___________________________________________________________________________
                          \ /
                Ranma 1/2: X-Change Students
                          / \
                        A FanFiction by H. Torrance Griffin
 
                        Ranma 1/2 created by Takahashi Rumiko
                        Generation X created by Scott Lobdell & Chris Bachalo
                        X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
_____________________________________________________________________________
	Note: <...> = Japanese Dialogue
	      [...] = Chinese Dialogue
	      #...# = Thoughts and Telepathic Dialogue

******
        Chapter 2: Moving Day
 
******

Mid afternoon; Logan International Airport; Boston, Massachusetts; USA:

	Sean Cassidy had a bit of a problem.
	This could be said of anybody involved in making arrangements for
the housing of 11 visitors to a tiny private school, _especially_ when
only of them 8 were invited, all of them have already arrived, and none of
them had any family or acquaintances in Massachusetts (or in anywhere else
in the Western Hemisphere for that matter).  But when the person was
already a veteran of both Interpol and the N.Y.P.D. when he joined the
team of mutant sometimes-outlaw adventurers known as the X-Men several
years ago, one would think that said person had a slightly more extreme
definition of problem than most individuals.
	Then again, if one observes the exchange students that had just
arrived from Tokyo (or, more importantly, the property damage left in
their wake), the importance of properly arranging these individuals to
keep interpersonal friction at a minimum becomes rather magnified.
	"So what ye're saying Kitty is that we need t' reassign th' rooms,"
Sean said in his thick Irish accent as the luggage was being loaded into
1.5 of the two vans by both the visiting and regular students, "ye _know_
we'd be foolish t' do that until we know more about th' children."
	"I know, I know," responded the brown-haired young woman sitting in
the passenger seat, "but that raises the question of how to how to ask
which kids can be kept in the same dorm room for any length of time
without setting somebody off.  We are dealing with more love triangles and
grudges than I can follow, and I saw what their idea of an argument can
cause."
	"We need t' find someone that is nae involved in this madness, but
knows the other children well enough t' tell us wh-"
	"Cassidy-sensei, Pryde-sempai," said Tendo Nabiki as she stepped
into the van's side door, "I heard you say that you say that you want to
know about us, to make sure that we would get along with our roommates."
	"Er, yes." Kitty said, well aware that one does not hear that much
of a fairly hushed conversation by accident, "Could you help us with this? 
I'm afraid that things could-"
	"Come to... blows?" Nabiki responded with an enigmatic
half-smile, "I would be happy to help."
	Nabiki paused and thought for a moment, as if she was performing a
brief computation in her head, and then concluded, "For a small fee, of
course.  Let us say 50 dollars, american?"
	"...."
******

	Emma Frost kept the rental car idling two rows away from the vans. 
She had firmly secured Happosai in the rear child seat with the
complementary snow chains and padlocks, and now felt comfortable enough to
focus her mental energies on something more enjoyable than keeping him
under; namely, telepathic eavesdropping.  She did not really have to try
to 'hear' the exchange between Kitty, Sean, and Nabiki; so she casually
debated probing deeper into the most apparently normal mind of the recent
arrivals for the information in question.
	#They'll thank me for it.# she shrugged after about a millisecond
of moral uncertainty as she reached into the young woman's mind, expecting
to brush aside the gossamer veils that usually comprised the psychic
defenses of an untrained human with her usual ease.
	She got as far as the girl's most superficial thoughts when she
slammed into the titanium re-enforced ferro-concrete wall.
	It grew spikes.
	And electrified itself.
******

	Nabiki started slightly, as if she heard or felt something
unexpected, but soft.  She closed her eyes for a second, then glanced out
the window and across the parking lot.
	#Thank you, Frost-sensei# she thought before turning back to the
others and saying "Now, shall we discuss payment, or do you have a better
offer?"
******

	Emma paled as she sat back in her seat, the psychic backlash she
felt was minimal (then again, after that run-in with Phoenix, she had not
suffered telepathic harm _she_ would call severe), but the realization of
_who's_ mental defenses she had been bounced off of was somewhat
startling.
	#Impossible!# she thought, #Mutant or not, I would have sensed
_any_ telepathic activity, even shutting out everybody else!  I haven't
encountered such strong psi-screens in years, she can't be....#
	#Get a hold of yourself Emma, she's probably who we are
looking....#
	Her train of thought was interrupted by another presence nearby. 
Specifically on her lap with his head between her breasts.
	"You know quiet motel?" Happosai asked as he leered up at her.
	Let it never be said that Emma Frost lacks either composure or the
ability to plan ahead.  She remained perfectly calm while she concealed
the actions of her right arm from his consciousness as she took the wrench
in the passenger seat and brought it down on his skull, repeatedly.
******

Mid afternoon; Westbound I-90, between Boston and Snow Valley,
Massachusetts:

	Everett Thomas sat wedged between Kuno and Mousse in the rather
overstuffed van that Sean drove towards XSfGY and calmly observed those
around him.  Nothing that all of the recent arrivals were either snoring
peacefully, staring at the scenery, watching the designated cargo van with
an air of concern, or engrossed in small talk and/or staring matches with
somebody else; Everett shook off the slight unease he felt after listening
to Ryoga's rant about his relationship with Ranma (fortunately, the object
of Hibiki-kun's frustrations was too busy arguing with Akane over
something to pay attention) and focused his concentration.  As the rainbow
hued aura formed around his feet, he willed it to seek out any mutant
physiology which it could emulate nearby.  The tendrils of omni-colored
energy snaked out along the ground to touch Sean, Paige, Monet, Jubilee,
and in the van behind them, Kitty.  Jubilee noticed the energy touching
her foot and raised her eyebrows at him with curiosity.  Everett just
shook his head at her as he thought, #Nothing out of the ordinary about
these guy's as far as my aura is concerned; but then again, I didn't
notice the Phalanx either.#
	Turning away from Ranma with a frustrated 'humph', Akane looked at
Jubilee and remembered a question she had been meaning to ask before Ranma
had opened his big mouth.
	"Um- Jubilation?" she asked.
	"Oh, hi 'Kane," Jubilee responded, "an' bythway it's Jubilee"
	"Gomen- Sorry.  Um, how did you... er... attack Happosai... boom?"
Akane pantomimed, rather embarrassed at her lack of vocabulary.
	#Maybe tryin' to keep mum about this ain't such a good idea after
all, I mean sooner or later their gonna wonder about our vast an' diverse
student body of _six_!# Jubilee considered before answering Akane with a
shrug and gesture, "I'm a mutant, sorta like Monet; been tossin' these
'fireworks' since I was about twelve."
	Several of the new arrivals (at least those that heard and
understood a word she said) turned upon hearing the statement with a
degree of surprise on their faces.
	"Mutant?" Ryoga asked with no small degree of awe, "Do you mean
like Sunfire, or the X-Men?"
	"<Wimps.>" Ranma snorted, unimpressed, "They no fight real, they
hide behind power from luck and bright cloth.  No skill, no training,
no...."
	"NO FIGHT _REAL_!!" Jubilee yelled in outrage, "I've seen 'em take
down things you'd _never_ wanna see!!  And you want skill, I'll give ya
what kinda train-*MMPH*...."
	"Jubilation!  Calm ye'self!!" Sean barked from the driver's seat as
he noted the light-show beginning to form in the rear view mirror, "I'm
sure the lad meant no offense."
	As the youngest living X-Man (outside of arguably Bishop) stood
down from Defcon-1, One of the others tried the diplomatic approach.
	"<What she say... mutants in... X-Men,>" Paige began haltingly,
"<they have power, they must... train to use power.>"
	"<And speaking of powers,>" Monet chimed in just in time to deflate
her classmate, "<how exactly would you explain your own Ranma-kun?>"
	"<Training and discipline,>" Ranma responded smugly, "<I ain't
called the 'Sole heir to the Saotome School of Unrestricted Grappling' for
nothing.>"
	"<He is known better as impudent knave, unholy sorcerer, bewitcher
of women, lowly peasant, deceitful heathuuuuhhhhh....>" Tatewaki began
as he abruptly regained consciousness, just before his sibling pulled out
a midnight black rose and waved it under his nose.
******

Late afternoon; Xavier Institute of Higher Learning; Westchester County, 
New York; USA:

	Emma forced away her fatigue as she stepped from the elevator into
the gleaming metallic hallway with an unconscious Happosai still chained
to the baby seat she dragged.  She had broke several traffic laws and a
few speed records getting to this mansion, all the while keeping the
impossibly strong-willed pervert she held telepathically sedated and
concealing her vehicle from the local law enforcement; then hauled her
'guest' into the mansion and activated the first 'private' elevator
leading to the basement she could find.  She dragged her burden down the
hall and smiled to herself as she noted the discrete sign at the end
labeled "Maximum Security".
	She had not even started to look for the access panel when a
marginally familiar thought pattern approached her from behind.
	"Hello Bishop," Emma said tersely as she turned around to view the
massive black man clad in his 2090's vintage standard issue X.S.E. uniform
and ready to unholster his 2090's vintage plasma rifle as he narrowed his
eyes at the visitor.
	"I trust there is a _reason_ you are bringing this... person into a
restricted area without my being notified, Frost." Bishop said grimly as
he looked down at them.
	"Ever the soldier, I see." Emma responded grimly as a particularly
kinky fantasy went through Happosai's dreaming mind, "Now if you would
kindly open this door, I will be about my business."
	His narrowed eyes and brief glance at the withered figure chained
to the infant seat would have told Emma his response even if she could not
read his mind.  She sighed and answered his unspoken question.
	"Victor's new chew-toy," she remarked impatiently, "now would you
please OPEN THE _DOOR_!"
	"Hello Bishop," said a low female voice with a distinct east
african accent, "I trust there is a reason for your visit Emma; I had
assumed you would be with the visiting students in Massachusetts."
	Emma turned and looked into the blue, cat-like eyes of the tall
black woman that had just walked around the corner and sighed.  There was
still a little old distrust there (#Hijack someone's body just
_once_....#), as well as a degree of annoyance at the current situation
(admittedly, one usually does _not_ waltz into an abnormally secret base
with anyone you pick up on the streets, but still....).
	"_This_," Emma finally said as she gestured at the baby seat,
"stowed away in the visiting students' luggage, Ororo.  I simply wanted to
provide... accommodations for him."
	"Is there a reason why these 'accommodations' could not be
somewhere _other_ than here?" Bishop's deep voice enquired with mild
annoyance.
	Emma closed her eyes as she fought off her increasingly severe
headache, and then smiled as she came upon an answer to Bishop's question.
	#By your leave?# she asked the two X-Men telepathically as she
prepared to establish a psychic rapport with them.
	At their hesitant nods, she opened their minds and allowed
themselves to be linked....
	... to Happosai's dreams.
	Almost immediately, Ororo Munroe strode over to the side of the
thick sliding door and placed her hand on a camouflaged panel to it's
right.
	%IDENTITY CONFIRMED: STORM (GOLD TEAM LEADER).  ACCESS APPROVED% a
computer synthesized voice not unlike her own announced as the thick
barrier slid aside, revealing two not so well lit passages.
	"Separate cells, understood?" Storm said with some reluctance as
she turned to Emma.
	Emma simply scowled as she picked up the child seat and strode
through the door.
	"Out of curiosity Ororo," Bishop asked as he took note of Storm's
attire (biker shorts, tank top, long white hair tied back in a ponytail),
rather sweaty appearance, and few minor bruises "what have you been doing
this afternoon?"
	"After seeing Kitten and Logan spar last week," she responded,
leaning the six-foot wooden staff she carried against the wall, "I decided
to brush up on my staffwork."
	"I see," Bishop said, "and how-"
	Bishop bit off his response as he and Ororo turned to see Remy
LeBeau's rather battered form stagger down the hallway, dragging his
quarterstaff behind him.
	"NoT bAd STorMy," he said weakly as he dragged himself along, "yOu
Ain'T sOft As yoU LOok.  GaMbiT aLmoS' iMpress...."
	Predictably, his red-on-black eyes rolled up into his head as he
fell face first on the floor.
	Ororo smiled slightly as she walked over and heaved the tall cajun
over her shoulder while Bishop fought down a chuckle.
	"I am a little rusty." Storm noted to her time-lost teammate as she
carried her opponent to the infirmary.
******

Late afternoon; C. F. Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters; Snow Valley, 
Massachusetts: 

	As the man called Logan leaned against a brick wall within the
small private school, he could not help but think back to last time he had
willingly taken the role of student.  Decades ago, he had sought out a man
on the other side of the world in order to hone skills he was not sure he
had.  He had learned much more than he ever really wanted to know, and it
nearly cost him his immortal soul.
	Now he and his associates were assembling students from the other
side of the world in order to give them a chance to hone skills nobody is
sure they have while gambling that their presence here will not cost them
their lives, or worse.
	SHLUNKT
	#So now things come full circle.# Logan thought as he contemplated
the three blades of hardened bone and keratin that he willed to tear
through the back of his hand.
	*snort* #Relax, canuklehead,# he mentally berated himself after a
moment, #Charley moved th' kids out here to keep 'em _away_ from our
problems; so far it's workin' out fine.#
	*heh* "If the rumors Yukio relayed to us got any truth to 'em
(lookin' at th' local insurance premiums they probably are)," He smiled,
"_they'll_ be what we gotta worry about."
	Suddenly, Logan cocked an ear at the distant sound of two slightly
straining van engines.  Nodding to himself upon recognizing them, he
retracted his claws into his forearms and debated stubbing out his
cigarette, but decided to finish it off as he settled in a comfortable
position to wait.
	They'd be at least ten more minutes.
******

	Kuno Tatewaki strode forward to gaze at the setting sun as he
stepped from the van.  The scholars mixed freely with his lower caste
(ugh) companions, as the latter unloaded their meager belongings from the
second vehicle.
	#Even my goddess, the lady Monet,# he thought, #doth freely stoop
to assist mere merchants such as Tendo Nabiki in their tasks.  *sigh* What
barbarism.#
	Then Kuno noted the brutish gaijin that strode in their direction. 
He stood scarcely two centimeters higher than his true love Akane, but
bore a large, burly frame that made him seem more than twice as wide; his
t-shirt, jeans, and boots left exposed arms covered with hair so thick it
seemed more like the pelt of a beast than anything else.
	"<I would know the reason for this barbarian's presence, Sasuke.>"
Kuno told his oddly pale servant.
	Sasuke swallowed hard as he remembered how an old acquaintance
from his dojo described the man which had maimed the entire squad he
worked with while they were in the employ of House Yashida.  Half a dozen
ninja warriors, all of whom ten times more skilled than Sasuke ever hoped
to become, and a man identical to the one before him tore them apart in
seconds.
	"<Well?>" his master's voice commanded, summoning him to the
present.
	The ninja tried to force the images of gleaming metal blades
sprouting from a man's hand to cut through perfectly crafted swords like
particle beams through soft butter began to speak.
	"P-pardon me s-sir, m-my master wishes to know why you grace us
with y-your presence."
	"I work here." was the gravel voiced reply
	Logan watched Kitty out of the corner of his eye as she approached
Tatewaki with a mild scowl on her face; he looked her dead in the eye and
smiled almost imperceptibly before focusing his gaze on the two before
him.  Sasuke for his part could not make up his mind whether the eyes that
peered at him from under the battered cowboy hat reminded him more of that
intimidating old woman from the Nekohanten or a vicious predatory beast.
	In either case, Kuno was oblivious.
	"<Ah, a servant,>" Kuno proclaimed upon understanding the response,
"<have him deal with the baggage, Sasuke, I would be about my business.>"
	"H-honored sir," Sasuke asked as politely as his (exemplary)
knowledge of the english language would allow, "I humbly r-request that
you assist us in unloading my master's luggage from the van."
	"Sure," Logan said after an apparent moment of consideration, "if
_he_ asks nice."
	Swallowing hard, Sasuke whispered; "<He wishess you to ask
politely, Master Kuno.>"
	"<Politely?>" Kuno nearly yelled in shock, "<Surely he cannot
believe that one of noble blood and birth such as myself would bend his
knee to a lowly cur such as he; nay, it is he that should rejoice that he
did not live in the place and time of my revered ancestors, for his
impertinence would have surely cost him his head!  I would know his name
my servant, that I may bid the scholars of this place to cast him out for
his impudence!>"
	"<Yo, Kuno?>" Ranma noted from his perch atop the van as he helped
lower Ukyo's yatai safely to the ground, "<I don't think you want to do
that.>"
	Sasuke began sweating as he tried to come up with a translation of
the young master's orders that would leave him whole and employed, but as
he drew breath Logan silenced him with a raised hand.
	"<One would think, boy,>" Logan noted in Japanese that carried the
barest hint of an accent, "<that your noble upbringing would have taught
you the respect that one must show as a guest in another's house.  And
from this point you will refer to me as Logan-_sensei_, understood?>"
******

	Shampoo scowled to herself as she shouldered her trunk and
followed the small crowd to the largest building, brooding over what she
had seen of this place so far. 
	#I've heard of this word, 'Mutant', before,# she thought, #but at
least two (one of whom is in desperate need of a lesson in manners
arrogant little rich....) of the four students I've seen in this place so
far admit to being one.  This Kitty's a warrior, I can sense it... and
this Logan, he is like Great-Grandmother.  This is _not_ a normal school.#
******

	Nabiki felt eyes on the back of her neck and spun to watch Monet
hurriedly continue with unloading the equipment from the top of the van.
******

	Logan frowned slightly as he discreetly took note of the new
students' scents.  #Funny,# he thought, #some sort o' undercurrent to
their scents.  Little like an aftertaste, but of.... Panda?
******

	The eyes of the wizened, loincloth-clad, grey-haired Australian
Aborigine widened in surprised recognition as he looked down at the
slightly edgy looking purple-haired girl.  Sitting cross-legged and
unnoticed atop the main building, Gateway stroked his frizzled grey beard
as he thought back to the last time he saw those hauntingly familiar eyes.
******

Early morning; Furinkan High School; Nerima District; Tokyo, Japan:

	The two remedial students squared off on the baseball field, each
wielding a baseball bat and determined to prove to the other that _he_ was
the baddest man on campus (at least until those martial arts masters came
back).  As a small crowd of fellow ne'er-do-wells formed around them, the
two raised their improvised weapons and began to charge each other with
improvised war cries.
	"<Are you two boys _fighting_?>" uttered a voice which might have
sounded stern if it were not so high and squeaky.
	The two combatants froze in mid-step and looked down at the almost
nauseatingly cute little moppet with huge brown eyes, hair hanging loose
down to her ankles, and a little yellow tube dress that covered her from
neck to knee that had forced her way through the spectators.
	"<N-no Hinako-sensei,>" the taller one stammered nervously as he
began to sweat, "<we were just... ah... getting s-some batting practice,
right?>"
	"<Y-yeah,>" chimed the second one as he nodded vigorously, "<We
gotta stay in shape if we're gonna get on th' team next year, heh-heh...
heh.>"
	They both fell silent and paled as Hinako looked up at them with
an annoyed scowl, obviously not believing a word they said.
	"<*humph* Fighting _and_ lying to a teacher!>" she scolded as a
five-yen coin gleamed from her fingers, "<You're being bad boys!>"
	"<PLEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!>" the two toughs wailed as they
prostrated themselves at her feet and proceeded to abase themselves before
her.
	"<HAVE MERCY!>"
	"<Not that, anything but _THAT_!>"
	"<We'll never do it again, we swear!>"
	"<We're sorry! *sniff*>"
	"<WAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!>"
	Hinako remained unaffected by the thugs' pleas as she held the
small torus between her middle and index fingers and slowly aimed it at
their heads, it was her duty as an employee of this fine institution to
punish delinquents, was it not?  Then a faint sound in the distance caught
the apparently pre- teen disciplinarian's attention.
	DING-A-LING
	"<WHEEEEEEEEE!!!  ICE-CREAM!!!!!>" Hinako squealed joyously as she
scampered over the forgotten delinquents and ran at a leg-blurring pace to
intercept the ice-cream van that had rounded the corner at the other side
of the campus.
	A few minutes later, a young looking korean man established a
connection from the ultra-tech communications suite in the rear of the van
as a large red-haired Inuit fastened a synaptic disrupter on the
unconscious woman-child's brow too keep her helpless even if she awoke.
	"You have her, Scrambler?" said the shadowed figure on the other
end of the line.
	"Yeah boss," Scrambler smirked, "the drugged ice cream worked like
a charm."
	"Get her to the docks unharmed," 'boss' said coldly, "_then_ feel
free to gloat."
******

Nekohanten; Nerima District:

	Cologne sat in silent meditation as she did every morning;
apparently unmindful of the half-dozen identical trenchcoat clad snipers
prepared to fill the small restaurant with an assortment of explosive,
armor-piercing, fragmentation, heat-seeking, and incendiary ammunition
from every angle at a single command.  As a small ice-cream truck rolled
unhurriedly down a nearby cross-street, her eyes snapped open.
	#We meet again, Nathaniel Essex.# she observed silently.
******

Late afternoon; A lab within a private residence; Arlington, Virginia; USA:

	"What's this?" noted the Cheyenne as he looked at the readouts from
the scanners he had convinced Sean to let him install at XSfGY, #Residual
hyperspace energies just skyrocketed, but there's no trace of off-world
activity anywhere _near_ the place....#
	The man who called himself Forge idly toyed with his moustache
with his living hand while adjusting the sensors from his control panel
with his gloved cybernetic one.  #Multiple sources,# he mused, #at least
six... didn't Ororo say something about those Japanese kids arriving in
Massachusetts today?  If so then at least one of them's a walking
stargate....#
	"Charles should be on his way back to Westchester from Muir by
now," he said, nodding to himself, "and I do believe he'll be most
interested in this."
******

Early evening; Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters:

	Kuno Tatewaki stood stock still not far from the place where they
had unloaded their luggage, his eyes fixed upon the place in the horizon
where the sun just disappeared.  His mind was far too busy to pay
attention to the outside world or the passage of time, for it was
attempting to unravel a concept that even the Blue Thunder of Furinkan
High had difficulty comprehending.
	"<Master Kuno,>" said Sasuke, who had waited loyally by his master's
side all this time, "<perhaps it would be wise to go in now.>"
	"...."
	"<Master Kuno?>"
	"Logan... sensei?"
******

	"O.K." Kitty began as she leafed through the rapidly typewritten
copies of the room assignments, "<I know _most_ of you had received room
assignments in the mail, but due in part to the large number of people
that had arrived, we were forced to make a few changes.>"
	After glancing meaningfully at both Genma and Kodachi, she
continued.
	"<Saotome-san, Saotome-kun; you will be staying with Angelo
Espinosa.>"
	"<Um, where is he?>" Ranma asked curiously.
	"<He is in his room, he is... something of a loner.  Mousse,
Hibiki-kun; you will be staying with Everett Thomas.>"
	#If nothing else, he should be able to keep them under control and
away from Ranma.# she thought as she looked at the assignments for the
girls.
	"<Tendo Nabiki,>" Kitty said with a sharp glare at her, "<Shampoo;
you will be staying with Paige Guthrie.>"
	Paige swore she saw Monet glance at Nabiki and sigh before the
latter turned to leave.
	"<Kuonji Ukyo,>" Kitty continued with an uncomfortable glance at
what looked for all the world like a handsome young boy, "<Tendo Akane;
you will be staying with Monet St Croix.>"
	#If worst comes to worst, she could keep them apart... I hope.#
	"<And Kuno Kodachi,> she said to half the students still waiting in
the common area as she indicated Jubilee and herself, "<it appears you
will be rooming with us.>"
	"I see," the gymnast replied in english, "and what of my brother?"
	"Well...."
******

Evening; Basement, Boys' Dorm; Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters:

	Jonothon 'Jono' Strasmore had, as usual, sequestered himself
within his cold, damp room for virtually the entire day and made good use
of the school's satellite links to catch the late-night shows from his
side of the 'pond'.  It was during times like these that he felt the
closest to normal that he could possibly get since the 'accident' and he
could, if he let himself doze slightly, almost forget the gaping hole that
was once his lower face and chest.
	#Eh?# he thought as he awoke with a start, the tight scarves that
concealed the energies within him still in place.  He looked at the door
to his room, reaching out with his rudimentary mental powers in an attempt
to identify the source of the commotion on the other side. Suddenly, a
shinai tore through said door's hinges with phenomenal ease, allowing the
door to fall aside and enable it's wielder to stride through as though he
owned the place.
	"<Truly such an ill kept chamber I would be hard pressed to believe
existed in a building within these hallowed halls of learning,>" Kuno
Tatewaki proclaimed, "<but as I have converted the far catacomb into
something fit to reside in, so shall this become a shrine for the worship
of my three goddesses.>"
	As Kuno's eyes roamed over the ill kept room, they nearly passed
over the set that glared at him with undisguised hostility.
	"<What is this?  Surely you have not committed some sin that would
force you to reside in this place, forgotten by even the kindly sun-kissed
goddess that lives above....>"
	Not surprisingly, Jonothon did not comprehend Kuno Tatewaki's
speech, but even with his incredibly limited telepathy the meaning was
clear.
	"<... answer me hermit, can you not speak?>"
	#Assuming I even understood a word you were saying you rakking
_dolt_,# Jonothon thought angrily at him, #have you even considered the
possibility that I CAN'T _TALK_!!#
	"<Hold!>" Tatewaki commanded as he started at the voice within his
head, "<Ah!  T'would seem that the kami have granted me the knowledge of
your inability to speak.  Thus I am to forced to assume that you have
taken some manner of vow of silence and... humble living in order appease
your heathen god in some manner.  So be it, I leave you to your
meditations priest, and seek another place for my shrine.>"
	A few minutes after the samurai strode out the doorway, Jonothon's
curiosity finally got the better of him and he picked himself off of the
couch and walked around the ruined door to peer into the smaller room down
the hall.  He saw a brilliantly painted, perfectly waterproofed and
repaneled, tastefully decorated bedroom that looked like something out of
a high priced rural japanese inn.  And in the middle, a little man in the
garb of a ninja, passed out from exhaustion.
	#Bloody 'ell.# Jonothon thought as he shook his head.
******

2nd floor; Boy's Dorm:

	"<... ridiculous!>" Genma griped to his son as he still held the
envelope he was handed downstairs, "<They can't expect me to attend school
at my age!>"
	To his credit, Ranma kept something remotely resembling a straight
face as his father waved about the location of the Remedial English
tutorial they were both asked to attend; in truth he was so amused at the
coup he had Nabiki arrange after the elder Saotome announced his intent to
tag along with them that he had almost forgotten about his badly
compromised credit balance.
	"<They ain't twisting your arm Pop.  Besides>" Ranma noted before
reciting verbatim the speech his father gave when he balked at attending
after finding out _who_ all would be joining him, "<'you must think of it
as a challenge, a martial art of the mind; or are you willing to let
yourself be... beaten.'>"
	"<Let me guess,>" Genma said as he slumped against the wall with a
gesture of surrender, "<misery loves compan-eh?>"
	Ranma has been so busy gloating that he had ignored the person
that had entered the room until his father stopped in mid syllable to gape
a the youth that had walked in; feeling moderately curious himself, he
turned around to take a look.
	The figure that had just come in from the showers was about
Ranma's height but somewhat slimmer, his eyes and hair a fairly light
brown.  More strikingly; his skin was slate grey and seemed baggy and
wrinkled like a very old man's where his robe revealed his back and arms,
but drawn tight on his face as if to accentuate his long and pointed nose
and chin.
	Ranma could never be accused of being a high level empath, but he
almost immediately took note of the mutant's tight-lipped scowl and angry
glare directed at the two and quickly determined the cause.  After quickly
elbowing the older man in the ribs (hard), he quickly strode forward with
a pleasant look on his face.
	"You are Angelo Espinosa?" he noted in his best english as he
extended his hand, "I am Saotome Ranma.  He is my father, Genma."
	Angelo briefly considered the offered hand and the youth who was
attached to it; he seemed courteous enough, and at least he tried not to
stare _too_ blatantly; after a few seconds he took Ranma's hand and nodded
in greeting.
	"You know what happen to Mousse an' Kuno?" Angelo asked bluntly,
"Cassidy said they were roomin' with me."
	Ranma had no little difficulty understanding the swift and
accented english, but he spotted the names immediately.
	"Kuno?!" he blurted, "They put Kuno here?"
	"They was plannin' to, why?"
	"Angelo," Ranma observed as he put his hand on the other boy's
shoulder, "you very, very, lucky you not know Kuno...." 
******

Girls Dorm; Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters:

	"<Is there a particular reason you are persisting in this charade,
Ukyo?>" Monet asked as she and her roommates prepared to go to bed.
	"<What do you mean Monet?>" responded Ukyo as she shrugged on her
tank top and crawled into her futon.
	"<I am aware of the error in your school records,>" Monet noted,
"<what I do not comprehend is why you persist in masquerading as a boy. 
Especially after that little 'incident' in the airport.>"
	"<Have you ever thought that it may not be any of your _business_
St. Croix?>" Akane snarled from her bedroll.
	"<Relax Akane-chan.>" Ukyo said as she turned towards Monet, she did
not normally enjoy explaining her rather complex and embarrassing past to
people, but this arrogant know-it-all had long since gotten on her nerves
and she would relish setting her straight on the one thing she showed
_any_ ignorance about, "<You see it is like this. . . .>"
******

	"... I know of all others that are (<what is that word>) pursuing my
beloved Ranma-sama," Kodachi continued to rant, "that transvestite cook,
the chinese barbarian, that _horrid_ Akane, even that little red-haired
girl my brother wants (she takes his clothes, even his name, she _must_
be...  be... otaku!).  But we both know he loves me, and in little
time we will be rid of those pests and be free to be wed and love and
raise little children and have a pretty garden with a grand house
overlooking the cemetery and... and... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!"
	As Kodachi laughed herself to sleep, neither Kitty or Jubilee made
any move to turn off the night-light as they pulled the covers tight and
stared at the ceiling long into the night.
******

	Shampoo remained subdued and outwardly unemotional as she lugged
Nabiki's suitcases into the room while Paige babbled something
apologetically about the cluttered state of the room in japanese even
worse than her own.  As the blonde hurried to make room for the belongings
of her two guests, she beckoned her rival's sibling to the far corner.
	"<Nabiki,>" Shampoo whispered, "<this school... it strange,
something not right.>"
	"<Oh, really?>" Nabiki replied with a slight air of humor.
	"<This serious!>" hissed Shampoo, "<Why they bring Shampoo, and
Mousse, and Ryoga?  Why so many mutants in this place?>"
	"<You know, I _am_ a little curious about that myself.>" Nabiki
observed before switching to english, "Excuse me, Paige?"
	"Hai?"
	"We have heard that mutants are not very, how do you say, popular
in America (<or anywhere else for that matter>)," Nabiki began while
Shampoo grew ashen, "yet your friends Jubilee and Monet are quite open
about their skills.  This does not disturb you or the others?"
	"Uhh...." Paige responded intelligently as a drop of sweat
beaded on the back of her head.
******

Headmaster's residence; Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters:

	"FLATSCANS!?!" Emma yelled at the screen in utter shock, "_All_ of
them?"
	The intense eyes of Professor Charles Francis Xavier narrowed at
Frost's use of the slur, but he simply responded; "Neither the students
that entered the school, nor the person you locked in my basement had any
indications of genetic alteration either by natural mutation or accident
later in life.  For lack of a better term _Ms._ _Frost_, they are all
perfectly normal humans."
	"I'd have t' agree with Emma, Charles," Sean noted, "you did na'
see how strong these some o' children are.  How can ye explain teenage
girls carryin' steamer trunks that weigh more'n they do like blessed
_purses_?"
	"In all honesty Sean," Xavier began to reply, "I don't-"
	"Two words Irish," Logan said as he stepped silently from the
shadows and lit a cigar, "Trainin' and discipline."
	#How could I have let my guard down like that?# Emma thought as she
suppressed a jump, "Martial arts are one thing Wolverine, what I saw in
the airport was another thing entirely."
	"Was it?" Logan responded, "My old sensei could usurp a man's soul
and body an' make it his own as easy as you or me breathe.  By rights, I
should'a been his a long time ago.
	"He ain't the only one either," he continued after a long drag, "to
this day there are scores o' stories and legends in th' east about folks
who figured out how t' channel their own chi, their life force.  Lot's of
these masters had the strength o' 40-50 normal samurai in their prime;
others out there could dodge bullets, walk on water, conjure weapons from
thin air, summon lightning, or shatter stone walls ... with a touch. 
And as far as any o' your toys are concerned, those martial arts masters
would'a been FoH Poster Kids."
	"Interesting," Professor X said half to himself on the other side
of the screen, "Forge sent me some readings earlier today that appear to
lend credence to Logan's claims."
	"So if anythin'," Sean Cassidy noted, "these children should be
teachin' _us_ if ye'r right about them Logan."
	"Maybe, Irish," Logan replied, "I say wait a couple o' days before
we pull any surprises."
******

BioSphere; Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters:

	#Well,# Hibiki Ryoga thought absently as he looked around the lush
foliage, #this definitely _ain't_ Everett's room.#
	He had forced his mind and feet to remember every curve between
where the van dropped them off and the room that he was to reside in and
he _knew_ that he could retrace his steps on his own and find his way back
from the showers.  Now he stood in the middle of the oversized terrarium
halfway across campus clad only in a towel around his waist and his
customary bandanni on his brow.
	#How could I have missed it?!# he thought, #Just go out the window,
get to the opposite side of the building, and walk in the front door!  The
hall on the right should have led right to it!#
	#Um, maybe it would have been easier if you had just asked Mousse
or Everett lead you back to the room;# the voice of the calm and rational
aspect of his mind suggested, #and are you sure it wasn't the hall on the
left?#
	#_SHUT_ _UP_!!!# Ryoga responded as usual as he tried to remember
from which way he came.
	As he approached a small clearing, he suddenly tensed as he felt
the presence of someone (or some_thing_) watching him from the nearby
trees.
	"Who is there?" he barked as he wheeled around and backed into the
clearing, "Answer me!"
	Unfortunately, while quite focused on the unseen presence of the
watcher in the trees before him; Ryoga failed to notice the exposed root
behind him... or the brook behind that.
	"<Wha->" was all he had time to say as he stumbled, slipped on the
damp rocks, and fell backwards.
	SPLASH
******

President's office; Xavier Institute for Higher Learning:

	Charles Xavier shook his gleaming bald head sadly as he shut down
his computer.  The anti-mutant hysteria had grown, and the ease with which
he found the 'Friends of Humanity' web page was not in the least bit
comforting.  Needless to say, his worries extended to those students that
should be bedding down a few hours to the northeast.
	#Perhaps I should ask them to reconsider the field trips to Boston
and New York they've planned.# Xavier thought as his golden hover-unit
glided towards the elevator to his bedroom, #These students, from what
Emma told me, have no shyness about displaying their 'skills' in public;
in Japan they were probably recognized for what they were and left alone,
but to display any traits that could be mistaken for mutation here....#
	Suddenly, the terminal to Cerebro flashed to life, the subroutine
he wrote weeks ago to trace the "phantom" signals that had led them to the
Nerima district of Tokyo alerting him to one that had flared to life far
closer.  As the Professor changed course and headed back to his desk, the
demi-alien computer refined the location of the unique signal as much as
possible in the fraction of a nanosecond before it vanished again.
	"Roughly northeast of here," he muttered as he examined the visual
readout, "and less that 1500 miles away.  If this is a coincidence, I'll
go jogging in the morning."
******

Biosphere; Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters:

	P-Chan swore angrily in the tongue of pigs as he struggled free of
the sodden cloth, the presence he noted in human form briefly forgotten in
his anger both at himself for getting into this predicament, and at Ranma
for subjecting him to this affliction.
	The sound of a soft footfall behind him snapped him back to the
present as he made it to shore, and he spun to see five blades far sharper
than razors and shaped from shadows and blood into a mockery of a human
hand.  All but the second one from the right curved back as it reached
towards the tiny piglet.
******

Continued in Chapter 3