Author's Note: Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation and DIC. So, please, don't sue me because I haven't any money. I do this strictly for entertainment purposes, not copyright infringement.

The Vengeance Factor
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Chapter Three: Allies And Adversaries
Rating: PG-13

For several moments, Mina sat stunned on the bench after what Katrina told her. Her mind reeled from the implication.

"Duncan? Out of prison? Great, just great," the blonde growled disgustedly. "First you come stomping back into my life, now you tell me that maniac is on the loose. All I need now is to find Alan sitting on my front step to complete the cap trick."

"Uh, that's 'hat trick'," said Katrina.

"Whatever!" Mina snapped. "When did Duncan break out of prison?"

Katrina, nervous, glanced down at her lap and gulped before she faced Mina and responded. "Two weeks ago."

Mina's mouth fell open and her eyes widened. "Two....weeks?" Surprise then gave way to blistering anger. "TWO WEEKS? Jesus, Kat! Bloody nice of you to take the time out of your busy career to warn me!"

"Don't you dare cop an attitude with me, young lady!" a furious Katrina shot back. "I didn't know you were still alive until the day after Duncan escaped! You know damn well I'd never keep something like that from you! Even if you kept me in the dark for three years with your phony death!"

Mina frowned, unable to refute Katrina's argument. She suddenly felt guilty for having deceived her longtime friend. "Point taken. God, aren't we pathetic. Sniping at each other like a pair of ill-tempered drama queens."

"I know. Hard to believe we were close as sisters once," said Katrina with a nod. "Just like a good-for-nothing man to come between two girlfriends."

"Yeah, a real shame," said Mina, a grin curling her lips at Katrina's joke. Her face then hardened as she focused on the matter at hand. "Okay, back to business. I followed Duncan's trial while I was....incommunicado. He was given a life sentence for his crimes and shipped to Whitemoor, the toughest prison in all of England. How the hell did he get out?"

"No one knows for sure."

"That's not very comforting. Well, what do you know?"

"Duncan was in solitary, but every day for an hour, he was let out for recreational time. On the day in question, he was watching the news in the prisoner's lounge when, according to another inmate, Duncan saw something that drove him berserk. He smashed the set and needed seven gaurds to restrain him. All the time, Duncan kept screaming over and over, and I quote: 'She's supposed to be dead!'. One guess as to who 'she' was."

Mina gulped, loud enough for Katrina to hear. "Me."

Katrina nodded. "Yup. I went to the BBC and checked their broadcast logs for that day. There was a report about a near catastrophe in Philadelphia involving the Sailor Scouts. When I saw the tapes, there you were, larger than life. Even though you changed your costume, Duncan must've recognized you, and that set him off. Believe me, I was just as shocked to see you alive as he was."

"Damn!" Mina growled, smacking a fist into her palm. "As a rule, the Scouts avoid being photographed. But in Philadelphia, our fight with a witches' coven happened during a nationwide American football telecast, and there were TV cameras everywhere. What happened after Duncan was subdued?"

"That's where things get hazy. Duncan was pumped full of tranquilizers, slapped into a straitjacket and put back in his cell. Around two a.m., there was a tremendous explosion that blew out the walls of his cell. When the smoke cleared, Duncan was gone."

Mina, hearing that, stroked her chin. "Curious. Do you think he got word to his IRA buddies about what cell block he was in and they sprung him?"

"No. Duncan wasn't allowed outside contact with anyone."

"Okay. You said he was allowed out of his cell for an hour a day. Could he have sneaked something back to make a bomb with?" Mina asked. "Duncan may have been two sandwiches short of a picnic, but he was a genius when it came to making explosives."

Katrina shook her head. "Nope. According to the Warden, Duncan was watched like a hawk from the time he left his cell to when he went back in. No one knows how he did it."

"Blast!" Feeling apprehensive, Mina stood up and started walking. Katrina followed suit. "What makes you think Duncan came here?"

"The anchor called you 'Tokyo's infamous Sailor Scouts'," Katrina explained. "I've heard of the Scouts, but thought they were nothing more than some silly urban legend, like that Batman chap from Gotham City."

Mina let out a sardonic chuckle, remembering the Scouts' encounter with the fearsome Dark Knight. "Trust me, Kat, Batman's no myth. He's all too real. And he kicked our collective rear ends when he came here not too long ago. How could an escaped felon like Duncan have gotten into Japan?"

"You remember Jerry Rollins, don't you?"

"Sure. He's Duncan's cousin. A weasely counterfeiter in Dublin with ties to the IRA." Mina's eyes widened as she made the connection. "He also forges passports! Of course! You think Duncan went to him for help?"

"I do. And Rollins lost his life because of it."

Mina cocked an eyebrow from curiousity. "What do you mean by that?"

"Three days ago, Rollins was killed along with his staff when someone set off a bomb in his underground office," said Katrina. "The blast left nothing remotely human behind, but Rollins was indentified by dental records. The police have no idea what the explosive was, only that it was extremely powerful."

Three days ago? That's when Raye first had her vision about a new enemy! Could it be Duncan? Mina suddenly felt an unearthly chill. "You think Duncan was responsible?"

"Absolutely. He killed Rollins to keep him from talking to the police." Katrina paused to look hard at Mina. "There no doubt in my mind that Duncan's looking for you, Mina, or rather, for Sailor Venus. He's out for revenge for three years ago. I'd stake my pension on that."

Mina shook her head, a lump of ice settled in the pit of her stomach. "Wonderful. Have you told the Interpol office here about him?"

Katrina nodded. "I went there before going to your house. I gave them Duncan's most recent prison photo, however, he's probably altered his appearance by now. Rollins was said to have had clients in the Yakuza, so chances are Duncan will go to them for weapons and explosives."

"No doubt. Kat, how did you find me?"

"Sailor V may have disappeared from the face of the Earth, but Mina Spencer left just enough of a paper trail behind for me to follow. Still, it took nearly a week to track you down. Don't worry, I did all my research from the privacy of my flat, so no one knows the truth about you."

"That's a relief. The last thing I need is Duncan learning my secret identity." Mina's face then creased from worry. "Have you told Alan?"

"No. He's been in Tel Aviv for the last month, covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the Times." Katrina paused to place a hand on Mina's shoulder. "Would you want him to know?"

Mina, her heart throbbing once again, shook her head while tears filled her eyes. She hated the pain she felt. "No. What good would it do if he learned the truth?" she replied, her voice cracking. "Would he want to see me again after the way I deceived him? Probably not. He'd be furious like you were. Even if he did, Alan still won't love me like I loved him. That would only break my heart again. Oh, God, Kat! I can't handle that! I can't!"

Katrina, feeling Mina's anguish embraced the heartsick blonde who sobbed in her arms for a good several minutes. "I know, baby. I know," said the older woman, softly stroking Mina's hair. "Despite everything that's happened, I never stopped caring about you. I never stopped being your friend. I've missed you, Mina. I've missed you so very much."

"I've missed you too, Kat. I'm sorry for the deception, but I couldn't stay, knowing what I did about you and Alan," said Mina, hugging Katrina tight. Just like three years ago, Mina enjoyed the closeness she shared with the older woman. "Ever since that day, I've bounced back and forth between hating you for 'stealing' Alan, and being happy that you were in love with him. I'll always hurt over what happened, but my anger for you is gone now."

Katrina smiled, then kissed Mina on her forehead. "That's good, love. I know things can't go back to the way they were between us before that day in the East End, but can we at least try and start over?"

Mina smiled, then nodded. "Yes. I'd like that." The blonde paused to take Katrina's hand in hers. "C'mon, let's go back. Mom will have dinner ready soon, and I'm starved! Tomorrow, I'll take you to my friends. The Scouts can help us track down Duncan before he causes any trouble."

"Sounds great! Just like the good old days in jolly England! Kat and Mina, tilting at windmills once again!" said a grinning Katrina.

Mina broke out laughing. "Hey! If it worked for that Quixote dude, than it works for us!"

Sunday morningÉ.

The Roppongi branch of the Tokyo National Bank was one of the busiest in the city. But on Sundays with all banks closed, the branch was silent, as was most of the neighborhood at a few minutes before ten a.m.

On a empty side street near the back door of the bank, a blue panel van pulled up to the curb. Isaki Goro climbed out of the driver's side and Seamus Duncan from the passenger side while six thugs piled out the back. Wearing jackets to conceal their weapons, the group walked around the corner to the front. They casually eyed the building they planned to break into.

"Doesn't look too tough," Duncan commented, wearing a crooked smirk. "It'll be a piece of cake. You blokes find some cover. I'll get us inside."

Goro, looking at the Irishman was puzzled. "How? With your bare hands?"

Duncan grinned. He concentrated and his body quickly grew hot as a furnace. "Somethin' like that. Boys, I'm gonna make you filthy rich. Gimme a minute to make us an enterance."

Whistling a happy tune, Duncan, hands in pockets strolled across the street and up to the door. The Irishman gazed inside the empty bank, then he concentrated harder and his eyes glowed a fiery red. A moment later, the entire block shook from a thunderous explosion.

Rare were the times when the girls gathered for a Scout meeting on Sunday. Rarer still was when Mina called a meeting. So when she contacted everyone to tell them she had a lead on the villain Raye saw in her vision, the others wasted no time getting together at the Cherry Hill Temple to hear what Mina had to say. But Mina was several minutes late for the ten a.m. gathering.

"Jeez Louise! Mina calls a powwow, then doesn't show!" an irate Tanya grumbled. She enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday and found the break in her treasured routine annoying. "What the heck's going on?"

"Relax, Ti. I'm sure there's an explanation for her delay," said a dour Raye. She had the vision again last night, and, like the previous three nights, it ended the same way, with Mina's death. It was beginning to haunt her.

The others, Luna included were stunned at how docile Raye was acting. Normally, the hotheaded Shinto priestess would be furious at being made to wait for anything or anybody. Talia, carefully eyeing Raye was convinced that she was holding back information about her vision. She was about to confront Raye when the honking of a car horn caught everyone's attention.

The girls looked in the direction of the street where they saw Mina, Artemis, and a tall, brown haired woman in a dark blue pantsuit climb out of a blue compact car and jog up to where the group sat waiting.

"Sorry we're late, guys. We ran into a traffic jam," said Mina. She then motioned to the older woman. "This is Special Agent Katrina Howell of Interpol. She has information on the bad guy Raye saw in her vision."

When Lita heard Katrina's name, she immediately grew furious. Hold it! That's the name of the bitch who stole Mina's boyfriend! What's going on here? "Mina! What the hell are you doing? Revealing Raye's powers to a civilian!"

"Chill out, Lita! Long before I met you and the guys, Kat and I were fighting creepazoids from the Negaverse in Britain!" Mina replied. "I trust her with my life, not to mention my secret identity!"

"What sort of information does your friend have?" Talia asked, cutting right to the chase.

The blonde turned to Katrina. "Kat?"

Katrina nodded. "Three years ago, Mina, or rather, Sailor V and I captured an Irish Republican Army soldier named Seamus Duncan, one of the most wanted men in England at the time. He was responsible for the murder of over five dozen people in terrorist attacks he perpetrated. His specialty, ladies, was bombmaking, and he was lethal at it."

The girls and the familiars went silent, stunned from the implication and how it related to Raye's disturbing vision about the new enemy.

"A bomber? Most interesting," said Amy. "And disturbing."

"Yeah. I'll second that," a worried Serena added. "So, what's the connection, Miss Howell?"

"Please, call me Kat," Katrina replied with a slight grin. For someone who considered the Sailor Scouts as nothing more than a myth, to meet them in the flesh was a revelation for the Interpol agent. "To answer your question, Duncan escaped from a maximum security prison two weeks ago and may have sneaked into Japan. I believe he's after Sailor Venus after leaning she was still alive."

"Still alive?" a puzzled Raye asked.

Mina, looking sad, lowered her head. Lita's anger subsided and her heart went out to her partner as she knew the reason why. "It's a long, painful story, guys. To give you the Reader's Digest version, I faked my death to let everyone, including Duncan think Sailor V had been killed. But Kat told me that he found out about my deception, driving him to escape."

"And now he's looking for payback," said a frowning Tanya.

Mina nodded. "Bingo."

"Hey! C'mon, guys! Why all the gloom?" said Serena. "You're making this guy sound like the Devil himself! We eat hoods like Duncan for breakfast!"

"Don't underestimate him, young lady. Even though he isn't from the Negaverse, Duncan's as dangerous as they come," Katrina cautioned Serena sharply. "Duncan has zero regard for human life and will kill at the drop of a hat. The only things that madman enjoys are death and destruction."

"At the risk of sounding unconcerned, or worse, jaded, that's nothing we haven't heard before," Amy told Katrina flatly. "What can we expect from Duncan in terms of a modus operandi?"

"Duncan likes setting off bombs in areas with a high concentration of pedestrian traffic: tourist attractions, department stores----he hit Harrods twice----train stations, even sporting venues," Katrina explained. "Oddly enough, the only places Duncan won't touch are houses of worship, though no one knows why. Despite being a ninth grade dropout, Duncan's a self-taught chemist and mechanic who can make explosives out of practically anything. He was said to have boasted to a jailhouse snitch that if he ever got his hands on the right materials, he could build a nuke. And girls, I believe him."

"What about his mental state?" Talia asked.

"He's no raving maniac who foams at the mouth or howls at the moon, nevertheless, Duncan's a psychopath. He's clever, resourceful and utterly ruthless," Katrina replied, memorizing a profile Scotland Yard did on him. "The man who made the phony passport he used to get into the country was his cousin, and Duncan killed him so he wouldn't talk if arrested. My guess is Duncan's read up on the Scouts and will do something horrific that the cops here can't handle, just to draw you out."

No sooner had Katrina said those words when she heard a beeping from inside her handbag. Reaching inside, she pulled out a cell phone and keyed the talk button. "Howell here. What? Where? Okay! I got it! Thanks, Hiro!"

Putting her phone back in her bag, Katrina faced the girls, her face grim. "That was the local Interpol office. I asked them to notify me of any unexplained explosions in the city. Someone blew up the Roppongi branch of Tokyo National Bank just five minutes ago! That may have been Duncan's handiwork!"

"Roppongi? Oh my God! That's where I live!" said a worried Tanya.

"Then there's no time to lose!" said Luna. "Scouts! Transform!"

"Kat, you may want to shield your eyes," said Mina as she and the others pulled out their transfromation pens and held them high. "This tends to blind people when we change all at once."

"Moon Crystal Power!"

"Mercury Star Power!"

"Mars Star Power!"

"Jupiter Star Power!"

"Venus Star Power!"

"Vulcan Star Power!"

"Sirius Star Power!"

Katrina, shielding her eyes was awed and stunned at watching the seven girls transform in a multi-colored display of light and sound into the courageous champions of love and justice, the Sailor Scouts.

"Bloody incredible!" Katrina whispered.

"In the interest of expediency, I recommend we teleport to Roppongi," said Sailor Vulcan. "Time could well be of the essence."

Sailor Moon nodded. "I agree! Form the circle!"

"I'm coming with you!" said Katrina.

"Forget it! No backstabbers allowed!" Sailor Jupiter snarled viciously, her eyes shooting sparks at the Interpol agent. She hated Katrina with a passion because she hurt Mina.

Katrina was puzzled. "Backstabber? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out, bitch!"

"Jupiter! Enough! We don't have time for this!" Sailor Venus shouted, stepping between her partner and Katrina. The Scout of Love knew right away why Jupiter was so angry towards Katrina.

It never occurred to me that Kat would show up here, Venus thought. And Lita thinks she's 'the other woman' after that story I told her the other day! "Listen to me, Lita! Kat knows more about Duncan than we do! And we'll need all the help we can get to stop him! Please!"

Jupiter scowled, then relented and glared at Katrina. "Get in the middle!" She then added, "Not that I give a damn, but I hope you don't get air sick!"

"Worry about yourself!" Katrina retorted. It didn't take long for the Interpol agent to figure out why the burly brunette was so hostile towards her. She's Mina's best friend, Katrina thought morosely. And best friends always share secrets. Even the ones that hurt. "Let's stop jawing and hit the road!"

After Katrina gave out the addresss, the Scouts prepared to teleport. Before clearing her mind to concentrate on the always dangerous maneuver, Venus had a bad feeling about the upcoming encounter with her old enemy. I hope I'm wrong, but something tells me this is going to be a disaster!

Goro, standing in the lobby of the bank, wrecked and smoking from a massive explosion tried to convince himself that what he had seen Duncan do actually happened. The problem was, he couldn't.

I should be used to this sort of craziness after last year on that damned island, but what I just saw was impossible, he thought.

"C'mon, boys! Time's a wastin'!" shouted Duncan. He felt weak, but not as drained as he had been after Whitemoor and Dublin. That, to him, was a good sign. "Load up yer bags! I promised to make you filthy rich! And Seamus Duncan's a man of his word!"

The six goons who accompanied Goro and the Irishman quickly cracked open cash drawers and used their submachine guns to open safes under the counters to hastily fill up their bags with cash. Goro, standing at what used to be the front door saw curious onlookers gathering across the street. The Yakuza gunrunner aimed him rifle skyward and fired a short burst, scattering the growing crowd. "Make it fast! The cops will be here soon!"

No sooner had Goro said those words when two different groups arrived. Goro watched five Tokyo Police squad cars screech to a stop half a block away. Uniformed officers piled out four of the vehicles while a woman came out of the fifth, removed their sidearms and took defensive positions behind their vehicles. Seconds later, a huge shaft of silvery light touched down several yards behind the police cars, and when it faded away, seven sailor suited girls and a tall, brown haired woman in a dark pantsuit stood in the street.

"Shit!" Goro growled. "Everybody! Out! Now! The Scouts just arrived!"

Hearing that, Duncan jogged to the door and looked to the right at the Scouts as they trotted up to the police cars. "Wonderful! I've been waitin' for this!" the Irishman said, a huge grin on his face.

"Maybe you are, pal! But not me!" Goro snapped, convinced his employer was stark raving insane. "I ain't screwin' around with the Scouts!"

"No need for you to, mate," said Duncan, his grin still in place. "Why don't you head back to your boat. I'll catch up with you there later."

"Whatever you say!" said Goro as he headed for the back. "Good luck! You're gonna need it!"

After Goro left, Duncan stood, cracked his knuckles and slowly walked out. Still smiling, the Irishman, his body quickly growing hot was eager to see his old enemy, Sailor Venus.

When Inspector Junko Sakurada got the call about an explosion at the Roppongi branch of Tokyo First National Bank, she expected to face either determined hold-up men or, quite possibly, terrorists. After the horrific events of September 11th, anything was possible these days.

Upon arriving at the scene, Junko saw that the façade of the bank had all but been blown away while a smoking crater, some six inches deep as far as she could tell was in front of the entrance. After ordering officers to have onlookers back away from the scene, Junko was about to call for a SWAT team when a blinding flash caught her attention. Turning to her left, she saw a large beam of silvery light descend from the sky. After it disappeared, Junko scowled at seeing the Sailor Scouts and a tall woman quickly approach her.

"Great! Just what I don't need!" a disgusted Junko grumbled.

"Excuse me. Are you in charge here?" Katrina asked Junko in a sharp, authoritative voice.

"I am. Inspector Junko Sakurada, Tokyo P.D. Who the hell are you?"

Katrina pulled her wallet from her handbag and flashed her I.D. card. "Katrina Howell, London Branch of Interpol. Inspector, I have strong reason to suspect that an escaped terrorist from Britain was responsible for this incident. I've been dispatched here to capture him."

"Sorry, but I don't recognize your authority," Junko snorted. She then glared at the Scouts, standing behind her. "And I'll be damned if I let those psycho vigilantes mess around with this situation!"

Sailor Mars and Jupiter, irate started forward, but Katrina held out her arms to stop them. "The Scouts are helping me with this case. As for authority, here it is, in spades."

Katrina pulled a folded piece of paper from her handbag and handed it to Junko. "This document from your Police Commisioner gives me full authority through Interpol Headquarters to take over this investigation. In short, I'm in charge here!"

Junko scanned the document, as she did, her face flushed red from anger. "You can't do that!"

"Wrong. I already have. Order your men to clear this area for at least a full three blocks. Duncan's an expert bomber who's killed dozens of people in London. I don't want any innocents here added to his tally sheet."

Junko, furious, stood in place. Katrina, instantly annoyed with the policewoman got right into her face. "Are you bloody deaf, woman?" the Interpol agent roared. "I said move your arse and clear this street! NOW!"

Just as a scowling Junko was about to carry out her orders, Sailor Moon pointed at something just ahead. "Look! Over there!" she cried.

Everyone looked in the direction Moon pointed in. A grinning Duncan, hands in the pockets of his overcoat slowly, casually walked into the middle of the street. "Were you folks lookin' for me?" he asked.

Katrina pulled her Heckler & Koch autoloader from shoulder leather and aimed at Duncan while the Scouts took combat poses. Sailor Venus scowled at seeing Duncan, memories of that nightmarish day in London's East End flooding back into her mind. Her anger spiked at seeingthe man who nearly killed her three years ago. "Freeze, Duncan! This is Special Agent Katrina Howell of Interpol! Stand where you are and raise your hands!"

Duncan stopped cold. Seeing Katrina, he broke out in a wide, crooked grin. "Well, well, well. Talk about old home week. Hiya doin'?" he said, giving the agent a wave. "Workin' for Interpol now, are ya? Congratulations! You haven't changed a bit, darlin'! You're still one fine lookin' piece of ass!"

"Enough! I'm the one you're looking for, Duncan!" shouted Venus, moving to the head of the group.

Upon seeing Venus, Duncan's smile turned into a smirk while his body temperature continued to rise. "That I am. You can't imagine how shocked, and pissed off I was when I found out you're still alive. But I'm about to change all that, bitch!"

"If you've come all this way to kill me, Seamus, then I'm afraid you're in for one hell of a disappointment!" Venus snarled.

Duncan continued to smirk. Closing his eyes, he decided to be patient as he wanted to savor this moment. "Heh. Don't be too sure about that."

Sailor Vulcan took in the scene with growing suspicion. If she were human, the feeling she was experiencing would be one of dread. "Something is not right here," she muttered, her brows creased. "Sailor Mercury, activate your visor."

Mercury was puzzled. "My visor? But why....?"

"Do it!" the Scout of Order snapped. "Duncan might be hiding explosives on his person. Hurry!"

Mercury did as she was told, touching the blue stud in her right earlobe to activate her VR visor. Setting it for X-ray mode, the blue haired Scout did a quick scan of Duncan and, much to her puzzlement, found that the Irishman carried no weapons or explosives that she could see.

"This is damned peculiar. He's clean, Tal," she whispered to Vulcan. Acting on a hunch, Mercury switched the setting on her visor. "Let me try infra-red mode."

After making the switch, Mercury scanned Duncan again. This time, what she saw shocked her. Through her visor, Mercury could see the outline of Duncan's body, but within the outline, there was a blazingly bright glow that was quickly going from orange to red to white. It was clearly unlike anything she had seen before.

"What on Earth?" she muttered. "Duncan's body temperature is rising to astronomical levels! It's at, dear God, over five hundred degrees! And it's still climbing! Guys! We'd better fall back! Something's horribly wrong here!"

Venus glared at her teammate. "What are you talking about, Mercury? You're acting like this creep's Godzilla! He's just a run of the mill psycho!"

Hearing that, Duncan chuckled. "I maybe a psycho, darlin', but I ain't run of the mill. Not any more." Before anyone could act, Duncan suddenly exploded.

The sound of the explosion in the narrow concrete canyons of the street was like a thunderclap amplified a hundred times as the ground shook from the force of the blast. For a quarter block all around, the explosive energy overturned and wrecked cars while windows shattered everywhere. At the same time, the Scouts, Katrina, Junko, the police and the onlookers were blown off their feet and sent hurtling away like leaves caught in a hurricane.

Then, all was quiet. At the spot where Duncan stood was a smoking crater similar to the one in front of the ruined bank, only this one was wider and deeper. The entire area looked like a combat zone with burning hulks of vehicles, damaged buildings and scores of dead and injured laying amidst the smoking wreckage. The survivors, looking around them were shell-shocked at the devastation.

"Jesus H. Christ! What the hell kind of bomb did that maniac use?" asked a stunned Jupiter. Like the other Scouts, Jupiter's body throbbed terribly from monstrous pain as she was badly bruised, cut and bleeding from glass and shrapnel, but their healing powers were already hard at work on their injuries. Looking at the scene, Jupiter felt for the helpless onlookers who couldn't heal themselves as quickly, or were beyond help altogether.

"I don't know, but he sure went out with a bang! Literally!" said Moon, struggling to stand, thanks to a sprained ankle. "Is everyone okay?"

"Okay? Don't be stupid, Meatball Head!" snapped Mars, holding a badly gashed left arm that was dripping blood.

"Mars' foul temperament aside, we are alive," said Vulcan, ignoring the pain of a cracked collarbone and numerous lacerations that stained her tattered uniform green as she helped a dazed Mercury to her feet. "Sailor Mercury? What did you see when you scanned Duncan?"

Mercury's eyes were wide from fear "I....I'm not sure. Dear Lord in heaven, I don't know if I can believe what I saw."

"What was it you saw?"

"A horror beyond words, Tal," the frightened Mercury whispered. "And I'm not entirely certain that it's over."

"Pardon me if this sounds flip, but that was awfully anti-climatic," said Sirius, blood running down the side of her face from a cut on her temple. "I can't believe that nutcase came all this way from England, just to blow himself to bits! Hey! Secret agent girl! Did you count on this happening?"

Katrina, lying next to a semi-conscious Junko, her clothes shredded, injured like everyone else shook her head, her singed face a study in puzzlement. "No. Not at all. Interpol's profile of Duncan said nothing about him being suicidal. This doesn't make sense."

"Who cares if it does or doesn't? Duncan took his best shot and missed!" said Venus, aching all over as Jupiter helped the blond Scout to her feet. "Even though I don't like celebrating someone's death, I'm not gonna shed any tears over that whack job. Threat over."

"Not so fast!" cried Mars, pointing at the crater. "Look!"

The others looked at the crater where Duncan had blown up and saw a large, thick, billowing bank of dark gray smoke that crackled loudly from arcs of energy. As everyone looked on, the crackling bank of smoke shrank in size, morphing into a humanoid shape. The shape then further coalesced into a flesh and blood form, followed by clothing, which it wore. A minute later, much to the horror of the Scouts and Katrina, a smirking Duncan stood before them.

"Holy God!" a wide-eyed Venus cried. "Someone please tell me I didn't just see that!"

"I'm afraid you did, babe. 'Cause I saw it too," said Jupiter, her mind reeling. "What are we up against?"

"Hell on Earth!" yelled a happily crazed Duncan as his body temperature shot up again. "Hell on Earth!"

Mercury, her visor cracked and damaged in the blast was still in infrared mode, and even though the image was winking on and off, the blue haired Scout could see Duncan's form turning white hot again. "Oh, no! He's going to blow again!" she screamed. "Fall back! Fall back!"

Just as the others scrambled to get away while Vulcan and Venus scooped up Junko and Katrina respectively, Duncan exploded a second time. The retreating Scouts felt the tremendous heat at their backs and the terrible thundercrack pounding in the ears as they ran to get out of range of the blast. But the powerful shockwave from the explosion, even from the distance the heroines covered still sent them tumbling down the street, aggravating their already serious wounds.

As more police cars, fire trucks and emergency vehicles arrived, the entire block looked as if it had been savaged in an air raid with damaged buildings, overturned and burning cars, blown out windows and the cries of the injured all around. Further up the block, the Scouts, Katrina and Junko lay in tattered, bloody and unmoving heaps in the street. The Scouts were first to regain consciousness, but were so weak from their injuries, it took a titanic effort just to climb to their knees. In the meantime, the large crackling bank of gray smoke leftover from the blast began to gather and coalesce.

After several moments, Duncan had finished reforming his body. But the process had taken longer to complete than the last time, and he was visibly drained from the effort. The Irishman, exhausted, stood shakily on his legs, which felt like two lumps of lead. His head spinning from fatigue, Duncan cursed himself for feeling so weak, unwilling to accept the unpleasant surprise that his power had limits.

"Shit! Not now!" he growled. Seeing Venus and the others up ahead, helpless on the ground, Duncan forced himself to move forward. Obsessed with his mission of vengeance, the Irishman willed himself to summon his power for one last strike against his most hated enemy. But the effort was difficult. "Not now! Not when I'm this close to killing that blond bitch!"

Vulcan, possessing the strongest constitution of the group, regained her strength faster but, like the others, she was in no shape for combat as she saw a scowling Duncan stagger drunkenly towards them. Wiping away greenish blood that poured into her eyes from a head wound, the Scout of Order turned to Moon who lay nearby.

"Sailor Moon. Can you summon your scepter and erect a barrier?" Vulcan asked.

Moon, her face drawn with pain from cracked ribs that had her body on fire shook her head. "No. Too much pain. Can't breathe. Can'tÉ.think."

"Then, it would appear we are doomed," said Vulcan in a fatalistic tone as Duncan came ever closer.

NEXT: Decisions and Consequences

GO TO CHAPTER 5