Ranma belong to Rumiko Sensei

X-Men belongs to Marvel Studios

Special Thanks to : Cheeser and Death for editing the SHIT outta this chapter ^_^. Without this, this fic doesn't get released!

Homo Superior

Apocalypse -Sinister War: Part One

*** Apocalypse Base- Genosha***

Apocalypse looked down from his newly built citadel balcony as two mutants battled for the honor of serving in the growing army that surrounded them. Both mutants before him were energy types. The only difference between them was that one fired ultraviolet rays while the other used Infra-red.

"Lord Apocalypse," a tall fat man in a business suit bowed. "We found the base, a large one, according to our scouts. It might be HIS main base."

The ancient mutant did not move, keeping his arms behind his back as he watched one of the mutants overcome his enemy, bisecting him at the waist with an energy beam.

"Tell War and Famine to take a thousand of these new chosen and scour that base," Apocalypse's voice boomed with authority.

"Yes my Lord Apocalypse!" the fat man, Hamilton Vaughn of Clan Akkaba, saluted before backing away slowly.

"And remember," the First Mutant spoke up to Hamilton surprised. "No survivors."

"Of course my Lord!"

Ultraviolet raised his hand up as he stood atop the bloodied corpse of his opponent and yelled to the sky before bowing before Apocalypse.

"Fitting," Apocalypse declared as more of the newly chosen screamed their approval. It was almost time for war and his forces were almost ready to attack the so called 'Powers' of this world. The last vestiges of resistance on this island would fall before him like the chaff of wheat.

Nothing could stop him now. Not even the X-Men.

Walking back inside, Apocalypse looked at the trophies in his room: the battered form of Scott Summers, Wolverine, Storm, his former Horseman of Death- Archangel, Sunspot, Colossus, Cannonball, along with many others from Excalibur, X-Force and X-Factor were clamped onto large X-crosses on either side of his throne that lead all the way out to the door.

"Wake up the leader." Apocalypse commanded of his men.

Immediately, a servant injected a needle into Cyclops, bringing the X-Man to consciousness. The X-Man spat a wad of blood onto the floor before looking at his deadliest foe.

"It's only a matter of time before the X-Men find this place, and when they do they'll take you down!"

Apocalypse laughed heartily, he did enjoy opponents with spirit..

"They will not have to find me X-Man," the ancient mutant replied after his chuckles subsided. "I plan on going to them to retrieve my last two Horsemen."

Cyclops' eyes widened behind his visors and he struggled against his bindings.

"Put him to sleep," Apocalypse ordered and walked out of his throne room. Once he had his final two Horsemen, he'd cull this world of the weak.

***A Week Later, Japan- Unknown Location***

"YAAAAHH!"

Ranma Saotome and his father Genma Saotome's kicks smashed into each other's faces, sending both recoiling before they charged at one another again, exchanging a flurry of blows.

"That all ya got boy? You going to that western school for cheaters has made you soft!" the man in the white bandana taunted his son while beads of sweat were running down his face. Saotome tenant 101, even if your opponent was good, talk shit to them.

"I remember you being faster than this!"

Ranma rolled his eyes because he knew he was fast. If anything, his father's punches were slower than he recalled.

"Yeah right old man, says the one with another layer of fat on his belly!"

"What?! These aren't fat, they're muscles!" Genma angrily replied, only to double over in pain as his son's fist sneaked past his defense and pummeling him in the gut. "Ugh!"

"Like soft lard old man." Ranma smirked as he exchanged a few more attacks before he deciding to end it. Using one of his new moves, he laced his fist with hot Ki and punched his father, making sure to infuse the Ki into his body. If he had done it correctly, his father would currently be experiencing a searing and dizzying heat.

"HUGGAH!" Genma yelled as something latched onto his Ki and superheated it. Before he knew it a second punch by Ranma sent him flying into the trees.

'This is gonna hurt.'

Ranma grinned and wiped the sweat from his forehead. As good as he was, he knew he could be better. His old man could still give him a run for his money a third of the time.

"Mmnnghh..." Genma groaned as he came out of the bushes.

"Pop?" Ranma blinked at how his father still lay limply, his face sweating. Did he mess up the move? "Pop!"

"R-Ranma," Genma gasped painfully as he clutched at his chest.

Concerned, Ranma rushed over to his father and tried to support the old man and slung one of his arms over his shoulders. "Old man you alright, crap I shouldn't have u-uuggh!"

Before Ranma realized it, Genma used the arm around his neck and hit a pressure point before his fist hammered home into stomach over and over again.

Whatever Genma lacked in speed, he made up for with power as he finished his combo on Ranma with a Ki-infused palm to his solar plexus.

"Hahah! Foolish boy! A martial artist never lets his guard down for a second!" Genma gloated before he felt a flare of power as his son had overwhelmed the pressure point and lunged at him. "Training's is over for now."

Ranma stopped his fist a half inch away from his calm looking father and cursed the old man. He shouldn't have fallen for that act. His father might have been right; his time among the mutants might have made him soft. Looking at the sky, Ranma figured it was probably sometime pass noon.

"Time for lunch pop?"

"Right you are boy," Genma agreed as he took out dried deer meat from hidden space and started a fire. "What will you be eating boy?"

Ranma felt his forehead vein throb before he kicked his father in his head. "Oh look, I found some deer meat!"

"Ungrateful boy!" Genma rushed back in as he began to snatch for his lunch. "I saved that for myself!"

"Hah! Anything goes pops!" Ranma taunted as the second phase of their training began. After all, everything is training.

+++ Night Time+++

Ranma had picked the highest tree to stargaze while his father slept like a log in his little bedroll on the ground. A little over a month into his training session and he was only able to experiment with a few of his new techniques. His father had told him he was going to be heading back to Nerima tomorrow, leaving Ranma would be on his own.

The whole point of Genma being here was to sharpen Ranma's mind and skill to the finest edge. While he had improved in some areas, he had also become lax in others due to the people he had been fighting against. Only someone like his father could push him and point out the flaws in his Anything Goes technique.

"Zzzz~~~~!"

Ranma looked down at his father, who had been snoring loudly for the past hour. As much as he loathed admitting it, he had missed the fat bastard. He had returned home and found that Nabiki had been off studying for some special program according to Kasumi. They offered a full scholarship, so it wasn't something the Tendo family could turn down. His father and old man Soun still played Shogi like usual, old man Soun briefly inquired about Akane only to find out about their worsening relationship before blaming it on Xavier and the institute.

Kasumi had asked about Akane and her progress in private, to which Ranma had answered to the best of his abilities. He was a bit surprised that Kasumi wasn't forced to become his fiancee after Akane sent formal notice that she had broken off her claim to him. He had spent a week with his mother, who apparently had been admitted to a hospital after she had been diagnosed with a rare disease that could have been fatal had they not caught it in time.

That had scared Ranma, the thought of losing his mother without knowing it, but his mother had said a friend had prompted her to go. Whoever that friend was, Ranma owed them big time. Oddly enough, his mother had seemed very pleased with his progress in school while his father felt differently. His father felt that mutants were just walking cheats. To him- as a martial artist, power should be earned not given, a surprising stance from the old man.

"Hmm, I wonder what the other guys are doing," Ranma mused out loud as he gazed at the clear skies. When he met Hiro and Dai, the first thing they asked about was the girls and if they were hot. Though he felt friendly with them, he realized they were not friends like Evan and Myst were which came as a surprise.

Ranma had gone to Ucchan's, deciding he should face the music, but Ukyou's shop was closed for the next two weeks. He wondered where she could have gone off to, but from what Hiro and Dai said, Ukyou's business had thrived and she was planning on opening a second store. Kontasu's sisters had also shown up once more and struck some sort of deal with his childhood friend after a battle that did not involve Ranma.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Ranma closed his eyes and prepared to get some shut eye when he sensed something odd in the air. They were a good distance from Nerima, and deep in the mountains to boot, yet the air felt strange. He looked down and realized his father had woken up and was looking around. A moment later the feeling fled, and his father, sensing the oddity was over, lay back down on his sleeping bag. Ranma shrugged and followed suit a moment later.

+++The Next Day+++

Ranma snapped awake and he looked down from the tree line to find his father gone. Rolling from the tree, he jumped down and sniffed the air. He smelled cooked meat and, judging by the smothered camp fire, his father had probably left before dawn.

"Stupid old man, can't even say goodbye." Ranma muttered as he slowly warmed up to practice his new moves.

At least, he would have, had not a powerful telepathic wave washed over the area making Ranma clutch his head and stagger. Luckily, he was saved from the majority of the backlash by his mental shields, having been taught how to erect and maintain them by Jean.

"W-What the hell?" Ranma wondered aloud when a large explosion rocked the entire area, making the ground beneath his feet shake violently.

Ranma briefly debated whether or not he should wait for his father to return before quickly remembering his cowardly nature. The old man was probably running away from the killing intent as he stood there. As more explosions continued to rock the environment, Ranma briefly considered following his father's example and getting out of the area as soon as possible.

But...

It was a telepathic wave he felt... Ranma sighed to himself. Jean and the X-Men might like a new mutant to recruit.

"Bah, damn school and their lessons." Ranma mumbled as he began to move through the forest, homing in on the sounds of explosions. It was when he went through a clearing that he did a double take upon seeing who it was.

"Rouge?!"

There, in the ruined clearing was a female with three heads and six arms, but only two legs. The only person Ranma had ever encountered with such characteristics was the strange cursed girl who had hunted Taro once upon a time. However, this Rouge looked different. She looked taller, older, her arms and skin were now a darker tan, and she wasn't wearing a dress but instead some kind of battle armor.

It was then Ranma noticed something else, there on the ground before Rouge's evil looking twin was a red-haired woman that look strangely like a younger Jean, and was dressed in little more than a black bikini of some sort. There was even a stylized phoenix outlined on her clothes.

'What is this? Evil twin day?'

The Jean look-a-like was in pretty bad shape. Her skin was littered in cuts and bruises and she was occasionally coughing up blood as she lay on the ground. But Rouge didn't kill innocent people, especially someone who was already beaten and passed out like the woman before her.

"Rouge?" Ranma asked again and this time one of the Ashura's gazes turned upon him. That was when Ranma was finally able to get a good look of the being. The six armed girl was also in pretty rough shape, with the battle armor he had noted earlier being heavily damaged and seeping her blood.

"Ranma Saotome," the dangerous looking Rouge spoke, her tone giving him goosebumps. "You like to meddle."

"W-Wha?" Ranma didn't have much time as his instinct screamed at him to dodge a storm of bolts that rained down all around him. "What the hell Rouge?!"

"Die flatscan." Rouge told Ranma as she once more called down a storm of lightning bolts in the area destroying hundreds of trees in a single move.

Ranma once again dodged the lightning bolts that aimed for him, but was pulled up short. "Wait, how did you know my codename?"

"..."

Instead of replying, Rouge launched herself toward Ranma and spewed out a stream of fire from all three of her mouths. However, to her surprise, a stinging blow made her close her middle mouth and two of her hands reacted by cupping it in pain.

Seeing that Rouge was taken off guard by the blow, Ranma gave a hard strike to the other two heads, their noses giving off a loud crack. He normally wouldn't hit that hard, but a couple of things were clear. This Rouge imposter was about to kill the Jean look-a-like, and chances were she was trying to kill him too. Trying to kill him was one thing, but other people? That wouldn't fly with him at all.

Rushing forward quickly, he kicked the Ashura in her stomach, sending her flying deeper into the forest. He didn't know what was going on, but the Jean look-a-like looked pretty roughed up, so he had to get her out of the area before Rouge returned.

"Alrighty," Ranma muttered to himself as he lifted the red head into a bridal carry.

"RANMAAAAA~!" the pissed off voice of the angry Ashura echoed in the forest.

"That's our cue to leave!" Ranma stated as he darted off easily through the trees. He was able to sense the sheer power that Rouge was putting out, and just went the opposite direction until he could no longer feel her.

Deciding that it was best to just put as much distance between him and Rouge as possible, Ranma decided to head deeper into the forest. Quickly, he headed back to his camp and without having to set the woman down once, got all of his supplies packed and headed off.

After about a good four hours of him bounding through trees at a decent speed, he felt the woman shifting in his arms. Looking down, he watched as her eyes opened and was surprise to find that they were the same exact color as Jean's.

"... Jean?" Ranma ventured tentatively, but the woman only gave him a curious glassy-eyed look. Looks like this Jean Look-a-like was still recovering from whatever Rouge did to the woman. He stiffened a bit as the woman shifted in his arms and seemed to snuggle into his chest before closing her eyes.

"..."

After judging that they were far away enough, Ranma found a small clearing with a stream nearby and lots of thick trees and hid in the dense underbrush. Taking out his small sleeping roll, he kicked it out and slowly laid the Jean look-a-like in it.

Looking at her wounds, Ranma took out a cloth and cleaned it in the stream before slowly wiping at the worst of the wounds; he was surprise to find his clothes were covered in dirt and blood too. Going back to the stream he slowly washed them out and decided to get something to eat when he spotted fish swimming around.

"Amigur-... " Ranma trailed off as he had been practicing not shouting out his attacks anymore when he used them. Still, there was no drop in speed as he grabbed a bunch of salmon from the river bed and flipped them by where the camp fire would be.

Making a nice stone circle, he tossed in dry leaves and smaller twigs. Using his Anything Goes culinary abilities, he quickly cleaned the fish and started a fire to cook them.

Hours later when Ranma was in the middle of eating his seventeenth fish, he felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked at the woman to see her frowning at him, her glassy eyes no longer present.

"Yo, ya hungry?" Ranma asked as he grabbed a fish on a stick from fire and offered it to her. It was then he felt a familiar sensation pressing against his mind. She was trying to read his thoughts. He quickly grabbed a rock and flicked it, striking her in the center of her forehead, eliciting a pained yelp.

"Okay, looks like we have to lay down some ground ru-"

Ranma was cut off when he felt a stronger attack against his mind. Thankfully, he had trained his mental barriers with Ms. Frost, and while it wouldn't last forever, it would give him a great measure of protection. Enough for him to rush over and grab the Jean look-a-like from his sleeping roll and punch her in the stomach, breaking her concentration and hence end her attack. With her folded over his arms Ranma retracted his fist and made the woman face him.

"Like I said lady, we're going to have to go over some ground rules," Ranma began even as the woman glared at him but did not seem to say anything else or, more importantly, make any more mind-reading attempts.

"First, you are never to read my mind, EVER, if you do that again, I'll knock you out and bring ya to the closest hospital."

Ranma saw the woman look alarmed by that fact and continued.

"However, if ya promise not to read my mind anymore, I won't have to hurt ya and I think we'll all be happier that way. Deal?"

The woman slowly nodded her head once. Ranma slowly set her down on her feet and turned his back on her, ready to make good on his threat if she tried again. However she didn't and he was glad she learned her lesson.

"Anyway, I got food if you want to eat."

"Who are you?" the woman finally spoke up, sounding just like his red haired friend, much to Ranma's chagrin. He should've known, what WAS it with him and Jean's?

"Ranma Saotome," Ranma turned around and saw the woman was looking at him with a glare but made no other move. It was than he took in the woman's state of dress. The black bikini like outfit was little more than rags at this point. The woman was also filthy, despite him cleaning her wounds. It was curious that he swore she was a lot more injured before too... Quirking his mouth in a small, frown, Ranma decided to go a step further in being helpful.

"There's a stream nearby if you need to clean up, I got some soap in my backpack and an extra gi that's clean until you can get new- uhh... clothing."

The woman blinked and looked to his heavy package and then back to him again. "How did I get here?"

"Well, I brought ya here- not that I was the one that kidnapped ya or nuthing," Ranma hastily corrected himself seeing the woman's glare intensify in a very Jean-like manner. "You were being attacked by Rouge's evil twin or something and I kinda saved ya. That's all. You're free to leave now if you like, I won't stop you."

"Rouge?" the Jean look-a-like asked, there were a genuine confusion on her face. "Who's that?"

"That three headed six armed girl that was attacking you," Ranma reminded and noticed the woman's eyes light up as if she just remembered what happened herself.

"Are you a telepath? Your mental defenses are quite good." the woman asked, looking at Ranma curiously.

"Uhh, I'm not a mutant." Ranma corrected, and for the first time since she awoke, her glare disappeared, being replaced with a look of shock.

"That's not possible!" the woman's expression matching her tone of disbelief.

"I'm pretty sure I'm X-gene free," Ranma smiled and enjoyed the woman's reaction. He found that he had acquired a perverse pleasure in letting mutants know humans weren't weak.

"Father would know for sure," the woman muttered to herself before looking at the pig tailed boy again. "Why did you save me?"

Ranma shrugged as he bit into another finished salmon. "Dunno, it could have been anyone and I'd have saved em in THAT situation."

The woman looked pensive and looked to the riverbed stream and then back at Ranma. "And you want nothing from me?"

Ranma shook his head in confirmation. "Like I said; you're free to go now if you'd like."

"And how do you expect me to find my way back from wherever the hell you took me?" the woman snapped as she gestured to the wilderness around them.

"Well, I'll bring you within city limits and you can find your way home after that, can't you?" Ranma asked curiously and saw the woman this time looked pensive.

"My home... I need to get back to America," the woman told Ranma, much to his surprise. He thought she was a Japanese native based on how fluently she spoke to him in Japanese, idioms and all. "My father had a... business here."

"Had?" Ranma asked as he started on yet another stick of fish.

"It doesn't matter anymore, I need to get back to America before our mutual friend finds us," the woman spoke up meaningfully.

"Ah, I wouldn't be too worried about her, she's nowhere near us at the moment," Ranma waved off the Jean look a like's concern and saw the woman look surprised.

"How can you possibly know that?" the scantily clad woman asked suspiciously as she retreated back a few steps.

"Hmm? Because I don't sense her nearby." Ranma explained and had already prepared to grab the closest rock and knocked the woman out with it.

"...You can sense her?" the woman stopped her retreat and blinked in surprised. "I thought you said you weren't a mutant!"

"I'm not!" Ranma snapped annoyed at that whole mutant thing. "Just because I have powers doesn't mean I'm a mutant."

"Oh, a superhuman," the woman stated as she nodded as if she was finally able to place him.

"... sure, let's go with that for now." Ranma grumbled before he bit into the fish viciously and put the next batch of fish over the fire. He looked up to see the woman walking over to his backpack and quickly look for the clothes he had told her about. Wiping his hand on his pants, he moved over to her side before taking out the clean gi, liquid soap and a travel size shampoo.

"... Thank you," the woman thanked him as she took the items. "...Maddy."

"Hm?"

"My name is Maddy," the woman, Maddy, walked toward the stream and began to strip, not caring if Ranma was watching.

Ranma stared at the woman for a second, unable to believe the lack of shame she had, before he quickly turned around to give her some privacy. The woman must have caught him doing so, because he heard her giggle, followed by a splashing in the stream a moment later.

Looking at the fire, Ranma decided to break his self-imposed isolation and get some advice from his teacher and friend, Jean. Taking out his phone from his hidden space, Ranma touched the screen and saw it lit up with a new wallpaper that now included the Cuckoo's and Sybil. He cursed quietly when he noticed the lack of reception he had.

'Just great...' Ranma thought to himself as he finally gave up on trying to move the phone around to get some sort of reception after a good ten minutes. He'd try again later as he turned the fish over and heard the sound splashing stop.

"Ranma?"

Turning around he saw the woman had put on his gi and tied it up loosely. Now that she was cleaned up, the resemblance to a College-age Jean was even more apparent. It was then much to his chagrin he noticed she used his towel and wrapped it around her head... he only offered her the gi damn it!

The woman looked at him and smiled apologetically. "I'm hope you don't mind."

Ranma didn't feel a presence against his mind, which meant the woman had guessed correctly. Sighing, he motioned for the spot across from him.

"Well, too late to do anything about it, if you're hungry there's still plenty of fish."

Maddy pursed her lips before she sat across from the pig tailed boy and gingerly grabbed at the fish Ranma had shown her. Tentatively nibbling on the fish, she was surprised by the flavor before she began to devour the rest in earnest.

"Heh, guess you were hungrier than ya thought huh," Ranma smirked at the woman across from him who looked up, small pieces of fish sticking to her face as she blushed slightly.

"S-so, what were you doing so far out here?" Maddy asked, attempting to divert his attention.

"Training." Ranma shrugged as he poured some herbal tea from a thermos into a plastic cup and offered it to the woman. "What about you? Why was Rouge attacking you?"

Maddy, instead of answering Ranma, went back to eating, her face pensive.

"Did you do something to her?" Ranma guessed, trying to solve the mystery to kill time. "Maybe piss her off somehow? I mean she worked ya over real good ya know."

Almost reflexively, the woman brought a hand up to her face where a nasty looking welt and some shallow cuts were still visible.

"... She attacked me," Maddy said slowly as she stared into the fire. "I was too lax and was caught off guard. Otherwise, our fight would have turned out differently. Her friends weren't so... lucky."

"Oh? You're that powerful?" Ranma commented and nudged the stick in the fire to make it flare higher.

"I'm the most powerful being in the world," Maddy replied without hesitation. She did get annoyed when the boy across from her looked amused. "Something funny?"

"Heh, well, I just so happen to know the most powerful being in this world," Ranma bragged, thinking of Jean. Sure, she wasn't crazy powerful now, but Future Jean could tear through realities!

"Who is this person?" Maddy asked, her eyes narrowing as if daring him to prove her wrong.

"Jean Grey." Ranma smiled fondly at the thought of his friend.

"You know Jean Grey?" Maddy asked softly.

"Yeah, she's my teacher at school, she kind of looks like you or rather, you kind of look like her." Ranma commented offhand and saw the woman was glaring at him for some reason. He didn't like that look.

"You try anything and I'm gonna knock you out and then call the X-Men to deal with you."

"... You know the X-Men?" Maddy face turned even stonier.

"Yeah, they teach at the school I go to and NO, I'm still not a mutant!" Ranma glared at the woman, daring her to say otherwise. But the woman looked a bit shocked at his declaration.

"You- you went to Xavier's school and you don't find it odd that I look like Jean Grey?" Maddy asked in amazement. "I thought Madeline Pryor's story was well known..."

"Madeline who? Wait, Madeline, as in short for Maddy!" Ranma looked proud of himself for making such an amazing deduction. Now that he though aobut it, there was something familiar about that name...

"You really don't have any idea who I am, do you?" Maddy looked at the pig tailed boy in wonder.

"Jean's long lost sister?" Ranma ventured.

"In a way..." Maddy admitted before she stretched. She was half tempted to attack the boy and rip the information she needed from him, but he had proven to be incredibly fast. "So what do you plan on doing?"

"Well, first, I'm gonna head back to the city where we can part ways. After that, I'll gonna go back to training." Ranma informed Maddy, surprising her with his honesty.

"Go back to training? Are you not aware of what is happening in the world right now?" the pretty red head looked at the pig tailed boy incredulously.

"Well, I've kinda been training for over a month now, so nope, no idea what's going on." Ranma shrugged as he drank the warm tea straight from his thermos.

"... You are not aware that the X-Men have been caught in the crossfire of a war between my father and Apocalypse?" Maddy asked, looking at the boy for any traces of falsehood. For all she knew he could be an Apocalypse henchman.

"Wait- Apocalypse, the asshole Apocalypse? The first mutant?" Ranma recalled Professor Caliban's lesson. It was then the other part of what Maddy said registered. "Wait who's your father?"

"He was once known as Nathaniel Essex," Maddy declared with conflicted emotion, she hated the man, but he was still her father. "However, you might know him by his chosen name Mr. Sinister."

"... Nope! Never heard of him," Ranma replied cheerfully as he went back to eating, completely missing Maddy's disbelieving look.

"... How can you not know about one of the X-Men's greatest foes?!" Maddy's pride as a creation of Mr. Sinister was on the line. There was something about the boy's dismissive attitude that did not sit well with her. Normally she'd be a lot calmer about things, but for once, she couldn't just tear the information she needed out of his head.

"Whoa... Magneto's your father?! I didn't know Mr. Sinister was his name too," Ranma asked looking at the woman with dawning comprehension. "Hmmm, ya know it make sense, Jean was so awesome Magneto got one for himself too."

"...no." Maddy denied in a tired tone. Her father would hate this boy; he prided himself on being known and feared.

"Hmmm... well does he work for the Coalition of Humanity, they're pretty evil bastards..." Ranma shrugged before noticing the light beginning to fade.

"Anyway, I'll deal with this tomorrow... you can take my sleeping bag for the night."

"..."

+++ Hours Later+++

The campfire had dimmed to little more than flaming embers as Maddy looked at the sleeping boy. She could not believe how uncaring the boy was. It was as if he was not afraid of her trying to kill him. The most frustrating thing was how weak she felt. The battle with the two Horseman had taken its toll on her, and the injuries she had suffered had not fully healed yet. She would need some time in one of Sinster's recovery tanks to be completely back to normal.

Maddy briefly contemplated trying to dive into the boy's mind again, but eventually decided against it. Mainly because he was the only one that could get her out of this forest. She had no idea where they were, and all of her communication devices had been completely destroyed in the battle.

She supposed she could decide what she'd do to him tomorrow.

++++ New York, Xavier Institute+++

'Saffron, RUN!'

Saffron was scared; there were explosions all around him and sounds of people fighting. His mother had told him to not fly or else the bad people would get him. Thoughts of his mother made him stumble a bit in his step as his eyes welled up with tears once more.

The bad man got his mom when she tried to protect him.

"Mommy..." Saffron desperately wished his father was here. His father would know what to do! Why, his dad was the strongest person he knew!

"Daddy..."

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Two large creature type mutants towered over him behind him. One had an pig like face with a huge muscular body, the other was a giant cruel looking man with only one eye and leathery wings.

"Where ya running to boy?"

Saffron began to panic until he remembered a move that his father said would work most of the time on an opponent. Getting in an Anything Goes stance he charged the two surprised men.

"Haha! Little runt got some fight in-URK!"

"Anything Goes School anti-kidnapper attack! Nutcracker!" Saffron called out the move as an afterthought as he pulled his arms back from the low bow and ran from the two bad men who were slumped over in pain.

His father always praised him for his great strength!

As fast as his little legs could carry him, he ran from the main building and was immediately greeted by a scene of pure chaos. All around him he could see his father's friends, along with his aunts and uncle's fighting off the bad people everywhere. Uncle Gunther was battling in the sky while his father's blond friend was shiny and punching something that looked like it was made out of slime. He wanted to stay and help, but his mother had told him to run and find a safe spot to hide. He went to the only place that ever made him feel safe beside at his mother's side.

Rushing toward the dorm building, Saffron saw some signs of battle but found it mostly empty when he went inside. Rushing up the stairs he sought out his father's room. Taking out the master key he had swiped from his mother's desk a long time ago, Saffron swiped the card against the door, allowing him access. He hurriedly closed the door and dove under his father's bed to hide.

Once more he heard loud shouts and screams. Frightened, he turned to face the wall and covered his ears while shielding his body protectively with his wings. It was uncomfortable but he made him feel safe.

Saffron did not hear the door opening again nor did he sense the hands that reached under the bed for him.

TBC...

AN: Wooo hoo! So, what is this? Why is this chapter short? If you skim this chapter, you bet your ass it's short! I was told that this chapter was too long and short at the same time. Long because it has a lot of information, short because it doesn't seem long enough for those information.

While working on these chapters, I came to a creative split. Write more and break the flow, or capped it where it's suppose to be capped to maintain the cliff and hook. I decided to go with the latter instead of letting it end abruptly.

Also, I have been able to refine my writing style thanks to the less written more said, style. So while it is short, stuff that would or could have been fillerish have all but been eliminated. Every single line I'd like to think impact and contribute to the overall story. As for why I did not touch base on Ranma return home to the Tendo and the interaction there.

That's not part of the war and would not affect the war, already it's already big enough in my head as it is. Those scene would either be in the next Omake/Extra Chapters or Side stories in general if I feel the bug biting. BUT the hints are already there on what happen with the Tendo if you read my works. All the clues are there, it's up to the reader to make their own conclusion.

Now on to some sad news. I will be losing Two editors. One I lost already, Death, who will be busy during Summer time and beyond. Cheeser I will lose in approximately two weeks. People gotta work and eat ya know? Same with me too so I understand. That leaves me with one, Mingyu who is also quite busy. So, if you would like to have a go at helping me edit fic, please give me a PM. If not, well, can't be blame for the poor quality!

Finally, thanks to all the readers who stuck it out so far leaving thoughtful reviews and friendly encouragement! It's very nice to read them! So thank you all! Good job for those that spot out all the little nick nacks in the last chapter you guys get cookies! Internet cookie- waddya mean it's not good cookies?!

Up Next: The War escalates.

As always C+C welcome, reviews Appetite it!