Heroes of the Multiverse

by Ari Rockefeller

 

 

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters do no belong to me.

 

 

 

 

            “Ash!” Goku shouted.  He leaned forward, looking down the hole in the ground, and shouted again.  “Ash!”

 

            “Ash, can you hear us?!” Tuxedo Mask shouted a moment later.

 

            The two gentlemen paused, waiting for a response.  None came.  They were both kneeling by now, looking down into the narrow passageway.  The light didn’t penetrate very deeply into the shaft, so they couldn’t see Ash or Pikachu’s forms down below.

 

            Ash had fallen down what appeared to be a mine shaft.  When the area was mined for coal, most of the entrances underground were dug into the sides of the mountains.  Some, however, were dug into the ground, making it more convenient for faster transport outside of the caves.

 

            “How deep are these things?” Tuxedo Mask asked.

 

            “Don’t know,” Goku said.  “Could be anywhere from fifty to a hundred feet.  Let’s just hope Ash found a shallow one…”

 

            After a few moments of looking, the two other heroes embarked on a rescue mission.  Goku hopped down first, Tuxedo Mask a half-second behind him.  It was a straight drop, fifty feet straight down.  Both heroes landed on their feet, landing without more than a slight thud.  They looked around for Ash, calling his name again.  There wasn’t a response.  The cave wasn’t very well lit, the hole they fell in not providing much illumination.  With a flick of Tuxedo Mask’s wrist, a flash of white light filled the room, revealing the wounded, facedown Ash.  Pikachu was crouched beside his master, his ears down as he waited for Ash to move.

 

            “Pika pi…” {“Ash…”} he said, quietly.  His ears snapped up as Goku and Tuxedo Mask appeared, looking at the two other humans.  A wave of yellow electricity flew from his cheeks, trying to get Ash back on his feet.

 

            “Owww…” Ash moaned, rolling onto his back.  His vision was blurred and it took some time to focus on anything.  He blinked several times, and looked back at Pikachu.  “Don’t do that, Pikachu,” he groaned.  “It really hurts.”

 

            Pikachu tilted his head.  “Pika pi, pika, pika chu?” {“But Ash, don’t you ‘run on electricity’?”} Pikachu asked. 

 

            “Not after taking a bump like that I don’t.”  He saw something move out of the corner of his eye.  It was Goku’s hand, and Ash took it and pulled himself to his feet.

 

            “How are you?” Goku asked.

 

            “I’ll be fine.”  Ash looked around, and kneeled down, taking off his backpack.  He unzipped his old green backpack and stuck a hand in, eventually pulling out a lantern.  The lantern had a dimmer switch on it, and Ash quickly spun it to its brightest setting.  White light from the lantern flooded the area for a few yards in every direction around them.  What was revealed wasn’t too spectacular.  Rocky terrain everywhere, some abandoned mining tools, burned out torches…stuff that looks like it hasn’t been used in years.

 

            “Is that from Bulma’s lab?” Goku asked.

 

            “This?  Yeah, Bulma suggested I grab a few tools before leaving.  I got some pretty good stuff, too.  Hope we won’t have to use it all…”

 

            “Has any of it been perfected?” Tuxedo Mask asked.

 

            “Most of it, yeah.”  As Ash held up the lantern, he suddenly couldn’t feel Pikachu’s presence anywhere nearby.  “Pikachu?” he asked.  “Pikachu, where’d you go?”  No sooner than the question was out of his mouth than he saw his yellow mouse Pokémon running back to him.  He hopped up and down in place a few times to get Ash’s attention.  “What’s up, Pikachu?”

 

            “Pi ka, pika, pika, pi Pikachu,” {“There’s a path that way, but it’s a dead end,”} Pikachu explained, waving his hands to emphasize his “words”.

 

            “What did he say?” Goku asked.

 

            “He said that there’s a dead end that way,” Ash said. 

 

            “There’s no way we can get through it?”  Tuxedo Mask asked.  Pikachu shook his head no.

 

            “Pikachu!  Pika, pika, pi ka chu…pi ka!” {“But wait!  There’s another path…this way!”} Pikachu directed.  His flailing limbs dared to take away the seriousness of his explanation.

 

            “So what’re we waiting for?” Ash asked.  “Come on, let’s go!”

 

            “Easy there, kid,” Goku said, walking over to and past him.  “We don’t know what’s in any of these caves, so it’s best if we stick together.  Let’s stick together so we won’t get into too much trouble.”  Goku led the way, with Tuxedo Mask and Ash at his heels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER V

ALL WASHED UP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            “A good ten minutes passed, though to the three heroes, it felt like forever.  All of the tunnels they explored looked the same.  Lots of rock all over the place, but there was no real distinction.  Endless tunnels of moldy rocks and moist ground beneath their feet greeted them around every turn.  Stalactites hanging from the ceiling dripped the fleeing lake water down upon their heads.  Pikachu, while an electric-type and not particularly bothered by water, especially hated the water dripping on his furry body.  It got into his fur and since it was dripping through several layers of dirt, made his fur smell just a little bit.  Throughout their underground trek, it didn’t quite dawn on anyone that they were below millions of tons of water held up by what might have well been a thin membrane of dirt and rock.  However, since the area had held up fairly well over the years despite the various tunnels below, it didn’t quite bother the intrepid heroes.

 

            Though the batteries were specially designed, Capsule Corp-made lithium cells with long life spans, Ash turned the dimmer switch on the lantern to about half strength.  Their eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness, and the light was starting to become a strain.  Either way, there was little of interest to behold.  Just more rocks, more stalactites, and an occasional small animal that had made its home in these caves.

 

            Eventually, the three explorers came to a fork in the path.  After passing into a cramped tunnel, that tunnel widened into a small room with three different paths—one straight ahead and two on either side.

 

            “Hmm…” Goku said, rubbing his chin.

 

            “So which way do we go?” Ash asked.

 

            “Pika?” {“That way, maybe?”} Pikachu asked, pointing at one of the side paths.

 

            “Any ideas?” Ash asked again.

 

            “I say…” Goku slowly pointed at the straightforward path.  “Let’s go this way.”

 

            “And what exactly are we to base that on, Goku?” Tuxedo Mask challenged. 

 

            “We don’t know what’s down that path.”

 

            “Nor do we know about the others.”

 

            “Be that as it may, how are we to know which one is the safest?  Who knows what’s waiting down there?”

 

            A snap interrupted their little argument.  “Hey, I’ve got an idea!” Ash said.  He knelt down, and hurriedly removed his backpack.  It landed with a light thud and a small cloud of dirt.  He zipped it opened and withdrew a white, plastic case with the Capsule Corporation logo embossed on the front.  Right away Goku knew what it was, and he knew inside were about half a dozen Capsules – super-condensed gadgets, gizmos and even sometimes vehicles in the form of push-button activated capsules the size of a test tube.  As Ash popped the case open, he saw it could hold six but there were only three such Capsules inside.  He withdrew the one with a green stripe going around it, pressed the button and lobbed into the space a few feet in front of him.

 

            A small explosion went off.  When the smoke cleared, there was a small, radio-controlled car and a remote with a 2-inch LCD screen on it.

 

            “Ash,” Goku started, “I don’t think this is quite the time to be playing with your little toy car.”

 

            “No, it’s not just an RC car,” Ash insisted.  He showed Goku the front nose of the car.  “There’s a bunch of cameras in the front of this thing.  We can drive it down each one of the tunnels, and whichever one is the least threatening, we’ll take!”

 

            “Does Bulma know you have this stuff?” Goku asked.

 

            “She insisted I take it, and a few other things.”  He slipped the case into one of his pockets and grabbed the remote for the car.  As he turned it on, the system booted up and the headlights of the car came on.

 

            The remote was a modified palm pilot, essentially.  An old Pocket PC’s screen, memory and processors were placed into the handheld unit.  There was one screen, but the view could switch between each camera individually and all four at once.  Two up-and-down toggle switches steered the car, one for the left wheels and one for the right.  Once it was booted up and the screen showed camera one, Ash steered the car towards the left tunnel and let it drive away.

 

            The lights of the car grew darker as the car drove into the dark path.  Ash’s eyes never left the monitor in the handheld unit.  Moments later the car came out of the path and drove into the middle path.

 

            “Dead end?” Tuxedo Mask asked.

 

            “Yeah.  Let’s try out this one.”

 

            The little car drove down the center path, its little motor buzzing incisively.  This time, however, it was more promising.  The car got nearly fifty yards before trouble started.

 

            “Hey, this path looks all clear!” Ash said.  He put the remote back into his backpack.  “Come on, let’s hurry!”

 

            “Pika!” {“Yeah!”} Pikachu chirped.

 

            No sooner than the words had left his mouth did the entire tunnel begin to shake violently.  The rumbling managed a slight “Hm?” from the heroes before loud crashing made them jump and shout.  Ash only saw for a moment on his monitor tons of rock collapse and crush the little camera-equipped car, destroying it.  The monitor displayed a simple no signal message.

 

            “…You know,” Goku suggested, pointing at the unchecked path, “perhaps it’d be best if we went this way…”

 

            “I concur,” Tuxedo Mask stated.  Ash tossed the controller away and followed his older friends down the third tunnel.

 

            The tunnel they traversed went deeper and deeper into the earth.  The path they walked was a steady downward slope about 30 degrees, as rocky and rugged as it was.  They walked this path for more than an hour.  Though they didn’t have any instruments to tell them, Goku, Darien and even Ash could tell how deep they were heading.  It wasn’t quite the same as water pressure; though they could feel the weight of the earth growing heavier the deeper they descended.

 

            Eventually the tunnel led into a very wide open pathway.  It opened up to the size of a small stadium, and it was flooded.  Large, flat pillars of rock stood out from the water like platforms.  It was an awe-inspiring site.

 

            “Wow!” Ash shouted, looking around.  “Look at this!  Um…what is it?”

 

            “Geez, it’s like a little lake in here,” Goku said.  He looked up at the high ceiling and saw water dripping down in several places.

 

            “This must be where the water is going,” Tuxedo Mask said, looking around.

 

            “But that doesn’t make any sense!  The lake must’ve lost a lot more water than this!” Ash added.

 

            “Pika chu!” {“He’s right!”} Pikachu chirped.

 

            “He’s right,” said Tuxedo Mask.  “Where could it have all gone?”

 

            Goku squatted at the nearest ledge, looking down at the water.  There was still at least five feet from his vantage point to the water’s surface.  Something didn’t sit well with Goku, though.  There was something about this water that didn’t seem right.  Something he couldn’t put his finger on…

 

            “Guys,” Goku called, “I’m not even sure that is water…”  He saw his reflection in the water…but the water was cloudy.  His claim that it wasn’t exactly water wasn’t too far off.

 

            Ash approached Goku and stood by his side, staring down into the “water”.  “Hey, I’ve got an idea,” he said, reaching for a Pokéball.  “Squirtle, I choose you!”  Ash threw the Pokéball, and the blue turtle Pokémon emerged.

 

            “Squirtle!” {“Yo!”} he said.  The Pokémon reached behind its back and pulled a pair of sunglasses out from his shell, then put them over his eyes.

 

            “Squirtle, do me a favor and jump in this water here,” he told him.

 

            “Squirt, Squirtle!” {“Yes, sir!”} he shouted.  He turned on a dime and dived in, a graceful dive that made little splash.  But seconds later, Squirtle jumped out and back onto dry land, coughing and gagging.  “Squirt!  Squirt, Squirtle?!” {“Gross!  You call that water?!”} he barked.

 

            “What’d he say?” Goku asked.

 

            “You were right, Goku,” Ash stated, returning Squirtle.  “That’s not water.”

 

            “Then what is it?” Tuxedo Mask asked.  “And…what’s that in the water?”

 

            They were all at the ledge, looking down at a shadowy figure that darted just below the water’s surface.  It darted repeatedly back and forth, the three heroes watching its movements carefully.  The water’s surface rippled and the object from beneath emerged.  It was a hideous looking thing.  It looked like a giant, red, inflatable exercise ball, with twisted sinew running all around it and a single, piercing gold eye.  The thing shot up to a height of about ten feet above their heads and dropped straight down into the water.  Moments later, it reemerged, only this time it brought up a column of water for the ride, making it look like a watery tentacle.

 

            “It’s controlling the water!” Goku shouted.

 

            “No,” Tuxedo Mask corrected, “it is the water!”

 

            Two smaller tendrils extended from the sides of the main tentacle, making them look like arms.  Ash, still in disbelief, looked over his shoulder at his companions and raised his hand.  “Okay, am I the only one who finds this unusual?”

 

            The creature’s right tendril shot out, and fired a stream of corrupted water at the three intruders.  “Ash, watch out!” Goku shouted.  Ash’s head whipped around and saw the attack, and just barely jumped out of the way.  Goku was quick to lay down cover fire, firing a burst of ki at the water form’s center.  The form dissipated, and the eye (of sorts) dropped back into the water.

 

            It emerged again, jumping out of the water and floating on the surface.  It spun around in a circle, gradually building speed until it generated a large cyclone.  The heroes braced themselves, as rocks and small debris were sucked into the whirling vortex.

 

            “Pika!” {“Oh no!”} Pikachu squeaked, clutching as tight as his little paws would allow to Ash’s jacket.  As the vortex grew stronger, Pikachu’s grip slipped and he found his small form being drawn in.

 

            “No!  Pikachu!” Ash shouted, diving for his prized Pokémon.  He caught him, but he was slowly being dragged towards the demon.  “Wait…I got an idea; I need you to trust me on this, okay Pikachu?”

 

            “Pikachu,” {“I trust you,”} Pikachu said, but there was a hint of anxiety in his voice.

 

            “Okay.  Ready?  GO!”  And with that, Ash hurled Pikachu towards the swirling cyclone.  Even his friends looked shocked at this move, but just before he got sucked in, Ash called out to his Pokémon.  “Pikachu!  Thunderbolt attack!”

 

            “Pi!” {“Right!”} he answered, cutting loose with a wave of electricity from within the cyclone.  The attack caused it to die out, and the giant nucleus dropped to the water.  At least it would have, only Tuxedo Mask clipped it with a few magic roses.  It wobbled about, bouncing on some of the platforms before splashing back into the water.

 

            As Pikachu fell from the sky, he fell right into Ash’s arms.  “Nice job, Pikachu!”

 

            “Pika, pika!” {“Great thinking!”} Pikachu responded.

 

            Ash had little time to react when he saw the monster on the end of another watery tentacle.  Goku dashed in and pushed Ash out of the way just as it struck.  He felt the aquatic appendage wrap around his body, his arms constrained, and being lifted up into the air.

 

            “Oh no! Goku!” Ash shouted.

 

            Goku tried valiantly to struggle out, his ki flaring up to aide his escape.  As he did this, he was let go—not on his own terms, however, but was instead flung across the cavern.  Unfortunately for it, the monster had no idea the strength of a Saiyan warrior the caliber of Goku, and the Saiyan easily flipped out, spring boarded off the wall and landed on the ground no worse for the wear.

 

            The three regrouped near the edge.  “Well, that could’ve gone better,” Goku said.

 

            “It will go better!” Ash shouted.  “It’s made out of water, so it’s easy pickings for Pikachu!  Come on, hit it with another thunderbolt!”

 

            Pikachu nodded, and shot another torrent of electricity at the attacker.  Unfortunately it didn’t have nearly the same effect as the previous attack.  The monster still controlled the water into an amorphous tentacle sticking straight up out of the water, its placement at the very tip making it look like an eye.  The thunderbolt struck the midsection of the water column, but the water did nothing more than ripple violently under the force of the blow.  Even as Pikachu stopped the attack the affected section rippled, surprising the three heroes plus the rat.

 

            “It…didn’t work?” Tuxedo Mask asked, sort of stating the obvious.  This shook Ash, too, but only for a moment.  Being from the Pokémon world he was certain that everything revolved around type weaknesses—water is weak against electricity, grass is weak against fire, ground was weak against flying, etc.  Therefore, the idea of a water-based creature such as this no-selling an electrical attack – from his Pikachu, no less! – was unthinkable.

 

            The monster reacted violently, snapping Ash out of his reverie.  A thin strand of not-water shot out of the primary section as fast as a bullet and struck Ash in the chest.  It didn’t knock him down or anything; in fact, it felt like someone bounced a Nerf ball off his chest.  The second it hit, it completely covered his torso like a shirt, and as he looked down in shock at it, he was snatched back to the demon, being drawn inside completely.

 

            “Ash!” Goku shouted.  Ash was now floating around inside the strange substance the demon was controlling, unable to do much of anything.  He couldn’t breathe the stuff, and had to hold his breath as he moved about futilely.  The substance was like swimming in thick hair gel, and the translucent material stung his eyes.  He wasn’t sinking, but every effort he made to move around required a great deal of effort on his part.

 

            “Ash! Are you alright?” Tuxedo Mask shouted.  All Ash could respond with was pounding on the thin membrane that held this thing together.  Even if he was strong enough to punch through it, the substance inside didn’t allow him to really put any force behind the blows. 

 

            Tuxedo Mask responded by throwing his roses at the thing, trying to break Ash free, but to no avail.  He darted back and forth avoiding balls of the blue sludge being slung at him, eventually getting caught off-guard by one and knocked away.  Goku had similar success with blasts of ki, only when they punched holes through the monster the holes simply sealed themselves right up again.

 

            Goku saw Ash’s eyes grow wide for a sharp second and his body tense up.  The trapped boy then went limp.  “Screw this,” Goku said to himself.  His ki flared up, and he flew at the demon full-tilt, breaking through and grabbing Ash.

 

            As Goku tried to fly out the opposite side, the watery prison stretched to try and trap both of them.  The blob was stretched to its limit as Goku pressed on, the half-dead Pokémon trainer in his hands.  With a loud grunt and a surge of power, Goku broke through and freed Ash, landing clear on the other side of the cave.

 

            Goku set Ash’s body down gently.  His face was flushed and there wasn’t any sign of breathing.  He wasn’t moving.  “Ash?” he asked.  “Come on, kid, snap out of it!”  Thinking quickly, Goku pinched Ash’s nose shut and breathed into the boy’s mouth.  A moment later, Ash was hacking and coughing up water as he regained consciousness.  “You alright?”

 

            Ash was breathing heavily and had rolled onto his side, still not strong enough to get to his feet.  “Yeah…” he panted, “I’m…I’m alright.”

 

            He helped the boy get to his feet.  “What was that stuff like?”

 

            “I dunno, it was like…” Ash lifted his cap and scratched his head, trying to think of a proper description for it.  “I dunno, like swimming in hair gel or something.”  They saw Tuxedo Mask struggling to his feet, and Goku dashed off to help him with Ash trailing a few steps behind.

 

            “Well, I’m pretty sure this is the cause of the water contamination,” the Earth Soldier said, dusting the last of the sludge off him.  “Once we destroy that thing that’s controlling it, it should be okay…”

 

            “But how do we stop it?” Ash asked.

 

            “Simple,” Goku stated.  “All we have to do is get it out of the water long enough.  Without its water manipulating it’s nothing.”

 

            A slimy aquatic tentacle emerged from the water and tried to ensnare one of the heroes.  The nucleus portion started slithering up its length.  Goku caught it first, and punted the nucleus clear across the cavern.  It bounced off several walls before it regained its bearings, and tried to dive back in the water.

 

            “Fumble!” But Ash wasn’t having any of it.  He dove for the nucleus, and wrapped his arms and legs tight around the thing.  “Pikachu!  Hit me with a thunder attack!”

 

            This time, Pikachu didn’t hesitate when his master ordered a bolt of lightning beamed directly at…himself.  “Pi…ka…CHUUUUU!” he shouted, letting his most powerful electrical attack loose.  Ash’s head bent back as the tens-of-thousands of volts of electricity collided with him and the nucleus.  But, as was the intention, the nucleus felt it too and had no way to escape it.  Once Pikachu ended the attack, Ash disengaged his hold, and the nucleus was left a giant, quivering mass.

 

            It started bouncing, short hops growing into higher bounds.  It again tried to get away.  “Oh, no you don’t!” Tuxedo Mask shouted.  He leapt high into the air, channeling his Earth magic into his hands until it manifested into a giant red rose six feet in length.  He flung it downward and it stuck in the ground, impaling the demon controlling the water.  “Now, Goku!”

 

            Goku needed no more direction.  “Ka…me…ha…me…HA!”  The blue-white Kamehameha wave flew from his outstretched hands and overtook the rose and the nucleus, dissolving both of them into nothing.  It let out a long, anguished scream before it disintegrated.

 

            “Is that it?” Ash asked.

 

            “I do believe it is,” Tuxedo Mask answered.

 

            There was a loud rumbling.  The entire cavern began to shake.  The three heroes stood close together, their backs to one another, waiting to see what would happen next.  Then, something amazing happened.

 

            The water that had flooded the cabin and had served as a munitions reservoir for that creature began to move in waves so high they left whitecaps.  It then began to swirl around, generating a funnel that went almost up to the ceiling.

 

            “What?!” Goku asked.

 

            “But I thought that destroyed it!” Ash shouted.

 

            The funnel thrust up at the ceiling, and the water level dropped dramatically.  It turns out the funnel was sucking up all of the water and forcing it back up into the lake it had drained it out of.  Less than a minute was all it took for the gigantic cavern to be drained completely.  A few drops of pure, clean water dripped from the spot where the funnel touched the ceiling.

 

            “It would appear as though we did,” Tuxedo Mask said.  A few moments of silence, and the heroes cheered loudly over their victory.

 

            “Alright!  Nice job, you guys!” Goku said.

 

            “Now hopefully,” the reverted Darien said, “that would’ve been enough to fix the lake.”

 

            “Yeah.  Come on, let’s see for ourselves.”  Goku extended his hand, and both Ash and Darien put their hands on top of his.  With his free hand, Goku put two extended fingers to his forehead, and the three disappeared an instant later.

 

 

 

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

 

            Goku, Darien and Ash appeared on the shores of the lake a second later.  They arrived just in time to watch the waters of Lake Hylia slowly rise to their previous level, the water becoming a sparkling, crystal-clear blue.

 

            “It looks so beautiful,” Ash said, his eyes and smile wide on his face.

 

            “Piiii-ka,” {“Magnificent,”} Pikachu chirped from Ash’s shoulder.

 

            “You know,” Darien explained, “the results of our interference aren’t going to take effect right away.  “It’s gonna take some time for the water in town and in the ‘burbs to purify.”

 

            “I know,” Goku said.  “I figure it’ll take about 30 minutes, an hour tops.  But you’ll see.  The people will be most thankful once they find out.”

 

            “You think it’s hit the news yet?” Ash asked.

 

            “I’m sure the Mayor’s office will have an investigation ordered,” Goku said, his face becoming stern. “Nothing like this has happened before, that’s for sure.  I’d like to be out of the area once his people show up.”

 

            “…well, I see you and the Mayor don’t get along very well,” Darien said.

 

            “Let’s get back to Capsule Corp., you guys.  Then we’ll talk.”  Darien shrugged, and then put his hand on Goku’s shoulder.  Ash grabbed a hold of one arm, and with the other, Goku activated his Instant Transmission technique, warping all three of them back to the Capsule Corporation headquarters.”

 

 

 

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

 

            “So what’s up with you and the Mayor?” Ask asked.  The heroes plus Bulma were gathered in Bulma’s lab, watching a news report on the “miraculous” cleanup of the city’s water supply.

 

            “Haggar and I…” Goku started, “aren’t on the best of terms.”

 

            “Haggar?  As in Mike Haggar?” Tuxedo Mask asked.  “From Metro City?”

 

            “The same man that rid Metro City of crime and gang warfare by traveling the city and personally smashing in the heads of the known gang leaders and their goons in a hurricane of vigilantism; yeah, that’s him.”

 

            “How’d you get on his bad side?”

 

            “You weren’t here to hear about this, Darien…or you, Ash.  A few years ago Mr. Haggar tried to push into law a bill that would require any and all known heroes and ‘anti-heroes’ to register with the city…”

 

            “What’s the harm in that?” Ash asked.  “Isn’t that just like a license?”

 

            “…so they could be taxed on their exploits as heroes,” Goku finished.

 

            “What?  But…that’s stupid!”

 

            “You’re not the only one who thought that, Ash,” Bulma said.  “Goku here led a movement to have the proposition shut down.  We started a petition on the matter, too.  We got over ten million signatures.  They convinced enough of the board of trustees to vote down the policy.  And that was the end of the so-called ‘Hero Tax’.”

 

            “Haggar-san wasn’t very pleased with the decision, either,” Goku added.  “And he’s held a grudge against me ever since.”

 

            “But wasn’t he a hero himself at one point?” Ash asked.

 

            “He was, but he’s more concerned with keeping the city running and himself in office nowadays,” Bulma said.  “Priorities change, kid.  Someday, when you’re as old as any of us, you’ll understand.”

 

            “Anyway, how’s the Looking Glass coming along, Bulma?” Darien asked.

 

            “We’ve made excellent progress on it, boys,” she answered, her mood becoming brighter.  “We should have it up and running in about another week.  Man, are you going to love it!”

 

            “It still sounds like it’ll cost a lot of money,” Goku said.  “Speaking of money…Ash, you don’t have a bank account with any bank in the city, do you?”

 

            “Um…no,” Ash answered.  He fished his wallet out of his pants pocket.  “In fact…” he thumbed through it, not finding anything in it but a few pictures, “I don’t have any money at all.”

 

            “That can be fixed,” Bulma said.  She exited the lab, and when she came back, she had her purse in hand.  She retrieved a bit of money – several bills worth – and handed it to the boy.

 

            Ash inspected the money and was shocked by the amount.  “A thousand dollars?!” he shouted.

 

            “Pika!” {“Damn!”} Pikachu added.

 

            “You think that’ll be enough?” Goku asked.

 

            “Enough?” Ash echoed.  “This…I can’t accept this, Bulma!  It’s too much!”

 

            “Please,” Bulma scoffed, “don’t worry about it.  You’ll be fine.  Now then…” She went to a computer terminal with a PDA connected to it.  Her hands moved rapidly across the keys as she programmed some coordinates into it.  A second later the information was transferred to the PDA.  Once the link was closed, she disconnected it and handed it to Ash.  “There’s a bank here in the business district where a lot of the big business in The City do all their banking.  It’s called the First Bank of Multiverse City.  All you have to do is go there, open an account, and you’ll be all set.”

 

            “Alright,” Ash said, looking at the PDA.  There was a map of Multiverse City, with a blue blip indicating his location and a red blip indicating the bank.  It could zoom in from the entire city to a radius of two blocks.  And when it was that close in, it could show what business occupied each lot.  “It’s halfway across the city,” he stated.

 

            “It’ll be good exercise,” Bulma said with a smile.  “How you get there is up to you, though.  I recommend going on foot; I mean, it’s hard to appreciate the sites if you’re flying among the roof tops.”  She bent down until she was eye-level with the boy.  “Trust me, you’ll enjoy it!  Get out there and enjoy the sites!”

 

            “Alright.” He and Pikachu headed for the door.  “Do you…want me back by any certain time?”

 

            “Nah, just take your time, Ash,” Goku said.  “If you need any help, you’ll give us a call, though, alright?”

 

            “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”  He turned to leave.  “See you guys later!”

 

            “Pika, pika!” {“See ya later!”} Pikachu added.

 

 

 

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

 

             Back in the Pokémon world, a country-boy like Ash would’ve been out of place in a city like Viridian or Celadon, two of the bigger cities he had been to.  That same country-boy like Ash should’ve been eaten alive in Multiverse City.  But, like any good Pokémon trainer, adaptability became key—not just in Pokémon battling but in new situations and in life.

 

            The city was huge, and Ash still couldn’t comprehend just how big it was, or how big the world he was currently visiting was.  The city’s population of a hundred million people seemed to out in full force today, and Ash found it that much more difficult to move about the city.  Since he had not been in the city for very long, he assumed the best way to go to his destination was via the main streets.  He was wrong.  There were plenty of shortcuts available, but since this was his first time in the city by himself, he didn’t know any of them.  Thus, he and Pikachu were pushing in, out and through the sea of humanity on the way to the bank.  His money was safely in his wallet in his pocket, and if word about the negligible crime rate of Multiverse City was true, he didn’t have to worry about his money getting stolen.

 

            As he walked through the city, he saw dozens of shops, clothing boutiques, restaurants (fast food and otherwise), miscellaneous…adult entertainment establishments, and the like.  He saw a sign leading down one street that was marked North Star Park à and headed in that direction.

 

            North Star Park was roughly three times the size of Central Park.  All before him in this park was a seemingly endless plains dotted with trees, crisscrossed with paths and rivers, speckled with a few lakes, and accented with a few merchants who were pushing their cards and peddling their wares.

 

            Ash stopped his journey to the bank and walked around for a little while.  He came to a beautiful fountain that had an angel pouring water out of a jar.  The water was crystal clear; no doubt free of the toxins that creature had created up at Lake Hylia.  Ash sat on the edge of the fountain, looking up at the sky.  Some clouds floated up above, but did little to block out the sun’s light.  The afternoon was pleasant, not too hot and not too cold.

 

            Pikachu hopped off Ash’s shoulder and leaned into the fountain, drinking some of the water.  Ash watched him drink for a few moments, and looked around some more.  Something on the ground caught his eye.  He stood up and walked over to it to find…a donut?

 

            What’s a donut doing in the middle of the park? Ash thought.  It had chocolate icing and rainbow sprinkles, and was on a small paper plate.  It looked like someone was going to sit down and eat it right there.  But there was no one else around except a fat merchant with a thin moustache and a pony tail selling what looked like swords, spears and axes out of the back of his wagon.  Ash reached down for the donut…

 

            …and quickly snatched his hand away when a gunshot rang out.  He didn’t see the shooter, but saw a little black spot where the bullet struck the ground.  Pikachu’s ears snapped up and he rushed to his master’s side, ready to defend him.

 

            “What the hell?!” Ash shouted.

 

            “You keep away from that donut, kid!” a woman’s voice called.  Ash turned his head and saw a short, black haired woman with a white trench coat and a smoking Derringer pistol in her hand.  Behind her was a very tall woman with long, brown hair, a gentle face, and a brown overcoat on.  She looked at the shorter woman with a worried expression.

 

            “Gee, Merrill,” she said, “I don’t think that was called for.”

 

            “It was plenty called for, Millie,” Merrill said.  “Besides, we both know donuts are that knucklehead’s favorite food, and if we’re gonna get him to follow us, the donut trail can’t be broken…especially by some ignorant little kid like this!”

 

            “Hey, what’s the big idea?” the ignorant little kid Merrill spoke of asked.

 

            “Look, kid,” Merrill started, “we need that donut to catch someone very dangerous.  I’d appreciate it if you kept your hands off!”

 

            “Well why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” Ash snapped.  Pikachu was back on his shoulder and giving her the same disgusted look Ash was.  “You didn’t have to go and shoot at me you crazy old lady!”

 

            Merrill’s face turned white, then red.  Her eyes narrowed into slits and steam hissed as it poured out of her ears.  “Crazy…old…lady?!” she wailed.

 

            Ash’s face fell.  Oh, no!  I just made this woman mad! he thought.  He shut his eyes and waited for the woman to beat him into the ground.  But no beating came.  Another, much louder, gunshot rang out, and Ash opened his eyes.  The shorter woman – Merrill, was her name? – was on the ground, a large metal X constraining her upper body.  She looked shocked for a second, and then broke out into a tirade of loud profanity.  The taller woman – Millie, right? – was facing Merrill and had a long-barreled gun out.  Apparently she was the reason the smaller woman was on the ground. 

 

            She put her gun away under her coat and approached Ash.  “I’m terribly sorry about that, little boy,” the tall woman said.

 

            “Little boy?  Please!” Ash said.  “I’m not just a little boy!  I’m Ash Ketchum, the greatest Pokémon Master in the world!”

 

            “Oh!  Oh, I’ve heard of you!”  The woman’s smile grew.  “Anyway, you’ll have to excuse my partner…she can get pretty serious about her work.”

 

            “What kind of work?  Are you two bounty hunters?”

 

            “Not really.”  She produced a business card and handed it to her new friend.  “I’m Millie Thompson of the Bernardaley Insurance Society.  My associate there is Merrill Strife.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 

            Ash looked at the card.  “What’re a couple of insurance agents doing chasing…who are you chasing after, anyway?”

 

            By now, Merrill released herself from the constraints Millie put her under.  “We’re on the trail of a dangerous criminal known as the Humanoid Typhoon…mankind’s first localized natural disaster.  A man so dangerous and destructive he has a reward on his head of sixty billion double doll—er, um…credits.  It’s our job to record the destruction caused as a result of his actions or even his presence.”

 

            “Sixty billion credits, you say?!” Ash asked, dumbfounded.

 

            “Sixty billion, with a ‘b’ as in ‘boy’.”

 

            “He must’ve done some pretty nasty stuff to get that kind of reward for his arrest.”

 

            “If you met the guy yourself you’d never believe it was him,” Millie added.  “He’s really very nice, a bit shy, though.  And he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

 

            “How many people do you have to kill to be that hunted, though?”

 

            “You’d never guess,” Merrill said.  She flashed an “a-ok” sign with her right hand.

 

            “What…zero?” Ash asked.

 

            “That’s right; the man hasn’t taken even a single human life.  Surprising, isn’t it?”

 

            “Unbelievable.”  Ash looked at his watch.  “Well, I gotta get going, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him.”

 

            “Be sure that you do,” Merrill said.  “But whatever you do, don’t try to take him down yourself, he’s way too dangerous!  Got it?”

 

            “Got it!  Let’s go, Pikachu!”

 

            “Pika, pika!” {“And away we go!”} Pikachu shouted.  The two insurance agents waited for the boy to get out of earshot to keep talking.

 

            “You don’t think Mr. Vash the Stampede would really do anything to that poor kid, would he?” Millie asked.

 

            “Doubtful,” Merrill answered.  “Hell, I’ll bet my next paycheck he’ll probably end up playing with that kid’s Pikachu.”  Merrill felt something move against her leg.  She looked down at her feet.  A small, black cat with large, green eyes was meowing softly while rubbing in and out of her ankles.

 

 

 

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

 

            “A detective?  You?” Ash asked of a kid of about six years old.

 

            “You find it hard to believe I’m a detective?  What about you?” the boy asked.  He had on blue shorts, a blue suit jacket, a white shirt underneath, red sneakers, and black glasses.  “You must be twelve years old and already you’ve amassed a battalion of creatures to do your bidding, correct?”

 

            “Y-yeah,” Ash answered.  “But, how do you know that?”

 

            “It doesn’t take a master detective like me to recognize the great Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum in the flesh.”

 

            Ash felt overjoyed.  “Finally, some recognition!”  He suddenly became very bashful.  “I’m sorry I don’t know very much about you, though.”

 

            “Don’t worry about it,” the kid said.  “Judging by your perplexed look and curious glances as you were walking down the street, I’d say you haven’t been in the city long.”

 

            “That’s right, I haven’t.”

 

            The kid took off his glasses.  “Trust me, there’s very little that escapes the eyes of detective Conan Natagawa.  With a keen eye for detail, one truth will prevail!”  Conan put his glasses back on.  “So, what brings you to The City, Ash?”

 

            “I just joined up with a superhero group started by a man named Goku,” he explained.

 

            “You’ve met Goku?  Wow…I’m so jealous.”

 

            “What about you, what’re you doing around here?”

 

            “Rumors are floating around that a notorious larcenist named Arsénsé Lupin III is on the loose in Multiverse City,” Conan explained.  His lips pursed at Ash’s blank expression.  “The man’s a thief.  A dangerous one.”

 

            “Wow,” Ash murmured.  Conan’s explanation made everything come into place.  “First an outlaw with a sixty billion credit bounty and now a dangerous thief.  Not bad for our first day in the city, huh, Pikachu?”

 

            “Pika,” {“It’s a bit much,”} Pikachu said.

 

            “You don’t mean to say you’re gonna try and stop Lupin III all by yourself, are you?  The man’s stolen more artifacts and broken out of more prisons than you and I have had good days.  A city this size is the perfect place to disappear.  A population of hundred million people is difficult to keep track of, no matter what the technology.”

 

            “I never said I’d try and stop him myself.  The other guys I’m working with have my back.”

 

            Conan smirked.  “It’s nice to know you’ve got some pretty powerful friends on your side.  I’d love to be part of a superhero outfit like you’ve got!”

 

            “Yeah, well—what the?” A very large man was walking by, and something he was carrying dropped out of his hands and landed about a foot from where the two boys were shooting the breeze.  The man in question was huge—not in the muscular way, but really, really fat.  He had to have been nearly 350 lbs., and had a bush of blond hair on his head and a blond goatee on his chin.  The red flannel shirt he wore could’ve been used as a blanket for both of the kids, and the huge jeans he wore they could’ve gotten lost in.  He had a large belt buckle with flames on it, and a bicycle chain clipped onto one of his belt loops.  His boots were polished black, and the white undershirt was yellowed at the armpits.

 

            “Yo, little dudes,” he said in a thick New Jersey accent, “would one-a-ya be a bro and grab that for me?”  In his hands were four boxes of pizza, with six cheesesteak sammiches stacked atop them.  Two 3-liter bottles of soda were in plastic bags hanging off his arm.

 

            “Coop,” said the twig-like twenty-something accompanying him, “you want me to carry some of that stuff?”  He had on a black hoodie, black jeans, and a green toboggan on his head.

 

            “Nah, it’s cool Jamie, I can carry it,” Coop answered.  He bent down so Ash could stack the brown paper bag on top of the other food.

 

            “Smells good,” Ash commented.  He looked inside and saw a large order of French fries wrapped in tin foil.

 

            “Hey, thanks a lot,” Coop said as he and Jamie walked away.  “Catch ya later!”

 

            Ash and Conan watched as the large guy walked away.  “Who is that?”

 

            “Cooper Kerplowski,” Conan said.  “He pilots a giant robot called the Megas.  But judging by his attitude and demeanor when he gets behind the wheel of his robot, you’d never guess he was a giant mech pilot.  He’s not your ordinary mech pilot to say the least.”

 

            “Cool.  I’d like to have my own robot.”

 

            “Pika pi, pika chu,” {“Ash, we gotta get going,”} Pikachu reminded him.

 

            Ash looked at his watch.  “Oh yeah, you’re right.”  He started off past Conan.  “Hey, we gotta get outta here.  It was nice meeting you, though!”

 

            “Nice meeting you too, Ash!  See ya later!”

 

 

 

 

* * * * *

 

 

 

 

            Ash gave one more look at his PDA.  The blue blip was in the center of the screen, and the red blip was up in the upper right hand corner.  “Alright, we’re almost there.  Come on; let’s hurry before it closes, Pikachu!”

 

            “Pika!” {“Right!”} Pikachu said.  Ash picked up his pace and was nearly running as he approached the bank, the remainder of the trip going without incident.  The bank was huge, the building easily 20 or 30 stories.  Ash climbed the large staircase to the front doors and went in.

 

            As he entered, he paid no heed to the three men and one woman waiting off to the side.

 

            “So when are we gonna do this, Lupin?” one bearded man in a black suit with matching fedora asked.

 

            “Hold your horses, Jigen,” Lupin answered.  He passed a hand over his short, black hair.  “I’m just waiting for the right moment.”

 

            “If we wait too long, we will miss our chance,” said a Japanese man in a white kimono and hakama pants.  His long, black hair fluttered in the breeze.

 

            Lupin looked around, and then looked at his watch.  He looked his male friends, and then at the sexy, big busted, machine gun toting bombshell standing next to him.  “Fujiko, Jigen, Goemon…” he motioned to the front doors.  “Shall we?”

 

            Goemon pushed one door open, and he, Jigen and Fujiko filed in behind him, with Goemon picking up the rear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED……………