drillmaster

“Are you sure this will work Miss Hakubi?” Alfred asked Washu upon returning from stately Wayne Manor with several carrots. Washu had enlisted the butler’s aid by sending him back through her inter-dimensional to raid his kitchen for vegetables.

“Very much so. Ryo-Ohki is the only one at the house right now. Though I have temporarily severed the link from my lab to the house, I have been monitoring them as best as I could,” she explained. “It seems that those tainted by the Anti-Life Equation are sent to work at some kind of labor job to ‘Die in Darkseid’s name!’ or some crap like that. That just leaves our little cabbit friend.

“A cat-rabbit hybrid from outer space that eats carrots? I can’t be the only person here to find that scenario preposterous!” Damian complained.

“You are standing in the middle of another dimension in the presence of aliens who are older than our entire planet,” Barbara pointed out to her former boss’ son. “You pick the animal of all things to question?”

“*TT* What do you know Gordon?” Damian scoffed.

“Enough chatter from the peanut gallery!” Washu snapped. “I don’t know how long we have alone before the others get back. If Ryoko or Ayeka return, we will be in major trouble! As highly as you perceive yourself to be Mister Wayne, I do not wish for you to experience the full might of a wanted space pirate or a Jurian princess.”

“What’s the matter Hakubi: afraid to see me massacre your little menagerie of alien freaks? I’ll sneak into the shack and get the rodent without an issue,” he boasted.

“Master Damian, I’m not sure if…”

“Let him be Mr. Pennyworth,” Kiyone cut him off. “If his boasting has any merit, it will be worth it. If not, then he learns a valuable lesson.”

Washu laughed. “Spoken like a true cop!”

“I can help!” Mihoshi offered.

The Boy Wonder laughed. “Please, a blonde ditz like you will only get in my way!” With that, Damian opened up the newly created door and disappeared from the lab.

Mihoshi started to sniffle. “I was only trying to help!” Her crying was met with a handkerchief provided by Alfred.

“There, there. I must apologize for Master Damian. He lacks any proper guidance from a strong parental figure. His mother…well Talia Al Ghul was never a nurturing woman,” Alfred consoled.

“Would anyone be mad if I left him there?” Washu asked in a completely serious voice.

“WASHU! He might be a brat but you can’t do that!” Kiyone yelled.

“I’m kidding! Seriously…” Washu said.

“Were you?” Oracle asked her, eyeing her suspiciously. “It didn’t sound like you were joking.”

“Hey, we need the runt. Without him, we can’t get Ryo-Ohki. Without Ryo-Ohki, we can’t test out our Anti-Anti Life symbol. Without that, we are screwed and damned to this pocket dimension while the universe collapses in on itself.”

Oracle never dropped her stern gaze, but gave a small nod. “How logical.”

“Can we get a video of the house to watch Damian?” Mihoshi asked, wiping away a tear from her eye.

Washu punched some buttons on her air computer. “Give me half a moment Mihoshi. Let’s see what we can find…”

In moments, the image of Tenchi’s living room appeared. It seemed to be unoccupied and was a bit disheveled. Apparently the occupants did not care that much for cleanliness; only to serve Darkseid. Washu flipped from vantage point to vantage point, searching for some sign of either Damian or Ryo-Ohki.

“That’s funny; I can’t find either of them…” Washu muttered.

“Wait; go back to that other screen!” Kiyone interrupted. “Look! There is something going on outside that window!”

“Let’s increase the image by 50% and clear up the image,” Washu said to herself. Her furious typing picked up an alarming pace. Even to a trained eye like Barbara, it was impossible to see anything but a blur.

“Is that…smoke?” Kiyone gasped.

Washu blinked then hit herself in the head. “That fool, he let her outside! That means only one thing…”

The group looked on as Damian ran past the window at an alarming speed. Trailing behind him was various blasts of red energy. A giant shadow engulfed the house but whatever was chasing him was out of the computer’s view.

“What is happening Miss Hakubi?” Alfred asked; worry breaking through his tough, proper English façade.

“Ryo-Ohki has gone and turned herself into a spaceship.”

Alfred nodded. “Well, that would explain why she was out of frame.” He paused for a moment and considered what she just told him. “Hold on, did you say ‘spaceship?’”

“She did,” Kiyone answered, looking intently at the screen. “Her species has the ability to alter their bodies to become spiked spacecrafts.”

“That makes no logical sense!” Oracle countered. “Why would there exist a creature that can adjust their body mass over 100 times their original size and change their internal structures enough to not only house another living thing but to become a completely sentient star ship?!”

“Miss Gordon, in the past several years we have met a Martian from Mars, evil Gods, magicians, a woman who can grow several times her own height, a princess born from clay, and no less than three people whose body structure has been altered into living clay. It would stand to reason that such creatures that defy the laws of physics exist in the galaxy,” Alfred reasoned. “Still, the fact that the spaceship in question eats carrots is a tad comical, if must say.”

Barbara blinked. She looked from Alfred to the untouched tray of carrots that he brought back from Wayne Manor. She began to hang her head in frustration. “Damain didn’t grab any of the carrots at all, did he?”

Mihoshi happily skipped over to the table. “Oh, I’ll bring them to him!” She grabbed two of them and walked through the door.

“That boy is so stubborn. I’ll…wait, what did Mihoshi just say?” Washu said, realization dawning upon her. “Oh crap.”

“Blast it Mihoshi; you are going to get yourself killed! I’ll go get her!” Kiyone said, running to the door. Washu got up and blocked her way.

“Let’s just watch first before we act. I don’t want to half of us to be under Darkseid’s sway if she fails.”

The group watched the monitor as Mihoshi waltzed into the picture. She took a moment to take off her shoes while walking through the house. When she reached the door, she put them back on and slid it open.

“You have to love Mihoshi. Even in the face of danger, she still acts respectful in Tenchi’s house!” Washu laughed.

“She moved out of frame. Is there a better view of outside?” Kiyone asked, worried for her partner.

The pink haired genius shook her head. “This is the best view I have. Damn it, I wish we could hear what was going on out there!”

All eyes were on the screen. The room was so quiet that a pin dropping to the floor could be heard. Finally, Mihoshi and Damian returned into the view. Mihoshi was carrying a small brown pile of fur. Washu stared at the screen dumbstruck and Kiyone wiped sweat off of her forehead.

The door reopened and the unlikely duo entered the subspace lab. Damian, whose cape was singed a bit at the end, did not look pleased.

“I told you I was more than capable of handling the beast! You should have told me she could become a flying weapon! I was unprepared for the challenge!” Damian growled. He shot a look to a smirking Barbara Gordon. “Make one joke Gordon and I’ll tear your eyes out.”

Mihoshi handed Ryo-Ohki to Washu. “Here you go Miss Washu! She’s very angry, but she seems to be okay for now!”

Washu studied the creature. ‘It’s true that her posture is far more defensive than any other time I have seen her, but the carrots that Mihoshi gave her have made her temporarily docile. You can take the free will away, but the soul is still in there, unable to act. Fascinating development…’ “Good job Mihoshi! Barbara, would you mind handing me the Justifer helmet and our notes from what Mister Terrific told us?”

“No problem,” Barbara wheeled herself to the table and went to work with Washu. As this was going on, Alfred came over to Mihoshi and patted her on the back.

“A fine display of bravery Miss Kuramitsu. I must thank you for assisting Master Damian…even if he is too stubborn to thank you himself.”

Mihoshi just smiled and laughed. “It was nothing! I just wanted to give Damian the carrots he forgot!”

Alfred smiled. “Well, remember this: today you saved Robin, the Boy Wonder. That makes you just as much of a hero as even Master Bruce.”

With that, Mihoshi fainted to the floor, her life seemingly fulfilled.

*TGSTGE*

“Ok Ryo-Ohki, this inhibitor collar should prevent you from transforming into your spaceship form. Time to see what we can do here…” Washu Hakubi said, placing a metal clamp around the small animal’s head. Her eyes were pure red and her face was snarling at her pink haired friend. “Barbara, are you ready to save the world?”

The bespectacled red head couldn’t help but give the briefest of smiles at the woman’s enthusiasm. ‘She’s growing on me. I can’t believe it…damn it!’ She thought to herself, seemingly both relieved and annoyed at the situation. “As ready as I’ll ever be Washu.”

“Good. Let’s begin the close circuit camera and monitor the progress!” Washu said, flicking a switch. “Experiment 11381977 from the genius Washu Hakubi!”

“You can do it Washu!” Her doll popped up from her shoulder.

“You can do no wrong!” The other chimed in.

“Are they quite done?” Barbara asked, her temporary relief turning to displeasure.

Washu shot her a look and continued. “The subject, henceforth referred to as Ryo-Ohki, has been subjugated to the identity destroying virus known as the Anti-Life Equation. My colleague, Miss Barbara Gordon, and I will attempt to break the effect the Equation has on Ryo-Ohki and, with luck, all of those affected on Earth.”

Washu scurried over to the table where the Justifer helmet was lying down. She picked it up and again addressed her camera. “This is known as a Justifer helmet. Though Apokoliptian design, it was created using technology and concepts developed by a Jervis Tetch, known on this planet as ‘The Mad Hatter.’ This is critical as it’s method of transmitting the aforementioned Equation can be remotely blocked. I further hypothesize that the origins of the transmission can be tracked once proper precautions are in place.”

The pink haired scientist moved herself to the area where Ryo-Ohki was restrained and put the helmet on her entire body. “The subject is too small for it to be placed purely on her head, but on a typical human or humanoid being, it would do just that. The helmet is playing a constant loop of the Anti-Life Equation, thus perpetuating this state of forced living. For my first test, Miss Gordon and I will attempt to draw this ‘Life Symbol’ discovered by Shilo Norman, the current Mister Miracle, on the helmet itself to see if it will cancel out the symbol by the sheer virtue of its existence. I believe it is an old letter from the writings of the Source Wall, though I cannot confirm it given my own limited research of its design and function. Take it away!”

Looking around to see what she was referring to , Barbara understood that it was her turn to do something on camera. She made a mental note to confiscate and edit every trace of her out of the video. She understood why this was necessary, but did not feel comfortable being so…overt. “I will attempt to draw the ‘Life Symbol’ now. As you can see, the subject is still writhing around in pain. This leads me to believe that the symbol will need to be applied to the subject directly.”

Washu frowned and pulled off the metallic helmet. As Oracle hypothesized, Ryo-Ohki was still showing all of the symptoms of being under Darkseid’s control. “A fair observation and sadly one that is confirmed. We will now attempt to draw the symbol onto Ryo-Ohki’s skin…err fur directly. The writing utensil please?”

After having the permanent marker handed to her, Washu began to draw the symbol onto Ryo-Ohki’s head. Every stroke was met with a struggle of resistance. When the final piece of the symbol was drawn, the struggling stopped. The symbol which covered her face shone a bright blue and the red in her eyes disappeared. Her posture switched from one of pure defense to one of tranquility. The cabbit looked around at the unfamiliar image of Barbara Gordon and the familiar image of Washu Hakubi and meowed happily. It was only then that she realized the metal clamp binding her. She started to cry as she tried to rip it off.

“Amazing!” Barbara exclaimed. “It worked! It actually worked!”

Washu ran over and checked over the cabbit. “Her vitals have all returned to normal! This is looking good! All that is left is one final test…”

“The Justifer helmet?” Barbara asked solemnly. Her question was met with a nod. The woman handed over the helmet to the 20,000 year old genius and braced herself as it was placed over Ryo-Ohki’s body one final time.

The cabbit startled to struggle. Washu and Barbara held their breath, not knowing if the Equation was working again or if she was merely trying to get out of the helmet. Miraculously, it proved to be the later. Ryo-Ohki was back to normal.

Shilo Norman’s New God weapon worked.

Washu proceeded to rip Ryo-Ohki out of the machine and hugged her body until she was begging for release. “I knew you would be okay girl! Barbara, we did it!”

“This is amazing!” Barbara Gordon exclaimed, her internal misgivings of the whole affair completely dissipating. “But now we need to test it on a human itself. Ryo-Ohki is extraterrestrial in origin. We have no way of knowing if it will work on the rest of humanity.”

The sentence gave Washu a sharp jolt . She looked at the red head sitting in front of her, knowing that she was right and had overlooked that crucial detail. “We need a human test subject then…don’t we?”

Barbara wheeled herself over to a reflective piece of equipment. She began to draw the ‘Life Symbol’ on her face. When she finished, she grabbed the Justifier helmet. “If this doesn’t work Hakubi, just know you aren’t as annoying as I thought you were.” With that she put the helmet on her head, subjugating herself to the full force of the Anti-Life Equation.

“BARBARA!” Washu yelled frantically.

The genius scientist was nervous. If Oracle had succumbed and Metron’s gift to humanity failed, the world and eventually the universe would be damned to Darkseid’s will for its entire existence. Conversely, this might be humanity’s greatest moment; showcasing the triumph of humanity’s own will over the subjugation of those who would oppress it.

This moment will define the course of the entire galaxy and it was happening in the laboratory of a pink haired scientist from beyond the stars.

In the depths of Washu’s subspace lab, the pink haired scientist worked as hard as she could to reverse engineer the Justifier helmet that was grabbed by Mihoshi. Barbara Gordon watched and assisted as best as she could, but the technology she was utilizing was overwhelmingly advanced.

“Any luck with re routing the signal back in a way that won’t subject us to the Equation?” Barbara asked, passing Washu what appeared to be an advanced screwdriver.

“No dice. I think if we find a symbol or a signal that can disrupt it, we may be able to listen to it without falling under. The biggest concern is actually testing it out without succumbing. It will be difficult to do…” Washu answered while tinkering with the helmet.

“Is there anything I can do to help Miss Washu?” Mihoshi yelled at the other end of the lab. Washu had created an artificial barrier to prevent Mihoshi from interfering Washu’s workspace.

Washu regarded her and waved her arms around wildly. “No…no thank you Mihoshi! You are helping by standing right there! Keep doing just that and we will be great!”

“Aww,” Mihoshi said dejectedly.

“Did you end up trying to contact that Mister Terrific guy yet Barbara?” Kiyone asked. “It couldn’t hurt to reach out. He might have some information about the state of the planet.”

The red haired woman turned to Washu. “Can they track us back here if Checkmate had fallen?”

Laughing, Washu shook her head. “Please, my subspace lab is untraceable by Earth’s technology. It couldn’t hurt to find out how they are doing.”

Nodding, Oracle wheeled herself over to the computer outside the barrier. “I’m actually going to try the Batcave first. I’m not sure if Alfred is safe…I already know my dad has fallen,” she noted with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Do what you must. Hmm…these numbers might mean something…” Washu muttered to herself.

Barbara was curious about her findings, but was resolved to reach anybody on the outside. “This is Oracle reaching out to Batcave central. Batcave, are you stable?”

There was no answer. Barbara waited and sighed. It seemed that all hope was lost in that front. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Kiyone’s smiling face. “Don’t worry Barbara; they’ll be okay.”

“I know. I’ve learned from the best to keep these kind of things out of focus at times like this.”

Just then, an odd sound came out of the computer. It wasn’t a sentence, but kind of a verbal stutter. “*tt* The cripple made it out of the fire,” came the voice from the other side. A picture soon followed and it showcased a young boy of around nine with black hair. He was wearing a red and yellow costume with a cape and a domino mask. Barbara did a double take when she saw life…which then turned to a sigh when she realized who it was.

“Damian, why are you wearing a Robin costume?” Barbara asked.

“Who’s Damian?” Kiyone asked Mihoshi. She shrugged, clearly curious to see who this child was.

“That fool Drake got himself caught by those Justifiers. There is an opening for the role and who better to fill it than Batman’s son? Besides, Mother left me here after Father’s run in with the Black Glove so it is time for me to claim my birthright,” Damian laughed pompously.

“What?! Batman has a son?! Amazing!” Mihoshi squealed.

“Gordon, what drivel are you associating with now? For that matter where are you anyway?” Damian asked with disgust.

“Not important pipsqueak. Where’s Alfred? Is he okay?”

The boy pointed off-screen. “Pennyworth? He’s fine and upstairs checking the grounds. Surely you realized Father was prepared for anything, including an identity-destroying virus that infected the Internet. Speaking of, have you or your Justice League fools received any word about Father?”

Barbara shook her head. “No; we were hoping to have heard something from Alfred. Is he coming back anytime soon?”

“*tt*, how should I know?”

“Hey!” Washu suddenly shouted. “Since the Internet is down, do any of you know if the fraction ’10/6′ has any significant meaning? It’s embedded in the helmet but it doesn’t seem to serve any purpose.”

The wannabe Boy Wonder laughed. “Seriously Gordon, where do you find these academically challenged fools? Have you never opened a book before woman?”

The comment caused the scientist to burn with anger. She walked right over to the screen and pointed her finger at the boy. “Listen here kid, I don’t think you know who you are talking to. I am Washu, the greatest scientific mind in the universe! I have created several inventions in over 20,000 years and have even rewrote physics a few times! How dare you question my academic credentials, especially at your age!”

“I’m sorry, I can’t take you and your ridiculous pink hair seriously,” Damian retorted back.

Mihoshi, who was hanging on every word that was said, snapped her fingers. “Hey, I know what ’10/6′ is from! It’s the little card on the Mad Hatter’s hat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland! Noboyuki owns it and I read it back when we were living with Tenchi! I liked that book!”

Barbara processed her statement and nodded. “You’re right Mihoshi. This has Jervis Tetch written all over it.”

Damian grunted in disgust. “You mean to tell me that an idiot with a fascination with children’s literature is responsible for the destruction of humanity’s free will? Madness.”

“He was probably used by whoever is leading the ‘Secret Society’ this time. I doubt it’s Luthor, since he values his own mind too much…” Barbara trailed off.

“Master Damian, what are you doing?! Get away from the monitor, you don’t know what is out there!” came a British voice on the other end of the call. An elderly gentleman walked into view and stared at the group. A smile lit his face as he raised his white gloves hand to his mouth.

“Miss Gordon! Bless my soul; I’m thrilled to see that you are okay!” the man told Barbara.

Barbara sighed in relief. “I’m fine Alfred! I was worried about you!”

“Nonsense Miss Gordon. We Pennyworths have handled far more than a simple virus. By chance have…” Alfred started before Barbara shook her head.

“We have reason to believe Bruce was taken hostage by the New Gods,” Barbara said bitterly.

“Ah, so they’ll be in for a nasty shock, won’t they?” Alfred said with a weary smile.

With that, Damian pushed his way into the picture. “Gordon, are you mad?! You called father ‘Bruce!’ If you weren’t already bound to a wheelchair I would…”

“It’s okay Damian,” Barbara sighed, ignoring the boy’s uncalled for comment. “They know. These people hacked into the Bat-Computer and found out everything…” ‘As much as I hate it.’

“Good lord! That’s unheard of!” Alfred remarked.

“How dare they?!” Damian roared.

Washu yawned and shot the gentlemen a look that said “Really? Right now?” “Look, I don’t have time for this. Oracle, if you want these two here, I can open a doorway and they can be safe. Otherwise, can we get back to our job? The world ain’t saving itself!”

“More people?” Kiyone asked. “Is that a good idea Washu?”

She threw her arms in the air. “How should I know; I can’t even think in my own lab…Mihoshi for all that is sacred and holy DO NOT TOUCH MY CLONING DEVICE!”

The blonde haired detective was inches away from banging into a machine that had two pods. Washu ran over to get her away. At the same time, Damian was laughing.

“This is the great genius who hacked Father’s files? The only other person who has done that was Grandfather! These people are imbeciles!”

“You aren’t helping brat!” Washu retorted.

“Who are you calling a brat you harlot! I demand you teleport me there at once so I may show you the night of Batman’s son!” Damian growled.

Alfred put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Master Damian, I don’t think that…”

It was too late. Washu started to type on her computer and suddenly a door opened. From outside came the boy and the butler. Alfred, frazzled at the lab, took in the sights. Damian, however, was far more narrow-minded.

“Pink haired wench; you dare disrespect me!”

Washu hopped over to Oracle. “Listen, let me take care of small and brooding. Why don’t you call Mister Terrific to see if he has made any headway.”

Sensing the oncoming tension, Barbara nodded and started typing numbers and letters into the computer.

As the commotion began, Alfred Pennyworth walked over to Mihoshi and Kiyone. He extended his hand out. “This has been a most peculiar time indeed. We have not yet been introduced Ms…?”

Kiyone accepted his hand and smiled. “Makibi. Kiyone Makibi, First Class Detective in the Galaxy Police. The blonde is my partner, Mihoshi Kuramitsu.”

“Hello! It’s such and honor to meet Batman’s butler! That is probably the best job ever!” Mihoshi squealed.

Alfred chuckled lightly. “That it is Miss Kuramitsu. I assume your Galaxy Police are similar to the Green Lantern Corps?”

“Similar, except we weren’t chosen by some kind of power ring,” Kiyone explained. “You didn’t think the universe was patrolled only by guys in green spandex did you?”

“I must confess I never gave it much thought. I tend to consider myself more grounded than most of Master Bruce’s associates. What about the other one; the one who is verbally sparring Master Damian? Does she work for the police as well?”

The two sensible adults looked at the pair of people fighting.

“You cow; you think I believe any of your stories about your lifespan? Even Grandfather was only 500 years old before my aunt killed him prior to his own resurrection!”

“Sure that isn’t some terrible story your mama told you to keep you from wetting the bed, domino boy?”

“I’ll have your hide for that!”

“Please, that’s the most action you’ll see in your life!”

Sighing, Kiyone rubbed her temples. “Would you believe she used to be a Galactic Academy scientist?”

Alfred raised an eyebrow. “You don’t say? I suppose she was the one to hack the Bat-Computer?”

“The very same.”

“Master Bruce won’t be happy that his equipment was breached, but I believe that desperate times call for desperate measures,” Alfred explained.

“Everybody, come here NOW!” Oracle yelled suddenly. “That means you Damian!”

The various groups of people made their way over to the screen. Mister Terrific was in frame as was a young man in a brightly colored costume. Behind them were a variety of heroes, all in their own colorful outfits. The only thing they all had in common was the strange markings on their face.

“Oh my, it’s the Super Young Team! This is amazing!” Mihoshi told the group.

“We don’t care right now Mihoshi,” Kiyone scolded. “What’s this about?”

Oracle pointed at the screen. “You know how we were hypothesizing that a counter symbol could exist to undo Darkseid’s Omega transmissions? Shilo Norman, the current Mister Miracle there, has found the symbol! It’s the Anti-Omega! This is our key to beating the Anti-Life Equation!”

Washu took everything in. “So that marking prevents you from having your free will taken away?”

“It does,” Mister Terrific replied from Checkmate. “It’s a weapon left by Metron, one of the remaining good New Gods.”

“Fascinating! Between this and the discovery that the Justifier Helmets are built by utilizing your Mad Hatter’s technology, we can develop a means of turning off the radio broadcast and return the planet to the way it was!” Washu cheered.

“*tt* You presume too much pest,” Damian mocked. “How do you know the symbol will work? I’m not about to take the word of a circus clown and call it a day!”

“Who are you calling a circus clown?! We are all super cool! Most Excellent Superbat can vouch for Mr. Miracle!” said one of the Super Young Team.

“Superbat?! You mock my father…”

“As much as it pains me, the runt’s right. We need a control to test our hypothesis before we lose ourselves to the Equation…” Washu started, tapping her forehead.

“What do you suggest Miss Hakubi?” Alfred asked.

She paused and then smiled. “Anyone have a carrot?”

The Hall of Justice was cold and sterile. Amidst the collapse of the free world, this was one of the last places inhabited by Earth’s heroes that had not succumbed to the Anti-Life Equation. Though certain pieces of technology could be used safely, the few members of the Justice League that occupied it used them sparingly.

Chief amongst the heroes stationed in this sanctuary was a red haired woman in a wheelchair. Her name was Barbra Gordon, but up here she was known by a different moniker: Oracle. Gordon used to go by the name Batgirl, but that career was ended by a maniacal clown with a gun. Gordon was a genius when it came to technology, specifically the Internet. She might have learned to fight from heroes like Black Canary and Batman, but she knew how to use her intellect to her advantage in the fight against crime.

Though she did not approve of the idea of the Unternet, especially since she knew that it was designed by one of her more annoying enemies, the Calculator, she had to admit that it had its uses. Killing the Internet was incredibly hard to do, but at least this way she might give some people the help that they need. In fact, the Hall of Justice was full of refugees that were not unwitting pawns of Darkseid’s evil cabal.

Thankfully, she was not completely alone in her rescue attempts. Michael Holt, known to others as Mister Terrific, was one of the three smartest Earthlings on the planet and happened to be assisting her. The two had been joined by Black Canary herself and Green Arrow, two other heroes who were well respected in the Justice League, but they were out on a mission to try to answer a distress signal from one of their own: Black Lightning.

“Barbara, look at this,” Holt told the bespectacled former Batgirl. He pointed to a computer monitor that had turned itself on.

Rolling her wheelchair to Mister Terrific, Barbara saw a most interesting sight on the now active screen. “This isn’t the Anti-Life Equation…this looks to be some digital…crabs?”

“Have you ever seen this before? It looks like somebody’s calling card,” he postulated. “I’ve lost track of the various aquatic based villains around the word.”

Barbara took her place at the keyboard and tried to decrypt the dancing crustaceans. “This isn’t the M.O. of any criminal I’ve ever encountered. In fact…this isn’t a virus or anything like that. It looks like it is just trying to get our attention!” Barbara turned her head around. “This might be a trap or a potential hacker!”

“It’s coming from the Unternet, so it’s very likely. We don’t really know how many people are even aware of the Unternet yet…” Mister Terrific trailed on.

Oracle was only half listening at this point. She tried to trace the origin of the signal, but was having major difficulties. ‘It’s like it isn’t even coming from this planet…or maybe this…’ “Dimension.”

“Excuse me?”

“Michael, this isn’t originating from this dimension! It might be coming from The Phantom Zone, or a pocket universe!” Barbara explained.

“But look at the screen; the text is in Japanese!”

Oracle readjusted her glasses and reread the monitor. Sure enough, the crabs and disappeared and Japanese characters appeared in their place. Barbara was familiar enough with the language to know that it said “background check complete!”

“A Japanese background check emanating from another dimension?” Barbara muttered.

“I don’t get it…” Mister Terrific started before getting cut off.

“Alert: unknown energy source detected!” A disembodied voice warned. “Alert: unknown energy source detected!”

“Could it be Darkseid?” Mister Terrific asked.

Pulling out a pair of fighting sticks, Barbara nodded. “There’s a good chance of it.”

A door appeared in the center of the room and the two heroes braced themselves. A small pink haired child peered her head out and acknowledged the other occupants of the Hall of Justice.

“Hiya, how do you do? Might I assume correctly that this is where I can find Miss Barbara Gordon aka Oracle?” she asked in English before laying eyes on the wheelchair bound redhead.

Barbara was taken back by this girl’s behavior. ‘She seems so…unconcerned, yet she knows about me. I can’t take my eyes off of her.’ “Might I ask who’s asking little girl?”

The girl’s eyebrow raised and a smile grew on her face. “You may indeed Miss Gordon. My name is Washu: the greatest scientific genius in the galaxy!”

A small doll that looked exactly like her appeared on her left shoulder. “Oh Washu, you are so great!”

“We are in awe of your intellect!” A second doll appeared and added.

The appearance of a crazy pink haired girl who proclaimed to be a scientific genius forced Barbara and Michael to step back. Of all the things they were expecting, that was the last thing they could ever imagine. Still, it was way too early to write her off completely as either a friend or a foe.

“Err…that’s all well and good, but how did you get into the Hall of Justice? For that matter, why are you here?” Mister Terrific asked.

Washu examined him. “Curious thing on your face.” She pointed to the grey “T” shaped marking on his face. “Let’s see what your files say of it…ah, Mister Terrific! Says here you are one of the smartest people on the planet…I can respect that! Your mask is made up of nanites? Fascinating!”

“Thank you?” he replied, surprised and confused at the entire situation.

“As for your question, I am here because of that one’s message on the Unternet. Interesting gambit, I have to say. From what I’ve gathered, usually the people who frequent that section of the net are scumbags,” Washu chuckled. “But I’m getting ahead of myself here. As the greatest scientific genius in the galaxy, it occurred to me that someone as high profile as you could need my help!”

Barbara raised an eyebrow. “You know how to stop the Anti-Life equation?”

“At the present moment…not so much,” Washu admitted. “But I’ve got better resources than you in my lab. Speaking of, I managed to save a few people before the Equation hit. Mind if they join us?”

“Do we have a choice, Miss Genius?” Barbara asked, clearly still not trusting her.

“Well, I mean of course you do, but it’d be rude to keep them waiting!” The scientist opened up her door and yelled inside. “Hey, we are clear here! It’s safe!”

Washu held the door open so that two other ladies, one blonde and the other green haired, and an elderly gentleman could enter the Hall.

“Oh my gosh, it’s the Hall of Justice! Kiyone, it’s just like I told you!” the blonde haired one told her companion excitedly.

“That you did Mihoshi, several times in fact.” Kiyone sighed. “Don’t make it weird for everyone!”

“The ditzy blonde is first class detective Mihoshi and her friend is her partner, first class detective Kiyone. The last member of our party is Katsuhito Masaki, the grandfather of our mutual friend who sadly was exposed to Darkseid’s plans,” Washu explained, pointing out each member of the party.

Mihoshi went up to Mister Terrific and shook his hand. “Oh my gosh it’s so nice to meet you! I’ve read so much on all of you in Japan!”

“It’s nice to meet you too, uh, Mihoshi was it? I have to say, your English is pretty good.”

“Oh, Washu made us universal translators! It allows us to understand you all and for you to understand us!”

“Really?” Mister Terrific said, intrigued at the idea. “Interesting concept for a girl of, what, 10?”

The comment caused Mihoshi to laugh. “No silly, she’s over 20,000 years old!”

“MIHOSHI!” Kiyone yelled. “You can’t go around telling them that!”

“Why not? It’s not like they’ve encountered aliens before. Superman, Green Lantern…”

Kiyone blinked. “I never thought of that…”

“Aliens?” Barbara asked. “Are all of you from off world?”

“Well Kiyone and I are part of the Galaxy Police, Washu is a former teacher at the Galactic Academy, and Tenchi’s grandfather used to be the prince to the planet Jurai!”

“Way to sell us out Mihoshi!” Washu scolded, hitting her in the shoulder.

Barbara processed this. She made a mental note to ask John Stewart about this when the entire ordeal was over. “So, why are you here then? Why Earth?”

“I was banished here,” Washu said. “Because the Academy deemed me a threat. Pff, what do they know?”

Barbara made another mental note to ask about her status as a ‘threat’ later on. After all, if Batman taught her anything it was that the victory is in the preparation.

“We are assigned to the Solar System!” Mihoshi smiled. “So, what’s Batman really like! Is he around?”

“Actually, nobody has seen Batman since this all began. We think he was kidnapped by the Evil Gods, but we don’t know for sure…” Barbara admitted.

“That’s terrible! The world needs a Batman!”

“Mihoshi, I think you are getting Washu and Miss Gordon off topic,” Katsuhito pointed out.

Mihoshi dejectedly stopped her thoughts about Batman and sighed in defeat. “I’m sorry.”

“Now that Mihoshi is finished fangirling, we can discuss the issue at hand. Our household, like much of your planet, has fallen under the sway of the Anti-Life Equation. I’ve never had any experiences with the New Gods, but I know for a fact that you all have. I’m sure we can use your experience and my resources to think of something,” Washu said. She created a translucent energy computer out of nowhere.

This caught the attention of both of the heroes. “How did you create that?” Mister Terrific asked. “Do you utilize reflective lasers?”

“No, I just willed it into existence,” Washu said as if it were an everyday occurrence.

“I think what we need is to find out what exactly the Anti-Life Equation is,” Katsuhito contributed.

“Before I cut the Internet, I got a glimpse of what it is. It’s a mathematical…” Oracle started. “Wait, that was in the post I put out on the Unternet. You should know all of that.”

“I think he’s referring to what the actual steps of the Equation are. If we knew that, perhaps we could devise a ‘Life Equation’ that can bring balance to everything,” Kiyone added.

“Perhaps…but there is no way of knowing unless we had the Equation in a way that people will not lose their free will,” Barbara countered. She stopped and looked around. “Where did your partner go?”

An alarm sounded. Suddenly a disembodied voice cried “Doors unlocked!”

“Doors…Mihoshi what have you done?!” Kiyone screamed.

Mister Terrific ran to a computer terminal and pulled up a love security feed. “We have Justifiers entering the Hall of Justice! Damn it!”

“Justifiers?” Washu asked, panicking.

“People under the influence of the Anti-Life Equation! We have to get out of here!” Barbara yelled.

At that moment, Mihoshi came wandering back into the room. “I’m sorry! I fell and hit the button by accident! I don’t know what’s going on!”

Kiyone and over and grabbed her collar. “You idiot, you just damned us all!”

The worst fears of the planet have been realized. The Hall of Justice has been breached by Anti-Life. If justice cannot overcome Darkseid, what will?

So I’d like to personally extend my thanks to each and every one of you who favorited, followed, reviewed, or even read my story. This is the first time I have ever written pure fanfiction before and it was not something that I ever intended on doing. Still, I think a good way to cap this long winded project is to offer my own reflections on what I have written!

Chapter 1:

Ah, good old fashioned exposition! The idea for this story grew out of my desire to see more Tenchi related material out there. It was Tenchi’s anniversary and AI Tenchi Muyo was on the horizon. I had rewatched all of the OAV and Universe for the first time in years. I also reread the manga in its entirety, something I had never done before. I had read the first run of it but I never had the chance to read the second series (All-New Tenchi Muyo!).

I had a second motive too: I wished to hone my writing style for writing actual characters. I am fairly good at writing research papers and short stories, but I had never attempted something this big before. I’ve always believed that Tenchi’s story might sometimes get a bit convoluted at times, but what makes the show so enduring is the characterization. A mad scientist, a genius ditz, the uppity princess, the ever layered Ryoko…they make for interesting characters. I don’t even consider myself to be an anime guy but I love these characters!

The idea to combine Tenchi with Harry Potter stemmed from the fact that of all the fanfiction I have ever read, Harry Potter fanfiction is typically the most interesting for me. Stuff like Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality or Oh God Not Again! are great reads. I never liked the idea of Dumbledore being played as the bad guy, which several stories liked to do, so I wanted him to be the Big Good again, though I couldn’t make him perfect. I’ll touch more on that later.

I knew that I wanted this in the OAV. The OAV Kagato, despite being a tad cliche, is one of my favorite villains ever. The man has class and plays an organ, yet uses women as shields and is ruthless. It’s such a contradiction…I love it. Though I am sad that I could not use Kiyone Makibi, I rationalized it by utilizing Misaki and Funaho later on, probably my favorite side characters in all of Tenchi. By using Kagato, I knew that I would need to set him up somehow. I figured it would be a good idea to utilize Kagato’s arrival as the catalyst to bring the Harry Potter world into the fold.

I’ve been told the exposition chapters work far better than a good deal of the story. Whelp, at least that means I managed to hook you guys at some point.

Looking back on this, it seems as if I stopped writing out the chapter number after Chapter 5. Huh. Guess I’m gonna have to edit that when I do my next round of proofreading on the whole story, since I have since realized several minor errors.

Chapter 2:

Ah, a prophecy. I knew I needed one to justify Tenchi and the crew coming to Hogwarts, but I really wasn’t sure what it would say until I went about writing it. I knew that my story was going to hit the following plot points early on:

Tenchi and the gang goes to Hogwarts

They meet Harry

Hermione is suspicious

Washu discovers horcruxes

Kagato gets revived somehow by Voldemort

He merges with Voldemort

Harry and Tenchi do something to win

This was not enough to write a story about (a good story anyway), but it was enough to let the creative juices flowing. This is why the prophecy sounds like Kagato and Voldemort are going to team up together. I realized early on how stupid that would be, given Voldemort’s views on Muggles and Kagato’s views on everyone. However, I ran with it and reworked it as I went along.

I am not sure at what point I realized Mihoshi would be the Muggle Studies teacher. I blame Tenchi Muyo in Love, which had her as a teacher.

As a side note, this is the first mention of manga only events. The Bizen incident can be found in Volumes 4-6 of No Need For Tenchi! and Minagi’s introduction can be found in Volumes 1-2 of the same series. One of my English students read my story (as the only student I know who actually knew what Tenchi was when I used “I’m a Pioneer” in a lesson about Tom Sawyer) and told me that she had no idea who Minagi or Yume were, but it didn’t really matter. If this story accomplished anything, it at least made another person aware of the great Tenchi manga out there.

Chapter 3:

So this was my big sorting chapter. I knew I wanted the girls split up in different houses, but I was not sure where to put them exactly. I knew Washu had to be Ravenclaw, but the rest were up in the air until I sat down and thought about it. Looking back, I think I chose the right houses.

Though there are a few other Tenchi/ Harry crossovers out there, not a single one that I have read had Tenchi and the gang go to Hogwarts. This was another reason why I knew I wanted to write THIS story. There is so much potential for hi-jinx that I’m surprised it was never done before. If Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne can go to Hogwarts (Point That Wand At Me and See What Happens is a great story by the way), why can’t the Tenchi crew?

Chapter 4:

This chapter took awhile to write as I had no idea how I really wanted to approach the characters. It was my first time writing the Harry Potter characters and I did not want to mess them up. I’m not sure how well I succeeded. I think I did Hermione and Luna justice, but I’m not sure about the rest. I think Ron was the hardest to write…I didn’t really know what to do with him besides have him eat.

We have our first introduction to the friendship of Luna and Washu. Both of these characters were my favorite to write. They are just so…quirky. When I inserted the lines from “The Walrus and The Carpenter” I did not know how many times I would reference the works of Lewis Caroll. I feel its prominent presence later on was due to the fact I was teaching the book to my class, but early on I used it mainly as a bonding point for these two characters. The idea that Luna was a hidden genius that Washu is fascinated by was characterization that I really could get behind.

Ryuten is, of course, the planet that was the central focus of the Bizen storyline from the manga. The planet was known for its woodcarvings, so I figured this kind of animal would fit right at home there.

I am not sure why, but the idea of Severus Snape drinking sake might have been my best idea in the entire story.

Chapter 5:

AKA The chapter I probably lost people.

I took a gamble here, making Mihoshi a Muggle Studies teacher. I knew that if she were a teacher, she would probably make it the most pointless class in all of Hogwarts, so naturally it would have to be the best possible class in the world. It is a well known fact that Mihoshi loves cartoons so I didn’t think it would be that much of a stretch that she liked American comics too. This was set in the early 90’s, and Batman fever was still high from the likes of Tim Burton and Bruce Timm.

I did like the idea that Mihoshi would try to pass out manga but forget that nobody read Japanese.

I chose the class list based on the idea that I needed some Hufflepuffs as I did not place anyone in their house and the fact that I wanted Dean Thomas to have some moments to shine. Of course he would be into superheroes! I think that stemmed from on of the most memorable moments from Methods of Rationality, where Dean’s call sign was “Red Five” and it mentioned how he had waited his entire life to say that. On the flip side, I initially decided to make Hannah Abbot so bored out of her mind that she would question why she was even taking this class. I couldn’t have Hermione there questioning everything, so I felt this was a fair compromise.

We also have our first inkling that Hermione is suspicious of Washu. Really, it is an incredibly unlikely situation and the idea that everybody was instantly okay with a bunch of people appearing out of nowhere from a magical school that nobody ever heard about is definitely something Hermione would take issue with. I loved the fact that the two smartest people would butt heads while Luna, the person you would not expect Washu to enjoy, was her best friend.

Fun fact: This was the first chapter I wrote trying to keep the story focused on one character’s point of view. Yes, the initial chapters focused on Dumbledore, but I tried to make every subsequent chapter only follow one main character at a time. That lost wind eventually, but it was a noble effort.

Chapter 6:

Interestingly, I did not intentionally plan on having Yume in this story. I knew something had to be done with the horcruxes, but bringing in Yume allowed me to branch out a bit and incorporate more of the manga. I thought about using Gohegi the monk too, but he really didn’t have a place that fit. That’s probably why he never appeared again in the manga too.

The black flame projection was one of the only things I actually created from scratch for this story. The idea of it drew from the scene in OAV Episode 4 where Kagato was searching Ryoko’s cave and illuminated it by his green flame. He left the flame down there in the cave, so I figured that could be used as a means of bringing him back. I debated about how this would happen, be it by sending someone like Lucius down into the cave and having him turn into Kagato or by Voldemort doing it himself. I’ll go into this a bit more later on.

I knew that I needed Washu’s mama bear instincts to kick in when she saw Harry’s hand. The one Washu moment that sticks out for everyone is her backstory with her baby being taken away from her. This was my nod to that, even though it probably can be written off as Washu’s maternal instincts from Ryoko.

Chapter 7:

Aka the OTHER part where I probably lost people.

I hinted at this early on in Chapter 4, but I was not sure how I would play it out. I wanted this to be a way for all of the houses to join together and find something enjoyable. Did I really need to make movie night such a big deal? No, but I thought it would be a fun little idea. My references might be lost on people, and if they are I apologize. I wanted the references to add to the story in many ways, not just be there as fluff. In this case, Neville will later on be affected by these movies and grow as a hero in his own right.

This was my first REAL chance at writing evil Umbridge. She is so easy to write due to the absurdity of her character. This character is evil for the sake of being evil…what’s not to like about it? I think she is the perfect foil to a character like Mihoshi, the eternal optimist who is loves everyone and everything.

The ending of this chapter was originally going to be the beginning of the next chapter, but I figured I would add it on as a bit of a cliffhanger.

Chapter 8:

Let’s talk about Lee Jordan.

So I love the idea of Lee Jordan. He’s the Weasley twin’s best friend and fellow pranker. He doesn’t really do much in the books except commentate Quidditch, start Potterwatch, exist as someone who the twins can talk to. I don’t know why, but I love his character. Thus I really wanted him to join the ranks of people who knew the Masaki family’s origins.

I think my biggest problem was the execution of it.

He just kinda appeared, having followed them wearing Harry’s invisibility cloak. Now, the students of Hogwarts know about his cloak. Malfoy knew in Book 6 that he was hiding in it and I’m sure word got out about Harry using it to scare Draco in Hogsmeade. I saw nothing wrong with it. As HaywireEagle pointed out, it was bad form for him to have nicked the cloak, so I have only just recently changed it to make Lee less in the wrong (Harry Potter and the Visitors from the Stars: The Special Edition! Watch as I edit in a new musical number in Filch’s office with Mrs. Norris!). Plus I really did need to address why Washu didn’t necessarily wipe the mind of every student: she didn’t want Harry and Hermione to not trust her. Here is the original version of the scene:

“Speak for yourself Fred, I think I’m going to meet him there,” said Lee Jordan.

All eyes were on Ron as he ate his food, but then they all turned back to Lee, who was not there a moment ago.

Washu grabbed him. “Mr. Jordan, how did you manage to get in my subspace house?!”

Lee grabbed another one of Luna’s and Sasami’s offerings. “I nicked Harry’s cloak to prank you back for the great one you pulled on me in Flitwick’s this morning, saw something was happening and followed you all. Pretty wicked I have to say.”

Harry looked offended. “You took my cloak without asking?”

Lee shrugged. “It’s all for the greater good. You know, like Dumbledore always says!”

Looking back on Lee, though, he really did not need to be there. Short of commentating on the D.A. tournament, he adds nothing to the story. But that’s just the thing: I like him. I want him there! I like the idea that he’s Fred and George’s best friend. He’s just a satellite character, but I like him just the same.

This was the turning point in Hermione’s journey of acceptance. She had been leery of Washu from the start, but now she had to swallow a tale of aliens and prophecies. Obviously, she would find issues with this story. It is very implausible, but yet she has to accept the fact that the gang is here to help. I liked that about her character.

Chapter 9:

I love this chapter.

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are probably my favorite Harry Potter characters (Fred and George are either tied or a close runner up. Either way, top five would have them all) and I loved writing them. I wrote them with Remus as the eternal straight man while Sirius was the wild and zany one. In addition, I previously stated how much I love Funaho and Misaki. Of course, this meant that I was writing all of my favorite characters in one place.

There really isn’t much to say about this chapter except I loved my handwaving of the contrived coincidence that Sirius and Lupin just HAPPENED to overhear the word Jurai being uttered in the same place as they were. Hey, I had to advance the plot. These things happen. Might as well have some fun with it.

Chapter 10:

I’m not sure at what point I decided to make Ayeka this story’s punching bag. I feel bad for her: always being forced to deal with Dolores Umbridge. However, I felt that she was the only person up to the task. It was critical to have a person inside the Inquisitorial Squad to mess things up. What better person than Ayeka, suffering to make her beloved Tenchi happy.

Of course, she also had to deal with her mother. Poor, poor Ayeka.

I never saw anything wrong with Funaho helping spark the idea of the D.A. I am sure somebody out there was not too happy, but I was just trying to make the worlds’ coexist better.

Chapter 11:

aka I’m sure I lost people on this one.

As I’ve stated before, there are times that I tend to get a little reference happy. This is one of those times. I wrote it while I was in full Halloween mode and it can be construed as probably one of the most out there things I wrote.

However, there are a few things that can be taken away from all of this: Mihoshi standing up to Fudge is a big moment for her. She has never raised her voice to anyone in this story yet and, as such it stands out. She truly believes in her work and truly wants to make her students happy. Regardless of how unconventional it might be, Mihoshi has the heart of a teacher. In addition, Ryoko gets some character development here. While nearly everyone is against the idea of dancing, Ryoko does not want to see Mihoshi upset. It humanizes her. This comes up again later on when she snaps at Umbridge for mocking Mihoshi.

Though I’m going to be honest, the entire song was done purely to have Fred, George, and Lee in Ghostbusters costumes (another nod to Methods of Rationality).

Chapter 12:

I’m aware of several grammatical mistakes that I am in the process of fixing, but the one that I always noticed but never fixed with the misspelling of Kreacher’s name. At one point I added a “t” to it. Hopefully writing this down will force me to finally fix it.

Fun fact: Alasitair Moody was not intended to be in this story. When I realized I was doing a horcrux hunt, I decided on having Yume, Hishima, Sirius, and Lupin go out to search. Simple enough, right? Well I realized that Molly Weasley would not be so foolish as to leave the house without having somebody there to keep an eye on the two of them. Hence, this is why I realized I needed Moody and Tonks. I had literally written the chapter up to that point and decided it would make more sense to have them there. Plus, it’s Moody. The man’s a badass. I liked his animosity with Yume. Of course Moody would be instantly suspicious is a pair of odd people appeared, literally, out of the sky and were trying to kill Voldemort. Hell, I would too!

Another late addition to the chapter was realizing that Yume didn’t have any Wizarding currency. Thankfully, it already tied in to Lupin being at the bar, so it was a simple addition.

Chapter 13:

This chapter was kinda just written on the fly. I knew I had to do it, but I really had no idea WHAT to do. In the end, I think I did the D.A. right. Originally, this chapter was going to be the next chapter, but I felt it needed to go here. It allowed me to have the Nagini cliffhanger. I also was not intending on showing when Washu left school to talk to Yume, but it kind of worked itself in there.

It was nice to have Dobby in the story, even for a short time. Come on, who didn’t hate him when he first appeared but actually started to like him come Goblet of Fire? I liked that they gave his character parts to Neville in the movies. It allowed him to grow as a character.

Speaking of Neville, I think it was about this time that I realized Neville was going to be one of the main characters of this story, if not THE main character. I had the idea for the longest time that Tsunami would allow him to see his parents but I had yet to fully commit to the idea of killing Augusta. I loved watching this kid grow from a curious fanboy to a powerhouse under the teachings of Ryoko.

Another character that grew was Hannah Abbot. I am not sure at what point I realized I wanted her to have an increased presence in the story, but it happened. I knew that she was Neville’s canonical wife, but they barely shared any time together in the novels. I figured this would be a good way for the two to grow. I had no intentions of writing any romantic elements in the story, but this seemed like a decent addition to it all.

I knew I wanted Tenchi to be a teacher of the D.A., but it wasn’t until I started thinking about it that I realized it would be perfect to have Ayeka and Ryoko teach fighting. The two would obviously jump to make Tenchi happy by teaching alongside him. They would no doubt compete to see who would make the better teacher. It worked out okay I think.

Finally, I had this idea to make Malfoy slowly trust Ryoko more and more. I’m not sure where it stemmed from, but it appealed to me. This is why Ryoko gave him sake early on. (Remember kids, underage drinking is bad for you!) I knew that it would have to pay off eventually, but I figured I would add a bit more interactions as the story went on.

PS: The Christmas movie Mihoshi played was “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol.”

Chapter 14:

When I first wrote this chapter, I forgot the Gaunt shack had been destroyed. Thankfully, I did my research and realized my error and changed it before I published it to the site. It did not really change the story at all, so I didn’t have an issue with it.

I wrote this chapter while sitting next to a hospital bed for 24 hours. Just a fun little tidbit.

I realized that I had been making this whole journey a bit too easy for the heroes, so I added the scene where Yume almost dies. I tried hard not to make my characterizations too “Mary Sue” like, so hopefully this made her a bit more grounded. She made a mistake and it nearly cost her.

It was stupid as hell for Moody to steal the sword away in the beginning of the chapter and it was stupid for Yume to give him the sword later on. However, I don’t regret it. Characters are allowed to have lapses in judgment. Thankfully, this time it did not affect anyone negatively. As we see later on, a lapse in judgment can be deadly.

Chapter 15:

I wrote this chapter very early on. I am not sure why (probably to get into the Christmas spirit in October) but it allowed me to focus on what I needed to do in the story. I wrote this one probably at the same time I wrote the Sirius chapter. I edited it to reflect later additions I made to the story, but for the most part it stayed the same.

One thing I noticed about several notable Tenchi Muyo/ Harry Potter crossovers out there was that they all had a scene of Ryoko blasting Sirius’ mother’s painting. Consider that my nod to the others.

I knew early on I wanted Tsunami to extract the horcrux from Harry. I wrote the chapter around that idea, hence the title.

I love the idea of Nobuyuiki nearly starving without Sasami to cook good food for him. I love Jay Hooper’s Nobuyuki voice. He makes him sound like Ernie from Sesame Street. In fact, I love all of the original English voices for Tenchi. If I could not hear Matt Miller’s or Sherry Lynn’s or Jennifer Darling’s voice speak the dialogue in my head, I knew I had a problem.

Of course Mr. Weasley is having the time of his life with these new Muggle ideas. A sliding door: outstanding!

Chapter 16:

I love Christmas. I love the Grinch. I loved the idea that Hermione loved the Grinch. Sue me.

This was my most blatant shout out to Wizard People, Dear Reader yet. I have called Malfoy “Malfoil” before and I described Ron as a “bear” at one point, but the sake jug is my nod to the “wine-out-of-nowhere” spell. Im not sure if people caught onto that or not. Brad Neeley is a genius.

I wrote up a whole spreadsheet writing down which gifts were given and by whom. The only two gifts I knew I wanted to give was Sasami’s gift to Neville and Dinah. The name Dinah was too good for me not to use. On one level, you have the fact that Dinah is the cat from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. On the other level, you have that damn song “Dinah won’t you blow your horn!” If that isn’t a perfect name I don’t know what is.

Misaki and Mihoshi totally rock ugly Christmas sweaters. I know it wasn’t mentioned in the story, but I just know it. I even drew a picture of the kids and Misaki on the couch watching the TV (though I left out Mrs. Weasley, Funaho, Sirius, Lupin, Yosho, Nobuyuki, and Ryo-Ohki). Basically it was what Sasami saw when she and Mr. Weasley returned from St. Mungo’s.

Speaking of Ryo-Ohki, I feel that I did not do her enough justice. I always forgot to write her in. It’s hard to cut back to a character that only meows!

The Neville subplot was something that I knew I wanted, but as I was writing it I realized the ethical dilemma it would put the characters in. I resolved it by having Sasami state those same ethical concerns in the story. I left it to Augusta and Neville to decide what they wanted to do. Honestly, if you were given that chance, would you take it?

Chapter 17:

This is my favorite chapter and probably the easiest one I wrote.

Writing a story from Snape’s perspective was so fun. I knew that Dumbledore still wanted Harry to take occumulency lessons (which, surprisingly, I never actually wrote about), so I needed to send Snape out to Japan. It was too perfect of a set up not to use.

The idea of Snape being hugged by Misaki makes me laugh.

So Ryoko’s cave had been hinted at before with Moody, but here we have it at its most blatant. Something is in there. Why hasn’t Washu examined it yet? It was her hubris. She ASSUMED that it was residual energy from Ryoko. Had she taken the time to look, she would have finally gotten rid of Kagato. In addition, Dumbledore drops the ball as well. By trusting Washu blindly, he inadvertently led to Augusta Longbottom’s death and the resurrection of Kagato. Dumbledore is human; he has to make mistakes. This was one of them and it cost him dearly.

Voldemort, ladies and gentlemen! The series’ main villain has finally shown up! Poor Wormtail does nothing in this story. Oh well.

I really wish I had more things to say about this chapter. It is so good.

Chapter 18:

aka BLAM the chapter.

So by this point, I had finally started to teach Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I was in full Alice mode. So why did I do an entire freakin chapter about this?

Simple: the calm before the storm.

I knew what was coming up in the next chapter. I knew how much of a turning point it had to be. This was the gang’s last chance at “innocence” before shit got real. I balanced it out by making the characters say how random the entire chapter really is, but then again, wasn’t that the purpose of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?

Still, I love the mental image of Washu, Hermione, and Luna having a tea party while Snape is all like “I’m out.” I’ve only drawn two images from this story (the one that is the cover for the story and the one at Christmas time) but when I get the chance, I want to attempt this scene. I don’t profess myself to be a good artist, but I’d love to draw it.

Chapter 19:

This is my “Worf effect” and “stuffing into the fridge” chapter.

So to this day I am still not sure if it was wrong for me to kill Augusta off. I liked the idea that it made Neville grow up, but I am not sure if it really was an example of “women in refrigerators” or not. Augusta had served her purpose in the story and I felt that by giving Neville the happy moment with is parents, something needed to happen to him in return.

As for Minagi, I had nothing to do with her either. In fact, she was in the story mainly as a tie to the manga. I figured this would be a good use for her: to give Tenchi’s cast an emotional stake in this. I didn’t want to kill her, though, since I thought that was implausible. I did want to use her as a red herring as to why Voldemort suddenly knew about aliens and not because he unknowingly merged with Kagato. This also established Voldemort to be a credible threat to the gang. If Minagi is Ryoko’s twin, then that means Voldemort can do some damage to Ryoko.

Chapter 20:

This might not be my favorite chapter, but I think it’s the chapter that I’m most proud of.

The stuff with a candle is, of course representative of Neville. He goes through a lot this chapter, but in the end he will pull through. The part where we see how it feels to be Neville in that moment is my nod to the Matt Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization, which utilized a similar technique of writing to get us to care about Anakin’s character.

Ryoko, of course, wants to kill Voldemort. In fact, nearly everyone wants Voldemort dead. I felt it was important as time went on to emphasize that killing him outright was not necessarily the way to go. Killing IS wrong.

The bit at the end was my way of making everything worse for our heroes. Voldemort has obtained new powers, Augusta is dead, Minagi is wounded, Umbridge wins, and Dumbledore leaves the school a broken man.

Chapter 21:

This chapter sucks.

Well, I don’t know if sucks is the right word but this is hands down my least favorite chapter in the story. I just couldn’t think of anything more to do. I knew I needed to establish Umbridge’s reign as Headmistress and I knew that I needed the Weasley twins to retaliate.

I knew early on I wanted one final reference from Fred and George before the final battle with Voldemort. The tune the armor is playing is from “The Producers,” which I set up back in Chapter 16. I originally planned on the twins leaving in their own chapter, “No Need for Twins,” but I did not have enough material to stretch it out. So I combined these two chapters into one.

Lucius Malfoy is an interesting character. I wanted him to betray Voldemort, but I did not want to give Voldemort anymore spotlight until the final fight. I figured Lucius is smart enough to know when things get a little too crazy. Voldemort has now given up all of his previous missions and is focusing on a full scale assault without even trying to spring Bellatrix out of Azkaban. It is stupid and it shows Lucius that something is going wrong.

Chapter 22:

This was the last chapter I finished (minus the epilogue). I even started writing this commentary section before I finished the chapter. I knew what needed to happen and, unlike the previous chapter, I wasn’t really out of ideas. I knew how the chapter needed to play out, but I had a desire to finish the ending first for some reason.

I made Harry very whiny in this chapter, mainly to give him some much deserved spotlight. I had not been focusing on him for some time and wanted to give him something to rally behind. This is why I removed Hagrid almost immediately. I have read other stories that did not do justice to Hagrid’s dialect and I honestly did not want to try to butcher it, hence his lack of appearances in this story.

I finally decided to say, screw it, let’s just link the D.A. to the subspace room. I felt they were in the 11th hour and needed some kind of unknown gambit. Thanks to Ryoko, Umbridge knew of the Room of Requirement. I needed an in-universe reason for why Washu would actually do this after being so against it. I figured that Washu truly is a narcissist and would put aside her reservations if she was called “Little Washu” again.

I don’t know if I like Harry’s rousing D.A. speech, but I knew I wanted all of the students to rise up against Umbridge. That sort of thing would never work, hence why it was interrupted by Voldemort before the legal ramifications could be considered and why I lampshaded those thoughts in Harry’s head.

I set up Draco turning on Umbridge early on with Ryoko offering (again, don’t drink until you are 21 kids!) sake to him. She knew that he would repay her for it someday, and this was the payoff, despite how small of an action it actually was.

One does not just hit Mihoshi. The second I thought of that, I knew I had a credible reason for the teachers to turn against Umbridge openly.

Chapter 23:

Like Chapter 15, I wrote this chapter early on: right after I wrote Chapter 17. As such, I knew what had to happen by the end of Chapter 22 and I wrote by way around that. I wanted Neville, Mihoshi, Tenchi, Hannah, Dean, and Harry to play their own parts in defeating Voldemort.

Unlike Augusta, I took great joy in killing Umbridge.

I did not want Voldemort to monologue too much, but I knew he had to deliver some exposition. It was a bold move, to invade Hogwarts, and as such I needed to justify it somehow. Voldemort’s fighting style incorporated some of Kagato’s moves, specifically the shadow technique, but I didn’t want to bring out Kagato’s signature blasts until it was too late.

Flitwick playing music is yet another subtle clue that Voldemort is slowly becoming Kagato. I’d like to think that he is forcing him to play his organ recital song (my favorite piece of Tenchi music).

The Order of the Phoenix arriving was a last minute addition. When I decided upon it, I was not sure if I should include Yosho or Minagi, but I felt it brought everything full circle to include them. I was also not planning on Yume returning, but again I wanted to bring it all together. Yume was there for the killing of the horcruxes, she should be there for the death of Voldemort.

Chapter 24:

The introduction, right up until Washu reveals that she knew it was Kagato, was originally part of the previous chapter, but I added it to this one to let everybody think it was over.

We have yet another blatant shout out to Wizard People, Dear Reader with Kagato’s boastings.

I’m not really good at writing fighting scenes, so I hope with was a satisfying payoff for all of my loyal readers. I killed Hishima to raise the stakes of the situation. I figured it would be poetic if he sacrificed his life to save Moody’s. It’s a small character moment for Moody. I felt it fitting.

Chapter 25:

I think the newspaper articles came out alright. These were created out of the idea that The Quibbler would obviously be the only paper to take the girls’ heritage seriously. Who would believe The Quibbler? Besides, the Lovegoods are too dedicated to the journaling cause to sit on a case. Luna would feel it is her father’s responsibility to report the truth, no matter what happened.

I wanted Harry and Tenchi to have a quiet moment together. The two are the respective heroes of their own franchises so it seemed to make sense to have that scene. I knew that there was no way Tenchi would not let Harry and the Hogwarts crew visit them again, but I needed to establish that there really was no purpose for Tenchi’s crew to return as students the following year.

Was the carnival line too forced? Just my little nod to Tenchi Universe.

Neville staying with Sirius was there to show that he would be alright. After-all, if you live with Sirius Black you know you are in for a great life.

I am not sure how well the final chapter came out. On one hand it was simple to write, but I’m unsure if I went too cliched or tacky with it. I thought about doing another full blown Mihoshi madness play or movie event, but I felt like I had overdone that by this point. I also did not want the final chapter to drag on. I debated heavily about showing everyone meeting up at summer time or something like that as a legitimate chapter, but the story started with Dumbledore and I felt it needed to end with Dumbledore. Hence the epilogue.

One possible ending I had was having Mihoshi come back and teach a Muggle Pop Culture course (which I alluded to briefly), for Ryoko to teach a Muggle Self Defense course, and for Washu to teach a Science course, but I figured that would be too invasive on the Tenchi characters’ lives. They need to be allowed to live their own lives damn it!

Epilogue:

I had finished the story and I had a thought: did I rush things? I didn’t want to stretch things out at Hogwarts but I didn’t want to end the last chapter outside the school. This is where the epilogue came from. I just wanted one final spin in this world; a way for me to show that the adventures will never end.

The beginning Tenchi scenes were probably my favorite thing I wrote outside of trying my hand at Snape. I feel like I hit all the right familiar Tenchi images with proper respect. I’m really happy with how it turned out.

II wanted everyone to have at least one last line, even though I decided to have the chapter revolve around Tenchi.

When writing the epilogue, I intended on the ending being open ended with Funaho receiving an emergency call from Ryuten and bringing everybody on a space adventure. However, when I wrote that last little moment with Tenchi and Harry, I knew that it was better to end it there then to let it drag on.