Title: Betrayal's Reward
Author name: Trugeta
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Marvel Comics as well as many others. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Note further that I don't own any of the trademarks mentioned in this story. Also, the OCs used in this story are a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is not intended and purely coincidental.
This story takes place after the failed wedding in Ranma Manga No. 38 and a few months prior to Venom's escape from Ryker's Island during which he spawned the Carnage symbiote. It's an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.
Chapter 10: Coming clean
It was about half past nine on March 11th, 1995, the day that marked the first mission of Scarlet Widow and The Black Cat in the employment of Silver Sable. What should have been a routine late evening mission in retrieving an apparatus belonging to Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four had almost gone horribly wrong, though, seeing as their adversary, The Wizard, had expected them and had known about Scarlet Widow's nature as a symbiote host, as well as her weaknesses.
Luckily Ranma, formerly of the Saotome clan in Tokyo, Japan, and due to unfavourable circumstances now clanless ronin living in New York City, yet better known to the public as Scarlet Widow, had had a few aces up her sleeve; her status as a high-powered martial artist as well as the abilities granted by the integrated Neko-ken ensuring that they had pulled through by the skin of their teeth.
It had just been two minutes ago that they had escaped the trap Bentley Wittman, aka The Wizard, had sprung on them. During said escape Ranma had luckily been able to reunite with the alien symbiote the aforementioned super villain had managed to separate from her by shattering the container that had held Sym, Ranma's symbiote. Now one pissed off ex-Saotome, aided by her friend and partner Felicia Hardy, aka the Black Cat, was looking forward to skewer the man that had so hurt them.
The newly remerged Scarlet Widow barely took the time to rejoice at finally being whole again seeing that she had vengeance to extract, only basking in the comfort of feeling her symbiote against her skin for the briefest of moments. The time for celebrating their reunion would come later, now it was time to pay back a certain pompous super-villain who had so greatly wronged them.
-.-
To call Ranma just a vision of fury incarnate would have been a grave understatement. Even the elements seemed to hail her mood, thunder rolling in the distance, the promise of an approaching thunderstorm being palpable in the air. The blonde symbiote host could have cared less about the weather, though, as she stood in the middle of the same old, abandoned factory building in which she had partaken in an underground tournament not four weeks ago. This time around her agenda was not to earn vast amounts of money, though, but to accomplish a mission; a mission, that had turned a lot more personal within the last ten minutes.
Felicia was holding herself in the background, something Ranma subconsciously registered with relief; it just wouldn't do for the Wizard to either gain a hostage or to, even worse, injure the Black Cat or Kami forbid, kill her. The Wizard had done enough damage already, and no one would harm even one hair on Felicia's body as long as she, Ranma, breathed.
The angry martial artist was in her full 'monster form', Ranma sporting a gaping maw with many deadly looking teeth, talons that looked like they could rip anything in half, and added to that, the substance that comprised her costume was a mixture of red and black that oddly reminded of blood instead of her usual Scarlet Widow costume.
That coupled with the fact that the young woman was surrounded by hundreds of tendrils equipped with incredibly sharp looking tips would have been enough to make anyone nervous, but that she radiated enough loathing and intent to kill to make a Geiger counter go haywire would have made any mortal tremble in fear.
Bentley Wittman however, better known under his assumed alias of the Wizard, a brilliant, evil genius of quite some renown, had vowed early on in life to never be average, the man being someone who absolutely prided himself in not being a mere mortal but someone special.
Thus, due to his practiced, almost inbuilt arrogance, the man easily overcame the faint traces of apprehension that had come bubbling to the surface upon seeing Ranma's full combat form and knowing that her weaponry wasn't just for show, his well-practised sneer appearing on his face as he regarded Ranma like one would a bug. "Do you really think you'd evoke an emotional reaction in me other than amusement by turning into something out of a bad horror movie, li'l girl?" he asked derisively, sarcasm literally dripping off his words.
Ranma stared back at the hovering form of Bentley Wittman with a look of deep loathing, the hatred literally rolling off of her in waves. The voice in her head shared her sentiment, which blew rational thought almost completely out the window. "You captured us, tortured us, and you had the brass to separate us, which is the worst thing ever to do to a host and symbiote, and as if that had not been enough, you had the utter gall to gloat over it.
"You believe your so called genius makes you better than others, allows you to do as you please, but now we shall force you to acknowledge us as your betters. And then we will pay you back in kind!" Ranma ground out, unleashing a multitude of insanely fast moving tendrils at the Wizard.
"Not so fast, little bitch," a gravelly voice called out from behind, causing Ranma to whirl around, her tendrils grasping at nothing but air due to the anger and surprise she felt at seeing Felicia being held in a vice-grip by a darkly clothed man who was wearing a skull-like mask, his masked face further shrouded by a white hood.
— This is the villain by the name of Taskmaster. He is a master martial artist and can, at least to a certain degree, mimic the physical movements of anyone he witnesses. He is a low to medium security risk, yet that he managed to apprehend Felicia is- —
Ranma didn't take the time to let Sym finish, and before the symbiote had even concluded the sentence the blonde had already appeared behind Taskmaster, giving the man not even the time to feel surprise. A chop to the temple dealt out so fast she left after-images yet soft enough to not kill felled Taskmaster before the man even knew what was going on, and before the furious Wizard could do more than utter the beginnings of a curse Ranma had already blurred away to reappear right next to the specific section of the southern wall where she surmised Sandman and Hydro-Man to be.
Felicia had sufficiently recovered in the meantime, and smiled up at Ranma. "See? Everything turned out okay, and thanks for saving me a few secs back. That bony asshole managed to catch me by surprise."
"I have to thank you, Felicia," Ranma replied, gratitude and a smile audible in her voice. "I dunno if I'd have held up so well without you. But more to that later, now we're gonna make us a break-through."
Rearing back her right arm while holding Felicia securely Ranma let her fist fly, her punch creating a massive hole in the warehouse wall. Not wasting a second the blonde commanded her tendrils to clear out the hole, a task that was completed in seconds.
Uncaring for now that the Wizard wasn't actively pursuing them due to having other priorities for the time being, like getting Felicia to safety so that the opposition couldn't use her as ransom again, Ranma stepped through the hole and out onto the dirt road, involuntarily taking a deep breath of the cool air.
"Flint!" she yelled after having spied the battling Sandman and Hydro-Man round about fifty metres to their right. "Abort attack and join my position!"
Puzzlement briefly showed on Flint's face, then the man of sand gave a shrug and disengaged his former teammate, heading for Ranma's and Felicia's position as quick as lightning with Hydro-Man in hot pursuit. "Thought ya were married, Flint! How come this bird can order ya around andcha obey like a dog? Lost your balls, Flint?" Morrie Bench taunted as he gave chase.
Flint's angry expression clearly conveyed his want to make Morrie eat his words, yet he chose to put it off for the missions' sake. For now. Reaching his teammates' position he barely had the chance to form the word "Wha—" before Felicia was being handed to him by a Ranma who had met them halfway, the Black Cat only having time to look up at her partner in surprise.
"Take her to safety, Flint. I'm gonna hunt down the Wizard, and I don't wanna have Felicia anywhere close in case I bring the building down 'round our ears," the blonde exclaimed urgently, stopping the Black Cat's "What the hell do you think-" with a hand. "Not now, kittie, please. You can give me a piece of your mind later, but now shoo, I've gotta stop that aquatic idiot before I'm gonna kick some Wizard ass. Go!"
Flint threw a look at the rapidly approaching Hydro-Man, then another at Ranma, and shrugged when the blonde stood her ground with unyielding determination. "Give them hell, babe," he said, turned around and sped away in his sand form, carrying a disgruntled and angrily cursing Felicia Hardy securely in his arms.
"She's cute when she's angry," mused Ranma to herself, and wryly chuckling to herself she briefly shook her head, well knowing that she would be in for one hell of a tongue-lashing once this was all over, and her face darkened as her eyes locked on the rapidly approaching Hydro-Man. "For being part of the reason I'm gonna get a giant headache, for being in league with the asshole that tortured us so, prepare to be vaporised!" she growled, brought her tendrils out as well as the massive spikes she had formed on several occasions and ran straight at her adversary.
Hydro-Man just let out a guffaw, and in an instant he was upon Ranma, completely encasing her with his watery body, her weapons doing little more than distorting his watery form to some degree. Bench's wicked and triumphant smile might have faltered had he been able to see behind Ranma's mask, for instead of sporting a surprised or worried look she was grinning darkly. Scarlet Widow was about to unleash her fury, and one unfortunate Morrie Bench, better known as Hydro-Man, was the first in line.
-.-
Positioned on top of the rooftop of the same warehouse Felicia and Ranma had initially crossed when they had advanced into enemy territory, Flint Marko and Felicia Hardy were literally standing at the edge of the building, expressions of worry plainly visible on their faces.
Both heroes in the employment of Silver Sable watched with narrowed eyes as their partner—and to one of them, friend—and Hydro-Man clashed, Sandman shaking his head. "What the hell's she playin' at? From what she's shown she ain't never been stupid enough to play to an enemy's strengths, but here she's runnin' into her doom!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation, Felicia having muttered "Bloody hell, I know what she's playing at, and it's brilliant."
"Didn't know you cared, Flint," Felicia said out loud in a light tone, curiously wearing a smile instead of the worried and anxious look Sandman would have expected from her as she looked at him. "But you got it wrong, she's far from running into her doom. First, she's far too clever for that, and second, she's just plain simple not allowed to. I have a few bones to pick with missy down there, and she better not get herself killed before I'm through with her." she concluded calmly yet seriously, crossing her arms under her breasts.
Flint was about to reply, but his eyes were glued to the spot in which Ranma and Hydro-Man would clash in mere seconds, and the instant that happened and Hydro-Man encased her with his watery body he cursed like a sailor. "Now she's at his mercy! Why did ya listen to her, Flint ya fuckin' idiot! I should have stayed, damn, I'm the only one here who can meet Morrie on equal terms!" he exploded, raking his right hand through his hair.
"Flint, calm down for a moment and remember what she did to you in her application fight," Felicia continued as calmly as before, causing Flint to slowly turn his head to look at her.
Anger, confusion, and then finally understanding flashed in his eyes as he caught onto what Felicia was getting at, "You mean…?" he finally uttered, his eyes slowly widening.
"Yes, and I suppose our dear Hydro-Man is in for a downright chilling experience," Felicia concluded, a dark smile playing in the corners of her mouth.
-.-
A matching dark smile was currently present on Ranma's face as well, yet said smile slowly gave way to a slightly worried look. 'Sym, the pressure that guy's exhibiting is getting a tad… uncomfortable. Mind closing the pores to give him less of a working surface?'
— Not in the least, Ranma, at least not normally. I have to admit to my consternation, though, that the pressure exhibited by the man named Morrie Bench exceeds what I can call up on as counterforce. Which indicates that he is physically stronger than us. Due to the fact that you failed to inhale deeply prior to impact you have… forty-five seconds before oxygen levels get critical. —
'What?' Ranma yelled disbelievingly in her mind, and her body briefly thrashed within the watery prison Hydro-Man's body formed around her own, causing the man to grin wickedly. 'Now that's just fuckin' peachy, Sym! Harrumph, just why does the fuckin' world seem to think I work best when under pressure?' the blonde groused while closing her eyes in concentration.
— Considering our present situation a most peculiar choice of wording, Ranma, — Sym commented wryly.
'Whatever, Sym. Now eat this, Bench. SOUL OF ICE!' Ranma thought fiercely as she delved into her huge reservoir of ki, literally encasing herself in an aura of pure, arctic coldness to which's strength Sym's augmentation greatly added, and the temperature in the vicinity abruptly dropped to far below the freezing point.
Even Sandman and Felicia felt an icy chill sweep over them a good kilometre away that made them shudder, and Morrie Bench barely had time to register surprise when his whole watery body was suddenly subjected to the chilling experience of being frozen from within. Before the man could even contemplate letting go of the woman who was apparently the cause for the sudden change in his aggregate phase the feeling increased in intensity and began to spread further, ever faster.
Hydro-Man's body visibly solidified into ice from the inside out with the process evidently accelerating, and the man's mouth opened in a frightened scream, horror and surprise visibly edged into his face, yet the scream only lasted for a few moments before it abruptly stopped, the complete process not having taken more than a few seconds.
An ice statue of round about three metres height stood in the spot Hydro-Man had previously occupied, and were it not for the look of abject horror on the man's face as well as the fact that a second, barely visible person seemed to be trapped inside the body of the ice statue, one might have mistaken it for modern art.
Everything remained quiet, almost eerily so, for a few moments, then, of a sudden, miniature fissures began to spread from the centre of the statue's body, the cracks radiating off into all directions, thickening as they spread.
The observers would later on swear they had heard a loud yell from within Hydro-Man's frozen body—something, which one ex-Saotome would vehemently deny as completely beneath her—shortly prior to the violent explosion of aforementioned body, the explosion sending ice chunks into all directions.
In the epicentre of the explosion one could make out a young, costumed woman resting on her knees and hands as she panted for breath, yet her apparent need to fill her lungs with precious oxygen only lasted for a few seconds. Then the woman known to the public as Scarlet Widow jumped smoothly to her feet, her footsteps echoing on the dirt road shortly before she blurred away, leaving her defeated and literally crumbled opponent behind.
-.-
A rooftop away a duo of mercenaries shared a look, and Flint Marko lowly whistled, unveiled approval shining in his eyes. "Now that's the way to kick Morrie's lousy ass, damn it!" he exclaimed, punching his balled right fist into the open palm of his left hand.
"She didn't kill him, did she, Flint?" Felicia queried, somewhat worried that her friend might have gone somewhat off the deep end due to the things that had happened to her courtesy of the Wizard.
Curious brown eyes locked on intense green ones as Sandman swivelled his head to regard Felicia. "Would your opinion of her suffer if she had?" he queried, keeping his face and voice as neutral as possible.
Felicia seemed to think for a few seconds before coming to an answer. "Honestly? No. Conflicts with lethal outcomes do happen in our bizz, and waterboy was trying to kill her after all. She has already demonstrated in the past that she is willing to kill when necessary or when she deems people wanting. So, no. Her actions don't make her a bad person, just someone who does the things she thinks needs to be done. Wouldn't you agree?" she replied, her gaze focussed inward initially yet gaining more confidence throughout her speech until she stared at Sandman downright challengingly.
Sandman quickly held up his hands, a chuckle escaping him. "Hey, hey. No need in tryin' to convince me Scar's not Freddie Kruger's little sis, I know that already. And I could really care less if she offs those she deems wanting seein' that she seems to know what she's doing. Besides, she's already proven herself to me in our little fight, and how she held out today only served to increase my respect for her."
"Hmm," Felicia thought about it, "I can live with that. Now move your sandy ass and get us down into that hall, Flint. I wanna be there to see her kick the Wizard's ass."
A sigh escaped Flint Marko. "I guess arguing ain't gonna do me any good?" he queried, adding, "Thought not," upon seeing Felicia's look.
Hiding a smile of his own—he wanted to see that particular fight every bit as much as Felicia after all, Ranma's orders be damned—Sandman scooped the Black Cat up into his arms and headed for warehouse eight.
-.-
Ranma's senses were on high alert as she entered the warehouse under heavy stealth not a kilometre away from Sandman's and Felicia's position. By his own admission Bentley Wittman had only been able to spring a trap on her due to the fact that she had been careless. Her invisibility techniques had worked as advertised, yet she had employed them too late, giving that dickhead a chance to get a lock on her. Once he had known to be on guard the man had easily been able to pinpoint her location once she had dropped her cloak.
Now, she wouldn't be making this particular mistake again, for this time around she wouldn't drop her invisibility until shortly before applying the killing blow she thought darkly, as she sped through the hole she had created earlier on.
Quickly crawling up the wall Ranma brought herself into a position to utilise the bird's eye perspective, quickly noticing that the Wizard was standing in front of the workbench holding the real replicator. The man was apparently working frantically on the blinking machine, and he was not alone.
Positioned in front of Bentley Wittman stood the reawakened Taskmaster, and another tall man in a navy blue costume with an ochre pattern running down his torso stood to his right, forming a loose semi-circle around their leader. That both men kept on swivelling their heads to spot possible intruders raised Ranma's amusement; their watchfulness would be utterly futile.
— This is former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Frank Payne a.k.a. the Constrictor. He does not possess super powers, yet is a skilled unarmed combatant. The most noteworthy detail pertaining to his person is that he exclusively relies on his primary weapons, a pair of electrified, prehensile wrist-mounted metal coils. All things considered he poses little to no threat, and that the Wizard positioned these two as apparent canon fodder suggests he is trying to buy time, — Sym analysed.
'Agreed. Seeing that I wouldn't put anything past that dickhead he might be trying to pull another trick outta the hat. Better to strike him hard 'n' fast,' Ranma thought back, having crossed the distance separating her from the villains while her symbiote had given her the background information.
— Affirmative. We are ready and set, Ranma. Let us show what happens to those who try to separate us, — Sym replied, and it came as no surprise to Ranma that her symbiote sounded eager, bordering on bloodthirsty.
'Let's,' Ranma affirmed coldly and soundlessly crawled down the wall, jumping down the last two metres and landing on her feet equally soundlessly.
Making her way over to the men's position like a silent jungle cat on the prowl she blurred forward in a burst of speed, appearing behind Taskmaster who was closest to her position, dropped her invisibility and the man in one fell swoop with a well placed chop to the neck, sending him on an involuntary trip to the land of nod for the second time that day.
Taskmaster dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes and Ranma appearing from thin air in their midst unsurprisingly alerted the other two men to her presence, yet the costume-clad blonde calmly deflected Constrictor's coil-enhanced right-handed forward swipe with her left and knocked him away with a straight right-handed forward punch that sent him flying against the far wall, the impact knocking the man unconscious.
Her knocking the Wizard's third henchman out coincided with Bentley Wittman's triumphant shout of, "Hah! It worked!" as well as Felicia and Sandman entering the scene.
Ranma, who had whirled around to see what it was that had the man so elated, widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing a familiar black and red substance being contained within the replicator.
"Oh shit! Just when did he have the time to scan Sym with that replicator thingie?" Ranma muttered to herself, not liking the situation one bit.
— Probably during the time you were captured, — Sym theorised. — You must ensure that the other me does not come into contact with Bentley Wittman. She might be disoriented and feel compelled to bond with him, and we cannot allow that. —
Dread began to grow within Ranma as her imagination showed her a symbiote-enhanced Wizard, and she literally threw herself forward just as the super villain began to extend his hand so as to open the lid barring the replicator shut, praying to each and every deity that might hear her silent prayer to grant her speed, knowing deep in her heart that it'd be as close a call as it would ever get.
-.-
Ranma heard herself exclaiming a loud yell of "Noooo!" as her body gathered speed to overcome the round about three metres separating her from the Wizard, and the blonde grind her teeth hard as she poured all of her ki into her speed.
The extra burst of energy her emergency reserves provided her with propelled Ranma forward at speeds that'd have made any freight train envious, and to everyone else it seemed that a red and black blur tackled the armoured super villain just in the second where his hand pushed the button to open the lid.
Felicia and Flint looked on in confusion as Ranma landed on the ground only to come up in a roll the same second as the Wizard was sent flying backwards towards a far wall, but what really threw them for a loop was a black and red mass baring a striking resemblance to Sym.
The other symbiote's exploding forcefully from the replicator caused the machine to have a severe case of indigestion resulting in its prompt implosion, yet the other symbiote wasn't impressed in the least and headed straight for Felicia and Flint.
Ranma on her part swivelled her head over to their position, a look of worry mixed with anger appearing on her face. "Why do they never do what they've been told?" she groused, watching with trepidation as the red and black mass she surmised to be a replica of Sym headed straight for her friends.
Sandman on his part had realised in the meantime what was going on and tried to make his body as hard as possible with Felicia held within him in a protective bubble, but the Sandman taking on his stone-form didn't seem to deter the symbiote in the slightest.
— She will not be stopped by his armour. The disorientation of coming into existence like that has passed and she has picked a suitable host, not lest due to being influenced by our notions of your mate, — Sym spoke up within Ranma's mind, a definite note of relief audible in her mental voice. — However, this will complicate things. —
Ranma didn't reply right off, but the low, despairing moan escaping her said more than words, "Why does it always have to be this way? Why do others always get dragged into my problems?" she complained, unable to take her eyes away from the spectacle that was about to happen.
Not even the despairing yell of "No!" coming from the Wizard who had apparently caught himself by using his anti-gravity discs before impacting the wall could deter the blonde from watching events unfold, and then, unsurprisingly, the symbiote punched right through Sandman's stone form, the surprised expression on Flint's face almost being comical as he gazed at the 'entry wound' in his stomach.
A gasp of surprise could be heard from within the formerly protective cavity, and knowing full well that they'd have to roll with the punches anyway seeing that events had been set it motion neither of them could stop, Flint Marko let go of Felicia's body, carefully setting the surprised woman to her feet.
The scene they gazed upon confirmed what Ranma, Flint and even the Wizard had surmised, and unsurprisingly the latter reacted the strongest to seeing the replicated symbiote bonding to the former cat burglar. A loud, angry yell escaped the man upon seeing final proof that his plans had been thwarted, and he shook an angry fist at the mercenaries, "You will pay for this insolence!" the diminutive man screamed indignantly, and electrical energy sparkled into life around his gauntlets.
Ranma, who needn't look at Felicia to know that the copy of Sym was currently in the process of bonding to the silver-haired woman much as Sym had done to her back then and that everything was in order over there, menacingly turned around to face the man.
"Hadn't you yelled and alerted me to your presence I might have been preoccupied with ensuring my friend over there was doing okay, but knowing full well what's happening to her and having the reassurance that everything is abso-fucking-lutely A-okay I can direct my full attention to you and have a clear conscience about it. Isn't that wonderful? Now die!" she exclaimed, ending in an angry yell after having started out more or less calmly.
That said Ranma jumped all the way up to the ceiling, and in performing a somersault in mid-air she landed feet-first on said ceiling, using it as a running surface as easily as the 'normal' ground. Her hands morphed into wicked looking weapons during her sprint, the right arm turning into a forty centimetre halberd while the left transformed into something resembling a nail gun, and before she had even reached the floating and very surprised man's position the blonde had already opened fire on her target.
A panicked look appeared on Bentley Wittman's face as he frantically used his anti-gravity disc's ability of unassisted flight to manoeuvre himself out of harms way, yet he wasn't able to evade the hailstorm of projectiles completely. One 'nail' graced his cheek and caused a bleeding wound, and the glare with which the Wizard laced Ranma was as venomous as anything Ryoga or Mousse had ever mustered.
Yet as he continued to evade Ranma's attacks and countered with electrical discharges and gravity blasts the certainty that he had lost across the board became glaringly obvious to the Wizard, and he ceased his attempts to strike back at the furious blonde.
A defiant snarl showed on his face as he changed course towards the ground, coaxing the maximum speed out of his discs, and using the Sandman's momentary distraction as well as the fact that Ranma wasn't fast enough to redirect her tendrils in accordance with his changes of course allowed him to touch down beside his henchmen, Ranma in hot pursuit.
Still glaring at the approaching Ranma he hoisted the unconscious men over his shoulders and briefly shook his right fist at her. "You'll pay for crossing me, little girl. This isn't the last you have seen of me, and I vow that I'll get my vengeance!"
His declaration made the Wizard literally shot into the air like a rocket with Ranma touching down on the ground a few seconds too late, and a blast of compressed gravity waves emitted from Bentley Wittman's gauntlets blasted a sizeable hole into the ceiling. Snarling in anger Ranma sent as much of Sym out as she dared, and the tendrils that now pursued the super villain thickened into massive rope-like tendrils.
Sym, who was not agreeing with her hosts' course of action and Ranma's heavy reliance on her abilities piped up, — Ranma, trying to get him via our tendrils proposes a probability of success less than thirty percent. You should use energy blasts instead. —
But Ranma gave no indication that she had even heard her symbiote in her rage-induced state, the redhead continuing to hunt the elusive Wizard with her tendrils. Sym gave a mental shake of her head and raised the volume of her voice, — RANMA! Stop this illogical approach now! RANMA! — the symbiote exclaimed urgently and with a hint of annoyance in her normally so calm and composed voice, but as before, her host didn't react.
Sym's hands were literally tied due to the fact that she could not resort to more drastic measures than yelling at her host because of Ranma being in a situation where she needed the full range of their abilities, and the symbiotic being would have liked nothing more than to bang her head against something solid in frustration.
Getting through to Ranma without distracting her so much that she might make a fatal mistake that might give their enemy a chance to hurt them or their mate proved to be impossible; Ranma was just too hell-bent on squeezing the life out of the Wizard for his deeds, came there hell or high water.
Realising that she could do naught Sym released the lid on their hidden reserves. If she could not get Ranma to use more reasonable methods to fillet Bentley Wittman, she'd do her level-best to aid her host. Ranma had come out on top in the past despite overwhelming odds pitted against her after all, maybe a thirty percent success rate would be all the martial artist needed.
A grunt of satisfaction escaped Ranma as she became aware of the additional power flowing through her, and a satisfied grin appeared on her face as she noticed that her tendrils had become much faster and more flexible. With a shout of glee she redirected her tendrils to adapt to the new course the Wizard had adopted, her greedy appendages drawing nearer and nearer to the man she so sought to punish.
Bentley Wittman realised the increased danger he and his companions were in, and panicking for the first time he completely jettisoned caution and forced his anti gravity discs to operate well beyond their capacity limits. This desperate manoeuvre that could have just as easily destroyed the discs resulted in a massive boost of speed that literally catapulted the three villains out of the hall and into the night sky, to safety.
With a call of "I'll be back!" the Wizard vanished into the night, his declaration shortly followed by a loud, angry scream of someone deprived of their revenge.
-.-
One thoroughly spent ex-Saotome slowly sunk to her knees, completely ignorant to the happenings around her. Her mind kept on going over how she had been deprived of her just revenge, and all the different punishments she had conceived for the Wizard once she'd have him in her hands.
Ranma's mood progressively darkened until she let her tendrils lash out wildly at her surroundings, part of her costume punching straight through different apparatuses in the way, bits and pieces of machinery flying in all directions as a result. "How dare he flee," the blonde groused, clenching and unclenching her hands. "How dare that coward flee from his just punishment!" she growled, her desire to maim and destroy something ever growing.
Just as she was about to pilfer more innocent apparatuses Sym's chiding voice spoke up inside her mind, bringing her tirade to a grinding halt, —As much I can understand your feelings seeing that I share them, should you not be more concerned about Felicia? She is bonding to a copy of me after all, and do you not remember the anxiety and confusion you felt upon this incident? You should be over there instead of venting your frustrations in a non-productive manner, — the symbiote said sternly. — And had you listened to me when I suggested the use of energy blasts you would not be sitting here and cursing. Now I suggest you get down there and look how Felicia is holding up. —
"I-I…" Ranma stammered, lost for words for a few moments due to the fact that Sym's words rung true, and she bowed her head in shame. "You're completely, absolutely right, Sym. My selfish behaviour was inadequate, thanks for telling me," she replied solemnly.
— That is what partners are there for, is it not? — the symbiote queried with a hint of amusement vibrating in her mental voice, her gaiety only increasing when her host got to her feet and turned worried eyes at Felicia's position. — I seem to have touched a nerve there, — Sym thought in the private partition of her mind. — Yet that things happened the way they did opens up a lot of possibilities, not all of them good. —
Oblivious to her symbiote's more private thoughts Ranma smoothly stalked over to where Sandman was helplessly watching how the new symbiote bonded with Felicia, her approach attracting Flint Marko's attention. Worried brown eyes gazed at her, and Ranma, almost being entirely sure that Flint Marko had already seen her face when she had been held captive by the Wizard, let her facemask fade away, her costume forming a collar below her neckline.
Her equally worried blue eyes met Flint's brown orbs, communicating that she was as troubled as he was, Sandman briefly inclining his head before looking back at Felicia. A Felicia who was almost completely covered by the combat suit, and whose focus was noticeably turned inwards.
A slow smile began to tuck at the corners of Ranma's lips, and the blonde guessed the nature of the discussion that was probably currently being held between symbiote and host, and the wonder that was currently showing on Felicia's face caused the smile to broaden. It was only when Ranma considered the fallout that could result from this unexpected bond between Felicia and this copy of Sym that her smile faltered.
-.-
Two minutes ago
Felicia Hardy knew she should feel freaked out when the red and black substance literally tore through the protective bubble Flint Marko had formed around her body, but when the goo-like substance began to coalesce with her she could not help but to absently note that it didn't feel painful, or even uncomfortable.
She absently noticed that Flint had set her to her feet, but paid it little to no attention. What was happening in the 'inside world' was of much greater importance, and Felicia concentrated completely on the bonding process that was currently taking place.
From having listened to Scar she knew that it could be considered an honour to have been selected a symbiote host at all, especially by this special brand of symbiote Scar's 'Sym' seemed to be. That line of thought brought her to one of a multitude of questions that were forming in her mind, and deciding to just act on impulse she queried, 'Hello, can you hear me?'
— But of course. Would prefer me to call you Host Felicia or just Felicia? Gauging from the memories of my… predecessor her host prefers to be called just 'Ranma', — the new symbiote replied.
'Ranma, eh? So Scar's real name is Ranma. Hmm, that's not your everyday name. Very interesting, that. But to return to topic, you can call me Felicia. No need to be so stuffy and formal,' Felicia replied jovially, noting with interest that her new symbiote continued the covering process, much as she had witnessed not ten minutes ago with Ranma. 'While we're at it, what do you want me to call you? Ranma calls her symbiote 'Sym'… so how about I call you SD, short for Sym's daughter? You okay with that?'
— SD… Sym's daughter… while not entirely accurate seeing that I am a copy of the symbiotic entity known as Sym and not an offspring I find this depiction fitting nonetheless. SD will do nicely, Felicia, — the newly named SD replied calmly.
Felicia looked down at herself while replying 'Nice to meet you, SD.' and noticed that her symbiote was meanwhile covering everything up to her torso. Upon seeing the same chaotically swirling tendrils Ranma's costume featured sprout forth from her combat suit the Black Cat couldn't help but to exclaim and awed "Wow."
'Do you possess the same capabilities as your 'mother'?' Felicia queried curiously, her eyes literally shining due to the things now possible to her.
— Seeing that I am an exact replica the answer would be yes, — SD calmly replied. — I will now cover your head to complete the forming of what is commonly referred to as the combat suit, and much as my 'mother' asked of her host at that time I ask you not to freak out. Despite my covering your head you will still be able to breathe and perceive normally, in fact even better. Are you prepared? —
Much as Ranma at that time Felicia took a deep breath, and Ranma, only standing two metres away knew what was coming, 'Yeah. Do your thing, SD,' the platinum blonde replied determinedly.
— Ready or not, here I come, — SD thought back, and the feeling of the symbiote flowing upwards again returned.
'Didn't know you symbiote's had a sense of humour,' Felicia retorted, vaguely amused.
— From what I can discern we do not, but Ranma has exerted a lot of influence upon my 'mother' since their joining. Unsurprisingly that has carried over to me, — SD replied vaguely as she slowly proceeded to creep up Felicia's face.
A brief gasp of surprise crossed Felicia's lips as said same-self lips were suddenly being covered by the symbiote, and much like Ranma Felicia experienced a strong feeling of suffocation when SD finally covered her head completely.
The Black Cat took a first, gasping breath, yet immediately smiled when she noticed that breathing worked as advertised. 'Thanks for the warnings, SD. That made it a lot easier. And you mean to say that your 'mother' is slowly assimilating Ranma's sense of humour? Well, it could be worse,' she thought.
— You are welcome, Felicia. And yes, my mother's host was and is responsible for her developing a sense of humour. If you wish so I could suppress tendencies on that score, — SD offered.
'No, no, that's fine, SD. I like humour, very much so, in fact,' Felicia assured her symbiote, and finally returned her focus back to the outside world, staring right at Ranma's face.
A grin appeared on her masked face as she considered the next words she was about to utter, and she was as curious as the metaphorical cat to see Ranma's reaction. "Hello, Ranma," she simply said.
-.-
Unsurprised blue eyes gazed at a horrible seeming face they had gazed upon often enough as her own reflection, and the blonde inclined her head. "So you know. How much did she tell you beyond that?" she queried with a calm she didn't really feel, ignoring Sandman's mumbled comment of "Ranma? You don't hear that every day".
"Nothing beyond your name, really. Why?" Felicia queried, feeling a bit surprised at Ranma's question.
"You'd be surprised as to the answer to that, Felicia," Ranma replied seriously, a sigh escaping her lips. "My suggestion is we wrap up the business we have here, which leads to another suggestion I have to offer."
"That being?" Felicia asked, shortly followed by Flint asking "What?"
"That we ensure Reed Richards understands just how dangerous the replicator really is, irregardless that it has apparently been destroyed. Imagine what kind of havoc Bentley Wittman could have wreaked with an army of symbiotes at his disposal. I shudder just imagining that," Ranma exclaimed, her eyes glittering darkly.
Flint and Felicia exchanged significant looks as their minds arrived at the same conclusion Ranma had drawn. "Better yet, we convince Reed to outright destroy that thing along with any blueprints he might have!" the Black Cat exclaimed.
"Damn right!" agreed Sandman, his face a bit pale. "Just imagine, that stuck-up bastard Wittman was a hairsbreadth away from having his own symbiote. Damn, good that you punched him into that wall, Ranma!"
"Believe me, it was my pleasure, but that's sure as hell not all I wanted to do to him," she retorted darkly, before shaking her head to banish the violent thoughts. "Anyway, which do you wanna do first? Listen to the uncut, uncensored story of my life with all its juicy details, or return that replicator thingie to Reed Richards?" Ranma asked.
"I would be in favour of the life story, Ranma," Felicia replied after not even a moment's thought, and looked at Flint. "Dunno about you, though, Flint."
"To be honest, I'd rather go outside and mop up Morrie. Ain't never been interested in gossip, couldn't stand it, so I'll leave ya gals to it." Sandman replied, casually waving his hand in dismissal of Ranma's suggestion.
The blonde shrugged. "Fine by me, Flint. But just so you know, you're part of this team, and you did everything in your power to help me. I'd have told you my secrets as well," she said honestly, her serious gaze boring into Sandman's brown eyes.
"I 'preciate it, Ranma, but something tells me that what you're gonna reveal's mainly between you two. That's why I say till later, gals," Flint remarked and waved at them before leaving the hall.
Ranma and Felicia waved back at him and looked at each other, "Felicia," Ranma said with just a hint of humour in her voice, "could you please show me your face? What I'm... What I'm gonna tell you is gonna be hard enough without being able to see your reactions. Please?"
"Is what you're gonna tell me really that bad, Ranma?" Felicia asked softly and let her 'monster visage' fade away, the symbiote forming a collar below the neckline.
"Yeah. You may not see it 'cause I've remarkable control over my body, but inwardly I'm shaking like a leaf. I admit to being glad that Flint offered to give us privacy, don't get me wrong, I would have told him everything as well, but I'm glad he offered," Ranma said.
"So bad, eh?" Felicia mused thoughtfully, a glint appearing in her eyes. "You didn't really strike me as one of the girls my mother warned me about."
Ranma couldn't help but chuckle in spite of herself. "Your mother wouldn't have known girls like me exist," she said with a small smile. "Anyway, I'd really like to get this over and done with so you can condemn me." she added tonelessly and without a hint of humour.
"Scar?" Felicia inquired tentatively. "Why would I-"
"Because that's what everyone has always done, regardless the circumstances, regardless of anything. And no matter how much I wish it'd be different with you, experience has told me that I don't dare to hope." Ranma replied in a dead tone that was filled with complete conviction.
— As you can guess from her demeanour, Ranma has been through a lot. But I assure you that whatever she is going to tell you is the truth and nothing but, regardless of how far-fetched it will sound. Ranma is a very… true-hearted person, and do not forgot, I possess every single memory of hers, I would be able to telltruth from lie — SD spoke up within Felicia's thoughts.
'Thanks, SD,' Felicia replied warmly. "Ranma, please let me decide about that, okay? All I can promise is that I'll hear you out, neutral and without bias. Besides, as my friend and saviour you have the benefit of the doubt."
Disbelief, and then hope briefly flickered in Ranma's eyes only to be ruthlessly suppressed. "Okay. Before I start, we should make sure none of Wizard's equipment is able to eavesdrop on us. Ruddy asshole's ruined enough already."
Felicia nodded, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face, "Yeah, he'll probably have riddled the hall with bugs. Hmmmm."
— If I may offer a suggestion, my 'daughter' and I could form a cocoon around you two that would be completely impenetrable to any kind of surveillance equipment. Our combined masses are more than sufficient, not to mention completely compatible, — Sym spoke up.
"My symbiote just said-" both women started at the same time, stopped, looked at each other and giggled quietly.
"Yours too?" both asked at the same time again, which evoked a fresh bout of giggles.
"Okay, Sym," Ranma said out loud, "Do your thing."
"SD, you heard the woman," Felicia spoke up.
"SD?" Ranma mouthed, a delicate brow raised in a perfect Spock manoeuvre as a mass of red and black began to swirl around their bodies.
"'Sym's daughter'," Felicia replied with a smile, "I thought it fitting."
Ranma nodded, a small smile appearing on her face as she gazed at Felicia, "It is," she opined, and looked around at the black and red masses that had ceased their motion, having formed a cube of round about three by three metres, "I'd say they're finished," she remarked and looked down at herself, noticing that she was clothed in comfortable blue jeans and a white hoodie sweater.
"Seems so," Felicia agreed and looked down at herself, noticing that she was wearing her usual Black Cat costume. "Whenever you're ready, Ranma." she added and walked over to the wall she was currently facing, sat down and rested her back against it.
Ranma followed her example and leant against the wall opposite of Felicia and bowed her head. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat the blonde breathed deeply a few times so as to clear her mind, looked up and focussed her intense blue eyes on the other woman. "What I'm about to tell you will sound fantastic and downright unbelievable at times, but I assure you, all of it is completely true," she said solemnly, and Felicia inclined her head. "I'm quite sure Sym could testify as to the veracity of my story, as she has seen my memories. And I'm certain SD could confirm my story as well."
"SD has already said your story was to be trusted, yeah." Felicia admitted.
"Good. Well, here goes nothing." Ranma remarked wryly. "It all started round about nineteen years ago when I was born as the son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome-"
"One sec, did you just say 'son'?" Felicia interrupted, both delicate brows attempting to crawl into her hairline.
"Yes, son," Ranma nodded with a shrug and a small smile, "That part's one of the really unbelievable ones, I know, but-"
"You can say that again! I mean, come on, you can't have had a gender changing operation, Scar! They can make breasts like that and may be able to remodel a male body to that degree, yeah, but I'm quite certain you're on your period right now. And they can't emulate that," Felicia finished, crossing her arms under her breasts.
"How... How do you know?" Ranma asked a bit flustered, knowing for certain that she was blushing.
Felicia was tempted to list the indicators, yet she simply said, "Woman's intuition."
"Uhh, okay," Ranma managed to utter, her effort to get a grip on herself obvious. "Returning to topic, I know you must be thinking I'm trying to fool you and 'what the heck is she playing at'," she mused with a wry smile that gave way to a serious look, "but I assure you that I'm telling the truth. I was born a boy, Ranma Saotome, and you can ask both Sym and SD for confirmation."
Felicia surveyed Ranma sceptically, but turned her focus inward nevertheless after a muttered "What the heck,". 'SD, is Ranma really telling the truth? Was she born a boy?'
— Yes. In anticipation of your next question, namely how this is possible, the answer is easy yet not. Ranma travelled with her, at that time his father on a world-spanning training trip with intent to groom him into the best martial artist there ever was. This training trip included a visit to a legendary training ground in China, the valley of Jusenkyo, amongst things. —
'Never heard of it,' Felicia thought back with a frown.
— And be glad that you have not. To return to the tale of Ranma's travels,neither he nor his father gave the stories any credit that depicted Jusenkyo as a cursed training ground, but they were all too soon wised up to the veracity of these reports. To give you a quick summary, Ranma and his father sparred above the many pools of water and used the bamboo poles sticking out of these pools as points to launch their attacks from.
— Ranma was already very good back then and managed to bypass his father's defences easily, sending the man careening into a spring. That was when they learned about the magical curses, for out of the spring did not leap his father, but a giant panda bear. —
'A... Panda,' Felicia deadpanned, surprise overly prevalent in her mental voice. 'Are you certain having been replicated agreed with you?'
SD scoffed. — It is too bad Ranma is currently locked in female form due to her period, otherwise bringing forward proof would be child's play. And yes, I am in complete control of my mental faculties.
— In a nutshell, Ranma's father hit the Spring of Drowned Panda, Ranma the Spring of Drowned Girl. This is neither fantasy nor made up. Besides, did you not encounter magic before, Felicia? —
'Yeah, yeah, I did,' the silver haired woman admitted, remembering everything she had seen during her career, 'but that Ranma was born a boy is a lot to take in.'
— So you believe it, then? Good. Magic, or more precisely, a water-based magical curse is your answer, Felicia. This is why Ranma is both a boy and a girl, right down to the genetic level. Warm water boy, cold water girl, and just as much female as you are. She can exert no influence whatsoever upon when the next change is going to hit, though. The time-span during her menses is the only exception, leaving Ranma a girl for four to seven days, — SD explained.
'Ranma only has a stable gender during her period? Crickey, how's she even sane?' Felicia mused to herself.
— Through floating with the current, Felicia. Trust me when I say you can believe her story beyond the shadow of a doubt. It is all true. Should she attempt to lie I would alert you, but due to my origins I do know that this is so improbable I would not even try to calculate the probabilities, — SD replied.
Raising her head Felicia gazed at Ranma, who had apparently been busy forming all different kinds of weapons, and the blonde focussed her carefully neutral gaze on her teammate. "Found out what you wanted?"
"Yeah," Felicia said with a nod, a look of realisation appearing on her face. "Am I right to assume you're your own 'brother'?"
"Yeah," Ranma admitted sheepishly, bowing her head a bit. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. I mean, I had to make up a believable story as to why I had bones to pick with Spidey after that pail full of hot water changed me to a guy in the middle of the fight," she added upon seeing Felicia's curious look.
The silver-haired woman snickered quietly. "Yeah, I can see how that would have been counterproductive," she muttered, causing Ranma to smile in spite of herself. "So what are you? Boy or girl? And how did you stay sane? How long have you had this affliction?" the Black Cat asked, firing off question after question.
"Y-You don't think I'm some kinda perverted sex-changing freak or something?" Ranma asked, not able to hide her surprise.
That question took Felicia by surprise. "Why would I? You obviously had no control over receiving this affliction, and SD told me you can't affect your changes. And why would you think so? Just 'cause you change genders with hot and cold water? That doesn't make you a freak. And perverted? Nope, don't think so. There's nothing perverted in being a starlight." she replied calmly and smiled, her comment causing a giant smile to bloom on Ranma's face that was suppressed a few moments later.
— I think you just made a friend for life, Felicia. You must know, in Ranma's past life there was this one girl she, or rather he, was betrothed to, and due to a wide range of circumstances this girl often accused Ranma of being a pervert. Not the least of which due to the curse. I can assure you however that these accusations were without fail completely unfounded. Ranma was and is living downright celibate and has yet to engage in a physical relationship. Or to be more precise, a relationship of any kind, — SD spoke up.
'I... see. Thanks for clearing that up, SD.' Felicia replied, now more curious than ever what kind of life her friend had led. "So what about my questions, Scar? You up to answer them?"
"Oh! Yeah, sure," Ranma exclaimed, scratching the back of her head, the gesture making Felicia smile. A look of concentration appeared on the blonde's face, and she gazed at her friend seriously. "So, what was the first question again?"
— I swear humans go to pieces for the most illogical of reasons. First question: are you male or female? — Sym supplied.
"Oh, yeah, boy or girl," Ranma mused to herself, staring off into space for a few seconds before looking at Felicia again. "You know, a year ago I'd have yelled at the top of my lungs that I was a boy and nothing but, regardless of physical evidence. But-"
"But?" Felicia urged, making an encouraging gesture with her hand.
"A lot has happened since then," Ranma replied with a far away look. "But to cut a long story short, I'm a girl when I'm a girl and a boy when I'm a boy. The wiring up here," she pointed her right index finger to her temple, "changes, my perceptions shift, and, not to forget 'bout the physical changes."
"I can imagine how that'd be hard to ignore. Unless you have a really, really small pony," Felicia mused with a slight blush.
— I can assure you that Ranma's male form is quite above average, Felicia, — SD spoke up, causing the silver-haired woman to smile inwardly; yet another reason to get to know her friend and team mate better.
"Anyway," Ranma continued, determinedly suppressing her blush, "I only ever accepted being both as fact when I was forced to deal with it. Isn't it ironic? In freedom I did my level best to ignore the curse, only ever used my assets to get free treats and such, but in captivity I was forced to come to terms with it."
"How did you come to terms with it?" Felicia asked.
"The hard way. At first I fought being a girl 24/7 tooth and nail. It wasn't what I was born as, it was unnatural, a curse. Then I started, if you know what I mean, and it got even worse. After days on end spent bitching and moaning—not that anyone cared, far from it, they revelled in my misery—I realised I had two choices: break down, hate my female form and blame everything bad that had happened to me on the curse, effectively playing those that had abandoned and left me to rot right into the hands by eventually committing suicide, or come to terms with my dual genderdness and accept it.
"Seeing that my motto is that I don't lose I chose the latter. Heh, I never even considered dealing with and accepting the curse when I was still free, not even when even the last possible cure went up in smoke, but in captivity I had virtually no choice. Not if I wanted to stay alive and sane. Life's weird like that, eh?" Ranma mused with a wry smile.
Felicia absently nodded as she absorbed what Ranma had said, yet she unsurprisingly stumbled over the captivity part. "One sec... I'm certain you said captivity... And what did you mean by 'still free'? Has someone captured you before?" she queried.
A deep sigh escaped Ranma, and she steeled herself to ask the question that's answer she feared the most. "Do you believe I could murder innocents in cold blood?" she queried seemingly out of the blue, her hard, blue eyes burning into Felicia, giving her no chance to look away.
"No," replied Felicia immediately, the silvery-blonde woman not taking her eyes away from Ranma's powerful gaze. "Even though I've only known you for a bit more than a day, no."
"And why not?" Ranma implored curiously, her gaze softening as relief and gratitude washed over her.
"Because you'd only ever kill those who deserve it, human beings who have chosen the 'path of darkness', to use a clichéd phrase. Why?" Felicia queried, wondering just what Ranma was getting at.
Ranma suppressed the smile that wanted to appear on her face and concentrated on what she was about to do. "Because you'll see who I once was, and you'll also learn just what a symbiote is capable of. Please, whatever you'll see in the next minute or two, please let me finish, regardless of how much pain I seem to be in. It is necessary," she emphasised with a hint of steel in her voice.
"Oookay. I have no idea what you're getting at, but I trust you. I promise I'll let you do your thing," Felicia agreed, yet her worry was clearly visible in her expressive green eyes.
"Thanks," Ranma replied with a small smile, the blonde harbouring the hope that Felicia would continue to trust her after her transformation.
'I know you hate it when I ask it of you, but just do it, Sym. You know as well as me that it's necessary,' Ranma thought with her teeth clenched, well aware of just how much pain she'd experience in a few moments.
— Affirmative, — Sym replied without inflection to her mental voice, and then Ranma's world tilted sideway for the second time that day.
-.-
Felicia watched in worry as Ranma clenched her teeth so hard it was a small wonder no sparks were sent flying, and when the blonde dropped to one knee and gasped in apparent pain she was about ready to jump in, yet she remembered her friend's urgent warning and let her carry on against her better judgement, her arms dropping back to her sides. Felicia's worry turned into surprise and then wonder, though, when the first changes in Ranma's appearance became apparent.
"Red hair? What the hell?" Felicia silently mused, asking herself what was going.
— My 'mother' is changing Ranma's genetic structure back to its original state, back to the way she was born. Or rather, the way Ranma would have been had she been born a girl, — SD explained.
'Changing her genes? That's possible?' Felicia asked back while keeping her eyes trained on the changing woman in front of her.
— Yes. It was made possible in Ranma's case due to the fact that her mother had Caucasian ancestors. I will and cannot say more, though, as it is Ranma's story to tell, Felicia, — SD remarked.
'I understand, SD. But that… That's just seriously wicked,' she thought back, only to start in surprise when Ranma's facial features began to change as well. "Damn, Scar's part Asian!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I'd never have guessed!"
"And that's the purpose behind it," Ranma spoke up a little later in a slightly cracking voice that betrayed she was still in some amount of pain as she righted herself up slowly. "No one should know, and seeing that it's excruciatingly painful to change I'm not really keen on changing to my original form."
"Then why did you just go through that pain after all we, but especially you, have been through?" Felicia inquired, her tone of voice suggesting Ranma had pulled a stupid and superfluous stunt.
"So that you know the whole truth," Ranma retorted ominously, and plopped down onto the ground clearly exhausted, coming to sit in a cross-legged position.
"Which truth?" Felicia demanded after having followed Ranma's example, looking at the redhead across from her in thinly veiled curiosity.
"You will remember I asked if you thought me capable of killing innocents. Now, do you think I'd have it in me to kill five teens in cold blood, just like that?" Ranma queried, keeping her fingers crossed in hopes Felicia would say no.
The older woman took a good, long look at Ranma during which she scrutinised the gender-changing, symbiote-wearing woman across from her, finally shaking her head. "I think I've got a good enough insight into your value system after the last intense thirty-six hours, and I know for a fact that you'll kill those that deserve it without batting a lash.
"Five teens do not fall into that category. So the answer is no," Felicia retorted with a smile, only to widen her eyes moments later, her smile faltering. "One sec... Five teens... brutally killed... McDonalds... Oh my god! Ronin Ranko?" she queried incredulously, her eyes almost impossibly wide.
Ranma laughed humourlessly. "That's what they called me, yeah."
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Felicia asked intrigued.
"I got better," Ranma remarked dryly, eliciting a snort from Felicia. "Okay, you probably want the whole story, here goes. It all began with an invitation..."
-.-
Twenty minutes later Ranma had finished relaying her story, having given the Black Cat a very condensed version consisting of the most important highlights of what had led to her situation, and Felicia, long time super heroine and for the time being hero for hire, a woman, who had indubitably seen a lot in her life, was outraged.
While not an alien state of mind to her, her anger was of a magnitude she seldom experienced due to her disposition as a positive person, and it left her barely able to form words. "They... They really did that to you? Abandoned you, left you to rot in one of the worst prisons of a foreign country thousands of miles away from home? Didn't even lift a finger to try and prove your innocence?" she asked through clenched teeth, her face a mask of fury.
"You... You really believe me?" Ranma asked incredulously, hope and disbelief warring within her.
"Why the hell ever not? I've seen what kind of person you are, and if you're not an actor so good that you can fool a symbiote then you're a good person. I can easily believe you were framed, especially what with your symbiote and mine vouching for you." Felicia remarked in the breast-note of seriousness.
"I... I... thank you. I dunno what to say." Ranma replied in a whisper, deeply moved, and for the first time in long really at a loss for words.
"You're welcome, Scar," Felicia said with an empathic smile, then her face got a curious and serious look, "You got any idea who it was that framed you?"
Ranma shook off the wonder she was still feeling at having someone believe her, her look of wonder slowly giving way to a serious and contemplative expression. "It's gotta be someone from my former rivals slash suitors. Suspects are the Kunos, Mousse and Ryoga," she rattled off thoughtfully. "Although I can practically rule out Ryoga and Mousse. Lost boy had practically given up on Akane, and framing me ain't duck boy's style."
Felicia, who had received a crash-course in Nerimatitis, nodded slowly. "I still can't believe the crazies you dealt with on a daily basis, but considering beings like Galactus, the Beyonder and the fruck knows who exist cursed rivals and insane suitors ain't too far-fetched," she mused with a wry smile.
"Not the most accurate of summaries, but yeah, that's about right," Ranma allowed with a wry smile of her own. "Before I return to Nerima I want to prove my innocence, though, and I can only do that here, where everything began," she added determinedly, her blue orbs glittering like two chips of ice.
"So you want to go back some time?" Felicia wanted to know, keeping her voice carefully neutral.
"Not to live there or anything. Japan, especially Nerima has completely lost its appeal to me," Ranma answered bluntly, keeping her gaze trained on the other woman, "I'll just go back to enact my revenge, and that'll only happen once I know all pieces are in place. I am not in a hurry, and the longer they think I'm food for the fishes the better."
"Good to hear that. Life would be boring without you," Felicia remarked in a teasing tone, grinning at the redhead.
"I'm sure it would," Ranma retorted wryly. "How about we return that replicator thingie or what's left of it anyway to Reed Richards? I really need some proper food and R and R after all of today's stress."
"Sounds good to me, Ranma. I gotta come to terms with what happened to me too. I mean it ain't every day one of your dreams comes true," Felicia mused with a satisfied grin.
"Oh yeah," Ranma nodded, snapping her fingers, "now you can websling and all of that under your own power. Heh, you'll soon find out just how much fun that is. I couldn't really do without the powers Sym offers, not to mention Sym herself."
— Now is it not nice to be appreciated? — Sym remarked sarcastically.
"And you'll also have to get used to cheeky know-it-all symbiote's who always butt in regardless if it's wanted or needed," Ranma added, blowing Sym a mental raspberry.
Felicia chuckled, "I guess. Ready to wrap things up?" she asked, giving SD the mental request to let her part of the cube dissolve.
"Yeah," Ranma nodded, quickly following Felicia's example, the two symbiote hosts walking in lockstep towards the workbench holding the imploded replicator. "How about we dress up identically and you carry that replicator thing on your back? Let Sable sweat a bit in trying to find out who's who." she suggested with a grin that'd have made a shark envious.
Felicia laughed, "Sure, I'm game. I gotta admit, I'm really itching to try out these new powers. Webslinging and being really, really strong is no longer a dream, that's almost too good to be true. But how do they say? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
— You will find it ironically fitting that the translation of the name Ranma means 'wild horse', Felicia, — SD supplied, definite amusement reverberating in her mental voice.
'Oh? So Ranma's not a little pony but a wild horse?' Felicia mused with a good deal of amusement.
— That you will have to find out for yourself, Felicia, — SD replied neutrally, following the original plan of her mother'.
'Maybe I will, SD, maybe I will,' Felicia retorted thoughtfully.
— I am most certain you will, my host, — SD mused in the private partition of her mind.
"Yeah," Ranma had said in reply to Felicia's comment at the same time, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish smile the Black Cat knew how to interpret thanks to SD.
"Okay, let's wrap it up then, girlfriend," Felicia said with a cheeky grin, causing Ranma to raise both brows, then shrug. "Methinks Flint has the whole road lined with sandcastles by now out of sheer boredom."
"Oops," Ranma exclaimed after taking a look at her watch, "Time really flies by, eh?"
"Yeah. Guess Flint will call us a bunch of hens for taking over half an hour," Felicia mused with a shrug.
"I hope for his sake that he's cleverer than that," Ranma drawled, cracking her knuckles. "Nobody calls me a hen and lives."
Felicia, knowing that Ranma meant every word and now wise to her friends' background, smiled. "I think he learned his lesson when he tried to tease us prior to this mission, Ranma," she commented, easily hefting the heavy replicator complete with casing, "How do I do this? Just place it on my back or what?"
"Here, let me help you," Ranma replied, taking the machine from Felicia. "I'll prop it onto your back where it'll adhere all by itself, but I'll use my webbing as well, just to be on the safe side. Okay?"
"Okay. Go right ahead," Felicia agreed.
That Ranma did, and in little under a minute the bulky apparatus had been strapped onto Felicia's back, who was pleasantly surprised that the weight of the heavy machine didn't tax her in the least. The duo then picked up Sandman, and after communicating that they'd meet at the Symkarian embassy both symbiote hosts took to the skyline. A meeting that promised to be very interesting was awaiting...
to be continued...
Thank you for reading.
Many thanks to those of you who were kind enough to leave reviews for the last chapter(s):
, masaki yang yi1, MadHat886, Gefallenen Engel, Tasuxeda, Jerry Unipeg, KaiserPhoenix, Choas Babe, oblivionknight7, Maric, Killer7, Dumbledork, NeverTooOld, zaltran, I am the Bane of my Sword, sippio, Howard Russell, K-Dog the Fire Beast, Bobboky, Getzeye Dragon1, ranger5, Jago Li Son Shiranui, Regress35, James Axelrad, Tai Khan, Ranchee, Finbar, Marco A. Salazar M., firelordeg, Darkforce222, Eric13, Lord-Scruffy, GrizzlyBiscuit, dragonwings7373, Syl, ranko lina Inverse, ss4-link, Abudharma, Wonderbee31, New lord of darkness, slaaneshgod, Edengrave, Rubel, Mesterio, Zero-Vision, borg rabbit, (), Hiryo, Innortal, Dracomancer1, Dragon Man 180, Metroidvania, Viking Girl, Jet Black Jr., Screaming Dean, Aocasio10, vanguard2000, Chris, mishap, Asgeras, Redzorin, deathtraps, Chinangel, Lord Oberon, Peter Kim, GIMME MORE
Last but not least, thanks to my prereader JohnnyG for the great work he rendered time and again. You'll be missed, my friend.
Some – or rather several – quick notes:
– Felicia getting a symbiote: I know this might – and most likely will – cause some raised brows, and I admit to being a bit… uneasy as to your reactions, but this is the course of action John and I agreed upon after lengthy discussions. Initially he had the same reservations some of you will likely have, that giving Felicia a symbiote of her own is just too convenient, that the contrast of her being so different to Ranma without having a symbiote would have been more interesting.
But my counter-arguments convinced him, those being listed below:
▪ Marvel has used the same course of action as I in the past several times and will be doing it again in a future story arc called "Venom Bomb", just look it up at wiki (search term 'symbiote (comics)').
▪ One more symbiote-enhanced human doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, especially considering Venom's other children. Also, this will be the only instance an incident like this happens.
▪ Aside from giving Ranma and Felicia even more common ground, as well as that Felicia now knows all pertinent details of Ranma's life (keyword: no relationship built on lies), it allows me to move their relationship forward at a much quicker pace. Then there's that she'll be able to defend herself much more effectively against the enemies Ranma's inevitably gonna make, The Wizard aside. And not to forget about her own enemies. Who can guess that these guys 'n' girls will be in for a surprise or two? Grin
▪ Don't even think for a second that our Cat getting SD means no murderous training to be endured. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Let's recap: a symbiote enhances existing attributes such as speed, strength, stamina and so on. We also know that the enhancing effects can be 'turned off', so to speak. You think Ranma's gonna be content with the level Felicia's currently at? Hell no! There lies loads of hard, hard work ahead...
To sum it up: yeah, I cheated and will be able to develop the relationship between Ranma and Felicia much more quickly – but still not too quickly, rest assured – than otherwise. So? It's what John and I consented on before he left the community, and I'll do my damnest to carry out what we came up with.
– the implications Felicia getting a symbiote will have, especially where Ranma is concerned, will become clear in the next chapters. As already foreshadowed in this chapter, though, Felicia will add some creative ideas on how to conduct – fitting and calmly executed – revenge on Ranma's 'family'. That, and she has contacts, peeps.
– What happened in Nerima? This question will be answered in Chapter 12, as I have finally, after long deliberations, decided upon a course of action how I want to tell this particular part of the story.
– Civil War: as much as it can be controversially discussed and as much as I think the idea was ill-conceived, this is an event with so far-reaching consequences that I can hardly afford not to have it happen.
– for those interested, more of my comments can be found at my group. Yeah, your eyes are not deceiving you, the Q&A section is back, and here to stay.