He had done research on both humans and their media and on the Senshi. Conclusion: scantily clad females that fit their ideas of attractiveness were the preferred sort of opponent for several reasons. The human populace would find such less repellant and more acceptable than something truly alien. He was here to conquer, but he truly meant to do so with as little disruption as taking over a planet could entail.
What he'd come up with were artiforms. They lived and breathed and ate and drank. They were biological organisms crafted to appeal to the wide variety of humans not only on a physical basis, but in terms of personality and general image. As there were nine Senshi based on the nine planets of the solar system, he had come up with his Guardian Team of nine as well. As the Senshi had a unifying theme, so too would his own contestants.
The crowd went silent as the first of the Team strode forward, practically radiating confidence and strength. She was a tall woman with blue-black hair and curves that might have fit a stripper, but her height and obvious dignity made that clearly unlikely. "Hello, people of Earth. My name is Europa. I am a warrior, a professional soldier, and I am pleased to be able to contest with Earth's warriors here today."
Uranus seemed stunned as she realized this other girl towered over her but quickly recovered and tried to crush the other's hand in the handshake. She winced as the pressure was returned in full.
"Uhm, actually, I'm the leader of the Senshi," said Moon quietly as it was obvious now that letting Uranus be the spokesman so far had resulted in this misconception going on.
"Ah, excellent tactic," said Europa as she shook hands with Sailor Moon far more gently than Haruka had. "You let your fellow soldier act as the group's spokesman so as to quietly observe in the background and not become the primary immediate target. I'm looking forward to seeing your strategies in the battles ahead!"
"Ah, yeah, right," said Moon, not missing the appreciative murmur from the crowd as they considered this angle. That it was absolutely not true was besides the point. Sailor Moon knew it was not true, and was pretty sure Europa knew it wasn't true.
Europa had been loosely patterned on the concept of "Wonder Woman" that Kachoo had found. A warrior and leader with wisdom, strength, and battle knowledge. The next one had been patterned on a more Japanese concept.
The next soldier did three midair flips to land on the stage and bounce around enthusiastically. "Niaow. I'm Amalthea! Yay team! I hope we can all be good friends despite being opponents! Niaow! Prrrrrrr."
The largely Japanese press focussed on a real anime style blonde catgirl with a bubbly cheerleader personality with all the professional detachment of pirahna at a herd of cattle being forded across their river.
The next girl radiated dangerous and sensuous at the same time. Perhaps it was her leather outfit. Perhaps it was the whip at her belt. Perhaps it was her athletic curves and the way she looked over her opponents and licked her lips. She looked vaguely Arabic-Asian with green eyes that seemed to flash as she stood aside the still bouncing catgirl. "I am Io. It is my hope that I do not humiliate my opponents. Well, not too much. At first."
Neptune subtly nudged Uranus and whispered that it would be best not to drool like that on international TV.
After a superhero Amazon"Europa", an S&M-ish "Io", and a cheerleader catgirl named "Amalthea" - the more scientifically inclined were already figuring out the various others in the opponents team.
The girl with glasses was buxom enough, but her clothes and manner screamed "bookworm" and "shy" as much as Ami's usually did. "Errr. Hello. I'm Ganymede. N-n-nice to meet you."
A cameraman was close enough to Uranus to pick up her comment. "She's the weakest link. Send all your attacks her way."
Across the globe, various young men felt protective instincts cutting in.
Ganymede took out something like a Palm Pilot and began fiddling nervously with it.
"Callisto," said a freckled redhead with a hint of Irish accent. Then in a very unladylike manner, cracked her knuckles and grinned at Uranus in a manner that indicated she was so ready to commence a beatdown.
"That's the first five, so they would correspond to the Inners," said Pluto quietly. "I would expect the next four to be their 'heavy hitters'."
Europa, Amalthea, Io, Ganymede, and Callisto stood with varying degrees of comfort among the flashes of cameras and shouted questions.
"There will be time for questions later," said Europa with quiet dignity.
"I like fishies! What kind of guy? Uhm. Someone with a warm lap and who likes cuddling! Niaow!" Amalthea could obviously care less about dignity.
"I-I-I-I don't know about such things!" Ganymede declared as she partially hid behind her teammates.
Io merely yawned behind one hand and looked imperiously bored.
Callisto ignored the questions and looked over the Senshi as if trying to figure out which was the toughest.
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(Posted Sat, 14 Jun 2003 18:48)
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