Rei, Ami, Usagi, Makoto, and Minako were crowded around the TV. Luna and Artemis were standing on a table behind them.
�The sudden thunder storm has many meteorologists quite puzzled,� the news reporter said.
Rei looked offended. �That�s no natural storm!� she fumed at the reporter. �It�s being caused by some form of evil!�
Makoto said, �Shut up, Rei! We might as well listen to what they have to say.� The other scouts murmured in agreement. Rei tried to chill her temper.
��We have the most advanced technology here,� said a graying man with thick glasses who was standing in front of many rapidly flashing computers. �Strangely enough, our radars didn�t see it coming. We are now checking the system for bugs or errors.�
The news reporter came back onto the screen.
�That�s Channel Nine News for you. I�m Dominic Gale. Please join us at four o�clock.�
Rei clicked the remote and Dominic Gale�s face momentarily stretched wordlessly before leaving the screen dark and lifeless. �That didn�t tell us a single thing,� Rei sighed.
Makoto raised her eyebrows and looked skyward. �Guess they know less than us.�
Rei�s eyes glowed. �You believe me.�
Makoto, Minako, and Ami nodded, �M-hm.�
�Like you said, it�s no natural storm. Look at how fast it�s gathering,� Ami pointed out matter-of-factly. Rei glowed.
�� And those computers are state-of-the-art. My computer club helped with the programming. They�d pick up anything,� Ami continued. Rei, Makoto, Minako, Artemis, and Luna sighed and sweatdropped.
�So do you think we should check it out?� Minako asked the group in general.
�Most certainly a job for the Sailor Scouts!� Luna replied.
�Right!� Rei ordered.
Minako, Makoto, and Ami nodded. �Let�s go!�
�Usagi?� Rei asked, snapping out of her glorious-war-general phase. Everyone looked around with blank stares. Usagi was nowhere to be seen.
�Huh! Where is she?� Minako asked no one in particular. Right after she spoke, giggles drifted from behind the couch.
�Usagi?� Rei wondered aloud. She walked over to the couch to investigate and bent over so her upper body was hidden behind the couch. �USAGI!� she yelled. She straightened up, reveling that Usagi�s collar was clasped firmly in one hand. A manga was in the other. �WERE YOU READING THIS MANGA INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO US?� She furiously waved the manga in Usagi�s face.
�Um� Uh-huh,� replied Usagi with an innocent please-don�t-hurt-me smile.
�Usagi!� the scouts moaned.
�Can I have it back now, Rei? I was just getting to the good part!�
�NO!� everyone bellowed.
�Um, okay,� Usagi sweatdropped.
�Oh, brother,� Makoto groaned.

�Man, I have never seen a storm come up so fast!� Kara proclaimed as they ran to the garage.
�Uggh, I�m soaked!� Karen whined as she gingerly attempted to wring out the tank top she was wearing. Cardiff shrugged, apparently oblivious to the cold breeze and the water streaming into her face from her pointed hair.
�At least I�m not overheated anymore,� she pointed out. Karen shot her a dark look.
�Wow,� Leeann said as she looked out the window, �you can�t see two feet!� Chiquita nodded in agreement. Karen shivered.
�Here, Karen,� Kara said softly, offering Karen a towel. �I know you want one of these; use it before you start complaining of the cold.�
Karen humored Kara with a grin and a, �Oh, thanks.� She grabbed the towel.
Quatre is laughing.
�What?� Karen asked herself. But there wasn�t that much to ask. An image was forming in her head, and, as clearly as if it was being painted across the garage wall,
Quatre is laughing.
�Karen?� Chiquita asked. For some reason Karen�s eyes had lost their focus, as if there was something seriously wrong.
Kara placed a restraining hand on her half-sister�s shoulder, not that she could have restrained her with only her muscles. So perhaps it was a comforting hand, not a restraining one.
Hiro is standing next to a pool. Quatre is in the pool. He is still laughing.
Leeann looked at Karen, raised her eyebrows, looked at Kara, and asked, �What�s going on?�
Duo runs up behind Hiro and pushes both Hiro and himself into the pool.
�Just wait one minute,� Kara insisted. Then as an after-thought, she added for Leeann�s sake, �It�s a premonition.�
The pool glows a blinding gold. Quatre stops laughing. Somebody yells and there are several splashes.
�Don�t touch her, anybody,� Kara ordered almost lazily.
�It�s all dark,� Karen�s voice says. There is a heartbeat. It is dark. Slowly there is mist. Whoever Karen is raises their head. Sailor Pluto is standing there. �Why am I here?� Karen�s voice asks. �We have a mission,� Sailor Pluto�s voice says. Her lips do not move. �It�s not for them,� many voices whisper all at once. �It will be them,� a strange voice says. Karen does not recognize it. It sounds almost male, silky and gentle, yet harsh and grating, at the same time. The mist silently covers Sailor Pluto and she disappears. With a slight groaning sound, a picture swims into focus in front of Karen. It is Duo and Hiro, standing motionlessly next to each other. There is only blackness around them. Seamlessly, they morph into Karen and Cardiff, then into Michiru and Haruka. Michiru and Haruka fade, only to reappear in the same places and positions but joined by all the Sailor Scouts, gundam pilots, and Otaku 5. They all fade and the noise of the heartbeat fades as well. There is a red light that grows in their absence but then fades as well. Wufei stands in front of Karen, or Karen�s eyes, anyway, as Karen just saw her body standing there a little while ago, and looks down at himself. He is wearing a red Sailor Scout outfit! His face is as red as his high heels ~~
Karen�s eyes snapped into focus and she cracked up.
�It�s over, I gather?� Kara asked nonchalantly. Karen looked at her, strangely, as if she hadn�t realized she was there. Suddenly Karen was struck with the sensation of coldness, and struck hard. A shiver racked her body.
�Yeah,� she said faintly. �It�s over.�
�You don�t understand it?� Kara asked, slightly concerned.
�No,� Karen said in a strained voice.
Kara patted her shoulder. �You will.�
Karen�s eyes slid out of focus. �Yeah,� she said faintly. Her eyes slid back into focus before anyone could notice they had been any different. Her voice was back to normal as she added, �It will happen in the future. It�s because of the towel.�
Cardiff cocked an eyebrow. �Uh, Karen, how do you know it was in the future? Where we, like, I dunno, old geezers or something?�
Karen locked eyes with Cardiff. Slowly, she said, �You and I both looked the same as we do now. Don�t ask me how I know. I know.�
Chiquita hesitantly broke the silence stretching between Karen and Cardiff by venturing, �Karen? Are you going to use that towel?�
Cardiff and Karen snapped their heads in Chiquita�s direction, eyes wide. �Huh?� they asked simultaneously.
�Your�your towel,� Chiquita explained. �You�re making a puddle.�
Cardiff nearly spit all over Chiquita in attempt to keep from laughing. She managed to gasp, �Bad�puppy�I thought we�had you house�broken�� Unable to hold it in any longer, she let out a loud, long laugh.
�That�s not what I meant!� Chiquita yelled defensively as she blushed. She looked at Karen for support, but then the laughter got the better of her, too. Kara shook her head and laughed softly, finding her siblings much funnier than the joke. Karen was cracking up through her chattering teeth. Obligingly, but still laughing, she draped the towel around her shoulders. Leeann looked blankly from Karen to Cardiff and back again.
�Karen�s not a puppy,� she said slowly. Cardiff threw a towel at her, and it wrapped around her head.
�You are such an AIRHEAD!� everyone in the garage, excluding Leeann, yelled in unison.