Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Birdy the Mighty.

Author's Notes: I am sorry for making a review a requirement for me to finish this story, but it doesn't seem to have backfired. Just so you know, I will never do that again. Well, I hope you enjoy the story!

Ranma the Mighty

Chapter 2

Further Confusion

The normal atmosphere of chaos surrounding the house seemed to be shattered. Oh sure, it wasn't unusual for something new to happen during breakfast, but this takes the cake. The young woman in question causing the disturbance was looking a little shamefaced and kept fidgeting nervously. 'Why am I so nervous?' she thought irritably 'I'm not a child! I'd give them all a piece of my mind for staring at me, but I just can't bring myself to do it.' Her thoughts would have continued if a new set of thoughts hadn't interrupted.

'What's going on?' the voice asked. Even though he sounded calm, there was a thin layer of apprehension under it all. Birdy managed to feel even worse, if that was possible.

'Stay calm. I guess I had better explain what happened. Just listen.' She whispered back in her mind. The family was continuing to stare at her. Everyone except Akane that is. According to Birdy's limited familiarity with these people, the girl should be fuming about perverts and the like. Great.

"I suppose ya wanna know what's going on." She was inwardly dismayed as normal speech patterns were corrupted by his own speech patterns. With a shake of her head, she continued. "As I said, my name's Birdy and I'm with the Galactic Police. I shouldn't even be tellin' er.. telling you this except for what you saw." She saw that she had everyone stunned. Nabiki was the one to recover first.

"Okay, I'll buy that, but what are you doing with Ranma?" 'Good question' Birdy thought. 'I guess I better tell them.' The strange gaijin girl took a deep breath before launching into the whole series of events that led up to this morning. She ended her explanation with a sheepish smile.

"I didn't expect water to undo the block that separated us." She said. Kasumi stood up and went into the kitchen. Birdy raised an eyebrow at this, but failed to comment.

"Do you believe in curses?" Genma asked. The girl shook her head.

"I don't believe in magic. That's kids' stuff." She scoffed. Genma rolled his eyes, as did Ranma, but since he was inside of Birdy, no one saw. 'What?' she asked her passenger. The boy didn't reply, merely directing her attention to Kasumi. The gentle girl was carrying a kettle of warm water.

"Prepare to believe!" the fat patriarch shouted as he took the kettle and unceremoniously dumped it on the girl's head, turning her into a he. 'What the hell?' she thought frantically.

'Relax! It's just the curse. When I'm splashed with cold water, I turn into a girl and turn back when splashed with hot. I think when ya combined us ya ended up becoming my girl-half.' Ranma was even amazed that he explained it that well. Birdy was curiously silent as she digested this information. Breakfast continued with Ranma answering Birdy's questions. As a result, he ate slower and actually tasted his food. The questions were merely a formality since the two of them were linked even in their minds or so she thought. He told her as much as he could, but deliberately held some things back. Why not give her a surprise? As much as she tried, she couldn't pry his secrets loose. His mind was a steel trap. Sharp and a bitch to open.

"This means we have to get rid of the curse more then ever! A likely story that she's really with any sort of police force! Why would they want such a weak woman?" Genma loudly proclaimed. The table was used to his rants by now, but Birdy was fuming. 'How dare he say that? I am not weak! Oooh that really burns me up!' she thought furiously.

"Pops, I can honestly say this one area I'm not quite better then you in, but at least I can keep my mouth shut." Ranma said calmly. Akane was visibly trembling from rage at what the pervert was saying, but couldn't find anything wrong with it. Without further ado, he picked up his glass of cold orange juice, and dumped it over his head. The furious Birdy stood up slowly, fists clenched at her sides.

"Panda no Baka!" she howled furiously, curiously wondering how she knew that, before leaping into the fray. The family ignored the commotion. It was familiar even if one of the participants was a little different. As for the pig-tailed wonder, he merely laughed his ass off.

"How can I profit from this? My pictures are going to dry up because she's not as busty as Ranma-chan, but she certainly has an aura about her. Better think about this more on the way to school." Nabiki thought before quietly packing her things and leaving.

/-

The scene was familiar. Strangely, Ranma managed to stay a guy, even making it past the ladle-lady. Akane wasn't so lucky. She received a face-full of water. The blue-eyed boy offered her a towel rather then a smirk because he really didn't want to fight this morning. The tension between the two was palpable. The pig-tailed wonder was starting to get paranoid about when the mallet would come down. 'Is it always like this?' Birdy asked him.

'All the time.' Ranma thought back sadly.

'How can you stand it?'

'…'

'C'mon, what's wrong? We're in this together whether you like it or not.'

'I was just wondering about last night. All I remember is a weird buzzing in my head and then waking up in my room. I don't even remember being shocked to death.' That bit of news woke Birdy up.

'W-what? How could you not remember?' she thought back frantically.

'Chill out, ok? Maybe ya didn't kill me and whatever that buzzing was did. Ya saved my life. Such as it is…' he thought morosely. The alien girl suddenly had this impulse to hug the sad boy, even mentally, but refrained. Why was he able to get to her like this? Their thoughts were derailed by a heavy object impacting with their skull.

"Oi! What'd ya do that for ya macho tomboy?" Ranma shouted, justifiably upset.

"You were having perverted thoughts about Miss Birdy!" she shouted right back. The boy's face closed down. His mouth set in a grim line. Something passed through his eyes that Akane had seen only once before and that was with Saffron.

"I wasn't, but tryin' to explain myself doesn't seem to matter. You'll continue to believe whatever you wanna believe, but ya won't listen to me. Have a nice day Miss Tendo." He glared coldly once more before vaulting off toward the rooftops and barreling toward the school. Akane just stared after his departing form, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Why do I say stuff like that? I don't understand… I love you so much, but I can't stop hurting you. Why?" the blue-haired girl wiped away her tears angrily. Anger at herself, anger at the world in general, but no anger for Ranma. He was totally innocent and she knew it. Just as her thoughts were starting to spiral, a voice spoke up from behind her.

"Akane? What are you doin' n Hokkaido?" the Lost Boy asked in confusion. She spun around to face Ryoga before burying her face in his chest, sobbing brokenly.

"Oh Ryoga! It was terrible! Ranma-" she didn't get a chance to finish before the strong boy began blazing in hate.

"That Saotome! He hurt you, huh? Well I'll make him pay a thousand fold!" so saying, the Lost Boy bolted off unerringly towards parts unknown. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

"H-has he always been like that?" she mused aloud before turning and heading for school, her concerns shortly forgotten.

/-

Ranma couldn't concentrate on class. Oh wait, that's old news. What was new was that he was having a conversation in his mind that shouldn't be possible. Learn something new everyday.

'What I wanna know is how the curse is still around if this is a different body.' Ranma said. Through meditation, he managed to project himself into the joint mind and face her. His hormones were in overdrive. Here was a beautiful girl, completely naked, and sitting across from him. Strangely, his mind seemed to censor things out, but he had more important things to worry about.

'It's not quite a different body. Elements of your old body were incorporated into this one. Unfortunately, it appears this curse as you call it bonded to your DNA structure. Meaning, even with a cure it is inseparable.' Birdy briefly sounded incredibly intelligent, but somehow Ranma had the feeling she was merely repeating what she heard. Still, it made sense to the boy somehow. Then the full meaning of her words hit.

'You mean that I'm permanently half girl?' he practically screamed. He was vaguely aware that his outburst had carried to the classroom minutes before finding himself out in the hall with buckets.

'You actually took that better then I thought.' She commented sardonically. When she used that tone she sounded strangely like Nabiki. 'Besides, do you really think I wanted a partner? Let alone an Earthling? You guys are too fragile.'

'Fragile huh? I could take anything you can dish out.' He stated confidently. Suddenly he felt a powerful ki nearby. His head whipped around to face the threat so fast it would half snapped a lesser man's neck.

'What's up? Whoa! What am I feeling? It feels so…so…'

'Evil.' Ranma finished for Birdy. The girl could only agree. Without warning, Ranma dropped the buckets and vaulted out the window, sprinting for the source of trouble.

'Maybe I'd better take over…' Birdy began before being cut off by a snarl.

'You insulted me so you're gonna see what I can do!' the GP officer recoiled in shock. What they saw up ahead looked like something from a horror movie. It was nearly two meters tall and it resembled some kind of frog. Every time it swelled up the pouch on it's neck, it let loose a powerful energy blast that leveled his targets. The street looked like a war zone with charred cars and blasted bodies. His mind couldn't wrap around the devastation until his eyes focused on something. It was a child. Her black hair was tousled and her eyes were wide with fear. She was screaming every time she drew breath, calling for her mommy. The hideous creature focused on the girl with malicious intent and stepped closer.

'Ranma! That's the freak I was chasing last night! His name's Geedo and he don't care who he hurts. Please let me fight him!' However, she couldn't penetrate the icy rage that filled the boy's soul. So much light and warmth replaced by such fury that she merely watched in shock as time seemed to slow down. The alien menace had slowed down to a crawl before an explosive punch tore into his body and flung him into a solid wall, reinforced with steel. This is Nerima after all.

"I will not allow you to harm innocents. Get outta here or I'll kill you." Ranma grated. The same force that welled up inside of him to kill Saffron had returned with only vengeance on it's mind. Geedo fired another blast directly for Ranma, but the pig-tailed wonder vaulted straight up, dodging the attack completely, before unleashing a furious bicycle kick to his head that plowed him into the ground.

"I'll leave if ya tell me where that bitch is! Tell me where to find Birdy!" he spat out angrily as blood flowed from his mouth. A vicious backhand sent him careening through the air seconds before a kick tore into his back, followed by a solid punch to the gut and an axe-handle to the back of the neck. The whole assault took less then a minute, but the pain he experienced would last a lifetime. Unfortunately, his life was going to be short as he looked up and saw Ranma standing above him. His fist glowing with power, eyes showing no mercy for the fallen alien. Birdy was inside of Ranma frantically trying to get him to spare the alien so that he could go away to jail, but for some reason the normally kind boy was out for blood.

"M-mommy! Help my mommy! Somebody!" the little girl wailed. Ranma's gaze shot over to the child and saw the predicament she was in. Her mother was half-buried under a section of collapsed wall. His eyes shot up to notice the precariously balancing beam over their heads. With a grating screech it began to fall. His mind weighed all the options in an instant.

"This can wait." He thought before vanishing. Without even thinking, he brought his arms up over his head and caught the massive I-beam without difficulty. Geedo tried to get away, but a quick throw of the construction material and the alien was crushed flat. Still alive, but breathing laboriously. 'How did I do that? I'm strong but that's somethin' Ryoga could do!' he was starting to come down off his vengeance high just in time to realize the full weight of what he'd done. He'd moved faster then ever, hit harder then before, and caught an I-beam without a strain. That just wasn't normal for him.

'Birdy! What the hell's goin' on?' he cried into the silence of his mind. The one he was calling to seemed to be in complete shock at this development.

'Ah… Before I get to the explanation, focus on your right hand for a second.' She said quietly. Oh, she wanted to ask about what he did, but kept her calm with some difficulty. The boy stared at his right hand as a slight flash developed and disappeared so quickly it was almost unnoticeable. He pointed the funny triangle shaped device at the badly injured Geedo and pushed the button. 'How did I know to do that?' he asked.

'That's one of my body's natural reflexes.' She replied even as the sphere of darkness enveloped the monster and sent him into space. Further questions would have to wait until later as he began helping the rescue crews save the injured. Some hours later, he finally was able to start for home. The boy was tired and dirty, but the smile on his face just wouldn't quite.

'You like helping people.' It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact. 'It gives you a greater feeling then mastering a new kata, doesn't it?' Birdy said with a smile obvious in her voice. The question didn't exactly catch him off guard, but it made him slow down a little.

'There's a high that I get when I overcome my limitations and perfect yet another piece of my Art. I thought nothing could even come close, but lately things have been happening to make me rethink my ideas. Yes, I love Akane. When she smiles at me it feels like the sun is shining brighter, but she rarely smiles at me anymore. Oh sure, people would think she rarely smiled at me to begin with, but it's different now. She can hurt me with a glance and kill me with her words. Earlier, however, when I was helping the rescue crews. Reuniting people with their families and saving innocent lives made me truly understand what a martial artist's duty is. To protect the weak, but now I can tack something else onto that. Give hope to those without hope.' Ranma's epiphany ended quietly and with dignity. Birdy could feel the tears running down their cheeks, but whether it was from Ranma, herself, or both, she would never know.

/-

The family was sitting around the TV together for the first time in years. Reporters were talking about the titanic struggle from earlier. Footage from an amateur photographer captured the battle perfectly. Nabiki could already feel the ideas burning in the back of her mind. Kasumi was sitting in obvious shock as Ranma showed the green-skinned creature little mercy. Genma swelled with pride as his heir could even defeat beings from another planet while Soun just cried. No particular reason as far as anyone could determine.

Akane was proud of him. She felt the love swell in her heart as she thought about everything he had done for her. She was of two minds about the whole episode. Part of her was happy he had done so well while another part wanted to eviscerate him. Further proof that he was just flaunting his supposed superiority. The happy part just rolled her eyes in exasperation. The part of the video that made even the people of Nerima gape in disbelief was when Ranma caught the massive I-beam as if he was that gaijin superhero, Superman. The truly amazing part was when he hurled it and clocked the alien. The video cut out from some unknown disturbance before the cheerful reporter came back on.

"Rescue crews just got finished with what should have lasted several more hours, but Nerima's own Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes Style Martial Arts helped with the rescue efforts." The report wound down before being segued into a report on the hazards of eating Akane's cooking. The TV met an unfortunate end at the hands of said girl.

"Where is that pervert? Probably getting 'rewarded' by Shampoo or Ukyou." She muttered angrily. The incredulous stares drew her attention back to her family and Mr. Saotome. She would have cracked herself upside the head, but just then the door opened as the prodigal son returned.

"Hey guys." He said tiredly, but there was a huge smile plastered on his face. He was practically glowing with pleasure at something. Unfortunately, Akane's violent side latched onto that as an excuse to kill him. Before she got within a foot of her target, her eyes started to water at the acrid reek coming off of him.

"Oh my Ranma! You smell… I mean phew that reeks… Uh… Take a bath immediately." Kasumi said, wrinkling her nose. The mercenary girl couldn't help but laugh until it blew her way, then she turned green. Similar reactions could be gauged from the others. Ranma threw up his hands before storming upstairs to get his bathing supplies.

"I save the day and all I get is a bath." He grumbled, loud enough to be heard.

'You did very well, Ranma.' Birdy said to him quietly, making him smile slightly.

The End

Author's Notes: Okay, I added some humor to this chapter. For those of you wondering about Ranma's power levels just think about whose body he's using. He is a master of martial arts. Hope that clears up some of the confusion. Well, until next time! Ja ne!