Most of this is like the first version, but there are some changes near the end. Instead of disappearing, the President has a scene in the hospital.

CHARLES SUMPTER thought "music" meant "country and western." An evening at the White House built around three classical musicians did not entice him, but he didn't realize how much trouble he was in for until the day arrived. First up, there was a last-minute cancellation by the Assistant FBI director's husband--and the substitution of a Special Agent Sumpter had never heard of. Of course, the Agent would check out, but it was disturbing because it almost certainly met that the Assistant Director was going to use the occasion to get something to the President--it was a tactic she had used to get around the Attorney General and the Chief of Staff before, and the President would know.

It was something that happened all the time, but it also made for a disrupted routine--and mistakes were most likely to be made during that routine. Truthfully, Sumpter really worried about some political shenanigans that the Secret Service might be asked to testify about than an assasination attempt--but there was always the chance that the President would want to get away from Secret Service protection and possible Secret Service agent testimony, and that was always an opportunity for danger.

The second surprise was that the guests arrived with an alarming number of small children, including many babes-in-arms. It was certainly a great source of photo ops, but children were always more work for the detachment.

Michiru seemed to be the complete image of herself, except that those photographers familiar with her reputation were surprised how maternal she was--it was the first time she had ever been openly photographed with her children, and it was clear she was not putting on an act for the President.

Once she began to perform, however, she was all "green fire," especially when she was performing only with Descartes--she was clearly performing to show him up, and while he did not falter, the strain was obvious to anyone watching the performance, whether in the drawing room or on Television. Even Kimi noticed it, though she didn't say anything to her father . . .

Jack Crawford wasn't paying a great deal of attention to the performance. He was busy assimilating the discovery that Michiru was intimately associated with Mrs. Chiba, her daughter, and everyone else he had met in the Kensington mansion, except the late Mr. Kevin Jones . . . the widow of a Blue gang-banger was sitting no more than six feet from the President of the United States, who was sitting between Dr. Alvarson and her husband.

Victor Ballin waited to for the intermission and the chance to meet the President of the United States. He also waited for a break for applause to tell the Assistant Director something. When it came, he said, "I recognize that man in the second row."

"You do?"

"Martin Tiggs. He was with the Bureau, but he left. What is he doing here?"

"I don't know . . . Tiggs? Undercover?"

"Yes."

The Assistant Director thought for a moment. "It can wait. But thank you for having an eye open."

The next piece was short, and then it was intermission.

"You're sure about this?" asked the President.

"Yes," said Ballin, picking up the archive disk. "If I could have a little time, I will show you the critical evidence."

"That can wait . . . Annie, stay after the performance. Chet, get Rostov. We'll discuss this after our little event here. Which, need I remind you, is on live television? We have to get back. We're late already."

So, the President came back to the drawing room, on live television. And people across the nation--albeit a rather small proportion--saw Albert Ballin blanche and grab Annette Kerkorian, the assistant FBI director, and whisper something in her ear.

"What is it now, Ballin?" asked the Assistant Director

"There--look, in the first row! Three of the suspects are sitting in the first row! And the girl with Michiru, talking to the President--that's Sarah Uer! From the Sauvage video!"

There was one pair of ears across the room who noticed the whispering and had ears keen enough to tune in on the conversation. Nereid was holding onto her mother's hand and Chibi-Usa's. Instinctively, she lent her ears to them . . .

Annette Kerkorian froze for just a moment--but it was long enough for her to decide on caution. She whispered to Ballin, "Go to Sumpter, over there, and warn him there are armed people among the guests. I'm going to try to get the President away from them."

Michiru caught Annette Kerkorian's remarks. She gave the crystal in her left earring a quarter-turn, activating the alert.

Sarah, who really was an almost-fifteen-years-old All-American girl, reacted instinctively as soon as she understood the words. She transformed, extended her wings around the President, her mother, and her baby sisters, and teleported to a safe place. The safest place in her world . . . the room where papa watched over Kimi.

The President had been conversing with Michiru when the artist looked away, down at her still very small older child, whom she had not heard say a word all evening. The child said something in Japanese, a very brief phrase. Michiru did something odd then--she looked back up suddenly, and she grabbed an earring--and then, she was different . . .

Chibi Moon cried out, "Where is papa-san?" in Japanese.

Kimi said, "Papa had to go help in the Emergency Room. Why did you come now?"

"Bad men with weapons have gotten into the White House! I must go back to help the others!" And she teleported out.

"No, Chibi-Usa is wrong," said Chibi Neptune, flying up so she could see Kimi-chan and Kimi-chan could see that she was here. "They think that she is an enemy! A man said that Sarah was 'one of the suspects.' Auntie Moon, they know that Sarah is a senshi. The man said she was from the 'Sauvage' video. They play that on TV in Paris all the time."

"I know that one, Neri-chan," said Kimi. "I am in it, too. But I just saw you transform on the TV. And Mama and your mama."

Chibi Moon's transformation more or less triggered everyone else's, and the cameras caught about five seconds of this process before power failed--one of Sailor Jupiter's mature tactics was damping power grids by absorbing electrical energy. She not only soaked up an enormous charge at little cost in fatigue to herself; she also threw the unknown enemies into darkness. And in her winged forms, she could see quite well in the dark . . .

None of the Ayakashis had winged forms, though, and the shrill, harsh voice of Cooan was soon heard . . .

For the first time in history, guns were drawn and triggers pulled in the White House. There would have been a lot of casualties if Chibi Mars was not using one of her best powers--the ability to suppress fire. Including gunfire--the Secret Service men and the Marine guards pulled back operating bolts and slides in vain. In fact, this was the worse for them, because the Sailors, who could all see in the dark, quickly moved to them and knocked most of them out. Chief Sumpter, one agent, and one marine withdrew from the room. Radios ineffective, McBride sent the Agent outside to alert the perimeter guards and send out the alarm, while he ran to the West Wing to get reinforcements and see if he could find a working phone.

"Chibi Moon," shouted Sailor Venus, command instincts activated to the full. "Where did you take them?"

"I left them for Papa, with Kimi."

"Neptune too? Never mind . . . Everyone, we must get the children out now! Naru, sleep spells! Put everyone else out; we don't know who to trust."

No recorders were working then, but one of the cameramen was Japanese . . .

The agent sent by Sumpter successfully alerted the perimeter, but their phones were dead, too. The Secret Service puts a lot of thought into contigencies, though, and they had colored flares to signal the other gates. The agent still ran for the next one, though. He noticed that cars on Pennsylvania Avenue were stalled, and that the lights were out for several blocks. Passing a police car, he stopped to clue the officers in on the situation. One of them started running toward the nearest lighted area while the agent started again for the next gate . . .

Sumpter found his way into the West Wing with great difficulty--even the emergency lights were barely glowing, but he noticed that they got a little brighter as he got further from the drawing room. Knowing that phones actually use very little current, he kept checking each one he could find as he worked his way back, and spread the word for others to do the same. He was eventually rewarded by a shout from down the dim hallway: "Chief Sumpter! We've got the DC Police!"

He sprinted to the voice, falling painfully once but getting up instantly. Once at that phone, he said in his most commanding tone, "This is White House Security Chief Sumpter. We have a hostile takeover in the White House. Seal off the White House District immediately! The President may be a hostage at this time and an attempt may be made to take him from the vicinity! I don't know how long this connection will last, so inform the Treasury Department, the Attorney General's Office, the Department of Defense, and all the Armed Services. And call the Vice President! The Emergency Number for the Vice President today is . . . "

"Auntie Naru," said Chibi Moon, "You shouldn't have put this lady to sleep. She is the one who knew about the bad men. I can't read her thoughts when she's asleep like mama can."

"I am sorry, Chibi-Usa, I am tired now. I don't have enough energy to work the wake-up spell."

"I will take her back to Mama, then."

"Wait, will you run out of energy? We need you for the big teleport, I think."

"I'm not sure . . . but Mina-chan is right, we must get the babies back first."

"It is impolite for you to call her that. She is your Auntie."

"I am sorry, Auntie."

"I can't hold the power off any longer," said Sailor Jupiter, "And if we don't jump soon, I will have to discharge."

"Senshi!" cried Sailor Venus. "Form up for the teleport! Naru, get in the circle!"

"But I haven't--"

"Naru, now! Everyone! Twenty seconds! Nineteen, eighteen . . .

Sumpter felt an immense rush of relief--the lights came on. But they flickered, then flashed, and he heard the pop! of exploding bulbs. But not all of them. The power surge smoothed out, and the West Wing seemed close to normal.

"Twelve, Eleven . . ."

Sailor Zara had noticed that the man in uniform with the briefcase handcuffed to his arm had seemed to be close to the President all the time. The briefcase must be important for the President. So, she used her power to move things with her mind to unlatch the handcuff, and took the case with her as she ran to join the circle.

"Eight, Seven . . ."

At this point, the security cameras in the Drawing Room and the surrounding rooms were working again . . .

Zara saw men with guns coming in a hall, so she slammed all the doors shut and locked them--a trick she had learned long ago, because it was a wonderful way to joke with people, especially Zoe.

Zoe was on the other side of the doors, but she walked through them--that was the first power she had found, probably because her adoptive sister locked her inside places so much. That is also why she didn't notice the bullet that passed through her as she was dematerialized--the first one successfully fired in the whole incident.

A mixed squad of Secret Service, White House Guards, and Marines smashed the Drawing Room door opens with rifle butts, and burst in.

There was no one inside.

The President had said nothing for what seemed like a long time. Her considerable mind was being overwhelmed by a lot of things that didn't make the slightest sense. Instead of the drawing room of the White House, she was now in a much smaller, plainer room. A window showed an unfamiliar cityscape. It was dimly lit, but colors were still visible, and the clouds above were mostly sunlit.

The petite teenager, the one Michiru had insisted come with her mother to watch her infant--she was speaking in a language the President could not understand. She handed the infant she had been carrying in her arms to the President--and then she wasn't there any more. And there had been something different about her . . .

Michiru was still there--but she seemed to have wings, vivid green like her hair, and instead of a gown, she was in some sort of leotard, like a skater or a gymnast or a dancer. And her older child was a little miniature of her, except that her hair was black with green streaks--and she was actually using her wings, flying up, saying something the President couldn't understand.

The woman in the wheelchair was still there, too. The President looked down, and saw that she was reaching out her hand to caress the head of a small girl in the bed--a hospital bed. The child was hooked up to many tubes; perhaps half her body was bandaged. The woman also reached out with her wing--her wing--huge and black, with a few brilliant touches of color.

The connection was clear, but General Henry Clayborne could hear a lot of background sounds from the other end. "This is White House Security Chief Sumpter, General. The hostiles have possession of the War Emergency Directives. This is definite. The hostiles have possession of the War Emergency Directives."

"Right. Stay on the line, if you please." General Clayborne put Sumpter on hold, and said, "Major, send this: Looking Glass Priority One Alert. Defcon Three, Situation Blue Nine Charlie. All commands. Lieutenant, warm up the hotlines. Flash that there is a critical domestic situation and that we are putting our forces on maximum alert as a precautionary measure . . . "

The United States of America was now readying to go to war . . .

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