TRTSS 30: His Honor and Duty! – DS Wynne


Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, Star Trek, Call of Duty, Goldeneye and other genres belong to their respective owners.

Note: This is a multi-genre story.


Part 5


Meanwhile, within the facility below…

"I take it that your tour went well?" said a man with black hair and a mustache-less beard, while he waited for his guest to sit down at the dining room table. He was dressed in a stylish gray suit, tie and shoes, and had the dignity of a prince.

"It has, thank you very much," Kuno said, as he allowed the females in his party to sit down first, before he sat down as well. "This is quite a set-up, Dr. Impossible."

"Thank you," Dr. Impossible said. He then glances over towards the people near him. "These are my associates 'Black Neon', 'Hunter', 'Chair' and my personal favorite 'Tender Mercy'."

"Feh," said Tender Mercy, as she folds her arms. Tender Mercy was a dark-haired Amazon with pale skin and a muscular body.

"Heh," replied Black Neon (thin man, dark-hair), as he stifled a grin.

"It's an honor to meet a man who appreciates the warrior's ethos," said Hunter (long, red-haired man with a muscular body).

"Thank you," Tatewaki Kuno replied.

"And you have quite a collection of female companions with you," said Chair (older, teenaged male with a bald head).

"I know, but I'm not appreciated for this fact- ow!"

Ukyo's eyes twitched, after she kicked Kuno in the chin.

"Please behave, brother," Kodachi said, as she feigns a laugh.

"Yeah, sir, please," Akane said through gritted teeth. She then turns her attention back to their host.

"We're surprised that you would want to invite us here under these…circumstances," Ukyo said.

"Considering the fact that Moscow is not in the position to do anything significant to our…project, it is safe to say that your safety is in our hands," Ourumov replied.

Pause.

"It is a shame that your reputations are not as accurate," Ourumov said, as he signals his guards to surround Kuno and his party.

"What is this outrage?" Kuno yelled, as he gets up.

"Please, sit down," Dr. Impossible said, as he looks directly into Kuno's eyes, as he sipped on his beverage. "I would hate to have you eliminated before I make my offer."

"What do you want, doctor?" Akane asked, as she scanned Dr. Impossible's associates. They obviously wanted to engage in combat…

"I want Ranma Saotome, ultimately," Dr. Impossible replied. "Or Usagi Tsukino, if you prefer."

"Why do you need Ranma-sama and the Princess?" Kodachi asked.

"And how did you know about US?" Ukyo asked.

"I make it my business to know my allies, my rivals and my enemies," Dr. Impossible said. "As to your first question: I don't need THEM per se; I want what they have in their possession."

"And that is…?" Kuno asked.

"Dr. Impossible wants the secret to the Anti-Life Equation," said Chair, as he rubbed his hands greedily.

"What is that?" Akane asked.

"You mean…your husband never told you about the Anti-Life Equation?" Dr. Impossible asked.

"No. Ranma tends to keep things to himself."

"I see. Well, the Anti-Life Equation is the ability to control ALL life in the Universe."

"Let me guess: you people consider free-will to be a part of life, and the control of free-will is 'anti-life'," Ukyo said evenly.

"Exactly," Dr. Impossible said. "I take it you are familiar with the significance of the Anti-Life Equation?"

"Other than what Ranchan told me."

"What makes you special that Ranma would tell YOU about THAT?" Akane asked in a perturbed manner.

"Because, I had died, and Ranchan kept me alive by joining me physically as one person," Ukyo said with a shrug. "But I only know what I know second hand, like a person reading true accounts from a book."

"Ah."

"I would think that Ranma-sama would not want to have the secret to this 'Anti-Life Equation' of yours known, doctor," Kodachi said.

"The Anti-Life Equation is only a part of the reason why I want either Ranma or the Moon Princess," Dr. Impossible said. "I KNOW that either of those two possesses such knowledge. However, I am also convinced that they can bring back Lord Darkseid with the 'Life Equation'."

"The…'Life Equation'?" Kuno asked. "What is that?"

"While the Anti-Life controls thought and destiny, the Life Equation control life itself, from the tiniest microbe to the most cosmic entity in the Universe," Chair said.

"We believe that with the assistance of those two, we can bring back our dark lord and savior," Dr. Impossible said.

"You're trying to bring back Darkseid."

"Of course I am. And with you all here, I'm sure that Ranma Saotome will want to comply with my wishes…"

One of the aides to Ourumov whispers something into the general's ear…

"Sir, I believe that Ranma Saotome is here," Ourumov said. "The upper levels have been breached."

"Good," Dr. Impossible said. He then turns to Black Neon, Tender Mercy and Hunter. "I want you to intercept Mr. Saotome."

"Good," Hunter said, as he ripped off his suit and tie. "I'm glad to end these niceties."

"And I can't wait to take on a genuine Fury of Apocalypse," Tender Mercy said.

"And I can't wait just kill someone," Black Neon replied.

"Good, now go," Dr. Impossible said, as continued to sip his drink. "Meanwhile, the rest of us can…watch."

"You'll never get away with this!" Akane yelled.

"My dear, I've calculated the odds in my favor."

"And that's why you'll fail, because of that," Kuno said. "I may dislike him, but I learned that it is always bad to underestimate Saotome."

"And that's why YOU failed, because I never do," Dr. Impossible said. "I calculate all possible actions and maneuvers, including the thought of you betraying me. And that is why you have been inhaling an odorless, silent gas that will attack your nervous system, with me having the cure. If he attacks me, I'll simply self-destruct, and there will be NO cure for you."

"That's a laugh," Kuno said. "If we die, so will your men."

"On contrary," Ourumov said. "We were giving the antidote a while back."

"…"

"So, let's sit back and relax…and enjoy the show," Dr. Impossible said, as he activates a large screen monitor on the wall…

Meanwhile, Ranma leaves the restroom after subduing one of the guards sitting on the toilet. While Ryouga takes out the weapons caches, Ranma was going to sabotage the chemical compounds that is used to create parademons, the shocktroops that served the lords of Apocalypse for eons. For his primary weapon, Ranma used an air-pistol that was more effective than a silencer. He crept his way around until he reached the checkpoint to the entrance where the internal security grid station was located. He had to shut down the lockdown if Ryouga was going to succeed in his objective.

With a solid kick to the door, Ranma bursts in, takes aim, and shoots the guards within, even as one of the guards knocks down the civilian administrator…

Once the coast was clear, Ranma goes to the administrator, slams him against the wall, and then places the administrator's head unto the workstation.

"[Override the lockdown]," Ranma said in Russian, as he points his gun at the administrator's head.

"[Don't kill me]!" the man replied likewise in fright.

"[Then do as you're told]," Ranma said, as he presses the gun's barrel on the administrator's head.

"[Okay, okay]!" the administrator said, as he punched in the security code quickly.

When Ranma heard an audible sound, indicating that the system was cleared of the lock-down sequence, he picked up the administrator by the lapels with his free hand.

"[You're not going to kill me, are you]?" the administrator asked.

"No," Ranma said, as he gave the man a bob on the head, knocking the man out.

"Augh-!" the administrator said, before he slumped unto the floor.

"Ryouga, sit-rep," Ranma said in his secured earpiece.

"Charges are in place, but I overheard from one of the personnel that three metas-humans are on their way to intercept your position," Ryouga replied over the secured link.

"Description?" Ranma said, as he began to hack into the primary system, before placing his SELMA unit, a portable AI device, onto the workstation.

"They are supposed to be the equivalent of the New Gods, or some such nonsense."

"Then it is Dr. Impossible's chief henchmen, then," Ranma said, as he calls up the security overlay of the complex. "Let's see…yep, they got us locked."

"Continue with the mission?"

"Got no choice. If all goes according to plan, Akane and the others should be in place."

"Wait, you mean…you expected this?" Ryouga replied.

"The only reason why we would only to have known this place is because of what I possess, which Dr. Impossible needs to restore Darkseid," Ranma said. "Capture me, and Usagi will be in the position to be forced to capitulate."

"Why would she do that?" Ryouga asked.

"Because Usagi loves me, that's why. And as powerful she can be, Usagi…can be emotional at times."

"So, what's next?"

"One, you got let go of your control over your directional curse. Second, I'm signaling our 'partner' of what is going on, using the lights to convey a Morse coded message."

"What about you?" Ryouga said.

"Continue with what you are doing, and meet me at the rendezvous point. I'll deal with the pretenders…"

"Alright. Good luck…"

After Ranma severs the connection, he completes his task. Once he has uploaded the virus into the primary server, he removes SELMA and puts away his device (which looked like a standard credit card). Finally, he gets up, and looks around the room until he sees a weapons locker.

"Perfect," Ranma grins.

A few minutes later, Black Neon, Tender Mercy and Hunter arrive.

"Where is he?" Hunter said.

"What's your hurry?" Black Neon said.

"Ranma Saotome is a trained warrior from Apocalypse," Tender Mercy said. "They are trained to be tougher than the toughest warrior in the Universe-"

"And I happen to be the best," Ranma said, as he takes aim with sniper rifle, from overhead where the security offices were.

"Aw, the famous Ranma Saotome," Tender Mercy said, as she surveys the situation. "I'm a bit disappointed."

"How so?"

"It is said that you don't use weapons in combat."

"For the most part, yeah, you're right. But I'm using this to keep you three occupied, until the others arrive."

"You mean 'other'," Hunter replied. "There's only Ryouga Hibiki."

"No, I mean others."

"Who is this other?"

"Me," Shampoo said, as she went into full Cat-Girl mode, as struck Tender Mercy in the face from the shadows.

"Arrgh-!" Tender Mercy yelled, as she had to force herself away from the Joketsuzouku warrior.

"Let's get him!" Black Neon said, as he and Hunter made their move, only to have Hunter be intercepted by Ryouga.

"Hi there!" Ryouga said with a smile, as he punches Hunter in the face.

"Ow!" Hunter yelled, as he received another punch in the jaw

"Wah-?" Black Neon said, as he momentary was distracted. "But we had that guy tracked-!"

Suddenly, Ranma was in Black Neon's face, while Black Neon was in the air.

"Not unless you don't have a way to track someone who is cursed to be eternally lost," Ranma said, as he palms Black Neon into the chest.

"Arrgh!" Black Neon yelled, as he discharged light-based energy from his hands, in order to "tag" his opponent.

Now, Ranma was certainly fast, but not fast enough to race against light, unless he used a 'Warp Instant Transmission Technique', allowing him to reappear right behind Black Neon.

"Moka Takibasha: Twin Spike!" Ranma said, as he stuck out his hands, and discharged an ki-attack that knocked Black Neon from the air.

"Arrghhh-!"

Ranma grabs the stun super-villain, and tossed him in the pile made by his other friends, who made quick work of their other opponents.

"Oof!" Black Neon yelped.

"Not bad guys," Ranma said, as he landed unto the floor.

"No bad?" Ryouga yelled. "Let's see YOU take on all three by yourself."

"What we do now husband?" Shampoo asked, as she puts on her catsuit, which she had gotten from pocket space.

"We take care of these guys, and then we go for the others," Ranma said. "Unfortunately, by now, Dr. Impossible will know about what just happened."

"And then what?"

"Chances are, he would rather escape and try again. We can't let that happen."

"What about Akane and the others?" Ryouga asked.

"It'll be up to them to prevent Dr. Impossible from escaping until we get there. Come on-!"

And, with that, Ranma, Ryouga and Shampoo hurry down the corridor, hoping to prevent Dr. Impossible from escaping the Russian facility…

Tbc.


Next Time: As one mission winds down, Ranma recalls how a previous mission nearly came back to bite him on the butt, as one of his old colleagues embarks on a quest for vengeance against Ranma and his old colleagues! See you then…