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Based on stuff that's not mine...
Written by Cyclone...
Whirlwind Productions presents...
BOOMER 1/2
Episode One--Battles
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Priss was pissed.
Not that this was anything new; nor was the target of her ire. As she raced down the freeway, she could still hear his words: "I'm sorry, but it was either break your contract or shut down. Seems our main sponsor, GENOM, doesn't appreciate your hard work for some reason."
*GENOM...*
As if on cue (which, BTW, it is ^_^), something exploded in front of her. She found herself flying through the air as her bike skidded into the flames. She picked herself up and shook her head clear.
Two boomers, Bu-55-C models, were standing there. *Damn! What a f****** lousy way to die!* she snarled mentally as she fumbled for the components of her Member II pistol.
They fired... but not at her. Rounds from their forearm machineguns stitched parallel paths along the edge of the road as they tracked a figure running a fraction of a second ahead of the hail of bullets.
She shook her head in disbelief, "No way." Their target apparently heard her and swore as he changed trajectory and ran toward her.
Priss suddenly found herself being carried in his arms. "Keep your head down!" he said as he carried her along the road.
"Put me DOWN!" she snarled. *Who does this guy think he is? For that matter, how the hell did he DO all that?! _No_ one can be _that_ fast.* She heard the blare of a police siren as an ADP Tac Squad APC raced past.
He set her down. "There. The ADP can handle it from here."
She frowned. She didn't particularly care to be treated like some damsel in distress. Still... "Thanks for the save, but how'd you DO all that?"
He shrugged and said, "I'm a martial artist," as if he expected that to explain everything.
She was still a little unsure, but she shrugged and started to walk toward a phone booth, "Whatever. Thanks again."
GENOM Tower...
"The target has evaded the two Bu-55-Cs," reported one of the techs. "They have been terminated by the AD Police."
Katherine Madigan acknowledged the tech's report with a nod and thought, *Hmm... you're more resourceful than I thought, Ranma.* "Send out Unit V-33-RH to retrieve the target."
"Ma'am, is that wise?" asked the chief tech. "Unit V-33-RH's personality mnemonics are unstable. Given its high-level combat capacity, the results could be disastrous. It could-..."
Madigan broke in, "I am fully aware of the situation regarding Unit V-33-RH. Do it."
"Yes, ma'am," the chief technician turned to face the other techs. "Prepare to activate Unit V-33-RH."
They chorused in response, "Yes, sir!"
"Initializing objective data upload."
"Power levels optimal."
"Upload complete."
"Initiating activation sequence."
"Failsafes online."
"Activation complete."
Madigan nodded, "Deploy it."
And with that, a powerful and barely controlled killer boomer was released on the unsuspecting city of MegaTokyo.
Much later...
//Chopper Two here. I've lost visual contact with the target. Repeat, I have lost visual cont-huh? AHH-!!!static//
An explosion in the distance left no doubt as to where the boomer was. Since the Bu-47-D heavy weapons boomer was designed for artillery support, the AD Police was vastly outgunned, even moreso than usual.
The Knight Sabers, of course, were on their way. The KnightWing streaked through the skies of MegaTokyo, cloaked by its enhanced jamming and stealth systems.
"Knight Sabers, GO!"
They heard sounds of battle as they approached at high speed... but when they got there, all that was left were the burning remains of Chopper Two and the boomer.
"What the hell...?" That, of course, was Priss.
The Knight Sabers approached the pile of wreckage that was once an automated heavy weapons/missile platform.
Sylia knelt down to get a closer look and frowned, "Definite signs of an energy weapon... whoever did this had access to some fairly advanced firepower."
"Could it be the ADP?" Linna asked.
Nene shook her head, "No. They still don't have the authorization to use energy weapons. Chief Toodou's been trying to get it for months now."
"Hmm..." Sylia looked thoughtful. "This bears some looking into."
Meanwhile...
Ranma wandered through the city. His mind revolved around his current situation, *I just don't get it. One minute, Akane's smashing me into orbit again; next thing I know, I'm here in this crazy future with robots trying to kill me! What the hell's goin' on?!*
Then a thought struck him, *The nanban! All I hafta do is get that, and I can get myself home, no problem! Akane's right. I am _such_ an idiot.*
He grinned as he finally settled on that course of action. *Let's see now. Nerima should be... that way.* He turned and headed in the general direction of the closest thing to home he remembered.
The next morning...
Sylia began scanning the files that had been attached to an e-mail Nene had sent during the night. One was marked urgent and had a message attached. She accessed it, only to discover that Nene had not finished decrypting it. With mild irritation, she opened the attached message.
"Sylia,
I haven't finished decoding this one, but what I've deciphered so far scares me. Check out what I've decoded. I have a bad feeling about this.
Nene."
Sylia's frowned. Nene usually didn't worry, leaving to her to decide what to do. If this was that serious...
She opened the file again. *Project NERIMA...* As she read through what little was decoded, her faced paled. *No,* she thought, *they couldn't... they _wouldn't_.* But the proof was right in front of her.
Though she could deny it all she wanted to, they had indeed gone through with it, and one had already escaped.
*Fools. Don't they ever learn? As if the DD incident wasn't enough.*
GENOM Tower...
Madigan almost snarled. Since the night before, they hadn't been able to trace Ranma at all. Even Unit V-33-RH couldn't seem to track him.
*Then again,* she thought as a faint, rueful smile quirked her lips and vanished in almost the same instant, *it's not like he was designed for tracking anything anyway.*
She glanced irritatedly at the monitors displaying the camera images of the massive but empty testing complex hidden beneath GENOM Tower. The entire setup was useless now, with the primary test subjects no longer present.
She sighed as she thought, *Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. Why did you have to run off like this? Don't you realize how important you are?*
That night...
Ranma silently cursed the weather. This was largely due to her currently female state, brought about by a sudden storm. She didn't bother looking for hot water. The clouds above promised more rain before the night was done. She sighed as she kept walking. She glared at her surroundings. She was in a wide but poorly-lit street that obviously did not see much use.
That was when she caught a glimpse of a very familiar backpack topped by a head wrapped in a yellow and black bandanna.
"Hey, Ryouga!"
He turned. "Target located. Commencing acquisition."
"Huh?"
Ryouga drew his umbrella and swung. Ranma leaped out of the way and onto the open street. The umbrella smashed through a mailbox as she tried to calm her rival sometimes-friend, "Damnit, Ryouga! What the hell're you doin'?"
Ryouga simply turned and walked toward her.
Meanwhile, a pale and wide-eyed bystander ran off unnoticed by either combatant with the intention of finding a phone booth.
Ranma cursed mentally and decided to elaborate, "Look around, lost boy! Does this look like Nerima to you? Even you hafta realize we ain't in our own _world_ anymore!"
Ryouga raised his left hand and a blast of energy streaked out, which Ranma ducked. *Looks like I'm gonna hafta pound it into that pig head of his... as usual...*
GENOM Tower...
*Yes!* Madigan crowed mentally. Unit V-33-RH had found him. Now he was proceeding with the acquisition process. "Send ten 55-Cs to assist in the capture."
"Yes, ma'am."
ADP Headquarters...
Inspector McNichol leaned back and stretched at his desk. *Time to relax...*
"Leon!" He jerked up. It was Daley. "Someone called in about a couple of boomers fighting in District 12."
"That's what I love about this town," Leon replied as he got up. "It's never dull."
"Maybe," Daley said, "but one of our choppers have 'em IDed as some kind of superboomers."
"Great," Leon rolled his eyes. "_Just_ what we need."
District 12...
"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"
Ryouga opened his umbrella and blocked the yellow ball of energy before charging forward again, finger extended. Ranma ignored the thrusting digit. *He must've forgotten it doesn't work on-* "ARGH!"
Ranma flew back, a circle about the size of of a 500-yen coin burned into her shirt. "What the hell?!"
That's when Ranma heard the sirens approaching. "Hey, c'mon, Ryouga. We don't wanna get caught by the cops here."
Meanwhile...
Leon swerved his patrol car to a halt and stepped out, his STOMACH railgun drawn. Daley was on the other side of the car with an identical railgun.
The two superboomers were unlike anything he had ever seen. For one thing, both appeared completely human. The only thing that identified them as boomers were the speed they moved at and the plasma blasts they were firing. At least, they looked like plasma blasts.
For another, they both wore rather conspicuous clothing. The redhead wore a shredded silk outfit that nagged at his memory while the other, apparently called "Ryouga" by the redhaired superboomer, wore rough wool and a yellow and black bandanna. It also seemed to be using some kind of weapon disguised as a bamboo umbrella.
"Ryouga" suddenly stretched a hand out toward the two ADP inspectors and launched a plasma blast at them. The other superboomer said something, Leon wasn't sure what, and dove toward him. He turned and raised his STOMACH, but the superboomer struck him before he could get a shot off.
*Funny. It didn't hurt nearly as much I thought it would...*
He sat up and shook his head clear. He gaped. The redhaired superboomer was now firmly embedded in his squad car a good four meters away with a large burn on its forearms. *It... saved me?*
His eyes searched out for his STOMACH. He could try to figure out the superboomer's motives later. Right now, there was another superboomer to deal with.
He spotted it... just as a foot stepped on it and crushed it. He looked up. "Shit!"
It was the other superboomer, the one the redhaired superboomer had called "Ryouga."
The superboomer raised its right hand, preparing to blast him into oblivion...
Four meters away...
Ranma groaned as she groggily pulled herself up. She saw Ryouga standing over a cop, the same cop she had just saved.
"That's it, Ryouga! You've just gone TOO FAR this time!" she snarled. Attacking her was one thing, but attacking a bystander (a cop, no less!) was crossing the line.
Suddenly, he heard a voice from above saying, "Knight Sabers, GO!"
Four female armored figures leaped over her. Each was a different color white, blue, green, and red. The blue one extended her arm and a sliver of some ferrous metal shot out towards Ryouga, who shrugged it off.
Back in the fray...
Priss cursed as the superboomer seemed to ignore her railgun spike and returned fire with a plasma blast.
"Sylia!" Nene's voice echoed over the comm. "I'm detecting ten incoming contacts! Tentative ID: 55-C combat boomers. ETA: thirty seconds."
The leader of the Knight Sabers acknowledged Nene's report with a nod and spun to face the new threat. "Eliminate the 55-Cs first, then we'll deal with the superboomer."
It was then that the other superboomer charged past them and tackled the first one, pummeling it with a furious barrage of punches and kicks.
GENOM Tower...
Madigan cursed. Of _course_ the Knight Sabers would choose now to interfere. Even ten 55-Cs weren't likely to be enough. She swiftly ran through her options:
12-Bs could not be sent. After Mason had died, the highly illegal B-class boomers that were part of the primary defense grid at the time had almost destroyed GENOM's public credibility. If even one showed up, that would bring about unnecessary and undesired scrutiny.
33-Cs would not do any good, not against the Knight Sabers. She had Mason to thank for that piece of information, as they had destroyed a fair number of them rather quickly when they attacked the 99-C-X1 facility. She paused to sneer at Mason's carelessness in that matter; _she_ would never have let such sensitive information leak out.
Sending more 55-Cs would garner too much suspicion. Just the ten she had already sent would be difficult enough to explain away as a defective batch.
Superboomers and prototypes were out of the question. Two superboomers were already enough to draw unwanted attention; three would have reporters sneaking in with the janitors.
That left her with only one option that wouldn't take far too long to use. The testing had already been scheduled anyway, so altering the test site wouldn't be too difficult at all.
On the battlefield...
Ranma struck Ryouga with every bit of her Amaguriken speed, not even bothering with the usual battlecry. The two cops were alright, though the redhead would have a few broken bones. The sounds of more approaching sirens spurred her on, "MOUKO TAKABISHA!"
The ki blast sent the Eternal Lost Boy flying back. The impact triggered something, _changed_ something deep within. Ryouga struggled to his feet and snarled.
GENOM Tower...
"Miss Madigan, Unit V-33-RH is beginning to act erraticly. We are attempting to reestablish communication."
"Understood," Madigan nodded. "Keep trying." Despite her external cool, some part of her knew, deep down, that something had just gone horribly wrong...
District 12...
"Ranma Saotome! Prepare to DIE!"
*Now that's more like it!* Ranma smirked. *I knew he wouldn't be able to keep the Soul of Ice up for long. This oughtta be quick.*
"What's the matter, _P-chan_?! Get lost again?!"
"Why you...!" Ryouga choked off in rage. "SHISHI HOUKOU DAN!"
*Perfect!* Ranma thought as he finished the spiral. "HIRYUU SHOUTEN HA!"
GENOM Tower...
"Ma'am? The signal from Unit V-33-RH has terminated."
Madigan sucked in a breath. With both of them gone, continuing Project NERIMA will be far riskier. The Chairman was not going to like this, and anything the Chairman did not like had a tendency to disappear, along with the person(s) responsible for it.
District 12...
Linna knuckle-bombed the last blue boomer, which collapsed in a smoking hulk of armor plating and fried electronic circuits. Nene had been monitoring the two superboomers while the four of them fought the 55-Cs. The superboomers did not seem hostile to anyone except each other.
"Sylia, I'm detecting more incoming. Three boomers from the north. Airborne. Tentative ID: Bu-22-F Dogfights. ETA: ten seconds."
Sylia frowned under her helmet. Dogfights usually operated in conjunction with AWACS jets, but a quick scan from the KnightWing's sensors indicated clear skies except for the Dogfights and several approaching ADP choppers.
That was bad. If Firebees and Algonquins got mixed up in the battle, it was going to be bloody. Aerial combat was where the Dogfights shined brightest.
Suddenly, all four of the Knight Sabers were thrown off their feet as a blast of concussive force slammed into them. "What the f*** was that?!" swore Priss as she pulled herself up, looking for an enemy.
Nene swiftly checked her sensors, "I'm detecting a fading anomaly of some sort. I can't pin it down."
Standing in front of them was the smaller superboomer. The other one was apparently inactive as it lay in the middle of a crater in the street. Before anyone could do anything, however, the Dogfights were upon them.
Lightly armored and armed with only a single light particle beam cannon, the Bu-22-F Dogfight more than makes up for its lack of firepower with blinding speed provided by a large triple thruster pack and incredible maneuverability facilitated by a complex system of verniers, which had not changed much from the Dogfight's predecessor, the 2029 model Bu-19-F Skyhunter.
The Knight Sabers knew all this (Sylia insisted that they be informed on the capabilities of all their potential opponents), but they had never fought any before.
The superboomer leaped up to a rooftop and fired a plasma blast at the first 22-F, which dodged easily and returned fire. The battle was joined.
On the ground below...
Leon just shook his head as he stared. First the superboomer saved him and taken out the other superboomer, now it was fighting a trio of Dogfights alongside the Knight Sabers. He shuddered at that last bit.
The last time a Dogfight had gotten loose, it had destroyed a full third of the choppers sent against it before a lucky shot from a Tac Squad trooper's rocket launcher took out one of the sensor booms. After that, its aerial mobility worked against it, and it ended up crashing into a construction site.
He turned as he heard the distinctive rumble of high-powered diesel engines, out of place in MegaTokyo. A pair of APCs and an Armored Trooper carrier trundled toward him. Behind them was a medical transport.
Leon waved to the medtrans and gestured toward Daley, who lay unconscious at his feet where he had applied first aid. Paramedics rushed to the redhaired inspector's aid. Wiping blood and sweat off his face, Leon walked over to the Tac Squad leader, Lt. Anderson.
"What've we got?"
"Two squads and four K-12s. Choppers on the way."
"Choppers are coming _here_?!? Those're Dogfights up there. Even Hornets won't stand a chance. Remember what happened last time?"
"You try tellin' _them_ that. Damn rotor-jocks think they're invincible."
Leon nodded absently as he strode over to the AT carrier. "Hey, got a spare?"
"'Fraid not, Leon."
Leon caught something moving out of the corner of his eye and spun, his Earthshaker already out and raised before he even realized it.
"What is it, Inspector?"
"Not sure. I'm gonna check it out."
"Mind if I tag along?" asked Anderson.
"Not a bit. I could use the back up."
Leon stepped cautiously into the warehouse. The place had the distinct feel of abandonment, even considering the civilian evacuation order. Even the sounds of battle were muffled to a distant thunder.
Up above...
Nene shrieked and fired her light laser cannon as one of the Dogfights barreled towards her, particle beam cannon raised. Somehow, the three boomers had some AWACS support, and Nene had been busy trying to jam and pinpoint it. Every time she paused to do so much as dodge a stray shot, the boomers moved with greater coordination. She was still no closer to finding the source of the sensor support than she was at the beginning of the battle.
Now, one had targeted her after knocking Linna flat on her face and through a rooftop. Sweat rolled down Nene's face as she tried to simultaneously stay alive and keep up with the AWACS's frequency-hopping and ECCMs.
Suddenly, the superboomer tackled the Dogfight, knocking it off course, and hit it point-blank with a plasma blast. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!"
The Dogfight collapsed in a heap of slagged metal. Bullets began spraying from the street below at one of the Dogfights. The few rounds that hit merely dented the armor as that particular 22-F flew down and blasted the K-12s and the APCs.
The now-headless Armored Troopers stood motionless, guns pointed upward, like statues memorializing some great war even as blood spilled down them from the headless necks of the unfortunate pilots.
Inside the warehouse...
The Bu-41-R reconnaissance boomer prototype assessed its situation.
*Advanced Police ground troops? Effectively neutralized.
*Advanced Police aerial units? Incoming.
*Estimated Time of Arrival? Two minutes.
*Estimated threat level? Low.
*Alert!
*Details? Incoming humans on foot.
*Armaments? High-caliber revolver and submachine gun.
*Estimated threat level? Inconsequential.
*Dismiss.
*Primary targets? Airborne.
*Estimated threat level? Very high.
*Remaining forces? Two Bu-22-F Dogfight aerial interceptor boomers.
*Primary objective status? Successful.
*Secondary objective status? Incomplete.
*Tertiary objective status? Incomplete.
*Probability of secondary objective success? 0.59%
*Probability of tertiary objective success? 0.59%
*Recommended course of action? Sacrifice Bu-22-F Dogfight units and withdraw to make full report.
*Engage.*
Decision made, the boomer turned and strode off, casually dealing with the two human interlopers.
(Author's note: For those wondering, the primary objective was the field-testing of its capabilities, the secondary objective was Ranma's capture, and the tertiary objective was, as always, the elimination of the Knight Sabers.)
Two days later...
Ranma, having returned to his original male state, poured the remaining hot water on the unconscious piglet. "Yo, Ryouga."
The boy-turned-pig-turned-back-to-boy groaned, sat up, and glared as his eyes focused on the martial artist in front of him. "Ranma!"
The pigtailed boy held his hand up in Ryouga's face. "Hold it, Ryouga. We need to work together."
"And why should I work with _you_?"
Ranma rolled his eyes. "'Cause we're not on our world, anymore, pig-boy."
Ryouga decided to ignore the porcine remark for now, "Oh, come on, Ranma. Do you expect me to believe a story like _that_? It's impossible!"
"Like a boy turning into a pig is impossible?" Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I'd've thunk you'd realize what happened."
Ryouga's eyes narrowed. He knew he should pound Ranma for that jab at his curse. After all, he could never trust _Ranma_ of all people. Then again, Ranma had never lied before, and Ryouga doubted he'd start now.
"All right, Ranma. A truce until we get home."
GENOM Tower...
"Your mishandling of the situation has been most... disappointing, Miss Madigan."
Externally, the violet-haired Special Assistant bowed her head, but internally, she winced. Failure had no place in the corporate superstructure that made up GENOM, and Quincy rarely attached the honorary appellation unless he was truly upset.
The fact that Smith was in the room as well merely made it worse.
"I am... quite aware that I may have been hasty in my attempt to recover the subject, Mr. Chairman."
Quincy nodded. "I see. However, I have come to the conclusion that your personal involvement with Project NERIMA may prevent you from handling the situation with the proper objectiveness."
Madigan sucked in a breath and shot a glare at Smith. *So _that's_ why he's here!*
"Therefore, I am relieving you of the responsibility for this situation. Smith will take over from here."
The pale, skinny, clammy-skinned man bowed to Quincy, though it was clear from the smug grin he shot her way that he knew well beforehand that this had been the Chairman's intent for this meeting.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman," Smith gave an oily smile. He had never had any other kind of smile as far as anyone knew. "I shall deal with the aftermath of Madigan's... mishap... in District 12 at the press conference tomorrow."
Madigan's eyes narrowed, "And what do you intend to tell them, eh?"
Victor Smith just smiled again, "Why, the truth, of course."
The next day...
Leon stretched as he leaned back. His left arm was in a sling thanks to that lightning-fast black boomer that had been in the warehouse. Lt. Anderson wasn't quite so lucky.
One of Quincy's flunkies was on the TV, blathering on about the incident three days ago.
//As the escaped anti-boomer superboomer is hard-wired to defend humans at all costs, I can assure you that it is harmless. It will only direct hostility toward those it perceives as a threat, either to itself or to bystanders. Even so, it will not kill a human under any circumstance. For that matter, it will not even allow a human to die or come to any harm if it can be prevented, even at risk of its own elimination.//
//What about the other boomers that were there?//
//The other superboomer was programmed to capture or destroy the first. The 22-Fs were there to assist in this endeavor.//
//And the combat boomers?//
//The 55-Cs were sent to evacuate the area of both civilians and AD Police, as the 22-Fs are somewhat... unpredictable. However, they were unable to accomplish this as the misguided--but well-intentioned, I'm sure--Knight Sabers destroyed them within minutes of their arrival.//
//So... you're saying the Knight Sabers are responsible for the deaths of twenty-two AD Police officers?//
//No, not at all. Considering the track record for our initial releases of this particular model, their reaction was quite understandable, and I am in fact grateful for their attempt to help secure or eliminate the rogue boomer.//
//Thank you, Mr. Smith. Back to you, Hitomi.//
//Well, that seems pretty wrapped up. Still, I won't be sleeping too well tonight knowing there's a superboomer on the loose. In other news-...//
Leon shut off the television and shook his head. That actually sounded believable for once, since that boomer actually _did_ save his life.
Well, mostly believable. There was no way that second superboomer was as under control as that suit made it sound, and there wasn't any mention of that black boomer, either. Leon had never seen anything like it before. It was obviously a prototype.
He forced himself to his feet and dressed. Time to visit his partner in the hospital.
A few minutes later...
Leon grunted as adjusted his sling for the tenth time. He walked into Daley's room and waved. "Good morning."
"Hey!" Daley grinned. He gestured to the nightstand, "You really shouldn't have."
Leon blinked at the vase of white carnations and shook his head. "Wasn't me."
"If it wasn't you, then who was it?"
"Wellll... I think I heard one of the nurses down the hall talkin' about 'the cute cop in room twelve.'" He grinned. "Another heart broken by your boyish good looks."
The redhead scowled, then grinned again. "You know you're the only one for me, Leon-chan."
Leon rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just thought I'd come by and see if you heard GENOM's official position on the superboomer incident."
Daley snorted, incongruous as it seemed. "An escaped anti-boomer boomer? Don't tell me you actually _bought_ that."
Leon shrugged and walked over to look out the window, "I dunno what to believe. That short superboomer did save my life, after all. Knocked me outta the way of a plasma blast."
Daley grimaced. "I know, I was there. I'd probably be dead too if it hadn't stayed there and blocked the blast. But GENOM's never done anything to stop rogue boomers before. Why would they start now?"
Leon turned away from the window and faced Daley with a look of determination. "I don't know, but I intend to find out."
Four days later...
"Sorry again about the accomodations, Sylia."
"You haven't changed a bit, Fargo. At least you're wearing a new suit this time."
"You noticed."
Sylia sighed. "Fargo, what do have for me on that... incident... a week ago?"
The fixer swirled his drink with his finger, "Not much. GENOM's story checks out so well, I'm beginning to believe it."
Sylia frowned and shook her head, "Maybe, but it doesn't fit. GENOM has nothing to gain by designing something to _stop_ boomers. Keep digging."
"Don't expect much. I'm going to lay low for a few months, at least. There're a few other people who're also trying to get some info on that incident."
She raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Who?"
"One's AD Police, that much I know. I'm pretty sure it's Inspector McNichol. The other two trails both led back to GENOM." He grimaced slightly. "I couldn't get any more specific than that. Two of my contacts bought it trying to find out."
Sylia frowned thoughtfully. Fargo and his contacts numbered among the best. That two had died trying to find out who else wanted to know about the superboomers spoke volumes. It also explained why Fargo had decided to go underground for a while. *There must be more to Project NERIMA than I thought...* she mused.
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Author's Postscript:
I have my prereader, Bran-chan, to thank for his very helpful input into this... unusual... BGC/Ranma crossover.
This is Cyclone, signing off.
Based on stuff that's not mine...
Written by Cyclone...
Whirlwind Productions presents...
BOOMER 1/2
Episode One--Battles
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Priss was pissed.
Not that this was anything new; nor was the target of her ire. As she raced down the freeway, she could still hear his words: "I'm sorry, but it was either break your contract or shut down. Seems our main sponsor, GENOM, doesn't appreciate your hard work for some reason."
*GENOM...*
As if on cue (which, BTW, it is ^_^), something exploded in front of her. She found herself flying through the air as her bike skidded into the flames. She picked herself up and shook her head clear.
Two boomers, Bu-55-C models, were standing there. *Damn! What a f****** lousy way to die!* she snarled mentally as she fumbled for the components of her Member II pistol.
They fired... but not at her. Rounds from their forearm machineguns stitched parallel paths along the edge of the road as they tracked a figure running a fraction of a second ahead of the hail of bullets.
She shook her head in disbelief, "No way." Their target apparently heard her and swore as he changed trajectory and ran toward her.
Priss suddenly found herself being carried in his arms. "Keep your head down!" he said as he carried her along the road.
"Put me DOWN!" she snarled. *Who does this guy think he is? For that matter, how the hell did he DO all that?! _No_ one can be _that_ fast.* She heard the blare of a police siren as an ADP Tac Squad APC raced past.
He set her down. "There. The ADP can handle it from here."
She frowned. She didn't particularly care to be treated like some damsel in distress. Still... "Thanks for the save, but how'd you DO all that?"
He shrugged and said, "I'm a martial artist," as if he expected that to explain everything.
She was still a little unsure, but she shrugged and started to walk toward a phone booth, "Whatever. Thanks again."
GENOM Tower...
"The target has evaded the two Bu-55-Cs," reported one of the techs. "They have been terminated by the AD Police."
Katherine Madigan acknowledged the tech's report with a nod and thought, *Hmm... you're more resourceful than I thought, Ranma.* "Send out Unit V-33-RH to retrieve the target."
"Ma'am, is that wise?" asked the chief tech. "Unit V-33-RH's personality mnemonics are unstable. Given its high-level combat capacity, the results could be disastrous. It could-..."
Madigan broke in, "I am fully aware of the situation regarding Unit V-33-RH. Do it."
"Yes, ma'am," the chief technician turned to face the other techs. "Prepare to activate Unit V-33-RH."
They chorused in response, "Yes, sir!"
"Initializing objective data upload."
"Power levels optimal."
"Upload complete."
"Initiating activation sequence."
"Failsafes online."
"Activation complete."
Madigan nodded, "Deploy it."
And with that, a powerful and barely controlled killer boomer was released on the unsuspecting city of MegaTokyo.
Much later...
//Chopper Two here. I've lost visual contact with the target. Repeat, I have lost visual cont-huh? AHH-!!!static//
An explosion in the distance left no doubt as to where the boomer was. Since the Bu-47-D heavy weapons boomer was designed for artillery support, the AD Police was vastly outgunned, even moreso than usual.
The Knight Sabers, of course, were on their way. The KnightWing streaked through the skies of MegaTokyo, cloaked by its enhanced jamming and stealth systems.
"Knight Sabers, GO!"
They heard sounds of battle as they approached at high speed... but when they got there, all that was left were the burning remains of Chopper Two and the boomer.
"What the hell...?" That, of course, was Priss.
The Knight Sabers approached the pile of wreckage that was once an automated heavy weapons/missile platform.
Sylia knelt down to get a closer look and frowned, "Definite signs of an energy weapon... whoever did this had access to some fairly advanced firepower."
"Could it be the ADP?" Linna asked.
Nene shook her head, "No. They still don't have the authorization to use energy weapons. Chief Toodou's been trying to get it for months now."
"Hmm..." Sylia looked thoughtful. "This bears some looking into."
Meanwhile...
Ranma wandered through the city. His mind revolved around his current situation, *I just don't get it. One minute, Akane's smashing me into orbit again; next thing I know, I'm here in this crazy future with robots trying to kill me! What the hell's goin' on?!*
Then a thought struck him, *The nanban! All I hafta do is get that, and I can get myself home, no problem! Akane's right. I am _such_ an idiot.*
He grinned as he finally settled on that course of action. *Let's see now. Nerima should be... that way.* He turned and headed in the general direction of the closest thing to home he remembered.
The next morning...
Sylia began scanning the files that had been attached to an e-mail Nene had sent during the night. One was marked urgent and had a message attached. She accessed it, only to discover that Nene had not finished decrypting it. With mild irritation, she opened the attached message.
"Sylia,
I haven't finished decoding this one, but what I've deciphered so far scares me. Check out what I've decoded. I have a bad feeling about this.
Nene."
Sylia's frowned. Nene usually didn't worry, leaving to her to decide what to do. If this was that serious...
She opened the file again. *Project NERIMA...* As she read through what little was decoded, her faced paled. *No,* she thought, *they couldn't... they _wouldn't_.* But the proof was right in front of her.
Though she could deny it all she wanted to, they had indeed gone through with it, and one had already escaped.
*Fools. Don't they ever learn? As if the DD incident wasn't enough.*
GENOM Tower...
Madigan almost snarled. Since the night before, they hadn't been able to trace Ranma at all. Even Unit V-33-RH couldn't seem to track him.
*Then again,* she thought as a faint, rueful smile quirked her lips and vanished in almost the same instant, *it's not like he was designed for tracking anything anyway.*
She glanced irritatedly at the monitors displaying the camera images of the massive but empty testing complex hidden beneath GENOM Tower. The entire setup was useless now, with the primary test subjects no longer present.
She sighed as she thought, *Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. Why did you have to run off like this? Don't you realize how important you are?*
That night...
Ranma silently cursed the weather. This was largely due to her currently female state, brought about by a sudden storm. She didn't bother looking for hot water. The clouds above promised more rain before the night was done. She sighed as she kept walking. She glared at her surroundings. She was in a wide but poorly-lit street that obviously did not see much use.
That was when she caught a glimpse of a very familiar backpack topped by a head wrapped in a yellow and black bandanna.
"Hey, Ryouga!"
He turned. "Target located. Commencing acquisition."
"Huh?"
Ryouga drew his umbrella and swung. Ranma leaped out of the way and onto the open street. The umbrella smashed through a mailbox as she tried to calm her rival sometimes-friend, "Damnit, Ryouga! What the hell're you doin'?"
Ryouga simply turned and walked toward her.
Meanwhile, a pale and wide-eyed bystander ran off unnoticed by either combatant with the intention of finding a phone booth.
Ranma cursed mentally and decided to elaborate, "Look around, lost boy! Does this look like Nerima to you? Even you hafta realize we ain't in our own _world_ anymore!"
Ryouga raised his left hand and a blast of energy streaked out, which Ranma ducked. *Looks like I'm gonna hafta pound it into that pig head of his... as usual...*
GENOM Tower...
*Yes!* Madigan crowed mentally. Unit V-33-RH had found him. Now he was proceeding with the acquisition process. "Send ten 55-Cs to assist in the capture."
"Yes, ma'am."
ADP Headquarters...
Inspector McNichol leaned back and stretched at his desk. *Time to relax...*
"Leon!" He jerked up. It was Daley. "Someone called in about a couple of boomers fighting in District 12."
"That's what I love about this town," Leon replied as he got up. "It's never dull."
"Maybe," Daley said, "but one of our choppers have 'em IDed as some kind of superboomers."
"Great," Leon rolled his eyes. "_Just_ what we need."
District 12...
"MOUKO TAKABISHA!"
Ryouga opened his umbrella and blocked the yellow ball of energy before charging forward again, finger extended. Ranma ignored the thrusting digit. *He must've forgotten it doesn't work on-* "ARGH!"
Ranma flew back, a circle about the size of of a 500-yen coin burned into her shirt. "What the hell?!"
That's when Ranma heard the sirens approaching. "Hey, c'mon, Ryouga. We don't wanna get caught by the cops here."
Meanwhile...
Leon swerved his patrol car to a halt and stepped out, his STOMACH railgun drawn. Daley was on the other side of the car with an identical railgun.
The two superboomers were unlike anything he had ever seen. For one thing, both appeared completely human. The only thing that identified them as boomers were the speed they moved at and the plasma blasts they were firing. At least, they looked like plasma blasts.
For another, they both wore rather conspicuous clothing. The redhead wore a shredded silk outfit that nagged at his memory while the other, apparently called "Ryouga" by the redhaired superboomer, wore rough wool and a yellow and black bandanna. It also seemed to be using some kind of weapon disguised as a bamboo umbrella.
"Ryouga" suddenly stretched a hand out toward the two ADP inspectors and launched a plasma blast at them. The other superboomer said something, Leon wasn't sure what, and dove toward him. He turned and raised his STOMACH, but the superboomer struck him before he could get a shot off.
*Funny. It didn't hurt nearly as much I thought it would...*
He sat up and shook his head clear. He gaped. The redhaired superboomer was now firmly embedded in his squad car a good four meters away with a large burn on its forearms. *It... saved me?*
His eyes searched out for his STOMACH. He could try to figure out the superboomer's motives later. Right now, there was another superboomer to deal with.
He spotted it... just as a foot stepped on it and crushed it. He looked up. "Shit!"
It was the other superboomer, the one the redhaired superboomer had called "Ryouga."
The superboomer raised its right hand, preparing to blast him into oblivion...
Four meters away...
Ranma groaned as she groggily pulled herself up. She saw Ryouga standing over a cop, the same cop she had just saved.
"That's it, Ryouga! You've just gone TOO FAR this time!" she snarled. Attacking her was one thing, but attacking a bystander (a cop, no less!) was crossing the line.
Suddenly, he heard a voice from above saying, "Knight Sabers, GO!"
Four female armored figures leaped over her. Each was a different color white, blue, green, and red. The blue one extended her arm and a sliver of some ferrous metal shot out towards Ryouga, who shrugged it off.
Back in the fray...
Priss cursed as the superboomer seemed to ignore her railgun spike and returned fire with a plasma blast.
"Sylia!" Nene's voice echoed over the comm. "I'm detecting ten incoming contacts! Tentative ID: 55-C combat boomers. ETA: thirty seconds."
The leader of the Knight Sabers acknowledged Nene's report with a nod and spun to face the new threat. "Eliminate the 55-Cs first, then we'll deal with the superboomer."
It was then that the other superboomer charged past them and tackled the first one, pummeling it with a furious barrage of punches and kicks.
GENOM Tower...
Madigan cursed. Of _course_ the Knight Sabers would choose now to interfere. Even ten 55-Cs weren't likely to be enough. She swiftly ran through her options:
12-Bs could not be sent. After Mason had died, the highly illegal B-class boomers that were part of the primary defense grid at the time had almost destroyed GENOM's public credibility. If even one showed up, that would bring about unnecessary and undesired scrutiny.
33-Cs would not do any good, not against the Knight Sabers. She had Mason to thank for that piece of information, as they had destroyed a fair number of them rather quickly when they attacked the 99-C-X1 facility. She paused to sneer at Mason's carelessness in that matter; _she_ would never have let such sensitive information leak out.
Sending more 55-Cs would garner too much suspicion. Just the ten she had already sent would be difficult enough to explain away as a defective batch.
Superboomers and prototypes were out of the question. Two superboomers were already enough to draw unwanted attention; three would have reporters sneaking in with the janitors.
That left her with only one option that wouldn't take far too long to use. The testing had already been scheduled anyway, so altering the test site wouldn't be too difficult at all.
On the battlefield...
Ranma struck Ryouga with every bit of her Amaguriken speed, not even bothering with the usual battlecry. The two cops were alright, though the redhead would have a few broken bones. The sounds of more approaching sirens spurred her on, "MOUKO TAKABISHA!"
The ki blast sent the Eternal Lost Boy flying back. The impact triggered something, _changed_ something deep within. Ryouga struggled to his feet and snarled.
GENOM Tower...
"Miss Madigan, Unit V-33-RH is beginning to act erraticly. We are attempting to reestablish communication."
"Understood," Madigan nodded. "Keep trying." Despite her external cool, some part of her knew, deep down, that something had just gone horribly wrong...
District 12...
"Ranma Saotome! Prepare to DIE!"
*Now that's more like it!* Ranma smirked. *I knew he wouldn't be able to keep the Soul of Ice up for long. This oughtta be quick.*
"What's the matter, _P-chan_?! Get lost again?!"
"Why you...!" Ryouga choked off in rage. "SHISHI HOUKOU DAN!"
*Perfect!* Ranma thought as he finished the spiral. "HIRYUU SHOUTEN HA!"
GENOM Tower...
"Ma'am? The signal from Unit V-33-RH has terminated."
Madigan sucked in a breath. With both of them gone, continuing Project NERIMA will be far riskier. The Chairman was not going to like this, and anything the Chairman did not like had a tendency to disappear, along with the person(s) responsible for it.
District 12...
Linna knuckle-bombed the last blue boomer, which collapsed in a smoking hulk of armor plating and fried electronic circuits. Nene had been monitoring the two superboomers while the four of them fought the 55-Cs. The superboomers did not seem hostile to anyone except each other.
"Sylia, I'm detecting more incoming. Three boomers from the north. Airborne. Tentative ID: Bu-22-F Dogfights. ETA: ten seconds."
Sylia frowned under her helmet. Dogfights usually operated in conjunction with AWACS jets, but a quick scan from the KnightWing's sensors indicated clear skies except for the Dogfights and several approaching ADP choppers.
That was bad. If Firebees and Algonquins got mixed up in the battle, it was going to be bloody. Aerial combat was where the Dogfights shined brightest.
Suddenly, all four of the Knight Sabers were thrown off their feet as a blast of concussive force slammed into them. "What the f*** was that?!" swore Priss as she pulled herself up, looking for an enemy.
Nene swiftly checked her sensors, "I'm detecting a fading anomaly of some sort. I can't pin it down."
Standing in front of them was the smaller superboomer. The other one was apparently inactive as it lay in the middle of a crater in the street. Before anyone could do anything, however, the Dogfights were upon them.
Lightly armored and armed with only a single light particle beam cannon, the Bu-22-F Dogfight more than makes up for its lack of firepower with blinding speed provided by a large triple thruster pack and incredible maneuverability facilitated by a complex system of verniers, which had not changed much from the Dogfight's predecessor, the 2029 model Bu-19-F Skyhunter.
The Knight Sabers knew all this (Sylia insisted that they be informed on the capabilities of all their potential opponents), but they had never fought any before.
The superboomer leaped up to a rooftop and fired a plasma blast at the first 22-F, which dodged easily and returned fire. The battle was joined.
On the ground below...
Leon just shook his head as he stared. First the superboomer saved him and taken out the other superboomer, now it was fighting a trio of Dogfights alongside the Knight Sabers. He shuddered at that last bit.
The last time a Dogfight had gotten loose, it had destroyed a full third of the choppers sent against it before a lucky shot from a Tac Squad trooper's rocket launcher took out one of the sensor booms. After that, its aerial mobility worked against it, and it ended up crashing into a construction site.
He turned as he heard the distinctive rumble of high-powered diesel engines, out of place in MegaTokyo. A pair of APCs and an Armored Trooper carrier trundled toward him. Behind them was a medical transport.
Leon waved to the medtrans and gestured toward Daley, who lay unconscious at his feet where he had applied first aid. Paramedics rushed to the redhaired inspector's aid. Wiping blood and sweat off his face, Leon walked over to the Tac Squad leader, Lt. Anderson.
"What've we got?"
"Two squads and four K-12s. Choppers on the way."
"Choppers are coming _here_?!? Those're Dogfights up there. Even Hornets won't stand a chance. Remember what happened last time?"
"You try tellin' _them_ that. Damn rotor-jocks think they're invincible."
Leon nodded absently as he strode over to the AT carrier. "Hey, got a spare?"
"'Fraid not, Leon."
Leon caught something moving out of the corner of his eye and spun, his Earthshaker already out and raised before he even realized it.
"What is it, Inspector?"
"Not sure. I'm gonna check it out."
"Mind if I tag along?" asked Anderson.
"Not a bit. I could use the back up."
Leon stepped cautiously into the warehouse. The place had the distinct feel of abandonment, even considering the civilian evacuation order. Even the sounds of battle were muffled to a distant thunder.
Up above...
Nene shrieked and fired her light laser cannon as one of the Dogfights barreled towards her, particle beam cannon raised. Somehow, the three boomers had some AWACS support, and Nene had been busy trying to jam and pinpoint it. Every time she paused to do so much as dodge a stray shot, the boomers moved with greater coordination. She was still no closer to finding the source of the sensor support than she was at the beginning of the battle.
Now, one had targeted her after knocking Linna flat on her face and through a rooftop. Sweat rolled down Nene's face as she tried to simultaneously stay alive and keep up with the AWACS's frequency-hopping and ECCMs.
Suddenly, the superboomer tackled the Dogfight, knocking it off course, and hit it point-blank with a plasma blast. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!"
The Dogfight collapsed in a heap of slagged metal. Bullets began spraying from the street below at one of the Dogfights. The few rounds that hit merely dented the armor as that particular 22-F flew down and blasted the K-12s and the APCs.
The now-headless Armored Troopers stood motionless, guns pointed upward, like statues memorializing some great war even as blood spilled down them from the headless necks of the unfortunate pilots.
Inside the warehouse...
The Bu-41-R reconnaissance boomer prototype assessed its situation.
*Advanced Police ground troops? Effectively neutralized.
*Advanced Police aerial units? Incoming.
*Estimated Time of Arrival? Two minutes.
*Estimated threat level? Low.
*Alert!
*Details? Incoming humans on foot.
*Armaments? High-caliber revolver and submachine gun.
*Estimated threat level? Inconsequential.
*Dismiss.
*Primary targets? Airborne.
*Estimated threat level? Very high.
*Remaining forces? Two Bu-22-F Dogfight aerial interceptor boomers.
*Primary objective status? Successful.
*Secondary objective status? Incomplete.
*Tertiary objective status? Incomplete.
*Probability of secondary objective success? 0.59%
*Probability of tertiary objective success? 0.59%
*Recommended course of action? Sacrifice Bu-22-F Dogfight units and withdraw to make full report.
*Engage.*
Decision made, the boomer turned and strode off, casually dealing with the two human interlopers.
(Author's note: For those wondering, the primary objective was the field-testing of its capabilities, the secondary objective was Ranma's capture, and the tertiary objective was, as always, the elimination of the Knight Sabers.)
Two days later...
Ranma, having returned to his original male state, poured the remaining hot water on the unconscious piglet. "Yo, Ryouga."
The boy-turned-pig-turned-back-to-boy groaned, sat up, and glared as his eyes focused on the martial artist in front of him. "Ranma!"
The pigtailed boy held his hand up in Ryouga's face. "Hold it, Ryouga. We need to work together."
"And why should I work with _you_?"
Ranma rolled his eyes. "'Cause we're not on our world, anymore, pig-boy."
Ryouga decided to ignore the porcine remark for now, "Oh, come on, Ranma. Do you expect me to believe a story like _that_? It's impossible!"
"Like a boy turning into a pig is impossible?" Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I'd've thunk you'd realize what happened."
Ryouga's eyes narrowed. He knew he should pound Ranma for that jab at his curse. After all, he could never trust _Ranma_ of all people. Then again, Ranma had never lied before, and Ryouga doubted he'd start now.
"All right, Ranma. A truce until we get home."
GENOM Tower...
"Your mishandling of the situation has been most... disappointing, Miss Madigan."
Externally, the violet-haired Special Assistant bowed her head, but internally, she winced. Failure had no place in the corporate superstructure that made up GENOM, and Quincy rarely attached the honorary appellation unless he was truly upset.
The fact that Smith was in the room as well merely made it worse.
"I am... quite aware that I may have been hasty in my attempt to recover the subject, Mr. Chairman."
Quincy nodded. "I see. However, I have come to the conclusion that your personal involvement with Project NERIMA may prevent you from handling the situation with the proper objectiveness."
Madigan sucked in a breath and shot a glare at Smith. *So _that's_ why he's here!*
"Therefore, I am relieving you of the responsibility for this situation. Smith will take over from here."
The pale, skinny, clammy-skinned man bowed to Quincy, though it was clear from the smug grin he shot her way that he knew well beforehand that this had been the Chairman's intent for this meeting.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman," Smith gave an oily smile. He had never had any other kind of smile as far as anyone knew. "I shall deal with the aftermath of Madigan's... mishap... in District 12 at the press conference tomorrow."
Madigan's eyes narrowed, "And what do you intend to tell them, eh?"
Victor Smith just smiled again, "Why, the truth, of course."
The next day...
Leon stretched as he leaned back. His left arm was in a sling thanks to that lightning-fast black boomer that had been in the warehouse. Lt. Anderson wasn't quite so lucky.
One of Quincy's flunkies was on the TV, blathering on about the incident three days ago.
//As the escaped anti-boomer superboomer is hard-wired to defend humans at all costs, I can assure you that it is harmless. It will only direct hostility toward those it perceives as a threat, either to itself or to bystanders. Even so, it will not kill a human under any circumstance. For that matter, it will not even allow a human to die or come to any harm if it can be prevented, even at risk of its own elimination.//
//What about the other boomers that were there?//
//The other superboomer was programmed to capture or destroy the first. The 22-Fs were there to assist in this endeavor.//
//And the combat boomers?//
//The 55-Cs were sent to evacuate the area of both civilians and AD Police, as the 22-Fs are somewhat... unpredictable. However, they were unable to accomplish this as the misguided--but well-intentioned, I'm sure--Knight Sabers destroyed them within minutes of their arrival.//
//So... you're saying the Knight Sabers are responsible for the deaths of twenty-two AD Police officers?//
//No, not at all. Considering the track record for our initial releases of this particular model, their reaction was quite understandable, and I am in fact grateful for their attempt to help secure or eliminate the rogue boomer.//
//Thank you, Mr. Smith. Back to you, Hitomi.//
//Well, that seems pretty wrapped up. Still, I won't be sleeping too well tonight knowing there's a superboomer on the loose. In other news-...//
Leon shut off the television and shook his head. That actually sounded believable for once, since that boomer actually _did_ save his life.
Well, mostly believable. There was no way that second superboomer was as under control as that suit made it sound, and there wasn't any mention of that black boomer, either. Leon had never seen anything like it before. It was obviously a prototype.
He forced himself to his feet and dressed. Time to visit his partner in the hospital.
A few minutes later...
Leon grunted as adjusted his sling for the tenth time. He walked into Daley's room and waved. "Good morning."
"Hey!" Daley grinned. He gestured to the nightstand, "You really shouldn't have."
Leon blinked at the vase of white carnations and shook his head. "Wasn't me."
"If it wasn't you, then who was it?"
"Wellll... I think I heard one of the nurses down the hall talkin' about 'the cute cop in room twelve.'" He grinned. "Another heart broken by your boyish good looks."
The redhead scowled, then grinned again. "You know you're the only one for me, Leon-chan."
Leon rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just thought I'd come by and see if you heard GENOM's official position on the superboomer incident."
Daley snorted, incongruous as it seemed. "An escaped anti-boomer boomer? Don't tell me you actually _bought_ that."
Leon shrugged and walked over to look out the window, "I dunno what to believe. That short superboomer did save my life, after all. Knocked me outta the way of a plasma blast."
Daley grimaced. "I know, I was there. I'd probably be dead too if it hadn't stayed there and blocked the blast. But GENOM's never done anything to stop rogue boomers before. Why would they start now?"
Leon turned away from the window and faced Daley with a look of determination. "I don't know, but I intend to find out."
Four days later...
"Sorry again about the accomodations, Sylia."
"You haven't changed a bit, Fargo. At least you're wearing a new suit this time."
"You noticed."
Sylia sighed. "Fargo, what do have for me on that... incident... a week ago?"
The fixer swirled his drink with his finger, "Not much. GENOM's story checks out so well, I'm beginning to believe it."
Sylia frowned and shook her head, "Maybe, but it doesn't fit. GENOM has nothing to gain by designing something to _stop_ boomers. Keep digging."
"Don't expect much. I'm going to lay low for a few months, at least. There're a few other people who're also trying to get some info on that incident."
She raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Who?"
"One's AD Police, that much I know. I'm pretty sure it's Inspector McNichol. The other two trails both led back to GENOM." He grimaced slightly. "I couldn't get any more specific than that. Two of my contacts bought it trying to find out."
Sylia frowned thoughtfully. Fargo and his contacts numbered among the best. That two had died trying to find out who else wanted to know about the superboomers spoke volumes. It also explained why Fargo had decided to go underground for a while. *There must be more to Project NERIMA than I thought...* she mused.
***********************************************************************
Author's Postscript:
I have my prereader, Bran-chan, to thank for his very helpful input into this... unusual... BGC/Ranma crossover.
This is Cyclone, signing off.