"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
The Lost Episodes
By
Jeffrey C. Branch
Volume
Twenty-six: Episode 2-14.20 "Fatalism"
Rating:
PG-13
City
of Los Angeles, Planet Earth, Sol system, 8 February 2738
As the sleek Lightwave-class shuttle loaded with Dark Kingdom
soldiers lifted into the early evening sky from the private shuttleport, on a
rooftop three hundred yards away four scowling DK spies stood
over the prone and unmoving bodies of LISA Special Agents Jonathan Grant and
Karmella.
The leader of the foursome, sporting close-cropped black hair and bearing
a scar that ran the length of the left side of his face glared at the fallen
agents. From when he was young, the thug hated humans with a rabid passion.
Flashing a wicked smile filled with anticipation, he would enjoy torturing the
enemy agents. He fantasized about being handsomely rewarded by his superiors for
his work in interrogating what he viewed as 'GM filth'.
"Revive the filth," he ordered his companions in a growl.
Two of the DK goons pulled small metal devices with tuning forks on the
end. Pressing a button on the devices, a red electric arc sparked across the
forks. The goons pressed the forks of the devices against the rib cages of Grant
and Karmella, shocking them awake with screams of pain. The agents looked around
them and saw four stolen GM blasters aimed at them.
"Welcome back to sentience," said the leader. "Don't get
used to it. You won't be alive for very long."
"Of that I have no doubt," Grant replied. He was furious at
himself for having walked Karmella and himself into an ambush. The LISA agent
stared at the weapons trained on him and his partner and knew that even with his
accelerated reflexes, he'd never be able to avoid getting killed, which he knew
was going to happen eventually. "Standard Dark Kingdom procedure is to
interrogate enemy agents, usually by the most painful methods possible, then
kill them. Hardly a revelation."
"Indeed. It's what we would do to you slugs," Karmella added.
Like her partner, she also seethed at being caught unawares by the enemy and
wanted nothing more than to tear the goons to bloody shreds.
The leader chuckled. It was an ugly sound. "Such boasts from a pair
of GM fools who are, as you humans would say, on the short end of the
stick." His expression then hardened and turned menacing. "My name is
Custus, and you will tell me everything you know. One way or another.
Enough
talk; let's get down to business. How
did you find out about our operation?"
Now it was Grant who chuckled. It was an equally repellent sound.
"Easy, Clyde. I raped your mom with a table leg wrapped in barbed wire and
she told me everything about your little scheme. Happily, I might add.
Said it
was the best sex she ever had in her life."
As Karmella giggled, Custus, infuriated, glared hatefully at Grant before
backhanding the LISA agent across his face with the barrel of his weapon,
drawing blood from a split lip. It took all his willpower not to kill the agent
on the spot. "Human scum!
My
mother raised my three brothers and I alone after my father had been killed
during the raid of a GM outpost thirty years ago! She made me into what I am
today!"
"If that's the case, friend, then I'd say she did a piss poor
job," said a sneering Karmella.
"Yeah. No wonder the DK's chock full of assholes, given all that
lousy parenting," said Grant.
"Joke all you want. But once we begin interrogating you, we'll have
the last laugh," Custus growled. "I hope pain is something the both of
you enjoy, because I'm about to make you very, very happy."
"Hold it right there! You're not going to hurt anyone!" came an
angry female voice from behind Custus and his cohorts. The foursome whirled
around and found themselves face to face with the five Senshi of the Inner
Planets, Sailor Moon in the center of the group, as they all stood in combat
stances. The DK thugs gasped from shock at seeing the legendary heroines.
"The Senshi!" cried one of the thugs. "How did you find
us?"
"We're everywhere, jerkwad! And we know everything!" said
Sailor Moon, glaring at the group. "In the name of the Moon, I won't let
you hurt our people!"
Custus, his eyes narrowed to slits, glared hard at the Senshi. Something's
not right about this, he thought grimly. Those miserable sluts look so young.
Too young. Damnation! "It's
a trap! Fire! Fire!" Custus yelled at his companions, firing his blaster
pistol at the Senshi.
The four thugs fired their weapons at the heroines and, much to their
shock; the plasma beams lanced right through the five forms before disappearing.
Seeing that, Grant smiled, knowing in an instant what was happening, while
Karmella was puzzled.
"I knew it! Holograms!" Custus snarled.
"Wrong! Ghost forms!" said an echoing male voice from all
around them. Suddenly, a terrifying
Apache battle cry ripped through the air, chilling the four DK goons to the core
and rooting them to the spot from naked fright. "FLAMING ARROW!"
Before the thugs could react, four bolts of bright fire shaped like
arrows pierced their bodies and, with nightmarish screams of agony, their bodies
erupted into torches from hellish temperatures before being reduced to blackened
piles of scorched and lifeless flesh. Grant and Karmella looked on as Sorcerer
Spirit,
a bluish, fiery energy construct shaped like a bow in his left hand, walked up
to the agents, a trace of a smirk on his lips.
"As secret agents go, you two need to find another line of
work," he said to them.
City
of Philadelphia, Planet Earth, Sol system, 8 February 2738
Sailors Ebony and Cerebra were only mildly surprised at having seen the
DK spy who had been observing the Senshi at the waste treatment facility morph
into the hideous form of an Infiltrator. The crowd, having witnessed the
transformation, screamed and shrieked in utter terror and fled the area.
The creature glared hard at the Senshi, his eyes burning from hatred.
"Senshi scum! You murdered my companions! Tell me why!"
The Senshi looked at each other in puzzlement. "You've got it all
wrong. We had nothing to do with the deaths of your friends," said Sailor
Ebony. "Someone else killed them. We're simply investigating the
crime."
"You lie! I'll rip you to shreds for that!" roared the beast, who
lunged at the women with a speed that belied his size. His claws swiped at the
Senshi, but missed as they leaped away from him.
"Allow me," said Sailor Cerebra. "Cerebra Telekinetic...
BLAST!"
A nimbus of golden light surrounded Sailor Cerebra's head, and from the
jewel on her tiara a beam of pure mental energy shot forth at the speed of
thought and slammed into the brute like a battering ram; he crashed into the
wall with bonebreaking force.
"Good work, Sailor Cerebra," said Sailor Ebony with an
appreciative nod. She was impressed with how quickly the Asian woman
counterattacked. "Let's see if he's conscious. I want to question
him."
The sound of people screaming brought Detectives Jack Friday and Webb
Smith rushing outside along with the other officers to see the two Senshi
cautiously approaching the beast, who despite it's injuries, struggled to stand.
"Sailor Ebony! What the hell's going on?" demanded Friday,
pulling his sidearm from shoulder leather.
"Keep back! We've got an Infiltrator here!" Sailor Ebony
shouted. Taking no chances, given her past experiences with Infiltrators, the
Senshi of Darkness pointed at the creature. "Ebony... SPHERE OF
NIGHT!"
At her command, Sailor Ebony unleashed a crackling sphere of solid black
light that enveloped the creature and quickly drained its energy. When the
sphere faded away, the beast fell backward to the ground with a moan.
All was quiet as the Senshi cautiously approached the fallen creature.
Several feet behind them, the police nervously pointed weapons at the monster,
unsure as to what might happen next.
"Who are you? And what are you up to?" Sailor Ebony asked,
staring down at the monster, paralyzed from her energy absorption power.
"Don't waste your time asking foolish questions! I'll never betray
my masters," the creature snapped back.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Sailor Cerebra, if you will,
please."
With a nod, Sailor Cerebra initiated a telepathic probe on the creature.
The Infiltrator, feeling pressure on its mind gasped at what the Asian woman was
doing and tried to resist; however, Sailor Cerebra easily smashed through it's
defenses, laying its mind open like a book. In her mind's eye, the Chinese woman
viewed what the creature experienced over the last several days as it was
ordered to provide support to a six man squad of assassins sent to kill two LISA
agents who learned of a quickly planned DK mission to Luna.
"What is this mission?" Sailor Cerebra demanded of the
creature.
"I don't know!" said the creature in a whimper, the pressure on
its mind terrible and unrelenting.
"I do not believe you," the Asian woman said. She increased the
intensity of her probe, causing the beast to cry out from pain. "You will
reveal your secrets to me!"
"I have no secrets!" the Infiltrator screamed, the pain in his
head unbearable. "Please, stop! No more!"
Sailor Cerebra scowled from frustration as she terminated her probe.
Sailor Ebony, standing nearby, was openly surprised to hear such a menacing
creature beg for mercy. Li Mei certainly pulls no punches, she thought
grimly.
"What did you learn?" Sailor Ebony asked her partner.
"This... creature was helping the DK spies who had been
killed," a scowling Sailor Cerebra replied. The miasma of the Infiltrator's
memories revolted her. "Their mission was to assassinate the LISA agents
who learned about a DK mission on Luna. But it had no knowledge as to what that
mission was."
"It's a start." Sailor Ebony activated her communicator.
"Sailor Ebony to HOMESEC, come in please."
"Sailor Magneta here. What's happening?" Sailor Magneta asked.
"We found and subdued a seventh DK spy, an Infiltrator. Sailor
Cerebra scanned his mind and learned that the enemy's planning an attack on
Luna. Unfortunately, the creature didn't know what the operation is."
"At least we know where the attack will take place. Good work.
You
two get on the trail of those LISA agents," Sailor Magneta ordered.
"Acknowledged. Sailor Ebony out."
"Sailor Ebony, what do we do with... that?" asked Friday,
pointing at the unmoving creature.
Before Sailor Ebony could reply, the Infiltrator's eyes snapped open and
he glared at the heroines. Fueled by anger over having begged to the enemy, it
struggled to stand. "Senshi whores! I'll kill you for humiliating me!"
"WHAT? Miserable son of a bitch! That did it! Now you die!"
snarled Sailor Ebony. "Ebony
Darkforce... BLAST!"
Sailor Ebony, gripped by a sudden and terrible rage as black as the power
she commanded, unleashed a massively powerful blast of jet black lightning that
electrocuted the creature on contact while nearly blowing everyone off their
feet from the concussive force, leaving behind nothing but a small mound of
smoking slag.
"And don't call me a whore!" Sailor Ebony hissed at the
remains. Unpleasant memories of her lost childhood flooded her mind from the
sound of that word; memories that curdled and twisted her soul. Even after five
centuries, reliving that grim time in her life still brought deep pain, and dark
fury to her heart. Sailor Ebony whirled around to glare at Friday. "There's your
answer, Detective! I assume you can clean that up by yourself?"
Friday shivered. This was the first time he had seen just how fearsome a
Senshi could be, and it unnerved him. "Yes, ma'am," he said meekly.
A
uniformed officer trotted up to Friday and whispered something in his ear.
"Ladies, we may have tracked down our Isbanni woman."
"Where?" demanded Sailor Ebony in an angry shout.
"Los Angeles."
Sailor Ebony grunted in reply. She had an idea as where the agents might
have gone. "Let's go, Sailor Cerebra!" Without waiting for a reply,
the blonde woman spun on her heel and stormed off, a puzzled Sailor Cerebra
close behind.
"Jeez! Who rammed the henshin pen up her ass?" Smith grumbled
once the Senshi had gone. He didn't like the harsh way Sailor Ebony treated his
partner.
Friday shook his head. "I don't know. And I don't want to know.
Let's just clean this up this mess and call it a day."
City
of Los Angeles, Planet Earth, Sol system, 8 February 2738
"Great. Just great. Bad enough I nearly get killed after stumbling
into a trap like a rookie fresh out of Basic, now I got deal with a ration of
crap from my so-called best friend," grumbled Grant as Spirit helped him to
his feet.
Spirit chuckled. "You're just pissed because a heathen savage had to
pull your fat out of the fire."
"Don't act so smug, Geromino. You screwed up with your ghost
forms," Grant countered. “Everybody knows the Planetaries stopped aging
after they hit 35, the same age Queen Serenity was when she died defending the
Silver Millennium. You had the Inners looking like teenagers again."
"So sue me. I was rushed," said Spirit matter-of-factly.
"I just wanted to grab their attention long enough to destroy them."
"Well, I for one am glad you showed up to perform your little magic
trick, Mr. Proudstar," said a smiling Karmella. "How did you find us
anyway?"
"I followed you. Among my humble abilities, I'm a skilled tracker,
as I've honed my senses to superhuman sharpness. Nothing personal, Miss Karmella,
but you have the unmistakable stench of blood and death on you, making it easy
for me to tail you," Spirit replied. "That led me to suspect you're a
Clan-warrior, and that you and Jonnie are LISA agents. Exactly what is going on
here, or does that come under need to know?"
Grant looked at Karmella, then shrugged. "What the hell.
Mel and I
were on the trail of DK agents planning some sort of covert op on Luna. They just left on a stolen shuttle. Exactly where they're
headed, we don't know."
"That doesn't sound good. You'd better inform your superiors."
"We can't. Jon and I think there's a mole in LISA who could warn the
bad guys," said Karmella. She then glanced at the tower. "We have to
uncover the plant as well as stop whatever's going on here. Perhaps someone in
the tower can enlighten us as to where those slugs are headed."
"Works for me," said Grant. He then eyed Spirit. "I
appreciate your help, Will. But we can handle things from here."
"Are you kidding, paleface? After seeing you in action, somebody has
to keep your sorry butt in one piece," said a smirking Spirit. He then
turned grim. "Seriously, if the DK's planning to cause trouble, then, as a
Officer in the Order of Sorcery under King Endymion, I'm duty bound to battle
this menace."
Grant sighed from remorse. He didn't want to involve his friend in this
business, but knew he couldn't keep the Native American Sorcerer away. "I
figured as much. Okay, you're in. Try not to get yourself killed, redskin.
Remember, I promised you we'd go drinking after this is all over."
"I'll keep that in mind. Shall we go?"
Karmella nodded, displaying her long, talon-like fingernails. "Absolutely.
Let's go filet some scumbags."
Salvatore Romano grinned from satisfaction as he checked the readout on
his microcomp, which showed the addition of four million credits into his
legitimate offshore, La Sicilia run bank account.
The payment, twice the going rate for a stolen shuttlecraft along with a
counterfeit transponder code for access to Luna, meant that Romano's gang would
turn a healthy profit from this venture. While most of the organization's crime
families openly balked at dealing with the Dark Kingdom, mainly due to the
threat of punishment from the authorities, Romano and his people had no such
qualms. He'd deal with the Devil himself if it fattened his wallet.
"We got the money, boss?" asked one of Romano's thugs, a beefy,
seven-foot tall muscleman.
Romano nodded. "Yup. We're all set, Angelo. Four mil worth, nearly
half of that pure profit."
"Not bad, boss," said another thug, a thin, baldheaded man who
picked his teeth with the blade of a throwing knife. "We should deal with
the DK more often. They pay real
good."
"You got that right, Carmine. Boys, it's time to party! The first
bottle of champagne's on me."
Just then, the door was blown off its hinges by a powerful kick. Before
the trio could act, a huge beast leaped inside with a fearsome roar. The
transformed Karmella slashed at Carmine's torso, her razor sharp claws slicing
him open from neck to groin, killing him on the spot. She then turned to face a
shocked Angelo who reared back and slugged the creature on the jaw. Given his
strength, Angelo's blow would have killed a normal man, but Karmella, barely
feeling the punch, merely grinned, showing her menacingly long canines.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that supposed to be a punch?" she said in a
guttural snarl. The Isbanni were-beast then sank her fangs into Angelo's throat
and ripped it out, nearly decapitating him while spraying blood in a hideous
geyser.
"Holy shit!" cried a horrified Romano. His brain then clicked
on and he ran for the open doorway. But his flight was short lived as the barrel
of a blaster pistol pointed at his face stopped him short. Grant, who was
holding the weapon, sauntered inside, Spirit close behind. The Sorcerer saw the
end result of Karmella's handiwork and was mildly repulsed.
"That's as far as you go, dirtball," said the LISA agent.
Romano glared at the newcomers. "What the hell is this? Are you
freaks from a rival family?"
"Yeah. The Royal
Family. Get my drift?" Grant replied. "Now, we play a round of twenty
questions. It would be in your best interest to talk."
The Sicilian gangster was defiant. "And if I don't?"
"I'll leave you to my partner's not so tender mercies," said
Grant, motioning to Karmella who turned to glare at the thug, blood dripping
from her snout. She then grinned, making her look even more frightening.
Romano gulped. Suddenly, he wondered if he'd live long enough to enjoy
the money he just earned.
Somewhere
over mid-America, Planet Earth, Sol system, 8 February 2738
From the time Sailor Ebony and Sailor Cerebra left Philadelphia in the
HOMESEC shuttlecraft, bound for Los Angeles, the Senshi of Darkness had been
tight-lipped and silent, her lovely face locked in an angry scowl.
Sailor Cerebra, noticing how tense her partner had been, burned from
curiosity over what caused the abrupt, and unpleasant change in Sailor Ebony's
behavior. The Chinese woman considered using her powers to learn the answer, but
didn't want to violate the mind of her teammate. This was one of the problems
Sailor Cerebra knew she'd face when it came to interacting with people, getting
caught up in their lives and their problems, a nagging concern made even worse,
thanks to her telepathic powers. Nevertheless, she had to know.
"Sailor Ebony... Elizabeth. You have been... pensive ever since we
left Philadelphia. Is there a problem?"
Sailor Ebony whirled to glare at Sailor Cerebra. "That's none of
your damned business!" she snapped. Realizing what she had done, Sailor
Ebony's features softened, her expression changing instantly from anger to deep
regret. "Oh, Li Mei, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I... I'm just
upset."
Hearing that, Sailor Cerebra's curiosity changed to concern. "About
what? It might help to talk about it."
The Senshi of Darkness sighed as she considered what Sailor Cerebra had
said. "When that Infiltrator called me a whore, it brought back bad
memories of my childhood. Cathy and I were born out of wedlock. Our mother was a
prostitute who turned tricks to support her drug habit. We never knew who our
father was, probably a john she... serviced one night. No doubt she failed to
use protection on that occasion, and we were the end result."
Sailor Cerebra's eyes widened. She heard the unmistakable bitterness, and
pain in the blonde's voice. "I... I had no idea..."
"Of course you didn't. It's not something Cathy or I talk about.
It's too painful. No one else, save for Sailor Mars, our sponsor at Tsukino,
knows about our past, centuries ago though it may be. Our early years were a nightmare of living in overcrowded
shelters or fleatrap hotels when we weren't on the streets," said Sailor
Ebony, her eyes filled and glistening from tears. "I lost track of how many
nights Cathy and I went to bed hungry because mother often spent what little
money she earned on drugs instead of food. To her credit, she tried to care for
us, but relapsed time after time due to her habit. It's a miracle we lived as
long as we had."
"But, the two of you did survive."
"Yeah, right. Survived. Only after mother abandoned us shortly after
we turned eight. One night, as she always did when she had to 'work', mother
left us at a shelter and said she'd be back for us in the morning. But she
didn't return. We never saw her again." Sailor Ebony paused as it became difficult
to talk and the tears poured down her cheeks, dripping on her bodice. She took
several moments to compose herself. "Cathy and I spent the next three years
in adoption centers, waiting for someone, anyone to take us away from there and
give us a home. Finally, we were taken in by Marsha and Patrick Freeman, a kind
couple who wanted to have children but were unable to conceive."
"The Freemans gave us what our own mother couldn't: safety,
stability, and, most of all, a warm and loving environment that enabled us to
overcome the hellish existence we were once in." Sailor Ebony's voice broke as her
tears continued to fall in streams. "When I think about how Cathy and I
could've ended up, as addicts, prostitutes, or just plain dead, it scares me to
death, even to this day. The Freemans pulled us from the brink and saved our
lives, if not our souls; becoming Senshi gave us a purpose, and kept us from
becoming like our mother. That's why I dislike being called a whore, Li Mei,
because of her. I hope that bitch is roasting in hell!"
Sailor Cerebra didn't need her powers to feel the crushing force of
Sailor Ebony's pain, and her anger, and it staggered her to the point where she
felt like crying herself. Feeling
the need to comfort her teammate, Sailor Cerebra rose from her chair and walked
over to where Sailor Ebony sat at the helm station. The Chinese woman knelt in
front of Sailor Ebony and gently wiped the tears from her face. Sailor Cerebra's
hand lingered on the blonde's left cheek. "Elizabeth, please, forgive me.
I
never meant for my misguided curiosity to cause you such anguish."
"It's alright, Li Mei. It's not often I get to talk about my past.
The last time I did was eighty years ago. I'd forgotten just how much it
hurt." Sailor Ebony smiled fondly at Sailor Cerebra. "I appreciate
your comforting me. Thank you."
It was only then that Sailor Cerebra realized that her hand was still on
Sailor Ebony's cheek. Gasping from shock and embarrassment, she hastily took it
away. "I am sorry, Elizabeth. I... didn't mean to take any sort of
liberties with you."
Sailor Ebony, feeling pleasant warmth filling her chest, took Sailor
Cerebra's hand in hers and squeezed it while continuing to smile at her. Something about the Asian woman, how incredibly beautiful she was, stirred long
dormant, almost buried emotions from deep within her heart. Sailor Ebony wasn't
prepared for the suddenness of it all from just the touch of Sailor Cerebra's
hand; yet, she didn't reject what she felt, because she had experienced such
feelings before. "I don't mind. In fact, I liked it. And you don't have to
be formal with me. My name is Beth."
Sailor Cerebra was horribly confused. Her heart slammed in her chest as
she gazed into Sailor Ebony's huge blue eyes, which sparkled like diamonds.
She
found it difficult to tear herself away from those azure pools, and that warm,
loving smile. The Chinese Senshi was not used to such closeness with another
person, least of all, another woman. It took all her concentration not to slip
and enter Sailor Ebony's mind, but for a fraction of a second, Sailor Cerebra
did falter, and what she discovered stunned her.
Elizabeth, she finds me...
desirable!
That served only to increase Sailor Cerebra's puzzlement, and it
concerned her. This was why the Chinese woman opted to keep the world at an
arm's length, because of the secrets about people her powers inadvertently
uncovered. And what learned about Sailor Ebony was shocking. Yet, for reasons
she couldn't explain, the Chinese woman found she enjoyed the feeling of
intimacy she shared with Sailor Ebony, even if she didn't fully understand it.
"Very well... Beth. Could you tell me exactly where we are going?
Los
Angeles is a large place."
Sailor Ebony took a moment to shut the door on her feelings, let go of
Sailor Cerebra's hand and focus on business. "Compton. La Sicilia operates
illegal space flights from there. If the DK's planning an attack on Luna, then
that's where they'll leave from. Hopefully, we'll find our LISA agents there as
well."
"Should we inform the others?" asked Sailor Cerebra, returning
to her chair at the navigation station, and grateful to do so, given what she
just learned.
"No. Not yet. Charging in there like the calvary might scare off the
enemy. We're not exactly inconspicuous in this thing anyway," Sailor Ebony
replied. "We'll land a short distance away from the area and approach on
foot. Hopefully, we can take them by surprise."
Sailor Cerebra nodded. "A sound strategy, Eliz... er, Beth."
The Asian Senshi hoped this mission would end soon as she felt a pressing need
to have a private talk with Sailor Ebony about a great many things.
City
of Los Angeles, Planet Earth, Sol system, 8 February 2738
Salavatore Romano decided that he wanted to live. So, he spent the last
twenty minutes explaining the details of his dealings with the Dark Kingdom to
Grant, Karmella and Spirit.
The mobster had been approached two days ago by Custus, the point man for
the DK who found Romano through a contact in the L.A. police that monitored mob
activity in the city. Romano was piqued at the request Custus had made for a Lightwave-class
shuttle, and that he was ready to pay four million in credits up front if he got
the vehicle within 48 hours.
Romano told the two LISA agents and the Sorcerer how Custus was in a rush
to get his hands on a shuttle for a purpose he wouldn't tell Romano about.
Not
that the gangster cared as long as he got the money he was promised. That made
Romano work all the harder to get his hands on the ship, which he did after
calling in a few markers. It was only afterwards that one of Romano's men
overheard the DK spies talking over a flight to Luna.
"Where?" Grant demanded. "Crystal Tokyo? New
London? Armstrong City? There's a lot of ground to cover up there!
Give me something
solid!"
"Or you'll lose your head!" snarled Karmella, having changed
back to her humanoid form. She bared her teeth at Romano and he shivered,
remembering how she ruthlessly slaughtered his cohorts while in her bestial
form.
"I don't know, man!" Romano replied. "All we heard was
something about 'hitting the station and freeing the captives', whatever the
hell that meant!"
The agents looked at each other in confusion while Spirit wore a puzzled
look on his face. "Hitting the station? What station?" Karmella
wondered.
"Starbase One perhaps?" Spirit ventured.
Grant nodded. "That makes sense. But who could the 'captives'
be?"
"Well, we can't waste time trying to figure that out!" said
Karmella. "Now that we know where they've gone, let's get there and stop
those bastards!"
"Hey! What about me?" Romano wanted to know.
With a shrug, Grant chopped the thug on the side of his neck, knocking
him out. Spirit glared at his friend.
"Relax, Will. I just put him to sleep. I don't kill all the
time," said the LISA agent with a sly grin. "Besides, when word about
this gets out, it'll put some badly needed fear of Serenity into the wiseguys.
Let's go."
"Okay, so how do we get to Starbase One in a hurry?" Spirit
asked as he and the agents left the tower. "I came down on a civilian
shuttle. Do you have a ship available?"
"Nope. Mel and I thought our assignment would keep us on
Earth," said Grant. "Never figured on the target being off-world.
The
best we can do is haul ass back to the L.A. shuttleport and use our LISA
credentials to get our hands on a ship."
"And pray nothing goes nuclear on SB-One before we can get
there," Karmella added.
"Perhaps we can help," called a female voice from behind the
trio. The agents and Spirit whirled around and found themselves facing Sailor
Ebony and Sailor Cerebra.
TO
BE CONTINUED...