4. Sister Act

Location: ???

	“Where am I?” Ryan said, waking up suddenly.
	“You’re awake,” came a soothing female voice from another 
room.  “You are in my apartment.  My name is Sandy, Sandy 
Noctan.”
	“I am Ryan,” he replied.
	The apartment seemed nicely furnished from where Ryan lay, on 
some kind of day bed.  The colors were soft pastels, to match the 
voice of the woman in the kitchen area, and the room was lit with 
natural light from several large windows, giving it an airy feel.
	She stepped into the living room area, where Ryan was now 
lying.  She had long white hair, cascading over her shoulders.  
Her eyes were dark and twinkled in the light, and she was wearing 
an opaque black silk night slip, cut low enough to show plenty, 
but not too much.
	“I must apologize for what I have done,” she said.  “I was 
the driver of that truck that sped past your tent last night.  
When I realized what I had done, I returned to find your body, 
floating on a chunk of ice.  My hovercraft almost couldn’t get 
close enough to reach you.  If you are hurt in any way, I will 
find a doctor to fix the damage.  I was in a hurry to reach New 
Rome.  I didn’t mean to harm anyone.”
	“I think I am unharmed,” Ryan said, “and I had some nice 
dreams while I was unconscious.”  He checked his hand, still 
under the covers.  The ring was there.  Something else, however, 
was missing.  “I am...where are my clothes?”
	“They were soaked,” Sandy said.  “I had to remove them so you 
wouldn’t get sick.  You have nothing to be ashamed of.  Your body 
is quite...pleasant.”  She smirked as he blushed and pulled up 
the blanket to cover his chest.  “Men,” she giggled.
	She turned and walked to the kitchen.  “How do you like your 
eggs?”
	“You do not need to cook for me,” Ryan said.
	“Too late,” Sandy said from the kitchen.  “Now how do you 
like your eggs?”
	“Over easy,” Ryan said, unnerved.
	“Oh really?  That is quite a coincidence,” Sandy said.  She 
peered around the partition and her voice lowered, “because I 
like mine over hard.”
	Ryan felt his blush deepen.  Was this woman for real?  Sandy 
stepped out of the kitchen area with two plates, each one with 
eggs, bacon, toast, and sausage links.  She patted Ryan’s legs to 
get him to sit up.  As soon as his legs were out of the way, she 
sat down, pinning the blanket under her.  Ryan was forced to sit 
closer to her to keep himself covered.  She handed him his plate.
	“That is an interesting ring,” she said.
	“It is...a class ring,” Ryan lied.
	“You are in high school?”
	“Oh, no,” Ryan said.  “I am twenty.  I merely wear the ring 
because I like it.”
	“It doesn’t have any writing on it.  How odd.  You know what 
else is odd?” she asked.
	“What?” he asked, taking a bite of his toast, dripping with 
yellow liquid from the eggs.
	“You don’t speak like most guys your age,” she answered.  
“You speak like you’ve been raised in a palace, like you’re 
royalty.”
	“So do you,” Ryan replied, causing Sandy’s eyes to widen.  “I 
won’t pry if you won’t.”
	“Agreed,” Sandy said, her face looking a bit more relaxed.  
“Do you have a new identity yet?”
	“No,” Ryan said.
	“How about Ryan Noctan,” she said, grinning.  
	This time Ryan’s eyes widened.  “You want me to pose as your 
husband?” he asked with a surprised tone.
	Sandy’s expression softened.  “You are very shy,” she said.  
“Very well, you could still be Ryan Noctan, but I could dye your 
hair white to match mine.  You could be my brother.”
	Ryan felt more comfortable about that.  “It is funny,” he 
said, “that you were fleeing Carthage as I was fleeing New Rome.”
	“I guess our paths were destined to collide,” she said.
	“Have you ever had a brother before?” Ryan asked.
	“Two of them, actually,” Sandy said.  “I miss my younger 
brother a lot.”
	“And your older brother?” Ryan asked.
	“Crown prince...” Sandy began.
	“No need to go any farther,” Ryan cut in.  “I have the same 
older brother problem you do.”
	“Any sisters?”
	“No,” Ryan said, “but I have always wanted one.”
	“It is settled then,” Sandy said with a smile.  “Tomorrow, I 
will take you to my friend, Ayre, to get your new identification.  
He is a top notch counterfeiting genius.  Today I have some 
errands to run, including getting some white hair dye.  After 
all, you will be the one who needs the disguise - we are in New 
Rome.”
	Sandy stood up and took their empty plates into the kitchen 
and Ryan collected the rest of the blanket around him.  He stood 
and walked out to the balcony.  Sandy’s apartment was in a high 
rise that overlooked most of the city, including his palace.  
Ryan sighed and rested his elbows on the flat railing.
	“Come back in here, Ryan,” Sandy said.  “You don’t have any 
clothes on, remember?”
	Ryan snapped out of his reverie and came back in, finally 
noticing how cold it was outside.  Sandy had his clothing in her 
hands, washed and folded.
	“Thank you,” Ryan said, taking them and following Sandy to 
the bathroom.  He stepped in and she took the blanket from him.
	Ryan blushed as he was exposed.  “You have such a great 
body,” she said to him.  “It is a pity we will only be brother 
and sister.”  She laughed as she pulled the door shut.  “Go ahead 
and shower.  I’ll be gone when you come out,” she added through 
the door.
	“All right,” he said.  He dimmed the lights, but kept them 
just bright enough to see by.  Sandy had many good qualities, but 
she did use much more electricity than she should have been.  It 
was as if she were used to the twenty-first century power 
surplus.
	Ryan showered and dressed, then went though the apartment and 
systematically turned off every light and needless waste of 
power.  The morning sunlight was enough to brighten the already 
cheery apartment.  He stepped out onto the balcony to get a 
breath of fresh air and to take another look at the palace.
	His mind wandered for hours as he stood there.  It was a warm 
day, nearly thirty degrees and the heat from the apartment was 
helping.  He had no idea what time it was when he saw the black 
smoke start to rise from one of the buildings near his own.
	Listening to the fire trucks, he noticed his ring flashing.  
“I take it this means I should check this out,” he said, holding 
his ring aloft.  “Saggitarius Power, Make Up!”  Within moments, 
he was armored and jumping from rooftop to rooftop toward the 
smoke.
	The smoke was dissipating, showing several people sprawled on 
the snow covered pavement.  A metallic creature with several 
tentacles and several exhaust pipes held a victim in the air, a 
shimmering energy shifting from the victim to the monster.
	“I suppose I’m expected to make some sort of pithy comment 
before I smoke this thing,” Senshi Saggitarius said to himself.
	“Sailor Moon used give a lame canned speech,” came a sultry 
feminine voice from behind him.  Senshi Saggitarius turned to see 
a shapely woman floating a few feet above him, over the side of 
the building.  She was in a tuxedo jacket modified into a form 
fitting dress, and a top hat with a netted veil around the top 
half of her face, as well as long black boots and gloves.  She 
held a cane with a clear crystal on the end.  
	“You don’t have to say anything, though,” she continued.  She 
raised her hand and a portal opened near the monster, who stepped 
through, the portal closing behind him.  “I just brought Bot 
Smogula to see if there were any defenders to get in my way.”
	“You’ve been here before?”
	“Not in person,” she replied.  “The Doom Phantom was one of 
my creatures.  Have you heard of him?”
	“The one who Sailor Moon was fighting when she froze the 
world?” the scout asked.
	“Yes,” the woman said, “that was unfortunate.  When that 
happened, we were forced to leave, but I’ve come back to finish 
the job.”
	“You want to take over the world, Miss...?” he asked.
	“Stardust,” she answered, “and yes, I will take over.”
	“Go ahead and try,” Saggitarius said with a grin.
	“A little cocky, aren’t we?” Stardust said.  “Why don’t we 
make a game out of it?”
	“What kind of a game?” Senshi Saggitarius asked skeptically.
	“I’ll hatch a diabolic plot to take over the world.  If you 
can’t stop it, you must surrender to me.  If you can, I’ll lay 
off for a week and let you rest up.”
	“Your deal sounds pleasing,” he answered, “but why would you 
make such an offer?”
	“Because you’re cute,” she said simply.  “Nice insignia on 
your little outfit.”
	“It’s the symbol of Saggitarius.  I am Senshi Saggitarius.”
	“Nice to meet you,” Stardust said.  “I take it you accept my 
challenge?”
	“Why not?  When do we start?” Saggitarius asked.
	“Consider today a victory for yourself,” Stardust said.  “So 
my next plot will be next Friday.”
	The Stellar Senshi looked down at the people lying on the 
street.  “Will they be all right?”
	“I just took energy from them.  They will all wake in a few 
hours with a headache, but they will live as long as someone gets 
them out of the cold.”
	“I guess I will be busy for a while,” he said.
	“I’m here to take over,” Stardust said, “not to kill people.  
I’ll help you.”
	Stardust floated to the ground and Senshi Saggitarius jumped 
down to follow.  They spent the next fifteen minutes hauling 
unconscious victims into the warmth of the nearest building.
	“I have to go now,” Stardust said after they finished.  “I 
have things to do and plans to make.”  She opened up a portal and 
floated through, blowing him a kiss as it closed.
	Senshi Saggitarius  retraced his path back to the balcony of 
Sandy’s apartment and transformed back into Ryan.
	An hour later, Sandy came home and turned on all the lights.
	“What did you do while I was gone?” she asked.
	“Nothing much,” Ryan said.  “Just thought about my life.”
	“Things may seem strange right now,” Sandy said, “but with me 
around, it will never be boring.”

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