperleaper...it’s your time to shine...” 

Hitting a switch to open a door, she sped out of the Actual Secret Base....but not before hitting a switch on the dashboard of Hyperleaper! 

As Kyusha tore down the streets of Akibahara on her motorcycle, a red Toyota Prius covered in decals related to Z-Cune Aoi drove up alongside her. 

She saluted. “Yo! Good to see ya in action again, old friend! Alright! Machine Itasshar! Hyperleaper! Let’s go!” 

Kyusha hit a pile of rubble that was suspiciously shaped like a ramp, and the Hyperleaper got some serious airtime. “Hikonin Henkei!” 

The Prius began to divide and separate, transforming into the one, the only, Itasshar Robo! 

“Yossha! I’m not done yet! FINAAAAAAL FUSION!!!” Hyperleaper was still in the air, and Kyusha hit another switch on it’s dashboard before leaping off, landing in the Itasshar Robo. Hyperleaper began to twist and transform; the wheels split off from the motorcycle, flying over to the mecha and attaching to the back, becoming gyro wings. The mid section folded up, revealing a giant barrel, transforming into a giant laser bazooka. 

The sidecar split into two; the front section folded outwards, attaching to the left arm of the Itasshar Robo and becoming a blast shield. Lastly, the rear section of the sidecar mounted on the back behind the mounted Ita Launchers, turning into a missile rack. 

“Complete! Itasshar Robo Full Armor!” 

Itasshar Robo flew up into the air before striking That Pose(TM) from Gundam SEED. 

The mecha flew off to the roof top the other three had been standing on, grabbing them and tossing them into the cockpit. 

“C-chief! What’s this?!” Asked Hikaru.

“Don’t you know?!” Kyusha shouted. “This is our saviour! Let’s rock n’ roll!” 

Itasshar Robo flew forwards, grabbing the Signage Rifle off its back and firing some warning shots at N. 

N turned around. “You worms are nothing compared to our power!” It declared.

“Yeah, well, shove that power right up your ugly fleshy ass, pal!” Kyusha replied, hitting a button. “Yandere Missile Rack! Fire!” 

The cap on the missile rack opened up, revealing a full compliment of...well, missiles. They all fired out, spiraling through the air Macross-style as they rocketed towards their target. The assault slammed into N, small explosions springing up all over it and leaving behind huge, ugly welts. 

“Just as I thought! In this final form they’re vulnerable!” Kyusha cheered. 

“You mean you’re telling me you didn’t know if this was gonna work!?” YUGO asked in disbelief. 

“Come on, girl, focus! We’ve got a kaiju to beat!” Kyusha hit another button. “Alright! Time for the laser barrage! Yuna, I’m giving you control over the Ita Launchers!” 

YUGO saluted. “Hai!” 

“Hikaru! I’m gonna aim the laser bazooka! I’m leaving you in charge of flight controls!” 

The Raptoroid saluted. “Roger!” 

“And Keiko...make sure we don’t open ourselves to attack too much!” 

Hell Knight saluted. “Okyu!” 

Controls popped out of the backseat and the dashboard where the other three were seated as they took over various functions.

Itasshar Robo boosted forwards, twirling in midair for style points. It hefted up its laser bazooka, what used to be the windshield springing up and acting as a targeting reticle. 

As it flew around, it dodged shots from N’s eye; at the same time, dodging the kaiju’s hands as they tried to swat the mecha out of the air. Shots from the rear mounted cannons peppered it occasionally.

“Chief! How’s that lock on going?” YUGO asked. 

Up front, Kyusha was aiming down the laser bazooka’s sights. “We’re about 95% done! Hikaru, take us up by the eye!” 

“W-what!? But aren’t they shooting lasers from there at us?!” She shouted frantically. 

“Just do it! I order you to as your boss!” Kyusha demanded. 

“R-right!” While hesitant, Hikaru flew the mecha up to be at eye level with N. 

“96%....” Kyusha began counting aloud.

“So....you finally decide to show yourselves! We shall swiftly strike you down!” The kaiju declared, charging up an optic blast.

“97%.....” 

“Chiiiiief,” Hikaru let out, getting anxious.

“98%....” 

“We’re gonna get killed! Get us out of here, Hikaru!” Hell Knight yelled.

“Fuck that!” Kyusha screamed. “99%!”

N’s optic blast fired outwards.

“100%! AKIBA LASER SHOW GRAND FINALE! FIRE!!!” 

Kyusha pulled the trigger, and the laser bazooka fired a stream of lasers that all converged into one in a spectacular, flashy sequence that was sure to dazzle the mind of anyone who saw it. It smashed into the laser that N fired, and a beam struggle began.

“C-chief! It’s getting hard to keep us up here!” Hikaru noted.

“Keep her steady! We can do this! Keiko! Yuna! Fire the Signage Rifle and Ita Cannon!” 

The two saluted, firing off the weapons they were in charge of and adding them into the mix. This supercharged the laser bazooka, giving it the added push it needed to win the beam struggle. The finisher punched through N’s laser, piercing through it’s eye and emerging on the other side of its head. 

“Noooo.....noooooooooooooooo!!!” N wailed as its skin began to boil and bubble, before finally the whole construct exploded! Itasshar Robo flew away from the explosion.

With N’s destruction, all the people sent to its pocket dimension were released, appearing where they’d been abducted. They pushed themselves off the ground, looking around confusedly before realizing what had happened. Everyone got up and began cheering, some embracing each other while others waved as Itasshar Robo flew overhead.

Also, because this is toku, all the buildings, roads, etc. that had been wrecked by N absorbing them were magically repaired, something seeming to be like stardust falling down on Akibahara.

Itasshar Robo landed on the rooftop of the Akibahara UDX Building, before hopping out and detransforming, lining up. 

Ikura’s lab coat dramatically billowed in the wind. And in case you were wondering, no, she still hasn’t buttoned her blouse back up. 

“Man....the view from here’s pretty great, right?” Ikura asked, looking at the others. Yuna smiled, nodding. “Hai! It’s nice and scenic. Maybe I should come up here on a date with Emiri-kun!” 

Keiko rubbed the back of her head. “Eh. It’d probably be better at...say, sunset. Or night time, even. This is Akibahara, after all. It’s not complete without all the signs lighting up the place at night.”

“Wouldn’t you say that about Tokyo in general, though?” Hikaru asked, who had folded her hands behind her back. “Still, this is really pretty!” 

Ikura looked around. “So, uh....how are we getting down from here?” She looked back, and saw that Itasshar Robo Full Armor had already split back into the Machine Itasshar and Hyperleaper. “Ah! They changed back!!” She ran over. “What are you doing!! We’ve still gotta leave!” She began pounding on the hood of the car. “Hey! You stupid robot! Come on! We’ve gotta go!” 

The camera began pulling back as the others went to join her, laughing as they pulled her off the car and beginning to chase each other around. 

And so, another chapter in Akibahara’s fourth world comes to a close. Thanks to our brave heroines, the Electric Town will sleep peacefully tonight. 

The shot fades to black as the credits begin to roll up, as behind the scenes footage begins to play. The filming of the scene in the rain; the fight choreographer showing the suit actors how Kyusha’s fight at the beginning of the movie is supposed to play out; the filming of the Hyperleaper scenes...

Interspersed are some bloopers. Ikura tripping when she first enters the cafe; Yuna flubbing a line; Ikura slamming against the wall in the cafe a bit too hard; Ikura getting her lab coat stuck in the elevator doors...come to think of it, a lot of these are of Ikura.

“Yo! Keiko here. I have to say, I was a bit annoyed at a customer today. He kept ordering things we didn’t have on our menu! He asked me for ramen, then beer...an hour before we started serving alcohol! Man, what a pain. I love my job, but there are some stupid people out there. On the bright side, I got to kick some ass later today to get out my frustration! So it's not all bad, I suppose. ” 

As Keiko’s narration finishes up, the vocals on the ending theme kick in. 

The credits finish rolling, and a gigantic 

THE END

Appears. 

...and then it fades out, showing Ikura’s apartment. The light is on in the bathroom. There’s a bit of rummaging around, and she steps out in a bathrobe, before pausing, a bit surprised. “You’re still here?” She takes a few steps forwards. “It’s over! Go home!” 

“Ikuraaaaaa, I’m waaaaaiting~” Kozue calls from the bedroom. 

“Coming, honey!” Ikura calls after her. She begins heading back that way, before looking over her shoulder. “Go on! Go!” 

CHIKA CHIK-AAAAAAAAAA

[thoughtsfromaclutteredbrain]

Supergirl: City of Lost Children 2x20 [Speculation Fanfiction]

Ok guys, after seeing THESE PROMO PICS, my mind went a little crazy on how something like this could happen. This fic is basically my speculation on what may happen in 2x20. The ideas came together after talks with @busysciencegeek, @somos-poeiraestelar, and an idea I borrowed from @myfangirlinghq. Also, @starcrossed-comets asked to be tagged in this.

Summary: When the team gets a read on a large amount of energy, they go to investigate, and find themselves face to face with Rhea... And Lena Luthor. They square off against Rhea, but Mon El finds himself with an impossible choice to make. This encounter has Lena Luthor putting pieces together, while Mon El falls apart. 

WORD COUNT: 4,243 words (I’m actually pretty proud of myself)

NOTE: This is my first fic, so sorry if it’s not that good. This is my brain child of what I think may happen, and if I’m anywhere close to right, I’m EXCITED!

Now available of AO3!

[Feedback is welcome, hate will be blocked. Thank you!]

“Whoa guys…” Winn exclaimed, turning from his computer to face the team. After the incident at CatCo, Kara and Mon El had went back to the DEO to regroup. James had stayed behind to comfort Eve; the poor girl was traumatized. After that, he had went to search for the little boy that was there as well.

“What is it, Winn?” J’onn asked, sounding as level headed as always.

“Does this have anything to do with Rhea?” Kara cut in, moving from the round table in the middle of the DEO to Winn. Mon El and J’onn followed her, all crowding around his computer.

Winn spun back around and started gesturing towards the screen. “I’ve been tracking any abnormal energy hits… And boy, did we just get a hit.” He pointed at a pulsing marker on the screen. “Right here… Is emanating an insane amount of energy.”

“Are we sure it’s her?” Mon El asked, folding his arms in front of him. Kara gave him a sad smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. He sounded uneasy, and she knew that despite how hard it was, Mon El always wanted to believe the best of his mother. 

Winn clicked into the marker and whistled. “Yup. The read on this energy is from an element that doesn’t exist…” He started typing on his keyboard, opening windows left and right. “It would probably be about a 260 on the table of elements.”

Mon El let out an audible sigh, and J’onn patted him on the back. “What exactly is there?”

Winn smiled and continued to furiously type on his keyboard. “Ooh… Good question, J’onn. This building… is housing a generator ring.” His eyebrows shot up, and as he spoke, he got more frantic. “With the existing generator ring and this energy, she could be making a transmatter portal like the one we used for Slaver’s Moon. This is some Stargate-level stuff, guys.” 

He turned around to look at the group. All eyes fell on Mon El, who was clenching his jaw. “I’m sorry, buddy.” Winn knew exactly what Mon El was feeling, having a villainous parent of his own.

She's never going to stop, Mon El thought. He knew that his mom was relentless, but he had really hoped that his mom would change and see that he was happy here. His father was able to see that, a fact that he would be forever grateful for. 

“I’ll assemble a team to check it out,” J’onn stated and started to walk away, but Winn stopped him. “You don’t have time for that. Whatever she’s planning she’s doing it now.”

Kara grabbed J’onn’s arm. “We’ll go check it out.” She looked back at her boyfriend, silently asking him if he was up to this mission. He responded by simply nodding.

J’onn looked between both of them. “Fine. But I’m coming too.” 

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They arrived outside the building a couple of minutes later.

Kara walked up to their entrance, and looked to J’onn and Mon El over her shoulder. “You ready, guys?”

J’onn nodded, switching to his human form. Mon El gave her a curt nod. She was concerned about him, but she knew he could handle himself against his mother. This wasn’t the first time they had faced each other. She just hoped this time would end better than the last.

They entered the building and looked around. It was some sort of lab that was super high tech. Kara half expected Rhea to be there by herself, so she was surprised to see other people there.

“Are you seeing this?” Kara asked Winn over her comms, hoping that he was getting a good picture over her body cam.

“Yup.” He responded. “Evil lab… Got it. You need to look for a huge ring shaped thingy.” 

“Split up.” J’onn suggested. They all nodded and broke apart to search.

Kara didn’t have to go far, however, before she was face to face with the generator. Not only that, but Rhea was right in front of it, showing something on a tablet to the woman she was with.

“Rhea.” Kara said, announcing herself to the women. They both turned around, and Kara was taken aback when she saw who Rhea was with. 

“Lena?” Kara asked, her shock evident.

Lena smiled, and then cocked her head a bit. “Supergirl? What are you doing here? I’m not in any danger… For once.”  She let out a little chuckle.

Kara’s brain was firing a mile a minute, bit she tried to keep her voice even. “Lena, I don’t know what she has told you, but she can’t be trusted. You need to go.”

Lena met her with a surprised face, and before Lena could say anything, Winn was talking to her over her comms again.

“Kara, that building is owned by LCorp. Lena is working with her.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “Lena… You’re working with Rhea?”

Lena took a step forward, and put her hands out to her sides. “Yeah, I mean… This technology we’re developing… It’s gonna change the world… It’s has so many beneficial applications…”

“Yeah, but that’s not what she’s planning to use it for,” Kara interrupted, glaring at Rhea.

“You Kryptonians always think you know best,” Rhea spat, walking slowly towards Kara.

“Lena, get out of here,” Kara warned her, and focused her attention back on Rhea. She thought she saw Lena leave from the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t be sure.

“You stole my son from me… My world from me…” Rhea circled Kara as she spoke, every word hard, calloused and measured. “It’s only fair I do the same.”

Kara balled her hands into fists as J’onn and Mon El came to her sides.

Rhea just laughed at them. “A Martian, a Kryptonian and a coward.” She turned her head and spoke to the scientists behind her. “Get them.”

Ten of the scientists around them charged forward, pulling guns out of their coats. “Whoa, they are not scientists,” Winn commented over the comms.

“We’ve got this.” J’onn told Kara. “You go after her.”

Half of the men attacked J’onn and half attacked Mon El while Kara charged forward. She had to trust that she had trained Mon El well enough to be able to hold his own against these men.

Kara maneuvered around the men and was face to face with Rhea. Before she could say anything, Rhea smirked at her. “I was kind of hoping I’d get you to myself.”

Kara charged at her, grabbing her shoulders and pinning her against a support beam. She was careful to push her against it with enough force to trap her, but not to bring the whole place down.

“It’s over!” Kara yelled, her voice strained with the effort of fighting her.

“Oh no, Supergirl.” Rhea said, dragging out the name in her calm but mocking tone. “It’s only just begun.”

Rhea pushed her forward and turned them so Kara’s back was against the wall. J’onn came running to help her, his men discarded, but Rhea saw him coming and delivered a spinning back kick to his stomach, sending him flying.

Rhea punched at Kara, aiming for her head, but Kara moved out of the way just in time. She had spent enough time training Mon El to be comfortable with the speed the Daxamite was fighting her at, and she was a much better fighter than Rhea.

As Rhea’s fist connected with the wall, Kara swung a left hook, hitting her in the side of the face. Rhea crumpled to the ground, but before Kara could capitalize, Rhea was stabbing Kara in the back of the calf with one of her Kryptonite daggers. Man, did Kara hate those things.

Kara screamed and fell to the floor in a heap, and Rhea pinned her down by placing a heeled foot on her chest.

“Stop,” Mon El commanded. Kara hadn’t even realized that he had defeated the men attacking him, and she was mentally relieved. As she gazed up to look at his face, however, her eyes widened.

It was as if time itself had stopped, as Mon El stood pointing a gun at his own mother. He was surprised at himself for even having the willpower to do it, but when he saw her hurting Kara, his body jumped into action. He had taken the gun he wrestled out of one of the men’s hands, and before he could even stop himself, it was pointing at her. 

Rhea spun around, and when she saw the gun pointed at her, her eyes immediately filled with fear, but as she saw that it was her son holding it, her face softened.

“My son…” Rhea said patronizingly. “Has this woman really poisoned your mind that much that you would point a gun at your own mother?”

Mon El clenched his jaw, and balled his other hand up in a fist to control his anger. “I won’t let you keep hurting people.”

He was shocked by how even he was keeping his voice, how commanding he sounded. But after a lifetime of pretending to be something he wasn’t, it seems he had learned how to act pretty well.

“And I won’t,” Rhea stated, making him scoff at her. “If you would just come back home… Back to me.”

He felt tears welling in his eyes, and he willed them away. “You don’t want what’s best for me. You want what’s best for you! You are willing to destroy my world in this quest for… For what?”

“For you!” Rhea’s voice quivered, as if it was painful for her to speak. “Your world? You think this is your world? That these people are your family? I’m your family! I’m your tie to your old life.”

Rhea was going to say more, but Mon El interrupted her. “My old life?!?” His tears were free flowing at this point, but he was too focused on Rhea to stop them.  He adjusted his grip on the gun and thrust it forward, making Rhea take a step back. He didn't care that he was crying. He didn’t care that he was yelling. All he cared about was keeping everyone safe. Safe from her.

“You think I want my old life back?? The life of being a coward, a useless Prince? I hate myself for everything!! The things you did, the things I didn’t stop you from doing… I wish I could take it all back!!”

Mon El’s voice cracked on the last word, and he took a deep breath before he continued, his voice much lower. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t stop his voice from shaking. “But I can’t. All that I can do… The one thing I can do… Is stop you from hurting anyone else… Stop you for good.” 

Mon El’s mind was spinning. He felt his heart shattering, falling from his chest as he held the gun at his mother. He wanted to desperately to believe that there was some good left in her. That she could be changed like his father was. But he knew better. He knew she would not stop until she got what she wanted. So she had to be stopped. He had to stop her.

“Mon El… Don’t do this… You’re better than this…” He heard Kara’s pleading words, but they sounded far away. Everything felt far away. Nothing existed except for him and his mother.

“She’s not gonna stop!” he yelled to Kara, wherever she was. He thought he saw her inching to her feet from the corner of his eye, but he couldn’t be sure. All he could be sure of was that his mother had hurt her, and he wasn’t going to let her hurt Kara again.

“Mon El!” he heard J’onn chastising him, trying to break his attention. He wouldn’t be surprised if J’onn was trying to read his mind right now.

“Please,” Kara was begging him, and he felt his stomach churn when he realized that it didn’t matter. He didn’t have a choice. 

“This is the only way.” He was barely able to get the words out through his tears, and the words sounded as hollow as he felt.

“He’s really gonna do it.” He heard Winn’s incredulous voice over the comms, but it didn’t matter.

Rhea saw the determination in his eyes, and saw that he was actually considering shooting her. This wasn’t an empty threat anymore. She adjusted her dress and stood up straight. “All right then,” she said, her voice even and lacking any fear. “You want to shoot me? Kill your flesh and blood? Do it. At least I’ll be reunited with your father.”

Mon El felt his heart stop in his chest as he processed her words. The gun faltered in his hand for a minute, but he quickly held it with two hands instead.

“You’re lying,” he said through gritted teeth. He squeezed the handle of the gun so hard that he felt his fingers making indents into it.

“She’s not,” J’onn spoke up suddenly, sounding solemn. “I read her mind. Your father…”

“After you left the ship, he was so overcome with grief. He killed himself. You killed him… So it is only fitting that you kill me too.” 

Mon El felt his entire body go numb. He was sure Rhea was still talking, but he couldn’t hear her. He couldn’t hear anything except for her words echoing in his mind.

You killed him. You killed him. You killed him. 

“I’m sorry Mon El,” he heard J’onn’s voice echoing somewhere to his left.

Mon El tore his eyes away from Rhea to look at the Martian.

J’onn was shocked by Mon El’s face. He had never seen the Daxamite so sad, not even when he was told that his planet was a wasteland. He was sobbing, but there was something… cold… about his stance. Like he had nothing left to lose.

As soon as Mon El looked away from her, Rhea moved. She ran as fast as she could to her tablet. She pressed a button, turning on the transmatter portal. Once it was on she headed towards the portal itself.

The motion shocked Mon El back into reality, and he aimed his gun back at her, however she had already disappeared through the portal. He was too slow with his movement and shot the table with the tablet on it. It wasn’t a matter of hesitating, he just wasn’t fast enough. 

“I heard that. Is everyone alright?” Winn chimed in over the comms, concern evident in his voice from hearing the gunshot.

Kara ran to Mon El as he fell to his knees in a daze, hugging his shoulders tight. His body was shaking with sobs, and she held him close to her chest.

“We’re ok,” J’onn said, sounding a little unsure of himself as he stared at the couple. “We’re heading back to you now, Winn.”

J’onn turned his comm system off before Winn could say anything else. He went over and put a hand on Mon El’s shoulder, but he knew it would do nothing to ease his pain. He didn’t have to read his mind to know that Mon El was not alright. 

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Lena’s mind was spinning. Supergirl had told her to leave the building, but she knew that she would be the only one who could power down the portal if Supergirl needed her to. And it was her building, after all.

She didn’t know why Supergirl had come in the first place, and why she had attacked Rhea. Lena trusted Supergirl, that much was for sure. But… She had started to gain a connection to Rhea. Lena admired her, and she needed to know why Supergirl was after her.

So she stayed while Supergirl and Rhea fought. She kept herself by the door and out of harm’s way so that she wouldn’t be hurt, but could still watch. She saw Rhea stab Supergirl with something that made her fall hard to the ground.

So Rhea wasn’t the woman Lena thought she was. She wasn’t building this portal to help Earth. She was building it to destroy it. Lena had her doubts about Rhea when she found out she was an alien, but this was so much worse than anything she had ever imagined. And what’s worse, Rhea had convinced Lena to help her. She had manipulated her.

Lena was about to step in and help Supergirl when something happened that made her stop dead in her tracks.

“Stop.” One of the men that came with Supergirl had ordered, pointing a gun at Rhea. Rhea had turned around slowly and looked at him.

“My son…” she had said in a patronizing tone.

They had continued talking, but Lena wasn’t listening. The wheels were turning in her head. That face… The man looked familiar… And she swore she had heard the voice before…

She gasped as she put it all together. A couple of months ago, she had went to Catco and had invited Kara and her friend to her gala. While at the party, there had been an attack, and Kara’s friend had tried to help. He had failed miserably and was hit with the heat gun, but was unscathed, despite his burning suit.

But what she really remembered was how just a couple of days ago, she had went on a date with Jack. It had been awkwardly interrupted by Kara and her now-boyfriend Mike. This man looked exactly like him, just without the glasses. She was hit with a wave of understanding as she realized that Mike was Rhea’s son, the one who Rhea said betrayed her.

But that wasn’t it. That wasn’t all that Rhea had told her. Rhea had said that her son had met an “awful girl” who had stole him from her… That girl… It had to be Supergirl… Which meant…

No.

Lena felt her heart break as she put the final pieces together. She willed herself to find a flaw in her logic, but she couldn’t find any.

Whenever she had seen Mike… Or Mon El, as they were calling him, he had been with one person. Some could argue that he had become close to her. So close that if someone wanted to tear him away from her, he would have resisted.

Kara Danvers.

So if Mike… Mon El… was this man… Then…

Kara Danvers is Supergirl. 

Everything in her head clicked at that point. She had invited both Kara and Supergirl to that gala, but she had never seen them at the same time, despite that they were “good friends”. The time when Kara had came to her sniffing around about her mother. That one time that she had fallen off her balcony while on the phone with Kara and Supergirl had saved her. She even remembered in one of their first meetings, Kara had told her that she had “flew there on a bus.”

She couldn’t imagine how she had been so stupid. Now that she looked at Supergirl, she realized that if she imagined Supergirl with glasses, she would look exactly like Kara Danvers.

Kara had lied to her. Kara hadn’t told her she was Supergirl. Kara was the one person that Lena thought she could trust 100%, but she had been lying to her the entire time. 

Lena felt her entire body turning numb, and she was met with that cold calm that she had felt so often recently. Despite all the various things in her life, one constant was that the people she cared about most always betrayed her in the end.

She left the building before Supergirl… before Kara… noticed that she was still there.  She needed time to think.

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Mon El busted into the DEO training room. He knew that he couldn’t hide out in there forever, but needed a few minutes to himself. The tears hadn’t been able to stop, and his entire body felt tired. But he was so angry.

Mon El screamed, a wild, primal scream that ripped through his throat and left it feeling dry. He didn’t even care who heard him. Months and months of suppressing his emotions, of suppressing his pain, was being let out. He slid down the wall and buried his head in his hands, not even bothering to try to dry the tears.

He almost shot her. He almost shot his own other. He was going to kill her, and not only that, he thought it was the right thing to do. 

All these months, he was trying so hard to change. To become a person who could inspire people and fill them with hope. He wanted to honor that, and be a person who rises up.

But as he stood there, face to face with his mother, all he could think about was stopping her and putting an end to the torment she was causing everyone. But if he was willing to kill her to keep everyone safe, was that the right thing to do? What did that say about him?

And if he was willing to kill his own mother, was he really better than her at all?

He felt an immense wave of pain and sadness wash over him, and he banged his head on the wall behind him so hard, he was sure he left a dent.

His mother was willing to kill everyone to get her son back. If he was willing to kill her to stay on this planet, then he really wasn’t better than her at all. He was still the same selfish person that had arrived on this planet all those months ago.

Mon El’s thoughts were interrupted when he door opened. He saw Kara peek in, and he looked away, feeling the tears start to flow even harder. He couldn’t even look at her. He had failed to be the person she thought he could become.

She tread carefully and slowly sat down next to him. She wrapped an arm around him, and though he felt he didn’t deserve it, he didn’t move away. 

“Hey.” Kara said softly, running his shoulder. “I’m sorry about your father… He was a good man.”

That was another situation entirely. He was so consumed with what he almost did that he hadn’t even had time to fully process his father’s death.

He had died because of Mon El. Everything bad that was happening… It was all his fault. Every last thing. He knew that every moment he stayed on this planet, he was putting it at risk. He was putting Kara at risk. But he couldn’t find it in himself to push her away and give up his new life. And he hated himself for it. 

Mon El didn’t even realize that he had said the last part out loud until he felt Kara squeeze his shoulder.

“Your father was not your fault.” He wanted to believe her, but he couldn’t. Not after what his mother told him.

He killed himself. You killed him.

“I almost… I was gonna…” He was racked with sobs, and he couldn’t find it in himself to finish the sentence.

“You were faced with an impossible choice.” Kara told him, her voice full of reassurance. “And you didn’t kill her.”

He didn’t add what he wanted to say. That he had wanted to kill her. Instead he just sighed. “You wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for me. You don’t have to make me feel better.” It wouldn’t help anyway, he thought to himself, but didn’t add.

Kara let out a tiny chuckle. Mon El couldn’t find any humor in the situation, and he had tried, so he was baffled to hear the sound. She gave him a small smile. “That’s what I told you when you almost died because of my parents…”

The joke wasn’t lost on him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to even fake a chuckle. He had been trying to hold back his grief for so long, and it had finally spilled over. Even now, he hated that he was crying on the floor in front of Kara, but he couldn’t stop the tears if he tried.

Kara rested her head on his shoulder. “We’ll get her. And we’ll stop her.”

Mon El felt his breath hitch in his throat at the thought of seeing his mother again.

“And what if I’m face to face with her again?” He whispered. He wasn’t even sure if he was asking Kara or himself. “What if…” His voice cracked, and Kara cut him off before he could continue.

“Then you’ll make the right choice.” She stated firmly. He couldn’t imagine how she could be so sure after what he almost did, but she did have a talent for believing the best in people.

He just nodded and sighed. He prayed to Rao that she would be right. 

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[NOTE: So in my head, Rhea went through the transmatter portal to get back to her people and recruit them for the upcoming Daxamite invasion. Probably at the end of the episode I would think we’d see Rhea coming back through the portal with her army behind her.]

[Feedback is welcome, hate will be blocked. Thank you!]