Eternal thanks to the birthday girl, J and Masked Maiden for looking 

this chapter over for me to make sure I haven't made any truly grievous 

mistakes.  Why is that it's always easier to spots the spelling and 

grammar errors in the stories of everyone but yourself?  <sigh>  It 

must be one of those contraire mysteries like taking an umbrella with 

you to make sure it doesn't rain.



A very wise person wrote to me and said that fanfics writers are paid 

in mail.  A truer statement I have never heard!  So, please write to me 

at Mearari@aol.com and be kind.  The good you do comes back to you, but 

bad karma is forever!



Standard Disclaimer – As much I was wish I didn't have to say this, it 

is unfortunately necessary.  I don't own Sailor Moon or any of the 

attendant characters to which valid copyright laws apply and I do not 

receive any monetary gain from this story.  I guess this means I have 

to go to work tomorrow.  Oh darn!





********************



"Fatal Exposure"



By Meara



Chapter Two - "Negative Reactions"



********************



Mamoru was in his apartment's small kitchen when it hit him.  The 

coffee pot in his hand fell to the floor, shattering into a thousand 

pieces.  The feelings overtook Mamoru with such ferocity that it drove 

him to his knees.



Fear/panic/desperation.  Usagi's voice filled his mind and tore at his 

soul.  <Mamo-chan, help me! >  There was a loud buzzing in his ears and 

for a moment he feared he would pass out.  He felt familiar warmth as 

he began to transform into Tuxedo Kamen. Then as suddenly as it had 

started it all stopped.  The panic, the dizziness and his 

transformation were cut off abruptly.  



"Usako…Oh God, no!" he prayed as he stumbled to his feet.  Mamoru 

closed his eyes then reached for his beloved with all his heart and 

soul.  There was no response and his eyes snapped open.  Fear, this 

time his own, dug icy talons into his heart. 



As he grabbed for the telephone and started to dial Rei's number Mamoru 

pushed the fear down.  Whatever had happened to Usagi, he would need to 

be calm and collected.  Mamoru had gotten very good at walling off his 

emotions over the years.  He allowed an icy calm to take control of him 

as Rei answered.



"Call the others and tell them to get to your place as fast as 

possible." he said succinctly, "Something's happened to Usagi.  She's 

in trouble and I can't find her."



Mamoru knew that the internal castle he put his feelings in would 

eventually come crashing down and he'd be at the mercy of those 

emotions.  When those feelings finally took hold of him, there would 

hell to pay.  He could only pray that he could find his Usako before 

that happened.  





********************************************





Aino Minako was about to make her first trip to the capital of dreams, 

Hollywood, USA.  She'd worked for years to finally get to this point.  

Although she had the script packed into her carry on bag, she really 

didn't need it.  Mina all ready had the five pages of dialogue that 

would be used for the audition committed to memory. 



A movie, she was going to audition for a part in a real, honest-to-

goodness movie!  It was an as yet unnamed project that was being 

directed by none other than Steven Spielberg.  It took every ounce of 

discipline she'd acquired over the years not to jump up and down and 

squeal like a pig.  If life every got any better than this moment, she 

couldn't think of how that was possible.  Mina didn't even mind that 

the line in front of her wasn't moving all that fast.  After all, she'd 

gotten to the airport two hours early just to be sure that she didn't 

miss the plane.  



Then the sound came from her purse.



She jumped and looked at her bag incredulously.  From the pitch of the 

beeps, it wasn't the cell phone she'd gotten yesterday.  (Everyone in 

Hollywood carried those things she'd been told.  Besides, hers wasn't 

even turned on yet, but was meant to be a prop!)  It could only be the 

communications device she carried as a Senshi.  Oddly enough, she 

paused before answering it.  Pulling it slowly out of her purse, she 

simply stared at it.  A voice deep down inside told her that if she 

answered this call, she could kiss her dreams of stardom goodbye.



Almost in tears, she flipped the device open.  "This had better be 

important!"



Rei's voice came to ears.  "Something bad has happened to Usagi.  She's 

gone missing and Mamoru can't find her.  Is that important enough?"



"I'll be there as soon as I can." Replied Mina as she flipped the 

device closed. Picking up her luggage, she headed for the doors to hail 

a cab.  Before exiting the airport, she took last look toward the gate 

that led to the plane to LA.



Once again, duty came before her own dreams.  As she hailed a cab her 

temper began to do a slow boil.  Whoever had Usagi better have really 

good health insurance.  He was going to need it.  





********************************************





Mizuno Ami's slender hand was writing so fast that it was beginning to 

cramp.  For the first time in her life, she was taking a class that 

made her work, really work, for a good grade.  The Physics professor 

was nicknamed, "The Red Vector" for his rather eccentric habit using 

only a red ink on the board in the lecture hall.  His other quirk was 

the hard and fast rule of no tape recorders in class.  If you wanted 

notes on his lecture you had to do it the old fashioned way – by hand.  

Ami had the uneasy feeling that if you took the time to sneeze; you'd 

be hopelessly behind with this teacher.  He proudly told them that they 

were the best of the best, and he expected their total attention at all 

times.  If they weren't capable of that, then get out.  His lecture 

hall was no place for wimps.  Other than the sound of pen on paper and 

the professor's voice, there was no noise.  



Until, of course, the beeping from her backpack started.



If Ami had stripped naked and set her blue hair on fire, she couldn't 

drawn more attention, or been more mortified.  She dropped her pen and 

scrambled after the noisesome device.  Ami bent over so far that she 

was almost falling out of the chair.  She put the communicator to her 

ear as she hissed, "This is not a good time!"



"I'm sorry Ami-chan" came Rei's voice, "but it's an emergency.  Usagi 

has disappeared.  Mamoru-san is sure she's in terrible trouble.  

Please, get here as fast as you can."



"I'm on my way." Said Ami as she snapped the device shut.  Jamming it 

in her pack, she quietly gathered up her notebooks and prepared to slip 

away.  The students she tiptoed past all gave the same, 'are-you-

crazy?!' look.  Maybe she was insane to leave, but she had no choice.  

Her duty came before all else and Ami knew it.  There was little chance 

that another of the students would be willing to share their notes with 

her.  Competition at her level of academia was cut throat.   She would 

now be hopelessly behind and could kiss a passing grade in this course 

good bye.  Anger began its slow climb into her mind as she rushed for 

the temple.  Ami wasn't one to get mad very often, but when she did, 

the object of her rage was in deep trouble.



Her efficient intellect neatly transferred her anger to the person who 

had Usagi.  Usagi-chan had better be all right, she thought. If some 

maniac had hurt her best friend, Sailor Mercury would be there to 

extract a slow and very painful recompense.  



********************************************







Kino Makoto didn't even wait for the bus to the Hikawa Temple.  After 

receiving the call from Rei, she pleaded family emergency (which was 

true enough considering how she felt about Usagi-chan and the others.) 

and left the restaurant.  She'd been in the final stages of making a 

dessert called an "Apple Strudel".  It had taken her all morning to get 

the filo dough thin enough, yet strong enough, to make the pastry's 

many layers.  It was ruined now, she knew.  The dough would fall and 

turn the confection into an apple flavored doorstop.



It was a little over a mile from the restaurant to Rei's and Mako ran 

every step at nearly top speed.  Mako was desperately afraid for Usagi-

chan.  She couldn't deal with the thought of losing someone she loved 

again – not after her parent's untimely death.  The truth be known, 

Makoto had never really gotten over the pain of that loss.  Unable to 

handle the fear, she channeled it into a burning rage.  When they found 

Usagi, there was going to be hell to pay.  And Kino Makoto was going to 

deliver that bill personally.





********************************************





Usagi floated in a midnight sea.  Normally she didn't like the dark 

very much, but it quite pleasant here.  There were brief flashes that 

invaded her warm, soft world.  The sensation of cold hands on her and 

brief glimpses of a figure in a white lab coat that provoked a stirring 

of anger.  It was much better to ignore all of that and stay in this 

timeless place.



A voice kept invading her world, though, refusing to go away.  A name 

was mentioned time and time again.  "…Serena…."



Who would be calling her "Serena", she wondered?  Her name was Usagi.  

Mamo-chan called her Usako, her Dad called her his Princess and Rei 

called her Dumpling Head once in a while, but no one called her Serena.  

Well, her mother sometimes called her that, but only when she was 

really angry with her.  You know, she thought to herself, I never 

really liked the name Serena anyway.  No, wait a minute, her name was 

also Serenity wasn't it?  She was Serenity of the Moon Kingdom – right?



"…Serena…"





The voice was fading in more than it was fading out now.  If she 

concentrated, she could make out a few words here and there.  

"…reaction to commonly used sedative is unexpected…alien 

physiology…sample into sterile suspension."



That it was much too bright was the first semi-coherent thought Usagi 

had.  She blinked and tried to bring her hand up to cover her eyes, but 

it was as though her arms were made of lead.  The arm finally flopped 

up and smacked her on the face. Although Usagi tried to move it, the 

limb lay there stubbornly.



"Owww.." she moaned in a slurred voice, "…that hurt."  Her head was 

still buzzing.  Usagi's tongue felt like it was two feet thick and 

coated with stale peanut butter.  She stuck it out in disgust.  "Yuck."  

Her eyes were half open now, but she couldn't seem to get her mind to 

make sense of what she saw.  It was like seeing things through deep 

water. 



A man (she was sure it was a man, but how did she know that, Usagi 

wondered?) in a white lab coat lifted her arm away from her face. He 

held it for a moment before asking, "…Serena, can you hear me?"





"No, no, no.  Don't call me Serena.  I'm Usagi." She mumbled, "OOO-

SAAH-GEE.  Usagi, 'cause of my hair."  That seemed very funny to her 

for once and she wanted to laugh, but found she couldn't seem to.  "I 

don't feel good – can't breathe…"



Kashu put down the tape recorder he was holding and looked at the 

Tsukino girl's arm with growing apprehension.  Large, purple/red 

blotches had appeared in it.  A quick examination showed that the 

discoloration was creeping up her arm and onto her torso.  Damn, he 

thought to himself, the alien witch was having an allergic reaction to 

the sedative!  The hives were popping up on her neck now as the girl's 

unnaturally blue eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp.



"Shimatta.." Kashu cursed as he scrambled for the black bag on the 

table in back of him.  He couldn't let the Tsukino girl die – not yet 

anyway.  He needed her for a while longer!  Forcing himself to be calm, 

he withdrew a vial of epinephrine and quickly filled a syringe with the 

appropriate dose.  After injecting it into her upper arm, Kashu threw 

the used syringe away and lifted Usagi's upper body in his arms.



"Come on, come on.." he slapped her face several times, "come one, damn 

you, wake up and breathe!"



The girl's eyes half opened and she gave a shudder that ran through her 

body.  Her head flopped from side to side as she wheezed, struggling 

for air. She jerked again and her eyes widened for a moment…



…As she proceeded to vomit all over his now less than spotless white 

coat.  Kashu leapt back involuntarily and raised his arms away from his 

body in disgust.  The young woman flopped back onto the steel 

examination table, still gasping and choking.  As he removed the soiled 

lab coat, tossing it to one side, two frightening words filled his 

mind. 



Anaphylactic shock.  



The Tsukino woman was going into anaphylactic shock and he had a video 

camera recording it all.  Her throat was swelling closed as her 

respiratory system began to collapse.  If he couldn't stop it, she'd be 

dead in a few minutes.  That thought brought three even more 

frightening words to mind – First Degree Murder.  The idea of spending 

the rest of his life in prison was not an appealing one.   Kashu began 

to sweat as his mind turned over furiously, trying to find a way out of 

this dilemma.  



Almost at once a double-pronged solution came to mind.  With a glance 

at the gasping young woman on the table, he grabbed the small cassette 

recorder he'd been talking into a pushed the button that would erase 

the tape.  Kashu yanked the small video camera off the tripod and 

headed for the door.  His car wasn't parked very far away.  In it was a 

larger bag with a more extensive selection of drugs.  And a five-liter 

can of gasoline.  If he couldn't save her, he could at least save 

himself.  The building he'd chosen was remote and old.  When the 

University had closed it the word "fire trap" was used repeatedly.  It 

should go up fairly quickly with the proper nudge.  By the time anyone 

even noticed that the old building was on fire, the Tsukino girl's body 

would be ash – and he would be in the clear.





********************************************





She was drowning.  In her dream, Usagi's legs had turned to stone.  

They dragged her down into the cold, green, seawater.  She wanted to 

reach for her henshin locket, but her hands were turning to stone too 

and refused to obey her.



Metallia waited for her at the bottom of the ocean.  Usagi could hear 

her laugh in triumph as the demon's darkness swept over her.  The oily 

black fluid invaded her mouth and nose, choking her.  Usagi's mind 

shrieked in fear even as her lungs burned for air.  The rush of 

adrenaline seemed to help, and she fought to take a breath.  To her 

surprise, she could hear the voices of her friends over the sound of 

the ocean that roared in her ears.  



The dream faded and Usagi cracked open her eyes.  Rei was standing over 

her shouting at her to wake up.  The Senshi of Mars looked so 

frightened.  Mina and Makoto were there also, distress on their faces.  

It was Mamoru's voice that grabbed her attention, though.



"Usako, listen to me!"  Tuxedo Kamen was standing beside her.  He had 

her hand in his own.  "You have to henshin, Usako!  Do you hear me? You 

have to transform!'  He placed her hand on the heart shaped locket on 

the front of her blouse.  "Think the words if you can't say them!"



Usagi's mouth moved but no sound came from it.  For a long moment 

nothing happened.  Then the light came and filled her.  The silver fire 

of the Ginzuishou erupted to life.  Ami had her visor in place and 

watched as Usagi transformed into Eternal Sailor Moon.  The tiny Senshi 

of Mercury called out information to Tuxedo Kamen as she watched the 

small computer she held in her hand. 



"It's working!  Her white and histamine counts are starting to level 

off and neuro transmitter production is rising!"  



When the light and warmth faded Usagi found, to her great relief, that 

she could breath again.  "What…what's happening?"  Eternal Sailor Moon 

asked.



Mamoru smiled at her.  "We were hoping you could tell us.  When we got 

here, you were in anaphylaxis."  



"In what?" repeated Usagi, completely mystified.  Mamoru suddenly 

reached for the front of her fuku and pulling it down as far as he 

could, peered at her chest.  "Mamo-chan, not now…"



Mina gave a nervous laugh at Usagi's tone.  "Relax Usagi-chan, I don't 

think Tuxedo Kamen-sama has that in mind."



Ami was still staring at her through her visor.  "Anaphylaxis means 

your throat was swelling shut due to an allergic reaction.  In other 

words, you couldn't breath." She said, "How do you feel now?"



"Awful." Replied Usagi succinctly.  "Itchy, nauseous and awful."



Tuxedo Kamen shook his head unhappily, "The hives are popping up again.  

Whatever you're reacting to is still in your system. Let's go for the 

big gun shall we?"  He had fallen into "doctor" mode.  It was the only 

way he could possibly remain calm through this.  "Usako, do you think 

you could use the healing power of the Ginzuishou on yourself?"



Her throat was feeling odd again.  All she really wanted to do was 

close her eyes and sleep.  "I'm so tired.   I don't know if I can, but 

I'll try."



Rei placed a gentle hand on Usagi's shoulder.  "Let us help you, ne?"  

An ocher glow ran from the Senshi of Mars and suffused Sailor Moon.



Mina and Makoto did the same and closed their eyes.  Ami came to join 

in the circle and let her love flow with the power of Mercury into her 

friend.  Tuxedo Kamen faded and Prince Endymion took his place.  Golden 

light played at his hands as he willed the golden crystal to assist his 

beloved.  Rainbow light clothed Usagi as she called forth the Great 

Power of the Moon Kingdom.  The light shifted and burst as she changed 

into her Princess form.  The crescent moon sigil on her forehead shone 

brightly and the stone cradled between her cupped hands pulsed in time 

with it.



"Moon Healing – Escalation!"



Quicksilver fire, like living stardust, infused itself into first her 

hands then slowly up her arms.  Serenity, last Princess of the Silver 

Millennium, closed her eyes and threw her head back as the searing 

purity of the light coursed through her body.  She could feel the power 

of the Ginzuishou singing within her as it burned the toxin from blood 

and bone alike.  When Serenity opened her eyes again, the silver 

crystal no longer glowed as brightly.  She smiled at it and with a flip 

of her hands, the crystal reseated itself in her locket.  One by one, 

the Senshi removed their power from her until only Endymion was left 

touching the Princess.  She tenderly placed a warm hand on his cheek.  

He moaned softly as he brought his hands up to cover her smaller one.



"Serenity…" he whispered as he placed a kiss on her palm, "I thought I 

had lost you, my love."



"Never, Endymion, my beloved."   



As Endymion gathered her in his arms, Serenity shifted to Eternal 

Sailor Moon, who in turned became Tsukino Usagi.  With a sigh she 

leaned into Tuxedo Kamen, not wanting this moment to end.  



"Usako" he finally asked, "What happened here?  How did you get like 

this?"



Usagi explained to them all about the man who claimed to be part of the 

Human Genome Project and his "job offer".  The last she remembered 

clearly was having a glass of soda.  The rest of her perceptions were 

too fragmented to be of any use.



Mina had been walking through the room as she listened to her friend.  

As Usagi finished Venus shook her head.  "I think I may have an idea 

what was supposed to happen here." She pointed to two large lights and 

an empty tripod.  "These are commercial lights and that is an empty 

camera tripod.  Whoever did this may have had a… movie… in mind.  And 

not the kind you'd take Chibi-Usa to see."



Mercury moved around the room with her computer scanning things as she 

went.  The soiled lab coat and used syringe that still contained traces 

of epinephrine indicated that someone involved in this fiasco had 

medical training.  There was a small hand held tape recorder.  Ami took 

out the miniscule cassette and popped into her own hand held device.  

No sound was produced, but she kept the tape anyway.  Perhaps she could 

recover something useful from it with time.  As Mina finished speaking, 

Ami was quietly looking a cold box she'd found in the corner.  "But 

what kind of film maker keeps a bio box with samples in it?"



Rei came over to where Ami was bending down, looking at the box.  She 

reached in and picked up a specimen jar.  Her eyes flashed as did her 

hands.  The plastic jar disappeared in a burst of fire.  "The kind I'm 

going to fry extra crispy if I ever get the chance!  What say we wait 

for this eechi and give him a warm welcome?"  The other jars vanished 

in a sheet of flame.



"Sorry," replied Mina, "but I think we scared him off when we arrived.  

He took what he could and ran."



Makoto snarled as she raised her hands over her head.  "Then let's 

leave him a message he can't ignore."  Whirling she shouted, "Sparkling 

Wide Pressure!" and sent an enormous jolt of electricity cascading 

through the lights.  The bulbs burst and sparks arched from one piece 

of equipment to the next until all that was left was row smoking, 

burned out hulks.  Sailor Jupiter had a satisfied smile on her face as 

she said, "Not exactly subtle, but I think it gets the point across.  

This operation is now out of business."







********************************************







Kashu Hikaru turned off the small video camera he held.  He'd heard 

voices in the lab when he'd returned.  Not wanting to be caught, he'd 

slipped into an adjoining room and shut the door behind him.  He stood 

on an old wooden chair with uneven legs that rocked back and forth.  

His only intention had been to listen at a ventilation grate and make 

sure the Tsukino girl couldn't identify him.   When he realized it was 

the Sailor Senshi (whom he'd never really believed in until now.  Kashu 

thought them nothing more than an urban legend – like alligators in the 

sewers), he grabbed the camera started to film.



Now he had the information that was going to make him the most powerful 

man on the planet.  He had hard, photographic proof that Tsukino Serena 

was Sailor Moon.  The rest of the Senshi were in the picture at one 

time or another, but their faces had been blurred for some reason.  

(Tuxedo Kamen's back had been stubbornly to the camera the whole time 

and the best picture Kashu could get was of his the back of his head.)  

Combine that with the blood work he still had back at his home and the 

possibilities made him dizzy with glee.  Where the other Senshi aliens 

too?  What was that thing that gave off the silver light – and her 

change into that other form!  She looked like a princess, an extra-

terrestrial princess, but obviously a being of great power.  With that 

kind of power at his command there was very little he could not do.



As the Senshi left, Kashu was all ready amending his original plans.  

They had been small and not really worthy of him, or of that exquisite 

creature he'd captured on film.  More than anything he needed time to 

plan the best way to use this information to his benefit.  As he 

considered that, an unpleasant name came to mind.  There was one other 

person on the planet that might take the credit and the power that was 

rightfully Kashu's - Chiba Mamoru, that common and annoyingly capable 

man in the residency program at Tokyo General.



Oh well, Kashu thought as he started to pour the gasoline from the can 

onto the floor, Chiba was just another bump in his road to power.  The 

Kashu family was wealthy and had connections to all sorts of people. 

Taking out a lighter he carelessly flicked it on and tossed it into the 

liquid.   It ignited in a whoosh as he left the room without a 

backwards glance.  This, at least, was one problem solved.  The 

"accidental" conflagration would neatly cover his tracks.  Perhaps an 

equally convenient "accident" could be arranged for Dr. Chiba. 



A fatal accident that would remove him from the picture permanently.



********************************************



Next: Chapter Three - "Hell To Pay"