Katie was in hell. In more literal terms, she was perched on a futon at an unfamiliar house staring glumly at the only other outfit that would fit her body. It had been a match in itself to get the other clothing off of herself, only to be able to put on some minor pants and sweatshirt combo from the Gap for Kids. If you wanted to get figurative again, she was drowning in a pool of her sorrows and sins. All she could think about was that she hadn't had to wear underoos since she was four, and now she might actually have to wear them the rest of her natural life, which might be a while if she turned out to have Yoda's longevity. Katie banished the picture of herself in robes and a lightsaber as the weight of her situation came crashing down on her once again. It was originally fun to be 'chibified,' as the Otaku Force had coined it. That was until the downside began to kick in. She had been kidnapped, experimented on, fought over, harassed, assaulted, and now was a fugitive from the goon squad of the A.E.I.O.U. Katie's world had been turned on its ear, and put in front of an amplifier with the volume on 'Bloody Pulp'. It had started to really get to her. The sixteen-year-old girl found herself wishing nothing more than being normal, but then she remembered that being 'normal' again was a high improbability. Even if Otaku Force was able to find a cure to counteract her foolish bid of anime grandeur, it would probably be only temporary, just like her hazy mental state was only so many days ago. Katie had changed drastically, and it was all the fault of... ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ PROJECT CHIBIFICATION Thinked of by Lady Brick Done in by Kenji Murasaki Part Twenty-Five - Wai Another Day ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "So how's your progress?" Deedee looked up from the beakers she was balancing. "It's coming along slowly at best. We should at least have a counter for Eugene ready in another hour." "That's good." Anna let herself relax a little. "That should only leave Katie's cure." "If we could cure her at all, that is," Deedee said. "There really aren't any guarantees that these solutions will work on the chibified people. I mean, they weren't used by the A.E.I.O.U., so why should we believe they'll actually work?" The Otaku Force leader gave Deedee a dry look. "Isn't that why I had you analyze the makeup of the elixirs themselves?" The girl nodded, her attention back mostly on the multi-colored gel in her hands. "Yes, and that's why I'm skeptic. These gels hardly vary any different from the solutions we used on Rosa, but Rosa used a different formula to chibify herself. They shouldn't really work at all." "Okay, the information might be a bit outdated. Didn't you compensate for that?" "... Oh yeah, I did." The pink-haired girl looked very sheepish. Anna only sighed and left the girl's workstation. They had returned to Otaku Force Headquarters after they had downloaded (read: kidnapped) the A.E.I.O.U.'s mainframe. After that, everyone had set to work: Cecil was busy tracking the rogue chibified victims, while Brett and Jennifer were sifting through the stolen data. Anna, being a leader, did what all leaders do; she looked over everyone's shoulder while chewing on some pocky. "Anna, I think you should come here," Brett called from the second terminal in Deedee's lab. The OF leader quickly came over to where Brett and Deedee were working and leaned over to look at the terminal. "What is it? Found something new?" "Not really, I kinda always thought you wrapped your breast," the hentai commented as he continued to peer in her shirt. She belted him for it and grumbled, blushing all the time. "What he meant to call you for was this," Jennifer said, pointing to the screen. "These are the receipt records that Otaku Force keeps, provided funding from nature boy here," she motioned to the injured Brett. "As well as any donations or other sources of monetary you get." Anna nodded, and Jenny maximized another screen. "This is the A.E.I.O.U. budget, the official one. The numbers aren't adding up in some places, and the only portion that's getting constant funding are the labs." "They really are getting outside funding?" Brett nodded. "Not from just one source, either. It looks like they're selling some products to maintain some income. A formula, to be more precise." "Formula?" Anna's eyes widened in shock. "Not the chibification formulas, or we would have heard about it by now. It's some kind of recipe." Brett shrugged. "Not selling all that well, though. There's more, but we haven't gotten that far into it." "Well, keep me posted." She turned and headed toward some printouts of the formula subjects, intent on keeping herself busy so she wouldn't pelt Brett again for looking at her butt while she was walking away, when Cecil and Commander Fuzz walked through the door. The mecha lover had several boxes of pizza, and a paper box on top of those. "They've been taken." The boy said gruffly, placing the foodstuffs on the table. Everyone took the placement as a sign of break and made for the sweet pizza goodness. "What do you mean they've been taken?" Anna asked between bites of cheese and pepperoni. "I got the account from Eugene's parents. The A.E.I.O.U. sent a taskforce after Eugene, but Josh and Rosa showed up. Rosa got hurt, but they took care of the goons." He opened the paper box, and placed it, and the 8 ounce steak within, in front of the cat. "Then some girl came in and took all three of them." Everyone stopped eating. "All three?" Deedee squeaked. Cecil nodded sagely. "The Harrison's were unconscious at the time, but when they woke up, Eugene and the others were gone. I think we have a big threat on our hands here." "How so?" Jennifer asked. "Well, the place was spotless when I got there, though there were signs of a fight. Whoever showed up at that front door after the goon squad was neutralized was good, especially considering just how dangerous Rosa, Josh, and Eugene are." Anna looked pensive. "Any clues at all?" "She was busty, platinum blonde, and wearing a really tight jumpsuit." Cecil grabbed a napkin and a slice of sausage. "Didn't give her name though. That's what I got from Mr. Harrison and what I figured--" "Was that she didn't sound natural at all," Anna interrupted, finishing off Cecil's thought. "Another chibified subject?" "Working for the A.E.I.O.U.," Brett added. "We need to step things up, people. If they have Eugene, Josh, and Rosa, then it won't take them long to obtain Katie and Frank." Deedee nodded. "We really don't need Katie's solution right now, so I'll put more work into completing the antidote for Eugene." "I'll see what I can find out about this rogue chibified subject from their files," Jennifer said, snagging another mushroom and pineapple and returning to her terminal. "I'll call the Ramsey's and give them the heads up." Cecil said, and went to look for a phone. Anna blinked. Wasn't it her job to delegate orders? Well, at least things were getting done, and they were racing against the clock anyway. "Hold on, Jenny, I'll help you with..." She trailed off and took a good look at Brett, who hadn't moved from the spot he was in. "Something wrong?" "Not really," he waved her off and turned to the printouts at Anna's makeshift workstation. "I'm gonna check these out. We might find more on this mysterious girl there." "Sure." Anna looked at the boy with some confusion as he walked off, but put it to the back of her head. Should the moment of insanity arrive when she actually wanted to know what was on his mind, she could always ask then. The Otaku Force leader went to join Jennifer when she noted that Deedee was looking at him with the same puzzlement written on her own face. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ It was a simple task. Just pick up the phone, dial, and begin to slowly explain just why she had been gone for such a long time. Incredibly simplistic, yet Katie could not bring herself to pick up the phone. She was literally frozen with fear, but what else could she do? She'd been gone too long already, and was certain that her parents were tearing their hair out. Her small hand remained hovering with some uncertainty over the hallway telephone. It was better to get it over with; let her parents know where she was, what had occurred, and hope that they didn't do anything terribly drastic. Of course, she did chibify herself, and she was their daughter, so what made Katie think that they would be any less...enthusiastic about her problem? She'd have to deal with it, and nail the problems down when they came, she thought with sudden clarity. Katie had been forked into too many hands of recent, and it left her with a very powerful helplessness that she just didn't want anymore. A thin line of determination on her lips, she picked up the phone to call her parents. "... you they're not here. I wish I could help you, but I can't." Katie deflated, her small posture caving in on itself (not literally). It figures that she would war out with her inner feelings and intentions, only to be stepped on by the inconvenience of someone else on the phone. "Well, you will keep an eye out for Katie, won't you? She was last spotted heading in that area with an older gentlemen, probably a sympathizer of some sort. It is vital that we get that girl, Ramsey." There was a long, ominous pause. "You know how much she's worth to us." "Of course," the other voice, Katie recognized as Mr. Ramsey, replied with anxiety and definite strain. "I realize what it means to your people to obtain her. Wouldn't want any more loose ends flying in front of the wrong people, would you?" "... Indeed, Ramsey. Do inform us when you come across the girl." The voice wasn't pleasant, Katie decided briefly, trying not to go into hysterics. Ramsey-san was going to turn them in? But he seemed like such a nice old person. She shook that thought from her head and stomped on it with prejudice. He was a trusted friend; he wouldn't betray them to those weird people. Would he? "Oh, Ramsey? How's Ms. Keiko?" Katie could almost see Lenny Ramsey gasp. "She's...fine. Why do you ask?" "Just wondering, is all. I know how devoted to her you are, and how you wouldn't allow anything to happen to her." Another long pause, then, "She's doing well. We really don't get visitors, and lead a mostly quiet life. I wouldn't know what to do about your missing person, though." "Of course. Do tell her I said hello, Ramsey." "I'll pass that along." A click, and then another as Ramsey-san hung up on his end. Katie shivered. Ramsey-san knew those bad men? Then she and Frank weren't really as safe as they thought, were they? Mortal fear crept into Katie's spine. They would threaten others just to get to her. Never before had she felt so-- "Katie? What's wrong?" "AIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!" Frank stood where he was, looking on in confusion as the teenage girl made herself part of the ceiling fixture. "Is something the matter, Katie?" "Oh, Frank-kun!" She dropped down, still wobbly on her feet, and glared death at the taller man, who shrunk back. "You scared me!" "Er...sorry." He shrugged helplessly. "Why so jumpy?" "Well," she started, suddenly remembering the not-too-pleasant conversation that had gone on in front of her. "That is... I was debating on whether or not to call my mom and dad to let them know I was okay." "Oh. That's good, Katie," he said, nodding his head. "I'm glad you're being considerate of them." Maybe too considerate, she thought as a rather horrible scenario came to mind. If they were willing to threaten Ramsey-san's daughter, then perhaps they had already visited her house? "Frank-kun, do you think the others are okay?" she asked, trying her best not to think something that bad could possibly happen. "I'm sure they're fine, even if they haven't contacted us yet. Anna and the others are pretty resilient when they want to be." He answered truthfully. "I wouldn't worry too much about them." "I guess..." she studied her meager feet, not looking too certain. "Katie, what's wrong?" Frank asked. "Frank-kun..." she shook her head. "Do you think you could go to the store for me? I'm kinda hungry." The man blinked. "Really? I guess that's not a problem. Keiko did mention they'd be going out for dinner soon." "That's okay, I'm sure she won't mind a little company." She offered a smile to him, making him blink in more confusion. "Bring back something yummy, okay?" "I...if that's what you want," he said, shrugging. "Some chocolates too?" "Hai," she answered softly. "That would be nice." The reporter paused and frowned. She was thinking about something more than she was letting on. "Katie?" "Thank you, Frank-kun." She said, giving him a hug. "I...know I've been difficult, and really scatter-brained. Thanks for putting up with me." "Sure," he responded, not too sure how else to respond. "Now hurry up! I wanna eat!" Katie exclaimed, hopping up and down around Frank. "Right, right. I'll just tell Keiko, and we're off, okay?" "Great! I'm starved!" He shook his head and left the hall, not sure if he'd ever understand the girl. Katie smiled as she watched him go, then looked back at the phone. She gulped audibly. It was for the best, really. They hadn't heard from Anna or the others, which meant they were still in those people's clutches, or something worse. The A.E.I.O.U. did have a lot of information on her already, so what was to stop them from doing the same thing to her family? It was a thought that wouldn't leave her alone, and scared her more than the thought of having to go back to all that experimentation. If they were that willing to hurt poor, innocent Keiko, then... She was faintly aware of a door being closed, and rushed to the living room window to confirm what she thought. Keiko and Frank were already on their way to whatever takeout place was conveniently close. Katie walked back to the phone with shaky nerves. But she was resolved and set in her decision. She would do this, if it meant her family didn't have to get involved after all. She glanced at the number on the caller ID, and scribbled it down on a piece of paper, hoping she was doing the right thing. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ There were headaches. These pings to the contracted blood vessels within the brain left an unpleasant sensation for some hours. There were migraines, an even more powerful, chronic throbbing that made the one suffering wish for a gun to alleviate the horrid pain. Eugene was suffering from both a headache and a migraine. But it was such pain that only someone of SUPERYOUMAGENERAL stature could possibly withstand it. Still, that didn't stop him from wishing for a bottle of Sauce so he could summon a gun to blow the headache/migraine away. Currently he was sulking in his cell, conserving what little power he had remaining. He was well aware that he'd been outdone by someone very powerful, and very sexy. Now it was all a matter of a waiting game, when he'd discover just what they wanted, and then destroy them for their utter insolence. It was only fitting, considering how he had been stepped on. Yes, he thought angrily. Stepped on, ridiculed, not taken seriously, spied upon, stalked, been made a fool...they would all pay for that. His only regret is he had little to no idea how Rosa or that other twit were doing, not that he was really concerned about Josh. If they had fell someone of SUPERYOUMAGENERAL stature, then surely poor Rosa and that weakling would have fallen quicker? The cell door creaked open noisily, and the hulking green behemoth looked on at two armed guards. Well, two guards armed with Really Big Tazers. "The council will speak with you, prisoner." ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ The Otaku Force plus two (Jenny really didn't like the name, and Commander Fuzz is a bit of an independent) collected outside the main building of their headquarters The sun was low in the sky, giving a reddish hue to the scene. Currently, they were comparing notes on their findings. "So then you take the first pillow and place it gently under her hips, and that allows for maximum comfort and cuts down on physical strain," Brett finished, much to Deedee's displeasure. "Quit harassing Jenny," Deedee declared, and kicked the boy in his shin. "OW! Hey, she asked!" She shot the pervert a dirty look. "Like anyone would really ask you about something like that!" "Actually, I did," Jennifer replied sheepishly. "It was kind of important, since I do that kind of thing to stay in shape." The resident smart girl stared at Jennifer in stoic disbelief. "You mean... you...you aren't a...you like--" "What?" the girl shrugged, causing her chest to bounce. "Doesn't everyone exercise?" "Exercise?" Deedee squeaked. "That's what they're calling it these days?" Brett only shook her head, and then turned to the approaching Anna. "All prepared?" "We can load up and leave anytime." She tucked a laptop further under her arm and gave them all a look. "I do hope you all realize what we might be walking into." They all gave her a curious look at her words. Deedee only shook her head "It's not really like we haven't done this before. Everything will turn out fine." "There's still that unknown factor to count for," Cecil spoke up from his spot beside the van. "That person who took out Eugene and the others." Anna frowned. "Still, it would help to be careful. We head to Orange County to obtain Frank and Katie, and then we head to the A.E.I.O.U. main headquarters once they're secure." "Y'know, we could probably use their help." Jennifer spoke up. "True, but we shouldn't involve them further unless necessary." They all nodded. "Anyway, let's move out," Anna said. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ Frank grumbled under the pale moonlight. Dinner had not turned out well. No, that wasn't completely accurate. Dinner was perfect, as perfect as Jack in the Box can be, anyway. The problem was leaving, when he was plowed into rather violently by a passing skater. The result knocked all of his cherry cola on him, and would have given him a nasty head bruise if it wasn't for the sudden, embarrassing transformation into SD Kamen. It wasn't even the fact that he had to be carried in the backpack he had carried Katie in that ground him the worse. It wasn't even the initial stares that he'd received upon transformation. What had bothered him the most was that he never stayed in the backpack for long, because apparently Keiko had it rather bad for Tuxedo Kamen, and his current form did everything to boost her infatuation. And he'd had quite enough of tuxedo-infatuated girls for one lifetime, thank you very much. Even now he was in her arms, though how she carried him and the food would plague his mind every other minute or so, and she cooed and poked and made the most lovesick faces to his dinner-plate eyes. He briefly pondered if this was how Elmyra's victims felt. That thought trailed the possibility that Keiko would be just as violently loving to him, and he shuddered just as violently. "Something wrong, Tuxedo Kamen-sama?" She asked in a distant (though she was trying for seductively husky) tone. Frank sweatdropped. "That's SD...er, nothing. I guess I'm kinda worried about Katie." That seemed to snap the girl back into some semblance of reality. "Is something wrong with her?" "Yeah, now that I think about it." He pursed his lips together and put a pudgy hand to his chin. "She was being really sullen before we left." "Well, I'm sure she'll let you know." The girl gave the chibi a reassuring smile, though he was certain it was a leer. "... Right." He responded. Then he doubled over. Well, as much as a super- deformed person can double over in someone else's grasp, anyway. "Tuxedo...er...SD Kamen!" The world was spinning, and suddenly he was faintly aware of a massive castle in his vision. Within one of the more massive balconies in the front, a girl stood in the moonlight, looking at him with sad eyes. Or rather, she would have been if she could see above the balcony. As it happened, she scrambled to the stone rail, and then gazed upon him with sad, dinner-plate eyes. "Help me, Frank-kun," Katie pleaded. Katie? The world reasserted itself, and Frank found himself staring into Keiko's worried eyes. "Frank, are you okay? What happened?" "I...don't know." That had never happened before. Did it mean something important? Could he be developing new powers? Was Katie in trouble? "I think Katie's in trouble," Keiko stated with certainty. "Guaaaah!" Frank fell face-first into the ground. "How...did you read my mind?" Keiko only shook her head and pointed to her house, only so many feet away. In the front door were A.E.I.O.U. troops talking to Lenny. "... We've been set up?" Frank couldn't believe it, but the evidence was in front of him. There were six present, not including a tall man in a suit. Lenny had a solemn look on his face, and Katie was nowhere to be seen. The younger Ramsey shook her head. "No! Father would never do this! Something must have gone wrong." "Cecil said they couldn't have followed us, but maybe he was captured with the others." That would mean they pumped the Otaku Force heads for information. Whatever had happened, Frank knew he had to make moves quickly. With luck, he could immobilize the troops and at least give Katie a chance to escape... He had no further time to think as Keiko stuffed him into the oversized backpack and ducked behind some bushes. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "I trust that your stay was most comfortable, Mr. Harrison?" Eugene blinked at the table before him. "And you people are?" "We are the Council that heads the Anime Emergency Intake Overdose Unit, and that's all you really need to know for the moment about us." The person in the biggest chair waved a hand, and the guards left the room. "... Well, then, what do you want from me?" "I see that you are a man of action. Then I'll be brief." He stood from the shadows hanging over the chair into the full light of the room. A suited individual, he actually gave off the impression of the average Japanese salaryman. What struck Eugene as off was the aura of menace that seem to ooze off of the man. "Before the world of anime became the growing mainstream fad it is today, its fan following were of a more dedicated nature. You can rate this with the people who would practice some favorite sport nonstop, or the children jumping off of buildings, thinking they could be Superman or some such hero. "These fans have always existed, starving to not only emulate their heroes, but surpass them in a way. This was no different for anime. The first real overdose case reported was a result of too much Speed Racer. However, few would guess the power such influences had on people Jeff Gordon, the victim back then, is still one of racing's most known faces." Eugene blinked. "I thought you said you'd be brief?" "That single case gave birth to countless possibilities, at least to a select few." the man continued, completely ignoring the SUPERYOUMAGENERAL. "To be like that you watched, it was power, desire, everything. A group of people decided to finally test this theorem for themselves. They would become what they admired, instead of settling for some simple form of imitation." "Um, the point?" Eugene groused. The man paid him no mind. "The results were unexpected, but the open possibilities were boundless. That was when the A.E.I.O.U. was born. Its true purpose to be able to examine, and harness these fantastic powers, and wield them to our own devices." "GET TO THE DAMN POINT!" Eugene thundered. "You are the point, my friend." The man smiled maliciously. "You, and those like you. It is indeed true that you used means vastly different from the first real subjects, but your results are even more spectacular than the originals. You, alone, hold near limitless power at your hands, with no real limit or boundary to answer to." Eugene thought about that statement for a moment, and eyed the man carefully. "So what?" "So, you're going to be working with us from now on. It would vastly accelerate our research, giving us the perfect potions to make an anime utopia." "... Utopia?" Eugene thought Cute girls everywhere, wonderful, sunny days that never ended, and all the things he ever really dreamed of? And all he had to really do was aid them in their research? "I can see you're a little tongue-tied at the moment, so we'll give you time to think it over. I imagine you will come to the right conclusion." "And if I refuse?" Eugene suddenly thought. "Well, it would certainly be a shame for that to happen," the man said, sitting back down at his chair and crossing his hands under his nose in a perfect imitation of Gendo Ikari. "But we have alternatives." A door to the side opened, and Eugene growled. It was the same girl that had struck him down before. "I'm merely offering you a chance to partake in the inevitable. Do think it over, will you?" Eugene turned to see the guards from earlier, and quietly followed them to his cell. It was perfect. Martial artists and magic sidekicks and whole new worlds that would probably be created for people's pleasures. Avatars would roam free, the bible would be rewritten to include the book of Twoflower... the possibilities were limitless. And as far as the SUPERYOUMAGENERAL was concerned, he'd sooner take a job as a Teletubby than allow those silly louts to have their world. The kink in his defenses was his opponent. She was no slouch, and he knew he'd have to be in top form to defeat her. Then he could fall those other idiots, retake his queen, and set back to his original intention of taking over the world. And to think that they had given him the key to doing what he so desired. Alone in his cell once again, he chuckled at the irony. He had always had to steal the Sauce, or have his minions fetch the stuff, but why in the heavens hadn't he thought of making it himself? He had just enough power to test his theorem. Turning away from the door, Eugene beat back the massive headache and concentrated on the image of the spicy goodness that would bring him back to power, and the A.E.I.O.U. to their knees. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ In the end, she was certain she had made the right choice. Regardless, Katie couldn't help but feel really, really bad about her current situation. It wasn't that she was being grossly mistreated. In fact, they had given her a rather plush room to sleep in, with a nice hot meal. She just felt that she had betrayed her friends' interests. Friends? When did she think of them like that? All those nasty experiments, and then chasing her around town and forcing her into hiding... Katie sighed. It didn't seem as important anymore. She really needed a shoulder to cry on, but no one was there. The A.E.I.O.U. would probably be nice enough to her before they decided to dissect her or something. Katie shuddered at the thought. She missed Frank, but letting him get further into this was rather pointless. He'd done so much for her, and she'd really caused him nothing but trouble. And to think, all she wanted was to be like Miaka, or maybe even Usagi as the slimmest chance. She'd have liked the powers, but they weren't really on her list of desires. She just wanted to be a part of something more special, to get in touch with the wonders she had seen in that marathon, as well as all those other worlds of mecha and shoujo and magic. But here she was, three feet tall, stuck in some parody of a government compound, awaiting interrogation and most definitely more experimentation. She silently vowed to do something different with her life, if she got the chance. Make an awareness group to the dangers and folly of wanting to be the impossible, or something. The door creaked open, and Katie blinked. The girl was average height, in a very tight jumpsuit that accentuated every curvy detail about her. Her pale, gray eyes shimmered in the light, but gave little emotion away. In fact, the girl looked solemn, if nothing else. However, Katie was too busy focusing on the tray in her hands to notice all of this. "COOKIES! WAI!" faster than the strange girl could blink, the baked goods in her hands met an untimely fate at the maw of a hungry, depressed, chibi. "... oh my." The girl responded. After the tray was finished, Katie sat on a beanbag, making content sounds of happiness. "... the subject is fed, i will go now." Katie blinked as the girl turned to leave. "Did you make those?" "i have no cooking skills to speak of." She replied matter-of-factly. "Oh," Katie 'oh'ed. "Well, thank you anyway. They were very delicious." The girl continued to stare at her, then with a curt nod, turned to leave. "Wait!" Katie said, stopping the girl once again. "Um, what's your name?" "i am called yuri." "So you were chibified too?" she asked. "chibification..." for a moment, something flickered in the taller girl's eyes, but it was quickly buried. "yes. i was the first." "Wow." That hit Katie particularly hard. "You mean Rosa wasn't the first?" "...you are not classified to know further information," the girl responded. She turned on her heel once more to leave. "Yuri-san! Um," Katie fought to think of a way to keep the girl around. For one, she was incredibly curious as to how such a thing happened to another person. Second, she was getting rather lonely, and didn't wish to return to the cycle of solitude and sadness she was in not moments ago. "Do you want to stay around? I have some cards in my bag." "i was instructed to watch the subject, not play games." "Not even Go Fish?" Something did flicker in the girl's eyes this time, and it stayed. Her gray eyes colored, taking in more and more light until they were a full brown. Her pale blue hair grew darker, with natural highlights. "I suppose one game couldn't hurt," she offered with a small smile. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "So she left earlier?" "Before they arrived, in fact." Lenny Ramsey scratched his head. "I guess she didn't want you becoming captured with her. I thought someone was listening in on my conversation." Frank and Keiko arched an eyebrow. "Conversation?" Frank asked. The old man let out a frustrated sigh. "The A.E.I.O.U. isn't completely unfamiliar to me. They initially wanted my daughter for experimentation of their more wilder elixirs." "Father!" Keiko sounded aghast. "I'd never let them get their hands on you. It wasn't until they started to acquire more muscle that I took defense, moving into such a plain area and leaving little contact between those who weren't especially trusted." "... You could have just filed a police report." Frank stared at the man. "And who would have believed something that crazy? Besides, their financial backers have more than enough influence with local law enforcement to get something like this overlooked." Ramsey shook his head. Frank mentally filed away the name for later reference. "So what do we do now? Do you at least know where their base of operations is?" "I'm afraid not. There's really nothing further I can do. I am sorry for what has occurred." "Katie..." Frank balled his fist, crumpling the hastily-written note with Katie's signature on it. "There has to be a way," Keiko mused. "Maybe Cecil and the others can come up with something?" Frank blinked at the girl. "I thought they had been captured?" "No, they should be arriving any minute," Ramsey responded. The sound of a clunker backfiring drew their attention away from the conversation. They looked out the window at a junk sedan hobbling by. "That's not something you see everyday," Frank mused. The others nodded. "Well, we can eat until they get here, I guess." Keiko said, taking out a burger and biting into it. It was another ten minutes before the Otaku Force officers arrived at the Ramsey compound. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "Any threes?" Katie pouted as she laid her cards on the table. Yuri made a book and smiled at the smaller girl. "That's four wins." "I'll come back yet!" she declared as she shuffled the cards up to deal again. They both shared a good laugh. "You know, I'm usually not this calm around people," Yuri mused aloud. "Eh?" "Well, it's just...people make me upset. Especially these simpletons around here." She frowned and adjusted her jumpsuit. "I haven't really had a time to enjoy myself here. It's always work." "No one wants to play Go Fish here?" Katie asked. "Not that, really. Most of the time I'm away at college, being stared at, or I'm here, undergoing training to hone my powers." "So you do have powers? Neat." Katie smiled. "All I managed to get was this pudgy body and some silly immortality thing." Yuri blinked at that. "Really?" "Yeah, supposedly I can't be hurt, but I know that's really silly because I've already been hurt plenty of times. Hit by a bus, experimented on, a whole bunch of things have happen that DEFINITELY hurt. But it could be worse, I guess. I could have been killed." Yuri had to giggle. "I don't think I can really be hurt at all. I used to use my ability on reflex, but now I can control it, mostly." "Even that hair color trick?" "Yup. It helps me when I want them to think I'm psychopathic and uncontrollable." Katie blinked at that. "Huh?" "They labeled me 'Subject Y', and kept up their silly experiments." She scowled at memories. "But after awhile, it became easier to deal with them when I put up that doll front; mostly so I really wouldn't go crazy and hurt them or something." "Wow..." Katie thought of the similarities. Would she have harmed Anna and the others eventually? Well, with Brett there was no question, especially after that one experiment with all that midget lingerie... "Well, it gives me my space," she said, reverting to her 'doll mode'. "so why not use it?" Katie giggled as she switched back, then thought further about her new friend. "So why'd you do it?" "you mean chibification?" Katie nodded. "well... you are about sixteen, right?" The smaller girl nodded, and Yuri continued. "when i was your age, younger i think, i wanted to be an actress more than anything, and it was what I worked for. i found myself really liking anime as well, and impersonated a lot of the emotional styles. "i forget what it was that i was on a binge with, but it turned my life around. one thing i was not was pretty, at least to the point of gorgeous. so i thought that i could become like the characters i saw. then no studio would resist me or turn me away." "So," Katie guessed. "You did it for the looks?" "the bust size, actually," Yuri admitted, much to Katie's surprise. "my cup size was not nearly this impressive." Katie started to say something, and then thought to how incredibly similar her own motives were to her friends. Still, she wasn't so open about it. "it is great, though, because they feel really good, especially the way guys touch them." Yuri seemed to stare off into space, a slight bit of drool emitting from the corner of her mouth. Katie sweatdropped. "How long have you been like this?" "Two years. I did it as a freshman in college," she responded, reverting to her normal persona. "I've learned a lot since then too. It's not all apples and roses, especially having to keep under the eye of these nutcases." "Then why do you stay?" "Well, that was one of the down parts of my transformation. I kinda lost some important memories when it happened. I know I had family, and a house, but I don't know who, or where. I was in Nevada when he found me." "He?" Katie asked. "Hooper. Head of A.E.I.O.U." For the strangest reason, moogles and mad scientist teenagers danced in Katie's mind. "So he's the one in charge." "Yeah. Always trying to 'gain the power of anime' and such rubbish. He's just mad because I couldn't remember the formula I used either." More thoughts fell into place. "You think he might try to get it from me?" "I doubt it. I don't think he really has a use for you, all things considered. He has the formula from the Otaku Force main site." She stretched and yawned. "That, and he's probably trying to gain confidence with the originals before he can unleash it, not that it will do it any good." "Huh?" "I'd never let him get away with it. Hooper's already shown that some folks can't be trusted with real power. I mean, all I really do with my abilities outside of this place is spot a good deal when I'm shopping." Yuri chuckled. "Everytime he tries to put together a super soldier serum or something, I subtly alter it." She posed seductively. "It helps that I know the lab guys really well." Katie tried not to think about Yuri's means of 'persuasion.' "So in short, I really don't have to be here?" "That's about the nutshell. But I'm glad you came anyway, it's good to have someone else not too weird to speak with." Katie gave a small smile. "Thanks." She turned to look at the midnight sky. "I guess I ditched Frank-kun and the others for nothing. I hope they're all okay." "Bah, they're probably on their way here to rescue you at this very moment, planning out some grand entrance. These ARE otaku you're dealing with." Yuri said with a wink. Katie nodded solemnly. "I'm gonna think about some stuff." "Need to be alone?" "No. I still need to beat you in best out of eleven." Yuri shuffled the cards with a smile on her face. "You're on." ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ The morning sun has chased away the horrible night.... Frank turned off Simon's Quest and looked at the sleeping bodies in the room. Some grand rescue party, he mused. They'd all debated on a plan of action, and then promptly fell asleep. Only the cat had stayed up any longer, and that was because he was still chewing happily on a steak purchased from an earlier time. And while I'm here, Katie's suffering under unspeakable tortures, he thought darkly. Some protector he turned out to be, the thought making him blink. Since when had he become her protector? True, he liked her, but he was pretty certain that not much could be done to her. Bah, he needed some air. Frank rose and stepped into the cold morning. He was surprised to find Brett staring off into the rusty sky. "You're up early," Frank remarked. "Anna and Jenny kicked me off the couch," he replied. The two men...well, one adolescent and one college graduate stared off into space for some time. "So, gonna rescue her?" Brett asked. "Don't think I have a choice. She's kind of grown on me." Brett nodded, and looked back into space. Against Frank's better judgment, he decided to be curious. "What's on your mind?" "My hair." "Eh?" Frank frowned. "That's what's on your head, what's on your mind?" "Just thinking about what I'm gonna do when this is all over. That formula is still more or less public knowledge now, so there will definitely be more idiots to take care of." Frank looked at him quizzically. "You sound happy about that." "You're right, I'm not. I was hoping to concentrate on better things to do with our club." "Like?" "Dunno, just something other than having to clean up after people's silly, selfish desires." The part-time super hero frowned in thought. "We're only human." "Don't I know it." Brett looked at the man, and turned away. "Don't worry about me; I'm not a morning person." Frank nodded, and Brett turned away. "I'll go wake the others up, we need to get going." The reporter watched him go, and blinked at something on the ground. He must have dropped it, Frank thought. He picked up the paper, which was actually a picture. A really obscure picture, though he could make out a smaller, bright-eyed Brett, he had no idea what to make of the girl hugging him. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ Area 51 is one of the most speculated, controversial spots in America. It is home to more than a million rumors of alien crashes, government plots, and a lot of covers. However it wasn't home to the A.E.I.O.U. secret base. In fact, Nevada has absolutely nothing to do with their location. So we find ourselves taking a detour from the endless desert to view the interior of a Seven Eleven not too far from Los Angeles County. Past the clerk, and beyond the staff office, we find another door that leads to an underground facility, the current location of Walt Disney's body, and the Anime Emergency Intake Overdose Unit, though no one really knew that Disney's' body was there. Still deeper within the facility, Eugene cackled quietly to himself. His self-made Worcestershire Sauce (he'd gotten it right an hour ago, though he still preferred The Sauce) wasn't as potent in the beginning, but it did its job, and he greatly improved on the next bottle. Idly, he thought of becoming a spice maker sometime down the road. But for now, his revenge would begin, and then world domination! "Oh boys..." he murmured on the other side of the bars. The guards blinked. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ They had traveled for about an hour, but they had arrived. Anna looked around the rather cramped van, and at its tired, hungry, and antsy passengers, and with a relieved smile, shouted, "REST BREAK!" The group fell out the car more than hopped out. "Geez, who knew that ride would be so uncomfortable?" Jenny groused, straightening out her T-shirt and stretching. "That's because Cecil's van is hell when more than three people are in it." Deedee replied, straightening out her skirt, and backhanding Brett for looking. "Hey, you all didn't have to come, okay?" Cecil grumbled. Frank only shook his head. "Well, it would help if we had a better idea of just WHERE this base of theirs was." Jenny shrugged. "I just knew it was somewhere outside of LA, but not exactly where." "Well, we'll break here, and then start to track it down." Anna said. "We still have the tag on Katie, remember?" "You mean the one that's going off right now?' Brett asked, pointing at the meager equipment in the van. "... She's here?" "Apparently," Brett said with a nod. "I guess that means we can get to work." "After a bathroom break, of course," Jenny said. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ Hooper was not a happy man. He was not, in fact, even remotely pleased. His guard was in shambles, and the other members of the COUNCIL OF DOOM were all in equally unhappy states, except they were all unconscious. At current, the hulking green monstrosity that answered to Eugene was standing before him, a massive hand glowing, and the other hand holding a 42 ounce Big Gulp filled with The Sauce. "Now, you were saying something about a global utopia?" the thing sneered. "You can't do this! I'm so close to realizing my dreams!" "Dreams?" the monster took a swallow of his drink, and glared at the man with glowing ruby eyes. "You're dreams don't matter anymore, as your about to find out." "But why? I offered you the world!" Eugene smiled evilly. "My good man, the world is not enough." The last thing Hooper saw before losing consciousness was Eugene's massive bulk shake with laughter. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "There's an attack going on," Yuri suddenly said. "What makes you say that?" Katie yawned and stretched, then realized that she had used her friend's...assets as pillows. She quickly found purchase back on her own beanbag. The lights suddenly went dim, and red lights replaced them, giving Katie's room a evil glow. "Call it a hunch," Yuri spoke. She paused for a moment in concentration, and looked up. "I think your friends are here." "Frank-kun came for me?" Katie's face shown. He DID care! And she was going to be rescued, and it was going to be so romantic... "... and Eugene's loose," her new friend concluded. "Loose? He's here?" "Didn't I tell you that? Hooper had me capture all three of them. Him, the muscled hunk, and that other girl." Katie frowned. Eugene wasn't someone she was looking forward to seeing, but she also knew that he had a really bad people problem and couldn't be left unchecked. "Um, do you think we can go and get those two?" "Huh? You sure?" "Yeah, well they probably can help against Eugene, who's really not that bad. He's just really lonely." "... That's an understatement." Yuri rolled her eyes, but complied, awakening the two other captives telepathically. "Well, this way. I can only block us both from his senses for so long." Katie nodded, and they made their way to the other cells. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "Okay, remind me just why we're going after the hulking psychopathic monster again?" Cecil asked. "Because he's the most dangerous threat. After we eliminate him, we can work on Josh and Rosa." Anna cocked the barrel on her low-powered rifle, full of sedative darts. "Well, I guess, but shouldn't we be worried about that other person, the one that put him down?" "Put him down?" SD Kamen asked, cane out and at the ready. "Yeah. Seems somebody put down Rosa, Eugene, and Josh all at once. With little effort." Deedee intoned. "..." the tux hero replied. "Regardless," Anna said, drawing their attention back to the present. "We will deal with what we know first, and burn that bridge when we get to it." They reached a fork in the pathways of the lab-like facility. "Okay," Anna thought. "Cecil, you take Jenny and Brett and head left. Look for Katie, and meet back here in ten minutes." The mech boy nodded, and motioned to his comrades. As they left down the left corridor, Anna and the others took the right. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "... My head hurts." "What happened to me?" Rosa arose from her cot and looked at her cellmate. "Josh? Where are we?" The Saiyajin boy looked around at the red lights, "Dunno, but something bad is going down, and I'm missing all the action." "Whatever. I think we need to find our way out of here first, and then worrying about kicking the crap out of whoever did this." She stood shakily on her feet and took examination of her surroundings. They'd taken her purse, which meant chances of defending herself successfully were slim to none. "Problem?" Josh asked. "I don't suppose you have anything pink on you?" she asked weakly. "Afraid not," he said with a sheepish grin. "But it's okay. I'll protect you." Rosa blushed, despite herself. "Let's get out of here." Josh took a moment to orient himself, and then with a punch, caved in the cell door. A quick scan of the area, and he motioned to his companion, leading the way down the hallway. They only had so far to go before they ran into someone. "That's not Katie, is it?" Jennifer asked. Cecil eyed the two people warily. "We're not here for trouble. Come along peaceably." Josh eyed the Otaku Force officers in return. "And if we refuse?" "Look, we don't have time for this silly game; we have cures for your conditions," Brett said. "Lies!" Rosa shouted. "All we need is your cooperation. Well?" "Sorry, but I rather like my abilities as is," Josh sneered at the pretty boy. Cecil, already in his mech form, stood in front of the aquatranssexual. "We're not here to fight." "But you're going to have to," Josh smirked. "Someone's gotta pay for the headache I have." *go back to sleep* "I'm goin' to sleep," he said in the very same mechanical tones spoken in his mind, then passed out on the floor. Rosa blinked at the collapsed boy, and then turned to look at... "Who're you?" "we have bigger matters to deal with," the girl replied. "resist, and i will put you back to sleep." "Hey! I thought you said you woke them up to help us, Yuri-chan?" The Otaku Force officers stared pass the busty girl to look at the three foot chibified subject behind her. "well, he is not going to be much help, is he?" She said, pointing at the prone Saiyajin on the ground. "True, but maybe we could talk him into it?" "Who are you?" Cecil spoke up, still wary of the girl. "i am Yuri, and your friends are about to run into a really big problem." ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ The main office was deserted. Well, that wasn't entirely true. The main office had a pile of bodies in the middle of the room, and Eugene was sitting at the far end, scribbling equations on the wall. Anna and Deedee tensed. Frank only frowned at the display. "You murderer!" "Don't be ridiculous!" Eugene glared at the group. "There's no point in killing them, they were just hard to maneuver around while I was pacing, waiting for you all to show up." "Waiting?" Anna asked warily. "Well, yes. I thought it would only be appropriate for the thorns in my side to have a perfect view of my first major victory in my quest for world domination." He snapped his fingers, and the girls' weaponry were pulled from them. Then all three were thrown against the wall, and bolted by an invisible force. "When did he get this good?" Deedee squeaked. "I think it has something to do with the drama in the air," Anna toned. "It's thick enough to cut with a knife." "That still doesn't help us!" SD Kamen shouted as he struggled against his bonds. "Now, to get the other part of the cast here," the monster said with an evil grin. There was a pop of air, and then the remaining Otaku Force officers were there, including a confused Rosa, an unconscious Josh, an on edge Yuri, and a surprised Katie. "Frank-kun!" she shouted. "Katie, run!" he responded. Suddenly she was. Running. Flying, really, only to land at Eugene's side. The girl gulped loudly. "Oh how cliché can you get?" Anna groused. "This is my moment, not yours!" the SUPERYOUMAGENERAL barked back. "Anyway, time to take care of the rest of you--" He snarled when three darts impacted his chest, one after another, piercing his thick hide. "Those won't work," he intoned, turning the gun into a set of lit firecrackers. Brett dropped the minor fireworks, and Cecil charged the hulking beast, boosters on his back flaring. He received a backhand for his troubles, and landed not too far from his friends' prone positions. "Ouch," he muttered, trying to shake the world into focus again. "This is entertaining, really, but I just wanted to do a couple of things. First, to thank Katie, for without her, my plans wouldn't be possible." He patted the girl's head affectionately, and she made a face. "And second, to all of you for paying witness to my rise to power." "You're becoming really corny here," The Otaku Force leader said as she tested her bonds. "Oh shut up," he replied. His eyes went from crimson to green, and Anna screamed as she passed out. "Don't you think you're going a bit overboard?" Katie asked, now terrified for her friends. "For what? I've the power to do whatever I please now! That's what it's for anyway, why let these simple-minded dolts dictate anything anymore? I shape their reality now!" "That's just not right," she replied. "So what, you have a lot of silly tricks, that doesn't give you any right to pick on people!" "You're doing to us what you claimed the world did to you," Cecil gasped, getting to his metal feet and staring at Eugene. "This cycle won't end unless you make it end. Otherwise, you're no better than those you subjugate." "... Save it for an after school special, will ya?" Eugene flexed, and the room trembled at his command. "Get it through your heads: I've won. I've got the girl, and I have all the cards." "So you're expecting us to bow to you?" Deedee shouted at the monstrosity. "Of course! That's what you're supposed to be doing!" As if to emphasize Eugene's point, the scientist was suddenly in front of him on her knees. "I think that's enough, jerk. You're giving good chibi bad names." Yuri stared the monster down, her deep brown eyes burning a hole into his soul. "Oh, it's you. Won't be catching me off guard this time, you little minx." Another dart hit his thick hide. Eugene flinched and buckled, while Katie took advantage of his moment of immobility and pulled Deedee to her feet; out of harm's way. "Watch how you talk to my sister, pal." Brett growled, taking aim with Deedee's dropped rifle. There was a collective gasp in the room. "I...don't see the resemblance," Eugene admitted truthfully. "Neither do I," Yuri admitted with great confusion. "You sure of that?" "Same eyes as before, though your chest is too big to be Kathleen's, unless you hit a growth spurt or something." He shrugged. "Don't matter right now. Big green monster to concentrate on." "True, but it's not like I can do anything against him," Yuri responded through grit teeth. There was another collective gasp in the room. "Weren't you the one that put him down?" Cecil asked, before being put into a wall again. "Well, yes, but he wasn't this strong then. It's taking everything I have to block off his mental battle." She wiped sweat from her brow and glared at Eugene. "And quite frankly, my dear, you're boring me." Eugene flicked a claw, and both siblings flew into the wall with the force of a truck. "... Ouch." They mumbled. "Can't somebody do something against him?" Katie asked. "I think... Brett already did." Deedee mentioned. Both hulking SYG and Katie turned to look at the girl. "What do you mean?" "That was my rifle, loaded with the solution designed for you. It should take effect soon," she explained. "... Nuts." Eugene said, and collapsed to the floor. The others stuck to the wall fell to the ground as Eugene passed into unconscious. Deedee blinked. "It shouldn't have knocked him out. Must have been those other darts. I told Anna that elephant tranquilizers weren't a bad idea." ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ The major crisis over, everyone wound down. "..." Rosa said. Brett picked himself up off the wall, and helped his 'sister' to her feet. "Are you okay?" "I will be when you let those go," she said, smiling at him sweetly. Katie and Deedee dashed for their fallen comrades. While the Otaku Force resident smart girl checked over her fallen leader, Katie jumped into smaller, yet strangely more comfortable arms. "You came for me!" she exclaimed happily. "Well, yes, but it would have helped if you'd never taken off in the first place." Frank held the girl at arm's distance. "What exactly were you thinking?" Katie looked away from the chibi hero. "I just didn't want anybody else getting hurt..." "That's a wonderful sentiment," Anna spoke while rubbing her head. "But you do know this isn't some melodrama, right? I mean, we WERE on our way to get you." "But you guys never got back in contact with us, and then that scary A.E.I.O.U. guy contacted Mr. Ramsey and threatened Keiko." She shook her head. "I was really worried about my parents too, and I wanted to make sure they didn't do anything to them." Frank and Anna looked at her, and then each other. "Yeah," the tux crusader said with a nod. "You guys never really did call at all. Where were you?" Anna leaned against the wall while Deedee continued to prod at her, looking for further injury. "Cecil said he called." "I said I called, I didn't say I got through," the boy groaned. "..." Rosa said. "Whatever, it doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that we clean up, see the appropriate people get turned over to the authorities, and I take a nice, long, hot bath to soothe my poor nerves." "Easier said than done," Yuri spoke up. "There's got to be a couple of hundred people working here, and only really ten of them knew what the council was planning." The girl frowned and crossed her hands in front of her chest. "And despite all of its corrupt leadership did to feed their silly plans, everyone else was merely doing their job, which was preventing chibification outside of an uncontrolled environment." "So what do we do with them?" Cecil asked. "Leaving them like this isn't an option. And I don't think the police would help on all of them." "Well, I guess the A.E.I.O.U. will just need new leadership." Anna looked at her companions...and blinked at Jennifer. "Um, someone wanna pull Jennifer off of the councilmen?" Everyone turned toward the mentioned girl, who was busy kicking one minor council head while choking Hooper. "Lousy bastards! Keep me out of the circle, will you? Well I'M the head cheese now! Trigun and Weiss Kreuz forever!" "... Why should we?" Deedee asked. "She's fine." Anna blinked at the girl, but then remembered just what the council had done to herself and the others, and decided to let the secretary have her reign. "Now another mystery: Who's this other girl?" Cecil asked. "Supposedly, I'm Kathleene, but just call me Yuri." She bowed politely at everyone. "A pleasure to meet you all." "... I was right," Rosa finally said. "Eh?" was the collective room response. "There WAS a global plot in the making. I never really thought..." the girl sat hard on the marble floor. "I mean, I had my theories, but to think it all almost came true..." "Well, it's over now," Anna said. "I should have been the one to end it," the girl whined with a sniffle. "If you worried about it that much," Cecil spoke up, reverting to his flesh and blood form. "Then why don't you make sure it doesn't happen again." "What? You mean join you guys?" the girl snorted. "Like I'd ever trust you people." "Well, that's kind of the point. This way, you keep your eye on us, AND get paid for it at the same time," He thought about it, and gave it a nod. "It saves on us actually having to take over all their operations, anyway. And you do have people helping." "I know most of their plans," Yuri spoke up. "So it would be really easy to get you up to speed with everything." "And I do know how the majority of things ran outside of the council," Jennifer said, looking up from the even more injured councilmen. "I wouldn't mind helping out...for a pay raise, of course." "Of course." Anna remarked, eyeing the girl. "Anyway, there you go. It's a nice job to play with, if you want it, Rosa." "I...guess it is." The girl said, still uncertain. "But what about those two? What are you going to do with them?" Everyone looked at the unconscious Josh and Eugene. "Well," Deedee said. "I do have the serum solution for Josh right here, so we'll just apply it to him." "You mean that stain in your labcoat?" Frank asked. The scientist looked down and frowned in dismay. "I guess the cartridge was broken when Eugene over there slammed me against the wall." "And Josh is still rather dangerous..." Cecil intoned. "Nah, he'll sleep like a baby until you can make a second solution," Yuri provided helpfully. "Well, that still doesn't let us know what to do with him. Eugene wasn't the only violent weirdo," Brett said. "I think I can reign him in," Rosa said. "With some time, anyway." "Fine, whatever." Anna said. "Now can we get moving? I want to get this all done with already and soak for a day." "Can I join you?" Brett glanced at his sister, who had spoken the same time he did. So did everyone else, though with varying displays of shock. "NOW I see the resemblance," Katie said with a nervous chuckle. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ The chaos was over, and the recovering A.E.I.O.U. members were rounded up and reprimanded for not having a permit for a hidden base within LA county limits. Hooper would not be heard from for some time. When Josh awoke, he was rationalized with. If he wanted to keep such power, he'd have to help out. He since has been aiding in the anger management section of the newly reformed A.E.I.O.U. As for Eugene... ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ He awoke with a splitting headache, not knowing what day it was, nor how long he had been out. He remembered everything, right up to the point where that silly scientist had made the declaration of his defeat. Defeat. The word rang hollow in his ears; tasted bitter in his mouth. He had everything, and had lost it to the pretty people. The goody two shoes citizens of a god-forsaken country. That did not make him feel good. He rose from his bed and stared at his TV, finally recognizing his house. And now he had his parents to deal with. They were sure to chew him out, if for nothing else, for the fact that Commander Fuzz was gone, and likely not returning. So that was it? All that power, all that adventure...he blinked. He had his health, and his house was still there. Hell, he even had a kick-ass recipe for The Sauce that was sure to make ANYTHING taste good. So...he'd lost his chance at world domination. Perhaps life wasn't so bad after all. Eugene walked to his dresser, and blinked at what he saw in the mirror. It definitely wasn't pretty, but it wasn't hideous either. He was much slimmer than he remembered, and his unkempt hair made for a wild effect. If one were to go out on a limb, they might even say he was...handsome. "Eugene? You mother and I would like to talk to you about your choice in women..." His father trailed off after opening the door to his room. Mr. Harrison blinked. "You've toned down, son. That's good. See what a little exercise and hard work get you?" "Um...right, dad." ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ One mooooooore thing... ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ It had been somewhat of a month, and things were looking fine. In the end, only Katie had voluntarily given up her powers, or tried to anyway. "That might explain why the A.E.I.O.U. didn't put those solutions to the test," Deedee thought after another check up on the almost normal teen. "Perhaps they knew about the side effects?" "Gee, you think?" Rosa groused. "It's not so bad," Katie said weakly, though it was really disorienting. every hard knock or overreaction sent her back into a superdeformed state. It made for a great show when her parents found out what happened to her for all those days away. "The miniseries from hell," her mother had called it. But thinking on it, she had a lot to show. Some really strange memories, and new friends with common interest, and strange habits. Speaking of which... "Where's Kathy, I mean, Yuri-chan? We're supposed to be on for a card game and double date tonight." "Frank, huh?" Rosa asked, to which the younger girl nodded. "Probably doing something perverted," Deedee grumbled. Katie giggled at that, the only other linking trait to confirm Brett's claim on his sister. Yuri wasn't nearly as bad as Brett himself, but then again, she had college experience on her side. "She said she'd be late. Something about a La Blue Girl incident." Rosa spoke up. Both Katie and Deedee paled. "That wouldn't be a new case, would it?" the science wizard asked. "It might," Rosa responded. "Just what is that, anyway?" "You don't want to know," Deedee and Katie said in unison. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ One mooooooooooooooooooore thing... ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ Frank, Katie, Yuri, and Bob (Katie thought it would be cute if they hooked up) were all out for a decent time on the town. "Show me your hottest moves!" Dance Dance Revolution just happened to be part of that evening. Yuri rolled in laughter as Frank fell off the machine for what had to be the fifth time. "Katie, can we do something OTHER than Gentle Stress on expert standing?" the reporter whined, rubbing his sore everything. "But it's so much fun! You'll get used to it, Frank..." She trailed off, missing the last three steps and a perfect score. "Katie?" Bob and Frank asked. "Wow, they're pretty hot," Yuri said with an appraising eye. She was looking at the television, the same thing that Katie herself was looking at. Frank followed the girl's vision...and his eyebrow twitched. "They're good," Bob remarked. "The Starlights have been topping the chart for almost four weeks now. I think they're about to premiere their new video, 'Hot Flashes'." "That's a concert I wouldn't mind going to," the college girl said with a leer. "I KNOW THEM!" Katie shouted with glee, attracting everyone else's attention in the Dave and Busters. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "We're live on TRL where you just saw number two in the ranks, the Backstreet Boys with 'Drowning'. And now we take you to the number one video, with the highest votes I've ever seen. Over 80 percent of your emails and 89 of your phone calls, so here's Chichiri, Keiichi, Ataru, Shingo, and Katsuhito, The Starlights, and their newest video, 'Hot Flashes'." Off to the side of the TRL sound stage, Sam Perlus shook his head in disbelief and humor. After this group, he could retire, and do so with style. He'd truly hit the mother load with the wayward group, and his record label had given him a massive bonus to add for it. He chuckled, though the sound was quite drowned out by the raving and screaming of the fans as they ate the video up with rapt attentiveness. Retiring was definitely a good thing after their first touring run. Then maybe settle down and purchase a nice-sized island. ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ And that, as they say, is a wrap. Credit is where credit's due: I'd first like to thank Lady Brick for such a wonderful story to play with. Without which, Starburst Crystal might have been My First Impro. Cheers! I'd also like to thank Sharyna for chewing on my ear and helping me clear most of my final plot ideas up so they made much more sense than they originally did. Jexer gets a medal of prereading, and everyone that received one gets a cookie for the sole fact they were willing to do so. Our humble admin gets the biggest prize for being gracious and patient enough to allow me extra days to gather my wits and my notes and a few more for prereading. I'd like to give a special thanks to the FBI for not arresting me before I go this done. It's been fun, but now I think I'll go and do something constructive, like Kill lots of innocent guards on Perfect Dark or something. Back to the Hack I go. - Kenji Murasaki (6/19/02)