*** Ultraman and all respective characters, likenesses and items are copyright © 1966-2002 Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. Ultra Theresa is copyright © 2002 Wayne Koizumi, and used with permission This fan fiction is not an official sequel to Ultra Theresa and is not considered to be part of the original Ultra Theresa timeline or universe.Original characters are the property of Chibi Cel-Chan, except where specified, and are not to be used without permission.***

The woman that had been referred to as Ikeda-san turned away from Mikono and met her colleague's eyes. The expression on his face was one of complete and utter shock, and Ikeda immediately lowered her eyes. She stepped slowly off of the metal table Mikono had slunk to the very edge of and clasped her hands behind her head as she absently paced.

Mikono stared into space, her ears ringing from both the volume of the words spoken and the words themselves... had Ikeda really said that stuff about protecting her fans? What did she mean? What was going on? And who the hell was Captain.. what did she say? Zoggy?

Well, whoever he was, he had to know what the hell was going on. Mikono focused her eyes on her crossed legs and cleared her throat. She was just about to very politely request the man to escort her to this Captain Zoggy dude when she noticed something rather odd.

She had been wearing pants at her concert. Her knee length capris. She remembered that clearly, as she had bought them specifically for the concert. They were leather-lined maroon denim, and very uncomfortable. She had also been wearing a short, fitted black leather shirt, which was even more uncomfortable.

At the moment, she wasn't even remotely uncomfortable. In fact, it was as though she was wearing nothing but her own skin.

"Where are my clothes??" She asked absently, not meeting either of their eyes. Ikeda ignored her and continued to stroll around the room. The man turned to Ikeda to see what she was going to do.

The man frowned. Ikeda wasn't doing anything. He cleared his throat and slowly approached Mikono, who was beginning to shake with rage. "It was.. necessary to remove your garments for the operation...."

Mikono did not meet his eyes, she balled her fists as her eyes became bloodshot and incredibly angry. "And... yoooou... didn't see fit.... to...."

"RECLOTHE YOUR VICTIM?!?!?!??!??!!" Mikono's voice grew exaggeratedly loud and shrill as the man gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Ikeda simply rolled hers and slammed the storage locker shut. Mikono jumped, silencing herself. Ikeda strode over to her and threw a pile of clothing on the table. "Are you quite finished? We wanted to wait to see your progress before we made you get dressed. You were in a rather delicate state afterwards, we didn't want to injure you." She gave her the evil eye and turned around.

Ikeda started to turn back around but her colleague put his hand on her shoulder. "Your clothes were irreparable after what happened to you, Hayagane-san. Those are Ikeda-san's, so I'm sure you'll be polite and thank her for being so generous, right?"

Mikono frowned and held up a purple t-shirt with a picture of a sleeping bunny and the words "I'm too busy, find someone else" printed on the front. Some taste... "Uh... thanks... Ikeda-san..."

Ikeda's mood had since mysteriously lifted and she turned back to Mikono with a slight blush and a smile on her face. "You're absolutely welcome, Hayagane-san." She coyly looked over at her colleague and said something else, but it was inaudible.

Mikono sighed and put on the t-shirt and pants that had been set in front of her and she more comfortably slid her legs over the side of the table. She suddenly looked up. "Hey... um... mister..."

He nodded. "I apologize, I don't believe I have introduced myself, Hayagane-san. My name is Shinkannou Kakei, and this is Ikeda Masami-san." He bowed respectfully, and Mikono did so in return, wincing slightly at the pain. "Dozu Yoroshiku.." she said quietly. She then raised back up. "Shinkannou-san, would you be so good as to direct me to the Captain..eto.... Z..Zoggy?" She winced, she knew that was wrong. What the hell was his name, though? And what sort of stupid name was that anyway??

Kakei frowned, and Ikeda gasped, clutching her hands in front of her mouth. Mikono rolled her eyes. "Ikeda, you said his name.. what the hell was it??"

"Do you mean Zoffy?" Kakei asked, smiling slightly. Mikono sighed. "Yeah, that was probably it, some weird ass name like that." Ikeda gasped even louder and turned around. Mikono looked confused. "Can he tell me what you guys meant by protecting my fans? I think I'd rather hear it from someone in charge.. no offense."

Ikeda began to hum nervously and pace around the room, covering her ears. Kakei simply smiled and closed his eyes. "Of course you would, and I'd be happy to direct you to Captain Zoffy. First, however, I must ask you one question."

He then stood still, posture straight and gaze not faltering. Mikono frowned and turned around to see where Kakei was looking, but nothing was there. She turned back, frowning. "Am I supposed to s..."

Ikeda had walked next to her and silenced her with a hissed "Shh!" Mikono snapped back to attention and saw Kakei's arms crossed over his shoulders, his hands in fists.

He stood in the stance for probably 15 seconds, and the light was growing brighter and brighter. Mikono's eyes widened. "Wh..."

Suddenly Kakei released his hands from the fists and blinding beams of light shot from his hands, completely enveloping his body in white light. Mikono screamed and covered her eyes, but Ikeda couldn't take her eyes off the white form... despite the blinding brightness, her eyes remained locked on Kakei.

Several seconds passed, and Mikono could tell that the light had dulled down. She was unable to see at first, and she blinked and rubbed her eyes until her vision returned.

When it did, instead of Kakei standing in front of her, a sleek red and white figure with large yellow eyes and a blue stone-type item on its chest stood in a relatively benign but still striking pose. Ikeda wasn't able to see, but her gaze never faltered. She had seen this figure in her dreams enough times to know every inch of his appearance, and she bowed with respect.

Mikono was unable to speak. What the hell was going on? The figure who stood in front of her was totally foreign to her, she had never seen him before, but he somehow looked familiar, and comforting.

"Do you understand now, Mikono?" the figure spoke. Mikono's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with one hand. His voice sounded exactly like Kakei's.. but...

The figure walked closer to her. "I don't have much time to explain, but I am Zoffy. I took the form of a human to exist on this planet. I, and Ikeda-san are from a planet called the Land of Light, farther away from Earth than you can comprehend. We are called Ultras. I am Ultraman Zoffy, and Ikeda-san is Ultra Theresa."

Zoffy waved one hand across his face and shoulders and suddenly resumed the form of Kakei. "We are what you would consider an alien."

Kakei smiled. "I realize it's a lot to take in, but it's necessary that you understand. Our bodies can't exist on Earth for more than a few minutes, so we simply insert our consciousness into humans. The only trick being, the human in question must be dead. We restore them to life and in exchange for that, they serve as a host for one of our people, and they work as a warrior, defending this planet from evil forces. We've been doing it that way since your year 1966, when a man named Shin Hayata merged with Ultraman. Surely you've heard of.. Ultraman?"

Kakei stepped close to Mikono and put his hand on her shoulder. "Mikono, you too possess these powers. We restored you to life to become an Ultra, and to defend your planet."

Mikono slid off the table. "Waaait, wait wait... you guys just decided that I was supposed to be one of your weird.. Ultraman club members, and you didn't even consult me first?!" She laughed humorlessly. "I mean, I would have liked to be notified before.."

"So wait.. let me get this straight here. You just found me dead on stage, and instead of letting me stay where I was, letting me die peacefully, you just take it upon yourselves to.. to.. PLAY GOD with me?! I mean, did it ever occur to you that I don't WANT to save the world?! Did it ever occur to you that I don't CARE? Why would I care, I'm SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!!"

Ikeda and Kakei stopped and looked at each other. Mikono inhaled angrily and stormed off in a huff. She sat down in the corner of the room.

Kakei and Ikeda leapt into action and ran over to a wall. Ikeda tapped her fingers on the wall in a rhythmic pattern and the wall snapped open, a panel ejecting. A small screen popped up. On the screen, a battle ensued. Ikeda paused momentarily. "It's in the Warehouse district.. but it says that an Ultra pattern has been recognized at the scene."

Ikeda nodded and hit a few keys. The face of the civilian appeared on the screen. Ikeda shrugged, she didn't recognize him. She looked at Kakei.