Tag: kamen rider

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Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 12: Full Reunion

It took every technically minded person a full two hours to make the virus. Once done, Tails approached them. “All right, we’re ready,” he said to Optimus, Sonic, Arsha, Rosadera, Megatron, and Galvatron.

“We still need to make our strike team,” remarked Galvatron.

“The Borg tend to ignore small groups unless that group attacks them,” said Optimus. “A two- or three-person team should do the trick.”

“And it should consist of people that are smaller than us,” remarked Megatron.

“Then that leaves me, Sonic, and Rosadera,” declared Arsha.

“We can’t go down there unless it’s cleared of Borg,” said Rosadera. “We’re the leaders. If they assimilate us, we’re all hosed. Besides, Azuliterii’s better with computers than I am.”

“Well, I’m not sending my family down there!” snarled Sonic. “And the Enterprise needs Shadow on the bridge!”

“…What about Knuckles?” asked Optimus. “His punches should break through Borg armor no sweat.”

“If he and Rouge are up for it, then that’s a perfect idea.”

“What about Liam?” asked Galvatron.

“He’s needed on the Virginia,” said Arsha.

“I’m going,” said a voice. It was Teefmanam!

“Out of the question!” protested Arsha.

“Arsha, with all due respect, that’s not your call to make.”

“Teefmanam, no! This isn’t one of the games you stream! If Lardeth is forced to bury you-!”

“Arsha, my mind is made up! I’m going whether you approve or not!” Arsha looked to her friends for help.

“Azuliterii will protect her,” assured Rosadera. “You have my word.”

“…Lardeth’s gonna kill me if you die, THEN he’s gonna divorce me!” groaned Arsha.

“Neither will happen, I promise,” said Teefmanam.

An hour later, after Azuliterii, Teefmanam, and Knuckles were assembled and briefed on how the plan would go, the three of them gathered in the Gateway Room. Rusty keyed in the coordinates. “All set,” she reported. “Opening a rift.”

“Away we go,” said Azuliterii. The rift opened and the team jumped in.

Back at After Academy, Megumi headed to her bike. She fastened her Vortex Driver and inserted her i.d tag into it. “Henshin,” she announced, and she spun the wheel. She became Kamen Rider Royal and mounted her bike.

“No,” said Richard’s voice.

“We’ve discussed this already,” replied Royal.

“It’s a suicide run! The Lords are still Borg!”

“I can take out as many as I can. Besides, we can’t die.”

“Yeah, but you can still be assimilated!”

“Richard, my mind is made up!” Royal gunned the engine.

“Our kids still need you!” Royal’s fingers stopped before they wrapped around the throttle.

“…Our daughters are independent,” she sighed. “Believe it or not, they no longer need me. They’re grown, capable fighters.”

“Megumi, please! Don’t leave me!” Royal declined her head.

“…Our daughters’ freedom is more important than mine. …Be strong for me.” She twisted the throttle and sped off. She went through the shield wall and met with a wall of Lords firing on the school.

“THERE SHE IS!” called a Lord. “OPEN FIRE! STUN ONLY!” The Lords fired their disruptors. Royal’s bike projected shields, but they wouldn’t last long. She went faster and burst through the ranks, causing Lords to be scattered into the air. She then turned the bike sideways and skidded to a stop, dragging her foot along the road as a means of braking. The Lords charged and Royal summoned her sword, converted it to rifle mode, and fired as long as she could before the Lords got too close and she had to switch it back to sword mode.

While the fight was going on, Knuckles and his team headed to the ground vinculum. Azuliterii began keying in commands. “Come on, don’t let there be so many redundant safeguards!” she muttered. Teefmanam then looked over.

“Uh oh, some of them are getting wise!” she warned.

“That’s our cue!” said Knuckles as he banged his fists together. As the Lords opened fire, Teefmanam fired her wand while Knuckles threw different projectiles. A few of the Lords were hit. One of the ones still standing looked over his fallen comrade, then his face contorted in rage.

“You killed Amanda!” he snarled as he looked at Teefmanam. “I will make you suffer for that!”

“She’s not dead!” said a lightly armored Lord. “She’s just damaged! She needs repairs in her alcove!”

“Get her there now!” ordered the distressed Lord.

“Am I hearing that right?!” called Azuliterii. “The Borg are using individual pronouns?!”

“Never mind that!” urged Knuckles. Just then, Azuliterii cheered.

“It’s done!” At that, the Lords realized that a new command came through.

“We can’t be THAT low on power!” argued one.

“It doesn’t matter, we all need to regenerate,” replied the Strike Commander. The Lords then ceased firing and beamed up to their Cube.

“Optimus, the virus is working! Repeat, the virus is working!” Teefmanam called.

“Roger that,” replied Optimus’ voice. “Get to the school and hide out there. We’re on our way.” The call then ended.

Royal continued swinging her sword into the Lords. She was beginning to tire. “What’s the matter, Princess?” taunted a Lord woman. “Can’t lift your sword?”

“Too many crumpets slowing you down?” taunted a Lord man.

“Still strong enough to stop you!” panted Royal. Just then, a call came through for the Lords.

“…Aw!” complained the woman. “We were having fun!”

“No matter,” sighed the man. “We gotta go.” The Lords then beamed out.

“…Eh?!” asked Royal. She then got a call.

“Megumi! Megumi, please respond!” begged the caller, her husband.

“I’m all right, Richard,” replied Megumi. “Just…confused.”

“Oh, thank the Chizarans!” sighed Richard happily. “Megumi, there’s been a drastic reduction in Lord ground troops! They all beamed up!”

“Well, I’m not complaining. “I’m heading back. Maybe we can get some-”

“WHOA!”

“Richard! Richard, are you-!”

“Azuliterii just popped in with one of Swalmu’s people and a version of Knuckles!”

“Azuliterii?! I’m DEFINITELY on my way!” Royal mounted her bike and sped off.

Royal got back behind the school’s walls and met Azuliterii and her companions. She transformed back into Megumi and hugged the Chizaran. “It’s been way too long!” she said.

“You’re not kidding,” agreed Azuliterii. The embrace broke off, then Azuliterii bonked Megumi on the head. “That stunt, on the other hand, we ALL could have done without!”

“Richard!” hissed Megumi, guessing who told her. “I did what I needed to do!”

“Throwing away your freedom like that is NEVER an acceptable solution! Not when the Virginia needs you!”

“…B…But the Virginia’s orbiting Vorton and we’ve engaged the Knightfall Protocols.”

“There were people, two that you know, that got wise to the Borg invading.”

“…No way!”

“They wanted to visit you. They can’t do that if you’re assimilated.”

“Why did everyone go back to their ships?” Sonavok demanded a Cardassian Lord woman, Ziddet.

“It looks like a good chunk of our forces,” she replied, “were told to report to their alcoves for regeneration.”

“All of them?”

“Only the Juggernaut and Imperium are unaffected.”

“…Hold on, something’s speaking through the hive mind. Let me hear it.” Ziddet keyed in a command on the nearby console and a voice crackled to life.

“Nine. Eight. Seven. Six,” droned the voice. Sonavok and Ziddet then realized what that countdown was all about when they detected power net buildups in the affected ships.

“GET OUT!” Sonavok shouted through both the hive mind and out loud. “GET OUT OF THERE!” He could feel the drones disconnecting from their alcoves, but it was too little, too late. The Lord fleet exploded, leaving only the Imperium and Juggernaut to weather the explosions.

“Optimus made that virus?!” asked Megumi

“He suggested the parameters,” corrected Azuliterii. “Speaking of which…” she then made a call. “Strike team to Vorton, the Borg threat is lessened! Repeat, the Borg lost too many drones for them!”

“Just enough for us!” cheered Optimus on the other end. “We’re on our way!” A fleet-sized rift then opened and the Virginia led the fleet into the universe.

“Dammit! Optimus and Arsha made it!” groaned Sonavok.

“We have to fight back!” urged Ziddet. “I’ll rally our remaining-!”

“Hey, Ziddet, Sonavok,” called a Bajoran Lord woman, “the Author wants to see you as we retreat.” Sonavok and Ziddet’s blood ran cold.

The remainder of the Lord fleet entered their own rift and abandoned Beyond City. Everyone cheered as the enemy fled. A call then came through. “This is Optimus Prime, requesting permission on behalf of the Ark, Enterprise, and Nemesis to beam down.”

“This is Arsha Royana, Queen of the Realms, requesting the same permission on behalf of the Endeavor and Glanthelantir,” said Arsha’s voice on the same call.

“This is Queen Scorpainia, also requesting landing permission on behalf of the Hammer of Tarlax.”

“Permission granted,” replied Death on the comms channel. “Welcome back, old friends.”

“Happy to be back,” said Optimus.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 11: Gathering Allies

“Because of COURSE the situation wasn’t dire enough without the Borg!” grunted Megatron.

“Megatron, please!” snapped Nightbird.

“How did the Borg even get into that universe?!” asked Elphaba.

“It doesn’t matter,” replied Goldbug. “The only way we can save them is if we make a strike now!”

“I’m not about to send Autobots over to be assimilated!” replied Optimus.

“Neither will I send any Decepticons,” agreed Galvatron.

“But Galvatron,” argued Goldbug, “our friends might be assimilated! We gotta reverse the process now!”

“The Decepticons have a long history of going into situations half-cocked, my own father’s schemes being the more recent examples that YOU, of all bots, should know, and I refuse to repeat those mistakes unless there’s no other alternative. If we attack now, without any knowledge of their weaknesses, the Borg will adapt and assimilate us. I won’t help on that kind of suicide run.”

“What about the Chizarans or the Tarlaxians?” asked Arsha. “They have ships.”

“And the Borg ships have a vinculum at the hearts of their vessels that suppress all individual thoughts and keep each drone connected to the Collective,” mused Optimus. “If we can distract the Borg enough to upload that virus into multiple vinculums, it could create enough damage to the Collective.”

“That still depends on what the virus will do,” remarked Goldbug.

“A feedback loop,” said Optimus. “The virus should tell the drones of each ship that it’s time for their regeneration cycle. They’ll beam aboard and begin the regeneration process, disabling their electromagnetic field and put them at minimal power. With every drone regenerating, it will cause the power net to feedback on itself and trigger a self-destruct sequence.”

“That kind of virus won’t last a long time,” remarked Megatron.

“It should be enough for our ships and allies to swoop in and save them,” replied Arsha.

“I’ll have Shockwave work with other technically minded individuals to help construct the virus,” offered Galvatron. “Now that we have an actual plan, you’ll have the Decepticons’ help.”

“I’ll contact Tarlax 14 Alpha and Chizara Prime,” offered the Brigadier.

“We’re on the clock now,” called Arsha. “Let’s get moving.” Everyone headed off. Galvatron stopped Megatron.

“Listen, Dad, about what I said-” he began.

“You spoke the truth,” interrupted Megatron. “I DID go half-cocked back in the day. You’ve learned from the mistakes of others very well. Though, if I might critique one thing, you should be a smidge more…diplomatic in your approach.”

“Yes, Father.”

“That’s my boy!” Megatron patted Galvatron’s shoulder with pride.

“It’s amazing,” muttered Arsha as she saw the whole thing.

“What is?” asked Optimus.

“How Cold, Distant Megatron became a dad.”

“Arsha, Megatron has changed over the years. He DOES regret what he did. That’s why he joined us when we visited you, to make amends.”

“From what I heard, Autobots died because of him!”

“Ah ah! You misheard. Autobots died when he was in charge of the Decepticons, but he didn’t cause their deaths.”

“He’s responsible for his men.”

“Ironhide died because of an acolyte of our destroyer and Chromia died of metal fatigue. Neither death was the result of Megatron or his men.”

“…I guess I’m still bitter about what his men did when they first visited the Realms.” Optimus winced at that. There wasn’t anything he could say. “I’ll work with him to free Beyond City from the Borg, but I’m not sure I can forgive or forget.” Arsha left to assist in the preparations. Optimus sighed. He had a feeling that Megumi would have similar feelings for Megatron.

Optimus, Arsha, and Megatron were standing by the Gateway as the Brigadier began calling an ally. “This is Vorton on the Emergency Channel, calling Castle Spectrum on Chizara Prime. Chizara Prime, do you read?”

“This is Rosadera, reading you loud and clear, Brigadier,” replied a woman’s voice that they all recognized. “Does this trouble concern the loss of communications between us and Beyond City?”

“It does, Rosadera,” confirmed the Brigadier. “And we have allies that helped us find out what happened. Arsha and Optimus are back.”

“Are they there?”

“Right here, Rosadera,” replied Optimus. “The Borg have invaded Beyond City.”

“The Borg?! How did that happen?!”

“It doesn’t matter,” answered Arsha. “What matters is that we have a plan to get them out of there, but we need your help.”

“Me, my fellow Major Princesses, and a few people from Beyond City that got trapped here will be there the instant this call ends.”

“We’ll see you then,” replied Optimus. The call ended and five different lights flashed. They were pink, purple, red, blue, and green and they all turned into different humanoid shapes. The pink light turned into a woman with pink hair, eyes, and a pink dress, as well as a woman in a red dress with red eyes. The green light turned into a woman with green hair, eyes, and a greed dress as well as a woman in orange with a rodent’s tail. The blue light turned into a woman with the same hair, eyes, and dress color, but possessing hair that touched the floor, and it also turned into a man with Elven features, bright green eyes, and orange-toned skin as well as a woman with white hair, a blue dress, and a white monkey tail. The purple light revealed a woman with the same hair, eyes, and dress and revealed a woman with a yellow dress and lizard tail. The red light became a woman with the same hair, eyes, and dress and became three blue-haired women in cloud dresses as well as a man in a dress. “Good to see you again, My Ladies,” greeted Optimus.

“And it’s nice to meet the new guys,” said Arsha.

“Lovely to see you too, Arsha and Optimus,” returned the woman in pink, Rosadera. “I don’t believe you met everyone, so may I introduce Jason Babineaux…”

“Bonjour and Guten Tag,” greeted the dress-wearing man.

“Fordelam Endri…”

“How’s it going?” asked the Elf-looking man.

“Brittney Dormu…”

“Hello!” said the woman with red eyes. Fangs appeared as she smiled.

“Emma Atmadja…”

“Welcome to Vorton!” greeted the woman with the lizard tail.

“Barbara Zhou…”

“Howdy!” called the woman with the monkey tail.

“Katrina Andrews…”

“Lovely to meet you,” greeted the woman with the rodent tail as the woman in green, Verdutha, hugged her from behind.

“Fitri Damfel…”

“Hi there!” called a blue-haired woman wearing what looked like a doughnut-style cloud on her head.

“Leemii Damfel…”

“Hello!” said a blue-haired woman with a high-collar on her dress.

“And Willmef Damfel.”

“How do you do?” asked the last blue-haired woman as she adjusted the fabric in her cloud hairpiece.

“Are these all the Herald Riders’ kids?” asked Optimus.

“Indeed, they are,” answered the woman in blue, Azuliterii.

“You said something about the Borg,” reminded the woman in red, Rojenthi.

“Are they safe?” asked the woman in purple, Moradelia.

“We don’t know,” replied Arsha. “We’re calling the Tarlaxians for help.”

“This is Vorton on the Emergency Channel,” said the Brigadier as he made the next call, “calling the Imperial Palace on Tarlax 14 Alpha. Tarlax 14 Alpha, do you read?”

“This is Tarlax 14 Alpha, Prince Lobstornias replying,” came a voice. “We’re in the middle of figuring out why we can’t go to After Academy. Our gateway there has shut down.”

“Your Highness, the Borg have invaded Beyond City.”

“Okay, so since this is the Emergency Channel and knowing you, Brigadier, this isn’t a joke. I’ll have Mom and Dad prepare the Imperial Navy. We should be there within the hour, faster if we can.”

“Please hurry.” The Brigadier ended the call and turned to his audience. “Now we wait.”

The Tarlaxians’ arrival took about half an hour. Three different humanoids appeared. One was a woman with scorpion features, another was a man with eel features, and the last was a man with lobster features. They were Scorpainia, Eelinape, and Lobstornias, the ruling family of the Tarlaxians. “Is it true?” asked Scorpainia when she and her family met everyone. “The Borg have invaded Beyond City?”

“I’m afraid so,” replied Liam. “We’ve got an idea on how to get them out, but we need a plan of attack.”

“I understand you have the plans for After Academy?” asked Optimus.

“I do,” confirmed Scorpainia. “Normally, I wouldn’t even consider showing you all, but the Borg’s reputation is well-known among my people. What you’re about to see does not go outside the confines of this room, is that clear?” Everyone nodded. Scorpainia activated a holographic display of the school with its siege protocols enacted. “The shield wall is simply the first line of defense. There are numerous guns ready to pop out of the ground should it fail. With how the Borg can adapt, it’s likely that it will fall quickly. Each gun modulates its energy frequency, but it’s never been tested on how effective it is against Borg vessels, just the drones. There are also mines that can be deployed, both underground and in the air. We need to weaken the Borg’s adaptability.”

“That’s where our plan comes in,” offered Optimus. “If we can get aboard a vessel, we can find its vinculum and introduce a virus that will trigger a self-destruct command on all Borg vessels in the vicinity.”

“Then we need a small strike team,” said the Brigadier as he pulled up another holographic display, this time displaying the Borg Siege in real time. “It looks like there’s a machine on the outskirts of the wall that matches all known descriptions of a Borg vinculum.”

“That will make uploading the virus easier,” mused Optimus. “Once the virus is uploaded and enough Borg vessels are destroyed, our ships swoop in and mop up the rest of the Borg.”

“We leave once the virus is completed,” declared Arsha. “We can’t afford to wait a second longer.” She then sighed. “What a way to reconnect with your friends.”

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 10: Welcome to Vorton

Tails had transferred control of the gateway to the MSS-Enterprise. There were now five ships on a journey to Vorton. Optimus and his family took up positions on the Autobot Flagship, the Ark. Jazz joined in the fun and Optimus’ right-hand bot, Goldbug Magnus, was already in position with his wife, Arcee, and their daughter, Glyph, assuming their posts. The Nebulans were in one of the guest quarters. “All hands ready,” reported Goldbug.

“Now we wait for the others,” replied Optimus.

Because of the nature of the mission, Shockwave and her Mini-cons, Laserbeak, Ravage, and Frenzy (once Soundwave’s), took up positions on the Nemesis. “All decks report ready,” said Megatron as he took up the comms position while Galvatron sat in the Captain’s Chair. “The Ark’s standing by too.”

“Captain, there’s a space bridge opening near us,” reported Ravage. “Small one bearing 2-1-0 Mark 1-7-5.”

“Source?” asked Galvatron.

“It’s from Cybertron,” replied Megatron as he got Ravage’s readings. “The Bridge Passenger is hailing all ships.”

“Open a channel.” Megatron dutifully did so.

“This is Thundercracker Korrug, Leader of the Seekers,” came the call. Shockwave ran a Spark Check. “I heard that there was a fleet gathering around Mobius for a rescue mission. Nemesis, permission to board?”

“Spark Check confirmed,” reported Shockwave. “It’s Thundercracker.”

“Permission granted, Thundercracker,” said Galvatron. “Welcome aboard. Meet us on the bridge.”

While Thundercracker boarded the Nemesis, the Enterprise was awaiting its readiness update. Sira and her family were onboard, as were Sonic and his family and Shadow’s family. Rouge and Knuckles also joined them Tails and Cosmo worked on the gateway controls. “All decks report ready,” reported Shadow’s tactical officer.

“Gateway controls are locked in,” said Tails.

“We open the gateway on Optimus and the Faker’s command,” declared Shadow.

“That’s right, Faker,” chuckled Sonic. The tactical officer just rolled their eyes.

On the Glanthelantir, Glanthel was in awe. “I never thought I’d be out among the stars,” he remarked.

“It’s exciting for us all,” replied his CMO.

“All decks ready,” reported the tactical officer.

“We await the final checks,” directed Glanthel.

“I can’t believe I became a Mechanica AFTER this kind of experience!” Endea giggled. “And I still work in space!”

“It’s exhilarating, isn’t it?” asked Arsha. “Being among what was once forbidden to us.”

“Maybe we should start a space program ourselves,” mused Bashoon.

“All decks standing by,” came the tactical officer’s report.

“Signal our readiness to the fleet,” ordered Endea.

“Fleet’s reporting ready,” said Shadow’s comms officer.

“Let’s do it to it!” cheered Sonic. Shadow groaned at that phrase.

“Enterprise is ready,” said Goldbug.

“Let’s roll out!” declared Optimus.

A massive dimensional rift opened in front of the fleet. Once it was opened, all ships flew in.

Several rocks in space floated silently. They were connected by various scaffolds and tubes. In the center of it all was a rock with a massive gateway and five different shields with different patterns on them. This was the Main Vorton Gateway, the last of the Great Gateways of the Vortonian people. Right now, four people and a robot stood by it. One was a woman wearing orange pants and a white tank top advertising Aperture Laboratories. This was Chell of Portal. The second one was a woman dressed like a Dalek, complete with gunstick and plunger in her forearms. This was Rusty, a former Dalek. The third was a green-skinned woman dressed in black and wearing a witch’s hat. This was Elphaba Thropp, the former Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. The last person was a Cyberman without his helmet, revealing a man with gray hair and a moustache. This was Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the Brigadier. The robot, identifying as female, had one eye, an antenna on each side of the head, pincer claws, and a hover skirt. This was Portal Operator Omega, known as POmega. “Fleet’s on its way,” reported POmega.

“Open the other end,” directed Elphaba. A fleet-sized dimensional rift opened, and the fleet arrived in orbit around Vorton. Once the rift closed, Arsha, Bashoon, Delselii, Geltar, Farmee, Yufantel, Hejema, Torya, Optimus, Megatron, Sky Runner, Firestorm, Galvatron, Goldbug, Arcee, Glyph, Sira, Sandy, Sonic, Silver, Daniel, Shadow, Maria, Trema, Llyra, Galen, Kong, Hot Rod, and Override beamed down. The ones who came to Vorton before looked as the new arrivals goggled at the place in wonder.

“So this is where the magic happened!” chuckled Delselii.

“Awesome, isn’t it?” asked Arsha.

“Daddy, you never said how amazing this place was!” Glyph said to Goldbug.

“It was something you needed to see for yourself,” replied Goldbug.

“Welcome to Vorton, everyone,” greeted the Brigadier. “I trust the trip was comfortable.”

“It was fine, Brigadier,” replied Optimus. “Now, let’s get to work. We gotta get back into contact with Beyond City. Perhaps gain some allies.”

“First off,” suggested Shade, “we should probably gain some intel. Can we send some sort of probe to this Beyond City?”

“As a matter of fact, we can,” replied POmega. “We just wondered if that was a good idea given that it can’t be hidden all that easily.”

“If we can somehow make it so that the probe is cloaked, we can easily get the intel we need,” decided Shade.

“That’s my girl!” chuckled Shadow as he ruffled her quills.

“But where are we gonna get the tech needed to cloak it?” asked Bashoon. “It’s not exactly cheap OR legal tech in my world.”

“Leave that to me,” replied Megatron. “Shockwave’s been developing cloaking technology. I’m sure this would be a perfect test for it.” Just then, they heard a couple talking as they approached.

“I’m telling you, we gotta get help!” urged a Scottish man.

“And I’m telling you to have faith!” replied a woman’s voice. Arsha’s ears flicked.

“I know that voice,” she muttered. A Naga woman with a red tail then slithered in with a dark-skinned man.

“Palma, there’s no way-!” The couple stopped when they caught sight of everyone. “…Ah, so that’s the game, eh?” asked the man.

“Arsha?” asked the Naga.

“Palmarta?” asked Arsha.

“By the Ones, it IS you!” The two women then hugged one another. “It’s been too long, I thought I’d never see you again after…well…” The Naga, Palmarta, faltered.

“Your nephews and nieces got out of there,” assured Arsha. “They formed the Palmarta School for Singers during Reconstruction.”

“Reconstruction?! Then…we won?!”

“We won! Dr. Borg drained Oyed and the Divine Ones of their Divine Mana and made them mortal, so we took that opportunity to get rid of Oyed and then we stopped Dr. Borg’s experiment to make herself and her fellow Councilors the new Divine Ones thanks to the Divine Mana they drained. Now they’re dead and me and my lovers got married and we’re ruling the-!” Palmarta hugged Arsha again.

“Your Hi…Your Majesty, you have no idea how much I worried about that! I kept having nightmares and screamed myself awake! …And woke up Liam in the process.” She gestured to the man she came in with.

“I promise you,” assured Liam as he stroked her back, “it really was no bother. Anything for my wife.”

“Wife?” asked Arsha. “You’re married?!”

“It was such a romantic first date!” sighed Palmarta happily. “It was during an After Academy Prom. Our eyes drifted to each other, and we silently came together and danced the night away, all in bliss!”

“That was the second time we met, you numpty!” called Liam. “The first time we met, you were drunk off your scaled arse!”

“Okay, so I didn’t have a good coping mechanism for post-death!”

“I appreciate seeing the truth come to light,” rumbled Megatron, “but we have business concerning your home, Mr McIntyre.” Liam recognized that voice.

“Megatron!” he hissed.

“He’s here at my request,” said Optimus. “Sonic and I visited the Realms, then Arsha visited us, then we tried to raise Beyond City only to be met with interrupted communications, so we had to come here to assess the situation and possibly find a solution.”

“We’re thinking of sending a cloaked probe,” explained Arsha. “Apparently, Shockwave’s got the cloaking tech.”

“Well, as long as Ms. One-Eye doesn’t think of dissecting me or Palmarta, we’ll help her make the probe.

The cloaked probe was constructed. “Cloaking device functions within expected parameters,” Shockwave reported.

“Uploading last known dimensional coordinates to probe computer,” said Rusty. “…Coordinates uploaded. Launching probe and opening a rift.” She pressed the launch button, and the probe flew into a rift.

“All we do is wait,” muttered Optimus as he drummed his fingers. Farmee amused himself by making cloud balls and arranging them in various patterns.

“You know, having fought in a war,” remarked Arsha, “I figured I’d get used to it during peacetime. Guess not.”

“I don’t think you need to wait that long,” replied Maria.

“Why’s that?” asked Optimus.

“We’re getting a visual.” A holographic display of After Academy in its current state appeared in front of everyone.

“Are…are those…shield walls?” asked Optimus.

“That’s part of the Siege System,” replied Liam.

“I take it that’s not something the average student thinks they would see,” guessed Megatron.

“Aye, so if that system’s up, After Academy’s in deep shite. It blocks all normal communications channels and severs us from the rest of the multiverse.”

“That explains why we couldn’t get to Beyond City,” mused Optimus.

“But what kind of enemy would warrant that?” asked Farmee. “Would they really be that dangerous?”

“The fighting needs to be contained,” replied Arsha. “In that instance, Beyond City was smart. But that still leaves the identity of the enemy.”

“Hold up, the probe’s detecting a vessel,” said Maria. “Pulling up visual now.” She keyed in a few commands and got the image of the vessel, a gray cube with circuitry on its hull and green light coming from inside. The instant Optimus saw it, his internal Energon nearly froze.

“Oh no,” he breathed. Megatron arched an eyebrow.

“That’s not what I think it is, I trust?” he asked.

“Given that the F.N.S knew a Klingon Dahar Master,” replied Optimus, “I think it is.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Farmee.

“That cube,” explained Optimus, “is the standard patrol vessel of the most malevolent enemy to the United Federation of Planets. It takes technology and people and assimilates them into a collective mind of cyborgs, suppressing any and all individuality.”

“Does this collective have a name?” Optimus growled as he said the name.

“The Borg!”

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 7: Face to Face

“Where are my manners?” chuckled the Romulan Borg. “Feudal Nerd Society, meet the Lords’ boss; Khan, the Author, better known as Kamen Rider Weaver!”

“Very good hype man work, Sonavok,” praised the new Rider, Weaver.

“Sonavok?!” snarled Guard. “As in Baron Sonavok?! The one who sent schlock to MNN for me to read?! The same schlock I refused to read?!”

“Oh, that’s why you weren’t in your usual time slot,” remarked the Romulan Borg, Sonavok. “You were fired. Personally, I would have preferred execution, but that’s impossible for the inhabitants of this universe, isn’t it?”

“Enough,” demanded Weaver. He turned his attention to Megumi. “I would advise you to-” He didn’t get far as Kaitlyn, Kamen Rider Spark, leapt at him with her own sword drawn. He dodged the attack, then pulled out a book and wrote something in it. “‘Once the book was closed,’” he read the passage aloud, “‘one of the drones surrounding the place grabbed Spark by the throat and squeezed.’”

“What?!” yelped Kaede, Kamen Rider Shade. Once the book was closed, one of the drones surrounding the place grabbed Spark by the throat and squeezed. Spark gasped for air as the drone strangled her.

“STOP!” shouted Emily, Kamen Rider Touché.

“Cause and effect,” replied Weaver. “Resistance begets violence.”

“Then we won’t resist!” begged Royal. “Just please! Let her go!” Weaver nodded to the drone. The drone released Spark and her transformation was cancelled, leaving her to gasp for breath as Shade checked her over. Kaitlyn patted Shade’s arm in assurance.

“What are you doing here?!” demanded Joshua, Emily’s husband, Kamen Rider Outback. “What do you want?!” Weaver then pulled the handles behind his belt’s spider out of their slots and changed into his normal persona of Khan, the Author, a young man wearing a brown coat, Panama hat, and aviator shades.

“I seek the Sources of the Apocalypse, the Sources of Flourishment, and the 3V2R prizes of Megumi, Optimus, and Arsha,” explained Khan. “Their collection will prevent evil from rising.”

“We’re not exactly conquerors!” snarled Touché.

“I’m aware,” replied Khan. “But your actions have tempted evildoers to try. Besides, your many contradictions fascinate me. They will prove useful in creating the New Multiverse.”

“We won’t serve you!” declared Royal.

“Serve? Unlike the petty despots infecting the multiverse, I don’t require your survival to put my plans into motion! If anything, your presence will only encourage further resistance. There is no place for you in the New Multiverse. I only require pure heroes and pure villains. All other factions are remnants to be discarded.”

“Why?!” Khan smirked as he answered Royal’s question.

“You lot value stability as I do, but you fail to permanently stop chaos in its tracks. I will see to it that the New Multiverse has heroes that know how to get the job done.”

“What, by killing?!”

“If need be. You, of all people, should understand that killing a villain is necessary.”

“Are you kidding?! I hated it when I hasten Death’s domain! It makes me feel like I failed her!”

“And yet, if you didn’t, Vortech would have made the multiverse his Lego set. Besides, did you not consider that, perhaps, Death’s domain NEEDS to be hastened at points? To finally make justice, mercy, and duty the truth?”

“It already is!” The Author scoffed at Megumi’s insistence.

“You believe so?” he asked. “Take every single universe out there and grind them into the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve. Then show me one atom of justice! One molecule of mercy!” Just then, a black mist erupted from the ground. The mist then formed into a Kamen Rider modeled after the Grim Reaper.

“You pervert Sir Terry Pratchett’s words as bad as an Evangelist perverts the Bible!” hissed the Kamen Rider in a woman’s voice. This was Death as Kamen Rider Death. She then summoned a black mist and surrounded the partiers. They all vanished, leaving Khan and his soldiers to their own devices.

“New Castle Nerd Skull is unimportant,” remarked Khan. “Let it exist as a monument to failure.”

“Author,” said Sonavok, “I know you’re connected to us, but I figured you could use a verbal report. The Juggernaut reports that the city has been taken and Flora and her husband fled the Mayor’s Mansion.”

“Then Phase 2 is complete,” declared Khan. “Beyond City’s defenses are irreversibly compromised. Begin Phase 3 and install our puppets.”

“As you command.” Sonavok vanished in a Borg transporter beam.

The partiers and Death appeared in After Academy, the main school for Beyond City’s universe. Everyone was in the main courtyard. The rest of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and their heralds were there too. A blue-haired woman in a cloud dress and a rose in her hair was talking with a woman with raven hair and chalk-white skin. They saw the partiers. “Ah, good, you’re here!” sighed the raven-haired woman, Lacey Atmadja, the new Horseman of Chaos.

“What’s going on?” asked Royal as she and the rest of her Riders powered down. “Our party just got assaulted by Borg with emotions and individuality.”

“I’ve been doing some research on them when they drove me and Swalmu out of the Mayor’s Mansion,” replied the blue-haired woman, Flora Damfel, Lacey’s herald and the Grand Mayor of Beyond City. “They call themselves the Lords. Their leader, the Author, appears to be in possession of a book that can make whatever is written in it come true.”

“The Tome!” whispered Death.

“You know about this book?” asked Megumi.

“It’s a very dangerous book, believed to be a tool that can rewrite the multiverse! I thought it was guarded!”

“It was,” replied a new voice. A pale, blond man in a dress then arrived. His name was Jandro Dormu, a Vampire once from Arsha’s world. “Brendan and I did a bit more research. It turns out the Lords were taken from their universe and given a Unicomplex to surround the Tome, but they were severed from the Collective and they were directionless for a while until this Khan character took control and made them all into a new XB Collective.”

“XB?” asked Megumi.

“Apparently, it’s something former Borg are called. Khan is supposed to be a student of Anansi, whoever that is.”

“…Anansi?” asked Death as her brow furrowed.

“You know this person?” asked Jandro.

“Every Horseman has met him once or twice.”

“I don’t think I did,” remarked Lacey.

“He’s not someone we associate with. Last time we saw him was when your predecessor died at Vortech’s hands. He’s the Keeper of the Stories, a spider deity that’s notorious for his trickery.”

“So, you DO remember!” cheered a voice. Everyone turned to see a man with eight black eyes, six arms, a spider’s rear, and a wooden cane. “I see not everyone knows me, though.”

“Wait, you’re the guy who tricked his boss into giving you a box,” recalled Megumi.

“Ah ah ah!” corrected Anansi. “I didn’t trick Nyame, that’s a death sentence. I simply used my wits to pay his price so I could have that box. Within that box were the stories, and I felt humans needed them. Good thing too, otherwise you humans would be bored. So, I believe the phrase is ‘thank you’.”

“No, we’re not subjecting ourselves to your rendition of You’re Welcome!” hissed Death. “We had a deal, Anansi! You would stay out of our way, and we would stay out of yours!”

“As Jandro mentioned, Khan was a student of mine,” replied Anansi with a slight edge to his voice. “His presence here means he seeks a way to Vorton and secure a path to Foundation Prime. He’s my problem and I intend to deal with it, but it looks like I could do with your help.” Death stared at him…then laughed.

“Th-thi-i-hee-hee-hee! Thi-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, this is too rich!” she guffawed. “Anansi is asking for help!”

“Considering both mortal and immortal life is at risk, yes!” hissed Anansi.

“Why?”

“Perhaps, if I could explain!”

“Yes, perhaps you should!” Anansi drew in a breath before beginning.

“Because the Author intends to use Megumi, Optimus, and Arsha’s 3V2R prizes to make a special clock that can send its maker anywhere they want. If he attaches it to the Tome, he can rewrite history for that universe alone. Worse still, if he gets the Sources of the Apocalypse and Flourishment, then he can rewrite all of creation all from the comfort of Foundation Prime.”

“That’s why he attacked New Castle Nerd Skull,” guessed Megumi. “He knows about the Gateway leading directly to Vorton. We gotta destroy it!”

“We can do it here, but the Lords are gonna see us!” warned Lacey as she and Flora sat at a pair of computers. They logged into the private network of the F.N.S’ base of operations.

“Go to the file called ‘Batcave’, located in the ‘Wayne Foundation’ folder,” directed Megumi. “There should be a program called Knightfall in there.”

“I found it!” called Flora. “Problem is, so did the Lords!”

“I’ll keep them off you!” replied Lacey. Flora opened the program and her screen changed to two microphones.

“It’s got two vocal passwords!” growled Flora.

“Richard, that’s our que!” called Megumi. She clicked on the record button. “This is Megumi Hishikawa, Feudal Nerd Society Queen. Engage Knightfall Program. Execution code 1. Vocal Password: Travelling Queen.”

“First Password: accepted,” reported the program. Richard then clicked on the second record button.

“This is Richard Saunders, Feudal Nerd Society King. Engage Knightfall Program. Execution cod 2. Vocal Password: Hank Aaron.”

“Second Password: accepted,” replied the program. “Knightfall Program is in effect.”

“We’ll keep the Lords off the program’s back!” said Flora.

“Author!” called a Lord drone. “They’ve engaged the Knightfall Program and another user is joining the effort to keep us from executing it!”

“I’ll handle that,” replied Khan. He wrote something in the Tome. “‘At the sound of the Tome snapping shut, the-’” He didn’t get very far as an explosion rocked the base. “DAMMIT!” swore the Author. “It’s too far along! Evacuate!” He and the Lords then vanished.

“Knightfall Program: complete,” reported the program. Everyone sighed in relief.

“That’s Vorton cut off from them,” said Megumi. “Thank you, Batman.”

“And we’re without allies,” remarked Richard. “Without a way to Vorton, we can’t accurately raise our friends like Chizara.”

“Or the Realms,” reminded Jandro.

“Or the Autobots,” supplied Lacey.

“…You know, having Optimus AND Arsha would help,” mused Megumi.

“Well, they both have the technology,” said Death. “I mean, the Realms are sub-dimensions that run together, and people cross the barriers between them freely. And with Sonic around, the Autobots have a concept of how to cross into parallel universes, so we might get help anyways.”

“We can’t just wait for them to save us at the last second!” argued Richard.

“Unfortunately, that’s the only option available to us,” replied Megumi.

“You can’t be serious!”

“With Flora’s home compromised and us having initiated Knightfall, we can’t get help. The only choice we have is to wait out the Lords’ occupation of Beyond City and fight them at every turn until help from Vorton arrives, either by the Vorton Team’s call or by them stumbling onto Vorton. Either way, we can’t call for help. We’ll have to go with guerrilla warfare in order to free Beyond City. We strike from the shadows.” Richard couldn’t really argue with Megumi’s logic at the moment. It didn’t mean he liked it.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 6: For Your Entertainment

Emily Williams, Richard’s twin sister, checked the unconscious Doctor’s hearts-beat as her brother and his best friend, Michael Archer, looked on. “Hearts are beating normally,” she reported. “She’s clearly breathing.” She then waved a scanner over her. “Mental activity’s a little off…but that’s probably because the brain’s still rewriting itself. It’s coming along nicely. All in all, from what you’ve told us, Michael, this is probably her most stable regeneration yet.”

“Thank goodness,” sighed Michael. He then recalled that Jack was telling his story to Richard’s family. He had already told them about how a companion of the Doctor’s, Rose Tyler, had made him immortal.

“So, there I was, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, and she goes off without me. Apparently, the TARDIS didn’t exactly like me, cause only Time Lords are supposed to be immortal. I still had this.” He revealed a strange strap on his wrist with a touch screen on it. “I used to be a Time Agent. It’s called a Vortex Manipulator.”

“The cheap scooter of all time-travel devices,” snarked Michael.

“All right, so it’s not the TARDIS!” grumbled Jack. He then continued his story. “I figured 21st Century Earth would be my best bet to reunite with the Doctor, except I got it a little wrong. Got to 1869 instead, then this thing burnt out, so it was useless.”

“Q.E.D,” chuckled Michael.

“I had to live through the entire 20th Century to wait for a version of her that would coincide with me.”

“That would have made you more than a hundred years old,” remarked Lisa.

“And looking good!” chuckled Jack. “I based myself near a rift in Cardiff and waited for her, then I get a signal and met up with the Doctor again (using a new body) and then got the full story from her, him rather.”

“That unfortunately happens with the Doctor’s companions,” said Michael. “They change so often that she runs the risk of forgetting us.”

“OI! I DO NOT!” shouted a new voice. Emily was sitting by a fully awake Doctor, her arms folded.

“I was trying to tell you guys that she was up,” she said.

“And you, of all people, Michael! I thought you were one of my biggest fans! I don’t forget my companions! I can’t!” snarled the Doctor. “I always check on them when I can!”

“…I suppose that’s true,” chuckled Michael, still a little put out that the Doctor looked like an old companion. It wasn’t the first time the Doctor got a face from someone else, but he never recalled any of them being from former companions. The Doctor then got a good look at Michael.

“You’ve changed,” she muttered.

“You can talk!” scoffed Michael. “Which regeneration is this?”

“…I can’t recall.” The Doctor thought hard for a second. She then brightened up. “Oh well, no use chin-wagging! Let’s see what this all looks like!” She looked in a mirror and gasped. “…I don’t believe it!” She smiled. “I’M FINALLY GINGER!” A frown then crossed her face. “And loud. Very loud. Still, rough with the smooth and all that! The eyes and chin are a definite improvement. …As for the nose…well, I’m not sure.” She turned to Michael. “What do you think about this nose? Ah, never mind, I don’t need you to be so nosy!” She chuckled at the joke. “Still, got many things to do. Come on, Jack! Got to make sure peace is the norm. Dona Nobis Pacem and all-!” The Doctor returned to the mirror in horror. “…I know this face! Why do I have Donna’s face?!” She then shut her eyes tight and strained.

“Holy! There’s an energy spike in her body!” yelped Emily.

“Doctor, stop!” Michael grabbed the Doctor’s shoulders and shook her. The Doctor opened her eyes.

“I can’t wear her face!” she insisted. “I’m not THAT important! What if I bump into her?! That knowledge will come back into her head, and she’ll burn to a crisp!”

“That won’t happen, Doctor,” said Jack, his face downcast. “She’s…she’s already gone.” The Doctor gave Jack her full attention. “She had a heart condition. No one could save her. She had a DNR. Donna’s…she’s gone.” The Doctor stumbled to the coffee table and steadied herself on it.

“D…Donna’s…dead?” she asked. “I mean…I never thought…”

“That’s what I tried to tell you before the Sontarans invaded.”

“…Was your universe not ready to let go of Donna?” asked Michael. The Doctor considered his words, then looked in the mirror.

“…Donna Noble, I know you’ll never remember me again, but I promise I’ll make you, the most important woman in the universe, proud!” She then took a breath, then adopted a smile. “…Could I have fish fingers and custard? I’m starving.”

“Actually, Doctor,” said Megumi, “a few of us are gathering for a party at New Castle Nerd Skull. You and Jack want to join?”

“A party! Sounds excellent! Jack, the F.N.S really knows how to throw a party!”

“Just keep the flirting to a minimum,” urged Michael.

“All right, all right!” Jack sounded a trifle disappointed. As everyone got ready to go, Megumi thought back to other old friends.

“…Haven’t heard from Optimus or Arsha in a while,” she muttered.

Not everyone in the F.N.S could make it to the party. It seemed to be an equal mix of old and new members. As everyone chatted amongst themselves, the music began. It was Hobbit music, a song that played during Bilbo Baggins’ 111th birthday. A few had gotten into the spirit and danced along. Megumi’s nephew, Sora Hishikawa Elizondo, the son of Megumi’s brother, Hiroki, and his wife, Xiomara, looked on at the dancers. His sister, Gabriella, sat by him. “Come on, mi hermano!” she urged. “Ask Sweemar for a dance!” She pointed out one of the blue haired, cloud-dress wearing women dancing by herself. Sora thought about it, then sighed.

“I think I’ll just have another piece of cake,” he muttered.

“Oh no, you don’t!” laughed Gabriella. She then playfully shoved Sora into Sweemar’s arms and the two danced. Gabriella laughed a bit at Sora’s misfortune.

“So, there I was,” the Doctor regaled a man and a woman in a cloud dress, “surrounded by three monstrous Ogrons! They were arguing over how to execute us for the Daleks’ sake, whether they would boil us, or shoot us, or simply slit our throats! Well, they spent so much time on the whyfores and the wherewithals that, the instant the sun rose, boom! The Judoon arrested them all!”

“And the Daleks used these Ogrons as slaves repeatedly?” asked the man, Tom Williams, one of Emily’s twin sons.

“They really ARE insane,” chuckled the woman, Leemii, as she cuddled Tom.

“Well, they ARE Daleks,” mused the Doctor.

Over in a tent, Kaitlyn was helping Tom’s twin brother, Sam, in lighting a firework. Sam held the match to the fuse and lit it. “Got it!” he cheered. Kaitlyn then panicked!

“You’re supposed to stick it in the ground!” she hissed as she shoved the firework at Sam.

“It IS in the ground!” replied Sam as he shoved it back to her. The shoving went back and forth as they argued.

“Outside!”

“This was your idea!” The firework then launched itself into the air, carrying the tent with it and blowing two charred people back. The firework then exploded in a brilliant display of color. Kaitlyn and Sam picked themselves up and watched the whole thing.

“Cool!” breathed Kaitlyn.

“Let’s get another one!” urged Sam. They then felt someone yanking on their ears.

“Why is it,” grumbled Emily as she pulled on Sam’s ear, “that whenever there’s trouble…”

“It’s always you two?” finished Richard as he pulled on Kaitlyn’s.

“Daddy, Aunt Emily, we can explain!” begged Kaitlyn.

“Hey, who’s the Borg cosplayer?” asked a Mobian Monkey, Henry. Everyone turned to see what looked like a Romulan Borg drone.

“…We’ll discuss this later,” Richard growled at his daughter and nephew as he and Emily released their respective kids’ ears. Megumi approached the drone.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” began Megumi. “I’m-” The drone quickly grabbed Megumi’s chin. Richard and a few other partiers rushed to get it away from her, but other drones arrived and restrained them. Megumi’s captor stared long and hard, then smirked.

“You’ve changed,” he remarked. “But dropping the eyeshadow and changing your outfit won’t save you, Megumi Hishikawa. The Author has plans for you, Optimus, and Arsha.” Megumi shoved the drone away and her partiers got out of their captors’ grasp.

“Riders, with me!” she called. Those that she called for had summoned a belt, either by pulling it out of their pockets or just using magic to form it. Those that pulled the belts from their pockets strapped them on and their belts spoke.

“Vortex Driver!” they all announced.

“Crysta Driver!” called the summoned belts. The Vortex Riders then pulled out small blue discs and inserted them into the belts while the Crysta Riders pulled out crystal spheres and pressed a button on them.

“Spark!” called Kaitlyn’s.

“Shade!” announced Kaede’s.

“Devil!” shouted Sam’s.

“Architect!” finished the one belonging to Michael’s son, Adam. The four of them then inserted the spheres into the belts and closed them up. Everyone then struck a pose.

“HENSHIN!” they all shouted. The Vortex Riders then spun the wheels on the belts and a ring based on the wheel formed beneath them and attached armor as the belts changed their outfits into black undersuits. The Crysta Riders were surrounded in mist colored like their crystal spheres, then lightning struck them and the mist vanished to reveal them in their own Rider forms. They had all become Kamen Riders!

“Whoever you all are,” snarled Megumi, Kamen Rider Royal, “you can face it! You’ll never get our power!” She rushed at the Romulan drone and summoned a sword.

“‘When the voice stopped talking,’” called a new voice, “‘a spider-themed Kamen Rider blocked her sword with his own.’”

“Eh?” asked Royal. When the voice stopped talking, a spider-themed Kamen Rider blocked her sword with his own. The sword appeared to be modeled after a snake with the mouth serving as the cross-guard and the tongue serving as the handle.

“Does it look like my soldiers and I need YOUR power?” asked the Rider in the same voice that predicted his actions. He then drove an uppercut into Royal’s jaw, sending her backwards.

“MEGUMI!” called Richard, Kamen Rider Guard, as he dashed to assist his wife.

“Okay, that’s new!” grunted Royal.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 5: Home Life

A six-armed woman with a spider’s rear end ran her duster across the last room in the house, the living room. She checked every possession and every piece of furniture to make sure it was dust free. When she finished, she smiled. “Now to finish it all off with a good old-fashioned vacuuming session,” she said. As one of her arms set the duster aside, the one below it plugged the vacuum cleaner in while another arm grabbed the handle and a fourth switched it on. Once the cleaner spun to life, one of her arms pushed it back and forth while two of them kept the cord out of the way and another two lifted the furniture as needed. Once that was done, she admired her handiwork, then headed to the kitchen and emptied the cleaner of the dust it picked up. The instant the cleaner was put away, she heard keys go into the front door’s lock. “And there’s Megumi and her girls, right on cue!” chuckled the spider woman.

“Hello, Lisa!” called her employer.

“Hello, Megumi!” replied the spider woman, Lisa. She headed off to see the three women that entered the house. Two of them wore gray sweaters, ascots, and skirts with massive amounts of petticoats while the third wore pants, a jacket, and tie. They all had Japanese features when it came to the face. One had straight, long, black hair and brown eyes while the remaining two had short, wavy, pumpkin-orange hair and green eyes. The woman with black hair had blue petticoats and ascot, the pants-wearing woman with orange hair had a blue tie, and the remaining woman had yellow petticoats and ascot. The black-haired woman was Megumi Hishikawa, the pants-wearing woman was her daughter, Kaede Saunders Hishikawa, and the last girl was Kaede’s twin sister, Kaitlyn. “And how were classes today?”

“They went just fine,” replied Megumi. “It was an easy day today. Just did some free writing in all of them. Managed to meet with the girls early today!”

“Did that help your lunch date reservations?” asked Lisa as she took their bookbags.

“Actually, there was another factor that helped,” replied Kaede. “Someone had cancelled their reservation, giving us a spot.”

“And let me tell you,” chuckled Kaitlyn, “it was a fantastic place! I see why Famine recommended it!”

“She recommends a lot of eateries,” remarked Kaitlyn. “It’s kind of her thing.”

“All right, girls,” Megumi called to her daughters, “we still have to get ready for the party. Go get dressed and make yourselves up. Lisa, I trust you’re coming?”

“Madam, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” replied Lisa. “I’m sure that the Wayne Foundation will make a slight donation.”

“Alfred told me Mr. Wayne won’t be attending,” replied Kaede.

“What? Why?” asked Megumi, disappointed that one of her old friends wouldn’t come.

“He’s got a meeting with the headmaster of Damian’s boarding school.”

“Hold on!” giggled Kaitlyn. “Batman has a parent-teacher conference?! Is he in the PTA?! Tell me he’s in the PTA!” She cleared her throat and held her pointer fingers to each side of her head. She then spoke in a rasp. “We need more chaperones for Homecoming. Who needs to be convinced to sign up?”

“…You wouldn’t say that around Bruce, would you?” asked Megumi.

“…You wouldn’t tell, would you?” gulped Kaitlyn, dreading the potential Bat-glare. Megumi smirked. Kaitlyn dashed off to get dressed. Kaede headed off as well. Megumi strolled into her bedroom and opened her closet. She found the dress and swapped her After Academy uniform for it. After she adjusted everything, she opened a small cabinet containing various hair adornments and pulled one out before making her way to her vanity. She then washed her face, dried it, and put on fresh makeup. After that was done, she pinned her hair ornament to the left of her head. Once she was done, she blew a kiss to her reflection, then got up and left the bedroom. She found Lisa in a different maid outfit, Kaitlyn in her princess outfit, and Kaede in her detective clothes.

“Time, Lisa?” asked Megumi.

“We’ve still got two hours to kill before Richard gets back,” replied Lisa.

“In that case, I’m switching on the news.” Megumi switched the t.v. on, then arched an eyebrow as the news anchor was NOT the one she expected. “Er, Kaede, could you help your mother solve a little mystery?”

“I was hoping I heard wrong,” muttered Kaede. “So, it’s NOT Dad on t.v.?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“But this is his time slot, yes?” asked Kaitlyn.

“I thought so.”

“It’s definitely his time slot,” confirmed Lisa.

“Er, guys,” gulped Kaede as she looked out the window, “I see Dad coming up the drive and…yep, he saw me and he’s not looking all that happy.” Megumi dashed to the door (an amazing feat with all those skirts) and opened it to let her husband, Richard, in. He looked broken.

“Hello, everyone,” he muttered.

“Richard, what’s wrong?” asked Megumi. Richard didn’t respond immediately. Kaede switched the t.v. off as Richard sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands. He breathed slowly before speaking.

“There’s no easy way to say it,” he said, “but I don’t want any sit com shenanigans. Megumi, Kaede, Kaitlyn, Lisa, the single man of the house is now unemployed.”

“You didn’t quit, did you?” asked Kaede.

“Believe me, after today, I wish I did. I saw what the teleprompter was gonna say. It was continual praise about this ‘Baron Sonavok’ and how he’s a much better leader than Flora is!”

“But no one knows who this guy is!” protested Kaitlyn.

“So, I put aside my request for a raise to confront my boss about it. I told him that there was no research involved in the teleprompter’s transcript and he asked me if our viewers really cared!”

“We do!” argued Lisa.

“That’s what I said, and he called me an ungrateful ignoramus who has no reason to work in MNN, saying he had a replacement for me if I didn’t fall in line. I called his bluff…and saw my replacement.”

“So, the man we saw in your time slot’s your replacement, huh?” growled Kaede.

“And he went out of his way to give me an actual pink slip titled ‘walking papers’ just to rub salt in the wound!” Richard pounded the coffee table in front of him as Megumi placed her hand on his back. “The man makes me want to murder people!”

“He had no business firing you!” hissed Megumi. She then took a breath. “Does your unemployment leave this house?” Richard steadied his breathing.

“Like I said, I want to avoid sit com shenanigans, but I don’t want to tell everyone,” he explained. “Let’s keep it with immediate family and those who took the time to watch at least a snippet of my old time slot.”

“We can certainly help you find a job,” offered Kaede. “I know the police station could use a news anchor for their news channel.”

“I believe After Academy is also looking for a news anchor for their channel,” recalled Lisa. Richard smiled.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky to have a family like you,” he sighed.

“You survived two encounters with Vortech and had parents that excelled in teaching you respect,” replied Megumi.

“…I’ll tell Mom and Dad you said that,” said Richard, “and I think they’ll be flattered.” Just then, a wind kicked up in the house. “Okay, did I leave the door open?”

“No, it’s shut,” replied Kaede. A noise then filled the house. Megumi and Richard’s eyes popped open. Kaitlyn then arched an eyebrow in confusion.

“I know I heard that noise before, but-!” An object then materialized in the room. It was a blue box that said “Police Public Call Box” on all four sides around the top, just under the light that was flashing. It had two windows on each side, just under the police box signs, and one side had a door handle. There was a sign near the handle that said “Police telephone free for use of public. Advice and assistance obtainable immediately. Officers and cars respond to all calls. Pull to open.” There was a circular sign on the other side of the door handle that advertised “St. John Ambulance”. Kaitlyn goggled as she recognized the box. “Now I remember where I heard that sound before.”

“Yeah, you and past versions of the Vortex Riders used it as a taxi in Hill Valley,” recalled Richard.

“Daddy!” protested Kaitlyn. The door then swung into the box (despite the sign saying pull to open) and a man carrying a woman then fell out.

“Doctor!” yelped Megumi. She checked the man’s pulse, then frowned. “That’s funny, I thought the Doctor had two hearts. I’m only getting one…no.” Her face fell. “Damn. He’s dead.”

“The lady’s got two hearts,” said Lisa as she finished checking the woman’s pulse.

“I’ll get Emily and Michael,” declared Richard as he got up, eager for some activity to distract him from his woes for the moment.

“Lisa, help me get the woman to the couch,” directed Megumi. “Girls, put the man-” The man then gasped loudly, as if he was sucking in air desperately, and grabbed Megumi’s arm out of reflex. Megumi shrieked in surprise. The man’s breathing evened out. He then looked at Megumi and grinned.

“Hey!” he greeted. His accent was American. “Name’s Captain Jack Harkness! And you?”

“Dn starr,” mumbled the woman.

“I was just saying hello!” protested Jack. His face then fell. “Look, weird question, but is there someone who can help a Time Lord?”

“Oddly enough, there is,” replied Megumi, having gotten over her fright. “My husband’s calling her right now. I’m Megumi Hishikawa.”

“Ah, so YOU’RE the Hero of the Vortech Wars,” remarked Jack. “The Doctor was talking about you just before she regenerated. I didn’t get a chance to see what she looks like now.”

“Well, here she is.” Megumi and Lisa hoisted the new Doctor up onto the couch. She had ginger hair and Jack goggled at the face.

“Hold on, that face was one of her old companions, an old friend of ours before she had to have her mind wiped!” he explained. Richard got off the phone.

“Emily and Michael are on the way,” he said to Megumi.

“Good. We could use some answers about Jack here,” said Megumi.

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cast Journey Through Wonder

Benjamin Weststreet (Kamen Rider Tombstone)

His real name is Benjamin Tanner, but he chose his new name when he signed on to the Mafia Ninja Pirates. Don’t EVER call him Benny Southstreet…EVER! Benjamin always ran a tight job for Captain Don Shinobi and impressed the guy so much, he became his first mate and best friend. He joined Shocker Umbra with Captain Don SHinobi and joined the ruling council, becoming Kamen Rider Tombstone. He’s got a few…hesitations about the Author, but will do as his Captain says.

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cast Journey Through Wonder

Captain Don Shinobi (Kamen Rider Threat)

No one thought such a union of criminal organizations was possible, and yet here stands proof. A blend of ninjas, pirates, and mafia mobsters, Captain Don Shinobi is the leader of the Mafia Ninja Pirates. Born in Japan and raised by the Mafia after being abandoned in America, Don Shinobi found a pirate ship that could fly through even the vacuum of space and its crew would still survive. He took control of the ship and grabbed various ninjas, pirates, and mafia men for his crew. His first mate joined willingly and he made that man his trusted advisor. He uses his ninjutsu for the assassination it was designed for. He and his crew then joined Shocker Umbra and he became Kamen Rider Threat. Even the Author thought such a union between pirates, ninjas, and mafia men was impossible. He’s ready to prove the Author wrong and please him while doing so.

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cast Journey Through Wonder

Katie Barker (Kamen Rider Glam)

Katie was always obsessed with high fashion. She hated that she could never afford it and she was jealous that her cousins, Emily and Richard, knew someone rich enough to make elaborate costumes for free. She then met with Auriella, a woman from another universe. They had a bit of an infatuation with her and, eventually, Auriella turned Katie into an Adrexian like herself. Soon, they threw in their lot with Shocker Umbra and both became members of Metaltron’s council. Katie was given a Dazzle Driver and became Kamen Rider Glam. The Author’s promised endless wealth and power and she plans to use that to her full advantage.

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cast Journey Through Wonder

Auriella (Kamen Rider Jewel)

Queen Auriella Seflowa is an Adrexian, a species considered to be cousins to the Chizarans. It’s an all-woman species with the same godhood as the Chizarans. They’ve found other ways to stave off the boredom of immortality by going through different social classes at whim. Auriella didn’t like that, but she held her tongue long enough for Metaltron to tempt her with Shocker Umbra’s power. She then engineered a disaster and ordered a “temporary” suspension of social mobility. With her people trapped in a ring around her home solar system, she forged two Dazzle Drivers. She then started dating a woman from Megumi’s old universe and recruited her onto the council, giving her the other Dazzle Driver. Auriella became Kamen Rider Jewel, a vain woman that’s obsessed with power. The Author promised riches beyond her wildest dreams, she couldn’t say no to that.