Interlude 1.B

On an unusually calm night at the city of Brockton Bay, a sphere of pure light appeared out of nowhere. A second later, the sphere took the appearance of a miniature sun, and anyone who was nearby could hear the soft crackling of its flames.

Rocky Riverson was one of the many unemployed Brocktonites, he was walking from the nearby grocery store to his apartment, too worried about what he was going to do to makes ends meet. He had spent his last few dollars on what he believed to be a carton of milk past its due date and some old crusty crackers. He stopped as he noticed several feet away the sphere of fire and light.

"What the hell?" He muttered, and looked around, hoping he wouldn't get in the middle of a cape fight.

The miniature sun slowly dissipated, and in its place, what appeared to be a human was kneeling, he appeared to be in a very bad shape, his body completely mangled, and both of his arms were missing. Half his torso was broken.

"Oh-boy-oh-boy-oh-boy!" Rocky started saying, looking around to check if there was anyone else who could help.

Rocky dropped his groceries and ran at the mangled person. He blinked as he got closer, noticing now that it was a man. He was alive, but he was moving in a strange pattern, contorting left and right. When Rocky was a few feet away from the man, he noticed that the lump where his arm should be was shaking.

A second later, a limb grew from the lump.

Rocky's attention darted to the other arm, which regrew just as the first one did.

The man tried to stand up, but fell on his knees.

Rocky took a few more tentative steps. "Hey man, you need any help?"

"'elp?" The man's voice sounded strange. Rocky realized that his throat was shredded, almost as if someone had taken a knife and cut him a million times. But just like the arms, the throat rapidly healed itself. "HELP?" The man raised his voice. It now sounded completely human.

"Sorry, I though-" Rocky swallowed, and took a step back, he eyed his groceries, knowing he had no money to buy more, he made a move to pick them up and ran away as fast as possible from the strange regenerating man.

"You thought what, you landling scum?" The man asked, now on his feet.

When Rocky took the bag with the milk and crackers, he noticed that the other man was naked, or rather, that all his clothes were shredded. What could possibly do something like that? A Grinder, or something?

"I, I don't-"

The strange man took a step towards Rocky, and as he walked, two additional limbs grew from his back. Two giant wings, colored red and gold. The winged man extended his wings, making himself look much larger than he actually was.

Rocky gulped. While to a nearby bystander the man may appear like an angel, to him, he looked more like a devil. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I don't mess with capes."

"Capes." The winged man said, and for the first time looked at his surroundings. "Where is my palace? Where are my people?"

"Your-your palace?" Rocky repeated, not really knowing what the winged man was talking about.

"Yes! My palace!" The winged man exclaimed, angered. He kicked the floor and glared daggers at Rocky. "I am Lord Saffron, king of the Phoenix people. I demand you bring me to them, so I can extract my vengeance!"

"Sorry, I don't, I don't know any phoenix people." Rocky said, he was eying possible escape routes, but if the winged man could fly, he doubted he had a chance.

"Where am I?"

"Uh, the corner of Lincoln and Eidolon," Rocky said, pointing at the street signs.

"Eidolon?"

"You know, big-time hero, saved the world a bunch of times?"

"I don't know who this 'Eidolon' character is, but I do know about a boy who fancied himself a 'big time hero'." Saffron growled, and said, "what do you know about one Ranma Saotome? Surely you all landlings know each other. Take me to him!"

"I don't-" Rocky swallowed hard. "I don't know of any 'Ranma say to me' but that name sounds Asian, hey you're Chinese, right?" He took a gamble with that. While Saffron's face certainly looked Eastern Asian, his long mane of hair was red and gold.

Saffron glared daggers at him, and for a moment seemed to study Rocky's face. "My kingdom is in China, yes." He was momentarily distracted by something a few feet away from him. He turned and inclined himself to pick up some sort of long spear-like weapon.

Rocky made an attempt to escape, but Saffron casually hit him on the left knee with his newly acquired weapon. "Where are you going, landling scum?"

"I wasn't-"

Saffron pointed the spear-like weapon at Rocky's throat. A closer look, revealed it to be some sort of staff, at the tip it had some sort of large razor-sharp metal circle. "You were going to warm Saotome, weren't you? You were going to rob me of my vengeance?"

"I don't- I don't any 'Say to me'! You're just scary, man!"

Saffron narrowed his eyes. "We're in a city, correct? Which one? Beijin? This certainly isn't anywhere near Jusendo."

"Beijin?" Rocky asked, blinking. "No, man, we're in Brockton Bay." His stare never left the weapon the winged man was holding. He blinked when he realized that Saffron wasn't holding it with normal human hands, but with talons instead.

"Brock Ton Bay?"

"Yes! I was going to tell you, the Chinese get together on the East side of the city."

"East side?" Saffron turned, staring to the East.

"Yes, they will probably be able to help you get to your, hum, 'people'."

Saffron raised his weapon away from the man. "Very well. Your clothes. Give them to me."

Rocky looked like he couldn't believe his ears, "my, my clothes?"

"Yes!" Saffron kicked the floor, and around him an aura of fire ignited.

Rocky began shakily stripping off. "Ok man, Ok, just- just, let me go? Yes?"

Saffron took Rocky's pants and looked at them in disgust. "They're not worthy of royalty, but then again, nakedness isn't worthy either." He put on the pants and then stared at Rocky. "You don't need to give me your shirt, landling. It's useless for me."

Rocky nodded quickly, "Oh, because of your wings, right?"

Saffron looked like he was about to strike him, but then, simply nodded. "Be grateful for my forgiveness. I could have reduced you to dust with my flames."

Rocky believed him. "May I go now?"

"Tsk, just- go away." Saffron said, and he started flapping his wings. A moment later he was gone, flying to the Eastern side of the city.

Rocky started breathing heavily. He now felt much luckier than the average person. He closed his eyes, and nodded to himself, sure that if he could survive this, he could get another job.

Lung was in his office, glaring at the man in front of him.

"Now that we have established that you robbed me, Shinji, what do you propose I do with you?"

Shinji was frozen, he was completely terrified. "I didn't-"

Lung growled at him. "Do not deny what you have done!" He took a breath, and seemingly calmed himself. "You were supposed to launder my money, not start your own underground Casino."

"I- In my defense, the Casino is very profitable, your money-" He gulped, and when Lung didn't growl, scream, or punch him, he continued, "-your money, it tripled."

"Tripled." Lung said, tasting the meaning behind the word.

"Tripled." Shinji repeated, nodding. "Think of what you can buy with that kind of money."

"I now have three times as much dirty money as before, and no legitimate money. And you think I am happy?"

"I-"

For some reason, Shinji thought he looked slightly bigger than before. "Tell me, do I look like a woman to you?"

"No- no sir."

"You tried to screw me over." Lung said, and growled, "so you must think I am a woman."

"It wasn't my intention!" Shinji started crying. "Please sir, I have kids, I-" He stopped talking when they heard an explosion just outside.

Lung stood up. "Are you behind this?"

"No sir, I am-" A second explosion made him yelp and try to hide under the desk.

Lung walked to the door, and turned before leaving. "You better stay put, Shinji, because when I am back, I expect to see you here. And I expect a better explanation than the one you have given me so far."

Shinji nodded emphatically at the same time as a third explosion roared.

Lung looked at the fiery mess before him. His newly acquired Casino was gone. His gaze followed the source of the fire and he narrowed his eyes looking at the winged figure before him.

"You have some balls to attack my territory, bird-man."

The bird-man turned and smiled at Lung, who was now already seven feet tall. "You are the one they call 'Lung'?"

"I am." Lung said, and focused his pyrokinesis to take all the fires and point them at the winged man's general direction.

"Feh, you're interesting, landling scum." He said, seemingly unaffected by the fire. "You don't know Saffron, the Lord of the Phoenix, when you see him?"

"I am a Dragon, I don't care about puny birds."

Saffron narrowed his eyes. "Dragon, you say? Fancy yourself a Musk?"

"You know how much money you just cost me?"

Saffron extended his wings, and said, "your people refused to answer my questions, they thought it was a good idea to laugh at royalty."

Lung threw himself at Saffron, who looked surprised at the sudden physical attack. Lung extended his arm and grabbed Saffron's talon-like hand. With his other hand, he pressed Saffron's chest and then, he forcibly removed Saffron's arm.

Saffron screamed in pain, and suddenly there was some sort of aura of heat around him, it was hot enough to burn Lung's skin in his current form. "Yargh!" Lung screamed, recoiling from the other man.

Saffron launched himself to back away from Lung and glared. "You are a savage beast, landling." He said, and a new arm regrew where the one Lung took used to be.

Lung was visibly growing by the second. He looked down at the arm he was holding and then threw it at Saffron. "'Hou 'alk ooh 'uch." Lung jumped at Saffron again, and this time, he seemed immune to the aura of heat. Before Saffron could react, he grabbed him, and pushed him outside.

When Lung tried to follow suit, an impossibly large beam of plasma hit him on the chest. He was trying to scream, but as the blast stopped, half of his body was vaporized.

Lung fell on the middle of the street. He didn't move.

Saffron was laughing. "You mortals don't know your place. How did you like my trump card? I can annihilate any mortal in an instant!"

The corpse didn't respond.

Saffron snorted. "Bird got your tongue?" He turned to see the few members of the ABB that were still on the scene. "I am now in charge of this little organization in who-cares-city, you will help me find my people. Understood?"

The closest gang member nodded, numbly. He was still staring at Lung's charred body. He didn't notice Saffron casually floating to him. "You, what's your name?"

The man was about to reply, but he almost yelped in surprise instead. "Lung!"

Saffron shoot him a glare, "Lung?"

The man pointed at the blackened body, which was growing in size. Before Saffron could turn to see, Lung was well on his way to become a full dragon. His entire body was now covered in scales and two bat-like wings had grown on his back.

Saffron titled his head, watching the dragon man transform. "Not a landling, then."

The dragon roared and flew at Saffron, who pointed his weapon at him and threw a second plasma beam with a six feet radius. This destroyed the dragon's wings, but it didn't kill him in an instant like expected. It kept going running rather clumsily, but still faster than a car.

The dragon got to the Phoenix-man, and slashed one, two, three times. Saffron tried to fly away, but Lung took his wings and started removing them. A moment later Saffron was screaming in pain as his limbs continued to regrow themselves just as fast as the dragon was able to remove them.

After a minute of that, Saffron screamed. "Enough!" And he raised his hand, and it started shining with deadly fire. The explosion that followed send them both flying to opposite ends of the street.

The Dragon looked like it was about to keep charging at the Phoenix, but a moment later he turned to the weapon he had been using. "ha' hissh hih'sh?" He asked.

"I cannot understand you, Long."

"'Huuung!"

Saffron rolled his eyes. "Lung." He glared at the Dragon, and bowed a little. "Like I said before, you're not a landling. You're a kami, like me. My apologies."

Lung started charging again, "I hiiiihh hiiiil ouuuuh!"

Saffron glared. "I can tell you can grow stronger. But so can I." He started shining brighter, his heat aura becoming plasma.

Lung studied Saffron's words and shook his head. He moved faster than your average speedster and raised Saffron by his neck. "huuuh, mehhhshh 'oooong 'aaaahhhng" Saffron's aura was wrecking his arm, but by now he could regenerate as fast as Saffron.

"I messed with the wrong gang?"

Lung started applying pressure on the other man's neck. The plasma aura dissipated, and a moment later, his scales started to disappear. He regained the ability to speak. "You are a fool to attack me like that, I should kill you for this." He had one hand around Saffron's neck, and the other holding his head.

Saffron snorted. "Many have tried, I cannot be killed."

"Does your head regrow like your limbs?"

Saffron remained silent at that, but he never stopped glaring at Lung.

Lung looked around, and frowned at the state of the street. All the nearby buildings were burning. Every member of the ABB was long gone."You hurt my business. The Protectorate won't turn a blind eye to this, I will have to relocate."

"I only care about finding my people, and killing Ranma Saotome."

"I don't know who this Ranma Saotome is, but if you work for me, and pay back what you made me lose tonight, then I'll help you find him, and we can kill him together."

Saffron looked down at the dragon-like claw that was still holding his neck. "You drive a hard bargain, dragon. But I am the proud Lord of the Phoenix, I do not work for anyone."

"You will work for me, you're Asian, and all Asians work for the Great Dragon." Lung applied more pressure, and Saffron groaned in pain.

The Phoenix-man gritted his teeth, but nodded. "Ok, I'll work with you, if you help me find and kill Saotome."

Lung smiled. "Agreed." But he didn't let go of Saffron, and kept applying pressure for a little while longer.

More than a week later, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a giant monster licked its wounds, preparing for its next attack on Humanity. But to its surprise, a giant sphere of light distracted him.

It turned its attention to the sphere of light, which had displaced a great amount of water in order to save space to put something else in its place. The monster noticed something appearing from within the sphere of light, and prepared itself for an attack. For a split of a second it believed the world's cape population had managed to find him and take revenge for all it had done to this world.

If it had functional eyeshields, it would have blinked when he noticed the creature in front of it. What appeared to be an exact replica of itself, stared back, equally confused.

Suddenly, the waves around both monsters started to produce a noise that to anyone nearby sounded like a maniac crackling. They both turned and slowly started marching towards Brockton Bay.