A brief warning. The ending of this chapter contains large amounts of WAFF. Well, it did for me when i wrote it, at least. Also: HOLY CRAP! Over 12,000 words in this chapter alone! They just keep getting bigger and bigger!
Evolution 1/2
Disclaimer: Whattaya know, my own X-gene has just become active, and has given me the power to claim ownership to intellectual properties I don't own! Properties like Ranma 1/2 and X-Men: Evolution!
Chapter Four
Ranma eyed Logan from across the dojo, wondering what was going on in the older mutant's head. His own combat-oriented mind was registering everything about the other man, taking in each and every subtle movement, tracking his breathing, noting where his muscles were tensing. Already he was playing out the battle in his mind, running through every possible opening Logan could make based on what he was currently seeing. He himself was in his standard non-stance, hands in his pockets with a relaxed posture. It was designed to intentionally lure the foe into a false sense of security, although he knew Logan wasn't falling for it.
Logan had met them at the door when they'd arrived at the mansion after school and had immediately taken Ranma aside. The younger boy wasn't surprised by Logan's request for a sparring match. He could see it in the guy's eyes every time he looked at him since their first meeting in the alley. The guy wanted to test himself against him, and Ranma was fine with that. This wasn't a grudge match of any kind, just two martial artists testing themselves against each other.
Ranma didn't know how good Logan was, although from the man's build and the way he moved Ranma could tell he had extensive training. The markings on the belt of the man's gi indicated that he was at least ninth-dan in some style, although that didn't mean anything. Ranma himself would have high-level dan rankings, and in some cases, Grandmaster status, in several styles if he'd ever bother to take the tests. They had agreed right away that no powers would be used, although in both cases it wasn't something they could control. Logan's healing abilities - which Ranma would have loved to have, as they sounded dead useful - were always on, just like Ranma's nullification. His claws, though, would not be drawn, and Ranma had promised not to use any of his special maneuvers, just to make the match a real challenge. Pure hand-to-hand.
While Ranma was making his assessment of Logan, the older mutant was doing the same of his opponent. He'd seen others use similar stances in the past, and knew what it's intention was. Logan ignored it, knowing the kid was far more capable than he his stance was meant to suggest. Logan had no illusions that he would be winning this fight, not unless he got lucky. he could already tell Ranma was faster and more skilled than he was, although he had the advantage in strength and endurance. Since his healing factor would be in effect the whole time, which meant Logan would have an unfair advantage if this was a knock-out fight, he had suggested another idea. The Danger Room's current program was designed to emulate a fighting game; each of them were given a set number of 'hit points', and the first one to zero would lose.
This wasn't a fight to prove who was superior, after all. It was merely two experienced martial artists testing themselves against each other, for the fun and thrill of the fight they both shared.
Proving superiority would merely be icing on the cake.
Deciding to end the staring contest Logan sprung forward, leaping into the air and extending his foot out in a kick. Immediately, Ranma dodged to the side, grabbing Logan's extended foot and re-directing his momentum, sending the older man into the wall. To Ranma's surprise, as he threw him, Logan's other foot snapped back to strike him the in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground.
Rolling with the blow, Ranma sprung to his feet in time to dodge Logan, who had ricocheted off the wall and sprung back into a tackle. lipping back as he avoided it, Ranma rushed in, throwing a series of speedy blows to Logan's midsection. The man took the brunt of the attack, retaliating with a savage knee to the boy's stomach.
Ranma flowed into the attack, grabbing the leg in his stomach by the shin and flipping himself over Logan, pulled the older man with him into a slam against the hardwood floor of the simulated dojo. Flipping back as the older man jumped to his feet, the two stared at each other, identical grins on their faces.
"Had enough, old man?" Ranma taunted
"Was about to ask you the same thing, pigtail." Logan retorted.
The brief exchange ceased as the pair leaped back into the battle, the warm-up over as they both kicked it up several notches.
Up in the control room, Scott, Jean, Evan and Kitty watched the fight between the two martial artists. Rogue had retreated to her room as soon as she had gotten home, taking the opportunity to practice with the soundtrack of the school play Kitty had bought. Kitty knew Rogue had only decided to audition to one-up her, which was fine by the younger girl. She'd only baited the goth girl as part of her ongoing plot to get her to open up and get involved with other people.
"Okay," Evan admitted as he recorded the fight with his camera. "The guy definitely has the skill to go with the ego."
A puff of smoke and a bamf indicated Kurt's arrival. "Who's vinning?" The blue furred mutant asked as he munched on the popcorn he had ported in with him.
Scott looked over to the 'HP Display'. "Ranma, it looks like." he said after a moment. "It's pretty even, though."
Silence reigned for several minutes as they continued to watch the fight, the only sound coming from Kurt's noisy eating.
The two looked to be evenly matched, although the young mutants admittedly didn't know much about martial arts. Logan had been training them for some time now, but even Scott, the furthest along, didn't have the finely honed-combat senses the two fighters in the Danger Room did. The group would have been shocked if they realized just how much both were actually holding back.
The silence was finally broken by Kitty. "So...like, what do you guys think of him."
"He reminds me of Logan," Jean replied, eyes still on the fight.
"Brash and arrogant, yet confusingly bearable and likable regardless?" Scott asked with a smirk.
"Exactly," Jean said with a smile.
"Rogue likes him," Kitty said with a smirk. "She's, like, so denying it though."
Scott thought about that for a moment. "How can you tell?"
Kitty rolled her eyes. "It's like, so obvious. Didn't you see the total jealousness she was shooting at those girls he was sitting with at lunch?"
He hadn't, actually, too amused by the whole situation to notice anything else. It made sense, he supposed. Ranma was the first guy Rogue was capable of touching since her powers activated.
Evan snickered, lowering his camera and pushing the rewind button. "Yeah, I got it on tape actually. Check it out." he said. Finding said scene, he showed the rest of them on the views creen. The slightly blurry image soon resolved, showing Rogue leaning on the table, head on her hands, an angry and slightly jealous look on her face in the direction of the table Ranma had been at for the first half of lunch.
Kitty smiled victoriously. "See?"
Fast forwarding the camera aback to where he was before, not noticing a part he hadn't recorded himself show up for a few seconds, he put the camera on 'record' again and resumed taping the match still going on in the Danger Room.
"So..." Kitty said conspiratorially, leaning into the rest of the group. "How are we gonna get them together?"
The other teens blinked, sharing a glance. "Woah, back up." Scott said. "What do you mean?"
"I mean hooking them up!" Kitty exclaimed. "It would so be good for Rogue! She, like, needs someone she can be close to."
"Uh, count me out of this." Scott said, waving his hands in front of him. "I wouldn't feel right getting involved in either of their personal lives."
"Yeah, same here." Jean said. "Rogue's love life is her own business." Evan and Kurt nodded in agreement.
Kitty pouted. "Oh, fine...I'll just do it all myself then." she humphed, turning back to watch the fight just in time to see Ranma hit Logan with a vicious uppercut. A buzzing reverberated through the room and the dojo simulation faded away.
"Looks like it's over," Scott said, eying the console. Sure enough, Logan's health bar was down to zero, Ranma having managed to win just barely, his own health bar having a scant 'fifteen points' left.
"Aww, man, Kitty!" Kurt whined. "You caused us to miss most of the fight!"
"No worries, man." Evan said, turning off his camera. "I got most of it on tape. We can watch it later."
Back in the Danger Room itself, Ranma offered Logan a hand, helping the older man up to his feet. "Good fight, old man." he said with a grin.
Logan smirked. "You were holdin' back, pigtail."
"So were you."
"Yeah, but not nearly as much as you were." Logan said. Sure, he'd lost, but it was one of the best fights he'd had recently. "You got some real skill, kid."
"Of course," Ranma said arrogantly. "I am the best, y'know."
Logan chuckled. "Sure kid, whatever ya say." he headed towards the door. "I gotta talk to the Prof about somethin'."
"Cool," Ranma said, following him out. "I'll catch ya later, old man."
Nabiki sighed as she got ready for bed. Ranma had better send her more money if he expected her to keep up this charade. The boy had only been gone a few days, and already his various girlfriends and rivals were trying to get her to find him. She was able to make some decent money giving them false information, but she was beginning to wonder if 30,000 was worth the trouble of keeping them from him for a whole month. Not that she really knew where he was. She hadn't bothered to try and track him down, knowing Cologne and possibly Happosai probably had means of making her talk against her will.
At the moment, the Amazons and Ukyo were in Okayama, hunting for some shrine she'd picked at random and claimed Ranma was kiding at. Mashiki or something it was called, she hadn't bothered to remember it. She had most of the deception planned out already, and almost envied the whirlwind tour the various fools would get to embark on, while she stayed her in this crummy house, making money for a family that didn't even appreciate her efforts.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. Damn headache. Popping an aspirin, she flopped down into bed.
Kuno had been pestering her for more pictures of his 'beloved pigtailed girl', forcing her to go into the back-up stash of pictures. Luckily the fool was too dumb to realize she'd been selling him the same pictures she had already sold him several months ago. When he'd started ranting about how Ranma had stolen the pigtailed girl and fled from his wrath, Nabiki had merely tuned him out. As long as the boy had money, he could hold on to whatever delusions he wanted.
Surprisingly, her father had remained relatively calm throughout all of this. Sure, he had cried almost non stop the first day, but then Uncle Saotome had sat him down and had a private talk with him. Nabiki didn't know what words had been exchanged, but it had been enough to make Daddy calm down. He still went into infrequent bouts of weeping and moaning about how the schools would never be joined now, but they were becoming fewer and farther between.
Nabiki snorted. Joining of the schools, her hot ass. It was never gonna happen, and she knew it. Within a month of knowing the boy, she knew he'd never marry any of them and just settle down to a quiet life of teaching at the dojo. The kid was an adrenaline junkie, way to used to the open road to ever stay in one place for the rest of his life. While he seemed to enjoy teaching at the Shinkasa dojo for the past few months - something she wholeheartedly approved of, as it brought a little bit more income into the house, and thus did everything she could to help him keep it - she knew he would never be happy just doing that.
She liked the kid, she had to admit. Not in that way, of course, but he was sort of like an annoying little brother. Not that she'd ever let him know that, of course. She had a reputation to uphold.
Thinking back to the idea of Ranma never staying in one place, she started thinking about her own life. She knew damn well that she wasn't going to stay in this little district long, conning fools out of money to support her family. She'd been doing it for nearly twelve years now. Only a year and a half of school left, and she'd be out of this dump. If they didn't know how to fend for themselves by then, it was there problem, not hers. She had too much planned for her life to keep having to provide for them.
That and she wanted to actually be able to keep the money she earned, and buy things for herself for a change.
Rolling over, and wincing slightly as the pain in her head flared, Nabiki soon drifted off to sleep.
"Genma..."
Genma sat up in his futon at the sound of the deceptively calm voice. Putting on his glasses, he answered. "Hello, sir." he replied, just as calmly. He'd sensed the other man's presence long before he had made it known. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"I recognized your handiwork, Script..." the voice continued. "You've made an admirable attempt to hide the boy from me..."
Genma rolled his eyes. "Erik, my name is Genma, not Script. I don't know why you insist on using those ridiculous names. And yes, I did alter every record I could get my hands on to hide Ranma from you."
"Do you have an explanation for why you have done such a thing?"
"Because he's my son, and I don't want him falling into your clutches." Genma replied calmly. He knew it was a bad idea to speak in such a way to ones master, especially when said master had implanted various pieces of metal in ones body that he could use his powers over magnetism to manipulate, and thus cause one pain, but he didn't care at the moment. Genma admitted he was a coward in many regards, but when it came to his son, he would defy even Kami-sama himself if need be. "You know I've never cared for this war of yours with humans. I want Ranma to make the choice himself which side, if either, he chooses to be on."
"Yes, Script..." the voice continued, a hard edge entering it's tone. "You have made your foolish choice of neutrality clear many a time...But keep in mind, I am still your master..."
Genma held back a grunt of pain as he was suddenly pulled upwards by the shoulders. Hovering in midair, his arms pulled painfully behind his back, he refused to let Magneto see the pain he was experiencing. "Yes...you are, for all the good it's done me."
"Where is the boy?" the voice demanded.
"I don't know," Genma answered truthfully. Unable to hold back a wince as the pain in his arms intensified, he continued. "He left several days ago. He found out where Raven is, and has gone to find her."
"Interesting..." his master replied, "I'm surprised you let him go...You fully realize Mystique is dedicated to the cause...She will sway the boy to my side..."
"I doubt that, sir." Genma replied, "Ranma is headstrong and not easily coerced. He believes in protecting the weak when possible, and I doubt he will find that your... ideas... mesh at all with his own." He left unsaid that he and Raven had come to an agreement on the matter of their son. They would allow him to choose his own side in the coming conflict, as much as she wanted him on hers. Admittedly, she had made the deal reluctantly, not wanting to run the risk of being at odds with her own child, but she had made the deal. And while she may be sneaky and deceitful by nature, like he himself, he knew Raven would never betray his trust.
The voice was silent for several moments. "You still defy me, Script..." it said finally. "Despite what you know I can do to you, you continue to defy me... You are fortunate I find such backbone admirable, if foolish..." Genma slowly lowered to the ground, the pain in his arms fading slowly. "And you are also fortunate I still have use for you..."
"That fills me with never-ending joy to hear that, sir," Genma said sarcastically, then winced as the pain suddenly flared again.
"Do not test my patience too far, Script..."
Genma grimaced. "I apologize, sir." he said, not meaning a word of it. "Is there anything else you wish to know or require of me?"
He was answered by silence,. Moments later, he felt the presence of his master vanish completely. "I thought not..." he said, lying back down on his futon.
Rogue was sitting alone in her room, reading through the script of the play she had managed to obtain. The part she was trying out for was one of Dracula's concubines, and since Kitty had taken back the CD of the soundtrack to practice the dance moves for it, she figured she may as well learn what few lines she had.
Her practice had gone along alright, she supposed. It wasn't the kind of dancing she was used to, and to be honest she really didn't know why she was trying out for the stupid play to begin with. But when Kitty had said, even without using the exact words, that she didn't have a hope of getting cast, she had just felt the overwhelming urge to prove the girl wrong.
A knock at the door broke her out of her reverie. "It's unlocked," she called out. The door opened to reveal Logan, clad in his gi and smelling of sweat. "Didja have a fun match with Ranma?" she asked.
"Yeah," Logan grunted. "The kids, got skill. Managed to barely eke out a win, although I know he was holdin' back a lot."
"Ya don't seem too disappointed by that."
"Nah, not really," He responded, "We were both more in it for the fun of the fight. Ain't no fun if ya completely overpower yer opponent from the get go. Whatcha up to?"
"Reviewin' tha lines fer this play," she said, holding up the script, the cover of which read 'Dracula: A Rock Opera'.. "Ah'm thinkin' of tryin' out."
"Huh," Logan grunted, "Mind if I talk t'ya for a minute?"
"Sure," Rogue said, setting the script down. "What's on yer mind?"
"Actually, I'm a bit more concerned what might be on your mind," He said. "In regards to the pigtailed kid."
"What about him?"
"I'm just wonderin' if you had any intentions towards 'im," Logan said bluntly. "He's the first guy you've been able to touch since ya got yer powers."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone think Ah've got somethin' for the boy?" she asked. "Yeah, Ah can touch him. Yeah, Ah like him. And yeah, Ah think he's cute. But Ah ain't ready fer a relationship right now, especially not with some boy Ah jus' met. Down tha line, maybe. Right now, Ah'm jus' gonna be his friend. The fact that Ah can touch him jus' means there havta be other mutants out there with powers like his, so it ain't like he's mah only hope."
Logan smirked. "That's all I need to hear." he said, turning and walking out of the room.
Rogue smiled. At least one person was willing to accept what she said.
Mystique arrived at her home - and her team's 'base of operations'- in the late afternoon. Her mood was not the best. First, Kocho had given her nothing she could bring home with her, and then, her plane had been denied take off for several hours.
When she walked through the door, currently in her Principal Darkholme shape, she saw her team lounging about, eyes glued on the TV. Oh great, CSI was on. She didn't know what those boys saw in that show.
"Is this all you fools have to do with your time?" She asked irritably, glaring down at them as she shifted into her natural form.
"Hey, we like this show," Toad replied from his spot on the bean bag chair. "So'd you bring us a new playmate? I don't see no one with ya."
Mystique growled. "No, that fool gave me nothing but potentials. You won't be gaining another ally for another few weeks at the least."
"Well that's just great," Fred muttered from his couch as he ate from a large bowl of chips. "That's means we're still outnumbered, since the twerps got that new guy."
"Well, technically Blob, you count as three people, so we're actually on even footing." Lance teased with a grin, ducking under friend's swipe.
Mystique narrowed her eyes. Xavier had another one? "What new guy?" she asked.
"You didn't know about it?" Lance asked, "I thought you were on top of these things."
Mystique growled, causing Lance to flinch. "What. New. Guy." she repeated, biting off every word.
"Some kid named Ranma," Pietro replied. "I talked to him, he actually seems pretty cool, for one of them."
The blue-skinned woman's eyes widened significantly. "What? Did you say Ranma? Did you get his last name?"
"Yeah, Saotome." Pietro answered, tearing his eyes away from the TV to glance at her. "Why, you know the name?" he flinched as Mystique put her fist through the wall.
"Ranma has been here all along..." she growled, "And Xavier got him first?"
"Appears so, yo." Toad replied, snagging a chip from Fred's bowl with his tongue.
Mystique rubbed the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache coming on. Ranma had chosen his side, and she hadn't even had a chance to try and win him over to hers. And the deal she'd made with Genma meant she had to respect that. "What are his powers?" she asked. "Please tell me you were smart enough to find that out."
Pietro smirked, "Sure did," he replied. "I'm not sure exactly what he can do, but he seemed pretty fast and strong. Not as fast or strong as me or Blob, but more so than a human. But the main thing was, when he grabbed my wrist, I lost my speed."
"You lost your speed?" Mystique repeated, "For how long?" Were his powers like Rogue's, but without the energy or memory drain?
"Only as long as he was keeping contact." Pietro said. "Like I said, though, I didn't get the full extent of his powers. For all I know, he could make the effect last longer if he wanted."
Mystique sighed, sitting down in an empty chair. She ignored the looks the boys gave her, not caring if she was acting differently than they were used to, or that it might be scaring them.
"What's the big deal, Mystique?" Lance asked. "His powers don't seem all that impressive."
"Were we supposed to get this guy?" Fred asked.
"I had hoped to," Mystique said tiredly. "And it still might be possible. Try and convince him, but if he turns you down don't press the issue too much. And don't ask me why, just do as I say." She added, cutting off the question she could see forming on Toad's lips. "And his powers could be very useful, actually, but his true worth is in his combat ability. He's spent over a decade training all over the world in one of the most demanding forms of martial arts by an extremely gifted teacher. The man who taught me, in fact." She left out the most important reason she wanted him on their team, because he was her son.
The Brotherhood shared a look. They knew Mystique was a highly skilled fighter, which was one of the reasons they were as afraid of her as they were, despite their powers.
"And I have no doubt Xavier will have him training the rest of the X-men soon." Mystique added, glaring at the boys. "Which means, in order to keep up, I will begin training you. Every morning, five am sharp, you will be awake and ready. You do not want me to have to get you out of bed myself."
The boys gulped at the unspoken threat in her voice.
Standing up, Mystique made her way up the stairs. "I'm going to bed," she declared. "Any one of you make a single noise to disturb me, and you will not need a dictionary to know the exact definition of pain."
Collapsing onto her bed, Mystique stared blankly up at the ceiling. If she had only remained here, instead of going to meet that fool Kocho, she may have had a chance to bring her son onto her side. But she had made a deal with Genma, and she would not break it. If Ranma did not want to be on her side in this matter, it would hurt, but she would not force him. She only hoped Xavier and his brats had not soured her son's view on her already.
She had already lost one child, Ranma's younger half-brother. She winced at the painful memory.
She wouldn't be able to bear it if her other baby didn't want anything to do with her.
The next morning, Ranma awoke early and headed out into the backyard of the mansion to train. The previous night's practice with his shape changing had been easier than before, and had again taken less ki to complete. He was at the point now where he barely felt a drain on his reserves at all when he activated the shift. What's more, he had been able to do it almost every time. The more he did it, the easier it seemed to get. While this was somewhat puzzling, he didn't think too much on the issue. Why look a gift horse in the mouth, after all? It was another martial arts technique, in a way, and he always learned those fast.
Shifting into a few Capoeira maneuvers, he failed to notice the extra pair of eyes that watched him, too engrossed in his kata to pay complete attention to his surroundings.
Xavier was, by nature, an early riser. He enjoyed the quiet of the morning, using the time to think about random things or enjoy a few chapters of his current book with a nice up of tea. Sometimes Logan would join him, more often to get a morning adrenaline kick by going through one of the field training courses.
This time however, when he arrived in the back yard, he saw his newest charge already awake and practicing his martial arts. It made him smile, seeing the boy so dedicated to his Art. Not wanting to bother him, Xavier pulled out his book and began to read quietly, occasionally looking up to observe the boy.
His physical abilities were truly remarkable. His movements flowed like water, and to Xaviers admittedly untrained eye, his form appeared flawless. He could hardly believe it was not the result of the boy's mutation. As it was, he was still not convinced the null effect and the immunity to telepathy were the full extent of the boys gifts, but he had no source on this to go by than his own instincts. Cerebro couldn't tell him however, as whatever made the boy immune to telepathy apparently made him immune to the powerful computers complete scanning. If the boy agreed, he would have him tested with other methods. After he got settled in, of course.
"Good morning, Charles,"
Xavier glanced to his right to see a tall Japanese man wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans. He had medium length black hair tied into a small ponytail in the back, and a pair of thin eyeglasses. "Good morning, Tofu. We have not seen you are these last few days."
Tofu chuckled as he took a seat on the ground next to Xavier. "I apologize for that. I was in the infirmary, mediating on my... problem... and completely lost track of the time."
Xavier raised an eyebrow. "For two full days?"
"Like I said..." Tofu repeated with a smile. "Completely lost track of the time."
Xavier chuckled. "Have you made any progress?"
Tofu sighed. "Very little, I'm afraid. But I'd would prefer not to talk about it. Tell me, what has been going on with the students? I've noticed no one coming in with any new injuries, so I trust things have been well?"
"We've had a new addition to the Institute," Xavier said with a smile, gesturing to the boy a ways away, still caught up in his practice. "A young man by the name-"
"Ranma?" Tofu said, a look of pure surprise on his face.
Xavier blinked. "Yes...Ranma Saotome. Do you know him?"
"I...I do." Tofu replied, adjusting his glasses. "He was one of my patients in Nerima, before I left my practice to join you here. I must say, I never expected to see him again, let alone as a student."
Xavier nodded. "Yes, Ranma was not recruited as per our normal methods. He is in town in search of his mother, who he has determined is in the area. Cerebro detected the activation of his X-gene shortly after his arrival, a few odd coincidences occurred, and he ended up here. He has agreed to join the Institute while we helped in his search."
"Amazing," Tofu said, sipping his tea. "It truly is a small world. What are his gifts?"
"Ranma has the ability to negate other mutants powers with direct skin contact." Xavier replied. "He also appears to have an immunity to telepathy which I believe is related to the nullification effect, but it not restricted to physical contact. Which means, old friend," Xavier said with a smile, "that yours healing powers will not be able to effect him."
"Interesting," Tofu said. "he's gotten a lot better." he commented, watching Ranma as his practice intensified. "He's always been skilled, since I've known the lad, but he's improved by leaps and bounds since I left Nerima. I'd love to hear what new adventures he's had in that time."
"Well, he appears to be finishing up," Xavier said with a smile. "and since the school is closed for the day due to a teacher's conference, you should have plenty of time to speak with him."
Ranma finished his kata slowly, allowing himself to cool down. Removing his shirt, he picked up his towel and wiped the sweat off his face as he turned around. Blinking in surprise, he noticed he had a couple of observers, and to his even greater surprise, one of them was someone he knew!
"Doc?" Ranma said incredulously, running forward. "Doctor Tofu? What tha heck are ya doin' here?"
Tofu smiled. "It's good to see you again too, Ranma." he replied. "I'm one of the instructors here, as well as the resident physician."
"When did ya get here? An' why haven't I seen ya around tha mansion?" Ranma asked.
"This is where I came after I closed my practice in Nerima," Tofu answered. "Charles is an old friend of mine, and he asked me to join him here at the institute to help with his students a few months ago."
"Huh," Ranma said intelligently. "But what about..." he trailed off, giving the doctor a knowing look.
Tofu chuckled nervously. "That's another reason I came here. Charles is helping me with my... problem... in that regard, although so far I haven't made much progress." Smirking as he pushed his glasses up, he asked. "And what of your... problem, Ranma? Have you managed to find a cure for your curse?"
"Ah, yes, your curse." Xavier interjected. "You mentioned it when we first met, but I have yet to see it. If you would not mind showing it to me, that is."
"Yeah, no problem Professor." Ranma said. "I ain't found a cure yet, but I found somethin' almost as good. I can control it now, although water will still make me change." he paused, then added nervously. "I should warn ya, though, doc, it's not quite the same as it used ta be."
"Remember where you are, Ranma," Tofu said with a smile. "We're all used to strange here."
"Right," Ranma said, chuckling. "Okay, here goes." Closing his eyes, Ranma focused on his female form for a moment while channeling his ki. Opening his eyes as he felt his body shift and change, Ranma looked over at Xavier and Tofu.
Xavier raised an eyebrow in surprise, holding back a more shocked look with great effort. Ranma's female form looked almost exactly like a teenage Mystique. At first, he feared this might be Mystique herself trying to infiltrate the Institute, but immediately discarded the idea. If that was the case, Cerebro would have picked up on her specific mutant signature. What's more, she wouldn't have simply revealed herself like this. However, another thought occurred to him, this time in regards to Ranma's original reason for coming to Bayville. If this meant what he thought it did...he would have to look into it, but he felt he may have a new lead on who and where Ranma's mother was.
Sparing a glance at Tofu, Xavier sent the doctor a telepathic message. 'Tofu, please do not say anything about Mystique. I may be able to find Ranma's mother sooner than I thought, if my hunch is correct, but until then...'
Tofu nodded almost imperceptibly, sending his thoughts back to Xavier in reply. 'I agree, Charles, but once you find out for certain I expect you to tell him...'
Ranma chuckled nervously at their silence, rubbing the base of her pigtail. "Yeah, tha blue skin is different, and I think tha hair might be a bit more redder than before."
"It is quite a surprise, Ranma," Tofu admitted, still a bit shocked at the uncanny resemblance to the shapeshifting leader of the Brotherhood. "But with the likes of Kurt around here, you not the only blue teenager on the premises."
"Indeed," Xavier added. "I can only assume that the change to your appearance is a result of your mutant gene becoming active. It might be a good idea to fit you with an image inducer similar to Kurt's, just in case it you get hit by cold water in public and can't change back in time." He thought for a moment, then added. "I'm sure Forge will be able to create an inducer that will activate when your mass shifts during the change."
Ranma nodded, shifting back to his birth form while idly wondering who this 'Forge' person was. "That would probably be a good idea, yeah." He glanced around, then added. "I hope ya don't mind me keepin' it a secret from tha others for a bit. I'm not really comfortable with people knowin' 'bout it."
"I understand, Ranma," Xavier said kindly, "Although I hope you will feel comfortable enough to tell them soon. Now, I suppose the two of you have a lot to catch up on?" he asked, "I hope you don't mind if I listen in. I'm curious myself about the adventure young Ranma has had before he joined us here."
Ranma shrugged. "I don't minda ya listenin' in, Professor, but won't it havta wait 'til later? It's a school day."
"Actually, Bayville High is closed today for a teacher's conference."
Ranma blinked. One day at school and he already had a day off? "Cool," he said, grinning. "Then I s'pose we don't gotta wait." Ranma sat down on the bench across from the pair and began to relate to them his experiences over the past few months.
Unbeknownst to the trio, a fourth pair of eyes had been watching the exchange. Even if they had known they likely would have thought nothing of it, as said pair of eyes belong to a raven hidden in the branches of a nearby tree. The raven shot the boy a look of slight longing (which no one but an experienced ornithologist might have been able to recognize as longing), and flew out of the tree and in the direction of Bayville High.
If anyone had been looking into the mind of the raven, they would have come across some very coarse thoughts regarding teacher's conferences and having to keep up ones cover.
Ryouga growled at his 'instructor.' "I'm trying, damn you!"
"You are not trying, boy..." Magnus, as the man had introduced himself, replied. "You are failing..."
Ryouga frowned. The past several hours had been non-stop instruction, with the exception of a brief period of time that Magnus had reportedly 'needed to take care of some business' and had allowed him to sleep.
He'd been given a reason for why his ki reserves had made such a dramatic leap in so short a time. Apparently, Ryouga was a mutant, like the man himself. The man had gone on to talk about how 'mutants' were the next stage of human evolution, and how they were destined to take the planet as their own, blah blah blah. Ryouga didn't care. He didn't even know if he believe this guy when he said he wasn't human. All that mattered was he was helping Ryouga learn to control his 'powers', and with that control, he'd be able to beat Ranma. So he put up with the man. For now.
"Your energy responds to your emotions..." Magnus continued, repeating what he'd said numerous times already. "As well as increases them... When you are angry, in amplifies your anger... That amplification is what is causing you to lose control... So what do you have to do to gain control?"
Ryouga rolled his eyes, gritting his teeth and answering with the same thing the man had told him earlier. "Control my emotions." he growled.
"And rid yourself of emotion..." Magnus added, "Emotion is a human weakness, and you are beyond human now...So you should be beyond such human weaknesses..."
The way the man said the word 'human' tended to grate on Ryouga's nerves, but he didn't say so. Apparently, the man had a major grudge against the planet's dominant species. "That's a lot easier said than done," he retorted. Rid himself of emotion? That sounded way too much like The Soul of Ice, and that was one of Ranma's techniques - okay, technically it was Amazon in origin, but Ranma used it, so it counted - and he'd be damned if he was going to use one of his rival's methods.
Grolwing slightly, Ryouga slipped back into his meditations. Controlling his emotions was hard enough - he knew he had a tendency to let them get the better of him; it was one of his favourite tactics in fact. Let his rage build and augment his strength, use his depression to fuel his Shi Shi Hokodan. But to make himself completely blank, to not feel anything? That was damn near impossible for the Lost Boy.
'But still...' he thought to himself as he slipped back into meditation, 'if Ranma can do it with the Soul of Ice, I can do it better...'
Ranma smiled as he entered his room, wearing only a towel and freshly showered, kicking the door shut behind him with his foot. It had been great catching up with the doc and letting him know what had been going on in Nerima. He'd made certain not to mention Kasumi the entire time, tip-toeing around her name when incidents involving her came up. He was also glad the Tofu hadn't asked at all about Akane. He really didn't want to recount how their relationship had gone so far downhill in the past few months, to the point where they were barely able to be remain civil to one another.
Shaking his head to get rid of the unwanted thoughts, Ranma noticed a package sitting on his bed. Curious, he opened it to see a folded section of red fabric. "What the heck?" he muttered,taking it out of the box and unfolding it completely. "Oh, crap..."
A uniform. He knew they'd be giving him one, yet he'd hoped to avoid it for as long as he could.
Sighing, Ranma made sure the door was locked before dropping his towel. "May as well..." he muttered.
Five minutes later, Ranma was standing in front of the mirror on the door of his wardrobe. "Okay," he admitted, "This ain't that bad."
It was skin-tight spandex, but not uncomfortably so. Whoever had made it had apparently guessed his sizes correctly, as well as his preferred colourscheme. It was red and black, like his usual outfit, but in one piece. The black started at the bottom, splitting into red when it reached his waist. Along the far right end of his torso, the black continued up, covering the aforementioned area of his torso as well as his right arm. The res to it was the same red as his Chinese shirts. Where the red met the black on his chest, the former colour cut into the latter, creating a red X above his right pectoral.
Also in the box were a pair of bracers. One was black, which he wore on the red sleeved arm, and the other was red, which he wore on the opposite arm. A pair of comfortable black boots completed the ensemble.
Best of all though, in Ranma's opinion, was the built-in crotch protector.
Grinning to himself, he had only one thought. "I make this look good."
Striking a few poses, and glad no one was watching him do so, Ranma idly wondered how the suit would do him in a fight.
His musings were cut off by a loud, repetitive noise reverberating through the mansion. Was that an alarm? It sounded like an alarm. Which meant he'd get to test this suit out sooner than he thought.
Bolting from his room, Ranma was joined by Kurt and Rogue as they ran down the hall.
The fussy blue boy glanced at Ranma "Hey! Nice costume!"
"Yeah, thanks," Ranma said. "Wish it wasn't so tight, though. Feels like I'm naked."
Rogue made no comment, as she was trying very hard not to stare at Ranma's butt as they ran. Damn that boy had a nice ass!
Several Minutes Earlier
Logan dropped Evan to the ground with a snarl, taking the digital camera out of his hands. He'd been running through the training course in the backyard with Cyclops, getting a good workout in with the boys free day, and this lughead had skated onto the course and nearly gotten himself split in half by a flying buzzsaw. And what's worse, he'd been taping it all on that stupid camera of his! At least that could be taken care of, with a simple push of the 'erase' button.
"Aww, man," Evan groaned. "Why'd you do that?" He'd been getting some wicked cool shots of Wolverine and Cyclops running through the training course. Sure, he'd almost been killed by flying implements of pain, but sometimes you had to put yourself in danger for the sake of your art, right? He flinched under Logan's glare.
"Let's just say you got on my bad side." Wolverine replied, opening the view screen on the digital camera. "Now, lets see what else you got on this thing." Pressing play, he saw a brief image of himself at the gates of the mansion before a brief burst of static cut it off, soon replaced by the face of one of the people Logan hated most in the world.
"Thanks for showin' me where Logan is kid," The recording spoke. "I owe ya one." The man leaned into the camera and growled before it cut off into static once again.
"Who the heck was that?" Evan asked in surprise from where he was watching over Logan's shoulder. He'd never recorded that!
Logan growled as he thrust the camera back into the boy's hand and walked away. "Sabertooth..."
"He's got old issues with Wolverine," Cyclops said from behind him. "And it looks like you let him know where he is!" Both boys looked towards the mansion as the alarm started blaring.
"Ya think?!" Logan growled, clenching a fist and popping out his razor-sharp claws.
Present Time
Ranma, Rogue and Nightcrawler had met up with Storm, Jean, and Shadow (Ranma refused to use her full codename) outside the front door. Storm and Jean immediately took to the air as the doors opened, the former manipulating the wind currents around her, the latter using telekinesis.
Ranma glanced up at the two women enviously. 'They can fly,' he grumbled mentally as the group ran outside. 'Why can't I fly? Stupid nullification, keepin' me from flyin'...'
Up ahead, he could see Logan, Scott and Evan, the latter the only one not in uniform, standing in front of a large man with a mane of dirty blond hair. Reaching them he could see Wolverine with his claws extended.
"He's mine." Logan growled in a dark tone, to which the larger man responded with a guttural snarl. Lunging in with a punch, the larger man's arm was blocked by Wolverines, as was the other. Ranma was about to leap into the fray, despite knowing that Logan was the type who preferred to fight his own fights, when he heard Storm interject.
"No!" She declared in a regal tone, lifting her arms up into the air. "This is not the place for your private war!" From the sky above her, a bolt of lighting shot out, striking the large man in the chest, pushing him back several feet and away from Wolverine.
Growling in pain, Sabertooth struggled forward against the winds that followed, slowly making his way towards his hated foe until suddenly he was blasted back again by a red beam of concussive force emitted from Cyclops visor.
Ranma watched as a bench, another lighting bolt and more red beams struck the man before he had a chance to get up.
Growling in rage and smoking slightly from the lighting, Sabertooth turned away and began to run, declaring angrily. "This isn't over, Logan!"
Logan growled and ran after him, despite Storm's protest, leaving the rest of them behind.
Ranma frowned. He hoped all the fights weren't like that. How was he supposed to get in close if they kept firing off their powers at the opponent? Bad enough they were all ganging up on one guy. Glancing over at the others, he asked the obvious (to him) question.
"So...uh...who was the angry guy?" he thought for a moment, then added. "I mean, the angry guy I didn't know?
Evan stared at the digital camera in his hands as he reflected on what he'd heard eavesdropping on Logan and the Professor. This was all his fault. He'd unintentionally led Sabertooth here, and now the whole Institute was in danger. Logan had said Sabertooth would probably try and take one of them hostage to draw Wolverine out into the open!
"Man, this stupid thing has caused nothin' but trouble since Vandemeer gave it to me." Evan muttered. And he'd been so excited about the video project too.
"Nah, ain't yer fault." Evan looked up to see Ranma leaning against the opposite wall.
"How do you figure that?" Evan asked, "Sabertooth found out where Logan was because of my camera."
Ranma waved off the other boys excuse. "Ain't like you intended that ta happen. It was an accident, plan n' simple."
"Yeah..." Evan said. "Still... I gotta find a way to fix this."
Ranma shrugged. "Well, if ya want my help, just ask." He pushed off the wall and began walking away.
Evan looked at the camera, then back at Ranma. "Hey, Ranma, wait a moment."
"Yeah?" Ranma asked, turning around.
"I got a plan," Evan said. Ranma blinked. That was fast. He opened his mouth to say so when he was cut off by two arguing girls walking down the hall.
Evan grinned, running up to the pair with a questioning Ranma in tow. "Hey, girls, would you mind helping me with something important?"
Sabertooth watched the gates to the mansion, a look of rage on his face. Logan wasn't playing fair, letting those weak friends of his help him out. This was supposed to be a one-on-one fight between the two of them! No outside interference!
Now he had to sit and wait for Logan to show himself. Or better yet, one of those kids. A hostage, like he had thought before, would be exactly the thing to drive Logan into the open.
He waited, his eyes never leaving the gates. Someone had to come out sometime, and when they did, he'd be ready.
Ranma ran alongside Evan on his skateboard and Rogue and Kitty on their motorbike-thing, easily keeping pace with the vehicles. Evan's plan wasn't bad, he'd admitted to himself. Go somewhere out of the way, act like they thought they were safe, then when the big angry guy came along, jump him.
Best of all, he'd get to fight the guy. His blood boiled in anticipation. He hoped the guy had some skill, not just muscle and rage.
Evan mentally reviewed his plan. It wasn't very complex, not especially brilliant, and carried great risk of them all getting hurt or worse. But if it succeeded, they'd get off with just being grounded. And he knew if they didn't do something, the consequences could be far worse than either of those two scenarios.
Sabertooth grinned maliciously as he watched the four kids exit the gates. Logan was making this way too easy.
"Stop right there, bub."
Scott looked to see Logan coming down the stairs. "Just going out for a burger. Want me to bring you back somethin'?"
"No ya ain't." Logan growled. "With Sabertooth out there, none of you are to leave the premises. It's too dangerous, and I don't want ya fighting him. Where are the others?"
Scott thought for a moment, understanding that Logan wanted the guy for himself, for whatever 'personal issues' the two had between then. That didn't mean he liked it. "Kurt 'n Jean are upstairs, I think, but Rogue and Kitty took off with Evan and Ranma a little while back."
"What?!" Wolverine snarled, his claws extending with an audible 'snikt'. Turning around, he headed for the door. Ranma he wasn't worried about, although he might have trouble if Sabertooth fought to kill. But the other three...
"Wait, I'll come with you," Scott said.
"No!" Logan barked. "Yer stayin' here. Look after the others!" Damn kids, disobeying his instructions! If Creed didn't kill 'em, he'd do it himself!
Ranma attempted to look as unimpressive as possible as Evan filmed Kitty and Rogue. This was the hardest part of the plan. If he looked like he could fight, Sabertooth might not fall for the bait of several helpless kids out alone. He was sitting cross-legged behind the CD player with a bored expression on his face, turning the device on and off when asked as the girls danced to the music.
Actually, the hardest part was the waiting. It was so damn boring! He wanted to fight this guy, dammit!
To occupy his time, he watched as Evan got Rogue to use her powers on Kitty. He hadn't been paying any real attention as to why. Something about getting the latter's dance moves. Blinking as he watch Rogue touch Kitty for a brief second, he almost rubbed his eyes to make sure hw wasn't seeing things. He could have sworn he saw some ki transfer between the two...
Both girls shuddered from the experience. "Like, that was totally icksome!" Rogue exclaimed. Realizing what she said, the goth girl made a face. "Aw heck, did Ah just talk like her?"
Ranma snickered, causing Rogue to turn around and shoot him a glare. "Oh, quiet you."
Ranma put on his best innocent face, as if to say 'Who, me? Did I say something?'
Rolling her eyes but smiling slightly, Rogue turned back to Evan, who turned on his camera and started filming. "Alright, action!"
Ranma pressed play and watched as the girls danced, Rogue performing Kitty's moves perfectly this time, the bodies of both girls swaying provocatively with the music. 'Okay, maybe this part of the plan isn't so bad,' Ranma thought to himself as he watched the girls dance in front of him. Damn, Rogue had a nice ass!
Seeing something move in his peripheral vision, Ranma glimpsed Sabertooth in the brush behind Evan. Shooting Evan a glance, and seeing the other boy nod in return, Ranma shifted position just slightly, preparing himself to move at a moment's notice.
Evan continued filing the girls as if nothing was going on. Ranma had given him the signal, indicating that he'd seen Sabertooth, which meant the bait had worked. Now it was only a matter of waiting for their prey to take it all, hook, line and sinker.
They didn't have to wait long, as Sabertooth leaped out of the brush for Evan's unprotected back. Evan spun on one foot, falling down backwards. Sabertooth grabbed him by the shirt, hauling him up in the same manner Wolverine had earlier.
"You're mine, kid!" The animalistic mutant growled, then glared down at the boom box.
Ranma flipped back as Sabertooth stomped on the cd player, crushing it. Landing on his feet, he prepared to leap into the fight as Sabertooth lifted Evan into the air.
Off to the side, Rogue slipped off her glove.
Evan glared down at the man holding him. "You're right on time," he said as he extended numerous razor-sharp bone spikes from his arms and torso. "Gotta be sharp if you're gonna mess with the Spyke."
'Nice line,' Ranma thought absently as Sabertooth threw Evan into Rogue, causing the both of them to fall to the ground.
Sabertooth growled, charging at the other girl. Any one of them would do as a hostage, he didn't care which. "I'll take you then!" he snarled, leaping at her.
Kitty cringed, activating her powers and causing Sabertooth to pass right through her. "Right, like that's so gonna happen." She said sarcastically.
Sabertooth pushed himself up, snarling in rage and glaring over at the pigtailed boy. That one. He looked weak, and Sabertooth was getting impatient.
Ranma stared at the larger mutant, stepping back and feigning fear. 'C'mon, charge...charge...'
Sabertooth charged. Ranma held back a grin. 'Perfect.' Ranma held his ground, waiting for the last possible moment. When Sabertooth was practically upon him, he suddenly side-stepped, grabbing the larger man by the wrist and redirected his attack, throwing Sabertooth into a tree. Not giving him any time to catch re-orient himself, Ranma leaped in with a kick to the back of his head, flipping back and kicking off his back.
Sabertooth practically howled in rage. Screw hostages, that kid was dead! Pulling himself out of the tree, he snarled. "Big mistake, kid."
"Prove it, ugly," Ranma taunted. Sabertooth growled and charged again. Ranma held back a snort. This guy was all muscle and rage. Ryouga without the skill. Ducking under the charge, Ranma delivered an upwards elbow strike into the man's sternum, followed by a leg sweep, knocking the man both off his feet and the ground.
Not pausing, Ranma followed Sabertooth into the air, delivering an Amaguriken to Sabertooth's ribs. They'd told him this guy had healing powers like Logan, which meant he didn't have to pull his punches near as much as usual. Keeping him up there as long as he could, Ranma didn't let up as he rained hundreds of blows on the man in a matter of seconds.
Sabertooth howled in pain and rage, swatting at the kid with his claws. Ranma easily dodged the attacks, wrapping his legs around the larger man's waist and twisting his body into a backflip towards the ground, releasing the leg-lock one-hundred and eighty degrees into his spin and sending the man flying through the air and into yet another tree, landing on his feet facing in Sabertooth's direction.
Sabertooth spun and landed against the tree feet-first, cracking it as he propelled himself off of it back at the punk. Ranma lashed out at the last second with a vicious snap kick to the face, breaking the man's nose and knocking him onto his back, striking him with several more kicks in the side as the man went down.
Growling as he felt some blood drip down his face, his nose already healing, Sabertooth pulled himself to his feet, snarling angrily as he again charged the boy. "You'll pay for that, punk!"
Ranma snorted, dodging the charge. "Sorry, don't got no money. I might be able ta get ya an IOU, though." Dodging several swipes of the raging mutants claws, Ranma fired off a snap kick into the mans jaw, then leaped back, preparing a Moko Takabisha as he did, firing it off into Sabertooth's chest. Following directly behind it, Ranma didn't give him a chance to regain his balance as he pummeled him with a constant barrage of high-speed kicks and punches.
"Too slow, ugly." He taunted.
Behind the fighting pair, Rogue came to underneath Evan. Staring wide-eyed at the fight, she silently crept up behind Sabertooth, her bare hand extended.
Sabertooth could barely keep up with the brat that was wailing on him. Every attempted slash was redirected with ease. How could a kid be this damn good? His mind grew more feral as anger consumed him, lifting his arms up to slam them down against the boys head in a killing blow as his berserker rage took him over...
...then suddenly left him as he felt a soft touch against the back of his neck. His eyes widened in shock as he howled in pain.
Rogue pulled her hand back as Sabertooth collasped to the ground, his energy drained. Letting out a moan of despair as he hands, arms and legs suddenly sprouted fur, her hair growing several feet in length, and her boot tearing open as more claws emerged from her toes.
Ranma stepped away from the prone form of his opponent, breathing hard but grinning widely. That was fun! And Wolverine got to fight this guy all the time? He began to realize how much he was gonna miss Ryouga. Hopefully the pig would get lost enough to find him; he needed more fights like this.
"Picking on kids, Creed?!" An angry voiced yelled. Spinning on one heel, Ranma turned to see and enraged Logan charging in to the clearing, claws bared, then suddenly stopping dead as he saw his foe unconscious on the ground, already taken care of. "Guh?"
Ranma flashed Logan a grin and held his fingers up in a 'V'. "I can see why ya like fightin' this guy, Logan!" he declared. "Sorry ta hog all tha fun."
Logan blinked, eyeing Evan as he pulled himself off the ground and helped Kitty to her feet, retracting all his spikes. "You took him down by yerselves?" Logan asked dumbly, shock and a small amount of respect in his voice.
Rogue shrugged. "Ranma did all o' tha fightin'. Ah just touched him." she replied, her voice carrying a slight growling tone to it. She winced at the sound. "Aw man, mah voice." Looking down at her legs, her eyes widened in dismay. "Aw man, mah legs! Ah jus' shaved 'em last night!"
Logan looked over at Evan, his eyes narrowing. "You planned this, didn't ya Porcupine?"
"Kinda. Sorta. Yeah." Evan replied weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. Damn, Auntie O was gonna kill him for ruining another shirt!
"Well don't do it again!" Logan snarled, poking Evan hard in the chest. "You coulda all been killed! And don't give me that hurt pupppy-dog look, half pint." he told Kitty. "Yer grounded."
Ranma frowned. "He wasn't all that tough. Guy had no skill."
Logan shot Ranma a glare. "He woulda killed ya and thought nothin' of it, pigtail. Yer grounded too." he glared at Evan and Rogue. "Yer all grounded."
Evan sighed. He knew this would happen. "For how long?"
Logan knelt down, hoisting Sabertooth up onto his shoulders. Sighing, he looked at the kids. He didn;t want to admit it, but they'd done a damn good job. He was more upset that they'd disobeyed his orders and put their lives at risk, not to mention butted in on his fight. "I dunno." he finally said, his tone carrying a twinge less anger than before. He gestured towards Rogue. "'Til she-wolf there get's a haircut, at least."
Rogue frowned, letting out an annoyed grunt at the nickname.
Ranma grinned, not really understanding what 'grounded' meant. He thought it had something to do with planes, which didn't make any sense in this context. "So what's gonna happen ta big ugly there?" he asked, stretching his arms back behind his head as he followed along next to Rogue.
"Yeah," Kitty added, "Scott said you two got like, some major bad history between you."
"He and I got unfinished business," Logan answered, not saying anything more.
"Cryptic," Ranma muttered.
"What's gonna happen to him?" Rogue asked, wincing again at the sound of her voice. She couldn't wait til this wore off!
Logan thought for a moment. "He'll get a little coolin' off time." he finally answered.
Ranma whistled a bit as they continued back to the mansion. "So, Logan..." he said. "What's with the weird pointy mask?" he grinned obliviously at the glare he received while the others tried to stifle chuckles.
"Shaddup, pigtail." He turned his head away. "Nice job with Sabertooth, by the way. Wish I could seen that fight. But," he growled. "Creed is my enemy. Unless I ask for yer help, don't butt inta my fights ever again!"
"No prob." Ranma said absently.
When they arrived at the mansion, Logan headed off to find Xavier, telling the kids to go to their rooms, his tone leaving them with a good idea of what would happen if they disobeyed.
As the four of them walked up the stairs, Ranma glanced over at Rogue. "Y'know..." he said.
Rogue glanced back. "Yeah?" Damn, she hated this voice. Her beloved southern twang was muffled by the scratchiness of it!
"The hair, claws, and slightly pointed ears? They don't really work for ya." He shot her a smile. "But the long hair looks pretty damn good on ya."
Rogue blushed slightly. "Are ya sayin' Ah don't look good the way mah hair normally is?" she accused, a faint smile belaying and actual accusation in her words.
"No, no," Ranma replied defensively. '"Ya look good normally too. I'm jus' sayin' the long hair works for ya, s'all" He turned as they reached the top of the stairs, heading for his room.
Rogue smiled faintly as she watched him for a moment, before turning and heading down the hallway into the girls dormitory. Kitty grinning widely as she walked beside her.
"He liiikes youuuu." She said in a sing-song tone.
Rogue rolled her eyes, but her smile remained on her face.
Sabertooth groaned as he awoke, shaking his head in confusion. "Where am I?" he muttered, "Can't...remember..." He pulled himself off the ground and started staggering away in a random direction, somehow completely missing the large black jet that hovered over the Arctic wasteland.
Looking down at him, a stoic expression his face, Charles Xavier watched him walk off. He'd removed the location of the mansion from Sabertooth's mind to prevent this from ever happening again. Turning his chair around as the entry closed, the jet sped off into the distance.
If they had remained a moment longer, they would have heard. "And why do I feel the need to beat on some punk with a pigtail?"
The residents of the mansion sat down in front of the big screen TV in the media room. A week had passed since the Sabertooth incident, and the four teenagers were still grounded. Rogue had cut her hair, leaving it slightly longer than before, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Kitty. She insisted that she was just trying out a new look, and it had nothing to do with what Ranma had said.
Kitty didn't buy it.
Evan had finished his movie/assignment, and was debuting it before the his housemates. Which is the entire reason they were all gathered here.
"Alright," Evan said from the front of the group. Oddly, his hair was now a bright neon pink instead of its usual bleached blond. "This may get a little sappy at times, but I swear it's just for the grade."
"Sit down, stop yappin', and press play already, Porcupine," Logan grunted from his chair.
Evan chuckled as he turned out the lights, the room now illuminated only by the television screen. "Alright then, without further ado..." he turned and pointed the remote at the DVD player, pressing play and taking his seat next to Kurt.
-The screen lit up, revealing a curtain rising, behind it a stage and set. An auditorium filled with people were seated before it, and faint clapping could be heard. The auditorium faded into a slow pan of the city. The word 'Family' appeared on the screen in a white italicized Comic Sans MS font, and the voice over began as the camera focused in on the Institute in the distance.-
"Welcome to Bayville, my new home," Evan's voice spoke over the image. "It's a lot more laid back here, compared to New York, where I'm from, but I'm getting used to it."
-The scene changed to Evan on his skateboard, grinding down a railing towards the camera. The words 'A Film By Evan Daniels' appeared on the screen, also in white italicized Comic Sans MS font.-
"That's me, Evan Daniels, thrashin' skater!"
-The scene changed again, the screen going all white before pulling back and resolving, showing the students and Logan wearing gis, being led in a Tai Chi exercise by Ranma.-
"This film is about what's important to me," Evan's voice continued, "and that's my family. I mean, these guy's aren't my real family, but they've kinda taken me in, y'know?"
-Another scene replaced the previous, showing Scott and Kurt washing Scott's convertible, Scott with a rag and Kurt holding the hose. Jean sat on a lounge chair, reading in the background.-
"Like all families, we're all different."
-The camera closed in on Scott as he wrung out the wet rag.-
"That's Scott. He's cool, but can be kinda stiff."
-The camera made a slow pan over to Kurt, who was spraying Scott with the hose and laughing.-
"Kurt usually takes care of that problem."
-Kurt got a wet rag in the face and stopped laughing, then grinned as he sprayed the hose directly at the camera.-
-The water rippled into the next scene, showing a bust of a bald man being formed out of clay a pair of by feminine hands.-
"The Prof's like my new dad. He's alright, and so is Jean,"
-the camera pulled back, revealing the owner of the hands to be Jean. Pulling back further, it showed Xavier sitting motionless, posing for the sculpture.-
"That girl's got looks AND talent."
-The scene spins off into the upper right-hand corner, revealing the next behind it, showing Logan as he's pulling off his motorcycle helmet, shooting a glare into the camera before walking away.-
"Logan's like the gruff but lovable uncle, no matter how much he denies it. He always watches out for us."
(Logan snorted from his chair.)
-The scene faded, replaced with an image of Ororo playing a classical piece on a grand piano, the rest of the residents watching in a semi-circle around her. Ranma is sleeping against the wall.-
"That's Auntie Ororo at the piano. She's a real classy lady."
-The next scene was from a week previous, showing Rogue and Kitty dancing to the soundtrack from the school play.-
"And speakin' of classy ladies, check out Rogue and Kitty! Man, they got the moves!"
-The camera moved down a bit, showing Ranma sitting behind the CD player, his eyes glued to Rogue's ass as she danced.-
"Hehehe...got ya back for the pink dye job, Ranma." the voice over snickered evily.
(The audience laughed. On one of the couches, Rogue turned to Ranma next to her, shooting him a curious glance. Ranma blushed and turned his head, looking at anything but her. Rogue smiled faintly and turned her gaze back to the movie.)
-The next scene dropped down from the top of the screen, showing Ranma during his usual morning practice.-
"And speaking of moves, take a look at this kid! That's Ranma, the new guy. He hasn't been here that long, but he's already made an impression..."
-The scene changed, showing Ranma at the lunch table on his first day of school, surrounded by Melinda and her three friends, all of whom were giving him doe-eyed looks.-
"...especially on the ladies. They just love him." The voice-over paused for a moment, then continued. "We still haven't figured out why."
(Ranma made a noise, and then another as Rogue elbowed him in the stomach for interrupting the movie.)
-A new scene came in from the side, replacing the old one. This showed Kurt leaning in close to Kitty, puckering his lips. Kitty rolled her eyes and pushed his face away with a smile.-
"Of course, Kurt does pretty well with the girls too. He's a real Casanova!"
(The room again bursts out laughing, this time Kurt blushing as Kitty enveloped him in a friendly hug and giving him a small peck on his furry cheek..)
-In the next scene, Evan is sitting in the infirmary, wearing his helmet and skateboarding gear. Doctor Tofu is shaking his head slowly, a bemused smile on his face as he places a bandage over a gash on Evan's shin.-
"That's Doctor Tofu. He's a great guy to have around, especially when us thrashin' skaters...do a little too much thrashin'."
-Another scene change, showing Kitty working on her laptop on a bench outside the mansion. As the camera zoomed in on her, she looked up and smiled, holding up a small camera.-
"We usually all get along pretty good, y'know?"
-The camera in her hand flashed as she took a picture, the flash turning into the next scene, this one of Jean in the bathroom in her nightclothes, trying to decide what to wear. She was giving the cameraman and angry look as she slammed the door in his face.-
"But even when someone's mad at me..."
-another scene change, showing the entire group, minus Rogue and Kitty in the audience at the school play. Ranma is sitting beside Kurt, sleeping, the other boy attempting to poke him awake, unsuccessfully-
"...they're still there when I need help."
-The scene moved to show the stage. Kitty and Rogue are in costume, dancing in front of a raised coffin as another student, playing Dracula, was lowered down behind them.-
"That's what being a family's all about. Hanging tight through the good times and the bad."
-Close up on Kitty, Rogue, and Dracula, then back to the X-men in the audience.-
"And these guys always hang tight."
-Back to the stage as the three take a bow, the curtain falling. Back again to the audience. -
"So this film is dedicated to my new family."
-Evan leans into the scene, giving a wide smile as the words 'The End' come onto the screen, and it slowly fades to black.-
Turning the lights back on, Evan looked over the group nervously. "Well, what did you think?"
Kurt ported in front of Evan, grabbing him in a tight hug. "Mein freund! I feel the same way!" he bawled.
Evan tried to pull back, chuckling nervously. "Woah, man, personal space!"
"I cahn't help it," Kurt bawled, holding onto him tightly. "It vas just so...so...beautiful!" he continued gushing, accidenatallt slipping into German, clearly overwhelmed with emotion. Scott got up, attempting to pull Kurt away from Evan but ended up getting enveloped into the hug as well. Laughing, he turned to Evan and grinned. "See what you did, Spyke? You got Kurt all emotional with that flick."
Jean smiled as she stood, placing a hand on Evan's shoulder. "Kurt's right though, Evan," she said, "It was very moving." She tried to back away, but the blue-furred German mutant managed to pull her in as well.
Ororo smiled, standing and wrapping her arms around her nephew from behind. "I thought it was wonderful, Evan." She said. "You're certain to get an 'A'." With a smile of his own, Doctor Tofu joined them silently. He didn't have anything to say that hadn't been said already.
The skater blushed faintly. "It's all true, y'know? You guys have really made me feel at home here. I love you guys."
Ranma snorted, although a smile was on his face. "If this turns inta one big group hugfest, I'm outta here'."
Logan mimicked the gesture. "Same here. I don't do that mushy touchy-feely stuff." he said gruffly.
"Ah'm with you two," Rogue added, although she was smiling as well.
Kitty stuck her tongue out at the three of them "Party poopers." she said as she joined the group hugging to Evan. "We love you too, Evan."
Xavier smiled at the scene before him. This was exactly the kind of camaraderie he had hoped to instill in his charges, and nothing made him happier than seeing he had succeeded. If a group of such very different kids could get along so well, there was definite hope for his dream.
Ranma paled. "Crap...it is a group hug." Glancing between Rogue and Logan, he leaned in close to the goth girl, whispering. "If they turn on us, I saw we sacrifice Logan 'n bolt."
Rogue nodded, eying the group warily.
Kitty looked over at the three who had yet to join them. "Get over here, you guys!"
Jumping out of their seats almost as one, the three began backing slowly towards the door. "Now, it's not that we don't lova ya guys 'n stuff," Ranma said slowly, "we just...um..." Grabbing Logan by the arm, he shoved him into the group, the man yelping in surprise.
"Sorry 'bout this Logan, but yer better suited ta take the damage than either of us." With that he grabbed Rogue's wrist and the pair bolted from the room. As they ran down the hall, they could hear Logan angrily shout "TRAITORS!" as he was consumed by the hug.
Later that night, in his room, Ranma reflected on Evan's film. While he'd denied it verbally, the film had struck a chord in him.
He'd come to Bayville to find family, the mother he hadn't seen in over a decade. He had succeeded in finding family, but not the one he'd originally been searching for.
'How is it I already think of them as family?' He asked himself as he stared out the window. 'I've only been here a little over a week, and I already feel more at home than I ever did at the Tendo's. I feel closer to those guys than I ever did to anyone in Nerima... Why?'
Ranma wasn't one for long, drawn-out introspection, but he spent the next several hours sitting awake and doing just that.
End Chapter Four
Two chapters in two days. I'm on a roll! Once I posted Chapter three, this just seemed to flow out of me. As many of you have guessed, this episode takes place during Episode 8, Season 1 of Evolution, 'Spykecam'. Some of the dialog and much of the events are taken directly from that episode, most specifically Evan's movie. I was going to change the dialog for that, but I couldn't come up with anything that sounded better or got my point across clearer than what was said in the original episode. Don't worry, that's not something I'm going to do for every Evolution episode plot I use. That'd get old and boring real fast.
Anyway, one thing that I feel needs to be addressed. Many reviews have made mention of how Rogue is Mystique's adopted daughter, and with Ranma being Mystique's son in this fic, a pairing between the two would be weird/gross. I knew of this when I started writing, so I'm going to give you the reasoning I've come up with. First, in the Evolution timeline, Rogue does not know about her relation to Mystique until the mid-third season. By then, Ranma and Rogue will be so far into their relationship, they won't care too much. Second, Rogue has no feelings of family towards Mystique or Ranma. She sees one as an enemy, and (at the moment) one as a friend and potential love interest. Third, they are not related by blood in any way. And last of all, in the comics, Nightcrawler's long-time girlfriend, Amanda Sefton (who is also his girlfriend in Evolution), was his foster sister when he was growing up. They don't seem to care about this aspect of their relationship. They aren't related by blood, nor do they see each other as siblings.
If people keep complaining about it, I'll just go back ot each and every chapter and get rid of every instance that makes mention of Mystique adopting Rogue, and just say that in this timeline, the adoption never happened. But I would prefer not to do that.
One last thing, before I forget. I meant to post this in the notes for the past two chapters, but it kept slipping my mind. The ages for the characters, as of this point in the fic, that I'm going with, are as such: Pietro, Wanda, Nabiki, Scott, Jean, and Ranma are 17, the latter having just turned before the beginning of the fic. Rogue, Blob, and Lance are 16. Kurt, Toad, Kitty, and Evan are 15. I don't think anyone will really care, but this is just in case anyone was wondering. It also provided a decent age gap between Mystique's two natural-born children.
Oh, and while a week passed between the fight with Sabertooth and the showing of Evan's movie, Ranma has still not met Mystique. Why this is will be explained in the next chapter.
That's all I got. Let's hope my streak continues, and I can have another chapter just as soon. As always, thanks for reading, and please, review and tell me what you like/dislike/etc.