Nova
Written By: Matdeception
Rough Draft Begun: 7/12/11
Rough Draft Finished: 7/13/11
Revision Begun:: 7/18/11
Revision Complete: 7/18/11
Disclaimer: Would you please stop forcing me to write these bloody disclaimers? I'm running out of idea's to show my blatant disregard for this crap, while at the same time reminding everyone I make no money off this as the characters belong to rich people, most obviously not me.
Notes: Foesjoe; Didn't actually edit this, but he pointed out several mistakes and had me fix it myself. Also like to thank the people on the TFF forum, at least those in the Ranma section. Despite the low number of people in comparison to the other newer series, it's still a decent place to chill.
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Chapter 3: Highway Loving
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"You okay?" Risty lightly touched her friends shoulder, gently pushing her.
Rogue blinked, glancing at her in confusion, "Uh... what?"
"You've been zoning out all day." her friend looked concerned, "What's wrong?"
"Uh..." Rogue sighed, shrugging her hand off. She really didn't know what to tell the girl, not the truth of course, she doubted the girl would still be her friend if she knew she was a mutant. "... jus weird stuff." at the pointed look she got in return for that, she decided to elaborate a bit. "Jus... an Instructor at the school's been actin all weird, and I ain't use to seein em' like that."
"Instructor?" Risty frowned, face scrunching up cutely as she tried to imagine just which one. "Is it that old geezer?"
"Logan's always weird." Rogue deadpanned, "Nah, it's Ororo." she grimaced, "That kid... uh... Ranma shows up, and next thing ya know she's actin like a teenager, dressin skimpily, lookin like she's tryin to seduce the guy and..." she trailed off, wincing as she realized that's exactly what Ororo had already done. Or Ranma had already done. Gah, the two of them had already done together!
Risty crossed her legs, looking lost in distant thoughts, "Not surprised. I caught him and my mother..."
"What?" Rogue's eyes bugged out, "He, uh... with your mother?"
The English goth just nodded, "Pop had been out of town for a year, they met when she took me to a museum. Heh..." she shook her head in amusement, "They started talking about some stupid jewel piece being displayed there, and... well... dinner, dancing, then they gave me five pounds and kicked me out for a few hours."
"Uh... how do ya know, uh..." Rogue blushed, "Maybe... uh... they didn't?"
"Oh yeah, sure, they were just playing scrabble." Risty snorted at that.
"It's possible?" It sounded weak even to her, but the thought of the guy being with the mother of her best friend was just... ugh.
"Sure it's possible." Risty allowed sarcastically, "But when I came back three hours later, they were still going at it." she blushed slightly, "... in my bed even!"
"Ugh." Rogue covered her face, praying her blush wasn't showing through her makeup. "That is so messed up."
"I was only eleven..." Risty continued, "... when I found out exactly how embarrassing the question 'Is this Risty's wetspot, or mine?' was." she shuddered, "Stupid mom."
Rogue suddenly felt sick, "Ugh."
"You're telling me." her goth friend shrugged, "At least he was only there a week..." she frowned then, idly rubbing the back of her neck, "... strangest thing, now that I think about it."
"What was strange?" The Southern Belle looked curious.
"Well... that jewel he and mother talked about?" Risty frowned thoughtfully, "... I think it went missing about the time he left."
"Wha... ya think he stole it?" Rogue blinked.
"Him..." Risty chuckled lightly, shaking her head, "... not possible. You'd have to be some kind of magician to break into that place."
Rogue just frowned.
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Duncan spared the redhead a glance, watching her talk to her friend Taryn near her locker. It was the brief break in-between classes, he hoped he had enough time to do this. Idly checking his hair, making sure it was just perfect before closing his own locker and heading towards the gossiping girls. If everything played out just perfectly, today would be the day he'd finally get into Jean's oh so enticing pants, and if not... well... maybe some head?
He nodded. That would be all kinds of awesome. He strutted up to the two girls as casual as he could. Taryn saw him, but Jean was facing away. He inched closer, counting the steps remaining as he went. Ten feet, five feet, two, one... victory! He wrapped one arm around his girls thin waist, pulling her into his embrace as he whispered tantalizing in her ear. "Hey babe."
Jean turned her head, smiling that too cute smile of hers. "Duncan..." she whispered, eyes narrowing slightly, "... what have I told you about public displays of affection?"
The blond quarterback sighed internally, but dared not show it on his face. "That you don't like it." he kissed her cheek, backing off slightly afterwards. "So, how's things going with you two?"
Taryn shrugged, messing around with her locker a bit, "Same ole, same ole. Jean was telling me about cheer leading practice being rescheduled."
"Oh?" Duncan asked curiously, "Isn't that weird? Football practice was cancelled too."
Jean blinked, "What? I thought Couch Klien was all gung-ho about winning the city championship, why would he cancel..."
"You really are out of the loop." Taryn snorted, "It's, like, practically public knowledge he started dating Miss Milton."
"Ah..." the redhead rolled her eyes, "... well, I guess that explains both football and cheer-leading practice getting cancelled."
Duncan nodded, "Yep, I give em a week, two tops before they get sick of each other and break it off."
"Duncan!" Jean frowned, playfully slapping his arm, "That's not nice!"
"Wow." Taryn drawled, "Just wow. 'That's not nice', what are you Jean, a goodie two shoes?"
Duncan grinned, thumbing himself. "She'd have to be, to keep this bad boy in line."
"That was so lame I won't even counter." Taryn rolled her eyes, closing her locker.
"Meh..." the blond boy shrugged, "... Anyway, since we both have practice off, you wanna head to Beeville? Catch an early movie, maybe do some shopping at that Mega-plex?" He honestly had no intention of going to the mall. Woe was he to be the baggage bitch.
Jean thoughtfully considered that. "Well, don't have anything else planned. Sure, as long as we're back before eight, it shouldn't be a big deal."
Duncan quickly calculated the time. School out at three, hour trip to Beeville, hour to two hours for a movie, a light snack, and a good ole romp in the back of his car before dropping her off. Yeah, if they managed to get there quick enough, it would be just enough time...
"Sounds good." Taryn grinned, "It'll be nice to get out of this plain, boring town for awhile!"
"It's not that bad..." Jean defended weakly, before smiling brightly, "Oh! I can finally grab that purse to match my sundress!"
"Purse?" Taryn boggled, "To hell with purses, think of the shoes! Awww, little open toe heels with those oh so cute ribbons." she said, practically gushing that last part out.
Duncan quickly calculated his chances of getting anything...
"The heck is wrong with you?" Taryn blinked as the star Quarterback moaned miserably to the side.
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Ranma spared the crowd of people a glance, seeing nothing that would even hint of her presence. He eyed his watch, frowning; Three fifteen. School should have been out by now, but where the hell was she? He didn't think she'd be stupid enough to run off on him, especially not after that screw up on her part in Russia.
When the door suddenly opened, a woman with bright red hair and a tasteful dress taking a seat, he realized she had gotten much better at hiding her aura. He put the car in gear, and zoomed down the street.
"Well, here I am." she said after several minutes of silence, crossing her arms but keeping her gaze out on the passing scenery; Houses and small businesses mostly.
"Being here is the problem." Ranma said, turning at the light and heading over towards the interstate. "The whole 'Risty' persona, being Rogue's friend, and Rogue of course being one of Baldy's students. What are you playing at, I wonder?"
She leveled him with a pointed stare, "Rogue happens to be my daughter."
"Hah!" Ranma chuckled, shaking his head. "Like hell she is; Oh sure, she has that whole 'I'm dark and miserable, leave me be' look down pat, but the psychotic hatred for anything and everything that can't fire bolts of lightning out their ass, throw cars like bowling balls, or make peoples head explode kinda throws that out the window."
"None of my children have that." she pointed out angrily.
"Well, why would that be I wonder?" he made a show of looking stumped, before snapping his fingers, "Oh I know; It's cause you abandon them to the wolves if they don't pop out of your snatch shooting laser beams and proclaiming humanity's destruction."
"Fuck you." the woman said nastily, glaring.
"Now, now." he chuckled some more as they got on the highway, where he floored the accelerator and dashed in and out of lanes like a pro. "We did that in Russia, and might I add it was absolutely mind blowing?"
Mystique sneered at that, "Way I remember it, you cried like a little girl."
"Well, yeah." Ranma nodded matter of factly, "You did take my virginity."
"What?" the red head boggled, "You were a virgin?" she frowned, "Liar. No virgin is that good their first time."
"That's not what you screamed..." he chuckled, ignoring the screeching cars and honking from pissed off drivers he cut off.
"Screw you." The woman snarled, rolling down her window.
"Again, we did that." Ranma pointed out helpfully, "Although, the chloroform was a bit much."
"You were in my way." Mystique pointed out just as helpfully, "Crintok's jewel was mine."
"It may have been at first, but I do remember swiping it from you." he paused momentarily, "Uh... after recovering anyway."
"Yes... yes you did." She scowled angrily, shifting down and to the right in her seat before kicking him in the face. The blow did little to phase him, but it did cause him to swerve the car, nearly ramming into a nearby semi. She kicked him twice more, each blow stronger then the last until he caught her foot and yanked her mightily. Crotch slamming into the stick shift, Mystique gritted her teeth, slamming her free foot down into his crotch.
Ranma winced, letting her go. She took the opportunity to push away, grabbing the edge of the roof and pulling herself bodily out of the car and onto the roof. He just rolled his eyes at that, so that's the way she wants to play this. Well... he aimed to please.
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Duncan adjusted his rear-view mirror, unable to keep the glare off his face at the sight of it. Taryn and Jean, sitting in the back seat and chatting about everything and nothing, with the wind blowing through their hair, brown and red strands flying about wildly. If that damn friend of hers wasn't here, Jean would be in the front seat, she'd be within easy range to dip down for a little... fun. But no, no that damn bitch had to come along. He couldn't just tell her to take a hike, either, cause then Jean wouldn't want to go either.
Damn it, life was so unfair! He stared at the road ahead, littered with cars and semi-trucks making the possibility of at least finding comfort in speeding a far off dream at this point. What he wouldn't give just to...
A black sedan blasted past, easily doing a hundred and expertly zigging and zagging in and out of traffic like a pro-race car driver. He stared at the vehicle dumbly, especially when it suddenly veered left and nearly slammed into a semi. "Huh..."
"Careful Duncan." Jean had to yell over the howl of the wind. She had seen the car too and looked more then a little concerned about their safety, the maniac driver had certainly starting freaking him out with the swerving.
"Don't worry girl, I'm a good enough... what?" Duncan boggled at the sight of a gorgeous red haired woman crawling out of the passenger window, standing up on the roof. How the hell she managed that with out getting blown off by the sheer velocity was beyond him.
Taryn blinked, grabbing her cellphone. "What the hell is she doing?"
The driver side window suddenly blew out, the driver dragging himself out of the car and joining the woman on the roof. Unbelievably the woman leapt a good thirty feet, landing on the semi as the guy followed suit. The car, now driver-less, immediately began drifting to the side. Slamming into the semi, the truck lurched some before forcing the car to the right, where it slammed into the railing and broke through, flying off the bridge to crash deep below.
"What the fuck?" Taryn boggled as the woman... changed. Her skin shifting blue, her clothes becoming less a dress and more a two piece mini-skirt.
Jean stared at the woman dumbly, stunned shock evident.
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Ranma bid a fond farewell to the sedan as it peter-panned off the bridge. Ah well, wasn't his car anyway. He ran along the length of the semi-trailer, falling into a slide. Mystique jumped over him, landing in a roll even as he slid off the end of the trailer. Catching the edge, he defied gravity by twisting and swinging back to the roof.
Mystique leapt forward, meeting him in the middle in a flurry of blows. He caught one of her fists, pulling her forward and off balance slightly, he lifted his leg and kicked her in the face once, twice, then three more times in rapid succession before lowering his leg and nailing her in the midsection with one final kick.
The blue woman bounced along the roof, nearly falling off the side if not for her desperate last ditch effort to stay on, managing to catch hold of a slight ridge along the edge of the semi-trailer.
"Pfeh." Ranma snorted, walking up to the woman struggling to maintain her hold, "Been skipping your training, haven't..." he blinked then as she suddenly leapt up, corkscrewing and landing multiple kicks to his face.
He staggered back even as she completed her attack, flipping back and landing on her feet. The boy couldn't help but grin, "Okay, neat move."
"Go to hell!" the shape shifter snarled, launching forward once more.
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Duncan wasn't stupid. Once a scene straight out of the movies began to play out he slowed down and gained a fair bit of distance from the center of the fight. Other drivers around him did the same, not a single one daring to try and pass the semi with some kind of ass kicking contest taking place on top of it.
"Oh. My. God!" Taryn squealed, keeping her cellphone video-camera situated on the fight. Calling it a fight would be a bit of a stretch, as the blue skinned... thing was getting it's ass kicked by the guy in the red shirt. Duncan couldn't help but wince as the guy did a sideways aerial flip and slammed the girl on the head with a kick, knocking her down onto the roof with enough force it looked like she bounced.
Jean was silent, watching with wide eyed wonder. Poor girl was all but dead to the world as she was... hey wait, maybe he... he shook that thought off. Yes, he wanted to get some, but now was not the time.
The guy had pushed the blue skinned thing to the edge of the semi-trailer, where he reared back with both fists and slammed her in the chest. Unbelievable, the thing went airborne, arching high before beginning it's descent. As it fell Duncan had an epiphany... he finally understood what geometry was good for. He spent the last half second of the blue skinned thing's fall wishing he had thought of something else.
Whoever she was slammed into his windshield, crushing it inward. He nearly lost control of his vehicle there, but through blind luck he managed to get control before the car flipped over. Dazed, adrenaline pumping through his veins from the near crash, he thought he heard Taryn scream, or maybe it was Jean? He honestly couldn't think that straight.
The blue skinned woman slowly, painfully twisted onto her stomach, her yellow eyes glaring at the three of them with such brain splattering hate he was sure if she... it could, it would kill them all.
Jean was saying something, but he couldn't quite make it out. Whatever she said, the red haired thing locked eyes with her, before snarling. She jumped straight up, her body shifting like putty and becoming a raven that took wing, flying high and away from them.
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Ranma raised an eyebrow at the bird-form Mystique. If she thought that trick would work on him again, she would be sorely disappointed. He brought his hands together and tapped into that expansive well of Ki laying dormant within. Light, glowing blue light surrounded his form and began to bleed off into the environment. Thicker and thicker the aura became until it was nearly an inch in diameter. He grunted, spreading his hands out as waves of ki began thrusting out. He leapt off the semi and took to the sky, blasting down the length of the highway at breakneck speed, using his hand thrusters to guide his flight.
He passed the smashed up convertible Mystique had landed on, not giving it's occupants even a glance as he rose high into the sky. It took only seconds to find Mystique flapping along as pretty as you please. If only he could see her face when she noticed him behind her, but aside from wide eye blinking before she rolled into a dive there was nothing to see.
Following closely, he was caught flat footed when she suddenly shifted back into her humanoid form, slamming into him when he failed to alter his course. They twisted, flipping over and over as he lost control of his flight. Briefly he wondered if he had made a terrible choice taking flight like this, but as they veered off the high way and crashed into a nearby field he found he really couldn't think about anything but the pain.
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Duncan managed to finally get off the highway, pulling up to a gas station just before his car sputtered to a nasty death. To add insult to injury, his left front tire popped off it's axle, jostling the shocked and stunned girls in the car.
Taryn breathed after a time, "Wow." she looked at her cellphone, "That was... unreal."
"Is everyone okay?" Jean finally asked, coming out of her shocked stupor.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Taryn mentioned, fiddling with her phone.
Duncan gripped the steering wheel, angrily gnashing his teeth, "My fucking car... they wrecked my fucking car!"
The redhead glanced at him, "I... I'm sorry Duncan."
"Sorry?" he trembled, taking deep shuddering breaths. Calm down, Calm down, don't get mad at your girlfriend. She didn't have anything to do with it, she didn't have anything to do with it damn it! "It's... it's fine." he glanced at Jean, "I... uh, don't suppose you know anyone who could give us a ride?"
Jean nodded, fishing out her own cellphone. She was typing in a number when a sudden message jumped on screen. She blinked, glancing back at Taryn, "You just sent me a mail?"
The brown haired girl shrugged, "Yeah, well. Sent it to everyone. I got most of that fight recorded!"
Jean groaned, "Now everyone is going to know about it..."
"Yeah, and?" Duncan scowled, "That... thing crashed my window, who knows what the fuck that guy was doing to fucking fly! Those freaks need to be locked away!"
Jean stared at him, eyes narrowed. If she was going to say something about it, she kept it to herself. "I'm calling Scott."
Duncan grimaced at that. Scott, that little prick from her school. That guy had an obvious crush on his girl, so much so he had debated about kicking the crap out of him. Well, if it wasn't for the fact Jean was utterly clueless, and would probably dump him if he tried...
He looked up at the blazing sun, sighing tiredly, "Can today possibly get any worse?"
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"Ow..." he moaned miserably, blearily staring at the blazing sun in the sky overhead. A sun that was soon blotted out as Mystique knelled over him. She looked worse for wear, a nasty black eye marring her features, with dribbles of blood leaking from her nose.
"Little much." she said, gripping his shirt and pulling him into a rough, harsh kiss.
"Pfeh... you and your damn foreplay." Ranma shot back, suddenly grabbing her and wrestling her to the ground.
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Storm idly poured a cup of fresh lemonade for herself and the children milling about the kitchen. Scott, Kurt, and Rogue were sitting at the small table diligently working on their at home assignments.
"I don't know." Kurt frowned, scratching the back of his neck, "The way you explain it, it would mean the equations Ybarra taught us today are secondary to the zero principal."
Scott nodded, "That's the way it is. They teach you all the formula's, but there's an order of importance you have to follow when solving for X."
Rogue grimaced, "Gah... what's tha point? Can't we just ignore that crap then?"
"In this situation, yes." the leader of the X-men nodded, "But if you switch Y and the A around you'd have to follow a completely different rule set, which would bring these equations into play."
"Stupid math. Stupid, stupid, stupid math!" Rogue growled, angrily scratching out all the work she had done on the problem.
Scott chuckled, "Hey, it get's easier the more you practice." he paused then, fishing his cellphone out of his pocket. He thumbed in the password, unlocking the phone and viewing his messages. He raised an eyebrow; A video message? What on earth could Taryn be sending. He opened the file, taking a drink of his lemonade as the video started up. When he saw Mystique, he spewed his drink in surprise, caking Rogue in the lemony goodness.
"Gee, thanks." Rogue snarled, grabbing a napkin.
"It's Mystique!" Scott scowled.
Kurt and Rogue both blinked, jumping from their seats and staring at the video. Rogue gasped, "She's fightin Ranma?"
Storm nearly choked on her drink. "What?"
Kurt looked up at her, "He's fighting her... uh... are they fighting on top of a Semi?"
Storm grabbed the phone, ripping it from a stunned Scott, ignoring his protests as she flipped the phone over and watched. "What is that idiot doing?"
Rogue and Kurt repositioned behind Storm to watch the video, just in time to see Mystique get smacked off the roof of the semi and slam into the car of whoever was recording it. Mystique rolled over, gripping the frame of the windshield and lifting herself up. The redhead glared at the owner of the phone, before her attention was taken by the redhead to the right.
The phone shifted slightly, showing Jean glaring at the woman. They could see her mouth moving, but the howling wind made hearing impossible. Then Mystique turned into a bird and took flight. The camera followed her a bit, before rezooming on Ranma, who erupted in a intense blue glow before rocketing off the semi and passing overhead. Whoever held the camera managed to track the blur Ranma had become, long enough to see something slam into him before he veered out of control, twisting and twirling at incredible speed to the east and away from the highway where he quickly disappeared from view.
Rogue scowled, looking at Storm, "Why tha hell would they be fightin like that?"
Scott snatched his phone back just in time to answer a sudden incoming calling, "It's Jean." He answered the phone, "Jean! What the hell happened with Mysti..." he paused, frowning, "Got it, be there soon." he flipped it closed, grabbing his coat, "Duncan's car is scrap, Jean needs a ride."
"Send that video to my cellphone." Storm ordered, glancing at Rogue seriously, "I don't know, but we'll find out."
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Scott said nothing as Duncan leaned in, stealing a rather heated kiss from Jean. The blond bastard looked up and winked at him, before turning around and strutting to his home like he owned the world.
Jean rolled the window up, glancing at Scott, "Has anything come up about the incident?"
He grunted, putting the car in gear, "No idea. Ororo took charge, what she decided to do is up in the air."
"I can't believe Mystique is back." the redhead frowned, "And Ranma, just up and fighting out in public like that? We're lucky no one was hurt!"
"Maybe Mystique didn't give him a choice." Scott pointed out as he zoomed down the street, "She certainly wouldn't give a damn about potentially hurting innocents."
Jean didn't seem convinced, but he quite frankly didn't care whether she was or not. He hated to admit it, but that ass Duncan had really, really irritated him. Probably the point of the kiss, he could logically admit to himself, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow. The rest of the drive home was in utter silence.
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Ororo glanced around, looking for something, anything that might help them find where Ranma crashed. She revved her motorcycle, before zooming off down the dirt road. She activated the radio in her helmet, "East side Lambert farm is clear, no sighting."
"Yeah, same with the Eskel's." came Logan's grim reply, "Still getting his voice mail, little prick probably left his phone in that damn stuff space of his again."
"Heading to Victoria." she cut a corner sharply, expertly retaining traction as she picked up speed again. "Any word from home?"
"Scott and Jean are back." Logan paused, "And Chuck hasn't been able to track Ranma with Cerebro."
"Not surprising." she returned, cool as a cucumber, "But disconcerting."
"Yeah." Logan grunted, "He's either dead, or purposefully shielding himself."
Ororo frowned, "That irritating man will have some explaining to do." Needless to say she didn't think the chances of him being dead were all that realistic. When she found him, those chances might jump, especially if he didn't have a damn good reason for taking part in a battle on a busy highway.
"Heh." Logan grunted, cutting the line.
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The splash of water brought him from the pleasant nap he had been taking. He glanced around, eying the tall grass they had laid down in. He yawned, sitting up and rubbing his hair. Idly picking some grass out, he tossed it to the side and stood up.
The moon was full, casting it's gentle light across the field, creating a subtle glow that lit the area enough for him to make out the pond. He could see her swimming there, washing away the dirt, grime, and other signs of their exertions. Now that seemed like a good idea, he decided as he leapt for the pond. He came down with a splash, submerging into the cool water. Needles burned across his body as he lost mass, slimmed down while gaining perky breasts. She broke the surface, hair now burning red. Rubbing her face, Ranma spied Mystique, resting in the middle of the pond by some rocks.
"Hell of a hello, eh?" she said, swimming up next to the true shape-shifter.
Mystique glanced at her, blue skin reflecting interesting off the water still dripping off her hair. "Eh... I've had better."
Ranma pouted, "You're mean."
"That I am." She sighed contently, letting the other woman pull her into an embrace. She imagined a great deal of women wouldn't exactly feel comfortable having a lover who could switch genders with just cold water, but she was hardly what one considered typical. Silence descended between them for a time, the two just enjoying presence, before nagging thoughts on her part brought an end to that. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Ranma shrugged, "Vacation."
"Vacation?" Mystique blinked, incredulous, "I didn't think you actually took those."
"Meh." she grunted, "I don't, but Nova-tech leads have been pretty dry."
"Ah." Mystique nodded, "So what, you just happened to decide to slum here? Right where I'm working?"
"Eh..." the boy-turned-girl looked at her, "... not my fault you picked to slum right where Baldy set up shop."
"Baldy..." she frowned, "... Xavier? You're here because of him?"
"Yep." Ranma saw no reason to lie, "Offered to let me crash at his place once upon a time, decided to take him up on it." she shrugged, "Since I had some contacts in New York, the type you can't just call, figured why the hell not?"
Silence reigned between them, which Mystique was utterly thankful for. It gave her time to think, time to contemplate just what she had heard. Everything she knew about Ranma spoke of him as a rogue element, he didn't particularly care about Xavier's dream of mutant kind living together with humans, and especially didn't care about keeping their existence secret to avoid persecution. He also, much to her dismay, didn't care to rule humanity as the obvious superior species. He, quite frankly, didn't give a damn if this world nuked itself to death, so long as his precious Nova-tech search wasn't interrupted by it. Nova-tech, the strange technology he talked about that she had never seen, only heard about during his endless search. Hmmm... actually... maybe... yeah, she'd need to look into that. If she could get her hands on some of that Nova-tech, she could secure an at least temporary alliance with him, which could only serve her plans if she utilized his myriad of talents in just the right way. Speaking of talents...
"When did you learn to fly?" Mystique glanced at the boy-turned-girl, "I know you didn't know how back in Russia."
"Eh..." she shrugged, "... I figured the basics out in Canada years ago. That's actually how I met Baldy."
"Stumbled upon you, did he?" She sought to clarify.
"Uh..." she grimaced, "... no. I, uh, kinda ran into him." she took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I crashed into his helicopter."
Mystique blinked, the sudden image of Ranma plastered to a window popping up in her mind. "Heh... bet that hurt."
"Like you wouldn't believe." the girl confirmed, "But, I've no complaints. It was a quick friendship."
"I'll bet." Mystique just shook her head at that, innocently adding, "I've even heard you started up a... relationship with his pet witch."
"Ororo?" Ranma shrugged, "Yep, I did." she frowned then, "How did you even hear about that?"
"Rogue." the true shape shifter said simply, "She was pretty damn irritated about it."
"Huh." the cursed martial artist blinked, "Why the hell does she even care? It's not like we fucked in front of her!"
"Now that's a question I've been wondering about myself." Mystique hmmed, "Speaking of which, how exactly can you do that with her? Far as I know, she needs to maintain a ironclad calm in order to keep her powers from raging out of control." she frowned then, "This is just me, mind you, but I'd imagine fucking would be rather counter productive."
"Ah, that." she chuckled in response, "Well, after... meeting Baldy, I also met her. Now, I won't say we got off on the right foot, actually we got off on a rather apocalyptic foot." he grimaced, "Twenty minutes after meeting her I was running for the hills, dodging lightning bolts and struggling to remain standing from the winds."
Mystique leaned in close, enjoying the warmth of her lover's body, letting her explain with out interrupting.
"Well, that went on for hours. Thing is, during it all I was slowly learning how her mutation worked, how to harmonized with her surroundings and the effect it had on her aura. Took a bit of finagling, but I eventually got my aura to match her's, only I introduced a subtle degeneration, hoping it would be enough to make her fry herself instead of frying me." Ranma continued her explanation, idly splashing some water around, "When I hit her with it she all at once lost her powers." she grinned lecherously, "Little more then a happy accident, really. An accident she made damn sure I knew was just that, a happy one."
Mystique frowned, "You shut her power down?"
"Yep." Ranma nodded, "And since then, whenever we're together and in the mood, we fuck like bunnies."
The true shape shifter nodded, "Ah... well, that explains Rogue."
"How do you figure?" Ranma asked, sounding oh so curious.
"Rogue drains peoples power and memories via touch." she explained slowly, "Unfortunately her power is always active, and she hates it with a passion I usually reserve for Magnus."
Ranma just frowned, "Okay, that sucks, but what..." she blinked, realization dawning on her. "Oh."
"Yes, Oh." Mystique snarled, "And if you even try to fuck my daughter, I swear I will end you!"
The boy-turned-girl blanched, "Ugh, are you kidding? She's what, fifteen?"
"Sixteen." she helpfully pointed out, "And I don't care if she's thirty, keep your hands to yourself."
Ranma looked at her curiously, "First off, I have no interest in fucking a sixteen year old. Second off, when she is thirty and she decides she wants to fuck, it'll be none of your damn business!" she glared then, to keep her lover from interrupting, "And third off, if I'm still around when she hits thirty I'll have bigger problems to worry about then banging some thirty year old virgin!"
Mystique looked cross, "A simple 'Okay' would have sufficed."
"Oh..." she shrugged, "Okay."
Sighing, Mystique broke away from her lover and stood up. "Way past time for me to go." she eyed the boy-turned girl seriously, "Don't tell..."
"Anyone about you being Risty." she finished for her, waving the woman off, "Couldn't care less."
Mystique winked, before leaping up and shape shifting into a bird, beginning the long flight back to Bayville.
Ranma watched her go, before flicking her arm to the side and retrieving her cellphone from stuff space. She wasn't the least bit surprised to find forty seven messages blaring at her. She dialed in a number and made a call.
"Yeah, Logan? It's me, Ranma." she quickly jerked the phone away as the guy practically deafened her with his angry yelling. Sighing, she just shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm... er... you know I don't know where the hell I am." she mumbled under her breath, "Ryouga, this is all your fault!"
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Logan pulled his helmet off, setting it down and attaching it to the end of his bike. He checked his watch, grunting. Nearing ten, he had been half hoping it was nearer eleven when he got home. That way they'd be able to avoid the kids, at least for tonight. He could already imagine the questions brimming in their juvenile minds, just waiting for a target to unleash it on.
Ah well, had to face the piper sooner or later. He took the elevator up,, and headed for the kitchen where, surprise surprise he found them sitting at the kitchen table. Jean had a blank stare that fell into a disappointing frown when she noticed the lack of Ranma.
"Did you find him?" she asked
"Yep." Logan nodded, grabbing two cups from the cupboard.
"What happened?" Scott asked, much to the collective nods of the other kids. That was the million dollar question, wasn't it?
"No idea, you'll just have to ask Ranma when he gets back." he poured two cups of water, taking one and putting it in the microwave. He set it to thirty seconds, then turned and leaned against the counter.
"Was he ahright?" Rogue put the question forth.
"He's not injured." the feral like man scratched his chin, "Maybe a little banged up, but he's had worse."
"That's cool." Evan grunted out, "He's with aunty then?"
"Shouldn't be too long. They got caught at a light." he opened the microwave, taking the almost burning hot cup of water and setting it down. "Anyway, since it's about to come out let me just get it out of the way now."
"Uh... get what out now?" Kurt asked curiously.
"The curse." Logan snarled to forestall questions, "Look, I'm sick to freaking death of hearing it, so listen to my explanation and keep your damn questions to yourselves. Or I swear I'll dedicate the rest of my life to making your lives absolutely miserable!" he pointed one finger, glaring at the lot of them, "Do I make myself clear?"
"Uh... yeah." Rogue nodded, wide-eyed. The others quickly followed suit.
"Good." he grunted, "To the point, it's a Curse, cold water activates it, hot water switches him back. He's a guy."
Jean raised an eyebrow at that, "What are you talking about?"
"Telling them about the Curse?" Xavier looked at the feral like man, wheeling into the kitchen. "Don't you think that's a bit light on details?"
"I don't care, Chuck." Logan moaned miserably, "You know how it'll end if he tells it, it's how it always ends!"
"Ah..." Xavier nodded knowing, "You just don't want to mop up the mess."
"Right." Logan nodded, "So please, please... let me just explain it now?"
"Ah... go ahead." The bald man shrugged.
"Explain what?" the feminine voice grabbed their attention. The kids blinked at the vibrant redhead staring at them, wearing black silk pants and a loose fitting muscle shirt that did very little to hide her generous assets. The young woman looked at all of them in turn, winking saucily, "My eyes are up here, kids."
That shocked them, several turning to the sides and chuckling in embarrassment. Rogue raised an eyebrow, glancing at Jean who shrugged in response. "Uh..., miss." Scott coughed, failing miserably to hide his blush, "... uh, I'm Scott... who are you?"
"Ah, it's me, Ran..." she froze as Logan stepped up and splashed her with the burning hot cup of water. She screamed, a scream that turned masculine half way through as the girl shifted into the dark haired youth they had met only a few days ago. "OW!" he snarled, glaring at the feral like man angrily, "What the hell did you do that for?"
Logan ignored him, rounding on the kids. "It's a curse. Cold water activates, hot water turns him back. He's a guy. Now keep your damn questions to yourself!"
"What's with all the yelling?" Ororo stepped in behind Ranma, blinking at the number of people staring dumbly at the dripping wet Ranma and the serious looking Logan.
Xavier clapped his hands sharply, grabbing everyone's attention, "Yes, yes. He turns into a girl with cold water, hot water turns him back. He says it's a curse, and I can assure you there is no X-gene at play. When he changes he becomes female in every way that can possibly matter, and no, he doesn't like guys hitting on him while in that form."
"What the hell?" Ranma snapped, "You could have just given them the abridged version I typed up last year!"
"You actually wrote it down?" Logan blinked, "Well... color me shocked."
"Bah." the cursed martial artist grumped, sitting at the counter. "S'not fair. Ever since I wrote it I haven't even gotten to use it. It's like everyone already knows the story and they don't care to hear it again."
"I'd... uh, I'd like a copy." Jean threw out, a notion agreed on by the nodding heads of the other kids.
"Really?" Ranma asked, tone hopeful.
"I think we need to get back to the crux of the issue; What happened, Ranma?" Ororo interrupted, putting the topic back where it belonged.
Ranma glanced around, once again the very center of attention as eight pairs of eyes locked on. He shrugged, twisting in his seat and leaning against the counter, "Well, when I was a toddler my old man took me on this training..."
"Cute." Xavier cut in, half glaring, "We meant what happened today, with Mystique."
"Ah." the boy shrugged, "We met, fought, uh..." he glanced at the children apprehensively, "... and that's pretty much it." He wasn't fooling anyone with that.
Logan, thankfully, asked a more pertinent question, "How do you even know that woman?"
"Eh..." the boy shrugged, "Met her Sixteen? Maybe seventeen years ago in Russia. We weren't friends immediately, in fact we hated each others guts." he chuckled, remembering that month he spent with her, "Anyway, I had a job there for some one willing to exchange a piece of Nova-tech for some dumb ruby. Turned out she had been hired by a competitor who also wanted the ruby."
"So you stole it before she did?" Rogue frowned thoughtfully.
"Uh, no." Ranma shrugged, "We seduced each other, she used enough chloroform to kill an elephant, and did the job while I was knocked out." he ignored their stunned or disgusted looks, "I thought it wasn't fair. All I planned to do was shibari, keep her busy trying to get out of the ropes, but she beat me to the punch."
Kurt grimaced, saying nothing. It was hard to get mad at the guy for sleeping with his mother, given he didn't exactly have a relationship with her, but to have him speak of it so openly grated his nerves some what.
"Anyway, long story short I woke up, tracked her down, beat her up and stole the gem from her. Wasted effort, really, the slime ball lied about the Nova-tech." Ranma sighed, "I only walked out of that mess with a couple million, not worth the effort at all."
Ororo frowned, "I see. How did you come to meet her today?"
"Eh." the boy frowned thoughtfully, "Randomly spotted her aura on my way out of town. I confronted her, but she was busy with something and begged to meet later. She knew better then to run from me now that I had her on my radar, so I wasn't worried and let her go." he shrugged then, "She showed up on time, where I asked her, and then we had a nice chat about better times."
"Better times?" Xavier raised an eyebrow at that, "What exactly did you talk to her about?"
"Why she was even here." Ranma admitted freely, "She didn't usually slum in this part of the world, so I was curious."
"And... what was she doin here?" Rogue nearly snarled.
"Never got a specific reason." the boy allowed, "I pressed her, but I may have pushed her a bit." he rubbed his jaw pointedly, "She got violent, things went south quick after that."
"Then you engaged in a battle on the interstate highway?" Xavier frowned.
"Eh... yeah." Ranma blinked, "How'd you find out about that anyway?"
"Well, a curious bystander happened to record the event." Ororo pointed out.
"And the police contacted me about my Sedan currently in pieces at the bottom of the highway." Xavier glowered at that.
"Ah." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Uh... sorry?" he frowned then, "The transmission was slipping by the way."
"Shut up." Logan snapped, "What happened after the highway battle?"
"Ah, that." Ranma shrugged, "With foreplay out of the way, Mystique fell back on old tricks and we had a good time."
"Unbelievable." Xavier grimaced, "Did you at least learn anything of her intentions here in Bayville?"
"Sure did." he said, falling silent afterwards.
"And?" Rogue stressed the question.
"And it's none of your business." the cursed martial artist ignored the stares and glares he received with that remark.
"Ranma, she's dangerous." Xavier frowned, "Whatever she's planning can only end badly. If you know anything..."
"This is an old argument, Chuck." Ranma leveled a half-lidded glare at the man.
Logan grunted, "You'll need to chose a side one day."
"No, I won't." the boy snorted, "The lot of you want to hide what you are from the world, fine. That's your prerogative. I think it's a waste of time, but hey, free will and all that." he cut Xavier off before he could start, "Did I not tell you I couldn't care less about this dream of yours to live in unity with other humans. This isn't my fight, it isn't my place. How you choose to live, even if I think it's stupid, is your choice."
"But Mys..." Kurt found himself cut off just as quickly
"Mystique's goals are her own. I don't care for her dream of homo-superior domination anymore then I care for your dreams." He bit out harshly, "I will not involve myself more then I have too, and I will not play spy for either side. What knowledge I have is mine to keep, and you should know better then to press me on this."
Xavier stared at the boy for a time, almost glaring even. Eventually he wilted, with a tired sigh he nodded, "You're right. This is an old argument, one I should have considered before asking the question."
"No harm no foul." Ranma stood up, stretching. He glanced at Storm, but the cold look in her eyes told him all he needed to know. "Anyway, I'm gonna crash on the couch. Night folks."
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TBC