TRTSS37: Hero! – By DS Wynne
Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, the Incredible Hulks and other properties belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Part 10: "The Great Gamma Game" (A)
In the near past: Shintou Teito (New Tokyo), Japan.
One day…
"And I expect you to be back home ON TIME for our date, Minato-san," said the "hime tsundere" Tsukiumi, an alien humanoid girl was designed to be both water elemental warrior and the perfect companion (called a "Sekirei"). Unfortunately for Ranma Saotome, Tsukiumi was HIS "perfect companion". Making matters more complicated was that Ranma had to deal with a potentially jealous Tsukiumi who was a rival to his OTHER Sekirei…
"Relax, will ya?" Ranma said, as he checked himself out in the mirror near the foyer of the Izumo Inn, where he is staying. As the so-called "Ashikabi of the North", it was his obligation to make sure that his Sekirei was combat-ready for rival Sekirei in the city, all for an inane prize conjured up by an insane, self-proclaimed "game master"…
"There's a local martial arts tournament that I want to take Musubi to, that's all," Ranma said.
"Fine, but I want OUR date to be special," Tsukiumi said. "Remember THAT."
Ranma sighed. He was used to having multiple girlfriends and wives, but still…
"Ready, Minato-kun!" said Musubi, as the fighting Sekirei enters the foyer.
Ranma turns to see the girl, and smiled.
"You look…good, Musubi," Ranma said evenly, hoping that Tsukiumi propensity towards being jealous would not take offense of his compliment to Musubi.
"Humph!" Tsukiumi said.
"Thank you, Minato-kun!" Musubi said with a smile. "And I can't wait until I see who's fighting at the martial arts tournament!"
"Me, too," Ranma said, as he smiled back. He then takes Musubi's hand.
"We better get going," Ranma said. "We'll warp over there to avoid the rush-"
Suddenly, both Ranma and Musubi disappear in a flash of light…
"Humph," Tsukiumi said, as she turns to go into the living room to relax. However, Matusu, the Sekirei of Wisdom comes running down the stairs.
"Where is Minato-tan?" Matsu said with worry.
"What is it?" Tsukiumi said with annoyance. She was still upset that her date was going to be last…
"My computer detected an intense energy field that was forming here at the inn."
"Well, he and Musubi just left here using some sort of martial arts technique."
"Oh, dear," Matsu said.
"What is it?"
"Did Minato-tan do this?" Matsu said, as she places her right index and middle finger on her forehead.
"Speak plainly, woman!"
"I just pantomime the technique known as the 'Instant Transmission Technique'. As you know, I recorded everything about our Ashikabi, and the Instant Transmission Technique has a different energy signature that would have been forming directly from Minato-tan."
Tsukiumi looks at her rival Sekirei with a quizzical look.
"…"
"In other words, someone just kidnapped Minato-tan!"
"Oh, no!" Tsukiumi said. "But what about my date? Although, on the plus side, Musubi could conveniently disappear because of what just happened…"
"You're unbelievable, you know that?"
"But never mind me. What just happened to Minato-san?"
"I need to look at the sensor readings again, but I believed that Minato-tan and Musubi-chan were teleported," Matsu said. "To where, I'm not sure yet."
"Well, let's just hope that this doesn't give Minato an excuse to have his way with Musubi…until he has his way with me FIRST," Tsukiumi said, as she displays the look of determination.
"Huh."
Meanwhile, Ranma and Musubi find themselves nearly halfway around the world…
"What are we doing here in Las Vegas?" Ranma said.
"Las Vegas?" Musubi asked.
Ranma turns towards his Sekirei.
"Musubi, I need to give you the ability to be proficient in English," Ranma said.
"Why would you do that, Minato-kun?" Musubi asked innocently.
"Someone or something brought us here, and I will need to figure it out while we are here."
"Oh. But…will we be able to go on our date?"
"Of course."
"Then I accept what you have to do, Minato-kun."
"Okay," Ranma said, as he clutched Musubi's face with his hands. "This will feel…a little weird."
With that, Ranma kisses Musubi on the lips, even as his Sekirei accepts his tongue in her mouth. She melts in her Ashikabi's embrace, as she felt her awareness seem to expand…
"There," Ranma said, as he broke his kiss. "How do you feel?"
"I feel…wonderful," Musubi said in a dreamlike-state. "What did you do?"
"I learned a trick from the Tamaranians, who developed the means to learn new languages through direct telepathic immersion, usually with a kiss," Ranma said. "Since then, I developed the means to do the opposite."
"So, you gave me the ability to learn a new language?" Musubi asked.
"Just the English language. Watch…"
Ranma turns towards a nearby tourist.
"Hey, buddy," Ranma said in English. "What time is it?"
"Get your own watch, and find out," said the tourist, as he stalks off.
"Must be from New Jersey or something…"
"Hey!" Musubi said. "That was rude-!"
Then, Musubi stops herself, and realizes something.
"Wait, I can understand him!" Musubi said happily.
"And you can speak, write and read the English language as well," Ranma said with a smile. "And, it's permanent."
"Oh, thank you, Minato-kun!" Musubi said, as she embraces her Ashikabi.
"No problem, Musubi," Ranma said, as he takes out his flip phone, which was really a disguised "Tricorder". It was a device that serves as a general-purpose device used primarily to scout unfamiliar areas, make detailed examination of living things, and record and review technical data…
"What are you doing?" Musubi asked.
"I'm trying to pick up an anomaly or something," Ranma said, as he scans the area
Suddenly, a monster bursts through the large pool within Cesar's Palace, a posh hotel and gambling suite. In fact, this creature was a dragon that Ranma knew all too well…
"What the hell is Fin Fang Foom doing here?" Ranma said.
"Who?"
"Fin Fang Foom was a dragon who was imprisoned in China for being a total…jerk to the local populace," Ranma said quickly. "Since then, he's been quite the nuisance, whenever he is released by a villain named 'The Mandarin'-"
Just then, Ranma notices that the alien dragon was clutching two people who were familiar to him.
"Jen?" Ranma said aloud. "Rick?"
"Who?" Musubi said, as she careened her neck to get a good look at the action.
"The green woman is 'She-Hulk' and the blue…whatever is 'A-Bomb'," Ranma said. "They both have superhuman strength, and are very, very tough."
"Then why can't they defeat…Fin Fang Foom?" Musubi asked.
"Good point," Ranma said, as he takes off his jacket, and tosses it aside. "Musubi, stand back, while I-"
"No!" Musubi said with determination. "I want to help you!"
"But-"
"Am I not your Sekirei?"
'Dang it, you have a point,' Ranma thought.
"Please?"
"Okay, okay. But, you have to listen to me, always. Fin Fang Foom was a powerful dragon in his day, and he's grown stronger ever since."
"But Minato-kun can defeat him, yes?"
"It's always a crap shoot when dealing with powerful foes," Ranma said. "Okay, I'll distract the creature; you free the others."
"Right!" Musubi said with a confidence of a seasoned warrior.
"Alright, let's go!"
And, with that, Ranma and Musubi enter the fray…
Meanwhile, Jennifer "She-Hulk" Walters was struggling to free herself from Fin Fang Foom's grip, even as Rick "A-Bomb" Jones kept the dragon's jaw open with his strength.
"Next time Bruce decides to do a favor for one of his ex-girlfriends, I'm going to bow out," She-Hulk said, as she struggled with the beast.
"No, kidding," said A-Bomb, as he fought off Fin Fang Foom's tongue while trying to keep the dragon from slamming his jaws shut on him. "And Monica is supposed to be a super-villain, yes?"
"Ranked 'Scientist Supreme' within AIM," Ranma said, as he sat on the hand holding She-Hulk. AIM, which stands for "Advanced Idea Mechanics", was a research-and-development branch (originally called "THEM") of HYDRA, which had split off to form its organization after World War II. Since then, AIM has had its own agenda as a developer and supplier of hyper-technology—including weapons—to both governments and criminal organizations, including HYDRA. Administered by a Board of Directors, AIM is considered to be an amoral organization that is publicly denounced as a "terrorist organization". What very few people knew was that AIM, and HYDRA as well, were fronts of the Moon Princess' Technocratic Union, or simply "The Technocracy", developed under the auspice of the Prussian Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, a high-ranking member of the Technocracy. Upon the rise of the Nazi Party, Strucker and his supporters felt that under Adolph Hitler's "Third Reich" agenda, the goals of the Technocracy of a one-world order could be achieved. Others disagreed, particularly those members who would be affected by Hitler's ethnic "purity" control schemes, and thus voted against supporting the Nazis. It didn't help matters that the Technocracy's earlier support of Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks in Russia would end up becoming disastrous mistake for a variety of reasons, including their treatment of ethnic minorities. So, in an act of defiance, Strucker initiated a split within the ranks of the Technocrats that would see the creation of HYDRA, a deep science division of Nazi Germany that answered only to Hitler himself, but with colleague Dr. Johann "The Red Skull" Schmidt, formerly of the Nazi "SS", as its military commander. From that point on, HYDRA would become a cornerstone of the Axis Powers's thrust towards world domination. Naturally, other members of the Technocracy were against Strucker's schemes, and thus sided with the Allied Powers to form the Strategic Scientific Regiment, or "SSR", the precursor to SHIELD and its affiliates. The existence of HYRDA, and its affiliate AIM, is the one reason the Moon Princess still regrets creating the Technocracy, even though the original attempt was to protect humanity from both extra-terrestrial and extra-dimension threats, as well as from rogue mystics and tyrants…
"Ranma?" She-Hulk said. "What are you doing here?"
"I was wondering the same thing," Ranma said, as he began to poke at the joints of Fin Fang Foom, forcing him to release the Gammazon. He then grabs She-Hulk's hand before she fell.
"Got you," Ranma said with a confident smile.
"Thanks," She-Hulk replied with her own smile. "Oh, and Elena said that you haven't returned her calls lately."
Elaine Nodoka Walters, aka "Hulk-Girl" was the daughter of Ranma and She-Hulk, thanks to being trapped in a tesseract together by the Hulk villain "The Leader". Elaine, always wanting to be "normal", and after she experienced the mess that was the fight between the Hulk Family and the villainous Intelligentsia, took SPIN Tech for herself to "remove" her ability to ever become a Hulk, although Ranma had Usagi secretly modify the nanoprobes to be self-aware enough to deactivate if Elaine was ever in mortal danger…
"I've been busy, Jen," Ranma said, as he landed onto the ground.
"Well, she feels that you've been avoiding her, ever since she made the decision to not be a superhero," She-Hulk replied. "You really ought to spin time with your daughter."
"Fine, I will," Ranma said with a sigh. "She ought to concentrate on getting into a good college, rather than think about stuff like this."
"That's because she wants to become a fashion designer."
"As I said, she should be thinking about getting into a good college…"
Meanwhile, Musubi frees A-Bomb, after she delivers a knuckle burst to Fin Fang Foom's forehead.
"HIYAHH!" Musubi yells, as she delivered her blow.
"Arrrgh!" Fin Fang Foom yelled in pain. His pain allows A-Bomb to free himself.
"Thanks…whoever you are," A-Bomb said, as he leaps out of Fin Fang Foom's mouth, even as Musubi jumps down after him.
"You're welcome!" Musubi replied with a smile. "I am Musubi!"
"And you are…?"
"I am Musubi-kun's companion!"
"Who?"
Musubi points to Ranma, who was talking to She-Hulk.
"Ohhhhh," A-Bomb said. "You're one of those."
"Pardon?"
"Knock it off, Rick," Ranma said, after Musubi and A-Bomb. "What I do, is none of your business."
"Well, at least what you do was something that you didn't do with Marlo," A-Bomb said, referring to his wife, the Harpy.
"Of course I didn't," Ranma said sarcastically, not wanting to let his old friend know that he, like Bruce, had dated the former Vegas showgirl before she settled down with Rick "A-Bomb" Jones…
"What do you mean by that?" A-Bomb said with offense.
"Forget him," She-Hulk said. "We have to help Bruce and the others-"
Then, She-Hulk notices Musubi's presence.
"Who is this?" She-Hulk asked, already suspecting something.
"I am Musubi!" Musubi said. "I am Minato-kun's companion!"
"Oh, really?" She-Hulk said, as she turned towards Ranma. "You're too busy, eh?"
"Um, heh, it's complicated," Ranma said dismissively. "It's a long story-"
"I will not be ignored!" said Fin Fang Foom yelled, as he grabs Musubi.
"Ah!" Musubi yelled.
"Musubi!" Ranma yelled.
"This battle is not over!" Fin Fang Foom said, as he dove back into the pool in front of Caesar's Palace.
"Damn it!" Ranma said, as he dives into the pool after the dragon.
"Ranma, wait!" She-Hulk said, as she and A-Bomb went after Ranma.
"Maybe we should have told Ranma what was happening first?" A-Bomb offered.
"No kidding," She-Hulk said. "In fact, now that I'm thinking clearly, I know what Ranma showed up…"
And with that, the hulks dove into the pool, which was actually a portal that led to an underground kingdom ruled by the supervillain known as Emperor Tyrannus, an immortal from the last days of Rome..
"What the hell?" Ranma said, as he, Musubi and Fin Fang Foom were in some large, underground lake. There was pandemonium everywhere. He then looks up to see Fin Fang Foom climbing out of the lake, still clutching Musubi.
"Fin Fang Foom!" Ranma yelled, as he throws a Moka Takabisha attack from his hand.
"Ack!" the dragon yelped, as he let's go Musubi.
"I got you," Ranma said, as he catches Musubi, who was also wet from when she and Fin Fang Foom landed in the underground pool.
"Thank you, Minato-kun," Musubi said, as she clutches Ranma. "You've saved me."
"It's nothing," Ranma said.
"Ranma," She-Hulk said, as she and A-Bomb landed on the edge of the underground lake pool.
"What?" Ranma said.
"Get out of the lake, quickly!" She-Hulk said. "And don't think!"
"Why?"
"It's a wishing well, buddy," A-Bomb said before he realized his mistake. "Um…"
"RICK!"
The water surrounding Ranma and Musubi briefly glowed.
"Minato-kun?" Musubi said, before something bizarre happens…
"Interesting," said a girl who looked exactly like Musubi. However she had a serious disposition about her.
"Ah!" Musubi said happily. "Yume-chan!"
"Wait, Yume?" Ranma said. He then began to convulse.
"Arrrrghh!"
"Minato-kun?" Musubi said.
"Ranma?" Yume, She-Hulk and A-Bomb said in unison.
He began to glow green, as he seemingly lit up the immediate area. When the light died down…
"She-Hulkma is BACK!" said a Gammazon version of Ranma cheered.
"Oh, great," Hulkma sighed, as he relaxed a bit. "Just what the hell is going on?"
Tbc.