Disclaimer: If I owned any of this (except the writing) I would need no
disclaimer, figure it out.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
[Symbiotes]
/Telepathy\
Well, not many people seemed to be upset about the Ryoko pairing, at least they didn't comment about it if they were. I also got overwhelmed by the amount people that wanted a multiple wife set up, I guess Ranma isn't Ranma without a harem chasing after him and/or with him... Of course, I was planning on including a group of women after him anyway, but that's not important.
The people that did respond yes to the multiple match up said a Ranma/Ryoko/Nabiki or Ranma/Ryoko/Rogue pairing... Not bad at all Ranma my friend, very good choices indeed.
Without further ado, the continuation of my story.
======================================
"So... What happened?" Ranma asked casually, truly interested into why this yellow-eyed beauty could be so upset
Ryoko, or so she told him, glanced up at him with dull and unfocused eyes as she gazed upon the admittedly cute bartender. It was obvious by looking at her that she had had more than her share of liquor and was getting a bit tipsy. "Look pal..." She began, causing Ranma to wince at the stench that came from her mouth. "I don't wanna go home with ya or get to know ya, okay?" Ryoko slurred, expecting Ranma to appear distraught or upset.
Ranma chuckled, sighing and rolling his eyes. "Look, Ryoko was it? The last thing I wanna do is get you to come to my place. Or even try starting a relationship for that matter." Ranma said, still scrubbing out the putrid remnants from various patrons. "I have a fiancée if you must know..." 'Several actually...' Ranma added internally, sighing at the mess his life currently was and how much work it needed to become close to normal. "So, if I tried to do anything with you, it would be bad for me."
Ryoko eyed the bartender cautiously, before shrugging and going back to downing large gulps of Sake.
"Lose a relative?" Ranma tossed out, only to be shot down when Ryoko didn't react and continued drinking. "Lose your job?" Another swing and a miss as Ryoko burped rather loudly and made Ranma turn his head until the smell passed. "Boy trouble?" This time, Ryoko visibly winced and Ranma picked up on the subtle movement, smiling sadly. "Who was he?"
Ryoko rolled her eyes at the prying bartender, but sighed and started her tale in a sad and regretful tone. "Well, it all started about a week ago... You see, there is this boy I like, Tenchi..."
===Start Flashback... NOW===
Ryoko smirked in a very feline manner as she crept toward Tenchi's door, planning on surprising the love of her life with what she hoped would be a pleasant wake up for him. She could have hovered to his door and caused no noise, but there was no challenge in that and thus she decided to tip-toe as quietly as possible to Tenchi's door.
The closer she grew to his door however, the louder an odd sound began. At first Ryoko suspected her feet to be making the slight squeaking, but when the sounded continued in a different rhythm than her footsteps
A thought entered her head as she realized that it was coming from Tenchi's room. It sounded an awful lot like a rhythmic squeaking of two people having sex on an old bed. She quickly discarded that thought as rubbish, but it stayed with her and the fear of it being possible. But her Tenchi wouldn't do something like that would he? I mean, her advances had not received any luck, so why should anybody else's? Her fear was growing steadily, and she swore she heard moans and soft squeals sound, accompanying that rhythmic groaning of a spring or wooden frame. Swallowing the lump she didn't realize she had in her throat, a shaky hand rose to grasp his doorknob. She hesitated before actually touching it, before firmly clamping her hand around the knob, and twisting ever so gently before opening the door with such subtle movements that it would not be noticed by the room's inhabitants. Opening the door so only a sliver of the interior showed, Ryoko peaked in and was startled as she saw...
Aeka. Of all people it could have been, Ryoko's rival was there, nude and bouncing atop an equally nude Tenchi, both with euphoric expressions on their faces. A tear slowly emerged from her eye, and crawled down her cheek, tickling the tender flesh beneath it before finally allowing gravity a better hold over it as it plummeted from her chin and to the floor.
She silently closed the door, not disturbing the fornicating couple as she walked away. In the despair that resided in her mind, a soft glow of hope remained. She knew that, as a Jurian prince, Tenchi was allowed multiple wives. So she decided to wait, hoping Tenchi would soon come to her and ask for her to join him in the horizontal tango.
For a week she waited, all too often seeing the pleasant glow on Aeka's face that made her want to vomit in disgust and pain, before she finally gave up, realizing that Tenchi apparently had no intention of bedding her and asking for her hand in marriage.
===End Flashback... A little bit ago===
"... So I came out to Tokyo to get a job and a place, so I could move out of his house... Sound pathetic huh?" Ryoko humorlessly chuckled before slugging down another bottle of her favorite alcoholic beverage.
"You? Nah... To me it sounds like this guy is a prick." Ranma said, nodding sagely at his own words and trying to appear wise.
"What!?" Ryoko nearly leapt out of her seat and cut the head of the guy who dare call her Tenchi a prick. But then... he wasn't her Tenchi now was he?
Ranma noticed that she apparently was offended by Ranma's crude evaluation of her lost love. "I don't mean to make ya angry or nothin', it's just it sounds like the guy is a real jerk! Not even telling you the time he first well... did another girl. Sounds to me like he was just playing with your feelings or a jerk!"
Ryoko sighed, obviously upset because from Ranma had said, it seemed true. Was Tenchi really just playing her for a fool? Did he ever care about her? She began to get a headache, partially from the amount of thinking she had been doing, and partially because of all the alcohol consumed.
Ranma looked at Ryoko empathetically before glancing at the clock and cursing the time. "Look Ryoko, I feel really bad about that boy and all, but don't worry, there are plenty of better guys out there!"
Ryoko gave Ranma a withering glance before downing one last gulp of Sake. "Yeah right. Where would I find these better guys?"
Shrugging, Ranma was unable to answer because he usually wasn't very popular with the guys unless he was a girl. "I dunno. Probably closer than you think." Ranma stated, not knowing how true he was before smiling at Ryoko. "Just give it some time, you'll feel better. That jerk will be begging for a cute girl like you to come back. I am going to have to ask you to go though, we are closing up."
Ryoko took a gander around and noticed that the place was deserted. Looking at the clock, she groaned at the time it displayed before rising unsteadily to her feet. She thanked Ranma for the pep talk before sulking out the door and swaggering on the sidewalk.
"Poor girl..." Ranma sighed, summoning Kao to form a black trench coat around him before putting up the closed sign and shutting down the lights, heading out the back door because the front was locked and out into the alley. He glanced around the dark alley, numerous shadows concealing the unknown around him, before he took a deep breath and began to walk towards the street.
Until of course, something blunt was shoved into his back and several men approached him from the side, nasty smirks on their hideous faces as the smiled the pig-tailed symbiote owner.
"Hey, we don't want this to get messy, just give us your money." The one behind him spoke with what Ranma assumed was a gun pointed in his back.
'Why do these things always happen to me?' Ranma internally groaned, wondering if the goddess of luck hated him or something.
[Explanation unavailable Host Ranma.] Kao stated, causing Ranma to shake his head and Kao's attempts to rationalize everything with logic.
An idea struck Ranma as Kao replied, and an evil grin slowly grew on his face as he thought: 'Hey, Kao... wanna teach these losers a lesson?'
Kao sounded most pleased at the chance to actually be used in a practical application and replied; [Why, I would most enjoy you using me to my full capabilities Host Ranma, but I doubt such beings around us will prove a challenge.]
'Agreed.' Ranma thought as he started changing the clothes into the combat suit, starting at the feet. "You guys really chose the wrong person to mess with..." Ranma chuckled as his pants started changning to a chaotic black and red pattern, tendrils of the amorphous goo that formed his pants whipping about wildly and freely as the prepared for combat.
"Why is that tough... guy..." The man was cut short when he saw Ranma's shirt and trench coat change colors and apparently substance, the liquid wrapping around his chiseled abs and arms, the fingers extending to a claw like shape.
The men watched as Ranma's head was engulfed in the liquid before two pure white eyes formed, the edges frayed and erratic, like a burnt and torn cloth.
"L-Let's get outta here!" One of the punks shouted, and the trio fled down the alley, thinking that they could escape.
Ranma only shook his head with a smile on his face as he turned and raised his arms, willing them to extend forward. He watched in partial awe as the symbiote replicated itself at an extreme rate and became to wild tentacles. The tentacles each had smaller tendrils extending and whipping about in front of them as they rushed through the air, before slamming into the back legs of all three of the thieves, causing them to collapse forward and smash their delicate faces into the pavement, before the oozing tentacles wrapped themselves around the legs of the trio, binding them together. Ranma grinned as he gave a tug at the new rope, which held the legs of the the men and caused them to be pulled backwards through the air. The men screamed in horror as they flew through the air and passed Ranma, before Ranma pulled again, this time in a circle, and caused the small gang to be crushed into the ground, knocking all three out, but causing no permanent damage.
"Idiots..." Ranma mumbled as he willed Kao to form back into the clothes he had started in and made his way back to the street. He froze when he spotted a figure at the end of the alley, that darted off before he could react. Rushing out into the street, Ranma glanced about in search of the person, but swore loudly when he could not find hide nor hair of the person.
===several minutes earlier===
Ryoko stumbled out of the bar, obviously intoxicated as she swayed uneasily down the sidewalk with glazed over eyes. She swaggered over to a corner for balance and rubbed her throbbing head, groaning at the pain that felt like someone beating her head like a drum.
She stopped voicing her displeasure when a door in the alley opened, and out walked the bartender that had talked to her only minutes earlier. She watched, only vaguely interested in the man and still nursing her head, when she saw the men approach him. She was going to shout to warn him, but they were already upon him. She watched as they seem to say something to him, and his face screwed and showed different emotions. First displeasure, then disbelief... then... something funny? He appeared to be laughing, and that's when she noticed it. She immediately sobered up when she witnessed his shoes and pants turn into this ooze that seemed to cover his body. He said something, which caused one of the muggers to sneer, before he too noticed the black and red swirled goo covering the bartender's body. Ryoko watched as his shirt seemed to shred and become goo as well, giving her a good look at his muscular torso before it too was engulfed and vanished beneath the sea of black and red. She was quite worried when the stuff completely surrounded his head, but when the white eyes and the jagged mouth appeared, her fears switched from the safety of the bartender, to the creature he became. The stuff from nightmares, that was what this was. The men ran in horror, as well they should as the bartender creature turned and moved his arms forward, as if pushing something forward. His arms turning into long streams of the liquid that captured the men around the legs was frightening, and she winced when the thing pulled them and sent them flying, before slamming them into the ground. The impact alone caused Ryoko to flinch, and she was about to enter the alley when she saw that the ooze turned back into clothing and the man turned. He panicked upon seeing her, and Ryoko fled into the street, before teleporting to a building several blocks away.
Never in all her experience as a space pirate had she witnessed something so frightening as the creature she had witnessed. Immediately, she decided that informing Washu would be a good idea.
/Mother?\ Ryoko hesitantly sent over the link, knowing that she was essentially giving her position away to the Masaki household.
/Ah, Ryoko! There you are! I was wondering where you went, Sasami was worried sick!\ the light sound of a young voice filtered back from the other end of the link.
/That's not important right now, mom...\ Ryoko thought, watching the man that had transformed into the beast intently. /Are you aware of any other non human activity on Earth?\ Ryoko asked, making sure that this was a new discovery.
/What is with the sudden interest? Earth is a Jurian Colony; off limits to all other species... there should be no one else here... Why do you ask? \ Washu replied, her voice hesitant for some reason.
Ryoko let out a deep breath, the situation had just grown much worse. /See for yourself...\ She stated as she sent the memories of the bartender named Ranma transforming into that creature over the link.
Silence reigned in her head for several minutes, which made Ryoko all the more nervous. If Washu could not identify it, then they had a small crisis on their hands. She was about ready to jump off of the roof and hunt down the boy herself when Washu's voice came back over.
/This isn't good...\ Washu stated the obvious, confirming Ryoko's fears. /Never before have I seen such a transformation... or such abilities. It appears similar to the MASU even, but that is impossible... I need you to track this man.\ Washu stated sincerely. Before Ryoko could object she continued. /We don't know what he's capable of, or what he's doing here even. Watch him closely; I get the feeling that there is more to this man than meets the eye.\
Ryoko groaned at the prospect of shadowing the man, but floated down and after Ranma where she had seen him walk off to.
Back in her lab, a greatly disturbed Washu watched the scene play out again and again on her floating screen, her brow furrowed in frustration. 'What have we gotten ourselves into now...?' She grimly thought, not very pleased about this recent development at all.
===============
Ranma entered his apartment with very little joy in his being. He was sure that he was going to be all over the news tomorrow, or some such thing. A glimmer of hope resided in the idea that perhaps the person was drunk and unable to see clearly, or thought it was all a dream.
His clothes shifted and blurred into a tank top and boxers as Ranma collapsed on his futon and prepared to get what he hoped was not his last good night's sleep.
==============
Peter rubbed his forehead after receiving a vicious verbal lashing from his wife. Apparently, she was none too pleased at his antics earlier that day, and now Peter was stuck sleeping on the lumpy couch for the night.
Shaking his head and laying back, Peter held the phone up to his ear as it rang.
"Hello?" An aged and wise sounding voice asked from the other end as Peter spoke.
"Professor Xavier? It's me Peter..."
"Ah, Peter, how are you these days?" The kind man asked, making Peter smile sheepishly.
"Not too good, sleeping on the couch tonight. Look, I just wanted to call you because I think there is a mutant in Japan you may be interested in..."
"Oh?" Professor Xavier asked, genuinely intrigued. "Do tell."
And so Peter relayed the story of the young man in the bank and the strength and speed he had. Professor Xavier was silent until Peter finished, when he thought for a few seconds before coming to a decision.
"If what you say is true Peter, than we have an issue on our hands. The power of this mutant would surely attract the likes of Magneto to recruit him. I'll send some people over tomorrow in the Black Bird, can you hang on till then?"
Peter let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Yea, just be careful."
Xavier smiled and nodded, though Peter couldn't see it. "Will do Peter, good luck with your wife" Xavier stated as he hung up the phone and brooded this new development. Cerebro should have detected such a powerful mutant... perhaps he had some sort of ability dampener? The possibilities were nearly endless, and Xavier knew this. "May as well get the group together..." Xavier muttered to himself as he went to fetch several of the X-men for their latest mission.
Ranma had no idea, but the he had just opened the biggest can of worms Earth had yet to see, and a multitude of powerful beings were converging on one place. Japan.
===========
Early the next morning, Ranma woke up to go explore the nearby region and head to a park he had remembered passing to practice when it was secluded.
Yawning quite loudly and popping several stiff joints, Ranma had a forlorn look on his face as he opened the door of his apartment, snatched up the paper that had been delivered and took it inside to look over the contents.
Much to his surprise (and joy) Ranma found no signs of 'Pig-Tailed Bartender turns into monster!' anywhere in the paper. He looked over it several times, ensuring that there was no sign of his little slip the previous night.
"Phew... Man, I have a to be more careful, that was really scary..." Ranma muttered as his tank top and yellow and blue boxers quivered before shifting and becoming the standard red shirt and black pants he wore.
Ranma paused and was about to think about the clothing shifting, but noticed that it already had. He paused, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at his clothes. 'I can't be adapting to Kao this quickly... can I?' he thought before shaking his head and exiting the apartment, jogging downstairs to the bottom floor and off to the park.
Of course from so low, he never noticed the figure hovering over the rooftops, following him very closely. But always remaining out of sight or in the sun so they remained undetected.
Ranma arrived in the park several minutes later, taking a deep breath with closed eyes and enjoying the fresh scent of the tree's and grass. Birds chirped and squawked happily, breaking up the moments of silence that was dominant otherwise.
Walking over to an area sheltered by several trees, just in case anyone else decided to take a stroll through the area. He stretched his only mildly stiff muscles, contorting into various poses to stretch them out and make them loose again.
"Hey." Ranma heard from behind him, in a definitely female voice. His eyes widened as he turned about face to face the person that had spoken, praying to the gods it wasn't a fiancée.
But instead he found the woman he had served last night, Ryoko. Her cyan hair was as spiky and unruly as he remembered, and her eyes just as yellow. He noticed now in the better light that her ears were... odd. Not wrong really, just oddly shaped. Her eyes seemed really thin as well...
"Oh, hi!" Ranma said happily, giving a small wave and a happy grin.
"Cut the crap." Ryoko blurted, startling Ranma out of his greeting. "You know Earth is a Jurai colony don't you? What the hell are you doing here?"
Ranma blinked once, then again for good measure. "Huh?" He intelligently replied, cocking his head and giving the impression of a clueless person, which he was in this case.
[Perhaps I can be of assistance.] Kao stated, [Jurians are from the planet Jurai, and have a large intergalactic empire. Known for their diplomacy and power, they are the owners of the largest empire in this and many other galaxies. Special tree's that grow on their planet supply their royalty with longevity and extreme amounts of power, power that is feared by many races across the universe.]
Ranma's mouth opened and closed several times as he stared at Ryoko, before he cleared his throat. "A-Aliens? Here?"
Ryoko raised a brow and took a step back from the person in front of her. At first he seemed to have no clue as to what a Jurian was, but now he appeared to know what they were. "Yea, aliens. Just like you. I saw you last night." Ryoko stated, her eyes accusing and glinting dangerously.
Ranma appeared confused before his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh! I get it!" Ranma shouted, running a hand through his own unkempt hair. "You were the one that saw me last night. Look, I know it may be a bit much to ask, but could you kinda, you know, keep quiet about that? Wouldn't do for my little secret to get out. Well, our little secret now."
Ryoko blinked. Didn't the man understand that she was threatening him? "Er, right... What are you doing here? Where are you from?"
Ranma shrugged, his arms coming to a rest behind his head. "I am just here to practice martial arts. Oh, and I come from Nerima, the weird district in Tokyo."
Ryoko just stared at the man in front of her, growing quite frustrated at the lack of progress this conversation was making. Darting forward before he could speak any further, she grabbed Ranma in a bear hug and opened the mental link. /Now!\
/HAAAI!\ Washu's cute voice came from the other end, along with several beeps and boops, before a column of white energy surrounded Ranma and Ryoko, and when it lowered they were both gone.
Now normally, Ranma's reflexes would have easily allowed him to dodge such a straightforward assault. But of course, when the one doing the assaulting is female and quite gorgeous to boot, Ranma just has a tiny bit of trouble moving.
When the bright light faded, he watched Ryoko step through solid glass and watch him with a superior smirk. Ranma's brow furrowed as he looked about, seeing himself in some sort of odd glass box. Shrugging, he approached the wall and let a punch out, hitting it with all his might, just in case it was thicker than it looked. A sharp crack resounded in the box and a spider-web appeared where his fist had hit. He reared back for another punch, but before he could a yellowish gas was released into the chamber and Ranma's vision blurred and his limbs grew heavy before he finally collapsed, unconscious.
Washu approached the area that Ranma had punched with a look of sheer awe on her face. "T-this is amazing... This glass is strong enough to withstand forces that you couldn't put out Ryoko..." She said, fingering the cracks with a look of concern and more than a little excitement in her eye.
Ryoko walked up next to her 'mother,' eyeing the crack as well. "So... he's stronger than me?" She asked.
Washu only nodded cryptically, before grinning with images of guinea pigs floating around in her mind.
========================
Well, that's that. I am so on a roll, three updates in like, two weeks? Come on, who's the man? Yeah, that's right. I am.
Got a website started, started being the keyword here, the link's here:
Anyone live in the Seattle area and going to Sakura Con? Gimme and e-mail, I plan on dropping in and hanging out. Tell me where you want to meet and when and we could hang out for a bit. I may surprise you a bit, most people think I am older than I am. My e-mail is gundraw@msn.com or sirhcsirron@hotmail.com.
Well, King of Storms is next, so that's what's coming. Should be getting fanart Thursday from one Slade3, so I am greatly looking forward to that. May not be important to you people, but for me it's big! First fanart man! When you have fanart, you know your getting popular. Anyway, I gotta sleep, lest I sleep in till noon tomorrow...
Ja! -Gundraw
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
[Symbiotes]
/Telepathy\
Well, not many people seemed to be upset about the Ryoko pairing, at least they didn't comment about it if they were. I also got overwhelmed by the amount people that wanted a multiple wife set up, I guess Ranma isn't Ranma without a harem chasing after him and/or with him... Of course, I was planning on including a group of women after him anyway, but that's not important.
The people that did respond yes to the multiple match up said a Ranma/Ryoko/Nabiki or Ranma/Ryoko/Rogue pairing... Not bad at all Ranma my friend, very good choices indeed.
Without further ado, the continuation of my story.
======================================
"So... What happened?" Ranma asked casually, truly interested into why this yellow-eyed beauty could be so upset
Ryoko, or so she told him, glanced up at him with dull and unfocused eyes as she gazed upon the admittedly cute bartender. It was obvious by looking at her that she had had more than her share of liquor and was getting a bit tipsy. "Look pal..." She began, causing Ranma to wince at the stench that came from her mouth. "I don't wanna go home with ya or get to know ya, okay?" Ryoko slurred, expecting Ranma to appear distraught or upset.
Ranma chuckled, sighing and rolling his eyes. "Look, Ryoko was it? The last thing I wanna do is get you to come to my place. Or even try starting a relationship for that matter." Ranma said, still scrubbing out the putrid remnants from various patrons. "I have a fiancée if you must know..." 'Several actually...' Ranma added internally, sighing at the mess his life currently was and how much work it needed to become close to normal. "So, if I tried to do anything with you, it would be bad for me."
Ryoko eyed the bartender cautiously, before shrugging and going back to downing large gulps of Sake.
"Lose a relative?" Ranma tossed out, only to be shot down when Ryoko didn't react and continued drinking. "Lose your job?" Another swing and a miss as Ryoko burped rather loudly and made Ranma turn his head until the smell passed. "Boy trouble?" This time, Ryoko visibly winced and Ranma picked up on the subtle movement, smiling sadly. "Who was he?"
Ryoko rolled her eyes at the prying bartender, but sighed and started her tale in a sad and regretful tone. "Well, it all started about a week ago... You see, there is this boy I like, Tenchi..."
===Start Flashback... NOW===
Ryoko smirked in a very feline manner as she crept toward Tenchi's door, planning on surprising the love of her life with what she hoped would be a pleasant wake up for him. She could have hovered to his door and caused no noise, but there was no challenge in that and thus she decided to tip-toe as quietly as possible to Tenchi's door.
The closer she grew to his door however, the louder an odd sound began. At first Ryoko suspected her feet to be making the slight squeaking, but when the sounded continued in a different rhythm than her footsteps
A thought entered her head as she realized that it was coming from Tenchi's room. It sounded an awful lot like a rhythmic squeaking of two people having sex on an old bed. She quickly discarded that thought as rubbish, but it stayed with her and the fear of it being possible. But her Tenchi wouldn't do something like that would he? I mean, her advances had not received any luck, so why should anybody else's? Her fear was growing steadily, and she swore she heard moans and soft squeals sound, accompanying that rhythmic groaning of a spring or wooden frame. Swallowing the lump she didn't realize she had in her throat, a shaky hand rose to grasp his doorknob. She hesitated before actually touching it, before firmly clamping her hand around the knob, and twisting ever so gently before opening the door with such subtle movements that it would not be noticed by the room's inhabitants. Opening the door so only a sliver of the interior showed, Ryoko peaked in and was startled as she saw...
Aeka. Of all people it could have been, Ryoko's rival was there, nude and bouncing atop an equally nude Tenchi, both with euphoric expressions on their faces. A tear slowly emerged from her eye, and crawled down her cheek, tickling the tender flesh beneath it before finally allowing gravity a better hold over it as it plummeted from her chin and to the floor.
She silently closed the door, not disturbing the fornicating couple as she walked away. In the despair that resided in her mind, a soft glow of hope remained. She knew that, as a Jurian prince, Tenchi was allowed multiple wives. So she decided to wait, hoping Tenchi would soon come to her and ask for her to join him in the horizontal tango.
For a week she waited, all too often seeing the pleasant glow on Aeka's face that made her want to vomit in disgust and pain, before she finally gave up, realizing that Tenchi apparently had no intention of bedding her and asking for her hand in marriage.
===End Flashback... A little bit ago===
"... So I came out to Tokyo to get a job and a place, so I could move out of his house... Sound pathetic huh?" Ryoko humorlessly chuckled before slugging down another bottle of her favorite alcoholic beverage.
"You? Nah... To me it sounds like this guy is a prick." Ranma said, nodding sagely at his own words and trying to appear wise.
"What!?" Ryoko nearly leapt out of her seat and cut the head of the guy who dare call her Tenchi a prick. But then... he wasn't her Tenchi now was he?
Ranma noticed that she apparently was offended by Ranma's crude evaluation of her lost love. "I don't mean to make ya angry or nothin', it's just it sounds like the guy is a real jerk! Not even telling you the time he first well... did another girl. Sounds to me like he was just playing with your feelings or a jerk!"
Ryoko sighed, obviously upset because from Ranma had said, it seemed true. Was Tenchi really just playing her for a fool? Did he ever care about her? She began to get a headache, partially from the amount of thinking she had been doing, and partially because of all the alcohol consumed.
Ranma looked at Ryoko empathetically before glancing at the clock and cursing the time. "Look Ryoko, I feel really bad about that boy and all, but don't worry, there are plenty of better guys out there!"
Ryoko gave Ranma a withering glance before downing one last gulp of Sake. "Yeah right. Where would I find these better guys?"
Shrugging, Ranma was unable to answer because he usually wasn't very popular with the guys unless he was a girl. "I dunno. Probably closer than you think." Ranma stated, not knowing how true he was before smiling at Ryoko. "Just give it some time, you'll feel better. That jerk will be begging for a cute girl like you to come back. I am going to have to ask you to go though, we are closing up."
Ryoko took a gander around and noticed that the place was deserted. Looking at the clock, she groaned at the time it displayed before rising unsteadily to her feet. She thanked Ranma for the pep talk before sulking out the door and swaggering on the sidewalk.
"Poor girl..." Ranma sighed, summoning Kao to form a black trench coat around him before putting up the closed sign and shutting down the lights, heading out the back door because the front was locked and out into the alley. He glanced around the dark alley, numerous shadows concealing the unknown around him, before he took a deep breath and began to walk towards the street.
Until of course, something blunt was shoved into his back and several men approached him from the side, nasty smirks on their hideous faces as the smiled the pig-tailed symbiote owner.
"Hey, we don't want this to get messy, just give us your money." The one behind him spoke with what Ranma assumed was a gun pointed in his back.
'Why do these things always happen to me?' Ranma internally groaned, wondering if the goddess of luck hated him or something.
[Explanation unavailable Host Ranma.] Kao stated, causing Ranma to shake his head and Kao's attempts to rationalize everything with logic.
An idea struck Ranma as Kao replied, and an evil grin slowly grew on his face as he thought: 'Hey, Kao... wanna teach these losers a lesson?'
Kao sounded most pleased at the chance to actually be used in a practical application and replied; [Why, I would most enjoy you using me to my full capabilities Host Ranma, but I doubt such beings around us will prove a challenge.]
'Agreed.' Ranma thought as he started changing the clothes into the combat suit, starting at the feet. "You guys really chose the wrong person to mess with..." Ranma chuckled as his pants started changning to a chaotic black and red pattern, tendrils of the amorphous goo that formed his pants whipping about wildly and freely as the prepared for combat.
"Why is that tough... guy..." The man was cut short when he saw Ranma's shirt and trench coat change colors and apparently substance, the liquid wrapping around his chiseled abs and arms, the fingers extending to a claw like shape.
The men watched as Ranma's head was engulfed in the liquid before two pure white eyes formed, the edges frayed and erratic, like a burnt and torn cloth.
"L-Let's get outta here!" One of the punks shouted, and the trio fled down the alley, thinking that they could escape.
Ranma only shook his head with a smile on his face as he turned and raised his arms, willing them to extend forward. He watched in partial awe as the symbiote replicated itself at an extreme rate and became to wild tentacles. The tentacles each had smaller tendrils extending and whipping about in front of them as they rushed through the air, before slamming into the back legs of all three of the thieves, causing them to collapse forward and smash their delicate faces into the pavement, before the oozing tentacles wrapped themselves around the legs of the trio, binding them together. Ranma grinned as he gave a tug at the new rope, which held the legs of the the men and caused them to be pulled backwards through the air. The men screamed in horror as they flew through the air and passed Ranma, before Ranma pulled again, this time in a circle, and caused the small gang to be crushed into the ground, knocking all three out, but causing no permanent damage.
"Idiots..." Ranma mumbled as he willed Kao to form back into the clothes he had started in and made his way back to the street. He froze when he spotted a figure at the end of the alley, that darted off before he could react. Rushing out into the street, Ranma glanced about in search of the person, but swore loudly when he could not find hide nor hair of the person.
===several minutes earlier===
Ryoko stumbled out of the bar, obviously intoxicated as she swayed uneasily down the sidewalk with glazed over eyes. She swaggered over to a corner for balance and rubbed her throbbing head, groaning at the pain that felt like someone beating her head like a drum.
She stopped voicing her displeasure when a door in the alley opened, and out walked the bartender that had talked to her only minutes earlier. She watched, only vaguely interested in the man and still nursing her head, when she saw the men approach him. She was going to shout to warn him, but they were already upon him. She watched as they seem to say something to him, and his face screwed and showed different emotions. First displeasure, then disbelief... then... something funny? He appeared to be laughing, and that's when she noticed it. She immediately sobered up when she witnessed his shoes and pants turn into this ooze that seemed to cover his body. He said something, which caused one of the muggers to sneer, before he too noticed the black and red swirled goo covering the bartender's body. Ryoko watched as his shirt seemed to shred and become goo as well, giving her a good look at his muscular torso before it too was engulfed and vanished beneath the sea of black and red. She was quite worried when the stuff completely surrounded his head, but when the white eyes and the jagged mouth appeared, her fears switched from the safety of the bartender, to the creature he became. The stuff from nightmares, that was what this was. The men ran in horror, as well they should as the bartender creature turned and moved his arms forward, as if pushing something forward. His arms turning into long streams of the liquid that captured the men around the legs was frightening, and she winced when the thing pulled them and sent them flying, before slamming them into the ground. The impact alone caused Ryoko to flinch, and she was about to enter the alley when she saw that the ooze turned back into clothing and the man turned. He panicked upon seeing her, and Ryoko fled into the street, before teleporting to a building several blocks away.
Never in all her experience as a space pirate had she witnessed something so frightening as the creature she had witnessed. Immediately, she decided that informing Washu would be a good idea.
/Mother?\ Ryoko hesitantly sent over the link, knowing that she was essentially giving her position away to the Masaki household.
/Ah, Ryoko! There you are! I was wondering where you went, Sasami was worried sick!\ the light sound of a young voice filtered back from the other end of the link.
/That's not important right now, mom...\ Ryoko thought, watching the man that had transformed into the beast intently. /Are you aware of any other non human activity on Earth?\ Ryoko asked, making sure that this was a new discovery.
/What is with the sudden interest? Earth is a Jurian Colony; off limits to all other species... there should be no one else here... Why do you ask? \ Washu replied, her voice hesitant for some reason.
Ryoko let out a deep breath, the situation had just grown much worse. /See for yourself...\ She stated as she sent the memories of the bartender named Ranma transforming into that creature over the link.
Silence reigned in her head for several minutes, which made Ryoko all the more nervous. If Washu could not identify it, then they had a small crisis on their hands. She was about ready to jump off of the roof and hunt down the boy herself when Washu's voice came back over.
/This isn't good...\ Washu stated the obvious, confirming Ryoko's fears. /Never before have I seen such a transformation... or such abilities. It appears similar to the MASU even, but that is impossible... I need you to track this man.\ Washu stated sincerely. Before Ryoko could object she continued. /We don't know what he's capable of, or what he's doing here even. Watch him closely; I get the feeling that there is more to this man than meets the eye.\
Ryoko groaned at the prospect of shadowing the man, but floated down and after Ranma where she had seen him walk off to.
Back in her lab, a greatly disturbed Washu watched the scene play out again and again on her floating screen, her brow furrowed in frustration. 'What have we gotten ourselves into now...?' She grimly thought, not very pleased about this recent development at all.
===============
Ranma entered his apartment with very little joy in his being. He was sure that he was going to be all over the news tomorrow, or some such thing. A glimmer of hope resided in the idea that perhaps the person was drunk and unable to see clearly, or thought it was all a dream.
His clothes shifted and blurred into a tank top and boxers as Ranma collapsed on his futon and prepared to get what he hoped was not his last good night's sleep.
==============
Peter rubbed his forehead after receiving a vicious verbal lashing from his wife. Apparently, she was none too pleased at his antics earlier that day, and now Peter was stuck sleeping on the lumpy couch for the night.
Shaking his head and laying back, Peter held the phone up to his ear as it rang.
"Hello?" An aged and wise sounding voice asked from the other end as Peter spoke.
"Professor Xavier? It's me Peter..."
"Ah, Peter, how are you these days?" The kind man asked, making Peter smile sheepishly.
"Not too good, sleeping on the couch tonight. Look, I just wanted to call you because I think there is a mutant in Japan you may be interested in..."
"Oh?" Professor Xavier asked, genuinely intrigued. "Do tell."
And so Peter relayed the story of the young man in the bank and the strength and speed he had. Professor Xavier was silent until Peter finished, when he thought for a few seconds before coming to a decision.
"If what you say is true Peter, than we have an issue on our hands. The power of this mutant would surely attract the likes of Magneto to recruit him. I'll send some people over tomorrow in the Black Bird, can you hang on till then?"
Peter let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Yea, just be careful."
Xavier smiled and nodded, though Peter couldn't see it. "Will do Peter, good luck with your wife" Xavier stated as he hung up the phone and brooded this new development. Cerebro should have detected such a powerful mutant... perhaps he had some sort of ability dampener? The possibilities were nearly endless, and Xavier knew this. "May as well get the group together..." Xavier muttered to himself as he went to fetch several of the X-men for their latest mission.
Ranma had no idea, but the he had just opened the biggest can of worms Earth had yet to see, and a multitude of powerful beings were converging on one place. Japan.
===========
Early the next morning, Ranma woke up to go explore the nearby region and head to a park he had remembered passing to practice when it was secluded.
Yawning quite loudly and popping several stiff joints, Ranma had a forlorn look on his face as he opened the door of his apartment, snatched up the paper that had been delivered and took it inside to look over the contents.
Much to his surprise (and joy) Ranma found no signs of 'Pig-Tailed Bartender turns into monster!' anywhere in the paper. He looked over it several times, ensuring that there was no sign of his little slip the previous night.
"Phew... Man, I have a to be more careful, that was really scary..." Ranma muttered as his tank top and yellow and blue boxers quivered before shifting and becoming the standard red shirt and black pants he wore.
Ranma paused and was about to think about the clothing shifting, but noticed that it already had. He paused, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at his clothes. 'I can't be adapting to Kao this quickly... can I?' he thought before shaking his head and exiting the apartment, jogging downstairs to the bottom floor and off to the park.
Of course from so low, he never noticed the figure hovering over the rooftops, following him very closely. But always remaining out of sight or in the sun so they remained undetected.
Ranma arrived in the park several minutes later, taking a deep breath with closed eyes and enjoying the fresh scent of the tree's and grass. Birds chirped and squawked happily, breaking up the moments of silence that was dominant otherwise.
Walking over to an area sheltered by several trees, just in case anyone else decided to take a stroll through the area. He stretched his only mildly stiff muscles, contorting into various poses to stretch them out and make them loose again.
"Hey." Ranma heard from behind him, in a definitely female voice. His eyes widened as he turned about face to face the person that had spoken, praying to the gods it wasn't a fiancée.
But instead he found the woman he had served last night, Ryoko. Her cyan hair was as spiky and unruly as he remembered, and her eyes just as yellow. He noticed now in the better light that her ears were... odd. Not wrong really, just oddly shaped. Her eyes seemed really thin as well...
"Oh, hi!" Ranma said happily, giving a small wave and a happy grin.
"Cut the crap." Ryoko blurted, startling Ranma out of his greeting. "You know Earth is a Jurai colony don't you? What the hell are you doing here?"
Ranma blinked once, then again for good measure. "Huh?" He intelligently replied, cocking his head and giving the impression of a clueless person, which he was in this case.
[Perhaps I can be of assistance.] Kao stated, [Jurians are from the planet Jurai, and have a large intergalactic empire. Known for their diplomacy and power, they are the owners of the largest empire in this and many other galaxies. Special tree's that grow on their planet supply their royalty with longevity and extreme amounts of power, power that is feared by many races across the universe.]
Ranma's mouth opened and closed several times as he stared at Ryoko, before he cleared his throat. "A-Aliens? Here?"
Ryoko raised a brow and took a step back from the person in front of her. At first he seemed to have no clue as to what a Jurian was, but now he appeared to know what they were. "Yea, aliens. Just like you. I saw you last night." Ryoko stated, her eyes accusing and glinting dangerously.
Ranma appeared confused before his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh! I get it!" Ranma shouted, running a hand through his own unkempt hair. "You were the one that saw me last night. Look, I know it may be a bit much to ask, but could you kinda, you know, keep quiet about that? Wouldn't do for my little secret to get out. Well, our little secret now."
Ryoko blinked. Didn't the man understand that she was threatening him? "Er, right... What are you doing here? Where are you from?"
Ranma shrugged, his arms coming to a rest behind his head. "I am just here to practice martial arts. Oh, and I come from Nerima, the weird district in Tokyo."
Ryoko just stared at the man in front of her, growing quite frustrated at the lack of progress this conversation was making. Darting forward before he could speak any further, she grabbed Ranma in a bear hug and opened the mental link. /Now!\
/HAAAI!\ Washu's cute voice came from the other end, along with several beeps and boops, before a column of white energy surrounded Ranma and Ryoko, and when it lowered they were both gone.
Now normally, Ranma's reflexes would have easily allowed him to dodge such a straightforward assault. But of course, when the one doing the assaulting is female and quite gorgeous to boot, Ranma just has a tiny bit of trouble moving.
When the bright light faded, he watched Ryoko step through solid glass and watch him with a superior smirk. Ranma's brow furrowed as he looked about, seeing himself in some sort of odd glass box. Shrugging, he approached the wall and let a punch out, hitting it with all his might, just in case it was thicker than it looked. A sharp crack resounded in the box and a spider-web appeared where his fist had hit. He reared back for another punch, but before he could a yellowish gas was released into the chamber and Ranma's vision blurred and his limbs grew heavy before he finally collapsed, unconscious.
Washu approached the area that Ranma had punched with a look of sheer awe on her face. "T-this is amazing... This glass is strong enough to withstand forces that you couldn't put out Ryoko..." She said, fingering the cracks with a look of concern and more than a little excitement in her eye.
Ryoko walked up next to her 'mother,' eyeing the crack as well. "So... he's stronger than me?" She asked.
Washu only nodded cryptically, before grinning with images of guinea pigs floating around in her mind.
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Well, that's that. I am so on a roll, three updates in like, two weeks? Come on, who's the man? Yeah, that's right. I am.
Got a website started, started being the keyword here, the link's here:
Anyone live in the Seattle area and going to Sakura Con? Gimme and e-mail, I plan on dropping in and hanging out. Tell me where you want to meet and when and we could hang out for a bit. I may surprise you a bit, most people think I am older than I am. My e-mail is gundraw@msn.com or sirhcsirron@hotmail.com.
Well, King of Storms is next, so that's what's coming. Should be getting fanart Thursday from one Slade3, so I am greatly looking forward to that. May not be important to you people, but for me it's big! First fanart man! When you have fanart, you know your getting popular. Anyway, I gotta sleep, lest I sleep in till noon tomorrow...
Ja! -Gundraw