This is a tansitional part, so it's not really dynamic or that long (parts
one and two came in at 6-7 pages, this is about 4) Ranma/X-Men has been
delayed for a bit while I tried to figure out who the bad guy was..
Luckily, it came to me as I was writing Shampoo and Psyloke's dialouge.

(Shameless plug: new art at my page!! 2 new pics concerning Ranma Goes to
War in the story art section....
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/5220/sart.html
please, please swing by and drop Derrick a line about his art.)

note: Shampoo's dialouge may sound totally OCC for her, but I'm of the
opinion that she doesn't talk like a frapping idiot when she's speaking
Chinese.

disclaimer: Yeah right, if I owned ANY of these characters, would I be
writing fanfics and struggling through college?

Ranma/X-Men, Part 3



Part 3

	Things looked bad.
	That was the number one thought that the ninja and X-Man known as Psyloke,
and the Chinese Amazon known as Shampoo had on their minds. They didn't
know where they were and weren't even exactly sure on how they had gotten
there. All they knew was that had suddenly come to in a small, ten foot by
ten-foot cell and their only company was each other. And they were chained.
Small, brightly polished shackles bound their ankles to the ground, they
each had enough chain to walk around a bit, but not much more than that.
After warily sizing each other up, Betsy had broken the silence	"Well, I
take it by your little anklet there that you didn't do this to me."
	Shampoo stared back, frowning her forehead in concentration. "My English,
not to good," she managed to stammer.
	Betsy sighed, neither was her Japanese. But…..
	"How about Chinese?" she asked in fluent Chinese.
	Shampoo brightened and nodded her head eagerly. "Yes, thank you. My
Chinese is much better then my Japanese. My name is X'ian Pu." She paused
and tried tugging at her shackle. It had to have been stronger then
ordinary steel because it didn't have the slightest give in it."I don't
suppose you know who has captured us."
	Betsy shook her head, negatively. "No, I don't. All I can remember is
leaving a friends place and walking down a street. The next thing I know,
I'm waking up in here. Oh, and I'm Betsy. Betsy Braddock." She massaged her
temples and focused her mind, trying to reach out with her telepathic
abilities and determine who had captured them. She snapped her head back as
she was suddenly hit by a psionic shock. Barely registering Shampoo's
surprise and concerned words, she realized that some sort of psychic
shields were sending her own power back into her. As soon as she stopped
trying to reach out, the psychic feedback ended.
	She shook her head and caught the tail end of Shampoo's sentence. "…okay?"
	Betsy nodded wearily, "Yes, I just….." she trailed off as she tried to
think of a way to explain her psychic powers to the young Chinese girl.
	"You looked like you were caught in a recursive psychic loop," Shampoo
stated levelly. At Betsy's shocked stare, the younger woman just shrugged.
"Combat psionics are an old trick among certain Amazons. Even those of us
who don't have any psychic powers learn about them and learn how to at
least defend ourselves from them."
	Betsy nodded, slightly uncertain now, "Yes, that's what it was. It seems
as though someone has shielded this room from psychic probes." She leaned
back and massaged her temples again, "Do you have any idea who might be
behind this?"
	Shampoo shook her head glumly. "I don't have the faintest clue. Like you,
all I can remember is finishing a food delivery and suddenly being hit from
behind. Then, I wake up here." She brightened. "But I know that Ranma will
find me!"
	Psyloke looked a bit taken aback at her certainty. "Ranma?"
	Shampoo nodded, "Yes, the man I love is a very strong warrior and will
find me. He'll save me! I just know it! Ranma will come and save us both!"
	Psyloke smiled as a thought occurred to her, "Well, he'll probably wind up
helping my friends out. If we're gone to long, then the X-Men will show up
for me."
	"X-Men?" Shampoo's brow furrowed for a moment. "Does that mean they're all
women?"
	Psyloke looked at Shampoo blankly for a moment and then shook her head
ruefully. "No, it's… well, it's really a very long story."
	Shampoo shrugged and held up a link of the chain attached to her leg.
"We're not going anywhere."
	A booming voice suddenly filled the room. "Oh, but you are my dear's!!"
	Both women were on their feet in the blink of an eye. The two assumed
combat stances, positioning themselves to make the best of the cramped
quarters and chains on their legs.  The door lurched open and a tall,
impeccably dressed Chinese man strode into view. Standing at almost six
foot, he stood in the doorway with both hands on his hips. Psyloke gasped
with recognition.
	"Mandarin!"
	The Mandarin reached up and stroked his chin in thought, "Yes, my lovely
little Psyloke, it is I." The rings of power on his hand glinted as he
slowly rolled his fingers.
	Psyloke considered trying to psionically attack him and discarded the
notion almost as soon as she conceived it. The Mandarin was to powerful an
opponent and possessed to strong of a will to be beaten with
straightforward telepathy. Also, the psionic shields emplaced around the
room would probably send enough of her own power back at her to knock her
unconscious. Better by far to stay calm and perhaps discover what he was up
to. "Why?" she asked brusquely, "Why are you holding me and this girl?"
	The Mandarin waved a finger in admonishment. "Temper, temper, little one.
You are hardly in a position to make demands. But, seeing as how you are a
bit, shall we say, detained, I suppose it is only fitting I inform you
why." He shrugged, "It is quite simple really," slowly he curled his hand
into a fist, "revenge. Do not think I've forgotten the humiliation you and
that mongrel dog Wolverine handed me. The time has come that I enact my
vengeance upon you both. And as for the Amazon…" Shampoo stiffened and
tightened her fists even more… "Let us simply say that I have certain plans
for the Amazon tribe, and your young companion shall help me see those
plans come into being."
	"I will never help you, Ringed One," Shampoo hissed from between clenched
teeth. Psyloke darted a glance at her and was surprised at the amount of
venom that was radiating from the young girl. The young Amazons eyes were
blazing Betsy could see a red aura of hate beginning to surround her.
	The Mandarin threw his head back and laughed, "I see that they still teach
of me in your tribe." He raised his hand with a sharp gesture and grinned
evilly. "If you remembered your lessons, brat, you would know you don't
stand a chance against my power." One of his rings suddenly flared and a
beam of force burst from it, striking both women and knocking them to the
floor. Psyloke groaned weakly, recognizing the feel of his impact beam and
knowing that at that moment they were at his mercy.
	A voice came from beyond the room. "Lord Mandarin! A moment, sir." The
Mandarin looked over his left shoulder irritably and Shampoo gathered and
launched herself. Stretching her body to the fullest, she arrowed toward
the Mandarin, fists ready to strike. She smiled ferally, knowing that she
would have just enough reach to be able to take him.
	She never got close.
	Without even looking, the Mandarin reached out and blocked her attack and
struck her in the back of the neck, knocking her from the air and slamming
her into the ground as if she were a fly. Shampoo lay on the ground stunned
and gasping for breath.
	"You bastard!" Psyloke lunged forward but stopped as the Mandarin brought
his other hand up. The flame ring winked dangerously in the light. The
Mandarin finally turned his head and looked down at Shampoo in feigned
surprise. 
	"However did you wind up down there, my child? Forgive me, I must attend
to business here for a moment. I shall be back soon, never fear." He took a
step back and mockingly bowed his head. The door slammed shut and the two
women were left to themselves again.
	Betsy offered Shampoo a hand and the two staggered back to sit on their
bunks. They regarded each other for a moment, both trying to hide the
sinking feeling that was filling their chests. However bad they had thought
things were before, they knew it was worse now.
	Shampoo broke the silence this time, "How do you know the Mandarin?" she
coughed a little at the end of her sentence, still trying to regain her
breath.
	Psyloke wearily sighed and rubbed her side where the impact beam had
struck her. "Some time ago, I went through a… change. For a short time, I
lost my memory, and during that time I worked for a man named Matsuo
Tsurayaba. He's the leader of a ninja clan known as The Hand. While I was,"
she paused and swallowed heavily, "a member of that organization, we were
employed by the Mandarin. Eventually, Wolverine, one of my companions in
the X-Men, managed to free my mind and the two of us defeated him. I don't
think," at this point Psyloke smiled wryly, "that the experience sat well
with him." She gestured about them, "As a matter of fact, I believe he's
holding a grudge."
	Shampoo smiled weakly, more at the attempt of levity then at the joke
itself. "I think I can relate to that. Apparently, he's still interested in
the Amazon tribe." Shampoo took a moment to breathe deeply and winced at
the slight pain in her chest. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes,
her voice changed tone and she began to recite, as a child might tell a
story, "Many years ago, a man wearing ten rings came to the Amazon's. He
promised power and money and tried to command the tribal elders to follow
him. He wanted to use the fighting abilities of the Amazons to take command
of China. But the elders weren't interested in his dreams. They told him to
leave. He became angry and power began to flow from the rings he wore. He
attacked us. Many warriors were hurt and some were killed in driving him
off. After he finally left, many warriors demanded vengeance. The elders
refused tog rant permission to them, they wanted nothing more to do with
the man or his terrible rings."
     Shampoo's eyes opened and she met Betsy's gaze. "I was four years old
then. I can barely remember seeing parts of the village burning, and then
my great-grandmother took several other children and me and told us to
hide. After we came out, all we saw were destroyed buildings and fresh
graves. When we asked what had happened, we were told the tale that I just
told you. That was the Ringed One. The Mandarin."
     "If you were only four, why is he interested in you now?" Betsy asked,
puzzedly.
Shampoo sighed and shrugged, "I don't know. Possibly because my
great-grandmother is one of the tribal elders."
     The door suddenly flung open and the two women stood up. The Mandarin
soon strode into the cell again, this time flanked by a black clad ninja
carrying a small package.
     "Have we been comparing notes?" he looked from one woman to another.
Before either could reply, he continued, "You," he pointed at Shampoo, "are
to be a tool in my vengeance upon the arrogant women of your tribe." He
turned and pointed at Psyloke, "And as for you, let us just regard you as a
fortuitous happenstance." He examined his hand and blew lightly across his
rings. "And don't expect any help from any of your friends. I sent a cadre
of Hand after the X-Men already."
      Psyloke laughed defiantly, "Hah! It will take more than a few of your
ninja to defeat the X-Men. They've had much worse thrown at them and
they're still here."
"Of course they are." The Mandarins eyes hardened. "Do you think me a fool?
I know what the capabilities are of your friends. The cadre was only meant
to delay them. Now they, along with a few of your young Japanese friends,"
he spat that at Shampoo, "are already looking for you. I assure you, I have
plans for them and … possibly usage as well. Farewell ladies, when next we
see each other, it will be far to late for any hope of rescue." He snapped
his hand and gestured at the ninja beside him. Bowing, the ninja suddenly
reached into his package and threw a small ball of glass at Psyloke and
Shampoo's feet. A thick cloud of sleeping gas came from it and both women
fell to the ground. Their last sight was of the Mandarin, laughing.


(end part three)