***
Disclaimer: "JSA", "Ranma ½" and other properties belong to their respective entities.
Note: This is an "Elseworlds fusion fan-fiction". Enjoy!
Warning: There will be spoilers for certain DCU story arcs and JSA issues.
***
Ten years ago:
"Ah, what a day."
Ted Grant, also known as the golden age "Wildcat", strolled out of his favorite Tokyo dive, "The Cat's Cradle", after a night of boxing between Sugar-Ray Leonard and Robert Duran. True, these young "Turks" couldn't last as long as he could during his prime, but-
"MRRRRRRRRRR-"
"What the-!"
Ted narrowly leaped out of the way, as a small child nearly came at him. And he was acting like a cat!
"Geez! Let's see…"
Timing his movements just right, Ted leaped out of the way, allowing the crazed kid to get stuck in a garbage bin.
SLAM!
"RRRROWRL! YOWWL!"
"There!" Ted said, as he dusted his hands. "I better get help with this one."
Later…
BAM! BAM!
"You certainly meet interesting people, Grant."
"Will you lay off of me, Kent? The kid's acting like a cat, for Christ's sake."
"Well, lucky you that I had business here," Dr. Fate said with bemusement. "So let's see…ah! Open up the bin."
"But that kid-"
"Trust me on this one. Now, open it."
The feral child immediately leaped out of the bin.
"RRROWRL!"
Using his mystic training, Dr. Fate used an incantation to bind the child and to put him to sleep.
"It's safe?"
"Certainly. Hmmmm…"
Using his senses, Fate could read a chaotic aura. It certainly appeared to be sentient.
"This doesn't bode well. I will have to travel Heliopolis to cure this child of his ailment."
"Well, I'm coming. Besides, I haven't seen Bast in ages."
"Very well, hang on."
In Heliopolis, the home of the Egyptian gods…
"…And that's the story," Wildcat said, as he related his tale. It had been a while since he lasted visited the Goddess of Cats, but, strangely, Bast wasn't upset about it. "So, can you help the kid?"
"My dearrr Ted," the Cat goddess replied. "I would do anything for my favorrrite human."
"Great Bast," Dr. Fate replied. "How may you help the child? I am a Lord of Order, and this child is beyond my help."
"I will currre the child…for a price."
"And that would be…?" Wildcat began.
"This child shall serrrve as my champion. Howeverrr, he is not prrreparrred forrr that rrrole. YOU, Ted Grrrant, will serrrve as his mentorrrr in his prrreparration."
"What?!" exclaimed Wildcat.
"That is outrageous!" Dr. Fate replied. "He is too young to make such a decision. We haven't even located his parents."
"You, Chosen of Nabu, will make surrrre that the boy does not rrrrememberrr his old life. Take it orrr leave it."
Dr. Fate knew that he was in a bind. He could temporarily cure the madness, but the chaotic nature of the boy's curse will always remain.
"Very well."
"Kent!"
"Trrrust me when I say that you will do the boy a favorrrr."
"And taking the boy away from his parents is doing him a favor? How?"
"Obserrrve this mirrrrror that dear Thoth had given me forrrr my birrrthday…"
After see what the boy's parents were like, Dr. Fate and Wildcat were both inclined to agree that Bast's suggestion had merit.
"Okay, we'll do it."
"Good. Then it is done.
Later, at Tokyo General Hospital…
"Ranma?"
"Uh, what happened…?
"Take it easy, kid," Ted replied. "You've been asleep for a few days."
"I…don't know what happened…to me."
"Don't you worry about a thing."
"So, is everything taken care of?" asked Ted, as he left the boy's hospital room.
"Yes," replied Kent. "The Japanese government will allow Inza and I to take in the Ranma, thanks to our contacts within the government. We'll get the boy acclimated to American society soon enough."
"And when the kid's old enough, I'll take him with me to train…outside of school time of course."
"You could settle down."
"Hey, I still have Selina to deal with first."
"As a teacher or as something more?"
"Hey, that's for me to know, and you to never find out."
"Typical Ted behavior."
Six years later…
Ted Grant had trained the kid in boxing for some time now, a good two years. But, the kid absorbed everything he was taught and it seemed that he got bored with just Ted's primer. He knew a few friends of his could cure the kid of that ennui.
Trainer One:
"I got you now. Victory is – Aiieeee!!"
Thwunk!
"Kid, never say when you're gonna strike. It warns the opponent."
"Yes, Mr. Jagger. Hii – Whaaa!!!"
Schlump!
"You can call me Rip if you want, Kid."
"Only if you'll call me Ranma. Kiyaa – Ahhhh!"
Omph!
"Hey, Tiger, how's the kid doin'?" Ted asked Tiger, the Japanese – American sidekick of Judomaster, Ripley Jagger.
"Badly. He's gotta get the shouting of his attacks outta his system. But, he does deserve some credit. Rips been tossing him around all day and he's still up to it." Tiger replied.
Krash!
"Arrgh!"
"Oh, well, I should be back in a week to pick him up. Don't go easy on him till then." Ted said.
Trainer Two:
"Hey! I can't use my arm!"
"Of course you can't. That jab to your deltoid should immobilize your arm from the shoulder down. By the way, no force in the universe is going to help you move it now."
Shlick!
"What was that – Ahh, my eyes! I can't see!"
Krak! Skit! Thump!
"Exactly. You all right?"
"Yes, Mister Wayne, I'm fine, though I have had better."
"Good, because I wouldn't do this if you weren't, boy."
Hrahak!
"Yowch!"
"Hey, Ted, long time no see. You here about that kid, Ranma?" Dick asked the former heavyweight.
"Yeah. How's the kid doin' against Ole Bats?" Ted said with a jovial chuckle.
"Listen." Dick said. Ted did so and heard the sounds of battle mixed with muttered curses and cries.
"Ah. Is he improving any?" Ted asked.
"He stopped screaming half an hour ago. And Bruce's been telling me that he's getting in some good solid hits. You taught him how to hit very well." Dick said, getting a nod from Grant.
"Good. Make sure that Bats dresses all of the kids wounds and sets any broken bones, will ya?" Ted asked.
"Will do."
Trainer Three:
"Okay, you taught me what it is, what it can and can not do, and it's basic workings. So are you gonna teach me how to use it?"
"No."
"No!?! Why not?"
"Actions speak louder then words. But, knowledge is known to mute actions."
"You don't know any techniques and gave me a bunch of BS the entire time. Ted said you were a good fighter. Huh, I guess he can be wrong."
Shwaaaa! Ka-Pow!
"Whoa… That's… Cool. Now I see why, power like that would be bad in my hands."
"Not really, but I am worried that if I teach you techniques like that, you won't develop your own unique attacks."
"Oh. Mr. Dragon… sorry about what I said about you BS-ing me."
"Don't think about it."
Trainer Four:
"Do you yield?"
"Yes, I do, just let go of my arms. Please?"
"Never underestimate an opponent. Bad things happen if you do."
"Yes, Miss Shiva. I'll never underestimate a girl again. That I promise."
"Do so, or I'll show you how easy a wild stallion can become an old mule."
Those and other trainers in martial arts and fighting turned the young man into a superb fighter. And it is good, as they would help him deal with all the troubles that would come in his life.
During the events of "Zero Hour"…"You cannot stop me, pathetic worm!" yelled Extant, as he delivered a beam of chronometric energy at Wildcat's ward.
"NO!" Ranma yelled, as he leaped out of the way. He knew that his mentor had forbidden him from participating with the JSA in their attempt to stop Extant and his mysterious partner from remaking time. Unfortunately, he felt that it took as many people as possible to stop the mad man, thus prompting Ranma to disobey Wildcat's wishes. Too bad he was still too green from making a decent fight for the man formerly known as "Hawk".
ZAP! ZAP!
"Ahhhhh-!"
And now, he, too, was about to fail. Still, he would be damned if the JSA goes down for the count.
"Ah ha! Game over!"
Just as Ranma was about to feel the full effects of Extant's blasts, a familiar shield blocked the beam.
"Go and help the other out of harm's way," said Hippolyta, the legendary Queen of the Amazons and former "Wonder Woman". Using her arcane resources, "Polly" was able to track her allies to Extant's null space.
"But-"
"Do as I say, child! I don't know how long I can cover for you!"
"Okay, okay!"
Those that could help, like Alan (i.e. the Golden Age Green Lantern) and Jay (i.e. the Golden Age Flash), helped Ranma move the rest of the JSA to safety, thanks to Hippolyta's timely rescue.
Later, at Gotham General Hospital…
"I'm…sorry, Ted," said Ranma, with sadness in his voice. "I should have done more than I was able to."
"Kid, don't worry about it. I will be fine." Already, his health was returning. "I'm more concerned about the others. At any rate, maybe I was wrong about not letting you on the mission."
"Excuse me?"
"I've trained some of the best in the business, but I still get antsy about letting them go into the majors…so to speak. Maybe it's time for you to get some experience."
Ranma smiles at the notion.
During "Crisis X Five"… "And who the %$@ you're suppose?" said J.J. Thunder. It was still weird to know he just gotten a hold of one of the most powerful entities in the universe."The names 'Bobcat', kid. I'm with the JSA."
"Yeah, right."
"Really. Besides, whether you want to believe it or not, I've been told to keep an eye out for you."
"I don't need some @@#$@ watching my back!"
Bobcat suddenly leaps onto to J.J.
"What the @#$@-!"
J.J. could see an animated vehicle drive past at tremendous speeds. Had it not been for Bobcat…
"As you were saying?" Bobcat said with a smirk.
"…"
During the "JSA Returns" affair…
"Hey, kid! Fast ball!"
Jack "Starman" Knight, having his hands full in dealing with Apophos' minions, threw the baby to Wildcat's protégé Bobcat.
"You will die, scion of Bast," said the lead minion, as he took a swing of his pole-axe to Bobcat's head.
"And you need to shower!" Bobcat retorted, as he leaped over the swing and caught the baby.
"Get out of the way!" yelled the Black Canary, as she performed a leap kick. "Take the child out of harm's way!"
"I'm on it! I just hope that this kid becomes the new Dr. Fate fast and soon!"
During the "Hunt for Extant" affair…
"Nooooooo!"
Bobcat, as well as the others, was in shock after seeing Dawn Granger, the winged heroine known as "Dove" was blasted by Extant.
"I did what I had to do, boy. And you cannot stop me."
Something welled up in Bobcat. All the anger, all the hatred that Bobcat felt towards this man came to the fore. This was the man who taunted him for being weak.
This was the man who killed his friends whom he considered to be mentors.
This was the man who taunted him for being too weak to do anything about it.
And now, with Dove's death, it was happening AGAIN…
No. No, it will not.
"MRRRRRRRRRRRR…"
"What's happening to Bobcat?" Courtney "Star Spangled Kid" Whitmore asked Wildcat.
"I'll tell you later, but let's say that Extent is in big trouble."
"Unbelievable," Metron, a god beyond new and old, commented, as he examined Bobcat's aura. "I didn't know that humans could generate such a strong energy reading. I'll have to examine him later."
For the first time, Extant was scared. Here was a creature that is generating pure chaos on a scale that surpassed even HIM. Still, he wasn't about to let some punk cower him.
"We wouldn't do anything stupid, now shall we?"
"RRRRRROOOOOAAAARRRR!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!"
It was a good thing that Bobcat was on the side of good. Who knows what would happen if someone like Darksied utilizes 'Cat's capabilities? What happened during "Kids…" "Listen up." Sentinel, said. "The rest of the Justice Society is AWOL, so the three of us need to help Canary stop the biggest Meta-Human outbreak in history…""And we really don't want you to get into harms way. This is bad news." Flash said in that fatherly way he was famous for.
"Yeah, and you rugrats are mature enough to handle this, right?" Wildcat said with a smirk.
"Just do us this one favor," Sentinel said, pointing to the three seated individuals with a green flame hand. "try to get along for one night."
"Okay, Sentinel said I was in charge, that means you two morons have to do what I say." Star Spangled Kid said to J.J. Thunder and Bobcat.
"You boss us around anyway. The only difference is, is that you have delusions of power to back it up." Bobcat said.
"Right on, man." J.J. said, holding up his fist, which Bobcat tapped with his own. This angered the Star Spangled Kid.
'I'm in my happy place. No one is here but me and the flower and those two idiots and several stick of dynamite strapped to them. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!' SSK though to herself.
"Yo! I need help with the candy guys, so c'mon!" Alex said holding a large bowl of candy. After he had handed out the candy and closed the door, there was a loud explosion that knocked Alex and J.J. onto their feet.
"Ohmigod!" Alex screamed, looking at his smashed Jack-O'-Lantern. J.J. found this to be very funny
"Jeeze, Alex, it's just a pum-"
Kraakoomm!
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"That… that the Statue of Liberty?" J.J. asked, getting up from the ground.
"Its head anyway." Alex said. "But, someone painted a big smile on it. Who wou-" Alex said as a big white hand hit him from above.
"Alex!!!" SSK cried out.
"Born on a Monday. Rhymes with Sunday."
"Uh-oh." The three teen heroes said.
"Trick-or-treat." Solomon Grundy greeted with hysterical laughter.
During the "Stealing Thunder" affair…"I…don't know if I can do it, Bobcat!"
Captain Marvel hesitated. Without his "Courage of Achilles", he wasn't sure if he could brave the raging storm that was tearing the good-guys apart.
"Cap, I know that you can do it!" Bobcat yelled, as he desperately clung for dear life. "You are 'The World's Mightiest Mortal'!"
Billy looked at the friend he has known since the Ultra-Humanite took over and reshaped the world many months ago. With his powers on the wane, he had to learn how to make-up for his by other means. Powergirl, Hourman and even the Crimson Avenger gave him the inspiration to improve himself. However, it was both Jakeem and Bobcat that he admired the most. Bereft of superpowers, these two survived. How can he let them down after all this time? What right did he have to not try and deal with an unstoppable menace?
He knew what to do.
"Thanks, Bob!" Captain Marvel smiled, as he plunged headlong into the abyss.
"Your welcoooooooome!" Bobcat replied, as the storm blew him away.
During the event known as "Virtue and Vice"…
"Man, Atom, for such a little guy, you are strong, being able to help me and carry Carter to the teleporter pad." Bobcat said, kneeling. Mr. Terrific, Batman, Power Girl, Plastic Man, Doctor Fate, Green Lantern, and Captain Marvel went crazy and were tearing up the Brownstone. During the insanity of it all, Ranma's leg was wounded, which was not a good thing, even though he had a slightly faster healing rate.
"I'll thank you later, right now we need to get Jay, Carter, and Ted to the Watchtower infirmary." Ray "Atom" Palmer replied. Wally "Flash" West had just come back with Ted in his arms and placed the pugilist on the teleporter pad.
"Transport! JLA Watchtower!" Ray cried out. The computer responded as the device started to charge up.
"You'll appreciate this, Dr. Palmer" Pride-Mr. Terrific said, followed by Rage-Batman.
"This is just a little thought-experiment on ambient matter and space-time folding." Pride-Mr. Terrific added, heading towards the control pad for the teleporter. The teleporter was almost ready to start the trip.
"As your atoms begin to disassemble, what do you think would happen…" Pride-Mr. Terrific punched in a few commands as the teleporter activated. Atom knew full well what the possessed hero was doing.
"In God's name, Terrific, don-" Unfortunately, the Mighty Mite's words were lost as he, Hawkman, Wildcat, Bobcat, and both Flashes were teleported away.
"…if we redirected the process, mid-flight?" Pride-Mr. Terrific's words echoed in their ears as they were reassembled somewhere that wasn't the Justice League of America's Watchtower. Standing before them was the demon Surtur, a giant that must be stopped by the Norse gods during Ragnarok.
"What is that thing?" Flash asked.
"Not again…" Jay said, remembering the last time he was here.
"It's a freakin' fire giant. Those traitors just booted us back into Limbo!"
Finally, during the "Princes of Darkness" affair…
"Alan? ALAN!" Bobcat yelled, as he arrived on the scene.
"I'm sorry, Bobcat," Captain Marvel said, as he held the decrepit form of the Golden Age Green Lantern in his arms.
"What happened, Courtney?" Bobcat asked.
"It was…Todd, wasn't it?"
Everyone turned to see Jenny-Lynn "Jade" Hayden. She sensed that there was something amiss when she no longer felt her father in her heart.
"We believe we can save Alan," began Captain Marvel, "but…"
"You didn't think I wouldn't find you, eh?"
"You…BASTARD!" yelled the SSK.
"How can you do this to your own father?" asked Bobcat.
"He wasn't there for me. So, he has to pay for his mistake."
"'He wasn't there…'" Bobcat began. "You WHINEY SON OF A $%#@%!"
"Excuse me?"
"Alan may be many things, but he has always been available for you. But no. You had to make him pay for everything that went wrong in your life. You just wouldn't cut him any slack. At least you have a father!"
"It doesn't matter now. Everyone will pay for their sins."
With that, Obsidian blasted Courtney.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Billy and Ranma yelled in unison, before engaging the enemy once again.
Present time…With the passage of time, many of the wounds that Ranma "Bobcat" Saotome endured have healed. He wished that he could have some time to himself to deal with the JSA's most recent loss, but, as his mentor Wildcat once said, a hero's job is never done.
Like now for instance.
"Huff! Huff! You just had to push the red button, Bobcat!"
"I told you, it's part of my master plan, 'Kid!"
"The one you're still thinking about and haven't told me?"
"…"
During one of their training periods, Bobcat and the Star-Spangled Kid stumbled into a warehouse while looking for evidence of Intergang activity. Unfortunately, instead of running into your typical parademons, the two ran into the Apocalypse's Furies! It didn't take long for Bobcat to infuriate Darkside's elite minions even further.
"Where you going? Don't you like me anymore?" yelled Stompa.
"Hey, I don't like slow, chunky chicks."
"Will you just hurry!" yelled the 'Kid. "Oh, drat!"
"Well, well. It looks like we hit a dead end," said Lashina, as she lazily swung her steel ribbons. "It's a good thing that you pressed the general alert button first instead of the communication beacon."
"Man, Ted was right, women dig the costume." Bobcat muttered, backing up against the wall.
As the two Furies slowly inched their way towards the two JSAers, they failed to see a menacing shadow hanging overhead.
"Look! There's someone behind you!" Bobcat said.
"You expect me to fall for-"
BAM! POW!
"Hawkgirl!" yelled the 'Kid.
"God, these guys certainly like to hear them selves talk!" said Hawkgirl, as she re-clipped her mace to her belt. "You guys' okay?"
"Sure. It would have been better if 'Mr. Impatience' here had followed procedure!"
"Hey, it worked, didn't it?"
"Whatever. Look, let's go, okay? The others have already took out the heavy hitters, and the DEO* can clean up the mess."
*(Department of Extranormal Operations)
"Already? I didn't get a chance to show off!" Bobcat said, as he dusted himself off.
"If his head gets ANY bigger…" the 'Kid began.
Back at the proverbial ranch…
"I baked cookies!" Alex Montez said, as he lowered the plate.
DOGPILE!
"I win!" Ranma replied, as he polished off the last cookie.
"Hey!" Courtney yelled
"Yeah, man," said Jakeem Thunder. "Don't hog the cookies!"
"You snooze, you loose."
"Oh, we'll see who's gonna loose..." began Jakeem, as he took out his magic pen.
Just then, Kendra Saunders walks into the room.
"Say, here's a letter for you, Ranma, that I got by mistake...ALEX!" yelled Kendra.
"Huh?" Alex replied.
"Thanks," Ranma replied, as he took the letter. "Hmmm."
"What's up?" Billy said, as he looked up from his book
"This letter is from Dr. Light. Apparently, she's been successful in that project we started the last time the JSA and JLA teamed up."
"What is it?" Courtney asked.
"I didn't know that you were into science and technology," Billy said.
"I'm not," Ranma replied.
"Well, what is it?" asked Jakeem
"I think that she has found my real parents… I… I think I'm gonna have to tell Ted about this. See ya in while."
The Justice Society of America's Training Room…
"… and then I get this letter from Dr. Light saying that she's found my real parents. Ain't that great?" Ranma said to his mentor, guardian, and friend. Ted looked at his ward.
"Yeah. Great. 'Scuse me for a moment." Ted said, getting up and leaving the gym.
Hector Hall's study…
"Hector! C'mere, I need to have a discussion with Kent!" Ted said. The current Lord of Order eyed the former boxer and nodded.
"Kent, can you hear me? Someone wishes to speak to you." Hector said. The effect wasn't glorious, one minute the two were in the library like room and the next they were in the front yard of a cozy home.
"Hello Hector. Ah, good to see you again, Grant. How's life been treating you?" Kent said, greeting the two. Ted was at least decent enough to let him finish before he decked him.
"You lyin' magical ghoul. You were supposed to keep him from remembering!" Ted shouted. Kent picked himself up and shook the daze from his head.
"No, I did block his memories. But, with my unfortunate passing, the blocks that I put over his mind also faded." Kent said, feeling his jaw.
"Oh," Ted said apologetically "I wasn't thinking straight."
"Would you be Ted Grant if you did?" Kent asked, which Ted promptly answered with another punch.
JSA Meeting Room…
"So you want to go back to Japan and meet your parents?" Mr. Terrific, the current JSA chairman asked Bobcat.
"Yes, Mr. Chairman, I do." Bobcat replied.
"And the rest of you?" Mr. Terrific said, asking the other 'Jr. JSAers.'
"'Cat is our friend. And right now he needs his friends." The Star Spangled Kid said. Jakeem Thunder and Hawkgirl nodded.
"And I will be going as well. Johnny Thunderbolt and Pat Dugan can't possibly handle these four." A voice that could only belong to the World's Mightiest Mortal said.
"Actually, I wouldn't mind coming along as well," Dawn Granger interjected. "It would be good to see my old friend Ren Tanaka again."
"Well then if it's alright with the rest of the group, you got a couple months of furloughs." Mr. Terrific said, ending the meeting.
The proverbial ranch (again)…
"Courtney from what you said, it almost sounded like you cared for me." Ranma said.
"You wish, Ran." Courtney said.
"Oh, come on. You know ya love me. Don't deny your true feelings." Ranma said.
"Not if you were Adam and I was Eve." Courtney replied.
"Hey! I'm not Black Adam. Besides, denial is the first sign of addiction." Ranma said, grinning.
"Why you morose, idiotic, overly macho… prick! Why, I oughtta–"
Would you two please stop. It's bad enough that I have to be here. Let alone listen to your hormonal teenage angst and banter the JSA's computer's voice said. This stopped the argument quickly.
"Thinker," they both said. "SHUT UP!"
Meanwhile, in Japan…
"So, Sorrow, it's agreed?"
"Yes. You give me back my humanity for my services, as well as the Injustice Gang's."
In an undisclosed location near Tokyo Bay, Johnny Sorrow, the actor-turned extra-dimensional madman, was having a meeting with the demon lord Neron.
"Excellent."
"So, why aren't you rhyming? I thought that you had gotten demoted within your hierarchy."
"Let's just say that I've been good lately."
***
"This is Nippon Airlines. We wish to thank you for choosing our air carrier. We will be approaching Tokyo International Airport shortly, so have all loose articles stowed away, and seatbelts buckled. So, thank you again for choosing Nippon Airlines. Have a nice day."
"Wake up sleepy head!" said Courtney, as she threw her pillow at Ranma.
"Hey! I'm trying to sleep here," Ranma replied.
"Knock it off, you two," Pat "STRIPE" Dugan said. "I don't want us getting detained at the air port because of you two."
"Hey, you still reading that?" asked Jakeem. The last thing on his mind is studying.
"Yeah," Billy replied. "As a reporter, I should immerse myself in other culture in order to understand what I'm reporting about."
"Yeah, right," Jakeem replied.
"So, what are you going to do, Kendra?" asked Dawn "Dove" Granger. "I know that you and Carter are still working things out and all…"
"Uh, it's nothing," Kendra "Hawkgirl" Saunders replied. "Actually, I'm supposed to visit one of Carter's old colleagues at the University of Tokyo. Apparently, he and his archeological team recently uncovered some artifacts. Carter asked me to assist him in cataloguing the stuff, though I suspect it's more than a business trip for me."
"How so?"
"Well, I suspect he wants some space."
"Maybe he wants to give YOU some space. You seem very tense every time you two are in the same room together."
"Maybe. What about you, Dawn?"
"Ren's an old girlfriend of Hank. With Hank….gone, I feel that I should reacquaint my friendship with her."
"Are you going to mention that you and this…Hank person had a child together?"
"Don't even go there."
At the airport…
"This is WHIZ reporter William Batson, covering a special event here in Tokyo, Japan," Billy said, as he spoke into his microphone and tape recorder. "Today is 'Day One' of the return of young Ranma Saotome, whom you know as the ward of retired Heavy Weight Boxer Ted 'Wildcat' Grant, to his homeland of Japan. As previously mentioned, Ranma was a street orphan who was taken in by Mr. Grant."
"This is rich," Courtney smirked.
"At least he's doing something constructive," Pat interjected.
"Biiiiii!" Courtney sounded, as she stuck out her tongue.
"So, Ranma, what are your first impressions of Japan after all this time?" asked Billy.
"Well, Billy," Ranma began, albeit sarcastically, "I think that the land of my birth is pretty peachy keen."
"Ranma," Billy began, as he shuts off his tape, "I need this interview to justify my expenses. "
"Yeah, give the brother a bone," Jakeem interjected, as he lugged his duffle bag.
"Sorry about that, Billy," Ranma said. "It's just that I'm anxious about meeting-"
"There you are!" said a voice.
"Ah, Dr. Light!" Pat said, as he shook the JSA contact's hand. "I'm glad we didn't miss you in all this."
"No problem, Pat," Dr. Light replied. Since her super-heroic identity was public knowledge, she didn't mind being addressed by her public moniker. "By the way, I have a place where you all can stay while we find more appropriate accommodations."
"Great, we'll probably end up in some residence," Kendra said with a smirk.
"Yeah, well, I hope there's a dojo nearby," Ranma said.
"Doctor?"
"Oh, Nabiki. Do you have everything ready?"
"Yes, auntie," the dark-haired girl replied. "Dad knows, and so does Kasumi. I also made sure that we have transportation ready for the trip home."
Sometime later at the Tendo residence…
"And this is my room." Nabiki said. But unlike her sisters' room, she didn't open the door. Which just made Billy and Ranma all the more curious.
"Hey, Nabiki, what the heck is that?" Ranma shouted and pointed out the window. Lucky for him, Nabiki fell for it and turned away. And very quickly, he opened the door to her room.
"Whoa, I never seen so much… Green Arrow paraphernalia. 'Dear Nabiki: Stick it to the Fat-Cats, Green Arrow.'" Billy said. There were posters of both Connor and Oliver, as well as Roy as both Speedy and Arsenal. Hell, she even had a picture of that new Speedy, Mia Dearden and some of Arrowette. And a plethora of other Green Arrow related merchandise hung in the girls room.
"Man, Ollie said he was popular, but I had no idea." Ranma said.
"Holeeeey… she even has the limited production 1:28 scale models of the Arrow-Car and the Arrow-Plane. You can't get those anymore." Billy commented, still in awe at the vast amount of memorabilia. It was at this time that the two of them felt someone grab them by their collar and pull them swiftly out of Nabiki's room.
"Out! Out! OUT! You will never mention this to anyone, capise?" Nabiki said sternly.
"Sure, it's our little secret that you apparently worship the ground that a certain emerald clad left-wing liberal-minded superheroic archer walks on." Ranma said, ending his sentence with a click of his tongue. What happened next, no one was really sure, but the Courtney, Jakeem, and Billy all swore that smoke and steam poured from Nabiki's ears.
Several minutes later…
"Okay, how many fingers am I holding up, Ran?" Courtney asked, holding up several fingers.
"Whish wun of youse shoul I ans'er?" Ranma said with his heavily slurred speech.
"Good enough. He's awake and he can still see." Courtney said.
"I'm really, really sorry. It's not like me to do that." Nabiki said.
"Trust me, he deserved much worse." Courtney said, making a point as she went to the others to step on Ranma, who gave out a groan.
"What I wanna know is, how'ja hit him so hard? Not to bring ya down, but you got no muscle." Jakeem said.
"We-ell ever since I found some news paper clippings on Green Arrow, I realized that I needed to… well, I needed to do something with my life." Nabiki said, not to sure of herself.
"Let me guess, you decided to take up archery?" Courtney said.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Nabiki said, nodding.
"I've seen Green Arrow work… when I was in Star City." Courtney said, catching her speech.
"Oh, which one? The old Green Arrow has a physique that can drive any girl up the wall. But the new one… he's got youth on his side. The thought of either of them is enough to make me whimper." Nabiki said giddily and grabbed hold of Courtney's hands, waiting for her answer.
"Uh… it was both of them." Courtney said. Nabiki made a purring noise as she gently fell to the floor, her fan-girl brain not able to handle the strain.
"That was semi-disturbing." Courtney said, trying to ignore the mewling girl.
"Billy, when you're all 'Cap'd out,' do the girls hang off you?" Jakeem asked.
"I wish. Outside of Fawcett, I'm lucky to be recognized. D'you know how embarrassing it is to be mistaken for Superman?" Billy replied. Jakeem shook his head unsympathetically.
"No."
An hour later…
"Whu? Where am I?" Ranma asked.
"The Tendo's house, the place that Dr. Light arranged for us to stay for a while. It's the place where Nabiki lives. You remember that, right? She did hit you pretty hard. Cleaned your clock good. Batman-style." Courtney said.
"Then why does it feel like I've went through ten rounds with Black Adam?" Ranma asked with a groan.
"First off, she was mad. Second, she surprised you. Third, she hit you where it hurt. And finally, she's a Green Arrow fan girl. Any thing else that you can't figure out for yourself?" Courtney said. Ranma gave a quick shudder.
"As if Cissie and Mia weren't enough. Ten bucks says that in the next ten years, some chick archer calling herself Kyudo is going to show up." Ranma said, sitting up.
"You got anything against either of those two?" Courtney asked.
"Yeah, I'd say I got something against them. Getting nailed upside down to a wall will do that to you." Ranma said. With a sigh, Courtney made a fist and opened it in Ranma's face. The Shooting Stars that hit him knocked him out cold.
"You seem to forget that I always have the Cosmic Converter Belt." Courtney said.
An undisclosed location…
"Alright Sorrow, what do you wanna us to do? Oh, and forgive me if I'm less then trusting of you." The snide voice of Sportsmaster said.
"I'd have to agree with the jock. Last time, you nearly destroyed humanity." Rival said.
"True, I did do those things. But I took the leadership after Legacy's defeat and I have done nothing but have the interests of the Gang in mind. Now tell me, what do you know of Neron?" Johnny Sorrow asked.
"He's a demon. Legacy mentioned him once or twice. Some time back a bunch of supervillains sold their soul do him. Got trounced by Captain Marvel. But I believe the Cheese was assisted by the Trickster. And our friend Rag Doll was one of the villains." Tigress said, glancing at Rag Doll.
"Yes. Well, what do you think about working for demons?" Sorrow asked. He got glares from all around.
Nerima, the next day
"That's some training exercise. Go out into the wild for a week and see if we survive the experience. Great idea, 'Dad.'" A girl with short orange haired secured with a bandana said.
"Don't be so hard on him, Ryouga. Genma here is just trying to do what's best. Though, he should have to reconsider what is the best. There is this panda okonomiyaki recipe I've been wanting to try, so he'll shape up or be served up." The boy walking along side Ryouga said. He had his long green hair tied back in a pony tail, that had a strange feminine twist to it. The both of them were dragging an semi-unconscious panda.
"Ukyo! I, on the other hand, thought it was great. I learned a lot of new skills and techniques. I still can't believe that he actually taught them to me." A girl with long blue hair said. She was a few feet behind them, and was trying to catch up. It was at this time the three approached the Tendo Dojo. When they opened the door, they were in for a shock.
In the Tendo Dojo
"Okay J.J., king me." Johnny Thunder(bolt) said to Jakeem. They were playing a game of checkers, and Johnny just won.
"Johnny, you beat me. Best five outta seven?" Jakeem said, with a grin on his face. At this time, he noticed the three teens and a panda come in. Johnny did as well.
"Say, you got a nice panda there. What's 'er name?" Johnny said, a quick flash of pink in his eyes and grinning.
"Uh, who are you?" the blue haired girl asked.
"Johnny Thunder, perhaps you heard of me?" Johnny said, not noticing the changes to the game board that Jakeem made.
"Johnny, can we finish are game? I'm sure they don't wanna hear your stories about the navy. Oh, and if one of you is Akane, your sister is in the kitchen and would like to talk to you." Jakeem said. Johnny turned back to the board and looked at it strangely.
"Say," Johnny said. "you didn't do anything to the board when I wasn't looking did'ja?"
"No, of course not."
"Oh, okay. Whose turn is it?"
"That was strange." Ryouga whispered to Ukyou and Akane, as the three headed toward the kitchen. Genma was still unconscious and still a panda.
In the kitchen…
"Supercallifragilisticepsialadocius!!! I win!! I am the king of Scrabble!" Billy cried out triumphantly. Kasumi, Dawn, and Kendra looked at the board.
"Are you sure that you can do that? That's not really a word." Kendra said.
"Course it is. Haven't you ever seen Mary Poppins?" Billy said defending his move.
"Just give him the win. It'll be much easier that way." Dawn whispered to Kendra. Kasumi then looked to the door and noticed her sister and her… 'friends.'
"Hello Akane!" Kasumi said. Akane looked at the gathered people.
"Kasumi, who are these people?" Akane asked, a little annoyed.
"Oh, well… the two in the front are Johnny Thunder and his… um, ward?… Jakeem. This is Dawn, Kendra, and Billy." Kasumi said.
"But you and your orange haired friend can call me Any Time." Billy said, flashing a toothy smile.
"And Courtney, Pat, and Ranma are in the dojo with Nabiki." Kasumi said. As if on cue, a crash sounded from the dojo. Followed by another.
Crash!!!
This one happened to have an owner, a young man with a pig tail. And quite muscular at that.
"That's what ya get for callin' me an old, slow man. Punk!" a red haired man leaning in through the hole said.
"Pat, go suck on an egg." The pig tailed man said, passing out.
***
"Alright, is the entirety of the Injustice Gang here?" Johnny Sorrow asked the gathered supervillains.
"Shadow-Thief."
"Tigress."
"Shiv."
"Kestrel."
"Rag Doll."
"Sportsmaster."
"Rival."
"Grundy."
"Savage."
"Icicle."
"Good. Now that we're all here, does any one want to know why?" Sorrow asked the assorted villains that were collectively called the Injustice Gang.
"You said that we were working for the demon Neron. And that's all you said, not why or for how much." Icicle said, eyeing the rest of the members.
"Who here has ever heard of Robert Reed? Thought so. Robert Reed found a device, an alien artifact known to most as the H-Dial. If one were to 'dial in' H-E-R-O, they would become any number of a thousand third tier heroes until O-R-E-H is dialed in." Sorrow said, explaining the IG's 'job' as it were.
"Why would Neron want something that turns somebody into a hero? Don't we got more then enough already?" Shadow-Thief asked. There was a pause and a slight murmuring came from the red wearing mad man, almost as if he were counting to ten.
"If one were to dial in M-O-N-S-T-E-R or V-I-L-L-A-I-N, if would do just that. Create a horrible creature of evil that is on our side." Sorrow said.
"Then why does Neron need us? Why doesn't he just deal for it?" Sportsmaster asked.
"That's where we come in. Apparently, the current possessor the dial is a very, very pure soul. Neron can't get within a mile of them with out suffering. We, however, can." Sorrow said.
"Then who is it? When and where? Tell me and we'll be done with out any fuss." Rival said.
"Unfortunately, this pure soul has prevented Neron from finding them. But we do know that they are in Japan." Sorrow replied.
"What of the JSA? How are we going to deal with them when they find us out?" The immortal Vandal Savage said, speaking for the second time.
"The Justice Society of America? This is Japan. The Justice Society would be… unwelcome given past histories with this nation. And, the Department of Extranormal Operations doesn't have jurisdiction here. The JLA wouldn't even give us a second glance." Sorrow said, getting his full meaning across.
Around the same time…
"Pat, why did you punch him through the wall? What happened to the whole we don't wanna make a scene?" Courtney asked her step-father. Ranma had come back around, but was holding a bag of ice to his head.
"I thought your Nebula gifted powers went away when you came back." Ranma said.
"You know, it did. But, it comes and goes when it pleases." Pat replied. Ranma shook his head, got up, and headed towards the stairs.
"I'm gonna see if they have any aspirin or prescription cough syrup." Ranma said.
"Ukyo's taking a bath." Courtney said.
"Not like he doesn't have anything that I haven't seen." Ranma said, his voice being muffled as he ascended the stairs. When he opened the door to the bathroom, it was not the green haired, pony-tailed boy that he just met, but instead it was an amazingly well developed brown haired girl standing there in all her naked glory. There was a very awkward moment of silence.
"Hi… um… well, uh… this isn't the closet, is it?" Ranma said nervously, his face turning a very dark crimson as he started to backpedaled toward the door. He felt the gaze from this girl.
Back in the living room…
There was a scream, a crash, and a woosh sound. It was like some one was trying to escape something at a phenomenal speed.
"Alright, where did that pervert go?" the speaker was a well endowed teenaged girl currently wrapped up in a towel.
"Who are you and when did you get here?" Jakeem asked. It was then that Kasumi entered the room.
"I believe that the 'pervert' went out the front door, something about not wanting to loose something important." Kasumi said. Enraged, the girl let out a sigh and stomped up the stairs.
"Is she gone?" the voice came from under the couch.
"Yup."
"Good." Ranma said, coming out from under the piece of furniture. He noticed the looks he got from some of the others.
"What!?!"
Sometime after dinner, which the JSAers had decided to get out, Courtney and Ranma both decided to go on patrol, out of habit. Who knew maybe they would find something worthwhile.
"Now that's how you do it." Stargirl said, taking a V for Victory pose after she defeated an opponent.
"What the heck are you doing?" Bobcat asked. The two had found some Yakuza thugs unloading a shipment of 'fun-dust,' the pet name Bobcat had for cocaine.
"Well, when in Rome, you know. I did some research and in Japan when a female teenaged hero defeats an opponent, they usually take a pose. Though most of my research was comic books." Stargirl said, explaining herself. Bobcat still had his questioning stare on his face and seemed not to notice the punk that was sneaking up on him. Note that he seemed not to. He smashed his elbow back into the punks chest, swung his hand up into the punks face, grabbed his collar, and threw him forward.
"You know what, martial artists here like to call out their attacks before they attack, but I ain't gonna do that." Bobcat said, ducking as a man leaped at him and crashed into some of his buddies.
"Technically, you're not a martial artist. Well, not in the classical sense, anyway. I'd say that you're a mixed martial artist, at best. At worst, you're just a boxer who knows a few tricks." Stargirl said, hitting two opponents with he Cosmic Staff. Though Courtney would never admit it, she was glad that Ranma taught her the basics of using a bo staff.
"That's it. I'll show you 'When in Rome.' Hnf." Bobcat said. He looked around and saw that the punks were either gone or unconscious, but they were the guards. He looked at the door and a moment later he had burst threw it.
"Where are you going?" Stargirl asked as Bobcat's form was quickly swallowed by the shadows.
"There's some ass that needs a real good kicking in here." Was the reply that Stargirl heard from the darkness. She shook her head and activated her Cosmic Staff.
"Macho Moron." She sighed, flying after him. When she had caught up with him, she took a few steps back.
Bobcat was, well, he was kickin' ass and takin' names in all honesty. A punch there, a headbutt here, a body slam. And, to prove his point, he was calling out everything that he did as he did them. Stargirl had to admit, when Bobcat wasn't joking around and focused on the task at hand, he was an unstoppable melee force. The power of a boxer, the speed of a martial artist, the grace of an acrobat, all those put him leaps and bounds above most opponents. After a while, Stargirl noticed that he was just fighting to fight and she had to stop this.
"Hey, Batman! If you're finished working out your childhood issues, we can leave. And, I hear sirens." Stargirl said. Bobcat looked around and nodded, before the two teenaged heroes left.
"Almost forgot." Bobcat said as he and Stargirl headed away from the warehouse.
"What's that?" Stargirl asked, stopping to see what Bobcat was talking about.
"Victory pose!" Bobcat said, almost gleefully. He stuck his right arm up and out, his thumb holding his ring and middle finger.
"OHHH YEEEAAHHH!!!!" Bobcat screamed, banging his head like he was at an AC/DC concert. Stargirl shook her head and started to fly away.
"I'm not even gonna start commenting on that." Stargirl sighed. Bobcat caught up to her, jumping from roof to roof.
"You know, for our first day in a new country, we did pretty well. Look out Japan, the Junior Justice Society of America is gonna clean you up!" Bobcat said. For the first time tonight, Stargirl nodded in agreement.
End Chapter One