Chapter 02
Ranma-chan allowed herself to be escorted to a medical chamber. She'd been tempted to ask for some hot water, but reconsidered since she didn't want any one else to know of her secret. Besides, she knew it was only a matter of time before hot water found her.
Suddenly she felt a buzz in her mind. It was the sort of feeling she got when an enemy was near only it was different. It was as if the danger was already inside her. She held her head and groaned as she began to put forth a mental wall in hopes of stopping the intruder.
"My apologies," came Xavier's voice. Ranma-chan turned to the balding man.
"It was you... in my head?"
"Yes, I was hoping to discover more about you. You see that is my special ability."
"Well, try to stay out ok?" she asked as she tapped her head. "I'm more then willing to answer any questions I can answer."
The three turned the corner and entered into a room marked medical bay. Inside waiting for them was a red head.
"Ranma, this is Jean Gray. She'll be performing the examination." Xavier commented. "If you would, please lay on this table," Jean asked.
"What is this?" Ranma-chan replied as she gently lifted herself onto the flat bed.
"This device will allow me to do a complete scan and help me reveal any potential mutations in your body."
"Mutations?" she said with a swallow.
"Please don't be afraid," Xavier interrupted. " My organization is charged with helping people with genetic mutations. We help them learn to control their powers as they develop."
With this information, Ranma-chan hesitantly climbed on the table.
"Fraid you won't find any mutations in me. I'm just an average gu... girl," she cringed at her mistake.
"Most mutations happen just around puberty," Jean commented.
Ranma-chan laid back and closed her eyes as the table slide into a narrow tunnel. It wasn't as if she was afraid. She just felt more relaxed with her eyes closed. After a few minutes of waiting, she heard the door to the tube open again, followed by the table exiting swiftly.
"Thank you Ranma. If you want, I'm sure I can arrange a tour of the mansion while you wait on the test results."
"Uh... sure."
Xavier pressed a button on the station to call one of the students.
"Scott, could you meet me in the medical bay?"
"Sure thing," came the reply.
- - - - - -
"Scott, this is Ranma. Ranma, this is Scott."
"A pleasure to meet you Ma'am." As Scott said this, Ranma-chan repressed the urge to kill him. To pull that off, she was deep in the soul of ice.
"Like wise," she replied with a curtsey.
"Scott, I want you to give Ranma here a tour of the mansion."
As Ranma-chan and Scott left the room, Jean turned to Xavier and Logan.
"The scan detected an X-Factor gene," Jean started, "however something is off..."
"What's up Jean?" Logan asked pointedly.
"It seems that the gene is not a natural part of her, but it's becoming part of her."
"Is that possible?"
"Normally no, but if one were to couple with a mutant at a young enough age, then maybe..."
"So what you sayin? She and a mutant did it together?"
"If she wasn't for the fact that she's a virgin, then yes. I found something in her womb though. It seems an embryo was implanted into her."
"An this is causin her to mutate?"
"Yes, the embryo is a mutant. Or it will be after it's born and reaches puberty."
"Why would they implant her with an embryo? What would they gain?"
"I'm not certain, but I was able to obtain a full genetic mapping of it. With time, I'll be able to determine the reason and possibly learn the exact nature of the mutation."
"In the mean time, I'm gonna go back to where I found her and track down where she came from." To this statement, Xavier only nodded.
- - - - - -
"So what's the deal here?" Ranma-chan asked.
"What's that?" Scott replied, unsure as to what Ranma-chan was asking.
"That guy in the wheel chair..."
"We call him Professor X."
"Professor X said Jean was doing a scan for a mutant gene."
"Yeah, though he already must have a good idea that you're a mutant. The scan will show him what sort of powers you might have or be able to have in the future."
"Oh...," Not entirely understanding. She suddenly felt the need to change the subject. "This place is huge."
"Well, we have a lot of students living here, so it can seem a bit cramped from time to time."
"I couldn't even imagine calling a place like this cramped," Ranma-chan stated in disbelief. Without warning, Scott suddenly stopped moving and held his hand up. To Ranma-chan, it looked like someone getting ready to talk on the phone.
"Right," Scott said aloud. "The Professor wants us to meet him downstairs as soon as we're done."
"I think I've seen all I need to see for now. Not like he's gonna take me in as a student, so I really won't be needing to know where the fire escapes are," Ranma-chan jokingly commented.
- - - - - -
"Thank you for gathering so quickly." Xavier commented.
"No prob. So what's up?"
"Ranma, I'd like to extend an offer to you to stay here with us in the mansion."
"You're joking right?"
"No, I'm quiet serious. You'll be given access to the entire mansion. Of course, the lower area will be restricted for now. I only bring visitors down there for medical scans."
"Of course."
"The offer to stay here, at least for now, will be until your child is born. With no promise, I may extend that invitation later, but I want to see how things progress for now."
"My... what?" Ranma-chan exclaimed. She'd all but forgotten about the embryo that was now growing in her. "You gotta remove that thing!"
"You want to kill the child growing in you?" Professor X asked, some what unnerved by this.
"ki... oh...," Suddenly Ranma's face contorted. She glanced down a her stomach. "It's... a life... isn't it?"
She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"My dear, you're now carrying a living person inside of you."
"A weak living person," She mumbled as she thought back to what her father enjoyed saying. 'It's a martial artist duty to protect the weak... but..."
"Your child relies on you to defend it right now." She looked Professor X in the eyes, trying to tell if he was in her mind or just reading her body language. "Don't fret. I'm not reading your thoughts.
"You're doing a good job telling what I'm thinking despite that," she commented sarcastically, before letting out a sigh. "Can you take care of the child after it's born?"
"We'll talk about the child after it is born." Charles stated calmly.
- - - - - - -
Later that day, Ranma-chan stood in a room that had been given to her to use during her stay. Her first action was to change her clothes. After locating a pair of black sweat pants and a blue t-shirt, she peeled herself out of the skin tight dress that she got from the Weapon X compound. With the new clothes, which felt much cleaner and they covered her much better, she felt her thoughts return to the baby.
'Damn it all...," she swore looking at her stomach. 'What's gonna happen to you when I change into a guy?'
She laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling, her thoughts allowing her no rest.
'You're a part of my female side, resting in a womb I'm not supposed to have... will you die if I change?' she wondered.
Slowly she got to her feet and walked over to the bathroom. She stared at the hot water knob and wondered if she should try it or not.
"I have to defend the weak, but can I keep this one alive till it can leave my body?" she wondered aloud. Suddenly an explosion went off. The restroom sent shards of metal and hot water her way. "Fate..."
The water was indeed hot and she felt her feminine side melt away with the water.
"Oh god..." he silently said to himself. He was male now and several shards of metal were lodged in his chest. He could see none of them punctured his heart, but at least one was inside his lung while the rest were deep in his gut. All he could do for a moment was lay on the ground helpless, lamenting the loss of the child.
He turned his head to the side and spotted two men entering his room through the hole in the bathroom wall. One of them reminded him of the bald bastard that started the mess. He owed that man a world of pain.
The other was about the same height, but with a thick head of orange hair. He guessed that one was probably Scottish. He wasn't anyone that Ranma could remember, but if he was with the bald man, he too would suffer.
"Damn it all, I was certain the scan showed her in this room," the bald man exclaimed in a deep voice.
"The lassie was here though," the other commented as he picked up the black dress off the floor.
"You... bastards...," Ranma called out as he slowly and painfully got to his feet. His hand grasped the pipe lodged in his lung and yanked it out. The pain almost brought him to his knees, but he held fast, not showing weakness to his foes. As the pain died down, he felt the odd sensation building in his chest. It was almost like an itch, but he knew he had to resist scratching it. He continued reaching down and pulling out the various metal objects in him. Each hurt more then he could describe, but each time, he managed to stay on his feet.
"You're still alive?" the bald man asked, obviously some what unnerved by the display Ranma was putting on for him. "Where's the girl that was just here?"
"You're from that hospital aren't you?" Ranma asked, suddenly falling to one of his knees and coughing up blood.
"Where we're from isn't your business boy. Just hand over the girl now!"
Ranma returned to his feet and went into stance. He was grateful that each moment that passed brought less and less pain. As he did this, the door opened to reveal Scott.
"What's going on in here? What are you people doing?" Scott shouted out as his hand went to his visor. "Where's Ranma at?"
"Stay back," Ranma shouted. "This is my fight."
"Look pal, I don't know who you are, but any fight in this mansion is my business."
Ranma turned to the men in black again, figuring he could deal with Scott when it was safer. Reaching into his soul, he pulled up his confidence. "Moko Takabisha!"
The energy knocked the two men to the ground, their bodies badly contorted as they landed. This also caused Scott to turn to face Ranma just in time to see the young man fall unconscious. As Scott went over to Ranma, he noticed the various puncture wounds in him. Picking Ranma up, he took the boy to the medical bay.
- - - - - -
"Jean, this boy is badly injured."
"I'll do what I can for him," Jean told him as she looked over Ranma. "This looks bad... What happened?"
"I'm not sure," Scott stated as he began to pace. He had no love for intruders, but he didn't like the idea of a stranger dying in front of him. He watched as Jean took a warm wet cloth and wipe at the wound on the boy's chest. To his surprise, the wound there didn't appear nearly as bad as it had just ten minutes ago.
"You can relax. These only seem to be flesh wounds. Not very badly as far as I can tell."
"What? When I found him upstairs, he was bleeding severally from several of those wounds."
"They aren't bleeding now. Just had to wipe away the blood off of him."
"He has to be a mutant then. Upstairs he fired off some sort of energy blast."
"I'll do a scan on him now, but I'm currently working on Ranma's scan results. I won't have time to look over this boy's scan results till tomorrow."
- - - - -
As he began to wake, he felt a warm sensation on his chest. It felt good and he wished it wouldn't end, but part of him had to know if it was real or in his imagination. Slowly he opened his eyes to see the smiling face of Jean.
"Good to see you're awake. Shame to see such a good looking guy faint."
"I didn't faint. The injuries caused me to pass out." As he said this he noticed that he could breath normally again. Reaching to his chest, he not only found it bare, but free of any wounds. "Whoa..."
"You seem to have a remarkable healing factor." She noticed the look of mild shock on the young man's face. "Is this the first time you've seen your power work? Don't worry,. I'll arrange for the Professor to talk to you. He'll be able to explain what's happening to you. By the way, I don't suppose you could explain why you were in Ranma's room and where she went to?"
"I'm right here... I mean..."
"I'm sure you don't mean to tell me you're a pretty girl." she said with giggle. "If so, you're rather flat chested."
"I ain't no girl!" Ranma exclaimed a little too loudly.
"Jean?" the voice of Xavier called out. "Is everything ok in there?"
"Yes Professor. Nothing I can't handle." Xavier entered the cell.
"So this is the young man that was caught?"
"Yes, Scott brought him down here. Apparently the boy had been severally injured, but healed fast."
"Interesting. Would you share your name with us?"
"My name?" Ranma swallowed hard. The moment he feared was upon him. "My name is Saotome Ranma."
"I clearly saw the scans Professor and Ranma was a girl. This is a boy as you can see," she stated as she pointed to Ranma's bare chest.
"May I have some water?" Ranma suddenly asked.
"Certainly, but first, may I see into your mind?"
"Why?"
"I wish to see if you have any hostile intentions."
"Fine, look if you want." With that, Ranma did his best to calm himself. He could feel something entering his mind slowly. He was grateful when he felt it withdraw almost immediately. Xavier rolled over to the sink and drew a cup of water and brought it over to Ranma.
"Thank you," he accepted the cup and poured the contents on himself. Xavier's eyebrow arched with curiosity as the transformation happened. Ranma made no attempt to cover her now bare breast. Instead, she continued to act like she were still a man. Jean on the other hand quickly threw a blanket over the red head.
"I've never seen a mutant that changes gender with water," Jean commented.
"Perhaps the water only acts as a means to give enough power for the change," Xavier offered.
"I told ya, I ain't a mutant," Ranma protested. "That change is cause of a curse I got in China."
"A Chinese curse you say?"
"Yeah, me and pops traveled there to train, but neither of us knew why it was considered dangerous. At least not till it was too late."
"Amazing. I would like to hear more about this later, but for now something concerns me."
"The baby?"
"Yes, please come with me. Jean, I want you to check her and see if the child is still intact."
"Of course Professor."
- - - - -
In the medical bay again, Ranma laid down for yet another scan. While she was beginning to dislike the scans, she wanted to know if the child was still there or now. After all, it wasn't as if she could even tell it was there by looking at her stomach.
"We're done," Jean called to her. She felt the table retract out of the scanner. As soon as it was out, she got to her feet.
"Is it ok?" she asked, trying not to sound eager. After all, she only wanted to make sure a weak person hadn't been killed. Wasn't as if she wanted to give birth.
"Yes, the womb is still intact. As far as I can tell, the baby is completely healthy." Jean then paused before bringing up the scan of Ranma's male side. She noticed a strange anomaly in Ranma's stomach area, but no baby. "Ranma, can you turn into a guy? I want to do another scan."
"Sure...," Ranma said with a groan. She waited for Jean to tell her where the hot water was only to find her starring. "I need hot water to change."
"Oh, sure. It's over there," she pointed to a coffee maker. "The hot water spout is on the side."
"A bit hotter then I needed it, but ok." she poured some and prepared for a minor burn as she poured it on her head. The burning sensation aside, she felt better as she turned back into a man.
After a few moments, Jean got the scan and Ranma was standing beside her.
"Interesting..." she commented.
"You find something?"
"Yes. The embryo. It's still there, but not there."
"You want to speak Japanese Doctor?"
"Well I'm not really fluent in Japanese. Actually I can only say Watashi wa nihongo hanasemasen."
"Whatever, what did your scan show?"
"An energy patter in your stomach. It matches the life signs of the embryo. Ranma, I know you're probably tired of scans, but for the next 9 months, I want you to come down for a scan when ever you get a chance. Also, try to stay female. At least till I'm sure of what's going on."
"Fine," Ranma replied with a sigh. Splashing himself with a cup of cold water, she shook her head to dry it off faster.
"Ranma, I think I should tell you something."
"Hmm? What's up Jean?" Ranma-chan asked as politely as she could muster.
"I wanted to tell you that there is a side effect of the embryo being in you."
"Side effect? Like the kind I have after eating one of Shampoo's special dishes?"
"Shampoo? huh?"
"Never mind. What sort of side effect?"
"It seems the embryo is introducing the X-gene into your body."
"X-gene?" Ranma-chan questioned, obviously not grasping the meaning.
"The X-gene is responsible for mutations."
"You mean... I'm gonna be a mutant?"
"I believe you've already begun to mutate. The healing was way too fast to be anything other then a healing factor."
"That doesn't sound so bad..."
"Well, regardless as to what happens, it's not bad Ranma. I just wanted to make you aware that there may be more mutations to come. I'll help you adjust as will the Professor."
"Gee.. thanks," Ranma flatly responded.
"So you hate mutants?"
"Huh? I never said that."
"Then what's with the response you gave me."
"Nothing really... it's just I don't like gaining something without giving a lot of hard work to earn it...," he paused before adding softer, "everything 'cept sweets."
"Sweets?" Jean asked.
"Yeah," Ranma-chan acknowledged.
"In the mood for some now?"
"Sure, seein as I'm already a girl."
"Let's go get some ice cream then." With that, the two girls left the medical bay. As they walked to the elevator, they passed Scott.
'Reason number five of why she won't be done with her scan till tomorrow," he thought to himself. 'She'd get more work done if she focused."
"Scott!" Jean shouted as the elevator doors closed.
"Oh man..."
(A/N Watashi wa nihongo hanasemasen I can not speak Japanese
Sorry I didn't add that sooner. Sort of answers the age old question of what language Ranma's been speaking and makes fun of how almost everyone in my stories suddenly seems bilingual. Often I do this because these crossovers would be next to impossible otherwise.)
