Northwest of Los Angeles (local time: early morning)…
It was a simple little town located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean due south of the Santa Ynez Mountains thirty kilometres from Santa Barbara. Nestled in a valley that opened right onto the beach, with U.S. Highway 101 running through the centre of the town, it appeared to the well-experienced eye of Albus Dumbledore that this had once been a thriving industrial centre — no doubt centred on the fisheries given the little natural harbour to his south — that had eventually evolved over the years into a quiet little bedroom community for America's second-largest city. Nodding in quiet appreciation — unlike other European-style wand-wizards, the current headmaster of Hogwarts did his best to keep up with the trends of "muggle" society even though he was more familiar with events in Britain than America — he then gazed on the mail box in front of the property he had just portkeyed onto seconds before.
"Wakefield…" he read before smiling. My! What an auspicious English name! he then mused to himself as he opened the front gate and made his way to the door of the well-constructed home nestled in a clearly affluent neighbourhood. I wonder if they're distantly related to the Wakefields of West Yorkshire; decent magical family…
Arriving at the door, the elderly archmage — who had quickly altered his normal wizarding clothing for proper attire for a normal man his physical age; he also had set up a magical notice-me-not field to prevent any of the neighbours from seeing him — knocked. He was quick to hear muffled footfalls from the inside…and then stepped back to project his most grandfatherly smile as the door opened. "Yes?"
The girl gazing at him was a stunningly attractive teenager of about the same age as Moroboshi Ataru. Possessing the slightly bronzed skin most people in this part of California seemed to have as a birthright, she had blonde hair centre-parted and styled in a flowing long pageboy cut that reached just past her shoulders. She also had the most beautiful deep blue eyes Dumbledore had ever seen. "Miss Wakefield, I presume?" he then politely asked as he gave her a polite bow of the head.
A nod. "Yes, I'm Jessica Wakefield. Who are you?"
A sigh. "Forgive me, my dear…"
"Who is it, Jess?" a voice that sounded the very same as the young lady who had answered the door, that echoed by footfalls.
Before he could stop himself, his wand had slipped from under his tweed jacket into his hand as he pointed at her face. "Finite Incantatem!"
A flash of light then burst forth to catch both women — the other was an exact twin of the one who called herself Jessica, but with her hair drawn back in something like a ponytail; she was also more conservatively dressed — in the face! Only THEN did Dumbledore realise what he had just done. "Oh, my…!" he gasped.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, BUDDY!"
He spun around…
…and then gaped on seeing the black-clad young man — one who was quite lanky, with wavy brown hair and brown eyes behind goggles — standing there, the remnants of a magical teleportation circle fading from around his feet. Quickly spotting the many silver runes on his clothing — the cut of which made Dumbledore think immediately of the female members of a seldom-known superhero group from Toronto, the Heroes Alliance of Canada — he then focused his mage-sight on the younger man. It told him plenty.
"I mean no harm, young man," he then said as he moved to hold the Elder Wand in a way that didn't threaten the younger mage… and a powerful one, he was quick to sense, though he could also sense a lot of technology on the fellow as well. "I was sent here by a Professor Grigori Wyszynski to perform a magic cancellation spell on the Misses Wakefield here. I assume you might have some knowledge of this."
On hearing that name, the newcomer relaxed. "Professor Wyszynski sent you?!" He then spat out, "DAMN! No wonder this…!" He then began muttering out in a very alien language that Dumbledore couldn't BEGIN to recognise, though the passion in his voice clearly indicated such ripe oaths were not meant for polite company.
"WINSTON JOSEPH EGBERT! How DARE you swear like that?!"
Dumbledore jerked, and then he turned to see Jessica's sister — Elizabeth, he then remembered from the note that had been handed to him by Grigori Wyszynski minutes before back in Tomobiki — glaring at the now-blushing young mage. Even Jessica herself didn't look impressed. "Yeah, Egbert! That was pretty raw even for ME!" She then put her fists to her hips. "And when the HELL did YOU get GIFTED?!"
A chuckle. "Oh, about four years ago. Right after you stopped that tsunami that was about to hit Indonesia all by your lonesome." A wink. "Rampage."
Dumbledore gaped. "Rampage…?" he breathed out in awed shock before he gazed on a now-blushing Jessica. He then gazed on Elizabeth. "You must be the Academician, then! Why, you were just…" A pause. "Only twelve years old, I believe…"
"Well, it was nothing!" Jessica stated, giggling in embarrassment.
"Oh?" Elizabeth teased as she gazed on her younger sister. "You certainly thought it was the most eventful thing in your life!" She then winked at Dumbledore. "After all, didn't Ataru actually give you your first-ever kiss with a boy after that?"
Mega-blush time! "LIZ!"
The man born Winston Egbert — he was known as Lightmage while disguised; he had the ability to manipulate technology with the magical force known to Yizibajohei simply as the "Chaos" — roared with laughter as Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, I would certainly consider that a reward!" the Hogwarts headmaster then mused before he gazed on his current hosts. "Grigori came to the Moroboshi home this evening to awaken Ataru's memories of his life prior to the Oni coming to this world. He told me of this planet named 'Yiziba' and how Ataru had been living there for the better part of nine years with an adopted older sister that is actually the living spirit of the…"
"Saikō Jinseijutsu, also known now as Moroboshi Negako," Elizabeth stated. "C'mon inside, Professor Dumbledore. You're lucky our parents and our brother aren't here at this time; Steven's spending quality time with his girlfriend and Mom and Dad are enjoying a weekend away from the Valley. We'll fill you in on the details."
"Yeah! While you're at it, Liz, can you scan us to find out who the jerk was that wiped out all our memories?!" Jessica snarled as she followed her sister inside.
"Naturally. Winston, I hoped you put a…"
"Notice-me-not charm. Actually, the professor here had put one up himself, so I didn't have to bother," the transformed class clown of the junior year at Sweet Valley High School stated with a wink. "Still, NEVER leave home without it, Liz!"
"A wise precaution, young man," Dumbledore stated…
Minutes later…
"Fortunately for yourself, Mistress, there was no physical damage to your memory functions when the empathic bond you share with Mistress Rampage allowed whatever suppression function was used on the memories Master Ataru possessed of his adventures with yourself and all the others he guided to Yiziba to receive Gifts," the human-sounding voice of the supercomputer Elizabeth Wakefield addressed as "Nexus One" then reported. "According to what memories I can now scan from Mistress Rampage, it appears agents of the United Nations Special Committee on Alien Activities were the culprits."
"Well, that strikes me as logical," Elizabeth — now in the black jumpsuit uniform with the silver professor's mortarboard cap insignia on her left breast which announced her to be the current incarnation of the Great Sage of Yiziba's Circle of Thought, the Academician — stated as she tapped controls on her master keyboard. Before her, several holographic screens were flashing data in a language and alphabet that made Albus Dumbledore simply blink in confusion. Of course, entering what seemed to be something straight out of a bad science fiction movie — which he never really cared for; he preferred the clean atmosphere displayed in shows like Star Trek — always confused him. "If the Oni were going to be sportsman-like about their 'invasion,' having a man who was effectively grandmaster-rank in his family's school of ninjutsu would not make a good impression with people. Nexus, did you note any involvement by magicals when Ataru had his memories altered?"
"Negative, Mistress. However, given Headmaster Dumbledore's use of the Incantation Cancellation spell to restore both yourself and Mistress Rampage to proper function, the conclusion is quite obvious: There WAS magical involvement. And most likely from those who were trained in the European wand schools of magic."
A sigh. "Right—"
"May I ask you something, my dear?"
"What is it, Professor?" the Academician asked as she tapped controls.
"How is it you know me?" Dumbledore asked. "I have worked with more open magicals around the world. Stephen Strange and Zatanna Zatara being two of them. But I do not recall if either you or your sister ever did anything with them."
"No, we didn't," the elder of the Wakefield twins answered as she finished her work, thus producing a screen now showing an overhead view of the western wards of Tōkyō proper and the cities bordering them to the west. "Please understand that it's not my secret to tell, Professor, but there are those who are like myself, Jessica and Winston — we all received metahuman Gifts from the same source-point on Yiziba, including ones which give power over what you call 'magic' — AND are now residents of the wizarding magical enclaves in Britain that your Ministry of Magic governs in the name of Her Majesty the Queen. As you might know, metahumans are exempted in Britain by the Magical Royal Proclamation of 1946 from being subjected to the various secrecy clauses in the Separation Act of 1692; here in America, that's was allowed thanks to the Thirteenth Amendment of the Magical Constitution of the United States." As the elderly headmaster of Hogwarts nodded — that particular Magical Royal Proclamation had always been a huge bone of contention between the Ministry of Magic and the local superhero group Excalibur, which was led by a man claiming to possess a very powerful artefact created by Merlin himself! — the Academician added, "We won't violate that sort of thing, Professor. It just causes more problems in the end and hurts people — on both sides of the secrecy divide — that don't deserve to be hurt. Okay…"
Lightmage blinked. "How bad is it?"
"Not bad at all," the Academician stated. "I have to compliment your friends keeping that magical barrier around Tomobiki up, Professor. Not to mention the illusion spells that you're using to fool our visitors from abroad that all of Earth is now under threat. No doubt, this was at the prompting of the Men in Black?"
"It was," Dumbledore affirmed with a nod. "Though I'll have to speak to Zacharias about this whole matter. While I believe I understand what motivated his people to do what they did to Ataru — I do remember the invasion launched by the Dominators some years back — to allow Lum's people to not feel so threatened by us, what ended up happening…especially to all of you…" A shake of the head. "Oh, dear…this is not something anyone should approve of. How many were affected?"
"Well, final count of all those who got their Gifts thanks to Ataru before everyone's memories were changed was about eight hundred-and-twenty," the Academician answered. "Of all of them, I'd say about fifty — myself and Jessica included — spent enough time with him to have been fully affected by this." A sigh. "Sadly, that includes a lot of the more powerful members of our overall group. Infinity for example."
A shake of the head. "I don't recall such a person…"
"Did Doctor Strange or Ms. Zatanna ever tell you of a girl who could warp Reality around like it was silly-putty, Professor?" Lightmage asked.
Dumbledore perked. "Yes, I do recall them speaking of this girl. Stephen actually stated that it was quite fortunate that such a girl — he never revealed her name to me — was so kind-hearted; if she wasn't, she would be quite the danger to all of Earth."
"Well, we'll need her," the Academician stated. "Fortunately, she lives in Nakano, which is just to the southeast of Tomobiki. One quick spell later…"
"And the 'Goddess Who Walks Amongst Men' flies again!"
The elder Wakefield sister chuckled as she looked over…before she gaped on seeing her twin come out from a change room in this hidden underground laboratory that the reborn Great Sage of the Circle of Thought had installed under the Wakefields' back yard. "Jess!"
Lightmage looked—and then he moaned. "Oh, Jess! That's TOO much!"
"What?!" the reborn Charging Belle of the Heavens, Rampage, then asked while she moved to model herself. Now wearing a jumpsuit restyled without sleeves and her collar drawn up around her neck — the original uniform worn by the transformed Jessica Wakefield was of the same pattern as her sister's uniform as the Academician, though coloured sky blue overall with clouds of silver birds on her legs and flying up her sides to cross her abdomen in an "X" formation to go over her shoulders; more birds flocked on her sleeves to her elbows — she had a more street-smart look. "I needed a change!"
The Academician sighed. "Jess, what makes you think that Ataru will like that?"
A purr escaped Rampage. "I'll MAKE him like it, Liz!"
Lightmage — who had always harboured a deep crush on Jessica Wakefield — was trying desperately NOT to drool, especially over the fact that Rampage's new uniform now had a deep V-cut in the top that exposed a lot of cleavage. "I sure do…!"
Dumbledore chuckled…
Minutes later, back in Tomobiki (local time: after midnight)…
"Dumbledore-kōchōsensei!"
Albus Dumbledore breathed out. "Ah, that was interesting! Hello, everyone!" he then said as he nodded to the group of mages — all from the Kantō Magical Association; unlike European countries, Japan didn't have a centralised Ministry of Magic though there was a Maho-Shōgun who directly answered to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and served as a coordinator between the regional groups — he had been working with. "I trust there hasn't been any new developments since I left?"
"Nothing at all," one of the local mages, Akashi Yūsuke — his daughter, Dumbledore knew, was one of the fortunate girls to be in the homeroom class taught by the son of the Thousand Master, Negi Springfield — answered before he turned…and then blinked. "Eh?"
"Oh, ye gods…!" another mage, Kataragi Megane, gasped. "Rampage!"
"And the Academician?!" Sister Shakti, a mage who was also a Roman Catholic nun — she had trained originally at the Vatican's magical school before coming to the Mahora Academy and becoming one of the leaders at the local convent — exclaimed.
"Unfortunately so," the elder of the Wakefield twins stated; now in the field, she wore a specially-designed set of goggles over her eyes which could link to all her equipment, including everything on her person. She then waved to Lightmage, who nodded politely. "Our technomage friend here is Lightmage; he's from our hometown."
"'Lightmage?'"
That was Takahata Takamichi, a personal friend of the Thousand Master and his son. As the Wakefield twins gazed knowingly on their classmate, Lightmage chuckled. "I spend a lot of time on Magicnet chatting with others on magical theory and how magic can intertwine with technology," he then explained. "I use my battle-name as my net-name."
"Oh!" both the Academician and Rampage breathed out.
The other mages chuckled. "So what does bring you here?" Shakti then asked. "We were always in control of the situation concerning the Oni coming here."
"Sister, Moroboshi Ataru is the man responsible for giving my sister and I — not to mention 821 other people — superhuman powers," the Academician answered in perfect Japanese; all three Sweet Valley natives were fluent. "Since he was six, he lived with the Lady Moroboshi Negako on the planet Yiziba, a world about 300 light-years from here which was — up to three billion years ago when they disappeared — the Forge of the Seekers." A pause. "That was where Major Raeburn's Power Jewel was created."
Jaws dropped. "My heavens!" Akashi breathed out. "Why did he do this?"
"Because the population of Yiziba — thanks very much to a very nihilist attitude that settled in amongst the males of the population — has now dropped well below the self-sustainability point," the transformed Elizabeth Wakefield stated. "Two thousand years ago at the Dawn of Power — when all living Yizibajohei save for the very young were Gifted with metahuman powers — the planet's population was at a stable, sustainable size of about six hundred million people. Today, it's less than ten thousand."
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
And then…
"So Ataru-kun was looking for ways to help BOOST the population, you mean," Takahata concluded as he took a deep inhale of his cigarette.
"In essence, yes. Though he never really sat down to think about it," the Academician stated as an amused smile crossed her face, she sharing a knowing look with her sister. "As he termed it when he first met my sister and I five years ago, he wanted to give 'nice pretty girls' such as we special 'gifts' we could use to keep us safe from all the crazy metas running around the planet at the time." A shrug. "He did."
"I don't regret it," Rampage noted.
"The people of Indonesia certainly don't," her sister affirmed.
More laughter from the crowd around them. "Well, young Ataru's intentions obviously were for the greater good. Both of Earth and Yiziba," Dumbledore stated before he perked. "Eh?"
The other mages then tensed as they sensed someone approach:
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(Posted Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:21)
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