This was the inspiration for one of Mr. Sharp's other notions....



	"A minor change, you say?" asked the thing that looked like a 
whirlpool. 
	"Yes, that's right," replied Toltiir, totally unfazed by the fact 
that his companion was now a cross between a seahorse and a shark.  For 
after all, this was Proteus, God of Change, whose very form was a mutable 
as the oceans.  Of *course* he would be attracted to a contest of changes.
	The mermaid considered.  "Ah, of course.  Here."  She giggled 
like silver bells.  "A teensy change to this woman's DNA structure."
	Toltiir squinted.  "Oh.  Mrs. Tendou.  And what is this supposed 
to do?"
	"Wait for it."  The octopus with fins set the viewscreen on fast 
forward. 
	"Her life passes exactly as before, oh this is the sad part."  
Toltiir reached for a tissue, no matter how many times he saw Mrs. Tendou 
die, it still affected him the same way.
	"Keep waiting..."
	On the screen, the Tendou sisters grew up without their mother, 
with flickers of difference, but nothing that caught Toltiir's eye.  Wait 
a minute, that was a beach scene, and Akane was swimming, quite well too.
	"Okay, that's different..."  But it seemed that it made no 
overall change.
	"Slowing it down a bit now," said Proteus, now a rotting pirate 
corpse. 
	The day when Ranma arrived looked exactly the same.  The next day 
started the same as usual in these universes, and Toltiir began to get 
bored.  "Is this going to be one of those universes where the differences 
are on the paper-clip level?"
	The gull with three eyes cackled..."Here it comes."
			*		*		*
	"I!  HATE!  BOYS!"
	Ranma watched Akane plunge into the mob of boys who were 
simultaneously attacking and professing love to her.  If this was 
civilization, maybe he was better off on the road.  His eyes widened a 
fraction as he saw her begin to mow them down.
	"Boy, she's a lot better in a real fight--huh?"  He blinked.  
There, she did it again!  That was the same move he'd used to count coup 
on her last night.  Somehow she'd already learned it.
			*		*		*
	"I think we had a challenge going?"  Akane blocked Kunou's path 
to where Ranma was hanging in the tree.
	"Huh.  She didn't have to do that, I coulda handled him--that's 
the same move I used on Kunou this morning!  With the same vulnerability 
at the neck, she's gonna feel that one in the morning...."
			*		*		*
	"So Akane's a faster learner in this world?"
	"You could say that..." replied the seaweed.


			MUTATIS MUTANDUS
			Ranma 1/2 & X-Men Adventures

	Okay, from the crossover line, you guessed it...the Tendou 
sisters are mutants in this world.  This has escaped everyone's notice 
until now because they have hard-to-prove powers.  Kasumi has a 
probability-altering field that keeps her from being physically injured, 
Nabiki has some similar invisible and unnoticed by her power...and Akane 
has "photographic reflexes."
	That is to say, if Akane sees anyone take a physical action, she 
can duplicate that motion exactly.  So after a couple of visits to the 
neighborhood pool, she can swim like the best swimmer she saw, she knows 
all the latest dance steps cold, etc.  There are a few limitations, 
though.  She cannot (unlike Taskmaster, the prototype character) use 
videotape or even live tv as a medium, but has to see in person, the 
closer the better.  
	She also can't improvise, but can only call on her "library", 
unlike Ranma, who can make moves up on the fly.  Plus she can't duplicate 
speed or strength, so has concentrated on actually training those.  If 
she ever got her power turned off, she would only have the martial arts 
and movement skills she picked up before age 12, when her power started 
kicking in.    
	She starts way behind Ranma, because the best martial artists 
she's had access to are her father (who's semi-retired at best) and Kunou 
(who's specialized in wooden sticks.)  And she is completely unaware that 
her talents aren't "natural"...
	Outline:
	Things go pretty much the same for the first few days, as Akane 
gets to see Ranma in action against Kunou and sparring with his father 
(oh, another limitation is that she can't copy from non-humans, so any 
moves Genma does in panda form are lost to her...)
	Thanks to the new material, she's able to avoid injury during the 
first Ryouga fight, except her hair being shorn by a stray bandana.
	Ranma finally figures out her ability (though not its cause) 
during the Kodachi storyline, when Akane learns every Rhythmic Gymnastics 
move Ryouga shows her instantly.  He starts taking her seriously as a 
martial artist, though he still has a lot of trouble admitting to the 
other feelings beginning to take root in his heart.
	By the time Shampoo shows up, Akane has moves from Ranma, Genma, 
Ryouga, Kunou (for what good it does), Kodachi, Mikado and Azusa, and 
very quickly from Shampoo herself.  Shampoo doesn't even get close to 
using the Amnesia trick.  Ranma finally reveals the curse to Shampoo, and 
she goes away.
	Akane learns some of Ranma's Nekoken moves, though the 
limitations of her ability become clear when she can't get the hang of 
shredding things at a distance.  (It's a ki thing, not a reflexes thing.)
	Cologne arrives, and both Ranma and Akane learn the Chestnut Fist 
(Akane learns it faster, but is a hair slower at the actual execution.)  
Cologne realizes Akane may be the "ultimate warrior" of prophecy, though 
she has her doubts.  Akane learns Mousse's moves.
	Happosai and the crossover elements arrive at about the same 
time.  It seems that Akane's use of her power at such a high level has 
finally tripped the X-Men's Cerebro circuit, and a couple of the mutant 
team are sent to Nerima to scout.  Unfortunately, some evil mutants have 
also taken an interest in the area.
	Things rapidly escalate, as Akane learns Wolverine's and 
Happosai's moves (though she's not sure she *wants* to use Happy's 
special glomps...) and Ranma learns that the Tendou sisters are in fact 
mutant freaks.  (Not that *he* cares, but can he keep it to himself?  And 
will he start disrespecting Akane's talents again, now he knows she 
didn't "earn" them?)
	Lotsa potential for great fight scenes...
	And Ukyou finally shows up, only to find Ranma is no longer 
interested in fiancee problems, what with evil mutants bent on world 
domination attacking weekly.  In fact, he initially thinks she's Mystique 
or Mastermind in yet another clever guise...and Akane is even less 
patient with her...


SKJAM!