Pre-Chapter A/N: thanks for seventy-two birthday presents! They made my day and were appreciated!
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.
The 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 21: When life gives you lemons...
"Fuck!" Ranma, still balanced on top of the street light, ineloquently swore, aptly summing up his feelings on the unexpected escape of his clone, "I can't believe I fucked up this bad. I must be losing my touch."
– We forgot to take her recovery rate into account. You have always bounced back incredibly fast even without our healing factor, so I am as much to blame, – Sym commented sourly.
Ranma exhaled deeply and sighed. "She's gone. And with that technique in play she won't be found unless she wants to," he said to Ben and Kaine who were still perched on top of their own street lights, and tensing his body he added, "There ain't anything left to do for us here. Let's head to the FF headquarters before goo-face escapes too."
"Yeah, one escapee's more than enough," Ben agreed, his voice sounding dissatisfied, "Damn, it would've been way easier for you to prove your innocence if-"
"Way to speak your mind without thinking things through, O'Hara," Kaine interrupted with a sigh and shook his head, "I don't think he's beating himself up over it already."
The trenchant sarcasm made Ben wince and mutter "Whoops,", but Ranma waved it away. "He's right, Kaine. It would've been easier, but what's done is done. Let's get these two to the Fantastic Four before they spontaneously combust or something. Would be just my luck."
That both clones of Peter Parker could easily relate to being victims of the infamous Parker luck, themselves, and with Kaine saying "Right," and Ben "Ready to go," the three swung away.
-.-
"How come you knew your way to 42nd Street and Madison Ave, Ranma?" Ben inquired curiously just as they swung towards Four Freedom Plaza.
Ranma fired his webbing and swivelled his head to look at Ben. "I've always made it a habit to know my turf, so I memorised the most important and famous places New York has to offer in case I have to get somewhere quickly. It's just a tad unprofessional if you have to consult a map before you wanna engage say, Electro at Carnegie Hall, no?" he retorted wryly and mimed, "Hello officer, can you tell me the way to Carnegie Hall?"
"That fight would never take place as ole flashbulb wouldn't know how to read a map to get to Carnegie Hall in the first place, but I get your point," Ben retorted with a grin to his voice, "Here we are. The lift or unconventional?"
"Unconventional," Ranma answered after making a ki-sweep and finding at least one of the Fantastic Four in their living room, "Good! Reed Richards of the FF is up there!"
Ben followed Ranma's pointed finger just as the younger man fired his webbing to gain altitude, Kaine mirroring him, and a few seconds later all three spider-powered men were adhering to the living room window. "Mr Fantastic already knows we're here or we'd probably have got a taste of the buildings defences," Ben mused wryly.
"You got that right," Kaine muttered as he obviously drew on the same memories, "And he's bound to have improved on his work since the last time."
The adjacent living room window just up and disappeared, fact that startled Ranma, Kaine and Ben for a second, and Reed Richards stuck out his head. "Scarlet Spider," he nodded at Ben, swivelled his head and regarded Ranma, "YinYang Spider also known as 'Ronin Ranko' also known as Ranma formerly of the Saotome clan, nice to meet you again. By the way, Scarlet Widow's doing better," he said leaving Ranma speechless, prompting Reed to regard the first Parker clone, "And you are unknown to me."
"Name's Kaine, just Kaine. I'm with them," the Parker clone responded levelly.
"He is," confirmed Ben and Ranma nodded absently, his mind still going over the puzzle why Reed had mentioned these facts.
"I admit I am intrigued that you're carrying what appears to be a deformed bathtub, Kaine. And if I may inquire, who's this you're carrying, Ranma, if I may call you Ranma?" Reed asked, his eyebrows raised inquiringly.
His eyes darkening Ranma nodded jerkily. "Seeing as I don't have a family name left, yeah. Everything is linked to and comes back to this man here, Dr Richards. Professor Miles Warren, or as he likes to call himself now, The Jackal. As you seem to know that I was dubbed 'Ronin Ranko' by the media-"
"I assume all of the United States if not the world knows your story by now," Reed interrupted, his eyes gleaming mirthful.
His brows rising into the hairline at that Ranma picked up where he had left off before having been interrupted. "- this is the man responsible for my plight. Not to impose, but can we come in? We need your help."
Reed, his expression solemn, nodded his head which he then retracted. "Of course. I'm hardly one to turn down a reasonable request, and I must admit I'm intrigued by your case. Come on in."
Ranma and the Parkers followed Reed Richards inside, the young man letting his eye wander across the room as if seeing it for the first time. "Wow, nice place you got here!"
"Thank you," Reed replied modestly and waved his right hand at the Jackal and the bathtub containing the remains of Spidercide. "Shall we take care of that first?"
Acting as the unofficial spokesperson Ranma nodded. "Please. Warren needs to be placed into a secure holding cell until you decide what to do with him, that in there, well I dunno, you'll have to take a look at it."
"Good. Please follow me," Reed said and led the way out of the living room, Ranma, Kaine and Ben trailing behind him with curious expression on their faces.
-.-
Twenty minutes later the quartet had adjourned to the living room seeing as it offered more comfortable accommodations. Miles Warren had been placed into a maximum security holding cell for the time being – the cell having impressed Ranma and the two Peter clones to no end – until Reed saw fit to notify the authorities.
Spidercide, or what was left of him seeing as the third Parker clone's body had completely turned into a gooey substance, Mr Fantastic had placed in suspended animation seeing as the villain still showed signs of life, even if in a severely reduced fashion.
Entering the living room Reed Richards sat down in an armchair and beckoned his guests to grab seats as well.
"I thought you'd been here before, yesterday was it?" Ben inquired as he sat down on the three-piece sofa, necessitating Kaine to be seated on the two-piece sofa due to their tumultuous past, "How come you were just as fascinated by the place as Kaine and me?"
Ranma sat down next to Kaine and removed his face-mask, revealing a neutral gaze. "Yeah, I accompanied Dr Richards to the lab where he confirmed that Scarlet Widow would pull through. That does not necessitate my knowing the layout of this complex, does it?" he asked, smiling ironically.
"Hmm, nope," Ben responded in a humming tone and added, "Say, why did you remove your mask?"
"What's this, Q&A session intermediate level?" Ranma asked with a chuckle, but his face turned serious, "Dr Richards seems to know exactly who I am, and he alluded to the country and possibly the world knowing too. Say, why is that, Dr Richards?"
"Oho, a Q&A session advanced level?" Reed retorted with his eyes twinkling, but this twinkle diminished as he trained a serious and empathic gaze on the younger man, "Yes, I know who you are as I demonstrated upon your arrival. Your identity has become common knowledge, or rather, is becoming common knowledge after your bout with your clone twenty-seven minutes ago.
"A witness to your fight, one Robert Shaw, residing in the area where your fight took place had the presence of mind to capture your altercation on tape. It's no exaggeration to say that he made a 'killing' when he sold the tape to CNN."
Ranma resisted the urge to palm his face and sighed. "I see. How much did he record?"
"Almost all of it from the time when your clash with your clone destroyed the windows up to the end, including the demonstration of your abilities," Reed replied levelly, and added, "Knowing all of your story, which is becoming common knowledge as well as we speak, I must say that I'm impressed that you kept to your ideals. Lesser men would have broken under the pressure you must have been under."
Ranma chuckled mirthlessly. "I guess I'm just too stubborn to die. I swore to myself that I wouldn't give up until I had caught the bastards and bitches that ruined my life, and I like to think that I've achieved an important interim goal."
"Interim goal?" Ben inquired in a puzzled tone of voice.
"I know that tone, I know it too well. There's more, isn't it? Your crusade isn't over, right?" Kaine inserted in a tone that was devoid of emotion.
Ranma's eyes darkened noticeably as he nodded. "No, it ain't. Not by a long shot. Dr Richards here seems to know most of my story, but neither Ben nor you do. So lean back, get comfy and listen to the fucked up wreck that became my life. Here goes..."
-.-
Two men sharing the same genetic material, being clones of Peter Parker also known as Spider-Man after all, stared ahead with identical gobsmacked expressions behind their face-masks after hearing Ranma's full story, both men making similar exclamations as their largely similar intellects reached similar conclusions at a similar time.
"So this Kuno chick wanted your female half, whom she saw as a rival, out of the way so that she could have your male form for herself. She used her connections to bribe Warren into making a clone of your female half, programmed to kill anyone who hit on her so that you'd take the fall," Ben summed up in a level if disbelieving tone, inquiring, "That right so far?"
Ranma nodded wordlessly prompting Ben to shake his head. "Right. This girl's so nuts that my significant vocabulary fails to ascribe a proper term. It bloody beggars belief!"
"We don't often see eye-to-eye, O'Hara, but you got that right! Ranma, you know what you got to do, right? Especially seeing as that accident gave the nutso chick super powers," Kaine commented, letting his voice trail off suggestively.
Hadn't he had the image of the 'normal' anti-hero to uphold Ranma would have formed bladed weapons from his hands. Thus he limited himself to a grim nod. "Yeah. She got five kids killed which she knowingly accepted, ruined my life and made it hell on earth and only got more dangerous 'cause of her powers. There's only one recourse."
"I don't condone your intentions, Ranma, but it is not my place to stop you," Reed spoke up levelly and added, "But think about the consequences killing her will bring. Ask yourself this? Is it worth going to jail over?"
Ranma said nothing, but his eyes held all the answers needed.
-.-
An oppressive silence hung in the living of the Fantastic Four that was becoming rather awkward until Reed Richards cleared his throat. "I would suggest that I call the authorities now, but I will insist that the questioning of Miles Warren be done here. A lot of injustice has been done to you, young man, and I will do everything in my power to help you out as much as possible."
Looking Reed in the eyes Ranma got the full meaning and inclined his head. "Thanks, Mr Fantastic. Even though I'm not looking forward to getting thrown back into jail, part of me is glad that my life on the run is over."
"Don't mention it. Oh, as an aside that you may be interested in, I just recently completed a new invention and used my clout to have it field-tested at court. It can extract, store and replay memories, even going so far as to being able to differentiate between genuine and implanted memories," Reed exclaimed in a tone that sounded tad self-satisfied.
Ranma's eyes widened a fraction as he absorbed the information that the machine was already assembled and being field-tested by the courts, and he was glad that the surprise undoubtedly showing on his face could be attributed to enormity of the invention in general and for him in particular. "I'll be damned! That could make my life a lot easier should it be accepted at court! Thank you!"
Reed smiled modestly. "Well, I'm glad if one of my inventions can contribute to seeing justice prevail. I didn't invent it for you per se, you see, but having such a case in you where my invention can make a difference is rewarding."
"I bet. If everything goes well it might just help me put the close on a chapter of my life that challenged me like no other," Ranma replied, his eyes darkening for a moment as he thought back to all that had happened in the last few months before they lit up again, "This time around I have at least some solid evidence backing me up. Uh, as for that, you will make sure that they interrogate Warren properly, right? I mean, I got fucked up by the American legal system once. And you know the saying, fool me once..."
Reed nodded gravely. "I understand where you're coming from, and I'll do everything in my power to ensure that we get all the answers from Warren.
"Now then," he stretched his right arm to reach for a device that looked a lot like a futuristic cordless phone, grabbed it and brought it to his right ear, already having dialled, "I'll call the police."
"And that's my cue," Kaine spoke up and got to his feet, "Nice having metcha, Dr Richards, but I have things to do and places to be!" he added and was already half-way out of the window as he stopped and turned around, saying, "Good luck, Ranma, and do what's necessary!"
Ranma nodded at the other man, his expression solemn. "Will do! Take care, man!"
Nodding once Kaine catapulted himself out of the window, then he was gone. Ranma stared at the window for a few moments longer until he shook himself back to reality, hearing Ben mutter, "Damn, I could grow to like the bastard when he's like that. No, Ben, he's been the bane of your existence for years! You hate him. There, that's better!"
"You know what they say about talking to yourself, right?" Ranma commented dubiously.
Ben looked over at Ranma and shrugged. "It's only becoming an issue if you start answering yourself," he retorted dryly, "But seriously, it was nice fighting alongside you. Hope we can do that again some time."
"Yeah, that'd be nice," Ranma replied with a genuine smile, "But I fear that'll have to wait for a while. Reed's just finished, which means that the police will be here shortly to take me away."
"That's correct. They'll be here in about five minutes," Reed spoke up and laid down the phone on the table, "They'd have been here sooner but seeing as they have to pick up the assistant district attorney..."
"Oh joy, the full gamut for li'l ole me," Ranma muttered sarcastically.
"Ranma, you were already exonerated in Japan and millions will by now have heard your story. That Daniel Reilly, that's the new assistant district attorney and predecessor of Robert Burke, the man who saw you convicted, is involving himself at this early a point without need can be a good sign," Reed said intently, expressing his opinion.
"Dr Richards is right, Ranma. Things are looking up now, you just wait. And if I can help in any way or form I will, Ranma," Ben said solemnly and got to his feet, "I should go now, dealing with the cops always shifty when you don't have the best rep," he muttered and stepped towards Ranma, holding out his right hand, "I'll be there at the trial that I'm sure is to come, you can count on it!"
Ranma took Ben's proffered hand and gave it a firm shake, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Thanks, Ben! Now shoo before we get to witness one of the classic Spider-Man versus police misunderstandings!"
"Like the world needs more of those," Ben muttered to the amusement of the other two, and turning to look at Reed Richards after he had walked to the window he added, "Thanks for the hospitality, Dr Richards. I'll recommend you to my friends."
"I ask you to refrain from doing so. We got enough visitors as it is, both unbidden and not, and it seriously cuts into my time scheduled for R&D," Reed muttered in a tone that left the others guessing if he was serious or not.
"Ben, better leave before he tests if his defensive systems are faster than your spider-like reflexes," Ranma commented in a mock-serious tone.
"Right, see ya in the funny pages! Take care!" Ben retorted and jumped out of the window, leaving an amused Reed and Ranma behind.
"Damn, what a day! Getting a lead on Freakface, battling hordes of Spidey clones, kicking Jackal's, Freakface's and my clone's asses and now turning myself in," Ranma muttered to himself in quiet disbelief, "Sometimes even I am surprised how much my life sucks. Anyway, I'll be going to the bathroom. On second thought, where is the bathroom?"
After getting directions from Reed which would incidentally allow him to pass by the room where Felicia was recovering Ranma set himself in motion. 'Thank Goodness that Reed's always thinking ahead. This way I can grab Felicia's YinYang Spider costume and give her a few smoochies before it's behind bars again! It's not much, but what do they say? Things like that will get a man through a war!' he thought to himself, his feet having led him to Felicia's room automatically.
Ranma knew this room by heart, having spent the night there once as well. It was a warm, welcoming room of five by six metres held in an orangey-red colour. A bed of two by two was standing adjacent to the leftmost wall while the rightmost wall was lined with closets, even including one housing an entertainment centre. The door at the bed-head led to a small but sufficient bathroom, rounding off a very neat guest room.
Silently opening the door Ranma entered and found his girlfriend lying on her right side on the guest bed, reading a book. "I noticed you enter the building with two Peter-like ki signatures a while ago, love. Did everything go okay?" she asked, her eyes worried.
Ranma walked closer to his girlfriend and sat down, pulling Felicia up and close, drinking in her scent before dropping a strong, emotion-laden kiss on her lips. Pulling back he smiled wistfully and tucked an errant strand of silver hair behind her right ear. "Yes. We captured Jackal and Spidercide, but my clone got away. Reed has already called the police and the district attorney, they'll be here shortly to interrogate Jackal and to take me away."
"What! But I just got you back!" Felicia protested in a whiny tone, "He's such a meanie!"
"Be that as it is, procrastinating won't do me any good, and Reed knows this. And I agree with him, the sooner this is over, the better. And as much as I hate being away from you, I have to do this. I owe it to myself, I've sworn to clear my name and I will do it!" Ranma replied in a tone filled with conviction.
"Awww man! That means I still won't get any for a few weeks yet! How am I gonna survive that?" Felicia whined, her lips forming a pout.
"Like you did for the past four months without my awesomeness, with cold showers or something!" Ranma replied mirthfully but turned serious quickly, "I ain't got much time left, hon. Where's the YinYang Spider costume?"
"Over there in the leftmost closet!" Felicia exclaimed and used her right index finger to point, "Topmost drawer!"
Ranma opened said drawer and retrieved the costume. As soon as he held it in his hands Sym retreated into his body just leaving him in his briefs, causing Felicia to audibly lick her chops. "Down, girl. I gotta hurry anyway, I feel several ki signatures approaching. Betcha ten to one that's the cops," he said and Amagurikened into the costume.
Walking over to Felicia and sitting down close to her Ranma pulled her close. "I have no idea when I'll be back, but know this, I'd fight my way through hell and back just to be with you. I love you, Felicia Hardy. From the bottom of my heart."
Felicia looked into his eyes as if searching for something, and finding what she had been looking for the platinum blonde melted into his arms. "I love you more than words can say, Ranma, and I'll miss you every day we're apart. Gosh, listen to us, we sound like a bad romance novel!" she exclaimed and giggled, "But that doesn't make it any less true. Take care of yourself, my love!"
"I will, honey. See you at the trial," Ranma said, and despite the fact that he wanted to do anything but to leave Felicia his steps led him out of the door and to an uncertain fate, one that he had little to no control over.
Looking back one last time he saw silver tears running down Felicia's cheeks, and a quickly repressed flash of pain crossing his face he vowed to himself that he would do his best to never see her crying again if he could help it. Ranma blew her a kiss, closed the door and guided his steps to where the rest of his future would be decided.
-.-
Ranma's senses told him that he had arrived just in time, and looking at Reed he said, "Here they come now," as he retook his place on the sofa.
Reed trusted in Ranma's observation and made to go to the door when Roberta spoke up. "Dr Richards, sir? You have four visitors from the NYPD and assistant district attorney Reilly."
"Send them right in, Roberta," Reed responded calmly and retook his place, "And activate holographic guidance mode."
"Yes, Dr Richards!" Roberta responded obediently.
Foot falls could be heard in the hallway and Ranma made it a game to get a profile on the three officers and the assistant district attorney. 'Four males, one female. Hmm, they're really laying it on thick, eh?'
His thoughts were interrupted when the quintet entered the living room. The first one to step into the room was a powerfully-built man of Latin origin with a strong face whose dark eyes immediately scanned the room for threats. He wore the uniform Ranma had seen often before, dark blue pants, black shoes, light blue shirt complete with a black tie, a dark blue jacket with a flash each on his respective upper arms and a black visored cap.
Not a step behind the first officer was another man who was, by Ranma's estimation, a good five centimetres smaller than the first, making him a good 1.80 metres. He was an equally well-built Caucasian with dishwater blond hair and piercing green eyes, clad in the same uniform as the first.
Following them at a measured clip was a duo clad in suits, both the man and the woman following the example of the officers by taking in the situation with a gaze that seemed to drink in every little detail. The man, a handsome brown-haired Caucasian about 1.80 metres tall, was wearing a navy-blue jacket and equally navy-blue suit trousers, a white shirt and a navy-blue tie, black shoes rounding off the picture. His brown eyes, having swept the room, came to rest on Ranma, his angular face settling in a neutral mask.
His female companion was a good ten centimetres shorter than her male colleague, and where he was handsome she was beautiful. Shoulder-length curly auburn hair framed a pretty face, a face that was accentuated by full lips, a button nose and a pair of green eyes that seemed to be brimming with life and energy while at the same time holding a glint to them that spoke up a quick wit. She seemed to be wearing the female equivalent of the man's choice in wardrobe, a navy-blue blazer with a white blouse underneath, navy-blue pants and dark-blue shoes.
Last but not least came the assistant district attorney. He could only be described as a bear of a man with his large frame, topping out at what Ranma estimated to be 1.90 metres. Sharp blue eyes scanned the room as the brown-haired man entered, and he stopped to take in the situation as a whole, smoothing out his navy blue shirt.
"Good evening, gentlemen," he said in an almost pleasant tone as he finally walked into the room, "For those of you meeting me for the first time, I am assistant district attorney Daniel Reilly."
The officers flanking the assistant district attorney almost made Ranma smile. He could have easily wiped the floor with them before any of the officers and detectives could have drawn their weapons had he been so inclined, and everyone knew that this 'show of force' was just that, show.
"This is one of my teams of detectives," Daniel Reilly spoke on and waved his right hand at the duo in suits, "Detectives James Felton and Nicole Arden."
Both detectives inclined their heads at Ranma and Reed, uttering a polite, "Good evening," which the super-powered men returned in kind.
The first introductions made the assistant district attorney waved his hand at the police officers, introducing them as Sergeants Alan Foster and Alvaro Chavez.
"Seeing as you're here to apprehend me you already know who I am," Ranma spoke up when Daniel Reilly's eyes turned back on him.
"It is so, Mr Saotome," the assistant district attorney returned and made to add more, but Ranma clearing his throat interrupted the assistant district attorney. If the man was displeased he didn't show it. "Yes, Mr Saotome?"
"Please call me just Ranma, assistant district attorney Reilly. My former mother saw to it that I'll never be a Saotome again. It is something of a sore spot to me, if you understand," Ranma explained levelly.
While the explanation was given in a calm and measured tone Daniel Reilly easily caught on to the underlying meaning, prompting him to nod. "Understood, Ranma. Before we get down to business, let me pass along the gratitude of my department, Dr Richards. Your invention is working as advertised. The final approval is still pending, but I am certain we will have it in a day or two."
"This is good news. I hope my invention will shed light on even the most difficult cases," Reed Richards replied modestly.
Mr Reilly nodded solemnly. "I hope so too, Dr Richards. The case of young Ranma here could very well be such a case where your invention could prove to be useful. To be honest, this whole case is nothing but an embarrassment to us. My predecessor bungled it up but good in his bid to get the promotion he so desired, and it is now evident he... didn't do the best job he could have."
Ranma wanted to snort at the understatement but kept his tongue. Instead he pasted a serious expression on his face and just inclined his head. Surprise briefly flared up in Reilly's eyes at the level of maturity the youngest occupant of the room was displaying but it was quickly replaced by a neutral if curious look. "Ranma, you must understand that I have to verify that you are indeed who you claim to be. You said in your original trial that you changed genders by application of differently temperated fluids, but the video material shows that you can now change genders at will. Would you be so kind?"
Inclining his head Ranma fulfilled Reilly's thinly veiled request, and concentrating for just a moment he shifted to female form. Tilting her head to the right she ignored the gaping officers and calmly asked, "Happy?"
"Extremely so. You match the evidence on the video tape to a t, Ranma," Reilly retorted to which Ranma gave no outward reaction sans changing back to male, "Now we can get to the official part. Lieutenant Chavez, if you would?" the assistant district attorney prompted in a professional tone.
Ranma's assumptions of what was to happen next were proven correct when the Latin cop proceeded to read him his rights. Once the man was done assistant district attorney Reilly nodded his head in a satisfied way. "With that out of the way I feel we can get started. Do you mind if I grab a seat, Dr Richards?"
"Not at all, assistant district attorney," Reed responded politely.
"You can sit down here, sir," Ranma exclaimed and blurred only to reappear sitting on the sofa Ben had vacated a few minutes ago, leaving the others blinking.
"Holy fuck!" and similar exclamations originated from the officers while Daniel Reilly limited himself to extremely raised brows. The female detective was the first to form coherent thoughts, almost shouting, "What was that?"
"A martial arts technique as well as physical conditioning that allows me to move at what would commonly be called super speed. I trained more than a decade to reach this level," Ranma replied, a measure of pride audible in his voice.
"You want to tell me that this is Martial Arts? Like Bruce Lee? Hah, tell me another one," the blond officer retorted in a disbelieving and almost disparaging tone that drew disapproving looks from the detectives which didn't impress the man in the slightest.
Ranma, a retort akin to, "That can be arranged," on the tip of his tongue stopped himself short when the assistant district attorney sighed. "I forgot, none of you have seen the video yet," Reilly spoke up and leant forward, "Anyway, before we get to that, I have some questions of my own, and I ask you to answer them truthfully and completely. This is no formal questioning, however, due to a bylaw regarding super humans we can turn this into an interrogation at any time, much as we're going to do in Mr Warren's case. But keep in mind, what you say can be used against you just as much as it can benefit you."
Ranma understood the underlying message and did his level best to crush the sliver of hope growing in his heart. "Understood, sir."
Reilly nodded satisfied. "If you want to you can consult a lawyer nonetheless, Ranma. Too much went wrong in the last trial, and I could recommend a few if you like."
"That won't be necessary, Mr Reilly," Reed spoke up and stretched his left hand to grab the phone, "I'll just phone Jennifer Walters. Ranma and her have worked together in the past," here Ranma was glad that Felicia had at least given him an overview of her activities as YinYang Spider and knew what Reed was referring to, "And I'm certain she would easily agree to being Ranma's defending lawyer."
"Very well. I don't want to give the impression that we want to take advantage of his inexperience when it comes to legal proceedings," Daniel Reilly commented in a serious tone.
"Please do so, Dr Richards," Ranma nodded.
Inclining his head as confirmation Reed dialled and mouthed for everyone to grab a seat, and pressing a few buttons on something that looked like a remote the living room expanded and two more three-piece sofas appeared, effectively eliminating the space problems. Shrugging to themselves at this display of applied genius the civil servants followed Reed's invitation while the aforementioned scientist talked with Jennifer Walters.
-.-
Reed quickly finished the call and informed Ranma and the public servants that Jennifer Walters would join them in about ten minutes as she had incidentally just concluded a hearing close by. After consulting Reed Ranma had agreed to answer a range of informal questions to pass the time.
An eager yet curious look gleaming in his eyes Daniel Reilly opened his mouth for the opening question. "First off, why is it that your female form is so much taller than your clone, Ranma? You used to be the same height prior to your escape," he inquired in professional curiosity.
"Long story short, I hit a growth spurt when I was on the run. I've always been good at scavenging food so getting a balanced diet wasn't a problem," Ranma explained, and seeing the looks of the officers he added, "It was only ever a few things here or there. Look, I was on the run, and do you know why? No one believed me or tried to help me prove that I'd told the truth and I was left to rot.
"When that big, super-powered jackass tried to rape me with the friendly assistance of a guard I snapped-"
"So that is why," murmured Reilly with a thoughtful expression, prompting Ranma to fall silent in favour of listening.
"Sir?" the female detective inquired.
"Big Jack was found with severe injuries to his, hmm, privates in the boiler room of Ryker's in the wake of Ranma's flight. Jack claimed he'd got into a tussle with a fellow inmate but totally clammed up when questioned about the identity of the perpetrator. But I remember the reports stating he was positively gloating when he heard 'Ronin Ranko' had been killed," Reilly explained absently, and then he focussed his gaze on Ranma who had muttered, "Poor, poor Jack, he'll be so disappointed," in a low, venomous mutter.
"What happened then?" Reilly inquired, urging Ranma to carry on.
"I don't know... I was in some kinda shock or something and just wanted to get the hell away. I had no idea how to deal with what had almost happened to me, and my skills allowed me to get to the roof. Things are pretty much history from there on out," Ranma summed up in a tone that conveyed that the happenings had been traumatic for him.
"Sir, if I may," the blond police officer spoke up.
"Go ahead, Sergeant Foster," Reilly allowed, waving about his right hand.
"You said that you escaped and managed to do what you did because of your martial arts skills. It's an understatement to say I find that hard to swallow!" the man exclaimed forcefully.
Ranma smiled humourlessly. "You'll probably say that it's because of mutant or super powers, right? Y-"
"If I may interrupt, Ranma, Dr Richards, you surely have a copy of that CNN tape depicting Ranma's fight against his clone?" Daniel Reilly cut in.
"Of course," Reed replied and stretched his left arm to retrieve a remote from the window sill, and pressing a button caused a 56 inch view screen to lower itself from the ceiling and embed itself into the wall by means unknown. The screen flared to life, and Ranma and the others watched in the following minutes what the escaped convict had experienced not half an hour ago. Needless to say, all eyes were glued to the screen.
-.-
Seven minutes later four sets of jaws hung agape, and as soon as the clip had come to an end a flurry of questions were flung at Ranma by the formerly so composed cops and detectives. Due to their training the three men and one woman noticed quickly that they were achieving naught as long as everyone was speaking at the same time. Ranma saw Daniel Reilly smile at this show of discipline, but he had to focus when the male detective, Felton, asked him a question.
"All of what you demonstrated in this clip, you learned to do all this through training?" the man asked, his tone a bit incredulous.
Ranma schooled his features from attentiveness into impassivity. "Yes. As I said in this thrice damned clip-"
"Why thrice damned, sir?" Detective Felton cut in, "It has the potential of going a long way in helping you."
"That may be so, Detective Felton," Ranma nodded with an inclination of his head and a small smile, "But it's still thrice damned because I hate to brag. I'd just decided to do it on a whim to show that my abilities aren't given but earned. I've been training for more than seventeen years and it cost me a lot of blood, sweat and other things I'd rather not mention. What I can do sure as hell didn't come for free!"
"Could anyone learn to do what you can do?" the Latin officer, Chavez spoke up, a speculative gleam in his eyes.
Ranma tilted his head in contemplation for a few moments before answering. "I'm not certain they could learn to project their ki as a weapon as I and a few others can do, but given enough dedication and will-power I'd say yes, those willing to apply themselves could at least learn to enhance their bodies."
The young man noticed the interested gleams in the eyes of all officers and detectives, and even Daniel Reilly looked interested. "Did you teach it to anyone?" Detective Felton inquired.
"As a matter of fact, yes. I taught Spider-Man how to harness his ki," and seeing the disgruntled and disapproving looks on the officers' faces Ranma added, "I may not be in the strongest of positions and I'm dead certain you hate how we 'masked vigilantes' poach on your territory, but we have the power to make a difference.
"Some of us earned that power, some got it as a gift. And we have to use our powers to offset the chaos, death and havoc those who use their powers for selfish gains create. Were we to stop trying to make a difference I'm almost certain things would take a turn for the worse."
"That's sad but true," Daniel Reilly muttered to himself with Detectives Felton and Arden nodding solemnly.
"There's a few studies that predict that New York City would turn into something right out of the Watchmen comics within a few weeks were the men and women that are commonly called heroes to stop their activities," Detective Arden spoke up.
"But they're always getting in the way and don't obey the laws!" Sergeant Foster exclaimed heatedly, his colleague grunting in agreement.
Ranma exhaled deeply, making everyone focus their attention on him. "Kami-sama knows I don't want to belittle you or make a mockery out of you all risking your necks 24/7/365, for He knows I have a lot of respect for what you do on a daily basis, what you experience and what you have to live through, but just because I'm not part of the system I can't and won't stop helping those that need it.
"The day I turn a blind eye on someone who needs my help is the day I die. That is my way, that is the way of The Art. Defend the weak, and help them to help themselves," he exclaimed in utter conviction, the glint in her eyes daring anyone to object, but he noticed to his surprise that he seemed to have succeeded in giving the officers food for thought, "Spider-Man is, contrary to popular belief, one of those who wants to make a difference, who wants to help those that can't help themselves. Hence why I gave him the tools to better himself. Better heroes equals a higher success rate for the good guys, more lives saved, peace kept, you get the idea.
"And believe me, I'd only ever teach those who are morally and ethically above-board. There's just too much potential for misuse!"
"That came from the bottom of his heart, that much is certain!" Detective Arden commented in a light tone that had nothing negative to it.
"Yep. Nonetheless, there's this convoluted mess to clear up, and I'm not looking forward to that headache!" Detective Felton retorted, pinching the bridge of his nose, "It seems from the new evidence that a lot of mistakes were made!"
"Good that the opposing side can admit that at least," a female voice commented from the door, and mere seconds later the owner of said voice stepped into the room. Jennifer Walters also known as She-Hulk looked down from her impressive height, and nodding first to the assistant district attorney and his team the jade-green giantess greeted Reed before turning to look at Ranma.
"Isn't it a hallmark of a good man to admit when he's been wrong?" Daniel Reilly queried rhetorically before She-Hulk could speak on, "Sadly it's quite evident that young Ranma was treated... unjustly in the first trial."
"That's a start," She-Hulk commented with an inclination of her head which she then turned to look at Ranma, "I admit I hadn't even dreamt of something like this when you said you might need my help in the future. You being Ranma comes as a... surprise. But I like surprises of this kind."
Ranma mirrored Jennifer Walter's smile. "Glad you're willing to help, Jen. As for payment-"
"Don't worry about it. And no, this isn't charity, but I'll be damned if I miss my chance at getting a shot at Burke! He used your trial and you to elevate himself into a position of power! Had I been around at that time this bas..." Jennifer Walters interrupted herself and took a few calming breaths, "This still makes me so angry I want to punch out a few walls! Your trial is a prime example of how justice should not, should never be conducted!" She-Hulk concluded impassionedly, her dark green eyes narrowed.
Ranma's eyes had widened a bit during She-Hulk's monologue, and Reed's and Peter's words on how passionate Jennifer Walters was about anything pertaining to justice came back to him. 'Even if I'd already decided on her as my defender, this clinches it, she'll fight tooth and nail for me. Unlike the loser who just about rolled over and let Burke have his way.'
Daniel Reilly clapped his hands. "Good! Now that everything's in order, Dr Richards, would you now show us to the man Ranma and his ally apprehended?"
"Of course. Follow me," Mr Fantastic answered and got to his feet, holding out his right hand.
"Ranma," Daniel Reilly began as he got to his feet as well, "Dr Richards asked me that you be allowed to sit in on the interrogation of Mr Warren, and I will agree on the condition that you don't interrupt. Agreed?"
"So that is why you came with the full squad," She-Hulk remarked and nodded her head in understanding, "Clever. I assume you've called in a public defender for Warren?"
Daniel Reilly smiled mirthlessly. "Of course. Dr Richards suggested we make use of his recording technology for the interrogations, and seeing as his equipment is lightyears ahead of what we have at our disposal," the last part was ground out very grudgingly, "and that those pertinent to the case are assembled here I agreed. Now, as for my question, Ranma?"
"I agree," Ranma replied without hesitation, "I'd almost give my left arm to sit in on that interrogation!"
"Dr Richards, a Mr Andrew Tyler is here to see a Mr Warren. Should I send him through?" Roberta's unsure sounding voice spoke up.
"He's the public defender Miss Walters spoke of," Daniel Reilly supplied, "And he's earlier than expected. Shoot, I had hoped to get in a few preliminary questions."
"That supports the conclusions I drew. Send him in, Roberta!" the leader of the Fantastic Four remarked calmly.
"Right away, Dr Richards!"
Heavy footfalls could be heard in the hallway shortly thereafter, and a heavy-set balding man in his forties entered. Andrew Tyler turned out to be a red-faced, overweight Caucasian in his mid-forties, and Ranma, keeping his face neutral thought, 'He's at least three to four stone overweight. No wonder he's outta breath from walking this short a distance. But it remains to be seen if he's as much of a loser as my public defender was.'
Swivelling his large head to get a feel for the situation he was walking into, the well-clad brunette man, who seemed to prefer Armani suits, let calculating and experienced brown eyes set in a rotund face sweep over the room while smoothing out his black shirt. Assessment concluded the officers and detectives as well as Ranma, Reed and She-Hulk received a curt nod. Staring at Daniel Reilly the man grumbled, "Just my luck to be on duty today, Danny. That should teach me to give up on betting, eh?"
"If that doesn't nothing ever will, Andy," Daniel Reilly retorted in an amused tone, "And while we're talking about failings, you should join us in our morning runs again. I can hear you huffing and puffing even from here!"
"Yadda yadda, Danny. Us poor defenders don't have such an abundance of time to call upon as you prosec guys. Say! I'm surprised you got permission to make the interrogation here." Andrew Tyler exclaimed, his brows cocked, "Well, at least they got a decent lift! I'd probably be dead had I had to climb all those stairs!"
Daniel Reilly chuckled softly and turned serious. "After Dr Richards explained the situation and the precautions he had taken the district and the judges felt it prudent to follow his suggestion. After all, we have the facilities, according to Dr Richards, and we see no reason to doubt his word in light of past experiences. And we have all subjects pertinent to the case assembled. So why take the risk of shipping them off to the station?"
"You guys feel you owe him 'cause of the memory player, Danny," Tyler retorted with a scoff to which Reilly just shrugged noncommittally, "So, where is my client?" he asked impatiently, his lips compressing into a thin line.
Ranma's brows had climbed into the hairline during the exchange between the two men. It had become readily apparent that they knew each other well as evidenced by being on a first name basis, and that seemed to indicate that this Andrew Tyler knew his onions. What that would mean for him he couldn't divine as of yet.
"Dr Richards?" Daniel Reilly prompted.
Reed inclined his head and beckoned the group to follow him. Ranma trudged absently behind She-Hulk, silently wondering what the uncertain future would hold in store for him.
-.-
Ranma's head was still swimming a bit as he thought back to where Reed Richards had led the group. It was apparent that the genius scientist had been busy in his absence as he had created a pocket dimension that was dimensionally shifted to the side and accessible via an unassuming looking door in his lab.
It so happened that Reed had had his bots outfit the mini dimension not much bigger than a hundred square metres as a last resort measure should the Fantastic Four ever need to interrogate captured super villains or aliens, and it fitted Ranma's current needs perfectly.
Seeing as the bubble forming the pocket dimension offered such limited space to work with Reed had had two rooms created, one ten by seven metres and the other ten by two metres with a height of three metres. The remaining space of ten by one metres served as a buffer with a small hallway in the middle connecting the larger interrogation room and the cell.
The interrogation room itself was held in plain white colours with no decoration whatsoever. Necessity dictated the room be windowless, and that, in combination with the fact that all kinds of recording and surveillance equipment had been installed along with visible and not so visible offensive and defensive weapon systems to keep prisoners in check led to a very oppressive feeling.
A row of eight black, highbacked chairs had been placed alongside the longer leftmost wall, apparently with observers in mind. A large oak desk of three by two metres dominated the room, and six chairs of the same design as the visitor chairs had been placed around it, two alongside the longer sides each and one alongside the shorter sides each.
Reed had explained that the desk and chairs had been fused with the flooring so as to prevent their usage as weapons in the unlikely case the tightly shackled prisoners broke free. It had been with apparent pride in his voice that the leader of the Fantastic Four had explained that even his teammate Ben Grimm would have his troubles getting the hand and foot-cuffs off.
Then Reed had shown them to the prisoner. It turned out that the 'buffer' was riddled with weapons that would stop any attempt at a 'prison break', ever, provided the prisoner managed to get past the forcefield. Such an action, Reed mentioned, would at least be remotely possible in contrast to trying to break through the titanium-adamantium alloy the walls, ceiling, and flooring were made of.
Not just Ranma had been impressed, and when asked why not every prison was equipped like this, Reed's face had scrunched up, his retort being that not everyone had the financial assets to build a prototype like this. Then Miles Warren had been let out of his cell and had been led to the IR, and the questioning had begun in earnest with Reilly, his detectives and Tyler as well as Warren taking up the chairs at the desk. The police officers had taken up position, Reed had taken to working the equipment, and She-Hulk and Ranma had sat down on the visitor chairs.
An hour into the interrogation of Miles Warren his public defender was visibly ready to rip out his remaining hairs. Not only had the green-skinned man calling himself the Jackal answered every single question truthfully thereby shovelling himself deeper and deeper, but Andrew Tyler's every single move at establishing a defensive strategy had crumbled utterly when Warren freely admitted to having committed what he was accused of. And in painstaking detail to boot.
The experimental usage of Dr Richards' memory player, patent pending, playing back the key moments had clinched everything. Miles Warren was guilty as sin, and not even experienced defender Andrew Tyler had a prayer in hell to get his client out of the pinch he was in.
That would require a miracle or heavenly intervention, and Andrew Tyler believed in neither, which was not lest due to the fact that his mother used to beat him while preaching of how God would punish him for being such a rowdy boy, driving all faith out of him as time passed by. When he had been older he had sworn to himself that the next and last time he would enter a church would be in a pine box carried by his friends, if at all.
"I'm through with him," Andrew Tyler finally uttered with grit teeth, "There's no way in hell any kind of deal could be worked out with that kind of evidence against us."
"You got that right, Andy. A clearer cut case I seldom have had to deal with in my entire career. All the more reason to clear this up for good," Daniel Reilly ground out with a grimace.
"That's good to hear. When can we expect the new trial then?" She-Hulk cut in.
"I'll push for next week, Miss Walters. The sooner this embarrassment is sorted out, the better," Daniel Reilly responded decisively.
Ranma shook himself from the stupor he had become immersed in and squashed the dark little voice screaming that everything had gone over way too easy in favour of concentrating on the present. "Sir, now that the interrogation is over, may I ask Warren a question?"
Daniel Reilly regarded the young woman for a moment before nodding his head. "Sure, go ahead."
The martial artist inclined his head in thanks and swivelled it to regard Miles Warren, a cold expression settling on his face. "Warren, why did you create that second clone of me?"
The Jackal turned disinterested eyes on Ranma. "Because I could. My genius demanded that I succeed in creating a stable clone of such a fine specimen as you, and let me tell you, it was fun toying around with your genes! Pity I didn't have time to make more clones of you."
A cold feeling of dread enveloped the raven-haired young man, but his stomach was not the only one to drop at the possible implications. "'Toying around with my genes', Warren? What did you do?"
"Oh, nothing much. You see, your cells can be super-charged with this energy I've yet to name, allowing for astounding feats. Your clone even told me there were others in the Nerima ward of Tokyo that could do it too and I'd have loved to research this. But alas, I've been foiled.
"To get to the point, using some strange, untapped power source that was present in your genetic makeup I managed to allow your clone to super-charge his cells to a much higher degree than what you're capable of," Warren retorted as if speaking about the weather, "In case you're wondering why you beat him, I assume he wasn't angry enough. Like with my former favourite son, anger is needed as a trigger to activate the ability."
It was at that precise moment that a wave of energy rolled over Manhattan that gave every ki adept a blinding headache.
-.-
Earlier
A woman thinking of herself as Ranma Saotome stumbled through the alleyways of Manhattan, her mind a jumbled mess as a flurry of thoughts cascaded through it. She was barely able to keep up the Umi-Sen-Ken hiding her from that... not-twin of hers as her feet carried her away in directions unknown.
After walking for what seemed like hours and feeling she had put enough distance between herself and her other she looked around for passersby and brought down her Umi upon finding none. Without conscious thought she shifted to male, her mind feeling the subconscious need to be in her stronger form.
His thoughts running wild this Ranma's face scrunched up. 'I... I lost! But losing ain't the problem, I always bounce back and find a way to win in the end. No, the problem is, did that other Ranma tell the truth? Is he the original? No! No, Ranma! No self-doubts, never self-doubts! This other me said or did nothing to prove that he's the real deal!'
The walkway and the people turned into a blur as he walked on for an unknown amount of time with his hands in his pants pockets with his mind still going a mile a minute when he was suddenly startled out of his thoughts by a voice. "Ranma-sama? My, it is you!"
The clone looked up and took in his surroundings, noting that he was in a dank back alley in a location he didn't know. As a result he instinctively switched into a defensive stance, causing the black-clad woman, who had apparently read him, to remove her black basecap. "Kodachi?" he inquired curiously.
"It is I, my Ranma-sama! And here I searched this wretched city far and wide for months without finding hide nor hair only for you to come walking into my arms! It must be fate!" the Black Rose exclaimed happily and hugged him, her hands touching his.
The other Ranma began to feel lightheaded and confused after a few seconds and his body tried to fend off the sneak attack it was subjected to, but the fight against the original had been too taxing. Thus the fight was over before it even begun. The clone's eyes glazed over, and standing a few centimetres away Kodachi Kuno smiled. "Do you see now, my Ranma-sama?" she inquired almost demurely in Japanese.
"Yes. I can't believe I've been blinded to your beauty for so long, Kodachi-chan," the clone rejoined solemnly and his blue eyes darkened, "So that you will never be taken from me I must ensure that the other me dies!"
Surprise raced through Kodachi's mind due to the fact that she hadn't gained complete control over Ranma. 'But then again, this is my Ranma-sama we're talking about. If anyone were able to resist my control it would be my wild stallion!' she thought, and stumbled over what he had said, "'Other you', Ranma-sama?"
"Yes! I have been cloned by a mad scientist, and my clone believes himself to be the real Ranma Saotome!" the clone exclaimed heatedly and passionately, his anger rising.
"What!" Kodachi exclaimed angrily while inwardly thinking, 'Renarw made another one? How dare he!'. Outwardly her expression formed a deep scowl, the corners of her eyes holding a stiffness that easily conveyed her displeasure. "This insult cannot be tolerated! There can be only one Ranma-sama, and that is you! The fake must be dealt with!"
"Oh yes... just thinking about him and how he claimed to be the real Ranma makes me so mad! How dare he!" the clone exclaimed, not noticing how the air around him began to bend and warp. Kodachi whereas did, and showing that her survival instincts were intact she stepped away from the softly glowing Ranma whose light golden aura was getting steadily brighter until she had reached a dumpster.
Deciding to err on the side of caution the young woman stepped behind the dumpster and carefully peered out to see the young man muttering to himself until suddenly a shout tore from his mouth. At that moment a bright golden shockwave of energy emanated from his body that passed through everything, and to Kodachi it felt like a physical blow that sent the young woman on her shapely posterior, an unladylike "Ooof!" escaping her.
The glow subsiding just like the ringing in her ears Kodachi pushed herself into a sitting position to glimpse upon a very satisfied looking young raven-haired man. One moment the man Kodachi Kuno thought to be Ranma Saotome stood a good twenty metres away, in the next he was in front of her, kneeling down with his right hand proffered to her.
Blinking once Kodachi took his hand and experienced a brief feeling of weightlessness as the young man pulled her effortlessly to her feet. Their noses almost touched but Kodachi saw no hint of nervousness or shyness on his face as was so often the case in the past, and not able to resist the young woman crushed her lips to his.
Kodachi was very pleased when he reciprocated and moaned deep in her throat, but the manners instilled in her kept her from going any further. She pulled back reluctantly, a bittersweet smile on her face that only grew in intensity when she saw the slightly surprised look on the face of her Ranma-sama. "It is not acceptable for people of our standing to make out in public, Ranma-sama. And don't we have to take care of something first? After all, it is as they say, business before pleasure. I can see a lot of pleasure ahead of us, Ranma-sama!"
"I like the way you think, Kodachi-chan!" the clone retorted with a lewd grin that made Kodachi blush, but his face scrunching up in thought made the raven-haired woman turn serious as well, "I am certain that my clone sensed what just happened to me-"
"If I may interrupt, what was it that happened to you?" queried Kodachi curiously.
"Somehow my anger opened up a much greater well of energy for me, Kodachi-chan! It is like a dam that sealed off a lot of my power just... broke! I feel much stronger, and I swear I will wipe the floor with my clone before putting him out of his misery!" Ranma retorted with narrowed eyes.
"My Ranma-sama! You're so manly when you talk like that!" Kodachi downright swooned.
Right then a light drizzle began to descend from the skies, but much to Kodachi's astonishment no change in genders occurred in the martial artist. "How...?" was all the Black Rose was able to utter.
"Oh, you mean this? Why I didn't change? Well, I gained control of the curse, dear. I only change when I want to," Ranma explained smugly and demonstrated this fact by changing to female and back.
"This is great, Ranma-sama! I'm so happy for you!" Kodachi crowed and clapped her hands, "Now what do we do about your clone?"
"Squash him as soon as he gets here!" the cloned martial artist exclaimed decisively.
"Squashing sounds good!" a female voice exclaimed from behind them, causing Kodachi to whirl around, "Mind if we join in?"
"I've sensed you miles away, woman. Who are you?" the clone demanded.
"Name's Shriek, and this is my pet, Doppel. I sensed that... energy-spike and thought it would be fun to see what kinda chaos it'd cause!" the pale-faced woman exclaimed, an insane glint in her eyes.
"To be absolutely clear a priori, peasant woman: Ranma-sama is mine!" Kodachi hissed through clenched teeth.
Shriek, annoyed by how the raven-haired young woman addressed her resorted to using her sonic powers in an attempt to influence the younger woman, but was only met by a raised brow that screamed boredom. An insane smirk grew on the older woman's face. "I like you, girl. I think we'll get along famously!"
"Whatever," Kodachi replied with a dismissive gesture, "As long as you keep your fingers off my Ranma-sama we are fine."
"Gotcha! How about we sow some chaos now?" Shriek demanded eagerly.
"Do as you please," Ranma said with a shrug, "Chaos and mayhem is likely to attract him, which means an easier time for me!"
"Just see to it not to kill! My Ranma-sama and I have no need to kill the peasants of this city as we're so clearly above them! There's only one we want to kill!" Kodachi commanded in a tone that left no room for backtalk.
A gleeful grin spread on Shriek's face and she upped her sonic output right away, affecting the whole city block. "Let chaos rule!"
The Ranma clone said nothing to that and limited himself to waiting. Even as chaos erupted around them and people began to loot shops, even as fights broke out he remained rooted to the spot with his arms crossed, his expectant gaze searching the afternoon skyline. Whatever Kodachi had done had left him with clarity of mind, a single-minded focus. It was either him or the clone. There could be only one.
-.-
A few kilometres away in the Joketsozoku embassy Kuh Lon, matriarch and leader of the Chinese Amazons, blinked in shock. Her hair stood on end due to the intense wave of energy that seemed to have swept over the whole of New York City, and the worry lines on her face deepened.
The old matriarch shook her head minutely and a neutral expression appeared on her aged face. Getting out of the plain wooden chair Kuh Lon crossed her spartan room and reached for the phone sitting on her oaken desk. Picking up the handset the old woman dialled, and Kuh Lon did not have to wait long for her counterpart to respond.
"Li Lac, our perseverance has paid off. Son-in-law has resurfaced. Prepare our warriors for immediate take off!"
Getting the affirmative Kuh Lon hung up, her face stony. "Why did you reveal yourself now of all times, son-in-law, and so strongly to boot? What are you up to?"
Shaking her head Kuh Lon mentally prepared herself, muttering, "It is as they say with you around, sonny-boy, may you live in interesting times."
Taking one last look around the room the almost amused expression faded from her face and Kuh Lon walked out to meet her troops, their mission objective simple yet endlessly complex: bring Ranma into the tribe.
-.-
Three minutes ago, Four Freedom Plaza, New York City
"Oh no," Ranma whispered with wide eyes, shock edged into his features.
Daniel Reilly, the detectives and officers glanced about the room with uncertain expressions on their faces, the assistant district attorney muttering, "What the hell was that?"
"It felt like someone just walked over my grave," Detective Arden whispered with a shudder.
Her comment elicited agreeing comments from her colleagues, and Ranma turned serious eyes on the civil servants. "If only it were so," he sighed, his face looking like he had just swallowed something unpleasant, "then I'd be able to avoid a lot of bruises! What you just felt was my clone getting angry enough so that he activated what Warren spoke of! He's become strong enough so that our next clash's gonna hurt!"
"Reports are coming in about a riot near Rockefeller Center," Reed spoke up in a grave tone that caused worried looks all around, "It could just be that this event is connected to what happened to Ranma's clone!"
"Rockefeller Center's just half a mile away! That'd fit with how close that unleashing of energy felt!" Ranma exclaimed and nodded a few times, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face, "But why my clone would condone a riot is beyond me as it's something I sure as hell wouldn't do!
"Warren," Ranma turned to face the mad scientist, "any idea why my clone's behaving so differently from me?"
"He was made to obey my orders, but who knows, maybe something went wrong during the cloning process," Miles Warren said with a shrug and added, "Things like that tend to become apparent over time."
"And devil may care," Ranma muttered with grit teeth, "You're really all heart, Warren."
"What do I care if he kills a few people here and there? My plans failed, so what?" Warren retorted uncaringly.
Ranma, along with the others, stared at the madman in silent disbelief for a few moments, and shook his head. "Right. Mr Reilly," he began, his voice filled with purpose, "I have to go out there and stop my clone. You've seen in the video what I can do, now imagine someone with the same skills, just stronger! I know him inside out, I'm the only one who can stop him!"
Daniel Reilly regarded Ranma for a long moment before answering. "You want to save him, don't you?"
A sigh escaped Ranma's lips. "He's innocent in all of this. He didn't ask to be created by Warren, nor did he ask to be turned into a pre-programmed lapdog. It's not his fault, he shouldn't have to pay for Warren's sins!"
A sinister laugh coming from Warren made everyone turn their heads. "If he turns out anything like Kaine his 'innocence' will soon be gone," the mad scientist mocked and cackled madly, "Oh silly me, I forgot that I ensured that he will turn out worse! And with the power invested in him by me the city will go up in flames!"
"He ain't like that!" Ranma retorted hotly only to pause, "Unless... You asshole!"
"What is it?" Detective Felton asked urgently.
"Ranma just arrived at the same conclusion as I... Isn't it so that you left instructions behind in Ranma's clone in case your plans would fail? Instructions to do as much damage as possible?" Reed queried in a disgusted tone.
Mr Fantastic's words caused worried looks to appear on the faces of the civil servants and Miles Warren cackled madly. "It is. I wouldn't be too surprised if the first casualty reports came in soon."
Ranma barely restrained himself from strangling the laughing Warren and turned beseeching eyes on Daniel Reilly. "I promise I will turn myself in later, but I gotta stop my clone! There's no telling what another me without inhibitions or scruples could wreak!"
Daniel Reilly thought hard for almost a minute and had just opened his mouth when Reed Richards suddenly spoke up. "There's a breaking news report from CNN coming in! Relaying it to the screen... now!"
The large viewscreen flared to life, and all eyes were literally glued to it. "This is Marty Reynolds of CNN! Live from Rockefeller Center where chaos is reigning! But see for yourselves!"
The camera swivelled to show a street filled with people rioting, cars and shops burning, men and women alike destroying shops in bursts of uncontrolled violence. It was utter mayhem, and the camera moved on to show a man standing in the middle of the street like he was the eye of a hurricane, his arms crossed across his chest. The camera zoomed in, showcasing the man's confident expression. "I know you can hear me, clone of mine," he said over the sounds emanating from the rioting folk, "I want a rematch, 'cause I'm sure ya know, Ranma Saotome doesn't stay defeated for long! If you're half the man I am you'll come! Otherwise I'll come for you and we'll see how this city takes it! Your choice!"
The clone's right palm began to glow and an energy blast rocketed towards the camera. Seconds later, there was nothing but static.
A grave silence hung over the living room of the Fantastic Four like a blanket. Daniel Reilly finally tore his eyes away from the static-filled viewscreen, his head turning to regard Ranma with a very serious look. "You have my full permission to do as you suggested. Do what you must."
Ranma returned the look in kind and nodded solemnly. "I will," he said almost softly and steeled his resolve while thinking, 'I guess it was just too good to be true. As soon as something good happens to me the bad follows on its heel. But fuck that! Life gave me lemons, I'm gonna make me fuckin' lemonade! And I'm gonna save you as well while I'm at it, 'brother'! This I swear!'
-.-
Ranma, having walked over to the window, swivelled his head when someone cleared their throat. "Yes, Jen?" he asked the Jade-green giantess.
"I'll go with you, Ranma," She-Hulk said in a tone that was dead-serious and brooked no argument, "This way you won't have to worry about the rioters and can focus on your clone."
The young man's face scrunched up in contemplation for a few moments, then he nodded. "Agreed. Don't wanna sound blunt, but I could use help in knocking some sense into those people, and you are damn intimidating when you want to be, Jen."
As the last bit was delivered with a smile on Ranma's part Jennifer took no offense, a small smile quirking up the corners of her mouth. "Don't I know it," she replied and flexed her muscles before immediately turning serious, "Ready when you are."
"Good," Ranma nodded before turning his head to look at the other occupants of the room and Daniel Reilly in particular, "I don't know when we'll be back. Don't wanna sugarcoat it, but I have a feeling that this fight's gonna be one of the most difficult of my life."
Daniel Reilly nodded in understanding, his face utterly serious. "Understandable, Ranma. I am in no way a fighter, but even I could feel... whatever it was your apparent clone did. Just get back when you're done, and Godspeed."
"Ranma, I-"
"Dr Richards, no. You said you're standing by to see if your wife and the others need your help. Jen will deal with Kodachi and the rioters, I'll deal with my... brother," Ranma said decisively, "There's just no need."
A soft sigh escaped the genius scientist. "Just be careful, Jen, you too, Ranma."
"Will do," Ranma nodded with She-Hulk ascertaining her agreement with a brisk nod, "Jen, we'd be able to get there the fastest if I were to take you piggyback."
She-Hulk raised an inquisitive brow, prompting Ranma to explain. "I can glue your body to my back using my ki, much like Spidey can. Using the webshooters he gave me we can get there much quicker than if you were to jump."
"If you say so," She-Hulk mused with a shrug, ignoring the murmurs from the officers that found her quick acceptance of Ranma's claims odd.
Ranma positioned himself in front of the window and She-Hulk climbed aboard and slung her hands around his neck. The young man didn't even grunt as he accommodated her not so insignificant weight, and adjusting a bit to take her height into account Ranma glued Jennifer to his back using Sym's inherent abilities while simultaneously bleeding ki into the room to make it credible. Nodding at Reed who understood his intent and made the window disappear Ranma inclined his head. "We'll be back."
Turning back around and listening to the well-wishes with half an ear Ranma jumped and fired his webbing. Then they were gone.
to be continued...
Some quick notes:
- Ranma's clone and Kodachi hooking up: Basikampfire's review gave me the idea. Dunno if it's original enough for your taste, but it gave me all sorts of inspiration, especially on how the showdown is gonna end.
- the new and improved clone: ain't telling too much other than that a potential stemming from an altercation in Ranma's 'old life' has been unlocked in the clone through Warren experimenting with things he had no clue about.
- the story winding down: there's still a few chapters left until the conclusion, so don't worry, there's more than enough happening till then. And yes, that includes the Nerimans as well.
- Andrew Tyler's literal lack of faith: not my personal opinion, rather how this character wanted to be written.
- giving Felicia a complimentary curse: I don't think I'll go down this road seeing as Ranma and Felicia are happy as they are.
Take care, all, and thanks for reading.
Special thanks to: BorgRabbit for rendering betaing services and my readers in general. There's probably tons of others I'm forgetting, so let this be a general shout of 'Kudos, as usual!'
Many thanks to those of you who were kind enough to leave reviews for the last chapter(s):
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That said, keep 'em coming'! :D