Act V

Chapter 4

The Dead Parade Part 1

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tsommer

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Standard disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or other characters from the numerous animes which are within.

Here's a great reference guide for many characters and objects in the Marvel Universe.

www marvunapp com /Appendix /index. htm

Last Chapter: Kodachi got patched up after her fight with the Ghost. Akane was going to reveal her feelings for Tofu, but he left for the U.S.. Later she discovered her memory has been tampered with for quite a while, and is determined to do something about. And Ukyou introduced her best friend to her boyfriend, who now knows Ranma is Captain Japan.

Additional note: Abe is that reporter from the bar incident with Kasumi, Ranma, and the Split Second Squad for those who forgot.

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Ranma stared hard at Ukyou's new boyfriend. Not so much because she had one, which was news to him, but that there was something disturbingly familiar about him. He knew the guy from somewhere. He'd seen that face before. Come to think of it, it was in combination with a blind guy—

Oh hell. He knew exactly who this was. This matter had to be taken care of right now, but out of Ukyou's earshot. Some things were best left unexplained.

Just as she started to say something, Ranma cut her off. "Me and your new boyfriend need to talk in private."

"What—, " was all she got out when Mousse followed up with, "It's a guy thing." And the pair went outside.

Ukyou was left behind wondering if their departure meant they were really getting along, or really not getting along. Male stupidity made them hard to read sometimes.

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Once outside, Ranma turned to the blind man, bringing himself up to his full height to tower over him. And after he did it, realized it was a wasted gesture of attempted dominance to someone who couldn't see. So he went vocal instead by trying to deepen his voice. "Okay, Daredevil, what's going on?"

Irritation was met with equal amounts of irritation. "I could ask you the same thing, Cap."

That made Ranma back up a step. "How'd you know it's me?"

"My enhanced senses? Remember? I can identify people by heartbeat."

"Oh, right." Great, now Daredevil of all people knew his secret identity. At least he knew his teammate's now, so it was something of a push. That made him relax a bit. "Anyway, why are you dating my friend?"

"Because she's great." Now Mousse was annoyed that this egotistical jerk was his girlfriend's best friend. Well, as far as relationship road bumps were concerned, it was minor. But it was the first.

"Yeah, she is," Ranma agreed. "So, you're not dating her because of me or something?"

"Of course not!" Mousse snapped. "That is so typical of you to think the world revolves around you."

"But it is an odd coincidence."

Mousse considered that, and realized something. Ranma wouldn't have said it was a coincidence if he knew Ukyou's own costumed identity. Teammates dating wasn't a coincidence. It happened all the time when people worked together. Also if Ukyou knew who Ranma really was she would have tipped him off in some way since Mousse could identify Ranma as Captain Japan with his enhanced senses as soon as they met face to face.

This was one hell of a coincidence, actually. Mousse tried thinking if anyone he knew in his personal life could be a hero on the side. There were no tiny troll doll heroes, so Stick was out. No, no contenders came to mind.

"It is weird, now that you mention it, but I assure you Ukyou and I dating has nothing to do with you. I had no idea of your civilian identity until this moment. How did you know I was Daredevil, though?"

"Saw your face in China."

"Oh, right." It now occurred to him that any of his teammates, except Tigra, would recognize him if he met them in his own civilian life, especially because he was obviously blind. Though in thinking about it, Mousse realized it wasn't really cause for concern if they did know. He'd been with his comrades in arms long enough he'd still be secure about it. Everyone knew Ryouga's identity, after all. That Captain Pain in the Ass knew didn't mean affect him either. There was a type of solace in not having to worry about his identity being circulated amongst the team. As was the current case, identity revelations could happen at the most unexpected of times.

With the initial surprise gone, Ranma now considered the situation. "I'm not sure I'm thrilled with you dating Ucchan. Going out with a super hero could be dangerous, and I don't want to see her in a life-threatening situation."

Mousse crossed his arms in defiance. "As opposed to having a super hero best friend?"

"Now hold on. That's diff…."Ranma scratched his chin in thought. "Actually, that's a good point. I never thought of that. Of course I'd never involve her in anything dangerous. And I make sure none of the super hero stuff gets into the personal side. I'd never drag anyone into it. And I guess I know you well enough that you'd never do it either."

"Of course not!" Mousse wanted to lay in another tirade, but an errant thought stopped it. His and Ukyou's dates, which had started being called such the third time they went out, had all gone incredibly well. So now they were going forward into another stage. He knew Ukyou wanted to start making him a part of her life by introducing him to her friends. It was a next step in the relationship thing, as near as he could tell. Come to think of it, he probably ought to introduce her to Stick. She was the closest thing to family he had, and he wanted Ukyou to know that part of him firsthand rather than just talking about it in the abstract. And, well, it would be nice if Stick approved of her. Not that he needed the approval, of course, just that it would be nice.

In any case it was clear she wanted him to get along with Cap… Ranma. He had to think of him as Ranma. Her best friend back in the day. Then the guy she swore vengeance on. Then her friend again because it turned out to be a misunderstanding. So that meant trying to be really nice. "And I know you wouldn't either."

"Heck no." Ranma seconded. On some level, Ranma wanted to try and tell him to back off from Ukyou, but he was having problems. While Daredevil was not his favorite teammate, the truth was he wasn't quite the stick in the mud he was at first. Personality conflicts aside, he was a decent guy. So it wasn't like he could site something about his character as why he shouldn't date Ukyou. Also Ranma had never considered who Ukyou should date. Horn dogs like Hiroshi and Daisuke? No way. No one 'better' than Mousse really sprang to mind. Then he envisioned telling Ukyou who she could and couldn't date. Yeah, that wasn't going to end well. Sort of like when Sewer Man tried to steal all that raw sewage and ended up with nearly two tons of refuse all over him. Only worse, except for the smell.

But in any case there was no legitimate reason he should disapprove. Heck, if somehow she got into trouble, Daredevil… Mousse, had shown he could handle himself and would help her. As far as boyfriends went, she was in good hands.

Finally Ranma said, "This is so weird."

"Not the way I envisioned things turning out when she told me she wanted to introduce us."

"Yeah, I wonder why she wanted to do that."

Mousse sighed on the inside. The guy was still dense, as always. "I think she wants us to approve of one another so if she wants to have both of us around at the same time she knows we'll get along. Also she can talk about me with you since you'll know we're dating, rather than me being some ambiguous guy she talks about."

"Oh. Ha! The joke's on her. I probably know you better than she does. We've been saving the world and stuff for some time now."

Actually the joke was on him, which he was not going to say since Ranma would want to know why. It was up to Ukyou to reveal her secret identity. And now enough time had passed they needed to go back inside. Best to speak plainly. "This means a lot to her, so I'll try and get along extra well when we hang out like this."

Ranma considered that. "Yeah, sure. I mean, you're not a bad guy or anything. I can do that. Oh yeah, she doesn't know I'm' you know who', so don't bring that up."

"No problem."

"Um, does she know you're 'you know who'?"

Oops. This was a bit tricky. He'd rather not outright lie since at some point Ranma and Ukyou might discover how close they'd been all this time. Diplomatically he said, "It would be unwise to reveal an identity to someone that isn't in the business."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. It can be… dicey." He thought about Nabiki. Luckily, that had turned out all right. But he sure wasn't letting anyone else know. "So, I guess we go inside and hang out like normal people."

Despite not one of them actually being remotely normal, but they were all used to acting as if they were. "Sure. She's probably worried since we've been gone so long."

"Hand wringing. She always does that when she's nervous but doesn't want to admit it," Ranma said.

"I picked up on that right away. When she gets really nervous, she bounces back and forth on her feet slightly."

Ranma laughed. "She always looks like she wants to go to the bathroom when she does that."

Mousse laughed as well. "I deliberately took us near a bathroom the first time she did it. I thought she was embarrassed about needing to go but didn't want to say it."

"I've noticed women don't like going to the bathroom alone. For some reason they need at least one other woman to go with them. I think it's some kind of weird female herd mentality. I'd be creeped out if I was always looking for guys when I needed to go. I think most-. " And the two went back inside talking much more easily than they ever had before as masked heroes.

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Abe Kosaka entered the very upscale eating establishment. It was clear from the maître'd, the designated greeter in such establishments, that his attire made him most unwelcome. Actually, he got that attitude a lot, and not always from paid snobs. Abe said in a low voice, "Mr. Matsushima is expecting me." He pointed to where the man sat at his table.

The maître'd followed Abe's finger. He was about to say something, but Abe darted past and headed directly for the table. From where he was seated, Matsushima spotted Abe a few steps before the reporter arrived, just enough time for a look of disgust to cross his face.

"Thanks for inviting me," Abe said loud enough to be heard as he sat down.

For a moment Matsushima looked like he might protest, but instead resignation settled in his form. He waved a waiter over and indicated Abe should receive a menu. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Abe accepted a menu and held it in front of his face. Now he spoke low so only Matsushima could hear. "I'm here to do you a favor."

"From another member of the media, I'd take that at face value. But I've got three decades of political advisement under my belt, and know you better. You don't do anyone favors other than yourself, and in your distorted way 'society' I suppose. Any favors that come someone else's way are coincidental."

Abe tried giving a hurt puppy stare, but given the lines and contour of his face, it just made him look pathetic. "I've helped plenty of people."

"I believe the victims of your exposes would beg to differ. I recommend the bisque. Mostly because I know you can't afford to eat here, and that's the only thing I'll buy for you since I owe you no 'favors'."

"I hate bisque. And yes, I'm sure leeches always think you're the bad guy for removing them from their host. The host seems to like it, though. And I didn't make them leeches, I only pointed out they were sucking blood from the people who remove them."

Matsushima rolled his eyes. "Save me from moralistic crusaders. What do you want besides bisque?"

"I need you to put feelers out in your neck of the woods. You're tied to Councilman Yoshida. He's high up. You have access to information I can't find, or at least a short cut to it. You won't even owe me when this is done, though if you want to repay me with a future favor, I'm not going to protest. And I'm not ordering bisque."

"Now why would I do that? And there's nothing wrong with the bisque here. Everything they have is expensive and that makes it good."

"Because I need information in regards to Councilwoman Ariyoshi, your political enemy, who is getting stronger by the day while you are getting weaker since you are on opposing sides. The way her star is rising, she might make prime minister, which means Yoshida won't be. And shit tastes like shit no matter how much you charge for it."

Now Matsushima gave him a sober look. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

"Genoshan-like plans involving military hardware. What she might be planning for the future, though I suspect she'll keep that close to the hilt. But she's got to be asking around and drumming up support for what she wants, and everyone in your circle talks with one another. I know it's how you do business."

Matsushima stared at him, then spoke almost inaudibly. "You heard rumors about Phantom Cats, right?"

"Urban myths, you mean. Just like sewer gators and ghosts. I believe in them like I believe in professional wrestling as an actual sport."

"There is no such thing, of course," Matsushima agreed. "It's an urban myth, like the one claiming the government had a program of devoted hounds to hunt them down, until they were. I hear Ariyoshi likes urban myths like that. A superstitious woman, to be sure. If they existed, that would be what you're looking for under a new name. Something canine and Greek. Order what you like from the menu. I just had an emergency and need to leave. I'll let them know to charge it to my usual account." He rose from his seat and said something to a waiter, then exited.

Abe mulled things over, trying to come up with people that might have information regarding what Matsushima had just told him. There had been that conspiracy nut that had tried to get him to do an expose about Phantom Cats. Claimed they could hack computers and move through walls. But he had also claimed the government was putting sedatives in the water, the super villain Brain Drain was really Adolph Hitler's brain, and shape shifting aliens called Skrulls were infiltrating Earth. Abe had only read the letters, and they were mailed since he thought the Phantom Cats would have read an email with their powers, because they were amusing.

But now… well conspiracies *had* existed since humans started hanging out together. Some humans would get together and do things behind the others' backs since their actions wouldn't be openly approved of. So every now and then they were true. Maybe real conspiracies made up a bunch of fake ones so people would discount the tiny handful that were legitimate. It wasn't hiding a needle in a haystack; it was hiding it in a needle stack.

And now he was becoming a conspiracy theorist. Damn, once you went down that path it was easy to keep going. Best to focus on the one he had just discovered to see if it led to another. As he decided his course of action, Abe ordered Kobe beef, crab, several side dishes, and even the bisque. They served that first.

Sure enough, it tasted like bisque, which meant it tasted awful. But the rest of the food drowned out the flavor.

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To Ryouga Hibiki, being lost was normal. It was frustrating, but normal. For him, you walked somewhere, even with a destination in mind, and if you were lucky you happened upon it. He wasn't exactly the luckiest guy around though. So he at least tried to get some factors going in his favor so he could arrive at his destination at some point.

One of them was observing landmarks. Mostly buildings since, if they appeared familiar, he'd been there before, and buildings didn't change too often, unless one was fighting a mysterious mechanical super weapon in the heart of the city. But then you could follow the construction sites which could be just as telling. But if he saw the same building again, he'd try really hard to remember which direction he had originally taken and go down a different route.

And it was because he was staring at buildings, trying to determine their familiarity, that he inadvertently walked into a woman. Given his muscle mass he was only backed up a step while she was knocked completely down on her bottom. As he processed what he had done, he noticed she wore a fashionable pantsuit which covered her entire body. The impact had knocked off her exceptionally wide-brimmed hat, and the overly large sunglasses she wore.

Ryouga hoped she wasn't hurt. He wasn't exactly the softest thing to crash into even when he wasn't the Hulk. "I'm sorry Ma'am." As he helped her up, he noticed her face and that the skin was totally green. Nearly the same shade as his emerald alter ego. This was… new. "Um, are you a Hulk fan?"

The woman donned her hat. "Hulk fan? No." She looked curiously at him. "Don't you recognize me?"

Ryouga scratched his head. He knew lots of people with a variety of skin colors. Mercurio was both blue and red. Mr. Fish had magenta scales. The Phantom Cats had come in practically every shade of fur, which was like skin. The only one he recalled with that shade other than himself was the A-Bra-Mination, and she sure didn't look like him. He tried picturing her without the green make up, but drew a blank. "No, I don't think we've ever met before."

She looked a touch startled, then gave a smile which seemed to light up the room. "I guess I was mistaken. I'm Jarella."

For some reason he couldn't fathom, she was looking at him expectedly. Like she thought announcing her name would make him remember, but he was still drawing a blank. "I'm Ryouga. Ryouga Hibiki."

The smile remained. "It's nice to meet you, Ryouga. So I take it you're a fan of the Hulk's?"

That made him panic. Had she somehow pierced his disguise? Well, he wasn't wearing a disguise, but could she somehow divine his dual nature? "What makes you say that?"

She pointed at his forehead. "The headband. It's the same type he wears. It suits you, by the way."

Relief coursed through his veins. "I guess I kind of am. I mean, he's not a bad guy like some people think. He's just a big guy that doesn't know his own strength, and to be honest, gets picked on a lot because sometimes he's not as quick on the uptake as others. And misunderstandings, you wouldn't believe the misunderstandings he has to endure. I think he's kind of tragic, really. Like someone from those plays that English guy wrote that everybody talks about."

"Shakespeare, I believe." Jarella put her sunglasses back on.

Ryouga noticed that between the sunglasses which covered so much of her face and the wide brim of the hat, it was nearly impossible to notice she was green. Which was odd since he thought most women who wore make up that made them stand out that much in a crowd would want to be noticed.

She said, "I'd like to talk more. Why don't we find somewhere to eat? My treat."

"But I ran into you," Ryouga pointed out. "Shouldn't I be the one to pay?"

"I like to think our running into one another was fortuitous and something to be thankful for. Where I come from, it is the one who has unexpectedly benefitted who reciprocates."

Well, he wasn't inclined to argue with a woman; he'd feel like a real heel. He accepted. "Um, I'm not familiar with the area, so I don't know what place would be good."

"Neither am I. Let's walk around and see if we can find one."

Walking around. He was good at that. So he and Jarella strolled down the streets looking at signs and deciding what eatery to dine at it. Ryouga suggested each one they went past, targeting ones that he thought would be reasonably priced, but for some reason Jarella rejected them all. He wondered if she was holding out for an expensive place. Some women only wanted to eat somewhere fancy, but he'd feel guilty if she spent a lot of money on him. He'd make certain he ordered the cheapest item on the menu if that was the case.

Eventually she led him off one of the main streets and down a much narrower one that held some shops. These were of lower quality given their outward appearance. He wondered if she was leading him to a different major street, where there would be better establishments, when she stopped and pointed. "This one."

Ryouga looked at it. 'Hole in the wall' was the description that came to mind. It was so small he would have passed by it under normal circumstances without ever noticing its existence. As they entered he saw it was tiny, as in mice would have felt cramped. No one was in the establishment save for one elderly man next to the grill. He didn't even move when they first entered. Maybe he'd been in the empty place so long he had died and fossilized in that position. This was no Ucchans', that was for certain.

Upon seeing the emptiness and air of abandonment around the place, Ryouga assumed Jarella would turn and leave. Instead she seemed delighted and chose a small booth that could barely seat both of them. She left her hat and sunglasses on as the elderly man proved he was still in this mortal coil by trudging toward them and handing them a pair of menus. He then returned just as slowly toward the grill.

Ryouga looked over the menu. An unagi place. The fare looked standard for a small dive that focused on eel. At least it wasn't tonkatsu. Pork was on the 'do not eat' list, though to be honest he had far more problems being the Hulk than either a piglet or a two-hundred pound porcine ball of rage.

Jarella seemed particularly enthused. She explained, "I enjoy seafood. My place of birth was not close enough to the ocean to experience the cuisine it offers."

"Japan's an island, so it's not really an issue here," Ryouga confirmed. When the owner came back they put in their orders, and he went to the grill to prepare them.

Jarella finally took off her sunglasses and hat. Having the opportunity to look at her without any visual obstructions, he realized something else about her. "You're not from Japan. Where are you from originally?"

"A pretty far off place you've never been to," she explained.

Ryouga smiled. "Don't be so sure. I've been to lots of places."

Her eyebrow arched. "Oh? You travel a lot?"

A blush rose to his cheeks. "You know what they say. Once your feet start moving, you end up somewhere. My feet move a lot."

Jarella laughed. "'Having reigns determine whether your warthos takes you where you want to go, or you go where it wants to'."

He had no idea what a warthos was, but it sounded right. He liked Jarella. She didn't make him feel awkward. There was something about her that put him at ease, as though she were a kindred spirit in an odd way. She was intriguing. "Are you a natural blonde? It's an interesting contrast to your make up."

That earned him a smile. "I am. And it's not make up. Green is my natural skin color, much like the Hulk you think so highly of."

"Oh? Is it some type of mutation? Not that I care if you're a mutant, of course."

Now her smile lessened, though it did not disappear. "Not exactly. I have no abilities other than the same ones all who are of normal birth have." For a moment it appeared she'd say nothing else, but then she added. "I received a great deal of instruction from others in how to comport myself and what was expected of the role I was to have in life. And then a… wise man said I would not be up to the task of helping those who I wished to save from a terrible fate. Instead I would have to… step aside and allow another woman to take on the role. It would mean traveling far away, and I could never return to my home, but in the end it was no choice at all. And as they say, 'to make a long story short' I ended up here, in Japan."

For all the allusions, he understood the gist of the situation. "Well, traveling means leaving people you know behind, but on the upside you get to meet new people, which is kind of nice." Except for the occasional evil overlord that wanted to kill you and rule the world. Which he wasn't going to say since Jarella wouldn't understand at best, and might think he was crazy at worst. Aside from having green skin she was perfectly normal. He didn't get to meet normal people all that often.

Their food arrived, the older man staring at Jarella curiously, then evidently deciding green skin was of no consequence, went back behind the grill and into the exact same position he was when they entered. Maybe he was a robot. It was Ryouga's experience that robots were a lot more common occurrence than most people thought. They could be anywhere.

The two began eating. There was something about the eel, which he was normally ambivalent about, that tasted better than usual. He wasn't sure what it was, since his taste buds were telling him it was the same anguilliform he was used to, but it was making him happy and more satisfied than in recent memory. He'd have to try and remember where the place was so he could visit it again. Given how Jarella seemed to be enjoying her food, if he ran into her, either figuratively or literally, he'd ask her along.

They were nearly finished when a trio of women entered the establishment. Ryouga felt a pang of disappointment, since for some reason it felt like they were intruding. It was silly of course, this was a restaurant and it wouldn't stay in business if it didn't have customers, but that visceral reaction was there.

The women looked around for a seat when they spotted the pair at the table. Ryouga watched them look in shock, consult with one another, then rushed over to the table. Jarella, who had made an effort to look at something in the wall and away from them, turned toward them and smiled when they approached. Ryouga thought the smile looked different from the one she had earlier. Almost strained, but only subtly. It was odd how he noticed it as well. Smiles weren't exactly something he focused on a lot.

One of the women took charge of the trio. There was something about the way the others held back slightly that told him this was the way they usually operated. She asked, "You're Jarella, aren't you?"

When she confirmed it, the women squealed, saying they were honored to meet her and started babbling about Jarella, well… being Jarella, which made no sense to him. They finally had her sign some things and they went to a table where the cook went to give them their menus, though the girls kept looking over at Ryouga's companion.

"So, you're famous?" he asked.

"So to speak. I'm a model."

That made Ryouga look at Jarella closely. Up to that point he had only bounced back and forth between her physical characteristics, first her skin, then her hair, then she obscured everything and just talked to him. Even when she revealed her face again in the restaurant what he noticed was her nationality, rather than how she compared to other women solely on the basis of looks.

She was gorgeous.

He started blushing, stammering, and apologizing all at once. A look of dread shot across her beautiful features and said in a sharp voice of command, "Don't you dare! We've been having a very pleasant conversation and I won't have you ogling me like I'm some sort of object."

The anger shocked Ryouga out of what would have been his normal reaction to being in the presence of a beautiful woman that had taken any interest in him. Mostly not knowing how to act and being terrified of saying something stupid, which usually led to him saying something more stupid than if he actually tried to say something stupid. It was quite ironic, really. And sad.

But her command snapped him out of it and he composed himself. "What do you mean?"

Jarella released a tied sigh. "Whenever people first meet me it's either revulsion over my skin tone or genuflecting before my looks. Sometimes the latter is worse than the former. But in either case I am not treated like an individual, but rather an object. While I understand it intellectually, it becomes tiresome quickly.

"It was much the same way in my homeland. I was famous there as well, though for very different reasons. Everyone knew who I was before I knew them. I was momentarily confused the first time I… arrived here and someone wanted to know who I was. It was a question I had never been asked. It is one of the reasons I like this wor… land.

"And then you ran into me in the street, neither taken aback by skin nor awestruck with my looks. You looked at me as though I were like anyone else. It was refreshing, and I wished to spend time with someone that spoke to some stranger named 'Jarella' with no preconceptions."

It was a lot for Ryouga to take in. What notoriety he had tended to be less than stellar, but he escaped that when he was normal, like now. No one knew he could go up in mass to nearly half a ton, and when properly pissed could bench press a hundred of them. If his identity ever went public… yes, he could see how Jarella would be frustrated with the direction her life had taken.

Unwittingly, Ryouga had taken some of the sting out of it, and was glad. Jarella was quite charming, and while beautiful, well, Thor was exotically attractive, and he didn't get tongue-tied with her. Not when he was Ryouga Hibiki anyway. So it wasn't like Jarella was so alluring he couldn't treat her in the same manner he had been behaving with her. That's right, he had been acting normal, or at least what passed for normal for him. So there was no need to get awkward with her just because she was attractive. While they hadn't known each other long, they had talked long enough that he knew he'd like to talk to her more.

He tried coming up with words of reassurance that he wouldn't act stupid any longer. "Well, I do kind of put my foot my mouth sometimes, but I'm smart enough not to shoot myself in the foot when that happens."

"While I am familiar with the words, there are times when colloquialisms' meanings escape me. That sounds both extraordinarily stupid and exceptionally painful."

Ryouga laughed. "I can explain those." And he did, and some others. Jarella explained some of hers, and like her he was not entirely certain of the meaning behind some of the things she referred to. Some of her words made no sense to him. While she spoke fluent Japanese with no accent, apparently some words didn't translate well.

It wasn't long before Ryouga realized he was far more relaxed with her than he'd ever been with a female of the species. She wasn't just beautiful, she was charming. And she seemed to think he was, too. So much so that when Jarella had to leave for an engagement, she insisted they meet again. He promised he would, though made certain to mention to leave him plenty of time to get there, as in a day or so, since his direction sense was that bad. She said she understood the difficulty, and assured him she would do so. The exchanged numbers. Luckily the Avengers ID he had stuck in his headband worked as a phone as well. Kodachi Kunou was pretty brilliant.

And that was how Ryouga Hibiki found himself staring stupidly while waving good bye to a famous model who had taken an interest in him.

He couldn't wait to tell Ranma about that.

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From his command center in the Citadel of Time, Kang watched events unfold in his home universe in real time. He had studied the timestream for years, had been meticulous in the myriad of possibilities in his trying to change the outcome of the Tragedy, and everything pointed to history taking the same course now as it had then. But until he saw it happen, it hadn't happened. His heart was hammering in a way it hadn't since, since farther back than he could accurately remember. If it didn't occur the way he remembered, then all was already lost by his creating an alternate timeline. He didn't have enough time to do it all over again, not with the way he was aging. He had this one window of opportunity. He couldn't afford to have irrevocably ruined it.

Tears actually burst forth when he saw her, and his breath hitched. He had avoided looking upon it because he knew this very reaction would come if he saw her face again. So beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the world. He broke down and fell to his knees. The Tragedy shouldn't have happened. He shouldn't have needed to become the master of time. He should have had a normal life with the woman he loved, like everyone else. They should be together.

They would be.

Kang composed himself so quickly it would have shocked all but the most hardened of souls. He focused on the events, trying to find any inconsistencies with what he remembered, but there were none. He continued watching her until the 'him' of that era introduced himself to her. Yes! It was the same words. Same reaction. He was highly enamored with her, but hid it, while she was apathetic, as she admitted later. He won her over with who he was in the time they spent working together. She was the love of his life. No, she was the love of two of his lives now: he and his past self. That was how incredible she was. That was why she was worth the lengths he was going to save her. He'd destroy the world if that was what it took.

Luckily, all he really needed was for the Avengers to die.

Now that they'd met time was officially running out. Once she fell for him their courtship was a whirlwind romance. This would be the next to last opportunity to remove the Avengers from the timeline without creating an alternate one. But it should be the only one he needed.

His heart steadied. With that out of the way, it was time to get back to work. His Dead Parade was nearly complete. A few of the first choices refused to help him, and were tossed back in the midden heap of time to await their terminal outcome. Secondary choices came into play, and none of those had refused him yet.

The Gunslinger. The Cat. The Creation. The Armored Warrior. The Man of Stone. The Phantom. The Reflection. The Fear. The Swordmaiden. Two spares in that roster. The Man of Stone was versatile, and The Creation, he still had no idea how someone so much weaker than the Goddess of Thunder was instrumental in defeating her once, but he had. Still he would primarily rely on The Cat, who had subdued her once before.

Now it was time for the Hulk's foe. A Monster to fight a monster. He went to the time apparatus that could pluck anyone from one moment to the next. Or in their cases the moment before their final one. Although in this situation perfidy would be employed. The Monster wasn't going to actually die where Kang would grab him, but he had no way of knowing that. The Lord of Time would tell him he'd die under the mountain if he didn't do Kang's bidding. Most would believe such a claim when they realized a mountain was about to fall down on top of them. Even one as powerful as him.

Kang watched the screen carefully as he stretched the seconds into eternities. There was the green-skinned monstrosity, a moment before the stone ceiling came down on top of him. Enough time to register the threat so that when Kang made his offer, he'd think it sincere. It was at that exact moment Kang activated the device.

There was a flash of light and a figure appeared. Just not the one he had summoned.

It was a red-skinned woman. Tall and incredibly powerfully built. Her long black hair had two springy forelocks that appeared curiously inappropriate. Her outfit was black, leathery and skin tight. Her top showed off a great deal of impressive cleavage and mid riff. There were no sleeves, so her large, clearly defined muscles stuck out, though she did wear a pair of gloves. Pants and boots completed the ensemble.

"Who are you?" Kang asked.

She looked at him with glowing yellow eyes. After giving him a baleful glare, she took in her surroundings. "You're the guy that pulled me here, and you're asking me who I am? That takes nerve. I think I'll tear yours out. You can rip out nerves. Normally, it's delicate work, but I just start tearing at everything and boom, they come out, along with everything else." She made a dramatic cracking of her leather clad knuckles and began to approach him.

His hand hovered over the chronal device which would… should send her back. Though he wasn't entirely certain how he had summoned her in the first place so he couldn't be confident. This was worrisome. He couldn't figure out what went wrong. He had plucked people multiple times from multiple times. Everything had happened as it should. What made it different in this situation? What if his hold on the timestream was slipping? Total disaster would follow. He had the price of failure hammered home with seeing his love again. It could not be.

He should try and figure out what went wrong, if this woman gave him the time to talk. Maybe she knew the answer, or at least held information on what had happened. He had to know. "Are you any relation to the A-Bra-Mination?"

That brought her to a halt. "No. He's a heavy hitter. What did you need that guy for?"

"I was going to use him to kill the Hulk."

She stared at him in surprise, then smiled. A gleeful thing, much more intense than the one she had when she decided to rip out his nerves. "That explains it. The curse kicked in. That's how you ended up with me instead of bull face."

Underneath his face plate, an eyebrow lifted. "Curse?"

"I'm cursed to kill the Hulk. The magic's twitchy, though. Probably because the stuff that's coursing through my veins fouls it up. If the damn thing worked properly, I'd have offed him years ago."

Oh, so she was amicable to killing the Hulk? Actually, she appeared very, very eager. And she looked sizeable enough to do the job. Also there was an aura of violence, as well as power about her. Some people possessed it: she threw it off in waves with their own undertow. "So, you're certain you can kill him?"

The grin turned feral. "If you want me to impress you, give me someone to kill. Someone tough. That'll make it fun. For me, not for them."

That look in her eyes was the final confirmation he needed. That was no boast. She was capable of the job, or at least she believed it. Fate. He was certain of it. It was finally on his side. "That won't be necessary. You have convinced me. Allow me to explain my plan, I think you'll find it to your liking."

"As long as you let me rip Purple Pants limb from limb, I'm in."

Yes, instinctively he knew this was it. She was the last piece that fell into place. The A-Bra-Mination was forgotten. He didn't want two Hulk level people to deal with. One would be enough if they tried to cause some sort of issue. Two and there was a considerable chance he would be dismembered. That would ruin his plans as well. A dead Kang along with dead Avengers was failure as well. This was the right balance between enough power to get the job done and too much that would end up having his people kill him. Once the troops were prepared, it would be time.

The Dead Parade would march.

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[END CHAPTER}

Yes, Jarella's presence in the story will have a two-fold purpose which will become obvious in hindsight once I get to that point. I wanted to focus a bit on Ryouga since he's been overlooked since making peace with Ranma and having his identity revealed to the team. So we'll focus a bit on him the way we have the others and moving things along in his life, as well as moving on with the primary story.