Mighty Morphin' Sailor Senshi

By R-Kives

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Juice Bar

Ranma sipped on his drink as he sat at the table. The class was over and they were now enjoying themselves. Usagi, Mamoru, Makoto and Minako had stopped by the Juice Bar just as the class finished up and everyone had decided to have a little snack together. They were all discussing how their respective days had been. Minako had spent most of her day following after a guy who she claimed 'was the cutest guy I'd ever seen!' Everyone except for Makoto had groaned at the tale, something's it seemed never changed. The others recounted their double date which had been a pleasant experience for all involved. Ranma had a smile on his face as he listened to everyone talking, adding his own comments from time to time.

The pleasant atmosphere was brought to a halt at the sounds of a disturbance coming from the street outside. Ranma was already heading out the door as soon as he realized something was happening outside. The others were a little slower in following him but they weren't far behind. They all came to a halt when they saw the scene outside. People were being chased by what appeared to be strange men dressed in white. The strange men wore grey masks over their faces and had a strange way of running after their victims. They would grab their victims and begin herding the screaming people into one place where more of their number stood guard. Some people tried to fight back but they were easily overpowered and knocked unconscious.

Ranma quickly got over his surprise at the strange scene. He sprang forward bringing his fists up ready for the fight about to take place. Rei and Ami were the first to come to their senses and realize that Ranma was no longer in front of them. He had taken the men by surprise and managed to knock them all away from their captives before anyone realized he was even there. The men quickly got back up much to Ranma's surprise. He had hit them all hard enough to knock out a full grown man but these men had shrugged off the blows easily. They formed themselves into a circle around Ranma and the people behind him. Ranma frowned at them before shifting into a more aggressive stance.

"Alright, so you guys are tough, huh? Let's just see how tough you really are!" This time Ranma hit harder and faster then he had before. He was surprised once again when the first man he smashed into a lamp post exploded into pieces of clay that evaporated into the wind. "What the hell?! These guys aren't even human!" Ranma stopped and looked at the creatures still standing around him. This time he scanned them for any traces of ki and raised an eyebrow when he found none. Then he grinned evilly at them and cracked his knuckles, "Alright...in that case, it's time for you to say goodbye!"

Mamoru and the rest of the girls reached Ranma's side just as he finished the last guard. All of them noticed that Ranma hadn't used any of his more flashy moves during the rescue. He had been all business, making sure that the people were kept safe rather than showing off as he sometimes did in his martial arts classes. The serious look on his face as he had dealt with the strange men shifted to concern as he saw Ami and Usagi start looking over the people he had just rescued.

"They're okay, just a little shocked." Ami said to Ranma reassuringly. The look of relief on his face at the news was shared by everyone. "But we should get everyone to safety while we can. There seem to be more of them around."

Mamoru nodded in agreement with Ami. "We should take them back to the Juice Bar. We'll all be safer there than out on the street like this." He suggested as he looked at everyone for agreement. They all nodded at his words.

Usagi stood up from where she had been checking a woman for injuries. The confidence and determination on her face was a far cry from the care free look she usually wore which surprised everyone that knew her. "Alright everyone!" she said authoritatively, addressing the gathered crowd of former captives, "Help the people still unconscious, the Juice Bar is close by so lets hurry up inside. We should hurry before more of them show up."

The people were quick to follow Usagi's orders and moved to carry them out. Makoto, Minako and Ami began to help pick up those still unconscious when Rei noticed that Ranma was moving away from them. She rushed over to him and grabbed him by the arm. "Where are you going?" she asked him concernedly, "We need to get back inside where it's safe."

Ranma turned around and shook off Rei's grip on his arm. "You and the others can take of things here. Like Ami said; there are probably more of these things out there. I'm going to make sure they don't hurt anyone else."

"You can't be serious!" she shouted at him, "Let the police handle these things. That's what they're trained for! We need you here with us in case they attack the Juice Bar!" Inwardly she added, 'and I don't want you getting hurt fighting these things, you clueless jerk...'

Ranma looked at Rei with determination in his eyes, "Rei, I gotta do this. I can't just stand around when stuff like this is happening, I'm a martial artist, and this is what I was trained for. The police can't handle these guys; I might be the only guy around who can."

Rei tried to come up with an argument but couldn't think of anything that would dissuade him. She nodded reluctantly in agreement. She knew he was right. Other then Ranma, she didn't really think there was anyone else around who had the power to protect the people of the ward like he could. Even the police would have trouble with these things whatever they were. That didn't mean she liked it though.

Ranma grinned at her, trying to reassure her, "Konatsu can handle these guys if they show up at the shop. You don't have to worry about that." Ranma then turned around and took a couple of steps before leaping up to the top of a nearby roof. He looked back at Rei who was standing on the street still watching him. He threw her a cocky salute before leaping onto another roof, heading in the direction of the sounds of another attack in progress.

As Ranma left her sight, Rei whispered softly to herself, "You're the one I'm worried about..."

Moon Command Center

Alpha-5 and Setsuna were currently going over readings from various screens while Luna and Artemis tried to keep track of what was happening down on Earth. Artemis was busy finding out how the putties were able to show up in Juuban, a task he was finding easier then he wanted it to be. The two portals being used to transport them were being left open for their reinforcements. Beryl didn't seem to care if anyone knew about it. Luna was in charge of keeping track of their movements which was more difficult. The sheer number of putties were starting to give her a headache. She could see that they were obviously moving to capture as many people as possible. This was a routine action for them which meant that a Youma would soon be arriving to drain the captives. Luna could feel her headache becoming worse.

"Ay yi yi yi yi", said Alpha-5, its arms waving in front of it frantically as it began to report their findings to Serenity, "I don't know how it's possible but someone managed to sneak past all of the early warning systems around Beryl's prison. That shouldn't be possible unless they teleported in and even then they would need to know the exact location of her seal."

"She's also disabled all of our sensors there and now has complete control of the artic prison facility." Setsuna said, continuing their report to Serenity, "We no longer have any means of keeping track of what happens there or teleporting inside it."

Through it all Serenity watched, a worried look on her face. She already knew who was responsible for this attack. There was no one else on Earth who had access to the putties. 'So she has finally escaped. I had hoped that this day would never come.' She thought to herself. Serenity let out a pensive sigh and made her decision. It was time to summon the Senshi to battle once more. They were the only ones who stood a chance of stopping Beryl now. After all, who else on Earth could stand against her forces but them?

"Your Majesty," Luna's puzzled voice interrupted their report, "The number of putties seems to be decreasing rapidly." Everyone turned to listen to her, "Someone or something is taking out the putties faster then I can keep track!"

Artemis added his own report as well, "One of the portals just went down too. The rest of the putties seem to be protecting the remaining one."

Serenity felt confused and her expression showed it. Who could be responsible for this? She didn't think the Earth had anyone who could accomplish such a thing. "Alpha-5, please project whatever is responsible for this onto the viewing screen. I would like to know just what is happening down there."

Alpha-5 quickly brought up the location of the last group of putties onto the viewing screen set in front of Serenity's crystal. Everyone was surprised to see what was happening. A pig-tailed boy dressed in white was making short work of the putties. He was quickly and brutally disposing of them using a type of martial arts that none of them recognized. However one of them did recognize the boy on the screen as he dealt with the final remaining putty in the area.

Setsuna was shocked at the display. She couldn't believe what she saw on the screen. She knew that he was skilled and more powerful then he appeared to be but this was beyond her expectations. "Ranma?!"

Artemis quickly turned his head to look at Setsuna, "Ranma? Isn't that the boy Ami and her mother brought to you for counseling?"

Setsuna, Luna and Artemis all spent some of their time on Earth. It gave them something to do other then stay in the command center all the time. Even Alpha-5 occasionally went down to Earth to enjoy itself although it tended to do so during Halloween and cosplay conventions. It didn't draw as many weird looks that way. Luna and Artemis could easily pretend to be ordinary cats and walk around on their dates. The two moon cats still had a loving relationship even after all the time that had passed since the fall of the Moon Kingdom. They were both glad they had been unable to get into the capsules that would have put them into suspended animation. The supposed side effects on their memories had worried them but they still would have done it if they had had to. Fortunately it had never become necessary to do so.

Setsuna had gone as far as opening a business in Juuban. She worked as a psychiatrist that dealt with people who had closed themselves off from the world. She did this partly to keep an eye on the reborn princesses (1) and partly because she wanted to help out people who shared similar experiences with her. Ranma was one of her patients and she had made some welcome progress with him. She had even managed to work with him on his nekophobia though he never mentioned how he came by it. He tended to skirt around his childhood for some reason but she hoped to eventually get him to discuss it with her. Ranma was no longer deathly afraid of cats but he still flinched noticeably at any mention of them. At least he only reacted to living cats now instead of images and dolls. The first time Ranma had visited her office, her 'Hello Kitty' collection had really put him on edge. She always made sure to warn the two moon cats about Ranma's schedule in case they ever decided to drop in on her.

Setsuna nodded in reply to Artemis' question, "Yes, it is. I knew there was more to him then met the eye but this? He never gave too many details about his past life other then the final weeks he spent in Nerima. I've always wondered why. Judging from what's happening, it seems as if he must have lead quite an interesting life there."

They all watched as Ranma approached the portal. He was about to destroy it when a ball of green energy burst out from it and head towards Ranma. He managed to dodge it and looked back to the portal and the youma that was coming out of it. It was naturally a female one. The youma had pig-like features, a bandana tied around its forehead and a large battle axe held in one of its hands. Ranma seemed a little put off by its appearance but settled down into a stance, ready to face the youma.

(1) Canon Setsuna would have just used the Time Gates but that's not an option for this Setsuna. Don't worry, I'll explain why eventually.

A.N: Well there we go, another chapter done. I know some people might say that Ranma is having too easy a ride so far but that's going to change starting next chapter so don't worry! As for the putties, well they've always been canon fodder really so it's not surprising that Ranma can trash them easily, at least for now. A standard putty wouldn't last very long against a Neriman fighter anyway. A youma mixed with a Neriman fighter on the other hand? Better look out Ranma! You've just run into some serious trouble and when it comes to Ranma, trouble never comes alone when it can come with friends!