American Wuxia (Arc & Ki: Book 2)

by Miklagaard

New lands, new jobs, and new purpose. Ranma Saotome has set foot out into the wider world as the new associate and teammate of Iron Man. And the wider world is NOT ready. Tony Stark, however, is perfectly prepared... the contract with the gourmet popcorn provider has been set up and he's reeeeady to spectaaaaate! (Sequel to 'Arc and Ki.')

7. An Inadvertent Insurgency Appears---

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan-fiction and no ownership of any intellectual property is claimed or implied. Quotes from original sources may be included, but rather than disrupt the flow of the story, I will acknowledge them in general here. All instances of irony are likely intentional.

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(Chapter theme song: Hellraiser – Ozzy Osborne and Lemmy Kilmister)

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Secretary Pierce of the World Security Council was very precise and formal in his motions as he carried a secure lockbox to his desk and set it in the center while his security detail closed his office door and took up stations outside it. Pushing a button, the windows of his office became reflective from the outside and white-noise generators kicked in. He pushed another button to activate the intercom to tell his assistant: "I am enacting Level-10 hush protocols in five seconds. Make sure I am not disturbed."

"Yes, Mr. Secretary," was the prompt reply. "Acknowledge going dark in 3... 2... 1..." The assistant's voice was cut off as all the SHIELD provided telecom equipment was shut off, making sure nothing was inadvertently sent from the office while secret materials were being reviewed.

Now isolated from the the institution he had spent the vast majority of his career in, Pierce smirked as he casually picked up his excuse for that isolation and set it aside. In replacement for it, he grabbed a 'curio' that was supposedly decoration. Old technology from the middle of SHIELD's Cold War era that was supposedly outdated and nonfunctional. It was certainly old, but through the brilliance of its creator it was absolutely relevant; and through the surreptitious actions of Pierce and his unofficial predecessors, it was fully operational.

Taking a pair of wires with alligator-clips, he attached the device to two metallic parts of the architecture. Through 'pure coincidence,' these parts of the décor happened to be in contact with elements of the substructure that lead straight up and down the height of the building. It was now a large, low-frequency transceiver that emulated background electromagnetic radiation in such a way that SHIELD's official electronic warfare division would never register it, yet it was fully capable of communication.

Putting on the old-fashioned earphones and microphone, Pierce patiently waited for the small monochromatic cathode ray tube display to warm up. Once the projection stabilized and took up the entirety of the small, curved rectangle of glass, he tapped a certain pattern with the sending button and made sure his face could be clearly seen by the boxy camera.

There was a hiss of static and a muffled jumble of sounds that took a second to stabilize into a coherent voice that spoke with a German accent. "Pierce, Alexander Goodwin... born 1946." As the voice spoke, a series of vertical streaks in the display warped and brightened to show the impression of a bespectacled face. "Former Director of SHIELD... current Secretary of the World Security Council, and... the highest-ranked Head of HYDRA," the voice intoned with sly satisfaction. "I bid you good-day, Secretary Pierce."

"Doctor Zola," Pierce replied respectfully. While the digitized simulacrum of Arnim Zola's brain was no longer in charge of anything after the originator's death, the man who was the creator and subject of the massive server farm housing that simulacrum was also the creator of the modern HYDRA. Resurrecting it from the ashes of the Red Skull's demise almost single-handedly. As such, the secretary took pains to be polite. "I thank you for accepting my call."

"Certainly... certainly," Zola's tone was a mix of brusqueness and appreciation. As if he accepted his due, but wished to get straight to work. A trait that Pierce and his predecessors valued. "I could engage in rhetorical banter, but I predict there is one subject you wish to discuss. The latest anomaly. The 'youxia.'"

"Indeed so, Doctor," Pierce confirmed. "There was concern that Saotome's bizarre nature might affect your algorithm now that he has involved himself in the broader world. Have you had a chance to study him and adjust your calculations as needed?"

"I have studied the available material," the computerized mind replied. "Both the previous acquisitions from the PSIA of Japan and the new data. An interesting development. Very interesting indeed." Zola's voice showed not a trace of upset. His current status made him immune to emotional outbursts, frustration, or panic, which was quite an advantage in an advisor. "The individual in question is both an anomalous factor... and not anomalous at all. This is within my previous calibrations."

Pierces eyebrows rose. He had expected the scientist would need to calculate the best options for isolating the influence of Saotome, but hadn't even considered there was already a remedy in the complex mathematics. "How do you mean, Doctor?"

"When I first worked for Herr Schmidt, I was less... objective... than I am now. I heard him speak of the 'footsteps of the gods' and regarded it as poetic bombast at best. As someone who had not fully inculcated his philosophy yet, watching him so fervently study ancient artifacts and texts made me think he was distracting himself with a pointless indulgence. A self-imposed fallacy that was not a significant problem only because of his sheer intelligence and charisma. The first hint I got that there was more to it than that was when those same 'useless' studies acquired an item that rocketed our capabilities centuries into the future. Yet even then, I did not fully appreciate his ideas. Which is a little embarrassing, considering the great glowing clue I had been given to base my own work on," Zola said with some humor.

"It was a momentous time, but I admit that I do not know where you are going with this," Pierce responded.

"Ach, ja... indulge me as I review the background, I will explain the thesis momentarily. Returning to my mindset of the time... in my own defense, there were several things that I was not aware of. Information that I later recovered and pieced together much like I did the people and philosophy of HYDRA. It was then I found out that the concept of the serum that created the Red Skull was not pulled from the empty air. It was a means of attaining a pre-existing status," Zola informed him. "Strength and speed of a level more than human."

"Youxia," Pierce surmised thoughtfully.

Zola said approvingly: "That is exactly correct. The problem was that the youxia was almost completely a subject of myth. Real youxia, I mean. Schmidt attempted to use Deutschland's alliance with Japan to make contact with the genuine article, only to be foisted off with the freak-show of Nerima. Bah..." the computerized man scoffed. "Charlatans and lunatics with delusions of adequacy! What abilities they had were more than outweighed by their inadequacies. They were... and still are... living, breathing insults to all thinking men! All HYDRA support in the Pacific war theatre was removed in a fit of well-deserved pique after they tried to sell us that dreck!" he related with wry humor.

"I can understand that," Pierce sighed. "And yet..."

"And yet... and yet..." Zola echoed, "as the whole world now knows, the youxia is in fact very real. To be fair to the old Empire of Japan, true masters of these obscure disciplines were very thorough in avoiding their own government, much like they were in China. So elusive were they that an absurdly powerful remnant of a bygone age hidden in an obscure pagan chief's tomb was the easier find! The Tesseract did not sense searchers and move around on its own to evade them, after all!" The simulacrum paused as Pierce hummed in agreement, then went on when the living man did not say anything yet. "The attendant research done on the youxia was not a complete waste of time however. There were... dots that Schmidt could connect due to his prior knowledge. One such dot was Herr Doktor Abraham Erskine. Very famous now, of course, but at the time he was quite obscure indeed. When Herr Schmidt realized Erskine had been researching several of the same materials as him, he became curious. When he found out that instead of years or decades of conditioning, Erskine thought that a single treatment... a single serum... could instantly enhance a man, he became fascinated! The pinnacle of human physiological achievement! The superior man! Legends given form... in him! Found not in a mysterious temple or in the blatherings of superstitious barbarians, but in the scientist's beaker!" The image on the screen gave the impression of a shrug. "Based on the results, he assumed the serum to be the only truth behind those legends. Like aspirin was science's refined and greatly improved version of willow-bark tea, the serum was based on paltry nostrums that were refined into a superior product by biological and chemical science. His assumption was that the stories of the youxia were hyperbolic exaggerations. Yet here we are today, with a youxia powerful enough to give proof to every one of those old tales, yet young enough and imprudently brash enough to seek fame! Proving not only the first legend to be completely true, but adding another in the form of that bizarre curse! I can only wonder what the Red Skull would have made of it."

Pierce leaned back in his chair as he considered the idea. "I am not certain what he would have done. Yes there is power there, but the amount of time required to get results..."

"Yes, very significant," Zola agreed. "Almost impossibly significant without starting in childhood. Despite the needs for development and synthesis, the time needed for Erskine's serum to be created was a comparative eyeblink."

"Still, as unlikely as the events may have been, they did in fact occur and we have an active youxia on the international scene. Surely this has affected your algorithm?"

"Less than you think. As we have just discussed, a lifetime of training is hardly the only means of enhancement. Indeed, it is the slowest option of all beyond a eugenics program requiring dozens if not hundreds of generations," Zola pointed out. "Another lesson I took from Herr Schmidt was to not underestimate the chaos a single enhanced opponent could cause carefully laid out plans. Captain America really shouldn't have been able to do as much as he did. One man, no matter how strong, was less than a drop in the bucket compared to the millions of men that were mobilized."

"Except that HYDRA's plans were based on a few, concentrated facilities throughout that time period," Pierce concluded for him. "Could Captain Rogers affect every battle everywhere? No. Affect a dozen battles? Oh yes. It is why we have become diffuse and omnipresent in modern times. No concentrations of resources to be wiped out all at once."

"Yes," Zola sighed. "It took so much longer, but we are so much more secure now that we are... like the guerrilla insurgent... as the air and water of the security state. That protects us, and with the prior example of Rogers, I built in ways to compensate for random, unusually powerful individuals in both the plan and the algorithm."

"Then that is what I would like to discuss. What would the remedy be for Saotome?" Pierce asked.

"The remedy is already in motion," Zola said with some satisfaction. "The remedies are, in fact, two-fold. Of lesser importance, but perhaps more immediacy depending on one's point of view, is the tactical remedy. My recommendation is to allow our... oblivious assets to address that issue as they are already doing."

Pierce shook his head. "SHIELD has no effective counter for Saotome yet. Not with the combination with Stark."

"This is true, but it is also true that I cannot think of anything else that would not take years to prepare or be disastrous to attempt. Standard assassination would not work on Saotome, and unlikely to be successful with Stark. Financial coercion would not work on either of them. Physical intimidation would be laughable, especially with how on-guard Stark is right now. We could perhaps drive them out of the country with legal maneuvers, but they would simply set up shop someplace where our hooks are not set as deep. A nuclear warhead would work... at the expense of throwing away all the gains we have made... a decidedly negative sum. Asking nicely for cooperation and consideration...?" Zola chuckled at his own suggestion. "That is the method that could soonest be viable, and certain ignorant young ladies of SHIELD are setting the foundation for that already. Anything else will take even more research and development, or taking advantage of new developments as they occur. The only sure tactical course I can see is Insight combined with Phase 2, a decisive first and final strike."

Pierce shrugged and admitted: "I was hoping you would be able to think of something different. I suppose there is a reason I put Fury in charge, as he came to the same conclusions. It seems to stick in his craw that there exists someone who can thrive off the grid, has no real respect for that grid, yet has the power to bring much of that grid down, so I expect him to be persistent."

"Ah yes, poor Nicholas," Zola said with patently false sympathy. "Yet another living weapon of mass destruction he cannot control. To add to his travails, this one does not shy away from society, is capable of effective tactical thinking, can emulate psionic abilities to a degree, and worst of all is something of an anarchist... using the modern public definition of 'anarchist,' of course."

"Of course," Pierce chuckled knowingly. To an organization as focused on long-term analysis as theirs was, it had been obvious there had been a global shift in political language towards authoritarianism. What was once called Athenian-style direct democracy was now called 'anarchy.' Oligarchy had become 'democracy,' mercantile colonialism became 'capitalism,' and capitalism became 'socialism.' It hadn't been due to any deliberate action on their part, though it might have been a side-effect of their decades of work. The trend had suited their cause so well that Pierce had even checked to make sure it hadn't been the gambit of some deep-cover HYDRA cell, and found nothing. In his mind, it just proved the correctness of their goal to relieve the general populace of the freedom they didn't want and couldn't handle. "Fury's future determination to give himself strokes in service to us aside, I suppose the strategic remedy is similar? Keep doing what we were already doing to set the stage for Insight?"

"Yes, quite," Zola agreed. "Why wouldn't it be? I estimate the altruistic acts of those two may set back the advent of Insight by... perhaps a year. However, the way they perform those acts advances the timetable by three years!"

"What do you mean?"

"Our overall strategy is to undermine the legitimacy of the governments of the world by making them look ineffective until their populations willingly fall into our hands, is it not?" Not giving the Secretary time to reply, Zola went on: "Stark and Saotome might promote the idea of the value of the individual, which is something we will want to stamp out later, but in the meantime: what effect does it have on governmental legitimacy if two unelected, unappointed, unofficial amateurs are able to solve all kinds of problems that those governments cannot?"

"That is true." Pierce nodded slowly. "The ad-hoc organization they are cobbling together via Stark's company is certainly making them more effective than the haphazard thing Stark did before. It is an escalation that has bothered plenty of people, Fury included. No one in authority likes outsiders coming along to piss in their cornflakes, after all, even if those outsiders putatively work with and on behalf of the authorities. I am expressing concerns publicly, but I am wavering on if I should encourage this scenario covertly. On the one hand, they make a marvelous windmill for Fury to tilt at; on the other, an organization makes them more potentially dangerous. Yet... it is more than a distraction, as you said. Looking at it from that point of view, it is almost like they are creating an inadvertent insurgency."

"Indeed, an inadvertent insurgency, that is a good way to phrase it. After all, that 'anarchistic' impulse of theirs has no bad direction for us as long as it is not aimed directly at HYDRA," Zola pointed out.

"That is a good point." Pierce leaned back in his chair and smirked. "Well that opens up some interesting options, doesn't it? I hadn't thought of it that way before."

"Ah... perspective does matter. You are at the peak of the mountain, whereas I am invested in studying the roots of it," Zola pointed out. "The frustration of the common man has been building steadily, and now he had a newly lit neon sign telling him his government really is as useless as he fears. I calculate this will not take very long to settle in that common man's mind and bear fruit. Burning it all down is a notion that already has broad appeal, and we will guide that self-destructive impulse."

Pierce tapped his chin while frowning. "It is all well and good to say 'steady as she goes,' and as much as I like the idea of those two aiding us unknowingly, I am still concerned that Saotome is introducing too many variables. He has started to train people, and the Carter faction has already managed to effectively monopolize that training before I could intervene. I have not been able to halt it while keeping deniability," Pierce mentioned. "As the Secretary of the World Security Council, it is my job to look at the long-term picture. So if there is something that will take a long time, but have a significant potential payoff with minimal investment, it is almost a slam-dunk that I should encourage it. I certainly should not show that I think long-term projects are irrelevant, or else people might wonder why I think SHIELD will not exist in a few years. Slowing it down by poking at the council and at Fury's own hang-ups has been the best I have been able do so far, but there is an expiration time on that. Obviously I would prefer to not let those who will undoubtedly oppose us strengthen themselves, but I might be painted into a corner here. Even idiots can cause problems with the sorts of abilities that have been Romanoff has been documenting."

"Right, right... the Nerima scale," the projection Zola was manipulating nodded. "I have read up on Agent Romanova's categorization and the information we have managed to acquire from Stark. I have to say, it is rather exciting to have a new field of science open up even now as we approach endgame. It is also rather amusing to realize that the good Captain would have rated only a 3 or 4 on that scale at most. A 2 might be more accurate."

The blond man had to blink in surprise at that. "Are you serious?" As someone who grew up with comics, TV shows, movies, and books about the iconic hero, he still tended to put Captain America on a pedestal despite joining his notorious enemy.

"Oh yes," Zola murmured. "But do not let the seemingly low numbers fool you. Zero on that scale includes ninth-degree black-belts as long as they do not possess esoteric life-force abilities. To be a 1 according to this measurement is to exceed what was accepted as humanly possible without some sort of external factor."

"I honestly would have thought he rated higher," Pierce said absently. "Saotome is thought to be a 12 or 13. And now I find myself becoming worried again about Saotome's potential."

"Bah... it is of little matter. Saotome may be able to affect the weather on a local level... very briefly... but he cannot change the global climate. HYDRA is as pervasive as the atmosphere now. He and Stark must be kept out of SHIELD, of course, but without that access the most they can do is take out one head, one at a time, but not all at once," Zola said dismissively with a disregard for death that few people still in possession of their squishy bodies could manage. "Until Insight eliminates him, all he can be is a chaotic factor. My algorithm not only abides chaos, it depends on chaos. Which is a level of preparedness that none on the unenlightened side of SHIELD can claim."

"And if he manages to create several fighters at Captain America's level? As you yourself said, Rogers should not have been able to do as much as he did, but managed it anyway," Pierce argued.

"A fact worth keeping in mind, yes," Zola responded agreeably. "If we were referring to thousands of such fighters, or perhaps even just hundreds, then I would absolutely agree drastic steps would need to be taken to prevent it regardless of the risk of exposing some of our plans. We did take such steps when there was that breakthrough with that negro during the Korean conflict, and again when poor Howard had his success. This is not such a scenario. With full dedication to the task, Saotome can train no more than a few dozen. Such full dedication will not occur. As it stands, all he can manage is a maximum of a dozen part-time students, and even that is stretching it as it depends on him keeping up the current minimal sleep schedule indefinitely. You should also remember the extensive lead-time required. By my admittedly rough estimates, Romanova will attain Captain America's level in 11.5 years at the earliest. Insight should be implemented in 8.25 years at the most conservative estimate. More students will only increase my estimates as Saotome's attention is split."

Pierce had to smile at the reminder that the final gambit of Insight was just a few short years away. Still he had to ask: "What are you basing those estimates on?"

"It is an extrapolation of the physiological data collected on Romanova and Saotome so far," Zola explained. "Do note that Romanova is only one sample of a new student over a limited time period. At least two more samples would do much to refine my calculations, with... hmm..." he trailed off as he mused aloud. "SHIELD's medical experts would need a minimum of eighteen months to make the most accurate determination possible... so of course I only require six months of data."

"Of course. I would never doubt your ability to process scientific information. Actually... that..." Pierce tapped the desk with a forceful beat as he came to a decision. "That will work well for me, as a matter of fact. Medical monitoring is an excellent reason to hold back from full commitment. We can limit things to half-a-dozen agents or less for a few months, then reassess."

"Ah... taking the humanitarian tack, nicht wahr?" Zola said with a pleased tone. "Very good. Very good. I will happily accept the new data and evaluate if my estimates should change."

"And if that data shows results we do not like? It would be unfortunate if some unintended side-effect were to be 'discovered,'" Pierce noted. "I'm sure you could advise us the best way to counterfeit a biological problem. Worst comes to worst, a mere handful of new super-agents would not be a significant detriment as long as everything else goes to plan."

"You could even drum them out of SHIELD and turn them over to Stark as more 'superheros,'" Zola added. "Mixed loyalties, plus resentment, plus the chaos of the Stark/Saotome association... yes, I could see that being very distracting to the right people at the right time," he speculated while the HYDRA Head nodded.

"Or not drum them out," Pierce countered. "They might be part of the opposition, but we have been nurturing the factionalism in SHIELD for quite some time. Just letting the rumor of Rogers' and Saotome's relative ranks spread along with your estimate as to when Saotome's students might reach Captain America levels if uninterrupted would breed resentment in certain quarters. Associating them with what we can play up as a rival organization will magnify that effect."

"Ah, true," Zola mused. "I suppose a 'girls only club' being given such favor from outsiders would cause friction. A very good point. Resentment would be even more valuable to us if they remain insiders. I'm not sure if that would alter my equations by much at this late date, but every little bit helps. I will check the calculations, but in the meantime, a mostly hands-off approach seems best. Not only are Stark and his minion blindly aiding our social and political aims, but we can also reap a harvest of new technology while they do so."

"True, Stark seems to be experiencing something of a renaissance right now," Pierce noted. "I don't know how much of that is the new science he has seen, or his more serious lifestyle, or new necessities being the mothers of new inventions."

"It seems likely to be a case of all-of-the-above," Zola concluded. "It may even be his change in focus or outlook. I recall Howard being far more creative before he became absorbed in SHIELD's doings. Regardless of the cause, I am certain you can milk the cow quite thoroughly before it is time to slaughter it.

"Indeed I can, and indeed I will. Thank you for your time, Doctor," Pierce said gratefully. "You have helped me clarify the big picture once again."

"It was my pleasure, Secretary Pierce. I have all the time in the world... and that time is always at your disposal!"

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In a very richly appointed vestibule of an iconic mansion

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"Mr. Ainsworth?"

Stark's aide-de-camp turned from the movers he was overseeing. The tall Englishman found a woman in her thirties wearing business formal similar to his own, a white blouse and black blazer, though with an ankle-length skirt that few business women wore in modern times. Her features were typical of central Asia, and she had a full bodied mane of straight dark brown hair that extended to her mid back. She was also carrying a Stark-issued computer tablet and wore a Stark HUD just like he did.. Recognizing her despite having never met, he replied: "Good afternoon. Ms. Ispahani, I presume?" He asked only for the sake of politeness, JARVIS was even then confirming her identity via the display in his eyewear, and her presence was registered and monitored by the extensive security systems. Monitoring and identification that started at facial recognition and ran the gamut all the way her bio-energy signature.

"Hello. Yes, that is correct. Fatima Ispahani." She nodded gracefully. "I was directed to speak with you when I was done with Ms. Saotome's belongings."

"You have completed that task already?"

At his raised eyebrow, she explained with an ironic expression: "I have successfully overseen the unpacking and stowing of the two crates of clothing and toiletries, two framed prints, and one wall scroll Ms. Saotome had. She packs lightly, it seems."

"I was fairly certain she had more than that," Wallace said quizzically. He had taken charge of transferring a select portion of Tony's and Pepper's effects from California and a much larger amount of belongings from other sources to their current location: the New York Stark mansion. The grand house had been built on the hills above the Hudson river near Tarrytown, a dozen or so miles upriver from the city of New York, many decades before Howard Stark bought it. Occupying the mansion was meant as a temporary measure until Stark's more long-term plans in Manhattan came to fruition. Mr. Stark had definitely had ambiguous feelings about returning to his childhood home, but nothing suitable had been immediately available. So the billionaire had ordered most of the furnishings and decorations replaced, only keeping those things he associated with his mother. Thus while all but a small fraction of their effects remained in Malibu, there was a significant number of items taken out of storage or newly purchased for the inherited residence, and quite a large number of workers to coordinate. Since Wallace's focus was on Tony, the woman in front of him had been re-assigned to help Ranma to reduce his workload and demonstrate if she might be suitable for new a new opportunity. Yet he remained vaguely aware of what Ranma was taking with her, and he was certain she had more than had just been listed for him.

"She did have more. However," Fatima's expression became drier, "all her other belongings were either carried on her person or in her backpack, which we would have needed special equipment to move if she hadn't elected to carry it in herself."

"Ah, I see," Wallace nodded in understanding. "Though I recall she acquired a motorcycle?"

"Two, actually. Once for each form. They both disappeared up her sleeves the last I saw of them," Fatima stated blandly. Her face showed no discomfort, but she still let out a long, nearly silent breath.

"Ms. Saotome's abilities can be overwhelming," he said sympathetically.

"I'm from Jackson Heights. I saw the Hiryu Shoten Ha out my window. I am more in awe of her abilities rather than taken aback," she said to correct his impression. "Still, it is one thing to view from afar, and quite another to experience it personally."

"Indeed... indeed it is. Very well. It is earlier than I planned, but... actually this is fortuitous timing. Bear with me for a moment, please." With that, he put a fingertip to the temple piece of his HUD to show he was using the integrated communications suite. "Ms. Saotome? Could I speak with you directly for a moment?"

"Hey, Wallace-San! Hey, Fatima!" Ranma greeted from behind him where the other woman could see her blur into sight. The gray-haired man was unruffled despite facing away, but Fatima blinked slightly and leaned back in surprise at the sudden appearance of the female Ki-adept who was wearing one of her skin-tight blue bodysuits and her own Stark-HUD. "How many times do I need to say just call me Ranma, Wallace-San?"

"Perhaps one or two more time than I need to tell you to just call me Wallace," Wallace replied amiably as he turned to face her. "We are both..." he paused and gave her a level look. "Ms. Saotome... need I remind you we are paying movers to carry things in?"

Grinning, Ranma shrugged. One of her hands was supporting a 18th century French sideboard, while the other bore a 19th century Italian armoire. Both items weighed enough that Wallace was certain he would do himself injury if he tried to lift even one corner in concert with others, but they were held rock-steady in the martial artists grasp... which was reassuring considering how rare and valuable they were. She was certainly getting quite a bit of astonished looks from the laborers as they passed by. "Eh... these things are going all the way to the top, and the moving guys are having trouble with their crane. Tony's entertaining himself by helping fix it... by flying around in the suit," she chuckled ruefully. "Maybe not the most efficient way, but he and the guys are having fun. Anyway, I figured I'd pitch in until that's done instead of making them hoof them up all the stairs. It's halfway-decent training, anyway. What did you need from me?"

"I overheard from the other security staff that you wanted to build a dojo near the gatehouse? Did you need an extra training facility?"

Ranma grimaced and nodded. "I was considering it. Not really for training, though. I'm worried about challengers. Ocean's not going to keep them away forever, and, even with the Art like it is in America, I bet there will be some local challengers someday. The social media people are already seeing people talk about what a spar with me would be like, and it won't be too much longer before they get the word that the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu can't turn away challengers. Dojo would be both a place to hold challenges and a target to draw in the crazier types so they don't mess up the mansion. I'd put it before the gatehouse so it'd be outside the main security perimeter. I was planning to buy some lumber and build it myself since it will probably get busted up anyway, but I was told there's some sort of paperwork or something that I need to figure out."

"There would be zoning and tax considerations," Wallace confirmed. "Plus building inspectors and perhaps even OSHA if it is legally regarded a place of work. There would also be other legal complexities, now that I think of it. How would a building built by a someone who is not the owner of the land be treated? How would liability be handled? Especially when considering... you seem very sure that the building would be damaged."

As the former corporate officer had gone on, Ranma's expression fell more and more. She shook her head and said: "With the way things went back in Nerima, I'm expecting the damn thing to be demolished! Tendo-San had a sign up telling challengers to go to the side door, but damned if the most of them didn't blow up whatever wall was between them and me! I want to say things will be different in America, but we shouldn't count on it. Ah... the dojo's sounding like a bad idea. We don't want people like that anywhere near Tony and Pepper anyway. I'll have to think of something else."

"There is a staff that is more than willing to help you come up with solutions," Wallace pointed out.

"Nah, I won't stick you guys with that. It's my school and my problem," Ranma said stubbornly. "It's bad enough I'll need to sort of use my job as an excuse to set conditions."

"I think it is hardly an excuse to have legitimate professional exigencies," Wallace responded. "The lengths you would go to in accommodating challengers in Japan were honestly ridiculous."

"Well I can't say you're wrong about that," Ranma admitted wryly. Then she smirked and added: "Though it is kind of awesome to let a challenger set all the rules, let them pick the field, and still beat them at their own game."

"Though it is no longer legal, there is a tradition in this country for a code duello," Fatima pointed out. "I do not recall all the particulars, but letting the challenged party pick the weapons and making sure the duel occurred in a safe area were aspects of it. That is not exactly the same as martial arts, of course, but there is precedent there, if it helps."

Ranma looked thoughtful. "Since I'm actually in America now... I mean we're sort of using 'Anything Goes' as the American name for my school anyway, I guess it doesn't hurt to have some American rules." She sighed with a shake of her head. "Though finding a safe space might be tough if that Hulk guy wants a rematch or something. I'll have to think about this some more." She paused and frowned with some worry before she visibly shook it off and smiled at the other woman. "Thanks for the idea, Fatima."

Wallace noted that while the redhead was unquestionably friendly with Fatima, she wasn't showing any hints of the flirting or teasing she tended to do. If he wasn't mistaken, the Pakistani emigre was being treated exactly the way he was. This despite being her being well within Ranma's rather open-ended strike-zone of: 'woman, attractive.' He nodded internally at the observation while saying dryly: "I do rather think we will have greater concerns than the technicalities of Anything Goes if the Hulk comes calling. I understand the situation now, thank you for explaining. Do remember that carrying furniture is not one of your duties if there are alternatives, however. I'm sure you can use the actual training facilities instead."

"Yeah, I'll check with the crew to make sure they don't need help anymore once I put these away," Ranma said agreeably while hefting the heavy pieces of furniture she had been holding without a quiver all that time.

"Then I shan't hold you much longer, but I do have one last question. What do you think of Ms. Ispahani's work so far?" Wallace asked.

"Oh, Fatima's been great... though this sort of thing is beneath her, I think." With her hands occupied, Ranma jerked her chin to vaguely gesture at their surroundings and all the manual labor occurring. "Sorry about you getting roped into this, Fatima," she apologized sheepishly.

"I assure you, I did not feel this was beneath me at all," Fatima responded with calm certainty.

"If you say so," Ranma said with a dubious expression. "Thanks for putting up with it anyway."

"Well that is all I wanted to ask for now," Wallace interjected. "I won't detain you any further."

"Right. See you later, Wallace, Fatima," Ranma bade them farewell just before she leapt straight up to the top of the three-storey high entrance hall. Craning their necks, they saw her briefly balance on the railing before blurring out of sight and into the hallway.

"Never a dull moment, even for the most prosaic of things," Wallace commented while still looking upward. He then tilted his gaze back down toward Fatima and said: "Sorry about the interruption, but as I was saying earlier, this will be a good time for a discussion I wanted to have with you. Could you come with me, please?" He led her into the room he had picked out for his office nearby. It was done up rather archetypally in dark woods and leather, but it fit well both with the décor of the gilded age mansion and his own demeanor as a sexagenarian British man. In keeping with his old-school style, he pulled back one of the chairs in front of his desk and held it for Fatima as she sat down. Once she was situated, he sat at his desk, propped his computer in front of himself, and asked her: "Were you told what this is about?"

"I was told that I was under consideration to be Ms. Saotome's new assistant," she said as she activated her tablet. "Though it does not seem as if she was aware of this."

"Ah, yes," Wallace sighed. "We did, in fact, tell her we were looking for an assistant for her, but I don't think she took us seriously. The need for an assistant is far outside her self-image, I suppose. Helping with the move was to be a test of sorts, but it seems to have been simpler than I was expecting." He saw the young woman nodding in agreement and continued: "Let me assure you though, that Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts, and I are all in agreement that the role is necessary."

"In that case, my CV is up-to-date, and I can send you a copy," Fatima replied.

"No need, I already have it," he waved off her offer. "Due to my prior experience and having recently acted as her assistant pro-tem, I am taking the lead on evaluating candidates. It is my personal policy to hire from within the company, when possible, which is why you were approached. Before we go any further, would you be interested in the job?"

"I would have to know what the job would entail, but off the cuff I would say I am very interested," Fatima answered seriously. "I was happy to help with this move even though my expertise is finance, after all. I would regard it as an honor to work for Ms. Saotome."

"Many people would," Wallace pointed out. "I found it rather rewarding myself. However, she will need more personalized attention in the long run than I can offer, and the person who takes the job must be prepared to work to the highest standards. You would need to go above and beyond what the mere title of 'assistant' would normally entail. The classic example would be Ms. Potts, who, as an 'assistant,' did the job of CEO for several months before becoming the actual CEO. Don't expect that to happen to you, however... we are fresh out of CEO positions," he added with some humor.

Fatima smiled slightly and said: "I quite understand. I also understand how Ms. Saotome's needs can be unusual as I was put in charge of the 'Randall Lee' work recently. I assume that was what brought me to your attention?"

"Exactly so," he confirmed. "Could you tell me how that went?"

Recognizing that this was part of the job interview, Fatima quickly ordered her thoughts before answering. "Initially, Mr. Stark planned to get less-than-authorized access to various computer systems to construct an identity that would pass muster. There was also an offer from SHIELD to set up the identity instead. The problem was that both these options were illegal... regardless of the offer of government participation... and the latter option invited more obligation to SHIELD than Mr. Stark was happy with. When I was brought in to evaluate arrangements for bank accounts, I pointed out there was another way to handle the situation since I have a background in corporate law as well as finance. Stage names are a fuzzy topic in law, but are certainly in common use. 'Randall Lee' is officially such a stage name now, trademarked as the property of the LLC 'Randal Lee Productions,' that owns the bank accounts 'Randall' will use. That LLC is in turn owned by a very uncommunicative off-shore trust, which in turn is owned by another LLC, that is owned by a conglomerate... and so on and so forth. Ultimately this is all owned and paid for by Ranma Saotome."

"I am familiar with those sorts of constructions," Wallace mentioned. "Still, this is rather unusual. How firm is the legality?"

"The financial side is rock solid and is based on many routinely used instruments. Ironically, this sort of scenario is typically used by companies to legally dodge taxes, but Ms. Saotome is actually paying extra in taxes in order to make things less likely to be scrutinized. It is the exact opposite of what someone like me is typically trying to accomplish, I know." She shrugged a little. "The overriding concern was not saving money, however, so such small losses were deemed acceptable. Barring an extensive forensic audit, it will look like 'Randall' is a trust-fund baby living off his inheritance. However, he will not own anything directly, he won't be eligible for anything that requires a legal identity, he won't pay his own bills, and anything he earns will be paid to the corporation instead, which will pay any appropriate fees and taxes. The stage name is more ambiguous, admittedly, but it can't really be challenged without disrupting several industries worth hundreds of billions of dollars and overturning several decades of precedent. It would probably take an act of congress, which I can't see happening. If there is an extensive audit for some reason, it will only result in inconvenience and perhaps some embarrassment from the secret identity being revealed, not legal or financial jeopardy. Gratifyingly, my idea was so appreciated that they proceeded to register and trademark the stage names 'Iron Man' and 'the Martial Artist Known as Dragon' as well."

"True, it does seem like too good an idea to not leverage several ways. Ms. Potts was particularly pleased, as it aided with some if the intellectual property concerns she had," Wallace said approvingly, demonstrating he had already known of her work, and was testing her as Fatima had surmised. "That kind of out of the box thinking is exactly what you would need as an aide to Ms. Saotome."

"And as an aide to 'Mr. Lee' too, of course," Fatima pointed out, the continued reference to Ranma's non-birth-gender striking her as... not quite odd, but still notable.

Wallace chuckled. "Of course. I apologize if it seems strange for me to refer Ms. Saotome when you are aware of the Jusenkyo change, but not only was her female form what I saw first when meeting her, but I try not to verbally acknowledge her duality when speaking to someone outside of the inner circle. Which you aren't inside, quite yet. Making a distinction between 'Ms. Saotome' and 'Mr. Lee' could help with that, I suppose, but Ms. Saotome has a... unique perspective on identity. 'He' is real. 'She' is real. 'Saotome' is real. But 'Lee' is a facade. If you understand what I mean?"

"I believe I do," Fatima responded. "There is a reason east Asian cultures put the family name first, after all. And Ms. Saotome regards both of her genders as equally valid and worthy. Whereas the LLC and stage name are merely a convenient dodge."

"Let's not call it merely a dodge," Wallace hastened to say. "Having a public outlet for his male form could be very important to Mr. Saotome in the days to come. Let me be very clear that everyone in the know is very appreciative of your work."

"Thank you."

"Of course, as Ms. Saotome's assistant, you would continue to maintain that creation. You would also take over her regular finances and her paperwork. While Ms. Saotome is capable of solving multi-dimensional mathematics in her head, she is the type to struggle with balancing a checkbook. Mainly due to a lack of interest as long as she has money in her pocket," he sighed. "That, however, would be quite easy for you to manage.

"Yes, it would be no problem at all."

"That is where the easy part would end, however."

Fatima raised her eyebrows a moment, then frowned in contemplation. "The obvious other needs for an assistant would be communications and scheduling. And facilitating Ms. Saotome's private life, I suppose. It seems that you are thinking of more than that, though."

"Correct. Communication and personal time will have their own unique challenges we'll discuss in a bit, but one of the most difficult parts you will immediately have to deal with will be scheduling. I want to emphasize that however much her portfolio has increased, Ms. Saotome's primary job is still bodyguard. As certain little scuffles not too long ago showed, that is not something that we can slack off on." Wallace primarily thinking of the confrontation with Genma, there had been a publicly known incident soon after that with a random disturbed individual trying to get close to the Stark team with a handgun and being detected via his murderous intent before he could lay eyes on them.

Fatima nodded soberly. "I understand that quite well."

"You will need to be flexible and creative when it comes to Ms. Saotome's schedule. She will need to always be available when Mr. Stark is most exposed. When he is in more secure venues, other members of the security team will cover for her. When he is in his armor," Wallace sighed in faint exasperation, "he will not want any protection at all save what Ms. Saotome provides incidentally as his partner in the field. Under those circumstances she can be available for other things. Just note that Mr. Stark does have a penchant for whimsy, so things can change, and they can change quickly. For example, they could drop everything at any time to go haring off to test a design idea Mr. Stark suddenly had, or go intervene in some breaking situation they see on the news." Eyeing her seriously, he went on to say: "It is for the sake of maximum flexibility and a few other reasons that this would be a live-in job. You would take up residence in the mansion in the near future and in one of the residential apartments in Stark Tower when they are ready."

Fatima frowned even more at that. "As I recall, Ms. Potts did not live with Mr. Stark until after she stopped being his assistant. Would it really be appropriate to ask me to do so?"

"You are entirely free to refuse the job, of course," Wallace assured her. "Doing so will not affect your current job or your prospects for other future opportunities. Though note that the live-in idea was mine, not Mr. Stark's or Ms. Saotome's. Bear in mind that I am living here, too. I have several reasons for this. Being available to deal with surprises is one. Simplifying the security situation, is one of them."

"Would that really be a problem?"

Wallace tilted his head thoughtfully and said: "Hopefully not. Though Ms. Potts' security did need to intervene in a few cases before she was CEO. However, I don't think there were any significant threats. Those that did try to intrude were either attention seekers, too unbalanced to come up with an effective plan... or usually both. You'd be far less of a public figure than her as well. Still, as you will be a close confidant of Ms. Saotome, it would be rather a load off everyone's mind if you were under the umbrella of the main security. I am also taking advantage of this move to make some rearrangements in how we operate." He waved around at their environs. "The Malibu mansion may be quite large and have some obligatory guest rooms, but it is really designed to be occupied by one bachelor and his robots. This place, however, is from a much earlier day and is designed to hold a sizable staff. Not only within the main building itself, but in the outlying buildings as well. For example, each of the two gatehouses can comfortably house half-a-dozen security staff. I intend to take advantage of this state of affairs to have as many on-site personnel as I can manage without intruding on Mr. Stark's preferences. Fortunately, the design specifically accommodates an 'out of sight, out of mind' policy for the servants and children who once resided in it. You will not lack for privacy should you take the job."

Fatima seemed a bit more accepting, but not sold yet. "That makes sense, I suppose. Do you mind if I ask why you want so many people here?"

Wallace nodded approvingly. "Not at all. Part of the reason is that maintaining both the mansion and the lifestyles of the residents requires a level of service that Mr. Stark's drones just aren't capable of... in large part because he can't be bothered to spend that much of his engineering time on mere domesticity," he admitted with some humor. "I mentioned responsiveness before... being able to immediately assist with a late-night burst of inspiration or unexpected midnight rendezvous will be needed, and having people available in shifts would keep the work hours from getting out of hand. Scheduling by itself will create enough challenges that in-house staff would be critical. Ms. Saotome can go anywhere at any time alone, but Mr. Stark must have Ms. Saotome present in several circumstances. With Ms. Saotome's multiple roles and Mr. Stark's penchant for changing plans, that requirement can make things rather complicated rather quickly. For all the benefits telecommunications give us, there is often no replacement for being being in the thick of things from the beginning. It can reduce the potentially impossible to the very difficult."

Fatima nodded and said: "I think the eNReal system for the HUD's can make up for a lot of being off-site, but I can also see how seconds might count for more serious situations. I suppose it would be good that I live alone if I did take the job."

"That was a consideration for your hire as well," Wallace admitted. "It would be very difficult for someone with a spouse or children at home to keep up with the active lifestyle Mr. Stark and Ms. Saotome lead. Speaking of which," his tone became more delicate as he said: "Ms. Saotome is a very vigorous young person with an active, slightly unconventional social life. You strike me as a reserved individual. Are you concerned about her behavior?"

"You mean how she... or he... will regularly be spending intimate time with various young women?" Fatima asked flatly as she looked up from her computer that she had been typing on. "No, not at all. I have kept my predispositions from a conservative upbringing, but my personal choices are just that: personal. As long as I am left out of it, I have no personal objection to what Ms. Saotome does in her free time."

"You would be involved in making sure such young ladies got in and out of the mansion security properly, acquiring clothing and other items for them to leave in a dignified fashion, possibly arranging transportation in some cases, taking calls, managing Ms. Saotome's calendar, and things like that," Wallace warned.

"Still not a concern," Fatima confirmed. "I would not be offended. I have profound respect for the person who saved so many people in my home city, and no concern at all what she does in her private life. I am more worried about the appearance of propriety where I am concerned than anything else."

Wallace paused to judge her sincerity and saw her determined expression. "I am glad to hear that, and I doubt you would have much to worry about in terms of public perception. You would only be one of several people here. Though even if public perception was an issue, I would still insist in spite of it. Ms. Saotome is not an ordinary person, and the matters of her life are also not ordinary. Even the most everyday things have unique considerations."

"I assume that you mean something beyond coordinating with Mr. Stark," Fatima said, getting a nod. "What are some examples?"

"Oh, really anything you could name, really," Wallace sighed. "A tenet of her school of martial arts is 'everything is training.' So... education, chores, construction, eating, traveling, teaching, getting dressed, bathing... socializing... sleeping..." he drew out his words while making broad rolling gestures with one hand to emphasize the unending nature of Ranma's discipline. "They are all ways for her to practice and refine her combat abilities. So she will do things we cannot possibly anticipate to maximize that training. Why would she simply plug in a clothes iron to press a shirt when she can infuse heated Ki in her hand... while balancing on a series of tennis balls, one stacked atop the other? Why merely sit and study when she could be using a visor to read at a few dozen times normal human speed while dodging fire from a swarm of Mr. Stark's drones?"

"Ah, yes, I've seen some of that," Fatima said with a bemused look.

"That would almost be inevitable for anyone who spent more than a few minutes around Ms. Saotome. You would need to adapt to her unique outlook as well as her abilities. However, you would also need to know when to step up and advise her to not do things in her own inimitable fashion," Wallace said. "For instance: to gently remind her not to challenge people who insult her to brutal combat. Or to suggest not running over the roofs of private buildings unless it is an emergency. Or to remind her when wearing clothes is appropriate... fair warning, when her pride and self-confidence come out to play, her sense of shame tends to retreat rapidly. You should also be sure to ask her to kindly refrain from shaking the continent with her tread..." He smiled at the eyebrow she raised at him. "I am perhaps slightly kidding about that last."

"So... what you are looking for in assistant is adaptability-adaptability-adaptability," Fatima summarized.

"Quite. Nor will Ms. Saotome's paranormal nature be the only cause of abnormal circumstances. I should mention that her education is a high priority topic for both Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts," Wallace spoke very seriously to underscore his point. "Ms. Saotome has enrolled at ESU, but because of the requirements of her varied duties, she will not be following a conventional college schedule. As per prior arrangements with the university, she will do the vast majority of her studying on her own with the assistance of JARVIS. However, she will need to spend some time in actual classrooms on occasion, and assist in scientific studies regarding her abilities."

Both of Fatima's eyebrows rose as she asked: "Scientific studies? Those are happening? With outside people?"

"It is hardly unprecedented," Wallace replied calmly. "Stark Industries has provided research grants for decades, and reaped considerable benefits in having a front-row seat for new developments in pure science. Mr. Stark does learn quite a bit on his own about what Ms. Saotome can do, but that does not mean he wants to run down every possible line of inquiry himself. Better to farm that out."

"I imagine the university was very eager to accommodate him," Fatima said dryly. "No wonder they enrolled Ms. Saotome despite her unconventional history."

"Oh yes, the research opportunities were more than persuasive. The scholarship money on offer was also similarly persuasive. Both together made it a sure thing," Wallace said with some satisfaction. "In some ways, it might have been better to wait a year and rely on Mr. Stark and JARVIS to teach things as needed, letting things get settled into a routine first. However, Mr. Stark wants Ms. Saotome to get recognized accreditation as soon as possible, and to spread the responsibility of instructing her to a larger talent pool. Also, Ms. Potts thinks breadth of education is better done sooner rather than later, something I am in full agreement with. So we are doing this now, and you will need to aid in making these arrangements. They will be working on an accelerated schedule to allow Ms. Saotome to graduate in four years or less, so you will need to be on the ball when it comes to such changes. Fortunately this will be significantly easier than recent days as Ranma no longer needs to fly across the country every time she needs to meet the professors."

Fatima frowned as she reviewed her notes. "I was aware she was a student, but the accelerated course was not mentioned that I recall. I was thinking it was similar to a continuing education scenario. Please correct me if I am wrong, but by my count she is a full-time bodyguard, a full-time student, apart-time scientific subject and/or assistant to both the university and Mr. Stark, a spokesmodel and perhaps actor if we count the commercials for SI, and... a part-time superhero, I suppose. Am I missing anything?"

With mordant humor, Wallace replied: "You left out acting as assistant mechanic for Mr. Stark, training for both professional duties and personal development, teaching martial arts to Mr. Stark and others, and helping update the combat algorithms JARVIS uses to aid Mr. Stark."

"I see." Fatima's brows furrowed for a moment before she moved on. "Well, that just makes the question this raises for me all the more relevant. We are talking about enough occupations for three or more people here. Certainly an assistant would help with time management, but this still sounds like an insurmountable work load. There are only so many hours in the day, is she going to be able to do all this?"

"She's doing it now," Wallace told her. "There have been some hiccups, of course, but she has still been managing while still managing to carve out personal time. Bear in mind that her multitasking ability is well beyond normal human capacity, and she is exceptionally fast when completing her tasks. Not only are her physical movements enhanced by her Ki, but so are her mental processes. She can learn things at a frankly startling rate. Her discipline also lets her get by on only three to four hours of sleep per day... at most... and she regularly skips sleep entirely once or twice a week." He saw the prospective assistant frown at that and nodded in fervent agreement with her objection before she could voice it. "That last part is a large part of why we are insisting on an assistant for her. She claims there are no ill effects... and all the medical technology we can apply or Mr. Stark can newly invent seem to bear that out... but even so, running so close to the edge means something will get dropped someday."

"Yes, yes it will," Fatima agreed with concern. "I know it's been months already, but it can't be good that she went from a private citizen, a high school student no less, to having to maintain that kind of pace and devote literally superhuman mental effort to the task."

"To be fair, the mental feats and sleep schedule predated her coming to America," Wallace mentioned. "We would be doing a lot more than looking for an aide for her if that were not the case. She says she learned the mental enhancement out of sheer frustration back in Japan, and how to reduce her need for sleep during her trans-Pacific canoe trip..."

"Her what?!" Fatima's professional mien cracked a little at that.

"You hadn't heard about that?" Wallace asked with a tinge of amusement. "It was how she really came to America in the first place before they made her go back to Japan and emigrate properly. She spent weeks out on the water, and found herself needing to develop some of her abilities further, or to come up with new techniques. Sleep reduction was once such ability." Rubbing at his temple, he said: "Ms. Saotome's penchant for continually surprising us with new tricks she just learned has become both a running gag and a cause for lament."

"Hmm. Working with her, she certainly seems like the very picture of health, and I understand she has been doing this for some time, and that she says it is safe, but..." Fatima spoke up hesitantly.

"But none of us are qualified to judge whether she is correct or not," the older man finished for her. "That will be something else you will need to be mindful of, just in case. The Stark HUD's have the capacity to monitor vitals, and you will have access to track Ms. Saotome's. Furthermore, Mr. Stark routinely collects information about her physical readings for their Ki studies. The question is, however, if conventional understanding of medicine will be sufficient for her unique physiology, and if a different form of expertise is required. We are trying to establish relations with older, more qualified Ki-masters for several reasons, but verifying Ms. Saotome's condition is one. We have not had much luck yet, so some diplomacy and persuasiveness could come in handy, something else you might be called on to help with."

"I see," Fatima responded dubiously.

"If it helps, I have not noticed Ms. Saotome become any less energetic or cheerful in the months since I was hired. If anything, she is becoming more energetic if the increasing difficulties of her workouts and frequency of intimate relations are any gauge. She plays as hard as she works, and freeing up more of her time may just result in her playing even harder. If so, more power to her. It would still be better to be safe than sorry, of course, so be observant if you get the job."

"Yes, sir," Fatima said absently as her fingers quickly danced in her tablet's screen. "I'm surprised Ms. Saotome seemed lukewarm about getting an assistant when taking all this into account."

Wallace chuckled ruefully. "That will be yet another challenge for you or whoever becomes the assistant," he said, causing her to look up from the work she was doing on her computer. "All this?" He waved around them. "Not just the wealth and luxury, but the shelter and employment? Ms. Saotome doesn't really need them. She doesn't depend on society to survive like most of us do. She can absolutely bin it all and go live in the wilderness if she really needed to. In a way, she is just humoring Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts out of gratitude and friendship while picking up some extra education and spending money. You have to understand that they are literally the second and third adults she has ever met in her life who have solved significantly more problems for her than they caused, and the first adult was a priest she met less than a year ago."

Fatima looked perturbed at the situation he was describing. "Oh. Oh dear. She isn't used to the standards of behavior the rest of us take for granted."

"Precisely. Her default assumption is that older people, especially those in positions of responsibility, will be some kind of impediment or annoyance or outright assailant until they prove otherwise. I had an easier time of being accepted because she thinks of my role as that of a servant to Mr. Stark, who she trusts, but as you saw earlier, it didn't occur to her that I could help with her martial-arts challenge problem." He grimaced and continued: "Because she thinks that way, she won't consider how much help you can be to her. You would need to be a self-starter and demonstrate why you, as an assistant, would be relevant. Despite all that, are you still interested in the job?"

Fatima nodded slowly, but with determination. She said: "Yes, yes I am. It sounds challenging, but also rewarding."

"We haven't even discussed the pay, yet," Wallace responded lightly. "I can say it will be significant, though. However, what I imagine you were talking about is the satisfaction in overcoming a difficult task."

"Yes. That and the significance of what Ms. Saotome will be doing as I aid her," Fatima elaborated. "Behind every great person is... a sizable staff taking care of the day-to-day concerns."

Wallace laughed at the comment. "Well said! Though it may seem daunting at first, there will be a few things working in your favor. I and Ms. Arbogast... Ms. Potts' assistant... will gladly help you, of course, and we did discuss the in-house personnel, but you will also have other resources. You will have assistants of your own to delegate minor tasks to, plus a growing sub-organization. The 'Big Two,' as the press has taken to calling them... much to Mr. Stark's annoyance... has turned into a phenomenon well beyond the small group of a single billionaire inventor and his close circle. Media depictions aside, there is quite a bit more to 'super-heroics' than simply punching malefactors in delicate areas."

"Ah yes... legal issues, liability issues..." Fatima said thoughtfully.

"Coordination with authorities. Logistics for all the the things that don't come out of Mr. Stark's remarkable fabricators. Travel coordination. Locating and contacting outside consultants. Research on the surrounding factors of an incident to try to avoid unexpected repercussions. Public communication..." Wallace listed off. "The latter is especially important, since the corporation's PR efforts have been tied into the 'Big Two's' activities. Their missions are being financed by a mix of Mr. Stark's personal income and the publicity they earn, and we hope to shift that to 100% corporate revenue in the not-to-distant future. Doing this all properly takes a fair amount of work behind the scenes and involves several different groups of people. Though it is not really formalized as a distinct department, it is nonetheless a very real and prominent one."

"I was aware there were a fair number of people being tapped to help, but it seems like this is turning into something bigger than I understood, and I am not sure who all is involved," Fatima told him. "Do you expect that a formal T.O. will be determined soon?"

Wallace smiled thinly as he said: "I imagine it will become formalized very soon after the press is coaxed into calling Mr. Stark's and Ms. Saotome's collaboration something more marketable and pleasing to Mr. Stark than 'The Big Two.' If things go on as they have, we would be stuck referring to it as the 'Big Two division' or something... which wouldn't be terrible, but... mmm," he hummed in dissatisfaction.

"Ah... yes," the prospective hire sighed. She supposed the only thing the name had going for it was that people quickly realized who it referred to. 'Iron Man' and 'Dragon' weren't particularly imaginative... or accurate... either, but at least they were evocative.

"However the group shakes out, it is also an alternative if it is decided that you will not take the assistant job," Wallace pointed out. "Finance and law are obvious places where your skills would apply. I have been a company officer for some time, so empire-building is something I do almost reflexively," he chuckled in a self-deprecating way. "I joked about the CEO position, but I foresee this growing department becoming a path for further advancement in other high-level positions for those who are interested. It might even be split off as a subsidiary someday and thus need a CEO at that point. Not me, however. My personal ambition has scaled down since retiring as a vice-president, but I see this as an opportunity to mentor the next generation of leaders in this conglomerate. I foresee the this becoming a fine means of advancement due to how high-profile and diverse the work will be."

"True... and interesting," Fatima murmured. "However, I would still much prefer the assistant position. Though I suppose even beyond the matter of personal fulfillment, that role would also have a management component. Organizing whichever resources are needed for any task Ms. Saotome requires, yes?"

"It would, yes," Wallace agreed. "In addition to the other staff, you will also have the direct aid of JARVIS. As in the ability to fully interact with him."

Fatima's jaw dropped a little at that reveal. For all that the NLUI was a flagship technology of the corporation, the rank and file had very little to do with it. The most they would experience would be announcements and other communications sent to them that they could not reply to. There were all sorts of rumors about not only what JARVIS might be capable of, but also its exact nature. "That does sound interesting! How much can JARVIS do, anyway? I've heard 'not an AI,' but..."

Smiling serenely at her uncertainty, Wallace explained: "Mr. Stark insists that JARVIS is not a true AI, and I can see why he says that. He holds his work to a high standard, so anything less than a full-on science-fiction computer sentience is not enough to count in his opinion." He held out a hand parallel to the ground and waggled it a bit. "According to the rest of the computer science world, JARVIS has long since hurtled past the threshold for AI. This is an extremely powerful system that can pass a Turing test with all but a handful of people. The exceptions are Mr. Stark, who knows how to find chinks in the code that he programmed, and unusual individuals such as Ms. Saotome who can exceed the bounds of conventional understanding by a significant degree. JARVIS can learn, he can self-program, and if you get the job and are given access, he can absolutely discuss any potential task you want him to do with you to let you know what is possible. In fact, you would be strongly encouraged to devise new functions for JARVIS, since Mr. Stark wants to expand his horizons as much as possible. Inspiring new features will be reflected in bonuses in your paycheck."

Fatima cocked her head thoughtfully. "I hadn't heard about the bonuses before, but I'll endeavor to be creative. It sounds like JARVIS is closer to the upper range of the speculation I've heard. The reasonable speculation... not the wild tangent stuff like it is captured alien technology or it is made up of brains in jars. Or should I say 'he?'"

"JARVIS is incapable of being offended... yet... so no one else will be if you use gender neutral pronouns. I say 'he' because Mr. Stark's household uses that pronoun, but it does not really matter." Wallace shrugged and continued. "As for the bonuses, they are a recent development. Ms. Potts's background is administration and finance, so while she is quite aware of the sales potential of new technology, she does not think of stress-testing that technology herself or asking anyone else to do so. I have a history of quality management, however, so some of my first questions for Mr. Stark were about the reliability and functionality of JARVIS. It was a result of that discussion that the bonuses now exist. It is also true that not all Stark Industries employees will have access to qualify for those bonuses, but the number of us is slowly increasing. Soon you can feel free to mention the bonuses to your fellow employees."

Fatima finished making another note and underlined it with a swipe of her finger. "Then I am greatly looking forward to the chance to possibly work with JARVIS. I can think of several things to request already. I'm a little curious to see what he would make of legal literature."

Wallace looked intrigued at the suggestion. "Well now I am rather curious as well. Weighing precedent with complete sample sets of prior arguments and rulings sounds like exactly the sort of thing JARVIS would excel at. Nice idea." He gave Fatima a considering look, then a hint of challenge bled into his smile. "This move wasn't much of a challenge. How about a surprise assignment?"

"As another trial run? Certainly," Fatima agreed, completely unfazed.

"You recall Ms. Saotome's concern about martial arts challengers?" Wallace asked. "Our security procedures can deal with the unstable ones, so we can ignore those on the administration side, but legitimate challenges are still important to her. Your task would be to develop a plan to handle such things within the constraints of normal business."

Fatima eyed him blankly for a moment, then used her touch-screen to flick over to one of the documents she had been making notes in during the interview. Wallace was greatly surprised when she turned the computer around, set it on his desk, and pushed it toward him. "What do you think of this?" she asked.

"Did you already...?" Wallace started to murmur before he was distracted by reading. His expression quickly became intrigued, but then was overtaken by a widening smile. Then he swiped pages to look at the other notes she had been taking and saw additional impressive work. Huffing a laugh, he said: "Creative. Very creative. Such an elegant, multi-layered solution! Impressive multitasking as well..." he briefly debated drawing things out longer as he looked for more candidates, but the positive gut feeling he had combined with his decades of experience convinced him otherwise and on paper the young woman really had been far and away the best combination of the various qualities they had been looking for. "Right. This just got easier. Ms. Ispahani... you're going to fit in quite well with us. You're hired."

############

At the Empire State University campus, Manhattan

############

"There she goes!"

Ranma Saotome was a person who was used to being chased. By police. By fiancees. By hordes of rather stupid and violent people. For an ordinary person, such things were cause for twitchy nerves at best, or full-on psychological complexes or stress-induced heart-attacks at worst. Yet for the martial artist, it was merely Tuesday, and the worst she would feel would be annoyed resignation. However, she wasn't bothered even that much at this example of the hue and cry, and she felt mischievous instead.

She had just finished an in-person day at ESU, some quizzes and discussion with some of her teachers followed by some time working in the physics lab. Her schedule hadn't been announced, yet as she was now discovering, a milling crowd had formed on the campus to look around for her anyway. Not for the mayhem she was accustomed to, but for for the pleasure of viewing a celebrity... namely her. It still struck her as bizarre, but after running into the same thing in multiple different major cities in America and Europe, she was pretty much used to it by now. It helped her peace of mind that she had a sure-fire escape due to Jusenkyo. She could even have simply snuck away and depended on the celebrity-hounds getting bored, but she decided to give the university a break from the intruders. She showed herself in a way that would make sure they all could see her at once by leaping to the top of a floodlight and making a show of looking around as if getting her bearings. When her pursuers started calling out and heading her way, she started leaping from light to light.

She went fast enough to stay ahead, yet slow enough that they could see her leave the campus over a wall that they couldn't get around very quickly. For a moment, she thought that was the end of it until JARVIS alerted her to the fact that the group she left behind had spread the word on social media, and more people were posting her current position. She was somewhat impressed... and very glad Nerima tended to be technologically backwards.

So she took a lazy aerial path in the vague direction of her destination. She had to be a bit careful about making sure she didn't lure people into traffic... dropping some tier-1 drones with active alert programming out of Stuff-Space helped with that... but otherwise she let herself be seen enough that she could be tracked. The idea was to pull a minor prank and get on with her day once her pursuers were led to an effectively random location they wouldn't have any reason to stay in if she weren't there.

Once she got close enough to where she wanted to be, she dropped to the sidewalk and gave the observers a cheery wave before dashing into an alley. As soon as she broke the sight line, she pulled off the Science-Fu T-shirt she wore over her bodysuit and replaced it with an oversized jacket, slacks, and leather shoes. Then she pulled a thermos out of Stuff-Space and splashed a carefully measured amount in her face. Now male and with his clothes properly fitting, Ranma streaked out the other side of the alley and came to an abrupt halt. A flex of Ki prevented the people on the other side from noticing just how suddenly he had appeared among them. Instead he vaguely faded into their awareness as just another pedestrian they passed by.

Rather than simply walk off, he stood right where he was and looked up with an expression of shock and awe. By the time the people chasing him reached the alley, the only thing they saw was him gaping like a yokel tourist.

"Hey! You!" one of them yelled as they jogged over. "Hey!"

"Huh? Who me?" Ranma called back absently, still looking upward.

"Yeah, you! Did you see Dragon?"

"I-I think I did! Did she have a long hair in a braid like this?" He flicked his now-black braid for emphasis.

"Yeah! Yeah! But her hair is red!"

"Was she wearing a Stark HUD like this?" He nudged the eyewear up his nose to show what he meant.

"Yeah! That's right!"

"And was she wearing a black bodysuit like this?" He plucked at the lycra he was wearing.

"Yes! That's her! Where did she go?!"

Ranma pointed a trembling finger vertically. "Sh-she went up! Way up! Was she flying?"

"She can fly now?! Wait... was she using the SkyBuster?"

"I don't think so? She just went... up?" Ranma replied with a boggled tone.

"Maybe the flying motorcycle was invisible?" someone else yelled her speculation.

"It can't do that!"

"It can! I head it has some retro-something-or-other!"

"Nah, she used a grappling hook! Like Batman!" another fan contributed.

"If it's the SkyBuster, there should be a shimmer! Like in Predator! Can anyone see it?"

"Is that it!" Ranma yelled excitedly while pointing at slightly different patch of empty sky.

"What? No!"

"It is! It's Dragon!"

"Oh, bullshit! That's... OK, maybe..."

"Wave her down! Wave her down!"

In the cacophony of confusion, Ranma slowly edged back bit by bit. He made excited noises and gestures to keep the crowd distracted while shuffling backwards until he reached the edge of the group. With one last check to make sure no one was paying him any attention, he turned around and strode away. He kept a straight face until he reached the trim, athletic blonde in a light blue cashmere sweater and white knee-length skirt who was waiting for him at the corner.

Sharon Carter had her arms crossed over her chest, and a blank expression on her face. She was a trained SHIELD agent conditioned to hide her emotions. Despite this, and despite Ranma's issues with social development, he could tell that one part of her wanted to chew him out for his stunt, but another wanted to burst into laughter.

"Hey, 'Kate,'" he greeted with a tone made shaky by repressed laughter as he slipped an arm around her waist and guided her away from the tumult he'd caused. The corner of his mouth was twitching, and he wasn't inclined to use the Soul of Ice for something like this, so he wanted to get farther away before he cracked up.

"Hello, Cleavon Little," she replied sarcastically while ignoring how a stealthed tier-1 drone appeared out of stealth for an instant before Ranma slipped it up a sleeve. "Having fun?"

"'Cleavon?'" Ranma asked in confusion while checking his HUD to see the progress of the other drones that were still catching up after performing traffic duty. The one he had already retrieved was the one he used to record his little joke for Tony to enjoy later.

"You haven't seen that movie yet, 'Randall?'" the agent asked. "Actually, I'm not sure if he used that exact 'hair like this' gag, but he used plenty of others from Looney Tunes. Is that where you got that from?"

"Nooo..." Ranma answered slowly. "I don't know what the tunes thing you're talking about might be. That's just a trick I pulled a couple times on... somebody." He wasn't sure if he should mention Ryoga aloud while playing 'Randall.' Sharon and the other SHIELD ladies had provided advice on keeping up a cover identity, but he was still learning.

Sharon nodded as if she knew who he was talking about. Which would be kind of remarkable if she did, considering the number of idiots in Nerima who could have fallen for it. Instead of inquiring further about that, she instead asked: "So what's the budget for today?"

"Uh, I think 'Tina' said fifty thousand?" His HUD confirmed the number that Fatima... alias 'Tina' when out and about as his alter-ego... had set. "Yep. Fifty."

"Excellent."

############

Later that afternoon

############

"Here is a good prospect," Sharon Carter said.

"Oh, yeah," Ranma agreed as he stepped up behind the woman. "That looks cool. It almost looks like a painting."

"Chinese silk embroidery. Peacocks and peony flowers," Sharon recited as she leaned in for a closer look. Ranma, of course, had no need to get as close with his enhanced vision, but he leaned in as well at the subtle signal from the shift in her shoulders. "I've watched as pieces like this were created. The threads are amazingly fine, and they're combined so cunningly to give shades and textures. And..." she rotated the round inner frame on its axis to show the other side showed the same image in reverse. "More advanced artists can change the colors or even depict something else on the opposite side. Remarkable, isn't it?"

"Definitely," Ranma nodded. "This is so much better than the art galleries."

"Told you," Sharon said smugly. "Antique stores are the best for finding the type of art you favor without having to wait for an auction or estate sale."

"I should have figured that out myself after seeing what was in museums. Seriously, what the hell is up with what people buy these days?" Ranma shook his head. "Call me ignorant, but how do two squares and a circle in a line count as art?"

"'Randall'..." Sharon touched his arm to make him focus his attention on her solemn expression. "...You're ignorant."

"Oh, OK. Thanks for clarifying that... I was wondering," Ranma chuckled.

"Seriously though, I could go on and on about composition and mass, or how it expresses the inner agony of the artist... my mother has a degree in art and can happily discuss such things for hours. However... while there are legitimate perspectives to the value and importance of modern art, I can also understand how it takes a fair bit of study and background to understand those perspectives. I don't suppose art theory is one of the courses of study you're considering?" Sharon asked.

"Actually, something like that is somewhere on the list at someone's insistence. Way, way down near the bottom of the list," he muttered lowly while looking away.

"Uh-huh," Sharon responded sardonically. "Well, as long as you remain an ignorant rube, you'll just have to take my word about the legitimacy and authenticity of that type of art." Seeing her companion wasn't exactly falling over himself to correct his cultural deficiencies she shrugged and added: "Though I do admit there there is a more than a hint of swindling rich suckers in the whole modern art mix. Even that is part of the artist's self-expression, though, if a bit more subtle than most of those rich suckers will ever understand."

"Now that part I can definitely get behind," Ranma replied, thinking of the Kunos.

"I figured you could. Just be aware things didn't start out that way," Sharon informed him. "The impressionists had a point about getting back to basics in the face of the over-elaborate, soulless works that were popular back when they were getting started. However, works started to drift even further past impressionism after other artists called their work ugly and the impressionists got defensive and contrary and made even more jarring art. Then rich snobs started to fork over serious cash for things that could be called ugly or simplistic. Not out of a sense of appreciation for artistic principles, mind you, but rather so they could have something more to be snobbish about. And since an artist has to eat... well..."

"Right. Wave enough money at somebody to get them to slap themselves in the face, and they'll slap themselves in the face all day. That does explain a few things," Ranma said with a laugh. "Well, they can have it all. I'll take this," he said while waving at the intricate textile without even glancing at the price-tag.

"Let's look around a bit more," Sharon suggested. "We do want to get things that work well together and with the space they're in. I haven't had a chance to look around your new place yet... particularly the bedroom," she pointed out archly.

"That's true," Ranma grinned. "We'll be sure to fix that. Though I'm concentrating on the sitting room..."

"Dragon's hair!" a woman interrupted from behind them. Ranma's eye widened for an instant before he controlled himself.

"Hello?" Sharon answered for him.

"Oh... sorry!" the flustered woman apologized. She bustled up and peered at Ranma's hair from a couple of angles. "Something struck me about your hairstyle, and I suddenly realized... long braid... leather tie on the end... your hairstyle is based on Dragon's, isn't it?"

"I mean... it's not a real Manchu queue, but braids like this are pretty traditional for martial artists. And I've had long hair for years," Ranma offered weakly. Seeing the stranger cock her head and look at him knowingly, he gave in and said: "But OK... yeah, I'll admit it. If Ranma Saotome's hair wasn't like this, my hair wouldn't be like this either."

Sharon's face didn't shift one iota to show how hilarious she thought the accurate yet deceptive statement was. Part of the reason for them to be out and about was for Ranma to practice staying in character, after all. Their other purpose was to genuinely enjoy leisure time together. A date, in other words. And a date that she made very clear had nothing to do with her own training, either, as long Ranma was being paid for that training.

Natasha and certain others in SHIELD might have no problem freely mixing personal and professional activities, but Sharon preferred to keep sharper divisions between them. She could objectively understand there was no direct link between the martial arts instruction that was paid for, and the personal and intimate recreation that was not, but the lines still seemed too blurry to her if she didn't mark off distinct and separate times for either set of activities. To do otherwise invited an unflattering comparison, after all. At best, it smacked of a desperate housewife seducing her private fitness instructor. At worst it seemed to have all the hallmarks of frequenting a gigolo.

Natasha's shamelessness aside, the senior agent had been absolutely correct about the sort of relaxation Ranma offered. And Sharon didn't mean just the Ki-boosted sex, though she certainly wasn't going to turn that down later that evening. Even though as a SHIELD agent she wasn't reducing her alertness at all, the associated stresses of an operative being out in public were largely gone. If she ever took a typical civilian man out, she'd have to worry about him being a liability if they were attacked by rival agents, terrorists, or just random criminals... sometimes it seemed like the surest way for a SHIELD operative to get caught up in some violent nonsense coming out of nowhere was to wander around minding their own business. While a fellow agent could handle himself if things went south, dating one was just... problematic from a social standpoint. The martial artist she was with had no agenda other than to have fun, and he was as far from a burden as one could imagine if any kind of danger popped up.

Ranma himself was as relaxed and casual as one could imagine, despite the facts that he was even more alert and aware of their surroundings than Sharon was, and he was training himself all the while. Of course, for him, any kind of training was also entertainment and meditative exercise all in one, and everything was training. Be it pure martial arts, academia, social interactions, or just presenting a convincing facade to a random civilian.

"I knew it!" The short, somewhat plump random civilian woman exulted. "Both of my little girls are huge fans of Dragon, you know. They joined the Dragonflies Club in their school and insist on wearing sashes and having their braids done with leather thongs." She waved toward Ranma as an example.

"Oh yeah, 'Randall's' a total fanboy," Sharon confided. She pointed at the clothing he wore under his jacket. "He's even wearing a bodysuit under that. Good thing he's got the muscle tone for it, huh?"

"Hey... you've had some pretty enthusiastic things to say about Dragon too the way I remember it. Especially her physical abilities," Ranma countered with a hint of a smirk.

Sharon had to admit... this was very true. It had been confessed in gasps, moans, and screams more than once.

"Who doesn't?" the unknown woman cheerfully declared. She leaned toward Ranma and said: "It's nice to have an Asian celebrity who isn't an actress, isn't it? Especially a hero the likes of Iron Man or Captain America!" She started to look Ranma over with more avid interest and he was getting a whiff of undue interest from her aura. There were downsides to developing Dairokkan, and feeling why a random married-with-children woman had struck up a conversation was one of them. However, it was something he was getting used to, especially with the attention his female form got, so he calmly worked to repress his presence even more than he had before.

"I hadn't thought of it that way before," Sharon said to refocus the stranger's attention and gain her companion's gratitude. "Hi, I'm 'Kate' and this is 'Randall.'"

"Oh, hello. I'm Susan." The woman blinked as if just realizing she had interrupted the younger couple. "You two are doing some shopping for antiques?" she asked lamely.

"That's right," Ranma said. "I just got a new place, and 'Kate' has better taste in furniture and stuff than me."

"He's a bit helpless in that regard," Sharon gently ribbed him. "Are you here with your family?" she inquired sweetly.

Coming back to herself a bit more, Susan backed further away from Ranma. "Oh, um... my, uh... my husband took the kids to the park for the afternoon, actually. Gives me a chance to browse around. So, um... you said you just got a new place? Are you two new in town?"

Not sure if the woman was naturally garrulous or what, Ranma kept drawing in his aura as much as he could and contemplated variants of the inverse-Ki techniques of the Senkens to make himself less interesting. Not showing a hint of this effort, he answered: "I just came down from Toronto recently."

Sharon shook her head and lied. "I'm from Long Island, actually."

"Oh? Are you liking New York so far, 'Randall'? And what do you do?" She looked over Ranma's casual, yet high-brand clothes along with the well-known but still limited and expensive Stark HUD, then gave Sharon's stylish wear an appraising look as well. If Ranma ever needed a real-world lesson of how certain people often made judgments about other people based on their belongings... which he honestly did... then this woman had just provided it.

Ranma and Sharon glanced at each other before the blonde answered: "I work for an employment agency. Finding the right people for the right jobs, you know."

Ranma shrugged and said: "Eh, I've been liking New York so far. People are friendlier than you'd expect from some of the stories. Been taking a break from school recently." As of that afternoon, he did not say. "But I do a lot of things. Some martial arts instruction. Some personal training. Bit of modeling sometimes. Shot for TV ads a couple of times, but no real parts yet."

Again, Sharon was highly amused at how the truth could be so misleading. In his female form, Ranma was a spokesmodel and had been filmed in advertisements, though with a lot more prominence than he had just implied. He was also a personal trainer and martial arts instructor for Sharon and the other SHIELD ladies. The agency even paid for his time into the 'Randall Lee' shell corporation through their own shell corporations. He neglected to mention his roles as bodyguard, lab assistant, and superhero, of course.

Sharon had her own role to play for the sake of the public. And at the moment, that role called for her to give a 'yeah-he's-a-himbo-but-he's-cute' smile to the other woman. They could practically hear Susan dismiss Ranma as the superficial, dilettante son of a prosperous family in her head.

Mission accomplished.

"Well, I've taken enough of your time," Susan announced, her interest dropping away either because of Ranma's aura manipulation or intellectual contempt... he wasn't picky at that point. "You two have a nice afternoon!" She bustled off as abruptly as she arrived. Leaving the pair looking at each other again.

As a SHIELD agent, Sharon had no problem reading Ranma's lips when he mouthed: 'That was so weird!'

As it was in character, she smiled and shrugged at him. Strange interactions in a fabricated life was just another day on the job of an operative.

############

Back at ESU

############

"No! Those numbers are wrong! They need to be adjusted!"

"Professor? Um... these are the numbers the collection team gave us..."

"They're inaccurate! Here... get out of the way... I'll straighten this out!" With that, the slender, rather prim man with reddish-brown hair and beard grabbed the back of the chair the surprised graduate student was in and rolled the woman to the side on the chair's castors. He then started typing on the keyboard.

"Dr. Picotin," a gravelly, slightly accented voice interrupted. "Could I have a word?"

"Dr. Nokken? Just a minute. I need to put these in order," the typing man replied dismissively.

"It is because you are 'putting those in order' that we need to speak," Emil Nokken, holder of PhD's in physics and engineering, spoke firmly. "Stop what you are doing. Now."

"I'll be done soon!" Picotin waved him off impatiently.

"Now, Doctor!" The professor was shorter than his colleague by a few inches, possessed a long gray and white beard, was entirely bald, and packing a bit more weight around his middle than his wife was happy about. He was also built like a fireplug and as tough as the harsh winters of his native Finland, something he demonstrated as he gently yet inexorably pulled the other man away from the console by his shoulders despite his struggles.

"What are you doing?! Unhand me!" Walter Picotin protested as he flailed at the other scientist.

"I am stopping you from making a large mistake," Emil told him after letting him go. "Come with me, Dr. Picotin. You and I are due for a discussion."

"What the hell are you doing? You can't just grab me and make demands!"

"Doctor, I am asking you to come with me for a private conversation for your own sake. Please, just come with me now."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Picotin insisted loudly. "If you have something to say, you can say it here and now. I have to be here to deal with the errors that have been pouring in from the slipshod work people have been doing!"

"'Slipshod?'" Emil echoed with annoyance. He looked around where shocked students and other workers were looking at them, some of them starting to frown with more than surprise. "You want to do this here? You sure about that?"

"You want to talk to me, you can do it right here and right now. I certainly have a thing or two to say to you!" Picotin declared self-righteously.

Emil sighed. "Doing it here, then. Fine." Raising his voice, he demanded: "You can't just change reported results just because you don't like what they show!"

"What?!"

"I've heard several complaints about you telling people to record different information. I heard you doing exactly that when I walked up. What are you doing? We are trying to conduct scientific research here! We already have to repeat some of the experiments because of your actions!"

"This isn't a scientific investigation! This is a carnival show!" Picotin spat.

"I am fairly certain this is the physics department of ESU," Nokken replied. "I certainly didn't see Barnum and Bailey painted on the side of the building when I arrived this morning! Explain yourself, sir!"

"This is a farce! A complete waste of time!"

"Several department heads... including yours... think otherwise. What exactly makes this a waste of time? The subject?"

"Yes!" Picotin exclaimed. "This is absurd! That silly little... girl can't possibly be doing what she claims! The administration is only going along with it for the money and publicity! She doesn't belong in our labs, and she doesn't belong in our university!"

"Ranma Saotome absolutely belongs in this school," Nokken rumbled. "Setting her exceptional abilities aside, I and any other decent educator would still want her here. Her educational background may have been unconventional, but she learns at a pace I've never seen before and has insights I am excited to help her develop. Just from the preparatory assignments I gave her before she formally enrolled, she has proven to be an able student with intriguing ideas. She can absolutely contribute like few other student's have in the history of this institution!"

When the mayor of New York and the governor of the state had realized that the two separate announcements of Stark's move into the city and Saotome's intention to enroll in college presented an opportunity to promote both their constituencies and their political careers, they had both quickly turned on the pressure to get a New York school to recruit the famous martial artist. Professor Nokken and the other department heads had initially dismissed this as the equivalent of a sports scholarship and were prepared to ignore the sideshow other than to distance themselves from it. However, alumni from such diverse places as NASA, the Department of Energy, and Stark Industries itself all had urged in the strongest terms for them to take her seriously. So he, along with the heads of the psychology, Asian studies, and physical education sections had formed an ad-hoc, unofficial committee to go to California to see what the hullabaloo was about.

It was no surprise the professor who had made a career of studying the obscure sub-cultures of east Asia had been very enthusiastic to retrace Ranma's extensive foot-travel on a map and listen to anecdotes about reclusive monasteries and secret societies. What was a surprise was just how much was on offer for Nokken and the psychology head. Indeed, 'surprise' was a weak term. 'Paradigm-shifting' was a far better description of what happened when their halfhearted expectations had smacked face-first into Ranma's Ki-enhanced learning curve.

Ki itself was still shocking even after the demonstrations of multiple battles and an extremely sudden alteration of the local weather. The seemingly endless applications that were revealed to them turned that shock into awe. Nor did they have a chance to get used to things that day, as proof after proof was given of the utility of cultivated and focused life-energy.

The psychology professor had been extremely gleeful and perhaps slightly unhinged as the superhero's eyes lit with silver fire and she plowed through a battery of written tests at a speed that really should have been a fire hazard with how fast her pencil was moving across the pages. He imagined many would find it odd how the psychology professor was looking forward to tossing out decades of precedent and starting over, but he himself understood all too well. After all, he had been invited down to Tony Stark's basement lab to see exactly what the Ki-adept had been up to in partnership with her employer.

Ironically, the biggest turn-around in attitude came from the physical education expert, who had gone from the most eager among them to utterly adamant that Ranma and her notions of training be kept as far away from her department's students as possible. She did not view airstrikes as a valid physical conditioning tool regardless of the martial artist's reassurances, and was inclined to pick up the nearest loose items to hurl at the teen if that was what was needed to keep her away from the professor's area of study.

That professor's newly developed fear and loathing aside, the rest of them had been glad to endorse Ms. Saotome joining their student body. It was well that they did so. Mr. Stark had been trying to get MIT to agree to accept Ranma, and the politicians of Massachusetts, Boston, and Cambridge had been just as covetous as the New York variety, but the school itself had dragged heels too long to keep the billionaire's interest in pursuing them after ESU had jumped on board. Nokken was reliably informed that recollection of an incident involving 'Santa Tony and his Naughty Girl Revue' had been a significant cause of the hesitation.

That minor clash with their rival institution had lain in the future, however. Their plane ride back home had been cheerfully spent speculating all the ways she could open up new lines of research. They also all had to admit they envied the potential a brain overcharged with Ki had to learn and apply new information. Nokken himself was taking advantage of it by giving his unique student complex and in-depth assignments or projects in the evening and seeing the material mastered by the next morning... though sometimes he had to play back recordings at a 10th or 20th of the original speed just to comprehend some of the things Ranma was doing. The teen had already learned more than enough to participate in the analysis phase, but of course since she was the subject of the tests, she had been sent home instead.

Ranma had claimed her learning speed was a skill that anyone could acquire no matter their age or circumstances, and told them of a fellow practitioner who had indeed done so. However, it likely wasn't possible for them or their adult-aged students. Ranma had made noises about developing better... safer... training methods to get Ki usage high enough to benefit, but 'safer than being chased by hungry wolves' wasn't exactly a high bar. Even if ethical methods could be found, the amount of time would likely exceed that which was needed for passing an eight-year course of study and becoming well settled into a professional career. For most people, it would be pointless to spend the time on it except as a hobby.

Nokken brought his wandering thoughts back into focus. If Picotin reacted so badly to just the physical aspects of Ki, Emil feared he would have an aneurysm if the mental aspects were mentioned. So he definitely was not going to bring the mental side up. Instead, he said: "Don't let your preconceived notions get in the way of new knowledge. We have a unique opportunity here that we honestly should have been bending over backwards to get instead of Stark throwing concessions at us!"

"The very fact he's bribing us proves this is all just a pointless show!" Picotin responded acidly. "A pack of tricks wrapped up in a fancy light-show for the gullible! What we should do is immediately stop going along with this carnival show and kick her out! But if the people in charge absolutely insist that we play out this farce, then we should prove how wrong they are!"

"You're not going to prove anything by jiggering the numbers! Are you serious?!" Emil shook his head incredulously. "The events in June in this very city alone should tell you this is as far from a waste of time as you can get!"

"It's some sort of trick!"

"I was in the upper east side that night! I could feel the shockwaves from the punches! Are you saying all that didn't happen?"

"It can't be true! It's impossible!"

"You are being absurd, sir! We might not understand how Ms. Saotome is able to do the things she does, but it is the height of stupidity to pretend she isn't doing them!"

"I already told you! It's some sort of trick! This... Ki..." he hissed the word, "...it's ridiculous! Some mysterious energy science has never seen before that conveniently shows up when that girl wishes hard enough? Ridiculous! We might as well bring parapsychologists or ghost hunters or UFO cultists into this madhouse! There's no scientific basis!"

"There's all kinds of scientific basis! We saw it with our own eyes! We watched as it flattened test targets!" Nokken pointed out. "We built the instruments based on Stark's specifications and we saw the predicted results in measuring Ki!"

"Stark's instruments," Picotin spat. "Don't you see the problem with that?"

"Stark's designs, but our instruments built by our people with our parts and with our programming." Nokken flung his hands up in frustration. "The devices are doing something! They're measuring something! We've even gone on to use those devices to measure other things that have nothing to do with Ms. Saotome or Mr. Stark at all! When it was utterly impossible for them to spoof the readings because they weren't even there! Goddammit... you're the one in charge of the technical side for building these devices! You should understand at least the basic principles!"

"I understand better than you!"

"Do you? Then use your own eyes if you don't trust your sensors! She's demonstrated strength and speed that our understanding of biology do not allow. She's demonstrated what certainly looks like N-Dimensional mechanics repeatedly at our request! Something is happening here! 'Eppure si muove!'"

"There's being open-minded to new, valid, scientific data, and then there's being open-minded to the point your brains fall out! You're not acting like a real scientist right now, so don't you dare quote Galileo at me!" Picotin sneered.

"I'm not." The physicist countered pedantically. "I'm paraphrasing a quote mistakenly attributed to Galileo. 'She still moves' instead of 'it still moves.' And she most decidedly does move. At speeds exceeding that of sound from what the doppler readings show." Emil crossed his arms over his chest with a very unimpressed expression. "I am a member in good standing of the Committee for Sceptical Inquiry and the James Randi Foundation. I've had plenty of experience debunking frauds. I've called on other fellows to help design protocols so that we aren't fooling ourselves. Some of the best in the business of unravelling deceptions have been consulted."

"Well you're doing a great job of that!" Picotin snarled sarcastically. "That little bint has pulled the wool over your eyes! Her and Stark!"

Nokken's bushy eyebrows raised as he just looked at the man, making a point of how irrational he was acting with his silence. Finally, he said: "Are you saying she didn't exert over 526 thousand Newtons of force with the hydraulic gauge? That she wasn't freely transferring heat between objects? That the electron microscope didn't show warping in the edges of materials that she cut with her fingernails that showed the result of intense sonic oscillations?"

"A trick! It's all a trick!"

"It's a hell of a trick, then! Are you saying some intangible, invisible, immaterial device did all those things for her? If so, great! Then that would be worth investigating instead! But we need evidence! Ev-i-dence! Do you have any?!" Nokken shook his head. "It is literally your job to design the instruments we can use to find that evidence!"

"There must be something!"

"Then build it! Or design an experiment to prove it exists! Something! Don't just sabotage the experiments we have already perfomed! You specifically broke the double-blind protocol! That makes it less likely for us to arrive at the truth, whatever it is! If anyone is going to falsify what she thinks she is doing, it's going to be us! Burying our heads in the sand won't make that happen!"

"Falsifying her claims is exactly what I was doing!"

"No... you were faking and it stops now! I've talked to everyone in charge. Dammit, man!" Nokken scrubbed a hand over his bald scalp in frustration. "You're one of the most talented engineers in academia! And you're one of the few engineers who also keep up with the pure science side! That has been incredibly important to so many projects and everyone in the know realizes that! This? What you're doing today? This is not the excellence we all have come to expect from you! This is not the Dr. Picotin known throughout the scientific community! You need to get back to being the man you once were! If you don't, you're gone! No other warnings, and no other chances! You've caused way too many problems and it's only because of your exemplary history that we've let you go on as long as you have! You are right on the edge of throwing away years of hard work for some wholy irrational vendetta! So, please, give us your word right now that you're done with this nonsense, and you're ready to do the high level of work we all know you're capable of!"

Picotic drew himself up stiffly. "It is because of my high standards that I am doing what I am doing! You're making a terrible mistake in going along with this- this... huscksterism!"

"If it's huscksterism, then use proper methods and prove it! In the meantime, we are proceeding exactly as per protocol and we will gather whatever data results from that protocol accurately, completely, and objectively." Nokken sighed and said: "Your part for this stage is easy. All you have to do is stop interfering with other people's jobs! Review the data afterward. If you see a problem, then propose new tests. But do it later, not in midstream! Anything else is pointless and wasteful disruption!"

"It is not interfering to stop a travesty! The waste is the time we're spending on all this! This is absurd!"

"Telling you to just do your job is absurd? Is it? I don't think so. What will it be? Do your job or go home?" Nokken shook his head. "Continuing to do what you've been doing is not an option. People are not impressed with your behavior. If you keep with it insistently, you are going to do horrible things to your career."

"It's apparent that I am the only one with a clear understanding here," Picotin declared. "So I will not be leaving."

"If you want to participate in good faith, then I welcome it. A skeptic is always valuable. But only if you act as a proper skeptic. By all means, call assumptions into doubt while the experiment is being prepared. By all means, challenge conclusions when the experiment is completed. But you simply cannot disrupt the experiment while it is occurring and pretend your actions are valid. You will stick to your lane this time," Nokken insisted.

"If I see more problems, I will correct them," Picotin replied sanctimoniously. "If you don't want to wreck your career by going along with this mysticism, you'll let me do exactly that!"

Emil eyed the man in frustrated amazement. "Are you still...? By every standard of scientific procedure..." he started to say before taking in the taking in the utterly pig-headed expression of the red-faced man and realized it was a lost cause. Picotin was obviously not going to conduct himself professionally. A glance around showed everyone knew it, so even if he could be talked around there would still be a problem of basic trust. There was only one possible course of action. "Right. That's it. You're done." He looked out the door and waved at the uniformed campus police officer there. "Grab your stuff. You're getting out. Bye-bye."

"Like hell I am!" When the physicist stepped up to motion him onwards with a guiding hand without coming close to touching him, Picotin yelled: "Stay away from me!" He tried shoving the older, yet far more solidly constructed, man, but only pushed himself backwards.

Nokken raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask: 'are you for real?' But he took no action. He didn't have to. The police officer saw that as his cue to get involved and ran over. "Sir! I need you to calm down! Please step back!" the officer called out.

"Stay out of things your tiny brain is incapable of understanding, rent-a-cop!" Picotin hissed. He did not seem to appreciate how Nokken face-palmed at his words.

Wearily, Nokken sighed: "The ESU campus police is in fact a properly formed police force, not a bunch of security guards. Walter... you really need to stop making this worse for yourself."

"I'll tell you what I need to do!" Picotin stepped up close to the physics head in a way that would be intimidating if he weren't outweighed by a good margin and brought up his hand as if to poke the older man in the face. I'm going to- hey!" he yelped as when he jabbed his finger forward, his hand was grabbed by the police officer and he was pulled away from Nokken.

"Sir, you need to come with me right now," the officer told him as he put the protesting scientist in an arm-bar and started walking him out.

"Get off of me! I'm not leaving!" Picotin tried to break free with no success. "Nokken! You won't get away with this! That redhaired slut is some sort of... some sort of cyborg! And I'll prove it if I have to rip out her implants myself!"

"Sir, I have to warn you that if you start making threats, I will advise my superiors. Please just come with me and I will release you once we are outside," the campus police officer advised.

"I'm not-!" Picotin lunged at Nokken, which made the officer tighten his grip and start twisting it as a submission hold. "Agh! Alright! Alright! Enough!" He promptly stopped struggling as much to avoid the pain, but still tried to slow his steps as he was frogmarched out. Looking over his shoulder at Emil, he snarled: "You! You're just a trained dog performing for the money people! Stark and Saotome are frauds! I'll prove what game they're playing! I'll show them! I'll show you all! You haven't heard the last of me! You hear me?! Not you! Not Stark! And not that obnoxious Saotome bitch! None of you have heard the last of me! We'll see who's the real scientist in the end! I'll get back at you for this! I'll get back at you all...!"

"Tch... not going to be you," Professor Nokken muttered as the pathetic sideshow was dragged out of sight. Clapping his hands, he announced to the room: "Alright people! We're done with the drama! Let's get back to pushing the boundaries of science, if you please!"

############

Author's notes:

- HYDRA is nearly at endgame at this point, so there may be a bit of wishful thinking involved in Pierce and Zola's analysis.

- One of the things seen in Iron Man 2 was that Tony needed an assistant. Which just observing the character made self-evidently true. However, the job position was apparently dropped ever since... almost as if it were a cheap plot point or something! I, however, fully acknowledge that Tony Stark needs a keeper, and Ranma could use some help just to avoid blowing off the concerns of conventional society.

- The bit where Ranma had people imagining his alter-ego in the sky above was based on a prank a friend of mine pulled. He and some other people stood on the side of the street and started gesticulating and pointing at the sky. After a while, passers-by got curious and stopped so they could look as well. My friend and his conspirators never directly answered questions about what they were supposedly looking at, just a vague 'something.' As more people joined in looking for the mystery 'something,' some of them started saying they really saw something, then other people chimed in. Once this happened, the pranksters slowly edged their way out of the group and escaped. He swore that he saw somebody post the incident as 'proof positive' of a UFO a few weeks later... which, if true, wouldn't be the first or last time a prank was adopted as evidence by the UFO cultists.

- And we finally have someone swearing vengeance on Ranma in true Takahashi fashion! I'm sure Picotin's revenge will be totally effective! Really!