"We're all here," Rei said impatiently, the black haired young woman's eyes flashing as she met Ami's eyes, "start talking." "Rei," Minako chided her, the blonde smiling slightly in amusement, Makoto sitting on the couch beside her. "Not quite all," Ami calmly answered Rei as she nodded towards the door that swished open. The taller woman standing there studied them all thoughtfully, her greenish black hair flowing down her back in a wave. "Rei, Minako, Makoto I'd like you to meet Setsuna Meiou," Ami introduced her, fighting back a slight smile. "I've heard a lot about you," Setsuna said to them softly, "and I wish this meeting could be under better circumstances. You see," she took a deep breath, "Prof. Tomoe was murdered by his own creation, the super Bio-boomer called Saturn." There was a long beat of dead silence then Minako sat up in surprise, "What?!" "And how, exactly, do you know this?" Rei asked, narrowing her eyes. Ami calmly hit a switch, calling up the information released in the news. "While the Infinity Corporation says Tomoe's death was an accident," she said, "files that Setsuna has acquired from the AD Police say something entirely different." "I can't say where I got the information," Setsuna said to them firmly, the stylish business suit that she wore hugging her form, "but the evidence suggests that his neck was broken deliberately, not in an industrial accident or Bio-boomer test.." "So why haven't the police made any announcement?" Makoko asked, the intense martial artist running a tired hand through her brown hair. "The officers involved are likely under pressure to wrap this up neatly," Rei offered with a cynical look, "with the pull Infinity has their bosses are probably eager to obey." "It's not quite that bad," Minako frowned over at Rei as she spoke up for her fellow officers in the AD Police but Rei just ignored her. Ami ignored the side comments, "To make things even more confusing there's the whole situation around Hotaru Tomoe." Setsuna spoke up as the two of them had discussed earlier, "Despite the fact that Tomoe's grieving daughter has taken over Infinity, medical records that Mercury helped acquire show that she died a few years ago." There was another moment of silence. "To make things even more interesting," Ami said with a ghost of a smile, "those records mysteriously disappeared shortly after we accessed them. Someone is systematically destroying all of the evidence that Hotaru died." Rei put the pieces together remarkably quickly. "This super Bio-boomer Saturn," she asked with a frown, "it's the one posing as Hotaru?" "Exactly," Ami nodded. Makoko leaned forward, only slightly wrinkling her crisply neat clothes. "This super Bio-boomer," she asked tentatively, "what is it capable of?" "We don't entirely know," Setsuna fielded that question, "but information we acquired from within Infinity shows that they built it for immense strength and speed as well as with some non-standard internal weapons." "More importantly," Rei surprised them by getting up, walking over to where she had hung up her jacket as she continued, "why should we care?" "What do you mean?" Minako asked. Rei pulled on her jacket, her face grave. "We all know Professor Tomoe was a murderer," she said, "he killed Ami's mother and my Grandfather. If this Saturn did kill him, more power to her." With that she walked to the door. "We have no idea what her intentions are," Ami protested, feeling her control over the meeting quickly slipping away from her. "Maybe," Rei smiled slightly as she said, "but we don't know her intentions are bad." She paused at the doorway, "Unless you have some other information?" "No," Ami had to concede. "I'd have happily killed Tomoe myself," Rei said softly, "I'm not about to condemn Saturn for it." With that she was out the door and gone. "She does have a point," Makoto said. "I'm not condoning murder," Minako shook her head, "I'm with Ami on this one. Tomoe should have been brought to justice, not killed." "This meeting is over," Ami finally said softly. "Ami?" Setsuna looked over at her in surprise. "Rei is right about one thing," Ami admitted, "we don't know Saturn's intentions, and until we do we can't put together a real strategy." Minako looked over at Ami worriedly as she and Makoto both got up from their seats, too. "Do you want me to look into any information on the murder that's in the AD Police computer system?" she asked her curiously. "Please," Ami answered with a tired smile. The two young women left the room, leaving Ami and Setsuna alone together. The blue haired young woman walked over to a seat and flopped down, sighing to herself softly. "I don't think I've ever seen someone take the wind from your sails so quickly," Setsuna commented with a smile, sitting down beside her. Ami gave her a pained look, "I jumped the gun, I think." "Rei is almost exactly as I had expected," Setsuna admitted. She looked at Ami thoughtfully, "Do you regret recruiting her?" Ami flashed a smile, "You know, I don't think so." She leaned her head back against the chair, "How are Haruka and Michiru developing?" "Fairly well," Setsuna said. She raised an eyebrow slightly, "Are you expecting we'll have to ask them to become involved?" "I hope not," Ami answered honestly, "but it's best to be prepared." "They were the prototypes for Saturn," Setsuna cautioned her, "but they don't have the same capabilities. I can't guarantee how well they'll do against her." "And the hardsuits?" Ami asked. "I don't know," Setsuna admitted, "we don't have complete data on what Saturn can do. I think we can hold our own, but...." "We?" Ami raised an eyebrow, "I don't remember agreeing to let you help us fight Saturn, assuming we even do." "I have just as much of a stake in this as you or any of the others do," was Setsuna's calmly delivered answer. Ami hesitated, "I've never chosen to ask you certain things because I respect your need to keep those boundaries, Setsuna." "But you want to know now," Setsuna said. She closed her eyes for a moment, "What you may not realize is the Uranus, Neptune and Saturn were all based on an earlier design, one of your mother's final creations." "My mother created a Super Bio-boomer?" Ami's eyes were wide with surprise. "Dr. Mizuno didn't call her that," Setsuna answered her mildly, "at first she was referred to as test model Pluto and later... she gave me the name Setsuna." "Of course," Ami murmured after a few seconds of shocked silence, "you're very convincing, you know. At being a human, I mean." "I am human," Setsuna answered calmly, "or at least much more so than any of the original series of Bio-boomers." Ami noticed Setsuna hesitate and studied the other woman thoughtfully. "There's something else, isn't there?" she asked. She just nodded. Setsuna took a deep breath, "When the doctor created me she used a sample of her DNA along with a scan of her own brain patterns." "Does that mean you're...." Ami trailed off uncomfortably. "No I'm not your mother," Setsuna shook her head slightly, "but it was the base of what would eventually become my own personality." Ami got up, walking across the room to look out a window silently. "I'm sorry," she managed after a few moments, "but this is a lot to take in right now." "I wanted to tell you earlier," Setsuna rose, putting her hands in her pocket as she continued, "but it never seemed like the right time." "Thank you," Ami puffed out a sigh. "I think I should leave you alone," Setsuna walked over to the door, "contact me if you need anything. please. Or if you feel it's time to make a move with Saturn." With that the door opened and she moved out into the hallway. Ami nodded as she called after her, "I'll do that."
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