Gaijin  
 
Part 18: The Amazing Spiderman!

By Sean D'Anna
 
=====  
 
Sorry, saw the preview for the Spiderman flick again and got 
in the mood to write this. ^_^; I doubt if most of you mind much. 
I wanted to do it before the movie came out anyway. 
 
+++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot hung his head low as he leaned against the glass of 
the store. The television in the window was making his situation 
more and more dire. The senshi were out of it, no way could 
Makoto handle it alone. Rei might be able to join her, but he 
wasn't sure if she'd do much better anyway. Usagi still had the 
power to become Sailor Moon; it might be enough to shake her out 
of that though. There was also the fact that the senshi might not 
care much about what their parents say when something was going 
on like this. 
 
He knew though. It was his fault that Sailor Moon lost her 
powers, and that the Senshi were currently unavailable. It was 
his fault that something like this had appeared in this Universe. 
He was fairly certain it wasn't something that wouldn't happen 
had he not been around. 
 
Clenching his teeth he balled his hands up into fists and 
ignored the growing crowd behind him. More and more people were 
being drawn to the images on the screen. 
 
A woman gave out a loud moan of pain as she realized 
something. "My baby!" 
 
Carrot turned his head to look at her for a moment, not quite 
understanding what she had meant. 
 
"My daughter is there! With her father!" 
 
"Oh. Just lay it on thick why don't ya? I was goin already!" 
he muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes towards the 
sky. 
 
Turning into the crowd of people, he stalked straight 
through, shoving people out of his path as he went. "If I'm gonna 
do this, I'm gonna do this right." 
 
He crossed the street briskly and made a beeline towards a 
nearby alley. Slipping into the shadows he pulled his shirt off. 
He had worn it under his clothes along with the rest of the 
costume. Mostly in case he happened to run into one of the 
probably very pissed off senshi. Not that body armor would have 
done him much good, but if he could escape long enough to change 
clothes he might turn the hostilities off and send them on a wild 
goose chase. 
 
Pulling the gloves and mask on he looked straight up and 
flicked his wrist. "Come on ugly. Looks like it's just you and 
me." 
 
+++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Mei Lin simply stared at the pandemonium around her. 
Explosions shattered the booths around her and tossed members of 
the crowd high into the air. Panic was all around her and there 
was little she could do about the creature that sailed high over 
her head in the sky. 
 
"Oh god!" she muttered in horror as she zoomed in on the 
thing with her camera to get a closer look. Its eyes focused 
directly into the camera, the insane grin on its face widened as 
it looked directly at her. 
 
She slowly pulled the camera away from her face and glanced 
around. She was alone in the crowd; people shoved their way 
around her. "Where is?" She looked for Yamada for a moment in her 
confusion. 
 
"Mei Lin!" cried his voice from behind her. She slowly turned 
to see the man shoving towards her. 
 
"Hey! I..." she held up the camera and smiled at him. 
 
"Get down!" he screamed as he jumped into the air and tackled 
her. 
 
She felt a rush of air just over her head and gasped as she 
looked up at the thing as it sailed away again, lobbing several 
more of the sadistic fireballs into the crowd. 
 
"What the hell are you thinking?" snapped the man angrily. 
 
Mei Lin ignored him. "He's...corralling them?" she muttered 
out loud as she staggered to her feet. The thing was throwing 
bombs around the edge of the crowd. "He's driving them towards 
something!" 
 
Yamada shook his head. "No, he's encircling us. Making sure 
the crowd stays inside the area. 
 
The girl frowned at him as she looked around. Sure enough, a 
steady wall of flame now surrounded the crowd completely. The 
thing was still lobbing bombs at the still standing structures 
and into the crowd, but it was concentrating most of its effort 
in keeping the wall of fire in place. 
 
"Why?" she muttered out loud. 
 
A strange girl she didn't recognize walked up to her. She had 
on a pretty dress that was torn and frayed. Her hair was an aqua 
blue, and she had the remains of a violin in her hands. "He's 
making a trap." 
 
"Who the hell are you?" snapped Yamada angrily. He had a 
desperate and fearful look on his face as he glanced around at 
the frightened crowd. Most of them had calmed down a bit, but 
when the thing neared again it would all end. 
 
"Michiru Kaiou," replied the girl with a small shrug. She 
looked remarkably calm. "I was supposed to perform in about an 
hour." She held up the broken violin and smirked at him sadly. 
"Show's been canceled." 
 
"A trap? For who?" muttered Mei Lin as she looked at the 
girl. 
 
"The Sailor Senshi," said the aqua haired girl as she looked 
up at the sky. "You know, this is the second time something like 
this has happened to me." 
 
Mei Lin nodded rather dumbly. She didn't even seem to realize 
that she was taking photos anymore. 
 
"What the hell are you doing!? Don't waste the film!" snapped 
Yamada angrily. 
 
Mei Lin slugged him in the stomach as he made a grab for the 
camera. He went down to the ground hard. She blinked and looked 
at her fist. Michiru was giving her an odd look. She smiled at 
the girl and shrugged. "I suppose I shouldn't have done that, 
what with him just saving me and all...but he's been a real jerk 
ever since I met him." 
 
Michiru nodded once and looked up at the sky. "He's coming 
back around." 
 
Mei Lin nodded grimly and hefted the camera into place. "Any 
ideas?" 
 
"Not one," said Michiru with a small shrug. "Run maybe?" 
 
"Good enough for now," agreed Mei Lin. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Haruka struggled up from the ground. She shoved a board off 
her back and groaned in pain. "Damn. This sucks." One of the 
booths that had exploded landed across her back. It was quite 
painful, but didn't cause any serious injuries. "What the hell is 
that thing?" She looked up at the sky and frowned. "Some kind of 
monster?" 
 
The creature circled above the crowd into the air, 
occasionally tossing off one of the fireballs as it searched the 
ground for something. 
 
Haruka snorted in disgust. "Damn, another one. This is really 
starting to piss me off." She dusted off her shoulder and frowned 
as she glanced around. Most of the people were now simply 
watching the sky. Occasionally someone would run by in a panic, 
or walk briskly looking for an escape. Most of the crowd was 
trying to hide under something, or otherwise conceal themselves. 
She frowned as she watched a grown man drag a little girl from 
under a table and move into her spot. 
 
"What can I do? Damn, I feel so powerless!" She growled and 
clenched her fist as she looked up at the sky. 
 
She scanned the crowd and paused. A beautiful woman with long 
green hair was sitting at one of the tables watching the sky with 
a sort of sad gaze. She didn't look afraid. The woman was playing 
with something in her hands and simply looked upwards. She was a 
fair distance away, and occasionally someone would move in front 
of her, blocking Haruka's view. "Who?" 
 
Slowly the woman turned her head and looked at her for a 
moment. She said nothing and didn't change her expression as she 
stood up and looked skyward again. She turned away from the table 
and left the small object sitting where it was. 
 
Haruka wasn't sure why she did it, but she walked towards the 
woman. By the time she reached the spot she'd been sitting in, 
the woman had vanished into the crowd. 
 
Haruka glanced around in confusion and frowned as she gazed 
into the crowd looking for her. "Hey! Where..." She looked down 
at her hand, and the pen that she had found sitting on the table. 
"What the?" She looked at it for a moment and held it up in front 
of her face, ignoring the chaos around her. It was important, and 
she had no idea why. Finally someone screamed and broke her 
concentration. She glanced over at the woman nearby who was 
pointing towards the sky. 
 
"Oh my god! It's coming back!" 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
The Goblin grinned as its circle of fire was completed. 
Flames now surrounded the park where the festival was being held. 
He circled in the air, lobbing more and more of the small 
explosive balls into the ground around him, keeping it burning. 
He could make them burn like napalm if he felt like it, or just 
have them explode. 
 
"It seems they are taking their time," he growled as he 
noticed that the Senshi had not shown yet. "Perhaps they need 
more persuasion?" 
 
The sound of sirens started off in the near distance. His 
grin widened once again. 
 
"Perfect." 
 
He veered off in the air and moved towards the sound, tossing 
a few more of the flaming balls into the wall to make sure it 
would last. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Police sirens wailed loudly as the squad cars shot down the 
streets at full speed. Fire engines followed close behind them as 
they headed towards the giant cloud of smoke that was rising into 
the air. 
 
Inside one of the vehicles near the front, a young officer 
looked out his window at something odd. "Hey, there's some sort 
of weird offshoot coming towards us. Looks like...what the hell 
is that?" 
 
A long trail of smoke was slowly growing out of the larger 
plume. 
 
"There's something in the air!" said another officer over the 
radio. 
 
The young officer's eyes went wide as he stared at the 
laughing thing that swooped down on them directly over the middle 
of the street. Its arm was reared back as it zoomed down suddenly 
and passed over the car. 
 
"Oh shit!" 
 
++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Pedestrian's attention was quickly pulled away from the cloud 
of smoke in the distance as the explosions rocked the street. The 
squad cars in front of them exploded and flew in every direction 
as the thing passed over them. It cackled madly as it circled the 
emergency vehicles. Tossing balls of orange flame into the 
vehicles as it passed. 
 
The fire engine rolled onto its side as a narrowly missed 
strike slammed into the pavement just below it. It skidded across 
the ground throwing sparks and crushing the rears of the squad 
cars it rammed into as it slid across the pavement for almost 
fifteen yards. 
 
The thing flew away, moving back towards the smoke. 
 
Pedestrians slowly rose from their cover and looked on at the 
wreckage. Signs of life were starting from inside some of the 
shattered fleet of vehicles. Police slowly staggered out of their 
cars and helped their comrades out. 
 
One of the officers gasped as he looked up at the sky after 
climbing from his vehicle. "Shit! Another one!" 
 
The people on the street turned towards where he was 
pointing. Screams of alarm and horror filled the street below as 
the dark figure sailed over their heads. Unlike the other one, he 
was using a wire to swing himself across the air. 
 
The cop pulled out his gun as he stepped out into the middle 
of the street. Slowly he aimed and ground his teeth. "Take this 
you..." 
 
The thing turned its head towards him in an instant. With a 
skill that could only be described as inhuman it changed 
direction in midair. The black figure swooped down out of the air 
directly at him, he dropped his gun in horror as he realized it 
and staggered back. 
 
"Move it!" screamed the thing as it slammed into his body. 
 
The man found himself high in the sky. He gave a quick gasp 
as he realized this and closed his eyes. An explosion filled his 
senses completely and he dared to look down again. His wrecked 
squad car was nothing more than a ball of twisted flaming metal. 
 
He found himself standing on the ground again and blinked as 
he staggered back dumbly. "What the?" 
 
"Pay attention! There was leaking gas! Get the others away 
from that mess until you can get a working team of firefighters 
here!" snapped the black clad figure as he swung away. 
 
Carrot ground his teeth as he swooped away. "Playing hero was 
more irritating than I thought it would be." 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Haruka stood in the middle of the festival grounds and glared 
at the sky angrily. The thing was circling overhead again. She 
clenched her hand, grasping the pen with an angry frown. 
 
The thing was apparently doing some sort of patrol, it leered 
down at the ground as it circled and continued to toss the 
explosive devices into the ground. It wasn't really aiming for 
anything anymore. 
 
"Damn it! Come down and fight damn you!" growled Haruka. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
The Goblin scanned the ground with growing impatience. "This 
grows boring. I'm tired of waiting for those little girls to show 
up. I think it's time to play." 
 
He swooped down into the circle of flames and started to 
laugh again. 
 
The crowd scattered, huddling under whatever they could while 
looking for cover as the stopped just above the ground and simply 
hovered. It slowly turned its head looking around at them. "Who 
will help me call those little girls out to play?" 
 
His head snapped around and his dark grin grew absolutely 
sinister. "How about you little girl?" 
 
A young mother was clutching desperately onto a young five- 
year-old. "No! Nooo!" she screamed as she tried to back farther 
into the wall that blocked her from running. 
 
The Goblin shot forward like a bullet, with a casual shove he 
ripped the child from her mother's arms and held her above the 
ground. 
 
Haruka was standing on the table about ten feet away. She 
simply watched in silent horror. There was nothing she could do, 
nothing. 
 
"The hell there isn't..." she growled angrily. She never did 
notice the symbol appear on her forehead. 
 
The Goblin slowly turned its head towards the light and its 
smile faltered. "Eh?" He casually shoved the mother away again as 
she tried to grab her screaming child from the thing. 
 
Sailor Uranus stood with a firm looking frown on her face on 
top of a table ten feet away. Power crackled up and down her 
gloved arms as she ground her teeth and simply stared at the 
thing. "Hey." 
 
"Well, it's about time you got here," said the thing as it 
leered at her and formed a ball of flame in its palm. It started 
to rise into the air with the child still in its grasp. "It's a 
pity you can't do anything about this." 
 
"The others don't seem to mind killing, why would I?" replied 
the blonde girl calmly as she raised her palm. 
 
"Even a little girl?" asked the thing. 
 
"If it's to destroy something like you?" replied Uranus 
calmly. "I am Sailor Uranus, and I'm gonna shove that little 
fireball up your ass." 
 
The Goblin shot up into the air. "Try me!" He lobbed the ball 
of fire in his hands at the girl and she jumped away skillfully. 
It was painfully obvious that she wouldn't be able to keep up 
with the flying monster though. 
 
"Eat this! Stone Shatter Bomb!" she cried as she lifted up 
her palm. A small gray ball of electricity formed there and 
blasted upwards at the thing. 
 
The Goblin laughed as it easily evaded the attack and tossed 
three more of the small fireballs at the senshi. "Pathetic!" 
 
Haruka jumped back and crossed her arms over her chest. 
"Aren't there others? Where the hell are they?" she spat angrily 
as she found herself surrounded by smoking craters. 
 
The Goblin looked down to mock her as he held the little girl 
aloft with one arm. The child was screaming in terror and kicking 
her legs wildly. "Well, looks like you've been aban..." 
 
"They're grounded, so you only get me!" said an unfamiliar 
voice. 
 
The monster turned his head slightly because the voice 
sounded like it was coming from behind him. That shouldn't have 
been possible. His efforts to see where in vain, as a pair of 
feet slammed into his face. 
 
The girl fell from his grip as he swayed violently in an 
attempt to keep himself on his wings. The child screamed as she 
plummeted towards the ground. 
 
Haruka tensed herself up as she looked on in surprise. "The 
girl!" She dove forward suddenly while the creature was 
distracted, but it was painfully obvious she wouldn't make it in 
time. 
 
That was when she noticed the black blur that swung out of 
the sky just off to her right. It headed straight towards the 
child and met her three feet above the ground. 
 
"What the hell is..." Uranus trailed off as she watched the 
thing swing back into the air with the child in its arms. "No 
way." 
 
The black clad figure landed on top of one of the structures 
in the park. It was on fire, but only slightly. He jumped down to 
the ground and set the little girl there. He had to pry her 
fingers off of his neck and push her away gently as he jumped 
back into the air. 
 
The Goblin was recovering fast and growled angrily as he spun 
around in midair to face his attacker. Unfortunately, the first 
thing it saw was a black fist that slammed into its face. The 
monster was thrown back in the air and clutched at its nose in a 
hateful pain. 
 
Carrot swung away after landing the blow and landed on 
another of the booths. People wisely scattered away from being 
directly under him. "Just your friendly neighborhood Spiderman of 
course. Although, I doubt if you're a very nice guy." 
 
"You'd be right," commented Haruka. 
 
Carrot looked down at her and blinked. "Huh? Sailor Uranus!? 
What the hell are you doing here? You're not supposed to show up 
until..." 
 
"Worry about that later. Right now we've got a monster to 
kill," she said firmly. 
 
"No, I've got a monster to kill. You worry about that fire 
and get this crowd out of here. I'm gonna try to lead it away. I 
think I've pissed it off enough." 
 
The booth exploded under him and he was thrown into the air. 
Twisting as he sailed upwards he sent out one of his lines and 
managed to nab a nearby tree. "Yup. He's gonna follow me." 
 
The Goblin roared in anger as he swooped down out of the sky 
with two of the small fireballs in his hands. "I'll destroy you!" 
 
Carrot looked back over his shoulder as he swung through the 
burning forest. "Hey, wanna race?" He picked up his speed, 
pulling his arms back sharply to shoot himself forward with each 
swing. "Come on!" 
 
The monster leaned forward and increased his speed as well. 
"Sounds interesting boy." 
 
They shot through the wall of fire and into the streets of 
Tokyo. 
 
+++++++++++++++++ 
 
Mei Lin gasped as she pulled the camera away from her face 
and stared at the scene in awe. "Oh wow!" 
 
Michiru was standing beside her with an equally shocked 
expression. "That technique! I've seen it before!" 
 
Mei Lin turned to look at her and then started to run towards 
the wall of fire. "Man. Now I know why he didn't want me going 
with him. He's a much better warrior of justice than I am!" 
 
Michiru blinked and started after the girl. 
 
Mei Lin smirked as she looked back at the girl as she rushed 
up to the wall of fire. "Do you have a car?" 
 
Michiru blinked. "Yeah..." 
 
The Chinese girl smiled and dropped the camera. It hung off 
her neck from the strap and she waved her hands in a complicated 
gesture. "Huo Qusan Quixe!" 
 
Michiru gasped as the wall of fire in front of them wavered 
and shrank. She jumped after the girl as she moved through the 
hole before it closed. "Wait! Where are we going?" 
 
"After that thing!" cried Mei Lin as she started running. 
"Show me where your car is!" 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Makoto ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She gasped 
for breath as her fuku fluttered in the wind behind her. "Damn 
it! Where the hell is everyone?!" 
 
"Jupiter!" cried a familiar voice. 
 
She turned and stopped running. She was standing on the edge 
of a sloped rooftop on the clay tiles. "Mars?" 
 
"I'm here! Where are the others?" asked the dark haired girl 
as she landed beside her companion. 
 
"I don't know. I wasn't able to get ahold of them," grumbled 
Jupiter. 
 
"Damn," muttered Mars. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Mrs. Mizuno turned off the television and glanced at the 
kitchen table. Ami was doing her homework at the table. She 
frowned as she held the small compact that her daughter had been 
carrying around with her lately. It had beeped at her several 
times. She narrowed her eyes clenched it in her hand. With a 
serious looking frown, she opened a small box and placed it 
inside wrapped in a handkerchief. "Ami, how is your homework 
coming?" 
 
"Fine mom," replied the girl with a fake looking smile. 
 
"After your finished, do the dishes. No television, you're 
still grounded." 
 
"Yes Ma'am," muttered the girl as she sighed and continued to 
read at the table. 
 
"It's for the best," said her mother to herself as she picked 
up the box and walked towards the stairs. 
 
Ami frowned and glanced at the television. "Why would she say 
that? She knows that I know better." 
 
A voice inside her told her that she had lost her mother's trust. 
 
Ami frowned again. "Was that what it was?" She stood up from the 
table and walked out into the living room. For a moment she 
stared at the remote control and contemplated. Footsteps started 
in the stairwell and she took a final glance at it before 
returning to her work. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Minako stared at the ceiling in her room. The only place she 
was allowed to be at the moment. "Damn." 
 
She rolled onto her side and grumbled angrily at her fate. 
Locked away because she'd saved the world without her parent's 
permission. It just wasn't fair. 
 
She stood up and looked at her window. "This really sucks." 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Usagi Tsukino stared at the television. Her eyes were wide 
with horror as she watched the news report about the attack on 
the park. Tears welled up in her eyes at the sheer power the 
monster was displaying. "No. Please let them be safe!" she 
thought to herself as she clutched her chest. 
 
Artemis was beside her, watching sullenly. "Damn. This 
couldn't have happened at a worse time." 
 
Usagi looked at him for a moment. 
 
The cat looked uncomfortable at this and blushed. "Sorry." 
 
Usagi merely nodded, he was right. 
 
That didn't change the fact that there was nothing she could 
do. Was there? She closed her eyes and sighed. There was still 
nothing there. 
 
She opened her eyes and stared at the screen once again. This 
time, a little bit of hope formed. 
 
"New hero?" muttered Artemis dumbly as he watched the report. 
 
A fuzzy picture appeared on the screen of a blurry photo of a 
black mass in the park. Beside it was a blurry looking fuku. 
 
Artemis gasped as his eyes went wide. "Outer Senshi?" 
 
Usagi stared at him in confusion. 
 
The cat quickly rushed up the stairs before she could ask. 
With a small sigh she simply continued to watch the television. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot felt the G-forces pull at him as he took a turn 
horizontally and pulled back the line before he slammed into the 
wall. Jerking himself forward again at the same time as he raced 
forward high above the streets. The wall behind him exploded in a 
shower of bricks and mortar as he pushed himself harder than he 
ever had before. 
 
The Goblin was after him, it sailed over his head, keeping up 
with his speed without too much effort. His agility was the only 
thing keeping him from being blown to pieces or splattered across 
the ground. "Too slow little man!" 
 
"Damn it!" he cried as his senses tingled and he twisted to 
avoid the explosion in front of him. He sailed through the ball 
of flame and came out the other side unscathed. "Shit! That was 
close! What the hell am I gonna do?!" 
 
The Goblin laughed as he chased after him from above. "Can't 
keep up? Come on! I'll help you along!" He tossed one of the 
fireballs behind Carrot, blasting him forward. 
 
The boy was shot off his line and flailed his arms as he 
rushed towards a wall. He closed his eyes and twisted his body so 
that it was facing up. He shot his arm up and jerked himself 
higher into the sky. He felt his feet scrape the wall as the 
maneuver barely saved him. He released the line again and twisted 
around a hundred and eighty degrees. Tossing out another line he 
pulled himself to the opposite side of the street and landed 
against the wall. For a moment he hung there as the Goblin passed 
him. 
 
The creature quickly spun around and readied two of the bombs 
as it did so. "Ha! You're more skilled than I'd thought boy! It's 
a wonder Kei survived as long as she did!" 
 
Carrot's head snapped around in an instant. "What the?" He 
didn't have time to think about it as two more of the balls 
blasted towards him. "Shit!" He ran along the side of the wall as 
windows were blown out behind him. At the last moment he jumped 
away and released his line again. 
 
The Goblin dove after him performing a barrel roll as he did 
so. 
 
Carrot tensed his legs as he landed on the next wall and hung 
off his line again. "Think Carrot! This really sucks!" 
 
The Goblin charged at him head on. Carrot stood his ground 
until the last moment, he jumped over the thing's head as it 
rammed into the wall and went through a window and part of the 
concrete. 
 
Carrot flipped in midair as he shot out another line and 
forced himself away. "Damn it!" He pulled himself straight up and 
landed on a rooftop nearby. "Did that get him?" 
 
A small oval of green energy shot out of the hole and slammed 
into the building, exploding just under his feet after passing 
through the wall below. He jumped away in the nick of time and 
landed on the opposite side of the roof. "Guess not." 
 
The creature hadn't reappeared yet and he had time to think 
for a moment. "Okay, he's faster, more maneuverable, and can 
throw an infinite amount of fireballs at you. What do you do?" 
 
The Goblin slowly rose into view from below the edge of the 
roof. He had a grin on his face and his arms were crossed over 
his chest. There was a glowing green light forming in front of 
the small set of wings that kept him aloft. 
 
"You run like hell," said Carrot to himself. 
 
"Wise choice," said the Goblin as it leered at him. 
 
Carrot looked below him and down to the street below. "Ah, 
what the hell?" 
 
"Die!" snarled the Goblin as the green energy shot forward 
like a missile. 
 
Carrot shot into the air as he jumped over the projectile. 
"Ha!" Instead of jumping back, he dove headfirst into the 
creature. He connected with a strong right hook that took the 
thing in the face. Both of them tumbled off the edge of the 
building together. The Goblin lost his wings and they plummeted 
down towards the street. 
 
Carrot punched and kicked at the thing viciously as they fell 
and growled hatefully. "How do you like..." 
 
They neared the street and the sound of the wings rocketing 
down past them filled his ears. Carrot grabbed the stunned 
monster by the back of his shirt and flicked his wrist into the 
air. The pair swung with Spiderman carrying the creature under 
him. 
 
The monster roared in horror and anger as its sled missed 
catching it and it slammed face first into a street light as 
Carrot passed over it. "...them apples!" 
 
The Goblin was laid flat on its back and groaned in pain on 
the pavement. Its nose was broken and the wings moved up beside 
it and hovered on the ground. He slowly staggered to his feet and 
growled angrily. "So...the prey still has a bite does it?" He 
jumped back and the wings moved under his feet as he took off in 
pursuit again. 
 
Carrot was already two blocks away when his back started to 
tingle again. "Damn it! He's still alive?!" He glanced back over 
his shoulder and frowned as the smoking cloud sputtered to life 
behind the thing's wings again. He moved his eyes forward and 
frowned. "This isn't getting any better." 
 
The goblin charged after him, he screamed in anger as he 
neared his prey. The twin balls of flame in its hand pulsed with 
angry power. "I'll blast you to ashes!" 
 
Carrot realized that the thing was closing fast. He built up 
speed and grunted as he failed to release the line and sailed 
almost straight up into the air. The act was intentional though 
and he released it and went into free fall. 
 
The Goblin watched in surprise as Spiderman sailed high into 
the air and spread his arms. "What the? No!" He snarled hatefully 
as he realized what was happening. It was too late to stop it, 
but not too late to retaliate. 
 
Spiderman landed on the thing's back and clung onto him. He 
reared back his fist and slammed it into the back of the thing's 
head. "Why can't you just leave me the hell alone?!" 
 
"You forget, that you came to me this time!" snarled the 
creature as he dove towards the ground. 
 
Carrot clutched onto the thing's back for his life as he 
repeatedly beat on it. The thing was obviously feeling the blows 
as it grunted and wavered more with each strike. "How much does 
it take!" he snarled as he landed a double-handed blow on the 
base of the monster's neck. 
 
The Goblin snarled in pain and anger at this and quickly 
twisted in mid flight. Carrot's legs weren't enough to hold on 
and he fell off and started to fall towards the pavement. Without 
hesitation he twisted and shot out his arm again. His arms were 
burning with pain and exhaustion as he struggled to hold on to 
the line as he passed over the cars on the street. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Mei Lin hung out the window and frowned. "We've lost them 
again!" 
 
"My car!" lamented Michiru as she stared at the massive dents 
on the hood from the debris that had fallen from above. 
 
"Where the hell did they go?" asked the younger girl as she 
searched the skyline from outside the window. 
 
Michiru slammed onto the brakes suddenly and Mei Lin screamed 
as she barely managed to hang on. "What the hell are you doing!?" 
she cried angrily. 
 
"Lookout!" screamed Michiru as she pointed forward. 
 
Mei Lin turned her head around and stared as Carrot swung 
over the car close enough that she could have reached out and 
touched him. "Whoa!" she stammered dumbly after he had passed. 
After a moment of shock she started to beat on the hood of the 
car as she raised her camera again. "That way! After him! After 
him! Quick!" 
 
"All right! Hold your horses!" cried Michiru as she found 
herself trapped in traffic for a moment. There were several angry 
honks as she turned, but the other vehicles moved out of the way. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot found himself going back the way he came as he curved 
through the skyscrapers. He was getting tired and weak and he 
knew it. "I've gotta think of something fast!" 
 
The Goblin was hot on his tail. The walls behind him were 
being shattered with explosions. 
 
"Damn it!" screamed the boy as he flipped into another 
acrobatic spin and landed on a rooftop. It was a business with a 
massive billboard facing the opposite street. He staggered as his 
legs almost gave out under his own weight. 
 
"Getting tired little boy?" asked the Goblin as he floated in 
front of him with his insane grin never wavering. The pair stood 
off and Carrot snarled angrily at the thing under his mask. 
 
"Well, I'll just let you rest...forever." 
 
"Nah, I'm not that tired, just five minutes should do it," 
replied the boy as he tensed his body again. His muscles were 
screaming for relief. 
 
The Goblin formed two of the giant fireballs in his palms and 
raised them over his head. Carrot frowned and prepared to dodge. 
"Wait a minute..." He took a quick glance behind him as the thing 
laughed in triumph. 
 
"I've got you cornered now! Nowhere to run!" 
 
"Who's running?" snorted Carrot. "Shoot ugly. I don't have 
all day you know." 
 
The Goblin frowned at this and snorted. "Just die then." He 
lobbed the fireballs forward. 
 
Carrot to the right and landed in a crouch as the flaming 
explosives shattered the rooftop. He tensed himself again. 
 
"Hold still little fish, you're in a barrel and there's no 
point in dodging! Sooner or later I'll get you!" 
 
Carrot smirked. "Just a few more..." 
 
The Goblin raised one of the fireballs into the air and 
winked at him. "Gotya!" 
 
"Huh?" muttered Carrot as he realized that something was 
wrong. "Oh shit!" One of the missile-like green energy balls shot 
from the wings and he ducked. There was a loud groaning sound 
behind him as he rolled under the blast and pushed himself 
forward with all his strength. The Goblin yelped in surprise as 
Spiderman kicked off the back of his neck after the maneuver and 
pushed him back onto the rooftop as he dove off the edge. 
 
"You won't escape!" snarled the thing hatefully as he turned 
to face his opponent. That was when he realized that it had 
gotten very dark. "What?! No!" His eyes went wide with horror as 
the massive billboard slammed into him from above, crushing him 
on the rooftop. 
 
Carrot swung through the shower of debris from above. Bits of 
glass and metal rained down on the street as he sailed through 
the air and away from the scene! "Yeah! Take that you son of a 
bitch! Ha!" He spun around to watch as he swung and let go of the 
line. He landed on the edge of a roof and crouched low to the 
ground as he smirked at the shattered sign. With the grin still 
on his face, he fell flat on his back and relaxed. 
 
"Oh man, is this gonna hurt later." 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
"You..." stammered Yamada as he looked at Mei Lin hatefully. 
 
She was cheerfully putting her things into her new desk. 
"Yes?" 
 
"How dare you!?" snarled the man angrily. 
 
"What? You wanted to run away!" she snapped at him. "It's not 
my fault you're a spineless coward. I mean, what with a huge 
story like that..." 
 
"You could have been killed!" he snapped. 
 
"I wasn't worried about that," said the girl as she grinned 
at him. 
 
"I had a perfectly good story with what happened at the 
park," he said firmly. 
 
"And I had a better one because I followed him," she replied 
with a shrug. 
 
Yamada simply glared at her. "You didn't find out who he was 
though..." 
 
"So what? I've got the front page for my first story! Isn't 
that keen?" she said as she held up the paper. "The Amazing 
Spiderman!" was written across the top. A huge photo of him was 
plastered across the front page from where he had swung over her 
in the car. It was a close up shot. Not even the video media had 
managed that. By the time the news choppers were on the scene, it 
had ended. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Carrot felt like crying. "Man, this really sucks!" He was 
looking at a huge photo of himself on the front page. 
 
Luna smiled cheerfully at him. "It's not so bad." 
 
"What do you mean? Not only is there yet another senshi, but 
now I'm a celebrity! I wanted to avoid this kind of thing!" 
 
"Well you've done a pretty shitty job of it," commented Gia. 
"Is that really you?" 
 
"Yes," he muttered as he narrowed his eyes. 
 
"Nice outfit," she muttered as she glanced at the paper. 
 
"Shut up," he muttered hatefully. 
 
There was a knock at the door and everyone turned to look at 
it. 
 
Mei Lin walked in with a huge grin on her face. "Hiya!" 
 
"Welcome back," said Gia cheerfully. 
 
"Come on in, he's in here!" said the girl as she turned 
towards the door. 
 
Carrot blinked. "What the?" 
 
Michiru walked in and glanced around. "Um, hello." 
 
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" cried the boy as he backed against the wall. 
 
Gia looked at her for a moment and arched her eyebrow. 
"Carrot...who is this?" 
 
"I am Michiru Kaiou," said the girl as he bowed politely. 
 
"Hey, nice to meet you," said Gia as she smiled. 
 
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" cried Carrot as he 
grabbed Mei Lin by her shoulders and shook her. 
 
"Relax, she already knew who you were," replied the girl 
irritably. 
 
Carrot blinked. "Really?" 
 
"Yes. I remembered how you saved me from the rooftop the 
other day," said the girl with a small blush. "Please don't be 
angry." 
 
The boy sighed and hung his head. "What the hell. Everyone 
else seems to know about it." 
 
She smiled as the boy plopped himself down at the table. 
 
Gia smirked and sat across from him. "So, he saved you?" 
 
"Yes," said the girl as she nodded. She didn't look very 
certain about being where she was. 
 
"You know, the mayor is pissed. There's talk about a task 
force to arrest you so you can pay for all the damages you 
caused." 
 
"Hey! I wasn't the one throwing explosives around!" snapped 
the boy angrily. "It wasn't my fault!" 
 
"Yeah, whatever. That sign you broke was worth about two 
million yen," continued Gia. "To say nothing of the damage to 
buildings, the streets, cars, plus an entire fleet of emergency 
vehicles..." 
 
Carrot beat his head on the table repeatedly. 
 
Michiru spoke up. "Um, excuse me..." 
 
"Yeah?" muttered the boy with a small sigh as he stopped. 
 
"I just wanted to thank you again..." 
 
"Don't worry about it, I get myself into this sort of mess 
all the time," replied the boy with a small frown. 
 
Michiru blinked. "R...really?" 
 
"Yeah, this is pretty normal. You should have seen the time 
he managed to blow up our apartment," commented Gia. 
 
"That wasn't my fault!" snapped Carrot angrily. 
 
"Oh my," muttered Michiru. 
 
Luna stared at her for a moment. "You're not very forward are 
you?" 
 
The girl stared at the animal for a moment and simply sat 
there. "Um...did you just talk?" 
 
"Yeah? So? So did you," replied the animal as it returned her 
stare. 
 
"Oh my. I don't feel very well," said Michiru as she paled a 
little. 
 
Carrot sighed and stood up. "I'm getting the hell out of 
here. It's too crowded." He stood up and walked to the door. 
 
Michiru stood up and looked at him. "Wait! I'll go with 
you..." 
 
He paused and glanced back at her. "Whatever." 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
The pair was walking down the sidewalk in the night. The 
stars hung overhead with a small cloud cover keeping the moon 
mostly hidden. Carrot looked up at it and pretended to shoot it 
with his finger. "Bang. Maybe that'd end all my troubles." 
 
"The moon?" asked Michiru as she glanced at him in confusion. 
 
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's where all this started," he 
said with a small smirk forming on his face. 
 
"How...odd," she said with a little frown. 
 
"No big thing," he said as he shrugged. "You don't live far 
from here do you?" 
 
"Well, its a few miles away," she said with a blush forming 
on her cheeks. 
 
"I suppose it is a good distance. I don't really walk much 
lately," he said with a small chuckle. 
 
"I suppose not," she replied as she giggled. 
 
Carrot found himself wondering why she came along. He wasn't 
sure if he should ask or not. Finally he pushed it away. "I was 
right. We did meet again, just wasn't expecting it to be so 
soon." 
 
Michiru nodded. 
 
"Wonder how Sailor Uranus fared?" 
 
"Who?" muttered the girl as she glanced at him. 
 
"There's another Senshi now. She showed up today." Carrot 
thought about that for a minute. Sailor Uranus looked a bit 
different than he remembered. Her costume was less flashy than he 
remembered. In fact, her outfit resembled the inner senshi's 
costume a little more than the one he remembered. "That's odd..." 
 
"What?" asked Michiru in confusion. 
 
"It's nothing," he said with a small shrug. "Just something I 
noticed today and just had time to think about." 
 
"Oh," said the girl as she nodded. "The news said only three 
people died in the park. There were a few injuries, but that the 
Senshi you mentioned managed to get most everyone out of danger." 
 
"That's good. Jupiter and Mars never showed up either 
though," he said as he glanced up at the stars. 
 
"I wouldn't know anything about that," she said with a small 
shrug. 
 
"Sorry. I'm sort of collecting my thoughts. I've got a lot to 
chew on tonight," he said as he gave her a small grin. 
 
"I'd noticed," she said as she laughed a little. 
 
An angry voice cut the pair's joy off. 
 
"You." 
 
Carrot froze. "Aw man. Haven't I had enough today?" 
 
Tuxedo Mask was glaring at him. The older boy was standing in 
front of them on the sidewalk with a scowl on his face. 
 
"I'm kinda busy right now, we can play later," said Carrot as 
he jerked his head towards Michiru. 
 
"You wouldn't hang around him if you knew what he was really 
like. I'll do you a favor and let you leave." 
 
Carrot frowned at this. "What a dick. Just get lost Mamoron, 
I don't have time to play Tux-kabob again." 
 
The angry tuxedo clad man cracked his knuckles and twirled 
his cane around his hand. "You'll pay for that." 
 
"Great. Now I've pissed him off more," grumbled Carrot as he 
moved in front of Michiru. 
 
"Stop it right now!" snapped the girl angrily. 
 
Carrot glanced back over his shoulder. "Hey! I haven't done 
anything!" 
 
Mamoru took the opportunity to strike while he was 
distracted. "Take this villain!" He lashed out at the boy with 
his cane and connected on the side of his head. Carrot was thrown 
into the glass window of the bar they were standing in front of 
and groaned in pain as he lay in the shattered glass. 
 
"Carrot!" cried Michiru as she started forward. 
 
Mamoru blocked her path with his cane and frowned at her. 
"This is personal. Stay out of the way." 
 
Carrot was staggering to his feet with a scowl on his face. 
He wiped the back of his mouth with the back of his wrist and 
simply glared at the older boy. There was a large purple mark on 
the side of his face. "You're damn right it is." 
 
Mamoru snorted. "You'll pay for your crimes now." 
 
Carrot glanced around. Most of the patrons were watching the 
fight in surprise. They didn't seem too offended by the intrusion 
and were actually looking forward to the fight. 
 
The bartender was suitably pissed and dropped the glass in 
his hand onto the floor. 
 
Carrot glanced at Michiru and snorted. "I'm sick of running 
pansy. Come on." 
 
Mamoru looked surprised as the boy stepped back into a combat 
stance. 
 
Carrot didn't waste time. He charged forward and slammed his 
fist into the older boy's face hard. Mamoru was thrown to the 
side by the blow and barely managed to keep his feet. Carrot 
kneed him in the chest as he staggered and sent him in the other 
direction. The third strike was a spinning kick that caught 
Mamoru right in the jaw. The boy fell onto a chair and toppled 
backwards. He rubbed at the wound and staggered to his feet. 
 
"I'll kill you for that!" He charged forward and readied his 
cane. 
 
Carrot jumped over the slashing strike and over the older 
boy's head. He landed behind him and performed a spinning back 
kick that hit Mamoru square in the back. The boy staggered 
forward and hit the jukebox in the corner head first. He slumped 
to the ground and passed out cold. 
 
Carrot walked over to the bartender and smirked. "Send the 
bill for the repairs to Mamoru Chiba." 
 
A familiar guitar riff started from the jukebox where the boy 
had landed and Carrot arched his eyebrow as he glanced back at 
it. He took a pair of sunglasses from one of the drunken patron's 
pocket and walked through the window singing along with the song 
as he placed them on. 
 
"On the day I was born, the nurses all gathered around, and 
they gazed in wide wonder at the joy they had found. The head 
nurse spoke up, said leave this one alone. She could tell right 
away, that I was bad to the bone..." 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Makoto sat with Rei at the shrine. Both of them had serious 
frowns on their faces. 
 
Sitting between them was a newspaper. "We got lucky this 
time," said Rei. 
 
"I can't get in touch with the others. None of their parents 
will let me speak with them," said Makoto as she hung her head. 
 
"I know. This isn't going well. This new senshi though..." 
 
"We need to contact her somehow. Without Usagi, we need more 
help," said Rei as she stared at the flames. 
 
Makoto nodded. "I know you hate to admit that." 
 
"We aren't winning," she replied calmly. "This creature, and 
our current state is proof enough of that." 
 
"What can we do?" asked Makoto. 
 
"I'm not sure, but we have to do something..." Rei closed her 
eyes and sighed. "Maybe the flame will tell me something? I don't 
have the strength right now though. There is nothing we can do 
until tomorrow." 
 
Makoto nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then." 
 
"Yes," said Rei. 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
Haruka was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. "What is this 
power?" 
 
The pen in her hands shone in the moonlight, glowed with an 
eerie power. "I know how to use it. I knew what to say, I knew 
who I was...Sailor Uranus..." 
 
The senshi, she thought about what she knew about them. What 
she had said to the monster that day. "Do I really want that?" 
She closed her eyes and relaxed. 
 
Deep in her mind, the face of that little girl was all she 
could see. "What do I do now?" 
 
No answer came to her and she frowned. "Spiderman." 
 
She knew who he was, but what good did it do her? 
 
"Damn. How can I know so much, and still be so damn 
confused?" 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
On a rooftop in Tokyo... 
 
The moonlight shone down on the shattered remains of the 
giant sign. Yellow tape surrounded the site and various markers 
were drawn onto the ground. The scene was silent, serene. 
 
A ripping sound filled the air suddenly. The sound of metal 
twisting and writhing as it snapped and broke. The surface of the 
sign broke, a green arm reached for the moonlight with tattered 
rags hanging from it as it reached and clawed at the light. A 
bright light formed in its palm and it began to grow rapidly. 
 
A resounding boom filled the night sky, and then a horrible 
laughter. 
 
"Free! I'm freee! HA ha ha ha ha ha haaaa!" 
 
The Goblin's laughter echoed in the night as it sailed off 
into the moonlight. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++ 
 
TBC... 
 
Next Time: The Dark Tower!