Tag: batman

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 15

My group had arrived in our target universe. I must admit, my nerves were showing. “Okay,” I gulped, “let’s get moving!”

“Moon-kyung, are you all right?” asked Joshua.

“I’m not shivering because it’s cold,” I answered.

“You’re gonna do fine!” assured Tonje. I shook my head to clear my nerves.

“Come on,” I declared. “Let’s get going. We need to find the Tarlaxian crew and the Source.” We took to the streets and noticed something was…off.

“Everyone,” called Lukas, “can anyone tell me what that palace is?” He pointed to a palace evoking a massive crystal that dominated the skyline.

“Well now, looks like we know WHEN we are as well as where,” I mused.

“Not more time-travel!” groaned Batman.

“So, we’re in this universe’s 30^th century,” mused Lacey.

“30^th?” repeated Lukas.

“In Sailor Moon,” I explained, “when the 21^st century started, Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon, became Neo Queen Serenity and made Tokyo the capital of Earth. She also found a way to slow down the aging process so people could enjoy a lifespan of 1,000 years.”

“How?” asked Batman. “What’s medical science like?”

“It’s not science that did it,” I replied. “Sailor Moon is a Magical Girl.”

“…Magic?” sighed Batman.

“I know it’s a little contrived,” I assured, “but that’s standard fare for Magical Girls.”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” called a woman’s voice. A quintet of women then ran up to us. They wore “sailor fuku” style outfits and had exotic hair matching their outfits’ colors. The woman who called out to us wore pink, even in her hair, and wore her hair like rabbit ears with a long ponytail behind each one. I knew her to be an adult form of Sailor Chibi Moon, Sailor Moon’s daughter. A woman in red wore her hair in an elaborate updo, revealing herself to be Sailor Vesta. A woman in blue had a bun on the top of her head and had a ring of braids with orbs dangling around her head, meaning she was Sailor Pallas. A woman with hair as pink as Sailor Chibi Moon’s had her hair in a bun with braids made into loops on the back of her head and ending in long ponytails. She was Sailor Ceres. The last woman in green and brown wore her hair in an elaborate updo with brown ponytails coming down. She was Sailor Juno. “You lot, a curfew’s in effect!” snapped Sailor Chibi Moon. “You can’t be outside while the Silver Enemy’s here at night!”

“Silver Enemy?” asked Batman.

“You know!” protested Sailor Vesta. “The Handle Heads!” Handle Head gave away who the enemy was!

“Where are they?!” I demanded, having read about how dangerous they are.

“Back there!” replied Sailor Chibi Moon. “So get to shelter and…” we rushed past her to where she pointed, “…and you’re doing the EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT I SAID! GET BACK HERE!” We ran down the street to confirm the Silver Enemy they were talking about. Rhythmic marching pounded on the pavement of the street as they patrolled the area, looking for any human to convert, to become like them. There was no doubt in my mind now; the Cybermen had invaded Crystal Tokyo. I didn’t see any Cybermen with black handles, so I could only believe a Cyber-Deputy was in charge of this group. One of the Cybermen spotted us and alerted his group to our presence. Every Cyberman turned to face us. I noticed the armor looked like a blend between 80’s Cyberman and modern Cyberman.

“We are the future,” droned the lead Cyberman, sounding like an 80’s Cyberman. “We are humanity 2.0. You will become like us.”

“Try and make us like you!” I challenged, burying my nerves before the fight. Like my daddy always said, “Friends may see your nerves, but your enemies must only see confidence.”

“GET OUT OF THERE!” shouted Sailor Chibi Moon.

“Your Highness,” I called, “I must ask you to trust us.”

“I…I don’t know what…” Sailor Chibi Moon was floundering at the idea that her identity was known.

“Madam, please, trust these people,” urged Lexicon. “They’re professionals when it comes to the Cybermen. Well, maybe one of them isn’t.”

“She didn’t need to know that!” I snapped as we fastened our belts. We then got ready.

“Henshin!” we all called. My Chronicle Driver spoke as we changed.

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Spear of Lance!” We had adopted our Rider personas. As the belt announce, I became Kamen Rider Lance, a Rider based off of Korean armor worn during the Japanese invasions of Korea which ended in Korea’s victory.

“GET THEM!” I shouted. We charged the ranks of Cybermen and the battle began. The Sailor Senshi (Japanese word for Warrior) behind us gawked at how we charged the Cybermen.

“Wha…wha…how…I don’t…” floundered Sailor Chibi Moon.

“Are you familiar with multiverse theory?” asked Lexicon.

“…No, I can’t say as I am,” mumbled Sailor Chibi Moon.

“There are many realities out there,” lectured Lexicon. “Some realities are only observed. The reality these people came from observe your universe frequently, sometimes dressing up as you or your mother back in her time as Sailor Moon.”

“Hold on, are you saying that we have people watching us like we’re a t.v. show?!” yelped Sailor Chibi Moon.

“And hosting conventions dedicated to you lot,” confirmed Lexicon.

“…Wow,” breathed Sailor Chibi Moon. My team didn’t have time to react to her saying that as we were still too busy with the Cybermen. We were at a stalemate.

“Well, gaesaekki,” (son of a b***h) I hissed to my opponent, the purple highlighted Cyber-Deputy, “it’s a bit of a standoff.”

“Soon corrected,” replied the Cyber-Deputy. He turned to his troops. “Release the Cyber-Slammers.”

“Yes, Deputy,” confirmed a Cyberman as he keyed in a code on his gauntlet. Three monstrous Cybermen then arrived.

“Orders, Deputy?” asked one of the monstrous Cybermen.

“Display your prowess to them,” ordered the Cyber-Deputy as he pointed to us.

“Yes, Deputy,” confirmed the monstrous Cyberman. I noticed that one of the monstrous Cybermen had four arms, one of them had a tail and wings, and the one that spoke had four legs and three fingers.

“Sludgiona, please tell me that isn’t…” I gulped.

“The crew of the Tarlaxian scout ship!” replied Sludgiona. “But…how?! Cybermen require human parts! We’re not even REMOTELY human!”

“Such a limitation existed during our nomadic days,” explained the four-armed Cyberman, “but we’ve upgraded to convert ANY living organism, aside from amorphous life-forms such as yourself.”

“You’ve practically killed them!” snarled Sludgiona.

“Incorrect,” countered the Cyberman with a tail and wings. “We are Tarlaxian 2.0. Soon, we shall overcome the obstacles that prevent us from upgrading ones like you. We are Life 2.0. You will become like us.”

“…They’re people in the suits?!” realized Sailor Chibi Moon.

“Your Highness, I’m sorry, but yes,” I answered. “And, regretfully, everything they were is gone.”

“So you killed them!” snarled Sailor Chibi Moon as she pointed an accusing finger at the Cybermen.

“You are afraid,” observed the Cyber-Deputy. “You fear losing yourself to something greater. You fear not staying as the original Usagi Tsukino II. We can remove that fear. We can remove that pain. We can remove any emotion you view as negative.”

“And our positive emotions in the process!” argued Batman.

“Emotions are a hinderance to progress,” replied the Cyber-Deputy.

“But what about the desire to create?!” wailed Sailor Chibi Moon.

“We DO create,” answered the Cyber-Deputy.

“Only things that benefit the Cybermen!” I countered.

“Survival of the species is paramount,” dismissed the Cyber-Deputy.

“I’ve heard enough!” snapped Sailor Chibi Moon. She held her hand to her tiara and gathered energy into a disc. “MOON TIARA MAGIC!” she called as she flung the disc at a Cyberman. He was bathed in white light as the attack hit. The faded, revealing the Cyberman still standing. “Impossible!” breathed Sailor Chibi Moon. “You should have been dusted!”

“All attacks have been catalogued and adapted to,” replied the Cyber-Deputy. “Our new Cyber-Leader has been crucial to that.”

“New Cyber-Leader?” I quizzed.

“Our original Cyber-Leader was destroyed upon arrival in this universe,” explained the Cyber-Deputy. “Neo Queen Serenity was foolish enough to pursue this further.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” demanded Sailor Chibi Moon.

“You are the current Sailor Moon,” observed the Cyber-Deputy. “You have your mother’s original powers as well as your own. Why persist in pursuing something that is out of date?”

“Mom isn’t ‘something’! She’s ‘someone’!” snapped Sailor Chibi…let me rephrase, Sailor Moon.

“Now she is something more,” replied the Cyber-Deputy.

“Deputy,” called a Cyberman, “our new Cyber-Leader is ready.”

“Excellent,” answered the Cyber-Deputy. “Activate.” A bright light came from the parking garage entrance near us and blinded us before fading. My vision was still a little fuzzy, making me consider getting my current prescription contacts changed when this is over. From what I could tell, the distinctive shape of the original Sailor Moon stood before us.

“Mama!” called the current Sailor Moon. “It’s us! Over here!” My helmet began helping to correct my current vision, accounting for my current contacts, and cleared the picture. Neo Queen Serenity approached, well, I wished I didn’t see it. “Mama, what’s with the…the pants…Mama?” gulped Sailor Moon. My blood ran cold. What I saw was a chest unit, a silver undersuit, armor around the shoulders, legs, and arms, and a prosthetic right eye glowing blue! There was no further doubt in my mind. Neo Queen Serenity was upgraded into the new Cyber-Leader! Her hair was now silver and she had black dots on her buns instead of the black handles on her head that Cyber-Leaders usually have. “WHAT HAVE YOU MONSTERS DONE TO HER?!” demanded Sailor Moon. The Upgraded Neo Queen Serenity looked at us.

“So,” she mused, her voice being modulated, “a new member to the Vortex Riders. Otherwise, our information has proved accurate.”

“Sailor Moon, what do we do?!” called Sailor Vesta.

“We have to free Mama!” declared Sailor Moon.

“We’re outnumbered right now!” I argued. “We have to retreat!”

“But my mama’s their prisoner!” countered Sailor Moon.

“Not their prisoner, their LEADER!” corrected Lexicon.

“Orders, Leader?” asked the Cyber-Deputy.

“These units are surplus to requirements,” ordered Cyber Neo Queen Serenity. “All those declared to be nonessential to the survival of the Cyber Race are to be deleted. Eradicate them.”

“Yes, Leader,” obliged the Cyber-Deputy. The Cybermen then raised their weapons.

“Time we were somewhere relatively safer!” I decided as I summoned my steed. The others got the idea and summoned theirs. I further summoned Batman’s Bat Cycle. He grabbed Lexicon while Sludgiona joined me. The Sailor Senshi with us joined Outback, Kämpfer, and Swing while Herald B had two. We converted our steeds to bike mode and sped off while the Cybermen fired on us.

“Cyber Rider Battalion 3374 will pursue,” I ordered.

“Yes, Leader,” obliged the Cyber-Deputy. He relayed the orders and I felt, through the Cyberiad, the deployed Cyber Rider Battalion activate and pursue. They will be destroyed.

We sped through the streets, hearing the whining of engines coming up behind us. “WATCH OUT!” called Sailor Pallas. “THEY’VE GOT BIKERS!” I turned my head briefly a couple of times to see Cybermen pursuing us on hoverbikes!

“Jenjang!” (Damn it!) I swore. “FASTER!” We tried increasing speed, but that’s hard to do when dodging laser fire! Batman deployed a few smoke bombs, but the Cybermen adapted around that and continued pursuit.

“We have to get to the palace!” called Sailor Moon. “My dad should be able to help!”

“King Endymion, of course!” I affirmed. “He’s got help from the other side! Which way?!”

“Turn left!” directed Sailor Moon. We tried to, but the Cybermen blocked our path. We tried another direction, but the Cybermen blocked THAT path. Reversing would only lead to the ones behind us. We could only go forward and I had a feeling they were herding us to an undisclosed location so they could “delete” us. I tried desperately to look for an opening when…

“MARS SNAKE FIRE!” called a woman’s voice. A snake made of fire attacked the Cybermen behind us and destroyed them, causing them to give off their signature death rattle.

“SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!” shouted another woman. Electricity coursed through the Cybermen on our right, causing them to be destroyed while screaming.

“SPACE TURBULENCE!” announced a third woman. A large energy blast cleared the left for us.

“LEFT! NOW!” called Sailor Moon. The left was now clear as we headed to the palace unimpeded.

“Has the reason for the cessation of Cyber Rider Battalion life signals been identified?” I requested.

“The interference of three Sailor Senshi caused total battalion termination,” reported the Cyber-Deputy.

“Have they been identified?” I pressed on.

“Only by their respective attacks,” answered the Cyber-Deputy. “The attacks were Mars Snake Fire, Sparkling Wide Pressure, and Space turbulence, the respective attacks of Sailors Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus.”

“…Logically, the other Sailor Senshi of the 20^th century are here,” I deduced. “Excellent. Prepare Conversion Chambers to receive them. The Vortex Riders and Batman are still surplus to requirements. The amorphous Tarlaxian is to be captured for experiments relating to upgrading her brand of life. Continue searching for the Source of Chaos.”

“Yes, Leader,” confirmed the Cyber-Deputy.

We arrived at the palace’s gates to see Sailors Saturn and Pluto greet us. Sailors Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus joined us a few seconds later. “Let them through,” bid Sailor Moon.

“What?” asked Sailor Saturn.

“They saved our lives,” explained Sailor Moon. “Let them through.” The gates opened and we went inside, parking our bikes in a designated spot and powering down. My vision was back to its blurry state, confirming I needed new contacts now. However, I didn’t need contacts to see that the palace looked more like a refugee camp! The Cybermen must have chased everyone out of their homes and Endymion opened the gates for as long as he could to keep the people safe. He probably couldn’t save EVERYONE, though. What do we tell him, his wife now commands the Cybermen? Speaking of which, Endymion approached us. Sailor Moon rushed up to him and hugged her dad.

“Lady, you’re all right!” Endymion sighed in relief.

“There were so many!” sobbed Sailor Moon. Father and daughter stayed in the embrace for a while. He then ended it and tried to get some answers.

“Your mother?” he asked. Sailor Moon looked away, ashamed.

“Neo Queen Serenity was altered by the Silver Enemy,” mumbled Mars.

“Altered?” asked Endymion.

“She’s their leader now!” elaborated Jupiter. Sailor Mercury came running up to us at that.

“Your Majesty, we’re getting a transmission from the Silver Enemy,” she reported.

“Let’s see it,” declared Endymion. An image appeared on a screen, displaying the interior of the Cybermen’s base with the upgraded Neo Queen Serenity standing in the middle.

“I am Cyber-Leader Gi,” she introduced. “We are the Cybermen. We will upgrade everyone to a level of perfection. You will become like us.”

“How?!” demanded Endymion. “We’ve scrambled all communications!”

“The knowledge Neo Queen Serenity possessed is now ours,” explained the newly christened Cyber-Leader Gi. “Your attempts at thwarting us are hopeless…Mamo-chan.” She said that, but there was no love in that phrase, only cold logic. The transmission ended, leaving us feeling very scared.

Tags batman, deung moon-kyung, kamen rider, lacey, sailor moon, sludgiona

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 16

With what’s been recently made clear to us, the people in the palace were in something of a panic. Sailors Mercury, Venus, and Neptune had a hard time keeping the people calm. Endymion called us and Sailor Moon, now wearing a pink gown and going by her name Usagi, instead of her childhood name of Chibiusa. “As I understand it, you know these…Cybermen…personally,” observed Endymion.

“I don’t, but the rest of my team do,” I explained. “They can explain it better than I can. Batman, why don’t you tell him since you’ve been trying to develop dossiers about them.”

“Very well,” rasped Batman. “Like us, the Cybermen come from another universe. The current models we see are the result of two models coming together. The more prominent model came from their prime universe, orbiting Earth from its twin planet, Mondas. Some disaster caused Mondas to drift and the Mondasians were getting weaker, their lifespans getting shorter. The Mondasian scientists and doctors developed prosthetic organs and limbs until they were almost completely replaced with metal, becoming nothing more than brains in suits. The other model was from a universe parallel to that one and had a similar story, just that a psychopathic genius forged them on that version of Earth in its present day. The two models came into contact and upgraded each other until they became a newer model that can adapt to anything. The model we faced was slightly different to the ones we’ve just met today. Shocker Rift must have had a hand in that.”

“Shocker Rift?” asked Endymion.

“A terrorist organization,” explained Lacey. “One that recruits other bad guys from other universes, living or dead. Queen Beryl would make a good recruit for Shocker Rift.”

“What do they do?” asked Usagi. “Tell me, what did they do to my mother?!” This was going to be harder to tell her.

“They’ve removed all emotions and slaved her mind and knowledge to their hive mind, the Cyberiad,” replied Joshua.

“Josh!” hissed Lukas.

“And lying to her would make any difference?!” argued Joshua.

“He has a point,” burbled Sludgiona. “And, if the Cyber-Slammers are any indication, they can upgrade ANY life-form, not just humans.”

“They mentioned that life-forms like you can’t be upgraded,” mumbled Flora.

“Yet,” answered Sludgiona.

“You think you’ll be used as a test subject?” asked Tonje.

“Are we just going to ignore the fact that we just told a man and his daughter that an important woman in their life is considered dead?!” snapped Lexicon. We were snapped out of our argument to see Usagi crying into her dad’s shoulder. We were kicking ourselves for that.

“Maybe…I mean, she only just became that today…” mused Lacey.

“What are you talking about?”

“The Source might help free Neo Queen Serenity from Cyberman control,” explained Lacey. Endymion and Usagi gave their undivided attention to her after that. “I said MIGHT,” warned Lacey.

“What’s this Source you’re talking about?” asked Usagi.

“The Source of Chaos,” replied Lacey. “Believe it or not, I’m a new Horseman of the Apocalypse.” Usagi and Endymion leapt from their seats. “Relax! The Apocalypse isn’t happening now,” assured Lacey. “In any event, we all have these crystal spheres that work as a manifestation of each aspect of the apocalypse. I have the Source of Chaos, since an apocalypse usually has people running and screaming. Since I have that source, I can utilize its powers.”

“How can you do that?” I asked.

“If there was just enough chaotic energy,” continued Lacey, “in theory, something new could be created. Now, if Neo Queen Serenity’s Star Seed could be coaxed out of Cyber-Leader Gi and into a body that was exactly like her original before she was upgraded…”

“We might stand a chance against the Cybermen!” realized Usagi.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” urged Endymion. “What’s the risk?” Lacey hesitated before answering.

“I’d…rather not tell you…” she floundered.

“What’s the risk?!” insisted Endymion. Lacey sighed.

“The energy would cause the Star Seed to crack, killing her forever,” she finally explained. That killed the mood.

“Lovely,” I murmured.

“There has to be another option!” begged Usagi.

“The only other option is to kill her outright,” replied Sludgiona.

“We’re NOT resorting to murder!” hissed Batman.

“Her soul has been ripped from her original body and her body is now altered beyond what we know,” replied Sludgiona. “The only way she’ll know peace is to kill her with honor.”

“What kind of twisted view is that?!” I snapped.

“It’s the Tarlaxian way,” dismissed Sludgiona. “The soul cannot rest if its original body is altered in any way.”

“Out of the question!” I insisted.

“And using the Source will guarantee that she’ll live?!” argued Sludgiona.

“It looks like that’s the best option!” shouted Usagi.

“Your Highness, think about this,” urged Lacey. “There’s a chance that she’ll die in the process.”

“If I see her die,” insisted Usagi, “at least I want the knowledge that we’ve tried to save her.”

“…Very well,” sighed Lacey.

“Then we need to find out where the Source is,” I declared. “After that, we need to find the Cybermen’s base.”

“I believe Ami can help in that regard,” offered Endymion.

“Perfect,” I answered. “Lukas, Flora, see if you can help her. Batman, Joshua, Usagi, we need to coordinate an attack plan. Lexicon, keep watch over Endymion. Sludgiona, Tonje, I need you to help guard the gates with those assigned to watch duty.”

“Look at you,” praised Joshua, “becoming a leader.”

“…Thanks,” I mumbled, blushing and smiling a bit.

“All the necessary equipment for searching the city is online,” reported the Cyber-Deputy.

“Excellent,” I replied. I turned to the Communications Officer. “Inform the fleet that we’re ready to begin.”

“Leader, the Source has yet to be located!” reminded the Cyber-Deputy.

“Do you question my authority?” I asked.

“We should, at least, wait before communicating,” suggested the Cyber-Deputy.

“And will you answer for the delay?” I inquired. The Cyber-Deputy understood that I will not be questioned but did not yet understand the logic. As the Communications Officer set up the console, I explained. “Our energy reserves are limited. To search now would only be an expenditure of unnecessary power. We must conserve energy until the Source is located. The Vortex Riders will find it. They are led by one who has never traveled with the original Riders, a tactical error on their part. Once it is confirmed that they have located the Source, we shall take it in time for the fleet to arrive and annexation can begin.”

It took all day, but our battle plan was laid out for tomorrow. I wandered the halls of the palace, not getting any sleep. I went onto a balcony and sat on the bench near the railing. I sighed and looked around, seeing the firelight from campfires for those that made it into the palace for safety. A glance to my left caused me to gasp in shock! Batman was perched on the railing, looking at the skyline. “The Cybermen really did a number on Crystal Tokyo,” he observed. “Not even the Joker could top this.”

“Do you HAVE to perch yourself like that?!” I protested.

“Yes,” replied Batman. I rolled my eyes and waved it off.

“Please yourself,” I grumbled. We sat there for a while.

“…The Feudal Nerd Society is hiding something from you new guys,” remarked Batman.

“How they hid Vortech’s identity as the enemy back in your first adventure with them and Megumi had an emotional collapse when she realized her mistake?” I quizzed. The fact that Batman looked stunned told me that was what he was talking about. “Joshua and Emily told me about the vote to keep that incident secret. I heard Megumi voted no since she didn’t want a repeat.”

“They told you?” asked Batman. “I thought the consensus was they WOULDN’T tell you.”

“It was stinging their conscience,” I explained, repeating what they told me. “I don’t know who else they told yet. They told me this about a week ago.”

“I was half expecting this to be awkward,” mused Batman as he surveyed the area.

“In this instance, that would disrupt the board on our side,” I replied.

“…The board?” asked Batman. I winced when I realized my error.

“I have a tendency to think of everything as a chess game,” I answered. “It’s caused some conflict with my friends over in Korea.”

“I see,” replied Batman.

“That’s why I was so nervous to lead,” I continued. “Whenever I DO lead, it always turns into a chess game.”

“Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” countered Batman, “just as long as you remember who’s who on the board.” That was a bit strange but I started to understand where he was coming from.

“Annexation can begin,” I relayed to the Communications Officer once the console was up and running the next day. “Repeat, annexation can begin.”

“Leader, I must repeat my objection to the transmission of incorrect data,” urged the Cyber-Deputy. “Our force does not yet hold the Source.”

“You are outside your function,” I reproached.

“Initial transmission received,” called the Communications Officer.

“Repeat once more, then relay the response,” I ordered. The Communications Officer was in the initial stages of carrying out my orders before an alarm sounded. “Report!” I ordered.

“Interference,” replied the Communications Officer. “Transmission and reception affected.”

“From what source?” I requested. “Provide more information.” The Communications Officer checked.

“The source is a completely unknown form of sound,” he finally reported.

“Open the monitor facility,” I ordered. The sound then played throughout the base.

“Fighting evil by moonlight,

Winning love by daylight,

Never running from a real fight,”

“She is the one named Sailor Moon!” continued the theme song.

“Mom had an anime about her adventures?” repeated Usagi.

“Two of them,” I answered. “Both of them were dubbed into English. Although one was more flawed than the other. I mean, in the anime that came out in the 90’s, Uranus and Neptune were cousins instead of lovers.”

“COUSINS?!” protested Uranus.

“The idea of gay lovers was still far-fetched back then,” I went on. “I don’t mind telling you, as someone with a girlfriend, I’m not too thrilled about that either.”

“I’m straight and I’m not terribly thrilled,” remarked Joshua.

“Well, the Cybermen should be thoroughly confused,” I declared. “Good thinking, Mercury.”

“That’s the disadvantage of a machine mind,” replied Sailor Mercury, “they’re single-minded.”

“It’s gone into a loop,” reported Batman.

“Perfect,” I answered. “Let’s go.” We headed off to search for the Source. We searched the west side of the castle to no avail.

“Anyone found it yet?” asked Batman.

“That’s gonna be a no on that one,” I sighed.

“The Cybermen have already broken through the first iteration and are starting the second one,” reported Lexicon.

“Earlier than anticipated,” I gulped.

“Sweet dreams are made of this.

Who am I to disagree?

I traveled the world and the seven seas.

Everybody’s looking for something.”

The jamming was now in a second loop. The Communications Officer turned to report. “The fleet is still not receiving our transmissions, Leader,” he answered.

“Is there ANY pattern to the jamming?” I asked.

“It is meaningless,” the Communications Officer replied.

“West side’s not giving up anything,” sighed Lacey.

“East’s no better,” replied Sailor Mars.

“I’m getting nothing from the…” Joshua trailed off.

“Joshua?!” I yelped. “Joshua, report!”

“The Source has been located in the north!” cheered Joshua. “I repeat, the Source is in the north!”

“Excellent move!” I praised. “We’ve castled the king! Stay put! We’re on our way! The Cybermen can now deal with the audio-based pawns at their leisure!”

“Kako no ishi wa Uso de wa azamuke nai (Lies cannot fool the will of the past.)

Kanjiro sō Nexus Future (Feel it in your bones! The Nexus Future!)

Now, Over “Quartzer”

Mabayui sekai (That dazzling world…)

Misete (Enchant me)” The jamming was now in a third loop. The Communications Officer worked fast to try and undo the jamming. His fingers were moving quickly across the console. Without the communications console, we could not contact the fleet or our forces searching the city. Just then, the noise stopped. The Cyberiad was finally at an acceptable collective processing speed. “Transmission channels are clear again,” reported the Communications Officer.

“Excellent,” I replied. “Resume search for…”

“Leader,” interrupted the Cyber-Deputy, “the Vortex Riders and Sailor Senshi are on a direct course for a warehouse near the Tarlaxian scout ship’s position in the north. The Cyber-Slammers have abandoned their post, thus allowing them passage.” I could feel the Cyber-Slammers trying to explain themselves through the Cyberiad, a fruitless endeavor.

“Betrayal,” I declared. “Delete them.” The Communications Officer transmitted a code which activated the explosive payloads within the Cyber-Slammers.

“What was that?!” yelped Sailor Venus.

“I think the Cybermen didn’t like how their Cyber-Slammers fared against us and ‘deleted’ them,” I guessed.

“…I REALLY don’t like them!” snarled Sailor Mars.

“Nothing about the Cybermen is likeable,” answered Lukas, recalling his first encounter with them.

“There’s the warehouse!” called Tonje. We entered the warehouse and found the Source in a crate.

“That’s the one!” confirmed Lacey as she held it.

“Surrender it to us,” called a voice. We turned to see Cyber-Leader Gi with a group of Cybermen standing in the doorway.

“SCATTER!” I shouted. We took off in various directions, causing the Cybermen to pursue us. Cyber-Leader Gi went after me. In the words of the Cybermen, excellent.

Tags batman, cybermen, deung moon-kyung, kamen rider, lacey, sailor moon

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 20

“So, now that we’ve got the Sources,” remarked Richard the next day, “what now?”

“…I’m honestly not sure,” I replied. “Maybe the Horsemen might have something?”

“…You’re still thinking about what X-PO did,” observed Richard.

“I’m still thinking about what X-PO did,” I confirmed. “I’m not sure if I can trust him anymore. He really hurt us. I’m not sure if Alesandro and Victor are gonna stay with us after this.”

“I think they are,” replied Richard.

“What makes you so sure of that?” I quizzed.

“Well, Alesandro asked me to help him unpack,” replied Richard, “so I’d say it’s a safe bet he’s staying with us. Colleen and Victor talked and he decided on staying, so we’re good there.”

“Excellent,” I answered, feeling that much better. “All the same, I really need to apologize to them. The results may have been altered but we still made the choice to hide my emotional collapse from them.”

“Actually, Alesandro asked us to stop,” revealed Richard. “He gets that we regret it and will do what we can to make sure we don’t make that mistake again.”

“…Inundated with apologies from everyone?” I guessed.

“Yep,” confirmed Richard. “By the way, X-PO’s been arrested by the After Academy police for willful endangerment of students.”

“When’s the trial?” I asked.

“In two weeks,” replied Richard. “Miles Edgeworth is the prosecutor.”

“And X-PO’s defense attorney?” I quizzed.

“A Mr. Elkrandek from Tarlax 14,” answered Richard.

“Not exactly the most scrupulous lawyer,” I replied. Just then, alarms sounded throughout the base. “WHAT NOW?!” I snapped. Elphaba’s voice then came over the comms.

“All Riders, we have multiple vessels inbound!” she reported. “They’re cloaked, so we can’t get a good i.d. on them!”

“That’s too suspicious for comfort,” I declared as I took over the broadcast. “All hands, red alert! Assume battle stations and raise shields!” I then morphed into Tora-Onna (Tiger Woman) as I strode towards the Gateway Room to coordinate the action. Richard followed close behind.

“Why are you going fuzzy?” he asked.

“I never really had a chance to use this form,” I answered. “Sure, I turned into it on occasion, but never fully used it. Might as well ‘go fuzzy’ if it means an edge in battle if we’re boarded.” We arrived at the Gateway Room. Elphaba and her team were finishing up in locking down the Gateway. They didn’t want anyone trying to take advantage of any weakness in battle, much less anyone trying to go through and sneak up from behind.

“All of our codes have been locked into the Gateway,” reported Rusty. “We await yours.” I then leaned towards the mic.

“Computer,” I directed, “this is Queen Megumi Hishikawa. Lockdown 2-7-8-7-4-7-3-7. No one uses the Gateway until all codes have been verified and all voice patterns confirmed.”

“All Gateway functions disabled,” reported the secondary computer as it took over for X-PO. “Full functionality will not be restored until authorized personnel give the necessary codes.” I then made a secure call to the Virginia. Since Emily was needed in Sick Bay, Hiroki took command of the ship.

“Nee-san, ship status,” I requested.

“All lights are green,” reported Hiroki. “Liam’s back in Engineering with Dell and R9, Michael and Irina are manning the weapons, Tanisha’s the pilot again, and Crescent and Jason are working Communications.”

“Good to know,” I replied.

“Megumi,” called the Brigadier, “we’re receiving a transmission from the Hammer of Tarlax.”

“Scorpainia’s ship and the Tarlaxian flagship,” I replied. “What does she want?”

“She’s requesting to aid us as Shocker Rift has managed to steal Famine’s source and has reason to believe the cloaked vessels are of Shocker Rift origin,” explained the Brigadier.

“Tell her we happily accept and will offer any aid to get the Source back,” I directed. “Have the Tarlaxian fleet form up on the Virginia.”

“Understood,” replied the Brigadier as he saluted. He relayed my message. The Tarlaxian fleet arrived out of the large portals that ships need to go through the Rift safely and formed up on the Virginia.

“All stations report ready,” reported Elphaba.

“All ships standing by,” called Hiroki.

“Now comes the fun part,” I mused. “Who will make the first move?”

“That fleet must have followed us from Tarlax,” muttered Igura.

“They’re just sitting there,” observed the Joker. “We should have our fun now!”

“The instant we beam down,” I argued, “the fleet will know where we are. No. Hold position.”

“I say, that can’t be right,” muttered Michael.

“Is something the matter?” asked Hiroki.

“I’m reading Sontaran ship transponder codes,” explained Michael. “Using cloaking devices? That’s not like a Sontaran.”

“Why would Sontarans join Shocker Rift?” I asked.

“Megumi,” interjected Scorpainia, “if it pleases you, I have an idea on finding our targets.”

“Brigadier Stard,” reported the Sontaran Communications Officer, Lieutenant Krek, “we are receiving a broad transmission on all frequencies.”

“Put it through,” barked Brigadier Stard. Scorpainia’s face appeared.

“This is Queen Empress Scorpainia of the Tarlaxian Fleet!” she snarled. “Vorton is under my protection! Withdraw or be destroyed!”

“Ignore,” ordered Stard. “Hold position.”

“If there are Sontarans stupid enough to think they can win against me,” continued Scorpainia, “permit me to remind you that the last time you invaded Tarlax, before we moved to a new Tarlax, you required help from a god-like being. It’s clear enough that you are afraid of us. Why else would you hide behind a cloaking device?”

“…Make the call two-way!” snarled Stard. Scorpainia’s head twitched a bit, indicating that she had Stard on her viewscreen. “HOW DARE YOU!” roared Stard. “Scorpainia, you impugn my honor!”

“Whatever passes for Sontaran honor,” dismissed Scorpainia.

“Evidently,” hissed Stard, “you are unfamiliar with Standing Order 44 Subsidiary Clause 2! Mockery of a Sontaran Officer is to be considered an act of war!”

“A war where you will not receive a glorious death!” warned Scorpainia. The transmission ended.

“All ships, disengage the cloak and engage the enemy fleet!” ordered Stard.

“The Sontarans are disengaging the cloak and moving towards the enemy fleet!” reported Dalek Drone 2248292.

“What are those fools doing?!” shouted Sauron.

“Fleet Marshal Skrag,” I ordered, “get them to return to formation and reengage the cloak!”

“They’re not responding, Sir!” reported Skrag. “Battle had been joined!”

“Idiots, this is too early!” I roared.

“Hiroki, the Sontarans took the bait!” reported Michael. “Good thinking, Scorpainia!”

“All ships, open fire!” I ordered.

“Assist the fleet in taking down the enemy,” I ordered.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” called Richard as his fingers danced across the weapons console. A brilliant, multi-colored display of weapons fire illuminated the battlefield. Just then, the rest of Hiro’s fleet de-cloaked and moved to aid the Sontarans. Their weapons fire added to the display, affecting shield integrity in the process.

“We can’t keep this up much longer!” warned Lukas. “Any more and we’ll lose them!”

“Hongo, what’s your status?” I called on the comms.

“We’re ready and waiting,” replied Hongo. Vorton rocked again and the slightly blue tinge of the shields faded.

“We’ve lost shields!” called Lukas.

“Target shields down!” reported Dalek Drone 2248292.

“Tell the boarding parties they may begin,” I ordered, grinning all the while.

“We’re being boarded!” reported Richard. Combatmen shimmered into view.

“Now’s the time, Minna-san!” I called as I extended my claws. There was a TREMENDOUS fight on Vorton. This time, it wasn’t going to be so easily blind-sided. I clawed and bit my enemies as my friends kept the rest at bay.

“That’s funny,” I mused as visual data from the Daleks she had killed came to my ship, “she hardly uses that form.”

“Is there any progress on locating the Sources?” grumbled Igura.

“Source Team is encountering heavy resistance,” reported Dalek Drone 2248292, “from Batman, Wyldstyle, Gandalf, and Ichigō.”

“They’re not that strong,” I muttered. “How could they be encountering resistance?”

“Okay, my turn!” called Batman.

“All yours!” I replied as I delivered a Rider Punch.

“Shift Keystone, activate!” announced Batman. “Yellow, on the wall left to me! Magenta, on the wall right of me! Cyan, on the ceiling! Shift! Cyan! Ichigō!” I went to the ceiling and tackled a Combatman to the floor. A Dalek brought its gunstick to bear on me! “Shift! Yellow! Batman!” Batman delivered a side kick as he came through the yellow portal. “Shift! Magenta! Gandalf!” Gandalf ran his sword through a Sontaran as it turned to face him. Wyldstyle built a large machine that ran a large pillar through the hall and knocked down the enemy forces. They just kept beaming on board! I leapt into the air and extended my foot towards a Combatman.

“RIDER KICK!” I announced as I kicked him. That wasn’t enough!

“There’s too many!” called Wyldstyle.

“We’re not letting them near the Sources we have!” insisted Batman as he slammed a Sontaran through a Dalek. A Combatman spoke in its usual noises to a Sontaran. The Sontaran gave hand signals to a yellow Dalek, the commander, that bobbed its eyestalk in some form of understanding. It faced us and a flipper came out of the gunstick, moving in and out and causing pain to us, but not enough to kill us. We fell to the ground, unable to move, only observe and listen.

“All enemies disabled!” reported the Commander Dalek.

“Safecrackers, move in!” barked the Sontaran to his subordinates. They came in with explosives and set the timer. “Move back!” shouted the Sontaran commander. The enemy got to a safe distance. “THREE! TWO! ONE!” The explosives blew the vault open. A Combatman issued orders to his subordinates. They were wearing metal gloves as they entered the vault. They managed to find the sources and pick them up, suffering no ill effects. They reported some form of success in their noises. “Excellent!” cheered the Sontaran commander.

“Dalek Commander 8734739 to Fleet Flagship, Dominus,” called the Commander Dalek.

“Sources safely retrieved!” reported the Dalek Commander at the Vault. “Requesting immediate pickup!”

“Get everyone out of there!” I ordered, a grin crossing my features. The teleporter operator obliged and got everyone out of Vorton. He reported that everyone that survived made it. “Get us out of here!” I commanded. “We move to Foundation Prime!”

“Er, Megumi,” called Emily from Sick Bay, “I’m looking on my screen and I see the enemy fleet pulling out even though they reduced ours to a fourth of its original size. What’s going on?”

“Vault, what happened?!” I called.

“This is…Batman,” strained the Dark Knight. “The enemy managed to…disable us…long enough…to get the Sources. They had…some way of…safely…handling them.” My heart sank at the report. They’re going to Foundation Prime and we didn’t have the numbers to stop them or pursue them.

“That was a general broadcast, Batman,” Emily chimed in. “None of my patients liked hearing that.”

“Orders, Megumi?” asked Guard. I sighed.

“Contact Tarlax and After Academy,” I resolved. “See if they can spare any ships. Emily, continue treating the wounded. We need all fighters to be at their best.”

“The enemy fleet is not pursuing us!” reported Dalek Drone 2248292. It stood next to Skrag as we sat in my ready room. Igura looked on.

“Splendid,” I praised. “Resume your post.”

“I obey!” answered Dalek Drone 2248292. As it left, my expression hardened as I turned to Skrag.

“The actions your ships have taken have halved our fleet, causing considerable disruption!” I snarled.

“The men were experiencing withdrawal symptoms from lack of battle!” replied Skrag. “This was a matter beyond my control!”

“Your orders,” hissed Igura, “were to hold position until the command was given!”

“That was impossible!” pleaded Skrag. “The men have been out of action for too long!”

“The responsibility was yours!” I roared. “You have failed! I cannot, WILL not, accept failure! Since you pleaded, you will NOT look upon your death!” I turned him around and shot him in the back of the head, the worst form of death for a Sontaran.

“I’ll have Fleet Marshal Strench and his ships report to our position, shall I?” offered Igura.

“Do so,” I answered. “Then, return to our quarters. We need to unwind on the way.”

“I have an outfit that may help in that regard,” purred Igura. We kissed.

“Listen, about what I said yesterday,” I muttered, “I’m sorry. That was unlike me to overlook your talents. I should have planned for Heather to disregard the Source.”

“Well, I DO know a way you can make it up to me,” chuckled Igura as she wiggled her eyebrows. I’ll probably be making it up to her for…maybe 20, 30 minutes.

Tags batman, gandalf, hiro adachi, igura, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, megumi hishikawa, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 3

The Gateway opened to reveal Scorpainia stepping through. She had Turretorg, Technarain, Discornia, and Sludgiona with her. “I see you’ve had this place redecorated since I was here last,” observed Scorpainia.

“Looks a little…bright,” muttered Batman.

“Yeah, we needed to make it brighter,” I replied. “A few of us would rather NOT stumble with only blue lighting in a dark place. Some plant life also benefitted us. The oxygen generators were pretty taxed during the Vortech Wars.”

“And with the new lighting,” helped Lukas, “came a source of vitamin C, essential for us humans.” At that moment, the lights went off. “…Apparently, we need a better power source,” muttered Lukas.

“No, dudes,” called a surfer dude’s voice. “Just rerouting power!” The lights came back on as an R9 Astromech wheeled himself in. “Had a gnarly idea,” continued the Astromech, “that we could route some power from the sensors to the GUUUUNNS!”

“New guys, this is R9-D7, the only Astromech I know of that can speak Basic,” I introduced. “R9, these are the new guys.”

“I think the new guys are already familiar with the most RADICAL Astromech in the multiverse!” boasted R9.

“Remind me of his backstory again?” asked Liam.

“After the Vortech Wars,” I explained, “Vader left him behind. He was stuck on Vorton for a few weeks until X-PO found him. We fixed him up and installed vocal components so we don’t have to guess his beeping.”

“And it’s been awesome ever since!” cheered R9.

“R9,” called Emily, “quick question. How are the defenses going to shoot any invaders WITHOUT the sensors?”

“…Okay, so there ARE some holes in my idea,” conceded R9. “No need to be bugging or anything.”

“We’ll save modifications AFTER this adventure,” I suggested.

“Buzzkill,” muttered R9.

“All right, is everyone here for the briefing?” I asked.

“Wait, where’s Pup-X5?” asked Emmanuel.

“And Lexicon, for that matter,” supplied Sheela.

“We’re here!” called a woman’s voice. A large, gunmetal grey can with an antenna on top came in with a humanoid dog robot walking it. The dog robot was about Snoopy’s height. He detached the leash from the can and petted Kit-10. “Sorry about the wait,” remarked the can, Lexicon, a mobile datastore. “Pup-X5 insisted on getting a bite to eat. How you lot managed to install a stomach that can process food like you do, I’ll never understand.” Pup-X5 rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

“Well, you got here anyways,” I dismissed, “so thank you for coming. Now that we’re all here, X-PO, you may begin.”

“Thank you,” bid X-PO. He started up a PowerPoint with the Gateway. “As many of you know,” he began, “five Tarlaxian Jabarda class scout ships were deployed to scout for potential universes in case the Omega Protocols needed to be deployed again.”

“A future Tarlax 15?” quizzed Wyldstyle.

“Indeed,” confirmed Scorpainia. “I would have called you lot a little later, but SOMEONE decided to force the issue!” She glared at X-PO.

“We’ll turn him into a coffee maker later,” I joked.

“Thanks,” snarked X-PO. “Anyway, in the most recent logs, I discovered that they were going near five universes containing the Sources.”

“What IS a Source?” I asked.

“In this instance,” interjected Famine as she paused her snacking, “it’s the source of an aspect the five of us Horsemen represent. Each looks like a crystal ball, about the size of a human’s head, in our colors. Mine’s yellow, Pestilence’s green, Death’s blue, War’s orange, and Lacey inherited the purple one of Chaos.”

“Chaos?” I muttered.

“An apocalypse IS rather chaotic,” replied Lacey. “Besides, chaos is common when life exists.”

“Fair point,” I conceded.

“Does that mean we should call Lacey ‘Chaos’ instead?” asked Richard.

“Please, no!” groaned Lacey.

“Focus, please!” snapped X-PO.

“The Source Universes?” muttered Scorpainia. “What were they doing near there? They’re WAY too close to Foundation Prime. Besides, we’ve long established that they were inhabited.”

“We always look for universes with no life aside from plants on ANY of that universe’s planets,” supplied Sludgiona.

“What are the universes’ identifier strings?” I quizzed.

“5-P-L-4-T-0-0-N, D-1-5-N-3-Y, 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0, T-3-4-M-F-0-R-T-R-3-5-5-2, and 5-4-1-L-0-R-M-0-0-N,” replied Discornia.

“So, Splatoon, Disney, Super Mario, Team Fortress 2, and Sailor Moon,” I guessed.

“Bingo,” answered Death. “Splatoon hold my Source because they’ve invented a way to circumvent death in a weapon-using sport, Disney holds War’s as it’s very peaceful, given the chaos it usually brings, Super Mario has a cure for all, so it hides Pestilence’s Source, Team Fortress 2’s inhabitants don’t get hungry, so Famine could hide her Source there, and Sailor Moon brings order, so Lacey’s Source is safe.”

“So, the opposite aspects of your sources hides them,” I theorized.

“Exactly,” grunted War.

“But, as her Majesty asked, what were those ships doing there?” quizzed Technarain. “Their courses shouldn’t have taken them anywhere NEAR those universes.” Turretorg shuffled his feet. It’s not a quiet shuffle, given what his feet are made of.

“Turretorg,” hissed Scorpainia, “is there something you want to share with us?” No response. “Turretorg,” growled Scorpainia.

“I…I’m not at liberty to say,” stammered Turretorg.

“Not even to me?” snarled Scorpainia.

“…Sorry, but not even to you,” sighed Turretorg.

“That leaves us at liberty to speculate,” remarked Liam. He turned to Scorpainia. “You said they were near Foundation Prime, right?”

“They are,” confirmed Scorpainia. “As to why, I’ll let Death explain.”

“The Sources constantly project a barrier around Foundation Prime so no one, not even the Horsemen, could get to it,” explained Death. “However, if you’re clever enough you could find a chink in that barrier and get into Foundation Prime.”

“Vortech used me to that end,” remarked X-PO. “That’s how I got you guys into it.”

“So, when Vortech was beaten,” continued Death, “we reforged the barrier and shored up any flaws we could find. As such, using all five sources on the barrier will cause it to crumble and people could freely enter and exit Foundation Prime, restoring that square Vortech used to control the multiverse and bending it to their whims.”

“And, given the power we witnessed,” I guessed, “you didn’t WANT people to freely enter and exit that universe.”

“Exactly,” confirmed Death. “With all that in mind, those universes would make rather good defensive positions.”

“Hoping to control those universes?” Scorpainia asked Turretorg.

“Your Majesty,” sighed Turretorg, “I hope you’re not naïve enough to believe the Tarlaxian Senate DIDN’T want to use those universes.”

“No,” replied Scorpainia, “but I’m a little ticked that neither you nor the Senate brought the concern to my attention!”

“And?” quizzed Turretorg.

“And, if you didn’t tell her or your wife THAT,” hissed Moon-kyung as she nodded towards Discornia, “it makes us rather worried what ELSE you kept from her, or US, for that matter.”

“There wasn’t anything else to tell!” snarled Turretorg. “Their mission was to scout out potential universes in case the Omega Protocols were needed again. Yes, it WAS possible that they would pass by those universes. So, the Senate made it a secret parameter of said mission that, should they not find a threat to the Sources, they would gather data and intelligence relating to a defensive position to surround Foundation Prime. That is all!”

“It seems like a restructuring of the Senate is in order!” snarled Scorpainia. “I’d rather know about their concerns!”

“Well, from what I’ve picked up from a stray transmission,” interjected X-PO, “the crews of those ships weren’t too happy about that secret parameter either. Here’s something I picked up from the ship near 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0.” He played a video of an apartment with three Tarlaxians in it.

“Wait, I thought you said that it’s from a scout ship,” recalled Richard. “That looks like Linkara’s old apartment.”

“With the stuff he had, too,” muttered Livia.

“My doing,” answered Technarain. “I heard about nerds in that universe turning a house into a spaceship, so I wanted to get a good look at any potential bridge designs. Linkara’s old apartment seemed like a more functional choice. He seemed okay with it.”

“If we could continue?!” grunted War.

“Thank you,” bid X-PO. He started the video. A two-headed, six-armed woman in a glossy, black exoskeleton, a spider’s rear end above her butt, eight eyes in a ring on each head with the two largest ones in the center, and claws on her fingers was at a workstation. The annotations identified her as Spidarachnimpa. A woman with a skirt that looked like a snail’s foot sat on Spidarachnimpa’s left. She had a snail’s antennae in place of her eyes, a snail’s shell, and secreted slime all over her body. It didn’t seem to affect her workstation. An annotation called her Escargripam. In the kitchen was a Tarlaxian man with a humanoid body shape, a skirt of eight octopus tentacles, a ring of eight tentacles around his shoulders, and the head of an octopus with a beak where a human’s mouth should be. He was called Octorpindar. Spidarachnimpa’s left head spoke into a communicator.

“This is the scout ship, Tranzek,” she called. “We have just entered Mushroom World territory and are ready to carry out our assignment. All lights are orange. No sign of any problems. We look forward to hearing from you in an hour. Tranzek out.” She switched the comms off.

“I still can’t believe it!” griped Octorpindar. “I mean, a year of planning this venture, three months to get to the universe we’re supposed to be at, then, just a few days before we get there, Tarlax calls saying, ‘Hey! Can you deviate from your flight plan by about 2 more months and check out a universe near Foundation Prime that holds Pestilence’s Source?’ I mean…!”

“Steady on, Octorpindar,” interjected Spidarachnimpa’s right head.

“We knew this was a possibility,” continued her left head.

“Yeah, but,” grumbled Octorpindar, “they didn’t need to wait until practically the last minute to tell us! I mean if we manage to encounter Vortech’s prison…!”

“We won’t!” countered Spidarachnimpa’s left head. “We’ll be moving in parallel to the loop pattern and matching the velocity of the rift loop.”

“Plus we have automatic sealants,” continued her right head, “to take care of any pinpricks in this baby’s hull should any debris be caught in the rift loop’s orbit and flung at us.”

“I wish I shared your confidence,” remarked Octorpindar as he grabbed a sandwich from the fridge.

“Don’t worry about it, dude,” remarked Escargripam. “We’re not gonna find anything. I mean, the Doctor…”

“The Doctor!” interrupted Octorpindar. “There’s a Gallifreyan that is THAT arrogant to think they can heal their…!”

“The Doctor had practically tied Vortech’s prison into a pretty little bow!” continued Escargripam. “He’s stuck!”

“If he manages to wiggle out…!” protested Octorpindar.

“I think somebody’s a little cranky this morning,” remarked Spidarachnimpa’s left head as both turned to him.

“Somebody needs to sit in the comfy chair,” continued the right head. She tapped the unoccupied console as Octorpindar rolled his eyes. He entered the living room and sat down at the console. He looked around the apartment-bridge and sighed.

“This will never NOT be weird,” he muttered.

“We’ve been doing this for practically all our lives,” groaned Escargripam, “and you choose NOW to complain?!”

“We’re sitting in an apartment that once belonged to some nerd!” complained Octorpindar.

“We are sitting,” both of Spidarachnimpa’s heads snarled in unison, “on the bridge of the most advanced scout ship and we’re ready to make history! Now, I don’t care if it happens in a toilet stall or a nerd’s basement dwelling, as long as it gets us there and gets us home! So, put on your grown-up explorer boots and give me a read-out on engine consumption!”

“Sorry, sorry,” sighed Octorpindar as he checked his station. “Engine consumption’s nominal. Look, I’m just saying the multiverse can get crazy and weird.”

“Better weird than boring,” remarked Escargripam. She checked her station’s readings. “We’re approaching the Source Universe. Should be smooth sailing.”

“Belay that thought,” interjected Spidarachnimpa’s left head.

“Why?” quizzed Escargripam.

“I’m detecting a power signature out there,” reported Spidarachnimpa’s right head. They all looked at the reading on her console.

“How can anything have power this far out?” muttered Escargripam.

“Well, let’s find out,” replied Spidarachnimpa’s right head. “It’s about 170 cm in length, 89 cm in width, and…and coming at us in an attack vector!!” At this point, both heads were speaking in unison. “Hard about! Raise the…!” The ship lurched and tossed the Tarlaxian crew over their consoles. An explosion made the video end in static. We stood there in silence.

“…Are they…?” gulped Emmanuel.

“We’re STILL getting bio-signs,” replied Technarain, “so I don’t think so.”

“Now we REALLY need to rescue them,” I declared. “I had already decided to split us up into teams according to After Academy house, but I think a Keystone Bearer on each team would help.”

“And a Tarlaxian on each team,” interjected Scorpainia.

“And a robot,” called Kit-10.

“All right, then let’s get organized,” I affirmed. The teams went like so: Death, Haitao, Livia, Sheela, Colleen, Sophie, X-PO, Turretorg, and myself would go to 5-P-L-4-T-0-0-N to check on her Source, War, Gandalf, Michael, Hiroki, Irina, Alesandro, Charline, Kit-10, and Discornia would go to D-1-5-N-3-Y to check that Source’s status, Pestilence, Hongo, Emily, Mikhail, Tanisha, Liam, Amelia, R9-D7, and Scorpainia would use the Virginia to go to 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0 and use its sensors to check that Source out, Famine, Wyldstyle, Richard, Emmanuel, Xiomara, Victor, Brenden, Pup-X5, and Technarain will confirm the Source’s condition in T-3-4-M-F-0-R-T-R-3-5-5-2, and Lacey, Batman, Joshua, Lukas, Tonje, Moon-kyung, Flora, Lexicon, and Sludgiona would check out 5-4-1-L-0-R-M-0-0-N for her Source. “Are the team assignments clear?” I asked. Everyone replied yes. “Then let’s hit the hay for now,” I declared. “It’s late at night and I don’t want anyone fighting their own fatigue on top of fighting whoever’s behind this.”

“Sleep sounds heavenly right now,” muttered Moon-kyung. We all retired to our rooms and hit the sack.

Tags batman, discornia, gandalf, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, megumi hishikawa, scorpainia, sludgiona, technarain, turretorg, wyldstyle, x-po

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 22

I could not have asked for smoother sailing. We were approaching Foundation Prime and Megumi was nowhere in sight. I toured the Dominus, looking at each bulkhead, each door, each tiny rivet that propelled me to victory. It was a leisurely tour, no need to rush victory. A couple of Engineers saluted me as I passed. I returned the salute and they returned to the minor maintenance needed to make the ship more efficient. A Combatman approached me.

“YEE! YEE!” (We’re approaching the coordinates. All Sources have unlocked the way for us.) he reported.

“Splendid,” I praised. “I shall be on the bridge to witness our victory. Once we enter, begin a sweep for the Foundation Element pedestal. It should be intact.”

“YEE!” (Yes, Great Leader!) replied the Combatman. I strolled to the bridge as he hurried off to relay my instructions. When I arrived, the bridge crew was hard at work.

“Time to Universal Entrance?” I asked.

“Universal Entrance will occur in 20 rels!” reported the Dalek Operator at the helm.

“One minute,” translated Igura.

“Excellent,” I chuckled. Who needs Foundation Elements? The Sources will provide me the Foundation of All Universes far better than random trinkets.

“10 rels!” barked the Dalek Operator.

“30 seconds!” giggled Igura.

“Ah, I can just smell victory in our hands!” I sighed. “I tell you now, my sweet eagle, we shall…”

“Alert! Alert! Enemy fleet detected!” called out the Dalek Strategist. “Flagship has been identified as FNSS-01, Virginia!”

“WHAT?!” I shouted. The enemy fleet was projected onto the main viewscreen.

“A ground force is guarding the Foundation Element pedestal!” called Metalran. “It’s the Vortex Riders!”

“How did they get ahead of us?!” shouted Igura.

“Save the speculations for later!” I ordered. “Raise shields and charge weapons!”

“Er, guys!” I gulped as I saw the enemy charging their weapons.

“We see them!” replied Scorpainia on her ship. “All ships, engage the enemy!” Our fleet unleashed a volley of laser and torpedo fire. I looked at everyone on the ground with me.

“Minna-san,” I began, “if, by some random chance, we don’t get out of this alive…”

“Then we still make sure we continue the fight!” insisted Emily. I smiled.

“Hongo-san, if you please,” I directed. Hongo struck his pose.

“Rider…” he began.

“HENSHIN!” we all announced. The Chronicle Drivers of our new members went through their jingles.

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Hammer of Slam!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Roller of Turf!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Crossbow of Striker!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Keyblade of Lux!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Shield of Highland!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Scepter of Crown!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Rifle of Range!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Wrench of Construct!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Spear of Lance!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Staff of Crescent!”

“The enemy ground forces have changed into their Rider Personas!” reported Tac Ops.

“Then prepare our own,” I ordered. “All Riders, we’re going in!” Cyber-Leader Gi dialed in the first three prime numbers on her phone and held it to her ear, I drew my guns, Gorshagh grabbed the Kiri Zecter, and Igura struck her pose.

“Nova…” she began.

“Henshin!” we announced.

“Henshin!” repeated the Kiri Zecter.

“Adaptus: online,” reported Cyber-Leader Gi’s phone as she turned it into her buckle. We all became our Kamen Rider personas.

“All ground forces ready!” reported Tac Ops.

“Beam us down!” I ordered.

“They’re coming your way!” warned Scorpainia.

“Welcome back to Foundation Prime!” I greeted Rogue. “You know, lately, there’s a new Rider from Build’s era with the same name as you. Wouldn’t you say that would cause confusion?”

“Last I checked,” remarked Rogue, “that Kamen Rider is dead.”

“Not what I saw in Build’s show,” chuckled Sengoku. “I think a guy called Killbas restored his memories once the Build Riders came to the main Kamen Rider world.”

“I’ll take care of him later,” dismissed Rogue. “Right now, I have major annoyances to deal with! Kamen Rider Rogue! Stand and deliver!”

“Kamen Rider Adaptus,” announced Cyber-Leader Gi. “Hostile elements will be deleted.”

“Kamen Rider Kiri!” growled Gorshagh. “I shall bring ruin to you!”

“Kamen Rider Talon!” called Igura. “You will pay dearly!”

“If it’s catchphrase time, it’s catchphrase time!” I declared.

“Kamen Rider Outback!” called Joshua. “Better watch your backs, mates!”

“Kamen Rider Claw!” announced Sheela. “My weapons shall turn you into ribbons!”

“Kamen Rider Swing!” cheered Tonje. “I’ll be taking your legs!”

“Kamen Rider Hunt!” declared Tanisha. “I shall always get my prey!”

“Kamen Rider Clash!” proclaimed Livia. “A duel with me shall end in your defeat!”

“Kamen Rider Climb!” cheered Irina. “Mountains are a warrior’s best friend!”

“Kamen Rider Gallop!” declared Mikhail. “My riding skills are unmatched!”

“Kamen Rider Sengoku!” called my brother, Hiroki. “You shall get a taste of Feudal Japan!”

“Kamen Rider Royal!” I announced. “Evil will ultimately bow to me!”

“Kamen Rider Guard!” proclaimed my fiancé, Richard. “None shall harm my friends, family, and lady!”

“Kamen Rider Touché!” cheered Emily, my future sister-in-law. “En Garde, thing of evil!”

“Kamen Rider Zhànshì!” declared Haitao. “Try and stop my quest!”

“Kamen Rider Arch!” called Emmanuel. “My skills outdo Robin Hood!”

“Kamen Rider Kämpfer!” cheered Lukas. “Your defeat will be certain at my hands!”

“Kamen Rider Seeker!” proclaimed Xiomara. “It’s not gold I seek, but your end!”

“Kamen Rider Battle!” announced Michael. “For friends and family, I shall be victorious!”

“Kamen Rider Slam!” shouted Colleen. “I’ll be bringing the pain!”

“Kamen Rider Turf!” called Jason the Inkling. “I shall claim this turf in victory!”

“Kamen Rider Striker!” proclaimed Alesandro. “None shall delay victory!”

“Kamen Rider Lux!” announced Mickey Mouse. “The light of imagination shall show the way!”

“Kamen Rider Highland!” cheered Liam. “It shall be a fine day for winning!”

“Kamen Rider Crown!” declared Princess Peach. “My strength will upend your tyranny!”

“Kamen Rider Range!” called Victor. “I’ve got you right where I want you!”

“Kamen Rider Construct!” declared Dell Conagher. “Let’s do this Texas style!”

“Kamen Rider Lance!” cheered Moon-kyung. “The softest bloom can be the deadliest!”

“Kamen Rider Crescent!” announced Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi Tsukino I. “In the name of the solar system, I will punish you!”

“Kamen Rider Herald P!” called Flora.

“Kamen Rider Herald Y!” proclaimed Brenden.

“Kamen Rider Herald O!” cheered Charline.

“Kamen Rider Herald G!” announced Amelia.

“Kamen Rider Herald B!” shouted Sophie.

“We bring news of your defeat!” they called together.

“Kamen Rider Death!” whispered Death. “You cannot delay your appointment with me!”

“Kamen Rider War!” shouted War. “This battlefield is mine!”

“Kamen Rider Pestilence!” wheezed Pestilence. “You shall be infected with losing!”

“Kamen Rider Famine!” declared Famine. “I shall starve you of victory!”

“Kamen Rider Apocalypse!” announced Lacey. “Your world shall end!”

“I am Gandalf the Grey!” proclaimed Gandalf. “Prepare to see some fireworks!”

“I’m Wyldstyle!” cheered Wyldstyle. “Time to think outside the box!”

“I’m Batman!” rasped Batman. “The Dark Knight rises!”

“I am the start of a group of warriors!” finished Hongo. “I am Kamen Rider!”

“KILL THEM!” ordered Rogue. Our armies clashed as we struggled to keep the Sources away from the pedestal.

“Alert! Alert!” called Operator 5579898. “Propulsion systems disabled!”

“Main Fusion Cannon power cells now recharging in 7!” counted Drone 7427983. “6! 5! 4!”

“Battle computer suggests immediate withdrawal!” advised Strategist 3345987. Retreat?! From the Tarlaxians?!

“We will not retreat from inferior life-forms!” I, Supreme 0720974, declared. “Daleks conquer and destroy!”

“Daleks conquer and destroy!” repeated all Daleks aboard the Dalek-only saucer, the Jewel of Skaro.

“Fusion Cannon now online!” reported Drone 7427983.

“Open fire!” I ordered. “Immediately! IMMEDIATELY!”

“I obey!” confirmed Drone 7427983. The Fusion Cannon causes the individual atoms of the target to come together before a small particle of anti-matter makes the target detonate in a display that humans would call dazzling. I suppose I would call the destruction of the Tarlaxian ship beautiful as fire burned away that which was impure. While it was by a small fraction, the multiverse THAT now that much cleaner.

“We’ve lost the Armadillorg,” reported my tactical officer, Glaciandro.

“Status of enemy shields?” I asked.

“What enemy shields?” replied Glaciandro, his voice indicating he was ready to avenge those who gave their lives to protect Tarlax and the multiverse, especially since his sister was on that ship.

“Destroy them!” I ordered. He wasted no time in obeying my command. The enemy ship was destroyed, along with its fellow ships in the enemy fleet. They were at 400 when they arrived on Foundation Prime, now that number has been halved! We’ve only lost 100 of our ships and we were going to ensure that their sacrifices were NOT in vain!

“Well, well!” I taunted Rogue as we clashed. “Looks like things are crumbling around you, Oto-san!” (Father)

“I see it differently,” replied Rogue as he converted his guns into shōtō (Japanese short sword) mode.

“Have you gone senile?!” I yelped as I converted my gun to sword mode. “Rogue, your fleet is halved, your ground forces are halted, and your attempt to get to the pedestal is going up in smoke! Surrender while you can!”

“I don’t think so!” replied Rogue. “My fleet will still win the day, your ground forces are only 40 strong while mine are 600 strong, and you idiots didn’t check to see if the Sources have reached the pedestal!” I turned to see if what he was saying was true. …It was! The Sources were aligned with the pedestal! They powered the thing just like the Foundation Elements did and revealed a newly constructed green square! The Foundation of All Universes was back! “Perfect!!” cheered Rogue. “Bring the Apocalypse Riders to their respective sources!” The Combatmen then managed to wrangle the Apocalypse Riders and get them to their respective Sources. …Well…three out of five were successful. “Wait, what are you two doing?” asked Rogue.

“YEE!” (Putting the Apocalypse Riders at their respective Sources.) replied a Combatman.

“No, you’re not! Death is supposed to be at the blue one, not the purple one!” answered Rogue.

“YEE!” (They’re both blue!) argued the Combatman.

“…Can you two not see red?” asked Rogue. The Combatmen looked sheepish. “Look, just switch them, okay?”

“YEE!” (I told you we needed those optic upgrades!) snapped the other Combatman as they obeyed.

“YEE!” (Shut up.) grumbled the first Combatman. I struggled in trying to get the Combatmen holding me down off.

“Off!” I growled! “I said…”

“We don’t need to move, not yet,” interjected Batman.

“…Dude, WHY?!” I argued.

“Oh, yeah!” mused Lance in a faraway voice.

“You too?!” I hissed.

“Well, they MUST have seen it done,” replied Battle.

“What are you…oh…OH!” I realized the mistake Shocker Rift made! Unfortunately, so did Adaptus!

“Disconnect the Apocalypse Riders!” she called.

“Are you malfunctioning?!” shouted Rogue.

“Disconnect them NOW!” insisted Adaptus. Just then, with just one hand, all Apocalypse Riders threw the Combatmen holding them aside!

“It doesn’t matter now!” laughed Rogue. “The Foundation of All Universes will be mine!” He continued laughing and laughing and laughing.

“The Horsemen are in total control of the Sources!” elaborated Adaptus. “They have some plan to set you back!”

“Impossible!” dismissed Rogue. “If they value their friends’ lives, they will obey!”

“NOW!” called Death.

“DAI SUPER CHARGE!” I announced. I managed to get a hand free and spun the wheel twice. My armor bulked up and exploded off of me to get my captors off while revealing my new form as Kamen Rider Vortex! My former captors were knocked into Batman and Gandalf’s, so they got up and fought off the others so everyone could be freed. Death and her friends put both hands on the Sources and gave more energy to them.

“WAIT! NO! STOP! THAT’S TOO MUCH!” wailed Rogue. Too late. The energy the Sources were putting out separated the Foundation of All Universes into four fragments once again and scattered them to four different directions. “No! No! Nonononono NOOOOO!” wailed Rogue before he slumped to his knees. “…What just happened?!” he asked uselessly.

“Did you really think we’d let you have the Sources without having a back-up plan?” asked Apocalypse.

“We had our suspicions that you would try and control us with a hostage situation,” explained Death, “so we asked Megumi, during prep, to keep her Vortex form on standby.”

“I have to admit,” I supplied, “I was a little confused when they asked that, but I can’t argue with the results!”

“So, when the time came,” finished War, “we’d upend your plans and cause some severe damage to your tiny empire!”

“I’VE HEARD ENOUGH!” roared Rogue as he performed his poses. “DAI SUPER CHARGE!” His armor then changed into dark purple and black as it bulked up before exploding off of him, turning him into Kamen Rider Rift! He summoned his Rift Breaker as I summoned my blade and we clashed viciously! “Why do you insist on interfering?!” roared Rift. “We are bringing order to chaos!”

“Have you learned nothing from Vortech?!” I protested. “You can’t have order without chaos! Read some Berlin! You might learn a thing or two!”

“I presume you’re talking about the idiot that babbled on about ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ liberty?!” growled Rift.

“Hey, that man got away from Stalinist Russia and got a safe distance away from the Nazi invasion of Britain!” argued Guard.

“I may need to read his work,” mused Kämpfer.

“You’re not going to survive that long!” roared Rift. He holstered his guns before pulling the triggers and leaping into the air. I then spun the wheel and leapt into the air; my target identified.

“Final attack!” announced my belt.

“RIDER VORTEX KICK!” I shouted.

“RIDER RIFT KICK!” shouted Rift. He was aiming for the Sources while I aimed for his belt. Our feet temporarily connected as we pushed against one another in the air.

“How do modern Riders DO that?!” asked Ichigō.

“Still trying to figure that out,” replied Sengoku. We continued pushing and pushing and pushing until…my foot went past his and smashed the Rift Driver! He fell, exploding, then tumbling out of the explosion as Adachi Hiro. The ruined remains of the Rift Driver fell after him. He scrambled to pick them up in a panic.

“Driver! Driver, say something!” he wailed.

“Hiro…”groaned the Rift Driver, “these are…my last words. …First of all…screw you! You never…valued my advice. Second…I should never have…found your universe. It looks like I just caused…chaos all around the place…by you reverse-engineering…me. Third…you ARE obsessed with her! As such…you no longer deserve…my power!” The Rift Driver then, for lack of a better term, died. Hiro still cradled the remains of his old belt.

“I say this only one last time,” I declared, “surrender!”

“…Abandon Foundation Prime,” Hiro ordered over the comms. His men looked at him. “All ground forces, return to the ships. We cannot take this universe with the Vortex Riders as they are with the numbers we have. Abandon Foundation Prime.” They were beamed aboard their remaining fifty ships. The ships then departed Foundation Prime as we were beamed aboard the Virginia. Turretorg was commanding the vessel while we were on the ground.

“Vortex, Touché,” he declared, “I return command to you.”

“Thank you, Turretorg,” I bid.

“A very fine command,” praised Touché.

“Thank you, Ma’am,” replied Turretorg.

“I believe that’s Foundation Prime all safe and sound,” mused Guard.

“Let’s not declare that until we confirm it,” advised Clash.

“Scorpainia,” I called over the channel, “any analysis on the enemy fleet?”

“They’ve retreated,” replied Scorpainia. “As Guard mentioned, all is well.”

“…How did you…?” I asked.

“The Communications Officer left the channel open,” answered Scorpainia.

“Ah,” I replied. I then turned to my friends. “Minna-san, it looks like our work is done.” We all powered down as I took command. “Helm, set course for Vorton, all possible speed.”

“All possible speed, you got it,” replied the helmsman. The fleet then took off for Vorton. Richard looked a little concerned.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.

“My thoughts drifted to X-PO’s trial,” explained Richard.

“…Yeah, way to remind us,” I grumbled. “How’s the trial going to play out?”

“Similar to the Japanese system,” replied Richard, “but there will be a jury of 12 Cendeberons.”

“The best jurors in the multiverse,” I recalled. “Remind me who Elkrandek is? All I heard from you is that he’s a Tarlaxian.”

“Actually, he’s an immigrant,” corrected Richard. “I think Joshua would know him better as the Deer Imagin.”

“The WHAT?!” I yelped, recalling the time Heather went to various universes to make a new body for herself with functioning ovaries. The attempt failed, but it DID leave the Imagin with a chance to stay alive even though she doesn’t remember him. “WHY would Scorpainia…? Get me Scorpainia!” The Communications Officer got her. “Scorpainia, I DID tell you about the Deer Imagin, right?”

“Elkrandek, as he prefers to call himself,” replied Scorpainia, “is trying to get away from such dark thoughts. He’s passed the Bar Exam and has been an excellent defense attorney. He’s defended Turretorg when he was accused of murder and resorted to stay clean in his pursuit of defending his client.”

“…Well, if he’s changed, there’s nothing I can say about it,” I resolved.

Tags apocalypse horsemen, batman, gandalf, herald riders, hiro adachi, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, megumi hishikawa, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 23

The trial was about to begin. Miles Edgeworth of the Ace Attorney franchise met with us as Richard, Emily, Batman, Wyldstyle, Gandalf, Hongo, Rusty, Elphaba, and I were witnesses. “I understand this is hard,” he advised, “but I need you to stick to the truth in this case.”

“We are aware of what we need to do,” I replied. “I want to find the truth of why X-PO did all this.”

“That is my goal as well,” assured Edgeworth. “Hopefully, that is the Defense Attorney’s goal too.”

“The trial is about to begin,” called the Bailiff.

“Understood,” answered Edgeworth. He then turned to us. “Shall we?” We entered the Courtroom. The audience chatted amongst itself.

“All rise for the Honorable Judge Legowltor!” called the Bailiff. We all stood as a Tarlaxian with an owl motif took the Judge’s seat. He was a recluse, usually preferring to stay out of society in general because, in his head, society destroys impartiality. He only graces any sort of civilization with his presence when a trial needed someone so impartial.

“Please be seated,” he directed. We sat down as he pounded the gavel. “Court is now in session for the trial of the Experimental Portal Operator. Are the Prosecution and Defense ready?”

“The Prosecution is ready, Your Honor,” replied Edgeworth.

“The Defense is equally ready, Your Honor,” answered Elkrandek, the Deer Imagin. I noticed that he had a suit on.

“Would the Prosecution please give his opening statements?” requested Legowltor.

“As we are well aware,” began Edgeworth, “the witnesses and defendant are all veterans of the Vortech Wars that ravaged many universes, my own included.” I had no idea Vortech got that far. “The Feudal Nerd Society, as the witnesses usually call themselves, has been hailed as heroic for their actions against Vortech. However, there IS one thing to consider, what could possibly prompt a robot to alter results so the F.N.S would almost turn against each other? The Prosecution shall prove that X-PO has intentionally put the F.N.S in harm’s way to satisfy some sort of itch in his programming.”

“Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth,” bid Legowltor. “Defense, your rebuttal?”

“The Prosecution claims that my client did all this out of purely selfish reasons,” answered Elkrandek. “However, what seems to be ignored here is that a legitimate terrorist threat, one that he and the witnesses are familiar with, was about to take Foundation Prime. The Defense argues that necessity is the motivation and that he had no choice, thus leading to a plea of innocence.”

“Innocence because he lied out of necessity?” remarked Legowltor. “That is the Defense’s stance?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” confirmed Elkrandek.

“Now THIS, I have to see,” I muttered to myself.

“Very well, with all statements made,” declared Legowltor, “we begin with the first witness.” My cue. I took the Stand.

“State your name and occupations for the Court Record,” directed Edgeworth.

“Hishikawa Megumi,” I began, “leader of the Feudal Nerd Society, Freshman at After Academy, and part-time store clerk at Tentallia’s Groceries.”

“Ms. Hishikawa,” began Edgeworth, “you have known the Defendant for a while now, yes?”

“Known him for two years,” I confirmed.

“Has anything like this ever happened before?” questioned Edgeworth.

“Not to this extreme,” I replied.

“Could you elaborate on that?” asked Edgeworth. Testimony time.

“The original circumstances were that X-PO was planted inside Vortech and Hiro’s operation by the late Queen Vortoranii, the ruler of the now-extinct Vortonians,” I began. “He had brought 16 prototype versions of the Vortex Driver with him to increase surveillance. He was discovered and the 16 prototypes had gained intelligence that our parents and loved ones were taken hostage. X-PO had programmed a distress signal into them. He then programmed them to send us across the multiverse to find allies. When we finally found our allies, we had broken the Gateway and scattered the Keystones holding it up across five different universes. All that time, he was connected to the Gateway to extend his life. After testing out the Keystone that bonded to me and our first fight with Vortech, he explained why he found allies and brought us together; we needed to gather the Foundation Elements so we could get our loved ones out of Vortech’s clutches while he was on Foundation Prime. The rest is, quite literally, history.”

“Yes, the start of the Vortech Wars,” remarked Edgeworth. “Tell me, did he make any attempt to lie to you during that time?”

“No,” I answered. “He could get snarky at times, but that was the worst he could get.”

“Your witness,” offered Edgeworth to Elkrandek.

“Ms. Hishikawa,” pressed Elkrandek, “you began with my client being planted in Vortech’s operation by Vortoranii. Tell me, wouldn’t that require some amount of lying?”

“Not the lying that I was assaulted with,” I replied.

“To be frank, I see no difference,” declared Elkrandek.

“Objection!” called Edgeworth. “History has proven, time and again, that intelligence gathering is necessary. Gathering intelligence on the enemy and fudging the results on your friends’ vote are two totally separate things!”

“Objection sustained,” replied Legowltor.

“…Very well,” conceded Elkrandek before continuing. “Ms. Hishikawa, tell me, did you not also keep a secret from your friends?”

“…A disgusting act,” I answered.

“You didn’t answer my question,” remarked Elkrandek.

“I did, and the guilt of it haunts me to this day,” I replied, fully answering him.

“Do you truly believe that this is any different than that?” quizzed Elkrandek.

“Objection!” declared Edgeworth. “The Defense is trying to lead the witness!”

“Your Honor, can we truly say that these two incidents are truly different in principle?” asked Elkrandek.

“I can, quite clearly!” I declared.

“Then if you could add such a statement to your testimony,” offered Elkrandek.

“The Prosecution has no objections to that,” replied Edgeworth.

“Request granted,” replied Legowltor.

“All right,” I resolved. “After it was revealed that I had kept a secret, I had an emotional breakdown and apologized immediately.”

“Objection!” called Elkrandek. “Your Honor, there is evidence of a contradiction in that statement!”

“And WHERE, pray tell, is my contradiction?” I challenged.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the court,” began Elkrandek, “my client has offered something from his memory banks relating to that incident! With the court’s permission, I will show it! The police can verify that this was not tampered in any way!”

“No objections, Your Honor,” replied Edgeworth.

“Then, by all means, play on,” instructed Legowltor. Elkrandek pressed a button on the railing, making a screen come down. It displayed what happened after Hill Valley when we got off the Den-Liner.

“Yeah,” sighed Wyldstyle. “I think running away was the right idea.”

“That wasn’t running away!” protested Batman. “That was a…tactical retreat!”

“Remind me,” countered Wyldstyle as Gandalf decided to examine the apparatus on the Gateway, “what’s the difference?”

“There’s none,” affirmed the Brigadier as he and Rusty came up, having heard our arrival.

“Batman doesn’t run away!” protested Batman.

“Seriously?” I asked. “That’s the best defense for your fragile ego?”

“That’s not a difference,” observed Wyldstyle.

“Well, if you can’t see the difference,” hissed Batman, “then, maybe, that’s your failing!”

“You want to talk failing?” asked Wyldstyle. “Megumi’s a shining example!”

“Excuse me?!” I snarled.

“You didn’t tell us about Vortech!” explained Wyldstyle.

“She’s right,” agreed Batman. “You dragged us along for the ride! You knew about Vortech and how you got your belts! Why did you withhold that kind of information?!”

“You’re the last person to accuse me of withholding information!” I roared. “You’ve kept your countermeasures for the Justice League from your friends!”

“They’re gods among men!” protested Batman. “We need countermeasures!”

“You don’t need any for Vortech!” I argued. “This was supposed to be the F.N.S’ fight, not yours! Hongo decided to tag along and start us on this rift-hopping insanity!”

“Ichimonji was kidnapped right before my eyes, in case you forgot!” shouted Hongo. “I’m not going to sit and wait while someone inexperienced in Kamen Rider matters goes off to rescue him!”

“Well, if you can’t just be patient in terms of rescue,” I hissed, “maybe that’s your failing!”

“Says the one that used the Super Charge so recklessly after Hongo said not to!” called Emily.

“Oh, don’t you start!” I growled.

“In case you didn’t notice,” Emily pointed out, “your new form is as bulky as me! I’m used to my body weight because I trained myself, which is why I move as fluidly as I do! You don’t have any training of that kind!”

“I beat Hiro with it once before, remember?!” I argued.

“That was in a dream world,” countered Emily, “where anything is possible! You caught him off guard, and he prepared himself for the next encounter! He toyed with you back in Hill Valley!” The video then ended.

“I think it’s safe to say that Megumi is no different than X-PO when it comes to secret keeping,” remarked Elkrandek.

“Objection!” called Edgeworth. “Your Honor, that incident does not correlate to what is being discussed today! Besides, the fact remains that the witness regretted her actions and apologized while X-PO tried to excuse his actions.”

“You have proof of X-PO excusing his actions?” asked Legowltor.

“As a matter of fact, I have a selection of witnesses who can attest to that fact,” replied Edgeworth. Elkrandek arched his eyebrow. “The one we can most rely on is…I never thought I’d say this in court…Batman.”

“…I trust this isn’t a joke?” asked Legowltor.

“No, Your Honor,” answered Edgeworth. “Batman is one of the witnesses.”

“Call him in, then,” instructed Legowltor. I sat down as Batman took the Stand. “You ARE familiar with the Identity Disclosure Act, correct?” asked Legowltor.

“I’m not under any obligation to reveal my true identity should I deem it too dangerous to my loved ones,” replied Batman.

“Good,” bid Legowltor. “Then please give your preferred name and occupation for the Court Record.”

“Batman, vigilante hero of the city of Gotham in the state of New Jersey,” answered Batman.

“Batman, it’s well known that you have a database of your allies’ weaknesses,” recalled Edgeworth.

“Yes. It’s been a source of contention amongst the Justice League,” confirmed Batman.

“If you can, could you tell the court what a typical entry entails?” asked Edgeworth. Testimony time.

“It usually consists of my observations of the subject written in note form,” began Batman. “Common knowledge, what the public knows about the subject, is also included. Sparring details are also on the entry. Videos are rare, but there ARE entries that have them. The Feudal Nerd Society handed me a warrant so I could gather information on them.”

“I presume that warrant is to avoid contention like you experience with the Justice League?” inquired Edgeworth.

“That’s correct,” confirmed Batman.

“Your witness,” offered Edgeworth.

“Why on Earth would the F.N.S allow you to spy on them?” quizzed Elkrandek.

“They said it would make them more comfortable that I have such a database rather than one of them,” explained Batman. “They told me they don’t feel their security is as tight as mine. As such, I recorded the most important aspects of what went on before today.”

“Objection!” called Elkrandek. “Mr. Batman, I’m not sure if you realize this, but recording any organization, even if said organization is okay with it, is against After Academy law!”

“As I’ve mentioned, I have a warrant to do so,” argued Batman. “The F.N.S went out of their way to obtain the warrant from the Judicial Tribunal itself.”

“Is this warrant available on the Judiciary Data Store?” asked Legowltor.

“It should be,” replied Batman. “Look up Megumi Hishikawa as a start.” Legowltor did as advised and found the warrant I had obtained.

“Since this is, indeed, surveillance protected by a warrant,” declared Legowltor, “objection overruled.”

“Understood,” sighed Elkrandek.

“Batman,” continued Edgeworth, “since you were the subject of the recording we witnessed previously, tell us, did Megumi apologize?”

“She did,” confirmed Batman. “She made no attempt to cover it up. X-PO, on the other hand, tried to excuse what he did. I have visual evidence that, like X-PO’s memory, was examined by the police and determined not to be tampered with.”

“Let us see it,” directed Legowltor. The screen came down and Batman activated a projector from his eyes to show what happened after we had gathered all the Sources.

“What in the name of all nine circles of Hell made you want ANY of that back?!” growled Richard.

“What I wanted was for you guys to be happy!” shouted X-PO. “I want you to be happy for me! I want me to be happy for you! I want us to come together and riff on bad movies! Celebrate a birthday! Be normal people! I want us to come together and feel like a family and not a bunch of war veterans! I’m not blind to what happened, but sometimes, I felt like the only thing keeping us as friends! I want that feeling back! I want things back the way they were!”

“No, that doesn’t justify a DAMN thing!” snarled Alesandro. “You gathered us here with a lie from long ago! You decided to play the long game with us and waited for some grand adventure! We’ve sent you numerous invitations for those things you mentioned. If you REALLY wanted to continue feeling that, then you would have accepted them! But, no! That wasn’t enough for you! You wanted to relive the glory days with the lies, the threats, the people getting angry with each other, things that some of us were trying to get away from! You’re only concerned with what YOU want! To be frank, I see no difference between you and what Death lectured about Vortech in her classes!”

“Still waiting on that essay on Skrandepede from you,” whispered Death.

“Dude, shut up,” grunted War.

“That’s…that’s not fair at all!” argued X-PO.

“I think what Alesandro said was VERY fair!” I hissed.

“I was NEVER going to put you in any danger!” insisted X-PO. “The adventure I had planned was just some haunted house malarkey! I would tell you guys of the supposed ‘Danger’ and you guys would solve it, and we’d have a big laugh! I never wanted you guys to be on Shocker Rift’s radar!”

“Then why did you hack into the Tarlaxian scout ship missions?” demanded Scorpainia. X-PO sighed.

“Technarain gave me a way into it,” he finally revealed.

“Oh, throw me into the warp core, why don’t you?!” snarled Technarain.

“Whoa! Hold on!” called Turretorg. “Technarain, you let him in?!”

“I couldn’t have the missions be unobserved,” replied Technarain. The video ended.

“Quite honestly, I saw no attempt to, at least, apologize to Megumi and the F.N.S,” remarked Edgeworth.

“Objection!” called Elkrandek. “Your Honor, what I saw was that my client was forced into it by Technarain!”

“Objection!” replied Edgeworth. “Your Honor, there is a witness that is just as intimately acquainted with the Gateway’s Main Computer! Produce this witness and we produce the logs and find out who contacted who first!”

“Then let’s hear from this witness,” declared Legowltor. Batman sat down while Rusty took the Stand. “State your name and occupation,” directed Legowltor.

“Rusty, Secondary Operator of the Vorton Gateway,” replied Rusty.

“Ms. Rusty, how long have you worked with the Defendant?” asked Edgeworth.

“Only during the Vortech Wars,” replied Rusty. “However, I’m sent updates on Vorton’s conditions. Lately, I’ve had my function restored.”

“Perhaps you could tell us what your duties entail?” invited Edgeworth.

“General maintenance, computer defragmenting, virus scans, all things necessary to keep the Gateway operational,” explained Rusty.

“In the time you’ve known him,” continued Edgeworth, “has the Defendant ever tampered with the functions of the Gateway?”

“No, so it surprised me that he would do something like this,” answered Rusty.

“Was there any indication that he fixed the results of the vote?” asked Edgeworth.

“In all honesty, there was,” replied Rusty. “I’m just mad at myself that I didn’t notice it until Pup-X5 brought it to my attention.”

“If it pleases you,” invited Edgeworth, “tell us what that little hint was.” Rusty’s turn for testimony.

“There was a little bit of code that made absolutely no sense,” she began. “It registered as harmless to me, so I thought nothing of it. After Pup-X5 presented the findings of the original results and demonstrated a discrepancy between that and the current results before and after a computer defragmentation, I then pointed out the bit of code. Upon further examination, it was determined to be an algorithm that changed the results after defragmentation. My team had determined it to be the handiwork of X-PO.”

“Objection!” called Elkrandek.

“Now what?!” groaned Edgeworth.

“Your Honor, I have the investigator’s report on the Gateway computer,” explained Elkrandek. “There WAS an algorithm that did as the witness testified, however its origins are NOT of my client. The code works on an algorithm similar to those found within Pathweb, the shared datastore of the Dalek Empire! Considering the witness’ origins, it is safe to believe that she planted the idea into X-PO! Why, you ask? Because, at heart, she is still a soldier of the Dalek Empire!” The audience then started talking and Edgeworth was glaring at Elkrandek.

“ORDER! ORDER!” called Legowltor. The audience was still chattering about what Elkrandek said. “ORDER IN THIS COURT! I WILL HAVE ORDER!” The courtroom then went quiet.

“Your Honor,” called Rusty, “I can prove that I didn’t plant the idea into the Defendant!”

“Then you won’t mind a complete investigation into that theory tomorrow?” asked Elkrandek.

“Not at all! I will cheerfully cooperate!” declared Rusty.

“Then tomorrow’s proceedings will examine whether or not you did so,” resolved Legowltor. He banged the gavel. “Court is adjourned for today.” We all filed out of the room as X-PO was led to the Detention Center.

“I take it, you didn’t anticipate that,” I quizzed Edgeworth.

“No, I didn’t,” remarked Edgeworth.

“Typical,” I grumbled. “Whenever you or Wright are involved, trials go completely off the rails!”

“Hold it!” called Edgeworth. “I can hardly be blamed when a trial goes in a different direction!”

“It IS mainly Wright who does that,” supplied Batman.

“It doesn’t matter,” I resolved, “we need to get Rusty’s good name cleared.”

“And it will be, I promise you,” assured Edgeworth.

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” I replied.

Tags batman, court, edgeworth, megumi hishikawa, objection!, rusty the dalek, trial

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 19

“I…I…” stammered X-PO.

“X-PO, is any of that true?” I asked. X-PO’s arms drooped as he gave up trying to hide it.

“Yes, it’s all true, I fudged the results,” he confirmed. I swear, I’ve never heard the F.N.S get so angry. They heaped the verbal abuse and threats of scrapping onto X-PO.

“URUSEI, MINNA!” (Everyone, shut up!) I shouted. I turned to X-PO, feeling rather hot from my currently sour mood. “Experimental Portal Operator, you owe us an explanation!” I demanded.

“…Guys, when was the last time we came together?” asked X-PO.

“When we just came back and I apologized to everyone for hiding my…!” I replied.

“No, I mean, before this adventure,” corrected X-PO. “When was the last time the F.N.S came here?”

“I wanna say for various dimensional excursions,” I mused.

“When we said our goodbyes after the Vortech Wars,” answered X-PO. “We were all in this room to say our goodbyes to our allies. Oh, sure, like you said, we met when we discussed the use of the Gateway for travelling to other worlds and seeing what happens, but, for some of us, we never used it! For some of us, we weren’t going to get an adventure! I…I wanted an adventure where people could live out history.”

“The Vortech Wars weren’t a fun time for us, even during the beginning!” snapped Emmanuel.

“Our loved ones were kidnapped!” continued Emily.

“We were almost killed MULTIPLE times!” snarled Tanisha.

“Some of us DID die!” interjected Rusty. Elphaba nodded.

“Some of us went on a crazy side quest that almost got everyone killed!” roared Irina.

“Gandalf, Batman, Wyldstyle, and I,” supplied Hongo, “felt lied to, cheated on, and disrespected when Megumi didn’t tell us about Vortech!”

“What in the name of all nine circles of Hell made you want ANY of that back?!” growled Richard.

“Still waiting on that essay on Skrandepede from you,” whispered Death.

“Dude, shut up,” grunted War.

“That’s…that’s not fair at all!” argued X-PO.

“I think what Alesandro said was VERY fair!” I hissed.

“Then why did you hack into the Tarlaxian scout ship missions?” demanded Scorpainia. X-PO sighed.

“Technarain gave me a way into it,” he finally revealed.

“Oh, throw me into the warp core, why don’t you?!” snarled Technarain.

“Whoa! Hold on!” called Turretorg. “Technarain, you let him in?!”

“I couldn’t have the missions be unobserved,” replied Technarain.

“Is there some secret-keeping epidemic going on?!” shouted Scorpainia. I was about to say something when a certain… “vworping” noise, as Michael puts it, announced the TARDIS’ arrival. The Doctor, Sougo, Woz in his civilian form, and an old friend we made near the end of the Vortech Wars came out.

“Sandra Noman!” I cheered. “Long time, no see! What brings you to our side of reality?”

“The Doctor wanted me to confirm a finding she made,” explained Sandra. I then noticed the Doctor was wearing 3-D glasses.

“…Okay, what’s with the…?” I asked.

“Doctor, did you find Void Stuff?” asked Michael.

“I did! The Rose Clone is saturated with the stuff!” replied the Doctor. “During my more violent regenerations, I damaged the TARDIS, including its memory banks. I felt like I had seen the energy particles the Rose Clone has but couldn’t cross-check it…until I remembered Sandra Noman!”

“She visited the little house I made for myself,” continued Sandra, “and showed me what she found. I confirmed it was Void Stuff. The Rift usually acts as a passageway to other universes, but they usually skirt the edge of the Void. As such, you can’t get Void Stuff from the Rift. Believe it or not, the Rift is the long way around.”

“And the Void’s the shortcut?” I asked.

“Bingo,” confirmed Sandra. “However, anyone with sense would avoid the Void as it runs the risk of killing you. There ARE a few instances of people living in and travelling through the Void, I believe I’m right in naming the Pete’s World Cybermen and the Cult of Skaro., but they’re really rare.”

“So, it looks like the Rose Clone DID travel through the Void before ending up in the Rift,” answered the Doctor.

“But, Doctor, couldn’t it be Rose herself?” asked Michael.

“I checked,” replied the Doctor. “Rose is still with the Meta-Crisis me in Pete’s World.”

“So where did she come from?!” I snapped, finally getting annoyed with the mystery.

“That’s what we’re about to find out!” cheered the Doctor. “Brigadier, do you mind putting this into the Gateway computer?” She handed the Brigadier a flash drive.

“Very good, Doctor,” replied the Brigadier. He inserted the flash drive into the Gateway. The Doctor then keyed in a command.

“With the Void Stuff,” she explained, “we can find the temporal and universal origin of our guest. Rusty, mind getting her so she can figure out her origins?” Rusty grinned before replying.

“I obey!” she answered in her old Dalek tone. The Doctor flinched as Rusty headed off.

“I don’t think everything Dalek was purged when she came back,” she grumbled.

“So, Sougo-san, Woz-san,” I interjected, “what brings you here?”

“We ended up in your universe’s future and met your future self,” explained Sougo. “She handed me this before getting the Doctor involved.” He pulled out a watch similar to the one he used to transform into Zi-O but had a vortex on top and the year 2017 on it, the year the Vortech Wars started.

“I take it that’s the Royal Ridewatch?” I asked.

“Indeed, it is,” replied Woz. “I have a speech prepared for when Waga Maō uses it.”

“…I don’t…feel any different,” I muttered.

“Your future said that, because you went to different universes,” explained Woz, “the Ridewatch won’t take your powers.”

“You understood that?!” yelped Sougo. “I couldn’t make head or tails of it!”

“Oh…Rassilon!” swore the Doctor. A look of horror was clear on her face.

“Doctor, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“I never realized…I mean, I thought it destroyed itself!” whispered the Doctor.

“What destroyed itself?” asked Michael.

“The Rose Clone…” answered the Doctor. “I’ve seen it before!”

“Where?!” quizzed Michael. She turned grimly after Rusty.

“She’s in danger!” she declared.

I looked in various rooms to find the Rose Clone. “Miss?” I called. “Oh, Miss?” I found her in the Observation Deck. “Miss! There you are!”

“Traitor!” she hissed, her back turned to me.

“…Pardon?” I asked.

“You betrayed us!” replied the Rose Clone.

“Who are you talking about?” I inquired. “Are you okay?”

“I am most certainly NOT okay!” snarled the Rose Clone. “I remember everything now!”

“What do you remember?” I quizzed. The Rose Clone then started laughing.

“I was fixed!” she giggled. “It fixed me! …But I came out wrong! Don’t you understand! I’M ALL WRONG NOW!” She then punched me in the gut, grabbed the gunstick in my left forearm, and ripped it out, leveling it at me!

“Give that back!” I shouted. “That’s dangerous!”

“I tried to smash the mirrors around here,” snarled the Rose Clone as she advanced on me, “but I still keep stinking and sweating and flooding myself with hormones! I hate this shape! Am I now doomed to look like the one who contaminated me?! One…just one! One directive! The primary order! Destroy and conquer! I had that left and now I am stuck looking like Rose Tyler! I was the last…but trust the Time-Lords and Daleks to make liars of us all! No one really died in the Time War, did they?! You know about that! You were made after me!” A grave suspicion formed in my mind.

“What…manner of creature are you?!” I gasped. As she advanced, I noticed the shadow she was casting morphed and changed, looking very similar to what I traveled in. She spoke, causing a memory to stir.

“My Jailer, Van Statten, called me Metaltron!”

“Rubbish!” called Michael when we heard that the Rose Clone was the former last of the Daleks. The ones heading to the Observation Deck were me, the Doctor, Sougo, Michael, Woz, and Batman.

“I hope you’re right; I really do!” replied the Doctor, “but the spatio-temporal origin came from my universe! 2012, the GeoComTex Vault, near Salt Lake City, the start of Barack Obama’s 2^nd term as President of the United States! It would explain why she would constantly view that event when she got the chance!”

“Doctor, that’s absurd!” insisted Michael. “That Dalek killed itself when it discovered that Rose passed on more than her DNA. It exploded, remember?”

“It may have activated a hastily thrown together spatial-temporal shift,” argued the Doctor.

“What is going on?!” interjected Sougo.

“In 2012, just after the Last Great Time War between the Doctor’s people and a race called the Daleks,” explained Michael, “the Doctor locked onto a distress signal. It turned out the supposed Last of the Daleks sent it and it brought them into contact. The Doctor was in a period of extreme self-loathing because she thought she killed everyone. Seeing the Dalek sparked a rage in her, him actually, and became determined to make the Daleks extinct.”

“So, how did she kill it back then?” asked Woz.

“I didn’t,” answered the Doctor.

“What?” quizzed Woz.

“Like Michael said, the Dalek absorbed some of Rose’s genetic material to regenerate itself,” explained the Doctor, “but it absorbed more than that. It absorbed a bit of humanity from her, making itself believe it was contaminated. It couldn’t live like that, so it killed itself.”

“Doctor, it exploded!” insisted Michael. He then activated his comms. “Rusty, could you…”

“Bring her to me!” barked a voice. It sounded like the Rose Clone, but hatred laced the voice.

“…Bring who to you?” I asked, finally contributing.

“The Oncoming Storm!” came the reply. “Bring her to me!”

“We can talk about…” Batman offered.

“There will be no talking!” roared the Rose Clone. “Ka Faraq Gatri is behind this, I know it! The traitor to the Daleks is my prisoner! If the Predator is not within my sight, I will exterminate her! NOW BRING! THE DOCTOR! TO ME!” That word cinched it. Only a Dalek would threaten extermination. We hurried along.

“Sougo, Woz,” I suggested, “better transform.”

“Good idea,” replied Sougo. He brought out his Ziku Driver as Woz got his belt, the BeyonDriver, a black belt with a screen on the front and a green handle with a slot in it for the transformation trinket. Speaking of, the two men got their respective Ridewatch, or Miridewatch, in Woz’s case, while Michael and I got our i.d tags out. Sougo turned the Ridewatch’s face until it formed his helmet and pressed the button.

“Zi-O!” it announced. Woz just pressed the button on his Miridewatch.

“Woz!” it called. The two then inserted their respective trinkets into the slots on their belts.

“Action!” cheered the BeyonDriver as the Miridewatch opened. It then started playing snappy techno music while Sougo pressed the button on top and tilted the Driver.

“Henshin!” we all called. Woz pushed the handle with the Miridewatch to the BeyonDriver’s side, making it project his Rider form’s helmet onto the screen.

“Touei!” (Projecting!) it called. “Future Time! Sugoi! Jidai! Mirai! (Amazing! Time! Future!) Kamen Rider Woz! WOZ!!” Woz then became Kamen Rider Woz. Zi-O spun his Driver until it stopped and rang the bell.

“Rider Time!” it announced. “Kamen Rider Zi-O!” His suit formed as did mine and Michael’s. We arrived outside the Observation Deck. The Doctor led us through as she leveled her Sonic Screwdriver at the Rose Clone. The Rose Clone had taken Rusty’s gunstick out of the socket in her left forearm and was holding it at her while her hand was at the back of Rusty’s neck. She looked extremely angry.

“Hello again, Metaltron,” greeted the Doctor coldly.

“Don’t call me that!” snapped the Rose Clone. “That was what Van Statten did! You, on the other hand, you did THIS to me, didn’t you?! You made me into a clone of your pink and yellow companion!”

“I didn’t do anything, Metaltron,” replied the Doctor. “I thought you chose death.”

“How?!” wailed the newly dubbed Metaltron. “HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!”

“Now that I have more data surrounding this, I have a theory,” answered the Doctor. “Your casing must not have been fully repaired to restore ALL functions. It somehow mixed the self-destruct mechanism with the emergency temporal shift programs. It destroyed your casing and a good chunk of you. It sent you through the Void until you somehow happened upon a path to the Rift and took it. The energies must have restored you into looking like Rose, thinking that the human DNA you absorbed was the default. Somehow, your mind was carried along for the ride.” Metaltron’s face contorted into further anger.

“This is all YOUR fault!” she accused. “I was ready to embrace oblivion, but YOU had to interfere! You’ve always been the one to hold the Daleks back, you AND the Time Lords! And now, since our coming back, you infected this one,” she indicated her hostage, “with the notion of Daleks NOT being supreme! You’ve destroyed her pure soul with the idea that life needs diversity to have any value! You…!”

“Let her go, Metaltron!” interrupted the Doctor.

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!” roared Metaltron. “DALEKS HAVE NO NEED OF NAMES! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF SPEAKING THE WORD OF DALEK! ALL INFERIOR CREATURES SHOULD BE PROSTRATING THEMSELVES BEFORE US! YOU SHOULD BE BEGGING ME FOR YOUR LIFE! INSTEAD, I WILL FINALLY COMPLETE THE DALEKS’ GOAL OF EXTERMINATING YOU AND EVERYONE YOU EVER…!” Rusty ran her elbow into Metaltron’s gut and retrieved her gunstick, inserting it back into the slot. We got ready for a fight as Metaltron charged at us, her fists swinging wildly. She was acting on blind rage, so there was no form to her movements. We were just about to overpower her when someone pushed us aside and got Metaltron free. It was Caan! “RELEASE ME, MONSTER!” screamed Metaltron. “I MAY BE IN AN IMPURE STATE, BUT YOU ARE NOT FIT TO…!” She was interrupted as Caan pressed his thumb and pointer finger to her temples and seemed to induce something painful for two seconds. She gasped once the treatment ended. “…I thought you were a Time War myth!” she breathed.

“No, we were tasked with the survival of the Dalek species,” replied Caan. “Sec tried to change us but we stopped that nonsense real quick. Now, like you, I exist in a corrupted form. It DOES have its uses, though.”

“What were you doing outside of After Academy?!” I demanded.

“I needed to look something up,” explained Caan, “specifically, the creation of Gaia Memories and Ridewatches. I was denied this by Alesandro. I was about ready to destroy the school then and there, but then I realized there was another library, the Gaia Library. I completed my research there and recreated the Dalek Memory.” He revealed the Memory from his coat and pressed the button.

“DALEK!” it announced.

“So, what, you intend to recreate the Dalek Dopant through Metaltron?” I snarled.

“No, she doesn’t have the necessary connection to safely access that power,” answered Caan. “However, an Another Ridewatch doesn’t need that kind of equipment.” He pulled out a purple Ridewatch with a monstrous version of my helmet on it and pressed the button.

“Royal!” it called in a distorted voice. Caan then jammed the Ridewatch into Metaltron’s stomach, making her gasp in pain before a dark cloud surrounded her. “Royal!” repeated the voice as Metaltron turned into a monstrous version of me! Where the mouth guard was, two mouths rested there, a demonic sawblade replaced the wheel of my Vortex Driver, she had a tattered cape and skirt, the crown was rusty looking, and the word Royal was on her left arm while the year 2017 was on her right.

“Behold, Another Royal,” chuckled Caan. Another Royal then struck the same ready pose I usually do. We both attacked each other, matching one another blow for blow!

“Waga Maō,” suggested Woz, “I believe now’s a good time to test out the new Ridewatch.”

“Good idea!” praised Zi-O. He then rotated the Royal Ridewatch until it formed my face and pressed the button.

“Royal!” it called. He then put it into the left slot and pressed the button on the belt, tilting it. He spun the belt until it stopped and rang the bell.

“Rider Time!” it called. “Kamen Rider Zi-O! Armor Time!” Armor evoking me then appeared and attached itself to Zi-O while the Rider Katakana was replaced with “Royal” (ロイヤル). “Final Attack! Royal!” sang the Ridewatch. Woz gave a little giggle.

“What are you laughing about?” asked Zi-O. Another Royal and I stifled a giggle too. “You too?!” protested Zi-O. “Stop that! Look, Woz, would you just rejoice already?”

“Very well, Waga Maō,” chuckled Woz before he cleared his throat and began. “Iwae! Zen Rider no chikara o uketsugi, jikū o koe kako to mirai o shiroshimesu toki no ōja. Sono na mo Kamen Rider Zi-O: Royal Armor! (Rejoice! The one to inherit all Rider powers, the time king who will rule over the past and the future. And his name is Kamen Rider Zi-O: Royal Armor!) …This is the day where we find out you look good in a skirt, Waga Maō!” We couldn’t hold back any longer. Zi-O looked down to see that, below the Ziku Driver, he was wearing my skirt! We all laughed at him.

“It’s not a skirt, it’s a kilt!” argued Zi-O.

“Take it from me, THAT’S a skirt!” I laughed.

“Oh, get out of the way!” snapped Zi-O as he shoved me aside. I overlooked his rudeness just this once as he started fighting Another Royal. She summoned a demonic looking version of my weapon. I joined in and we continued the fight. Another Royal was keeping us at bay.

“Okay, we need to finish this quickly,” I declared. I took out my i.d. tag and inserted it into my blade. Zi-O pressed the buttons on the two Ridewatches.

“Finish Time! Royal!” called the belt. He spun the belt, making it ring the bell. “Steel Time Break!”

“Final Attack!” announced my sword.

“RIDER ROYAL SLASH!” I shouted as I swung the blade sideways. Zi-O leapt into the air and performed a Rider Kick. The attacks hit Another Royal and forced her to return to being Metaltron. The Another Ridewatch exploded, rendering it useless.

“Oh well,” sighed Caan as he picked up the unconscious Metaltron. “Best make another Gaia Memory using Rider.” He summoned a portal. “We WILL meet again when Vortech returns,” he warned.

“What are you talking about?!” I yelped. “The Rift Loop collapsed! Vortech’s dead!”

“Not what I see,” remarked Caan. “I see you fighting Vortech again. You, a red robot, and a black kitsune. Farewell. Try to survive tomorrow.” He went through the portal.

“COME BACK!” I demanded. Too late. The portal closed. I sighed in frustration and powered down. I REALLY didn’t want to be chasing after someone new. Still, at least the Sources were safe.

Tags batman, caan, gandalf, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, kamen rider zi-o, megumi hishikawa, metaltron, rusty the dalek, the doctor, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 17

We had Cybermen chasing us all around the warehouse, some of us going through doors a la Scooby Doo. The Cybermen then decided waiting outside the doors would curb that. What their logic centers didn’t count on was that we would all meet at another door that they weren’t watching. We tip-toed past the Cybermen and sighed once we thought we were far enough. …Did you know Cybermen can hear beyond what we can? They heard us sigh and resumed the chase. I doubled back once I was sure I had gotten them off my back. The plan required me to use a bit of the Source’s power and I needed that in my hand. I’m the only one that can control it, being a Horseman of the Apocalypse. I noticed that the Sailor Senshi were having a hard time using their attacks against the Cybermen. They must have used Usagi I’s knowledge. They managed to get the Sailor Senshi down to the ground and were about ready to shoot them! Better act now! “STOP!” I shouted, getting the Cybermen’s attention. “HARM THEM IN THE SLIGHTEST AND I DESTROY THE SOURCE!” I tightened my grip on it to emphasize my point.

“Give us the Source, Lacey,” boomed the Cyber-Deputy.

“Never!” I answered.

“Then we shall kill you and take it,” declared the Cyber-Deputy. “In any event, your threat is meaningless.”

“Meaningless?!” I repeated. “How?!”

“How could you have destroyed the Source?” asked the Cyber-Deputy. Oh, son, you just invited me to teach!

“Well,” I answered as I began my lecture, “what I would have done is to place the Source neatly here,” I set it down in front of me, causing the Cybermen to observe it, “and use a pinpoint attack on it, thus causing the chaotic energy in it to be released. Now, of course,” I nodded to Sailor Mars, “I’m having trouble figuring out what pinpoint attack to use on it.”

“You were a fool to admit your plan,” if I didn’t know better, I’d say the Cyber-Deputy was boasting. “We shall not permit you to attack the Source.”

“Maybe not me, no,” I mused as Sailor Mars got the idea and managed to get her hands free so she could mime pulling an arrow back on its bow.

“MARS FLAME SNIPER!” she shouted. A fiery arrow launched itself at the Source. The Source then absorbed the attack, the que for me to pick it up and thrust it at the Cybermen. The Source then spat out more powerful fire arrows right at the Cybermen’s chest units, making them give out their death rattle before falling to the floor. The Sailor Senshi then picked each other up. I came up to help them.

“The tiniest tad of warning would have been good!” griped Sailor Moon.

“Don’t be rude!” chided Sailor Jupiter.

“It’s all right,” I assured. “Let’s just focus on helping out Moon-kyung.”

——————————————————————————————–

Cyber-Leader Gi stopped her attack and looked over the railing to see the end result of what happened. “Things crumbling around you?!” I taunted.

“These losses are acceptable,” dismissed Cyber-Leader Gi. I picked up a loose stone, big enough to fit in my hand. “…A rock?” asked Cyber-Leader Gi. “You possess only one projectile.” More Cybermen approached.

“Then the question becomes,” I taunted, “who’s next and who’s lucky?”

“You cannot do much damage to us with only one projectile,” called a Cyberman.

“Maybe,” I remarked, “but one of you is gonna get it. So, who’s it gonna be?”

“Destroy her,” ordered Cyber-Leader Gi. I chucked the rock at her head, causing her to fall off the cat walk, while ducking, making the other Cybermen shoot each other in the chest unit, eliciting the death rattle. I looked over the railing and grabbed a hanging rope, climbing down it while the others converged onto Cyber-Leader Gi’s currently still body. I was hoping I didn’t kill her. Lacey checked for life signs.

“Okay, the organic bits are still alive, but the metal ones suffered some damage during the fall,” she reported. “They’re in a protective lockdown until the damage is fixed. If we’re gonna do it, we need to do it NOW!”

“…Sailor Moon, strike the Source,” I directed. Sailor Moon nodded, then summoned a wand with a gold crescent moon on it, then twirled before making a giant circle with it.

“MOON HEALING ESCALATION!” she called. The attack then struck the Source and Lacey channeled the energy around Cyber-Leader Gi. She started thrashing around in pain as the Source’s energy coursed through both her organic and metallic systems. Just then, she was surrounded in bright light. I could barely make it out, but it looked like Cyber-Leader Gi was turning into two women, one in a dress, the other in Cyber-armor. The glow faded and the two women were floated gently to the ground. One was Cyber-Leader Gi, the other…the woman we sought to free. Sailor Moon ran up to her and moved her up, shaking her to wake her. “Mama! Mama, wake up!” she begged. Just then, the woman groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

“…Chibiusa?” she whispered.

“MAMA!” cheered Sailor Moon as she hugged her tightly. Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi Tsukino I was all right! She was freed from the Cybermen’s influence.

“You had us worried, Meatball Head!” shouted Sailor Mars.

“Oh, and you wouldn’t do the exact same thing?!” argued Neo Queen Serenity.

“Not without backup!” replied Sailor Mars.

“Just admit it!” snapped Neo Queen Serenity. “You’d have gone at them alone!”

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“GUYS!” shouted Sailor Moon. “More pressing matters?! The people still under the Cybermen’s control?!”

“Your Majesty,” I interjected, “do you remember anything about the Cybermen’s endgame?”

“That’s the thing,” replied Neo Queen Serenity, “I’m aware of Cyber-Leader Gi’s personal thoughts. She was bent on making herself the Cyber-Planner of a new Cyberman Empire, separate from Shocker Rift’s influence.”

“The Cybermen aren’t content with Shocker Rift?” I asked.

“No, they view their service to Hiro as a step back, as does everyone else within the organization aside from the original Shocker. The ones that hate their servitude the most are these creatures called…Deylex?”

“Daleks,” I corrected, “and I can understand why. So, Shocker Rift is near the edge of civil war.”

“Shocker Rift chose this universe because of the Source,” continued Neo Queen Serenity, “but the Cybermen went along with it to establish it as the capital of their new empire. That’s where recent events come in and I DON’T need the Cyberiad to help me along.”

“What did they do?” I asked.

“They infiltrated Crystal Tokyo and first went after the ones that came from such a highly dense population that no one, in general, would notice,” Neo Queen Serenity went on. “They selected certain Cybermen to go into other parts of the globe and take the population there. They converted Earth about a year ago. The whole process took a month. When the authorities were made aware of it, it was too late. The Cybermen had a stranglehold on Earth. We made the palace a refuge for people to escape the Cybermen. The last act I had decided on before going after the Cybermen alone was to declare Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for a hundred years unless I give the order to end the quarantine. Until the Cybermen are gone, I’m not comfortable with ending them yet.”

“I think a solution is available,” mused Lacey.

“You mean you can get rid of them?!” gasped Neo Queen Serenity. Before Lacey could answer, a laser shot flew between me and Sailor Moon. We all turned to see Cyber-Leader Gi standing upright with some sort of pistol in her right hand. It looked like a flip phone with the number pad and screen facing her and the ends on a joint keeping them at 120⁰ from each other. It had a cylinder on each end, one of them acting as a gun barrel.

“Sorry,” gulped Lacey, “I thought freeing Her Majesty would get rid of her.”

“Give me control of the Source,” demanded Cyber-Leader Gi.

“I can’t!” replied Lacey.

“Then I will kill Neo Queen Serenity,” threatened Cyber-Leader Gi.

“Didn’t you hear me?!” argued Lacey. “I can’t, even if I wanted to! The Source will only fry your sense of logic if you try to control it!”

“I am still connected to the Cyberiad,” replied Cyber-Leader Gi. “The Cybermen still control this planet. You kill me, the Earth dies. The choice is yours.” We all hesitated.

“…Guys, it’s over,” I declared. Everyone turned to me. “She’s right, we can’t win this one. We can only surrender.”

“Shocker Rift will…” began Cyber-Leader Gi.

“Not to Shocker Rift,” I interrupted. “The Cybermen.” She didn’t catch my wink to Lacey.

“…Most rational,” complimented Cyber-Leader Gi.

“What do you need done?” asked Lacey as she held the Source.

“The Cybermen must claim its power,” ordered Cyber-Leader Gi. “Order the Source to spread it across the Cyberiad.”

“It’s going to need both Neo Queen Serenity AND Sailor Moon’s power,” replied Lacey. Cyber-Leader Gi turned to the two.

“Donate your power to the Source,” she ordered.

“You can’t…!” protested Sailor Moon.

“Do you understand Cyber-Leader Gi’s instructions?” asked Lacey. The women turned to her to see her wink at them.

“…Perfectly,” muttered Sailor Moon. “Moon Healing Escalation.” Neo Queen Serenity gave her power as well as her daughter. The Source pulsed as it was overflowing with power.

“Now, do YOU understand her instructions?” Lacey asked the Source. “Yes, I believe you do.”

“Your jamming device,” demanded Cyber-Leader Gi. It was my aPod, far superior to any iPod. I surrendered it to Cyber-Leader Gi. “A new era begins for the multiverse,” she declared as she clenched her fist and crushed my aPod. After this, I’m gonna have to either save up for my own or beg my girlfriend, Malffurem, for a new one. “Imagination,” droned Cyber-Leader Gi, “freedom, pleasure, all will fade. This world will become the new Mondas. Deploy the Source.” Lacey let the Source hover into the air before it took off outside. “We shall watch its progress,” declared Cyber-Leader Gi. She pulled out a small console and set it up so we could see the Source. It moved into the stratosphere and started pulsing, sending purple light around the globe. Cyber-Leader Gi had a monitor that displayed the status of all Cybermen on the planet. The Cybermen across the globe started glowing purple. Then…it happened…the purple light dissolved the metal of the Cybermen and replaced it with flesh, restoring the human population of Earth! “…No,” muttered Cyber-Leader Gi.

“Yes,” I declared.

“But…how?!” floundered the currently confused Cyber-Leader.

“Simple,” I dismissed.

“The Source was under my control!” insisted Cyber-Leader Gi. “I ordered it to surrender its power to all Cybermen!”

“Ah, but Neo Queen Serenity and Sailor Moon’s power lies in healing,” I explained. “The Source can only act and amplify the power it is given.”

“When you gained control of the Source through me,” supplied Lacey as the Source returned to her hand when it finished turning the Cybermen back into humans, “I asked them if they understood you. I didn’t say anything about obeying you.”

“Now, with there being only ONE Cyberman and a whole planet of people that knows how dangerous you can be,” finished Neo Queen Serenity, “life can resume as we hunt for you! Earth is now safe for travel again!”

“…You’ve made your last and fatal mistake,” declared Cyber-Leader Gi as she pressed 2, 3, and 5 on the keypad, the first three prime numbers. She then held it to her ear. “Henshin,” she declared before closing the angle of the gun so both long sides could join together. She then inserted the contraption, plugs first, into a harness on her waist. Handles popped out the side and eyes and a mouth opened, making the buckle look like a Cyberman’s head.

“Adaptus: online,” called a Cyberman’s voice before she glowed gold. The glow faded to reveal a Kamen Rider style Cyberman, with black handles.

“Kamen Rider Adaptus,” she announced in the Cybermen’s usual voice. “Hostile elements will be deleted.” She pressed the right eye on her buckle, then the left, then the mouth.

“Summoning Gunblade,” reported the belt. A Cybergun appeared with blades running along the top and bottom of the barrel.

“Right, fight time, everyone!” I announced. We all got ready.

“Henshin!” we called. My belt shouted “Open! Turn! Imagine! The Spear of Lance!” as we transformed and converted our weapons from melee to range. We all scattered and fired. Adaptus slammed her fist into the ground causing us to lose our balance.

“Of all the types of people to be a Kamen Rider!” groaned Outback. The Sailor Senshi were firing off their attacks too, but to no effect. Adaptus just kept on fighting. Neo Queen Serenity was off to the side, feeling hopeless.

“I thought I’d never wish for my powers back,” she sighed, “but now I need to protect my people and I don’t have the means to do so! What can I do?! I want to help!”

“Might I suggest this?” burbled Sludgiona. She tossed Neo Queen Serenity a device…the same device I was wearing around my waist!

“What are you waiting for?!” I called. “Make sure you say ‘Henshin’!”

“I’ve seen Black and Black RX in my day!” remarked Neo Queen Serenity as she put her new Chronicle Driver on. “I know what to say!” She held out her Armor Auto-bio and opened her Chronicle Driver. “Henshin!” she called before inserting the Armor Auto-bio and closing the belt.

“Open! Turn! Imagine!” called the belt. “The Staff of Crescent!” Her new Rider persona looked similar to her old outfit when she was Sailor Moon.

“No,” floundered Adaptus. “That is…illogical! You…cannot fight!”

“Can and will!” countered Neo Queen Serenity. We all grouped up.

“Kamen Rider Outback! Better watch your back, mate!”

“Kamen Rider Swing! I’ll be taking your legs!”

“Kamen Rider Kämpfer! Your defeat will be certain at my hands!”

“Kamen Rider Herald B! I bring news of your defeat!”

“Kamen Rider Apocalypse! Your world shall end!”

“Kamen Rider Lance!” I announced. “The softest bloom can be the deadliest!”

“I’m Batman! The Dark Knight rises!”

“I am Sludgiona, the slimy creator!”

“I am Lexicon! There is historical precedence for your failure!”

“I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and Justice!” pronounced the current Sailor Moon. “I am Sailor Moon! And now, in the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!”

“Protected by Mercury, the planet of water!” announced Sailor Mercury. “The Guardian of Wisdom! I am Sailor Mercury! Douse yourself in water and repent!”

“Protected by Mars, the planet of fire!” called Sailor Mars. “The Guardian of War! I am Sailor Mars! In the name of Mars, I’ll chastise you!”

“Protected by Jupiter, the planet of thunder!” proclaimed Sailor Jupiter. “The Guardian of Protection! I am Sailor Jupiter! I will let you feel so much regret, it will leave you numb!”

“Protected by Venus, the planet of beauty!” cheered Sailor Venus. “The Guardian of Love! I am Sailor Venus! Allow me to punish you with love!”

“Protected by Pluto, the planet of underworld!” called Sailor Pluto. “I am Sailor Pluto!”

“Protected by Neptune, the Planet of Oceans!” announced Sailor Neptune. “Guardian of the Deep Sea! I am Sailor Neptune!”

“Protected by Uranus, the Planet of the Wind!” proclaimed Sailor Uranus. “Guardian of the Heavens! I am Sailor Uranus!”

“Protected by Saturn, the planet of Ruin!” called Sailor Saturn. “Guardian of Silence! I am Sailor Saturn!”

“Kamen Rider Crescent!” finished Neo Queen Serenity. “In the name of the solar system, I will punish you!”

“NOW!” I called. The Vortex Riders spun their wheels while Crescent and I pressed the button on top of our buckles.

“Final attack!” called the Vortex Drivers.

“Final Pen Stroke!” cheered the Chronicle Drivers. We leapt into the air and performed our kicks.

“RIDER OUTBACK KICK!”

“RIDER SWING KICK!”

“RIDER KÄMPFER KICK!”

“RIDER HERALD B KICK!”

“RIDER LANCE KICK!”

“RIDER CRESCENT KICK!”

“RIDER APOCALYPSE KICK!”

“Everyone!” called Sailor Moon. “Lend them your energy!” The Sailor Senshi charged us as our kicks hit Adaptus, causing her to be knocked back and reverting back to Cyber-Leader Gi. She dialed a number on her phone and held it to her ear.

“Cyber-Leader Gi, requesting immediate evacuation,” she called. “Repeat, immediate.” A portal opened for her and she dove headfirst into it.

“And that, as they say,” I declared as we all powered down, “is that.”

“I need to call Papa,” realized Sailor Moon. She activated her communicator.

“Sailor Moon,” came Endymion’s voice, “we’re getting reports that the Cybermen have turned back into humans!”

“They’re true, I promise,” assured Sailor Moon. “We also got someone back!” She handed the communicator to Neo Queen Serenity.

“Hello, Mamo-chan,” she greeted. This time, there was love in her voice.

“…Usako?” breathed Endymion. “Is it…I mean, are you…?”

“I’m back,” confirmed Neo Queen Serenity. “We can end the planetary quarantine. I’ll be home straight away.”

——————————————————————————————–

We returned to the palace and told Endymion what happened. The people that took refuge heard the story and cheered. They were free and were released back into Crystal Tokyo to find their loved ones. Endymion and Neo Queen Serenity were still together as we told him what happened with Cyber-Leader Gi. “A Kamen Rider?” he muttered. “I thought they ended that franchise with the movie, Kamen Rider J.”

“You mean you don’t know about the Heisei Era Riders?” asked Lacey.

“Heisei Era Riders?” asked Neo Queen Serenity. “There were Kamen Riders that were called Heisei Riders?”

“Yeah! They got that name in the year 2000, 19 years before Emperor Hirohito abdicated. Oh, wait, you took the throne in the 21st century in this universe. Is there a tv show called Kamen Rider Kuuga in your universe?”

“No, I don’t think so,” mused Neo Queen Serenity.

“Hey!” protested Usagi II. “Who took the cookies?!” Neo Queen Serenity looked up at the ceiling, looking very nervous. “…Mama,” hissed Usagi II.

“Let her have this,” suggested Rei, Sailor Mars. “She’s been the Cybermen’s prisoner for too long. For once, she can eat whatever she wants.”

“I do that anyway!” snapped Neo Queen Serenity. “I AM Queen!”

“A chubby one,” muttered Rei.

“I heard that!” snapped Neo Queen Serenity. “Who’s the one who ate those cupcakes before this all went down?!”

“How did you know that?!” shouted Rei. “Spying on your own subjects! There ought to be a law against that! Maybe I SHOULDN’T let you have cookies!”

“At least I didn’t wear heels in battle!” argued Neo Queen Serenity.

“Your boots had just as much of a heel as my shoes do!” countered Rei.

“You’re always trying to annoy me!” accused Neo Queen Serenity. “Don’t you remember that time I saved your life?!”

“Yeah, I remember!” replied Rei. “Wasn’t that when you tripped and fell on your face?!”

“Oh yeah?! Well, next time, I won’t even bother!” declared Neo Queen Serenity.

“Fine!” answered Rei.

“Fine!” confirmed Neo Queen Serenity.

“Fine!” finished Rei. The two ladies then folded their arms, turned their backs to each other, and hmphed. Ami, Sailor Mercury, let a small giggle loose. Batman leaned to Usagi II.

“Are they always like this?” he asked.

“Ever since they met in High School,” groaned Usagi II. “When I travelled back in time as a little girl, I saw them fight like that firsthand.”

“…Time travel?” moaned Batman, not liking the subject.

“Ami-chan,” remarked Neo Queen Serenity, “might I ask what’s so funny?”

“You just went back to basics real fast,” she replied. “I’d have thought being Cyber-Leader Gi would be traumatizing.” Neo Queen Serenity then went deep in thought.

“…I hurt everyone as her,” she mumbled.

“That wasn’t you, Usako,” insisted Endymion.

“I don’t know about that,” argued Neo Queen Serenity. “I DO have a sense of order. The Cybermen may have amplified that, but it was still my desire to create order. That desire made people look the same and I do NOT want to inflict that kind of harm again.”

“Mama, you’re not Cyber-Leader Gi,” replied Usagi II. “You’re not a Cyberman of ANY rank. The best way to not be a mindless drone is to wake up and enjoy life in both its order and its chaos.”

“…I need to bring her back into this universe,” decided Neo Queen Serenity. “Moon-kyung, do you mind if I join you?”

“Your Majesty, I would be honored,” I replied. “That is, if your family’s okay with it.”

“…Keep her safe,” instructed Endymion.

“Will do!” I replied. I then called up Vorton. “Guys, mission accomplished! We’re ready to go home!”

“Understood,” came Megumi’s voice. “I’ve asked all of us to meet in the Gateway Room. We have…something to discuss.” The portal opened and we all headed off to meet with Megumi and the rest of the F.N.S. I was introduced to Jason the Inkling, Mickey Mouse, Princess Peach, and Dell Conagher, the newest additions to the team, much like Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi I, was. She introduced herself. I noticed that Victor and Alesandro were standing at the back, glaring at us. “I’ll get right to the point,” began Megumi. “I hid the fact that I didn’t tell Batman, Hongo, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf about Vortech and also hid the fact that I had an emotional collapse after that. I told you guys that we never kept secrets, but that was the fattest lie I’ve ever told. I know Emily and Joshua told Liam and Moon-kyung, but that doesn’t excuse what I did, or rather, DIDN’T do. Colleen Doyle, Alesandro Ortiz, Liam McIntyre, Victor Young, Deung Moon-kyung, I’m sorry for hiding this from you. I should have just obeyed my conscience and told you. Whether or not you decide to stay with us, know that I will always consider you a member of our family and, as such, try to do right by you.”

“…I appreciate that,” replied Victor.

“We all do,” supplied Colleen.

“…Arigatou gozaimasu,” (formal Thank You) thanked Megumi as she bowed, a little misty eyed. “Now, Richard, your team found something?”

“It’s related to the vote we took on whether or not we’d tell the new guys,” he explained. “Pup-X5 noticed that the results of the vote were tampered with.”

“Tampered?!” yelped Emily.

“Yeah, what raised a red flag for me,” read Pup-X5’s tablet, “was that Emily and Joshua swore up and down that they voted no, but the results say yes. I took another poll and found major discrepancies. The only ones that matched were those who actually said no, Hiroki and Xiomara.”

“You two?!” protested Megumi. “Why you two?!”

“They didn’t need to know EVERYTHING!” argued Hiroki.

“Right now, that’s not the point,” interjected Richard. “We need to figure out why we got the wrong results.”

“Techies, you know what to do,” directed Megumi. We all headed off to figure out this mystery.

Tags batman, cybermen, deung moon-kyung, kamen rider, lacey, new rider, sailor moon

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 4

With the Gateway having been fixed so that the seven person limit was removed, we didn’t need my power as Vortex. My team, Team Death, assembled first. “Coordinates set,” reported Rusty. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Shall we, Megumi?” offered Death.

“Minna,” I called, “ikuze! CHARGE!” We charged into the portal, flying through the rift.

Next up was my team, Team War. “Okay, Michael,” called Elphaba. “Your path is set.”

“Off we go!” I called. War gave off a battle-cry as we charged into the portal.

I had already taken everyone up to the Virginia. I adjusted the rose rings around my wrists as we arrived at the bridge. It was multi-leveled. The pilot sat in the center of the bridge’s lower level in a chair that looked like a multi-axis trainer, the chair astronauts use to simulate disorientation on reentry. The walls had half a TARDIS console built into them. The Captain, me, would sit in a chair on the level above the pilot and the First Officer would sit in the seat behind me, facing the back of the bridge in order to relay commands. I was showing off the consoles, starting from port, then going to bow, then starboard, then stern. “Welcome to the bridge!” I began. “We’ve only got a limited amount of time, so let’s go through it quickly. The port consoles are science stations, the bow consoles are weapons, the starboard consoles are in charge of communications, and the aft consoles command Engineering when the Chief Engineer is on the bridge. Now, positions. Liam.”

“Aye?” gulped Liam as he was snapped out of his awe.

“You know technical stuff, right?” I asked.

“…I hit things,” replied Liam. “They get fixed.”

“Splendid,” I answered. “You’ll work with R9 as an Engineer. Amelia, Pestilence, you work the science stations.”

“Got it,” confirmed Pestilence as she and Amelia took their respective consoles.”

“Hongo, you work the weapons,” I directed.

“Both consoles?” asked Hongo.

“Only one needs to be used,” answered Mikhail, “but we’re people who prefer back-ups. So, when one explodes, the other kicks in when only one person’s working the weapons.”

“Now THAT makes sense,” replied Hongo.

“Speaking of working consoles,” I interjected, “Mikhail, you’re in charge of communications.”

“да,” (Da, yes) confirmed Mikhail.

“Tanisha, you’ve flown ships before,” I recalled.

“Not this type,” remarked Tanisha. “I need to familiarize myself with the controls.”

“It’s like a video game,” I assured. “Think of the space battles in Star Wars: Battlefront II, the 2005 release.”

“Ah, the good one,” remarked Tanisha.

“Where does that leave me?!” protested Scorpainia.

“It leaves you as my First Officer,” I answered.

“YOUR First Officer?!” exclaimed Scorpainia.

“Megumi legally transferred ownership of the ship to me,” I explained. “As such, I’m it’s captain.”

“I see,” replied Scorpainia.

“Make sure my orders are carried out and smack anyone who says or does something stupid,” I instructed.

“Smacking limbs ready,” reported Scorpainia.

“All right, man your stations,” I directed. “Majel, ship status.” An image of the late Majel-Barret Roddenberry appeared on screen. She was in one of her Lwaxana Troi dresses.

“Still in standard orbit,” she reported, “and this a.i. is really, REALLY bored!”

“Is that…?!” gasped R9.

“No, it’s the a.i. based off of her,” I answered. “When she heard that I needed a shipboard computer, she volunteered. After I explained that it would have a full range of emotions, she planted the idea of an interactive image in Lukas’ head and suggested herself. This was after her guest lecture on how much influence women had in early science fiction. I agreed and so Lukas coded Majel here.”

“And I’ve been stuck orbiting Vorton for a while now,” muttered Majel.

“Well, our new adventure may stretch your engines,” I replied. “We’re going to universe 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0 to rescue some Tarlaxian explorers.”

“OOOH! Going outside Vorton!” cheered Majel. “Ready and waiting!”

“Tanisha,” I instructed as I sat down, “set a course for 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0. 50% of speed factor 1 until we’ve cleared orbit, then punch it to speed factor 7.”

“Got it,” confirmed Tanisha as she pressed the necessary buttons. As Scorpainia moved to sit behind me, I noticed something.

“Hey,” I whispered to her, not wanting to draw the bridge’s attention to it, “are you all right?”

“What do you mean?” replied Scorpainia in the same whisper.

“Your claw’s shaking,” I answered. Scorpainia’s right claw was shaking a bit. She looked at the claw and saw it shake. She then opened and shut it a few times, making it stop twitching.

“Must be getting old,” she chuckled. I could see it in her eyes, something’s terrified her. We were on a time crunch, though, so I put it to the back of my mind.

“Course laid in,” reported Tanisha.

“Engage!” I ordered in my best Picard impression. The engines hummed, the lights brightened…and the ship lurched, nearly throwing me out of my seat. Scorpainia yelped as the same happened to her while everyone else held onto their consoles as they fell.

“I’ll just correct the orbit, shall I?” gulped Majel.

“Vorton’s hailing us,” reported Mikhail.

“Put them through,” I directed. “They probably want to know what’s going on.”

“Is everything all right up there?” asked Richard.

“Just learned that the controls ARE similar to the space battles of the 2005 Star Wars: Battlefront II,” replied Tanisha, “but with inverted controls.”

“I think we need to learn how to fly this thing,” muttered Scorpainia.

“Majel, why don’t you pull up some tutorials?” I suggested.

“Tutorial system: engaged,” replied Majel. “We’ll start with step 1: Crash Avoidance.”

“When that’s done,” called Liam, “que up Snakes on a Plane.”

“Dude! Do it!” agreed R9.

“…All right,” mumbled Majel. “Queuing up Snakes on a Plane, directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson and…”

“Majel, cancel that order,” I interrupted.

“AW!” protested Liam and R9.

“You guys go on without us,” called Emily to my group.

“Okay, if you say so, Sis,” I muttered.

“We should probably get going,” mumbled Famine as she finished her chicken wings.

“All right, then,” I declared. “ATTACK!” We charged into the portal and fell through the rift.

“Moon-kyung,” called Joshua, “wish to do the honors?”

“Me?” I gulped.

“Why not? Let a new girl try her hand in a command position,” replied Lacey.

“…Well, I DID want to join the army when I was a girl,” I conceded. “Time to get some practice in. Gaja!” (Let’s go!) We charged into the portal and headed to our destination.

“There IS one thing I never liked about manning the Gateway,” muttered Elphaba as Ms. Moon-kyung and her group departed.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“The waiting,” explained Elphaba.

“No one really likes waiting,” I replied.

“I’m actually fine with it,” signed Chell. Thank goodness Tanisha taught Rusty, Elphaba, and I how to understand American Sign Language.

“Why?” asked Elphaba.

“Back home,” continued Chell, “I was constantly put into dangerous situations by GLaDOS, never getting a moment’s rest. I’m fine with just waiting.”

“Well, maybe it’s the old bad guy in me,” sighed Elphaba, “but I would stave off the ennui by conquest.”

“You’ve REALLY got a bad case of jitters if conquest staves it off,” remarked Rusty. I snorted holding back a laugh.

“I don’t know if you noticed,” I remarked, “but your old associates in the Dalek Empire are the twitchiest bunch in our universe.”

“And knowing that there’s a hostile multiverse out there,” interjected Elphaba, “we need to be ready for attack. THAT’S what’s making me twitchy.”

“In MY day,” I replied, “we took on Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, Zygons, and all manner of space thuggery, and it doesn’t get more hostile than THAT!” Just then, the Gateway’s control console beeped. Elphaba took it.

“This is Vorton,” she introduced.

“It’s Emily,” called Young Miss Saunders. “We finally got the ship controls hammered out. We’ll see you later.”

“Good luck,” bid Elphaba. As soon as communications ended, the Virginia left orbit, opened a rift, and vanished into it. Rusty and I saluted, you’re familiar with the salute of the United Kingdom, as it left.

“All right,” declared Elphaba as she took charge, “we’re all going into one hour shifts monitoring various aspects. Rusty, you’re monitoring the power systems. Brigadier, you’re monitoring weapons. Chell, medical monitoring for you. I’ll monitor the Gateway for any rift activity. We switch at the end of our shifts, Gateway to medical to weapons to power to Gateway. Understood?” We all confirmed our duties. “Perfect, let’s…” the Gateway beeped again, interrupting her. Since she volunteered for Gateway duty, she checked the console. “Someone’s coming through!” she yelped.

“Shocker Rift?” asked Rusty as she readied her gunstick.

“…No,” reported Elphaba. “A blonde woman in rags.”

“What was she doing in the rift?” I asked.

“Does it matter?!” signed Chell. “Bring her in! She’s unprotected!” Elphaba opened a portal and brought the woman to the platform. Rusty’s eyes went wide.

“I know that face!” she breathed.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“From the Pathweb, the shared intelligence of the Daleks!” explained Rusty. “From the Doctor’s memories as well! I know that woman!”

“Who?” asked Elphaba as Chell picked her up and carried her to the medical bay. “Who is she?”

“…Rose Tyler!” declared Rusty.

Tags batman, death, emily saunders, famine, gandalf, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, lacey, megumi hishikawa, pestilence, war, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 2

It was a new day in our new Castle Nerd Skull outside After Academy’s city limits. The Horsemen, their heralds, and our newest members had joined us as we sat down. Our new members were from the same universe the original F.N.S came from. We went from 16 to 31 almost overnight, 18 girls and 13 boys. Our new members were Lady Colleen Doyle of Waterford, Ireland, Lord Alesandro Ortiz of Fortaleza, Brazil, Sir Liam McIntyre of Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, Duke Victor Young of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and Duchess Deung Moon-kyung (Asian name order, so, in the western name order it would be Moon-kyung Deung) of Jeju-si, South Korea. They were wearing a newer transformation belt, similar to a Vortex Driver, called the Chronicle Driver. Much like a Vortex Driver, it summons armor based on a character, but uses something called an Armor Bio, a small, book-shaped trinket that tells the story of the person it’s based off of. The Chronicle Driver pops a shelf out from the top with a small space for the Armor Bio to fit. The Rider then inserts the Armor Bio into the space and slides the shelf down into the Driver. It won’t summon the suit until the Rider presses a button on the Driver’s top. If it’s the Rider’s personal Armor Bio, or Armor Auto-bio, the Rider would say “Henshin!” before pressing the button. Pressing the button again would initiate the final attack. Colleen was Kamen Rider Slam, Alesandro was Kamen Rider Striker, Liam was Kamen Rider Highland, Victor Was Kamen Rider Range, and Moon-kyung was Kamen Rider Lance. Colleen adjusted her braid as Michael’s cat, Kit-10, scooted by. “Colleen?” I asked. “Your report?” She snapped out of her reverie as she shook her head.

“Sorry, My Lady,” she apologized. “The Chronicle Riders haven’t heard a peep out of them.”

“Quite frankly,” sighed Liam, “I don’t think we’re gonna find anything.”

“I know Hiro of old,” I replied, prompting the Scotsman to roll his eyes.

“Och, haur we gang!” he protested, exaggerating his usual accent.

“I beg your pardon?” I asked.

“Every time we say Hiro’s not gonna do anything,” explained Liam, “you go on about how Hiro doesn’t let things go that easily, how he will stop at nothing to have the multiverse under his rule. Well, I’ve been looking everywhere, and I have NO proof that he has something in the works!”

“Always a contentious one, aren’t you?” sighed his House Head, Pestilence.

“The Vortech Wars are over!” protested Liam. “Hiro’s learned not to mess with powers outside his understanding! We can relax! YOU, of all people, can relax!”

“Hiro is NOT one to be underestimated,” Death argued in her usual whisper. “I will not let you go through with being so lax about this.”

“Come on, you can’t be serious!” countered Liam. Moon-kyung just sighed, deciding to defuse the situation with a question unrelated to our conversation.

“Could the pizza guy be any later?” she sighed.

“They ARE taking their sweet time,” remarked Kit-10. “However, I don’t think we should be TOO harsh on them. They’re rather swamped, what with the two-year anniversary celebration of Vortech’s defeat coming up.”

“Oh, yeah, that,” I remembered.

“Well, it looks like we’re starting Bad Movie Night WITHOUT pizza,” sighed Richard. “Let’s kick things off with Michael Bay.”

“What have you got to offer?” I quizzed.

It was Revenge of the Fallen, the second Bayverse Transformers movie. “Well, that was something,” I remarked.

“Rather tame, compared to other bad movies I’ve seen,” commented Emily.

“As a feline-based robot,” observed Kit-10, “built by a Time Lord and a flying box, I can safely say that it was the most unrealistic thing I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of gracing my visual sensors with.”

“Was Devastator’s wrecking ball scrotum really necessary?” asked Victor.

“Were Skids and Mudflap necessary?” quizzed War. “I swear they existed to be nothing but black stereotypes, UNNECESSARY black stereotypes.”

“My turn!” called Colleen.

“It’s not gonna be Monty Python’s Life of Brian, is it?” asked Hiroki. “I STILL feel let down after that whole thing.”

“No, it’s actually a movie from Japan,” replied Colleen. “Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. ToQger The Movie: Ninjas in Wonderland.”

“WHY?!” wailed Hiroki.

“Please, no!” I begged. Just then, there was a knock on the door. “Great, the pizza’s here!” I cheered.

“Two and a half hours!” protested Emily. “And we’re pretty far from city limits!”

“Cold pizza’s better than no pizza,” remarked Richard as he got up. Alesandro snorted.

“You only say that because you have no taste buds,” he snarked. Richard approached the door and opened it.

“Okay, my good man, what do I owe you?” he asked.

“Your ears,” remarked the voice.

“…You’re not pizza,” replied Richard.

“A PO robot’s saucier than pizza,” boasted the voice. “We need to talk.”

“Guys, X-PO’s here,” called Richard.

“Let him in!” I bid. Richard and X-PO entered the t.v. room. X-PO had various documents in his claws. “Good to see you again, X-PO!” I called.

“Nice to see you too,” returned X-PO. “I wish the circumstances were better.”

“What’s up?” asked Emily. X-PO laid out the documents.

“Let’s just say that Shocker Rift may be up to something,” he began. “Scorpainia sent out some explorers to gather data on five key universes. I’ve been monitoring for the reports but, for whatever reason, neither side has contacted each other.”

“So? It could be background interference,” I countered.

“I thought so too,” replied X-PO, “until Batman reported seeing Shocker Rift Saucers fly through one rift and out another.”

“I don’t see Shocker Rift,” guessed Tanisha, “as people who would just buzz a populated area.”

“No, they aren’t,” I agreed.

“And you’d be right,” confirmed X-PO. “I’ve managed to get ahold of why the Tarlaxians were exploring other universes. Turns out, they’re scouting for a potential Tarlax 15 in case they need to move again.” He waved a claw over the documents to indicate that what he talked about was in them.

“Should we even be looking at this?” asked Victor. “This seems like top secret stuff.”

“They’re marked with the Secret Seal,” observed Famine as she munched on a chocolate bar. “Not even we Horsemen have the clearance needed to see it. Only the reigning monarch and a few trusted Tarlaxians are allowed access.”

“I wouldn’t worry so much,” whispered Death. “It’s not like anyone’s gonna post this on social media.” Charline’s eyes went wide as she hit the back button on her tablet. “…Seriously?” asked Death.

“As I recall, you guys have the most experience in travelling the multiverse and have a new ship that can go between dimensions,” remembered X-PO.

“Yes, the Virginia can go to other universes,” I confirmed. “You were there when we remodeled it from its sphere to an actual ship.”

“When do we leave then?” asked X-PO.

“I don’t recall inviting you,” I remarked.

“Megumi, the multiverse has a vested interest in seeing that it’s protected,” argued X-PO. “As someone who wants that interest to succeed, I’m coming with you.”

“That’s nice, X-PO,” I countered, “but I’m a little worried about a portal operator abandoning his post.”

“Megumi, did you really think I wouldn’t get my replacement as I went with you?” asked X-PO. “Elphaba, Chell, Rusty, the Brigadier, they want to see Vorton again.” I opened my mouth to argue again, then sighed.

“I suppose you can do more on this adventure,” I conceded. “In fact, I think we all need our robots. Kit-10, see if you can get Lexicon, Pup-X5, and R9-D7. Veterans of the Vortech Wars, who wants another journey around…?”

“WAIT!” called Moon-kyung. “Who said anything about JUST you veterans? I wanna go!”

“Wait a minute!” I began.

“There may be people in need of help,” interjected Victor. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to see them hurt.”

“Nobody does,” I agreed, “but…”

“And you’re gonna need someone who knows their way around weapons,” interrupted Liam.

“I’ve used weapons!” protested Richard.

“Besides, we want to see what the multiverse is like!” called Alesandro.

“You can see it just fine in…” argued Livia.

“And I SO want to meet Batman and the others!” cheered Colleen.

“GUYS!” I finally called. Everyone quieted down. “I appreciate that you new guys want to see the multiverse but we don’t know what’s going on in those universes. This could all be for nothing.”

“I have to side with the newbies,” interjected Emmanuel. “This may be the perfect opportunity to show the multiverse off if there’s nothing going on. The last time we went through the dimensions, it wasn’t exactly ‘happy-fun-time’. I’d like to go when we’re not being shot at.”

“Besides,” remarked Death, “if it IS nothing, then we just fix the trouble and help the explorers reestablish communications with Tarlax 14. And, on another note, we’ve been getting a…feeling.” That caught my attention.

“Feeling?” I asked.

“Yeah,” confirmed Lacey. “The five of us have had a feeling that the aspects we represent, war, plague, chaos, starvation, and death, are going out of whack. Sometimes it’s because of some interdimensional power, other times, it’s just someone not in their universe. We’d like to check if it’s the latter as we hope.”

“…All right,” I decided, “we’ll split up into teams according to our houses. X-PO, you’re with my house. Kit-10, once Gandalf joins us, you’re going with War and her students. I want R9-D7 to go with House Pestilence when Hongo arrives. Pup-X5 and Wyldstyle will go with Famine’s house. Lacey, do you mind taking Batman and Lexicon?”

“Don’t mind at all,” replied Lacey.

“Then let’s get Batman, Hongo, Wyldstyle and Gandalf,” I declared. “I have a feeling we’ll need them.”

I was hosting a party at Wayne Manor, my birthday party, to be exact. 35 years, and still a member of Gotham’s high society. A woman with a distinctive feline feel to her dress approached me. It was Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman. “Hey, lover,” she purred. “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks,” I replied. I noticed the necklace she was wearing, a ruby inside a distinct cat’s eye design. “Which museum did you ‘borrow’ that from?”

“Har har,” hissed Selina. “Babs gave it to me. Check with her if you don’t believe me.”

“I may do that…later,” I remarked. “Where’s Harley? I thought she was coming with you.”

“She was,” answered Selina, “but something came up. Some sort of emergency with Pamela. She called in the entire Suicide Squad. From what I heard; it was something to do with Little Shop of Horrors.”

“She’s probably mad the plant didn’t win,” I guessed. We then danced for a while, then the party started winding down. Alfred was bidding the guests goodbye, thanking them for coming. Selina stole a kiss before leaving.

“She’d make a fine Mrs. Batman,” sighed Alfred.

“Maybe,” I dismissed. I headed up to my study to see a rift open. “Okay, what now?!” I protested. Just then, Tonje stepped through.

“God kveld,” (Good evening) she greeted.

“At least you aren’t a saucer,” I remarked. “What’s going on?”

“There’s some multiversal trouble going on concerning Tarlaxian explorers,” explained Tonje. “The Horsemen are thinking that it’s putting their respective aspects out of whack. Want to come?”

“Sure, crime’s been at an all-time low since the Joker stayed with Hiro,” I answered. “Let me just get changed.” I stepped into a wardrobe and let machines change me into my costume. Once I had my cowl adjusted, I stepped out as the Dark Knight. “Let’s get going,” I rasped.

“May I persuade you to take a sandwich, Master Bruce?” asked Alfred.

“I’ll get something on the way,” I replied. My father-figure sighed.

“Then, good luck,” he bid.

Sitting on the outskirts of Bricksburg isn’t my idea of fun. When all the realms in my universe finally came together, I thought it would mean something more, but there were those that don’t want to build something new, sound a little too similar to Lord Business. I idly looked around to see numbers around objects and just made a small motorcycle that didn’t even make noise. I sighed. Somehow, it was more fun during the Vortech Wars. “Maybe I SHOULD be a DJ,” I mused to myself.

“I’m sure you’d be good at it,” called a voice. I whirled around, constructing a giant staff with a boxing glove on both ends, and leveled my new weapon at the person behind me. “…Bonjour,” gulped the guy.

“Emmanuel?!” I yelped. “What are you doing here?!” I lowered the staff, letting Emmanuel relax.

“Trouble in the multiverse,” he replied. “Want to come?”

“Let me just let my friends know where I’m going,” I answered. I quickly found a paper and pencil and scrawled a note, then built a machine that carried the note to my friends. “Let’s get going! I was getting bored!” I urged Emmanuel.

“We French call it Ennui,” chuckled Emmanuel as he led me to the rift he used.

I was enjoying the clean air of the Shire. After Sauron and Saruman stayed on with Shocker Rift, Mordor was left empty. Gondor easily claimed it and made it into something better. Frodo enjoys his life as a former Ring-bearer, although the wound he received from Weathertop still smarted. There was peace in Middle-Earth, a peace long enjoyed by all races. The Elves no longer saw a reason to move to the Undying Lands. I was enjoying a pipe of Longbottom Leaf, a favorite of Merry. I then heard footsteps coming towards me, the footsteps of someone of the race of Men. Hobbit footsteps are highly distinctive. I turned around to see an old friend from the Vortech Wars approach me. “Good Morning, Young Hiroki,” I called. Hiroki arched an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “Do you wish me a good morning; or mean that it’s a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?”

“…I can see why Bilbo paused after I said that 60 years ago,” I muttered. “In any case, his answer’s the same as mine, all of them at once. And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors.”

“I would join you in just contemplating the scenery,” replied Hiroki, reminding me that he doesn’t smoke, “but I’m afraid I have pressing business that requires your help. We think we’ve found Shocker Rift.” At that point, I became alarmed. Not wanting to show it on my face, I emptied my pipe and accepted Hiroki’s help in standing back up.

“I presume your sister sent you,” I guessed.

“Exactly,” confirmed Hiroki.

I was still getting used to that new…“Rider Check-in” that Sento had made. It’s a social media platform for Kamen Riders. I could never seem to get it to sync with my phone. As I was fiddling, I heard the familiar “YEE!” of a Shocker Combatman. I then heard a crowd screaming in terror and saw the crowd running from an old Shocker Monster I once fought, Shiomaneking, a fiddler-crab based cyborg with a massive claw for a left hand. “Why do YOU always come back?!” I snapped when I saw him.

“Shocker obviously sees a use for me, Takeshi Hongo!” laughed Shiomaneking. He commanded various Combatmen to attack. I knocked a few aside, then put my left fist to my hip as I thrust my right arm to the other side. I slowly rotated the arm to the right.

“Rider…” I began. I then closed my right hand and placed it at my hip while thrusting my left arm to the right. The shield around my belt opened as the fan started turning. “HENSHIN!” I called. I jumped and the suit formed, changing me into Kamen Rider Ichigō, the first Kamen Rider! I knocked more Combatmen aside and went straight for Shiomaneking. He fired his flammable foam, almost setting me on fire, but I rolled out of the way. Shiomaneking raised his claw, ready to strike.

“HENSHIN!” announced a voice. We looked up to see Touché tackle him. She then got him into a headlock. “Konnichiwa!” (Hello!) she called.

“Konnichiwa, Touché-san,” I returned. “Social call?”

“I wish!” replied Touché. “What animal is this guy based off of?”

“The fiddler-crab,” I answered.

“Mmm, crab!” she sighed. “Really good with butter. Now, I’ve only heard of people keeping fiddler-crabs as pets, so I guess this mook won’t be good.”

“YOU’RE INSANE, GAIJIN!” (foreigner) shouted Shiomaneking as he broke the hold and flung Touché aside. Touché had her foil out in ranged mode and fired, keeping Shiomaneking from regaining balance.

“My turn!” I called as I leapt into the air. I then stuck my foot out. “RIDER KICK!” I shouted as my foot connected with Shiomaneking. He started sparking as I landed behind him.

“Shocker Gundan BANZAI!” (Long live the Shocker army!) he proclaimed before exploding.

“Wow, he was THAT dedicated to the cause,” muttered Touché.

“And this isn’t the first time I’ve beaten him,” I remarked as we cancelled our transformations. Emily’s dress expanded as her armor disappeared and she adjusted her hairpiece. “Last time I fought him was with Takeru. Even then, he fought him with a Super Sentai team, Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger, (Animal Squadron Beast King Ranger) I believe they were called.”

“Much as I’d like to hear about past Kamen Rider battles,” interjected Emily, “I’m afraid we don’t have the time. Like I said, this isn’t a social call. Shocker Rift is making a move. Want to fight them like old times?”

“Delighted,” I replied.

“Then, let’s go!” cheered Emily as she led me to the rift.

“Report,” I ordered from the saucer.

“Sources located,” reported Dalek Drone 2248292.

“Projections indicate,” supplied Metalran, “that key forces will reveal where the sources are.”

“And the journey through Hell?” I asked.

“YEE!” (The girl has been located!) reported a Combatman.

“Excellent,” I praised. Igura then entered the bridge.

“The device is prepared,” she reported.

“More good news,” I replied.

“Battle computer estimates an 87.4% chance,” called Dalek Drone 2248292, “that the Vortex Riders will intervene.”

“If I know Megumi,” I countered, “we can, at least, up that to 97.3%. However, I give you my word, there’s a 0% chance of victory for her!” I activated the comms to the transporter. “Sauron, proceed to conquer 5-P-L-4-T-0-0-N! Dalek Drone 8872345, move off to D-1-5-N-3-Y! Joker, proceed to T-3-4-M-F-0-R-T-R-3-5-5-2! Cybermen, you’re cleared for 5-4-1-L-0-R-M-0-0-N! Once Hell’s been cleared, she will…”

“Danger!” warned Dalek Drone 2248292. “Danger! Target is stronger than believed!”

“YEE! YEE!” (ALERT! HEATHER IS SLAUGHTERING HER WAY OUT OF HELL!) reported the Combatman.

“More than that, she’s flown by our fleet!” called Igura. “She’s caused an energy shockwave! This fleet is now in danger!”

“Spatio-temporal feedback building!” warned Dalek Drone 2248292. “Two of our ships have been destroyed! Three more losing hull integrity!”

“Advise our base that Heather has gone rogue!” I ordered.

“YEE!” (At once!) called the Combatman.

“Deploy an escape rift!” I ordered Dalek Drone 2248292. “Activate full shielding and advise the remainder of the fleet to do the same!”

“I obey!” obliged Dalek Drone 2248292.

“Order all forces to hold off on conquest until we’re at a safer location!” I directed Igura.

“Yes, Great Leader,” she replied as she relayed the instructions.

“Escape rift passes through shockwave,” reported Dalek 2248292. “Stability not guaranteed!”

“Three more ships gone!” reported Igura. “five more failing in hull integrity!”

“Advise the remaining ship to follow us,” I ordered. Dalek Drone 2248292 transmitted the instructions to the remaining ship.

“YEE!” (Escape rift collapsing behind us!) called the Combatman.

“Increase speed!” I ordered. A transmission from the last ship came through.

“Trapped in rift!” called the Dalek on the other end. “Alert! ALERT! GYAAAGH!” The ship was destroyed as we escaped to our base.

“Report!” I barked.

“Hull integrity at 75%,” called Dalek Drone 2248292. “We are the only survivor of Heather’s journey past us.”

“What kind of rage is she packing?!” yelped Igura.

“YEE! YEE!” (Her trajectory has been calculated. She’s making a beeline to 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0.) reported the Combatman.

“Even though she’s going to the universe we want her to be in, she’s most likely too focused on Emily,” I muttered. “Inform the invasion forces that we proceed as normal.”

“I obey!” obliged Dalek Drone 2248292. It transmitted the necessary instructions to our invasion forces. If Heather manages to bungle this, no biggie. We’ll still have that universe’s source in our grasp. More stable than a Foundation Element.

“Your Majesty?” asked Turretorg as he entered my office. I turned to him.

“Is there any word?” I quizzed.

“No, Ma’am,” replied Turretorg. I groaned in desperation.

“We were supposed to hear back from them over two hours ago,” I muttered. “Are we receiving ANYTHING?”

“We got OUR communications systems up,” reported Turretorg. “We just received a signal from each ship. They’re delayed, of course, but we’re gotten readings from the ships and their crews.”

“And my call to After Academy?” I inquired.

“X-PO already made them AND the Vortex Riders aware of the situation,” explained Turretorg. “During the little security blackout an hour ago, he snuck in and stole the documents relating to this problem.”

“I’d turn him into scrap for that,” I snarled, “but we don’t have the time. What about my proposal to Sludgiona to make more Keystones?”

“For now, it’s at your discretion, if you want them made,” replied Turretorg.

“Contact some observatories,” I ordered. “Give them the coordinates. See if we can’t get a better picture of what’s going on out there. If we haven’t heard back in a couple hours…I want production on the new Keystones to begin.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” confirmed Turretorg. He hurried off to obey.

Tags apocalypse horsemen, batman, dalek, gandalf, hiro adachi, igura, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, megumi hishikawa, wyldstyle