It's Mask *JazzHands!* DeMasque! XD I couldn't resist putting a few CR in-jokes in there. Like Gant being all 'sketchy' (as Mercs puts it XD) with Wellington, too. PRISON BUDDIES, HO HO.

And yeah, I guess Edgey is the sort of lone-wolf hero. We'll see how things pan out, though, ne? :3 He's still rather reluctant to be be heroing at all. And yeah, he is based (slightly!) on Batman in that he doesn't have 'extreme' powers like Phoenix or Maya. So he has to compensate by using his smarts, which he has in spades anyway, but his enhanced concentration helps too.

Thanks for the comments, guys. <3 Expect Chapter 4 before Christmas unless I get hit by a bus or something. XD

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Okay, I have to come in and worship now after that last chapter.

This fic makes me a happier person just by existing, I swear to you! I've been lurking and watching thus far, but after Mask*DeMasque and Jazz Hands and Death Ray Lazers... Oh my, this is just an amazing work of literature and I want to formally appreciate everyone involved in its writing.

Thank you, thank you so much.


...Also Meekins with mind control makes me laugh uncontrollably because that is awesome and it could lead to so many horrible and yet entirely awesome things.

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No, thank you! ^^ Wow, I can't believe we've drawn Sh1n1 out of the Luke Appreciation Thread and into here of all places! OH AND I LOVE YOUR ART. I love the way you draw Luke, it's so cute and pretty. XD Zvarri~ <3 *is a lurker on that thread*

Much will be elegantly revealed next chapter! I can assure you, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

And yes, Meekins with mind control is win, isn't it? XD The most clueless idiot in the PW-verse with the most potentially dangerous power. We'll have to keep an eye on him, won't we?

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lol I was so going to respond saying he's similar to batman, but I was afraid I would get it wrong ands she would eat me. Plode came up with a lot of his character, so I gave her the oppertunity to respond to that one.


AND IT'S THE LUKE CHICK OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU. I DON'T CARE IF THAT ONE ALREADY RESPONDED TO THAT COMMENT YOU MAKE MY LIFE.

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Wow, I just read this so far. it's great :D I love how you described the characters' powers; it seemed real. Payne was hysterical XD It's sad that he was scarier there than in the courtroom, huh? :p

All I can say is if Matt Engarde, Manfred von Karma, and Gant escaped the jail...and now possess powers....Our heroes are doomed. :p Hopefully they'll find another minor league or not-quite major league villain to practice on.

I'm glad you liked it! :3 It's great that you think something so unreal seemed real. And yes, Payne was very much fun...give him a little power and he goes completely mad, but really he's just pathetic. Inside and outside court.

And yes, hmm, who knows who escaped from that jail? Some villains would definitely be too tough for our heroes to deal with. Let's hope they can get some practice in before the tough guys come a-knockin'. ^_~

And Chapter 4 is about 50% done! Huzzah!

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Oh, my, I feel so flattered... *blush* You really like my art? I never really thought I was all that great. More like mediocre, but if you like it, then I feel I've accomplished everything I set out to do... Thank you very much!

Well, yes! I can hardly wait for the next chapter! I want to find out the identity of this new Mask*DeMasque, with the sonic voice and the penchant for Death Rays.

Death Rays!

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Awesome new chapter!!!
keep it up!!!


EDIT:The Mysterious Mystic M!!!
(sorry, no background)

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Last edited by Ajerben on Fri Dec 21, 2007 3:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.

<3 thank you, Ajerben!

And to the Luke Chick who I love: I love your picchurs D: And your fanfic. <3333

...deathrays :D

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OMFG LUKE CHICK *MERCSPAZZZZ* Mercs is such a fangirl. Mercs also loves her death rays. And explosions. And angst. If she was writing this there'd be a big pile of dead characters after The Bang. XD (Kidding) But I guess I'd do the same if someone I really admired like Ethed, or KingMobUK, or Pyrasaur or (ohmahgawd) Zarla posted on this. XD And yes, I love your pictures, Sh1n1, I'm horrible at art myself but I know good stuff when I see it. Anyone who can make that activity nosewanking...yes, I'm that shy that I won't say it in normal text so cute and funny is a genius, too. Zvarri~<3!

And very cute as usual Ajerben! ^^ Our fanart is starting to rack up (some stuff we know about hasn't been posted here yet) and we've not even finished the intro arc. XD;; I mean, wow. Maybe this fic could be as epic as, say, the Gyakuten MECHA AU. I dunno.

Also, Chapter 4 is currently at about 60%. I have some minor writer's block, which I blame on being tired, and not eating all day. >_<;; I'll get it finished I swear.

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I must say, this is simply AMAZING! And jazz hands, lol. I can't wait to read more!
Death rays... hahaha.
And Meekins with mind control? We are in so much trouble. =)

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Okay, got a little less hyper than the day I joined, read the next few chapters, and have one thing to say.

WOW.

I mean like, it's just all..awsome and stuff. (I sound like a moron ><) But like said before, it's well written. The moment I finished part three I walked up to my mom and was like,

"And he did jazz hands at the camera like this! *jazzhands*"

Yeah...Getting somewhere to back on topic, I bet it's really uncomfortable to have giant wings stuffed into your back...Sounds quite painful, actually. But um..yeah. I feel like I'm rambling again, so I guess I'll just say that I absolutly love this, and I can't wait for part 4.

...darnit. I wanna go draw phoenix now. >< *goes hunt down a pencil*

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Our fanfic brings all the lurkers to the yard, and they're like, it's better than yours... lol, thankyou ItaniMajere, it's great that Project Kallisti is even bringing lurkers and infrequent fanfic-comment-posters out of hiding! And hiii Blasphemy-aka-Sakuro's sister. The idea of you going up to your mom and doing *Jazz Hands!* is both cute and hilarious.

But anyway. MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS. Chapter 4's done, people! Hope you loves it! <3 And expect fanart from Sakuro and Rii a little later, once they get online. XD

-----------------------------------------

The Kallisti Project - Arc Zero - Chapter 4

"So, Nick, when do you think Mask*DeMasque is coming?" from the glint in Maya's eyes, it was like she was expecting Santa Claus to come through the skylight up above their heads.

Phoenix just put a finger to his lips, frowning at her. As boring as it was, they could only sit still and keep quiet. No doubt there were alarms and motion detectors and all sorts throughout the exhibit, especially after the first attempted robbery. They were already breaking the law by trespassing, but he couldn't have let his assistant go alone. He scratched his wing tip – if he had these growing out of his back, surely a death ray wasn't that far-fetched. Though, he hoped it was.

They'd been sitting or crouching behind some display cases for an hour or more. Maya really did have a criminal mind, figuring out where the blind spots for the security cameras were, in the few minutes they'd had during their previous visit. Hopefully she wasn't looking to join DeMasque's criminal gang...he'd heard something about a robot. Strange, considering Mr. DeLite had worked solo.

But...was this phantom thief really Ron DeLite? Regardless of what was still happening to him – he stuffed another small handful of 'baby down' into his jeans pocket – he was still a defence attorney. And in his mind, that meant Ron was innocent until proven otherwise.

"All those dinosaur skeletons in the big hall...it'd be cool if the walked around at night or something." Nothing could silence her imagination, it seemed. But at least she was being fairly quiet about it. "Could be good training for a giant monster attack!" Nick rolled his eyes in return, but smiled a little.

If they were going to be superheroes, at least fighting a giant monster didn't involve crawling through even more air vents. Much to his embarrassment, and the medium's amusement, it seemed that the dreaded Cheeseburger Monsters had dealt a small blow to his waistline. Tightening one's belt and being on a tight budget didn't really go hand-in-hand in the modern world. But it was a really small space, he reassured himself.

It was quiet. Nobody else was around – perhaps the security system was considered so state-of-the-art, that human guards weren't needed. And yet, they had managed to get in just fine, the Heart of the Phoenix in full view. No wonder DeMasque had targeted the gem. There was its impressive size, slightly bigger than a man's fist, the beauty that seemed to glow from within, not to mention its value.

But, no – it was the way the moonlight shone in though the skylight and windows like spotlights. Practically begging for someone to reach out and try to take it. Openly bragging of how foolproof the security system was, so confident that the recovered ruby was already back on display. The thief had to show.

"Nick!" A quick whisper from Maya, and a point straight upwards. Phoenix got up, each movement stiff after hours in the cold room, and his feathers standing on end in anticipation. Up on the roof, a tapping too quiet for reindeer, and a shadow, too skinny to be Santa Claus. The empty sack, slung over one shoulder, showed they were there to take rather than give.

On the ground, the other man jumped back at a slight flicker, a network of red lines suddenly flashing into view, one of them right near his arm. Just as quickly, the light died, the security system disabled by the anonymous helper. In the moonlight, he watched as the phantom figure uncoiled a rope, tying it to some unseen anchor point.

Any moment now, Mask*DeMasque would silently descent, like a spider on a thread. They couldn't exactly call themselves superheroes, disguising their identities with civilian clothes (or for Maya, a set of plain-looking old training robes), and costume store eye masks. So, two well-meaning vigilantes were lying in wait below, to clumsily-yet-effectively pounce on the elegant thief. Were they really going to pull this off?

And the world took them again by surprise. There was a hideous CRASH as the skylight shattered, and would have sent the masked figure to the floor, if not for the safety line clipped to his belt. Nick's assistant screamed, and both covered their heads as shards rained down onto everything.

All at once, it was over. The chaos subsided, leaving Mask*DeMasque dangling limply like some macabre puppet. And there was nothing but the sound of more slowly falling glass as the strange energy withdrew itself. A translucent red bubble had unceremoniously dumped a heavy mailbox through the roof just seconds ago, and was now disappearing into nothing.

The pair didn't hesitate, finding themselves running through a carpet of clear shards, but it was then that something leapt from the shadowed corner of the room. A man dressed in black, a hood obscuring his face and hair, grabbed hold of the rope. A quick slash of a black-handled blade, and he was on his knees with a crunch like eggshells, a dazed phantom thief in his arms.

"What the devil are you two doing here!?" Edgeworth demanded, pulling back his hood quickly. He'd been intending to burn the wretched things, or at best give them to charity, but he just hadn't found the time. But at least the dark colours proved an advantage...evidently, neither Wright nor the thief had spotted him.

"We should be asking you the same thing!" Phoenix retorted, snapping himself out of his stupor, and getting to the problem at hand. "And are they alright? I didn't see if that mailbox hit them or not." he glanced upwards, wondering whether flying up and taking a peek would be tempting fate in the form of a large projectile.

The prosecutor reached carefully under the metal mask, intending to see for himself. Nick hoped, to himself, that it wouldn't be his former client's face beneath. And right on cue, they were interrupted yet again. CRRRRANNNG. A trash can bounced and rolled across the granite floor as Maya's spirit fist deflected it, and a distinctively evil cackling came from above.

"Zvarri! It appears some more pests have elegantly revealed themselves to me!" Former Ace Detective Luke Atmey descended from his position on the roof, carried by another one of his red force fields. As soon as his feet touched the ground, the sphere disintegrated, the energy returning to its home inside his red diamond ring.

"Tragically, it appears my Ace Detective skills have failed me! I was not expecting you..." he removed his magnifying glass monocle, and Phoenix found himself unable to move, an unnatural chill gripping his heart. It was like that gaze was looking through him, like he was stripped bare, unable to hide anything. "...Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright! Or should I say, the Blue Phoenix?"

Neither Maya nor Edgeworth had moved to strike yet. Both seemed as frozen in place as he was, as their names were called out. "...Ace Spirit Medium, Maya Fey – The Mysterious Mystic M! And former Demon Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth..." he cleaned his monocle with a silk handkerchief, deliberately taking his time before his literally captive audience, in typical supervillain fashion. "So...it is apparent that mysterious cloud has bestowed its blessings upon others. How very interesting."

"Nick, he knows our secret identities!" his assistant whispered, the cold grip finally releasing her vocal chords. The warmth was slowly returning to his body, as well. The Big Bang's effects were extremely unpredictable, it seemed, but he was used to thinking on his feet. If only he could move them! "Just don't look him in the eye again!" he hissed back, the eccentric man continuing his self-serving monologue.

"...and then, Zvarri! I thought, if I can perform such feats with this pitiful little rock upon my finger, then imagine the possibilities, the power, from a Giant Ruby-!" There was a spark of greed in those dark eyes, a white gloved hand reaching forward to claim what he called his rightful prize.

"PLEEEEEEEEEASE-!!!" Atmey cried out in pain, the others following suit, trying to block out the terrible, ear-splitting shriek, which seemed to shake the very air. No human should be able to scream like that! But, now awake and on his feet, it was undoubtedly his voice which emerged from the grinning mouth slit.

"Y-y-you can't take that gem! Dessie's been spending money more than ever since the Bang hit and...and..." The sentence trailed off into nothing. It didn't take Big Bang chemicals for Ron DeLite to be superhumanly quiet, at least.

The phoney detective glared back at him, throwing away the remains of his monocle, which had been broken into two neat halves, over his shoulder in disgust. "And what? You'll pull the alarm again, get yourself arrested again, just to defeat me? You are truly a coward, boy!"

Hearing the retort, Edgeworth fought harder against the numbness still gripping him. Everything suddenly made sense. Mask*DeMasque had pulled the alarm to scare off a more dangerous criminal. One who was already capable of throwing a car through a wall, and was more than willing to throw one at a human target!

"At least let us settle this like gentlemen!" The red gem glinted like his sinister grin. And even with his monocle gone, he spotted the quick movement just in time with his good eye. "AARGH!" His quick action cushioned the blow, but the kick sent him rolling comically across the floor, trapped inside his own protective sphere.

"You are no gentleman!" Edgeworth spat, taking his sword from its casing and pointing it at the fallen man. He had no intention of using it in a lethal fashion, but he knew a coward when he saw one. "Your infamy reaches even overseas, so-called Detective Luke Atmey! You are a perjurer, a blackmailer, a murderer, and now a fugitive! Surrender, or be struck down!"

Phoenix nearly found himself frozen in place again. Those words had hit something deep, something buried beneath more than a decade of terrible memories and traumatic experiences. A strong aura, an innate need to do the right thing. The fire sparked another within his own heart, and another, and yet another, and suddenly they were four unlikely allies, united with different reasons against a common enemy.

"So it's four against one, is it?" Atmey responded through clenched teeth, getting slowly to his feet. "How very gentlemanly of you indeed, to even the odds!" He grinned madly, holding up the Heart of the Phoenix like a badge of honour. How he'd managed to grab it was of no relevance, though, as he threw a shield around Mask*DeMasque! "Sing, little canary, sing!" he laughed mockingly, Ron desperately repeating the same gesture captured on tape, but struck into silence by the barrier.

Ron covered his head as his prison was flung through the air, only to be caught by a glowing catcher's mitt. "You're horrible! You-you dirty cheater!" Maya shouted angrily, throwing a fist in return, which simply bounced off his strengthened shield. Even flaming kicks and punches, anger setting the very air alight, were met with painful resistance. "Ow, ow, ow..." Nick moaned, holding his bruised knuckles under his arm.

The villain laughed at their fruitless efforts, picking up a couple of display cases and hurling them in different directions, like a toddler bored with his toys. The medium got lucky and managed to deflect one, but at the cost of shaking up the still-captive Mask*DeMasque, leaving him a bit worse-for-wear. With the Star Ruby in his possession, Luke's barriers lasted much longer.

Sparks flew through the air as Edgeworth's blow deflected the other case, and the two halves blade immediately and cleanly re-joined. The impact was still enough to throw him to the side, sliding across the smooth stone. He crouched amongst the debris, bleeding from a few minor cuts and abrasions, and catching his breath.

The little bit of practice he'd somehow managed to squeeze in, along with his paperwork and walking Pess, must had paid off. But he still felt it was just sheer dumb luck, the same which followed Wright around. He...they might not get so lucky next time. The prosecutor got to his feet - this had to end!

"Just attacking isn't going to work!" Really? He was noticing that now? Even with an aerial attack, already made more difficult by his loss of feathers, all Phoenix got for his effort was stubbed toes and a bruised ego. "You - Wright! Mask*DeMasque!" Edgeworth commanded - for such a reluctant hero, he was really getting into things, pointing with his sword and giving orders like a cavalry general. "Try to take that ruby off him! We'll provide a distraction!"

'Mystic M', who had been gawking for the past few seconds at Ema's invention repaired itself, finally realised 'we' meant her as well. "You got it...uh....Broken Edge!" Seemingly satisfied with her new superhero nickname – admittedly a little more creative than 'The Blue Phoenix' - she leapt into action.

But, pushed back towards the large hall at the heart of the museum, their enemy was already looking to retreat. With a smirk and a mocking "Zvarri!", the heart-shaped stone flashed and created another impenetrable bubble right over the doorway. "Maya, give it up!" her companion shouted as she pounded her energy fists on the wall. By the time they'd find a way through, Atmey would be long gone. And besides... "We've already caused enough property damage! You don't want to-" THUMP. THUMP. CRASH.

"...Break...the wall?" his warning turned into a question, as concrete suddenly exploded inwards, some distance away from Maya. A mixture of a human's battle cry and the roar of an engine accompanied the falling concrete, as something straight out of a manga stepped into the fray. Highly polished metal formed red shoulder pads, an impenetrable armour which continued down their arms, and a shell on their back.

But...wheels? And were those handlebars? The blinding light of a single headlamp surveyed the darkened interior, finally coming to rest on the captive Mask*DeMasque. He seemed to recognise the wild-haired stranger, suddenly waving his hands and pounding his fists, redoubling his efforts to get out. "RONNIE!!"

"DESSIIIEEEEEEEE!" the man responded, the shield finally weak enough to be shattered by his Sonic Whining. He immediately ran over, grabbing her in a hug. "I-I-I didn't think I'd ever see you again...I thought...Luke Atmey...!" Ever the doting husband, he was worried about her, even though she'd come to rescue him.

"And there's Nicky-boy! And Maya!" straightening up and taking her goggles off her eyes, Desirée's smile was as friendly as ever. Phoenix had initially thought the worst, thinking the chemicals must have created a fusion between woman and machine, but as she drew closer the divide became more apparent. "How do you like my motorcycle exo-suit? Since the Big Bang hit, I just can't stop building things all the time. I went to give my bike a tune-up, and I ended up with transforming battle armour."

Stepping towards them, she still seemed to move pretty fast, despite how heavy it all looked. "It's pretty crazy, what that stuff did to me and my Ronnie." She tilted her head, and Phoenix felt his cheeks flush slightly, much to Maya's amusement. "And to you, too. Wings look good on you, Nicky-boy."

"If you are quite done fraternising with criminals, Wright-!" SCHWING. His Ninjatō bounced off the red energy uselessly, as much as he'd been trying. His eyes were cold and impatient as he stooped to pick up the fallen blade. He didn't like it, but he'd have to work with thieves if it meant catching a murderer. The lesser of two evils.

Desirée's eyes almost seemed to flash red for a moment. It seemed the feelings of distrust and suspicions were mutual. "Your...friend is a prosecutor, isn't he? I've seen his face in the newspapers." It took a moment, but the two sides of the law seemed to silently and begrudgingly agree to a shaky alliance. She replaced her goggles over her eyes to the sound of a revving engine. "Well he should get out of the way unless he wants to pay for a new paint job!"

Ducking her head and throwing up her armour-plated hands, smashing straight through the energy barrier and into the main hall. They were on the second floor of a three-floor arrangement, designed to show off the museum's former centrepiece – a huge Spinosaurus skeleton, reaching from the basement floor to the ceiling. The same skeleton that Luke Atmey was using as a ladder to escape! "Get down here and fight like a real man, you rat! You can pretend all you like, but you'll never be half the gentleman my Ronnie is!"

Even with his precarious position, clinging to the neck of the extinct beast, the man was still an actor. He put his hand to his heart, closing his eyes. "My dear lady, I could hardly call myself a gentleman at all if I were to strike a fair maiden such as yourself." When he opened them again, that evil gleam had returned. "But your words wound me, and that is far from ladylike! Zvarri!" His last word was more like a 'take that', as his ruby-fuelled powers flung the creature's skull towards the rag-tag group.

"AAH-!" With his monocle gone, the ex-detective's aim was anything but Ace. He may have hit the wrong target, but he hit hard. While the others went to escape, Maya was sent flying back into another set of old bones, which collapsed on top of her in a cloud of dust.

Phoenix couldn't tell if he was calling out her name. Words, whether from his own mouth or from Desirée's as she helped to dig, were as meaningless as white noise. He couldn't forgive himself if she was hurt, he'd only played along with this insane stake-out idea to protect her...

Meanwhile, the test-run of Ema Skye's grappling hook gun was a complete success. Edgeworth and Mask*DeMasque, who had settled instead for a rope and a few years of practice, were quickly closing in on their quarry. With nothing left to throw, all Atmey could do was climb higher, and yet he still taunted his pursuers. "DeLite, you are still the same delusional fool! You were nothing before, and you are nothing now, without my guiding hand! Why don't you just be a good little boy and turn yourself in?"

"I'm not the one who's delusional, Atmey! I didn't kill someone, just to fuel some pathetic fantasy! Everything I did and everything I do now is for my love, my wife, Desirée DeL-AAAAAAAH!" Ron nearly found himself standing on air as the spine he was standing on gave way. His hands slipped on the rope, and all at once, he was falling. He thought of her. Dessie. The day they'd met. The day they'd wed. And her smile...he'd miss that the most.

And just when he'd surrendered himself to never seeing that smile again, he felt something dragging him back to reality. A firm grip on his hand – it was the prosecutor from the newspaper, the man who could have put him in jail if Dessie hadn't broken him out. He was saving him. It was all he could do, to stare in awe.

"Don't let go, you idiot!" Edgeworth snarled, struggling not to let himself drop as he felt the thief's grip weaken. The slightly built man was heavier than he looked. He would need dense, wiry muscles to scale the sides of target buildings, but in this situation it could be the end of both of them. Especially with the villain standing right above, smirking down, his polished boot edging closer to the fingers just holding on...

Then, there was a clatter from down below. Luke found himself looking up, over to the elegantly carved handrail of the third floor, to find something he considered far more elegant. A woman he vaguely remembered seeing before in a photograph, with dark grey eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. She was clad in a knee-length black or charcoal grey kimono, and a black hood and cape with a pale lining, joined by a string of large beads across her throat. And, tied around her neck, a cream-coloured scarf, with a charm similar to the one that younger girl was wearing.

Mia Fey surveyed the scene from her perch. It had been chaos in the afterlife, the dead fretting over that purple explosion and their loved ones. She'd been watching her former protégé and her sister, but hadn't once considered what might happen if Maya summoned her. But now, with a perfect copy of her original body right down to her hair colour, and a new outfit, she knew.

And as she summoned a Kendo Stick forged from silvery energy, she found she knew what to do. She gripped the handle, an otherworldly breeze breaking the stale museum air, whipping through her hair and clothes. "Luke Atmey, you just hurt my little sister."

"Zvarri...!" was all the lovestruck detective managed to get out. Such a beautiful and deadly creature-! And the world went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you alright, Phoenix?" There were a lot of things he wanted to say, that he wanted to ask, as Mia helped him up. It had been years since he'd been her like this, with her own hair colour and everything. Not even the Big Bang could bring the dead back to life, but the chemicals must have affected Maya's channelling skills somehow.

"Uuurrgggh..." he groaned, putting his hand to his head. Having a deceptively heavy Ace Detective fall on him from that great height had added to his already numerous bumps and bruises. But it could have been worse. As Edgeworth approached, he was looking more than a little worse-for-wear, clothes torn and cuts bleeding from the broken glass.

He looked tired, too tired to even be shocked by Mia's re-appearance. Prosecution probably wasn't such an active job either. And after seeing his friend and occasional rival sprout wings, the dead walking around may not have been that shocking. The Star Ruby was clenched in his fist as he gave the comatose Atmey, with a nasty-looking bump on his head from the Kendo Stick, a sour look. "He won't be able to use this again. Not where he's going." Then, his gaze moved, looking right at Nick. "The Heart of the Phoenix. Maybe it wouldn't be so easily stolen if you didn't wear it on your sleeve, Wright."

...It took him a minute to realise Edgeworth actually made a joke. He sighed, shaking his head, and laughing a little nonetheless. Sometimes, all you could really do was laugh. When the fake detective woke up, he'd remember their 'secret identities', and that would be it. Maybe nobody would believe him, initially, but suspicion would grow. They'd be exposed for who they were, what they were. It was over, but they may as well go out laughing.

"...Aaagh...my head...where am I...?" In fact, that time seemed to be now. The man covered his eyes as he came to, resting his palm on his forehead as he sat up. He couldn't get up and fight again...even if he wasn't too badly hurt, surely he wouldn't be that stupid. "Zvarri...zvarri? What does that mean?" His hand went to the bump on his head next, the look on his face a mixture of pain and confusion. "Is it my name? Or...or...why can't I remember!?"

Phoenix immediately burst out laughing, genuinely this time. It was just like when he'd been hit with that fire extinguisher – he couldn't remember anything, let alone someone's secret identity! Even Edgeworth was smirking. "What is it with you and miracles, Wright? I mean, honestly..." He shook his head, and soon he was laughing at the sheer absurdity, the pure unlikeliness of it all. "Honestly..."

"It's just a shame that good luck doesn't rub off on everyone..." Mia interrupted, glancing worriedly towards the ceiling. It seemed Luke Atmey wasn't the only one who'd forgotten something important.

"I-I-I don't think I can get down!!" Still clinging to the decapitated Spinosaurus, it seemed Mask*DeMasque, the great Phantom Thief, had picked the worst possible time to be struck by vertigo. "C-can someone come up here? Please..? Anyone..?"

"Ronald DeLite!" Desiree put her hands on her hips and frowned, creating an unnaturally stern appearance for her. "If you meant any of those things you said just now, about you and me..." she held out her armour-plated arms, suddenly smiling again. "...you'd stop being silly and jump down here so I can catch you."

Her husband's face flushed as he made a sound like a stepped-on mouse, even though it was impossible to tell with his namesake mask. Shakily, he stood up. "O-Okay...I'm coming down...right...right..." He stepped forward. His foot slipped. "NAAAAAAA-OW!" And his safety line, still hooked along with his rope to a rib bone, held true.

"B-bonjour, Dessie..." he said, comically dangling a few feet from the floor, upside-down.

"Bonjour, Mask*DeMasque..." she replied, with a playful smirk, reaching up. Gently, she pulled down the spandex and metal which disguised the lower half of Ron DeLite's soft, boyish features. Leaning forward, she cradled his head in her hands, and whispered in his ear as her eyes fluttered closed: "Savez-vous...je t'aime?"

His eyes were closed, too. It didn't take sight for them to find each other. As if he'd ever had any doubt, that the giddy feeling of the day they first met would ever leave him, but in their kiss he felt it more than ever. She replaced his mask, and he was more than just Ron DeLite again. "...Je t'aime, aussi."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edgeworth was fuming. His extensive vocabulary would even go so far to say livid. He was already furious at himself, for letting himself be dragged into this whole mess, for letting that heady mixture of adrenaline and retribution against a wrongdoer go to his head. Catching Mask*DeMasque wouldn't have changed the fact that he'd lost the State vs. Payne case. And He had failed even at that, even if he had caught an escaped murderer. Once again, life refused to be simple black and white.

And the DeLites proved there was no honour amongst thieves, when they threatened to blackmail them. Wright seemed especially shocked, arguing that the couple were once victims of blackmail themselves, but he relented. Both sides had enough 'dirt' to send the other to jail, so they had no choice but to let the thieves go. Miss Fey, now returned to her original form, had stopped to reason with them. He himself had left in disgust.

He'd had enough of this 'hero' thing. This stopped now. Wright could do as he damn well pleased, but he wasn't going to be a part of this vigilantism a moment longer. And no more blackmail from anyone, including Miss. Skye. He was glad he'd taken the stairs to get to her apartment, or their reasonable argument could have easily turned into a shouting match.

He hesitated before knocking, double-checking the number. The voices and music coming from within were muted by the unassuming wooden door, but they were there. If she was throwing a party, it would not be good grace to enter uninvited, but he had to talk to her now. Before that insanity from the previous night overtook him, and he changed his mind. Someone turned the music down in response to the three sharp raps.

The door swung open – and it was not Miss Skye who answered. "Well, it's about time you got here! Everyone's been waiting for you Edgey-boy!" Edgey-boy? This woman - Desirée DeLite, wasn't it? - standing there with her hands on her hips, had just met him the previous night. He didn't even consider this thief's accomplice an acquaintance, let alone a friend, and she was calling him Edgey-boy? And what did she mean by 'everyone'?

Taking a glance over her shoulder, it seemed she really did mean everyone. But what were they doing, to bring about such a bizarre scene?

"You worked with Nick? On that case?" Maya looked shocked, as Ema nodded silently in return, adding a test tube of blue liquid to a conical flask on her desk. Not the stuff of a store-bought chemistry set, but Edgeworth had found out last night that her ingredients were on a don't-ask, don't-tell basis. The dark-haired girl glanced over her shoulder with a cheeky smile. "He never tells me anything! But it figures that he'd be completely lost on his own...I mean, what's a sidekick without someone to...someone to sidekick for?"

Phoenix rolled his eyes in return. With his arms stuck out like a scarecrow, it was all he could do, since any slight movement caused him to be jabbed by pins. "Actually, looking at you two now, I was worried the universe might explode." He winced as he felt one of them prick him, just for turning his head...this was why all his suits were 'off the peg'. He really didn't know how Edgeworth could put up with this. How many pins were needed anyway, just to satisfy Maya's silly idea? And moreover, what was this going to cost..?

"S-sorry...it'll be done soon, Mr.Wright..." It hadn't been easy for Ron, picking it up again after so long. It took him back to High School. His passion for theatre and art. The way he wore his hair. Even things he couldn't help, like his shyness, stuttering, and boyish looks. It had all helped to nourish the rumours, which grew around him like weeds and strangled his aspirations. But after designing and making his own Mask*DeMasque costume, and then Miss. Fey's request for 'hero suits'...a few preliminary sketches, and it was like he'd never given up on fashion designing.

And Edgeworth was still stood at the door. This...this was insane. Everyone, everything, the whole world had gone completely insane. Or had he gone insane, and was in denial? With Mrs. DeLite still looking at him expectantly, stepping to one side and holding the door open, he gave a simple "Thankyou." and entered. The various conversations still continued unabated, as if he wasn't even there.

"What about this one, Mr. Detective? Mystic Maya's going to look like a princess!" Gumshoe smiled, and carefully took the sketch page from Pearl's hand. Mrs. DeLite had threatened to turn him in as an accomplice to Mr. Edgeworth when he'd taken his cuffs out. So, his chances of being a hero crushed, he'd been stuck babysitting Pearl, who was still on her impromptu visit from Kurain.

But it wasn't all that bad. After fussing over how soft and springy Mr. DeLite's hair was, she'd calmed down, and was back to being surprisingly quiet and well-behaved. "Yeah, that one's real pretty, pal. You wanna see something-?"

"NO. Not the gun. Don't you remember last time, Detective?" the attorney interrupted, followed by an "Ow!" as he received due punishment for moving again.

"Hey, pal, I'm not a complete idiot! That was just one slip-up, okay?" he retorted angrily, before giving the surprised little girl a comforting smile, showing her a photograph. "I don't think you've met her, but this is Maggey. Maggey Byrde. She used to work at the precinct before...well, before she got unlucky. I bet she'd really like to meet you."

If only he could meet her again, get a fresh start. He'd been busy with Mr. Edgeworth, and worrying about these weird powers he had now...after that big fight at the museum, maybe they weren't that weird, but it'd seemed that way at the time. And every time he used those powers to locate Maggey over the past few days, she'd been in her apartment, mainly in what he guessed was her bedroom.

Maybe she was sick, but he didn't know, he could only tell so much without actually being there. He felt like such a jerk, worrying about himself when she needed him. But now he was so afraid of what she might say, he couldn't even bring himself to call her, which made him feel like an even bigger jerk.

"So she's your special someone?" Pearl spoke up. He blushed immediately in response...what was it with kids and figuring this stuff out? He cleared his throat, putting the photo away and clasping his hands together. If it weren't for his imposing figure, he'd be the perfect image of a schoolboy with a crush. "...Yeah. I guess you could say she's...she's kinda like my sweetheart." ...Maybe he should call her...then he looked up into a pair of scowling grey eyes.

Some people would try their best to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room. But there was no ignoring the prosecutor in the room, which was quiet as a morgue once he stepped into the fray. "Sorry to break up this little soirée of yours..." his words dripped with sarcasm, but his face was deadly serious. "...but have we read the newspapers this morning?" He threw the paper he was carrying under his arm onto the small table in the centre of the room, treating it like the rag that it was.

Ema was the first to reach for it. "Supers' second stealing spree shocks sitty...I mean, city..." Ron clasped his hands, trying to shut out the guilt rising within him. He hadn't meant to get anyone else involved. "...thousands of dollars in property damage, irreplaceable dinosaur skeletons to be repaired..." Now it was Desirée's turn. Some of it was Atmey, but...she couldn't deny she'd been overzealous.

"...Detective at scene waited to call police, said to be terrified by winged creature photographed leaving the scene, thought to be possible accomplice..." Gumshoe covered his eyes with his hand, wishing it would just all go away. Phoenix turned away, gritting his teeth, the young scientist's words and the stabbing pain of yet another pin feeling one and the same.

"Well..." Maya looked at the others, and clapped her hands together, smiling broadly. "...for a first mission, it could have gone a lot worse!" The words died as soon as they entered the toxic atmosphere, outside the medium's protective bubble of fantasy. And if looks could kill, she'd be a pile of smouldering ashes. She swallowed, hard. "I...I mean...there's no way they can prove that was us!" She protested, bunching her fists.

"That may be so." Edgeworth had his hands behind his back, and was looking through the glass doors, which lead onto a small balcony. The epicentre of the Big Bang, just on the outskirts of town, was somewhere out there. It was so far away, and here they were, still caught in the aftermath. But who was to blame for many of those troubles but themselves? "But people believe what they read, even in the tabloids. If we continue doing these...insane things, they won't need evidence to convict a bunch of mutants."

He turned to face the others, still scowling, but his posture had changed. "They won't be grateful for any good that we do." He gripped his arm, now more than just a nervous habit. Some of the lacerations had been deeper than he'd thought, but finally having too admit the truth cut him deeper. He thought he'd avoided that fate three years ago, becoming something other than human. "Not when they hate us for what we now are."

A sombre silence filled the room. But Ema, smiling as she adjusted her pink goggles defied it as she typed away on her laptop. "I thought you were better informed than that, Mr. Edgeworth. Whatever happened to 'correctly prepared evidence is one's sword and shield'?" Nobody even cracked a smile at her lousy impression, but a few faces lit up as she pulled up a news website, reading off the screen for those pushed to the back of the sudden rush.

"Escaped murderer Luke Atmey declared during questioning that a group of superhumans were responsible for his eventual capture. Mr. Atmey suffered mild amnesia after a blow to the head during the ensuing struggle, but has admitted responsibility for both the incident and the string of heists following the Big Bang."

"Mia!" Phoenix suddenly spoke up. She'd taken a minute or so to leave the museum, but he'd assumed it was so she could change back into Maya, and levitate her way out. Scratching the back of his head, he couldn't believe what he was thinking, but it made sense. "She must have convinced Atmey he did everything..."

"A-a-and my powers broke the security cameras in the Gem Exhibit...!" Ron added with a thoughtful head tilt, and a squeak as his wife grabbed him in a mad embrace, his hair spirals suddenly dishevelled.

Edgeworth was dumbstruck, dumbfounded, flabbergasted, beside himself...and before he could finish running through the rest of his extensive vocabulary, he felt a little hand take his own. Unused to physical contact beyond the occasional handshake, he instinctively wanted to pull away. But his whole being felt pleasantly warm and relaxed. In his mind, he may as well have been lounging in a well-deserved hot bath following a particularly difficult day.

Still caught in a dreamlike state, he looked down to see a pair of big brown eyes, a friendly smile, and a complete lack of scratches on his hand. "Feeling better, Mr. Ed-ji-worth?" she asked, her hair pretzel bouncing as she excitedly awaited his reply, the pale glow fading from her hands. The man blinked back, looking as if he were dealing with an unknown species. "Ah...yes...thankyou."

With a giggle, the little girl skipped off. If there was a God, he certainly had a sense of humour, teasing a man with faith in nothing but his own convictions with miracle after miracle. Part of him was convinced he was going to wake up, eventually. Another part was just annoyed that things just wouldn't go like they should, even if the more unlikely outcome was the favourable one. The universe was toying with him.

Then he suddenly felt a pull on his sleeve. On both sleeves. "Come on, Mr. Edgeworth, Nick's all done being measured for his hero suit." Maya grinned like a Cheshire Cat, giving another tug.

"So that means that it's time for you to get yours. You can't call yourself a superhero without the proper uniform!" Ema added, both girls banding together to drag the reluctant prosecutor across the floor.

"What!? W-wait, wait a moment! That's what I came here to say! I'm not a bloody superhero-!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I-I know it's not much..." Ron hesitated shyly. "...I...the jacket was 'off the peg'...and the jeans...and the shoes..." his sentence trailed off deliberately, for once. He was probably just digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole. "The shirt was my design, though...a-and Dessie helped a little..."

"It wasn't what I was expecting..." Phoenix smiled. Since he'd been expecting spandex, that was most definitely a good thing. It had only taken Mr. DeLite a few days, but here he was, back in Masque*DeMasque's 'lair'. Judging from the lengths of material and spools of thread still lying around, he'd been working pretty much non-stop.

Turning his back to the mirror, he spread his wings as much as he could within the confines of the room. Even with the plush lining and the slightly stiff new leather of his jacket, the two slits added to the back didn't feel restrictive or rub against his wings. This was most definitely a good thing, since his shedding had stopped, and he seemed to be getting some new flight feathers in. And the purpose of the bomber jacket, black with large patches of brown on the elbow and outer arm, had originally been for flying...just not in that exact way. But it didn't add much weight, so he should be able to take off while looking the part.

The shirt was close to skin-tight, which might take some getting used to. But without baggy clothing slowing him down, he should be able to move a lot faster. It was a dark blue, and had a paler blue phoenix design emblazoned across the chest. The rest of the outfit was just like he'd wear when he wasn't in court or at the office – a pair of comfortable jeans and Converse sneakers. And it looked good.

Desirée, who had taken the 'hero name' Road Rash, didn't seem to agree. She gave The Blue Phoenix a thoughtful look, her head tilted. "Something's missing...hold on..." opening a drawer, she pulled out a pair of goggles, similar to hers but with black leather in place of red. Phoenix felt like he was accepting a prestigious award when she placed them in his hand. "If I need mine when I'm flying on my bike, then you'll need these when you're really flying." She smiled. "Now try them on before I do it for you, Nicky-boy."

He slipped the goggles over his eyes, giving a kind of half-joking salute. "You're a real flyboy, Nick." Maya laughed. Looking in the mirror as she thought to herself, she was, of course, happy with her own outfit. It had been her idea, but she had to give Mr. DeLite credit for things like colour co-ordination. And for her dark purple hakama, or 'samurai pants', she'd drawn inspiration from her favourite TV hero.

But the magenta sash, a similar colour to Mr. Edgeworth's suit, and the pink, long-sleeved kimono-style top were purely her ideas. That, and the sparkly stars which covered her hakama and a little of her sash. Oh, and the purple eye-mask – she couldn't exactly risk giving her secret identity away. And, after a few minor explosions, Ema had created a spray-on formula for their hero suits which fulfilled all her (completely necessary) requests.

Admittedly, probably only Nick's outfit would need to withstand temperatures of several hundred degrees, but heroes had to be prepared for anything. And it wouldn't look good for their public image if they ended up with clothes that didn't fit, thanks to a shrink ray or turn-you-into-an-animal potion or something. They'd probably foil the villain's dastardly plot before something like that could happen, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Edgeworth, meanwhile, was feeling rather sorry that he had refused to contribute to his costume's design. Wright's pilot look could be attributed to his flying skills, and the last name he shared with the famous brothers. But what, exactly, about him and his powers screamed 'ninja'? He looked like an extra out of a Steel Samurai movie, but at least they'd kept his preferred colour scheme.

Under a sleeveless magenta 'ninja shirt', there was a skin-tight and long-sleeved black shirt, reinforced with kevlar. This, along with the metal arm guards and shield-shaped shoulder guard (inspired by that accursed King of Prosecutor's trophy, he'd been told) should prevent any further injury from broken glass. His black gloves and 'tabi' – traditional 'two-toed' shoes from Japan – would provide better grip and balance along with near-silent movement. The 'ninja pants', also in magenta, were simply to complete the look.

Pulling up his long, blood-red silk scarf to cover the lower half of his face, he examined the replica defence attorney's badge pinned to it. It was identical to Wright's slightly modified original, and the one Miss. Fey was excitedly messing with. He didn't think he'd ever wear one of these again, but Mrs. DeLite's technological skills had turned these tiny and easily overlooked badges into communicators. If he were to press it, his voice would be broadcast to anyone wearing the same tiny, lightweight earpiece as him, within an impressively large radius.

He was still of mixed opinion about the 'superhero' thing. It was still vigilantism. But he knew that the others were joining this cause for the same reason which had driven him to the museum that night. Because the Police had failed. Because someone had to stop these dangerous 'super-criminals' before they banded together, and turned on those who rejected them.

And, as Wright put it, because they were 'bridging the gap'. Perhaps if they proved that not all these 'supers' were dangerous, that their unique abilities could be used as a force for good, maybe the world would be more ready to accept them. Maybe they could change the world, instead of waiting for the world to change for them. It was a noble thought...and miracles had happened.

Broken Edge raised his hand to vote that they call themselves 'Team Phoenix'. It had a certain ring to it, unlike 'Team Mysterious Mystic M'. But this was still going to take a lot of getting used to.


End Arc Zero.

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Last edited by ExImplode07 on Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Sweet. And they captured Luke! Yay!

Guess he's better at covering up murders than stealing stuff :p

New favorite.

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I talk to you guys over IM too much for me to have anything left to comment on...but I guess I can still say that Mia rocks and the costume making party thing is the most awesome scene ever. And finally Arc Zero's done~! Now we can move on to the fun stuff.

And speaking of costumes, I have fanart to share with you lovely readers. For now we have...[spoilered for image size, not actual spoilers. :3]


And I promise a Mia, Blue Phoenix, and Broken Edge probably before/possibly around New Years. But only if you guys keep reviewing this lovely story, kay?

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Hee, I probably missed a lot from reading so fast, but this was more of the same niceness.
I'll read it more in full later.

And now, some art!





Enjoy it, all you folks that read the fic. =D

Again simply excellent. Changing the way Mia is channeled was great (I see you used the Bokken idea from that one fan comic...XD) and Desiree and Ron as part of the team is an interesting twist. Still can't wait to see more. Good work!

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A kendo-stick-wielding Mia Fey...Atmey using force fields...Ron's screaming actually *doing* something...

All of this is freakin' brilliant! Keep it up! =D

Yeah! costumes FTW!!!
awesome new chapter!!!

here:

EDIT: Fight at the museum

(I am soooo gonna draw some fanart later)

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THANKYOU EVERYONE. <3 NOW TO REPLY.

Lalalei - yeah, I guess Luke's lost his touch during his time in jail, ne? X3

Sakuro and Rii - you know how much I love your art, and it rocks even harder now it's been posted here.

Jenna - YES we got that idea from the little comic on CR. X3 We were hoping someone would get that reference. The way Mia is channelled is pretty cool, too, isn't it? I wonder what might happen in future battles..?

Silver 9 - Thankyou! XD lol, Ron's screaming...he just had to have SONIC WHIIIIINE powers. It's just perfect for him.

Ajerben - WOW. I love that animation!! XD If it was smaller I'd have it as my avatar EDIT: It seems it does fit, so I hope you don't mind me using it! Love your use of "TAKE THAT!" , "HOLD IT!" and "OMG!"...you even have Atmey's ring of POWER glinting. X3 Love it love it. <3 FANART IS LOVE.

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Last edited by ExImplode07 on Sun Dec 23, 2007 4:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

THEY LOVE US, PLODEY ;_; THEY REALLY LOVE US

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Okay, so this is my second post ever. And I guess it's only because this story is really awesome. I've been trying to avoid posting to get away from weird topics that are weird (not going to name any) but this is the best fanfiction evar!

But... what's this "new way" of channeling that Maya has now? It seems quite normal to me, except that Mia has brown hair again?

I have to say that "Sonic Whining" is quite possibly the greatest name for a super power ever.

Also, I have to congratulate you both on proving that yes, you can combine two of my least favorite things ever and still make me love it! That is how great this fic is! Yeah sorry, I almost didn't play JFA just because Phoenix had amnesia in the first case and that pairing squicks me but man you made it awesome anyway so I don't care. <333

Having Dessie and Ronnie on the team is epic. Ronnie as a fashion designer... Hee hee hee hee hee. Poor boy; I'm sure he was teased relentlessly in high school. Ah well, what can those kids say now? Not like they're Phantom Thieves, being badass in every way imaginable.

...I'd like to try my hand at doing some fanart for this, too, though I don't know how nice it would turn out; you already have artists greatly surpassing my skills doing art for you. But I would love to try anyway!


...I love how you pointed out Luksey's bad vision, too. That made me giddy, absolutely. Hee hee, and his powers were amazing. Forcefields employeed through his ruby and basilisk eyes. Very, very... I'm going to avoid saying sexy here; how about splendiferous? Yes. Very, very splendiferous.

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AHHH WE HAVE A NEW FAN. <3 Hello Meteo! Yeah, there are some weird topics here on CR. as well as our fair share of weird people, but I think as forums go we're not too bad. I've seen much worse. XD A little explaination, too - Maya's 'new way' of channelling means that the person's outfit is different from hers, and they look exactly as they would when they were alive. ALSO, they have the superpowers they would have had if they'd been alive when the Big Bang happened. So yeah. ^^

Sonic Whiiiiine! Yeah, we all had a good laugh about it. XD And what pairing makes you squick, exactly? Just curious, really. ^^;; The only 'real' pairings we've had so far are Ron/Dessie and Gumshoe/Maggey - if you're seeing something else, then it was completely unintentional. But, yeah. I like it when readers interpret things as they see fit.

I had a feeling people might like Ronnie and Dessie on the team, but wow, not this much. XD And it's good that you liked Lukey's powers, heheh. X3 And if you draw fanart I will DIE FROM JOY because I said to Mercs just a few hours ago that I would. So go ahead, please, draw! I love art, and I love your art~! <3

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No, you see, it's the subtle thing that's not a real pairing, per se... After all, it's totally one-sided. But it's there and it squicks me, but I don't really care because I know it will never, ever happen especially not in this story. I like how Mia beat him in the face HIS THIRD EYE, hee hee hee. And it makes for epic laughs, because you can say "LUKE ATMEY! Super Powers: Force-fields powered by rubies, basilisk's eye; Weaknesses: Strong armor, D-Cups... of justice. Yes, I know what happens with the profiles BUT I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT *hides in corner with ears covered* DUNUNUNU-DAA DA DA, DAH DIDILI-DAH, BUH NUH NUH NUH DAH, DUH NUH NUH NUH DAH, BANANANANANANANA NAAAAAA-- *bookedbookedbookedkilleddroppedoffcliff*

I would be happy to do fanart, then! Aha ha ha ha ha...

Oh, one more question; is Luke done for, now? I was just wondering. I mean, I know you have to go on to more powerful villains and such, and I definitely want to see what's going on with everyone else! ...But I still want to know if he's out of the picture, because I feel obligated to make sure. >w>;;

Oh, and I forgot to mention, but I think Gumshoe's power is really interesting, too. Perfect for him, really. Hee hee hee. It should come in handy in the future.

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You guys are awesome! I'm really enjoying chapter four though I'm surprised that the arc ended so soon I was expecting it to go on for a few chapters, what a way to end it by the way. I like the Ninja Edgy I fully expect that he will be twice as bad ass like Snake Eyes from the GI Joe universe for example.

I wonder what a Marvel/PW Super Hero Universe crossover would be like? Maybe both worlds get connected by a tear in the dimensional fabric maybe there will be an ultimate team of the villains from both sides?


Yeah, I did expect that Ron would get stuck in his thief costume nice touch with his super whine power there as for Desire she got a sort of Iron Man thing going on though in my imagination I see her bike suit based off the design of the Knight Sabers cyber suits from Bubble Gum Crisis for some reason.

Nice entrance for Mia too it makes me wonder what other recently passed on Phoenix Wright characters powers will be if channeled by Maya and Pearl though for a minute there I thought you were going to do a subtle reference to "The Crow" but I guess not.


Before I forget I found this part funny.



Yes, Miles Edgeworth, eventually all children turn into their parents! The next thing you know you will be wearing glasses! Muhaha!*hack**cough*

Looking forward to your next chapter! Sorry for the long post!

Last edited by Shion on Mon Dec 24, 2007 3:14 am, edited 2 times in total.

Is Luke done for now? Well there's quite a lot of arcs to get through, starring various amounts of randomly insane other characters. But I can't guarantee he's gone for good, either. ;D You'll just have to wait and see what we've got planned.

EDIT: Shion: In my mind, Edgey has contacts. XD

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Too bad, Ninja Edgey in glasses sounds cool if I ever get the motivation maybe I'll draw him wearing a pair.

Glasses are sexy on ninjas.

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Okay Mercury, you have convince me. I'll see what I can come up with keep in mind that I haven't drawn in a long time though but I'll get you a version of Ninja Edge in glasses somehow.

EDIT: Well after a few quick sketches I thought this one was the best that I can come up with for now. I have Ninja Edge wearing glasses with his mask on and the scarf around his neck though underneath it you can see him wearing what looks like a cravat. Maybe I'll go back and do a less crappy version someday.

Wow, a certain Mercs has been busy while I've been asleep (time zones, yay). XD Looks like I'm left to pick over the leftovers.

And ahhh, sh1n1, I see. That was more meant as a nod to that little thing in the games, but I'm glad you kept reading even if yout hate it. It's kinda like Ema saying 'sitty' instead of 'city' - a nod to the text-related jokes in-game. And Gumshoes powers, I'm glad you like them. I think it suits him because it's useless most of the time, but once in a while it could really come through for our heroes. I look forward to your fanart.

Wow, Shion, another long post. ^^;; We're pretty unfamiliar with any comic-book-verses. I mean, I dunno about Mercs, but everything I know about superheroes I know from TV cartoon series. And yeah, that part is kinda amusing if you look at it one way. X3 A bittersweet moment is what I call it. And HAY WOW ANOTHER ARTIST. <3 <3 Your ninja Edgey is smexy even in sketch form. If you'd like a better idea of his design, we should have some art by Sakuro and possibly Rii up eventually.

And our view count is over 1000 already!? Thanks everybody!

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Ninja Edgey= awesome.

Ninja Edgey w/ glasses= drop dead awesome.

This story= SPLENDIFEROUS!

Ok. I still love this story, but now it's like...a hundred times more. Is Arc Zero really already done? It feels like chapter one was out yesterday...Anyway, yeah. I think Ron and his Sonic Whiiiiine was AWESOME!

But Mia with a kendo stick sounds awsome too.

In fact, you're making it hard to pick out single awesome things. Which makes me sit here, at the computer, totally without words to tell you how awesome it all is.

Maybe I just need a thesaurus.

Anyway, I did draw some fanart. Or a piece of fanart, I guess. A nice little blue phoenix, drawn in the only style I can do.

Chibi.

It was actually one of the best I've done, but I tried to color it in with watercolors (I had nothing better) and I ruined it. )=

Maybe I'll draw something and scan it up eventually. I tried drawing Maya and Edgey using character design sketches by my awesome sister, but they were ugly. (Chibis don't look good in ninja clothes, I'm afraid.)

So yeah. Awesome chapter four, but I had a thought.

Ron's team should be team Cinnabun.

Edit:: Your lovely sister fixed all your typos. It's spelled AWESOME. Carry on then. ~Sakuro

Edit Edit:: Okay, doodled up a quick picture, liked it, scanned it, uploaded it, posted it...probably shoulda colored it ><

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Last edited by Endless Blasphemy on Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:10 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Haha, look you two have fans. X3 Anywho, figured I should comment too... Shion, your ninja Edgey is very nice. ^^ I'd love to see it all fixed up and colored. And Ajerben, that is my favorite animation yet. You should do one of when Mia owns him with her kendo stick~! Man, I regret with every new post on this thread that I didn't bring my tablet on my Christmas travels. Darn you all. ...not really.

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If anyone wants to clean my art of Ninja Edgy up and color it you got my permission because the most advanced thing that I got is Paint.

Yeah I will have to take a loot at the other artwork when it gets posted and I'm looking forward to that but I'm glad that everyone didn't think it was awful there are some days that I can't draw worth crap.

Blasphemy, that pic is cute! And hiii Sakuro, fellow member of Team Kallisti. *waves* XD Chapter 5 is on hold for a bit, since I have finals AND a certain OTHER fic to add to (*cough*Turnabout in Wonderland*cough*. Buuut yeah. Since I was bored and this doesn't really fit in with the plot, I come bearing BONUS MAGGEYSHOE for a belated Christmas present. Enjoy, rabid fangirls and boys. X3

-----------------------------------------

The Kallisti Project - Side Story: Lady Luck

Dick Gumshoe wrung his hands together. In court he'd often be chastised for running his mouth off, revealing his own inadequacies through saying too much. Right now, he was sure he was saying too little. Anything would have been better than nothing at all.

He mentally turned the yellowed pages of his past, filling in the silence in his own head. Back then, he'd thought it might be like training another Missile, when something young and energetic and eager to learn was again suddenly placed in his care. Nobody else had the time. Teaching her the in-and-outs of the Police force, having her look up to him and hang on his every word, it had all been so familiar.

But adoration from a mutt like Missile was spread around like cheap margarine. It had meant something, when she came to eat lunch with him rather than with the other new recruits, even if she was just shy. But...she was his rookie, right? The way her eyes glittered when he told her about high-profile cases, the way she smiled when she saluted, that was just her looking up to him, right?
It was only natural that he wanted to protect her.

Slowly, eventually, finding Maggey meant more to him than just that had taken him even deeper into his past.

Memories of him hanging on someone else's every word. How they'd smiled and laughed together, gone on dates, bought each other gifts. And how...stupidly, thoughtlessly, his tongue loosened by beer...he'd asked one night if she found him...attractive. She'd looked at her perfectly painted nails for a minute or so, and said, with a disarming smile, that he had a great personality. And they'd moved along.

Love was blind for some, but not for others. Back then, he was so sure, that she was his sweetheart, that there'd only ever be him and her, it had taken years for those words to make it through his thick skull. Years. It was like she was leaving him all over again, but she'd never really been there. Nothing had ever been there except two lonely hearts, alone together.

There had been something there, though, when he'd seen her talking to Dustin Prince. A youthful-looking fellow rookie, they'd hit it off almost immediately, talking about their favourite baseball teams. Seeing that, and the way she wore her Red Feather community service awards with pride, he could see his rookie was branching out without his guiding hand. She was a fledgling officer now.

Seeing the look on her face, when Officer Prince had presented a pair of game tickets, his own smile had been tinged with a little bitterness. He'd picked up his pen and poured himself another cup of coffee. Black with sugars, no chinos or mochas allowed here.

Gumshoe's relationship had lasted a full year. Maggey's lasted just six months. But there'd been something there, and then it had been cut short, nipped in the bud before it could really bloom. And it could have bloomed, and it would have been beautiful, even if all he could do was watch. But instead it drizzled, the kind that soaked his trenchcoat so it clung to him. And he'd stood under an overcast sky, saluting the drone of bagpipes, and the innocent officer crying in solitary confinement.

Mr. Wright came through for her in the end, but the unerasable blemish on her record was there, and an honourable discharge was the best she could have hoped for. To give her time to heal, he backed off for a while...a while which ended up lasting a year. And even after all that time, communicating mainly by good intentions and wiener-loaded lunchboxes, he still felt guilty. Like he was pressuring her into accepting second best.

Even at his lowest, this lowly detective himself wouldn't accept leftovers. It was no wonder that she turned him away at first...a stale thing she'd probably forgotten about, now unpleasantly reheated.

And...well...that brought them to now. His palms, rough and calloused from the heavy lifting and handyman jobs he was so often roped into, creaked against each other. Those soft sobs were so real already through the phone line. Hearing them now, everything seemed almost unreal and dream-like, even moreso than the bad luck weeks ago. The same bad luck which had landed him in the hospital, and forced him to spend hours scraping feathers and black goop off his car. The same bad luck which meant Maggey had no job – not because she was fired, but because she quit.

"Why can't it just be me who has the bad luck..?" she said with a sniffle, keeping firmly to her side of the couch. Tears still fresh in her eyes, she looked at her hands in disgust, like they were covered with a slimy film of misfortune. "Why did it have to start rubbing off on other people?? Why...why this, why me?"

The detective continued turning his non-existent object over and over in his hands, sometimes manipulating it, other times trying to crush it to dust. He should have been there back then, to let her know that that she wasn't alone, that someone else had felt the pain of losing someone they loved. He couldn't make up for that mistake. But he could try and help ease this hurt, this fear, that the Big Bang had turned her into some sort of monster...

"NO! Get away!!" He closed his mouth, slowly pulling back his paw. His feelings were wounded more than his hand from the sharp slap. She'd recoiled from him as soon as she'd seen him move, and tears were still streaming down her face. Looking into her eyes, he understood – she was terrified, not of him, but for him. Terrified that he'd get hurt. "...I...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Detective!!"

He just...sort of smiled. And he got up and made them some more coffee - black, with sugars. He knew his way around Maggey's kitchen well enough. She was almost done drying her eyes when he got back, until he set the two mugs down, and she was in tears again. "See!? You hurt yourself in there, didn't you?? It's...it's because I touched that hand!"

As much as he sheepishly tried to cover it up with his sleeve, he couldn't deny what was there. The stinging pain was enough to remind him that scalding hot coffee, plus a slip of the hand, equalled a nasty burn. "...Accidents happen." He sort-of smiled, and sat down right next to her. This time, she didn't even seem to notice his presence.

"I'm not the most..." What was that word Mr. Edgeworth had used? Art...article...something. "...not...not-clumsy guy." He scratched the back of his head, looking away for a moment. Being clumsy with words as well as other things wasn't helping. "I've had a whole lot of knocks...a lot of 'em my fault...and...it didn't take the Big Bang for me to bounce back, pal."

His weight had slowly been sinking into the soft, well-sat-on couch cushion. And since the slightly-built Maggey was sitting at the opposite end...she was so close, he could feel her warmth through his coat. "...So...a little bad luck isn't gonna make much difference. I make enough bad luck on my own." His hand found her waist. And her hand found his.

"Detective..." It got you, too, didn't it? He could see it in her eyes...that and something else. There was no glittering admiration from her rookie days; she was no longer looking upon her superior officer. There was no cold disdain from her time in that lonely cell; she was no longer looking upon someone she 'never wanted to see again'. They were on the same level.

Two strong people who'd had their share of life's hard knocks, were now like a couple of kids, finding their world was changing. The little worlds they'd both built had come crashing down around them before, but this was something else. Something that affected the world, not just theirs, and they were caught right in the middle.

He held her a little closer, at the same time she leaned against him. Unease twisted in his stomach, like he was holding her back on that day, rushing her to his car, to the hospital. She'd been so small, and light, and breakable, like a doll...or a little bird. One wrong move, in action or conversation, and he could end up making things worse. He just had to be careful, be gentle...

And then he took a quick gulp of air, replacing what had been squeezed out of him by a bone-crushing hug. Maybe he didn't have to worry...even though the way his spine cracked didn't sound or feel too good. Then Maggey's grip released, and he found her resting her head against his musty old trenchcoat, grabbing handfuls of it like a comfort blanket. It had been called scruffy and smelly before, but maybe it reminded her of the precinct she'd loved so much. Coffee and old cigarettes and mountains upon mountains of paperwork. And...maybe even him...

His face flushed slightly as he looked away, and he spoke a little louder than he'd been intending to. "Uhm...well...since I get a lot of bad luck anyway...I was thinking maybe I could...help..." His sentence trailed off. He didn't even fully understand his own powers, so what could he do to help with hers? Maybe if he talked to Mr. Edgeworth...he'd know better than him, that was for sure. But he was busy. Being a lawyer was already a full-time job, and rounding up super-criminals was another full-time job.

But...hadn't he thought something like that, when he'd first had a certain rookie placed in his care? Hadn't she managed to teach him some things? They said an old dog couldn't learn new tricks...and a puppy was the least likely teacher...

"Mm..." Exhausted from crying, and lulled by the scent of what had once been her home-from-home, Maggey had fallen asleep while he'd been thinking."...Gummy Bear..." To anyone else, it would sound like she was dreaming of her favourite candy. But something about those words to Gumshoe's ears, and the way she snuggled into him, made his cheeks burn.

The Detective took a sip of lukewarm coffee. His powers would never be anything more than less-than heroic, but Maggey's...if she could somehow direct that bad luck...he chuckled. It'd be the closest thing to being a cop again, and the idea of supervillains slipping on conveniently placed fruit peels was priceless.

He wrung his hands again. 'The Pink Badger' would probably seem too...forward. No, it was too forward. Those cuffs were more than just decorative. But what else? Maggey still had that rookie potential in her, to be a great heroine someday...

...'Blackbyrde'...now that had a nice ring to it.

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Because if mother sees I haven't posted this by the time she comes back on I'll be in trouble. [I love you Plodey~! XD] SO I have a [late] Christmas present for all of you.


And great side story of course. I like the way you describe everything, especially the bit at the end with the way his coat smelled and such. Squeee Gumshoe and Maggey. X3 [wanders off to color Mia]

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Awwwww. ^_^ Gumshoe and Maggey are so cute ^^ I like their powers! *wishes I had a power*

Again you guys do very well. The interaction between Gumshoe and Maggey was very well done and even though it's a side story I like it a great deal. Excellent job guys! I always look forward to seeing more.

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Better late than never, ne? Not many people posting this time...I guess you all are waiting for the next story arc, lol. XD Thankyou lalalei (I wish I had powers too...what about everyone else? I, personally, would kill for Nick's wings. Well, maybe not. But they're cool).

And thanks Jenna! 'Lady Luck' was actually me on my own (for once...thanks long-suffering collaborators!) but yeah. ^^ We all appreciate the feedback, and expect more side-stories as we think of them.

Also, 'Gummy Bear' as Maggey's pet name for Gumshoe, FOR THE WIN. Over and out.

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